Sorry this took awhile again. But it's my highest word count yet. :)

School starts again tomorrow, and I'll be studying for finals. I might be able to start writing the next update on a weekend or on a slow day, but expect one next week, during finals. Half days and a four day weekend, ya know.

Some people seemed to voice concern about Juliet's current situation. I don't enjoy 'slavery' any more than you, but don't shy away just because of that. Things will develop, I promise. I'm not going to make Youko a blood thirsty/sex craved sadist. That's too one dimensional for him.

Tryst

Ten

The most I remember after that was that I was physically, and mentally, exhausted. I had lost all concern for how loud I wailed or sobbed; all I could think about was that collar, and the thread of Youko's energy that bound me to his side like a common pet.

Other than that, I had no idea if Youko spoke to me during that time, or what he did while he was waiting. It was a bit like the time we spent together in the cave. I had no sense of time or anything else that was going on around me.

I was quite tempted to take my life then, or kill that damned fox and hope the collar would come off. But again, for some reason, I didn't use my daggers; there was a small part of me that seemed to be unwilling to hurt him too much and I wanted to rip that part out and beat it into the ground.

When I finally became aware of my surroundings again, I felt that I had exhausted my ability to cry, which was just as well. I was becoming sick of doing it. I was startled however, by what felt like a bed of moss; as far as I knew, I hadn't been anywhere near moss, or laying down.

I blinked as I sat up a bit, looking around. Wherever I was it was dim, lit by a familiar flower in the corner that cast shadows along what looked like stone. When I tried to move off the moss, my foot pressed down on something soft, and for a moment I thought it was more moss before it snarled angrily and bit me.

I screamed, but what ever it was let go nearly a second later, and I was staring at a moody looking fox, red eyes narrowed at me. Its tails however were swaying lazily behind it, and after doling out so many threats towards them, they were tails I recognized.

I realized I was in Youko's den, but didn't have much time to muse over this as I felt something wet on the top of my foot. I voiced my disgust, but Youko ignored me in favor for licking the small amount of blood away.

"Not a very glamorous place for such a famous demon," I said scathingly, pulling my foot away from him. Youko looked a bit amused, before more flowers came to life, lighting parts of the den I hadn't seen.

It looked like it was an entire network, some pathways the flowers disappeared down too small for anyone but Youko to get through and only then if the fox crouched low to the ground and wiggled through. I couldn't help but crane my neck for a better look, a look of mild fascination on my face. It was impossible to tell how many pathways there were or where they went.

The fox looked pleased with my fascination however and easily leapt up the short distance from the floor up to the moss and pressed up against me, making a snuffing sound as he exhaled through his nose before sniffing me.

I tried to push him away, since he was getting awfully prying with that nose of his, but he was persistent and continued his careful exploration.

"You're no better than a common dog," I said, but yelped when he bit my hand. As if in apology, he licked it immediately after and continued on. "Just what do you think you're doing anyway?" I demanded.

The fox didn't answer, before he went back to licking my hand. I watched him curiously instead of with disgust, my head tilted slightly.

I mused instead over the fact that his eyes were red in this form, and didn't seem to have any pupils to speak of, and I wondered why there was a change in color. The color of his fur, however, was the same as always. I couldn't help remembering when he was a common brown-ish red color instead of the silver he was now, even though I had never seen him in this form before.

Blinking, I shifted a bit when I felt him press his weight against me, before I realized he was leaning on me a bit to smell my hair now. I rolled my eyes and sighed, a bit exasperated. It seemed that even Youko couldn't suppress the instinct to familiarize himself with a new scent.

Finally, he exhaled again, moved gracefully off the moss, and wandered off, leaving me on my own. It took me a moment to realize this, but I didn't complain and flopped back down.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the moss compressed from my weight and I realized that the bed of his wasn't uncomfortable at all.

But then, if it was his, I supposed I shouldn't be surprised. I couldn't see him using anything uncomfortable as a bed.

Youko didn't return for a long while, and I was left to muse while watching the subtle flickering of the flowers that were sprouted along the walls of this cave. My mind, no matter how hard I tried to urge it not to, strayed back to the incident with Yoshiro.

But instead of analyzing it, since I had already come up with my own reasons for my behavior, I wondered why I was not acting the same way now.

Youko was a male, and just as likely to be a pig like Yoshiro had been, and yet I didn't feel an anxious need to be somewhere else, or nervous about what might happen. True, I was slowly becoming frustrated with the confined space and the collar, but I didn't feel an urge to flee in a hurry.

And if I did, it wasn't for the same reasons that I had run from Yoshiro, what ever those were. My mind was running circles around itself, until I was no longer able to follow a specific trail of thought.

