For Love of a "Pet"

Chapter Ten

Cassie giggled as she pulled her hair into a ponytail. "No, Kaline. Hiei and I are not eloping. Why did you even suggest that?"

~It seems that way, considering how much you talk about him.~ The girl's voice came from the speakerphone that the dark brunette had dragged into the bathroom. ~You're making him out to be this perfect, amazing male who can kiss like a god.~ Laughter filled the area, and Cassie blushed.

"What?" the blue-green eyed girl inquired defensively. "Hiei's a really good kisser."

~You're silly,~ Kaline stated. ~What would Hiei say if he heard you gossiping about him?~

Cassie shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think he'd care all that much. After all, it's a compliment." She applied a soft gold color to her eyelids, the shade complimenting her eyes and dark gray tank top with "star" spelled out in gold lettering on the front.

~He came across as a rather private person... someone who keeps his cards close to his chest.~ She paused. ~I'm not sure if he'd like you talking about him so flippantly.~

"You're judging him too quickly," Cassie responded. "He'll talk if you prod him just right."

~Or seduce him just right,~ Kaline shot back, her voice light and teasing.

Cassie broke down in laughter. "Maybe... but I'm not going to tell you," she informed her friend once she had gotten herself under control.

~Oh... so now you shut up.~

"Yep," she said with a smile, almost jumping when she heard a loud knock on her front door. "Well, I gotta go. Talk to you later."

~Bye.~

"Bye-bye." Cassie pressed the end button on the phone and raced to her front door. A smile on anticipation on her face, she turned the knob and pulled.

She found Hiei on her front porch, dressed in a pair of black boots, black pants, and a red muscle shirt, the shade matching his eyes perfectly.

"Hey, Hiei," she greeted him brightly. "Just let me throw on a pair of shoes, and then I'll be ready to go." She threw open the door as wide as she could, silently giving him her permission to enter as she ran back to her room to find her shoes.

The fire demon waited patiently in her living room, his gaze wandering over her simple but nice furniture and beautiful paintings on the wall. All the pieces of artwork were signed by one person--Kaline Airashii.

Hiei was studying the few glass sculptures on an end table when Cassie came back out. "I'm ready to go now," she stated. He nodded his head, and then they were out the door.

After about five minutes of talking and polite conversation, Cassie asked Hiei a familiar question. "Could you teach me how to fight with a sword? I asked on our last date, but you weren't given a chance to answer."

The koorime shrugged. "I don't see why not." He was actually pleased she would ask him something like that. 'She's smart enough to want to learn how to protect herself better. Good.' He smiled slightly. "Do you have any experience?"

"A little," she answered. "When I was very young, my father taught me a little bit of swordplay with a small blade. It's been so long that I've forgotten everything he taught me."

"Then we will need to start with the basics," Hiei said. "Lessons will begin tomorrow morning at dawn."

Cassie blinked a few times. "Dawn?" she repeated. "You've got to be joking."

He shook his head. "No. Dawn."

"Why dawn?" she wanted to know. "Wouldn't the afternoon or evening be better?"

"I want to make sure that you're serious about learning how to sword fight," Hiei informed her.

Cassie sighed. "Okay. Dawn it is." 'I'm nuts... completely and totally nuts. I'm going to get up before the sun does just so I can get my butt kicked by some guy.' She swept her eyes over Hiei's body. 'Okay... a really cute guy. It shouldn't be too bad... as long as I get to see him with his shirt off every so often.' She smiled at that thought.

The conversation changed to a new subject, and Cassie and Hiei walked into the downtown area. As they passed a certain store, the fire demon stopped walking.

"Sweet snow," he said softly.

The dark brunette smiled as she came to stand beside him. "Oooh, ice-cream sounds pretty good." Giggling, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

The ice-cream shop was busy, the many people milling about the place talking and eating ice-cream and yogurt in many different forms. Cassie guided Hiei to the end of the line, and she contentedly thought about what she wanted while she conversed with her date.

After about ten minutes, they were at the front of the line. "I'll have a mint chocolate chip ice-cream cone," Cassie stated as she pointed to a tub of the cold, green-colored substance.

"Okay," the man replied, using a large, white spoon to scoop the ice cream into a waffle cone. "And what will you be having, sir?"

