Ten

The rain started just as Yuusuke began to make his way home. He'd called Kuwabara earlier, during his break, to make sure that everything was tight and that Kurama hadn't gone and died in his sleep or something similarly horrible. Kuwabara had reported nothing other than boredom, so Yuusuke was satisfied that he could go home and tell Keiko the situation.

He didn't really buy the whole 'Kurama being in shock' thing. Emotional stress, sure. Withdrawn and uncommunicative, definitely. Maybe even a level of depressed. But not shock. The title 'detective' didn't come from being completely stupid (though some might have argued that the title was just that, and Yuusuke's brain was really just a painting on the walls of his skull) but, really, you don't get made spirit detective and survive for such a long time by being a total idiot. And the part of Yuusuke that was emphatically not completely oblivious knew that Kurama was too smart and too with it to let that happen to himself, and so figured the best thing to do now would be to let Kurama sort things out in his head until he felt it was time to ask for help.

Hopefully that stupid martyr complex of Kurama's would sit it out for once and let help come before things got too serious.

He slogged on down the street, glaring up at the sky when the thunder became too loud for his tastes - which was often. He didn't like the sound of it; it felt too much like the storms in Makai. The storms where someone caught outside could be ripped in half by the wind or torn to bits by the rain. That, and it was familiar. Maybe it was because Kurama was on his mind so heavily now, but he could swear that the breath of the storm felt just like Kurama's youki.

Which, considering that said fox was not in possession of said energy, was probably not so far from the truth. Gathering what he could from Hiei's account of the situation and what he was actually feeling... well. 'Deep Shit' was probably the best phrase for it, but knowing their luck, that was an understatement. Yuusuke hunched his shoulders and plowed through the rain a little faster.

He got home just as the storm was working itself into a special fury. Keiko had gotten home before him, and he could see the top of her head over the back of their couch, facing the television. The picture on the set was grainy, fading in and out and going completely to static at particularly loud cracks of thunder. She'd muted the sound, but the scrolling text on the bottom displayed what he'd already guessed: A freak storm had settled over the Tokyo metro area, and wasn't moving. Circular, heavy winds kept it right over the city, and no meteorologist on any channel knew what the fuck was going on.

He took off his shoes and draped his jacket over the back of the couch before sitting next to Keiko. She was unnervingly quiet. After a moment she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder and wrap her arm around his waist.

"It's bad out there," she said. "I tried calling Yukina and Shizuru, the phones are out. I couldn't even reach Mom and Dad."

"Yeah…" there wasn't much he could say to that. He wasn't good at the comfort thing, but Keiko seemed to understand. She was great like that. They watched the news broadcast in silence for a while. Keiko sighed and then switched off the set, tossing the remote to the floor.

"Tell me what's going on with Kurama," she said shifting so they could lie together more comfortably. "He's okay, right? You were so vague when you called."

Yuusuke shrugged. "He's… well, he's okay for now, but something nasty's lurking. You remember that deal we had with Yakumo?"

She made a face. Of course she would remember; being knocked down the temple stairs may have given her a particularly bad concussion, but it hadn't screwed with her memory any. Yuusuke bit back a smile at her expression and went on. "Well, I didn't tell you much about it, but one of the goons we had to take out pretended to be one of Kurama's old partners… someone he thought had died a while ago. Turns out, the guy – the original guy, not the imposter wasn't so dead as we thought, and showed up late yesterday. Well, more like Kurama kind of tripped over him. The guy – Kuronue, his name is – his brother's been keeping him in solitary confinement for the past couple of decades for god knows what, and when Kurama found him he - the brother, not Kuronue - did something to take all of Kurama's powers away."

When he finished explaining, Keiko stared at him a minute, a mixture of horror and pity on her face. "How can you be so calm about all this?"

Yuusuke blinked. "What?"

"You... you're telling me this like you're talking about the weather, or something that isn't... well, that isn't important. Aren't you worried about Kurama? If he doesn't have any of his powers, and someone is obviously out to get him, shouldn't he be somewhere safe?" She sat up, twisting in place to put her hands on her hips and glare. Oh, the countless times Yuusuke had seen that particular look. It never quite lost its power to set him a little aback.

"Whuh, well, I mean, come on. Kurama is, you know. Kurama. He can handle himself. Besides, Hiei and Kuwabara and Yukina and Shizuru are all there with him. The only safer place in the whole world would be right here." He grinned, mock-punching her in the shoulder. "C'mon, Keiko, you know I wouldn't just leave if I didn't know he'd be okay."

Keiko continued her glaring, but nodded slowly.

"All right," she said. "I'll give you that much. But I want to go over and see if he needs anything when the weather clears up."

"Wha-- why? He's got four people taking care of him already!"

