Let's Fly as the Birds Do...
chapter 14
by Hikari
“Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter Fourteen
8/8/01
By: Hikari
E-mail to: elvina99@hotmail.com
Notes: Music theme to chapter: “Ameno Remix” by Eric Levi.
~*~*~*~
“Do you know what makes me
happy?”
“…What…?”
“Waking up and having the first
thing I see… be your face…”
~*~*~*~
Hiei ran- down the brook and through
the meadow, the ground itself shifting to every beat of his foot. The ground…
how strange it felt, it seemed to move from under him- tickling his toes and
flapping to the wind.
He fell.
Without warning, the soil soared from
under him- pieces of colors flying about the air like confetti. Orange… red…
pink and violet, yellow and green… The colors sparkled brilliantly in the
extravagant light, patching everything with tints as the luminosity transformed
the insects into soaring fragments of stained glass.
Butterflies… So many butterflies…
As they uncovered the earth with
their wings, a body was slowly being revealed on the ground… A familiar body.
Hiei crawled towards it- his eyes squinting to identify who it was. He was
covered in vines, butterflies from all over settling upon his ivory skin and
dancing upon his delicate lips.
“Kurama!” He crawled even faster,
holding fast to the ground and crushing many butterflies… many young
caterpillars.
Once reaching him, he cupped his lover’s face lightly. For a reason unknown to
him- tears were leaving his eyes… and he couldn’t control them. The tears
from his eyes, hot hot water… rolled down his cheeks and splashed upon the
other’s- causing some landed insects to fly away.
“Wake up, Kurama! You have to wake
up!”
At his cry, a hurricane of
butterflies engulfed him- sucking him into the earth and making him drown among
the numerous wings.
“…I cannot breathe… Everything
hurts! Everything is painful!” He cried and violently turned to his friend,
who was still embedded in the ground- still sleeping peacefully at his side. The
tears pouring freely from his face… they turned into blood that later hardened
into rubies. “Am I- am I dying?” Loosening a hand, Hiei tried to reach for
him. Even if just their hands- their fingers could touch, maybe that would be
enough…
“Let him go… Do you actually dare
to bring him back into this endless nightmare? To suffer? Let him be… Lest two
worlds collide and are both eternally destroyed…”
More vines continued to wrap around
his lover, all over until he no longer could be seen. Hiei’s eyes broadened-
terrified.
“Who are you?” The fire demon asked.
A blue butterfly landed upon
Kurama’s ivy covered chest- its wings moving up and down in the slowest and
most of gentle of motions.
“…I am the last…”
*****
The entire bed shook fiercely as Hiei immediately sat upright. In his sudden
rise, the blankets heaved in giant waves, and slowly descended the moment air
left from beneath. The sheets were tangled all around his legs, his hips, and
his arms- winding around him in the same messy fashion as the ivy had covered
Kurama. He shuddered at the thought, and soon realized how sweaty he had become.
His garnet irises wandered to the right side of the mattress, where the redhead
normally was. For some reason, the bed- although a twin one- appeared too large
for him…
And it was cold- chilly at night.
More than four times he had awaken to find himself huddled into a tight ball.
This was awful, and it was only the first time. Whenever he had had a nightmare,
his friend would catch him on the shoulders. He would always catch him from that
falling sensation he had- when it felt as if he were dropping at the speed of
over one hundred miles per hour. If he were drenched in perspiration, Kurama
would get out of bed to find a towel to dry him off with it. He could clearly
recall that feeling. How he would dab his back tenderly with pure soft cotton-
wipe his face and forehead…
Hiei clutched his pillow.
There was no one to that now.
*****
“She found out? Shuiichi-kun, why didn’t you tell her about how you feel
about him in the first place?!”
“She wouldn’t have
understood…” Kurama answered, looking at his fists as they were set on his
desk. “My mom’s very religious- if I told her, she would do whatever it
takes to set me ‘the right way’…”
Honoka shook her head from side to
side briskly. “And you think waiting for her to find out on her own would be
better?”
She stood from the desk she was in to head for her table. There she took her
canister and unscrewed it to refill her mug of coffee. Once done, she took her
mug and sat down in front of him again. Blowing away the steam, she looked up
from her drink and slowly sipped “Would you like a cup?”
The redhead courteously raised a
hand. “No thank you.”
“Well, if you ask me, I think what
she did was reasonable. Your mother was gracious enough to not throw Hiei out of
the house, right? Give her time; she needs to be able to absorb what happened.
If I were in her position, I would have done the same thing.” Honoka paused
momentarily to tilt her coffee. “How was the examination?”
Kurama lowered his head and let it
sink in between his two raised forearms like a vise. “Horrible…” he
murmured. “The physician actually asked HOW we did it… Argh! She took
something so personal and broke it down to its perverse core!”
