Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Red ❯ Are You Happy Now? ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot.

 

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[Now, don't just walk away,
Pretending everything's ok.
And you don't care about me.
And I know there's just no use
When all your lies become your truths and I don't care...

Yeah, yeah, yeah]

 

* * *

 

There was silence on the other end of the conversation for a moment, and then Kuwabara spoke in a low, dangerous voice. “How can you even think those words, much less say them?” His tone was one few had ever heard, for he only used it when he was angry enough to kill. It was the one he had used right before he had helped Hiei get vengeance for Yukina's death, and it was the voice that betrayed how dangerous he really could have been if he chose.

 

Kurama hurried to make amends. “No, no, I didn't mean it that way! Just…he's so sad. Was it wrong to make him keep feeling this way? Is it selfish? Do you think he could be happy if things turned out differently? He may be with Yukina right now without my interference!”

 

He heard Kuwabara sigh, and his voice went back to normal. “Kurama, I don't think anyone can answer your questions. All I know is that I'm glad the shrimp's still around, and if that means I'm a horrible person, then I guess I am. Aren't you happy to have him back, too?”

 

Kurama felt a sudden need for coffee, and he got up and took the cordless phone to the counter so that he could pour himself another cup. As he did, he answered the question in the calmest voice he could muster. “I am, but…Kuwa, he's so different now. He's…quieter, almost silent, and he doesn't shy away from help like he used to. He still tries to handle everything by himself but I think he'll let us help him, if we give him enough time and space.”

 

“Isn't that good?”

 

“Yes, it's terrific, but…oh, I don't know! Something just feels wrong!” Kurama burst out, frustrated. “And I don't know what to do to make it right again!”

 

And with no warning, a powerful longing rose in Kurama. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to tell Kuwabara the truth.

 

* * *

 

[Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you're happy now?

Ohhh, ohhh
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased?
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?]

 

* * *

 

“Kuwabara…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“…”

 

“Kurama? What?”

 

“Um…I have something to tell you.” Kurama barely managed to keep his voice from shaking.

 

There was a long silence, and then Kuwabara said in a strange voice, “Oh, my God.” Kurama, puzzled, started to speak, but Kuwabara continued in that weird, tight, restrained voice that gave the impression that he was about to pop. “Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God!”

 

“What? What in the world are you so…er…well, I don't know exactly how you sound, but what are you making such a racket about?”

 

“Oh, my God, you kissed Hiei!”

 

* * *

 

[You took all there was to take,
And left me with an empty plate,
And you don't care about it, yeah.
And I am givin' up this game.
I'm leaving you with all the blame cause I don't care.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.]

 

* * *

 

“……”

 

“Well, didn't you?”

 

“………”

 

“Kurama?”

 

Kurama realized that his mouth was open and closed it quickly. “H-how did you know?”

 

His eardrums were nearly shattered by a loud, “YEEEEEK!”

 

“Kuwabara, what…?”

 

“I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU TWO WOULD GET TOGETHER! When? Where? How? Details, man, details!”

 

Kurama took a long drink of coffee to steady himself. “How did you know if I didn't know?”

 

“Oh, Kurama, get with the program! Everyone knew you liked him! We've known it for months,” Kuwabara told him, sounding exasperated.

 

“Who's we?” Kurama asked in shock.

 

“Me, Yusuke, Koenma, Botan, Genkai, Jorge, every demon in the Dark Tournament, your mother…”

 

“My mother?” Kurama shrieked, nearly dropping the phone. “My mother knew?”

 

“Yeah, of course. I mean, obviously she didn't know all of it, but she knew that you two had been close for years, and she could tell that you liked him. She told us not to confront you about it.”

“So…was I the only one who didn't know I loved him?” Kurama asked weakly.

 

“Apparently,” Kuwabara said. “And Hiei, too. He knew how he felt about you, but not that you felt the same. That much was obvious whenever he looked at you.”

 

“How did I not know about this?” Kurama asked, stunned.

 

“Only explanation I have is that you're an idiot. Now give me all the details. Well, I mean, not any R-rated conversation, but just give me something to work with!” Kuwabara demanded.

 

“Isn't it the girls that are supposed to be doing this?”

 

“Talk.”

 

“Do I have to?”

 

“Yes. Unless it's deeply personal and I know it's not because it's clear that you're dying to talk so spill.”

