10 Years of Waiting
by Kurohi Tatsaki
Day 2c - Ryu Kokoro no Yumemiru
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, but I own Kurohi. This story is Yaoi! Male/Male relationships! Don't like it? Then leave cuz then you shouldn't be here. I don't appreciate insults on my work when I'm trying the hardest of my current capabilities.
"speaking" [thinking] {noise} ~~~~~~ POV change ****** beginning/ending of dreams ********* flashback beginning/endings //Telepathic speech// *** passing of time /strange voice/
To Scarby: The outcome of the first of your two requests has been answered!
-------------------------------------------
Kurama only had to fight Kurohi? He wondered why Hiei would say such a dare. He was, after all, an S-Class Youko fighting an A-Class Youkai. What good, besides training, would THAT do? Well, maybe that WAS the reason.
Across from him, the boy stood, Rose Whip in his right hand. "This fight could get heated up... as long as you don't gawk at me." With that, he yanked off his button-down blue shirt in one fluid motion like Hiei when removing his midnight-black cloak. It also had whitish-gray dragon designs near the hem, but that was soon forgotten as the redhead nearly gasped in shock.
Kurohi's form was similar to the fox's except for one main difference. A dark-gray dragon tattoo worked its way from atop his right shoulder and wound all the way across his back to meet his left one. The ends did not meet anywhere, and the tattoo ended against both sides of his chest. At his left side, Kurama spotted a shortsword with the handle of a silver dragon's head clinging against the waistband of his jeans. The blade was seemingly straight, and the tip was nearly as fine as a rapier.
The boy's torso was sparsely muscled, but strength was evident. He had a slender neck, and his face was most childlike, but it held both age and wisdom almost greater than his own. His large eyes glittered in the faint light of the overhead lamps and cast his entire body into more shadow than light.
Around his neck, unnoticed until now, dangled a dragon pendant. In its claws, it clutched a shining, violet pearl. It pulsated a dim red glow in the setting sun and in the shadows around itself. The dragon's crying eye was closed gently, and it seemed that the stone that held the tear gem really WAS crying.
"What's that?" queried the kitsune. Never before in his life had he ever laid eyes upon such a creation. He figured just enough to know that it wasn't carved, like the dragon.
"A hirui-seki stone, of sorts... Oh, wait, I forgot to mention. We dragons can cry gems, too. We just never do because there's nothing to cry about." He had a light smirk on his face.
[Then why is there that stone around his neck?]
The rest of the group entered the backyard, unnoticed by the two, who were focused on each other.
"Anyway," said the youkai. "I won't use any other arsenal save my Rose Whip, my sword, and my fists."
"Now I'll have to be even more wary of you," murmured Kurama. "Your ability with various weapons is uncanny, correct?"
With a little shrug, he replied, "Some say that, Kurama-san."
"Hiei, are you sure you want them to fight?" whispered Yusuke from the sidelines.
"Positive," came the deep reply. "Kurohi needs training in real fighting when his options are limited. So far, he seems to be handling the slight pressure of not being able to use a few of his abilities without flinching. However, it seems he is merely mirroring how I would react. This could eventually defeat him, as I use the exact strategy. Right now, Kurama has the advantage because, unless Kurohi changes his strategy from mine, and fights as he should, he shall meet defeat indefinitely."
"Kurohi, the first move is yours," the fox in statement said politely.
"As you request!" He flitted about the backyard, aiming for the fox with his whip. Kurama jumped back just as the whip came his way. It missed by millimeters, but several other flurries came his way. He dodged them with his foxy grace, ever the acrobatic and tricky opponent.
Kurama chuckled. "You fight like two people I know." [I have your entire strategy down, little one.]
//Oh? Who?// asked the boy telepathically.
"Hiei and myself," he answered softly, keeping his human ears alert to their highest degree.
Not only was Kurohi hyper on soda (the remnants of the bottled soda were the last half of it before he drank it all in a few minutes), Kurohi was having fun with Kurama-san. He sheathed his whip and pulled out the sword. The blade mutated into the wriggled tail of a dragon.
"YOU'RE GOIN' DOWN, KURAMA-SAAAAAAN!!"
As the blade came down, the fox was almost pierced through the chest, had he not dodged. The tip of the blade pierced the material of his shirt and scratched his back from the spine all the way to his left side. A thin stream of blood flowed from the wound, and he gripped the part of his back that was cut. He shook slightly at the memory of the blade from the nightmare took position in his mind. Now that he thought about it, the blade really *hadn't* been Hiei's...
It had been Kurohi's. [Had I not dodged, Kurohi would have killed me for certain!]
"Stop dropping your guard!! It makes you look *stupid*!" complained the boy, swinging his sword. The blade dug into his shoulder and the fox grit his teeth against the pain. He looked up at Kurohi's expressionless blue eyes.