Keiko threw up her hands and stood, sighing exasperatedly. "You can't expect Kazuma and Shizuru and Yukina to babysit him every minute, can you? I mean, even Hiei does... stuff. He has a life. Besides, he might appreciate having another normal human around. Might not make him feel so lonely."

"Who do we know that qualifies for normal?"

"Yuusuke!"

Yuusuke grimaced. That was the 'why are you still arguing with me, I've already won this argument no matter what you say' voice. Yuusuke held up his hands in surrender, waiting until a particularly loud peal of thunder died away before answering. Not that he still didn't think it was a stupid idea, but he couldn't exactly argue with Keiko.

"I'll take you with me when I go back tomorrow. It's too shitty out to go anywhere for now anyway. Roads are probably killer now."

Keiko sighed but nodded her head, relaxing against the couch again. Yuusuke shrugged and went to the kitchen to see what he could make for dinner, content - for now - that everything was all right in their little world.

Kurama rummaged through his closet on hands and knees, going through boxes stinking of eu de mothball and dust. He searched slowly, not wanting to leave the relative sanctuary of his bedroom while Kuronue was out there, waiting for him. It hadn't been so terrible when Kuronue had been sleeping. For an instant, just an instant, Kurama had allowed himself to imagine that things may go back to the way they had been, that whatever storm was coming would blow over eventually and that things would be right. Then he realized that, despite his tiny delusion, the only right for Kuronue would end in Youko Kurama's death as payment for the betrayal and torture he had endured for half a century.

He promised himself then that he would cry bitter tears for what he had lost later, even as he reached up to wipe those tears away from his eyes. His hands left his face feeling raw and hot. He grimaced at his own weakness, but let the tears come. It almost felt good, like bits of the fear and uncertainty was being drained away. Later, once things had settled more and he was alone, he would allow himself to weep as long as it took. For now, he had work to do.

Misa meowed at him from deep within his closet. She was perched on a stack of spare towels, staring at him in either concern or disdain. With cats, one could never tell. Kurama gave a wet chuckle and wiped his face on his shirt, smearing away the dust and tears and retreating back into a mask of normalcy. "It's okay," he told her, reaching out to scratch under her chin. "I'm just having a little freakout." She made a chuffing noise at his attention, poufed out her muzzle, and then curled up on the towels again, quite done with being petted for the moment. Kurama's hand lingered, and he watched her fall into slumber, seemingly undisturbed by the continuing growls of thunder... at least for now. He supposed she felt safer in the dark corner she'd put herself in, and really couldn't blame her. He was half tempted to crawl in there himself.

He pulled away and his knuckle scraped across grated metal -- the radio speaker. He pulled the thing from it's hiding place under the mothballs and carcasses of a few dead moths. Cobwebs stuck to the back of it, whisping away in the dark and sticking to his skin. Repulsed (although for no real reason he could discern) he dropped the radio and wiped the webs away, scraping his palms on the wall and the floor to make sure they were gone. Misa cracked open an eye and looked at him curiously a moment, then retreated back to sleep. He stood then, picked up the radio, and set it on his bed.

He looked around his room, at all the things he'd gathered and hoarded in here. Unlike the rest of the apartment, which was relatively neat and somewhat devoid of much personality, in his bedroom he'd made to emulate his old den as much as possible, even to the point of retrieving buried treasures from the places he'd hidden them long ago. Aside from the bedframe, all of the furniture that had come with the apartment he'd switched out for antiques he'd collected and hoarded away over the centuries, many of them things he knew Kuronue would recognize. The chest at the foot of his bed, for example, was one they'd stolen together nearly three hundred years ago; beautifully carved by a master craftsman, once the dowry chest of the soon-to-be empress of that ran his hands fondly over the carvings, tracing the figures of cranes and turtles and flowers that had been put there with hands that held more talent in them than he could imagine. He'd never been an artist, for all he could appreciate its beauty, and things like this he loved especially.

The chest he knew he couldn't hide, but he could explain it away... or try to. He'd already implied to Kuronue that he 'worked with Youko,' so it wouldn't be too hard to expand on that bit of half-truth. He'd come up with plausible explanations for the chest, at least... the scrolls and the jewelry and the miscellanious treasures and things that adorned his walls, however...

Well, he could always imply that he'd received them as gifts from Youko. Or that he had them so he could pass them on to Kuronue. Or...something. Damn.

He couldn't just explain all of it away, he wasn't that good a liar. He'd just have to keep Kuronue from his room as long as possible. It wouldn't be too hard. Kuronue didn't like walking into people's rooms unannounced (unless he was stealing from them) and certainly didn't like being around humans much... though, he'd been so calm around Kuwabara when he'd woken up...

