Raised
Chapter Twelve
The sun had already peaked between the buildings to light up Kurama's bedroom when Piper had gotten to his abode. After a few hours it had filled the entire room up, making it hard for just her eyelids to keep all of the light out. And while she had dealt with so many different conditions before that were a lot worse, the medium still groaned and tried to block out the light with the cover at her disposal. Which only ended up making her uncomfortably warm.
Piper turned back onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. It was white and what someone else may have considered plain. For her though, it was built out of material she had never seen before and so all the little nuances that people just got used to as they grew up were the things that she kept looking over. The way the light subtly played through the seemingly natural crevices, however, could only entertain her for so long. The weakened brunette was utterly bored laying in the bed and yet there was a peacefulness about it that she was hard pressed to disturb. So she took the time to let her mind wonder. The past and the present were open for perusal as she took the time to mull things over. After all, life had gotten just a little bit complicated since she'd woken up.
That wasn't to say that her life had been simple and easy prior to being kidnapped by Spirit World. It was just that there was more clear cut distinctions. Kurama was right when he said that she'd always chosen him. No matter what had happened Piper had chosen him; she'd been at his side since...well, practically forever. When he'd decided to take up the art of thieving, she'd been there and went along with it. When he decided to gain enough power to carve out his own territory, Piper had helped him. She'd been there through Yomi and Kuronue, and every so called partner between and before them. He had been the one consistent thing in her life and likewise she'd been the only consistent thing in his. But he'd had five hundred years of choosing things without her; even with their life span as it had been, that was still a large chunk of it.
Five hundred years and then he decided to stay a human. After all the time Piper had with him that was not something she would have ever thought. It goes to show how much could change in such an expanse of time. And while she was sure she could trust him with her life no matter what there were still a lot of things that also could have changed between now and then.
Slowly Piper blinked, moistening her quickly drying eyes. Her eyelids stayed closed longer than necessary as she relished in the sensation of actually relaxing. Regardless of what she needed to think through or the outcome that she knew was bound to happen, Piper was glad that she had right now. It was the small moments that made life worth living. And it was in those moments where all the happiness could be found. If she didn't appreciate the small moments she'd probably get a little unhinged and be impossible to please as she searched for the next great thing to occupy her time to fill it with meaning. Besides, Kurama's bed was insanely comfortable.
Though that might have been because it felt like him everywhere she turned. The scent was different, of course, because he had a new body. That through her off. It was still a pleasant scent but it was new. So Piper had to look beyond that to the whole vibe of the room. Like a bell, it rang out to remind her of him even if he wasn't in the area. She drew comfort in the fact that he wasn't dead like she had first thought. Piper might still lose him because of her choice but at least he wasn't dead.
The millenia old medium turned over in bed and blearily looked over to the unfamiliar books he had placed on the desk. Her body was still weak as it recuperated from her time in Demon World. It felt like a thousand bricks were keeping down all the muscles in her body. Like the whole force of gravity was working against her, pulling her head even farther into the pillows than it should have been able to go.
It was a struggle to get up. Piper's whole body wanted to fight her after all of the 'exercise' from last night. It was like if a person who had the flu for a few days tried to run a mile. Normally she could move about and accomplish an extremely higher level of physical activity but right now her body had been knocked through enough hoops. And that was all because she had stayed in Demon World and breathed in the unfiltered air for as long as she had. Piper knew what the consequences would be at the time and now she just had to wait through them until she got better.
The seemingly young woman slid the door to Kurama's bedroom open and moved through his residence. It was such a strange sensation to know that he lived in this place. Piper could feel him surrounding her in something like a comforting blanket. Yet everything about this place was foreign. While she felt safe she also had this gnawing pain in her stomach; she missed being home. No matter what Kurama told her or did she doubted that this place would ever be her home. Which was only highlighted by the fact that it took her a few minutes to find where the toilet was. Piper had gotten used to such a device by staying with Yomi so she didn't have to spend nearly as long figuring out how to use it as she otherwise might have. Once she was done with the toilet she poked around through the rest of the house. It was a strange experience indeed.
