A/N: For those who missed the note in the last chapter, this is a flashback to four hundred years earlier. Prepare to be surprised. :P

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Playing the Game
- Tenika Dargan

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Let me please introduce myself: I'm a man of wealth and taste.
I lay traps for troubadours who get killed before they reach Bombay.
Pleased to meet you- hope you guessed my name.
Ah, but what's puzzling you is the nature of my game...

- "Sympathy for the Devil," The Rolling Stones

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Chapter Two: The Game Begins

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Youko did not like being cheated out of his prizes.

As a matter of simple fact, he hated being cheated out of anything. It was simply a part of his nature; he wanted something, thus, it was his. Other demons could either accept this or not.

The only known way to keep him from leading a mass homicide (and throwing a minor therapeutic fit) when something of his had been taken was, in fact, to present a distraction- provided that it was with something interesting. He liked unknown things, and he especially liked beautiful, intelligent unknown things; in other words, people.

So, this particular night, in retrospect, was considerably unique: Something was taken from him very quickly, and just as quickly, it seemed, he was given something extremely new and interesting. Because of this, everything turned out quite well, and the only homicides were inconsequential; so, entirely unimportant.

But Kurama didn't know this yet. There were four things on his mind as he left his den that evening: One: the whereabouts of his target (a textile caravan fresh from the far east of the makai) and the precise time for attack, which was directly after sunset. Two: the vague understanding that he really needed to feed his plants again - the mimosa had begun to burn holes in the walls in their impatience for prey. Three: the strong sense that it was well past time for him to pray to Inari again, as well as the equally strong sense that he didn't really feel like it -he was sure the fox God would understand-.

And finally, four: the pressing fact that he needed to find some bait that would enable him to steal a seed from a stand of nearby desu trees, and allow him to do so unnoticed. They were one of seven plants in the entirety of the makai that were strong enough to have minds of their own, and so it was impossible for him to control one unless he raised it from a seedling. This did not bother him particularly, but he was having trouble finding the necessary bait; he needed some kind of a creature or food that would distract the mouths long enough to allow the theft.

This was an entirely accurate list of all that ran through Kurama's mind, and as he trotted through the crisp evening air and vibrant, lush surroundings of his territory, he was entirely unconcerned about his next catch. The caravan, so he understood, was only large enough to be entertaining, and so would prove no challenge at all.

The youko, unfortunately, did not find many challenging opportunities for theft close to home. He had grown used to traveling for his larger escapades many decades earlier, and could go through whole districts of the makai civilization quite happily and easily, with little to no worry at all for his lands. The reason for this was simple; his territory was not a large one, and his hold on it was so absolute that, as far as most demons were concerned, it was a hole on the map. One just didn't go there if they wanted to survive. His plants quickly disposed of those characters that did decide to try and take over while he was gone.

They were quickly disposed of anyway, though. Kurama depended on the foolishness of those particular youkai to keep his larger plants happily fed, and the number of young demons willing to take the risk never failed to amuse him. His plants didn't need the food, as they drew entirely from the energy he provided them with, but it kept them happy and content, and as a result they obeyed him much more willingly than plants beyond his marked stretch of woods.

Normally Kurama didn't like spoiling any kind of affiliates in his crimes (he would have directed skeptical demons to ask one of his former partners for confirmation of this, but they were all dead, so he didn't see much point), but his plants were the exception; they were the only beings he had ever had any affection or -dare he say- maternal feelings for, and so, he decided, needed some coddling. Plants in much more distant locations were treated with much colder demands- but still, he was kinder to growing things that he was to most demons. As far as he was concerned, they had more right to the makai than the demons did, as they had undoubtedly come first.

But those were only his musings, and they were irrelevant to the current situation. Kurama's destination at the moment was a ledge a short distance from the road the caravan was traveling, from which he should be able to watch the progress of his target unseen. He reached the ledge with ample time to sunset, and settled down comfortably to tough it out till the fun arrived.

Youko sighed; he hated waiting, too.

