Hey, I’m on the second chorus already! ^_^
Anyway, YuYu Hakusho ain’t mine, so you can forget about
that lawsuit you were planning.
Please drop me an e-mail now and then.
Your comments are always welcome! ^_^
SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH
And sometimes when we touch
The honesty’s too much
And I have to close my eyes and hide
I wanna hold you ‘til I die
‘Til we both break down and cry
I wanna hold you ‘til the fear in me subsides
Kurama
I’ve always heard that curiosity killed the cat...
I wonder...
Would it apply to an anxious, love-struck kitsune as well?
I found myself standing in front of Mukuro’s palace gates yet again.
However, this time, I didn’t have an invitation.
Kurama! I reprimanded myself mentally.
You just never learn do you? I sighed.
Oh well, what the heck.
Since I already went through all that trouble of tying up her guards in my vines,
I might as well get on with it.
I pushed open the gates, bracing myself for any attacks
her remaining guards could be planning on from inside her castle.
I knew that an intrusion at the main gate wasn’t very wise,
especially for an experienced Makai thief such as myself.
However, I did not want to risk getting lost in the S-class youkai’s domain
and the only route I know towards the regenerating chamber
is the one the Reikai Tantei and I took when we came here earlier.
Which of course, begins at the front gate.
I am surprised as I find no low-class bloodthirsty
demons waiting for me within.
But of course, it could always be a trap.
Slowly, I take a few steps, keeping my senses on the alert.
The gates suddenly swing shut behind me with a loud thud.
Instinctively, I whirl around towards the sound. I find no one.
A gruff voice speaks behind me. “Forgive me for alarming you.”
Startled, I turn around to find an armor-clad youkai in front of me.
“Lady Mukuro summons your presence. This way, please.”
I decide to follow the youkai.
As much as I despised following orders, especially Mukuro’s orders,
I wasn’t stupid as to defy an S-class youkai’s demands in her own castle.
The youkai took me through another route,
different from the one I took with the Reikai Tantei before.
I followed him up to a tall, dark-colored door where he stepped aside
and gestured with his hand for me to enter.
“This isn’t Mukuro’s throne room.” I remarked.
“Mukuro-sama wished to spend a few moments with her heir.”
The youkai replied. “This isn’t the regenerating chamber either.” I pointed out.
“Hiei-sama has been taken out of the regenerating
tank a few moments ago. This is his chamber.”
So, it was good that I followed the youkai after all
I would have discovered an empty tank had I chosen to go by myself.
The youkai made no move to leave so I went ahead and
opened the door in front of me.
Stepping in, I noticed that this room was more brightly
lit than the others and even had a rather pleasant smell to it.
The door closed quietly behind me and I noticed two figures
at the far side of the chamber.
Hiei was lying down on the bed in his black trousers.
Mukuro was kneeling by the bedside, staring at him and had one hand
placed on his bare chest. I felt my fists clenching.
How dare she! I cleared my throat.
She looked up at me and rose.
I didn’t trust myself to say anything polite at that instant
so I waited for her to speak. “He’s grown, ne?” She remarked.
I looked over at the sleeping koorime and nodded.
In fact, I had noticed from the moment we found Hiei
that he had indeed grown taller.
However, the rest of the Reikai Tantei and I had been too anxious
to get Hiei treatment as well as being caught up
in an urgent mission to actually talk about minor details such as that.
Well, it had seemed minor at that time but after all the chaos,
it was now indeed, quite amazing. “The others?” Mukuro inquired.
“They’ve gone back to the Ningenkai.” I replied.
I recalled the relief and disappointment we all felt when Koenma
verified the patch, that it indeed belonged to the youkai we were hunting down.
Relieved that we could go back home yet disappointed
that we were deprived of the chance to battle an S-class youkai.
Yusuke and Kuwabara had been eager to return to the Ningenkai.
After all, Keiko and Yukina were anticipating their return.
Kaasan on the other hand, was on yet another overseas trip
with my stepfather and my stepbrother Shuuichi
was spending his summer with a group of friends in a boy’s camp.
So, aside from managing the company,
which could be left in the hands of a trusted few for the moment,
there was nothing and no one waiting for me back at the Ningenkai.
