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The Fox’s Rose
By Mistress_Tsunami AKA shinchansgirl
Chapter Five
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You thought I was just a spark.
Something that you could control,
To light the dark.
I am the flame,
That lights the inferno.
-T-shirt from NeonDragonArt “Fire”
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“Yo grandma!” Yuusuke called, having finally reached the top the great
staircase that led to her temple. “Where are ya?”
“Over here, dimwit,” Genkai answered, standing in the doorway of her home.
“Get inside, both of you.”
Yuusuke looked behind him to see Kuwabara following him. “Hey, shorty
bring you here, too?”
“Yeah. I gotta bad feeling about this one,” Kuwabara answered.
“You always say that.”
“Yeah, but this time it’s different. This time it feels...personal.”
“Whatever, man. Let’s just see what the old hag has to say.”
Yuusuke was the first to enter, followed by his red-head schoolmate.
Though he didn’t show it, the spirit detective was shocked to find that
neither Botan nor Kurama were there, both usually the ones to bear messages
from their toddler-employer, Koenma.
Kuwabara, of course, had to point it out. “Why hello there, Yukina.
Where’s Botan and the pretty boy?”
“I’m not sure, Kazuma,” Yukina answered. “Hiei was the one to call us
together. Would you like some tea?”
“Sure,” Kuwabara answered, sitting down next to the ice maiden. Yuusuke
sat across from him, on Yukina’s other side, forming a semi-circle on one
end of the table that faced Genkai.
“So where’s the shrimp?” Yuusuke asked.
“I am not a shrimp,” Hiei answered from the shadowed wall behind Yukina.
“You don’t have to stay, Yukina, if you don’t want to.”
“I’m fine, Hiei,” the ice maiden told the dark figure, “would you like some
tea?”
“No thanks. We need to get straight to business. Koenma may or may not
know about this, before you ask. And I, personally, don’t care. I called
you all here because you are all a part of Kurama’s pack, whether you wish
to be or not. He would give his life to protect you, and so I feel that it
is within your rights to seek revenge on his behalf.”
“Woah, wait up, revenge?” Yuusuke asked.
“What happened to the pretty boy?” Kuwabara asked.
“I was getting to that, you dolt. He’s been kidnapped, or fox-napped, if
you will. We are the only ones available to get him back.”
“Oh my,” Yukina interrupted, “how terrible.”
Hiei nodded, accepting her interjection. “It gets worse.”
“What’s so tough? Can’t we just take him back? I really don’t see the big
deal here.”
“Of course you don’t, idiot, after all, that takes brains,” Genkai
interrupted, saving Hiei from explaining.
“So tell us, Grandma, what’s up?” asked Yuusuke.
“Think about it. Any demon able to foxnap Kurama would have to be
extremely strong, and be able to get past his defenses without actually
killing the fox, so they’d also have to be skilled. And, judging from the
psycho’s reaction, there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
Hiei nodded. “The one after the kitsune was Karasu.”
“You mean that dude from the tournament with all the bombs? The one that
nearly killed Kurama?”
“Yes. He never truly died during the tournament, and he’s come back...to
claim Kurama as his mate,” Hiei explained.
“Oh, dude, that’s just wrong.”
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Everything was heavy. It was heavy and...fuzzy. No, not fuzzy...slow. It
took a long time for thought to process, and so it was a while for Kurama
to realize that everything was dark because his eyes were closed. Slowly
opening them, he chanced looking down at his body, expecting to find
weights and straps tying him down.
Instead, there was a blanket.
Kurama groaned, knowing full well that a silk sheet should NOT feel like it
weighed twenty pounds, and shifted, feeling said sheet brush against bare
skin.
That wasn’t good.
Kurama sat up slowly, keeping one hand on his head, reasonably sure that it
wasn’t about to explode from the pressure. One hand held the sheet to
himself, keeping him moderately covered.
A door opened, but Kurama couldn’t focus enough to determine where.
“Good morning, my kitsune. I’m sorry about the...accommodations, but until
the drug wears off, you’ll not be feeling yourself. I wouldn’t try
anything until then,” a male voice informed him.
