|
|
With
you
Part
9: Hurtful memories
By:
Sano
Standard
YYH disclaimer
Note:
Yaoi. Don’t like two guys liking each other more than friends? Then I suggest
you don’t read this.
*^^*
“Kaasan!”
Kurama called out. “Kaasan!”
He
sliced away a couple of branches with a blade that he grew from a leaf and
continued his search.
After
a long time of searching he heard the sound of his mother’s laughter in the
distance. Kurama pursued after the source and found himself on a highway.
Cars
were speeding by so fast that Kurama could just see them as blurry colors. He
heard his mother’s laughter again and looked around. “Kaasan!”
A
car seemed to slow down in front of him and Kurama could just take a glimpse of
Shiori, she was laughing at something Hanataka-san said while Shuuichi-chan on
the backseat was wearing headphones.
The
car slowed to a stop in front of the fox. Shiori glanced at him and smiled. But
it wasn’t her usually cheerful smile; it was a smile that looked peaceful and
sad. “Sayonara, Musuko. Ai shitteru…I want you to be happy no matter what,” She
said sadly, then the car started to gather speed.
“Matte,
Kaasan!!” Kurama shouted after the car. He started to run after it, but his
feet felt like each weighed a ton and each step made it harder for him. “No,
Kaasan!! Matte!”
Kurama
watched in horror as a ten-wheeler truck rounded a corner, towards the car his
family was riding in. A feeling of fear washed over him and he was rooted
there, feeling helpless as he watched the scene before him unfold.
A
shrill scream followed by the sound of crushed metal echoed in his ears. He
longed to tear his eyes away but he couldn’t, like he was destined to see this
torture. Eerie silence followed and he allowed his gaze to travel towards the
place where his whole life depended on.
Three
bodies lay motionless on the ground. He recognized Shuuichi’s face, the young
boy’s head was filled with blood, coming from a deep cut on his forehead.
Hanataka-san’s body was disoriented in a matter that Kurama identified that
ningen bodies couldn’t handle.
But
one image would haunt Kurama’s life forever. His mother was in the worst
condition of the three; her normally cheerful face with a smile was contorted
in pain as she took in her last moments of life. Her body surrounded by a pool
of her own blood.
The
fox tried to reach out for her but each step he took seemed to take farther
away from his mother. “Iya! I have to get to Kaasan!” The space surrounding him
suddenly grew hazy, surrounding him in a black mirage. It grew darker…and
darker…and darker…until he couldn’t tak-
*^^*
Kurama
shot up sharply, his body covered in a cold sweat. His gaze took in his
surroundings, and sighed in relief when he found out that he was in his room.
Safe. He buried his face in his hands, wanting to just go back to that time 2
years ago.
He
wished that he never let his mother go. He had the feeling of dread creeping up
on him that day but he ignored it. Never minding that he was alarmed the moment
his mother stepped into the car that would bring her to her death.
The
room suddenly felt too small and stuffy. Kurama put on his cloak over his
pajamas, and making sure that Maya was asleep in the next room, he jumped out
the window gracefully and landed softly on the ground.
His
feet took on its own path; he closed his eyes and left it alone to take him
wherever it wanted. Keeping his youki on guard in case of any unfamiliar ki.
He
stopped and opened his eyes. “Sugoi…” The youko whispered at the breath-taking
scenery around him.
The
fox found himself on a clearing, plants circling the place, making the air
around him smell of fresh flowers after the rain. The moon’s face shining it’s
light onto the clearing and making it look peaceful. His ears perked up at the
sound of trickling water from a pond a short distance away.
Then
it hit him: This place was familiar. He looked around and his eyes widened. A
cherry tree stood alone, its pretty petals following the wind and flying away.
This
place…no…this couldn’t be it…but it was… he could clearly remember his mother
bringing him here when he was young. Both of them would sit under this very
same tree. Shiori telling him stories…stories that were forever etched on his
mind with her gentle voice.
Kurama
walked closer to the tree, he touched the trunk gently, testing if it was still
healthy. Just like what his mother always did when they were here.
Sadness
filled him again and he sat down under the tree. He hugged his knees to his
chest, the feeling of pain and loneliness washing over him like waves on a
stormy day.
No…he
wanted all this pain to go away. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to do
anything…he was powerless even though he had already lived a millennia. And
went through many battles and hardships.
Hot
tears streamed down his face and Kurama made no move to brush them away. He
wanted to cry until his tears dried up. He didn’t even have the chance to tell
her that he wasn’t the perfect son his mother thought he was. “I’m sorry,
Kaasan…I never told you what I really was…I’m so sorry…” He started to sob.
Guilt
constricted in his chest at not being able to tell her. Shiori probably knows
by now that he was a selfish youko, who inhabited the body of the boy in her
womb who was supposed to be the one who experienced the love Shiori expressed
for him.
The
sound of her scream…the sound of metal crushing against metal echoed in his
mind…it was all too much.
The
fox was so distracted that he didn’t even hear footsteps coming closer to him.
“Why are you so sad, kitsune?” A deep voice rumbled behind him.
Kurama
stiffened. He turned around and gasped as the stranger made eye contact with
him. Deep crimson eyes bore into his emerald ones. He swallowed nervously, a
feeling of excitement and nervousness mixed into one.
*^^*
End of Part nine