The long conversation
The sound of Kuwabaras' snoring was keeping him awake. He had spent the last hour trying to fall asleep, trying to banish from his mind all of the sins from his past that stared at him like angry watchmen in the dim light of the low-lit hearth. Everything in the room reminded him of how far his pride and self-loathing had made him fall. Every trophy mocked him grotesquely from every corner in the dying light of those few small embers. They haunted him, as if he were living his deepest, darkest nightmares. But, he was sure it was the snoring keeping him awake.
Kurama stretched uncomfortably in his chair and looked at his watch again. He noted painfully that the scares on his wrist were all but gone already. He wished they would have stayed, a reminder of how weak he really was. Yet, his human body continued to heal itself at alarming rates, as if he were still fully demonic.
Standing up to pace -for the third time since the other red-head had fallen asleep- a thought suddenly hit him: he had completely forgotten about the hot-spring upstairs. Sighing to himself, and thinking a good bath might be just what he needed, he grabbed a random robe out of the chest closest to him, along with the dagger from the mantel and made his way up the stone stairs. As he reached the top, he could hear the light trickling sound of the small series of waterfalls that fed the pool that doubled as a bath coming from the hallway to the left, but the sounds of shuffling from the right, his old bedroom, churned his curiosity. Not wanting to go any ware near that room, he had offered it to the others, resigning to sleep in the main chamber of the den, and after a long argument, Yusuke had won the right to it.
"Yusuke?" he called as he made his way down the short corridor, "Are you still awake?"
He stopped in the doorway to take in the sight. It was so familiar it made his stomach turn slightly. The bed -if you could call it that- was exactly how he left it, a mass of pillows and disheveled blankets thrown on top of a straw mattress framed by a natural dip in the rock. On the opposing wall still stood an old wardrobe, latched and locked, but holding nothing but painful memories. Next to it still hung his old traveling cloak, the dark green fabric of the article looking washed out and old in the moonlight. The rest of the walls were still covered in vines with little white flowers that perpetually bloomed. The only other décor to the room was the stone table with a low square box atop it and benches on either that sat in front of a opening in the cliff-face, letting the light of the full moon flood the chamber. He was surprised to see Yusuke silhouetted against the window, leaning his head on his hands, staring serenely out at the view.
"Yusuke?" he called again, "Are you alright?"
The dark haired boy turned to him slowly, as if in a dream, "Yeah, I was just thinking about stuff. You couldn't sleep either?"
"No. I clearly underestimated Kuwabaras abilities to keep people awake."
"Can I ask you something?" Yusuke's voice and face suddenly serious.
"Yusuke, I told you, I don't-"
"Don't worry," he cut him off, holding a hand up in protest, "if you don't want to talk, you don't want to talk. I was just wondering how you got this?" He held the green head-band up to the light.
"Oh," Kurama relaxed, "It's an amusing little antic dote." He smiled as he reached for the lantern sitting on top of the wardrobe and making his way to the table.
"Just a little story, no big fight or something?"
"Hardly any of my treasure was acquired from fighting." He admitted as he sat across from the young demon. "In fact, I like to think of that one as a 'prize'." he smiled in an extra mischievous way.
"Lay it on me, then!" Yusuke smiled, clearly excited.
"Well, this happened about three hundred years before Raizen started that hunger strike of his." he started, and immediately felt himself sink into nostalgia, "He was then at his peak, so I had herd, and his kingdom was the most powerful territory at the time."
"So this was, like, more then a thousand years ago?"
"Give or take. Anyway, I had 'barrowed' maybe, one or two hundred of his armies riding lizards-"
"You mean those weird calamander looking things? I don't think they ride them anymore."
"They don't. Well, I had taken them to use as a distraction to get into his rival territories capital."
"What was there?"
"Just some normal loot, but enough of it that I could financially support my own fledgling country."
"Not Gandarra?"
Kurama chuckled, "how do you think Yomi was able to gain so much land in so little time. I had built up the foundation, he just took over running it after I abandoned it."
"No wonder you hate the guy, he stole your country!"
The red-head shrugged in response, "I was board with it, anyway."
"So what happened after you raided that other castle?" Yusuke pressed, eager to hear the story.
"Oh, well the whole incident started a war, which of course Raizen won. But he was still pretty mad that I was the one who had started the whole thing."
