Disclaimer: I disclaim Yu Yu Hakusho and Nickelback. I claim the plot, and my OCs.

Recap: Kurama gets many words of advice from a dog elder, a demon over many millions of eons of years old. The first of which he acted on was to use his nose to learn where Mikiku had gone. Unfortunately, the wind switched directions and caused some problems for Kurama. Regardless, they now know that The Fox's Rose is on the move and now so are they.

This Is How You Remind Me
Chapter Four
A Second Attempt at Capture

A Talk with a Relative

We left for the City of Ghosts and Apparitions the moment that Kurama, declared that Mikiku was no longer in the City of the Damned. On the way over, he was acting odd. Then again, he had been acting odd ever since he talked to the dog demon. Right after talking, he seemed to avoid my eyes and was unusually stiff and angry. Even after we start to travel towards the new city, he was silent.

Thankfully, when we arrived at the city after a day of walking, his mood had improved, and he wasn't standing as stiff. (I was starting to realize that in his demon form, whenever he was annoyed, angry, or shocked, he would stiffen.) He didn't completely relax though and kept a careful eye on the ground for some reason as if he believed something was going to come out and attack us. Nothing did though, and we entered the city without a problem.

Even from the deserted gate, one could see the castle where the Four Saint Beasts once lived. Surprisingly, the streets were just as deserted as the castle should be. Neither a soul in sight nor any signs that suggested that a useful treasure was hidden in the city.

Taking out my book, I asked Kurama where everyone was.

"Now that the Saint Beasts are gone, their followers have abandoned the city. If anyone is here, they will be underground. That is where the Black Markets are if memory serves," Kurama muttered as he stared though a window and door of an abandoned home. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house he had been watching before quickly closing the door.

"Wolves are coming this way and they are looking for a new toy," he explained before I could ask as he looked through his bag. "Drunk if their scent is anything to guess by and it sounds like their target got away. They will probably settle for whatever they can find." He handed me a black cloak. "Suzuka made this; it will disguise your scent. Put it on quickly. We need to get away from here before the wolves catch you-"

A howl was heard, and Kurama stiffened. Looking over his shoulder, he said, "We'd better move. Hold onto the cloak."

I was about to ask why, when he placed the strap of his bag on one of his shoulder and then took mine from me and did the same. Then before I could make any sort of noise, he took me into his arms and held me close. Next thing I knew, we were outside the house, and he was running. He didn't stop until we were in an alley at least ten blocks away from where the wolves were.

"That should give us some time," Kurama muttered before turning back to me. "Do you still have the cloak?"

I nodded and tried to put it on. Unfortunately, I had trouble due to my wings and the material refusing to fit over them. After watching me struggle for a few seconds, Kurama gently moved the material into place.

"The entrance to the market is in the alley across from us," he said quietly as he looked around again. "However, before we enter we'll have to decide on a whether we are pretending to be mates or if you're my slave."

I tilted my head to the side, asking why we couldn't just be partners.

"It's safer this way because either way no one can touch you and if you pretend to be a slave it will give us a good cover as well because I can pretend to sell you."

I nodded in understanding and circled the word slave in one of the tales in my book. It would be more believable for me to be his slave than his mate since I was a mixed breed, and no sane demon marks a mixed breed. Also, the mark wouldn't be permanent.

Kurama nodded and seemed to dislike the idea. "You do realize I have to mark you now."

'It would have been harder to fake a mate mark,' I pointed out before holding out my hand to him.

Kurama seemed like he was about to disagree, but he reluctantly took my hand in his.

I closed my eyes, readying myself for the pain. After second of hesitation, he bit down. I let out a silent hiss of pain when his fangs sank into my wrist and his energy entered the bite. Blood started to flow from the cut as Kurama pulled away though his energy remained and created the slave mark by keeping the bite open and making a covering overtop to prevent infection and bleeding.

Most demons would leave the bite open and not bother to cover it, as the energy keeping the bite open would be enough to signal to other demons that the bitten was a slave. However, more of the bitten died that way due to the bite becoming infected or bleeding to death. Regardless, covered or not, the bite would be painful until it was removed.

