'Thoughts'
"Speech"
Telepathic Communication
His leathery black wings fold up neatly against his back like bits of rice paper as he comes to a light landing on a tree branch. No sound was made. Not even the leaves rustled as the man's violet orbs narrowed, shifting his weight slightly on the slender tree appendage. He was skilled, and could move freely in almost any tight or odd place without making a sound.
Because Youkou Kurama did not partner with fools.
He crouches lower, to sink and blend in with the tree's shifting shadows. His wide-brimmed hat shadowed his face, hiding his violet eyes and fair features. The top seemed to be ripped off, the edges were frayed, and his smooth black hair jutted out of it in a well-done ponytail. His calloused, slender fingers grip the rough branch, and he keeps his perfect balance without trouble as a gentle night wind sways the branches. The man was almost invisible, keeping absolutely still, his violet orbs fixated on the open window in front of him.
He was looking at a very neat room. A room much too neat and clean for a 17-yr-old. The window seemed to be thrown open for a specific purpose, the man didn't know nor care why. In a Western-style bed lay a figure sleeping peacefully, his vivid red hair standing out starkly against the darkness. He was laying on his side, his back turned to the window. Lucky, too, or else his superior scent would have easily detected the man in the window.
Suddenly the sleeping teen's head snaps downwards towards his feet. In an agonized groan, he stretches out flat on his back, his eyes not only shut tight in sleep, but also scrunched with pain. His arms were clutching his chest, and he suddenly lets out a loud yell.
"Shuichi!" the man in the window hears the worried cry of a mother for her son, and his leathery black wings unfold, beating against gravity and lifting him gracefully out of anyone's range of vision.
Shiori rushes into her son's room, her brown eyes wide with worry. She hadn't heard her son yell like that for so long! Nightmares seemed to plague him nightly, but shouts like that were rare. She bends down at his bedside, to meet his calm smile and bright emerald eyes, eyes that held too much wisdom for someone so young.
"I'm alright, mother," he says softly, correctly reading the look in her eyes.
"Oh, Shuichi, don't lie to me! You shouted in your sleep, now why are you having such nightmares?" Shiori sounded truly helpless, and it was driving her crazy! She couldn't change her dear Shuichi's dreams or protect him. That was what hit home the most. She couldn't protect her baby.
"I'm not lying, mother. It's simply nightmares; I'm fine. Now, don't lose sleep over me, please, I'm perfectly alright," he says gently.
"You're too mature for your own good, Shuichi," smiling, Shiori gives her son a once-over with her eyes before leaving, lingering before shutting the door.
Kurama sighs and lays back. He had outright lied to his mother. Though his nightmares did him no physical harm, they tore at his mind, and he hated them. They were Youkou's memories haunting him, his own past coming back at night, when he was most vulnerable. True, some nights he was free of such nightmares, but they were in the minority. Kurama reaches up and rubs his temples, thanking the darkness that surrounded him, hiding his blood-drained face from the watchful eyes of his dear mother.
The man comes to rest on the Minamino's roof, touching down lightly without a sound. His bare feet cling to the structure, his acute demonic hearing picking up everything going on inside the bedroom below. He heard the click of a door, and his wings unfold, carrying him to rest on Kurama's windowsill.
Kurama sits bolt upright in his bed, emerald orbs slanted, glaring at the shadowed figure blocking his window.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten, Kurama," the tones of the man were deep and harsh, holding a tone of...playfulness? Teasing? Kurama raises a crimson eyebrow and throws off his quilt, standing to meet the man.
He'd been tricked once. He wouldn't be tricked again.
The man leaps nimbly down from the sill, landing on the hardwood floor soundlessly. Amazing skill. Skill Kurama prized. The man folds his arms, an amused smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Kuronue..." Kurama mutters.
The man smiles, chuckling lightly at his former partner.
Kurama's hard emerald eyes grew wide, staring with amazement and suspicion. Any remaining color drained from his fine face as he distractedly runs a hand through his thick hair. He shakes his head slightly, and then glances at the man claiming to be his former partner. A partner he saw die with his own eyes, a death that haunts him to this day.
"You don't believe me," the man says flatly. It wasn't a question.
"I have been tricked once before. I will not fall for it again," Kurama's hard emerald eyes meet the man's violet orbs, "Prove to me you are Kuronue."
Without hesitation, the man crouches down and pulls at his black pants, revealing six inches of his ankle in the moonlight streaming in from the open window.
