The Day I Fell in Love

The Day I Found Myself in Love by: boysluvcraft

I’m not quite myself these day’s… or maybe I’m more myself than I’ve been in a long time. I guess it depends on who my true self is. That however, I do not know. I suppose that is to be expected for one who has lived two very different lives. I was once the ruthless killer Yoko Kurama, and then I was the human Shuichi Minamino. The two lives were separate; Yoko was the past, Shuichi was the now. Then things changed. I met another demon named Hiei. I was wearing Shuichi’s skin, but I fought him like Yoko. I told him my name was Kurama. Since then I have been in crisis as my two lives started to merge in very confusing ways. Hiei once told me he knew the real me, that that was the me he loved. I wish I knew which me that was.

“Okay let me see your answers,” Kaito demanded as he snatched the paper out of my hand. Yu Kaito was a class mate of mine and apparently my academic rival. I never paid much mind to him before, but we had become good friend as of late, because he was heavily involved with our last spirit detective mission.

It was shortly after we obtained victory at the Dark Tournament, so shortly our muscles barely had time to rest. As it came down, a former Spirit Detective with seven personalities, Shinobu Sensui had attempted to dig a tunnel between dimensions into the demon world. The process of doing so caused humans in the area to develop psychic powers. Kaito was one of those humans. However he hasn’t used said powers since the end of that case, nor has he harbored ill feelings toward me since then. That case… changed a lot of things.

Kuwabara, Yusuke, Hiei and I all increased expansionary in power over during that case. Hiei and myself jumped from a middle B-Class rank to become A-Class demons. Hiei could use his Fist of the Overlord techniques with ease and I could now take my former fox form at will. Yusuke became an A-Class demon as well. Allow me to back up for a moment. During our confrontation with sensei, Yusuke was killed. But thanks to a demonic ancestor, Yusuke was able to return to life as a demon, a powerful Mazoku demon. It was a startling revelation to say the least.

Ah, but the plot thickens. As it turns out, Yusuke’s ancestor was none other than the infamous Raizen, one of demon world’s three feuding kings. Raizen was dieing, and with his passage would go the delicate balance that held in demon world. Yusuke’s appearance provided an heir and a chance to preserve the balance. All this I learned when I was visited by three strangers with a message form one of the kings. That was the night every thing seemed to both come together and fall apart.

Not wanting anyone to surprise me while I viewed the message, I took the orb to my school and broke it open in a rarely used storage room. It was Yomi’s image that appeared before me, but he was not the impulsive youth I once knew, not the pathetic demon I had once blinded and left for dead. He was older and calm, calm like still waters with Parana living under its surface and just as deadly. His message was quick and concise. He planned to seize complete control of demon as soon as Raizen died. And he wanted my help in doing so. Something about his bearing told me that this was one message not to be ignored or even taken lightly. There were threats there, threats so cleverly veiled under the layers of confidence and courteously that most people would not have been totally sure they’d been threatened at all. It was like looking a mirror.

“An old friend?”

“Yes,” I answered before I realized I was being spoken to or even who was specking to me. I jumped as I turned my head to see Hiei standing at the top of the stairs with a rather smug look on his face.

“Heh, it’s not like you to be so distracted that I can sneak up on you like this,” Hiei smirked. As I bristled he continued, showing me an orb much like the one I just broke. He said, “I received a message too, from good ol’ Mukuro.”

I was a little surprised that Hiei had brought the thing to me. He didn’t have to. It wasn’t like I had any claim to his personal life, not since we broke before the finials in the Dark Tournament. We broke up so that we could focus on the matches ahead of us, but after the tournament was over we… just drifted apart. Hiei didn’t come around like he used to. He wasn’t even around for most of that Sensui business. He didn’t have to be since his Spirit World probation had been lifted. He didn’t have to answer to anybody. So yes, I was very surprised to see him.

I had to wonder what Mukuro would want with Hiei. I had the sinking suspicion that his message was of a similar nature as the one I received from Yomi. Hiei broke the orb against the wall and a bandaged figure appeared.

“Hello Hiei,” it began, “I’m Mukuro. Nice to meet you. You’d me amazed at how difficult it is to get things done when you’re famous, so I rarely sow myself in public. To get to the point I could use some one like you. Will you join my cause?

“I know you by reputation. I’ve heard many tales about the “Abhorrent Hiei” who still enjoys great notoriety in Layer 13 NE. You reached Class-A status five years after birth. What led a genius like you to sink to banditry and then disappear into the human world? Never mind. With me, you could regain your former glory.”

Mukuro continued on, explaining to Hiei the struggle that had been waging between him, Raizen, and Yomi for the past 500 years which is expected to come to a head soon, due to Raizen’s immanent death, and proposed to Hiei that he come fight on his side.

