Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Tale of a Theif ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The town was most always buzzing with activity, starting in the wee hours of the morning and ending long after the sun had set. Traders came from many different towns, some coming so far as from different lands, just to sell or trade their goods. Up in Kasagi’s lands they were famous for their succulent spiced meats and fish. There in Korowai’s lands they were famous for their fine silks, the finest out of them all. They were stitched with intricate designs; the patterns were complex and looked fit for royalty.
The scent of the spiced meats teased the bat youkai as he passed through the trading area; he would pick a few up later for dinner. He was intent on getting his craved sweet treat that came from Moronin’s lands only once in a while. Honeyed Melon was very sweet; it was quite a treat for someone in Korowai’s lands.
The eagle spotted the bat before he had even neared the stand, by the time he had arrived the merchant had the honeyed melon wrapped up and ready.
“Yeh know the price Kuronue,” the youkai smirked.
“Have I become that predictable?” Kuronue questioned as he put a few gold pieces into the youkai’s waiting hand.
“Every time I come to dese lands you make a beeline for me stand,” she laughed. “You den ask me ‘’ave I become dat predictable’? Man, you ‘ave lost yer touch!”
“Ha ha ha,” Kuronue drawled. “Glad to see I am still a source of amusement to you.” He took the package of his sweet treat from her and, after a quick farewell, went back the way he came.
Kuronue was your normal run of the mill thief, he could rob you blind while you stood out in a crowd in the daylight and you wouldn’t even know it until it was done. However, as skilled as he was he had one minor downfall. He could get in a house well enough, but ended up tripping every alarm on the way out. The silent thief, Kuronue is not. Despite that fact, however, he managed to get away with it. He had a small fortune stashed away somewhere, rumor was it was enough to last him for five centuries straight.
Being such a successful thief he was constantly aware of his surroundings, especially when someone was trying to rob him. Keyword being: ‘trying’. He caught the youkai by the wrist and dragged the sorry soul, that dared try to take his gold pouch, away. Kuronue slammed the youkai against a tree and put his package down. He crossed his arms and looked down at the kitsune that was about three heads or so shorter than himself.
The kit was scrawny though muscle definition was definitely noticeable due to his lack of a shirt. The youthfulness in the Kitsune's face showed he wasn’t quite grown yet, probably just barely out of puberty. His ears were large, though he’d probably grow to be taller than he was now. His golden eyes, though tired, showed a certain degree of defiance. The kit also looked like he’d been run through hell twice and was spat back out before being mobbed by hell hounds, yes, the kit looked that bad.
“Look kit,” Kuronue sighed; his previous anger slowly ebbed away. A growl tore through the Kitsune's throat as his eyes narrowed.
“I am not a kit!” the kitsune snapped.
“Fine then, look kitsune, any other day I would have given you a good beating. However, it looks as if someone has beaten me to the punch. So, because I'm in a gracious mood, I'm going to forget this ever happened.” Kuronue wondered why he was even being so gracious, probably because he’d been in that spot himself before. He stopped and motioned to the package still on the ground. The kitsune had to have smelled the melon for his nose was twitching every so often. “Go ahead, you may have it,” Kuronue said before finally walking off.
He should have taught the kid a lesson while he had the chance. He sighed as he walked back into town intent on getting more of the honeyed melon. Magarine, the merchant, eyed him suspiciously as he came up to her stand with the gold ready in his hand.
“Already eat it eh?” she chuckled.
“No, I let some kit have it.” Magarine raised an eyebrow as she packaged some more of the sweet treat.
“Yeh bein’ unusually giving today,” she noted as she took her gold and passed him the package for the second time that day.
“The kid looked down on his luck,” Kuronue grunted. “Snot nosed brat tried to steal from me,” he added under his breath. Magarine, however, began to laugh. “What the hell is so funny?” he snapped.
“A kid tried to steal from yeh? Honestly?”
“Yes!”
“How old was the kid?” she questioned.
“Hm, can’t tell really. Though he looked just barely out of puberty, a bit too much on the short side to be a full grown silver.” Kuronue shrugged casually as he ate a piece of melon.
“He was a silver kitsune?” Magarine gasped.
“Yeah,” he said. Before he even raised another bite to his lips, Magarine had closed her stand, packed up the goods, and pulled him off to her tent causing him to drop the piece of melon that he had been about to eat. “What is this all about?” he demanded as he was pushed into a large purple chair. She waved her taloned hand dismissing the question. She was a beautiful young youkai, if not a bit on the strange side. Her brown and black wings were attached directly to her underarms, not matter how many times she would tell people no, they still thought she could fly. Her skin was a light chocolate color, different black markings adorned her youthful face. Her ears were pointed with feathers protruding out from them. Her hair came to about mid-back and was normally kept back in a braid. Her feet resembled a birds own talons, she adorned no shoes for none would fit such a strange foot shape. The most interesting thing about her, though, was her accent.
“How did yeh know he was a silver?” She questioned.
“His hair and tail were silver, that’s usually how you tell. His ears though were a grey color, could fool someone into thinking he was a grey. What the hell is so important about a silver?”
“Dey be cleaver creatures, dey can dis-alarm a whole complex without bein’ detected. On top of all dis dey have beautiful coats in deir true form, dey are rare.” Kuronue sat in the chair silent as the cogs in his head turned.
“So, they could be perfect thieves right?”
“If dat what dey choose to do,” she replied. “What are yeh planning yeh sneaky bat?” she grinned as she leaned forward over the table. If Kuronue had a plan, it was likely to be good.
“I'm going to ‘help’ a kid who’s down on his luck,” he replied with a dark smirk.