Sooo yes, my shallow cold turned out to be worse than I thought, which is why it took me so long to get my head together and write this chapter. Hope y'all won't be disappointed after the long(er) wait. If you don't remember what Daichi looks like, feel free to check the link in my profile, I'm sure you'll like him ;)

Oh and don't forget to leave me some luv~ :3

P.S. All YuYu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi~ :)

10. Too late

"I will come for you... if it's the last thing I do, I will come for you again."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

- 6 months later -

"Is there anything we can get you, Nozomi-sama?"

"Would you like to take a walk outside, Nozomi-sama?"

With the two servant girls looking to one another in concern, as their words seemed to bounce off the woman before them, a third one entered with a huge bouquet of multicolored plants.

"Daichi-sama sent you these flowers, mistress."

Her smile paled, however, and the other two females gulped when Nozomi finally turned her gaze from the window.

"Don't say that name in front of me." she ordered through clenched teeth. "It makes me sick! Get those things out of my room... now!"

"Y-yes, Nozomi-sama..."

Nearly stumbling over her own feet, the young girl rushed out of the chambers. Settling down, Nozomi again turned her eyes to the window. While the lands before her were green and lush, she could still sense the desolation and emptiness which stretched beyond the high walls surrounding the castle she was in.

"Azami... Emiko... could you... leave me alone for a bit?" she said softly, to the two girls still there.

Once more glancing worriedly at one another, the two offered a deep bow and wordlessly left the room as well.

"I'm worried, nee-san..." Emiko muttered.

"She doesn't seem to get any better, does she?" Azami agreed.

Inside the room Nozomi had lowered her head onto her arms, using the flowing sleeves of her royal kimono to hide her face and the burning tears sliding down her cheeks. How long had it been now? Had it really been half a year since she was living with her "husband"? Had it really been that long since her body was trapped in this castle, while her soul was desperately seeking a way out... a way to get to him? She had counted every day... every hour... every minute without him; always hoping he would come for her, as he'd promised. But each new day brought nothing more than the same loneliness... the same emptiness which had overtaken her in his absence.

It hadn't been more than a couple of days after Kurama had returned her to her family, that Daichi had arrived saying her father had made a deal with him that she would be his wife, so he would let the man live. Never before had she so desperately wished for Kurama to come for her as she had on that night... yet he never came. Unable to let Nari or anyone else know of her predicament, she had no choice but to follow Daichi to his home in what humans called Hell. And over those past months he had tried everything to get her to love him; she couldn't complain, as he seemed to be a kind man who always treated her with respect... or so she would have liked to say.

The first time she'd caught a glimpse of his true nature had been when she'd finally gathered her courage to try and flee, in order to return to the Makai. True, she'd never known just how strong a male could be, as Kurama and Nari had always been careful when training her. But Daichi was in no way compelled to hold back his strength... she'd thought he would kill her, but he didn't. Not only had he left her alive to continue tormenting her soul, he had also "marked her" as he claimed, in a way she would always be reminded of whenever she looked in a mirror. However, she had grown accustomed quite quickly to seeing the thin scar which now trailed along her left cheek, from beneath her eye down to her jaw line. A wound such as that would have been no trouble for Kurama to heal without leaving any mark behind, she knew that too well. But he wasn't there... and by now she had no more hope left of ever seeing him again.

In the mean time, however, Kurama hadn't been wasting his time either. His men had proven too loyal to leave him, even if he wasn't a thief anymore, and by now a lot of the hunters had stopped tailing him, either being dead or having given up what seemed to be an endless chase. On that particular evening, he was approaching the girl's home with Nari and a few of his men. He wasn't yet planning to take her with him, but ultimately his desire to see her had overcome his cold, rational mind. Upon arriving within the last few hundred feet from the castle, he suddenly got a cold shiver along his spine.

"Something's off..." he muttered.

"What is it?" Nari asked, cautiously glancing around, hoping they weren't heading into a trap.

"I can't tell yet... it just gives me a sickening feeling. Let's make haste."

With their renewed speed, they reached the castle soon enough. Upon entering the front yard, the first one they saw aside from the four guards was the girl's mother. If anything, her grieving expression only served to make Kurama's heart cringe even more.

"Nozomi isn't here..."