"Oreo," Hiei answered simply.

"Cone as well?"

"Yes." He nodded his head slightly to reinforce his answer.

Once the worker handed the two their ice cream, they paid and left for the park, talking the whole way there.

The park was large and grassy with swings, slides, and other playground equipment spread out across the area and shaded by large trees. Flower patches lined tree-shaded walkways, and a small creek trickled along the eastern border. The place was picturesque and quaint, probably because the city poured so much money into it; however, no one was in the park at the moment, at least in the section Hiei and Cassie were wandering around in.

Contentedly eating their snack, the two chatted. After a little bit, Cassie sat down on the merry-go-round as she finally finished off her cone. She loved ice-cream, and it never took her long to eat one. Hiei, on the other hand, was still working on his. He was savoring the flavor.

When the fire-demon sat down next to her, she gently kicked at the ground, sending the merry-go-round spinning at a slow pace.

"Kaline and I are going to see the fireworks at the river on Thursday. Do you want to come with?" Cassie inquired, moving so that her thigh was pressed firmly against his.

Hiei shrugged. "Hn. I guess so." 'As long as I get to be with you,' he mentally added.

"We're meeting at Kaline's place at eight at night. Do you remember where it is?"

"Hn. Yes."

Cassie watched a bit of ice-cream trickle down from the corner of his mouth. Instinctively, she leaned over close to him, her tongue darting out to lick his skin clean. "Yummm... Hiei a la mode." She took one last look at his wide, bright red eyes, smiled, and then kissed him full on the mouth. As she kissed him, she could taste the oreo ice cream, but underneath it was the pure masculine flavor of the fire demon.

The rest of his ice-cream cone forgotten, Hiei returned the kiss with enthusiasm. Within moments, he began to trace her lips with his tongue, asking for entrance; she gave it to him.

They dueled, fighting passionately for dominance. Their hot tongues intertwined and explored each other's mouths, leaving them both with glowing eyes. Slowly, Hiei began to win; however, before the victor was decided, the fire demon withdrew to nip at her ear and kiss his way down her bare neck.

Suddenly, he came back to reality, finding his ice-cream melted all over his hand.

Cassie smiled wickedly, moved his cold snack to his clean hand, and brought the sticky hand to her lips. She licked his fingers first, but soon she moved to sticking the entire digit in her mouth and sucking it clean.

As she slowly lavished his fingers with her tongue, Hiei watched her with glowing eyes, a rumble growing in the back of his throat. It sounded like a purr, and Cassie instantly decided that she liked that sound.

Once she was done bathing his hand, she scooped up a little of his ice-cream with her index finger and offered it to him. The male koorime did lick her finger clean, but he quickly abandoned it in favor of her mouth.

They kissed for only a few minutes longer when they heard an "Ewwwww." Slightly embarrassed, they parted, quickly noticing two small boys there. The boys had short brown hair, and they appeared to be no older than eight or nine.

"Girls have cooties," one stated, pointing at Cassie.

"Yeah!" The other nodded his head sagely, obviously in total agreement with his friend.

Cassie laughed while Hiei looked a little lost. He didn't have a clue what cooties were; however, if cooties were a good thing, then he was pretty sure that the beautiful girl had them.

"C'mon, Hiei," she said, still laughing. "We'd better get going before we give them any ideas." 'We also better go before they comment on our eyes.' She took his free hand and gently led him away, leaving the children alone to play.

The two walked around for a while, talking as Hiei finished off his ice-cream. Eventually, Cassie checked her watch and sighed. "I need to get going. Sorry, but I have a few errands to run." She smiled in apology. "So, I guess I'll see you Thursday at Kaline's place?"

Hiei nodded. "Yeah. You will."

"Good." Cassie gave him a quick kiss good-bye. "See ya!" Then, she raced away.

The fire demon smiled slightly, feeling slightly drugged on the taste of the female's lips. 'See you.' After quickly glancing in the direction that Cassie had gone, he walked off. 'See you very soon.'


"Come here, Youko," Kaline cajoled in a sweet voice as she beckoned for him to come to her. "You're long overdue for a bath, so come here." She knelt down and held her arms open. "Please?"

