A/N: If you guys have any music suggestions let me know either in the reviews or by PM (here, twitter, tumblr, wherever) because my playlists are all sounding a lot like one another and that won't do. I love listening to music to get inspiration, as I'm sure most of us are in the habit of doing, so hit me with your best songs.
This chapter is all about Kurama and a day in the life of our favorite redhead.
Kurama pushed away from the slapped together desk he'd pilfered from Victoria's storage shed some weeks earlier. Stretching his arms above his head he twisting gently side to side until he heard the relieving snaps and crackles of his spine. The second floor of the lake house held the heat the air conditioners downstairs banished. Beads of sweat trailed down his neck and back. He'd unbuttoned his collared shirt three or four buttons and still the air pressured him to just shed the garment all together. Now that he was done with his online work the day he feasibly could strip down and enjoy the privacy of the room since Hiei was gone all day bouncing between aunties and Ashland's house. He hoped Bethany was doing alright.
Instead of shirking out of his clothing all together he changed into a pair of blush colored chino shorts and a pale grey linen shirt, also button down, but this one at least at short sleeves. Tucking the front of his shirt into his shorts he held a black elastic between his teeth. Using muscle memory he wrapped his thick hair through the elastic until the mass of scarlet sat atop his head. It was a small bonus that in this world men wearing their hair in what he knew as feminine styles was not seen as unusual. It made surviving this awful heat easier at the very least.
Several coats of antiperspirant later he felt safe to leave the room and head downstairs to speak to Victoria before Grams arrived. Just before he closed the door he paused, glanced back at the tangled top sheet and blanket, considering leaving it as was before ultimately deciding to cave and make the bed. Hiei was a slouch. He had been in their world and he was in this one too. Maybe not in all ways, but definitely when it came to housework. The former fire demon made a terrible roommate. He barely ever picked up his own clothing to put it in the basket for washing, much less had he ever learned to operate the damn washer and dryer himself. He left the tidying to Kurama, which he had explained a few nights before.
"You like that sort of thing. You're always doing it." Hiei waved a hand dismissively through the air, eyes already closed as he lay on his back ready to sleep.
"I'm only always doing it because you never seem to you." Kurama bit back, sitting up next to Hiei with arms crossed and a frown prominent on his face. "You couldn't survive on your own in this world, Hiei. I'm convinced."
"Don't make this my problem, Kurama. If you want something done then stop whining like a housewife and actually ask me to do something."
Kurama casually fluffed his own pillow in his lap before gripping it firmly on each side, shifting his weight and bringing the lumpy memory foam cushion down on Hiei's face, holding it there for a solid minute as the other man shoved at him. When he relented it was with a satisfied smile. Hiei shot upright, accusation and fear lighting his previously lazy features. Kurama laid his pillow down, snuggled against it and sighed happily.
"I feel better."
"I'll pick up the clothes."
"If you wish, Hiei."
The memory brought back the sick satisfaction he'd gotten from the moment and he savored it. Hiei had grown lax, thinking they were in a world relatively free of dangers they could not handle. Aside from the random odd demon popping up, Grams strange power and Victoria's apparent manipulative energy the dangers of this life were fairly mundane. Except for Kurama's anger. No, that was far from humdrum. His wrath still held all it's sharp edges and worse for Hiei was the fact they were on even ground. At least before Hiei had been able to sprint around or flash away to avoid being caught in his poor attitude, but now he had nowhere to run and no means of escape. Hiei was trapped with Kurama.
So he better learn to pick up his own goddamn shorts from the floor for his own good.
Kurama settled himself, plastered on a smile he hoped rang of gentleness and left the room finally.
"Good morning." Kurama called as he landed at the base of the stairs. He kept the cheerful mask in place despite the fact that Victoria did not immediately turn to greet him. "Have you eaten?"
