Chapter Seven

Yuzuki laughed loudly, her feet moving to make ripples in the water as she did so. Her shining blue hair was only just past her shoulders, and her ears were perked happily. The rock she sat on was warm from the sun beating down on her. She wore robes that were the color of a coral reef, and they openly showed her back and belly. he two strips of silk on her shoulders draped to loosely conceal her small breasts. She had the bottom bunched around her knees so that it wouldn't get wet.

"Asuma, I love how you always keep me laughing," she said, looking at her lover. He was pale, just like she was, and had brown hair and eyes. His teeth were cleaner than most humans. He wore his warrior gear out in the open, like it was nothing at all.

"Anything for you, princess," he said, and smiled back at her. He held her hand openly; no one was around to say anything. "I must say, your gardens here really are amazing."

They really were impressive, but Yuzuki had seen them her whole life. She was used to seeing all of the exotic flowers and trees. They were an everyday thing to her. "I suppose. Not many people look to these gardens. I suppose to higher-class demons, they are nothing."

"Well, I think that they are something." It was amazing how his brown eyes glinted brighter than his golden ones. "So, when will you tell him?"

She sighed. She'd known this question had been coming. "How should I tell my father that I have bedded with a Demon Hunter who had been assigned to protect me under the Reikai?" she asked.

"Yuzuki, your father is one of the kindest apparitions I have encountered. And there is no law here about human mates; I know others in your clan that do it."

"You are correct." She looked out to the water. Surely her father would understand. He'd let many in the clan mate humans. Even children had been born between them. He'd always taught her not to judge, to always make peace with everyone. That was why no one battled on this land. Everyone loved each other for who they really were.

Maybe it would be better since the two weren't mated.

"Are you afraid?" he asked. "Do you think that your royal name will be taken from you?"

"Asuma, if we were mated, it must be," Yuzuki replied. "But I have two brothers elder to me. One of them may rule one day instead of myself."

Asuma laughed then. "Of course. The one with the warrior's heart and the other who prefers food and drink over responsibility."

She laughed, too. "Both of my brothers are very kind, Asuma. And the eldest is three hundred years my senior. He is much wiser than myself."

"Perhaps. But I still believe your father chose you to rule for a reason."

"Again, you are correct." She moved her hand from his and moved to stand. "After the festivities tonight, I will talk with Father. You are, of course, coming to watch?"

"You are singing tonight. Of course I will be there." He lazily ran a hand through his hair. "And I will also attend the meeting with your father afterward."

She smiled brightly at him. "I love you, Asuma."

"And I love you, Yuzuki."

She awoke with a start. She really had dreamt of him, despite the venom from the illusion flower she'd used to keep him away from her dreams. But at least in this dream, there had been no darkness.

She decided not to think of her father. It would only make things worse. And she had other things to worry about.

Today was the day she would be released from this cell. Released and put on probation under the watch of the blasted Yoko Kurama. She half-considered escaping the minute she got to the outside world. Unfortunately, though, that would mean breaking the law.

And her father had taught her, after all, that law ruled above all else.

It had been two weeks since Kurama had heard of Yuzuki's moving in with him. Koenma informed him of the fox demon's situation in little detail.

"You see, Yuzuki is who we actually expected her to be," he said, going through paperwork casually. "She's the former heir to the throne of a society her ancestors created, dubbed the Mari clan."

"Former, because she went missing?" Kurama asked in response. His head was already starting to hurt.

"Not at all. Do you even listen?" The child visibly rolled his eyes. "Yuzuki had a human lover."

"But she said she broke no law." Of course he had been listening.

"She didn't. The Mari are a very peaceful breed, Kurama. They love everyone and everything. But the leader of the clan was honestly disgusted with her choice."

"Why? Doesn't it seem a bit hypocritical?"

"She was of royal blood." Koenma absently moved to a new stack of papers. "She was going to lose the family name if she mated with that human, and her descendants were going to be half-breeds. They banished her from the clan entirely, and the demon forest they'd claimed as their own millenia before."

"That doesn't tell me how she went missing," Kurama stated in reply. "What could I do to stop her if she decides to run away?"

"I'm not finished." He finally looked up at the redhead, seriousness in his eyes. "Yuzuki has the ability to use her voice in special ways using her youki. She can do various things with it. There were hundreds of demons who would want to have her power." He sighed. "Her father came to my own, King Enma, for aid in guarding his daughter. We put a Demon Hunter named Asuma on the case. Asuma was Yuzuki's human lover."

Kurama's eyes widened. This was turning into a cheesy romance. "Let me guess, he died protecting her."

"No." Koenma's eyes closed and he leaned back in his chair. "Asuma went mad, and tortured her until near death. Along with several other demons as well."

Ah. So much for that cheesy part. "And she was rescued?"

"No, the thief Yoko Kurama kidnapped her from her dungeon. Just like she said, she wasn't ever found. He took her to take her vocal chords. A voice like that is powerful."

"And then?"

"No one knows. Except for you, that is." He went back to his paperwork. "I would start remembering, Kurama. You were the last person to see her alive."

Kurama cursed. He didn't understand how he was connected. Yoko's spirit had melded with his a long time ago. He had all of his memories. So why couldn't he remember this one girl? She obviously wasn't as important as everyone claimed she was.

You will remember, that dark voice whispered. This is a more embarrassing part of our life that we wouldn't want to remember.

