Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

A Yuu Yuu Hakushou/Gundam Wing Fic

By

Sakura

Part 2

Over the months, Quatre remained with the youko. Despite the fact that he was still the fox's prisoner, Kurama had treated him as an honored guest, providing for him whatever the boy wanted. He had gotten a comb and brush from Kurama's treasure, with the promise that he'd help with the youko's hair as well.

This, the boy didn't mind at all for Kurama's hair was as soft and silky as the fur bed he had made for himself. He found himself enjoying brushing the fox's hair every night, and while he was doing so, the youko would tell him of his adventures as a thief.

Quatre didn't approve of his 'host's' chosen profession, but as a prisoner, he felt he had no say in the matter and just listened politely.

The golden-haired pilot found himself liking the thief more and more and protested less whenever he grew more 'affectionate' than usual, Kurama was usually true to his word and hardly touched the boy without his say so.

And every night after dinner, the two would sit together talking of nothing in particular. Their conversation, however, eventually came to the same questions Kurama would put to the pilot.

"Do you like it here?" the fox would ask.

"Hai," Quatre always answered back.

"Tell me, little rabbit, have I done anything to harm you in anyway?"

"Iie, Kurama," he'd reply truthfully. For the fox never laid a hand on him in anger or maliciousness.

The next question was always hard for Kurama. "Quatre-chan, do you love me?"

Quatre would always pause and hesitate at this one. He could not truly give an answer because he was extremely confused when it came to his feelings for the fox. One moment he would find himself wishing he could go with Kurama when he left the cave for an 'errand' and at another he would wish he could go back home to his friends and his gundam.

"Iie, Kurama, I mean, I don't know. Gomen nasai." The youko would then fall suddenly quiet and look sadly into the fire. Of course Quatre would feel guilty and try to cheer him up. "But, I don't hate you, Kurama."

At these words, Kurama would smile sadly and excuse himself, saying he wanted go for a walk. Quatre would then rid himself of the guilt by the only way available to him, reading one of the many books Kurama had stolen for him.

One night the two were cuddling together by the kitchen fire, when Quatre could not help releasing a sigh.

"Doushita no, little rabbit?" Kurama asked using the pet name he had given him.

"Nothing, Kurama," he said evasively and continued to stare into the fire.

"Come on, little one, tell me what's bothering you. I can see that you're troubled tonight."

"I'm fine. Honto ni."

"Right. Don't lie to me now Quatre. I don't know what I'd do without your cheerfulness, little one. It's bad enough one of us is sullen, I don't need another sourpuss so tell me what's wrong."

Quatre sighed once more then resigned to telling the youko the truth. "I miss my friends, Rashid, everything I left back home. I know I can't go back, I'd like to know they're o.k. They probably think I'm dead by now." Quatre just stared into the fire, trying to remember the other pilots he left behind.

Kurama felt a twang of guilt pull at his heart and found he could not ignore it. He had known a day like this would come the moment Quatre had first said 'no' to the last question. He let out a sigh and quietly said,

"Would you like to see them?"

The boy stared confusedly at the fox and asked, "What do you mean, Kurama?"

"Your friends, would you like to see them? I can show them to you."

"I would very much like to see them again, but how are you going to find them? It's been months since I left my compound, and I'm sure they can be anyplace by now."

Kurama laughed. "Fear not, sweet one. Finding things is no match for youko. Especially this youko," he said ruffling Quatre's immaculately combed hair.

Kurama stood up and got the torch off the back wall. "Come, I have something to show you," he said waiting for him to follow him.

The youko led the golden-haired pilot down the hallway leading to Kurama's treasure trove. "Ano, Kurama, why are we going this way? You said I should never go back down there," the boy asked puzzled.

"I did, but I never said you couldn't if you were with me." Kurama's humor had returned somewhat, probably in expectation of a pleasant surprise for his 'little rabbit.'

*****

Once at the cavern, Kurama brought Quatre over to where the golden mirror he found months ago laying against the wall.

