Title: Recur
Author: Aiieke
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters, names, ideas, whatever- presented.
Warnings: Very pointless story

-.-.-

The ground seemed to spin beneath Hiei's feet, and it spun without end. The woods teetered back and forth, each tree and shrub leaving strings of afterimages in its wake. Back and forth, back and forth. Hiei was getting frustrated, not to mention sick. Nothing would stay still. Did he cross into Human World already? Hiei couldn't tell, but he was sure he wasn't in the middle... assuming there was a definite line. Was there? Hiei held his forehead- why wouldn't the damn forest stop spinning?

---

A boy with dark hair and eyes sat down on his bed and sighed. It meant only one thing; Hatanaka Shuuichi was bored. He had finished his chores, which ranged from clearing up the table from lunch (wasn't a great time-consuming task since only he and Shiori had been eating), and tidying his room.

Shuuichi shifted. He could always play his videogames, but it wasn't an appealing option to kill his boredom with unless his stepbrother was there to play against him, and he always provided a challenge... at least before Shuuichi would get really competitive and totally trounce his stepbrother's character on screen. HA. But the older Shuuichi was still at school- Meiou High always seemed to release their students a couple of days later than the rest of the district. It seemed like their odd way of saying 'our students will always be superior to yours' or something weird like that. HA. The older Shuuichi wouldn't be home for at least twenty minutes. Twenty minutes. What was he supposed to occupy himself with until then? Twenty superior minutes.

Shuuichi skulked into the hall that led to the downstairs. His eyes traveled along the banister, then down the hall and to his left.

His stepbrother's room.

It used to be just a guest room before he and his mother moved in, and despite living together for almost half a year now, Shuuichi had never ventured in. His eyes lingered on the door lazily.

His mind was a young one, and young minds were often curious. Shuuichi had liked his new stepbrother when he had first been introduced to him and Shiori by his father, but it was all very new to him. At first, he was skeptical about a older step-sibling, and had his reservations when told that he was also named 'Shuuichi'. Heck, he even stood and stared for a few seconds before he came to his senses and remembered his manners. His stepbrother's appearance struck him at first as quite strange, especially with that wild red hair that jutted out in odd places- it really stood out. But he was kind, and he was smart- very smart. Shuuichi gave him (the currently bored one) an older brother guidance- Shiori didn't have wild red hair- that he'd never known before, being an only child for almost twelve years. It was a nice change.The elder Shuuichi was never too busy to help him with algebra, and most importantly, little Shuuichi had never become a victim of identity theft. That would be creepy.

Though Shuuichi liked his stepbrother, he couldn't help notice that at times he seemed a bit secretive. Secretive, not in the sense that he went out of his way to hide stuff from everyone else, but as in being a little too polite and kind, if it were possible. Shuuichi was quite sure that people usually experienced wider ranges of emotion than what older Shuuichi showed. He was always happy, and sometimes he was content... and... wait, what's this? Now he's... no, never mind, he's just happy again. Didn't he ever get annoyed or something? Perhaps politely annoyed in a superior way.

Sneaking a peak into his room was tempting. Shuuichi was curious, after all. Would the elder Shuuichi cease smiling and become furious if he found out? Would he yell? The prospect of his calm and happy stepbrother yelling brought mirth to the boy's features. It just seemed so unlikely.

It would be okay. He would open the door, go in, and maybe look around at stuff a bit. He wouldn't be disturbing anything, so no harm done, right? It was never expressly stated that Shuuichi could not enter his stepbrother's room. Hatanaka Shuuichi rose to his feet, crossed the hall in a few steps, and pushed the door open.

Two distinct things about what he saw made his jaw drop with disbelief.

First, the room was completely spotless, and a boy dressed in black lay sprawled out on the floor below the window, face down.

But... the room!

It was so clean, it was almost scary. Shuuichi prayed that Shiori would never make him follow the example. Shuuichi's eyes met the vast expanse of the bare tan-colored carpet that was free of any carelessly strewn-about clothing. Blankets lay folded squarely on his bed, the desk beside the bed had no clutter or papers. Every book fitted in place and stood straight on the shelf. One shelf had various jars and containers of different... spices (that was curious, why would those be there?). But to Shuuichi's dismay, there was nothing in the room to indicate any of his stepbrother's hobbies or interests, other than the obsessive tidiness. Then again, what did he expect? Not curious, superior spices.

Back to the stranger on the floor.

Shuuichi fought the urge to immediately run out and alert Shiori downstairs. Shuuichi gulped. The boy on the ground looked beat-up. The boy's clothes were slightly torn in places, cuts and bruises could be seen. Was that the sheath of a sword lying next to him? Shuuichi crossed the room and knelt down beside him. The figure's back rose and fell in slight movements.

Not dead, only sleeping. Phew.

The boy looked unsettling up close. Shuuichi brought a finger before the side of the sleeping boy's head, which faced away from him.

Poke, poke, poke.

He didn't stir at all. Shuuichi was about to do it again, when...

Downstairs, the sound of the door opening was followed closely by someone stepping inside. The door was shut, and coming was the all too familiar call-

"Mother, I'm home."

