Ok, so it's officially 1:05 AM over here on the Pacific Coast and I'm here deciding I've got time to spare to start my third chapter of this saga. More like I'm on a sugar high and need to expend some of this unneeded energy before really going to bed and being unable to sleep. Well enough of my blathering, you clicked that link to read did you not?

With the Sunset Goes My Love: Chapter 3

Pride is a Dangerous Thing

Youko Kurama

I awoke again. From a pain, but not from my wounds; this time the pain was caused by something else. It took me a moment to realize what exactly pulled me from my sleep.

I was hungry. And by the angle of the sun shining through the window, I had a right to be. I hadn't eaten since when? Must have been two nights before. Just a few hours before our little escapade.

Which reminded me: Kuronue. I still had no clue where he was or even if he was alive. But no, I pushed that thought to the back of my mind as I sat up in the bed.

Just as I had settled myself comfortably in an upright position the door swung open, pushed by the girl who had taken care of me. Tsuchi, that was her name.

She used her shoulder to open the door, her hands occupied with a full tray of food that only made me hungrier. But the strangest thing was I couldn't smell it at all. Still, it looked absolutely appetizing.

Tsuchi seemed surprised when she saw that I was up and immediately apologized. Peculiar girl. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

I shook my head and she gave a small smile again. That sweet little smile of hers.

"Good, I had thought the spell wouldn't work proper considering my lack of practice lately." She must have seen the confusion in my eyes because she continued to explain as she sat on the edge of the bed and lay the tray of food before me. "I didn't want to wake you with my cooking so I spelled it to keep the scent from escaping."

Just as she said these words, I could suddenly smell the delicious aroma of the food before me. But before she could leave I noticed her left wrist, bound crudely in bandages.

Tsuchi Kusabana

When he grabbed my wrist I no clue what he wanted. And then I noticed he was staring at the bandages wrapped around the cut I had made yesterday. Kami only knows what possessed me to do that. But I did and that's that.

Well, he was sort of glaring at it for a moment and I was beginning to wonder what was going through his head. Then without warning, he unraveled the bandages and examined the cut.

I was getting annoyed with his scrutinizing a trivial wound. I mean, for goodness sakes, it's just a cut! I've gotten my fair share of scrapes throughout time, so why be so concerned about this one?

"Foolish woman, cut yourself so deep. You can't even bind it properly with just one hand."

"I managed." Was my retort.

He looked at me expectantly for a moment before I realized what he wanted. So I pulled out some bandages and handed them to him. He wrapped my wrist for me. All I could do was watch in surprise.

"Why?" he asked when he was done.

"Why what?" I had an inkling to what he was trying to ask, but wanted him to be more specific.

"Why everything. Why did you help me? Why did you stop me from leaving? And why did you cut yourself?" His voice grew gentler as he neared the end of his questions. It was all I could do not to stare at him.

I turned my head away from him and looked out on the window, out onto the forest where I had first found him. He was still holding my hand to keep me from getting away and I was well aware of it too.

He raised an eyebrow at my silence. "Well?"

Realizing I needed to say something, I swallowed. I looked back at him. "There is a reason for everything, but you don't need a reason for everything." (1)

I smirked slightly at his frustration with the little saying I had offered him. Oh, his emotions are well concealed on his face, but if you watch his fox ears you can tell. This time they turned slightly inward with annoyance.

But instead of laughing at his confusion I decided to leave him to eat in peace. His grip on my hand had loosened given my response, just enough to allow me to get away. "You should eat that before it gets cold." I nodded towards the tray before him as I slipped out of his grasp and left.

Normal

That night Youko had planned on leaving, no questions asked. He had to go find Kuronue. When night fell Youko quietly snuck out of bed and found his shirt on a chair at the foot of it. He then picked up the vase from the corner and stepped out of the room.

In Tsuchi's room, however, the door was slightly ajar. The platinum haired girl was still awake too. She sat with the covers up to her waist, and her right knee up. Her right arm draped over that knee and hanging down lazily as she stared at the black wall as if it held the answers to all the questions of the world.

