The Storm Shelter
by Mezi Matsuki
Chapter One
Author's Note: The title doesn't make sense yet. I won't know until it comes when it will.
A young girl sat looking out through the crack in a door, watching all the destruction that happened. Her most noticeable features, jet-black fox ears poking out from her hair and a black tail with silver streaks, waved and twitched wildly. She had been a slave there for 12 years, and never once had she seen an attack upon her home. She had been born there, but her mother had gotten her out before she was forced into slavery as well. Three years later, she was found and returned to her master's ownership, but during this time, her mother had died. For nine years, she served as a maid, doing little chores and such until she turned 12. At this time, her jobs changed. Ever since that day, she had been kept in a little cell that was really a closet, at all times except when the master had her. She didn't quite know what was going on, only that she needed to stay silent and maybe she'd be able to get away afterwards. As she watched through the crack in the door, she saw the guard fall, dead, killed by a thorny vine. She kept watching through all the chaos, seeing everything she could remember as her life got destroyed. After she saw it all end, she decided to come out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Turning
around, Kuronue looked to find out what he heard. The sound was a squeak, like
a door opening. As he entered the smaller room off the original one, he noticed
a pair of silver eyes staring at him. He could sense the fear coming from these
eyes, so he just pretended he didn't notice. After a few minutes of his pretend
search, he decided to move a little closer to the eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As the girl watched, the man got closer. She hadn't seen him before, and she was more afraid as he moved closer. He was tall, with black bat wings and a long black ponytail that hung over the top of a black hat. He wore a black vest and a black pair of pants with a white cloth wrapped around his waist and secured with numerous belts. He had leather straps wrapped around his arms, and seemed to be grinning as he searched. The grin seemed to calm the girl, but only a little. As the man got closer, she tried to get to another corner without getting noticed. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab the collar of her kimono, and she fell to the ground, crying in her native language.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As the girl sat on the floor where she'd fallen, Kuronue listened to her speech with mild confusion. He didn't understand it, but he knew due to her ears and tail and language that she was a youko. He wondered vaguely if Kurama would understand her, but then realized if Kurama didn't, he'd be screwed. He guessed by her clothing, a short kimono with a long skirt under it, as well as a collar around her neck, that she was a slave. Getting annoyed, he finally tried to make her stop whining.
"Ok... shut up. Or at least speak common... just stop crying. It's annoying." As soon as he finished, she closed her mouth and stared at him. Her stare unnerved him a little, and he shivered.
"C'mon..." He said, taking her hand. "Maybe Kurama will understand you..." 'And boy is he gonna love this... I can hear it now... 'Kuro, you're going soft! Bringing a kid back?! You're insane!' Feh... he's the insane one, sending us on this mission...' He thought.