(no subject)
Author: ashgray_kitsune
Title: delicate
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairings: Kurama/???, Kurama/Hiei, Yusuke/Keiko, Yukina/Kuwabara, Shizuru/Botan
Synopsis: Misguided trust is sometimes the most dangerous of all...
Chapters: 4/?
"Hey, Kurama! Do you remember when Pluto was a planet? Yeah, those were the days...So, how's Hiei working out with his delivery service?" Yusuke called from the door, dropping his bag behind the counter and setting up the register for the day. He heard a faint grumble from the office, and curious, he peeked in the doorway. The redhead looked...well, he looked like hell. He was busy sorting orders, so he didn't notice Yusuke right off the bat, giving the younger man a chance to size up his condition. He was pale and very tired, large, dark circles under his dulled green eyes. His hair wasn't bushy and bright, but lank and thin, kept back only by the dead little rose. His clothing was just as dirty, and as he looked closer, Yusuke thought he spied a bruise under the high collar protecting the kitsune's throat. He swallowed and closed his eyes, suddenly sick to his stomach. If it was Koichi doing this to him...and it had to be; the only other people Kurama trusted so deeply were himself, Keiko, Genkai, and Hiei. Yusuke knew that.
He had to say something. He knew that even if Kurama was pissed, he'd listen.
"Hey...Kurama?" The kitsune jumped, frightened, and Yusuke had to leap back to avoid the long rose whip's path to bisect him. As the whip disappeared, Yusuke eased his way back into the office, his hands up where Kurama could see him. He wasn't surprised to find the fox panting, his eyes tightly closed, hands in fists. "Hey...I am really, really sorry. I did not mean to scare you, man..."
"It's alright, Yusuke." He collapsed back into his chair, and with a shuddering gasp, started to cry. "Oh god, Yusuke...you see what he's done to me?" He whispered, his hands covering his face, voice muffled as he bent over, body shaking. Yusuke carefully walked over to him, kneeling down on both knees to wrap his arms gently around Kurama's upper body.
"I do, Kurama, and while I'm confused as to how the hell he got away with it, I..."
"He's a lying, cheating bastard without a fucking soul...and he was a fucking psychic, just like Genkai's old students..." Kurama pushed back his long sleeves, and Yusuke felt sick as he surveyed the long welts and punctures that wrapped his arms.
"He tied you up with your own rose whip..."
"Yes...God, Yusuke, if he finds out that you know..."
"We'll take care of him. Believe me, when Hiei finds out..."
"NO! No, Yusuke, Hiei can never know! He'll...he'll get hurt just like me! Just...don't you dare tell him!"
"Okay, okay! But you still are going to have to deal with this, Kurama. If he did this to you...over what? A kink?" Kurama shook his head violently, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Stop that! You're already hurt enough, ya dope. Alright then...what was it? Anger? Boredom? Jealousy?" Kurama had been shaking his head, but at that word, he paused, and Yusuke felt his stomach do flip-flops. "He's jealous of Hiei. And us. We're in the way." The way that Kurama shook, his whole body trembling like a leaf, made Yusuke hug him again, gentler this time. "Alright. I'm taking you up to Genkai's early; thankfully, if he's that powerful, he clearly hasn't come though her place for any sort of training. He'll have either come from overseas or from the backwaters, and so you're safe up there. And while I won't tell Hiei...I think you should. You owe him that much, Kurama...especially after the last time." He felt the kitsune draw away from him, and he let him go, keeping one hand on the arm of the chair while he reached for the box of tissues, bringing it over for Kurama to use.
"I know..." He whispered softly, his voice rough and hoarse, likely from the crying and whatever screaming he may have done the night before. "I just...I'm scared, Yusuke. I'm powerful...but he's even more so. He's your level, at the least."
"Which means he has enough control to keep himself under wraps. Otherwise, he wouldn't be alive. I, on the other hand can tap my powers without interference. Tell you what. Promise me you'll tell Hiei, and I promise that I'll contact Spirit world to take care of this. It's as much in their benefit as ours to get rid of this son of a bitch. Now...let's get you out of here. I'll call Shizuru and Yukina to come run the store, and have Kuwabara watch outside for any hoodlums. That sound good?" He thought it over for a bit, then nodded, his body still shaking a little.
"Yes. Maybe...Keiko too? That way everyone's in one location?"
