The next few days, I was staying at Kurama's house, and we did enjoy that time together. There wasn't too much to do, but I felt so at peace that it didn't matter. We would sit in the back yard, lying on our backs and gazing up at the clouds while we talked. Or we would do something more simple, like sitting up in his room. When that was the scenario, there were so many different ways that it could end. I would simply flow and let him hold me tenderly, loving me as wholly as was possible.
We were on his couch, and his mother, Shiori, was out of the house. The TV was on, and I felt as though I was going to doze off any moment now. Leaning against Kurama, I was incredibly comfortable. Everything about him was so handsome, and I knew I was the luckiest person in Ningenkai. "It's nice to know that we can just be here and...love each other...without interruption."
"You are the only woman I've ever truly shared myself with," he said softly, whispering in my ear, and then he wrapped both arms around me and pulled us closer together.
I was at home in his arms, and he knew it. Closer we came...closer...until we met in a kiss. He stroked my hair, massaged my back, and stared at me longingly. When we broke apart, I gazed at him for a few moments before almost tackling him and forcing him into another kiss. I was on top of him, straddling his hips, and my hands were buried in his abundance of beautiful red hair. He was my Adonis, and it didn't matter if anyone else thought we didn't belong together.
That one continued for what seemed like hours, and I smiled down at him as he placed a hand on my lower back. Since moving in with him, I had acquired some new clothes. Today I was wearing a red halter top and a pair of dark blue jeans. My hair was up in a half-ponytail, and Kurama was dressed ever-so-stylishly, as usual. He held my gaze for so long when I became stupefied by that emerald gaze. Sometimes, it seemed too unreal to believe, that this gorgeous youth had chosen me, of all people.
However, he did have to go to school during the day, and I had told them I had to quit for...personal reasons. So, having this free time, I decided to roam around his neighborhood and get to know the people around here. Most of the houses had a very rough crowd but there was one that seemed decent.
It was very large, and very white. Everything about it was so simple, but it was pretty at the same time. The windows would have been so clean they were sparkling, but it didn't show against the pale white curtains. Somehow, I knew there was something behind those curtains. Upon closer inspection, I saw a slender figure of middling stature. From the extraneous lines, I could tell that she wore a small sundress that had a very ruffled bottom.
Since this was the only place I had even liked with all my wanderings of the block, I walked up and rapped on the door. Slowly, it creaked open to reveal a very familiar face. The rich golden hair flowed down her back freely, and I remembered those beautiful blue eyes. It was Jakiri! She was wearing a sundress that expanded and gained more ruffles farther down the skirt, billowing out at the very bottom. It fell just above her knees, and created a pleasant innocent look. The garment itself was white, with a design in dark blue. "Kaiina," she said, her jaw gaping. "You've...changed."
"It must be because I finally found him!" I exclaimed, and threw my arms around her neck happily. Nothing had changed between us, and we still had the bond of two close sisters.
"What did you do all this time?" I demanded, and she smiled.
"I've had company," she replied. "She's definitely quite interesting. I think she'll be in the parlor right now if you want to meet her." Shaking my head, I let Jakiri lead me into the main sitting room, where we each took a soft chair.
"It took so long," I said, smiling at my former servant. We just couldn't keep having such a distant relationship. "When I dove into that lake, on the outskirts of town, it showed me everything I needed to know, and I woke up with him next to me."
"So," Jakiri said, "did anything happen?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I said slyly. It was always fun to make her run in circles, searching for the answer.
Jakiri glared and then crossed her arms below her breasts, pouting for a short while. "Look," she said. "If anything like that happened, there could be a child, and what will a child from the two of you end up like?"
"What in hell is that supposed to mean?" I demanded, seething a little.
"You're hardly responsible enough to handle raising a child," Jakiri chided. "You're even more broken now than you were then. Don't even try and deny it."
"I could raise a child if there was one!" I shouted. "You don't have the power to dictate whether I have a child or not anyway!" At that, Jakiri leaped up from her chair, and light blue energy glowed at her fingertips.
Before anything could be done, a voice came from the kitchen. "Jakiri, do you want any sugar with your-" A petite girl with pale blonde hair and misty blue eyes walked in on the makings of a fight. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "I thought you didn't know where she was!" I stared at her for a moment and then smiled.
"Hi," I said. "I'm Jakiri's old master...I know I was gone for a while, but now I'm back. I live down the street, with the Minaminos. Shuiichi's at school now, so I thought I'd wander around a little bit."
