Let's Fly as the Birds Do...
chapter 30
by Hikari
“Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter
Thirty
8/6/02
By: Hikari Nanase
E-mail: hikari1612@netzero.net
Music themes to chapter: “Blue” [piano solo] and “Vanilla” by Gackt (if
you don’t download Blue, you will regret it forever); “Au Revoir” by
Malice Mizer; “Fuyu Tokyo” by Lareine; “Lily for You” by Due’le Quartz
(Special thanks to my dear friend: Pamela Minamino for giving me these gorgeous,
kick ass, bitching MP3s!)
I had to listen to a ‘certain’ remix over and over to write and
‘choreograph’ this fic. Granted, it was very difficult, and I had to dance
in front of a mirror to match the beat, which is pretty damn fast. I truly hope
you enjoy this because I am pooped. If you want the remix or any of the
J-rock/pop songs above (trust me, you’ll want them), IM me on instant
messenger. I’ll be more than happy to give them to you.
~*~*~*~
You + Me = Eternity2
~*~*~*~
“Damn it!” Shidou cursed. “We
just, HAD to run after the fastest person on the track team!”
“Ahh!”
Arisu stumbled as the tip of her foot
stubbed into a root of a tree. Reacting quickly, Shidou caught her by the elbows
before the blond could slam her face into rotting foliage. The girl blushed,
though under such poor light it could not be seen, and nuzzled her face into
Shidou’s chest. Shidou helped her up, and looked past them. After a while, the
beams of three other flashlights headed their way.
“Oh, for crying out loud!”
Grumbled Yusuke, as he kicked the fallen leaves beneath him. “It’s too late
to have a trek up
‘Mount I’m –So- High- You’re- Gonna-Cry!’”
Botan sighed heavily, letting her
flashlight hang by its handle and off her fingertips. “It’s a good
thing…” She panted. “That we… found two more… flashlights… at the
temple.” The fairy leaned heavily against a nearby tree for support.
“I’m too old for this.”
Declared Shiori. “Thank goodness I wore my flats today.”
“Shiori-san…” Keiko walked up
to her, peering at the woman with her own light. “Are you all right? I’ll
walk you back if you want…”
Tenaciously, she shook her head.
“I’m sure I can hold out a little longer. When I was your age I used to go
spelunking with my father all the time.” She laughed. “Of course, that’s
literally decades ago!”
“Ne, Shuiichi-kun’s Kaasan can be
athletic if she wants to be- and with her office outfit on and backpack, Sugoi
na!” Shiori laughed at Botan and patted her on the head. A purr and mew
escaped the fairy, causing the others to chuckle as well.
“I think we should continue
straight up.” Yukina proceeded a few feet ahead of them, making Kuwabara
stampede after her. The young girl, stopped shortly, coming face to face with
carrot top as he grabbed her hands feverishly and raised them in the air.
“Yukina-san! Are you tired? I’ll
carry you all the way up this hill if you want!”
“Hill?” Shidou asked
incredulously, glancing at Yusuke. He shrugged.
The Koorime giggled quietly, settling
Kuwabara’s enormous hands down. “I’m quite fine, Kazuma-san.” She
squeezed his fingers, and his whole face glew like a furnace- steam puffed out
of the collar of school uniform too. “Honto ni… I can take care of myself.
But thank you very much for the thought…”
“We better hurry up. It’s almost
ten, and it may take another two hours to climb DOWN.”
“Aie…”
They followed Koenma, having not
thought of the down part.
*****
“Hiei…” Kurama walked forward.
Each step was a loud one as masses of leaves and brush crackled beneath his
cautious movements. Hiei kept his wary eyes on him- his entire face
expressionless. As the redhead drew closer, bit-by-bit, he noticed a slight
tremor in one of his lover’s refined eyebrows. Having never seen such a feat
on Hiei’s face before, he slowly settled his hands about the round of Hiei’s
shoulders. Hiei blinked, shook his head, and mildly pulled out of his lover’s
touch.
“Don’t come near me.” He
hissed.
Astonished, he backed a bit.
“Why?”
“Because every time you do,
something happens to you. You always get hurt when I’m around.” He paused
bitterly- turning away from him and moving his severe stare to the stars. “I
forbid that.”
His mind went through a whirlwind
trying to comprehend what the fire demon was saying. At first sound of his
words, it seemed almost as though his ears were deceiving him. Replaying
Hiei’s statement mentally, he listened more carefully. It was after doing this
that he noted the demon’s flawless conciseness. What caught his attention,
more than anything, was one word: forbid. Kurama batted his lashes a little-
feeling that horrible sting that came when least expected. Hiei was willing to
be the forbidden child again… for him.
Moving closer once more, he knelt in
front of his friend and gently took his icy hands. He rubbed them for a moment
with his warm palms, and then came to an inch away from Hiei’s face.
“Hiei… If being with you means being in pain… Then I don’t want to live
a single second without suffering- I’d sooner die.”
Blood red irises widened at that, and
soon Hiei’s once twitching brow turned into an exceptionally firm scowl. His
small lips were in between what could have been a pout and an expression of
anger, but the true meaning behind his appearance was as complex as a labyrinth.
When one solitary tear left Kurama’s face and traced itself along the corner
of his composed smile, Hiei- not thinking- instinctually wiped it. From the
realization that he caressed Kurama again, his fingers recoiled and he balled
his bandaged hand into a tight fist. He brought that fist down, and rested it on
the boulder.
“Don’t talk like that.” His
lover whispered distantly. “It’s nonsense.”
Much to his alarm, Kurama let out a
small, shy chuckle. Unable to resist knowing what the hell was so funny, he
swung his head around swiftly, and glowered down at his lover. The redhead’s
face was so light and attractive under the moonlight. Seeing his lover- as odd
as it was- very happy, the fire youkai discovered the stoniness in his face melt
into a rather awkward, but sad grin.
“That’s why it’s love, Hiei.”
Kurama explained, calming his laughter. “It’s always nonsense. It never
makes sense, no matter how well you know the person you care about.” Growing
quite relaxed, he ceased his speech to continue fondling Hiei’s hands. He
played with the small, but trim fingers- loving how they were at so much ease
with his touch. When their fingers enlaced entirely, he spoke again. “ We’ve
never said it directly to one another before because we’ve never had to. But,
I want to tell you now- even if the words are inadequate- because it’s true. I
love you, Hiei- I don’t need to be accepted by the world. The world doesn’t
even know whom I really am inside… But, Hiei, you know everything about me.
You feel my pain, and my happiness… How could the world possibly measure up to
you?”
“You idealist…” The fire demon
snorted, though lacking harshness. “From everything you’ve gone through, do
you honestly believe that we can accomplish such a miracle? Making our senseless
fantasy real?”
“Why not?” Kurama smirked. “Are
you scared?”
Hiei reddened. “No!”
His lover laughed again. “Then as
long as the both of us are around… We can walk through all the worlds- even
hell- and not be afraid of anything.” Kurama gripped their hands together
securely- giving a comforting squeeze. “We’ll be outcasts- forbidden
children together…”
One of the youkai’s fingertips
tapped at the end of Kurama’s chin. The other glanced up at him, his spring
colored eyes washed in joyful, welling tears. “Happy tears burn like no
other…” Hiei spoke softly. “They sting as they course down your dry
cheeks… And yet you smile… How ironic it is… To be in pain and bliss at
the same time…”
“If I could be this content…”
His lover replied jokingly. “I would always be crying …”
Snickering, he leisurely pulled
Kurama over his lap. “But for my sanity…” Hiei taunted. “You’ll try
and control yourself, right?”
