My lovelies, here's the newest chapter of my little endeavor :D Hope y'all enjoyed the surprise I had in store for you and that you're eager to meet him. But for now enjoy, dears and don't forget to leave me som luv~ ;)

P.S. All YuYu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi~ :)

7. Explaining love

Was he... longing for her?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Retrieving his hand, Kurama moved to stand and stretched his spine, exhaling a sigh of relief. Now turning to face the girl who had sat up by then, he inwardly felt like slapping himself when his mind recalled what he had done to her at the lakeside no more than a few hours earlier.

"I overreacted last night." he said.

Briefly the girl could do nothing but stare at him. Was he actually apologizing? Somehow she felt like smiling, but couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

"It's okay... I know I'm not one to talk about feelings. I'm just... a silly little girl, who's barely learning what it's like to live. So it's alright... you don't have to feel sorry about it."

Leaning down Kurama now grasped her chin and turned her face upwards. In the very instant when her cheeks gained that beautiful shade of red, he knew she was thinking that he would kiss her again. However, that time she would have to settle with only a kiss to her forehead.

"At least let me feel sorry about it." he replied with a measure of amusement in his tone.

Over the following days everything seemed to have returned to normal, aside from the fact that Kurama still hadn't allowed Nozomi to sleep in Nari's tent anymore. When the elder youkai had questioned his motives for such a decision, Kurama had simply said that he slept better with her around.

"You know she has feelings for you...?"

"I know..." Kurama replied, staring into the fire they were sitting by whilst the day faded away.

Sighing lightly at that evasive reply, Nari ran a hand through his hair.

"And? Are you able to return them?"

"We'll know soon enough. What I do know right now, is that if I didn't think there was at least a small chance of it, I would have gone with the others."

Yes, it was one of those nights; but this time he had refused to go out with his men and bring back any women to his tent. The others had been quite taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor, though ultimately they didn't dare question him. He was actually so caught up in trying to figure out his own heart, that he was startled when Nari placed a hand onto his shoulder.

"For both of your sakes... I hope this will be a trial where you won't fail."

Standing, he then left their leader alone and retired into his own tent. The men would be back soon enough with their women and he wasn't one to enjoy that kind of show. In Kurama's tent, Nozomi was asleep... he had been careful to tire her out with training that day, so she wouldn't have to endure the sounds and sights of the other men indulging themselves in their desires. While he was the adept of privacy most of the time when it came to sex, it wasn't uncommon for his men to often show off their skills before actually taking the women into their tents. That was something he had always been careful to protect her from, and would continue to do so even when he wasn't taking part in those acts anymore.

It was well into the night when he decided his willpower had had enough of seeing his men with their women, thus he stood and turned to enter the tent when his peripheral vision caught the sight of three females approaching him.

"Don't you have someone else to bed?" he asked, averting his icy gaze to them.

Fortunately it seemed that had been enough to dishearten them; he wasn't exactly in the mood to argue with them, as he had little patience to spare that night. Once he had made sure they had left, he finally stepped inside. But while the flap could isolate him from the sights, it wasn't the same for the sounds which his sensitive ears were so quick in catching. Seating himself against one of the wooden polls, he leaned his head against the hard surface and closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. Soon enough his hearing picked up faint rustling sounds and he bit back a growl, thinking that some idiot of a female had become too bold for her own good. When he opened his eyes, however, he was so taken aback to find Nozomi staring at him with her face only inches from his, that he actually hit his head against the wood when he instinctively tried to lean back.

"Forgive me... did you hurt yourself?" she asked, sitting onto her heels.

Rubbing the back of his head, Kurama now finally noticed that she was knelt between his sprawled legs. What the...?

"I don't think I'll be getting a lump, if that's what worries you." he replied. "Moreover... why aren't you sleeping?"

Damn it, even his voice sounded strained and she wasn't helping by thrusting her body in his face like that.

"I... can't..." she muttered, briefly glancing toward the entrance to his tent.

What was he supposed to say to that? She surely knew the reason for those sounds, just as well as he did.

"Even so... why are you... here?"

He made sure to emphasize that last word while nodding toward her current position. When she looked back at him, for the first time since he'd met her, the fox-youkai now caught a glimpse of lust in her gaze. Well... she had to lose her innocence sometime, and living with a bunch of thieves who had no qualms with displaying their sexuality was bound to lead to that outcome. He knew that very well and still it took him by surprise; then again, what had he expected? The girl had instincts just like anyone else... and he knew too well how instincts were supposed to do the work when the lack of knowledge should have prevented that.

"You... didn't really look good... I was worried."

