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Kuronue's Pendant	By : vampmistress76 Category: Yuyu Hakusho > General Views: 7968 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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- 6
Kuronue's Pendant

- Chapter 5 -

That afternoon, Hiei went looking for the toushin. He wasn't entirely sure that Yusuke would be easy to find, but he was confident he could track him down. As it turned out, Yusuke was in one of his favorite hangouts: the Arcade. He grimaced at the ningens crowding the place. 'Why does Yusuke always hang out in crowded places?' He walked over to Yusuke's side. "I have information for you, if you can be torn away."
Yusuke immediately looked up from the game screen, giving the fire demon a hard stare. "Tell me." Is all he said, and Hiei knew he would have to tread lightly in his report.
Hiei stared steadily back at Yusuke's brown eyes. "Can we go somewhere more private?" He glanced around once more at the ningens.
Yusuke wordlessly nodded and rose immediatlely to follow him from the arcade. The pair made their way to the park, where they found seclusion beneath a large oak and they sank down at its base. Silence passed between them for a moment before Yusuke sighed, his eyes closing warily. "I was right, wasn't I."
"Yes, and no." Hiei saw the glare sent his way and knew that he would have to expound. "Yes, there is something going on, but it is not what you think, at least not yet."
"Yet?" Yusuke growled, "As in, there will be. When the hell did this happen, Hiei?!" The vehemence in Yusuke's voice grew with each word as jealous anger built within him. "How can Kurama do this to me?! Keiko is mine!"
Hiei looked on the toushin with compassion in his eyes, "Yusuke, this is a difficult thing for me, but I must ask. When did you start forcing Keiko?"
Yusuke's eyes widened in surprise. "Wha- Forcing? What the hell gave you that idea?" He exclaimed as he leapt to his feet quickly, pointing an accusing finger toward the seated fire demon. "I'd never force, Keiko. I love her!" Yusuke's anger was still flaring, but somehow the last exclamation didn't seem to carry as much heat. Almost as if he were trying to convince himself. Despite the anger, it was clear to Hiei that Yusuke truly believed that he was not forcing his attentions on his, or at least in his eyes, intended mate.
Hiei closed his eyes briefly. "You still are very young for a youkai, Yusuke. And in spite of what you may think, your toushin side is trying to force yourself on her." He opened his eyes. "Your human thought patterns are at war with your youkai hormones. I talked to Keiko, she's scared, Yusuke. You've changed toward her and it scares her more than anything she's ever seen. Kurama is safe. I am safe. You are something totally different." Hiei paused a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. "We have two options to help you."
A little angry, a lot confused and a bit frantic, Yusuke responded. "The hell? I scared Keiko? ...How could I have... Damn it, Hiei, I've known Keiko forever! She can't be scared of me! And what do you mean help me?" At this point, the toushin was practically pacing in frustration.
"Will you calm down? Yes, I said scared. She knew who you were, but what you are now is something differerent from what you were. Toushin's are very dominating youkai, Yusuke. Yes, you are still a leader, and she does respect you, but you've broken that bond of trust that must exist between mates, especially in our situation." Hiei wished that Kurama was here, he explained things, especially any time it dealt with a female, much better. "You are subconsciously trying to dominate her, as well. I said there were two options for helping you, will you listen to them?"
Yusuke looked almost incredulously at Hiei for a moment before turning away, grumbling to himself. He couldn't believe that Keiko was scared of him. Of him! She was his best friend! They'd been together for as long as he could remember, and in his mind, she had been all he could ever see as who he would end up with. If she was scared of him, then how was that going to work? Slowly, almost resentfully, he turned back to Hiei. "What are my options?" He said lowly, a hint of a growl seeping into his voice.
Hiei raised a brow, he knew this was not going to go terribly well, but this was a little better than the worst he could have imagined. "The first option is for you to acknowledge the youkai side completely and then bring it under conscious control, which Kurama and I would help with, as much as we could, or that you would let us."
Yusuke paused in mid pace as he seemed to process this option in his mind, then said. "And my other choice is...?"
Hiei sighed, "The other choice is to continue on the way you have been going on, but finding a woman who can deal with the youkai aspects of your personality. Not the easiest of tasks, but it is possible."
Yusuke snorted, almost instantly dismissing the second idea. "Let's go with the first one then," He stated firmly. To him, there just was no other option. His want of Keiko was just too great.
Hiei sighed again. This was just another instance of wishing Kurama were here to help with this area. "Yusuke, I do not think you realize how long this will take. The minumum time for this type of training is thirty years. This is a requirement for youkai to learn in order to be considered mature. Kurama and I were going to work on teaching you this anyway, but didn't think in terms of Keiko, but your future mate, and your territory within the Makai."
Yusuke looked almost ready to argue, his mouth opening slightly before snapping back closed with a sharp click of teeth. Hiei steadily met his troubled friend's gaze, holding the contact until Yusuke broke it off by turning away. He then grumbled one simple word. "Fine." He spat, crossing his arms in a huff.
Hiei was grateful that his friend seemed to accept this information and then asked, "Is there anything else?"

