A/N: Okay, I've gotten it done! However, I only wrote this chapter because I'm having trouble with ACE (there's a big surprise). However, after this, I don't know when my next update will be. I'm trying to finish ACE one of these days, and so I'm thinking that Truth and Recyclables will go on hold until then. Of course, this story is about half over anyway...

Okay, so enjoy the chapter everyone!

Youko was not in the mood to deal with anyone. Especially someone who worked for him. Especially with someone he respected somewhat. Especially with someone who he not only somewhat respected, but also listened to on occasion. Especially when said person also had a girlfriend that he not only somewhat respected and listened to, but also had one of the sharpest tongues known to man.

"What did you do that for? She's here for not even ten seconds and she can't leave! Then she's told she'll be forced to work, and thrown in with a group of demons! Then she's kidnapped and thrown into a room and put under room arrest, before being told she can't leave unless she falls in love with you! And then she's scared out of her wits by the same person who is desperate enough to go after and fall for the first goddamn foreign woman to cross the threshold for her first mistake!"

Youko rubbed his forehead and looked down at the desk he was sitting in. He was still in his dreary study, the rose was safe, and all should've been well. Except for the small fact that he was being torn apart by the woman that was Keiko with a headache horrible enough to put even the most sadistic, suicidal maniac out of action for some time.

Keiko, her brown hair ruffled and pushed back behind her ears, had her hands on her hips and was giving the young lord a look that would have better effect on a young child who had done wrong. Her white blouse and lavandar skirt were covered in dust and dirt, suggesting she had dropped whatever she had been doing and gone straight to Youko. "How do you think any woman ought to feel?"

Youko looked up wearily. He had been getting more and more tired of late. He had lost the will to live long ago, but had come to terms that he would be around for a long time. Then, just a short while ago, he had his life-will shove back into his system in one moment and ripped out again the next. It was taking a toll on the prince emotionally, which affected his physical condition. "Look, Keiko, I--"

Keiko glared at her, stopping whatever Youko was about to say. "You didn't think. You didn't look ahead, like you were supposed to. No, you acted on impulse and probably ruined the last chance we have of ever getting out of here!"

Youko's ears twitched at the high, loud noises that came out of the woman's mouth. He refused to lay them against his head, though, like he wanted to. No, a prince didn't show weakness to anyone. "I know that, you don't think I haven't beaten myself up over the fact that I can't control my bloody temper?"

Keiko didn't flinch, like most others would. No, instead she matched his voice level exactly as she replied him, leaning forward slightly. "You've never tried before, dammit! And when we've all been telling you you ought to work on control! No, you were too busy wallowing in self-pity."

Youko didn't deny it. He knew she was right, and he hated that. More importantly, he hated the fact that he really had blown it for the only people who had stuck with him for so long. Not that they had a choice, mind...

Keiko continued, gripping the end of the desk. "Didn't you stop to think that if you blew up at her, you'd ruin all of our chances? Nobody wants to leave here more than you do, and you still ruined it!"

Youko, getting tired of his mistake being shoved at him again and again, stood up suddenly. The chair he was sitting in toppled to the floor with a crash, and he slammed his hands on the desk The force added a few more dents and chips into the already abused piece of furniture. Keiko did nothing but look up to match his gaze as he bore down on her.

"Damn, Keiko, I know that already! Shit, I know I screwed up! I'm an ass, I have a temper that I can't control! What the hell do you expect me to do about it? Go after her?"

Keiko watched in silence as he began to flex his fingers, his nails digging into the shining mahogany. She knew she had pushed him farther than ever. She also knew that he was pressured by the curse more than anyone. If he were to kill her now, he would not only be ill for the next few weeks, but also carry the wieght of her death on his concioussness for the rest of time. And that would be a very long time to live with the fact that you had murdered one of your closest companions.

"Fine. You want me to go bring the gods-be-damned bitch back here? Fine!" Heat seemed to radiate off of him as he stormed out of the small enclosure. His headache a dull throb now, he thought of places to start looking. She couldn't have gone far, not really knowing the way around the forest.

He had a distinct advantage over her in that area. He could catch up to her before she got even halfway to her home, which was where she was most likely heading. He could also pick up her scent and follow it. It wouldn't be too cold yet. He would hurry. He would find the woman and bring her back, and show Keiko just who was the smarter of the two here.

