Two months later, and the rain hadn't let up a bit. The city was beginning to panic, and crime was going up. Some people were forced out of their homes, due to flooding in their basement. The Kuwabara's had relocated to the temple, as well as Keiko and Yusuke. Kurama had come as well, and much to San's surprise, Kaito, Mitsunari, Kido, and Mitarai. The four humans came to the temple not too long ago, knowing that something was afoot and wishing to help out with whatever was going on. Mitarai was extremely helpful, his control of water keeping the temple from damage. The most unexpected recruit to show up was Sniper. At first, San wasn't sure where his loyalties lied, but she used her telepathic ability to figure it out.
The temple was full, but everyone pitched in to make sure it stayed clean and they had food. The guest rooms were running out, so some had to share with others. Kurama, of course, stayed with San in her room, and she was thoroughly enjoying it, despite the events at foot. The problem was, there wasn't any information to give. San had located Jin and the others, but she was waiting for them to come to the temple. She wasn't going to inform Yomi about anything until the time was right.
During the waiting period, San continued to bring food to the wolves, hoping to gain some more information. They had been stuck in their den, rarely able to hunt with all this rain. San feared they would relocate, but she was sure she'd be able to find them again if they had left. She just hoped that this rain disappeared before long, or else many animals would start to die off. The Earth was crying, and she felt so powerless, being unable to do anything about it.
Kurama did his best to console her, but even he was starting to feel the connection she had with nature, and why it bothered her so. They spent most of their time in her room, planning and plotting. It was much easier when they could bounce ideas off of each other. They couldn't figure out anything to do with the name San heard, Hiroki. They couldn't recall a time when he had ever popped up or anything like that.
San sighed, sitting in her lover's embrace, and continued to look up at the sky. The tarp had been replaced with a much stronger one, and her room felt gross. But she rarely closed the door to her garden, only when it was cold out. Kurama ran his fingers gently up and down her arm, his mind in deep thought. Without the extra information provided by Touya and the others, as well as the wolf clan, all they could do was wait. At this particular day, it was three months since the rain had started, and his family had went on an all expenses paid for vacation at the insistence of his step father's company. Kurama politely declined the invitation, telling his mother he would stay with friends. Besides, it was about time he found a place to live on his own.
"The others will hopefully arrive soon," said Kurama lightly. He didn't get a response. He looked down and noticed she had fallen asleep. He smiled sadly, pulling her blanket over them. She needed to sleep, and with the sky dark, it was always hard to tell what time of day it was. He noticed the others had started to get edgy with each other. Keiko and Yusuke fought, as well as Kuwabara and Shizuru. Hiei had flat out refused to stay at the temple, but Kurama knew that he was around the area, or gathering information in Makai.
The door to the room opened, and Keiko poked her head through it. Kurama looked up expectantly at her.
"Koenma is here. He wants to speak with everyone in the dojo," she said lightly, probably to avoid waking up San. Kurama nodded at her, and she closed the door quietly. He sighed, wishing that he didn't have to wake up his mate. He moved gently so he could see her better, and then began to play with her ear. Her face began to look annoyed, as she moved away from his touch. He continued his efforts, however.
"That's really irritating, Youko," she spoke sleepily. Kurama smiled, knowing it was her natural response from when he used to do this to her all the time. It was the only way he knew of to wake her up without shaking her violently. She opened her tawny eyes and looked at him. His smile was infectious, and she couldn't help but mimic it, "Sorry. Habit."
"I know koi. But the name isn't anything, we are the same, as you've so pointed out," he said lightly.
"What's up anyway?"
"Koenma wishes to speak with us in the dojo?"
"Why us?"
"Everyone."
"Well why didn't you say that then?"
"I didn't mean just us..."
"Well say what you mean man!" she laughed then. She got up from her bed, the blanket falling to the floor, and waited for him to be ready. It didn't take very long, all he really had to do was get up. San led the way to go dojo, wondering what Koenma could possibly want.
...
"As most of you know, there's a problem," Koenma began after Kurama and San had entered the dojo, "There is a demon out there making a lot of noise in Makai. We don't know much about him, but we do know that he isn't interested in ruling it, he wants all the worlds in one. He did not participate in the Demon World Tournament, nor did any of his followers. The only thing we know, is he has a vengeance on my father."
"You don't know where or who he is?" asked Kaito.
"No. His power is the most powerful we have ever encountered."
"Hn. You fools should have been on this since you took down the barrier," said Hiei.
