---Chapter 2 – To Remember---

"Kuronue? How do you know of Kuronue? And what do you mean he is imprisoned? He is dead! I saw him die with my own eyes. How dare you-"

"How dare I what, Spirit Detective Kurama? How dare I want to bring my mate back to my side? How dare I come to this pathetic ningen world in search of help to reunite my mate and myself together? YOU have no right questioning me weak kitsune." Nariko spat with anger and frustration radiating off of her like waves of power.

"I am centuries older. When you first met me I was more than a fumbling kit, as you believed. I have been subject to experiments and protocols of my kind. I will stop at nothing to have Kuronue by my side. Especially when I rule the vampire race. My lord Tristan has named me heiress as a reward for my service. And as such, I can have your will shackled and bring you as my slave. But I remember, even though you do not, the kindness you showed me when I arrived bloodied and beaten at your castle, Sir Yoko."

Kurama sat back on his pillows with his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. There was so much from his past that he could not recall. It was like a barrier prevented him. "I...I am sorry Nariko. There is a recoil of sorts with putting my soul in another body, I cannot remember things at times. You...you are one of those things."

Nariko slowly relaxed as she realized he was being defensive because of his own ignorance. "I am not surprised. I was not with you as long as Kuronue was. I was only with the two of you for half a century, when I first crossed the barrier of the vampire world and the Makai." She moved closer to Kurama, going as far as to straddling him on top of the blankets. It was devoid of intimacy; it was for other purposes. "I can help you remember. Relax."

Without anymore warning or hesitation, the vampire heiress pressed her fingers to his temples and rested her forehead on his. Kurama winced slightly as her nails made him bleed slightly but soon could no longer feel it as together they dove into each other's memories.

"Lord Yoko!" The master of the castle and very famous thief looked up from checking over the treasury room. His golden gaze settled on one of the maids that kept his castle clean and in working order. Those same eyes narrowed at the frantic tone that she called his name with.

"What is it? You know better than to interrupt me." Yoko Kurama crossed his arms over his chest, wondering why the servant girl couldn't have bothered Kuronue or someone with more patience.

"Um...well, sir...There is someone at the door and-"

"Spit it out girl!" Yoko growled out just as Kuronue popped into existence behind the girl.

"Be nice Kurama. You know most of our servants are young and nervous with you." His smooth voice slid around the area, making the maid even shakier with having both the masters in one place. "Now sweet one, what is the problem?" Kuronue gently flirted with the maid while finding out the problem.

"Oh. There is a woman at the entrance...and she is very badly injured. She asked to be let in before she went unconscious." The young woman blushed under Kuronue's gaze and fiddled with her apron before glancing up at Kurama who had calmed down considerably.

"A woman? Demoness? Or some sort of sprite?" Kurama questioned somewhat gentler.

"I'm sorry my lord, I have no idea. She appears almost like a ningen, but her scent is too odd." The cat demon stared at her feet and studied the boards on which she was standing.

Kurama looked at his partner; "I suppose we should see who is brave enough to show up on our doorstep and request assistance from us." He smirked as Kuronue shrugged and grinned at the same time.

With the maid in tow, the thieving duo approached the entrance to find out who it was. What they saw was not expected.

A very pretty woman was laid on the floor with a blanket folded as a pillow under her head. She breathed unevenly and many wounds covered her body. Deep cuts located in various spots bled heavily and a multitude of scratches covered her arms and stomach. Her clothes were once probably very styled but were now torn and ripped. Some of her covering was even in pieces holding on by the threads that they were made from.

Kuronue blinked once before moving forward to move her long black tresses from her face. When he pulled his hand away he realized it was drenched in blood. Whether it was hers or not, he had no idea but he was leaning towards the fact it was her own. The two demons looked upon her flawless face and studied her features.

The bat youki started from her forehead down. She had a heart-shaped face with soft cheekbones and smooth cheeks. Her eyes were almond shaped and her nose was a perfect match to her face. Full deep blood red lips were followed by a very stubborn chin. All in all, beyond the cuts and scratches on her face, she was perfect.

As he crouched by her body she gave out a painful moan and writhed as if she was in a lot of pain. The woman sat up with a gasp, her eyes opening wide before collapsing on the ground once more. She turned her head with her eyes half open, showing a florescent blue color that glowed. Her hand closest to Kuronue reached out to grab the cloth of his black shirt tightly. "Help...please." Her voice faded as she fell unconscious once more and her hand slowly released his shirt.

Kuronue scratched the back of his head and turned to look at Kurama. "Well...I'm voting to have her stay. At least until she's able to move on her own." He adjusted his hat on top of his black hair as he stood up.

"Of course you would Kuronue." Yoko chuckled as he uncrossed his arms. He beckoned a small group of five servants to stand before him. "I want one of the rooms here with a large bath prepared for our newest guest. Have someone find her a white yukita and then a selection of women's clothing to be put in her room. I also want a warm, not hot, bath ready for her within the next half-hour. Now!"

The servants scattered around the castle at his command. The maid who had brought her to their attention shuffled forward without hesitation with a bowl of steaming water and another followed her with cool water. She kneeled beside the woman and laid the warm cloth on her forehead as they waited.

"What is your name?" Kurama questioned pleasantly as if he had never had a temper ever.

The cat yokai looked up with flickering ears. "It's Arianna my lord." She murmured as she dabbed at the woman's face with another cloth.

"Alright. Arianna, you are to look after all of this woman's needs when she awakens. That includes dressing her and helping her with her bathing if she wishes it. It's a promotion from dusting at least. Do you know how to tend to a woman if she turns out to be a high class?"

