If Only Life were as Simple as
This
chapter 1
by Hikari
8/26/00
Notes: Well, I believe this fic is for everyone ^-^. I think it could go in From the Heart, but I’m not positive- so I’ll leave it up to Rin-san to decide. Also, I may have a few more typing errors than usual because I’m currently wearing band-aids on my thumbs. *Laughs* this is the result of not letting my little brother win any of the games on Mortal Kombat 4. Gomen ne ^^. Just so no one gets confused- I’ll be using the timeline from the manga, not the anime (ex. Manga Keiko waited for a year and a half for Yusuke to return. Anime Keiko waited three years). Oh, keep in mind that nothing may be what it seems… Simplicity cannot be without complexity…
*****
The alarm went off. Buzzing the same tired tune over and over until a hand knocks the clock off the old wooden drawer. The moderate sized object ‘clunked’ heavily and rolled onto the carpet-less floor- stopping when momentum was lost. The occupant of the bed, or more accurately, hammock sat-up groggily and wiped the morning out of his eyes. He yawned and combed over his bangs, which fell playfully back into place. Stretching, he reluctantly pulled himself out of his sheets and padded for his bathroom.
As he was walking through his apartment, silvery light streamed from the solitary window in the hall. His hand rubbed the dew from the glass, red eyes peering out the window to check on the weather. It was rather foggy, but given that it was six in the morning, that was to be anticipated. Turning away from the pane, he proceeded to wash up before the clichéd rhythm of going to school would be put out of schedule. The young man looked into the mirror, which was rusted at edge because of poor maintenance, and began to floss. Not that anything in his apartment was well kept. His shower hardly gave any water to bathe in, let alone HOT water; the stove in the kitchen was on the fritz as well, plus there wasn’t even any air conditioning or heater. Basically, he lived in a slum, but it was the best he could do with the amount of pay he was getting.
Rotating the knob on the sink, he frowned at finding that the spout coughed and the handles squeaked. Not this again, there was a problem with the valve. Bending over, underneath the basin, the teen pounded at the pipes with his fist until water flowed freely from the faucet. At this, he grunted and allowed the water to run so that it may clean.
When the whole ordeal of getting sanitary was done, this including another icy shower, he suited himself in his black uniform and looked over his appearance in the mirror. He was thin. He was short. He had a queer horizontal scar on his forehead that he never failed cover with a white bandana. He was sixteen. He was alone. All that he could do now was sigh as he always did, then take his book bag along with his violin case and be on his way.
The violin… of all instruments. The only reason he had to play an instrument at all was because of a fight he got into during lunch break. It wasn’t HIS fault the other guy stole his money… He just had to retaliate the best way he knew how. Thus, the punishment of having to take up music was stamped on his face. The counselors said something about ‘converting his anger into positive energy’- whatever the hell that meant. As far as he knew, he was just messing around with an apparatus he didn’t even want to deal with in order to stay in school and not be turned into the authorities for being a minor who lived on his own. In any case, all he had to do was make noise with this thing and put up with the other tribulations life had to offer…
“Jaganshi Hiei!!!” He halted in the middle of the outside staircase- not even turning around to meet the eyes of the one he knew would be screaming at him for the hundredth time.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the person hot on his back wouldn’t go straight up to him and swing him around in order to make their eyes meet. This being done, his small nose scrunched at the smell of cigarettes mixed with morning breath that came from the tall wiry woman in front of him. Hiei did his best not to look at her, for her eyes were tinted yellow and her skin was beginning to change from sickly pale to undeniable green. Her teeth were even coated with nicotine. “Hey pal…” Her bony hand grips around the scruff of his collar, very close to throttling. “You haven’t paid your damn rent yet… I’m sick of waiting kid…”
Hiei, on the other hand, took the situation coolly. “You’ll get your money…”
She snorted. “You always say that…”
“Do I keep my word?”
