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Dreams and Nightmares Part 6
by: Korogi
The forest held no safely for the two brothers what so
ever as they stood back to back, scanning around helplessly. The
you-ki taunted them... mocked them... circled around them like a pack of
wild, hungry wolves.
Kurama now recognized the you-ki fully .... but Yo-mawari
was still clueless.
And it was shortly after that Hiei burst into view, landing
in the middle of his vision, slicing through the air with the swift
katana. "Karasu!!" he bellowed...
Kurama's fears were answered both by Hiei and a
deep, churning laugh that sauntered into the woods around them. "surprise
surprise," a deep voice said straightly.
Karasu appeared in full glory and completely whole...
unscathed, standing like a perfect, black statue in the forest. He
shoved his hands into the pockets of the tattered cloak and slightly tipped
his head. "Miss me, darling?"
Kurama growled....
... a large tree crashed through the forest canopy behind
them, splintering from its base to take a destructive path through the
greenery.... and the you-ki flowed soon after it, thick and heavy...
definitely S-class...
Hiei snarled, flanking the youko twins... "Mukuro..."
he growled. "Damn it! She's here!!
Kurama froze... as did Yo-mawari... both their breaths
catching in their throats. "Hana-chan," they both whispered before
they disappeared into the woods, running back towards the house.
Karasu smiled widely despite the spidery mask over his
mouth and nose... he began slowly and calmly across the clearing, spreading
his arms out, the cape flowing over them like a giant pair of crow wings..
and he leapt, soaring through the air after the youko's and Hiei.
Kurama practically broke the door in, causing it to swing
wildly open in a gust of sporadic wind, sweeping out a large, wooden arch
in the space before it. Immediately, it crashed into the wall of
the lightened foyer, rebounding to slam closed... stopped only my Kurama's
firm hand, halting the door dead in its tracks. It shuddered slightly
under his touch...
Yo-mawari pushed past his brother, squeezing between him
and the door jab, muttering various choice words to himself as he entered
fully into the foyer. Medicinal plants grew like an indoor jungle
around him, bathing in the skylight above, turning the entry way to a forest
all it's own...
Hiei followed suit but nearly undetectable, keeping a
close eye behind him for the figure that followed. He cursed the
name over and over in his mind, keeping his senses peeled, so to speak...
Karasu framed the doorway behind Kurama in his tall, handsome
grace, the loose strands of his brilliant raven-black hair mingling softly
atop his head. "So concerned, my pets, for this little flower.. this
'chibi-hana'..."
Yo-mawari spat, whisping across the room, screaming out
something uncomprehendable... he knew he wanted to rip Karasu's tongue
clean from that mouth of his.. wanted to shred him to pieces... make him
pay for the suffering he had done to his brother before... to make him
pay for taking so heavy a matter as Kuraihana's safety so lightly...
But a swift hand caught him in the chest, gently stopping
his approach just inches before his fist would have imbedded itself firmly
between the searing, violet eyes. Kurama eyed his brother deeply.
:Not here, Kyodai-kun... not in 'Hana-chan's house... :
Karasu smirked at Yo-mawari behind the spidery metal
mask, rising a hand slowly to smooth it seductively across the soft pale
skin of Yo-mawari's cheek.
Yo-mawari snarled, viciously swatting the hand away, glaring
and growling... "I have no time for a bastard like you!" and he twirled
around, darting off into the house.
Kurama eyed Karasu cautiously as Hiei flicked from view,
disappearing into the house behind Yo-mawari. "If you so much as
look at Kuraihana-chan in a way that I disapprove..." he leaned in, the
green eyes narrowing, Kurama's usually gentle and caring face becoming
malicious and deadly..." ..korosu..."
Karasu smiled behind the mask and laughed slightly...
Kurama growled and turned quickly...
Hiei darted up the hall, flanking Yo-mawari as they
came to a T junction in the mazework of halls in Kuraihana's house.
Yo-mawari's mind spun, but he knew not why... nor could he remember the
layout of the house he had put to memory the instant he stepped foot in
the enormous house...
"This way, 'Wari..." Hiei said below him, darting left down
the hall. "It's Mukuro. I can feel her presence..."
The two darted easily down the hall and burst into the
room beyond...
