An Old Friend

Disclaimers. They apply. Go figure. Damn it. Oh, wait---Asa, and Ai,
both mine. Just checking. And thanks to Rose, for the names...

Warning: SLIGHT citrus. Only slight, though. Probably not even citrus,
just wanted to put a warning up...

Prologue-

He hadn't meant to see it. Though a thief and considered an evil being, worthy of the lust of any demoness, he was not as lecherous as he was accused of being. But then, when he did see the woman bathing in the river, he couldn't move. It wasn't as though lust held him in place; it wasn't that at all---he was in awe. Bedazzled by her beauty, her elegance, but not with desire---it was as the eye of the beholder of art. He was observing a unique part of Nature's masterpiece, a portrait of what could have been Eve herself.

That was why he could not turn away, even when his golden eyes sought out two perfect, icy blue ones, and found them. To his surprise, she did not whelp, nor turn away. The completely naked woman that was bathing in the stream...her icy blue eyes locked onto his, smiled, and walked toward him, motioning him to come into the stream after her.

Staring agape, he stepped forth slowly, entering the water and concealing a shudder at the cold of it. She stopped when the water level was to her waist, and he came forward more, until he stood within an arm's reach of her. Thank God for her hair covering her, he thought, wondering how long any resolve he may have had would last against those hypnotic eyes and the wave of black hair that billowed down about her.

"You, you are Youko Kurama," she said, matter-of-factly. Her arms now snaked across her chest, crossing, but not to conceal herself.

The breath seemed to be punched from his lungs. He could have doubled over in pain of lack of oxygen, but he sucked in a sharp breath, averting his eyes from hers, and, after a long moment, answered slowly, "Hai. I am."

"Then this is for you," she spoke again, her voice as silk to his ears. He looked at her, furrowing his brow inquiringly, and to his dismay, saw her leaning upward, standing on her tiptoes to reach him at his far superior height. He stiffened, eyes widening, as her lips pressed against his cheek. When she pulled away, she turned, giggling at his widened eyes and slack jaw. He finally allowed his eyes to roam after her as she walked onto the shore, to a small puddle of silk, which she stepped into and pulled upward- a kimono. It covered her, and she pushed her arms into the sleeves, not noticing, as he did, that the material was clinging to her still dripping form like a lover's hand.

She turned again to him, and kneeled down, picking up a comb, and brushing it through her hair, twisting the long, black tendrils around and finally putting the comb into them to hold them in place. Her eyes found his, and another smile graced her pale face. "Come, Youko. I have been expecting you."

He followed, almost against his will. What was it about this woman that had him almost hypnotized? He couldn't help but wonder about this as he followed her through the forest. She paused once they'd reached a place where two trees bent together into an arch, and turned her head back to him, her hands folded in front of her. He took the pause as a gesture for him to stand directly behind her shoulder, and he did, looking at her curiously as she leaned back against him, lifting her lips near his ear to whisper, "You must promise me that what you see here, you will never reveal. Do you promise?"

He nodded in reply, eyes searching hers for the answer to their wonderful, almost bittersweet secret. She smiled radiantly at him, and reached down, her fingers wrapping around his clawed ones. He jumped at the not unpleasant touch, but didn't protest against it, as she tugged on his hand, pulling him through the arch. He saw her back start to disappear as if walking through water and his eyes widened in realization as he figured out that they were walking through a portal.

He went through the portal easily enough, but almost fell over when he saw what was on the other side of it. A magnificent temple, surrounded by plush, green plants of all kinds---rose bushes were what caught his eye-- -stood sparkling in the sunlight, though a second ago, he didn't know it was even there. It was all white marble, and reminded him of something he'd seen before. Youko Kurama was rarely speechless; the sight before him, both young woman and temple, made him shocked to silence.

"Who..." The voice was his, he realized, and let it flow without his own control. "Who are you?" he asked her, furrowing his brow at his own question. It was true, he was curious, but what drove him to ask? Did he really want to know? No. He didn't want to. He needed to know. That was what fueled his yearning to learn about her...

"I am Ai. Ai Sonoma."

No wonder he hadn't picked up any demon scent on her. She wasn't a demon. She was a High Priestess, of the Order of the Fox. That was how she knew his name, who he was. He was being graced by the presence of the equivalent of a goddess to his clan, and all he could do was act like a kit, shy and observant. He followed her up the stairs and into the shrine. She led him, her kimono swishing against the floor with each step, through the alter room, past a few human women, who pointed at Youko and whispered behind their hands, and into a different room altogether---a bedroom.

She turned to him, and smiled, a pure, innocent, almost angelic smile. "Youko, you belong to me. You know that, by now, don't you?"

He looked up at her, sharply, his eyes narrowing defensively. Her smile was infectious. He didn't know her. Why was she affecting him like this? After a moment, he realized it. She was right. He...he belonged to her. But...how? When did this happen? He'd only just seen her, only just learned her name. How did she own him?

