Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. I only own Kieran and the very few OC characters in this fanfiction.

Prelude

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Feudal Japan

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The whistling was the first indication that the demon was closing in on him.

Kohaku tensed, an instinctive reaction from his training. He winched at the very thought of his demon hunter training. It made him think of his father, which made him think of the horrible act that now pledged his dreams. He could still see the bodies as they fell, see his blade fatally stab his father in the neck. He shook his head, trying to shake the memories away. They never went away, they just laid dominant until he closed his eyes.

The whistling stopped and Kohaku glanced over his shoulder to see the demon masquerading as a human male. Curly blonde hair to nape of his neck with bangs that covered his left eye, the right one staring down the younger male. A playful grin rested on his lip as he sank down to his knees.

"Good evening little killer," said the creature. Incubus, Kohaku's mind supplied. An image of black eyes and leathery bat wings came to him. Kohaku's jaw tensed before he turned his attention back on his weapon. He ran the cloth in his hand along the blade. "Are you going to ignore me? You wound me, little killer."

Kohaku glared at him but did not say a word. The nickname annoyed him and that was why the demon kept saying it. He wanted to get under his skin. Unlike Naraku, who took enjoyment in the chaos and sorrow of others, this demon enjoyed just Kohaku's. He liked to tease him, hover over him. Kohaku knew he watched him as he slept.

The demon poked him in the side. "Come on talk to me."

Kohaku placed his kusarigama on the wooden floor next to him before moving on the hidden blade he kept on his uniform. He felt a weight be applied to his shoulder and felt blonde hair tickling his cheek.

"Why are you ignoring me?" the demon asked, false hurt in his tone as he nuzzled his nose into Kohaku's shoulder. Kohaku tensed as he felt the tip of his fangs graze his skin. "I don't want you to ignore me, little killer. I miss your snarky remarks."

Kohaku shoved him off. "I'm not in the mood to entertain you, demon."

The incubus smirked. "It speaks," he cooed. "And my name is Kieran. Say it with me. Kie-ran."

"Such a shame I won't ever call you by that," Kohaku replied and went back to his work. Kieran grinned and took a nibble of Kohaku's shoulder. Reacting on instinct, Kohaku took hold of his weapon by the hilt, pressed the blade against Kieran's throat. Brown eyes met blue ones and Kieran's look of confusion morphed into a slow sinister smile.

"I knew I liked you," he mused and moved back, licking his lips and moaning. "If your skin taste this good, I can't wait to taste your essence."

To his embarrassment, Kohaku felt a blush start to heat his cheeks. He turned his head, hoping the demon didn't see. "I'd rather die than let you touch me."

"I just nibbled at your skin," Kieran said in a sing-song voice. "So I can touch you all I want."

Kohaku tightened his grip on his blade. "Touch me again, demon and I will make sure your death is going to be slow."

Kieran hummed. "Trying to steal my heart?"

"I didn't think you had one," said the younger male. Kieran shrugged before leaned in close, causing Kohaku to move his head back. He moved the blade so the tip was pressed against Kieran's torso. The incubus just stared down at the weapon and then back at the child. Kieran blinked.

He wasn't a child anymore but he not quite a teenager either. He was young, eleven years if he remembered correctly from the information he got from the wind demoness. But he did have blood on his hands.

The blood of his comrades and his father.

Kieran was a demon; he survived off the life essence of humans and some other demons. He enjoyed finding things to entertain him. Usually it was just simple mischief, from the occasional teasing to a simple affair. He never went so far as to destroy the lives of others; not the way Naraku had. The spider demon seemed to have another idea in mind. He lived for strife and chaos; to cause nothing but turmoil.

The only reason Kieran even allied himself the demon was for young slayer who had taken to ignoring him again. His attention was back on cleaning his weapons. Kieran glared but didn't do much. He just took to staring at the boy.

He was a pretty little thing. His dark brown hair pulled up into a ponytail; though Kieran often wondered how he would look with his hair down. It would probably be shoulder length or just past the nape of his neck. He wouldn't admit it out loud, or maybe he would because he was just that shameless, Kieran's fingers always twitched at the thought of running his hands through Kohaku's hair. His eyes were distant, always reflecting the past.

The painful reminder that he brought the end of his clan.

Shaking his head of the thoughts, the incubus turned his attention on Kohaku's face. His lips were slightly pouted, showing that he was focused simply on ignoring the demon. The freckles across the bridge of his nose were adorable. Kieran ran his tongue along his lips, still tasting the despair and corrupted innocence on his lips. There was a spice of regret and Kieran knew his soul would taste so much better.

"Stop staring at me," Kohaku snapped, turning his attention of the demon. Kieran enjoyed the fire burning in those eyes.

"Are you going to attack me again?" he teased.

"I might keep up my threat and actually kill you." Kohaku snapped at him.

Kieran shrugged. "At least I'd die knowing I was killed by an adorable little killer."

Kohaku tensed at his words.

Kieran sighed and then leaned back onto the floor, folding his arms behind the back of his head. He watched Kohaku before staring up at the ceiling.

Hiding out here until Kagura or Hakudoushi returned was not something either of wanted. If anything, Kieran would rather be off feeding. As much as he enjoyed the silence with Kohaku, he wanted to keep the boy alive. Naraku was so sure his little puppet would never betray him.

If only he knew that his puppet had realized who was pulling his strings and planned on cutting itself free. Kieran frowned, Naraku was going to kill him. The Shikon Jewel was almost complete. The only shards left were the one in Kohaku's neck and the ones in the wolf demon's legs and arm. If he remembered correctly, Naraku was so close to getting those.

The shard in Kohaku's neck was his lifeline. The fact that Naraku was willing to throw away the life of a child made Kieran want to kill him. He may have been a demon, but he would never harm a child. The thought alone made his stomach turn.

"Kohaku," the demon said. It was the first time he had said his name since meeting him. He always called him little killer. It may be an annoyance to the boy, but to Kieran it was meant as a term of endearment. The fact he said his name caused Kohaku to pause, glancing at him out the corner of his eye.

"What is it?"

"Do you want to survive this?"

Kohaku frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Killing Naraku," Kieran clarified as he sat up. "Do you want to survive killing him?"

Kohaku blinked. Of course he wanted to survive. He wanted to be reunited with his sister; mend the bond between them and truly gain forgiveness from his father and fallen comrades. He wanted to rebuild their way of life.

All of this had twisted their ways. He had lost his memory, lost his sight as a demon hunter. He knew fighting Naraku, he would probably die. He would lose his life to exact revenge.

"I would like to," he said and set down the poison bombs he had been stuffing into the hidden compartments of his uniform. "But I know it is simply a wish. I won't survive this battle."

Kieran frowned, "Your life is tied to that shard. You're telling me that you don't want to actually live your life? You were robbed of that. The least you can do is find another way."

Kohaku frowned. "What other way?"

Kieran paused. They stared at each other, waiting for the other to look away. Kieran raised his hand, brushing his knuckles against Kohaku's cheek before dropping it down to his shoulder. "You'd rather die than actually do this."

"What?" Kohaku asked.

"Bound your soul to mine," Kieran said. Kohaku blinked. The words hung in the air and Kieran could almost see the words buzzing around Kohaku's head. He looked like he had come to a decision when a huge gust of wind blew through the room. Kagura appeared before them, crouched down before she looked up at them.

"Hey," she greeted. She frowned, sensing the tension between the two. Kohaku was the first of them to react. He arose from the floor, gathering up his weapons and uniform and headed out the hut. He briefly heard Kagura ask what got under his skin.