“Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter Seventeen

8/15/01

By: Hikari

E-mail to: elvina99@hotmail.com

Notes: Music theme to chapter: Yu Yu Hakusho’s Fourth Ending: Taiyou ga Mata Kagayaku Toki".

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It’s ironic to hate hate…

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Light knocking, and then the door opened. “Shuiichi?”

“Yes, mom?” He shifted in his chair situated by his study desk.

“Checking.” She said, and then closed the door. Kurama sighed. That was bad. Surely it would become one of those nasty habits. A second sigh.

‘Homework… predictable… Always homework. They give it to me. I get it done. Then they give me more… More damn essays on black and white prejudice in America… More damn theses on communism and the Red Scare of the nineteen-fifties… and Vietnam… and Hiroshima and Nagasaki… Then the Bataan Death March in the Philippine Islands… Machiavelli… Hitler and his holocaust… More shit…’ Resting against the support of his chair, he took his pencil and snapped it with one hand. Wood and pencil led turned into powder and splinters. His eyes flashed. ‘If only I could kill them all… Kill all these hypocrites… But that would mean killing even myself…’

Kurama stared through the window of his room.

“And if I did such a thing, you would never forgive me… Would you?”

*****

The dinner table was silent that night. Only sounds made were the clattering of utensils against plates, the chiming of glasses, and even muffled chewing- swallows were exceptionally loud. Hiei picked at his food with his fork. He was used to chopsticks, but as the meal was roast chicken and pork buns- he had to make do with such kitchenware. Glancing up from his plate, the demon took immediate notice that Shiori wasn’t appreciating his alleged playing. Quickly, he inserted a spoonful of creamed spinach into his mouth. Not surprisingly, Hiei had to stifle a complaint of rejection. There wasn’t enough margarine. The spinach was far too bitter. Nonetheless, he gulped down the already made bulbous in his mouth heavily. It plunged to the pit of his stomach like an anvil.

“How was school, Shuiichi?” Shiori inquired- not detaching her eyes from her plate.

“…Fine…” Kurama replied in the same wintry fashion his mother gave him.

‘That’s a lousy lie…’ the demon deemed, though he said nothing.

“And your grades?”

‘You KNOW his grades…’ Hiei thought on.

“Same. How was work?”

The shorter closed his eyes to roll them in contempt.

“Same- I cleaned out the closets today…”

“…Oh…” The redhead reached for the pepper; Hiei handed it to him. While doing this, he stared at Shiori- hinting to her to at least say something worth listening to… Perhaps what they found in the album… Anything, but this mundane conversation…

“I’m finished…” She threw her napkin on top of her plate and carried it to the sink. Hiei wished for too much.

What a frontage she had put on. He knew his friend’s mother was nowhere near this distant. Just this afternoon, she was virtually garrulous about her son as a little boy. Hiei remembered clearly how her face lit up- seeing old pictures of little Shuiichi getting into the bus, staring at his reflection, climbing up a cherry blossom tree. All of ‘this’ and ‘that’ which were simple memories that could merely be looked back upon. Hiei also knew, that comparing past with present was such a dangerous thing. The truth of this was showing blatantly in this instant, and who knew for how much longer…

Shiori went up to her room- probably to work on the computer. How shrewd she was- leaving Kurama and Hiei in the same room all by themselves… Very experimenting…

“And I thought I missed out on a lot… Family ties- really…”

“Stop, Hiei…” His lover hissed lowly. “I’m not in the mood…”

“Hn.” Hiei grabbed his plate and dumped everything into the trash disposal with his knife. “Humans… che’…

“…che’…” The redhead whispered, abruptly slamming his fist against the glass table. As an outcome of this- the near-empty glasses rattled, and food jumped in their place. Hiei, to say the least, was stunned. “You don’t HAVE to tell me what humans are like… I know more than you do…”

“Well, it’s only LOGICAL that you do!” The demon shouted from over the counter. “Damn it! You don’t tell me what’s happening! I have only my imagination to figure whatever the hell is going on!”

