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Chapter 2 - Kitsune Thoughts and Protective Hanyous
Kurama winced as the sound of the door shutting behind him echoed in the small chamber he found himself in. He shifted his weight to his right leg, not wanting to put too much weight on his left one until it had healed from the battle he had recently been captured in. By the weak noon light coming in the tiny window he could make out the form of three other people in the cell with him. And he recognized them all.
He unlocked his collar with the key thrown in, then studied the room they were in. His eyes flew past Yukina and Kuwabara, both greeting him enthusiastically. He mechanically answered them, but his gaze was steadfast on the thin form of a girl huddled in a ball on one of the beds in the back. His brow creased in worry as the scent caught his nose. He had simply thought she had gone away, he'd never thought she had been put in prison. He sent confused looks to Kuwabara and Yukina and they both exchanged looks and then Yukina bit her lip, her eyes expressing the despair she was feeling for her friend.
Kurama didn't wait for an explanation and strode to the back of the cell, kneeling down beside her bed. Wide brown eyes opened and for a second she managed to emerge from the thoughts that bombarded her everyday and see who was in front of her.
"Kurama..." Keiko muttered before clutching her head and closing her eyes, willing the thoughts to get out of her head. They never did, they never stopped, and she couldn't even tell whose thoughts they were anymore.
Kurama jerked back as Keiko began to whimper and turned away from him, shaking her head as if to rid herself of something bothersome. "What's wrong with her?"
"Naraku...he seems to have been going for the cliché curses lately. She hears thoughts. Everyone's thoughts," Kuwabara answered in a hushed whisper.
Kurama sat on the bed opposite Keiko, noticing it looked unused. He frowned and looked towards Kuwabara. "How long has she been here?"
It was Yukina who answered this time. "We don't know. I've been here for three months, and she was already in here. She seemed a bit saner then, but there was a lot less people. We don't know how far away she can hear people, but she can hear all of 340's I think, and the other hallways nearby, too. Maybe the whole prison."
Kurama frowned and sat back, closing his eyes. Kuwabara seemed a bit angry at the apparent calm he was showing, but Yukina shook her head at him. "Let him think."
Kurama wasn't thinking so much as asking for help. From Youko, who was aware of the girl's problem the same as he. Finally Youko came up with a temporary answer. -We can use out energy to briefly put a block around her perhaps? The curse is strong, but if you want her sane we can at least give her brief moments of clarity. -
*Thank you Youko. *
There was brief silence before Youko answered, his tone angry. -Nothing to thank me for. I care as much as you do. As long as we get to rip Naraku apart when we find him, I don't need any thanks.-
Kurama smiled slightly then slipped across the floor to Keiko's side once again, grimacing as he rested too much weight on his left leg. He sat on the edge of her bed and calmly put his hands on either side of her head. She had been tossing and turning, trying to rid herself of the thoughts in her head, but briefly the senses that still registered the outside world sent her a message and she felt a thread of energy going through her. She frowned but the babbling voices rushed into her mind and she fought against them, forgetting the energy that was just another unwanted thing in her head. That was until suddenly all of the thoughts shut off and she felt two hands on her head, and the only thoughts in her head were her own.
Keiko opened her eyes, and tears welled up as she realized there really were no other thoughts in her mind anymore. She looked up into Kurama's concerned face and cleared her throat, hoping she wasn't as hoarse as she thought she was. "Did...did you do that?"
Kurama hesitated, seeing the tears, and nodded slowly. Behind him, Yukina had gasped upon hearing Keiko speak a full sentence. Her voice had been extremely hoarse, but it was better to hear that than the whimperings or whispered names that were all she had gotten out over the last month.
Keiko let out a sob as she scrambled up and swiftly put her arms around Kurama, clinging to him desperately, muttering one phrase over again into the too silent room. "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you."
Kurama hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, peering over the brunette's head to look at Kuwabara and Yukina. Both just smiled giddily. Kurama sighed, that was no help. In one safe corner of his mind, Youko was smiling triumphantly. Kurama sighed and instead waited until Keiko's sobs started to deteriorate. "It won't last forever. I can only make it temporary."
"It doesn't matter. Looking forward to it will keep me sane. They keep adding new people to the prison, and even at night there are thoughts. I'm not the only one going insane in here, and the insane don't care if it's night or day." Kurama held on tighter as Keiko spoke, anger radiating from his form.
"Why did Naraku do this?"
"For my involvement with the Spirit Detectives. Mostly he did it to hurt Yusuke, taunt him when he was down." Keiko shuddered slightly, trying to breathe evenly and hold onto the precious moments where she was herself and not hundreds of other people intruding upon her mind.
