Charms
Thank you for all your support! My loyal and wouldn't-dare-send-assasins-after-me, fans. *Sweat drop* Would you?
Chapter 44
Time skipped ahead by a few months. Kurama found himself standing in the garden behind the Hazama main house. Daiki , probably six or seven, was with a few other children and one of them dared the blue eyed boy to prove he could climb that huge tree. The same tree from Kurama's dream that grabbed him, held him back. //Funny...with the rate of growth of a normal tree. It couldn't possibly get as large as it does in ten years.//
"I'll show you!" Daiki readied himself at the base of the trunk and jumped up, taking hold of a knot in the bark. He kicked his sandles off and got his toes some traction. Hand over hand he slowly made his way up to the fork where the tree branched out into three large stalks. The kids watched, anticipating him to fall or give up. One of the little girls started crying, she was so worried. Suddenly another child came running over the bridge that spanned the small stream.
"You guys, Master Hikari is coming this way."
"What?" exclaimed a few. "Geez, what if he finds out we dared him." said another, "Daiki, come down." Shouted the little girl who was crying.
"No way, I'm almost there." the strawberry blond refused.
"Do what you want, I'm not stickin' around. That white haired guy's with him. He creeps me out." the kid ran off.
"White hair?" Daiki repeated, to be sure he heard right. "Kohaku?" He turned without realizing his grip on the little branch he hand wasn't enough to support his action. The strawberry blond gasped as the branch cracked, he started to fall, but kept a hold of the branch, which still had a thin string that wasn't ripping free so easy. "H-Help me." the boy called to the others down below. "Guy's?"
"I'm outta here!" one exclaimed and most of the kids scattered. Kohaku and another man came around the side of the house just as the last child, the little girl who had cried shouted to them. "Master Hikari! Dai-Chan..." she pointed up.
"Daiki!" the master had dark hair, almost purple with the sun hitting it, he was pale like many of his family. His body seemed very frail and his voice was thin, but commanding when it needed to be. The man was obviously not very healthy, because his run was more an anemic shuffle, but his pace wasn't any less urgent.
"Daddy, I'm scared!" Daiki cried as the string that held him gave a little more.
Kohaku raced past the master and at his speed, if the branch had held out a little bit longer, he would have had time to catch the boy. Unfortunately, the string from the twig fell free. Daiki held his breath as he felt his body become weightless.
In despiration Kohaku buckled his knees and skidded to a hault. There, he dug his hand onto the ground. A mysterious wind began to swirl, kicking the grass and leaves about. His white hair seemed to stand straight up as the intensity of the energy he was using took hold. Kurama stepped back in awe as the large tree Daiki had been climbing...began to move. All three stalks, littered with hundreds of thousands of leaves, reached out and grabbed Daiki, snatching him out of the air like a giant hand.
"Daiki!" The master arrived just in time to pull his son from the tangled mess of branches, past the hords of leaves that surrounded him. "Daiki, are you alright?"
The little boy's eyes were wide with surprise for a moment. Then his little face fell into a upset frown. His little hands reached out, gripping his father's shirt and pulling his face into his chest. He sobbed his fear, mummbling things no one could make sense of. Master Hikari smiled and hugged Daiki, releaved his son was alright.
Kurama smiled as well, he glanced over at Kohaku, sure he was feeling the same way. But the frosty haired man was still crouched on the ground where he had focused his spirit energy. Then the fox demon remembered, it was his own theory. //A spiritual backlash from, all that time of misuse.// On closer inspection, the whites of Kohaku's eyes were being invaded by the pine green of the iris's. The veins in his arms began to darken and his breath began to quicken. //Release it!// Kurama wanted to tell him, but this is a memory. Anying he does or says will make no difference.
The tree slowly creeked back to where it had stood tall for so many years. Kohaku grit his teeth and sunk his fingers further into the grassy soil. //That's it. You can do it. Don't let it over power you.// The red head encouraged. A green aura flowed around him and snaked around his arms and into the ground through his fingertips. //You're doing it! Okay, now disburse...// A low rumbling could be felt from under the ground.
"Kohaku, No!" the emerald eyed demon didn't care if no one could hear him, he had to say something. "You can't focus that kind of power! It will..." The red head snapped his gaze to the large tree, it seemed to be writhing. It's limbs shook and the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.
