For Love of a "Pet"

Chapter Seven

Kaline set Kurama down on her bed as she gathered up some clothes. "Well, I knew that there was a reason I didn't take a shower earlier." She gently patted the fox on the head. "I'll be back out in a bit. You be good." Then, she went into the bathroom.

'Well, that was interesting,' he thought. 'I've never seen Hiei act like that.' The kitsune silently chuckled. 'That was unusual, to say the least. I believe he feels about Cassie the same way I feel about Kaline. Nothing short of that could have made him jump her.'

Kurama curled into a ball, wrapping his tail around his body. 'If Botan finds out, she'll spread it all over Reikai. Poor Hiei will never live it down.' He yawned. 'Teasing him about this will be fun.'

Staring at the bedspread, his mind switched subjects. 'I wonder why Kaline is worried about calling me koibito. It's not THAT big of a deal. If Sombra was telling the truth and she is a half demon, then Kaline is only reacting to the bond she senses between us.' He shifted positions. 'Besides all that, she believes that it's only a dream. There's nothing wrong with enjoying your dreams.'

The kitsune suddenly realized something. 'Cassie understands her friend well. She knew that Kaline was upset, even though Kaline tried to hide it. Why did Cassie reassure her friend by joking? And she didn't even sound surprised when Kaline said that she supposedly enters my dreams. I believe this girl is more knowledgable than she lets on.' He thought about that for a few moments. 'And she reacted to Hiei just like he did to her. I can't be sure of this without any spirit energy to probe her with, but I believe she is a demon.'

At that moment, Kaline came out of the bathroom, damp hair pulled back in a braid, pajama pants and baby tee clinging to her body. "I'm gonna paint now. Would you like to watch me again?" she asked the fox, picking him up at the same time. Scratching the silver creature under the chin, she made her way to the living room.

Soon, the fair brunette had set everything up and she began to paint, the fox demon in her lap. She kept painting until seven in the evening, finally calling it quits when her stomach growled.

"I'm done!" Kaline stated happily, holding up Kurama so he could have a good view of it. "What do you think? Do you like it?"

He almost nodded his head in response, but he caught himself just in time. The painting was beyond just plain good. The girl had talent, and it showed in the piece of artwork. He could definitely see how she made a living off of working for MARS and painting.

"I like it too." Smiling, the blue-gray eyed girl headed for the kitchen. "I'm absolutely starving. It's time for supper."

Kaline prepared a meal for both herself and the fox, finding out that he devoured stir-fry. After supper, she washed dishes, signed her painting, and then headed directly for bed.

Within moments of her head hitting the pillow, she fell asleep.





Kaline opened her eyes to find herself laying in a rose petal covered bed, dressed in a cobalt blue mini skirt and a light blue spaghetti-strap shirt. On her feet were a pair of heels that were so high she greatly doubted her ability to walk in them.

"What in the...?" She frowned thoughtfully, looking around at her surroundings. She was in a richly decorated room that lacked doors and windows. It was filled with expensive-looking furnishings. A crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, splaying light in beautiful patterns all over the burgundy walls.

"Where am I?" She paused, moving to sit up. "Hello? Is anyone there?!?!" She did not want to be trapped in a room by herself.

"Kaline?" came a familiar voice from the other side of a suddenly visible door.

"I'm in here, Kurama!" the girl called back, happy that she wasn't alone. 'Normally, I would ask about the door, but this is a dream, so... anything's possible.'

The door opened and the redhead walked into the room, his green eyes becoming very wide the instant he noticed how Kaline was dressed.

"What are you wearing?" He had never seen her in anything like what she had on at the moment. She usually wore more modest clothing. Of course, he wasn't complaining. He liked her in those clothes.

"Ummm... a tiny, itsy-bitsy skirt and a spaghetti strap shirt," she answered simply with a small smile. 'He looks a little surprised,' she thought with a silent laugh.

"Why?" He just had to ask that, but he wasn't sure exactly the reason behind the question. Maybe he was curious.

Kaline shrugged. She didn't have an anwer for him. "Well, since you're always claiming this is your dream world, why don't you tell me?"

"I don't have a clue. Trust me... if I had complete control over your clothing, then you would be wearing nothing." A lecherous smile followed that comment.

"KURAMA!" she exclaimed, shocked by his words. Her mouth hung open for a moment, but she quickly recovered and smiled at him. "Well, you're being forward again, aren't you?" Her tone was a teasing one.

He nodded. "Would you rather be the forward one?" he asked, a curious look in his eyes.

Kaline considered that idea for a few minutes. 'It is just a dream...' She reminded herself, finally nodding her head in response.

