Shit.
I had no plans for this chapter – it kind of just happened. Then it was going to be a beginning scene for a different chapter, but it…exploded. So now you have a semi-short, completely unplanned-for chapter. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
"Is this my fault?"
Hiei took a deep breath, staring at the large military encampment blocking the front gates of Sha'kinn.
"No."
"You lying to me, man?"
Hiei shuddered, trying to dispel the feeling of dread that had suddenly penetrated his entire being.
"It would be impossible to blame either of us for this," he answered at last. "Circumstances got out of our control." A shuddering breath. "Kurama got here first; there's nothing we can do to change that. We just need to rethink our plans now, that's all."
"It's gonna be okay though, right?"
"If I tell you yes, then I would merely be patronizing you. If I say no, then what have we gone through all this for?"
"Kurama's really down there?"
"He is."
An arm wrapped around him from behind. It was still strange to wake and realize he had at last begun a relationship with the former human – even stranger was the fact that Yusuke was so free with casual displays such as this. He was so very different than Kurama…but Hiei didn't think that difference was a bad thing.
"Then everything's gonna' be okay." Yusuke decided.
Hiei allowed the embrace for a moment more before pulling away. Right now there was not the time to enjoy their new relationship as it should be. Hopefully, they would have time enough to explore and enjoy it soon – once all this was over.
"Come on," he ordered, turning his back on the city and returning to their camp site. "We have some planning to do."
Yusuke was having a good dream. He dreamed that he was in bed with Hiei and Kurama came to join them.
It was strange because, in the dream, Kurama was in his demon form and, though that form was certainly lovely, it was the human form he personally preferred (the slight personality difference between the two being a bit too much for him to feel easy with thinking about both forms interchangeably).
He dreamed he felt the light touch of a hand against his cheek, and opened his eyes to peer into a pair of golden eyes filled with sadness.
"Yusuke," the voice of his dream spoke in a whisper, voice mournful. "I told you not to come here."
The hand moved from his cheek to his hair, sliding through the long strands in a lingering caress.
"What are we going to do?" The fox murmured in concern.
"Mmm?"
"I managed to slip my leash tonight because I had to, my dear, but my absence will not go long unnoticed." Kurama chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully a moment – a nervous habit left over from his human form. "My security will not be so lax when they discover I have slipped away yet again…by this time tomorrow, there may be nothing left of the man you knew at all. Their voices call so strongly."
"It'll be all right." Yusuke mumbled in response.
A sigh, much grieved. Kurama's gaze moved past him to Hiei, cuddled against his back.
"I asked you to protect him, Yusuke."
"'M tryin'."
"Were that the case, you two would be as far away from this place as possible." The fox informed him with another sigh, reaching past to brush his knuckle against Hiei's cheek. "Nevertheless, it is good to see you two together at last. I will forever be grateful for this last sight of you."
Yusuke was beginning to wake up a little. He tried to sit up, but Hiei's arms around him and a gentle pressure from Kurama prevented that from happening.
"Leave tomorrow, Yusuke. Forget you ever knew me. Take Hiei and leave and do not look back."
"Why are you talkin' like this?"
His hand moved, smoothing Yusuke's hair back, sliding over one silken-fuzzed ear.
"You do look lovely, my dear." He said wistfully. "I regret I will not be able to get to know you in this form."
"Kurama?"
"Promise me you will leave tomorrow morning. You have to be the rational one, Yusuke. You have to be the one to keep the both of you safe."
"Don't talk like that. We found you. We're going to take you home." Yusuke was completely awake now, and he knew he wasn't dreaming. Kurama was there, kneeling beside him in the darkness, a steady hand holding him down. Yusuke was sure he could force the issue if he wanted to, but he wanted to wait until it was the right moment – better to catch the fox by surprise.
"Don't be childish now." Kurama scoffed, looking away.
"Why is this so important to you?" He demanded. "Don't you even realize how much you're hurting Hiei?"