It was an effort but Piper kept her exploration to what she could observe without pilfering through anything. If she made a mess she wasn't sure she'd know how to put everything back in it's place just yet. And despite the fact that Kurama had left her by herself in his home she felt like it would have been rude to go through all of his things. Though, as she sat back down on the bed to comfort her aching body, Piper had a feeling he would take her curiosity as a sign that she was familiarizing herself with the place. Which, of course, she was but she wasn't doing it to make herself more comfortable to stay for the long term. Piper wasn't going to purposefully give him that false hope because he seemed to be doing that all on his own.
The tired woman relaxed back onto the bed and even pulled the thinnest blanket back up her body, leaving the heavy one skewed about. It may have been an hour or minutes but eventually she slipped back into the sleep her body screamed for. Just like a person who was sick from natural causes, Piper needed rest to heal.
This was the state that Kurama found her in after he got back from work. Prior to coming to get her and bringing her to Japan, he'd had to alert his place of work that he would not be in before lunch. It wasn't something he had done before so there had been plenty of questions, ones he had answered with as little revealed as possible. It had made for a rather unproductive half day at work. In retrospect, Kurama wondered if perhaps he should have just taken the full day off. But then he'd have to deal with the same amount of questions the next day as well so he had figured that there was no point in putting off the inevitable. Well, other than the fact that he could have spent the day convincing Piper of the merits of modern society. As he stared at her resting form he couldn't help but be hit by how frail she was at this very moment.
Last night, or rather this morning, had been a hard blow to his psyche. He had seen how comfortable Piper had gotten with Yomi in what he could only assume was a short period of time. She had practically let all her guards down. And judging from the way that Yomi had hovered over her, she had allowed his protective inclinations to surface. Ones that Kurama had been only slightly aware existed in the first place. Which meant that she had allowed him to see the depths of vulnerability that came with being a human while staying in Demon World. And then Yomi had taken on the role of her protector. Why? That was what Kurama couldn't entirely figure out. He could understand why Piper had done it. It had been a path to survival at that point. If she had truly thought he'd been dead then Kurama knew she would have sought out the best way to inform herself on the changes that happened while she was away. The redhead couldn't blame her for taking Yomi up on his offer to teach her even a fraction of the things she had missed out on. And the fact that he seemed to keep in mind her human frailty for the environment of Demon World was also another factor which would have made him a suitable choice for her at the time. Kurama understood all that. What he couldn't understand just yet was why Yomi had taken it upon himself to do all of that. What was his end game? What did he think he would gain by helping Piper until Kurama got there himself? Why did he help you?
The puzzled avatar loosened his tie, eventually pulling it off. He folded the material and placed it along the edge of his desk. Then the blazer he wore went over the back of the chair. Finally he knelt in front of the sleeping brunette and reached out to run a singular finger down from the middle of her forehead to the tip of her nose. He repeated the action until he saw her light colored eyes flickering open.
In that instance fear set into Piper with a speed that couldn't be matched by anything. She pushed herself backwards even before she could realize exactly why. It took a minute for reality to set back in; specifically the reality that this redhead in front of her was Kurama. Quickly though she got her bearings and she was able to relax once more. It wasn't as though Piper hadn't known it was him once she was awake enough to recognize spirit energies. It was just that as she was caught in the stage in between, all she saw was a male who was still rather foreign. Even though Piper saw the hurt flash over his face, she made no excuse for her actions. Eventually that reaction would subside but for now Piper wasn't going to lie to him about it. That would be insulting.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked, resting the hand that had been stroking her face on the edge of the bed.
"Yes. The bed is quite comfortable. How is it made?"
Kurama smiled slightly as he told her in an ironic voice, "For the majority of it, it is made up of metal coils."
Okay, that was strange. Metal wasn't one of the materials that would have struck her as comfortable. Piper couldn't even feel the area that must have been where the springs were not. Then again that was the whole idea between displacing one's weight over objects. And while the idea of metal coils making for a comfortable bed was hard for her to grasp, the fact that her body weight spread out as it was made it hard for her to detect those coils was not.
"What were you doing?" Piper asked him as she sat up.
Kurama made no motion to move as he answered, "I went to work. A majority of people in the world now are paid for their mental or physical labor. Like tradesmen but in many different disciplines now. Some of which would not make sense without understanding some more of the complexities that have been added to the world by globalization."