They stared right back, then widened. /Those eyes... No! Kurohi! Stop looking into those eyes before the memories come back!/ hissed that strange voice in the boy's mind. /You don't want to remember it all, right?! Look away from him!!/
He withdrew his bloodied blade and regarded the fox with a haunted look. [Get out of my mind. You are nothing but a handicap in my fighting.] His gaze then flicked to Hiei, and he turned fully to him. The haunted look remained, but he closed his eyes before his trainer could see anything further. He didn't want anyone to see or figure out his weakness of mind.
He shrieked in shock rather than pain as the Rose Whip wound around his neck and pierced his skin, drawing blood. A soft whisper, coming from his own throat, echoed in his ear. In reflex, he gripped the whip with both hands, causing the thorns to cut his palms and fingers.
"Were you the one who sent me that nightmare?"
"N...nani... what are you talking about...? I... I... don't know what you mean..." he stammered uncertainly. What was the youko talking about? What did he do??!
"It was YOUR blade I saw, Kurohi... after you replaced Hiei's."
"M... mine...?" The Rose Whip's grip increased, and the boy cried out, he felt a few rivulets of blood seep from his neck to mingle with the pendant, which pulsated quickly. His eyes widened as he felt that breathing was becoming more of a chore, but he had to speak his mind! He started to get scared; the flickering of the pendant quickened as adrenaline pumped through him. "...I... don't... know what... you mean," he said softly. He made no attempt to save himself from the accusations. [Of course,] he thought to himself bitterly. [The dragon told me once... that it likes to have me do things to those who are dear to myself or anyone I am related to... Of course! He would think it was me because it was my sword he saw! Most likely, it was, but the dragon I can become can enter people's minds and manipulate dreams! He's mistaking ME for the dragon on my back!]
"So, it *was* you. I can smell fear on you."
[He's a jackass while fighting, but a sweetheart off the battlefield? Wait, I'm getting dizzy...] "Uuugh... It... *wasn't*... me... And, I'm... not... scared of... what you're... saying..."
Around his neck, the Rose Whip tightened again as these words of innocence made him even more angry. The dragon pendant pulsated slowly with a faint glow.
Hiei's eyes widened. "Stop it, fox! You're killing him! He may be a lethal opponent but he gets hurt easily, and for some reason, at this very time even though he's more demon than human! The fight is OVER Kurama! Let him go!" [And if he dies Mukuro will have my hide for certain!]
The grip dropped, and Kurohi fell to his knees and then face-down to the ground with a soft thud. He panted softly. //Ku..rama, why don't you believe me? I can explain things, but why didn't you listen...?// [I thought I could trust you not to kill me, but merely beat me in a fight. You want me dead because of my dragon, don't you?]
Struggling with something in his right pocket, he pulled out a seed and applied its fluids to the wounds on his neck and hands. After a moment or two of waiting, he stood up. The only things remaining were the scars; they faded quickly.
The pendant's pulsing returned to normal instead of the erratic slowness earlier. "Allow me to explain my side of the story, Kurama," murmured Kurohi. "That nightmare you had when you saw the sword go through you was mine, correct?" he asked tiredly, eyes half-open.
Kurama nodded silently, his Rose Whip long gone and hidden as the rose in his hair.
"The dragon on my back... The Yumemiru Ryu... Without my knowing, it travels into others' minds and manipulates dreams to suit its cause. I'm not sure what it wanted you to see; asking it has always been difficult, as it speaks with images that can be interpreted in many different ways... like a painting." [And the only time it speaks to me with words is when it wants me to sleep or to keep me from what I am going to find.]
"So, what do you think that one bit meant?"
"Either, I am going to become your enemy, or something else may happen. What that is, I am uncertain."
"Em, what are you boys talkin' about?" suddenly asked Yusuke. Kurama turned his head to one side to see them, and Kurohi turned his entire head around to his left in a comical way.
"Oh, you needn't worry about that, Yusuke," he chimed softly, his eyes curving upward with his mouth in a smile. "We're just talking about somethin' that happened." The spiky brown-haired boy eyed Koenma meaningfully. //I need to talk to you.//
The god nodded once, a barely visible gesture. To this, a small smile tugged the boy's lips.
It seemed that the Jaganshi was the only one who noticed this transaction of communication. He approached the kitsune as the other part-youko was throwing his shirt back on, completely covering the mark.
Hands in his pockets, he said, "You told me it was *my* katana. Now you're saying it was my student's?"
Kurama nodded. "I was a little too scared to make out the detail clearly the first time around. I do remember, though, that at first glance it was yours, and then a second later, his... a jagged blade."
The Forbidden Child was silent a moment. "Kurohi was still with Mukuro the night you had that nightmare."
