南野 秀一, Minamino Shūichi / 蔵くら馬ま Kurama (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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genkaitemple2024-03-08 01:20 pm
sinningtree) wrote in genkaitemple2024-03-08 01:20 pm
Kurahi Catch-All: Unspoken Thing
Unspoken Thing
The hardest thing about life is
when the person who gave you the most memories
becomes a memory.
when the person who gave you the most memories
becomes a memory.
how odd it is
to be
by someone that is still alive
Date※ 01/27/24 Injured: ⋙ Dark Tournament
※ 01/29/24 Insomnia: ⋙ Dark Tournament
※ 02/11/24 Intimate Bathing: ⋙ Post Series
※ 02/25/24 Loss: ⋙ Post Series
※ 03/04/24 Unspoken Thing: ⋙ Resurrection [completed]
※ 03/19/24 Defrosting: ⋙ Post Series
※ 04/17/24 Garden: ⋙ Resurrection [completed]
※ 06/03/24 Kurama's Return: ⋙ Resurrection [completed]
※ 08/06/24 Picnic: ⋙ Post Series
※ 08/22/24 Domestic Fluff: ⋙ Post Series
※ 09/20/24 Sickness*: ⋙ Resurrection
Chronologically
※ 01/27/24 Injured: ⋙ Dark Tournament
※ 01/29/24 Insomnia: ⋙ Dark Tournament
※ 02/11/24 Intimate Bathing: ⋙ Post Series
※ 02/25/24 Loss: ⋙ Post Series
※ 08/06/24 Picnic: ⋙ Post Series
※ 03/19/24 Defrosting: ⋙ Post Series
※ 08/22/24 Domestic Fluff: ⋙ Post Series
※ 03/04/24 Unspoken Thing: ⋙ Resurrection [completed]
※ 04/17/24 Garden: ⋙ Resurrection [completed]
※ 06/03/24 Kurama's Return: ⋙ Resurrection [completed]
※ 09/20/24 Sickness*: ⋙ Resurrection
Pending
※ MM/DD/YY Kissing Scars: ⋙ Timeline
※ MM/DD/YY Eating Together: ⋙ Timeline
※ MM/DD/YY Swear To Me: ⋙ Timeline
Blank
no subject
Of course, the plants there aren't nearly as potent as they could be with the influence of Kurama's energy, but considering the fire demon's unpredictable state, he can't help but grow concerned with the passage of time. Ultimately, it's the look from Yukina that motivates him to give in and check on things, even if Hiei would rather he didn't. While he doesn't exactly conceal his approach, the fox doesn't do much to announce himself either, stopping just at the edge of the clearing for a bit before speaking up finally.
“You'll miss dinner if you're out here much longer.” Whether Hiei even had an appetite yet wasn't really the point, at least this way someone can confirm that he's fine, and the fox has relayed the message.
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To be fair - Hiei hadn't intended to take a long nap in the flowers. He'd only intentionally set out to lay amongst them for long enough to catch a little buzz and clear his mind, ideally getting his energy back too before dragging himself back up to the house. Of course that was apparently not in the cards, as the fire demon lays still soundly asleep as Kurama approaches.
.. Until he talks, anyway, the noise sending Hiei shooting up faster than he really should in the condition he's currently in. The motion to quickly sit up, combined with both his illness and the effect of the flowers he's been breathing in for who knows how long now, leaves him a little dizzy. Once establishing that it is Kurama next to him Hiei simply leans his head forward in to his hands, the tell that he's still not completely back to normal fairly obvious.
"Fuck, Kurama." Despite the vocabulary, there is shockingly little heat behind his voice, his focus spent on gathering his wits from the rude wake up.
"I'm not hungry."
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“We did not want to assume.” He's not even going to address the first part, stepping further into the clearing while still giving the fire apparition ample space. “Not surprising though, that your appetite has yet to return. Recovery might still take some time, after all.”
