The Fox's Rose

By MistressTsunami AKA shinchansgirl

Chapter Three

REVISED 1/31/05

You thought I was just a spark.

Something that you could control,

To light the dark.

I am the flame,

That lights the inferno.

-T-shirt from NeonDragonArt "Fire"

The fox demon didn't mention the encounter when he lead Yuusuke up to his room that afternoon, instead remaining silent as he accepted the bag of clothes and retreating to the basement.

The spirit detective cocked his head to the side as the fox-demon left. "Is it just me, or is Kurama actin' weird?"

"Leave him be, detective," Hiei said from the window.

"Huh? Oh, hey Hiei. Ya know what's up?" Yuusuke asked, looking over at the ruby-eyed demon.

"No, but I'll find out later. Don't fight with him today, just do whatever it is that 'school' gave you to do and then leave for a while. I'll figure out what's wrong."

"Fine by me," the spirit detective said, relaxing back against the bed from his chosen spot on the floor. "I don't wanna be on the wrong end of those teeth."

" Ch. Coward."

"Whatever man. I might be able to beat the crap outta somebody, but that don't mean I like havin' a bite taken outta my shoulder by a friend."

"Just leave him be for now. And I suggest that you plan on staying tonight as well."

"What's this, a conspiracy?"

Hiei gave him a long look. "I didn't know your vocabulary extended that far. And no, it's not, but would you like to have him around your mother in his current state?"

"Oh yeah, he did say that he'd come over and clean up if I decided to go back home, didn't he?"

The smaller demon didn't answer.

"Fine, fine. One more night. But you sure as Hell better find out what's going on with him, or I'm sunk. Really…I thought Keiko was gonna find me and drag me ta classes this morning! I was lucky she wasn't lookin' for me that early. Got a few hours a' sleep before Kuwabara showed up, though."

Hiei blinked. "After all that you didn't even go to class? You are a moron."

Yuusuke would have commented, but the fire demon had already left, and he could hear Kurama coming up the stairs again. With a sigh, he pulled out his school books.

It was going to be a long night.

Kurama was sitting at his desk in his room, just like he had for nearly every other day in his human life. The difference was that this time Kurama was not focusing on the math textbook that lay in front of him, nor was he reading something for classes. He wasn't even asking the black-haired human boy in the spare bedroom about his classes that morning, or the arrangements that would need to be made for them to acquire an apartment.

The numbers on the page splayed before him had long since blurred into a gray haze, and he no longer had the will nor the energy to make them form coherent algebraic problems…he had a much bigger problem to deal with, and it had nothing to do with the numbers of mathematics problems. 'I knew that he hadn't been killed…I knew that he wasn't gone!' he berated himself, scolding his weakness and hating himself for it. But it had been such a long time since he had seen this enemy that it had seemed plausible - even likely - that he was dead, and he had not shown his face in such a long time. Kurama didn't want to see him now, either; he didn't want a mate.

His body shuddered involuntarily with the memory; seeing that demon again hadn't been a pleasant experience.

It had been a motto of the demon Karasu to claim everything he wished for his own, and he followed that motto like the one rule of life; once he had set his sights on the red-head, either Kurama was going to be his or Kurama was going to die. The fox-spirit had thought that he had ended the dilemma by killing Karasu, but it seemed that it was not to be so.

"What am I going to do?" the fox asked himself. He wasn't really ready to be claimed; at least, not yet, and most definitely not by Karasu, the demon who had tried to destroy him. But if the other demon chose to attack now….

He failed to see how he could have any other choice in the matter. Yes, it was true that many weeks had passed since his so-called win (or loss, depending on your point of view) in the Dark Tournament, and the red-head's energy had returned to him, most likely not quite fully yet, but close. The emotional recovery hadn't taken long once he had convinced himself that Karasu, the one that he had feared the most, was dead, and helping out Yuusuke had reminded him that there were other things that needed to be done. Kurama hadn't the luxury of time for curing this fear – he had people to take care of.

The shock of seeing the raven-haired demon again had sent the green-eyed boy into a near emptiness…a void, almost. He couldn't think anymore, and he couldn't, not for the life of him, figure out why this new development was so surprising, and such a critical circumstance. Ever since the meeting in the hallway at school's close, he had been managing on a sort of muscle-memory. He doubted he would have put forth much effort into finding Yuusuke even, had the other not shown on his own.