Kurama slants his eyes. Scars littered his ankle, and probably the rest of his legs, too, from the bamboo spikes that were rained down upon him. He guessed Kuronue fixed the clothes himself, but that didn't matter. It had been such a foolish thing to retrieve that pendant! Kurama gives a slight nod, but the man wasn't finished yet.
He steps into the moonlight, and it was all Kurama could do to keep a shout of pure shock escaping him. His chest...right at his heart...there was a scar where he'd been pierced. His right shoulder bore the marks of the attack, as well as other parts of him. Over his right eye there was a particularly horrible scar, extending almost down to his chin. Kurama noticed right above that his hat had been sliced through.
"Kuronue...how did you survive this? I saw...the blood...your heart," he makes a weak gesture to the mark on Kuronue's chest.
"I didn't survive it. Koenma resurrected me. He said in turn for my life, I had to help the Reikai Tantei on a mission," Kuronue pauses, waiting to see his friend's reaction. When there was none, he continued. "That is how I learned about how you were nearly killed and fled to Ningenkai."
"So what is it, Kuronue? Why did Koenma not send you to Yusuke's to tell him?"
"Apparently, a thief isn't trustworthy enough," Kuronue smirks in amusement, "So I was not told. Not to mention this body is...a demo, you might say. If I do anything against Reikai law, I'm dead. Again. And until then, I'm being nailed down to this human city."
Kurama chuckles at the obvious amusement in his bat friend's tone. He took it better than Hiei did, Kurama had to admit. The fire youkai was currently off in Makai with Mukuro, but he had previously been on probation and bolted down to this city also. Kuronue, on the other hand, seemed highly amused.
'He never did let his pride get in the way before,' Kurama smiles, folding his arms.
"So, Kuronue, I expect I'm to take on yet another youkai on probation?" Kurama teases.
Kuronue chuckles, "I suppose so. Your dear toddler of Reikai also said he would like to see his Tantei in the morning."
After a few more minutes of talking, both demons were tired. Kuronue decided to retire on the Minamino's roof, while Kurama, of course, went to his human bed.
Translations:
Reikai Tantei: Spirit World Detective/Investigator Youkai: Demon Ningenkai/Makai/Reikai: Human world/demon world/spirit world
His leathery black wings fold up neatly against his back like bits of rice paper as he comes to a light landing on a tree branch. No sound was made. Not even the leaves rustled as the man's violet orbs narrowed, shifting his weight slightly on the slender tree appendage. He was skilled, and could move freely in almost any tight or odd place without making a sound.
Because Youkou Kurama did not partner with fools.
He crouches lower, to sink and blend in with the tree's shifting shadows. His wide-brimmed hat shadowed his face, hiding his violet eyes and fair features. The top seemed to be ripped off, the edges were frayed, and his smooth black hair jutted out of it in a well-done ponytail. His calloused, slender fingers grip the rough branch, and he keeps his perfect balance without trouble as a gentle night wind sways the branches. The man was almost invisible, keeping absolutely still, his violet orbs fixated on the open window in front of him.
He was looking at a very neat room. A room much too neat and clean for a 17-yr-old. The window seemed to be thrown open for a specific purpose, the man didn't know nor care why. In a Western-style bed lay a figure sleeping peacefully, his vivid red hair standing out starkly against the darkness. He was laying on his side, his back turned to the window. Lucky, too, or else his superior scent would have easily detected the man in the window.
Suddenly the sleeping teen's head snaps downwards towards his feet. In an agonized groan, he stretches out flat on his back, his eyes not only shut tight in sleep, but also scrunched with pain. His arms were clutching his chest, and he suddenly lets out a loud yell.
"Shuichi!" the man in the window hears the worried cry of a mother for her son, and his leathery black wings unfold, beating against gravity and lifting him gracefully out of anyone's range of vision.
Shiori rushes into her son's room, her brown eyes wide with worry. She hadn't heard her son yell like that for so long! Nightmares seemed to plague him nightly, but shouts like that were rare. She bends down at his bedside, to meet his calm smile and bright emerald eyes, eyes that held too much wisdom for someone so young.
"I'm alright, mother," he says softly, correctly reading the look in her eyes.
"Oh, Shuichi, don't lie to me! You shouted in your sleep, now why are you having such nightmares?" Shiori sounded truly helpless, and it was driving her crazy! She couldn't change her dear Shuichi's dreams or protect him. That was what hit home the most. She couldn't protect her baby.
