Let's Fly as the Birds Do...
chapter 17
by Hikari
“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. (If you know the
title, PLEASE tell me- it’s not Unbalanced Kiss- it’s the other one)
~*~*~*~
It’s ironic to hate hate…
~*~*~*~
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…”
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