His teacher leaned back against her
chair- her posture flawless and still. Taking off her glasses, she folded them
and let them rest on the tabletop. “You should know, Shuiichi, that
lovemaking- no matter who is involved- IS perverse if you look at it in an
detached level. But that’s the how it is- to one person, the sex is nothing
more than a depraved drive, but to another, it’s romantic and significant to
the heart. Either way, the actions involved are without a doubt quite
grotesque…”
“It wasn’t disgusting to me…”
“Of course not. I would imagine
that for you and Hiei it was very beautiful, yes?”
Lifting his head, the other
half-smiled. “You always seem to know what to say…”
Laughing lightly, she reached over to
pat her student on the back. “I hope so, it isn’t easy trying to lead a
class everyday…”
“Kairu-san…”
“Hm?”
“What we have… is it really
wrong?”
From his sincere and concerned
question, she lowered her eyelids in thought. The manner in which his voice
spoke… he was confused- unreservedly confused. Shuiichi wasn’t sure or clear
about anything. It was as though the borders of right and wrong had completely
blurred to be one in the same… “So difficult…” she whispered, crossing
her arms over her navy blue blazer. “That is something I have no right to
answer… Nor anyone else…”
His head cocked to the side
curiously. “Why is that?”
Honoka opened her eyes. “Because
I’m not God- I can’t see how devoted your love is… and no one on this
earth has the sole prerogative to judge…”
*****
Shiori handed him a giant cardboard
box, and Hiei tried to balance the heavy load from beneath. As Shuiichi’s
mother re-entered the walk-in closet, she came out again not long after and
burdened the box by placing more items on top of it. These items ranged from old
clothes, antique boxed jewelry, books that haven’t been read for years- the
type of things you would find in a dusty attic. As the piles grew and grew,
Hiei’s pointed hair disappeared from behind the masses, and his legs began to
tremble with strain. He said nothing about it, however. If he complained right
after yesterday’s incident, then he’d cross that last inch to get into
Shiori’s hit list. That would be pathetic- he would be the only name there.
“You can put it down now.” She
stated. To him, the voice came out of nowhere. All he could see were the edges
of novels and patterns from garments.
“What IS all this?” The demon
asked once lowering the cargo with his knees.
“Old stuff- I’m giving it to good
will…”
His hands started drifting along all
the belongings- somewhat fascinated. “What’s good will?”
“An organization for the poor.”
She answered, exploring through the collection to find if there was anything she
could still use. “What we don’t need anymore can be used by someone less
fortunate…”
“One man’s trash… another
man’s treasure, you mean?”
The woman raised her eyebrows. That
was quite the intelligent remark- given it came from someone improperly
educated. “Something like that… Is there anything here you want to look
at?”
The demon shrugged quietly- his face
blank until he found something bulky beneath all the old and used. Groping
around for it- he pulled that puzzling object out. It was a book- or at least it
LOOKED like a book. It was thick, as were the pages within it, and there was a
satin ribbon on the edge which kept it from bursting open. The cover was almost
like a pillow- but harder, with decorative pearls and girlish frills all over
the place. The demon came close to puking at it.
“Oh, how did that get there? That
one is definitely staying with us…”
His fingers trailed around the
lacing. “What is it? It’s so… WOMANLY…”
Because of his sexist comment, she
put her fists on her hips chidingly. “It’s an album… Haven’t you seen
one, Hiei?”
He shook his head.
“Well then, open it.” She
replied.
Feeling rather inquisitive about it,
he did so without much hesitation. His eyes blinked when he discovered what was
inside. “Pictures?”
“Not JUST pictures…” Shiori
came closer to him and took part of the album in her hands protectively. Looking
at her, Hiei became aware that she wanted to sit down on the floor with it. She
flipped through the laminated pages, stopping only when she found pictures of
her son as a little boy. “Here he is on his first day of kindergarten… and
here again getting on the school bus! Oh, he was so small…”
Cute. VERY cute. Shuiichi had such
chubby hands and legs! The school uniform he had was doubtlessly charming. There
was another photograph of him on a rainy day. He was wearing a yellow sailor’s
hat with matching raincoat and black goulashes. There was even a squeaky duck
patch on the breast of the plasticy coat. In one hand, he had an umbrella that
was much too hefty for him, and his pose was so humorous! Little Shuiichi was
bending over to look at his reflection in a puddle- as if he had never seen one
before!
“THAT was KURAMA?” Hiei spurted. To his last word, Shiori peered at him
perplexed.
“Kurama? Who’s Kurama?”
His inner lip had the honor of being
jabbed aggressively with his fangs. “…Shuiichi is Kurama.”
“What?”
Think! Think! “Yes, it’s a name I
gave him… His friends call him that too, at times…”
Shutting the book and laying it on
her lap, Shiori appeared to shake her head in disbelief. “But… why Kurama?”
“It’s a secret…” Hiei
compromised.
