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Dreams and Nightmares Part 9
by Korogi
The cry rolled through the dim, stone room like the aftermath
of a great crash of steel, echoing off the walls and reverberating back
tomthe ears of the transmitter. Amplified with the mourning of a
powerful heart, the cry whirled into an anguished wail, gaining even more
intensity, darting and dashing about the stone room.
Following closely was the dull thud of a limp body falling
lifeless to the floor beneath, the simple sound dying out quickly, lost
in the resounding echoed of the anguished cry, blood gushing from the stomach
of the little fire youkai as Mukuro retracted her weapon: a long and razor
sharp katana arching nearly 4 feet through the air... it was Yo-mawari's
katana.
Kurama choked, his cry dying out in a dry moan of air,
his vocal chords refusing to make any other sound to the effect he desired.
His throat ached from the scream, but not nearly as much as his heart ached,
pierced clean through by an invisible knife, tearing at him as he looked
helplessly down to the limp figure lying in the dim room.
His body refused to obey him, draining all strength
from his body. It collapsed him at the knees, sending him stumbling
backwards into the stone wall, feeling the vicious chill it held as it
pierced into his mind and body.
With his strength gone and his soul dashed to pieces,
Kurama could do little more than sink quickly to the ground below, landing
in a dull, numb thud on the stones below. His hands fell to his side,
clutching into loose fists, shuddering. "No..." he whispered, falling
forward onto his hands, his head falling down sending his hair spilling
around him in a great crimson wave.
Mukuro twirled the katana expertly through the air, glinting
it in the fire light of a single candle that held it's place in the center
of the stone room. The katana sliced through the air with a sickening
whish, warping and bending the air, resounding a deep hum through the thin
atmosphere. She marveled at it's hidden accuracy and swift aim, twirling
it once more out of spite before she brought it down, jabbing it into the
fallen youkai's back in a huge gush of blood.
"HIEI!!!!" Kurama screamed. "Oh gods no!!!"
Viciously he fought against his weakened knees, pushing himself from the
floor, determined to crawl if needed, just to make it to his fallen lover's
side. "Mukuro! By the gods I'll kill you with my bare hands!!"
he half screamed half sobbed, pulling himself along the floor, gasping
and choking under his own fury.
A thin river of tears burst from his deep green eyes as
he crawled like a child across the floor, pulling himself along through
the mess of blood that lay splattered all over the stonework and walls.
His hands slipped, nearly taking all support with them, throwing Kurama's
weight around as if he was a living sack of flower. Closer and closer,
he set his mind firmly as he watched Hiei's motionless body lying face-first
just before him, his head turned off toward the far wall.
Hiei's bleeding body lay stone still and cold as Kurama
reached out, turning the compact body over and into his arms, bundling
him up like an infant child. The red eyes lay wide open, frozen forever
from shock, his little mouth lazily cracked, spilling blood down his cheeks
and on to his neck in a morbid display of artwork.
Frantically, Kurama searched for a heart beat, felt
around on the little chest, tearing at the wet, black cloth that clothed
him, grasping and pulling at the cold neck and chest for any sign that
his lover may still be alive. "No, Hiei... no... you can't be dead..."
he sobbed, rocking the body, smoothing back the starburst of white hair
at the little youkai's forehead. "Hiei."
But there was no pulse, no movement. Hiei's head
rolled off to the side, hanging at an awkward, twisted angle, the lifeless
eyes staring down to the cold floors below. A bone cracked in his
neck, twisting the neck down even more, turning it nearly all the way around,
stopped only as it thumped onto Kurama's knee.
Kurama tried to scream, tried to make any sound
whatsoever come from his mouth as he gathered Hiei's head back into a normal
position, coveting the little body up and into his chest. He wheezed,
continuing to rock back and forth with the body hanging limply in his arms,
muttering reassuring words to Hiei's unreceiving ears like a mother would
a frightened child.
Again, he tried to scream, but was rewarded only with
a dry squeak ripping into his dry throat as he tossed his head back, the
tears sparkling down his face to patter onto Hiei's face and chest.
The little body was gathered tightly into Kurama's arms, his nose and face
buried deeply in the black, spiked hair, his fingers digging into the little
shoulders so tightly that they began to draw blood themselves.
