Disclaimer-...and what if I said I didn't own it?
~*~*~
Chapter 1
*~*~*
~~~
~ Why am I Kurama?
Why must I be like this?
Is this what I want?
To be scorned for hard love?
I love him, but I can't get him.
He can get me, but he doesn't love me.
Never experiencing love...
That is you...
...and that is me. ~
~~~
Hiei leapt lithely onto the thin ledge, nervously expecting a resentful Kurama. He gulped anxiously; the harmonic friendship they used to share was now on thin ice.
Creeeeeeeeeeak.
It was night. Hiei lifted the tightly shut window upward, and clambered in hesitantly. A peacefully sleeping Kurama appeared, looking somewhat more serene than Hiei had imagined. He was an angel.
Hiei approached the innocent boy and stared thoughtfully at his smooth, porcelain face; a face who had murdered many, a face who gave compassion to the people he met.
He sighed, thinking it bothersome to be a messenger boy for two very important figures, one for Reikai and one for Makai. For, the reason Hiei had come here, was to deliver a wearisome message from the thoughtless toddler named Koenma.
Kurama stirred. Hiei sprung back, cursing, and began to shake the still-sleeping fox.
"Oi! Wake up, stupid kitsune!" With the constant quaking Hiei was giving him, Kurama couldn't help but blink a confused emerald eye. Hiei eyed him distastefully, then spat out the message.
"Koenma wants us." Kurama widened his eyes to impossibly huge saucers. It was as if he was in dream.
".who are you?"
"What are you talking about? Stop playing your stupid tricks on me." Hiei dismissed the rather alarming question listlessly, and jumped soundlessly onto a nearby branch that was scratching in bone-chilling shrieks. Kurama just stared with void eyes.
Hiei was becoming uncomfortable; the Kurama he knew never looked at him like that-like he was scared.
"Baka, we have to go to Reikai--now. The stupid toddler says some youkai has escaped Makai-and death. 'A very strange case' my ass. It's always just nonsense." Hiei gave Kurama an irritated look, then grasped a fistful of leaves and pounded them impatiently into the worn tree trunk. Kurama watched with stiff green eyes, not daring to move a muscle.
".Reikai?" Kurama whispered through a strangled voice, truly confounded. However, a glint of remembrance was slowly coming back to him.
"We have to go now, Kurama." Hiei mumbled loudly through clenched teeth, red eyes flashing against the midnight sky.
"For.Koenma?" Kurama felt more confident when he said his piece, bits and pieces of a foggy memory soon coming back.
"Good boy, Kurama! Tell me something you don't know!" Hiei let go with an outburst in a rush of hot air.
"Reikai Tantei." Flying bits were soon coming back to Kurama, but not much about Hiei. Somehow, he knew something was different about the short boy; Kurama felt crushed just at the sight of him. This boy had really hurt him, in a strong, emotional way.
"Tell me, what the hell is wrong with you? Is it about the fight-our fight? Well, I don't give a damn to the crap you were talking about! I'm leaving-with or without you!" With an angry frown, Hiei swept his black cloak and, after giving one last cold, cruel glare, he left. Kurama sat, stunned.
The glower sent Kurama into a swirl of black remembrances, dark and tormenting memories that appeared in his mind when he locked eyes with the boy-in that last long, hard look.
"What.?" Kurama kneeled down, staring blankly at the floor. Memoirs were all jumbles now; they were slipping past his hold, seeping through his own consciousness. Soon, he fainted, overcome by the recent events and an aching he felt when he locked eyes with the boy. So painful...
An aching that hurt deeply. Deeply in more ways than one. He felt like he was under a spell.
And a spell it was.
"Ahhh. Poor Kurama. I'll be there for you.when that little fire demon brat isn't." A soft-spoken voice sang lightly to the wind, silky laughter echoing through the night.
A spell it was.
A spell it shall be.
~~~
~ "I love you, Hiei."
"..."
"Do you love me?"
"I could never love someone as dirty as you...Youko Kurama."
And with that, he left. ~
~~~
Hiei appeared in Reikai, all alone. The others stared at him monotonously, expecting Kurama to be a few paces behind him. But after Hiei walked into the sparse room, an air of coldness washed over the whole group, which now only meant Kuwabara and Yuusuke.
