Golden orbs studied the outstretched map before them. "Kuronue, have you informed the others were taking the long route to the castle?

"Yeah yeah" the bat was just fixing to bite into a demon bird when Yoko sntached if from his hands, "Kuro..you shouldn't have!" Before Kuronue could respond Yoko bit into it. "Hey! It took me a long time to pluck that!" Yoko ignored his comrade's comment and turned his attention back to the map. "wouldn't It be smarter to take the shortcut? What if that girl shows up again?" A frown appeared on the foxes face, " I'll deal with her if she does". For the pass couple months a mysterious girl had been foiling all of their raids, beating them to the treasures they sought after. Much to Yoko's annoyance he could never keep up with the girl…she was always a step ahead of him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A silver blur dashed by two lizard demons guarding the infamous castle Yoko and his bandits were planning to infiltrate. Within a split second the fox had broken both of their necks. He signaled for his gang of thieves to join his side as Kuronue flew above the castle making sure the coast was clear. Yoko's ears began to twitch as a siren from somewhere inside the castle went off. He cursed under his breath after seeing guards beginning to pour out of the castle's enterance. Kuroune landed next to Yoko, "whats happening?". "Their looking for the girl we have to go" he growled. Once again the mysterious girl had spoiled their plans. Yoko took off, Kuronue hot on his trail. The other members of the gang had already vanished into the forest surrounding the castle.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

She wore a ninja type outfit, all that could be seen were her icy blue eyes. In her hand lay a rare treasure..a magical monkey's paw. Four guards were right behind her so she changed direction heading towards the forest that encircled the castle. That's when she first came upon the bat….

/\/\/\/\/\/\ Minutes earlier/\/\/\/\/\

Kuronue came to a halt after realizing he had dropped his most prized possession, his crimson pendant. Yoko no longer could hear his partner in crime's footsteps running behind him so he turned around just in time to see his comrade's leg being impaled by some sort of bamboo trap. His heart sank…

"KURONUE!" He was fixing to run to his side but the sound of guards yelling caused him to hesitate. "Kurama, Run! Save yourself!" The fox was hesistant to listen to his partner..but he didn't have much of a choice. He stared into Kuronue's indigo orbs one last time before taking off and disappearing into the darkness. The bat was losing blood fast..already his vision was beginning to blur.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The girl came to an abrupt halt after coming upon the bat's limp form. She had lost the guards but she knew they weren't far away. She could smell death in the air..the bat had been killed. A sad look fell upon her features. Her gaze fell upon the monkey paw in her possession. She was contemplating rather or not she should save the poor bat. A red glow stirred her from thoughts, she bent down picking up a crimson pendant. She figured it belonged to the bat demon. "I smell blood! That bitch musta fallen into one of the traps we set!"

Hurriedly the girl placed the pendant around the bat's neck then proceeded to drag him behind a colossal old tree. She would not be able to escape fast enough with him on her back so she hid and waited for the guards to appear. "Hey over here!" The girl watched in silence as one of the guards examined the bloody bamboo trap that had taken the bat demons life. Other guards soon joined his side, "she managed to free herself..but theres no way she's alive still..look at all that damn blood!" The guards began to cackle, "serves that bitch right!" The guard that seemed to lead the others spoke, "comeon lets head back, we'll scour the forest in the morning for her body and get that monkey paw back!" The girl waited until she was sure the guards were no were nearby before revealing herself from behind the tree. "This is gonna be a workout" she commented while throwing the lifeless bat over her shoulders. Once she made it to her home she sprang into action . She ripped the pant leg of the bat to get a better view of the wound that had been inflicted upon his leg. Blood poured from it like a raging river, she put pressure on the wound hoping to stop the blood flow. Eventually the blood stopped, she washed away the remaining blood with water than assessed the damage. A large bloody hole is what she saw, the bamboo trap had went clear through his leg to the other side. She sterilized the wound with alchohol then proceeded to bandage it. Her gaze turned to the monkey paw….

Three wishes had been made prior to stealing it. She turned her attention back to the deceased bat, if she wished for him to come back to life she would have only one wish left.

