Chapter 15

"Remembering"

I opened my eyes to find myself cuddled against a very warm figure. I rested my forehead against the chest of the figure, and then looked up to find green eyes looking down at me.

Red hair was falling over the beautifully-crafted face, adding a very pleasant effect to the slight smile formed by those elegant lips. A large yet soft hand left its previous position (draped across my bare waist) and came up to my face, brushing a stray strand that was caught in eye. "Mmmmm," I verbally sighed in response to the feather-light yet loving touch of the one I loved.

We just lay there for a few moments, looking at each other. My eyes slid down his face to his neck, where a sore-looking red mark had made its permanent home, knowing that I had one to match. I remembered the feeling of that pair of canines sinking into my flesh. It hurt at first, but then something flowed through me, like a wave of his essence, and I wanted it to last forever. I had wanted to do the same to him, and he agreed all too willingly. It had been much easier to pierce his skin than I had expected.

Finally he leaned over for a kiss that was soft and gentle, but full of the love and passion left over from a few hours ago. I returned the kiss and shivered as his hands traced the sides of my waist and further. I did the same, caressing his bare chest, stomach, and back muscles, getting a very clear reaction from him.

When we paused for breath, I said "I love you."

"I love you, too, Natalie," responded Kurama, giving me one last peck before sitting up in the plant bed. He swung his bare legs over the side and grabbed a pile of clothes on the floor. Handing the kimono and loose pants to me, he began to dress himself. I let my eyes wander over his beautiful lean yet muscular figure before sitting up myself and beginning to do the same. I could feel his eyes on me as well, and felt the same little prickly feeling as before, and considered something rather naughty, but decided against it.

"Hey…"

"Yes, love?"

"Is there somewhere I can take a bath or something?" I really needed a good soak. I had no idea that I would get so sore.

"Of course," replied the redhead, now fully dressed. "Follow me-"

"Hey KURAMA, NATALIE!! Are you in there?!"

"Yeah, Sarah, just a sec!" (sigh) "She really knows how to ruin a moment."

"Hmhmhmhm." The chuckling redhead said the word of entry and I was surprised to see Sarah in her underwraps and a white towel around her neck.

"Hey, Kurama?" she asked, "Is there any place where I can take a bath or something?" We cracked up. Finally, I explained to her that I had said almost the exact same thing only a few seconds ago.

"Kurama will show us where it is." As soon as I finished this sentence, she nodded, looked down at the base of my neck, then at his. She understood what she was seeing and smiled, winking at me and mouthing 'good job.'

I blushed and shooed her out of the room. Of course, I let Kurama stay in…

Once I had finished changing, I opened the door and let the redhead walk through before following after him. I started walking beside him and could see that Sarah had stepped back a little to give us some privacy. She had a totally wicked grin on her that meant that she was up to something.

I felt an arm slip around my waist and smiled warmly at its owner. He leaned down and said "Next time we'll use the private pool."

I smiled in silent agreement.

We walked for a few more seconds before Kurama stopped, said one of those weird words to a door, and walked through as it opened. "I'll be back in while," he said. "The others might want to do the same thing after they wake up." He walked back out the door and spoke the locking word. Sarah and I were left alone.

"So…" she began. "How was it?"

I looked at her and saw that she was grinning absolutely maliciously.

"How was what?" (I knew perfectly well what she meant)

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

"OH, that!"

"Yes, that!! Now talk."

(sigh)

(Flashback)

The redhead sighed. "Well…Youko has a series of hidden caves, as you well know. It's an obvious place to hide, but no one knows where they are. And if they find one of them, we can simply move to the next one in the chain. Natalie?"

"…Okay." 'NO!' My thoughts screamed, remembering last time Youko had been mentioned. Kurama and I had been…spending time together (meaning we were making out). Suddenly, his eyes had turned gold and he had begun pressing me further. I told him 'no', but Kurama wasn't acting like himself anymore. He had been groping and…other things, and I had tried to push him off, only to have him start again. Finally I had kneed him in the groin, causing him to retreat. By then, I could see his red hair turning a silky silver color. He backed away and this weird fog had appeared. When it cleared, Kurama wasn't standing there anymore! It was this weird fox-man-type-thing, and I knew that it was the Youko I had been warned about. I had screamed, and within a few seconds, Sarah came barging in just as the Youko started advancing with an angry look on his face.

'Kurama recently said that he had tighter control,' I thought. 'You can trust him.'

