Practice

The redhead listened avidly to the morning weather report as he prepared to leave for school.

“Today, expect beautiful weather, sunny skies, highs around 30 centigrade. This evening, however, as the sun begins to set, there will be a strong chance for sudden showers, so bring an umbrella if you plan to be out all day…”

The overly perky voice of the morning announcer continued, but he’d heard what he wanted. “Perfect!” One part of his plan was set. Now to see to the rest.

He walked slowly, using his connection with plants to trace his prey’s progress. The black-haired boy was walking to school with his long time friend and sometime rival. The two were arguing loudly over some game or movie…there were times it was difficult to tell. The redhead contrived to meet them as they came around the corner.

“Oh, hey, Kurama!” the dark haired teen smiled.

“Kurama,” the taller of the two added.

“Yusuke, Kuwabara-kun,” the kitsune returned, smiling. His green eyes were friendly as they looked at the taller of the two, but held something more as he looked at the shorter. “I was wondering if you were free to practice today, Yusuke?”

Kuwabara had seen the two practice and was quite content to just spar with Yusuke. He could barely follow their moves as the two pushed each other farther, so he made no attempt to ask to join.

Yusuke shrugged, “Yeah, sure. Same place?” They’d been practicing together for a while, training Yusuke and keeping Kurama sharp.

“I was thinking we’d try someplace different, a challenge for you. I’ll meet you by the gates after school.”

“Sounds fun,” the teen grinned. “See ya then.”

The kitsune waved, smiling pleasantly at the retreating figure of his prey. ‘More fun than you think, Yusuke.’

He doubted the day could have gone any slower. Classes dragged. The teachers droned. Girls giggled. Boys postured. Would it never end?! He could have sworn he’d lived half his lifetime over before lunch. After lunch, he was hard pressed to maintain his usual façade of calm, quiet, studious Miniamino Shuuicihi. He was almost ready to ditch class when the final bell sounded and their teacher dismissed them. He thanked every god in the pantheon that he had not been assigned a chore group today as he left school as quickly as his reputation would allow.

He arrived at Yusuke’s school with five minutes to spare. Again, he was hard pressed not to pace. He leaned against a tree near the gate, breathing deeply, allowing the tree’s energy to calm him. He closed his eyes and let the tree’s impressions wash over him. It was cramped, not much room to grow, but it was happy to be near the bustling energy of the school. He smiled, enjoying the tree’s impression of the world around it. He remained still, even when he heard the bell releasing the students from their daily cleaning.

A voice that hinted at sensuality under the hard coating it normally bore broke into his reverie. “Gonna stand there all day, lazy?”

His green eyes opened slowly, sweeping the boy now standing in front of him. Strong legs, defiantly covered in green instead of blue, supported a firmly built torso. The green jacket was opened, revealing a white t-shirt underneath. Strong arms were akimbo and the jet black topped head cocked to one side, brown eyes twinkling as full lips twisted into a smirk. “Lazy, am I?” the redhead returned. “For that, I think we should have an extra long practice session!”

“Yeah, if you can stay awake long enough!”

Kurama smiled and refrained from commenting, pushing off the tree and setting a demanding pace to the place he had in mind. It was not far from Genkai’s temple, but so wildly overgrown that very few ever ventured there. Within this tangle were two things that suited the kitsune’s plans. A clearing, reasonable in size, but not so big that the overhanging tree limbs did not block most of the sky, and a large cave he’d already made use of. It now contained a futon, some old yukatas and several useful plants and assorted odds and ends. He’d found it about a year ago and went there when he needed time alone, and figured now was as good a time as any to make “alone” a little less alone.

As they entered the forest, Kurama began making his path easier as he made Yusuke’s more difficult, beginning their practice session as he lead the still unsuspecting teen on a merry chase through the forest. The plants told him that the morning’s forecast had been accurate. They were anticipating a long storm that night. The kitsune smiled. That suited him very well. Now, to keep Yusuke busy until the sky played its role in his plan.

Darting through the trees, he encouraged the clinging vines to seek out the detective, searching out his body, attempting to wrap around him and hinder his movements. When he reached the clearing, the dark haired boy was just behind him, breathing a bit heavily from fighting off the various plant life of the trail. “Ready, or do you need a break to catch your breath?” Kurama taunted.

“Ya ain’t worn me out yet, fox-boy. What makes you think you did this time?”