"I graduated from Meio high school last year," she replied. "Shuiichi was a junior. Still, he's so unusually smart. Why would you have any cause to like him?"
"I don't know," Jakiri said, "but for all we know, his seed's in her right now." She finished sullenly and shot me a glance that seemed to chill the whole room.
"So," I said, ignoring my servant's sullenness, "what's your name?" The girl raised an eyebrow at me and set down a tray she had been carrying.
"I'm Ithryl," she said. "I've never met you before, but I do believe that you're Kaiina, the one who behaved like a harlot. Some royalty you are! I heard about your little incident in the hall!" My eyes opened wide, and I imagined Youko Kurama trying to take me, but the new Kurama had been so soft when we had come together. They were different, but I was starting to see some improvements.
"I wasn't about to throw myself away that easily," I said, glaring at Ithryl. "You shouldn't point fingers with what you've gathered through secondhand information."
Ithryl was the most stubborn thing the earth had ever known, and I hated her. She glared at me as if I were some sort of criminal. Feeling entirely infuriated, I stormed out of the door, cursing under my breath, and broke into a run toward Kurama's house. Thankfully, Shiori wasn't home.
Free of that monster, I dashed upstairs and into his room. It was hinted with the scent of roses, just as he was. On the shelves were pictures of him and his mother, and a few of him with some friends. My anger morphed into sadness as I realized that I didn't have any friends to have pictures taken with. There was nobody left who supported me. Jakiri was mad at me for my behavior back at Kurama's mansion, and, of course, mad that I left her behind.
Tears ran down my face, and I buried my head in his pillow silently, feeling as if he were there, wrapped around me. It smelled like him, and I wrapped both arms around it. The poor pillow was squished together as far as it would go, and I lay there. Slowly, I went underneath the covers and made myself comfortable. Even though it was warm, I liked feeling as if Kurama was here with me. Surrounded by him, I felt more peaceful by far.
Images of Jakiri's pouting face and Ithryl's disparaging looks came back to me, and I dug my face deeper into the pillow, crying desperately. Wasn't there anything I could do to win back the friendship of the woman I had once been closest to? A feeling of hopelessness closed in. How could I live on like this? Was Kurama's love just a ploy that I used to run away from my own weakness?
Slowly, green energy sprouted around me, and I drifted off to a place that I had never been to before...
The entire sky was black. Dark ground was below me, and there was very little vegetation for miles and miles. 'Where am I?' I wondered to myself, and a gust of wind blew by, kicking up plenty of dust. Darkness threatened to consume me, while I was alone and vulnerable. Beat. Beat. Beat...nothing. My heart was as it was when I was a demon once more. Smiling, I stood up and looked down. Naked, I was standing out in the middle of this vast desert. The desert sand was so hot to the touch. When I laid myself down, I felt vulnerable indeed. Jakiri walked by, but she was accompanied by someone besides me.
There was Ithryl, dressed up in the garb of a forest warrior...the clothes I had once worn. The black slitted skirt seemed to fit her body, and the cutoff light brown top was enhanced by her pale blonde hair. Here there was no Kurama, no comfort to hope for. 'Please,' I thought. 'I don't want to live like this. I don't know what to do!'
Suddenly, Lirra appeared, dressed in a flowing white gown with sleeves that brushed against the sand. Even though I had last seen her in a grand cathedral, she seemed at home in the desert, too. "Remember the time when you jumped into the Pool of Luminescence," she said. "The cathedral...it holds all the reasons that you are sad. If you don't have the companionship of Jakiri, your life will end shortly enough. Watch out for Ithryl too. Though she is friends with Jakiri, she is not entirely trustworthy." Gazing at my new friend, I smiled, admiring the way that she could be so strong and levelheaded where I was confused and erratic.
"So what do I do?" I asked.
"Enjoy what you have while you still have it," Lirra replied. "You never know when something could happen, and then you wake up alone, knowing that he's really gone. Try not to worry about your old life. He started over, so why can't you?"
"That was forced," I said, defending my own stubborness. "Kurama was reborn in a body where he was unable to fully emerge for several years. I've been here, looking for him for so long, and yet I let my whole life fall apart around me."
"And that was your own fault," Lirra replied, giving me a warning look that told me off so perfectly.
