Carbon

Sometimes I think I subconsciously put a ridiculous amount of italics in my updates just to annoy myself. –sigh-

Chapter Fifteen

Yusuke was stunned into silence. He found it completely perplexing that he’d managed to name his ancestor. Not only that, but he’d remembered this Raizen person meeting Youko Kurama. And the memory of it brought a blush to his cheeks. “I don’t… I don’t know how I knew that…”

Kurama frowned and Hiei slid out of Yusuke’s lap. “It makes sense,” he said. “Your markings are similar. I don’t know how I could have missed it.”

“Maybe if you would stop rejecting your kitsune memories,” Hiei snapped.

“Hiei!”

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way your energy keeps fluctuating from nearly full human to nearly full demon. Just now, you were completely Youko. Confess; you’re going through the same transformation as Yusuke-kun.”

“Did you just call me Yusuke-kun?” Yusuke demanded, outraged.

“That’s what you’re concerned about?” asked Hiei.

“It’s true,” said Kurama. “Ever since my first transformation, I’ve felt the merger becoming more… final.”

“What does that mean?” asked Yusuke.

Kurama sat back and took a deep breath. “You’re well aware that Youko and I… are separate beings sharing one body, right?”

“Sort of…”

“That’s over-simplification,” said Hiei.

“I’m trying to make it easier to understand, Hiei,” said Kurama. “As I was saying, for a while, I was having difficulty with the transition and I’ve had to hold back from transforming into my full demonic form. Not the humanoid Youko Kurama, but the nine-tailed fox. However, more and more, I’m beginning to suspect that we are becoming one consciousness.”

Yusuke was only barely keeping up. “So, you’re going to be one person sometime soon?”

“Yes. I believe so.”

“And your personality?”

“Should be an assimilation of both my human personality and my demon persona. I can’t say if one will be stronger than the other but I do believe that my demonic instincts will be lessened slightly while I’m in my human form.”

“Not to be rude or anything,” said Yusuke. “But I’m really confused. Who is this Raizen person?”

Hiei and Kurama exchanged glances. “He’s a king of Makai,” said Hiei.

“A king?”

“Makai is split into three separate territories, each lead by a separate king,” said Kurama. “Raizen is the oldest, his reign has lasted over 12 generations.”

“In the demon world, rule is determined by strength,” said Hiei. “Makai has its own laws but for the most part, chaos is law.”

“Yes,” said Kurama. “Raizen is one of the most powerful demons in existence, so he rules about 1/3 of Makai. The other two kings rule roughly a third each as well. All of Makai knows of Raizen’s hunger strike but there are only rumors as to why. The most prevalent rumor seems to be that he refuses to eat humans because he once fell in love with one.”

Hiei scoffed. “Ridiculous.”

“W-wait, this guy eats humans!?”

“It’s fairly common practice in Makai.”

“Not among my kind,” said Hiei.

“Nor mine,” said Kurama. “Be that as it may, it stands to reason that Raizen may have conceived a child with this human and that she is your ancestral mother.”

“Okay, that’s weird,” said Yusuke. “So, I’m… some sort of mutant offspring?”

“Koenma explained roughly what the atavism entails, correct?”

Yusuke shrugged. “He didn’t really seem to know much about it.”

“Typical of Spirit World unintelligence,” said Hiei. He scowled. “They never seem to know anything of proper use.”

“Exactly,” said Yusuke. “So, how do we know if this Raizen guy is really my great, times a million, gramps?”

“Because you just said he was,” said Kurama.

“How did I know that?”

“Ancestral memory.”

“Oh…” said Yusuke. “Yeah, Koenma said something about that.”

“And now, I’m here to elaborate.”

All three demons on the couch leaped up, ready to attack the sudden interloper but relaxed a hair when they saw it was only Koenma. “Yo!” he greeted them.

“Don’t ‘Yo!’ me, pacifier breath!” Yusuke snapped. “You got an explanation for me now?”

Koenma chuckled and readjusted his cloak. “Yes, I’ve gathered enough information on your lineage to give you a proper insight into what, exactly, is going on with you.”

“Great,” said Yusuke. “I’m thrilled.” He slumped down onto the couch. “Out with it, toddler.”

Koenma bristled but otherwise said nothing. “It seems like your ancestor is an incredibly powerful demon named ‘Raizen.”

“I coulda told you that much! I wanna know why I have to be babysat. ”

“Ah, that,” said Koenma. “I thought it would be obvious. I’m having Kurama and Hiei watch over you to ensure that you don’t cause Armageddon.”

“Arma-who?”

“The end of the world,” said Kurama.

“That’s ridiculous!” Yusuke shouted. “Why the hell would I destroy the same place I died to protect?”

“You didn’t really die, but that’s beside the point,” said Koenma.