"damn my conscious " she muttered. She grabbed the monkey paw, holding it up to eye level. "I wish…. I wish to bring this demon back to life" A blinding light soon emitted from Kuronue, it was so bright that it could be seen throughout makai.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Yoko sat at the river's edge near the cave he called his home. His golden irises were fixiated upon the water, the image of Kuronue lingering in his mind. Had he done the right thing? Should he have stayed and attempted to save Kuronue? He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that would not go away. Kuronue was dead..and he would carry the guilt of it forever. He clinched his fist in anger thinking back on everything that had happened. It was all that damn girls fault..she had stirred the guards up..she would pay. Yoko was torn from his thoughts as a blinding light emitted from the sky. "what the…" Yoko muttered while jumping to his feet. "the monkey paw!" he exclaimed. He could sense its magic..someone had made a wish..and that someone he assumed was the girl. She was defiantly nearby. He quickly took off in the direction of the light..but to his dismay it vanished and everything was once more shrouded in darkness.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The girl quickly ran to the bat's side as the light dimmed then vanished. She placed her ear on his chest..there was no heart beat..no breathing…no anything. She examined the monkey paw..only one finger remained up. Maybe it took some time for the wish to work? He was defiantly still dead as a doornail. She watched over the bat for nearly an hour, but to her disappointment the bat's condition didn't change. Eventually, she called it a night and decided to see if he would be alive in the morning.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Her eyes slowly opened, she remembered her guest and her eyes widened. She quickly got to her feet and ran into the living room where she had left him. "It….didnt work" she muttered to herself. His skin was ice cold, it was obvious the wish hadn't came true. Maybe the monkey paw just wasn't powerful enough to bring someone back from the dead. She cursed herself for making such a foolish wish then proceeded to the hotspring nearby her home. She planned to bury the unlucky demon's body when she returned.

( Kuronue's POV)

I awoke from my slumber and proceeded to stretch my limbs. A Sharp pain in my leg caught my attention and I looked down to see my leg wrapped in blood soaked bandages. The previous nights events flooded my mind. I remembered everything. I had lost my pendant…MY PENDANT!

My hand reached my neck, to my surprise the pendant was there in all its glory. Yoko must have came back for me. I quickly realized I was not at the hideout..but rather somewhere unfamiliar. All the blood I had lost…how was I even still alive? Was I being kept alive only to be tortured to death. I stumbled to my feet and bolted for the door. Once I made it outside I realized where I was…in the mountains. The house I had awoken in was built into a mountainside, the hidout was only about 20 minutes from here. I heard a girl humming off in the distance so I followed the sound. I came upon a girl with long black hair and piercing blue eyes bathing in a hotspring. She was naked…but her hair covered up her breasts. I crept closer to her. The house had been doused in her scent..had she saved me? Why? Who was she?

The girl stiffened a bit, she knew she was being watched. She turned meeting with a pair of indigo orbs. Neither of the two spoke but rather engaged in a staring contest. Finally Kuronue broke the silence, "who are you? What do you want with me?" he demanded. He watched as she exited the spring, his eyes were fixiated on her bare body. She quickly got dressed then walked over to him,

"My name..is Kimi"

She was staring at him like he was an alien or something, "What are you lookin at!"

"You..dont remember?" she asked. "Remember what? being impaled by that trap? Yeah I remember that"

"You died" she replied bluntly. He was at a loss of words, if he had died then why was he…still alive? Huh? His legs went out from under him, a sharp pain shot through his leg. He grimaced in pain, "damnit!" The girl now known as Kimi ran to his side, "you should be resting, comeon"

Before he could respond she had yanked him to his feet, he leaned on her for support and proceeded to walk back towards the house. He was unsure of the girl's intentions but he didn't really have a choice but to let her help him. Once inside, she lowered him down onto the couch and began to take off the old blood soacked bandages. "Why are you helping me? Her eyes met with his, "I….stop acting suspicious of me! If I wanted to kill you I would have done it by now!" she replied. "Your just a girl you couldn't take me!" he retorted.

"Heh think whatever you want batman, your in no condition to be saying that!"

