Karma Chapter 6 What Goes Around Comes Around
Here it is, the final installment to Karma. After 3 years, it's finally coming to an end. –tear- I'd like to thank all of you who have been waiting impatiently for me to update, and those of you who have just recently discovered this story who plan on finishing it now. I'd like to give a special thanks to browneyes21 and my besties Jessica and Sarah for making this update possible. Without further ado, here is your chapter.
"Well of course I'd love to go with her! No request is too big or too small to fill for my darling Yukina!" Kuwabara exclaimed before Yukina could protest further.
Yukina was now trapped. There was nothing she could do now that Keiko had invited Kuwabara to join her and Hiei at the movie. It would look awfully suspicious to the men if she insisted upon being alone with Hiei. What are they thinking? Yukina wondered. She knew there must be some sort of method to their madness, as their techniques hadn't failed her so far. She decided that she needed to discuss this with the girls ASAP.
"I'm glad you'll go with me, Kazuma," Yukina managed weakly, "But I'm feeling a little feverish right now. I think I'm just going to take a bath and go to bed. I'm afraid I'll fall and hurt myself in the bath in my weakened state though. Maybe one of you girls could help me?" Yukina asked giving the girls a hard look.
"Oh, of course we'll help you, Yukina!" Botan said enthusiastically. "In fact, maybe we should all keep an eye on you. You can never be too safe, you know."
At Botan's words, all of the girls headed up the stairs to the bathroom, Shizuru holding on to Yukina as they made their way up to the stairs to make it appear as though Yukina really were weak. Keiko and Botan entered the bathroom first, taking their seats on the edge of the bathtub. Yukina walked out from under Shizuru's arm and sat down on the lid of the toilet. Shizuru was the last to enter and as soon as she shut the door behind her, the discussion began."So what's up, kid? Why are you upset about the movies?" Shizuru inquired.
"If it's because I asked Kuwabara for you, I'm sorry. I just thought it might help you," Keiko interjected apologetically.
"It's just that Hiei said he wanted to accompany me to the movie as well. I don't really know how having them both there is going to work out," Yukina said with a sigh. Botan's mind began to reel at the problem. Hiei had obviously learned of their plans to set up a date with Kuwabara, and he clearly did not approve. His overprotective brother instincts had compelled him to declare himself a chaperone on Yukina's date, and Yukina had been far too kind, and probably far too confused, to reject his offer. Yukina didn't understand Hiei's desire to watch out for her, because she had no knowledge of the fact that Hiei was her long lost brother. She had simply agreed to allow him to come along, and then regretted the decision afterward. That was why Yukina had not asked Kuwabara to the movies before the others returned from their picnic. Yukina had been trying to figure out what to do about Hiei. As Botan considered the problem herself, Keiko spoke up.
"You just have to use the situation to your advantage," Keiko began, "Sometimes men don't truly realize how much they want to be with a girl until they face the possibility of her being with some other guy. If you make him jealous, he'll be all over you. So you just have to pay attention to both of them."
Botan gave Keiko a weird look. Instructing Yukina to flirt with her brother felt just plain gross. Even in the demon world, incest was never smiled upon. Although it really wouldn't take much attention from Yukina being focused on Hiei to cause Kuwabara to go from a harmless oaf to a green eyed monster, Botan reasoned. And it wasn't like Yukina knew they were related. So nothing bad could possibly come of it.
"Keiko's right, just flirt with both of the guys and soon they won't be able to get enough of you!" Botan agreed.
"Well, how are you supposed to flirt with someone when he's trying to watch a movie?" Yukina asked innocently.
"Oh Yukina, you didn't really think boys took girls to movies to actually watch the film did you?" Shizuru said with a knowing smile, "They just like the idea of being in a dark place with a girl. Of course, you'd better not let them try anything. In fact, don't even let them touch you. Make sure they understand what's acceptable and what's not. And after you make that clear, maybe you shouldn't even talk to them, or they might try to talk you into something you don't want. If they do keep trying to talk to you, a swift kick to the-" Shizuru continued angrily.
