I can't believe I just typed that. Ok, perversion present in this chapter. Can't help it; that's how I imagined it, and that's that. I ain't changing it, for better or for worse. It's there and I ain't deleting it. /shifty eyes/ Okay, I might delete it.

Anyway, this is the second part to my A Conspiracy of Great Proportions series. And no, it's not going to be the clichéd "Youko and past love died and meet up in Ningenkai" plot. It's too early for that. This story will be short and written with a different style.

Oh, and I messed with the numbers a little, so sue me. Her age fluctuates, but I'm going to go back and fix the first part later.

One More Year: Chapter 1

Truth's Reflection

Youko Kurama

Midnight. I leapt from branch to branch, tree to tree. Darkness. Only the light of the stars and moon outlined my form.

When the tree line receded, I hopped down from the last branch and concealed myself within the shadows of the forest. A hundred yards away stood a mansion estate. Surrounded by gardens and high walls it loomed over the surrounding area like a noble on parade; appearing grand, high, and mighty.

And yet, there was an enchanting nature to it. Nothing was so new as to be obvious; rather, an ancient shroud of mystery enticed the passerby to curiosity over what secrets it hid.

The mansion was rather like a fortress. It has been said that many a rogue has attempted the seek entrance beyond those walls, and yet none had succeeded. There were so many security precautions protecting the place that not even the best thief, spy, or assassin had been able to infiltrate the mysterious mansion. Many have tried, and many have failed. But that was before the King of Thieves thought to try his hand at its locks.

I had ignored the place for quite some time. I had heard tell that a singer who had been climbing the ladder of fame resided there. Only recently had the riches accumulated within those walls so much as to interest me. But that wasn't what brought me here. No, it was the challenge the owner, Myou, had posted in practically every public place in the Makai. In fact, one of my lackies personally brought the document to my attention.

Let all those who reside within the lands of Makai witness this, that I, Myou Shinri, the Midnight Kitsune, hereby challenge the King of Thieves to relieve me of my possessions. He may come to my residence at any given time and be welcome to try his hands at passing my precautions. I dare say he will be surprised by what is in store for his coming.

I had scoffed at the thought of stealing from this place before and waved it off as a trivial nothing. The place was hardly worth stealing from. That was before the challenge was posted in every bar, tavern, and town square in the Makai; that was a different matter.

I smirked. I never backed down from a challenge, not that I expected this heist to be a difficult one. No, this "Midnight Kitsune" was too amateur to know whom she was challenging. There was no way her security systems, no matter how sophisticated, could defeat me, the King of Thieves. I was merely here to prove a point.

I leaped across the clearing between the forest and the mansion quickly finding myself at the walls of the mansion. The guards were changing and they were taking their precious time about it too. What kind of noble would issue a challenge to a thief and then post such a sloppy guard?

The shield and seals about the estate were more of a challenge. Not only was each seal creating the shield made of complex magic, but there were layers upon layers of them. I only needed a hole big enough for me to crawl through, but the seals were layered in just such a way that I would have to remove a substantial number of seals just to clear such a space. Never the less, I was undaunted and set to work.

Of course, I've never been good with seal magic and the first thing I had to do was find the one seal that wasn't covered by another seal. I specialized in physical techniques, not spells and chants. I finally found the first seal at the peak of the dome shield, which had been a pain to climb. So to make my life easier, I used my plants to peal away the seals. Problem was, some of the seals were fire seals and they burned away my plants rapidly. I was forced to do this by hand.

Having passed the shield, I dropped down onto the roof. There was a skylight. Hn, amateur. Who builds a skylight into a building meant to be secure? I made to unlock the skylight when my hand met yet another barrier. This one was electric and gave me quite a shock. Glaring at the skylight I found the wire that provided its electric nature. Deftly cutting it with my claws, and suffering only a minor shock, I took care of the problem.

Carefully I lifted the lid of the skylight and slid into the room bellow. I landed crouched low the floor and wearily scanned my surroundings. It was a large room, with two doors and many windows. The floor was tiled and the walls were made of wood. Elegant tapestries hung along the walls and vases on small tables were scattered here and there between said tapestries. No other furniture was present. The moonlight from outside streamed in through the skylight and lit on a position near mine.

