II
The morning after the party was sunny and clear. Kurama departed from his house early and headed for Urameshi Atsuko's old condo, where Yusuke and Keiko had taken up residence after Sakuya's birth. By the time Kurama showed up, Yusuke was already standing outside.
"Thanks for taking Sakuya-chan," Yusuke said, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. "Kuwabara was supposed to take her, but apparently someone called in sick at the pharmacy and he had to cut his vacation short."
"Some things can't be helped," Kurama said, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, I don't mind taking Sakuya-chan. I pass by her preschool every day on my way to work, so it isn't exactly out of my way."
"Yeah."
The door opened, and Keiko walked out of the condo, holding her daughter's hand in her own. Sakuya was dressed in a pale pink shirt and a jumper made of some dusty rose material. A matching headband swept her chestnut hair away from her face, though some of the shorter strands were left to hang over her forehead.
As soon as she saw Kurama, Sakuya released her mother's hand and ran up to hug him around the legs.
"Good morning, Kurama-san!" Sakuya greeted happily. Kurama smiled calmly, patting her on the head as if she were an overeager puppy.
"Good morning, Sakuya-chan," he responded, carefully disengaging himself from Sakuya. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah!" Sakuya said with a quick nod. Kurama offered one of his hands to the young girl, and she beamed as she clasped his hand in her own. "Guess what? Sanada-sensei is bringing in a new fish for our aquarium."
"Oh, really? What kind?"
"We don't know. It's a surprise!"
"A surprise, hmm? That sounds like fun," Kurama said. He glanced over his shoulder at Yusuke, nodding at him for reassurance as he and Sakuya began their trek.
Sakuya babbled cheerfully about everything that happened in her preschool while they walked down the street, and Kurama felt some of the tension he had been feeling since yesterday melt away as the girl's empathic waves washed over him. They turned a corner and began to walk down an empty street lined with grass and trees, and Kurama glanced down at Sakuya. He frowned when he caught sight of something he had never seen before.
"Sakuya-chan, what is this?" Kurama asked, fingering the cord of black satin that rested around her neck. Sakuya hummed in confusion, but never stopped walking as she glanced up at the kitsune. She pulled her necklace out from underneath her jumper, the pendant gleaming in the sunshine.
"I'm supposed to hide this under my jumper so that I don't lose it," Sakuya said, turning the pendant so that Kurama could see the molded dragons more clearly. "Do you like it? Hiei-san gave it to me." The mention of Hiei's name made Kurama stop dead in his tracks. Sakuya blinked in confusion, turning around to look at the pale kitsune. "Kurama-san? What's wrong?"
Kurama closed his eyes, attempting to recover some of his composure. He soon opened them again and resumed walking, though his face was several shades paler than it should have been.
"You met Hiei?" the kitsune asked, his tone guarded. Sakuya nodded as she began to walk beside him.
"Mm. He was at the party yesterday. He was really nice," Sakuya replied. She tipped her head to one side, looking at Kurama curiously. "Do you know Hiei-san, too?"
Kurama did not stop walking, but his eyes fell to the ground in front of him.
"He was my best friend, once upon a time," Kurama said softly. "He was offered a chance to return to his homeland, but I refused to leave with him. We haven't really spoken to each other since then. I sometimes wonder if I should have gone..." Kurama glanced down at Sakuya, who was staring at him confusedly, and he shook his head with a chuckle. "Never mind. It's nothing a child should be concerned about."
"But why?" They began to walk past a large tree. "Why didn't you leave?"
Kurama opened his mouth to answer, but he stopped abruptly, hearing a soft hum that made every muscle in his body tense. He snapped his head around quickly, searching for the source of the unnerving hum, and his eyes grew several times larger than normal as burning red aura shot toward them from behind.
Sakuya only had time to gasp as Kurama grabbed her by the front of her jumper and tugged her onto the grass that grew on the side of the street. Barely a second after they reached the ground, the sphere of crimson energy rushed over their heads, ruffling their hair and clothing as it slammed into the tree that they had been passing. An enormous scorch mark appeared on the tree's bark when the energy crashed into the trunk.
Kurama moved into a crouching position and snatched three blades of grass from the patch of greenery, staring at the place the attack had come from. His emerald eyes darkened and narrowed dangerously.
"Stay down, Sakuya-chan," Kurama ordered in a soft voice.