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"So Yukina sent you..." He knows things that read like his sister, ok? After all of this time around here, there is no way he wouldn't recognize his sister's intentions, even if they are coming out of the redhead's mouth. It helps to soothe his inclination that Kurama was out here for his own questions about why he wasn't back to the house yet. Now that he's been sitting up for a little while it's more.. pleasant, actually. Less head rush affected as he is now he'll not take so much offense to the inclination he needs to 'recover', either.
Instead, he hums, as if in thought about it, before he finally elaborates on why he'd wanted to come out here in the first place.
"It's quieter, out here." A pause, and then - "My mind, I mean."
That seems obvious now that he's said it, considering the effect of the flowers, and Kurama hadn't even asked, but here he is anyway, explaining himself when he did not need to.
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Hiei says it's quieter and Kurama understands without the explanation, but he's not going to point that out, either. Genuinely surprised to find the other demon offering one in the first place. “Yes.”
After another moment, the spirit fox pulls his phone out as he sits to get comfortable in the flowers, still keeping a bit of a safe distance between them while taking the time to send a confirmation to Yukina. It would be easier to wait until dinner was ready than it would be to go back only to find himself sent out again in the name of ensuring the fire demon's appetite hadn't returned by the time the food is actually ready.
“They're not as potent on their own, but... sometimes that may be preferable.”
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Hiei pretends that he doesn't see Kurama texting - he knows what he's doing and who he's checking in with, after all. He could've checked in with her himself if he wasn't so resistant to having a cell phone or anything else that others may reach him on in the first place. At any rate, here and now was not the time to fuss about Yukina worrying about him when he has dealt with far worse than being ill, or injured, all on his own well before now. Beyond that it will get them absolutely no where, he's sure.
Particularly when Yukina is involved. She will hear none of it from him, particularly after all of these years spent getting closer and knowing one another better. Through all of their trials and stone walling bickering, the twins were extremely good at fighting like siblings, these days.
"You think I need to be even further out of my mind, right now?" Forgive him if he sounds even slightly amused right now, Kurama, thinking of putting himself in to a worse state than he is currently. The quiet buzz of even this low-level ability to not think of everything going wrong in the moment is quite enough.
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“On the contrary,” While he catches the amusement Kurama is not reading the tone as indication of a joke, rather that the fire apparition finds the suggestion absurd. As he should, because it wasn't the fox's intended meaning. “I believe you should probably avoid that. After all, who knows what might happen, in your current state.”
Of course, that same logic doesn't apply to the redhead, who could probably really use a boost to the effects, himself. Not that he's going to admit to as much out loud.
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"Nothing worse than your tea does, I'm sure." If he's after something to quiet his mind, surely something that puts him to sleep ranks about the same, after all. The fire demon sighs, then, realizing there was no way he was breaking the tension from their discussion last night that easily, and instead decides to try dodging with Yukina as the step down instead.
His mind is still pleasantly warm and buzzing, and he will probably be notably different in personality to the children, but.. well. Avoiding Yukina's wrath was a little more important than avoiding Kurama's at this point in time. Beyond that.. he really didn't want to hear any extra shit from Kazuma or Hina when they finally caught him alone at some point or another.
"If I do not come to dinner..." Said in the same way a kid might present a hypothetical just to see how much trouble he would be in. "How likely am I to have it forced on me in short order?"
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“No one is interested in forcing you to eat, if you're not yet up to it.” He might sound concerned though, considering he'd started to hope maybe Hiei was feeling better. He had dealt with enough human illness to know how this works, his mother even commented that he'd been worse than the nurses while she was unwell.
“There is always the option of having something light when you're ready, an apple perhaps. Of course, I can fix up another batch of tea if you might need it.”
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Hiei makes a non-committal noise at the subject of food. His typically never ending appetite doesn’t seem to have surfaced, yet, though it may only need something like a starter to get going. The fire apparition is not all that eager to try lest it go south and he only gains a tighter schedule of hovering for his trouble.
Who knew that falling suddenly ill could make one’s family do something silly like worry about you. Embarrassing.
Though, if Kurama is going to bring up something light -
“What about a miso soup? Or a broth?” It’s a start, at least. An option that’s actually drawn a reaction more than a shrug of his shoulders and some very mechanical toast eating.
