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Legolas19

HarmonyHanyou

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Kitsune Kit

Silver Foxglove

evil chibi wolf

HieiloverHiei

Sate

Deathtoallclovers

Shadow

YokoYoukai

natsumi-chan

What2callmyself

- - -

After a few wrong turns, Youko finally made it to the third corridor of the sixteenth floor. Each room on the hall was a lavish bedroom furnished with expensive furniture crafted by the finest artisans of the finest woods and the most precious metals. The rooms served as the bedrooms for the visiting nobles, so they were kept especially clean.

Youko peeked into the closest room, and found Kuro scrubbing the floor diligently. He walked over to the bat, and kneeled down.

"Kuro, do you need any help?"

Kuronue, who was distracted with muttering curses at the overseers, abruptly stopped his diligent cleaning and slammed his rag on the wooden floor.

"I'm fine, but you shouldn't be working, not when you just got back from a punishment. Those damn monsters don't know when to stop sometimes; I've seen them go too far more than once."

"I'm fine, they didn't do anything too bad to me," the fox lied. "I can still help you clean these rooms. It'll take you forever if you do it alone."

Kuronue looked hesitant, but finally gave in.

"Alright, but be careful! I don't want to have to wash these floors again because of your spilt blood on it."

The fox smiled a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry so much; they went light on me."

Of course, this was a lie, but who needed to know?

"Whatever. Grab a rag and help me finish this floor. We'll wipe off the furniture next, and then we should be finished with this room."

The Kogane picked up a rag from the bucket, and began swabbing the floor on the other side of the bed. He wasn't used to doing work, and soon felt fatigued. Not to mention, he was pretty battered from his earlier ordeal, but he wouldn't show it. He didn't want to be considered pitiful, and he certainly wanted to keep his life that he was slowly learning to love. After all, his master said that if he was weak and helpless again, he would be killed.

Hours of the same meticulous procedure went by, and one by one the rooms became clean. The afternoon snuck up on them, bringing with it an ever-quickening pace; they had to be finished before dinner, or there would be consequences. Currently, though, the two friends were enjoying a quick break before tackling the next room.

"Finally, the last room! Once that's done, we can get something to eat and be done with these damn rags for the day. My back is killing me from bending down!" the bat said.

Youko nodded vigorously; he was excited – and rather proud, as well – to be finished with his first day of labor.

"This room doesn't seem as big as the others; we should get finished faster!" the fox proclaimed cheerily.

Kuronue looked at the room skeptically, and then back to his friend, making a mental note to ask the fox if he ate something the bat should know about.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but all the rooms are the same size," came the dry response from the bat, which did indeed burst a bit of the cheer. Youko grinned sheepishly.

"It's always nice to be optimistic, though! If I've learned anything in my life, it's to always be optimistic, because something good might happen to you."

Kuro rolled his eyes.

"Not when you're a slave. Nothing good ever happens to you. Now, let's get started. If I have to finish this room, I might as well get it done now."

The two stood up, rags in hand, and walked into the room. After cleaning seven previous rooms in almost the exact same way, the two had a pretty effective system worked out. One would quickly dust the furniture while the other started the floor, and then the other would join in cleaning the floor. When that was done, they would fluff up the bedspread and pillows, and move on to the next.

Since Kurama dusted and wiped down the furniture in the previous room, it was Kuronue's turn. The bat demon started wiping the surfaces rapidly, anxious to be finished. Cleaning was definitely something he despised greatly. The other boy began on the floor, washing it carefully and diligently.

Soon, all the furniture was dusted, and Kuronue was on the floor, helping out Youko. So far, the fox hadn't done a lot; the only part that he had cleaned was the doorway and about a seven foot circumference surrounding it. The bat was growing ever-more impatient, and finally snapped.

"Gods! You're taking FOREVER! Hurry up already!"

Youko blinked. The sudden outburst was unexpected, and rather loud on his ears, which were currently flat on his skull.

"But, this is the first time I've every cleaned something, and I want to make sure I do a good job," he muttered softly.

