Oh god the writer's block I got toward the bottom of this chapter. 0_o

Anywho, would anyone like to be my editor/beta reader? =D I would appreciate you! Unfortunately, if this person procrastinates as much as I do nothing will ever get done. xD

I will no longer make excuses as to why I took to long to update.

The Lord of Roses and the Shackled Dragon

Chapter Eight: A Cottage in the Woods

A flash of gold; an amused grin. "Fearless. I respect that." He grasped Yusuke's hand firmly while his red-headed counterpart silently steamed. Jin happily glanced from one demon's face to the other, his ears twitching slightly. Touya was more uncertain, his face a thoughtful mask. He looked to his mate, perplexed by such optimistic certainty, then to his cousin, waiting for his next move as the upper-family guardian he was raised to be. "So, Yusuke," the red-headed fox said releasing his hand, mild disgust poisoning his tongue at the mention of the demon's name. "What are you doing out here?"

The woodsman stood, brushing the fertile soil from the back of his frayed green pants. "I live here," he said, not seeming to notice Kurama's irritability. His grin was present at the time of his second comment. "What about you, fox boy?"

There was a flash of anger before a carefully calculated mask was conjured to bury the emotion. Kurama reminded himself that it was impossible for this common forest-dweller to know of his lineage, and that under normal circumstances he should not have cared about such things. "We are searching for someone," he said shortly, his voice calmly firm. He glanced around the clearing, taking note of the ki signatures of the plants. The most dangerous signatures were well-hidden here, so it was very possible that any demon without the lord's powers could find themselves at the mercy of any of the carnivorous plants. He tried not to let it bother him when he envisioned his pet wandering through this part of the forest. Instead, he focused on his doubt of the dark-haired demon in front of him. "You cannot honestly expect me to be under the delusion that you take residence here."

Yusuke ignored Kurama's comment, which did nothing to dispel the royal blood from boiling. "Looking for someone? Why don't you stop by my place before you go on?"

"A'righ'!" Jin said quickly before the other two could protest. There was a mischievous glint in his large green eyes as he leaned back on the air, folding his arms behind his head. "It'll be fun, righ', 'Rama? Icy?"

The thin wooden door slammed against the wall as Yusuke threw it open and bellowed, "Yukina, we have guests!"

The dainty girl appeared in the entryway, a rosy sheen dusting her pale cheeks. "Yusuke-kun, you should have warned me," she scolded gently, smoothing the fabric of her kimono as the group entered her home. The men looked her over, Jin smiling brightly while the other two appeared merely to be observing her as part of their surroundings. Kurama's mood had soured since meeting Yusuke, which had caused his thoughts to darken. 'I don't trust her.'

Yoko rolled his eyes, finding his other's suspicions unfounded. 'She's nothing more than a child.'

'She could be his mate,' the red-head pointed out, believing his reasoning to be perfectly rational. The silver-haired man laughed, mocking the younger demon. Kurama reached closer with his energy, knowing there was something he had missed. Yukina's ki signature was pure; she had not yet been marked by another demon. He could sense Yoko's approving, yet sarcastic, grin. 'Still... With someone like him as her partner, she cannot be as innocent as she appears.'

The youko shook his head from side to side at what he believed to be foolishness. 'We'll see, kit…'

As the fox-lord puzzled over the cottage's inhabitants, Jin decided to ignore his teammates' gloom in favor of being his usual, over-friendly self. "Hi, a'm Jin!" the spikey red-head announced excitedly, floating before Yukina and offering his hand, reaching over his crossed legs to do so. The girl blushed again, taking his hand timidly. She was interrupted from her self-introduction by an exclamation escaping the hyperactive wind-demon. "Icy, she's cold like you!"

"A female ice demon?" Touya asked curiously, meeting his cousin's eyes. "I thought they were rare."

"They are." The fox's eyes were flecked with gold. There had been rumors of a race that would fit Yukina's description, but they had mainly been passed off as myths.