"Kohaku..." Master Hikari seemed to understand it was definately coming from the demon. He picked up his son and started running for the house.
"Daddy?" Daiki had an iron grip on his father's shirt. The man didn't respond, only held his son tighter.
Suddenly, Kohaku screamed a hideous shreak and the large tree seemed to groan as it streached outward. It's trunk and it's limbs began to grow. The soft plaintive sobs of a little girl could just barely be heard as Kohaku's body became limp and the tail of his scream escaped into the air. When the frosty haired demon hit the ground, the earth stopped moving for a spit second. Master Hikari stopped, seeming a bit relieved, but Kurama knew that this was a very bad sign. //The tree growing exponentially, can only mean the roots...//
Just then a huge dirt covered tenticle burst out of the ground then another. Soon the entire garden was being torn apart by these extraordinary worm-like roots. The entire face of the garden had changed within a matter of seconds. As suddenly as it began, it stopped, leaving the giant roots as proof of the unnatural occurence.
Miraculously, Hikari and his son were safe, a bit shaken but otherwise unharmed. Kohaku, lay still on the garden floor. One of the roots had lifted up under him slightly. The root pressed against the small of his back, his legs drapping over one side. His arms lay over the other side, cascading his frosty hair against the grasses. He was...probably alright, but definately unconscious.
"Sachiko!" Master Hikari exclaimed, spotting the little girl who had been crying all this time. The man set Daiki down and faced him deliberately away from the girl. "Go check on Kohaku." he ordered his son.
"But..."
"Please." he squeezed Daiki's shoulder. The boy nodded and obeyed. With a solemn, pitious expression the master neared the limp child. "Oh, Sachiko." Kurama came closer to see what the master was doing. The brunet took his shirt off and lay it over the girl's head. By the blood stain that quickly spread over the cloth and the round stone under her head, it was obvious what happened. //Oh no...// Emerald eyes looked away. //Kohaku...It was an accident. You didn't know how to control your powers.//
Time sped forward again. Kohaku was laying in his bed in that tiny prison. He was so still, even with those uncomfortable iron shackles on, he didn't move an inch. He was facing the wall, but Kurama could tell the white haired demon was melancholy. After a few minutes, the rotating door opened and...Kurama couldn't believe it. It was a fourteen year old Fuuyuki, carrying a tray of food.
"Kohaku." The young man's long raven hair was bound closely to his head with a silvery, silk ribbon. He wore a pale blue kimono that was contrasted by a soft green, flowing mountain range. A lighter green painted the clouds snaking about their summits. As the red head watched the brunet walk past him, he noticed how much the young man's eyes resembled the demon's. //Why didn't I notice that before?// The future family master unlocked the cell door and crouched to enter the cell.
"I've brought you something to eat." Fuuyuki set the tray down on the small table in the center of the cell. The brunet gazed, impartially at the still form. There was a long silence and for a moment the only movement came from the puffs of steam off the food. "I'd eat it for you, but I hate fermented soy beans." The brunet said finally, looking at the tray with distaste.
"Why are you here?" Kohaku's voice was muffled slightly because he was facing away, but there was no mistaking the underlying bite. //Does Kohaku dislike Fuuyuki?//
"I brought your dinner." he answered simply, ignoring the irritation in the other's tone.
"No." The clink and clatter of chain links sounded as the white haired man sat up. Kurama noticed, he made no effort to look at the young man. "That's not what I meant. They only send you...when they're worried about me." Pine green eyes looked at the iron chains on his wrists, "What is it they think I can do in here? Like this?"
"I'm afraid I can't speak for 'them.'" Fuuyuki answered, completely uneffected by Kohaku's hostility.
"You know something? I used to ask myself," Kohaku stared at his hands, laying on his lap, "why are they afaid of me? Why can't I live like everyone else?" He lifted one hand, his pine green eyes watching the chain slid over his leg. His expression was strange like a smile but everything behind it was hollow, empty. "Well, I understand now." his hand came to rest on his lap again. "So lately I ask myself, why do they bother to keep me alive? Why keep me here, feed me and care for me?" Kohaku's bitter smile turned into a sour frown. "But we both know the reason for that, don't we? They use me like a living statue of some greater diety." The red head demon remembered the letter from Daiki's uncle Soba refering to some kind of celebration or 'honoring' to Kohaku. That must be what he's talking about.