Her soft yet hollow voice made his ear twitch and snapped him out of his tense state. Lightly narrowing his eyes, he motioned the others to not move while he approached the woman.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

With a heavy sigh, the female lowered her gaze to the nearly withered flowers in her arms.

"She's gone..." she muttered, while tears filled her eyes.

For a moment Kurama felt his patience running out, but he knew better than to try and force the woman to give him a straight answer. She already seemed so frail that he feared she would break if he so much as touched her.

"What happened here?" he asked, softening his tone as much as his anxiety allowed him to. "Please... tell me... what happened to Nozomi?"

Her arms fell at her sides when he said the girl's name, the wind blowing away the dying flowers and scattering them around the yard.

'What's with this ominous wind?' he mused.

His thoughts were cut off, however, when the woman suddenly reached out and grasped his yukata, looking up at him with an utterly desperate expression.

"You... you're the one, aren't you? You're the one she said she loved... where were you? Why didn't you come back for her... before he did?"

"He...? What do you mean? Where's Nozomi?"

When the woman's knees gave way, he felt no power to resist being dragged to his knees along with her.

"She hoped until the last moment... and I hoped with her. I hoped you'd come and take her away before he did! And now she's gone... and I'll never see her again."

Clenching his jaw, he now gave in to his anger and grasped the woman's shoulders.

"Pull yourself together, woman!" he ordered.

When she seemed to have finally gained some stability, he fixed his piercing gaze onto hers. He still despised both of them for having kept Nozomi locked away most of her life, but for now the most important thing for him was to find out where she was.

"Now... tell me what happened. Where's Nozomi? Who took her and where?"

"So you've come... Kurama..."

The male voice almost startled the fox-youkai, due to how deeply focused he was on the woman. Averting his gaze toward the source, he watched as the girl's father approached them, stopping just a few steps away. Just like his wife, Yoichi looked rather worn out and much older than when Kurama had last seen him.

"What the hell happened here?"

"It's a bit of a long story, but I think you'd want to know all of it."

Sighing, the youkai closed in and grasped his wife's arms pulling her to her feet.

"Come with me." he said, before leading the woman back toward the castle entrance.

Once Kurama had moved to his feet as well, Nari now approached him.

"What do we do? It might be a trap..."

"I can't tell... but if you were preparing a trap for a famous thief... would you look as exhausted as those two?"

"You think something actually happened to the girl?"

"It seems we're about to find out. You come with me, Nari... the rest of you, stay here."

Silently Nari moved to follow Kurama inside, both he and the fox-youkai keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. However, it seemed that Yoichi was indeed not planning to trick them. Soon enough they were both seated in a small room with the girl's father, the woman having been left in the care of a few servants.

"So? How much longer do I have to wait until you give me a straight answer?"

Once more sighing, Yoichi placed his hands onto his thighs and lowered his head.

"When I was young, I was brash and hotheaded... I didn't really care about anything or anyone, just about myself."

Briefly Kurama clenched his jaw; that description was far too familiar for his liking. Not to mention that he had a really bad feeling about all this.

"One day, I found the entrance to Hell and unwittingly ventured into those accursed lands. I would have died, but Daichi, one of the youkai lords who rule there, saved me. In exchange, he asked that I give him my first child. I agreed without a second thought, knowing that he could have slain me in the blink of an eye."

Briefly pausing, he clenched his fingers onto the hakama covering him from the waist down.

"I returned to the Makai and continued on with my life, soon forgetting all about that promise. I gained power and wealth and became lord of this region. I married and had a daughter... and that's when he came again. He said that he would return when Nozomi was old enough, to take her with him."

"Do you have a death wish, scum?"

Even to his own ears, Kurama's voice sounded harsher and colder than ever before. He had been in many situations where he didn't know if he'd survive, but never had it occurred to him to sell his descendants in order to save his own life. His wrath settled down somewhat, however, when Yoichi finally caved in to his tears.

"You have no idea how I wish I could die. When you took Nozomi away, as much as I despised you for being a thief, I couldn't help but feel relieved. I was hoping Daichi wouldn't pursue her if she wasn't here anymore. I could have even told him that she died... but then you went and brought her back just two days before he came for her. And now no one can help her!"

Wordlessly standing, the fox-youkai now left the room with Nari in tow. Once they were outside again, the elder youkai grasped his shoulder.

