Life... was so unsatisfactory, it seemed so empty and pointless. Was his only purpose to sit here with the damanble orb day in and day out? To be enslaved by another being was one thing, at least you had some interaction, but to be enslaved to an object was nothing short of ludicrous. He'd thought perhaps the emptiness inside would go away once his time came to fulfill his role as shield guardian, but if anything that emptiness had only grown. A sigh escaped his lips, as he realized that something felt like it was missing from not only his life, but his heart, even his very soul. He felt out of place here among his brethren, they were all ugly and weather-worn, while he was still what Gumo called a pretty-boy. His skin was dark by nature, but it was still smooth and unmarred by the elements, his white hair clean and neatly pulled back. The rest of his tribe was filthy and dressed in rags and furs, he was clean and dressed in equally clean kimono, hakama, and haori not to mention his own demon-bone armor. He was almost always impeccably groomed, his wings neatly cloaked about his shoulders like a cloak.

He hardly considered himself pretty, though admittedly his features were still soft and round with youthful, even boyish, charm, but he was still young yet, probably the youngest of their tribe. It wasn't his fault they were all inhumanly ugly, Gumo was just jealous. Times like these he wished he could've left with his mother, but he had a duty to fulfill and the two of them leaving the tribe would only have incurred Taigokumaru's wrath. His parents' coupling had been arranged to preserve what little remained of his mother's tribe, so there was no love between them. He'd grown up hearing them fight, grown up seeing his mother with a fresh injury somewhere, grown up worrying about what his father was capable of. Finally, his mother had left lest his father hasten her trip to the nether realm, reluctantly leaving her only child behind to the cruelty of his father. She'd wanted to take him with her, but he'd recognized that since he was his father's sole heir, Taigokumaru would likely have hunted them down and killed them both. He'd also been confident that despite his father's cruelty, the need to preserve his bloodline would override all else, he was his son and he wanted to believe that though the old bat didn't show it, he did love his son. His mother's departure had only been a few years ago, but it felt like just yesterday. He was close to her, it was from her and her bloodline that he got his looks and likely more that he had yet to recognize.

His mother was Amaterasu, hailing from a small tribe of bat demons hidden away within the Western territories in a cave that was only miles away, but well out of Taigokumaru's reach. The territory of the Hyakkikomori lay at the southern end of the Western lands and had been allowed to live there by treaty by the great inu youkai who ruled the Western territories, but should they set foot within the dog demons' turf, there was hell to pay. Taigokumaru would never dare incur the wrath of the inu taiyoukai. She was the eldest daughter of her tribe's leader, a wise old bat demon called Ban, with vibrant purple eyes, tanned skin, and pale lavendar hair. She was kind and gentle, the polar opposite to her mate, the color of her eyes and skin passed on to her son, Tsukuyomaru. He had since her departure taken on his role as shield guardian since his father's fading powers over the orb were finally no more, but such a dull existence it

was. He often found himself staring into its depths as though engaging it in a staring contest he inevitably lost.

"I hate you," he often said to it, though whether that was truly directed at the orb or was meant for his father was a matter for debate.

It being daylight, the clan was sleeping, as he should've been, but sleep refused to come, his exhaustion overcome by sheer boredom. Seeking some relief, he rose to his feet, his wings opening as he walked to the opening of the cave and reveled in the sunlight, his wings stretching open as he took to the air.

The fresh air felt good as it whipped through his hair, the spray of the sea water hitting his face and wings as he headed to the forest just beyond the beach. A smile lighting up his face, he darted through tree branches, flew so low over the ground he could feel the blades of grass hitting his hands before soaring up into the sky. He deftly navigated his way around branches and the leaves until something snagged on his wing and pulled him to an abrupt halt. He looked up to find his wings entangled in an old fishing net, though what a fishing net was doing in a tree this far from the beach was beyond him. He struggled to get free only to get himself further entangled and hanging upside down from the sturdy branch the net hung from. He couldn't seem to get to the mesh binding him so he could use his claws to cut himself free.

"Oh, Kami!" a female voice exclaimed from below.

He looked and there below him was one of the loveliest female faces he'd seen in the area and considering he was a few hundred years of age at that point, he'd seen many females come and go from the village his tribe terrorized. Her eyes were not the same dull, muddy brown of most humans, but lighter with a golden hue to them almost like honey and luxurious ebony hair and unlike most of the local humans, she smelled good too.

"Are you all right?" she asked now that she had his attention.

"Fine, just fine," he replied, struggling to reach up to break free of his confines, "Just hanging around."

"Let me help you down from there," she offered, drawing closer to him.

Beautiful as she was, his youkai pride snapped in place and refused to allow a human woman to help for whatever damnable reason.

"I do not need help from any human," he replied.

Too late he realized his harsh words might send her off and he'd never see her again. He didn't want that, he wanted her to stay with him for as long as possible, he didn't want these moments to end.