"Good idea. Why don't you rest for a bit, and I'll call everyone. In fact, I'll call Hiei too and tell him to pick up your pack of things from your house; that way, everything's how it should be." Kurama smiled a bit, and nodded, drifting off a little as he tentatively explored the night before. It had started badly enough...he and Koichi had had fights before and fairly bad ones at that. He had gotten fed up and had stalked off back to his home, telling the man that he'd be back when Koichi had grown up a little, and maybe he might want to consider stopping his little tryst with the slutty shopgirl that was always hanging off of him. Hiei was a friend, nothing more, and while Kurama would, from time to time, look at the koorime and feel a pang of sadness at what they'd lost, he also would take heart in Hiei's simplicity. Hiei missed him, yes, but he was not going to try anything just because Kurama was dating someone else. They were happy merely being friends, and enjoying the comfort that being who and what they were brought them. Koichi...did not understand that, and Kurama had already been fed up with his little affair.
Looking back, now that he was safe, and going towards further safety, he should have known that 'friendship' and 'family' were foreign concepts to a man with neither. He felt ill as he thought about the way Koichi had called his relationship with his mother 'quaint', and wondered if he could have stopped this a year ago, when the first warning bells tolled. Well, wondering never helped matters, and so he turned resolutely back, and winced as he remembered being grabbed, and dragged back into Koichi's house. He had been thrown inside, and as the man locked the front door, Kurama readied a rose whip, striking as Koichi turned. He'd expected blood, of course, and no little amount of it. He had not counted on Koichi catching the vine, ripping it of his hands like a child's plaything. He had run, trying to get some distance in order to try again, when a speed greater than his caught him, bound in his own rose whip. Koichi, his powers now evident, had dragged him into the bedroom, and once there...He shuddered suddenly, eyes wet again, and only because of the gentle hand on his shoulder did he realize that Hiei, not Yusuke, was talking to him, his voice soft.
"-...ama? Kurama? We need to get you out of here. Yusuke went to go take care of that bastard with the Spirit world's special forces, but he's trying to get to you. Can you walk?" He shook his head, slowly, and Hiei, clever, strong Hiei, suppressed a tiny smile. "Alright. I'm going to carry you straight to Genkai. Pu will follow with the girls and Kuwabara, as well as all of our luggage." He turned around, and drawing Kurama's arms around his neck, he leaned forward. "Hold on to me, Kurama." The kitsune gladly followed the order, and soon he was lulled to sleep by the song of the wind, and the warmth emanating from the koorime cradling him.
Title: delicate
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairings: Kurama/???, Kurama/Hiei, Yusuke/Keiko, Yukina/Kuwabara, Shizuru/Botan
Synopsis: Misguided trust is sometimes the most dangerous of all...
Chapters: 4/?
"Hey, Kurama! Do you remember when Pluto was a planet? Yeah, those were the days...So, how's Hiei working out with his delivery service?" Yusuke called from the door, dropping his bag behind the counter and setting up the register for the day. He heard a faint grumble from the office, and curious, he peeked in the doorway. The redhead looked...well, he looked like hell. He was busy sorting orders, so he didn't notice Yusuke right off the bat, giving the younger man a chance to size up his condition. He was pale and very tired, large, dark circles under his dulled green eyes. His hair wasn't bushy and bright, but lank and thin, kept back only by the dead little rose. His clothing was just as dirty, and as he looked closer, Yusuke thought he spied a bruise under the high collar protecting the kitsune's throat. He swallowed and closed his eyes, suddenly sick to his stomach. If it was Koichi doing this to him...and it had to be; the only other people Kurama trusted so deeply were himself, Keiko, Genkai, and Hiei. Yusuke knew that.
He had to say something. He knew that even if Kurama was pissed, he'd listen.
"Hey...Kurama?" The kitsune jumped, frightened, and Yusuke had to leap back to avoid the long rose whip's path to bisect him. As the whip disappeared, Yusuke eased his way back into the office, his hands up where Kurama could see him. He wasn't surprised to find the fox panting, his eyes tightly closed, hands in fists. "Hey...I am really, really sorry. I did not mean to scare you, man..."
"It's alright, Yusuke." He collapsed back into his chair, and with a shuddering gasp, started to cry. "Oh god, Yusuke...you see what he's done to me?" He whispered, his hands covering his face, voice muffled as he bent over, body shaking. Yusuke carefully walked over to him, kneeling down on both knees to wrap his arms gently around Kurama's upper body.
"I do, Kurama, and while I'm confused as to how the hell he got away with it, I..."
"He's a lying, cheating bastard without a fucking soul...and he was a fucking psychic, just like Genkai's old students..." Kurama pushed back his long sleeves, and Yusuke felt sick as he surveyed the long welts and punctures that wrapped his arms.