"Yes sir." Arianna answered, washing most of the woman's cuts on her face.

"Lord Yoko. Her room is ready with the bath. Lord Kuronue knows where it is and wishes to take her there himself." A serpent demon bowed and moved out of the way for Kuronue to pick up the woman.

"Taking an interest in her already Kuronue? I didn't know you liked the helpless ones." Kurama teased in a brotherly way.

Kuronue shrugged, "What can I say? I like variety." He gently picked up the girl bridle-style and began carrying her to the room prepared.

Nariko chuckled as she viewed this memory from Kurama's point of view. "So that's what happened."

Kurama could do nothing but smile in return before she dove into her memory to fill in the gaps.

Kaille, or Nariko as she was more often called, awoke in a very comfortable bed. Her head was propped up on a fluffy white pillow and when she checked under the blankets, she was clad in a soft white yukita. Her hair had been recently washed and there were many bandages on her body.

She leaned back into her pillows and breathed deeply. Her hair that they had thought was dark black was actually a black with purple highlights and her eyes were now a honeyed amber color that were warm with life. Nariko sighed and turned her head to look at her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was a castle and a deep seductive voice that surpassed any of those in her clan. That memory went together with a pair of indigo blue eyes and gentle hand on her face.

Suddenly the door to her room opened and someone of small stature entered. Her eyes snapped shut and she breathed evenly as if asleep. The person got closer and closer until finally she found where her power was to vanish and appear behind the girl in her room. She locked her arms around the yôkai from behind and lowered her mouth to her neck where her jugular pulsed rapidly.

"Stop." The girl cried out. "Stop!"

Nariko paid no head to her pleas and pierced the skin of her fragile neck to drink greedily from her life source. The blood of such a young and strong cat yokai rejuvenated her quickly.

"Stop." She murmured in a choking voice, her consciousness fading quickly as Nariko soothed her mind with her own.

The vampiress' eyes glowed blue under her eyelids as she drank deeply. It had been so long since fresh blood. Just as sudden as the cat's entering, the door slammed open to reveal the two masters of the castle.

"Release her!" A voice commanded from the doorway before getting closer. The kitsune in white grabbed at the servant girl and the bat in black gripped Nariko from behind. Together they pulled the vampiress off of the girl and to safety. Yoko pressed a cloth to her neck and made sure she stayed alive.

"Kuronue, you wanted her here, you take care of her!" Yoko growled out, angry that one of the members in his castle was harmed under his nose.

Kuronue held onto Nariko as she clawed at his arms, attempting to get him to release her. Her nails were lengthened and were just as sharp as her fangs. Finally she went limp and chuckled softly before vanishing from his arms in tendrils of shadow to appear on the bed with her legs crossed.

"Forgive me. That was terrible manners." She wiped her mouth clean with her tongue, but the blood red stayed as if stained onto her lips. "She'll be fine. I only took what I needed and left her with enough to survive and be on her feet after a rest."

"Ah I see. You're a vampiress." Kuronue announced with a smirk. "It must have been some time since you've had blood from the way you showed up on our doorstep."

Nariko looked away from him and down to her lap. He brought up things that shouldn't have been spoken of so soon. "Yes it's been a while. I'm sorry about suddenly showing up. I couldn't find anywhere else before I passed out."

Yoko rolled his eyes, he knew where this was headed and so he took his leave with Arianna in his arms. She needed a healer and/or sleep.

Kuronue gently placed two clawed fingers under Nariko's chin, "Don't worry about it. If you hadn't attacked your caretaker, I'm positive things would be less hectic. Please try and refrain from taking without asking. If your thirst gets bad enough, take from me, I've got plenty to give." He smirked and winked at her.

"Oops. I didn't realize that she was the one who was taking care of me. At least she'll be fine. I'm old enough to know how much to take. So...who are you two anyway? I'm still new to the Makai. I'm usually stuck to the vampire borders." Nariko explained softly as he pulled his hand away. He sat on the bed next to her and nodded as she continued on. "When I crossed, I got into a couple of fights with stronger vampires and demons."

"I'm Kuronue and my partner is Yoko Kurama. We're thieves and pretty famous in the Makai."

"Kuronue." Nariko tested his name on her tongue and felt a smile coming on. She liked the way it sounded and judging from the look on his face, he liked the sound of it coming from her lips.

"That's my name babe. Now that you know mine, what's your own?" Kuronue trailed a clawed finger down her neck giving her the delightful chills.

"I have many names. I frequent the Ningenkai and the many places within it as well as my own world and lands. Adena is one of my older names as well as Kimi and Kallie. You may call me Nariko, lord Kuronue."

"Such a pretty name for such a beautiful woman." Kuronue murmured, very openly flirting. He leaned over to pull her face to him and even got as far as holding her jaw with one clawed hand. She fluttered her eyelashes playfully before chuckling and vanishing in threads of the shadow to appear near her door.

"Come on sir Kuronue. I will not let you play with me like some of your yokai women would allow you." Nariko opened her door with a smile; still being very friendly as she politely kicked him out of her room. She peeked her head outside, hearing footsteps approaching. "Hey, you. Yes you. Can you make a trip to the kitchen and get me the most basic food you have? Like...fruit?"

The servant blushed and nodded, turning around and heading to the kitchen at the request of the woman. Apparently no one else heard about her mistake of taking from her caretaker.

"You're kicking me out of your room?" Kuronue stared in disbelief. No woman had ever done that to him. It was always Kurama getting kicked out after a night.

Nariko winked at the bat yokai and blew a kiss after pushing him out of her room. "See you later sexy." She closed the door in his face, loving the look on his face before she did.

With a yawn she stretched and went in search of clothes in her closet.