The pain doubled when Kurama pulled his fangs out of my wrist and his energy started to create the covering. I was about to pull my hand out of his grasp when the sensation of something on my wrist stopped me. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw that he was licking the bite. The sensation was soothing, and the pain slowly decreased until it was only a small ache.

Eventually, Kurama released my hand and turned away from me to look towards the alley where we would be heading.

"That should take care of any pain you would feel," he calmly said even if his shoulder were tense. "We'd best to keep moving."

I nodded and followed him until we came to what used to a bar. The sign was just about to fall from its place over the door, and the door itself was about to fall into the bar. The windows were so dirty that nothing could be seen through them.

Carefully, Kurama pushed the door open and lead the way into the bar. Surprisingly, the bar was filled with drunken demons. A few watched us as we entered but for the most part they were yelling at each other. Kurama kept a firm grip on my shoulder with one hand while the other gripped the rose bud that would transform into his rose whip.

He walked us over to the counter where he traded a few words with the bartender. The bartender nodded and pointed to a staircase leading downwards that was behind him.

"I assume you're going to want a room when you come back?" he asked Kurama as he looked at me over Kurama's shoulder.

Kurama shook his head. "We shall see. If I'm lucky, I'll be returning alone."

Before the bartender could say anything more, Kurama had led me towards the staircase.

Once or twice he muttered to me to duck because of the uneven ceiling, but the rest of the time we were silent. The walls of the staircase were covered in a black moss and smelt of mildew. The only light was from the top of the staircase where one could still hear the sounds of the drunken demons yelling. More than once I almost gagged from the smell of alcohol mixing with mildew, but for some reason, Kurama was able to walk along with no problem. He was probably used to horrid scents and was able to block them out.

We walked like this for five minutes until suddenly the staircase was filled with the orange light of fire. Kurama pulled me away from the middle of the stairs and against a wall. To my horror, a raccoon demon came up the stairs. She stared right at Kurama who was blocking me from view. Her eyes widened and then narrowed before she continued on her way. Kurama waited a few moments before motioning for us to keep moving. We did not meet anyone else on the stairs until we reached the bottom where a wooden door blocked the way.

Without any hesitation, Kurama knocked on the door to the beat of knockitty knock knockitty knockitty knock knock. The door opened slowly, and as we walked through I saw a little mixed breed boy hiding behind the door. He appeared to be fully bear demon, but when he smiled at me, his teeth were of a shark. I kept close to Kurama after that.

We walked down a torch lit hallway before we entered the market. It was like an underground city with buildings and everything. The city was also lit by torches giving the place a reddish brown glow. There were no booths like in the City of the Damned. Instead the goods were all stored in the buildings. If you didn't know where to get what you wanted, you would have a hard time.

I kept my face hidden deep in the cloak as I had seen other slaves do when their masters entered the bar I had worked in. Kurama also kept his arm around my shoulders in a sign of ownership. He led us into to one of the stores that was selling jewellery and asked if they had the jewel we were looking for.

"The Jewel of Wrath?" the demon vender asked as he poked some of the green warts on his face. "I've heard of it. Dangerous piece of jewellery. Wanting to knock of an ex-girlfriend?"

Kurama smirked slightly. "Something like that."

The vender shook his head. "Very dangerous jewellery. Known to backfire. Why don't you try this little number?" He pulled out a necklace of pearls. "Burns the demon wearing it to a crisp after a minute. Or this one," he pulled out a pendant of ruby. "Turns their blood to fire-"

Kurama's eyes narrowed. "Do you have it or not?"

The vender visibly took a step back and avoided eye contact. "I don't have it, but old man Juro might have it." He gave us some directions, the whole time he was looking at me. Just as we were about to leave he asked, "How much do you want for your slave? I'm been looking for something to test my newer finds on."

I moved behind Kurama when the vender gave me a lecherous glance that suggested he didn't want me just for testing. To my horror, Kurama turned towards the vendor with a smirk on his face and said, "How much are you offering?"