Victoria stood at the back door peering through the screen as she mindlessly rubbed the stone of her necklace. Her gaze seemed fixed to something in the distance, eyes slightly pinched into a squint as though she were lost in deep consideration of some troublesome idea. It was a look he'd grown familiar seeing over the last several days.
Ever since Dorian's visit Victoria seemed troubled at all times, even when she tried to fake otherwise.
"I was thinking that once I got back, we should practice your Japanese some more. You're starting to grasp the pronunciations. We should keep up with it so you don't lapse." He continued on with his one-sided conversation, hoping to draw her out of her transfixed state.
"I'm not sure what to do about Abraham." She voiced, distracted. It was obvious she hadn't really heard anything he'd said. "All he does is lurk by the dock."
"Might I suggest exterminating him?" Kurama's callous suggestion earned barely a glance from the teal haired woman. Oh. That's what her hair reminded him of so suddenly: Yukina. It was the same color. Had she chosen it for that reason? He doubted it, honestly.
"I guess maybe I should have." She admitted after several moments of silence lapsed. "He's not meant to be chained to a small section of water, being fed cucumbers by an idiot. But it's not his fault he's here now. He was brought here."
"It tried to kill Ashland." Kurama reminded her unamused with her misplaced humanity. "Kappas aren't the highly evolved beings you might be thinking they are. They run primarily on instinct, and often that instinct is not friendly towards humans. Sure, it's fine with you or even us, but if it were to get away it would definitely kill someone. And we can only hope the most it does is kill."
Victoria's finger curled around the stone she'd been fiddling with, nestling it in the center of her fist. Closing her eyes she looked to be in pain for a moment.
"I don't want to kill him after tethering it to me. That seems cruel." She spoke quietly.
Kurama went to say something but was cut off by her finishing her thought.
"I wonder if this is the way Dorian sees me."
Kurama stared at her. A rush of understanding as to her expression and her strange protective of the demon struck him like lightning fixating on the tallest tree in the forest. She was projecting. No wonder she had given the damn thing a name and spent a small fortune on cucumbers to keep it fed. He hadn't been able to grasp her reasoning before but now it all made sense.
"Did the salve work?" He asked her, safely tucked into the kitchen where he could lean forward with his elbows on the counter to study her. This vantage point allowed him to see the nuances of her expressions, her posture, her reactions. He took mental notes of everything so he could parse out the rest of this puzzle at a later time.
She sighed, bringing her thumb up to her teeth. Her words came out around her chewing on the skin by her nail bed. "Only one way to find out."
Leaving the house.
Something he hadn't seen her do since Dorian had attacked her. Them, really, but it was Victoria who had suffered the most from the assault. He couldn't blame her for needed time to recover. She'd gone from one unspeakable test to another that night, and the fact she'd had energy at all to expend was nothing less than a miracle. Despite her exhaustion, her fear, her rage she had still stalked out into the yard to meet her demon head on without hesitation.
He had the feeling that Yusuke would very much so enjoy making Victoria's acquaintance. They had some similar hard-headed tendencies when it came to protecting others. It was easy to picture Victoria puffing up her chest, chin raised and glaring down an enemy she had no hope of defeating. With that same ease he could imagine her coming out victorious, if not for herself then definitely for those she was standing up for.
"You look nice." Victoria finally turned to him fully, still gnawing on the skin around her cuticle. When green eyes pointedly fixated on her hand she lowered it from her mouth.
"Thank you. Apparently I'm being taken out for brunch today." He explained. "Which leads me to ask, will you be joining us?"
"Not today."
Of course not. It had been worth a shot asking anyway. He'd find a way to get her out of the house eventually.
"I forgot it was brunch day. Grams, Bethany, Vanessa and me always go out once a month for brunch. It's our girls day or whatever. I'm glad they're taking you."
"I don't need to remind them all that I am, in fact, not a woman do I?" Kurama's expression lost all pretense of friendliness. The shift earned a stifled grin from Victoria, who shook her head. "Come with us. Act as my buffer."
