A/N: A lot of people are probably yelling at me now along the lines of:"Why in the blue blazes are ya 'll starting another story when ya'll haven't finished the first one!?" (Because my readers are from Texas. ) My simple reply: I'm sorry! I just had a great thought and I'm not about to let this one go like so many before it. Sorry! (Go to end of the work for full explanation.)

Anyways, most people don't know much about Kuronue. In fact, he only appears once in the Yu Yu Hakusho movie, but once was enough for me. For more background information on the bat demon, look up 'Kuronue' on wikipedia.

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho is a trademark that is not owned by me. I only own my own characters, so there! Are ya'll happy now? Yeesh!

' I am thinking.' - Thoughts

"I am talking." - Talking

The Beginning

It was already long into the godforsaken hours of the night that the storm's unmerciful rain continued to unleash its wrath upon the realm of demons. The peanut-sized water droplets pelted the foliage of the forest with precision and power, and the rhythmic beating of leaves recoiling against the sudden attack resounded soothingly throughout the area in a slow muted pulse. Near the outskirts of the forest lay a sleeping village, and just over in the distance was a structured fortress, built on that single small mountain to give the illusion to any passerby that the castle watched over its inhabitants with protective eyes.

The town's demeanor was submerged in darkness, with the exception of the few lights in the distance with which to provide light to the guards of the castle. The other single source of illumination from the town came from a small local tavern, a desperate attempt for business in case of a wanderer or two.

The tavern door opened with a sudden yet subtle creak, and a tall cloaked figure walked in from the pounding rain. He removed his hood and gently brushed his long damp bangs to the back of his head. The two auburn cat ears atop his crown twitched at the sudden touch. His eyes flickered briefly back out towards the storm before locating and gliding over to a secluded and dimly lit table in the corner of the bar.

"Slowpoke..." He mumbled under his breath. His whole body suddenly twitched in synchronization as he tried to rid himself completely of the water from the rain. He smirked to himself; would it be ironic to say it was raining cats and dogs? A plump looking waitress approached the table after she observed when he was comfortable.

"Good evening, sir." She smiled. "May I start you out with something to drink?"

The cat-demon sighed heavily, before glancing back out to the dark storm through the open door, his dark eyes seemingly scanning through the curtain of rain.

"As a matter of fact, I think I'll have a whiskey." He complied after a few seconds. "And maybe a little side of-"

"Jerk!" Came a harsh tone from the bar entrance.

The neko's ears twitched happily, and a small grin appeared on his face. "Oh, good! I thought I lost you." He replied with satisfaction as he closed in eyes in relief.

"I'm... sure… you did…bastard…" His companion softy panted. Her soaked hair and clothes clung loosely to her body and the wet trail from the rain she made glistened in the dim light. Her companion showed no signs of sympathy, and continued his order.

"Make that two sides of cucumber, and one hot tea as well." The waitress nodded and the new figure glared at the smiling neko as she sat down with a soft 'squish,' her clothes still dripping from the rain outside.

"You must be thirsty from the run." The neko's voice resounded chirpily. His friend glared daggers in reply.

"You mean the chase? After a certain hydrophobic neko-dork decided to ditch me without any explanation?" The girl answered in a menacing tone.

"That'll be all." The neko smiled and addressed the waitress, who had clearly been caught up in the whole argument. She awoke with a sudden jolt, then smiled and bowed quickly at the neko before she walked away with a hint of blush on her cheeks. The neko stared appreciatively at the waitress' retreating form.

"She's cute…" He hummed to himself. His female companion rolled her eyes. He could be such a sleazebag sometimes, but that alone wouldn't keep a woman from pursuing him. The neko youkai had a beautiful face, with peach skin and prominent dark blue eyes. The auburn cat ears and matching shoulder length hair couldn't hurt his look either, and his irresistible fanged smile was his number one seducer.

"Keep it in your pants, Rensho." The girl shot once she recognized the look in his eyes. "I'm frickin' cold over here and my only hope of warmth isn't about to be pounced on by an idiot like you."

The neko frowned at her and adjusted his cloak so that his gleaming captain of the guard's badge stood out even more against the dullness of the rest of his uniform. He internally smiled when he saw the waitress noticed.

"Awww…but I'm in heat, Senmei, can't you cut me a break?" He pleaded softly. Rensho only then took the time to notice that his friend really was soaked. Her long brown sleeves of her identical guard cloak continued to drip excess water into small puddles that were surrounding her chair, and her waist-length dark brown hair contributed to miniature bodies of water despite being pulled into a braid. Her light brown eyes continued to glare daggers into his playful irises behind her tangled damp bangs.

"Shut up. And don't call me that. It's Sen, not Senmei." She shot back coldly. She shivered involuntarily, and Rensho silently took notice of how pale her skin had gotten.

"Alright, alright." The neko put his hands up in surrender, as he didn't want to upset his friend even more. "I'm sorry for ditching you. I honestly thought you could keep up. Besides, you know what happens when I sense a storm coming." He faked a shiver. "Cats and water do not mix."

Sen sighed, and closed her eyes. Then let her head fall to the wooden table with a dull 'thud.' She didn't move.

"Um…should I take that as a sign of forgiveness?" Rensho questioned jokingly. But he knew that she was probably exhausted, as most cold-blooded reptile demons became when the weather was cold. And the region they lived in was notorious for icy rain.

"Your drinks and cucumbers, sir." The waitress said chirpily as she set down his whiskey and sides. The waitress paused in confusion at the sight of Sen, before deciding to set the tea delicately next to the girl's head.

"Thank you," Sen replied exhaustedly while slowly sitting up to cup the warm tea with her hands. The waitress nodded with a questioning look on her face before turning to the door to greet the newly arrived customers.