She'd been out here, stealing a few precious moments of bliss before she had to return to her chores and her parents, where her heart and spirit were effectively caged. Like any girl, she'd dreamed of romance and falling in love, but the reality was harsh and different. In a village like hers, the only worth a girl had to her family was the price she could fetch from a husband. She was of proper age to be wed and the longer her family waited, the less she would be worth to a suitor as she got older. Out here, she could be free and escape her reality, as she'd been doing till she found the youkai in the tree. She'd been enjoying the fresh air and the sun, picking the flowers that grew here and weaving them together to form a circlet when she'd heard to frantic rustling of leaves as well as a less identifiable sound she now realized had been the frantic flapping of his leathery wings as he tried to free himself. She knew of the bat demon tribe that lived in the cave off the shore, the demons that terrorized her village almost every night, she'd seen them before. They were all ugly and weather-worn, dressed in hides and tattered rags, hideous creatures that they were, but this one... He was young and handsome, his vibrant purple eyes and snow-white hair standing out in vivid contrast to his softly tanned flesh, his face still soft and rounded with youth. If not for his wings, she would not have recognized him as a bat demon with such beautiful, young features and the fine, deep red haori and hakama he wore over a white kimono.

For a few moments, he remained still, his violet eyes fixed on the netting above him trying to determine the best way of reaching it so he could cut through it with his claws and extricate himself. He was determined not to see the moment the lovely creature below him left, he would rather she leave without him noticing till the next time his eyes looked in her direction. Damn, his demon pride and male ego for not permitting him to accept aid from a female and a human one at that. He was usually one to accept help when he readily saw that he could not accomplish something on his own, so why was he refusing it when so clearly he couldn't free himself without help? Perhaps, for whatever reason, he felt some need to prove himself to her, prove his capability and virility... damn instincts. With demons, instinct almost always overruled sense and reason, this moment was a prime example of that, though what there was to prove to a human female he had no idea. He didn't realize it, but he wore what she deemed an endearing, petulant little pout on his face, making her smirk and shake her head as she pondered over what was clearly a matter of male pride.

"Very well," she said as she took a seat at the base of the tree.

"What're you doing?" he asked, his brow quirking in surprise when he saw she was still there.

"Oh, don't you mind me," she replied, "I'll just sit here and keep you company while you disengage yourself."

"How very helpful," he muttered.

"Well, you do not wish for me to help you in any other way," she went on, looking down as she smoothed out her kimono, "So I thought the least I could do was keep you company while you get yourself free."

He would have laughed if he were not quite determined to keep her from seeing how greatly amused he was.

"You let me know, Mr. Bat Demon, if you change your mind."

At that he actually let out a rather undignified snort as he fought to keep his laughter at bay, "You're not afraid of me?"

"I see no reason to be. At the moment, you are rather stuck and I am very much out of your reach."

"I will get free eventually," he turned what was supposed to be a threatening glare on her, "If I were so inclined, I would make you pay for your mockery then."

The glare he was aiming at her was clearly supposed to intimidate if not frighten her, but the effect was ruined by the playful glint in his bright eyes.

"I'm Shizu, by the way," she offered, giving him a smile that sent his heart fluttering.

"Shizu," he repeated, his cheeks reddening, "And why are you bothering to give me your name?"

"If you truly intend to make me pay for mocking you," she explained, leaning against the tree trunk, "Then you might as well know the name of the human who's bested you."

"You have hardly bested me," he returned.

"Very well, then you should know the name of the human you would exact revenge upon if you're going to go to the trouble of making me pay."

For another hour or so (at least), he dangled upside down continuing his struggle to get his claws close enough to cut the thin ropes the net was composed of, but the harder he tried the more tangled up he became.

"I'm getting dizzy," he mumbled.

"Why?" Shizu asked.

"If I had to hazard a guess," he growled out, "I would say from being in this position for so long. The blood is rushing to my head."

"Ah, to join your ego?" she smirked.

"I suppose you must think you're being funny, human," he said.

"You're a bat demon aren't you?" she asked, tilting her head upside down to look at him, "Aren't you used to being upside down?"

"Komori youkai though I am," he answered, wishing he had a hand free to run through her dark tresses, "We do not hang upside down."

"Not even to sleep?"

He let out a sigh; is that truly how humans saw them? "No."

"You never did tell me your name."

"Should I have?"

"I gave you mine, it's only proper you give me yours."

"And why would you want my name?"

"So I know what bat to look out for in the future should he come for his vengeance," she smiled.

"I am called Tsukuyomaru."

"Hmm, Tsukuyomaru. What a name, does anyone call you by a shorter form?"

"No."

"May I?"

"I wish you wouldn't."

"And why not?"

"It indicates a level of familiarity we have not reached."

"Very well, Tsuku," she teased.

"Stop that."

"Do you prefer, Tsukuyo?"

He sighed, the muttered, "I could use a little help."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. We humans don't have the hearing you demons do."

"Help me...?" he rasied his voice though he had no doubt she'd heard him the first time.

She rose, removing a small knife from her sleeve; as the daughter of a fisherman, she had learned how to scale and gut fish as well as weaving nets, so she almost always had it on hand. She climbed onto the branch and inspected how badly tangled he was, sighing as she saw that he was too badly tangled in the net to get him free without cutting the net. She quickly set to work cutting through the mesh, working carefully around his wings so she didn't cut them, sawing away until he fell rather unceremoniously to the ground with a thud and a grunt.

"Are you all right?" she asked, climbing down as he picked himself up.

"A bit sore," he replied, as he brushed away the remnants of the net, "But just fine."

He turned his back to her, his wings spreading in preparation for flight, her face falling and eyes widening as she realized he was about to take off.

"Wait!" she called, her hand out to stop him.

He turned to look at her seeing the disappointed look in her eyes, "What?"

"Do you have to leave already?" she asked.

"I've already been out here quite awhile now," he replied, his wings relaxing.

"Could you stay just a bit longer?"

He'd thought she'd never ask, "Well, it is early yet, but I must return before dusk. I suppose I could spare a few minutes more."