Yusuke chuckled humorlessly. “You say that when my heart still aint beating?”

Kurama and Hiei exchanged amused glances.

“Anyway,” said Koenma. “I came to give you that bit of information and ask if you’d like to visit Makai.”

Yusuke thought for a moment. “I’ll pass,” he said.

“You will?” Kurama and Hiei asked in unison.

“Well, I have no reason to go there right away,” he said. “Besides, I don’t wanna get caught up in some ridiculous wild goose chase and miss your mom’s wedding.” Yusuke grinned. “I’m going to have the hottest date there.”

Kurama flushed.

Koenma chuckled.

“What’s so funny, you brain-damaged toddler?” asked Yusuke.

“Nothing at all, Yusuke.”

“Are you done?”

Koenma nodded and promptly vanished.

“Remind me to punch him in the face again next time I see him,” said Yusuke.

Kurama laughed. Yusuke found himself mesmerized by the sound. Before he realized he’d moved, he was standing well within Kurama’s personal space and had his fingers threaded in Kurama’s hair. “Now,” he said. “Where were we?” Yusuke pulled Kurama toward him and mashed their lips together. Kurama groaned into the kiss and gripped Yusuke’s ass, pulling him toward him. Yusuke gripped Kurama’s hair tighter and trailed his tongue down to Kurama’s neck. He bit down, hard, causing Kurama to yelp.

“Join in any time, Hiei,” said Yusuke. Yusuke ran his hands up Kurama’s shirt and smirked when he felt Hiei’s hands slipping down the front of his pants. He gasped when Hiei grasped his cock and bit down on his neck at the same time. Hiei didn’t release Yusuke; he began stroking Yusuke’s erection and sucked and licked at the bite-marks he’d left. Yusuke’s breath hitched and he pulled Kurama’s shirt off and pushed Kurama down to the floor.

Kurama let out a yelp of surprise when Yusuke landed gracelessly on top of him and began fumbling with his jeans. Kurama lifted his ass off the ground to make it easier for Yusuke to pull down his pants. Yusuke descended on Kurama’s cock, licking up the entire length before taking the head between his lips and sucking gently. Hiei knelt behind Yusuke and divested Yusuke from his pants. He massaged Yusuke’s ass with one hand and stroked his cock with the other. Yusuke moaned at the contact, the sound causing pleasant vibrations to shoot down Kurama’s cock and Kurama shuddered at the onslaught of pleasure.

The feeling of a strong, wet appendage intruding his ass told Yusuke that Hiei was preparing him with his tongue. The sensation was too much for Yusuke and he came, his moaning causing Kurama to shudder and cry out. Yusuke wasn’t discouraged, he continued to work Kurama’s cock with the expertise of a much more experienced man and felt himself becoming hard again. Hiei started preparing Yusuke again while Yusuke ran his fingers over his own cock to coat them with cum, then probed Kurama’s ass. Kurama let out a whimper and Yusuke released Kurama’s cock from his mouth.

“Yusuke!” Kurama gasped, feeling Yusuke’s fingers brush against his prostate. Yusuke fingered the spot with more earnest, eliciting an agonized wail from Kurama. He smiled and scissored his fingers to stretch Kurama further. “Take me, Yusuke!” Kurama shouted. “I n-need you!”

Yusuke took a deep breath and angled himself at Kurama’s entrance. At the same moment, Hiei pushed the tip of his dick into Yusuke’s ass earning a moan from the younger boy. Hiei’s thrust caused Yusuke to push into Kurama further, causing the kitsune to scream in pleasure.

The rhythm was clumsy, Yusuke nearly fell on top of Kurama while thrusting and he was having trouble controlling himself. He leaned down and kissed Kurama’s chest as Kurama arched into him. Kurama came moments later, with only Yusuke’s cock in his ass pleasuring him. Yusuke thrust into Kurama a few more times before he came a second time and Hiei finished immediately after.

The trio collapsed in a heap on the floor, breathing heavily and unable to extricate from each other for a long while.

= - = - = - =

Over the next few days, Yusuke found that he was having difficulty controlling his lust. Twice, he woke Kurama and Hiei from sleep with his chaotic sexual energy. Kurama was starting to get worn out from Yusuke’s sexual appetite but Hiei took Yusuke’s enhanced libido in stride.

Yusuke didn’t think it was a problem until he had lunch with Kuwabara a week later. “What the heck is going on with you?” Kuwabara asked.

“Whaddaya mean?” asked Yusuke. He grabbed a rice ball from the bento Shiori had packed and munched on it.

“There’s somethin’ weird about your energy,” said Kuwabara. “And, you have a hickey.”

Yusuke brushed his hair down over his neck and adjusted his collar to hide the offending mark. Hiei had given him that the night before. He’d have to remember to tell Hiei to bite a little lower and smirked at the thought. “Who did that to you?” Kuwabara asked.