Kurama nodded. “Right.”
“Hn…” Settling his faint touch
over the sides of Kurama’s face, his fingers entangled themselves within the
redhead’s sidelocks. Pulling his right hand out, he slid it to the back. He
blinked- hand shifting around in confusion. Drawing out of their close embrace,
Hiei peered over Kurama’s shoulder. “What happened to your hair?!”
“Oh… Yeah I know, I look like a
freshman.” He sighed. “They had to shave it off for the surgery, Hiei.” He
grimaced. “Does it look bad?”
“That’s not what I’m worried
about.” Hiei squinted, and then brought Kurama close to his nose. “How the
hell will you hide your weapons if you’re endanger?”
“As usual, you’re killing the
mood.”
“As usual, you’re not taking care
of yourself… and besides, killing is my specialty.”
“Hiei…”
“Baka…”
They smiled as the tips of their lips
rubbed against one another just barely. Feeling their breathing beat off one
another, their smiled broadened. Kurama wrapped his arms about Hiei’s defined
shoulders, cuddling aggressively. Hiei stroked the redhead’s back- inhaling
that godly scent of roses mixed with vanilla. He moved to meet with his face,
and their lips quivered to open…
“Ahem…”
Damn it.
Flushing, Kurama pulled out so
quickly that Hiei nearly fell off the rock he was on. Fortunately, Hiei’s
highly honed-in reflexes prevented him from such a tumble. Spinning on his
heels, Kurama leaned against the stone in front of the other- crossing his arms
over his chest and looking to the side. He was a tad embarrassed, but he was
more so irritated. Hiei was just irritated, and it showed.
“Ya know…” Shidou continued.
“We should really set up some cameras and catch this on film- it’s almost
like Casablanca…”
“You saw that movie, Shidou?”
Keiko asked.
“Oh, yeah… really romantic…”
The group laughed. Hiei snarled,
ready to pull out his katana. Kurama held him down with one hand to the arm.
Amongst the laughter, was his own
mother’s vague giggling. From his band of ‘merry friends’, she stepped out
unhurriedly and strode towards the two. Kurama peered at Hiei- noticing that his
eyebrow started twitching dubiously again. Hiei’s countenance did not escape
the hawk-like observations of Shiori. Comprehending his discomfiture, she
glanced at her son, smiled, and then turned to Hiei. Hiei sharpened his senses
tenfold- the muscles beneath his smooth skin going taut on the spot. He glared,
waiting defiantly for another slap.
She kissed him on the forehead. He
blinked. Frowned. Then blinked again.
“Hiei-kun… Shuiichi climbed a
mountain for you, and I climbed a mountain for my son AND you.” She took down
her small pack and pulled something wrapped in paper out. “Do you think, you
can accept this now?”
Settling the taped-up parcel on his
lap, she waited. Hiei glanced at Kurama, who was just as puzzled as he was.
Coming to the conclusion that they weren’t going anywhere until he did accept,
Hiei began undoing the tape on either end of the wrapping. To his dismay, there
was more wrapping beneath. He peered at Shiori, and acknowledged her impish mug.
Shrugging, he decided to be messy and shred the whole thing apart. With strips
of paper fluttering in the air, low and behold, there it was… the black trench
coat.
“I believe you earned it.” The
woman clarified. “That’s how you behave, yes? You like working for things,
even if you have to make sacrifices… I… truly admire that.”
The others came around them and
rolled their eyes over the garment. Kuwabara stifled doubling- up, as he
wasn’t at all surprised of Hiei’s fashion sense. Arisu nodded in approval of
the fine material, whereas Yusuke and Botan chose to sit cross-legged on the
ground. Keiko, Koenma, and Shidou chortled- amused with the way the fairy and
the leader of the Reikai Tantei tried to bend their sore joints. They moved to
sit like geezers.
“Not funny…” Urameshi growled.
“My toes feel like they’re trapped in a vice!” He pointed to Kurama.
“And you… How the hell did you scale this thing? Huh?! Gods, now we have to
go back down…”
“Idiots.” All of them focused
their attention on the little fire demon, who was reclining himself quite
comfortably into Kurama’s loose arms. At first they felt somewhat bruised at
Hiei’s initial remark, however seeing him act like this quieted their
otherwise short tempers. “You could have come here through that way.” He
pointed to the left, causing Botan and Arisu to raise their flashlights and aim
them in his gesture. “Look, there’s a trail.”
Smiles, giggles, and grins disappeared. It took no time at all for them to be
replaced with daggering stares which all fell upon Kurama. Kurama sweat dropped,
and chuckled nervously. “Eheh… Gomen-nasai, minna-san… How was I supposed
to know? A simple mistake anyone can make, ne?”
“I think they want to kill you,
Kurama…”
He turned to Hiei. “You think
so?”
“GET HIM!!!!!”
Hiei slipped on his new coat, shot a
glance of gratitude at Shiori, and jumped off the rock. Kurama did the same, and
the duo headed for the path- without a flashlight, mind you- in a mad dash.
Shiori stood and watched the kids run off, thankful that ‘K’ and Yukina were
gracious enough to wait behind to accompany her.
“They’re a wild bunch, aren’t
they?”
“Too wild even for me, Yukina.”
Koenma shook his head. “TOO wild.”
******
Naturally, gravity makes it easier to
go down a mountain rather than go up. With anger and frustration fueling the
stampede behind the graceful redhead and sharp fire demon, it took only half the
time to reach the bottom. Even though they were being chased at about maximum
speed, Hiei and Kurama would grin at one another wickedly as they increased
their pace. It was a delightful sound. The sound of their beating feet going
together in perfect harmonization. They created whirlwinds of dust and brush as
they sprinted down the path- the fresh air blowing back their perspiration. It
was just like in the Makai… a dark and ominous night with only each other’s
company to light their way. Together they leaped over a tumbled log, criss-crossed
directions in a fairly flirtatious manner, and tumbled the remaining few meters
down in one another’s arms. They came to rest tenderly on the rich green
grasses of the temple’s backyard- some of the dew dripping onto their skin and
giving them the perfume of breathtaking spring showers. Kurama drank some of the
moisture that had collected in the dip of Hiei’s neck, while the youkai
pressed his forehead against the other’s- letting their hair, red and black,
spool together like contrasting thread.
“I love you, Kurama.” He framed
the redhead’s face with his hands, and sighed gently.
“Jeez, we keep coming in on just
the right moment- don’t we?”
“I know, Arisu! It’s no wonder
they got caught in the closet in the first place!”
“Oi, guys… Hiei doesn’t take
teasing too well.” Yusuke warned.
Hiei sneered as he and his lover sat
up on their haunches. “I aught to kill all of you. Quick? Or slow? Since we
know one another, I’ll be generous and let you choose!”
Botan clicked her tongue, flipping
her fluffy blue hair from its ponytail. “Hiei, as scary as you are, with
Kurama around- we know your state of mind is in check.”
“No one wonder you only go near Hiei in such occasions then…” Koenma piped
up, coming down the trail’s end.
