Tricked
CS - Putting everything behind them, Kurama and Botan launch into a new level of relationship. But what other relationships will bloom? Hope to get it out soon.. (sigh) The worries of an author..
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Chapter 37 - Mirrored Passions
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Botan stared up at him. What did he want to talk to her about? Was it important?
"I felt so horrible after leaving you in the dark. I was planning on telling you last night about it but that evil.. woman beat me to it. I must say that I am nervous about being as close as we are now. However, as Hiei would put it, it is simply foolish to feel that way." He pulled a Yuusuke and put his hands in his pockets. "But I want to forget the past. I will tell you all that I left out. Youko and I.. we may be the same person but he is.. different. He was a bandit, as you know, meaning I was once a bandit. Anyway.."
"Wait, Kurama." She stood up and walked over to him, a small smile on her face. "I know as much as I need to about you. I couldn't care less about your past. The only important thing is the here and now." She took his face in her hands and stared up at him. "After all, I know how you feel about me and I also know how I feel about you." His worried look eased into the normal calm facade once more and he smiled.
"I know you love me because you put up with me." She grinned at him.
"Anyway.." She pulled him with her to the bed. "I need to sleep if Hiei is going to wake me up for morning training. Though, I hope he doesn't." Kurama smiled and sat down next to her, watching her crawl under the blankets. "If he does.. I'll throw something at him."
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And, of course, Hiei did come at 4:30 in the morning. Botan wanted to toss him out the window, which was conveniently where he came through.. except it was locked so he had to knock. She didn't understand how he had gotten to her window and stayed there, since there was no tree next to it.
"Onna! Open this window!" She climbed out of bed, rousing even the sleeping kitsune, who sat up and rubbed his eyes. She opened the window and he came through. "Hn, you look tired."
"Only got a few hours of sleep."
"Why?"
"Couldn't sleep." He shook his head. Then his gaze fell on Kurama and he raised a brow. "Hiei no baka!" She hit him over the head with his own weapon, which she grabbed when he wasn't paying attention. "Get your mind out of the gutter."
"I didn't say anything, onna!" He grabbed his katana back and scowled. "You did."
"You were thinking it!"
"Prove it." She stared at him while crossing her arms. "Just get ready, apprentice." She let out a small groan. "Suck it up, weakling. You're still far from done." She growled at him. He left after a look at Kurama. She sighed and looked at the drowsy demon sitting in her bed.
"You can go back to sleep. I may as well go, since he wouldn't be happy if I skipped a day."
"All right." He yawned and laid back down, falling back asleep almost instantly.
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A quiet knock on his door woke him from his light slumber. His ice blue eyes widened when he looked at the clock. 2:15 in the morning. He got up and went to his door, opening it. He frowned when he saw the person on the other side.
"M-May I?" He nodded and stepped to the side, turning the light on and nearly blinding himself.
"What are you doing up so late?" It was then he heard the sound and saw something rolling towards him on the floor. He bent and picked it up, closing the door. "A-A Hiruiseki Stone.. B-But.." He looked up at her.
"I had a nightmare." She whispered. He went to her and turned her around to face him. Her crimson eyes gazed at him with fear and sadness. More tears fell, rolling down her cheeks, and hitting the floor. He led her to his bed and sat down with her. He blushed lightly as he made a daring move and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer so she could draw comfort from him. She blushed, as well. "T-Touya?"
"Don't worry, Yukina." She smiled slightly and snuggled closer to him, now just realizing that he was shirtless.
"I was scared and.." She started shaking, remembering the horrible dream. "I-I didn't know what to do.."
"It was only a dream. That's all." His voice was so soothing. He then lifted her tear-stained face so that he could gaze into her eyes. "There's no more need to worry." He said with a smile. She nodded and looked down, pulling slightly away from him.
"I didn't know of anyone else to go to. I-I am sorry for disturbing your slumber." He shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. You can wake me up any time if you need some help." She smiled.
"Thank you." He could tell that she was still shaken up and figured that she didn't want to talk about it. He leaned forward and pulled her into his arms again. He cradled her like she was a lost child who couldn't find her parents. She felt her heart begin to race. He felt her wrap her arms around his neck then bury her face in the crook of his neck. He couldn't believe this was happening. It felt too real to be a dream. She felt her eyelids grow heavy and she closed them, falling quickly asleep as he cradled her in his arms.
"That's it." He whispered, smiling slightly. He lay her down on his bed gently, leaning down and brushing his lips against her forehead as he pulled the covers over her. "Sleep, my angel." So he got up and went to bunk, or sleep on the floor, in Jin's room.
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Yukina's eyes fluttered open and she sat up, looking around. She remembered that she had come to Touya's room in the middle of the night after her nightmare. Where was he? She pushed the covers off herself and went to the door. She opened it and looked both ways down the hallway before she stopped and listened. Someone was in the kitchen. She went first to her room and dressed in one of her blue kimonos. Then she wandered out to the kitchen.
"How in the world do these bloody humans make anything!?" Jin was going through the cupboards, finding boxed and canned stuff and other things in bags.
"I don't know. We'll have to wait until someone gets up who knows how to make this stuff." Touya rolled his eyes when the wind master tripped over a can and fell flat on his face.
"I'm hungry and someone better get up or this entire temple will hear me." Chuu banged his head on the table, trying to get rid of his stomachache.
"I'm hungry too." Rinku complained, his eyes going to Touya. "You're the smart one. Make something!"
"Me!? I know just as much you do about human contraptions." Yukina giggled and walked into the kitchen.
"I'll make you all something." She said with a smile. "But I do have a question."
