Any and all characters, techniques, weapons, and settings from the series Yu Yu Hakusho are not owned by me. They are owned by Yoshihiro Togashi, Shonen Jump, and whoever else helped in the creation, production, and airing of both the manga and the series. I, however, do own the plot and any and all original characters. This disclaimer goes for the whole story.

Summary: AU story focusing on a Youko x Hiei relationship. Hiei is a wealthy adopted heir to the baroness Mukuro, who, with Duke Yomi and Earl Raizen, rule over the continent. Youko is a young demon who is enslaved, and then given to the fire demon. Soon both learn to love, and find themselves in a relationship that no one approves of.

- - -

Slave. This simple word meant so much in the world. It was an investment, a market, a piece of property, a lifestyle – almost everything one could think of in the world. And this world was much different than the one we know. This world is both the Makai and Ningenkai combined. Demons and humans coexist with each other peacefully, neither side prejudiced against the other.

Sounds like the perfect world, doesn't it? Sadly, it is not, for in this world, havoc wreaks, destroys, and terrorizes. Children are ripped away from their parents, women are raped, and towns are destroyed. The ones who are supposed to uphold justice are the greatest abusers. They gain profit by capturing anyone from a small child to a convicted felon, and selling them to these slave traders. This is where our story begins.

- - -

It was sunrise, and the rich, burning sun seemed to be so close to the earth that you could touch it. Its red and gold light illuminated the water of the small lake, mixing with the crystal waterfall and pouring the golden liquid into the lake's basin. The plant life seemed to be outlined in gold leaf, and the rocky decent of the waterfall was painted red. Inside the lake, the backs of the fish and amphibians reflected the red as they gracefully cut through the clear, golden water.

Behind the waterfall was a small cave. Golden wisps of light seeped in through the flowing water, signifying morning. One of these rays fell upon the unopened eye of a pale face. Slowly, the eye opened, revealing a large, golden eye. The eye was almost totally pupil, and the owner sleepily blinked his long lashes. Wearily, he got up, mentally cursing the sun, and stretched.

The golden-eyed boy was a youko- a fox demon. His name was Youko, and was about 1200 years old. Youko had long silver hair, and sparkly golden eyes that still hadn't lost the innocence of childhood. His silver tail twitched slightly, and his usually perked-up ears were drooping. The fox's loose white Chinese-style tunic was torn and dirty, as were his white trousers and slippers. The tunic was quite incredible, for the boy had managed to entwine his ki into the thread, which made the tunic able to deflect low ki attacks and weaken the high ki ones as well. I don't own the ability of Youko's tunic. This idea belongs to Togashi, and is explained in the Japanese version in episode 90 The boy's build was thin, and you could see some of his ribs underneath his clothing.

He had no family with him and traveled alone. His father was a no-show when he was born, and his mother, like most other youko, abandoned her children after they were able to barely fend for themselves. The litter of four lived on the streets, eagerly hoping that someone in the town would take them home and raise them. One by one they found homes, until only the little golden-eyed kit was left.

People would pass by him, look at him, and then leave instantly without a second glance in his direction due to his golden eyes. This eye color was the rarest of all, and was believed to be cursed. No one wanted to risk raising Youko in fear that his eyes would bring a curse upon them, so he was forced to grow up alone. Eventually the people of the town ran him out, afraid that he would bring a curse down on the village.

Shaking his head to rid him of the memories, Youko stood up, and walked out of the cave he called home. Hunger pangs were starting to plague him, so the boy went down to the lake. Leaning over the edge, he dipped one of his clawed hands into the cold, clear water, and quickly grabbed a fish from its depths. His claws dug into the fish, trying to keep a grip on the slippery creature while he walked back to the mouth of his waterfall cave. The fox then sat down, and hungrily began to eat the fish, taking large bites and eating quickly.