Youko noticed this fact, but chose to ignore it, hoping to glide right by the door without notice.

"Are you so intent of getting yourself killed, or worse, captured tonight?"

Youko froze. Those blue eyes, now more of a sea green, turned to him with a look of serenity in them. "I don't think that is any of your business."

"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" With that, Tsuchi's face broke into a smile as she shook her head at the kitsune's folly. "I didn't take you in just to have my work go to waste."

She rose from her position on the bed and stood to reveal clothes more suited to a fighter. An Asian style ¾ sleeve top of gold with brown bamboo shoot embroidery with matching golden pants. All of this made of silk. The night made her hair look darker with the shadows as it was tied up in a bun behind her head.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Youko questioned.

At this Tsuchi smirked. She sauntered up to Youko seductively. All Youko could do was stare, standing there in the doorway, vase in hand, for he was enthralled. Not so much by her beauty, for there was not enough light in the room to see her clearly, but more by the aura she gave off with her approach. Before he knew it, Tsuchi was right in his face.

She took his chin and made him look her in the eyes as his breath got short. Noting this, Tsuchi smirked. "I will do the unexpected." She whispered in his ear. And with that, she swiftly stole the vase from his hands and danced out of his reach. "If you want to leave, you're going to have to get this back from me." She said, brandishing the vase in the air.

A low growl was emitted from the depths of Youko's throat as he made to draw his signature Rose Whip.

To his surprise, the Rose Whip did not form. It would seem none of his powers were responding at all. He stared wide-eyed at the stem in his hand, which had failed to even form the desired rose, before replacing it with a look of disgust on his face.

That was when he noticed the smug aura Tsuchi was giving off, a small smile of satisfaction tugging at her lips. There was a knowing look in her dominantly green eyes. He had taken note over his time with her that her eyes were more like a peacocks feathers, the coloration dependant on the light, changing from the deepest of blues to the brightest of greens quite easily. Perhaps it was another demonic trait of hers.

"You. What did you do to me?" he demanded of Tsuchi.

Finally she allowed a smile to spread across her face. "Oh, nothing much. Really Youko, I would have thought you would have noticed. Your food was drugged. All three meals too. Tsk, tsk, tsk." All Youko could do was glare while mentally kicking himself for his weakness in trusting the girl too much. "Now go on back to bed, you silly fox. I'll be sure to take good care of this for you." She patted the vase before waving him back to bed.

Narrator

After that incident Youko was resigned to allowing Tsuchi to fuss over his wounds until they were properly healed and he was deemed fit to travel. He spent most of his time in that back room, whether he was in bed or not. It was the only room with a window, after all.

The fact that he still had naught the use of his powers did nothing to calm his restlessness, as he often walked around the apartment, and it proved a frustrating ordeal for the King of Thieves. He still hadn't figured out how exactly she had hid the potion so well from him, but refusing to eat at all was not an option. He had tried it the very morning after his first escape attempt. Tsuchi merely force fed him, much to his embarrassment. After that incident he decided that eating without complaints was better than the humiliation of being fed. Besides, if he was to get well he would need his strength, and that included eating his food. The sooner he was well enough to go, the better, and the sooner he'd be able to find Kuronue.

It had been five days, and by that time they had reached an unspoken understanding. Everyday he would search the rooms for the precious Kopaku pottery piece and every night he would sneak out of his room with it in hand, only to be stopped by Tsuchi. She had long since proven fast enough to relieve him of the vase whenever she found him out, and all Youko could hope for was to catch her sleeping as he left, for lack of his powers.

Besides her troubles with Youko, Tsuchi had a day job. She was a florist. She owned her own little shop in town, which she walked to every morning after seeing that Youko was fed.