"What is it?" They asked.
"Where is Kurama-kun?" Touya shrugged and stood up.
"I'll find him. He might still be asleep." The ice master ran out and went to Kurama's door. When no one answered, he opened the door and peeked in. No one. He frowned and curiously went to Botan's door. He knocked and opened the door, seeing the kitsune still asleep on Botan's bed. He smiled knowingly and went inside. "Kurama."
"Touya?" Kurama sat up and blinked, rubbing his eyes.
"Yukina-chan is making breakfast. Why don't you join us in the kitchen to wait?" The kitsune nodded. "Where is Botan-chan?"
"Training with Hiei."
"Oh."
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"So, you and the idiot kitsune had a talk last night?" Hiei fixed her pose and she nodded.
"Part of one, anyway. I told him that I knew as much as I needed to know about him and that we just need to worry about the present and the future." She smiled. "Then we went to sleep."
"He should mark you. It is demon tradition to mark the female you plan to be with. But my guess is that he forgot about it since he's been here for so long."
"It doesn't matter to me whether or not he does mark me. I just want him with me." She watched his example and concentrated on the way he moved. "To be honest, I don't know if I'm ready. I get this weird feeling in my stomach whenever someone talks about mates, marriage, or something along those lines." She confessed.
"He may be an idiot but you and I both know that he just needs time. You need it too. I don't know if I've ever seen a pair so perfect."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She hadn't missed the sarcasm of his statement. He guided her through another new technique.
"With all that you've both been worried about, it's obvious that you have the same doubts." She fumbled a bit with this new part.
"Well, Yukina-chan did help me out a bit. We talked about it. I know my feelings are foolish but when I think about the mark.."
"It doesn't hurt too much, baka."
"How would you know?"
"You're a demon now." He gazed at her from under his black bangs. "It'll probably feel like a dog bite. It'll sting and hurt for a moment or two. But you should know that what you're doing while he marks you will no doubt make you forget about it."
"What?"
"You don't know?"
"Not really." He nearly fell over.
"Just forget it. You'll catch on sooner or later."
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"I don't know."
"What's wrong with it?"
"We need something that'll make your eyes stick out more. Something that'll make him drool."
"Come on, why are you doing this to me!?"
"Keiko, it's all for the cause." Shizuru stated, brushing some of her brown hair over her shoulder. "This is your night out with Yuusuke. It's your night to shine."
"Shizuru! We never knew you had it in you!" Botan and Keiko cried in unison. Yukina giggled when the older girl rolled her eyes.
"Let's just get this over-with. Don't want you to be late."
"I think either black or white."
"I want white." Keiko stated. She didn't feel like standing around in a bra and a long skirt all night long.
"White will go better with the red skirt, won't it?" Botan asked as she held the hanger up in front of Keiko.
"Yes, I think it looks good." Yukina said with a smile.
"Good, we've decided! Now, let me put it on so that you can go nuts with make-up." The irritable Keiko stated, crossing her arms. Botan took the shirt from the hanger and handed it over.
"Red."
"White."
"I think white." Yukina said and Botan grinned, putting the white eyeshadow to the side.
"I don't want-"
"Hush! All we're doing is giving you some eyeshadow." Botan said with a smile. "I promise."
"Good. I don't want to look like a clown." Shizuru rolled her eyes again.
"I need a drink. I'll let you fashion freaks take over now."
"Thanks a lot, Shizuru." Botan stated with a wink at Yukina.
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Yukina sat with Touya, smiling and sharing some tales about the boys. He would laugh and tell her about his experiences with Jin, Chuu, and Rinku.
"Jin is the worst when it comes to being hyperactive. Mostly, he's loud and destructive. Chuu has a problem with drinking, since he normally likes to get drunk enough to where he can't remember a thing from the night before." She laughed. "Those two are worse than children. When they start fighting, it is hard to referee them."
"That's just like Kazuma and Hiei-san. They constantly fight and everyone tries to stop it but their tries are futile." Touya scooted closer.
"To be honest, I.." He frowned and blushed. "Well.. I.."
"Yes?" She asked patiently.
"I really.. like you." She blushed.
"Just spit it out so we can leave! He loves ya, Sheila!" Chuu stood up and shouted from the bushes. "Been sittin' there for over an hour.. and I think that's gonna leave a bloody bruise." He went off somewhere muttering as Jin fell out of the tree, asleep. He landed with a loud THUD and Touya glared icily at him so he scooted off as soon as he finished rubbing his sore bottom. As soon as they were all gone, Yukina felt the blush fade from her cheeks.
"I think I.. love you, as well." Touya grinned and leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own.
"'BOUT TIME, YA BLOODY IDGITS!" Chuu went on one of his tyraids, screaming to world that Touya was with Yukina. They ignored it.
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Hiei listened boredly to mindless dribble as he sat and watched Botan's movements. Yuusuke and the others were talking idly by him and he couldn't help but hear.
"I got some news!" Chuu raced in, nearly tripping over rocks and sticks.
"What?"
"Touya and that Sheila.. The one.. That one that was playin' cards with us."
"Yukina?" Kurama asked, raising a brow. Chuu nodded enthusiastically.
"That's her! They're finally together!" Hiei froze. Touya had honor and he respected the ice master, so the older sibling to Yukina didn't mind. Kuwabara took it heavily and walked away to be alone.
"He'll get over it, I guess." Yuusuke muttered, leaning back and closing his eyes.
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Things are going to be wrapped up next chapter. I guess I finally know how to end it. The next chapter will pretty much end it all. Thank you, for all of you who took the time to read and review this fic. I hope you enjoyed it.