"Well if you let me see under the hood, I can tell you."

Kurama frowned. "What does it matter what her face looks like?"

"I want to make sure that she is healthy-" The vendor's eyes widened. "Not that she wouldn't be. I'm sure you take good care of your slaves," he quickly said.

Kurama gave him a cruel smirk. "At least the ones I sell."

The vender nodded again. "How about one hundred?"

Kurama shook his head. "If she was sickly, I would consider it."

The vendor frowned. "One fifty."

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Please, try thinking five hundred." He smirked again. "She's well trained after all."

The vender gave me another lecherous look. "How well trained is that?"

Kurama wrapped his arm around me and let his hand hover over my thigh to make it look like he was touching me. I resisted the urge to bat away his hand as it appeared to start to wander. "Well enough that I wouldn't consider parting for less than a thousand. But since you helped me out, six hundred."

"Four and that's my final offer."

Kurama shook his head and put his arm around my shoulders again. "I think I'll hold onto her if that's all your willing to pay. Obedient slaves are so hard to find. You know how it is."

The vendor just groaned, and we walked out the door.

"I apologize if I made you uncomfortable," Kurama muttered as we walked towards Juro's store.

I nodded to show that I didn't hold it against him, but I tried to hide the fear that was building in me. For a second, I had actually forgotten that Kurama and I were working together. His act was so convincing; I wondered if he had ever done something similar before hand.

"Juro's store is just down the street," Kurama muttered, breaking through my thoughts as we stopped walking. "We'll stay in the area and keep our eyes open."

I nodded and walked with him over to an alley. Kurama kept his eyes on the store while I looked around. After a moment or two, Kurama said, "She'll probably make some sort of distraction so if we get separated-"

I handed him my book, cutting him off. 'I'll meet you at the castle.'

Kurama shook his head. "No, it's too risky. You could get attacked or-"

'I can use my energy. I also know fighting moves.'

Kurama's eyes narrowed, and he frowned. "If we get separated you are not to move or use your energy. I'll come and find you," he told me in his 'this is final' voice.

I shook my head. 'It's safer above ground where there are more places to hide.'

"And more demons to attack you."

'No worse than down here.'

Kurama's frown grew, and he was just about to argue with me when a shout of, 'Thief' cut through the air. We both looked towards Juro's store to see a person with bat wings and a black mask running out holding a red jewel about the size of a golf ball. Before he could say anything, I ran after Mikiku leaving him to follow.

He easily caught up and ran alongside of me. "If we get separated, I'll meet you at the castle. Just please don't get lost," he said as he started to run faster.

I nodded and tried to keep up. We chased her back up to the surface, but in the maze of streets, I lost both Kurama and Mikiku. I wandered for a bit, looking for any sign of Kurama or Mikiku. As I walked, I went over what had happened just before I got separated in hopes of figuring out where they were headed.

My brain stopped working though when I recalled Kurama's last words to me before I got separated. He sounded… Sad? It wasn't the right tone. Concerned? It had seemed more than that. Maybe fearful? But of what? My safety? Why would be he be afraid for my safety? I asked myself.

I shook my head of those thoughts and started to make my way up to the castle. There was no way I would find them now. After a few minutes, I found myself at the castle gate. I stood there for a few seconds staring at the gate as the skull that outlined it stared right ahead. Out of curiosity, I looked in the same direction of the skull but saw nothing. With a sigh, I sat down by the gate, waiting for Kurama to show up. Hoping it would be soon because it was starting to get dark.

I had only been sitting for a moment when a figure with bat wings approached me.

"Hey," Mikiku said as she removed her black mask. "Did you lose your fox?"

Day Five

I'm half-tempted to abandon my prey and return to where Tsukino separated from us. She must have taken a wrong turn, and who knows what trouble she has gotten into. However, if I manage to catch The Fox's Rose, then we'll be able to return to Human World. The sooner we get back the better. I'm not sure I can handle being around her much longer. I've never felt the burden of dieing with a mark this strongly before, and it seems to be getting worse.

