He had pushed his luck too far. He was alone, with no one to protect him or procure him the right customers. He should have known he was too stupid to do it on his own - He had tried, and what did he get? Trouble!
 
Kinno looked around, and his golden eyes twinkled like precious gems within the dusk of the incoming night. He placed a quivering hand on his own mouth so as to suppress a little of the fast, hoarse sound of his nervous breathing.

He could see no one after him, he could hear no sounds.  But he knew the Black Youko was near, observing, having fun with his despair as he tried to escape, running away in a disoriented frenzy within the darkened woods.

That black youko was a very evil one.

Kinno licked the back of his own hand, leaving a thick coat of saliva on his skin, and reached up one of his pointed, furry ears. He rubbed and spread the warm moisture where that brute had bitten him, leaving a semi-circular scar and a thin trail of blood which slid down, mingling with his golden strands.

He moaned in a very low, aching tone, doing the same to the other teeth-marked cut on the inner side of his right thigh. Shima-Sama, the Black Youko, had made him lots of kind, sweet  promises, but just in the very beginning... He grew more aggressive, brutal, one of those nasty customers which had his share of pleasure in inflicting pain.

At first Kinno stood firm. He let the Black Youko do it again and again, and tried his best to put up with the increasing torment. He had been taught not to complain, he had been trained to respond with the most delicate and delighted sounds, even when the customers made him suffer and writhe in pain.

But Shima-sama had started to nibble him , and the nibbling turned into full harsh bites, and Kinno dared to complain, unable to stand the growing pain.

He pleaded a dozen times, saying it was hurting him. He begged with his sweetest voice for Shima-Sama to go easy on him, but he was that kind of customer that the more he complained, the more he would make him suffer. And realizing that, Kinno just chewed his own lips to hold back his cry of pain, and let the big, black youko get his satisfaction out of him.

Shima-sama's fingers clasped his body in a tight grip, and soon Kinno's skin was covered with small bruises, where the harsh fingers had crushed and injured his tender,  young flesh. His lips were sensitized from the brisk infuriating kisses the black youko forced against his mouth. His rear was cut and sore, after being penetrated continuously with dry, cruel thrusts. It was all like a nightmare; and he had imagined one of his race would treat him better... Nonsense - he had class C youkai assassins and slave traders treating him in a far better and kinder way than that Black Youko.

It all eventually came to an end.

Kinno gladly picked up his clothes and stuff, and saved the brilliant round gems of his pay in his pouch, ready to leave. The youko rested, lying down, leaning his head against a tree trunk.

Kinno said farewell, but didn't feign a professional smile, or added his usual invitation to be hired again one of these days. He didn't need customers like that.

It was when the Black Youko showed him the most detestable, wicked smile; A smile revealing such foul disposition that made the young golden youko tremble entirely in terror.

"Sex makes me very hungry. And now that I had my fun, I'm gonna eat you, kid."

Kinno's ears twitched involuntarily; he observed the youko licking his lips and staring at him, but yet didn't seem to apprehend the full meaning behind that attitude...

"You are young and pretty; your meat must be very tender..."

It was a cannibal youko!

Now Kinno knew how badly lured he had been... And what hurt him more - The promises he had about Shima Sama talking about him to his daddy Kurama were just a lie then?

Kinno ran as fast as he could.

He had heard some legends about these fiends when he was a kit.. Youko who got more and more powerful, more and more evil as they fed on more and more of their own race...

He wiped the cold sweat off his brow with the back of  his hand, and then grabbed his  fan with a very determined grip. He had been taught some dirty tricks, and for all the Gods, he would use all he could in order to try to survive that brute. He twisted and pulled the metallic holder of the fan, revealing a menacing, brilliant blade of a long dagger hidden into the folds - He had already fixed more than one abusive, nasty customer with that. It was one of the few things he had learned to do well - And he would cut the nuts off  that detestable Shima and run away as fast as possible. It was his only possible plan.
 