"It doesn't matter where I am, Hiei-sama,"
They turned to the boy who stood with his hands placed on his hips. "Forgive my interruption," he murmured, holding back the urge to stare at the grass below his feet. "but no matter where I am, the dragon can go into anyone's mind of which I am associated to... take yours, for example. Though if you were the best example, a better one would be Kurama-san, Yusuke, Kuwabara-kun, Koenma-sama, and anyone associated to them as well as you.
"I also apologize for any misery my dragon has caused you, but I cannot assure you it won't happen again. And for that, again, I am very sorry." With that, the boy reentered Yusuke's home. He was followed by all save the two demons.
"So, it was the dragon..." mused the fox. "Even in my old age, I've never heard of a dragon that could enter people's dreams," said Kurama.
"Hmph. Then obviously, you haven't been doing any miscellaneous research."
"Why? Have you some information?" gently asked the redhead, turning and looking at him through the corner of his eye. He was wary of Hiei's movements, which were a little sluggish due to the sake.
Hiei said this with a blank face, "No."
"Then you shouldn't say anything about that."
The Jaganshi looked insulted. "I was only saying, that you're usually the one who knows more about things like this than I. Your not knowing is very surprising this time around." With that word, he followed the rest of the group.
After a moment or two of pausing, watching the dark, retreating back of the one he loved, he, too, followed.
~~~~~~
I am aware of the fact Kurohi wishes to speak with me. Most likely, about that kissing dare. In speaking of dares, Kuwabara dared Hiei to fight Kurama. Though he seemed reluctant, he had agreed.
Though, it had been more or less a standstill, one barely getting ahead of the other. And just when we thought the battle couldn't get any more intense, Kurama had stumbled on a chunk of rock.
Hiei won.
"By accident! I tripped over something!!" Kurama had shouted.
"Hn. Just like how you beat me so long ago!" was the retort.
Kuwabara and Yusuke had gotten so drunk, Kuwabara ended up draped over the back of the couch. Yusuke ended up on the floor soon after, snoring loudly. Well, at least he beat Kuwabara again - holding out longest with the highest amount of alcohol in his system. He sure has a lot of guts.
Hiei? Well, Kurama took him home, staggering, partially slurred speech and all.
Kurohi was just hyper... for a good half-hour after the fight because he found a few cans of Sprite in the fridge. Heh heh heh... Courtesy of my suggestion.
"Koenma-sama, you... not too drunk to talk?" he asks calmly.
Looking up from my near-empty wineglass, I stare into large blue irises. He is standing before me, slender body slack, but rigid with evident nervousness. He always had a problem with masking that from me. "I believe, I'm pretty sober. Not all there, though."
He sits down near me and pretends I'm not there by looking out the window behind him. His face is pretty much facing me. I know he knows I'm here because his pendant is flashing softly and irregularly to his own demonic rumble of a heartbeat.
One day, I'd like to hear it.
The pendant always fascinated me. It reacts to his every breath, every beat of his heart, everything he sees and does is reflected in that violet orb, held by a no-footed, long-tailed dragon no bigger than his palm.
That is also how Hiei knew he was close to passing out, perhaps death after a few more minutes of that death-grip with the Rose Whip Kurama had on him. He looked positively frightened, and for good reason. Kurama is a cunning demon, and won't hesitate to kill a demon in his way... unless for other reasons.
There is a lasting silence, before he murmurs quietly, "Had... had it not been a dare, would you still have..." He pauses to look at me with tainted blue eyes. "...kissed me?"
"No, of course not," I reply without thinking. Oh well, I'm a god, anyway. I last for eternity while you don't! You'll end up dying and the both of us will be in pain because we'll never be able to see each other again after that!
...That's why I can't love you.
This hurts him. He closes his eyes momentarily; the glowing of the pendant stops for a second before starting up again slightly faster. Kurohi stares blankly out the window. "I see..."
Standing up, he shakes his head and laughs softly. For a moment, I think he is well, but another glance shows off that little thread of sanity that belongs to him. It's strained. "You don't like me? I'm too much of a child?"
"I didn't say that," I say. I didn't mean that at all! He is not eternal, but I am! A relationship will only bring us pain! I *can't* love him!
"In a sense, you did," is his answer, spoken in so soft a tone, so soft a volume, I must strain my ears to hear past the sound of his loudly-beating demon heart.
I know I wanted to hear it, but not like this...
His ki slowly flares around him, like a gentle, cold breeze. If his aura were a color, it would be a kind of dark silver. "I'm going."
"Where?"
"I'll go anywhere but here," he replies, running a hand through a few strands of his baby-fine brown hair. I am surprised he can stick those up so easily. Usually, people with "thick" hair are the only ones that can do such thick spikes.
"Then, come back to Reikai with me."
He snorts softly. "Hn. Doshite? So you can tell me how not fit for a relationship I am? Sorry, but I'd prefer to swallow a thousand needles... though they don't taste as unique as you do."
