Chapter 4: Amber meets amethyst

"You my friend have definitely lost it."

Kurama glared at his so-called friend as he gently laid down his current prize on to the soft bedding. Stroking the silky blue strands, he silently grinded his teeth together, fighting the need that coursed through his blood. After she had fallen unconscious, he had taken her back to his lair, much to the surprise of Kuronue.

"So, what happens now… her people are definitely going to look for her."

The kitsune looked at his friend and down to the lady on his bed. He smirked. "They are going to look for her, but they'll never find her." The other youkai merely snorted, "Don't underestimate the youkairenji my friend. They may have led a quiet existence but when cornered or threatened, those creatures can show their real strength."

The silver haired kitsune chuckled. "Don't tell me you're actually afraid of them."

A raised brow was only his answer. "So, again, back to my question. What happens now? Why did you bring her back to our lair?"

Kurama looked down at the still sleeping maiden and shrugged. "I told you. I'll make her mine."

"And then what? You know better than I do that you'll eventually loose interest in her…"

The kitsune's brows furrowed. He knew Kuronue was right… his little obsession with the female youkairenji was probably temporary… but why is it when every time he came within hands reach of this woman, his world seems to shift. He continued to look down at the woman, she was beautiful, he had to give her that… demo, he had been with countless women, both youkai and ningen, much more beautiful than her, but there was something in her that drew him to her like a moth to flame. He had to know the answer, he wanted to know.

"We'll see by then…" he whispered before turning to leave the room.

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Amethyst eyes blinked and slowly took in her surroundings, slowly sitting up, she looked around her. Blinking owlishly at her surroundings, she was in a dimly lit cavern and the only source of light was from the upper portion of the ceiling which revealed the clear morning sky. Looking around, she noticed that the walls were covered in vines and the room itself was filled with plants of different variety. There were also flowers blooming on the plants, each kind more beautiful than the next. A small smile tugged her lips, lifting her hand, she tentatively reached out to touch one of the flowers and giggled softly as the plant moved under her touch as if enjoying the soft touch the young maiden gave to it.

"Impressive… I never saw any of my plants react to anyone aside from hostility."

The blue haired maiden whipped her head to the side and her violet eyes widened in surprise when she saw the creature that had spoken to her. It was same youkai that had rescued her when those other two demons came and tried to kill her, since she was already weak and groggy, she had only remembered bits of pieces of the event. She and her bother had been attacked by demons, the fox that she had cared for protected her and transformed into this youkai. She gulped softly. By the heavens… he is beautiful… her eyes strayed from his immaculately white clothing, his long silvery mane which framed his delicate features, his intense amber orbs to the furry fox ears at the top of his head. She gaped continuously at the magnificent creature before her when she saw something move from behind him, looking down on to his waist she gaped even more when she saw that he had a matching tail to go with his appearance.

Kurama couldn't help the smirk that made its way to his usually impassive features as he watched the woman stare at him continuously. Having observed her behavior of more than a month now, he also knew that she was easily flustered and was easily annoyed as well. Demo… that reaction she gave only to her people… would it be the same with me… a youkai? Thinking that now was as good as any to find out, he smirked even more. "Like what you see, my lady?"

Botan's eyes flew back to meet his own amused gaze, flushing as bright as a tomato, she looked down on to her hands which had fisted on the blankets below her, she bit her lower lip in apprehension. Her head snapping back up when she heard his soft chuckle, embarrassment faded into annoyance. "What's so funny?" she growled out, only to have the heat flush back to her face when he tilted his head and came forward towards her. His movement slow, casual and precise… like a hunter stalking its prey. Botan gulped softly, as beautiful as he seems, he was still a demon… "What do you want from me?" she whispered as he pressed his knee onto the bedding and lowered himself in front of her.

Kurama merely watched her, he could sense her uncertainty and a hint of fear with her. Lowering himself before her, he watched as she continuously moved backward until her back came in contact with the vine-covered walls behind her. Stopping merely inches of her, he caught her wrist in his clawed hand easily when she lifted it and tried to push him away. Pushing his face towards the junction of her neck and shoulder, he breathed in deeply, enjoying her sweet scent of cherry blossoms.

Gasping in shock when he lowered his face towards her neck, Botan thought that he was going to kill her then and there, only to be surprised when all he did was nuzzle her neck and breath in… as if… he was taking in her scent. Flushing brick red, she knew she ought to push this demon away and knock him silly for his actions… however, when he moved his head again, she couldn't help the heaviness beneath her lids as she slowly closed her eyes and reluctantly enjoyed the sensation of this strange yet beautiful youkai was doing to her. When he breathed in deeply again and nuzzle his face onto her neck, she let out a soft moan at the back of her throat.

