Within Darkness We Find Love

Chapter 3: To Gaze Into The Flame

A/N: I've been putting this everywhere, so here we go again. I apologize for any big mistakes there might be in this chapter. My glasses broke and now I am literally blind. Aside from that, thank you all for the reviews! And wow, some of you pointed out that part about Kurama falling out of the window. Thanks for all that! Special thanks to my beta Brokenshardsofhmyheart99!

I've really been on a bender and it shows
So why don't you blow me a kiss before she goes?

Dragging himself home was not a good plan, he decided after stopping yet again to rest. Even sleeping on the lawn of the mansion would've been better. Still, he knew there was a solid reason for getting tossed out. The way the young boy did it was not out of discourtesy, but he was rather rapid about it. "Perhaps he was worried someone would find us there together," he whispered. The theory was a good one. If there was indeed someone else there, then that person could be the one that takes care of the boy. "Yet why would that send him into a panicked frenzy to throw me out as fast as possible?"

Straightening up again, he did his best to clean his feet from the collected dirt. It wasn't working, but he still continued, ignoring whatever messages his brain was sending him. Having dirt caked on the bottoms of your feet didn't feel pleasant, after all. With a sigh, he began walking home again. For some reason, the chance of someone he knew finding him looking like that did not bother him. Which was necessary since he took notice of two familiar people approaching him.

The two figures stopped, then ran to him with immense speed. "Kurama? What hell happened to you?" It was Yusuke that had asked, blunt as ever. Smiling, Kurama nodded at the pair. "Don't nod and smile, tell us what happened!" Though he knew his friends were worried at the moment, he couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Nothing. I feel better than I look, in fact," he answered them. Though it looked as if his friends didn't believe him. It wouldn't surprise him if they asked if he someone had forced him to lie. He raised a hand in order to silence them both before they ran their mouths. "I'll tell you both what happened, but first… Why are you two out here this late at night?"

Kuwabara and Yusuke exchanged a look, not a good one. It was the type that made you think twice about knowing the answer. "Well, nothing really…" Kuwabara answered. "We just… did stuff…" The vague answer made him blink.

"I see… So it's best I don't know, right?" he asked, teasing. After receiving two serious nods, he laughed. "Should I just tell you both what happened?"

It was Yusuke who nodded and shouted. "Yes!" The raven-haired teen began leading them to the small park nearby. It was such a short distance that it didn't even bothered Kurama. "Now tell us, you sly fox, what happened?"

Before speaking, he cleared his throat. "You remember the mansion?" he began, as vague as their answer had been. It looked as if Yusuke was going to have a fit, so he raised his arm again and continued. "I went there tonight," he said and kept going before Yusuke or Kuwabara interrupted him, "I met a boy in there. His eyes were a strange color, but they looked so lonely… As if no one offered him the proper attention or care. Though he never spoke once. Well, he did, but he whispered and I couldn't make much from it."

"You went there? Kurama, we agreed we were going to go together!" Yusuke shouted. It was no wonder Yusuke had led them there. If they had remained were they were, the police would've been called and they would've gotten into trouble for disturbing the peace. "Why the hell did you?"

The other teen coughed. "He's right, you know. What if you had died? Your family would've been worried and sad and… Why?"

Composing himself back to normal, he bowed his head. "Part of it was to prove myself. I admit, that was a stupid reason. However, I could not just sit by and not investigate that mansion!" Towards the end, he had raised his head and voice at them. Both of his friends had taken a step back, away from him.

As usual, it was Yusuke who ventured first. "Why the hell not? We promised you, you bastard!"

Kurama stood up. "That mansion's history was been based on rumors and myths hat are not real! The truth has been caged in, never to be released! There was someone in there that needed our help… He still needs our help! Give me a better reason, and I'll submit!"

No one moved. The silence was strained, but neither of them could speak. Kurama kept his eyes focused on his two friends. It looked as if Kuwabara was to speak first, since he managed to look away from him. However, Yusuke kept up the glaring contest between them.

"So how is he?" As expected, Kuwabara managed to break the ice.

Pushing his hair back, Kurama thought of how best to answer the question. "The boy seems frightened by someone. Abuse is one of the things I know happened. He was so filthy and hurt, but he was kind enough to help me hen I fainted."

At that Yusuke gasped. "You fainted? Shit, Kurama, you didn't tell us that!"

"I know, but-"

"No buts!" interrupted Yusuke. "We're taking you home right now. That kid can wait for one a couple of hours, but you…"

He managed to evade the grasp that Yusuke was about to make on his arm. "No! I refuse, Yusuke," he looked straight at them. "That boy needs our help right now! I was going to wait, but now I realize that would be a mistake." He softened up his voice. "Please, he needs us," he pleaded. The two teens gave in, he noticed after their shoulders slumped. "Thank you," he said to them. His feet still bothered him, but he knew he could live without shoes for a couple of hours.

"What happened to your shoes?" Yusuke asked. Kurama felt his face become warm at the thought of having to explain to them what had happened.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry for the short chapter.