Disclaimer: Please refer to the prologue for disclaimer.
(Ha, I'll bet you thought I was kidding when I said that it went for ALL
chapters!)
SC: I can't believe it! I must clear my name!
YA: What?
SC: That whole thing in the last chapter, it was not implying upon a Kurama/Botan thing! I hate that!
YA: So why did you give Botan a whole bunch of lines?
SC: Because she's good at explaining things.
YA: Sure.
SC: That's it! I place upon you the 'Curse of the Cheesecakes!' *war drums*
YA: *gets repeatedly hit in the face with flying cheesecakes*
~ Treason ~
"There now, isn't that better, Kurama?" asked Botan.
"Well, it doesn't hurt anymore, at least," Kurama agreed, holding up a bandaged tail. "Thanks, Botan."
"Aaah! Will someone please come in here and stop this idiot from KILLING ME?" Yusuke's voice screamed from the next room.
Kurama and Botan walked into the room to face an odd situation: Yusuke had stopped laughing now, and had to use everything he had just to keep from being sliced by Kuwabara's Spirit Sword. Also, it seemed that Hiei had gotten bored and joined in the game of Yusuke Hunt.
Botan got really annoyed. "I leave you alone for ONE MINUTE, and I come back to find you trying to KILL one another? What is WRONG with you people?" She ran forward and grabbed Kuwabara by the ears, preventing him from chasing Yusuke.
Hiei was still after him, and he was a lot harder to stop than Kuwabara. He was easily the fastest of them all, and the chances of him staying in one place long enough to grab were pretty much nil. Kurama took on the challenge, however, and rushed into the middle of the room. He closed his eyes and listened, his ears twitching slightly on top of his head. A moment later, he stuck out his arm just as Hiei was passing. The fire apparition slammed into Kurama and fell to the floor, winded.
"Wow, that was impressive, Kurama!" Botan cheered, still holding on to Kuwabara's earlobe.
"Yeah. . . very. . . impressive. . ." Yusuke said, panting.
"'Twas nothing," Kurama replied, but he grinned anyway.
Hiei did not seem to agree on the matter. "Ow. . ."
"That's what you get for trying to start a war inside a bedroom!" Botan scoffed, feeling that Hiei had gotten what he deserved.
Kuwabara didn't want to make Botan any madder. "Okay, you win. We're sorry, we'll never try to deliberately kill Yusuke again."
"I'm not agreeing to anything," Hiei huffed before Botan could say anything.
"Just do it Hiei!" Yusuke yelled.
"You're only saying that because you don't wan to die!" Hiei hollered back.
"Please, we shouldn't be fighting like this all the ti. . ." Kurama cut off from his sentence.
"What's the matter, Kurama?" Botan asked, turning around, but she got no reply.
Kurama had suddenly gone silent. His eyes were clouded over, and they could see his ears twitching rhythmically upon his head. His tail swooshed back and forth like a metronome, never altering its tempo. Botan rushed over and fervently waved her hand in front of the kitsune's face.
There was no response.
"Oh my gosh! What's gotten into him?" Botan cried nervously.
"There is a strange force in the air. . ." Hiei commented.
Indeed there was. Waves of spirit energy were filling the room, sending shivers down everyone's spine. Yusuke glanced around quickly before saying, "Gee, this has been one weird day, hasn't it?"
"Eikichi!" Kuwabara cried, running over to his beloved cat. She was exhibiting many of the same symptoms that Kurama was: twitching ears and an unseeing stare. Kuwabara picked her up, but she showed no signs of noticing.
"What in all the worlds has happened to them?" Botan wondered aloud.
"Whatever it is, it seems to only affect animals. . . or in Kurama's case, spirit animals. . ." Hiei trailed off.
"We have to snap them out of it," Yusuke ordered. "Come on."
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
Kurama was trapped inside his own mind, surrounded on all sides by a strange force. It washed over him, surged around him, preventing him from thinking straight.
{What. . . is all of this?} The kitsune wondered. {What's happening. . . to me?}
A blurry image swam before him. It looked a lot like a person's face, but it was impossible to tell who it was.
[Listen to me. . .] the voice called through the mists.
{Who said that?}
[Trust in me. . .]
{Who are you? What do you want with me?}
[Believe in me. . .]