"You're the foundation for hope in this family, you should be honored." the future family master told him.
"Honored?" he let his frosty hair cover his expression as his hands gripped tightly onto the blanket in his lap. "A monster doesn't deserve to be honored." the demon half whispered. His started to tremble as his tone took on a furious growl. "A demon doesn't deserve praise!" the pine green eyed demon threw the beding from his lap, grabbed a hold of the chains to his wrist shackles and pulled himself up.
"Kohaku, calm down!" Fuuyuki stood and tried to calm his companion. Kurama didn't agree with the future master of the Hazama family, however this was an exception.
"I'm not Kohaku! I'm not normal!" the white haired demon anchored his feet and pulled, straining against the wall brackets. "I'm a beast! Nothing...but a wild ANIMAL!" Kohaku's hands became sweaty from the effort he was exerting and the chains slipped from his grip. "Ah!" The pine green eyed demon fell back, slamming into the cage lattice.
"Kohaku! Are you alright?" Fuuyuki rushed to his side.
"Don't touch me!" the frosty haired man swatted the young man's hands away as his voice cracked with pain and quickly became choaked with tears. "I...I don't know what I am. I just...can't keep living like this. I've lived too long." he sobbed, covering his head with both hands. "Why am I still alive? Why haven't I aged a day? Why can't I just grow old and die and get it over with? Why can't I...just...be human?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Fuuyuki took a key from his kimono sleeve and grabbed Kohaku's hand. "Of course, you're human." the teen insisted. The demon jerked back at first, but that brunet's persistance made him give up. Kohaku was too upset to put up a very effective fight. "What else could you be?" the teen reasoned, unlocking his wrist shackle.
"A monster." Kohaku almost spat, watching Fuuyuki free the other wrist.
"Stop it." The young man wasn't accepting an kind of self descrimination. All the shackles were off and the brunet pushed the chains away. Emerald green eyes bore witness to the reddened skin, a bit torn up from the sudden activity.
"You can't understand." His soft white hair fell in waves as he turned his head. The brunet's expression seemed to become softer. He reached into his kimono sleeve and presented a conservative pouch of items. It looked like a mini-first-aid kit, specialized for the prisoner's treatment. It contained a small jar of ointment, gauze squares and bandages.
"You're right." Fuuyuki admitted, opening the ointment jar and setting it aside. "Even if I live as long as you," The teen slicked his fingers with the creamy balm, and gently lifted Kohaku's arm. "Even if I live through the exact same events," Kohaku winced as the brunet applied the oily substance, "I'll never understand..." the pine green eyed teen carefully laid the guaze in place over the ointment on the other's wrist, then wrapped them securely with the bandages. "because I'm not you." The teen moved to work on his ankle.
"Why are you doing this?" Kohaku shook his head, his expression was so confused and a little sad. The fox demon sympathized with the tourtured soul, wondering if there was something, anything he could do to help the poor demon.
"..." Fuuyuki worked quickly and before long the teen was placing a bit of medical tape to secure the last bandage on Kohaku's other wrist. It seemed the teen was turning to put his kit in order, when the white haired demon grabbed the brunet's wrist.
"Please," The pine green eyes of the demon searched for meaning in those eerily similar orbs, "I need to know."
"What do you want to hear?" his expression was so apathetic and yet...the fox demon had an unusual feeling in the pit of his stomach. The teen was hiding something and Kohaku was trying to bring it out. "That I care?" Kohaku frowned. "That you mean something to me, more than any diety, more than any other person? That I..."
"Get out." the white haired demon pushed the teen's wrist away and turned to rest his shoulder against the lattice. "They'll want to hear your report on me. Tell them, 'I'm tired and don't want to be disturbed.'"
"No." Fuuyuki said, setting down the spool of tape onto the tatami mat. Kohaku huffed, trying to pretend he didn't care. "I'm afaid I didn't come here at their request."
"Huh?" The demon seemed to perk up at that statement, or at least, it got his attention.
"I came because I heard you weren't eating and hadn't said a word to anyone for days...not even Daiki." Fuuyuki stared at the frosty haired demon out of the corner of his eye.