He would not be eaten alive... No, not now when he had just found his daddy!
 
He smelled the air, sensing the youko coming to get him. He was around, getting closer to him without causing the slightest noise. And the golden youko just knew if he ran away, he'd be caught from behind - The black youko was there, lurking nearby, just waiting to attack him. There was no way out, running or not he was equally fucked.

He cried very low, in a long, child-like lament, the dagger trembling in the nervous clasp of his fingers.

Then, the soil burst around him, and black snakelike roots emerged and seized his ankles and legs, trying to tie him down and creeping up his thighs like giant worms, to bind him.

He managed to snip off the whirling roots with a fast move, cutting some with a fast blow of his dagger's  blade. He jumped off the circling vines, and ran away from the crawling stalks and roots, looking over his shoulder. He could see nothing, but he was sure that black-hearted youko was after him, showing his open mouthful of sharp teeth and dripping saliva, ready to bite him, and munch him and eat him all up...

He turned to look ahead again, and he cried out at once, bumping into the tall, broad dark figure...

The golden kid had one fast reaction - To shove the dagger into the Youko, aiming right at the middle of his chest, where his heart was.

His attack was blocked and held , his arm twisted and it all happened so fast Kinno could do nothing but twitch and shudder under the strong clinching grasp

The black youko wrenched Kinno's wrist, holding it so firm that Kinno was forced to loose the dagger. The blade hit the ground just as Kinno started a loud sobbing plea.  He stared at the black youko, paralyzed, in total fright. His knees trembled too much, almost making him loose his balance and fall to the floor.

"Shima-Sama, please don't kill me! I'm just a poor youko, I'm not worth the effort!" Kinno cried, in a whined supplication, blubbering, still trying to fight the grip, even though he knew it was useless.

The black youko just offered Kinno a silent, spiteful smile, summoning more plants to grow and bind the golden youko, circling his wrists and ankles.

"I wanted to play a little and chase you down. But you're so weak, It is no fun at all..."

Kinno wailed in pain and fear.

"Don't kill me, Shima Sama, I beg you! I'm only 23, I'm too young to die!"

The blades of grass and the short stalks of the low-growing herbs grew high around Kinno, holding his ankles, pulling him down till he had to give up his balance and fall on his knees to the floor. The stalks started to enclose his arms, and Kinno kept his hands together in a feverish supplication.

"Shima-Sama, my life is miserable but I don't wanna die! I'll be your slave, please, don't eat me!"

The Black Youko didn't seem touched by Kinno's pleas. He just smiled at the golden youko, apparently having lots of  fun watching his catch's suffering. He observed Kinno wriggling and trying to resist the stalks which enveloped him like threads, pinning him to the ground, and patted his golden head.

"You were a wonderful lover, but I'm sure you will be a much better meal. I'm gonna start eating your tongue, so you won't scream while I proceed."

The Black Youko kneeled down then, holding Kinno's head and bending towards him as if for a kiss. Kinno was paralyzed. His eyes were fixed, glassy, wide, and he was in such terror he held his breath.

The youngster screamed when he saw the open mouth, the fangs protruding, the lips glistening with saliva of his hunter drawing closer, closer, closer, till all he could see was just the teeth, ready to tear him to pieces...

Then he heard a low voice in a calm but demanding tone, sounding very near.

"Let the Youko kid go."

Kinno didn't recognize his saviour. He Just saw a very small figure, with three eyes flickering in the shadow. The middle one, a Jagan, let forth a massive energy, which spread around him.

"Youkai- Sama, Save me, please!" He yelled, recovering his will and strength to try to resist the circling and binding stalks with all his despair.

When the golden eyes of the Black Youko met the red eyes of the small youkai who stood boldly a few meters away, the whole area around them vibrated with the sudden increase of You-ki which was summoned by both. An aura of powerful enmity flowed around them, glowing as their aura flickered around their bodies, as a force-field. The Black Youko's ki was strong, opaque, bearing a dark blood-colored luster.