“That and a tea might be good ..” and his hopes that he wouldn’t draw out sleeping for who knows how long by opening his fat mouth.
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Hiei, of all people, should be aware how much illness makes others worry, but he - like every member of their dysfunctional little group - remains terminally incapable of applying that sentiment to himself.
“Broth might be an idea. Okayu, maybe. This is your first time being sick, we certainly don't want to overdo it.” Logically, Hiei shouldn't be sick in any way that might prevent eating, but standard logic hardly seemed to apply to whatever his body was going through at the moment. Best to proceed with caution.
“If you're going to be up and about, perhaps a different tea to go with it. Your fever seems to have broken, at least. You could try something that wasn't harvested from the depths of demon world with dinner, if you'd rather.”
no subject
It's a shockingly mundane conversation - particularly considering their contentious conversations that had become more common place since Kurama returned. Some time ago a little back and forth about food, bargaining for what they wanted that evening for a meal, wouldn't have seemed so... boring in comparison. Right now, Hiei is more than content with it. He isn't sure that he could properly sustain a bickering session with how fuzzy his mind is at the moment and, in true form, if he couldn't do it right he didn't want to do it at all.
"Mn. Both sound good." That much he isn't going to pretend about or hide, at least - both sound simple, and bland, and good because of those factors if he's honest with himself. Who knew how much he would be able to get down, considering his stomach isn't even sending hunger pangs at the moment, but surely it will be better than nothing.
"Like what?" It's worth asking, he supposes, if only to have some idea of what Kurama is thinking. He isn't quite sure what the alternative could be, mind stuck on something medicinal versus, you know.. a normal human world cup of tea instead. Or something sweeter, as the kids were so fond of.
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Even now, when he has every reason to want his space after the night before.
“That would be up to you,” He muses quietly when asked about the tea, trying to conceal his humor. “There's a whole cabinet of options, but if you're quite fond of the catnip perhaps we could brew some of that as well.”
It's more of a joke than anything, but that may be lost in the tension. The way that Kurama's body language doesn't give his usual tells of amusement with the delivery. His mind is still far too preoccupied with both the previous night's discussion and the alarming reality that the fire apparition still wasn't hungry.
Granted, catnip doesn’t make up the entire garden but it is the majority of the flowerbed Hiei currently sits in, demon world plants could be potent enough without filling the majority of the space, after all. A little unnecessary when one just wants a quiet place to relax.
“Would you like me to ask if Yukina can prepare some miso okayu with dinner? We could wait to see if your appetite improves first.” It was possible he didn't want to be under the scrutiny of the entire family for his attempted meal, but if he still isn't feeling well taking it to the room made more sense anyway.
no subject
"Oh. So you just meant regular tea." He's sure that Yukina has plenty of that, maybe even a variety that he's liked before when he was visiting with her and the children. He wouldn't bother to remember the ones he liked in particular, so there was always that to contend with, but Yukina was always paying attention to what would make her guests the most comfortable. Or in Hiei's case, focused on providing him with everything that he liked the best while he was there simply because she could. Hiei knew it was her way of showing him affection in her own way, even when they did not talk about the obvious things between them that they never talked about.
Beyond that.. the offer of catnip in the tea was kind, of course, but he does not think he will have trouble sleeping. Unless his fever kicked off again or something else happened, of course, but that was well beyond his control or anyone's, really. So the fire demon shrugs, instead, before he offers an answer. "I don't think I'll need any help sleeping, tonight."
Not that Hiei needed a lot of help sleeping.. ever.. but. Kurama has been there through his fever. He knew what trouble that had been, even if he slept right through it.
Still, he sighs as Kurama asks if he would like him to make the request. He hates requesting things like that of her, a special meal or.. anything that deviates from what she was already doing. It feels like he's giving her extra work, or chores, which he tries to avoid as much as he possibly can. "... Yes. If she has what she needs to do it without making an errand of it." Even if she would, without question, it doesn't mean that he wants her to.
"It may take eating something to.. start an appetite again, anyway."
no subject
When Hiei comments that he shouldn't have trouble sleeping, Kurama doesn't respond. As far as he's concerned, it's still hard to predict what might come until Hiei shows signs of recovery. To him, the chills had been far more alarming than the fever, but he's not going to bring that up either, not now at least.