It had always been this way, for as long as Kurama had known the other (which, admittedly, hadn't been for very long). The demon's presence, even thinking of him, robbed the fox-demon of his ability to think both strategically and logically. The only reason he had even a chance of winning was because of the Fruit of the Past Life, and Youko, his other half. Currently, he had neither the fruit nor his other self within his reach. He didn't think that Youko would care much if the other were to claim him; he would care about the pack and the body that housed his soul, but not the human mind within it. The thief would remember what happened, and he would regret the loss and the happenings, but wouldn't be able to bring himself to care about it. After all, he had the power to destroy Karasu whenever the need arose. The Fruit was gone, stored away for only the direst of emergencies within Koenma's castle.

This wouldn't merit the use of the forbidden essence.

A sound like a cat scratching resounded against the glass of his window, and, recognizing the energy of Hiei, Kurama rose and opened the window to let the smaller demon in. The gesture was unnecessary – the small demon had broken the locks the other day, after Kurama had found Yuusuke in the park – but was more out of habit. Hiei would have let himself in had he not seen Kurama coming towards the window.

The kitsune didn't speak, and sat back down at his desk as if the black-haired fire demon hadn't just entered through his bedroom window. He stared blankly ahead, leaving the other to fend for himself in the room that had become as familiar to him as the trees outside.

"Kurama?" Hiei asked with concern lacing through his voice, though to the casual observer it would not be obvious in the way he spoke or moved. The fact that he spoke was proof in and of itself. "Is something wrong?"

Kurama didn't answer, remaining silent and staring.

"What is the matter, Fox? Junior send you on a mission again?" Unlikely, since they hadn't been apart from each other for more than a few hours, but it was all Hiei could think of at the moment without threatening to remove the Jagan's ward and force the information out.

Slowly, Kurama turned his face to the other in the room, and the smaller demon was shocked not only of the amount of sadness apparent in the face, but the amount of shocked fear. His head hung low as he mouthed, almost silently, "Hiei?"

"I haven't the time for guessing games, Fox. If there is something wrong, you'd better tell me now."

Kurama looked away, almost as if he was ashamed, and unable to meet the other's gaze. "He's back," he mouthed, but Hiei was not where he could see it, and even his demon ears could not pick up the small release of breath that had accompanied the words.

"Tell me, Fox!" the red-eyed boy demanded, quietly, so as not to alert the two others that currently shared the house.

"He's back." The words were slightly louder this time, not loud enough for a normal human to have heard, and Hiei knew then that the other was afraid of voicing his fears, afraid that the action alone would make them real. It was enough, though; Hiei had heard the small release of breath.

It was enough to confirm the small demon's worries; something was wrong. "I'm taking you to Genkai," Hiei announced.

That was enough to get a reaction out of the previously almost comatose boy. "NO! Mother…Yuusuke…"

"I doubt the old woman would mind feeding another mouth. You're in no state to fight anyone, and I can't be everywhere at once. Kitsune no baka, did you think you could handle this alone? Best to keep all you pathetic weaklings in one place."

'Is that all I am?' Kurama thought, his head hung low in the classic posture of the defeated.

The position startled the fox's companion. Kurama had never been so quick to give into requests, not even at the start of his career, or even at the beginning of his life as a human as the demon within him healed. He had always been quick to think of some other way, some other plan, one that pleased everyone and left his mother free to continue her normal life unhindered and unaware of the dangers that surrounded her. Never had he given in so simply when it meant moving her and revealing at least part if not all of the truth; it would be obvious that Kurama was in danger. Something was definitely off with the scenario he was being given. 'What's wrong, Kitsune? Who has come back that has you so deep in your own mind that you can't think for yourself? Have you even eaten recently? Who's back?' The last question seemed to be the most pressing, and, as it concerned who they were facing, he asked it aloud. "Who's back, Fox? And none of your guessing games," he demanded of Kurama.

"I killed him," was the simple response.

