AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it took so long to update. I've been busy with school. LOL
So for a while I fell back to my old life. Almost, to be honest. Having relied on Youko for so long hindered me since now I was unused to caring for myself. Stealing became a risk I didn't usually take unless I was desperate. I managed to sell the valuables I had stolen for a decent price but the money from those didn't last me long. I resorted to taking odd jobs to support myself, but my health quickly began to grow worse.
Over the years I heard rumors and stories of Youko's exploits. Clearly, he was doing well for himself. The infamous thief working his way between the borders of two extreme powers. Beginning to slowly but surely cut out a third portion of territory one mile at a time. Despite my qualms about his powers, I felt a strange sense of pride and embarrassment.
Pride that I alone held the private knowledge I had found and raised the legendary Silver Fox. Embarrassment because I had not seen the growing ambitious figure under my care. If I looked down further at myself I could even dredge up a good portion of regret to make me miserable for several hours.
I managed to scrape a living from odd jobs, hiring myself out even as an assassin for those certain characters I didn't approve of. Sneaking in and out of high security places wasn't hard for me under the cover of darkness. However, they have highly trained people for this so I was usually cheap choice when it came to the matter.
I never stayed to long in one place. I constantly moved from town to town, even falling as low to stay near Maze Castle which wasn't cut off at the time. Only the weakest demons stayed near the castle, only for the protection the stronger demons within provided in return for grunt work from the weaklings. I met Suzaku, even, at the time. He was impressed with my power enough to try and recruit me as one of his "guards", but I refused. I could not stand eating humans and that was all he feasted on every day. It sickens me just thinking about it.
Finally, one day, my luck ran out. It came in the form of me lingering along the riverside. The day was bright, the air cool but the sun warm on my back. I had decided to ignore the impending doom I always felt when it came to Youko. You see, I had woken up that morning with a question in my head.
Did Youko really want me dead?
True, Youko had gone out of his way to track me down. Even made attempts to kill me but today it suddenly occurred to me they were half-assed. Either he decided I was no threat or a remarkably hidden humane part of him still existed in there. Either way as I was washing my face that morning I couldn't help but think how odd it was someone as smart as Youko hadn't had me killed yet. I suppose on a level I wasn't a threat. I didn't want revenge neither had I gone out of my way to hinder him.
As I was beginning to scrub the cold water over my arms I noticed a caravan not too far away up the road. They were fairly large, consisting of four large covered wagons pulled by Oxen. The great beasts with blue fur and five horns on their head. Two on each side jutting from their mouths like tusks and one in the middle of their forehead shaped in a dome. I raised my head, tipping the brim of my hat up to get a better look at them. They were heavily armed from the head down. I could barely make out their faces from where I was, but they didn't appear to take any notice of me. I shrugged my shoulders and went back to my washing. Just as I was getting up to leave one of the men stepped away and pointed me out to his men.
"Hey, you Kuronue?" One of the men asked me. I froze, completely taken off guard by this stranger. Seeing my reaction he smirked and waved for the rest of his guys to come over.
"Oh, so you are him? Heh, we've been hearing stories about you all over the Makai. You were called Black Fox when I was younger. No one could catch you! No one knew who you were, but ever since this Youko guy has started he's been lookin for you. Big reward for anyone who can bring you to him alive." The guard said as he began to approach me. I let out a low growl allowing my demon energy to leak out. He stopped at the edge of the river watching me than started cracking up laughing. My hand fell to my blades as I backed away towards the cliffs. I was outnumbered ten to one and I could already feel the rest of his warriors beginning to release their energy as they approached. They were all C class, but in large numbers was more than a match for a middle B class for myself.
One of them was a bat demon like me, but the ugly variety. Two huge fangs jutted out from over his lip. Vampire bat demon, I guessed. Nasty buggers, they were hard to kill off once they decided to start attacking. The guard smirked, his arms crossed as he waved to someone atop the cliff. Too late for me, I heard the rustling above me.
