Standard disclaimer for the whole fic: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Chapter 1
Saved?
The full moon hung high in the night sky, bringing enough light to guide Kuroune through the dense forest. Stepping from tree branch to tree branch, he worked through to the top of the trees. His pursers were too large and ungainly to keep up with him for very long, so Kuroune needed to by himself a little time until they got tired or gave up on catching him. Clutching the food he had stolen to his chest he jumped, flapping his wings a few times as he cleared the trees. Hunger had drove him to pilfer from the dangerous youkai and hunger is what kept him from using his wings to escape.
When his strength had almost been sapped he finally dove down, weaving in and out of the trees once again. Apparently, his action was exactly what his pursuers were waiting for. With a loud twang of a bow string an arrow shot at Kuroune and struck him in the back. Even if he had more strength his wings would do him no good, they were instantly paralyzed when the arrow sank into the flesh between his wings. He fell, slamming into the ground within seconds.
"A good catch brother," a voice said that was just beyond Kuroune's line of sight. The grisly group of twelve circled around their prey, a few of them kicking the downed demon. Kuroune shut his eyes, anger welling inside him at the sudden feeling of helplessness.
"What should we do with him now?"
"I say we devour him, it's a punishment befitting the crime."
"That's a gr-"The last demon to speak broke off mid-sentence and started yelling. His words were unintelligible to Kuroune, but apparently the others knew what he was saying. Kuroune felt their feet thud against the ground as they ran from him, yells turning into shrieks and out cries of pain.
Having nothing better to do, Kuroune peeked open one eye then stayed very still. At least four dozen plants had sprouted from the soil, all with very large teeth. They were quicker than the group that had hunted Kuroune, in a matter of moments all had been captured by the plants and were being gnawed on by the carnivorous plants.
"You wandered into my territory little vermin, and I don't take trespassing lightly. Now suffer the consequences." Kuroune weakly lifted his head to view the owner of the sensually calm and quiet voice. On the lowest branch in a tree not far from Kuroune stood a kitsune, his silver tail swaying idly as he watched the carnage. He was dressed in light blue robes, the matching silken shoes shining in the moonlight. The kitsune was tall and lean, his well muscled shoulders and arms exposed by the sleeveless robe. His arms were crossed over his chest, claw like nails tapping against his arms. Golden eyes almost glowed from behind silver bangs, his hair the same color of his tail and reached the small of his back. Silvery ears were folded back against his head, Kuroune could barely make out a little bit of pink on the inside of each.
Moving to look at the silver youko was what alerted the plants to his presence, causing them to dive after the tired and numb demon. One large stalk circled around his waist as he was raised up, one of the plants impatiently chewing on his hard leathery boot. The sharp teeth of the plant started to slice through the thick leather, causing Kuroune groan in pain. Four other plants raced towards him at the sign of pain, seemingly hungered by it.
"Stop." The youko waved the other plants off with one hand and curled a finger towards himself, indicating the plant that held the captured demon to bring Kuroune to him. Kuroune closed his eyes again, fighting off the darkness that edged into his vision. "Pretty... If you were clean you might actually be pretty." The trapped demon felt a hand lift his chin so his face was even with the youko's. Kuroune opened his eyes, trying his best to glare defiantly at the youko. "Hm, with personality too. You do realize that you're at my mercy, right pretty play thing? What's your name?" Kuroune tried to bite at the hand, but it held his face firmly by the chin. "Your name, or I'll feed you to my plants. Your moan sounded delicious to them. They feed more off of fear and cries of pain than actual flesh... So, your name?"
"Ku... Kuroune," he managed to whisper before the darkness claimed him.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Dreams were something Kuroune never liked, they never were of anything he wanted or of pleasant things. They always were of his father, or the rest of his family. Haunting images of his father constantly beating him and his brothers, his father making them at a very early age clean up the gore left behind from yet another one of his victims. The worst dream came from something that haunted his waking and sleeping hours for years.