"This? I already saw this, when I first found this room," Quatre said.

"I know, but like most of my treasure, it has a secret," he said lightly kissing his nose. "If you really want to see your friends go ahead and look."

Quatre stared at the mirror only to see his reflection staring back at him. "I see nothing."

"Baka na, just ask the mirror what you want to see and it'll show you. I'll wait by the entrance so you can have some privacy." Kurama turned and left him standing staring at the mirror, but never for a moment took his eyes off the boy.

Quatre cautiously ran a hand along the mirror's surface, while considering to believe the youko or not. Suddenly, a voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"What is it you wish to see, Quatre Raberba Winner?" his reflection asked.

"Um, my friends please," he stammered.

"As you wish, ningen," the mirror Quatre replied.

His reflection faded and suddenly three boys came slowly into view. One with unruly, short, brown hair, one with slick black hair, pulled into a ponytail, and one with an enormously long braid.

"Hiro, Wufei, Duo," Quatre whispered sadly. He reached to touch the mirror's surface again, but felt he shouldn't, so put his arm at his side. "I miss you all so much." Tears began to well up in the blond boy's eyes.

"I told ya not to do it, baka! Now look at ya!" Duo yelled at an unconscious boy on a bed.

"Yelling at him won't help," said the Chinese boy.

"I know, but I told him not t'go out there! We both know he's dead! That kid was just a sick joke from OZ!" Duo slammed his fist on the night stand.

"How can you be so cold?! You know he took Quatre's death the hardest. I wouldn't be surprised if Hiro thought every blond boy he sees now is him," Wufei said. He grimaced at how OZ had used an innocent boy as a trap for them and they fell right into it.

"I know Wufei, it's hard for me too. Sometimes when I'm thinkin' of Quatre, every blond kid becomes him for me too. I just wish I'd been nicer to him." Duo began to feel tears running down his cheeks.

"We're all to blame for this, and his death. Neither of us knew how to handle a friendship, so we all backed away from him. We must atone for this. Justice must be served!"

"Minna... you do care for me," Quatre said, tears sparkling on his face. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

"I agree with ya there, Wu. But right now we've gotta get Hiro better now. That bullet didn't hit anything vital, but the fever's not lettin' up." Duo said worriedly.

Wufei replaced the cloth on Hiro's forehead and dipped a clean one into a nearby bowl of a mixture of herbs and water. "I'm doing what I can Duo, but it's really up to him now. If he wants to live, he'll live, otherwise..."

"I don' wanna hear it Wufei! Don't ya dare say Hiro's gonna die! No one's gonna die on me again, ya hear that?!"

"The whole neighborhood can hear you, Maxwell," Wufei said placing the now damp cloth on Hiro's forehead. The Japanese pilot stirred a little, but otherwise remained unchanged.

"I'm goin' out," Duo said and promptly slammed the door.

"What we all need is a miracle. Nataku, if you can hear me, don't let this boy die," Wufei silently prayed.

"Oh no! This is terrible!" Quatre said crying uncontrollably. "Hiro! Wake up! I'm right here! I'm o.k., just wake up!" He reached to touch the unconscious boy and the mirror suddenly went black and Quatre's reflection replaced the scene he'd just seen.

"Hey! Bring them back! I've got to know what happened to Hiro!" The mirror refused to obey the order. It had reverted back to a plain mirror.

"It's no use yelling at it Quatre. Once you've touched the surface, that's it. No more visions for a while. I'm sorry." Kurama said placing a comforting hand on the blond boy's shoulder. He startled, he had not noticed the youko had come up next to him. "Something has happened to your friends?" the fox asked.

"It's Hiro," Quatre said tears falling again, "He's very sick. From what I could hear he may even die and it's all my fault!" He fell against Kurama's chest and began to sob.

Hurt by Quatre's sudden outburst of crying, Kurama held the boy closer to him and tucked his head under his chin. He was barely able to keep himself from crying as well, never had he seen anyone as sad as the ningen boy he held in his arms.

