Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: Here is a story featuring Kohaku. I got the idea for this while I was writing my other story, 'Dancing In My Heart', and some events from the two stories will merge, as this one takes place during and after the other. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!

Out Comes The Darkness

Chapter 1: A Slayer's Battle

He felt a cold wash cloth gently being dabbed on his forehead. He knew he was lying on a cot, and there was someone administering to his wounds. Kohaku slowly opened his eyes and blinked. He turned his head so that he could see the person who was taking care of him.

It was a girl who was slightly younger than he was. There were tiny, pink flowers in her long, jet black hair, which was partially up in a loose bun on top of her head. The rest hung down in strands, framing her face and falling along her back. Her dark, blue eyes widened when he turned to look at her.

"You're finally awake," she said in a soft, sweet voice.

"W-where am I?" Kohaku asked, feeling disoriented.

"You're in the village infirmary," she replied. "Don't you remember fighting those demons for us?"

"Oh, that's right; I was hired to slay the demons that were terrorizing this village." He inspected himself to assess his injuries. His left arm was bandaged, there was a gash in his forehead, he felt sore and bruised in several places, and he had a broken rib.

"You were unconscious when the men found you. You were a bit beaten up, but nothing too serious. You'll be back to normal soon."

Kohaku gasped and tried to sit up. "Kirara! Where's Kirara? Is she alright?"

"She's fine. She's sleeping over there," the girl said and pointed to the other side of the room. Kirara was curled up on a pile of blankets and sound asleep. She had also sustained injuries and had been bandaged. Kohaku relaxed and lay back down.

"Ah, Kohaku, you're awake!" A man said as he entered the room. He was tall and heavily built, and he spoke loudly. Kohaku recognized him as Seiji, the village leader. "Are you feeling better now?" Seiji pulled a chair to the side of Kohaku's cot and sat down.

"Yes sir. I'm still a little sore, but I'll be fine."

"I'm happy to hear that!" Seiji gave a broad smile. "On behalf of the village, I thank you, Kohaku, for saving us all from those three demons. We can return to our peaceful way of life now that you've rid us of them."

While Seiji was praising Kohaku for his heroic feat, Kohaku stole a few glances at the girl who had been tending to him. Her tanned skin appeared flawless. She had full, red lips and long, dark eye lashes. Her eyes met his, and he quickly looked away. She's beautiful, he thought.

"I've got your payment right here," Seiji said as he produced a sack of coins and placed it beside Kohaku. "But I feel like we owe you much more."

"I couldn't ask for anything more," Kohaku said, humbly. "Enough money to survive is all I require."

"At least stay with us until you are recovered." Seiji insisted.

Kohaku stole a quick glance at the girl and said, "I think I'll do that."

"Great!" Seiji rested his elbows on his thighs so that he could lean closer to Kohaku. "Now, I would like to hear the story of how you fought those demons!"

"I'll do my best to recount what happened," Kohaku said and cleared his throat.

(Flashback…)

Stealthily, Kohaku and Kirara crept through the forest underbrush. Only the moonlight pooling through the leaves and branches allowed them to see in the darkness. Kirara was in her full size, while Kohaku carried his chain-sickle and wore his gas mask. They were prepared for battle.

Following the scent of the three demons, Kirara led the way. When she flattened herself on the ground, Kohaku did the same. Kohaku carefully moved aside some of the shrubbery that was concealing them so that he could see what was a few yards in front of them.

The three beastly youkai were gathered in a small clearing. The largest of them had the head, chest, and front legs of a dragon, while her rear end was that of a horse. Her front feet were large and clawed, and her hind legs had hoofed feet. Her entire body was covered in shaggy, dark blue hair. She lacked the scales and wings found on most dragons. Kohaku identified her as the leader of the group, and she was called Ruka.

Next to her was Takeshi, a much smaller demon. He had a slender body with thick horns protruding from the top of his head. His bulging, yellow eyes were disproportionately large to the rest of his body. The third youkai, Iwao, stood upright on his hind legs. He had bulky skin and a face resembling that of a boar's, including tusks. He was terribly ugly and held a wooden club.

The three demons were noisily devouring a mangled carcass. A sick feeling pervaded Kohaku when he realized the body was that of a man who had gone missing from the village. So there is no hope for his safe return, Kohaku thought. This is why the youkai had been terrorizing the village; they wanted food, and they had already taken several lives.

Although this scene was very distressing, it allowed Kohaku an advantage over the demons. While they were distracted by their meal, he and Kirara could attack them by surprise.

