Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ One Week ❯ Saturday ( Chapter 7 )

One Week

Chapter Seven

Kurama, once again, found himself in the park. Surprisingly, it was deserted when he got there. Kurama plopped down on a bench, ignoring the papers that were blowing all around him. It was really windy out…

He sighed. It was just too much… first Kuronue, then Karasu, and now…Hiei. He had trusted Hiei, but now… he just couldn't trust him anymore. He wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to block out the cold. He stared into the dark sky, wondering what to do about this. He wanted to keep being Hiei's friend, but if he broke the boy's heart… well, their relationship could become quite problematic.

"It would be so much easier if he didn't love me..." Kurama mumbled. "I know he really loves me, but I still can't trust him…"

He wished he had brought a jacket.

"I want to trust him…"

A raindrop plip-plopped to the ground.

"…this sucks."

A fat drop of rain fell on his head. Kurama looked up; at the moment, there was a light drizzle coming down. He knew he should get out of the rain, but he didn't feel like he had anywhere to go. He pressed himself further into the bench, hoping that the overhanging trees would protect him from the rain.

"I don't know what to do… I wish life wasn't so damn hard…"

"There's a storm coming…" came a familiar voice from right behind him. "You shouldn't be out here."

"Ku-Kuronue?!" he yelped. The other boy nodded, taking a seat beside him. Kurama's eyes narrowed. "What the hell makes you think you can sit next to me?"

Kuronue shrugged. "It's a free country," he stated calmly.

"You know damn well that's not what I mean! …do you really have the gall to talk to me after what you did?!"

"…Kurama, I think that one of your biggest problems right now was caused by me not talking to you after we broke up."

"Pretty late for talk now, isn't it?"

"…do you know I why I broke up with you?" Kuronue asked, staring at Kurama.

"Yes."

"You do?" Kuronue asked, surprised.

"Yes. I was bad in bed."

Kuronue gave a hollow laugh. "Don't be silly. You were great, and I wouldn't have dumped you just because of that anyway," Kuronue said, waving off the suggestion.

"So why, then?" Kurama asked. "If there was a problem, you could have told me before I slept with you… it would have saved us both a lot of regret."

"I really am sorry, Shuuichi. I know you don't believe me, but I truly thought that our relationship could work…" Kuronue trailed off.

Kurama stared at the distant buildings and refused to look at the other boy. Kuronue sighed heavily.

"How about I start from the beginning?"

"I might just decide that I don't want to hear what you have to say… and then I'll leave."

Kuronue continued, as if Kurama hadn't said anything. "It was really Youko who I loved all along… but, well… you know how Youko is. He isn't into long-term relationships."

"And apparently, neither are you," Kurama shot back.

"But then a few years later, you started liking me… so I thought that if I gave the relationship a chance, maybe I could grow to love you… and I did. I really did love you, Shuuichi. It's just… just…" Kuronue's voice trembled slightly. "…In the end, I realized that my love for Youko was stronger than anything else… and that I'd made a terrible mistake…"

"Knowing the truth is nice and all, but it doesn't do a damn bit of good in the Cheering-Up-Shuuichi department. So you loved Youko and you loved me, but it took having sex with me to make you realize that you loved Youko more?"

Kuronue didn't say anything. He refused to look at the other boy.

"So, what's going to happen? If by some miracle Youko consents to sleeping with you, then will you decide that you love me more than him?"

"It's not like that, dammit!" Kuronue yelled.

"So then what is it like?! Huh?"

"I don't know! Stop asking me! I DON'T KNOW!" Kuronue had grabbed Kurama's wrist, pressing down on the underside of it with his fingernail.

Kurama's face broke into an evil grin. "…Kuronue… it's really in your best interest to be nice to me…"

Kuronue framed him with his piercing gaze.

"Didn't you wonder why Youko was still best friends with you, even after all that you did to me?" Kurama asked. Kuronue's eyes lit up with interest. "I didn't tell him about what you did to me. He just thinks you dumped me. If I told him… do you really think he'd like you if he knew what you'd done to his baby brother?"

Kuronue let go of Kurama's wrist, hands falling to his sides. "What about your concussion?"

"…I told them I got mugged."

"…Why would you protect me like that? …After everything I did to you…"

Kurama looked away angrily. "I didn't do it for you," he huffed.

"Then why?"

"…When I first started going out with you… everyone told me that it was a bad idea, that I needed to break up with you or you would hurt me. And when you did… well, I didn't want to admit to them that they were right…"

"Shuuichi… I… I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"Like hell you are," Shuuichi spat. He proceeded to stomp off.

Kuronue placed a gentle hand on Kurama's shoulder. "…Shuuichi… please."

Kurama glared up at the other boy. "Keep your hands off me, bastard," Kurama shot.

"…Don't go… I'm not done yet…"

Kurama ignored him.

"…You never ran away before…"

"Is Hiei there?" came the voice from the other end of the line.

Hiei's eyes narrowed… he knew that voice… "This is he."

"Do you know where Kurama is?" Karasu asked, sounding worried.

"No, and even if I did, I don't think he'd want you to know where he was."

