Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Codependency ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

Codependency

Chapter Four

"So, I heard that Kuwabara is going to pay for Yukina's operation…"

Hiei nodded.

"And you're happy now?"

Hiei shrugged. "Happier than before."

Shuuichi laughed. "You just can't let anyone know how you feel, can you?"

Hiei looked up from where he was marking a bomb above one of the shrink's battleships. "What makes you say that?" he asked innocently.

"Cute, Hiei. Real cute."

…is he serious? Or is he just kidding?

"But really, you're not as good at hiding your feelings as you think you are." Hiei watched as Shuuichi placed a mark over his last battleship. "Ha ha, I won!"

"You're an idiot."

"There you go again. You say I'm an idiot, but really, you think I'm just great and magnificent," Shuuichi declared, throwing his hair over his shoulder.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"At least I'm not in denial like you."

"Well at least I don't wear pink sneakers."

"What's wrong with my sneakers?!"

"They're pink."

"So! I'm a girly boy; I can wear pink if I want to, dammit!" Shuuichi yelled angrily, pounding a fist down on the table.

Hiei stared at the other boy before he lost control and burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA HA!"

"What are you laughing at?" Shuuichi asked crossly.

"…nothing," Hiei muttered, quieting.

The redhead stared at the wall, resting his chin on his palm, an elbow propped up on the chair arm.

"Something wrong?"

Shuuichi shook his head. "Nah."

"Hn. You're one to lecture me about hiding my emotions."

"SHUUUUUUUUUUICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" came a great yell from outside; half a second later, the door burst open, revealing a tall man with wavy black hair.

Shuuichi glared, quickly standing. "What are you doing here?! I told you to leave me alone while I was working!"

"It's not like I'm interrupting anything useful or constructive," the man said. "And anyway, I come forth bearing gifts-namely the lunch you forgot this morning because you were in such a hurry to leave." The man dropped a pink lunch box on the table in front of Shuuichi.

Shuuichi blinked at it. "Oh. Thanks."

"If you want to thank me, then do it with your body," the man whispered huskily, although it was certainly loud enough for poor, virgin-eared Hiei to hear it.

"You're a pervert."

"Meh." He shrugged.

"I'm with a patient now-I'd really appreciate it if you left."

The man didn't heed Shuuichi, instead opting to sit next to him. Hiei thought it must be awfully cramped, with the both of them squeezed into that supposed-to-only-seat-one-person couch. Grr…

"Karasu! Get off me!"

"Oh, but why?" Karasu purred, draping his arms around Shuuichi.

"Not in front of the Hiei!" Shuuichi yelled, finally managing to scramble off the couch. He hit the floor with a flump.

Violet eyes surveyed Hiei appraisingly; Hiei looked away uncomfortably. "He would enjoy watching."

Shuuichi glared severely. "Get out! Out out out!" he shouted, ushering Karasu to the door.

"Oh, fine. But I must ask, Shuuichi: did you run out of Midol again?"

Shuuichi grabbed his desk lamp, staring warningly at Karasu. "I might have."

"I'll take that as a yes," Karasu said briskly, walking back to Shuuichi and pressing a kiss to the other's lips. Then he waltzed out the door.

Shuuichi stared after him, a vein throbbing in his temple. "Grr…" he slowly put his desk lamp back on the table. Shuuichi began muttering things under his breath, most of which were probably not suitable for polite company.

Hiei, meanwhile, was being pummeled by multiple tidal waves of envy. He supposed he should have expected that Shuuichi got kissed by Karasu, among other assorted things… but it was so much worse to see it happen. He narrowed his eyes.

"Something wrong?" Shuuichi asked, peering at him.

"Nothing," he grunted.

"…are you jealous?"

"NO!" Hiei yelled.

"I was only asking…" he said softly. "Of course, since you so vehemently protested, that means you are jealous!"

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"AM NOT!" Hiei bellowed.

Shuuichi grinned. "…you think I'm pulchritudinous, don't you?"

Hiei blinked. "I don't even know what that means."

"You think I'm attractive!" Shuuichi exclaimed, waving his arms in the air.

Hiei stared at Shuuichi. "I'm attracted to you about as much as I'm attracted to Porky the policeman," he stated evenly.

"Oh, yeah right. Hiei, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Shuuichi said, batting his eyelashes girlishly. "I've had many admirers over the years."

"Don't you think Karasu would be angry if he knew you were seducing a patient?"

"…probably. But I suppose since you call it `seducing', it is working, yes?"

Hiei huffed angrily. "I'm not attracted to you, all right!"