{What. . . what are you. . . talking. . . about?} Kurama felt himself blacking out.
[Serve me. . .]
{I. . . I don't want. . . no. . . please. . .}
[Come to me. . .]
{. . . No. . . stop. . . go. . . away. . . leave. . . me. . . alone. . .}
[Come. . .]
{. . . I. . .} the fox began, but he had already lost himself. {. . . I will. . .}
[COME!]
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
"Holy smokes!" Yusuke yelled, jumping away from Kurama's rigid body.
The kitsune had started growling, a deep-voiced growl that didn't suit him. Yusuke had been trying to wake Kurama up, but it seemed as though he was too late for that.
"What's wrong with him?" Botan cried desperately.
"Look at his eyes. . ." Hiei said in an almost-worried voice.
Kurama glared at the lowly humans before him, and they caught a glimpse of his staring eyes. They had changed, from their normal emerald hue to an evil, emotionless yellow.
Kuwabara, who was still holding Eikichi, dropped the cat in surprise. She had begun hissing at him, her fur standing on end. He backed away slowly, then turned to the others and said, "I really hope the two of them have had rabies shots. I can feel the fangs already."
"Something about this energy. . ." Hiei stated, ". . . it must be confusing their minds. . ."
They didn't have much time to ponder that fact, for at that moment the two angered beasts lunged. Kurama threw himself at Yusuke, hands clenched around his throat, fangs bared. Eikichi, in turn, had begun to viciously swipe at Kuwabara with her claws. All the while, Kuwabara was yelling, "I knew I should have had her de-clawed! I knew it!"
"AACK! Someone get fur-face off of me before I choke!" Yusuke hacked, his eyes fixed on Kurama's mindless yellow ones.
"Come on, turkeys!" a new voice yelled. Kurama was suddenly being pulled backwards by an unknown force. Yusuke looked up and saw Shizuru, Kuwabara's older sister, dragging Kurama along by his tail. The kitsune snarled and struggled, but could not free himself from her grasp.
Eikichi was still fighting with Kuwabara, and winning, at that. It seemed that he was unwilling to hurt his dear cat, and was just standing there, being shredded. Thankfully for him, Botan appeared and whacked the cat on the head with her oar. Eikichi fell to the ground, kayoed.
Shizuru was still dealing with Kurama, who was fighting like a vicious animal just to get free. Just then, the girl's hands slipped on the bandage wrapped around Kurama's tail, and the kitsune rounded on her. He was about to strike when Hiei, using his demon speed, appeared between them. His forehead was lacking the usual headband, and his Jagan Eye was glowing with an intense red light. "Leave the kitsune's mind, filth," he ordered, staring blankly into Kurama's inhuman eyes. "You shall hold no power over him, so long as I am here."
The fox-demon's eyes were filled with the light from the Jagan, and slowly they changed back to the gold-spotted green that had been there earlier. At the moment the last of the yellow had vanished, Kurama fell to the ground, having been knocked unconscious for the second time today.
Botan collapsed to her knees, panting from all the excitement. "Are they going to be okay?"
Hiei retied his headband, then leaned over the knocked out kitsune on the ground. "He should be fine. Kurama wasn't hurt in the battle, and the Jagan caused him no damage as well. I just performed a simple procedure that purged his mind of all outside forces."
"So what caused them to lose their heads?" Yusuke asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Hiei stepped forward. "It must have been that spirit energy we felt. . . It has some kind of effect on anyone who is at least partially an animal. That's why it got Kurama, as well as the cat."
"But who could have done such an awful thing?" Botan wondered.
"Only someone very powerful."
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
"Drat," hissed Takminos. "I almost had him. Oh well, better luck next time."
"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, when exactly is the next time?"
"Soon enough, Electra, soon enough."
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
SC: Wow, that was creepy! Good thing Shizuru came in to save Yusuke's tush!
YA: *still being hit with cheesecakes*
SC: It seems that this Takminos guy is playing mind games. . .
YA: *still being hit with cheesecakes*
SC: Poor Kurama, being reduced to such low standards. . .
YA: *yet still being hit with cheesecakes*
SC: I even feel sorry for the cat.
YA: *dodges cheesecakes* Aaah! Don't review, or she'll keep writing! Stop this madness!
