Yes, I've finally updated. For some reason I sat down and started writing this one and it sort of just came to me. I only had the first part written before today and it wasn't even complete, but my muses were happy and I just continued to write. True, it isn't as long as the last chapter, but at least I updated. Kage will be happy now. I think she's been waiting forever. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, though not much really happens execpt you learn a little bit about Kuronue and his life before Yoko. As you'll come to find, Kuronue is not the happy little demon everyone makes him out to be. Hope you all enjoy he chapter as I put in a few sweet moments and others that will make you think.

Disclaimer: Yes, you know the drill. I know own, you no sue!

Life Untold

Chapter 2

"Kuronite, Kuronite, where are you?" A little boy hissed wildly, small, spindly legs moving hurriedly across the forest floor, arms swinging sluggishly at his sides, blood dripping freely from a small wound across his right eyebrow and left shoulder. The little boy heard the cries of the far off wolves, knowing that even with such a large distance between them, those in pursuit were attracted by the scent of his blood. His legs moved effortlessly faster, spurred on by the anxious calling in his blood and the howls of the wolves already on his tail. His slightly bent wings carried him onward, though he was slowed a bit by the slight bend on his right wing, a mark at birth that had set him apart from others of his kind. His pure black wings seemed to glow with an urethral darkness, off-set by the deep scarring and lines crisscrossing every which way and that, all testament to his father's cruel nature.

Fear ran rampant through the boy's veins, blood pumping and twisting throughout his body, assuring him that even though he was in severe pain, he lived still. But if he couldn't find his brother, he would not. Already he was slowing in his search, his young mind sure that he'd been abandoned to his fate by those of his father's kind, and like wise his brother. The boy's hooded, glowing eyes dimmed depressingly as he thought about his mother, long past deceased. She should have been there with him. Even now he could hear her sweet voice, feel her softened body as she held him tight and kept him away from his father's cursed advances time and time again until she was no longer there to protect him. But alas, his beloved mother had only been a tool in his father's lust for power, and had died shortly after the birth of his youngest brother. He was only glad he got to speak with her before her body was found a week later in her bedroom, wrists slit and blood dripping from other discreet wounds. Her people were devastated when they were informed she had taken her own life in order to escape from her loathsome husband and homely duties. But the boy knew better, knew that even though she lived a harsh reality she would not have abandoned her children for anything. He was perhaps the only one that knew the truth, that his own father had, had his assassins rape and kill her, leaving her body alone and cold to be 'discovered' by her 'grief-stricken' husband. Had her death been proclaimed a murder, his father would have had no ties to her throne. As it was too many were afraid to face his father and so they ruled her death a suicide leaving his father alone in his quest for more power as he sat upon 'her' throne. Truthfully, Kuronue remembered very little about her, the only reminder of her love, the blood pendant she had bestowed upon him, a remnant of her own dynasty, the mark of her family. It was Kuronue's legacy, marking him as the sole ruler of the throne. His older brother was already betrothed to another girl, pre-ordained from birth, and stood to inherit her thrones once they both came of age.

His mother, Shiori (of whom his niece must have been named after), had been a Kumouri as well and heir to the Southern throne. She'd been quite young when she had been wooed and wed by his father and by then it was already too late. He had her so completely under his spell that it only took her three months to become pregnant with her first child, his older and much loved brother, Kuronosuke. Shiori had to struggle through many miscarriages before he, himself was born, though because he was born prematurely he'd been born with a severe wing defect, something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. His father, a cruel and vicious man by nature, despised his inferiority and refused to teach his son how to fly, a most dangerous thing for one of his kind. For they may be fast on their feet, but with the wind under their wings they were certainly a force to be reckoned with. His father's rage over his inferior wing left him a most bitter man, putting his mother through countless pregnancies before his youngest brother was born, a boy that was doted on for his perfect abilities. Kuronue had many brothers and sisters, though he was by far closest to his oldest and youngest brothers. The others had all been abandoned to their fate when his father found something 'wrong' with them.

