So what date is it there in your country, guys? Because it's already a day after my birthday here, which is August 25. :(( So I broke my yearly tradition of posting something up on my birthday. But at least it's not two or three days late, right? Hihi.

I was actually about to pull an all-nighter so I could finish this one, but then I was sent to bed early because we had to visit our relatives today - which is where I'm typing right now. Frustrated, I cried myself to sleep. And if it weren't for my bestfriend who talked some sense into me, I wouldn't be able to finish this right. xDD So.. thanks!

Anyway, enough with that. Let's get on with the story. And because it's my birthday, Kurama's narrating this time! Haha. So enjoy!

Kurama's POV

I gazed at the sleeping figure on the bed. Her legs were tucked under the pillow she was hugging. She had actually claimed my space on the bed already. But she looked peaceful; free from the nightmares that have been haunting her lately. Too bad I have to interrupt her dreamless slumber.

Leaning in, I kissed the top of her head.

Her ears only twitched in response.

Sighing, I whispered into one of them, "Time to get up, Yana-chan."

She didn't budge. She wasn't much of a light sleeper as I am.

I grunted. "You leave me no choice," I muttered as I sat up.

Her expression was a mixture of shock and terror when I yanked her leg, almost causing her to fall off the bed. Priceless.

Blinking several times, she finally spoke, "Y-you didn't have to do that!" She pulled the hem of her nightgown down, which had ridden up her thigh. She must've noticed my eyes on it.

"I decided to be less gentle," I smirked, "since you've been complaining about me treating you like a child."

She smiled. "More like babying."

"Babying?" I repeated with a raise of an eyebrow. Yana and her made-up terms…

"Never mind," she giggled.

I sighed. "Here," I handed her the twin bunnies' buzzer, or as she'd like to call it, the 'keychain'. "As usual, Kurosagi and Shirosagi would tend to your needs. So don't hesitate to call for them."

Yana nodded as she fingered the rose-shaped button. "Take care, alright?"

"Don't worry." I smiled reassuringly at her. "The events of our last raid would not happen again," I ran a hand through her silver hair.

Silver.

Yomi had seen Yana's true appearance, a silver kitsune. And worse, he also found out that I haven't marked her as my mate yet.

It won't be long before Yomi would attempt to reveal those to everyone else. And then, stealing Yana from me would most probably be his next step.

I'd have to do something real soon.

"Now, I do not want to waste any more time. I still have to gather more funds for the grand wedding," I kissed her cheek. "I'll see you later then. Be a good girl," I pat her head before standing up and turning towards the door.

But then my knees trembled all so sudden that I fell back on the bed, my head on her lap.

Yana had pulled on my tail.

"What was that for?" I glared.

"Revenge for pulling my leg," she smirked, pushing my bangs away from my eyes. "Now I know your weak spot. You should've seen your knees shake!" she laughed, lightly squeezing the silver tail still in her hand.

"Stop it, Yana!" I pinned the laughing kitsune on the bed as a reflex. "Anything but my tail!"

"Aww," she reached up to my face, "you're getting teary-eyed."

I watched her wipe the sides of my eyes. "Not a word of this to anyone," I warned.

"Oh sure," she giggled.

Then I smirked, leaning down until our foreheads touched. "Could it be that you're teasing me?"

Her laughter had died down completely. "What?"

"Oh you know what I mean," I slowly puled her sleeve down.

"Hey I was just—"

"Ssh," I pressed a finger to her lips. "Bad girl. You need to be discip—"

Three small knocks on the door sounded through the room.

"Master Youko?" we heard Shirosagi's tiny voice from the other side of the door. "You called for us?"

Yana grinned sheepishly, pulling out the buzzer from under her back. "Oops."

"Master?" Kurosagi called, knocking louder. "Do you need—"

"Yes, help me get this fox off me!" Yana yelled.

I rolled my eyes, "As if they could."

"I thought you don't want to waste time," the fox shot back.

I stared for a moment, as if to mull it over. "That's right," I finally sat up, and then held my hand out to help her up.

She gladly took it… leading her right into my arms, my lips crashing into hers in the process.

The door opened just then, followed by the twins' gasps.

Yana tried to pull away, but I only held her tighter, ignoring her muffled moans of protest. She soon stopped squirming, resting her hands on my arms.

"Don't mind them," I whispered into her ear as I broke away, referring to the twins glued to the door, watching us. I had her lean against my chest, feeling her hot breath on my skin. The sensation calmed my worried mind, yet stimulated the rest of my senses at the same time; and I like it.