"That's..." he averted his eyes, probably a little guilty.
"I came because I wanted to see you, make sure you were alright." the brunet admitted.
"You didn't have to..." the demon's tears where dry by now and rather than sulking he seemed a bit shy.
"I wanted to." the teen looked at the tatami floor before his knees.
"Fuuyuki."
"You told me once, that you haven't been treated like a real person for so long, you don't remember what it's like to hold someone, kiss someone or to feel the kind of love that makes your chest burn and your stomach ache."
"That was almost two years ago." Kohaku remembered.
"But I remembered every word, especially how you told me to find something like that for myself. To experience life for all of it's treasured moments." The teen's eyes locked with the other's pine orbs. "When you stop eating and sleep all day. It seems obvious to me that you've lived so long, you've forgotten what it means to live." Fuuyuki turned his focus to the small window of the prison.
"Of course, this cell doesn't let you live like you want, but...You used to write poetry, play your instruments, read about the events of the world out there. You were always so curious and passionate even inside this tiny world you managed to live and be a part of our lives. My life." Fuuyuki touched his chest and returned to his companion's gaze.
"It doesn't matter anymore." Kohaku shook his head, defeated.
"Yes, it does." The teen came to sit opposite of Kohaku to look him straight in the eye. "I realize that you feel guilty over Sachiko's death."
"I don't want to hear anymore." the frosty haired demon covered his ears.
"Listen to me!" The brunet insisted reaching out to hold the other's shoulders. Kohaku let his hands down, apologetically. "Look I, I'm really nervous," The teen fidgeted a little. Very unusual for this man. "so I need you to listen carefully." he paused as if considering his words, "Kohaku I...I fell in love with you." Kurama blinked like a dear in the head lights.
"What?" The white haired demon asked, a bit surprised. Kurama wanted to hear that again too, to be sure he heard him right.
"It's true." Fuuyuki clarified. "I thought I was just feeling guilty or maybe it was hormones or something," he explained, "but it's been two years and these feeling won't go away. They're getting stronger."
"Two years ago." Kohaku blinked in unison with Kurama. "You were only twelve..." it was uncanny how the fox demon's thoughts were escaping the other demon's mouth. After considering this for a moment a pink tint rose in the white haired demon's cheeks "That's kind of sick." Kohaku half whispered. The brunet twitched like he was just hit by something.
"Well excuse me for being sick." Fuuyuki mummbled. His face was burning red. He knew what he was saying and was taking a big risk of be rejected. The teen cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'm not asking anything of you. I just want you to understand my feelings. Sachiko died and that's a terrible thing. But even though you were responsible, I don't believe for a second that you meant for that to happen. You shouldn't blame yourself for things that are out of your control."
"But..."
"No one wanted that little girl to die, but she did." Those pine green pools narrowed with determination as the young man pulled the white haired demon into a possessive embrace. "But I'll be damned, if I'll let you die with her." Fuuyuki's resolve made the demon's blush crimson. Even Kurama felt a bit of a blush just watching them. "I love you."
"Fuuyuki," Kohaku looked up at the teen, "You smell really good."
"I'm all yours...if you want me, that is." the teen's averted his eyes, threatened by the possible result.
"Look at me." Kohaku told the young man, who obeyed without question. The demon reached behind Fuuyuki and pulled just the right end of the carefully wrapped ribbon.
The silver binding fell away, allowing raven black hair to cascade over the teen's shoulders and down his back. The white haired demon ran his hands through the spider silk strands. Fuuyuki closed his eyes feeling the other's warm hand caress his cheek. He raised a hand, gingerly avoiding the bandage on the other's wrist, to hold it in that perfect place that made his tough-guy exterior dissolve completely.
Kurama turned away. Kohaku was showing this to the fox demon for a reason but...why? Emerald eyes closed as he heard the soft sound of lips meeting and parting. The red head covered his ears, but that wouldn't stop his own chest from burning. //Why?// the fox was at a loss, he couldn't fathom why he was being effected like this. //These feelings...it's almost like...// His breath caught in his throat. Emerald green eyes shot open and his gaze snapped to the two beyond the lattice. //Almost like...they aren't mine.//
Thank you for all your support! My loyal and wouldn't-dare-send-assasins-after-me, fans. *Sweat drop* Would you?
