Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.
Recap: Rose has a plan to get revenge on Kurama and, at the same time, get herself out of trouble and Tsukino into trouble. Kurama however is unaware as he and Kioshi have managed to enter the cat base and are awaiting a second day of torture.
This Is How You Remind Me
Chapter Fifteen
Reunion
Day Hundred-Eleven
This morning I awake to find my wounds from yesterday healed but myself feeling slightly dazed as if The Fox's Rose's energy had a sedating effect on me. However, that dazed feeling quickly fades as five cats enter the room where Kioshi and I are caged. Within minutes, we are dragged out and sent to different rooms. I once again find myself strapped down on the cold metal table and watch silently as my tormentor debates with himself what weapon to use on me. As I wait for the torture to start, I look around and notice that the other cat who was standing guard at the door had brought my bag with her.
A sharp pain in my leg quickly moves my attention to the cat faced demon near my feet as he removes the red-hot metal from my skin. There is no doubt in my mind that it will scar even with the best of healing as it has both cut in deeply and has burned. Thankfully it is only a straight line instead of some written word. Ignoring the pain, I look passively at the wound before turning my attention to the demon who wounded me.
"I'm only going to ask once," the cat says as he moves the scorching dagger close to my face. "How were you planning on destroying the cats?" His red ears twitch as he wants for my answer.
I say nothing and try not to flinch when the dagger hovers over my left cheek, its heat causing me to close my left eye.
"I'll be nice and ask once more. How were you going to attack us with such a small force?"
Calmly, I open both my eyes and ignore the heat from the metal. "We were not," I reply. "My partner and I were merely looking for someone."
The dagger is removed from my face as the demon motions to his comrade whose face is hidden in shadows. "Then how do you explain this!" he demands to know as his partner reaches into the bag and pulls out what the cats seem to believe is the dog's secret weapon.
The urge to laugh almost overpowers my calm disposition, but after the urge passes I wonder how the 'weapon' had come to be in my bag.
My torturer is grinning as he replies, "See! I knew it!" He waves the small stuffed toy dog in my face. "It is a weapon. Now how were you planning on using this to kill us?"
"Perhaps you can explain to me how a small toy can be used as a weapon."
"Explain yourself. Where did the dogs come up with this device!"
I cannot help but chuckle. "Perhaps you should ask the batty-cats you have working for you. They will most likely be able to answer your questions better than I can as it seems they like stuffed toys. Maybe they know who created it."
His glee turns to anger, and he stabs my chest with the dagger from his belt. "You accuse our wonderful healers of treachery!"
Trying not to winch as blood flows from the wound in my chest, I can't help but smirk in amusement at the cat's insanity of thinking a small toy was a weapon of mass destruction. "Wonderful and traitors are not words I would use to them if they are the batty-cats I know."
He stabs me again. "Explain you underhanded fox!"
To annoy him, I remain silently and calmly watch as his face turns red under his fur.
Quickly though, his glare turns into a smirk showing many fangs, most of which are broken. "Going to be quiet now?" he asks far too sweetly for my taste as he takes a needle filled with some clear fluid from his partner. He pauses for a second before stabbing the needle into my right arm. It feels almost as if fire is burning in my veins and through the pain I hear him say, "Let's see if we can loosen those lips."
It is only after they leave that I spit out the blood that has collected in my mouth. Panting, I turn my face to the side so I do not choke on it. Everything aches or pains me in some way, and I believe that I have found a sadist who has surpassed Karasu's obsession with pain and killing. Never had I felt pain worst than this, and I try to resist the tears. I spit more blood out of my mouth as I fight to keep my breathing steady. The acid burns hurt the worst out of all the wounds, and the pain continues to grow as more of my body is eaten away at. However, I am unable to slip out of consciousness due to the drugs I had been given before the true torture began. A drop of water falls from the ceiling and falls into one of my wounds causing me to hiss in pain and try to move away from the dripping ceiling. Unfortunately, I am unable to escape from the water drops due to my other wounds make themselves known in one great pain as I try to move, and I forcedly become rigid. Unwanted, tears start to move from my eyes and fall onto the wounds on my face, causing them to burn from the salty water.
