Ok, really sorry about the update period but I've been having some more issues in my life. Gee, go figure. My boyfriend broke up with me and at first it was mutual because I had been planning on breaking up with him too, I was just waiting because I was trying to be considerate to his feelings. Therefore, I had to put up with him for a whole weekend at the beach while we went to see Disturbed in concert, which was totally awesome btw. Anyway, now I'm totally pissed b/c I feel he was already going out with his new girlfriend who he said he was going to ask out the next day, isn't that nice. I also think part of the reason he broke up with me was b/c I wouldn't sleep with him but you all probably didn't want/need to hear that. Well, again sorry about the wait. If this chap is a little short or just not as good as the other three then I'm sorry, again. I'll also try to update What the Future Holds soon for those of you who read and liked that one as well. All right, I know, I'll stop blabbering on about how much my life sucks right now. (Goes and hugs Sesshoumaru and Kurama plushies sniff tear)

P.S. When the boys call Dru 'Uma', it means mother in the Blood Demon language.

Chapter 4: Kidnapped

Everything was peaceful. Spring had gone and went with summer on its way. Birds sang from their perches high in the trees that surrounded the small temple. The children were safe and playing, Dru had been reunited with the love of her life, and she had friends now that cared about her. Dru was in heaven.

Blood and midnight hair met as Dru lay in Kurama's arms under one of the more shady trees surrounding the grounds. They were simply enjoying each other's company and watching the nature around them. They had spent the last two months like this, just being with each other. Hiei claimed that Dru was making the fox soft but had shut his mouth when Shizuru had walked into the room with a death glare that would cause even Toguro to shrink away. He hadn't said a word about it since.

A smile crossed Kurama's face as he remembered that day. The look on Hiei's face had been priceless! If only he'd had a camera… Dru looked up and noticed the smile. She didn't know what he was smiling about but for some reason, she just couldn't help but smile as well. When he looked down at her, his smile widened before he gave her a small kiss. They sat there smiling like fools for who knows how long before the comfortable silence they had been enjoying was interrupted.

"You little brat! Come back here!" came from inside the temple.

"Well, Niiro doesn't sound to happy," Kurama mused before a cackling five year old ran through the open doors and over to where the two lovers were relaxing.

"Uma, Niiro's chasing me!" he said once he'd reached his mother.

"Why is he chasing you?"

"I don't know," Shinta said with the most innocent expression he could muster, which was very innocent.

"You little brat, you keep her out of this!" Niiro yelled as he rushed out the door towards his brother. The younger noticed his brother had found him and took off running to the other side of the temple, again cackling like a madman all the way. "Hey, get back here!"

"What is with those two?" Dru wondered aloud as she watched the two of them chase each other around the yard. Well, so much for peace and quiet.

"Don't worry about them, Uma. Shinta is just enjoying Niiro's overreacting," came a new voice. The eldest of the children was leaning against the railing on the porch as he watched his siblings. There was a slight smile on his face, one that seemed to be appearing more frequently as he spent time with the father he had never known and had hated until now.

"Taiki dear, what happened?"

"Mr. Yusuke was teaching us to play one of those video games and Shinta kept beating Niiro. It was sad actually because Shinta was just pushing buttons, he didn't really know what he was doing."

"Really?" Dru said as she tried not to laugh at her son's expense. It was pretty funny but Niiro did have a tendency to overreact, especially about small things like that. "Niiro, leave your brother alone. Shinta, stop teasing your brother."

Both boys looked at their mother with surprised looks. It was a comic sight. Niiro was holding Shinta upside down by one leg and was about to punch the snickering five year old who was currently sticking his tongue out and blowing raspberries. "But…"

"Put him down Niiro."

The angry teen complied and sat his little brother down. He faced his mother with arms crossed and sulked. "He started it…" he mumbled.

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A sigh escaped Kurama's mouth as he lay in bed. Dru was cuddled up to him with her head resting on his shoulder. A small smile graced her lips as she slept in the circle of his arms.

Looking down on her peaceful face, he couldn't help the swelling of pride that ran through him. After all the years of torture and rape, she felt safe and comfortable enough to lay with him. It had only been two months since he had rescued her from that evil bastard Ryuji and the fox had thought it would be at least six months if not longer before Dru even thought about being with him in that way. She was strong though, and whether it was by her love for him or her sheer stubbornness, the six months he had expected to wait were reduced to two.

