After all the shitty assignments, I was finally able to finish this chapter… sorry for keeping you waiting… I forgot to post that I had piles of work to do… I will update the LJ version later in the week… well, I hope you like this one…
Thank you kittyfiction2008for your review... please continue… you are my kryptonite…
CHAPTER 11: FUNCTION
Nago continued. "Are you ashamed because the only creatures that wanted to mate with you was a half-breed bastard and a-" She did not finish her sentence because Kurama had struck again, this time, making a deep gash on her right cheek.
"Shut your mouth." Kurama growled lowly, his anger rising.
Nago just blinked and stopped her stalking, so did Kurama. "Or are you just frustrated your mother won't take your coming out well, Shuichi?"
Kurama had to take a surprised step back, while Hiei jumped to his feet, his katana at the ready and Yusuke, Kuwabara and Yukina gasped. "How the hell..." The Mazoku trailed off.
The demon gave a long maniacal guffaw. "Do you know what the number one killer of kitsune is?" She asked light-heartedly; she flicked her wrist and Kurama gave a loud howl as a deep cut appeared on his left arm. "Pride." The demon announced. "Never backing away from a fight..." Nago suddenly began to grow and grow and GROW until a ten-foot giant stood before them. "Always underestimating others lower than they are..." She boomed, her squeaky voice turning into a deep, threatening bass.
Kurama looked on in awe for a moment before he turned serious again; he twirled his whip and aimed it for the giant's jugular but the thorny vine was caught in a large fist. "Feel my power!" Nago proclaimed.
Hiei, Yusuke, Kurama, Yukina, even Kuwabara suddenly felt a huge surge of Reiki that made them shiver. "Gods." The orange-haired man said in fear.
"Kurama!" Yusuke yelled and fired a shot at the giant with his spirit gun but it ricocheted off an invisible barrier that surrounded the redhead and the demon. "Shit, she has a force field up! We have to get him out of there!"
Hiei grunted and with a sprint, he ran his sword through the barrier only to be flung back, painfully crashing against a nearby tree and falling to the ground, unconscious.
"Hiei!" Kurama and Yusuke cried.
Nago sighed. "Oh, how I love romance." She said; using the kitsune's distraction to her advantage, she swung the whip in her hand, which resulted to Kurama flying back as his grip on the thorny rope heaved him off the ground. Kurama crashed against the barrier and was flung back just like Hiei to crash in the middle of the makeshift battleground. "But romantic-tragedies are more my style."
Kuwabara whipped out his spirit sword and began to slice through the barrier; unlike Hiei's attempt, the sword cut through the shield like a hot knife through butter but sealed off almost immediately. "The hell...?" He cussed with a frown.
"I'll get Botan." Yukina called as she ran towards where the other girls had gone to retire.
Yusuke continued to fire shots at the barrier. "Let him go, you sick bitch!"
"Come and get him, ningen." Nago replied with a toothy smile. She then turned to Kurama who had begun to stir. "You and I have a world to conquer, Youko." The demon took a deep breath and blew it against Kurama.
The redhead just coughed due to the dust and produced another rose, turning it into a whip. He made to swing it but a burning sensation in his right arm made him yelp in pain and drop the whip; he looked to see what was wrong and gasped when he saw that his right hand was disappearing in fragments, turning into rose petals as they fluttered in the wind.
000
"KURAMA!" Yusuke screamed in his sleep. He shot upright on his bed, only to be embraced by long, strong arms. The Mazoku relaxed as he took in his mate's sent. "You're back, Youko."
The silver fox rubbed small circles on Yusuke's back to soothe his racing heart. "Just came back, not even Shuichi has seen me." He said and then asked warmly. "Are you alright, koi?"
Yusuke gently pulled away and frowned up at the kitsune. "I should be the one asking you."
Kind amber eyes peered down at the man and Youko gave a sweet smile. "I'm fine; I just needed to mourn her a bit." He then leaned down and gave the brunet a kiss, deepening it when Yusuke gave a moan that said "I missed you".