Kohaku brought his lips close to Kirara's ears, and as softly as he could, whispered, "Go around to the other side of them, and we'll attack them from both sides." Kirara swiftly made her way to the other side of the clearing, circumventing the youkai.

Before she made it all the way to the other end, Kohaku regretted sending her over there. Kirara was not able to move quietly enough. At the slightest sound, Ruka snapped her head up and grunted, alerting the other two. Kirara crouched low to the ground, attempting to hide herself.

"Who's there?" Ruka had a female voice, yet it was deep and gruff. "Show yourself!"

In a hissing, raspy voice, Takeshi said, "If you don't come out, we'll drag you out and kill you!"

Kirara remained where she was, not moving a muscle. The three hideous demons began advancing in her direction. They had their backs to Kohaku, and he saw this moment as his opportunity to attack from behind.

He bolted up from the ground and dashed forward. Brandishing his chain-sickle, Kohaku ran after the demons. They were getting dangerously close to Kirara, so he flung the bladed end of his weapon at the nearest youkai. It struck Iwao.

He howled, but it was a noise made more from anger than pain. His thick skin prevented the blade from doing much damage. He grasped the weapon and jerked it out of his shoulder, screaming, "Who dares hurt me!" His voice was gravelly and sounded muffled.

The other two turned around at the commotion. Now the three were approaching Kohaku, and Iwao still held Kohaku's blade. His grip was too strong for Kohaku to yank it away from him. "Who are you?" Ruka demanded.

"I'm a demon slayer!" Kohaku shouted. "I've come to exact revenge for the villagers you have killed!"

Ruka let out an evil chuckle. "You measly little human, you think you can defeat us? Don't you know mortals are nothing but food for demons?"

Kohaku was slowly backing away now. "That's not true! You will pay for what you've done!"

Suddenly Kirara charged out of her hiding place and pounced on Iwao's back. The surprised youkai was distracted enough for Kohaku to pull his sickle blade out of Iwao's grasp.

Iwao raised his club, intending to smash the cat demon on his back. Kirara leapt away from him before he could hit her. She went after Takeshi, but he quickly darted away.

Ruka barreled toward Kohaku, who dodged out of the way just in time. As she was reeling around to charge at him again, Kohaku slung his sickle blade. It grazed the side of her neck, enough to draw a thin streak of blood. She growled and hissed. Her horse tail swished, and she stomped her hoofs.

"You will die, you pathetic creature!" Ruka yelled.

Meanwhile, Kirara was fending off attacks from Iwao's club. He kept up a steady stream of swings, snorting in annoyance all the while. He was big and brutish, but he was not among the most intelligent youkai. Takeshi used his long tail as a whip and managed to strike Kirara across her hind leg.

She yowled in fury and swiped at the smaller youkai with her flaming paws. Once again he was too swift and dodged her attack. He scrambled up the nearest tree, thinking he was out of her reach.

Kirara soared up after Takeshi, leaving Iwao behind. Takeshi disappeared amongst the leaves. For a moment, Kirara did not know where he was. Then, as she landed on a branch, Takeshi burst forward and rammed her with his horns.

She growled, but she did not let the pain slow her down. This time she snatched Takeshi up by the neck, clamping him between her powerful jaws. Down below, Iwao repeatedly smashed the trunk of the tree with his club. As he could not climb or fly, the only way he could think to help his friend was to knock the tree down.

Kohaku and Ruka stood facing each other. She lowered her head, bearing her gleaming teeth and scraped the dirt with her claws. He maintained a firm grip on his chain-sickle, and his eyes locked onto her with a deadly glare.

With a vicious snarl, Ruka bounded toward Kohaku. He swung his blade, but she knocked it out of the way with her powerful, clawed foot. She then grabbed his arm in her mouth and sunk her teeth into his flesh. He screamed from the pain and wildly assaulted her face with the blade of his sickle. It gouged her cheek, forcing her to release his arm.

Kirara was still holding Takeshi by the neck, attempting to squeeze the life out of him. But he was using the last of his strength to scratch every part of her he could reach. Iwao had finally succeeded in chopping down the tree.

As it creaked and began to fall, Kirara leapt into the air. She hovered over the tree until it was about to crash into the ground. At the last second, she slammed her body into the tree, guiding it so that it would fall toward Iwao. The large youkai barely had time to realize that he was in the path of the falling tree. He was unable to move out of the way quickly enough. With a loud crash, the tree made impact with the ground.