Kuronue gave an exasperated sigh.

"Oh please! The better the job you do, the more they make you work! Do you really want to spend hours on end doing the same thing over and over day-in and day-out?"

The fox shook a 'no'.

"Then don't be so worried about how it looks! Just get it done, and fast!" Kuronue said, and threw his rag into the bucket of water. The rag made a loud splash, and sent water over the sides and onto Kurama's shirt, instantly drenching it.

"Kuronue! Watch out! You got my shirt all wet!" Youko yelled.

"Well, get out of my way and it wouldn't have hit you!"

Youko growled, dipped his rag into the bucket, making sure that it soaked up lots of water, and threw it at the bat as hard as he could. It hit him square in the side of the head, and the fox smirked. Kuronue growled and retrieved his own rag from the bucket.

"You're going to pay for that, Kurama!"

"Just try it," came the cocky response.

Kuro scowled, and whipped the rag at the fox, hitting him in the eyes. The attacker whooped at his success while the attacked wiped the soapy water from his eyes. Youko cupped his hands, and dipped them into the warm water. Once they had filled with the liquid, he brought them up, and threw it at the bat, who sputtered and did the same.

Kuronue, now sick of the piece of wet cloth clutched in his hands, threw it to the ground. A sudden idea came to him, and he tackled the fox. Youko squeaked, and tried to get the boy off of him, but soon caught on to the game. They wrestled for a bit, laughing and throwing playful gibes at each other, the wet wooden floor serving as an excellent little arena.

The bantering and cheerfulness drew another slave who was working in the area to their little game. She was outraged at the sight of them; they were disobeying orders, and defiling the names of their masters. The two boys paid no mind to her, and continued on, blissfully unaware of her ever-growing impatience. The woman cleared her throat loudly, but was unable to gain their attention.

"Boys!" she shrieked, finally earning some acknowledgement.

The bat and the fox stopped what they were doing, and Kuronue released Youko from the headlock he had him in. They both straightened their clothes, and then turned to look at her scornful face.

"What did you two think you were doing? This room isn't clean at all and the floors are soaking! What happened in here? Do you even know what the Baroness will do if she sees the state of this room?"

Both looked dejected. The woman continued preaching to them, unaware of the scheme building in the bat's mind. He caught Youko's attention, and motioned to the door. The fox looked confused, but suddenly caught the idea.

Kuronue looked at the woman, smirked, and then bolted for the door, Youko not far behind.

"Run away!" he shouted, and they rushed through the corridor, a blur of black hair and silver fur. They didn't stop until they made it to the dining hall for the slaves, where they collapsed onto one of the benches, heaving and sweating.

"That was close," Youko stated, regaining his breath.

Kuro nodded.

"If we were there another second longer, that person would have gotten us in trouble. Now all we need to do is avoid her for the rest of our lives, and we're good!"

"Can we really do that? I kinda stick out in a crowd with my coloration, and you're the only bat I've seen so far."

"So? Like that woman was paying attention! She was so involved in her preaching, she didn't even notice we left."

Youko laughed, and nodded.

"Do you think she's still going on?" he asked, wondering if she really was still talking.

"Probably. God, how could anyone say such things about Mukuro? I hate people like her."

Youko looked at Kuronue, curiosity plastered all over his face. Images of the woman the guard was so terrified of flashed in his mind. Could she really be the Baroness who owned this entire castle and entrusted his master, the lord Hiei, to control one day?

"Does Mukuro really own everything here? Even the possessions of others?" Youko inquired.

"Well, I know she owns all of us slaves and a third of the continent, so I guess in a way she does."

Youko brooded over this explanation for a moment.

"But what if a slave's owned by one of the vassals residing here? Does she still own that slave?"

"I don't know. I certainly am not owned by a lower lord, and have never talked to one who is, but my guess is that she does in some way or another. She owns everything else," Kuronue said, clearly not concerned with the topic.

The fox wrung his hands in his lap nervously. If Kuronue's hypothesis was true and Mukuro owned him instead of Hiei, he was sure to be killed. She had already voiced her disgust for him and wanted him out, and if she had the power to, well, he could kiss his meaningless life goodbye.