I spun on my heel not bothering to look above as I shot down the riverbank. I only made it two steps before a heavy neat descended upon me. I yelped, trying to break free. I dug my claws into the netting and tried to rip it apart. Even resorting to my own fangs and gnawing futilely at my bonds to no avail. I had already gotten myself tangled beyond reason with my struggles but I didn't quit. I threw myself against the rocks, roaring even as my captors descended upon me. I writhed and bucked, biting an ankle, slashing out a unprotected hand. I got jostled and kicked in turn, eventually my jailers pinning my legs, arms, and wings down so they could transport me across the river to one of their carts.
They tossed me unceremoniously in the back with me screaming and flinging curses at them. I was ignored as they slammed the doors shut and bolted them. Underneath me I felt the cart jerk to start as the oxen were whipped up to begin moving. I threw myself against the closed walls only succeeding in giving myself a near concussion.
"BASTARDS! LET ME OUT!" I screeched kicking the walls with my feet. I heard laughter outside from my kidnappers as they pounded on the cart in reply. Eventually, I quieted down to the point where I coud hear their jeers from outside.
Forced to lie on my side, my wings were folded at a painful angle against my back. I squirmed trying to ease the tension but just ended up tightening my bonds even more. I fell asleep at some point more from boredom than exhaustion. My stomach grumbled now and again, I hadn't bothered to eat breakfast that morning. I snoozed for a couple of hours before I jolted awake, wondering what it was that had woken me up. Then I realized the cart was no longer moving. I blinked, wishing I could see in the dark. No light came in but I could hear voices outside talking. A moment later the doors to my prison swung open momentarily blinding me by the light streaming in.
I squinted my eyes, trying to see who it was. I made out a hand reaching for my face and without thinking I rose up on my knees with a howl, sinking my fangs into the hand. I heard a cry from my captor before I got punched in the stomach. My breath left me in a soft whoosh forcing me to double over gasping for air. I started coughing as my captor cursed and stamped his feet in pain.
"Boss, you alright? He gave ya a nasty bite there." Said a concerned voice. I heard a grunt before a hand dug into my hair, dragging me out of the cart and dumping me in the dirt.
"Damn bat, I ain't get paid enough for this. I betcha Youko only wants him so he can skin the bloody coward alive. Ain't the right, pretty boy?" The demon above me asked, kicking the side of my head. I let out a low hiss earning a few laughs. My eyes had adjusted to the bright light and I saw it was early evening. Behind him the sun had begun to set, casting him and his men in shadows. I squinted up at him, and felt my heart skip a beat. He was giving me a calculating glare, his eyes running up and down my body as if measuring something.
"Youko said he wanted him returned in general good health, right? Alive too?" My kidnapper asked one of his guards. A younger demon who was entirely blue with slanted green eyes nodded his head, peering at me curiously.
"Yep, those were the terms. Said anyone who brought him in alive would get one hundred hiroseki stones. Fifty if he's dead." The lackey answered his voice quavering as he glanced back down at me. He looked almost sympathetic for my case. I noticed bruises on his neck and arms, and he had a thinness about him that spoke of his meals being stolen. Despite my situation my heart went out to him. Poor kid probably wouldn't live the rest of the year out if he didn't learn to take care of himself. Or maybe managed to get taken on as an apprentice to a kinder demon.
"Good. Get me my skinning knife." The man said, his hand open ready to receive the requested tool. His apprentice paled considerably, but hastily darted off to wrestle a large knife out of a pack. In less than a minute he had come back and gives it hilt first to his master. Above me the older demon chuckled, running his thumb along the edge of the blade.
"What are you going to do with that, boss?" One his guards asked. They had all crowded around and I noticed they had set up camp for the night. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach but still glared defiantly from my place on the ground. He smirked, letting out a sharp laugh as lowered the knife.
"Did you sharpen this yesterday like I asked?" The demon asked his apprentices. By the young man's face I judged this order had never been given in the past as he hung his head in shame. Probably expecting to get beaten for it, I imagined.
