Subject: [FF] (YYH) A Missing Item pt. 1 edit & more
From: Shannon Richmeyer
Date: 1/3/1997, 11:20 AM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

O.K. The first part has been tweaked a bit and new stuff included. Enjoy.

Windlily

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A missing item...


	Kurama twitched in his sleep and drew his knees up, bringing his
feet away from the sensation. The tickle followed and he opened his eyes.
He blinked sleepily at the form leaning with his elbows on the end of his
bed. It took him a few seconds to place the face.

	"Ajou?" It couldn't be! Ajou was many, many years dead.

	"Kurama," his fourth partner smiled back at him and tickled the
sole of his left foot with his long fingernails again.

	"What are you doing here?" Kurama asked with a frown as he sat up
and crossed his legs, taking his feet well out of range of the apparition.

	Ajou grinned at him and moved to sit on the foot of the bed. "I
like that red hair, Kurama. Where ever did you steal it from?"

	"I didn't steal it," Kurama's hand went without conscious direction
to push the silken stuff back behind his ears. "What are you doing here?"

	"I'm not here. How could I be? I got killed, remember?"

	Kurama did. Ajou had gotten himself vaporized in a job gone sour.
Jakara's fortress had lived up to it's reputation and Ajou hadn't made it
out, caught and killed in one of the many traps. Kurama had barely managed
to get out, himself.

	Ajou shook his head. "That's not how it happened, and you know it,
Kurama."

	"What?" Kurama blinked at his friend, startled.

	"You changed the memory so no one would be able to find it again.
Not even yourself," Ajou's frost colored eyes began to glow.

	Jumbled bits of memory came on Kurama hard and fast...running
free...exchanging exuberant laughter with Ajou as the hunters snarled and
cursed behind them...then once they had lost their pursuers, stopping to
exam their prizes. Jakara's stronghold was rumored to be impossible to get
in to and his treasure vault filled with wealth unimaginable. It was just
the kind of challenge that was irresistible for two of the best  thieves in
the Makai. Half of the rumor was true. Once they had cracked the wards on
the vault they had just stood and stared for a few seconds at the heaps of
goodies. With no time to pick and choose, they had grabbed items at random
and stuffed them into their bags. Now they sat examining their loot. Kurama
was sorting the magiked from the mundane trinkets in his pile as Ajou undid
the knots that held the black silk wrapped around one of his picks.

	"Huum...pretty!"

	Kurama looked up to see the golden sword hilt in his friends hands.
It was in the shape of a dragon, the body forming the grip, the slightly
parted jaws where the blade would go. It was pretty. Then it began to emit
a soft red-gold glow. Ajou cocked his eyebrows at it as a blade of energy
began to emerge from the open mouth. The glow intensified and Kurama felt
the prickle of growing power from it raise his fur. The blade warped and
changed, the energy starting to writhe snake-like.

	"Ajou, put it..." the 'down!!' never got out.

	Ajou's mouth opened in a soundless scream. The blaze of light
engulfed him, then the blade exploded outwards...

	Kurama was badly burned and battered with one arm hanging limp over
the lip of  the crater. It was gone, finally. It had taken the energy
dragon that had come from the hilt only six seconds to consume all of
Ajou's rei as it had snaked about, out of control. It had seemed like
forever. He could see the hilt glittering at the bottom of the pit, the
piece of silk that it had been wrapped in a puddle next to it, the only
thing other than himself that had survived.

	Ajou! Ajou was gone! The horrid thing had absorbed everything. He
glared at the hilt as he pulled himself shakily onto his hands and knees.
If it fell into the hands of someone who could control it, especially one
of his many enemies... He half slid, half tumbled down the fused sides of
the crater and wrapped the hilt back into it's black silk with trembling
and blistered fingers. He had to hide it...hide it so no one would ever
find it...

	Kurama jerked upright in his bed, panting as his heart raced in his
chest. The smell of burned fur and meat hung in the back of his nose as the
reality of what had been fled back into his subconscious. The false memory
he had created snapped back into place, leaving him with a confused
impression of Ajou and nothing more as his gaze raked the room. Nothing was
in it that shouldn't be there. Nightmare. It was just a nightmare. He
relaxed and wiggled back down into the soft comfort of his blankets with a
frown. Another nightmare. This was the fifth one in as many nights and they
all had to do with Ajou. Why?

	He stared at the shadow pattern of the moonlit leaves on the wall
across from his window and worried that around a bit. Ajou had been a good
partner and a good friend. Kurama had been sad that Ajou died, yet there
hadn't been a thing he could do about it. Ajou had simply zigged when he
should have zagged and was dead before he could reach him. Kurama had never
held himself at fault for that death. Being a thief in the Makai was a
hazardous occupation and they both had been well aware of the dangers of
that particular job.

