(no subject)
Challenge: TYL
Title: Exactly the same
If he asked himself what his future would be twelve years ago, he would have said jail or worse.
Eleven years ago, he would have said dead, or still working for Koenma.
Ten years ago, he would have shrugged and simply state that he didn't know, but probably off of the island.
If he knew what he did back then what he knew now, he probably would had a good laugh at that. Never in a thousand years would his younger self believe what he would be doing ten years down the line.
The raven-haired man let out a jaw-cracking yawn as he collected the bowls from the last wave of customers at the stand and plunked them unceremoniously into the sink. It was already nearing midnight, and he knew that Makoto was waiting for him upstairs in their room. Even though they both owned and ran the quaint little convenience store, his wife got the better half of the deal, seeing how people didn't wander by at eleven o' clock at night for a cake. Ramen, on the other hand...
It wasn't as if Yusuke minded, though. If anything, the ramen stand was the perfect place to keep in touch with people, seeing how everybody these days were either busy building new things, looking after kids, or getting married. At least while they were sitting there waiting for their order, he could chat them up and joke with them like old times. Of course, seeing how things were changing so rapidly, it was inevitable that some of his relationships with people have differed after a while as well. Vegeta, for example, was still the surly, overbearing figure he always was, but the two formed some sort of respect for one another, especially after Yusuke's first child was born. He also ate a hell of alot of Yusuke's ramen, which was partially the reason why the former detective was still hanging around.
There was another reason as well, which made it's arrival in the blink of an eye.
"....so, Hiei. You want the usual tonight or what?"
There was half a minute's pause.
"Hn. Don't make it sound like I come here all the time, Detective."
The trees rustled and the petite demon dropped down, making his way towards the counter. Whether he was surprised or not that Yusuke was able to tell he was there didn't show on his face, and he perched upon one of the seats in silence.
The taller man snickered as he prepared the meal, knowing full well that the years still haven't changed him, in both senses of the term. The fire apparition looked the same as he did ten years ago, which wasn't particularly surprising seeing that demons tended to age slower than humans did. Yusuke himself didn't show many signs of aging thanks to his mixed blood, with the exception of maybe a couple inches added to his height and a tad less boyish looking. It was something that worried him slightly in the back of his mind, wondering if he might outlive his wife and kids, but he decided to dwell on it when the time came. Besides, it wasn't as if Makoto herself aged much, claiming that being a senshi gave her a longer lifespan than others as well.
He pushed the bowl of steaming noodles towards his grumpy companion once he was finished, and grinned over at him. "You know Hiei, your sister's a big girl now. I don't think she'd appreciate that fact that her big brother's still watching her at this time of night even after she's married."
The simple statement sent the smaller man sputtering into his ramen, and fixed an angry ruby glare at the owner. "T-Tch'! You fool, that's not why I was out here so late!" At that, he began stabbing at his food with his chopsticks with gusto, confirming what Yusuke said much better than any confession would ever be. "Only an idiot would believe that you'd gain any maturity after all of these years!"
"Ah, c'mon, Hiei, grow a little sense of humor!" The man's grin grew wider and he settled down on a seat behind the counter in front of his ill-tempered friend. "You're gonna get wrinkles at this rate." The fire demon only snorted in annoyance and continued to slurp at his noodles, refusing to give his old companion the satisfaction of getting any more reaction out of him. It was like old times, in a way. That alone wouldn't have stopped Yusuke from teasing him any further, if it weren't for the soft sound of sniffling he heard coming from the back of the store.
A tiny, bedraggled toddler tottered towards him, jet-black hair a wild curly mess, rubbing one of her tear-filled emerald eyes with a little fist. Her father hopped off of his stool to meet his daughter half-way and crouched down in front of her, smoothing back a bit of the hair that was in her face. "Heeeey, munchkin, what's the matter?" he soothed, trying to calm his wibbling child a little. "I thought Mama put you and your brother to bed already. What happened?"
There was a hiccupy, sob-filled jumble of a response, which had something to do with bad dreams and not wanting to wake Mama up, which seemed make sense to Yusuke. "Alright, alright, kiddo, calm down. You can stay down here with Papa for a bit, but then I gotta get you back to bed, okay?" She wiped her nose and nodded, sniffling a little still. In a quick, practiced movement, he scooped up the little girl in his arms and carried her over to where he was sitting before. Hiei watched this scene in slight amusement, and smirked a little when his friend returned with his daughter in tow. The child waved a little hand at "Uncle Hiei" and snuggled into her father's chest, popping a thumb into her mouth as the comfort of being around him started to soothe the nightmare away.
"Never though I'd see the day you were tamed by mere children..." the apparition muttered and shook his head. This only caused Yusuke to chuckle and get a better grip upon the girl. "I wouldn't say tamed exactly...if you had kids, you'd get it." This only prompted an irritated "like I need any" from the tiny man, and more good natured laughs from the former detective. After a bit of silence, Hiei carefully pushed the now empty bowl over to the owner and got off the chair. As he started to make his way back into the forest for whatever else he did at that hour of the night, a call stalled him momentarily.
"See you tomorrow night then?"
He turned around to see Yusuke smiling goofily back at him, little girl nodding off in his arms, looking like he always have. There was only a short "Hn" in response as Hiei was gone in a blink of an eye again.
Yusuke might not have expected half of the things that happened in the course of the ten years on this place, but he knew that thing that remained the same. Hiei was very, VERY predictable.
