Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Old Demons Die Hard ❯ Don't Stop the Bleeding, Keiko ( Chapter 4 )

Old Demons Die Hard

Chapter IV:

Don't Stop The Bleeding, Keiko

Disclaimer: Bla bla bla, Funimation and Yoshihiro Togashi, bla bla bla…

)*(

Keiko groped for the doorknob, a large brown grocery bag clutched in her arm. The house felt cool and inviting as she opened the door and glided into the kitchen, and with a heavy sigh, she set the bag on the counter. She should feel lucky to have such a home, three beautiful kids, and a loving and supportive husband. But at this precise moment in her life, she felt nothing but sorrow and something just short of anxiety. "I almost don't want him to come home, tonight," she thought as she pulled a carton of milk from the bag.

Yusuke was a highly successful man. As a juvenile delinquent, it seemed he would never amount to much. But Keiko had tried her damnedest to get him into a good High School, and the hard work had most definitely paid off. Yusuke had gotten a wonderful job at a martial arts video game company in Tokyo, and was immediately promoted and asked to come to work at the United States branch in New York City. It was a dream come true. But just what exactly had Keiko done with her life?

She was a teacher. She taught… lots of things. OK, so maybe she was just a tutor, but that's still a teacher, right? She had convinced herself of that, at least. European Literature was her fancy, and being a college professor was her dream. But because of the move to the U.S., and having three children, she had barely managed to get a basic teaching degree. She tried to find jobs and prestigious high schools in the area, even a few Junior Colleges, but her home life had prevented her from having any hope of a big, successful career at the present. So, she contented herself with being a tutor for high school kids having trouble passing certain classes. She didn't charge much, nor did she need to. She was patient and friendly, and had had a 100% success rate. But she still was not satisfied.

She loved her children and her husband, but they were her only obstacles at pursuing her dream career. She felt guilty for even thinking that, but it was the truth, she knew. And as of late, Yusuke had been bothering her. He was nervous for no reason, jumpy… he would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. His nervous energy had infected her as well. She tried to make him go to the doctor, but he would just smile and say it was alright. "No, it's not alright…" She jumped at her own words, not realizing she had actually verbalized her thoughts.

"I'm being silly and stupid," she said as she placed the bread in the pantry. "If I say it enough, I might actually start to believe it. The children mustn't know their father is going crazy." Kamaru, the oldest, had begun to sense something. Atsuka and Seita were oblivious. They were the normal kids of the trio. Atsuka was a pretty little 9-year-old girl who liked kittens and pink. Seita was a curious and inquisitive 6-year-old boy who was quite smart for his age. But Kamaru had always been different. The 12-year-old boy always got into trouble at school and could never keep his grades up. Keiko was ashamedly frightened of him at times. He had a way of just staring… at people, at objects, or just into space… it made her skin crawl. He hadn't always done it, just in the past few months or so. But day by day, she found his actions ever more sinister.

"Stop that, Kama-chan," she said one day. "You're weirding me out!" Kamaru looked up at her, giving a small scowl. "You think I don't want to stop?" Keiko retorted, "Don't talk to me in that manner." Kamaru shrugged and looked down at the floor.

"Why do you do that all the time?" she asked.

Kamaru shrugged again.

"Give me an answer," she said, this time more sharply.

"I dunno."

"That's not an answer."

"Well, it's the only one I can give."

"Go to your room!" she yelled. "I'm tired of your smart mouth! You should be thanking me for not telling your father about that F on your last science test, not mouthing off!"

He looked up at her and blinked. "I wasn't being smart, I was being truthful. And I didn't ask you to keep it a secret for me, anyway."

His monotonous tone drove her over the edge. She slapped him hard. "I am sick of you! Go, now! I don't care where, just go!"

He put a hand over his cheek and continued to blink up at her, reflecting no emotion whatsoever. He stood silently and left, walking upstairs in his slow, usual pace.

Kamaru never used a smart tone, and she knew that he probably didn't mean things the way they came out. But, it was as if something inside him didn't know any better. She felt so guilty after that incident that she had made him fudge brownies and took them up to his room and apologized.

Keiko finished putting up the groceries and sat down on one of the barstools, pouring herself a glass of ginger ale. Christopher Bentley would be coming over in about an hour for their Math lesson. Chris was a nice, smart kid, but he had never been able to grasp Algebra. She liked Chris, she wished Kamaru would be more like that. I'm a horrible mother, she thought suddenly. I do great with Atsuka and Seita, but I've always managed to fuck up when it comes Kamaru. She took a long sip from the crystal glass and set it back down on the counter with a tiny "ching."

"Hey," said Kamaru.

Keiko jumped. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey… I forgot you came home early today." The electricity was to be turned off at Kamaru's school for a few hours for a few adjustments, and the kids were dismissed early. "I've got a student coming in a bit. It would be better if you didn't stick around; having other kids around makes the students feel uncomfortable. You'll watch Seita and Atsuka when they get home, won't you?"

"Mm, sure thing," said Kamaru, thumbing through a magazine on the kitchen counter. He gives me the creeps, thought Keiko. He was just so nonchalant about everything, it was frightening.

