Kurama sat motionless on the hard wood floor. The morning sun had not yet risen and a heavy chill cut through the paper-thin walls. A single thin candle supported an anemic flame. Light reflected off the young fox's silver hair that framed a troubled face.

Inside his mind visions of chaos erupted. He saw worlds go up in flames. The screams of people running uselessly for their lives all but drowned out the roar of the fire. This was hell; he was sure of it…either hell or a damn hell on earth. Orange tentacles wrapped around the escapees, either incinerating them immediately or making them suffer first. The fire had a soul of its own and it grew larger with each person it consumed. Suddenly one of Them grabbed on to his ankle, screaming for help as the tongue of fire wrapped around her, dragging her towards itself. Her nails dug desperately into his skin. Kurama reacted instinctively, growing a hedge around them. For the first time he was able to get a good look at her. She was a young yokai, no older than twelve. She must have been an exceptional beauty at one point but it was impossible to tell now. Bits of her face had been eaten away by the flames. Burns covered her entire body, painting her a disgusting red and black. She reeked of singed fur. Gently Kurama held her by her left shoulder, the only place he could see that wasn't burned. Her face tilted up to meet his and their eyes met. She opened her mouth to thank him but her voice instead transformed into the howl of the mortally wounded. Her mouth went slack and her eyes clouded over. Kurama stared in disbelief as a hole opened up in her chest. A figure covered in darkness glared at him with red eyes.

"Damn Kurama…what's the matter with you!"

"Why the HELL did you do that!" Kurama yelled at him. "She could have survived!"

"Survived and then what? She'd go back to the hell she and every one else have gotten accustom to. You did her a favor putting her out of her misery." Kurama let go of the dead girl and stepped menacingly toward the shadowed yokai, claws ready to attack.

"I put her out of her misery! You killed her…"

"Did I?" The yokai pointed down at Kurama's hands. Slowly the fox's eyes followed.

"Kami…" he gasped. It was his claws that were covered in blood. The other yokai laughed at his stricken face.

"You didn't even know when you did it!" It pushed past him and picked up the body. From the dark yokai's arms the girl's unseeing eyes stared up at him accusingly. "You'll understand soon Kurama." Kurama was unable to move and could only watch as the yokai flung the body back into the fire. The yokai stared almost reverently as the fire ate its newest sacrifice. "When this world is purged by fire, then you'll understand…"

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Kurama knew he was dreaming. He had put himself in a trance in order to find the peace his parents always talked about. What he got instead was a glimpse of hell. He knew he was dreaming; but he didn't know how to wake up.

His heart pounded and sweat drenched his whole body as he gasped for breath. The vision held him captive; he could feel the tremors that shook him. Suddenly his delicate ears picked up something.

There was the barest whisper of sound as the door slid open. Normally it would have gone unnoticed but today it seemed like a thunderclap. It was enough to terminate the horrible vision.

Without looking he could tell when the visitor sank into a half-crouch across from him. In his state between nightmare and reality he waited for the newcomer to speak but the room remained as silent as before. Slowly, so as not to damage his very sore psyche, Kurama tried to pull himself out of the trance had kept him prisoner for the last few hours. He silently cursed when he came up against another barrier. He pushed but nothing happened; he was still trapped in his mind.

Without warning there was a crack and Kurama fell sideways with a jarring pain to his chin. That was all he needed to shock himself into full awareness. He opened his eyes just in time to catch the second uppercut in one hand. His fingers tightened around the other yokai's fist.

"Alright! Alright already, I'm awake Kuronoe! One was enough!" The black haired yokai named Kuronoe just shrugged and pulled his hand away from the fox.

"How was I supposed to know? You still looked pretty out of it to me so I figured you needed a little more persuasion. Would it kill you to say thank you?" Kurama shook his head in amusement while wiping off the thin trail of blood that slipped out of the side of his mouth.

"Very well then, thank you."

"You're welcome. If you ever need another fist in the face I'm your man."

"I'll remember that." Kurama pushed himself back to his small cushion that served as his seat.

"So what was it you saw? I'm guessing it's not your parents paradise."

"I think I caught a glimpse of hell…or the apocalypse, I'm not sure which. Whichever one it was it seemed almost like I caused it to happen." Kuronoe nodded.

"I can see how that would be disturbing."

"You're thinner; you haven't been eating right."

"No mother, I guess I skipped a few meals here and there. I've been busy… and I'm just dying for a taste of blood." Kurama didn't answer. Instead he studied his friend. His long arms seemed to have shrunken a bit beneath the bandage-like black sleeves. Around his neck his favorite blood-red pendant still sat on the exact same chain it had for the past hundred years. The ridiculous black witch-hat still sat on his head giving him an unmistakably evil appearance. Kurama mentally recorded every bit of his appearance right down to his dusty shoes. Finally his gaze returned to his friend's face. Kuronoe glared half-heartedly at him.

