My sincere apologies about the lack of updates, however, I will not bother you with any excuses as to why it is late because I do not have any. Thank you.

Special Thanks to:

Nannae (Ah, thanks for qualming the reviewers fears. If I do die, however, Saiyuki is yours, and bury me with what we discussed.)

Lightdark-apparition

KyoHana

SoarMoreFlyHigher

ShadowFlame

S.L.H.A.K.

Whatcallmyself (Your sister's insight on optimism gave me a great idea. I was wondering if maybe I could have permission to use that idea and/or quote in my story, please)

Mea

Fox's Rose

kittyluv

kurama-hieigirl25

Stacey

Random chick

Kitsune Kit

YokoYoukai

Shinigami-chylde

sweetsnow

HarmonyHanyou

ineXpressible

"So, what brings a foreigner to the Lands of the Lords?" an older man asked the middle-aged demon sitting next to him. The older man had salt-and-pepper hair that was receding in the front and was wearing what looked to be a monk's travel robes. There was no doubt in the mind of the demon the man addressed that he was a priest, as to what deity, he did not know.

"I am merely here to sell my goods in this land and solve a personal matter," the demon replied, his foreign accent dripping off his tongue.

The demon was a youko, which was curious to the monk because youko were a rare species of demon. He had tanned skin, calloused hands, and toned muscles, which was to be expected if you were lifting heavy crates all day. His hair, which was cut short but looked quite disheveled, and eyes were dark brown, and had a certain quality to them that made him look as though he knew everything. This youko's fox traits were that of a red fox; his ears tipped with black and his tail tipped white. His blue cotton shirt, brown cotton pants, and tan leather sandals had seen better days, but he wasn't complaining. After all, he would only be here for a short while.

"From what country do you hail from? No doubt from somewhere in the west, am I correct?" the monk asked, trying to strike a conversation with the only other member of the caravan that was awake.

"The island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. What about you? I did not think there was a monastery in this part of the continent."

"There isn't, you are correct. Are you familiar with the Shinto religion?"

The fox demon shook his head 'yes.'

"Well, I am a monk in the order of the god Tsuki-Yomi on a pilgrimage to see an old friend in the Inari temple and help him keep the temple in order for a bit," the old man replied. This made the fox smile, after all, it was nice to hear that people still worshipped and followed you after thousands of years.

"I never got your name," the kitsune stated, his Spanish accent still heavy on the words.

"My name is Oshi, and you?"

"Raul," the fox replied, mentally making a note to save the man's soul from the underworld when he died. After all, it was so hard to find a truly devoted priest these days. Most of the time, their vows were only half-hearted and they would steal from your offerings, and that was never good.

The monk nodded, and leaned back against a rock behind him. There was something different about the fox in front of him, he was sure of that. What that difference was, however, was the million-dollar question. Raul seemed to be an average demon; there were no peculiar markings on him or strange aura that set him apart from any other demon he had come across.

He studied the demon carefully, summing him up the best the priest could. He definitely looked ordinary enough; that was the problem. When Oshi finally reached Raul's eyes, he realized why exactly he was different. The fox's eyes were so vast; they were an endless void of golden browns and hazels. If one looked long enough, they could literally see the endless layers of wisdom that those eyes held. This fox was definitely wise way beyond his years, no matter how old he was. In fact, the priest was sure that if he spent an eternity simply trying to unlock and decipher all the layers of knowledge and well-guarded secrets those eyes held, he wouldn't be able to get through the first layer. It was as if the demon could see everything in the world and knew what was to come upon them in the future.

Raul noticed the stare, and grinned to the priest. "Is something wrong, friend? You've been staring awfully intently at me."

The priest shook himself of the spell those rich eyes cast upon him, and shook his head. "I'm only tired, that is all. We should probably get some rest; tomorrow we reach the Baroness's lands."

With that the priest lay down on his side and drifted off to sleep, leaving the foreign demon to dwell on his own thoughts. Soon he would reach Mukuro's castle, and the time would come for him to complete the task he descended from the heavens for. Indeed, as many might have guessed by now, Raul is the god Inari in disguise, and he is going to visit our favorite enslaved fox. However, that would have to wait until the morning; he couldn't exactly leave the caravan if he wanted to keep up his disguise.

The disguised god huffed, and shut his eyes, lying down as well. He didn't really need to sleep; he was immortal. However, if he must in order to not raise suspicions, then he would. He let his thoughts drift and sort themselves out as he tried to fall into the rejuvenating sleep that mortals need.

