One Week
Chapter Eight—Second Sunday
People gaped. A lot.
Kurama had decided to go home, to see if Kuronue was still there. He needed to finish the talk they had stormed away from; he was curious, he supposed, about the thing Kuronue hadn't gotten to tell him about.
So, Karasu just had to escort Kurama to his house, meaning that he was holding Kurama's hand as they walked down the street and wearing an idiotic grin on his face. Of course, if Karasu was there, Hiei had to go in order to 'protect Kurama from Karasu's naughty hands'. So, the end result was that Karasu and Hiei were both holding onto one of Kurama's hands, strolling merrily down Main Street while people stared at them.
Kurama sweat-dropped. "This really isn't necessary."
"Yes it is! What if Kuronue is mean to you again?" Karasu whined, hugging Kurama's arm.
Kurama laughed slightly. "He won't be mean to me. Not anymore."
"Well, I'm not convinced," Karasu pouted, slinging an arm around Kurama's shoulders.
"Get off of him!"
"Oh? And why should I? He's not yours!"
"So! He's not yours either!" Hiei growled back.
"I would say that there's plenty of me to go around, except... there really isn't."
"That's fine, Kurama. When you finally choose between us... I'm sure we'll both still be here," Karasu said, nodding.
"Well, maybe I won't choose either of you," Kurama answered.
"Trust me, you'll decide between the two of us... and I'd put my money on Hiei if any of it actually belonged to me."
Hiei gave Karasu a fanged grin. "Really?"
Karasu sighed, pouting. "I'm afraid so..."
"Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Hiei pointed and laughed at Karasu.
"You don't have to be a jerk about it, you know."
"Umm, children?" Kurama mumbled, breaking up any brawls that might be about to occur in the middle of the street.
"Ne?"
"We're at my house now. You can let go of my hands." Hiei and Karasu looked ahead, at Kurama's house.
"Oh. All right." The two reluctantly let go of Kurama's hands.
"You two have to stay outside."
"NO!"
Kurama glared at Karasu.
"I refuse to stay outside! What if something happens to you!"
"I'll be just fine."
"I won't allow it. I'm coming with you." Karasu latched onto Kurama's arm and refused to let go.
Kurama looked to Hiei for help, but Hiei didn't seem to think that accompanying Kurama was a bad idea, either. Kurama sighed hopelessly and opened the door. He entered, peering around the living room. He spotted Shiori, Youko, and Kuronue sitting at the kitchen table. He moved to stand in the room; Hiei and Karasu followed him. He coughed.
"...Shuuichi?"
"I'm sorry if I worried you, mother," he apologized, bowing slightly. "Hello, Youko. Kuronue."
"Are you staying this time?"
"...I will if I think I have a reason to."
"Oh, Shuu-chan!" Shiori launched herself at the boy, giving him a fierce hug. Tears pricked in her eyes. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! I was so worried about you..."
"...I'll try not to, mother," Kurama murmured, resting his chin on the top of his mother's head, caught in her embrace.
"What were you doing out in that storm anyway?" Shiori asked accusingly, breaking the hug to place her hands on her hips.
Kurama glanced at Kuronue. "Heh..." He smiled slightly, bowing his head so that his hair covered his eyes. "It's nothing. Hiei and Karasu forced me to come to my senses, so everything is O.K. now."
"...Kuronue told us everything," Shiori murmured; she stared at Shuuichi, trying to discern his reaction. When he refused to return her gaze, she continued. "I'm not angry, Shuuichi; I'm just worried about you."
"..."
"Please... let me help you..." Shiori stared pleadingly at him, reaching out to grasp his hand. "I love you, Shuuichi. You're my little boy... and it hurts so much to see you feeling like this..."
"..."
"Shuuichi... you need help. Please...don't ignore the pain! Don't pretend it's not there!"
"...mother?" he questioned softly.
"...you must heal the wounds on your heart before you can move on," Shiori mumbled. "If... if you won't do this for yourself, then do it for me...do it for Hiei and do it for Youko, and most of all, do it for Kuronue."
"...I don't see why I should do anything for him."
"It hurts him more than it hurts me or your friends or your brother... because he's the one who caused your pain." Shiori glanced over at the boy.
Kurama smiled. "That's only one more reason to keep going on this way," Kurama murmured, smiling. He walked over to Kuronue, beaming at him. "Luckily for you, I'm a nice person."
"I know you are."
"Of course I am. I mean, I'd have to be since I didn't drag you to court and have you thrown in jail."