Piper raised her eyebrow at that statement. She understood the necessity of having money. And as odd as it was that Kurama now worked to gain the capitol to live in this life, that wasn't what she couldn't quite understand. What she didn't quite grasp was the concept of globalization. It was a word she'd never run across before. For that, Piper supposed that he was right - she wouldn't quite understand the different jobs which had been created by the concept she didn't understand. It was yet another thing she was going to have to add to the ever extending list. Just thinking about the list as it stood made her feel exhausted. There was so much to do.
"Do you like working?" Piper asked him instead.
Kurama nodded, his expression returning more to a neutral one. "There are times that it becomes a nuisance but it gives me something to fill my days with."
"And it supplies you the funds to live in comfort in?"
From what she had seen of the place, it was comfortable. There was food in the cold box which Piper currently forgot the name of, even if there was food she didn't recognize in there. He had comfortable furniture. And none of the things seemed dirty or in need of repair. He even had a selection of literature along with other things that seemed to fit in with the idea of a comfortable life. Though she knew he'd have items worth a great deal more if he decorated the place with what he'd taken in his previous life. Even if he chose the ones that were not imbued with mystical properties there was still quite the selection to decorate the place into something fit for a king. A king who lived in extremely small chambers, but still a king. There were some tapestries that would enrich the place. Not to mention jeweled objects and creations of precious metals.
"I'm as comfortable as I want to be," was his diplomatic answer.
Piper nodded to show that she accepted his answer. As she took a deep breath, Kurama stood up. He turned around and moved back through the door, leaving it open. She couldn't see him as he moved through what seemed to be the main area nor could she really hear him. The brunette didn't need either sense to know that he was still there though, it was just a warm silvery feeling in her mind. It let her know he was behind her, in a way. Within moments Kurama returned back to the room. In his hand was a glossy bag of some sort, and it looked to be filled with colorful paper that put even the thinnest Piper had seen before this to shame. Kurama handed her the bag so that she could peruse through it.
What the medium found inside was what looked to be a tiny shirt which would no way go below her breasts. It stretched, but it didn't seem to stretch from all direction equally. It reminded her like a mix of breast wraps as well as breast supports from the time right before she was captured. The next thing was a pair of exceedingly short pants which seemed to match the previous garment in their ability to stretch, and in the color. Piper could only assume by that, that it meant that they went together. Underneath all that was what looked to be a dress made out of soft and supple material. She pulled it out as she twisted around on the bed so that her legs would dangle over. The dress was in a shade of yellow that she'd only seen in very specific flowers. And there was subtle white flowers which seemed to have been dyed or woven in. The texture of it made her think dyed but they all look so uninformed that it was astounding. As Piper continued to pull the dress out she noticed that there was a sash already sewn into the front, long enough to wrap around her twice with some remaining it seemed.
As Piper stood up, weakly, her hands were already working on untying the sash around her waist. It didn't bother her in the least that Kurama was still in the room. Nor did it surprise Piper that there was a lack of lust as she undressed this time. He knew to expect the bruising which, in turn, was already a reminder that she was not well. That was enough to keep any lingering passion at bay before it had time to start to rekindle. The woman slipped off the wrapped outer layer and got to work on the well tied linen wraps she employed to support her breasts. Even after waking up from a coma her hands worked deftly at undoing the garments. Once that fell she quickly figured out how to put on the replacement, the breast support which stretched around her breasts and only a little around her ribs. The fabric had an interesting feel about it but she didn't linger as she stood there, staring at the next two pieces.
Obviously Piper couldn't put the short pants on top of the floor length dress and they matched the breast support more than anything which lead her to believe they were a form of underwear. She pulled them on next, bending over to slip it around her feet. It was then that she felt his gaze turn away from her. Almost as though he were embarrassed to look as she muddled her way through modern clothes. Piper couldn't feel lust from across the connection but that probably just meant that it was a few low level emotions mixing together to negate each other. His refusal to look at her as you finished getting dressed told her as much without needing to sort through the spiritual bond.
After that it was pretty smooth sailing pulling on the full length dress. The sleeves which went loosely to her elbows were made of lighter weight material that the majority of the dress and matched the waist tie in color. Piper tied the tie in a bow just off to her side and looked down. Everything seemed well made with stitches that you could see from the inside seams only, and from what she had seen all looked completely uninformed.
"Either this was for another woman or you found a seamstress that works at speeds to be marveled at," was what she finally said to break the silence.