In only a short few hours, the caravan would be ready to continue on its journey east towards the territory of the Baroness Mukuro. This was a particularly dangerous task because the Baroness's lands were chaotic. They were known to be full of criminals and assailants of all sorts, and travelers were the main prey of these predators. If the caravan was to pass through with little-to-no damage, they would be most fortunate. However, for now they slept, hoping to cross that dangerous territory with their lives. All, except the god-in-disguise, of course; he could not die, and worrying was considered a petty mortal feeling that the gods should not bother themselves with.

The short few hours until the rosy dawn swept across the shadowed land went quickly, and the small caravan retrieved their minds from the grasp of the dark lands of sleep. They quickly gathered their belongings and headed out, leaving before the sun could fully rise to guide them east. The aged priest had taken a place near the end of the caravan about two to three feet behind the rest. This choice spot allowed him to chant sutras and prayers in peace as well as sum up the rest of his fellow travelers without being interrupted.

Like the fox in front of him, he had an ulterior motive as to why he's here as well. It was true that he was a priest to the moon god; however, it was not true that he was going to help a friend. He was, in fact, going to the Baroness's castle to perform an exorcism, or so she called it. In all actuality, the Baroness wanted him to get rid of a newly acquired fox demon slave that was apparently causing a ruckus. Oshi was a well-known demon exterminator, and had eagerly taken the job.

He knew that afterwards, he would have to perform a ritualistic sutra to calm the dead fox's spirit, or else the then-deceased fox as well as Inari would take vengeance on him. The god disliked when those under his care and protection were dishonored or harmed in any way. It was never good to get on the bad side of a god, especially one who was so important to the world's well-being. There had been times in the past that famine had happened in parts of the world because the deities of the harvest had been offended by either another deity or a mortal; the Western goddess Demeter's loss of her daughter Persephone was a prime example of such rage.

Oshi only hoped that his sutras and offerings would be enough to please both the spirit and the god. He did feel bad about killing a demon, but everyone had a place in life, and his was to kill demons that were vicious and harmful to their neighbors. He only wondered if this demon was really causing a ruckus, or if the Baroness just did not like him; she was known for having people kill off those she didn't like and mask the death as something else. He sighed and stared ahead, mentally preparing himself for his task and what was to come. If things went smoothly, he would have some money to give to his temple, and the rest he would give to those in his village that needed it. The priest just hoped that the Baroness would stick to her word when she said she would pay him handsomely.

Meanwhile, in front of him, the god-in-disguise was pondering what he would do to earn himself a place at the castle. He was aware that lords from all over the continent had gathered at Mukuro's palace for their monthly meeting. The Earl, a human-eater who had turned to other sources for his nourishment, would be there. Duke Yomi, an ambitious lord who even challenged the gods at times, would also be present. Inari made up his mind, and decided that a bit of his godly powers wouldn't hurt anyone, and it was for a good cause. Oh yes, most definitely a good cause.

The walk soon landed the caravan about one hundred yards away from the Baroness's castle, and the fox separated himself from it, walking straight up to the gates without a care in the world. Now was time for his immortal powers to pay off. The human guard who was keeping watch over the front of the gate noticed the approaching demon from under his helmet, which was tipped so that it covered his eyes and made him look as though he was sleeping.

As the disguised god walked towards the guard, the resting man sprung up and had his European sword to the fox's throat faster than one could blink. The demon smiled to the man, and opened his deep russet eyes, staring down the human guard without flinching. The guard growled as best a human could, and gripped his sword tighter. Something about this fox made his skin crawl, and he felt as if he was falling into an abyss.

"What business do you have at the Baroness's residence?" the armored guard asked the foreign fox on the other side of his blade. The feeling of falling now permeated his body completely, and a slight haziness overtook his mind. His thoughts became clouded as the eye contact between he and the fox remained, neither breaking it nor backing down.

"I'm here on merchant's business, and I need to speak with the owner of the castle about such matters. Plus," he said casually, the foreign accent further intoxicating the human's mind, "I need somewhere to stay for a while." He grinned, knowing the full effect of what the human was going through.

The guard tried as hard as he could to defeat the invading haze in his mind, but he was slowly losing. The disguised god frowned slightly when he saw the mental battle the guard was having with his trick. However, his qualms were soon eased when the mind spell had won the battle and the haze returned to the human's eyes; he had fallen victim to the ruse. The weapon that was held at the merchant's tanned neck was lowered and sheathed, and the hands that were holding it were placed at the guard's side.