Kirara bit down one last time on Takeshi's neck. He let out a final shriek of anguish before he was silenced. Kirara discarded his body beside the tree and then rushed off to go help Kohaku. Bellowing in outrage, Iwao tried to go after her, but his leg was crushed, trapping him under the fallen tree. Grunting in pain, he struggled to free himself of the tree.

Kohaku was holding his bleeding arm and trying to run away from Ruka. She caught up to him, and using her head, flung Kohaku into a distant tree. His side hit the tree with great force, and he moaned as he felt his rib crack.

Ruka was galloping toward Kohaku, but Kirara reached him first. He hurriedly pulled himself onto her back, and she took flight.

"I'm glad you're ok, Kirara! I got worried when I heard the tree fall."

As they flew, they could see that Iwao had freed himself from the tree and was limping after them, dragging his injured leg. Ruka sped past her youkai companion in pursuit of Kohaku and Kirara.

"Wait, Kirara! We need to go back and kill Iwao while he's still weakened!" Kohaku shouted.

Reluctantly, Kirara turned around and headed back towards Iwao. As they passed overhead, Ruka jumped up and swatted at Kirara, barely missing her. As they neared Iwao, Kirara swooped down. Iwao swung his club, hitting Kirara's paw. She faltered in her flight, but it was too late for Iwao. Kohaku used the blade of his sickle to lop off the demon's head.

Furious, Ruka charged after them. Kirara flew away from her, towards the edge of the forest. They burst out of the tree line with Ruka close behind. Now, they were on the shore of the beach that was very close to the village.

Kirara landed in the shallow part of the water, trying to put as much distance as she could between Ruka and them. The waves gently lapped around her ankles. Kohaku slid down from her neck and stood beside her, holding her shoulder for support.

Ruka was quickly approaching them. She screamed, "You will die for killing my companions!"

Kirara placed herself in front of Kohaku, guarding him from Ruka. The blue dragon-horse youkai jumped up over Kirara to reach Kohaku. She slashed his forehead with one of her sharp claws, knocking him into the water.

At the same time, Kirara sprang up from underneath Ruka and sank her fangs into the demon's belly. She shook her head and wrenched off a chunk of Ruka's flesh. Howling in agony, Ruka spun around and attacked Kirara.

Kohaku reached up, grabbed Ruka's horse tail, and used it to pull himself up. She paid him no attention, as she was engaged in battle with Kirara. He raised his chain-sickle up over his head and brought it down on Ruka's back. The blade severed Ruka's spine, and her hind legs collapsed.

Kirara grabbed a hold of Ruka's throat with her teeth and clenched her jaws tightly. Struggling to breath and losing a lot of blood, Ruka tried to pull herself away. She wrapped her arms around Kirara's neck, attempting to strangle the demon cat.

Kohaku dragged himself along Ruka's body until he reached her head. He saw her look at him with one, big, fiery eye. He could see her hatred, agony, and fear in that eye. Then, he swung his sickle and crushed her skull with it.

Ruka let out a garbled moan, and then she went limp. Kirara released her, and she dropped to the water.

"We did it," Kohaku said, out of breathe. "We killed all three of them." He was exhausted, and he had lost too much blood. Kirara gently caught him as he passed out. She pulled him to the shore and lay down beside her master.

(…End flashback)

"What a story!" Seiji exclaimed after Kohaku finished his tale. "You and Kirara were marvelous!"

"Thank you, sir. We were just doing our job."

"Not everyone can fight demons like that and live to tell about it. We couldn't even rid ourselves of them without losing more people. The two of you have done us a great service."

"I'm glad we were able to help," Kohaku said.

"How old did you say you are?"

"I'm nineteen, sir."

"You are very skilled for your young age!"

"I've been trained to slay demons my whole life."

"And it shows! That Ruka was a tough and nasty one. She was the reason we couldn't handle them ourselves."

"Yes, she was. Kirara and I almost didn't succeed because of her."

"Well, let's all be thankful that both of you came out of it alive and those demons didn't." Seiji stood up and walked towards the doorway. "I'll leave and let you get some rest now."

After Seiji left, the girl continued to apply cold water to the gash in Kohaku's forehead. He winced from pain.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I have to keep it clean so it won't get infected."

"That's alright. I'm used to pain by now. Thank you for taking care of me."

"You're welcome." She stopped cleaning his wound and gave him a sincere look. "I think you were very brave, and I really admire your courage."

"Thank you," Kohaku said, grinning.

She gave him a shy smile and said, "By the way, my name is Narumi."