"Well well, " came a woman's voice, calm and low...
"the cavalry has arrived."
Mukuro sat on a plush chair in the middle of the room
gently sipping a cup of tea. And just beyond her sat Kuraihana, smiling
and sipping away at her tea also, chuckling to herself on the remnants
of one of Mukuro's past comments. Mukuro gave a half-smile in Yo-mawari's
direction, looking him over quickly.... then sliding a single eye down
to Hiei, narrowing in malice as she glared the little Koorime down.
Yo-mawari nearly choked, stumbling into the room a few
feet, stretching an arm before him as if reaching for an invisible object.
He stared past Mukuro to the figure in the other chair, neatly nestled
with the colorful tea cup, his face lengthening, eyes growing wider.
She appeared perfectly fine... not harmed at all. Infact, much to
Yo-mawari's surprise, Kuraihana seemed to be enjoying herself.
He raised a hand lightly to his chest, tugging at the
cloth over his breast bone quickly before lowering it. His chest
ached fiercely for some odd reason... his heart beat wildly at the walls
of his rib cage...
A single, thin black braid rolled down her shoulder to cradle
itself in her lap like a tired little kitten would often do, nestling itself.
" Yo-mawari-san," she bowed her head slightly, filling the entire room
with the sunshine of her smile. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
Yo-mawari about collapsed from the sheer calmness of her
voice as if nothing was going on, his knees shaking... forcing him to stumble
forward another step. "Hana-chan.. are... are you alright?" he whispered,
raising a hand to his chest again.
She frowned, setting the tea cup over on a small table,
her deep, blue eyes never leaving his onyx ones. "Of course I'm alright!!
Why wouldn't I be?"
Mukuro snickered silently, swirling her thin gaze back
down to Hiei, glaring down at him with an easily-gathered malice.
The youkai snarled loudly at her, baring his fangs, the white bandanna
over his forehead oozing an eerie green light. "Mukuro...." he warned,
drawing out his katana slowly.
Behind him, Kurama slid easily to a halt, pushing into
the room past him. He stopped suddenly, just behind Yo-mawari...
: Kyodai!: came a frantic whimper to Kurama's mind...
Yo-mawari before him turned quickly, the black eyes confused and hurt all
at the same time, looking back at him as if Kurama knew the answers to
everything in the world. Kurama scanned the room quickly, taking
little time to realize just what Mukuro was up to.
Karasu easily walked in behind them all, hands casually
in his pockets, the violet glace gracing every corner of the room as if
it was the purest jewel to ever exist. His eyes fell on Kuraihana
for just a moment... then moved to Kurama, slightly softening in deadly
concentrating. He disregarded his love's plight for the moment, reaching
forward to run a hand through his soft, red hair...
Kurama growled and swirled around, fighting off the hand
as if it was a disgusting, giant spider, smacking it from his hair.
He glared at the youkai, flashing streaks of gold through the deep, green
depths of his eyes.
"Temper temper," Karasu cooed, quickly smoothing a knuckle
over Kurama's cheek, his you-ki flaring slightly.
Kurama winced... a tiny explosion ripped a tiny gash into
his cheek as Karasu drifted away, the remnants of a you-ki bomb disappearing
into the air. "Bastard..." Kurama whispered, raising a hand swiftly
to his cheek.
Hiei took control, placing himself between the youko he
loved and the youkai he pledged his every breath to hate and kill, pushing
his little body back against Kurama, urging him back from the youkai...
"It looks like you've got more to deal with than I thought,"
Mukuro chimed quietly behind, snootily sipping at the tea with a raised
eyebrow.
Yo-mawari turned to her, the black eyes glared back
at the witch, burning a whole through her head as he had seen Hiei do so
many times before. Mukuro winced slightly, looking away quickly,
smiling across the room to Kuraihana, quickly changing the subject before
the healer became too suspicious. "So.. what do you do all day around
here? It must be pretty boring just sitting around..."
Yo-mawari clenched a fist as Kurama flanked him, dabbing
at the small gash on his cheek that was quickly sealing. With every
fiber of his being, Yo-mawari wanted to leap across the chair and tear
Mukuro's throat out... or die trying. But he held himself back, the
awesome aura of an S-class youkai beating him down at every pass, mocking
his own power levels.
