It was indeed a very well guarded dominion - and they had not yet considered the magical wards which could be sprawled around.

Hiei sat back, leaning on a rock. His lips curved in a slight, perceptive smile. He just observed Kurama, as his youko crawled forward, crouching behind a boulder to be away from the sentinel's sight. In silence, the youko focused all his attention on the huge, dark stone building down the plain, carefully planning tactics to break in.

The Fire youkai intently observed his lover's state of spirit.

That stupid fox was an open book. The same would not happen with Kurama's human aspect, but being a youko, that fluffy, soft tail meant volumes.

Kurama was nervous, and very worried. He tried to seem calm; his eyes revealed no distress at all. A frontal view displayed nothing but a cold, fearless youko, with an insinuating, even wicked semblance.

But from behind...

Kurama's tail was taut, tense, wriggling in tight, quick motions.

The youkai could see very well how concerned his partner was with Kinno and that whole situation. It was there, shown in the nervous way his tail moved. Kurama had no secrets from Hiei, since the youkai had learned the trick of the tail.

"So what's your plan, youko?" Hiei asked him, wittily avoiding discussing the stress which was so very evident seeing Kurama from the rear.

The silver youko looked over his shoulder, blinking his narrow, golden eyes, in a frigid, evil manner.

"That's a piece of cake."

Hiei gave his partner a little smile. It had been such a long while since they had been in battle together... He missed the sensation of love and danger mixed into an emotional surge.

"Tell me more about it..."

Hiei joined his partner then, both of them observing the tall construction down on the arid plain. His bandaged hand caressed the youko's shoulder lightly.

It was a solid, tall Fortress. The building within that heavily guarded bulwark was dark and apparently unassailable. The Tower showed no windows. There were just small ventilation holes, so tight a child would not pass through. The main building was just a huge collection of  piled stone blocks forming a rectangular base, sloping sides and a flat embattled roof.

A large stonewall surrounded the construction, serving as an unbreachable barricade with turrets and battlements all along its length. There were a pair of heavy armored guards by the main Gates. He could also see lots of sentinels atop the watchtowers and walls, and there must be many more inside.  They meant nothing but cannonfodder to Hiei, however, they could give alarm and spoil Kurama's attempt to invade the building.

A climbing invader would be very easily spotted; mainly if  he was dressed in white...

Hiei furrowed his brow when he thought about it - wasn't  white a stupid color for a thief to wear?

Kurama had to take care. The vigilance around the Fortress and inside was intense. That thuggish Udo must have put every guard he had on red alert. He obviously knew he and Kurama had been the ones to shelter Kinno. At that moment both of them probably were on that villain's line-up, with a huge bounty on their heads. But Hiei even appreciated the feeling of being marked "wanted" again. He had always been persona non grata around the Makai; and the same happened to his youko.

Hn. He and Kurama were about to teach that detestable meat merchant a lesson he would never forget.

"I'm climbing the wall to get in. I can sneak in very easily. I've done it many times in other Fortresses. Then all I need is to get rid of  all the ones inside and look for Kinno"

"You? And what do I do?"

Kurama turned over his shoulder to look at Hiei. He stared at his partner with a very serious expression. Then, after a while, he offered him an indulgent smile.

"You stay here."

Hiei's eyebrows arched sharply as he aimed a very annoyed glance at Kurama. He just could not believe that youko's excessive zeal over him could go that high.

"Nani?"

Kurama crawled back, leaving a wide-eyed Hiei behind. He sat cross-legged and reached his hair, fiddling fingers amidst his silvery strands, picking seeds. Then, he started to count and select the seeds, rolling them on the cupped palm of his hand.

Hiei snorted loudly to call attention. He crossed his arms angrily on his chest, and glared at the youko. He was going to complain about Kurama's resolution, when the youko added.

"I need you to back me up, baby."

The youko smiled, giving a sidelong glance toward the sober construction down the plain. Soon those halls and rooms would be filled with acid nettles enough to melt the stone walls.

Hiei didn't bite it. He knew the youko was just putting up an excuse.

But he agreed, his evil side sneering secretly within him when he imagined the way Kurama would be surprised to know he had no plans whatsoever of obeying his instructions.

After all, he was the one who wore the pants. The youko should better get a life about it.
 
Hiei stared fixedly at Kurama. The youkai wriggled, struggling to keep calm. He had to keep in mind Kurama acted like that because he loved him too much.

"We can invade it together and kill anyone who crosses our way."

"Baby... It's better to move in stealth. Leave it to me, will ya?"

Hiei kept still. However he didn't agree. He couldn't agree to Kurama's proposal.

The youko patted Hiei's head, playing with his spiky hair.

"I vote for breaking in and smashing every idiot we find."

"It's not a wise move, Hiei. I vote for moving in through the back door." Kurama stood up then. He would not consider being contradicted at that point. "We are awaited; there's no way to try any direct attack."