“Argh…” The poor fire demon gritted his teeth. The redhead winced, seeing
the abrupt change in his friend’s disposition.
“Please… Don’t push your luck.” Kurama soothed. “I might just sick him
on you!”
“I’m not a dog…” Hiei murmured.
“Oh, sorry for the analogy.” He ruffled his spikes, and the gang was
thrilled to see Hiei not complain.
“Hn.”
“Well, I suspect we’re do in for a little celebrating.” Keiko declared,
winking at Kuwabara.
“Yup.” Kazuma agreed. “I called Shizuru to drop off the jeep at the
temple.”
“And I called for the reservations!” Added Shidou.
Now Kurama’s red eyebrow began to convulse. He glanced at his mother, who
stood by Yukina with a pleasant beam set on her sweet face. He took note that
that beam was meant for her brother. Hiei looked away, impassive, but pinked.
“While we were looking for you two,” Yukina chirped. “We started talking
about what to do afterwards. Shiori-san thought it would be nice if you had a
little bit of enjoyment tonight, so we made plans.”
“Plans?” The redhead inquired.
“Just leave it to us.” Yusuke offered both of his thumbs up. “I don’t
feel like going home after this ordeal anyway.”
“Mom?”
“Oh…” She grinned. “I’m going to go home… and SLEEP. The rest of you
go ahead.” Shiori put her hand on Koenma’s shoulder. “K?”
“Hm?”
“Make sure they behave.”
“Right.”
“Oh, great…” Yusuke snorted. “Even at parties we have this guy to boss
us around.”
“Enough talk, Urameshi.” K cut. “Do you want to go or not? The mall
won’t stay open forever- even if it is in downtown Tokyo.”
“Mall?” Hiei shifted towards Kurama. “No.”
“Hiei,” His lover lowered his eyelids delicately. “They’re doing it for
us.”
“No.”
*****
The fire demon sighed. He simply
wasn’t getting his way tonight and it was beginning to piss him off. Kurama
was in high spirits, at least. He supposed that was worth it. However, he
didn’t appreciate being forced to sit on top of him. It was a cruel strategy
against him- he was sure of it. With Kuwabara at the wheel, and Yukina sitting
in front between him and Botan- space was getting extremely limited. Hiei
confirmed his suspicions, as the group of friends would load into the vehicle-
intentionally letting Kurama and him board LAST. As it turned out, the jeep
being very cramped, Yusuke begrudgingly let Keiko perch herself in front of him.
When he commented on her heaviness, there was a slap, and then silence from both
sides. Shidou gladly let Arisu take a seat on him, while Koenma took the
fold-out seat in the trunk. It was just damn luck that they weren’t pulled
over by a police officer. No, that’s impossible. Police cars were crawling all
over the freeway. Hiei glanced at K from behind and noticed he had his arms
crossed, eyes shut, and was radiating a peculiar ki. Wonderful. In addition to
the already tinted windows, Koenma was making sure policemen wouldn’t grow
suspicious of a fast-moving, bouncing vehicle. Wonderful…
“Ah… Tokyo Mega Mall,” Shidou
announced, resting his chin over the feminine curve of Arisu’s shoulder.
“The mall that sucks-up more energy than Las Vegas.”
Koenma glanced from his seat and
examined the enormous building just off the exit of the freeway. The building
was not one, but four different buildings, each one connected to the next with
long bridges made of arches of steel and glass. The lights that came out of the
building were as powerful as daylight, and the parking garage was just as huge.
‘It might as well be a baseball stadium.’ The prince thought lightheartedly.
‘No wonder Hiei dreaded coming here- all that walking among common humans.’
Koenma paused in his thoughts, and then suddenly bit his lip. ‘Oh, great, and
we have a handful of girls here just ready for some good shopping.’ He glanced
at his shoes. ‘Sneakers- I wonder how long they’ll last…’
Coming to a jerky turn into a parking
space- so jerky that Kurama and Hiei were pressed hard against their window-
Kuwabara shifted his gears on park, and checked on everyone in back. Somehow,
Yusuke wound up on top of Keiko, and Arisu was currently crammed into a small
space on the floor. Shidou was leaning in disarray against Kurama, Hiei frankly
could not breathe, and the pull-out seat Koenma was sitting on folded in on him
like one of those seats at a movie theater.
Kuwabara grinned, unlocked the doors, and allowed his passengers to spill out of
the vehicle like dead fish. This was a very bad thing for Hiei, as he was the
closest to the door and was immediately made the base of a human pyramid. He
nearly bursted from beneath them, but found he didn’t have the heart to kick
Kurama so hard after their recent reunion…
He’d have to kick the redhead a little later.
Getting off the black asphalt after kissing it rather passionately, they
convened in the elevator and landed in the East building. Yusuke flipped around
his watch- 11:45PM. “Okay, guys. The mall closes at three in the morning.
Who’s ditching school tomorrow?”
Kuwabara raised his hand with no shame. His sister wasn’t around, so he had no
fear of having his brains bashed. Yukina, Botan, Hiei and Koenma were already
disqualified from the question, Keiko would never ditch school, Kurama’s mom
would probably let him sleep-in tomorrow, and Shidou and Arisu would have to
tough it out. Yusuke’s face contorted inwardly, feeling somewhat jipped that
their outing had to take place on a Monday.
“Fine. I guess that means we’ll have to be out of here at around one,
right?”
The brunette stepped up and gave him an easygoing noogie on the top of his head.
“We’ll stay out as long as we can tolerate it. After all, I think I’d like
to buy myself a new spring dress… girls, how about you?”
“Hai!” They chirped in unison, raising their hands in the air and spreading
rich smiles over their faces like butter of bread.
The boys rolled their eyes.
“I guess we have no choice, but to tag along.” Shidou admitted. “Our table
won’t be ready until twelve: twenty-three.”
And so four pretty damsels frolicked through the fantastic forest made of
plastic hangars and credit cards. The shopping bag was their basket, and their
purchases their bundles of flowers picked from a blooming field. Ha. Fun. The
boys plodded after them, often getting sidetracked into going into a neighboring
store. How strategic shop-owners were. A woman’s boutique here, and an
electronics store right next to it. A clearance there, and a video game sale
right across. Shopping wasn’t so bad after all. The whole time, Kurama would
drag Hiei wherever he wanted to be. Hiei didn’t argue with this, and was very
delighted when the redhead finally decided to humor the poor demon by taking him
into a sword collector’s shop. The youkai’s deep red eyes devoured the
blades greedily. The steel, so shiny… so sharp… Ooooo…
Hiei’s sadistic bubble was popped when Keiko and Botan abruptly appeared to
yank Kurama with them to another shop. The redhead batted his eyelids in
bewilderment, and the others could do nothing, but follow after him. The group
soon found themselves in yet another vintage store, amidst a jungle of towering
clothes racks. The four boys were plainly forced to sit on whatever footstool or
folding chair they could find while the girls pulled Kurama behind a dressing
curtain. The fire demon wasn’t too comfortable when he heard his friend give
pleas of: ‘hey!’ ‘What do you think you’re doing?!’ ‘Wait! Stop!’
These playful cries were accompanied by a salvo of feminine giggles and
snickering. Yusuke peered at Hiei, who peered back at Yusuke, who glanced at
Shidou, who shook his head at Kuwabara and K.
