-Delicate Petals-
-Did any part in the last chapter surprise you? =) I loved the last chaper. It was nice in a lot of good ways. That's how I hope this one turns out-
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It felt better than I had imagined to be back in Makai. I ate, almost tasting nothing.
"This isn't nearly as good as the buffet I had last night. Who knew that setting a brain-dead trap would catch the best meat?" He grinned. "All I did last night was put a hunk of meat in the clearing, put a lot of the blood near it and some skin and fur scattered. It was a trap only nitwits could fall for." I almost imagined him sitting up in a tree and waiting for his prey. Demons, or apparitions (whichever you prefer), were very smart. They knew that when one killed something, they left nothing behind. We talked idly about old times and what Kuronue did while I was gone.
"How many people have you theived off of?" Kuronue shrugged.
"Not many. I haven't been theiving. I've done mercenary work, killed thousands of those soldiers in the army they have now, and just stayed here." It came as no surprise to me. We had done mercenary work. We kept the pricing low for them so they never ratted us out. We had also threatened them if they were untrustworthy.
"So, when are we getting the business started? I mean, I don't want to go back now. I can't." Now I knew why Hiei didn't want to come back here. He would never leave. Once demons were here, this felt like home. He looked at me, his indigo eyes narrowing for a second. Then he gave a huge grin. He looked like a fool, grinning like that. Then his expression darkened.
"How did you get here?"
"The old passage. Remember Death Maze?" His eyes widened. I smirked. "Still knew exactly where I was going."
"Well, you practically lived in there during the war. It was the only passage that they couldn't get you in." I smiled at him when he said that. It reminded me of all those times I had planned a surprise attack on those foolish bastards that tried to take my territory.
"Yes, I remember that." I bit into the meat and chewed. Sometimes, the best meals were killed fresh, skinned (if needed), and cooked. "I didn't think I could remember the way." He smirked.
"I would've liked to see you go insane in the pitch black fires of your mind." He laughed. I raised an eyebrow at him then calmly set my meal down on the rock in front of me. I tackled him and we rolled around, playfully beating the crap out of each other. I pulled a few feathers and he pulled on one of my ears.
"OW!" I shouted, sinking my fangs into his arm. He had bit my ear. We played around like this a bit longer then we went back to sit by the fire and nurse our wounds.
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I sat up, gazing around tiredly. All was dark and there was no fire going. I could hear light snores coming from my partner at the other end of the room. I yawned and stretched. It felt wonderful to be back at home. In my own lair. I started a small fire and found a fruit, biting into it. I felt whole now. I got up to go and hunt, ready to prepare a meal for my companion, who hadn't had the luxury of waking up to a meal in a long time. I found a nice, plump pig from the farms in the nearest village. Hell, this would feed us tonight too. I came back and got the fire right, letting it burn while I worked on our breakfast. The job at hand was quite easy, even if I had not done this in a long while. Sometimes, I wondered how things would've changed if I had stayed here. When it was cooking, I saw Kuronue begin to stir. He didn't wake, probably thinking it was all in his dreams. I poked the fire, watched the food, and thought about things.
"This is something I'm not used to." He said, his eyes on the fire. "I missed this so much, I thought last night was a dream until I saw my feathers, or lack there of."
"Shut up." I stated, throwing a stick at him. "You aren't the only one who missed this. I almost thought it was a dream until I felt a stinging pain in my ear."
"I didn't do it, whatever it was." He looked around innocently. "There was a bat in here last night." I rolled my eyes and poked at the fire again. I checked the meat. Not yet. I looked around the brightly lit room. A neat pile of small brown bags occupied the right corner.
"That's all that's left?" I asked. Before I had left, there was a huge pile so big that they were starting to fall down and occupy the middle of the room.
"Afraid so. I had to buy food for a while to get back on my feet, not to mention buy potions to heal my wounds. Come to think of it, I know just how to spend the day." I stared at him. "Some nice ale and rum should do the trick." I took the meat off the stick and split it up between us. We ate some other fruit with it.
"Haven't had any of that since the last time we did it." He grinned.