Hiei was dead.
"Oh, what a shame," Mukuro laughed from across the room,
wiping Yo-mawari's blade clean on her white pants, laying a faded red stripe
through the dapples of crimson that already laid in the fabric. "He
was a good worker too... he'll be tough to replace." She smiled over to
Kurama, the casualness in her face and eye mocking and patronizing the
broken, green eyes laying in Kurama's face.
"I'll kill you!" he sobbed, drawing Hiei up further into
his arms. "I'll KILL YOU!!" he screamed.
"Kurama..."
"No! I swear on my life I will kill you for what
you've done!"
"Kurama!" Mukuro's voice suddenly took on deep hint
of concern, her foot falls circling around him, grasping his shoulders
and shaking him roughly. "Kurama! Wake up!"
"NO! Don't touch me!!"
"Kurama!!"
"You bitch!!" he screamed, the tears rolling down
onto the pillow he held in a death grip, rocking it back and forth, snarling
back at Mukuro as she leaned over him, shaking him roughly.
He tossed his head, eyes forced shut, his entire
body convulsing as he continued to rock, sobbing heavily, burring his face
down in the pillow. "You killed him... you killed him!!" he muffled.
"Killed who? Kurama! Will you wake up!!"
"What in the hell is going on in here!" Kuraihana's voice
roared from just behind Mukuro. Her thin body framed the doorway,
the noon sun spilling around her to shoot off in streaks of white to the
walls and ceiling. "You two are causing enough commotion to wake
the dead! And Yo-mawari-san too! Now quiet down!"
Kurama's eyes shot wide open at the familiar voice that
suddenly filled his head, stern and demanding, nearly blinded by the
sun spilling in the window and around his niece's slim figure. He
looked around quickly, his body still shaking and convulsing from the aftermath
of his crying ... he was in his bedroom at Kuraihana's house.
He frowned, still whimpering, looking quickly around the
room with unbelieving, wide eyes. He looked quickly to Mukuro, looking
over her concerned face as she still gripped his shoulders, shaking occasionally.
He saw Kuraihana pop her head into his line of sight, raising a hand to
his face, drying back the tears with a light hand.
"Hiei..." he whispered. "Hiei wa doko desu ka!"
A small grump came from the doorway, flicking across the
room to perch beside Kurama on the bed like a large housecat, cocking his
head to the side inquisitively. "Nan da?" he grumbled, looking the
green eyes over, cocking his head over to the other side.
Kurama tossed the pillow he clutched to a corner, quickly
taking up Hiei into his arms with a weak-hearted whine, gathering him into
a ball and hugging him to his chest tightly. Hiei was caught completely
by surprise, having only enough time to growl out the beginnings of Kurama's
name before the long, slender arms wound tightly around him, muffling any
other form of speech he might have tried.
Mukuro stood up from the bedside, laying a hand lightly
down on Kuraihana, silently requesting that they should leave the room.
Simply enough, the healer read the gesture and stood, following Mukuro
from the room, closing the door tightly behind her with a relieved smile.
Hiei tried to relax in Kurama's vice-like grip but was
finding any sort of movement nearly impossible. Kurama rocked him
and sobbed in his ear, mumbling nonsense words to the little fire demon,
soothing and soft as he stroked back the spiky black hair. Hiei was
nearly breathless, feeling the arms tighten around him every time he made
a move to squirm free. He tried to take in enough air to speak,
to tell Kurama to lighten up, but even that was nearly impossible. So Hiei
did the next best thing... he opened his mouth...
"OWCH!" Kurama squealed, pulling an arm from
around Hiei's compact body, failing it through the air, a set of teeth
marks laid into his lower arm, bleeding from the four little fang punctures.
"What did you do that for!"
Hiei gasped for air, coughing the sensation back into
his lungs as he repositioned himself on Kurama's lap, growling as he did.
"Are you trying to smother me to death? I always thought I'd die
in battle and not in the bedroom," he grumbled deeply, pulling an exclamation
on his comment with a deep-throated snarl.
Kurama let out a soothing coo, snuggling his head down
into Hiei's black hair, inhaling the rich smell of Hiei's thick hair.
"Hiei-koi.. I thought you were dead," he whispered, laying back on the
bed, curling Hiei up onto his chest.