Did he just SAY that?! My, Kami-sama...! He never even tasted me before!
He seems to mistake my surprised expression for revulsion. Before I can speak, he is gone in the blink of an eye.
I guess that is a benefit of training under Hiei... you become extremely agile and can run from your feelings. At least, that's what I think he's running from.
...I'm sorry, Kurohi...
***
I HATE Koenma-sama, I HATE Koenma-sama but how I love him, damn it! He just rejected me!
I can't help what I feel. If I could, I'd choose to die loveless... but since I've felt it... I've felt the soaring in my heart - I've felt the singing - I've felt the passion... I wouldn't choose to die loveless.
...I can't...
It is raining lightly, gradually soaking my jeans and thin dragon shirt. The mark on my back grows slightly warm to help heat my body up, but I shouldn't be this cold! I AM part fire demon, after all.
True, but I'm also part human. I can still get sick a little easier than demons, but a little less than humans do.
I choose to view this as a benefit - I could have been born as a human, and be sick very often.
A shiver runs down my spine. Even the tree I'm sitting in does not provide much protection from the rain. Some of the droplets sizzle once they touch me, and some of them do not, trailing down my skin in such a manner it is a cold tickle. I shiver and wipe off the droplets with equally wet hands.
/The rain will pass, my child,/ hisses the voice in my mind. How strange, that I used to find it so soothing to me so long ago. Now it has been downgraded to a voice that makes my skin crawl and my innards churn. /The night will fall, and day shall rise to power once again, as it always does. Rest now, during the night, and fall into a dreamless slumber, one void of the miseries and pleasures the subconscious creates to amuse itself./
But, I don't want to sleep. I do not want the dragon to go into someone else's mind while I'm out like a light. It doesn't seem I have much choice, though. Fatigue is covering my body like a warm cloak, despite the rain and cold.
...How can I love a god? I won't last long, according to his life, which is eternal. I'll only be a scratch in the CD - meager and without impression, for it doesn't interfere.
...How could I...?
I bite my lip to keep from crying, for demons, especially powerful ones, can't cry.
But, though I want to cry, I can't cry. I'm human for wanting to cry. I'm demon for not crying.
Hiei-sama would scold me for my human side, wouldn't he...?
I seriously don't want to doze off, but my mind's fuzzy. My eyes don't want to focus. My body feels like lead and the simplest movement seems it would cause me to fall off this sturdy, unyielding branch. It's freezing cold up here, and my body and mind don't want to keep my soul warm.
I feel cold sensations running against my hand as rain falls into my open right palm. Staring at it for a long moment, I close this hand, and softly close my eyes. My head rolls forward after a second, as it is a burden to hold up, now.
Mind blank, I fall into dreamless slumber, just like the dragon said.
I hate being the object of predictions. At least, in my sleep, I won't have to think about anything, or, more importantly, any*one*.
Koenma... no matter what you say, no matter what you do, I love you forever...
End Day 2
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doshite = why
I know this is more Kurohi this time, but I felt I should let you in on some of his personality, and what he has to go through for endless days. Yeah, I know he's also a homo - after all, he finds most girls unappealing. (He hates it when girls get too flirty with him. He thinks it's a little strange.) Again, after all, he does look kind of like one. He gets enough of women and people calling him that!
Kurohi: *rolls eyes* Oh shut up. YOU drew me like that. You said I was supposed to look more like a bishonen than a bishojo!
KT: Yeah! A pretty boy! Be glad that I named my user after you!
Kurohi: Yeah, you even took the last name I have in Yu-Gi-Oh! fics.
KT: But... You're my best OC! All my other ones are crap!
Seishin (from Wild Arms 3 fic): Hey! What about me?! I'm supposed to be his sister!!
KT: What, you want me to bring you in, too? You look almost nothing like him, with all that white hair...
Seishin: It's not WHITE! It's SILVER! SILVER, damn it! _
KT: *sweatdrop* Riiiight. (She's really a lot like Yukina when she's happy. Also, she has a hair color similar to Jet's.) Anyway, I plan on fixing that loooong chapter in my WA3 fic and posting it at SOME point in time. *runs hand through hair* It isn't bad; I started it while I was in Serpent's Coils and used a few quotes from the game, I think. (Now I have a flying mech dragon that can blow stuff up! Those who played the game know who she is but I kinda forgot her name.) Anyway, I hope you readers are happy I was on a roll again this chapter. I have a few sketchy ideas for next chap. Whaddya say Kurama and Hiei?
Kurama: ^__^
Hiei: *looks bored* Hn.
R&R! Arigatou gozaimasu to ja ne!
