A/N: I explain it on my profile and later in this chapter why I've been so late. But in general, my computer did something to my Microsoft Word and I'm still working to get it back, but I had to type this on Notepad, which was pretty bad for me. So please, pardon me for any mistakes made inside of this chapter.
The Youkai Orpheus
Chapter 10- Love
Kurama pushed past what seemed like hundreds of people as he walked to the restaurant that Luther had asked him to meet him in. He felt his eyes beginning to prickle; he knew a bucket of painful tears were gearing up to escape. They were stabbing at his eyeballs, trying to pry away the barriers to their safe passage out. Kurama subconsciously shook his head, he refused to allow it. He wouldn't submit to weeping because of Hiei, he wasn't worth it. He would never be worth it. Kurama brushed his right eye with his sleeve, followed by his left one. He didn't want Hiei to leave him alone. He was always in the best moods when Hiei came to visit; it had been hard enough when Hiei decided that he wanted to stay in Makai. Now, he was not only going to be staying there, but he in the infrequent case that he did want to visit Ningenkai, Kurama wouldn't be able to see him. It was pretty sad to say the least. Once this mission is over, Kurama will be all alone. Hiei will be in Makai, Luther will be in Rekai jail, all of his friends will go on with their lives with their lovers, and his family is way too busy with each other to do anything but pester him to death. Where will that leave Kurama? All alone, only his garden to keep him company. Kurama exhaled lowly before continuing his walk. He wasn't afraid of being alone, he actually liked being alone, sometimes. And besides, he still had a couple more days to spend with one of his infatuation (i.e. Luther), since Hiei wasn't speaking to him anymore.
Kurama could see the outline of Luther's body from all of the yards that separated them. His body was┘ well it was unique, but at the same time, strangely familiar; tall and dark. So similar to what Kurama had been used to in his life as Youko. Kurama sighed, this wasn't the past anymore and now the only body he could think about was smaller and paler. Kurama forced a smile on his face as Luther approached him. It's not that he wasn't happy to see Luther, he actually liked Luther, he was nice and he was like a personal slave. He waited on Kurama's every hand and foot and worshiped the very ground he walked on. Much different from dealing with Hiei, he was so good at masking his feelings; plus he had a superiority complex that prevented him from ever doing sweet things like bowing to someones every whim.
Luther finally stood in front of Kurama and took both of his hands into his own. "Hello Kurama... ahh, it seems you get more beautiful every time I see you." Luther purred.
Luther then raised Kurama's hands to reach his lips and gave all ten of his fingers a light peck. Kurama merely smiled; he would usually pull away before allowing Luther to do something so degrading but he wasn't happy today and he kind of needed this. Luther pulled his face away from Kurama's hands and smiled lovingly at him.
Kurama couldn't help but wonder how it would look if Hiei looked at him that way. His smiled dropped into a frown at the thought of it and his gaze dropped to the concrete. Luther noticed immediately, so he placed his hand on Kurama's chin and pulled his head up so that he was facing him. Kurama tried his hardest to keep his eyes off of his date.
"What's wrong Kurama?"
Kurama strained a smile on his face and shook his head. "It's nothing Luther, I just didn't have the best morning."
Luther smiled solemnly at him before draping his arm over Kurama's neck and shoulders, and then leading him down the endless roads of Paris. "What happened, my pet?" Kurama didn't answer right away, he only sighed and raised one of his hands to hold the hand of Luther and pouted. "Hiei and I got in a fight last night... well, more accurately a lot of fights. Then this morning I told him to leave me alone and I really think he believed me. He probably doesn't want to be my friend anymore." Kurama knew he sounded whiny and pathetic, but he didn't really care. He deserved to be a bit whiny after what happened earlier. Luther literally burst into laughter, earning strange looks from people on the street and a temperamental look from Kurama. "Why are you laughing?" Kurama's voice was very stern.
"I'm sorry, my love. It's just... you have no idea how juvenile you sounded a moment ago." Kurama smiled sweetly and then shrugged.
"I apologize. I hate it when I get that way." Luther chuckled lightly before pulling Kurama a little closer. "I love it when you get that way. It makes you even more adorable then you already are."