Kurama again looked behind to Kuwabara and Yukina, and found Yukina getting up and walking silently over, touching Keiko's shoulder slightly. Keiko's tearstained face met Yukina's joyful eyes and Yukina gently pried Keiko away from Kurama, letting the warmth of friendship flow from her and into the other girl. "It is good to see you again Keiko."
"You too Yukina," Keiko whispered closing her eyes for an instant before opening them quickly, letting herself drink in what her senses were telling her while she still could. "I missed a lot didn't I?"
This time Kuwabara answered, thumping on one wall. "The little boy with a fox tail came in yesterday through the wall. You remember the panels the kids made one time. They got the idea form Yusuke; it just took a lot longer for them to find the weak spots in the wards. They visited yesterday and said a lot of the cells around here are becoming filled. They'll probably let us out to start training soon."
Keiko nodded, eyeing the wall in search of the panels. She vaguely remembered seeing a boy come into the room one time, but it was drowned out with the thoughts she'd been hearing. Kurama on the other hand, was much more curious about the wall, sliding his hand against it and feeling the wards spark up at his touch. "I wonder why they kept so many of us together? I, you Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Keiko and Yukina are here...Hiei?"
Kuwabara nodded, watching the kitsunes thoughtful look as suddenly his hand met no resistance. Curious, Kurama felt around until his fingers felt the slightest indent. He worked out how to open the panel within a few minutes and it opened with the slightest click. As he studied the small space within, another click was heard and a panel at the other end of the small tunnel opened. Claws scrabbling against metal was heard before a small kitsune child jumped out, knocking Kurama back a bit from where he was crouched. Inquisitive forest green eyes gazed into the older kitsune's emerald ones. "Hello! Who are you?"
"Usually I would tell you Shuichi Minamino, but in here, call me Kurama," Kurama answered. Shippo assessed this, and Kurama could have sworn his eyes narrowed briefly in a shred calculating look the belied the innocence of his age. "Really? It sounds familiar. I'm Shippo."
Behind him, Yukina and Kuwabara exchanged a confused glance. He'd responded similarly to each of their names, and he looked positively gleeful at this new addition to the prison. Keiko frowned at the young fox kit. He glanced at her, eyes widening, then nodded to himself before addressing Kurama. "Hey, Keiko looks alright today! You must be pretty powerful if you got rid of her curse!"
Next to them, in Cell #342, the two boys listening rolled their eyes. Shippo overdid it sometimes.
Kurama smiled at the innocent praise and shook his head. "It had nothing to do with power, it had more to do with knowledge. It's only temporary anyway."
Shippo nodded, curious smile plastered on his face as he went up to Keiko, sniffing her gently. "She doesn't smell like she's in pain anymore! How do you have so much knowledge? And why do you smell like a kitsune, but also a human?"
Kurama hesitated to answer, looking to his companions. They shrugged, including Keiko. They couldn't tell Kurama if he should trust the kit or not. Kurama shrugged himself; the kit seemed innocent enough. "The spirit of a ghost kitsune who was over 300 years old live inside me, so I am both. A human body with some of the kitsune's abilities, and a few characteristics. He himself is sometimes a separate entity, and we can transform into our full kitsune body if need be."
"Really? That's so neat! What was your name back then?"
"Youko Kurama." Kurama couldn't help grinning at the enthusiasm shown from the child. Most children didn't want to listen to anyone older than them except their parents. It was good to see kitsune children still wanted to learn.
Shippo's eyes danced with excitement, though he hid it well. Just then, the boys in the other cell coughed twice and Shippo's eyes narrowed. "Sorry, got to go, the guards are coming to give us food. They can't see me like this."
Shippo was gone within a few bounds, the panels both clicking shut behind him. Keiko's frowned slightly and looked confused. "Do the guards come around this time? I mean, it's been awhile since I was really sane, but..." Keiko trailed off worriedly.
Yukina shook her head and looked towards the door. "No, the guards already came a couple of hours ago by the suns position, and won't come again for a few more. The children must be very confused. No adult supervision you see."
Kurama's eyes narrowed as Youko laughed in the back of his head. -He played you-
Kurama's jaw dropped at the thought and Youko's laughter turned into giggles. Kurama idly wondered if Youko was going insane. Youko just laughed harder. "Kitsunes," Kurama growled out.
Keiko raised an eyebrow and let out a small giggle, an amazingly sweet sound to the other three prisoners. "Kurama, you are a kitsune."
Kurama sighed. "I know. That makes it so much worse."