Wrath, effrontery, hatred, it all burst forth as Shima, the Black Youko stood up, walking some slow steps towards the small youkai in black, whose you-ki glowed in a very powerful tone of black and purple.

The youkai came forward as well, showing no fear at all, and then Kinno could realize it was the cute, small youkai his daddy kept as partner.

"Ok, here comes the dessert!" The Black Youko exclaimed, adding a sarcastic laugh to his mockery.

"Here comes your death, youko scum!" Hiei replied, with deep bad temper.

"Only an idiot fights a youko in the woods. You're history." And on saying this, the youko disappeared from sight, fast, too fast for Kinno to see. However, Hiei's eyes, accustomed to fast enemies and all kind of battle tricks had perceived his movement very well.
 
Hiei gave out one of his arrogant half-smiles, the slight curve on the corner of his lips showing all the derision he could. He stripped his black cloak with one brisk, fast pull. Then he took his sword out of its sheath, with a very slow, long movement. The metal sounding  loud and menacing in the dim light as it was drawn.

Hiei also vanished from sight, in a flicker of black.

Kinno just looked around, and in a blink of an eye his daddy's lover was beside him, the blade of his sword already cutting off the vines which held him tight. Kinno wanted to thank him, but he realized he could not stare at the Demonic Eye glowing in the middle of his brow; it made him feel sick - it seemed his daddy's squeeze was too powerful for him to stare at.

"Are you all right, kid?"

The golden youko just nodded, pulling the pieces of stalks and shreds of vines off him, still trembling and nervous.

"Run away. Leave him to me!"

Kinno offered his saviour a brief, but relieved smile, immediately standing up and running towards the shadowed fringe of the woods. He disappeared amidst the bushes and trees then.

Hiei followed the Golden youko's steps for a while, his sword held up and tight in his right hand, aware to any attack. And he could not help but think - That youngster had a smile just like Kurama's...

He turned over, sensing the heavy smell of the youko stranger just behind him. He just had the time to jump off, fast as lightening, and avoid the creeping roots which approached him from the ground below, like guileful snakes.

He landed some steps away, to the right, but just as his feet touch the ground, more of those tortuous, living roots which seemed to lie in wait all around,  popped off the ground, fast enough to circle Hiei's ankles, grabbing him, pinning him still.

Hiei just summoned a dense aura of black fire around him, turning the plants into ashes.

He turned over again, sensing the Black youko's ki. He was powerful, but his fighting and dodging technique was not as refined as Kurama's. He was a scoundrel, a dirty contender whose skill lay in blunt, treacherous cunning - He attacked without any honor, always on his enemy's back, like worthless scum...

Hiei pointed the sword's sharp end towards a vague shadow, almost invisible in the darkened woods. It was the youko, camouflaging himself, but totally visible to Hiei''s Jagan.

"Coward! Ambushing kids and attacking from the rear! Bastard! I'm gonna teach you a lesson!"

The youko showed himself just for a moment. His fur was all black, his clothes in tones of black, and he remained sneaking in the shadows, concealing himself behind the trees and bushes, always moving...

Hiei was already losing his patience. He attacked the passing shadow, preparing a wide blow of his sword, slashing tree branches and the crowns of bushes as he charged against the youko, so fast that only his dark after-image could be perceived.

Hiei was within an inch of cutting the youko in half, but a high, thick stalk grew right in between them, growing suddenly out of the ground in a blink, just in time to block the sword blade.

The youko vanished behind the bushy wall of leaves and branches, and Hiei halted, taking a deep breath. He focused more of his you-ki, aware the youko wanted to exhaust him, make him burn out his energy and then attack him in the most vicious, cunning way. And he had not recovered his full powers yet - He had bragged a lot, and argued with Kurama about it, but truth was he was still weak.