Yusuke sighed, his gaze dropping to meet his feet. "I'm not giving her up, Hiei. Kurama will have a fight on his hands if he thinks he can steal her from me." The tone in his voice was deadly serious.
"Hn, that is between you and the kitsune," Hiei paused, "and Keiko." He knew that Yusuke would have quite a fight on his hands with the two best theives of the Makai. "I must be off to the Makai, and I will be back in about a week."
With a glance from the corner of his eye, Yusuke gave a wordless acknowledgement of Hiei's comment. Hiei examined Yusuke closely and then nodded, flitting away to join his mate for a short time.
After Hiei had gone, Yusuke sat back down at the base of the tree. He didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to doubt that if it came down to Keiko choosing between himself and Kurama, he would be the one coming out the loser. And he hated losing.
~*~
The hallway was deserted as the little old lady made her way slowly toward her apartment, her arms laden with two large bags of groceries. She reached the door and began shifting the bags in order to try and unlock the door. It was at that point that she heard the sound of two voices approaching. Both a man and woman's voices, filled with laughter heralded the appearance of a red headed young man and brunette woman as they rounded the corner of the hallway.
The laughter broke off as the red head looked in the older woman's direction, his green eyes quickly assessing the old woman's predicament.
"Excuse me a moment, Keiko." He said to his companion, who simply smiled politely and nodded, understanding what his intentions were. The red head left Keiko's side and approached where the old lady was still fumbling with her keys while balancing the two bags of groceries.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Iwamoto," Kurama said, "It appears that you are in need of assistance." He gestured toward the bags.

The old woman looked at Kurama with a grateful expression on her face, "Why, thank you, Shuichi. That's so sweet of you." She immediately relinquished her burden over to the helpful red head.
"It's my pleasure," Kurama replied, as he waited for his neighbor to unlock her door and then porceeded to bring in her groceries for her. He exited the apartment after completing his good deed and rejoined Keiko only to find her staring at the old woman's closed door.
"What is it, Keiko?" He asked, a bit concerned about the look on her face.
Keiko redirected her gaze toward Kurama to ask, "Mrs...Iwamoto?"
Kurama's brows furrowed in confusion a moment before he remembered Yusuke mentioning some time ago about his days in Junior High and of the problems he'd had with a certain teacher. "Yes, indeed," He replied, "She was married to Mr. Iwamoto's uncle. If I remember correctly, I believe her nephew was a teacher of yours at one time "
Keiko scrunched her nose up as she remembered one of her least favorite teachers in junior high. "Unfortunately," She replied, the dislike evident in her voice.
Kurama's lips quirked up in amusement. "Come along, Keiko." He said, taking her once again by the hand and leading her to her door.

