New chapter, coming your way!
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"Dimwit," Genkai shook her head as Yusuke told his mentor the story of their battle with the Succubus demon in her woods, "You let yourself get bit by a damn Widow? Do you really not know anything?"
"Shut up, Grandma, I've never seen one before," Yusuke defended himself, "How was I supposed to know what she would do."
"And you," Genkai pointed at Kuwabara, squinting in annoyance, "You just stood right next to it and let yourself get caught?"
"I was still recovering from the shock of knowing it!" Kuwabara whined.
"And you," Genkai even glared at Kurama, "Letting it get a hold of your weapon like that."
"I always have a spare these days," Kurama replied easily, "She may have fooled me once, but she would not have succeeded twice."
"Yukina did a great job," Botan said proudly, leaning onto Yukina's shoulder.
"Yeah, you should have seen her," Kuwabara agreed, grinning at his girl with pride, "She formed hundreds of tiny ice needles and stabbed them in her back!"
"Who knew?" Yusuke said, looking impressed, "Little soft spoken Yukina has some badass powers."
The group spent several hours discussing what to do about the bodies to cover up what had actually happened to them and what to do about Yukio's memory. Eventually, Genkai assured them she would handle the memory erasing and she would contact Spirit World about what to do with the bodies and insisted they all get some rest after their difficult evening.
"I'm afraid two of you will have to share a room," the old lady stated as they started to disperse, "I've been doing some renovating and several rooms are unusable."
Yusuke gave the old psychic a wink, knowing damn well she was still playing the Cupid game, completely unaware how well the previous plans had worked since they hadn't seen her in weeks. Kurama smiled and Botan nodded.
"Well, I want my own room," Yusuke began the room claiming, "And Botan snores like a freight train so she needs to be pretty far away from everyone."
"Ugh! You're such a jerk!" Botan huffed, but she didn't argue for the sake of the ruse.
"And Kurama needs his own room as well," Yusuke continued, "If he wakes up in the middle of the night in a strange room with a strange person, his fox side might flare up and attack."
Kurama gave Yusuke an annoyed look but remained silent, letting the chips fall as they may.
"Well, then it's settled," Genkai stated matter of fact. Everyone dispersed to their rooms, leaving Kuwabara and Yukina standing in the main room looking shocked at the turn of events.
"Well...I guess we get to share the room?" Yukina said obviously when they were alone.
"Guess so," Kuwabara affirmed, "You ready for bed?"
"Not yet," Yukina said quietly, "You want to go out to the deck and look at the stars?"
Kuwabara thought that sounded like a great idea, so he followed her happily out the sliding doors and onto the deck. They took a seat on the front steps and gazed up at the night sky, it was dark and full of bright stars and the way Yukina's eyes were reflecting the tiny lights made Kuwabara's stomach flutter. She was even more beautiful in the moonlight.
"Thanks for what you did, Yukina," he said softly, finding it a little difficult to admit he'd had to be rescued by the girl he swore he'd protect, "I'm not too proud to admit I needed rescuing."
"We all need rescuing sometimes, Kazuma," Yukina replied with a smile, "There's no shame in that."
"I'm just...supposed to be protecting you," Kuwabara admitted sadly, "That's how it's supposed to be."
Yukina remained silent, contemplating why anyone would feel that they had to always protect and never be protected themselves, she settled on the idea that it must be a male thing because she knew Hiei felt the same way about it. He felt he needed no one to stand for him.
"Want to go down to the shore?" Yukina's musing was shattered by Kazuma's question and she smiled brightly at the suggestion.
"Yes!" The ocean had fast become Yukina's favorite spot in Human World. They had no ocean in Demon World and the endless horizon of water fascinated her to no end, the way her skin felt when she came out of the salty water, the roar of the waves, the shells and creatures scattered over the soft sand...it was like nothing she'd ever known.
Kuwabara grinned and he stood, offering her his hand to help her stand. She took it gladly and they headed out of the garden and down the temple steps towards the shore below. They carefully made their way down the trail along the sea cliffs and Yukina sighed in happiness as soon as she started feeling the sand on the trail, meaning they were very close. She reached down and removed her sandals and then pulled down her stockings to go barefoot, the cool softness of the sand made her smile even wider.
The two of them ran barefoot down to the waterline, laughing as they went. Yukina looked up at the sky and gasped, the moon was a crescent sliver in the sky and it's light was so slight that the stars had no competition, they shone even brighter down here away from the temple lights, she thought she'd never seen such a beautiful sight.