Kurama bit down on his bottom lip to stop the huge smile that was fighting to grace his face. He really did like Luther, he was a sweetheart. Kurama was actually kind of sad to know that he was going to have to go to jail soon.
Luther continued smiling and he squeezed Kurama's shoulder. "Love; would you do me a favor?" Luther asked casually.
"What is it?"
"Pout for me..." Luther almost whispered. Kurama didn't understand at first, he actually scowled for a second before pouting. Luther smiled at him before leaning down and kissing Kurama's pouted lips. Kurama kissed him back, wrapping his thin arms around Luther's neck; Luther smirked into Kurama's lips before slyly 'slipping him the tongue'. Kurama pulled away almost immediately and smiled softly at Luther.
Luther smiled back at him and squeezed his hands. "I love you..." Luther's voice was silent, almost uncertain. He had defiantly lost that confidence that Kurama had grown accustomed to in the last month. It really flattered Kurama that someone like Luther would get nervous just because of him.
Kurama chuckled lightly and stood on his toes and gave the much taller Luther a tender kiss on the lips. "I... uh, I love you too." Kurama didn't actually mean that... he liked Luther just fine, but love was different and they'd only known each other for a month.
Luther followed up with a deep laugh and then he smashed his lip onto Kurama's. Kurama didn't kiss him back right away; he spent most of his time scanning the streets. He couldn't help it; it became a habit of his after Hiei had followed them that one time. Now, Kurama wished Hiei would just pop up and start spying on them again... at least that way he'd know that Hiei still cared.
A fairly short while later Luther pulled away and smiled with a hint of glee evident in his dark eyes. Kurama smiled back at him and stroked his cheek lightly. Luther lifted his hand and stroked Kurama's with his thumb, indirectly causing a spark of lust to shot through Kurama's veins. In response, Kurama's hand dropped from Luther's cheek to his chest and he began subconsciously rubbing it. When Kurama heard a moan escape Luther's lips, he quickly snatched his hand away and blushed. "Luther, would you like to take this somewhere else... somewhere more... private." Kurama couldn't help but ask him; it had been so long since he shared a sexual experience with anyone (kisses with Hiei doesn't count).
Luther's lips curved into a smirk, one that made Kurama's heart drop. Kurama then felt a couple of useless tugs on his hand and realized Luther wanted to get him off of this sidewalk; Kurama walked up as an indication that he wanted to go and Luther began pulling him, toward an alley. Kurama chuckled underneath his breath and lightly squeezed Luther's thick hand. When they got in the alley Kurama couldn't help but hastily look around at the dusty surroundings. He had never been one to do these kinds of things in an alley. But, he had never done it there before, in fact, sex as far as Ningenkai goes was non-existent; so, Kurama was fine with whatever he could get. As soon as he made it into the alley, Kurama's was pushed onto the wall and his lips were seized. Kurama let out a moan of pleasure and wrapped his arms around Luther's neck as Luther snaked his hand down the back of Kurama's knee. Kurama felt a small spark of lust engulf his body while Luther's hand slid higher up the back of Kurama's leg. Kurama felt bad already, he shouldn't be doing this with Luther. He should be doing it with the man he really loves. Kurama wanted to frown but he didn't, he actually couldn't; Luther was being much too fierce with his kissing. Poor Kurama was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice his pants being unbuttoned and Luther's being pulled down.
Kurama's body moved up in order to stop the act, only for Luther to push it back toward the wall, only this time just barely giving him breathing room. Kurama snapped out of his thoughts at the sudden assault. What was he thinking? If Hiei saw what they were doing, he would... Kurama closed his eyes out of shame. Hiei would hate him if he saw what he was doing, last night was evidence enough. Hiei would hate him so much. Kurama really didn't want to stop, he was having fun, but Hiei hated him enough already, he couldn't stand for him to hate him much more.
Kurama softly pushed Luther away, he could tell Luther was already getting upset. His face displayed confusion, lust and anger all swirled, making his face do this scrunchy ugly thing that Kurama didn't find the least bit flattering. He tore his eyes away from Luther with haste and began to button his pants back up. When he was finished he raised his eyes to Luther once again and frowned.
"I apologize Luther, I just don't feel like doing this right now."
Kurama watched as Luther's face lost all of it's emotions, all but anger anyway. His voice was low when he decided to speak. "Why?"