Maybe if he made this about needing her there to save him she would-
"Not today." She repeated, her smile dying slowly. "Vanessa will keep the wolves at bay."
"You cannot expect a wolf to turn on the pack." He sighed, forlorn.
"Sorry sport." A shrug answered him. "You'll have fun. It's all talk, mimosas, food and then maybe even mani-pedis. I'd send Hiei too if I could. That dude needs someone to clip his damn toenails. They make me want to gag when he wears flip-flops."
Kurama laughed, rolling his eyes in good humor. "Try sleeping next to him."
"Do you two like sleeping together?" Victoria slipped onto one of the bar stools as she asked the question, her body swiveling just ever so slightly back and forth.
"It's not ideal."
"I sort of figured that." She pursed her lips. "I have a cousin, Payton, and he has a trailer up for rent. I bet I could take it off his hands for a while. Would one of you want to live near the wood line? It wouldn't have AC, it's a hitch trailer so it'd be small too, but it would at least have it's own bed and some storage for personal effects."
"Small? Near the woods?" Kurama perked up. He felt his face grow bright, a genuine grin spreading out over his lips as he slammed his palms down onto the counter excitedly. The action made Victoria jump. "That sounds perfect for Hiei! How much do I have to pay for this to happen? Can it be done soon?"
"Let me give him a call." Victoria leaned back from him as he teetered forward in his fervor. "I'll talk to him while you're out."
"I will pay." He emphasized.
"I get it, K-drama, I get it. Calm down. I'm scared you're going to kiss me in your gratitude or something." She held up her hands to ward him off. "Relax."
"I'm just so happy." He expressed, unable to articulate the sheer amount of euphoria this idea had unleashed in him.
"Oh, yeah, if you guys go shopping could you take a look at some window units?" She requested. "I'll give you my card in case you find one that's a good price. I feel bad you guys have to live in that hotbox. I tried to repair the old one I had but it's dead and gone."
After fishing in her pocket, Victoria produced her debit card and slid it toward him. He stared at it for a solid twenty-seconds before raising his curious glance to her face.
"Why do I need your card?"
"So I can buy the window units for you. I'm not going to be there. I trust your judgment."
"I could drain your account, you know. This is incredibly trusting of you. In that same vein, it's unspeakably naive."
"What are you going to do, Kurama? Rob me? I know where you sleep." She leveled him with a dark look. "Not to mention you wouldn't be the first man to wrong me and run only to discover for yourself that I can, and would, hunt you the fuck down."
He felt the hair on his nape raise so he accepted the card without further argument. "Glad we're on the same page."
"Me too." She stared at him until someone opened the front door. They both turned their attention to the interloper.
"Hey babe. You coming with us?" Vanessa bee-bopped into the house without preamble, sun-kissed skin still glowing with warmth. Her hair sat high on the back of her head in a ponytail that bounced side to side with her movements, her lipstick the perfect match for her thin-strapped summer dress. "You know you need your nails done with the way you've been chewing at them."
Grams followed Vanessa in and at the last statement shot her granddaughter a disappointed frown.
Victoria curled her fingers so that her nails were hidden against the counter top. "I don't do that anymore."
"Victoria still isn't feeling her best, so I believe she's staying in today to recover." Kurama announced, glancing to the woman for confirmation. When she nodded he tacked on, "Please don't forget to eat well today. You cannot regain your strength if you don't drink water and give your body the fuel it needs."
"You have no idea what brunch means do you?" She asked him.
"It's the casual meal between breakfast and lunch."
"Don't worry baby, we'll put some meat on those bones of yours. You look like a strong wind would blow you away." Grams patted Kurama's shoulder with a warm smile. Turning to Victoria she added, "We'll bring something back for you."
Victoria nodded in acceptance, thanked her, and planted a sweet kiss on her grandmother's cheek before the two women rushed Kurama from the relative coolness of the house and into the instantaneous sweat bolstering sunshine.
