Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Once again, I have no reason, but still…well, no time to explain…just read on…

Thanks for those who reviewed!!!

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CHAPTER 13: TWITCHING EARS

Kuronue's jaw dropped open that Reilan smirked at him. "I told you so," Reilan said knowingly.

Kurama cleared his throat and with ears twitching, he said in a strained voice, "Well, it sure looks different."

Reilan burst out laughing as Kuronue slapped his forehead at that.

Kurama glared at Reilan. "Well, what do you want me to say?" he snapped.

"Nothing. It is your wife, after all," he said knowingly.

Kuronue shook his head and muttered, "I swear, I'm not going to get married, ever!"

Kurama and Kuronue, together with some of the troops, returned victoriously from the hunt and were in dire need of rest when Reilan spotted them and walked over to them with a knowing look on his face.

The two didn't exactly have any idea as to what was going on, but when they entered the door to their home –

Well, let's just say the two was almost sure they entered the wrong house. Only, they didn't.

Everything has been changed. From the color of the walls, to the arrangement of the furniture, even to the new curtains, carpets and pillows – everywhere.

Now, it's not that everything was in a bad taste. In fact, the servants had loved the idea of their new home.

It's just that, what do you really expect from the three youkai thieves when it comes to interior design? They never really bothered if the room was bland, or dark or cold, as long as they had a place to sleep.

"Those pillows definitely had to go," Kurama said firmly, his ears, still twitching. "Naomi!"

"Why? I love those pillows," Reilan pouted mockingly that Kurama glared at him again.

"You like them? Put them in your room!" Kurama snapped ay his friend.

Reilan smiled slyly and Kuronue, too tired to react to what was going on, just flopped down on the couch, grabbed a pillow (it was pink!) and closed his eyes.

"See? Kuronue likes them, too," Reilan continued that Kuronue threw the pillow at him.

The pillow hit him right on the face. "Hey!" Reilan said indignantly then looked at his lord.

His eyes are still twitching. "Why did you *allow* my wife again to put pink pillows in my living room?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at him.

"I told you, I like the pillows," Reilan continued to jest.

"You are so dead, Reilan," Kurama warned, then, "where the hell is that – Naomi!"

Reilan only chuckled. "You're lucky I convinced her to change to color of the curtains. I woke up one day and I thought I was drowning in pink. I mean, man, all the curtains are pink!"

Kurama froze (even his ears stopped twitching) and Kuronue sat up from the couch, "Pink curtains?" he choked out.

Reilan took one look at him. "Go to sleep, Kuron. You look dumb looking so lost like that."

Kuronue rolled his eyes at him and lay down again.

"That woman is in deep trouble," Kuronue muttered.

"Hey, you said she can do anything with it," Reilan informed him cheerfully, Kurama glared at him.

"Do you want me to ask my wife to decorate your room?" Kurama asked and Reilan paled at the picture of his wonderful dark sheets and curtains being replaced by pink.

"I will shut up this instant," Reilan said meekly.

Kurama narrowed his eyes at him, then, "Naomi!" he bellowed for the third time.

Naomi appeared, looking really flushed from running, "You called, milord?"

"Where in three worlds have you been?" he asked.

"I –"

"Never mind," he snapped. "I want all those pillows removed from my living room."

"Pardon, milord?"

Kurama looked at her irritatingly, "I want all those…those –"

"He wanted all those pink stuffs removed," Kuronue supplied for him and smirked at the kitsune.

Kurama glared at him. "You are really trying my patience, youko!"

But Reilan only grinned naughtily at him.

"Uh, milord? If you want them removed, where shall I put them?" Naomi inquired.

"I don't know. Distribute them to the women if you want."

Reilan opened his mouth, but Kurama glared at him, so he closed it and smiled, instead.

"But milady adores those pillows. Would you like me to put them in your chambers, instead?" Naomi asked again, then looked confused when Kurama paled.

Reilan opened his mouth again.

"One more word, Rei," Kurama growled.

"I'm dying to know what your chambers looks like if the living room is like this," Kuronue said from the couch. Apparently, he hadn't slept and was busily listening to Reilan irking the kitsune.

Kuronue and Reilan burst out laughing that Kurama threw an annoyed look before turning around and walking away.