Title: Exactly the same
If he asked himself what his future would be twelve years ago, he would have said jail or worse.
Eleven years ago, he would have said dead, or still working for Koenma.
Ten years ago, he would have shrugged and simply state that he didn't know, but probably off of the island.
If he knew what he did back then what he knew now, he probably would had a good laugh at that. Never in a thousand years would his younger self believe what he would be doing ten years down the line.
The raven-haired man let out a jaw-cracking yawn as he collected the bowls from the last wave of customers at the stand and plunked them unceremoniously into the sink. It was already nearing midnight, and he knew that Makoto was waiting for him upstairs in their room. Even though they both owned and ran the quaint little convenience store, his wife got the better half of the deal, seeing how people didn't wander by at eleven o' clock at night for a cake. Ramen, on the other hand...
It wasn't as if Yusuke minded, though. If anything, the ramen stand was the perfect place to keep in touch with people, seeing how everybody these days were either busy building new things, looking after kids, or getting married. At least while they were sitting there waiting for their order, he could chat them up and joke with them like old times. Of course, seeing how things were changing so rapidly, it was inevitable that some of his relationships with people have differed after a while as well. Vegeta, for example, was still the surly, overbearing figure he always was, but the two formed some sort of respect for one another, especially after Yusuke's first child was born. He also ate a hell of alot of Yusuke's ramen, which was partially the reason why the former detective was still hanging around.
There was another reason as well, which made it's arrival in the blink of an eye.
"....so, Hiei. You want the usual tonight or what?"
There was half a minute's pause.
"Hn. Don't make it sound like I come here all the time, Detective."
The trees rustled and the petite demon dropped down, making his way towards the counter. Whether he was surprised or not that Yusuke was able to tell he was there didn't show on his face, and he perched upon one of the seats in silence.
The taller man snickered as he prepared the meal, knowing full well that the years still haven't changed him, in both senses of the term. The fire apparition looked the same as he did ten years ago, which wasn't particularly surprising seeing that demons tended to age slower than humans did. Yusuke himself didn't show many signs of aging thanks to his mixed blood, with the exception of maybe a couple inches added to his height and a tad less boyish looking. It was something that worried him slightly in the back of his mind, wondering if he might outlive his wife and kids, but he decided to dwell on it when the time came. Besides, it wasn't as if Makoto herself aged much, claiming that being a senshi gave her a longer lifespan than others as well.
He pushed the bowl of steaming noodles towards his grumpy companion once he was finished, and grinned over at him. "You know Hiei, your sister's a big girl now. I don't think she'd appreciate that fact that her big brother's still watching her at this time of night even after she's married."
The simple statement sent the smaller man sputtering into his ramen, and fixed an angry ruby glare at the owner. "T-Tch'! You fool, that's not why I was out here so late!" At that, he began stabbing at his food with his chopsticks with gusto, confirming what Yusuke said much better than any confession would ever be. "Only an idiot would believe that you'd gain any maturity after all of these years!"
"Ah, c'mon, Hiei, grow a little sense of humor!" The man's grin grew wider and he settled down on a seat behind the counter in front of his ill-tempered friend. "You're gonna get wrinkles at this rate." The fire demon only snorted in annoyance and continued to slurp at his noodles, refusing to give his old companion the satisfaction of getting any more reaction out of him. It was like old times, in a way. That alone wouldn't have stopped Yusuke from teasing him any further, if it weren't for the soft sound of sniffling he heard coming from the back of the store.
A tiny, bedraggled toddler tottered towards him, jet-black hair a wild curly mess, rubbing one of her tear-filled emerald eyes with a little fist. Her father hopped off of his stool to meet his daughter half-way and crouched down in front of her, smoothing back a bit of the hair that was in her face. "Heeeey, munchkin, what's the matter?" he soothed, trying to calm his wibbling child a little. "I thought Mama put you and your brother to bed already. What happened?"
There was a hiccupy, sob-filled jumble of a response, which had something to do with bad dreams and not wanting to wake Mama up, which seemed make sense to Yusuke. "Alright, alright, kiddo, calm down. You can stay down here with Papa for a bit, but then I gotta get you back to bed, okay?" She wiped her nose and nodded, sniffling a little still. In a quick, practiced movement, he scooped up the little girl in his arms and carried her over to where he was sitting before. Hiei watched this scene in slight amusement, and smirked a little when his friend returned with his daughter in tow. The child waved a little hand at "Uncle Hiei" and snuggled into her father's chest, popping a thumb into her mouth as the comfort of being around him started to soothe the nightmare away.
"Never though I'd see the day you were tamed by mere children..." the apparition muttered and shook his head. This only caused Yusuke to chuckle and get a better grip upon the girl. "I wouldn't say tamed exactly...if you had kids, you'd get it." This only prompted an irritated "like I need any" from the tiny man, and more good natured laughs from the former detective. After a bit of silence, Hiei carefully pushed the now empty bowl over to the owner and got off the chair. As he started to make his way back into the forest for whatever else he did at that hour of the night, a call stalled him momentarily.
"See you tomorrow night then?"
He turned around to see Yusuke smiling goofily back at him, little girl nodding off in his arms, looking like he always have. There was only a short "Hn" in response as Hiei was gone in a blink of an eye again.
Yusuke might not have expected half of the things that happened in the course of the ten years on this place, but he knew that thing that remained the same. Hiei was very, VERY predictable.