SHICK. The curtain opened.
First to step out was Yukina, in a lovely light blue dress that twirled airily
about her knees as she spun around. The cute little daisies printed over the
glossy blue material highlighted her youth. If smiles could kill you,
Kuwabara’s grin would have split his face a part. Next to come out was Keiko.
She wore a fun white straw hat that had a pastel orange ribbon on it. The hat
matched her fresh white blouse, and cream and peach banded skirt that fell just
about her ankles. Yusuke wasn’t at all impressed, until Keiko spun around to
reveal that the back part of her blouse was quite similar to a French corset-
tight string and everything. Arisu and Botan came out together, the former in an
Italian off-shoulder dress that was adorable in its peasant like style. The
later was in a long, flowing sunflower dress that was backed with bright green.
Koenma raised an eyebrow. Shidou wrenched his lips. ‘What have they done to
him?’ Hiei pondered restlessly.
It was at that moment did Botan step to the right, and Arisu to the left. Behind
them, Kurama was unveiled wearing remarkably tight black pants that only flared
slightly at his ankles. He tugged at his clothes uneasily and pulled his arms
together. He wore a top that had short belts on either side of his waist. Three
sections, on the left, middle, and right side of his chest were lined with black
fishnet material whereas the rest of the garment was made of an elegant cloth
that shifted in between black and green as he moved.
Hiei squinted, while the girls gathered about Kurama’s sides in cheery
earnest. The redhead sighed in defeat, and heaved his shoulders innocently. Hiei
squinted once more, comprehending that that these pants were even tighter than
the ones his lover wore with his lavender Chinese top and black slippers. He had
clearly remembered warning Kurama that such attire was not meant for battle
especially during the Black Martial Artist Tournament.
“Well” Botan exclaimed. “What do you think?”
The boys all shifted in their seats to witness Hiei’s usual poker face. “You
expect me to judge something like this?” He asked in disbelief. “What
exactly is the discrepancy between ugly and…” An eyebrow lifted.
“…acceptable?”
Arisu winked. “Compare what he’s wearing to what we’re wearing.”
The demon adjusted his vision to the cute, frilly dresses. They made him
nauseated. His irises then returned stridently to Kurama. The colors were dark-
that was a plus. Nothing flowery- another plus. Nothing girly at all about it.
Hiei nodded curtly. “I suppose it’s tolerable.”
“Tolerable?!” Keiko and Botan exasperated. Kurama bit the tip of his thumb
to suppress his chuckles.
“Coming from him,” Kurama explained. “That says a lot.”
Yukina waved her hand delicately to draw the attention of the clerk. With the
money Genkai had loaned her, she and the girls paid for their outfits. They each
chipped in for Kurama’s… interesting ensemble, and wore their new garments
out of the store.
The redhead took to Hiei’s side as they proceeded to wherever Shidou was
leading them for their extremely late dinner. So late it was, it might as well
pass as breakfast. After crossing two bridges clockwise they finally made it to
the west building. Halting before the restaurant, Hiei’s face hardened. There,
in bright blue an orange neon lights was FUNtown.
“There’s that word again.” Hiei muttered.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen it- in my opinion.”
They entered the restaurant to be escorted to their table. On their way, they
passed over a ramp that overhung the arcade and entertainment center below.
Koenma looked down at all the humans that were up at this hour, wasting over a
thousand dollars in loose change just to play games. What was amusing was that
the prizes were hardly worth what they were won for. Giant teddy bears, squirt
guns, and t-shirts. ‘Why can’t they just buy them at a retailer?’ the
prince argued with himself. ‘It’s a lot cheaper that way…’
Making a turn at one of the in-door fountains, there were seated at a large,
circular booth. Above them was a dark ceiling that had sparkling lights, which
gave the impression of a dazzling night sky. Every now and then, a light would
streak across the ceiling in falling stars. Their booth was surrounded with lush
plants, and looking over the end of the booth and past the railing, they could
see tons of people having an enjoyable time- even on a school night.
The menu was a piece of cake: one large supreme pizza, a basket of sizzling
chili cheese fries, and eleven bottles of vanilla crème root beer- fresh from
the freezer. Yukina sipped from the nozzle of her bronze bottle bashfully,
whereas Yusuke and Kuwabara had a free-for-all guzzle down. Beige foam spilled
over the crust-covered plates and pans- mixing with the food in a soggy mess.
Thoroughly disgusted, Hiei and Koenma stuck with what was left in the basket of
chili fries.
Kurama smiled sweetly at Hiei, splitting half of his extraordinarily dry pizza
with him. The smaller accepted it silently, the faint glimmer in his eye
signaling his appreciation. Before he ate, however, he briskly picked all the
black olives off his slice. Why humans would put something so gross on anything-
especially pizza- was beyond him.
As they chatted and stuffed their faces with tomato sauce and cheese that
stretched like elastic, the redhead suddenly became very aware of the detail
that someone slipped out of his seat. It was Shidou. Whipping his head around,
he caught no sight of the green-haired boy, but decided that his friend would
return anyway. When seven minutes went by with still no sign of Shidou, Kurama
discovered his senses becoming reasonably tense. The silence and stares
radiating from the other side of the table communicated to Kurama that something
was definitely up. His acute vision caught Arisu’s controlled smirk and
sparkling gaze aimed right behind…
Hiei.
Emerald eyes widened in horrifying realization. He turned in his seat, but it
was too late.
“Shidou! Chotto mat-”
SPLECH.
Cherry and red syrupy goo dripped in globs down Hiei’s once stainless
complexion. Chucks of breaded crust fell onto the table and all over the booth
as well as Hiei’s pants. The demon heatedly raised both hands to scoop the
warm desert from his eyes. The glops of pie he gathered in his fingers were
sprayed violently to his sides as he flicked his tight wrists and stood in his
chair.
“Kisama!” He hissed, spinning around and more than prepared to hold a mass
murder that- ironically enough- only one person would be suffering from.
“Eek!!!” Botan squeaked, diving across over the tabletop and grabbing the
redhead’s forearms. “Kurama DO something!!!”
“Uh… uh…”
“Hurry!” Kuwabara yelled. After all, if Shidou died, he’d behold just how
violent, grotesque, and bloody his own demise under Hiei’s hands might be. He
shuddered at the thought.
Unsure of the best possible solution, Kurama did the first thing that came to
mind. Just as Hiei was about to pounce on his human friend, Kurama grabbed his
lover by the hips and pulled him back down to his chair. Hiei bristled on the
spot, the pie on his face literally cooking as his temper flared.
“Kurama! What do you think you’re-”
He licked him on the nose mischievously. Protests ended there. Hiei instantly
became as red as the pie that clobbered him. Gazing upon him apologetically,
Kurama grabbed a thick wad of napkins from the metal dispenser and began
cleaning his friend up. Some fragments of crust still cluing onto Hiei’s
little face as magnets would and the redhead carefully peeled them off and ate
them before swiping the smooth skin beneath.
“Amazing save.” Yusuke murmured.
“I agree.” Concurred Koenma.
Cooling down, Hiei eyed the last of the three unopened bottles of frosted root
beer. Without a doubt, Kurama perceived Hiei’s stare, and mentally approved to
his plot. As Shidou leaned against the backrest of their booth- face as smug as
the mafia- Hiei and Kurama seized two of the three bottles, shook them hard, and
popped the caps. Obviously, the situation was quite similar to a Western
quick-draw.