	So why these nightmares after all these years? He sighed and sat
back up. It was obvious that the ability to sleep was not going to return
to him anytime soon so he might as well go and get a cup of tea. Shiori
appeared in the kitchen doorway as he was pouring the just steeped tea into
a cup.

	"Shuichi?" Her face was full of concern.

	"It's nothing, Mother. I just had a bad dream and wanted to get up
for a bit to get it out of my head. Go back to bed."

	She looked him up and down with a mothers critical eye then headed
for the cupboard that held the glasses and cups. Silence hung between them
as she came and sat in the chair next to him at the table and he poured for
her.

	"You been looking tired these last few days. Is there something
bothering you? Anything you want to talk about?" Shori finally asked.

	He smiled for her and shook his head 'no'. She raised one eyebrow
at him.

	"O.K. Well, if you change your mind, I'm always here to listen."

	"Really, Mother. It was nothing but a bad dream. Nothing for you to
worry over," he made his tone light and reassuring.

	How could he tell her about things that had happened before he had
become her son? Shiori would never understand if she ever found out the
truth. It would break her heart to know how much of his life with her was a
lie and he was truly afraid that if she ever found out what she had given
birth to, she would be horrified. The idea of his human mother looking at
him with fear and disgust made him wince inwardly.

	"I do that a lot, don't I?" she asked softly after she had taken a
sip of the tea, her strange, sad smile making her look suddenly...old.

	It was his turn to raise his eyebrow, a gesture of hers that he had
incorporated into his own set of expressions.

	"Worry," she answered his unspoken question. "I know I shouldn't,
you are almost a grown man now and able to fend for yourself. But you'll
always be my little boy in my heart and it's a mothers job to worry. It was
easier when you were little, you know. All I had to do was take you in my
arms and give you a cuddle and then everything was better."

	She put the cup down on the table with one hand as she turned
slightly, offering without being obvious. For a moment he thought about
refusing as his two natures agreed with each other for once without
protest. As a sixteen year old human male such displays of affection were
unseeming and once a Youko kit was weaned, he was on his own. Yet it would
make Shiori feel better.

	He had forgotten how wonderful it was to be enfolded in one of his
mother's hugs. The tension he hadn't really realized was there faded away
as her hand stroked his hair. After a few minutes he yawned, drowsy once
more. Shiori echoed it as she tightened her arms for a second, then
released him.

	"Back to bed, Shuichi."

	"Yes, Mother," he got out around another yawn as they both stood.

	He wondered if Shiori was going to try to tuck him also as they
headed for the back of the house and the bedrooms. He was relieved when she
paused before her door and bid him good night with a glowing smile. Her
delight brought a smile to his own face as he padded into his own room and
slipped back between the now cold sheets and curled up, refusing to let
thoughts of Ajou trouble him anymore this night.



						***


	The creature that wore Ajou's form reappeared in the Circle of
Summoning. The Master had his back to it, looking out of the high narrow
window. It let the Shaping fade away until a translucent, genderless figure
stood where Ajou had been. It waited patiently, for it could not speak
until The Master addressed it.

	Finally The Master asked, "Well?"

	"He resists still, my Master."

	The Master sighed as he turned, his arms crossed against his chest,
and leaned his weight back against the sill. He shook his head and a
one-sided smirk quirked the thin line of his lips as one hand went up to
stroke the silver-furred hide around his shoulders.

	"It would be so much easier if he'd just remember. Not as fun, but
easier.  Well, it seems I will have to try something more...dramatic. I'll
summon you when I'm ready."

	The Shapetaker bowed and swirled out of existence.


						***


	Something was tickling his nose. Probably hair. Kurama turned his
head on the pillow and the tickle stopped for a moment, then resumed.

	"Kurama, wake up," a soft voice crooned sweetly in his ear.

	He opened his eyes and jerked in shock as he focused on the face
only a few inches from his own. The iridescent feather between Ajou's
fingers headed for the tip of his nose once more. He grabbed Ajou's wrist
in instinct, had a fraction of an instant to register how cold the flesh
under his fingers was and the cunning glee in his old partner's expression,
then he was yanked into the swirling chaos of a Gate.

	He landed hard on his back and stared up at the massive wood beams
carved with all kinds of interesting and beautiful figures that supported
the stone ceiling. He tried to remember if he'd ever seen them before as he
worked on pulling air back into his flattened lungs. He decided he hadn't
as he pushed himself up into a sitting position with his hands and glanced
around to take his bearings. It was then he realized he was in a Circle of
Summoning and said one of Hiei's favorite curses under his breath. He had
been downright stupid to touch Ajou. He knew better! He didn't bother to
castigate himself further as his gaze fell on the tall, lean figure in
unrelieved black that leaned languidly against the wall in front of him.
Well, it wasn't totally unrelieved. There was a silver furred mantel around
his shoulders.

