Within Darkness We Find Love
Chapter 6: A Meeting of Fate
The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead
The sun had gone down when he had come to. Realizing minutes had gone by without either of them speaking Kurama bit his lip and rested his head on the palms of his hands. The boy he and his friends had rescued stared at him, silent and observing all that he did. He was sitting on the only chair in his room, the one meant to be in front of his desk, but it was now in front of the bed. It had not slipped his mind what he had called him. It was a strange name to him, but it held such a familiar presence nonetheless.
Moving slightly, the boy raised his head and appeared to be waiting for him to speak. After clearing his throat, he obliged. "You may not have the answer, but how do I know your name? Well, I am assuming it is your name. Were you able to see my… dream?" It was a lame finish, but his mind was not working as well as he had liked it to be.
Licking his lips, the boy brought his head down. Seconds ticked by until, after a sharp intake of breath, the boy spoke. "That wasn't a dream, but yes, I saw it. Hiei is my name." Kurama had been expecting the boy's voice to be younger, but like in his dream (as he had decided to name it), the boy's voice was deep.
As soon as he heard the words, he gathered the blanket on his bed and draped it around his body. The tiny smirk on Hiei's face was proof of how timid and virgin-like Kurama was. "If it was not a dream, then what was it? To be frank, I have more questions I would like to ask and get answers to. Will you provide them, if you can?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Hiei rose. Pacing around, he replied, "Always happens around humans. You're all too curious and it usually lands you in nothing but trouble."
Lifting an eyebrow at what he had just considered an insult, Kurama snapped, "Aren't you one?"
"I won't reveal anything unless I get something in return!" Hiei demanded.
Though he knew punishment was likely to happen, Kurama could not let go of the opportunity. Grabbing the pillow behind him, he threw it at Hiei. With a smirk of his own he said, "Now reveal something."
With the smirk now gone from his face, the man picked up the pillow and tore it apart, making sure to throw the pieces back at Kurama. "Not that kind of something!" he hissed, white teeth gleaming. It took a brief moment, but the man took a breath in before speaking again. "That dream isn't exactly a dream."
Before Kurama was able to open his mouth and make a remark, Hiei continued. "No one really knows what it is, but it's the first time I've seen it. They told me it would be impossible to refuse. Go to that place, I mean." Sitting back down on the chair, he looked at the floor. "They were right. For years, I thought I was strong enough to deny it, but it overtook me. Are you sore?"
It took him a moment to realize what Hiei had meant, but when he did, it was all he could focus on. "Not much," he lied, but quickly nodded affirmatively. "Do you think I'm bleeding?" he almost whispered the question.
"Probably not, but you better check."
At that, Kurama grimaced. "You sound as if you're certain I've done this before," he accused him. The man did not respond, but he did look at him. "I haven't, if you must know. For that matter, I never wanted to! Furthermore what you just answered doesn't make sense to me." There was much more he needed to say, but he felt his chest ache and decided against it.
"Well, congratulations, you just lost your virginity!" Hiei spat. The man stood up, bashing the chair down. In a blink, he went from sitting to shoving Kurama against the wall behind his bed. "Welcome to your life, you pathetic being! It is not going to be something you will like, but fuck what you like. Not everyone gets a welcome as nice as yours."
Taking hold of the hand Hiei had around his neck, Kurama looked at him. Their gaze did not last much before Kurama looked away. Within Hiei's ruby eyes, all he was able to see was darkness unlike any other he himself had looked at before. It was extraordinary, but it was not something he could bear to see for an elongated period.
Digging his nails into Hiei's skin did not get him any farther than kicking at him. "Unhand me!" he shouted. As if obeying his command, Hiei dropped him and moved away from him. Kurama looked up at him as he stroked the skin around his neck.
"You could've killed me," Kurama panted.
"I could've killed you," Hiei confirmed.
Curling his fingers toward his palm, Kurama moved away from the bed. "What is wrong with you?" he almost shouted again. By his opinion, he thought he should have, considering there was a strange man who used to be a strange boy in his room alone with him. As he neared the bedroom door, he could feel warm liquid escaping from his body in his hand. The drops stained the floor beneath him.
Hiei stood by the window, though his back was to it. "Was I really your first?" he asked obviously grudgingly.
"Why would someone my age lie about that? My friends tease me about it every chance they get. Now could you answer my questions or would you rather I call the police?" That would have been a great action from him, and probably something he should have done right away. Yet he stood close to an exit, ignoring it, and talking to someone who had raped him, even if it had been in what appeared to have been a dream.
"You weren't lying?" Kurama shook his head, making the unusual man scowl. "That can't be right. Are you sure?"
The questions regarding his virginity had passed the humiliated level. "I think I would know if I had lost it before. Yes, I am positive. You, my rapist, are the first!" It would have been comical if he had been watching this on a fictional television program. Now it was getting to be too much.
Kicking the chair in his direction, Hiei blocked the door. "It would have happened in what you call a dream. No?" Kurama shook his head again. "He didn't do it." The scowl the man had been wearing vanished for a moment. "Why did you go to the mansion? What drew you there? Did anyone lead you to that place?"
"I shall answer your questions if you answer mine," he offered. There was not any hesitation from the other man. "My friend and I walked by it yesterday. When we did we saw someone sitting in front of the mansion, on the grass inside the gates." The teen briefly wondered about how much he should say. Omitting the macabre and degrading details the rumors his friends had told him was most likely a good idea. "We were intrigued by seeing someone there so we decided to probe the next day. Unlike them, the idea of someone living in that decrepit place did not sit well with me. Therefore, I went by myself that very night. I am still trying to settle on whether it was a good thing to do or the worst mistake I ever made. Take your pick, but I'm betting on the second."