“I'm fairly certain rice is already part of the meal plan...” In that it's hardly going out of her way to prepare okayu on top of the current menu, some miso paste for flavor also didn't seem like extra work to add in. “More importantly, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear you would like to try something, no matter what it is.”
no subject
Granted, this entire situation has been odd from start to finish, to say the least, and so he can hardly count this as the weirdest part of this episode of their lives.
"I may not recover as quickly as you or Yukina would like without it, but I will recover." Or not. He doesn’t actually know, but he has a good feeling. Some part of him finds it laughable, still, to think that Kurama might be doing it only for Hiei's benefit as well. Surely there's something else underneath it all as well. It doesn't make much sense to him, beyond that.
"Fine, then let her know. At the very least if I get some of it down she will be less stressed." If only Kurama were a little easier to please, when it came to signs of if he were recovering or not.
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“You seemed to be in quite the rush, before.” He doesn't ask if that's changed for some reason, aware that Hiei is suspicious and not wanting to push him on the subject.
“I thought, perhaps, you might jump at the chance for some time alone. That is what you wanted, isn't it?”
He's already sending the message before Hiei finishes speaking, optimistic that at the very least it will give Yukina something to be positive about, even if Hiei is correct in that it does little to appease his worry.
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"I do have things that are required of me, in the Demon World, Kurama." Hiei sighs it, as though he'd had to reiterate this to Kurama many times by now, even though he had not. Of course, even as far on as they are now, Kurama has to know that he has responsibilities beyond this safe haven on the edge of the human and demon worlds. Responsibilities that he's been ignoring for this place, and more specifically for Kurama even if he would deny it bitterly if it was brought up to him.
At this point the lengths he would go to in order to get a little alone time are possibly a bit too much, but he knows damn well that there is no such thing as alone time for him so long as these symptoms persist.
"You know as well as I do that I will not know time alone until I'm no longer having symptoms." He values all of them deeply, even if he will never say it out loud, but the lack of time to himself has worn at the single thread of his patience quite a bit. "I couldn't even be left to the garden without you following me."
At Yukina's request, of course, but the point still stands.
no subject
“You came out here to be alone, I certainly did nothing to stop you. I was merely asked to check if you'd like to eat.” He doesn't point out the obvious, that if Hiei would keep open communication he wouldn't have been sent out here in the first place, Yukina could have just messaged him directly. With that, he's moving to his feet again, brushing himself off as he stands up to leave without waiting for a response.
“By all means, take time for yourself. Just try not to be late, I'm sure you don't want to worry her.”
When Kurama returns to the temple several hours later, dinner is long over and the sky has gone dark. He quietly enters the room Hiei has been sleeping in to find he's still awake, at least.
“How did it go?”
no subject
He really ought to be making his return more of a priority, unfortunately for all of them, though... Hiei is of course putting his pride first. Not that he really has mich of anything left with this whole returning to human world purely to see Kurama again, despite all of his posturing, but since when has that stopped him either? Hiei has not given up entirely on pretending that he really does not care about the fox in the end, just the same as he has not fully decided whether he forgives him for this entire mess, yet.
So he watches Kurama leave with a little 'hn' as he does so, carefully not asking the fox to stay even though that is very much what he wants in some dark pit inside of him. Despite everything, Kurama's presence even nearby calms him, at least enough that sleep and true rest are a bit easier to come by.
The fire apparition is not late for dinner, thankfully, accepting his specially made meal with a little nod of thanks to Yukina. His want to prove to her that he is alright and recovering wins out over his better sense, unfortunately, and finds him eating more than his stomach really wants to digest. It is easy enough to excuse himself without suspicion, at least, his illness making it easy to say that he was going to rest some more now that his stomach was full. It is easier to breathe through the nausea while he isn't also trying to maintain some kind of normality with Yukina and the children, which is exactly why Kurama's sudden appearance has Hiei masking a grimace.
"I ate." It isn't a lie at least, as he forces himself to sit up. Thankfully he doesn't outwardly look all that much worse for wear than he has since this all began.
