I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, only my OC's!

Chapter 1

The enticing smell of meat was in the air as the bandits gathered in hall awaiting their next assignment. They followed the infamous Youko Kurama. As their next meal was being prepared they waited for the details over the next raid they had planned. The "King of Thieves" sat at the head of the table and looked around at his followers. So many demons, of different classes, shapes, and sizes, he couldn't help but smile knowing that he was still the smartest and strongest in the room. However, it never hurt to have people that would help your plan to go smoothly. As the food came out he did not even move though most everyone else went digging into the meats of lesser beings. The women who served the food were all of at least some beauty. All of the said women were riches his men had gathered on their missions. He couldn't very well tell the men that they were not allowed to bring home some of the soft goods that appealed to them, when he took the good stuff for himself.

He on the other hand didn't much care for the women that surrounded him. They had all been spoiled by the many demons that he, in a sense, ruled over, not to mention the women were usually servants before they were taken. He was much too picky for that. It wasn't that he did not enjoy the feel of a woman. He most certainly did, but he preferred to find women with much more to offer. The fox demon had many times seduced the daughters and wives of the higher lords to satisfy his needs. He was a legendary thief after all; he did desire the finer things life had to offer.

"Something wrong Kurama?" Yomi asked as he pulled the food away from his mouth.

"No," Kurama replied solemnly, "I was just thinking."

"You are always getting stuck in your mind before raids," the goat demon chuckled as he propped his feet on the table. "This shouldn't be a difficult one. What's left of that tiny kingdom is anything but a threat. We know that the Toketsu Blade is in the possession of the so called 'King Daichi' and that the Belt of Kitai resides in the family vault."

"We do. However, there is still no trace of the Isle of Souls pendant, the one thing that would prove most valuable to us."

Yomi simply shrugged. "So? We look around the vault and shake Daichi up some until we find out where he has hid the damn thing."

"That is too reckless. And I'm sure if he did have the pendant that ice kingdom would not be anywhere near the kind of trouble they are in. It has been 150 years since the fall of the house of Wakahisa and there has been no sign of the pendant's powers."

Yomi huffed and continued eating. Kurama was always so cool and collected. He never found it 'necessary' to demand answers the way that Yomi did. Yomi knew that sometimes these things had to be messy to get what you want. And he had every intention of using all ways he knew possible to collect the means of control that the Isle of Souls pendant would warrant him. He just needed to bide his time.

Kurama finally decided he should eat. If he fell due to hunger, he knew that he would forever be the laughing stock of the world around him. His entire horde had huge plans for that night and he would sure as hell see them through.

Screams echoed through the halls of the palace on a cool autumn night. The young princess wondered from her nursery and towards her parents' chambers. She did not understand the noises that were going on around her. It was dark and loud and she simply wanted her mother. She moved quietly through the halls with wide eyes as she saw the number of fallen guards. Clinging tightly to her fabric doll she turned the corner and was nearly mowed down by running feet. Hearing a relieved gasp the small child looked up to see the dark green eyes she had been searching for. Her mother only kissed her head as she bent down to get on the child's level. Masami began to cry when the older woman scooped her up and took off with her down the hall.

"It's alright my love." Aiko kissed her daughter's dark blue locks as she paused to look around the wall before crossing a major intersection of the palace.

The queen was beginning to shake, but pushed through her fear and ran to large painting on the wall that served as a secret passage. Carefully she entered the dark corridor and made her way down the stairs. The small child in her arms clung tightly to her not knowing what was going on. She only snuggled into her mother's arms and trusted that all would be ok.

"Aiko!" a deep voice rang out in the darkness. The blonde woman relaxed some as a tall muscular man walked up beside her.

"Masaru! Oh thank god you're alright." She turned into him as her eyes filled. She kissed his cheek as the girl in her arms watched.

"You found Masami," he let out a relieved breath, before kissing the child's head, "you two have to leave this place."

"Not without you." The young Queen's eyes filled as she took his hand.

"I cannot abandon my kingdom. Take Masami-"

"No one is leaving." Chuckled another man.

The coupled turned to face the origin of the voice. And the King's eyes went wide. "Daichi? What are you doing here? You should be fighting to-"

"Please do not tell me you're that naïve." The slender man simply clapped his hands and torches lit the dark passageway to reveal a large number of men behind him.

"no…" was the only thing that left the blonde woman's mouth before she was hit in the shoulder by an arrow. She cried out as she fell to the floor but held Masami even closer.

Dachi simply shook his head. "Your time is up Masaru." He moved closer as the king progressed to stand in front of his family. "This fight is between us. Leave my family out of this."

"Drop your weapon and we'll talk about the terms. How does that sound?"

Masaru nodded and threw down his sword only thinking of the girls behind him.

"You truly are a fool." Daichi scoffed before plunging his own sword into the cornered ruler.

The scream that followed was that from Aiko as she shielded her child's eyes from the gruesome scene as the body hit the floor.

Masami shot up in bed shaking from the images burned into her mind. As the sweat rolled down her neck she was at least thankful she didn't have to relive both of her parents' deaths as she usually did. She picked up the tattered doll beside her a she let the tears come. She had yet to understand why she had been allowed to survive that night. She had few ideas, but all of those were too painful to believe. She slipped her shoes on and looked down at her light brown tunic. This was her life now. Besides the dreams she had, this life was all she ever knew. Stuck between servant and prisoner she was always unsure of her stance in the palace she had once called home. She went to her door and opened it slowly unsure of the time of night. It would be terrible if she woke the master if the castle by accident.

Lucky for her he was already awake and standing at his window. She stood in quietly in the doorway of the room that was attached to his unsure of what to say. King Daichi had always made her uncomfortable, but that was probably due to what he had done to her family so long ago.