A howl sounding too close for comfort caused the young lad to spook and shy off his path, getting severely lost in the foliage around him.

He could practically feel their jaws snapping at his heels and one even dared to bite at his wings. The young boy tried to run faster, spurred on by the cries from his hungry stalkers. At one point he lost his footing and stumbled, his badly damaged wings making him topple head over heels until he landed upside down against a tree trunk. The boy growled at his mistake and swung heavily to his feet, bringing out his beloved weapon and slinging it in the direction of approaching teeth and muzzles. The soft shink of his weapon tearing through their bodies had the boy relaxing slightly, knowing that his weapons were one of the best, stolen especially by him and made from one of the strongest and purest metals around. He had researched them carefully before his heist, making sure he had every detail mesmerized. It was said that the weapons chose their master and he was determined to fit that role. Much to his surprise the heist had gone almost as flawlessly as the weapons fit into his hands. They had molded to his skin at first touch, allowing him to pick them up and hold them at ease. He had mastered the weapons, choosing to think of his skill as an art form.

All at once the sound of shrieking and whining disappeared and the boy opened his eyes, only to spot a flash of silver within sight, approaching fast and veering towards him. His eyes flashed and his hearing picked up the soft footfalls of an approaching enemy foe. What he saw astonished him and would change his life forever. He never knew silver could be so beautiful.

"Are you really my uncle?"

Violet eyes blinked awake to find a little girl standing curiously over him, innocence reflected in her shining lilac depths. For a moment Kuronue was trapped in his past, awakening to the shouts of his younger brother, arousing him enough to make him flee his home and escape his tyrant of a father. His younger brother had tears in his eyes as he'd watched the last of his older brothers disappear into the night, his father closing in fast and ready to bring on the pain. Kuronue gave a startled yelp when he realized the little hanyou was kneeling far over his body, little face peering delicately into his own. He blinked, taking the time to study his niece, recognizing the pure essence of her eyes, so like his mother and brothers. Her eyes, they looked so much like hers. "Mother," he whispered, inwardly gasping when he realized he'd spoken out loud when he caught the tilt of his niece's head as she gazed at him curiously.

"Are you lost?" the girl asked innocently and Kuronue shifted to sit up, watching as Shiori moved to sit at his side. The little girl had a pout on her lips and wonder in her eyes as her eyes traveled over him, pure innocence shining from her heavenly depths. And yet there was a sadness echoed deep within those vibrant orbs, a sadness Kuronue recognized only from his own losses and inner anguish.

"Lost?" Kuronue asked her. "Why would you think I was lost?"

The girl tilted her head even more and pursed her lips, one of her fingers flicking lightly over her lips as if nervousness had rushed in. It was a move so like the one his mother used to make that Kuronue allowed a soft smile to wash across his face.

"You called out for you mommy," the girl answered as bluntly as a child could. "You said you couldn't find her...and someone named Kuronite."

"Did I?" Kuronue murmured to himself, one hand coming up to rub tiredly within his ragged, raven locks. Inwardly, Kuronue speculated he needed to take a bath. His nightmares were starting again, dreams of which had ended the night he'd met Yoko those many, many eons ago. And his nightmares caused him to sweat like the dickens. Goodness, his hair felt as if it weighed a ton. He gave a grimace when he realized he was thinking like Yoko.

Noticing Shiori was still staring at him, he quirked an eye at her, amused when she let out a girlish giggle. She moved closer, putting her hands on the side of his face and tilting it to the side. Kuronue wondered what she was doing until she leaned closer and whispered in his ear, almost as if she were telling him some secret. Little did he know...

"I was lost too," she confided to him. Kuronue stared back, eyes wide and slightly shocked at what she'd relayed. She spoke again before he could move to comfort her. "But I'm not anymore." With that, Shiori moved away from him and crawled delicately over to her brothers, who lay several yards away, wrapped up tightly in each other's arms. He continued to watch as both brothers pulled her closer in their sleep, wrapping their little limbs within their sister's and soon enough Shiori was fast asleep in their protective embrace.