"Yet to be seen if it gives me any more energy, though."
no subject
In other words, the decision to leave had made the most sense at the time.
“Having an appetite is a good sign, at least, isn't it?” He almost sounds cheerful about it, relieved as he is for even these minor steps in the right direction. One thing at a time, Hiei, you can't rush recovery. He doesn't look any better, but the fox isn't about to bring attention to that little detail when he could already see the retort coming.
“I suppose an appetite stimulant isn't necessary after all. I do have something for energy, if you think you might prefer to try that in the morning.” Not now when everyone's winding down for the evening, obviously.
“Perhaps you'll be able to return to your own room as well, no more constant surveillance. Just think, soon enough all of this will be behind you.” Then all that doom and gloom about thinking he's dying will feel even more ridiculous than when he'd first brought it up, won't it?
no subject
Right now, Hiei would much prefer if Kurama left. Though not for the reasons the fox would know or think of, as he goes on about him having an appetite. He still looks like shit because he feels like shit, but like hell is he going to admit that. Instead, he is going to focus on the rhythm of his breathing, counting to make sure it all just looks... normal. As normal as possible. As normal as he can possibly hope to make it, anyway.
"Mn. It's a start." If he can keep it down, anyway. He reaches for a glass of water as the next wave of nausea rises up, hoping that the active action of swallowing may help to keep things down and prevent him from telling on himself. Thankfully it's room temperature, which is better than something cold as things go with stomachs.
"I don't think it would hurt. At least I could go and sit with the children." It would get him out of the room, at least, and take his focus off of feeling like absolute shit for a little while. He almost debates asking the fox for something to force him to sleep, but.. decides against it for fear he will tell on himself by doing so.
The comment about constant surveillance does at least spur him to laugh, even slightly, eyes rolling. "You're very chipper all of a sudden."
no subject
Still, he's watching him carefully while he drinks that water, eyebrow raising at the fire apparition's response. His head tilts curiously when he laughs with those words, bypassing the first thing Hiei says to answer the latter with a bit of caution to his tone.
“Why wouldn't I be? You're up, moving around enough to visit the garden, and your appetite seems to be returning. All signs of improvement.” He would know, he's seen enough illness in his life. “You do want to get better, don't you?”
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Hiei’s eyes roll at the question. Of course he wants to get better. More than anything he would love to no longer have to think about this mysterious illness, about everything stacking up to be done while he languishes and never seems to not be tired. And yet here he is, exhausted and nauseous and hoping that the redhead will leave at some point so he can be miserable alone trying to hold down his light dinner. Above anything it is incredibly annoying that this seems to cling to him like a leech somehow.
They both know the root of it, to some extent, and Hiei is still unwilling to just say it and possibly lighten his own load despite this.
His stomach lurches again, stronger this time, and Hiei’s face slips in to annoyance that is thankfully, somewhat explainable.
“Of course I do. I can’t possibly think of anything worse than staying so tir-“ Hiei is still blessedly fast, a hand clamping over his own mouth as his stomach forces his hand. There’s no hiding it now, even as Hiei still stubbornly fights his body’s want to firmly eject his dinner.
It takes him a moment, and no doubt Kurama’s picky nose will smell the bile in his mouth when he finally speaks again.
“- so tired.”
So much for signs of improvement.
no subject
Sometimes it feels like only spite keeps the wall up between them, but others the fox isn't so certain that Hiei wouldn't truly be happier if he'd never returned in the first place. That his being back is as selfish and misguided as everything leading up to it was in the first place.
He raises an eyebrow at the shift in Hiei's expression, not quite as easy to dismiss as he might think or hope. Kurama is used to the fire apparition growing irritated with him, but this was something different. Only confirmed by the way he catches himself a second time, not fast enough to mask it on the return.
The fox crosses the room without hesitation, pulling the door to outside open without more than a passing glance in his direction as he does. “I wouldn't stay there if you're about to be ill. It will be impossible to sleep in this room tonight, once you've thrown up in it.”
Step outside, get some fresh air. Save them all the trouble.
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