A/N: And now, the famous shout outs.

Chapter 1

Zidet

Psychogirly

Light Side

YoukoLuVeR

What2callmyself

Anon

SilverWolf

DarkangelWings1324

Yucya (First flame ever, thanks so much for that! 3 I'm glad my story pissed you off! Next time though, please flame about the actual story/writing style and not the pairing. That just made you sound a tad… immature.)

Holly

Ilovekurama13

Soko, Kurama's Girl

Chapter 2

Psychogirly

What2callmyself

KB

Light Side

BabbleQueen

Rekka

Kitsune Kit

DarkangelWings1324

Kurama-hieigirl25

Yaoi Addict

Hedi Dracona

Miyori

Thank you everyone for you inspiration!!!

- - -

One of the two large doors opened rather rapidly, and the guard walked in, the fox entering behind him. He looked around, completely awed by the room. Never had he ever seen anything so expensive and beautiful! This Lord Hiei was rich indeed to have a room such as this.

Beautiful tapestries depicting rather gory scenes of famous mythological battles bedecked the eastern wall of the large chamber, while equally gory scenes of battles the owner of the room had taken place in hung from the walls adjacent to it. On the western wall hung many swords from around the world, all of which gleamed with a promise of death. That leaves only one wall left, which is mostly taken up by the large, intricate doors. Said doors leave only room for some hanging tapers on each side.

The furniture was luxurious, but not too overdone, which surprised the boy since everything else seemed to be. There really wasn't much in there other than a large canopy bed draped with black curtains, a small writing area in the corner, a chair here and there to entertain guests, and a nightstand.

A rough tug at the neck made the kitsune stop, and stare straight ahead of him. The guard holding the obnoxious chain was prostrating himself in front of someone. A loud sound of wood hitting wood echoed through the room, magnified by the wooden floor. The same servant who purchased Youko squirmed uncomfortably and soon took his place kneeling on one knee next to the guard.

"Godfrey."

The servant, who Youko now knew to be named Godfrey, looked up.

"Y-yes milord?" he asked, fear lacing every word.

"What have I told you about slamming the door?"

"I'm sorry Lord Hiei. It won't happen again."

"You're right; it won't."

Godfrey gulped rather loudly, and what ever color was left in his face completely drained out of it. The poor demon was whiter than anything Youko had ever seen. Of course, anyone could understand why he was that way. We are dealing with a rather hot-tempered demon Lord after all.

"You disobeyed me, Godfrey, and for that, you must be punished," the Lord said in a voice so deathly calm that one could tell something horrible was bound to happen.

The melodic sound of death made the captive fox's fur bristle up once again. Godfrey, who was virtually a mass of white, was able to sense it as well. It was like an Alfred Hitchcock horror film; he knew exactly what was going to happen, but waiting for it was agonizing torture. It was unbearable.

Then, in a flash, the fear was gone. A moment of bliss rushed through the demon, and then the pain kicked in. Intense and pure, it ripped through Godfrey's body like a hot knife through butter. You see, when Lord Hiei was angry or exasperated or particularly angry, he solved it. This time, Godfrey was lucky, for he escaped with his life. Countless creatures now in the afterlife wish they could say the same, but alas! they cannot.

Lord Hiei looked down at the sniveling demon. He could tell that Godfrey was doing the best he could not to show how much it truly hurt. The poor demon was breathing very quickly, he was gripping his nub of a hand while biting his lower lip so not to anger the Lord anymore, and silent tears of agony were dripping down his pale cheeks.

"I've spared your life, Godfrey, because I rather like this new addition to my collection."

He slowly walked up to the boy, who was so scared of this small stranger that he didn't know how to react. His primordial instincts took over, and sent a wave of fear through his body like a tremor. He struggled vainly against the bindings, but was kept in place. Lord Hiei chuckled, and grabbed the boy's chin. This action made him completely freeze, and the hiyoukai pulled him down so that their faces were inches apart, their lips close enough to meet.

"Rather like him indeed."

The guard looked up at his master, and then to the boy.

"But sir, he's a Kogane. You know what they say about them."

Hiei turned to the guard, who looked away and bowed his head hastily.