"Well you did steal his cavalry."
"I would have brought them back," Kurama protested, "but they were all killed during my heist." He smiled to himself at the memory, "I really should have been honored by the hit he put out on me."
"Why, what did he do?"
"He sent out word that whoever could catch me, and bring me to him alive could have his newly taken-over country, along with his ancestral crown." he mentioned to the head-band.
"This? It's a crown?"
"Of sorts. I know that it belonged to his predecessor, and to the one before that. I guess starting the war was the last straw."
"This wasn't the first time you had gotten on his bad side, I take it?"
"Nope." He said with pride, "I nearly bankrupted him some years before this."
"So how'd you get the crown?"
Kurama thought for a minuet, before taking out his pack of cigarettes and lighting one. And amusing smile played across his lips as he inhaled the smoke, "I turned myself in."
"Get out." Yusuke smirked in disbelief.
"I shackled my wrists and ankles and snuck into his fortress. When he woke up and saw me in that state, I thought he was going to kill me. 'Well, I caught me.' I had told him."
"What did he do?"
"He laughed. I didn't think it was possible for him to, but he did. He thru the head-band at me and let me go." Kurama mussed on the memory for a moment, "That's when I knew he was a good king."
"So you guy ended up friends?" Yusuke's eyes lit up at the thought.
"No, we had very different politics." He thought for a moment, "We were sort of on opposing sides." He reached for the box on the table, and pulled at a hidden drawer.
Yusuke watched his friend as he pulled out two wooden boxes that matched the large one they came from. He hadn't noticed until that moment that the top of the big box had a checkerboard pattern on it.
"What is this?"
"You've never seen a chess board before?" Kurama asked around the cigarette he held between his lips, a hint of exasperated disbelief in his voice.
"Well, now that you point it out. . ." Yusuke hung his shoulders in slight embarrassment and contended himself to watch Kurama place the little pieces from the smaller boxes on the board without anymore questions.
"Don't worry, I wont make you play. You know, if you don't know how." A smile curled around the corners of the Fox's mouth, "I just thought you would like a visual aid."
"I know you think I'm dumb and all, but I don't -"
He stopped short of his protest as Kurama gently set down a failure figure. The tiny wood carving had no color to it but the dull brown of it's natural form, and the smaller details that would have made up a face were vague at best, but the figure was defiantly Riazen. Kurama had placed him on the back row, away from the window, next to a small carving of what looked like Riazen's castle. On the other side he placed a small demon warring a kimono, then a women with scarves floating up around her, and then a small hooded figure with miniscule knives on it's fists. After that a tall man with an eye patch, and then a figure that Yusuke easily recognized as Enki. Another castle figure finished off the row.
"These are amazing!" Yusuke gasped as he picked up the tiny carving of his ancestral father. The whittled wood felt rough on his fingers. "Did you make these?"
"No, I stole them." He paused for a moment, rolling a castle from the second box between his palms before setting it in it's corner, "The whole thing is a set," he referred to the boxes strewn about that table, "and I know for a fact that this took over a hundred years to complete."
"Isn't there supposed to be a second row?" Yusuke asked, more and more intrigued with the little figures the more closely he looked at them.
"You can set them up if you like, they are just pawns." The red head shoved the first small box to Yusuke, who had set Riazen back in his place to explore the other figures.
"So this is one 'side'?" He asked, picking up the pieces in turn to look at them more closely, "I met a lot of my old man's old friends, and I only recognize Enki."
"Most Kami wouldn't have shown themselves for such an arbitrary thing as a 'strongest man wins the country' tournament." He said as he placed a woman with carefully chiseled and apparent lines across her face next to his castle. "Nothing has changed for that Class but the faces of those who live under our thumb."
"'Kami'?" Yusuke had the feeling he looked as dumb as he thought as he asked.
"I told you about it already," Kurama rolled his eyes as he placed another woman, standing strait and proud next to the first woman, "The true lords of Demon World. Spirit World may place letter classifications on us, but we still have our own Cast system to rank power. The Kami are at the top." He placed a third woman, holding her hands high above her head, next to the other two.
"So these are the strongest fighters in Demon World?" Yusuke asked skeptically as he began placing the pawns on the board. They all looked different, so he tried to mach up the way they looked to the other figures for their placing.
