Chapter 7
How Many DO You Have?
The town of Narusuke was a quiet one, nothing close to what Kuroune was used to. While the normal dull murmurs of business being conducted was present, there was hardly any louder of noise. Which is why Kuroune nearly jumped when he heard a gong being beaten some where near by.
Kurama leaned over and whispered in to his ear. "Their way of signaling the start of the slave trades in the town square..." The kitsune licked his lips."It's rather interesting to watch, want to head over?"
"No. Go ahead, I'll meet you there later." The winged demon held out his hand for the promised pouch of money.
"Tch... Fine. Just don't get lost." Kurama reluctantly handed over the red velvet bag. "Just don't use all of it, alright?"
"Like this is all the money you have on you... I saw you sneak a few more bags before we left."
The youko glared at Kuroune's back as he turned and began to weave his way through the crowd. "Alright, spend it as you will..." He yelled before ducking between two burly demons, leaving for the town square.
Kuroune took in the sights and smells of the new city while searching for a suitable shop. The streets were wide, ample for even the largest demons to pass freely in the crowded streets. Dozens of different kinds of demons could be seen, a few even Kuroune wasn't familiar with. Some walked on two legs while others floated. One demon that passed Kuroune walked on all fours, his body resembling a stone gargoyle. A female demon with a stone placed between her eyes and the middle of her chest, winked half of her six eyes seductively at a tall man who was covered in blue fur. Kuroune snickered, wondering if the girl knew that Noti demons liked eating their sexual partners, literally.
The shops were mostly full of fresh food, with the occasional odd cart full of trinkets. The smell of food made the winged demon's stomach grumble, but he ignored it. This wasn't where he'd like to buy food.
While the fruit and vegetables looked pitiful at best, the meat was even worse. The hot sun that beat down on him was spoiling the long pieces of red and purple meat several shops had out on display. He knew where almost every type of meat sold at the vendors came from. Some of the white and grey-ish were from game birds, the red from various small animals, and the purple came from a logoroth. They were a common meat in the Makai, those who claimed to have brought one down themselves gained a small amount of respect from the weaker demons. The logoroth was a very large beast with very sharp horns. One animal made at least fifty pounds of edible meat.
At the end of the street was the store Kuroune had been searching for. Pushing back the cloth hanging in the doorway, he entered. To Kuroune's relief, the store was much cooler than outside. While he stood near the doorway waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim light in the room, Kuroune sniffed the air. The scent of dye and leather assaulted his nose. The store not only sold clothes, but made them as well. Kuroune took that as a good sign.
"Take a look around. If you find anything, feel free to try it on." A woman wearing nothing but a few scarves placed in the right areas gestured to the door on the opposite wall. "Dressing rooms are over there." She sat down in a wooden chair, not bothering to cover up as she crossed her legs in front of her.
"Guess they don't sell underwear here..." Kuroune mumbled under his breath and started looking around. Most of the clothes at the front of the store were robes like Kurama's. The black haired demon sighed. He was tired of wearing those boring clothes.
Towards the back were some vests. Looking for a color he liked among all the different choices, he snagged the plain black one. It had large roughly cut arm holes, probably to make sure demons of different types could wear it. The front tied unevenly together with a thick grey string. Black pants were at the next rack, the kind he preferred to wear that didn't restrict his movement but still hugged his body. A long white piece of fabric was nearer to the door, so he grabbed it too after running his fingers over it's soft length. Taking all of items into the dressing room, he experimented with where to put the white piece of cloth. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he decided to wrap the cloth around his waist. After changing back to his borrowed robes, Kuroune went in search of a belt.
The store wasn't organized well and Kuroune got bored looking through the rest of the crap for a decent belt. "Hey, where are the belts?" The woman stopped fanning herself long enough to point to a bin near her. It wasn't hard to find a belt, but the woman held up her hand.
"If you want a really good one, then take a few of these." She bent over and got a box out from under her chair. "They're charmed by a very powerful demon." The belts were rolled up, but had no buckles.
