Hello! This shortie is a response to a YomiXKurama request (been getting a few of these). Hope you all like it!

Let's bring the YYH fandom back to life! I'm currently filling requests, trying to breathe new air back into the YYH Yaoi community! Check out my page to see what pairings I've done so far, and shoot me a pm if you want to see more! I'm happy to work on just about any kind of yaoi fic, especially if you're willing to tell me what you want to see!

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH. I'm smart, but not that smart.

"You're afraid."

Inorganic light filled the observatory, flashes of neon from both inside and out painting a pale face in unnatural color. Soft, whirring noises filled the otherwise stormy air, lightning mixing with the effervescent sparkling of the night sky. Or was it day? It always seemed dark in Gandara, a poetic feature that hadn't escaped its honored guest. Rather than commenting on it, he had tried to adjust, but the lack of anything organic gave him little to grasp. Whether the turn to technology and metal had been intentional, it certainly did put him at a disadvantage.

Not bothering to look at the one who had spoken, the outsider stared through thick glass, seeking something in the cold lines of the city but finding nothing. The edges of buildings seemed to blur with an artificial buzz, impairing his sharpened focus. This world was wrong.

"It is the place of a fool not to feel fear. Fear is what helps us identify weakness, and if possible remedy it. Though," he let his eyes slide to the other's reflection on the shining panes, "I expect you know this from experience." The king of the realm chuckled at this, unmoved by the speaker's cold tone. He stepped forward, but kept a noticeable distance from the other all the same.

"I suppose I do." With the tilt of his head to the side, as if listening, he continued. "What do you think of this new predicament we've found ourselves in?" The redhead turned, his expression blank, though his tone reflected forethought.

"I could not say. The risks taken on all sides are equal. It will be, perhaps, the greatest desperation that comes out on top." He expected the other to frown at the insinuation that a victory could only be achieved out of such a weak state, but was instead met with a smile. The younger one had changed since they'd seen each other last.

"Oh, come now Kurama. You are my most trusted advisor: advise me. This Toushin is someone you know well. Surely you can anticipate his next moves." At this, the fox narrowed his eyes. Then again, he had changed too not to offer a quick betrayal.

"I cannot. You followed the Ankoku Bujutsukai fights, did you not? Then you should know that Yusuke's strategies are more of a lack thereof; the boy does not plan. He reacts on instinct alone." He paused, noting that the smile on the other's face had fallen into a contemplative line. "Your best option against him would be to do the same. He, however, is not your greatest worry." The King raised an eyebrow at this, his face showing curiosity more than anything.

"And that would be?" The fox waited, letting the air gain weight with each moment.

"Mukuro, I suspect. Yusuke is powerful, but he is young. She will probably prove to be the greatest challenge. You should be grateful for the advantage Yusuke has graced you with, notifying you of the terms of his plan before her. She will be forced to catch up; so your next moves should be swift if made." Silence fell between them, both lost in separate thoughts. "I could speak with her, if you wish. As you know, I have a contact among her guard. It could be greatly beneficial to feign an exchange of information."

The blind king sighed, a sound that the fox had not heard before. He moved, slowly, but his purpose clear. The fox's back was already against the window of the observation deck, giving him nowhere to go as his former underling strode through what space was left between them. Keeping calm and clamping down on the surge of energy that threatened to rise, the redhead stood perfectly still, letting the other's shoulder stop just in front of his nose.

"You must be getting sloppy to think I would let you out of here so easily, Kurama, especially after making your allegiances known with that little coup of yours. Let the King of Alaric send her little dog here, if she chooses. That way I can keep an eye on you." He turned his head toward the other and the kitsune could feel his breath against his hair. "Or do you just miss that pet of hers that much?"

The redhead gritted his teeth, not enjoying how the youth he had reigned over for so long had decided to use his newfound astuteness to make a mockery of him. He said the other's name in a low growl, reminiscent of their past together. The king only smirked, keeping his face turned in his direction

"Why are you so afraid, Kurama?" He spoke softly, a misplaced tone in his voice ringing through. The fox's nerves were alert, a slow pour of adrenaline seeping through his veins despite himself. The constant danger, the silent yet insinuated threat of the other was keeping him on edge for days without rest. Between that and the constant hum in the air, the world seemed to blur around him, just out of focus. It was everything he could do not to scream, trapped in the metal boxes stacked one upon another, pressed up against the glass. The heat of the blind king's body pulled at him, starkly contrasting the cold feel around him. Clenching a fist tightly, the redhead struggled against the urge to shiver.

"You're suffocating me, Yomi." He choked, anger boiling up through the frustration at being caged. "I cannot breathe." The lines of the ruler's face changed and there was a shift in his weight.

"No." he murmured, leaning forward and forcing the other back the last few inches he could go. "You can't."

The kitsune didn't close his eyes as the king caught him in a bruising kiss, pressing into him with fervor. He felt a hand on his waist, the other on the back of his neck, aiding the aggressor in towering over him. For a moment, he felt small.

Anticipating the escalation, the fox responded to the kiss, moving back against the mouth that took his enough to sustain it without fully participating. With oxygen becoming more and more obsolete in his lungs, his eyes began to slip shut, a small concession of powerlessness that he had never given the other before. Even with the submissive act and the allowance of the meeting of their lips, the redhead's arms lay limply at his sides.

Then, he was smoldering, his lungs burning for air. Flitting his eyes back open, his worldview narrowed; there was nothing but Yomi. It was an act of panic, really, when he pushed back, meeting the other head on. The human eater had captured him and taken what he wanted. With no other options in sight, it was only natural that Kurama gave it to him.

As soon as the fox began to kiss him back, the blind king pulled away, the hand that had been resting on his hip now pressing against the kitsune's throat. He kept him there, pinned, but not threateningly. Watching him carefully with eyes that saw nothing, the former bandit released the redhead, allowing him to free his trapped breath. He paced away, then turned, his expression amused. The kitsune glared, eyes alight with hatred. His look did not bode well.

"I've changed my mind." He took in the redhead's form, seeming to enjoy how he stayed against the window. "You'll go to Alaric. Bring warm wishes to the old warrior, and see what you can make of her." He strode out, leaving the fox to slide down the wall, hands fisting in his own hair as he tried to remain sane.

He left that night, whispers among the guards and other fighters at his back as the gates closed, effectively sealing him out. It was a few days journey to the masked mistress's base of operations, no help in part by the fact that it was nearly constantly on the move. When he arrived he was greeted with caution and fear, no doubt already known to her men as one of their enemies. She gave him an audience that night, heeding his words although the information was not new, carefully decisive. Unlike his master, she did not intend to play any games.

He was given private quarters, the stay to rest for the night before making the journey back in the morning. It had been more than Yomi would have offered, but still he found himself wary. One was, of course, when invited into the lion's den.

The night passed uneventfully, cries and howls from outside his window, but without interruption. Waiting for a knock that would never come, the kitsune examined his situation one more time, repeating the details, reminding himself that six months was nothing to the hundreds of years that he had lived.

Still, never had he felt so isolated.

Whether it had been of his own volition or his keeper's, the fire demon did not come. And when morning light hit, Kurama collected himself, walking back in the direction of Gandara.

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