Hiei did not show any enthusiasm towards his lover's plans.

"Hn." He snorted, very annoyed.

Kurama offered his partner a soft grin. He knew Hiei must be feeling useless, but how could he risk his koibito? He had been training hard, and Kurama could sense that Hiei's energy was rising, day after day. However it was too early for him to engage in fights.

But...

"You can help deviating their attention. You're gonna be my smokescreen then, Hiei. What do you think?"

Hiei made a face; a very displeased one. He arched one eyebrow while looking askance at his youko.

"Smokescreen?"

"Yes, baby! You can attack those guards! Bully them, kill them, slash some throats, and then you pull back to a safer point. While you distract their attention, I climb the walls and sneak inside."

"Ahn..."

"You're gonna have fun, Hiei! It's been a while since you finished a youkai. And you're gonna help me a lot then!"

The lovers looked one at the other for a long while. Kurama smiled, excitedly, trying his best to convince Hiei of his tactics. Hiei stared at the youko with a resigned, patient expression. Better to concede; why discuss it? The more they quarreled the longer Kinno remained imprisoned.

"Well..."

Kurama took that for a full agreement. He leaned forward with a rapid move and kissed Hiei's lips.

"Take care then, baby. I'm breaking in... "

Kurama patted Hiei's spiky hair then, messing with the white starburst drawn on his hair. Then, he just turned over and moved away, creeping around the boulder to crawl his way closer to the walls.

The plain surface offered not many chances for Kurama to approach the construction without being discovered. The youko transformed into his fox aspect; small, nimble and shiny in his silvery hues. Then he ran down the slope to the plain. He zig-zagged to avoid being seen, hiding here and there behind the sparse rocks, the dry, barbed shrubs, or the ridges of  the sandy field.

Hiei smirked. In silence, he accompanied the silver fox's movements for a while.

His youko lover was very naive sometimes... How could that witty, grown-up youko possibly believe he would limit himself to just being a smokescreen?

Ha! Stupid Youko...
 
 

He estimated the blind spot between two watchtowers, and moved into the shadows, hidden against the buttress of the wall. Then Kurama allowed his energy to change, transforming to his proud, gorgeous youko aspect.

The youko placed himself tight against the stone wall, to avoid being located. He could see small torches and shadowy silhouettes shifting on the top of the two turrets which sided him.

He summoned a long vine to grow around his waist, and them crawl up along the steep fortification. little tendrils fastened tight to the crease between the stone blocks, as the plant grew smooth and silent all the way along the barricade.

The end of the vine soon reached the top, anchoring itself around the battlements of the parapet. Kurama breathed deeply, and then pulled himself upwards, using the vine to help him in climbing.

He had done such thing so many times in his criminal life. He had even lost the count about how many fortresses and castles he had invaded. He hoped that this one would be the last - Since he had started living with Hiei, he was not fond of adventures any longer.

He moved up quickly, creeping along the wall with vigorous pulls of his strong but slender arms, and energetic yet nimble pushes of his legs, climbing with fascinating agility.

In a matter of short instants, he reached the top. He threw his body over the edge of  the bastion, and sneaked to the inner parapet, crawling across the passageway.

He sent a blast of  you-ki to vaporize the long vine he had used, and hurried to shelter himself  against the shade projected by the parapet. Then he stuck his furry ear to the pavement, alert to the sound of steps or the clanging of armour and weapons.

He breathed deeply. He felt something; a strange pressure tightened his chest. However, he tried not to worry. There was always some nervousness involved while breaking into such a well-guarded manor.
 
Well... So far so good.

He kneeled up, enough for him to peek over the parapet to the inner ward.

It was a large area, 200 maybe 300 meters wide. It extended from the base of the wall to the main building. The castle was nothing more but a solid, dark rectangular tower, with few windows. There was a large front door, guarded by two huge youkai wearing plate armour. They stood by the entrance, one at each side, crossing halberds to block the passage.

Kinno must be kept either in the Master's quarters or in the dungeons... He would have to use enforcing methods to convince any guard or servant to give him such a piece of information...

He needed to find a side door or a back entrance, so he could sneak into the main building in a less risky manner. There were sentinels and guards spread all over the inner ward, all of them very attentive to their posts. Kurama knew it would be very hard to cross the area without being noticed.

The silver youko's ears twitched. He looked around, starting to worry.

Where was his smokescreen now that he needed it?
 

"Good! I am broke, pal!"

"Hey, wouldn't you like to fuck that youko if you had the chance?"

"Oh, yeah! He must be... "

Then they felt a sudden bash of wind putting out the torches put at the sides of the large front gate. The guards looked at each other in the dark, very startled. That position, outside the walls, siding the Main Gate was the worst post in the whole Fortress. There they were completely vulnerable.

