"Was it near here?" Kojiro asked as he brushed his fingers through the strands of silky pink hair. It was such a vibrant, beautiful color.
"No, my shrine was in the mountains. I have traveled far these past few decades." Kaoru whispered.
"I'm sorry. If my family..." Kojiro couldn't say any more. A shudder rain through his body.
The Kitsune was so close that it shook him as well. He turned to see the haunted look that crossed over the strong happy face of the Fu dog. Kaoru reached out a hand to touch the warm skin. Kojiro shook himself. He gazed deep into the worried yellow eyes. Twisting his head, he kissed the palm of the Kitsune's hand.
"I'm sorry you went through that." He whispered.
Before he could say more, they pulled up to the restaurant. The driver circled the building, parking in the back near the door to the living quarters. Kojiro squeezed the Kitsune's hand.
"Stay here for just a moment." He whispered.
Getting out he walked to the driver. Kojiro sighed. "Can you and Reki do some security for me tonight?" he asked the blue haired teen.
"Whatcha need?" Langa opened the trunk, then stepped back. He knew better than to get in Kojiro's way.
"The new heir to the Shindo estate isn't what he appears to be." Kojiro stated as he loaded up his muscles with all the bags from the trunk. There was only two he couldn't grasp. Lange seized them.
"Alright. You protecting the fox?" Langa asked peering into the back seat where the Kitsune sat patiently.
"Yes." Kojiro tore his eyes from the proud head of pink hair.
"Spread the word. He is under my protection." He demanded.
"You got it." Langa popped open the door. He nodded for the Kitsune to get in-between him and Kojiro.
"You stink." Kaoru held his hand over his nose. He then lowered it to lean into the teen.
Sniffing at his shoulder he winced stepping back again. While in the car Langa had kept the partition up between the front and back seats. The smell of musky sweat and cold spewed off of him. Kaoru gasped. He hadn't smelled this scent since...
"You're a Yeti!" He cried softly leaning into Langa once more.
A large hand grasped his shoulder dragging him back into the house. Langa sat his bags next to the ones Kojiro brought in. Kojiro let the Kitsune go. He glared at Kaoru, but the fox only had eyes for the teen. Kojiro felt a pang in his chest at the delighted way the Kitsune watched the boy. Kaoru wrung his hands together.
"I haven't seen a Yeti since I left my mountain. Where are you from?" he gushed.
"Canada." Langa drawled out. This dimmed some of Kaoru's excitement.
"Oh." He pouted. Kojiro let out his breath. He wanted to laugh at how disappointed the Kitsune looked. Then a thought accused to him.
"He was your friend, the Yeti?" Kojiro asked softly.
Kaoru turned his back on them, but nodded as he swiped at his eyes. Kojiro wanted nothing more than to walk up to the fox, pull him into his arms in order to make him feel safer.
"Well, Langa is a Yeti, his boy..um best friend is a red panda. They have another friend who is a..." Kojiro coughed half covering the word he spit out.
"Nekomata."
"A cat?" Kaoru's laugh tinkled in the air. Kojiro's head shot up. He loved that sound.
"Its fine, I'm very disciplined." Kaoru smirked at him.
"I'll be off then. I'll get Reki to help with your request." Langa waved to them.
Kojiro began to unload the bags of food. Kaoru stood in the center of the room. His hands were tucked into his sleeves. He looked a little lost just being indoors. Kojiro tossed a loaf of bread at him. With the quick reflexes of his ancestry, he caught it. Blinking he looked up to Kojiro.
"Hey, help out alright. Just uh, put that on top of the fridge, then take everything out of the bags." He ordered.
"You want my story." Kaoru muttered as he turned to take care of the bread.
"If you're ready to tell me." Kojiro's voice was soft in the stillness.
To keep his hands busy, Kaoru went to unload the groceries.
"It was him, well his family that owned the land my shrine was on. They wanted the power of the Kitsune for themselves. Father was fretful for weeks. I didn't know all the harassment they were giving him, but I knew some." Kaoru's voice drifted into that of a storyteller. Kojiro watched as he slowly took care of the foods his new friend was placing on the counter.
"The eldest son was just coming of age. His father wanted my father's power. So, he sent his son out to get it. He was suppose to capture us all. I guess he got a bit carried away. He tried so many different things, but my father..." Kojiro almost interrupted the story with the gasp that escaped his lips.