Confused about how to take that conversation, Kuronue didn't realize he was being watched until he registered the stony gaze of his silent partner. He craned his neck backwards and noticed the silver kitsune sitting in the tree he had recently been sleeping against. The kitsune was gazing back at him, a thoughtful/confused look in his intense golden eyes. Kuronue glanced around curiously for the miko they'd met the night before and was surprised to find her gone. His inner alarms blared instantly wondering if she had wandered off by herself somewhere, though calmed when he reassured himself that she would never abandon her children.

"Why did you never tell me?" Yoko's voice broke through the kumouri's silent reverie and Kuronue's orbs flashed up to meet the emotionless gaze of the kitsune's.

"The same reason you never tell me about your life before we met." Its true that Yoko was about the only demon Kuronue had even been able to trust, but there were still some barriers that had yet to be breached. Kuronue knew there were things the yoko had never told him, dark secrets Kuronue had barely tread upon. The only things he really knew were common knowledge, that Yoko had led several bands of thieves before eventually quitting and walking the solitary road. Of course he'd heard about the scandal with Yomi, everyone knew about it, however being Yoko's closest friend and ally, there were several more facts he was privy enough to know, like the fact that Yomi was already planning to betray Yoko before that fateful heist and that he wanted to take over the clans for himself.

Yoko nodded, choosing not to press his partner. He had awakened earlier to Kagome's soft presence leaving him. He had drifted awake to watch her disappear into the forest, soft colors of morning just beginning to spill wash away the night. He had at first sought to follow her until he heard the soft cries from his normally silent partner. Friendship won out and Yoko had stayed, acting as a silent buffer to Kuronue's inner turmoil. He had hoped that his partner would calm with his awakened presence and more to his relief, the kumouri had sighed and continued sleeping, though still uttering the occasional whisper, until he had awakened moments earlier when Shiori had spoken.

"Where is she?"

Yoko's eyes moved over Kuronue, knowing exactly who he was looking for, then allowed his eyes to flash over to the embracing trio of siblings. "I don't know," Yoko admitted.

One of Kuronue's eyebrows rose and Yoko recognized amusement and curiosity on the wind. "You don't know. You mean you didn't follow her?"

Yoko sighed and shook his head, admittedly. "No, however much I was tempted to, I stayed to watch over your ass. You were so heavy in sleep I thought you would be too distracted to notice a threat upon your person."

Kuronue acknowledged the inner truth to Yoko's statement, a bit embarrassed and a little touched that Yoko had stayed awake to watch over him during his nightmares. "In any case," Yoko continued, "she'll be back soon. I can already smell her coming closer, and smelling as fresh as a rose might I add (Kuronue couldn't help but roll his eyes). And if I've learned one thing about her, she would never abandon her children."

"That's correct," Kagome answered as she stepped daintily into the cleaning, looking nothing like the woman they had met the night before. Oh sure she looked the same, both in body and in clothes, and yet there was a softness in her eyes, whereas before there appeared to be both anger and sadness, softness and power. Her blue eyes were lightened a bit as she smiled pleasantly before stepping into the clearing, the sun on her back and clouds beginning to drift across the sky. "Good morning, you two, I trust you slept well."

"Of course," Yoko answered, slipping from the tree and landing gracefully on his feet. He slid silkily over to Kagome's side and kissed her hand elegantly. Kuronue stood as well and bowed slightly in greeting. "Good morning, as well, my lady, shall we be off?"

"Eventually," Kagome answered evasively. "But first." Kagome grinned as she held up a few rabbits, bow hanging over one shoudler and a quiver of arrows. "I think we should feed the kids."

"Feed the kids?" Kuronue asked.