The males of Touya's race, those that did not choose same-sex mates, looked outside their own species in order to start a family. Luckily, the ice-demon gene was as dominant as the one which caused the birth of males, so there was no risk of extinction for the race. While there were a few known females of the race, they were exceedingly rare, and often resembled the males much more than this dainty female. The old myth lingering in Yoko's mind, however, was of a time when there were an equal number of female ice apparitions.

The she-demons of ice were more often then not born with powers exceeding their male counterparts. It was well-known that these males have an excessive hubris, and that females should outmatch them in any sort of way was an unpleasant blow to this pride. Because of this, there was an underground decision to try to diminish the rate at which mothers gave birth to daughters. Those that agreed to this treachery, if they could not sense and destroy the daughters at birth, made certain that they perished soon-after. Though the horrid deeds were meant to be kept secret, they were not something that could be hidden for long. After all, ki weapons left signatures behind. Soon the females found out, and exiled the men from their city. Without the ability to reproduce, the population of ice demons steadily dwindled, until suddenly the males witnessed a growth in the female population. They had thought such a thing impossible, as, up to this point, interspecies mating was unfeasible. This igniting their desire for a war with the females, feeling the sting of betrayal, not realizing that the she-demons had simply adapted so that they were able to reproduce without males. It was obvious that the more-powerful females should dominate the battles, but they were often more peaceful than their once-mates, who had forever disciplined themselves in the art of combat. Favoring peace, leaders of the female village used all of their powers to remove their city from the Makai's ground, vowing and forbidding themselves ever to mate with males again. They became known as the Koorime, or the ice-women who floated in the sky. Eventually, the males evolved as well, into the ice demons of the modern realm.

Kurama smiled to himself as the images his mind's inhabitant had presented concluded their parade across his mind. It was a fairytale, and nothing more. It was amusing to him that the powerful youko would know such a story; something that would be told to children before they fell into slumber. Yoko glowered, a blow to his own pride being dealt at the fox-lord's silent teasing. Kurama breathed a mental sigh of relief. 'At least he's finally quiet…' He cringed at the sharp pain he felt beneath his temple- Yoko's reminder that the red-head's thoughts were not solely his own to keep.

"'RAMA!" Jin shouted, causing the mentioned demon to jump back, baring his teeth in warning and surprise. The wind-demon fell back on the air, laughing heartily. He clutched his stomach as he tried to speak. "Ya shoulda… seen yer face!"

Yusuke's laughter had joined, and he slapped Kurama and the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Where were you, man? You almost looked happy for a second there!"

As the two more light-hearted demons laughed carelessly, Touya watched his relative for signs of a battle. He knew how much the fox didn't like to be insulted or made fun of, and he did not like to be touched by…anyone, really. Touya could only wait to see if these antics would spark an anger the ice demon would be responsible to control. Fortunately, the lord seemed to have his emotions in check, and resigned himself to silently steaming once again. Yukina watched the entire scene in confusion, finally allowing herself a small smile at the joy Yusuke and Jin were experiencing.

After Yusuke caught his breath, he threw an arm around Yukina's small shoulders. "So where's the shrimp?" he asked, laughter tears drying in his eyes.

"Akagan-sama is out hunting," she replied, softly cheerful. The dark-haired man shrugged.

"Guess he can meet these guys later."

"Will our guests be staying for dinner?" the girl implored politely.

"o' course!" Jin answered, once again taking the initiative to answer for his friends, who glowered at the happy red-head. He flew closer to Yukina, his closed eyes curving into cheerful half-circles. "If tha's okay with tha lady o' course."

The blue-haired female glanced down at her hands. "Well, it's Yusuke-kun's house…"

"The more the merrier!" Yusuke announced, just as they heard the back door slam open.

The short, black haired demon they had searched so long for was calmly taking off his dirty boots in the back walkway, his unfortunate prey tied with a stiff rope hanging over his shoulder. The room was silent as the search party stared at him, and slowly his eyes rose to meet those of his master. "Hiei..?" Kurama asked in disbelief.

Ooooh cliffy! xD What's gonna happen? I don't really know... We'll find out together!

Review?