He was only seven and his big sister was more like a mother to him than the woman that had given birth to both. They ate together, they played together, and she even hid him when their father was in the mood to torture his family. Their brothers refused her help, and usually ended up getting the worst of it.
Father... loved their cries... and he loved Kuroune and Sesui, more than a father should love his sons. Relita would protect him from their father's attentions, until one day he found her hiding the young demon. He grabbed her by the back of her neck, fingers sinking into the soft flesh. She cried, urging Kuroune to run away. Covering his wings over his face he hid from the gruesome scene, his father was horrible when in a good mood but was a thousand times worse when in a bad one. He slammed her head into the wall, the sound making Kuroune shudder as she slid down, blood smearing behind her. Their father withdrew his sword and sank it into her in areas where he knew she'd slowly bleed to death. Then he forced her to watch as he roughly had his way with his son, not even blinking at the amount of blood coming from Kuroune as he did so.
After a few hours he was finished with the little dark haired demon, throwing him to the floor and walking out. Their brothers slowly made their way to Relita's room, staring in shock as their sister struggled for breath. She reached out with a bloody hand to Kuroune, who was grabbing sheets and clothing, anything to stop the blood from seeping out of his precious sister's body.
"Kuroune... Don't ever let our father win. You have to leave, get stronger and avenge me... as well as yourself." Kuroune sobbed and hugged his sister as she weakly hugged him back. "I'm sorry.... I couldn't pro... tect.... you.... Kuro..." Long after her death Kuroune stayed at her side, never letting go of the only person who had ever cared for him.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Hey! Wake up." Kuroune winced as he was shaken awake. "Feh, that must have been some dream." The winged demon felt a nail scrape across his cheek, catching the one tear that had managed to escape him. He growled and tried to sit up, crying was a weakness and something that only infected him when he dreamt of his sister. "Stupid, like I'd just let you get up."
Kuroune opened his eyes and looked down at his body. His clothing was replaced with something similar to the youko's only in a light green. He was clean, but he was also bound by several vines. "What do you want?"
The kitsune shrugged. "Nothing really. I was just curious what was under all that dirt. Now that I know..." He brushed the back of his hand across Kuroune's cheek, making him growl and jerk away from the contact. "Fiesty, I like that."
"Who ARE you?"
"My name is Kurama, perhaps you've heard of me?" The silver youko smirked, loosening the vines across Kuroune's chest and arms.
"I have... But then you know your reputation by heart, I'm sure, so I don't need to repeat it. What are you up to? Why are you letting me sit up?" Kuroune winced as a large hot bowl dropped into his lap.
"As much as feeding you by hand sounds appealing, I thought it'd be better if you were able to do it yourself." Kurama caressed Kuroune's right wing. "How do they feel? Can you move them any?"
Kuroune took a sip of the steaming soup, setting it down when he found it hot enough to burn his tongue. Carefully he tried to wiggle one wing, only to have it barely twitch. He tried the other and had the same luck. "Damn it..."
"I had thought so. The arrow head severed some nerves and muscles near your wings. If you're a quick enough healer, you just might get some movement into them eventually." Kurama hooked his foot around a stool and scooted underneath him, sitting by Kuroune's bedside. He sipped timidly at the hot soup as he watched his house guest warily.
While Kuroune fretted about the loss of his wings, something finally donned on him. His chest and back were covered in bandages as well as his foot and any other place that had received a wound from his brush with his pursuers. "Why did you go through the trouble of healing me?"
Kurama shrugged, sipping at the soup again. "I really have no clue. There's just something that draws me to you." The kitsune wrinkled his nose, pointing to Kuroune's clothes. "It sure as hell isn't your fashion sense. Where'd you get those rags you were wearing? Or more importantly, why haven't you washed them in what smells like a year or so?"