“Verbose, isn’t he,” Hiei noted offhandedly. “The three big deals are on a recruitment drive, checking out the combatants in the most notable clashes in demon plane history… This could get interesting. I think I’ll go see Mukuro.”

I felt my heart skip a beat and a cold chill run down my spine. Hiei was going away to demon world after all. And not only that, but he was going into a battle field where we would be standing on opposing sides. I wanted to tell him not to go, but he wasn’t a member of the spirit detective team anymore. We weren’t lovers anymore, so I knew that Hiei’s decisions were none of my business. But still….

As if he‘d read my mind-- though he didn‘t-- Hiei added, “Don’t worry I’m not gonna sigh up. I just want in on the action. It promises to be a protracted conflict… and a sure way to get stronger. I’ll exploit that for all I can.”

I wasn’t sure how much I of that I should take at face value. Maybe all of it. It’s hard to tell with Hiei. It wasn’t just Hiei that worried me. Mukuro seemed to know a lot about him-- more than I knew at least. That could be dangerous considering that Hiei knew next to noting about the other. Hiei hadn’t even been born yet when Mukuro started warring with Raizen…. I really didn’t want him to go. A part of me howled, you fool! He’s yours! Now throw him down on that floor and prove it to him! Tell him Mukuro can shove his invitation up his ass, while you shove your dick up--! No. I wasn’t Yoko anymore. And Hiei wasn’t mine anymore. If he wanted me he would have come back to me after the dark tournament was over. He wanted to go to demon world. And all I could do was to wish him good luck.

Not long after that Yusuke left for demon to unite with his ancestor Raizen. Hiei went to Mukuro and I joined my old comrade Yomi. Thus I and my two closest friends were put at odds with each other. That was six months before, and the situation distressed me to no end, so much so, it was even affecting my school work.

Kaito looked over my paper and said, “Hmm, you sure have a knack for division errors.”

“Thanks,” I responded. Division errors, yes. I don’t think I could have put it any better.

Kaito seemed to understand that my ‘division errors’ were not just a math issue. He asked mw, “Are you having trouble with anything else?”

“Kind of,” I replied lightly, “Looks like I’ll have to fight Yusuke and Hiei.”

“You serious?”

“Very.”

“You don’t seem bothered,” Kaito observed, “Where’s the usual grim resolve?”

Lost in my biorhythms, probably. Since my first regression into Yoko Kurama at the Dark Tournament I’d felt more like my old self and about once a month I’d felt very much like Yoko, violent and licentious, even while my body was Shuichi. I tried for a while to keep my Yoko side under control, but at the same time I felt like I was betraying myself. The belligerence often came out in dreams that left me both frightened and aroused.

In once dreamt I had Hiei tied up in my demon vines. His clothes had been rendered to little scraps of cloth. He was beaten and bleeding, where the thorns on my vines scraped his beautiful skin. He cried out apologies for having ever left me and begged for me to take him back. Then I fucked him senseless. Hiei wasn’t the only victim of my lustful dreams. I had Yomi, buck naked, tied up with leather stapes and warded, bent over his throne while I… usurped him. I had Yusuke bound in golden chains and cuffs, and wearing nothing more than jewels and his Mazoku markings. He was lying on his back on a luxurious carpet, with his legs held wide open and stoking his proud erection. He was a forbidden treasure and I plundered him. I think I even had one with Kuwabara once. It involved a furry cat costume and lots of yarn, that’s all I’m going say.

Since I started working for Yomi, my humors have gotten worse. I suppose it’s because he reminds of the old days, when I was Yoko. Or maybe it was because he forced me into a position where I had to be as I was in those old days. I was forced to put my kind hearted Shuichi side on the shelf, and again I felt as if I was betraying myself.

My conversation with Kaito was interrupted when I received a page from one those situations. I met him out side my school gate, my new-stepbrother Shuichi Hatanaka. Well, it was my brother’s body at least. His mind was on temporary vacation while a demon parasite inhabited him. Kara, the parasite, was employed by Yomi’s general Shachi to spy on me and to insure I didn’t betray Yomi-- or pose a treat to his position as Yomi’s right hand man. It pissed me off so much that when the Yoko side of me said to kill him, the Shuichi half did not argue.

I did kill Shachi, as I suspected I would have to, and then Yomi made me his general. It wasn’t too long after that when it was confirmed that Hiei become a favorite of Mukuro and was serving as his right hand man. And then Raizen died, making Yusuke the leader of his territory. If Yomi and Mukuro fought at that point, one would kill the other and the victor would be left so severely drained that they would be all but defenseless. Thus the fate of the demon plane would rest on a battle between each territory’s second; Yusuke, Hiei, and me.

Admittedly, I would have enjoyed a skirmish with them at their impressive new levels… but not to the death. Even my cruel Yoko side held a measure of love for my former teammates and regretted the circumstance that would bring us into conflict. Fortunately, it never came to that. Yusuke; that wonderful simple minded genius proposed we hold a tournament in which the victor would be named the undisputed king of demon world. Everyone agreed to it and the tournament was set.

