Charm of the Forbidden

By: Hakai

Disclaimer: [[Insert disclaimer here]]

A/N: As the humor writer writes her first angst fic. Hahaha. That's a laugh. ^^ geez. Why did I write an angst fic? I dunno. Oh, and my Kurama loving friends were getting mad at me because of the "Kurama bashing". ::shrugs:: I can't help it. I simply typed and it came out that way. ^^; That and the fact that I'm like Hiei so I tend to side with him. ^.^; Please read on and ignore the rants of a stupid would be fanfic writer. Beware bad writing skills.

Chap. 4: Shinyo [Trust]

//It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust nobody.//

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//Karasu…// Hiei thought with disgust. Why was he back in Ningenkai? Who had given him the rights to be back here? And if someone hadn't, how had he found means to cross over?

"Let me… end your suffering!" Karasu yelled throwing a bomb at the tree. Hiei ducked as the once beautiful tree shattered in smoke and flame. As much as Hiei enjoyed the smell of smoke and the blaze before him, that tree had meant something to him. The koorime had first met the youko in human form there, had fought him, had fallen for him, and had his heart broken there. The bad memories, the good memories. They were all special to him. And Karasu had destroyed them in the blink of an eye.

"Hm? Who's there?" Karasu asked curiously. //shit// Hiei thought. He hadn't realized how much youki he'd emitted in his spurt of panic. Karasu peered behind the bush the fire demon had hid behind and grinned. "Well now, if it isn't Hiei. Kurama is not with you today?"

Hiei scowled as he stood up. "It's none of my business what the fox does."

"Oh? I beg to differ. Don't deny that you tend to linger longer with him then you do with others. And he was the first person you saw when you came into Ningenkai, was he not?"

The spiky haired demon's shock quickly turned into suspicion. "Are you stalking me?"

"You? No, no. Don't flatter yourself. It's Kurama I'm stalking." Hiei rolled his eyes. "Kurama's always been my favorite. Although… did you see that Touya at the tournament? Simply yummy!"

Hiei was ready to leave. He wasn't about to stick around and listen to this. Karasu the psycho was one thing, Karasu the giddy school girl was a whole other one. "He's become quite the pedophile, hasn't he?"

Hiei paused. "Who?" The koorime was confused. And what in the world was a 'pedophile'? Hadn't he heard that word somewhere? Yes, he had. It meant… someone who was sexually attracted to children. Who could the batty old crow be talking about now?

"Why! Kurama of course." Karasu stated as if it were the most obvious thing ever. Hiei raised an eyebrow. Kurama? He didn't see the youko as the type to go for small children. In fact, the fire youkai knew for a fact that all of his previous lovers, whether a quickie or much longer, were indeed all grown youkai.

"What… do you mean?" Hiei asked carefully.

"What do I mean? I mean you. You're nothing but a child."

"I--!" A child?! Had that idiot just called him a child?

"You" Karasu interrupted. "are quite young, aren't you? Not only that. But your appearance is that of a child. Fire demons are only that short in their adolescent years, are they not?"

"I'm only half fire demon. And what do you mean Kurama's a--"

"Well I knew you weren't full fire demon. How could you be? I've never seen a fire demon quite like you. As I've said before, Kurama's always been my favorite. But you…"

Hiei glared at the tall youkai. He didn't even want to *consider* the fact that Karasu had 'feelings' for him. The lavender-eyed demon sighed, taking no notice of the dirty looks from the Jaganshi. "Yes well… I suppose I can see why the youko would want to bed someone like you. The forbidden child. Many have spoken of you since you were quite young. An ice maiden, fire demon mix. Fire and ice. Opposing elements. Quite an interesting mix, indeed. I wonder, how is it to get inside of you. Within your body, is it burning hot? Or freezing cold. I wonder… even your physical body. Small, compact, yet muscular. I myself would torture you so much, that perhaps you'd cry. Then we'd see if you cry tear gems as well. Maybe they're black? Or red. Or cerulean like the others. But those too, are worth a lot. Just a single one can… but then, you know this already. Ever cried before, little koorime?"

"No." Hiei said, perhaps a bit too quickly. These things Karasu was telling him, did Kurama think these things as well? No, it couldn't be. Kurama had said he loved him. He'd meant it. Or at least that's what the hopeful part of Hiei's heart told him. The part of his heart that Yukina had spoken to. The part that wanted to leave this idiot right now and find his red-haired kitsune. But the other part of his heart wanted to stay. It wondered what else the crow had to say. Perhaps he'd learn something about the youko's true nature. But no, this wasn't what Kurama was thinking. This was Karasu's viewpoint, not Kurama's, wasn't it?

"He told me, you know."

Hiei's thoughts were interrupted and he snapped back to reality. "Told you what?" He presumed by now that he was talking about the fox.

