Lost Loves, Mended Hearts

Two

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A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, I never thought that I would get this much feedback from it, THANK YOU!!! ::fuzzy hugs::

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Kurama sighed softly and pulled the wool blankets up to the small kit's chin, tucking the edges around him so the boy thought that he was still being held. He leaned down and gently brushed his lips across his red-orange hair before straightening and slipping quietly out of the small hut. He peered into the darkness, looking with demon eyes to see if everyone was asleep as they should be. Taking one last glance around before his satisfaction was met he stalked out of the human village and into the woods, not pausing in his running until he reached the hot springs that Shippo had showed him. From there he carefully took his white robes off, all mended and free of blood stains, folding them and placing them on the ground with in reach of the spring. He ran his hands through his hair gathering seeds and grassy leaves placing them in a pile besides his cloths. He chose one of the seeds and buried it into the ground a few inches from the surface. He closed his eyes briefly and fed his ki into the small plant stopping when it quickly budded up from the earth and bloomed its multi-colored flower.

Finally happy on where everything was placed he quietly slipped into the steamy water, the mist rising off of it causing the surface to take on an eerie glowing illusion from the light of the moon. His relaxed into the warmth of the spring letting the water run over him and embrace him, very slowly he began to bathe, taking the soapy sap from the flower he created and washing first his face, hair and tail, then the rest of him.

After that he stared into the water, looking at his reflection in the glassy surface. It had been five days since he woke that early morning with Shippo cradled in his arms and slept there ever since. Inu-Yasha and Kaede had explained to him about the Shikon no Tama, about Naraku, about everything, and they had asked him to help them.

He reached up and gripped Kuronue's old pendant, one that he didn't even know that he held until that first day at the springs with Shippo. He didn't even remember taking it from the ground or gripping it in his hand before passing out in the middle of the road. It was funny, that which his stole from an Inu Lord's wife to give someone else as a gift was now once again his.

That was when Kuronue had first become his partner, that's what started his whole affair with the dark haired youkai, that damn necklace and him coming home reeking of dog and sex. Kuronue had teased him about it for years, "Can't do one single job without seducing something, but dog, K'rama? Come on, even I would think you'd have better taste than bedding a flee-bitten mongrel."

Kurama had laughed then and winked, "I had to get it somehow, didn't I. What difference does it make anyway, unless you're a bit jealous, Kuro-chan?"

Kurama hung his head and tightly closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, Kuronue. I have no right to act as if nothing is the matter, but the kit does not need to see my grief over you," he harshly whispered into the dark waters. "I have no right using him to ease the pain in my heart, to stay with him as would a father to keep myself from thinking of you. They should have left me on the road to bleed to death, should have left me so I didn't have to live in this misery."

Soft footsteps drifted up through his thoughts and he quickly dropped his hand from the ruby charm, taking a deep breath and dunking under the warm water to clear his head. Time to put on the mask again, curious humans where so annoying.

"Kurama?" Miroku's voice drifted up from the water as he broke the glassy surface and turned to face him.

"Hai?" Kurama answered, keeping his voice void of any emotion.

Miroku smiled nervously and placed a hand behind his head, this was the first time that he was alone with the Youko, "Is this where you always go late at night?"

Kurama's golden eyes narrowed in the darkened light of the moon, "Perhaps. What brings you here, houshi-sama?"

He shrugged, "Sometimes I just need to get away."

He nodded, moving further away from the monk giving he more than enough space to bathe.

"Kurama?" Miroku asked, his voice soft and hesitant.

The kitsune turned around, his back facing the human, "Yes?"

"Have you decided yet, about helping us? I know it's asking a lot, but Shippo... I have never seen him so happy before. Unless you have a family of you own, you are more - "

"I don't," Kurama hissed through clenched teeth, "I don't have a family of my own, I really don't have anywhere else to go for the moment."

Miroku's eyes lit up, "Then you'll stay?"

He shrugged, his long sliver hair glinting in the moonlight, "For now." He reached up and once again gripped the pendant, "Maybe fighting Naraku will bring me the death that I wish for daily," he softly mumbled to himself, too low for human ears to pick up.

He heard the human undress, carefully folding his dark robes and placing them next to his own pile, pausing to look at the large stack of seeds and smalls plant parts, "What are these," the monk whispered in awe.

"Seeds," Kurama didn't elaborate.

"Uh huh," Miroku slowly nodded than shrugged, climbing into the warm water with a sigh. He looked to the demon, his back still facing him. "You don't strike me as someone who would be shy," he stated, raising one eyebrow at him.

Kurama shrugged, "I'm not, I just didn't know if you were," he lied looking over his shoulder at the human.