He'd better put an end to that hide and seek game.

The youko showed himself again, a shadow with pointed ears appearing above the line of shaggy shrubs which marked the small clearing. Hiei tried another attack, raising his blade above his head and preparing the fastest assault against his foe, when he was swallowed by a fast growing mass of stalks, all encircling him like a multitude of tentacles.

He tried to slash the plants with his sword, but thick tendrils circled his wrists, while living five-pointed leaves grabbed the sword out of his hand, like green hands.

Then the youko left his hiding place, coming nearer...

Hiei gazed him, right in the eye, fearless as always.

Hn.. Who did that youko think he was? He was just a despicable low-life. Kurama was the only one who could do that to him... It was his youko's favourite sex-play - To capture him with stalks and vines like that.

Detestable black youkai; red, brown, grey, white.. Hiei had just decided he was fed up with all those ridiculous Fox-spirits. It was indeed time to stop playing.

His Jagan sent forth a bluish energy, and his aura grew in vigor and glow. Hiei clenched his wrists, all his muscles contracted in the effort as he summoned his you-ki, causing black flames to arise around him, spreading all over the clearing, forcing the black youko to retreat.

The flames consumed the attacking, binding stalks again, and freed from captivity, Hiei stood up, his Demonic sight following the youko which moved deeper and farther in the woods.

He turned a bit, looking for the Golden Youko. The kid was safe, concealed behind a pile of rocks and dead trunks, in the opposite direction. And the Black Youko  was some meters away, preparing himself for another assault.

Hiei had to do it; he could not risk being caught again. Attacking a youko in the forest was really tricky, and he knew of a single way to sweep away all the menacing plants...

He clenched his wrist and contracted all the muscles in his right arm, calling his dragon forth, while his left hand started to unfurl the bandages.

"Damn! You asked for it! Black Dragon up your ass!" Hiei cursed aloud, his voice sounding very low and angry in between his gnashing teeth, as he threw the strip of gauze to the side, calling all his energy, causing a whirling of dark ki surround his arm, spreading, increasing, rotating like a wild tornado which acquired the shape of a furious black dragon gyrating around his arm and then around his whole small body.

A sudden black flame was ignited when Hiei commanded the dragon, aiming towards the dark wilderness, directing it to the Black Youko just some meters ahead. His youko enemy was hiding behind the trees, kneeling down. His hands touched the soil, sending his you-ki directly towards the roots of the whole forest, commanding them to extend and attack.

He had no time to loose...

Hiei shouted it out loud - "Ja ou en Satsu Kokuryuha!!". Then at the same time his whole energy was focused to the attack, draining Hiei's body as the furious black dragon was released, whirling in through the woods, destroying and burning all ahead, vaporizing trees from crown to roots, bushes, trunks, rocks, spinning and winding, opening a way in a continuous dark blast.

It was like a gigantic long wound lashed in through the dark woodland, violating the  green sanctuary with a lightening fast thrust.

A explosion was heard, and Hiei knew the blast had reached its goal. A sudden flow of black flames and pitch black smoke reached the night sky, assuring him there must be nothing left out of the black youko but a pile of ashes...

Hiei had to support himself on a tree trunk as he observed the long gash his blow had excavated along the dark forest. He was tired... He was too tired, and he knew that Kokuryuha had been a very weak one. Small, fast but lacking much energy. It had been just like the first one he had managed to summon during the Dark Tournament...

Well, this time at least he didn't have his right arm consumed by the Dragon's greedy intensity, but his head was light, his youkai heart vibrated madly under the effort, and it was difficult for him to keep his eyes open.

"K'so! I'm outta shape, I need to work out..." He cursed, with a very faint, sleepy voice.

Dizzy, he looked around, hoping to find the kid, but his Jagan was shut.

He let go of the trunk and tried some hesitant, tired steps, but soon he fell to the ground, still like a dead body.