No matter how I denied it, she was right. I had let my life crumble, and now I was left with nothing except for my love. It was the world where I didn't have to think about anything...just how to please him in new ways. It was so simple to do it that way instead of living in Lirra's world. Whenever I visited that place, it always ended up giving me some sort of cryptic hint at the future. Was this whole conversation another one, or was it just more nonsensical babble? Next to me, Lirra was stretching her snowy-white wings, letting the soft breeze ruffle the feathers. "I can't help you anymore," she announced sadly. "My master...he has given me a new assignment, and it does not involve you. Forgive me, but there is much work to do, and a lover who waits faithfully for you."
Slowly, I watched her fade away, her words lingering in the sterilized air, making it choke in my throat. Dust in the air brought tears to my eyes. Or was it something else that made me cry. Just as slowly as Lirra had faded away, I sank back into my own world, embracing the familiarity of it all...
"Katie?" A hand was on my cheek, and I saw a vivid red see, so soft and beautiful. Stretching out my arms, I closed them around him, taking him down with me. Clumsily sliding my boots off, I felt a nervous sweat break out on my calves. Here I was, with him, and he wanted me to use him, to take full advantage of what he had to offer.
"Yes?" I whispered, and smiled loftily, closing my eyes and relaxing.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I was just...dreaming of you. You know, you're a wonderful lover, and an even better friend."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No, but if you know how to love me and listen to my problems, then you're the best package deal I ever got."
"I try," he whispered into my ear, and kissed my neck, then my cheek, and then we met full on the lips.
Light had been sapped out of the sky, and now dusk was setting in. My fingers worked along his back, and I unbuttoned the first couple buttons on his shirt. "Sometimes you can't find a better escape," I said.
"It's alright," Kurama replied, stroking my hair affectionately. "I understand." Kissing me briefly, he pressed us close together. Instinctively, my stomach drew in, but when he ran a hand through my hair, I relaxed entirely. Seeing that part of my stomach was bared as I lay next to him, he turned over so that I was below him and straddled my hips with his knees.
Slowly, he kissed my stomach, inching my tanktop up further and further as he continued to kiss where few had seen me. As he reached the curve of my breast, he looked up at me, asking permission. Just wanting to satisfy my lonely desires, I nodded, and he pushed it up further, running a hand along the part that wasn't covered by my bra. Wherever he touched me, goosebumps sprouted up, and I sank underneath him, scared. Nothing we had ever done had been this intense.
For a while, he ran a hand up and down my stomach. Then, he felt the part of my leg that was bared. Carefully, he undid my grey pants and slid them off, feeling me sensually as the cloth came away. Feeling that it was unfair that I hadn't responded, I made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt. When he leaned in close, I could smell his heavy scent, taking in everything I could. It was like the first time all over again. It was as though his passionate side had come back. Lying there in my underclothes, I knew that his eyes traveled first to my bra, which he probably wanted to take off. His red hair fell onto my bare shoulders, creating a warmth that I was hardly used to.
I almost thought of simply giving in, until I gazed into his emerald eyes. Rolling skillfully onto the floor, I smiled and gave him a look that was more than seductive. He gazed at my mostly-exposed body and sighed, running after me. Dodging, I avoided, only to find myself tackled. His shirt hadn't even come off yet; it was just unbuttoned, hanging off of him. We rolled around on the ground like it was a wrestling match, and I ended up on top this time, gazing down at him while my breasts hung down, providing him with an even better view.
"Now let's get rid of this silly thing," I said, pulling off his shirt and casting it to the side. My hand slid ever so lightly over his torso, feeling the contour of the muscles as he tensed at the sight of what he had wanted for so long. Green light emanated from my body, and vines enveloped the two of us.
"No room for cowardice now, Kurama said, feeling my skin. He was so smooth for a human. If I hadn't known that he was a demon, I would have been more impressed.
Twilight grew ever darker, and I knew that with the darkness, other things would come. Shiori had to come home eventually. With his fingers in my hair and his other hand on my back, I didn't worry about those things. "Even the dark, mysterious moon can't measure up to you," he whispered, and kissed my neck tenderly.
"Well," I said, "do tell in what way I'm better."
"In this way," he said, and he slid down my small white underwear...
Morning came, and we were still on the floor, murmuring words of devotion. Neither of us had slept the entire night. Remembering that Shiori must have come home through the back door, I threw a blanket over both of us, and we lay together. I was pressed against his bare chest, sinking into every curve of toned muscle. Lirra was right. It would be a desolate world without Kurama's love. Still naked under the sheets, I at least put on my underclothes and snuggled in closer. "I love you," I whispered softly.