What had I gotten myself and Kioshi into?
A Sight from Hell
Dreams were not uncommon for me to have, but after the dream in which I met the stranger, who gave me the stuff dog, the dreams seemed to become better. Most of the time they were nonsense, but once or twice I would have a nice dream in which a knight in a shining white tunic would save me. The dream that stood out the most in my mind was when I first dreamed about him.
In the dream a group of demons in the middle of an alley surrounded me as usual. One threw a knife which the ribbon that held my hair in place causing it to fall to just past my shoulders, but before they could touch me, a man suddenly jumped down from the roof to stand in front of me. Even though I only saw the back of him, he was breathtaking with an air of confidence around him.
My mind dazed by the dream, I barely noticed when he told me to cover my ears and cover my eyes. However, it didn't matter because I was only able to see him and for whatever reason couldn't hear. It was almost as if I had been drugged in my dream. However, I slightly snapped out of my drugged state as he turned towards me, and I saw how cold his eyes were and the fox ears on his head. Instinctively, I took a step back and found myself pressed against the wall. He was just like them. A pureblood and full of primal urges.
A smirk— no, a smile appeared on his mouth and his eyes were so soft I wondered if I imagined their coldness. Ears twitching slightly, he quietly said, "It's alright little flower. No one is going to hurt you tonight. Least of all me."
Slowly, I nodded and muttered, "Thank you," before moving to run around him. But my actions were obvious, and he blocked my way.
"Where do you live?"
After swallowing, I replied, "At the Hikaru Bar."
He bowed slightly and offered me his hand, "Would you allow me to escort you?"
In the dream, I felt my face heat up as I slowly nodded and took his hand. Pulling slightly, he pulled my hand around his arm and led the way. We reached the door of the bar quickly, and I found myself unable to look away from him. A small smile was on his face, and he leaned towards me, staring deep into my eyes. Unsure of what was happening, I tilted my head upward and waited. Our lips were millimetres apart when Neini woke me up.
Soon it became a cycle. I would dream about him, and Neini would wake me up at the worst time… or best time. Over time I would almost say that I looked forward to the dreams, even wanted to meet this person for real. But then reality would sink in, and I would remember that he was only a dream. He was so charming, loving, and courteous though that I found myself wishing he could be real. For a little while, I was almost ashamed of my attachment to this dream character because of my stubbornly remaining feelings for the human Kurama. My heart could just not understand that what he said in his demon form was also how he felt in his human form so I continued to long for him. Because of that, it felt almost like I was in love with two men and cheating on them. Thankfully, my brain understood that Kurama didn't care and that my dream man was just that. A dream and because of that, no pain would come from the 'relationship' but neither would anything else. So I continued to dream and enjoy the bliss of a happy fictional relationship.
However, my happy dreams and calming lifestyle quickly ended when Rose explained her brilliant, fool-proof plan.
"It's perfect," she explained on that fateful day. "All you have to do is seduce him and then attack him. Then I'll come to the rescue and you run. There's no way it can fail, and Kurama will feel heart-break at knowing that you don't actually love him."
My attention vanished the moment I heard the word seduce, and I felt the blood drain from my face before returning to make it bright red. There would be no way I could do that even if I wanted to. Mixed-breeds were not seducers; they were the seduced. And even then, I had no doubts that my curse would act up just as it had in the slime ogre incident. And if that happened, there would be no way I could attack him. Finally, the plan was against my morals. I tried to explain this to Rose, but she refused to listen. With no other options, I said, "We would need Kurama-san here in order for it to work."
Rose grinned. "You'll see that there isn't any problem with that."
