My Affliction

By: Bomb-O-Maniac

Disclaimer: I own the bad guy and Monty. So lets leave them to me because I'm dirt poor and don't have a job… This happens… uh… I dunno… OH! And I don't own the song lyrics. Special (Heh Heh) brownies for those who can tell me what song it is!

"Hey Shizuru?"

"Yea girl?"

"D - do you think we'll ever get out of here?"

"Of course we will." Came the confident reply from the older woman. "Don't you worry Keiko. Yusuke will come and rescue his princess before long, and Kazuma and Hiei will come busting through the walls, swords swinging, demanding that Yukina be let go before Hiei burns this hell hole to the ground." She smirked slightly at the timid giggles that came from Yukina.

"… Knowing him he'd burn it down anyways." Keiko said chuckled.

"Yes. He is very protective isn't he?" Yukina said quietly.

"Yea, he is. So is Yusuke." Keiko murmured.

"Yea…" Shizuru agreed softly.

A silence fell over the trio in the darkness. Shizuru didn't enjoy the sinking feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Who would be coming to bash in the walls and rescue her?

"Shizuru-san?"

"Yea?"

"…What about you?" Yukina asked.

"Huh?"

"Who's going to come and rescue you?" the ice maiden clarified. Shizuru thought a few seconds.

"No one but myself." she said bluntly, looking down at her lap in the ethereal dim light.

No one's going to come for me… I'm on my own…

"DAMN IT!" Yelled a very harried Yusuke Urameshi followed by two equally frustrated demons and one quite unhappy human. They had just come back from yet another unfruitful search for the girls.

Behind him, Kurama sighed and rubbed his eyes. The combined searches, sleepless nights he'd been having lately, the nightmare's that came when he did sleep, being worried sick, and not to mention keeping his friends off of each other were taking their toll drastically. It was all he could do to stop himself from stringing them all up on his rose whip, and feeding them to his death tree.

Kurama stepped up and put a hand on the half demons shoulder.

"Yusuke please, control you temp-" He was cut off when the demon lords fist came flying around and caught him in the jaw, sending him flying into a wall with an audible crunch. The fox slid down the wall to the floor. A small trail of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Yusuke froze.

"Oh my god…" he breathed.

Hiei and Kuwabara had stopped in their tracks the moment Yusuke's fist flew.

"Yusuke! Yusuke!" Botan chirped as she ran up to them, but froze when she caught sight of the red head. "What happened to Kurama?"

"Why don't you ask the detective." Hiei snarled out. Yusuke winced at the glare Botan sent him.

"What did you do?" she demanded, making her way over to Kurama. Softly, she put her hands on Kuramas shoulder and was shocked when he jerked out of her grasp.

"Don't touch me…" he growled and shoved her away, his voice deeper than it's normal. Botan frowned and leaned in again.

"Can't you hear wench? I said don't touch me." he snarled and gripped her wrist tightly. Kurama lifted his head and glared at her with eyes that were mixed with gold and green. "Do it again and I break it into a thousand pieces." He snarled. Botan nodded her head, eyes wide with fear, and he let go. She scrambled back away from him quickly.

Hiei watched all this through narrowed eyes. He saw Kuwabara take a step fore ward.

"Hey, Kurama…" he said gently. The fox turned his gaze to large human, and Hiei had to suppress a shudder.

"If you like being in one piece, I suggest you don't come any closer." the red head snapped. Kuwabara beat a hasty retreat.

Hiei continued to watch. He didn't show it but he was puzzled over his friends uncharacteristic behavior. Kurama never acted like this. So why was he acting like it now? Was it family problems? Was his mother sick again? Was it (god forbid) mating season for the fox? Possible scenarios ran through Hiei's head as he continued to watch - distinctly noticing that the air in the room could be cut with the dullest of butter knives it was so think with tension.

Yusuke tensed even more when Kurama began to pick himself up off the floor. He hadn't meant to hit the red head human kitsune, he really didn't! It had just sorta happened!