:What can we do?: Yo-mawari heard Kurama speak mentally
to him. Across the room, Kuraihana was busy volleying glances between
the brothers, her forehead wrinkled as she thought, trying to figure out
exactly what was going on here.
Again, she set the tea cup down with a small clinkle of
porcelain, staring back at the twins like a mother who desired information.
"What are you two so flustered about?" She tossed the rogue braid
behind her shoulder, only to have it whip around her head and slide down
her other shoulder and back to her lap.
:Anything we try will put Hana-chan in danger: Yo-mawari
thought back... then spoke aloud. "Kuraihana-san... "
he opened his arms wide, stepping forward, beckoning her to...
"ah ah ah," Mukuro scolded... a heavy oak chair easily
scooted across the room, slamming into him with the force of a marauding
bull, breaking into pieces on him and toppling him backwards. Kurama
just barely caught his brother before he crashed backwards into the floor,
locking his arms around his waist, breaking the fall.
"Bitch!" Kurama spat between clenched teeth, lowering
his brother to the floor.
Yo-mawari growled loudly as he folded himself under Kurama's
arms and clasped his hands tightly over his shin, forcing his eyes shut...
a thick trail of blood wiggling out through his fingers to begin a stream
bed over his hand and down his leg.
Kurama slid a hand under his brothers forcefully, clasping
it over the large wound... the blow from the oak chair had fractured his
shin in several places, cleanly ripping all the flesh clean off a
good portion of his leg.
"Yo-ma-san!" Kuraihana gasped, rising quickly to her feet.
She grabbed up the satchel on the table beside her, slinging it over her
shoulder... "Yo-ma-san..."
Mukuro suddenly appeared in her view, blocking her path
to Yo-mawari. She stood tall and demanding, looking down to the healer
with a look of vain royalty upon her face.
Kuraihana slid to a halt before she flailed into Mukuro, rebounding
and stumbling back. She blinked up at the woman, the kind facade
that she had met in the woods and invited into her home replaced with the
Makai witch that seemed to tower over her with more hate and death than
she had ever seen before.
"And where do you think YOU'RE going?" Mukuro asked deeply,
lazily blinking the visible thin eye. Mukuro reached forward swiftly,
catching Kuraihana on the wrist, jerking her to her side... the other hand
ripping the satchel from her shoulders, laying a leather burn into the
tender flesh of her neck.
Kuraihana cried out, growling over at Mukuro... more to
warn the youko twins than anything else...
Kurama's attention was suddenly turned from his injured
brother to his adopted niece as the scream ripped through his ears... freezing
in his tracks as Kuraihana was jerked around to Mukuro's side.
"Now.. I have a simple demand," Mukuro said loudly and
boldly, settling her glance cleanly on Hiei. "I will exchange the
healer for Hiei... it's a simple deal, pray I don't alter it any further
or go back on my word. Clear?. If you try to do anything foolish
like men are bound to do.. I will not hesitate in harming OR killing the
girl." She emphasized her point by shaking Kuraihana roughly at her side,
extracting a small squeak of surprise.
Kuraihana tugged at the hand that held her so tightly,
jerking her arm around in frantic attempts to free herself ... "Let me
go!!" she demanded... and foolishly, she reeled a foot back, kicking Mukuro
roughly in the leg.
The witch jerked her head around, glaring down at the
healer, unharmed by the feeble attempt. "I would not do such foolish
things if I were you," she hissed at her.
"MUKURO!!" Kurama yelled, stumbling to his feet.
"Let her go!! This doesn't concern her!"
"On the contrarily, my dear... it concerns her greatly!
How ELSE could my plans work without her help?" She smiled widely,
feigning innocence.
Below him, Hiei had unraveled part of the IJyuTaiHou on
his right arm, ripping a large strand of the warded bandage off,
beginning to wrap it about Yo-mawari's injured leg. And hovering
above, violet eyes thin and smiling, stood Karasu, enjoying the plight
of 'his pets'...
Kurama threw his heart to the plants at the corner of
the room... but Mukuro beat him to the punch, setting off an explosion
in the flowerpots, blowing a whole clean through the wall and into the
next room... it distracted enough of Kurama's attention as she grabbed
a table with the limitless arms of her power and launched it across the
room at him.