His senses were telling him that something was coming and that he would have to abandon his home for a while, not that anyone cared or would be looking for him. Youko sighed at that bitter thought, and quickly began to think of where he could go. He couldn't go into town; they would just chase him out like all the others. Digging a den under a tree's roots would take too long, and he couldn't risk the time. He had to find somewhere now.

Not bothering to pack anything but the clothes on his back, he ran from the cave for dear life. Soon he heard what he was running from, and looked back. Four men with black masks covering their faces were galloping towards him on horseback. He ran as fast as he could, but soon, they caught up to him. There was no escape for Youko, and soon they encircled him.

Youko couldn't escape, he was trapped. The only thing he could do was fight. He braced himself by placing his left foot behind him and making his hands into fists. The hair on the back of his neck and tail bristled in an attempt to make him appear larger than he was. The four men laughed, and one of them drew his weapon, which happened to be a leather whip with sharp nails at the tip. He flicked it at the fox, who jumped back and growled menacingly. Youko's vulpine sound only made the men laugh and strike harder.

The assailants didn't give the poor boy a chance to defend himself. After one would attack, another followed right behind. Their strategy was to charge at him and corner him, and then attack from behind. The only thing poor Youko could do was avoid the best he could in the small space allotted to him.

Soon, he was too tired to dodge all of the attacks, and kept getting hit time after time. The men were finished toying with him, and attacked him all at once. Youko was able to dodge the whip, but was grabbed by two others, who held the struggling fox while the fourth clubbed him on the head.

Youko whimpered, and crumpled to the ground. The men laughed loudly, pleased with their find, and took out some rope. Two of them held onto his wrists and ankles just in case he woke up, and the other two worked quickly to bind and gag him. Their leader then picked the unconscious boy up, and threw him roughly over his horse's rump. He gave the signal, and the others mounted their rides and rode off.

These men traveled quickly, going to the trading town of Gandara. About half-way there, the young kitsune woke up. He blinked his large golden eyes in an effort to help focus them, and quickly regained his senses. He struggled fruitlessly against the bindings in an attempt to break free, but to no avail. After many minutes of struggling, Youko gave up, and went limp whilst whimpering the best he could while gagged.

Youko's sides ached from being beaten by the men. And the constant vibration of the steady galloping didn't help one bit. He winced here and there; pretty positive he had broken a rib or two. The kitsune struggled to get loose again, but only received a sharp pain from his side in exchange. Youko's ears drooped in defeat, and contented himself with watching the scenery pass by.

"After all," he thought, "once they see my eyes, they'll either cast me away or kill me." The thought of death idly passed through his mind as the boy continued to count the trees, twitching his tail around every once and a while. Oftentimes, Youko would think of death. It wasn't something he feared; he saw it as a reprieve for him, a sanctuary. "Death," he thought. "What a funny thing to fear."

Soon the steady sound of hooves against earth lulled the fox into a dreamless sleep. Just as his breathing became rhythmic with the clopping of the hooves, the city was in view. The men whooped, and quickened their pace, entering the town of Gandara. The loud noises of the town were magnified because of Youko's sensitive hearing, and he awoke, twitching both silver ears in irritation.

The people on the bustling streets made way for the hollering men, and peered at their prize. The boy could snag particles of whispered conversations here and there, but he soon wished he didn't. Talk about rather risqué things that could be done to him mixed with the gossip about his eyes, swirling in the kitsune's mind and making him feel ill. Never in his life had he gotten this much attention, not to mention attention in a sexual way.

The men continued on, moving to a shadier part of the town, where most of the slave trading took place. Youko, now fully interested, raised his head a little higher for a better view, but was roughly pushed back down by one of the men. He tried to growl, but due to the gag, it sounded more cute and pathetic than menacing. Receiving a slap to the face, the boy resigned himself to his fate, and waited quietly for what was going to happen next.