-

The wait was short lived. The sun had barely slid halfway down when they came into sight, a long, thin stream of weak youkai and a few vaguely more powerful guards. Carts and other transporters of goods were pulled by either horse youkai or other mentally slow, bestial demons. Also joining them occasionally on the line of labor were members of the caravan (there were always inevitably a few who could not keep their hands from the cargo), whose punishment for whatever their various crimes had been was made very clear by their current state.

It would be ridiculously easy to strangle the whole lot in seconds; Kurama would not have wasted the time with such an easy target, but they were carrying something that he not only wanted, for once, but needed. So the youko, thinking that perhaps the best tactic would be a good game of cat and mouse, who-could-last-the-longest, took his time sneaking down to the road, climbing silently into a tree at the head of the party and watching as each demon went by, judging lazily where to start.

It was a quiet moment; the air seemed almost heavy and perfumed, and colored with the rich, darkening oranges, golds and reds of the sky, occasionally shot through with violets, blues and pinks, the dusk time colors in Kurama's portion of the makai. The greens and blacks of the daytime heavens were nowhere to be seen, and of course, nighttime, no matter what world you lived in, was always dark. The dirt from the road, stirred by the hundred or so tramping feet and rolling wooden wheels, seemed to make the air almost hazy, almost dusty...and yet at the same time quite clear.

The upper edge of the sun was still showing, and he found himself reflecting almost inanely on it. He immediately reprimanded himself for being empty-headed about anything, and proceeded to observe something else. The air was at a very pleasant blood temperature, and he sensed that it had dropped all that it would for the rest of the night. He had chosen an autumn climate on purpose, as he preferred being a little too hot infinitely to being cold. Staring at the caravan for another few moments, he finally decided that he had wasted enough time, and began looking seriously for a good target.

A sudden scream set him jumping in surprise, staring automatically towards the back of the caravan for the source of the noise. His large, sensitive ears were as good, if not better, than any other youko's, and he immediately knew what direction the disturbance had come from. Its sudden entrance into his train of thought left him caught somewhere between irritation and curiosity.

There was a black streak diving into the very rear of the caravan, carving its way through every demon it stepped near, a smaller silver line of light dancing around it and parting the way. The offered resistance of armor, skin and muscle seemed to melt under its influence; blood following it in slow liquid eddies of color, made rich by the dying light. The dust rose higher in the air as creatures rushed, youki flared and demons died. It was a morbidly beautiful sight, all the more so as it seemed to happen almost invisibly, magically.

The youko watched all of this unfolding, and the beauty was lost to his perplexed eyes. His mood was quickly swinging in favor of the irritation as it occurred to him that this...whatever it was...was stealing his prey: very soon there would be nothing left, and all his fun would be spoiled. He felt a brief, immature stab of great dislike for the black streak, determined that he was being immature and quickly stopped, and for a few moments entertained the idea of just killing it and taking what was, as far he was concerned, rightfully his.

But something held him back, something that was intensely curious as to the nature of this creature. Very few demons could decimate such a large party in such a short of amount of time, and while Kurama was not entirely impressed (very little impressed him), he certainly was intrigued. He could wait to kill it, and maybe, in the end, it would turn out to be more fun than the caravan; after all, it would have to be at least a little more challenging, considering the quick work it was making. This could be a good twist after all.

It took about four minutes for the creature to wipe out everything living on the stretch of road, and at first it did not stop moving, even after its job was finished. It continued to streak around, making quite certain that it had gotten everything- the mark of a good fighter. Young, inexperienced demons almost always cut off their attack too soon, and were killed by a straggler as soon as they stood still. This one made very sure that he was alone on the ground before stopping.

Kurama was unable to stop his lips parting, or the soft, almost unconscious sigh of appreciation that escaped him when he finally got a look at his competition. His irritation was gone, his natural appreciation of beautiful things returning with a great weight in his chest.

"A bat demon..." The opposition was a bat demon.

Bat demons, while not really extinct (many demons thought that they were actually thriving in the shadows), were rare and shocking things to see, considering their reclusive, private tendencies and general dislike of daylight. They could stand it and function in it of course, but they naturally preferred darkness. Not only that, but they preferred tropical climates too, and Kurama lived in a more temperate region. They also tended not to gravitate towards what appeared to be thievery as a profession. Kurama was very, very fond of them- not because they were particularly beautiful or powerful, but because they were rare: anything rare was a treasure.