Her apartment was actually on the outskirts of town, an old run down building compared to the accommodations of today, but enough for a simple woman like Tsuchi. She was one of the only residents in the many roomed building, her apartment on the second floor. This did not worry Tsuchi in the least though. She was living by herself, after all, and hadn't much money to spend on renting a better apartment.

It was when Tsuchi left to work at the flower shop that Youko would search the house for the vase. Often times he would find it in some dark place or another, but she did leave it on the coffee table once. He had almost missed it, for an arrangement of beautiful flowers had been placed in it, but after staring at it while thinking about where it might be for some time, he finally realized what he was looking at. It put the saying, "right under your nose" to a literal use.

When Tsuchi was home she and Youko would talk of many things. Most of the time they were of common, impersonal subjects, but sometimes the conversation would drift into more dangerous territory. Tsuchi told of how she was an orphan. Her father was killed in a street brawl, and her mother died of a broken heart the day after her fifteenth birthday. However, she mentioned not the fact that she hardly shed a tear for her passing, but only for show at the funeral had she cried a few silent tears.

Youko in turn, told Tsuchi of Kuronue and his days as a thief. Of course, he used Kuronue's existence as another excuse to be on his way, but Tsuchi would have none of it until he was fully healed. She would not let him go out in the cold just to find a friend who, according to Youko, was quite capable of taking care of himself.

The flower shop was open everyday but Friday. A strange schedule yes, but Tsuchi did have a reason. On Friday nights Tsuchi sang at the local pub. She had a beautiful voice with a wide range of vocals to match any song, and she even had a singing partner.

His name was Kirai Koigokoro. Him and Tsuchi were great friends. They had known each other for a while. They made a great duet. Mostly they sang love songs together, the fact being that most duets were love songs, but the two sang their fair share of solos, all their favorite songs.

Today being the sixth day of Youko's hospitalization, as it were, and his heist having occurred on a Saturday night and his awakening on a Sunday morning, today was a Friday. Meaning, of course, that Tsuchi would be at the pub tonight, singing.

Now, normally Tsuchi wouldn't head over to the pub until just half an hour before her performance time, but this Friday was different. She ended up storming out of the house before she could tell Youko where she was going, and stalking out of the apartment complex and into the golden light of the setting sun.

It being winter, the nights grew longer as the days passed by, and so it was only about five by the time the skies had fully darkened. But Tsuchi's leaving left the Youko worried.

Youko Kurama

Perhaps I should not have gotten so frustrated and yelled at her. She had only been trying to help me. But I had been fed up with being confined to the apartment, and my outburst provoked such an unexpected reaction from Tsuchi that I soon found myself regretting my actions.

At first I had thought she would cry. Her eyes had widened at my accusations. I had told her she didn't understand, that she knew nothing of what I was going through, that she had no clue how important it was for me to find Kuronue and soon.

For a good moment or two she had stared at me as if she had just been slapped in the face. But then her expression changed, her eyes flashing angrily as they refocused into a glare directed at me.

And in return to my words, she gave me a few things to think about. "I don't understand! I don't understand! I would say it was you who doesn't understand! I know a lot more than you think, so don't go telling me that I don't understand. I know full well how important it is for you to find Kuronue, but there would be no point in finding him if you were to get yourself killed! Your wounds may have healed, but you're still weak and there is no way I'm letting you go out there and let all my hard work go to waste!"

Then she turned around and slammed the door on me. I was left staring at the door in shock at her reaction. I leaned against the headboard and gave a sigh. I had no idea what to do now. She must be so mad at me.

Tsuchi Kusabana

What is the matter with me? I shouldn't have reacted that way at all. It was that one phrase. "You don't understand" That was it. It was like getting slapped in the face. I suppose I'm just too accustomed to believing that I can understand anything. I do have the experience to. Well, I just blew it there. I don't know how I'm going to act when I see him later tonight.

Stop thinking about it Tsuchi, just, just concentrate on the gig and worry about the fox later. Good thing I remembered to cast a silence spell on the rest of the apartment. He wouldn't have heard me go. If he had, he'd steal the vase and be on his way before I get back.