Started 3/19/03, Afternoon; Finished 3/20/03, Noon
Revisions: 10/10/03, 5/31/03, 3/20/03, (Late Noon Snow day!)
by Kurohi Tatsaki
Day 2c - Ryu Kokoro no Yumemiru
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, but I own Kurohi. This story is Yaoi! Male/Male relationships! Don't like it? Then leave cuz then you shouldn't be here. I don't appreciate insults on my work when I'm trying the hardest of my current capabilities.
"speaking" [thinking] {noise} ~~~~~~ POV change ****** beginning/ending of dreams ********* flashback beginning/endings //Telepathic speech// *** passing of time /strange voice/
To Scarby: The outcome of the first of your two requests has been answered!
-------------------------------------------
Kurama only had to fight Kurohi? He wondered why Hiei would say such a dare. He was, after all, an S-Class Youko fighting an A-Class Youkai. What good, besides training, would THAT do? Well, maybe that WAS the reason.
Across from him, the boy stood, Rose Whip in his right hand. "This fight could get heated up... as long as you don't gawk at me." With that, he yanked off his button-down blue shirt in one fluid motion like Hiei when removing his midnight-black cloak. It also had whitish-gray dragon designs near the hem, but that was soon forgotten as the redhead nearly gasped in shock.
Kurohi's form was similar to the fox's except for one main difference. A dark-gray dragon tattoo worked its way from atop his right shoulder and wound all the way across his back to meet his left one. The ends did not meet anywhere, and the tattoo ended against both sides of his chest. At his left side, Kurama spotted a shortsword with the handle of a silver dragon's head clinging against the waistband of his jeans. The blade was seemingly straight, and the tip was nearly as fine as a rapier.
The boy's torso was sparsely muscled, but strength was evident. He had a slender neck, and his face was most childlike, but it held both age and wisdom almost greater than his own. His large eyes glittered in the faint light of the overhead lamps and cast his entire body into more shadow than light.
Around his neck, unnoticed until now, dangled a dragon pendant. In its claws, it clutched a shining, violet pearl. It pulsated a dim red glow in the setting sun and in the shadows around itself. The dragon's crying eye was closed gently, and it seemed that the stone that held the tear gem really WAS crying.
"What's that?" queried the kitsune. Never before in his life had he ever laid eyes upon such a creation. He figured just enough to know that it wasn't carved, like the dragon.
"A hirui-seki stone, of sorts... Oh, wait, I forgot to mention. We dragons can cry gems, too. We just never do because there's nothing to cry about." He had a light smirk on his face.
[Then why is there that stone around his neck?]
The rest of the group entered the backyard, unnoticed by the two, who were focused on each other.
"Anyway," said the youkai. "I won't use any other arsenal save my Rose Whip, my sword, and my fists."
"Now I'll have to be even more wary of you," murmured Kurama. "Your ability with various weapons is uncanny, correct?"
With a little shrug, he replied, "Some say that, Kurama-san."
"Hiei, are you sure you want them to fight?" whispered Yusuke from the sidelines.
"Positive," came the deep reply. "Kurohi needs training in real fighting when his options are limited. So far, he seems to be handling the slight pressure of not being able to use a few of his abilities without flinching. However, it seems he is merely mirroring how I would react. This could eventually defeat him, as I use the exact strategy. Right now, Kurama has the advantage because, unless Kurohi changes his strategy from mine, and fights as he should, he shall meet defeat indefinitely."
"Kurohi, the first move is yours," the fox in statement said politely.
"As you request!" He flitted about the backyard, aiming for the fox with his whip. Kurama jumped back just as the whip came his way. It missed by millimeters, but several other flurries came his way. He dodged them with his foxy grace, ever the acrobatic and tricky opponent.
Kurama chuckled. "You fight like two people I know." [I have your entire strategy down, little one.]
//Oh? Who?// asked the boy telepathically.
"Hiei and myself," he answered softly, keeping his human ears alert to their highest degree.
Not only was Kurohi hyper on soda (the remnants of the bottled soda were the last half of it before he drank it all in a few minutes), Kurohi was having fun with Kurama-san. He sheathed his whip and pulled out the sword. The blade mutated into the wriggled tail of a dragon.
"YOU'RE GOIN' DOWN, KURAMA-SAAAAAAN!!"
As the blade came down, the fox was almost pierced through the chest, had he not dodged. The tip of the blade pierced the material of his shirt and scratched his back from the spine all the way to his left side. A thin stream of blood flowed from the wound, and he gripped the part of his back that was cut. He shook slightly at the memory of the blade from the nightmare took position in his mind. Now that he thought about it, the blade really *hadn't* been Hiei's...
It had been Kurohi's. [Had I not dodged, Kurohi would have killed me for certain!]
"Stop dropping your guard!! It makes you look *stupid*!" complained the boy, swinging his sword. The blade dug into his shoulder and the fox grit his teeth against the pain. He looked up at Kurohi's expressionless blue eyes.