Keiko opened the door to her domain of chaos also known as the kitchen. She didn't work here normally, but she had decided to visit again. Besides, Yuusuke was here. He, Shizuru and the other would want to know how it went. She heard her name called, which quickly began to echo as others noticed her arrival and made similar exclaimations. Everyone who needed to be here was here, waiting for her to deliver the news.

"How'd it go?" someone asked in the background. It was slightly muffled so that Keiko, who stood in front of the decently sized crowd, couldn't quite tell who it was.

She smiled and everyone sent up a cheer. Waving her hands and asking for silence, the cheering quickly died. Clearing her throat, she began. "Alright, I've gotten him to go after her. However, he thinks it's his idea. To anyone here, it is." She gave a stern look at Kuwabara. He was sweet, but tended to blurt out secrets at the most inconvinient times. "Now, what we need to do is get ready for Kagome's return." Another cheer went up at the sound of her name, and Keiko had a little more trouble calming them down.

"We need to prepare for anything. That means injuries, dehydration and hunger. We don't know when her last meal was besides the snack she recieved earlier, so it's up to the kitchen staff," she nodded to Jin and the others, "and the servers," she nodded to Botan, who stood with a small crowd off to one side, "to make sure everything in that area goes smoothly. The meals should be fairly plain, but plentiful."

"Next is for injuries. All healers and other personel should be ready for anything." Yukina nodded, as did a scattered bit of other demonic heads that had gotten the ability to heal with the curse. "As for the rest of us, we split off into groups. We need to work on making this place shine like it did in the beginning. Some of you go with Kuronue and Touya to work outside on the grounds. Some of you go with Shizuru and Kazuma and start going on a room to room cleaning." She heard a lot of groaning in the back before it was cut off with a muffled yelp.

People had already started to shuffle and move according to where their strengths would be of more use. There were still some people left when the shuffling subsided, and that worked for Keiko perfectly. "The rest of you split up into two groups. Half of you go with Yuusuke and Hiei to check the stores. The other half come with me to help get Kagome a proper wardrobe."

More organized chaos ensued as people rearranged themselves accordingly. When everyone had finally stopped moving, there were six clumps of people spilling into each other. Keiko smiled and placed her hands on her hips again. "What are you all just standing there for? We don't have all day. Move!"

Kagome stumbeled and fell yet again. She had left Buka at the castle, and couldn't go back for the beast. She missed the donkey's company, even if it was a silent comanionship. Aside from leaving Buka behind, she had no supplies, didn't know which way she was going, and had left her shoes behind. Somehow.

Her feet were now bloody and sore from unseen hazards on the forest floor. In addition, Kagome had acquired a collection of bruises from when she fell, and cuts from when she ran into the surrounding foliage. She was hungry and dying of thirst, not to mention she hadn't bathed for a long time. She felt absolutely disgusting.

She slowly picked herself up. She had to keep going, she just knew it. There were still those ex-demons turned beasts out there, and something told her she wouldn't survive an encounter with them.

Kagome tripped on a root, and fell. This time, however, she was thrown down a hill. Rocks imbedded themselves into her side while leaves and twig sanded her skin. The world was spinning and spinning, unmerciful to the young woman whose stomach was about to reacquaint Kagome with every meal she had ever had.

She came to a crashing halt against a tree, effectively knocking the wind out of her. Her stomach couldn't handle the extra push. Kagome rolled over and proceeded to purge her stomach of everything that dwelled inside it, and then some.

A twig snapped behind her. She flipped around, wiping her mouth with a dirty sleeve. There was nothing in her line of sight, so she kept looking around her. Something was wrong. Another twig snapped, and Kagome turned her head to where the noise had come from.

Still nothing. Dread filling her body, Kagome put her back to the tree. She slowly stood up, wincing as her legs throbbed from all the abuse she had gone through. More twigs snapped in succession, the sounds coming from all directions.

Then she remembered Yukina telling her about the demon-guardians.

"Something changed them, then. They weren't just demons, now. They were Hell's messengers, there to prey on any who would try and near the castle. The demon that attacked you was called Bui-san. There are three others out there besides him, none of which can die. Karasu-san scours the skies of the forest as a demon crow, Ani-Toguro-san was turned into some sort of water dweller to patrol the rivers and streams." Kagome blessed her mind for thinking to bring her own water when she heard that. "Ototo-Toguro-san became a tree-dweller, spying on the borders to make sure nobody enters the forest without their knowledge."

Was this one of them come to attack her? Wipe her off the face of the earth, like some small, insignificant insect that wasn't meant to be here?