Which brings me back to why I am now here
inside a certain chamber of an Upper S-class youkai’s domain in the Makai.
Mukuro then passed by me and stopped at the door.
She took one final glance at the sleeping koorime then turned towards me.
“Tell him to come to dinner when he awakens. I wish to have your presence there as well.” She thought for a moment as if weighing her words. “It would honor me.” And with that last remark, she turned and headed out the door.
I moved closer to where the fire demon lay sleeping.
Upon reaching the bedside, I knelt down,
placing my elbows on the soft mattress and resting my chin
in my cupped hands. I let my gaze travel over the koorime’s body.
He looked magnificent as always. I studied his face.
It seemed so serene, so peaceful like it had always seemed before,
during the times when I would watch him as he lay sleeping on my futon.
I recall the times when he would spend the night in my room
when it was too cold to sleep outside.
I had always been more than happy to welcome my best friend.
I miss those days.
Sighing, I let my gaze wander further down to his neck,
his shoulders, his chest.
I watched as his chest heaved up and down with his breathing.
It was slow and even.
Good. I’m glad that he’s sleeping well.
I allowed my gaze to hover longer over his torso.
I took in his well-defined muscles... his pale skin... his flat stomach.
No wonder Mukuro couldn’t keep her hands off!
I felt the urge to run my hand against his torso as well.
From his chest...down to his abdomen...to his—
I shook my head to clear the thought away.
I felt my cheeks getting flushed and the room felt warm all of a sudden.
I heard a low mumble and turned towards the source of the sound.
Crimson eyes met my emerald ones.
“Kurama?”
**********
Hiei
A vague presence...
A familiar warmth...
Kurama?
I found myself staring into a familiar pair of emerald orbs.
Jade stones set into a perfect porcelain figure; pale and flawless.
One that is inevitably carved into my consciousness.
A masterpiece of nature.
Fiery, scarlet tresses framing an angelic face,
flowing as if they were liquid fire. Kurama.
You still take my breath away.
I tore my eyes from the vision of perfection and sat up,
resting my elbows on my knees.
I rubbed my ace against my palms and ran my hands through my hair.
“Daijobu, Hiei?”
His soft alto pierced the silence surrounding us.
I remained impassive. I wasn’t prepared for this.
I wasn’t prepared to speak to him, to look him in the eye.
I wasn’t prepared to be near him.
To be near the one I had been trying to forget for such a long time.
“Hiei?” I felt his hand touch my shoulder.
I stiffened and cast a cold glare at the fox.
I saw pain pierce his eyes and he looked away,
quickly removing his hand in the process.
I felt a slight ache in my chest. A familiar one.
Guilt perhaps? Of course it was.
I had been living with this feeling for the past couple of years.
Since that night in the Ningenkai, the night I had been desperately
trying to erase from my memory.
The sadness in his eyes...The longing buried in them...
And the pain etched in his features after I...after I broke his heart.
The same pain I’m seeing right now.
“Damn it! What is wrong with me?!”
The words escaped my mouth of their own accord and I buried my face in my hands.
“Hiei? What’s the matter?”
I felt the kitsune climb onto the bed beside me and put his arms
around my shoulders.
I felt a stir of emotions rise inside me and
I shrugged his arms off violently.
I fixed him with a cold glare, ignoring the hurt and concern in his eyes.
Slowly, without a word, I rose, turning away from the fox
and striding to the far end of my chamber.
I rested my hands against the wall, straightening my arms
and leaning my body forward. I hung my head.
I could feel a myriad of thoughts and emotions racing through my senses.
They were all muddled together in a chaotic heap of sensations,
wreaking havoc in my consciousness.
Reinforcing one, contradicting the other,
yet failing to create any coherent sense. I closed my eyes,
desperately trying to put my thoughts in order.
I let my memory take me back to the valley in the mountains...
In that ominous place of bloodshed, only one thing had kept me alive.
One purpose, one person. I let out an exasperated sigh.
I knew. I knew in my heart who that person was.
It was him. It was...Kurama.
I opened my eyes and let my gaze travel around my chamber,
finally resting them on a still figure on my bed.
