Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Kitsunebi ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

 

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

 

AN: Sorry about the delay, I had some issues with this chapter, in addition to a RL problem.

 

Kitsunebi
Chapter 10

 

Kurama awoke the next morning to find that he was alone in the futon. When the pair had gone off to sleep together the night before, Yuusuke and Kuwabara thought Hiei went only to keep an eye on the fox, and had not realized there was anything different. Unbeknownst to the other two, Kurama had happily let Hiei into the futon, and the two shared many more kisses and pets before cuddling to sleep together.

 

And now that he was alone, Kurama could only wonder if yesterday had been something his overloaded mind had come up with to help him cope. He rolls around on the futon, ready to cry his eyes out, until he spots a note on the table in his room. Running over, he unfolds it, reading the neat handwriting. His eyes grow wide as he reads and rereads the message, making sure he had not missed something. Quickly pulling on a bathrobe, he runs out of his room to Yuusuke's. “YUUSUKE! KUWABARA! We need to go, now!”

 

A pair of sleepy chocolate eyes greets Kurama as the fox stands in the hall, agitated and panicked. “What's going on Kurama, no one's attacking us.”

 

A growl of pure frustration escapes the kitsune's lips as emerald eyes flash gold. Yuusuke instantly startles awake; it was rare for Kurama to express negative emotions the way he had. “It's Hiei,” Kurama says, shoving the note into Yuusuke's face as explanation.

 

To his credit, Yuusuke knew something was up, and takes the note from Kurama. As he finishes reading, he responds the only way he could. “Oh, shit. Kuwabara! We need to go, pronto!”

 

When Kuwabara did not respond right away, Yuusuke punches the carrot top human in the face. That woke him up fast. “What the hell was that for Urameshi?”

 

“Hiei's gone and done something stupid. Kurama's about ready to leave with or without us, and given that Hiei's gone off to take care of Yomi for Kurama, I say we go now.”

 

It took a few moments for Kuwabara's sleep and pain-addled brain to put it all together, but when he did, he could only say, “That Yomi?” And when Yuusuke and Kurama nodded, Kuwabara could only say, “Well, fuck.”

 

“Call Botan, we'll meet up outside the temple in 30,” Kurama instructs. He continues, cold steel evident in his voice, “And if you don't want to come, that's fine too. I'm going no matter what.”

 

With that Kurama walks back to his room, opening his drawers to get clothes to change into. As he reaches for a pair of white pants, he changes his mind, digging deeper into the drawer for a different set of clothes. `Yes,' he thinks, `this should do.' A few moments later, Kurama stands, buttoning up a long black tunic with white trim. He had pulled on a pair of black pants, and, once he was done with the buttons, tied the tunic at the waist with a white sash. Grabbing a brush, he carefully brushes out the sleep-induced tangles in his hair while taking inventory of the seeds he had carefully tucked inside. Deciding he needed a few extras, he walks over to a chest in his room, one he had specifically kept at the temple in case of an emergency, like now. Carefully rummaging through seed packets, he pulls seeds out of various packages, tucking them into his hair. Setting those aside, he pulls out a large bag of rose seeds and opens it, digging through the smaller bags inside until he finds the colors he was searching for. Tucking those into his hair also, he walks out of his room to the front steps of the temple.

 

To his surprise, Kuwabara, Yuusuke and Puu were already there; both changed into their customary battle outfits. Yuusuke quirked an eyebrow at Kurama's choice of color; it was rare for the kitsune to wear black, let alone all black. “Botan said she'd be here in a few moments.”

 

“Good,” Kurama replies, carefully controlling himself to avoid showing his anxiety to the other two. “You are not obligated to come with me, you know.”

 

“You're both our friends. Of course we'll come,” Yuusuke offhandedly replies. If there was anything about Kurama that truly annoyed the Spirit Detective-turned-Makai Lord, this was it. The fox, at least, in his human guise, had an unnatural tendency to put his personal needs second, even if his wish was to go help a mutual friend. “Besides, it's been so quiet lately; I wouldn't mind a little action.” As though to prove his point, Yuusuke starts cracking his knuckles.

 

Before Kurama could have another go at persuading Yuusuke and Kuwabara from coming along, Botan pops out of a portal, apologies written all over her face. “Sorry for taking so long. The paperwork took longer than expected.”

 

“Gonna have to make it a big one, Botan,” Yuusuke starts. “We're aware you'd have to drop me on my side of the border, so, let's just take Puu there. I doubt we'd lose too much of the element of surprise given Hiei's gone way ahead of us.”