Soon, the ride came to an end, and the horses stopped outside of a very large open-aired market. The men dismounted, leaving Youko behind, and walked over to where someone was waiting for them. That someone happened to be one of the auctioneers of the market, and he looked very pleased with the three. Youko looked up again - this time without punishment – just as they were finishing discoursing and walked over to the restrained fox.

The auctioneer was much less burlier than his compadres, and had oily brown hair with a very greasy looking ponytail. His small, beady eyes were green, and were placed above an extremely crooked nose. Despite his slick appearance, the man seemed to be wearing rather nice clothing made of fine material. It was many rich colors, mostly red, gold, and blue. Youko took a good look at the man before he was roughly pulled off the rump of the horse and forced to stand before them all.

The new man looked him over carefully, inspecting every inch of him. He especially paid close attention to the fox's soft, silvery fur. Youko's tail bristled when the man ran a gnarled hand through his silver locks, and the boy gave the man a fearful glance. Finally finished with his inspection, the man returned to his place by Youko's captors.

"Well, he doesn't look fit for physical labor, but he sure is a looker. I'm sure we can sell him to a pleasure seeker," the man said whilst grinning. "The only setback is the fox's eyes, but we can fix that. He's not the first Kogane to be sold here, and he won't be the last. You've done well gentlemen; he's surely worth a pretty penny."

Kogane is Japanese for golden, and I have decided to use it as a term the people of this universe call the small group of people who possess golden eyes.

The men whooped happily, glad to have found such a good catch. Meanwhile, as their celebrations continued, realization was coursing through the ensnared fox's body, flooding his thoughts like poison. He was trapped, and there was no way to escape the iron grasp captivity had on him. Youko was to be a slave, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Suddenly, a man and a woman appeared next to the boy, each grasping one of the ropes that bound him. The two were twins, and both had jet black hair, ebony eyes, and pointed ears. The woman was smaller than the man, and had much creamier skin whereas the man was taller and tanner. Youko struggled to be free of the ropes, but that only caused them to grow tighter until he gave up. The richly-clothed man smiled widely, and stroked the boy's cheek lightly.

"We seem to have a feisty one this time. I believe," he said, "that he will indeed be a fair price. Mayumi, Kensaku, go get him ready. I want him to be up for sale before the auctions close."

The two holding Youko's ropes bowed their heads, and led the bound fox away from the others and into one of the buildings. The kitsune's eyes widened at the site of all the humans and demons alike being held in small cages. They were all bound in chains and most of them had dull eyes devoid of spirit. Fear spread through him at the thought of turning out just like them, and he tried to break free again.

Mayumi and Kensaku took no notice to him, however, and led him to another room past the broken figures. There Kensaku threw him on the ground roughly and Mayumi attached too-small shackles to his wrists and ankles. A heavy metal collar with a thick chain attached was placed around his neck, making it hard for him to move it and breath. Pleased with their work, Mayumi and Kensaku peered down at the poor fox, who, much to his chagrin, was starting to lose hope.

Mayumi seemed to have taken interest in him, and kept looking into his eyes. "His eyes are beautiful. I've never seen a Kogane before. Such a beautiful color," she remarked.

"That's because most of them are either killed or live alone. The Kogane are very unlucky, you know," Kensaku informed her. "And now, we should do as Master wishes and make sure he's not identified."

Youko snapped out of his dulled state for a moment, and gazed at the two. "They're slaves! That means that they were in the same position as me once," he thought bitterly.

Mayumi nodded to Kensaku, and picked up some of the fine, trampled and grainy dirt off the ground. She then pulled on the chain attached to the boy's neck, and jerked him forward so their faces were close. She then moved her outstretched hand with the dirt in it between them, and blew it into Youko's eyes. He violently jerked back, making the collar dig into the soft skin on his neck and whimpered as the granules settled into his golden eyes.

No matter how hard he tried to free his vision of the dirt, it still wouldn't help. Mayumi smirked, and slackened her hold on his chain. "Well Kensaku, we should bring him up to Master. He'll be pleased with our work," she commented, and jerked Youko to his feet.

