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It's a Secret: Chapter 3
Kuronue gestured to the camp. "Welcome to my band of thieves."
Youko gasped, his mouth hanging open slightly. I didn't realize that he was the leader of a group. I don't like groups, they tend to hurt me. Great, I escape slavery only to be tricked into an agreement almost as bad. Youko moved behind Kuronue and gripped his shirt.
"Now now, they won't hurt you. This is Nori and his sister Shizuka." Kuronue gestured to two demons in the front of the group. There were about 12 demons in all. Nori had a very commanding presence, he was a blue skinned creature with sea green eyes, as well a green bunch of hair on his otherwise bald head. His ears were more like fins and he had a long tail with a triangle on the end. At about 5 feet 7 inches, he was about 4 inches taller than Shizuka.
Shizuka was clearly the quiet type. Like her brother she had blue skin and fin ears. She was short, but full grown. Youko noted her clearly defined curves and her long, pale orange hair. Her eyes were the same shade as her hair. Her tail was shorter than Nori's. They both had small horns on their foreheads and black sea serpents in a spiral shape on their right cheeks.
"Everybody, this is my new apprentice, Youko Kurama. He's a little shy, but we can fix that." The thieves all cheered at that. He grinned mischievously, "In a couple days we'll go find some new treasures for our collection. And then we'll go find a town and have some fun!" They all cheered again.
Kuronue turned to Nori and Shizuka. "You two go get Youko some clothes and a meal." he commanded. He looked at Youko. "You get some rest today, we'll begin your training tomorrow. Now go with these two."
Quivering, Youko released Kuronue and followed the two demons into the camp. Cries of "Welcome back boss." and "Now things will get more exciting around here." could be heard as the remaining demons swarmed their leader.
The two demons led Youko to a cave. "You need a bath first. Lord Kuro likes his thieves looking pretty." Nori told him. "Shizuka will find you some clothes while we get you clean." He then grabbed the frightened fox by the wrist and dragged him into the cave. In the cave their was a pool of water. He yanked the hide off Youko and shoved him into the freezing water. Nomi stripped and got in next to him.
He began scrubbing the fox roughly as dirt came off him, and his skin lightened significantly. Youko couldn't help whimpering when the demon brushed an arm over his ribs. "What's wrong?" the man inquired. Without giving Youko a chance to respond, he started examining his chest. Nori whistled when he saw the problem. "You have a couple broken ribs kid." The demon looked him over, "Wherever you're from, you're pretty beat up." When Youko tensed, Nori reassured him. "Don't worry kid, in this band, your past is just that, your past. Nobody will ever ask you to tell them about it."
He then dunked Youko's head under the water, and began scrubbing his hair. A while later they emerged from the cave, Youko wet and shivering. Nori led him into a tent where Shizuka waited. The fact that he was naked didn't bother him, since Youko hadn't learned about modesty as a slave. They sat him on a straw mat and started brushing his hair. "So Youko," Shizuka asked. "why did you decide to become lord Kuro's apprentice?"
He looked down and answered softly. "I had nowhere else to go." The siblings shared a look above Youko's head. They then proceeded to wrap bandage around his ribs. They gave him a pair of loose sky blue pants to wear. To Youko they itched horribly, as he had never worn pants before.
"Sorry about the bandages kid. But that's the best we can do for now." Nori said. Then they helped him put on a Blue tunic with a yellow border that left his shoulders bare. He staggered under the sudden weight. The siblings grinned. "That's lord Kuro's weighted tunic. It helps to increase your muscle strength when you train. It also protects you a bit." He looked at his sister, "Hey Shizuka, go tell Lord Kuro that Youko's ready now." She left without a word.
"Now lets get you some food kid." Nori said. He got Youko a tray of food. Before Nori could blink, the fruit and bread had vanished into Youko's tunic. Youko hesitated then devoured the meat ravenously.
"You seem hungry." Kuronue's voice came from the doorway. He grinned when Youko looked at him. "Didn't I fill you up enough last night?" Kuroue teased him. Youko decided to test his limits and flirt back. He let a small smile play across his lips and he gazed at the floor again. Then he shook his head no and looked up mischievously at Kuronue.
Kuronue raised an eyebrow at the Kitsune's change in behavior. "Oh, m'lord, Youko has a couple broken ribs that are bothering him." Nori told the bat. "We bandaged them but it won't really help much."
Kuronue walked over and squatted down in front of the fox. Youko looked up into the chimera's eyes, they were serious. "Did I do it?" he questioned. The two siblings burst out laughing when he spoke. Youko himself had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He managed to shake his head. Kuronue glared at the two that couldn't stop laughing. "Ignore the water imps. Are you sure?" Youko nodded again. "Okay, we'll have Sho look at you later."
Seeing Youko's looked he explained. He's a Kitsune too. He knows a lot about herbs and such." He pulled Youko up. "For now I'll show you around the place." He glared at Nori, who was still laughing, though Shizuka had stopped. "Shut up already." he said.
"Sorry boss," he said. "but that was just too funny. 'Did I do it?'" he mimicked, then cracked up all over again. Kuronue just mumbled something about stupid imps and led Youko away. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. The fox thought, feeling a small glimmer of hope fill him for the first time.
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That's the end of this chapter. What will happen to Youko now? Once I get 2 more reviews, you'll find out.