Kurama chuckled silently to himself. The girl was so strange, so very strange. She was trying to convince what she thought was a fox to come to her so she could give it a bath. 'Should I act like a true fox and back away, or should I be the pet and go to her?' Kurama debated, cocking his head slightly to one side. 'Although, it would be nice to be clean.' Coming to a decision, he went to Kaline and jumped into her waiting arms.

She smiled brightly. "Good boy!" she exclaimed, standing up. "I'm so proud of you." She carried him into the bathroom and placed in him the already filled tub.

He stood in the warm water, the liquid coming up to his belly. A few toys floated around in the water, including a yellow rubber ducky and a small toy boat. He contented himself with pushing the boat around with his nose while Kaline laughed.

"Grande Dios sobre!" She shook her head, blue-gray eyes sparkling with joy. "Unbelievable. Youko, you are one of the most entertaining animals I have ever taken care of." She giggled for a few moments longer before she forced herself to calm down. "Let's get you clean. You can finish playing once I'm done."

Kaline guided the fox to the center of the tub, grabbed a large plastic cup, filled it with some of the water from the tub, and dumped it over Kurama's back. She repeated that a few more times and then brought out the shampoo.

Kurama held perfectly still as she washed his fur coat, surprising her beyond belief. She had expected him to fight her. The bath was over in record time, and she allowed the fox to romp around in the tub for a while.

'This isn't so bad. I'm entertaining Kaline and having some fun myself. It's nice being able to do something simple like this... relaxing too,' Kurama thought. 'It's like being a child again.'

Finally, Kaline drained the tub, dried the fox off, and then prepared herself for bed. A few hours later, she crawled into bed, Kurama at her side.


Kaline gave a small smile as she gazed at her surroundings. She was on a balcony overlooking a beautiful garden full of fountains, flowers, and trees. Also, she was sitting on a comfortable chair at a small, candlelit table, dressed in a silvery-blue, low-cut evening gown that clung to her like a second skin. The full moon shone down on her, bathing her and everything else in a soft silver-white light.

"Beautiful..." she whispered to herself, picking up a crystal wine glass and taking a sip of the red liquid "Very good wine too." She looked down at her empty silver plate and caught a glimpse of her reflection.

Blinking, she took another look. "I've been done up like some kind of model." She sounded surprised.

Her hair had been twisted into the most elegant bun she had ever seen or imagined, with small curled locks hanging loose for accent. Also, she had on make-up, something she rarely did unless she had to. Sapphire earrings winked in her earlobes, and an intricate silver and sapphire necklace hung around her neck.

"Dear Kami!" Kaline muttered under her breath. "I look fancy tonight."

Graceful classical music began to float around her, making her look up from the table.

The sight of Kurama in a black tuxedo greeted her eyes, and she just stared at him for a moment. "You look very handsome," she said honestly, giving him a soft smile. 'And that was such an understatement.'

"And you're breathtaking." The redhead walked up to the table, took her hand in his, and brushed his lips against her knuckles.

She blushed. "Thank you." She watched the male sit down in a chair across from her. "And are you going to tell me what the deal is with all of this?" She gestured to their surroundings. "This is, after all, supposedly your dream world." 'Not that it couldn't be mine as well. I could very easily have created this place.'

"I like it, don't you?" he responded simply. "Besides, I wanted to see you dressed up just once."

"Well... I can't say I didn't think the same about you." Kaline self-consciously smoothed out her skirt, her eyes on her lap out of embarrassment. "You look very nice in a tux." A light blush stained her cheeks.

"Since you were dressed up, I had to do the same to be fair," Kurama commented, taking a sip of his wine. He had noticed her blush and was secretly pleased with it. 'So I impressed her. Good. I was hoping to do that.'

"So... what are we going to do?" she asked, bringing her eyes back up to meet his. "We're all dressed up and in this romantic place. It'd be a shame to waste our time here and do absolutely nothing."

"I was thinking about dinner and then exploring this place a little," he answered, pointing at the mansion.

Kaline nodded her head in agreement. "Sounds good. If the inside is as nice as the outside, then I most definitely wanna see it. I'm sure it's beautiful."

"I'm know that it can't be anywhere near as beautiful as you," the redhead responded, a small smile on his face.

Blushing again, the brunette looked down at her plate to find it full of food. "Huh?" She paused. "Things certainly like appearing all of a sudden around here, but I suppose that's your doing." She gave him an accusing look.