"And?"
"Well, watch." She unrolled the belt then pressed the ends together. They melted into one, no seems could be seen at all. "No buckles needed. Just press the ends together and boom, you're done. It's very durable too..." She took out a knife that Kuroune couldn't figure out where she kept it hid, then sliced through the belt. "That's how you take it off. Just tug on it really hard, or slice through. You can keep putting the ends together no matter how many times you slice it. Adjustable too, if you wanted to tighten it up and put an end nearer to the middle, then just press and the extra length goes away... But you can't get it back, so be careful."
Kuroune smirked. "How much?"
"Ne... This is my boyfriend's store, so I'm not really sure... Hmm... How about three gold and two silvers for six?"
All of Kuroune's bargaining skills kept him from lifting an eyebrow at such a low price for the belts. "Sounds good... Hold on to them, I'll be right back." The black haired demon dashed back to the area he found the things he wanted to buy and picked up a few more items. If those charmed belts were cheap, the rest of the clothes were going to be a good buy. Moving quickly, not wanting the boyfriend to return before he had the chance to buy anything, he grabbed a couple copies of everything he already had. Some in different colors, nothing too flashy, such as dark blue and dark green.
"I hope you don't need any shoes... I just sold the last pair." The woman called to him just as he was finishing up.
On the way back to the scantily dressed woman, something caught his eye. The black hat looked like it had been made by an old blind person. It was raggedly cut on all sides, a large triangular piece missing on the right side of the wide brimmed front. A shiny gold buckle was placed in the middle, fastening a dark grey band to the hat. It was the band that would hold the hat onto the person's head. The top of the hat curved back a little, offering little coverage to the wearer against the seasons. For all it's oddities, Kuroune liked it and brought the strange hat with him.
"Oooooh! I made that!" The woman bounced in her seat, a breast jiggling free as she pointed to the hat. "Do you like it?"
Kuroune leaned forward and grabbed her hand, kissing the back. "Love it." The girl blushed and looked away. "So how much for all of this?"
"Oh, uhm... Hmm... I think..." She regained her composure while silently counting the articles of clothing then added the hat and the belts. "How about forty-seven gold pieces?"
The price was cheap, but Kuroune knew he could argue it down a few gold pieces at least. "Tch..." He pretended to count through his money. "I don't have enough, I guess I'll have to put back the hat..."
"No! Well, how much do you have?"
"Twenty-seven, and two silvers. But I need to leave at least one gold piece for lunch and a cold drink." He winked, "it is hot out there."
"Aww... How about twenty-five then? That should be enough." She smiled brightly up at him, still not bothering to fix her exposed breast.
"Twenty-five it is..." He pretended to reluctantly handed over the gold. "There you go sweetness. Have a good day."
The woman shot out of her chair, grabbing some string and a brown burlap sack. "Wait, don't forget your bag." She neatly folded each item and placed it into the bag then used the string to tie the top off. "Sweetness... heh." The woman sat back down and winked at him. "You know, I'm not TOO attached to my boyfriend. If you ever get bored, look for me at the Blue Tran tavern. I'll be there all night."
Kuroune smirked and nodded, "might see you later then." He grabbed the sack and left, now on a search for shoes. There were a few decent shops near to the one he had just been in, but just in case he didn't want to be near it when her boyfriend came back.
Three streets down and closer to the town square than he had been before, Kuroune finally found an adequate shoe store. Bells rang as he came in through the wooden door that had two feathery wings etched into it. The clerk ignored him as he looked around, finally discovering a shoe close to what he wanted. "Hey, do make these as well?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'd like some boots like this."
The sullen man stepped out from behind the count, grabbing a long string. He pushed the winged demon none to gently into a chair and removed the slipper that he had borrowed from Kurama. In a few moments he was done measuring. "I can have two pairs of calf length boots done by tomorrow evening. Leather, right?" Kuroune nodded. "That'll be... eight gold for the shoes, ten silver for the work. Half of the gold will be paid up front. Deal?"