They stared right back, then widened. /Those eyes... No! Kurohi! Stop looking into those eyes before the memories come back!/ hissed that strange voice in the boy's mind. /You don't want to remember it all, right?! Look away from him!!/
He withdrew his bloodied blade and regarded the fox with a haunted look. [Get out of my mind. You are nothing but a handicap in my fighting.] His gaze then flicked to Hiei, and he turned fully to him. The haunted look remained, but he closed his eyes before his trainer could see anything further. He didn't want anyone to see or figure out his weakness of mind.
He shrieked in shock rather than pain as the Rose Whip wound around his neck and pierced his skin, drawing blood. A soft whisper, coming from his own throat, echoed in his ear. In reflex, he gripped the whip with both hands, causing the thorns to cut his palms and fingers.
"Were you the one who sent me that nightmare?"
"N...nani... what are you talking about...? I... I... don't know what you mean..." he stammered uncertainly. What was the youko talking about? What did he do??!
"It was YOUR blade I saw, Kurohi... after you replaced Hiei's."
"M... mine...?" The Rose Whip's grip increased, and the boy cried out, he felt a few rivulets of blood seep from his neck to mingle with the pendant, which pulsated quickly. His eyes widened as he felt that breathing was becoming more of a chore, but he had to speak his mind! He started to get scared; the flickering of the pendant quickened as adrenaline pumped through him. "...I... don't... know what... you mean," he said softly. He made no attempt to save himself from the accusations. [Of course,] he thought to himself bitterly. [The dragon told me once... that it likes to have me do things to those who are dear to myself or anyone I am related to... Of course! He would think it was me because it was my sword he saw! Most likely, it was, but the dragon I can become can enter people's minds and manipulate dreams! He's mistaking ME for the dragon on my back!]
"So, it *was* you. I can smell fear on you."
[He's a jackass while fighting, but a sweetheart off the battlefield? Wait, I'm getting dizzy...] "Uuugh... It... *wasn't*... me... And, I'm... not... scared of... what you're... saying..."
Around his neck, the Rose Whip tightened again as these words of innocence made him even more angry. The dragon pendant pulsated slowly with a faint glow.
Hiei's eyes widened. "Stop it, fox! You're killing him! He may be a lethal opponent but he gets hurt easily, and for some reason, at this very time even though he's more demon than human! The fight is OVER Kurama! Let him go!" [And if he dies Mukuro will have my hide for certain!]
The grip dropped, and Kurohi fell to his knees and then face-down to the ground with a soft thud. He panted softly. //Ku..rama, why don't you believe me? I can explain things, but why didn't you listen...?// [I thought I could trust you not to kill me, but merely beat me in a fight. You want me dead because of my dragon, don't you?]
Struggling with something in his right pocket, he pulled out a seed and applied its fluids to the wounds on his neck and hands. After a moment or two of waiting, he stood up. The only things remaining were the scars; they faded quickly.
The pendant's pulsing returned to normal instead of the erratic slowness earlier. "Allow me to explain my side of the story, Kurama," murmured Kurohi. "That nightmare you had when you saw the sword go through you was mine, correct?" he asked tiredly, eyes half-open.
Kurama nodded silently, his Rose Whip long gone and hidden as the rose in his hair.
"The dragon on my back... The Yumemiru Ryu... Without my knowing, it travels into others' minds and manipulates dreams to suit its cause. I'm not sure what it wanted you to see; asking it has always been difficult, as it speaks with images that can be interpreted in many different ways... like a painting." [And the only time it speaks to me with words is when it wants me to sleep or to keep me from what I am going to find.]
"So, what do you think that one bit meant?"
"Either, I am going to become your enemy, or something else may happen. What that is, I am uncertain."
"Em, what are you boys talkin' about?" suddenly asked Yusuke. Kurama turned his head to one side to see them, and Kurohi turned his entire head around to his left in a comical way.
"Oh, you needn't worry about that, Yusuke," he chimed softly, his eyes curving upward with his mouth in a smile. "We're just talking about somethin' that happened." The spiky brown-haired boy eyed Koenma meaningfully. //I need to talk to you.//
The god nodded once, a barely visible gesture. To this, a small smile tugged the boy's lips.
It seemed that the Jaganshi was the only one who noticed this transaction of communication. He approached the kitsune as the other part-youko was throwing his shirt back on, completely covering the mark.
Hands in his pockets, he said, "You told me it was *my* katana. Now you're saying it was my student's?"
Kurama nodded. "I was a little too scared to make out the detail clearly the first time around. I do remember, though, that at first glance it was yours, and then a second later, his... a jagged blade."
The Forbidden Child was silent a moment. "Kurohi was still with Mukuro the night you had that nightmare."