He was reading too much into things. And he was sure that Kuwabara and Kuronue were starting to wonder if he hadn't just passed out or something. He snatched up the radio and left his room, closing the door behind him. Misa wouldn't want to leave for a while, anyway.

Kuwabara had taken a seat at the table to wait, and Kuronue had begun pacing around the room slowly, examining all the furniture and electronics with quiet curiosity. Kuronue looked over to him now, as well as Kuwabara, and he averted his gaze, instead going to the table and setting down the radio.

The batteries were old, but strong enough for him to find a signal. Kuronue came closer to the table as he fiddled with the dials, watching curiously but keeping his silence. For a while, there was nothing but static. Then -

"Emergency broadcast for the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area. A warning has been issued for all residents and citizens to remain indoors. Police, Fire and Rescue teams have been deployed to all areas of the city. All commuters are requested to stay at major train stations until the weather emergency has passed. This is an emergency broadcast for the greater To-" Kurama cut the sound, looking up at Kuwabara. Kuwabara stared back. Kuronue had begun to pace again, going to the windows and looking down on the dark city. The awkward silence came back and seemed to be settling in for a long stay, until Kuronue broke it.

"So this is...Tokyo," he murmured. "Once Edo. It used to be so much smaller." He turned from the windows and went to the table, standing closer to Kuwabara than to Kurama. "It seems..." he looked between them, his eyes intent, brow furrowed. Kurama knew that expression: Kuronue was worried, frightened, and unsure of what to do. God how he wanted to take Kuronue into his arms and tell him everything would be all right. But that... absolutely could not happen. Instead, Kurama kept his silence, trying to look nothing more than politely indifferent. And ignoring the increasing frequency of the pointed looks Kuwabara was giving him.

"It seems," Kuronue said again, his eyes looking to each of them with an expression that was almost pleading, "that my only allies in this city would be... you."

He'd never flown so fast before. His wings felt ready to fall off, and the icy air stabbed his lungs until he was gasping for breath. When he finally made it to Youko's territory, it took all of his willpower not to collapse completely. "Kuro," he gasped to himself, leaning against the side of Youko's home, "You have not been working out enough." he chuckled weakly at the lame joke, caught his breath, and sprinted along the veranda to the door that opened into the main room of the house.

He wasn't surprised when Youko met him at the door, a blade of bamboo as sharp as any Tengu-forged sword in his hand, death in his eyes. Youko opened his mouth to speak, but Kuronue cut him off immediately.

"Get your things, we're leaving."

Youko blinked, and whatever had been on his mind died on his tongue. His mouth worked a moment, and a nearly comical expression of total confusion passed over his face. "What?"

Kuronue braced an arm against the door frame, once again trying to catch his breath. "Anything, as long as it's important and you can carry it. We've got to leave now. Right now."

Youko stared a moment longer, still with that dumbfounded look on his face. "What, what 'we?' Was I not clear when I said 'leave or I'll kill you? I didn't mean leave and come back, Kuronue. You-"

"Came back because if you don't pack up your shit and come with me now we're both going to die. Pack, stuff, now." His eyes narrowed, and he straightened, looking Youko in the eyes. "Please."

Youko didn't move, but he had seemingly forgotten his weapon. That, at least, was a start. The confusion was starting to fade from his eyes now, transforming into cold calculation, trying to figure out why Kuronue would come back, what the issue was, how he could turn it to his advantage. It turned to frustration soon after. "What have you learned?" He asked finally, eyes now intently on Kuronue, looking to him, for once, for answers.

"My," Kuronue took a breath, leaning fully against the door frame now. He was so tired, and he knew there would be no chance to rest, even with the little time they had. He could almost hear his father's armies sneaking through the woods after him. "My father somehow discovered I was here with you. He's marked me as a traitor, and you as an official enemy of the state, so to speak. He's sending armies here and they'll be here by dawn."

"I can handle an army," Youko said coolly, stepping away from the door enough for Kuronue to enter the house. Kuronue almost cried with relief. That, more than anything, meant Youko believed him, if nothing else. Youko slid the door shut behind him as he stumbled in. "Your father's tried this before. You knew this, I'm sure."

"Not like this. He's been calling in favors for months, ever since I left. Fire demons. They're going to burn the forest down before they move in."

Youko tensed, his eyes grew hot with fury. "Burn it down? Is he mad? This forest, this mountain is more important than either of us-"

Kuronue raised his hand, almost touching Youko's shoulder. "I know, he's... he's crazy, I don't know what happened. But we've got to go. It would be impossible for just the two of us to fight them off." Not when he'd almost killed himself flying to beat the sun. Youko nodded, looking around distractedly for a moment.

