Yukina sat in the center of a hexagram that was drawn in white chalk on the floor of a temple. Intricate runes laced on either side of the lines, and at the six points where the lines met one another, white candles, made of pure beeswax with linen wicks, burned steadily down to nothing. Inside the hexagram, the temperature had lowered itself to near-freezing as Yukina steadily chanted away the last quarter of the spell that she had sat there most of the night reciting. A sudden wind sprang up around Yukina as she began the final, frantic phase of the chant. Her words nearly slurred into one another as she rushed faster and faster through them, but not quite. Inside the hexagram, glowing blue lines formed, connecting the six points, and making a star around the young Koorime. Lightening began to crackle around her. Yuu*Yuu*Hakusho The Kiss of Love Kuwabara Kazuma opened the door to the main room of the temple. Inside, Yukina-san knelt on the floor, busily cleaning away the marks of a spell. "May I help you, Yukina-san?" he asked, stepping closer and kneeling down beside her. She looked up and smiled at him. "No thank you, Kazuma-san," she said sweetly. "I'm almost done. I would like some company, though, if you wouldn't mind staying." "I'd love to stay!" Kuwabara exclaimed, moving to sit down. Yukina-san smiled, and bent her head back to the floor, industriously scrubbing away the chalk marks. Kuwabara watched her adoringly, worship clearly evident in his eyes. he thought to himself. Then he frowned as her hand faltered in her task for a second. She was awfully pale.... "Did you get enough sleep last night, Yukina-san?" he asked, worried. Yukina looked up again and smiled. "No," she admitted. "I was up all night working on the spell. I don't really feel tired, though." "You look like you could use a rest," Kuwabara decided. "Here, let me finish that." He gently took the damp rag from her hands and picked up her task where she had let off. "Oh... thank you, Kazuma-san," Yukina said, feeling a bit silly that she'd refused to let him help her. She sat back and watched him as he worked. He was so strong, and so kind.... She let out a low breath, and admitted to herself that the spell had worn her out a little. Maybe she should go get some sleep. But she was hungry. She should probably get something to eat first.... "Ouch!" Kuwabara cursed mentally as he straightened. A splinter from the floor had run into his finger. He examined it as he tugged it out of his finger and decided that it wasn't from the floor after all. It was a different kind of wood, and the floor was worn perfectly smooth by now. Someone had probably accidently tracked it in from outside or something. "What is it, Kazuma-san?" Yukina-san asked, moving to examine his cut. "I can get you a bandage for this," she said as the blood welled into a large drop on his finger. "Nah, it's okay," Kuwabara replied. "It's just a little blood. It'll be okay." Blood.... Blood.... Blood.... Yukina didn't know what was coming over her as she lowered her mouth to Kazuma-san's finger and gently licked the blood away, savoring the taste of it. So rich... and nice and salty. "Better?" she asked as she raised her head up and looked him in the eyes again. She smiled to cover her nervousness. "Ah... yes...." Kuwabara stuttered, looking at her in surprise. Yukina-san had never seemed the way she did now before. There was confusion in her eyes, a sense of awakening, and a hunger that she was fighting.... "Is something wrong, Yukina-san?" he asked. She was trembling.... "I-- I don't know," she said. She laughed nervously. "I'm being silly, aren't I, Kazuma-san?" She fell silent, then continued, "I don't know. It's like I want something but I don't know what...." "What do you think it is?" he asked gently. "I don't know--" Yukina repeated, then stopped as her eyes fixed on his neck and wouldn't move until she tore her head away. she thought, horrified at herself. "No...." she whispered. "Yukina-san?" Kazuma-san's kind voice rumbled through her thoughts. Yukina's hand crept up, unbidden, to caress his neck. She raised frightened eyes to meet Kazuma-san's. "Yukina-san, what is it?" he asked again, looking more than a little puzzled. "I-- I can't stop it, Kazuma-san!" she said, upset. "It won't obey me!" "What won't--" Kuwabara started, then stopped as he momentarily caught sight of Yukina-san's teeth. The sharp points to her canines, in addition to her fear and the incessant touch of her sweet hand to his neck, let him figure it out. "Yukina-san?" he asked. "I didn't know the spell would do this!" she cried out. "All I wanted was power to revenge my brother!" Kuwabara felt his heart melt. He had no doubts that his sweet Yukina-san had done this to herself in ignorance, and for a good purpose. There would be a spell somewhere to undo it, he was sure. In the meantime.... "It's okay, Yukina-san," he reassured her. "It's not your fault." "But...!" she protested. "Shhh...." he hushed her, placing a finger on her lips. "There's a way to undo it, I'm sure. Until then... do what you have to." "Kazuma-san?" she asked in wonder. Kuwabara smiled. He was happy to do this for Yukina-san. "It's okay," he told her again. "Kazuma-san!" Yukina couldn't believe what he was telling her. He cared for her enough to let her drink his blood? she mentally sighed, looking in his eyes. They weren't the least afraid of what she'd become. She smiled tremulously, and moved closer to him, gently placing her lips on his neck, tasting the strong, masculine taste of him. His arms moved around her, comforting and supporting. With a sob of relief, her teeth drove into his skin, freeing his blood from the confines of his veins to come into her mouth. Kuwabara felt a pinch of pain as Yukina's sharp little teeth pierced his skin, but not much else. There was only the sensation of the sweet Koorime in his arms, and her lips on his neck as she applied a rythmic pressure with her mouth, nursing on his blood like an infant on a bottle. he thought, and knew that he was a man lost in love for this little slip of a youkai girl. Yukina's world, meanwhile, had narrowed to the blood flowing into her mouth, the heady sensations it gave her, the strange, warm pleasure that flooded through her as she took swallow after swallow of it. It filled her and thrilled her, and she only knew that she wanted more of it. A heartbeat filled her senses, too, and she knew it was not her own. she managed to think for a second before the blood pleasure overtook her again. Kuwabara sighed as he closed his eyes for a second and found pleasure at Yukina-san's most intimate kiss flooding through his body. For a long time, he sat still, eyes closed, just holding her and letting her touch give him pleasure, until he started to fade out. He distantly realized that he was about to black out from the blood loss, but for the pleasure of Yukina-san's touch, he was willing to risk it. Besides... to stop now would be interrupting Yukina-san's enjoyment of what he was willing to give her. Still musing on these thoughts and his happiness, Kuwabara slid into blackness. Yukina began to wake out of her blood lust as the arms around her loosened and her food source fell backwards onto the floor. She sat uncomprehendingly staring for a few seconds until she got her mind back and realized that Kazuma-san had passed out from the amount of blood she'd drained from him. "No!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she thought of him dying because of her. She carefully laid her head on his chest, and was relieved to hear his heart beating steadily and strongly. Sighing in relief, she quickly left the room and returned with blankets and a pillow, and made Kazuma-san more comfortable in his rest. He would want something to eat when he woke, she realized, and maybe some herbal tea, to calm his head. She smiled quietly, and walked to the kitchen, where she started to cook a meal in proportion to his size. And maybe, when he woke... she would eat some of it with him. Author's Ramblings: Charas belong to Togashi-sensei, this is a non-profit effort.... This is a companion story to The Kiss of Life, featuring a couple of Yuyus I usually don't write. According to my friend Sandy Jacobs (I HAVE to get her to post Only Yuu to r.a.a.s. one of these days....), Koorime lured men into the Glacier Country with promises of wealth and love, and then let them freeze to death, draining their life force or blood... which means that I wrote a story with a touch of mythological accuracy for once! Damn, where did I screw up?! :) Ja ne!