She climbed out of the bed and carefully walked until she was standing by him, gray-blue eyes a few shades brighter than usual. "Sit," she commanded softly, pointing at the bed.

Smiling, Kurama sat down on the edge of the mattress. 'This is going to be interesting... and fun. Most definitely fun.'

Kaline looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Shirt. Off." She didn't trust her ability to stand in her heels and remove his shirt at the same time. More than likely she'd fall over if she even tried. Grace was not one of her dominant talents.

Once again, the kitsune happily did as she ordered, pulling off his shirt and tossing it onto the floor.

A heated expression in her blue eyes, Kaline sat down on his lap, straddling his waist in her short skirt. His hands instantly went to rest on her waist. As her hands explored his upper body, her tongue explored his mouth. She touched every bare inch of him, and she even finger-combed his hair for a while, enjoying the feel of his long silky strands. The tips of her fingers caressed his skin, sending pleasurable shivers down his spine; her tongue played inside his mouth, sensually dueling with his tongue.

After a while, she drew away from him and gently pushed him so he was lying on his back. Smiling slightly, she traced his arms and chest muscles with her tongue, stopping for a brief moment when she reached the waistline of his pants.

Kaline debated with herself for a few moments, while Kurama watched her patiently with glowing gold eyes, his breath coming quickly and his heart beating fast.

'Should I? Should I not? Does it matter what I do? This is a dream, after all,' she silently mused. In the end, she decided to proceed.

She moved off of him, her hands immediately going to his pants. She quickly unbuttoned and unzipped them, tugging them fully off a second later and depositing them on the floor with his shirt.

Kurama groaned softly as Kaline studied him, her eyes resting on his boxers for a long moment before looking up to meet his golden gaze.

"Damn, you're fine," she whispered before she went back to exploring his body. She softly kissed his stomach muscles, using the tip of her tongue as well; then, she moved to his legs, slowly working her way down. She ended her explorations at his feet, crawling back up the bed to smile seductively at him.

"Was that forward enough for your liking?" the golden-brown haired girl asked teasingly, her eyes sparkling.

Kurama just smiled mischievously. "Aren't you going to finish?"

Kaline looked at him, feeling very confused. "Finish what?"

"There's one area you have yet to kiss or explore..." He figured that his suggestive tone would be more than enough to give away what was on his mind.

She blinked and then blushed when she realized what the redhead was referring to. "Do you want me to complete my investigation?" she asked, voice sultry, eyes glowing bright blue.

He immediately nodded his head. 'She normally acts so naive, but dear Kami, she can be a little seductress in her mind when she wants to be.'

"Okay then," Kaline stated, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll do just that."

She did finish her exploration, and Kurama glady returned the favor, much to her surprise and delight.

An hour later, when they were both done 'exploring,' they rested on the bed, Kurama spooned against Kaline. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing in her pleasant scent while she played with some of the rose petals on the bed. Her blue-gray eyes followed the red objects as they fluttered from her hand down to the bedspread.

"I wish you were real," she whispered suddenly, giving a small, wistful sigh.

"I AM real," Kurama insisted, nibbling on her ear. 'She tastes as good as she smells, that's for sure.'

Kaline moaned in reaction. "No, you can't be. This is just a dream... a really good dream." She snuggled back more firmly against his chest, enjoying his comforting warmth. "My subconscious created you for some odd reason or another." 'Not that I'm complaining...'

He lovingly kissed her temple. "I am real, and as soon as I can, I'll prove it to you," he promised.

"Why do you keep claiming that you really do exist?" Kaline turned her head until she could see Kurama's face, her eyes a little sad. She really wanted to believe him, but her common sense wouldn't let her.

"Well, I do that because-" Suddenly, the girl in his arms vanished. "I love you," he finished even though she was gone. "Kuso!"





Cassie sighed as she stared at the paper and the pencil in her hand. She just couldn't get the demon out of her mind, and that fact was doing a number on her ability to draw. 'I need to design something' she thought, giving a small sigh.

She designed clothes and showed them to different clothing companies who paid her per design. The designing side job was usually a good thing for her... unless she had a mental block. 'It usually doesn't take me this long to think of something,' she mused. 'I just keep thinking of Hiei.' While she continued to imagine the black-haired demon, her pencil began to move. 'I love his hair, and his double-belted pants are pretty cool. He is the most handsome guy I have ever met. He's interesting too.'

Looking down at her paper, she scowled. She had drawn a picture of the male demon. "I'm not supposed to draw you," she said with a sigh as she tore the picture of Hiei out of her drawing notebook. 'Okay. Time to try again, and no more Hiei.'

Cassie went back to trying to draw, and she failed five more times before she finally gave up. 'I need to do something to get my mind off of him.'

