“Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter Ten

7/17/01

By: Hikari

Site: http://www.geocities.com/hikari_nanase/

Notes: IMPORTANT. The ‘literature piece’ spoken about in this chapter comes from a non-fanfic story completely made up by me. The plot, the quotes, and James Claudon didn’t come from a published novel- they are all mine. Please don’t steal them.

Music theme to chapter: “The Ring” from Angel Sanctuary.

~*~*~*~

I guess… I’m just afraid… All I do is keep running. It’s funny, though… I run and run, and yet I’m not going anywhere…

~*~*~*~

“What could be wrong with him…?”

“Perhaps he simply wants time to himself, Hiei-san…”

Hiei watched his sister lift the hem of her periwinkle kimono as she proceeded to climb up a reasonably large tree. He smiled a bit at her action. At first sight, she would appear to be the type of girl who would be afraid of falling down from such high places, but she wasn’t. As she climbed, she reached to refill the birdfeeder on one of the overhanging branches. Her brother raised an eyebrow.

“Do you need help?” He asked politely while still having his firmly crossed arms.

“No, I’m fine.”

When she was through with her task, Yukina lowered herself a tad before jumping off of the trunk of the tree. Dusting her palms, she grinned at Hiei softly, and the two of them then began to walk around the forest from behind the temple. In spite of the fact it was daybreak, entering the woods seemed to have taken them into a parallel world where it was always twilight- save for the few strings of light that broke through the patches of evergreen trees and brush. Some squirrels scampered up the dark brown bark of trees, while others would chase each other down tumbled logs and along the small creek. The ground… there was no ground. The forest floor was made entirely of fallen leaf and twig. How beautiful it was, and yet it was the complete opposite of everything in the outside world. Here, it was fall, while outside it was spring. When there was light, here it was dusk. When it was a pitch-black night, here it was a silver one.

Yukina ran a little ahead of her companion, to seat herself upon one of the large stones situated by the babbling brook. There was some moss growing on the north side of it, but she took no worry in getting her clothes dirty- she could always wash them.

Her sibling took to her side- still standing, naturally. His chin sank towards his chest a tad, eyes now dampening in mood. Yukina wrapped her arms around her knees and looked to him equally worried. Somehow- this morning- the beauty of the scenery had failed to phase through their emotions… Not even the soft glow of early light hitting the smooth moving water and creating little rainbows affected them.

“My friend- he changed suddenly…”

“How so?”

A breeze interrupted their conversation before it could build up any further. When the air finally ceased, the fire demon spoke again.

“I don’t know how to describe it… One day, he was upset- sad… The next he’s filled with- anger? I’m not sure… More like hatred, or frustration…but that’s not what’s bothering me. No, not at all. I don’t really mind it if Kurama feels the way he does, but it does make me wonder why he isn’t telling me anything.”

Yukina’s long and thick lashes batted slowly- covering and unveiling her jewely eyes. “But, I don’t think Kurama is the type to talk about many things… He’s a little bit like you…”

“Around other people, yes… But he puts on a completely different face around me…” He paused. “Heh’… just like me… a poser in a fake world…” His crimson eyes wandered about the thicket- dazzled by the simple splendor to behold. “… I like it here… Everything is always the way you expect it to be…”

With a fine and petite finger, the snow demon began tracing the cracks and contours of the humongous stone she sat on. Her eyes narrowed faintly, taking the extra time to examine an exceptionally large fracture. “If nothing changed, Hiei-san, if nothing troubled you- wouldn’t you be bored with your life?”

Undoing his arms, he let them fall to his side softly. Gradually, he turned to his sister- who had removed that concerned expression from her face and now replaced it with a hopeful one.

“Hn.” Hiei smirked. “You’re right…”

*****

“Hyah!”

Kurama easily ducked from the sharp kick aimed precariously at his head. With his forearm, he blocked six other blows heading straight for his chest. Wrathfully, he retaliated by grabbing one of his attackers by the wrist, lifted his arm, and struck him brutally on the side- breaking two ribs.

