Demon's Embrace Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or FullMetal Alchemist.

A/N: This is my first FMA crossover fic, and I know Kurama and Lust is an unusual pairing, but I like the idea of it so I'm going to try it out. The story is also going to be told from Lust's point of view most of the time, just to make things even more different. It starts out after Wrath killed Lust in episode 47 of the original FMA series, and she ends up in the YYH spirit world. So yeah, enjoy!

I awoke in a strange sort of palace. I was lying on a white tiled floor and surrounded by bright fluorescent lighting. At first I was disoriented, all I could think about was Wrath trapping me in the transmutation circle. Then I noticed the red haired boy in front of me. At least, I thought he was a boy. He didn't look much older than the FullMetal pipsqueak and he was clad in a pink school uniform, but as I should know firsthand, looks can be deceiving.

The boy told me his name was Kurama, and he gently explained that I was dead. I had apparently been brought to the spirit world by a ferry girl named Botan, who had carried my soul from my body to my current location. I was not really coherent when she brought me in, so she had left me in a room by myself while Koenma, the ruler of the spirit world, decided my fate. That didn't come as much of a surprise to me, as I knew I was going to die from the moment I realized how Wrath had tricked me. The thing that worried me was my current location. I wasn't sure what I would encounter in the afterlife, but I was hoping I would learn more about where I came from and who I was before I became a homunculus. My silent prayers to any god seemed to be answered in the next few moments, when Kurama told me that I had once been a human woman, but after my death my soul had taken sanctuary in the gate; afraid to stand judgment against the ruler of the spirit world, Koenma. My memories of the gate and my former life had mostly been erased as I gained my new body, but Kurama told me that had I lived longer, they would have eventually flooded back to me. He explained that he knew this, because he had done the same thing I had, only in reverse.

Kurama was once a fox demon who had been a notorious thief. He was badly injured on a theft one night, and instead of facing the judgment of death, his soul fled to a human host. He grew up as the human boy Suichi Minamino, and only after a few years did he regain memories and thoughts from his past life. He explained to me that since I had already chosen the gate once before and turned into a demon, although I think he meant homunculus, I could not do so again. He told me that under normal circumstances I would have had Koenma's judgment passed on me and been sent to wherever he saw fit. However, he told me that Koenma was deeply concerned about the killings and actions performed against humans by my fellow homunculi. Koenma had witnessed the change of heart I underwent near the end of my life, and thought that I could assist his spirit detectives, who included Kurama, in stopping the other homunculi. If I chose to help them, I would be given a human body again, and I would be trained to harness my spirit energy, so I would be more powerful than a regular human.

As Kurama told me this, tears rained down my face. I was overwhelmed by the emotion of it all. During my time as a homunculus, I had desperately lusted after the knowledge of my human life. Now I was being given a chance to find out who I had been, and choose who I would become. I would be essentially free from the strings pulled by any puppeteers masquerading as manipulative masters. All I had to give in exchange for my wish, for I believed in the equivalent exchange theory that the Elric boys had proposed, was my assistance in hunting down Dante and the remaining Homunculi, which is something I had desired to do anyway. I finally had my chance at a real life, with real emotions, and real people.

"I know this is a lot to take in, especially after dying as such a powerful demon, but I promise you this is a good offer and being a human is actually quite a profitable experience," Kurama assured me, locking his green eyes on mine.

"No….I want this….you can't know how long I've lusted after a life like this….all the terrible things I helped the others do just to achieve this…." I muttered quietly, trying to get the tears to stop flowing.

Kurama looked at me with such empathy, and he said, "I understand. My demon life was one filled with many atrocities, but this new life is a chance to repent and start over," His words were reassuring, but they still couldn't completely erase the waves of regret that were crashing down on my heart. Then he did something that surprised me, something that made my situation seem more real than anything. He moved forward and pulled me into his arms. His embrace was strong, but gentle. Memories of the Ishbalan man I had once loved returned to my mind in a flood of remembrance. He smelled of roses and rapidly growing forests, but there was also a slight scent of death and chaos hidden behind the pleasantness. As I wrapped my own arms around him, I felt that this was an appropriate way to start my new life, in this demon's embrace.