"Oh we're fixin to be ready honey, just a minute 'kay?" Bethany flashed a dazzling smile toward the waiter who immediately accepted her sweet demand. "So, y'all know what you want yet?"
Kurama set his menu down. He went to open his mouth when Vanessa took his menu from him, stacking it with her own then Grams.
"Yeah, we're all set." Vanessa turned in her seat and grinned as she waved the waiter back over. "Thank you for waiting sweetheart, so we're going to get-"
Kurama kept trying to interject with his order but eventually gave up as he realized that the others had ordered for him without bothering to ask his tastes. Vanessa winked at him and he forced himself to internalize his urge to sigh.
This was going on his blog later.
"Thank you for ordering for me." Kurama tossed at Vanessa with as much shade as he could muster without bringing too much attention to his rudeness.
"You got it baby, don't you worry. We're gonna take good care of you today. You're one of the girls." Vanessa shot him a smile that told him she knew she was pissing him off but she didn't care.
"I am, decidedly not." He smiled sweetly. "Though I don't mind being your token boy friend."
"You think highly of yourself if you think you're good enough to be our boyfriend." Bethany laughed. "I'm so glad you came today, although I have to ask, is Victoria okay? She's been shut up in that house for a week now. I hope this isn't like last time she hit one of these moods."
"I think she'll be alright." Kurama allowed cautiously, though he managed a disarming smile to sway any lingering doubt. "This has happened before?"
"Yeah, after her mother died." Bethany sighed and glanced at Grams, her face losing it's radiant joy. Suddenly, for the first time, Kurama realized there were fine wrinkles around Bethany's eyes and her mouth. Smile lines, he'd heard them called before. Like a gentleman he didn't comment on their presence, but they still caught his attention. It seemed attempting to be a constant visage of happiness had it's cost. "It was an awful time for her, she loved her momma so much. It was heartbreaking. She broke down crying during the eulogy and couldn't finish. When her daddy starting seeing my mom she got so angry, it was like she turned into a different person. We had never been close before that, but she definitely wanted nothing to do with me after.
"But right after the death, I remember she missed school a lot. She had to get a special note from a therapist about it so that she wouldn't get held back. It was pretty serious."
Kurama listened intently, bent toward Bethany slightly as he leaned over the table. She seemed truly worried about her step-sister. He pressed his lips thin, adding this story to his mental notes about Victoria. His intrigue and concern wasn't necessarily for the presence of the deep depression that had obviously taken hold of his friend, but because he knew now that Dorian had been summoned into her life around the same time. Was it his presence that sapped her energy? Had she walked between planes then too and found herself recovering for so long after?
He felt guilty for trying to push her into joining them if that was the case.
If she needed time to regain her strength and herself then he shouldn't be dictating how that looked. It was her timeline to manage not his, no matter how well-intentioned his meddling was.
"She'll be fine." Kurama assuaged Bethany as he reached over and patted her hand, allowing himself to lapse once more into his most calming, placating smile. "Victoria just had a rough weekend and is more sensitive to such things than she lets on."
"You two are really close." Bethany gave his fingers a squeeze before retracting her hand and before his eyes she shook off her veneer of concern, replacing it once more with that glowing smile. "I'm glad she has you around. I always thought Vick might be a touch lonely, but she's been awfully pleased having you two visiting her."
"Glad to hear it."
"Well, I'm glad you were able to join us." Grams told Bethany. "How are you honey?"
Bethany made a show of rolling her eyes as she huffed. "Did you know that damn fool I married told me he'd babysit Ashland so I could go out? Babysit. His own damn child. I had half a mind to break a plate over his head."
Kurama's eyes widened. He angled toward Vanessa with that expression in place, his shock honest. She just winked at him once more and sipped her ice water. When the water brought over their first round of food she ordered a round of mimosas for the table. Then she paused, glanced at him and changed the order.
"Actually make that a mint julep for the gentleman."