There was another point in this creature's favor besides his rare status, though: not only was he a bat demon, but he was a very handsome bat demon. Most were too small and too thin, and while Kurama enjoyed them for their rarity, he could not bring himself to appreciate them physically. He had to have found one of an older variety, from one of the colonies that lived hidden deep in the jungles of the east...

This specimen was tall and leanly muscular, with unnaturally small wings growing from his back. He could not quite claim hold to Kurama's seven-foot stature, but he could certainly take a generous six-feet and eight inches. His build was graceful and powerful; very lithe and curved...though something about the way he carried himself told that he was still young: maybe no more than two centuries, even.

His hair was a thick collection of perfectly straight black strands, the entire amount gathered up into a ponytail high on the back of his head, with two heavy side locks hanging before his ears. Despite its suspended fashion, the ends of his hair still trailed to his waist: the side locks were trimmed, falling no lower than his chest. Around his head, the brim covering his forehead, were the remains of a black hat; this hat was held together mainly through the efforts of a black cord, which kept it from falling off his head, and also from falling apart.

Kurama unexplainably liked his skin before any other piece of him; whereas his own complexion was simply pale, this being was almost white, in stark contrast to his hair and black clothing. This clothing consisted of a sleeveless black vest (nearly too small) that was held together by flat cloth ties instead of strings, and then only a few other simple items; black breeches, black shoes, a black belt with a tarnished gold clip, and a white wrap covering his hips and the backs of his thighs. The bat demon finished the outfit with curious black straps that wrapped uselessly around either of his white arms from biceps to wrist, leaving many wide, open triangles and slices of skin.

His face was long, the skin there almost porcelain in appearance. His head was lowered as he paced around (checking bodies to make sure they were dead), but the fox could see that his cheekbones were high and proud, his nose somewhat distinguished and his eyebrows arched nobly. Again, though, something about his face told of a lingering youth. There was no way that this demon was past his first four centuries yet, which, when compared to Kurama's years, made him barely older than a child.

Kurama took note directly after the bat demon's appearance of the weapon he carried, an oddly crafted silver scythe on a thin, flexible cord of silver, and he was intrigued again; this was a difficult weapon to wield, especially with as much skill as the creature displayed. He was still not impressed, but he was more interested that ever.

Finally, his eyes were drawn to the one piece of jewelry the creature had; a beautifully elegant red gem, tear shaped and backed in gold, and hung on a delicate gold chain. It was a very simple necklace. To the youko's annoyance, the bat demon did not have it around his neck, but instead twined on his wrist, the gem swinging gently back and forth with its modest weight.

This went entirely against the thief; jewelry was meant to be worn or displayed, not swung around for fun, and the other demon made no move at all to place it around his neck when he stilled in his search -another shame, as he had a beautiful white neck, long and graceful-.

It was this that prompted Kurama to speak in the end. He might have simply killed the demon, or just taken his desired items from the caravan and gone home; but this necklace and its relation to the bat youkai made up his mind without any kind of contestation. He wanted to know more about this creature.

He stood then, walking down the length of the branch he'd previously rested on and dropping down to one some feet lower. There he sat once more, lifting a knee to his chest and settling so that he could be seen on his perch. That finished, he called out to the intruder; "I hope you are aware that you've robbed me of my prey, bat youkai." He kept his tone neutral, with only the lightest hint of dangerous humor hidden beneath.

The black-clad demon jumped, turning to the youko instantly. Kurama absently noted that his reflexes were good. Now that the other youkai was staring directly at him, Kurama noted with some interest that his eyes were a piercing violet, shining up out of his face with a startling intensity. The black he wore did no job of hiding the concentration of the color; in fact, it only enhanced it, as did his milky white skin.

A moment of staring ensued, with both refusing to look away from the other. Kurama watched in amusement as an amazing collection of worries ran across the other youkai's face, plain to see for several seconds before they were quickly buried away. The bat demon straightened his back a small amount then, frowning to hide his concern. "You're the Youko." His voice was surprisingly pleasant and strong for one who had looked so uncertain; not a deep voice, like demons often had, but smoothly mid toned and educated. Kurama could always tell by listening to a creature's voice whether it had been given access to books and learning, and this one had.