"He tied you up with your own rose whip..."
"Yes...God, Yusuke, if he finds out that you know..."
"We'll take care of him. Believe me, when Hiei finds out..."
"NO! No, Yusuke, Hiei can never know! He'll...he'll get hurt just like me! Just...don't you dare tell him!"
"Okay, okay! But you still are going to have to deal with this, Kurama. If he did this to you...over what? A kink?" Kurama shook his head violently, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Stop that! You're already hurt enough, ya dope. Alright then...what was it? Anger? Boredom? Jealousy?" Kurama had been shaking his head, but at that word, he paused, and Yusuke felt his stomach do flip-flops. "He's jealous of Hiei. And us. We're in the way." The way that Kurama shook, his whole body trembling like a leaf, made Yusuke hug him again, gentler this time. "Alright. I'm taking you up to Genkai's early; thankfully, if he's that powerful, he clearly hasn't come though her place for any sort of training. He'll have either come from overseas or from the backwaters, and so you're safe up there. And while I won't tell Hiei...I think you should. You owe him that much, Kurama...especially after the last time." He felt the kitsune draw away from him, and he let him go, keeping one hand on the arm of the chair while he reached for the box of tissues, bringing it over for Kurama to use.
"I know..." He whispered softly, his voice rough and hoarse, likely from the crying and whatever screaming he may have done the night before. "I just...I'm scared, Yusuke. I'm powerful...but he's even more so. He's your level, at the least."
"Which means he has enough control to keep himself under wraps. Otherwise, he wouldn't be alive. I, on the other hand can tap my powers without interference. Tell you what. Promise me you'll tell Hiei, and I promise that I'll contact Spirit world to take care of this. It's as much in their benefit as ours to get rid of this son of a bitch. Now...let's get you out of here. I'll call Shizuru and Yukina to come run the store, and have Kuwabara watch outside for any hoodlums. That sound good?" He thought it over for a bit, then nodded, his body still shaking a little.
"Yes. Maybe...Keiko too? That way everyone's in one location?"
"Good idea. Why don't you rest for a bit, and I'll call everyone. In fact, I'll call Hiei too and tell him to pick up your pack of things from your house; that way, everything's how it should be." Kurama smiled a bit, and nodded, drifting off a little as he tentatively explored the night before. It had started badly enough...he and Koichi had had fights before and fairly bad ones at that. He had gotten fed up and had stalked off back to his home, telling the man that he'd be back when Koichi had grown up a little, and maybe he might want to consider stopping his little tryst with the slutty shopgirl that was always hanging off of him. Hiei was a friend, nothing more, and while Kurama would, from time to time, look at the koorime and feel a pang of sadness at what they'd lost, he also would take heart in Hiei's simplicity. Hiei missed him, yes, but he was not going to try anything just because Kurama was dating someone else. They were happy merely being friends, and enjoying the comfort that being who and what they were brought them. Koichi...did not understand that, and Kurama had already been fed up with his little affair.
Looking back, now that he was safe, and going towards further safety, he should have known that 'friendship' and 'family' were foreign concepts to a man with neither. He felt ill as he thought about the way Koichi had called his relationship with his mother 'quaint', and wondered if he could have stopped this a year ago, when the first warning bells tolled. Well, wondering never helped matters, and so he turned resolutely back, and winced as he remembered being grabbed, and dragged back into Koichi's house. He had been thrown inside, and as the man locked the front door, Kurama readied a rose whip, striking as Koichi turned. He'd expected blood, of course, and no little amount of it. He had not counted on Koichi catching the vine, ripping it of his hands like a child's plaything. He had run, trying to get some distance in order to try again, when a speed greater than his caught him, bound in his own rose whip. Koichi, his powers now evident, had dragged him into the bedroom, and once there...He shuddered suddenly, eyes wet again, and only because of the gentle hand on his shoulder did he realize that Hiei, not Yusuke, was talking to him, his voice soft.
"-...ama? Kurama? We need to get you out of here. Yusuke went to go take care of that bastard with the Spirit world's special forces, but he's trying to get to you. Can you walk?" He shook his head, slowly, and Hiei, clever, strong Hiei, suppressed a tiny smile. "Alright. I'm going to carry you straight to Genkai. Pu will follow with the girls and Kuwabara, as well as all of our luggage." He turned around, and drawing Kurama's arms around his neck, he leaned forward. "Hold on to me, Kurama." The kitsune gladly followed the order, and soon he was lulled to sleep by the song of the wind, and the warmth emanating from the koorime cradling him.