In the middle of the empty street stood two demons. The smaller one was a female wearing a black cheongsam that hugged the generous curves of her body. Her raven hair was long and flowed like a banner on the wind, and her deep brown eyes were blank. She was poised in a defensive stance, with her feet spread apart on the ground, and her hands were clasped in front of her lap, the pointer fingers drawn together in an imitation of a gun.
Her male companion was nearly six feet tall. The red haori he was wearing over his cream kimono had a navy dragon embroidered on the back, and it had been left open to reveal his tanned chest. His dark blue hair draped around his shoulders, shaggy and uneven, and a navy bandana was secured around his forehead. Bandages were wrapped around his forearms to keep his strong muscles from tearing away from his body.
"Youko Kurama," the male demon acknowledged after a moment of silence. He had a comfortable drawl that conveyed ease and self-confidence. "Fancy meeting you here. You're not who we're after today, so why dontcha just step aside?"
Kurama rose to his feet, staring at the two demons. His eyes had hardened until they resembled emeralds, sharp and lacking the warmth they normally displayed.
"Who are you?" he asked in a cold voice.
"You are not our target, Youko Kurama," the female said, her tone as blank and emotionless as her eyes. She calmly raised her clasped hands so that her fingers were pointed at him, and a sphere of crimson energy began to shimmer at her fingertips. "Step aside, and you shall not be harmed."
"C'mon, you don't need to be so cold. He asked us a question, and I don't see any reason not to answer," the male demon reproached. The female, who had previously displayed no signs of emotion, rolled her eyes at the male's playfulness. He merely rolled his own eyes back at her, and then turned to look at Kurama, flashing the kitsune an easy smile. "The name's Takai, and my partner here is named Hoshi."
"Names are of no importance," Hoshi said sharply, apparently trying to compensate for Takai's easygoing demeanor with her own professionalism. "This is your last chance. Step aside now, or we will have no choice but to harm you."
"It looked to me as if you were already trying to harm me. Or was that supposed to be a warning shot?" Kurama said, his eyes focused on the sphere of energy that glowed at the female demon's fingertips.
"We came for the girl," Takai said, nodding his head in Sakuya's direction. "Hand her over now, and you can go free. I really don't wanna have to hurt someone as cute as you just to get at her."
"Retreat might be a good idea for both of you." Kurama's eyes narrowed even further as he moved into a graceful stance. He brought his hands in front of him, elegant and ready to attack or defend as necessary, and poured some of his energy into the blades of grass that he held between his fingers. Each blade lengthened and became as sharp as the edge of a knife. "If you so much as touch her, you die."
Takai's dark eyes moved along each of the grass blades avidly.
"Your control over plants is impressive. I always thought that kitsune controlled fire," he murmured. The demon unfastened the belt that kept his haori in place and tossed the coat away, allowing the red cloth to pool on the asphalt of the street. He crouched down in a stance that vaguely resembled kung-fu, that easy smile lingering on his face. "Wanna see what I can do?"
There was a moment of pause. A gust of wind drifted from down the street, blowing gently through the area and causing the leaves on the trees to rustle.
He never saw him move. As soon as the breeze had passed, Takai appeared in front of him, and Kurama had to raise his grass blades above his head in order to block a downward chop from Takai's left hand. The demon's bare hand was flashing with pale blue energy that crackled with black sparks.
Kurama struggled to keep the hand from descending upon him, but it was not an easy feat, as Takai's physical strength was greater than his own. Kurama glanced up at his opponent to see if the demon was having as much trouble as he was, but he felt his heart plummet when he saw that the taller male was hardly putting forth any effort. Takai was staring down at him, his dark eyes gleaming as his energy protected his skin from the sharp edges of the grass blades.
"Not bad," the demon commented. Grabbing Kurama's left forearm with his right hand, he leaned down suddenly, pressing his firm mouth against Kurama's lips in a quick kiss.
The move startled the kitsune so much that he nearly released his energy from the grass blades. His eyes had become round and wide from shock, but moments later, they narrowed into slits. He turned his grass blades around and slashed at the demon with all his strength, letting out a cry of fury. Takai was forced to step back in order to dodge the blow, which had been aimed at his bare neck, and the demon laughed, apparently pleased.
"Takai, stop fooling around. We were hired to collect the child, not toy with one of her guardians," Hoshi said in a disapproving tone. She was standing on the other side of the clearing, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed over her chest, apparently having chosen to let her partner handle the fight alone.