He squinted at her in suspicion but let it slide. There was a lingering feeling that today was going to be strange so he might as well lay back and allow it all to wash over him. With careful fingers he plucked one of the orange slices from the side of his plate and ate the wedge delicately as he listened to Bethany go on about her husband. Every new thing he learned of that man made him glower inwardly. He knew that Hiei agreed but his roommate had in no uncertain words threatened the man's life if he ever dared raise his hand against Ashland or Bethany. Kurama had to admit that he found this side of Hiei awfully charming. It was rare to get to witness the short man's protective nature outright, but here in the comfort of a world that wouldn't immediately turn that softness against him, Hiei seemed to be growing into the habit.
"Men these days." Kurama lamented with a burdened sigh. "Not to say there haven't always been men with no sense, but it has been far more noticeable lately, in my opinion."
"Right?" Bethany nodded, bite of her breakfast held midway between the plate and her mouth. "Some people just weren't raised right and it shows. I'll tell you, if I had a son, I would never let him turn out like his daddy."
"That's a rather telling statement." Kurama hadn't meant to say that outloud but he had and now all three women regarded with him mixed humor and discontent.
"We don't just say things like that." Vanessa warned him with a soft hit to his shoulder "Tuck your opinions behind your teeth Kurama."
"No, he's right. That man needs to get his mind right." Bethany protected Kurama with her statement. "I get it. Sometimes I don't understand why I deal with that man at all, other than the fact he's a good daddy to Ashland. He has his moments but he does love that little girl."
Kurama chose not to comment on that one.
"So, Kurama, I heard you had a run in with Baby Brett." Grams broke through the conversation to pinpoint all the attention onto the redhead who rued having to shoulder it.
A venomous glare directed toward Vanessa earned a shrug and a head shake of denial. She accepted her mimosa from the waiter and immediately sipped it while avoiding eye contact. Kurama thanked the man for his mint julep, unappeased.
"Brett told me. I was down at the restaurant the other day and he was all kinda flustered about this man he'd seen at Victoria's place. I think he's in love with you." Grams explained, offering a teasing grin. Her eyes twinkled. She was so much like her granddaughter, he couldn't deny the relation if he tried.
Victoria was a pain in the ass too.
"Can we not." Kurama groaned. He sipped his drink and immediately sputtered at the strength of the alcohol he swallowed.
"Figured you could use the help taking the edge off." Vanessa clicked her tongue, shooting him a completely inaccurate salute. "I got your back sweetie."
He should have realized this would be an ambush. Damn. He'd grown soft, lax in his company. A foolish thing to do.
"I think we should." Grams flashed her teeth in a smile. That look did not ring of comfort.
"I met the boy, yes. He did not see me at my best so I find it odd that he found me attractive." Kurama pursed his lips. "I also would like us to not make a thing out of it. He's a boy, his hormones are rampant. There's no reason to blow a simple crush out of proportion."
"He's enamored. Couldn't stop talking about you and how cool you sounded and how comfortable you were with yourself." Grams pressed with delight.
"I just want to adopt that poor baby boy." Vanessa lamented, ignored.
"You have quite the charm about you." Grams continued as though no one had interrupted her.
"He's my son." Vanessa sighed heavily, visibly distraught. "I have to adopt him. His parents are just so shit."
"I have to disagree. I think for a boy his age, it's natural to find strangers attractive." Kurama waved a hand through the air to dismiss the notion of his allure and also to bypass whatever breakdown Vanessa was in the midst of having. "I'll admit I was surprised to learn that he was attracted to me as a man. I normally get mistaken for a woman in those scenarios, so despite his affections being misplaced I will say they are mildly flattering."
"Maybe it's because both of y'all share a persuasion." Bethany suggested, her mimosa halfway gone along with a good portion of her meal.
Vanessa choked on her eggs, coughing into her fist before hitting herself in the chest, tears threatening to spill out her eyes. Her face burned red and Kurama couldn't tell if she were actually choking or if her sudden guffaw had simply caused her to inhale a bit of food and now the mixture of coughing and laughing just made it look like she was struggling to swallow. At any rate he decided, as retribution for her dig at him earlier, that he would wait a few minutes before coming to her aid. To his minor disappointment she managed to calm herself down quickly.