Before I could ask what she grabbed my arm and dragged me to one part of the base I had never been. Moans of pain and a fearful aura around the branch Rose was leading me towards caused fear to erupt in me, and I wanted nothing more than to run the other way. For a second, I almost did but then Rose pulled on my arm and smiled her seemingly understanding smile at me.
"Come on. We have some healing to do. The new prisoners are causing quite a scene, and we wouldn't want them to hurt themselves worse now would we?"
I paused in mid-step. My fear and instincts telling me to run while my healer sense of duty demanded I help those in pain. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nodded and allowed her to lead me into a branch lit only by lamp plants and filled with doors. After passing at least twenty of them where screaming could be heard coming from, we arrived at a place that greatly reminded me of the Spirit World prison. Only instead of separate rooms serving as cells, the prisoners were locked in cages. Many of them glared at Rose and me darkly as we passed so I kept close to Rose trying to swallow the fear that made breathing almost impossible.
Finally, Rose stopped walking and stood in front of a cage at the very end of the branch with empty cages all around. Not realizing Rose had stopped, I almost walked into her, and it took me a moment to realize that she was talking with Neichi.
"Have they said anything yet?" Rose asked as her eyes darted over to the cage where two figures lay. One was slumped against the far wall while the other was face down on the floor. Neither of them making a noise.
Neichi shook his head. "Nothing. The bat is especially stubborn. If it wasn't for the smoke in the cage that sedates the prisoners, he'd probably be attacking us right now through the bars."
Rose nodded and turned to me. "Now Tama-chan, we are going to heal the prisoners. I'll take care of the one by the wall and you can take care of his wasted friend, okay?"
The way she could compare drunkenness and such injury and act so cheery about it made me sick to my stomach, but I nodded and moved towards the door with Rose. Neichi unlocked it and followed us in, but in the door way I stopped dead. One of my hands flew to my mouth while the other to my throat to stop myself from making a noise. As soon as I saw him, I knew I should have never followed her to that room.
I slowly realized that both my wrists were broken when the guards threw me back into the cage I share with Kioshi. At the time, I was a mass of pain, and it was hard to tell what was broken or damaged and what wasn't, but time and the smoke in the cage have dulled the pain slightly. However, I still cannot move from my position on the floor so I lay face down trying to find some strength to continue on.
Dimly I can hear Kioshi's breathing, but it does not bring me comfort. Soon the cats will tire of our silence and just kill us and because of our collars there is no way for us to fight back. Also The Fox's Rose has spotted me and is probably making plans to leave so we have to escape before she gets too far ahead. Finally, I can't let Tsukino see me like this. If she knew that I was in the base, our cover would be blown, and they would suspect her to be a spy for the dog demon army. I would not wish this torture on even the elder of the Toguro brothers. However, in our present state neither Kioshi nor I are even able to move so we will have to wait for the healers before we can leave. I can only hope that Tsukino listened to my warning and is not a healer.
The door to the cage opens, and I hear our jailer shout out that our healers are here. It sounds as if three people have entered, but two have stopped at the entrance while the other has moved towards Kioshi. Confused by the lack of movement, I warily turn my head to see the people at the door, but before I can see the people at the door I feel a sharp kick to my broken ribs.
Coughing up blood, I instinctively curl into a ball and try not to cry out from the pain as I'm kicked onto my side so that I'm facing the door. Quickly, the foot comes down on my ribs once more. Unfortunately, I fail and a small yelp passes my lips causing my attacker to pause and allowing me to realize he is speaking.
"You damn fox. Thinking you could force yourself onto such a treasure. You make me sick." His shoe digs into my ribs once more causing more blood to escape from my stomach wounds and my mouth. Unable to help myself, a yell of pain escapes me.
However, a frightened female voice cuts through the air causing the jailer to pause in his stomping. "Neichi-kun! Stop it!"
