Title: Ribbion
Characters: Kaoru, Kuga
Prompt: 18. Black
Word Count: 1921 (O-o)

Karou remises about her early days with Kuga (Post manga)

O-oOo-O

Kaoru gently ran her fingers over the long black ribbon. Even after so many years, it was still silky, and smooth. She had done her best to keep the ends from fraying, and the rich shine of the black silk from fading into gray. It was a silly thing to get so attached too, she supposed. It just held so many memories. It was four long years ago today she had received it.

It was just after she met him. He had taken her away from what she had once called family. Saved her, when he had been there to killer her. For many years, she believed it was only because she told him too. That that was the only reason he stayed, but, even back then, she had had her doubts.

Those black nights she would wake up screaming and crying, he would come hold her. Those nights it was like he was the dream. A warm, still, and strong body beside her, not wishing for her misery. He never spoke, or shushed her. He just wrapped his arms around her frail body, and held her till she slept again. Even those nights she didn't scream or cry. Those nights she would silently bury her head in her pillow, and wish the world away, he would come.

Kuga always came to her rescue.

Those nights left her thinking though. She wouldn't be able to live if he wasn't around now. He was the only reason she was still alive. She needed him. She would remind herself, whenever she looked at him on those days, she could make him stay. It didn't matter if he ever wanted to leave or not. He belonged to her. As a Mind Breaker she had all the power.

It had been after one of those horrible nights, that she received her ribbon. Kaoru had never been one to sleep late, but Kuga would always be up before her, cooking. He wasn't a very good cook; burning things seem to be his specialty. He had been improving though. The toast he laid down in front of her was only half black.

"I need to go shopping. We're out of bread. Would you like to come?"

She felt something twist in her stomach, and suppressed a shiver. It wasn't that she was worried that he was going to leave her. It really wasn't. It wasn't that she didn't want to be alone either. It was that she couldn't stop feeling like, if she let him walk out the door alone, that he wasn't going to come back.

She could stop him, tell him not to go. She didn't even have to give a reason. But she couldn't stop her head from nodding, and soon he was helping her with her coat.

She clung to his side as they walked down the crowded streets. Everyone was staring at her. Everyone always stared. 'Demon child! Look at those awful eyes!' she could hear them thinking. She shot her darkest glare back at all of them. Kuga seem not to notice the stares she was getting, or her icy glares in return to them. He almost never seemed like he noticed, but still, he let her keep a death grip on to his arm.

It wasn't long before they reached their destination. A small, mom and pop convenient store caught in between two taller buildings. The inside smelled of bread, and something sweet Kaoru couldn't place. The store was nearly empty, but for a teenage girl behind the counter flipping through a magazine.

"This won't take long," Kuga said quietly, before he started to pick up what was needed.

Kaoru stayed close to him, her eerie feeling from before retuning full force. She glanced over at the girl behind the counter. The girl smiled, and waved. Kaoru glared in return.

They walked past the pastries in their great glass cabinet, but before she passed it by completely something caught her eye. It wasn't one of the finely decorated cakes, or the massive chocolate chip cookies sitting in their stand. It was a long black ribbon decorating the edges of the cabinet.

"Is there something you want in there?" Kuga asked, coming up behind her.

"I like the ribbon."

"The ribbon?" The girl from the counter walked up to the case. She smiled slightly. "If you really want it, I'll get it for you, but it has yellow icing all over it."

"We would like it anyway, please." Kuga told her. She opened up the back of the cabinet, and carefully pulled out the ribbon. She wiped off the icing, and put it in front of Karou, who made no move to take it. "Thank you," Kuga took the ribbon and handed it you Karou, "How much?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I have to change the display later anyway," The girl said just as cheerfully as before, but she was now sending Karou odd glances. "It would just be thrown away."

Karou ran her fingers over it, oddly fastened by the way the fluorescent lights reflected off of it.

"Are you ready to check out?" Kuga nodded. "I can do it over here then. Um, you are buying a awful lot of bread..." The girl trailed off looking at the basket full of bagged loaf bred.

"I go through a lot very quickly."

"Right..." The girl mumbled as she began to scan.

With two bags of bread in tow, Karou and Kuga stated back. The crowds had grown since they went into the store, so by the time Karou realized that someone was following them Kuga was already ushering her into an alley. "Stay behind me," he whispered.