"Hey, kitsune!" Kuronue called.

"Yo, Kurama!" Reilan said at the same time.

"Milord, where shall I put the pillows?" Naomi asked in unison to the two youko.

"I don't know. Do whatever you want. I'm going to find my wife!" Kurama growled, irritated.

*-*

Reilan was flipping the pages of the book while lying down on the couch, one pillow (pink!) under his head and another under his leg, when Kurama and Kuronue entered the room.

Kuronue looked aghast when he spotted his friend. "What in the world are you doing?"

Reilan looked up. "Reading," he said nonchalantly as his gaze followed Kurama when he sat on one of the settee and frowned.

"You are reading something called 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'?" Kuronue asked, incredulous.

Reilan frowned at him indignantly, "For your information, this book is under the genre of fairy tales in Ningenkai and is very famous –"

"I don't wanna hear about that trash," Kuronue muttered and walked towards him, nudged his leg so that Reilan sat up properly.

When Kuronue sat down beside him, Reilan asked, "Have you found Botan?"

"No," Kurama said then scowled at him. "Youkai everywhere sidetracked me to congratulate me or ask me what has happened. What the hell have you been doing while I was away, anyway?"

"What was I doing?" Reilan repeated, pretending to be hurt.

"Yeah. How could my wife cause this so much trouble? I mean, she's just one woman, Rei, can you not control her?" Kurama grumbled, that Kuronue snickered.

"I believe you're losing your touch, my friend," Kuronue added.

Reilan rolled his eyes. "At least I managed to keep her alive when it was my duty to take charge. Do you have any idea how many times someone had to save her from getting killed accidentally? One time, she went to Noriem's training field with her bloody picnic basket. The cubs were being trained how to use the bows and arrows. A stray almost killed her hadn't Noriem pulled her away from the arrow's way. Fortunately, her sister was an angel and didn't add to my troubles."

Kuronue snorted at that but Kurama grew noticeably pale at the mention of his wife getting killed.

"She wasn't that troublesome when she was in my charge," Kuronue protested, it was Reilan's turn to snort.

"Yeah, that's why you called for the kitsune because you lost his wife. By the way, you almost got me killed by that one. You owe me big time, Kuron, my friend," Reilan retorted then smirked at him.

"You would never let me live it down, huh?" Kuronue asked, and when Reilan nodded slowly with a mocking sad look on his face, he hit him with the pillow on the chest.

Reilan would have retaliated in kind, but stopped when Kurama suddenly stood up.

"What's the matter?" Kuronue asked.

"I'll look for my wife. Help me if you like," he said then walked out of the room.

*-*

"Milady! What the hell happened to you?" Reilan asked, surprised when he spotted her.

"Well, it's good to see you, too," Botan said cheerfully as she wiped her brow. She was sweating so hard from being under the sun for so long.

"Well, what happened to you?" he asked again.

"I was doing some gardening," she informed him and smiled at him.

Over the time she was here, Reilan proved to be very friendly that they developed some sort of closeness. He was easily irritated, yeah, but he was funny, too, and had a nice sense of humor.

Reilan arched an eyebrow at her. "Then why is your arm bleeding?"

"Oh, it was nothing. I got bitten –"

"You were bitten by a plant?" Kuronue asked, aghast. "Have you checked with the healer yet?"

"No, I haven't. Don't be ridiculous, Rei, it'll heal in time."

"Don't be ridiculous?! Do you have any idea that ninety percent of the biting plants here are poisonous? What the hell have you been doing messing with the garden?"

"Poisonous?" Botan managed to choke out and paled.

"Yeah. You should ask the kitsune to look at that for you. He's the most powerful healer around here. By the way, he was looking for you all day," he said.

Botan's eyes brightened, "He's back?"

"Yeah, but he's mighty furi—"

"Oh god, I look like a mess. I better change my dress now, don't –"

"BOTAN!" Kurama bellowed at his wife when he finally spotted her.

She held her breath, then turned to look at him. He's here, alright. And, not noticing the irritated glint in his eyes, she ran and threw herself at him.

She held onto him tightly, forgetting the fact that they agreed they would not act like a married couple in front of the people. "I'm so glad you're back. I have missed you so," she said.