To Kurama's annoyance, however, after the initial shock of his appearance wore off, the other youkai no longer continued to look nervous or frightened. His expression instead became confident and thoughtful, his stiff shoulder relaxing somewhat. This was not something Kurama was accustomed to, and it frustrated him.

"I am," he called regally, hoping that the confirmation would get some of the awe he was used to.

Instead he got nothing, only a slight inclination of the demon's head and a more relaxed posture than ever. "Well, Youko...sir..." This was added almost as an afterthought, and Kurama drew in a sharp breath of air at the words, eyes blazing in offense; how dare the fool even think of using his name so lightly? "You have to understand- I don't want any of this cargo." This got Kurama's full attention perfectly. "I only came here to kill these men," he continued, "I have no intention of taking your things."

The other bowed slightly then, inclining his head a second time as he backed a few steps away. "Consider it an inadvertent favor, or a happy coincidence," he concluded lightly, backing farther from Kurama. "I'll take my leave now, of course..."

Why, that conniving- "You will hold," the youko told him sternly, feeling a little better when the other immediately flinched and froze in his steps. Slightly comforted, Kurama relaxed and considered the bat demon's words for a moment, perplexed. He didn't know quite what to do, truthfully. The bat had indeed done him a favor by all definitions, but he hadn't really wanted the favor...

Quite suddenly, a wonderful idea came to him, and he reveled in his genius for a few delightful seconds before allowing an evil smirk to grow on his face. "That's good, of course," came his sadistic purr, "But I said you had robbed me of prey, not prizes. I don't consider your actions a favor. So, how will you pay me back for the demons I planned on killing?"

This finally seemed to have some of the desired effect on the bat demon. There was still no fear, but he certainly lost his smirk. "I...but..." He hesitated, taking a small step back as a frown grew on his face.

Kurama almost grinned, his humor and playfulness returning in full. This was how others were supposed to act in his presence.

"Don't worry, though," he called down, standing up in a perfectly careless way that belied his tensed form, hiding his preparation to leap from the tree. This was going to be so much fun- "I take compensation in all forms!"

The bat demon moved at the same time as the fox, leaping to defend himself as his opponent streaked down the trunk of the tree, across the shadowed dirt of the road towards him. He moved with all the beauty and practice of a powerful, experienced thief, and it was as easy as breathing to overtake the black-clad youkai. In the case of the bat demon, he unfortunately failed to realize in time that Kurama's target was not in fact his body, and he had no chance to correct his defenses before his hand was empty.

It took the youkai several full seconds to realize that Kurama had stolen his necklace, and he was not brought back out of his stupor until Kurama began laughing, a triumphantly warm laugh that showed what a great deal of fun he was having. Turning, the black youkai found him already bounding away for the forest on the opposite side of the road, the delicate red-gemmed necklace swinging from the long fingers of his right hand as his feet hit the ground silently, propelling him effortlessly towards the trees as he continued to cackle.

"You bastard!" yelled the bat demon in disbelief, diving right after the silver fox, "Give that back!"

Nothing could have stopped them then; all focus shifted from the real world to one another, and their frantic hurdle through the dense trees. Both were running close to their limits, dodging, jumping, bounding and rebounding off of trees for momentum and direction change, gracefully avoiding each and every obstacle; pits were nothing; roots were simple games; trees were like inconsequential toothpicks surrounding their feet. All that mattered was running away, and catching the thief. On a less frenzied journey, the forest would have been beautiful. Now, it passed by unnoticed.

Nearly five minutes of this ensued; the darkness of early night finally fell, and the forest began to thin around them slowly. The thick wooden trunks were disappearing, instead replaced now with lower brush and stands of grass. It was still very difficult to navigate, for there were still many trees, but it was obvious that they were growing close to a clearing of some kind. The air smelled fresh and surprisingly clean for the makai, but like everything else, it was forgotten and wasted on the two runners.