"Well, this is an alley. It makes me feel dirty." Kurama muttered. He noticed Luther's expression softening a bit and inwardly congratulated himself on catching him on the hook. Now, all that's left is reeling him in. "I'm really sorry, maybe we can do this another time. When we're not in an alley."
Luther openly forced a smile onto his face and shook his head. "It's fine, nothing to worry about."
Kurama smiled at him and sighed. "I really am sorry. This won't happen again. Next time I won't interrupt, I promise." Kurama glanced down, noticing Luther's pants were halfway down his thighs. Luther smiled sheepishly and Kurama replied with a small chuckle before pulling Luther's pants up himself and buttoning his pants. When he was finished, Luther wrapped his arms around Kurama's neck and led him out of the alleyway.
The walk to the park was a long and painfully silent. Neither of them said a word, Kurama was distracted by his thoughts on Hiei and Luther was distracted by something rather uncomfortable still hiding out in his pants. When they did make it to the park, Kurama noticed Luther's face was a tensing a bit, he was going to ask about it but Luther had started smiling at him... very distracting. When they were seated, they did what they usually did, they drunk wine until they were felt all tingly.
Kurama glanced at Luther and smiled, Luther, who had been staring at him the whole time, smiled back at him. Kurama blushed and dropped his eyes back to the grass.
"I love you." Luther purred. Kurama looked back at him and mouthed the words 'I love you too'. Luther removed himself from his seat and walked to Kurama's seat. He knelled down beside it, latching his hands in Kurama's and smiling lovingly. Kurama grinned and looked away, the blush in his cheeks still refusing to leave. "Run away with me."
Kurama chuckled lightly and turned away from him; he knew it was a joke, it had to be. Kurama glanced back at Luther, only to see that he had a dead serious look on his face. Kurama's light smile was immediately replaced with a deep frown. "Excuse me?"
"You're obviously still upset about your friend and I know it'll make you feel better if I take you away. I will take you anywhere in the three words. Please, just come away with me. I'll show you the greatest time of your life." Luther groveled, then he lightly pecked Kurama's fingers.
"Luther, I'm flattered, really-- but leaving my home isn't an option right now. I'm still in school and my mother would worry." Kurama stuttered along.
Luther snickered and waved his hand. "We'll work around all of that. I really want you with me every day until the day I die."
Kurama sighed heavily before prying his hands out of Luther's and turning away. "I'm really sorry, I just can't."
Luther's face completely fell and his eyes dropped to the ground. Kurama bit down on his lip; great, now he was hurting Luther's feelings too. Luther glanced back up a couple of seconds later, and to Kurama's surprise his eyes were completely glazed over. Kurama barely suppressed his gasp, he didn't know that Luther would take it so seriously. When Luther decided to speak again, his voice was strained and sad. "Please, my love."
Kurama didn't answer. But, he could hear Luther sigh loudly and stand. He didn't walk away though, on the contrary, he stood in the one spot and stared at the top of Kurama's red head. He raised his eyes to look at his 'boyfriend', and his eyes were no longer glazed. In fact they had gotten much brighter, so bright that a chill visibly ran down Kurama's spine.
"Kurama, I would like to show you something." Luther's voice was lower than it had been before and bone-chillingly scary.
Kurama cursed himself for his bad judgment; Hiei had warned him that something like this was going to happen. Kurama reached toward his hair, tightly gripping the rose that was sure to be there. Luther seemed to realize what Kurama was doing but he didn't act on it. He merely looked solemnly at Kurama. "There is nothing for you to fear, my love."
Kurama carefully lowered his arm and studied Luther. He was no longer uneasy, or nervous, nor was he his normal confident, radiant self. There was something different about him, his bright eyes shone with a mix of rage and... insanity. Kurama suddenly had this overwhelming feeling of fright, was he going to make it out alive? Luther reached into his pocket and pulled out a fairly small box, probably the size of a fist. Regardless, though, Kurama could feel the power radiating off of it, it felt lovely, but at the same time, dangerous.
"What-- What is that?"
