Title: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
Series: Yu Yu Hakusho
Author: Snow Tigra
Rating: R?
Pairings: Hiei/Kurama, Kuwabara/Yukina, Yuusuke/Kuronue
Warnings: AU, and Kurama is in his red head human form for most of this story, in spite of it taking place in the Makai
Spoilers: None
Archive: www.spinfrog.com/snowtigra
"Another dead city."
The wagon pulled to a stop at the edge of the town, its driver frowning from the front seat while holding the reigns of the demonic horse. Ahead of him, smoke still rose from scattered buildings, debris tossed over the roads, surrounding crumbled and beaten down houses. Dead bodies lined the streets, most lying face down on the gravel, or in awkward positions. One glance and it was easy to tell they'd all died quick and painful deaths, left to lie like so much trash.
Kuronue narrowed his eyes and scanned the crumbling buildings, watching for any sign of movement. The road led straight through the center of the city, but he'd be damned if he drove his family right into the middle of an ambush from some stupid bandits that weren't satisfied with massacring a whole town. Instead he just sat there, completely still, his eyes sweeping over the area.
Behind him, the main door to the wagon slid open and a young red head peeked out his head, stepping down onto the small step right below the door. He opened his mouth to ask Kuronue why they'd stopped, but he bit on his own words as he saw the town.
"They're all dead." He murmured in a soft voice, his eyes wide.
"Kurama, get back in the wagon. We're going to head to the next town." Kuronue scanned the ruins again, double-checking his assessment. He couldn't see anything moving amongst the rubble, but he still didn't trust it. Especially when his family's lives were at stake.
"Father says we should stay. And you know the next town is at least another day's ride." Kurama frowned and jumped down from the cart to the ground. He tugged his shawl around his shoulders and stepped a little ways from the cart, to get a look at the town for himself.
He wore his normal outfit, the shawl covering most of it. The top wasn't much more then a piece of fabric tied in the back and held with two small strings that went over his shoulders. Baggy green pants covered his legs, made of thin and wispy fabric that moved with the slightest breeze. His long red hair was pulled back into a high pony tail, in a half failed attempt to keep it from blowing into his eyes, but he'd missed a few strands so it really was pointless. Everything about him, to the passerby, looked almost completely human. The only hint to his demon heritage, aside from the fact that he lived in the Makai, was the curious tint of emerald in his eyes, and the silver strands of hair that shone brightly only in the moonlight.
"Hey, kid, get back in the wagon." Kuronue said, turning in his seat to frown at Kurama. Kurama just shrugged and walked up next to him.
"It's been ransacked, Kuro-chan. Honestly, no one's here anymore. Besides, father says we need to stop. So we're stopping." He turned his eyes up to Kuronue in a defiant look, almost daring him to drive the horse forward anyway.
Kuronue sighed and shook his head, frowning deeply. Turning away from Kurama, he motioned to the horse and urged it to take the wagon up beside one of the houses that was still partially standing and which would provide at least a little cover from the nasty winds which dominated the cold Makai nights. He tied the reigns to the seat and jumped down from the seat, taking a moment to stretch out his arms and his wings.
He watched Kurama carefully for a moment, making sure he knew where the redhead was and whereabouts he might disappear to, before turning his complete attention to the horse and locking the wheels for the night. He still didn't trust the town, but if Yomi said they were stopping, then they were stopping. It just meant he'd be extra edgy and watchful to make sure nothing happened.
In spite of thinking of both of them as his family, Kuronue wasn't actually related to either of the two other demons he traveled with. He'd been more or less adopted into the family when Kurama's mother had still been around and had traveled with them ever since. When one traveled together so long, it was easy to picture Kurama as his younger brother and Yomi as his father, in spite of the lack of physical resemblance. Yes, Yomi had horns and was one of the larger types of youkai, and Kurama was very light on his feet and thin, yet strong like most youkos, but they were still a family. That's what it meant to travel together.
Kuronue finished attending to the horse and tied it up, making sure it could reach a small patch of grass to eat, then he turned his attention to the rest of things that needed to be done. Kurama was already setting up the small tent that they usually sat under at night, so he didn't need to do that. But he still needed to find wood for the fire to cook the meal… so he headed in the direction of one of the more destroyed houses. No sense in wasting good wood, even if they were fallen support planks.
He entered the old house through the front door, in spite of the fact that a whole wall had crumbled on one side. It just felt right to still use the front door while he could. The inside of the house was still in a useable condition, if one discounted the absence of one wall and the debris scattered over the floor. But other then that…
Elaborate decorations covered the interior walls in beautiful jagged designs, colored blue and crystal clear to offset the dark stone underneath from the building materials. Matching the walls, the railing on the spiral staircase - which now led to a roofless second story - also held a similar design. Kuronue frowned a bit in thought and stepped forward, extending a finger to touch the railing. Surprisingly his finger came back cold and damp.