The Fox's Rose taking a sharp turn rips me out of my thoughts. Unfortunately for her, I'm not easy to get rid of. I chase her around the city for a few minutes before tackling her to the ground. Wings push me away, and a blade is thrown at me. I quickly pull out my rose whip and counter-attack.

"I guess you are the fox that her name refers to," a male voice says from under the black mask.

I realize I have the wrong person and lower my weapon. "No, I'm not."

The man sounds confused as he says, "Then what were you chasing me for?"

"I believed you were her."

The man looks like he is about to argue as he raises a finger when he lowers it and says, "Note to self: do not wear black next time." He puts away his weapon.

"I'll assume you are new to the underground?" I ask as I too replace my weapon in its usual spot.

He shook his head. The navy blue hat on his head almost falling off. "Nah, been in the business for a couple of millenniums. My name's Death Angel."

"Kyou."

The man shakes his head. "Never heard of you."

I smirk a bit. "Like-wise."

"Touché, so why are you after The Fox's Rose?"

I frown. "I have my reasons."

Death Angel shrugs. "She's just ruining my little sis's name."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah." The man stretches his wings. "Well Kyou-kun see you around." He does a back flip over the wall behind him and disappears.

I shake my head and decide to return to the castle. Wherever The Fox's Rose is, she certainly isn't here. I start to run to the castle, carefully thinking over our next course of action. My thoughts come to a stop when I catch the scent of The Fox's Rose, a mix of roses and copper, coming from the castle. The same location as Tsukino's scent was coming from.

I increase my speed, hoping I'm not too late. "Please be safe," I hear my human side mutter as I run.

"Lose your fox?" she repeated.

Even if I could have answered I wouldn't have. Her aura's breeze was cold and sharp to my face. As if she had slapped me. I wasn't sure what she wanted so I took a step back to increase the distance between us.

"It looks like you lost your voice too." She moved closer.

I turned my attention to the sounds behind me and listened for the echoes that would signal a hiding place.

"Kurama has that effect on women," she continued. She sighed sadly. "Shame he isn't much of a mate."

I ignored her and decided to take my chances in the castle. Without even looking at her, I turned and ran into the hallway that entered the castle.

An eyeball with tentacles and bat wings glared at me from the other side. It seemed to have a deep cut in its eye but that wasn't my main concern. As I ran down the hallway, it moved behind a boulder, and I heard a switch being flicked. Suddenly, the ceiling was falling towards me.

I was about to brace myself for impact when I suddenly felt myself pushed out of the way and into the castle. For a second, I lay on the ground staring at the sky in a daze. Then, I rolled over and came face to face with Mikiku.

"Haven't you ever heard of the Gate of Betrayal!?" she demanded to know.

I slowly shook my head, completely confused.

She cursed and helped me stand up. "Leave it to Kurama to leave out the important details," she muttered to herself before turning to me. "Alright… Tama was it?"

I nodded, knowing that she must have overheard Kurama and me seconds before we first met.

"Well Tama-chan, you can call me Rose."

I stared and tried to get my voice to work. Finally, I growled in annoyance and pulled my book and pen out of my bag. 'Why did you save me?'

Rose stared at me in confusion. "You really can't talk?"

I nodded.

She looked back at the book. "Well to answer your question, because we're family."

I stared at her, and she grinned sadly.

"I mean, all bats are related right?" she asked as she handed my paper back.

I slowly nodded, still slightly confused.

She seemed to misunderstand the cause of my confusion. "And I'm not mad about you taking Kurama. He was just fun for the moment, you know?"

A case of denial if I ever saw one, I noted, but I decided not to reply. Instead, I started looking around the courtyard we were standing in. The hallway had been sealed by the falling ceiling, and the eye-bat had disappeared.

"I guess you heard about the war," Rose continued.

I nodded as I looked around for another escape route.

Rose was nodding to herself. "Did you know about the bats joining the dogs? Apparently they hate cats more."

