This is my first ever attempt at any fanfic so I'm open to any critics or remarks... I'm only half-happy with it so take it for what it's worth. The story came to my mind and I just had to write it down

Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Deeper Kyo... do I really need to say this?

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Thinking

Emphasis

Paragraphs enclosed by are flashbacks.

So here goes...

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Yuya was seething. Mumbling angrily to herself, she was bathing in the hot waters of a spring.

The stupid jerk, who does he think he is? I am? She was of course referring to Kyo who had, like always, succeeded in driving her mad.

Night was falling and they were resting in the middle of a forest. The samurai and the bounty hunter were alone, as they had lost the rest of the party in the woods. Yuya, not finding sleep, once again caught herself staring at Kyo. She simply couldn't keep herself from admiring his well-toned body and his incredibly handsome face.

"Stop staring at me, dogface."

She jerked out of her reverie, her face flushed crimson.

"I wasn't! It's not like you're that special!" Yeah right, Yuya, who do you think you're kidding?, she thought angrily, but carried on. "And there's no need to call me that, idiot! If you could just - "

"Dogface, shut up." Kyo reverted his attention to his sake bottle. "And go fetch me some sake – Idiot", he added as an afterthought.

Yuya gawped at him, momentarily dumbstruck. Then, regaining her senses, she got up and walked to where Kyo was leaning lazily against a tree. The little clearing exploded with the sound of her voice.

"What? Are you kidding me? We're in the middle of forest, in case you haven't noticed, bastard! You want me to walk for half a day to get your stupid sake? Go and get it your servant, I'm sick of you treating me like your servant. Besides, I am not going to spend my money on your fucking sake!"

She continued on this line for a little while, Kyo staring into the fire and completely ignoring her rant. When the blonde finally lost steam, she went looking for somewhere to bathe, still swearing under her breath.

Yuya knew perfectly that no matter how loud she screamed or what insults she threw at his head, her words never reached his ears, or if they did, they didn't make any difference in his behaviour.

She desperately tried to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes but they spilled down her cheeks and into the water. Since when had she become this weak? She had thrown away everything for revenge but everything was different since the day she met Onime no Kyo. Despite his bloodthirsty, murderous and cold side, he had touched a string deep down in her heart and as much as she would have wanted to deny it, she had fallen for him. He had her completely at his mercy, he the slayer of a thousand men, he who didn't seem to see it fit to think of her as more than a dog. She knew full well he didn't care enough for her to see her as something else than his ever-faithful servant. But she had to stay. Yuya wiped her face and lifted her eyes to the star-strewn sky: she would stay; she still had to avenge her brother, Kyoshiro was still there, lurking in the depths of his own body.

"I'll kill him and then I will leave…", she promised herself while being sure that she would never ever have the strength to renounce to the Killer of a Thousand.

Meanwhile, Kyo had resigned himself to the fact that he would not get more sake. He decided to go for a walk and rose, holding his Tenro. Having arrived at a large clearing, he stood against a tree and closed his eyes, seemingly relaxed. Stupid wench… Why am I even thinking of her? He shook his head, as if to shake of all thoughts of Yuya at the same time.

"Onime no Kyo."

His eyes snapped open. Exotic. Before him stood a woman holding a large weapon, resembling an enormous machet. Her very dark, almost black skin, was gleaming in the moonlight and the large gold tattoo of snake winded around her neck, the creature's triangular face resting between her shoulder-bones. She had black braids streaming down to her waist and a proud face with high cheekbones. Her clothes were made of brown leather, leaving her midriff completely bare.

"My name is Nya." She spoke with a slight accent. And a rich and warm sort of voice. The perfect voice to lull people into a false sense of security but Kyo's heightened senses kept him alert.

"What do you want?", he asked coldly while silently appraising her chest. Not bad, better than Dogface at any rate.

"Oh, but you shouldn't think of me like that, Demoneyes." Her voice was mocking. "What about… Yuya?"

Yuya? Who is this woman? Could she somehow use satori, like Muramasa? Kyo's mind was working fervently but he kept his cold façade, arrogant smile in place.

"You mean that flat-chested brat who tags along with me? Don't need her. I asked you something, woman. Answer me."

But Nya completely ignored the second part of his answer and advanced towards him until mere inches were separating them.

