He fell into Youko's memory, waking in a tree and facing the same stone wall as before. Kurama stood. He had succeeded in returning to the place without his former self leading the way, but it remained to be seen how the fox would react to his impulsiveness. He turned, eyes narrowed in preparation for Youko's appearance. A songbird chortled in the trees near him. Calling out its own welcome, a hawk circled overhead. Kurama straightened. There was nothing. The shadows moved over him in a light morning breeze and a walking stick pricked its way across his hand. Kurama remained still.
Youko had never done this before. Once before, Kurama had coerced his former self to show something before the fox had wanted to; however, after a game of hide and seek, he had relented and shown Kurama the technique. Something was different here. Youko had closed himself off. No hint of his emotions ran over the scene. Youko was different here.
Kurama flicked a spider off his wrist, grabbing the nearest branch. It had not been a mistake. This was one of the most potent memories to his former self. Youko had dispersed the memory that afternoon on purpose, and if Kurama hadn't brought the memory out with his own powers, he would not have shown more of it for a long time. Kurama's heart pounded in his ears. He climbed into the next level. Springing, he leapt into the branches above that. This memory didn't hold techniques or glimpses of their thieving exploits. It held more of Youko's, no, their heart.
A green caterpillar, decorated with orange spots and black horns crawled across a branch near Kurama's eyes. He had to wonder if breaking into this memory would shatter some of the last ties separating the two halves; human from the demon, the past from the present, Youko Kurama of the ghost stories from Kurama, a demon who had grown bonds and now watched humans with compassionate eyes.
A flash of silver passed him. Kurama turned, but Youko had left. The glimpse, though, gave him the answer. Neither of them could go back now that he, himself, had recalled the memory.
Kurama's hand found the branch above his head. The wall rose higher than his perch still, and the memory lay behind the stone. His climb wasn't over. Kurama sprang up into the next tree level, landing balanced on the thinning branches. The tree swayed as a stronger wind whispered past.
"The river is beyond the wall.
The town is over the forest,
but here, my dear, you will stay.
Here in my arms,
in my heart.
if I die,
if I leave.
You will stay here.
The river spins and spins.
Above our heads, it moves on.
Though we cannot see.
It is there, spinning, spinning,
connecting us all.
I love you.
The wind tells you too. "
The lullaby wrapped around Kurama and his hand stilled. Wind rising around him, he listened. Strangely familiar, the low song resounded deep inside him. The lyrics spoke of loss and love, but it echoed of more. Kurama broke a branch, startling himself out of contemplation, and climbed higher. The singer began a new verse.
"Here you will stay.
Here in my arms,
watching the treetops sway,
you will stay.
I will not let you go.
I will not leave,
my dear, my loved one,
as long as the wind blows."
Kurama paused once more and listened. As the stanza ended, he chuckled quietly, "I’m afraid, whoever you are, that your trick, clever as it may be, will not work on me." With a white film around his arm, the presence of Youko, he pulled something invisible from the air. His former self withdrew again.
A transparent roped formed in Kurama's hand, attempting to twine around his wrist. More had begun to wrap around his middle, and a few had already knotted around his ankles and knees, tendrils of demon energy. Kurama broke the ropes in a slash of his own youki. With the wind, they drifted away back towards the wall, yet as the singer started to hum, they began to spin around and around each other, reforming and arching back towards him. Kurama smirked, momentarily forgetting his inner turmoil, at the challenge presented and materialized his demon energy as a rose.
The ropes seemed to hiss. Kurama narrowed his eyes, letting the rose scent and his own power intensify. He closed his eyes as he felt a small shudder in the spell. "Let's see," the fox thief purred, extending his flower, "how powerful this trick really is." Green eyes dancing, he watched the flimsy ropes braid into stronger ones at his intrusion, the intrusion of a stronger demon. "Rose whip," he whispered and spun into the next tree branches. The ropes surged towards him.
The trap was simple but well formed. Anyone who attempted to climb upwards towards the wall would hear the song. The ropes would then form and wrap around their bodies. The climber would feel his/her limbs grow heavier and eventually would give up the adventure. The clever spell deterred visitors from exploring too far, getting too close to the top of the wall.
Laughing to himself, Kurama leapt again, slicing three threads of youki down the middle and ripping two more with his hands. Shuddering, the fragments fell apart, swaying with the wind. He chuckled, landing again. The trap hadn't been built for confrontation but disguise, and with his assault, it should fall apart.
"I almost feel sorry for—"
Eyes widening, Kurama ducked as a chain swung towards his head. Another length headed towards his feet. He narrowed his eyes and jumped. A gust of wind tore at his hair and passed through the great tree. Designed to snap limbs, this curse was going too far. Something smelled rotten. Kurama materialized his whip again and waited. As the chain creaked back towards him, he leapt towards it, wrapping his rose whip around a link. Using the momentum, he yanked, changing its course, and tossed a seed. The chains crashed into each other. Scorch marks spread over a portion of the wall.
Kurama swung from a vine rope, the plant he had grown barely embedded high into the wall. His form snapped with energy and burns marred one of his hands. There had been one more piece to the wall's defenses, spirit energy. That power had twined completely around the youki and it had directed the last murderous assault. Youko's anger overrode Kurama's irritation. What was one of the Spirit Ruler's spawn doing directing demon energy and setting a trap to maim any demons that got past the camouflaged trick of the youki?