Chapter 44
Time skipped ahead by a few months. Kurama found himself standing in the garden behind the Hazama main house. Daiki , probably six or seven, was with a few other children and one of them dared the blue eyed boy to prove he could climb that huge tree. The same tree from Kurama's dream that grabbed him, held him back. //Funny...with the rate of growth of a normal tree. It couldn't possibly get as large as it does in ten years.//
"I'll show you!" Daiki readied himself at the base of the trunk and jumped up, taking hold of a knot in the bark. He kicked his sandles off and got his toes some traction. Hand over hand he slowly made his way up to the fork where the tree branched out into three large stalks. The kids watched, anticipating him to fall or give up. One of the little girls started crying, she was so worried. Suddenly another child came running over the bridge that spanned the small stream.
"You guys, Master Hikari is coming this way."
"What?" exclaimed a few. "Geez, what if he finds out we dared him." said another, "Daiki, come down." Shouted the little girl who was crying.
"No way, I'm almost there." the strawberry blond refused.
"Do what you want, I'm not stickin' around. That white haired guy's with him. He creeps me out." the kid ran off.
"White hair?" Daiki repeated, to be sure he heard right. "Kohaku?" He turned without realizing his grip on the little branch he hand wasn't enough to support his action. The strawberry blond gasped as the branch cracked, he started to fall, but kept a hold of the branch, which still had a thin string that wasn't ripping free so easy. "H-Help me." the boy called to the others down below. "Guy's?"
"I'm outta here!" one exclaimed and most of the kids scattered. Kohaku and another man came around the side of the house just as the last child, the little girl who had cried shouted to them. "Master Hikari! Dai-Chan..." she pointed up.
"Daiki!" the master had dark hair, almost purple with the sun hitting it, he was pale like many of his family. His body seemed very frail and his voice was thin, but commanding when it needed to be. The man was obviously not very healthy, because his run was more an anemic shuffle, but his pace wasn't any less urgent.
"Daddy, I'm scared!" Daiki cried as the string that held him gave a little more.
Kohaku raced past the master and at his speed, if the branch had held out a little bit longer, he would have had time to catch the boy. Unfortunately, the string from the twig fell free. Daiki held his breath as he felt his body become weightless.
In despiration Kohaku buckled his knees and skidded to a hault. There, he dug his hand onto the ground. A mysterious wind began to swirl, kicking the grass and leaves about. His white hair seemed to stand straight up as the intensity of the energy he was using took hold. Kurama stepped back in awe as the large tree Daiki had been climbing...began to move. All three stalks, littered with hundreds of thousands of leaves, reached out and grabbed Daiki, snatching him out of the air like a giant hand.
"Daiki!" The master arrived just in time to pull his son from the tangled mess of branches, past the hords of leaves that surrounded him. "Daiki, are you alright?"
The little boy's eyes were wide with surprise for a moment. Then his little face fell into a upset frown. His little hands reached out, gripping his father's shirt and pulling his face into his chest. He sobbed his fear, mummbling things no one could make sense of. Master Hikari smiled and hugged Daiki, releaved his son was alright.
Kurama smiled as well, he glanced over at Kohaku, sure he was feeling the same way. But the frosty haired man was still crouched on the ground where he had focused his spirit energy. Then the fox demon remembered, it was his own theory. //A spiritual backlash from, all that time of misuse.// On closer inspection, the whites of Kohaku's eyes were being invaded by the pine green of the iris's. The veins in his arms began to darken and his breath began to quicken. //Release it!// Kurama wanted to tell him, but this is a memory. Anying he does or says will make no difference.
The tree slowly creeked back to where it had stood tall for so many years. Kohaku grit his teeth and sunk his fingers further into the grassy soil. //That's it. You can do it. Don't let it over power you.// The red head encouraged. A green aura flowed around him and snaked around his arms and into the ground through his fingertips. //You're doing it! Okay, now disburse...// A low rumbling could be felt from under the ground.
"Kohaku, No!" the emerald eyed demon didn't care if no one could hear him, he had to say something. "You can't focus that kind of power! It will..." The red head snapped his gaze to the large tree, it seemed to be writhing. It's limbs shook and the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.
