Unfortunately, the time that I was to spend with Kurama went by like each hour was a day in its entirety. There was no relief from the cutting remarks, preying on each other as we tried to find some reason not to get along. I found it rather entertaining after a while to sit in the corridors of the mansion that had become my surrogate home and simply test his wit. We would both try to trick the other into admitting defeat, but I usually came out as the loser. Kurama would flash that aggravating smirk of his and walk away, his silver tail swishing behind him gracefully.
I can't say that I didn't like Kurama. He was very handsome indeed, and intelligent also, but I didn't want to give him anymore reason to talk to me about how beautiful I was. He said it at least once every day now, making me slap him across the face as he tried to come in and kiss me. There were no grounds for me to become romantically involved, and it bothered me that he seemed to know more about me than even I did. He knew what my limitations were, how old I was, even at what age my parents had died. This was no coincidence, but without my parents' fame, I had become inconsequential. There had been no reason left for me to be famous anymore. I was just a nobody who occupied her time.
Kurama didn't seem to think so, however. Though our introduction was rather rocky, his first impression had been good. I was surprised to hear this, but Jakiri wasn't. She claimed that Kurama was very eccentric, and usually didn't portray his feelings. I think she was just liking Sako, a very kind and gentle member of Kurama's gang. None of them were that terrible, but it was Kurama and his arrogance that I detested. They drove me to the brink of insanity combined, and I wanted to crush his skull like a melon.
Sometimes it seemed as though he wished to do the same to me. One day, we got into something of a fight, and he simply exploded on me. "You're just another puffed-up, arrogant little boy!" I shouted, brandishing a fist. My saber had been taken away for confidential reasons.
"Don't touch me, you cur," he said angrily.
"Fine. Don't let me ruffle your feathers. I'm just the little pup, remember?" I grinned from ear to ear, knowing that it probably looked very stupid and immature.
"Well," he said, surveying my entire body. "I'd love it if you'd just let me have you, but I suppose you're just going to fight me off. Even if I chain you up, you'll find a way to break the chains."
Glaring at him, I opened my mouth to speak but reconsidered. He had the upper hand here, since he was right. This always happened at some juncture. He would change the subject- successfully of course...- and then he would take me by surprise by trying to woo me to his side. It was the only predictable thing, and even that didn't happen every time we argued. Kurama was the only man who had ever caused me so much trouble. Even my own father hadn't been thought of as such a threat as Kurama. "Of course," I said confidently. "A cornered beast always gets away, one way or another."
This statement recalled to my mind the fight with the spirit detective. Anger swept over me, and I felt an impulse to do things that I wouldn't normally do, things that would help me gain power. I'd never played the part of seductress, but I knew my own grace. My own feet, wrapped in cloth with utmost care, carried me up behind him easily. "What are you doing?" Kurama asked softly, turning slowly to take me up in his arms. Making him happy was the only way to get him to tell me what I needed to know.
"What I know you've wanted me to do for a long time," I said, tracing the side of his face with my fingers. "You flirt with me constantly, and you expect me not to react."
"What a misperception," Kurama whispered into my ear. "Please, let's return to my chambers. I wish to...speak with you."
"Don't push your luck," I warned him, waving a finger before his face.
"Forever the feisty Kaiina," he replied, touching my cheek softly. It seemed to take the edge off of him when I surrendered, when he got what he wanted. I don't know how I could have kept it up though without any feelings for him.
"Certainly," I said primly, looking up at him. His eyes were molten honey now, the kind that seems to sparkle as it trickles slowly from the bottle. The thing he had treasured and nurtured the most had finally come to fruition. Obviously, he had been watching me for a long time, wanting me for the queen of his gang.
"I never wanted anything but her," he said quietly. "I've been looking after you for a while. I knew you were outside Hell's Grove when you were attacked because I went to make sure that you would survive. This is why you survived." He pulled a part of the folds of cloth away from his chest and revealed an ugly, emaciated piece of flesh. There was no actual scar, but I could tell that he had taken the brunt of the blow.