"I'm not lying, mother. It's simply nightmares; I'm fine. Now, don't lose sleep over me, please, I'm perfectly alright," he says gently.
"You're too mature for your own good, Shuichi," smiling, Shiori gives her son a once-over with her eyes before leaving, lingering before shutting the door.
Kurama sighs and lays back. He had outright lied to his mother. Though his nightmares did him no physical harm, they tore at his mind, and he hated them. They were Youkou's memories haunting him, his own past coming back at night, when he was most vulnerable. True, some nights he was free of such nightmares, but they were in the minority. Kurama reaches up and rubs his temples, thanking the darkness that surrounded him, hiding his blood-drained face from the watchful eyes of his dear mother.
The man comes to rest on the Minamino's roof, touching down lightly without a sound. His bare feet cling to the structure, his acute demonic hearing picking up everything going on inside the bedroom below. He heard the click of a door, and his wings unfold, carrying him to rest on Kurama's windowsill.
Kurama sits bolt upright in his bed, emerald orbs slanted, glaring at the shadowed figure blocking his window.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten, Kurama," the tones of the man were deep and harsh, holding a tone of...playfulness? Teasing? Kurama raises a crimson eyebrow and throws off his quilt, standing to meet the man.
He'd been tricked once. He wouldn't be tricked again.
The man leaps nimbly down from the sill, landing on the hardwood floor soundlessly. Amazing skill. Skill Kurama prized. The man folds his arms, an amused smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Kuronue..." Kurama mutters.
The man smiles, chuckling lightly at his former partner.
Kurama's hard emerald eyes grew wide, staring with amazement and suspicion. Any remaining color drained from his fine face as he distractedly runs a hand through his thick hair. He shakes his head slightly, and then glances at the man claiming to be his former partner. A partner he saw die with his own eyes, a death that haunts him to this day.
"You don't believe me," the man says flatly. It wasn't a question.
"I have been tricked once before. I will not fall for it again," Kurama's hard emerald eyes meet the man's violet orbs, "Prove to me you are Kuronue."
Without hesitation, the man crouches down and pulls at his black pants, revealing six inches of his ankle in the moonlight streaming in from the open window.
Kurama slants his eyes. Scars littered his ankle, and probably the rest of his legs, too, from the bamboo spikes that were rained down upon him. He guessed Kuronue fixed the clothes himself, but that didn't matter. It had been such a foolish thing to retrieve that pendant! Kurama gives a slight nod, but the man wasn't finished yet.
He steps into the moonlight, and it was all Kurama could do to keep a shout of pure shock escaping him. His chest...right at his heart...there was a scar where he'd been pierced. His right shoulder bore the marks of the attack, as well as other parts of him. Over his right eye there was a particularly horrible scar, extending almost down to his chin. Kurama noticed right above that his hat had been sliced through.
"Kuronue...how did you survive this? I saw...the blood...your heart," he makes a weak gesture to the mark on Kuronue's chest.
"I didn't survive it. Koenma resurrected me. He said in turn for my life, I had to help the Reikai Tantei on a mission," Kuronue pauses, waiting to see his friend's reaction. When there was none, he continued. "That is how I learned about how you were nearly killed and fled to Ningenkai."
"So what is it, Kuronue? Why did Koenma not send you to Yusuke's to tell him?"
"Apparently, a thief isn't trustworthy enough," Kuronue smirks in amusement, "So I was not told. Not to mention this body is...a demo, you might say. If I do anything against Reikai law, I'm dead. Again. And until then, I'm being nailed down to this human city."
Kurama chuckles at the obvious amusement in his bat friend's tone. He took it better than Hiei did, Kurama had to admit. The fire youkai was currently off in Makai with Mukuro, but he had previously been on probation and bolted down to this city also. Kuronue, on the other hand, seemed highly amused.
'He never did let his pride get in the way before,' Kurama smiles, folding his arms.
"So, Kuronue, I expect I'm to take on yet another youkai on probation?" Kurama teases.
Kuronue chuckles, "I suppose so. Your dear toddler of Reikai also said he would like to see his Tantei in the morning."
After a few more minutes of talking, both demons were tired. Kuronue decided to retire on the Minamino's roof, while Kurama, of course, went to his human bed.
Translations:
Reikai Tantei: Spirit World Detective/Investigator Youkai: Demon Ningenkai/Makai/Reikai: Human world/demon world/spirit world