Ice.
"Koorime." He said softly, his eyes travelling once more around the house.
"Hm? What's that?" Behind him, Kurama stepped into the house, dancing a bit to avoid stepping on something sharp, before he finally found a safe place on the floor and decided to stand there. He turned his green eyes to the railing. "It looks like it's made of ice."
"It is. This is work of a Koorime… an ice maiden." Kuronue frowned and flicked the moisture off his finger.
Kurama made his way carefully over to the railing and leaned in to look at it. "But I thought the Koorime lived on the other side of the Makai, toward the north. Wasn't it on some sort of floating island or something?"
"They do. But apparently one or two decided to move and live here. Unlucky for them." Kuronue frowned and gave a light shrug. "And now that you're here, you can help me out. Gather up some fire wood while I check downstairs to see if there's anything that's salvageable."
Kurama made a face at Kuronue. "Oh sure, make the kid do all the work." But he went about looking for wood anyway, just joking. Siblings indeed, Kuronue thought as he opened the cellar door and started down the creaky stairs.
The cellar was in much better condition then the house, with fully intact walls. The place hadn't even been touched, considering that the walls were still lined with crude wooden shelves full of jars and random containers. Apparently Kuronue's guess about bandits had been wrong, because what bandit was stupid enough to leave a cellar untouched?
He jumped down from the last stair and squinted in the darkness. There was no light source anywhere that he could see, making the job suddenly that much more annoying. He's have to either make a hole in the floor to bring in sunlight, or carry the jars up one by one to examine what was inside of them.
"I guess it's mystery food tonight," He muttered, moving to gather up a few of the jars. As he turned back toward the stairs he noticed a rack of what looked to be glass bottles and were probably filled with some sort of liquid. A smirk crossed Kuronue's face and he headed over there quickly, snagging a couple bottles. Yomi made the best mead in the world, but when one practically lived on it since wild Makai water wasn't safe to drink, it suddenly didn't taste that good. Kuronue welcomed any other drink at this time, even if it was only freshly bottled fruit juice that hadn't even started to ferment yet.
As he debated grabbing a few more bottles, there was a soft sound behind him. Kuronue whirled around, opening his mouth and readying himself to call out to Kurama to run… but what he found wasn't nearly so much as a threat.
"Hey Kurama! There's still kids down here!"
Series: Yu Yu Hakusho
Author: Snow Tigra
Rating: R?
Pairings: Hiei/Kurama, Kuwabara/Yukina, Yuusuke/Kuronue
Warnings: AU, and Kurama is in his red head human form for most of this story, in spite of it taking place in the Makai
Spoilers: None
Archive: www.spinfrog.com/snowtigra
"Another dead city."
The wagon pulled to a stop at the edge of the town, its driver frowning from the front seat while holding the reigns of the demonic horse. Ahead of him, smoke still rose from scattered buildings, debris tossed over the roads, surrounding crumbled and beaten down houses. Dead bodies lined the streets, most lying face down on the gravel, or in awkward positions. One glance and it was easy to tell they'd all died quick and painful deaths, left to lie like so much trash.
Kuronue narrowed his eyes and scanned the crumbling buildings, watching for any sign of movement. The road led straight through the center of the city, but he'd be damned if he drove his family right into the middle of an ambush from some stupid bandits that weren't satisfied with massacring a whole town. Instead he just sat there, completely still, his eyes sweeping over the area.
Behind him, the main door to the wagon slid open and a young red head peeked out his head, stepping down onto the small step right below the door. He opened his mouth to ask Kuronue why they'd stopped, but he bit on his own words as he saw the town.
"They're all dead." He murmured in a soft voice, his eyes wide.
"Kurama, get back in the wagon. We're going to head to the next town." Kuronue scanned the ruins again, double-checking his assessment. He couldn't see anything moving amongst the rubble, but he still didn't trust it. Especially when his family's lives were at stake.
"Father says we should stay. And you know the next town is at least another day's ride." Kurama frowned and jumped down from the cart to the ground. He tugged his shawl around his shoulders and stepped a little ways from the cart, to get a look at the town for himself.
He wore his normal outfit, the shawl covering most of it. The top wasn't much more then a piece of fabric tied in the back and held with two small strings that went over his shoulders. Baggy green pants covered his legs, made of thin and wispy fabric that moved with the slightest breeze. His long red hair was pulled back into a high pony tail, in a half failed attempt to keep it from blowing into his eyes, but he'd missed a few strands so it really was pointless. Everything about him, to the passerby, looked almost completely human. The only hint to his demon heritage, aside from the fact that he lived in the Makai, was the curious tint of emerald in his eyes, and the silver strands of hair that shone brightly only in the moonlight.