Gazing at that piece of dead skin, I couldn't help but stroke it. Leaning into him, I smiled, realizing that maybe I did have feelings for him. My hand crept up to his cheek, his hollow, drawn cheek. The flesh there was cool and pale, stretched rather tightly. It seemed as though taking care of his gang didn't allow him to eat much. However, Jakiri now made remarks about how I was "a living corpse," or how thin I was looking. Thankfully, my thick, motley brown hair covered most of it, making me look much fuller and far less like a cadaver. Kurama's thin silver hair, though it fell down to his lower back, could not hide the fact that he was incredibly drawn.
"I was something of a brat at first," I said, letting him hold me for a while. I just had to be careful not to let this ruse become a reality. After all, I was only scheduled to be here for a little over a week, according to Jakiri. Therefore, I couldn't allow myself to become attached, or it would be the downfall of my entire plan. Soon, I was going to take over Makai, become its queen, but first I had to have good connections, demons who were just as powerful as I was. That was where Kurama came in.
He looked down into my eyes, and I knew he could see the plotting within them, the gleam that they always took on whenever I was up to something. "Wait a minute," he said, pushing me away. "You're using me, and I can see it. You should never hide your eyes. Then people notice them when they're finally raised. Your eyes are still pretty, though. I've never seen anyone or anything like you, but...go to your room. Forget what I said before." I looked up at him, convincingly feigning tears, something I hadn't done in a long time.
"Please," I pleaded desperately, throwing myself into his arms once more. "I need help with something. Kurama..." He glared at me furiously. It was obvious that I had been trying to use him for power, the thing that many others had probably done with far less success than I had.
However, Kurama still just pushed me away, telling me to leave him alone. So, I was resigned to walking back to the room I was assigned in complete and utter silence. Nobody bothered me and nobody said a word. I had the feeling that they had all watched the two of us fighting, and thought of me as some sort of brash cur. It wasn't the best reputation to have, but before that day, I hadn't been worried about it. Now I needed their help, and I could hear Jakiri laughing in another room, obviously sharing stories of us with Sako. They were an obnoxiously beautiful pair. It was sickening to sit there and watch Sako dote on my servant. Since several of the other gang members watched me on Kurama's orders, she figured that I would be safe. However, I wasn't synchronized with them like I was with Jakiri, and it was starting to feel lonely now that nobody paid any attention to me. Wasn't that how I had wanted it here? Didn't I want to be left alone?
Obviously, Kurama thought that had been my wish all along. He constantly made an effort to avoid me, not even bothering to spare a snide remark. After a little while it dawned on me. The blow I had struck to him was far deeper a wound than I had thought it was before. Now he walked around with a solemn, almost defeated look upon his face. The swagger that I had seen in his stride before was gone. Something seemed to be missing, a glow that had enveloped him before, but was now just a dull shimmer. His radiance was gone. His golden eyes no longer shone like the sun. It was all because of me. I had tricked him into thinking that I actually did love him, then crept up and jammed the knife in his back.
On the other hand, didn't he deserve it? He talked about me as if we had been passionate lovers since the dawn of time, while I haphazardly pieced together semi-witty retorts. In every argument, he caught me off balance, hoping to drag me off where I would be alone. I had taken so much talking down, so much snobbery from him, that I had wanted to take advantage of him, to use him like he deserved. At that point, I hadn't had the faintest idea how he would react.
Now, I saw the dulled Kurama walking past me, his eyes cast to the ground. "Wait!" I called, jogging to catch up with his long stride. "Please, Kurama..." I whispered it, my voice straining with tears. I had not felt this sort of emotion in a long time, but now there was someone who made me feel accepted again. For so long, I had only trusted Jakiri, but now she had left my side and I had begun to feel abandoned.
"What?" he asked spitefully, turning around with a swish of his hair. It was held back in ponytail, a silver cord wrapped loosely around it.
"Yesterday was..." Lost for words, I looked at him, my eyes dripping with tears.
"What?" he demanded, agitated. "A disappointment? A missed opportunity?"
Before I could say anything to contradict him, he glared down at me and shouted, "Kaiina, I thought that you despised me. Then, back in the hall, you just pretended, playing the wolf in sheep's clothing so that I could help you get back to your old position. I thought maybe you could come to accept a life here with me, but I guess you're just too self-centered for that! There's only room for one on your stage." He was about to walk away, but I caught his arm, following him.
