We are now at chapter three of the lovely Roses & Feathers.
Just for those of you who may have overlooked it-This is a yaoi.
You have been warned.
-"Okay. That is all for today." Kurama said sternly as he stood once more. He raised a hand before any could object. "If it is still raining tomorrow, training will be cancelled and I will continue, alright?" he called over his shoulder while sliding the outside door open. The kids all murmured, some agreeing, others upset, and then began to split up into smaller groups and heading to their rooms.
"You sure are being generous today." Dark said with a light laugh as he stood up and put out the lanterns in the room.
"I actually enjoy telling them. It's been a while since we've brought all that up..." Kurama called back to the angel before he walked outside.
Dark followed and spread his black wings out above the two to shield the rain. "How far into it are you going to tell them?" he asked the fox with a slight smirk.
"As far as I see suitable." The kitsune replied. The two both started chuckling at the thought and walked into their house apart from the main house.-
The story continues…
The kitsune had remained unconscious for over a half hour now and it was already sunset. Dark sighed and stood up, glancing around. "This doesn't look like the kinda place to stay at night." He muttered, noting a few movements in the trees. He glanced down at Kurama. "You'll be alright here for a moment, right?" he asked, as if expecting the fox to actually answer.
He then let out a sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, I'll be back shortly." He said quietly before walking off into the forest in search for some kind of shelter. About forty-five minutes later, he had run into what looked like an old bandit hideout inside a cave. The cave was in a pretty good location too. Water was only a few yards away, plus the cave was pretty secluded by a thick group of spruce.
Dark returned to the clearing where he had left Kurama to find him still out cold. "Damn. Don't tell me I have to take him there…" he muttered, a hint of annoyance in his tone. The dirt beneath and around the fox had turned crimson from all the blood and most of the wounds were still bleeding. The thief sighed and kneeled down, pulling Kurama up then stood, taking the demon up with him.
It wasn't as easy as he had thought. 'Damn, how much does he weigh?' the datenshi wondered in his head as he struggled to keep the two up. He bit down on his bottom lip slightly and began to make his way to the cave.
About ten to fifteen minutes later, the two thieves had arrived at the hideout. Dark's seemed to have lost his strength at the moment of entering and stumbled towards the back, then falling to the ground, Kurama following. The fox had awakened at the moment to find himself on top of the angel. Perfect timing. "Do I even want to know what you were doing?" he asked coldly.
"It's not what you think!" Dark said back quickly, noticing how it appeared.
"Right." Kurama replied dryly, apparently not buying the phantom's words. "If it wasn't, wouldn't you have moved already?" he added.
"I can't though. You're the one on me." Dark said, staring up at the kitsune.
"So?" the fox asked, a slight smirk growing on his lips.
"You don't want to move?" Dark asked, confused. The fox made no real reply, just a simple 'eh'. Just as Dark had gotten an idea for their current position, Kurama winced and pulled away, one of his wounds acting up. 'Screw that idea.' Dark thought a bit dissatisfied as he sat up.
"You okay?" he called over to Kurama who had his head down and his body was quivering.
"Yeah…I just need some fresh air." He replied quietly while rising to his feet and stumbling outside. Dark sighed and looked around the dark cave. He pulled two black feathers out and let them hover in the air, a faint light emitting from them. The cave lit up and the thief noticed it actually had a few of the previous owner's things remaining.
Kurama groaned and dropped to his knees at the water's edge, holding a hand to his forehead. A small cloud of smoke began to rise from the ground around him and some consumed him. When it cleared, he had gone through quite a change. He was now in his human form, rather then kitsune.
He glanced down at the reflection in the water and pushed a strand of now-auburn hair out of his face. "How will I explain this?" he asked himself weakly, slowly standing back up. His body was even weaker now since the wounds had followed. Shuichi let out a soft sigh and began to return to the cave.
Dark heard an approaching figure and stepped back into the remaining shadows out of instinct. He kept his eyes locked on the entrance, waiting. As Shuichi made his way in, he got no farther then a few feet before Dark got behind him, locking an arm around the boy's neck.
"What do you want?" Dark asked harshly.
"Am I not welcome here?" Shuichi asked in confusion, glancing over his shoulder at the thief. "It's me…Kurama." he added before the other could reply.
"But you're a human." Dark said, loosening his hold slightly.
"My real form weakened because of the wounds. I was forced to switch back." Shuichi explained, pulling out of the angel's weakened grip.
"Oh…sorry." He muttered, walking over to a spot in the corner where one of the cots was. He had fixed up another nearby for Kurama.
"Awhile back my youkai form was attacked and as a last resort to live, had to enter a human child's body. I then had to relive life in this new body as Shuichi Minamino, living along the humans and learning to accept them. Just recently, I was given the ability to switch back though." Shuichi told the other to clear things up, noting the confusion.
"Oh…okay." Dark said, obviously still confused by it all. It couldn't be helped though. As Kurama went to sit down on the place Dark had made, his whole body flinched and he collapsed to the ground. "Damnit…you need help." The phantom muttered to him, going over beside the fox. He then went over to the pile of bandit's stuff, grabbed a few things, and went out to the water.
He filled a small wooden bucket with water and dropped a few cloths in it, then returned to the cave. He kneeled beside Shuichi and grabbed one of the cloths, wringed it out, then placed it onto his forehead. Dark was certainly no doctor, but he would do what he knew. Most came naturally. He just hoped it'd be enough until he could get help.