“You should’ve seen your faces, you two were so- blarch.!!!”
Soda shot at Okono, Shidou like a hose, and it was Arisu who took the last
bottle, shook it, and doused her poor boyfriend in sticky, carbonated sweetness.
The boy’s school uniform was soaked through and through- his hair lengthened
due to wetness.
“Bastard…” The fire demon blanched.
In spite of that, Kurama’s friend
continued grinning naughtily as he wrung as much of the soda as he could from
his clothes. Sugary liquid dripped on the black tiled floors, and the material
of his attire was dreadfully wrinkled. “Whoo!” He beamed, putting his fists
to his hips and cocking his head to the side. “That was one hell of a bath!”
“And it will be a blood bath if you
don’t watch yourself.” Hiei threatened quietly.
“Aww…” Yusuke punched the demon
friendly on the arm. This action earned a meek glower. “It’s too late for
that, Hiei. Besides, we’ve still got a lot of stuff to do.”
“DDR!” Kuwabara rejoiced
excitedly- jumping from his chair so fast that the table nearly toppled over.
“I have yet to beat you, Urameshi! And I have a feeling it’ll be tonight!”
“Feh, You couldn’t put your foot
on the left arrow even if the platform was filled with left arrows!”
“Nani?! And just who beat Butterfly
on Maniac, ne?”
“Boys, will be boys…” Keiko
sighed. “And actually, Kazuma-kun, it was me- and on doubles too. You beat
that song three weeks later.”
Yukina blinked timidly, not at all
sure as to what on earth they were talking about. Looking at Hiei, Kurama could
tell that his friend wasn’t having sentiments all too different. Botan and
Koenma were equally inept at comprehending human sport. ‘DDR?’ Hiei mused,
trying to make sense of the initials. ‘Death Death Revolution? Sounds
interesting…’
“It’s a kind of video game.”
The redhead filled-in, feeling as though it were the first time he explained
rock-paper-scissors to the shorter. “There are two platforms. On the platform
are four arrows. One for going back, one for forward, left, and then right.
It’s your controller- so to speak. The object of the game is to match the
rhythm of the song as well as the choreography on screen. It basically tests
your feet-eye coordination as well as speed and stamina.”
“Well, I’m up for it.” Arisu
said, clapping her hands together as she rose. “Who’ll play me?”
“Me. I think I’ll make a fool of
you after getting me THIS wet.”
“I wish you luck then, Shidou. I
hope you don’t slip and break a leg.”
“Ha.”
Peaking over the booth railing, Hiei
searched for what could possibly be the game they were raving about. He
immediately disregarded all the usual stands with joysticks. There was some sort
of jukebox and remix game, that couldn’t be it. There was a simulator similar
to the one from the amusement park. No- not it. A platform to the far end of the
arcade fixed his attention. There we no arrows on it, but the people playing
threw fake punches and kicks. They’re ‘cyber’ counterparts were viewed on
a giant screen. ‘Street Fighter’. Nope, the title doesn’t match. It
didn’t look too appealing either. What fun was it to fight if you weren’t
actually hitting the person? Hiei flinched.
“Hiei, don’t even think about
trying out that one.” Kurama whispered behind his ear. “If you decide to
pull out your dragon, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain the damages
to mom.”
“Huh’ as if they could even pose
as a challenge to me. Give me some credit.”
“Sou…” The other leaned his
head against Hiei’s back- faintly hugging him. The fire youkai squirmed.
“What’s wrong?”
“They keep looking at us…” He
mumbled.
“And?”
“Hey, lovebirds! You coming to play
or not?”
“THAT.”
*****
The two followed the others down the stairs. Stepping onto the ground floor,
Hiei felt his temples bursting from all the racket. It really wasn’t helping
that his sense of hearing was just as clear-cut as his sense of sight. Speaking
of sight, the flashing lights, the swinging sirens of first-prize winners, and
blinking strobes were intimidating the fire demon with a seizure that would last
for weeks. Reaching up a hand, Hiei made sure that his Jagan’s ward wouldn’t
loosen in the least. If that happened, Gods know how much his five- technically
seven- senses would amplify in this place. If he collapsed here from system
overload, that would be traumatic for his reputation.
Now and again, he and Kurama would secretly brush their hands against one
another as they walked. Their familiar faces from the e-mail gathered a few
stares here and there, but with Yusuke not too far behind the two, and Shidou
guarding up ahead with Kuwabara, no one thought it very wise to try anything
stupid.
Arriving at the DDR platform, Hiei observed the headlights: Dance Dance
Revoltion. The speakers on either side of the machine were up full blast,
bellowing a speaker who sounded rather comparable the narrators of anime series
and whatnot. Quite annoying indeed. The shorter crossed his arms over his coat,
staring at Kuwabara and Yusuke as each of them took their respective stages.
Close by, Yukina watched and held onto the rail of the machine. She appeared
adorably intrigued as Yusuke punched the buttons for the settings. “What mix
do ya want? Dub I Dub?”
“Don’t insult me.” Kuwabara grunted. “Not even K would be that
slow…”
Koenma jolted in his place. “O-oi! How did I get involved?”
The others nonchalantly stood back and watched, following Hiei’s choice in
physical positioning. Yusuke clicked the buttons, scrolling down the enormous
list of tracks. He thought maybe they should start easy, but not overly easy-
just so Hiei could figure it out by watching. He was about to select Boyz, but
Kuwabara cleared his throat indignantly. Oh, right, he wanted to impress Yukina
with his ‘polished’ and ‘well-timed’ moves. Urameshi thought for a
moment, and it dawned on him that Hiei didn’t even need to see what they were
going to do slowly. If the little fire youkai could count how many punches Chu
got in during Yusuke’s first serious match, well then watching footwork would
be a cinch. Still… maybe Botan and K would like to play. To be fair, he
clicked on the Gundam Wing remix.
The lights momentarily went down, but then started up again. Sure enough, true
to Kurama’s word, arrows started flying up the screen. As each one glew
reaching the top, Hiei noted the foot-steping. Apparently, the arrows with
different colors had different pause times, and ones that stretched for a period
were freezes. The clapping in the background and the song itself seemed to
facilitate the moves. Hiei scowled. ‘Far too simple…’
Left. Left. Left. Left. Forward. Forward. Forward-back, right, forward, left.
Forward-left. Forward-back. Left-right. Freeze.
Clapping happily, at the out of the ordinary moves, Yukina brought both hands to
her mouth to cover her giggles. Kuwabara was dually aware of his sweetheart’s
appraisal, but unfortunately, his recognition caused him to miss five straight
steps, plus a combo. He screeched at his mistake- instantly trying to pick-up
the pace where he left-off. Botan cheered the two on as Yusuke decided to spice
the possibilities up by demonstrating some slide moves he learned from- as odd
as it might sound- Genkai. Keiko, Arisu, and Koenma were exceptionally amused
when Yusuke began fusing some mock-disco into his tricks. Kuwabara countered
this by adding some exaggerated drama into his arms and hands. Kurama laughed
casually at the two, his attention drawn-in as the pace really began to
speed-up.
Right. Right. Back. Back. Forward-back. Back. Forward. Left-back. Right-forward.
Back. Back. Back. Left-forward. Left-forward. Left-forward. Left-forward.