 

Kurama smiled, even though Kuwabara couldn't see him. “Well, it was just…normal, I guess, though I've never kissed a guy before, so I can't tell. It was after he woke up, and we were talking.”

 

“About Yukina?” Kuwabara asked, in a way that reminded Kurama how much his other friends had lost the day Yukina and Genkai died. Kuwabara had lost his love, and Yusuke, he mentor and surrogate grandmother. It would take all of them, not just Hiei, a long time to begin healing from this.”

 

“Yes,” Kurama replied in answer to the question. “And he was telling me that all he could think about was that Yukina died thinking that her brother had abandoned her. So, I told him that she knew, and…” For a moment, Kurama hesitated, then skipped over the part where Hiei had cried, because that was his business only. “And then he told me that he had been cutting himself. He told me…he told me that it was because he knew I would never love him.”

 

“I know what you're thinking, and you aren't responsible. You couldn't have known and Yukina's death would've gotten to him anyway. So, he told you that, and then…”

 

“And then he started babbling,” Kurama said, more than willing not to argue with Kuwabara. “He said all these things out of stress, things he never would've said before. And it was so…cute, and when he looked up again, I…kissed him.”

 

* * *

 

[Could you look me in the eye?
And tell me that you're happy now?

Oohh oohhh.
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased?
Are you happy now?

Ohhh, ohhhh
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.]

 

* * *

 

There was a long silence, and then Kuwabara said, “So when's the wedding?”

 

Kurama spluttered and dumped his coffee into his lap. Yelping, he leapt up and ran for napkins, doing a sort of jig as the hot liquid burned through the fabric of his pants. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!”

 

Kuwabara was chuckling, though weakly; such things as laughter came much less easily now. “I wasn't serious!”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Hey, I hafta go. I want to call Yusuke. You don't mind if I tell him, do you?”

 

“I guess not. Why?”

 

“Excellent! I want to collect my winnings on you and Hiei.”

 

“You were taking bets?”

 

But Kuwabara had already hung up. Grumbling, Kurama went back to see if Hiei was still asleep.

 

A few minutes later, he came flying back in and grabbed up the phone, hitting redial.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Kuwabara, he's gone! Hiei's gone!”

 

* * *

 

[Do you really have everything you want?
You can't ever give somethin' you ain't got.
You can't run away from yourself.]

 

* * *

 

Hiei stopped and leaned against the brick wall of a large building, holding his side and panting. He had been walking for nearly half an hour, and every inch of him was either aching, burning, or in some other kind of pain. He wanted nothing more than to sit down, but he had nowhere to go.

 

Maybe leaving Kurama's house so suddenly was not such a good idea, but Hiei couldn't stay there. After hearing Kurama question the wisdom of keeping him around, Hiei had felt a need to get out and run away as fast as possible, and he had given no thought to his injuries.

 

But now he was sharply reminded of how many broken bones he had,

 

He didn't care. As long as he didn't have to face Kurama again, he could deal with anything.

 

But he didn't know what he was going to do now. He wouldn't last two minutes in Makai in this state, and he had no desire to die anymore. Kurama had taken that. But he had no one to go into the Ningenkai, either. He had no friends that he would admit to having, and none of that stupid ningen currency. Usually, he would simply live in a tree and steal what he needed, but without Kurama's miracle elixir, by the time he was up to that he would be dead. So how was he going to survive? And why did it suddenly seem to matter so much?

 

Hiei hardly noticed when he started to move forward, and it wasn't until he reached the park that he was dragged out of his exhausted state by loud shouts.

 

They were faint at first, but grew in confidence the closer they got. Hiei looked around, trying to discover the source, and saw a small group racing toward him, screaming and yelling. Behind them, a tall, misshapen figure lumbered along.

 

As they got nearer, Hiei realized that the tall thing was a demon, probably of the low C class. It had dull red skin, and its teeth glittered menacingly as he leered. A thick club swung from his massive hand.

 

All in all, he looked rather stupid.

 

But how did he get here? Hiei wondered as he started forward again, this time toward the demon. And why do I want to kill him so badly? All he's doing is chasing some annoying ningen…

 

When Hiei was about five yards away, the demon looked up from the frightened humans and saw him.