"Actually, most clothing comes premade now a days. You buy them in stores just like you would buy anything at a market place."
"Convenient."
"Yes, it is. Do you have the strength to leave this room?"
It was a serious question. Already it felt like Piper had a fever from over exertion but she hated the idea that she really was too weak to even dress herself without it being taxing. Unless she was dying from a wound she never wanted to admit to being that weak. Which really meant that she couldn't allow herself the rest which should go with such fatigue. At least not while there was apparently something else to be done.
"If I need to," Piper answered him.
Kurama held out his hand without any other prompt. She grasped it weakly, hoping that by taking such half measures she would regain her strength faster than if she was trying to move about on her own. Still Piper tried to support at least half of her weight as he lead her towards the small round table in the middle of the main room. On said table was two boxes which looked to be made of some sort of lacquered wood. From the context that she had, Piper realized that it was food. Once she opened the lid to the box she realized that she was completely right. It all looked and smelled delicious.
Piper stared suspiciously at such a thing. As far as she was aware, Kurama had never learned to cook anything. Which was surprising because he was the one who had mastered all the different uses for so many plants. Not to mention his sense of smell should have translated to him knowing when different types of food were done. But none of that seemed to mean anything during the time that she had known him. He kept burning even the simplest of things.
"I do not think I can handle it if you tell me that you learned to cook while I was asleep. It would be far too big of a shock," the medium said in a dry voice.
More than likely he had hired someone to cook for him. Considering that he oh so subtly rolled his eyes at her skepticism but made no move to defend his ability to produce edible food, she was going to go with the fact that she was right. It wasn't until Piper started to poke the food with one of the chopsticks he handed her that she got a verbal response out of him.
"I have learned how to maintain a few simple dishes without making them inedible, but no I did not make this."
"Good," Piper said with no small amount of relief.
It was then and only then that she started to eat. Kurama's eyes narrowed at her for the insult but he simply went to sip on the glass of water beside his meal. They ate in relative silence; it was a wonder what a good meal actually did. Piper didn't realize how hungry she was until she started. And by the time she finished she knew that, given the fact that she hadn't eaten so well in a long time, her lack of energy could have been blamed on not having enough food. For a moment afterwards, she had to remind herself that starvation was not exactly the best state in which to heal.
"How long until you believe yourself well enough to venture outside?"
Piper sat down the glass of water and had to think about that. Given that she'd pushed her body past it's limits in Demon World, it was bound to be a few days. But an exact time would be hard to pinpoint.
"I am unsure," Piper answered honestly. "It has been a very long time since I depleted myself as much as I have."
"I see," Kurama answered as he gathered up the empty dishes.
She stretched over the top of the table, arms spread out, as he got up and moved over to the counter space. "If you want me to regain my strength quickly, you know exactly what needs to be done."
The redhead pauses in his cleaning. He didn't even need to turn back around for you to see the resolve he had welled up. "I vowed not to rely on my previous in order to let my past stay in the past. So please understand my decision not to use that method to accelerate your recovery. For years I balanced between two different lives and it did not satisfy me. I found satisfaction in my life as Shuuichi Minamino."
Piper couldn't see his face but she could feel how stagnant the air between the two of them had gotten. If he was reluctant to help clean her system out from the poison of Demon World then there really was no chance of him fitting into the life she still wanted to live. That thought alone made her heart squeeze painfully. At this point she was sure he was used to feeling that by now. Ever since he'd told her he worked for Spirit World she couldn't help but feel the intense sadness that came with betrayal.
In attempt to nettle him Piper brought up, "That did not seem to stop you last night."
When he turned around, his expression was completely still. Like she had just struck a blow. And in fact Piper had. The remark had been aimed at his self-control, or lack thereof in the early morning. She knew exactly what nerve she had hit and she had hit it with the intention to make him own up to his own contradictory behavior.
"I will admit to the fact that my control could have been better last night," he said as he stood, his hands playing with the back of the chair ever so slightly. "But only if you admit that I was not unprovoked."
"I will not shoulder the blame for every occurrence if it is because you can not handle being envious of Yomi," Piper remarked.