Her eyes narrowed as she let him go. “You got some nerve kid…”
“I have a name…”
Pulling back her long purple hair behind her ear, her silvery eyes flashed with impatience while her hands moved for another stick and the lighter. Sticking the cigarette in between her thin lips, she continued to talk while she struggled to the light the butt. “You sure do… It’s BRAT…”
“Hn.” That being the last thing said, he went on down the stairs- whose concrete steps were chipping and the black rail was gradually transforming into an unhealthy shade of orange-red- and left. Reaching the asphalt, he walked out of the complex and onto the sidewalk… ready for another crappy day to begin…
~*~*~*~
My tea’s gone cold- I’m wondering why… I got out of bed at all…
The morning rain clouds up my window- and I can’t see at all…
And even if I could- it’d all be gray, but your picture on my wall…
It reminds me that it’s not so bad… it’s not so bad…
I drank too much last night, got bills to pay, my head just feels in pain…
I missed the bus and there’ll be hell today, I’m late for work again…
And even if I’m there, they’ll all imply that I might not last the day…
And then you call me, and it’s not so bad, it’s not so bad…
~*~*~*~
Kouseiki High School. Better known as the cornerstone of all delinquency. Sometimes, Hiei would wonder why the teachers even bothered. None of them were even firm enough to manage non-excused absences. The only thing he noted about discipline in this school was that it was all centered on him. That is, should he be involved in some sort of mishap- no matter what the occasion or what story he had to offer, he was the guilty party. If anything, he could break a few limbs and still serve in detention. What was he? Some sort of minority? Whatever was the reason, Hiei didn’t seem to give a damn once he reached the fifth penalty.
Walking though the crowded hallways and crossroads of the interior building- schoolmates chattered animatedly; much to the extent that all that could be heard was a distorted buzz of murmuring. He shrugged at their loudness, it seems that out of everyone in the entire school- he was the only taciturn one. Making a turn to the left, then another turn to the right- Hiei slid the door to room number 712 A open. Homeroom.
Lazily, the young man set his book bag on his designated desk by the window and slumped into his chair. His teacher was up- front and center- busily scratching away at the board with a stubby piece of yellow chalk. The professor had thinning gray hair, and a potbelly that Hiei could swear that he would easily be able to bounce off of. Reverting his wine colored irises to the window, he noticed how even the dragonflies were hovering somewhat more indolently than usual. Something rare for dragonflies.
As always, he was the only one in the entire room at the time, and the teacher didn’t bother to take the time to even greet him. Well, not that he would have cared anyway. *It’s funny…* he would muse every morning. *It’s funny how everyday is a tired one… *
To a sudden break in his thoughts, a hand snatches his dark brown bag. Hiei didn’t blink. He knew who it was…
“Hey Jaganshi… You awake yet?”
“Been awake…” He shifted his body to face the other- who was standing and fiddling around with his bag playfully, but irritatingly. “Could you give that back? Stop spinning it around like some sort of top…”
The teen’s fingers fumbled, dropping the item on the table. “You’re always so serious…” He scratched through his scarlet colored tresses, eyebrows narrowing, and hazel eyes shrinking in size from boredom. “You should socialize…”
“Hn.”
“Is that all you’d like to say?”
“Hn is hn Morisato.”
“Well la de da to you too…”
Morisato took the seat next to Hiei’s and started getting ready for the day’s schedule. His head went bent over- in deep concentration, flipping through worksheets and sorting out essays by the handful before the ring of the bell. All the while, Hiei watched fairly uninterestedly. Sensing that he was being stared down, Morisato spoke up without having to lift his vision.
“Don’t you have your own work to do?”
Hiei snorted. “Hn. I’ll do it during class.”
The redhead laughed a little, shaking his head friendlily. “You’ve got brains… Lots too… Why don’t you assert them?”
“I don’t feel like it…”
“Such a shame…” He said with a hint of sarcasm. “And to think you spend most of your days here… Tsk…”
“Shut up. It’s not like the teachers care anyway…”
This caught the other’s interest. “Then why did you enroll yourself in school?”
A dent to the pride. Not a big dent, but it was a dent. Hiei crossed his arms with discomfort. “You already know I have to pay for everything… I can’t get a job around here without some sort of education backing my capabilities up. I have to at least finish high school…”
“Oh…” Morisato’s curiosity slowly drifted as he became more and more engrossed with his work. Even when the faithful bell rang, his irises never left what he had accomplished the previous night. He wasn’t at all disturbed by the filing of students coming through the narrow entrance either. His actions… They seemed… familiar… somehow…
“You remind me of someone…” Hiei whispered.
Inadvertently jerked from the wonderful world of academia, the redhead finally looked up. “Oh… Gomen… Did you say something…?”
Hiei’s small lips abruptly snapped shut, followed quickly by a gestured ‘no’ and a disregard to the whole matter. Morisato was used to this, and so, decided not to press Hiei to say anything more. Trying to pry words out of Jaganshi’s mouth was a feat yet to be accomplished.
*****
Some day. It took forever for the final bell to rap at the blessed gong- declaring the day’s freedom to those of adolescence- and what was worse was that the given homework was enough to cover what hours were left for that freedom. Hiei didn’t have time for this though- he had work to do and bills to pay. Another tally to the pessimism chart: violin practice. No time for thy self these years… Eating had been reduced to one coarse a day- two if he was lucky and sleep was always ranked number one on the deprivation list.
