**

Large young eyes watched as the two older youkai fussed about. It had taken them seemingly forever before she'd actually agreed to let them lead her out of the cellar and carry with her brother. And now that they were sitting near a campfire, now they wanted to her let go of him? She had no intentions of doing that any time soon.

As the two argued about the best way to convince her, she looked down at the sleeping form which lay in her lap. Her brother, Hiei, had gotten sick about a week ago, before their village had been attacked and destroyed. She didn't know what he was sick with, but she knew that whatever it was, it was keeping him asleep for very long periods of time. Every few hours he would manage to wake up, just enough to reassure her he was alive, but then he would slip off again into unconsciousness. Her mother had been taking care of him… but now her mother was dead, along with the rest of her family.

The young girl bit her lower lip and hugged him a bit closer, refusing to cry. Instead she turned her attention to the two strangers on the other side of the modest fire.

The shorter of the two had red hair, not like that of any youkai she'd ever seen. He wore little clothing to cover his form, so it was easy for her to tell what he looked like. He reminded her of a youko, though he didn't have the long bushy tail and ears of most youko. Still, there was something in the way he moved and reacted to things that reminded her of the youko vendor who'd came to town once a month with his strange puzzle toys that no one could seem to solve. But then that fit, because youko were said to be very cunning creatures, and sometimes many people even doubted there was a solution to those puzzles and that it wasn't just a hoax to get money.

The taller one, whom she'd heard called Kuronue, was definitely a nocturnal youkai. He was more strongly built then the deceptive youko, but not too much. If he'd stood up, he would have easily been twice her height, with his long disheveled black hair falling down to his waist, even when it was in a high ponytail. Bat-like wings jutted out from his back, hinting to a clan of youkai that was said to live high up in the mountain caves of the Makai forests, but she couldn't remember their name.

Both of them were looking at her now, apparently having decided on a course of action. She hugged her brother a little closer, still not willing to let him go, but otherwise didn't move. They seemed friendly enough, even if they did argue with each other and Kuronue kept calling the other one 'kid' even though he certainly wasn't one. It was almost funny how they fought and she knew that had this taken place at any other time she might have been laughing, but the current situation wasn't one to smile in.

The red head moved toward her and sat down in front of her and her brother. A soft smile spread across his face, already making her feel more relaxed with his friendliness.

"My name's Kurama, what's yours?"

"Yukina." She responded softly, figuring that there was honestly no harm in giving him a name. And she really wanted others to trust, or at least to talk to after being alone. She also knew that she had no way to take care of her brother and she didn't know the first thing about his condition.

"You're a Koorime, aren't you?"

Yukina nodded.

"And who's this?" Kurama asked, point to Hiei. Yukina noticed that he made no move to touch Hiei, or move closer, apparently so that he didn't startle her.

"My brother, Hiei."

"He doesn't look like a Koorime," Kuronue commented from where he sat, poking at the fire with a long stick, trying to make it grow more.

Yukina looked down at her brother, smiling softly as she lightly stroked his spiky black hair. "He's not… he's only half Koorime."

Kuronue stood up and walked over a bit closer, leaning down to get a better look at Hiei. After a moment his eyes widened and he looked at Yukina. "He's a fire youkai, isn't he? That's why there were Koorime living out here in this area of the Makai, your parents are a fire youkai and a Koorime, aren't they?"

Yukina nodded. "He's still my brother," she said softly, out of habit. Too many times she'd heard others criticize Hiei for being the child of two races that were never supposed to mate that she was so used to defending him. It made it especially worse because she wasn't a full Koorime herself, having the same parents, she just looked the part because that's how she was born. Still, it created quite the fuss in towns when the two were revealed to be brother and sister, since one would think that fire and ice don't mix. And in most cases they didn't… however this situation seemed to be the exception.

"Relax kid, we didn't mean anything by it," Kuronue said, offering Yukina a friendly smile. He took a moment to glance at Kurama before leaving both of them alone and setting up a small contraption of metal over the fire to start boiling some water. Yukina found herself relaxing as she could smell whatever was in the pot. It was a rich and deep smell, yet there was only a hint of it in the air because it wasn't even close to warm and cooked yet. In spite of herself, she heard her stomach make a few noises and she fidgeted, looking down in embarrassment. She'd been so worried about her brother after the attack, that she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten.

"We have plenty of food to share, so there's nothing wrong with being hungry." Kurama offered her a warm smile and chanced moving a bit closer. She watched him but didn't move away, instead she just watched, waiting.

"I'd like that," she added softly, answering his question a second later.

"May I see him? He looks sick. Maybe we can help."