"I can, I can collapse part of the mountain over most of the house. Protect it from the fire. There are caves we can access through the back of my room. Meet me in there." He pointed, though it was useless; Kuronue had already turned to go there, trusting Youko wasn't lying about the cave and wouldn't just drop a mountain on the house with Kuronue in it. He kept an ear out though, listening to Youko move around in the front of the house, moving furniture and breakable things towards the back quickly.

It only took a few moments, but that was more than long enough for Kuronue to become anxious. How close was dawn? He'd flown for, what, an hour and a half? How long did they have? How far through the mountains did the caves stretch? Would they be stuck in there, trapped by fire or an unexpected collapse or...

"Move to the back," Youko said, coming into the room and breaking off his thoughts. He nodded and edged around until his back was against the furthest wall. Youko came to stand behind him, and made a single gesture with his hand.

It was horrifying. The whole house seemed to shake, the sound of stones and dirt and fallen trees dropping onto the front of the place like angry Earth Dragons in his ears, a great and terrible rumbling. He'd been caught in an earthquake once as a child, before his wings were developed enough to fly, and they terrified him.

Unthinking, he grabbed for Youko, gripping the kitsune's arm as the light from the front of the house vanished and they were buried. Youko was silent, but he didn't pull away. Once the rumbling had settled, Kuronue let go, glancing at Youko in the darkness, seeing nothing but a soft silver outline.

"I've a safehouse in Korea," Youko murmured. Kuronue imagined he'd turned, and they were looking at each other, but his night-vision wasn't the best. "We'll have to travel south a few days." There was a pause, and Kuronue felt like he was under scrutiny. "You didn't bring anything."

"There wasn't any time. Once Akira told me wha was happening-"

"Akira?"

"My brother. He's the one who warned me." Would Sojobo discover that betrayal? He hoped not. Akira had children, a wife... Sojobo would have them all killed. "I had to leave quickly, to warn you."

"You could have escaped by yourself," Youko pointed out, though there was no accusation in his voice. Kuronue had no answer to that, and the silence stretched between them. Then, Youko tensed.

"They're here. They've started killing the trees."

"We should go," Kuronue reminded him. He could hear Youko moving away, and suddenly, there was light. In Youko's hand a bell-shaped flower glowed like a tiny lantern, filling the room with a soft yellow glow.

He'd never been in Youko's room before, having always stayed in the 'guest' room closer to the front. It, like the bathing room and the 'treasury,' was windowless and den-like, filled with the many treasures Youko had gathered over the centuries. Kuronue felt a sudden sadness, knowing it would be a very long time before either of them would come back to this place, realizing he'd cost Youko his home.

He kept close to the wall, watching Youko move around. From a large chest emerged travel packs, little-used but in good condition. Into each went small treasures, a few scrolls, blankets and, in one, a tiny carved doll that held a place of honor in one of the wall recesses. Then he beckoned Kuronue over, opening a heavy wooden chest at the foot of his futon.

"Clothing. The things in here should fit you, if you don't mind being severely out of date with your fashions. You'll need something cooler, it gets very hot where we're going." He then moved to an armoire on the other end of the room, pulling out clothing for himself and haphazardly tossing it into his pack. Kuronue was a little more careful with what he chose, packing the clothing away gently, even though he was shaking with nerves. They should have been gone by now. How was Youko so calm, when the forest was starting to burn around them? Didn't he realize there wasn't any time for this?

The light moved, and he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Youko, who nodded out to the hall. "Let's grab a few things from the treasure room, then we can go."

"You're sure?"

Youko nodded, moving to the door. "We have time. The caves let out near the base of the mountain, and it's an easy trip down. We'll rest and eat once we get further south, out of the valley."

Kuronue wanted to argue, but couldn't. Youko obviously knew the mountain better than he did, and it would be stupid to argue little details now. They needed to flee, but if Youko thought the best they could do was to go slowly, he'd follow.

They'd looted the treasure room easily, taking only the smallest of the treasures, leaving the rest to be protected by Youko's plants. They stood together at the 'secret' exit out to the caves (more like a glorified crawlspace that Youko likely only used when he took fox form) and listened.

"It sounds like rain," Kuronue said softly, staring down the exit tunnel.

"That's painfully ironic," Youko replied, his voice just as soft. After a moment, "You could have escaped by yourself."

"Yeah."

"But, you didn't."

"Yeah."

Silence stretched between them. The rain sounds of the fire grew closer. Youko shouldered his bag and ducked his head, pressing one hand to the top of the entrance. He glanced over his shoulder at Kuronue and, to Kuronue's great discomfort, smiled. "Let's go."

He disappeared down the tunnel and Kuronue followed, down into the dark of the mountain.

06/25/09

TBC

Massive thanks to HColleen for the help. 3