THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!
Geez, it feels like forever since I started this thing. It was my first story on ff.net, and, not that you care, the yaoi ending was the original ending until I got a bunch of reviews telling me not to have yaoi. But next time I'll put a warning up and I won't have to bother with another alternate ending thing.
All right! VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER!! READ IT CLOSELY IF YOU WANT TO READ THE SEQUEL!!
Kurama turned over in his bed, sweat dotting his forehead as he cried out, trapped in a dream. (A/N: Hmmm, I wonder what he's dreaming there. Naughty, naughty, Kurama. *gets hit in head by random plant* Darn kitsune.) He moaned, burying his face in his pillow. (A/N: Again. Sorry, I'm comment-y tonight. This is really starting to sound like some sort of lemon. I don't write lemons by the way, mom'd kill me.)
"Please," he moaned to the unseen dream-figure. "Don't." (A/N: I stand by what I said before. It sounds like a freakin' lemon) The door creaked open, and Shiori stepped in, surveying her sleeping son. (A/N: Last one, I promise. If this was a lemon, Kurama would be in soooooo much trouble right about now.) She tiptoed over to the bed, gently laying a hand on Kurama's forehead.
"No fever," she whispered. "Just a bad dream."
"'Kassan?" Kurama muttered, opening green eyes. Shiori smiled, stroking his flame-red hair. "Why're you in here?"
"I'm just checking to see if you're all right," she said. "Shuichi, you've been acting strange lately. When I heard you cry out, I thought you might be sick." Kurama's eyes widened.
"Acting . . . strange?" he asked. He didn't think he'd been acting out of the norm. He decided mothers just had this way of knowing when something went wrong. "What do you mean?"
"You never want to talk to your friends anymore," Shiori said, still stroking Kurama's hair. It was slightly annoying, but comforting at the same time. Kurama closed his eyes, wishing he and his mother could stay like this forever. It made him forget about Karasu. "Ever since you got back from the trip. Did something happen?" Kurama involuntarily tensed under his mother's hand, making it pause.
"No . . . nothing happened, 'kassan," he said. She nodded, not quite believing him, and stood, glancing at him once more before leaving the room. Kurama bit his lip, guilt boiling in his stomach for making his mother worry about him like this. He sighed and rolled over, so his face was in his pillow. He heard the window open.
"Kurama," a soft voice whispered as Kurama heard footsteps on the carpet. Kurama growled into his pillow.
Hiei, dammit, Kurama thought. You won't leave me alone after you've told me off. He was shocked when he heard Hiei's voice a moment later.
*I heard that, fox,* Hiei said. *And in case you're about to curse me again, I'm not the one in your room.*
Then who is?? Kurama thought, knowing Hiei would hear him
*Take a guess and then take a look,* Hiei said. With that, Kurama felt Hiei's ki vanish. He stayed still for a moment, listening to the ragged breathing that still filled his room.
"Kurama?" the voice came closer as Kurama heard footsteps on the carpet again. (A/N: We all know this is, right? Oh, and I just realized the whole above conversation was way out of Hiei's character, wasn't it?) "Kurama . . . are you awake?" Kurama rolled over and looked into violet eyes. He felt his mouth open in shock.
"K-Karasu?" he whispered, reaching up to touch the crow's face to make sure it wasn't a dream. "B-but, Koenma, and Yusuke . . . you're not supposed to be here." Karasu's thin, pale hand took a hold of Kurama's.
"Don't worry," he said, his voice gentle. "If anyone comes, I can fight."
"Karasu, I don't want you to hurt them," Kurama said, withdrawing his hand. "They won't understand if you keep trying to fight them. They'll think that you want to hurt me, and I know you don't."
"What would you have me do, then?" Karasu asked, sitting on the bed, staring at Kurama. Tears brimmed at the edges of his eyes.
"I-I don't know," he whispered. "I'm just so confused." Karasu leaned over, wrapping his arms around the fox and lifting him a few inches off the bed before kissing him. Kurama fought for a moment, not wanting to leave the problem of his friends unresolved, but gave in, wrapping his arms around Karasu's neck. For those few moments, it was bliss, but the kiss broke when they heard Shiori's footsteps coming toward Kurama's room. Karasu cursed softly, before laying the kitsune back down and vanishing. Kurama bit his lip before rolling over and pretending to be asleep.
"Shuichi?" Shiori whispered, opening the door. "I thought I heard-oh. He's asleep." Kurama didn't dare move, even if he could make it look like he was rolling over in his sleep. If he moved, Shiori would probably come in to make sure he was all right, and the longer Shiori was in his room, the more likely she was to find Karasu, wherever he had vanished to. Even though Kurama had seen Karasu vanish, he could still feel the crow's ki, as strong as it had been when they had kissed. Kurama heard the door close, and breathed out an almost silent sigh of relief. When he was sure Shiori was out of earshot, he spoke.
"Karasu," he whispered, quieter than he had before, so Shiori would not come again. "Karasu, where are you?"
"I'm right here," he said, seeming to step from the walls.
"Where were you hiding?" Kurama asked, curious. Karasu shrugged, and pointed at the closet behind him. Kurama was assaulted by an image of Karasu crouching low in his closet, and buried his face in the pillow to muffle his laughter.
"It's not that funny," Karasu whispered, mock-pouting, his lower lip sticking out.
"Stop that," Kurama said, once he had recovered. "You're going to make me start laughing again." Karasu stuck his lip out further in defiance, making Kurama laugh again, his red hair falling about his shoulders as they shook while his face was buried in the pillow. When Kurama turned over again, his face was red. "I don't think I've ever laughed this hard . . . well, not for a long time, anyway."
"Good," Karasu said, sitting on the bed and leaning over to kiss Kurama. The kitsune reached up and pulled Karasu down onto the bed next to him while the crow tried to pry Kurama's mouth open. After their tongues twisted about each other for a moment, Karasu moved away, trailing his kisses down Kurama's neck. The kitsune gasped. Karasu's tongue darted out to lick the soft skin on Kurama's neck.
"K-Karasu," Kurama managed to stutter before he was lost in the moment. "We shouldn't . . . my 'kassan, she'll hear us." Karasu looked up from Kurama's chest, where he was trying to undo the buttons on Kurama's pajamas. He bit his lip, as if debating, but then got off Kurama.
"Fine," he said. "But next time, fox, you're mine." Kurama nodded. A smile graced Karasu's lips. "It's your fault, you're the one who pulled me down on top of you." Kurama frowned at Karasu as the crow vanished out the window. Kurama smiled, turned over, and went to sleep.
CRAPPY ENDING!!
BUT THAT'S OKAY!!!
BECAUSE THERE'S A SEQUEL!!
Okay, now that I've got everyone's attention, yes this is the last chapter. Yes, I know it's a crappy chapter with a crappy ending, but I promise that there is a sequel. It's going to be called "Romance isn't always happy." Write that down and don't forget it. If it's not up in two weeks, check my bio to see what's up (under the word, "sequels" in big letters)
Well, I guess this is it. My first fic on ff.net is actually over. Well, bye.
-Nagem