"...huh?" several unimportant people in the audience asked.
Kuronue smiled a little at that. "No, Kurama. You didn't do that to be nice—you did that because to bring me to court, you would have had to deal with your problems."
"..."
"What is it?"
"...you're a big jerk."
"...I know."
"Get out of my house before I kick you out."
Kuronue stood. "Yes, I think that's a good idea as well." He turned to Youko. "I'll be at Yomi's house if you decide not to hate me." He moved to go.
"...Kuro?"
"Hm?"
"...we'll talk—I mean really talk—about this someday."
Kuronue smiled slightly. "Whenever you're ready, Shuuichi." Half a minute later he was out the door and two minutes after that he was completely out of sight.
"Hey, mother..."
"...Shuu-chan?"
"I love you," he murmured, and hugged her tightly.
The three met Yuusuke and Kuwabara at the local noodle shop. They didn't go because they loved noodles, but because the girl that Yuusuke liked worked there.
"Hey, waitress! I need some soooooooy sauce!" Yuusuke yelled cheekily, giving the brown-haired girl a come hither look.
She rolled her eyes, slamming the bottle of sauce on the table. "Jerk."
"You know you wanna go out with me!" Yuusuke called, staring transfixed at her backside as she walked away.
Kuwabara hit Yuusuke over the head with a mallet that had appeared from Thin Air™, bringing the boy back to his senses... well, sort of.
"Oh! Right, so what were you saying, Kurama?"
"...I've agreed to be Karasu's acquaintance as long as he doesn't piss me off too much."
"Oh, really? Congratulations, Karasu!" Yuusuke made a great show of clapping for Karasu.
"Thank you, Yuusuke. I'm really quite overjoyed," Karasu deadpanned.
"What's wrong with him?" Yuusuke asked, peering at Karasu.
"He took his medicine today," Kurama explained.
"Kurama made me. He forced it down my throat."
Kurama wrinkled his nose. "Stupid hentai."
Yuusuke grinned, leaning back in his seat. "Soooo... what about you and Hiei?"
Kurama blushed; Hiei stared down at his Ramen, as if trying to melt it into a pile of radioactive goo that he could throw at Yuusuke.
"Kurama said that he'd go out with Hiei as soon as he was slightly sane. Of course, that's only if he likes Hiei then," Karasu piped up.
"What if he doesn't like Hiei?"
"...then nothing will change," Hiei said simply. He gaze shifted from his bowl of Ramen to the redhead beside him. "Right?"
"..."
"Well, I at least think so."
"...yes, I think so too."
"Wow..." Yuusuke murmured, ignoring Kuwabara as he tried to hide from the 'gay fluffy stuff'. "That's great, you two! ...at least, I think so." Yuusuke was grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, I guess I'll see you all tomorrow at school," Kurama muttered.
"Heh heh! I'm not going to be at school tomorrow!"
"Oh? And why not? Didn't I tell you? I'M NOT GOING TO SUPPORT YOU WHEN YOU CAN'T GET A JOB!" Kurama yelled, yanking on Yuusuke's ear.
"Aargh! Stop that, you merciless girly boy!" Yuusuke cried, ducking out of Kurama's reach. He clutched his abused ear. "It's a school holiday, didn't you know?"
"...really?" Kurama asked, puzzled.
"Hah hah! I knew something and you didn't!"
"I'll bet it's a great feeling. You'll have to tell me about it sometime."
"Nyeh. Well, I guess I'll see you crazy homosexuals when I see you! Ta taaaaa!" Yuusuke yelled to them as they went down the street, before he ducked back in the building to flirt with the waitress.
"...it's a lot quieter without Karasu here..."
"Aren't you glad I wouldn't let him come in my house?" Hiei asked, giving a fanged grin.
Kurama gave a small laugh. "Yes. He is rather annoying sometimes, isn't he?"
"I think you mean most of the time."
"...hey, Hiei," Kurama mumbled.
"Hn?"
"I'm so sorry!"
"For what?"
"...I've been so cruel and uncaring, and you've been so sweet!"
"Oh, don't worry about that. I just finally tried some Prozac."
"...really?" Kurama asked, intrigued.
"No."
"Oh."
"Wanna play a video game?" Hiei offered, hopping off his bed and fishing through the entertainment system for his game console.
"Sure. Got Link?"
"...you mean the blonde who grunts and has the hat that grows?" Hiei asked, puzzled.