As Kaoru talked, it was evident he was back in those mountains. He was smiling as he thought of his father, his family. Kaoru sighed, shaking himself as he went back to the present day task at hand.
"... was a nine tailed Kitsune." Here Kojiro couldn't help but to whistle.
"Yes, but a demon took him out. A demon who went after his wife and children first. Father fought, of course, but mother wasn't strong enough to defend herself. She had an aliment that we were trying to cure." He whispered.
"They killed her before my father. They weren't suppose to, but when you use demons a child can control, well..." Kaoru shrugged one thin shoulder.
"The mist was supposed to scare my sister and I back to the shrine." He shivered as his hand stilled on a can.
It took a moment but he eventually came back to himself. He went on to unload another bag as he continued his story. Kojiro wanting more and more to just draw the small fragile looking fox into his arms. He wanted to pet the soft silky hair, scratch those pretty pointed ears, brush the smooth sleek tails... Shaking himself he refocused on what the Kitsune was saying.
"...too fast. She was stuck in the mud so it just devoured her." Kaoru's voice choked up a little. Kojiro held out a hand but the Kitsune just shook his head.
"No, I'm fine." Kaoru muttered.
"After that was when I hid. For a time I was free. They assumed we all had perished in the fight. I lived trying to figure out the human world for about five human years. Each day harder than the last until I met a phantom. He gave me a place to live. Helped me to get accumulated with this new world I found myself in. All I gave him was a painful death..."
Kaoru was done unloading the bags. He began to fold them back up as he placed them inside another one. His yellow eyes were haunted as he continued on with his story.
"The Nuraihyon are a hunting species. Oh don't get me wrong, they are lazy and prefer to sit back basking in their wealth." Kaoru quickly added when he saw the slight look of disbelief on the Fu dogs face.
"When there is a hint that they can increase their wealth, they will stop at no means to get it." He added spitefully.
"He found me one day simply by chance. I had gone to the local market. The flowers had just come in. Their scents filled the air. It was such a wonderful thing. I couldn't help but to laugh as I breathed in their aroma. The laugh of a Kitsune is said to be distinctive." He huffed.
"Ainosuke found you?" Kojiro asked.
The Kitsune shook his head. "No, it was his servant. He did give me a chance to run. Came up to me to tell me how evil his master was. He even went so far as to say he would be busy all day, but that by nightfall, he would have to tell his master about seeing me."
Kaoru shivered at the memory. He plucked the bags off of the counter to place them in a cupboard. Turning back, he couldn't meet Kojiro's eyes. The Fu dog waited patiently as he began to cook them something for lunch.
"It wasn't much of a warning. I told my friend and he tried to set something up for us to escape, but phantoms work far slower than demons. The Nuraihyon caught us within hours of our attempted escape. Now he knew I was alive." Kaoru shivered.
Warm hands squeezed his shoulders. They ran down his arms spreading their warmth throughout his torso. Gently they pulled him back against the strong hard chest. Kaoru buried his head between the man's pecs. He breathed in the musky war smell of the Fu dog. His warmth radiated through Kaoru.
"I've been running ever since. No one can stand against him..." He hiccupped a cry.
"I'm afraid, I may have killed you too." He whimpered as he clung to the strong arms.
Karou's head bounced against the rock hard chiseled chest. Those soft warm hands rubbed the cold out of his back.
"Do you feel this, Kaoru?" Kojiro asked as he spread his warmth into the chilled Kitsune.
Kaoru was unable to answer. He could only nod. "I am strong, more powerful than a demon while I am in my house." He reminded him.
"But you leave your house from time to time." Kaoru pointed out.
"We stocked up. I have enough supplies to keep us well fed, even with how you eat!" Kojiro couldn't help putting the jab in there. He was rewarded by a tiny giggle coming from the face in his chest.
"We won't have to leave here until my sister comes back. Together we are even stronger. Don't forget..." He gently tilted Kaoru's head up.
"We have a yeti!" He laughed.
Kojiro reached his hand up. He stroked the soft tips of the pink ears. The fox purred slightly. He lowered his hand to scratch under the Kitsune's chin. The laugh of a fox is something he never thought he would find so alluring. They way it made this foxes golden eyes shine. How the light danced off of them. Kojiro knew, if death waited for him, than he would face it head on to protect this delicately strong creature.
Without a word, he lowered his head to press a kiss to the soft pale pink lips. He flet a claw like hand slip up into his hair.