He didn't look good? He didn't look good? Had she noticed just how strained his willpower was? Was he paler than usual, or something?

"I do believe you're the first woman to tell me that I don't look good." he chuckled.

"Ah... I didn't... didn't mean it... like that..." she stuttered.

Offering a light bow she moved away and back to the fur where she had been sleeping until just a few minutes earlier.

"You should try to get some rest..." she said with a concerned tone.

Lying down she soon noticed, however, that there was absolutely no way she could fall asleep again now that she was fully awake.

"Kurama-sama..."

"What is it?"

To his credit, he kept his gaze fixed upon the flap even if his tail was flicking the air from time to time as if to show that he was restless; he didn't exactly want her to see what his eyes surely were betraying by now. But crap... why did his voice have to sound like someone was strangling him? It didn't escape him, however, that she had chosen to address him with the title his men used; she only scarcely resorted to that honorific.

"What you did to me at the lake... is that really what lust feels like?"

His eyes actually widened at her question... why would she choose that subject now of all times? Taking a deep breath to settle himself down, he closed his eyes and again leaned his head on the poll he was resting against.

"Yes..."

"Then... what does love feel like? Can you... can you show me?"

Biting into his tongue to hold back the latest sigh he felt rising in his throat, he took a moment to resign himself to the knowledge that he would indeed have to try and explain it to her.

"Why do you want to know?"

Yes, he could at least try to stall a bit and maybe she would change her mind.

"Because... I didn't really... dislike what lust feels like. So... so maybe love feels... even better."

When he opened his eyes, his peripheral field of vision caught the sight of Nozomi sitting up and pushing the cover aside with a sigh. For a moment he wished she hadn't given up on trying to sleep... this conversation was torture.

"When I asked Nari about it... he said lust and love are... part of each other. I asked him to show me, but he said I should ask the one I love."

His ear twitched at the realization that she had actually asked that of Nari, even if she surely had no idea what she was asking for.

"Did he tell you to ask the one you like... to make love to you?"

"Yes... but he made it sound different from the sex that the others talked about. I'm just... so confused."

Exhaling a breath, the fox-youkai then lightly gritted his teeth. There was no mistaking it... he had some feelings for the girl; otherwise his heart wouldn't have twitched in such a pleasant way at the knowledge that he was the one she loved.

"Come here..." he said gently, keeping his gaze fixed upon the upper part of his tent.

It was only when she approached him that he turned his eyes to her, with that scrutinizing gaze he was renowned for.

"I can show you what Nari was talking about... but you have to be honest with me. Am I the man you love... or is it another?"

Taken aback by his question, Nozomi lowered her head in a failed attempt to hide her burning cheeks. Why was she even blushing anyway? Feelings really were such an odd mystery, as was the way her heart now pounded, making her feel like it would tear her chest wide open and leap out.

"Why would I love anyone else? Ever since you took me from that tower, my whole world revolved around you. How could I ever feel like this for anyone else?"

Was it not obvious to him by now that no other man would ever be what he was to her? Briefly rendered silent by that reply Kurama now reached to grasp a strand of her hair, relishing in the feeling of silky smoothness sliding in between his fingers.

"Look at me..."

When the girl hesitantly raised her gaze, he finally indulged himself a real smile, his hand moving over to her chin and his thumb again trailing her lips.

"You're the reason why I'm here with you tonight, rather than with other women. I was... so afraid of you when I first brought you here. You reminded me too much of Amaya, but I can see now that I was wrong. You're nothing like her, yet you just grew on me more and more. And now I'm compelled to admit that I have feelings for you... and that I don't want any other woman."

His ear twitched again when she suddenly grasped his hand with both of her own, before pressing her lips to his palm. In truth Nozomi herself had no idea what had driven her to do that, but somehow it felt nice. Giving her a few moments of resting her cheek in his hand, the fox-youkai then offered her a playful smirk, the kind she hadn't seen before in him.

"Did you already give up on your curiosity?"

"Of... of course not..." she pouted. "It's just that... your hand is so warm..."

"You'll enjoy my hands later... come here. Spread your legs over my lap." he chuckled, bending his legs and crossing them to assume what was the standard meditating position.

Doing as she was told with curiosity brimming in her gaze, Nozomi suddenly realized that position brought her quite close to him. She nearly lost balance when he grasped her thighs and pulled her even closer, until their torsos were pressed together. She did want to ask if it wasn't uncomfortable for him to have her breasts against his collar bone, but her voice died out when he closed his eyes and buried his nose in her yukata, inhaling her body's natural scent deeply.