Left-forward. Back-forward. Right-forward. Right-forward. Right-forward.
Right-forward. Right-forward. Right, forward, left, back. Left-right. FREEZE.
“Oh, my!” The koorime cried out. “I don’t think I could ever do that!”
Arisu put a kind hand on her shoulder, and Yukina lifted her jewely eyes up
toward the lovely blond. “It’s easy once you get some practice. We all
started on baby-steps. It’s just like learning to walk, ne?”
The song ended- Yusuke and carrot-top earning a few applauses from strangers
watching from a distance. Arisu and Shidou were next to go on deck- selecting
Japanese Boy II. Arisu was one for femme fetal moves, whereas Shidou stuck with
his parody of macho-macho man. Paired with the music, it was hilarious. Keiko
went with Yukina, who started on the basics. She learned quickly, however, as
she managed to clear all the stages. Not bad for a first-timer. Then there was K
and Botan. Wasn’t that a sight? Hiei was having a terrible time trying to keep
his strict composure as Koenma tried to hit the right arrow, but instead slipped
along the instep of his shoe and landed hard on his side on the flashing
platform. This, of course, affected Botan in the worst. As he tried to reclaim
balance, the prince wound up grabbing Botan by the ankle and the two of them
crashed together in a tangled heap. Poor Botan, she was beating the bejeebus out
of her employer too.
“You’re up!” Shidou exclaimed to Kurama and Hiei as he pointed behind him
with his thumb- one amber eye winking.
“Are you up to it, Hiei?” His friend asked.
“…Hn…”
“I bet he’s gonna suck at this just like cards.” Kuwabara joked.
“HN!” Hiei stomped towards the machine and took a platform- the redhead
running after him and taking the left side. “Shut-up and put the damn money
in, idiot.”
Carrot-top gave him a sarcastic salute. He only dared to do so knowing so many
people were around. “Yes, sir! General Shrimp- sir!”
Kurama chuckled a little, but when his lover turned to him angrily, he bit his
tongue.
“Well, pick something. I don’t care what.”
“All right, then.” The taller leaned forward and clicked a few times-
already having planned what he wanted to dance to from the very beginning. Hiei
merely stood by, indifferent. He had no intention of moving like a lunatic as
the village idiot, and he knew that we was incapable of screwing over as badly
as Koenma and Botan did. He wasn’t the type to have a large sense of humor
either- so that straight away canceled out the prospect of mimicking both Arisu
and Shidou. As for Keiko and Yusuke, they were good, but they had no class. This
absolutely bored him.
Furthermore, Kuwabara made reference to the card game back at the hotel. That
was, what? A little more than seven months ago? Damn him. It wasn’t the fire
demon’s fault that he didn’t fare well with games. But this one was
different. It had NOTHING to do with luck, and showing off his speed was utterly
tempting tonight.
Kurama selected ‘Shooting Star’. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Shidou gaped.
“Are you SURE about that, Shuiichi?” His friend asked.
“Yeah,” Kuwabara agreed. “Hiei’s never played before, right?”
Glancing over his shoulder, inspecting the other, Hiei acknowledged the
subliminal challenge and consented it without a word, but a harsh stare. Kurama
nodded wryly- moving back to the other three. “He’s practiced.” He replied
simply. “…In his mind, I mean…”
Shidou laughed nervously, brushing the back-strands of hair on his neck. “It
really doesn’t work that way… Start on standard.”
Again, he glanced at Hiei, who bluntly puckered a brow.
“No.” Kurama retorted, smiling at ease.
The leader of the group said nothing, and knew it was smarter not to. He
didn’t know what to expect, but he was sure that they would be proven wrong.
Well, Kuwabara and Shidou would be, but as for him, he didn’t choose sides.
The lights momentarily went down, but then started up again. And then…
Right. Left. Simple enough.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me fly
Left. Right. Fine, fine.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me…
Fly- ai-ai-ai-ai-ai
Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Kurama peered at Hiei.
So high –ai-ai-ai~ai…
Left. Left. Left. Left. Left. Hiei peered back.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me fly
Left-right-left. Two evil grins.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me…
Fly~ai
Right-left-right. FREEZE
Across the midnight sky-ai-ee-ai!
Left-forward- right. Right. Right.
Right. Back
Where were you to hold my hand?
Do the things that we had planned
Hey,” Shidou whispered to K.
“What kind of players do you think Shuiichi and Hiei’ll be? Players for
points, or freestyle stunts?”
Both of them watched as Kurama
suddenly spun at the center of the stage and hit both the left and right arrows
just as they were approaching the top of the screen. At the same time, Hiei went
down on both his knees instead, jumping up later to pull his left foot behind
his right- making a simple three-step look more complicated than it should have
been.
“Stunts.” They concluded dryly.
Back. Back. Forward. Left. Left.
Left.
Guess I need you by my side
When things go crazy…
Right-forward- back.
Back-forward-right. Left-left. Right-right.
I just need to know you care
Guaranteed that you’ll be there
Left-back-forward. Forward-back-
left. Right-right. Left- left.
When I wake up in the night
Will you be my guiding light?
Botan mewed curiously as a bunch of
visitors abruptly began to surround them. Her hair went on end at first, however
she soon realized that their eyes were filled with mystification as the two
demons demonstrated to them what true rhythm really meant. It was stunning. They
were moving as though they weren’t following directions or rules at all. They
purely chose how they wanted to perform, and nothing stopped them from going all
out. Yukina was at a total loss for words. Her small lips trembled as her jaw
fell.
“Are they fighting? Or dancing?”
The young girl whispered.
Her small comment didn’t elude
Yusuke’s ears. Looking on, he established what Yukina meant. He remembered
these moves… He saw them a long time ago when they sparred one another before
the departure for the tournament island. Yes… yes! He remembered losing to the
both of them, and also seeing Kurama and Hiei come to a draw after four solid
hours of straight fighting. They were perfectly synchronized.
A few college students would shake
their heads in skepticism, while others sipped at their alcoholic beverages
ruefully.
“@#%$, they’re good.”
“They’re gay.”
“Yeah, but hell, they’re GOOD.”
Right. Back. Right. Back. Right-back.
Back-right.
I don’t care how far I take a plane-
Toni~ight…
Just tell me where you are and everything’s gonna be all right
Forward. Forward. Forward Back. Back.
Back. Forward-back. Left-right.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Gonna fly…
“What were you saying, Shidou?”
Keiko teased. “Something about not being able practice through thought?”
Left-forward- right-back. Full circle
turn from right, clockwise.
Just to be with you tonight!
Back- right-forward. Left. Full
circle turn from left, counterclockwise.
Shidou blushed. “Damn…”
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Gonna fly!
Just to be with you toni-ai-ai-ai-ight!
Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. FREEZE. Crimson rose strands and satiny
black thread descended from their float in the air- the scent of cinnamon dipped
in vanilla and jasmine radiating all throughout the vicinities.
Right-left.
Forward-Back.
Right-forward.
Left-back.
Turn- turn-turn. Counterclockwise.
Turn-turn-turn. Clockwise.
Suddenly, as the music got even faster, Kurama and Hiei faced one-another.
Grabbing each other wrists, they jumped, and twisted in midair- landing on
each-others platform, directly on top of the approaching three step-combo.