"Of course! You know, the star of the nine or ten Zelda games..." Kurama waved it off, retrieving the purple Gamecube controller from the floor. "Of course, it's a one-player... maybe we should just play Melee, so that I can be Sheik and beat you with a chain while wearing tight pants..."
Hiei made a strange gulping noise, but Kurama ignored it. "Melee it is, then." He set the little disc in the player and hopped back on the bed beside Kurama.
"So, who will you be, Hiei?"
"I am... Samus! BEHOLD!"
Kurama sweat-dropped. "You do know that Samus is a girl, don't you?"
"...eh?"
"It says so in their profiles."
"Wow... so Sheik and Samus... would be like a hermaphrodite and a cross dresser..."
"...Hiei..."
"...that's just odd..."
"Don't think those kinds of thoughts while I'm sitting on your bed, Hiei," Kurama muttered, eyes shining with mirth.
"I should be the one who's worried. After all, I'm only a virgin boy. You're the great Kurama, the Thief of Random People's Hearts."
Kurama smothered Hiei with a pillow.
Hiei had refused to allow Karasu inside his house. Well, Karasu felt a little miffed about it, but let it go for the most part. He had wandered back home, enjoying the nice September weather after the storm. He slid open the front door, slipping inside. The TV had been left on as usual; it was the news.
Karasu plopped down on his couch, lending half his attention to the news and the other half to checking his phone messages. It surprised him when he saw the little number one blinking up at him. He pushed the button with apprehension, guessing it was probably some prank caller leaving him nasty messages.
"Karasu, honey, are you there?" came his mother's syrup tones from the machine. "...I guess not. Anyway, I'm going to be coming home tomorrow. I hope you've been doing well in school, but I guess I'll know when I get there, won't I?"
Karasu buried himself beneath the couch cushions.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure I'll be proud of you! I always am!"
"...and you say that every time, but as soon as you hear about my grades, you ignore me again..." Karasu mumbled.
"Well, I'll see you soon, sweetie! Maybe I can persuade your father to come home too and we can go out and eat dinner like a family!"
Karasu wished he could believe it. He really did. But... cynical-ness was a learned response. He would trust her if she had ever given him reason to.
"You're giving me psychological problems!" he shouted. He knocked the answering machine to the floor and covered it up with a blanket so that he wouldn't have to hear it. He turned to the TV.
"Yesterday's depression was thankfully very mild. Most buildings are still standing. Construction crews will be sent to repair damaged buildings soon."
"Well, that's good. I hope it didn't damage the school, though. With mother here I'll want to spend as much time away from home as possible..."
"...nggggh..." He collapsed on the floor.
"...hi, Youko..."
"Hm?"
"...mind sharing some of those noodles with me...?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do," Youko said, slurping up a mountain of noodles.
"You're going to choke if you do that..."
Youko immediately started drowning in his noodles.
Kurama eyed him blearily. "Told you so."
It was Monday morning at 6:30 and Kurama had woken up out of habit. He was deeply regretting the fact that he always ate right after he got up, because now his stomach was rumbling and Youko refused to share his food.
"Oh, come ooooooooon..."
"Cook something."
"I'm not lucid enough to cook! I just woke up!"
"Then go back to bed."
"Mommy, Youko won't share his noodles with me!" Kurama whined childishly.
"Oh, don't worry, Shuuichi. I'll make you some breakfast and it will taste ten times better than Youko's nasty old noodles!"
"Yay!"
"...I just have to drink two pots of coffee first," she muttered.
"So, what are you going to be doing later today, Shuu-chan?" Youko asked, propping his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands.
Kurama started at Youko's elbows. "...I dunno. I might hang out with Hiei or something... you do know that it's rude to put your elbows on the table, don't you?"
"Hmm... I was thinking if you got bored, we could go around and... I dunno. Have brotherly bonding or something..."
"Hey, that's good too. We should go to the arcade or something..."
"I figured you'd want to go to the park..."
"Heh. I've had enough of that stupid park to last a lifetime... or at least, until next week."
"Well, all right. We'll go to the arcade. But you're paying."
"Now, that's not very nice."
"Just pretend I'm a pretty girl and you're taking me out on a date," Youko suggested, batting his eyelashes at Kurama.
"You're a moron."
"Oh, I forgot! You only like boys, right?"
"I'm bisexual, idiot. And that's not what I was talking about. Nobody goes on a date at the arcade."
"How would you know? I've been on tons more dates than you!"