Kurama couldn't stop laughing. It wasted his breath, but he just couldn't stop: this was so much more fun that he had expected - why hadn't he ever tried something like this before? It was an incredible rush. How many other opportunities for a race, for a hunt of this nature, had he passed up in earlier centuries? It was exhilarating, diving away from one who could almost match him in speed. It was wonderful. Another laugh bubbled to his lips as he jumped smoothly to his next foothold; seeming to fall, to rise, then to dive on with new strength and poise.

"Bring it back!" came the cry from behind him, only part of a constant stream of curses and pleas that had come from his pursuer. "You youko bastard, give that back to me!"

The trees began to thin more rapidly; then, suddenly, the forest was gone, and they were left running through a vast field of waist high grass, heading towards another stand of trees on the opposite side. The grass was rustling quietly in the faint breeze, shining a delicate green-blue in the silver light of the makai moon, which was just appearing on the horizon. The sun had set almost twenty minutes before, and the moon promised to be marvelous, sickle shaped and breath taking. Both runners were suddenly quiet; even though they were still as focused as ever, the serenity of the field seemed to have permeated their thoughts unconsciously.

The bat demon was starting to feel a little worn around the lungs; he was a good runner, a fast runner, but he just wasn't used to matching speeds with someone as swift as a youko. He was unsure of where he was, even, and his nervousness showed in the lines of his eyes; the faint creases of his mouth and eyebrows. He chanced a swift peek over his shoulder, then swung his head back around.

He stopped instantly, now somewhere in the middle of the field. His halt was very sudden, but perfectly justified; in the few seconds he had spent looking over his shoulder, Kurama had vanished, apparently dropping down into the grass and drifting away... or perhaps hiding out for a silent attack. There was no telling, no guessing at all. Frustrated, he began to run quickly towards the trees on the opposite side of the grass field, stopping just beneath one on the very edge of the tree line and pausing to look around again. All was very quiet save for the occasional moan of the wind and sigh from the grass; it would have been soothing, had the moment not been so tense.

Up in the tree, only a few branches above the bat demon, Kurama looked down and considered his options. He found it extremely amusing that he had now managed to hide from the black-clad youkai twice in the branches of a tree, but he knew better than to laugh aloud when he was currently in such a perfect position. Below him, the other demon began to curse softly, whispering a vehement chikusho to what he thought was an empty field.

What an intriguing creature. This bat demon was fascinating - a real curiosity, in fact. He was enigmatic (truthfully, Kurama knew very little about bat demons); shockingly bold... and above anything else, he had dared to call Kurama a bastard. The fox wanted this game to last much longer than it had so far; after all, it was rare to find one so amusing as his life wore on, andhe couldn't really pass up such an amusing opportunity... A smirk lit the thief's face: time to play his next move.

Swinging down when the youkai was turned away towards the field, he hung easily by his feet, holding either end of the necklace between the thumb and forefinger of his hands. Close enough behind the bat demon to bite his ear, he lifted the red gem over the other's head and held the necklace out before the darkly clothed demon, who froze instantly in surprise. Before he could gain his wits back, Kurama brought it gently around his neck and slid the catch shut, smiling and leaning forward as he did.

"You should wear a necklace this beautiful," he purred into the demon's ear. His hands dropped almost weightlessly to those white shoulders, rubbing gently at the smooth skin. He was only wearing a small black vest, after all, so his arms were readily accessible. "You ignore its true calling. It's a terrible shame to waste such a neck..." His lips illustrated his words, kissing the sensitive patch of skin directly behind the bat demon's ear, teasing it and his throat with a wispy touch that sent a shiver feathering down the spine of the dark creature. Pleased by the small, involuntary action, Kurama smirked and did not stop

The moment was short lived, however. Jolted from his surprise by the youko's forward movement, the bat demon spun suddenly with a violent hiss. "Yaro!" His fist was aimed for Kurama, but the fox simply dodged it and dropped liquidly to the ground, scurrying around in front of the youkai and standing up straight.

Both stared at one another for several long seconds, one face very amused, the other decidedly the opposite. The wind disturbed the grass again, and the silence pounded into a noise of its own as the moon rose slowly.

"I like you," Kurama decided finally aloud, his expression jovial, pleased. He looked as though some kind of treat had been handed to him suddenly, and in a way, it had. His marvelous idea of stealing the necklace was evolving, and now, he found he had something that was useful for so much more than a run through the woods.