"No, sir. I did not." The apprentice whispered quietly, his eyes staring at the toes of his shoes. His master laughed again, motioning for two of his men to come forward.
"Good. One of gag him, I don't want this one biting his tongue while I'm doing this. You, my sweet, are going to enjoy soaring on clipped wings. A dull knife is always best, no?" He asked with me with an evil smirk.
I don't claim to be brave or be a hero. But right then I screamed, arching my back and desperately trying to spread my wings. I don't know what I would have done had I actually managed to escape tied up as I was. All I accomplished however my wings were twitching as if I was having a seizure. This made the rest of the men laugh as they descended upon me like a flock of vultures to road kill.
I don't know how long it lasted, but I knew I was screaming the entire time. Five men had to hold me down so I would not be able to fatally injure myself on the knife. Later I heard them speaking of how I had begged for them to stab me in the heart so I wouldn't have to deal with the agony. By the time they were done I was a sobbing mess curled in on myself my newly clipped wings throbbing. Shreds of my wings and bone lay all around covered in blood beginning to become hard and crackly as they dried in the hot air.
Night came and passed without incident. I was gagged, and when they offered me food I didn't respond. I refused water when they tried to give it to me and remained silent. The apprentice looked heart broken, whispering comforting words to me through the night. I whimpered a few times but from hopelessness rather than pain. My heart thudded in my chest going through the motions of being alive even as I fell into a sort of half sleep.
When the sun rose, poking its first rays through the morning mists like prodding fingers I kept my eyes closed. I didn't want to see my newly shaped wings in the light. I wanted to lie down on the ground and sink into the dirt, become one with the roots of the trees. This wasn't so because a couple of men hooked me up under the arms and tossed me back into the cart.
"We don't have a long way to go now. Youko is going to be pleased to see you, Pet." The demon who had cut my wings said, cackling as he ordered his men to hurry up.
The cart bumped and creaked its way down the road. This time they left the cart open to let the sun hit me. My blades had been taken and wrapped in cloth to prevent me from trying to make an escape. I nodded off again, exhausted from having stayed up in the night. Next when I awoke it was noon and the men were dragging me from the cart.
For a few moments I was confused and disoriented from waking up so fast. My head felt heavy from sleep and there were excited shouts coming from outside my cart. I was being shoved and kicked, demons I didn't know shoving each other as I was rushed through the crowd. At one point three men hefted me up and carried me above the heads of the demon as if we were in a parade. Demons shouted at me as they passed but none dared to touch me. I was, after all, Youko's prisoner. Whatever punishment he wished to inflict upon me was his right and his alone.
As a matter of fact, I didn't even see Youko anywhere. I was simply dumped on the ground near a banked campfire, the embers inside still glowing. I struggled against my bonds flapping my clipped wings feebly as if I could still fly if I tried hard enough. One of the men bent over me inspecting me his brow furrowed in concentration. I shot a glare at him threatening him with my eyes and he cracked up laughing. Patting me on the cheek as he stood up.
"Alright, looks like the way he described you. You're the fifth one this month, batty. For your sake I hope they got the wrong one. HEY! Youko-sama!" The young demon hollered. I stared at him in disbelief for the casual way he called him. For a moment I wondered if I had fallen through a crack in the world into an alternate dimension. But no, I noticed to late there was a tent separate from all the others. It was at least five times as huge and I could already tell it was made of silks by the way the cloth shimmered when the wind swept through the camp. How would you go about keeping such a thing clean?
A hush fell over the crowd then. Behind me I heard my captor taking swallowing nervously as the flap to the tent rustled. To my horror a slim fingers reached out, brushing aside the cloth as he stepped out. Youko's deep golden eyes were slightly narrowed as his head emerged taking in the scene before him. As he stepped out I could physically feel his gaze lock on me. Take in my ragged appearance, noting the thinness of my frame since last we'd met. I managed to get on my knees since I regused to be killed lying down. I glared at him daring him to murder me.
