Within Darkness We Find Love
Chapter 5: Breaking
A/N: Special thanks to Brokenshardsofmyheart99, who would've checked this if there had been time. I'm sorry for taking so long. Thank you for the lovely reviews. I appreciate every single one of them.
A kiss and I will surrender
Yusuke remained long after Kuwabara had departed from them, for fear of angering his sister. "You sure about this? I could take the kid back to my house. My mom probably won't even notice him," Yusuke offered.
Feeling the young boy's hand tighten on his arm, Kurama nodded. "You could take him," he said and felt the boy's grip strengthen, enough to leave a bruise. "However, I don't think he would feel as safe. It's a kind offer, Yusuke. Thank you, but I think I'll come up with a lame reason for having a guest over." The boy's hand relaxed, but it still felt tense.
"If you say so. I'll call you later to see how things are going, okay?" With a quick wave, Yusuke began to walk away.
Although they were still alone, Kurama felt as if they were being watched. It was an odd sensation to be feeling when the streets were empty. Shaking his thoughts away, he focused on the boy in his arms. "We should get going. Until I come up with an excuse, you'll have to be very quiet. Try not to make any noise when we're in my room, okay?" he asked.
The boy's crimson eyes glinted, like rubies in the sun. He nodded, his response to his question. "I want to ask what your name is, but I have a feeling that you won't tell me. Just know that you're safe now." In his arms, the boy nodded once before resting his head against his shoulder.
It had been a very good thing that his parents and step-brother had not been home. When they had reached the front door, Kurama had realized that his keys were missing. No matter where he looked for them, he couldn't find them. "I had them a while ago," he muttered as he switched the boy to his other arm. Although he had tried to carry the boy and search for his keys at the same time, it proved to be difficult for him to manage. They both fell down, the boy on top of him. "Not one of my brightest ideas, is it?" he asked the boy, who shook his head with what resembled a glare on his face.
Sitting up, he bit his lip as he thought of an idea. Before long, the boy began to tug at his hair, which made him cry out. The boy stopped tugging his hair in an instant. "Thanks," he said, but noticed that the boy was no longer near him. Turning to his left, he saw the boy holding up his arms in a defensive manner. It looked as if he expected to be struck.
"Do you think I'm angry?" His question caused the boy to look up at him, eyes still wary. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm not, really. Come here, so we can find a way inside my home." Although it took a few minutes, the boy got up and walked to him. As he neared him, Kurama expected the boy to stay by his side, but the boy embraced him instead.
"The window!" he shouted, causing the boy the jump and look up at him. Realizing what had happened, Kurama sighed. "I, uh, got an idea. Forgive me for startling you." The boy didn't say anything, but it looked as if he received yet another glare. "Let's go through my bedroom window. It's probably not locked," he explained.
The two managed to climb up the window. Or rather, Kurama climbed while the boy held on to him, making that much tougher to maneuver. Once inside, he placed the boy on the bed. "You can lie down," he managed to say before collapsing to the floor. As if he had never had any oxygen in his life, he began to take in air into his lungs.
Once his breathing had gone back to normal, he sat up on the floor and looked up at the boy on the bed. Instead of sitting down and remaining still, he was moving about. The many awards Kurama had on the walls (on his Mother's insistence) captivated the boy. When the boy turned to look at him, Kurama knew what he wanted at once.
Smiling, he nodded. "You can touch them. In fact, you can play with them if you want too. As you can see, I don't have many toys you can play with. The awards could be your playthings, if you want," he offered. Not wasting any time, the boy reached up and snatched the award Kurama had won for the science fair last year.
The boy, however, didn't play with it. Although he didn't treat the award with care, he did not mutilate it, either. It seemed the boy just wanted to read what it said on them. "Hopefully I won't offend you with this question, but can you read?" he asked, trying to look at the boy's eyes. After a brief pause, in which it seemed that the boy was trying to decide something, he nodded.
Biting his lip, he looked away for a moment. When he turned to face the boy, he was still looking at the award. "It says different, doesn't it? My name on that award is my real name. Kurama is just a nickname. Although, I do prefer it to what my birth name is." The boy nodded, understanding what he had meant.
He took in a breath before speaking. "Will you tell me your name? I'd hate to have to call you 'boy' or something else you might not like." From the look on the boy's face, it didn't appear as if he was going to receive an answer. "Please. It will be helpful to know it. I promise, though, that I won't tell anyone your name if you don't wish me to."
Throwing the award to the floor, the boy shook his head before jumping off the bed and landing on top of the award. Sighing, Kurama stood up. "I pushed you and for that I'm sorry," he said, walking toward the boy.
An odd sensation came upon his body at an instant. It felt as if he had been washed down by a wave of hot water, then by cold. In seconds he felt himself collapse. Before he passed out, he saw the boy, nearing him with his hands outstretched. After hearing a loud screech, he entered darkness.
Although he knew he was no longer awake, he could see. The atmosphere felt real, not like a dream. It was as if he were trapped in between reality and dream. He was on a bed. The red sheets changed hues, like watching waves of red water moving. Even though his hands and feet were not bound, he couldn't move a single part of his body.
Looking up, he could see no ceiling, just a dark tunnel that didn't appear to have a light at the end of it. The walls were there, but several shadow hands moved all over it. They made rude gestures, beckoned him to get up, and imitated guns that were pointed at him. It was like watching a twisted version of shadow puppets.
In front of him, blocking the view of the wall, came the boy he and his friends had rescued. There was an uncertain look on his face. Kurama tried to talk, but couldn't. Warning the boy to get out was futile. Looking over his shoulder once, the boy moved toward the bed.
He climbed it and positioned himself over him. They were not face-to-face, but they were close enough that Kurama realized that his clothes were gone. In front of him, the boy too was bare. Several scars on the boy's body were visible. In particular, the scar he had on his upper left thigh stood out. Unlike the others, this one was bleeding.
Looking at the boy once more, Kurama knew what was about to happen. Chains appeared from the walls without warning. Rather than tying him down, they struck his body, always avoiding harming the boy. He felt pain along with the heaviness of the chains. They struck his body and made fresh markings. Blood ran out of his body, creating ribbons that restrained him further.
Before he knew it, the boy entered him. Feeling the boy move inside him, he opened his mouth to shout, but didn't hear any noise. Not being in the same state as he, the boy's groans were audible. The voice was not as young as he had expected to hear, but it did not sound as cruel as he now thought it would have sounded like.
It was impossible to tell if he was bleeding from inside, but he was certain that the boy had injured him. Opening his eyes, the chains stopped beating him. They retreated back to where they had come from. Looking up, he laid eyes on the boy.
What he saw, though, was something that caused him stop feeling pain for a mere moment. The boy didn't look like a boy. In fact, he looked older than Kurama did. Or perhaps he could not see as well as he thought he could. It didn't make sense, but before he could try to think about it, the boy came.
The tunnel above him turned white, illuminating the rest of room. In what felt like minutes, he was no longer in that room. The sun entered through the window, flashing light on his eyes. Not waiting for the lightheadedness to quell, he sat up.
Kurama was on his bed, alone. The boy was sitting on a chair, looking at him. The expression on his face was not like before. It had become much more complex. Trying to smile, he said, "Hello. Sorry to have frightened you… Hiei."