"…are you non?" Shuuichi asked innocently.

"NO!"

"Then what's your orientation?"

"I DON'T KNOW, ALL RIGHT?!"

"Oh, poor, poor Hiei… mouuuuuuu for you, Hi-chan…" Shuuichi said mournfully. "I have confused Murphy…"

"What the hell you babbling about now?" Hiei asked furiously.

"Oh… nothing!" Shuuichi said, standing up. "Off you go, now!" With a large smile on his face, he ushered Hiei toward the door.

"I get the feeling we're wasting a lot of the government's money," Hiei stated, walking away.

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"…damn Karasu…" Hiei stabbed his meat irritably, ignoring the looks that Yuusuke and Kuwabara were giving him. It really irked him… the nerve of some people… Shuuichi was evil, but in an annoying way; Karasu's evil was ultimate and… perverse. And also perverted. Karasu was not worthy of Shuuichi's magnificence…

He stabbed into his Jell-o. It recoiled, scampering away from his murderous spoon. He growled, staring at it intensely. "KILLLLLLLLLLLL!"

"You OK, Hiei?"

"I'm fine. Just fine."

"Did your lover leave you?"

"I don't have a lover."

"Did Yukina decide to go out with Kuwabara?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult my sister that way."

"Well, then what's wrong with you!?"

"NOTHING'S WRONG WITH ME!" He bellowed, glaring at Yuusuke with enough force to cause a Nazgul to go crying to his mother. The black-haired boy, however, didn't seem to be affected by it-Hiei decided it must be because he was too stupid to realize he should be scared. Right.

Yuusuke paused to think, stroking his chin as if he were a Cuban whispering about Fidel Castro. "…did you meet Shuuichi's boyfriend, then?"

Hiei tried his glare once more. After he had proved his ammunition futile for a second time, he abandoned it. He stared darkly at the floor, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Aww, poor Hiei!" Yuusuke said sympathetically, putting his arms around Hiei's shoulders in what was supposed to be a comforting manner. "Should I go and fetch you a box of Kleenexes?"

Hiei refused to answer, so Yuusuke continued. "Did they make out while you were there?"

"No."

"Aww, you really should be sad!" Yuusuke exclaimed. "The first time I met Shuuichi's boyfriend…" his voice trailed off and his eyes took on a strange shine. "Well, anyway, that Karasu is one lucky man!"

"…they didn't…?"

"Oh, not while I was there. Karasu threw me out after about fifteen minutes…"

"That completely shatters Shuuichi's `professional image', doesn't it?"

"Oh, yeah," Yuusuke said, grinning like an idiot.

"You voyeur."

"You'd have stared too!" Yuusuke said defensively. "I mean… I got to see Shuuichi without his lab coat on…"

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "I thought you were the straight guy here…"

"I am! I just… appreciate men who look like female supermodels."

Hiei coughed uncomfortably.

"Shuuichi looks even prettier without his lab coat… oh, and I got to see his stomach! And… hear him make all kinds of interesting sounds…"

"Shut up before I carve out your heart with this spoon," Hiei threatened, jabbing his spoon at Yuusuke's chest.

"Poor heartbroken Hiei!" Yuusuke said, `weeping'.

"SHUT UP!" Hiei yelled, knocking Yuusuke to the ground and proceeding to remove his heart.

"…oww… could you please not put your knee in my lung?"

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Good significant others do not bash people over their heads with frying pans. Shuuichi is not a good significant other.

"I thought you liked it when I kissed you," Karasu muttered, sensing what the outburst of anger was about. He rubbed his head in an attempt to ease the escalating pain at the back of his skull.

"You didn't have to do it in front of my patient," Shuuichi said angrily, going back to the kitchen and placing the pan on an eye.

Karasu had followed, and was staring as the little puddle of Canola oil began to heat in the center of the pan. "…Didn't matter so much a few months ago… we put on quite a show for that one patient of yours…" He grinned.

"We're lucky he didn't tell Koenma. I could've lost my job because of that." Shuuichi pulled a large knife from the cutlery drawer.

Karasu took a step back, just in case Shuuichi decided to pull a `Psycho' on him. "You don't really need a job, Shuuichi. You know I'm rich enough to support the both of us."

"I like my work," Shuuichi stated, beginning to cut the broccoli stalks from the rest of the vegetable.

"Aww, Shuuichi, there are plenty of screw-ups in the world. I'm sure you'll be able to find work that makes you happy anywhere."

Shuuichi finally met Karasu's eyes. "Don't say things like that," came the warning answer.