 

Without another thought, Botan opens up a large portal as the three hop onto Puu's back. “Good luck!” Botan shouts after the trio. Quietly, under her breath, she continues, “Don't make me go there after any of you.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Hiei knew what he was doing would upset Kurama, but after their talk the prior day, Hiei realized that this was something Kurama would be unable to accomplish. If nothing else, living life as a human for the past twenty or so years had turned the fox into a walking conscience and guilt machine, and thus, even if Yomi deserved, at the bare minimum, a good ass kicking, the fox would hesitate and let his personal guilt over his past stop him. So, the fire youkai decided, he would do it for the fox. And so, after carefully moving the redhead's arm that was lazily draped across his chest and a soft kiss on the redhead's forehead, Hiei got dressed, and left.

 

Hiei skids to a sudden halt as he senses the youki of Yomi's border patrol guards. He weighed his options. He could go across the border with under the guise of continuing negotiations on Mukuro's behalf, or he could just slip past by heading due east an hour to a highly forested area. In the wee hours of the morning, where the shadows of the trees would provide him with plenty of cover, sneaking through should be an easy task. Having made up his mind, he sprints off towards the false dawn.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The flight to the Torin-Gandara border had been relatively short, and Puu was looking rather chipper to be able to spread its wings and fly around the Makai. By this point, it was noon, and as Kurama reached out with his senses, he was fidgety that he had been unable to detect any traces of Hiei. The grasses and trees, though, did tell him the exact position of the border patrols.

 

“Which plan are we going with?” Yuusuke asks, cracking his knuckles. “Plan A?”

 

Kurama lets out a small chuckle. “No, Yuusuke. Plan A would get every border patrol in the area on us, not to mention start an all-out war considering you're the Lord of Torin. Best we sneak in. Follow me.” The fox heads off the main path to the west. “There is a network of caves here I used to use back when Kuronue was my partner. I had taken care to make sure they were very well hidden. I doubt even Yomi found them. We will cross the border there.”

 

Sure enough, after a half an hour of walking, there was a rocky cliff covered in vines. Walking over to it, Kurama reaches out with his youki, and the vines retreat, revealing a cave entrance. Another half hour and a series of confusing turns later, Kurama touches some vines, revealing the exit. As he leaves, the vines on both ends of the cave return to their earlier position.

 

“Where are we?” Yuusuke asks, not entirely familiar with Gandara.

 

“Three hours away from Yomi's castle if we go at a dead run,” Kurama replies, forcing his voice to remain calm. He could not afford to let the other two know how worried he was about Hiei.

 

“Lead the way,” Kuwabara says, eyes scanning for trouble.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“The main entrance into the capitol is just ahead. However, if we circle around a small ways west, there is a small break in the wall and another network of passages that would grant us direct access to the castle basement, right next to the dungeons,” Kurama says, scanning the town. He stops, puzzled at the large pyre that was burning brightly in the middle of town and the large amount of construction and repairs going on. “Did something happen here?”

 

“You don't know what happened?” Yuusuke asks. Kurama shakes his head slightly. “When Hiei cut that pendant off of you, you released all of your youki at once. And then you shifted into your fox form for a few days. Hiei and I weren't sure what to make of that, but at the time, given the mess you had made, we decided it was best that we hauled ass instead of hanging around to fight Yomi.”

 

Kurama process that piece of information, taking various other pieces of information into account. First and foremost, he knew he had very good control over his youki. Always had, and his analytical nature has allowed him to kill as efficiently as he could. All things considered, if the pendant had caused him to lose control of his youki like that, it meant that it was also absorbing youki from him, no doubt working as a power limiter of sorts. He mentally curses Yomi, as there was only one magical artifact in the three worlds that fit that description. `I had heard that artifact was missing several centuries ago, but I didn't think Yomi was the one who stole it.'

 

Picking their way through the outskirts of the city, they reach the back of the castle, where massively overgrown vines snaked down the sides and out onto the ground. “In theory, there is a secret entrance here,” Kurama says, picking his way through the thick ropes of vines towards the wall. Pushing some aside and releasing a small amount of youki, an entrance appears. Stepping inside and adjusting to the dimmer lights, he whispers, “I don't think the plants affected too much of the structural integrity of the tunnel. This place should lead us out to the basement and dungeon of the castle. From there, we should be able to track-” Kurama interrupts himself as he senses Hiei's youki flare to full power, followed by another familiar flare. Yomi. “We need to hurry. I doubt Hiei can take on Yomi alone.”

 

To be continued . . .

 

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