Ch. 9 – Melting the Cold and Capturing the Warmth

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?" Youko questions. "You know if you don't tell me…" He leans over to whisper in her ear. "I'll have to touchier you a bit."

"Oh really?" Kagome doesn't seem to believe him.

"Yes, my dear miko." Youko smirks. "And I will enjoy every moment of it."

(In Koenma's Office)

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Raihoushi continues to stab at the rainbow-colored panel of buttons. Throughout the entire castle different things are occurring in different rooms. Down the hall the electric equipment in the ogre department is going haywire. The lights keep flickering on and off a floor down. Two floors down doors are repeatedly opening and shutting, making it difficult for people to pass through. Monitors are changing data to odd TV shows and news channels in different languages a floor up.

(In the ogre department)

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" A green ogre runs from his impending doom as he is violently attacked by killer red staplers.

"It's the sign of the apocalypse!" An orange ogre tries to fight back against a copy machine that's spitting out sharp blades of paper. Another ogre, this time a yellow one, runs around screaming and failing as he is being shocked by different remote controls.

"Help!" Yells a purple ogre as he is violently attacked by a stamp machine. "The stampers' have gone mad!" A heater chases a blue ogre around blowing out flames and setting him on fire.

"Someone get Lord Koenma immediately! Someone has to be in his office! Ow Ow! Hot flames! Water!"

(Elsewhere)

"AHA! I WIN! I TOTALLY KICKED YOU ASS!" Shita dances around. "IN YOUR FACE!"

Dai sighs, "Yes you won a match. Congrats. But that just makes it 42 to 315. Overall, you are still losing. Horribly."

"RRRAAH!" Shita attacks Dai. "I'll teach you to ruin my happy mood!!!"

(In Koenma's Office)

"Do you have any idea what you've done!!?" Koenma yells at Raihoushi who is mummified in chains and being held by 3 demons with sharpened spears. "Well!? Do You!!?!! It's going to take me all day to fix all the damage you've done!! Time that I should be using to help your sister heal!!!!!"

(Elsewhere)

"Why don't you just go to sleep Shita."

"…No…must…kill…must…win…"

"Shita you're going to need to sleep at some point. C'mon, let's take a break."

"Well I'm getting tired, I suggest we sleep. We've played through the night. Now it's time to shut down Shita." Daihoushi tries to pry the controller out of her fingers. "Let go of it."

"…Never…"

"Drop it this instant."

"…Never…" She bites him.

"AAA!!! LET GO!" Dai tries to pry her sharp teeth out of his hand, but they are imbedded quite deep and are starting to draw a lot of blood.

(Kagome's Room)

Kagome is passed out on the bed while Youko watches her from his chair." You had more energy then I thought the other day. You must really be feeling better." He yawns his eyes half closing. "You've tuckered me out, a feat not easily done. Well…I think I'll take a little nap." He yawns again. "I see you later when you're conscious." Youko shifts form and Kurama takes over.

"Wow." He blinks and looks over at Kagome. "I haven't seen Youko like that ever. You've really got him head over heels. I'll let you sleep, school should be starting soon." He gets up and starts to leave the room.

"Kurama…" A soft voice reaches his ears as he reaches the doorway.

He turns to see Kagome watching him with half-closed eyes. "You're supposed to be resting so you can fully heal."

"Are you leaving?"

Kurama walks back over to the bedside. "I don't have to if you don't want me to."

"Where are you going?"

"I was going to attend school, but I can stay if you wish."

"…Can I have a hug?" Kagome looks up at him.

"Sure." Kurama smiles, hugging her and letting her hold onto him for however long.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"I like getting hugs from you." She smiles, releasing him. "They're nice." She falls asleep.

Kurama just smiles, covers her with a blanket, and quietly leaves. He walks down the hall. "You've managed to melt Youko's cold heart and now you are starting to capture mine, Kagome. You are definitely a strange one, not that I mind. We'll see what happens later, once you're fully healed." He leaves Spirit World.

(Koenma's Office)

"I can't believe you! Look at my panel!" The control panel with all of the random buttons has wires sticking out, the buttons have black indents and the entire thing has smoke coming from it. "You were NOT supposed to go through my stuff!"

"I told you I didn't want Youko near my sister yet you let him court her! Of all people you had to pick him! He's evil!"

"He works for me! He's done his time!"

"No amount of repentance can make up for all his evil deeds in the past! I do NOT want someone like him near my sister! Evil will taint her hold powers!"

"THAT IS NOT YOUR DECISION TO MAKE NOW SHUT UP!!!" Koenma gets upset. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! Bring him to a cell, throw him in for the day and guard him."

"Yes Sir." The demons escort a chained Raihoushi from the room and to the lowest level of the palace, poking him with their spears along the way.

(Elsewhere)

Blood trails from the living room to a closet in a hallway, up a staircase to a room with a closed door. After a few minutes Daihoushi emerges from the bathroom, his hand covered in bandages. "That took longer than I anticipated." He walks downstairs and opens the closet. An unconscious Shita falls out along with a sledgehammer. He puts the sledgehammer back in the closet and picks Shita up." Now to put you somewhere…hmm…" He thinks about this for several seconds. "I guess I could try to bring you upstairs and put you in the unmarked room. You usually use that room when you stay over anyways." Dai carefully picks her up and attempts to bring the unconscious hell demon upstairs.

(Koenma's Office)

"Lord Koenma Sir?" Boton peeks through the door.

"What?" Koenma asks, trying to fix the damage to his papers.

"Have you seen Raihoushi?"

"I just sent him down to the dungeon; if you want him go see him. But he is not allowed out until tomorrow."

"What!?...Understood Sir." Boton leaves and heads for the lower floor.

"Lord Koenma Sir?" The blue ogre walks in.

"What do you want ogre? It better be good."

"Well, Sir, the priestess downstairs wants to see you."

"She should be sleeping right now."

"She requests to see you, your teenage form, when you have time today."

"Alright. Clean this mess. I'll be downstairs." Koenma disappears. He reappears outside the door to Kagome's room in his teenage form and quietly opens the door. He looks over to see what appears to be an unconscious Kagome. "I'll come back when you're awake." He turns to leave.

"I'm not sleeping." Kagome sits up and looks at him. "I would like to talk with you please."

"Ok." He walks over to the bed and sits in a chair. "What would you like to talk about?"

"What are your real reasons for suggesting that I stay?"