-

The full moon was high above their heads as they both remained silent. Yokou Kurama sat by his prey, she had given up trying to wriggle free from the grasp of the vines.

"...Why am I like this?..." He heard her whisper ever so silently... His ears perked up, but he made no sound or movement as she continued, "I used to be normal..." He looked down at her now, his expression unreadable, but more like a spaced out kind of stare...

Silence once again came between the two. The wind was blowing slowly, quietly, gently rustling the trees and sending shivers down Makoto's spine. She looked up briefly at her captor, wondering if he was listening. When she found that he was staring at her, she returned her gaze to the dirt beneath her. "One day... I was just walking to my home from my job as usual... And... I took a shortcut... I've been through the path once or twice, so I decided to get familiar with it..."

She paused as another breeze silently passed the two by. Kurama's hair lingered along, trying to catch a lift, almost, but fell back to his body. Now the demon's eyes took on a look of slight interest.

Taking this as a sign to continue on, she spoke, "I came across this pretty house... And by its window, there were all of these pretty flowers... I loved flowers, so I guess I couldn't help it... I came closer to look at them... Then I noticed the window was open... I know it was wrong of me, but I couldn't help myself, I peeked in the room... But no one was there, and the window was open... And... And on the window sill... There's was the most beautiful rose I've ever seen..." Her eyes took on a glow of enchantment at the rememberance of the beautiful rose. It was white, but like a curtain, it had strange little patterns all over it... So complicated yet so simple...

Kurama closed his eyes, already knowing where this story was going.

Makoto sighed, "I leaned in to see what it smelled like.. It smelled so sweet.. But I've never seen such a flower in my life. I sniffed it again. I could never forget the scent... Not ever..."

"You began to change after that, didn't you." Kurama stated more than asked. She looked at him in disbelief but said nothing. "That plant... Was one of my experiments... I guess I should not have let it out in the open like that. But I hadn't expected anything to happen while I was out.

She stared at him with wide eyes, "But that's impossible! You look like a demon! How could you-"

"I have a human form." He interrupted.

She remained silent as she remembered how some weirdos came and 'took her to another world.' Kurama was busy figuring out what might have happened after her transformation. Koenma probably spotted the demon in the human world and sent after her, thinking she would do harm...

"What are you going to do with me?..." She whispered. No longer frightened, but still, she had a right to know.

"Nothing."

"What?"

He raised his hand a little, and the vine loosened enough for her to slip right out. And so she did.. She sat across from him now, each staring into the other's eyes. "Why don't you run for your life now?" He asked, slightly bemused.

"I don't know where to go... And I have a feeling... That you won't hurt me."

She had a point...

Kurama could feel her sadness slightly, she didn't want to be this way, he guessed. He had some things to clear up for Koenma. But first... Maybe he'd play with her a bit longer... "Oh? How could you be so sure?" He asked, a menacing grin plastered upon his face.

The girl didn't even flinch, "...I don't know." Simple.

His grin vanished as he looked more deeply into her eyes. A small voice lingering in the back of his head... 'Maybe there's more to it than that...' He resisted the urge to shake the voice out of his head, literally. He suddenly felt the urge to try and scare her at least. He didn't know why, but he just felt a bit mischievous this particular night. Leaning in forward, he was close enough so that their noses almost touched.

"Maybe you should run, right now... Or I just 'may' do something... Unpleasant?"

Makoto bit her lower lip, trying to look somewhere else. Anywhere but the demon before her, which was almost impossible now that he was mere inches away from her face. "...And... What could that be?"

He frowned. This girl was indeed a bit bold. Then again what fun would it be if she were a coward?...As he dwelled amongst his thoughts, he hadn't realized that he had leaned in the rest of the way. That he had closed the distance between the two.

Clouds moved over the moon and blocked its rays, causing the atmosphere to slightly darken. Makoto's eyes went wide with surprise, and so did his when he noticed what he was doing. But he didn't pull away... It almost felt... Natural. The girl got over her shock, almost leaning into the kiss.

Around this stranger... This demon... She felt a new sense of hope, strength, security... And the budding blossom that was perhaps called... Love?

-

I was glad to have written this for you JupiterLover. It was quite interesting! XD And I hope you liked it!