Work Text:
Disbelief. Shock. Awe. Terror. Despair. Love.
Those were but a few of the emotions Shiori felt after what she just witnessed. Her day seemed so ordinary. Her son left in the morning for school, and then she went about her errands in the city. She stopped off at her favorite café for lunch and then decided to take a walk in the city.
A crowd blocked her path.
At first, Shiori thought maybe someone was filming a movie. Occasionally, that would happen in their beautiful city. Crowds always gathered. What she saw, she could not believe.
In the center of the crowd stood her son holding a vine of thorns. He stood alongside side two teenagers, friends of Shuichi’s that she met after his week-long summer camp. The three boys stood against a tall man, and they looked angry.
“I’m hurt, Kurama,” the stranger spoke. “Isn’t my death worth a few lived? They’ll be dead soon enough.”
The words made the mother’s blood run cold. What did he say? And who is Kurama?
When the man took off, the two Shiori knew as Yusuke and Kuwabara took off after the man. Shuichi tried to follow but was blocked off by some teenager on a motorcycle. Shiori’s brows furrowed. What was going on?
The raven-haired boy held up his hand and looked like he was about to flick whatever was in it at Shuchi. Her son held the vine in front of him. “You can’t do that with these innocents standing around,” Shuichi declared. Shiori’s eyes widened. What was he talking about?
“Fine,” the other boy replied, “not that I ever miss my target, but if it’s a change of venue you want, I’m game.”
Shuichi didn’t respond but kept his eyes on his opponent. He didn’t take them off of the stranger until a girl ran up. What startled Shiori was that her son reacted to that foreign name.
“Kurama! It’s Kuwabara! We have to find Yusuke and warn him.”
Shuichi looked momentarily horrified and turned to the girl. “Stay back!” he warned. At that moment, the boy on the motorcycle sent something hurtling toward the girl and hit a little bird she had with her.
The teenager started up his motorcycle and got ready to flee. Shuichi then used the strange whip in his hand to try to stop him. This plant-like object broke through the concrete. It was everything Shiori could do not to yelp and call out to her son. She wouldn’t have even had the chance; Shuichi went to pursue the other boy, but it was too late.
Shiori watched as he ran back to the brunette.
“Keiko, are you injured?” her kind son asked. The mother noticed the plant weapon was gone, but she didn’t see where it went.
“No,” the girl, Keiko, replied, “but we absolutely have to get to Kuwabara before they do.”
“Why?”
Shiori didn’t hear the explanation. She was so close to her son, yet she felt so far away. Her mind could not compute what she saw and heard. Shiori was in shock.
When she arrived home, she put her groceries away on autopilot. Her widened eyes could not see anything in front of her. Somehow, she made it to her son’s room and sat down on the side of his bed. She looked around the room, so neat and tidy, atypical of most boys his age. She was always in awe of her son, amazed by how wise beyond his years he was, almost as if her were out of reach. What she saw earlier made him seem even more so.
The thought that Shuichi was involved with something so dangerous terrified Shiori. He was supposed to be at school right now, not in the middle of the city surrounded by such strange people. There was something in Shuichi’s tone when he spoke to the other teenager, a warning, as if he could do something to stop the stranger from harming civilians.
Why was that boy going to harm civilians anyway? Why were they trying to kidnap her son’s friend? None of it made sense. It made Shiori wonder…just what was her son involved in? Did she really know him?
That thought left an impression on the mother. Her heart ached at the idea that Shuichi was so out of reach, putting himself in danger, but what was worse was that he lied to her. What else could have lied to her about? What did her son hide from her? Why did he hide?
Shiori shook her head. She needed answers. The only one who could give them to her…she didn’t even know where Shuichi really was.
Or was his name Kurama? He seemed to respond to that name as if it were natural.
Hours passed. Shiori barely had enough strength to make dinner. She hoped Shuichi would come home, but she did not hear from him. Her mind played the scene from the afternoon over and over. Then it grew dark, and a pit formed in Shiori’s stomach. She was nearly ready to pick up the phone and call the police.
The second she stood and went for the phone, the front door opened. She flinched at the sound and turned around, tears in her eyes. Emerald green eyes stared back at her, deadly calm.
“Mother,” Shuichi greeted, his voice full of love and compassion. He took in her appearance, and worry trickled into his expression. His eyes shifted from the phone in her hand and the distraught form of his mother. He smiled apologetically. “Sorry I’m late. I was needed for an after-school project and couldn’t call. I did not mean to worry you.”
The worry came from the way her son so easily lied to her. She knew she taught her son better than that. When she didn’t move, Shuichi…she couldn’t even describe how the room felt. His shoulders remained relaxed, but there was a certain rigidity about him. He averted his eyes, could not meet her gaze. Shiori could tell he felt shame. He withered and began to draw back, without even moving or speaking. It was then Shiori realized something.
Shiori didn’t know what her son was involved in, didn’t understand what she saw, but a part of her understood Shuichi on a deeper level. No matter what, he was her son, and if what she saw earlier was true, he was trying to help others. He put himself in danger to help his friends.
“Is everything okay, Shuichi?”
Light entered his eyes when he heard the name she gave him, so different from the name she heard earlier. A demure smile appeared, and her son seemed to be brought back to her.
“Yes, Mother, everything is fine,” he assured her. “There is no need to worry anymore. I’m home.”
Love burst in Shiori’s heart, and she laughed away her tears. She put the phone down and approached her son. It didn’t matter, in that moment, that he wasn’t one for physical contact. Shiori wrapped her arms around Shuichi and squeezed him hard, as if she’d never see him again. She heard his light, amused laughter, but other than that he said nothing. He returned her embrace and allowed her to baby him, but only for a moment. He pulled away shortly after.
“Next time, please call,” Shiori requested. Shuichi nodded in response to her wish. “Did you eat anything? I can order us something.”
“That would be fine,” Shuichi replied coolly. “Whatever you want is fine.”
Shuichi headed upstairs shortly after and left his mother to order dinner. What he didn’t know was that after ordering, Shiori decided to follow him upstairs. His bedroom door was only slightly closed, and she could vaguely make out his form lying down on the bed. Shuichi’s eyes were hard and cold, nothing like the son she knew. They were filled with anger, regret, and hate. The weight of the world seemed to be on him, and again he seemed so far away.
Shiori knocked on the door, and the darkness filled with light and love. Shuichi got up from his bed to answer the door.
“Are you all right, Mother?”
Disbelief. Shock. Awe. Terror. Despair. Love.
Shiori cycled through all those emotions again, afraid for her son and disbelieving he experienced something so dire. She wished she could take his pain away, wished he could trust her with his truth. Even so, she was in awe of how brave and determined her son was, and her love for him only grew.
“Yes, Shuichi. I just wanted to check on you.”
“I’m fine, Mother,” Shuichi attempted to assuage. “There’s no need to worry about me.”
Shiori laughed and patted his shoulder. “Shuichi, I’m your mother. I will always worry.”
He can tell me when he’s ready.