Title of some sort- you all know what you're reading.

Wow purplehairedwonder, you read through that gibberish of a sixth chapter. It's up with spaces 'n' junk now. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Well, I hope you're happy with this. Some people actually told me to kill him. I was shocked and appalled. Then again, I was the one threatening to kill him.

Kurama: Gah, yes, don't kill me! Yes purplehairedwonder, you love me. What was that girl thinking; wanting to kill me?

Shuttup Fox. You're not clear yet.

Ladies and gentlemen, old snake is going to dance. +translation: kuro tells all+

general notes

bordering R. if you don't know this by now, you haven't been reading this any way.

Definitions and junk in previous chaps.

Disclaimer: I own the Fox's life. That is all. No copyrights, no trademarks, no CO2s.

Play some snake music please. He is stretching and warming himself up.

not so general notes: well, this is it guys. You find out if he dies. In any case, Pan Jaganshi, you find out why.

The second part of this was BSed, so forgive me. It's not too long so you won't be tortured too much. It's just following up on an idea I had, so I put it there. Other than that… enjoy!

He learned this when he was very little. This one is called the pretzel. Watch this one.

Where can you run to
What more can you do
No more tomorrow
Life is killing you
Dreams turn to nightmares
Heaven turns to hell
Burned out confusion
Nothing more to tell
Black Sabbath,Bloody Sabbath

"He shot me!"
Pirets of the Caribbean

"Why do you fill my head with hurting!"
applegeeks. com

I wish I could do that. This one is called the butterfly. The double heart…The swan…

7. Dreams Turn to Nightmares…

…and Back?

Kurama regained consciousness but kept his eyes closed. He felt like shit. He felt betrayed, he ached all over, but overall, he was confused. Why had Kuronue tried to kill him? Then again, that wasn't what bothered him. For youkai, one hardly need ask for a reason to kill. Why wasn't Kuronue dead? It was a waste of time to ask that too. The Reikai was on the fritz and Kuronue, The freak that he was, may not have been dead in the first place.

What was the problem was: why was he still alive? If Kuronue wanted someone dead, they died. Didn't matter how, they just died. It was that simple.

The question bothered Kurama so much that he decided to rouse himself. He fluttered his eyes open and looked around. That didn't help much. He didn't see anything. Not that it was too dark (though it was less than what would be considered light) there was just nothing to see; nothing that is but a shapeless figure against the wall of the small space. It stirred with his motion and opened two shining, silver eyes.

Kurama tensed in recognition. He had seen those eyes so many times. Compared to the light, Kuronue's eyes seemed a steely, dull grey ; but in the dark, they gleamed silver.

"Chill Kid." Kuronue said in a calm, indifferent tone. There was something in that tone that Kurama had learned to trust. Whether it was voluntary or not, he relaxed immediately. Not only that, but Kuronue was back to calling him 'Kid.' This was definitely the Kuronue he was used to.

"How ya feelin', Fox?" Or not. Was his tone slightly… apologetic?

"Like shit," Kurama replied, slightly more confused, "but I think I'll live." Kuronue was never afraid to admit it when he was wrong (which wasn't often) but he never apologized.

"I'm sorry, Kid."

Maybe he did.

"For what? I still don't know what happened."

"I suppose I do owe you an explanation."

"I would think so." Kurama couldn't contain his frustration. He didn't like not knowing things. He was too confused at the moment to be angry for what had actually happened; just that he didn't know what was going on.

"Well, ye see…" Kuronue stalled, pulling his hat down over his eyes as he was accustomed to doing when he did not want to say something. Kurama guessed it was so he didn't have to look people in the eye and let him have his 'security blanket.' "Yeh know how screwy the Reikai's gotten."

"Yes." Kurama answered, urging him on.

"More fucked up than usual, ya know?" +don't you wish he'd stop saying 'ya know'+ Kuronue forced a laugh.

"Yes." Kurama almost growled. His patience was waning.

"Yeah, well, of the nerve of 'em. Ya know? It's wasn't really my fault." Kuronue screwed with his hat some more. Despite his aching body, Kurama snapped up and snatched the infernal hat from the rambling demon's head. Before the other could jump for it, he held a hand up to stop him and held the hat far out of its owner's reach.

"Spill it!" he growled, glaring daggers at his ex-partner.

Kuronue locked eyes with him and returned the very look that he had taught the Fox centuries before, still halfway reaching for the head piece. There was no conviction behind his gaze, however, and soon, like so many times before, he cracked under the chilling imitation. He sat back on his haunches and sighed, admitting defeat.

Hiding his eyes behind his bangs this time, he began to speak: "There's guys up there getting' real tired of you. They sent men an' all, but none of them could kill you."

"So that's what all that was about." Kurama muttered under his breath, thinking back to a previous stream of attacks he'd endured.

"So finally, they talked to me. Said they wanted me to kill you. That in order for me to be able to, they'd have to restore my body. When the job was done, I'd be free to do as I liked… alive."

"So you sold me out!" Kurama shot up and threw the hat back at its owner. He couldn't believe it. Kuronue was a cold-hearted bastard, but he'd always been more of the emotionally constipated jerk type. Something like this classified as treachery, betrayal; it was far beneath anything Kurama had come to expect from the man before him. "Not you're fault? Like hell!" Had kurama been truly human, he would have been close to tears.

There were many periods of Kurama's life (or lives, as it may be). The first being his days as a miserable, rejected, wretch. At this point he would have up and run, regardless of the shape he was in. If it had happened in his and Kuronue's glory days, his youko mind would have probably snapped. As the hardened killer he'd become after Kuronue's death, he would have simply killed the demon as soon as their weapons were drawn and never even gotten this far. As a human he probably would have just broken down and cried out of frustration, betrayal, and hatred.

