I've lived in this world for four long years. There's not much to do around here, seeing as there aren't any demon gangs to fight with, but sometimes I enjoy the peace. Then I close my eyes and let my vivid imagination take wing. I think of the time when we were still together, when I thought that he had taken me to be his forced bride when he was just nursing me back to health. Who would have thought that Youko Kurama would find a soft spot for a helpless little girl like me? Well, he did, no matter the circumstances. Back then, I was known as Kaiina, the Lone Wolf.
Prior to my time with Kurama, I traveled Makai with my loyal attendant, Jakiri, descendant of the Iceshadow Dragon from long ago. After her blood was mixed with that of a human, her and all her relatives found their ability to take a humanoid form. Her features were still quite distinguishable, but it made the going easier when we had to do anything in the presence of the Ningens. Their ignorance still astounds me, though I have found a home here in their world. Upon seeing anything that is unfamiliar to them, they run in fear, wishing to escape that creature's presence. They do not take the time to find out whether it's friend or foe; they just run. Anyhow, Jakiri and I traveled our homeland for quite a while, until I made one great mistake.
Being a crafty criminal, I was wanted by Koenma, Prince of Reikai, the Realm of the Spirits. Several demon hunters pursued me, but to no avail. I was too clever for them, and they oft lost interest in chasing me from the desperation of it all. Several of them simply ended up dead. After finding out why I was wanted, it was no surprise that so many chased me. I had murdered Carteih, a renowned spirit detective who was long since dead. I had been quite young, and a master of mine had assigned me a task of assassination.
This master was fond of me, and thought that I could carry out any wish he might have. So, he told me to kill the woman who was chasing him...Carteih. Fortunately, I killed her in her sleep, quickly swiping a dagger over her throat and getting out of there. Nobody chased me for a long time, but it only took one slip of the tongue. I was speaking with a low-class demon, and he gushed every bit of information that he could to Koenma. Though I can hardly say I trusted him, I still did not expect him to come and claim a reward from the despised Prince. That was when the trail went hot again. They decided to chase me throughout the wilderness of Makai, throughout my home.
As I was quite at home in the woods, it didn't take long before they were desperately lost, seeking the protection that only another powerful demon could have given them. I used the trees, the shrubbery, anything I could find, and ambushed them one by one. It was laughably easy, and when I recall those tales to Jakiri, her response is her beautifully dark, musical laughter. It's like the tinkling of bells at a funeral. To the normal ear, it sounds half-hearted, almost mocking, but it holds a melodic, melancholy beauty that few appreciate. In this case, those bells were ringing over past funerals. All of the seven that I killed were burned in a travesty of a funeral service.
For a few more years, I wandered about within the several wild areas of Makai, making sure not to stray from the entangled territory at the center of the forest I always knew as Hell's Grove. The name was perfectly fitting. If you did not know the territory, you would arrive in a certain clearing. The shrubbery and vines around it are so thick that it is nigh on impossible to escape once you have entered the aforementioned clearing. Normally, the trees block out most of the sunlight as it is, but here you are stranded in pitch-black darkness. Hardened, thorn-covered vines block every possible exit, and only those who have known the forest all their lives are able to get out.
Eventually, I had to leave. I needed little of food and water, but there was little activity in Hell's Grove. I felt as if I was wasting away the youth that should have been used fighting off enemy demons and making a name for myself. Instead, I meditated with Jakiri inside the confines of this dark clearing. Moisture was everywhere around me, a cool moisture that comforted me when it touched my skin. It was the one thing I remembered from my childhood, and the one thing that made me feel truly at peace. However, I knew that I had to leave it, even if such a decision did not befit the cunning of the Lone Wolf.
Immediately after I left, I felt my energy resurging, having multiplied itself tenfold. It filled me with a euphoria of power, an ecstasy that I didn't want to let go. Lost in my own utopia, I wandered away from Jakiri for a day or two, telling her that I would be back...eventually. Knowing me, Jakiri decided that she must obey, as the last remaining servant of the Iceshadow Order.
While I was alone, I ran into a very powerful spirit detective. He cornered me easily, since I was without the advantage of having someone to watch my back. We fought long and hard, neither admitting defeat. I used my power to summon plants from the earth and entangled him in a web of vines. Pressing my fang-like saber up to his throat, I relished in the fact that Koenma's last ditch effort had failed. He had failed to capture a murderer who had disappeared for his radar for what seemed to me like an eternity. That wasn't the end of the noble man, however.
Trying to kill me in one heavy stroke, he unleashed all of his raw spirit power, knowing that he, too, would die in the process. Darkness embraced me, holding me tenderly in a dreamless sleep for weeks. When I awakened, I was on a lavish couch in what looked like some sort of mansion. A few high-class demons were seated on other couches, and a silver-haired youth looked at me with a dangerously playful smirk on his face. "So, you're awake," he said, walking over to the couch that I had managed to entirely occupy all by my lonesome. "I was beginning to wonder if you were dead or not." He said these words like I was some trivial pet, a thing that could live or die without causing him any trouble.
Slowly his hand was stretched toward my cheek. Snapping out of my half-sleep, I reached out and clasped his wrist. "Don't touch me," I said, frowning up at him.
"And how is a weakened pup like you going to stop me?" he asked, his suave voice holding a certain challenge to it.
"Like this," I said, and tried to kick him in the process of a backward somersault. However, when he lay on the floor, defenseless, I felt my entire body screaming in painful protest. No matter how resolute I was, my body simply wasn't ready to get back into the action just yet. The detective's blow had dealt me some damage, and I could see a long gash that went from my collarbone all the way down my torso. It was the first time any of the hunters had damaged me, and now I was sick and abed with this pompous idiot taking care of me.
