InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Father's Love ❯ A Conversation Between Fathers ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Luthien Tinuviel-Minyatur 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.10.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 925 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.10.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 925 | Status: Work In Progress
I do not own Inu Yasha or YuYu Hakusho. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi. I make no money off of this, nor do I intend to.
For those of you who were wondering where he was, here’s Hiei.
Chapter Five:
A Conversation Between Fathers
Night had finally fallen. The group of shard hunters had walked far and long in search of the shard Kagome had sensed.
Miroku had been assigned first watch, with Kurama taking second. Pleading lack of requiring sleep, Kurama sat up most of Miroku’s watch with him. They sat in companionable silence for the first hour.
“Shuichi?”
“Yes, Miroku?”
“I would like to apologize. My conduct upon our meeting was... inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate because I am a male, because you did it in front of Sango, or because it was just inappropriate?”
“Um... because you’re male, of course.”
“Hmm. Of course.” Kurama looked up at the stars for a moment. “What is Sango to you?” he asked suddenly.
“Pardon me?”
“What is Sango to you?”
Miroku cleared his throat nervously. “Well... we are engaged.”
Kurama glanced at him and arched an eyebrow. “Then why do you continue to ask women -- and, apparently, feminine looking males -- if they will bear your child?”
“How did you know that?!”
Kurama tilted his head towards Shippo. “You might want to watch what you say and do around the child. He’s more observant than you think.”
Miroku glanced at the kit, who was sleeping soundly cuddled up against Kirara. “Um... right, of course.”
“Apology accepted, Miroku. Now, get some sleep. I’ll take the rest of the watch.”
Once Miroku had drifted into dreamland, Kurama sighed and put his hand in his hair. After searching for a moment, he pulled out a seed, placed it on the ground, and using his energy, forced it to grow into a fully mature chamomile plant. Breaking off a flower, he inhaled deeply, letting the scent calm his frazzled nerves. A few minutes later he felt a brief breeze. After it passed, he looked around, and spotted a small clutch of cherry blossoms next to his leg. He picked them up and tucked them into his hair, smiling softly.
“Hiei...” Kurama stood and walked further into the trees.
“Hn. So this is where you’ve been.”
Kurama chuckled. “Hello to you too, Hi-chan.” Hiei instantly flushed and looked around. “Everyone’s asleep, Hi-chan.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
The question caught Kurama off-guard. It was very unlike the short demon to express any kind of emotion -- with the exception of rage. This sounded almost... forlorn. Forlorn and confused.
“Oh, Hi-chan,” Kurama took Hiei’s hand in his. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am. I just... didn’t think you’d care. You’ve been... distant... as far as Honokitsu goes. It was like he was this big black hole between us that we didn’t talk about.” Kurama sighed. “All of our children are like that. You know how badly I’ve wanted to find them someday. Ever since the Demon World Tournament and I knew that Yomi would never come after us again. Honokitsu is the only one we have any real knowledge of.” Kurama leaned his forehead softly against Hiei’s, only then noticing that his mate was standing on a rock to elevate him to Kurama’s level.
“You talk too much,” Hiei said simply. Kurama pulled back slightly, emerald eyes looking into garnet. “You know I care. I refuse to treat our children the same way the Ice Maidens treated me. They threw me off their little paradise solely because I was born a boy. We gave up our children so they could be protected.” Hiei hesitated, then placed his free hand on Kurama’s cheek. “You should have told me you wanted to find Honokitsu. I would have come with you. Instead, I had to drag it out of that old hag back at the village.”
“You didn’t hurt Little Kaede, did you?” Kurama asked sternly.
“Of course n-- what? That hag... Little Kaede?” Kurama smiled broadly at Hiei’s perplexed expression.
“It has been fifty years for her, Hi-chan, and she is mortal. She ages even when we do not.” Hiei shook his head.
“She did not age well.”
“She is in her sixties. Given this era, she is extraordinarily lucky to be alive.”
“Did you find him?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Honokitsu. Did you find him?”
“Yes, I did. He is still with Inu Yasha and Kagome.”
“Good. Get him, pack your things, and we’ll go home.” Kurama took several small steps away from Hiei. “What?”
“Hiei... I can’t do that! I only found him two days ago!”
“And your point?”
“My point is, he barely knows me, doesn’t know you even exist, and he doesn’t know I’m his father! I can’t just snap him up out of the blue and take him home with me!”