"I got toasted before. After you left. I didn't know what to do with my time. After a couple of days, I realized that I would wait for you to come back." We grinned at each other.
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I felt as though I could do anything.. except walk. I stumbled all over.
"You as thirsty as me?" I grinned like a stupid fool. I felt relaxed and wobbly. My vision was getting a little blurry.
"Youko-sama?" A young kitsune helped me stand and she set me in a stool. "How long have you been back, My Lord?"
"Since.. yesterday!" I nodded enthusiastically. She stared at me worriedly with large brown eyes. I smiled slyly. "How long have you been back?"
"I've always been here, Lord." She said, her eyes getting slightly wide. "We have been waiting for your return.." I waved her statement away. Kuronue sunk into the seat next to me.
"How's the ale taste for you?" He asked, his words slurring together slightly. I blinked at him, my vision getting foggy.
"Good." I grinned.
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"Oh dear god.." I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry. "What did you do to yourself?" The voice sounded so pretty.. so familiar to my ears. I blinked when something ran into my eye. I smelled blood. My own blood, Kuronue's blood, and someone else's blood.
"Who..?" I asked hoarsely. I felt something warm drop onto my forehead, then on my cheek. I smelled tears.. someone was crying for me.
"Kurama.." Gentle hands touched my face. "Why did you leave?" The girl's voice was pained.
"Didn't leave.." I whispered, coughing. "Went home.. Am home.." I caught the scent of the girl over the blood. The faint scent of.. peonies after a spring rain. It was tainted.. such a pretty scent was tainted with my blood. I heard the rustling of clothes. Her scent was fading. "Don't leave me.." I tried to move my arm but pain shot through it. I cried out. "Please.." I still couldn't see anything. I couldn't figure it out.
"I'm not." Her voice was steady, controlled. "You friend is injured. He will be fine, though. One of the two is dead." I wonder who had died. It couldn't be Kuronue. He was stronger than that.. right? My mind was foggy..
"Who.. are you?" I was so delirious that I wouldn't know anyone if they stared me in the face. She didn't answer. I could feel my pain fading away. "You're.. an angel, aren't you?" I felt her take my hand and hold it in her own.
"That's far from the truth.." She whispered. I shook my head, moaning from the pain.
"No, it isn't." I said, closing my eyes. The light was bothering me. "I wish I could see you.. but my vision is blurry.."
"Rest." She said, gingerly setting a cold cloth on my forehead. "It will clear up. Blood from your wounds have obstructed your vision."
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I woke up. There was a hot feeling on my eyes. I felt the dampness from something. The last thing I remembered was a girl.. an angel of salvation and healing.. I took whatever it was off of my eyes and sat up. A white blanket rested on top of me and I turned to look around. I was in a room.. a familiar room.. My room. The room that I had left behind. The door opened. I stared as she entered the room. She set a meal beside me and sat on the bed next to me. No words were exchanged until I caught her scent.
"Botan." She smiled and lightly kissed me.
"How are you feeling, love?" She asked softly. I smiled.
"Been better. Where's Kuronue?" She frowned. She stood up and walked out of the room. Hiei came in next. He glared at me.
"Two days, kitsune." I could tell he was angry with me. "You had everyone in an uproar when no one heard from you. Your mother said that you looked angry when you stood up." He sat down on the spinning chair. "I should expect that you're well?" He got back up and walked over to me, tearing off my bandages. No scars or wounds rested there.
"I see that you're up, my friend. I admit, I have no memory of that night. None at all. Do you remember what happened? This pretty young lady told me that we really killed that maniac." I frowned. Demons weren't partial to ferry girls from Reikai. Most of them, even I admit, were sneaky. But I knew Botan. She wasn't. Why was he even getting along with her? He should know that she's Death.
"No." I said, my frown deepening. "I have no memory of any of it. I must admit, though, that it felt good to be home." Botan stared at me with misted over eyes.
"Of course it did, Kurama." Hiei butted in. I looked at him. He had sat back down and didn't look as if he was moving. "Demons belong in Makai. It isn't likely to feel comfortable around these humans when you're a demon." What he said made perfect sense to me, of course. I had said it to Kuronue before. "The most you can do is keep away from being mad, having urges to leave, and stay near me." I nodded.
