.
Kurama sat calmly sipping tea, cool and collected as ever. On the outside, at least. Toguro sat across from him, Karasu at his side. Kurama carefully avoided looking at Karasu. The dark youkai would catch his gaze, and his eyes would narrow in a most disturbing manner. 'Focus on the discussion' he chided himself. 'This is no time to get distracted'.
"Do you know who the three Lords of the Makai are?"
"They're the three most powerful youkai.. they each own about one-third of the Makai, right?" He almost jumped when Karasu spoke.
"Uh, right." He cleared his throat. "Well, not to long ago Raizen passed away, and Yusuke took over his territory. Mukuro named Hiei her heir, and-"
"Urameshi rules one-third of the Makai? He isn't even youkai." Toguro pointed out. "I admit he's a good fighter, but surely he hasn't become that powerful."
To his right, Genkai snorted softly. Kurama waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, Yusuke is a youkai, now, and almost as powerful as his ancestor Raizen was."
"When did this happen?"
Kurama glared at Toguro. "Do you want me to finish the story, or would you rather ask questions?" Toguro shrugged, and Kurama sniffed derisively. "That's what I thought. Now, as I was saying, both Yusuke and Hiei were in positions of power. The third lord, Yomi-"
"That's the guy we're going to fight?!"
Kurama pointedly ignored Karasu. "- already had a child, Shura."
"Didn't Yomi offer you a position, Kurama?" He slit his eyes at Kuwabara.
"Anyway," he couldn't quite keep the exasperation from his voice. "Yomi has always been ambitious, and recently he began invading Mukuro's territory. About a month ago Yomi completely defeated Mukuro's army and took over her territory. He then invaded Yusuke's kingdom." He lowered his voice. "Hiei barely escaped with his life, and Yusuke has disappeared- no one knows whether he's dead or alive."
Karasu leaned forward, eyes widened. The look in his eyes was something akin to anticipation. Kurama firmly fixed his eyes on his tea cup. "Now Yomi has his eyes on the Ningenkai. Right now he has countless experts working together to bring down the barrier between the two worlds." Karasu reached out and touched Kurama lightly on the knee. The kitsune stiffened.
"More tea, anybody?" Kurama took the opportunity provided by Botan's distraction to discreetly smack Karasu's hand. Hard. It was really quite satisfying to watch the crow jerk his hand back, muttering curses under his breath. Kurama bit back a smirk. He certainly wouldn't resort to such childish tactics as name-calling and swearing.
It was a good thing they were surrounded by people, or Kurama might not have been able to resist the temptation to stick his tongue out at Karasu.
"Oi, Yukina-san! I, the great Kuwabara Kazuma, shall now demonstrate my best moves! Hiyaa!"
Yukina gave the carrot-top a wide-eyed look of confusion as Kuwabara danced about gracelessly, waving his rei ken around with a lack of skill obvious even to those who knew nothing about sword play. Kurama, hidden in the shadow cast by a tree, watched with a smile. The antics of his ningen friends never ceased to amuse him.
He stretched catlike, slitting his eyes and scanning the area. Toguro and Karasu were no where in sight. Kurama fervently hoped Botan had taken them with her when she'd gone back to the Reikai. Having those two around had set everyone's nerves on edge.
A twig cracked behind him, alerting Kurama to the presence of the one he least wanted to see. 'Ah, well. Speak of the devil, and he will appear, ne?' he thought wryly, turning to face his unwanted teammate. "Karasu."
"Kurama." The dark youkai leaned against the tree, crossing his arms across his chest. They stood in silence for several minutes. Kurama began to fidget nervously.
"Do you want something?"
Karasu arched a brow. "Do you really have to ask?"
Kurama felt the heat rushing to his cheeks. Karasu stepped forward, placing his hand on the curve of his neck. Kurama squirmed under his touch, but obstinate pride wouldn't allow him to back away. Instead, he stared into Karasu's eyes with feigned indifference, forcing a cool smile to his face.
"What's our first move?"
"Eh?" Abruptly Karasu's hand dropped to his side. He looked past Kurama, to where Kuwabara and Yukina were.
"What are we going to do? Will we go after Yomi now, or will we wait?" Karasu's gaze came back to a very disconcerted Kurama.
"Ah.. well, first I thought we'd look for Yusuke. I'll take you, Toguro, and Kuwabara-kun with me to where he was last seen. Hopefully we'll learn his current whereabouts." Kurama squeezed his eyes shut against a sudden pang of grief. "If he's still alive, that is." Of course he was. People like Yusuke didn't just drop dead because of a little scuffle.. or a war with Yomi. Yusuke was alive.
Biting his lip, Kurama turned his back to Karasu, concentrating on familiar sounds- the rustle of leaves, birds chirping, Kuwabara's loud voice. He jumped as Karasu's hands came down on his shoulders. "Relax." Karasu whispered. Kurama felt the dark youkai's mask brushing his ear, his fingers digging into his skin. "You're tense, Kurama."
Kurama half-turned his head to stare at Karasu. His violet eyes had an unfamiliar sparkle, and Kurama could've sworn that behind the mask, Karasu was smiling. The kitsune relaxed under his hands, submitting to the massage. Karasu's hands slid down to the small of his back. Kurama arched his back and tossed back his head with an appreciative sigh.
His eyes landed on Genkai, who had joined Kuwabara and Yukina. She wasn't paying attention to them, though. The wrinkled ningen woman had her gaze fixed on the two youkai standing in the shadows. Abruptly Kurama realized how bad his position must look: back arched, head back, with Karasu's hands nowhere in sight.
Blushing again, he straightened and reached back to still Karasu's hands. Their fingers somehow became entwined in the process, and he found himself leaning back against the taller youkai. Karasu touched his cheek, almost hesitantly, his fingers gently caressing Kurama's face.
"Karasu."
Both of them whirled to face Toguro. Karasu took a step back. "I didn't notice you."
"I know. You're getting careless." He gave Kurama an unreadable glance. "Come with me. We have work to do." His lips quirked in parody of a smile as he stared at the Youko.
Kurama placed one hand on Karasu's arm. "Tomorrow, Karasu. We will make our plans." He gave Toguro a look chilly enough to make a Koorime freeze, then resolutely turned and strode toward Kuwabara, Genkai, and Yukina.
After all, there really was planning to be done.