"Kurama... I know that look. But you can't help her anymore..."

"Don't even say those words."

Even Nari was startled by the ominous growl in Kurama's voice, but still he tightened his hold on the Yōko's shoulder.

"To get into Hell is impossible... and traversing it is insanity."

"I had a bad feeling about bringing her back here... but I did it, thinking I'd keep her safe. It's my responsibility to get her back."

"You can't get into Hell... there's no one in the Makai who knows where the entrance lies."

"Not in the Makai."

Widening his eyes, Nari felt the air leave his lungs in a gasp.

"Kurama... you don't mean... going to the Reikai? They'd never let you get within a hundred feet of Enma-daiō."

"He's not the one I'm going to see... it's Koenma."

"Kurama..."

"Don't waste your breath trying to coax me out of this, Nari."

Heaving a sigh, the elder youkai finally nodded.

"I know you won't let me go with you either, so be careful... you're still on their wanted list."

With a silent nod, Kurama now dashed out through the open gates and soon vanished in a trail of dust. No later than a few hours afterwards, the ogres working in Koenma's offices were running about in terror, while the imposing front gates lay on the ground. Calm as ever, Kurama now walked along the long corridor which led it seemed to Koenma's own office, his favorite weapon – the green, thorny whip – rolled up in his hand. Upon arriving at the doors beyond which he could sense Koenma's reiki, he charged a fair amount of his youki into the whip prior to lashing at the steel structure, slicing the gates to pieces. His gaze instantly focused on the child sitting behind the huge desk which was the only piece of furniture in that room, a terrified ogre trying his best to hide behind the chair.

"K... K-K-K-Kurama..." Koenma muttered in utter shock.

He'd had an odd feeling about that particular day, but never had he expected that Yōko Kurama himself would pay him a visit.

"Stop trembling in your diapers like that... it's unsightly."

Somewhat settling down when he realized Kurama wouldn't immediately swing his whip to behead him, Koenma cleared his throat to regain a good grasp on his voice.

"Why are you here? You do know you're one of our most wanted criminals, yes?"

"You seem to be slow in getting the latest news. It's been half a year since I stopped being a thief... but that is not the reason for my visit. I know you can tell me where the entrance to Hell lies."

Widening his eyes, Koenma simply stared at the fox-youkai in silence for a few moments, unable to find any words to say.

"Y-you... why would you... want to go... there?"

He did have a fleeting thought that perhaps Kurama had found his good streak and was trying to atone for his life up to that point, but even so he wouldn't have condemned the youkai to Hell.

"I had a girl in my care until recently. She was taken by a youkai living there and I want her back."

"You... this is impossible. The girl's beyond your help now."

In just one second Koenma deeply regretted that remark when Kurama's youki flooded the room as the fox-youkai narrowed his eyes.

"Don't test my patience, Koenma. Tell me how to get there and after I return her to the Makai, I will turn myself in to be judged by the Reikai. Is that a good enough deal?"

"Why... why would you go to such lengths for her?"

"Not that it's your business, but she's my woman."

Leaning back into his chair, Koenma sighed in relief.

"Love, huh? So even you were touched by that... well, I guess that's as good a reason as any for you to give up thievery. Very well... I have someone who's been there. We just recently caught him, too."

Looking behind his chair, he kicked the ogre out of his hiding place.

"Jorge... stop being an idiot and go get him!" he yelled.

While the ogre rushed out of the room, Koenma once more turned toward the fox-youkai.

"I'll be honest with you, Kurama... I've always admired your intellect. It's a shame that you would put it to use for evil. What do you say? If I grant you your freedom... if I erase your criminal record, would you work for the Reikai?"

"Even now you're so terrified of me that you would seek to make a deal?" Kurama smirked. "I didn't know it was custom in the Reikai to strike bargains with youkai."

"You're not just any youkai and you know that. Your intelligence would be precious to us, if you would use it to help us."

"You mean to help you against the Makai? Against my own home?"

"Just take some time to think about it, alright? I'd hate to see your intellect being wasted in the Reikai's prison cells."

Before Kurama could reply to refuse again, the ogre's voice came from the doorway.

"I... I brought him, Koenma-sama."

Turning toward the entrance, Kurama felt his expression settling into an awed shade almost against his will.

"Hiei...?"