Katrina wrote...

"Kuronue! Come on!"

Kuronue flopped off of his hammock. "Geez Kurama…"

"Sorry but I'm leaving in a couple of hours, I-"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, you mean yes?"

"Uh-Huh…"

"Great!"

Kurama's soft usual smile went to a wide toothy grin. "Lets get you packed!"

Kurama dragged Kuronue outside to about 67 things of trunks.

"Uh…" Kurama looked up at the packaging amazed.

"I'm way ahead of ya'." Kuronue yawned and went back inside and came out with his usual pendent.

"You still have that? After all the trouble it caused you?" Kurama asked looking dreadfully at the evil little pendent.

"Yes…" Kuronue looked down at the pendent softly and thousands of memories came back from the castle and the hell he went through. The hell he went through till the sprit detectives saved him after 20 years.

"Uh…yes, lets get the wagon here!" Kurama ran to the road to call for a wagon.

'Why did he come back…? I should be hanged or killed for stealing…why am I still here?'

Kuronue went back in the house, the screen door slamming as he closed it.

'I'm gonna' miss this old piece of shit…' He took a hand over his towel. 'Bet I smell…' Kuronue ran off to the lake.

"No, no, no! I wanted two wagons! Not a bloody pack mule from human world!" Kurama was arguing with a storekeeper.

"Well that's what we have available at the time-come back in the next year and get your damn wagons!"

Kurama sighed angrily and slammed his fist into the wall. Then walked off in a fume.

'Guess I'll have to do it the old fashion way!' Kurama smirked and ran up the road a little farther to a town.

It was a quiet farming town-with plentiful wagons. A town of cat demons.

"Helllloooo?" Kurama yelled into a shopkeeper's window.

"Ah! One minute!" The old shopkeeper came out. "What can I-do for…. YOKO KURAMA?" The shopkeeper was about to call for help but Kurama held fast to cover up the cat demon's mouth.

"Sh…now…I'm going to take two of your wagons…you better not call for help or I'll-" Kurama brought his long sharp claws across the shopkeeper's neck. "Got me?"

The shopkeeper violently nodded.

"Good Kitty."

Kurama ran out to big shed where luxurious wagons were stowed. "Slightly pricey..." Kurama took out two wagons out of the town, and headed back to Kuronue.

Kuronue ducked his head under the water.

'Damn hair…' He thought. 'He would have…if I hadn't of told him too…' Kuronue ran his hands over his tattered wings. 'I'll never forget…' the wounds inflicted on him in the castle and when he was caught would never fad. He looked like a tattered quilt. 'Why so long though…? No, I can't hold him responsible…' "Well…" Kuronue got out of the water and grabbed his towel.

Kurama came down the road fast and almost ran into Kuronue when he finally did stop.

"Hey! I got the wagons!" Kurama yelled happily. "Had to uh…well bargain a bit for it but-yeah! I got it!"

Kuronue ignored his friend as he walked back into the little cabin.

"Uh…OK…" Kurama began to pack the trunks in the wagons. 'Kuronue…If I had known you were still alive…I would have gone back…I would have.' Kurama sighed and walked into the house.

"Well…everything's in the wagons…we can set off now for the portal." Kurama said cheerfully. Kuronue sat in a wooden chair, fully dressed in his usual attire.

"Great…"

"We'll be in Tokyo tomorrow!" Kurama sat down next to him.

"We have to pass through that castle" Kuronue looked at Kurama, "Don't we?"

Kurama stared at Kuronue then looked down. "Yes…"

"Fine…" Kuronue sat up, which surprised Kurama then he gave him a sore smile.

"Come on, before it gets dark." Kurama followed Kuronue out.

The rain began just an hour after the two friends and two wagons left.

"Hn…figures…" Kuronue grunted and sat back into the wagon with Kurama. The wagons had been connected so they would'ent lose each other in the rain.

"Heh…It's summer in Japan, you'll like the weather there." Kurama added laying back in a pile of blankets.

"Kurama…?"

"Yeah?"

"Why…why did you come back? I mean, to that castle, looking for me? You said you thought I was dead."

Kurama's eyes flew open.

"…I…heard from Koenma that there was a captive in the castle…we were suppose to save you, why they didn't tell me sooner that you were there is beyond me."

Kuronue looked up from his hat.

Silence echoed through the wagons, only the hoofs of the horses and the rain were heard.

"Why wasn't I charged like you?"

"I guess sprit world thought you've been through enough there…"

"You set this up didn't you?"

Kurama sat silently.

"I got you out of getting killed yes."

"That's not what I meant."

"Well what the hell do you mean?"

Kuronue was silent but calm.

"Kurama, do you know what they told me in the castle?"

"No."

"They said that King Yama had paid them. I saw him in the castle."

Kurama sat up and stared at Kuronue.

"King Yama's Son has been in charge of Demon and Sprit world for the past 3 years, you have nothing to worry about. You'll be under the redirection of the sprit detectives-"

"So that's the catch!" Kuronue grunted and rolled over on the blankets.