"Fair enough."
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I laughed, dodging Kuronue when he tried to tackle me. Hiei pushed me and I fell over.
"That was not fair." I said, rubbing my head that had banged against the table. "What did I do to you?" I gave him a look.
"Hm? What was that?" He asked, looking at me. I rolled my eyes.
"Don't play innocent with me." He smirked. I stood up and was very tempted to back up.
"Snip snip." He held up a pair of scissors. My eyes grew wide. "How much do you love your hair?" My hands flew to my head. My soft, silky hair ran beneath my fingers.
"You wouldn't dare." He gave me an evil look. I knew he would. I made a mad dash from my room. Botan was in stitches on the floor when I ran past her. Hiei chased after me. "Evil demon!" I looked behind me and yelped. "Leave my hair alone!" He continued chasing me I slid on the kitchen tile and fell. He tripped over me, the scissors flying out of his hand as he hit the cupboard. The scissors skidded across the floor. I smiled and picked them up. "That should teach you to run with sharp objects." He growled at me. I noticed how much of a mess the kitchen was in.
"We'll be cleaning for a while." Botan said, appearing with Kuronue in tow. And indeed we were. I sighed, closing my eyes as I sat down on the couch. My legs were sore. "It didn't take too long. Only a little while to clean up the broken glass and the spilled sugar. Not to mention the silverware that slid half-way across the room." She chewed on her lower lip, racking her brain. I stared at her, wanting to thank her so much for reminding us. "And the spilled oil that had to be cleaned.. and our poor little Hiei."
"Hn." The wet koorime looked away and crossed his arms, brooding. Hiei had been wet with the oil and the sugar stuck to him. He sat down in front of me, since there was no room on the couch. I started picking grains of sand out of his hair.
"There has to be something better to do.." Kuronue said boredly. I glanced up briefly to see the bored look on his face. I could never forget how easily he became bored.
"We could.." I paused, trying to think of something me and Hiei had always done to pass the time. "Well.." I sighed. Then an idea hit me. "Let's play games!" They stared at me. Even Hiei turned around to stare. "Or not."
"That was way too enthusiastic." Hiei said dryly. "Even for you." I gave him a look and flicked some particles of sand at him.
"Shut up. It was only a suggestion." I stated. "I didn't hear any of you making any." They all looked away innocently. "Don't pull any of that on me! You're the one who wants something to do. Go do a puzzle or something." I pointed at Kuronue. He blinked at me.
"A puzzle?" Hiei queried. I looked at him, narrowing my eyes. "Is that the best you can come up with?" They laughed.
"Sure, laugh all you want." I muttered. "Wait until you're sleeping."
"You wouldn't do anything." Hiei said calmly. "You're too much of a kitten to do it." I growled at them.
"You want to see kitten?"
"Not really." Botan said, waving the matter away with her hand. "What I would like to see is a good movie." Hiei and I both snorted.
"Right." We said in unison. "Who doesn't." She stuck her tongue out at us and crossed her arms.
"It was only a suggestion."
"Shut up."
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I walked to school with Minako and Hiei. They were both silent, each probably thinking their own little thoughts. I frowned. Not unless Hiei was just reading people's minds. You could never really tell with him. Unless he made a snide remark or commented sarcastically on something 'funny'.
"Another long day ahead.." I sighed and looked up at the sky. There was nothing to school anymore. It almost seemed as if it was just an everyday occurance that wasted my time.
"You can say that again." Minako said, her blue eyes dull with sadness. I gave her a concerned look. She avoided my gaze and Hiei's.
"What's wrong?" She looked up at me for a brief second then switched her gaze to the ground. "You can tell me." She shook her head.
"Maybe later.." I was worried. There had to be something wrong with her. Why would she act this upset? "Can I sort of come over after school?" It could've been my imagination, but I think I saw a tear run down her face.
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Hey there! Happy Holidays! This is my present to you! -_0 Not to mention a quick update of another chapter before Christmas! *puts on Santa hat and does a little dance* Merry Christmas to all of you! *grins* Have a fun holiday, you guys. Hope you all like this.