"Guilty as charged," Kurama stated, smiling.

"That's not all you're guilty of," she retorted with a playful glint in her eyes.

The kitsune blinked in surprise. "Well... aren't you going to list my transgressions?" 'I want to hear this. The list is going to be amusing since it's Kaline saying it.'

She smiled mischievously and nodded. "You're guilty of being too good looking for words, of acting so gentle that you put every guy I've ever met to shame, of being a sweet-talker, AND..." She paused for a dramatic effect. "You're guilty of stuffing me into this revealing, elegant, absolutely gorgeous, too-expensive-for-the-queen-of-England dress."

Kurama laughed, finding her immensely entertaining, just like he had expected. "Should I apologize?"

"Hmmm... no. I don't think so. You probably wouldn't mean it if you did," Kaline replied, looking back down at her plate. "Well, shall we eat?"

"Yes." He nodded and then took the first bite.

The two ate their meal, discussing little things as they did so. They exchanged funny stories about their friends and talked about college. Kaline told Kurama a little about her job, but the kitsune did not do the same. He wasn't sure how she would react to hearing that he was a spirit detective for Koenma; however, he did tell her a little about some of the jobs he wanted.

When they were done eating, the remainder of the meal disappeared and the redhead stood up. The girl did the same.

"Shall we go exploring now?" Kurama asked, offering his arm to Kaline like a lord would offer to a lady.

"Yes, please," she responded, taking his hand instead of linking her arm with his. She intertwined her fingers with his, smiling, and began to tug him in the direction of the doors to the house.

He allowed her to pull him around as she marveled at the interior of the mansion. She explored the second floor first, gazing in wonder at the library, the billiard's room, the study, the office, the exercise room, the sitting room, and a few other useless rooms that were nameless. Then, she investigated the first floor, taking a mere glance at the kitchens, the living rooms, and the dining rooms; however, she spent at least twenty minutes in the gigantic ballroom, admiring the artwork that had been painted on the ceiling.

"Is this it? Have I seen all of the house?" Kaline wanted to know, staring up at the gigantic crystal chandelier hanging directly above her head. She loved how it sparkled and flashed in the light.

"There's a third floor," the kitsune told her.

"Is there a fourth floor?" she asked, sounding inquisitive. Her gaze went from the chandelier to the finely-dressed male.

"No, not unless you want to count the roof," he answered, wondering if her curiosity had any boundaries.

She shrugged at that. "Okay then, to the third floor."

Kurama followed her out of the ballroom and up the stairs, admiring the view that Kaline presented to him. The girl walked into a few rooms, briefly looked at them, and then walked out. The redhead just waited out in the hallway for her, following her to the outside of all the rooms.

When Kaline opened a door at the end of one of the hallways, she gave a small gasp.

"What is it?" Kurama inquired, curious. Something had surprised the girl, and he wanted to know what had done that.

"Dear Kami..." She stepped into the room and gestured for the redhead to do the same. "Please tell me this is your doing." She gestured at the room, her eyes filled with wonderment.

The room was the large master bedroom. A king-sized bed with dark-blue silk sheets sat in the middle of the floor, the headboard against one wall. By the bed, a bottle of wine rested in a bucket of ice, and a bowl of grapes with two wineglasses had been set on the nearby mahogany nightstand. Lit red-colored candles flickered from their places all around the room, giving the area an intimate glow.

Kurama turned to look at her. "Ummm... I plead the fifth."

Kaline laughed. "It's okay. I like the room. It's just... well... I wanted to make sure that I hadn't created this place. I'd be worried if I had." She placed a quick kiss on his cheek and walked around the room, admiring the artful, rose-shaped candles.

Curious, she went into the connecting master bath, giggling when she saw it. A huge Jacuzzi sat in the middle of the floor, filled with slightly steaming water, red rose petals floating on the surface. More rose-shaped candles had been set around the Jacuzzi in a circle, casting a soft glow about the room.

Coming out of the bathroom, Kaline smiled at Kurama. "The bathroom and bedroom match," she commented, giggling again.

"Aren't they supposed to?" he countered, pouring the wine into two crystal glasses. He handed one of them to her, keeping one for himself.