Kagome giggled and gestured behind the two thieves to where Shippo and Kyoshi were staring at the two rabbits, eyes glazed over in hunger as they stared at the delicious treat. Yoko and Kuronue chuckled as Kagome laughed harder and went over to pick up Shiori who was smiling at her brothers' foolishness. She stepped gracefully up into her mother's arms, laying her head tiredly against her mother's neck, little wings lying delicately against her back. She was laughing gaily with Kagome as both girls set about making a small fire and cooking the delicious meat.

Breakfast was certainly a new experience to the new thieves. Usually they ate when they needed to and it certainly wasn't as entertaining as a miko starting a new food fight with her children. Kuronue had to laugh when someone accidentally threw a bit of meat in Yoko's hair, the kitsune had immediately growled and tossed the offending piece of meat away...which just happened to land on Kuronue's leather vest. Along with the insanity of it all, the loudness was another factor, along with laughter, soft tinkling bells from Kagome and Shiori and loud guffawing from Kiyoshi and Shippo, who rolled around on the ground like the children they were. And so after quite the learning experience and after Kagome had bathed the children and allowed Yoko and Kuronue to cleanse themselves as well, the expanding group started off.

"So, lady Kagome, where are we traveling to on such a fine day?" Yoko asked, walking beside the miko, Shippo and Kiyoshi running ahead and playing while Shiori followed in their trail, every once in awhile stopping to pick a flower or play with the butterflies. Kuronue ambled slightly ahead of his partner, keeping a close watch on his niece. Now that he found her his senses hadn't allowed him to let her out of his sight. He was determined to protect her, come hell or high water. He would not let the last of his family die out like the rest of them.

"We must go to the west. The lord will be most displeased that I have filled his jail with what he calls 'disgusting, wastes of flesh'. He has a certain prejudice against them, not that I blame him with his new prisoners, and will not keep them alive for long...not that I will either," Kagome added the last part to herself, though both thieves heard and couldn't agree more.

"You are talking about Lord Sesshomaru, the great dog demon's son?" Kuronue asked suspiciously, wondering what kind of miko would have ties of his kind.

"Heard of him?" Kagome asked, though there was little doubt either bandit had not. Sesshomaru was quite well known for his power, wealth, and lands. Though not many had ever seen him in all his glory, Kagome most surely had...it was definitely an experience she had trouble defining. Sesshomaru was very powerful, both in human form and in his true form and he was certainly a site to see. She was just glad he had chosen to view her as an ally, instead of as an enemy.

"By reputation only," Yoko answered. "It would never do to not take careful consideration to other powerful foes. We could never have gotten so far if we hadn't studied our targets."

"Targets? Like the ones you steal from?" Kagome taunted teasingly.

"The same," Kuronue grinned.

Kagome simply shook her head, unperturbed by her newest acquaintances line of 'work'. She made the craziest friends. A hanyou, a monk, a slayer, two orphan kitsune kits, an orphan kumouri hanyou, numerous demon allies, and now bandits, famous for being the best. She mentally wondered what her next friend would be perhaps a few more kitsunes. She seemed to be collecting quite a few of those these days.

"And how does one go about befriending the Lord of the West, last I heard Lord Sesshomaru was above making friends with mikos, let alone having any friends to begin with," Yoko's eyes wiggled impishly and Kagome ignored the insinuation with some amusement. Yoko reminded her quite a bit of a certain houshi.

"We are not friends, per say," Kagome mused. "You could say we are more allies than anything."

"Interesting," Yoko responded, marveling at how easily Kagome answered his questions. Most mikos were quite guarded and certainly stayed away from any and all demons unless they were hunting them. But this miko seemed almost comfortable in his presence. In fact he hadn't even felt so much as a zap of her power since being in her presence the night before. Being a kitsune and in tune with all types of energy, he could certainly feel how much power she could pack, but instinctively knew she would never attack anyone unless they attacked first...or do something incredibly stupid like attack her family.