"Please hear me out," I pleaded, wanting him not to be angry at me anymore. It wasn't fun fighting with him like this.
"How can I know if you're telling the truth?"
"Lies are easier to tell than truths, and I would have lied when we first met if I hated you entirely."
Kurama looked at me, some of the spark entering his golden eyes. They still burned with anger, though. "Fine," he conceded. "I doubt you'll have anything good to say, but try me."
"Yesterday was a mistake," I finished. "I can't say if I'll ever love you as deeply as you did me, but you make me feel accepted. I know I don't deserve it, but will you give me one more chance?" I inched slightly closer, and Kurama's arrogant smirk reared its ugly little head again.
"I know that was a mistake," he said, still smirking at me. "For how could such a beautiful demoness not enjoy such an appeal to her vanity?" Kurama looked at me gently and I couldn't look away. They were bright as polished gold, deeper than the darkest honey, yet golden as the lightest. He had captured me now, and wasn't to let me get away so easily.
"So," he said, taking me in his arms, "they say demons can't love. I feel it burning, more vicious and tenacious than anything any human will ever feel."
"You're as in touch with your animal spirit as I am," I whispered into his ear, standing on my tiptoes. My arm snaked its way around his waist, still very lean from his lack of nourishment. Untrying one little knot, I undid the cord that bound his hair back and ran my hands through it. Holding me, Kurama looked into my eyes and held me there. He leaned down and we met in a long kiss, his love spilling over into me. Soon, we were rolling around on the floor, not realizing or caring that it was dark.
His fingers danced across my bared, copper stomach, while he smiled hungrily. "You're even more beautiful up close," he said softly, straddling my hips. A hand cupped my cheek gently, and he admired my face, surrounded by a mass of motley brown hair. Kurama smiled, not a smirk, but a smile, and rested his chin on my shoulder, soon lying on top of me. Breathing deep, he inhaled my scent, and I ran my hand over the part of his chest that was bared by his toga-like garment.
"It feels more satisfying to surrender," I admitted, looking up at him challengingly. However, I couldn't have guessed that my escapade would be cut short so soon.
Jakiri came striding up the hall, seemingly oblivious to us, until we both got up. Me and Kurama both were disheveled, but smiling triumphantly as he held me close to him, letting me inhale his scent like a strong, beautifully aromatic incense. Alone, my servant looked at us in schock, her sky blue eyes giving off a faint blue glow in the darkness. "So you think you can elope in the darkness, do you?" Jakiri said, glaring at me. I looked over my shoulder at her and sighed.
"Please, I'm the mistress, Jakiri. Don't..." My tirade was cut short by Kurama, who stepped in front of me.
"Forgive me," he said. "It was my fault. Kaiina didn't want me...she fought me off like a true warrior."
"So that's why I saw you two practically melting into each other?" Jakiri demanded. "Mistress, what if you are with child, or you get too attached? Nothing I can do will be able to help you then! He's just looking for a temporary jaunt to get him on a high! Everything that fox says is a lie!"
Infuriated at the insult to his credibility, Kurama seemed to fly forward at Jakiri. Before it was too late, I realized what was really happening and stepped in front of Kurama, taking a hard blow to the chest by what seemed like thorns. They embedded themselves within my skin, each thornmultiplying itself a hundredfold in pain before snatching itself out. Feeling the scar down my torso rip open, a warm, crimson fluid washed over most of my body. It seemed like someone else's blood, and not my own, as it sprayed out of the wound. Looking frustrated, Kurama tore off the entire top half of his robe and wrapped it around my upper body. Also, I saw him take one of his long silver hairs, whisper a few words, and press it into the wound before Jakiri healed me.
Though the wound was closed, the pain remained. "What in the Nine Hells was that?" I wheezed, the breath having been knocked out of me momentarily.
"He attacked you!" Jakiri screamed, pointing at Kurama. "He knew you would defend me and meant to kill you!" Looking up at Kurama, I felt tears well up in my eyes.
"It's not true...is it?" I asked him.
"I'll let you decide on that," he said, and walked away into the darkness, the glow gone from his eyes once more.