Disclaimer: Why do I even bother?
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Kurama pulled his legs tighter up to his body, huddling next to the small fire for warmth. The blaze was small and produced little heat, due to the fact Koranu refused to build it much bigger. Any smoke at all would be dangerous and would attract unwanted attention. "The point," she had said, "is to be as silent and stealthy as possible. We're dealing with thieves and assassins, the best of the best as far as craftiness goes, not to mention they're part of the Beast. If we're going to outfox them, we're going to have to be a step ahead at all times."
Koranu was sitting on the opposite side of the flame, watching the fire burn in a kind of trance, her bright, cat like eyes burned even brighter with the orange light dancing across her glazed expression.
"Hey, Koranu," he said, breaking the magic and peace of the moment, wincing slightly at the sound of his voice ruining it, but knowing it must be said.
"Yes?" she asked softly, lifting her flame flickering face up to meet his own, bright green orbs.
"You have to tell me about the Claws. You say we have to be careful and stealthy, but I know absolutely nothing of their organization. How can I rise up to their level of knowledge if I know about as much of them as they do of astronomical physics."
"Astronomical physics?" the lavender haired woman's face twisted into confusion at his words, her eyebrows furrowing together, lips puckering in contemplation. Then, a wide grin broke through her mask of puzzlement, reaching up into her brightly lit eyes, bringing the fire out as deeply as a knife cuts into one's body. She shook her head, chuckling softly. "Kurama," she laughed. "Sometimes I wonder if you're ten or if your ten thousand."
The fox froze at this comment, his breathing becoming heavy, but forcing himself to chuckle along with her. He knew she would recognize the catch in his throat, but he knew his teacher well enough to know she wouldn't point it out.
She shook her head, breaking off the humor, as she looked back into the firelight, as though she saw something there, something that was invisible to everyone but her. "So," she said softly. "You wish to know about the claws." It wasn't a question.
"Well, yeah," he shrugged. "How else can I battle them?"
"Ah, but it isn't battling that we want. You would have to be a horrible beast to beat all of the Claws in a flat out battle, particularly since there are so many of them. No, we want to aim for stealth. Use deceit, trickery, lies, bribery, stealth, and any other form of deception, things that most people would think of as unfair and immoral. But when you deal with people that have no sense of honor, you can't afford honor either. Having morals are well and good, but there comes a time in every warrior's life, where you must cast away such things, or die. This is a true test for any warrior, but we don't have time to be kind."
"Then you have to tell me, Koranu," Kurama told her, leaning forward, desperate in his persuasion. "How can I trick them, when I don't even know what they'll fall for. The eagle can't convince the tiger how to fly unless he knows what the tiger's own nature is!"
She sighed deeply. "You're right, of course. I know I'll have to tell you about them, that it's that, or we both die. But understand, Kurama, once you know about them, that's it. You're involved. They're going to try and hunt you down, kill you, or even kill your mother or friends, just because if you know, you're dangerous. Once you know, you're a threat, and I can't tell you what's to come. We might kill all of them, only to find that the rest of the Beast knows and we have assassins on our tails for the rest of our lives. I can live like that, but you, Shuichi, you're still young, you've got your whole life ahead of you. I'd never forgive myself it I ruined it."
"No, Koranu," the fox shook his head. "I've always been destined to be mixed up in demon affairs. I was born with youki, right? Don't blame it on yourself if I die, it was just destiny. Besides," he said with a wolfish grin, "I'm older then I look."
"Ah," Koranu teased. "An old soul, are you?"
"You have no idea. So, give me the 411, already."
"Very well. As you know, our target is the Claw Thieves, a group of ruthless thieves and assassins, one part of the Beast, the largest and most powerful organization on the wrong side of the law. They deal in drugs, magic, stolen items, stolen money, murder, and just about anything else you can think of that a demonic mafia would do. The Claw is the forth largest of seven parts of the beast, with about fifty or so demons involved, most of them deal in assassinations. They live in underground caves and caverns, that may sound barbaric, but are actually incredibly advanced. We were hired for this job by an anonymous source for an unknown reason."
"Isn't that awfully suspicious sounding?" Kurama asked, one eyebrow raised.
Koranu shrugged. "Maybe," she said," but it's also one of the safest. If one of us gets captured and tortured, we can't reveal anything about our employer, so he's safe from discovery, and assassination."
"So," Kurama began, leaning back slightly on his bed roll. "When do we begin our hunting and tracking?"
"Tomorrow," Koranu told him darkly, her face dancing with the shadows of the flame. "We shall begin our study on the morrow."
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Okay, everyone!
New chapter's up! Sorry it was late, but like I said, I've had some writer's block lately, and there isn't much one can do for that. Besides, it's summer! I have a right to be lazy!
I know, I know, everyone thinks this was really short, but everyone says that to all the chapters! I just can't sit down and right 2000 words every few days! Hey, you try it!
Also, Fire Thief will be updated today, tomorrow, the day after, or something like that. I dunno, I've started the chapter, but I'm having a hard time continuing. Also, I've been planning a new story, so that should be up within the next few days.
Another chapter of Fox Child will be in by around Friday or so! Stay tuned for the beginning of the planning!
Talk soon and thanks for listening to me blabber!
Dream Fox