Kaline accepted the wine. "I'm not sure. Maybe..." She shrugged. "I do have to admit that it's kinda cute."

"Cute?" the redhead repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. 'Since when is a place set up for a person's seduction cute?'

She blushed slightly. "Sorry. Habit," she admitted in her defense. "I am a girl, so I do have the right to say it."

"Yes, you are most definitely a girl." His suggestive tone made her blush an even brighter red.

The blue-gray eyed girl sat down at the edge of the bed, slowly sipping the wine. "So, we've had a wonderful meal and explored the house.... What's next? What do we do now? Are we going to explore the garden out back?"

"I have a few ideas, but exploring the garden is not one of them," Kurama answered, sitting down next to her. He took the wine glass out of her hand and set it down with his on the nightstand, and then he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"So... what are they?" she asked naively, turning her head around to look him in the eyes.

He flashed her a quick smile that melted her insides. "One is this." The kitsune kissed her deeply, probingly, his tongue dueling with hers. He loved the sweet taste of her, and he felt like he could never get his fill of the flavor of her mouth.

Kaline twisted in his lap (eliciting a groan out of him in the process) until her chest was pressed against his, her legs off to the side. As she kissed him, her hands loosened his bow-tie and tried to push his jacket off of him; Kurama helped her, feeling hot in the tuxedo.

After a few minutes, Kurama's chest was bare and he was working on undoing Kaline's dress, all while kissing her. He found the zipper that went down the middle of her back and unzipped it. When the blue-eyed female didn't protest, he broke off the kissing and pulled the top of the dress down, watching it settle around her waist.

The female blushed, lowering her eyes. She knew that she had no right to blush around him, especially since he had already seen her naked; however, she couldn't help it. It was a habit that she just couldn't seem to break.

Placing a finger under her chin and using it to raise her gaze back to his, he kissed her forehead. "You're beautiful."

"Thank you." Her blush deepened, but she fought it back and pressed her lips to his, allowing her instincts and emotions to carry her away.


An hour later, Kaline found herself in the Jacuzzi, resting on Kurama's lap. 'He looks pretty darn pleased with himself,' she thought, running her hands over his chest muscles. 'Well... after everything we did, I suppose he has a right to be.'

"How are you feeling?" the redhead asked, sounding a little concerned. 'I hope that I didn't hurt her, even if this is only a dream.'

The blue-eyed placed a kiss on his neck, enjoying the taste of his skin. "Really good," she answered. "Relaxed, too." She gave him a small smile before returning to nip and lick the sensitive skin near his collar bone.

Kurama groaned, placing his hands on her hips, drawing her closer.

"Round two?" Kaline inquired, wriggling a little against him. She didn't receive a clear verbal response, but the non-verbal one was unmistakable.


When Kaline finally awoke, she sighed in disappointment, reaching out to Youko for comfort. She sat up in bed and carefully placed him in her lap, petting him, her movements slow.

"I wish that Kurama was real. If he was, then I believe my life would be complete." The brunette sighed again, closing her eyes as she shook her head, the gesture filled with sadness.

'Give me time,' the kitsune thought, nuzzling her hand. 'I'll show you just how real I am soon enough.'









CotA: Hey, Everyone! Well, this was a VERY long chapter... over 4,000 words. Not bad, huh?

Sess-chan: She started a new zoids story too. It's on mm.org because it's illegal on ff.net

CotA: It's a lemon fic that RL Cassie and I have co-written. It's called Trapped in the Desert, and we would love some feedback. :) Thanks.

Sess-chan: The review responses are below.

Bijin-chan: Yes, a whole chappie dedicated to you. You certainly earned it.

Rei Akita: I'll update soon.

Neolannia: Don't worry. I have a vast majority of the story already written. There's just pieces missing here and there... sometimes large pieces.

PWA: I'll update asap, promise.

Sam: Sorry you didn't like the song, but I just kinda felt like using it. I am glad you liked the rest of it.

Luraia Soul: I'm gonna try sending it one more time. I played with a few of my settings, and I think I got it to work. If not, I'm sorry.

Freckles: Yes, I wrote that in a hour. Not quite sure how though. And as for future stuff, I'm not telling. *smiles evilly* It's my secret. OH, and RL Cassie's too.

Rose Jade: I don't mind.