To Look Upon a Rose Chapter 5, a yu yu hakusho fanfic

DISCLAIMER: Yu Yu Hakusho belongs Yoshihiro Togashi (thank you for pointing out my typo!), Fuji TV, Pierrot, etc…

To Look Upon a Rose: Chapter 5

- Kurama's pov -

Fire lances down my arm as another bomb explodes, and I lurch forward, nearly losing my balance. Maniacal laughter follows me, dances around me as I stumble on, and then finally brings me to my knees. I stifle a wince, though my human body is near its breaking point. Why aren't I transforming?

Darkness begins closing in on me. I fight it, knowing that I truly will be helpless if I succumb to it, but my efforts are in vain. My vision goes black, my legs give out beneath me. Yet I do not lose consciousness; I have been engulfed not by darkness but by a shadow, bat-like and chilling. Karasu's shadow. My breath quickens as I sense him behind me, his pale, spider-like fingers hovering above me. And again, I freeze.

The air around me shifts as he kneels behind me, his touch a ghost on the small of my back. "Can you feel it, Kurama? Can you feel my power?" he breathes. "It's everywhere. I'm everywhere. You can't escape me. I'm all around you, inside of you. Can you feel me?" His lips brush my ear, but still I am helpless to resist. I can't move…

"Can you feel me, Kurama? Because I have you. I have you. Mind. Body… And soul."

My eyes flew open, darting wildly around the room, and I bit back a scream. I brought my arms up around my shoulders, trying to find some sense of security, but they wouldn't respond. I struggled frantically, but my body remained motionless. Just as in the dream – just as on that day – I could not move.

My head pounded as a pressure began building in my mind, tightening around it, trapping it. "I have you. Mind. Body… And soul." It was impossible, but somehow Karasu had carried out his threat from the other side of the grave.

And then, just as sudden as it had come, the pressure vanished. I shuddered violently and clenched my hands in the blankets, fighting off tears. Several minutes passed before I could think clearly again, and several more before my breathing returned to normal. I drew my knees up to my chest and buried my face in my arms, trying to stop the flood of tears.

I wished Hiei were here. My mind was still hazy with fear, my heart still racing, my shoulders still shaking with sobs. I could not shake the feeling that Karasu still lingered somewhere within me, somewhere I could not reach. I wanted Hiei to reassure me that it was a dream, a nightmare. I wanted him to sigh and sneer at my ningen fears and tell me how stupid a fox I was.

But I had forced him away, and this time I wasn't sure he would return at all.

"You can't escape me. I'm all around you, inside of you. Can you feel me? Can you feel me, Kurama?"

I shivered and squeezed the hiruseki around my neck as a fresh wave of tears began.

Hiei's pov

I sprang from the branch, landing silently in a nearby tree. I was directly over my prey now, though I could no longer see it. I sensed the animal's youki quivering beneath me; it knew it was being hunted, and that it would not be able to escape. Still, it continued to run, its instincts taking over in a desperate race for survival.

But I didn't mind. The chase was the best part of the hunt, the part that made it worthwhile. I supposed it was the element of danger in it that made it so thrilling; you never knew when your prey would turn and attack, when the hunter would become the hunted.

I'd played both roles, and though I enjoyed the former more, being hunted wasn't so terrible. Especially when Kurama was the hunter.

I shook my head, cursing. Why did my thoughts insist on circling back to him? Despite my speed, I could not outrun his image. He was everywhere – in the green of the trees, in the red of blood, in silver of the lake at night. His eyes haunted me like a ghost.

Danger and excitement was what had drawn me to Kurama. A sense of power hung about him like a cloak, hinting at the energy that lurked inside. Even in his ningen form it was impossible to ignore, though I'd seen through his guise easily enough. His true form had its own allure: the renowned Youko Kurama, the desire of almost every being in the Makai. I'd known of his reputation – he was a youko after all, and youko weren't famous for their loyalty to their lovers – but I had allowed him to ensnare me anyway. The thrill of the hunt.

But Kurama had never been disloyal. His ningen captivity had subdued him somehow, softened his heart. Ningen seemed to treasure each emotion like it was new, reveling in it before their pitifully short lives were torn away from them, and Kurama had developed this habit also. The Ningenkai had changed him in more ways than he knew – or perhaps he did.

Never had Kurama acted so… cold toward me. He'd always been careful around me; I'd have called it timidity had I been talking about anyone else. Almost as if he were afraid of saying the wrong thing and scaring me away. Which was why his words had affected me so deeply.

"Is that how you solve your problems, Forbidden Child? By running away?"

I knew that the kitsune was not wholly to blame. I'd prompted his words with my own unforgiving attitude, punishing him for a choice I had already known he would make. But still, hearing Kurama's voice so icy had taken me by surprise. I'd never heard him speak to anyone like that who he didn't promptly kill afterwards. His control over his emotions was flawless; he never would have allowed his anger to show like that under normal circumstances.

Something had been wrong. I could not place it, but Kurama had not been himself. He'd been upset when I'd found him in the park; he'd seemed almost terrified of something. He'd hidden it well, but even his skill could not stand against my Jagan. I'd caught a glimpse of something in his eyes, a darkness hanging over him that I sensed even he wasn't aware of.

Guilt washed over me at that thought. Kurama had wanted only someone to talk to, someone who knew him, and I had walked out simply because he had asked me to wait. It had been important, for he would not have been so upset over nothing; Kurama was not the type to overreact.

I jumped from the branch, katana in hand, and darted forward to slash at the small Makai rabbit I'd been hunting. Another creature appeared in front of me, the rabbit in its jaws. I raised my katana, preparing to kill it for daring to steal my meal, then stopped short. My rival was a fox, though no youko like Kurama. I bared its teeth at me in a snarl and began inching slowly away, its glowing eyes never leaving mine. Lowering my sword, I watched it growl and disappear into the brush, rabbit still clutched tightly in its teeth. Then I sensed it: two fledgling – and hungry – youki, each carrying the distinct imprint of a kitsune pup. My rival's family.

Rival.

Family.

I had been jealous. Shiori was my rival, the other contender for Kurama's heart, and when she had won that particular match, I had stormed out like a little child who'd lost a game. All the while ignoring Kurama's own feelings.

"Is that how you solve your problems, Forbidden Child? By running away?"

No. But I had to prove that to him.

A/N: Hmm… that chapter seemed to go really fast. Is it just me? Anyway, the next one won't take so long, since I already have it just about finished. Give me a couple days. The next chapter is when things really start to heat up (Karasu's big debut!) so please keep reading!