"Years ago. He's had his eyes on you for years. He's been lusting after you for that long. So tell me. Is he any good? Is the legendary youko as skilled as they say?" he asked curiously.

"Wha-?!" Hiei gasped. Was that idiot implying what he thought he was implying? "I--!"

"I hope you haven't fallen for him." Karasu went on. By now, not even listening to the fire demon. Hiei cringed unwillingly. Unfortunately for him, the dark haired demon caught it. "You have, haven't you? How cute. The forbidden child has fallen for that which he cannot have. Well, if you don't mind, I've got more important matters to attend to. I'm sure I'll see you around, Hiei." And with that said, Karasu left Hiei to his own devices.

"That which I cannot have…" Hiei muttered to himself.

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Kurama hummed to himself as he walked. He felt better. Though not quite up to par, he did feel much better than he had. Speaking with his mother had helped him a lot. Though he still didn't know what he was going to do, it seemed a slight weight on him had lifted. He opened the door to his apartment and set his grocery bag on the counter. Tonight he'd make stew. Kurama loved stew. It had everything, meat, vegetables… rice. Definitely can't forget the rice. He grinned to himself. Hiei had enjoyed his stew as well. The red-head shook his head of that thought. //Don't think about him. Not now, not ever.// he thought to himself as he set to work in his small kitchen.

He had just put the lid over the pot to cook when there was a knock at his door. For a fleeting instant his mind had led him to believe it could possibly Hiei. But Kurama knew, even if Hiei were to come to him. It would not be through the front door. He quickly wiped his hands on a nearby towel before going to answer the door. His visitor knocked again, a little more loudly this time.

"I'm coming." Kurama called opening the door. Whoever the youko had been expecting, it definitely had not been this girl. She was a pretty girl, tall, and with long black hair. She smiled at him through dismal eyes. "Etto… Nakamura Erika, right? You go to my college, don't you? From biology class?" She nodded giving a little sniffle. "Er… would you like to come inside?" She nodded again and quietly walked in. "Have a seat, I was just making stew, would you like some?" She shook her head as took a seat on his couch. The emerald-eyed youkai sat beside her. "What's wrong Nakamura-san?" she tried to say something but before any words could come out of her mouth she broke down in to sobs, crying on Kurama's sleeve. //oh boy..// Were

his last thoughts before he preceded to comfort her.

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Hiei plopped himself onto the floor of the cave. He sighed. What was he going to do now? It was too much effort to go back to the Makai, and even more to have to stay in the Ningenkai. Where'd that leave him?

"Trapped, definitely trapped." Hiei mumbled to himself as he rolled on to his side. Surprisingly he was lying on something soft. What was it? He reached under his hip and pulled out a human shirt and long pants. "Kurama's…" the fire-demon gasped. Kurama'd be wanting it back. The koorime wouldn't be surprised if the stupid kitsune actually had a list of all the clothing he owned.

The short youkai sat up and hugged the clothing to his chest. "Hn. It still smells like him."

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"Erika." Kurama sighed. "Calm down. It'll be ok, I'm sure of it." she sniffed and nodded. The plant-wielder found himself patting her back comfortingly for what seemed to be the millionth time.

"Shuuichi… please…" Erika gasped though tears as she desperately touch the red-head's cheek.

"E-Erika…?" he called nervously. She closed her eyes and brought their faces closer together. Kurama was about to push her away when a loud noise from down the hall startled both of them. The youkai hurried to his room. It was deathly silent. The only sound that could be heard now was Erika coming down the hallway and the wind through his open window. But wait, that wasn't right. Kurama always closed his window in the winter. Always.

The youko was about to make his way to shut the window again when something under his foot felt too soft to be his hard wood floor. He bent to pick it up.

"Shuuichi…?" Erika said nervously.

"Erika. Please leave now. There may be someone in here and I don't want you getting hurt." the emerald eyed youkai lied. It wasn't really a lie. A white lie. There was someone in his apartment that might kill her. Kurama himself.

The black-haired girl left quickly. Kurama leaned against that wall and hugged what had been on the ground. His clothes. The clothes he'd let the fire demon borrow. Even now, Kurama could still sense traces of his youki on the clothes.

"Hiei…" Kurama sighed. "You saw didn't you. I-It wasn't what you might have thought, Hiei… just like me. I'm not what you think I am."

~Tsuzuku, To Be Continued

A/N: short chapter. I'm not to sure on how it came out. I get the feeling that it was too rush-rush and that I didn't make it flow very well. ::shrugs:: l0l. I told my friend, Starr, that if I keep writing like this I'll dig myself a deep hole of problems and never be able to fix all of them. ^^; Any ideas/suggestions on what should happen next?