"Kohaku..." Master Hikari seemed to understand it was definately coming from the demon. He picked up his son and started running for the house.
"Daddy?" Daiki had an iron grip on his father's shirt. The man didn't respond, only held his son tighter.
Suddenly, Kohaku screamed a hideous shreak and the large tree seemed to groan as it streached outward. It's trunk and it's limbs began to grow. The soft plaintive sobs of a little girl could just barely be heard as Kohaku's body became limp and the tail of his scream escaped into the air. When the frosty haired demon hit the ground, the earth stopped moving for a spit second. Master Hikari stopped, seeming a bit relieved, but Kurama knew that this was a very bad sign. //The tree growing exponentially, can only mean the roots...//
Just then a huge dirt covered tenticle burst out of the ground then another. Soon the entire garden was being torn apart by these extraordinary worm-like roots. The entire face of the garden had changed within a matter of seconds. As suddenly as it began, it stopped, leaving the giant roots as proof of the unnatural occurence.
Miraculously, Hikari and his son were safe, a bit shaken but otherwise unharmed. Kohaku, lay still on the garden floor. One of the roots had lifted up under him slightly. The root pressed against the small of his back, his legs drapping over one side. His arms lay over the other side, cascading his frosty hair against the grasses. He was...probably alright, but definately unconscious.
"Sachiko!" Master Hikari exclaimed, spotting the little girl who had been crying all this time. The man set Daiki down and faced him deliberately away from the girl. "Go check on Kohaku." he ordered his son.
"But..."
"Please." he squeezed Daiki's shoulder. The boy nodded and obeyed. With a solemn, pitious expression the master neared the limp child. "Oh, Sachiko." Kurama came closer to see what the master was doing. The brunet took his shirt off and lay it over the girl's head. By the blood stain that quickly spread over the cloth and the round stone under her head, it was obvious what happened. //Oh no...// Emerald eyes looked away. //Kohaku...It was an accident. You didn't know how to control your powers.//
Time sped forward again. Kohaku was laying in his bed in that tiny prison. He was so still, even with those uncomfortable iron shackles on, he didn't move an inch. He was facing the wall, but Kurama could tell the white haired demon was melancholy. After a few minutes, the rotating door opened and...Kurama couldn't believe it. It was a fourteen year old Fuuyuki, carrying a tray of food.
"Kohaku." The young man's long raven hair was bound closely to his head with a silvery, silk ribbon. He wore a pale blue kimono that was contrasted by a soft green, flowing mountain range. A lighter green painted the clouds snaking about their summits. As the red head watched the brunet walk past him, he noticed how much the young man's eyes resembled the demon's. //Why didn't I notice that before?// The future family master unlocked the cell door and crouched to enter the cell.
"I've brought you something to eat." Fuuyuki set the tray down on the small table in the center of the cell. The brunet gazed, impartially at the still form. There was a long silence and for a moment the only movement came from the puffs of steam off the food. "I'd eat it for you, but I hate fermented soy beans." The brunet said finally, looking at the tray with distaste.
"Why are you here?" Kohaku's voice was muffled slightly because he was facing away, but there was no mistaking the underlying bite. //Does Kohaku dislike Fuuyuki?//
"I brought your dinner." he answered simply, ignoring the irritation in the other's tone.
"No." The clink and clatter of chain links sounded as the white haired man sat up. Kurama noticed, he made no effort to look at the young man. "That's not what I meant. They only send you...when they're worried about me." Pine green eyes looked at the iron chains on his wrists, "What is it they think I can do in here? Like this?"
"I'm afraid I can't speak for 'them.'" Fuuyuki answered, completely uneffected by Kohaku's hostility.
"You know something? I used to ask myself," Kohaku stared at his hands, laying on his lap, "why are they afaid of me? Why can't I live like everyone else?" He lifted one hand, his pine green eyes watching the chain slid over his leg. His expression was strange like a smile but everything behind it was hollow, empty. "Well, I understand now." his hand came to rest on his lap again. "So lately I ask myself, why do they bother to keep me alive? Why keep me here, feed me and care for me?" Kohaku's bitter smile turned into a sour frown. "But we both know the reason for that, don't we? They use me like a living statue of some greater diety." The red head demon remembered the letter from Daiki's uncle Soba refering to some kind of celebration or 'honoring' to Kohaku. That must be what he's talking about.