Shuuichi froze. His stepbrother always headed up to his room first thing after arriving home, and somehow Shuuichi couldn't bring himself to feel entirely innocent about his reasons for being where he was. Shuuichi eyes darted from the boy to the door and back in nervousness. Surely Shuuichi wouldn't get mad at him, would he? Wouldn't the matter of the stranger take priority over his trespassing? After all, his stepbrother never did say that he couldn't...

Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

It was too late now. If he chose dash out, he would seen coming out from the stairway. That was sure to prompt questions. If he lingered where he was, he would be found nonetheless. Scratch that earlier thought; he didn't want his stepbrother to yell, or get politely annoyed!

Suiichi looked around. Maybe, Shuiichi thought, he could lie on the floor pretending to be dead, but only sleeping. No, it wouldn't work; his stepbrother would most definately poke him to confirm his status of being alive. In a spur, Shuuichi darted for the closet, slid open the door, and disappeared inside. He slid it back partially shut, leaving a crack for him to see out of. Shuuichi sat in the dark closet. He noted that there was plenty of room for him to move around, even, unlike his own closet. It certainly smelled nicer than his closet.

-.-.-

Kurama was ascending the stairs when a thought occurred to him; he had absolutely no homework to complete. He paused and turned back.

"Mother, would you like help with dinner?" he called toward the kitchen.

"No, Shuuichi, it's all right." came a cheery voice from the kitchen.

Kurama decided he would accept this answer for now and continue up the stairs. He would set his stuff down, and just to be a pain, he would return to the kitchen to help his mother despite what she said.

Shuuichi tensed. The footsteps had stopped? Scrambling, he got out of the closet ready to bolt down the hall to his own room when the footsteps started again. Back into the scented closet.

When Kurama entered his room, he stopped mid-step.

"Hiei? Gods, please be sleeping..."

Shuuichi frowned. Wait, so his stepbrother knew who the boy was? Was that his name, the scruffed up boy who wasn't dead and only sleeping?

Hiei lay face down on the carpet, while the curtains moved slightly from the breeze through the open window. What was Hiei doing here? Kurama quickly shrugged off his book bag and went to inspect the demon on the floor. Hiei's back rose and fell in slight stirring movements.

Good, Hiei was not dead. Kurama took a moment to meditate on that discovery. Slowly, he then turned Hiei over onto his back, while half-expecting Hiei to jump up at him and protest.

Shuuichi peered out to see his stepbrother deposit Hiei on the bed and disappear into the bathroom. He tensed again. Could this be his chance? Before Shuuichi could push open the sliding door, Kurama emerged again with some... peroxide and bandages. Dammit. How long would he remain stuck here? Shuuichi slumped forward and inhaled tiredly. Maybe, Shuuichi thought giddily, taking care of (what was his name? Hiei, that's it) Hiei was his stepbrother's hobby. He didn't seem as suprised as he... should have been, after all.

It was dark, save for the crack of light that shone through, allowing Shuuichi to peer outside. His stepbrother was still out there so he couldn't sneak out, but at least it smelled really good in the closet... he didn't know what it was exactly, but it was something really aromatic and cold. It was like peroxide which felt cold but really wasn't...not peroxide...but was it even possible for something to... smell...? Maybe the air could be cold, but... the aftertaste of peppermint candy... warm water feel cold... his tongue, but that was an entirely... different... ma...

-.-.-

"Shuuichi, have you seen your brother?" Shiori asked, setting a few plates on the table. Kurama stopped in the middle of pulling out his chair, eyes focused.

"Yeah, come to think of it, I haven't seen him since I got back." said Kazuya.

"I believe he fell asleep while reading again," Kurama supplied, "I'll go check on him."

Kurama hurried back up the stairs once he was out of the kitchen and out of sight. Instead of turning left to Shuuichi's room, he went to his own, knowing exactly where his younger stepbrother would be, yet hoping at the same time he was wrong.

"Oh, you're up." Kurama greeted.

Hiei was sitting on the bed and leaning against the wall when Kurama came in.

"How're you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine," he grumbled, and pointed to the closet.

"I know, I know." As he slid open the door, Shuuichi fell out onto Kurama's feet, having been leaning heavily against the door. Kurama placed a hand on his forehead. "Not again..." he groaned. "this has to be the third time this month. Oh Shuuichi," he sighed to the unconcious boy, "why do you love my closet ever so?"

Hiei was in disbelief. "Third time? What have you been doing to him?"

Kurama sighed and tried to move Shuuichi to a sitting position.

"Erasing his memory doesn't do any good." Hiei said, feeling that Kurama was just trying to avoid the problem rather than solve it. Kurama ignored him.

"Shuuichi, wake up," Kurama patted the younger boy's face. "Wake up."

"Wha...?" Shuuichi groaned and opened his eyes a crack.

"Good. Now look riiight here."

A golden cloud of something erupted in his face before Shuuichi could even figure out what his stepbrother wanted him to look at. With a slight groan, Shuuichi's eyes went back to being closed.

Hiei crossed his arms disapprovingly. "You're going to give that boy some long-term complications."

Kurama regarded his stepbrother for a moment and then shrugged. "He'll be fine. He'll forget wanting to come back."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

Kurama smiled innocently against Hiei's stare. "I gave him a bigger dose."

A pause. A sweat drop. "You're--" Hiei started.

"I know."

The End.

-.-.-

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