Good heavens, lovelies... I am SO SORRY for not updating for more than half a year. I have no excuse... I literally have no excuse. During summer I just got so caught up in the Loki story I've been working on and in other stories - plus real life which is a bitch - but here it is. The next chapter which I hope will make you hate me less... maybe... hopefully...

But enough ranting from me, enjoy darlings~ :D

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

12. Wounded princess

It was at some point, when Kurama and Hiei were discussing the next part of their journey, that Nari noticed something approaching them at quite a high speed across the plains.

"What's that?"

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Leaping to their feet – mostly out of reflex – at the elder youkai's voice, the other two now averted their gazes toward the area where Nari was pointing.

"Tch... I was hoping we wouldn't run into them." Hiei snarled.

When his companions offered him inquisitive glances, the fire-youkai crossed his arms.

"You'll see what I'm talking about soon enough."

It wasn't more than a few minutes afterwards that Kurama and Nari could make out the silhouettes of what seemed to be humans, running as fast as they could across the plains. At a closer look the trio noticed that the souls were apparently being hunted by what looked like huge dogs. Right before their eyes, one of the souls tripped and fell to the ground. Within the blink of an eye one of the hounds leapt onto him, the sinner's painful shouts filling the air as the beast kept tearing chunks of flesh out of him. When he could finally get away, he ran to catch up to the others while the hound returned to its pack.

"The hounds of Hell..." Hiei pointed out impassively. "Whatever you do, don't provoke them. They'll let us pass after they see us, so there's no need to worry about that."

Keeping silent, Kurama offered a nod of agreement. While it wasn't exactly his nature to be so obedient, he wasn't planning to leave his bones anywhere in that place. It did somewhat surprise him that he actually trusted Hiei to such an extent, but the fire-youkai had proven to be a man of his word, even during the job they had done together. Finally, when the pack drew near enough, the hound which seemed to be leading them came to a halt, sniffing the air before averting its golden eyes upon the three. Within moments they were surrounded by four of the dogs, the rest continuing on to chase the unfortunate souls.

"Intruders..." one of them growled, baring his fangs in Kurama's face.

When the fox-youkai failed to even twitch, the dog stepped forward only to have another snap its fangs at him, putting a halt to his eagerness.

"What do you seek here?"

It was then that Kurama realized the leader of the pack was in fact a female.

"We're here to see Daichi." Hiei replied calmly, as though he was speaking to a puppy.

Briefly the female hound tilted her head, perking her ears at the name.

"...Very well. You may pass." she replied after a lengthy silence.

With the other three reluctantly leaving them, the female led them away to rejoin their pack. It was then that Kurama ultimately indulged himself a sigh...

"It won't be easy to get out of here, by any means."

"Especially if Daichi finds out you took her before we reach the Makai." Nari agreed.

"We'll worry about that later." Hiei replied. "We're not that far from Daichi's castle. It's just beyond the horizon."

"Then, while we cross the plains, we might as well discuss a plan." the fox-youkai pondered.

Several hours later, when the day was fading, they had agreed that the best cover for the moment would be to pose as travelers, just as Hiei had on his last visit to those lands.

"It's the easiest way to get in there." Kurama stated. "He won't suspect us of anything and in the mean time we can also rest while we check the layout of the castle and plan an escape route."

"If he's really as kind and helpful as rumors make him out to be, he won't refuse giving us shelter for a day or two." Nari contemplated.

It was almost night time when they finally reached Daichi's lands, the two youkai guarding the gates sending word to their master that a group of travelers was seeking shelter for the night. Some minutes later, Daichi himself arrived to greet his guests, his royal kimono flowing along his slender form. He was about as tall as Kurama himself, his snowy hair trimmed short aside from two strands along his forehead, which reached down to his waist in length. Right in the middle his hair was divided by a short black horn, a pair of pale red eyes set beneath his white brows; the color itself was so bland, that combined with the paleness of his skin and his white hair, it offered him an almost sickly appearance. His warm smile made him seem like kindness itself at first glance, but he still failed to fully conceal that ever so faint spark of evil in his eyes.