Kurama chuckled. "Yes, but how many lasted for more than half an hour?"
"You're incorrigible," Youko grumbled.
The expression on Kurama's face melted away and he leaned forward. "Will you still be friends with Kuronue now?"
Youko looked uncomfortable.
Kurama sighed. "It's all right with me if you are; I just want to know."
"Well... I'm not going to forgive him until you do."
"Oh. Well, don't worry; I'll get over it sooner or later," Kurama mumbled, smiling.
"...I love you!" Youko yelled, capturing Kurama in a bone-crushing hug.
"Get off me! You're crushing my lung!"
Youko reluctantly let go. "Of course, I'm still going to live with him. I'll just glower at him a lot, and make him pay all the rent... and stuff."
"Don't you already do that?"
"...yes. But I'll do it some more!" Youko nodded.
"You're a baka."
"Karasu! Karasu, honey!" his mother called as she stepped through the door.
"Yes, mother?"
"...What are you doing collapsed on the couch?"
"Counting the the threads in the cushions... unfortunately, I lost count. I guess I'll have to start over."
"Oh. Well, all right."
"So, how was the book signing?"
"It was just lovely... my fans were very happy to see me! And they were all so nice..." she sighed happily as she sat on the couch, next to Karasu's feet.
"Well, that's nice."
"So, how have you been?"
"I've been fine," Karasu mumbled, sitting up and withdrawing to the other end of the couch.
"How have you been doing in school?"
"Well, I beat Minamino on the biology test..."
"Really? That's great, honey!" she glomped Karasu fiercely.
"Of course... I cheated. And then I only beat him by one point."
"You cheated!"
"Yeah... it was scantron, so I snuck in the teacher's office and changed one of the answers in the key... I got a hundred, though."
"You're grounded! I didn't raise you to act that way!"
"You're right. You raised me to be the very best, and I'm sorry, mother... but I can't," Karasu faced away from her. "I'll never be good enough for you and I know that. I'm O.K. with it, too. I'm just sorry to be such a disappointment."
His mother stood there, gaping.
"But in case you're interested... not even Minamino is perfect. Everyone has flaws. Even you do. In fact, you're the most flawed person I've ever met."
Karasu had made his point, but his mother still wasn't saying anything. It made him feel quite awkward. He stared at the ceiling, counting the little dots.
His mother finally coughed. "Oh, I forgot... I have an interview in an hour. I have to go. I'll see you later, Karasu, honey. You'll do well in school, won't you?" Without waiting for an answer, she stalked out the door, slamming it shut. A few moments later, Karasu heard the engine of her BMW roaring to life.
Karasu smiled slightly, staring out the window. "Bye-bye, mommy." He trudged upstairs to his room and shut the door. "I'd better do my homework, I suppose... have to do good in school, you know..."
He chuckled.
Finished on 8/28/04
Beta-ed by Evil Chibi Malik
AN: Hello, everybody. It's done. Yesssssh. Fin...Owari... erm... other funny words for finished. Anyway, thanks to all the reviewers! The majority of you were extremely sweet and made me tear up... and the rest of you were pretty nice, too. But, I will answer a few questions. Mou.
MillenniumDreamer: My next multi-chapter is going to be YYH. It's a KxH and I have most of it planned out already... I just haven't started writing it yet. Oops. It might be a while before I post it.
What2CallMyself: Kurama is 16. As for everything else, I think it was in the chapter.
MistressKC: Actually, I was afraid I would really screw up the last chapter. You know, like how then ending to Jane Eyre was horrible? Or maybe you don't, but whatever. This chapter was hell to write— it took almost a month—but I was able to finish it. It's up to all of you people to decide if the ending isn't lame. Eh heh heh.
AMK: ...eh eh. I remember when I first read your review, it made me cry... but in a good way. I felt so special! You're so sweet! hugs
And that's basically all I have to say. And so I bow for you and walk offstage to await judgment. Yes. And the best thing about it is that when I'm offstage, you can't hit me with any vegetables or farm animals or bamboo spears... KURONUE! KURONUE WAS IMPALED BY BAMBOOOOOOOOOOO! Ahem. Ignore that, please.
So, please tell me your thoughts on the matters at hand. Yesssh. Because it's over. Forever! Shining Collection is great! I crumble before its greatness!
...now I'm rambling. Anyway, I have to shut up. Very quickly. Before the penguins come to give me my sanity back. I bid you all adieu! waves
And so it ends...