"Where's Kurama, shrimp?" Kuwabara broke the silence expectantly, giving the load of bull about his 'superiority'. Yuusuke elbowed his guts; something was wrong with Hiei. He was acting.so distant. So much like ice.and not fire.
The ice of the Koorime.
"How should I know? I am not Kurama." Hiei spoke with no emotion, still giving the vacant stare he gave everybody. Yuusuke swiped a hand on his head, obviously unamused.
"You were supposed to get him, Hiei. It can't be that hard." Yuusuke smirked halfheartedly, soon knitting his eyebrows in confusion.
"Is something the matter with Kurama?" Yuusuke spoke spared concern for Kurama, and for everyone else. It was this kind of weakness Hiei wished to avoid-one of many.
"I said: I don't know where the stupid fox is. And I don't 'get' people. They have to come willingly.not speak no-nonsense things." Yuusuke blinked twice, bewilderment already forming on his face. Hiei was acting so bitterly; it was such torture to watch.
"You don't." Yuusuke nodded unbelievingly, somehow sensing Hiei was telling the truth. But Kuwabara, on the other hand, did not believe a single word Hiei uttered.
"Shrimp, stop lying. What have ya done, eh? Tie Kurama up? You can spill the joke now." It seemed as if the idiot had gone overboard with the constant teasing, for his last joke got Hiei ruffled up.
"Shut up." This and an icy glare were rewarded to Kuwabara; the name "Kurama" drove Hiei into instant dislike. Such aloofness was not usually given to the zealous fox, but today it was. So, Kuwabara shut up.
"Don't bother me. And don't mention the name Kurama." His words expressed a tone of, curiously, sadness. The two boys goggled at him; they needed to know what was wrong, at least, on the two demons' relationship. Hiei never acted like this with Kurama; something wasn't right. But his thoughts were interrupted when a whiny voice cut through.
"Yo. Where were you guys? You were supposed to be in my office an hour ago!" Koenma laid his golden eyes disbelievingly at Yuusuke. It was a big surprise to see Koenma not in his office, but out near the gate.
"It wasn't my fault!" Yuusuke defended himself angrily.
"Say, where's Kurama?" Koenma's eyes peeked over and up, trying to catch a mere glimpse of Kurama.
"Not here." Hiei answered on a short note. Koenma poured his fair eyes on the silent demon, then shrugged.
"Now, about that new case. Well, it seems that some youkai have snuck in through a barrier. Around two of them, I s'pose. Nothing big, really, just weaklings. BUT! They have unexplainably-somehow-in no such way-escaped death. So, you must track them down and kill them. Permanently." Yuusuke cracked his knuckles pleasurably. Then he froze, and turned around.
"Do we know them?" Yuusuke stood still with an undecided frown dancing upon his grim face.
"I'm not so sure myself. They just appeared in my videos, all in shadow. But if you don't kill them fast, they have a way to get stronger- feeding off the Ningenkai." Yuusuke grinned cockily, then lurched to a halt.
"How much time do we have? I'll get Kurama." Kuwabara nodded affirmatively, though Hiei was lost in thought.
"Plenty." His words said, Koenma toddled off, sucking furiously. A waving George sprinted after him, holding a humongous stack of papers.
"Yatta!" They marched off.
~~~
"Oi, Kurama! Open up!" Yuusuke and Kuwabara milled enthusiastically on Shuuichi Minamino's door, wondering where Kurama himself was. It was the next cheery morning; if Hiei was so evasive in his responses about Kurama, something must be the matter. Shiori had offered the two schoolboys some tea, which they refused politely.
"You are looking for Shuuichi? Well, he hasn't said a word to me since two nights ago, which is awfully strange. Usually, he bids me good night and good morning, but hasn't said a word." Yuusuke and Kuwabara nodded understandably, knowing Kurama was a total mama's boy, which technically was true (at least in their opinion).
"Today is a Saturday, right?" Yuusuke nodded again, wondering what Shiori was leading on about. She snapped her fingers in a 'eureka' sign.
"Shuuichi told me he needed to do some early-morning studying this Saturday, which is today. So don't worry. He should be out in a few minutes." With a quick glance at wall clock, she shuffled off into the kitchen where she was baking a delicious-looking cake, one with thick, creamy icing plastered over the whole thing.