	That mantel held his eyes as he slowly got to his feet. It was a
fox hide... no, a Youko's hide... complete with head, tails and feet. The
head held the first tail in it's mouth and it's empty eye sockets seemed to
stare back. A violent shudder of disgust went through him.

	"Youko Kurama. One of the best thieves in the Makai. I've been
looking for you a long time," the mages voice was cordial, even friendly,
but the tone didn't match the flat black eyes that regarded him evenly.

	"Who are you?" Kurama couldn't keep his eyes off that fur.

	"Jakara."

	Kurama wrenched his gaze away from the mantel and made himself
relax as he crossed his arms across his chest and adopted a bored stance.

	"Do you have some business for me?" he was pleased that he managed
to keep all of his anxiety out of his voice.

	A small smile turned one side of Jakara's mouth.

	"Yes. I want you to retrieve an item that someone managed to steal
from me."

	"Well, this isn't the best way to go about asking for my services,"
Kurama gestured at the circle and it's arcane wards inlaid into the floor
around him.

	"Ah, but you see, you are the thief that stole it from me."

	Kurama blinked at him in shock, then he grinned.

	"Sorry. You must be thinking of someone else. I never stole
anything from you. I couldn't get past the second floor."

	Jakara shook his head and sighed gently.

	"Why are you being so difficult about this Kurama? I just want it
back. No vengeance involved."

	Kurama didn't believe that for a moment.

	"You've got the wrong thief, Jakara. I never stole anything from
you," he tried again.

	"I'm rarely wrong, Kurama. It was you and another called Ajou.
Don't you remember? Let me see if I can refresh your memory a bit. It was a
sword hilt wrapped in black silk. It killed your friend and almost took you
with it."

	"No. Ajou died here in one of your security measures," Kurama made
a silent promise to the spirit of his friend that he would talk to Koenma
about getting his soul to it's proper place as he said that.

	Jakara 'tsk'-ed and shook his head once again as he pushed off the
wall and walked toward him, his right hand going to stroke the soft fur
around his shoulders once more.

	"I see you are admiring my collar. It's beautiful, isn't it?" he
stopped a few inches from the edge of the circle that contained the youko
and smiled sweetly. "But damaged," he tucked his hand under the fur and
poked his forefinger through a hole that would have been over the Youko's
heart in life and wiggled it.

	Kurama felt his bile rise. It couldn't be!

	Jakara withdrew his finger and stroked the ruffled fur back down,
covering the hole with a deep chuckle, then began a slow circuit around the
inlaid Circle. Kurama followed him as far as he could with his eyes, but
refused to turn with him. He picked him back up with the edge of his vision
as Jakara started around the far side.

	"So, you jumped into the unborn of a human female. A very
interesting solution to such a nasty dilemma. I wouldn't have thought of
it! What happened to the soul you dislodged?" Jakara asked, his brows
together with curiosity.

	Kurama swallowed hard, then schooled his expression into a mask of
emotionless disdain as he shrugged. He could not let Jakara see any
weaknesses in him.

	"I have no idea. It didn't matter." *then...* he added to himself.

	Jakara finished his circle, his eyes narrowed. "If you give it back
to me, I will give you the key to unlock the Golden Room. Isn't that what
you were searching for when you had your little...accident?"

	*The Golden Room...* the words rang in Kurama's mind and a wave of
greed and lust threatened to take hold of him.

	One of his hands clenched, the nails digging into his palm hard
enough to draw blood as he took a startled breath. That was not what he
wanted anymore. It wasn't! Jakara's crooked smile turned into a cold smirk.
Kurama forced himself to relax and shrugged again.

	"You're wasting my time. The Golden Room is a myth. You lost your
toy, you find it. I'm not available."

	Fury touched Jakara's features for a moment, then was buried behind
that smile again.

	"You will find it for me."

	Kurama made a little sound of disdain. "No, I won't."

	He watched Jakara turn on his heel and stalk to a table piled with
scrolls and magical equipment. While the mage's back was too him, he tested
the wards and bindings that was the Circle. The resulting backlash almost
drove him to his knees. Jakara came strolling back, humor glinting in his
eyes as Kurama swayed for a moment.

	"Not a chance, Youko. It was made to hold much more powerful things
than you. Now, back to the business at hand."

	Jakara held something out at Kurama's eye level between thumb and
forefinger. "Do you know what this is?"

	Kurama had to blink twice before his vision would come back into
focus. Then he blinked one more time as he recognized the bit of dark
stained, rune carved bone in Jakara's hand.

	"A bullet."

	Jakara's smile broadened and darkened. "Very good. And do you know
who's name is carved on it?" he turned it slowly with the fingers of his
other hand.

	Kurama didn't have to see the rune to know it was the bullet that
had brought him down. His stomach tightened. It still had his blood on it,
a dried, dark patina that highlighted the runes. Jakara studied the Blood
Arts. He was in serious trouble.