Belatedly, I found myself surrounded by silent guards. They stood as statues staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging my presence. I was beginning to wonder if they weren't all asleep.

Normal

Suddenly there was a click of heels on the tiled floor. A female figure in a black dress lined in purple came into the line of vision. The dress complimented her figure well and the slit on her left ran up mid-thigh. Youko noticed she was a fox of midnight blue coloration.

"Who are you?" He had a pretty good idea who she was, Myou Shinri, the one who challenged him to come. He reached for his hair to get his rose whip.

She waved off her guards and held up her hands as they silently filed out of the room. "I am what you will never be, and I have seen what you will never see. You used to call me Tsuchi." She continued to approach. Her deep sapphire eyes were steady, watching him with a penetrating look from behind stray strands of her short midnight blue hair.

Youko stared at her coldly. "Why should I believe you?" He was searching for her motive, but he couldn't help looking her up and down with his golden eyes, being sure to keep a distant skeptical look on his face. She didn't have a particularly sexy figure, but she gave off such an alluring feeling.

"I don't care whether you believe me or not, it hardly matters anymore." Youko raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Myou's eyes gained a distant look. "But I am speaking the truth. Kasumi must have told you about my past."

"Tsuchi died almost a century ago. Even if she came back, she'd have died again already." Youko countered. His eyes held distain and his posture made his arrogance evident, even if it was tense and ready to fight at any moment.

"Hm, cold and calculating." She tugged lightly at Youko's silver hair and pressed her body close to his. "You've changed." Myou wrapped her arms around his neck and hooked her leg up on his hip. "And I like it." Myou whispered with a smirk.

Then she spun out of his grasp like she hadn't just done what she did. "More than a century ago, the average human lifespan was sixty five years old, but seventy three years after that, the average lifespan was extended to seventy one. I am sixty nine right now. I have one more year to live. And whether you stay or go, after I die," Myou waved at their surroundings, "All this is yours."

"And why would you do that?" Youko was suspicious. Why would any demon just give their riches to a thief?

She approached a wall and ran her hand over its surface. It slid away. "I'm not surprised that you don't trust me. Anyone with half a brain would know better than to take a demon's word for anything." Myou said nonchalantly. She reached into the shadows of the secret compartment. "But I've spent too many years as a human to live properly as a demon would. It really isn't that outrageous is it?" When she withdrew her hand, a familiar gold framed mirror came with it.

"Well that depends. Would you believe it if someone told you that the demoness you spent almost an entire year with and expected to see again twenty years later was cursed to live a human lifespan only to be reborn again?"

"Hm, yes. But then again, I have quite a background in ridiculous spells and curses." She walked back to Youko with the mirror in hand. "I hope you recognize this." She held it up for him to see.

"Of course I recognize it." Youko's expression was scornful. "The Mirror of Truth."

"Then you must also recognize its power." Myou continued to approach Youko. She handed him the mirror and stepped behind him, running her slender fingers along his arm and peering over his shoulder. "You can see the dead through this mirror," she whispered in his twitching fox ears. "I suppose that's why I found it flying out of my window while I was walking through the forest." Myou's left hand flicked through the air expressively as she mocked the King of Thieves. "You could see Kuronue through that mirror, and you didn't like it. So I kept if for you, or rather, one of my companions did. Use it. Look for Tsuchi."

Youko skeptically did as he was told and gazed through the mirror. He found only himself staring back at him. "I see nothing."

"Of course you do. That's because Tsuchi isn't dead. Now look at my reflection through the mirror." Myou instructed.

Youko did so and found a blue eyed platinum haired woman reflected on the mirror. Her expression was calm and comforting, as if content. "Tsuchi," he breathed. He looked up at Myou who was watching him with sad wistful eyes, as if resigned to her fate and expecting him to deny the truth. A sharp pang rang in his heart. The fox might have spent almost a century parted from his intended mate, but he had never loved another. After Tsuchi's death, the silver kitsune had distanced himself from truly letting another in. He would not make the same mistake a third time, or so he had told himself. So he had turned cold, learned to plan ahead, grown wiser in his many years of thieving. But now with the return of Tsuchi in the form of Myou, perhaps he could afford to indulge himself, at least for a year. After all, he was curious. Why had the Siren gone through all the trouble of summoning him after nearly a century of silence? Regardless, he would not let his guard down. "I will stay."