"It is... How much for these?" The black haired demon held up the boots he had originally picked out.
"Those wouldn't fit you... If you need something that desperately, then here..." The man ducked behind the counter and handed him boots that were similar to what he was holding. "Two gold." Kuroune handed the man six pieces gold. As soon as it hit his palm he tucked it into his pocket then dove behind a curtained room. When it was obvious the man wasn't coming back, Kuroune grabbed his sack of clothes and opened it.
Before another costumer could come in, he changed. The vest only took a little altering to allow his wings free movement. He had to wrap the belt around his hips twice, not wanting to waste any of it yet. The two remaining belts were thinner and longer than the one at his hip, so he wound them quickly around his arms, starting at his biceps and ending at his wrists. The hat was next, fitting perfectly against his head with out bothering the hair he already had up. The boots the man had suggested fit him nicely, ending at his mid-calf.
The old man snickered from some where behind him, causing Kuroune to spin around in reflex. "Nice show... Maybe I'll finish these boots a little sooner, if you promise to do that again." The sullen shoe maker now had a slight smile on his face as he looked over Kuroune.
'Not on your life' was what Kuroune wanted to say, but he didn't want the shoe maker messing up his boots. "Hmmm..." Suddenly an idea came to him and he sneered slyly. Knowing Kurama would finally start to pay off. "Like to watch do you? How about I bring another good looking demon in here to strip for you... Think I could get a discount?"
He seemed to think about it for a few seconds then nodded. "Sure. I'll knock off two gold if you could do that... Tomorrow afternoon is when they'll be done, come back towards the late afternoon to be sure."
"See you then." Kuroune laughed as he grabbed his bag and flung it over his shoulder. As he left he thought of how easy it could be to get the kitsune undressed. Kurama might be mad at him later for it, but he didn't care. He could see the kitsune doing the same thing to him. Besides, the vain youko probably would strut his stuff just to see the reaction from the older man.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
The town square held a large stage in which a loud mouthed announcer yelled out the qualities and virtues of the slaves they paraded out. Most were hardly dressed at all and had wards placed on them that would weaken their power. From the few Kuroune had seen as he walked up to Kurama, these slaves were probably used as concubines.
"I see why you liked them so much." The winged demon whispered into the kitsune's ear.
Kurama smirked and glanced back, then blinked and turned fully around. "Well well, guess I don't have to worry about you dressing yourself. Very nice..." He licked his lips then flicked the red bag. "How did you do?"
Kuroune glared at the youko. "Like that's any of your business."
With a shrug he turned around, his interest switching back to the slaves. "Enough to buy us dinner?"
"Sure... So am I right, are these used as concubines?"
"Yes. See," he pointed to the side of the stage that held a grisly looking demon. "That's where the bought slaves go, they're fitted with new collars, though chains at the feet and hands are optional. Then that man," Kurama gestured to the skinny demon next to the grisly one, "takes your money."
Kuroune chuckled, "sounds like you know it by heart."
"I do, I've bought a few... They break easily, or I'd have more around."
"Not strong willed enough for you?"
"Not that kind of break..."
The black haired demon laughed, nodding. "Ah, I see." He leaned up and nipped at Kurama's ear, which twitched afterwards. "Remind me to always be on top then."
"Oh no beautiful," the kitsune turned around and grabbed Kuroune's chin. "You'll be paying for that night... If we didn't have a job to do later, I'd take my revenge right now."
"Hn, I'd like to see you try."
"You will, later." The youko elbowed Kuroune's side then jerked his head to the left. "See that tanuki over there? He's the one I was talking about earlier, Tazmul."