-Did any part in the last chapter surprise you? =) I loved the last chaper. It was nice in a lot of good ways. That's how I hope this one turns out-
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It felt better than I had imagined to be back in Makai. I ate, almost tasting nothing.
"This isn't nearly as good as the buffet I had last night. Who knew that setting a brain-dead trap would catch the best meat?" He grinned. "All I did last night was put a hunk of meat in the clearing, put a lot of the blood near it and some skin and fur scattered. It was a trap only nitwits could fall for." I almost imagined him sitting up in a tree and waiting for his prey. Demons, or apparitions (whichever you prefer), were very smart. They knew that when one killed something, they left nothing behind. We talked idly about old times and what Kuronue did while I was gone.
"How many people have you theived off of?" Kuronue shrugged.
"Not many. I haven't been theiving. I've done mercenary work, killed thousands of those soldiers in the army they have now, and just stayed here." It came as no surprise to me. We had done mercenary work. We kept the pricing low for them so they never ratted us out. We had also threatened them if they were untrustworthy.
"So, when are we getting the business started? I mean, I don't want to go back now. I can't." Now I knew why Hiei didn't want to come back here. He would never leave. Once demons were here, this felt like home. He looked at me, his indigo eyes narrowing for a second. Then he gave a huge grin. He looked like a fool, grinning like that. Then his expression darkened.
"How did you get here?"
"The old passage. Remember Death Maze?" His eyes widened. I smirked. "Still knew exactly where I was going."
"Well, you practically lived in there during the war. It was the only passage that they couldn't get you in." I smiled at him when he said that. It reminded me of all those times I had planned a surprise attack on those foolish bastards that tried to take my territory.
"Yes, I remember that." I bit into the meat and chewed. Sometimes, the best meals were killed fresh, skinned (if needed), and cooked. "I didn't think I could remember the way." He smirked.
"I would've liked to see you go insane in the pitch black fires of your mind." He laughed. I raised an eyebrow at him then calmly set my meal down on the rock in front of me. I tackled him and we rolled around, playfully beating the crap out of each other. I pulled a few feathers and he pulled on one of my ears.
"OW!" I shouted, sinking my fangs into his arm. He had bit my ear. We played around like this a bit longer then we went back to sit by the fire and nurse our wounds.
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I sat up, gazing around tiredly. All was dark and there was no fire going. I could hear light snores coming from my partner at the other end of the room. I yawned and stretched. It felt wonderful to be back at home. In my own lair. I started a small fire and found a fruit, biting into it. I felt whole now. I got up to go and hunt, ready to prepare a meal for my companion, who hadn't had the luxury of waking up to a meal in a long time. I found a nice, plump pig from the farms in the nearest village. Hell, this would feed us tonight too. I came back and got the fire right, letting it burn while I worked on our breakfast. The job at hand was quite easy, even if I had not done this in a long while. Sometimes, I wondered how things would've changed if I had stayed here. When it was cooking, I saw Kuronue begin to stir. He didn't wake, probably thinking it was all in his dreams. I poked the fire, watched the food, and thought about things.
"This is something I'm not used to." He said, his eyes on the fire. "I missed this so much, I thought last night was a dream until I saw my feathers, or lack there of."
"Shut up." I stated, throwing a stick at him. "You aren't the only one who missed this. I almost thought it was a dream until I felt a stinging pain in my ear."
"I didn't do it, whatever it was." He looked around innocently. "There was a bat in here last night." I rolled my eyes and poked at the fire again. I checked the meat. Not yet. I looked around the brightly lit room. A neat pile of small brown bags occupied the right corner.
"That's all that's left?" I asked. Before I had left, there was a huge pile so big that they were starting to fall down and occupy the middle of the room.
"Afraid so. I had to buy food for a while to get back on my feet, not to mention buy potions to heal my wounds. Come to think of it, I know just how to spend the day." I stared at him. "Some nice ale and rum should do the trick." I took the meat off the stick and split it up between us. We ate some other fruit with it.
"Haven't had any of that since the last time we did it." He grinned.
"I got toasted before. After you left. I didn't know what to do with my time. After a couple of days, I realized that I would wait for you to come back." We grinned at each other.