"Shh, little one. It's all right, I'm sure he'll survive. From what you've told me of your friend, he should be a tough one to kill, ne?" he said trying to cheer up his little prisoner.

"But it's all my fault, Kurama! If I hadn't fallen asleep in the woods like I did, Hiro wouldn't have fallen ill."

"No way is any of this your fault. You had no way of knowing this was going to happen. If you wish to blame anyone, blame me." Kurama gently pulled away from Quatre ashamed of his selfishness. For the first time in a long, long time, Youko Kurama had developed a conscience.

"Iya!! It's not your fault Kurama! I was the one who fell asleep and woke up here. I should be blamed for what's happened to Hiro!"

"We're both at fault then," he said suddenly serious, "You're free to go if you wish to see your friends. I'm not going to stop you."

"Kurama!" For once Quatre couldn't speak.

"I'm letting you go, little rabbit. You are no longer my prisoner." With that the youko turned and solemnly walked up the hallway to the rest of the cave.

"Kurama! Matte!" Quatre called after him. The fox didn't seem to hear and continued up the passage with the boy running after him.

When Quatre was able to catch his breath, not to mention Kurama, he laid a hand on the youko's arm and said, "Kurama, thank you."

Kurama sadly nodded. "I'll lead you to a portal to the Ningenkai," was all he said.

"Chotto matte yo! I'll go see my friends until I'm sure Hiro's all right, then I'll come back." Kurama was stunned. He never expected him to say something like that.

"No you won't. You'll forget like all the others." He gently caressed Quatre's damp cheek. "Don't do this, little one. Go on home where you belong and forget about me. It'll only make you sad end the end if you stayed with me."

"No Kurama." Quatre took Kurama's hand and placed it on his chest. "I promised I'd stay with you forever and I'm not about to go back on a promise."

"I forced you to make that promise, Quatre-chan. It doesn't matter."

"Even so, it's still a promise. My father always told me never to go back on any promises not matter what kind they were. I promised I'd stay and I will."

"Quatre..."

"I'll make another one. I promise I'll come back and I'll never ask to leave you again."

Quatre's words had really shocked the youko. Never before had he met a ningen so sincere before, naïve, but still sincere. He let out a sigh, "All right, little rabbit. You win. You promise to come back?"

"Hai!" Quatre nodded emphatically.

"All right then, come back within two weeks. That should be enough time for you to see you friends."

Quatre looked a little crestfallen. He was hoping for a little more time, but he accepted what time was allotted to him. Kurama fished through his shelves and handed a small vial to him. The boy examined the bottle carefully then looked up at Kurama puzzled.

"That should relieve your Hiro of whatever ails him, but you must be careful too much of it will kill him. Just give him a few drops at a time."

Quatre nodded solemnly, then placed the vial carefully in one of his pockets. "Arigatou Kurama."

"This is also for you." He handed him a perfect rose bud and a silver ring carved into the shape of a fox. "The rose will bloom for the two weeks you're away and when it's time for you to come back, just stroke the ring and it will open a portal near here."

"Don't worry I'll be back, Kurama. I promise. And thanks for everything." He kissed Kurama's cheek and made to leave the cave.

"Matte, Quatre." The boy turned to look at the fox. "Should you return one day late, you will find all the plants here dead and withered and me, dead of a broken heart."

The boy looked shocked and sad at Kurama, then came up to him and gave him a hug. "Daijoubu, Kurama. I'll return and on time. I'll keep my promises to you!"

Kurama found it very hard to let the beautiful boy go, but forced himself to pull Quatre off him and lead him to a nearby portal to the Ningenkai. "I will miss you terribly, little rabbit. Hurry back."

"I promise." Quatre smiled and stepped through the portal.

Kurama remained long after the gundam pilot had vanished and the portal closed. Tears flowed down his cheeks in a seemingly endless river. "I'll die without you, Quatre."

Sorry this is a little shorter than the first, but I sorta ran out of time typing this. Next one should be longer.

Send comments to Firia@linainverse.net.