So, somethings actually happening this chapter. I know it's taken a while, but it'll all start falling into place.
Like I said before, let me know what you think. Thanks!
"So let me get this straight," Yusuke stared down at baby Koenma, who was pacing back and forth on Kuwabara's bed. "You are going to enter in this contest, try to somehow make it through, win the princess's heart, then live happily ever after and never do paperwork again?"
"Yes," Koenma beamed.
Yusuke clamped a hand over his mouth, trying his best not to crack up. "You--are going to enter--a contest?"
"It's not a tournament, if that's what your thinking. I won't have to fight anyone," Koenma pointed out, ignoring Yusuke's failed attempts to hide his laughter. "It's more of a…who will be a better king contest. And well, since my father is King Enma, I have a plethora of experience!"
"I wonder how she'll feel when she wakes up sleeping next to a baby," Kuwabara muttered to Yusuke, his entire body shaking from holding in his laughter too. The two men stood in front of Koenma, snickering amongst themselves, until Koenma picked up a book from Yukina's luggage and slammed it against the wall.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" he shouted, yanking both boy's collars. He pulled them down to his level and glanced from one to the other. "I can fire you both in seconds and kick your butts out of this castle!"
"I don't even work for you!" Kuwabara whined.
"Yeah, and you need me," Yusuke chimed in. "Because you can't fight off demons--when your so tiny."
Before they could stop themselves, the two started laughing, flailing their bodies in fits of hysteria. Koenma's vein in his temple started to pulse as the volume of their voices got louder.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" he shouted.
The room's door swung open. Keiko, Yukina and Botan appeared in the doorway, giggling to themselves as they walked in. Almost immediately, the two boys stopped their cackling and stared at the girls.
"We could hear you from down the hall," Yukina giggled. Kuwabara immediately threw his arm around her shoulder, beaming. Obviously, he wasn't embarrassed by his loud mouth--and Yukina was perfectly fine with that.
Keiko, on the other hand, wasn't. "Yusuke, we're invited to this spectacular castle, and all you do is yell obnoxiously! Have some courtesy and act like your age for once," she grabbed his ear. Everyone watched in amusement as she dragged Yusuke out of the room. He protested behind her, whining about how his ear felt like it was falling off.
"When I find a mate," Koenma looked at Botan. "Make sure she doesn't grab my ear. It looks painful!"
Botan giggled and bent close to Koenma. "Koenma-sama, George asked me to come and get you. Your father said you have to go to bed your normal hours, no matter what--unless the contest requires you not to."
Koenma yanked his pacifier from his mouth. "I hate bed time!" he announced, jumped off the bed and walked out of the room.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" Botan waved bye to Yukina and Kuwabara and followed Koenma out.
"Now that they're gone," Kuwbara moved his hand from Yukina's shoulder to her waist. "You want to?"
Yukina giggled and glanced up at her beaming husband. She knew she wanted to be with him the moment his voice came into her mind when she was imprisoned by Tarukane, promising her he'd save her. Even if he got some help, he kept his promise and hasn't broken any since.
"Of course!"
Kuwabara climbed onto the bed and stood up, beckoning her to follow. He helped her up and as soon as he kissed her forehead, they started to jump up and down on the bed, laughing the whole time.
He was alone in a dark room, searching for the light switch. There was no panic, no threat, he was just looking for too long. He figured maybe there wasn't a way to turn the light on, so he slouched against the wall and slid down. It took him a moment to figure out why his back was suddenly drenched. He wasn't sure why he hadn't noticed the pungent odor before--it was practically tearing up the inside of his nose. His fingers were shaking as he brought his hands up to his nose and mouth.
When he took a step back, his foot splashed in more of the liquid flooding the room. He wanted to throw up, the odor got so bad. The blood inched up his feet, crawling up to his calves. He tried to move, but his body was useless and stiff. As he walked through the blood, his wobbling knees gave way and he collapsed into pool of blood. All at once, his mouth filled with the fluid. It seeped into every crevice of his body. No matter how far he swam, the blood was never ending. He tried to scream, but only let more blood down his throat.