"'All work and no play,'" Takai said as he slashed his glowing hand at Kurama, this time aiming to chop the kitsune horizontally across the waist. At the same moment, Kurama stomped his left heel into the ground, and the grass beneath his foot matured instantly, forming a small barrier that blocked Takai's hand. As the demon pulled his hand from the wall of squirming grass, Kurama struck. Takai, however, was much faster than he had anticipated, and drew away before Kurama could actually harm him.
Takai glanced down to assess the damage. He had mostly evaded Kurama's attack, the grass blades only managing to tear the front of his kimono and leave some cuts across his chest. Smiling at the wounds, Takai used the palm of his free hand to wipe the blood away. He then brought the hand to his mouth so that he could lap up the blood, staring at the kitsune as he did so.
Moments later, Takai moved forward again, his hand sweeping down in a final chopping motion. Blue energy gleamed menacingly around his hand, crackling with black electricity. His aura provided the demon with so much power that, on contact with Kurama's blades, the plants shattered. The kitsune leapt backward into the branches of the scorched tree, allowing the broken grass to drift to the asphalt as useless shreds.
A hand-to-hand fighter... I have to keep my distance.
Kurama swept his hair over his shoulder elegantly, pushing his energy into the rosebud that he kept behind his ear. The bud quickly matured, lengthening and blossoming into a red rose.
With a snap of his hand and another burst of green energy, the red rose elongated to form a green whip that was covered with deadly thorns. Kurama jumped from the tree, lashing down at Takai as he was in midair. The demon managed to dodge the brunt of the attack, though the thorns of the whip tore at the sleeve of his kimono and sprayed a few drops of blood on the cream cloth.
"You're really trying, huh?" the demon asked, sounding amused.
Kurama lashed out again, but instead of dodging, Takai reached out and caught the end of the rose whip with one glowing hand. A handsome smirk appeared on his face as he pulled with both hands, forcing Kurama to take a reluctant step toward him. The kitsune tugged uselessly on the handle of his weapon, and when he realized that he could not free it from the demon's grasp, he released his end. The weapon became a rose once more.
"A present?" Takai asked, bringing the rose to his face and inhaling its scent. His dark eyes fell halfway closed as he breathed the sweet perfume of the flower. "Your scent, too. Real romantic."
Despite his best efforts to stay calm, Kurama could not help the lovely blush that warmed his cheeks. This has gone on long enough.
"Fuka Enbujin!" Kurama shouted. Thousands of lavender petals appeared, seemingly caught in an unseen twister. They surrounded the kitsune, drawing together in a protective shell. Some of the petals struck the tree behind him, cutting leaves from their branches and leaving deep scars in the trunk.
"So beautiful," Takai murmured breathlessly, his dark eyes gleaming as he stared at the scarred tree. His smile widened. "I'm gonna enjoy tearing you apart...in more ways than one."
"Orders, Takai," Hoshi reminded the demon. "We need to wrap this up. You can indulge in your fantasies later."
Kurama raised his arm and swung it at Takai, causing the sharpened petals to fly toward the demon.
"Hoshi takes herself way too seriously," Takai said casually, shaking his head. "But I guess she has a point. There'll be time to play with you later."
The demon dodged to the side, leaving the sharpened petals to sail past him harmlessly. Kurama gasped, taking a step backward as the demon ran at him, a blur of speed. Before he could so much as scream, Takai appeared in front of him, smashing the heel of his hand into the stunned kitsune's chest. A moment later, the demon appeared behind him, and a chop connected with the back of Kurama's neck. A pained moan escaped the kitsune's lips as he tumbled forward.
"We were ordered to collect Urameshi's daughter," Hoshi told Takai. "You know that we are going to have our pay cut for being late."
"Eh, don't worry so much, Hoshi," Takai said unconcernedly. "We can take him to the boss as a present. He'll get over the delay real quick."
Kurama let out a weak moan, struggling feebly as Takai picked him up and swung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The last thing Kurama heard before passing out was Sakuya's scream of terror.
A/N: Sorry. I know it shouldn't have been so easy for Takai to beat Kurama, but I'm really, really bad with fight scenes. (wonders why she writes fanfics for a fighting anime) Anyway, I hope you liked this. Oh yeah, the characters from this chapter are based on Kikyo from Inuyasha and Tsukioka Tsunan from Rurouni Kenshin. Incidentally, Takai's comment about kitsune: traditionally, they control fire. Kurama's a freak. (dodges various sharp objects) Kidding! Sheesh.