Kurama shut his eyes viciously and crossed his arms- shouting in return. “Oh, will you shut your mouth! Even if I told you, you don’t have the conception to figure out WHY this kind of inanity is taking place!”

Throwing a dishrag into the basin- the wet cloth slapped the metal disdainfully. “Shut my mouth? SHUT MY MOUTH?!?! I HARDLY SAY ANYTHING!”

Rising from his chair, he gripped the bolster in frustration. “Maybe- but whenever you do speak, crap pours out of your mouth! I’m sick of crap! EVERYONE’S CRAP! AND THAT INCLUDES YOURS!” Hiei was about to counteract, but Kurama beat him to it. “You know what? I’m so TIRED of having you sulk around as if everything you’re walking through is a cesspool! I’m TIRED of seeing your so-called depression!”

“What the hell are you babbling about?!?!”

He pushed over the chair. “You know what I mean! The way you carry yourself!! YOU’RE SO SELFISH! It’s You! You! You! YOU! If something doesn’t go your way- you just blow everything into oblivion! YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO WIN EVEN IF IT MEANS SLITTING SOME PERSON’S THROAT! And despite that, the act is so EASY for you to do!! It’s not fair!!”

“Who ever said it was EASY for me to KILL?!?! And what is with this new obsession?!?! I’m not sure whether I’m talking to YOU or THE FUCKING YOUKO!!”

At that remark, he stiffened. “The Youko…” Kurama murmured. “Me or the Youko…”

Hiei saw his friend cooling down from his boiling point, also to discover his own temper was plateuing itself. The redhead shook to readjust his senses. He felt awful. All that useless swearing and bickering. Pent up. That’s what it was: pent up.

“I’m going to retire… You best do the same, Hiei…We’re not exactly on healthy grounds…”

“Hn. Whatever the Doctor says…”

*****

Day was loathsome. Night was loathsome. No peace. If he wasn’t struggling with the assaults on the wake, then he was fighting in his nightmares- choking his pillows with his fists or entangling himself with his sheets. As all these were becoming regular issues, Kurama would get up at the first ray of morning light, go downstairs, and drink as much tea as his stomach would permit. Often he would play around with the idea of alcohol. There was a collection of wine in one of the secret cupboards of the pantry- wine meant for momentous times.

Five AM. Kurama took a pot from the nook and filled it with water, after that he covered it and turned on the gas on the stove. The past few days didn’t follow the rules of ceremonial liquor- hence the green tea. It didn’t matter. He knew he was too smart, too young, and too proud to unexpectedly transform into a disgraceful alcoholic. The water was beginning to bubble. The redhead made sure to unscrew the nozzle to keep his drink from whistling loudly into the wee hours of daytime. Considerate, as always- or as a minimum, he tried to be.

Hiei hated rising- he was fully aware of that. Slumber was constantly defeating the objective to say: ‘Ohayou Nasai…’ Kurama did a study on this once, just out of curiosity of his friend’s behavior. Psychology 1A- independent summer classes. According to numerous books, people who enjoyed sleep had no reason to look forward to another day. Examples of these cases were patients who suffer deep spells of depression, anger, or anxiety. Sometimes these patients had a chemical imbalance in their brains. If that wasn’t the cause, then it was a traumatizing experience in the past that the person never fully recovered from. Then again, the patient could have a combination of both. Symptoms as so lead to people who were chronically impaired to social aspects. Such sufferers were categorized as sociopaths or isolationists.

He made his tea and blew of the steam that came from his cup. Gazing out the kitchen window, his eyelids lowered as they watched the sun peak over the neighboring residences.

Technically, from the analysis, this made the little demon crazy.

Kurama sipped. No- technically, this meant everyone has been- at one point or time- insane. However insane was too strong a word… Emotionally unstable. That was the perfect conclusion.

