Only the Most Intense Flames can Burn a Rose

It was small. That flutter of power barely even passed by his radar, but the power's signature was just too... Frighteningly familiar to let go unchecked.

Shuuichi Minamino didn't even spare a sigh before setting his pencil down on his incomplete schoolwork and standing up. He sidestepped silently, to avoid the creak in the floor. If the intruder was a demon, his movement would be known, creak or not, but it never hurt to be cautious. He crept his way to the door, emerald green eyes ever so aware of every foreign movement of the room.

He was almost surprised when his front door didn't burst open before he reached it, and when he did, he reached his hand out for the door knob.

There it was again. Energy danced over his skin like caressing fingers, making pleasurable goose bumps pop over his arms. It was sensual, yet terrifying. Beautiful, yet grotesque. Familiar, yet he still couldn't place where it was from. This didn't bode well. Something told him that it was bad... And he knew to always trust his instincts.

His hand closed around the doorknob slowly. At least he'd have the element of surprise. At least this other person had no idea when he'd open the door. Hell, this person might even be a mortal. Just to be safe, he pulled out a rose from the base of his neck, hidden by a curtain of his deep, red hair.

When he opened the door, all he saw was a flash of white, black, and gray before a cool hand closed around the wrist of the hand that held his rose, and he was turned around, pulled close against the figure that was now behind him. Another arm snaked around his waist, capturing his other arm, and he felt another person lean their head forward, feeling the bite of cold metal against his ear.

The redhead froze. It couldn't be. No... He was dead. Kurama had killed him. He'd seen the blood drain from his body.

"I've returned to you, my fox." Your hair is just as brittle as before. Pity."

That confident, clear, deep bell of a voice... His heart skipped a fearful beat as he knew who it was now. Without a doubt.

"Karasu..."

"I'm positively thrilled you care about me enough to remember me, Kurama." The man in question could just hear the darker man's lips curve into his confident, pleased smile that had taunted him in the last fight they had had- hidden behind a mask or not. This was not good.

"You say that as if I haven't tried to forget about you." He countered in his own strong, defiant tone. Silently, he gathered his energy up, and did it slowly. He didn't want Karasu to pick up his plan with his amazing ability to sense other people's power. However, he didn't so it well enough, seeing as, as soon as he had enough energy to control the most basic of his abilities, the hand around his wrist tightened so much that he was forced to drop the rose. The pain was enough to cause a small, almost shy sounding whimper of pain to escape Kurama's lips, and as the rose fell to the ground, it exploded and charred petals fluttered at a slower pace than the blackened stem. "You haunt my dreams." He choked.

Kurama felt a leg behind him lift, and after the coaxing of a surprisingly gentle push, he took a step forward at the demon’s silent request. “And what did I do in these dreams, Kurama?” Karasu questioned and he led the other forward, out of the open hall and prying mortal eyes. “What is it that I did to earn this fear from you? The fear that is making you tremble in my arms. Was it pain? Did I give you a beautiful death? Is that it?” He paused, a thoughtful sound passing from behind hidden, pursed lips. “No… That’s not it, is it? This isn’t a tremble caused by just fear. I sense… I sense… Anger? Shame, perhaps… What did I do to you Kurama? Did I feed your masochism? Are you still curious of my touch?”

God… How did he do it? How did the crow demon know exactly what to say to bring shivers down his spine? He was so focused in that music the other had weaved together with his words that he didn’t even notice that they were now safely inside his apartment until the door closed behind him with a loud click. He knew that his door wasn’t that loud. Distraction was not something that he needed right now. He had to focus and ignore this fear and excitement that danced up his spine at the sound of the other’s voice.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get any words out, he was once again put at surprise enough so that any protest he would have to the other’s man-handling would be late and in vain. He found himself against a wall and staring into violet eyes that he hadn’t seen in years. They had a sparkle of curiosity but even more satisfaction. Satisfied that he had succeeded, once again, in catching the great Makai thief off his guard, of having the upper hand… And now in a place where Kurama couldn’t let go, backed into a corner or not. Here he had a human appearance to keep up.

He was being held against the wall by two, strong hand at his upper arms, and he made no attempt to move away. He knew now that Karasu did not have to touch for his abilities to work, so he wasn’t afraid of it anymore- logically. Still, there was still that thrill of slight paranoia whenever his hand would hover near. Even now, there was just something about the other’s touch that did the unknown, and though his body liked it, Kurama didn’t.

“You need to-” Karasu definitely had gotten faster. Kurama didn’t even see him move. All he knew that his sentence was cut off not even halfway through it by a pair of lips upon his own, chaste but firm. When did he even have time to take the mask off?

Despite what his mind was screaming, both his body and his own demon won this particular battle. His leaf green eyes closed and he gave in with a small breath of half a moan. He felt Karasu take advantage of this and slide one of his legs between his own, stepping forward so that their entire fronts were pressed against each other. Both hands left his arms, and one crept up, trailing the long neck and coming to a rest at the side of the other’s smooth face, and the other just rested at the other’s chest, right over the strong, fluttering beat of his heart.

Kurama felt the other man’s lips part, deepening the kiss without using any tongue. Karasu knew what he was doing. He tilted his own head upwards to open himself for it, and the hand at his face caressed him in response. The leg between his own pressed even closer teasingly, and at the same slow pace, the fingers at his jaw line curled in, claws of nails digging into his skin enough to draw blood. A moan of mixed pain and pleasure leaked into the kiss, and as soon as the scent of blood caught his nose, the kiss finally broke.

“I need to what, Kurama?” Karasu growled, voice tainted with lust and a pinch of possessiveness. Kurama felt a brush of lips with every word, with how close the other was staying, and he was still… Cloudy due to everything he had gotten from that kiss.

Kurama was confused thanks to this, of course. “You need to…? What?” He questioned, opening his eyes and seeing the others again. There was a tint of red in those royal colored eyes. That was enough to wake him up. “Go. You need to go.” He finished with a firm tone.

Karasu hummed a short, thoughtful noise and then leaned back down, swiping his tongue over the wound he’d made and then pulling back again with a smile. He caught the other’s eyes with his own, and leaned right back down. Kurama once again found himself trapped in a kiss, this time firm, demanding, and the tongue that seemed so shy before certainly lost its coyness. He could taste the metallic tang of his own blood in the kiss.

And as fast as it started, it ended. As fast as Karasu had appeared, he was gone, the door opening and shutting with his departure forcing wind to blow against Kurama’s stunned face.

He slid to the ground, using the wall behind him for support, and breathed a short sigh. Karasu was back. That was not a dream. His own blood told him that. His own blood that was lingering in his mouth and on the fingers he used to wipe the wound.

And a single, blood red rose that fell right on top of the charred one by the door.