Oh how I love my spells. Now where did I pick those up? Ah yes, a priestess in the Kompai valley. Yes, just south of the Izu mountains. Hm, she was such a nice woman.

My mind continued to drift as I walked towards the pub. Along snow covered streets, it was quiet, the sun just beginning to set. By the time I'd reached the pub, the sun was just a sliver on the horizon.

I took a deep breath and entered the pub, bracing myself against the chaos that awaited me. Well, it wasn't so bad, considering most demons weren't off of work yet, but there were a few junkies already deep in drink.

I ignored a drunk leaned up against a booth as I made my way backstage to set up my equipment. My things were already there, they just needed to be plugged in and adjusted. Checked for damage and what not.

It was just as I was doing so that a shadow fell over me.

Er, and that's where I stop. I know, kind of weird place to stop, but I did 'cause I could and this thing was getting way too long for just the third chapter. To whom might this shadow belong? I don't really know yet. Heh heh. I didn't much enjoy writing this chapter. Perhaps one reason is due to the fact that the last part was completely unplanned. I imagined up to the whole, "go back to bed and give me that!" scene, but that was it. I had scenes for future events, butnot specifically on how I was going to bring more characters into the story. I hope you don't mind the narration part, it was important to give you an overview while still giving a background so I resorted to "the bodiless voice" Tell me what you think will ya? Then again, I would have already had the following chapters written out before I post this… Well, I might go back and change a few things if you would only tell me what you prefer. Yet again, not that you will.

Oh, and one question, is Kuronue a bat or a crow? I really have no clue. I personally think a bat is more dignified, but a crow is more inclined to steal shiny things. Eh heh, please help me out here. Not that any of you will….regardless of how much I beg ya'll, so I won't even bother.

Glossary-

Kirai- hate

Koigokoro- love

Kompai- Yet another random name. Indeed, I do not enjoy making up names, but I have to or I'd be confined to saying, "a valley south of the mountains."

1) "There is a reason for everything, but you don't need a reason for everything." A quote coutesy of an old friend of mine. Her name is Kate. She doesn't know who said the quote, but I'll just give her the credit cause it was her favorite quote when I asked about it. That would be two years ago. Er...yeah, we fell out of touch. That summer was bad...

Responses-

Princess Kandra- Huh, must have been really bored to have dug my fic out of the haystack. Sorry about the slow update. First my floppies died and I had to retrieve this chapter. Then I had to compare it to two other versions and merge them, and then I couldn't seem to upload the document. Eh heh, excuses I know.

Kailyhaley- My only response/blink, twitch, scratch, wary, scoot/

Darkspirals- The above would be the one with the review I sent you. /sweat drop/ That was weird. Ze injury inducing things is just my crazy mind doing things that I feel necessary to get the story moving. If he wasn't wounded, what would I do/sigh/ I wish I didn't have to hurt them so much, but I have so many painful ideas that I'm compelled to use them. Went to a museum yesterday. Saw a bunch of weapons /eyes gleam/ Katanas, kadachis, saw some shurikens in a store window. Oh, and a glave. Yep, that's about the only thing I remember from my trip to San Frasisco. Oh, and try Tarquine'sGrl's fics. /shrug/ they're good enough to read. Hold you over for a while at least.

Hieiloving101- Youko's definitely in the dark. Sorry for the wait…I have computer issues. I thought I fixed it when I updated last time, but apparently my comp hates me. My chapters from 3 to 8 are all lost. I have to remember what I did, and then retype them, that, or threaten the floppies to cough the chapters up. I think I'm gonna have to retype them. Thanks for the publicity. I'll be sure to check your fic out as soon as I can fix my own and after I finish editing a few for my friends. Of course, I have a weeks worth of homework I need to do as well just over this weekend…Um…eh heh, too many books/sweat drop/

Anyway, review or not. As I've said before, common courtesy.