He puts his foot down by my face and through my fading vision, I see him turn. "Why are you protecting this fox?"
"Because it's my job. You can beat him up all you want after I have healed him and he can put up a half-way decent fight!"
As my mind slowly recovers from the pain, the room starts to come back into focus, and I see Neichi grab her by the shoulders. She winches, and I try to force energy into my broken body. Even after what I did, Tsukino still wants to help me, and I'm not about to let some pushy cat demon harm her.
The enraged cat demon does not notice my attempts to move as he glares at Tsukino. "He attacked you, didn't he? When you first showed up, his scent was all over you!"
She glares back just as coldly. "Even if he did do something, he's still injured, and I'm still a healer!"
"Rose can heal him then. We are going back to your room before you get attacked again. Rose, keep an eye on things," he says as he releases Tsukino's shoulder and grabs her arm. He quickly lets go through as my punch sends him flying into the far wall. Falling to the floor, he glares at me in unrivalled hate.
"You wanna go fox-boy? Let's go then," he mutters before wiping the blood from his slit lip away from his mouth.
Barely able to stand and quickly losing strength, I say nothing and wait for his attack.
Within seconds he comes charging at me. I move to block his punch, but the pain from my wounds has made me slow. His fist collides with the hole in my abdomen. Unable to keep my balance or stand any longer, I collapse to the floor and try to ignore the guilt that wells up in me when I hear Tsukino's gasp and Kioshi yelling at me to stop being an idiot.
Painfully and determined, I struggle to my feet. Neichi runs towards me once more, only this time I manage to block his punch and give him one of my own. Though I am used to letting my plants fight for me, my demon form increases my strength so my punch is not usually something one would take lightly. Neichi hits the floor again and gets up with a crazed look in his eye. At this moment, I realize I can take no more and prepare myself for the final blow that could possible end my life if he hits my ribs again. I can feel one of my lungs being poked by one of my ribs, but another punch and it will be punctured beyond healing ability.
Slowly, Neichi rises to his feet as if he knows this attack could end my life and wants to savour it. Leaning forward he extends his claws, and I brace my feet, wanting to get one last punch in. He starts running, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Rose hitting Kioshi over the head knocking him conscious. I'm not sure what has caused me to believe I must put my life on the life over a simple thing such as Tsukino, but I cannot back down now. Hopefully in the afterlife, I'll have lots of time to think about it.
Suddenly, Neichi is kicked from the side and finds himself crashing into a wall. Almost instantly, The Fox's Rose appears at his side and starts slapping his face. "You moron! Do you know what you almost did?" she demands, but I'm barely paying attention for my knees have just collapsed beneath me, and the floor is rushing up to met me while the room starts to fade to black.
There was no reason for them to fight like that, but neither one was willing to back down. I always thought that Kurama was the wisest out of the four spirit detectives, but it appeared he was trying to prove me wrong. Even he must have known that if there was ever a time to admit defeat then was the time. He was clearly at a disadvantage with his wounds catching up with him. If Rose hadn't knocked some sense into Neichi, Kurama probably would have died from either blood loss or his broken ribs rupturing something.
As he started to collapse, I ran over and caught him. Unfortunately, though weakened, he was still heavy and I was forced to ease him to the floor. His partner, who I assumed to be Kioshi, was also starting to wake and fearing another fight, I shouted at him to help me. After hesitating for a second to look around, the tall bat came over and helped me lay Kurama down. His head lied on my lap so I could monitor his breathing and keep his head elevated. Without me asking, the bat started to set Kurama's broken bones as if it happened often. Once he was done, he backed off but stood between the growling Neichi and Kurama, ready to defend against another charge.
By that time, Kurama's breathing was laboured, and I feared for his life. Though he hadn't been the nicest to me on that trip, the others in Human World would have most likely been heartbroken if he died. Because of that, I summoned all the energy I had and started to let it flow into his body hoping it would work. The last time I tried to heal any one in such bad shape both of them had died, and I couldn't let that happen to Kurama.