Kuwabara eyed it from time to time, forlornly musing about the breakfast he had in the morning.that cake looked appetizing, though unhealthy.
"Ohayo, Kaasan!" Kurama chirped out in his bright voice, directed only at his mother, but not Yuusuke and Kuwabara. He stopped abruptly, eyes widening in puzzlement.
"And who might you be?" Kurama spoke politely, smiling a sweet smile at the two gawking boys.
"Hey, Kurama! It's us!" Kuwabara jostled out joyfully, his goofy grin all over his face.
"Kurama? That is my preferred name, but for formality, my name is Shuuichi. Minamino Shuuichi. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Yuusuke wiggled his fingers in an awkward bid of 'hello'.
"Um...Shuuichi. Don't you remember us? Kuwabara and Yuusuke? Youko Kurama?" Kurama gave Yuusuke a quizzical look. Then, in his soft voice, he mused about that interesting name.
"...No." Kurama avoided the two boys, and his guarded eyes reflected the suspicion he perceived. Yuusuke and Kuwabara exchanged worrisome glances. They had no reason to think of why Kurama was acting so oddly-like he didn't know about himself.
"But we're your best friends!" Kuwabara's tart mouth confused Kurama in a startling way.
".I have no best friend, let alone best friends. Maybe you should leave.I.do not particularly like talking to strangers." Before they knew it, Kurama had shooed them out the door and onto the rocky walk. A deformed crow landed on Yuusuke's shoulder, only to be chased away.
There was something strange about the bird; there was malicious glint in its eyes. But this feature fell unnoticed to the boys' eyes.
"What the hell is wrong with him? It's like he's under some spell." Kuwabara complained indignantly as the two bewildered boys stormed off to the ice cream parlor. Unbeknownst to them, a murky shadow was tailing the two of them, and chuckled darkly at Kuwabara's last sentence.
The deformed crow landed on an arm, squawking noisily.
"A spell.a spell indeed." The mysterious figure waltzed away, concealing himself into the shadows of the alley.
Squawk, squawk. A crow.
~~~
"I'm telling you, Koenma! Kurama lost his memory!" Yuusuke shouted at Koenma, who was lavishly lying flat on his back in the comfort of his satin chair. Odd for a guy who just explained about some sneaks.
"Righhhhhhhht. Like I believe you..." Koenma drawled out lazily while he stamped an embossed seal half-heartedly on stacks and stacks of important documents. George was waving a fan luxuriously at the annoying toddler, who for some unknown reason was wearing a pair of sepia-tinted sunglasses.
"I'm NOT kidding! He didn't know us!" Yuusuke barked angrily at the relaxing god, frustrated at his attempts to make Koenma believe him.
"Um, Yuusuke? Have you forgotten what Kurama's nature is?" Koenma continued to stamp while he spoke to Yuusuke. Yuuuske looked befuddled, outwardly displaying the confusion he felt.
"Well, he's top of class, nice, warm, caring, and he helps out a lot, to be short." Yuusuke sensed a jolt coming through his heart, the envy he felt when he looked at Kurama. He wanted to be like that; then he wouldn't be treated like some delinquent.
"No, I mean his Youko personality. In general, youkos are playful and like to they like to tease." Koenma sucked on his fuukuman leisurely and yawned hugely. The swift fanning soon slowed to a reverberating beat, causing Koenma's eyelids to droop sleepily.
"Oh! I see..." Yuusuke now thought Kurama was playing a joke now. But what was with Hiei's performance? Yuusuke felt a strong urge to find out the messy details, and that was a vow.
~~~
"Hey Kurama!" Yuusuke yelled out across the Meiow High schoolyard, attracting clusters of students to look at him annoyingly. Shuuichi slowly turned, eyeing Yuusuke with a quizzical grimace.
"Um, Shuuichi!" Yuusuke corrected himself quickly, then walked over to the bitter boy.
"Yes, Kuwabara?" Shuuichi spoke with no warm air, and regarded Yuuske with cold eyes. Yuusuke chuckled inwardly.
"Hey, I'm Yuusuke!" He laughed out loud, slapping Kurama on the shoulder. Kurama looked irritated, brushing off specks of dirt on his school clothing. Yuusuke rolled his eyes.
With a tactful shove, he pushed Yuusuke away and started to walk at a brisk pace, all the way toward a secluded area.