At her soft moan, Kurama couldn't help the masculine smirked that made its way to his lips, moving his head, he took the shell of her ear in his mouth and nipped softly. But before he could take things further, he found himself staring at the woman who was now a few feet away from him, the only thing that was keeping her within arms reach was the grip that he had on one of her wrists. He tilted his head in confusion and tried to tug her back into his arms but the woman only dug her heels and tried to pull her hand away from his grasp. "What do you want from me?" she asked him for the second time around. Amber orbs merely watched her, releasing the grip that he had on her wrist, he continued to watch her. He was impressed to say the least. He had sensed her reaction to him, smelled her desire for him, unconscious as it was, but he knew that it was still there, but this woman was still able to keep her wits straight and move away from him. Kurama smirked dangerously. Oh, yes… she was definitely a prize worth taking…

Clutching the folds of her voluminous kimono, she glared at him. "What do want from me?" she growled the question this time. This demon was maddeningly irritating, taking liberties with her, excruciatingly annoying... and he was most definitely the most beautiful thing she had laid her eyes on. She growled yet again, what is wrong with me? He's a demon and I think he's cute?? Alright, so not cute, definitely handsome, but I am way over my head with this one, and that smirk on his face… arrogant creature!

Kurama had to keep himself from laughing out loud at the young woman, she was definitely furious, he tilted his head again and sniffed the air… yes… she was furious… but not at me… his amber eyes widened, the wench was furious at herself! This time, he couldn't help stop the chuckle that escaped his lips. He watched her as she stood her ground as she glared at him, watched as her hands clenched and unclenched, knew that she was definitely itching to throw something at his head, the swift movement of her eyes as she looked for a suitable weapon proved that theory. He stood up swiftly, a part of him admired the way she continued to stay on her ground even when he was now standing directly in front of her, looking down into her glittering amethyst orbs. The chuckle died down but the smirk remained.

"Calm down onna. You don't have to worry about that… I get the same reaction form all sorts of female. Youkai or ningen." The glared intensified on her part. "And besides," he said as he scooped her up, despite her yelp of protest and slowly deposited her onto the soft bedding, "I do believe you're still sore and a bit bruised from your misadventure with those two youkai yesterday, take it easy. I'll let you hit my head as hard as you want when you're all better… that is if you can." He added the last part as he looked down at her surprised amethyst orbs before turning to leave her in the room.

"Wait!"

At her voice, he turned to look at her from the doorway, Botan tilted her head in confusion and looked at him. "Who are you?" Again, that damning smirk he answered her question before he turned to leave a surprised and flustered youkairenji in his midst.

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Botan paced the room, What the hell did I do this time? Of the damned luck in the three worlds! Flopping down on to the soft bedding, she groaned when her bruised body reminded her of the ordeal that she had gone through the other day. She frowned. Kurama Youko. Of all the demons… why him? His reputation was known far and wide, ruthless and cunning…cold and vicious… the young maiden dropped onto the soft bed completely, watching the ceiling above her. Demo... the Youko that she had met yesterday was different… playful, a bit arrogant… but not the things that she had heard about in her village. He was one of the most feared demons in their village… what did he want with her? Her head snapping up when she heard sound from outside the door, sitting up, she slowly wore her slippers and made her way towards the door. Eyes widening, unlocked? Stepping out of the room, she was surprised to see a multitude of plants that covered the entire cave…and the cave itself was huge! Stepping out of the room, she followed the passageway until she heard two voices coming from another room, eyes widening when she recognized the other to be none other than Kurama Youko's deep baritone. Peeking at the doorway, her jaw nearly dropped when she saw another demon sitting in front of the legendary demon. The other demon was also striking in appearance, but this one had complimented the youko's white countenance with his own long dark hair and dark robes. Goodness, I'm in the company of two extremely good looking demons who could kill me in a snap… but why am I not afraid… she frowned at that, yes, she wasn't afraid... not in the least… where in fact, she should be fearing for her life but… instead of fear, she was intrigued with the demons… especially with the kitsune. Why is that? She thought to herself, not noticing that the two demons were already looking at her.

Kurama's ear twitched as he watched the blue haired maiden peeking at them from the doorway. Kuronue, noticing that his attention was focused somewhere else decided to check what had caught the kitsune's attention. His brows lifting in surprise, his lips twitched as he watched the woman look at them, but gauging from her eyes, he knew that her attention was currently elsewhere. His smirk widened even more when he saw the woman yelp in surprise when the kitsune called her attention. Flushing red with embarrassment, she cautiously entered the room and grumbled under her breath. He stood up gracefully and greeted the young maiden that had captured the kitsune's attention.