"Uh Shizuru….don't you think you're going a little overboard here? This is Hiei and Kuwabara we're talking about here. I think Yukina will be fine," Botan interrupted nervously.
"Yeah, just keep in mind everything we've taught you so far." Keiko agreed, "Wear appropriate clothing and make up, pay attention to both men at the same time to make them jealous, act mean every once in awhile to throw them off, and if you ask them anything, DON'T take no for an answer, and if you get stuck, just pretend to act frightened by the movie. That'll get their attention right away,"
"OK, I'll try to keep all that in mind…" Yukina said tiredly. All of the girls' rules hadn't failed her so far, but following them was difficult and felt unnatural for Yukina. She had almost lost faith in their advice when Keiko had invited Kuwabara to the movies, but now she realized it was just part of their clever plan to make Hiei jealous. It sounded good in theory, but she was nervous about how it would work out. Yukina supposed that since her friends' advice had gotten her a date, she should just continue following it.
"I think that's all I needed, and I'm very exhausted. I'm going to go to bed now," Yukina said as she walked towards the door. She was eager to have some time to herself to think about how the date would go. As she changed into her pajamas and snuggled into her bed, Yukina's mind was swimming with fantasies of how her date with Hiei would go.
Yukina awoke the next morning feeling anxious about the upcoming weekend. She knew she was alone in the house with Hiei, because everyone else was at school or work. That should've made her happy, because it gave her plenty of opportunities to see Hiei, but it actually made her feel even more jittery. She had no idea what she would say to Hiei if they crossed paths. Reluctantly, Yukina dressed herself headed downstairs to the kitchen to eat breakfast, half hoping she wouldn't see Hiei and half hoping she would.
When Yukina reached the kitchen she was partly relieved and partly saddened by the fact that she was alone. She made herself some cereal and as she was just about to enjoy her first spoonful, she saw a black shadow out of the corner of her eye. An icy, nervous feeling filled her body. She stopped her hand from going up to her mouth, and it started to shake. She knew she had to say something before he noticed how nervous she was.
"Hiei…..hi," Yukina said weakly.
"Hello Yukina," Hiei replied while searching the cupboards for his protein shake mix.
"Uh, so is that Muscle Milk you're drinking?" Yukina asked, desperate for any kind of conversation.
"Yes?" Hiei answered with a suspicious air in his voice.
"Oh, that's cool. I've never had any of it, obviously. My muscles don't need milk!" Yukina said awkwardly, flexing her arm.
"Hn." Hiei responded.
"Oh no, I killed the conversation! He must think I'm so stupid! Oh my god, quick, say something. Anything! Talk about the movies this weekend!" Yukina thought hurriedly.
"So Hiei, Kuwabara is coming with us to the movies on Friday," Yukina blurted out. "Great, just great. Mention that the guy he hates is going with us. Well, Keiko did say making guys jealous works in your advantage. Maybe this will work."
Hiei blinked at her, not sure how to react to the news. His mind was clouded with rage. So that's why she wanted me to go to the movie with her. She wants me to protect her from Kuwabara! He must have asked her and she was far too kind to turn him down. Well, if he thinks he's going to try anything on her…." Hiei's thought was interrupted by another. "Kurama was spouting some nonsense about Yukina wanting my approval. Maybe she really is looking for my approval. Maybe she wants me to accompany her and Kuwabara to the movie to show her that I approve of him. Well I certainly don't, I just want her to be happy. And if that oaf makes her happy, then so be it. But why does she want my approval? She can't possibly know. And now what do I do? I can't be nice to Kuwabara. He doesn't deserve any kindness from me. But I can't hurt Yukina. Damn you, Kurama!
"Hiei?" Yukina asked timidly, bringing Hiei out of his thoughts.
"Oh. That's fine," Hiei said, deciding on a neutral answer. Hiei quickly gulped down his protein shake and rushed out of room before Yukina had a chance to put him in another troubling position.
Yukina frowned at her cereal. She felt like she had driven him out of the room by mentioning Kuwabara. If she had made him jealous, it sure wasn't helping her. Maybe she just needed more time for the tactics to work. Yukina pushed her cereal bowl aside. She suddenly wasn't hungry after the conversation she had with Hiei. It had only made her nerves about the movies worse.