"Are you calling me a naïve fool who'll believe meaningless gossip? Do you really doubt your lord that much?"

"N-no milord. I'm sorry for being so stupid."

Hiei smirked.

"I'll let it slide this time. Next time, though, I cannot guarantee anything. Now leave, and take them with you."

The guard bowed, and got up. He yanked Youko's chain, making the boy gag and follow, his tail between his legs. Godfrey stood up silently, still clutching his nub of an arm tightly.

"Godfrey, I expect you to be back here in five minutes cleaning your blood off the floor before it stains."

"Hai, Hiei-sama," Godfrey said, and retreated out of the room hastily, shutting the double doors gently.

Lord Hiei smirked, and went back to lounging on his bed, shutting his eyes again and falling into a small nap. If Godfrey woke him up, the Lord swore that he wouldn't escape with just a lost hand.

Meanwhile, outside of the room, Godfrey and the guard went in different directions down the hall, with Youko in tow behind the guard, still feeling quite disheartened and terrified. Now that he had met the demon lord that was to be his new master, he sensed that life would just get harder and harder for him.

His thoughts trailed back to the hiyoukai. He was indeed worthy of the title "Lord" to the boy. Youko couldn't help but admire him a bit, with his looks, obsidian black hair accented with a tad of white, and eyes such a deep garnet they rivaled the gem. He quickly shook his head, remembering a quote he heard a long time ago from some person or the other: "Looks can be deceiving."

This was indeed true when it came to Lord Hiei. Though he looked rather small and weak, Youko could indeed tell that he was very powerful; especially after the little show he was given. He shuddered to think of what could happen to him if he disobeyed the little Lord.

As they walked through the same corridors of earlier, the guard looked down at where Youko's little mess had been.

"You're lucky fox; someone's already cleaned it up."

With a violent tug, he was urged on, so the fox kept walking. He began to feel dizzy again as the numerous corridors and spiraling staircases passed by. Suddenly, the human stopped, and Youko, not noticing this, ran into him. He was roughly pushed down and yanked onto the ground, with his head touching his chest.

Youko looked up, and saw a woman pass by. She had short hair which was orange in color, and was wearing a simple outfit consisting of a white long-sleeved shirt under a purple vest lined with gold and green pants held by a red sash. One half of her face was covered by a pure white cloth, which served as a mask, while the other half seemed completely normal. Her eye that was visible was a pure Prussian blue, while the other remained hidden.

He had no idea who she was, but it was pretty clear that she was important around here. The woman stopped in front of the two, and looked down. Her hands were balled and resting on her hips while her face held a scowl and her lips were pursed together tightly, making them seem white.

"What, may I ask, are you doing away from your post? And with that creature?" she asked the guard none too kindly.

"Lord Hiei ordered that I take his gift to the slave quarters, milady," he said, and bowed lower.

"I see. This is the Kogane rumors have been spreading about, then?"

"Hai, Mukuro-sama."

Mukuro bent down at the waist to look at Youko closer.

"Lift your head, boy. Let me see your face."

Youko hesitated for a moment, but then cautiously looked up at her. She studied him closely, and then straightened back up again. Youko quickly looked to the ground as she did so, and inhaled deeply to suppress his ever-growing terror.

"He's nothing special. I've seen prettier foxes than him. I don't understand why Hiei would want to keep such a thing. Continue with your duties, and then get back to your post!"

With that, she left, going to see her heir and talk about the rubbish he brought into her castle. The guard stood up, and led Youko, who was extremely offended and hurt at being called 'rubbish', down to the slave area.

They were located in the very lowest levels of the castle next to the kitchen and utility areas. The passageway was musty and filled with mold, and very dark. The torches were low, and there were few windows. Doors lined the passage, each marked with a number and appearing very unwelcome.

The guard led Youko to room 246, and opened it. He roughly pushed the fox inside, who squealed indignantly. The human then busied himself with undoing the uncomfortable chain around the slave' neck, which was a major hindrance to Youko's breathing. After that was done, the guard kicked him further into the room, and slammed the door shut behind him, hurrying to his post before he upset the Baroness.

