Here's Chapter two of Legend of the Cursed Child. I know it's not much longer than the last chapter. Sorry, but my time to work on my stories is limited now. I'll do what I can to change that for the next one.

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. All I own is my own character... who's name will be revealed in the NEXT chapter! :P

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As he expected, Youko was finishing up preparing various salves and remedies in the den when Hiei arrived. The kitsune looked up as his friend entered and his eyebrows rose inquisitively when he got a closer look at the form he held in his arms.

"You rescued a human woman, Hiei? Are you feeling well?" he asked, only half serious.

"Hn. She was attacked by former allies of mine. I didn't even realize she was there until they were dead."

Taking a closer look at the woman, and realizing she was wrapped in Hiei's cloak, the fox didn't even have to guess what they had done to her before Hiei had gotten there. But still, the fact that his friend had actually rescued her boggled his mind.

"I thought you didn't care for humans, Hiei. Whatever could have possessed you to rescue this one? I would think you'd simply kill her and put her out of her misery."

Hiei sent him a glare. "I will explain later, Fox. Now, are you going to treat her injuries or not?"

Looking from the girl to his friend a little doubtfully, Youko sighed and gently took the woman from the hybrid. He set her down on a pile of furs and started to examine the extent of her injuries carefully.

"Hmm... she doesn't seem to have any severe head injuries, but they crushed her voice box. Fortunately, that shouldn't prove difficult to treat..." He frowned as he unwrapped Hiei's jacket from around her. "Broken ribs, probably a cracked collarbone, good chance of a collapsed lung..." Then his frown deepened. "Hmmm? Interesting..."

Hiei came forward. "What is it, Fox?"

Youko indicated a deep wound that looked as if it was in the process of healing. "This wound here is several days old. And it was NOT caused by the claws of a demon."

The koorime frowned thoughtfully. "Then what caused it?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't look as if it was something very sharp. My best guess would be a tool of some sort. Perhaps a farmers tool. It looks as if she's been having problems with her own kind as well recently."

"Hn."

The fox looked at him again. "Is there something you're not telling me, Hiei?"

"I told you, fox. I will tell you everything later. Just take care of her injuries."

Shrugging inwardly, the fox simply did as his friend requested. He knew Hiei would tell him what was going on when he was ready. He continued his initial examination of the girl, taking note of a dislocated shoulder, severely bruised wrists, and severe bruising in her groin region... a testament to the violence she had just experienced. In addition to these were various claw marks from their rough handling of her. Looking at the injuries and given Youko's own morals when it came to the treatment of women, he hoped Hiei had given the lot of them a painful death.

He started his treatments by ensuring the open wounds would not become infected, using a salve concocted by a variety of plants. The plants would also drastically speed up the time it would take the heal the wounds. They would be fully healed in only a couple days. Then he focused on the bruises and contusions, putting a firm clamp on his own lustful nature as he spread the ointment on the woman's nether regions. When the woman let out a little whimper that caused his ears to perk up slightly, he had to remind himself that she was both injured and had just been horrifically violated. That seemed to be enough to tame his inner beast for the time being.

Finally, he gently worked some remedies down her throat, pouring them into her mouth a little at a time and gently massaging her throat to coax her to swallow. Once he was finished his treatments, he wrapped her in a few blankets, keeping in mind her loss of blood would make her colder, and left her to rest.

Hiei had stayed leaning against the wall of the cave, his eyes never leaving the woman the entire time Youko had been treating her. Only when the fox finally stood up did the koorime show sign of movement.

"She will be all right with some rest, Hiei. Now... perhaps you would like to tell me what is going on, seeing as I have done what you asked?"

"Hn." He didn't look at the fox. He just looked at the cave wall across from him. "Once I had found the thieves, I wasn't even aware she was there until I had already killed them. She made a sound... I think an intake of air. I was there beside her in an instant, my sword at her throat." He frowned thoughtfully. "She just looked at me. I could detect no fear in her at all."

Youko rose an eyebrow in interest. "That's new."

He nodded. "Her expression was without emotion. It was as if she didn't care what I did. I was curious, so I used my jagan eye on her. I wanted to know what was going through her head." His frown deepened. "She was thinking of how she deserved death, of how she wanted her life of suffering to end." He looked at Youko for the first time. "She called herself the Cursed Child, Fox."