The next few days weren't any different for Yukina. They consisted mainly of a few short, awkward run-ins with Hiei. She felt as though he were avoiding her. A small part of her brain hoped that maybe he was just as nervous as she was. When Friday night finally arrived, she was a bundle of nerves. She couldn't believe it was really going to happen. Part of her was so nervous that she no longer wanted to go. The girls sent Yukina off with reminders of their advice and friendly 'good lucks.' She walked out the door to where Hiei and Kuwabara were waiting to walk with her to the movie theater. Yukina was grateful that it was a short walk, because she already felt very awkward. Kuwabara had offered her his jacket in case she was cold, and Hiei's reaction had been a murderous stare. Yukina supposed it was good that the whole jealousy thing was working, but she felt bad for toying with Hiei's emotions.
When they arrived at the theater, Kuwabara approached the ticket counter with confidence. "I'd like two tickets to HOLY SHIT ZOMBIE ATTACK ! please," Kuwabara said politely to the girl behind the counter. Hiei cleared his throat loudly. "What, I'm not paying for you shorty!" Kuwabara said angrily. Hiei frowned at that. As much as he didn't want any favors, he had no human money. He hadn't even considered what he would do when he got to the theater.
"As if I wanted any petty favors from you," Hiei said coldly. Yukina and Kuwabara proceeded into the theater, but Hiei was stopped by the girl behind the ticket counter.
"You didn't purchase a ticket, so you can't go in," She said firmly. Hiei didn't respond, he just made his jagan eye glow from beneath his head band. The girl jumped back in surprise and returned to her counter. Hiei quickly caught up to Kuwabara and Yukina, who were picking out candy at the concession stand. When they were done, Hiei walked Yukina into the theater, while Kuwabara followed behind with his arms full of every kind of candy offered at the concession stand. They took their seats in an empty row just as the previews were starting. When the opening credits appeared, Yukina looked nervously at the boys on either side of her. Nothing had been said or done so far, so Yukina figured she was already what Keiko would consider stuck. She stared up at the names flashing across the screen and doubted Keiko' s advice. This didn't seem to be terrifying, but then again, nothing in the previews for the movie had either.
"I'm scared," Yukina said quietly, hoping to break the silence.
"Awe don't be scared!" Kuwabara cooed. He tried to put his arm around her protectively, but he stopped his arm in mid air when he heard a low growl from Hiei. Yukina mentally frowned. It was clear Hiei was jealous, but it wasn't encouraging him to make any movies on her either. Yukina struggled with this for the rest of the movie, because the same thing kept happening throughout. Kuwabara would try to make a move on her, and Hiei would stop him with a stare or a noise, but he never tried to do anything himself. While Yukina was worried about Hiei's lack of action, Hiei was struggling with his own inner turmoil. He was trying so hard not to slice Kuwabara in half with his katana. He couldn't just sit by and let the pastry haired oaf make moves on his sister, but he didn't want to upset her if she wanted his approval. He tried hard to just look at the screen in front of him, but the cheesy movie bored him.
Suddenly, both of their thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream from Kuwabara, who was cowering behind the seat in front of him from the large zombie that appeared on the screen.
"Uh, Kazuma?" Yukina asked. Kuwabara gave her a startled look as if he had forgotten that she had been next to him the entire time.
"Uh, I was just surprised at how fake and lame this zombie looks!" Kuwabara said putting on a brave face and trying to cover his ass.
"Right," Hiei retorted sarcastically.
"Hey, watch it Tiny Tim!" Kuwabara exclaimed.
"Quiet down over there!" Someone in the theater yelled.
"Sorry!" Yukina apologized quickly. This date was turning into a disaster.