Miroku studied the kitsune's profile, a curious expression coming across his face, "Someone a beautiful as you are shouldn't bare the pain that I see in your eyes," he whispered.

Kurama turned around swiftly, eyes golden eyes narrowing dangerously, "Excuse me?" he hissed.

Miroku's dark eyes widen as his face flushed crimson, "I - I - I mean, sorry..." he stammered, only now realizing that he had spoken out loud, "It's just that, the youkai that I see with Shippo and the one that I see now in front of me are two different beings. What makes you so sad that you have to hide it from the rest of us?"

The Youko snorted, "Please, Shippo is the only one of you that I trust, if it was not for him, I would leave in a heartbeat. Showing weakness in front of people you don't know is a blatant act of stupidity." He rose from the water, wetness running across his bare chest. The spring was too deep to be too revealing but it still showed a span of skin below his bellybutton and the deep groves of his hips.

Miroku turned his back quickly, "Have you no shame!?!"

He snorted again, "You undressed in front of me."

"Your back was turned!" Miroku squeaked.

Kurama sighed and walked pass the blushing monk smiling in amusement as he noticed that he eyes were tightly shut. Shaking his head he quickly grabbed his white robes and dressed, gathering his pile of seeds and placing them in their proper places in his hair. Looking to the soap flower his drew his ki away from it and the bud reversed its growth, sinking back into the ground and seeded. He carefully dug the small ball up and placed that too in his hair, "You can bathe in peace now, monk. Don't drown."

Miroku opened his eyes and opened his mouth to sarcastically thank the Youko. The words died on his tongue and looked around, the spring was completely empty, save for himself. There wasn't even a single trace that the fox demon was ever there in the first place.

He shook his head and leaned back against one of the smooth rocks letting the warmth seep into him and ease his troubled heart. Kurama held too many things in the dark for his liking, sure everyone had their secrets, but the Youko seemed to be surrounded in them. He was a mystery all in himself. He had caught him plenty of times standing under the large tree that sat on the hill over looking the village just staring at the sunset. His tight fist would always grip the ruby pendant that he constantly wore around his neck with the look of such unmasked sorrow that even the memory of the kitsune's golden eyes made his heart clench tight in his chest. A look that was replaced quickly when someone would approach him, a look that was hidden by empty smiles that did not quite reach his eyes like they used to when ever Shippo came bouncing up to him. Whatever had caused Kurama's pain was eating him up inside, killing him from the inside out and he didn't seem to care. He rode his misery, kept it within him refusing to let go of it in even the slightest fraction.

Miroku sighed and quickly washed himself, climbing out of the hot springs and dressed even faster than he had bathed. He rushed back to Kaede's small hut that seemed too packed to hold all them comfortably but surprisingly did so quite well. He softly shut the wooden door and climbed into his bedroll staring at Sango's sleeping face until he drifted off, riding contently on his dreams until the morning woke him.

S%S

Kurama's eyes slowly opened to the daylight, soft tugs on his long sliver hair was part of the cause for him to wake. He turned his gaze towards the direction of the tugs and a small smile came upon his lips, one that slightly reached his eyes as he looked upon Shippo gently brushing his sleep mussed strands. "Good morning, little kit," he mumbled out between a yawn, "Why are you up so early?" he asked, it seemed as if he only came back from the springs a few minutes ago.

Shippo jumped and stopped in his task, "All the others are already up. I was going to let you sleep, but you started to whimper. I brushed your hair, I didn't know what else to do. My mother always brushed mine when I had bad dreams. It made me feel better. I thought that it'd work for you too." He smiled proud that it really did seem to sooth the Youko of his bad dreams.

Kurama frowned, "I don't remember having a nightmare."

Shippo slowly nodded, "You were calling out someone's name." He paused and looked down at his hands twisting his fingers together in his lap, "Kurama, who's Kuronue?"

Kurama stood and stretched forcing himself to smile down at the small boy, "Nobody to concern yourself with. Where are the others?" he asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

Shippo gave him a curious look, "Outside getting supplies together. Miroku said that you agreed to help us so Inu-Yasha wanted to go hunt for more Shikon no Tama shards as soon as possible."

He nodded and picked the small kitsune up, placing him on his shoulders and walking out the door, "No use in keeping them waiting, little kit."

He squinted hey golden eyes at the sun light, putting up one hand to block the bright rays and frowned into the breeze, "I don't feel like I slept almost have the day away..." he mumbled too softly for Shippo to hear.

The small boy bounced on his shoulders and tugged on his right ear, "Over there, I guess they had an early lunch up on the hill."