Desperate, she put on a pair of running shoes and went outside. The summer air felt good, and the light breeze gently played with her hair as the morning sun shone down on her.

'Okay... let's see if I can do ten miles today.' Taking a deep breath, she began to run at a leisurely pace for a demon.

Cassie ran for three hours straight, the male's face still dominate on her mind. She couldn't get rid of him; she even knew why she couldn't think of anything else but him. She was in love with him, and that fact was not going to go away. That was the reason the fire demon dominated over almost all her thoughts.

'I have work to do. I can't let him take over my whole mind.' Breathing hard, she collasped under a tree in her front yard, flopping out on the grass. 'This is not working.'

"Why can't I get Hiei out of my mind? Is there something wrong with me?" Cassie whispered to herself.

A man in black suddenly appeared by her side. "There's nothing wrong with you."

The dark brunette jumped in fright, her heart beating about five times harder than it had been during her run. "Damn, Hiei. You gave me a heart attack." She put her hand over her heart, feeling the rapid thumping in her chest.

Hiei found himself repressing a laugh. 'What am I doing? Why do I want to laugh? I don't laugh, but...' He mentally shook his head. "You should have been paying more attention to your surroundings."

Cassie raised an eyebrow at that. "Perhaps you should tell me what in the world you're doing here? Our date's not for two more days."

The fire demon sat down in the grass and shrugged. "I felt like it." 'I couldn't get you out of my head either.'

"Well, would you like to warn me next time before you decide to see how fast you can make my heart beat?" she retorted playfully.

"Why?" he inquired after a minute or so, his red eyes studying her face. 'She is so beautiful.'

Frowning, Cassie sat up. "Why what?" 'Are we still on the same subject? He took so long to respond that I don't know.'

"Why should I warn you?" Hiei clarified. "Do you have problems with surprises?"

"No, I actually like surprises, but you should still warn me," she shot back, a small smile on her face. 'You can surprise me any time, hottie. Any time at all.'

"What would you say if I decided to surprise you now?" the koorime asked, red eyes carefully watching her teal ones. 'Would a kiss count as a surprise? It can't hurt to find out.'

Cassie shrugged. "It depends on the kind of surprise."

It took Hiei less than a half second to decide to kiss her. Using his speed, he pulled her into his lap and pressed his lips to hers. He skillfully kissed her for a few minutes, his tongue tracing her soft lips, her teeth, and finally the inside of her mouth.

The brunette brought out her tongue to play with his, quickly discovering that the fire demon tasted better than anything else she had ever found. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning against him. 'Please, Kami, don't let this be a dream.'

As suddenly as the kissing began, Hiei called it to a halt. He pulled away and removed the female from his lap. "Good luck getting me out of your head now." 'Because I won't be able to get you out of mine after that,' he added, taking quick inventory of his body's condition. He had a sneaking suspecion that his eyes were glowing. 'I need to go.'

Standing up, he briefly ran his fingers through her hair and then disappeared before she could say a word.

Cassie sat there for a few moments, her brain desperately trying to process what had just happened. 'He came, he kissed me, and then he left.' She ticked off the points in her mind. 'I think I missed something, but there's not a thing I can do about that.' She sighed softly, her thoughts all jumbled together thanks to the fire demon. 'I need to get back to work. I've stalled long enough.'

Sighing again, she stood up and went back inside, not knowing that she had a pair of red glowing eyes following her every move.









CotA: Okay, before you people get onto me, I know that some people (like Kurama and Hiei) are OOC. Guess what? I really don't care too much, but I do apologize. I will try to keep them as in character as possible, unless my story calls for them to act a little different. Oh, and I have good news. RL Cassie finally got an online account. Her name is Nadine, and her story is Alone in London. It's a Harry Potter fic, so if any of you read HP fics, would you mind reading hers and giving her a review? I'm sure she would appreciate it. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the review responses are below.

Tom: The land of hope is nice, and I know that my ending to Bonds of Slavery was a little short.

Rei Akita: You like the Hiei/Cassie pairing? Yea!!

AzureDragoness: Did I make up for the lack of snogging in the last two chappies? I sure hope so. ^_^ And yes, the next chappie is Hiei's date.

Luraia Soul: Thanks for the review and compliment.

Sam: Who moves fast? Kurama and Kaline, or Cassie and Hiei? Yes, Hiei blushing is a funny thought.

Bijin-chan: Yes, you did call Kurama a sexy beast. *chuckles* It was pretty cute. I'm not gonna comment on you calling Hiei a sexy beast. RL Cassie would get onto me for that. *shudders*

PWA: There'll be more as soon as I can write it. As it stands, chapter 8 has a grand total of two sentences.