"Wiz-dom. Hunter. Assassin." From the passing crossed stepped a teenage boy. He wore a hooded sweatshirt over a hat, black sunglasses, and leather gloves. As he spoke of one the few things visible on him gleamed in the dim light, long, white fangs scarping along his bottom lip. "Mindbreaker." He lifted a gloved hand, and pointed at Karou as he smiled.

"What is your business, vampire?"

"The girl." He cocked his head to the side, grin widening. "Don't like Mindbrekers. Do you a favor assassin, free you. Fight another day. Just want the girl."

Karou stiffened. "Kuga-" She stepped up closer behind him.

"Please," Kuga said in strained calm. "Just stay where you are."

Karou watched as Kuga and the vampire advanced closer to one another. There was a flicker of a shield. The next moment two swords flashed in the sunlight. For a second she heard the clash the two swords made, but it was quickly drowned out by a thousand little high pitch screams descending around her.

What seemed nothing short of a thousands little bats, in her mind, pulled at her hair and dress. She waved her arms wildly, trying to knock them away, but they just thicken into a suffocating, black veil around her. She tried to use her powers on them, but it did nothing.

She didn't know if she screamed or called out, but she did know it all only lasted one horrible second. There was a blinding flash of light. Then Kuga's arms were around her, and her face was pressed into his neck. He was carrying her, and they were moving up a fire escape.

"You don't get to run away, hunter."

Karou saw a blur of blond hair and a sword. There was another clash of metal, and she heard Kuga hiss just as he stepped up on the roof.

"Just want to taste the pretty one."

Kuga sat her down towards the far wall on the roof's ledge. There was now quite a bit of space between him and his foe, but the vampire was slowly stalking their way. He was grinning so that his fangs hung over his lips slightly. One hand was open, claws protruding from gloves at the ready, the other held his now bloody sword.

Karou quickly skimmed over Kuga. His right arm, the one that had been holding her, was cut deeply down the middle. Blood was soaking his sleeve, but he didn't seem at all fazed.

"Just stay here. I'll take care of you."

"Did you think the sun would save you?" The vampire had stopped a few feet away. "Might stop that bats. Won't stop me. " He laughed.

Kuga stood and turned, now facing the vampire. He brought his sword up and charged.

For a while it looked to Karou like Kuga was winning, when the vampire was knocked back several paces on his first blow. But it didn't take long for the Vampire to gain the edge, using his speed and smaller size to his advantage. They both took several hard knocks back and forth until Kuga gave a crushing swing at the vampire's chest.

"It's a good cut. A good cut," The creature mumbled backing away as he stared down at the gash over his heart. "But first blood was mine," He hissed.

With an inhuman cry the Vampire raised his sword high and gave one last charge. Kuga raised his sword, and managed the throw off the attack. In the same move he pulled something from his pocket. It cased a flash on light that made Karou squeeze her eye shut in pain.

She opened her eyes in time to watch Kuga sink to his knees where he stood. Some blowing ashes brushing by his face. Karou got up, surprised to find her legs were shaking. She slowly made her was to stand in front of him.

"Are you alright?" He asked, looking up at her, still somewhat breathless from the fight.

Karou stood silent staring down at the deep cut on his arm, his sweat soaked hair, and shaking hands. She clenched her fist till her nails began to dig into her hands. "I order you not to get hurt again."

"As you wish, my master," Kuga replied quietly.

"I don't want to stay here."

"Then let's go home."

Home. Home was with him. Now that she had ensured that he wouldn't get hurt again, she would be able to stay at home. She didn't belong there. She didn't belong anywhere, but this way she knew that would at least be a place to be, if nothing else.

"Karou?" Karou turned in her chair. Kuga's head was sticking just inside her bedroom door. "I knocked. Are you alright?"

"Yes," She smiled. "I'm fine." Karou laid the ribbon back in its box, and snapped the lid shut.

"I just came to tell you that dinner--"

"What the hell is that?" Ama-Iun's voice sounded from the kitchen accompanied by a loud clang. "You call that meat? You can hardly see the red in it!"

"I spent two hours fixing that..." Kasei quite voice echoed down the hall.

"You want blood oozing out of your dinner go outside and catch a rat, you stupid mutt." Mizunagi deadpanned as usual.

"The fuc-"

Kuga step inside, swiftly closing the door behind him. "I just came to tell you that dinner was ready," he said with a barely perceptible sigh of exasperation.

"Take out again tonight?"

"So it would seem."

There was another clang, and a cry (that sound a lot like a bark of pain) from the kitchen.

"We should probably stop them before they break something again." Karou said, standing.

"Something else, you mean. That sounded like the toaster."

O-oOo-O