Chapter Three

Over the next few days I had the eerie feeling that we were being watched, yet I sensed no one about and nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't mention it to Kurama. He didn't seem to sense anything either so I felt it needless to worry him with it, especially after that odd kiss. Kurama had been very wary, and careful around me since then. Things had finally begun returning to normal between us. There was no way I wanted to ruin it now.

Kurama smiled as we relaxed after our final day of cleaning. It had taken nearly a week but we finally got the little house cleaned up and it was steadily becoming livable. We were tired, but glad all the cleaning and preparation was over with. Now, all we needed to do was buy furniture and home items. After all the work had been done, we'd cleaned up, prepared dinner together, eaten our fill, cleaned up the dinner dishes and went outside to watch the sunset. My mate nuzzled me affectionately as we watched the sun sink below the horizon. Once it had vanished completely we watched the stars twinkling in the night sky in companionable silence for a while.

Kurama rose and headed back into the house. I stayed outside a while longer, watching the stars before following my mate inside. I heard the sounds of water being splashed and knew he was taking a bath. I turned down the bed, then headed into the bathroom. "Are you going to join me Darkfire?" he asked. "I don't think I could fit in there with you Fox," I replied as I glanced at the bathtub that barely contained my mate. I could just picture us getting stuck in there if I even dared to try and squeeze in there with him. I made a mental note that we needed to acquire a much larger bathtub as I took the washcloth and soap from him. I washed his back for him, and his long, silky, silver hair. Once I was through he got out of the tub, and I dried him with my energy.

As soon as he was dry he began undressing me. The moment the last piece of clothing was off my body he herded me toward the bathtub. Though I had only washed his back and hair for him he wanted to bathe me. I obliged him and got into the bathtub. He began bathing me, without a washcloth, as ususal. "You enjoy pampering me don't you?" I asked. He smiled charmingly at me. "Of course, You should know that by now," he replied. "If you're so indulgent with me, I could only imagine any child of ours would be spoiled mercilessly," I said. Kurama's golden eyes twinkled with amusement at my remark. "Well, since we have no children, I'll have to content myself with spoiling you won't I ?" he replied teasingly.

"Do you even want children Kurama?" I asked, honestly curious now that the subject had been breeched. "I don't know Hiei," he replied. "What about you?" he asked. "I never knew either of my parents, so what kind of parent could I be to a child?" I responded. "You make a good point. Still, I think maybe one day we could give it a try if you'd like," he said. I gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. "Maybe we'll even surprise ourselves and turn out to be good parents," he added. "I hope so," I murmured.

That night as I lay down to sleep beside him, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to actually have a child of our own. I didn't think I would mind the challenge, and I would do everything in my power to ensure that our child would have better than I ever did. Perhaps even the mistakes we had made in the past would serve as lessons for our child and help them not to make the same bad choices that we had made in life. Maybe they would turn out to be better than we had, and that was a comforting thought. Maybe being a parent wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

I awoke alone the next morning. I looked around the house for my mate but he was gone. Before I could wonder where he had gone off to I felt his energy nearby. There was a scratching sound at the door a few minutes later. I got up and went to the door. I opened it to reveal a large, silver, multi tailed fox with a large bird in its mouth. The fox dropped the bird at my feet, its silver tails swishing happily. A moment later, the fox's form shimmered and shifted to reveal my mate.

"Morning Love," he greeted as he picked up the large bird. "Looks like you had a good hunt," I observed. Kurama smiled. "Gave me quite a hard time too. I just hope it tastes good enough to be worth the trouble," he replied. "With you cooking it, it should," I commented. Kurama's smile widened. "Why Hiei, is that an actual complement?" he teased. "Just merely stating fact Fox," I replied. He kissed my cheek, then turned and headed outside to prepare the bird for cooking, his lush silver tail swishing with obvious joy. It had been the first time in days it was actually dry enough to venture out further than a short distance from the house, so it was no surprise that he had greatly enjoyed the hunt itself.

He prepared the meat in a quick and delicious breakfast. "While I was out hunting I spotted an old temple. It needs a bit of work, but if we got Yusuke and Kuwabara to come and help, we could make a nice home for ourselves. Would you like to see it?" he asked as we ate. I nodded my consent and after breakfast we went to the temple Kurama had found.