“Oh, @#%$!! Did you see that?!” Someone yelled far off.
“They switched stages!”
Right. Right. Right. Right- left-
back- forward- right-right-left.
Left. Left. Left.
Left-right-forward-left-left-right.
The fire demon’s face cracked. He
smiled to the point one of his fangs shone in the spotlight.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me fly
Right-back-forward-left. FREEZE.
Left-right. FREEZE. Right. Left. Left. Left.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me…
Half-turn, Counterclockwise.
Kurama’s hair whipped around in brief ribbons.
Left. Forward. Back.
Half-turn, clockwise. Hiei knelt down
on one knee as he spun- his coat bellowing behind him like a cape.
Right. Back. Forward.
Fly- ai!
So high-ai-ee-ai-ai!
Half-turn, Counterclockwise.
Left. Forward. Back.
Half-turn, clockwise.
Right. Back. Forward.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me fly
Left. Right. Left. Right. Right.
Left. Back. Back. Forward.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me…
Right. Left. Right. Left. Left.
Right. Forward. Forward. Back.
Fly- ai!
Across the midnight sky-ai-ee-ai-ai
Forward-back. Freeze. Left. Back.
Right. FREEZE.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me fly
Forward. Back. Back. Forward. Turn,
clockwise. Turn counter clockwise.
Like a shooting star across the midnight sky
Wherever you are you’re gonna see me…
Fly- ai!
So high-ai-ee-ai-ai!
Right. Right. Right. Left. Right Right. Left. Left. Left. Back. Back. Right.
Left. Forward.
Forward-left.
Forward-right.
Back-right.
Back-left.
Left-right. FREEZE. Lights down. Game: CLEARED.
“WHOOO!!” Some drunk screamed, clapping his hands and spilling beer all over
the place. “Kickin’ ass!!”
This fairly gruff exaltation caused nearly- no- everyone in the arcade to stop
what they were doing and look-up. One person started to applaud. Then another
followed by another. Kurama adjusted to face Hiei, a funny expression played
across his fine features. His lover closed his eyes, ‘hn’-ed, and stepped
off the stage. “Don’t glorify anything simple.”
“Now that was immodest.” Arisu remarked, pulling a can of silly string from
behind her back. “Ready, people?!”
“You wouldn’t dare!” The youkai growled.
Keiko, Kuwabara, Koenma, Botan, Yusuke, Shidou, several by standers, plus Yukina
pulled cans from behind their backs. Another awful trick. They were so
distracted playing against the game that they didn’t notice them momentarily
leave to buy the string… and using his love for Yukina against him- damn it
all! Stupid humans. Why can’t they leave them alone? He had his fun showing
off, now he wanted to leave. Stupid noise. Cursed lights. Dumb games. What came
over him?
Arisu raised his arm into the air. “FIRE!!”
Now he’d pay the price. All for the redhead. Hiei looked at his friend, and
decided that things were getting out of hand. He did have limitations, you know.
As soon as they squirted their high-pressure bottles, Hiei pulled Kurama in
front of him and used him as a human shield.
“Ahh! No! Hiei! HIEI!!!”
As with the pie incident: too late. In two seconds flat Kurama looked like a
plate of multicolored spaghetti. Blue, yellow, green, pink- if you named it, he
was wearing it. There was even a good dose of red silly string that, well,
disappeared within the equally bright red locks of his own hair. Opening his
squinted eyes, he mulled over just how long it would take to wash all this gluey
gunk out.
When it was over, Hiei peaked out from behind his lover’s back- carefully at
first knowing quite well that someone would be saving just enough for him.
Thankfully, none of them had planned that Hiei would manage to evade their
firing squad. Un-thankfully, of course, was the fact that Kurama wasn’t at all
pleased. His eyes suddenly went cold as he reached-up to pull innumerable
threads out of his locks. Flashing pine irises darted for the shorter, who
swallowed. Uh-oh… he made Kurama mad.
“You do understand, Hiei, that I did try to save you from Shidou…”
In false insolence, the youkai narrowed his almond-shaped eyes. On the other end
of this, Kurama snapped his fingers. On cue, Kuwabara- a prancing Kuwabara and
no less- merrily bestowed to the redhead a fresh lemon-crème pie. Hiei looked
at the pie- looked at Kuwabara, who held up a peace sign and wretched ear-to-ear
grin, - looked at Kurama, and reluctantly lowered his eyelids.
SPLECH.
Keiko shook her head. “Tsk… Silly string isn’t as bad as that, you know…
You should have accepted our fire.”
As glops of cream clumped down his face, Hiei grinned maliciously. “Hn… I
don’t believe I’ve lost entirely.”
The gang stared at him in shock. What the hell was he talking about? This was
the second time he was pied tonight, and in front of over a hundred people.
Moreover, humiliation was number one on Hiei’s detestation list- next to
Kazuma. What could he have conceivably profited from letting himself get
creamed?
Kurama dipped a finger from Hiei’s lemony face and began licking the dollop of
cream and sugar. Carrot-top greened- it seems that his small role in this
clobber boomeranged on him. He felt his head spin. Homosexual relationships,
though he respected them, weren’t something he wanted to watch first hand.
The redhead simmered, really enjoying his fire demon meringue. The other stood,
and waited- not smiling. He didn’t like being sticky, and in spite of the
affectionate attention he was getting, he didn’t want it coming from other
people too. There were yet others who didn’t even know them who would gawk
meters away. Humans- che’. Privacy was just so hard to come by these days.
Suddenly, Shidou took Arisu by the shoulders, gazed deeply into her eyes and
said:
“If you love me, you’ll pie me so hard that you’d have to lick me for
months!”
“Shidou!”
“Weeks! My final offer!”
Dipping another finger into Hiei’s face, the small youkai suddenly pulled
away. “You’re taking too long. It’s beginning to melt, and go down my
neck.”
“Bathrooms?” His friend suggested.
“Hn.”
Koenma shot a look at the others, and they nodded in response. “We’ll have
to accompany you.” K pronounced. “After all, we promised Shiori to make sure
you behave yourselves.”
A snort escaped Hiei’s breath. “I’m beginning to think she was referring
to the rest of you rather than us.”
“Hey!” Botan placed both fists on her hips in a motherly fashion. “Just
when are you two gonna give each other a kiss hm?!?! We’ve been waiting all
night- don’t be shy! It’s out now!”
“Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo- BOTAN!” Carrot-top slapped his forehead.
Yukina blushed. “Botan-san…”
Keiko and Yusuke chuckled. “Rather blunt, aren’t we?”
“Well!”
“Hn. Later…” Spinning on his heel, Hiei turned away from them and slowly
headed for the restrooms.
“Yes, maybe later.” Kurama did the same, and followed the other.
“They’re so mean to us!” The blue-haired fairy grimaced. “Always walking
away and keeping secrets!”
*****
Bowling his palms together, Hiei
gathered water from the faucet and splashed his face vigorously. His friend was
close by, plucking silly string from his hair… the task would definitely take
a while. Finishing off, Hiei flicked his wrists- splashing some drops onto
Kurama’s side.
“Hiei, you’re getting me wet.”
He made no answer as he turned up ki.
It was pretty helpful to be a fire demon. He was his own dryer. Immediately the
droplets evaporated off his skin, and the heat he radiated did the same for the
redhead.