+-+
Inuyasha stifled another growl as he noticed the other demon's breathing had finally deepened into sleep. Inuyasha let out a malicious chuckle. How embarrassed Kagome would be when she woke up. Well, it was her fault for falling asleep on the floor after Kikyou had begun to fall asleep on his bed while Inuyasha was still in it. He just couldn't let his best friend and Kikyou's sister sleep on the floor. Unfortunately, Yusuke refused to give up his bed.
Inuyasha snickered as Kagome turned in her sleep and nuzzled into the demon sleeping next to her, sighing contentedly. Trust Kagome to find a way to make something even more embarrassing. Too bad they didn't have cameras with them. Inuyasha went back to growling when Yusuke's arms started going around Kagome. They jerked to a stop and Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were really asleep. Just because you've been in jail for a very long time doesn't mean you can decide Kagome is good choice of a girl to hit on."
"I'm not hitting on her Inuyasha, I'm trying to get comfortable. Growl at her, she's the one acting like Kuwabara's kitten," Yusuke grumbled, attempting to glare at the sleeping woman, but failing when she actually seemed to feel it and shivered. He looked at her in concern and then at Inuyasha. "Damn, just how sensitive to things is she?"
"Very. So don't touch her. You might wake her up." Inuyasha watched Yusuke and was surprised when the majin attempted to shrug while sleeping on his side and kept his hands away from Kagome.
"Right. No touching the woman you suggested I sleep in the same bed with. Bastard," Yusuke muttered under his breath before settling down and attempting to go to sleep.
Inuyasha heard Yusuke mutter something and narrowed his eyes before calming down, deciding he needed some sleep to. At least a little bit. He closed his eyes, planning just to take a short nap until the morning light entered their window again.
Inuyasha awoke to someone lightly poking his shoulder. Immediately recognizing Kikyou's sent and familiar way of waking him up, he opened his eyes and kissed her.
Kikyou smiled gently at the still sleepy expression on her hanyou's face even after he'd kissed her. "Good morning Inuyasha. I've missed you to. But, I think you should look at the bed next to us."
"What?" Inuyasha growled before he even looked, sitting up with a low snarl. Kikyou grasped his arm and he actually took in what he was seeing. Then he started snickering. "I hope Kagome wakes up first. She always blushes at the slightest things."
"It's her own fault. She really should learn not to move around so much in her sleep." Kikyou sat up and her eyes widened as she looked towards the window. "I think we slept a bit much Inuyasha."
Inuyasha jerked his head away from staring at the miko and majin and stared at the window. "Damn, this place is making me lazy."
"There are also new beds here," Kikyou commented. "We won't be able to share anymore."
"Oh. Hey, maybe they put us too sleep so they could put the furniture in. Yusuke said he's slept odd hours before and finds stuff moved around in here." Inuyasha smirked, a bit relieved that he wasn't losing his touch while in jail.
Kagome awoke slowly, hearing her sister and Inuyasha speaking. A bit loudly if they were trying not to wake anyone up. Of course, they probably didn't care. Kagome frowned as the voices continued, she didn't remember falling asleep on a bed. She would have thought she would have been on the floor. Kagome frowned and began to make the logical conclusion from what she'd last seen last night. Her sister and Inuyasha had been on Inuyasha's bed and Kikyou had been falling asleep next to Inuyasha. Inuyasha certainly wasn't going to move her from his bed, but she doubted he'd let her sleep on the cold floor. There had only been two beds when she went to sleep. And there was a hand loosely around her waist. Well, it was better than the floor right?
"If you're awake could you let go of my shirt now?" She heard the demon beside her murmur. She blinked and blushed bright red as she realized that in her sleep she had grabbed onto his shirt.
"Sorry," she muttered, slowly starting to inch backwards. She felt the hand around her waist remove itself and peeked upwards into amused brown eyes.
"'S alright. Just try not to act like a puppy in your sleep." He grinned as she seemed to blush even more and she tore her gaze from his to look down. Like he'd minded having a pretty girl in his bed all night. A warning growl stopped his eyes from wandering and he smirked as he met Inuyasha's protective golden eyes.
Yusuke sat up, studying the faces of the older miko and the hanyou. Oddly, Kikyou seemed more amused than Inuyasha. "Don't give me that look dog-boy. You're the one who suggested I put her in my bed."
Inuyasha snarled, and Kikyou gave a short chuckle. "I didn't know that Inuyasha could play matchmaker, especially when's he so protective of 'little' Kagome. Never mind that she could probably kick his ass."
Inuyasha and Kagome exchanged glances and then stared at Kikyou in confusion. "Evil clone maybe? Then again, maybe a not-so-evil clone?" Kagome grinned as Kikyou's normal frown appeared; though it had the slightest hint of a pout.
