Hiya! This is AJ/Wynn the Hybrid/Pretty Sammy here with my FIRST YYH Story! gasp I'm really excited too! Now, a quick note, when I skip to different times or scenes, it will be with a quote of some kind either by a character or someone in real life, just so you know! Hmm… ah… well, I hope you enjoy!

Please R & R when you done, whether flame or comment or suggestion, I would love it!

Disclaimer: Now, if I owned YYH or the Slaves and such… would I be here? I think not, so it's obvious that they're not mine.

Slave or Save?

Prologue

"Go! Or I'll whip yaw 'gain!" A burly man wielding a leather whip kicked a small girl in the back. She stumbled, but made no sound, just the padding of her bare feet walking briskly on the ground. There were many others, so many you lost count after you got to fifty. Slaves. That's what they were; being taken from the semi-safe homes they had and were sent across the sea. Where to you ask? Somewhere they'd rather not be is what most would say, or close to that. Supposedly known as the 'new world', the lucky ones who could eaves drop without being caught or the ones who were told by parents had heard of this name. The 'new world' was just starting to become a small nation, but was quickly gaining power in many ways and places.

"You too, boy, git!" This time the man used the whip, and slashed a young man across the back. He winced and held back pained tears, but kept moving, only now at a faster pace. He wasn't used to getting whipped; he usually did as told to avoid it. Now, though, he was too tired and keeping up was difficult. With his two chained hands, he wiped sweaty red hair out of his emerald green eyes.

The small girl, who was a little ways in front of him, snuck back to stride beside him. "Are you alright, Kurama?" Another woman came up to him from behind, "Are you alright, son?" she asked quietly, not wanting the Watchers, as 'they' called them, to hear. They weren't the sympathetic type.

The boy nodded, and in a sweet alto asked, "How about you, Mother? And Ayaka?" They both nodded as well, and Kurama sighed in relief. Ayaka reached up and pulled on his short sleeve of his shirt, "What is it?" She glanced around nervously, and then asked, "… Are… Are we going to stay together, Kurama-san? Shiori-san?" The woman, Shiori, looked away, while Kurama quickly hugged her at the risk of the whip again.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see won't we?" He gave her a small smile, and took her hand in his. "We'll have to wait and see…"

"We must stick together the best we can to survive."- Kurama

Once to the boat, the Watchers quickly started lining them up and shoving them aboard. Kurama, Ayaka, and Shiori found a small spot on the floor and sat down quietly. They knew many others on the boat, but they were either far away from their spot, or didn't look in the mood to talk. Ayaka crawled on Kurama's lap and got comfortable. Kurama smiled and wrapped his arms around her, gently rocking her back and forth.

Ayaka had lost her family whilst traveling; they had died from a sickness along the way. Shiori Minamino had found her walking alone and asked if she wanted to join her and her son. Ayaka, who had been crying for some time, had only nodded and went with them ever since. Once she met Kurama, she stuck to him like glue, like a younger sister would to her big brother. Kurama only smiled and took care of her along the way. Ayaka was only a seven year old, while Kurama was at sixteen.

"… Mother, what do you think?" asked Kurama after the boat had started its voyage. Ayaka had fallen asleep. Shiori turned to her son and raised a confused eyebrow, "Think about what?" she asked. Kurama bit his lip and gnawed on it for a few seconds, "… Do you think… that we'll stay together?" Shiori blinked.

"I've thought about it… and I admit, I'm scared that we will be separated. But, Shuichi, we'll just have to hope for the best." Kurama nodded. Shuichi was his real name, Kurama a nick name among the children and others about his age. They said he was somewhat like Yoko Kurama, the one from the legends they'd say. He could always sneak around like the cunning fox of legend, get into places no one else could or would dare to try… but not lately, only when needed.

"Dreams are only what you make them out to be, so don't give them up."

The trip to the 'new world' was grueling, long, and horribly sick, literally. So many of the slaves, and even a few Watchers, had become sick on the way there. Many died, but quite a handful survived as well. It had felt like it took months… but then, it probably had. Ayaka had been carving small tallies in the side of the boat, but some of the younger boys thought it funny to mess up her counting and cut more in. All they knew was it was more than twenty, and less than at least two hundred…

"Onii-san, are we there yet?" Ayaka asked after finishing her small dinner, bread and some fresh water. Kurama turned to her and gave a small smile, "I heard some of the others talking, they said they saw land. But that was awhile ago, so we'll be there shortly." She giggled and crawled on to his lap again. So much spirit for a young, lonely child, Kurama mused. Shiori came jogging over as fast as possible in a cotton shift, "We've made it! Come on; let's get ready to head out so we can skip traffic!" She pulled Ayaka up and gave Kurama a hand as well.

"Shiori! Hold up, where are you going?"

"We're going up early, skip the hassle." A woman with short black hair shrugged, "Alright, just wonderin'." The small family climbed up the stairs and came out onto the deck. Ayaka gasped and jumped down, "'Kassan, look at the sky! It's beautiful!" She scampered over to the edge and gawked at the air. It was sunset, and the sky had just the right colors so it made a lovely pattern on the water as well, purples, pinks, oranges and yellows, it was a sight to behold.

"Amazing… It's even better then back home…" Kurama breathed, amazed at the beauty as well."

Shiori just smiled and leaned over the edge, "Welcome tour new home, dears."

I know it's not long… but I do so hoped you liked it!

Just a fair warning, not everything about the slaves and such is true; we're just learning little tidbits here and there in Social Studies, nothing explicit. Again, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and please R & R!