He sat with his back to me,
his crimson locks falling against his shoulders.
I watched his slender fingers move in graceful motions,
as they fidgeted with my covers. He was still there.
He was always there.
I turned my head back to the wall, staring at it,
as if expecting to find the answers written in front of me.
Answers to questions that have been nagging my
consciousness for so long.
Long before that bloody act of carnage in the valley,
long before that night in the Ningenkai.
When had it started? I felt my hand curl into a fist.
When had I begun to lose control? Of course.
I cracked a bitter smile. It was the day I met him.
I had everything I needed. My sword...my cloak...my jagan.
I had everything planned out as well.
Find the teargem...find my sister...and eliminate whatever
or whoever stood in my path.
There was one thing I hadn’t planned on however.
I hadn’t planned on meeting the kitsune.
I hadn’t planned on meeting Kurama.
And everything went crashing down from there.
My defenses had begun to crack.
I began to trust. I began to care.
I began to...feel.
No. I shook my head and felt my fists clench once more.
This is unacceptable. I cannot let this happen.
I refuse to let it happen.
I’ve already experienced what it is to be hurt...to be unwanted...
to be rejected...to be forsaken.
I felt my fingernails digging into my palms.
To be treated like dirt, like a...like a thing.
An object. Easily thrown away...easily discarded.
Slowly, I unclenched my fists,
pushing against the wall and straightening my body to stand up.
I stared at my palms, my eyes fixed on the cuts my nails
had embedded in them. I knew what I had to do.
It had to stop.
Now.
“Kurama.” I surprised myself with the eerie calmness of my tone.
It was the calm before the storm.
And I could feel it coming.
“What is it, Hiei?”
I could sense the uncertainty in his voice,
as I felt him move from my bed.
I knew he was striding towards me.
His steps were slow, almost tentative.
He stopped a few feet from where I was,
anticipating my actions.
A few moments of uneasy silence hung in the air
before I finally moved a muscle.
Steadily, in calm, deliberate motions,
I turned to face the kitsune.
I raised my chin and found myself eye to eye with him.
I saw a flicker of amazement in his eyes.
Probably upon recognizing the fact that I was now
of the same height as he was.
I saw the corners of his lips slowly curve up into a smile.
But I knew that smile wasn’t going to last very long.
“Hiei, you’re—“
“Leave.”
“What?”
The smile had vanished; replaced by confusion on his features.
“Leave.” I repeated.
I saw him take a couple of deep breaths, perhaps in an effort to calm himself.
Or to keep from crying.
Either way, I didn’t care at the moment.
“Okay.” I sensed his voice tremble a little.
“I understand. I’ll be outside if you need—“
“You don’t understand.”
I saw fear flash through his eyes.
I knew he was dreading what I was about to say.
“Kurama.” I began, my voice dripping with coldness and apathy.
“I never want to see you again.”
I watched the pain pierce his eyes and distort his features.
“Demo...” His voice barely a whisper. “Demo...”
“Naze, Hiei?”
I smirked. “Do you really want to know the reason why?”
I dared him.
“H-Hai, I want—no, I...I have t-to know why..”
I’ve never seen the kitsune hurt this badly before.
But perhaps I spoke too soon.
The perfect porcelain figure in front of me was only a hair’s breadth away
from breaking down completely.
And I knew that I had the power to crush his fragile
form in a single final gesture.
That awareness granted me the twisted pleasure
of witnessing such a lovely creature writhing in my grasp.
Call me cruel...evil if you wish, but I wanted—no.
I needed, to see the kitsune break down and cry.
“It’s simple Kurama.”
The smirk had faded from my lips,
replaced by stone cold features.
“It’s because...”
I fixed him with a cold glare,
my crimson eyes piercing his jade ones...
reveling in their anguish and trepidation.
I spat the words out in clear, crisp syllables.
“I. Hate. You.”
An eerie calmness hung heavily in the air.
Moments...Seconds...Minutes...
In silence, I watched as a shimmering drop of liquid formed itself,
from within one glistening emerald orb,
and traced its way down one pale, porcelain cheek.
I sensed a sudden bitter twinge in my chest.
What have I done?
To be continued...
(
geocities.com/reikaitantei)