Yana put her arms around my waist then, hugging me back.

Kissing the top of her head, I once again ran my hand through her hair. I closed my eyes and sighed. No matter how much she complains, I couldn't get past the image of Yana as a fragile being, someone who constantly needs my protection. A treasure I couldn't entrust to be watched by anyone else, a flower I couldn't leave to be tended to by others.

Call it a fox instinct; we don't like to share, and we protect what is ours at all cost. Or maybe it's just a tendency of mine to feel this kind of protectiveness over her, because of my age.

Either way, no one else could take her away from me. Most especially not someone like Yomi.

"I'll move you out of this room once I get back," I spoke softly into her ear.

"Move?" she repeated, looking up.

"You'll be much safer in my room," I smiled down at Yana before turning to the twins.

Flinching from my stare, both turned away after getting caught watching us intently.

"You two," I called for their attention.

Their heads immediately snapped back to my direction. "Y-yes, Master?" they said.

"Get Yana's things ready for moving," I ordered.

"Yes, Master," both of them bowed in response before they immediately started moving around the room.

Another knock came at the wooden bedroom door.

"Someone needs to get off their girlfriend now so we could get going already!" Kuronue snickered from outside.

Looking back at the kitsune, we muttered our goodbyes. Then I headed out to join my comrades waiting in the castle's front garden.

On my way to the front door though, someone just had to decide to bother me. "I see you're in a good mood," he said.

"And I advise you to keep from ruining it," I replied coldly, getting back to being my stoic self. With Yana, I allow myself to loosen up a bit, but that is clearly not an option with anyone else. "Is there anything you needed to tell me so badly, that you had to delay something as important as a raid, Yomi?"

He shook his head. "Sheesh, I merely bumped into you to wish you good luck," he replied. "You don't have to be—"

"If all you have are nonsensical things to say," I brushed past him, deliberately bumping into his shoulder, "I'd better get going."

Two maids then opened the doors for me.

"Don't try anything stupid, Yomi," I added over my shoulder as I stepped outside.

The darkness of the night is starting to get deeper, with only the full moon as our light. A perfect setting for a night raid. I smirked.

Lately, we've only gone on heists early in the morning. This will be the first time in a long time for us to go on a night raid. And since I don't want anything like the recent raid's accident to occur again, then a night raid is just perfect.

Moving in the darkness is more of my specialty, my element.

Though it still had me hoping to get a little more thrill out of this.

And if I wished for something, I'd surely get it, whether I'd like what will happen or not.

Another guard fell limp on the ground, lifeless, at the crack of my Rose Whip. Turning to the others, we took off at my signal.

Those stupid guards only got wind of our presence once my comrades and I already got our hands on the loot. Now we're on the run once again, being pursued by those uniformed idiots.

Deeming it unsafe to head straight to Mizu Castle, I decided to get the rest of the guards lost in the dark winding forest I knew by heart. That is, if they didn't get killed first.

"We did great as always," Kuronue glided beside me, carrying a small treasure chest as he flew. "And boy, that mansion is a treasure in itself.

I smirked, remembering how the treasure room is brimming with authentic jewelry and antiques, most of them embedded with the rarest stones, and some made from pure gold themselves. It really takes a good eye for real treasure to judge which ones we should get.

"Too bad we don't have that much time and men to carry more," the bat added.

"This is more than enough for the wedding, though," I stopped to lash my whip at the last of the guards that have caught up to us. "I just feel bad that we didn't get enough excitement tonight."

Kuronue chuckled. "The downside of all those years of experience, huh?"

"I guess," I shrugged. "You've known and experienced a lot already, that a chase like this hardly ever thrills you anymore."

"Hah. I have to agree with you," he sighed, lifting himself higher to easily spot more pursuers. "We're clear, Kurama," he shouted down at us.

I then motioned for the men to continue running. "Let's head back then," I said.

Following a shortcut to the castle, I suddenly halted at a clearing we reached a few moments later.

"Whoa, what's up, fox?" Kuronue descended a few meters away from us.

I grunted. "Take this," I threw the small treasure chest I'm carrying over at him. "Go on and lead them back to the castle. You know the way."

Knowing better than to ask questions, Kuronue addressed our comrades as he lifted himself up from the ground again, "Follow me then."

He started on his way, followed by the rest of the men.

I, meanwhile, took an off-course path, which would lead me to a certain huge castle. The castle Yomi had proposed we should infiltrate—the one I refused to go to.