For a brief moment Kurama feared that the youkai might recognize him given his reputation in the Makai, but his worries were soon revealed to have been for nothing; either that, or Daichi was putting up a very good act. During dinner, however, the fox-youkai was somewhat deterred in his assumption that Daichi wasn't sincere, given how eagerly he questioned them about the Makai. Yet Hiei's words about the Hell lord's other side were still fresh in his mind, as was his purpose of being there in the first place. Once they had been left to rest, he merely seated himself near the window to wait until everyone had gone to sleep so he could start his search. It was quite late into the night that a female servant – none other than Azami – entered his room, offering a deep bow.

"Forgive me for intruding..." she said when he averted his gaze to her.

"What is it?"

"I... I overheard you earlier. You're... Kurama-sama... aren't you?"

"Yes, that's my name. What about it?"

For a moment he clenched his jaw when the girl's face lit up, thinking that even in Hell he couldn't get away from females lusting for him, but her words left him utterly speechless.

"You're the one Nozomi-sama spoke of."

While he was still in shock to have it so directly confirmed that Nozomi was indeed there, Azami once more bowed to him.

"Please... you must see her. My younger sister and I are her personal servants and we're so worried about her."

"What happened to her?" he asked, moving to his feet before he'd even realized he wanted to do that.

Standing as well, the girl motioned him to follow her before stepping out into the large hallway.

"Ever since Daichi-sama brought her here, she's been so sad. She barely eats and refuses the master's every attempt to gain her affection. The only one she ever speaks of is you, but mostly she keeps to herself."

Walking in silence for a few minutes, the fox-youkai now pondered on the apparent luck they had run into.

"You're from the Makai, aren't you?"

"Yes... Daichi-sama brought me and my younger sister here a few years ago as servants."

"Do you have family there?"

"Yes... at least we had family. Our parents were old and we don't know if they're still alive. But we would like so much to be able to see them again."

Pondering on the girl's words for a short while, he finally came to a decision and reached out to grasp her arm, putting a halt in her stride.

"Listen to me and listen carefully. The reason I came here with the other two is to get Nozomi back. If you help us, we'll take you and your sister with us back to the Makai."

When the girl's face lit up again and she bowed in gratitude, he knew that he hadn't been wrong to offer her his trust. Not that she would survive betraying him in any way. Soon Azami now led him to a pair of large doors, leaving him alone after telling him that Nozomi was inside. Once she was gone, he took a deep breath and stealthily moved into the spacious chambers. After all, if she was asleep he didn't want to wake her. Closing the doors and locking them behind him, he crossed the luxurious rooms until he arrived to the bedroom. In one sweep he sighted the empty bed and the girl knelt next to the open window, staring into the night. He hadn't yet seen her face but he had no trouble telling that it was indeed her.

"It's not healthy to stay awake all night." he stated on a slightly humorous tone.

Having been so caught up in her thoughts, Nozomi had failed to even sense his youki, only realizing he was there when his voice filled her ears. Before her mind had even fully processed the fact that he was in that room, her eyes filled with tears and she exhaled a shaky breath. Barely resisting the urge to look at him – the only thing to hold her back being the hideous scar she knew she was bearing – she made her best attempt at keeping a good grasp on her voice.

"What are you doing here?"

Arching a brow at that cold reaction, the fox-youkai stepped closer.

"You didn't think I'd give up on my woman so easily, did you? I promised I'd come for you again... here I am."

"You shouldn't be here... if he finds out you're the other man he'll kill you without any hesitation."

Somewhat intrigued by the fact that she was going to quite some trouble to hide her face from him, Kurama settled onto his knees at her side.

"Look at me." he said on a rather demanding tone.

"I'm... not like I was before... you wouldn't want to see me."

It was at those words that he could directly hear the tremble in her voice and he knew for certain that she was crying. Reaching out he grasped her arm and deftly pulled it aside, turning her around at the same time until she was facing him. When she lowered her head in a last attempt to hide her face, he trapped her chin between his fingers only to be met with her remaining bits of resistance.

"Don't make me tie you down, because I will."

His tone had once again gained that utter seriousness as the last time he had told her those words and the girl sighed, closing her eyes while he turned her face upwards. When his gaze finally fell upon her pale features, his eyes slightly widened and his brow furrowed; anger nearly erupted in him at the sight of that scar on her cheek and for a few moments he could find no words to say, only his hand moving of its own accord to trail his thumb gingerly along the mark as though his mind was trying to make sure it was real. Clenching his jaw to settle himself down, he silently pulled the girl into a relentless embrace, heaving a sigh.

