Author's Note: The end is now here… So sorry for the delay but, you see, I have to wait for Yukina to revive to consciousness and then I have to look for Botan, as well… (grins) Well, in reality, I've just been busy. So, onto the chapter…
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STOLEN HEARTS
Chapter 20: Stolen Hearts
He backed away when he saw a very pissed Youko walking towards him. He wasn't afraid, of course; he just wanted to amuse himself by pissing the Youko more.
"Whoa! What the hell happened to you?" Reilan asked as he grinned mockingly at his friend.
Kuronue threw him a dirty look before raising his middle finger at him and continued walking – past Reilan.
Reilan followed him. "Oh, I'm hurt, Kuronski. You told me to fuck off? How could you?" he said and pouted exaggeratedly.
Kuronski? He grimaced as he stopped and glared at his will-soon-be-dead friend. "Reilan, I'm not in a very good mood right now. So, if you want to live long enough to leave this world an heir, could you please get lost?"
But Reilan, a mule-headed like his two friends, only put an arm around Kuronue's shoulder, a show of his friendly affection, and said, "One word: Yukina."
Kuronue threw his arms off disgustedly, "I'm not in the mood to contemplate what that woman is capable of doing. Honestly, Reilan, she's more peculiar than the kitsune's wife!"
"Well, the kitsune's wife you just mentioned to be less peculiar is missing right now," Reilan said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Reilan saw a hint of a smile surfacing Kuronue's face but he quickly hid it, "Well, at least that was predictable and quite habitual! Botan had been reported missing for quite a number of times already, it was getting old, if you ask me."
Reilan chuckled. Kuronue was right. But he wasn't going to give him the pleasure of knowing he was right. Also, it wasn't really the kitsune's wife he wanted to discuss with him, it was his own women problem.
"Well, how about you, Kuron? What did our dear Yukina do to make you so pissed off right now that you're threatening to kill me?" he asked, suddenly turning serious, one of the rare occasions.
Kuronue looked at him suspiciously, as if looking for some sign that he might be making fun out of him again, and when he saw nothing – "I proposed to her –"
"What?" Reilan yelled his surprise that nearby youkai looked at them. He couldn't be more surprised had he told her Yomi was alive.
Kuronue glared. "I'm sure half of the estate heard you. You could have just broadcast it for the whole world to hear, you know," he snapped.
Reilan ignored the sarcastic comment. "You what?" he repeated the question, his eyes wide with surprise.
"I –"
"You proposed to her?" Reilan interrupted, "Well, did she say 'no' to make you so pissed right now?"
"No –"
And though there's no logic behind it, he asked the complete counterpart of his previous question, "Well, did she say 'yes' and it somehow pissed you off?" Reilan rushed on, and from the look of him, one could say that he was trying hard not to shake the information out of his friend.
"No –"
"She didn't say 'no' and she didn't say 'yes'. Then what the hell did she said?"
"Nothing," then a pause for one second and, "she passed out."
Reilan froze and from the way his eyebrow was twitching, Kuronue knew he was controlling his laughter. "Well, at least," he paused to clear his throat, "at least she didn't throw up. That would have been insulting, ne?"
Kuronue looked at him darkly. "Are you deliberately trying to kill yourself?"
At that, Reilan, who was now red on the face, burst into laughter that a very disgusted and annoyed Kuronue left him.
He fought the urge to throttle the three soldiers when they reported that they haven't located his wife. No, truth be told, he wanted to kill everyone on his keep for letting his wife disappear again.
How could this thing happen to him again? After tearing the keep apart and surveying the grounds, still with no sign of her, he was in his breaking point. He would not admit that his wife was gone.
"Calm down, kitsune," Reilan said just as Kurama began ranting and raving.
Kurama turned his angry, golden eyes on Reilan, "You want me to calm down while my wife is missing? Do you know her chance of surviving outside my territory? Last time, I found her alone in the middle of the night with only a stick to defend herself from the predators. A stick! I tell you, the stupid woman didn't have a lick of sense –"
"Maa! Maa!" Reilan cut him from rambling, "I know what you're going through right now. But I think we should give her the benefit that she'd learned her lessons by this time. She won't loiter outside your territory with only a stick as her weapon."
Kurama snorted his disapproval. "I'm telling you, that woman doesn't think like us. It's unlikely she'd learned her lessons."
Reilan smirked at him. "So, are you saying that your wife's a wacko?"
Kurama glared at him. "You will never trick me into saying that."
Reilan pretended to sulk that the kitsune caught on what he was thinking; and before he knew it, the kitsune was once again ranting and raving like an old woman. "Hey!" he yelled as he scratched his head, "Would you quit doing that? You're driving me insane! How are we going to find her if you keep acting like a fool? I bet you haven't noticed we haven't searched her favorite place yet."
Kurama stilled and looked at him. "The lake?"
"Yeah," Reilan said, successfully fought against the desire to roll his eyes. The kitsune certainly turned dumb whenever his wife was concerned.
"Why would she go to the lake?" Kurama asked, being completely stupid again. See? Kuronue wanted to say with the matching rolling of eyes. Oh well, at least he wasn't harassing his eardrum anymore by ranting like a few minutes ago.