Kurama had absolutely no time to react as he opened his
eyes to see the huge table barreling down on him with a nauseating speed...
... a meter from his head, it exploded into millions of
harmless splinters, showering the area ...
Karasu lowered a hand vainly, smartly blinking his
vision back. He twiddled his fingers through the air playfully before
lowering the hand, laughing silently to himself. "I hate to see this
interesting display end, I was quite enjoying myself." He shoved his hands
in his pockets, and narrowed his eyes at Mukuro. "Kurama is MINE
to kill... no one else's. And I will stop you a every crossing if
you attempt to do so without my consent."
Kurama choked and stumbled forward... Karasu was... protecting
him! It would have been the last thing on the face of the many worlds
that he would have thought Karasu to do... his mind flashed back to the
Ankoku Bujuutsukai... Karasu standing boldly across the fighting
podium from him, the same casual demeanor, the same emotionless stare,
the same straight pose.
And the words floated back to him, Karasu almost lovingly
whispering the lines to him as he stared across the podium at him... "You
see, when I love something as I do you, I must kill it with my own hands
to ensure that it stays mine forever."
Mukuro frowned heavily... watching Kurama as he stared
blankly down at the floor, eyes glazed over in shock. She snickered
slightly feeling Kuraihana tug furiously. "My deal still stands.
Hiei for the girl..." her words were met with a low, deadly grumble from
across the room, Hiei's aura beginning to flare around him.
Mukuro gestured through the air with her hand, calling up a
yellow, swirling vortex of light... a Makai portal... and she disappeared
through it, Kuraihana and all.
Kurama sank to his knees, falling forward onto his hands
as he felt Kuraihana's you-ki disappear completely from his senses.
"NO! Mukuro!!!! I swear by the gods if you harm her..."
Yo-mawari leaned forward, resting his forehead on his
knee as Hiei went back to wrapping the gushing leg. He shook his
head slowly... tears were welling up... but he was not in pain. Kurama
had managed to numb his leg, drowning out all but a dull throb from blood
circulation.
He felt a soft touch at his shoulders gently pushing him
up. Yo-mawari raised his face, a thin trail of tears escaping his
eye and rolling down his cheek. Kurama's green eyes stared back at
him, worriedly searching his face. "Are you still in pain, kyodai-kun?"
"H.. hai.."Yo-mawari leaned his forehead over on Kurama's
shoulder as he felt a healing hand close gently over the bandages Hiei
was expertly tying. He reached and grasped an arm around Kurama's
shoulder. His chest ached fiercely, drawing his breathing into short,
raspy gasps, heightened as he choked back another sod, wincing and whimpering
in pain.
"Doko shita no?" he heard Kurama whisper into his ear, rubbing
a hand up his back, hugging him closer.
Yo-mawari leaned back, his cheeks red, marked with white
beds where tears had once flowed. "Watashi no mune... my chest...
"he raised a hand and grasped the shirt over his breast bone tightly.
Kurama smiled slightly, smoothing the back of his hand
over his brother's cheek, tucking strands of the black hair behind his
ears. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that..." He smiled
a bit wider, watching the confused facade Yo-mawari's face turned.
For a while now, Kurama had hoped and wished for his brother's happiness...
dreaming for it every night...
Again, he smoothed a hand over his brother's face, wrapping
his arms around his shoulders, drawing him once again tightly into his
arms, squeezing the shoulders.
Yo-mawari whimpered slightly, coughing out a sob.
"Why? Why can't you help me?" he whispered, clutching again at his
chest, wriling under Kurama's embrace.
Kurama chuckled slightly, more to himself. "The
pain is caused by kizuna... deep emotions... namely..." he smiled widely,
unable to continue as he buried his nose in the black hair, nuzzling his
brother like his kitsune-heart told him.... He had felt the same deep pain
in his chest a decade back when a certain little black-haired youkai had
tried to kill him and Maya on their way home from school.... had felt the
same pain as he cared for the youkai's wounds... the same pain when he
heard the deep name growled back to him... Hiei...
Kurama hugged his brother, rocking him in his arms, smiling
widely. He glanced to Hiei through the massive tangle of black hair...
the youkai only glared back, raising a single eyebrow...