Kuroune glanced over at the short, fat tanuki Kurama had pointed out. He was dressed in silky robes, rings adorning every finger. The area around him was void of demons, kept away by a few body guards. Tazmul sat on a make shift bench, tapping his sharp ended cane against the tip of his boot. His small, furry black ears peeked out from a wild mane of grey hair. While he was in a slightly humanoid form, he still had eyes banded in black like a raccoon's. A thickly furred tail wagged slightly when ever a new slave was brought up. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he pointed to the stage. A scrawny green skinned demon jumped up and started waving his hand, bidding on the slave.
Curious now, Kuroune looked back to the stage. Time seemed to slow around him as he recognized the underweight pale demon on stage, his black wings shaking slightly. His bangs hung in front of his face and almost touched his nose. The rest of his black hair was cut short, almost buzzed at the back of his head.
"Shit Kuro," the kitsune swore silently beside him. "How many friggin brothers DO you have?"
Kuroune shook his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "My father sees making children as a craft. He sells most of them off, the ones he doesn't keep for himself that is." The last half of the sentence was barely above a whisper. "Kade... After my father whipped me for not calling him master, he fed my brothers to his friends. Kade and Mentou had to watch them tear apart our brothers' flesh..."
"So what now? Do you want to bid on him?" Kurama smirked as he caught a glimpse of Tazmul taking part in the bid. "Or we could just let him win, and when we visit him later we can take Kade with us."
"No."
"Excuse me?" The kitsune raised an eyebrow. "I thought your family was important to you."
"Then you thought wrongly. I'll kill my father eventually, that's a given. The rest of my family can just suffer on their own." The winged demon turned his back to Kurama and started to leave. "I hate heros, and I'm definitely not one of them."
The youko looked back up at the stage, catching a glimmer of recognition in Kade's eyes as well as a little bit of hope. He watched his brother leave, not paying attention to the announcer as he was ordered off stage. Even when his chains were yanked and his feet knocked out from underneath him, he watched Kuroune.
"Brother..." Kade turned his gaze to Kurama, his eyes pleading to the kitsune.
Kurama shrugged and flicked his tail, turning on his heel to follow his partner. Thank the gods family drama wasn't something he had to deal with any more. "Hey Kuro, wait up. You owe me dinner."
How Many DO You Have?
The town of Narusuke was a quiet one, nothing close to what Kuroune was used to. While the normal dull murmurs of business being conducted was present, there was hardly any louder of noise. Which is why Kuroune nearly jumped when he heard a gong being beaten some where near by.
Kurama leaned over and whispered in to his ear. "Their way of signaling the start of the slave trades in the town square..." The kitsune licked his lips."It's rather interesting to watch, want to head over?"
"No. Go ahead, I'll meet you there later." The winged demon held out his hand for the promised pouch of money.
"Tch... Fine. Just don't get lost." Kurama reluctantly handed over the red velvet bag. "Just don't use all of it, alright?"
"Like this is all the money you have on you... I saw you sneak a few more bags before we left."
The youko glared at Kuroune's back as he turned and began to weave his way through the crowd. "Alright, spend it as you will..." He yelled before ducking between two burly demons, leaving for the town square.
Kuroune took in the sights and smells of the new city while searching for a suitable shop. The streets were wide, ample for even the largest demons to pass freely in the crowded streets. Dozens of different kinds of demons could be seen, a few even Kuroune wasn't familiar with. Some walked on two legs while others floated. One demon that passed Kuroune walked on all fours, his body resembling a stone gargoyle. A female demon with a stone placed between her eyes and the middle of her chest, winked half of her six eyes seductively at a tall man who was covered in blue fur. Kuroune snickered, wondering if the girl knew that Noti demons liked eating their sexual partners, literally.
The shops were mostly full of fresh food, with the occasional odd cart full of trinkets. The smell of food made the winged demon's stomach grumble, but he ignored it. This wasn't where he'd like to buy food.
While the fruit and vegetables looked pitiful at best, the meat was even worse. The hot sun that beat down on him was spoiling the long pieces of red and purple meat several shops had out on display. He knew where almost every type of meat sold at the vendors came from. Some of the white and grey-ish were from game birds, the red from various small animals, and the purple came from a logoroth. They were a common meat in the Makai, those who claimed to have brought one down themselves gained a small amount of respect from the weaker demons. The logoroth was a very large beast with very sharp horns. One animal made at least fifty pounds of edible meat.