"Someone is lurking by..."

"Call the back up!"

"We need to check what's going on!"

The guards held their spears very firmly, all eyes to the dark surroundings, alert to any startling noises or movements. Then their eyes accompanied a quick-passing blur, a darker spot against the darkness of the night, which flitted before them, across the field, dangerously close to them and to the gates.

"What's that shit? Witchcraft?"

"Nonsense! It's just some very fast kind of youkai, we have to give the alarm and..."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The other guard was paralyzed. He just heard the loud scream and the thump. Blinded by the darkness, he brought his spear down to an attack, but he could see no one to strike. He poked at the inert body on the ground with the tip of his boot. He poked harder, he kicked - he saw no reaction... The guy must be dead...

Disoriented, unable to see anything, he turned around and started to knock hard at the door, scared. He just did not want to die so soon, he could not see what was attacking them, but there must be lots of youkai lurking by, and he was on his own. He screamed desperately for back up.

Hiei just waited in the shadows, invisible like black on black. He crouched right before the gate. His sword was tight in his hand, brought close to his body, so the glinting blade could not warn of his position. He waited, with a little contemptuous smile on his face. Bunch of vermin... They were about to see...

Hiei heard the gates creak, being pulled half open. More torches were brought, as a troop of  guards moved out, ready to sweep the surroundings in search of possible trespassers. They spread around the gate, forming a barrier with their own bodies and swords, as others started to check the surroundings.

Hiei looked up to the gates. They were open only enough to give passage to one person at a time. They were, dragging the dead guard's body inside...

Hiei shoved himself forward with a potent leap, and slid past the door, so fast he was not seen. He plunged in one single, smooth and light-footed run, and stopped in a dark corner just for a while.

His keen-witted eyes darted all around the inner ward, already scanning the area for passages, blocks, barriers and vigilants.

Being small, dressed in black, and faster than thoughts, no one was aware of his breaking in. The idiots were still acting as if nothing had happened, checking the outer area. Hiei snorted, catching a derisive glimpse of that pack of morons. Focusing his Jagan to look for his fox.

He turned his eyes up, gazing at the top length of the fortified walls. However, he felt relieved to detect the twitching ears and the slender fair silhouette atop hiding behind the wall's edge.

Now he needed to attract attention to leave the way free for his fox.

The youkai focused his Jagan on the main Tower. It was difficult to try sense such a low-level youko as Kinno through so many stone blocks. There must be wards circling him also, to make matters worse. He could not get a clear perception. All Hiei could feel is the kid was on  the dungeon levels.

Well... Kurama would be on his own for a while, till he finished slashing up that riff-raff.

A guard passed him, so close he almost hit Hiei.

The youkai decided to start the slaughter.

"Knock Knock" He murmured from his dark refuge, in his low, menacing voice.

The guard halted, looking around, still unable to see anything.

"Who's there?"

Hiei attacked in a sudden leap, waving his katana in a potent semi-circular strike.

A head fell to the floor, rolling away...

"It's Death Delivery, scum!"

Hiei ran in a blurry spring to the centre of the ward, slashing arms, hands and throats where he passed.

The small youkai flitted across the area, leaping over heads, darting in between the swords and battleaxes fast as an invisible but mortal lightning. A wicked little grin would not leave his face as he chopped heads and arms at the right, at the left. He turned around to slash one youkai who intended to ambush him from behind, and then brought his katana in a long sway upwards to cut another enemy blind. Then he drew another precise move up with his bloodstained katana, ripping another enemy's guts out.

He darted amidst the confused guards, so fast they could barely see him. They tried to strike Hiei with swords and halberds, but ended up striking one another, hurting themselves over their many unsuccessful attempts.

They screamed, cursing the invader aloud, getting wilder over Hiei's unbelievable agility. In the dark, the cries of pain grew louder as Hiei flitted acoss the area and his sword gashing more and more bellies and throats open, leaving behind him a trail of sliced hands and arms, corpses and pools of blood.

Hiei smiled evilly as he continued the fast massacre. Only the long glimmer of his blade, and the dazzling sparkle of his Jagan could be devised in the dark.

From one of the turrets a horn was blown spreading the invasion alarm all over the Fortress. Screams, boots trampling the pavement and the clanging of armour and weapons circled Hiei, closing tighter around the small youkai.

More torches were brought, flooding the area with a yellowish, flickering light.

Hiei looked at the rabble which surrounded him. He grimaced, with a extreme derision. Then he observed the mass of corpses which he had piled around him.

He had done a good job; but that was just for starters...

Hiei kept his back against the wall, just waiting for the bunch of guards to encircle him. However, his eyes were alert to the fast whitish outline which jumped off the wall and started to cross the courtyard.

Hiei threw himself against the youkai guards, ready to kill more of them.