"Why'd ya ask about that? Are you claimed by one of her vassals?" Kuronue asked. He had never really ventured to know who Youko belonged to, figuring that he was just another slave for labor replacing someone. The questions his buddy was asking started to make him wonder, though.

At the same time Kuro was wondering if Youko really was the possession of a Lord, the fox was wondering whether he should tell his friend about Lord Hiei. He didn't really want to; he was afraid that if he told Kuronue, the bat would reject him. Building resolve, he raised his head to his friend.

"Well, I-"

"HEY KURO! Who's that sitting next to you?" someone yelled from across the large room.

Kurama looked around to find the person addressing Kuro, wanting to kiss his feet in gratefulness. He would tell Kuronue the truth later, he promised himself. Kuronue sighed and shook his head. Five people, three boys and two girls, walked over to where the two friends were resting.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your castle being pampered like a pussy boy?" Kuronue asked him, grinning madly.

A boy wearing clothes that were definitely cleaner, better tailored, and more colorful than the four other people around him grinned back at the boy and let out a laugh. He was wearing a very lavish green kimono with golden tassels on the sleeves. The slippers and obi were garnished with emeralds that sparkled in the light when he walked. His hairstyle was the only thing that was untidy about him. Black hair was slicked back, and a few loose strands of bangs swept over his forehead.

"My ol' man's here for the 'monthly peace meeting' of course. It's the only reason I'd be mingling with you commoners," the grinning boy said, completely joking.

"Well excuse me Mr. high-and-mighty Urameshi Yusuke, future Lord of the land," Kuro quipped back. "And what is that you're wearing? It looks like a dress!"

The other four accompanying Yusuke laughed at the joke, making the boy grit his teeth and suppress the urge to kill them all.

"Yeah, you look like a girly man! A real man would have put up a fight!" one of the other boys said. He had short orange hair that was curled and small black eyes. The boy was very tall, much taller than anyone else in the posse. He was wearing a faded brown shirt with equally faded brown pants.

"At least I'm not wearing rags! My clothes at least have some culture to them!" Yusuke yelled back. "Don't make me order you to do my laundry! Underclothes and everything, Kuwabara!!"

"I'm sorry if I actually have to clean my clothes, and this is the only thing clean at the moment!" Kuwabara shouted angrily.

The two boys started bickering loudly over the most random things Youko had ever heard. Both girls, one with very light blue hair that reminded him of the sky on a warm sunny day and pink eyes that sparkled with happiness, fun, and a deep caring for everything that moved, and the other with short tea colored hair and deep brown eyes, tried to stop the two from arguing, with Kuro laughing to the side and providing no help at all.

The other boy, who had long red locks with bangs that framed his gentle green eyes that could rival Yusuke's emeralds, joined in the fun. He was playing with Yusuke's golden tassels, smiling and laughing with Kuwabara.

"I'd have to agree with Kuwabara. Who would want to wear something with tassels? It looks rather ridiculous," he said.

Yusuke groaned. "Not you too, Shuichi! I thought at least you'd be on my side!"

Everyone laughed again and continued their badgering of the poor boy. Youko, who seemed to be forgotten, sighed sadly, and walked away; sure he wasn't going to be missed anytime soon. He was hungry, so he stood in line, awaiting his turn to get his meal.

Once he had retrieved his meal, the fox turned from the dining hall and walked quickly to his room, completely avoiding everyone around him. He would eat his dinner as he always had; alone. After all, who would want to sit with him and his cursed golden eyes? They had betrayed him once again.

How dare he think he could have any smidgeon of happiness whatsoever. Koganes were curse, never allowed anything in life to bring them joy. That was the true curse of the golden eyes; not that cock and bull story about how just looking in them would kill you. The young fox sighed, and picked up his chopsticks. He began to eat slowly, savoring what was probably to be his last hot meal for a while.