"Who are you?" I demanded, at least managing to sit back down while leaning against the side of the couch's arm. "Why save me."
"Oh, how rude," the youth said smoothly, standing up to present himself to me. Flowing white cloth was draped all over his body, giving him a very regal appearance. His eyes were a bold golden hue, showing the same cunning I saw when I looked in the mirror. His figure was lean and fairly well-muscled, but the thing that surprised me the most was his height. Even having been away for so long, I knew that I was considerably tall. However, the tips of my ears barely reached his shoulders, making him a whole head taller than me. "My name is Youko Kurama," he said finally, while I examined him. "And this is my following. We're thieves...of sorts."
"You're- no, you couldn't be," I said, stumbling over my own words. "You're...different from what I expected."
"What does it matter?" he asked. "I am able just as well as any other demon. My appearance presents little trouble in Makai. Few have lived to see my face."
"If you're Kurama, I think you'd fetch a hefty price, and clear my name," I said, heading off toward the door.
"How rude," he said nonchalantly, waving a hand off to the side. "And I thought you had potential."
"What kind of potential?" I demanded, suddenly becoming very interested. Perhaps he would be willing to help me discover this potential.
"That kind which would allow you to become one of us," he said. "You're smart, you possess untapped strength that is greater than that which almost all demons have. Though it's not too important, you'd be quite a pretty addition."
"What am I, then?" I shouted at him, infuriated at the last remark. "Just another 'addition' to your HAREM!"
"Oh, come now, it's not that bad, child." His voice began to burn on my ears. I wanted to find Jakiri and be out of there. However, she found me first.
Startled that I was awake so soon, Jakiri ran over to me and embraced me, something she rarely did, followed by a hard slap across the face. "What the hell did you think you were doing!" she screamed, glaring at me with her sky blue eyes. Her snowy white hair seemed to bristle with anger at my misdoings.
"I'm the master, Jakiri," I said, trying to remain calm. "You swore to obey me!"
"Well that was for your own good," she retorted. "You're still just a hatchling, running off without any protection. You could have been killed." Youko tried to intervene, but both me and Jakiri whipped around to shoot him the best icy stares we could manage. Frustrated with me, he mumbled something nasty under his breath and walked off.
All around us, demons were watching the fight, cheering me on. "Look," I said to Jakiri, "it was a dumb thing to do, but thanks to that, now I'm stuck here, with him." My voice bristled with anger, and he turned around to give me a triumphant smirk. I snarled back at him viciously while the crowd around us laughed, watching their leader get riled up over a spunky little brat like me. It almost occurred to me to just vent my anger on a few of them right then and there, ruffle Kurama's feathers a little more. Oh yes, it would be sweet revenge for him humiliating me. I would have thought him attractive if he hadn't acted so arrogantly. His debonair mood seemed to be put on, to conceal some dark secret, perhaps fear.
Jakiri went away to talk to the other thieves, thinking that she might get them to slip some information about Kurama to her. I, however, was left to talk to the arrogant "Prince", as I dubbed him, myself. He was tending to some business with friends of his. When I walked up behind him, he turned around to glare at me with his golden eyes. They really were quite stunning, incredibly powerful with a tinge of sadness. "Oh," he muttered, "you're back for more, are you?"
"Of course," I said, displaying my own cocky grin.
"If all you want to do is humiliate me," he said angrily, "then you'd do better out there...with all the demon hunters. You're a murderer just like the rest of us. The only difference between us is that I know how to cover my tracks." The sting in his voice seemed to nail a hole through my heart, making me feel slightly guilty about refusing hospitality that was so rare.
"Look," he said, "maybe you are right for the job, but why do you keep talking to me? I understand that you hate me. I liked you for a little while. Then I saw the wolf in sheep's clothing."
"I'm a wolf demon," I said smartly. "What else did you expect?"
"Nothing less from one of your bloodline," he said, smirking at me again. "I know everything about you, and you know so little about me. How sad."
"Yeah right," I said, raising my eyes so that I glared up into his. What I saw in those awesome golden orbs frightened me. I had committed crimes, but he had gone further. I had killed and he had murdered thousands of people after endless torture. I was an innocent little child compared to him, compared to what he had done. "What do you know about me anyway?" I asked, curious to see if his information was mixed up."
With a sigh, he decided to tell me. "Kaiina, the Lone Wolf. You're a wolf demon from one of the past royal families. After your family was deposed, you left your home and became a common criminal." So far, so good. I nodded my approval and allowed him to continue. "Jakiri, the last remaining Iceshadow Dragon, is your guardian and attendant. It is her job to defend you at all costs. For the past five years, you've been living in seclusion in Hell's Grove to escape pursuit from Reikai. You ventured out alone and were injured by a very powerful spirit detective. He unfortunately marred your beautiful body with a very large scar and something of a last ditch effort." Astonished that he knew the last part, and offended that he was talking about my body so freely, I stared at him.
"I'm right," he said triumphantly, "am I not?" Letting out a sigh that turned out to be half a snarl, I nodded. Those golden eyes seemed to rub it in my face, making me feel like an entire idiot. I was stuck here for a while, until my body managed to heal itself fully, which would be a little over a week. There was nothing I could do about the fact that I was injured. After all, the spirit detective had died and I hadn't. So, that made me victorious, didn't it? No matter. I still had this pompous, arrogant fool to deal with.