"Wait up, Kurama!" Yuusuke jogged after him, finally catching hold of Kurama's mane of red hair. He slapped the hand away, afraid of the dark presence he felt of someone nearby. A dark shadow appeared in front of Kurama.
"Kurama." He looked sinisterly at the frightened (and confused) boy and nodded at Yuusuke.
"Oi, Hiei! Tell him to knock it off with the joke!" Kurama furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Yuusuke with an aggravated expression.
"I am not telling any lie." Kurama struggled defensively, but was telling the truth. Hiei took his turn and pulled Kurama into a forward dip in his forced grip. Kurama winced as he looked heavily into Hie's deep blood-red eyes, catching an icy frontier in the shallow of those pools.
"Drop it. Now." Hiei hissed cruelly through his acid mouth, then thrust Kurama effectively onto the ground. Kurama looked away, and he felt an aching longing for the ninja-clad boy, for some unanswered cause. So familiar...yet so distant.
In some place, deep in the caverns within his heart, he felt a loving connection to the boy, very different of that to his mother. But this tie was faint-he felt it slipping away, only left with a memory of 'never'.
"...I truly am not conspiring against you." Kurama whispered sadly through clenched teeth, although he knew they would not believe him. Hiei smirked disgustedly and kicked Kurama across the face, giving him an ugly black bruise. A mysterious gleam and black glower answered all.
"I do not like liars." Hiei then vanished, trudging off back to the Makai Kurama raised a tentative hand to his cheek, shakily stood up with difficulty, then ambled away in direction to the park. Yuusuke stood, dumbfounded, then he, too plodded away. He was just going to have to fight with three.
~~~
Kurama was walking home, very slowly, in a perturbed, slumped way. He didn't want to be so different from everybody. True, everyone liked him, even loved him, but that wasn't what Kurama looked for in a friend. In his terms, friends were there to trust, help, and just plain have fun with, not only with love. In so many ways, this was Hiei.
Kurama felt a strong link to this boy, but couldn't be explained in any way. Yes, Hiei would be a good friend-or lover. He could be confided in, never speaking. He could risk in any danger. He would be there when needed, because from what Kurama had gathered, that was Hiei. But-there was always a 'but'; Hiei didn't like him.
Sigh.
It was hopeless.
"Is it so hard to be loved?" He picked up a lone petal, sadly twirling it around his fingers. A deep chuckle broke the peace, though, and the resonating voice vibrated through the park.
"Hello, Shuucihi." Kurama excitedly but hesitantly whirled around, expecting Hiei, for that voice reminded him of the painfully tender voice of which is Hiei's. What surprised him was that it was Hiei.
"Hiei?" Kurama choked out unbelievingly, ears not leaving the beautiful, pure voice. The figure smirked.
"No, I am not Hiei. I am...Karasu." Karasu. The name was vaguely familiar. Kurama stared hard at the boy. No, it wasn't Hiei, he reasoned when he looked closely. This boy had short hair that that was of a dark purplish color, and the eyes were an eerie violet. Those eyes...Kurama could sense something of faltering humanity there, just of demonic wilderness.
"Don't be afraid...I won't hurt you." Kurama snorted darkly. This guy wasn't going to get away with treating him like an animal. 'Karasu' smiled; grinned actually, and presented a hand to the retreating boy.
"Here, I'll be that friend you're looking for." He smiled sweetly, displaying canine-like teeth. Kurama narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not looking for a friend." Kurama's emerald-jeweled eyes flashed angrily at the stranger. Another snigger escaped the violet-eyed boy.
"Oh, but you do." Karasu held out a hand suggestively, then with no reluctance, Kurama shook it. Karasu smiled.
"Meet me again tomorrow. I know where you live." With one last seductive blink, he disappeared.
Kurama felt shaken up. How did that boy know him? And where he lived? But finally, he wouldn't be alone anymore. Kurama gave one last, soft sigh. He'd just have to wait until tomorrow.
"Tomorrow, I will find out." And in that single promise, Kurama promptly walked away.
But unknown to him, Karasu was watching.
"You will...you will..." Karasu swung a pair of scissors around, then left the clearing. Deep laughter echoed through, once again.
Karasu was back.
~*~*~
Yes, people! This is going to be yaoi! So, those people who don't approve of it, take a hike and read something else!