Hiei paused in his questioning, knowing that there had to be more to the answer, but not knowing how to draw it out of the stubborn creature before him. His silence, however, seemed to be what the other needed, as Kurama answered after a few moments where neither of them dared to speak.

"I thought I killed him, and thinking so very nearly cost me my life. He…wanted me. He still does. He wants me, not dead, but…as a…mate…"

Hiei growled without thinking. So that was why his kitsune had gotten himself all tangled up within himself. No one had sought to be his mate so actively before, and none who had tried had come very close to succeeding. Murder, yes; bring to trial, certainly; seek for a job, often; but to seek for a mate, no one dared to even try unless they could defeat him in battle without killing him, and that took more power than any he knew of currently had. The only way to mate an unwilling kitsune was to capture him, cage him and collar him, to name yourself his superior no matter what happened. It was clear to anyone who looked that Kurama was unwilling, and, judging from the fox's behavior, this demon was very nearly, if not already, superior - he had the power to possibly claim him.

No one messed with his kitsune like that. 'Wait, back up, my kitsune? What the hell? Never mind, I'll deal with it later. First, no one messes with our pack without having to deal with me first. We may be messed up, but we are not weaklings; this demon's going to die.'

"Hiei, do you remember the Dark Tournament?" Kurama asked. It appeared to be a rhetorical question - of course he remembered it - for the fox continued without waiting for an answer. "It was him…he kept coming after me while we were there - brushing against me when I was alone in a hallway, or outside, or sometimes within my own room. He was seeking me, marking me, claiming me as his prey. It was horrible. I knew…knew that if I lost and survived he would take me, and claim me as his prize. He nearly did, but I beat him. I thought I beat him. I don't know if I did. The judges claimed he had won, but, to me at least, I was the winner. I think he knows that. He was supposed to die, but I…my mark was off. I knew my mark was off…but it'd been weeks, and I hadn't seen him, hadn't felt him…

"He's been stalling for time, getting stronger as I do, and at a much faster rate. He wants to be better than I am, and it's nearly true, if it's not already. He doesn't take as much time as I do to heal because he's a full demon, and I…I'm stuck within this human body right now. He feels that I'm weaker, he knows it. He's come back…he told me that he would…

"He's come to claim me, Hiei, and I don't want to be claimed. I don't know what to do anymore, and that scares me. I've never…been this weak before. I knew that there were others that were stronger than me, but none of them ever came after me… Youko was always the stronger one. But now, he's suppressed, and he can't get out unless there's real danger, and I'm strong. It's trying to, Youko's power - my power - it realizes that I don't want this. But…it's trapped by this human body, and without it…

"Without it, Hiei, I'm going to fail."

Kurama's words were so…final, so desperately and hauntingly true, that it took Hiei a moment to realize that the fox had, indeed, stopped speaking. It took him another few seconds to process just what it was the other demon was attempting to say. "Kitsune no baka," he scolded once again, "Did you think that I would even consider associating with one who could not protect his own pack?"

Kurama turned his face away, uncertain and unwilling to answer, and Hiei growled in response. Something was wrong. "What was it that he threatened you with, Fox?" he asked, assuming once more, but following the most logical course. "What did he take?"

"My pack, Hiei," Kurama answered listlessly, but honestly. "He's threatened my pack."

"And you're just going to sit here sulking and let him get away with it! All that you're doing for the detective, is that for nothing? The girl, the idiot, Yukina, me…are we all worth nothing to you?"

"You are all worth more to me than my own life, Hiei, but what more can I do? I can't fight him again-"

"Yes, you can," Hiei interrupted briskly, for once fed up with the red-head's realist ideas and showing it plainly. "You can fight back. You can train, get stronger, and then…and then you can protect your pack."

There was a crease in the former kitsune's brow as he thought through the smaller demon's words, his former haze all but broken. Fighting back would take time, strength, effort and belief that they could win, but it was possible, and that was what mattered. He couldn't afford to sit and stare at half-answered math equations when he needed to train both his body and his power. "Yes, Hiei, I can protect my own. My apologies for worrying you."

"I wasn't worried."

Kurama merely smiled at him before continuing. "You're right, in a sense; I've been sitting here alone for far too long, without another to hone my skills. Mother should be fine for the night, and Yuusuke's here should something happen; would you care to join me in the park for a session?"

