Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“No way!”

“He’s so majestic!”

“Is he single?”

The very moment his father started a relationship with another woman, he gained a brother. One as secretive as an FBI agent, sweet and caring yet straight to the point and strict.

When Kokoda met his new stepbrother, he looked handsome, sounded smart, and moved with such precision that it nearly scared him.

He was kind, however. He did what he was asked, achieved every academic highlight he could and was allowed to, and was a top-tier student. Not to mention that his mother was doting over him, he was her world, and he cared for her better than his new stepdad ever could.

But something was different about him; he’d disappear for days on end and return in the dead of night. He had heard him stumbling and had once found spots of blood on the stairs and his bedroom door. The thought of his new brother being an alcoholic was quickly brushed aside; he never smelled like one. His other thought was that his brother might be in a gang, which would explain the wounds that would appear on his hands. They looked like puncture wounds, some scrapes on his legs and arms, and the occasional scratch on his face.

The people he befriended were thugs, high school delinquents, and, somewhat, the outcasts of society. Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara, rivals to friends, what does his brother have to do with them? He didn’t look pressured by them; they were often laughing, and he couldn’t wrap his head around it.

One night, when he’d find blood once again, he heard another voice coming from his brother's room. It wasn’t Yusuke, nor was it Kuwabara.

This voice wasn’t nice; it was scolding him. Lecturing him about being careful and not to risk his life for those ‘baboons’... It was odd, so he leaned in closer, his ear nearly touching the door.

“... And look at where that got you.” The voice scolded. What got him where? Kokoda was confused but trying his best to make it make sense.

“Don’t act like you care.” His brother spoke. 

He heard a scoff before he heard a muffled groan. His heart raced in his chest. Had he gone into a fight? Had someone beaten him up? Kokoda knew he couldn’t really do anything about it physically; he was a lot smaller than the boys around his brother’s age, if they managed to give him a beating, then Kokoda himself would be shamefully easy.

“The bleeding won’t stop…” The strange voice said harshly, his brother must have agitated that person.

“Damnit”

He had never heard his brother swear; it sounded unreal, as if there was something else other than the facade he had known so well.

They kept talking, softly, hushed. For a moment, he thought he felt heat coming from underneath the door. It blew against his toes, and he had to step back for a bit.

No more sounds were heard after the heat disappeared. Going back to his room, Kokoda lay down in bed, still listening. But it was quiet.

He didn’t remember falling asleep as the light hit his eyes. Shuichi’s door was open halfway, with his brother already downstairs, he felt the urge to explore and take a quick peek. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, however. His sheets were off, piled up behind the door, waiting to be washed.

His father and stepmother were out of the house, going away on weekends more often, so his brother had been less careful with things. He was less polished.

He had caught him limping; now that their parents were out of the house, he knew he had to interrogate him.

“What’s up?” He approached his stepbrother, who oh-so casually leaned against the kitchen counter, even though he knew this wasn’t casual; they weren’t allowed to lean on counters and tables like that. He leaned on his elbows, his hands clamped together, while his head was down, nearly touching the marble. He was slowly rocking himself back and forth.

Artwork by Nezuyu

Kokoda’s sudden question made him jump slightly. He didn’t lift his head as he murmured. “Migraine”. 

“Are you sure?” Kokoda furrowed his brows. He knew that both his stepmother and stepbrother suffered from occasional migraines, but Shiori wouldn’t be able to look down or tilt her head to the side during a migraine attack. He knew Shuichi’s migraines were lighter, or his pain tolerance was higher. He would take his time and stay in his room with the blinds closed for a longer amount of time.

He found it odd that Shuichi was very much able to be in a brightly lit kitchen, with the noise of a bubbling kettle, while bending forward.

It didn’t help that he had found a red-stained cloth in the trash can when he brushed his teeth that morning.

“Yeah.” Shuichi sighed. “Do you need help with anything?”

Ever so kind to offer help to others. Kokoda knew he could go to him for anything but now was not the time, or intention, to ask for favors. “Nah, I’m just wondering how you’re doing…”

“I’m good, it’ll pass.” Shuichi sighed shortly; his breathing as a whole was strange to begin with.