~*~*~
Chapter 1
*~*~*
~~~
~ Why am I Kurama?
Why must I be like this?
Is this what I want?
To be scorned for hard love?
I love him, but I can't get him.
He can get me, but he doesn't love me.
Never experiencing love...
That is you...
...and that is me. ~
~~~
Hiei leapt lithely onto the thin ledge, nervously expecting a resentful Kurama. He gulped anxiously; the harmonic friendship they used to share was now on thin ice.
Creeeeeeeeeeak.
It was night. Hiei lifted the tightly shut window upward, and clambered in hesitantly. A peacefully sleeping Kurama appeared, looking somewhat more serene than Hiei had imagined. He was an angel.
Hiei approached the innocent boy and stared thoughtfully at his smooth, porcelain face; a face who had murdered many, a face who gave compassion to the people he met.
He sighed, thinking it bothersome to be a messenger boy for two very important figures, one for Reikai and one for Makai. For, the reason Hiei had come here, was to deliver a wearisome message from the thoughtless toddler named Koenma.
Kurama stirred. Hiei sprung back, cursing, and began to shake the still-sleeping fox.
"Oi! Wake up, stupid kitsune!" With the constant quaking Hiei was giving him, Kurama couldn't help but blink a confused emerald eye. Hiei eyed him distastefully, then spat out the message.
"Koenma wants us." Kurama widened his eyes to impossibly huge saucers. It was as if he was in dream.
".who are you?"
"What are you talking about? Stop playing your stupid tricks on me." Hiei dismissed the rather alarming question listlessly, and jumped soundlessly onto a nearby branch that was scratching in bone-chilling shrieks. Kurama just stared with void eyes.
Hiei was becoming uncomfortable; the Kurama he knew never looked at him like that-like he was scared.
"Baka, we have to go to Reikai--now. The stupid toddler says some youkai has escaped Makai-and death. 'A very strange case' my ass. It's always just nonsense." Hiei gave Kurama an irritated look, then grasped a fistful of leaves and pounded them impatiently into the worn tree trunk. Kurama watched with stiff green eyes, not daring to move a muscle.
".Reikai?" Kurama whispered through a strangled voice, truly confounded. However, a glint of remembrance was slowly coming back to him.
"We have to go now, Kurama." Hiei mumbled loudly through clenched teeth, red eyes flashing against the midnight sky.
"For.Koenma?" Kurama felt more confident when he said his piece, bits and pieces of a foggy memory soon coming back.
"Good boy, Kurama! Tell me something you don't know!" Hiei let go with an outburst in a rush of hot air.
"Reikai Tantei." Flying bits were soon coming back to Kurama, but not much about Hiei. Somehow, he knew something was different about the short boy; Kurama felt crushed just at the sight of him. This boy had really hurt him, in a strong, emotional way.
"Tell me, what the hell is wrong with you? Is it about the fight-our fight? Well, I don't give a damn to the crap you were talking about! I'm leaving-with or without you!" With an angry frown, Hiei swept his black cloak and, after giving one last cold, cruel glare, he left. Kurama sat, stunned.
The glower sent Kurama into a swirl of black remembrances, dark and tormenting memories that appeared in his mind when he locked eyes with the boy-in that last long, hard look.
"What.?" Kurama kneeled down, staring blankly at the floor. Memoirs were all jumbles now; they were slipping past his hold, seeping through his own consciousness. Soon, he fainted, overcome by the recent events and an aching he felt when he locked eyes with the boy. So painful...
An aching that hurt deeply. Deeply in more ways than one. He felt like he was under a spell.
And a spell it was.
"Ahhh. Poor Kurama. I'll be there for you.when that little fire demon brat isn't." A soft-spoken voice sang lightly to the wind, silky laughter echoing through the night.
A spell it was.
A spell it shall be.
~~~
~ "I love you, Hiei."
"..."
"Do you love me?"
"I could never love someone as dirty as you...Youko Kurama."
And with that, he left. ~
~~~
Hiei appeared in Reikai, all alone. The others stared at him monotonously, expecting Kurama to be a few paces behind him. But after Hiei walked into the sparse room, an air of coldness washed over the whole group, which now only meant Kuwabara and Yuusuke.