The sound of thick bone cracking was immediately followed by a horrifying scream that echoed throughout the alley. The screaming later transformed into burbling muffles as dark red blood spewed from the victim’s mouth. My, how the tables have turned…

“Oh shit!”

The redhead gazed at the other two in warning- his bottle green eyes flashing into an inexplicable shade of gold and amber. They froze. They couldn’t move. They were scared.

“Your ways disgust me…” Kurama muttered unperturbedly.

Of all the things that had to happen before a casual walk to school- a pathetic jump. While he had been heading down the street, as always, a foolish group of three shoved him violently in between two buildings when hardly anyone was around. The alley was mucky- filled with wet trash and steaming sewer gates. His nose scrunched at the odor… almost like dead corpses. Such a familiar scent…

“Well? Why are you still standing? Or are you actually willing to give me way out of this slum first?”

They shivered, but finally came to they senses once re-probing their accomplice’s beaten form. Frightening. It took no more then a flash to be accomplished. Eyes focusing on Kurama, and then back on their friend- they made way.

He went passed them- long red hair flying behind him in a sheet of blood red strands. Ironic… An enchanting scent radiated from him, and yet his deeds were as putrid as the overflowing garbage that surrounded them.

Once arriving on school grounds, his track instructor met him with an unwelcoming face. Not only was he late, but he also didn’t have his team uniform. In actuality, it wasn’t Kurama’s fault. The day previous, one of his team members took the liberty of writing ‘suck my crotch’ in permanent marker all over his shirt. At first, when his eyes first laid upon the uncalled-for doing, Kurama felt electricity beckon him to tear apart the garment, sniff out who ever had done this, and rip him apart as well. Fortunately for the graffiti artist, Shuiichi’s good side came into play, and so he fell upon the consensus to simply steal another uniform from the gym warehouse. It would be very easy to do, and as another positive, he would be able to prevent his name from becoming any more soiled as Kamiya had warned him.

The team readied themselves by running in place before the rubber track. On the signal of the coach’s blowing whistle- they ran. The warm up of one mile, which equaled to be four laps around. To let out some trapped steam, the redhead accelerated his pace- immediately overtaking the person in lead.

But he did more than just that- he lapped everyone. His feet were burning with fire, but he paid no heed to the sensation as he proceeded to sprint. The other members watched on as they tried to catch up with him, however it was no use. He was too fast… MUCH too fast. It didn’t take long before the movement of his legs turned into blurs, and his instructor even raised his cap with his pen as he watched Shuiichi come towards him in a startling finish.

One mile in two minutes- most likely less.

“Keep going.” The older said, seemingly trying to sound unimpressed. Kurama said nothing- he merely obeyed.

Before anyone could think about it, the redhead lapped them all again. What amazed them was the fact that Shuiichi wasn’t at all exhausted. In fact, it appeared as though he could only get faster. BOOM. He lapped the leading member of the track team yet again.

“He’s… He’s not human!” one of the members huffed- perspiration bulleting out of every pore of his wasted body.

Two miles total- finished in four minutes.

“Keep going.”

By now, the members were finally ending their mile, but Kurama had to continue on his senseless rampage. He was ordered to. Three miles, four miles. When he thought he could stop as everyone was filing for the relay drill, he was shocked when his teacher told him to carry on running. ‘They’re excluding me…’ He thought warily. ‘They don’t want me on their team, but they can’t cut me without a warranted reason…’

From the bleachers, a woman with long and wavy mahogany hair came into view. As it was zero period and school wouldn’t start for another hour, she seated herself on one of the stands and watched the track team. Her eyes were docile, but watchful. She made note of the one student going around and around in a hopeless circle as the others enjoyed the regular activities. The woman frowned, piercing her elfin lips for she had already made a conclusion as to what was happening.

“Why, if it isn’t Kairu, Honoka… What brings you here so early in the morning?”

