Inner Needs
CHAPTER TWO: TAKING OVER
Kurama peered down at the jewel that sat on the soft wood of his desk. It had started glowing again when he took it out of his pocket. What was this thing? Some kind of power radiated of the tiny piece in sickening waves. Deep inside him, Youko stirred, clawing lightly at the restraint he had over his demon half.
He gasped sharply and jerked back away from his desk. The gem glowed brighter for a split second before fading. And with the glow went Youko's weak calls of release. Kurama ran a hand gently through his hair, not noticing his slight tremble.
What was that all about? For a minute there he felt Youko as though they were once again the same person. The thoughts of stealing and thievery had invaded him just long enough to cause fear in him. He could never let that part of him resurface. Granted he and Youko were one, but he had managed to tame the fox and extinguish his desire to steal.
The sudden rustling of leaves outside his window caught his acute hearing. He jerked forward, pulling open a drawer and swiped the jewel inside. As the drawer slammed shut, a presence made itself known on his window sill.
"What was that all about fox?" Hiei asked, dropping to the floor.
Kurama turned to look at the short fire demon and cocked his head to the side. Playing innocent was the only way to get to Hiei because he hated dealing with things when they got to fluffy. He turned slowly and pasted a confused, yet oddly cute, expression on his face.
"What are you talking about Hiei?" He asked in a slow voice.
As expected, the small demon blinked dumbly and took a step back. His blood red eyes widened and looked around, hoping to find anything to wipe that look off the kitsune's face.
"The, uh, the quick movements." Hiei turned his gaze on the floor. "It looked like you were trying to hide something quickly."
Kurama laughed lightly and placed a hand over the soft wood of his desk. Even through the wood he could feel the power pulsing from inside. A protectiveness flared in him and he knew that he couldn't allow Hiei to find his treasure.
"I was just putting some homework away." He chuckled, but golden flecks had begun to appear in his eyes, letting show the fact that he was hiding a treasure. "I heard you and it startled me, so I moved faster then I thought."
Hiei noticed the gold when Kurama turned to look at him after explaining himself. His brows shot up. What in the hell could have Youko so close to the surface?
"Hn," He snorted, "I doubt that. What's with the protectiveness? What are you hiding fox?"
Hiei moved forward and reached for the handle to the drawer. Kurama moved faster then human eyes could see and grabbed his wrist. Hiei jumped, feeling the fingers clamp down him. Glancing up, he found himself looking into the narrow golden eyes of Youko. But blood red strands of hair still hung down in his face, and when he spoke it was Kurama's voice.
"Don't touch it." Kurama hissed. "It's my treasure. I stole nothing. Finding something is not stealing."
Hiei winced when Kurama's hand tightened, slowly crushing the bones in his wrist. What the hell was going on? He had only wanted to see what Kurama wanted to hide. They both knew they couldn't do things like this because they minute they drifted off their path of good they'd be thrown in prison for hundreds of years. Kurama couldn't be turning evil again, not after the way his human mother had softened his kitsune heart.
"Kurama," He spoke softly. "Stop. I'm not taking anything from you. I don't wish to steal your possession. I'm looking out for you so neither of us winds up in Koenma's personal prison collection."
Those words seemed to get through to the snarling fox. The gold faded back to their original emerald green. They immediately softened and sparkled with Hiei thought was momentary fear. He let go of Hiei's wrist and quickly pulled back, fearing what he was doing. A quick gasp escaped him as he wrapped an arm around his midsection, as though in pain.
Hiei jumped into action and half pulled, half dragged Kurama over to his own bed. Whatever had been in the drawer was now forgotten as he saw his only true friend in trouble. Kurama whimpered when the fire demon pushed him back on the bed and he landed with a soft flop. Youko had receded back to the deepest part inside but not without feeling as though he tore Kurama apart in the mean time. The fox was mad at being pushed back again, but he couldn't allow him to hurt Hiei over something as stupid as a broken piece of a jewel he had just found.
"Kurama what's wrong?" Hiei snapped the question, hardly any concern showing for his friend. But inside he was stressed. He couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Y-Youko wanted out." Kurama rasped. "But he's under control now. I'm sorry if I frightened you Hiei, it's just, this has never happened before."
Kurama slowly sat up and glanced over at the drawer. Was this all because of that gem? Was it something from Youko's past? No, of course not. He would have remembered that seeing as it was his past as well. Then why was the fox within him so drawn to that broken gem?
"What is in there?" Hiei suddenly asked, almost afraid that if he approached himself again, Youko may kill him. "That's what got Youko all riled up."
Kurama slowly rose to his feet and stumbled over to the desk. He slowly pulled open the drawer and glanced at the shard. It had lost its glow but still sparkled brightly. As he slowly reached in to pull it out, his hand jerked back. He couldn't give it up, for some unknown reason he just couldn't give it up. With an angry growl, he slammed his hand into the drawer and snapped at the piece.
This was ridiculous! This tiny rock was doing something to him. It was making him crazy, causing him to want nothing more then to crawl into a dark hole with the gem and never come out. He wanted to covet the power all for himself. His hand tightened unconsciously around the tiny shard. A hiss escaped him as one of the edges cut into the tender skin of his finger. At the contact from his blood, the shard exploded in a flash of light.
