Nichibotsu (Sunset)

Clarity Scifiroots

All

Shonen-ai, I guess, sweet but not really sap.

Standard disclaimers; I don’t own the characters; my first completed Yu Yu Hakusho fic, just by a fan for fans.

---

Somewhere in the house the bells pealed their tone of the time. Yet it mattered not, since what was important was in front of me; before me. It was stretched out like some beautifully written story that would never end when your imagination took it in hand. That was how I related the scene before me. The gorgeous colors that spread into the usual blue and white; green, red, purple, maroon, indigo, jade… so many colors painted by nature’s brush. I breathed in, taking in the scent of the ocean and plants nearby on the hills that split the sandy shore from the rest of the land. I was so lucky to come across this house that we managed to turn into a home. The location was ideal, nearly perfect. Neighbors were at least a mile away in any direction, and the ocean was right outside the windows.

So I had learned to watch the sunsets every night, never missing one, weather permitting. And still I never tired of seeing it. It had to be the most gorgeous thing in any of the three worlds. There was nothing to compare the beauty to, nothing at all. I sighed contentedly and leaned against the wooden railing with a cup of tea in hand.

The days of summer were drawing to an end, I could feel and smell it in the air. I was not affected too quickly by cold, however, and still wore loose pants and an opened button-up shirt. The waves danced with the wind, taking my hair and clothing into a gentle side dance.

It would continue to set for another twenty minutes, I knew, but I would continue to stand there and watch it. Nothing could compare… I had tried to capture the image; in artwork, in photographs… but it wasn’t the same. It only looked so incredible when you were right there and watching it. Seeing the sun rest her head in a sleep when her sister moon would come and take over the heavens.

“This is so very like you. What are you looking at?”

I started at the familiar voice and looked behind me at the small form that had arrived silently. I smiled slightly and beckoned him forward. “Come watch… it isn’t over yet.”

“What?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes patiently and released one hand’s grip on my teacup before directing him to the railing. “Look…” I murmured, hand still resting between his shoulders.

He did look, which surprised me in a way since I had thought he would put up more of a fight. I glanced alternately between the sunset and his face, which was lighted with the multi-colored rays. His eyes were calculating and studying the scenery. For the last of it, I turned back and watched.

“I try to copy it,” I said softly, “but my art—I don’t think anyone’s art—can portray this beauty. It is what it is when you see it right then and there. Not even a memory can capture it the same.” I smiled slightly as the wind toyed with my hair, bringing it across my face. I moved a hand up to push back the red strands.

The sky was mostly darkened, only the area about the sun itself was lit by that point. Warm rays shone valiantly like a halo until finally the evening officially started. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves hitting the shore and to the quiet breathing of my companion. Count on him to be near silent with such a necessity as breathing.

“You say you cannot capture this,” he finally said. I opened my eyes and looked down at him. He continued, looking at me with a steady gaze. “Yet you have copied it… identical in every way.” He reached up and I froze, surprised as he pushed strands of hair behind my ear. He rested a hand on my cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb. “The grace you move in is the same grace in which the sun descends from her throne. Your warmth… love, is like her warmth that spreads to everyone. Your tone of voice is smooth and peaceful… calming…” I widened my eyes, having never heard him say such things to anyone. “Your eyes are vibrant and sensible, and see everything; just like the sun. And your hair,” he touched it gently, running his fingers through it slowly, “is the same tone of its last embers.” He stared back at me. “Can you really say you do not capture it?”

I continued to gaze at him, into his eyes that looked a rich brown in the moonlight. I reached out my own hand to run along his cheek. “I…” I didn’t know what to say. Slowly I shook my head before whispering, “That is the best compliment I have ever had… I can’t think of anything to top it.”

“Then be quiet, kitsune,” he murmured.

A smile appeared on my face and I leaned down, pecking him with a light kiss over the band wrapped over his forehead. I felt the warmth beneath the white fabric as my lips touched. Pulling back, I grinned at him mischievously before setting my forgotten tea down and hopping over the railing. I stood on the other side, resting my head on my arms and smiling.

He watched me wearily, ready to take any action depending on what I did next. I laughed merrily and backed away on light, bare feet. “Come catch me, Hiei!” I called, running into the soft sands where the waves came up occasionally. He watched me imperviously and I continued smiling, twirling down the beach.

My eyes closed and I tilted my head back, arms spread high above my head as I spun in the shallow water, soaking the bottoms of my pants. It felt so wonderful, the salty air putting a tang in the air that was the spice of life that I hardly ever tasted. It was, I realized, the first time in ages that I felt alive other than while watching the sunset. I spun and continued to laugh, not caring how I was acting.

Suddenly I found myself sitting in the water up to my chest, my shirt floating beside me. I opened my eyes and looked up at the smirking figure. I grinned in reply and tackled him in the water. We wrestled in the shallow ocean water, both getting soaked. He was smiling, laughing, right along with me. And I felt complete for one of the first times in my life.

He finally won, as I tired and allowed him to win, and we both stumbled back towards the shore. I collapsed onto my back, knowing that sand was going to be all snarled in my hair pretty soon. He looked down at me, still standing. Giving a little growl, I reached a hand up and pulled his arm towards me to pull him down beside me. He moved onto his back and we studied the stars and moon quietly. Since the time we had been in the water, it had grown darker and now the specks of light shone perfectly, almost magically.

“Why did you come?” I finally asked; softly so as not to disrupt the mood. I turned my head, watching his profile while he gathered what he would say.

“…I’m not sure.” I was impressed, knowing how much courage it took for him to say such a thing. “Maybe I just wanted to see one of your sunsets.”

I smirked and reached my hand over to caress his. “All right, I won’t press you with more questions. Thank you for coming… will you stay?”

“I don’t know.”

I ran my index finger over his palm, surprised that it was fairly smooth skin, unusual for a swordsman. “Please stay,” I murmured.

He turned and looked at me, our noses almost touching. I smiled slightly at him, my eyes portraying the rest of the message.

Slowly I saw a gentle smile break onto his face. It was awkward since he was not used to it, but he suddenly looked not so hard and cold…

“You should smile more often,” I told him. “Perhaps then you can be like the sunset.”

“No,” he replied, “I cannot that that position since it already has been filled.” He moved his hand to caress my face again and I leaned in to the touch, not breaking eye contact with him. “…Boku no Nichibotsu…”

My lips turned upwards as he said it, suddenly warm upon hearing it.

We stayed there until morning and watched as the night sky faded and the sun reappeared from her slumber, but not nearly as graceful. I turned to him and grinned. “Perhaps you’ll be my hinode?”

Slowly he nodded. “All right.”

I leaned closer and kissed his forehead again. “Good. Now, can we go back so that I might sleep? I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.” He chuckled softly. I stood up and then offered him a hand. He took it and we walked back to the house, our fingers entwined.

~ * ~ * Owari * ~ * ~

Author’s notes: just a sweet little thing. I’ve been working with ‘sunset’ themes lately… though more in original works than anything. This would have been fine in an original, actually, but I had Kurama in mind as I wrote it. I don’t think it’s too terribly out of character… Hiei is, most likely, but I haven’t seen enough to know how to write him, yet.

Kitsune = fox

Nichibotsu = sunset

Hinode = sunrise

‘boku no __’ = my ___