"Oh my, are you alright?" His cool question earned a look from the woman.
When she didn't answer right away he offered her a meaningless smile that did not touch his eyes, then turned to Bethany with curiosity. "What exactly do you mean by persuasion?"
"Oh, well, you know." She gestured to him with obvious discomfort as though he'd put her on the spot to say something embarrassing. "It's not like it's bad or anything, we just don't have a lot of folks like y'all in town so he's probably attracted to you for that reason."
"I'm not following." Kurama turned to Grams and Vanessa for clarification.
"I'm gonna give you a minute." Vanessa patted his knee and shook her head.
He knew then he had missed an obvious piece to this puzzle so he sat back and considered the conservation while enjoying his cheesy grits and his fried eggs. He enjoyed spooning the grits onto his toast, adding a piece of ham or bacon, then the egg and eating that open-faced sandwich with his fork to avoid messing his hands. Halfway through his third bite the answer struck him and he stopped chewing, closing his eyes. After swallowing purposefully, he sipped his drink and sipped his drink and sipped his drink. Perhaps Vanessa was psychic, because she had been right in ordering him something strong enough to bolster his languid nature for this discussion.
"Ah. Yes. I get it." He patted his mouth with his napkin then sighed, raking his fingers through his bangs. In the kindest tone he could manage he went on. "Bethany, honey, while I have found myself attracted to men I have to discourage you from labeling my sexuality for me."
Her cheeks burned scarlet when he turned to look at her with glittering, eyes as he worked the charm he had just denied having. With a sultry lift of his lips he held eye contact with her and watched her blush deepen.
"After all, it's not only men who have captured my interest."
Bethany made a small noise, her eyes wide and lips parted. He cut her some slack and dulled the razor blade that was his magnetism.
"This food is delicious. I admit, I was skeptical when you ordered for me." Kurama pulled back and shifted his attention toward Vanessa with a gleeming smile in place. "I have truly grown to appreciate grits, and even though I know it isn't good for me, the cheese just adds something deeper to it."
"We'll have to make you my famous shrimp n'grits soon then. You'll love it." Grams announced. "We'll do it on Sunday. Everyone will be together and it'll be a meal. Maybe you could even make us something from your home. Your mother surely taught you to cook."
A mild sense of panic gripped Kurama from his stomach, his expression slipping some. Cooking? Oh no. "She did teach me a few things. I'll try to make something everyone will enjoy."
"I'm sure you will, honey." Grams eyed him in a way that made him suspect she'd put him on the spot for a reason. Like she knew he couldn't cook but asked him to anyway. Blue eyes glanced toward Bethany, which made green follow, and then Kurama connected the dots. Well. These women really didn't like it when you teased their family now did they?
He mustered up some false confidence after finishing his drink. His saving grace in all this was that none of Victoria's family seemed all that well versed in Japanese culture or cuisine. Her cousin Bobby had asked him how much rice his family grew and that became the standard for his expectations of these people. Not that he didn't like Victoria's family. It was just that they had no idea what the hell they were talking about most of the time.
"Leave it me." He grinned, flashing his teeth with intent.
"Of course, baby. Of course. You know what, I'm realizing we haven't been all that hospitable to you and Hiei, have we? We've just been serving you all our own food. I think I'll look into some good ole Japanese homecooking and whip something up for y'all too. We'll compare recipes."
Feeling himself backed into a corner Kurama tried not to snap his teeth. Instead he gestured for a second drink, preparing himself for a battle of wills and stomachs. "I'd like that very much Grams, how incredibly thoughtful of you."
