Chapter Text
Rain washed the city streets. Mud-slicked roads making footing treacherous and convincing the more sensible residents to stay indoors. Lightning streaked across the sky, the crack resounding and rattling the windows. The bolt struck the mountains surrounding the city and the ground trembled.
Barefoot and soaked through, Youko Kurama paused between one step and the next. His toes curling in the mud and ears flicking as he listened to the thunder. He heard the voices next, distant and masked but prompting him forward.
Hands curled into his pockets, he kept his pace even. Slow and steady. Belying the nails biting into his palms and his blood pounding in his veins. The purse he’d stolen rested against his knuckles, the leather worn and rough against his skin.
A figure raced into view from the next street. Yelling over his shoulder at his fellow guardsmen.
Youko froze midstride. He looked over his shoulder. Listened.
More behind.
He’d lost track of his pursuit. A stupid, amateur mistake.
The Kitsune lifted his hands from his pockets, dragged his fingers through his hair to push the sodden strands out of his face and palmed the seed he retrieved. If he couldn’t talk his way out, he’d-
An arm hooked around his neck, dragging him into a side street. One of the tiny, tucked out of the way back routes residents knew like the back of their hands. The ones they knew to avoid least they become targets.
His weapon fell from his fingers, the seed trampled into the mud as Youko twisted, writhing in his attackers grip.
The demon huffed in his ear, his arms locking in place around Youko’s throat. Scratching at his skin made little difference, only earned a hiss and a tighter grip. Youko's vision swam, his lungs burning with the inability to draw breath.
He went for the eyes instead. Clawing over his shoulder. Aiming for the face he couldn’t see.
His attacker said something. The words sharp and unintelligible against Youko’s ears.
A guard stepped past the opening of the alley. Attention cast to his side, barking orders at his followers. Each step rang with the armor they wore. The rain pounding against the steel plates.
Youko’s attacker froze for a second. His grip loosening enough the Kitsune could pull his head forward. He slammed it back, hoping to break the other demon’s nose. Anything to escape. The arms fell away with a muffled cry and Youko turned, long enough to shove his weight into the distracted man.
As the other hit the ground, clutching his face, Youko sprinted deeper into the alley. Away from the downed demon and the guard's searching for a thief.
*
The inn wasn’t a big one. Small and off-grid.
Dainty if it weren’t for the clientele.
Cheap, cramped and reeking of squalor, it served as the only place willing to accept Youko’s particular lifestyle. The owner, despite his nasty habit of giving the patrons a lecherous once-over, didn’t ask questions.
Youko made it through the main entrance and up the stairs to his room, dripping water and mud the whole way, without drawing anything more than a gruff ‘You better clean that up, Boy!’
At the far end of the corridor, tucked under the slant of the roof, Youko’s room made up the tiniest corner of the building. Slipping through the door, a smaller gap than he remembered – or perhaps it was tiredness speaking – the Kitsune let the tension ease from his shoulders. Undersized or not, the shelter of the mildew covered walls kept him out of the rain. A safe haven he couldn’t turn his nose up at.
Fabric rustled, chasing the unfamiliar scent clinging to the room. The barkeep didn’t employ a cleaning service.
As the bolt on the door slid into place behind him, Youko glanced at the window.
Too small. Like the room. He'd find no escape that way.
The voice of his attacker carried over the space between them, tickling along his nerves. Youko didn’t recognize the language but he turned anyway. He noted the wide brimmed hat half covering the demon's eyes and the leathery wings in the instant before spotting the purse dangling from slender fingers.
Searching his pockets proved they were empty and Youko curled his fingers into the fabric of his tunic, setting his jaw. The bat demon cocked his head, indigo eyes gleaming and his grin stretching from ear to ear. A bruise lined his cheek and the back of Youko’s head ached in response.
He’d made a mistake, searching his pockets. Given the stranger the control in their meeting. Youko crossed his arms, feigning ease but he couldn’t loosen the tension in his shoulders. “Do you always follow people you attack?”
An eyebrow quirked, the grin fading into something more calculating. Youko hated it.
Wanting nothing more than to send the demon packing, he dug his nails into his arms. His prize rested in the demon’s hand. Leaving without it wasn’t an option.
“I found you… Intriguing.” The words jarred. As if the language was unfamiliar to the stranger. The bat demon tossed Youko’s prize from one hand to the other before slipping it into a pocket. He sauntered over, lips still curled up into the smile Youko wanted to wipe clear. “Not many thieves dare take on Tarrin’s Lord. His security is second to none. Figures a local would find a way. You've got guts, Kid.”
Youko watched the demon stop beside the only cabinet in the tiny room. The spider plant sitting on the surface twitched and Youko reached out with his youki, calming the leaves itching to twine around the bat demon's throat. “What do you want?”
“To offer my congratulations.” Indigo eyes sparkled. “Honestly, I’m impressed – gutted I didn’t think of it myself – but impressed.”
The bat demon looked sincere as he lounged against the cabinet, arms crossed and hip jutting out. His scent didn’t change either, his emotions matching the trusting lilt to his voice. Nothing about the bandit announced deception. For all his breaking and entering and the earlier attack, he appeared trustworthy. Expression open and friendly.
Youko didn’t believe it for a second.
Whistling under his breath, too quiet for anyone without Youko’s hearing to notice, the bat demon's brow wrinkled. “Tough kid.” He brightened, straightening up and holding out a hand. “Name's Kuronue and I think you have potential. You’re a little amateurish, walking into that ambush, but with some proper training I reckon we’ll make a- What are you doing?”
Closing the distance, Youko ignored the offered hand and rested both arms on Kuronue’s shoulders. The bat demon didn’t move an inch, watching the Kitsune lean closer. Youko trailed his fingers over the leathery wings and played with the strands of black hair falling down Kuronue’s back. He felt the shiver shoot down the demon's spine, tempered only by the sudden rigidity in his posture.
Nose to nose, Youko tilted his head, dropping his gaze to the other demon’s lips. They parted, the tip of Kuronue’s tongue darting out to wet them.
Reaching for the spider plant on the cabinet, Youko palmed the purse held in the gentle cradle of the leaves. “I’m not a kid.”
Kuronue’s eyes widened and Youko withdrew. As the bat demon sagged against the cabinet with a bewildered exhale, Youko slipped out of the room.
Moments later, befuddled cursing drifted down the hallway toward him. Fast footsteps on the creaking floorboards accompanying the foreign tongue.
Unable to hide his grin, Youko ducked his head and sank into the shadows beneath the stairs. He stood still and watched Kuronue dart past. Flushed and muttering to himself, the bat demon disappeared into the restaurant on the floor below, an exasperated and wonky smile plastered to his face.