Hey. R.F. here,of course.

This one is new. Very new. (Forgive any typos, my keyboard's fuckin' up.). But anyway.

This one is so very new that I'm not done with it. I haven't even figured out the plot. I don't even know what I want the plot to be.

You are going to tell me.

I get no suggestions, you get no story.

This is Kurama fic, obviously. I think that poor Hiei has had enough damage done by my fingertips, don't you?

As always, feel free to tell me what you think.

Saijonara.

-R.F.

Living in the Moment: Considerations

Shuuichi Minamino, also known as Kurama, formerly known as Youko Kurama, was thinking.

He was sitting in the chair in front of his desk at home, watching the little darts of movement of the tree leaves in the wind outside. He was holding a flower rose in his hand, stem resting between his fingers, the bowl of the petals resting in his cupped hand, absentmindedly opening and closing it, the lovely red bloom opening a petal at a time until the outermost petals were threatening to turn black, then closing and twisting until it was barely a green bud, only to open again.

He had gotten bored. That happened, from time to time—One could never make the transition from surviving day to day in demon world to living with easily attained comforts in the human world. His greatest challenges arose when someone chanced finding him out, and the only risks there were to other people that he felt he had to protect. Having given himself that noble task, he had closed off many options, many things he could be doing.

But as it was, he felt a great love for his mother, and his friends and fighting companions. He did the elementary school work; he helped his mother with the dishes and groceries...

As it was, he was entitled to let himself get bored. Here lately, things had been hectic. Nothing like real chaos, (as things had been when the city was being taken over by demons and demon insects, led by an insane man with seven people in his head to cope with every bit of evil he had done), but merely a little more difficult than normal homework and keeping himself out of trouble. This was dominantly due to the fact that his mother, having her own love life reawakened by her new husband, was trying to push him into the romance scene, where so many of his peers had been spending their years. He was not interested in finding some youngling human girl, nor boy, and trying to entertain the romance. If he chose a "special someone", ensnaring them would be too easy, with or without his powers. Humans were simple creatures, and even if they weren't, he was exceptionally clever and it would still be an effortless job. The hardest part would be putting them down without dropping them.

He considered, a few times, deliberately seeking out someone who was not interested. Unfortunately, he had to admit with a hint of pride, these were few and far between. He was young and handsome, after all, why wouldn't they consider him a prize?

Admittedly, he was not so much handsome as simply beautiful, but in the end, it resulted in the huge numbers of Valentine's Day gifts and the constant requests for dates from his female (and occasionally male) classmates.

The people he would consider were often taken with someone else. Kuwabara held a possibility, though he would be closed to the idea of a male consort, even if he and Yukina weren't together. Yuusuke had Keiko, as well. He once pondered Hiei as a lover, but the fire demon was tucked away in the Makai and would probably choke on his laughter the instant Kurama thought about it in his general vicinity. Touya, as well. Touya had seemed exceptionally interested in Kurama, but Kurama's feelings for him were strictly platonic.

A demon would almost inevitably be the best suited lover for him. Not only would that put him on familiar grounds, but it would take away some of the ease with which he would seduce a human. It was, by far, harder to seduce a demon. There were all kinds of codes and boundaries, and it was not all romance, the right words, and looking pretty. In fact, he would have a problem for the simple fact that he did not have visible scars.

There was a knock on the door, and then Shuuichi, Kurama's younger brother, stepped in, holding his schoolwork in one arm.

"Shuuichi-nii," he began slowly, "the teacher's given me something I can't figure out."

Kurama smiled a little and put his rose discreetly on the floor. It was in its full glory, all petals fully red and stretched out.

"You're too old for this, Shuuichi," the red-head sighed. His brother could easily understand all of this; he was a very bright young man. But he wasn't putting the effort into it; he was just too easily bored. Shuuichi-oto caught on quickly and could no longer feign ignorance. He was merely looking for a shortcut.

Shortly after Shuuichi left, Kurama leaned back. He had sworn off his demonic nature, to remain human forever, to be with his human family, take a wife, have children. Or perhaps a husband, a life partner, or just to settle down somewhere to become a scholar. But even to him, the lack of love (outside the family, of course) was unappreciated, and his inner demon agreed, yes, it was time for a mate.

Then a mate I shall find, he declared mentally. And then he stood up next to his desk before he remembered the discarded rose. He twirled the stem in his fingers and put it on his desk, and he climbed into bed and slept.