Slowly the effects of my energy became apparent on both Kurama and I. While his wounds were starting to heal and he returned to consciousness, I started sway side to side trying not to fall asleep. Thankfully, the pain in my arms and my chest were doing a brilliant job of keeping me awake.
After almost an hour, all his life-threatening wounds were healed, and I was just started on the minor ones when he opened his eyes. For a second, he appeared confused but also comfortable before he vanished from my lap. I wasn't sure exactly what happened, but suddenly he was sitting in front of me and then his lips were on mine. The pain that had been spreading through my body suddenly seemed to disappear as my curse took over and blocked everything from my mind but the fox demon in front of me.
I was just about to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back when I was suddenly pulled away from him. With nothing to feed my curse, the effects vanished, and reality came rushing back. Pain and shock merged and I could only watch as Neichi punched Kurama causing him to fly into the wall of the cage.
"You touch my girl ever again, and I swear I'll make you wish I killed you!" Neichi shouted at the fox who seemed unharmed by the punch.
From his place at the wall, Kurama wiped the dried blood from his mouth and smirked. "Well you weren't the one who got to her first now were you?"
Knowing that Kurama was only provoking Neichi to help his ego by beating him to a pulp and unable to take the violence anymore, I ran. Nothing had chanced from when we split ways, and that sight was a painful reminder. When I first saw him, I wasn't thinking about the fight we had so my feelings were completely unguarded when he kissed me. At the time, I felt ashamed by how happy I had been because of the kiss. For the moment, I felt like I was back in Human World and almost able to enjoy a normal relationship with him before I realized he only wanted pleasure. However, the harsh reality came crashing back when he started to provoke Neichi, and I felt ashamed by how I had let him use me to get to my friend.
Finally, I made it to my room and ran in, not bothering to lock the door and no longer caring about who overheard my muttered questions as the physical and mental pain started to rip me apart.
Neichi ran off seconds after Tsukino did, but The Fox's Rose did not leave until the new guard came after almost an hour of staring at me as I removed the dried blood from my slightly healed skin. As soon as she left, it felt like the cage had become less tense. However, it is not until now, two hours later, that either Kioshi or I make a sound.
"You didn't actually… you know… with her, did you?"
Without turning to face him and studying the sleeping guard, I reply, "No."
"Then why say that you did? Are you jealous or something that your batty-cat and he are getting on so well?"
Ignoring the questions, I notice that the guard has no keys on him and therefore no way to release us. Withholding a sigh, I lay my back against the wall and try to forget the last few hours. I had known that Tsukino had not listened to me when I warned her not to use her energy, but the fact that she had wasted her energy on me after what I had done is making me feel nauseous and anxious. For the life of me, I can not figure out why she had reacted like that. Part of my anxiety is caused by the fact that I can not blame her curse for her reaction, so I have to face other possibilities that I had been sure were false such as her having actual feelings for me. Thankfully, I am unable to dwell on those thoughts for very long because Kioshi has started to talk non-stop since I did not answer his last two questions.
"-And you look like a girl." He pauses for a second. "I wonder if they are sleeping together yet."
Unaccustomed to feeling anger in my demon form, I turn tell him that Tsukino is not that type of girl when the words die in my throat at the sight of my cellmate. Sometime between the start of his torture and Rose healing him, the black mask that had covered his face had been removed and his hat had fallen off revealing long black hair, long pointed ears (similar to Jin's when excited), and annoyed purple eyes.
Anger disappears and calmly I ask, "If your name isn't Kioshi, what is it?"
He frowns but his eyes also widen in confusion and amusement from my supposedly random question. "Where the heck did that come from?"
"What is your real name?"
"I thought you said telling someone your real name was stupid."
Realizing that asking him directly was not going to work, I ask, "Who was your father?"
"My dad is alive thanks."
