The other wagon looked pretty much the same as the one Kuronue and the other two girls traveled in. Mukuro wasn't one for fancy decorations or paintings, which often adorned the wagons of various travelers. Rather she lived more with simple designs that worked, rather then flashy ones that kept needing repairs. Still, even with that said, every wagon needed fixing now and then, and apparently the axle on this wagon was loose.
Which would explain why Kuronue found Yuusuke halfway under the wagon, which was propped up by a rock, as he tinkered around with the items underneath. Kuronue noticed him and just stood there, not saying anything or even making a sound. All he did was watch, and wonder why Yuusuke was such a big annoyance in his life.
What had happened? He'd made a promise to never fall in love, not ever again, and yet he found himself eating those words every time he even caught a glimpse of this particular tattooed youkai. He knew, from personal experience, that love could easily kill someone. Hell, he'd had to watch for the last three years as Kurama seemed to slowly crumble away between his memories and his hope for finding the young fire demon who was probably dead, or worse. But even beyond that he knew that love wasn't something that could be trusted.
It wasn't because he slept with Yuusuke. He'd slept with dozens, probably even hundreds of youkai, and that had never made a difference. But Yuusuke… something about him made all of Kuronue's reasons and explainations crumble to dust. And standing there, not even ten feet away from him, Kuronue lost every possible idea of what he was actually going to say.
So much for the 'leave me alone and stop stalking me' approach.
"How long are you going to keep standing there?"
Kuronue blinked at hearing Yuusuke's voice and sighed silently, then frowned at him. "You looked busy."
There was the sound of something being snapped on, then Yuusuke rolled over onto his stomiach and slipped out from under the wagon. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He must not have realized that it was Kuronue who was standing there watching him, that much was obvious from the look on his face.
The two of them just stood there for a long moment, neither one wishing to break the silence and bring on what could potentically be one of the most awkward moments in their life. After a long moment, Yuusuke echoed Kuronue's sigh and gave him an almost sheepish look.
"It's been a while."
Kuronue nodded.
Silence reigned longer as the two of them searched for words. Thousands seemed to be popping into Kuronue's head, but it was quite the battle to get those words from his brain to his mouth, and he kept failing. So he just stood there, unsure of what to say or how to say it, just waiting.
"Three years… you could have at least said goodbye that day. I know we fought but… still."
"My answer is still no," Kuronue responded softly. He was doing a pretty good job of not letting his emotions through. He wasn't about to let Yuusuke know how many times he'd wished for his arms around him, especially after Yomi had died.
Yuusuke responded by nodding and leaning back against the wagon. "I figured that out on my own. So what exactly did I say to get alienated so much? Will you at least tell me that? Will you at least tell me what part of your past or thoughts I wasn't supposed to touch? Or was it always just sex to you?"
"It's not that simple-"
"Kuronue, I know what we are. Hell, I know what all the travelers are. If we were simple, we wouldn't be living lives outside of the normal Makai life. You can skip that part of it. So what exactly is it that I hit that I wasn't supposed to?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Kuronue looked away from him, not wanting Yuusuke to see the look in his eyes. He'd come close to telling Yomi once about what had happened, but only Yomi. Because of all people, Yomi couldn't see the sadness in his eyes at that moment. That made it easier to tell. Because when one had sad eyes, the eyes of the person listening usually reflected pity, and Kuronue hated pity.
"If it were obvious I wouldn't be asking." Yuusuke responded in a quieter voice.
Kuronue closed his eyes and didn't look at him, battling himself on the inside. Maybe it was all the time. Maybe it was watching Kurama crumble and die with each passing day. Maybe it was just everything piled in ontop of him, but he couldn't keep it inside anymore, no matter how hard he tried.
"Flesh eaters eventually attack everywhere." He murmured softly.
Behind him Yuusuke stepped forward and touched his shoulder, his hand just resting there silently. It was a gesture meant for comfort, and this time it actually did work.
"But they aren't nearly as bad as those of our kind, who just don't care about anyone or anything. He didn't even care about me. All he cared about was money and power... and we ended up dead."
Yuusuke said nothing to that. But then, what could one say? Speaking of the past was often enough a taboo between travelers, because more often then not, the past held keys to doors that they never wanted to open again, or to weapons that far too many could skillfull weild. With travelers more then anyone, the act of revealing one's past was an act of trust. Such stories, usually held the key to destroying someone, or nearly killing them.
Kuronue had just told his weakness.
"You're afraid I'll hurt you too."
"It's not you, Yuusuke. I don't let anyone that close. Not even Kurama and Yomi." Kuronue turned and his eyes travelled up to Yuusuke. He could count on his hand how many people he'd told and still have fingers to spare. Everyone knew his kind was as rare as the youko, though not nearly as prized, but most didn't know why. Now Yuusuke knew. That implied a small level of trust, but not the kind of trust Kuronue knew he'd been searching for.
Kuronue took a step back, but Yuusuke reacted quickly and caught his hand.
"One request."
He hesitated, but finally the winged youkai nodded.
"One more kiss."