"Want to go for a swim?" she asked brightly, turning to Kazuma with her hands clasped together with joy. He grinned at her and nodded eagerly, pulling his shirt over his head and slipping out of his jeans.
Yukina blushed, realizing now that she had no swimming suit and didn't really feel like swimming in a kimono...
"You can take it off, you know?" Kazuma's voice sounded genuinely unconcerned, "Not much difference between what you have on under that and a bikini."
He had a valid point, Yukina thought as she looked at him standing there in his boxers. No different than swimming trunks. Self-consciously, she undid her tie and turned away from him, blushing as she let the kimono fall to her feet. She waited quietly for a moment before turning around.
Kazuma was staring at her, like she'd expected, his gaze locked on her chest as she turned. But he soon shook his head and blinked hard, his eyes rising to meet hers and he smiled softy.
"Wow," he said quietly, "I mean, I knew you were beautiful under that thing but...I didn't know you were going to be this beautiful."
Yukina blushed at his compliment and she found herself feeling less and less nervous about her state of undress, it felt...normal. It felt right. And, as she let herself adjust to his admiring gaze, she found herself staring right back. Sure, she'd seen him in only his boxers many times back at their house, but that was before she'd realized her attraction to him, now it was a whole new view.
"Are we just gonna stare at each other all night?" Kazuma asked, breaking the silent tension.
"I would be ok with that," Yukina said without thinking, she then closed her mouth tightly when she realized what she'd said.
"So would I," Kazuma agreed with a wink, "But I know how much you love to swim and you'd hate to miss it."
Yukina giggled and then she took off at a run towards the water, splashing through the shallows until she was deep enough to jump into the small waves with a happy squeal, Kazuma followed her lead, laughing his usual raucous laughter before he hit the water with a mighty splash.
They splashed around for a time, laughing as they scooped palms full of water at each other's faces in a friendly war that he won naturally because of the larger amount of water his palms could scoop. Yukina finally called out that she was defeated and dramatically fell backwards into the water with her arms crossed over her chest in a dead pose. Kazuma punched the air in triumph and the two of them relaxed, treading water and letting the waves rock them lazily.
Kazuma quickly grew tired of the distance between them and he pushed off the bottom with enough force to reach Yukina before she could react. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifted the small ice maiden up out of the water and she squealed in surprise as she felt herself twisted around to face him and pulled in tightly to his bare chest. She giggled as she nuzzled in close and relaxed into his hug, smiling as she felt the warmth of his skin in contrast to the cool water around them.
"Yukina? Are you happy here in Human World?" Kazuma asked quietly, twisting a strand of her sea foam hair around his finger absentmindedly. "I mean...do you ever miss your home?"
"I'm very happy here, Kazuma," Yukina replied honestly, raising her head to look up at him, "My ice kingdom was small and isolated and even if I had free reign of all of Demon World, it could never compare to your world. Plus, I have you here and all our friends, I could never have that in Demon World."
"I'd follow you to Demon World if I had to," Kazuma insisted, giving her an Eskimo kiss.
"You'd die if you stayed there too long," Yukina reminded him.
"I'd die here without you anyway."
These words hit Yukina like a ton of bricks and she met his eyes to check if he was being serious...his expression left nothing to be debated, he was very serious. She found her mind wandering to how much she loved him in return. Enough to die for him? Yes. Enough to die if he was absent in her life? She wasn't aware that deep of a love was possible...but she had a feeling it would be the same for her. The thought of losing him was too much.
She blinked away the tears she felt forming on her eyelashes and she smiled at him, feeling a now familiar feeling forming low in her abdomen. He had told her that she could choose the time and place when she was ready to take the next step in their relationship...and, looking up at him here in the night surrounded by the sound of waves and wind, no one around and nothing to worry about, she felt brave enough to make her choice.
"Kazuma," she began softly, "I...I want..."
"Yeah?" Kazuma swallowed thickly, waiting on pins and needles for her to finish her statement.
"I have decided it's time to..."
But she didn't get to finish, because at that very moment Kazuma jerked his head to the right and his eyes widened in fear. He grabbed her shoulders forcefully.
"Hold your breath!" he shouted a moment before he shoved her beneath the water and ducked in after her.