"Hn." Great. Now he was starting to sound like Hiei. That couldn't be good.

He looked to the clock. He still had awhile before going to the Reikai.

He made his way to the living room and sat on the couch. Maybe having someone at home wouldn't be too bad. It would definitely be less lonely in his three-bedroom home. Hiei didn't come by too often, and Yusuke was busy remodeling his new house for Keiko and the baby.

Ugh, it seemed everyone was having kids except for him. Not that Kurama minded that. He honestly wasn't sure if he would ever want any. In fact, he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to get married. Too much of a hassle.

He closed his eyes. He shouldn't think of such petty things. Instead he should worry about work. And remember who the hell Yuzuki was four hundred years ago.

It was dark. No moon shown in the Living World tonight. The air was thick with the stench of humans. Not a single insect was singing. No one roamed the streets of this village.

It didn't matter to Yoko Kurama, anyway. As long as he left with his prize.

The dark, ancient manor was teeming with life, naturally. What sick creatures humans could be, torturing demons and fornicating in their blood. He made a mental note to kill everyone here. Kill all of them. Like the useless vermin they really were.

It wasn't hard to get inside. No one was in the foyer, anyway. everyone was upstairs, being the sinners they all were. Not even a servant was anywhere to be found.

He could hear her screaming before he heard anything else, and it made his silver fox ears tingle. All he had to do was follow her voice. It seemed easy enough.

He made his way up the stairs, almost belching in disgust at the smell of youkai blood. Not only that, but it was also the smell of death. It seemed to be around every corner of this place. He couldn't help but wonder how long this had been going on. From the scent, this had been going on for months, or maybe even a little over a year.

When he finally found her, she was in the hallway, naked. The two double-doors were open, where demons were weeping and humans were moaning and laughing. It made the fox's stomach churn.

She had a very small frame, like an adolescent instead of a woman. Small, plump breasts and visibly soft skin. Her hair had a blue tint over the silver, an exotic color that only those in her clan could manage.

He'd only been to the Mari forests once. All the Yoko there had exotic colors of hair. It could have been their strange diets, but he personally thought that it was their strange origin in the Demon World.

She was crawling, face down. Such a sad sight. A man followed; a human with brown hair and dark eyes. Seemed they hadn't noticed Kurama's presence yet. His shirt was torn, and teeth marks were visible on his left shoulder.

Hn. So she'd mated this monster. Didn't that mean he felt her pain? Or did this human get off on that, too?

"Yuzuki, where are you going?" the man asked. "That was very rude in front of our guests."

Kurama then noticed two things. Her back was dotted with many sharp black pieces of metal. Needles, maybe? They covered her limbs as well. She was bleeding everywhere, unable to escape. This man was just toying with her.

The second thing he'd noticed was that the bite marks on the man's shoulder were fresh. They weren't mated at all-she'd bitten him in self defense, to make the pain stop.

He decided to step from the shadows, showing his face. Before either could react, He used his rose whip to catch the pathetic vermin by the throat. At least that had shut him up.

"It's over for you," Kurama said, smirking. "You should guard your treasure more carefully."

"W-what!?" The man was obviously shocked. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"A bandit." What else would he be?

He looked to the broken woman, then. She was shaking, keeping her head down. "You bitch!" the human shouted. "You sent an assassin, didn't you!? I knew your voice sounded different!"

Kurama looked down at her. "You are Yuzuki of the Mari clan?" he asked.

Her not wouldn't have been visible to any human being. Kurama's smirk grew. "Then stay down. I will return shortly."

"It's no use, Yuzuki!" he shouted. "I will not suffer in the end! I will find you! If it's the last thing I do, you will never escape again!"

"Enough of you." He pulled his rose whip only slightly. Blood spattered and sprayed. The human's head went flying.

"Hn. Stay down," he repeated, and headed toward the open doors. Extermination was now in his requirements. Two birds with one stone. Not even the demons would survive.

Before he could attack, he heard her voice. The voice he'd heard so much about from others.

The note was high and shrill, almost like a scream. But it was perfect. Beautiful. Frightening.

They all died. Everyone dropped to their knees, even the demons holding their heads and shouting in pain. Fragments of bone began to fly. Blood pooled everywhere and stained Kurama's shoes.

When he walked out of that room, she was sitting up, visibly shaking and crying.

"It's so dark," she said. "So… dark… please light a candle… Please make it stop…"

Ah, she was insane. But she had been in there for awhile. At least soon Kurama could put her out of her misery.

"Do not worry, young one," he said. "When you wake up, I will take away everything you have. And then I will destroy you."

He made a fist and hit her in the back of the head before she could react to his words. It was time to go. The people from the Reikai would be there soon.

He moved quickly to find her clothing, but would take the needles from her back after his escape. Maybe things could get interesting when she woke up. Kurama loved a good challenge.

His eyes snapped open, and he sat up quickly to look at his hands. No claws. He reached back to grab his hair. It was long, but red. Not silver.

He sighed. So, it was true. He had been the one to kidnap Yuzuki four hundred years ago. He had told her that he was going to destroy her. Take everything she had, and then destroy her existence.

But it was obvious that Kurama had failed. Yuzuki was alive. And coming home to move in with the demon who'd tried to kill her all those years ago. With possibly her greatest enemy.

He sighed again. This wouldn't be good.