SC: *throws more cheesecakes* Okay people, R&R while I go and prepare the rabies shots.
SC: I can't believe it! I must clear my name!
YA: What?
SC: That whole thing in the last chapter, it was not implying upon a Kurama/Botan thing! I hate that!
YA: So why did you give Botan a whole bunch of lines?
SC: Because she's good at explaining things.
YA: Sure.
SC: That's it! I place upon you the 'Curse of the Cheesecakes!' *war drums*
YA: *gets repeatedly hit in the face with flying cheesecakes*
~ Treason ~
"There now, isn't that better, Kurama?" asked Botan.
"Well, it doesn't hurt anymore, at least," Kurama agreed, holding up a bandaged tail. "Thanks, Botan."
"Aaah! Will someone please come in here and stop this idiot from KILLING ME?" Yusuke's voice screamed from the next room.
Kurama and Botan walked into the room to face an odd situation: Yusuke had stopped laughing now, and had to use everything he had just to keep from being sliced by Kuwabara's Spirit Sword. Also, it seemed that Hiei had gotten bored and joined in the game of Yusuke Hunt.
Botan got really annoyed. "I leave you alone for ONE MINUTE, and I come back to find you trying to KILL one another? What is WRONG with you people?" She ran forward and grabbed Kuwabara by the ears, preventing him from chasing Yusuke.
Hiei was still after him, and he was a lot harder to stop than Kuwabara. He was easily the fastest of them all, and the chances of him staying in one place long enough to grab were pretty much nil. Kurama took on the challenge, however, and rushed into the middle of the room. He closed his eyes and listened, his ears twitching slightly on top of his head. A moment later, he stuck out his arm just as Hiei was passing. The fire apparition slammed into Kurama and fell to the floor, winded.
"Wow, that was impressive, Kurama!" Botan cheered, still holding on to Kuwabara's earlobe.
"Yeah. . . very. . . impressive. . ." Yusuke said, panting.
"'Twas nothing," Kurama replied, but he grinned anyway.
Hiei did not seem to agree on the matter. "Ow. . ."
"That's what you get for trying to start a war inside a bedroom!" Botan scoffed, feeling that Hiei had gotten what he deserved.
Kuwabara didn't want to make Botan any madder. "Okay, you win. We're sorry, we'll never try to deliberately kill Yusuke again."
"I'm not agreeing to anything," Hiei huffed before Botan could say anything.
"Just do it Hiei!" Yusuke yelled.
"You're only saying that because you don't wan to die!" Hiei hollered back.
"Please, we shouldn't be fighting like this all the ti. . ." Kurama cut off from his sentence.
"What's the matter, Kurama?" Botan asked, turning around, but she got no reply.
Kurama had suddenly gone silent. His eyes were clouded over, and they could see his ears twitching rhythmically upon his head. His tail swooshed back and forth like a metronome, never altering its tempo. Botan rushed over and fervently waved her hand in front of the kitsune's face.
There was no response.
"Oh my gosh! What's gotten into him?" Botan cried nervously.
"There is a strange force in the air. . ." Hiei commented.
Indeed there was. Waves of spirit energy were filling the room, sending shivers down everyone's spine. Yusuke glanced around quickly before saying, "Gee, this has been one weird day, hasn't it?"
"Eikichi!" Kuwabara cried, running over to his beloved cat. She was exhibiting many of the same symptoms that Kurama was: twitching ears and an unseeing stare. Kuwabara picked her up, but she showed no signs of noticing.
"What in all the worlds has happened to them?" Botan wondered aloud.
"Whatever it is, it seems to only affect animals. . . or in Kurama's case, spirit animals. . ." Hiei trailed off.
"We have to snap them out of it," Yusuke ordered. "Come on."
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
Kurama was trapped inside his own mind, surrounded on all sides by a strange force. It washed over him, surged around him, preventing him from thinking straight.
{What. . . is all of this?} The kitsune wondered. {What's happening. . . to me?}
A blurry image swam before him. It looked a lot like a person's face, but it was impossible to tell who it was.
[Listen to me. . .] the voice called through the mists.
{Who said that?}
[Trust in me. . .]
{Who are you? What do you want with me?}
[Believe in me. . .]
{What. . . what are you. . . talking. . . about?} Kurama felt himself blacking out.