“What’s wrong, Hiei? I can tell
something is bothering you…”
“They won’t stop following us.”
He snarled.
Crossing his left leg against his
right, Kurama raised his right forearm and leaned against the tiled wall. “I
see…” He said softly. “How do you propose we escape them, then? They’re
waiting right outside.”
“Huh! As we are two clever thieves,
that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Vmmm…
They looked up as a draft of air
started filling the bathroom. Peering up, they both saw an air vent situated
directly above them.
“And clever, that we are.” Kurama
put two of his fingertips into his sidelocks- pulling out a seed. That seed
rapidly sprouted into a rose, which transformed into the rosewhip as the redhead
thrust it. “I have enough space in my hair for- at least- my favorite weapon.
I’m not as careless as you think I am…”
Hiei smiled. “In circumstances such
as these, I’m actually glad I’m wrong.”
His lover winked, and threw the whip
into the air. The tip of it latched around one of the metal bars of the vent. In
one, but strong tug, the vent fell from the ceiling. Not wanting to make any
suspicious noises, Hiei swiftly caught the metal with both hands and set it
against the wall. The youkai then removed his ward to reveal his Jagan, which
glew a vibrant shade of blue. “I’ll lead the way.”
“Naturally.”
Leaping up, he landed lithely within
the tight proximities. Shifting inside the ducts, he lowered his right arm for
his friend. Kurama grinned, and waved it off. “It’s all right. I got it-
move ahead so I have space.”
Nodding, he obeyed by withdrawing his
arm and began crawling forward. Now THIS, was fun.
*****
“They’re taking a while.”
“I think you’re right, Yukina.”
Yusuke spoke, leaning against the door to put his ear against it. “I don’t
hear anything… er… ‘closety’ going on…”
“Hentai!!!”
Slap.
“Oww!!” He rubbed his cheek.
“Keiko!”
“Something’s cooking.” K added.
“And it smells fishy.”
“Girls…” Shidou rolled up his
sleeves. “Stand back, this is a man’s terrain!”
His girlfriend rolled her aquamarine
eyes. “It’s nothing great. Just urinals.”
Exaggeratedly, Yusuke, Kuwabara,
Shidou, and Koenma busted through the door. They searched around, kicking down
stalls and peaking around corners. They found absolutely nothing.
“Houston, we have a problem.”
Urameshi sighed, combing his callused hands through his jet-black hair.
“What is it?” K asked.
“Look at what I found.” Pointing
to the ground, the other three congregated around him. “Those two… I
swear.”
“An air vent?” Honey eyes
sparked. “Wait-wait-wait. You mean to tell me they escaped through the ducts?
No way. That’s too much like a cat burglar or something. Shuiichi would never
do something like that.”
Carrot-top, Koenma, and Yusuke
glanced at one another with ironic gazes. ‘Cat burglar’. What a perfect
adjective for the duo. Kazuma laid a large palm on Okono’s shoulder and
sighed. “And that, my friend, is why we should have kept a better eye on them.
You never know what they’re gonna do.”
“They must be insulting us.” K
supplemented. “They left the vent as an obvious clue. Normally, they do a good
job cleaning after themselves.”
“You guys act like their criminals!” Shidou laughed. Again, the scent of
irony lingered and the Reikai Tantei were powerless against the aroma of it.
“Let’s roll…” Urameshi headed out the door, the rest of them filing
after him. Koenma caught up to him by the shoulder, and not looking at one
another, Yusuke whispered. “By any chance, did Botan bring her Reikai Tantei
kit with her?”
“She always does.”
“Great. We’ll need the Youkai Meter.”
“Happen to have a strand of hair or nail clipping?”
On the sleeve of Yusuke’s green uniform was a single strand of red hair. Had
it been black, he would have missed it. Peeling it off cautiously, he held it in
the air. The prince of the dead sighed miserably. “If only you handled your
other cases like this instead of giving me a heart attack with your haphazard
plans.”
The leader of the team made a funny, irritated face, and gave the finger before
him.
*****
The outside vent was brutally kicked
out of its place. Slipping out was a somewhat dusty demon, accompanied by his
equally filthy accomplice. Padding the grime and spider webs from their
clothing, they discovered that they had landed in the outside parking lot. As it
turned out, after a few minutes of twists, turns, and jumps along a maze of
dreary ducts, Hiei found a bit of light winking at them through the diminutive
slits of the vent. Upon getting outdoors, Kurama instantly started stretching.
While crawling around in compact spaces was all well and good for Hiei, it
wasn’t as comfortable for the taller in the least. Be that as it may, it
created a more fascinating challenge versus video games. Since their lives were
at some risk- what with fan blades everywhere- the slight adventure was spiced
and tanged. These two elements were highly essential to the two demon’s
lifestyle.
On the pavement, they silently
strolled onto the sidewalk and proceeded down the street. They exchanged no
words between them, but instead indulged in the peace of the night. This night,
however, was slowly becoming overcome by the first hours of morning. This was
evident as every road lacked the usual speeding motorcycle or honking car. In
fact, they didn’t even make use of any of the pedestrian lights. They merely
walked and walked in mutual silence- pleasuring in the Easter breeze and each
other’s presence. Their walk was doubtlessly long. They kept going and going,
further and further away from the city lights. It appalled Hiei to see so many
vending machines on the road. Kurama thought likewise, saying that they should
plant maple trees instead. At that remark, Hiei retorted: ‘to remind you of
how all this started in the first place?’ His friend slapped him gently upside
his head for the good of it.
Eventually they were growing tired of
trying to find anything close to the wildness and freedom of the Makai. Instead,
they had to compromise with settling at the city park. There was a large lake
there, and it captured the moon, its stars, and the thick evergreen trees about
it. The sky was sheathed in white and silver. The silver was two-toned with hues
of faint gold. From the urban lights or from the eminent sun, they weren’t
sure why the sky was like that… but… it didn’t matter. It was lovely, why
question it?
There was a small wooden dock at a
part of the lake. The old planks were a little rotten from the water, and they
creaked soundly as they walked over it in subtle footfalls. Settling down, Hiei
leaned his back against one of the posts. Kurama sat opposite of him, lifting
one leg to rest his forearm on. He grinned at Hiei for their successful getaway,
and his lover returned the grin with an honest smile of his own. One of
Kurama’s hands reached to pinch the tip of the fire demon’s coat.
“You’re smile…”
His lover looked up.
“No hurting beneath…”
*****
Botan made use of her Reikai Tantei
binoculars, whereas Koenma held on tightly to the youkai meter. It was a good
thing the meter was small, so as to not be noticed by the two oblivious humans
with them, but as for the binoculars, Botan’s only explanation was that she
bought them at one of the stores they had visited. Arisu didn’t recall going
to a hobby store or anything of the sort, so all Botan could do was giggle
anxiously and wave it off. Kuwabara drove around town, Yukina coming close to
dozing off against his shoulder. He flustered, but then melted at the feel of
her head touching his side. Keiko and Arisu had their heads out the right
windows, Yusuke stuck his out the back-left, and Shidou was having fun standing
through the sunroof.
“Hey! Over there!” The fairy
shouted, pulling down her high-capacity binoculars. “At the park!”
“Finally!” Shidou exclaimed,
plopping from the sunroof and landing in his seat. “What are they doing?”
She raised her binoculars again.
“Eh… talking, I guess…”
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