She closed her eyes and rolled them in secret. This man was horrible with flirtation. “Just watching you coach your team, Yatori-san. I’ve noticed you haven’t been paying much attention to Shuiichi, however…”

“You know that student?” He was a little surprised at this. All the same, he didn’t let that get in the way of trying to get all-masculine around this fair lady. He lifted one leg up to rest on the lowest bleacher, and then put on this ridiculous one-sided grin that simply looked wrong on him. Honoka coughed quietly, suddenly putting her legs tightly together to prevent the other from looking up her short lavender skirt. At the same time, she also pulled the ends of her matching lavender suit closer together to conceal her bust.

“Anyhow, as I was saying… Why won’t you let him participate with the others?”

“Oh, that kid…” Yatori grunted shamelessly. “Well, look at him… he’s a little bit of a show off, don’t you think?”

Quickly, she glanced at the teenager. “I don’t happen to think so. He’s the top student in my English class and he never says anything at all about it…”

“It’s just a façade.” He replied in a low voice.

“Hm…” Honoka stood and carefully stepped down the bleachers. The coach lent out a hand to help her down, but she refused to take it. Somewhat offended, he placed that hand in his pocket instead. “Everyone has at least ONE veneer…” She continued. “Why don’t you give him a chance? Just because he’s not like the rest of you doesn’t mean he can’t run BETTER than you…”

“Are you- are you DEFENDING him, Kairu-san? You know very well that teachers should be impartial towards their students…”

“I know… That’s why I don’t separate them…”

*****

‘So very strange…’ Hiei brooded. All morning, and now close to noon, he had been analyzing the condition of his long-time friend. Everything had been going well before Monday. What could have happened to shatter the world they had? That little world of sweet bliss- bliss that only THEY could understand… The bliss… Who had stolen it? Obliterated it…

At the top of a building, he stood as erect as a perched raven. Quite funny how that was, for he was situated so high above the ground that he was amidst of the flying crows. The black birds that swooped up and down- in circles and in angles- left their feathers in showers as they took to flight. From where he was, Hiei would have admitted that those birds were outright stunning.

He had his right leg hoisted, his foot resting upon ledge of the edifice. Leaning forward a tad, he rested his right forearm on his bent knee.

“If I could fly as they can… in an endless waltz of the skies… I probably would never return to earth…”

Standing straight now, he prepared himself in a fashion akin to a high-diver. The demon breathed in slowly, but deeply… and then…

He jumped.

As he outstretched his arms, Hiei’s body began to un-level- his head and torso diving while his lower body was elevated. The air that touched his face delivered invisible punches towards his skin. It didn’t matter. Although rash and bruise was evident, he felt nothing. It’s been a long time since he felt nothing. Reverting back to stone… He didn’t like the idea. Before he would have approved of it, but now…

‘We can never fly… We can only fall…’

*****

“ ‘And with that… he shot a bullet through the flower, and its petals then bursted in an array of ice blue… Oh, what a lovely bloom it was… Blossomed from nothing more than a mere seed… ‘There are no blue roses in this world…’He scoffed. ‘…Blue roses are a foolish fantasy that exists only within the mirror of the garden… And everyone knows…fantasies bring sorrow for they are unattainable… You may merely look at it, but never touch it…” Honoka removed her thin-framed glasses and shook her head to move away some stray strands of hair. “Please tell me, class, what is the significance of the color blue?”

“Coldness?” Suggested one student.

“No… not quite…” She responded while walking about the classroom with the book still at hand.

“Fear?” Said another.

“Mm… In part, yes, but in general, what is it?”

“…Sadness…”

At the hushed answer, the teacher’s ears perked up immediately and centered their attention upon the voice that spoke it. “Why… that’s correct, Shuiichi-kun. But do you know why sadness was given the form of a rose?”

Kurama didn’t look up from his desk. He kept his vision focused on his notepad, where his pencil scribbled about the paper in endless motions. “Because…” he went on in a monotonous tone. “The dove that carried the flower from family to family- house to house- brought such intense, beautiful happiness… But the flower was cursed for it was one of a kind… So right after the joy, came the sorrow…”

“The mirror- what does it represent?”