"I was lucky to steal those, and they weren't RAGS a few years ago. They're selphie silk, hand sewn from the most skilled seamstresses. At least, that's what they told prince Koenma before I swiped it from him. And I have washed them, I just had to wait in a rather stinky place for my chance to pilfer food from those Konkis."
"Heh, you had the balls to steal from Koenma? Now I know why I saved you." Kurama smirked then gestured to the soup in Kuroune's lap. "It's cool enough now. I'm sure you're hungry, it's been two days since our first meeting." He watched as Kuroune warily took a sip from the bowl then started to take large gulps. "You almost managed to out run the Konki, which isn't an easy task. You were smart enough to enter a dense forest, knowing that their maneuverability is less than perfect and would make hunting you almost impossible. You tried to keep out of sight and tread softly through the trees, making sure not to disturb the branches to give away your position and you used your wings to move in and out of various parts of my territory. That all could have been dumb luck, but I doubt that. You're smart... If you hadn't been half starved you probably would have gotten away with it. Well, almost," the kitsune grinned around his bowl stopping to take a sip. "I would have stopped you for entering my territory."
"Hn, maybe. If I had my strength I probably could have fought off those plants of yours."
"Wishful thinking on your part, I control them and how many sprout. It would have been an endless wave of killer plants, even at your strongest you couldn't have avoided them."
"If you say," Kuroune sneered, downing the last of his soup.
"Yes..." Kurama chuckled, throwing a towel at Kuroune. "You're welcome to take a real bath. All I really did was douse you a few times to get the smell and grime off." The silver youko released the rest of the vines from their hold on Kuroune's legs. "I trust you're still weak enough not to be able to attack me. My den is like a maze and it's safer to only go where I've lit and where the plants don't nip at you."
"Afraid I'll steal what ever treasure you have here, youko?"
Kurama laughed and shook his head, walking towards the door. "I'm not afraid of you, I was just warning you to keep your nose out of my things. My plants don't think you quite as amusing as I, they wouldn't think before swallowing you up. Have a good bath, ne?"
Chapter 1
Saved?
The full moon hung high in the night sky, bringing enough light to guide Kuroune through the dense forest. Stepping from tree branch to tree branch, he worked through to the top of the trees. His pursers were too large and ungainly to keep up with him for very long, so Kuroune needed to by himself a little time until they got tired or gave up on catching him. Clutching the food he had stolen to his chest he jumped, flapping his wings a few times as he cleared the trees. Hunger had drove him to pilfer from the dangerous youkai and hunger is what kept him from using his wings to escape.
When his strength had almost been sapped he finally dove down, weaving in and out of the trees once again. Apparently, his action was exactly what his pursuers were waiting for. With a loud twang of a bow string an arrow shot at Kuroune and struck him in the back. Even if he had more strength his wings would do him no good, they were instantly paralyzed when the arrow sank into the flesh between his wings. He fell, slamming into the ground within seconds.
"A good catch brother," a voice said that was just beyond Kuroune's line of sight. The grisly group of twelve circled around their prey, a few of them kicking the downed demon. Kuroune shut his eyes, anger welling inside him at the sudden feeling of helplessness.
"What should we do with him now?"
"I say we devour him, it's a punishment befitting the crime."
"That's a gr-"The last demon to speak broke off mid-sentence and started yelling. His words were unintelligible to Kuroune, but apparently the others knew what he was saying. Kuroune felt their feet thud against the ground as they ran from him, yells turning into shrieks and out cries of pain.
Having nothing better to do, Kuroune peeked open one eye then stayed very still. At least four dozen plants had sprouted from the soil, all with very large teeth. They were quicker than the group that had hunted Kuroune, in a matter of moments all had been captured by the plants and were being gnawed on by the carnivorous plants.