"It doesn't matter where I am, Hiei-sama,"
They turned to the boy who stood with his hands placed on his hips. "Forgive my interruption," he murmured, holding back the urge to stare at the grass below his feet. "but no matter where I am, the dragon can go into anyone's mind of which I am associated to... take yours, for example. Though if you were the best example, a better one would be Kurama-san, Yusuke, Kuwabara-kun, Koenma-sama, and anyone associated to them as well as you.
"I also apologize for any misery my dragon has caused you, but I cannot assure you it won't happen again. And for that, again, I am very sorry." With that, the boy reentered Yusuke's home. He was followed by all save the two demons.
"So, it was the dragon..." mused the fox. "Even in my old age, I've never heard of a dragon that could enter people's dreams," said Kurama.
"Hmph. Then obviously, you haven't been doing any miscellaneous research."
"Why? Have you some information?" gently asked the redhead, turning and looking at him through the corner of his eye. He was wary of Hiei's movements, which were a little sluggish due to the sake.
Hiei said this with a blank face, "No."
"Then you shouldn't say anything about that."
The Jaganshi looked insulted. "I was only saying, that you're usually the one who knows more about things like this than I. Your not knowing is very surprising this time around." With that word, he followed the rest of the group.
After a moment or two of pausing, watching the dark, retreating back of the one he loved, he, too, followed.
~~~~~~
I am aware of the fact Kurohi wishes to speak with me. Most likely, about that kissing dare. In speaking of dares, Kuwabara dared Hiei to fight Kurama. Though he seemed reluctant, he had agreed.
Though, it had been more or less a standstill, one barely getting ahead of the other. And just when we thought the battle couldn't get any more intense, Kurama had stumbled on a chunk of rock.
Hiei won.
"By accident! I tripped over something!!" Kurama had shouted.
"Hn. Just like how you beat me so long ago!" was the retort.
Kuwabara and Yusuke had gotten so drunk, Kuwabara ended up draped over the back of the couch. Yusuke ended up on the floor soon after, snoring loudly. Well, at least he beat Kuwabara again - holding out longest with the highest amount of alcohol in his system. He sure has a lot of guts.
Hiei? Well, Kurama took him home, staggering, partially slurred speech and all.
Kurohi was just hyper... for a good half-hour after the fight because he found a few cans of Sprite in the fridge. Heh heh heh... Courtesy of my suggestion.
"Koenma-sama, you... not too drunk to talk?" he asks calmly.
Looking up from my near-empty wineglass, I stare into large blue irises. He is standing before me, slender body slack, but rigid with evident nervousness. He always had a problem with masking that from me. "I believe, I'm pretty sober. Not all there, though."
He sits down near me and pretends I'm not there by looking out the window behind him. His face is pretty much facing me. I know he knows I'm here because his pendant is flashing softly and irregularly to his own demonic rumble of a heartbeat.
One day, I'd like to hear it.
The pendant always fascinated me. It reacts to his every breath, every beat of his heart, everything he sees and does is reflected in that violet orb, held by a no-footed, long-tailed dragon no bigger than his palm.
That is also how Hiei knew he was close to passing out, perhaps death after a few more minutes of that death-grip with the Rose Whip Kurama had on him. He looked positively frightened, and for good reason. Kurama is a cunning demon, and won't hesitate to kill a demon in his way... unless for other reasons.
There is a lasting silence, before he murmurs quietly, "Had... had it not been a dare, would you still have..." He pauses to look at me with tainted blue eyes. "...kissed me?"
"No, of course not," I reply without thinking. Oh well, I'm a god, anyway. I last for eternity while you don't! You'll end up dying and the both of us will be in pain because we'll never be able to see each other again after that!
...That's why I can't love you.
This hurts him. He closes his eyes momentarily; the glowing of the pendant stops for a second before starting up again slightly faster. Kurohi stares blankly out the window. "I see..."
Standing up, he shakes his head and laughs softly. For a moment, I think he is well, but another glance shows off that little thread of sanity that belongs to him. It's strained. "You don't like me? I'm too much of a child?"
"I didn't say that," I say. I didn't mean that at all! He is not eternal, but I am! A relationship will only bring us pain! I *can't* love him!
"In a sense, you did," is his answer, spoken in so soft a tone, so soft a volume, I must strain my ears to hear past the sound of his loudly-beating demon heart.
I know I wanted to hear it, but not like this...
His ki slowly flares around him, like a gentle, cold breeze. If his aura were a color, it would be a kind of dark silver. "I'm going."
"Where?"
"I'll go anywhere but here," he replies, running a hand through a few strands of his baby-fine brown hair. I am surprised he can stick those up so easily. Usually, people with "thick" hair are the only ones that can do such thick spikes.
"Then, come back to Reikai with me."
He snorts softly. "Hn. Doshite? So you can tell me how not fit for a relationship I am? Sorry, but I'd prefer to swallow a thousand needles... though they don't taste as unique as you do."
