Well here we are, chapter ten! This chapter gets a bit more character interactive. However, I'm not pleased with it. It lacked my normal vigor and spirit that I like to think I put in to it. The next few chapters should get longer, and be…well…pretty mellow. I need time to build my plot, (yes there is one…:p). But read them any way.

Warning!!! Graphic gory scenes to ensue, please avoid reading this fic if you are not of a suitable age, or do not have parent consent! You have been warned!

Bitter Memories

Chapter ten : Yukina

The vast blackness of the portal opened to reveal a comfortably furnished living room. Dark mahogany coffee table and end tables accentuated the cherry red leather couch and love seat. Cream-colored carpet covered the floor as far as the eye could see. The walls were painted in a soft cream color. Entering the room three sets of eyes were instantly turned to him. One questioning, and two twinkling with laughter. A growl escaped the recesses of the object of their scrutiny. Shifting the girl in his arms, he strode past them to the dark bedrooms around the corner. His face tinted in pink as laughter rang through the small apartment.

The closest bedroom belonged to Kurama, so he pasted it up and stopped at the next door on the opposite side of the hall. He noticed with slight annoyance, that the halls too were painted in the soft cream color, the walls adorned with serene pictures of forest and sea life. The carpet was replaced with wooden floors, and the doors of the rooms and the bathroom were heavy oak. Rolling his eyes he let his sight land on the sleeping girl. Seeming to feel his eyes on her, she sighed and cuddled closer. A smile tugged at her lips as she murmured something in a breathy, sleep filled voice.

"Pine, forest fire, and oregano…smells good…" He blinked a few times as she buried her face into his chest. Her voice faded out and she began to purr in her sleep. Not wanting to admit that her body fit his well, he quickly grabbed a hold of the handle for the bedroom and shoved it open. The cold air trapped inside rushed forward and surrounded the two. In her sleep she shuttered and shook. Feeling her shake, he readjusted her so that she was curled into a ball against his bare chest. Her breath licked against his skin, causing him to repress a shudder. He didn't need the light to navigate his way to the large four-poster bed. Pulling down the comforter, he laid her on the sheets. She, however, didn't want to lose his body heat. Latching her tiny arms around his neck she pulled his face down to hers, forcing him to fall onto the bed half on top of her. His face was centimeters away from hers. His eyes widened in shock and he recoiled from her. Forcing her arms off his neck proved to be more difficult than he had imagined. She whimpered, and tightened her firm grip. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he shoved her hands from him and stood up glaring at her. Her bottom lip protruded in a pout, a frown marring her beautiful features. Grumbling to himself about temptresses and stupid wenches, he pulled the blankets over her. All he left uncovered was her face, making sure to cover her shoulders and neck. Then he unconsciously took her in.

Midnight black hair flowed from underneath the covers. It cascaded over the satin pillows and off of the bed on the opposite side. Her pale face was still pulled into a frown, the lines on her forehead lessening by the minute. Her inviting pink lips opened slightly, her soft breathing passing from them in a 'pfft' noise. A long dark strand of hair covered her face; reaching for it he stopped suddenly. Pulling his hand back as though she was covered in acid, he turned and left quickly, pulling the door shut behind him. He wasn't surprised to find the gang waiting for him in the hallway. Growling at them he stalked into the living room, them close on his heel. Leaning against the wall he crossed his arms over his chest, making the well-defined muscles pull tighter in response. Lowering his head, he let his long dark hair cover his eyes as he stared at the floor, deep in thought. Try as he might, he couldn't ignore the feeling of eyes boring into him, so he looked up to find four pairs of eyes on him. Sending his best, 'Ask-me-any-question-and I'll-slaughter-you' look, he slowly looked from one person to the next. Botan, he noticed was nibbling on her lip in an attempt to stop her self from asking the questions he could see swimming in her eyes.

Not wanting to admit to being afraid of him, Yusuke, flopped on the couch, and stretched a crossed it. Closing his eyes, Yusuke asked the question everyone had been wondering.

"So, since when do you tuck people you don't know into bed? And when did the unemotional Hiei, get jealous enough to take a girl out of Kuwabara's arms? Not that any girl wouldn't appreciate the gesture, I mean if I was a girl and I woke up in his arms I would die of a heart attack!" Not only did he earn him self a fierce glare and threatening step from Hiei, but he also earned Kuwabara leaping over the couch to punch him. Seeing that Kuwabara was beating Yusuke up, Hiei leaned back against the wall. Botan ignored the two fighting humans, and walked over to Hiei. Kurama, worried about the well-being of his home jumped in and began to break up the fight.