The kitsune chuckled and pulled away. "You haven't slept in a while: I can see it in your eyes."
As if on cue, Yusuke yawned. "Have to stay up with Shuichi after the attack a week ago."
Youko nodded. "I saw the damage." He said soberly. "Is he alright?"
"He's fine… physically." The Mazoku said. "I don't know what it has done to him though."
The kitsune nodded and then caressed Yusuke's cheek. "Are you okay?"
Yusuke nodded. "Now, that you're here." He pulled the fox down for a shorter kiss.
Youko pulled away again, ignoring the Mazoku's growl of protest. "Sleep, you must be tired."
"You're one to talk, Mr Let-me-take-off-without-even-a-goodbye." Yusuke quipped. "Hiei will have some R rated words to say to you."
The fox sighed. "I know I should have said something." He said. "Forgive me."
Yusuke raised a brow and pretended to think. "Only if you sleep as well."
Youko gave an amused smile and then moved to spoon Yusuke from behind; he wrapped his arms around his mate and placed a kiss on the mating mark. "I love you."
"Love you too." Yusuke replied and snuggled deeper into his mate, happy that the matter of his dream was forgotten.
000
The Lounge
"He kept on saying 'He's looking for me'." Yukina narrated sadly. She had gone into Shuichi's room in the morning to check on him but he was already having a bath. The ice apparition could hear whispers and sobbing coming from the other side of the door. Although she could hear perfectly with her demon senses, the echo of the tiles helped her to listen to every word that was said. "He's so scared he'll be taken." She finished.
Hiei growled into the lounge. "Over my dead body."
"Either way, he needs therapy." Yukina said with a hum. "Kuwabara is reading every book he can find but he is a vet, not a psychologist."
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Hiei growled with frustration. "He won't talk to anyone except Yusuke, you and Kuwabara!" His crimson eyes glowed with anger.
"Be calm, brother."
"How!" Hiei yelled. "What do you want me to do!" He fell gracelessly into the seat behind him.
"Oh brother." Yukina cooed as she sat beside him. "I didn't know Kurama's separation was affecting you this badly."
Hiei jerked as if he's been slapped; he quickly composed himself and sighed. "I'm not affected by Kurama's separation, I'm glad Youko and Shuichi can live their own lives." He said mechanically.
Yukina frowned. "I can see right through your lies, brother." She said. "I've noticed how you avoid Shuichi like a plague: he's still your mate, you know. It's natural to want him; your bond to him will be burning with desire to get close-"
"That is not our priority; keeping Shuichi safe is our priority." Hiei said as he stood up. "You and the oaf can deal with the therapy; I, on the other hand, am well aware that a powerful demoness is after Youko and Shuichi. Apparently, everyone has forgotten that." With that, he left the room.
000
Kuwabara's POV
Its been about a week since that godforsaken whipper came for Shuichi; the poor guy barely spoke to any one since that day except Yukina and Yusuke. At the moment, I sit with Shuichi on his balcony as he paints; I heard painting was good therapy for rape victims- I don't know how its supposed to help but it seems to be working.
Shuichi has not shown anyone what he's been painting for the past day and when I asked him for a peek, he would just smile and say "wait". Sometimes it can be annoying and other times, it can be adorable. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not falling in love with Shuichi; if I did, I don't think his watchdogs AKA mates will let me live another three seconds after they find out. It's just that, after all the shit he's been through, I feel vaguely responsible for him and when he smiles- and I mean really smile- gosh… Kurama was never that open with his smiles; it was only when he had mated with Yusuke and Hiei that he began to start his mask fade just a bit.
"All done." Shuichi declared, brushing back his fringe.
"Finally!" I yelled and smiled when Shuichi laughed.
I turned around the canvas to look at the painting and I couldn't help but gasp; there I was sitting on the bench that was situated on the balcony. My face was buried in my book on rape victims and therapy, my royal blue sweater contrasting nicely with my pale skin.
"How…" I said, speechless. "How?"
Shuichi shrugged. "I don't know." He admitted with a thoughtful look on his face. "It just happened."