Hiei dragged his feet out of the facilities and in the direction of pain-staking labor. His eyes concentrated on each and every footfall. One step. Another. He had gotten so used to this routine that he no longer needed to keep a look out as to where he was going. In addition, he always knew if someone was coming in his direction- and therefore, he surprised these passer byres, no matter where they came from, by maneuvering to the left or right to avoid slamming into them.
Stop. He was being followed… AGAIN. He discovered earlier that there were three eerie shadows stretched towards him from behind. At first, he assumed that they were just other students on their way to wherever. This was so, until a wave of realization halted the motion of his body. What a wonder it is to be able to predict confrontation- especially one this pathetic and stupid. Spinning on his heel, he stood straight and was ready for another brawl. *This is old…I’m sick of it…*
“Hiei…” The tallest among the group of three lingered forward until there was only a foot’s distance between he and the shorter. “You DO know what this is about… Don’t you?”
He rolled his eyes at the idiocy of this entire situation. “Yes… and no I’m not giving you anything…Especially what you want…”
Turning to leave, he was held back by a brawny grip that pierced tightly at his shoulder blade. The grip was so fierce, his flesh broke and blood started seeping through his uniform.
His ears didn’t miss the ‘shit’ that was whispered by one of the accomplices, so Hiei smiled in satisfaction for being recognized of having a high threshold of pain. *Just a little longer… and then it will all be over…* Having the ‘kindness’ of letting the other enjoy himself get the best of him, it took only a nanosecond to take the bastard’s hold and twist it in a full 360, then lodge his forearm into the joint connecting to the elbow. The taller let out a bellowing wail as he crashed to his knees and hit the asphalt with the intensity of a falling elephant. The others gaped at this sight, and it took quite a bit of summoning to get the amount of testosterone they needed to strike back. The two lunged at him, pocketknives flicking open and glistening in the sun dangerously to point.
Jumping high above them, he knocked the knives out of their hold in a spin- kick
with supreme contact. The impact of his velocity, including the solidity of the soles of his shoes, cracked their wrists audibly when their palms were pushed all the way to the back- causing them both to scream and shed hot tears from the blow.
The blades were sent flying into the air, one embedding itself into the ground… and the other landing neatly in Hiei’s palm. He sprinted forward, and slit at their stomachs so quickly that they didn’t even notice they were hit until red started staining their shirts. One fled, whereas the other touched at his wound carefully. Pressing at his abdomen- he was indeed injured. His flesh was cushy and blood oozed at the pressure of his fingers. He raised his head, lips trembling with utmost fear that it was almost indescribable. Hiei took his belongings and went past the frozen goon, halting a little behind him to exchange a word of advice:
“I’m not afraid of blood… Not even my own… If YOU are, I suggest you stay away from me…”
He swallowed. “… Ha… Hai…”
*****
In spite of the fact he won the short dispute, he was injured pretty badly and so he limped in agony from the shooting of shock, which riveted his whole upper body. Piercing his lips together, Hiei did his best to pass-up the look of a casual pedestrian. It came to the point, however, where the cursed instrument he had to lug, along with his book bag, became heavier than usual. From this, he began to stride in such a lopsided fashion that Hiei depended on the brick wall for a little support
As he rounded a corner, his mind slipped and he forgot to make sure of the clearance in surroundings. His small body bounced back at the sudden blockade in front of him, making him crash backwards and land on his rear- dropping his cases in the process once more.
“Argh…” Hiei clutched onto his shoulder, red had completely saturated his upper left sleeve, and more of it was coursing down his arm and practically intensifying the darkness of the black cloth. His teeth gritted angrily and he snapped at the person he bumped into. “What the hell?! Watch where you’re going!!”
“Oh… Gomen nasai… Let me help you…” He sensed the other quickly bend down and shuffle his belongings together, later having them placed gently on top of his lap. Not even attempting to move a muscle, his irises darted upwards to catch the view of the one offering assistance. At the sight of him- he blinked. His hair… it was long and beautiful. It shone over from the light of the sun- glossy. It was crimson in color, and it blew in the wind in light flying rivers. That hair…
“Do I… Know you…?”
The stranger glanced up from his crouched position. When his eyes met his, they glew vibrantly with a tone of green so deep, yet so bright that one would think of them to be as priceless as the rarest of emeralds. “No… I don’t think so…”
They both stood up and parted, not saying anything after that…
---------
**Song in Fic by Dido (Pronounced Dye-doe) “Thank you”
chapter 2 >>