"Hiei? Why did you take Kagome from Kuwabara? What exactly happened while we weren't in that warehouse?" Although her voice was soft and cautious, the three fighting males, and the skulking one stopped and looked at her. With everyone's attention focused on her, Botan blushed slightly before boldly stepping closer to Hiei's glaring form. Seeing they had no intention of heeding his silent warning, and not wanting to have to inflict pain on Botan he looked up at her, schooling his face into a mask of indifference.

"If that idiot had carried her here, then she never would have made it. Knowing him, he would have dropped her in the portal, then I would have had to chase that wench for no reason." His cool indifference didn't fool anyone but Kuwabara, who was bristling from the blunt insults Hiei sent his way. Standing up, Kuwabara cracked his knuckles and made to fly a crossed the room at Hiei's smirking form. Botan seeing this, and not wanting Hiei to slaughter Kuwabara, thought of something that would make them both forget their little fight.

"I'm going to get Yukina!" Her blurted statement got the exact results she had wanted. Both Hiei and Kuwabara stopped in their tracks. Kuwabara's face melted into a look of utter bliss at just the girl's name. An unreadable look passed over Hiei's face, but vanished quickly to be replaced with a scowl sent in the direction of the drooling Kuwabara. Botan silently sighed, and glanced at the remaining members of the group. Yusuke was staring at her questioningly, but Kurama seemed to understand where she was going with it. He thanked her with his eyes for rescuing his home, making her blush and shake her head indicating it was nothing.

"Awww, my sweet Yukina! To at last be able to hold her again! Her beauty shines with no comparison in this universe or any other!" Kuwabara's claims of love continued for quite a while, everyone ignoring him, except Hiei, whose eyebrow was twitching dangerously. Botan quickly explained her plan catching Hiei's attention enough to stop him from killing Kuwabara.

"Well, as you all know she's been practicing her healing abilities. I think if she were to help heal Kagome, we could get her up and around a lot faster. All we need now is some one willing to go get her." She looked around the room hopefully. Kurama was about to say he would go when Kuwabara beat him to it.

"I shall go retrieve my sweet Yukina!" Hiei sent him a death glare, and once again leaned against the wall, letting his hair cover his brooding face. Botan glanced at Hiei with a look of concern, but nodded to the eagerly awaiting Kuwabara. Crossing her arms over her chest, she nodded and beamed at the love-struck male.

"It's settled then. Kuwabara, you go and fetch Yukina. Don't dally though! Kagome needs to wake up soon, and the sooner Yukina heals her the better. OH! Get Yukina to bring a change of clothing for Kagome as well. That dress of hers will never do." Dreamily, Kuwabara nodded and stepped though the portal Botan opened. With a final nod to Botan, the red head disappeared into the swirling black mass. Yusuke had taken his previous spot on the couch, and was now dozing off to sleep. As far as he was concerned, they had done their job, and he was deserving of his rest. Kurama, seeing Yusuke's nearly sleeping state, and Hiei's obvious want of solitude, he reached to tap Botan on the shoulder. Getting her attention, he motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen. After gazing at the two males, she nodded and giggled softly, following after Kurama.

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The small, kimono clad figure entered the room silently. In her arms was a bundle. Her aqua hair shined from the light in the hallway. A small frown covered her delicate features. Worry seemed to come off the gentle girl in waves. Entering the dark room she closed the door on the group of curious people in the hall. Flicking the light switch on she walked to the sleeping figure on the bed. The soft burgundy carpet kept her from making any noise as she walked a crossed the large bedroom. The room was painted in the same burgundy as the carpet with black trimming. Dark wooden furniture lined the walls. The bed was made of the same dark wood. It's towering four posters ended in a black canopy. The figure on the bed was sleeping peacefully, the small rise and fall of the blankets as proof of this. The Inu youkai on the bed was very beautiful. Her dark hair strewn over the bed in a river. Her markings glittered in the light, catching the eye of the ice apparition. Never before had she seen such markings. The glittering jewel on her forehead was breath taking, but the crystallized tear on her cheek was intriguing as well. The tear seemed to glow; it's color slightly blue in tint. It seemed to be wet, as if it was truly a shed tear from the girl's eye. The Inu-youkai turned over suddenly, startling the ice apparition.

Knowing she had a job to do, the aqua haired girl sat on the edge of the bed and placed her cupped hands, palms towards the sleeping girl. Her hands glowing with a pinkish light, she focused her energy on healing the injured Inu. Time seemed to tick by incredibly slowly, as the apparition watched the deep wound slowly close. When her energy was nearly gone, the girl stopped and sat back on the bed breathing labored. Sweat beaded her brow, and her normally pale complexion was flushed. Her long hair clung to her damp neck and face, as did her kimono. Feeling satisfied that she had helped; the girl closed her eyes to wait on the in youkai to awaken.