"Where's Kurama, shrimp?" Kuwabara broke the silence expectantly, giving the load of bull about his 'superiority'. Yuusuke elbowed his guts; something was wrong with Hiei. He was acting.so distant. So much like ice.and not fire.
The ice of the Koorime.
"How should I know? I am not Kurama." Hiei spoke with no emotion, still giving the vacant stare he gave everybody. Yuusuke swiped a hand on his head, obviously unamused.
"You were supposed to get him, Hiei. It can't be that hard." Yuusuke smirked halfheartedly, soon knitting his eyebrows in confusion.
"Is something the matter with Kurama?" Yuusuke spoke spared concern for Kurama, and for everyone else. It was this kind of weakness Hiei wished to avoid-one of many.
"I said: I don't know where the stupid fox is. And I don't 'get' people. They have to come willingly.not speak no-nonsense things." Yuusuke blinked twice, bewilderment already forming on his face. Hiei was acting so bitterly; it was such torture to watch.
"You don't." Yuusuke nodded unbelievingly, somehow sensing Hiei was telling the truth. But Kuwabara, on the other hand, did not believe a single word Hiei uttered.
"Shrimp, stop lying. What have ya done, eh? Tie Kurama up? You can spill the joke now." It seemed as if the idiot had gone overboard with the constant teasing, for his last joke got Hiei ruffled up.
"Shut up." This and an icy glare were rewarded to Kuwabara; the name "Kurama" drove Hiei into instant dislike. Such aloofness was not usually given to the zealous fox, but today it was. So, Kuwabara shut up.
"Don't bother me. And don't mention the name Kurama." His words expressed a tone of, curiously, sadness. The two boys goggled at him; they needed to know what was wrong, at least, on the two demons' relationship. Hiei never acted like this with Kurama; something wasn't right. But his thoughts were interrupted when a whiny voice cut through.
"Yo. Where were you guys? You were supposed to be in my office an hour ago!" Koenma laid his golden eyes disbelievingly at Yuusuke. It was a big surprise to see Koenma not in his office, but out near the gate.
"It wasn't my fault!" Yuusuke defended himself angrily.
"Say, where's Kurama?" Koenma's eyes peeked over and up, trying to catch a mere glimpse of Kurama.
"Not here." Hiei answered on a short note. Koenma poured his fair eyes on the silent demon, then shrugged.
"Now, about that new case. Well, it seems that some youkai have snuck in through a barrier. Around two of them, I s'pose. Nothing big, really, just weaklings. BUT! They have unexplainably-somehow-in no such way-escaped death. So, you must track them down and kill them. Permanently." Yuusuke cracked his knuckles pleasurably. Then he froze, and turned around.
"Do we know them?" Yuusuke stood still with an undecided frown dancing upon his grim face.
"I'm not so sure myself. They just appeared in my videos, all in shadow. But if you don't kill them fast, they have a way to get stronger- feeding off the Ningenkai." Yuusuke grinned cockily, then lurched to a halt.
"How much time do we have? I'll get Kurama." Kuwabara nodded affirmatively, though Hiei was lost in thought.
"Plenty." His words said, Koenma toddled off, sucking furiously. A waving George sprinted after him, holding a humongous stack of papers.
"Yatta!" They marched off.
~~~
"Oi, Kurama! Open up!" Yuusuke and Kuwabara milled enthusiastically on Shuuichi Minamino's door, wondering where Kurama himself was. It was the next cheery morning; if Hiei was so evasive in his responses about Kurama, something must be the matter. Shiori had offered the two schoolboys some tea, which they refused politely.
"You are looking for Shuuichi? Well, he hasn't said a word to me since two nights ago, which is awfully strange. Usually, he bids me good night and good morning, but hasn't said a word." Yuusuke and Kuwabara nodded understandably, knowing Kurama was a total mama's boy, which technically was true (at least in their opinion).
"Today is a Saturday, right?" Yuusuke nodded again, wondering what Shiori was leading on about. She snapped her fingers in a 'eureka' sign.
"Shuuichi told me he needed to do some early-morning studying this Saturday, which is today. So don't worry. He should be out in a few minutes." With a quick glance at wall clock, she shuffled off into the kitchen where she was baking a delicious-looking cake, one with thick, creamy icing plastered over the whole thing.