I shook my head and politely listened to what she was saying, secretly hoping that Kurama would hurry up. She appeared to be the type who talked to hide her inner feelings.

She gave me a fake grin and winked. "Bats may be good at fighting at night like cats are, but they don't have the ability to move as silently. Echolocation makes for a lousy sneak attack at night. I'm glad that my cat genes are more powerful than my bat ones."

I nodded and looked back over to the hallway. If that was the only way in, how was Kurama going to get in?

"Soon they're going to need to call in foxes. Even then, there is no fox that can compare to a cat."

By this point, I was silently wondering if she liked talking to herself.

"So what side do you support?"

I shrugged and circled some words. 'Not my battle.'

She nodded. "I can respect that, but if you had to, what side would you fight on?"

I shrugged again.

She nodded and walked behind the boulder and flicked the switch. The ceiling removed itself from the floor in the hallway as she walked back to me. She seemed suddenly gloomy as she said:

"Listen, Tama-chan. I can see that I'm not fooling you with all my sidetracking talk so I'll just get to the point before Kurama shows up and ruins it."

Despite myself, I became curious both by her words and her change in mood.

Rose sighed as she started to talk again, "I know that I came off as a really scary person that night, and you probably don't trust me. I don't blame you, but just listen to me and try to learn from my mistakes. Kurama isn't the sort to stay with one girl for very long, mark or no mark. And he won't stop until he has had his fun with you, even if you already are mated. Just play along with him and try not to get to close. Sooner or later, he's going to try to break your heart. When that happens, give me a call. I can show you a few tricks to forget him."

Suddenly, she pretended to be happy again. "See ya, Tama-chan! I'll keep in touch," she shouted as she ran off.

I stared for a few seconds as I tried to piece together what she had told me. I could picture Kurama as a womanizer, but with difficulty. He never showed any interest in the girls that followed him around. However, he was trying awfully hard to get me to fall for him back in Human World.

Before I could think about it anymore, Kurama himself ran into the castle. "Tama-chan, are you alright?" he asked as he ran over.

I nodded and tried to smile to put whatever fears he felt to rest, if he actually felt any.

He seemed relieved, but he became calm again so quickly I wondered if I had imaged it. After a second of being calm, he stiffened unusually. It appeared that he was having trouble calming back down as he angrily said, "The Fox's Rose got the jewel somehow. The person I chased after was called Death Angel. Another thief who seems to not like The Fox' Rose. He might help us if we run into him again. Right now though, we should keep moving. She's probably already moved."

I nodded. 'Where to?'

"It's hard to say. There are two objects that are close by but they are in two different cities. If we miss her in one of them, we'll probably be wandering for months trying to find her again."

'Can I see the list?'

Kurama nodded and dug the list out of his bag.

After looking over it for a moment, I asked him if he had stolen either treasure. He replied that he had stolen a necklace that was now in the next town over but nothing in those two cities.

'How about we go to that city then?'

Kurama frowned. "Why?"

'She seems to be stealing stuff you have before and that's the closest object you've stolen.'

He nodded. "We'd better hurry then. The next object is in a town that is a three day walk from here. Two and a half if I run and you fly, and one and a half if we don't stop."

I nodded and followed him out of the castle. 'So how are we going to get there?'

"We should probably travel non-stop just to get there ahead of her."

'Getting there first won't do us any good if we're both tired.'

He nodded. "How long can you fly for?"

'An hour.'

"We'll run for the first hour then."

I then ran ahead and took to the air. Kurama quickly caught up, running underneath me. We travelled like that for an hour and a half before Kurama forced me to return to earth. After that, he carried me on his back, and to be honest, it was much faster. As he ran, Rose's words came back to my mind as I slowly started to fall asleep due to the soothing motion.

I'm not going to fall for his tricks, I promised myself as I finally drifted to sleep. Not this time.

A/N: Yeah, towards the end I just started copying and pasting instead of rewriting. I'm lazy, and I can handle that. Hope you don't all kill me since this is the second on in two days. Anyways, thanks for the reviews and reading.

-D101