Yusuke eyed several students who were just out of hearing range. “Dunno if I should tell you that,” said Yusuke.

Kuwabara sighed. “Was it Hiei or Kurama? That’s all I’m askin’.”

Yusuke stared at Kuwabara like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Or was it both of them?”

“Damnit, Kuwabara! You shouldn’t ask stuff like that.”

Kuwabara held his hands up, palms toward Yusuke in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, it’s none of my business. But it doesn’t bother me none if you wanna have them both. S’long as neither of them mind.”

“You’re pretty understanding,” said Yusuke. “I don’t know if I could do that…”

“Y’would if it were me.”

Yusuke smirked. “You saying you play for the other team?”

“Heck no! My one and only true love is Yukina and I’ll be faithful to her until the day I die.”

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. “How’s that working out for you?”

Kuwabara grinned and rubbed his nose.

“Well?”

“She accepted my offer to be her boyfriend.”

Yusuke laughed. “Does she know what it means?”

“’Course, she knows!” said Kuwabara. “She told me she loved me!”

“And she knows what that means too?”

/Don’t be an idiot/ Hiei said telepathically. /Yukina knows exactly what it means/

Yusuke couldn’t help but smirk at the disgusted tone in Hiei’s telepathic voice.

/Say one word to Kuwabara about it and you’ll regret it/

Yusuke rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I guess I should get back to class; I have some last minute homework to do.”

It was Kuwabara’s turn to be skeptical. “Since when do you do your homework?”

Yusuke grinned and stood up, carrying his half-finished lunch with him back to his own class room and ate it while working on his Geometry problems. He was having a lot less trouble with them now that Kurama was tutoring him after school and he as even getting a D+ now. It was a good thing he’d finished his homework because they had a pop quiz that day. Yusuke felt pretty confident that he’d done well on it and had a small spring in his step for the rest of the day.

When he hopped into the car at the end of the day, Shiori gave him a bright smile. “How was your day, Yusuke-kun?” she asked.

“I had a pop quiz in Geometry and I think I passed!” Yusuke replied. He was elated. He didn’t even think it was weird that the thought of passing a test made him so happy. I could get used to this good grades thing.

“That’s wonderful!” Shiori exclaimed. “You were planning on going to Meiou with Shuuichi, weren’t you?”

“Yeah. I hope I can pass the entrance exam.”

“I’m sure you will with Shuuichi’s help.” She smiled. “Oh! I almost forgot. We’re going out for Shuuichi’s birthday today.”

“It’s his birthday?” Yusuke asked. He felt embarrassed that he’d forgotten. Then he realized that Kurama never told him and he got annoyed with Kurama.

Shiori smiled. “He’s never been terribly excited about his birthdays. But I always like to do something special for it.”

Yusuke scowled. “He doesn’t mind making a fuss over me all the time.”

“That’s Shuuichi for you. He always thinks of other people first. I like to think he inherited that from me.”

Yusuke nodded. “Speaking of which, how come you always do so much charity work?”

Shiori’s face fell for a moment and Yusuke was worried he’d said the wrong thing.

“Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s awesome.”

“Well,” Shiori began. “Shuuichi was always a rather independent child. As a mother, I wanted to dote on him but… I often felt as though he didn’t need me. It made me sad, to tell the truth.” She smiled at Yusuke. “I began doing charity work because I wanted to take care of people who would appreciate it.” She covered her mouth and let out a little gasp. “Oh! But Shuuichi is a wonderful son. I’m sure he couldn’t help how I felt.”

Yusuke sighed. “Yeah, he’s pretty great but it kind of sucks that you felt that way.”

Shiori shrugged. “He’s much more loving toward me nowadays.” She pulled into the driveway. “Would you mind asking Hiei-kun if he’ll join us for dinner? I know he’s shy around Kazuya and Kokoda but it would mean a lot to me.”

“Kokoda?”

“We’ve decided to call Shu-kun ‘Kokoda’ to alleviate confusion. It was his idea.”

Yusuke smiled and let himself out of the car. That’s nice of the kid, he thought.

= - = - = - = - =

Hiei sighed. “If I must,” he said.

Yusuke grinned. “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Don’t act like it’s an imposition when we go out, though. Wouldn’t want Shuuichi to think you don’t want to be there.”

Hiei raised an eyebrow at Yusuke referring to Kurama by his human name but said nothing. He thought it was strange when Yusuke called Kurama “Shuuichi” when no one who knew him by that name was present. At that time, Yusuke was sitting at the desk, leafing through a text book and filling out a work sheet.

“Don’t you usually wait for Kurama to help with your homework?” he asked.

“This is Lit,” said Yusuke. “I’m good at Lit.”

“Hn.”

“What? I can’t be good at a subject.”

“What grade are you getting in Literature?”