"Don't be stubborn Kuro, it's better then being hunted down here!"

No answer.

Kurama sighed. Suddenly a ring came from his pocket. Kuronue sat up frightened.

"What the hell?" Kuronue looked around savagely.

"Calm down…" Kurama took out his cell phone. "It's only Yuskue." Kuronue squinted at the phone.

Kurama answered the phone.

"Hey, Yuskue." Muffled sounds coming from the phone.

"Yeah, we'll be there tomorrow.

" No…me and Kuronue.

"Yeah…is Shuchi's mother home?

"Great.

"Kay, later."

Kurama flipped the phone. Kuronue looked amazed at the phone.

"What is that?" He asked crawling over to Kurama.

"It's a communication device for humans, they don't all have super hearing." Kurama laughed as Kuronue rubbed his ears.

"They don't?

Kurama laughed softly.

"What else do they have?" Kuronue asked

"Well…. they have things called Wall-Marts…where you get clothes and crap for low prices…Ruby Tuesdays…where you eat at…Malls, where you shop for things. And by the way…you're not going to get away wearing what you're wearing." Kurama laughed softly.

"Yeah? What's wrong with my clothes?"

"They well…. aren't what normal humans' wear."

"Okay…. I won't have to wear what Shuchi wear's will I?" Kurama sighed and laughed.

"No…"

Kuronue looked baffled at his friend.

The castle stood tall, yet abandoned. The wagon came to a stop, surprising Kurama and Kuronue.

"What the…" Kurama got out and looked up at the tall castle. "Come on you stupid horses!" Kurama yelled at the horses, but they refused to move.

"Everything okay out there?" Kuronue peaked out the wagon door.

"Uh…shit." Kurama cursed and went back in the wagon.

"What is it?" Kuronue asked.

"The horses are too tired. It's getting to dark to travel and the only place to stay in is-" Kuronue looked out the window and sank to the ground.

"It's deserted…let's go in." Kuronue sighed and stood up.

"Kuronue, we don't have too, we can-"

"No, if we leave the wagons out here they'll get robbed, I know of a place where we can keep them for the night."

Kurama nodded and walked out to the rain.

Kuronue brought the horses and wagons to a holding place outside the castle and ran back to Kurama. 'No problem…nothing bad is going to happen…it's just a castle.'

Kuronue thought over and over. To Kurama Kuronue was as calm as ever, inside he was screaming agony over and over.

Kurama was waiting by the doors.

"Okay…I don't feel anything in there so we'll be okay." Kurama looked over to Kuronue then back at the doors. "Okay…" Kurama pushed open the doors.

A long hallway was showed. Dusty and thrashed as it was.

Kuronue walked in with Kurama by his side.

"Get him inside!"

Screams coming from Kuronue ran through the hallways. Blood poured out of him, and in yet he remembered it all so fondly. 'Kurama Run!"

The cold forest, the pain.

"NO! LET ME GO!" Pleas and screams going unnoticed.

The dungeon cold and wet, the chains that would bind him forever. The long knifes, the whips, the fuckings by the disgusting woman. Then the hard claws attacking his wings.

'Death'

'Agony'

"Hey…Kuronue?" Kurama waved a hand in front of his friend's stiff face.

"Yeah?" Kuronue snapped back.

"You left me for a minute. It's not to late to go back." Kurama said softly.

"No…I'm fine…this way, there's a place where we can rest."

Kuronue took the lead past the great hall to a short stone passageway.

Kurama stood still for a moment before Kuronue walked through the passageway.

To the left was a bared room, where Kuronue stopped and looked wide eyed at the knifes.

"Get his ears!"

"AHHHHHHH! NO! AHHHHH!"

Kuronue felt a soft hands clutch his shoulder. He snapped back to Kurama holding him up right.

"Come on…" Kurama gently pushed Kuronue along.

They came to a wide room with things of hay.

"Here?" Kurama asked.

Kuronue nodded his head and sat down in the hay. His arms wrapped around him.

Kurama looked out the window for a moment then sat down next to his friend. Kuronue's eyes were glassy and set on the stone floor.

"It's hard to believe that I'm still alive…" Kuronue kept his gaze down at the floor.

Kurama sighed and looked again at Kuronue.

"Your stronger then you think…everyone is. You survived because your stubborn…you're strong and deep down…so deep that you need a candle, there's a little kid, who hasn't grown up yet." Kurama looked hopefully at his friend.

Without thinking Kurama moved closer to Kuronue and hugged him tightly. Kurama had knows Kuronue for 300 years, but never had Kurama ever hugged him. Kuronue placed a cold hand on Kurama's arm and tucked in closer to him. 'I won't…I won't cry.' Kuronue thought over and over, but his emotions finally got the better of him.

Kurama then felt little droplets of tears run down his arm. Kuronue softly wept hiding his face in Kurama's arms.

Kurama laid Kuronue down on the sack of hay. 'We're still kids…' Kurama sighed and watched Kuronue's chest gracefully move up and down. Tears stained his shirt like wine. 'Don't worry Kuronue, we'll take care of you…'