“Hn. I don’t see why not.”
“Hiei... you have to understand this. This life... it’s all Honokitsu knows. All he knows is his life as Shippo. He doesn’t remember the two years we had him. He barely remembers the female kitsune we gave him to as a baby. He has to get to know me, know *us* before we can take him back.”
“I was right.” At Kurama’s confused expression Hiei continued. “Three years ago I told you that living with the humans had made you soft. I was right.”
Kurama smiled ruefully. “And here I thought you were just putting up a front for Gouki’s sake. When you stabbed me with the Conjuring Blade during your fight with Yusuke, after I sided with him and you said you would... what was it... massacre me, was that just a front as I thought or did you truly mean it?”
“I could never kill you, fox. I...” Hiei checked their surroundings again. Finding no one within earshot, he continued. “...Love you.”
Kurama grinned. “I love you too, Hi-chan.” He gave Hiei a chaste peck on the lips.
“Do they even know who you really are?”
“Inu Yasha’s aware that I’m Kurama, but thanks to Little Kaede he still doesn’t know he’s my younger brother. The others know me only as Minamino Shuichi. Including Honokitsu.”
“How is he?” Hiei looked down at the ground as he asked that, as if he was embarrassed to be asking after him.
“He’s happy. I was surprised, actually. Inu Yasha and Kagome have done an excellent job taking care of him. He’s not as strong as he could be, though. Still a one tail and his fire technique could use some improvement. He has an interest in plants.” Hiei’s scowl made Kurama laugh as loudly as he dared. “Hi-chan, you knew that would happen. Our line is the only fox/fire/ice demon line. He had to take an interest in one of those three. At least he’s not wanting to learn about ice techniques, right?”
“Hn.” Hiei fished around in his cloak. “Of course, you won’t tell them you’re a demon, will you?”
“I’m traveling with a *demon slayer*, Hi-chan. Of course not.” Suddenly Hiei threw a sword to Kurama, which he caught when it was an inch from hitting him in the face.
“Here. You’ll have to defend yourself and Honokitsu somehow. I don’t trust that monk or Inu Yasha to protect either of you properly.”
“Hiei, you know I’m not as skilled with the sword as you are.”
“Heh. Have you forgotten how we first met again after you were attacked by that bounty hunter? You seemed skillful enough to me.”
Kurama smiled, remembering how he had sensed a demon behind him and a female classmate of his when he was fourteen. He had used a blade of grass as a sword in that battle. “I prefer the whip, remember?”
“I’m not the oaf’s sister, Kurama. You want a whip, you’ll have to make one yourself.”
Kurama laughed, then looked back at the group. “I have to get back, Hiei. It’s as dangerous here as it would have been with us.” Hiei nodded. “Here.” Kurama fished around in his hair again for another seed. When he found it, he forced it into a dahlia flower. “Don’t worry about us, and... don’t tell Kuwabara and Yusuke, okay?”
Hiei took the flower and tucked it into his belt. “Heh. As though I speak to those two anyway.”
“I love you hotaru,” Kurama said, brushing his lips against Hiei’s. He was about to pull away when Hiei dug his fingers into Kurama’s hair and kissed him harshly. A brief second later, Kurama returned the favor, their mouths moving aggressively against each other.
Moments later, though to passion-fogged minds it felt like hours, they broke apart, for even demon lungs require air. After nipping at the underside of Kurama’s jaw, Hiei softly said, “I love you too, midori iro no me. Take care of yourself and Honokitsu.”
A rush of wind signaled Hiei’s departure. “Take care of yourself as well,” whispered Kurama as he turned back to the campsite. When he arrived, he looked at Honokitsu. Hesitating a brief moment, then checking to insure that everyone was still asleep, he knelt down next to him. “I love you, Honokitsu, and so does Hiei. Someday, I’ll tell you everything.” He brushed Honokitsu’s tail out of the way and placed a soft kiss on the top of his head.
~~TBC...~~
Glossary:
Hi-chan: An affectionate nickname for Hiei
Hotaru: Firefly
Midori iro no me: Green eyes (‘Iro no’ making ‘midori’ an adjective instead of a noun)
Notes:
I’ve used a bit of the old medieval language of flowers in this chapter.