"What is his name?"
Rolling his eyes, he replies, "Hajime."
Instantly, I realize that I don't know the name of my old partner's father, and my mind is unable to think straight due to the sedating fog in the cage.
Kioshi does not seem affected though as he asks, "So who was your dad?"
Deciding to humour him, I reply, "A simple nameless fox."
He frowns. "You mean you weren't born a fox demon?"
I shake my head and try to think of another way to learn the true identity of the bat in front of me.
"Then what are you?"
Knowing that telling him exactly what I am would not only be complicated but also revealing, I explain what I used to be. "A spirit of a Human World fox who entered Demon World and eventually gained demon hood."
"A Spirit Fox?"
I nod and wait for him to say something else. He does not disappoint.
"Ah. Sorry about mistaking you for someone else. I just thought that you were the kid of a friend of mine." He leaned again the wall of the cage and placed his hands behind his head. "I hoped he and my sister would have gotten together already since I haven't seen them in over two thousand years. I guess I should I realized that when you told me your age." He glanced at me sidelong. "Unless you aren't really 3000 years old."
"It's complicated." I reply carefully as I mentally debate whether to expose myself as Kurama to this possible stranger or to remain quiet.
Kioshi laughs. "Let me guess. You died and then posses another person's body without actually going to Spirit World and technically dying."
My mouth replies before my brain can think. "You seem to know a lot about me, Kuronue."
For a second, he sits completely rigid before he glares at me and hisses, "How the hell do you know me?"
Smirking slightly, I calmly stretch as I once did as a spirit fox and reply, "I believe I told you years ago to leave the heartless threatening to me. When you try, you end up sounding like a snake. It's rather hard to understand you then."
I can almost see the confusion turn into reorganization and then into shock as his mouth hangs open and his eyes widen. "No way. No fricking way. Kurama?"
Calmly, I nod.
"What the hell are you doing in Demon World! I thought you were living as a human now!"
Casting a glance at the guard, I mutter, "Be quiet before you wake the guard. And first explain why you are still alive."
My old partner glares at me once again. "I asked first."
"But I am still stronger than you."
Kuronue is silent for a moment before he obeys. "It was a trap made by Enma. His men caught me in the bamboo and dragged me back to the castle before they locked me up. Apparently he needed a thief to work for him. The mirror was just bait."
I nod. "So he brainwashed you?"
He nods and a bit of pride enters his eyes. "You don't honestly think that Enma could have gotten all those demon treasures without help."
"How did you throw off the mind control?"
He shrugs. "No idea. Just one day about a year ago I suddenly felt like I had woken up from a bad dream and found myself in the middle of Demon World. I tried to find you and Mikiku, but both of you had disappeared. Then I heard all about the tournaments and how you went ahead and got shot and then joined the human side. Nice way to turn coat by the way. Makes you very easy to find."
I shake my head in dismissal. "Did you find anything about Mikiku?"
Kuronue shakes his head. "Nothing. Apparently she left the bar, and everyone I asked had no idea who I was talking about. Then this Fox's Rose chick showed up saying that she was Mikiku, but when she ran into me, she acted all wrong, and your batty-cat sounds more like Mikiku than that poser does. Speaking of batty-cats, what are you doing here travelling with one? You aren't cheating on Mikiku are you, because even though you sorta died, the bet still is in effect."
I frowning, I push the unwanted reminder of my past into the back of my mind before explaining how I came to be in Demon World. "As you no doubt already guess, Tama-chan and I are on a mission from Koenma to capture The Fox's Rose."
"Why?"
"She stole the broken Forlorn Hope from the Spirit World Vault."
Kuronue frowns. "Broken, when did it get broken? If it was some weak demon, I'll kill you because I'll have you know I almost died four times while stealing that."
"It's not important."
"Oh so my life isn't important anymore. I guess I'll just go jump off a cliff then." The small smile on his face is the only hint that he is joking.