Kuronue, who had remained mostly silent during the walk back to the apartment complex, chose that moment to speak up. 'So Kurenaibara, finding something you like? It's good to see you honestly enjoying yourself.'
Kurama's small smile widened as he once again gazed at Keiko. "Yes, Kuronue. I do believe I have found something most extraordinary."
'You realize that I found her first, right?' Kuronue teased his old partner with a chuckle clear in his voice.
Kurama chuckled, enjoying the banter as well as the adorable blush creeping across Keiko's face. "Indeed. But you always were one to share any treasure you found with me, isn't that right?"
Kuronue laughed with his friend, 'Meikinrui, no need to blush. Kurenaibara and I are always willing to share, with each other anyway.'
Despite her flushed state, Keiko felt a bit of mischief rise up within her. Not really knowing why she felt the need to join in with their banter, she said, "Is that what you two plan to do? Share me?"
Had anyone been looking in the pendant, they would have seen a pair dancing eyes and a sparkle of mischief, 'Why, meikinrui,' Kuronue's voice was deep and playful all at once, 'Would we do something like that?'
Keiko actually smirked at this, "Considering it's you? Of course. You forget, I know you pretty well." She said playfully, remembering all the wonderful times she had spent with him during her childhood. "You, on the other hand," Keiko continued, looking up at Kurama. "I'm not so sure about."
Kurama looked down at Keiko with a smile on his normally taciturn features. His eyes were more youko gold than the emerald green as he cupped her cheek in his palm, "You are a beautiful, intelligent and talented woman, Keiko. Rest assured, I could quite easily see a relationship with you, just as easily as Kuronue can." He bent down and brushed his lips against hers.
"I enjoyed tonight very much, Keiko. I hope that we can do this again, soon. Good night, Songbird" He borrowed Kuronue's pet name for her, enjoying the mock growl coming from the pendant as he grinned down at it. "Good night, to you too, Kuronue."
Keiko entered her door and smiled at him. "I did, too. Much more than I have in a very long time. Thank you, Kurama." She looked up at him, her eyes shining with the beginning of an emotion that she wasn't sure that she wanted to examine too closely. She finally let go of his hand and closed the door behind her.
Kuronue laughed, 'I haven't seen him this carefree since I got here, meikinrui, thank you for that.'
~*~
A week had passed, and in spite of their best efforts, Keiko and Kurama had a frustrating time as they could not come up with a single idea that would really work.
Keiko was starting to get depressed. On the one hand, it was seemingly impossible to get Kuronue a body, and on the other she was starting to feel guilty that Yusuke seemed to be avoiding her completely, ever since Kuronue had defended her against her boyfriend's advances. She then told herself firmly, 'No, not boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, if I really wanted to be with him, I really wouldn't have wanted to struggle. Kurama and Kuronue are much more comfortable and I fit with them much better.' She smiled at the thought of Kuronue's expressive voice, or Kurama's soulful eyes, a shy, yet happy smile such as she had not smiled in many years. 'Kuronue and Kurama, those two are so dear.'
Kuronue chuckled, amused at the bemused expression on Keiko's face, 'So, meikinrui, what puts that smile on your face? Dare I hope it's thoughts of a certain redhead, or myself?'
Keiko blushed at being read so easily, but at the same time it gave her the same kind of warm, fuzzy feeling that her thoughts of Kurama and Kuronue had inspired. In some odd way, this reassured her that being with Kuronue and Kurama was the right choice for her. Her mouth quirked into a mock pout, but couldn't keep her tone serious as she said, "You don't have to sound so smug about it."
Kuronue laughed outright, 'Don't I? You're my meikinrui, well, mine and Kurenaibara's, anyway.' He added a pout into his tone, and a sniffle, 'I can't be smug?'
Keiko couldn't stop the giggle from emerging as her playfulness rose up to challenge her disembodied friend, "Well, that depends. I suppose you can be, only if you can back it up."
Kuronue's eyes widened in surprise for just a moment, Getting a bit bold, isn't she? Oh, this is wonderful! He told her, 'I wish I could, I'll just have to let my partner convince you of that. We were not the two best theives in the Makai for nothing, you know. I only wish I had a body, but I'll not harp, I can share Kurenaibara's for that, if things turn out for the worst.'
Finally realizing exactly what she had said and how it had sounded, Keiko blushed even more. 'What in the world has gotten into me? I've never spoken to anyone like that before. Not even Yusuke!' Recovering herself, Keiko tried to divert the course of their conversation by saying, "I'm hungry, let's go see what's in the kitchen to eat."
Kuronue laughed, realizing that the bold vixen had retreated for the moment. Sighing, Keiko rose from the couch and made her way to the kitchen. She looked around in her cabinets, noting the lack of real food except for a few canned goods her mother sent with her. A peek into the refrigerator also revealed a lack of anything truly edible and so she decided a trip to the market would be in order. Grabbing her purse and jacket on the way out, Keiko made her way down the street to do a bit of shopping.
~*~
The dark haired young woman sighed as she put another can of soup in the cart, next to the small mountain of ramen containers. She suddenly froze, having not expected to feel a youkai aura coming from right around the corner. Cautiously, she peeked around the edge of the isle in order to locate the source of such an energy. Blue-gray eyes widened in surprise as she spied what was a seemingly normal looking human girl who's aura was blazing with youki! Quickly tamping down her own energy, the young miko didn't want to accidentally harm the girl if she wasn't a threat.

She watched carefully, bending low as the brunette approached, waiting for her chance to seemingly appear as if she was examinining the soups. Just when the strange girl was directly behind her, she stood up and stepped back, as if to look at the top shelf. Just as planned, she bumped into the girl and to her surprise, the miko discovered that the aura flaring was not from the girl, but from the strange pendant around the girl's neck. A protective aura surged from it, almost as if a youkai had felt their mate, or someone close to them being threatened. She quickly backed up to her cart.