Yukina wondered what was going on but her train of thought derailed when she felt a huge amount of force hit them and a roaring noise filled her ears, she felt herself being pushed and she grabbed onto Kazuma as tightly as she could as they were rolled by the massive wave that had come from seemingly nowhere. Yukina felt herself hit the sand under the shallows and her breath was knocked out of her, her mouth filled with water and she felt her chest burn as some reached her lungs. She felt Kazuma next to her and knew he was pulling her from the sensation of sand sliding along her back, she opened her eyes and saw that they were now on the shoreline just below the water line, the wave had literally thrown them onto the beach and he was pulling her quickly above the tide line.
Coughing harshly, Yukina rolled onto her side and felt herself begin to heave.
"Yukina, are you alright?" she heard Kazuma's frightened tone but she couldn't stop coughing and her vision was beginning to darken on the edges. A moment later she was on her back and she felt immense pressure just below her ribcage as Kazuma pushed his fist into her diaphragm, forcing the water in her lungs upward. Another massive cough and water gushed out of her mouth, instant relief flooded her when she realized she could breathe again. "Oh my god, baby, talk to me! Can you breathe?"
Yukina took a deep breath and nodded weakly.
"I'm ok," she croaked, her lungs were sore and she wanted to throw up but she held back.
"Thank god!" Kazuma swept her into another hug and began rocking her gently, "I am so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, I should have noticed the tide change!"
"Don't worry," Yukina found she could only say a few words at a time before she would cough again.
"Come on, let's get you back to the temple. You need to warm up and relax."
Kazuma scooped her up in his arms with no effort at all and Yukina gasped in surprise, it felt so strange to be carried like this, like she weighed nothing at all! He carried her to the log where they'd left their clothes and set her there while he gathered them up but they were soaked from the wave.
"Guess we won't be worrying about these for now," he muttered, "Here, carry these and I'll carry you."
Yukina took the clothes without a word and found herself picked up once again. She laid the clothes on her chest and curled her arms into herself, the cold night air was chilling her in a way ice and snow never did...it was an internal cold. She knew Kazuma was feeling it too because she could feel him shivering against her as they headed back up the trail towards the temple.
When they finally made it to the porch, Kazuma set Yukina on her feet and took the clothes from her, draping them over the railings of the deck to dry in the night air. He opened the sliding door slightly and looked around to make sure the coast was clear and then motioned Yukina to follow him inside.
"Why are we being so sneaky?" Yukina whispered as she stepped through the door.
"I just don't want Yusuke or Kurama to see you like this," Kazuma gestured to her undergarment clad body, "I'll grab us some blankets."
He disappeared into the other room and re-emerged with two towels and two fleece blankets. Yukina took a towel gratefully and began drying off her sand covered legs, happy to get the gritty grains off of her. Kazuma immediately began fluffing up his soaked hair, leaning over and shaking droplets every which way. When he straightened back up, Yukina nearly guffawed with laughter at the sight of his poofed out ginger locks.
"You look pretty funny yourself," Kazuma said with a good natured grin. He handed her one of the blankets and she gladly wrapped herself up in the warm fleece material.
"I'll make you some tea," Kazuma offered, tossing his towel over a nearby Buddha statue to dry and then disappearing into the kitchen. Yukina followed and sat cross-legged by the table to wait for the tea.
"Thank you for not letting me drown," she said, thinking back in horror to the feeling of water going into her lungs.
"It didn't look like you took in too much water," Kazuma commented as he stoked the fire in the fire pit, Genkai liked to do everything the old fashioned way, "You should be just fine. Probably more scared than anything, right?"
"It was terrifying," Yukina admitted with a nod.
"I will never let that happen again," Kazuma promised, sitting next to her on the floor. He wrapped his own blanket around his shoulders and seemed to relax in the current setting.
They sat in comfortable silence until the water in the teapot boiled and he got up to add the tea leaves to steep, he poured two cups and returned to sit with her again. Yukina sighed happily as the hot tea warmed her from the inside out, a wonderful feeling after almost drowning in the cold ocean water and she felt her eyes getting heavy with sleepiness.
"Ready to go to sleep?" Kazuma asked quietly as he watched her sway gently. Yukina nodded, blinking slowly, and they stood and headed for their room.
Yukina didn't hesitate, she immediately laid down and pulled the blankets up to her chin, snuggling deep into the mat beneath her. Genkai's temple was old-fashioned in every way and her beds were no different, traditional mats on the floor instead of the mattress and frame Kazuma was used to. But he would be willing to sleep on a bed of nails if it meant he got to sleep next to Yukina so he slid in beside her. He smiled broadly when Yukina backed into him, snuggling as close to him as possible, her entire back pressed to his chest. Kazuma counted his lucky stars as he draped his arm over her side, pulling her hips to him as well. It wasn't exactly how he'd hoped the night would end, but it was better than sleeping alone.