"You're the foundation for hope in this family, you should be honored." the future family master told him.
"Honored?" he let his frosty hair cover his expression as his hands gripped tightly onto the blanket in his lap. "A monster doesn't deserve to be honored." the demon half whispered. His started to tremble as his tone took on a furious growl. "A demon doesn't deserve praise!" the pine green eyed demon threw the beding from his lap, grabbed a hold of the chains to his wrist shackles and pulled himself up.
"Kohaku, calm down!" Fuuyuki stood and tried to calm his companion. Kurama didn't agree with the future master of the Hazama family, however this was an exception.
"I'm not Kohaku! I'm not normal!" the white haired demon anchored his feet and pulled, straining against the wall brackets. "I'm a beast! Nothing...but a wild ANIMAL!" Kohaku's hands became sweaty from the effort he was exerting and the chains slipped from his grip. "Ah!" The pine green eyed demon fell back, slamming into the cage lattice.
"Kohaku! Are you alright?" Fuuyuki rushed to his side.
"Don't touch me!" the frosty haired man swatted the young man's hands away as his voice cracked with pain and quickly became choaked with tears. "I...I don't know what I am. I just...can't keep living like this. I've lived too long." he sobbed, covering his head with both hands. "Why am I still alive? Why haven't I aged a day? Why can't I just grow old and die and get it over with? Why can't I...just...be human?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Fuuyuki took a key from his kimono sleeve and grabbed Kohaku's hand. "Of course, you're human." the teen insisted. The demon jerked back at first, but that brunet's persistance made him give up. Kohaku was too upset to put up a very effective fight. "What else could you be?" the teen reasoned, unlocking his wrist shackle.
"A monster." Kohaku almost spat, watching Fuuyuki free the other wrist.
"Stop it." The young man wasn't accepting an kind of self descrimination. All the shackles were off and the brunet pushed the chains away. Emerald green eyes bore witness to the reddened skin, a bit torn up from the sudden activity.
"You can't understand." His soft white hair fell in waves as he turned his head. The brunet's expression seemed to become softer. He reached into his kimono sleeve and presented a conservative pouch of items. It looked like a mini-first-aid kit, specialized for the prisoner's treatment. It contained a small jar of ointment, gauze squares and bandages.
"You're right." Fuuyuki admitted, opening the ointment jar and setting it aside. "Even if I live as long as you," The teen slicked his fingers with the creamy balm, and gently lifted Kohaku's arm. "Even if I live through the exact same events," Kohaku winced as the brunet applied the oily substance, "I'll never understand..." the pine green eyed teen carefully laid the guaze in place over the ointment on the other's wrist, then wrapped them securely with the bandages. "because I'm not you." The teen moved to work on his ankle.
"Why are you doing this?" Kohaku shook his head, his expression was so confused and a little sad. The fox demon sympathized with the tourtured soul, wondering if there was something, anything he could do to help the poor demon.
"..." Fuuyuki worked quickly and before long the teen was placing a bit of medical tape to secure the last bandage on Kohaku's other wrist. It seemed the teen was turning to put his kit in order, when the white haired demon grabbed the brunet's wrist.
"Please," The pine green eyes of the demon searched for meaning in those eerily similar orbs, "I need to know."
"What do you want to hear?" his expression was so apathetic and yet...the fox demon had an unusual feeling in the pit of his stomach. The teen was hiding something and Kohaku was trying to bring it out. "That I care?" Kohaku frowned. "That you mean something to me, more than any diety, more than any other person? That I..."
"Get out." the white haired demon pushed the teen's wrist away and turned to rest his shoulder against the lattice. "They'll want to hear your report on me. Tell them, 'I'm tired and don't want to be disturbed.'"
"No." Fuuyuki said, setting down the spool of tape onto the tatami mat. Kohaku huffed, trying to pretend he didn't care. "I'm afaid I didn't come here at their request."
"Huh?" The demon seemed to perk up at that statement, or at least, it got his attention.
"I came because I heard you weren't eating and hadn't said a word to anyone for days...not even Daiki." Fuuyuki stared at the frosty haired demon out of the corner of his eye.