"If you're checking me out then you've been alone way too long! You should get out more."

"Very funny…why on earth would I be checking out washed up goods like you? You couldn't even pay a girl to be interested in you." Kuronoe chuckled.

"Poor Yoko Kurama, you're so far behind. These days a yokai doesn't pay to get some action. You just grab the nearest pretty human girl."

"I suppose you would know…domination is the only way you can get any. Anyway, I doubt you came all this way to discuss your sex life." The black clad Kuronoe became serious.

"No, there is something else…"

"I thought so. You never just drop in to say hi anymore. I missed your unexpected visits and the incredibly life-threatening heists that always followed. My behind has been uncommonly safe for the past few weeks." The two friends laughed.

"Yoko, you haven't changed a bit! I'm…glad…" His change of voice instantly alerted Kurama.

"So that's what this was about." Kuronoe refused to meet his eyes.

"I just wanted to know what would happen to …us I mean, I didn't want things to change between us and…"

"Oh shut up Kuronoe. I told you, we're partners and nothing's going to change that. I hated my parents and they disowned me. I was an embarrassment to them and they liked to pretend I didn't exist so none of their friends would know that their son's a thief. Just because they're dead and I'm the only one left to own all their money doesn't matter to me in the slightest. They couldn't change me in life and I'm not going to let their deaths change me…that would be too much like letting them win."

"Yes but now you're rich. You don't need to steal anymore." Yoko Kurama smirked.

"I know, but it's just so damn fun! So tell me, what incredibly devious thing did you have in mind?"

Kuronoe's eyes took on a devilish light. "Yoko my friend, this one's gonna blow your mind!"

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"That was when Kuronoe told me about The Plan. Banshi had been an old friend of mine. There were five of us in our little band. Banshi had located all of us because he wanted our help. He had a plot and if it succeeded it would make us the most powerful creatures alive. Kuronoe had appealed to my sense of adventure. I wont lie to you Hiei, the prospect of virtually unlimited power was almost too good to be true. I wasn't going to let that go by."

"So you joined them." The statement from the koorime was not an accusation, but a statement of fact.

"Yes I joined them. They were my friends; I trusted them." Kurama leaned back with a sigh and stared up at the sky. "They were my only real family. We were the best; we knew each other's weaknesses and strength. We watched each other's back. I would have shared the greatest power with the people I loved most. With Banshi's smarts, Saikyou's strength and Kuronoe and my thieving cunning I thought we could do anything. I didn't think that anything could go wrong; Banshi's plans were always meticulously laid out, nothing ever went wrong.

We did many things in those days, most of them I regret terribly. It was a complicated spell Banshi chose, one that would drain selected guardians of their power and swamp our bodies with their energy. We would have almost limitless power and not even the other kami would be able to stop us. But of course a complicated spell needs many hard-to-get ingredients. So we stole. We didn't care how heavily guarded a place was. Kuronoe and I could get into any place. We must have taken hundreds of rare artifacts. I used that time to stock up on my collection of rare books. I loved every moment of it: the breathless anticipation before right up to the pure thrill afterward. It was like a high you couldn't get anywhere else…and I was addicted."

"What went wrong?" Hiei asked quietly. Kurama sighed again.

"Everything."

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"Let's make a deal: I promise not to bite and you come in out of the doorway." Kurama smirked.

"It's not your teeth I'm afraid of Banshi…more like your claws." The tiger yokai snorted.

"The ice in your veins wouldn't taste very good anyway."

"I brought you something." Banshi's face registered surprise.

"I don't remember sending you to get anything else…or did I?" Yoko Kurama sighed in exasperation.

"It's called food Banshi. You still have to eat; you're not a kami yet. It won't take long. I'm sure you can take a few minutes break." Banshi laughed and motioned for Kurama to sit.

"Kuronoe was right! Fierce fighter, daring thief and mother hen…an interesting combination. I suppose if you insist." He shoved aside the pile of books and took the wiggling cat-like creature from the kitsune. "A koma cub? Where'd you get this?" The little cat yowled and scratched as hard as it could but it's little claws did nothing.

"I found a den; I remembered it's your favorite and there aren't many of them left."

"Hey Banshi!" Kuronoe appeared in the doorway. "We found the amulet."

"Good, bring it here."

"Hell no! There's no way any of us are going in there after it! The damned place is flooded with wards and incense. Makes me want to hurl just thinking about it." Kurama saw Banshi was getting up.

"I think not. I'll get it, you EAT." Banshi obediently sank his fangs into its neck and immediately its struggling stopped. Vaguely Kurama pondered the symbolism- soon all of humanity's guardians would be forced to let them through…

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Author's note: Koma are lion-like statues that were placed at the entrances of some shrines. They were thought to be able to ward off demons and other spirits. A damaged one meant that evil would be able to enter the shrine.

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