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I felt as though I could do anything.. except walk. I stumbled all over.
"You as thirsty as me?" I grinned like a stupid fool. I felt relaxed and wobbly. My vision was getting a little blurry.
"Youko-sama?" A young kitsune helped me stand and she set me in a stool. "How long have you been back, My Lord?"
"Since.. yesterday!" I nodded enthusiastically. She stared at me worriedly with large brown eyes. I smiled slyly. "How long have you been back?"
"I've always been here, Lord." She said, her eyes getting slightly wide. "We have been waiting for your return.." I waved her statement away. Kuronue sunk into the seat next to me.
"How's the ale taste for you?" He asked, his words slurring together slightly. I blinked at him, my vision getting foggy.
"Good." I grinned.
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"Oh dear god.." I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry. "What did you do to yourself?" The voice sounded so pretty.. so familiar to my ears. I blinked when something ran into my eye. I smelled blood. My own blood, Kuronue's blood, and someone else's blood.
"Who..?" I asked hoarsely. I felt something warm drop onto my forehead, then on my cheek. I smelled tears.. someone was crying for me.
"Kurama.." Gentle hands touched my face. "Why did you leave?" The girl's voice was pained.
"Didn't leave.." I whispered, coughing. "Went home.. Am home.." I caught the scent of the girl over the blood. The faint scent of.. peonies after a spring rain. It was tainted.. such a pretty scent was tainted with my blood. I heard the rustling of clothes. Her scent was fading. "Don't leave me.." I tried to move my arm but pain shot through it. I cried out. "Please.." I still couldn't see anything. I couldn't figure it out.
"I'm not." Her voice was steady, controlled. "You friend is injured. He will be fine, though. One of the two is dead." I wonder who had died. It couldn't be Kuronue. He was stronger than that.. right? My mind was foggy..
"Who.. are you?" I was so delirious that I wouldn't know anyone if they stared me in the face. She didn't answer. I could feel my pain fading away. "You're.. an angel, aren't you?" I felt her take my hand and hold it in her own.
"That's far from the truth.." She whispered. I shook my head, moaning from the pain.
"No, it isn't." I said, closing my eyes. The light was bothering me. "I wish I could see you.. but my vision is blurry.."
"Rest." She said, gingerly setting a cold cloth on my forehead. "It will clear up. Blood from your wounds have obstructed your vision."
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I woke up. There was a hot feeling on my eyes. I felt the dampness from something. The last thing I remembered was a girl.. an angel of salvation and healing.. I took whatever it was off of my eyes and sat up. A white blanket rested on top of me and I turned to look around. I was in a room.. a familiar room.. My room. The room that I had left behind. The door opened. I stared as she entered the room. She set a meal beside me and sat on the bed next to me. No words were exchanged until I caught her scent.
"Botan." She smiled and lightly kissed me.
"How are you feeling, love?" She asked softly. I smiled.
"Been better. Where's Kuronue?" She frowned. She stood up and walked out of the room. Hiei came in next. He glared at me.
"Two days, kitsune." I could tell he was angry with me. "You had everyone in an uproar when no one heard from you. Your mother said that you looked angry when you stood up." He sat down on the spinning chair. "I should expect that you're well?" He got back up and walked over to me, tearing off my bandages. No scars or wounds rested there.
"I see that you're up, my friend. I admit, I have no memory of that night. None at all. Do you remember what happened? This pretty young lady told me that we really killed that maniac." I frowned. Demons weren't partial to ferry girls from Reikai. Most of them, even I admit, were sneaky. But I knew Botan. She wasn't. Why was he even getting along with her? He should know that she's Death.
"No." I said, my frown deepening. "I have no memory of any of it. I must admit, though, that it felt good to be home." Botan stared at me with misted over eyes.
"Of course it did, Kurama." Hiei butted in. I looked at him. He had sat back down and didn't look as if he was moving. "Demons belong in Makai. It isn't likely to feel comfortable around these humans when you're a demon." What he said made perfect sense to me, of course. I had said it to Kuronue before. "The most you can do is keep away from being mad, having urges to leave, and stay near me." I nodded.