"I don't know," Reilan said and shrugged, "To think?"
Kurama raised an eyebrow at him. "With all her bags? Honestly, Rei, are you toying with me?"
"Of course not. Well," Reilan paused, a small grin escaping him, "Maybe she was thinking of whether to leave you or not. That's why she brought all her bags."
Kurama glared at his friend in exasperation. "Aren't you at least concerned about her welfare? Where the hell was Kuronue, anyway?"
"Kuronue's dealing with his own women problems. And believe me, kitsune, I'm just approaching the problem using logic," he said quite seriously.
"And I don't?"
Reilan was smart enough not to answer that. "Let's just search the lake, shall we?" Reilan said and began ushering the kitsune outside the hall.
"Fine!" he said, grumbling like a little child.
"Oh, by the way," Reilan began and smiled cheerfully, "it may not seem like it, but I do care about Botan. She's my favorite mistress."
Kurama looked at his friend as if he'd gone mental, "She's the only mistress you've ever had, Rei."
Reilan just continued to smile at him idiotically, "I know."
"Whoa, wait a second! Come on, let's talk," Kuronue said as he grabbed Yukina's arm and began dragging her to a secluded place.
Yukina did not even utter a single word of protest as she was being led into the woods until he pressed her back against a tree trunk. She dared to look up at him and blushed when she found out that she was looking at him quite intensely.
And who wouldn't? Right now, she was starting to hyperventilate just because he was so close to her, add the fact that she fainted on him a while ago and she knew it wasn't long before she dies of mortification and embarrassment.
All she knew was that she woke up in her patient's bed and just remembering what had happened was enough for her to faint again.
Dear God, she was such a big idiot! She thought that after taking care of Kuronue and being with him alone for quite a long time would make the shyness disappear. Obviously, she thought wrong.
All the youko had to do was propose to her and she literally crumbled to her feet. It was really embarrassing.
And now, just as she decided to hide from him for a few days until he had forgotten about the incident (which to her sounded unlikely, as well), he happened to stroll by and saw her.
Before she had the time to blink, she was already pushed against the tree, with Kuronue standing uncomfortably close to her.
"I'm so sorry," she wailed, obviously too mortified by what had happened, "I didn't mean to faint."
Kuronue smirked at her, "I know you didn't, sugar. But we're not going to allow that to happen again, right? Now tell me you want to marry me," he said huskily and hovered a little closer to her.
Dear God, her breathing started to hitch again. "Hai," she said meekly, "I'll marry you."
He was so pleased with her answer that he kissed he though the way she answered his proposal lacked the enthusiasm he'd anticipated.
Before the kiss could get any deeper, though, Yukina shoved him away from her, her face red up to the roots of her hair.
"Uh, I need to go," she stuttered and not waiting for an answer, she started walking away.
Kuronue smiled as she watched her – his little wife-to-be would surely give him a chase, he thought. And then, a thought entered his mind and his smile disappeared only to be replaced by a frown.
He called after her.
She turned around and he growled, "No matter what happen, don't you ever pass out or puke at me on our wedding night."
Yukina's eyes widened, stunned. She turned scarlet and nodded, then scampered away before seeing the smile tugging at the corner of her fiancé's mouth.
"I'm not going back there do you hear me?" she shouted at poor Olic trying hard not to cower at the small woman a few feet away from him.
"But milady, Lord Kura-"
"Don't say bad words, Olic!" she chastised him.
But Olic didn't seem to understand the logic behind his mistress's statement that he looked at her in confusion, "Huh?"
Botan glared at him in exasperation. "Don't mention that bastard's name in front of me."
Reilan chose that moment to pass by. "Olic, what in the world are you – milady!"
Botan turned only to glare at Reilan. As he was closely associated to her bastard of a husband, her anger to the kitsune was extended to him as well.
"I thought you were missing?" Reilan asked idiotically, if only to lighten the mood around them. He instantly noticed how bad his mistress's mood was when she glared at him seconds ago.
But Botan only glared at him harder, "Yes, I was missing, but since this baka here found me, I'm no longer missing, ne?" she said, then turned to glare at Olic, who bowed his head.
Reilan nodded in understanding, "Well, shouldn't we head back?"
"NO!" Botan screamed that both men flinched when their ears started to ring.
"But milady –"
"I'm not going back there, Olic, do you hear me?" she shouted.
"Loud and clear, madam," Reilan answered back that Botan turned to him.
"Don't you dare make fun of me," she warned.
Reilan took a step forward. This game has got to end already, "Look, Botan –"
"Don't come any closer or I'll cut my wrist!" she warned and extracted her husband's knife she'd hidden all the while.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Reilan muttered just as Olic paled. If she were to hurt herself in front of him, the kitsune would no doubt skin him alive.
"Uh, sire?" Olic turned to Reilan in hopes that he would know what to do.
"I'll handle her ladyship, go back to your post," he said, knowing what the guard was thinking, and Olic was more than happy to comply that he scampered away as fast as he could before his lord can change his mind.
"Now, sugar –"
"Don't 'sugar' me, Reilan," Botan warned but her eyes softened a little.