Kokoda had to risk it; he had to know, he knew he wouldn’t tell him anything with words, so maybe deeds would give him the answer he was looking for. “Let me know if I need to bring you an icepack, okay?” Kokoda smiled as he, simultaneously elbowed his side and part of his stomach.

Bingo.

A sharp inhale, a choked gasp and clenched teeth. The migraine wasn’t the problem. If he wasn’t paying attention, he most likely would’ve missed it, the noise of the screaming kettle drowning out the silent suffering.

He poured his hot water, shot him a quick, thankful smile and slowly made his way upstairs, a bit too slow. He found it weird that his brother liked boiled water with no tea from the cabinet, but apparently, more people have the habit of liking that.

Following him to his room, he watched him climb the stairs without his natural grace. One hand on the railing, he walked very slowly.

A few days later, he hadn’t come home one evening, Shiori had said he was out with friends. Sure, whatever, he need to find him before he’d return with more odd excuses, ripped clothing and his bag filled with bandages.

Passing a local arcade, he saw his brother. The striking red hair was a landmark for him, he couldn’t hide looking so much different from the rest. The other two were there too, Urameshi and Kuwabara, he eyed them through the window until Urameshi and his brother began to move towards the exit. He dove behind the corner, hoping they hadn’t noticed him.

“Why do you need a one-on-one?” Shuichi asked.

“Listen, Kurama…”

Kurama? Who is Kurama? Is it a weird nickname they gave him?

Urameshi continued. “You really don’t have to join, he threatened me and me alone, you can decline.”

“I’m still somewhat on probation with Koenma; besides, I owe you.”

“You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

“Hiei is coming too, as long as we help each other out, we’ll be okay.”

“Dude, I don’t want you to lie to your family again. My mom doesn’t give a shit, Kuwabara’s family is in on it and Hiei doesn’t even have a family… Well, you know, his ‘family’ is also joining us… So…” 

The black haired teen stopped for a moment, grabbing a cigarette out of his pocket. He offered one but it got declined. Kokoda knew his brother didn’t smoke so seeing that confirmed made a bit less worried.

Urameshi struggled with the lighter; it was nearly empty and he furiously tried to ignite a small flame. He seemed surprised to be presented with a perfect flame from the redhead.

“You should get a new one, you can have this one if you want.”

“How the hell do you have, or even need, a lighter?!” Urameshi scoffed amusingly. “Do you smoke weed?”

The question was sudden; it caught Kokoda by surprise as he tried to think back to a time when he’d ever smell a hint of weed near his brother. He’d never smelled it near him.

“What? No, not at all. Hiei sometimes threatens me with fire, so I carry this with me to threaten him back.”

“Fighting fire with fire…”

“Exactly.”

…

It was quiet for a bit, Yusuke took a few inhales from his cigarette as they eyed the passing cars.

“Your brother is on to us, I think.” Urameshi suddenly continued. “Last time we brought you home and stayed for a bit, he was actually listening in on us through the door.”

“He does that all the time, he nearly caught me red-handed when we returned from Maze Castle.” Kurama sighed.

“How is that healing by the way?” He pointed towards his abdomen.

“Unpleasant, Kokoda elbowed me, so it opened up again, but it’s almost gone.”

“If he finds out, you’re in serious trouble, you know that…” Yusuke hummed.

“It’s not a matter of if, Yusuke. It’s a matter of, when…”

“How will you tell him you fight demons for a living?”

“For a living? Koenma doesn’t pay us… In freedom maybe…” Kurama fiddled with the lighter.

“I can’t stop you from joining, can I?” Yusuke asked softly.

Kurama gave a soft laugh. “I’m invited, I can’t be the only one to skip it only because my family is unaware of our otherworldly activities.”

Yusuke nodded in understanding. “I know, I wouldn't listen to me either.”

Kuwabara’s voice called out to them, and Yusuke finished up his cigarette. “Let’s go back, the big child needs a playmate.”

“You go ahead, I’ll be there in a bit.” Kurama nodded, waiting for Yusuke to get back inside.

He sat in silence. Kokoda had caught him a couple of times, he had been careless. His resilience and curiosity only fuel his growing eye for detail.

Kurama was afraid he had already figured it out, so when he felt his energy signature nearby, he tried not to speak about things too clearly. He might have to think of a very believable lie were he be able to join the tournament.