Did he just SAY that?! My, Kami-sama...! He never even tasted me before!
He seems to mistake my surprised expression for revulsion. Before I can speak, he is gone in the blink of an eye.
I guess that is a benefit of training under Hiei... you become extremely agile and can run from your feelings. At least, that's what I think he's running from.
...I'm sorry, Kurohi...
***
I HATE Koenma-sama, I HATE Koenma-sama but how I love him, damn it! He just rejected me!
I can't help what I feel. If I could, I'd choose to die loveless... but since I've felt it... I've felt the soaring in my heart - I've felt the singing - I've felt the passion... I wouldn't choose to die loveless.
...I can't...
It is raining lightly, gradually soaking my jeans and thin dragon shirt. The mark on my back grows slightly warm to help heat my body up, but I shouldn't be this cold! I AM part fire demon, after all.
True, but I'm also part human. I can still get sick a little easier than demons, but a little less than humans do.
I choose to view this as a benefit - I could have been born as a human, and be sick very often.
A shiver runs down my spine. Even the tree I'm sitting in does not provide much protection from the rain. Some of the droplets sizzle once they touch me, and some of them do not, trailing down my skin in such a manner it is a cold tickle. I shiver and wipe off the droplets with equally wet hands.
/The rain will pass, my child,/ hisses the voice in my mind. How strange, that I used to find it so soothing to me so long ago. Now it has been downgraded to a voice that makes my skin crawl and my innards churn. /The night will fall, and day shall rise to power once again, as it always does. Rest now, during the night, and fall into a dreamless slumber, one void of the miseries and pleasures the subconscious creates to amuse itself./
But, I don't want to sleep. I do not want the dragon to go into someone else's mind while I'm out like a light. It doesn't seem I have much choice, though. Fatigue is covering my body like a warm cloak, despite the rain and cold.
...How can I love a god? I won't last long, according to his life, which is eternal. I'll only be a scratch in the CD - meager and without impression, for it doesn't interfere.
...How could I...?
I bite my lip to keep from crying, for demons, especially powerful ones, can't cry.
But, though I want to cry, I can't cry. I'm human for wanting to cry. I'm demon for not crying.
Hiei-sama would scold me for my human side, wouldn't he...?
I seriously don't want to doze off, but my mind's fuzzy. My eyes don't want to focus. My body feels like lead and the simplest movement seems it would cause me to fall off this sturdy, unyielding branch. It's freezing cold up here, and my body and mind don't want to keep my soul warm.
I feel cold sensations running against my hand as rain falls into my open right palm. Staring at it for a long moment, I close this hand, and softly close my eyes. My head rolls forward after a second, as it is a burden to hold up, now.
Mind blank, I fall into dreamless slumber, just like the dragon said.
I hate being the object of predictions. At least, in my sleep, I won't have to think about anything, or, more importantly, any*one*.
Koenma... no matter what you say, no matter what you do, I love you forever...
End Day 2
-------------------------------------------
doshite = why
I know this is more Kurohi this time, but I felt I should let you in on some of his personality, and what he has to go through for endless days. Yeah, I know he's also a homo - after all, he finds most girls unappealing. (He hates it when girls get too flirty with him. He thinks it's a little strange.) Again, after all, he does look kind of like one. He gets enough of women and people calling him that!
Kurohi: *rolls eyes* Oh shut up. YOU drew me like that. You said I was supposed to look more like a bishonen than a bishojo!
KT: Yeah! A pretty boy! Be glad that I named my user after you!
Kurohi: Yeah, you even took the last name I have in Yu-Gi-Oh! fics.
KT: But... You're my best OC! All my other ones are crap!
Seishin (from Wild Arms 3 fic): Hey! What about me?! I'm supposed to be his sister!!
KT: What, you want me to bring you in, too? You look almost nothing like him, with all that white hair...
Seishin: It's not WHITE! It's SILVER! SILVER, damn it! _
KT: *sweatdrop* Riiiight. (She's really a lot like Yukina when she's happy. Also, she has a hair color similar to Jet's.) Anyway, I plan on fixing that loooong chapter in my WA3 fic and posting it at SOME point in time. *runs hand through hair* It isn't bad; I started it while I was in Serpent's Coils and used a few quotes from the game, I think. (Now I have a flying mech dragon that can blow stuff up! Those who played the game know who she is but I kinda forgot her name.) Anyway, I hope you readers are happy I was on a roll again this chapter. I have a few sketchy ideas for next chap. Whaddya say Kurama and Hiei?
Kurama: ^__^
Hiei: *looks bored* Hn.
R&R! Arigatou gozaimasu to ja ne!
Started 3/19/03, Afternoon; Finished 3/20/03, Noon
Revisions: 10/10/03, 5/31/03, 3/20/03, (Late Noon Snow day!)