"You wandered into my territory little vermin, and I don't take trespassing lightly. Now suffer the consequences." Kuroune weakly lifted his head to view the owner of the sensually calm and quiet voice. On the lowest branch in a tree not far from Kuroune stood a kitsune, his silver tail swaying idly as he watched the carnage. He was dressed in light blue robes, the matching silken shoes shining in the moonlight. The kitsune was tall and lean, his well muscled shoulders and arms exposed by the sleeveless robe. His arms were crossed over his chest, claw like nails tapping against his arms. Golden eyes almost glowed from behind silver bangs, his hair the same color of his tail and reached the small of his back. Silvery ears were folded back against his head, Kuroune could barely make out a little bit of pink on the inside of each.
Moving to look at the silver youko was what alerted the plants to his presence, causing them to dive after the tired and numb demon. One large stalk circled around his waist as he was raised up, one of the plants impatiently chewing on his hard leathery boot. The sharp teeth of the plant started to slice through the thick leather, causing Kuroune groan in pain. Four other plants raced towards him at the sign of pain, seemingly hungered by it.
"Stop." The youko waved the other plants off with one hand and curled a finger towards himself, indicating the plant that held the captured demon to bring Kuroune to him. Kuroune closed his eyes again, fighting off the darkness that edged into his vision. "Pretty... If you were clean you might actually be pretty." The trapped demon felt a hand lift his chin so his face was even with the youko's. Kuroune opened his eyes, trying his best to glare defiantly at the youko. "Hm, with personality too. You do realize that you're at my mercy, right pretty play thing? What's your name?" Kuroune tried to bite at the hand, but it held his face firmly by the chin. "Your name, or I'll feed you to my plants. Your moan sounded delicious to them. They feed more off of fear and cries of pain than actual flesh... So, your name?"
"Ku... Kuroune," he managed to whisper before the darkness claimed him.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Dreams were something Kuroune never liked, they never were of anything he wanted or of pleasant things. They always were of his father, or the rest of his family. Haunting images of his father constantly beating him and his brothers, his father making them at a very early age clean up the gore left behind from yet another one of his victims. The worst dream came from something that haunted his waking and sleeping hours for years.
He was only seven and his big sister was more like a mother to him than the woman that had given birth to both. They ate together, they played together, and she even hid him when their father was in the mood to torture his family. Their brothers refused her help, and usually ended up getting the worst of it.
Father... loved their cries... and he loved Kuroune and Sesui, more than a father should love his sons. Relita would protect him from their father's attentions, until one day he found her hiding the young demon. He grabbed her by the back of her neck, fingers sinking into the soft flesh. She cried, urging Kuroune to run away. Covering his wings over his face he hid from the gruesome scene, his father was horrible when in a good mood but was a thousand times worse when in a bad one. He slammed her head into the wall, the sound making Kuroune shudder as she slid down, blood smearing behind her. Their father withdrew his sword and sank it into her in areas where he knew she'd slowly bleed to death. Then he forced her to watch as he roughly had his way with his son, not even blinking at the amount of blood coming from Kuroune as he did so.
After a few hours he was finished with the little dark haired demon, throwing him to the floor and walking out. Their brothers slowly made their way to Relita's room, staring in shock as their sister struggled for breath. She reached out with a bloody hand to Kuroune, who was grabbing sheets and clothing, anything to stop the blood from seeping out of his precious sister's body.
"Kuroune... Don't ever let our father win. You have to leave, get stronger and avenge me... as well as yourself." Kuroune sobbed and hugged his sister as she weakly hugged him back. "I'm sorry.... I couldn't pro... tect.... you.... Kuro..." Long after her death Kuroune stayed at her side, never letting go of the only person who had ever cared for him.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Hey! Wake up." Kuroune winced as he was shaken awake. "Feh, that must have been some dream." The winged demon felt a nail scrape across his cheek, catching the one tear that had managed to escape him. He growled and tried to sit up, crying was a weakness and something that only infected him when he dreamt of his sister. "Stupid, like I'd just let you get up."