Cherry blossoms say “My blush at your arrival may reveal to you the quiet fondness that I have for you”. Dahlias say “My heart is eternally with you”.
I’ll be using more of this as the chapters go by.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those of you who were wondering where he was, here’s Hiei.
Chapter Five:
A Conversation Between Fathers
Night had finally fallen. The group of shard hunters had walked far and long in search of the shard Kagome had sensed.
Miroku had been assigned first watch, with Kurama taking second. Pleading lack of requiring sleep, Kurama sat up most of Miroku’s watch with him. They sat in companionable silence for the first hour.
“Shuichi?”
“Yes, Miroku?”
“I would like to apologize. My conduct upon our meeting was... inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate because I am a male, because you did it in front of Sango, or because it was just inappropriate?”
“Um... because you’re male, of course.”
“Hmm. Of course.” Kurama looked up at the stars for a moment. “What is Sango to you?” he asked suddenly.
“Pardon me?”
“What is Sango to you?”
Miroku cleared his throat nervously. “Well... we are engaged.”
Kurama glanced at him and arched an eyebrow. “Then why do you continue to ask women -- and, apparently, feminine looking males -- if they will bear your child?”
“How did you know that?!”
Kurama tilted his head towards Shippo. “You might want to watch what you say and do around the child. He’s more observant than you think.”
Miroku glanced at the kit, who was sleeping soundly cuddled up against Kirara. “Um... right, of course.”
“Apology accepted, Miroku. Now, get some sleep. I’ll take the rest of the watch.”
Once Miroku had drifted into dreamland, Kurama sighed and put his hand in his hair. After searching for a moment, he pulled out a seed, placed it on the ground, and using his energy, forced it to grow into a fully mature chamomile plant. Breaking off a flower, he inhaled deeply, letting the scent calm his frazzled nerves. A few minutes later he felt a brief breeze. After it passed, he looked around, and spotted a small clutch of cherry blossoms next to his leg. He picked them up and tucked them into his hair, smiling softly.
“Hiei...” Kurama stood and walked further into the trees.
“Hn. So this is where you’ve been.”
Kurama chuckled. “Hello to you too, Hi-chan.” Hiei instantly flushed and looked around. “Everyone’s asleep, Hi-chan.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
The question caught Kurama off-guard. It was very unlike the short demon to express any kind of emotion -- with the exception of rage. This sounded almost... forlorn. Forlorn and confused.
“Oh, Hi-chan,” Kurama took Hiei’s hand in his. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am. I just... didn’t think you’d care. You’ve been... distant... as far as Honokitsu goes. It was like he was this big black hole between us that we didn’t talk about.” Kurama sighed. “All of our children are like that. You know how badly I’ve wanted to find them someday. Ever since the Demon World Tournament and I knew that Yomi would never come after us again. Honokitsu is the only one we have any real knowledge of.” Kurama leaned his forehead softly against Hiei’s, only then noticing that his mate was standing on a rock to elevate him to Kurama’s level.
“You talk too much,” Hiei said simply. Kurama pulled back slightly, emerald eyes looking into garnet. “You know I care. I refuse to treat our children the same way the Ice Maidens treated me. They threw me off their little paradise solely because I was born a boy. We gave up our children so they could be protected.” Hiei hesitated, then placed his free hand on Kurama’s cheek. “You should have told me you wanted to find Honokitsu. I would have come with you. Instead, I had to drag it out of that old hag back at the village.”
“You didn’t hurt Little Kaede, did you?” Kurama asked sternly.
“Of course n-- what? That hag... Little Kaede?” Kurama smiled broadly at Hiei’s perplexed expression.
“It has been fifty years for her, Hi-chan, and she is mortal. She ages even when we do not.” Hiei shook his head.
“She did not age well.”
“She is in her sixties. Given this era, she is extraordinarily lucky to be alive.”
“Did you find him?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Honokitsu. Did you find him?”
“Yes, I did. He is still with Inu Yasha and Kagome.”
“Good. Get him, pack your things, and we’ll go home.” Kurama took several small steps away from Hiei. “What?”
“Hiei... I can’t do that! I only found him two days ago!”
“And your point?”
“My point is, he barely knows me, doesn’t know you even exist, and he doesn’t know I’m his father! I can’t just snap him up out of the blue and take him home with me!”
“Hn. I don’t see why not.”