"Perhaps. But with my father's crimes, there was no way we could have prepared for this."
"The name of the demon is Hiroki," Kurama spoke, "He caused the eclipse here, and the rain is apart of his power as well."
"How do you know this?" Koenma looked surprised.
"The wolves in the forest gather a lot of information, Koenma. We need to be aware of what surrounds us, that is how we protect ourselves," explained San.
Koenma nodded, "Very well. I need you, Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara to be ready for when this demon attacks."
"What about the rest of us?" asked Mitarai.
"Damage control. You are nowhere near powerful enough to handle a demon like this. But the city needs to be protected as well. The gate needs to be guarded."
It didn't seem that the humans like their particular job, but they nodded anyway. San stared at Koenma suspiciously. There was something he wasn't telling them, and she wasn't sure how exactly to approach the subject. This sense of impending doom was really getting to her, and she didn't feel she was willing to be lead around blindly by the nose by Reikai idiots. But they had been taking orders from Koenma for a while, and so far they seemed to be doing fine. On top of that, the four of them were some of the most powerful demons ever. Put together with the unlimited power of reiki that Kuwabara possessed, this shouldn't be so hard. So why this bad feeling?
...
Another month of constant rain, and San got a huge surprise. The sun had come out for the day. Her spirits lifting, she went outside, not caring that her bare feet got wet. Her mate was at her side, and then, they began to run. This freedom, she hadn't felt it in a while, and wished that the rain would be gone. She ran for hours, knowing that this was a small break. The rain would be back, she could smell it in the air.
When they returned to the temple, they saw the others enjoying the outside as well. It seemed that they really needed this, the weather really getting to all of them. Another little surprise waited for them as well. Jin, Touya, Chu, Rinku, Suzuka and Shishiwakamaru were there. But not just them, Kenji, the messenger for Ozora had also come. San knew it was only a matter of time before they all had to get back to business, but for now, the time of play was about.
Kurama and San greeted their friends, and Kenji took her aside to catch up on everything. San dismissed it, however, not wanting to ruin the feeling of freedom too soon. The weather had other feelings about that. Droplets of water started to reach her cheeks, and a giant unifying groan was heard from the occupants of the temple. San smiled sadly, watching everyone go inside, wishing that this could have lasted longer. One thing was for certain though, with this rain still here, the threat was still about and nothing had changed thus far. San took Kenji into the dojo with her, Kurama and the other demons following, as well as Kuwabara. Once inside, Kenji bowed, saluting her.
"Your Majesty," he spoke, "I bring news from Regent Ozora."
San rolled her eyes, wishing that hadn't have been so technical.
"Wait, you're ruling the wolves again?" asked Kuwabara.
"No. Their recently made Regent King decided he didn't want the title. He tried to get me to take over all the crap again and I just made him Regent to deal with it. He has all my responsibilities, by the final word of anything is still my say."
"Sounds like a good way to avoid doing work," Yusuke smirked.
San glared at him, "You would know all about that, wouldn't you? Kenji, what have you found?"
"The reports gathered from our best men show that our enemy is ranked beyond the S class," said the messenger of the wolf clan.
"What?" exclaimed Kuwabara, "How is that even possible?"
"Aye. It be a might difficult to work us up to that power, that's for sure," said Jin.
"His name is Hiroki, and his goal is to rule all three worlds," Kenji continued, "He doesn't have very many followers, but we know he resides here in the Ningenkai. It's actually not too far from this location."
Now that was a surprise. San didn't think he would stay here in this world.
"Well, that just makes it easier for us to go and deal with," said Yusuke.
"If the demon is as powerful as this wolf says, it will take all of our strength to defeat him," said Touya.
"Right, let's show 'em a thing or two, eh," said Chu, taking a drink.
"It would be unwise to charge in there without first finding out more about this location," said Kurama.
"It's a good point," said Koenma, walking into the dojo with Genkai.
"Dimwit, you should have learned by now not to go in without knowing your enemy," said Genkai.
"Relax. I'm sure we can figure this out before it turns ugly," said Yusuke.
"I can scout with Hiei," said San. The fire apparition nodded at her once, "Kenji, do you know the exact location?"
The messenger nodded, "Yes. Permission to speak freely, my Queen."
"Speak."
"I can scout with you. I know the terrain well and have had much experience in the field. From the sounds of it, we'll need all the help we can get."