Again he sighed, this time in regret as he ran his fingers along her scarred back. He couldn't help thinking that he could have prevented those scars, no matter how many times she had told him otherwise. "It's not your fault," she would say and though he wanted to believe her, no matter how much she tried to convince him, he always blamed himself for what happened to her and the boys.

In his mind, it was his fault that they had been subject to Ryuji's sick and twisted ways. If the hunter hadn't found him then none of this would have happened and her children, no their children, would have grown up with two loving parents and had a good home.

It didn't matter now though. He couldn't change the past so he'd just have to live with his mistakes and try not to make any more. After kissing her forehead lightly and pulling the blanket up to cover her, Kurama closed his eyes and prepared to go to sleep. His eyes hadn't been closed for more than a second before they shot open again at the feel of an enormous aura.

Apparently Dru had sensed it as well for she was wrapping a robe around herself and heading for the door. He quickly pulled on his pajama pants and followed her out into the hallway. Lightning flashed brightly and thunder boomed loud enough to wake the dead. Yusuke and Kuwabara met them in the hall as lightning flashed again, this time blindingly so. "What the hell's goin' on?" Kuwabara yelled over a particularly loud crash of thunder.

"Ryuji," Dru said with a hint of terror in her voice.

"Don't worry," Yusuke said softly, "we won't let him hurt ya. I'm gonna kick his ass real good!"

A slight smile crossed her face but it didn't reach her eyes. She knew he was trying to help but she didn't think the human was strong enough to kill that monster.

Suddenly, the doors at the end of the hall were thrown open and as another bolt of lightning flashed, a dark figure was illuminated. There in the doorway with a smirk firmly place on his lips was Ryuji. His long purple hair whipped about him in the wind along with his long black robe. His red eyes glowed in the dim light and Dru knew that he was out for blood.

"Why, hello my dear. Miss me?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom.

Kurama looked at his lover and could practically see the fear radiating off of her. She stared wide-eyed at the doorway as she clung to his arm like a lifeline. He wrapped his arms around her in hopes of comforting her some. She tore her eyes away from her torturer long enough to give him a grateful look but her trembling didn't stop; if anything it increased.

"Why the long face my dear? Aren't you happy to see me? After all the fun years we had together, you'd think you'd be happy to see me." His smirk widened as his eyes turned to Kurama.

"Well, well, so this is what the great Youko Kurama has been reduced to, taking up residence in a human body. I don't think you could get anymore pathetic."

A low growl resonated form the fox's throat but he didn't move, he refused to let his anger blind him. He would not foolishly attack Ryuji and leave Dru alone, to do so would be to commit her to death. That evil dragon could multiply himself into three different beings and if Kurama left her unprotected, one of Ryuji's other selves would surely go after her.

"So, you're the fucking bastard who hurt Dru and the kids, huh? Well, get ready 'cause I'm 'bout to kick your ass all the way to hell and back!" Yusuke said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Human, you couldn't harm me if you wanted to," the dragon said with an annoyed tone.

A smirk appeared on Yusuke's face. "Oh, really?" With that said, he rushed forward faster than any normal human could ever hope to move and struck out at his opponents face. Just before his fist connected with the smirking demon's face, it connected with a barrier whose force sent him flying backwards and into a wall. "Ow."

"Well, I'm surprised. Most humans couldn't hit with that much force. Maybe I should take you as well. You seem like you'd be a lot of fun to play with." The word 'fun' was said with a malicious undertone.

Yusuke stood up and walked to stand next to Kurama and Dru. He popped his neck and rolled his shoulders. "'Kay, looks like I'll actually have to try this time."

"Yusuke, be careful. Ryuji isn't just some ordinary demon you can beat up. He's a very powerful dragon," Kurama said in warning to his friend.

"Dragon, huh? Well this is a first. Hmm, sounds like fun."

"You should listen to Kurama, Yusuke. Ryuji can control lightning at will and can split into three different beings. He's very dangerous," Dru said in worried tone. She turned her frightened red eyes on the Spirit Detective in apprehension. She didn't want him to fight Ryuji on his own but knew that it was unlikely that Kurama would leave her side.

As if to answer her prayers, the evil dragon jumped back in surprise as a quick flash of black and silver shot out in front of him. An instant later, Hiei was standing next to Yusuke with an angry look on his face. The glare he threw at the demon opposite him sent shivers down Dru's spine and made her very glad that the little fire demon was on her side, at least, that's what she hoped.