"So, how was school today?" she asked, putting on a motherly tone.

"It was school," shrugged Kamaru.

"What all did you do?"

"The usual."

"I see…" Keiko sighed. It was no use talking to him. He was always like this.

"How's Dad doing?"

Keiko paused for a moment. "Your father? You know how he is, Kamaru, you live with him."

Kamaru blinked at her. "You know what I mean."

Keiko raised an eyebrow. "No… I don't believe I do…"

"The dreams and stuff…"

Keiko rose from the table. She could feel the blood draining from her face. "What dreams? Your father hasn't been having any dreams."

"It's OK, Mom, I won't tell Seita and Atsuka."

"There's nothing TO tell them. Honestly, Kamaru, you daydream too much."

"Last time I checked, I wasn't the one daydreaming. I prefer to stick to reality, I suggest you do the same."

Keiko banged her fist on the table. "Don't get smart with me, young man! You are imagining things! Maybe I should take you to a psychologist!"

Kamaru blinked unabashedly. "If nothing is going on, why are you making such a big deal about it?"

"I…" Dammit, thought Keiko. He's too smart for me. "Because, you're always like this, and I want you to stop."

"It has to do with me, I know that much at least. Why I'm different, why I don't fit in…"

"Kamaru, stop it! You are normal, you're just in a phase, it will pass!"

"Who are Kurama and Hiei?"

Keiko had slapped Kamaru several times before she realized what she was doing. Kamaru put a hand to his cheek. He looked away, expressionless. "You… I don't know how you know… but you had better not utter those names in this house ever again."

"Fine, let's go outside and talk. I have a lot of questions."

"You know what I mean," Keiko said through gritted teeth. "You know-it-all smart ass. They were bad people, they weren't even people! You will not contaminate the air by speaking their names. I forbid it." He had gone too far. She was not responsible for her actions now. HOW did he know? Was he psychic? There was nothing in the house, no pictures or letters or anything… How could he possibly know? She wanted to know, but she had just forbidden him to speak of it. She didn't want to think of it. That was long ago, she had put it all behind her.

"I think I know what Dad's been dreaming…"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" She grabbed his shirt collar and flung him back and forth. "SHUT UP! I TOLD YOU, SHUT UP!"

"Let go of me, you bitch!" Kamaru tugged out of her grasp. It was the first time she had ever heard him yell.

"You won't call me that…" Her tone dropped.

"Not so confident now are you?"

"What are you doing to me, Kamaru?" She sat back down at the table and buried her head in her hands.

"All I want is to know stuff… Why is it so bad that I can't even mention it?"

"Because that's the way things are!" She knocked over the glass of ginger ale. "Kamaru, please, it upsets me…"

"Yeah, a lot of things upset you. Being screamed at upsets me, but I have to live with it."

"Oh, Kamaru…" Keiko rose to hug him, but Kamaru held out a hand.

"No. Don't."

"But… I'm sorry, Kamaru…"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry… I'm a terrible mother, I know…" She halfheartedly waited for him to contradict her, but she knew he wouldn't. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"You will. But that's OK, I'm prepared."

Keiko couldn't even think of anything to say. She stood, smoothing her hands over herself. "Chris will be here soon. So will your brother and sister. Let us regain our composure and pretend this never happened."

"Ha," said Kamaru with a smirk. "You can if you want."

Keiko narrowed her eyes. "Kamaru… I don't need this right now. Please, just pretend, for me."

"OK," said Kamaru. "But, there's something I wanted to tell you."

Keiko cocked her head. "Yes?"

"Don't stop the bleeding."

"What?"

"The blood. You can't stop it. Don't try, you'll only be in the way."

"I … I don't know what you mean…"

"The dream. The blood. Don't stop the bleeding. I'm supposed to tell you that. I just sorta felt … what's the word? Compelled, I felt compelled to tell you that."

"Kamaru …"

"You can try to hide it all you want, mom. But the blood will flow. It has already flowed. I have the dreams, too, you know. You can pretend all you want, you can try to be a little tourniquet, but I know. I've known all along. I won't talk about it with you if this is going to happen again, but I will talk about it to someone because I need to know. Just …" He gave a sinister smirk. "Don't stop the bleeding."

Kamaru turned and ascended up the stairs to his bedroom.

Keiko stared into blank space for almost half an hour. Atsuka and Seita arrived home on their bus and she greeted them warmly. Christopher Bentley stopped by shortly after, and they had a very successful and enjoyable tutoring session. Then, before Yusuke got home, Keiko went outside, under the oak tree in the back yard, and carved a message into her left arm with a kitchen knife - Stop. Not real.

)*(

Note from the Author:

Hullo all! First I just want to apologize for taking so long to update. I will try not to let it happen again. My life has been really screwed up these past few months, but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to devote more time to my fanfics. ^-^

As you can tell in this chapter, I personally have a strong and utter loathing for Keiko. I hope I didn't make it too apparent. LOL ^-^

You will hear things from Yusuke's point of view soon, as well as Kamaru's. And of course, the big confrontation with Hiei and Kurama is coming up as well. So, stay tuned! ^-^

Thanks for reading! ^-^