At the end of the street was the store Kuroune had been searching for. Pushing back the cloth hanging in the doorway, he entered. To Kuroune's relief, the store was much cooler than outside. While he stood near the doorway waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim light in the room, Kuroune sniffed the air. The scent of dye and leather assaulted his nose. The store not only sold clothes, but made them as well. Kuroune took that as a good sign.
"Take a look around. If you find anything, feel free to try it on." A woman wearing nothing but a few scarves placed in the right areas gestured to the door on the opposite wall. "Dressing rooms are over there." She sat down in a wooden chair, not bothering to cover up as she crossed her legs in front of her.
"Guess they don't sell underwear here..." Kuroune mumbled under his breath and started looking around. Most of the clothes at the front of the store were robes like Kurama's. The black haired demon sighed. He was tired of wearing those boring clothes.
Towards the back were some vests. Looking for a color he liked among all the different choices, he snagged the plain black one. It had large roughly cut arm holes, probably to make sure demons of different types could wear it. The front tied unevenly together with a thick grey string. Black pants were at the next rack, the kind he preferred to wear that didn't restrict his movement but still hugged his body. A long white piece of fabric was nearer to the door, so he grabbed it too after running his fingers over it's soft length. Taking all of items into the dressing room, he experimented with where to put the white piece of cloth. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he decided to wrap the cloth around his waist. After changing back to his borrowed robes, Kuroune went in search of a belt.
The store wasn't organized well and Kuroune got bored looking through the rest of the crap for a decent belt. "Hey, where are the belts?" The woman stopped fanning herself long enough to point to a bin near her. It wasn't hard to find a belt, but the woman held up her hand.
"If you want a really good one, then take a few of these." She bent over and got a box out from under her chair. "They're charmed by a very powerful demon." The belts were rolled up, but had no buckles.
"And?"
"Well, watch." She unrolled the belt then pressed the ends together. They melted into one, no seems could be seen at all. "No buckles needed. Just press the ends together and boom, you're done. It's very durable too..." She took out a knife that Kuroune couldn't figure out where she kept it hid, then sliced through the belt. "That's how you take it off. Just tug on it really hard, or slice through. You can keep putting the ends together no matter how many times you slice it. Adjustable too, if you wanted to tighten it up and put an end nearer to the middle, then just press and the extra length goes away... But you can't get it back, so be careful."
Kuroune smirked. "How much?"
"Ne... This is my boyfriend's store, so I'm not really sure... Hmm... How about three gold and two silvers for six?"
All of Kuroune's bargaining skills kept him from lifting an eyebrow at such a low price for the belts. "Sounds good... Hold on to them, I'll be right back." The black haired demon dashed back to the area he found the things he wanted to buy and picked up a few more items. If those charmed belts were cheap, the rest of the clothes were going to be a good buy. Moving quickly, not wanting the boyfriend to return before he had the chance to buy anything, he grabbed a couple copies of everything he already had. Some in different colors, nothing too flashy, such as dark blue and dark green.
"I hope you don't need any shoes... I just sold the last pair." The woman called to him just as he was finishing up.
On the way back to the scantily dressed woman, something caught his eye. The black hat looked like it had been made by an old blind person. It was raggedly cut on all sides, a large triangular piece missing on the right side of the wide brimmed front. A shiny gold buckle was placed in the middle, fastening a dark grey band to the hat. It was the band that would hold the hat onto the person's head. The top of the hat curved back a little, offering little coverage to the wearer against the seasons. For all it's oddities, Kuroune liked it and brought the strange hat with him.
"Oooooh! I made that!" The woman bounced in her seat, a breast jiggling free as she pointed to the hat. "Do you like it?"
Kuroune leaned forward and grabbed her hand, kissing the back. "Love it." The girl blushed and looked away. "So how much for all of this?"
