Speculate…..speeeeee…..kyoooo…..late. Speculate. Ha. Amazing word. Isn't it just fun? All yellow and white and shiny? .;; okay, too much said. Yes I'm crazy. Sorry I've been so long in posting. I've been on this art kick, so there hasn't been much time for writing. Although I have this great watercolor picture of Hiei sleeping in his black silk boxers, clutching his little plush fox….So here I go. Terribly sorry about the whole delay…..I tell you, Kanosei's grown up quite a bit since dear old Hiei brought him to us…..several incidents that, I'm sure, will make fascinating chapters in the future. But I digress.
On with the show! Even though it's not a show…..ah, bloody hell. That doesn't matter.
"Ku—chan, what is a bus? Is it one of those big amimals with the ears bigger than me? What about the biiiiiig nose it has? Do buses have noses?"
Kurama rolled his eyes and finished tugging the sweatshirt over Kanosei's head. "No, ototo, a bus is a big machine that eats up annoying little boys and carries them off to school to be tortured! And no, they don't have noses." He inwardly reprimanded himself for teasing the child, but honestly. One could only answer so many questions in a five-minute span. 'So many' being about thirty.
The youko kit regarded Kurama with a suspicious look and cocked his head to one side. "Ku-chan, I think you're making that up. You said yesterday that a bus was the thing we rode to the store." He tugged at the corner of his sweatshirt and grinned.
Kurama stood up and began to button his jacket slowly, giving himself time to collect his thoughts. "Sei, if you knew what a bus was, then why did you ask me?" He took the child's hand and led him out the door, locking it behind him. Sei wriggled out of his grasp and ran ahead to pick a coin off the ground. "Can I sit in the front of the bus this time? Do I have to give this coin to the large man at the front of the bus? Look, squirrel!" Kanosei tore off after the squirrel.
Kurama sighed and shook his head. This child was becoming more and more active as the spring season came around. He hoped the summer heat would tire the child out when it came…although it couldn't come soon enough for him. The weather had been growing towards stormy lately, and frankly Kurama didn't know what he was going to do if he had to remain cooped up in the house with the child.
Kurama looked fondly at the little boy, amazed that he could feel so motherly without…well, being a mother. He had bullied Koenma into whipping up a transformation spell for the kit, and it hadn't really taken that much actually. After Hiei had…dealt with the band of demons that raided Sei's camp, Koenma had wisely noticed that the diminutive Koorime had taken a fierce interest in the child's welfare, and had acted upon it. So now Kanosei had normal human ears, and a normal tail-less butt, but his eyes had become a startling, piercing blue. Even Hiei had to admit that they were somewhat strange. Koenma had firmly stated that it was simply part of the spell, and would do no damage.
Kanosei ran up to Kurama, cradling a spastic squirrel in his arms. The poor beast was nearly rigid with fear, but Sei determinedly kept a firm grip on it. Kurama bit his lip to hide a laugh and gently extricated the rodent from the child's grip.
"Kanosei, you must remember to let the squirrels get away from you. They can tell that you're not human, and it will terrify them," he admonished, tenderly placing the squirrel on the ground behind him.
Kanosei watched the animal streak towards the trees with a forlorn look on his face. "Ku-chan, I don't like pretending anymore. You said I would only have to pretend for a little while, and then we could go back home." He screwed his face up, preparing to wail.
Kurama hurriedly scooped the child up in his arms, clasping him in a tight embrace. "Kanosei, don't cry…please don't cry…you're right, I did say that, but please, it's so you can be safe, remember? Do you remember the akuma who hit me in the park last week? That mean old fiend, with the sharp claws? He did that because he knew I was youko, Kanosei…because he was evil. We have to keep you a little ningen boy so you'll be safe, Sei-chan." He hugged the little boys head to his chest and wished he could stop the little kit's hurting.
Kanosei sniffled into Kurama's shoulder, drying his eyes against the comforting warmth. "I 'member, Ku-chan…I won't let anymore bad guys hurt you, 'kay?" He smiled up at Kurama. "I'll pretend still…."
Kurama wiped the boy's eyes and set him down on the ground. "That's the spirit, Sei. Let's go meet Hiei-chan in the park."
The little youko jumped in the air. "Hiei-chan! Can we buy some more sweet snow, like we did last time? Can I get marshmallows on mine?"
Kurama sighed and reached into his pocket for the fold of bills he had tucked there for the occasion. "I suppose we can…but Sei, it's called ice cream. It's ice cream, not sweet snow."
Kanosei stared up at Kurama with doubt in his eye. "Hiei-chan says it's sweet snow…and it is sweet, and cold like snow." Kurama fancied he could hear confused gears ticking in the child's head. He allowed himself a kind smile, and ruffled the kit's hair. "Yes, but the human name for it is ice cream."
Kanosei nodded, and leaned out past Kurama to peer down the street, looking for the bus. "Does Hiei-chan take the bus, Ku-chan?"
Kurama sighed. "No, koi, he walks."
"Does he walk slow?" Kanosei took long, exaggerated steps back and forth. "Or does he run really really fast?" Here he ran circles around the older youko, prompting motherly chuckles from an elderly lady sitting on the bus stop bench.
"You will just have to ask him when we see him, Sei-chan," Kurama stated firmly, scooping up the little boy as the bus wheezed to a stop in front of them. "Hold my hand now while we're on the bus."
Kanosei held his hand, but he still managed to run in a circle around Kurama's feet while he was trying to pay the driver, and even when they had found a seat, he amused himself by peering back at the other people on the bus and waving.
Kurama leaned his head back against the headrest and sighed. He loved the little kit dearly, but during the past three months, he'd gotten less and less free time to himself. 'I know what I'd do if I could have an hour to enjoy,' his tired brain grinned. 'Lots and lots of sleep…and then some…some sleep…' He yawned hugely, and his head slowly fell forward onto his chest.
Yay, crappy ending:D Okay, I've got someone on my back to keep updating, so hopefully you'll see more of me now. Review, or I'll…stuff. Bah, I'm too tired to threaten properly. u.u'