Kurnoue responded by pulling his hand away and stepping back more. "I'm sorry Yuusuke, but there are no one more's. I simply came to say good bye." With that he turned and headed back to the camp, using all his mental strength to keep his head high and step unfaultering.
He would not cry.
He refused to.
And somehow, he managed not to.
Which would explain why Kuronue found Yuusuke halfway under the wagon, which was propped up by a rock, as he tinkered around with the items underneath. Kuronue noticed him and just stood there, not saying anything or even making a sound. All he did was watch, and wonder why Yuusuke was such a big annoyance in his life.
What had happened? He'd made a promise to never fall in love, not ever again, and yet he found himself eating those words every time he even caught a glimpse of this particular tattooed youkai. He knew, from personal experience, that love could easily kill someone. Hell, he'd had to watch for the last three years as Kurama seemed to slowly crumble away between his memories and his hope for finding the young fire demon who was probably dead, or worse. But even beyond that he knew that love wasn't something that could be trusted.
It wasn't because he slept with Yuusuke. He'd slept with dozens, probably even hundreds of youkai, and that had never made a difference. But Yuusuke… something about him made all of Kuronue's reasons and explainations crumble to dust. And standing there, not even ten feet away from him, Kuronue lost every possible idea of what he was actually going to say.
So much for the 'leave me alone and stop stalking me' approach.
"How long are you going to keep standing there?"
Kuronue blinked at hearing Yuusuke's voice and sighed silently, then frowned at him. "You looked busy."
There was the sound of something being snapped on, then Yuusuke rolled over onto his stomiach and slipped out from under the wagon. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He must not have realized that it was Kuronue who was standing there watching him, that much was obvious from the look on his face.
The two of them just stood there for a long moment, neither one wishing to break the silence and bring on what could potentically be one of the most awkward moments in their life. After a long moment, Yuusuke echoed Kuronue's sigh and gave him an almost sheepish look.
"It's been a while."
Kuronue nodded.
Silence reigned longer as the two of them searched for words. Thousands seemed to be popping into Kuronue's head, but it was quite the battle to get those words from his brain to his mouth, and he kept failing. So he just stood there, unsure of what to say or how to say it, just waiting.
"Three years… you could have at least said goodbye that day. I know we fought but… still."
"My answer is still no," Kuronue responded softly. He was doing a pretty good job of not letting his emotions through. He wasn't about to let Yuusuke know how many times he'd wished for his arms around him, especially after Yomi had died.
Yuusuke responded by nodding and leaning back against the wagon. "I figured that out on my own. So what exactly did I say to get alienated so much? Will you at least tell me that? Will you at least tell me what part of your past or thoughts I wasn't supposed to touch? Or was it always just sex to you?"
"It's not that simple-"
"Kuronue, I know what we are. Hell, I know what all the travelers are. If we were simple, we wouldn't be living lives outside of the normal Makai life. You can skip that part of it. So what exactly is it that I hit that I wasn't supposed to?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Kuronue looked away from him, not wanting Yuusuke to see the look in his eyes. He'd come close to telling Yomi once about what had happened, but only Yomi. Because of all people, Yomi couldn't see the sadness in his eyes at that moment. That made it easier to tell. Because when one had sad eyes, the eyes of the person listening usually reflected pity, and Kuronue hated pity.
"If it were obvious I wouldn't be asking." Yuusuke responded in a quieter voice.
Kuronue closed his eyes and didn't look at him, battling himself on the inside. Maybe it was all the time. Maybe it was watching Kurama crumble and die with each passing day. Maybe it was just everything piled in ontop of him, but he couldn't keep it inside anymore, no matter how hard he tried.
"Flesh eaters eventually attack everywhere." He murmured softly.
Behind him Yuusuke stepped forward and touched his shoulder, his hand just resting there silently. It was a gesture meant for comfort, and this time it actually did work.
"But they aren't nearly as bad as those of our kind, who just don't care about anyone or anything. He didn't even care about me. All he cared about was money and power... and we ended up dead."
Yuusuke said nothing to that. But then, what could one say? Speaking of the past was often enough a taboo between travelers, because more often then not, the past held keys to doors that they never wanted to open again, or to weapons that far too many could skillfull weild. With travelers more then anyone, the act of revealing one's past was an act of trust. Such stories, usually held the key to destroying someone, or nearly killing them.
Kuronue had just told his weakness.
"You're afraid I'll hurt you too."
"It's not you, Yuusuke. I don't let anyone that close. Not even Kurama and Yomi." Kuronue turned and his eyes travelled up to Yuusuke. He could count on his hand how many people he'd told and still have fingers to spare. Everyone knew his kind was as rare as the youko, though not nearly as prized, but most didn't know why. Now Yuusuke knew. That implied a small level of trust, but not the kind of trust Kuronue knew he'd been searching for.
Kuronue took a step back, but Yuusuke reacted quickly and caught his hand.
"One request."
He hesitated, but finally the winged youkai nodded.
"One more kiss."
Kurnoue responded by pulling his hand away and stepping back more. "I'm sorry Yuusuke, but there are no one more's. I simply came to say good bye." With that he turned and headed back to the camp, using all his mental strength to keep his head high and step unfaultering.
He would not cry.
He refused to.
And somehow, he managed not to.