With no more attachments here since Kuro obviously didn't care about him, Youko figured running away from the castle would be in his best interest. It was better to live on his own than to be faced with what he could have had every day. Besides, if he ran away, he would surely be hunted and killed, allowing him to be finally free of the Kogane curse.

He let a wisp of a smile crawl onto his features, and continued eating in the dingy room completely alone.

Meanwhile, back at the dining hall, Kuronue was finally finished making fun of Yusuke and was ready to introduce his new best friend to the others. He turned around to face Youko; ready to bring him into the circle, but the boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Did any of you see where Kurama went?" Kuro asked, getting a little worried something happened to him.

"Who's Kurama?" Kuwabara asked. The others murmured a chorus of agreement and confusion.

"Kurama was the silver fox sitting next to me. I meant to introduce him earlier, but Yusuke was just too fun to humiliate."

"You know what!? I can kill you!" Yusuke snapped.

"Yusuke, I think you should calm down now," the brown eyed girl said sternly.

"But Keiko, he," Yusuke said, pointing an accusing finer at Kuronue, "started it! I just had to defend myself!"

"You can do whatever you want later, Yusuke, but right now, I need to find Kurama!" Kuronue exclaimed, looking high and low for his missing compadre.

"I believe he took off in the direction of the food line," Shuichi said to Kuronue.

Saying a hastened 'thank you,' Kuronue sped off, searching each table for the golden eyed fox. He tore through the straight lines awaiting food to get to the front, only to find that he wasn't there either. The bat started to ask around, but only got hazy answers or turned backs. Not one measly idea! Deciding to go out on a whim, he exited the large room and bounded towards their shared room.

He reached the door faster than usual, out of breath but still determined to look. On the other side, Youko was just about to exit the same room Kuro was trying to enter, deciding that he should at least gather some supplies for the long days of running ahead of him. When Kuronue tried to enter the room, he found some resistance, and began to try to jerry-rig it open.

"Damn old doors! Always getting stuck! Youko! If you're in there! Open up! It's me, Kuro!" the bat yelled through gritted teeth. Youko quickly stopped pushing on his side of the door, moving out of the way when the door slammed open revealing a very tired demon.

"Kuro? Why aren't you with your friends?" the fox inquired.

"Because I was worried about you! You can't just go running off like that without telling me! I was afraid that those overseers had come to hurt you again!"

"You were so wrapped up with your friends that there was no place for me, so I left," the fox timidly replied.

"How could there not be a place for you? You're my friend as well, and to quote 'I was wrapped up with my friends,' meaning you, too!" Kuronue explained.

Youko felt downright awful. His one friend sounded hurt and it was his entire fault. If he had only waited patiently and not jumped to conclusions, then none of what previously happened wouldn't have. His ears drooped slightly when Kuronue sighed.

"I don't know that much about you yet, but I really want to be your friend. I'm sorry if I offended you in some way, 'cause I didn't mean to. That wasn't what I meant at all! Because I really, really, really want to be your friend," Kuronue said.

Awkward silence followed as both boys reflected on what had just been said. Youko was happy to hear Kuronue's declaration of friendship and apology. To him, it was a small victory of the curse placed upon him. He smiled to Kuro, who was nervously looking down, flushed at the deluge of words that poured out of his mouth.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing," the kitsune said, gaining his friend's attention. "My entire life I've been shunned from everything, so I thought that this was no different than every other time. It's my fault for leaving and jumping to conclusions."

Kuronue smiled as well.

"Well, I just want you to know that I had so much fun today. I've never had as much fun doing work in my life, and I want to keep having fun with you. So, let's continue to be friends and forget this whole thing happened," he said happily.

Youko grinned and agreed.

"I see you have some food. I know you're dying to share with me," Kuro joked, grabbing Youko's chopsticks and bowl.

"Get your own damn food! I had to stand in line to get that!" Youko said his voice laced with false anger and disgust.

"Ah, but it's so much sweeter when someone else gets it for you," the bat declared, and began to wolf it down.

Youko sighed and shook his head.

