Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Thief in One Life, A Thief in the Next ❯ Chocolate Milk ( Chapter 10 )

A/N: Lords, that chapter took forever to write, not sure why. Anyway, Heero’s awake now and ready to take the Makai by storm… just as soon as his bullet wounds heal up. Koenma’ll probably be making an appearance in a chapter or two, and we’ll all learn just why Botan left in such a hurry when she figured out just whom our dear Kuronue is. Anyway, insert favorite disclaimer here and don’t forget to leave me a review before you leave. By the way, I'm sorry, but I haven't finished the review responses, so they'll be delayed a bit. Enjoy the chapter!

A Thief in One Life, A Thief in the Next

Chapter Ten

Chocolate Milk

Kuronue breathed a sigh of relief as he left the guest room. He definitely wasn’t ready to face Heero with the truth yet. Of course, he’d have to come clean with the truth sooner or later, but he definitely preferred later.

“You’re as bad as I was, old friend.”

He looked up to meet sympathetic gold eyes. “What do you mean, Kurama?”

The kitsune leaned back against the wall beside him, closing his eyes with a smile. “Your worry. I was the same way once, when I was human.”

“When were you ever human?” Kuronue asked, his eyes widening. “I know you don’t mean the couple of weeks you were at the Preventors. I know a false face when I see one, so don’t try telling me that you were really turned into a human then.”

“Oh no, you’re correct that it was a false face this time,” Kurama said. “But a couple of centuries ago, the same time when I was under probation by Koenma in fact, I was human. You obviously did hear of my death by the hunter.”

The chimera’s eyes darkened as he shivered at the memory. “Of course I remember. It was the worst day of my afterlife.”

“Well, it happened sixteen years before I ever met Yusuke, and eight before Hiei and I met,” the kitsune continued. “You see, just before my body died and would have dragged my soul with it, I escaped and fled to Ningenkai, taking over a human fetus before it could be given a soul. For thirty years, I was human, just one with the abilities of a kitsune. When the human body died, I returned to the Makai as yours truly.”

“So Shuuichi Minamino was your human identity?” Kuronue asked, raising an eyebrow. Kurama nodded. “Alright, I can believe that from you, but how’s it have anything to do with me.”

“Shuuichi had a mother.”

The nine-tail would say no more as he turned away and left for the kitchen, passing Quatre on the way. The blond cast the brooding Kuronue a curious glance before going into the room beyond, coffee in one hand and a bundle of Makai clothes tucked under the other arm.

“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Yusuke said when Kuronue entered the kitchen several minutes after his old partner, flopping down on an empty stool and grabbing hold of the coffee pot in a manner that almost caused it to spill, sloshing the dark beverage into a mug in a similar way.

“If you like your treasury where it is, under your possession and intact, I suggest you keep your comments to yourself, kinglet,” he growled. “Remember that I’ve been a thief longer than you’ve been alive, even with the time I was out of commission.”

“Wishing you’d taken me up on my offer to design your palace security system?” Kurama asked the dark-haired hanyou sweetly as Yusuke cursed. “As it stands, Kuronue can steal whatever he wishes. For him, there can be no politics tied to it.”

Kuronue’s gloomy expression cleared up as he grinned, throwing an arm across Kurama’s shoulders. “But why would I need to keep stealing when my best friend is as rich as Quatre, not to mention a king?”

“Because I did not raise you to be a freeloader, Kuronue, that’s why,” Kurama said, fixing his old partner with a look. His smile worried Yusuke. “Besides, it’s fun.”

Both thieves started laughing and even Hiei snickered behind his mug of chocolate milk.

“You’re all as bad as Maxwell,” Wufei said with an exasperated sigh. This seemed to amuse the three demons even further, causing their laughter to increase.

Trowa glanced between them and decided that he didn’t really want to know but would probably find out sometime anyway.

“Heero’s finished dressing, and he’s rather impatient to leave,” Quatre said, walking into the kitchen. “I only barely convinced him to stay in bed until someone could help him, so it would be unwise to make him wait much longer.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Kuronue said, standing up and stretched. Wufei winced at the backward angle he achieved, popping sounds coming from his spine. “I’ll go fetch him. Hey Kurama, remind me to stop at a tailor’s when we get to Konchuu. I only have one set of clothes that fit right now, had a recent growth spurt, you know.”

“I’ll take care of it,” the kitsune said. “I really do owe you a lot, since your death was-”

The chimera spun around violently to glare at the silver king. “Kurama, don’t you dare say that it was your fault. I was careless and I paid the price. End. Of. Story. Get ready to leave. I’ll meet you outside with Heero in a couple of minutes.”

Kuronue made sure to clear his expression before entering the guestroom. After all, what would the great chimera thief prince be without his smile? Inside, Heero was still sitting up, on top of his blanket, but wore the distinct style that was the Makai. Personally, Kuronue thought that he didn’t look half-bad in the sleeveless tunic that he’d been lent, a deep blue with green trim.

“You again,” Heero said simply, looking up at him.

“No need to get so excited,” Kuronue joked, kneeling down next to the human and wrapping the blanket around him. When Heero protested, he chuckled. “Sorry Hee-chan, but I carried you in, and I’m going to carry you out. When I’m taking care of someone, I like to be thorough. Don’t feel bad. Kurama’ll probably be carrying Wufei if Yusuke’s bird doesn’t.”

Heero glared as he was held in the bridal fashion with Kuronue being mindful of his injuries. “My legs are undamaged, Youko. I can walk.” (1)

“But you can’t run like that, and you never could fly on your own,” Kuronue pointed out. “The Makai is never a safe place, but it’s even more dangerous for pretty humans such as yourself.”

Heero looked away as his cheeks pinked slightly. “I’m not ‘pretty.’”

The thief was thoughtful. “You’re right, you’re not. Pretty is too soft a word to use. Lovely, gorgeous, beautiful, those would be better.”

The human pilot didn’t have a chance to argue again as they reached the den entrance. Kurama did indeed carry Wufei on his back while Trowa and Quatre were climbing up onto Puu, who had apparently taken a liking to the blond and his silent shadow.

“If you’ve finished traumatizing your human, we’re ready to leave,” Hiei said, his eye under the headband flashing.

“I wasn’t traumatizing him,” Kuronue defended, shifting his embarrassed load. “We were just talking. So, this sister of yours, is she cute?” He quickly stepped behind Kurama as the fire demon twitched. “No worries, I already have my eye on someone. This Yukina lady is perfectly safe from me. Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever gone after a widow, not even back when Kurama and I were- um, living our youths to the fullest.”

Yusuke laughed. “If what I’ve heard is true, ‘living your lives to the fullest’ is Youko family talk for ‘bedding everything that moves.’ You’ve got quite the reputation. I think nearly the entire population of Makai went into mourning when Kurama got hitched, and to such a possessive guy too.”

“Yusuke, out of the two of us, I think I’m more possessive than Hiei is,” Kurama said with an exaggerated wink to his mate. “But with such a demon as Hiei, who wouldn’t be?”

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1. Remember, I'm using Youko as Kurama and Kuronue's last name.