A series of rapid blinks displayed the singer's surprise before relief spread across her face. "Come, I'll show you around."

Lagging behind a ways as Myou turned around and walked down the hallway that had been revealed from behind double doors, the King of Thieves gave the room one last cursory glance before following. Just because he accepted, did not mean he trusted her. He would be wary of her for quite some time yet.

Time Lapse

After Youko accepted Myou's story, he was led to a lavish room with magenta carpeting and white walls with golden trim. A dark purple bed spread was neatly tucked around a king sized bed in the middle of the room under a matching cloth canopy. All the wood in the room was oak with light pine finishing. A single window opposite the door revealed only darkness, but as Youko opened it and reached out, he found a green force field discouraged entry or exit by any sentient being. Retracting his hand quickly he sent an inquiring look Myou's way.

The Midnight Kitsune smirked. "I know, you didn't encounter this obstacle on your way in, but that's because I lowered it for your convenience. There are many other defenses I didn't use against your entry. Didn't want to make it too hard and discourage you." Myou glided across to room to lay a hand on the King of Thieves' bicep. "After all, the least I could do was guarantee another meeting with you, all these years of waiting would go to a waste if you were unable to reach me." Her sultry voice continued as her other hand glided up his chest while the first hand traveled up to his shoulder. "It would be an ironic twist to finally catch your attention," She removed her hand from his chest and waved it dismissively. "Only to be denied an encounter by the very same devices I had built to make my mansion a worthy challenge." Her other hand retreated from the fox's shoulder with that last comment and was positioned before her stomach. Her hand was palm up with the fingers slightly curved inward in an elegant fashion.

"You're playing with me." Youko accused with a glare.

Myou circled the fox, giving him a once over. "And what if I am? What are you going to do about it?" She smirked as her eyes flashed in amusement.

The silver kitsune growled, in truth he could do nothing. He was in Myou's territory; who knew what other surprises she had hidden around her mansion. "You dare insult my skill by practically leaving the door unlocked." Golden eyes glared warily at the Midnight Kitsune circling him.

"I do. But if you wish to test your skill against my precautions," Myou examined her nails, "we'll do a demonstration tomorrow night. See how far you get." A placating smile appeared on her lips as she met the silver kitsune's eyes with her own of dark blue.

Suspicion tainted Youko's expression as he watched Myou's smiling form. In truth, Tsuchi and Youko had not been that close. After spending nearly a century believing Tsuchi was dead, Youko found it hard to simply pick up where he had left off with Myou. Their relationship had reached to the extent of companionship at most. A few teasing comments and gestures here and there, but they had never once kissed. And as far as he could tell, it would be the same with Myou.

Besides, for all he knew, that mirror was a fake.

Well, since you really should have read the first story first before reading this one, I won't bother explaining who Tsuchi is. Another thing, all the words that were listed in the glossary for the last story will not be repeated in this glossary, so I guess you'll have to read that story. /shrug/

Glossary-

Myou- dark; destiny

Shinri- truth; mentality; trial

Responses-

darknesspirals- Look Silver! I got a grand total of TWO reviews! I feel SO loved! I bet you anything they didn't know I made a side story. Hah, by now, I'm lucky if three people review for this chapter. Should have finished it sooner. But I didn't, did I? Heh heh. And yes, I'm silly, you can't stop me.

Princess Kandra- Lol, author's license I suppose. I guess we're about the same age then. I just "graduated" like, yesterday. (Writing this about five days before posting.) Yeah, so, here's the second part. Hope you liked it.

Quincy Chen- You're imagining things.

Seeyu- Thanks, I really don't think I did that well. After I got your review I went back to reread it and I halted in the middle of the first chapter cause the mechanical errors were getting on my nerves. Here's the next part though, I hope it lives up the standards. Oh, and from Tsuchi point of view, after she learned about the curse, life became worth less…

Review please. I would hate to think that my second part is a total failure. After all, my third and fourth parts are what you really want to read. Not that I'm too concerned with keeping the ideas to myself.