Youko stepped into full view his white slippers kicking up small clouds of dust as he walked towards me. This was Youko Kurama. The great Silver Fox. A King of Thieves who ruled the Makai as a shadow king. He closed the distance between us and stopped only a foot away, staring down at me. I raised my eyes my wings moving unconsciously. I saw his eyes flicker as they took in their bloodied state.
"Who clipped his wings?" Youko asked. His voice rang in the silence of the clearing. Behind me I heard the demon almost laughing with either maniac delight or happiness. There was no emotion in Youko's voice, only mere curiosity as if he were asking what my favorite color was.
"I did, your Majesty. Decided I should provide yeh an extra service to make sure he doesn't run off again." My captor said proudly though I could smell his nervous sweat from where I was. No doubt it was probably a stench in Youko's nostrils. I saw his tail twitch in annoyance but he came over to me.
Youko stood over me his eyes flickering as they took in my still form. I tried to talk around the gag, but only succeeded in muffled grunts and snorts. He knelt in front of me, his hands coming up to untie my gag. I flinched away from his tough letting out a low, feral growl in warning. Youko froze, and I saw his eyes darken. For a terrified moment I thought his anger was directed at me as he nodded to one of his men.
"Take him to my plants. I'm sure they're hungry." Youko said curtly. Two of his men broke away from the main hoard. Horrified, I stared at the silver fox with pleading eyes. His men came closer, closer….and walked right past me. I craned my neck to see them dragging my captor back towards what I had assumed was the forest. Now upon closer inspection I noticed flowers with razor teeth about their petals, vines twitching as they crawled about each other, and a tree dripping a scarily familiar poison. I shivered hearing my captor scream as Youko's men took him away kicking and failing past us.
"Now, as for you Kuronue." Youko said, his claws easily slicing through my gag. I spat it out with relief taking in greedy gulps of fresh air. I tried to talk but all that came out was a croak. With a motion of his hand another of his men provided a canteen which he uncapped, holding it to my lips.
I drank greedily doing my best not to spill. I expected to see a smug smirk on Youko's face for the humiliation he was putting me through. Some water still drizzled down my chin soaking my shirt but the coolness was welcome. Once the canteen was empty Youko handed back to his man nodding for them to release me. One guy came over to me knife in hand, kneeling behind me and beginning to saw at the ropes as I glared up at Youko from under the brim of my hat.
"You're enjoying this aren't you, you sick fuck?" I said my voice cold. I felt a ripple of nervousness pass through his men as they shifted uneasily. Youko simply watched me with mild interest his tail flicking casually as he thought. Behind him I heard the screams of the man as he was devoured alive by Youko's carnivorous plants. I felt a sick pleasure in knowing he suffered but feared what was in store for me.
"Actually, no. I feel rather sorry for you, as a matter of fact. I ordered them to capture you not to clip your wings." Youko says me calm as can be. I grit my teeth fighting against throwing myself at his feet begging for forgiveness or committing suicide. I doubted I could do the second choice since it would be an easy thing for Youko to catch me long before I hit the ground.
"Well, I'm here your Majesty. Am I to be your court jester and do cute tricks for you until you tire of me? Or are you going to make me plant fodder? Better yet, why not just hang me out in the sun to dry as I slowly starve to death?" I questioned him, standing up on wobbly legs. I'm pissed to say Youko was by now taller than me by a good three inches not counting his ears. He peered at me with interest a smirk playing across his lips. Shit, I'd just stepped on a landmine. You're such a genius Mr. Kuronue for pissing off the person whose life is in your hands.
"You're quite funny. How quaint."
"I recall you said I am many things. You never seemed to realize I can never be anything but who I am. How's that for a riddle?" I questioned Youko. I don't know where that came from. When Youko had begun to sprout as an intelligent being he would argue circles around me. Usually asking me questions until I gave up, gave him what he wanted, and told him to go do something foxish elsewhere. Later I would try to match my wits against his with a confusing riddle of my own, which usually ended in being complete nonsense. It was a game he had taken great pleasure in until he changed.