He was, however, at a point in his life when he's reconciled all of these pieces of himself. He was filled with the desire to do every one of these. In the light of these options, he was at a total loss for what to do.

He had to choose something, though. As he often did when his human emotions started raging, lock them up. He steeled himself and became something dangerously close to that heartless creature that he had been in the days of old: heartless, logical, and cold.

Under this pretense, he felt himself become overwhelmed with a dangerous but peaceful sense of apathy. There was no longer any threat to him, so he didn't feel any need to retaliate. He still hated Kuronue. The bat could hang for all he cared, but it wasn't worth the effort to kill him personally.

The Fox sat seething for a moment while Kuronue let the reaction sink in. This was why he didn't want to say anything right there. The Fox was confused, hurt, tired, and moody. In other words: cranky. He'd wanted to wait until the Fox was ready to keep a cool head long enough to finish; preferably, a few rested days later.

"That's not what I meant." he said calmly, "I wasn't finished."

"What's to finish?" Kurama glared at him moodily.

"Okay, rule number one: NEVER jump to conclusions. +imagine Gandalf in his "big-and-scary" mode, then back to normal+ I told them to shove it, you dolt." He knew the Fox was crabby, but this was ridiculous. He was like an angry teenager.

"You did?"

"In so many more words. I wish you had a little more faith in me. Or has the rest of the world gotten to you?"

"Not much surprises me any more."

"I can tell. Now… can I finish?"

A nod.

"Thank you. They said they could make me. I told them they could try so long as they got around to kissing my ass while they were at it. I don't think they needed my goading. They used some kind of spell. I don't remember anything clearly after that. They said something about an end and how it would be weak without it. I think it had something to do with your blood. Cocky bastards. But then, so was I. I wasn't strong enough to fight it. For what it's worth, I did manage to keep my aim off."

So that was the story. It explained everything. Kurama wasn't dead because Kuronue had, in fact, never wanted him dead. Kuronue had been sent to assassinate him by the fucked up Reikai. That about covered it.

"I'm sorry." Kurama suddenly felt guilty. "I didn't mean to…"

"Forget it," Kuronue cut him off, "I intend to." He sighed, "Damn Reikai. They just gotta screw everyone, don't they?"

"Looks to me like you got the better end of the deal."

"Deal? There WAS no deal. I said it myself. I didn't want to be part of this shit head. This Is that war I told you about. Besides, I've come to terms with my death. I never actually had a problem with it. I really didn't care to be back in this hell hole, but here I am!" He sighed again. "Oh well. Obviously, no one important cares or I wouldn't be here. May as well role with it."

"Well you could…" Kurama cut himself off this time.

"Are you joking? Knowing they could just send me back? I'm not into kidding myself." He finally replaced his hat on his head. "At least here I'm not in their domain. And I suppose there are worse people to be back with." He stretched nonchalantly and leaned back on the wall of their little cubby whole.

"It seems that you've come to terms with your life now, too." Kurama smirked at him. Kuronue never had a problem coming to terms with anything. He just rolled with it.

"Got to sleep, brat. You look like shit." Kuronue retorted.

Kurama smiled and lay down.

"You know," he said lightly, "I feel better now."

"How's that?"

"I not only believe, but know, now, that you wouldn't betray me."

Kuronue smirked, half asleep. "Don't kid yourself. I'd ditch you in a second."

Kurama snickered to himself and closed his eyes.

I would be tired by now. +but Lowell doesn't give up+

Flying youkai were hard to find these days. Well, they were hard to find at all. Not that they were rare or anything, but tracking something that doesn't leave a trail was insanely difficult. It was a good thing she had nothing better to do. It was difficult, but no one was impossible to trace. /He can't fly forever./ Then she'd have them. /No one gets away with my prize; no one./

He is slowing down. +we're almost done+

"Sir, my humblest of apologies."

"Idiot! Now we've got the two of them to deal with. I told you not to go through with it! This is insubordination!"

"Please, sir, we have the jaganshi."

"And that means what? He's under my son's guard. You know I don't trust that boy. There something wrong with him. He sides with them. He's become too friendly too friendly with the other races."

"Begging your pardon, sir, why don't you just…"

"SILENCE FOOL! That is my concern. You do what you are told. Take care of his beloved tantei. Oh, and that wolf?"

"Yes, sir. We're on that."

"That is not comforting. Note the last time you said that. You can be replaced. I want results."

"Yes, sir."

Sleep well old snake.

I have no clue what that wolf thing was about. Maybe I'll do something with it, maybe I won't. its just stupid.

I didn't kill the Fox, 'kay? Sorry SemeDesu, but I was just too lazy to rewrite the whole thing (that'd be a lot, I've got like… eleven, twelve chaps written). And people did review, right?

'Kay, can anyone tell me what the borders are from. This is not supposed to be common knowledge. It's pretty weird. Why snake? Remember the badgers? Yeah, that. Say, did anyone recognize the site those are from? I really need to find out so people don't think I'm nuts.

Idee: you are nuts.

That's not the point.

Kurama: can someone please let me down now?

Hmmm… should we?

Kuronue: yeah, come on.

Kurama: oh, so NOW you stand up for me.

Kuronue: I don't have to now either. Like I said: I'd ditch you in a second.

Kurama: meep!

I don't know, maybe our reviewers should tell us. And sorry, I sense a filler coming up. I have this thing that, since I changed the order around, I don't know what to do with. I think I'm just going to BS something. We'll see. I apologize in advance.

Until then,

Doomschneider

4-10-05