The fox frowned thoughtfully. "The Cursed Child? That's a term I've never heard before."

"Neither have I. I want to know what it means and..." The demon scowled slightly.

Youko smiled knowingly. "You want to know if it is anything like a Forbidden Child?"

He nodded. "Yes. She implied she was supposed to be killed at birth." He snorted. "I may have found a human that I can sympathize with."

Youko smirked slightly and cast a glance at where said human was still sleeping. "Well... at least you found a pretty one."

Hiei snorted and rolled his eyes. "Try focusing on something other than your hormones, fox. I somehow doubt she's going to be all over either of us any time soon."

The fox pursed his lips in thought as he considered the girl and what little he'd been told of her, and then sighed inwardly as he realized Hiei was right. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to flirt with the little flower while he could. That was, of course, depending upon how long she was going to remain with them.

Hiei suddenly moved from his position against the wall. "Well, I should get us some food now. I'll go hunt. You keep an eye on the onna."

Youko nodded absently, still a little lost in his own thoughts. Then he remembered how skinny the woman seemed to be. She was clearly malnourished. "You might want to get a little extra, Hiei. I don't think the girl has eaten for a few days."

"Hn." Without a word, the demon vanished from sight and was gone.

While Youko waited for the return of his friend, he went over to where the woman was still laying and got a basin of water. Not having much else to do while he waited, he decided he may as well clean her off somewhat. Again, he gently unwrapped her from the blankets and carefully cleaned the dried blood and grime from her skin. It wasn't the best cleaning job, but he would allow her to use the hot spring out the rear exit of the cave when she was feeling up to it.

He frowned thoughtfully when he got to her shoulder once more. It was still dislocated, but he didn't like the idea of possibly waking her up while pulling it back into place. However, he couldn't leave it like that for much longer. He wasn't sure how long it had been out of the socket already. Had it happened when she was attacked by the demons, or when she had had her encounter with the humans before? Youko swept his fingers through his hair and soon had a plant before him. Plucking off one of the leaves, he held it under the girls nose. The smell of the plant would put her into a deeper sleep and would greatly lessen the chances of her waking up as he repaired the injury.

Carefully gripping her arm and holding her body in place, he gave a swift hard yank, pulling it back into the socket. He was more than a little surprised when the girl didn't so much as twitch at the procedure. Smirking a little, he settled the girl back down and rewrapped her in the warm blankets. "I think, little one, that we can add exhaustion to the list of malady's affecting you, can't we? What in all the worlds have you been through?"

The girl, of course, said nothing, and just continued to lay there. Shaking his head, the kitsune turned his attention to putting away his supplies and awaiting the return of Hiei.

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An hour or so later, Hiei returned with a deer... something that would last them several days. Working together, the two demons quickly skinned and gutted the creature, and then proceeded to make a stew out of some of the meat, putting the rest away to be eaten later. Youko added some vegetables to the stew and the two of them ate silently, each lost in their own thoughts.

A few hours passed with nothing but idle conversation between the two of them. The moon was rising now, an indication that they should soon be going to sleep. However, as this thought crossed Hiei's mind, the two of them heard a gentle rustle of fabric and a rasping intake of air coming from where the woman was lying.

The two of them immediately got up and went to where she was laying, Youko going right to her side. The woman's eyes slowly opened, looking a little bleary before they settled on him. The kitsune immediately understood what Hiei had been talking about. The woman's expression was completely without emotion, and although there was a little curiosity in her eyes, he saw no sign of fear at all. Not a normal reaction for a young woman who just awoke to find herself with a kitsune. Her eyes trailed past him and a flicker of familiarity passed over them when she saw Hiei standing there looking at her.

Youko smiled at her gently. "Well, you've had a rough evening, little one. But I treated your injuries and you should be fully healed in only a few days."

A little confusion passed over her expression, and she opened her mouth to speak but only wound up wincing a second later. Youko gently lifted her chin and she went stiff.

"Yes, your voice box was crushed in the attack, but you should be able to speak by tomorrow. In the meantime, are you hungry? We still have some stew left over."