"Deep down you're still a girl, aren't you?" he huffed amusedly. "How could you think I'd care about a little scratch like that?"

That momentary contact with it had told him that it hadn't been a very deep wound; it wasn't anything that he couldn't heal with the proper plants. When she exhaled a shaky breath against his chest and finally wrapped her arms around him, he inwardly sighed in relief and leaned down to kiss the side of her head.

"Where were you?" she muttered. "Even my parents hoped you'd come for me..."

"I know..." he whispered. "They're the ones who told me about all this."

Burying his nose in her silky hair, he couldn't hold back from inhaling her natural scent deeply until he felt dizzy.

"I missed you so much..." he sighed contently.

When she leaned back with the intention of asking him how he had found her, Nozomi found her voice dying in her throat when the fox-youkai suddenly pressed his lips to hers. For a moment she felt just as she had when he'd first kissed her, only this time there was a certain need that he was revealing to her. More than his words, that kiss was what told her just how much he had missed her during those months. Her full awareness only really returned, however, when she felt his arms sliding beneath her and her body cradled against his as he stood.

Though he hadn't really meant to give in to his own need for the girl, Kurama found that his willpower had started crumbling from the moment he'd touched her. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to take it too far given their location, but he wasn't planning on leaving that room for the night either. When he laid her onto the bed, Nozomi finally broke free of his kiss and offered him a worried gaze which nearly made him chuckle.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing you'd regret." he replied in jest, lying at her side.

When she tried to recoil, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

"I'm not leaving this room until dawn. Now sleep..."

The mixture of relief and disappointment in her gaze, when she finally understood that his intentions were pure, did ultimately draw a chuckle from him. Leaning down he buried his face against her neck.

"When we get back to the Makai, I promise I'll ravish you until you beg for mercy."

As if to reassure her that he wasn't joking, he now gingerly bit onto her tender flesh, sucking on her neck for a few moments until – when he leaned back – he could clearly see a mark on her fair skin.

"Now sleep..." he said again, on a warm, loving tone.

The silence that fell between them after his words was only interrupted by the sound of Nozomi's calm breathing and their hearts beating almost in unison, a thing which Kurama quite enjoyed. When she finally fell asleep, he retrieved a seed from his hair which he morphed into a small white flower. Tearing off one of the leaves, he returned it to its sow state before smearing some of the plant's juice onto his thumb and gingerly trailing it along the scar. Discarding what was left of the plant afterwards, he settled for simply holding her for the rest of that night. If he closed his eyes he could actually imagine they were back in his tent and that none of this had ever happened. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep there with her, but such a luxury would have to be saved for when they returned to the Makai. When dawn started creeping along the sky, he carefully turned the girl onto her back before leaning down to place a loving kiss to her lips.

"I'll come back for you." he whispered.

Kissing her again, he finally tore himself from her side and left the room to return to his own. He would meet with Hiei and Nari later that day to discuss their escape route, after he got a good idea of the castle's layout. Only an hour after his departure Nozomi woke up, startled from her sleep by a dream she couldn't recall, but which had left an ill feeling behind. Sitting up she instinctively glanced around the room, but Kurama was nowhere to be seen. Her heart cringed at that, and tears slowly filled her eyes. Had she been dreaming all of that? Was she actually that desperate to see him again? Moving to her feet, she stepped before the mirror to see herself – as she did every morning – and to remind herself that he wasn't coming for her anymore.

On that morning, however, her heart skipped a beat when the image in the mirror glanced back at her with a stunned expression set upon a flawless face. Over and over she trailed her fingers along her left cheek, as if to make sure she wasn't still asleep. But her reflection wasn't lying... the scar was indeed gone without a trace.

'He was here... he was really here...' was what her mind chanted again and again, filling her whole being with joy.

When her mirrored image became blurry she realized she was crying, this time for an entirely different reason. He had come for her as he'd promised all those months before. In her joy she had to actually cover her mouth to hold back the laughter that was struggling to leave her chest. If Daichi or anyone else heard her, he would grow suspicious as to the reason of her sudden change in demeanor. The memory of Daichi's sadistic smile when he had given her that scar was fortunately enough to help her settle down. The last thing she needed was for Kurama to be wounded or slain in front of her, and she knew Daichi would do that even if only to crush her last bits of hope that she would ever get away from him.