The temple was easily the size of Genkai's temple, if not smaller. It was made of stone and looked as though no one had lived in it for quite some time. Thankfully it appeared to be in good shape. There was a lot of minor work to be done, including the cleaning. Kurama had been right, we would definitely need Yusuke and Kuwabara's help if we were going to make the place livable or spend the next few years doing the work ourselves. Then of course there was moving our things that Kurama had stored in one of his dens into the place.

"So, what do you think?" he asked. This will do nicely," I answered. Kurama smiled. "I was hoping you would say that," "We'll have to go see Koemna to get word to them, we can't risk a journey to the human world ourselves," I nodded in agreement. "When shall we go?" I asked. "Let's go first thing in the morning," he suggested. "I nodded in agreement. That was fine with me.

We headed back to our little home in silence. That eerie feeling of being watched had suddenly vanished. I should have been relieved. That presence had been a constant feeling since that odd kiss. Instead I became apprehensive, unsure of what that could mean. Had whatever that presence was left or had something else happened?

We began packing for one trip to Spirit World as soon as we got home. Afterward we sparred for a while. Kurama bathed first while I ensured we had everything we needed for our trip. Once he emerged from the bathroom, I headed in for my bath. I bathed quickly and as I left the bathroom I looked around the large room for my mate. A pair of strong arms wrapped around me a heartbeat later, ending my search. "Looking for me?" my mate purred softly. "I thought you had gone to bed," I responded. "I just thought it would be more fun if we went to bed together," he replied as he allowed me to turn in his embrace.

He leaned close, capturing my lips in a hungry, possessive kiss. I didn't like the feel of it. It was demanding, lustful and not at all like my mate. Something was wrong. I pulled away quickly, stepping back. The look in his eyes was feral and completely lustful. The one standing before me was not my mate, but someone or something else entirely. I backed away quickly, keeping him in my sight. I remember Kurama saying he felt as though someone else had taken over his body the last time he'd acted strange. Now there was no doubt in my mind that was the case.

I tried to get away but vines suddenly bound my writs and ankles. The towel that had been around my waist had vanished in the process leaving me bound naked and spread eagle. My possessed mate stalked toward me, licking his lips as his eyes roamed over my unclothed form. "My, you're a tasty looking dish," he purred. "I can hardly wait to take a taste of you,"

My mind screamed at me to escape, but my traitorous body enjoyed every nip, kiss, caress, and touch he placed upon me. No matter how many times my mind screamed that this wasn't Kurama, my body only knew how good it felt. I knew I had to do something before I was lost in a pleasure induced haze and raped.

I raised my energy level, heating the air around me. I sent it toward him in a blast of hot air, knocking him off me. He hit the wall with a sickening thud and fell bonelessly to the floor. The vines went limp, releasing me. I ran to my fallen mate quickly checking his pulse. It was strong and he was breathing. I checked him for injuries, aside from a knot forming on the back of his head he was unharmed. I dragged him to our bedroll and climbed in with him, pulling the blankets over us, keeping him warm with my own body heat.

He awoke a few hours later and looked at me with wide eyes. "Fox, are you alright?" I asked. "I should be asking you that," he responded as he slowly sat up. "I'm fine, I was able to fight off my attacker," I assured him. "Fought me off before I raped you, you mean," he responded, looking away from me. I shook my head. "You did not try to rape me. You would do no such thing because you know I would give myself to you willingly when you wish to have me," I said firmly. His body shook. "You are not safe with me," he whispered. "I'm never safe Fox, you know that. Don't even think about abandoning me, even for my own good," I said firmly. There was no room for argument. I would not loose the one I loved most over this.

A sad smile slowly graced his lips. "So I suppose now we seek help before whatever possessed me strikes again," he murmured. I nodded in agreement. "Botan would be the logical choice. Surely she would know about possession," "Fine. Let's get dressed and she what she knows," I agreed.

AN: a big thank you to all of you who reviewed and those of you who are reading this story. An extra big thank you who wished me happy birthday. It was a good one, I assure you.

until next week,

Yami