The all too familiar voices. Screams of pain. Cries for help. The smell of blood.

I clenched my fists. The only one who could be behind this unauthorized raid, the only one who've thought of coming in here in the first place, the only one who would—

"Gah!" Yomi's yelp sounded through the narrow hallway.

Peeking through one of the huge posts, I saw the guards crowding around a huge rectangular hole in the middle of the hallway. A trapdoor. Yomi had fallen in, evidenced by his grunts coming from down there.

"Here's the last one," one of the guards sneered.

"Must be the leader," another added.

"So what would you like, boy? A slow and torturous death, or a painlessly fast one?" a third one taunted.

I rolled my eyes. How cliché could they get?

Turning my attention back to the guards' current object of interest, I seriously thought of leaving to teach the guy a lesson.

He's done things I hated. He's opposed me a lot of times. And worse, he's been hitting on my Yana; and he's aware that I know that, too. Moreover, there's the issue of him knowing my secrets.

So why can't I just turn around and run back to the castle?

Because he is a comrade. A part of the band of thieves I handle. The men who, despite the pride and expertise they've almost perfected over the years that they think they could already boast of, had originally sought for protection, for a home.

Though it is far from being described as a harmonious family, the set up is pretty much the same. They joined the group, entrusting their lives to me, holding on to that unspoken assurance of my protection.

And as with every raid, it is a major rule to get everyone out alive.

But this is not my raid.

Yomi swayed my orders once again. He took a large group of men with him, eventually leading them to their fateful end. Either they were under the impression that I authorized Yomi as a leader of this heist, or they have planned this with Yomi all along. Whatever the reason, they were fools for believing the bloodthirsty and impulsive demon's words. They only deserved their untimely deaths.

And Yomi, who still managed to be alive, is now trapped. Helpless, and most probably wounded. I could smell his blood from here. Rash, reckless, and selfish. Truly a disaster of a living being.

Sighing and shaking my head, I turned away to leave. But oddly, a memory of one of Yana's training sessions in the forest flashed through my mind just then, stopping me from my tracks.

"Save him, please," Yana pleaded, referring to the wild animal hanging at the branch of a tall tree.

"It hurt you," Kurama turned away. "It's just about to get what it deserved. It'd be lucky to survive its fall."

The wild animal, small and frail-looking as it may seem, could claw your eyes out with their sharp nails or strangle you lifeless with their vice grip. They are the beasts of this part of the forest, who would attack either because you've invaded their territory, or it wants something from you.

It tried to attack Yana in the middle of her training, causing three bloody scratches in her face. In defense, Yana pushed it away, landing at the root of one of Kurama's plants that tried to bite its head off. In its terror, it climbed up a tall tree. Unfortunately, it slipped on its way to the top, and now it clung to a tree branch for its life.

Yana tugged at Kurama's arm. "It may have done me harm, but it still deserves a second chance. And it certainly doesn't deserve to die like this. Won't it nag at your conscience if you just left that poor creature there?"

"Conscience?" he had repeated, laughing darkly. "Someone like me doesn't have one."

"That's not true," she had insisted. Seeing no reaction from him, Yana let go of his arm. "Then if you won't save it, I will."

"Why do you have to be so kind?"

Yana continued towards the tree. Sighing, Kurama used his whip to wrap around the small animal's body and safely bring him back down to the ground. It hissed at them once more before running away.

"I don't understand you."

She smiled. "Aww. See, you still saved him! Shows that you're still kind enough to spare someone's life. It triggered your conscience, huh?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

Conscience. The persistent heavy feeling I get with every I step I took to abandon my comrade.

If I did leave Yomi here, would it really bother me in the future?

Doesn't deserve to die like this... a second chance...

Yana's words rang through my head. I looked back at the guards.

I haven't actually hated him right from the start. If I did, I wouldn't have accepted him into the group, won't I? In fact, I've seen Yomi as a worthy ally, someone useful and strong enough to lead his comrades. But pride found its way into his heart, and he got too full of his superiority among the others.

And that's when I grew to despise him.

But then it all falls back to the simple fact that had me walking back towards the guards in an attempt to help him: Yomi is still a comrade of mine, and a superior one among the band of thieves.

I hate to do this. I hate to save him.

But I am still his leader, and he is still my subordinate I have to protect. Rules are rules.

And my conscience...