Ah, now I get it; Kurama had a hidden talent for art and now Shuichi had inherited that trait. "I love it." I said beaming proudly at the painting.
"Really?" The redhead asked.
"Are you kidding?" I yelled with excitement. "This is genius! You have to make more!"
"Thank you, Kazuma." Shuichi nodded and turned away to fruitlessly hide his blush. "But don't you think 3 is enough?" He had also made portraits of Yukina and Youko.
"Dude, no way!" I may be straight but I got to admit that he looked really pretty with that blush. "Would you mind making another?" I asked.
Shuichi looked up with bright eyes and nodded more enthusiastically this time. "One of Yusuke, this time." He said. "I have to wash my brushes." He started to pick up the items when a small plink startled me.
I looked down to see a red tear gem; hey, isn't that Hiei's? (1). Shuichi quickly abandoned the affair of picking up the brushes as he lunged for the gem before it rolled away. He picked it up, dusted it off and placed a tiny kiss on it. This is interesting.
"I'm sorry." Shuichi said. "I just… don't want to lose it." He finished softly. "I… I don't know why but… I feel… safe with it here."
"There's no need to apologise." I said, helping him off the floor. "But you're going to lose that if you're not careful." I said and the redhead nodded. "How about you give it to me and I get a cord for it to go around your neck."
"NO!" Shuichi screamed and stumbled backwards, suddenly very pale. One hand clutched the gem to his chest and the other went around his neck.
"Oh Inari, no." I said, raising up my hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, I don't mean it that way." Shuichi just continued to look at me. "You know I won't do that to you… I just meant I want to put the stone on a necklace for you, that's all." How could I have been so careless.
The redhead was quiet for a while, apparently in thought, before he finally nodded and slowly removed his hand from his throat. Keeping my hands up, I watched as Shuichi started to tear up. "Hey," I said softly and slowly approached him. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you." He did not flinch when I placed my hands on his shoulders so I pulled him into a hug.
The redhead's tiny frame shook with sobs as he borrowed deeper into my chest; he felt so small in my arms I just wanted to protect him from all the evils in this world and the next. However, all I could do was rub his back in small circles and promise that everything would be okay… but I knew damn well that an even bigger storm was approaching.
000
Yusuke woke up to find Youko smiling down at him. "Hey." The fox greeted with a smile.
"Hey." Yusuke replied with a smile of his own. "You know, it's only weirdos that watch people sleep." He finished with a yawn.
"You're one to talk."
"IT WAS ONE TIME!" Yusuke cried, indignantly.
The kitsune laughed loudly and bent down to kiss his mate. "Now," He said when he pulled away. "I trust you slept well."
The brunet nodded and sat up. "How long have you been awake?"
"Two hours."
"Weirdo." The Mazoku muttered and yelled when Youko tackled him to the floor. "What the- HAHAHA." He laughed loudly when he was tickled by deft fingers.
"What was that?" The kitsune asked with a smirk. "You're gonna what? I can't understand a word you're saying."
"I GIVE UP! STOP! I GIVE UP!" The brunet said between bouts of laughter.
The fox smirked and stopped. "I knew you would come to your senses."
Yusuke was breathing deeply. "Bastard." He cursed without venom.
Youko chuckled and they both lay on the bed in silence before Youko spoke again. "Koi, will you tell me what your dream was about?"
Yusuke just stayed quiet and stared at the ceiling.
"It was about that day, wasn't it?" Youko asked and frowned when Yusuke nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The Mazoku shook his head. "It's okay." He said. "You're both here now; it will be over soon."
Youko sat up. "Our separation is affecting you much more than you know, Yusuke." The kitsune tried to reason. "Perhaps you should spend more time with Shuichi-"
"And I will." Yusuke interrupted, sitting up as well. "I will." He finished softly.
The fox's silver brow sloped dangerously in a deeper frown and started to protest but he gave in when Yusuke pulled him in for a deep kiss.