Despite the situation, I cannot help but chuckle. "And I suppose you would just fly to the other side as well."
He rolls his eyes and says, "Ha ha. Very funny Kurama so what's been happening with you? Does Mikiku know that you are alive and why no pups yet?"
If I was in my human form, I would most likely be feeling quite guilty. Thankfully I am still in my demon form and slightly immune to the effects of guilt. "Remind me later that I owe you a life-time of drinks."
Kuronue's eyes widen. "What? You mean you two aren't together yet?"
"We never were Kuronue. It was just a bet."
"But there was some feelings right?"
I shake my head. "I'm afraid not."
"But-"
"All of it an act."
"So it couldn't have become real?"
I can almost feel my human conscience squirming. "I doubt it."
"Why not?"
"Foxes aren't like bats. We're more solitary creatures-"
Kuronue's face turns red in anger. "What does that have to do with it?"
I look him straight in the eyes and slowly ask, "How can you do something you have never known how to do?"
"You have got to be kidding me!"
I shrug. "It was just too soon, Kuronue. Perhaps if we had the bet now, things could have ended differently."
Now Kuronue's eyes were also giving off the red glow of anger. "I thought you were better than that. So you're telling me you were just in it for the bet? Why didn't you tell me!"
I nod, no longer caring about the guard or the other prisoners as there are none at this time. "Both of ours were and because it was a bet in which pride was wagered."
"You are sick."
I frown. "If I recall correctly, I was the one forced into a corner and who tried to make the best of it."
"I can't believe you did that! So you just changed her to match your needs?"
Ignoring his question, I reply, "'Did' is the key word. Though I cannot change the past during my time in Human World I have managed to overcome some flaws in personality."
Kuronue rolls his eyes again. "Oh and I suppose that batty-cat is your next attempt. Maybe it's a good thing you died before anything happened. At least wherever Mikiku is she doesn't have to worry about you trying to change her." With those final words, he turns his back on me and glares at the wall.
For a moment, I say nothing as I inwardly flinch at Kuronue's bluntness. However, once I have thought over the possibilities, I nod. "Yes, perhaps it was a good thing," I reply and the cage becomes silent.
Sometime between remembering my time in Human World and trying to figure out why I always fell for the men that hated me or tried to use me, Neyuki found me in my room. She took one look at my sorry state and instantly demanded information. I told her as much as I could, leaving out the fact that I was on a mission with Kurama, and made it seem like I had met the fox, fell for him, left him, and ran into Neyou, who also later left. She knew that I was leaving information out but thankfully did not question me like Botan or Keiko would have.
Once the 'whole' story was out on the floor Neyuki asked what Rose wanted with me. Word that we were planning something had gotten around the base, and the fact that both of us were half bat had the leaders suspicious. To put Neyuki's worries to rest, I explained about Kurama's and Rose's supposed relationship from the little I knew. When Neyuki nodded and asked what that had to do with me, I hesitated, unsure how to explain why Rose and I were working together without telling Neyuki about the mission. In the end, I managed to say that Rose wanted revenge and I wanted away from Kurama so we were planning a bit of payback and told her about the plan.
Her face became red with anger and disgust, and she insisted to know whether I was going to go along with the plan.
It was around this time that Neichi appeared in my doorway looking relieved beyond words. "Tama-chan!" he shouted before wrapping his arms around me in a loving hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get carried away. I didn't mean to scare you. Just the thought of that fox- I'm sorry!"
Over his shoulder, Neyuki stared at us in complete confusion before a small grin appeared on her face. "I'll leave you two alone and Tama-chan, maybe you should ditch the plan and just move on." She stared pointedly at Neichi before waving and disappearing out the door leaving us alone.
Unsure of what to do for the slightly hysterical cat demon, I hugged him back and explained that I wasn't upset with him. I was just knocked off balance by seeing 'that fox'.