He wanted to narrow his eyes in suspicion but he didn't have time. His brain was already at work trying to think of the best recipe he could master in the five days he had until Sunday. Cooking had never been his strongest trait. His mother had tried several times to teach him, and he could do basic things to help her. He'd obviously learned simple, healthy recipes for when she was ill. But that had been mostly raw foods, heavily nutritional items to encourage her to recuperate.
Grams seemed to sense his internal quandary because she offered him a saccharine smile. He took another bite of his food, chewing thoughtfully as the waiter provided him his second mint julep. Oh, he could not wait until Sunday. He was Kurama for fox sake. He could learn to do anything if he wanted to. Cooking would be nothing. And when that family buffet started, and Grams ate his food she'd know she had challenged the wrong demon. He couldn't wait to bite into her surely Americanized Japanese dish and smile sweetly while uttering his favorite spiteful southern idiom.
Bless your heart.
"It's so ungodly hot out here." Kurama fanned himself the vehicle manual he had fished out of Vanessa's glove box. The haze of the two beverages he'd consumed had only grown worse once he'd stepped into the heat. Now he was sticking to the passenger seat of Vanessa's Jeep waiting for the gods to just kill him already. "How do you stand the heat?"
"You were airy clothes, you drink sweet tea and you sit in air conditioning all day." Vanessa told him before laying on her horn. "Get out the damn road you dingus! This isn't a turn lane motherfucker!"
Kurama let her road rage slide because he had grown fair accustomed to it at this point.
"My hair is so thick. I can't handle it." He complained further. "It's like having a furnace on my head and neck."
"So cut it."
"I can't just cut it, what would my mother think? She actually likes it long."
"You could just thin it out or get an undercut. That'd probably help. And you wouldn't even notice it when your hair is down." Vanessa waved her hand at him before shouting obscenities at another driver. Calming down she turned to him for a second. "If you're not too much of a momma's boy that is."
"Undercut?" Kurama blinked at her, considering what that might mean. It sounded familiar.
"Yeah, like shaving the area above your neck? You'd see it when your hair is up but not when it's down."
Oh yes, he had come across that. People had designs carved into their hair above their nape. He bet that did help with the heat. It would mean less mass in and of itself but if he could get it thinned out as well that would be even better. It was a shame Shizuru hadn't jumped realities with him. She would be furious to learn he allowed another stylist to handle his locks, but he would deal with the repercussions later. This was an emergency.
"Let's do it." He stated firmly, his resolve fully thrown into the plan. "Now."
"Don't you need to buy an AC unit?"
"This first. If I don't get this haircut I might actually die."
"You're so fucking dramatic." She laughed. "I like it."
"Thank you."
Kurama only felt the thick fog of inebriation begin to lift from his thoughts once he was studying the back of his head using a handheld mirror, the hairdresser before him glowing with pride for his work. The man grinned, hands on hips, tattoos on display in full color to match his electric blue hair styled into a hard part comb over. He looked awfully proud.
Green eyes studded the undercut, with it's intricate geometric design, and he felt his stomach flip once. But then he touched it and the short hairs tickled his fingertips and that gut-punch of did-I-fuck-up vanished as a smile blossomed onto his face.
"It's perfect." Kurama told the man, lowering the mirror. "I already feel like I'm ten pounds lighter."
"Yeah, no kidding. Your hair is insanely thick. Also, I have never met anyone who had such vibrant red hair naturally. Most redheads have coppery colored hair, but yours is something else." The man looked Kurama down then up. "Must match that eye-catching smile of yours."
Kurama faltered for a moment, the idea he was being hit on by a man, yet again, striking him. Instead of floundering in confusion he just offered back a brilliant smile sure to melt the knees of anyone trapped in his attention.
"That slick tongue of yours will get you into trouble." He taunted, pulling out his wallet.
"God willing, it will."
That earned a chuckle from Kurama who paid the man for his handiwork and tipped him generously on top. Vanessa whistled and clapped at him once she saw him in the seating area, her trashy magazine discarded now that she had no reason to kill time.