"Excuse me! Are you alright?" She asked the brunette.
Keiko had stumbled a bit, but righted herself by grasping onto a neaby shelf. Straightening back up, she glanced over at the person who had accidentally bumped into her. She took in the person, a young woman about the her age, with long black hair and eyes the most startling shade of blue gray.

"I'm okay," She said softly, but was startled when she heard Kuronue's voice practically growling in her ears.

'Don't let her fool you, meikinrui, she did that on purpose!'
Keiko blinked, glancing down at the pendant around her neck. A motion that wasn't missed by the dark haired young woman.
Kagome noticed the eyes dart down to the pendant and quickly back again, 'What is going on here? She's a normal human, unless I'm totally off, in which case my hide will be a different color by the time Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha get done! I know they only mean the best for me, but there's got to be a better way to learn this stuff!'
She tried to send her most disarming smile, "I really am sorry, my name is Kagome. What's yours?"
Keiko ignored Kuronue and his continuing insistance that she shouldn't trust this girl and extended her hand with a smile. "I'm Keiko. Do you live around here? I don't remember seeing you before."
Kagome took the hand gratefully. "I do live around here. As a matter of fact, I live in the Higurashi shrine. I'm just away most of the time on out of town business. When I do stay at home, well, you do see the result." She gestured ruefully to her cart, indicating the mountain of ramen. "What about you? Do you live around here? I haven't seen you before either."
Keiko smiled, "I just moved into the area, actually. I live in the apartment building a couple of blocks away." She replied just as Kuronue gave up trying to warn her off of talking to the strange girl. His songbird obviously wasn't listening.

Keiko and Kagome conversed for a while longer. That is until, once again, Kuronue's voice filled the brunette girl's mind. 'Meikinrui, as much as I am sure you are enjoying your little chat, if we are going to get back to the apartment and have dinner prepared for Kurenaibara we really must be on our way.'
Keiko glanced down at her watch, suddenly realizing how late it was getting. "Oh, gosh!" She exclaimed, "I'd better hurry up and finish shopping! It was a pleasure to meet you... uh, Kagome, wasn't it? I hope we can chat again soon." Keiko called out as she made her way down the grocery isle.

Kagome waved goodbye to her new acquaintance and then watched as Keiko left the store. She waited about five minutes before exiting the store herself, following the direction in which Keiko had gone.
'Keiko, huh? That pendant was emanating youki, but she's a normal human,' Kagome thought to herself. 'Is she under a demon's protection? If so, is it willingly, or is she forced? There are too many questions here to ignore. I have to find out more.' She thought as she followed Keiko through the twists and turns of Keiko's apartment complex.
~*~
'Meikinrui, we are being followed by that young miko that you met at the food market. Turn left here.' Kuronue directed Keiko as he saw a nice little blind alley.
Keiko glanced down at Kuronue's pendant curiously, wondering what the problem was and why Kagome would be following them, but did as the youkai spirit instructed anyway. She ducked into the alley and moved a few steps away from the entrance before turning around just as Kagome walked around the corner.
'Meikinrui, can you put yourself into a trance-like state? I need to talk to the miko directly.' Kuronue asked Keiko.
Keiko blinked, not exactly sure what Kuronue was asking her. "I... I'm not sure." She said aloud, knowing how odd she must look to the dark haired young woman, as she seemingly spoke to thin air.

Kuronue sighed, 'Well then, it looks as if we get to do this the hard way. Please don't fight me, I am going to possess you like I did with Kurama the other night.'
As Keiko nodded her assent, Kuronue went about gently tucking Keiko's 'self' off to the side and making sure that he could enter. It was not as complete as if she had done it herself, but it would do. He felt himself settle into a female form for the first time and had to admit that it was definitely different than it had felt possessing Kurama's body. But whether it was because of Kurama's training and Keiko's inexperience or just due to difference in gender, he could not tell. One thing he was sure of was that if he would've had a body, there would be a definite problem when he returned to it.
Keiko, for her part, was practically overwhelmed by the experience of having another presence inside of her, inhabiting her body. It was... almost an erotic sensation that could not be denied as she felt Kuronue's spirit take possession of her body.