"True, we can never be more than who we are. What we become due to our actions is what matters. Though I can give you my word I am not planning on torturing you in any shape or form. I need you alive." Youko explained to me as if I was a child. I wish I was, I would have been smart enough to keep my mouth shut.
"What, you going to give me that patristic plant you showed me? The one that keeps it's host alive but you're paralyzed until you die? If you're not planning you'll act on impulse if I piss you off." I snapped right back. I had seen this sick mind game he played with his victims before. I hate to say it, but I let Youko practice these things on others before. Watched him experiment on other demons to see how much pain he could draw from their bodies, how far he could push them before they broke. Youko never deliberately hurt any innocent demons as far as I know. Unless he had cause to do so he never harmed women, children, or bystanders.
"Oh, isn't he the smart one? Comes from years of making sure I didn't fall off a cliff." Youko commented to Yomi who had come to join him at his side. Yomi's face was stoic like his leader's as he glared down at me with undisguised hate.
"You've seen what happened to me. This could be you next, kid. Just you watch." I said to Yomi. Even though I hated him for replacing me, I felt genuinely sorry for him. At his age he young, rash. Patience was the farthest thing from his mind and he wanted to pit himself against other demons to test his strength.
"Possibly. But at least I'm not an old geezer." Yomi sneered at me and I felt rage ripple up and down my back. Youko glanced between the two of us and stepped up, putting his hand on my chest. I automatically stepped back, reaching up to see if he had planted a seed on me. A casual touch from him could result in vines ripping from your skin in a matter of seconds.
"Don't worry, I didn't put anything in you or on you. As I said, you have my word. No harm, pain, or any type of injury will come to you from neither me or my men. Neither do I have any intent to have a third party to do the job. Are we clear?" Youko asks me his golden eyes fixating on me. I watch him my claws still scratching at the spot where he had touched me.
"You promise?" I asked him my voice quavering. Youko watches me his gaze unwavering as he replies.
"Of course. Would I give anything else of lesser value?" Youko answers as if it would be obvious. Bastard, he didn't actually promise. I sigh, shaking my head. My wings were throbbing, I was tired, and quite frankly I couldn't very well fight my way out of this one.
"You won't harm me for as long as I cooperate. Right." I say. Youko raises a subtle brow shrugging his shoulder in nonchalance.
He turns around tail flicking as he begins to walk away. I hesitate, but when Yomi makes to grab me I glare at him as I follow after Youko. From the forest there's a high pitched wail and suddenly my captor from earlier bursts from the forest. Vines and flowers are twirling around his body in a macabre imitation of a wreath. He falls just short of reaching Youko, crawling on his hands and knees to kiss the tip of one of his silken shoes.
"Your grace, I beg of you! I brought you the bat, please let my payment be my life." The demon begged tears in his eyes. I glanced at Youko who stared down at the demon with disinterest. With a sigh he ran a hand through his hair as if bored with the situation.
"Ah yes, payment. I suppose you deserve some compensation for ruining Kuronue. Your life shall be enough for me, don't you agree? How kind of you to offer it willingly." Youko said calmly as if they were discussing tea. My former jailer opened his mouth to scream and in a blur Youko whipped his claws around, for one second his silver hair catching the light making it appear as if a halo floated above him. As his hair settled half of the demon's head rolled off, cut right below the eyes. It landed with a fleshy plop in the dirt and I felt my heart grow still. Youko straightened glancing down at the demon as if noticing him for the first time.
"Let's go. I believe Kuro-kun should have a meal before we talk." Youko said with a nod to Yomi. I noticed Yomi's face had turned pale at the sight but he nodded. As Youko went towards I glanced down at his right hand.
It was stained with blood.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry I took so long to update! I've been busy with school lately, but at least I managed to get this chapter done. XD