He would die in the bloody grave, nauseous, frightened and alone. Would they find his body? How did he even get in there?
Suddenly, an arm reached through the blood and grabbed his hand, yanking him out. After coughing up as much of the blood as he could, he turned to thank his mysterious savior. His savior hung behind the shadows, masking their face. He called out, asking who it was. Kurama took a step towards the stranger, only to have the stranger reach through the darkness and run his fingers through Kurama's hair.
"Miss me?" the stranger snickered.
Kurama sat up in bed, wincing as his body protested. Chills ran up and down his spine, yet he was sweating profusely under the covers. He touched the beads running down his cheek, trying to calm his nerves from his dream. He wanted to believe the sweat was from the dream--but he knew it wasn't.
He had a fever.
"Hiei?" Kurama called out in the dark.
"What is it, fox?" Hiei grumbled, turning to face Kurama's bed.
"Do I feel warmer than usual?"
Hiei was instantly at Kurama's side, perching himself on his bed. The fire demon placed a hand on Kurama's arm. The contrast between his and Hiei's skin temperature was so slight, Kurama barely noticed how warm Hiei's skin was.
He did have a fever. Maybe it really wasn't a cold--at least this time.
"Hn."
"I have one, don't I?" Kurama sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Yes," Hiei growled. "I'm turning on the light."
The light nearly blinded Kurama. Hiei stood by his bed, staring at the red-head for a few minutes. The fire demon crossed his bandaged arms, narrowing his eyes towards Kurama. The silence was tense as Kurama struggled to sit up in his bed. His body ached from the fever. His limbs felt like they were splitting open. The last time he had a fever that gave him such pains, his mother had rushed him to the hospital. The nausea he had in his dreams suddenly seeped it's way into reality.
The dream. He'd nearly forgotten about it. He'd had several dreams pertaining to those hands and that more than familiar voice, but this one was worse than the others. It was too realistic. A little more than a year ago, they'd gradually become more realistic. And tonight was the epitome of all of Kurama's hidden fears. The voice was too perfect…
"I'm going to get water," Kurama murmured and stood up. His body swayed, but he caught himself before he fell. He stumbled towards the door, trying his best to stand up straight. He could feel Hiei following him, making sure he didn't fall. Kurama smiled to himself. Hiei could say what he wanted, how he didn't care about anyone, but they were so close that Hiei knew not to ask Kurama if he could get him the water. Determination was one of Kurama's most respected traits, and Hiei knew that.
As he made his way down the corridor, he felt his knees giving way. The feeling, like the nausea, was too familiar. He dug his nails into the wall as he kept going. Water sounded so good at that point, but lying down sounded so much better. Kurama licked his lips, not realizing that he was slowly sinking to the ground.
"Alright, fox," Hiei was suddenly standing in front of him. "Go back to the room. I'll get you water."
Kurama stood up, his body swaying. Before Hiei could disappear, Kurama grabbed his bandaged arm. "Thank you, Hiei," Kurama smiled weakly.
With that, Hiei was gone.
Kurama slid down the wall, crashing to the floor. The cool bricks surrounding him were like heaven on his scalding flesh. No one was around, or they were fast asleep, so Kurama moaned with pleasure as he stretched his limbs across the bricks. Every move he made, the bricks cooled his skin over again.
Suddenly, his stomach twisted and crunched. He grabbed it and tried to stand up, but everything swirled around him. "Shit," he mumbled to himself, clutching his stomach tighter. Kurama suddenly realized he really was totally alone. He could shout, but that would cause too much of a commotion. He needed to stand and go back to his room before he vomited. His nausea got worse as the seconds passed. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek against the wall.
"Master Kurama?" The familiar voice--it was the sweetest sound Kurama ever heard.
"Feiku?" Kurama's eyes fluttered open. His tall assistant bent over and wrapped the red-head's arm around his shoulder. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"Where's your room?"