"I'm so tired." She breathed. Rensho arched an eyebrow at his companion, which only annoyed her even more. "Oh, come on! You know how I get tired when the weather gets cold. Plus we had that big run today…"

Sen paused and drank her tea while she waited for the waitress to lead the customers past them. She checked to make sure they weren't being overheard before she continued "And what's up with the King, by the way? He's been acting paranoid for weeks now, all these drills and security breach reconfigurations." She whispered.

"Oh, stop being over overly dramatic, and drink your tea." Rensho urged hastily, after downing his whiskey, but the snake demon was not so easily fooled.

"Rensho…" She started slowly. The neko sighed in defeat.

"It's just a rumor, but the King received information from an unconfirmed source that someone's going to try to rob the castle." He murmured while picking up a slice of cucumber with his chopsticks. "Of course, that was weeks ago, but to be safe he wants us to be at the peak of our game in order to prevent any intrusion." He glanced at the snake demon for her reaction, but all Sen did was raise an eyebrow mockingly.

"That's what this has all been about?" she said slightly louder, trying futilely to mute her outrage at the King's overreaction. "All of these endless review lessons and security breach runs we've been doing is based on a fearful hunch?"

"Sen, don't mock the King." Rensho said as if reprimanding a small child. "It's bad etiquette."

The snake demon merely huffed in frustration in reply. Rensho noticed that her skin looked less pale, and that her clothes were starting to dry.

"I take it then you're feeling better?" He asked playfully. Sen looked at him questioningly. "You were looking pretty tired before. I assume the heat revived your energy?" He elaborated.

At first Sen smiled and nodded, but then her eyes fell and she gazed slowly out the window into the rushing rainstorm.

"Actually," Sen murmured, her eyes slowly meeting Rensho's dark blue gaze. "I can't help shake this feeling. I feel like…something's about to change…I don't like it…" She whispered.

"You're just stressed, that's all." He assured her while finishing his cucumbers. In the century he had known her, Sen had never acted this depressed before, but he didn't known much about her kind since the snake demons were a dying breed.

In fact, she was the only snake demon he had ever known. She came to castle requesting a post as a guard two-hundred years ago, but he never really noticed her until about a century after she was hired. She was quiet, and tended to keep to herself when it came to socializing with the other guards as no one really knew where she came from. Then one of the older guards decided to retire, leaving him and Sen as on-duty partners.

At first she was quiet, and basically responded to all of his questions in single phrases. But as the years went by, she began to talk more, and they became friends. Her skills were interesting, for although she was a snake demon she showed no visible characteristics of a reptile, unless she concentrated her ki. In fact, she had the unusual ability to control small amounts of water, using them to create make-shift weapons or defenses. When he had once asked about this, she merely replied: "It's nothing special," and refused to continue on the subject.

Aside from knowing that you were never supposed to leave them out in the cold for a long period of time, Rensho had a theory that snake demons had a tendency to predict ominous happenings in the near future. Of course he never believed her when she told him, but a strange occurrence happened after she said she had a "bad feeling."

She told him that he would become captain of the Shinshibodo castle guard, which at the time made no sense because his father was the current captain. The next day, however, he fell during a battle when an unhappy advisor to the King went rogue and tried to kill all of the inhabitants of the castle. It was both a happy and somber day, but it was from then on he decided to keep Sen close to him in case of another 'event.'

"I have an idea!" Rensho proclaimed suddenly, startling Sen for a moment. "We just need to cheer you up." He grinned innocently. "When was the last time you got some?"

Sen stared at him deadpanned, confused by his question. "Some what?" She asked.

"You know…" He smiled perversely while he eyes traveled back to the waitress, slowly looking her up and down.

Sen's eyes widened with realization before she slapped him hard across the face, sending Rensho laughing and wincing to the floor. "What the heck is wrong with you!?" She hissed, rather authentically.

"I already told you," He chuckled while getting back up on his chair. "I'm horny."

"Perverted sex-fiend." She mumbled while finishing her tea.

"Perverted sex-feline." He corrected with a smile. She rolled her eyes and turned her head towards the entrance.

"Do you think we should return? It's almost our shift." She asked. It was still dark outside, but their shift usually began around midnight, so it was as to be expected.

"Yeah, we should probably get going." Rensho replied as he dropped a few coins on the table, then stood and put on his hood. He then flipped a small gold coin into the waitress' hands on the way out, winking and whispering something about "excellent service." The waitress' blush grew deeper, as Sen sighed and followed her companion out the door.

The rain had calmed, but it was still lighting raining as she stepped out of the tavern's warmth and back into the town's cold air. Rensho stood waiting for her, under the sanctuary of a large willow's canopy a few yards away.

"We should really hurry, Sen!" He shouted despite the proximity, for the rain's low pulse against the foliage of the trees was louder when they were right at the edge of the forest. "I don't wanna get more wet than I already am!"

"Quit whining, Rensho!" She shouted as they began to lightly run towards the castle in the distance. "After all, it's not like the castle is really going to be attacked by any-"

A piercing scream resonated in the distance, originated from somewhere in the castle's direction. Sen's eyes shot open and she dashed out towards the fortress with Rensho slightly ahead of her. As they drew nearer her eyes grew wide with horror. Despite the distance, it was quite visible that part of the east entrance of the castle was on fire and under attack. Panic shot through her body as she raced towards the castle through the pounding rain with even more speed.

A/N: To any of my readers of 'Cerulean and Celadon,' I'm terribly sorry about the delay. It may look as if I am abandoning the story, but I assure you I AM NOT!!! In fact, I'll be finally updating it this weekend, since I finally found something to live for. Again, thank you for your patience, and I apologize for the delay. (And for the fanfiction tanget.)