 

The demon smirked at what it must have considered an amusing sight. Hiei stood unsteadily, swaying as he fought to stay up. His arm was still in its sling and his good hand help his bandaged ribs. He was cursing fluently in several languages, having realized that he had left his sword at Kurama's.

 

Hiei froze the smile on his face with a glare. “Leave them be,” he said in the Makai language, with a voice cold enough to freeze flame. “I can give you a real fight.”

 

“You?” the demon said in a slow, guttural voice that made him sound as dumb as he looked. “You can barely stand, little child.”

 

Hiei turned and fixed his eyes on the ningen. There were three of them, all about Yusuke and Kuwabara's age. They were watching him with wide eyes, though their looks occasionally flicked fearfully to the demon. They hadn't budged an inch.

 

Hiei felt a flicker of annoyance, and he snapped in Japanese, “Well, what are you waiting for? Stop staring and go, fools! And tell no one of this. If you do the number of days you have to live can be counted on one hand.”

 

The ningen ran, and Hiei turned to the demon. “I'm in no mood for this, so let's just get it done,” he snapped, reaching up to tear off the headband. His Jagan opened and Hiei felt new strength in his blood. His pain faded, and he could fight.

 

It wouldn't last forever, but long enough.

 

* * *

 

[Could you look me in the eye,
And tell me that you're happy now?

Yeah, yeah.
Come on,

Tell it to my face or have I been replaced?
Are you happy now?

Ohhh, ohhhh.
Are you happy now?]

 

* * *

 

The demon faltered for a moment when it saw the Jagan and finally realized who he was facing. But it must have figured that it wouldn't be too difficult to kill him in his obviously weakened state, and it smirked and lifted its club.

 

Hiei had no weapon other than his own body, and so he put it to good use. He took advantage of his opponent's lack of speed and darted to the side before it could start toward him, and before it could figure out where he had gone, he leapt silently into the air and threw a punch. The thing was pathetic, and Hiei felt bone give under his fist as the jaw broke.

 

He ignored the discomfort the punch had caused, and flew around to unleash a flurry of blows on the demon's face, chest and stomach. It swung the club everywhere but its speed was no match for Hiei's and it soon began to tire.

 

Hiei's next hit broke the hand that held the club, and his last broke its arm at the elbow. It howled in pain and dropped its weapon, falling to the ground. Hiei landed silently, and looked at the pitiful lump that was now the demon. Raising his hand, he concentrated and opened a portal to Makai. “Go,” he snapped, kicking the demon. It didn't even look at him before scrambling frantically through the portal. Hiei closed it right after it disappeared, and then stumbled over to a park bench and sat down heavily.

 

Now that the fight was over, exhaustion crept over him. Normally, fighting a low-class demon wouldn't tire him in the slightest, but now he was so tired he could hardly breathe, and he felt as if his bones were fire, his skin needles. When he lifted his good hand to wipe the sweat off his head, he saw that it was shaking. He hurt, but he knew from experience that the greater pain was yet to come. Right now, all he wanted was to sleep. This spot looked secluded enough to do so, being surrounded on all sides by carefully planted trees with just a small place to leave. But he had to watch…had to make sure no one found him…

 

It was fully night when Hiei woke again to a hand on his shoulder. He sat up quickly and tried to grab whoever had touched him, but fell back with a cry as his insides seemed to explode. The hand still rested on his shoulder, but it was gentle and didn't seem to be trying to hurt him, so he lay still until the pain wasn't quite as bad, cursing himself for showing weakness to a potential enemy. Once he could breathe without it hurting overmuch, he opened his eyes and looked around him.

 

Kuwabara sat on the bench with him, watching him with concerned eyes. His hand held Hiei's shoulder, keeping him from moving too much. He wasn't saying anything, just looking at him carefully.

 

Hiei swore. “Go away, fool.”

 

But Kuwabara didn't move, or speak. He just kept staring. And for once, it was Hiei who looked away. But not before Kuwabara got a good look at him. He nodded, apparently satisfied, and released his hold, allowing Hiei to sit up.

 

For a moment, Hiei debated simply leaving, but he was pretty sure that his legs wouldn't hold him, and so he sat, trying to ignore Kuwabara, who seemed determined to be silent. But it was hard not to ask why the oaf was here, and how he knew where to look.

 

“Kurama's really worried about you.”

 

Hiei was startled, and guilty, but he tried not to let it show. Instead, he asked irrelevantly, “What time is it?”