“A secret?” Apparently, she hated
confidentiality too. Maybe they could get along…
“…Our last one…” His tone
trailed. “…There’s nothing left, but that…”
*****
For today, he had reached the
reasoning that food is food and when one wants food, one gets that food.
Therefore, Kurama decided on passing the offering to stay in Honoka’s room for
lunch. He had stayed during break, however, his stomach had been grumbling for
the past two hours already. Forbid he would disregard an opportunity to get some
instant ramen, or anything at all for that matter. As he entered the double-doored
cafeteria, the redhead was frankly aware of all the silent stares zeroing in on
his back.
He waved it off. ‘Very well…’Kurama thought. ‘Attack me at will…”
Picking up a tray from one of the
steel carts, he slid it along the railing and loaded it with whatever seemed
appealing to his appetite: a plate of custard, a bowl of mango ice cream and
nuts, and some parfait jello. Bringing up the tray to the cashier, he suddenly
frowned. ...These were all the foods Hiei liked to eat... He shook his head in a
slight daze. Custard? Caramel custard? It was too sweet! He hated this desert…
but he always ended up making it for his friend anyway... Ice cream and parfait
jello? What was he thinking? He had to watch his weight for track practice!
“Putting on the calories are you?
Just like a girl who got dumped by her boyfriend…”
He was about to turn, when he felt
something hot- searing hot pour down the back of his uniform. Kurama gasped at
the burning,- his mouth gaping from the disgusting feeling of having something
hot and sticky slide in clumps down his clothes.
“Here!” The student laughed.
“Take some fresh rice pudding- straight from the kettle!”
With that, he emptied bowl down Shuiichi’s shirt and threw it carelessly to
the side. Green eyes watched that bowl- how it revolved around and around,
finally stopping by landing on its rim. The redhead made a fist at his side, and
tried his best not to shake out of his own control. Oh, how he wanted to kill
him… Nice and slow with a pointed bamboo pole… He could envision it so
seamlessly… The pointed end would go through this asshole’s mouth- inch by
agonizing inch- until the plant would shoot out from the other side of his hard-
albeit empty- head… Blood everywhere… Splattered all along the tile and
leaking into the floor gutters. He nearly licked his lips at the thought of
it…
“Hey! You jerk! Leave him alone!”
Kurama blinked. “…Arisu…?”
The young girl practically stomped
her way in between Shuiichi and this- this fool. She tucked her arms together
and gave an exceptionally threatening gaze. The boy had come close to laughing
at her naiveté, but he halted himself the moment his eyes caught Shidou
watching from one of the tables. Shidou was seated in the far back of the
cafeteria, but he made it clear that his vigil was at it’s sharpest.
“Keh’.” Being smarter than most
people assumed him to be, he walked away with a scratched pride and kicked the
tossed bowl to the other side of the facilities. The bowl left some skid marks
of liquefied rice on the tiles.
“Are you okay?” The blonde asked.
“I’m fine. Sticky, but fine.”
“I’ll follow you to the
bathrooms-”
“You don’t HAVE to…” Kurama
interrupted, sensing it wasn’t such a good thing to be defended by such a
sweet person.
“NO.” She pressed. “I DO. I
want to ask you something while we walk there… Alright?”
Walking down the corridors, Arisu
kept a one-foot distance from her ex-friend. It wasn’t out of aversion towards
Shuiichi’s personal preferences; it was only because she didn’t want to get
gummy stuff in her hair or clothes- or be left with a semi-sugary, semi-rice
paddy odor. When Kurama glanced at her, she put on a pitying smile. The redhead
sighed. The kind of smile it was was the kind that was accompanied by curved
eyebrows- a manifestation akin to a puppy dog.
“You wanted to ask me something?”
“Um…” Arisu looked to the
ceiling, watching the stationary lights pass her by as she walked. “I don’t
mean to sound meddlesome or condescending, but- for my own peace of mind- did I
have anything to do with you… ‘liking’ that other boy?”
“Eh?”
“I’m sorry- I’m being rude…
But I’ve found out you once liked me- Shidou told me. He told me that you were
about to give me a bouquet of flowers when you overheard me talking with some
girls that I had a crush on your friend, Shidou, instead… He told me
everything you did, Shuiichi, a year ago… How YOU gave him the flowers to give
to me…” They stopped in the middle of the hall. “I just didn’t want to
bring it up because I thought it would hurt you…”
Kurama smiled to himself. At the
sight of this, Arisu’s aqua eyes started wandering frantically- trying to
decode what was going through the other’s mind. Kindly, he rested his palms on
her shoulders- his face softening to the extent it may be compared to silk.
“It’s true- I won’t deny it…
But… I’ve known Hiei for two years. I’ve known him even before I was in
high school… So if you’re worried that you’ve left some sort of
‘impression’ in my mind- don’t be… If anyone left an impression… It
was Hiei himself…”
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