Chapter Ten

Alone. God, how she hated being alone.

She had to stop this madness. She had to escape the darkness that surrounded her. But it would always come. Every time. There was only one way to stop it… only one way…

"Yuzuki?"

Her eyes snapped open. She was curled up in her blanket, shivering. Kurama stood in the doorway with something odd in his hand.

It was nighttime. He would be going to sleep soon. She would not. She couldn't never sleep. Not like this…

"I think this will help," he said, and stepped inside. In his hand he held a ceramic star, with a glass ball behind it. Both were held on a stand with prongs sticking out of the back of it. "It is called a nightlight."

"A night light?"

"Yes. Also, open the drapes on your window."

She did as she was told, and then watched him put the "night light" into two small holes in the wall. It lit up brightly.

"When you think of the darkness, Yuzuki, think of the starlight. They keep light even in the darkness."

"I never thought of stars that way," she replied. "Darkness comes and goes."

He sat down on the bed beside her, moving to touch her tear-stained face. "But when the darkness comes, the stars will give you light."

"But I have no stars, Yoko Kurama."

His face was serious. His emerald eyes were dark in the dim light. "I have plenty to share," he said, in a voice that was not quite his own.

Her eyes widened. For only a moment his eyes flashed gold, and then it seemed as though he realized what had been said. He quickly stood.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "I hope that light helps. See you in the morning."

She sighed. The poor boy didn't know whether to flirt or be casual.

Yuzuki closed her eyes. Knowing the nightlight was there did make her feel only slightly better. But there were still shadows…

There were no shadows anymore. No light. No bed. She didn't even have clothes on. Everything was silent. There was grass beneath her feet and clouds above her. It was nighttime. All she could see was a full-view mirror in front of her. It was almost glowing. She took a step forward. A regular mirror. There was nothing more to it.

She looked carefully over the naked body she'd always known. She wished she looked different. Taller. A more matured body…

She used to hate the body she had. But she knew nothing could really be done about it. She'd stopped growing a long time ago. Only the hair on her head and tail grew now. But she knew now that there was nothing she could do to make her body mature. She would always have the body of a young girl. Small breasts, small figure. The only thing that showed she was an adult was her eyes. Eyes that have seen so much…

It was hard to believe that he was five hundred years old. She didn't look it. Hell, that was being a demon. She wouldn't start aging again for another two hundred and fifty years.

"Yuzuki."

Her ears perked up, and she turned away from the looking glass. That voice… it only reached her ears in her darkest nightmares.

"Asuma?" she whispered.

"Come here, Yuzuki."

She couldn't obey. She knew what would happen if she came to him.

"I will not hurt you. You can trust me, Yuzuki."

"No." She fell to her knees. "I… I cannot…"

She suddenly felt the pain. The pain of all those chains. Those blades. The fascination in humans' eyes.

Yuzuki began to sob. It was all she could do. She no longer had the ability to defend herself. No. She'd broken the law last time…

When she opened her eyes, she saw roses growing beneath her. Roses the color of blood. Something she hadn't seen in awhile growing naturally, until she saw them in Kurama's garden. She put her hands to her head.

Wake up, she thought. Wake up!

"Yuzuki."

She jolted. That hadn't been Asuma's voice. It had been strangely familiar. Slowly, Yuzuki put her hands back on the ground, crushing a few flowers beneath her.

"It seems every time we meet, you are always naked and more broken than you were before."

She felt herself growling before she heard it. That demon energy had been all too familiar. "Go away."

"Look at me, Yuzuki."

For some reason, she didn't hesitate to obey him. She looked up and there stood the Yoko Kurama she knew from years ago. Silver hair with tail and ears to match, white robes, and malicious eyes the color of gold. She honestly enjoyed the redheaded side better.

"Still broken." It wasn't a question. The fox knew.

"Still running," she responded. She moved to stand. "What do you want, Kurama?"

"The same thing as before," he answered.

"The answer is still no."

"But I'm a whole new person." He smirked, canines glistening.

In almost a flash, he was the Yoko Kurama she'd grown to know and halfway respect: shorter, with brilliant red hair and bright emerald eyes, a kind smile on his face.

"Look around you, Yuzuki," he said to her.

She did. The grassy field was covered in red roses, vines growing along the ground instead of climbing up. "Did you do this?" she asked.

"I did," he said. "I turned your tears to roses, so maybe you'll smile again."

She almost did. "Now look up," he continued.

The sky was no longer black, but bright with thousands of stars. It had been a long time since she'd seen a night like this. It was an amazing sight. "This also?"

"I told you, Yuzuki. I have stars. When darkness comes, I'll light the night with them. Just to make sure you're no longer afraid."

She looked to him. "And what do you want from me, Yoko Kurama?"

The redhead opened his mouth to answer, but it never came. Instead his hair turned ebony, becoming shorter and his eyes darkened to brown. His white shirt simply faded away, and his pants began to change into some considered ancient. His features changed drastically.

"Yuzuki," Asuma said. "Oh, Yuzuki. How different you have become."

"Asuma," she said aloud, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

The man stepped toward her, and all the roses disappeared suddenly, in a cloud of dust. The night suddenly became darker. And Yuzuki's panic rose.

Asuma couldn't take another step, however, for a thick, thorned vine suddenly whipped around his neck. She gasped, following the vine to the side. Kurama held it, emerald eyes clouded with fury.

He only looked to her briefly. "You are Yuzuki of the Mari clan?" he asked. His voice was different, but it was his own at the least. But she supposed that it was the anger that made him sound like that.

"I am," she replied, blinking. "Kurama, what are you-"

"You bitch." Asuma's voice was strained, just like it had been back then. "You sent-"

Kurama made his rose whip tighten, cutting off the human's words suddenly. "Don't you dare speak to her like that," he hissed. "She did not ask for my help, but I shall gladly give it if it means exterminating a worthless piece of trash like you."

When Kurama pulled the whip again, the blood spattered onto Yuzuki's exposed skin. Her eyes widened. Asuma's blood. On her hands, her body… she looked to Kurama to see that he was once again in his original form.

"Do not worry, Yuzuki, my intentions are different now," he said slowly. "This time, I will prove to you that I-"

Yuzuki jolted, rapidly looking about the room and producing a rose whip. she was back at Kurama's house. She was in the bedroom, the "night-light" still shining brightly.

She put her face in her hands. What was wrong with her? Was she supposed to know something? Or was someone trying to show it to her

Yuzuki tried to fall asleep again, but it did not come easily. She kept picturing all that blood. Her lover's blood. On her skin, all around her. And then Yoko, with his golden eyes staring her down the way they did four hundred years ago.

"Come, Yuzuki. We can do limitless things, you and I. Maybe you will grow to love me."