"No, just the most. . . 'Influential' would be a good word." He held the piece he was about to put down into the light so Yusuke could see it better, "To be a Kami means that you can fully understand and utilize your powers. To be a Kami," He finished with a hint of sadness, "is to carry the burden of being the perfect specimen of your species."
"This is you!" Yusuke exclaimed. He grabbed the small, near perfect, carving of Youko Kurama out of his friends hand. It even had a tiny whip handing from it's small hand to curl around the base. It was by far the most finished looking of the pieces.
"Not many people can recognize a Kami for what they are," He continued as he set a small Kuronue next to the empty spot the little Youko should have been taking up, "But we know our own. And the Quest Class can sense us, as well. But to everyone else, we're just normal demons."
"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?" the dark-haired boy asked, hurt that his friend never mentioned something so interesting as this before.
"There was never any need to." He lit another cigarette and placed the last two pieces to finish the row: A shriveled looking man in a monks robe and top hat, and another castle to finish off the line. "We've always worked in the solitude of the shadows, and most of the lower classes think we are nothing but legend."
"Why are you telling me all of this now?"
"Because you asked how I knew Riazen." He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of his friend and searching Yusuke's energy with his own, "And someday you might need to know what nitch you fill in our world."
Yusuke stared at him for a long moment. "You think I'm part of this Kami Class?" he asked finally.
"I don't think, I know. Watching you fight Yomi proved it to me. You are a Champion, just as Raizen was before you."
Yusuke scanned the board, resting his gaze on the small figure of his father. He carefully caressed the figure that he still held in his hand and his heart sank.
"Does this mean we're on opposite sides?" he asked, placing Youko into his 'king' spot on the opposing row.
"There are no more sides." Kurama said with a bite of bitterness to his voice, "Almost half of us are dead, if you don't count the pawns, and if you do, then it's most of us."
Yusuke had a sudden urge to reach out and hold his friend, the look of sorrow on his face broke his heart that much.
"I know how my dad died, and you told me about Kuronue," Yusuke started slowly, "that is Kuronue, right?" He pointed to the figure of the Raven.
"It is."
"How many of your sides pawns?" he felt intrusive asking, but he still wanted to know.
"All of them." he stated flatly. Then reached over to the other side and took all but one of the pawns Yusuke had set up. "Masha was burned at the stake by a bunch of Quest Class demons," He picked up the small demon in the kimono, along with Raizen and Kuronue, setting them on the table beside the board, "And I killed Yuuri myself," he removed the woman with the scarves and placed her with the rest, "I don't know ware Kaoru is, so I assume he's dead," he moved the shriveled demon from the board, "He's a 'Finder', and useless in a fight, and had a lot of enemies."
His hand paused over the woman that sat in the queen spot next to his, "Mononoke was killed by the Hunter." he said in a soft voice as he picked up the girl, staring at it intently and gently caressing it, "She was Mauro's daughter." he motioned to the woman who had been in the bishop spot next to the queen.
"A good friend of yours?" Yusuke asked tepidly, feeling even more that he was prying into matters that weren't his business.
"Mauro had arranged for us to be married." Kurama said without looking up, "A political move that would have forced my clan and hers to be able to take over all of the Ikimono lands. To prevent that from happening -and as revenge for Yuuri, among other reasons- the Cat slit her through and crucified her outside of one of my hideouts."
"I'm sorry." was all Yusuke could think to say. He hadden't seen the Fox this upset since they had first met -when his mother was dieing.
"It's alright," he whispered, "It was a long time ago. She was such a sweet girl, though, she shouldn't have had to suffer because of my sins."
"Did you love her?" The words fell from Yusukes mouth before he could stop himself, causing a surprise look from the Fox. "It's just - I thought you said you preferred men. . ." He felt stupid and intrusive as soon as he said it.
"I do." Kurama said off handedly, "But I guess I did love her, in a way. She was more like a cherished little sister to me. Someone who I wanted to protect. She was stubborn, though." He smiled to himself, "She was madly in love with me, and threw herself at me every chance she got."
"Is that why you hate the Shadow Hunter so much?" Yusuke asked solemnly, still trying to ease his curiosity and not offend his friend at the same time.
Kurama thought for a moment, his eyes hardening as they turned to the small hooded figure in the king spot across his own. He set down the little queen he had been holding and reached over slowly to not pick up, but to knock down the piece rather violently.