I wasn't bothered by it though. I allowed myself to fall into the lazy thinking that one usually does on a hot day, feeling myself relax as I adjusted my position on the bed of moss.

I was nearly on the verge of forgetting everything that happened, of becoming blissfully unaware of my location when the flowers flared, their light growing and destroying most of the shadows that covered the walls of stone.

I sighed, rolling over and closing my eyes. I supposed then that I could leave it to that fox to show up and destroy things from now on.

"You're going to eat, whether you like it or not," he said, pulling me up to a sitting a position. He frowned a bit as I glared at him.

"I liked you better as an animal," I said flatly.

"Shut up and eat," he said, tossing bits of charred looking meat onto my lap. I cringed in slight disgust.

"Who the hell taught you how to cook food?" I asked scathingly. He looked as if he wanted to smack me, so I unhappily nibbled on a piece, cringing again at the burnt taste. I was a bit surprised to find that the outside was only charred, and everything else tasted rather nice.

"You burn the outside a bit to make sure the inside cooked through," Youko finally said, sitting down next to the moss."Who the hell taught you how to cook?"

"Clever comeback," I grumbled, scooting a bit further back as I ate. He rolled his eyes, eyeing the wall as he ate, before he finally spoke again.

"I'll show you where you're allowed to go while you're here, when you're done eating."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you heard me," he said flatly. "There are places you can't go, and places you can."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because I've said so, Chuuri. When I tell you something from now on, I expect that you don't question it."

I eyed him, finding that I could no longer bring myself to eat. He seemed to take this as a sign that I was done, and he stood up, frowning. "Come on."

"I'm not done-"

Yoko gave me an exasperated look, and I felt a tug on my neck before I tumbled from the moss and onto the stone floor. I hissed, closing my eyes, before Youko pulled me to my feet. "Let's go," he said flatly, leading me forward.

"I'll kill you in your sleep," I said bitterly. Youko sighed, before putting a hand on top of my head and the other firmly under my chin.

"How can you expect to hear if you're tossing out death threats? You can come in here," he said, leading me into another cave that branched off from the right of the bedroom. I noticed that it was a bit cluttered, with different things he must have stolen lying around.

There was only a pile of cushions in the corner and along a wall, but I designated it the living room, remembering that usually a fox was living here.

"You can't, however, go in there," he said, turning my head to look at the small tunnel I had seen before. I mumbled a slew of unintelligible words but Youko seemed to guess what I was probably saying. "Yes, I think you can fit through there. You are very small Chuuri. Besides, there's another way in," he said, before leading me through a complicated network of tunnels.

I had lost track of where I was, but he stopped in front of a slightly larger opening, with a bed of plants on either side. "But I don't think you'll try getting through here, since those plants haven't eaten in awhile."

I squeaked, moving back against him, before urging him to go somewhere else. He chuckled, patting my head slightly as he continued on, still making sure I couldn't speak a word. I found that most of the rooms I was allowed in were empty or occupied by only a few things.

He finally led me through the tunnels to the entrance, which was a bit small as well, but since I had gotten in, I figured I could fit. I could see mostly trees and dirt, and noticed that the entrance was slightly sloped.

"You are not allowed outside without me," he said firmly, turning me so I was looking up at him. I blinked, a bit surprised at how serious he looked. "I'd expect you'd never have to know what the punishment will be if you do that."

I jerked away from him, looking a bit outraged. "Punishment? You're treating me like a prisoner, Youko!"

"Everyone has rules they have to follow Chuuri, whether you realized that or not."

"But not like this-"

I flinched as he grabbed my chin pulling me close so he could glare at me. "As endearing as you are, I've already said once that you aren't to question everything I say or do. Do you understand?"

I stared at him, my eyes narrowed slightly, but I found myself nodding. "I understand…" I muttered. "Can I finish eating now?"

Youko sighed, releasing his hold on my chin before leading me back to the bedroom. I sat down on the moss in a huff, before I finished the meat that I had been forced to abandon earlier. It had cooled off a little, but I bit back any complaints.

"Kuronue might show up sometimes. Don't bother him, or pay much attention unless he actually acknowledges you," Youko said suddenly.

The question of why was right on the top of my tongue. "What does he show up for?"

I figured that kind of questioning was acceptable.

"To drop things off, or pick them up. Like I said, don't pay him much attention," Youko said, frowning.

"Then what am I supposed to do all day?" I asked, frowning. Youko snorted.

"That's not my concern," he said, leaving me alone again. I glared after him, muttering curses at him under my breath. I'm sure he might have heard them anyway.

Not the most exciting of chapters, I know. But I needed to lay out where Juliet is now. Feedback?