Kurama awkwardly hugged her then let go of her. "I want to talk to you."

"Alright. Oh dear, what has happened to you? You haven't been sleeping well, have you? You've got rings under your eyes, you look quite pale and…come along, you should take some rest," she blabbed on.

"I don't need you to make a fuss out of me," Kurama said, half embarrassed, half-amused. His people knew he can survive more than that, but his wife was so worried still.

"It's alright. You don't have to feel embarrassed, I'm your wife, anyway," she said and opened her mouth when –

"What happened to your arm?" he demanded.

She unconsciously covered her bleeding arm. "I, uh, it was noth—"

"What happened?" he asked loudly and grabbed her uninjured arm tightly, she winced.

"I got bitten by a plant," she cried out.

"You got what?" he roared, unaware of the people trying not to witness the exchange and kept working. Reilan had long ago escaped because he knew the kitsune would blame him for the bleeding arm of his wife.

"Have you been messing with my garden?" he demanded when she did not answer.

She looked at him innocently. "I didn't think –"

"We are going to have a long serious talk right now," he growled.

"But husband –"

"Let me get one thing straight with you," he said impatiently. "You don't mess with my garden, ever. It was mine and mine alone. My plants are dangerous, do you understand?"

"Yes," she muttered.

"What have you done with it?" he asked. But before she could answer, he had surveyed the place.

Deep holes had been dug for all over the place, people have been moving the plants in different places, and, "What the hell have you done?" he roared, ears twitching from annoyance.

"I –"

"Reilan!" he bellowed that Reilan came hurriedly.

"Yeah?"

"I want this garden to be restored immediately," he said, then grabbed Botan's arms and dragged her towards the direction of their house.

*-*

"Sit down," he ordered as soon as they reached their chambers and went in the bathroom.

The teary-eyed Botan quickly followed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

When he came out, he was ready to shout at his wife for all the trouble she caused. However, one look at her teary-eyed face and he changed his mind. Instead, he handed her a small vial containing some blue fluid. "Drink this."

Though confused, she readily obeyed and frowned at the bitter aftertaste. She was about to ask him what that fluid was for when Kurama kneeled in front of her and ripped the left sleeve her dress. She gasped, instead. "What are you doing?"

He did not answer. Instead, he dabbed her bleeding arm with the torn sleeves then bent and sucked on her wound.

She could only look at her husband and though it was rather painful, she couldn't help but feel the pleasure his sucking brought. After a few minutes, he stopped and she couldn't help but groan with disappointment.

After that, he wrapped her arm with a bandage and sat on the bed beside her. She pushed him so that he would lie down, and when he did, she lay down on his chest. "Thank you. Was I poisoned?"

"No."

Then, he heard her hiccup and so he nudged her chin so that she would look at him. "What's wrong?" he asked, and frowned.

"I'm always causing you so much trouble even without trying," she said as tears fell from her eyes.

"That's alright," he said, not really sure of what words he should say to comfort his obviously distressed wife.

"No, it's not alright. You didn't like the decorations in the living room?"

"Err, those pillows isn't exactly masculine enough for our taste," he said.

"And the garden?"

"Well, let's just say that my plants are harmful and I don't want you to be exposed on that harm."

"So, in other words, you didn't like it?" she asked again.

"Yeah, I didn't like it."

"I'm so sorry, husband," she said, looking really forlorn. "I will really try to behave this time…"

"Okay."

"I won't mess with your garden, again," she promised.

"That would be greatly appreciated."

*-*

"I'll try to be the proper wife you deserve," she promised for the nth time.

"Botan, I –"

She kissed him to stop him from what he was about to say. But before the kiss got a little too deep and passionate, she pulled away.

He pulled her to him again and was about to kiss her again but Botan turned away. "I mean it, husband."

"Mean what?" he asked, had forgotten their conversation already.

"I'll try to be the proper wife for you," she reminded him.

"Alright," he said, giving up trying to kiss his wife.

"You'll like that, will you?"

He sighed. "Yeah." But he was not thinking about the conversation. Instead, he was thinking about how he would like to get his wife naked.

Author's Note:  Those three are so adorable. I really like this chapter because it was funny and it released some of my stress in studies while I was doing this.

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