"…it's true."

"It's not my fault I have problems. Don't make fun of me because of them."

"I'm not making fun, Shuuichi. Not at all." Karasu smiled innocently.

Shuuichi turned away, refusing to look at the black-haired man. He dropped the broccoli into the pan, wincing as some of the hot oil bounced back and splattered on his hand. Tears automatically gathered in the corner of his eyes; he hissed in pain, cradling the hand to his chest.

"Shuuichi, you know better than that," Karasu said, sighing. He took Shuuichi's hand in his own, holding a piece of ice against the reddened skin. "You have to drop it close so it doesn't spatter…"

"It hurts…"

Karasu sighed. "You fix your hand; I'll finish the stir fry."

The first piece of ice had already melted, so Shuuichi opened the freezer and got another one. He sighed with relief as he felt the skin cooling. He pressed the ice into his skin for a few more moments before dropping the considerably smaller-than-before piece in the sink. "Karasu…"

"Hm?"

"…where is this relationship going?" he asked, staring at Karasu's back.

For a moment all he could hear was the sizzling of the onions Karasu had just dropped into the pan. "Downhill," he stated finally, pouring a little soy sauce over the food.

"But why?"

"Because we can't stand each other anymore."

"Why not?"

"You're the psychologist, Shuuichi. You figure it out."

"Is it over, then?"

"…no. There's still a chance, I suppose."

"I don't want this to end, Karasu. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately… I really am," he mumbled, staring at the floor.

Karasu smirked. "Yeah, I know. After all, having a relationship that didn't fail would be a personal triumph, ne?"

Shuuichi stared at Karasu, hurt. "That's cruel, Karasu. Really cruel."

"I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine, darling. I mean, you've been being such a bitch all week…" Karasu muttered lazily, lopping a plate of mushrooms into the mix.

"…you bastard!" Shuuichi yelled angrily, stomping out the front door.

"Hmm… that was cruel, even for me," Karasu mused. "Oh, well. He'll be back. He always comes back."

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Hiei tried to cast the images from his mind. However, the pictures of Karasu and Shuuichi kept playing over and over… he couldn't sleep because of the ache in the pit of his stomach. Sure, he hadn't eaten, but somehow he didn't think that a lack of food was the cause…

He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to ease the pain. It refused to go away, no matter what he did. He sat up, pulling his sheet around him. Why?

He glanced to his left, at the bed beside his. Yuusuke was snoring loudly, so there would be no point in trying to ask him. Hiei doubted that anything Yuusuke said would help him anyway. So… who could he ask? Kuwabara was even more of an idiot than Yuusuke, Jin was scary, Touya blended in too well with the wall, so Hiei probably wouldn't be able to find him… who else could he ask? Why did everything hurt? It was like there was this gaping hole penetrating his insides, but he didn't know why it was there…

"I'm not good with emotions…" he muttered bitterly. His stomach took a turn as he stood up; he put his hands over his mouth, praying he wouldn't puke. It took a moment before his stomach settled again; now, the pain had spread to his throat and he was hit by a gentle wave of nausea. He no longer felt the urge to retch, but the ache was back now, and more persistent.

"Damn it all…" he sunk back in his bed, burrowing into the mattress as best as he could. "Maybe I can ask Shuuichi about it tomorrow… I mean, he's a terrible shrink, but… he might be able to help."

Hiei sighed, settling down for a long, sleepless night.

Finished on 10/09/04

Beta-ed by Millennium Dreamer

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AN: Mou! I'm sorry it's shorter than normal, but I couldn't bear to drag it out any longer… so, Shuu has moodswings, Karasu is a prick, and Hiei feels the stirrings… and no, he isn't having middle-of-the-night sickness. And now I will answer a couple reviews.

What2CallMyself: Why Shuuichi is with Karasu? Well, Karasu is rich. Shuuichi was pretty much dirt poor since all the money he made in high school went to the necessities instead of helping him with college. So, Shuuichi figured he could go out with the super-rich man and it would all be peachy. Meanwhile, their relationship used to be a lot better than it is now. They used to… like each other. Eh heh heh. As for Hina… I hadn't thought about it. Oops. She's not too important to the story at the moment.

Shadow Priestess: Yeah, I thought about that too… normally, Hiei would've turned down help from Kuwabara, but since it's his beloved sister's life on the line… he has no choice but to accept help.

Oh, and everyone is allowed to pound Karasu now. I'm rather angry myself. Mouuu.

Please R & R! It boosts my almost dangerously low self-esteem!