‘There goes normality…’ The redhead ruminated, revolving his tea with a coffee stirrer. He watched the yellowish liquid spin- converting into a whirlpool. ‘There goes normality… down the drain of wisdom…’

Drinking tea until he finished the entire pot- a new bad habit to be. It dumbfounded him how much he could consume and yet not have a single bulge in his midsection. Taking a peek at the microwave clock, the green numbers accumulated to Seven-thirty. Time doesn’t always fly when you have fun… Still, this kind of perspective didn’t belong to everyone… Everyone is unique.

Seven-forty. Kurama could phase minutes and hours by thinking. Not exactly amusement- just thinking, brooding. Good technique. Next time his ears are drowning in repartee- he would do this.

Seven-fifty. Pot being empty, the redhead refilled it to make more. While doing this absentmindedly, the phone rang. Before it could ring a second time- his hands retrieved the receiver.

“Moshi moshi?” His answer sounded jaded through the other end.

“Shuiichi-kun?”

That voice… That wonderful, sweet voice! His green eyes brightened. “Kairu-san?”

“Shuiichi! You must take a train to Kyoto…”

“What? Why?”

“Your track team… There’s a multi-school meet tomorrow… All the members are staying in a hotel for the rally on Sunday… If you don’t go, you will be cut from the team…”

He slumped on top of the counter. Day was loathsome indeed. “How did you find out? No one told me…”

“That was to be expected… I overheard of it in the teachers’ lounge… You could drop this opportunity and forget about it, but knowing you- I doubt you would let them push you over this badly…”

“You’re right. I won’t…” Carrying the phone around with him in the kitchen, he dumped his unheated water. “…But why would Yatori-san let this happen?”

Honoka scoffed. “Yatori is a sports coach. Need I say more? I assume he wants to protect the name of the school…”

“Because of me, right?” An arm tucked under the other- fingertips the only thing holding onto the handset. “He’s rather stereotypical…”

“And yet he cannot see that he is a stereotype himself…” His teacher giggled. “It does not get any more poetic than that…”

Ears perking up, Kurama caught the sound of his mother’s bedroom door opening and closing- followed by the sound of slippers hitting the cushiony carpet. He made haste to end the call: “Kaasan is awake, ja!”

Shiori yawned and stretched descending the stairs- eyes blinking. “Who was that?”

“…A friend… I just found out there’s a meet in Kyoto tomorrow- I have to leave as soon as possible. If I don’t, I’m off the team…” Folding his arms over his pajamas, he leaned and looked to Shiori hopefully. His mother plodded along- vaguely groggy. Her robe was coming loose, and so she maneuvered her hands to tighten the knot of her silk belt.

“Well THAT won’t look good on your transcript…” Straight for the coffee maker she went. Glancing at her son, she gave no sign of sentiment. “How much do you need? Enough for two nights?”

“You’re letting me go?” Kurama asked, very amazed, but obviously pleased.

“School is school, Shuiichi…I’ve been meaning to talk to Hiei privately anyhow…”

Revelation. “…Oh…”

“Will you be going by car?” She moved about to put a filter, bean grinds, and water into her favorite machine.

“I won’t make it in time. Meets always commence in the morning.”

“Train, then.”

“Hai.”

“Before I give you money, Shuiichi, you should understand I’m trusting you…”

Straight away, Kurama remembered Kuwabara complaining about parental speeches. So far, the redhead had only heard one of those speeches and it left quite a bruise. At present he knew what the carrot top meant by: ‘Not ever wanting to hear that broken record again.’

“I know.” He replied.

“Good.” The scent of fresh brew started filling the room- they both inhaled deeply at the delight of it. “Start packing then, but first…” She pointed inattentively to her cheek. A kiss? She was asking for one? The redhead relaxed and went over to her.

“Ohayou nasai… Kaasan…”