Kuroune opened his eyes and looked down at his body. His clothing was replaced with something similar to the youko's only in a light green. He was clean, but he was also bound by several vines. "What do you want?"
The kitsune shrugged. "Nothing really. I was just curious what was under all that dirt. Now that I know..." He brushed the back of his hand across Kuroune's cheek, making him growl and jerk away from the contact. "Fiesty, I like that."
"Who ARE you?"
"My name is Kurama, perhaps you've heard of me?" The silver youko smirked, loosening the vines across Kuroune's chest and arms.
"I have... But then you know your reputation by heart, I'm sure, so I don't need to repeat it. What are you up to? Why are you letting me sit up?" Kuroune winced as a large hot bowl dropped into his lap.
"As much as feeding you by hand sounds appealing, I thought it'd be better if you were able to do it yourself." Kurama caressed Kuroune's right wing. "How do they feel? Can you move them any?"
Kuroune took a sip of the steaming soup, setting it down when he found it hot enough to burn his tongue. Carefully he tried to wiggle one wing, only to have it barely twitch. He tried the other and had the same luck. "Damn it..."
"I had thought so. The arrow head severed some nerves and muscles near your wings. If you're a quick enough healer, you just might get some movement into them eventually." Kurama hooked his foot around a stool and scooted underneath him, sitting by Kuroune's bedside. He sipped timidly at the hot soup as he watched his house guest warily.
While Kuroune fretted about the loss of his wings, something finally donned on him. His chest and back were covered in bandages as well as his foot and any other place that had received a wound from his brush with his pursuers. "Why did you go through the trouble of healing me?"
Kurama shrugged, sipping at the soup again. "I really have no clue. There's just something that draws me to you." The kitsune wrinkled his nose, pointing to Kuroune's clothes. "It sure as hell isn't your fashion sense. Where'd you get those rags you were wearing? Or more importantly, why haven't you washed them in what smells like a year or so?"
"I was lucky to steal those, and they weren't RAGS a few years ago. They're selphie silk, hand sewn from the most skilled seamstresses. At least, that's what they told prince Koenma before I swiped it from him. And I have washed them, I just had to wait in a rather stinky place for my chance to pilfer food from those Konkis."
"Heh, you had the balls to steal from Koenma? Now I know why I saved you." Kurama smirked then gestured to the soup in Kuroune's lap. "It's cool enough now. I'm sure you're hungry, it's been two days since our first meeting." He watched as Kuroune warily took a sip from the bowl then started to take large gulps. "You almost managed to out run the Konki, which isn't an easy task. You were smart enough to enter a dense forest, knowing that their maneuverability is less than perfect and would make hunting you almost impossible. You tried to keep out of sight and tread softly through the trees, making sure not to disturb the branches to give away your position and you used your wings to move in and out of various parts of my territory. That all could have been dumb luck, but I doubt that. You're smart... If you hadn't been half starved you probably would have gotten away with it. Well, almost," the kitsune grinned around his bowl stopping to take a sip. "I would have stopped you for entering my territory."
"Hn, maybe. If I had my strength I probably could have fought off those plants of yours."
"Wishful thinking on your part, I control them and how many sprout. It would have been an endless wave of killer plants, even at your strongest you couldn't have avoided them."
"If you say," Kuroune sneered, downing the last of his soup.
"Yes..." Kurama chuckled, throwing a towel at Kuroune. "You're welcome to take a real bath. All I really did was douse you a few times to get the smell and grime off." The silver youko released the rest of the vines from their hold on Kuroune's legs. "I trust you're still weak enough not to be able to attack me. My den is like a maze and it's safer to only go where I've lit and where the plants don't nip at you."
"Afraid I'll steal what ever treasure you have here, youko?"
Kurama laughed and shook his head, walking towards the door. "I'm not afraid of you, I was just warning you to keep your nose out of my things. My plants don't think you quite as amusing as I, they wouldn't think before swallowing you up. Have a good bath, ne?"