Running Together
Chapter 10: Sneaking into the Apartment...
Kurama entered the apartment in the early hours of the morning. He pressed the front door shut, taking painstaking care not to disturb the quiet. He tiptoed through the living room and set a paper bag on the kitchen counter as gently as he can. A beer can toppled over, panging against the counter. He caught it just before it hit the floor. He grimaced, eyes darting about for signs of stirring. Botan and Shizuru were still fast asleep in the living room. Kurama released a tense breath.
He crept into Ikuna's bedroom, where she and Keiko lay sleeping side by side, Henry tucked between them. He couldn't help but chuckle quietly, delighted that Ikuna was finally finding a place among his friends.
"Kurama?" Ikuna stirred awake.
He went to her, "Good morning."
"It's early," she whispered, turning over to face him, "What are you doing here? Weren't you to work with your stepfather today?"
He brushed her hair from her face, lingering his touch against her horn, "I thought our friends might be hungry when they woke this morning," he said, "I brought breakfast for them."
The corners of her mouth pulled up and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "That was very thoughtful of you. Help me up, darling?"
He gently lifted her to her feet, "You smell like cigarettes."
Ikuna rested her forehead against his collarbone, "I'll admit, I don't think I can stand for long on my own."
"Where would you like me to carry you?"
"The balcony,"
"As you wish," he said, and scooped her up.
Kurama joined her outside with a blanket over his arm and a cup of instant coffee in each hand. He offered one to her.
"Thank you, darling." she accepted the cup, "Is there whiskey in it?
Kurama shook his head wryly and settled down next to her, draping the blanket over their legs. He covered her shoulders with his jacket.
"You spoil me, darling" she said, "I adore you."
The sun rose fully, cutting through the city fog. Ikuna shivered.
"What time are you leaving me today?" she asked.
"I'll have to catch the train in an hour," he replied, "You over exerted yourself yesterday."
"I did," she said, sipping her coffee. She never had much use for the stuff, but appreciated the ritual all the same, "We had a wonderful evening. It shows, doesn't it?"
"It does. Yusuke once told me that Keiko was a relatively light sleeper, yet she didn't so much as stir when I entered the room."
"That poor girl," Ikuna shook her head again, "Love can be such a burden," she said quietly.
"I wouldn't worry. Yusuke isn't the brightest, but he feels very deeply for Keiko."
"Ah, I want to believe that. He doesn't come off as particularly mature, and that makes me feel uneasy of their future together," she rested her head on his shoulder.
Kurama shifted his weight so that his side was pressed against hers, "I've known the two of them for a long time. I think they can handle each other," he angled his head to look down at her, "You still haven't fully shaken your distrust in men. I suppose I have myself to blame for that."
Ikuna gave a tired laugh, "Oh, my love," she tilted her head up to meet his eyes, "You know I trust you with all my body and soul." Kurama smiled and turned his attention back to the city. "They asked about us, you know."
"What about?"
"The nature of our relationship."
"That was to come up sooner or later," Kurama sighed. After a moment, "What did you say to them?"
Ikuna shrugged noncommittally, "That we're old friends," she raised her coffee to her lips.
"I see," Kurama did the same.
They watched a smattering of students chattering on their way to Saturday classes. After a while, Kurama asked, "Onna, what do you plan to do for nourishment?"
Ikuna sighed, "This old song, again…"
"You need to tell me what your plans are. You could pick off the D class demons."
"I truly can't imagine Enki's thinking. How could he have thought that simply ordering demons to refrain from troublemaking would work in favor of peace? The night ladies and I knew that he won by chance—"
"You can't change the subject this time, Onna," Kurama said, "I won't let you." Ikuna turned away from him in a huff. He pressed on, "What are you going to do?"
"I have it taken care of," she snapped, "What else do you want me to say?"
"That you aren't intentionally killing yourself." Kurama wasn't known to raise his voice, even as a demon, but Ikuna could hear the telltale hardness in his tone. She remained silent, fuming. This wasn't the morning she wanted. Not the conversation she was hoping for.
