Kurama was suddenly aware of how freezing it was in his room. Hiei must have left the window open again. He did that every once and a while. The red head rubbed his eyes and glanced over at the window but it was locked. That in of itself was strange. The window was never locked in case Hiei decided to visit. But far more disturbing was the sheen of ice that covered the glass; it was on the inside pane. A slight creak and he whipped around instantly spotting the white haired vixen sitting on his desk with a half smile.
He reached for his plants scattered around the room but they wouldn't respond. Yuki smiled wider. "I'm sorry, Kurama. I decided to give the room a quick frost snap. Keep all those pesky plants of yours from attacking."
"What do you want?" Kurama asked eyes narrowed as he tensed on his spot in bed.
Yuki looked around the room. "You know…I didn't expect your room to look like this. It's so…normal. Not a hint of your past has leaked in here…ignoring the plants, of course. I heard what happened to you…Hunters. Bummer. But…you should be able to return to the Makai by now…why haven't you?" She asked turning back to him.
"That's none of your business." Kurama said trying to maintain a neutral tone. It wasn't often he found himself on this end of things. He was always the one sneaking in…not the one being snuck up on.
"No, I suppose not…I wonder if it has anything to do with that ningen woman I saw with you earlier…she smelled like you. I'd assume a relation?" She asked casually.
"You better not have hurt her!" He said angrily. The thought of his mother being attacked by a demon was positively frightening to the kitsune.
Yuki tilted her head to the side. "Come now Kurama I take it your nose isn't that bad. You're ningen family is safe asleep in their beds and I haven't a speck of blood anywhere on me. Theirs or otherwise."
"You never answered my question." Kurama said slightly mollified that he didn't, in fact, smell blood.
Yuki smiled. "That's right I didn't…huh, that's faster than most people notice. I can usually run them in circles with my tangents for a good hour before they realize I never told them anything. I guess you haven't lost your touch completely."
"So why are you here?" Kurama asked again. His mind was racing as he thought out his options. The rose in his hair was protected from Yuki's frost but would he be able to reach it before she stopped him? It didn't seem likely. For now he'd stall.
"I was told I wasn't allowed to come near any of you…and being a vixen I just had to disobey." Yuki said sliding off the desk silently. "You know…when I saw your red hair I must say I was apprehensive. But now that I see those eyes of yours, I see the fox in you." She nodded a bit. "You're quite handsome you know. But I suppose that's only fitting to the great Youko Kurama."
Kurama relaxed a fraction. Now this was a tactic he was familiar with. Flattery he could deal with. "What does my appearance have to do with anything?" Silently he reached out to try and contact Hiei. The telepathic little fire demon was sure to still be nearby with Yuki on the loose.
Yuki shrugged. "I've been told I get sloppy when it comes to handsome men. If it's true I suppose you have that working in your favor. And don't bother with the telepath. I surrounded the house with talismans…keeps everything inside. I have all sorts of wonderful little toys like that. I got these from a monk about five hundred years ago…fairly strong but an utter pervert. Oh well, we all have our flaws." She said as she glanced at the desk she had been sitting on. She picked up a sheet of Kurama's math homework and made a face. "Why do you bother with this ningen schooling? You can't possibly gain anything from it. And I highly doubt you'll be staying in the Ningenkai for that long."
"Again, that is none of your business." Kurama pointed out. He shifted his weight slightly so that he could reach up to his hair without losing his balance. Yuki looked up and he stopped moving instantly. Luckily he hadn't tried to reach his hidden weapon yet.
Yuki shrugged. "I suppose I'll guess then." She glanced over to his dresser where a picture of Kurama and his mother was sitting. "I take it your mother has something to do with it then." She emphasized 'mother' as if she found the word utterly fascinating. "Does she know?"
"Know what?" Kurama asked before he could stop himself.
"That you're a demon of course." Yuki clarified.
"There's no need for her to know." Kurama stated calmly. He wouldn't let this Vixen find something to blackmail him with. Especially not his demonic heritage.
"You should." She said simply. "I don't think she'd mind all that much. I mean you've done so much for her and all. I heard you used my Forlorn Hope for her." She added with a smile. "Quite interesting you managed to cheat the price of it."
"I didn't cheat anything." He said honestly. The mirror had decided to not take his life. He had been fully prepared to give it up for Shiori.
Yuki shrugged again. "I don't much mind either way. But still…Don't you think it's a little dangerous hiding such a thing from her? After all, so many demons could use it against you should they prove ruthless enough. Lucky for you, Tartarus has mellowed me some and I'm not particularly interested in hurting ningen. I can't say the same for my current partner though."
"Partner?" Kurama echoed.
Yuki put a hand to her mouth. "Oops, there I go blabbing secrets again. I just completely forget sometimes." She said, obviously not meaning a single word of it. "But yes, I have a partner. I don't much get along with him but since he sprung me from jail I do owe him a favor. Not that he's given me anything to do yet…"
"You don't strike me as the honorable type." Kurama prompted.
"Well I am, first and foremost, a thief. And I think you know quite well the honor code of such a profession. Once I make my debt up to Menzi I'm leaving this ill advised plan of his. It's not worth my fur being used as a rug." Yuki said walking closer to the bed that Kurama was still sitting on. Her bright white tail swung slightly as she walked and her fox ears twitched on her head. "You know…maybe Menzi's right about me…" She said leaning down to be face to face with him.
He could feel smell her clearly. Crisp wind and a hint of mint. Something he'd always associated with winter months. "Maybe I am getting sloppy. Or…maybe I'm just going soft…hard to say." Her blue eyes were almost hypnotic with how intensely blue they were. He couldn't look away.
There was a freezing gust of wind and Yuki was gone. With a slight gasp Kurama grabbed his rose and turned to see the window wide open, the curtains blowing in the chilly night air. Kokoro Yuki definitely lived up to her reputation.