000
Neither Kuwabara nor Shuichi spoke a word after he stopped crying; the redhead had silently thanked the taller man, picked up his paint brushes and walked into his bathroom. The orange-haired man fell back into his chair with a plop. "One step at a time." He muttered to himself.
"What crap are you spewing now?" A growl interrupted him.
"Hiei." Kuwabara greeted. "I'm just trying to make him feel better."
"Hn." The fire demon replied. "Where's Shuichi?"
"Oh." Kuwabara said bitterly. "Have you finally come to your senses and stopped ignoring Shuichi like he was some plague?" Hiei did not glare at Kuwabara like the orange-haired man had expected, instead he looked straight ahead. "You can feel it can't you?"
Hiei's crimson eyes snapped towards the other man and Kuwabara could see the tiredness in the hard gaze. "I'm starting to burn."
That made Kuwabara sit up. "You mean like Yusuke did?"
The brunet nodded. "If I'm not in his presence for another minute longer, I… I don't know what will happen to me."
Kuwabara started to reply but then Shuichi came back in with his clean brushes; the redhead stopped when he saw Hiei. The fire demon patiently took in all of Shuichi; from his loose white shirt over his blue long sleeved T-shirt to fight the cold and stop paint stains, to his blue jeans and grey socks in slippers. The tiny hint of fear in his eyes made Hiei soften his features with a small smile.
The redhead on the other hand was bombarded with black and white; pale skin with dark clothes and hair. The man before him was intimidating and made him want to shrink back but he held his ground and only twisted the brushes in his hand. However, when the stranger smiled, all that fear seemed to leave him.
"Hello Shuichi." Hiei said.
The redhead nodded. "How do you do?" He replied, looking pensively at the man. Then he found something that made him frown. "Your eyes…" He said slowly. "You're Yukina's brother?"
The fire demon nodded and slowly approached Shuichi. "Yes, I'm Hiei." He stuck out his hand.
"Yukina told me about you." Shuichi transferred all the brushes to one hand and grabbed the hand; he gasped at the unusually hot hand, his whole face flushing. "Are… aren't you cold?"
Hiei shook his head, his smile widening; he pulled his hand out of Shuichi's hold and cupped both of them. Soon a small red flame flicked in the cradle of his palms.
Shuichi looked on in surprise. "You're a fire demon." He finally said.
Hiei nodded. "And you see this flame?" The brunet asked as he transferred the flame to one hand only. "Put the brushes down." He said and Shuichi obeyed, glancing at Kuwabara nervously. The fire demon made the redhead cup his hands but he quickly stepped back when he realised what the fire demon was about to do. "The flames will only burn you if you fear it; it's alive, it can feel, it will use your fear to its advantage."
Shuichi bit his bottom lip; he looked at the flame and back at the man. "No, I can't." He said silently.
Hiei's smile disappeared; he extinguished the flame and came to stand toe to toe with the stunned human. "Look at me." He commanded quietly; the redhead's deep green eyes snapped up from a leaf on the ground to look at the fire demon. "Your weakness disgusts me." The brunet said unabashed and Shuichi's eyes widened.
Kuwabara stood up. "That's enough, Hiei."
Hiei's eyes narrowed. "No wonder he's afraid all the time… you try to shield him from everything… he needs to learn to fight!"
The fire demon hard face did not change when those emerald eyes welled up with bitter tears but no matter how he tried, he could not look away from the dazzling red eyes.
"I said that's enough." Kuwabara growled, stepping towards the pair.
"Stay away oaf." Hiei growled. "He's my mate to do say whatever the hell I want to."
Shuichi blinked at the last sentence. "Mate?" He whispered. "But I thought… I thought… Kurama-"
"-Is you." Hiei said. "Or to put is correctly was you… the mate I knew would never act so cowardly in the face of adversity... I'm impressed you did not flinch back from my gaze though… many do-"
"ENOUGH!" An irritated yell announced the arrival of Yusuke on the scene.
Hiei stepped away from the stunned redhead. "He needs to learn how to be strong."
"Well, insulting him and making him feel like shit is not going to help." Yusuke growled back, his reiki rising.