The small fire demon didn't answer, but there was no need to, they both knew that he would.

Kurama rose from his chair, his decision on the matter made. His stance was more confident and nearly radiated power. When he turned to face Hiei, the black-haired demon boy knew why; the emerald gaze had changed to one of glimmering gold, displaying proudly the presence of the elder fox-demon that resided within the body.

"Until the boy within me can better handle the situation, I think it would be best if I took over his physical training," Youko explained, a slight smirk on his lips as he noted that his companion had already seen his change. "I hope you won't mind, but the human capacity for pain is much higher when their petty mental challenges are no longer an issue."

Hiei returned the smirk with one of his own as he responded: "All the more challenge for me; I was hoping for a good fight."

"Spar; you are pack, I will not allow for mere training to injure you." Hiei frowned, but knew that it was not the time to argue, not when there was a demon on the loose that was supposed to be dead. "We have work to do; my human body will not last as long as yours, but we should both be careful not to inflict any damage to the other. Karasu is out there, and we need to be able to move."

Hiei didn't comment.

"There…that should last for a few hours at the very least," Kurama mentioned as he stood from activating the final ward around his house, hidden behind the tree Hiei had used in the past to sleep in. "We will be alerted if anything breaks through before we return. Now, FireFly, let's see how much you have improved since I last saw you, and see if you are able to help me train," Kurama taunted, his eyes tinged only slightly gold at the moment, as he turned to walk away from the house.

"Hn," Hiei grunted in response, following Kurama the short distance to the park. "Keep talking like that, Fox, and you won't know which way is up by the time I'm finished with you."

Kurama didn't answer him, in part because they had arrived and in part because he had no answer. Instead he moved to the opposite side of the small clearing, away from prying eyes, as Hiei removed his cloak. His body was relaxed, his arms loose at his sides, and a smirk on his face that didn't match the red hair of the human Suuichi's body, but more the silver locks of the demon soul inside it.

Hiei met the silence with his own, but the situation did not turn awkward. It was a silence of understanding as the smaller demon slipped into a defensive crouch with one hand on his sword, his body facing the other demon. He would not be the one to make the first move.

The elder demon had two definite advantages in the stage they had set. The first was that he was the elder, and therefore the more knowledgeable about what he could do - he had become legend before Hiei had been born, and had lived before the human religious idol of Christ had supposedly 'risen' from the grave – saying 'older than 500' was more a formality, because most demons had not yet lived that long, it made his true age less insulting to them. The second advantage he had was that, while Hiei was a master of fire, he was a master of nature, and there was nature all around them. The plot was full of growing life, from green grass freshly sprung from the previous night's rain to trees that had been planted before his human form had matured in his mother's womb. Without moving a muscle to reveal his actions, the fox-spirit commanded the grass that surrounded Hiei to grow into a long, thicker, stronger form and bind his legs to the ground.

While Kurama had the advantage of area and knowledge, however, Hiei had the advantage of both speed and fire. His flames, if strong enough, could kill whatever Kurama grew given time and energy, and the elder could do nothing if he could not hit the small demon. In his red-headed human body Kurama could not force the grass to grow fast enough to capture the small demon if he ran, but if the smaller demon did not move soon then he would have the younger demon caught.

At the last possible second, Hiei moved, running forward and forgoing his sword for a chance to land a swift punch on the other's jaw. The long grass shuddered in his wake as he appeared to vanish from sight.

However Kurama sidestepped the blow, allowing the small body to slide past him. Reaching upwards after the black blur sped past his ear, the more human of the two grabbed his opponent's ankle and spun, releasing him to fly back into the large, growing nest of tangled grass.

Using the grasses' slow nature to his advantage, Hiei stepped on the flat sides and propelled himself upwards. His blade was out and slashing through the green razor-like edges that threatened to cut him as he moved. The thin slices that the grass could create wouldn't do much physical damage to him, but Hiei knew from experience that, if not immediately healed by someone with extensive knowledge of what had caused them, the injuries would hurt like a sting just below the skin for a very long time.

Leaving the grass for another battle, Hiei refocused his attack on Kurama. He feigned right as he attacked from the left, his afterimage sliced completely through by a towering green spectacle that met nothing but air.

