A late birthday gift for BlueUtopiah. I hope you like it.

Warnings: Yaoi. Mature theme (more suggested mature theme than anything else at this point.) I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or anything to do with it.

Don't behead me if you don't agree with my characterizations. Rating just in case. I haven't decided if this is just a one-shot, or if it will have more chapters. Depends on the response, I guess.

A polite smile for the soldiers who had escorted him to his rooms as they all pretended that the men were, indeed, escorts, and not guards. A murmured goodnight, a step away from the doors so that they could be closed.

A mind free of illusion.

There was no sound of the "escorts'" footsteps retreating down the hall, though in the heavy, armored boots they wore, there surely should have been. He was more than certain that they would stand outside those doors all night – not to keep anyone unwanted from entering, but to keep him from leaving.

A slow, meaningless smile spread across his lips as he gazed at the heavy wooden doors, listened to the locks turn outside. He didn't feel like smiling, certainly didn't want to, but there was little he could do, unwilling as he was to break this casual illusion of guest-right.

Better by far to laugh at himself than to allow the men outside to hear him scream in frustration. And pulling on his hair would only damage it.

He moved, feet making not a whisper of sound against the thick carpets as he crossed the room. It was only force of habit that caused him to sink gracefully onto the overstuffed cushions near the windows. He had no doubt that he was being watched, but at the moment, that knowledge did not concern him as much as other pressing factors.

Reaching to loosen the collar of his shirt, he forced his body to take on a more relaxed posture and reclined back, stretching his long, slim form over the cushions in a blatant display for his watcher.

The room he had been given, he observed through half-lidded eyes, would have been well-suited for a visiting king – or at least a prince. The furnishings and decorations were more than lavish – they were nearly unforgivably decadent.

Kurama bore his teeth in a silent snarl, and hoped that his watcher would assume the expression was another smile.

The room as a whole was actually larger than the entire ground floor of his home in the human realm. Large, barely-opaque curtains were all that served to separate the different areas of the space. Later, when the urge to rend everything subsided a little, he would take the time to explore his new surroundings in more detail. For the moment, however, he was content to assume that the rest of the apartment was decorated as lavishly as the area he now occupied.

Even without seeing the rest of it, it was easy to say that his new quarters were perfection.

Paradise.

Prison.

He took a long, slow breath and fought the instincts that screamed at him of his entrapment. His hands, never very obedient to his will, convulsed, clawing at the cushions he reclined against. He slammed his eyes closed, fighting to regain his control.

This splendor was nothing more than a not-so-subtle reminder of the precarious position he now found himself in.

A reminder, also, of the damning fact that this was, after all, all his fault.

He had allowed his pride to dictate his actions. He had been hurt by what, at the time, had seemed to him a grave betrayal. The one person in any of the three worlds who held his complete confidence and trust had chosen to leave his side. Though he should have been above such petty things, he had been hurt. No one had ever left him willingly.

The hurt had made him careless.

He had lashed out blindly, foolishly, confident in his own ability to keep himself free and safe.

And now he was neither.

He frowned, not enjoying his current train of thought. It was embarrassing to be forced to admit that he was in trouble. He had grown so accustomed to depending on someone else that, now that he was alone again, he made careless mistakes.

All of his plans. His power base. His friends, family.

Everything important to him had been jeopardized by his childish inability to adjust to his sudden solitude.

The truly terrifying thing was, however, that he could no longer remember why he had thrown himself into this vipers' nest.

He shifted slightly to glance at the doors as he heard the locks turn. Habit and stubbornness were all that kept him reclined so leisurely as he watched the doors open.

Yomi stopped, surprised to find himself being watched, and paused a moment before giving a quiet chuckle of amusement. Continuing into the room, he motioned for the guards to close to doors behind him.

"Oh, Kurama! How quickly your heart is beating!" he observed with a gentle, unreadable smile.

Kurama narrowed his eyes, still unbalanced by the change in his once-friend, and the sudden inability to read him.

Yomi cocked his head to the side, almost as if he were observing him.

"I bet you're posed very prettily, aren't you? Very calm and docile, maybe even happy and at ease. But inside…you're panicking, aren't you? A pity I can't play audience to your show – no doubt it's most impressive. You always were skilled at deception."

Kurama fell out of his careful lounge, and did not fight the urge to glare at his former friend, no matter how futile the expression was.

The other demon merely laughed.

"What's wrong, Kurama?" he asked amicably. "You don't like the room?"

"It's fine." Kurama answered tersely.

"I thought I had captured your tastes quite accurately, actually. If you don't like it, though, I'm certain that something else can be arranged." Yomi's voice was warmly calm, controlled, almost soothing. Peace in the voice of a once-trusted friend should never be so terrifying. "I would hate for you to think me a bad host!"

"I assure you, Yomi, that aside from the threats on my family, your behavior has been most commendable."

The horned demon laughed again, the familiar sound bringing with it the memory of long, dark nights filled with warm conversation and the heady smell of a campfire.

Kurama shook his head, dispersing the memories. When in hell had Yomi become so skilled at using his voice this way?

"Ah, Kurama – this is what I've missed most about you! Your words – so ruthlessly cutting, so dry and dangerous!"

"I'm happy I could provide amusement for you."

He frowned a little at the ice in Kurama's voice.

"I would like to think that it's not too late for us to regain what we had," the king said quietly, expression losing all traces of amusement. His tone was completely calm, but for a moment, his words seemed to paint the room in sorrow.

Kurama shook his head again.

"If I can forgive," Yomi continued, "Then surely you can. I told you that I understood…"

"Yet you felt the need to threaten me, nonetheless."

"What's a little ruthlessness between friends?"