"He may be human now but he still bears my mark."
"And mine too." Yusuke stepped up to the fire demon and glared down at him. "Don't you dare do that shit again… get out of my site."
Hiei growled before he flitted away. There was absolute silence as Yusuke's reiki slowly dropped back down.
"So, I'm Kurama." Shuichi's timid voice broke the pregnant silence. Blue and brown eyes snapped to the redhead. "I'm the mate that… was lost?"
Kuwabara cleared his throat. "I'll just go inside." He said awkwardly, not wanting to crowd in on the important talk.
Yusuke stared at the redhead while Shuichi stared at his paint brushes. "Shuichi I… you were not supposed to know now."
Vibrant green eyes flashed to the brunet and Yusuke could have sworn he saw them turn gold for a moment. "So you were planning on keeping this a secret longer?" He asked in a small voice.
Yusuke nodded. "We wanted you to get used to all this first."
Shuichi shook his head and started to take off the loose white shirt. "I need to think… I need to be alone and think."
Yusuke took a step toward the distraught human. "I wanted to tell you… but you didn't even know who I was… how the hell am I supposed to tell you you're mated to not only one but two men."
Shuichi did not say anything he folded his white shirt and closed all the paint cans to avoid them from drying up. Memories of that place started to come up; his procedure of closing the paint can got more and more desperate.
"Shuichi please…" Yusuke begged; he moved closer and placed his hand on the tiny back and-
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Shuichi yelled, turning around and shoving the brunet away hard. Abandoning his work, the redhead ran out of the balcony; he slipped on his boots and put a scarf around his neck before he raced down the stairs.
He didn't stop for the guards who tried to tell him he could not leave; he kept running- out into the grounds, past Youko's gardens, past the stables… he just needed to think, he needed to get away. The human finally stopped under a banyan tree; panting heavily, he slipped down the bark, pulled his knees to his chest and started to cry as Hiei's insults rang in his head.
Unbeknownst to him, guilty red eyes followed him from a dark sport in a nearby tree.
000
"He may be human now but he still bears my mark." Hiei growled at his mate.
"And mine too." Yusuke stepped up to the fire demon and glared down at him. "Don't you dare do that shit again… get out of my site."
Hiei growled before he flitted away; the fire demon soon found himself in a tree on the boundaries of Yusuke's grounds. That's when it hit him; that's when he realised how utterly horrible he was to Shuichi- a human that was in isolation for over two years, recovering from rape, torture and constant disappointment.
What have I done? He asked himself.
You were trying to make him stronger. The voice in his head replied.
I… I said he disgusted me… my mate…
You didn't mean it.
But I did! I just could not take the constant whimpers and brokenness from him; he is not Kurama but for Inari's sake he was part of Kurama…
The part that was kind-hearted, vulnerable and brought you three together.
Hiei felt like utter shit. What is wrong with me? I can't think, I can't function like I used to, I can't do anything…
Let's not forget that you told him he was Kurama.
Hiei scoffed. It was stupid to keep the truth from him… he should have been told since day one…
Patience was never your strong-suit… trying to make Shuichi hate you will only make you hate yourself at the end…
I'm going to focus on building my relationship back with Yusuke and Youko before I think about Shuichi.
You know Yusuke is pretty much in love with Shuichi right? And from your less than sympathetic display with Shuichi, its going to take a lot to make him forgive you.
…I know… The fire demon looked up when he heard rustling and panting; a tearful Shuichi ran past his tree. Where the hell is he going? He chased after him. After about five minutes of running the redhead began to slow down and finally stopped by a banyan tree; hurt tugged at Hiei's heart when he saw Shuichi start to cry. I caused that.
Yes you did.
Shut up! He kept looking at the shivering redhead. Shivering? Why the hell did he come out here without a jacket! Shuichi coughed and Hiei moved to go to the redhead when another rustling caught his attention.
000
After a few moments of crying, Shuichi felt a particularly cold wind and shivered; but he didn't care… that's not his priority; he was mated to two men, one of whom hates him.
