Title: Barter

Summary: Kitsunes were masters of deception and trickery, something that Kurama prided himself for; however, it was because of this same reason that it was so difficult to find another one of his race hiding in the Ningenkai. When he finally came across a kitsune kit, however, he was pulled into more than he bargained for and became of a bloody hunt raging underneath everyone's notice. KurKag.

Style: 200-400 word drabbles.

Chapter Word Count: 372

One: Blossom

Kitsunes were masters of deception and trickery, something that Kurama prided himself for; however, it was because of this same reason that it was so difficult to find another one of his race hiding in the Ningenkai. That was the only reason he had bothered to approach the swaying tree that wafted cherry blossoms into the welcoming evening air. Loneliness.

Kurama had knelt down to murmur a greeting to who he could easily identify as a glamoured kitsune child, who was eyeing him warily but curiously with grassy twin orbs.

It's not often that we meet one of our own kind, ne? Youko mused.

He only felt the woman's aura for a second before she appeared in front of the child.

"Get the hell away from my kit!" she hissed, her words surprising him as acid dripping from her voice and what he could only describe as something purer than ki flared around her.

Not even bothering to look at Kurama, she turned her back to him, making Youko bristle slightly as she showed her blatantly dismissing them as a threat. She leaned down to embrace the kit, her ink hair pooling around them like a privacy curtain as she hoisted him up onto her hip, quietly shushing his questions.

Kurama's curiosity burned within him as he watched her interact with the youkai child, who responded favorably in turn, nuzzling her cheek in comfort. The aura that had previously burned the edges of his senses, making his youki tense considerably, was now soothing, liquid, as it wrapped itself around the kit in her arms.

For some reason, that he couldn't explain himself, he couldn't bring himself to leave, to stop staring at the intimate scene between mother and child.

It was something that the ningen took note of, causing her to turn, rewarding his curious gaze with her attention again. Cerulean eyes narrowed, a splash of red painting her beautiful face, but it was the veiled fright in her eyes that made Kurama finally oblige to her earlier request, stepping safely out of the reach of her still, but more calmly, radiating aura.

Her tentative words reached out to his ears, her posture on the defensive. "What do you want from us?"

A/N: Please feel free to give a word/theme for the drabbles. They will all be consecutive to make up a multi-chaptered story.

~Ninja