“Good to hear since we’re just getting started!” With that, he took out his rose and formed a thornless whip, viciously lashing out, attacking the boy, making him move even faster to avoid the whirling vine. They were just warming up. With a wicked smile, he encouraged the grasses and trees to try and capture the rapidly moving boy. He kept Yusuke so busy dodging his whip and other plant life that he didn’t have a chance to even attempt his own attacks. “Plan on dancing the entire time, Yusuke?” the fox’s voice was condescending, dripping with contempt he didn’t really feel. He enjoyed watching the twisting turning of the detective’s body. It brought so many ideas to his mind that it was becoming difficult to concentrate.

A small lapse was all it took and the detective managed to get in a blow. “You were sayin’?” he smirked as he continued to try and press what advantage he had. Kurama reacted quickly, drawing vines from the surrounding trees to capture the boy. Yusuke dodged and lost his advantage, once again on the defensive as Kurama stepped up the game, trying to make up for his lapse and force his mind to stay in the here and now, not where he hoped the evening would lead.

Yusuke was dripping sweat and panting hard when the first drops fell from the sky. Even Kurama was breathing hard, a little startled when a large wet drop landed on his nose. “Awww, shit!” Yusuke swore as a bolt of lightning traced across the sky, a loud crack of thunder following, drowning out anything else the boy might have said.

Kurama ran his arm over his mouth, trying to hide his grin that he couldn’t suppress. “Yusuke,” he called, “there’s a cave nearby. We could wait out the storm there.”

The dark haired boy looked up at the now nearly black sky and shrugged, “Sure, but it might be a while before this clears up. Did you bring your phone?”

“Yeah,” the redhead replied, moving to collect their school bags from where they’d been dropped, “but I’d rather you didn’t use it till we got under cover.” The sky was really beginning to let loose. At the rate they were going, they’d both be completely soaked by the time they reached the cave. ‘All the better,’ the redhead thought at that idea. “Let’s go,” he said out loud, tossing Yusuke’s school bag at the teen as he set off.

In a futile effort to keep dry, Yusuke balanced his bag on his head. Kurama tried not to laugh as they walked. “Yuck it up, fox-boy. I don’t like my hair being wet. It makes me cold.”

“So, the great Urameshi Yusuke has a weakness,” he laughed. “Who else knows about the frailty of our great leader?”

Was that actually a blush on the boy’s cheeks? “Keep it to yourself, Kurama.”

“You mean I’m the only one that knows?” Kurama’s voice still held laughter, but something more, too. The boy slumped in on himself and Kurama relented. “I’m sorry, Yusuke. I’ll keep it to myself.” Figuring reciprocity would be a good idea, he added, “I hate when my feet get wet. It takes forever to warm up again.”

Yusuke smiled, “Well, hurry up and get us to that cave or we’ll both be shiverin’ like crazy!”

The fox’s mind went quickly to what they could do to warm each other up and he forcefully turned his mind off lest his body betray him too early and end his fun before it started. He led them up to the entrance, covered in plant that obligingly moved aside when asked, and into a fair length tunnel that opened into the largish mostly round room lit by lampweeds. There were a couple of places that bulged outward, one of these holding the futon, the other, smaller, holding a clothes rack and the old yukatas. Yusuke’s eyes wandered around the cave, “You’ve been here before…many times?”

“Yeah, it’s a good place to get away.” Kurama shrugged, leaving his comment at that.

“So, even your reputation gets too much at times?” Yusuke asked, his voice loosing some of the harshness, revealing the sensuality beneath.

Kurama was hard pressed not to lean against the boy, beg him to talk more, to let his voice soften even more. “Yes…there are times when it’s too much a strain to be perfect. And I’m used to caves from before.”

“Yeah, I suppose you would be,” Yusuke returned, his eyes still traveling the cave, missing the redhead’s reaction. Suddenly, he looked at Kurama. “Hey, I need to call my mom, let her know I’m not gonna make it home tonight. She’ll freak if I don’t tell her I’m not gonna be home for her to wake up in the morning.” He pulled a wry face.

Kurama dug through his school bag, trying not to let his excitement at the boy’s spontaneous decision he’d be out all night. “Here,” he said, handing the boy his phone, shaking slightly.

Yusuke’s face and voice were full of concern. “Why don’t you go change while I call her?”

Kurama was more than grateful the boy had misinterpreted the shaking of his hand. “You’re right. It is getting cold.”

“Can you get a fire started?” the dark-haired teen asked.

“No, the ventilation’s wrong. This cave would fill up with smoke before the fire actually got going.”