Just because they were extremely close did not mean she was going to let him blame her for his lack of control. It was not her fault that he turned, no matter what she said to him. It wasn't like she had put his life in danger to the point where he had no choice but to react on instinct in defense of it. That was the only time that someone should not have control of themselves. It should be over a comment about how Yomi had told her that she didn't owe Kurama anything.
Piper watched as her rebuttal was quickly absorbed and dissected by the redhead. His hands moved off of the chair as he leaned back into the kitchen counter. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Oh, do not give me that look. We both know that is exactly why you became so hostile," the light eyed woman remarked. "If you had not wanted me to interact with Yomi, then perhaps you should have been there instead of waiting for me to return to human world."
"I will keep that in mind," he murmured in a dark promise.
Somehow that was not a comforting thought. In fact, now Piper felt like she should get out of the room before he decided to lock her up for a century. The Kurama she had known jealously guarded anything with even the tiniest amount of value to him. It had been a wonder, in that case, that he had allowed her to interact with any of his associates much less any males at all. Then again that was probably because after he had actually tried to do that when they were young, Piper had made it exceptionally clear that she wouldn't stand for that type of behavior. He might have been born with all the instincts of a fox but she wouldn't allow him to fight every single male that came within his territory. As far as she'd been concerned he had never been a mindless beast.
"We should not dwell on such negative thoughts," Piper spoke, feeling like the words wanted to numb her tongue before they came out.
Kurama always brought out the argumentative side of her when the two of them were alone. While there were a lot of things that they shared one mind on, there always seemed to be something that needed to be discussed. And normally that was no problem. When things got too heated he could always go out for a few days or she could go stay in a human civilization until they were both calmed down. Right now was not like back then - she didn't know enough about the area she was in or how it operated to be able to go out. And while he could always leave for a few days Piper didn't want to see that happen either. He had chosen a different path from the one she wanted and sooner or later those paths were going to have to divide. Piper knew she was only going to be in Human World for a few days before she returned to Demon World. No doubt her choice was going to be enough to cause that rift to really take form. Everything after that was going to be messy and ugly business. She'd rather push it off for as long as she could.
"Agreed."
Piper slowly pushed herself back off the table, rotating her head in an attempt to rejuvenate the aching muscles around her neck. The hours of sleep had made her body feel sluggish but the meal had been a creature comfort to offset that.
"Surely you have a nightly routine after you come home from work, you should continue with that," was the woman's suggestion.
"Will you be alright out here by yourself?"
"Yes, I will be fine."
Kurama hesitated for a moment more before pushing his chair in. He slid the door by the table open and stepped into the room, making it obvious that it was where he was going to be. Piper turned her gaze away from the subchamber he was stepping into in favor of staring at the plants by the door despite the fact that her hearing was so finely attuned to that door closing that it was all she could truly pay attention to.
Which was probably why even as she heard the sound of water falling onto the floor, Piper heard his voice call out. "You could always join me."
The medium smiled in a tired fashion despite the fact that he couldn't see it. She turned her head to the closed door and responded to his baiting. "I thought you wanted to leave your past in the past."
Piper didn't hear the small things he was doing in the room attached to the subchamber, but she could only assume that it had to do with him cleaning up. That's usually what that much water in a dwelling meant. The fact that it could come so continuously on command instead of being a permanent feature was most surprising. Or the fact that it hadn't been prepared in advance. Surely there was no way that his dwelling was on top of a natural water feature. Which meant that this civilization had to have a very advanced aqueduct and irrigation system.
"I thought I told you that you would never be left behind. On top or underneath me definitely, but never behind," the tone he used was just bordering on obscene.
Piper wanted a pillow to throw at him. Or at least have the ability to level him with a dry stare. The walls and doors between the two of them protected him from both.
"Were you not the one just asking me how long it would be until I was well enough to go outside?" She responded back in a dull voice.
She heard him make a sound of contemplation but after that it was all silent. Instead of waiting to see if he was going to try and make another attempt to convince her to step inside of the room with the water fixture, Piper decided to move back to the bedroom. While he was cleaning up she decided to try to go through one of the books he had on his desk. She picked the smallest of the lot and thumbed through it. Before long she found that there was just no way for her to be at that level yet; there was still a lot she had to catch up on. Piper had been able to read a few bits here and there but not enough to claim that she could understand the tome as a whole. Still, she tried to read what she could.