She didn't want to die like this. She didn't want to die at all! She wanted to live a long, fullfilling life. She wanted to marry her one true love, have children and raise them on her family farm, watch her grandchildren frolic through the meadows outside the village. She wanted to be able to say she had accomplished something worth doing, not die to disappear without making an impression!

She was on the edge of hysterics, and she knew it. She could feel those eyes on her again, just like when Bui had attacked her and Buka.

A shadow flew over her and landed with a thud. It took Kagome a second to realize that one, it wasn't a shadow, and two, it looked hungry.

The thing, which vaguely resembeled a bird, was dark enough to blend in with the shadows when it didn't move. Half of it was covered in a feather-like substance, and the other half seemed to resemble scales. It's beak gaped open in a high-pitched, ear-rending screech. Deadly fangs gleamed in the moonlight a little too brightly for normal teeth. There had to have been some sort of poison or acid dripping from them. It hissed and unfurled its great wings, crouching down in the process. With another cry, its insane eyes buldging with fury, it hurled itself at Kagome.

She couldn't move. She knew she was going to die. People said that your life flashed before your eyes just before you died. Nothing of the sort happened to Kagome. Her mind couldn't function, couldn't move past one thought.

I'm going to die today.

Youko heard a screech. His ears immediately plastered themselves to his skull, and he clamped his hands ontop of them to try and get rid of the awful, gods-cursed noise. It was unnatural and made his skin crawl. He wanted to find the creature and tear it to pieces. It sounded like something from the hells themselves!

The screeching stopped. Youko slowly lowered his hands from his head and perked his ears forward. The sound had come from the direction he had been heading, following the woman's trail. That didn't bode well for someone whose entire life and that of his underlings depended on getting the woman back safely.

A scream rang out in the air. It was that of a terrified mortal, about to meet their doom.

It took him only a moment to put two and two together to get four. A woman's scream right after hearing that hell-spawn. Solution: The woman he was looking for was about to be attacked by a hells-pawn. Alright, on to the next problem.

Youko sprinted forward, his eyes flashing past the trail the woman had left behind. Consequently, as he sped up, he began to smell blood. Not a lot, but it was enough to have Youko start to react. Being cursed didn't mean it supressed his natural instincts.

He broke into a scene from a bad horror movie. As he watched, a black creature that smelled of blood and unrelenting fury descended upon the young woman Youko had been looking for. It cried its awful cry, raking its claws against the girl's unprotected back. The force was so strong that it threw her against the tree she had been crawling away from. She screamed and collapsed, unmoving.

Something inside Youko woke up then. He didn't know what it was and, to be completely honest, didn't care. As the creature reared up for another attack, Youko sprung into action.

Some time after he had been cursed, he had discovered he had the ability to manipulate plants. He made good use of that talent now, compelling the vines to wrap around the creature and bring it back to the ground. The ivy complied, twining themselves around the beasts legs and shrinking back into the ground, pulling the squalling thing to the ground with a crash.

It was a short-lived respite. A large explosion called the dust up from the ground, whirling around everything and blocking the kitsune's vision. A cracking noise had Youko whipping around to face the opponent, only to be attacked from the back.

He collapsed forward, the creature continuing onward and dragging its talons painfully through his flesh. He bit back a scream as blood flowed freely from his wounds, and as the creature disappeared into the dust.

More explosions went off nearby, and Youko rolled just in time to avoid being hit by bits of rock and other natural debris. His mind whirred as his body dodged the attacks around him.

What was this thing? He would've remembered seeing a creature like that wandering about the forest on his own explorations. And wasn't it only demons that could use bombs without actually having any on hand? The only person he knew who had had an ability like that hadn't been around for a long time.

Then, just as he was thrown back against a tree from a mine placed under his feet, it clicked.

A small grunt came out of Youko as he commanded the tree to bend slightly during impact. He bouned off slightly, and landed crouching. "So, Karasu," he said coldly, "long time, no see."

A hiss came through the dirt, which was being kept in the air by Karasu's bombs constantly going off. It was starting to hurt Youko's ears, which moved to pinpoint every noise. They were seizing up on him from the constant movement. He tentatively reached a hand up to rub the base of his left ear, sharpening his senses and using the plants to keep track of where his old friend was.

"What I want to know, is what kind of greeting is this for an old friend? Not to mention your overlord." Youko dodged as a black mass was hurled towards him after he finished his sentence.

Air whistled past Youko's ear as Karasu sped past him. It was a close call, considering. Youko spun on his heel, keeping Karasu's shadow in sight as he turned sharply and began to climb.

End Chapter
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