"Kurama's looking all over for you, you know," he said softly.
At that, Botan's eyes filled with tears. "Really?" she asked sarcastically. "Well, his meeting with Lady Mukuro must have been over, ne?"
Reilan looked at him in confusion. "What has Lady Mukuro got to do with all of this?" he asked her. She couldn't be jealous of that old woman, could she?
Botan looked at him, annoyed. "Well, obviously. My husband only remembers he had a wife when all of his activities are done."
Reilan frantically shook his head, "That's not true, milady –" he said as he took a step towards Botan.
"I warned you not to come any closer," she said and before Reilan could react, Botan pressed the dagger to her wrist – enough to draw blood.
Reilan backed away slowly. "Alright, I'm not going to come any closer," he said and he raised his hand in defeat. He knew that even if he tried, he couldn't go to her fast enough to grab that damned dagger. She would cut herself first and he didn't want that to happen. Curse the kitsune for leaving his dagger lying around.
Botan's defense relaxed a little, her grip on her dagger relaxed when someone from behind her grabbed it from her. She gasped loudly and turned to glare at the intruder and came face to face with her husband who had managed to materialize behind her without her knowing.
His face was contorted in pure fury that if she weren't furious, she would have cowered in fear.
"How dare you blackmail my friend by threatening to kill yourself!" Kurama roared that Reilan flinched for his mistress. The kitsune was being too harsh again. He suddenly decided that this was not a scene for him to witness so he walked away, unnoticed by the two.
Botan glared at him, hands on her waist, "Go on and side him, will you? After all, you always accommodate other people before your own wife!"
"What are you talking about?" he yelled at her in confusion.
"Nothing!" she yelled back and though he towered her, she stood straightly and looked up at him in great defiance. "I'm not making any sense, as usual!" she said sarcastically.
"Well, I'm so glad I can agree with you!"
"Fine!" she said and tried stomping away but Kurama grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving.
"Just what in the world is the matter with you?" he asked and quickly released her arm when he saw tears forming at the corner of her eyes. He growled in frustration. What did he do now?
"I'm going home! And don't you dare follow me!" she yelled again.
"This is your home, Botan," he said calmly, but his voice held a warning.
Botan shook her head, surprisingly calm. "This is not my home. This is your home and it was never mine."
Kurama looked at her in confusion, glad that she stopped yelling. He felt stupid trying to out-yell her a few minutes ago. "What are you talking about? Is this about Yomi?"
It was Botan's turn to look confused. "How did Yomi enter this conversation?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me."
"Yomi is dead," she said flatly.
"Yes, as you had mentioned quite a few times already," he said, quite exasperated. "I told you I'm sorry for not protecting you from him."
"Well, I don't care about that," she said, her voice rising again.
"Well then, if you don't care about that, why are you leaving me?" he challenged.
"Why not?"
"You're my wife," he snapped, feeling a headache coming up. This was such a senseless conversation.
"Husband, you don't need me," she said, equally irritated with the way their conversation was going nowhere.
He opened his mouth to retort, but she beat him into it, not wanting to hear his excuses. "Besides, I've reached a decision."
"About what?" he asked, mildly curious.
"I don't want to be married to someone who doesn't love me," she said calmly, bracing herself for the blow that will surely break her heart.
"Well, you aren't," he snapped, instead, completely throwing her off-guard and confused, her head snapped up.
"I'm not what?"
"Can you get any stupid?" he asked in irritation, instead, refusing to answer her. Here he was, trying to communicate his feelings for her, and she acted dumb, instead.
"Well, I'm so sorry if I'm – oh!" she suddenly lost everything she was about to say as realization dawned. "Do you mean it?"
"Yes. Can we please go back to the keep now? You're still too weak to be walking around the grounds. You need to lie down and rest," he said as he tried to put an arm around her.
She backed away, much to his disappointment. "Will you say it to me?"
"No."
"Why not?" she asked again, trying to sound annoyed, though a small smile was appearing on her pretty face.
"Because I don't want to, that's why. Besides, I believe that actions speak louder than words," he said seriously that Botan laughed.
"You're the sweetest person I've ever met," she said happily as she grabbed his arm, walking back to their home, leaving her bags for the peasants to bring to the keep.
"I love you, husband," Botan said when he didn't say anything.
He grunted in return.
But to her, she would never trade it to all the love words in the world. He may not say the three big words to her, she knew he did. Besides, she didn't really expect him to say it. Not a cold thief like him.
She was happy enough knowing how he felt. The words would come later, if she drove him crazy enough for him to say it.
But right now, she'll be content in keeping the only thing she had stolen from him – his heart.
She would never give it back.
OWARI
Author's Note: That took me years to finish…I'm so sad it's over, but, it was meant to be. Don't want to write a fluffy ending so I hope that it's alright with you.
I've had lots of wonderful memories writing this and it will forever be carved in my mind, as well as those wonderful readers who made me strive to be better at writing.
Shameless Plugging: Please read "A Way of Saying I Love You", as I try to restructure its upcoming sequel, but not for now. I think I'll finish my other big project, "Deceive Me Not" first…I'll stick to one-shots for now before starting another big project.
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