Kurama pointed him in the direction, gazing up at his savior. It didn't matter why Feiku was here, Kurama was just pleased he was. Maybe, while he was here, he could get Kurama a bucket. Kurama asked him as they entered the room. Feiku propped him up in bed and proceeded to bow and nod. "Of course, Master Kurama. I'll be back in two shakes of a lambs tail!"
Kurama shakily grinned as Feiku scurried out of the room. His assistant, although gawky and timid, was extremely reliable. Even when he wasn't working, he somehow rescued Kurama out of yet another rut. After he realized the stress of owning a company, he hired Feiku a little over a year ago. He had an animated smile and was almost too enthusiastic to be working, but Kurama admired that about his assistant.
Hiei stepped out into the courtyard. Before he'd went to sleep, one of the King's servants told him if he needed water, there was a never-ending well in the courtyard. He'd seen this courtyard too many times in his dream. As he made his way to the well, he felt like he was walking into a dream. Twenty years ago seemed like a fantasy, until he reached the vase. It still sat in the middle of the courtyard, perched on a column for all the palace to see.
He almost expected to turn around and see those two golden eyes staring at him.
"Hn." What was he doing? Kurama was waiting for him, and he was wasting his time fantasizing about an old memory that had no significance in his life.
The well did seem to drop down forever. He guided the bucket down, waiting for the impact.
He sensed her before he saw her. Her scent filled the courtyard, wrapping Hiei in a sort of comfort. Her tiny feet glided across the floor, until she reached the vase. Hiei turned his body, still guiding the bucket down the well.
"If you let the latch go, the bucket will drop faster and you don't have to stand there winding it," the princess pointed towards the brown latch sticking out of the pulley.
Hiei glanced at it, but kept feeding the rope. He didn't need her help, no matter how long it took for the bucket to reach the water. The princess crossed from the vase to a bench nearby and sat down. Her body was angled, too perfect to be a demon's. Her small lips parted, but before she could speak, the bucket finally reached the water.
He began yanking the rope, taking his time. No matter how uncomfortable her presence made him, he wouldn't rush to escape. That would be letting her win. Then, she'd know she had an advantage over him every time she walked in a room. But there had to be some way to avoid her for a month…
"I couldn't sleep," she informed him, as if he cared. "I come out here when I can't sleep. It's the most sky I'm allowed to see, but it's beautiful."
The words caught Hiei's attention. He knew she wasn't allowed to be seen by outsiders, at least before the party, but was she stuck in the palace? Were her best friends the open windows that she could stick her head out of and breath fresh air? Or the several old servants roaming the halls?
He pitied her, nothing more.
"There's nothing beautiful about the sky," Hiei said flatly.
"Of course there is. You're just too blind to see it."
Hiei laughed to himself about the irony. He had two perfectly functioning eyes that could make out the tiniest detail from far away, and a Jagan Eye, which allowed him to see what he wanted--And the princess belittled him and called him blind! Her condescending tone frustrated Hiei. She didn't know anything about him, yet she preached to him when he didn't want to be around her. If anything, she was blind. All she did was talk, and she couldn't see that Hiei didn't want to listen.
"It's dark and unpleasant."
"If I ever got to see it," she whispered, almost talking to herself. "I would think it to be the most spectacular thing I've ever lay eyes on."
Ignorance is bliss, Hiei decided, as he ignored her. If she believed the world outside the palace walls was beautiful, then she was in for a surprise. The moment she stepped outside her land's boundaries, she'd be killed.
"You don't talk much."
"Hn." Pointing out the obvious wouldn't bring the sudden miracle of a "chatty" Hiei. She was just making herself look more like an idiot in his eyes.
"I don't blame you. I have to talk a lot. It's part of my job."
"Well your damn good at it," sarcasm pierced his voice.
"I guess," the princess dangled her bare feet over the bench, staring intently at them. "I've been talking all day, after all."
"And all night," Hiei added, pulling the rope one last time. The bucket appeared, full of cool water waiting to be drunk. "Good night."
He took off before she could answer, speeding to his room.
"Good night," Itoshi mumbled. Reading him was impossible, so learning about him and getting to know him was a challenge…she loved challenges.