Even though Yusuke was right, Kurama couldn’t let them go while staying behind himself. They had all been threatened, invited and were expected. So he would go, no matter what lie he had to pull out of his high-hat.

“I know you’re there.” He said suddenly, even though he didn’t fully know why he would call out to him. He was there, behind the wall. A normal person wouldn’t have noticed him, but having heightened senses has its perks.

When he was met with silence, he spoke again. “Curiosity will kill the cat eventually.”

Kokoda’s energy was disappearing; he was leaving, which was enough for Kurama to get up and return towards Yusuke and Kuwabara as they continued their gaming session.

…

“Shit, shit, shit…” Kokoda panted as he hurried back home. Heading straight towards his room. How did he know he was there? Why did they call him Kurama? What tournament are they talking about and who the hell is Toguro?!

Another thing that baffled him was how he knew he was there… Maybe it was a wild guess. Maybe he had seen him when they went outside and he went to hide. Maybe he was schizophrenic and was imagining him…

It felt wrong to wait for him to return home. It was in the early morning that he heard him climbing the stairs. He held his breath as he heard footsteps stop right outside his door. There was no knock, no whisper, nothing. He stood there for a few seconds before going to his own room.

Kokoda released the breath as softly as he could.

he didn't sleep much that night, his questions remained unanswered and he was too afraid to ask him about it in person. The thought of leaving a note crossed his mind briefly but that would only encourage his brother to come to him, which would result to a face-to-face confrontation. He didn't want that. Waiting it out felt like his safest option for now. 

The only downside to it was that breakfast felt extremely awkward. Mostly to him but his brother did notice his resilient posture. Kokoda couldn't help but side-eye him from across the table.

“So, how is school going?” His father started the conversation. Kokoda was sure he felt some tension and an urge to relieve it.

“Nothing much,” he replied as he picked at his food. 

Though Hatanaka didn't buy it. “You have a chemistry project coming up after the next school break, right? I saw it in your schooling schedule. You can always ask any of us for help, you know that.”

“Yes Father.” Kokoda pouted at the thought of doing yet another last-minute scrap volcano. “I know.”

“I'm sure Shuichi will be glad to help you out, he's the top of his class in chemistry… And math… And algebra… and science… Biology…”

“I think he gets the point, mother.” Shuichi gave one of his shameless chuckles. He was humble enough to not bask in any glory, but he rightfully took pride in his achievements. “But I'm going on holiday during the upcoming break.”

There it was, the ‘holiday’ lie, the cover-up for going to some kind of fight club with his ‘friends’.

“I’ll be going on a road trip.” Kurama said as his mother asked about his holiday plans.

“That sounds great! I remember going on road trips when I was your age, any destinations in mind?” Shiori beamed.

Taking another bite of his dinner, Kurama shook his head. “The only place I want to go to is Hakone, but other than that, we’re just gonna see where the road takes us.”

“How long will you be gone?” Kokoda eyed his brother with suspicion.

“I suspect we’ll be back after about two weeks,” Kurama said, carefully rehearsed.

…

Thus Kokoda followed, watching them getting onto the ferry. He waited a day and followed suit.

He was gobsmacked by who he saw on the ferry. Horns, fur, tails, fangs, more or less than two eyes… at one point he questioned if his brother wasn't just going to a furry convention. But it was abundantly clear that that wasn't really the case.

A giant arena decorated the island, many of the creatures were desperate to get in. Luckily for Kokoda, he was able to squeeze himself into a horde of ticket holders. Getting in without even being seen. 

That was, until Shizuru Kuwabara nearly spotted him.

He hid from them, having seen them around his brother. Never mind the fact that they were the only ones looking somewhat normal. At this point Kokoda regretted not taking his halloween costume with him. 

The arena was oddly crowded, he darted through hordes of crazy looking creatures until he reached one of the top balcony entrances. The sight was unreal, a huge arena with countless spectators, roaring from the top of their lungs.

Down onto the grass patch, a blob of black and orange was barely visible. The scoreboard buzzed and clicked, an outdated piece of technology though way ahead of it’s time compared to all the other attributes in and around the arena.