Up ahead, Kuronue was paying little attention to the conversation between the miko and his friend, while walking beside Shiori who had surprised him by taking his hand. Before long he noticed Shiori studying him discreetly under her lashes.

"You don't have to be afraid to talk to me," he told her quietly.

"I'm not," she protested, though she still looked a bit shy. She bit her lip as nervousness set in. Kuronue wondered why she kept looking at his wings and had his answer by way of Kyoshi. The boys had stopped frolicking and were both walking quietly in front of Kuronue and Shiori so the kumouri was surprised when the silver kit lessened his childish gait and maneuvered beside his sister.

"Shiori likes your wings," Kyoshi stated. "She's never been around anyone of her kind and she finds you fascinating because you have wings just like she does. She loved her father too, though she doesn't remember him, except for what he looks like. Our mom told us you were his brother and Shiori wants to know what you know about him."

Kuronue wondered how Kyoshi figured all this out simply by observing, but didn't give it much thought. He obviously loved the little girl very much and likewise, his whole family. It was only natural that Kyoshi would know what his sister was thinking.

"Is that true? Do you like my wings?" Kuronue asked her, chuckling when Shiori blushed and nodded shyly. "Would you like to ride on my back then?"

Shiori looked awed when Kuronue stopped walking long enough to pick her up and toss her over his shoulder, tickling her rips and depositing her on his back in one fell swoop. She giggled helplessly and held on tight as he sped up and began running, causing the girl to clutch at his neck and scream in excitement. She screamed, "yay" as Kuronue laughed and sped up.

Yoko was more than a bit surprised by his partner's playfulness with the child, admiring the gentle ability to temper his strength so as not to hurt the hanyou. He had never seen Kuronue act so happy, at least not in a very long time. Instead Kuronue had always been a bit gloomy, several shadows seeming to hang over his head, most of which he never shared with his partner.

"He's very good with her," Kagome commented, eyes warm as she watched the thief play with her adopted daughter. Her heart felt light as she watched the endearing scene as Shippo and Kyoshi began playing a game of tag with the duo, Kuronue and Shiori acting as one as they raced after the boys, zipping by them and claiming them 'it'.

"Yes, he is," Yoko agreed.

"He makes her happy. I'm glad," Kagome continued. "Shiori hasn't exactly had a happy life. I've tried making it better, but I've never seen her smile like she is right now."

If Yoko were being truthful, he was feeling just a tad jealous, though he didn't warrant any harsh feelings towards his best friend. "I wonder why," he found himself stating.

Kagome was silent for a few minutes, turning to Yoko when she heard his melancholy tone of voice. She turned back to the scene. "Maybe he feels a connection to her, something that goes beyond that of family."

Kagome continued on while Yoko stayed still in his spot, speculating over the miko's soft words. Yes, it was more than obvious that there was more than a family connection between the two. He knew some of Shiori's story and yet, despite Kuronue being his best and only friend, he really had no idea about Kuronue's back story. It was just kind of one of those things you didn't talk about. After all, he himself had never told Yoko his whole story, though something told him Kuronue's story was a bit rougher than a rebellious child wanting to make a name for himself.

Yoko mentally told himself to have a long talk with Kuronue when he had the chance. It was time the two had a little talk, whether it was going to be pretty or not.

Now that wasn't so aweful was it? It was surprisingly easy to wirte and thank god I've had time to sit down and actually write. I've been so busy lately with work because I work all the time and I'm the one that comes in when people call off. I'm such a good worker, plus I need all the tips I can get. For more information on he life of my job, go to my livejournal. For those of you who have never been there, I post all my updated there so you'll know when things get posted or when I'm just too busy to write. Hopefully I'll have more time to write tonight and my brain won't go fuzzy. Wish me luck. This is dedicated to all those of you who waited patiently for me to update. And as always, I'd like to thank my inner muse KageXotome who allows me to bounce ideas off her and rant my lungs off about my crummy life. Kudos, woman, talk to you later.

Ja ne.

Kurakitsune