"You're up so early Masami." He spoke as he turned to face her.

"Yes sir," She bowed her head, "I was having trouble sleeping…"

"I see," The older man smiled at her. The smirk was so sweet it almost made her stomach churn.

She tensed as he made his way over to her. She was still unsure of what to expect from him. Some days he woke in a bad mood and would belittle or degrade her, even go so far as to punish her for thoughts he claimed were in her head; other days he was so sweet to her that she could see why her father had been so close to him. The tall man with hair as black as pitch and a soul to match always kept her on her toes.

"You didn't braid your hair today." He spoke softly as he picked up a small handful off of her shoulder.

"It is getting colder;" she replied softly, "keeping it down is warmer for me."

"Well, that is good to hear," he rubbed the locks in his fingers; "I like it down."

"I'm glad it pleases you sir." She had learned her part in this place and knew better than to give anything besides what he wanted and expected.

He released her hair and looked her in the eyes. "Someone has a birthday coming up. Do you know what you would like your king to grant you?"

She shook her head honestly, "No sir, you allow me to live in your palace. I am grateful enough for that." She looked at her feet as she spoke. All she truly wanted was to be left alone or let go. She wasn't happy where she was. She felt like a prisoner in the place that should have been hers by birthright. If she could simply be allowed to leave she would never complain again. But that was not the case for her. She was not allowed to leave the castle grounds or make friends with any of the people that worked with in the walls. She once met a young bird demon that was working in the stables, but after only three short conversations the King had him beheaded as her punishment.

"Well, I suppose that is true." He chortled to himself a little.

"May I go to the gardens?" she asked delicately, still unsure of his mood but hoping for the best.

"Hmmm," he took his chin in his hand and looked at her, "Make my bed and you may go. But do not be late for breakfast. Remember what happened last time?"

She bowed her head as she thought of the still healing lashes on her lower back. "I do sir." she slipped her dilapidated doll into her pocket before quickly moving to his magnificent bed and began making the sheets. They were some of the finest silk she had ever touched and the goose feather throw had to feel heavenly to the skin. She tried not to think of the many nights she had heard women share his bed. She was not so young that she did understand what a man wants from a woman, but to her fortune she had yet to be asked for such services. Fluffing the pillows she looked over the work she had done and smiled. It was pleasant to be able to fix some things in life. The pile of messy blankets was no more and a nicely made bed was left in its place.

After finishing her work she made her way out to the gardens. It was always nice to sit out in the fresh air. Somehow it made her feel a little less trapped than she did when she was not allowed out of the palace. Masami still longed to be allowed into the villages of the kingdom, but the last time she had asked to leave Daichi had practically accused her of plotting against him.

Sighing a little sadly she sat on a stone bench and looked into the koi pond that had seemed to have been there forever before taking out her doll. She ran her fingers over the stitching that had somehow held it together. Ai was what she had named the toy. It was the only memory she truly had left her parents and for that reason she had kept it secret to herself. Sometimes she would speak to the object as though she were actually listening; maybe if it weren't for Ai the young woman would have simply lost her mind.

Hearing the sound of rustling leaves had her shoving the trinket into her pocket and looking around. It was unusual for anyone to be the gardens at all, let alone before sunrise. She stood in her confusion. The young woman saw no one, but when a low chuckle followed more rustling her back went up.

"Wh-who is there?" She asked timidly as she slowly began to back towards the castle's entrance.

"Where do you think you're going sweetheart?" replied a voice laden with danger as a monstrous wolf demon stepped out into the open. His snout was contorted into what must have been a smirk as her advanced towards her.

Her heartbeat quickened as she turned to run back inside, but before she could even take two full steps the demon was in front of her. It wasn't until the demon had her in his arms with his hand over her mouth that she even realized she had taken a breath to scream.

"Now now, none of that." He growled in her ear, "Scream and I'll rip your heart out. Do you understand?" Masami nodded knowing that she had no other option. When the creature threw her over his shoulder her heart sank. What was going to happen to her? Who was this demon?

She closed her eyes as she retreated into her mind praying that this too was a bad dream. That she had simply laid back down and fallen into another nightmare. From the rush of wind around her she could tell they were traveling fast, trying to escape into her mind she lost track of time. Where were they going?

A loud hoot of laughter rang out beside her and she finally round-up the courage to open her eyes. She was shocked to see the large number of men running through the forest at full speed. Bandits? Why would they attack the palace? Did they know who she really was? She knew that Daichi never referred to her as a princess, but did people know she had survived?

Her questions were interrupted as they arrived at a large cave opening the group did not slow until the seemed to come to the end. She heard stone moving against itself before the glow of torches overtook the darkness. The hums of voices that grew as they moved deeper into the mountain were almost of merriment, but laced with hints of cruelty making it so the young woman was unsure of how to interpret them.

"Men! Bring your spoils to head of the table so that we all may see how we have done." Masami didn't even bother looking to the owner of the voice. However she felt a sense of relief knowing that the goal was not to take her specifically. Hearing the sound of metal meeting wood helped her to understand that they must have found the vault. She was honestly surprised there was anything left in the vault to take.

She could not help the gasp that came when she was flipped onto her back. The pain that registered in her back she would add to her wounds. She scrambled up to look around at the many types of demons around her.

"Niko snagged a servant!" "A hot little one at that." "Look at the rack on her." "They really aren't that big."

"Where did you find this one Niko?" the voice that asked this question was different and had Masami looking around behind her. When her emerald eyes met the cool silver her heart nearly stopped. She looked up to his fox ears and was left in awe of his matching silver locks. She finally understood the type of trouble she was in. The young princess had been taken to the lair of the legendary Yoko Kurama.

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