Remembrance
It was pathetic, really. The way Kuronue's slender fingers would caress the pendant, balancing and tilting it to glint under the full moon's light, all the while his eyes would take on a vacant, far away look. The winged demon's lips would be softly tugged into a foolish looking grin as his hands contemplated the little charm.
Youko understood the practicality of the item. His partner was a bat spirit, much like he was a fox. Just as the Kitsune craved flesh, so the dark haired Youkai craved liquid blood. The amulet was a contingency plan, so to speak. And a valuable one, at that. He need only to drench the crimson stone in the blood of a living body, and it stole away the life essence into a convenient little store of energy. If ever Kuronue were injured or without prey safe enough to hunt, he simply had to call forth the life-giving supply worn around his neck. The charm was intrinsically valuable so long as he kept it properly charged, which he did with little mercy.
Youko could very well understand how precious the trinket was to his friend, as a potentially life-saving aid. What he couldn't understand, or find respect for, was the amount of emotional sentiment attached to the inanimate object.
The demon witch who had crafted the charm had been very gifted in such work. She had been resourceful, eloquent, and if Kuronue's periodic obsessive reminiscing were anything to go by, rather beautiful as well.
Youko had tolerated the repeated stories only out of respect to his partner. But the evenings of the bat wistfully fingering the pendant while looking like a lost pup who smiles through his own oblivion...well, the fox had grown tired of it quickly.
"You're a fool for wasting such time mourning a lover who's dead."
Sharply spoken; Youko's tongue was often as bladed as his wit. His partner would simply sigh though, the soft smile still playing across his face as violet eyes glance over to look at the fox. "Not mourning. Just...remembering."
"Tch." Youko would scorn the words openly, his features unsympathetic. "And what good does remembering do, unless there's something to be learned from it? As people come and go, you learn to let it be."
Kuronue would just cock his head barely so and look at Youko with the soft bemusement of some hidden joke. "One day, old man, I will think of us. I will smile, just as fondly, and I will remember you."
The fox would scoff, then. He would make some rebutting comment about being called old, then continue to assure the bat that he would never be caught wasting time and emotions on such trivial things as 'remembering' people who are dead, gone, and no longer consequential.
V
Kurama watches the full moon light glint off of the various reflective surfaces of his otherwise darkened human bedroom. He cannot say how long ago he had fallen into the trap of reminiscing, but the fond smile on his face makes it appear as if he doesn't mind. His voice is soft, hanging in the silence with words that no one can hear.
"I remember you, Kuronue."