"Why would I be dead?"
"It was just a nightmare... a bad dream," he whispered,
rolling onto his side, laying Hiei onto the bed. "Thank the gods
for that. I don't know what I would do if you weren't in my life,
Hiei." Kurama reached down under the black cloth over the youkai's
chest and pulled out the thin, golden chain and engagement band, closing
a hand around the small ring. "Hiei... ai shiteru."
Hiei brought his hands up and closed them tightly around
Kurama's larger hand, raising his head to kiss the hand gently as it turned
the ring over and over on the delicate chain. "I'll always be with
you," Hiei whispered, rolling the red eyes up to meet the green depths
above. "You know that, don't you?"
Kurama bent over and lightly touched his lips to Hiei's,
drawing back in a huge grin, poising his face just fractions of an inch
from the little fire youkai's. His cheeks where red and bleached
with tear-paths, his green eyes nearly bloodshot. Kurama sniffed
roughly, a single tear escaping from the corner of one of the eyes, rolling
down the side of his face to ping onto Hiei's nose.
Hiei frowned, wrinkling his nose, extracting a hand from
Kurama's to quickly and roughly wipe his nose dry, grumbling to himself.
"You cry too much," he murmured, reaching up and drying the wet path that
glistened over Kurama's cheek.
Kurama laughed slightly, releasing his hand from around
the engagement band, dropping it back into Hiei's shirt. He watched
with subtle pleasure as it disappeared to lay down on Hiei's skin, coveting
itself away out of sight, nestling against Hiei's heart where it belonged
"You know, koi-bito... I wouldn't be surprised if we were going to have
to deal with preparing two weddings here pretty soon."
"TWO!!" Hiei almost squeaked, wiggling on Kurama's chest
to look him straight in the eyes. One was bad enough! Kurama
would flaunt around the apartment for hours on end like he had lost his
mind, humming and furiously writing, erasing, changing - whatnot - guest
lists, caterers, plans, party invitations... just watching and listening
to Kurama get in contact with old friends in the Makai, jabbing forever
about how he was going to marry the most handsome youkai in all the worlds...
it made Hiei's head hurt and his mind spin.
The little youkai groaned and plopped his head down on
Kurama's chest, silently, letting a great breath of air putter out through
his lips. "NOW what are you thinking up. I thought you said
this was going to be a simple thing... a few people and a cake?"
"And a large, catered party, music, dancing, presents..."
Hiei groaned, sliding off Kurama's chest and burrowing
under one of the many pillows piled in a great heap at the head of the
bed. "Who else is getting married at this 'wedding' thing of yours?"
"Of OURS," Kurama quickly corrected, turning
over and burrowing under the pillow to meet up with Hiei. "And I
think, the way things are going, Yo-mawari will be getting married right
along side of us." He smiled under the pillow, flashing a stunning,
disarming wink over to his lover.
" 'Wari? Getting married?" Hiei snorted and
wiggled up further under the stack of pillows like a little shrew, his
body almost
completely buried under them. "Who exactly would he be marrying?"
"Oh, come now. Don't tell me you haven't noticed!"
"Noticed what? Other than the fact that he turns
into a total basket case when ever he comes around Kuraihana..." he trailed
of, stopping his burrowing, jerking his head down to Kurama as he lazily
followed, a huge, mischievous smile painted across his face. "You're
not saying..."
"Hai," Kurama smiled, slithering up under the pillows,
pinching Hiei's cheek lightly.
"Yo-mawari's in love with Kuraihana?" Hiei squeaked.
"And vice-versa, I'm sure of it. Isn't it wonderful?"
"Oh gods, NO! It's terrible!! Not only will
I have to deal with you being so ungreatfuly cheery all the time, prancing
around with flowers in your hair and bells on your toes, I'll have to deal
with 'Wari too! It'll be a nightmare!"
"Oh, thanks," Kurama snorted sarcastically, sticking his
tongue out at Hiei. "And I don't 'prance' around!" Kurama squirmed
quickly under the pillows, over taking Hiei and pinning him under his larger
body. "And just for that..."
Immediately, before Hiei had a chance to protest, Kurama
pressed his lips firmly down to Hiei's, swirling his tongue into the small,
hot mouth, sighing deeply as his tongue recognized Hiei's taste.