This took a few minutes to process, and a few more minutes to determine who
was speaking to him. The owner was, in the meantime, apparently washing
Kurama’s face and neck. “Wha?...Ka...ra...su?” he asked.
Karasu chuckled. “Yes. The drug also slows thought process, but don’t
worry, I won’t be...taking advantage of the situation. Although, I must
admit, the thought is tempting.
“We’ll begin the mating ritual once you’re feeling more yourself. This
afternoon, unless I miss my guess. And don’t worry about your little
friends finding you, you’re safely tucked into the realm of demons, so
unless they want to be killed, they won’t be following.”
Karasu was gone by the time Kurama had figured out the entire conversation.
“Damn you...” he whispered to the walls, and then resolutely stood up,
determined to do his best in this fight, drugged or not.
Besides, if he worked hard enough, his body might get rid of more of the
drug than his enemy was expecting.
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“Koenma! We have a problem!” Botan yelled, running into the room where the
small demi-god sat, stamping papers as usual.
“What is it this, time, Botan?”
“Yuusuke and the others have gone missing! According to Genkai, they went
to the Demon world, but she wouldn’t tell me why. She...seemed upset,” Botan
explained. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you
sir?”
“I’m afraid so,” Koenma answered with a sigh. “Kurama’s been
kidnapped...er...more precisely, is being courted. And his ‘pack’ has gone to
rescue him.”
“Courted?” Botan asked. “Pack? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“It’s one of the quirks of the kitsune, I’m afraid. More precisely, two.
The pack’s the easiest to explain, so I’ll go over that first.
“A normal fox lives alone, choosing only one mate for life, and only
keeping it’s litter until they are weaned from the mother, then abandoning
them to live on their own.
“Kitsune are different. They are more like certain wolves and wild dogs in
that they gather packs. A pack can consist of many different types of
animals or demons, kitsune don’t care so long as they are strong. They
would defend a pack member even if it cost them their own life, and are
extremely protective. Pack members remain as such until they die, or until
they betray the pack.
“Kurama has made a pack while in human form. His Youko body didn’t care
for a pack, as he had already formed and lost one earlier in his life. His
human side, Suiichi, for simplicity’s sake, ignored this survival instinct
when he first included his mother in his pack. In the dark tournament, the
rest of the team became pack members, though most did not realize it. Hiei
saw it with the others, but I don’t know if he knew he was included or
not.”
“So...Kurama’s pack is his friends?”
“Basically. It’s only half a pack, though. An alpha, or leader, and
tetras, or lessers. There is no beta, or second, as of yet. The closest
would be Hiei.
“Karasu is seeking to dominate Kurama, and be a part of his pack. However,
he is breaking the chain of command. The mating ritual Karasu has begun
will place himself as alpha, and Kurama as beta, his mate.”
“But that’s not right!”
“Exactly. That’s why the pack has gone to rescue him.
“The mating ritual is a little more complicated. Karasu lost the first
battle, and so Kurama had the choice to take him as a mate, or leave him.
Obviously, it was the second choice. Karasu still had the opportunity,
however, to court Kurama, and make the kitsune desire him for a mate.
“The kidnapping is the second step in an unsuccessful ritual. I’ll skip
the successful, since we don’t have to deal with that. With the
kidnapping, the kidnapper is the one who seeks the mate, and the one
kidnapped is the one being forced to follow along. The kidnapper will
allow one battle, where the one kidnapped may fight for his freedom. If
the kidnapper wins, then the pack is his, and he will be become alpha. If
he loses, he gives up all rights to court the kidnapped, unless the
kidnapped allows.”
“So all Kurama has to do is beat Karasu, no biggie,” Botan input
cheerfully.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
“What do you mean?”
“The only reason Kurama won the last time was because he could become
Youko. I...don’t know if he’ll be able to reach that power now, without the
fruit.
“And Karasu’s a tricky demon. He’s likely to have done something to up his
chances, as he was quite determined to have Kurama at the tournament. I do
believe that the others are the only chance he has of truly freeing
himself.
“Either way, the others are safe, as he never openly declared them tetras.
So we’ll only be down one member of the team.”
“Koenma, sir, how can you say that!”
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TBC...
Review and I’ll be a happy girl and post more, otherwise I’ll cry.
Peace and Justice forever,
-Tsu
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