'Kuronue?' Keiko tentatively inquired of the youkai co-inhabitant.
'Yes, meikinrui, I know. This is a new experience for me too. If I thought the view from within your shirt was distracting, this is mind-blowing.' He sent her a mental wink. 'Not that I'm objecting, or that I wouldn't want to do this again. It just reinforces the fact that I need a body!'
While the internal conversation was taking place within Keiko's mind, their pursuer was taking in the minute changes that were coming over the other woman's body. At first, her entire body had tensed up but then had gradually melted into an easy going demeanor as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her shoulder against the wall of the alley. Her eyes, when they finally came to rest on Kagome, sent a chill down the miko's spine. Keiko's eyes, which had been so warm and friendly earlier, were now guarded and a bit hostile and when she spoke, Kagome knew indefinitely that something had happened.
"Who are you?" Kagome said simply, getting right to the point. She didn't really have time for long, drawn out confrontations. She had a hungry hanyou back in the Fuedal Era to feed, after all.
Kuronue smiled coldly, "Miko, I guard my precious meikinrui here and I don't want you to interefer. If you wish to be friends with her, that is fine as I obviously cannot stop it. However, intruding in a situation where you have not been invited can be deadly. Now, why were you following us?"

'He called her his... songbird? Huh, he must obviously not be a danger to Keiko then.' Kagome thought to herself as she assessed the situation before replying, "You have an interesting habit there. You know that I sensed you back in the grocery store and know that I could purify you right out of her, right?" At Kuronue's narrowed eyes and stiffer posture, she added, "However, you don't seem to be a danger. I wanted to know if she was willingly protected, or if she was being forcibly claimed by a demon. The pendant is definitely not of human origin, is that where your link to Keiko is?"

Kuronue relaxed when the miko seemed more curious than an actual threat. This he could use and would file away, especially considering their current situation. "Miko, my link with my meikinrui is slightly more than that. However, that is going into the area where you are intruding. Meikinrui is not objecting, in fact, I asked for her permission so that I could speak with you directly. She is still here with me as a matter of fact. Now, were you planning on following her all the way home or were you just going to follow us long enough to establish an answer to your question? I cannot answer for her part, but I can answer for mine. Butt out. Meikinrui is going through enough right now and we don't need any other complications than we already have."

Kuronue knew that his time was running out, but he had said his piece. He gave Keiko a mental kiss that swept through her body like fire and allowed his pendant to pull him back after leaving her weak with wanting. Fortunately, he had put the bags that Keiko was carrying down when he started the confrontation.
As a result of Kuronue's kiss, Keiko fell to knees, blushing furiously as it left her body in a state of arousal. She looked up at the dark haired miko, her eyes once more warm brown and her blush refusing to go down as she heard Kuronue's chuckle echo through her mind. She couldn't speak as she tried to regain her equilibrium.
Kagome observed the other girl with a wary eye until the possessing entity obviously left her body when she collapsed to her knees on the pavement. She approached Keiko slowly, taking in the girl's flushed appearance and wondered if this was the effect that the youkai's possession had on her. Moving to assist the girl to her feet, Kagome said, "I hope this type of thing doesn't happen very often if this is the result."
"Huh?" Keiko looked at the taller girl in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"This obviously can't be good for you, if you're so exhausted that you collapse after the demon's through controlling your body." Kagome said, entirely misinterpreting the reason behind Keiko's sudden lack of composure.

Kuronue laughed uproariously, 'I could even get to like this miko, she amuses me.' He said teasingly. 'I'll have to ask Kurama later if he knows about her, of course.'
Keiko ignored Kuronue's comments and instead turned her full attention back on the girl standing before her. "I'm very sorry about that, Kagome." Keiko said apologetically. "Kuronue can get a bit protective at times. I hope that this doesn't keep us from being friends."

Kagome raised her hand in a dismissive gesture. "That's alright, I'm used to dealing with the overprotective types and don't worry, it won't interfere with anything. I think you and I would be good friends." The miko responded honestly.
Kuronue humphed. 'Who's overprotective? I'm not.' He protested.
Keiko giggled, "Of course, you're not, dear." She teased.
Despite only being able to witness one side of the interaction, Kagome none the less came to the conclusion that Keiko was quite safe in the demonic presence issued from the pendant that hung around the brunette's neck.
Keiko once again brought her attention back to the dark haired woman. "Well, we've really got to be on our way. I promised a friend of ours that I would prepare dinner for him tonight." She said as she retrieved her bags of groceries from the alley floor.
"Oh, sure," Kagome said as both walked out of the alleyway and back onto the street. "I really must get back and finish my shopping as well."

With that, the two new friends parted ways, both having similar thoughts of relief that perhaps they had each found an ally that could relate with them in terms of their crazy, supernatural friends and surroundings.

~*~
TBC...
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Kuronue's Pendant