The koorime stiffened slightly under Kurama, still not
used to the sensation of having someone else's tongue in his mouth.
It was an odd feeling he both hated and loved at the same time, his body
slowly relaxing as he fought back, their tongues playing tag back and forth
in each other's mouths.
Mukuro capped a blue jar of some horrendous smelling
liquid she had packed from the remnants of her healing quarters, and stood
to her feet, flicking back a piece of Yo-mawari's black hair from
his face. "That should do it. As sick as it smells, this is
the only ointments that I've found can heal burns quickly." She turned
the jar around in her hand and tossed it down to Kuraihana. "Here,
with the way those two go about, you'll need it more than me."
Kuraihana caught it easily with one hand, wrinkling her
nose at the awful smell that encompassed it, holding it out away from her.
"Thanks.. uh, I think."
The witch gave a half-smile, pulling at the blue
eye piece over her right eye, flexing her right, cyborg arm.
"I need to go tune this thing up before it freezes up again," she
huffed. "Too damn dusty around here if you ask me." With
a simple twist she was gone from the room, leaving in a burst of
wind, swirling the curtains by the window in her wake.
"Strange woman," Kuraihana said to herself, shivering
slightly. "She still gives me the chills." She ran a hand up
and down her arm quickly, turning to the still figure on the bed.
Yo-mawari was still passed out, sleeping away soundly,
cuddled in a little ball at the top of the bed. His hands were
laced and folded under his head, his knees curled up under his chin
like a little puppy caught in a deep sleep.
He looked absolutely adorable. Very nice, Kuraihana
thought, smiling down on him from her chair beside his bed.
She reached forward, leaning on the bed, smoothing back long strands of
black hair that played across his face.
A light, almost invisible scar still broke over his perfect
face, running from just below his eye, curving down around his cheek to
his ear. He was so angelic, dozing away, mumbling occasionally to
himself in an unknown tongue... or perhaps it WAS just meaningless mumbling.
Kuraihana smiled, turning her head to look parallel at
his face...
Without warning, the black eyes shot wide open...
Kuraihana yelped, jumping back...
Yo-mawari yelped too, jumping back... and falling flat
off the bed, landing in a loud, muffled 'thud' on the floor, jammed tight
between the bed and the wall.
"Owch..." he whined, whimpering in the corner, only his
arm visible as it stuck straight up against the wall, the only clue as
to Yo-mawari's position as the bedspread slid off the bed onto him, burying
him deep.
"Yo-mawari-san!" she yelled, hopping across the bed from
her chair, leaning over the edge of the bed and digging through the bedspread.
"Are you okay?" She pulled back the bedspread reveling Yo-mawari, stuck
at an awkward angle against the wall.
"No..." he whined, blinking up to her, pouting and wincing
as he tried to move. "Gods, I feel like shit."
Kuraihana chuckled, reaching down to tug Yo-mawari up
from the depths of his prison, succeeding only in turning his shirt around
his body in odd folds. "Well, you look a whole lot better than you
did last night."
"Last night!" he squealed. "How long have I been
out?"
"Almost 22 hours." She grunted and gave one last
tug.
"That long?"
Yo-mawari pushed himself from the wall the instant that
Kuraihana tugged, extracting him from his wedged position, throwing them
both back onto the bed in a giant heap.
All of which did not help Yo-mawari's throbbing headache.
He lay completely still when he landed, not really caring
that he landed on something that felt nothing like a pillow. He groaned
loudly, raising a hand to his head, rubbing at his temple.
Kuraihana, however, opened her eyes to find herself trapped
under Yo-mawari's larger body, resting down completely on top of her. She
blushed deeply and blinked a few times, feeling the adrenaline rush into
her blood stream, fueling her heart into action. "Uh... um..."
She stammered around, trying to piece together a fitting sentence for the
awkward position she found herself in. "W... 'Wari-san... could you...
um..."
Yo-mawari suddenly jerked, rising swiftly up on his arms,
his black hair spilling around him as he rose and hovered inches above
Kuraihana, burying her in a mass of black, silken hair.
Quickly, Kuraihana wiped the hair from her face, pulling
it from her mouth and around her neck, only to see Yo-mawari's piercing
black eyes floating wide just above her, blinking rhythmically.