"Oh, uhm... Hmm... I think..." She regained her composure while silently counting the articles of clothing then added the hat and the belts. "How about forty-seven gold pieces?"
The price was cheap, but Kuroune knew he could argue it down a few gold pieces at least. "Tch..." He pretended to count through his money. "I don't have enough, I guess I'll have to put back the hat..."
"No! Well, how much do you have?"
"Twenty-seven, and two silvers. But I need to leave at least one gold piece for lunch and a cold drink." He winked, "it is hot out there."
"Aww... How about twenty-five then? That should be enough." She smiled brightly up at him, still not bothering to fix her exposed breast.
"Twenty-five it is..." He pretended to reluctantly handed over the gold. "There you go sweetness. Have a good day."
The woman shot out of her chair, grabbing some string and a brown burlap sack. "Wait, don't forget your bag." She neatly folded each item and placed it into the bag then used the string to tie the top off. "Sweetness... heh." The woman sat back down and winked at him. "You know, I'm not TOO attached to my boyfriend. If you ever get bored, look for me at the Blue Tran tavern. I'll be there all night."
Kuroune smirked and nodded, "might see you later then." He grabbed the sack and left, now on a search for shoes. There were a few decent shops near to the one he had just been in, but just in case he didn't want to be near it when her boyfriend came back.
Three streets down and closer to the town square than he had been before, Kuroune finally found an adequate shoe store. Bells rang as he came in through the wooden door that had two feathery wings etched into it. The clerk ignored him as he looked around, finally discovering a shoe close to what he wanted. "Hey, do make these as well?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'd like some boots like this."
The sullen man stepped out from behind the count, grabbing a long string. He pushed the winged demon none to gently into a chair and removed the slipper that he had borrowed from Kurama. In a few moments he was done measuring. "I can have two pairs of calf length boots done by tomorrow evening. Leather, right?" Kuroune nodded. "That'll be... eight gold for the shoes, ten silver for the work. Half of the gold will be paid up front. Deal?"
"It is... How much for these?" The black haired demon held up the boots he had originally picked out.
"Those wouldn't fit you... If you need something that desperately, then here..." The man ducked behind the counter and handed him boots that were similar to what he was holding. "Two gold." Kuroune handed the man six pieces gold. As soon as it hit his palm he tucked it into his pocket then dove behind a curtained room. When it was obvious the man wasn't coming back, Kuroune grabbed his sack of clothes and opened it.
Before another costumer could come in, he changed. The vest only took a little altering to allow his wings free movement. He had to wrap the belt around his hips twice, not wanting to waste any of it yet. The two remaining belts were thinner and longer than the one at his hip, so he wound them quickly around his arms, starting at his biceps and ending at his wrists. The hat was next, fitting perfectly against his head with out bothering the hair he already had up. The boots the man had suggested fit him nicely, ending at his mid-calf.
The old man snickered from some where behind him, causing Kuroune to spin around in reflex. "Nice show... Maybe I'll finish these boots a little sooner, if you promise to do that again." The sullen shoe maker now had a slight smile on his face as he looked over Kuroune.
'Not on your life' was what Kuroune wanted to say, but he didn't want the shoe maker messing up his boots. "Hmmm..." Suddenly an idea came to him and he sneered slyly. Knowing Kurama would finally start to pay off. "Like to watch do you? How about I bring another good looking demon in here to strip for you... Think I could get a discount?"
He seemed to think about it for a few seconds then nodded. "Sure. I'll knock off two gold if you could do that... Tomorrow afternoon is when they'll be done, come back towards the late afternoon to be sure."
"See you then." Kuroune laughed as he grabbed his bag and flung it over his shoulder. As he left he thought of how easy it could be to get the kitsune undressed. Kurama might be mad at him later for it, but he didn't care. He could see the kitsune doing the same thing to him. Besides, the vain youko probably would strut his stuff just to see the reaction from the older man.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
The town square held a large stage in which a loud mouthed announcer yelled out the qualities and virtues of the slaves they paraded out. Most were hardly dressed at all and had wards placed on them that would weaken their power. From the few Kuroune had seen as he walked up to Kurama, these slaves were probably used as concubines.