“A ‘C+’.”

Hiei rolled his eyes. “I thought ‘A’s’ were the optimal grade.”

“I”d be getting an ‘A’ if I hadn’t slacked so much.” He stuck his tongue out at Hiei then turned his attention back to his homework. Looking at Hiei was causing his lust to stir. “Hiei?” he said after a few moments of filling in answers. “Do… you think that I’m… overdoing it?”

“What do you mean?” asked Hiei.

“The whole sex thing.”

Hiei chuckled. “That’s entirely a matter of opinion.”

“What’s your opinion?”

“I’m not complaining.”

“Do you think it bugs Kurama?”

Hiei shrugged. “If you’re asking if it’s normal, the answer is yes. As I’ve said before, Toushin are affectionate and physical creatures. As are Kitsune. When Kurama finishes assimilating, he’ll be much the same as you.”

Yusuke bit his lip. “So, it’s not… excessive?”

“No.”

Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief and started working on his homework again. Even though Hiei said it was normal, he vowed to try to tone it down for a while.

When Kurama came home, Yusuke shot him an annoyed look. “Happy birthday,” he muttered.

“Yusuke…” said Kurama. He sat beside Hiei on the bed. “I hope you’re not too angry with me for neglecting to mention it.”

“I wanna know why you didn’t,” he said. “I’ll decide if I wanna be mad or not when I know why.”

Kurama sighed and leaned against Hiei. Hiei wrapped an arm around Kurama’s waist and held him tight. “I’m not very fond of celebrating my coming into this world.”

“You mean the Human World?” asked Yusuke.

“Yes.”

“Understandably so,” said Hiei. “He’s not proud of how he came to be here.”

Kurama cringed. “It’s a touchy subject. However, I… don’t regret coming here. Had I not, I never would have met you or Hiei. This opportunity has been very good for me. I simply wish I’d come here a different way. I’ve hurt my mother by being the way I am.”

“Beating yourself up for it won’t change anything,” said Yusuke. “Your mom is happy to have you as her son. She’s really proud of you.”

“I fear that she is proud of a sham,” said Kurama. “I’ve had to lie to her constantly ever since the moment of my birth. I can never tell her the truth about what I am.”

Yusuke shrugged. “I still say you’re better than you think. Now, help me with my Math so we can get ready for your dinner.”

Kurama smiled, grateful to Yusuke for changing the subject. Hiei watched as Kurama and Yusuke finished the homework together and helped them pick out what to wear to dinner. Hiei wore his black slacks and borrowed a black t-shirt from Yusuke and the three of them headed down stairs to wait for the car that would take them to the restaurant.

Upon Kurama’s request, Shiori and Kazuya took them to an expensive, but quiet French restaurant. Kurama ordered for Hiei and Yusuke asked for the same of whatever Kurama ordered. He figured it was easier than trying to figure out what the cheapest thing on the menu was considering the one he’d been given didn’t have prices on it.

The group fell into an easy conversation about nothing in particular and Yusuke was surprised by how often Hiei chimed in. He usually only spoke to Shiori or Kurama and Yusuke but he said a few words to Kazuya and Kokoda as well. Halfway through the meal, Hiei slipped a small, wrapped box into Yusuke’s hand and told him telepathically to give it to Kurama when they all gave him his gifts.

As if on cue, Kazuya announced that it was time for presents. Kurama smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed and accepted the MP3 player Kazuya gave him. Kokoda gave Kurama a book about botany, oblivious to the fact that Kurama no doubt knew everything in that book and could most likely write a dissertation on any existing plant. Kurama smiled, nonetheless and thanked his future step brother for the thoughtful gift. Shiori beamed as she handed a watch to her son.

Hiei held a long box out to Kurama and Kurama smiled brightly at the sight of the bracelet contained within. It was an exact match to the one Hiei had given Yusuke and Kurama was flattered that Hiei had spent so much money on him. Yusuke handed Kurama the gift Hiei had told him to give, and watched as Kurama unwrapped it. He had no idea what it was and hid his surprise remarkably well when it turned out to be an ornate, crystal rose. Yusuke wondered briefly where Hiei had gotten human money to purchase such a thing and was spared having to ask when Hiei explained later that night that the rose was made of a rare Makai diamond.

When they got home, Hiei stole a kiss from Kurama at the door to his bedroom and led him inside to give him his “real gift.”

“Uh…” Yusuke said from the doorway. “Can I sit this one out?”

“I’ll keep an eye on you,” said Hiei. “Stay close.”

Yusuke nodded and walked down the stairs. He headed out to the backyard to admire Kurama’s garden and sat on a bench surrounded by rose bushes to watch the sunset. He felt a rush of romantic sentiments for the demons upstairs and smiled up at the setting sun. It’s really wonderful to be in love, he thought.

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