"I don't know, she smells a bit dirty. Maybe she's really an animated body." Inuyasha and Kagome's grins got larger as Kikyou really did pout. Then Kagome and Inuyasha said in unison, "An evil clay pot!"
"You know, I've noticed the only time you two put on this act is when I've managed to mention Kagome, matchmaking, and Inuyasha either doing the matchmaking or helping with it, all in the space of a few minutes. Why do I have the distinct impression you two have both eagerly held on to the 'Kagome has bad luck with boys' theory?" Kikyou's eyes were narrowed and she had a sweet smile that seemed to be bordering on sinister.
"Ah, come on Kikyou, we just like to play around. Though, my track record isn't exactly good. It's almost as bad as yours was before Inuyasha." Kagome added. Yusuke leaned back and listened to them chattering. They acted like a family, and he missed the banter between close friends, even if was on the outside this time.
"Inuyasha, what time is it?" Kagome suddenly asked. Inuyasha shrugged after he looked at the sun. Kagome slipped off of the bed and looked out the window, squinting.
"It's a bit past noon," Yusuke answered. Kagome nodded, then blinked.
"Hey, new beds!"
"Took you long enough to notice," Inuyasha said, snorting. Kagome shrugged, then eyed another door near the beds, under the window. "What's that?"
"The bathroom," Yusuke answered.
Kikyou and Kagome exchanged identical horrified looks. "Only one?"
The boys were stopped from making comments when two clicks were heard and voices came through the panels in the wall.
"I don't see why you were so interested in that other kitsune Shippo, it's probably nothing and... What's wrong?" Kohaku's voice floated through.
The question was never answered as scrambling was heard and an auburn haired head came through. With a squeal of, "Mama!" a small kitsune demon launched itself into Kagome's arms.
"Mama? Ah, Shippo, you do realize you’re a demon, right?" Yusuke eyed the small kitsune demon warily as he burst into laughter, soon followed by everyone else in the cell.
Kagome stopped laughing to explain. "I adopted him. He needed someone to look after him and who better to look after a demon than a miko? The only problem we ever have to worry about is that even with being a miko, he'll still outlive me by centuries. A miko can only slow the aging process so much. Though Shippo keeps insisting there's a way, he just says he can't tell me yet."
"There is a way Kagome, otherwise I and Inuyasha would not have pledge ourselves to each other," Kikyou said gently. Kagome shrugged and brushed it off. Yusuke decided to wisely drop the subject, focusing on what Kohaku had said before.
"Hey, Shippo, what was Kohaku talking about another kitsune?"
"Oh, just that in 344 there's a new kitsune. Or a sort of kitsune. He's human to. It's confusing." Shippo hid a grin as Yusuke's eyes widened. It was definitely them. They were the group everyone has whispered about for years. It all fit together, the fire apparition, the kitsune spirit, all of them, and especially the majin, Yusuke Urameshi.
Shippo caught Kagome's eye as she puzzled out the information and jumped back into her arms. "There are two humans and an ice apparition in there too Mama. There's so cool!"
Kagome kept her face carefully blank, but as her eyes met Kikyou, she saw the glee she felt reflected in her sister's eyes. The authorities were insane to put them all into the same prison. Unless there was someone out there who actually wanted Naraku to be killed, instead of letting him run free so they could send the 'criminals' to defeat him.
Yusuke's brows furrowed as the two girls both grinned before putting on equally blank faces. Inuyasha snorted, rolling his eyes. "I hate it when you two do that. You can speak out loud you know, not like anyone in here would care."
Shippo squeaked as alarms suddenly went off. Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Get back to your own cell before they notice you Shippo."
Shippo nodded and ran off, closing the panels behind him. Yusuke found all three of his cellmates staring at him. Kagome decided to voice the question they all had. "What the heck is going on? Why are there alarms going off? For that matter, how did those panels come to be, anyway? I can sense the wards."
"The alarms means we get to go outside for awhile. Hopefully a few days, because they don't let us out too often," Yusuke answered, ignoring the question about the panels. He'd explain it later. Right now he just wanted the door to start opening.
A click came from the doorway and the door swung open on it's own accord. Yusuke grinned and motioned them towards the door. "Outside we get to train. I guess we get to see just how powerful all of you newcomers are, don't we?"
Inuyasha smirked over his shoulder at the girls as he walked out. Kikyou and Kagome glanced at each other and grinned. As they stepped out, the door closed behind Kagome.
Kagome giggled to herself. "And we get to see how powerful the fabled four are," Kagome murmured under her breath.