Kurama's Tale

Chapter Two: Memory of Pride

Youko Kurama looked up uneasily, his golden eyes shifting around his immediate surroundings. He sat thoughtfully on a large boulder, his tails flicking slightly in disturbed concentration and agitated inpatients. A thick breeze danced along the kitsune's length, teasing his nose and tickling his ears before he flicked them away from the prying fingers of the zephyr as it reached for the sensitive hairs to vibrate them down into the core of his ear. He took a deep breath and registered the various, earthy scents that ran along the breeze's sinuous body. It twirled around him slowly, comfortingly, warm and cool all in one breath.

The earth was fresh and musty, its scent firm and intoxicating with the microscopic particles of flower pollen and tree sap, as unique as the plants that sprouted the spores. The ground was soft then firm all in one step, no two areas of the forest quite the same. The trees were thick and rounded, their bark lethal as their poisonous sap that ran down their lengths slowly and dangerously, as though mocking those who thought there was a chance of making it a tasty morsel. The tree's flowers held just as much potency as their sap, their pollen and nectar holding just as much virulence. They rankled the senses and killed the weak who consumed too much of their product. Even the ferns and bushes held acids of venom that could prove fatal to one not immune to their juices. The survival of the creatures who fed off the foliage was awe-inspiring. The dingle in which the kitsune currently held residence was thick with vegetation and fog, which cast about a phantasm of arcane power and age. But the wooded valley was well past seasoned, ancient in its own definition of the word. But even on this forbidden forest the sun cast down its weary rays, trying feebly to shine through the thick canopy that forever cloaked the floor of the valley in a blackish green hue.

Kurama stood slowly from his seat, facing the wind's assault on his clothing and body. It deceitfully clawed at his white kimono, snaking its way through his silver hair and whispering around and about his plumed, argent tails. His golden eyes scanned the area carefully, narrow and ever watchful.


A shadow slashed through the deeper, greenish umbrage about itself. From under his hair Kurama pulled a spiny flower, which quickly transformed itself into a thorny vine, which lashed out and forced itself through the fleeing shadow. A tattered flower lay severed a few feet away from Kurama's feet, its bright blue petals drifting exhaustedly to the ground. The kitsune's eyes narrowed and he retracted the vine back into its original shape. He stepped forward and bent down to examine the plant that he had just lacerated. Breath whispered in and out of its dying petals, its jade blood spilling from a leaf that had been caught in the crossfire of the youkai's whip. Picking it up carefully, he held it to the faint light. He could feel it sobbing in his hands, its life fading as quickly as it had fallen. Haunted by birds and insects, it had known no peace, had known no contentment. It had wanted only to die in time and peace that it had earned. But, perhaps, not before it could feed the earth the seed it held within it and give to the next generation what it itself did not possess. A chance.

Kurama's eyes lost their cold glare as he knelt down once again, scratching out a small hole in the ground and placing within it the seed the plant held.

"Friend, you will know peace now. You may rest and be assured that you will live on in what you've left behind," Kurama said quietly, placing the battered flower atop the birthing place of its seed. He stood and looked down.

The wind tried to pry the plant from its resting place, only to have it stubbornly refuse to release its guard over the life beneath it. Kurama felt the determination of the flora to hold its own and nodded in satisfaction. He turned away to walk down a well-beaten path.

The flower he had left behind struggled against an especially harsh shot of wind. But one underestimation caused it to loose its hold as the breeze managed to sneak under the skirts of its grasp and wrench it loose, sending it into the air to be tormented still more, until the last breath escaped it and it withered away to die a bitter death.

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Authoress' Note: there ya go! Chapter One! ^_^ hope its okay. Kurama fell out of the chair typing this thing, asleep, and I just don't have the heart to wake him! Thinking about this stuff must make him sleepy and depressed. u_u poor kit. Anyway, hope ya'll enjoyed!

Reviews:

Henrika: u_u unfortunately, my spell check is going berserk, so I'm really sorry about all my spelling issues. I'm trying as best I can to make this thing entirely realistic, so bear with me as I try to sort out its course. ^_^ Kurama's death isn't until the end, but he's remembering Kuronue's death first. You'll see. From the way the story's going [only one or two more chapters for me to write, although there are like 6 chapters in all, if that] it'll all work out… hopefully. ^_^ I really appreciate yer insight! Please continue with the constructive criticism, because it helps my writing out a lot.

crawfish109: lol! Glad to see you back! Welcome! ^_^ dun worry about it! No prob! But I will say that LL is getting long [only two more chapters for me to post!]. Then the sequel of course. But I'm going to see if I can get 100 reviews for it! Just so I can faint. Lol. ^_^ thank ye so much! Note to self: more big words that no one can understand. Lol. This chapter has a lot of those, actually. ^_^ glad to hear that some loves Kurama so much! Lol. Kuronue doesn't come into the manga series. At least from what I know, and I own all of the translated mangas that are out [1-3]. I got him from the second YYH movie. ^_^ he's a bishie too, ya know. Lol. Well, sorry for the delay. Here it is! ^_^

J: thank ye all so much! ^_^ I'm sure Kurama appreciates it as well. ^_^

Kurama: -mumbles in sleep- -drools on pillow-

J: 0.o anyway. I'll do the disclaimer this time. -sigh- I don't own Kurama or Kuronue. I own the pretty flower. ^_^

R&R if it pleases you!