Hiei jumped, landing on his feet on the bed. His eyes grew wide as he watched Kurama be engulfed by a bright light. Fear coursed through him like a white hot fire. He lunged off the bed and quickly tackled the fox. They both grunted as they slammed into the ground hard, letting out puffs of air. The odd glow disappeared and left the two panting on the ground.
"What…the hell…was that?" Hiei panted.
Kurama held up a tiny fragment of pink looking glass. He was breathing hard, his hand trembling ever so slightly. Hiei raised a thin brow and cocked his head to the side. There was a strange power pulsing off the shard. He reached out to touch it, but Kurama snapped it back with a low growl. The fire demon pulled back, not wanting to invoke Youko once more.
"What is it?" He asked slowly.
"I don't know." Kurama answered with a leisurely shrug. "I found it on my way home. I thought it was pretty and brought it home. Ever since then Youko has been restless. It's like he wants to break loose of this human shell and be free again."
Now Hiei was completely stunned. He wanted to rip the gem away from Kurama and toss it out the window. But with the Youko part of protecting it so fiercely he knew that wasn't going to happen. Instead he could only hope that the kitsune had enough sense to hand the broken shard over.
"I have to put it away," Kurama suddenly rasped, slipping the jewel easily into the drawer and shutting it. "When it's out Youko gets too eager."
Hiei looked quickly at the drawer and then back at the window. He needed to find out something about the fox's new treasure. And who better to ask then that idiot, Koenma. He leapt to the windowsill and cast a stern glance back at the kitsune.
"I'm going to see Koenma." He announced. "Don't take that thing out of the drawer. In fact, why don't you take a walk."
It wasn't a question, but a demand. Kurama nodded slowly and sighed as Hiei jumped from his window and darted off into the tree tops. Rising to his feet he turned with the full intention of walking out of his room. But just as he reached for the handle, Youko cried out inside him. Kurama gasped and doubled over. He could feel a heat on his back as the jewel began to glow again.
"No!" He screamed. "Leave me alone!"
He ripped his bedroom door open and burst out of his room. Quickly running down the stairs, he bolted out the front door. He didn't know where he was going but he'd find out once he got there.
Deep inside Youko mewled angrily and then lay still again.
~*~
Kagome came to a sudden stop causing Inu Yasha to slam into her from behind. The half demon grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. His golden eyes flashed and he growled deep in his throat.
"Idiot!" He snapped. "What's your problem now?"
Kagome ignored the insult as she cocked her head slightly and turned towards her left. There was the Tokyo park's garden. She took a step towards it before a clawed hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her back. Snapping out of her daze, she turned narrowed brown eyes on the dog demon.
"What?" She yelped. "I figured you be in there faster then me!"
Inu Yasha turned to glare at the garden. Roses were blooming in full, their sweet scent invading his senses. He shuddered at the open display of beauty.
"And tell me why I'd be racing you into that place." He asked.
"Because," Kagome ripped her arm out of his grasp. "I can sense the jewel shard in there."
Inu Yasha's eyes widened. His gaze shot back up to the rose infested garden. With a low growl he shot past Kagome and leapt in the garden.
"Told you you'd be in there before me." She scoffed, following the demon at a slower pace.
When she reached his side, Inu Yasha was staring at the only other occupant of the garden with wide eyes. Kagome peered at him herself. It was boy who looked only a year or two older then herself. He had blood red hair and bright green eyes. He sat on the ground, flowers seeming to grow around him like well trained pets. But the strangest thing was he looked perfectly human.
"He has it?" She asked herself. "But he looks human, and not evil like most after the jewel."
Inu Yasha sniffed at the air and growled again. He scratched at the baseball cap he wore silently cursing it again.
"He may look human," The dog demon hissed. "But he smells like a demon."
Kagome stiffened as she looked at the young man. He had a far off look in his eyes and seemed almost…sad. There was no way he could be holding the shikon jewel. Although she felt the shard's presence hanging like a cloud over the boy. She reached up to touch Inu Yasha's shoulder.
"Wait, don't hu-" She never finished her statement because the dog demon took off towards the boy.
"Inu Yasha, no!" She screamed. But it was too late. The half demon launched himself into the air, looming over the boy like a deadly cloud. He raised a hand, knuckles cracking as he flexed his clawed fingers. His fangs glistened as he smiled and then shouted.
"Claw of Exorcism!"
It was in that few seconds that Kagome panicked. She stuttered a few times before finally calling out what she thought was the boy's only chance.
"SIT BOY!!"
Hmm…we'll end it there for now. Next chapter…the confrontation between Kurama and Inu Yasha and what does Hiei find out from Koenma?
And now, answers to reviews!!
Youko-Love- Pairings? I don't know if I'm going to put pairings in this story, though I'm a huge Kurama/Hiei fan. But I think with this story I'm going to stay clear of romance. I'm working on two one-shots that will be Kurama/Hiei, so look for those.
Yami-AJ Yu-Yu-InuCaptor- Well thank you for that great review. And yes, you gotta love Kurama and Inu Yasha. They are two of my all time favorite anime characters (can't forget Hiei either!!) Hope this update pleases you again!!
Sozoku- Here's your update! And I agree that it's better to see Kagome and Inu Yasha in character. I think one of the best parts of Inu Yasha is those two continuous fighting and banter. Where would this story be with out it?!
So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!!