Kuwabara eyed it from time to time, forlornly musing about the breakfast he had in the morning.that cake looked appetizing, though unhealthy.
"Ohayo, Kaasan!" Kurama chirped out in his bright voice, directed only at his mother, but not Yuusuke and Kuwabara. He stopped abruptly, eyes widening in puzzlement.
"And who might you be?" Kurama spoke politely, smiling a sweet smile at the two gawking boys.
"Hey, Kurama! It's us!" Kuwabara jostled out joyfully, his goofy grin all over his face.
"Kurama? That is my preferred name, but for formality, my name is Shuuichi. Minamino Shuuichi. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Yuusuke wiggled his fingers in an awkward bid of 'hello'.
"Um...Shuuichi. Don't you remember us? Kuwabara and Yuusuke? Youko Kurama?" Kurama gave Yuusuke a quizzical look. Then, in his soft voice, he mused about that interesting name.
"...No." Kurama avoided the two boys, and his guarded eyes reflected the suspicion he perceived. Yuusuke and Kuwabara exchanged worrisome glances. They had no reason to think of why Kurama was acting so oddly-like he didn't know about himself.
"But we're your best friends!" Kuwabara's tart mouth confused Kurama in a startling way.
".I have no best friend, let alone best friends. Maybe you should leave.I.do not particularly like talking to strangers." Before they knew it, Kurama had shooed them out the door and onto the rocky walk. A deformed crow landed on Yuusuke's shoulder, only to be chased away.
There was something strange about the bird; there was malicious glint in its eyes. But this feature fell unnoticed to the boys' eyes.
"What the hell is wrong with him? It's like he's under some spell." Kuwabara complained indignantly as the two bewildered boys stormed off to the ice cream parlor. Unbeknownst to them, a murky shadow was tailing the two of them, and chuckled darkly at Kuwabara's last sentence.
The deformed crow landed on an arm, squawking noisily.
"A spell.a spell indeed." The mysterious figure waltzed away, concealing himself into the shadows of the alley.
Squawk, squawk. A crow.
~~~
"I'm telling you, Koenma! Kurama lost his memory!" Yuusuke shouted at Koenma, who was lavishly lying flat on his back in the comfort of his satin chair. Odd for a guy who just explained about some sneaks.
"Righhhhhhhht. Like I believe you..." Koenma drawled out lazily while he stamped an embossed seal half-heartedly on stacks and stacks of important documents. George was waving a fan luxuriously at the annoying toddler, who for some unknown reason was wearing a pair of sepia-tinted sunglasses.
"I'm NOT kidding! He didn't know us!" Yuusuke barked angrily at the relaxing god, frustrated at his attempts to make Koenma believe him.
"Um, Yuusuke? Have you forgotten what Kurama's nature is?" Koenma continued to stamp while he spoke to Yuusuke. Yuuuske looked befuddled, outwardly displaying the confusion he felt.
"Well, he's top of class, nice, warm, caring, and he helps out a lot, to be short." Yuusuke sensed a jolt coming through his heart, the envy he felt when he looked at Kurama. He wanted to be like that; then he wouldn't be treated like some delinquent.
"No, I mean his Youko personality. In general, youkos are playful and like to they like to tease." Koenma sucked on his fuukuman leisurely and yawned hugely. The swift fanning soon slowed to a reverberating beat, causing Koenma's eyelids to droop sleepily.
"Oh! I see..." Yuusuke now thought Kurama was playing a joke now. But what was with Hiei's performance? Yuusuke felt a strong urge to find out the messy details, and that was a vow.
~~~
"Hey Kurama!" Yuusuke yelled out across the Meiow High schoolyard, attracting clusters of students to look at him annoyingly. Shuuichi slowly turned, eyeing Yuusuke with a quizzical grimace.
"Um, Shuuichi!" Yuusuke corrected himself quickly, then walked over to the bitter boy.
"Yes, Kuwabara?" Shuuichi spoke with no warm air, and regarded Yuuske with cold eyes. Yuusuke chuckled inwardly.
"Hey, I'm Yuusuke!" He laughed out loud, slapping Kurama on the shoulder. Kurama looked irritated, brushing off specks of dirt on his school clothing. Yuusuke rolled his eyes.
With a tactful shove, he pushed Yuusuke away and started to walk at a brisk pace, all the way toward a secluded area.