"Agreed. The three of us will scout, the rest of you hide and hide well. If this demon is as powerful as he claims to be, then we don't want to be caught separated."
"When do we attack?" asked Kuwabara.
"Tomorrow, we'll begin. Once we figure out everything we need to, we'll attack the best way possible," said San, her eyes never leaving her mate's. He nodded at her, knowing that there wasn't anything else they could do at the moment. With nothing else to be said, the others began to leave the dojo.
...
San walked into her garden under the tarp. She knew it was night time now, and she knew that she had a long day ahead of her. Her mate wasn't present, but he was somewhere in the temple. She liked having him here, it gave her a sort of strength she hadn't been feeling since the eclipse. It felt like no matter what was happening, they would be okay.
She tended to her garden, putting the tarp back up. The sun was nice, some of the plants needed it. But there was just too much water. Besides, it was nice to know she could be outside without getting wet, even though it only smelled of rain. Her lamp weeds lit up the path she needed to walk on, and she made sure she could see everything around her. It was peaceful here, despite the sound of the rain on the tarp. She made her own chair, staring at her sacred dragonite tree. She could feel its power, Kurama's constant presence really feeding into it.
She heard the door to her room close and smiled. She could smell her shampoo in his hair, and knew that he had gone to shower. She looked and caught his eye. He was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, and she couldn't exactly look away. Kurama met her gaze, and noted her eyes looked hungry. He walked towards her, not really caring that his feet would get dirty once more. She followed his movements, that same unblinking stare upon him. She was the luckiest wolf alive to have such a wonderful creature all to herself.
Kurama stood before her, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him. She stood from her spot, already out of breath. He let go of her hand, and trailed his lightly up to her shoulder, her neck, and then he gently grabbed her chin and kissed her fiercely. San wasn't going to argue with this, and she pulled him close to her, doing away with his towel. It fell to the dirty ground, but neither of them cared. She felt so alive at this moment, and wasted no time in mating with her kitsune.
He was her saviour, the key to her world of utter bliss. He was perfect, legendary, in many more ways than one. His every movement fueled her desire, and his gentle caresses made her feel warm and at peace. He never once had betrayed her, had ever made her feel less than what she was, and never seriously hurt her. He was everything she could ever want in life, and everything she could ever ask for. He had never made her feel unworthy of him, always treated her as his equal. The legendary bandit, her precious kitsune.
She was a goddess, he could never be away from her for too long. Her loyalty was strong and true, and she never failed to keep him smiling. Her movements were graceful, and only attracted him more. Her touch was always soft, and her aroma utterly intoxicating. She had never tried to harm him, never once betrayed him, and never made him feel less than who he was. She was beautiful, truly an exquisite creature, and only for him. She was perfect, everything he could ever want, her equal in every way. The Queen of the Wolf Clan, his beloved ookami.
He looked upon his mark, the one left by him on her shoulder blade. It had begun to fade. He pressed his lips there, kissing it once, before biting into it and restoring it to its fullness. She cried out in eagerness, this night much like the first time they had mated, and he kissed her soon after that. The mark may begin to fade at times, but it would never truly be gone. Their bond was much too strong for that. They laid down together, not bothering to move after leaving their world of pure heaven. Their breathing was hard, but he held her close in his arms.
He was so warm, she could die happy at this moment. He kissed her cheek and she smiled, her fingers finding his and linking together, "So much for a shower," she whispered.
Kurama chuckled. How right she was. They were both lying in the dirt together, completely naked, "I suppose so, koi."
"We should sleep. The rain will slow us down, especially when we need to hide our tracks."
"I'm worried, San. Let me scout with you."
"No, love. I need you here for the others in case something happens."
"If you remember correctly, I was the one that had to show you stealth."
"Yes, and now the pupil has surpassed the master. Aren't you proud of me?" she turned to him, smiling brightly. He laughed, unable to keep himself from doing so.
"Yes koi," he kissed her, "I'm always proud of you."
"Aw. Well isn't that nice."
"Be careful out there. Don't get too close."
"I know. Do you think my power will return soon?"
"I'm not quite sure, San. But we'll do what we can without it. I went a long time before I dropped in on you."
"Yeah I guess. It would make me feel a little more secure though."
"You'll be fine. As you said, we should sleep. There is a long day ahead tomorrow."
"I know. One other thing though."
"Yes koi?"
"Don't try to trail behind me. I know when you do it, you make too much noise."
Kurama chuckled slightly, nodding at her.