"Onna, out there in the city there are at least a half dozen demons taking advantage of humanity as we speak—"
"Kurama, if I ingest another demon life, I will die."
Kurama closed his mouth, staring hard at her, studying her for a lie, "I'm sorry?"
Ikuna leaned back against the wall, watching his face solemnly, "You didn't earnestly believe that cannibalism was a sustainable long term solution, did you?"
Kurama thought back to their former days of thievery. She was taking in demon life energy for as long as he's known her. More than once he had used her appetite as a punishment for insubordination. Not once then did he consider the toll that it would have on her body, "I… I hadn't thought of it."
"Well, that's awfully unusual for the great strategist Kurama, isn't it?" she spat.
He looked to the sky, thinking quickly. "Perhaps you can continue to absorb plants—"
"Oh, sweetheart, are you going to bring me a new plant everyday? For the next millennium?" she said bitterly, "You really are a fool."
"I understand that you didn't want to talk about this so early in the morning," he said quietly, "but there's no need for hostility."
She scoffed and crossed her arms.
The balcony door slid open.
"Oh, hey. I didn't know this space was occupied."
"Shizuru, good morning," Kurama greeted her politely, "Come on out, I was just leaving."
Shizuru stepped out into the open air, lighting a cigarette, "I guess you're the breakfast fairy," she raised a mug in a toast, "Thanks."
Kurama rose and replaced the blanket where he was sitting, "Would you like for me to take you inside?" he asked Ikuna.
"I'd like to stay outside a little longer."
He collected their empty mugs, "I'll be off, then. Please call me if you need anything."
Ikuna watched him leave, holding onto her resentment, "I think I'll manage for now."
He nodded curtly and left.
Shizuru waited until she could hear the front door open, shut, and lock with finality, "Okay, then," she took a drag off her cigarette and offered it to Ikuna, "What was that about?"
Ikuna accepted the cigarette, taking a hit, "Nothing."
"I'm practically choking on the tension."
"It's more likely the nicotine."
"You and Kurama seem pretty grouchy."
"It's early."
Shizuru threw up her hands, and turned back to the city skyline. She lit a fresh cigarette, letting Ikuna keep the other.
Ikuna grasped her arms, holding herself, staring off into the city. She bit her lip. She would have jostled her leg if she could muster the energy. She still had half a cigarette left, and despite the buzzing in her head, she wanted to suck it down. Finally—
"Oh, that idiot!"
Shizuru casually turned back to Ikuna, "There it is."
"It's just—he doesn't—he just—" she ran her hands through the hair at her crown.
"Go on, I'll wait."
Ikuna made a frustrated snarl and glared at the corner, averting her eyes, "I just… I don't usually—Argh!"
"It's okay. You're not the type to get mad, huh?"
"Yes! Precisely that! And it burns me up. It's barely seven in the morning, why, we were on track for a wonderful day and he tore it all asunder!"
"Mhmm, mhmm—"
"Who does that nithing sciolist think he is, bringing up whatever prattle he cares to without thinking about how it would affect me!"
"Okay, you're sliding back into archaic territory. Let's reel it back."
"I'm sorry, it's just… to be treated like a child in that way—I'm so irritated!"
"Well, yeah, anyone would be."
"How dare he come into my home and tell me how to live my life as if I haven't been doing it for the last thousand years on my own! He doesn't need to know my plans, and he certainly is not entitled to make my decisions for me!" Ikuna settled back, counting her breaths. Her face felt hot, and her hands shook. Anger was not becoming of a woman, but the more she thought about it, the more infuriated she felt. Little tears prickled and threatened to spill.
"Ikuna…" Shizuru sat next to her.
Ikuna rubbed her eyes, "I'm what you would call 'an angry crier,'" she said, "It's humiliating. This whole argument is humiliating."
Shizuru sat quietly with Ikuna while she continued counting her breaths, using her fingers to close one nostril and then another, "What are you doing?" Shizuru asked finally.