Pulling a red rose out of my hair, I walked soundlessly towards the idiots laughing their heads off from their pointless taunts. With one flick of my hand, a whip replaced the flower. A deadly whip I used to lash the life out of the guards in a fraction of a second.

Continuing towards the edge of the rectangular hole, I looked down to see Yomi sitting at one corner, surrounded by tall spikes.

"Kurama," he barely muttered in surprise.

"Your personality is going to get you killed someday," was my only reply before I turned to leave.

"How did you find me?" I heard him ask as he ran after me.

Our short encounter before I left the castle proved to be useful in a way. Knowing he's up to some mischief, I actually left a tracker stuck to him. A seed that attracts one of the plants I have been hiding all along with me.

Managing to catch up and run by my side, and realizing I wasn't about to answer his first question, he threw another one at me, "Why did you save me?"

This time, I glanced sideways at him. "Because no matter how much I hate it, you are still a comrade. But remember this day, Yomi. This will be the last time I'm ever going to help you."

Arriving at the castle, I was greeted with Yana's failed attempt to tackle me down with her tight welcoming hug. Well, at least that's how it looked like. She had clung to my neck for a short moment, then pulled away to glare at me.

"What happened, Kurama?" she asked. "How come the others came back without you?"

Yomi appeared at the door just then.

"Well, apparently someone decided to go on his own raid," I said.

Yana's eyes widened as she looked at Yomi.

"I want to take a rest now," I grabbed Yana's hand and pulled her with me towards the stairs. "Leave him with his own musings for now."

She fell silent as we climbed the stairs. It seemed like she's in deep thought, but when I looked back at her, I saw she was smiling.

"Have you gone insane?" I asked.

"So you saved Yomi, didn't you?" her smile grew brighter, almost infectious.

I turned away and grunted. "Well that was not obvious, wasn't it?"

Entering my bedroom, which I haven't visited since she came to the castle, and which I would be sharing with her starting tonight, Yana suddenly stopped and tugged at my hand. Sighing, I turned around to fully face her.

"What is it now?" I said, trying not to sound harsh though.

"You've prioritized his safety over your hate," she stated.

I frowned slightly, "It was only because—"

"He is your comrade," Yana finished my sentence. "I know, but your conscience is what pushed you even more to do that."

"My conscience…" I repeated. "Is this going to be a lecture?"

Yana giggled, a sound I've grown to like a lot. "No, silly. I was just pointing out, or rather, confirming for myself, that you're not all that cold and cruel, which is what everyone else sees you."

I sighed, stifling a smile. This girl really does know how to calm me down. "What they see me as is what I really am."

Yana suddenly leaned in then, tiptoeing so that our noses touched. "Liar."

"What are you doing?" I put my arms around her waist to support her frame.

"Why? What's wrong with letting the others see you for who you really are?"

I looked away. "I can't, Yana."

"Why?"

"Because I've never done that before," I looked back at her. "Well, you are an exception."

She shook her head. "Saving Yomi is a sign of the kindness inside of you. That even someone like you has something called 'conscience.'"

I smiled. If there is one thing I've liked so much about this kitsune, that is how someone as young as her could influence me with the selfless heart she possessed. She was able to awaken something inside of me, a warmth that had started to melt this cold heart of mine.

Without her knowing it, she had taught me about real kindness and concern through her actions. I learned how to smile and laugh genuinely. I listen to every word she says, careful not to miss anything. Because her talks, no matter how senseless they may seem, are actually something I find adorable. It is a part of her personality that never fails to intrigue me.

"Yes, I guess I do have a conscience. You seem to be rubbing off on me," I shook my head, feigning disappointment.

"Well isn't that wonderful?"

"No, it is not," I smirked. "So, there's something you're about to do, right?"

"Oh, right," she giggled, before closing the small distance between us with a kiss.

I lifted her off the ground, turning so that I could press her against a wall. She grabbed my shoulders for support, letting out a soft moan as I lightly nipped her lower lip. My tongue traced the thin line between her upper and lower lips, begging to be let in.

But her lips never parted to grant my wish. Instead she placed her hands on either side of my head to gently pull my head back.

I looked at her with confusion.

"Kurama," she said breathlessly, "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm afraid I cannot move to your room."

So, what do you guys think? Please leave a review!

And now I'm officially sixteeeeen! Sweet sixteen~! Haha. So far, I had a blast. Lotsa food (I loved the pasta.. xD), and lots of people greeting me... especially the people I value the most. :D And there are extended celebrations I'm expecting... I'm so excited.

Again, please leave a review!