“The mirror is a person… any person. You can find something on this earth you love so much, and yet you are not permitted to have. Instead, all you may do is look on, and hold that image of that treasured one in your heart in the same way a mirror holds an image in its glass… The very image brings such bliss… but you can’t have it, and so pain strikes you. This is the curse of the blue rose… no one may have it because it’s a fantasy…”

“Then why the bullet? Why did James Claudon destroy the flower?”

“He was disillusioned… Why have the pain of wanting, when it’s already evident you may never have it? So he destroyed it- he destroyed the rare flower in order to protect his own family from being hurt. But what he didn’t realize was that the rose was really happiness in itself. Happiness is a form of fantasy. It was the dove that brought the misery when it took away the flower in order bring it to a new family to enjoy. This is why they may only look at the rose… the fantasy… it was only there for a period of time before it left the windowsill by the wing of the pure white dove. When the flower was destroyed, the bird- the dove- died. It was really the only creature that knew how great the flower was… and once the rose was taken away from it, it could not live.”

“Excellent.”

The class glared daggers, arrows, bullets, and spears at Shuiichi, but he paid them no regard whatsoever. The redhead did nothing, nothing but continue scribbling on his notepad in purposeless lines. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. Hard lead on rough paper.

‘He talks like he knows EVERYTHING…’ murmured one peer. ‘He’s all bored when he answers too- what a bastard!’ whispered another. Kurama smirked to himself. How stupid they were- utterly ignorant. ‘As Hiei would say…’ The redhead mused. ‘Men are nothing more than a flock of braying sheep…’ Finally, he raised his evergreen irises. His sensei, Kairu-san, had set the book on the whiteboard where all the dry markers were held. He discerned into the cover. It was black, with one blue rose at the top-left corner that made the whole book glow with mysterious attractiveness. To the lower-right corner, was the dove. Kurama liked the dove. It protected the flower all throughout the story, until it was murdered by fate. James Claudon… the poor, blind fool- if only he had known that misery can only be stipulated through the minds and actions of a weak crowd.

It wasn’t long before the bell rang, and almost instantly, all the students grabbed their belongings and exited the room for the long-awaited lunch break. Kurama took his time. He was packing his pencil and notepad into his bookcase, but then Honoka interrupted the process by catching Shuiichi’s wrist.

“What have you been doodling? You know I don’t like it when my students don’t pay me the attention I desire…”

In response, Kurama shrugged. “I believe your whole CLASS isn’t paying you the attention you desire.” He then removed the notepad from his pack and showed it to his English teacher. She accepted the pad, not saying anything to Kurama’s cruel, and yet, truthful comment. At what Honoka found on the paper, she furrowed a fine eyebrow.

“Spirals…” She said. “Endless spirals…”

Kurama gave out an open hand, which signaled to her to return his property. Wordlessly, Honoka complied.

“I know what’s happening… I’ve known since Monday, ever since I overheard that rude comment while I was presenting images of the Renaissance…”

“So you do…”

Crossing her arms over her suit, Honoka closed her eyes. “You don’t have to be so cold… I want to help you…”

The other’s head jerked up suddenly in surprise. “Why?”

“A teacher should help her student. Besides, I don’t think you have it so easy during lunch OR break… I’ve seen you. You head straight for the roof.” She then turned quickly on her high heels and leaned against the desk. “Rather than wasting your time up there- why don’t you stay here with me and talk?”

“About what?” He was growing uneasy now- if not a little suspicious.

“Whatever you want to talk about. The book, what’s happening, my class- whatever pleases you. Besides, I’m quite disappointed with the faculty these days; it’s growing quite difficult to find an intellectual conversation- believe it or not. Or, if you don’t want to say anything to me, you can be my class aid and grade papers- it will look good on your transcript…”

“I suppose…” Kurama said solemnly, subconsciously re-seating himself in his desk. Honoka joined him by taking the chair in front of him and facing backwards to see his face- just to be civilized and respectful.

“Well, now that you’ve settled down. Do you think you can answer me one question?”

“And that would be?”

Abruptly, her elegant face hardened. “… Is it true?”