Part Twenty-eight: Secrets and the Edge of Sanity
Kuronue and Kurama wake up to find themselves bound in cells. Both look around warily. "You know, you need to find better people to anger, fox," a familiar voice remarks. Turning his head, Yoko looks at Hiei who is in the cell beside them along with Genkai and Bui.
"I didn't think he'd do this," the silver-haired fox-demon says softly.
"I wouldn't have either, if the reason you were turning me down was NOT to rut with this pathetic excuse for a creature," Corben spits from the door of the cell.
"Kuronue is not a pathetic excuse for anything!" Yoko snarls back.
The brown haired fox demon stalks towards him and strikes him viciously across the face. "You had best learn to be more polite, Yoko. I don't want to have to hurt you but I won't hesitate to take it out on your friends or the bat-demon," Corben hisses.
Yoko isn't stupid enough to believe that Corben will leave Kuronue alone even if he does do as the demon says. He looks at him angry and slightly fearful as to what is going to happen to Kuronue. Then another thought occurs to him. The children weren't there! "Why didn't you take my children?" he asks.
"They mean nothing to me. They can sit there and rot for all I cared…miserably bat-demon hybrids that they are."
Fury races through Yoko's veins. No one got away with saying such things about HIS family but Corben leaves before he can make a scathing retort. "They'll be fine…right?" Kuronue murmurs looking worriedly at his mate.
"They'll be fine," Yoko assures him, though he doesn't know how much truth there is in that.
"They will be fine," Bui says softly. The blue-haired demon looks like he's going to start screaming at any moment and his voice is hoarse and forced.
"How do you know?" Kuronue asks.
"Because Karasu will bring down all of heaven and hell on whoever tries to hurt them," Bui answers.
"Why would he do that?" Kuronue asks.
"Because he cares far too much for Kurama to let anything happen to his children."
"What do you mean?"
"He's in love with Kurama." Both demons stare at him in stunned shock. "Yeah, don't worry about them. They're safe."
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Kuwabara fervently hates Sakyo as he sits beside Ani's bed. The smaller demon has been sedated and is shackled to the bed. The carrot-top had made sure that the sedative wouldn't be harmful to Ani's unborn children. He gently brushes his fingers through the demon's dark gray hair. "He'll be fine, baby-bro. That one has a stubborn streak a mile wide," Shizuru tells him.
"I don't know about that. It was obviously very painful for him to remember. I am afraid that he won't be able to recover from this."
"He's strong, Kazuma. He's proven that. Just give him time and he should be back to the utterly obnoxious, pregnant demon he is."
"He's not obnoxious," Kuwabara says instantly.
Shizuru chuckles. "You would be the first to defend him wouldn't you?"
"Maybe."
"Admit it, you like the guy."
"Maybe just a little bit."
Shizuru giggles knowing that one of these days Kazuma would admit to being in love with Ani. It would just take both of them time. She only hopes that they are given enough time to come to that realization. "I am going to go get some food, okay?" she asks.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Kuwabara answers. She gives him a soft smile before heading out of the room. Kuwabara looks back at the unconscious demon and sighs. 'I hope she's right,' he thinks, 'I can't bear to lose him...not now.' He reaches out and gently brushes Ani's graying black hair from his face. He would be there as long as Ani needed him and he would do everything in his power to make sure the smaller demon got through his ordeal.
A throat being cleared catches his attention and he turns to see Koenma in the doorway. "What do you want?" he asks warily. The prince looks at him with an expression that tells him that something worse was about to occur.
"It's come to my attention that Sakyo is alive, Kuwabara," Koenma says, "He wants sole custody of Ryan."
Kuwabara goes to say something but a strangled cry catches his attention.
He turns to see Ani staring at Koenma in abject horror. The demon's already fragile emotional state mixed with his out of control hormones is only worsened. If Kuwabara thought that Oto making him wail was bad, it was nothing to the sounds that spill forth now. "Dammit, Koenma!" Kuwabara yells over the cries of the smaller demon, "Now was NOT a good time to bring this up!"
"What did you want me to do? I doubted that you would have liked me to wait until the day of the hearing!" Koenma shouts back.
Kuwabara doesn't answer as he reaches over and presses the button for the nurse though he figures one is already on their way because he is sure everyone can hear Ani. The door flies open and a nurse hurries in. "What happened?" she demands.
"Prince Koenma, here, decided to give him more bad news," Kuwabara says. The nurse sighs and tries to get him sedated but soon is forced to get help. With her, Koenma, Kuwabara, and four other staff members, it takes thirty minutes to get him sedated and asleep again.
Kuwabara scowls at Koenma. "Sakyo has another thing coming to him if he thinks he's getting Ryan," he tells the prince, "When is the hearing?"
"Four days from now," Koenma says and noticing the incredulous look adds on quickly, "he chose it, not me."
"Well, Ani definitely is in no position to go so I will go in his place. Mark my words, Koenma, Ryan will NEVER see his father. I will make sure of it."
"I am sure you will, Kuwabara. I am sorry for upsetting him further."
"You should be. It's bad enough he had to remember being raped by Sakyo…just go Koenma, just go."
"Leaving," the prince says before disappearing out of the door mere seconds before Shizuru appears.
"What happened?" she asks.
"Koenma came and revealed that Sakyo is back and that he wants Ryan,"
Kuwabara answers looking at her gravely, "That man will be dead before I ever let him see Ryan again."
"I am sure he will be," Shizuru says, "Do you want me to call Oto and tell him?"
"No, I am sure he's having enough issues with those at the mansion and dealing with a three-year-old. I don't want him storming in here pissed as all hell. Ani wouldn't want to wake up to that and I wouldn't want him to see that."
"Alright. Do you want me to go get you something to eat?"
"I don't know if I can right now." He feels her hand on his shoulder and closes his eyes. "How much worse is this going to get before it gets better?" His voice is choked and he's having trouble keeping his emotions steady.
"I don't know baby-bro, I don't know," Shizuru whispers squeezing gently, "You need to try and keep strong for Ani and Ryan. They need you."
"I know. Seeing him like this just hurts."
"I can tell. You just hang in here and do the best you can."
Kuwabara reaches up and wipes the tears that were forming away. "Had someone told me at the beginning of the Dark Tournament that I would end up like this, I would have laughed and told them to stop drinking or doing drugs. I never imagined this sort of life."
"No one ever does, Kazuma."
Kuwabara looks at Ani again. He hates seeing the demon look so frail and vulnerable. He reaches down and gently strokes the side of his face. His blue eyes soften. "I love him, Shizuru…I don't know how or why, but I do. I never imagined that I would want to spend the rest of my life with Ani Toguro but I do."
"I know, baby-bro, I know."
"It will be okay...won't it?"
The pleading in his tone almost breaks her heart and she pulls him to her. "I don't know the answer to that, Kazuma, we just have to hold on tight and hope for the best. So far, we've come through everything that has come our way. I don't think our winning streak is going to get broken any time soon. Be there for him...love him. That will make all the difference in the world."
"I hope so because I don't know what I will do if I lose him."
"I hope that you never have to find out."