Not even two minutes after closing her eyes, the stirring of the other youkai caused her to open her eyes. She was surprised to be looking into the wide blue eyes of the female Inu-youkai. Letting her worried expression melt away, she grinned at the questioning girl. The girl smiled hesitantly, but her eyes belied a deep depression and sadness. Feeling for the girl in front of her, the apparition offered the Inu her hand.

"My name is Yukina, I'm a ice apparition. My friends called me to come heal your wounds. Your name is Kagome, am I correct?" Genuine gratitude filtered over Kagome's features as she listened to Yukina speak. Yukina's voice was soft and childlike, but very serene. Kagome instantly liked and trusted this girl. Smiling at her she nodded and began to search her body to see how much of her was healed. Surprise showed on her face when she noted the lack of injury anywhere. Her cerulean orbs locked with Yukina's chestnut ones. Yukina was taken back as Kagome threw her arms around Yukina's neck. The hug was brief, but showed Kagome's true apparition of what Yukina had done. Yukina returned Kagome's smile, thinking that she was going to be good friends with this girl.

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The girl, Yukina, was kind and easy to get a long with. Kagome found herself easily chatting. They had been sitting on the bed facing each other chatting comfortably for about an hour before Yukina dropped the question that had been plaguing her.

"Why are you so sad? I can see your pain, it rolls off of you, but something tells me you haven't always been this way. What happened to cause you so much pain?" Yukina's voice was soft and understanding. She was pleading with Kagome to tell her, and Kagome really wanted to. It had been what seemed like forever since she had talked to anyone that pretended to remotely care. Running her hand through her hair, she made a face at the way her normally silky hair snagged. Pulling her self from the bed she examined herself for the first time. She was a mess. Her clothing was torn, and barely covering her. Her body was stained with blood, and the strong smells of sweat and blood rolled off of her. Her nose wrinkled with the strong smells. She glanced up to find Yukina watching her. Yukina smiled and pointed to the wrapped parcel on the bed. Interested, Kagome went closer and pulled it open slowly. Inside was a black kimono, with blood red trimming. It's high collar pinned with delicate buttons, tracing a design down the front and over the bust of the dress. Kagome gasped at the beautiful dress and turned to Yukina, stunned. Yukina smiled again and stood up, taking the dress from Kagome to hold it up for her to see. The dark silk reflected the lights, shining. The sides were split, but Kagome couldn't tell how far up it would go. The dress looked like it would be comfortable with out hindering movement.

"It's for you. Botan asked me to bring you a change of clothing, I only hope this will fit. You look to be a little bigger in the chest than me, but you're about my height, so it should fit. Why don't you take a shower, change, and then we'll talk. If you want to that is. For now, I'm going to find you a towel, and distract the boys so you can take a shower in peace." Yukina smiled at her before slipping out of the bedroom, leaving Kagome alone with her thoughts.

'Momma, Souta, Jii-chan! I miss you guys so much! I should have been there to protect you! If I wouldn't have let my guard down you guys would still be alive now. Please forgive me!' Silent, warm tears ran down her face. When the door opened, revealing two concerned faces, she brushed them away. Botan, and Yukina entered the room quickly, both concerned for the Inu-youkai. Botan bit her lip, not sure of how to comfort the crying girl, but she didn't have to. Kagome took a big, shaky breath, and looked at the two girls in front of her sheepishly.

"Sorry, I just have a lot of painful memories right now. So, ummm…where's the bathroom?" Even though she was smiling softly, they both saw right through her façade. Yukina handed Kagome the large, fluffy, green towel she had clutched in her hand, and Botan steered her to the bathroom. Out side the bedroom Kagome looked around curiously. She was impressed with the lovely decorations, but not so impressed with the four males watching them intently from the safety of the living room. Raising a delicate eyebrow she stopped in her tracks and studied them as they were doing to her.

The first boy she laid eyes on she wanted to cringe. He looked like he got ran over by a Mac truck. His face lacked something to be desired, and oozed its lack of intelligence. Carroty red, wiry, hair was combed to lie in his face. He was tall and had broad shoulders. Even if he wasn't very attractive, his body was still rather well taken care of. She gave him barely a moment of her time, ignoring Botan who was pushing on her back slightly, and Yukina who was tugging on her hand.

The next boy was very attractive. He had a badass persona about him. His dark hair was slicked back, but not grossly so. Some pieces escaped to frame his hansom face. Large, dark brown eyes stared back at her, sizing her up in the very manner she was doing to him. He was of moderate height, and well built, but lean at the same time. Even though he was only moderately tall, she could tell he would be almost a foot taller than her. She spent a lot longer time on him, earning a wolfish grin from the object of her scrutiny. Pasting a bland look on her features, she shrugged and moved to the next boy, causing the dark hair human to get very red in the face from her lack of enthusiasm.