"Milady, allow me to welcome you to our humble abode." He drawled out as he moved in front of the startled young lady as he bowed down and gave his respects to the woman and kissed her hand. As he stood up, he noticed form the corner of his eyes how Kurama's ears twitched at his actions. The kitsune, jealous? "My name is Kuronue…"

Botan watched the dark haired demon as he curtseyed to her, how on earth did these two know me?

"And to answer that question dancing in your beautiful violet eyes, I would have to say that that kitsune over there," Kuronue tilted his head in Kurama's direction, "has taken quite an interest on you for quite a while now, Urashima-san, hence, us knowing who you are."

The color that graced Botan's face was enough to rival even the Youko's reddest rose. "Taken interest in me?" she voiced out weakly

The kitsune glared dangerously at Kuronue and whispered as he passed him "I am going to kill you for that Kuronue…" turning to face the now suspicious youkairenji, he gave her his most charming smile, "Don't bother yourself with that… I believe you haven't eaten yet, why don't you join us for dinner?" he told her as he gently ushered her to the table and let her sit beside him. He watched the young woman eat quietly with them, her ki told him that she was wary and suspicious of them but she still acted as if she knew them forever and not someone who has the power to kill her in an instant. Her actions intrigued the kitsune even more. Normally, youkairenji's would act with hostility with ningens and most especially with youkai's, but this one… this one was different. She wasn't afraid of them, intrigued, curious… but not fear… she didn't fear them. He watched her covertly as they ate, the simple food seemed to bring back her natural colors, the slight tinge of pink in her cheeks, and her eyes twinkled with barely suppressed mirth as Kuronue continued to entertain their guest.

After their meal, Kuronue excused himself saying that he had to go and watch their cubs training, leaving him and Botan alone for the evening. Despite her wariness earlier that evening, he noticed that she was now starting to get more comfortable with his company. Giving her a tour of his lair, he showed her where he personally tended his plants and watch quietly with awe as the young woman gushed at his creations.

Completely forgetting who she was with, Botan hurried to see the foliage that surrounded her. The kitsune had shown her different parts of the cave, each were covered with shrubbery of different kinds but this room was far more beautiful than the others. Kneeling to touch one purple shaded flora, she smiled wistfully at the beauty of the flower, at her touch her eyes flew back to the white robed youkai behind her. The plant was taken cared of… very well nurtured. How could a cold blooded thief like him produce such beauty if there is no kindness in him whatsoever... turning back to look at the flower, Botan watched at the plant with confused violet eyes. What is this that I'm feeling… not just because he can create beautiful creatures such as this mean that I should fall for him… right? But… there's something in him that I want to know… a sadness in his eyes that want to erase. Gasping when she felt his breath just on the side of her face, she jumped back only to be held in place by a clawed hand on her waist. "Whaaaa?"

Kurama held the woman by the waist and touched the flower gently, feeding it a small portion of his youki, he let the flower bloom completely, revealing the golden petals hidden beneath the outer foliage. He tilted his head to hers and murmured, "You seem to have a way with plants…"

Blushing at his comment, Botan looked at the flower before them and nodded, taking her own left hand and tucking it behind her head, she withdrew a small seed from her hair and held it before her, she then fed it a small amount of her hidden youki and let the plant unfurl before them. "My youkai blood allows me to have the power to control plants at my will… to create… and to use for my protection." She then frowned, "demo, I still don't have enough experience to control the plants for me to use them as a weapon, every time I try, they turn back against me…" she grumbled under her breath. The kitsune's eyes twinkled with mirth at her words, "Would you like to learn how?"

Amethyst eyes widened at that, "You'd teach me?" At his nod, she frowned. "You definitely want something in return." A smirk slowly made it's way to his handsome face, "I just want to know you even more."

Botan looked down at the plant and back to his face, "Why?"

"Because you intrigue me."

She blinked at his answer, "I intrigue you??"

He merely nodded and looked at her, "So, would like to learn?"

She nodded although reluctantly, "Hai… but I need to tell my parents first or they'll tear up Makai looking for me."

Kurama stood up abruptly, turning his back to her, "By the way, I forgot to tell you… you won't be coming back to that place ever again."

Botan hastily stood up, her kimono swishing on her ankles, "What do mean?!"

He pinned her to her place with a cold glare, "From now on, this will be your home."

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AN: Whoeeee!!! Chapter 4 finally done!! After a lot of things here I've finally updated… hopefully, I'll be able to follow up on the next chapter soon… hopefully… well, hope to hear from you guys too!! Remember, revies!!! Thanks!!

Aoi-chan