"Hey, kid, get back in the wagon." Kuronue said, turning in his seat to frown at Kurama. Kurama just shrugged and walked up next to him.
"It's been ransacked, Kuro-chan. Honestly, no one's here anymore. Besides, father says we need to stop. So we're stopping." He turned his eyes up to Kuronue in a defiant look, almost daring him to drive the horse forward anyway.
Kuronue sighed and shook his head, frowning deeply. Turning away from Kurama, he motioned to the horse and urged it to take the wagon up beside one of the houses that was still partially standing and which would provide at least a little cover from the nasty winds which dominated the cold Makai nights. He tied the reigns to the seat and jumped down from the seat, taking a moment to stretch out his arms and his wings.
He watched Kurama carefully for a moment, making sure he knew where the redhead was and whereabouts he might disappear to, before turning his complete attention to the horse and locking the wheels for the night. He still didn't trust the town, but if Yomi said they were stopping, then they were stopping. It just meant he'd be extra edgy and watchful to make sure nothing happened.
In spite of thinking of both of them as his family, Kuronue wasn't actually related to either of the two other demons he traveled with. He'd been more or less adopted into the family when Kurama's mother had still been around and had traveled with them ever since. When one traveled together so long, it was easy to picture Kurama as his younger brother and Yomi as his father, in spite of the lack of physical resemblance. Yes, Yomi had horns and was one of the larger types of youkai, and Kurama was very light on his feet and thin, yet strong like most youkos, but they were still a family. That's what it meant to travel together.
Kuronue finished attending to the horse and tied it up, making sure it could reach a small patch of grass to eat, then he turned his attention to the rest of things that needed to be done. Kurama was already setting up the small tent that they usually sat under at night, so he didn't need to do that. But he still needed to find wood for the fire to cook the meal… so he headed in the direction of one of the more destroyed houses. No sense in wasting good wood, even if they were fallen support planks.
He entered the old house through the front door, in spite of the fact that a whole wall had crumbled on one side. It just felt right to still use the front door while he could. The inside of the house was still in a useable condition, if one discounted the absence of one wall and the debris scattered over the floor. But other then that…
Elaborate decorations covered the interior walls in beautiful jagged designs, colored blue and crystal clear to offset the dark stone underneath from the building materials. Matching the walls, the railing on the spiral staircase - which now led to a roofless second story - also held a similar design. Kuronue frowned a bit in thought and stepped forward, extending a finger to touch the railing. Surprisingly his finger came back cold and damp.
Ice.
"Koorime." He said softly, his eyes travelling once more around the house.
"Hm? What's that?" Behind him, Kurama stepped into the house, dancing a bit to avoid stepping on something sharp, before he finally found a safe place on the floor and decided to stand there. He turned his green eyes to the railing. "It looks like it's made of ice."
"It is. This is work of a Koorime… an ice maiden." Kuronue frowned and flicked the moisture off his finger.
Kurama made his way carefully over to the railing and leaned in to look at it. "But I thought the Koorime lived on the other side of the Makai, toward the north. Wasn't it on some sort of floating island or something?"
"They do. But apparently one or two decided to move and live here. Unlucky for them." Kuronue frowned and gave a light shrug. "And now that you're here, you can help me out. Gather up some fire wood while I check downstairs to see if there's anything that's salvageable."
Kurama made a face at Kuronue. "Oh sure, make the kid do all the work." But he went about looking for wood anyway, just joking. Siblings indeed, Kuronue thought as he opened the cellar door and started down the creaky stairs.
The cellar was in much better condition then the house, with fully intact walls. The place hadn't even been touched, considering that the walls were still lined with crude wooden shelves full of jars and random containers. Apparently Kuronue's guess about bandits had been wrong, because what bandit was stupid enough to leave a cellar untouched?
He jumped down from the last stair and squinted in the darkness. There was no light source anywhere that he could see, making the job suddenly that much more annoying. He's have to either make a hole in the floor to bring in sunlight, or carry the jars up one by one to examine what was inside of them.
"I guess it's mystery food tonight," He muttered, moving to gather up a few of the jars. As he turned back toward the stairs he noticed a rack of what looked to be glass bottles and were probably filled with some sort of liquid. A smirk crossed Kuronue's face and he headed over there quickly, snagging a couple bottles. Yomi made the best mead in the world, but when one practically lived on it since wild Makai water wasn't safe to drink, it suddenly didn't taste that good. Kuronue welcomed any other drink at this time, even if it was only freshly bottled fruit juice that hadn't even started to ferment yet.
As he debated grabbing a few more bottles, there was a soft sound behind him. Kuronue whirled around, opening his mouth and readying himself to call out to Kurama to run… but what he found wasn't nearly so much as a threat.
"Hey Kurama! There's still kids down here!"