It was asked quietly, but there was something in his voice, some change in his expression, that made fear race down Kurama's spine.

"Do not be offended if I seem wary," he said carefully, rising slowly to his feet. "I have never given my trust easily, and it has been a long time indeed since you and I were anything like friends."

"And, of course, the last time I did have your trust, I foolishly squandered it. Eh, Kurama?"

"Surely my actions alone cannot bear sole responsibility for this change in you. I find it hard to believe I myself was the catalyst for such a transformation."

"Oh?"

"Where is the laughter in you? The spirit? I can barely read the man you have become because I cannot find a single trace of the man you were within him."

A quiet chuckle.

"You accuse me of changing when you're the one who has returned reeking of human! You always did have a strange sense of humor."

"Yomi…"

The horned demon crossed the room with eerie grace, and lowered himself into the seat which Kurama had previously occupied, parodying the position the redhead had held when he had entered the room almost exactly.

"I have a confession to make," he said with a small smile. "I have to admit that I'm enjoying this newfound power to frighten you. It's always been…exhilarating…to see you lose control. It gives me a thrill such as I haven't felt in…far too long. Ask what you want to ask, my friend. I will need your expertise far too much in the coming weeks to risk harming you – and we have already reached an agreement in regards to those adorable humans of yours."

"Why are you here?"

Yomi's head turned, and for a moment it was as if he was actually looking at Kurama.The king's lips twitched in amusement.

"Right to the point, eh, Kurama?"

"I would appreciate an answer."

Yomi slid his hand over the cushions he sat upon.

"Why don't you come and sit with me?"

"I will not make the mistake of dropping my guard around you ever again, Yomi."

The dark haired demon laughed, and this time the noise had more freedom to it – as if the other laughs had all been planned. For a moment he seemed to be as startled by it as Kurama had been.

"Impressive!" Yomi said at last. "Frightened as you are, you can still wield that sharp tongue of yours. Sit, Kurama."

"Must I?"

"I would prefer it."

Still the redhead remained where he was, rooted to the spot. After several silent, tense moments, Yomi sighed.

"Need I remind you that you are not the master anymore, fox?"

For a moment, Kurama's breath caught. He had to bite his tongue to keep from asking the other demon not to call him that. It would have been foolish beyond words to allow the man yet another hold to use against him.

Reluctantly, Kurama sat down directly where he was, cross-legged on the floor.

Yomi's lips twitched, but he didn't comment.

"Well?" Kurama prodded crossly, after several moments passed in silence.

"I didn't come to enjoy the pleasure of your company?"

"I severely doubt it."

"Fine. It's inelegant to put it this way, but you force me to get right to the point. My friend, I've come to make the bargain for your freedom."

"Excuse me?"

The small smile that had been playing at Yomi's lips all night grew.

"Spirit World agreed to allow you to return to the human world; however, no one asked my opinion on this condition. We have dealt with your betrayal, true. However, a vengeful spirit is never satisfied."

"Yomi?"

"You have bargained for your beloved family; rest assured that I will not threaten you again."

"Yomi, what…?"

"I am not yet convinced that I should allow you to return to the human world. I think it unwise to be without my advisor for so long."

"We have bargained this as well, Yomi. The warriors I intend to being you - !"

"Indeed. I want them – and you will bring them to me. I suppose I should have been more clear. I plan to allow you to return to the human world – but why should I allow you to stay there?"

"Yomi, my family would become suspicious if I were to be gone for too long."

"Are you a child, Kurama? Maybe it's time you give them up."

"I cannot."

"Foolish."

"Perhaps."

"If you want the right to stay in the human world for any extended period of time, without babysitters sent to watch you and ensure your return, you must offer me suitable compensation for the temporary loss of my advisor."

Kurama took a deep breath and fought the urge to scream. Another miscalculation; he could no longer think of this king before him as his brash and foolish friend of old.

"What is it you want from me, Yomi?"

"What have I always wanted from you, Kurama?"

"Yomi…"

"Not everything changes, you see."

"You know my policy."

"Yes, of course I do." Yomi gave a small laugh – a bitter sound. "You derive your power from the energy of life, but you would never allow even the most trusted of your followers the honor of helping you maintain that power."

A thin hint of anger had worked its way into his voice. Kurama discreetly clenched his hands into fists until the nails bit into his skin, distracting him from his fear.

"Instead you gave that honor to ignorant strangers who would never understand the gift they had been given, leaving those who adored you to live in the agony of thirsting for your touch." Yomi continued. "Cruel, so cruel, that those closest to you were kept the furthest away. We alone knew how much we were missing."

"It was never my intention to cause any of my men pain, Yomi."

"Don't lie to me now. Don't tell me that you didn't enjoy our longing for you."

"Sleeping with one's subordinates can only lead to trouble."

"I could have been trusted with it."

"Could you?" Kurama demanded, beginning to become angry as well. "Constantly you defied me – every time you went against my orders, you undermined my authority with the men. How much worse would it have been if you had been my lover?"

"If I had been your lover, I would never have disobeyed you, Kurama."

"Now you are the one being childish!"

"You don't believe me?"

"You were always convinced that you knew better than I. Giving you the power of a consort would have surely led to my end."

He watched fury overcome Yomi's expression, saw the shadow of the man he had known lurking within the frightening king.

Then Yomi composed himself.

"Your body is the bargaining chip, Kurama," he stated, rising. "If you want to spend any length of time in the human realm, you will give it to me. Refuse, and your life as a human is over."

"Yomi…"

He paused on his way to the door, and for a moment, he seemed almost sad.

"You will tell me your decision when I return," he ordered.

And then he was gone.

Happy belated birthday, Blue.