"I don't want to come over and see him, I just want to know that he's safe… tell him that?"

Hiei sighed. "He's not here."

"What? I was certain he'd be at your house…"

"Well, he was here earlier… but… he left."

"What did you do?" Karasu asked. "Did you finally tell him how you feel or something?"

"Hn."

"Oh, you dummy! You should have at least waited until Kuronue left the city!"

"…he's here?"

"Yeah…"

"…DAMMIT!" Hiei yelled into the phone.

"…Ow," Karasu croaked, grasping his abused ears.

"All right, Karasu. Listen up, because this is the only time this is going to happen. We're going to look for Kurama. Together."

"…but Tokyo is so big… and there's a storm coming… we'll never find him in time…"

"I know… but Kurama will stay in the storm if we let him. You don't want him to catch pneumonia and die, do you?"

"Of course not! I love him almost as much as you do!"

Hiei coughed. "Anyway…we'll look in all the places Kurama usually goes, and…stuff. Meet me at the park, K?"

"…Sure."

Hiei hung up.

"You finally made it, Kuro!"

"…is Shuuichi here?" Kuronue asked, peering inside the house.

Youko's face fell. "No. Actually, I was hoping that maybe you knew where he was…"

Kuronue shook his head. "I found him in the park earlier and talked to him, but… it didn't go very well."

Youko looked at the floor for a moment before his gaze flicked back to Kuronue. "Oh, well! Don't stand outside like that! Come in out of the rain!" he stepped back to allow Kuronue entry. Kuronue plopped down on the couch, tired.

"What's wrong?" Youko asked, concerned, as he watched Kuronue bury his face in his hands. Kuronue peered through his fingertips at the worried boy whose face was mere inches from his own. He turned away quickly so that Youko wouldn't notice his blush.

"It's nothing," Kuronue grumbled, as Youko plopped down on the sofa beside him.

"Hey, Kuro…"

"Hm?"

"…what exactly did you do to Shuuichi? He hasn't said a word to me about it."

"Why is everyone suddenly so focused on what happened between us?"

"Because there's something wrong with Shuu-chan… and you seem to be the root of the problem," Youko declared, staring evenly at Kuronue. "Why did you break up with him?" Youko had closed in again; his demanding breaths beat against Kuronue's cheek.

"Why did I break up with him?" Kuronue leaned closer. "You want to know why?"

"Yes!"

Kuronue pulled Youko into a feverish kiss. Youko's back hit the sofa cushions with a flump. Kuronue was perched atop him, panting. "That's why."

Youko's eyes had bugged out; he gasped. "Kuro!" he moaned.

"Ne?"

"You're crushing my lung!" Youko squeaked.

"Oh. Sorry." Kuronue grinned sheepishly, moving back to allow Youko some space.

"So…umm… did that mean what I think it meant?" Youko asked, framing Kuronue with his golden gaze.

"Yes. Youko… I love you."

"…This is all very odd."

"So, how do you feel about me?"

Youko rested his chin on his hands, staring off into space. "I… dunno. You're my friend, first and foremost, but..."

"But what?"

"There could be something there… eventually."

"I suppose that's the most I could have asked for anyway," Kuronue mumbled, shrugging.

"I still want to know what you did to Shuuichi," Youko reminded.

"If I told you, you'd hate me forever," Kuronue stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I won't hate you. I might kill you, though. You know, depending on what you did."

"…then can I at least pick out my burial plot before I tell you?"

Youko blinked. "It's that bad?"

"…yes…"

"Then tell me. I care about Shuuichi and I can't help him if I don't even know what's wrong with him."

Kuronue slumped in his seat. "Fine. Well, it all started when I met you…"

"And… well, I told him that I loved him, and he ran off… but for some reason, I don't think it was entirely my fault for him being so upset," Hiei said pointedly, staring at Karasu.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Karasu asked, offended.

"Gee, he probably started the day off at your house. What happened?"

Karasu blushed. "Er… well… we slept together!" he declared happily, raising his fist in the air as an accompaniment to his expression of joy.

Hiei made an angry noise in the back of his throat. "…Judging by how this is going, Kurama is going to have sex with everyone but me," he whined.

Karasu's eyes bulged. "I never knew you were a pervert, Hiei."

Hiei crossed his arms, pouting.

"But either way, we just slept. There's no reason to get jealous; I bet you and Kurama sleep in the same bed all the time."

Hiei glared.

"You don't?!" Karasu shrieked, shock written over his features.

"What planet do you come from?"

"Erm… the Makai?"

"Idiot."

"We're supposed to be saving Kurama from certain death," Karasu reminded, yawning.

"Oh. Right. Kuuuuuuuraaaaaamaaaaaa!"

"Kuuuuuuuraaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Shut up, idiot," Hiei said warningly.

"Why should I listen to you, shorty?!"

Hiei lifted his eyes skyward, to the branches of a tree hanging above them. Karasu followed his gaze. "Oh." Karasu turned, pretending to be angry. "So, what am I supposed to do about the price of eggs in China?!