“Oh,” Yusuke muttered, leaving it at that, turning his back on where the yukatas hung and dialed his home. “Hey, ma…Yeah, it’s me…Just callin’ to let you know I was training and the rain started…Yes, it’s raining, mom, look out the window…Yes, mom, it’s dark…I’ll be home tomorrow, okay?...Yes, I have a place to stay…Yes, I’ll call you in the morning…I promise…Even if I’m a ghost, I’ll call you, okay?...Yes….Yes…Okay, bye mom.”

“She still thinks you’re not going to wake up some day?” Kurama asked, having changed from his wet school clothes into a dry yukata.

“Yeah,” Yusuke sighed. “Even now, she still not completely convinced I’m still alive.” He looked over as the redhead moved to stand next to him, “Feel better?”

Kurama smiled, “Yeah, a bit. Being out of the wet clothes helps. Why don’t you go change, too? You’re looking a little cold.”

“Yeah, thanks. Hey, do you have any towels?”

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t. You can use one of the other yukatas if you want, though.”

Yusuke place a hand on the kitsune’s shoulder, “Thanks, Kurama.”

‘Does he not realize what he does to me?’ the fox wondered as he felt fire spread through his body from that simple gesture. “No problem, Yusuke,” he managed to return, keeping his voice even. ‘Alone has been alone for way too long,’ he thought to himself, wondering if he would make it through…if he could manage to seduce the tantei or if he’d succumb to his need and push things too far too fast. He took the moments the boy changed to focus his mind. He was Youko Kurama. He could seduce anyone. He just had to keep himself under control while he did. He could do that. No matter how long it’d been. And he did not jump out of his skin when Yusuke spoke.

“Hey, Kurama, got anything to eat…hey, what’s wrong?” Yusuke’s voice lost all its hard edge when he was concerned.

“Sorry, Yusuke. Just thinking too hard. About all I have to eat around here is a bag of chocolates.”

Yusuke laughed, “And here I thought you were a health food freak.”

Kurama blushed, “I like chocolate but I don’t eat it at home or school.”

“C’mon…I’m sure you get a ton of chocolate on Valentine’s Day.”

“I don’t accept any of it.” Green eyes dropped to the ground, “I wouldn’t want to cause any hard feelings, so I don’t accept it and return what ends up in my shoe locker and desk.”

“Man, I envy you. I don’t even get chocolate from Keiko.”

Green eyes sought out brown, “Really?”

“Yeah, we’re just friends and she says friends don’t give friends chocolate on Valentine’s Day.” He shrugged. “So, where do you hide it?”

Kurama smiled, one concern out of the way. He didn’t have to figure out something for the boy to tell his jealous girlfriend. Walking over to the nook with the futon, he asked casually, “So, why aren’t you two more than just friends?”

Yusuke sat on the floor, shrugging, “Neither of us wants to. There just isn’t any chemistry there, y’know? Best friends, but nothing more. We’re happy with that.” He looked up at Kurama when the redhead joined him, a bag of Hershey Kisses in hand. “Those your favorite?” he asked, gesturing at the bag.

“Yeah,” the kitsune admitted. Yusuke smiled, but refrained from commenting as he snagged a handful and began eating them.

Between the two of them, they finished off the bag, shoving the emptied wrappers in as they silently regarded each other. Yusuke finally broke the silence. “I’m tired.”

“There’s just the futon…its okay with you that we both share it?”

“Yeah, that’s fine…it’ll be warmer that way.” Without further discussion, Yusuke moved to the bed, turned down the covers and crawled in.

Kurama was again hard-pressed to control himself. Now was the hard part…and he did not jump again when Yusuke called out, “Kurama, you comin’? You okay, man? You’re awfully jumpy.”

“Yeah, I’m coming. I’m fine, I just keep getting lost in thought.” Had he been a little less lost in thought, he wouldn’t have missed the look that had crossed Yusuke’s face several times that night, including while watching the kitsune cross the cave. A look bordering on hunger, tinged with fear and worry. But, Kurama was too focused on controlling himself to notice it.

~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N What can I say...they're not doing what I thought they'd do...and since I frequently get "update quickly" "hurry, please" and others....here...the first of three parts for this story. I'll update quickly, honestly....but, this is not quite going the way I thought it would...but then, my stories never do go the way I think they will...really, never. I can't plan them, they change...the characters drive the story, not me...I'm along for the ride and you loverly people get to read the ride...let me know what you think...
I don't own 'em...there...disclaimed.