For the first time her eyes widened and she nodded, obviously trying not to look too eager.

Youko chuckled slightly. "All right. I'll get you a bowl of stew. Hiei can help you sit up." He moved to where the food was still in the pot as the hybrid stepped forward.

The woman slowly worked her way into a sitting position, wincing with each movement, Hiei standing by in case she should need help. Suddenly she swayed slightly, a dizzy spell overtaking her and he quickly caught her, holding her against him. She immediately went as rigid as a board.

"It's all right, onna. Neither one of us has any intentions of forcing ourselves upon you. You can relax," he said gently in her ear. He carefully made sure she was steady once again as Youko approached, holding a steaming bowl of stew. Hiei sat beside her and kept his arm around her to keep her steady. Youko rose an eyebrow seeing this, but said nothing.

The girl slowly accepted the stew, smelled it and then started to eat with a gusto that took them both by surprise. In only a couple of minutes, the bowl was empty and she almost trembled in relief at finally having something in her stomach.

The fox chuckled. "Hungry little thing, aren't you? Do you want some more? We have plenty left."

The barely detectable trace of a smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she looked up at him a little warily and gave a small nod. Then the blankets around her started to slip and she blinked, looking down and quickly yanked them up again, holding them in place with her hands. Her eyes were enormous when she realized she was still naked.

Hiei frowned. "Hn. We need to steal some clothes for her, Youko. I doubt she'll be comfortable having nothing to conceal herself with but sheets."

Youko grinned a little pervertedly at the thought, but then nodded. "Tomorrow one of us can go out and steal a kimono from somewhere."

The girl looked up then, genuine surprise on her features now. Then her expression turned inward as she wordlessly accepted her second helping of stew and made short work of it.

Youko sat on the other side of her then and gave her his most winning smile. Her expression turned a little apprehensive upon seeing it but she relaxed slightly when he spoke. "It's getting late now, little one. We can have proper introductions in the morning when you've had a full night of sleep."

She glanced at Hiei and then nodded. She went a little stiff once again when Youko vacated his spot beside her and Hiei once again lifted her into his arms and layed her down in a comfortable position upon the furs. Then he reached up and removed his headband. She saw the third eye once again.

He layed his fingers at her temple. She went completely still for a long moment before it became evident that he wasn't doing anything that was intended to bring her harm. He held himself back from smirking at her obvious unease.

"Close your eyes, onna. I will get you to sleep."

She seemed to hesitated for the span of a few heartbeats before her completely neutral expression returned and she simply did as she was told. His jagan picked up on her thoughts as he activated his power to get her to sleep.

I don't know what they want with me, but it doesn't look like they're going to hurt me yet. Do they want to hold me as a slave? At least they don't seem violent, and it looks like they're willing to feed me if that turns out to be the case...

Then her thoughts swept away as sleep overtook her.

Hiei and Youko left the woman to sleep and sat against the wall of the cave.

"I understand why you were curious about her now. You were right. I could detect no actual fear from her when she woke up and saw me standing over her. Most unusual for a human to not fear waking up in the presence of demons."

Hiei shrugged. "My guess is she doesn't really care what happens to her anymore. I'm not sure what that woman's been through, Fox, but whatever it was it completely crushed her soul." He frowned. "Before she went to sleep she was thinking we may want to keep her as a slave. Strangely she doesn't seem to mind so long as we feed her."

Youko rose both of his eyebrows hearing this and turned to his friend. "Are you considering...?"

He snorted before the kitsune could even complete the question. "You know me better than that, fox. A slave is not actually a willing participant. They are given no other choice in the matter. It is no different from rape. And I will have no part in such a thing."

The fox considered this and sighed, realizing that Hiei was right. It was too close to being rape, and he, too, would have no part in such things. After all, it was so much more pleasurable when the woman was only too willing to give as well as receive.

Looking out the entrance of the cave, Hiei saw that the moon was well over the tree line... a true indication that it was time for them to get some rest as well. He had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Following his gaze, Youko got the hint as well. Leaning his head against the wall, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off. Hiei looked at his friend for along moment before doing the same.

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Please Review!! I really want feedback on what people think of this story! I've been planning it out for almost a year now. ^_^