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Hiei rushed through the trees, heading at full speed for Genkai's temple. He'd felt his sister's panic all the way in Demon World and he had rushed to Human World as fast as he could manage, which was pretty dang fast.
"I'm coming, Yukina! Hold on!" Hiei cried out loud, it encouraged him and kept him going despite how tired he was getting. Finally, he skidded to a halt outside the front of the temple and looked around in surprise at how quiet and not dangerous everything seemed. Why had Yukina been so afraid a while ago?
Shaking his head, Hiei quietly entered the temple and looked around quickly and cautiously. He found Genkai asleep in the main bedroom, Yusuke was sleeping next door, then Botan and finally Kurama. He was so confused, nothing seemed amiss at all, and he could sense Yukina was nearby and she was fast asleep as well...and...and...
Hiei nearly roared out loud as he flew down the hall to the last bedroom and slid the panel open angrily. His eyes widened in disbelief and pure rage as the sight they beheld. That giant oaf of a human was laying next to his sister, no...laying with his sister, his stupid arm draped over her slender hips. His anger was further stoked when he realized that they were in a state of undress!
Fuming, Hiei drew his sword and pointed the tip at Kuwabara's neck behind his left ear. Oh, it would be so easy...just one little nick in the right place and he'd be out of his hair forever and away from his sister. But...that much blood was bound to wake her up and she would be terribly upset...no, killing him like this was not an option. Kuwabara must have sensed his presence because his eyes opened and he looked up in alarm. He glanced down at Yukina and seemed to be thinking carefully.
"Can we talk like this, Hiei?" his voice reached Hiei's mind in telepathic communication, "I don't want to wake her up. Plus, I have a feeling you have a lot to say to just me."
"You're damn right," Hiei shot back, his red eyes narrowed dangerously, "I warned you not to do this with her. I am going to have to kill you now."
Kuwabara looked incredulous and he furrowed his brows.
"Nothing happened, Hiei," he assured him desperately, "Everyone else just claimed all the rooms. And we were down by the shore and our clothes got wet so that's why we're...go look on the deck, I swear they're out there drying."
Hiei raced off and was back in a flash, he was annoyed to see Kuwabara was telling the truth.
"I still do not approve of this arrangement," the demon said angrily.
"I thought you gave me permission to be with her," Kuwabara reminded him gently, not wanting to stir Hiei up any more than he already was.
"I gave you permission to have a relationship with her, not this!"
"Well, in case you don't know much about relationships, this IS part of one..."
Hiei bared his fangs and Kuwabara stopped short.
"You said you would not force her!" he hissed.
"I didn't! I haven't. Listen, Hiei, I told her the choice will be hers. I promise I won't do a single thing she doesn't want me to. I'm waiting for her to make her own decision."
Hiei crossed his arms and huffed.
"You are not good enough for my sister," he hissed, "Can't you understand that? Koenma contacted me about the Succubus...and, from what I hear, Yukina had to save your worthless self."
"You should have seen her, Hiei," Kuwabara's telepatic tone was one of pride and he looked down at his girl with shining eyes, "I never knew she could do that! She was amazing!"
"I'm sure she was, because someone HAD to be," Hiei replied, unimpressed, "How am I supposed to give you two my support if you can't take care of her?"
"I can, Hiei, I promise," Kuwabara suddenly felt desperate to have Hiei understand, knowing how much he meant to Yukina made him eager for his acceptance of them together. "It was a mistake, but I have protected her before."
"Like the time at the Dark Tournament when you just stood there as the roof almost crushed her?" Hiei reminded him.
Kuwabara winced, he'd forgotten all about that incident. Sighing, he looked up to meet Hiei's eyes in all seriousness.
"What can I do to prove to you that she'll be safe with me?"
Hiei remained silent for a long time, his mind working furiously. Could this human ever be strong enough to make him feel as if his sister was in good hands? Would he ever be able to trust Kuwabara like he seemed to think he should?
"I know of only one way I could ever be convinced." Hiei finally came to a solution, "Remember when we fought Sensui...?"
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Sorry to end it here but it felt like the right place.
Thanks to all my readers for your continued interest in this story! There is more to come, next chapter will be M rated for sexy fun times, so if you don't like, don't read. If you do like, then read on and enjoy :)