I caught Sarah looking at me weirdly, and I assured her that I was fine. She nodded and walked over to where Hiei was standing on his own, fists clenched. Kurama came over and embraced me. I let him, enjoying the comforting warmth radiating from his body. After a while, Yusuke and Kuwabara started fighting about something, and Hiei had yelled at Sarah, who was now walking away. I looked at her, concerned, and she reassured me in much the same way I had done. Then, we were off.

Once we got to the caves, I was feeling much better, and got off of Kurama's back (I had been riding piggyback, since I still wasn't as good at running as the others – I HATE running!!). He led me to a room with a bamboo door after seeing to the others, said something I didn't understand, then opened the door.

We walked inside and he shut the door. I dropped my sack on the floor along with my jacket. My thoughts wandered to home: my parents, my house, my brothers and their fiancés, college, neighborhood friends, anything and everything I used to think of as home. I missed it so much, and I wanted nothing more than to see everyone again.

"Are you alright?" I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and looked into bright emerald eyes, filled with concern and longing.

"Yeah, I just…miss home…that's all." Arms enveloped me as my vision began to blur and sting. "You and Sarah are the only reasons I want to stay here," I muffled and sniffed into his shirt, reaching up to grab onto his shoulders. Realizing that I may have just insulted him (this is his home after all), I amended "It's not that I don't like it here. Everything is so amazing…I'm just homesick."

Fingers traced through my hair and a soft, resonant voice said, "I understand. I'm sure that Koenma can find a way for you to see them again. But…weren't you in college on the opposite side of the country from them?"

"…Yes…it's just that…it's different somehow. I can't call them, see them for the holidays, e-mail, meet up, or…anything."

"…I wish there was some way I could help you."

"No! Please! Don't feel guilty, I didn't mean for that…I just wanted…I don't…"

"Shhhh…It's okay." He pulled away, still cradling my head, so I could see that he was smiling slightly at me. I wanted so much to be with him. Really be with him…forever.

"I want…I want to be with you…forever…" I said, barely whispering my thoughts out loud. "I love you, Kurama." He leaned in to kiss me gently, then said (lips still touching mine, tickling my mouth and chin) –

"I love you, too, Natalie." Resuming our kissing, he started to make them deeper, and I soon felt his tongue entering my mouth. I sent mine into his as well, wanting and longing.

And loving.

"There is a way for us to be together (kiss) forever," he whispered, same as before. "A binding that will ensure that no matter how far apart we are (kiss), a part of one will still be with the other."

"How?" My voice was barely audible, and my eyes were barely open.

"It's called 'marking,' and it's something that demons do. It's much more permanent than marriage, and much more enjoyable."

My mind barely even heard, much less cared, about the use of the word "demon" in that sentence. "Isn't it something like what a vampire does?" I responded.

"Similar, but not quite as…well…fatal." He was chuckling again, sending shivers down my throat, which he was now…inspecting…with his mouth. (When did we get on the plant bed?) Suddenly, he stopped, and looked me in the eye. I was relieved to see that they were still pure emerald.

"Is this what you want, Natalie?" he asked. "Once it's done, there's no turning back."

I was touched. Leaning in to kiss him again, I said-

"Yes."

Our passion continued, and I barely noticed that my kimono was off, as were his clothes. All I knew was that I was close to him, sharing this moment with him, and that was all that I wanted.

Well…maybe not all that I wanted.

I realized that my mouth had nothing to do, and that my neck was being attacked by tongue and lips. He started sucking on it until it was numb, then he bit into it. The pain was huge at first, but then there was only pleasure. He licked up the blood and made sure that it had stopped bleeding before baring his neck to me. I had no second thoughts whatsoever. I did the same thing he had done (hoping I wasn't doing it in the wrong place), then felt like a very small portion of me was being replaced with something from him. It was a beautiful feeling, and I felt that unbreakable bond being formed.

The rest of the night was pure magic as we expressed our love the human way.

(End flashback)

"…"

"…"

"Wow," I said in response to my friend's story. I took the towel off of my neck and sat down in the pool with my daydreaming best friend. "Sounds amazing."

"Sarah, it was by far the most amazing thing that ever happened to…YOU TOO??!!"

'Oops! I guess she saw my neck, too.'

"Ummm…yeah."

"SARAH! TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME!!!"

"My story was pretty much the same as yours, only there was no talking and the processes were reversed (meaning love first, marking second) and now I'm so freakin' sore!"

"Tell me about it," said Natalie, leaning back again. "I had no idea that he could do that."

"…I'm definitely going to get addicted."

"Sarah! You dirty girl! (sigh) Oh well, same goes for me."

… "CANNONBAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!" We both screamed as Yusuke and Kuwabara came jumping in, shouting and yelling. A huge tidal wave followed their "dives," leaving me and Natalie soaked and laughing hysterically.