Memories of a Life Long Passed

(AN: >.< Again, I’m late in adding the newest chapter. This story is almost at it’s end with just this and one more chapter left, then the epilogue (which will be a separate entry, by the way). Oi, I’ve edited a few mistakes here and there... Not saying I caught them all... ^^; But I got a few. Ah well, on to the newest chapter, which is short... but the next is already written, I just need to finish the epilogue, and I’ll post the two at the same time...)


Chapter 11

Fire Doesn’t Solve Everything


Finding the den wasn’t as easy as Kurama had at first thought. Wild growth had covered the ancient tree which stood over it; the bark and roots covered in a thick green mass of vines, mushrooms, and other parasitic plants. Worriedly Kurama glanced up at the top of the massive tree. Bright green leaves easily the size of himself sprouted from long and crooked branches. The plushness of the leaves as well as their color told Kurama that the tree was still alive and healthy. What was plaguing the lower half of the tree wasn’t affecting it over all. A splash of red caught Kurama’s eye and the kitsune gasped. The mushrooms on the roots of the trees were rare and didn’t normally grow in this climate. The kitsune in him trotted happily over to the mushrooms, examining them more closely. He had almost forgot the twitching jaganshi behind him until a flare of ki caused him to turn around. “Hiei?”

“Only you would forget about sex to play with your plants...” Hiei grumbled.

“Ah...” Kurama smiled, feeling a little guilty. “Well, technically we haven’t had sex...”

The shorter demon blinked in surprised. “Then what the hell have we been doing?”

Kurama covered his mouth to hide the small laugh that escaped him. He loved Hiei’s innocence at times... The kitsune instantly stopped laughing, trying to grasp at what had last ran through his mind. He...

“Screw this, I don’t care if they are your pets. I’m tired of waiting.” Hiei summoned a bit of flame to his hand, ready to toast the impeding greenery.

“Hiei! I wouldn’t do that if I was...” Ignoring Kurama’s warning, Hiei gathered himself to attack. The tree sprung to life, dumping the water collected in it’s large leaves on Hiei, stamping out the fire in his hands. “...you.” The ancient tree then lifted one of it’s massive roots and swatted Hiei aside, causing him to land against another tree with a loud thud. To forestall further attack Kurama placed his hand on the tree, silently urging it to be calm and recognize it’s master. The tree instantly quieted at his command, a few blossoms on it’s branches blooming in a happy welcome. He smiled, “I missed you too... Thank you for protecting the treasure under you.” It wasn’t the gold or rare items he wished to protect, but something far more precious than that. “He’s my friend, let us pass.” The roots creaked and arched, exposing a pathway into an inner cave. Kurama patted the root. “Thank you.... Hiei?” He glanced over his shoulder the looked around. “Hiei?” A barely audible groan sounded from the bushes in which Hiei landed. Kurama ran to them, worried about his friend. Hiei had taken worse hits than that and gotten up, there must... The kitsune gasped then hastily summoned his rose whip, slicing away the predatory plants. Hiei had managed to land in one of the bushes that sucked away the youki of demons and weakened them before eating the flesh. “I forgot I put these around here... Damn...” Carefully he picked Hiei up and carried him inside.

~oOo~

Waking up slowly Hiei rubbed at his head. It ached fiercely, throbbing more when he tried to sit up. A cool hand pressed against Hiei’s forehead and another against his chest, pressing him back down on the soft bed. Cold metal touched his lips, a cup he assumed, so he opened his mouth. The slightly bitter liquid ran down his tongue and the back of his throat. As soon as the cup was empty, it was taken away to be replaced by something softer. Hiei nearly purred, returning the kiss Kurama was giving him.

Pulling away slowly, Kurama smiled down at the jaganshi as he cracked open his eyes. “I tried to warn you...”

“Hn...”

Kurama laid his head on Hiei’s chest, cuddling beside him. Hiei absently cuddled back, too sleepy to do otherwise. “The tree is quite remarkable, isn’t it?... It gathers water in it’s massive leaves, which are strong enough to handle it... Then when ever there’s a fire, which it senses, it douses the area around it, keeping the fire from springing to it’s trunk and roots. Or in a drought, it’ll sprinkle the water into the soil, keeping itself from drying out. It attacked you because it thought you were attacking me.” The kitsune chuckled, stroking Hiei’s chest. “You can be quite menacing when you want to be...”

“How long was I out?”

Sighing, Kurama sat up, crossing his legs. “An hour... the lake should be empty by now.” He knew he sounded as disappointed as he felt, and didn’t care.

Hiei smirked, reaching out and stroked Kurama’s knee. “We can stick around here for a bit longer, there’s no one to know but us...”

Chewing his lip, Kurama pondered Hiei’s offer. “True...” He sighed and shook his head. “No, it’d be better if we took care of the false jagan now, then retrieved the bracelet. Koenma’s information isn’t always accurate, thus we should take care of the situation as soon as possible.”

Hiei snorted and sat up, his headache lessening as time progressed. “Then when we’re done, you’ll explain what you meant earlier.”

“Hmm?”

“If we haven’t been having sex, then what have we been doing?”

Kurama blushed a little, looking down at his lap. “Ah... Well... I guess that’s a form of sex...” He smirked and looked up, deviousness lighting his eyes. “I’d be happy to show you, when we get home.” It didn’t occur to him until now to take their interludes further than they had been. The human part of him recoiled from the thought of sex without love, at least usually. His mother probably had something to do with it; even when the kitsune side of him would sneer at the thought of love. For some reason though... Hiei was different. He could see himself putting aside his some what overly romanticized belief for Hiei.

“Deal.” Hiei smirked back at Kurama, rising slowly to his feet. “Go get the false jagan and let’s go.”

“Me? Why don’t you want to help me get it?”

Hiei looked away and glared at the closest wall. “I hate the water.”

“...You don’t know how to swim?”

“I didn’t say that, baka. I said I hated the water. Since you threw it in there, why don’t you go get it?”

Kurama chuckled, “alright alright... I’ll go get it. Stay here and... feel free to take what you want. Ah! Except the silver...” The kitsune averted his eyes, memories of Kuronue teasing him about his collection of shiny items rising to his mind. “I’ll be right back...”

“No. While this is your territory and you have the plant life on your side, you’re still a human in the Makai. Someone like you is bound to attract a lot of attention. I’ll accompany you.”

“To protect me?” Kurama smiled slightly, warmed that his friend was worried about him this much.

“Hn... to keep you out of trouble. That’s all.”

“Of course...”