And his real body came upon a wall made of ivy.

The roots reached out from a nearby tree, almost caressing the feet of the boy who stood at its base with a rose whip in his hand. Kurama ignored the afterimage of Hiei on his right from the fake-out and dismissing the one that had vanished moments before by the grass blades. "You've gotten faster," the fox demon complimented him. His eyes were hard and green, a rare mix for the boy, "but I still can't help but feel that you're holding back for this human body, when it can do much more."

Hiei smirked, and it was almost a laugh. Of course he had been holding back, he didn't want to kill the other during a simple warm-up. "Now that your training has actually begun, I might be willing to comply with that request, but remember that the pathetic human body you inhabit needs to last for hours more. Are you certain that you're not going to give up on me, little human?"

Kurama half-smiled, and while the gesture was still no where near the calm confidence that Youko radiated, it was still cool and collected. Despite his mind's protests, Hiei felt reassured by the move that was more familiar than the earlier almost alarming submissiveness. "It doesn't matter that Youko has left for the time being; I will last for as long as need be."

"We'll see about that."

Kurama's human mind disliked, but regretfully accepted, the aches and pains of the hours of training as he made his way as silently as he still could up the stairs of his home. He only paused for a moment to check on the mother of his human body before he made his way into his own room, body tired and bruised, but not bleeding. The sparring session had worn him out, and the jog they had taken in the last half-hour to cool off hadn't relaxed him as much as it should have, although it had taken the edge off of the sting of protesting muscles. Hiei had been in far better shape, but he had done his best to make the workout worth his effort as well without awakening the kitsune within Kurama. Timing and teamwork had most assuredly improved, and they had taken the time to perfect moves that were suddenly more difficult for the simple fact that they had become expected.

To complete a move that surprised their opponent had become a difficult task that night, and was set as the goal of each of the fighters as the darkness wore on. It had almost transcended into a game for the two demons.

Neither had managed to pull it off before the wards began to fade around the human's home.

The clock flashed 9:45 as fox-spirit's body collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to pull off clothes that had been soaked through with sweat as he curled into a ball, dislodging sheets and comforter as he did so. Pillows added to the tangled mess, and the young body with the mind of an age-old demon twisted until he could feel the cloth mold into a half-formed wall at his back. It was a familiar feeling of protection: his cave. Head pillowed in the crook of one arm and hair trapped behind him in a tangle of cloth and seeds that would be painful to sort out in the morning, Kurama drifted off into a deep, restoring sleep, content with the knowledge that Hiei slept right outside his window.

He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, unlike his sparing match earlier. So open and vulnerable, nothing like when he knows I am near. He has become tense and nearly paranoid as he's grown, although, by our standards, he is not one of the elders. Older than most, perhaps, but no where near the oldest to have survived.

I admit that I once sought to destroy this beauty, this strength hidden within a human body, but no more.

Never again.

He was truly beautiful during our battle, even as the Youko demon. No, even more so as the demon.

He works so hard to protect his pack, his teammates, lying there in sweat I would like nothing more than to wash off with my own tongue. To protect a pack is a trait fitting those of the wolves, not like any kitsune I have known - they were more interested in sex and pleasure. But my kitsune is different. He always has been, and always will be; that's why he's lived so long.

I will be of his pack. I will be his mate, and he will be mine. There is no denying this.

He is frightened of me though. He does not like what I offer him, though it is for his own good. He would flinch at my touch if he were so inclined, but it is not within his nature - nor the nature of any other demon - to show fear, and so he does not.

It is…disconcerting…that he does not show his feelings to me, or to anyone. Not even that little fire demon who eats at his pride, shoving him in the direction the shrimp feels is best, has seen him at his worst. I could almost feel insulted for the way he tricked my fox this afternoon and wore him out this evening…but I must admit, I did leave him the opening rather…obviously.

Besides, why should I concern myself over such a trivial matter when my fox is so fatigued that he won't notice that I have drugged his guard, and left him to sleep on the lower floors of this building? When he does not notice that I stay with him, and slip into the same bed as he sleeps in?

He will be upset when he wakes up.

I'll deal with that when the time comes, then.

-TBC-