[Serve me. . .]
{I. . . I don't want. . . no. . . please. . .}
[Come to me. . .]
{. . . No. . . stop. . . go. . . away. . . leave. . . me. . . alone. . .}
[Come. . .]
{. . . I. . .} the fox began, but he had already lost himself. {. . . I will. . .}
[COME!]
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
"Holy smokes!" Yusuke yelled, jumping away from Kurama's rigid body.
The kitsune had started growling, a deep-voiced growl that didn't suit him. Yusuke had been trying to wake Kurama up, but it seemed as though he was too late for that.
"What's wrong with him?" Botan cried desperately.
"Look at his eyes. . ." Hiei said in an almost-worried voice.
Kurama glared at the lowly humans before him, and they caught a glimpse of his staring eyes. They had changed, from their normal emerald hue to an evil, emotionless yellow.
Kuwabara, who was still holding Eikichi, dropped the cat in surprise. She had begun hissing at him, her fur standing on end. He backed away slowly, then turned to the others and said, "I really hope the two of them have had rabies shots. I can feel the fangs already."
"Something about this energy. . ." Hiei stated, ". . . it must be confusing their minds. . ."
They didn't have much time to ponder that fact, for at that moment the two angered beasts lunged. Kurama threw himself at Yusuke, hands clenched around his throat, fangs bared. Eikichi, in turn, had begun to viciously swipe at Kuwabara with her claws. All the while, Kuwabara was yelling, "I knew I should have had her de-clawed! I knew it!"
"AACK! Someone get fur-face off of me before I choke!" Yusuke hacked, his eyes fixed on Kurama's mindless yellow ones.
"Come on, turkeys!" a new voice yelled. Kurama was suddenly being pulled backwards by an unknown force. Yusuke looked up and saw Shizuru, Kuwabara's older sister, dragging Kurama along by his tail. The kitsune snarled and struggled, but could not free himself from her grasp.
Eikichi was still fighting with Kuwabara, and winning, at that. It seemed that he was unwilling to hurt his dear cat, and was just standing there, being shredded. Thankfully for him, Botan appeared and whacked the cat on the head with her oar. Eikichi fell to the ground, kayoed.
Shizuru was still dealing with Kurama, who was fighting like a vicious animal just to get free. Just then, the girl's hands slipped on the bandage wrapped around Kurama's tail, and the kitsune rounded on her. He was about to strike when Hiei, using his demon speed, appeared between them. His forehead was lacking the usual headband, and his Jagan Eye was glowing with an intense red light. "Leave the kitsune's mind, filth," he ordered, staring blankly into Kurama's inhuman eyes. "You shall hold no power over him, so long as I am here."
The fox-demon's eyes were filled with the light from the Jagan, and slowly they changed back to the gold-spotted green that had been there earlier. At the moment the last of the yellow had vanished, Kurama fell to the ground, having been knocked unconscious for the second time today.
Botan collapsed to her knees, panting from all the excitement. "Are they going to be okay?"
Hiei retied his headband, then leaned over the knocked out kitsune on the ground. "He should be fine. Kurama wasn't hurt in the battle, and the Jagan caused him no damage as well. I just performed a simple procedure that purged his mind of all outside forces."
"So what caused them to lose their heads?" Yusuke asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Hiei stepped forward. "It must have been that spirit energy we felt. . . It has some kind of effect on anyone who is at least partially an animal. That's why it got Kurama, as well as the cat."
"But who could have done such an awful thing?" Botan wondered.
"Only someone very powerful."
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
"Drat," hissed Takminos. "I almost had him. Oh well, better luck next time."
"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, when exactly is the next time?"
"Soon enough, Electra, soon enough."
^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^
SC: Wow, that was creepy! Good thing Shizuru came in to save Yusuke's tush!
YA: *still being hit with cheesecakes*
SC: It seems that this Takminos guy is playing mind games. . .
YA: *still being hit with cheesecakes*
SC: Poor Kurama, being reduced to such low standards. . .
YA: *yet still being hit with cheesecakes*
SC: I even feel sorry for the cat.
YA: *dodges cheesecakes* Aaah! Don't review, or she'll keep writing! Stop this madness!
SC: *throws more cheesecakes* Okay people, R&R while I go and prepare the rabies shots.