Kurama nodded and started to slowly walk up the hill, almost purring in content as Shippo started to play with his long strands of silver hair, "You keep on doing that, kit, and you'll put me back to sleep."

Shippo smiled and laughed, "But you just woke up, Kurama, you can't still be tired."

As if to prove his point, Kurama yawned, his jaws practically unhinging and his eyes started to water, "Meebee it's sleep poison."

Shippo blinked and looked down at him, "What's that? I never heard of it."

Kurama reached up and took the small boy off of his shoulders and held him in his arms, "It's when you sleep sooooo long that your body is still tired and when you wake up you could go right back to sleep for even longer." He looked down at the kit, his golden eyes sparkling in mischief.

Shippo looked to him with wonderment, "For real?"

The Youko nodded, "For real."

Shippo's nose wrinkled, "That's never happened to me..." he thought for a moment and then brightened, "do you think that's why Inu-Yasha's so lazy? May be sleeping for fifty years gave him permanent sleep poison!"

Kurama looked at the completely serious face of the boy and started to laugh, "You are just too cute!" he squealed and hugged Shippo to his chest before placing a kiss on his cheek and tossing him in the air.

From a distance Inu-Yasha growled at the two, "Who the hell in he anyway? He can't just move in and think he's one of us. And treating Shippo like that! I'm sure if the brat killed someone that Youko would still act so nice to him. Stupid kitsune!"

Kagome reached over and poked Inu-Yasha's side, "You're the one who asked Kurama to join us," she peered at him for a second, "Are you jealous?"

"Get real, Kagome," he snorted, "Youko don't stay in one place for a long period of time, and they are very rare," he shrugged, "that's why most people think that they're myths."

Sango nodded and turned to Kagome's confused took, "That's right. And the reason why they almost look like a hanyou is that Youko are the only youkai around that can change their form and have it not be an illusion. Youko have their fox form, their human form, and their in-between form."

Kagome blinked, "Did you ever think that maybe people just think that they're rare because... well maybe most just stay looking as a human or as a fox?"

Miroku shook his head, "It doesn't work like that. The human form has pointy teeth and they keep their demon looking eyes. Their fox form has multiple tails; the more tails the older and stronger they are. I wonder how many tails Kurama has.

Inu-Yasha huffed and sat back placing his hands behind his head, "Who the fuck cares anyways - maybe we will all get lick and he'll take Shippo with him when he leaves."

Kagome glared at him, then turned away refusing to let him show that he was getting angry. "Anyway," she said, "Why is a Youko so... important?"

Sango gave him a blank look, "I really don't know."

Miroku put a hand on her shoulder, "Youko are said to be direct children of Inari, the fox God," he said as if the news was something that everyone should know. "Inari himself has nine tails and his golden mane and tail is said to have shone brighter than the sun itself."

"That's the stupid - who heard of such a dumb thing like that!" Inu-Yasha huffed white bangs blowing out in irritation.

"What's stupid?" Shippo asked, him and Kurama finally coming within hearing range.

Sango smiled, "Nothing really, just talking about old myths and legends."

Kagome nodded, "And you know that Inu-Yasha always has to throw his opinion in whether we want it or not."

The hanyou snorted but other than that he said nothing to the human girl's teasing.

Shippo's bushy red-orange tail wagged slightly, "Really? I love stories! Kurama tells the most wonderful stories I have ever heard!"

Kurama sighed and shook his head, "You flatter me, little kit, they are not that good of stories."

The small Kitsune blinked large blue eyes at him, "Yes they are! I really like the story about the fox thief breaking into the dog Lord's castle and stealing his wife's necklace and escaping from the guards by hiding in a tree. It was very clever of him."

Kurama cleared his throat and then blink down at Shippo, his golden eyes looking quite innocent for the span of a few moments before his spoke, "And why is that one your favorite?"

"Because," he stated as a matter of fact, "I like it when lazy dogs get what they deserve."

"Ha," Inu-Yasha spoke, "An inu isn't nearly as lazy as a kitsune!"

Kurama looked down at the mutt sprawled across the grass basking in the sunlight, "Is that why you are the one laying in the warmth practically asleep and we kitsunes are standing? Or are you just keeping the ground from floating to the sky, Inu-Yasha?"

Inu-Yasha sat up and growled his eyes glaring in rage, "What did you say?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Kagome smiled secretly at him, her dark eyes sparking with all the innocence in the world, "Sit."

Inu-Yasha crashed to the ground, tiny puffs of dirt and grass blades slightly bellowing around him.

"Good boy," Kurama couldn't help but adding.

Both Sango and Miroku hung their heads and reached up to rub throbbing temples. It was going to be a very, very long journey.

TBC...