‘Team Urameshi’ flashed onto the screen. It was his brother’s group, if he remembered correctly; Urameshi is Yusuke’s surname. He turned to a more human-looking creature which was making its way to the tribune. “Excuse me…” Kokoda forced himself to not judge them for their appearance. “What kind of match is this gonna be?” A dance battle, rap battle, he was expecting everything in the book when he thought of a ‘fight’... Except for the literal meaning of that word.

“It’s a tournament, boy, they fight until the other is either beaten or killed.” The humanoid creature scoffed, clearly annoyed by the disturbance. “How did you, of all people, manage to snatch a ticket when you don’t even know what it is about?! Do you know what we had to do to get out tickets in the first place?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you.” Kokoda bowed politely, avoiding confrontation at all costs, this ‘man’ was twice as tall as him and frankly, he found spectating an actual physical fight disturbing enough.

The ‘man’ eyed him for a bit but quickly ran towards his seat as an announcer began to speak. Teams were introduced, rules were explained and the buzzer sounded loudly.

He concentrated on spotting his brother. The next one to jump to the arena were… His brother’s friends… But where was his brother? Kokoda felt he needed to use the restroom but kept his cool as he really didn't want to miss this.

These people were crazy, absolutely crazy! It was like a dogfight, but with people. The three other fighters looked odd, the throbbing masses on their backs gave Kokoda chills. Kuwabara, Yusuke and the masked fighter were trying their best but no matter what they did, they couldn’t get a hit on any of them.

There were actions and movements Kokoda could only blink twice at. A sword that was pulled out of thin air, this has to be a circus trick.

Kurama and Hiei enter with the defeated robot, the entrance baffles Kokoda.

Though glad they managed to get the devices off of the three fighters, their leader looked pissed beyond belief. They were screaming about something Kokoda couldn’t quite understand.

A loud thud and the sudden appearance of a machine made Kokoda jump out of his skin. Looking up to where it came from, he saw two people descending from the sky. He recognized that voice, that berating, annoyed tone… Next to him was his brother.

It was unrealistic, how did he stick a landing from up there?

“Your machine is dead.” The shorter one said. His brother's voice was soft and he couldn't catch a word even if he listened with every ounce of concentration he had.

His brother fetched someone from somewhere out of the ring, the three fighters hug, the short old man transformed into something Kokoda could only explain as a giant wart. “Must be an optical illusion.” He thought out loud to himself.

The match ended, team Urameshi won, great, now what? Another team spilled out, something along the lines of “this is not fair” were yelled and three from the team were prohibited from fighting.

He watched his brother make his way to the platform, alone, in the white tunic their mother had bought him.

Chapter Text

No matter how fast he can be, when he returned, the match had already started.

It was curious, his clothing had changed, lines covered his brother's legs, with more following on both his arms. It looked like an odd art installation.

The weird-looking guy was screaming about something, his voice made Kokoda cringe, goosebumps running up his spine with every word the thing said. His brother stayed stoic, a statue nailed to the stadium. Then, in a flash, vines sprouted from his hair, slashing the creature.

Was it blood? It didn’t look like it. It bled purple and Kokoda felt relieved that this might’ve been one big theater show. The vines disappeared and the weird-looking dude was carried off, only for another one to enter the arena. This one did look more human.

A flash of cold air made his shiver, and without warning, his view was blocked. How did they place an ice wall this fast? Hearing the roars, he concluded the lower levels were able to see what was happening.

He debated moving a few levels down, but knew they would be able to spot him.

Then it disappeared and Kokoda’s breath hitched in his throat. There were vines sprouting out of his brother’s arms and into the other man’s torso. There was no purple, everything was red. When the man fell, they both stayed still, they were probably talking yet he was not able to listen to any of it due to the continuous roaring of the crowd.

Then this big guy came up, his brother didn’t seem to notice him. 

“A fighter can not be removed against his will.” The voice boomed through the stadium. There was more screaming and yelling. Before he could figure out what was going on, the bigger guy raised his fist and send him plummeting to the stadium floor.

He hit him… He hit his brother… He actually hit him.

Kokoda’s hope of this being a theater play was dwindling. He could only watch wide-eyed as his brother got kicked, picked up, beaten and humiliated. The moment he was roughly thrown out of the ring, he was bloodied and bruised.

It was painful just looking at it. He had to get down, he had to make sure his brother was okay. He needed answers, where was he? What are all these people? Why did he get beaten up and why didn’t he do anything about it?