"Next ti-"

He never got to finish his sentence because the door slammed open, the noise echoing through the small room causing both boys to clutch their heads and shut their eyes; the bowl of rice dropping to the ground and spilling over. A particularly mean guard stormed in, curling his lip at the sight of the two slaves.

"You, fox, Lord Hiei demands you see him. Come on!"

Youko looked fearful; if his master was summoning him, it certainly couldn't be a good thing. Hiei didn't look like the type of person who would just summon someone to talk to them. He stood up slowly, and walked behind the man, keeping his head down so as not to get the short-tempered demon angry.

Kuronue snapped out of his stupor and stood up, seething mad. No one, no matter who they are, was going to take his friend away from him, and he was going to do something about it.

"You can't just lead him away just because some lord wants to see him, especially if he doesn't want to go!" Kuronue yelled to the demon. The demon guard slapped the bat across the face, sending him to the floor.

"You should learn to watch your tongue, slave. It might just get you killed one day," the guard said, walking out of the room. Youko looked down at Kuronue, and sent him an apologetic glance. Within that glance was the promise of explanations later, and the bat nodded. The fox followed the guard out of the room and through the corridors, bowing his head whenever anyone would pass by them.

The demon guard picked up his pace and escorted the fox up to the thirteenth floor where Lord Hiei dwelled. They passed through the familiar double doors leading to his room, and stopped before the Lord, who was awaiting them. The guard bowed his head and left, leaving the fox alone with the demon lord. Lord Hiei eyed the kitsune up and down, and lounged on the bed.

"Every night at this time, you will come here for a daily inspection. If I am not in the room, you will wait for me. You will not be late or miss one, no matter what. Understood?"

Youko nodded his head.

"Kitsune, you will answer me with words, not a movement of your head. I will ask you again; do you understand?"

"Yes," the fox squeaked.

"Yes, what?" the Lord demanded.

"Yes, master."

Hiei smiled cheekily; he loved it when he asserted his dominance upon others. "Good. Have you gotten any stronger since this morning?"

Youko was taken aback. His master honestly thought that he could grow stronger in just eight hours? If that was his expectations, the fox would most certainly die at the hiyoukai's hands.

"No, I haven't," the fox admitted, ready for his punishment. He shut his eyes tightly, but nothing came. After a few minutes passed, he opened his eyes slowly, only to find the demon staring him down again, sitting up on the bed.

"I'm assuming you pulled you weight today, am I correct?" the red eyed demon asked, moving towards the fox in a graceful strut of power and confidence. Golden eyes locked onto the small demon, taking in every fluent motion he made. The kitsune couldn't explain what came over him every time he saw the Lord; it was unknown to him.

"I asked you a question, fox, now answer!" the velveteen voice of the petite lord demanded, pulling the boy from his thoughts. Youko wanted to run away and escape the emotions that were raging an unending war in his heart, but he could not. The very emotions that urged him to run welded him to the spot, acting as chains that bound his wrists to the Lord. He was a captive of the demon in front of him, and he couldn't escape.

"Yes, I did, Lord Hiei," he said softly, afraid of the sudden captivity Youko found himself in. He was a kitsune, a fox demon, an animal; he was afraid of being caught. However, he was caught, a captive of the hiyoukai and the unidentifiable emotion laced in every cell of his body and every wisp of his spirit.

The demon lord smirked, and turned his back to the fox. He was pleased that his slave was so obedient to him; it made it easier to impale the creature with fear and bend him to his whim.

"Good. You may leave now, but don't be late tomorrow. The consequences will be dire if you are," the demon lord said, and turned from the fox. Youko bowed hastily, and left the room, running past the demon guard and back down to the slave quarters. He ran into his room, only to find Kuro asleep on his mat.

With practiced ease, Youko silently shut the door, and padded to his own pallet, slowly pulling the covers over himself. The day had been a long one, and the little fox was eager to let it slip away while he peacefully dreamed about what was to come in the future, positive that whatever it was, he could overcome it with the help of the friendship that was now as solid as stone.

- - -

Sorry, there's no Inari in this chapter, but I promise that the beloved god will return in the next.