The two fell silent as Kimi fnished rebandaging his wound. He stared at her the whole time…she was a very beautiful girl. She was defiantly human..but the power radiating around her was much stronger than any ordinary humans. "There! You should rest here until your healed..you wont be able to defend yourself If you leave now" He knew she was right in this assumption. "I'll stay…if you promise to let me see you naked again" She blushed, "shutup! Its not like you havent seen a women naked before!"

He grinned noticing he had caused her to blush, "How would you know?". "I can tell…its pretty obvious" A lecherous grin crossed his face, "I am pretty experienced…I can show you a few things if you like…"

"Shut up and go to sleep or something!" she responded turning reder by the second.

/\/\/\\/\/\/\

Two weeks passed by and the bat grew stronger and stronger until his wound had finally healed. He had taken a liking to the girl he still barely knew anything about. He still didn't understand what she had meant but saying "you died". She wouldn't tell him for some reason. Kimi barely knew anything about the bat, he had spent a majority of his time sleeping. Although, she did know he worked alongside Yoko, Kurama..that is why she did not tell him about the wish she had made using the monkey paw…he would instantly know who she was..well know she was the one spoiling all of their raids.

/\/\/\/\/\

Yoko slammed his fist into a nearby tree, he had gone on at least 12 raids in the past 2 weeks, his main goal was not stealing treasures..but rather trying to lure the mysterious girl in black into a trap. He wanted revenge..he wouldn't be satisfied until he had tortured and killed her. To the spirit fox's dismay the girl never showed..he was beginning to think she had fallen victim to the guards that fretful night.

/\/\/\/\/\/\\

"Goodbye Kuronue! Don't get yourself killed this time!" Kuronue began to flap his wings but he stopped and turned back to face the women who had saved his life. "Thank you..for everything" he said while staring into Kimi's eyes. He was a ruthless bandit..but around this girl you wouldn't belive it. She watched as he vanished into the sky..she would see him again. She frowned realzing she was getting low on money. On many occasions she would head to the local pub and take on missions for money. She would be asked to steal some priceless gem or kill some demon..blah blah blah. She would go..and coinciedently run into the spirit fox and Kuronue. She would always beat him to the treasure and take off with all the valuables before he even knew what hit him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Yoko threw a haymaker at a member of his gang, it knocked him out cold. "Anyone else want to disobey my orders?" The gang of bandits fell silent. "Good, now as I was saying…"

Yoko noticed all the bandits eyes widen all of a sudden. One bandit pointed his finger to something behind the fox, he looked like he had seen a ghost. "Yo…Yoo…Yoko look!" he studdered. "It cant be!" another bandit commented. Yoko turned his icy glare turning into a stunned expression. He looked like a deer in headlights! "Yo! Long time no see!" Yoko said not a word, he stared in disbelief unable to articulate any words. "Kuronue where have you been! We thought you were dead!" one bandit asked. "I'll explain later..if I remember correctly Kurama, we have a raid tonight"

A sly grin fell upon the foxes features, "youre right we do"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kimi stared into the mirror after covering herself in a black cloak. All that could be seen were her eyes. She never revealed her identity to clients. Tonight she was off to the pub to earn some money.

10 minutes had passed and she found herself standing in front of the local pub. As she entered the bar she scanned the tables. She always sat at the same one in the very back of the pub. She wouldn't have to wait long for someone to come along and supply her with a mission. She sat down at her spot and waited..

A slimely toad demon approached her with a bag full of gold coins. "are you the one known as the shadow?" she gave a slight nod and he proceeded to tell her of a magical mirror. " It is a mirror that shows the location of the owners enemies wherever they may be.."

"have a map?" Kimi asked. The toad nodded and pulled out a crinkled up map. "the mirror is located in a forest…guarded by a baby dragon". His stubby little finger pointed to a green area on the map, indicating a forest was located there. It would take her some time to get to it…a couple hours.

/\/\/\/\/\

Kimi was ready to take on the mission, it was pitch black outside…a perfect night for a thief. She took off full speed towards her destination unaware she would run into the bat a lot sooner than she anticipated.