"Fair enough."
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I laughed, dodging Kuronue when he tried to tackle me. Hiei pushed me and I fell over.
"That was not fair." I said, rubbing my head that had banged against the table. "What did I do to you?" I gave him a look.
"Hm? What was that?" He asked, looking at me. I rolled my eyes.
"Don't play innocent with me." He smirked. I stood up and was very tempted to back up.
"Snip snip." He held up a pair of scissors. My eyes grew wide. "How much do you love your hair?" My hands flew to my head. My soft, silky hair ran beneath my fingers.
"You wouldn't dare." He gave me an evil look. I knew he would. I made a mad dash from my room. Botan was in stitches on the floor when I ran past her. Hiei chased after me. "Evil demon!" I looked behind me and yelped. "Leave my hair alone!" He continued chasing me I slid on the kitchen tile and fell. He tripped over me, the scissors flying out of his hand as he hit the cupboard. The scissors skidded across the floor. I smiled and picked them up. "That should teach you to run with sharp objects." He growled at me. I noticed how much of a mess the kitchen was in.
"We'll be cleaning for a while." Botan said, appearing with Kuronue in tow. And indeed we were. I sighed, closing my eyes as I sat down on the couch. My legs were sore. "It didn't take too long. Only a little while to clean up the broken glass and the spilled sugar. Not to mention the silverware that slid half-way across the room." She chewed on her lower lip, racking her brain. I stared at her, wanting to thank her so much for reminding us. "And the spilled oil that had to be cleaned.. and our poor little Hiei."
"Hn." The wet koorime looked away and crossed his arms, brooding. Hiei had been wet with the oil and the sugar stuck to him. He sat down in front of me, since there was no room on the couch. I started picking grains of sand out of his hair.
"There has to be something better to do.." Kuronue said boredly. I glanced up briefly to see the bored look on his face. I could never forget how easily he became bored.
"We could.." I paused, trying to think of something me and Hiei had always done to pass the time. "Well.." I sighed. Then an idea hit me. "Let's play games!" They stared at me. Even Hiei turned around to stare. "Or not."
"That was way too enthusiastic." Hiei said dryly. "Even for you." I gave him a look and flicked some particles of sand at him.
"Shut up. It was only a suggestion." I stated. "I didn't hear any of you making any." They all looked away innocently. "Don't pull any of that on me! You're the one who wants something to do. Go do a puzzle or something." I pointed at Kuronue. He blinked at me.
"A puzzle?" Hiei queried. I looked at him, narrowing my eyes. "Is that the best you can come up with?" They laughed.
"Sure, laugh all you want." I muttered. "Wait until you're sleeping."
"You wouldn't do anything." Hiei said calmly. "You're too much of a kitten to do it." I growled at them.
"You want to see kitten?"
"Not really." Botan said, waving the matter away with her hand. "What I would like to see is a good movie." Hiei and I both snorted.
"Right." We said in unison. "Who doesn't." She stuck her tongue out at us and crossed her arms.
"It was only a suggestion."
"Shut up."
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I walked to school with Minako and Hiei. They were both silent, each probably thinking their own little thoughts. I frowned. Not unless Hiei was just reading people's minds. You could never really tell with him. Unless he made a snide remark or commented sarcastically on something 'funny'.
"Another long day ahead.." I sighed and looked up at the sky. There was nothing to school anymore. It almost seemed as if it was just an everyday occurance that wasted my time.
"You can say that again." Minako said, her blue eyes dull with sadness. I gave her a concerned look. She avoided my gaze and Hiei's.
"What's wrong?" She looked up at me for a brief second then switched her gaze to the ground. "You can tell me." She shook her head.
"Maybe later.." I was worried. There had to be something wrong with her. Why would she act this upset? "Can I sort of come over after school?" It could've been my imagination, but I think I saw a tear run down her face.
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Hey there! Happy Holidays! This is my present to you! -_0 Not to mention a quick update of another chapter before Christmas! *puts on Santa hat and does a little dance* Merry Christmas to all of you! *grins* Have a fun holiday, you guys. Hope you all like this.