Technically, he was looking for Kusuriyuri. Though on a scale of one to distracted, Kurama was enjoying his
reclaimed humanity just a bit more than he'd planned on doing. As birthday gifts went, that (aside from the dubious box from Kuronue he hadn't the courage to open yet) had been the best
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He swooped down, gliding until he landed behind Kurama smoothly. He jogged up to his side. "Did you like it?" he asked, referring to said dubious box he'd given him for his birthday.
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"You do know how to make a guy feel appreciated, though," he laughed.
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He shoved his hands into his pockets. That thing was still nagging him. He sighed. "So uh... we need to talk."
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Kuro wasn't likely acting guilty over the way he'd growled at and accused Kusuriyuri; he may be many things, but Kuronue didn't have that much room for guilt in his head. So, what was it? Something with Jing, maybe? Or something else?
He said nothing, waiting for Kuronue to continue.
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He raised a hand and scratched at the back of his neck. This really wasn't something he was looking forward to saying considering he knew just how Kurama felt about the man in question. "Well...anyway..."
He took a deep breath. "I knew Karasu in Meikai."
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He'd had nightmares about it before, Karasu hunting down the souls of the very few people that had ever mattered to him. Demons were excellent at being cruel even in death, and his darkest dreams had provided many sleepless nights on that regard. Because of this, his brain frantically reinterpreted 'knew' the wrong way, trying to force his very logical mind to believe the opposite of what he knew was heartbreakingly true.
And it hurt. Karasu had corrupted so many things Kurama held sacred, but those things had been here, and from long before. He never imagined that he'd really have the opportunity or pure obsessive willpower to continue that trend in Demon Hell.
Kurama shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down, away, chewing on his lip while he tried not to let it affect him as much as it was.
"Ignorance is bliss," he mumbled, wishing he could believe it. "How long?"
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He rubbed at his face. "I didn't realise it was him until I saw him go all blond and...well he was just so much like you--like you used to be--and I couldn't pass that up. Kitsune live for..." He stopped himself. Kurama had died and hadn't wanted to come to him. He'd body hoped and lived on. What else could he have done but scramble for the crumbs he could get of Kurama through those he killed.
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But that was why he hated and feared Karasu so much. Karasu reminded him of what being the villain was like, what having such power and no conscience did. He'd been cruel to Kuronue, and now it was breaking everything he'd built. Now he knew what it was like to be the "hero," and the taste was bitter as the knowledge that the only one that could be blamed for this was him.
He fought with himself over this, and then reminded himself that he couldn't wallow in pity. Though it was preferable to asking the next important question. "Does Yukimura know?"
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"No," he said quietly. "I just want to crawl into a hole and pretend it all doesn't exist for a while." Which was what he'd been doing up in the sky. Forgetting. "I will tell him...I just don't know if its too soon after he--well."
He couldn't make himself say it.
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"It'll hurt him more the longer you wait," he said, his voice soft. He may not want to accept that he hurt, but his voice was a dead giveaway. He closed his eyes in a grimace and cleared his throat, trying not to emote this time. "He won't blame you; it isn't as if you set Karasu on him willingly. Or knew the situation would have escalated."
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And maybe there was a really idiotic plan in there that he was baking in his need to fuck Karasu up for what he'd done to Yukimura.
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But then, he knew Kuronue was clever enough to use that to his advantage. Kurama would have done the same under those circumstances.
"You're planning something." The look in his eyes was hungry. He wanted to know, to help, to do whatever was necessary to destroy Karasu the way he'd destroyed the careful balance of peace in this place.
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He fell silent for a long moment. "Give me time with him, Kurama. That's all I want. Time alone with him. No one in, no one out. Can you do that?" He turned to look at him, that same sharp edged rage that had lessened in him a little after being in Yukimura's presence for so long.
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But, ultimately, it wasn't his decision to make. He bowed his head, his hands clenching into fists in his pockets. "I trust you to know what to do," he said, only half believing the words he spoke. He was terrified that the little thought might be right, but refused to show it. "Just... be careful. I will take care of the rest." Because, after all, he still loved Kuronue, and there was so, so much to make up for.
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He looked down at the grass, at Kurama's bare feet. "It would mean a lot to me, to be able to get him back for what he did. For all that he's done. Not only to the others, but to you as well."
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"I'll do everything I can."
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