“Hiei... you have to understand this. This life... it’s all Honokitsu knows. All he knows is his life as Shippo. He doesn’t remember the two years we had him. He barely remembers the female kitsune we gave him to as a baby. He has to get to know me, know *us* before we can take him back.”
“I was right.” At Kurama’s confused expression Hiei continued. “Three years ago I told you that living with the humans had made you soft. I was right.”
Kurama smiled ruefully. “And here I thought you were just putting up a front for Gouki’s sake. When you stabbed me with the Conjuring Blade during your fight with Yusuke, after I sided with him and you said you would... what was it... massacre me, was that just a front as I thought or did you truly mean it?”
“I could never kill you, fox. I...” Hiei checked their surroundings again. Finding no one within earshot, he continued. “...Love you.”
Kurama grinned. “I love you too, Hi-chan.” He gave Hiei a chaste peck on the lips.
“Do they even know who you really are?”
“Inu Yasha’s aware that I’m Kurama, but thanks to Little Kaede he still doesn’t know he’s my younger brother. The others know me only as Minamino Shuichi. Including Honokitsu.”
“How is he?” Hiei looked down at the ground as he asked that, as if he was embarrassed to be asking after him.
“He’s happy. I was surprised, actually. Inu Yasha and Kagome have done an excellent job taking care of him. He’s not as strong as he could be, though. Still a one tail and his fire technique could use some improvement. He has an interest in plants.” Hiei’s scowl made Kurama laugh as loudly as he dared. “Hi-chan, you knew that would happen. Our line is the only fox/fire/ice demon line. He had to take an interest in one of those three. At least he’s not wanting to learn about ice techniques, right?”
“Hn.” Hiei fished around in his cloak. “Of course, you won’t tell them you’re a demon, will you?”
“I’m traveling with a *demon slayer*, Hi-chan. Of course not.” Suddenly Hiei threw a sword to Kurama, which he caught when it was an inch from hitting him in the face.
“Here. You’ll have to defend yourself and Honokitsu somehow. I don’t trust that monk or Inu Yasha to protect either of you properly.”
“Hiei, you know I’m not as skilled with the sword as you are.”
“Heh. Have you forgotten how we first met again after you were attacked by that bounty hunter? You seemed skillful enough to me.”
Kurama smiled, remembering how he had sensed a demon behind him and a female classmate of his when he was fourteen. He had used a blade of grass as a sword in that battle. “I prefer the whip, remember?”
“I’m not the oaf’s sister, Kurama. You want a whip, you’ll have to make one yourself.”
Kurama laughed, then looked back at the group. “I have to get back, Hiei. It’s as dangerous here as it would have been with us.” Hiei nodded. “Here.” Kurama fished around in his hair again for another seed. When he found it, he forced it into a dahlia flower. “Don’t worry about us, and... don’t tell Kuwabara and Yusuke, okay?”
Hiei took the flower and tucked it into his belt. “Heh. As though I speak to those two anyway.”
“I love you hotaru,” Kurama said, brushing his lips against Hiei’s. He was about to pull away when Hiei dug his fingers into Kurama’s hair and kissed him harshly. A brief second later, Kurama returned the favor, their mouths moving aggressively against each other.
Moments later, though to passion-fogged minds it felt like hours, they broke apart, for even demon lungs require air. After nipping at the underside of Kurama’s jaw, Hiei softly said, “I love you too, midori iro no me. Take care of yourself and Honokitsu.”
A rush of wind signaled Hiei’s departure. “Take care of yourself as well,” whispered Kurama as he turned back to the campsite. When he arrived, he looked at Honokitsu. Hesitating a brief moment, then checking to insure that everyone was still asleep, he knelt down next to him. “I love you, Honokitsu, and so does Hiei. Someday, I’ll tell you everything.” He brushed Honokitsu’s tail out of the way and placed a soft kiss on the top of his head.
~~TBC...~~
Glossary:
Hi-chan: An affectionate nickname for Hiei
Hotaru: Firefly
Midori iro no me: Green eyes (‘Iro no’ making ‘midori’ an adjective instead of a noun)
Notes:
I’ve used a bit of the old medieval language of flowers in this chapter.
Cherry blossoms say “My blush at your arrival may reveal to you the quiet fondness that I have for you”. Dahlias say “My heart is eternally with you”.
I’ll be using more of this as the chapters go by.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~