lady_flamewing: (partners)
[personal profile] lady_flamewing
Title: That Strange and Subtle Magic of Birthdays
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Yusuke/Kurama
Rating: G
A/N: Written for [livejournal.com profile] blueutopiah's birthday. Part one of what will be (hopefully) a multi-part fic. AU...ish? You'll understand. Will eventually contain graphic yaoi, but not quite yet. Inspired by a number of sources and legends, but most notably a wonderful short story entitled "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye".


On his eighteenth birthday, Urameshi Yusuke receives a very strange gift. It appears to be nothing more than a small, unremarkable oil lamp from his mother, who is enjoying a spontaneous trip to the Middle East with friends. It is old and dusty and plain, and Yusuke can’t quite understand why his mother would think to send it to him, but he does appreciate the sentiment behind it, so he places it on an empty corner of his dresser. It remains there for about a week. Then things start to get even stranger.

He’s rummaging around his room for a pair of clean socks when his hip bumps the dresser, setting the lamp wobbling precariously. Looking back on it later, Yusuke will realize that he never placed the lamp that close to the edge, but at the moment he can only lunge for it and hope to make it in time.

He’s just short, and the lamp slips through his grasp, though he manages to slow its descent enough to keep it from breaking against the floor. With a relieved sigh, Yusuke leans further forward to retrieve it, but a cloud of white mist suddenly streams out, and he jerks backwards, getting tangled up in his own feet and tumbling painfully to the floor.

The mist solidifies quickly, and Yusuke finds himself gazing at a pair of pale, fabric-draped legs in what was empty space just a moment ago. He follows them slowly upwards, his gaze tracing over narrow hips, a very bare chest, a slender neck, before he finally finds himself staring into a pair of cool green eyes.

“Eeep!” Yusuke manages to utter, and those emerald eyes roll towards the ceiling as their owner snorts rather condescendingly. Yusuke barely notices, preoccupied with trying to figure out what the hell has just happened.

The farthest he can get is that there is a strange boy standing in his room, having apparently materialized from the lamp his mother sent him as a birthday present. His long red hair is pulled back into a high ponytail. His green eyes gaze calmly out from above a thin, filmy veil, rimmed with soft black lines. He’s bare to the waist, clad only in gauzy silver pants that are barely decent, but he is wearing quite a bit of jewelry: heavy bangles on his wrists, bells on his ankles, a slim headdress that drapes elegantly across his forehead. And strangest of all, he exudes a sort of presence that Yusuke can feel pressing against him: something…otherworldly, but strangely familiar somehow.

“What are you?” Yusuke asks without thinking. The boy raises a delicate eyebrow.

“The djinn of your lamp,” he replies shortly, which Yusuke just finds maddeningly unhelpful.

“What the hell’s a djinn?” he demands, and now the boy’s lips curve into a mocking smirk.

“We’re more colloquially known as ‘genies’,” he says, and Yusuke notes the disgust coloring the djinn’s tone.

“A…djinn,” he pronounces carefully, “…as in…I get three wishes?”

The boy sighs, his jewelry ringing with the slight motion. “Yes, three wishes. And to accompany them, three rules.”

“Rules?”

The djinn holds up a hand, reciting rules rather listlessly as he counts them off on long, elegant fingers. “Rule number one: You may not wish for more wishes. Rule number two: I cannot raise anyone from the dead. And rule number three: I cannot interfere with true love.”

Yusuke blinks. “That’s it?”

Those green eyes turn to him once more in a scornful gaze. “I said there were only three rules.”

“Huh,” Yusuke comments rather eloquently, and then there is an awkward moment of silence as he considers his options.

“Have you a wish, Master?” the djinn finally asks impatiently, snapping Yusuke rather abruptly out of his contemplation.

“My name’s Urameshi,” he responds in lieu of an answer, glancing up with a weak smile. “Urameshi Yusuke. You don’t have to call me ‘master’.”

The boy either doesn’t hear him, or he doesn’t care, as he only reiterates, “A wish, Master?”

Yusuke shakes his head, his smile fading. “I haven’t got anything at the moment. I’m sorr – ”

The djinn calmly cuts him off. “Then I will return to my lamp. Call on me when you desire your first wish granted.” And with that, he turns away.

“Wait!” Yusuke says quickly, and the boy halts, but doesn’t turn. “It’s just – there’s so much I still don’t know. Like your name. What’s your name?”

“My name is irrelevant,” the djinn responds tersely, and then he’s gone without a trace, leaving Yusuke wondering what he’s done wrong.

Enjoy! Comments and criticisms are welcomed.

Date: 2007-10-15 01:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] blueutopiah.livejournal.com
K-k-kurama...in a genie outfit. Oooohhhhh...you just know how to create an image, don't you? we wont talk about the shorts from the last Kuwabara/Kurama ficlet too

I am so honoured that you wrote this for me! I had no idea, thank you so much!

I can't wait to see where this goes...Yusuke is in for it. And actually, so it Kurama.

Date: 2007-10-15 01:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady-flamewing.livejournal.com
*blushes* What can I say? I'm a very visual person.

I do actually intend to finish this, for once. I'm terrible at multi-part stories. Plot and I just don't seem to get along...

I'm glad you liked it! Happy Birthday!!

Date: 2007-10-16 03:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] judaistic.livejournal.com
Wow, it's fab toots! Totally love it and Blue's having a ball from it. What a great present.

Date: 2007-10-16 04:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady-flamewing.livejournal.com
I'm so glad you liked it (and I'm thrilled that Blue did, as well).

Being a broke college student, I really don't have the funds to go and get actual presents, but I love birthdays, so I have to get my friends something. The best compromise I could come up with was fiction.

...So make sure your birthday's posted, or else I'll never know when to write your fic.

P.S. I'm totally up for people requesting pairings/plots/scenes/whatever for birthday fics. Maybe I should mention that somewhere more visible...

Date: 2007-10-16 06:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] judaistic.livejournal.com
Ooo, yay! I just discovered dirty-Santa, the giver of smexy ficlets. ^^

Date: 2007-10-16 11:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady-flamewing.livejournal.com
For that comment, you WIN TEH INTERNETZ!!

Best description of myself EVER.

Date: 2007-10-18 07:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] minorke.livejournal.com
Wowwie wow wow!!! I usually don't read AU fics as a rule but that one was well worth breaking my bad habit of over-looking possible good literature. Nice work. High five!

Date: 2007-10-18 08:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady-flamewing.livejournal.com
I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Well-written AUs are one of my guiltiest pleasures...

Date: 2007-10-22 07:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mika-starlight.livejournal.com
Hiya, this is Minorke. I made a new journal just for posting fanfiction and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind adding this and removing Minorke coz there's really no reason for you to friend Minorke as it is just my personal journal.

Thanks.

Ps. If you could find me a great icon (because yours are sooo wonderful!!) for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thnx

Date: 2007-10-22 08:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady-flamewing.livejournal.com
Sure, not a problem.

In terms of icons, you can always feel free to run away with mine. The only thing is to be sure you credit the makers, who you can find on my icons page.

Date: 2007-11-16 05:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sexineko.livejournal.com
o.o Kurama as a genie is something I actually never thought about, although it is a nice visual.

I cant wait to see where this goes, update soon ne? <3

Date: 2007-11-16 12:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lady-flamewing.livejournal.com
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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