The bat demon blinked, starting to draw back in confused caution. He had not moved more than an inch before Kurama took charge of the situation again. Vines -thin green creepers that would have seemed to fragile, had they not been gripping so tightly- wrapped themselves around his shoulders, his small black wings and his powerful torso, then around his wrists and hips and elbows, and finally, his ankles and knees. His scythe blade dropped to the ground seconds before he did.

"You are always just a second too late to escape, aren't you?" Kurama asked pleasantly, crouching down to smile into the bat demons face. "It doesn't really matter, though. I like you-" This was a reiteration. "-I think I'll keep you for a while." This was not.

The bat demon cried out in pained frustration, gasping and writhing around in a desperate bid for freedom. When he realized that he was only amusing the youko further by doing this, he gave up the attempt and remained on his back, glaring up at the pale thief loathingly. The anger in the expression was almost a palpable thing.

Kurama took no notice of the promised death in those eyes. "What is your name?" he asked easily, settling comfortably onto his haunches so that he could continue to stare at his victim in close proximity.

"...Kuronue." It seemed that he had been almost hesitant to answer, and when he did, he spoke in a low, poisonous tone that earned a lifted eyebrow from Kurama.

Leaning down close to Kuronue's face, he stared directly into the intense violet eyes of the other: now that he was closer, he could see that they were flecked with black. "Well, Kuronue," he whispered topically, "I strongly advise that you learn some humility...soon."

Kuronue only blinked at him in shocked anger, as though he couldn't believe the thief would issue such a demand. Kurama, who did not want to have to sustain any further insult to his person, mercifully decided to knock the bat demon unconscious. He did so swiftly, and within a few seconds, Kuronue's head dropped back onto the ground, muscles limp and relaxed.

This event was perfect. It was better than anything he could have possibly foreseen or even wished for, better than even what he had begun to hope for. Here was a game; here was an opportunity; here was something almost as perfect as he was.

And finally, the youko was impressed.

-

A/N: All right, so, that's chapter two down! Do you all love me? Are you happy? Be happy, damnit/glares insecurely, then begins to cry/ I work so hard on these things . . .

Just ignore me - I'm being weird again. O.o It happens sometimes. It usually means I'm really happy.

I sincerely hope that you all read the last two author's notes (at the end of chapter one and the beginning of this chapter), because I'll bet you were pretty confused it you didn't:P I know that chapter one sucked, but I bite at writing introductions. I've actually just realized that, really, I'm writing this story without any information. I've seen the movie once, and I've only seen the series up to the end of the Sensui Arc (mostly dubbed). That means that I've missed anything that has to do with Yomi or Youko's past, so that's grey area for me. Because of this, I'm drawing a line - anything that happens after the Sensui Arc, I don't care about, whether it's canon or not. This fic will be written entirely from what is learned from the beginning of the series to the end of aforementioned Arc. Okey dokey:)

FANON/CANON

1) "The opposition was a bat demon." - Some people say that Kuronue is a chimera, others say bat. I'm a bat person m'self. Also, I'm unsure as to the whole necklace thing - in the movie (which I unfortunately only got to see once), Kuronue is shown wearing the necklace during his death scene, but all the rest of the while he carries it around in his hand. I think that after partnering up with the Youko, he starts wearing it around his neck for thieveries, and then takes it off again afterwards.

2) We humble fans have never been told whether Kurama actually worships Inari or not, but I figured . . . what the hell, and just carried on with it.

3) "The mimosa had begun to burn holes in the walls in their impatience for prey" - You all remember the mimosa, right/grins/ Those things were sooooooo cool!

4) Do we know if Kurama stays in one den specifically? NO. Do we know if he has to travel for big thefts? NO. Do we know whether he has a sense of humor or not? NOT REALLY. Bear with me. I have to make up some of the character idiosyncrasies, after all. ;)

5) 5) If anybody wants to do a big favor for me . . . could you possibly leave a review saying whether Kuronue's necklace is backed in gold or silver? I've looked at several different pictures, and now I'm unsure . . . Help!