The human then turned around mechanically and motioned for the fox to follow him into the rather vast, barren courtyard of the large citadel. His movements were so precise that it seemed as if he were a marionette being controlled by the strings of the god's nasty little spell and his free will was eradicated from his body; he had become a mere shell of sorts. Once they reached the large oak doors at the other end of the courtyard, the guard stopped on a dime and signaled the 'ok' to enter. The doormen scuttled to open the doors, which were quite heavy, and bowed to the two as they passed by.

Upon entering, the visitor immediately memorized his surroundings, and spotted the two long lines of household slaves being assigned their daily chores. Our dear enslaved Kogane was among him, and the foreign demon smirked; his job was just getting easier and easier. In fact, he was beginning to wish that it would have been a bit more challenging; someone down in the living world had to have at least a bit of defiance and will-power strong enough to cause the smooth water of his plans to froth and become jagged. After all, he hadn't been among the mortals in 1200 years and he wanted a nice, eventful welcome.

Youko and Kuronue were currently standing in the line waiting to get their assigned tasks for the day. They had eaten a rushed breakfast of plain, cold rice about five minutes before they arrived in the line on account of the long explanation the silver demon gave his friend about his master, Lord Hiei. Naturally, Kuronue was shocked; he had heard horrible stories about the vassal's unquenchable bloodlust and his cruel, torturing nature. In the past, people who he had known that worked with the lord had mysteriously disappeared. He didn't want this happening to Youko, and promised himself that he wouldn't let it happen.

The line moved slowly forward, step by step. The ones in line were moving in somber silence, as if they were prisoners walking their last steps on death row. Youko grew bored of walking in silence, but he didn't want to awaken Kuro from his brooding; he seemed to be really worried about something. The kitsune started looking around the vast corridor, taking in the many colors and intricate details it held.

His eyes scanned the room until he came upon the main entrance of the castle. There, he saw another fox demon, albeit the newcomer was older than the slave. However, the fact that he was a fox didn't interest Youko; his eyes were the main attraction. Youko had never seen anyone else with his eyes, and when I say his eyes, I mean quite literally, his eyes- shape, color, everything.

"Hey Kuro," the fox said while nudging his friend, "look over there, at the entrance." Kuro awoke from his stupor, and did as his friend requested.

"All I see is another fox. He's probably just a peasant come to discuss some land dispute with his commanding vassal," Kuronue responded nonchalantly.

"No, Kuro, look at his eyes. He's a Kogane!" the silver demon replied, a bit eager to have found one such as him. Kuronue looked closely at the fox in the entrance, but saw no golden eyes, and he was sure he hadn't missed it. After all, once you saw that beautiful shade of gold, it would never be forgotten.

"I think you're seeing things, Kurama, because he definitely has brown eye, not gold." Youko looked at the demon in question, but saw deep, wise golden eyes instead of the brown Kuronue had claimed to see.

"I'm serious, Kuro! His eyes are gold," Youko replied, looking closely. "Maybe you just can't see them from here."

"Or maybe you're just seeing the light shine on his face. That could make them seem a different color," the other boy stated. Youko looked at the visitor one final time; he was sure that the light wasn't playing tricks on him. He shrugged his shoulders anyway, and began talking to Kuro about other things. He was never one to assert his ideas and opinions, especially when he went against what someone else thought or said.

The older fox demon at the entrance of the great castle was watching the two younger demons in the line, especially the Kogane. He knew exactly what was being said between the two, and he knew exactly what the cause was. He was the one who had controlled the shift in the eye color because he, the god Inari, wanted to draw the curious kitsune to him. No one else was to see the golden eyes or else his plan would be ruined, and then he might have to do things that he didn't want to do. After all, who would want to murder a whole castle of innocent mortals just for getting in their way?

The guard next to him began to walk forward, motioning for him to follow again. Raoul, as he was to be known in this place, followed, until they reached an older woman working as a maid. Of course, he knew who she was, and he also knew that she would be rewarded greatly for what she had done, for she was the one who had first shown the silver fox love. Without her, the god wasn't sure how exactly his little plot would have ever gone into action.

The woman, Anna if he remembered correctly, led him up to the bedrooms that Youko and Kuronue had cleaned the other day. Most of these rooms were occupied by the visiting lords and their families, all except for one. She escorted him into the spare room, and bowed to him.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask. Someone will come soon after that to help you with what you need," she said to him, and smiled.

