Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the characters, not the setting, not even the peach rings. Wait, I lied. I do own something. I own is this adorable looking plot bunny sitting in my lap that my mind is currently enslaved to.
/talking/ indicates thoughts

Karasu growled as he stalked through the halls, absently slicing open the skin on his forearm with his extended claws. The sensation of the cuts healing almost immediately left a hole in his heart, as if his nails were slicing through the organ and not his skin. He watched as the lower class demons fled at the sight of him, not wanting to induce the murderous aura surrounding the crow.

There was nothing for him here. No reason to exist but for the chains around his neck shackling him to Toguro. Toguro! His eyes narrowed and glowed crimson at the thought of the cold man, the words of enslavement and servitude ringing in his ears. Karasu had not been free, not been truly alive, for many years now, and the confinement had begun to take a toll on his mind. The fierce, quick encounters with Bui had become far and few between with the growing threat of the tournament. The crow ached for something to remind him there was more than just the mindless slaughter of lesser beings, more than only the cold gaze from behind those damnable sunglasses reminding him of his place in this life.

His lips quirked up into a smirk under his mask as he spotted the Urameshi team in the distance, saying goodbyes and going their separate ways. He stayed hidden in the shadows, his eyes trained on the fiery red mane of his current target, the human containing the spirit of the legendary bandit, Yoko Kurama. Karasu snickered to himself as he recalled the stories of how the spirit fox had robbed his grandfather's mansion in broad daylight years before he was born, and how he still fumed about it to this day. His eyes lightened to a gentle violet as he realized this was the first time in years he had been able to remember anything pleasant of his life before Toguro.

Almost absently he started following Kurama, letting the fox lead him away from the crowds and into more deserted corridors. Karasu allowed himself a silent laugh at the willingness of his prey to distance himself from anyone who could help fend off the crow. As they walked deeper into the bowels of the stadium a plan began to form in his mind of how to turn the situation in his favor. He had already threatened the fox with bodily harm and taunted him with sick desires to be fulfilled in the ring. A different memory drifted into his mind of his aunt telling him ways to intimidate his prey. He settled on one that would not only inspire terror in the fox's mind but also alleviate a part of the deep depression settled deep within him. Almost as if sensing that the demon had made up his mind, Kurama abruptly stopped and turned around, his eyes blazing as he sought out the half-hidden form of his hunter. Karasu silently slipped off his mask, using the newfound calmness seated in his memories to control his power, clamping down hard to keep his aura from flaring. He didn't want the boy to feel how truly powerful he was before it was time, after all. He settled for a slight smirk as he took a step forward, keeping his face in the shadows. "Hello Kurama."

A shiver shot down Kurama's spine at the sultry tone in Karasu's voice, noting how it no longer sounded slightly muffled. His fingers twitched as they ached to have his trusted whip at his command and he turned slightly to the side, not wanting to give Karasu much of a target. "What do you want?"

Karasu grinned as he moved closer. "Just this." In an instant the crow had pressed Kurama against the wall, his hand gripping the wrist that had been moving towards the fox's hair. He clutched Kurama's chin in his other hand, harshly tilting his head up as he pressed their lips together. Karasu kept the gentle kiss light, an odd contrast to his commanding body language.

Kurama's breath caught in his throat as he felt Karasu's hands upon his skin, remembering Karasu's match in the semi-finals and the deadly powers lurking beneath the crow's touch. He felt a light nip on his lower lip and automatically parted them, his mind still trying to process the situation and how to get out of it.

Karasu grinned against Kurama's lips as he felt the fox respond, his eyes dancing in the dim light as he slowly pulled back. "And the promise of tomorrow. Sweet dreams, kitsune." He disappeared from Kurama's vision as fast as he had come.

Kurama instantly drew his rosewhip and cautiously looked around him, sure Karasu was only waiting for an opening. It was only after he felt no other presence near him for a good 15 minutes that he slowly put away his weapon and raised a trembling hand to lightly touch his lips. /He tasted…sweet. How odd./

Karasu chuckled to himself as he walked back to the Toguro team's suite as he committed Kurama's surprised look to memory. He slipped a hand inside his coat and drew out a sugar-coated gummy candy out of his pocket, slipping it into his mouth before putting his mask back in place. The vendor had looked shocked when the fearsome demon had paid for three bags of the peach-flavored snack, which made Karasu smirk behind his mask. He had always had a soft spot for sweets, he mused to himself as he recalled the tender lips against his own, and to the crow, nothing was sweeter than the blood of the innocent. As he laid down and closed his eyes, he imagined the fight between Kurama and himself, playing with the fox and slowly destroying his flesh, baring his blood for the crow as the fox fought to keep conscious. Yes, he thought to himself, the best things in life were always sweet.

A/N

I live! I know, it's been years since I've posted anything on this site, and my writing style has, er, drastically changed. Actually, this isn't really even my writing style. I have no idea where this came from, aside from the idea of Karasu forcing a kiss on Kurama to make himself feel more alive. Which the crow decided to violently resist letting me connect points A and B, so if the story seems slightly rushed or off kilter around where Kurama and Karasu meet, blame him.

Karasu: -perched on the arm of the couch contently eating my peach rings- What? It's your own fault, you need to write me in character more often.

-snatches the peach rings back- I've never written you in character, damnit. I prefer you a sniveling coward under Toguro's wrath…-snickers-

Karasu: -pouts-

No beta, all mistakes are my own. I wrote this in three sections, the beginning, the end, and then the kiss, then having to magically connect the three together. Which, as I said, Karasu violently resisted me getting from the beginning to the kiss. No idea why.

Also, peach rings. From Target (I don't own Target). They commanded to be written into this story. So now we have a slightly OOC-Karasu (I will never be able to write him in character, ever. My inner romantic won't let me) who has a sugar fetish. For which I blame myself. And an OC who likes to call Karasu 'Sweet one', but that's another story entirely.

I doubt I'll be posting anything else on here until I get another non-NC-17 rated story idea that involves Karasu and actual characters from the show, because I have since turned to developing my own universe with my own characters in which Karasu is inserted into the non-posted stories because he's just fun like that. That'll happen in probably another six years, just like the gap between the last lightning bolt of inspiration and this one. I, sadly, can't figure out how to do a sequel to this, and the inspiration for this fic has already gone and killed itself. -sigh-

Karasu: -whistles innocently-