"It wouldn't have been an issue if you had heeded my warning!" He hissed back, suddenly angry. His eyes blazed with a furious fire as he turned his gaze back on Yusuke.
"Like hell. Do you know what it did to him, seeing you in that alley in Ely'afreba, hearing you reject him, and having no idea what he had done wrong?" He had to fight not to yell, not to force his way up and scream and rant.
He didn't want to wake Hiei.
"Do you even have any idea how much he loves you?" He demanded.
For a moment, complete shock filled Kurama's eyes. He sat there in the cold moonlight in a stunned silence before giving himself a small shake and a weak laugh.
"Don't be silly, Yusuke. Hiei completely disdains such weak sentiments."
"Let me up."
"Yusuke…"
"Let me up. I have to show you something."
"I can't trust that you will not try something rash."
"I won't do anything, I swear. I just want to show you something."
Kurama sighed, but reluctantly released his hold on him. He settled down in Yusuke's place next to Hiei as the former human moved to their bags.
Hiei curled comfortably around Kurama, arms going around his waist. A small frown line between his eyes smoothed itself out as the fox began to forlornly run his fingers through the smaller demon's hair.
Yusuke stared at the two a moment, suddenly longing to have Kurama back so strongly that it was a physical ache in his chest. For a moment he tortured himself with the thought of all the time he had wasted refusing to start anything with Hiei.
Kurama, perhaps feeling his eyes on him, turned his gaze slowly back to him.
"My dear?"
"Why do you have to do this?"
"Yusuke…"
Shaking his head, Yusuke turned to the packs and began to rifle through them. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for.
He returned to Kurama's side carrying a small box.
"Jewelry is not going to change my mind, my dear." Kurama murmured with a fond smile. He nevertheless opened the box when it was handed to him, shaking out the single tear gem Yusuke had saved from their time in Ely'afreba.
"Don't play dumb now, man. You know what this is. Now tell me he doesn't love you."
Kurama's hand closed around the small gem as he looked away.
"I…" his voice cracked and he had to try again to speak. "I had not accounted for this."
"Do you understand now, you idiot?"
"No, I don't. Hiei isn't the type…"
"And Hiei isn't the only one who loves you," he shot fiercely, "So you're going to stop being so damned stupid and you're going to come home with us. We're going to figure this out, and everything…everything's gonna' be fine."
Kurama blinked rapidly, as if fighting down his own emotion.
"Never did I dream to receive such a gift. It is truly something of which I am undeserving."
"With the way you've been acting lately? Hell yeah it's undeserved. But we love you and we're gonna' forgive you – but you have to come home now."
Kurama glanced at the moon, murmured something about 'time,' before turning his gaze back to Yusuke. His eyes were wet and glittering with unexpressed emotion, his expression heavy with sorrow.
"You must leave tomorrow, Yusuke." He said yet again, struggling somewhat. He rose quickly and had managed to take two steps away before Yusuke even realized what was happening.
"What the hell? How can you say that knowing - ?"
"Naïveté doesn't suit you my dear. Love is a wondrous thing; however, its existence does not make the world a good or beautiful place. Bad things continue to happen despite the existence of love and there's nothing which can be done. That is the lesson humanity has taught me."
He began to move away.
Yusuke sprang to his feet with a speed that surprised even him.
He didn't give himself the time to wonder about it, because he was almost immediately moving forward, catching up to Kurama before the fox even knew he had risen, barreling into him and toppling them both to the ground.
"Hell if I'm letting you go anywhere!" he snarled, pinning him down with all his strength, surprising himself with how much that strength had grown since his transformation.
"Yusuke, you cannot possibly understand - !"
"And how the hell am I supposed to understand when you won't even try to explain it?" He demanded, pressing his face into the fox's back. "We're going to work this out, Kurama, whatever it is. We'll work it out if I have to sit on you till Hiei wakes up. We'll work it out if I have t' fuckin' tie you up, so help me. We are going to work this out, though."
"My time is nearly up, Yusuke." Kurama panted, struggling under him.