"I don't know, but you'd better do something about it!" The two of them were standing next to the tree. "I'M ANGRYYYYYYYY!" Hiei yelled, punching outward; Karasu ducked and Hiei's fist smacked into the tree.

"…are you O.K.?" Karasu asked, making sure that Kurama couldn't hear him from his place in the tree.

"My hand is gushing blood," Hiei murmured lazily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hiei," Karasu said loudly. Lightning flashed overhead. "We'd better get going." The two wandered out of sight.

Kurama heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness… they left."

"Left? Who left?" a voice asked, right beside him.

"Eek!" Kurama shrieked, surprised. He lost his balance and fell out of the tree and into Karasu's arms.

"Come here often?" Karasu asked, smiling.

"YOU FREAK!" Kurama yelled. Hiei landed beside Karasu.

"Your house, I suppose?" Hiei asked.

Karasu nodded. "I figure it'd be best to go to a place without adults. You know, in case Kurama decides to kill us or anything."

"…idiot."

And they wandered through the rain and thunder…

"You O.K.?" came a soft, concerned voice from beside his ear. Kurama cautiously opened his eyes to see Hiei bent over him, holding a wet rag in his hand.

"Yeah… I'm fine," Kurama whispered, feeling awkward. "…I'm sorry about earlier today…"

Hiei shrugged. "It's fine. If you don't feel the same way, then I'll just have to deal with it. Plain and simple, ne?" Hiei was giving Kurama his best fake smile, but the other boy saw through it.

"Hiei…"

"Hn?"

"You don't have to lie for my sake," Kurama mumbled, trying to sit up. "Kami knows I don't deserve the kindness you're giving me."

"Shut up, idiot," Hiei muttered, placing a gentle hand on Kurama's shoulder, "You're delusional. You have no idea what you're talking about."

Kurama smiled slightly.

"…you certainly look happy, Kurama. What have you two been doing?" Karasu asked as he entered the room, carrying a tray with assorted random breakfast foods spilled across it.

"Why are you here?"

Karasu fake-coughed as he sat the tray down in the middle of the bed. "Once again, Kura-chan… it's my house!" He sat down on the edge of the bed, helping himself to a piece of toast. "Apple juice?" he asked, holding up one of those cute little juice boxes that elementary schoolers take to drink with their lunch.

Kurama and Hiei both took one. "So…"

"The weather man says the storm is about cleared up," Karasu mumbled, attempting to begin a conversation. "That means that you can leave in a few hours."

"…Hiei might be able to, but I can't," Kurama said, sipping his juice.

"Why not?"

"The week isn't up yet, is it?" Kurama said, shrugging.

Karasu turned his eyes to the floor. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to, Kurama… I won't keep you here against your will any longer."

Kurama gave Karasu a half-smile. "I know. But I want to stay."

"WHAT?!" the two other boys exclaimed in unison.

"…I dunno," Kurama mumbled, twirling a lock of his hair between his fingers, "I just feel like I owe it to you. I mean, you're an insane stalker, but… you cared enough about me to come looking for me in an almost-hurricane…sooooo…"

"Hn. If Kurama's staying, I'm staying too," Hiei declared resolutely. "I have to make sure you don't try to take advantage of Kurama… again." He glared at Karasu; apparently their truce had ended and they hated each other again.

"Thanks, Hiei," Kurama mumbled, and pulled Hiei into a hug.

Hiei blushed.

"Aww, how sweet! You two are so cute together!" Karasu said happily.

Kurama glared and threw a pillow at him.

Finished on 8/11/04

Beta-ed by Evil Chibi Malik

I shall now answer more reviews! …not all of them, but some. Mou.

What2callmyself- wow… you give interesting reviews a lot! Anyway… well, I didn't really know what I was going for with the Karasu scene… I don't especially want you to feel sorry for him (although I felt sorry for him, so… heh), it's just… sorta my way of explaining a bit about why he acts the way he does. Or something.

As for minors getting liquor/alcohol… and stuff like that. Well, it can't be too hard, considering there are sixth graders in my neighborhood who smoke pot and get drunk… but Kuronue has connections, and Karasu is stealing it from his parents' stash. Tee-hee.

As for ages… Youko and Kuro are…nineteen? I think that's how old I made them. I can't exactly remember. Mou.

Davis- that's too weird! Wow!

MistressKC- no, Karasu won't be a bitter stalker. He's pretty much known all along that Kurama will never love him, and… he's sort of resigned himself to being alone for the rest of his life… waah, that's so sad! Ahem. But as for anything else, you'll see what happens… as soon as I finish the next (and last) chapter! …I've been working on it for almost a month now… sad, sad.

MKS: actually… Kurama was acting like me. Wow. We must be kinda-sorta alike or something… of course, I haven't had any soul-shattering failed relationships or anything… in fact, the only hands I hold are the ones attached to my best friends. But, wow. You sure are nice! I smile at you, nice reviewer-person!

Ahem. And that's all she (I) wrote, people. At least for this update, anyway. In case you didn't read the above, I present to you in big, bold, capital letters: THERE IS ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT. Yes, you heard it, folks. Only one more. I cry.