Ikuna continued the patterns of closing her nostrils, "It's an old technique," she said steadily, "Nadi Shodhana. I learned it long ago while on a sabbatical in India. Their name for something like me was a Yakshini," she finally rested her hand, looking and sounding more level, "I was visiting a demon known as Kubera, whom they worship as a god of wealth. Shmashana was what they had called me," she looked to the sky. Her cigarette was nearly out, "I dare say that the Hindi were actually kind to me."
Shizuru studied Ikuna's face, "Listen, you're not going to like this, but I heard most of you guys' conversation," she saw Ikuna's eyes flash before returning to impassivity, "I'm not saying you can't be mad at Kurama, but you gotta know that he has a pretty good reason to be mad at you, too, you know?"
Ikuna sneered, "What all did you eavesdrop on?"
"Okay, don't do that," Shizuru said firmly, "I am not your little fox boy. I won't put up with that petty shit, so unless you want to sit out here alone, I suggest you knock it off." Ikuna's face twisted up, and for a moment she was almost certainly going to slit Shizuru's throat for speaking to her in that way. Then she paused. In reality, no one had ever spoken to her like that before. At least, not in a way that told Ikuna she was being cared for.
Shizuru watched her closely. Ikuna swallowed and tore her gaze away in shame.
"I'm sorry," Ikuna said finally.
Shizuru held back a smile, "It's okay. I know you had a stressful morning, but I'm your friend. We don't talk to our friends like that here in the human world. Well—" she thought about Yusuke and Kazuma, and also the stoic Hiei, "—not with the intent to hurt each other, anyways. It's not right."
"I understand. I shouldn't have lashed out at you in that way," Ikuna sighed, feeling more tired than when she first woke up, "Am I wrong to be angry at Kurama?"
"He's probably on the train wondering the same thing about you, right now. I don't think it's fair to be mad at him for caring, but you're right. He probably could have saved the conversation for later instead of attacking you right when you woke up."
"I was so terrible to him, and he let me treat him that way. The Yoko Kurama would have never… Yuki-Onna would never have dared…" she trailed off, thinking of the horrors. Her hand fell to a certain spot in her chest where a seed still lay buried.
"Ikuna, do you mind if I speak frankly for a second?"
"Yes, go on, Shizuru."
"Okay, so," Shizuru took a drag, choosing her words carefully, "I personally think he's right. You need to be feeding yourself, but with actual food. Whatever self-sacrificing shit you're on needs to stop because you have a whole bunch of people who've gotten to know you. Letting yourself die is probably the most selfish shit you could do after inviting us all to your place and making us like you. You understand?"
"I… Yes, I do."
"And you've got this guy, this big-hearted guy who's almost died multiple times for his friends and family, and he's trying to help you find a solution, but you're just blowing him off. You won't even give him a straight reason why you're refusing food, you're just doing it without giving a shit what he feels about his oldest and best friend slowly killing herself in front of him."
Ikuna simply nodded, staring it her hands in her lap.
"Now I want you to do something for me, girly. I want you to think about the reason that you're doing this to yourself in the first place, and I want you to decide if it's worth what you're doing to us. And to him, especially," Shizuru watched Ikuna for any hint as to what she was thinking, but received none. She held her hand out for Ikuna's cigarette, long since burnt out. Ikuna placed it into her hand, saying nothing to indicate whether Shizuru's words got to her. After a moment, Shizuru spoke again.
"So, did you travel a lot?" she asked.
"Yes," Ikuna cracked a sheepish smile, relieved for a lighter topic, "I didn't spend all of my time in Japan. I was sure to travel about a bit, get a taste of the locals, if you will," she chuckled.
"Is that why you gave your cat an English name?"
Ikuna dissolved into giggles, "Oh, you mean Henry? You could say that, yes."
Shizuru's eye lit up, "Is there a story here that I'm not getting?"
"Well, alright, if you insist!" Ikuna shifted to face Shizuru, "It was 1536 and King Henry of England had just married his second wife…"
End Chapter 10
Noodle Note: Look, man, Ikuna isn't human, but she still makes asshole mistakes, you feel?
Thank you as always for sticking with me and reading this. It means so much to me to see that someone out there is loving my story.
See you next chapter!