"You smell nice..." he smiled. "Come on... sit down carefully. Despite how powerful men can be, we're quite sensitive there."

He actually couldn't believe it, but he hadn't felt that kind of anticipation since the very first time he had slept with a woman. Her fragrance had even been enough to start a mild erection in his pants, which she could fully feel once her groin touched to his. Having wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself steady, she blinked at that odd sensation.

"What... what is that?"

"That's what I'll use to make love to you." he smirked, offering her a glimpse of his milky white fang.

He didn't even remember how long it had been since he'd bedded a virgin, but her reactions were definitely cuter and more amusing than any others he could recall. She would make for such a fun tease during the foreplay. Leaning to claim her lips for a short kiss, he started to lightly move his hips and further the awakening of his member while teasing her at the same time. It took him by surprise that she moaned after just a couple of his motions... but knowing that she was so sensitive actually stirred his playful side which he hadn't displayed in quite a long time. Breaking the kiss, he then pecked her neck on a trail toward her ear.

"That feels... so damn good..." he groaned.

And truly it did feel better than ever before. At that point he didn't even care anymore if it was because of the knowledge that he had found a woman to actually love, or because of the strain put on his body's desires by his refusal to sleep with other females anymore. He could've kept going like that until the very end, but as much as he yearned to satisfy his longing, he wanted Nozomi to enjoy it just as much as he did.

"I'm... I'm getting a weird feeling... from that..." she muttered, clenching her hands onto the silky material of his yukata.

"It will feel better when you get used to it."

Letting her lean back somewhat, he couldn't hold back a sly smile at the sight of her breasts.

"Oh...? You're wearing the thin yukata today?" he grinned, tauntingly flicking a finger against one of her nipples to test her reaction.

When she tilted her head back and mewled in pleasure, he arched a brow. Setting one arm around her waist to keep her from falling backwards, he allowed his other hand to creep up to her right breast and gently squeeze the underside of it along with the white material covering her. In turn he was rewarded with another moan from Nozomi who by now didn't even really know what was going on with her anymore.

"That sensitive, huh?" he chuckled.

With a swift, experienced move he pulled the fabric aside not even bothering to remove her sash for now. With her chest exposed to his hungry gaze, he once more pressed his nose to her breasts, inhaling that wonderful scent that was already becoming an addiction to him. Still he didn't indulge himself more than a few moments of that... he wanted to hear more of those pleasure dripping moans of hers. Before he'd even consciously thought of it, his lips parted and his tongue got its first taste of her skin. With his hand taunting her right breast, he gradually moved along the left one until he felt the hardened nipple against his tongue. Gingerly grazing his teeth against the sensitive bundle of nerves, his ears relished in the way her voice went up a notch as she again moaned for him. Deciding to give her a break from teases, he now wrapped his lips around the nipple and a radius of that soft flesh which seemed to swallow his slender fingers; yet even now he couldn't hold back from teasing her... her reactions were simply wonderful to the point where he got a kind of sadistic pleasure out of taunting her.

By then Nozomi's mind had nearly gone blank; was that what making love felt like? While it still scared her to some extent, at the same time she didn't want it to ever end. It actually took her a couple of moments to realize that he'd moved her away from him at some point, setting her on her back. When her gaze finally zeroed in on his face which was now hovering above her own, she blinked away the traces of tears in her eyes, trying to catch her breath.

"Don't think I'll let you faint on me so early... we haven't even started yet."

There it was again... that sly smile which made her feel like she was completely powerless to resist him, no matter what he would ask her to do. Once her breathing had settled down, she blinked when Kurama again pressed his fingers to her cheeks until she pursed her lips. However, the kiss he locked her in this time was surprisingly gentle, despite the shade of passion hidden in it. He did indeed move his tongue into her mouth again, but now he wasn't so violent in asserting himself on her. Maybe this was what it meant that lust was a part of love. When he released her cheeks, she thought he would again go for her hair... instead she twitched when his hand moved to her sash and she heard the fabric ripping when he tore it off her. What she felt at that very moment was an odd, but pleasant mix of anticipation and fear.

"If it's too much, tell me and I'll give you a breather." he now said, breaking the kiss.

She had been about to ask him what he was talking about, but without warning his hand plunged into her pants. With her mouth open, there was no barrier to muffle the rather loud moan that left her chest when his index and middle fingers trapped her clitoris between them, rubbing it lightly along with the upper part of her lower lips. Her entire body stiffened and she felt her back arch, pushing her breasts upwards.

"It... it feels... good..." she moaned out.

Her gaze had dimmed by now and she failed to see the smirk playing on his lips.

"It'll only feel better from here on."