At the start of the tournament and all eyes where on the three kings as they confronted each other in the courtyard. Yomi and Mukuro seemed to be battling over shocking revelations. Yomi had a cloned son and Mukuro had a vagina. Gasp. While the rest of demon world watched them, my eyes spotted Hiei where he lingered near the entrance.

At that point I had not seen Hiei for a little over a year. Our last meeting was the night we received our summons from Mukuro and Yomi. Though, I was not completely ignorant to his activities. Yomi, of course, had spies watching all of Mukuro’s top men. I made a point of getting a copy of the reports pertaining to Hiei. He had raised his power several levels, but had yet to break the barrier into S-Class status. He might even be stronger than me. In a way, I think I was proud of him… even though I had no right to feel that way. He wasn’t mine to be proud of.

“Long time no see,” I said to as I walked over to him. His head jerked up as if he didn’t notice me approaching. I grinned, “It’s not like you to be so distracted that I can sneak up on you like this.”

“Feh,” Hiei grunted and looked the other way.

I licked my lips. I didn’t want the conversation to be over, so I probed, “You’re here with Mukuro?”

“I’m not with her or anybody,” he corrected, “I’m here to fight on my own behalf.”

“So you didn’t drive here inside that big bug that’s parked out there?” I asked innocently.

Hiei made a move that was partway between a flinch and a shrug, “Okay, so we carpooled.”

“You look good, Hiei,” I said, trying not to sound awkward. “I suppose Mukuro is treating you well.”

Hiei finally looked at me and his impassive mask melted away a bit. For a moment he looked like the tender lover I once knew him to be. He said, “She’s fair… and we understand each other, so we get along fine.”

“That’s… good,” I muttered around the lump in my throat. It looked as though power wasn’t the only thing Hiei had found with Mukuro. I felt like vanishing, but at the same time I was berating myself for feeling so sullen. I’m Yoko Kurama, damn it. If I want something I take it, by force if necessary. No. I told myself, I didn’t want Hiei that way. His touch was worthless to me if I had to force it. And anyway, let’s not go making assumptions out of very small details. I remembered the misunderstanding we had over Yukina.

Hiei broke in on my thoughts, “Are you competing?”

“Uh, yes,” I answered, “though I doubt I’ll come anywhere near winning the title.”

“Hn. I wouldn’t think you would want to win anyway,” Hiei stated idly, “It would be difficult to run all of Demon World while maintaining that human lifestyle you’re so attached to…. How’s that new man working out, by the way?”

“New man?” It took me a minute to follow, “Oh, you mean my step-father? He’s great; he makes my mother happy.”

Hiei nodded his head, a peaceful expression passing over his face, “Good.”

God I loved him. Why don’t we… I leaned down and kissed him. Nobody saw us; they were too busy watching Yusuke make small talk with Yomi. Hiei tipped his head to brush his lips more closely to mine. As we kissed it was like a calming wind blew over me, scattering away all my doubts and sorrow. It was a shortly lived joy.

When we parted Hiei whispered to me, “I staying in the demon realm. I need to be here.”

My heart broke… again. It was clear now, Hiei and I were over and we would never be together again. I could see the pained look in his eyes. He felt the same for me that I did for him, I knew that look. I remember, when I was Yoko, I used to have a lover who looked at me like that, Kuronue. We used to spend days on end hidden in our den, just clinging to each other because we couldn’t bear to be apart…. That kind of love only comes around once in a lifetime. After I lost him I thought I’d never love again in my life and I didn’t, I couldn’t… until after I became Shuichi.

“I understand,” I told Hiei and kissed him softly, one last time, before walking away. It was clear we couldn’t be together, because our lives, where they were at… they just didn’t fit. Maybe in another place, another time and circumstance, another life… we could have been great together.

As sad as it was, parting from the man who had become the love of my life, there was a bright side. With his final rejection he ended crisis he had inadvertently started in me so many years ago. When I met him and fought him, I sued the skills and knowledge that I had from being Yoko, but had I truly been Yoko I would have left the little fool to bleed to death. I didn’t do that, I took him home and treated him, without much thought to the matter. Those were Shuichi’s sensibilities working in Yoko’s territory. So was it Shuichi or Yoko who fell in love with Hiei that day? Both and neither, I realized, because I wasn’t two people. I was one person, the person who’s name I gave to Hiei the day fell in love; Kurama.

From that day on, I never worried about my identity. All I had to know was that Kurama loved Hiei. So, if I loved Hiei, I must be Kurama.

TBC…
A/N: Okay, this one was more about Kurama and not so much Kurama and Hiei. But I am working within the confines of the manga-- if I wasn’t bound by pre-established events, I’d have striping down and getting it on right there in the middle of the stadium. Ha, ha! Final chapter, Next Time!