Yukina bit her lower lip as a wave of sadness and relief hit her. She'd robbed herself of sleep and food, cuddling with him in the dark cellar, not knowing what else to do. And now the very prospect of someone being able to help had the effect of nearly bringing her to tears. She blinked her eyes quickly for a moment, not willing to shed any tears. Kurama simply kept his warm smile and moved to sit next to her. He moved in slow motions, motions that could easily be stopped and all she had to do was say something and she knew he would pull back immediately. The red haired youko seemed to have more patience then the rest of the Makai combined.

His hand rested gently against Hiei's forehead and Yukina watched her brother for any reaction. She had no way to time him, but shouldn't he be waking up soon? It was usually once every day, and today he hadn't so much as twitched. She frowned in worry as she watched Kurama pull his hand back and glance at the wagon behind them before turning to her.

"Yukina, your brother is very sick. I need to take him to my father, or he may be in serious trouble. Please."

She nodded, letting go of Hiei, only to clench her fists tightly to keep control over her emotions. She refused to collapse on Hiei, not when he needed her the most. Instead she watched the redhead lift up his small body securely in his arms, hugging him close like a child. She stood quickly to her feet, hoping to signal to him that she'd let him carry Hiei, but she was going with, no matter what. Kurama didn't seem to mind, because he simply gave her a small nod and started toward the wagon while she followed behind.

As they moved toward it she couldn't help but notice the wagon itself. The particular design didn't look familiar, but she'd seen a few like it. Generally they had traveled into the town around various harvest times and that's when the inhabitants mingled. Whoever they were, one would always see them mixing in with the town's people, dancing, laughing, drinking, performing… she'd never bothered to ask who they were because they were never around long enough to ask. A week at most and the wagon would be gone, presumably heading toward the next town, no answers left behind that anyone was willing to tell her about.

This wagon was crudely crafted but looked amazingly sturdy, and it was easy to tell that it had lasted through many years of use. The wheels were newer, showing good care and replacement as they wore down, while several windows were closed along the sides. It seemed like the perfect size for two or three people to live in, and possibly even more if the group used it only to travel and generally slept out under the stars.

Kurama held Hiei securely in his arms and opened the door. With a soft murmur he stepped into the wagon, moving toward the back end. Yukina meekly stepped in behind him and squinted her eyes, trying to see through the darkness.

A couple minutes passed as the small scene started to come into focus. Slowly she was able to make out the inside of the wagon. Along one wall, securely made into part of the wall, were racks of bottles, apparently filled with wine or mead or some other strong drink she'd never had. Each bottle was made of a dark colored glass, the color being anything guess to her in the darkness, but she could tell it marked the drink as rare, because she'd never seen dark bottles like that except in very expensive booths.

Clothes hung along both sides of the wagon from the ceiling, creating a multicolored and multi-fabriced curtain to block off both sides. On one side the curtain was closed, while on the other -- where Kurama had taken Hiei - was held open so she could see past it. The rest of the wagon was made into a large bed that went from wall to wall and was covered with pillows of odd shapes and colors, with blankets and everything having a patchwork texture to it. Yukina watched as Kurama gently laid Hiei down on the bed and tucked a quilt close around his shoulders, covering his entire small body in the thick fabric.

Kurama turned and stepped past Yukina to the other curtain which was closed. She watched as he pulled it back, just enough to look in but she couldn't see past him.

"Father?"

The youko's voice dropped lower so Yukina couldn't hear it. She tried for a moment, but eventually gave up and just walked over to where her brother was sleeping silently. The young Koorime climbed up on the bed and hugged him tightly, gently kissing his forehead.

"They'll take good care of you, I promise. Just get better, Hiei." She whispered to him softly. She kissed his forehead again, then climbed down off the bed and stepped out of the wagon.

"Here."

Yukina blinked and found Kuronue standing in front of her with a smile and steaming cup of something that smelled thick and filling. She smiled softly at him and took it. After taking a testing sip, she delightfully found that it was a type of soup that he'd apparently made from the canned and jarred foods in her parent's cellar. Her stomach grumbled in response and she quickly finished off the cup, smiling more at Kuronue.

Kuronue responded with a chuckle and beckoned for her to follow him back to the camp fire. "There's plenty more. You seem pretty hungry, so just eat as much as you want."

"What about Kurama and… and your father?"

Kuronue blinked at her for a moment, then grinned. "Oh, Yomi? No worries, I can easily make more. Just come sit down and eat as much as you want."

So Yukina did. Somewhere along the line she completely filled her stomach, the warm soup heating her entire body and making her quite sleepy. Without so much as a second thought she rested her head against Kuronue's shoulder and murmured something about just resting there for a moment…

It wasn't long before she'd drifted off to sleep, leaning against the dark youkai. Kuronue simply smiled at her and went about tending to soup until Kurama and Yomi came to eat their shares and quietly joke about his new job as a pillow.