"I can see your soul.", she whispered and looked him full in the eyes. She didn't flinch as everyone else did when they felt his cold stare. No, it was he who somehow felt weak as he looked into endless dark tunnels. His surroundings fell away, to be replaced by a whirling stream of memories engulfing him.

He saw Yuya and heard himself saying, "You're only the second woman that I have spared." Memories after memories rushed past him and he felt each of them again as if Nya's gaze had exposed his raw emotions. He felt Yuya's smooth skin under his fingers and smelled the scent of her hair as he watched himself groping her.

"Kyooooo…" He saw the fear in her eyes as he fought against some enemy…

"I believe in you." her never wavering trust, which gave him the energy to go on.

"Yuya's life is now in my power." He felt blind rage submerging him as it had when Akira had said these words in the Aokigahara.

But it was too much, he felt like he was going to lose everything he had been if he allowed this to continue. The legendary Tenro wielder didn't care about a mere woman… or did he? He would have given almost everything to be able to say this but he knew that is was a lie. Kyo knew he had changed during all this time he had spent with Benitora, Yuya, Yukimura and everyone else… Somehow, he, Demoneyes Kyo was scared him to find out to what extent.

He fought against Nya with his will. Struggling against the her power he managed to evade the influence of her eyes. The black female warrior came back into view, together with her mocking smile.

"Ts, ts, ts, was that too much for Onime no Kyo?"

"Bitch" he psat out and out of nowhere, brought his katana down towards her. She blocked it with ease, using her machet.

"What the fuck did you do to me, woman?"

She quirked one dark eyebrow.

"Oh, but you know exactly what I did, Kyo. I made you realize… I made you feel…

"…"

Why did she have to be right? And why did he find himself searching for words?

"Yuya… You need her, you know you do. You love her." Nya now wore a very annoying knowing expression. Kyo knew she was again, right, and that made it even more infuriating. For some reason unknown to him, he felt the need to prove her wrong. He opened his mouth, fully intending to sneer at her, saying that Yuya was nothing more than a servant, but he caught himself.

"None of your business.", he said instead, returned his sword to its sheath and started walking away. There was a swish and cold steal met his throat.

"Never turn your back to me.", Nya said, her voice suddenly devoid of all warmth. Kyo quickly ducked, unsheathing Tenro and turned to face her.

Blood red eyes widened as his gaze met Yuya's.

Yuya had come back to find the fireplace deserted. She had struggled with herself but she finally decided to look for the man, even though she hated herself for worrying about him.

Yuya arrived at the clearing just in time to here Nya's voice saying "You love her." Was this black woman talking about her? Somehow, Yuya knew she was the object of this statement and stayed rooted to the spot, listening.

"She heard it. Can you look her in the eyes and say that she is nothing more than your servant, can you now Onime no Kyo?"

Yuya was still looking at him, the question written all across her face. Kyo knew there was no turning back for he sensed that his answer would either make him win or lose Yuya forever. Nya had brought him to the point where he couldn't reject his feelings anymore. But years of denying all love could not be thrown away easily. He hated himself for not knowing what to do. He always knew. He had never felt this helplessness before and he loathed it.

The seconds passed and they seemed like minutes to Yuya. What would he say? Would he even say anything or would he leave her standing there, her heart at the verge of failing?

But then he walked towards her, coming to halt after a few steps, his body barely touching hers.

"Ky - "

Further words were blocked by Kyo's mouth, which suddenly pressed against hers, demanding and soft at the same time. She was drowning in his kiss, the feeling of his arms around her waist, his strong masculine smell. All of it, she had dreamed of for so long. When they finally broke apart, she said:

"So she was right."

Kyo smiled.

"Yeah, she was."

The clearing resounded with Nya's laugh.

"I always am, Onime no Kyo!" The black woman said, winked at Yuya and turned to leave.

"Wait, woman, we still haven't fought." A demonic smile stretched across Kyo's face as he picked up his Tenro, which had been lying on the forest floor, forgotten.

Nya raised her eyebrows, smiling.

"Oh my, Demoneyes, you wouldn't want to lose her that soon, now would you?

And with that, she was gone.

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Hope you at at least enjoyed it a bit... R&R, as Kaeru-Sama says, it's only polite