"Uh... gomen nasai, Hana-san..." he whispered, shifting above
her. The two stared back and forth at each other for about a minute, each
trying to come up with an intelligible sentence to speak to get them out
of this situation.
Yo-mawari's mouth flopped open, poised as he tried to
speak his next lines when the headache hit him again, full force, pounding
into his skull like a locomotive, peppering his vision with black and red
spots. He growled deeply, his head falling down as he still remained
propped up on his hands, the blood rushing to his head, threatening to
collapse him in one shot right then and there.
"Yo-mawari-san!" Kuraihana breathed, sitting up quickly,
taking a hold of his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him,
pulling him from his position, flipping him over. Gently she laid
him back on the bed, cradling his head in her hands, laying it back on
a pillow.
The black hair splayed around him like a black halo, encircling
his head, contrasting deeply with the white background of the pillows and
sheets around him. "'Wari-san! Are you okay?"
He groaned, raising a hand to his head, rubbing his temples
furiously. "Why do you keep asking me that?" he whined, tossing his
head to the side. "Oh, my head... why don't you just shoot me and
have done with it!"
" 'Wari-san!"
"I was kidding," he tried to smile, turning his head back
slowly and cracking open his black eyes. "Don't you healers know
what aspirin is?" He laughed slightly, wincing at the pain in his
head, lowering a hand to clutch at his chest. He took several deep
breaths, sliding his eyes closed, tight, fluttering in pain that encompassed
his body. He felt Kuraihana get up from the bed, followed shortly
by the curtains closing on the windows, dimming the room greatly. "Damn
it, there it
goes again," he groaned, grasping the fabric tightly.
"What? Your chest hurts?"
"Hai. It's been like this for a couple days now.
Heh ... but the strange thing is..." he tugged at the black silk, rubbing
his chest as he pulled.
Kuraihana crawled back across the bed, sitting beside
him on her knees, opening the ever-present satchel she always had with
her. She slipped a hand over his chest, wiggling her fingers under
his hand. "And what's so strange about it??"
Yo-mawari removed his grip, letting Kuraihana run a hand
up and down his breast bone, light fingers feeling his rapid heart beat
thundering away in his chest underneath. She frowned slightly turning
her head, leaning an ear down to his chest, listening to his heart.
"Strange thing is, it only seems to happen... " he trailed off as Kuraihana
rose, catching her deep blue eyes in his onyx black ones, staring back
in complete concentration. "... around you."
Kuraihana froze a second, meeting Yo-mawari's glance with
wide eyes, staring back. "Around me?" she asked silently. Immediately,
her healer's mind began running through know diseases, plagues and whatever
else she could think of, trying to find a reason for why her presence would
inflict such pain on him.
Yo-mawari pushed himself to his hands, tottering
up into a sitting position, eyes never leaving her as she thought quickly,
turning over thought after thought in her head. He reached out with
a thin finger and smoothed it over her cheek lightly, watching as she startled
quickly out of deep concentration.
"I... I can't think of what can be causing that..."
Yo-mawari cupped a hand around her cheek, looking back
into her face with solid black eyes. "Hana-chan..."
And instantly, Kuraihana knew. Her chest pounded
furiously, her eyes refusing to rise up and meet his, her head dipping
lower and lower. She felt his other hand gently grasp her chin, raising
her head and her eyes back up to meet his, releasing and smoothing the
hand back over her face, leaning in a bit closer.
She raised a hand to the one at her cheek, folding her
fingers gently over his, fighting to keep her eyes looking back into the
black depths before her, finding herself faltering occasionally.
With one last, fluid movement, Yo-mawari leaned in, watching
her eyes for as long as he could before the deep blue pools became blurred
images. He closed his eyes and leaned blindly forward until he felt
his lips come lightly in contact with the soft flesh of Kuraiahan's mouth.
He pressed his lips down on hers, feeling his face
grow amazingly hot just at the simple gesture, the pain in his chest dying
with his last breath. He felt a thin arm move to his shoulders and
countered by wrapping one of his own about Kuraihana's waist, leaning in
further, beginning to kiss the young woman he held before him, trying to
mimic how he had seen Kurama kiss Hiei.