…and it hurt too. He could already feel a bruise beginning to form. What the hell was he made out of! Not to mention that it hadn't even fazed the demon turned human. The one punch from Yusuke Urameshi on the verge of making a complete transformation to his demon self should have at least kept him on the floor for the next week! He felt Kurama's gaze fall on him and he looked into his multicolored eyes.

Kurama grinned. It wasn't a nice grin, or anything close to relatively pleasant. In fact, it was more reminiscent of cold hearted self that he lived as for the past so many thousand years. His eyes seemed alive with more than just malicious intent.

The raven haired teenager took an involuntary step back and an inaudible gulp. Kurama's grin widened and took on a more sinister look.

"Sayonara… Detectives…" he said, using the fire demons nick name for Yusuke. His bright eyes scanned over the rest of the Rekai Tantei. Kurama's gaze lasted on Hiei just a moment longer than the others. The smile he wore became brighter when Hiei tensed and his eyes narrowed. He turned away from them.

After he had turned, the red haired kitsune disappeared with out a trace of him being there at all.

Yukina stared at nothing in particular. There were no guards, but there were wards sp she couldn't use her powers. She felt completely helpless... again. She was always one to be captured. Captured and weak. She felt ashamed of herself. Why couldn't she be stronger? Like Kuwabara, Yusuke, Kurama... and Hiei? How she wished that Hiei was really her brother. He always looked after he no matter what.

The ice maiden sighed imperceptibly.

She wished she could be more like the rain.

Like the tears of an angel… bringing life to the earth… a mighty force to be reckoned with…

But that wasn't her. Yukina wasn't like the rain…

Yet, she wished now even more for strength, to be free…

As Shizuru might put it, where the hell was her night in shining armor?

….Just not quite as vulgar as Shizuru might put it…

I dream of god…

I dream of love…

Keiko struggled to keep her self at peace. She was losing it. She was going to go insane, completely, irreversibly, positively INSANE!

She wanted OUT!

Out!

Out…

Was that so much to ask for? All she wanted was to get out. For Yusuke to come and set her free. To take her in his arms and stroke her hair. To murmur sweet nothings into her ear.

To love her forever.

Like a fairy tale.

Forever and ever.

Was that just to much to ask for?

I lift my gaze to empty skies above

I close my eyes, and the rare perfume is sweet intoxication of my love…

Shizuru took a deep breath and exhaled. Calming her mind had always been an easy task for her. Cool, calm, and collected was her way of life. The living, breathing incarnation of suave and sassy.

That was Shizuru.

At the moment, she was not being 'Shizuru'. She was, to put it bluntly, freaked out to the nth degree and then some. She was being everything she strived to never be.

Before she had to be strong for her baby brother when their parents died.

Before she had to be strong for Kuwabara when Yukina left.

Before she had to be strong for Keiko whenever Yusuke did something brash.

Before she had to be strong for everyone during the tournaments.

A little voice nagged at her in the back of her mind. No one was strong for her when her parents died. No one was strong for her when Sakyo died.

No one was strong for her.

She replied to the voice in her head.

I was strong… And I will be strong now… for every one…

Shizuru sighed.

Again.

"Monty."

A green haired woman looked up from her meal to face the owner of the voice.

"Red." she greeted as the man made his way to sit down.

Kurama slid into the other side of the booth. The red head leaned fore ward and rested his arms and head on the table. He sighed deeply as Monty raised an eyebrow. The kitsune obviously had something very heavy weighing down his mind.

"Want something to eat? My treat."

Kurama raised his head a fraction and looked at her through bleary eyes. His stomach rumbled. Monty smirked ever so slightly and raised her hand to signal the waiter over.

Leave it to the onee-san to feed, sooth, and listen to the woes and worries of the otouto-chan.

Time is of no consequence to them.

About the story above - Monty and Kurama aren't really related. How can you tell?

1) Monty lives in the U.S.A. and Kurama in Japan

2) Monty is a feline where as Kurama is fox

3) the love they have is platonic and isn't romantic in any way

4) I don't know who's older - they forgot how old they were… (or did they?)

5) As humans, Kurama is older

Ah well, any questions? Review. PLEASE REVIEW!

Sayonara… REVIEWERS!

Bomb-O-Maniac