Luther smirked, then he proudly raised the small box into the air. "This, my dear, is the power to destroy the entire universe; all contained in this little box. Using this I'm going to take over all three worlds, no one will be able to defeat the wolf-tribe. You see, I'm going to be God and all of my followers will be my angels. My little cherub." Luther answered with a seductive tone of voice.
Kurama gulped. Finally, he had the information that he'd been waiting for. This is the weapon, the one Koenma had been telling them about. "What does it do?"
Luther glanced at him and smiled. He didn't answer Kurama's question right away, he just went on stroking the box.
"I loved this box more than anything..." Luther murmured. Kurama couldn't help but notice he used the past tense of the word 'Love'. "It was my reason and my life. But that was before I met you, my lovely. Now, I only have one thing I want... but this-- can help us get the life that we long for. It will be perfect, I'll give you whatever you want. I'll put you in the best clothes and I'll shower you with jewels and gold and-- and---" Luther stumbled along.
Kurama sighed before directing his attention to the ground beneath his feet, he didn't know what to say. He wished he was still committed to a life of crime, because getting swept off of his feet by a tall gorgeous guy only for him to give Kurama whatever he wants. Goodness, this guy was bringing out the worst in him. Kurama shifted his eyes from Luther to the box, the power inside of it was radiating so freely. It was almost addictive. Kurama longed to feel that power and it seemed Luther noticed.
"Go ahead, touch it darling." His voice sounded a bit sadistic and if Kurama had been using better judgment he would've said 'No!'. But he was still in the process of feeling bad for Luther and Kurama's sadness had been his downfall. He shyly placed his hand above the top and immediately felt a spark of power, well not only a spark, more of burst. The power was so strong and yet so different from anything he'd felt before. He studied the box carefully before lowering his hand a bit more over the top, the power was getting stronger and stronger as his hand got closer and closer.
Luther was still smirking that Sadist smirk that he was using so frequently. But, Kurama didn't notice he was still slowly being lured in by that powerful strength. Kurama placed his hand on top of the box and all the energy disappeared; Kurama didn't remove his hand as he ran through all of the things in his head that could have happened to make all of the energy go away. When he didn't figure out anything, he glared at Luther, whom was still smirking. "Luther-- what happ--" Kurama's voice faded. He couldn't speak, there was something wrong; his voice wasn't making sounds anymore. He snatched away from the box and clenched his throat, which was now throbbing, cutting off all breathing. Shortly afterward, his eyes began to get blurry. All of his energy was flowing to a remote region of his body he couldn't find it.
Soon enough, Kurama's whole body gave out and he collapsed onto the grass. Luther stared down at him, his smirk was gone. Now he was talking, Kurama couldn't hear him... but his lips were still moving and he didn't look very nice.
Right before Kurama lost consciousness he just barely heard Luther mutter:
"Sleep well, my love."
_______________________________________
"...Aww damn, the two of you are going through the motions again?" Yusuke nearly yelled.
Hiei gad pretty much ejected himself from his hotel room and spent his time in Yusuke's and Kuwabara's, they weren't there when he got there, of course, since they had decided that they were going to have a real vacation. When they did get back, though, they spent almost a whole hour figuring out what happened and when they did, it turned into an argument.
"What do you mean, again?" Hiei snarled.
"Well, so far this month I have heard about---" Kuwabara paused before counting on his fingers, which took a while. "Nineteen and a half arguments."
"A half? How was it a half?"
"Don't worry about it." Yusuke said nonchalantly.
Hiei huffed. "We have not argued that many times!"
Kuwabara was about to retort but stopped himself because of the look on Hiei's face. "Never mind..."
Yusuke snickered and turned to Kuwabara and shrugged. "I guess all of that sexual tension is finally getting to them, huh Kuwabara?"
"What the hell do you mean sexual tension?"
They both chuckled again. "I mean exactly what I said, Sex-ual Ten-si-on."
Hiei turned away from them and rested his eyes on the window. "The Fox doesn't think of me that way, he has that damn wolf now." Hiei's words were almost as bitter as his voice.
"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Kuwabara asked mockingly earning a slight chuckle from Yusuke. Hiei's hand snapped to his to where his katana should be, only to remember that he left it back in hotel room when he threw it in a fit of rage.
"I... am... not... jealous... of that... damn... wolf." Hiei's voice was strained an terrifying enough to make Yusuke and Kuwabara stop laughing for a bit.