So engrossed in her attempt to better her understanding of what was held within the book that she hadn't heard the water shut off. Nor did she pay attention to the fact that Kurama had moved into the room. Once Piper realized that he was in there she specifically kept her attention on the book. She wasn't going to send any mixed messages on how she currently felt by bringing her gaze up while he was so under dressed. He might have stared at her while she was getting undressed but that was mainly because he was the one who felt alright. She was the one who did not feel physically up to the task that implying lustful intentions would lead to. Which meant that the book became the only thing in her field of view. At least until he sat down in the chair, turning it around so that he could tilt the book away from her lilac colored eyes.
Now that he had a decent amount of clothing on Piper felt comfortable lowering the book. He understood her need to keep her attention preoccupied by that time as he hadn't made a move to grab her attention before that. At least not since he'd walked into the room in search of fresh clothing. The neckline of such clothing vaguely of a new, at the time, style she'd seen when passing through some of the chinese provinces. Though this one looked to be made from a much more refined and precise technique. It looked much more natural on him than the clothing he wore when he came to pick her up.
"I did not mean to make you uncomfortable." he started off. "I am also aware that we are not at the same place we were at five hundred years ago just as I am aware that you are not feeling well right now. Please accept my apology if I made you uncomfortable."
Well, that was something new. He had apologized over the years for a few things but never for the sexual passes he made. Nor did he ever show any remorse for the innuendoes she heard in relative privacy. It wasn't that the Kurama she knew made them often but when he did she'd never heard him apologize for them. In fact, the fact that he was doing so right now made her a little more uncomfortable than when he had made them. There was so much changed just looking at him as it was, it was hard to reconcile the behavior changes with his looks as well. It was just...too much to take in over night.
"You do not have to apologize," Piper started off, trying to gain a less shaky grasp of what she meant to tell him. "I just do not want to encourage what I knowingly cannot deliver my best on."
Kurama nodded in understanding as the tightness by his eyes slowly diminished. He wasn't an overtly expressive person. Sure he showed more signs of emotion when they were alone but other than a flash of anger here and there, Piper had never really seen his expressions change as intensely as human males'. At least not in millenia. So she was glad that despite his apologetic words that hadn't changed. Seeing large displays of emotion (other than that jealous-anger) probably would have made him feel more like a stranger than he already did.
"That's fine. While I want to get you reaquainted with this world as quickly as possible, I appreciate the fact that you are not going to push yourself and endanger your health. There can't always be a Forlorn Hope waiting to solve the problem," he seemed to joke.
It was one that left her a little shocked. The Forlorn Hope? Really? What had been so dire that he had tried to use that mirror? It had to be linked to someone's health based on what he said. Someone he cared a great deal for if he was willing to give up his life. But if that was true then how was it he was still here? Piper knew that the mirror couldn't have been responsible for taking away his life as Youko Kurama for the simple fact that it had been Spirit World's doing. Which meant that either he had tried and failed to use the mirror (which was highly doubtful) while he was still a Spirit Fox, or he had tried to use it as a human.
"When did you try to use the Forlorn Hope?" She finally demanded, latching onto the subject with all the concern in her body.
If he had developed suicidal tendencies while she was away, all the gods help him because she was going to tie him down and make sure he stayed alive. Piper did not put up with his ass for all those years just to have him decide to be moody one day and end it. Not after everything.
"Later, perhaps, we'll talk about it. It's a rather involved story. One which would be best held until you can meet another person involved in it. I think it may help you to understand the outcome," he replied gently.
She narrowed her eyes on him. But Piper let it go for now. Because he'd said something very true earlier - they were not at the same place as five hundred years ago. There had been plenty that had changed between now and then even if she had been the one to kind of skip through it.
"Later," she agreed in a quiet tone.
Piper scooted back till her back touched the wall and her legs were stretched out over the short side of the bed. Concern for the fact that he had tried to use the mirror at some point ate at her. She tossed the book into his lap.
"Read to me?"
Kurama accepted the request and turned to the first page, speaking out in a tranquil tone as the story unfolded. His voice, while different, was still similar enough to be soothing. Plus hearing what the story was about might help her piece together what the different lettering systems had become. It wasn't a perfect solution, of course, because the only way to really do that was to study. Right now though Piper knew of nothing else that would entertain her and keep her calm until she was able to fall back asleep.