Nodding, Hiei walked closer to him. "Who did you see? Could you describe him?"
Closing his eyes Kurama moved his head side to side. "I'll answer that after you provide an answer to my query." Hiei sneered and Kurama took that as his cue. "Do not think I am trying to flatter myself, but why did you do this to me?" It had taken him a minute to phrase the question the way he did and still it sounded stupid to him.
Looking away from him, Hiei shrugged. "There is more than one explanation for that. I, myself, am not certain of them all." Kurama frowned, but waited to hear more. "It was a mixture of my nature and yours, or something like that. It is in my nature to dominate those who reek of submissiveness, and you are one of them. If you get noticed a lot by people it's most likely from that stench, not your looks or personality."
"Is it possible for you to not criticize me for one minute?" he asked, interrupting Hiei.
"You wanted an explanation, right? That's mine," he growled, obviously trying not to punch the redhead. "Now answer my question! Can you describe the person you saw?"
Sighing, Kurama closed his eyes. "You can give me an eternity, but I can't do that. That person had something on which covered him completely, and he was turned away from us. Is it important for me to remember?"
"It wasn't me. I haven't been out of there in ages." The man walked around the room until he came to the desk. "What else do you want to know?" he asked as he took a seat on top of the desk.
Watching the man sit on his desk was strange. There, at that moment, it all shattered. The man was callous and belligerent, and from the way he sat, he knew it had all been a mistake. "Honestly I do not want to know anything else. You are either delusional or a horrible liar to come up with this excuse. I refuse to believe anything that comes from your mouth." He took in a shaky breath. "Please, just leave. You already collected what you wanted, so please…" he beseeched, unable to look at the man.
"I still have questions," he began, but paused. Hiei walked to him, but he never invaded his personal space. "Then again you probably wouldn't be any use," he concluded as soon as Kurama felt tears leak out from his eyes.
Kurama heard the footsteps retreat. His eyes averted anything but his feet; it was all he felt he could do. For a fleeting second, he wanted to take back his plead. Eyes wide, he rejected the thought.
Though his clothes were tattered and could've been changed, Hiei headed for the window. Just as he reached it, he moved away from it. "Fuck," the teen heard him mutter. As if none of the events had occurred, Kurama was tempted to ask him what was wrong now. "My body changed," he answered his unspoken question.
"Will it keep you from leaving?" the redheaded teen asked, voice faint.
After thinking it over for a quiet minute, Hiei responded with a grunt. "You destroyed my home, if I remember correctly. Where can I go?"
There were eyes on him, the teen knew. They sucked away the joy he knew and pierced him in a most painful manner. As much as he wanted to look into those eyes and tackle the man, he could not. His feet would not budge and his voice would go no louder.
As he was trying to find something to respond with a new thought hit him. Kurama looked at Hiei - or rather at Hiei's feet while thinking it over. Sharing the thought could cause several problems, but keeping it sealed did not appeal to him. He chewed his lower lip before coming to a decision.
"There was a person living with you there. Can't you go with him?"
He expected to hear new questions regarding the mystery person; he expected to hear Hiei worry over said person; he expected to hear complaints. What his ears caught was unexpected.
"What are you talking about?"
Raising his head, the teen's eyes narrowed. "If the figure I saw on the front was not you, then it can only mean it was whoever lived with you. You threw me out of the window because of him at least I think so. When I met you there you feared him."
Hiei, who was now sitting on the floor, scoffed. "There's no one I fear." Shifting his leg so that his right knee was to his chest, he shook his head. "Is that really where we met?"
Their conversation reached the awkward stage and passed it. Now it was threatening to bypass the vexed level with the ridiculous questions. "Stop your lies. You know you met me there! Just know you questioned me about why I went there in the first place!" This time when he spoke his attention zeroed in on the small changes the boy had gone through.
Even though he was sitting down his increase in height was obvious. Somehow, his clothes still suited him, not that they were perfect to start with, but they covered most of his body. The flesh that was exposed looked dark, as if he had had contact with the sun. Not only did it look dark, but also it was firm. It was like the type of firmness that Yusuke and Kuwabara had from working out a lot.
Bowing his head gracefully, the older man spoke, "I don't remember that. You had to go into the mansion for me to get out, which is how I knew you had gone in there. My state of mind has changed and my memories along with it. When you met me I was younger than you, right?"
He waited until the redhead nodded to continue.
"I'm speaking the truth, there's no honor in lying," he stated, each word heavier than the last. The weight of the words made Kurama cringe. Watching his reaction, Hiei grunted. "Don't worry about me leaving. You've made it obvious you don't want me around." He stood up and faced the window. "If what you said is true, then you better watch your back. If I fear someone, then you don't stand a chance at living much longer."
Opening the window, Hiei allowed the cool night air to fill the room. Kurama's heart began to beat faster. Without much of a struggle, the man set one leg out of the room and then the other until his face was visible to the teen. Nothing was readable on it, but before he could understand it, Kurama was approaching the window. Hiei, who was now beginning to climb down, looked at him for a moment before closing the window.
From where he stood, he could see Hiei land perfectly well. Afterward, without dithering, he began to walk away from the house. Kurama's hands were now on the window. He did not know whether he wanted to lock it or open it.
Soon Hiei was a distant figure, far away from him. Not quite with enthusiasm, his fingers locked the window. Hiei's last words rang in his head. Threat or not he did not know, nor did he tremble with fear.
On his way to his bed, he picked up his phone. When his head hit the bed, his fingers began to dial from memory. There was a short wait before the phone stopped ringing. A voice greeted him and he felt himself smile as tears began to pour.