After a moment of silence, Yusuke spoke up. "Fine Hiei, whatever, believe whatever the hell you wanna. But, the point is, you're jealous, Kurama's angry and nothing is going to change that because you're too stubborn."
"It's kind of sad actually. The two of you are probably never going to get off of this merry-go-round that you call a love life." Kuwabara teased, he pointed his finger at Hiei and chuckled menacingly.
Hiei didn't reply, he only kept his eyes on the window.
Yusuke sighed, before smiling lightly. "Are you shy, Hiei?"
Hiei's eyes snapped to Yusuke and he practically snarled, "I am not shy! If I wanted to take my relationship further with Kurama, I would have a long time ago. But I don't want to!"
"Why not?"
"Because he is seeing that damn wolf now. And I will not share my fox..." Hiei muttered. He was embarrassed to admit it but he was possessive and stingy... he hated sharing things that rightfully belonged to him.
"Why didn't you just ask Kurama to stop?" Kuwabara asked, a twinge of humor was still present in his voice.
Hiei rolled his eyes. "I did."
Yusuke shook his head and leaned over a bit closer in Hiei's direction. "No, not the way that you did it the last time. You have to give him real reasons, not those fake ones from before!"
Hiei looked insulted. "The reasons I gave were real!"
"No they weren't. Kurama told us all about it. All you said was,' Luther's going to kill you', 'You're in danger', 'That damn wolf is going to suck out your soul'." Yusuke began. "Do you really think Kurama is going to listen to all of that?"
Hiei simply sighed at how juvenile and stupid Yusuke made it all sound.
"You probably could have made Kurama stay if you gave him some convincing reasons like, 'Kurama, I jealous', 'Kurama I love you', 'Kurama, I want us to be a couple', and my personal favorite, 'Kurama I would rather have you on your back in my bed then out dating that damn wolf'. You know, the things that people usually say when they're in love." Yusuke said confidently.
Hiei made a face at Yusuke before looking down to his feet, he could feel his face warming up just thinking about the truth of Yusuke's statement... especially that one about Kurama being on his back in Hiei's bed thing. He didn't reply.
Yusuke smirked at Hiei's inability to answer. He and Kuwabara exchanged looks of triumph because they finally, kind of, got Hiei to admit his feelings for Kurama. Something that they'd been waiting to do for 2 years now.
After a couple if minutes of dead silence it looked like Hiei had figured out something snappy to say back, and when he did finally open his mouth to reply...
There was a soft knock on the door.
They all glanced at the door with collective frowns on their faces; Hiei stood up immediately in hopes that it might be Kurama. He walked up to the door and quickly opened it, only to see...
Nothing
He growled underneath his breath and looked both ways, whoever it was had obviously ran. Damn Ningens and their jokester ways. Hiei stepped back into the room and was about to close the door when he noticed a small white envelope laying on the floor near their door. He leaned down and picked it up before quickly opening it, luckily for him it wasn't in French or something like that, and he began reading.
Dear Spirit Detectives,
I am rather surprised that the lot of you haven't come to arrest me yet. To be completely honest, I have been looking forward to the moment where we could strike down another group of you people. But, that's beside the point, I want to keep this short and sweet. I have decided that it is time to take my dear Kurama away from you people and claim him as my own. I have him here with me and I do not plan on returning him to you, ever. I would recommend the three of you staying away from him and me, and leave us to live our lives as we see fit. You should go home and tell your boss that you have failed. But, if you do want him back we are located in a wooded area to the north of the train station, more information is located on the back. And hurry, you don't have much time.
Sincerely,
Your dear friend Luther
PS: By the way, Hiei. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again, me and my Kurama. He's been mumbling your name since we got here.
Hiei stared at the letter for a couple of seconds, trying his hardest to process what he had just read, before angrily tossing it to the ground and yelling,
"What the hell does he mean his Kurama!"
Alrighty, sorry for the 2 month delay. I kind of lost Microsoft Word... it's still lost.
But, I'm finding ways around that horrible fate.
Updates will defiantly, hopefully be quicker now.
And there might defiantly be a lot of grammar mistakes up there. Do forgive me, I have no spell check where I'm typing nowadays.