 

“Almost ten o'clock. We've been looking for you since about twelve-thirty. Kurama's been out of his mind. He's called his mom, Yusuke, Keiko, Boton, and then the cops. I've been helping him track your ki, but it was too faint to help us find you. We looked through the park, but I guess this spot was too isolated.”

 

“So is this the part I've seen on ningen TV where toy ask me why I ran off like that and tell me that no one is mad at me, just worried?” Hiei asked bitterly.

 

“Pretty much, except that I'm ready to kill you, and I would if you didn't look like hell. Hiei, do you know how stupid you are?”

 

Hiei could feel himself tense in anger, but it was more directed at himself than anyone else. As Kuwabara had been explaining what had been going on all day, Hiei had gotten a picture of Kurama's reaction to his disappearance. He had, once again, hurt his love, and worse, he had done it with no thought of anyone but himself. He was a horrible person and that was all there was to it.

 

Kuwabara was still talking. “I mean, this may not be Makai, but in the condition you're in, you could easily have wound up dead in a ditch somewhere. But….I think I know why you did it.” He turned and fixed his eyes on Hiei. “You heard, didn't you? When Kurama asked me if saving you was right?” Hiei didn't have to answer; his silence said it all. “You misinterpreted. He just thought that you weren't happy even with him. He wants you to be happy, Hiei. That's all. And he's willing to do whatever it takes to see you smiling again. But the thing is, he would much rather you stay with him than go with…with Yukina. He loves you so much. Anyone could see that he couldn't live without you. So…just think about that, all right?” When Hiei remained silent, Kuwabara stood and said, “Okay. I'll leave you alone now. But I have to tell Kurama where you are. You understand that, I know.” He touched Hiei's shoulder again, and turned to leave.

 

“Oaf?”

 

Kuwabara stopped but didn't turn around. “Hmm?”

 

“Could…could you take me back?”

 

Kuwabara did turn then, and he grinned for probably the first time since the accident. “Sure.”

 

* * *

 

[Would you look me in the eye?
Could you look me in the eye?
I've had all that I can take.
I'm not about to break,
Cause I'm happy now.

Ohhh, ohhh.
Are you happy now?]

 

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I'M SO SORRY! I have had no time to type lately! But there it is! R+R, please!

 

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Reviewers' comments:

 

Forbiddensoul562: Wow…much talking…I love people who babble in reviews…anyway…the chapters are only long because of the lyrics, I think. Maybe not, though, maybe I just talk too much. Thanks for the review, and I promise the next chapter will be up ASAP!

 

T.K. Yurikoto: Thanks for the review and yes, Hiei is actually watching TV. I also plan to introduce him to the phone, the internet, and junk food. MWAHAHAHA!

 

necko yasha: I continued, as you can clearly see. Thanks for the review!

 

SitDog-Boy: Yesh, Hiei did take it the wrong way…stupid guy…and I'm not going to say anything about your Kuwabara opinion because that would just lead to ugliness, and I'd rather be friends with my reviewers. So…thanks for the review and keep on reading, if you please!

 

Evene: Ahh, a nice, constructive review. I love those. And you're right about the non-professionals. I, for one, right for the masses, not the pros, because it's their opinions that matter. Professionals mostly care just about the cash they can get off an author. And I'm not out of high school yet, either, so don't let that little detail stop you! And on the subject of Kuwa-chan…I love the guy, no matter what he looks like. He's my favorite character over even the beautiful Kurama. The only reason I haven't written a story on him is that, unlike everyone else, he is a complete character. I can't capture him on paper and I can't find a plot for him. There's no angst or depression or anything like that. I love him for that…anyway, I digress. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the rest!

 

kikira-san: Thanks for the review! And don't worry, it will get better soon, I'll make sure of it.

 

neckoyasha: Thanks for the review!

 

East Kaioshin: Thanks for the review! And yeah, a lot of people thought it was a one-shot…I guess I made it sound too…finished.

 

Inuyashapup: I am SO SORRY I have not had time to read your story! I've just got so much on my plate and even now I have to get off the second I post this so my sister can use the computer for homework. But I WILL find time, I WILL!

 

KyoHana: You sure know how to call them, don't you? That wasn't exactly what I was planning to have happen, but I like it better this way, so it's all good. Thanks for the review!