"I see why you liked them so much." The winged demon whispered into the kitsune's ear.
Kurama smirked and glanced back, then blinked and turned fully around. "Well well, guess I don't have to worry about you dressing yourself. Very nice..." He licked his lips then flicked the red bag. "How did you do?"
Kuroune glared at the youko. "Like that's any of your business."
With a shrug he turned around, his interest switching back to the slaves. "Enough to buy us dinner?"
"Sure... So am I right, are these used as concubines?"
"Yes. See," he pointed to the side of the stage that held a grisly looking demon. "That's where the bought slaves go, they're fitted with new collars, though chains at the feet and hands are optional. Then that man," Kurama gestured to the skinny demon next to the grisly one, "takes your money."
Kuroune chuckled, "sounds like you know it by heart."
"I do, I've bought a few... They break easily, or I'd have more around."
"Not strong willed enough for you?"
"Not that kind of break..."
The black haired demon laughed, nodding. "Ah, I see." He leaned up and nipped at Kurama's ear, which twitched afterwards. "Remind me to always be on top then."
"Oh no beautiful," the kitsune turned around and grabbed Kuroune's chin. "You'll be paying for that night... If we didn't have a job to do later, I'd take my revenge right now."
"Hn, I'd like to see you try."
"You will, later." The youko elbowed Kuroune's side then jerked his head to the left. "See that tanuki over there? He's the one I was talking about earlier, Tazmul."
Kuroune glanced over at the short, fat tanuki Kurama had pointed out. He was dressed in silky robes, rings adorning every finger. The area around him was void of demons, kept away by a few body guards. Tazmul sat on a make shift bench, tapping his sharp ended cane against the tip of his boot. His small, furry black ears peeked out from a wild mane of grey hair. While he was in a slightly humanoid form, he still had eyes banded in black like a raccoon's. A thickly furred tail wagged slightly when ever a new slave was brought up. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he pointed to the stage. A scrawny green skinned demon jumped up and started waving his hand, bidding on the slave.
Curious now, Kuroune looked back to the stage. Time seemed to slow around him as he recognized the underweight pale demon on stage, his black wings shaking slightly. His bangs hung in front of his face and almost touched his nose. The rest of his black hair was cut short, almost buzzed at the back of his head.
"Shit Kuro," the kitsune swore silently beside him. "How many friggin brothers DO you have?"
Kuroune shook his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "My father sees making children as a craft. He sells most of them off, the ones he doesn't keep for himself that is." The last half of the sentence was barely above a whisper. "Kade... After my father whipped me for not calling him master, he fed my brothers to his friends. Kade and Mentou had to watch them tear apart our brothers' flesh..."
"So what now? Do you want to bid on him?" Kurama smirked as he caught a glimpse of Tazmul taking part in the bid. "Or we could just let him win, and when we visit him later we can take Kade with us."
"No."
"Excuse me?" The kitsune raised an eyebrow. "I thought your family was important to you."
"Then you thought wrongly. I'll kill my father eventually, that's a given. The rest of my family can just suffer on their own." The winged demon turned his back to Kurama and started to leave. "I hate heros, and I'm definitely not one of them."
The youko looked back up at the stage, catching a glimmer of recognition in Kade's eyes as well as a little bit of hope. He watched his brother leave, not paying attention to the announcer as he was ordered off stage. Even when his chains were yanked and his feet knocked out from underneath him, he watched Kuroune.
"Brother..." Kade turned his gaze to Kurama, his eyes pleading to the kitsune.
Kurama shrugged and flicked his tail, turning on his heel to follow his partner. Thank the gods family drama wasn't something he had to deal with any more. "Hey Kuro, wait up. You owe me dinner."