"That's..." he averted his eyes, probably a little guilty.
"I came because I wanted to see you, make sure you were alright." the brunet admitted.
"You didn't have to..." the demon's tears where dry by now and rather than sulking he seemed a bit shy.
"I wanted to." the teen looked at the tatami floor before his knees.
"Fuuyuki."
"You told me once, that you haven't been treated like a real person for so long, you don't remember what it's like to hold someone, kiss someone or to feel the kind of love that makes your chest burn and your stomach ache."
"That was almost two years ago." Kohaku remembered.
"But I remembered every word, especially how you told me to find something like that for myself. To experience life for all of it's treasured moments." The teen's eyes locked with the other's pine orbs. "When you stop eating and sleep all day. It seems obvious to me that you've lived so long, you've forgotten what it means to live." Fuuyuki turned his focus to the small window of the prison.
"Of course, this cell doesn't let you live like you want, but...You used to write poetry, play your instruments, read about the events of the world out there. You were always so curious and passionate even inside this tiny world you managed to live and be a part of our lives. My life." Fuuyuki touched his chest and returned to his companion's gaze.
"It doesn't matter anymore." Kohaku shook his head, defeated.
"Yes, it does." The teen came to sit opposite of Kohaku to look him straight in the eye. "I realize that you feel guilty over Sachiko's death."
"I don't want to hear anymore." the frosty haired demon covered his ears.
"Listen to me!" The brunet insisted reaching out to hold the other's shoulders. Kohaku let his hands down, apologetically. "Look I, I'm really nervous," The teen fidgeted a little. Very unusual for this man. "so I need you to listen carefully." he paused as if considering his words, "Kohaku I...I fell in love with you." Kurama blinked like a dear in the head lights.
"What?" The white haired demon asked, a bit surprised. Kurama wanted to hear that again too, to be sure he heard him right.
"It's true." Fuuyuki clarified. "I thought I was just feeling guilty or maybe it was hormones or something," he explained, "but it's been two years and these feeling won't go away. They're getting stronger."
"Two years ago." Kohaku blinked in unison with Kurama. "You were only twelve..." it was uncanny how the fox demon's thoughts were escaping the other demon's mouth. After considering this for a moment a pink tint rose in the white haired demon's cheeks "That's kind of sick." Kohaku half whispered. The brunet twitched like he was just hit by something.
"Well excuse me for being sick." Fuuyuki mummbled. His face was burning red. He knew what he was saying and was taking a big risk of be rejected. The teen cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'm not asking anything of you. I just want you to understand my feelings. Sachiko died and that's a terrible thing. But even though you were responsible, I don't believe for a second that you meant for that to happen. You shouldn't blame yourself for things that are out of your control."
"But..."
"No one wanted that little girl to die, but she did." Those pine green pools narrowed with determination as the young man pulled the white haired demon into a possessive embrace. "But I'll be damned, if I'll let you die with her." Fuuyuki's resolve made the demon's blush crimson. Even Kurama felt a bit of a blush just watching them. "I love you."
"Fuuyuki," Kohaku looked up at the teen, "You smell really good."
"I'm all yours...if you want me, that is." the teen's averted his eyes, threatened by the possible result.
"Look at me." Kohaku told the young man, who obeyed without question. The demon reached behind Fuuyuki and pulled just the right end of the carefully wrapped ribbon.
The silver binding fell away, allowing raven black hair to cascade over the teen's shoulders and down his back. The white haired demon ran his hands through the spider silk strands. Fuuyuki closed his eyes feeling the other's warm hand caress his cheek. He raised a hand, gingerly avoiding the bandage on the other's wrist, to hold it in that perfect place that made his tough-guy exterior dissolve completely.
Kurama turned away. Kohaku was showing this to the fox demon for a reason but...why? Emerald eyes closed as he heard the soft sound of lips meeting and parting. The red head covered his ears, but that wouldn't stop his own chest from burning. //Why?// the fox was at a loss, he couldn't fathom why he was being effected like this. //These feelings...it's almost like...// His breath caught in his throat. Emerald green eyes shot open and his gaze snapped to the two beyond the lattice. //Almost like...they aren't mine.//