The rest of the movie, everyone was quiet. Kuwabara was concentrating on trying not to look afraid, Hiei was pondering what had caused Yukina to suspect him of being her brother and whose throat he should be ripping out, and Yukina was wondering what she had done wrong to make Hiei so silent. The movie ended and they all stood up and left the theater quickly, with Yukina blinking tears out of her eyes. The walk home was just as silent and awkward. When they walked through the door of the house, everyone was gathered in the living room. Although they tried to look unconcerned, it was obvious they had been waiting for them to return. They were just dying to know what had happened. Suddenly, in front of everyone, Yukina decided it was time for drastic measures. Her friends had encouraged her to be confident, and most importantly, to not take no for answer. She wanted Hiei, and she wanted him to do something, and he wasn't. Well she wasn't accepting that answer. Just as Botan was about to ask how the movie was to get them on the subject, Yukina walked over to Hiei, place her hands on his cheeks, and kissed him. Botan let out a gasp. Hiei's eyes went wide with shock. Kuwabara started to cry. Yusuke cried out,
"Holy shit! This is just like Star Wars! Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, when Leia kisses Luke because she doesn't know that he's her twin brother!"
Yusuke's exclamation caused Yukina to break away from her kiss with Hiei. "What did you say?" She asked.
"Yes, what was that, detective?" Hiei asked with his red eyes burning with rage.
Botan quickly walked over to Yukina and put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen sweetie, I know we told you to make Kuwabara jealous to get him to notice you, but that may have been a bit too drastic," Botan said, trying to take the attention away from Yusuke's comment.
"Get Kuwabara to notice me? But I never wanted Kazuma's attention. He's a very good person, and a good friend, but I never wanted to be with him. This whole time I've been seeking Hiei's affection. He's always been there for me, and I feel so safe around him. Those feelings make me think that this is what you all describe as love. I thought you all knew the entire time that I was after Hiei. I thought that's why Keiko invited Kazuma to go to the movies with us. Because she knew that it would make Hiei jealous, and then he would pay more attention to me. But he didn't. It just upset him. So I decided to do something about it," Yukina blurted out hurriedly. She was aware of everyone's eyes on her. Her cheeks were pink with embarrassment. This was not at all how she had envisioned telling Hiei about her feelings for him.
"You put her up to this!" Hiei growled, foaming slightly at the mouth like a mad dog. "You took her clouded emotions and turned them into a catastrophe! How dare you play with her mind like that!" Hiei turned on all the girls with his jagan eye glowing bright purple.
"Well all this never would have happened if you had just told her the truth!" Keiko fought back angrily. Hiei stepped closer to Keiko, ready to unless his rage upon her and the other girls, who he felt were responsible for the situation. Suddenly, their confrontation was interrupted.
"Tell me the truth about what? What's going on?" Yukina exclaimed with tears in her eyes. She was so confused as to why Hiei was not only rejecting her feelings, but he was angry about them. Hiei looked at her and his heart broke into a million pieces. Keiko was right. She deserved to know the truth. It was wrong of him to hide it from her, when he knew that finding her brother meant so much to her. It was also obvious that his ideas about her being disappointed in having Hiei as her brother were completely wrong. She loved him. It wasn't the same kind of love that Yukina thought she felt for him, but she did love him. She would accept him if he told her. It would make her happy.
"Yukina, I'm your twin brother," Hiei spoke gently, as if he was afraid this revelation would cause her more pain. He waited for the tears to start falling. He waited for her to curse him for withholding the information from her. He waited for her to say she was ashamed to have him as her brother. But none of that happened. Instead, Yukina ran over and hugged him. She cried happy tears into his shoulder, and managed to mumble something along the lines of she was sorry for the confusion.
"Wait, so old short stack is Yukina's brother? So she can't leave me for him then right? So I still have a chance with her!" Kuwabara concluded hopefully.
"Well she did say she isn't interested in you right now, but maybe we can change that by making you our next project," Botan said with an evil smile.
And that's where I'm ending it. Phew. It's such a relief to finally finish this after however long it took me to write it xD I may not be done with it, as I may decide to edit some earlier chapters as my writing has improved over the years it took me to finally finish this. There will not be a sequel, of that I'm sure. But edits are a possibility so you can check for those. I'd also like to thank browneyes21 one last time for her encouragements and devotion to this story. And of course I'd like to thank the rest of you for reading, don't forget to review ;)