"Wait up, Kurama!" Yuusuke jogged after him, finally catching hold of Kurama's mane of red hair. He slapped the hand away, afraid of the dark presence he felt of someone nearby. A dark shadow appeared in front of Kurama.
"Kurama." He looked sinisterly at the frightened (and confused) boy and nodded at Yuusuke.
"Oi, Hiei! Tell him to knock it off with the joke!" Kurama furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Yuusuke with an aggravated expression.
"I am not telling any lie." Kurama struggled defensively, but was telling the truth. Hiei took his turn and pulled Kurama into a forward dip in his forced grip. Kurama winced as he looked heavily into Hie's deep blood-red eyes, catching an icy frontier in the shallow of those pools.
"Drop it. Now." Hiei hissed cruelly through his acid mouth, then thrust Kurama effectively onto the ground. Kurama looked away, and he felt an aching longing for the ninja-clad boy, for some unanswered cause. So familiar...yet so distant.
In some place, deep in the caverns within his heart, he felt a loving connection to the boy, very different of that to his mother. But this tie was faint-he felt it slipping away, only left with a memory of 'never'.
"...I truly am not conspiring against you." Kurama whispered sadly through clenched teeth, although he knew they would not believe him. Hiei smirked disgustedly and kicked Kurama across the face, giving him an ugly black bruise. A mysterious gleam and black glower answered all.
"I do not like liars." Hiei then vanished, trudging off back to the Makai Kurama raised a tentative hand to his cheek, shakily stood up with difficulty, then ambled away in direction to the park. Yuusuke stood, dumbfounded, then he, too plodded away. He was just going to have to fight with three.
~~~
Kurama was walking home, very slowly, in a perturbed, slumped way. He didn't want to be so different from everybody. True, everyone liked him, even loved him, but that wasn't what Kurama looked for in a friend. In his terms, friends were there to trust, help, and just plain have fun with, not only with love. In so many ways, this was Hiei.
Kurama felt a strong link to this boy, but couldn't be explained in any way. Yes, Hiei would be a good friend-or lover. He could be confided in, never speaking. He could risk in any danger. He would be there when needed, because from what Kurama had gathered, that was Hiei. But-there was always a 'but'; Hiei didn't like him.
Sigh.
It was hopeless.
"Is it so hard to be loved?" He picked up a lone petal, sadly twirling it around his fingers. A deep chuckle broke the peace, though, and the resonating voice vibrated through the park.
"Hello, Shuucihi." Kurama excitedly but hesitantly whirled around, expecting Hiei, for that voice reminded him of the painfully tender voice of which is Hiei's. What surprised him was that it was Hiei.
"Hiei?" Kurama choked out unbelievingly, ears not leaving the beautiful, pure voice. The figure smirked.
"No, I am not Hiei. I am...Karasu." Karasu. The name was vaguely familiar. Kurama stared hard at the boy. No, it wasn't Hiei, he reasoned when he looked closely. This boy had short hair that that was of a dark purplish color, and the eyes were an eerie violet. Those eyes...Kurama could sense something of faltering humanity there, just of demonic wilderness.
"Don't be afraid...I won't hurt you." Kurama snorted darkly. This guy wasn't going to get away with treating him like an animal. 'Karasu' smiled; grinned actually, and presented a hand to the retreating boy.
"Here, I'll be that friend you're looking for." He smiled sweetly, displaying canine-like teeth. Kurama narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not looking for a friend." Kurama's emerald-jeweled eyes flashed angrily at the stranger. Another snigger escaped the violet-eyed boy.
"Oh, but you do." Karasu held out a hand suggestively, then with no reluctance, Kurama shook it. Karasu smiled.
"Meet me again tomorrow. I know where you live." With one last seductive blink, he disappeared.
Kurama felt shaken up. How did that boy know him? And where he lived? But finally, he wouldn't be alone anymore. Kurama gave one last, soft sigh. He'd just have to wait until tomorrow.
"Tomorrow, I will find out." And in that single promise, Kurama promptly walked away.
But unknown to him, Karasu was watching.
"You will...you will..." Karasu swung a pair of scissors around, then left the clearing. Deep laughter echoed through, once again.
Karasu was back.
~*~*~
Yes, people! This is going to be yaoi! So, those people who don't approve of it, take a hike and read something else!