"I won't let you go!"
"I don't want to hurt you!"
"What the hell do you think you've been doing?"
"Please Yusuke! There's no way for you to possibly understand! I will lose myself forever if I hurt you – and, worse, you will never forgive me!"
"Haven't you been listening to me at all?" Yusuke screamed.
Kurama cried out, struggling beneath him in a strange parody of more pleasant things, as he continued to try to convince him that he was making a dire mistake; that he would regret it forever if he didn't let him up and that time was nearly up.
"Hiei!" Yusuke yelled, trying to wake the smallest demon. When Hiei recognized the energy signatures of those around him, and when he trusted those who owned the signals, he could (and would) sleep through anything. "Hiei! Damn it, Hiei, wake the fuck up!"
Kurama grew suddenly, deathly still beneath him.
A cold wind swept over Yusuke – his only warning before he suddenly found himself flying through the air. His back struck a tree painfully and he slumped to the ground as Kurama pulled himself slowly to his feet and turned to face him.
A cruel, unfamiliar smile twisted the fox's lips, frightening in its dreamy quality. There was something in his eyes – some feral, unpredictable light that Yusuke had never seen before.
He was beautiful, but utterly wild – dangerous like a stalking tiger is dangerous. There was nothing even remotely human in his eyes.
Yusuke's breath caught in his throat, and it wasn't from desire.
He knew it was Youko he was looking at.
But something was off. This Youko did not possess Kurama's humanity, nor his keen intelligence. This Youko was pure animal.
He approached in a graceful saunter, his muscles rolling like liquid under his skin. He reached him before Yusuke could gain his feet, wrapping his long, pale fingers around the former human's throat and lifting him high into the air.
"Kurama!"
No recognition of the name. There was nothing in those eyes of the man he knew, nothing he could appeal to. This was not only a creature who did not understand love, but one which knew nothing of logic and knowledge. There was only the hunt for him, Yusuke realized. The hunt – and the joy of the kill.
A slow, gorgeous smile spread across the fox's face and his hand began to tighten with infinite slowness. His long, sharp nails began to cut into Yusuke's skin.
Black spots danced across his vision, and Yusuke wondered if his lover would strangle him, or rip out his throat first.
The fox let out a sudden growl of pain and dropped Yusuke to the ground, spinning around with a snarl and Yusuke caught sight of the long, shallow slash in the Youko's back.
Beyond stood Hiei, fully awake, sword drawn.
"Kurama, what the hell are you doing?"
The fox snarled at him wordlessly, turning again as Yusuke slowly, painfully picked himself off the ground.
Finding himself outnumbered, the creature fled.
Hiei was at his side in an instant, forcing his head up as he examined the wounds at his throat.
"Hiei…" His voice came out a rasp.
"Don't talk now, kitten."
"What woke you up?"
He hesitated, some vulnerability in his eyes.
"I was dreaming of my fox," he said at last, something quiet and vulnerable in his voice. "It was so real, I dreamed I could feel his energy. Then his energy…changed."
"That wasn't him."
"No." Hiei agreed. "It wasn't."
To Be Continued
Perhaps I've overdone the tear gem angle. Can't say as I really care – the fact that Hiei would cry for anyone is really, really important. I just can't emphasize this enough.
Response to Unsigned Reviews:
BballAnimeLover89 - I agree with you. Though...I don't think he'd be very happy if we let him know how very cute he is...
kit-kit - They're glad, too.
Curry - No problem. Enjoying it more now, I hope?
hanahan-chan - No worries; Hiei enjoys torturing his kitten far too much for the nickname to ever go away. Just wait until Yusuke discovers a nickname for Hiei. Now, that'll be fun.
Thanks everyone; see ya next time!
Kit
PS: I now have a LJ account! Sometimes I will use this to talk about my stories, sometimes it will be merely for me to rant and rave and just generally comment on anything else I feel like. Anyway, if anyone's interested, it can be found at penguin-sama (dot) livejournal (dot) com.