He ran down the flights of stairs, his legs carrying him faster and faster until he suddenly came to a stop. He collided with another body and stumbled back, losing his footing and dropping to the floor.

“Hey, watch it kid.” The voice was somewhat nice, the smell of cigarettes and tobacco hung around him like a blanket.

Kokoda didn’t dare to look up, afraid of the kind of creature he would face. But when de did, he was met with a regular man. His long black hair was sleeked back, a long scar covering part of his forehead and cheek. “I…”

“Are you not with your guardian?” The man looked at him. “You should get to them as soon as you can, once the fights end, there’s no way you’ll be able to find your way back.” The man started walking again.

“Why is that?” Kokoda managed to ask.

The man stopped and turned towards him. “Once the fight in the ring ends, the fights in the corridors start. Bets will be lost, debts will be collected, and frustration brings the worst out of everyone.”

“Okay, thank you.” Kokoda stood up from the floor, willing to ask the man for his name but by the time he had risen to his feet, the man was gone.

He didn’t attempt to look for him, he continued his descent towards the entrance to the ring area.

He stayed out of sight, waiting, watching. His brother was awake, he was speaking but he didn’t seem to notice his presence. He didn’t really have eye for the other matches, he looked up at them every once and again but he kept his eyes on his brother and the weird plant-looking stuff sticking out of his arms. It seemed to bother him as he would sometimes wrap his fingers around his forearms, squeezing his eyes shut. What was he trying to do?

When they were called out as the winners of the match, Kokoda scooted back. Yusuke was supporting his brother as they slowly but steadily made their way towards the exit.

Sliding behind the open doors, he hoped they wouldn’t notice him here. The others walked past with no problem, but the moment his brother crossed the entrance, he stopped.

“What’s the matter? Need me to carry you?” Yusuke spoke in a rushed tone.

His brother eyed the door, he nearly saw him. Kokoda moved further behind it. He shouldn’t be able to physically see him. Did he breathe too loudly?

“It’s nothing, I thought I sensed someone.” His brother murmured.

“Dude knocked your brains out?” Yusuke gave an amused huff. “Let’s get you looked over. Come on, we gotta move before the debt collectors come for their money.”

They continued walking, his brother walked fine but his arms were a mess, the way Yusuke was holding him up didn’t seem to be very efficient.

He followed them, staying behind just enough for them to not get suspicious. Outside the arena, a short walk towards some other buildings, he slid through the lobby and followed them towards their room.

As the door closed, Kokoda turned the corner, standing in front of their door. He heard voices inside, they were a mixture of happiness and anger.

“How could they let us fight two matches in a row?! That was not fair at all!”

“Nothing here is fair. To them, we are here to die for their entertainment.”

“I’ll get rid of that committee once I get the chance.”

“But we won! Kuwabara, you were awesome!”

“Hehe, thanks! I’d never lose in front of my Yukina! And that Bakken dude got what he deserved.”

“You could’ve tortured him more.”

“Shut it, hamsterlegs, Urameshi did a damn good job!”

Kokoda had planted his ear to the door in order to listen, concentrating hard to be able to understand what they were saying.

Until the door opened and he fell into the room.

The shocked faces of the people there were understandable, but adrenaline drowned them out, his eyes fell immediately on his brother.

“What the hell…” The tall, orange-haired boy exclaimed.

“Oh shit.”

Kokoda saw his chance; his brother was right there, the look on his face a mixture of regret and panic. “You!” He yelled, unable to control his frustration anymore. “What the fuck was all that? A fight club? A theatre play?”

“Kokoda, it’s not what you think it is…”

“Who’s this? You know him?” The orange-haired boy shifted uncomfortably.

“That’s my brother.” Kokoda snarled, not allowing any room for said brother to talk. “Such a nice road trip, I knew you were talking shit, I overheard you at the arcade, I caught you red-handed.”

“You followed me?!”

“Yes, got a problem with that?”

“You have to get out of here right now, this is not a joke Kokoda.”

Kokoda crossed his arms. “Why? Cause it’s dangerous? Cause you’re in a fight club with your little group of delinquents?! I have had my suspicions for a while now Shuichi, or should I say Kurama?”