Kurama opened his eyes and groaned softly. It was still dark in the room. He rolled onto his side and curled up. He could hear Karasu's steady breathing from nearby. He hoped that he would stay asleep. Memories from the evening before flitted through his mind though Kurama tried to ignore them. He hated Ani and his sadism but at least Ani was predictable and honest about what he was. Karasu confused Kurama. He had allowed Ani to hurt Kurama yet had cared for him afterwards. In a twisted way, that was even crueler than what Ani had done to him. It made him think that Karasu loved him. But Kurama knew that was a trap. Karasu didn't love him. He loved what he wanted Kurama to be, not what he was. Love was about accepting someone for who they were and not trying to change them. Why couldn't someone just accept him for who he was?

Maybe if he pretended it had been someone else it would be easier to handle. Kurama couldn't help but think of Hiei in that moment. He wondered if Hiei could ever be that nice to anyone. He must be capable of it since he obviously loved his sister. And he had noticed that Kurama was unhappy at the nightclub. And bothered to ask about it, even if he had done so rudely.

Kurama bit down on a laugh. Karasu's charming mask hid a monster and Hiei's grumpy attitude hid a kind heart. He couldn't help but find the contrast amusing.

-0-

Kurama did not go to work the next day. Karasu insisted that he stay home to recover. Kurama spent most of the day in bed, pretending to be more incapacitated than he really was. He knew Karasu would leave him alone if he thought that Kurama needed the rest. While he could be rough, he didn't enjoy inflicting pain the way Ani did. Karasu tended to use pain only as a punishment or a means of control.

It was a boring day, however. Kurama was in the process of reading one of his favorite novels when his phone rang. He answered it quickly, surprised that the caller was Hiei.

"Are you really sick?" the little man demanded, sounding irritated.

Kurama was insulted. "Yes," he snapped. "Didn't Yukina tell you that?"

"She did, but I wasn't sure whether to believe her, Shuichi," Hiei said bluntly.

Kurama winced. He had certainly lied about his name, something Hiei clearly hadn't forgotten. If he were being objective he supposed that he could see why his boss would question his excuse, but he didn't feel like being objective.

"Where is the file with last week's figures on it?" Hiei grumbled. "I had it open yesterday but I can't find it now."

Kurama scowled. He'd organised all of Hiei's paperwork yesterday. The businessman should have found the file easily. "That wasn't the one you had open," he pointed out. "The one you had open was the file for the week before. Look under it."

There came the faint sound of papers shuffling. "Got it," Hiei finally said.

"Is there anything else you can't find?" Kurama growled, a little sarcastically. He was incredibly annoyed that Hiei had called him over something so trivial.

"That's all," Hiei said. "Will you be able to come to work tomorrow?"

"Probably," Kurama said. What he actually thought was, "God, I hope so." He really needed to get out of this apartment.

"Good," Hiei said. Then he hung up. Kurama stared at the phone in disbelief for a moment before setting it aside. He couldn't believe how rude the businessman had been.

-0-

"How did she sound?" Yukina asked softly from beside Hiei as he set his phone down. He stood behind his desk, several files spread out in front of him. The call had been a ruse. Yukina had insisted that Hiei check if Kurama was okay. Hiei had to admit that he was worried about the redhead as well.

"Like herself," he said grumpily. "Didn't sound like she was sick, though."

Yukina frowned. "Why would she lie about that?" she asked uncertainly.

"Probably because she wants a day off," Hiei said. "Employees do it all the time." He knew that his words weren't kind but he wanted to reassure Yukina.

"But..." Yukina wrung her hands together. Finally she said, "I think you're right. There is something wrong."

Hiei sat down heavily in his chair. Yukina perched on the desk beside him, smoothing down her pale green skirt. "We can't do anything," he reminded her. "Not unless Kurama... Shuichi... asks us to."

"Maybe we should talk to Karasu about her?" Yukina suggested.

Hiei's head shot up. "Don't do that," he said fiercely. Yukina stared at him, her cherry red eyes wide in surprise.

"Why not?" she asked. "He seems like a nice man."

"He may be the problem," Hiei told her.

"Oh, that can't be right," Yukina said with a frown.

"Does she ever talk about him?" Hiei pressed.

"No," Yukina admitted, "But she's a very private person."

"Yukina," Hiei said warningly, placing a hand on her knee. She stared down at him. "Do not say anything to Karasu. Not until we've learned more."

"All right," Yukina agreed reluctantly.

"Thank you," Hiei sighed. "Now I really do have work to do."

Yukina slid off the desk and headed for the door. "Please come see me before you leave for the office," she told him. "It's annoying when you just sneak out."

"I will," Hiei sighed. Yukina left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

-0-

Two weeks later Kurama stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, eyeing his naked form critically. Something was different. He touched his breasts tentatively. He was unusually sensitive there. Also he had noticed that his hips seemed to be a little wider. He couldn't possibly be putting on weight. His diet hadn't really changed much since he'd been living with Karasu.

Karasu pressed up against Kurama from behind. "Something bothering you, darling?" he purred. He had yet to shower and was still dressed in his suit.

Kurama scowled. Karasu hardly ever used his real name anymore. He found the endearments degrading. Perhaps that was what Karasu intended.

Karasu's fingers moved along Kurama's flat stomach and up to his nipple. Karasu flicked it gently and Kurama gasped.

Encouraged by the response, Karasu wrapped an arm around Kurama's waist holding him in place. He used his other hand to play with Kurama's nipple.

Kurama bit his lip, trying to keep silent, but his nipples were incredibly sensitive. When Kurama began to make small noises and press back against him, Karasu turned Kurama and sat him on the basin. He brought his lips to Kurama's right nipple and began to suck on it while he played with the other one.

Kurama lost control. He pressed his hands into Karasu's long dark hair, shoving his breast against the man's mouth and moaning in pleasure. Karasu pulled back. He grabbed Kurama's wrists and pushed them behind his back.

"Don't move," he ordered Kurama as he removed his tie. He used it to tie Kurama's wrists together behind him before returning his mouth to the nipple he'd been sucking.

Kurama arched and moaned helplessly in pleasure as Karasu toyed with first one nipple and then the other, moving back and forth between them. After some time, he began to stroke Kurama's cock as well.

Kurama could feel the pleasure building inside him until he couldn't hold back anymore. He came, crying out as he did.

Karasu rose, adjusting Kurama's position so that he could enter Kurama. He began to slowly move inside Kurama, gripping his hips as he rocked. Karasu's orgasm was quick, though Kurama did not cum again.

"Good girl," Karasu said approvingly after he'd pulled out. His voice was breathy as he spoke. "You're coming along nicely." He freed Kurama's wrists.

What was that supposed to mean?, Kurama wondered. But he was a little more concerned with how good it had felt when Karasu had played with his nipples. He found that humiliating.

He pushed Karasu away from him and headed for the shower, intent on cleaning himself off. He felt disgusting. Karasu watched him with a satisfied smile on his face. Kurama mentally called him every horrible name he could think of as he washed himself off.