After getting up, Youko immediately brought his hands to his neck, massaging it gently in hopes of gaining back some circulation. When that was done, he looked around the room, which was now his new home. It was pretty dank and depressing, to be all honest, and he would have preferred to be out in the open air instead.

The walls and ceiling were made of stone, which was wet and had mold and algae growing on it. The floor was also stone, and two mediocre pallets made of torn up rags and blankets laid across from each other on it. Two torches, their flames low, stood on either side of the large wooden door, providing the only source of light in the room besides a small barred window a good ten feet above the floor.

Youko's golden eyes skimmed the room, taking in every detail possible until they came upon the pallet closest to the east wall. Laying on it and staring back at him was a boy about his age. He was a bat demon with black hair that cascaded over his shoulders and stopped at about the square of his back, a mixture of dark blue and indigo eyes, and pointed ears sticking out from under his hair.

Beside him was a rather odd wide-brimmed hat. It was missing the top, and the fox envisioned the top of the bat's head sticking out of it. He was already under the mismatched blankets of his pallet, so Youko couldn't tell what he was wearing, even with his keen vulpine seeing.

The two remained looking at each other for a good few minutes, each taking in the other as best they could. Finally, after some time, the bat talked.

"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new?" he asked.

Youko nodded slightly, still a tad unsure of how the boy would react to him. After all, he was a Kogane.

"Hai. I was just bought and taken here today."

"I see. You must be that new kid that all the maids are gossiping about. Stirred them all up in a tizzy, ya did! I've never seen them so flustered about someone other than Lord Hiei."

Youko looked puzzled; why would the maids be flustered about him, of all people.

"Why would they make such a fuss about me? I'm nothing special," Youko commented.

"Dunno. Some people are just stupid and have no common sense. Al l they care about is how someone looks or whatnot. Really annoys the hell outta me, too."

Youko smiled, he liked the boy a lot. They seemed to have a lot in common in the thinking department, and he was sure that this boy would be the first friend he had ever had, if you didn't count the older maid, Anna.

"My name's Kuronue, by the way. What's yours?" Kuronue asked.

"People just call me Youko. So I guess that's my name," Youko said bluntly.

"Didn't your mother ever give you a name?"

Youko should his head.

"Iie. She abandoned my siblings and me when we were very young. The last thing I can remember of her was her cursing me, and calling me 'Kurama'."

"Kurama, eh? Well! I'll just give ya a name! From now on, you'll be known as Youko Kurama!"

Youko smiled, and sat down on the pallet opposite of Kuronue.

"I like that name a lot, thanks Kuronue."

"Call me Kuro; it's shorter, simpler, and way easier to say! Plus, the ladies seem to like it a lot."

Youko laughed, making Kuro smile.

"Welcome to Room 246, Youko Kurama. It ain't lavish, but it's better than nothin'" Kuronue said.

"Youko Kurama's pretty long, too. You can just call me either Youko, or Kurama if you want," Youko said.

Kuronue nodded.

"Right! Can do, Kurama."

Youko stifled a yawn, and curled up on the pallet. It wasn't the best thing to have, but to him, it felt wonderful. It sure beat the heck out of cave floors.

"How about I show ya the ropes? I can show ya everything!" Kuronue said enthusiastically.

"Can we do it tomorrow? I've had a rather… long day, and I'd like to rest a bit," Youko nearly begged.

"Sure! Like I always say: Procrastination is bliss!"

With that said, Kuronue smiled and flipped on his side, facing the wall away from his new friend.

"G'night, Kurama!"

"Night, Kuro."

With that said and done, both boys slept, knowing that they had both found someone who was to become their best and most trusted friend.

- - -

Inari smiled. He knew that meddling with the living world was a good idea. After all, the living world could change while the Heavens could not.

Meeting Kuronue was probably the best thing that the god of the harvest could do for the youko for now. He sat back, and shut his eyes. Immediately the image of the two sleeping in the dingy room disappeared from the pool of water, and he stood up. Perhaps it was time to join the celebration in the banquet room, and stop watching over him just this one time.

He stood up, and left his temple, eager to laugh and rejoice with his friends instead of watching his favorite fox. After all, what could happen to him tonight?