"Your weakness disgusts me." That sentence combined with cold blood-red eyes will never leave him: he knew this.
You see; they hate you… soon they will throw you away… the bitter voice came back.
Nonononononononono… leave me alone! He clawed at his scalp. Please… A coughing fit got him and his throat felt raw as his body reacted to the irritation in his larynx.
When he looked up again the redhead froze with fear; a large white fox with seven tails sat in front of him with a tan jacket in its mouth. Shuichi flinched when the animal stepped forward; the animal looked at Shuichi for a while before he dropped the jacket to the ground and took two steps back.
The redhead frowned at the animal but steadily reached out and took the jacket; the fox's tongue just lolled out of his mouth in a playful manner. Shuichi slipped on the jacket, keeping his eyes on the fox; he inspected it beautiful coat that shone like silver in the sun, the seven tails bobbed elegantly and the amber eyes stared at him intensely, as if trying to tell him something.
Wait, amber eyes… fox tails…
"Youko?" Shuichi said, askance and the fox bobbed his large head in a nod. "Youko!" The large head bobbed again. The redhead stood and slowly approached the animal; he stroked the fur on his chest and gently touched the fox's snout before wrapping his arms around him. "I missed you." He whispered.
Youko breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping a paw around the waist; he took in the scent of strawberries and paint, nuzzling the neck to get more of the sweet smell. However, Shuichi pulled back.
"You owe me an explanation." The redhead said. "Not only why you left but why you didn't tell me I was Kurama."
The fox transformed into Youko's humanoid form. "You are not Kurama, Shuichi… just part of him."
Shuichi frowned. "Are you telling me that Kurama is more than one person?"
Youko nodded. "Specifically you and I… we are Kurama."
000
10 minutes later…
Yusuke looked from a distance as Youko disclosed everything to Shuichi; he watched the way Shuichi sat between Youko's legs and rested his back on the kitsune's chest. The envied the way their fingers played together as Youko told his story.
"Jealousy does not suit you well." A gruff voice from above made the Mazoku snarl.
"Fuck off!" He growled. "I'm pissed at you."
Hiei landed beside Yusuke easily. "Koi, I'm sorry." He said silently. "I had meant to get a rise out of him."
"Well, it didn't work… it only made him feel more broken." Yusuke turned to his mate. "You say we're shielding him from everything… yes, I am… because for three years no one was there to do so." That made Hiei bow his head in shame. "He needs to learn how to be strong, you say… what the hell do you think he has been doing. He could have given up and just killed himself… he had the means." Hiei knew he was talking about the large shard of glass they found in Shuichi's hand. "So before you go sprouting assumptions all in the name of being strong, I suggest you think." Yusuke growled and then turned back to the scene of Youko and Shuichi.
Yusuke felt arms around his waist and lips on his neck. "I'm so sorry, koi." He apologised with a kiss to the neck. "I won't do so again."
Yusuke sighed and rubbed the arms around him; Hiei rarely apologised and when he did, it was genuine. "You will make it up to him?" He asked and Hiei nodded.
They both looked at the pair for a while before Hiei spoke again. "You love him."
Yusuke blinked and looked at his mate. "What?"
"Shuichi." Hiei said. "You love him."
"Of course, I do." Yusuke answered. "He's my mate for a reason."
"Well then you should know that you have competition." Hiei said, sending a meaningful look toward the fox and the redhead.
"What do you mean?" Yusuke turned around to look at Hiei.
"It is obvious from the way he looks at him and dotes on his every word." Hiei said. "No, it's not a Florence Nightingale thing; I can smell him, I practically taste the emotion…Shuichi is in love with Youko."
A/N: I think you guys were expecting that… or were you… oh well… I have exams coming up and then I have to travel back home… I don't know when the next chapter will be up so please bear with me… I will try to get it up in time… oh and please review; now will be a good time to give me ideas and suggestions…
(1) when Yukina finds out Hiei is her brother, she tell Kuwabara; that's why he knows the red tear gems belong to Hiei.