The tall, cute redhead next to the dark haired boy was very attractive, and very demon. She could feel it coming off of him in waves, but it seemed slightly subdued, why she didn't know. The boy's emerald eyes were lined in a deep forest green, they were captivating and beautiful. His face was innocent, and kind, with a bit of boyish charm. His body was godly. Wide broad shoulder, tapered down to a small waist, yet still powerful. She could see his muscles pull against the confines of his shirt from where she stood, and couldn't help but enjoy her view for a few moments longer than necessary. Finally, she pulled her eyes away from his flaming red hair, and dazzling green eyes to focus on the last of the four boys. By now Yukina and Botan were shoving her, but not making any progress. This amused the boys to no end, seeing as the Inu-youkai wouldn't be moved until she was damn good and ready.

The last of the boys was much shorter than the rest, in fact about her height. This was the youkai that had helped her in the warehouse; now out of her blood lust she took the time to really look him over. And what she saw she liked, a lot. The boy was roguish, seeming to not give a damn about any body, or anything. Long, dark spiky hair seemed to defy the laws of gravity. A white headband circled his forehead; it appeared to be part of a training out fit. His eyes held her captive. They were dark, almost black in appearance. Gold and red flecks danced in the dark depth like flames. His lips were pulled in to a frown, and she found it incredibly sexy. His chest was bare, leaving it open to her view. His chest was sculpted and well defined. His abs were rock hard, but smooth. His pants were hanging low on his waist and she hungrily took him in. Stomach was flat, and perfect. She had a brief mental image of eating liquid chocolate from that perfect belly. She noticed the sword at his hip, and the way he was leaning against the wall, as if to say bother me and die. Bringing her eyes back up to his, she noticed a brief flash of amusement, before it disappeared completely. She kept her face emotionless, as he took her in as well. When he brought his eyes up from playing over her every curve, it was her turn to be amused. They stared at each other for a while before she spoke.

"Like what you see? Believe me, this is as much of me as you boys will ever see again." Turning she sauntered past the stunned Yukina into the awaiting bathroom. She had purposely swished her hips, and put as much grace into it as possible, flaunting her assets, although it escaped her as to why. Botan stayed in the hall and glanced at the boys worriedly, but she was surprised at what she saw. All four had smirks on their faces, even Hiei. Blinking, she turned slowly to the closing bathroom door, before shouting for them to wait a minute.

"Hey! Wait don't close the door yet!" Botan flew through the bathroom door to the awaiting girls. Kagome was cool and indifferent, reminding Botan of a certain fire apparition, where as Yukina was openly gapping at Kagome. The bathroom, Kagome noticed, was just as stylishly decorated as the rest of the house. The room was done in pastel blues and white. A large mirror with track lighting placed on it hung over the sink. The tiles in here were white with sky blue flecks. Turning to the two girls she had befriended, she grinned mischievously.

"So whose house is this anyway?" Her question was innocent enough, but her feral grin was unnerving. Botan looked at Kagome suspiciously, but Yukina smiled at her, completely missing the evil glint there.

"This would be Kurama's home. It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked. Kagome nodded, but couldn't suppress a laugh. Confused, Botan asked her what was so funny.

"Well, either Kurama is gay, or he has one hellava decorator." Her amusement grew as Botan looked horrified. It was obvious by the looks on Botan and Yukina's faces that they had never thought of that. Shrugging, Kagome turned to the veiled shower and turned on the hot water. Her two stunned companions merely stood there staring at her opened mouthed. Checking to see if there was shampoo, cream rinse, and soap Kagome turned back to the two girls. Seeing their stunned looks she smirked and placed a hand on each of their shoulders, steering them to the door. Opening it, she shoved them into the hall, but before shutting it she shouted to them.

"Hey! When I get out maybe you'll be able to talk finally, until then see if you can find me a brush, and perfume, humm?" Laughing to her self, Kagome shut the door and locked it.

I want to thank Babytil14 (tiffany), her sister, Sakura of Choas Winds, kojika85 , SakuraPetal13 (rosie13),Infinite Silence, demon angle, tiffany, and anyone else that will helped me out! Tell me if you guys thought this was a little off. It seems that ever since I got out of my depressing writing mood, and got into my sex-is-a-must-in-this-story mood, I can't write any normal interaction between the characters, and my description seemed lacking. Please tell me what you think, and if some one is willing to go over this and the last chapter with a fine tooth comb, so it can be brought up to speed with the others, tell me! Thank you for reading, and since I am into holding my story ransom, no more story till I get ten reviews for this story! I'm evil, I know! Thanks!