"I don't," she spoke softly, whispering, her breath warm against his neck. He jumped, not having heard her come across the room, even with his demon ears twitching back and forth, and knew then that she could read the questions running through his mind. He asked her with his eyes, and she spoke, through tear-brimmed ones of her own, "I belong to you, as well. We belong to each other, Youko. We always have. Don't you remember?"

He did. Now, that she'd reminded him, he remembered clearly. The high priestess had come to him in his dreams, had told him through her stories and tales that they did belong to each other. That was how she knew him so well. That was how he felt like...like she was the missing piece. His eyes widened slightly, and their golden depths found hers, silver hair fanning out over his shoulders and wrapping around her, due to her close proximity, like a tent. "Yes, I remember," he answered, his usual, sly fox tone returning as he settled his hands at the crests of her hips, pulling her closer until her face was only inches away from his. "We belong to one another. You promised me that I'd see you once. You promised me we'd be together, if only for a little while. This is that little while, isn't it?"

"For now, my love," she said, breath now against his lips. He watched her, mind lingering on what she'd called him. Her love...he was hers. Just as she was his. Finally unable to stand the tension any longer, he closed the gap between them, roughly claiming her lips with his own. She gasped and a moan died in her throat as his tongue separated her lips and pushed through. One of his sharp, ivory canines penetrated the skin of her lower lip, and she winced, causing him to pull away sharply.

"I'm...sorry," he breathed raggedly, his voice husky and deep. His thumb trailed across the blood on her lip, pushing against it gently to staunch the flow. "I didn't mean-..."

Her finger pressed against his lips to shush him, and she removed it to press hers against his once more, pulling away to say, "It's all right...I understand." Her arms wound around his neck, and she gently pulled him with her as she walked backwards, until the back of her legs hit the bed. She glanced over her shoulder at it, an invitation he didn't refuse. He swept her up with one arm under her knees, and held her with the other around her lower back, walking around to the side of the bed and laying her down gently, his eyes never leaving hers.

It wasn't exactly a memory that most would forget...

- - - - - -

Kurama sat up with a sharp gasp, waking at the same time. Cold beads of sweat poured down his pale face, and his hair was limp with dampness from it, clinging to his skin uncomfortably. His emerald eyes were wide as he looked around feverishly, then remembered where he was. With a heavy sigh, he ran a hand over his eyes, trying to shove the memory away roughly. He'd had the recurring dream of one of Youko's... lovers, for almost a month now. Ever since the Dark Tournament...ever since he had allowed himself to fully unleash Youko.

Of course, this woman wasn't really the same from the others Youko had bedded, she was...his. Kurama's heart was still pounding against his ribcage, and he wondered exactly what this woman had done to Youko to make him remember her so...vividly. The memories had only started recently, mostly in his subconscious. Probing around his mind, he asked Youko, Who...was she to you?

-That is none of your concern, Shuuichi. Go back to sleep.-

It's my concern if it's causing me distress. This lack of sleep is, alas, distress. So spill.

-That was rather...juvenile.-

So sue me. I'm irritable. Just tell me who she is.

-No. You may find out, soon enough...-

What was this that Kurama heard in Youko's voice...this softness? Was it sadness? Some sort of remorse? No, it couldn't possibly be. Youko wasn't...like that. He didn't get attached to...anyone. He'd lost a few friends in his lifetime and managed not to care. So what in the world was going on with Youko and this priestess; Ai?

-Go back to sleep, Shuuichi.-

The gentle command caused him to nod, and lulled him into a dreamless state. He'd figure out more about Ai...later...

- - - - -

Man, I hate this stupid editor thing...anyways, there's the prologue...I WARNED you, but I'm not sure it's, you know, too big a deal. Just a few things...first off, yes, this is Kurama X OC, but it's only one of the very few I'll ever do. I'm TOTALLY for KH, but I wanted to write a Botan X Hiei story, too, so I was all like, "Well that's not fair to Foxy!"

Of course, I had to make a Kurama OC story...I can't really see him with any girls on the show ((sorry Kurama-Botan fans, I just CAN'T)). So, I made an OC. No, she's not a Mary Sue. I actually based her off of one of my new innernet buddies, Rose (lol, Rose, Kurama's daughter...get it?), who gave me the names Asa and Ai (thanks, bud!!) And who I imagined to have black hair and blue eyes...she's really cool. Although her stories haven't been updated in a while, and she NEEDS TO UPDATE HER FREAKING STORIES! ahem

So, yeah. No Mary Sue thing. Oh, and um...yeah. I wonder if there's anything else?

Hiei- Hn, stupid baka ningen onna.

I heard that.

Hiei- I know. That's why I said it.

.... -.-;;