Youko yelped, and his tail bristled, making it fluffier than before. He was then led blindly upwards and outside of the building, as far as he could tell. The many smells of town swept into his nose, and his ears swiveled around rapidly. How the poor fox yearned to see! But, alas, a few granules still hindered his vision.

The same man as before came before the three, and grinned widely. "Excellent work you two. Now, place him over there. This one should go quickly." He laughed and walked off, leaving the two demons to do as they were told. After many jerks and more yelps, Youko was forced to a sitting position on a platform, awaiting his fate like so many others before him.

Not but a minute later, a rather frightened looking man approached the boy, looking him over carefully. Though he couldn't see, Youko could tell that he was here, and rather sick with fear. The boy whiffed the air, seeing if he could find anything else about the man. The man, in fact, was a demon, and strangely of an odd blend of cleaning materials and burning leaves. Youko wondered if the man was of the fire element. Another whiff told the fox that the demon was extremely nervous, and in a rush.

Youko growled softly as the man gently touched his skin. His hand recoiled slightly, but he soon gained confidence, and motioned for the auctioneer to come to him. The oily man approached him, and bowed to the nervous demon.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"How much is this fox, and what can you tell me about him?" the demon demanded, trying to sound intimidating, but his quivering and fast speaking blew it for him.

"The fox, why, he's sixty gold pieces. I know, it sounds steep for something like him, but let me first tell you of his worth. As you can see, he has a frail, but beautiful body. Surely not suitable for working, but, as for pleasure... That's something else entirely my friend. The boy's beautiful figure, his silky hair, as fine and beautiful as the purest of silver, his fur, so soft, so warm. I can assure you, he will not disappoint you in that department."

The nervous demon brought his hand to his chin, his thumb raised onto it while the remaining four acted as a sort of rest. It was obvious that he was in deep contemplation, battling with himself over the boy.

Oh, how Youko wished to be free!! His heart was pounding, and he was beginning to quiver with fear. He didn't want to be a slave, especially one for pleasure, though he didn't know what that meant. Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"What's wrong with his eyes? I've been here for a few minutes, but he has not once opened them."

The man smirked; here was where those acting classes paid off.

"He's a fox, and a smart man like you should know that foxes are sensitive to light. I captured this one myself, and can tell you that his eyes are a beautiful pearl green. Simply wonderful to look into and forget your problems, while doing... other things with him."

The demon nodded, and looked satisfied.

"I'll take him," he said. "Lord Hiei should find this one acceptable. Did you know he's gone through three slaves just this week? His temper has really risen for some reas-" he stopped suddenly, and just paid the man the gold pieces. The demon had done it again; he had gossiped.

The man shook the silent demons hand, and ordered the twins to unchain Youko. All through this time, Youko had been quivering, but now, he was shaking violently. Though he was blind, he could still tell that he was sold, and going to this "Lord Hiei" person. For some reason, the name had sounded familiar to him, but he was not sure where he had heard it.

Finally, they were ready to go. The demon led Youko by the collar to a horse-drawn cart. It looked rather old and rickety, and the wood seemed worn. The man attached Youko's chain to the back, and both he and the demon literally threw the fox into the back of the cart. The demon clambered into the front, sat down, and with a quick click of the overly long reigns, they were off to this Lord Hiei's castle.

Youko looked out the back of the cart on the receding town. The golden sun was setting, becoming red like the dawn.

"Dawn... That's when this whole thing started, wasn't it? I wish... I wish that I was never born," Youko thought, and began to cry bitter tears.

- - -

Meanwhile, someone was watching over the fox. His nine golden tails swished in unison as he lazily viewed the scene from above. Golden eyes closed when the boy began to cry, but soon opened again and regained their same bored emotion.

"Soon, Youko," he thought, "you shall never cry again. I promise you that."