"Well don't you look pretty as a flower. Now that you're all hot and made up, let's go get you an AC unit." She looped her arm through his, dragging him from the salon out into the mall proper.
Green eyes blinked for a moment, eyes scanning the crowd. He was positive that was Hiei he just saw walking toward the exit on the first floor, but it couldn't have been. The man had a fauxhawk for crying out loud. On was in jeans. Kurama wasn't sure that Hiei would ever be caught in jeans, much less in a building crammed full of people. He shook off the mistake and fell in step with Vanessa as she guided him to the department store that would hopefully meet his needs.
"They're going out of business so you won't be able to get a refund but they are having one hell of a sell." She explained. "Let's get us some deals honey."
Vanessa whipped into Victoria's driveway, unsettling gravel and causing dust to billow up behind her rear tires. The short stop coated Hiei, who was staring at an unfamiliar car, with the dirt clogged air. He spun around and flipped them off angrily. All at once Kurama realized that there was a stranger nearby and also that he had seen Hiei in the mall with what appeared to be an expertly styled fauxhawk that also now matched his glittery, dark purple fingernails that looked as though they'd been pained by a toddler.
"Busy day?" Kurama asked, hopping from the Cherokee's passenger side.
"Shut up. Look." Hiei gestured to the strange car.
"Yes, Hiei, I see it." The red head nodded, thankful for his new haircut but still feeling the need to fan himself in the heat. "Help me with the air conditioners."
Hiei jumped into action at the word air conditioner, nearly pushing Vanessa out of the way to grab one of the heavy boxes. His near goblin-like grin told Kurama that he'd made a good choice in his deeply discounted bounty. If nothing else, they'd at least be cool at night from now on.
"Wait. I think I know that car." Vanessa announced, reading the license plate. Then she muttered a string of ugly, colorful swears that ran together in a creative menagerie neither man had ever heard before. She marched to the front door leaving them both behind to either follow or wait.
They exchanged a look and Kurama followed, his AC unit forgotten, as he waited to see what drama was about to unfold.
Vanessa didn't bother knocking, she simply turned the front door's handle and pushed it open, stepping into the entryway looking ready to slit a man's throat. Kurama followed on her heels, Hiei close behind clutching one of the two window units to his chest as though it might disappear. What greeted the three of them were two strangers, one male and one a tall female, who had obviously been talking to Victoria. Their teal-haired roommate looked immediately annoyed and tired at their presence.
"I told you I wanted you gone before my roommates came back Brandon. You ass." She lamented, exhaustion riddling her posture. "Great. Now I have to explain all this."
Kurama glanced between all four of the humans, waiting for someone else to speak. Hiei adjusted the box in his grip, slowly allowing it to slide to the ground with his guidance. He edged it away from himself, eyebrows pulling down and feet sliding apart as though he might be attacked. The redhead had to disagree with that body language. He didn't feel threatened in the least.
In fact, with Vanessa's ire radiating from her like heat waves off of a volcano he imagined the only being in this room that needed to fear for itself was the man caught in her sights.
"What the ever loving fuck." The man gestured toward Kurama and Hiei, gaping in mild disgust before he turned back to face Victoria. "You've gotten into some real weird shit, Vick. You're living with two dudes now?"
"Call her Vick again and I'll rip your balls out through your throat asshole. What are you even doing here, you giant perv?" Vanessa entered the conversation with vigor. "Come to ask for a second illegal photo-op? Well she's not interested in whatever you have planned with your little girlfriend."
"Hey, I'm not little." The tall young woman disparaged. "And I'd never do anything to piss off Vick."
"Stay out of this." The man rolled his eyes.
"Nice way to treat a lady, you sick fuck." Vanessa laid into him further. "Is being a gross pig your new fetish?"
With audible frustration, Victoria sighed, her head rolling forward to hang on her neck, her shoulders coming down. After a moment she rose, squaring herself with what seemed like her last grain of energy to declare, "Vanessa stop. They're here because they need my help."