"The war between that Cat and myself had been going on long before either of us knew of our station." The malice in those words sent shivers down Yusukes' spine. "Most of my life had been consumed with ridding the world of that arrogant filth."
"What happened between you and that guy? You've only ever said you fought a lot."
Kurama let out a long sigh and stubbed out his cigarette, only to replace it's spot between his fingers with the neglected knife that he had stealth fully stashed under the robe next to him on the bench.
"Nothing prompted the war," he said simply as he gazed at the knife, "We just didn't like each other in a very explosive way. At first I assumed it was just the warring of our Clans, the Kitsune and the Neko have never gotten along. But even after I left the Ikimono lands for good, Nik fallowed me, always hunting me." His expression became hazy and distant as he said this, running the flat of the blade across his neck.
"You must have done something to piss him off."
"It's not uncommon in our world to have a rival for no reason. The sparing alone is worth it to make you stronger." He sighed, "Yet, once we had become Kami, we went out of our way to find reasons to hate each other."
Yusuke stared at the fallen Hunter, "So he's dead, you won?"
"Nik is dead," Kurama replied heavily, "But not by my hands."
"Hey, well at least the you don't have to worry about him anymore!" Yusuke tried to brighten the mood and get that forlorn look off Kuramas face.
"Is that how you felt when Sensui died?" Kuramas green eyes pierced Yusuke's brown ones with such an intensity that he had to look away.
"No. . ."
"The Hunter should have died by my hand alone. I wont lie and say I don't feel cheated."
"Who killed him?"
"The rest of the Neko clan, if the stories I herd during the tournament are right. Nik was a trader to the Ikimono lands, choosing a life of bounty hunting instead of staying with the Clan to fight against the Sprit World invasion. I found out about it right before I came back."
"That's why you're depressed!" Yusuke gasped as the spark of enlightenment hit his brain. Looking at Kurama, it made so much sense. The cold, self-loathing look in his eyes, the way he still fiddled with the dagger dangerously close to his neck, even the energy coming off the Fox told Yusuke he was right. "The hunter was killed while you were stuck hear as a human."
Kuramas eyes hardened at the boy. Yusuke had stepped just a little to far for his comfort, but now that they were having this conversation, they might as well finish it.
"I feel like I've lost my purpose." Kurama said softly, "Everything I once had in Demon World is gone. It's all that Cat's fault, and I cannot even repay the favor."
"So how's going to Spirit World going to help?" It wasn't really a question, more of a rhetorical insult.
"I keep getting lost in my rage, Yusuke," He paused as if what he was about to say was difficult for him, "When I hit my principal, he had told me, 'From everything I'd herd about you, I expected better.'. He was mocking me. It was the same tone, the same words that Nik had used the first time we had fought. I snapped, and hit him. I don't want that to happen again. I not only let myself down, but also the Hunter. It's a burden that I'm having trouble coming to grips with."
"You know, I get that. I really do. It's how I felt when I left for Demon World to find my dad."
"At least you still had the chance to face your foe. Nik and I had unfinished business. I know it will haunt me for the rest of my life."
"Do you really think Spirit World can help? You're not going there to find him are you?"
"No, I just want to feel like my survival meant something. I can keep my family safe from me and help create peace for all three worlds better there then I can hear. My side of the board fought for unification. The other wanted to remain in anarchy. Perhaps by crushing Nik's dreams I can find some form of closure."
"After hearing all of that, man," Yusuke reached across the table to grab Kuramas free hand, "I think you should go. I know how much helps to get closure."
"Thank you, Yusuke. Your support means a lot to me."
"Yeah, no problem. Next time just come out with it, though. As much as I enjoy our little talks, this would have been easer if you just told me in the first place." He gave the red-head a wide mischievous grin.
"You couldn't have been planning that I would tell you all this?" Kurama gasped.
"Maybe, maybe not," Yusuke shrugged, "But you were the one who taught me how to get information out of people, so I'll let you think what you want."
...
A/N This was the first chapter to the story when I started it, but it doesn't make sense to start a story hear. Actuly, it was the part about Raizen and Youko, but I think it's still funner in my head then it is on paper (so to speak) Let me know what you think! Thaks for reading! -L.