For moments after that we were silent and thinking as we held each other. I had barely known him a month but I still couldn't picture Neichi and myself as a couple. Sure he was nice, caring, understanding, and loving but it didn't feel right. My curse never reacted to him and that made me worry since it reacted so strongly to Kurama. But Neyuki had a point when she said that I should move on. Maybe the reason my curse wasn't acting up was because it didn't need to act up. Maybe (as corny as it sounded) the curse only affected me when males I wasn't supposed to be with were around. I didn't know for sure so I didn't act on my suspicions and just let myself be in Neichi's arms and tried not to think about the last time someone had held me this close after falling into the lake at Genkai's.
Finally, he released me and apologized once again, to which I explained that everything was fine now, though things were far from that. Rose was still waiting for an answer, Kurama and his partner were in grave danger, and the mission was falling apart. But as far as Neichi was concerned, things were just fine and would stay that way if I could help it. Too many people had suffered because of me, and I wasn't about to add another person to that list.
The cage in which Kuronue and I dwell remained silence for almost an hour until Kuronue's boredom and inability to sleep got the best of him.
"So if there isn't anything between you and that batty-cat, why did you kiss her mid-way through her healing you?"
Slightly annoyed about being pulled away from my forming plans of escape, I reply without looking at him. "Do you remember why we never wanted Mikiku to use her demon energy?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him nod. "Yeah, something about how her energy wouldn't be able to adapt to her body and would kill her eventually." The confused frown on his face quickly turns into widened eyes of understanding as he looks over at the door where hours before Tsukino had disappeared. "So she's having the same problem."
I nod. "I would have stopped her sooner, but I was unable to move at the time and attacking her physically would only have worsened the problem so I didn't have any options left."
"Does she know about the whole killer energy thing?"
I shake my head. "I warned her not to use her energy but did not explain fully. It is obvious that she did not listen to me though."
Kuronue shrugs. "Can you blame her? Who knows what that Fox's Rose has told her. She probably thinks that you're only interested in a one-night stand." He pauses to listen to something down the hallway. "So what are you interested in with her anyways?"
"I believe you already said that there was nothing between us."
"So there really is nothing?"
"There is nothing."
"Then why don't you sound so sure?"
I do not reply because I do not have an answer. Bluffing will not work with Kuronue; he knows me too well and would twist it to his advantage. So I remain silent and, to my own dismay, ponder his question. When Kuronue and I left what I assume to be her apartment, I was sure it was just lust but now after willing wagering my life against the demon who marked her, I am forced to review things.
We are silent for minutes before Kuronue speaks once more. His wings sagging behind him. "Kurama? I'm sorry about the whole Mikiku thing. I really acted out of line."
"No more than Yomi," I mutter before nodding in acknowledgement of his apology.
A small frown appears on his face as his eyes narrow in annoyance. "Speaking of Yomi, how could you replace me with someone so stupid? I mean not even I was stupid enough to storm the castle of Raizen."
Knowing that a rant is starting, I brace myself and a small smile appears on my face. Though I have no idea how we will escape and how long we have to live, one thing is certain, though I am no longer fully a demon or a thief, some things never change.
A/N: Nice long chapter for you and before you all spaz at me for the torture of Kurama I didn't make him cry to make him seem weak. I was merely emphasising the fact that the torture was THAT bad since not once (as far as I recall) does Kurama cry from pain in the series. He may yell from the pain (see fight with Karasu) but he doesn't cry. Thus you can see how bad the pain was. And do not ask me where that bit with Kurama in such pain came from. I don't know. I'm not usually a violent person and I wasn't listening to killing music nor was I mad. So if anyone knows what brought that evilness on, let me know.
So anyways, again this is a nice long chapter for you and I hope you enjoyed it slightly. At least Kuronue. I mean, you had to enjoy Kuronue yelling at him right?
Thanks for reading and reviewing and please keep reading. See ya.
-D101