Only You
by Misty
Chapter 4
Atop a tall tree beside the
Kuwabara residence, Hiei fought to contain his fury. She kissed him! He
couldn’t believe it. His sister, Yukina, kissed that good-for-nothing Kuwabara
Kazuma! He had a good mind to storm into Kuwabara’s house and tell Yukina that
he was her long-lost brother.
He fought to keep calm. Yukina
must never know that he was her brother. He had his own reasons.
She will never know, he
thought. Never, as long as I’m alive.
“Hello, Hiei,” a voice behind him said.
Without turning around, Hiei
recognized the voice. “Hn,” he mumbled. “Kurama.”
“Nice greeting,” Kurama said,
smiling. “What are you doing here in the Ningen Kai? Aren’t you supposed to
be in the Ma Kai?”
“Danger?” Kurama said, and
stood up straight. “What sort of danger?”
“I don’t know,” Hiei said,
shrugging offhandedly. “There just is.”
“And so you’re here to watch
over your dearly beloved sister?” Kurama asked in a lightly bantering tone.
Hiei turned around and gave him a
cold, hard stare. “Hn. It’s none of your business.”
He turned around to observe
Yukina again. This time, she seemed to be saying “Good night,” to Kuwabara,
and Hiei saw that unmistakable look of caring in her eyes.
“Love,” he muttered. “What
a stupid human emotion.”
“Whoever said love was
stupid?” Kurama broke in. He looked at Hiei with a half-amused smile.
“I did,” Hiei replied.
“Look at Yukina. She fell for that utterly stupid Kuwabara Kazuma!
He’s—”
“He may not be the most
incredibly intellectual person in the world,” Kurama broke in, “but he can
be nice, too. Maybe that’s why Yukina likes him.”
“Hn.”
“Hiei, love can actually give a
person courage,” Kurama explained further. “If you love someone, you can
actually tolerate that person’s shortcomings—”
“Why?” Hiei interrupted.
“Have you ever been in love?”
Kurama was startled by the
question. He was unable to speak.
“Had you ever truly loved
someone, as much as Yukina cares for Kuwabara?” Hiei pressed bitterly. When he
got no answer, he turned around.
Kurama was gone.
Kurama walked toward the park,
thinking of his conversation with Hiei. “Have you ever been in love?” Hiei
had asked.
Did he love her? Did he? He
didn’t know, for that was a long time ago. He didn’t know it then, for he
had no idea of what love was until he was reborn as Minamino Shuichi.
They were rivals, then, but
somehow he had always looked forward to meeting her again and fighting her.
Could that be considered as falling in love with her?
He could still remember her
clearly. “Naomi…” he whispered. Where could she be now?
Kurama walked quietly out
of a room, clutching a small bag filled with jewels and other
priceless gems.
He had not yet grown
accustomed to the fact that he was stealing alone. Kuronue was a really good
friend and partner, and in fact, Kurama himself mourned for his death. Kurama
didn’t know that he, the cruel and heartless youko, could ever feel sadness
for a friend’s death.
Suddenly, from out of
nowhere, a youkai bumped into him, and ran away.
“Why don’t you wa—“
he uttered, startled, then he realized that the bag he was carrying was gone. He
ran after the thief, and tackled him.
“Let me go!” the thief
said in outrage. Kurama drew back in surprise. It was a girl.
“You again?” he said,
letting the girl go. “Naomi?’
Naomi got up, brushing the
dirt from her arms, legs, and hair. She glared at him. “Well, at least you
remember who I am.”
“Why would I forget
you?” Kurama said. “We still have a battle to finish, remember?”
“Of course,” Naomi
said. “But I think I already beat you.” She waved the bag full of jewels in
the air.
“Sorry, Kurama,” she
added, she said, giving him a triumphant smile. She started to walk away…
…when suddenly she
realized that the bag she was carrying was gone.
“What the—“ she
exclaimed, surprised. She turned towards Kurama.
Kurama waved the bag in
the air. He smiled slyly. “We’re you looking for this?”
“Going out with Hanamichi
again?” Seiko teased her older sister, who was just about to go out the door.
“Of course not!” Michiko
laughingly replied. “I’m just going out with some of my friends. It’s a
Saturday, for goodness’ sake! I really need a break from my work. Besides,
it’s been such a long time since I’ve seen him—I mean, them.”
“Hmmmph!” Seiko snorted.
“Why can’t you just admit that you’re having a date? You’re not a very
good liar, you know.”
“Hehe…”Michiko laughed
sheepishly. “What about you? Are you going somewhere tonight?”
“Well, probably not,” Seiko
said. “I really have no definite plans.”
“Sure you’re not going on a
date?” Michiko teasingly said. “What about that Minamino Shuichi guy
you’ve been talking about?”
Seiko reddened a little, and
then, the doorbell rang. “Well, that must be Hanamichi, right?” she said to
her sister. “Well, you better be going!”
Her sister went out the door, and
waved goodbye to her.
When Michiko and her boyfriend
were safely out of sight, she stole out of the door quietly, so as not to
disturb her parents. She needed to clear her mind about things.
She went to her favorite place,
the park. It was so quiet and peaceful there, and even during the night, it was
well lighted. She sat on one of the park benches, and looked up at the dark,
gray sky.
Her mind drifted to Minamino
Shuichi. She liked his company. He seemed like a very nice person, and she
always felt strangely comfortable when she was with him. She sensed something
familiar about him, just what she didn’t know.
And then her mind drifted to
another person. Where could he be now? Did he still remember her? She didn’t
know the answer to that, but one thing she was sure of, she still remembered
him. And she still cared for him.
She sighed, and closed her eyes.
“Kurama… where could you be now?”
“Okay, okay,” Naomi
said, recovering from her shock. “I’ll let you go this time. But don’t
think I’m giving up already.”
“You better give it up
now,” Kurama said with a good-natured smile.
“You can’t beat me.”
“Hmmph, arrogant baka,”
Naomi said, smiling. “Well then, I give you a challenge. There is a certain
treasure I heard of from some people in my group, and it’s located in the
castle of Yume. Let’s go there tomorrow, and let’s see who gets to steal it
first.”
“Fine with me,” Kurama
said. “I will come.”
“I’ll be waiting,”
Naomi said, and walked away. “I’ll be looking forward to competing with
you.” She gave him a friendly smile.
Kurama returned her smile.
He would also be looking forward for the next day.
Now, he wouldn’t be so
lonely anymore.