"Gracias, querida," the fox said, and set his bag down on the large bed.

Anna bowed again, and excused herself from the room. Raoul sighed, and sat down on the bed, plotting exactly how he would lure the fox to him and then actually talk. It would be hard, but he didn't expect it to be easy. The boy was, after all, going to be untrusting to almost everyone because of his upbringing. That would definitely cause some minor problems, but he wasn't too worried. He was, after all, a god, and if worse came to worse, he could always use his powers to manipulate the fox into coming. Now that that ordeal was settled, he established himself on the bed, and got ready for the show that was about to start. After all, he still had to watch over Youko.

The boys had just gotten their tasks for the day, but to their disenchantment, they were not working together again. Kuronue had kitchen duty while Youko was paired up with Shuichi, a red haired, green eyed boy, to clean the thirteenth floor. The fox was hesitant to work with someone he didn't know, but after Kuro had assured Youko that Shuichi was on of the bat's friends and that they would get along fine, he was ready to try and get along. Perhaps Shuichi would be a new friend.

Shuichi waited patiently for the fox by the large, white marble staircase while Kuronue reassured Youko for the tenth time that he and Shuichi would get along just fine. Of course, Shuichi wouldn't admit that he didn't trust the young fox. There was something about him that made Shuichi exceptionally perturbed.

He thought about it for a minute, and began to think of the feeling that enclosed his body when Youko was in his vicinity the night before. It wasn't a ghastly feeling, in fact, it was quite the opposite. The comfort and familiarity that he felt around the demon was like nothing he had ever encountered in his fairly diminutive life. This comfort however was just too perfect, almost god-like.

"But, that couldn't be possible," he reasoned with himself. "What would a god want here?" Something didn't add up to the red-headed boy. Youko and Kuronue finally parted ways, and Shuichi put his thoughts to the side for the moment, deciding he would sort them out once he got to know Youko better.

"Are you ready?" he asked the fox, who nodded in response. The two walked up the extensive staircase until they reached the thirteenth story, a practically deserted looking area. A maid was waiting for them with the supplies they would need in order to properly clean the area, and then soon left, leaving at a fast pace that could be described as jogging.

"What was wrong with her?" Youko asked the human, who shrugged and picked up a broom. He began to sweep the hallway, and turned back to the demon.

"I don't know. Maybe she was late for something. We did take an awfully long time getting up here," he replied, hinting ever-so-slightly to Youko about his long talk with Kuronue. The fox nodded, though he knew Shuichi couldn't see it, and extracted a bucket full of warm, soapy water from the mass of cleaning supplies, and moved to the other side of the hallway.

He began to wash the chair rail diligently, not wanting to miss a spot. Youko was so heavily entranced with what he was doing, he didn't notice the apprehensive stare Shuichi cast upon him. The demon seemed to be ok; he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. However, that sensation of never ending warmth came back to the redhead as soon as Youko was in his proximity. It was beginning to be very unsettling, and he didn't know what to do to stop it. He sighed and tore his eyes away from the other slave, focusing his entire being on his work and nothing else.

A few hours had passed, and both boys were now working on cleaning the floor of the hallway by hand. After this, they would clean the rooms on this vestibule, each taking a room so the work would go by faster. This wasn't exactly what Youko was expecting, but he soon changed his hopes once he discovered that Shuichi wasn't like Kuronue. The past hours had gone by without so much as a word or two between the workers, even when Youko attempted to befriend the boy. It was as if Shuichi didn't want to be friends with the Kogane, and the fox briefly wondered if his eyes were the reason. He sighed jadedly, and began to pick up the pace; he wanted to get out of this corridor as soon as possible.

Both of the slaves were so entranced with their work that they failed to notice the doors at the end of the hallway open and someone walk out. It was only when the presence was directly behind the fox that he began to worry, his animal instincts directing him to take flight. He inhaled a large shuddering breath, and turned around, locking eyes with the person. He gasped quite loudly, gaining Shuichi's attention, and both of them stopped abruptly.

For those of you not familiar with Spanish terms, I will provide a Glossary of sorts at the end of each chapter with the pronunciation and meaning of each term.

GRACIAS (grah-see-us) Thank you, thanks

QUERIDA (keh-ree-dah) beloved (feminine form)

If you are able to speak Spanish, and note an error of mine, please, feel free to correct me in a review or email me. Do not be harsh though, because I am working with a limited vocabulary of Spanish terms as it is not the foreign language I am taking and it is much different that Classical Latin. Thank you.