"You bastard! What the hell are you doing here?" Hiei growled out through clenched teeth.

"Ah, Hiei, so nice to see you again."

"Shut up!" Hiei shouted as his grip on his katana tightened. "Leave!"

"Oh so sorry, but you see, I can't leave yet. I have to retrieve my playmates first." A thoughtful smile played on the violet-haired demon's face as the looked at the angry fire demon in front of him. "Would you like to come be my playmate again Hiei? I remember how you used to enjoy it oh so much.

Hiei's growl became feral at those words and he jumped into the air and made to strike the dragon with his sword. As the sword came down upon his head, Ryuji suddenly vanished. Hiei landed and quickly turned, searching for the elusive dragon. He couldn't see the evil bastard but he knew exactly where he was when Shinta's terrified scream pierced the air. He rushed to the children's room with the others close behind.

Somehow Dru had managed to make it there before him and she stood wide-eyed in the doorway. The room was completely trashed with furniture broken and strewn about. Niiro lay on the floor clutching his bleeding side while Ryuji was holding both his brothers. Taiki hung limply by his neck in Ryuji's hand in blissful unconsciousness while Shinta was struggling for all he was worth. His tiny fangs and claws were sunk deeply into the dragon's flesh but they did no good.

"No!" Dru screamed. "Let them go! Take me if you want but let them go!"

"I don't think so. You'll be so much more fun to play with if I keep them. If you want them you know where to find me," he said with a smile as suddenly a bolt of lightning stuck him. The flash of light that emanated from it was blinding and when the light faded, everyone realized that the violet-haired demon was gone.

"No…" Dru whispered as she fell to her knees, eyes unfocused and tears streaming down her face.

Kurama knelt down next to her and held her tightly as she cried, staring at the last spot her two children had been. Sobs wracked her body as she unleashed her sorrow and all the while, everyone else just stood there unmoving, unsure of what to do. They had never been in a situation like that before and had no words of comfort to give.

Niiro groaned softly in pain and Dru was suddenly by his side. He grimaced as she pulled away the shredded remains of his shirt to check his wounds. There were four deep gouges in his side, all bleeding profusely. A small puddle of black blood formed underneath him as the wound continued to bleed. Unable to think of any way to stop her son from bleeding to death, the raven-haired demon lowered her face to her son's side and began to lick the wounds clean, putting out as much saliva as possible in hopes that it's healing ability would help. It did and ten minutes later, she pulled away to see that the wounds were now half closed.

Niiro gave her a grateful smile as he attempted to stand. When he stumbled, both Dru and Yusuke were by his side to support him as they led him to another room. Though it had been stopped in time, the lack of blood was taking its toll on the young blood demon. In seeing this, Dru pulled back her sleeve and placed her wrist in front of his mouth. He bit the skin and drank hungrily from her. A slight euphoric feeling overcame her as the enzymes in his saliva worked their magic and relieved her of the slight pain she had been feeling.

The others stood silently as they watched the scene. They knew that blood demons fed on blood but they had never seen any of them feed before. It was slightly shocking to the humans, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai, and Shizuru who had never witnessed anything like it before. Both Hiei and Kurama were unfazed by the transaction though, having seen it many times before. An uneasy silence fell upon them and after several minutes, Kuwabara decided to break it.

"So… what do we do now?"

"We go get them back, stupid!" Yuske said as he hit his friend on the head.

"You mean we have to go back to that castle? I don't wanna go back there, that place was creepy!"

"Don't worry, we wont be going there again," Dru said quietly.

"What do ya mean? You tell'n me this guy's gut another hideout?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes, the Blood Kingdom, my home."

Alrighty, I know I said something earlier but I have a question or two. First, do you like Ryuji so far? I mean, I know he's the bad guy but bad guys can be cool to in their own sick and twisted little ways. FYI, I'm gonna kinda base his personality on Akabane from Get Backers. Yay, the voice in my head is in my story! Woo hoo! Second, I'm not to sure this story's gonna have a happy ending. I was thinking that someone(s) should die either soon or at the end. One of the kids is definitely dying and before you go and say that that's really mean and that they've been through enough suffering, I told ya'll before that this was gonna be kinda dark so deal. But seriously, review and let me know what you think. Kurama? Dru? One of the kids? Hell, even Hiei? Why, I don't know but tell me what you people want. Tankies!