Chapter 1: Meeting

A boy about the age of sixteen with long black hair, which was tied with a ribbon, flowed behind him as he ran away from a bunch of demons through the woods. He was wearing a cloak with his robes underneath. "Leave me alone!" He screamed looking back at the ugly demons. He couldn't run for much longer he gave up and seated himself by a near by tree. He closed his eyes as he waited for the impact. "Huh?" He looked up. A boy had jumped out of a nearby tree. He was wearing the robes of a samurai and he had taken his sword out of the sheath he had tucked into a sash around his waist.

"Are you alright?" He asked holding a hand out at the boy sitting down. "Those were some powerful demons."

"I'm alright. Thanks for saving me." The seated boy replied taking the other boy's hand and he lifted him from the ground. "The name's Ray."

"The name's Kai." Said the Ray's savior. "Why were those demons chasing you anyways?"

"They attacked my village earlier." Ray started looking up at Kai's face. He's beautiful. Ray thought as he felt a slight blush climb onto his face. "I think I'm the only one that survived so they started to chase me."

"I see…" Kai responded looking sadly down on the ground. "Sorry. Did you have a lot of family there?"

"All of them really…" Ray said with a sympathetic smile on his face. "It's alright. They're probably just glad I made it out alive."

"Do you have a place to stay?" Kai questioned making two short whistles with his mouth. A horse came racing towards him stopping a few feet away. "If not you're welcome to stay."

"Actually, if it's not too much trouble it sounds like a good idea." Ray said reaching into a bag he slung over his shoulder. He pulled out an apple and cautiously moved towards the horse. It gave a few neighs then walked towards him and picked the apple up from out of his hand. "He's cute."

"Her name's Uma." Kai said gently stroking her head. "She's a good horse. She's very good with strangers. Let's get on."

Ray walked over to Kai and Kai helped him up, and then got on himself. They rode for awhile then Ray fell asleep on Kai's back. He's… comfortable, Ray thought as sleep completely consumed him.

"Huh?" Ray moaned as he got up from the bed. "When did I get here?" He got out of bed and headed for the door opposite from him. The only things in the room were a dresser, a round table, two chairs and a bedside table with an oil lamp on top.

He peered out the door's crack and saw Kai sitting on a stool warming himself by the fireplace. Kai saw him and beckoned him over. Ray walked over and sat in a chair beside Kai.

"This is where you live?" Ray asked looking around the room. It was a kitchen, dining room and living room. Mmm… Ray thought sniffing an aroma he caught when he sat down. It smells like soup.

"Yup this is where I live." He replied staring into the fire. "You must smell dinner. All I could conjure up was some potato and carrot soup. Hope, that'll be enough for tonight."

"It sure will." Ray said taking a stroll around the room. "It must be so peaceful here."

"It is." Kai mentioned getting up. He walked towards the fireplace. A pot was placed on hooks cooking the soup within. He took a ladle from the side of the fireplace and opened the lid he stirred the soup then put the lid back on. "It'll be ready soon."

Ray started walking towards Kai. "Can I help with anything?" He asked smiling. "Please tell me there is."

"Sure, you can set the table while I get the soup ready." He responded walking towards the fireplace. "You can find everything in the cupboard on the far left side."

Ray walked over to the cupboards and looked through the one farthest to the left. Sure enough there were bowls and cups. He checked the drawer beneath the counter where he was standing and he found the spoons. He picked up two of each thing and headed for the dining table. He set the table so that Kai was sitting on the end of the table while Ray sat to the left of him. (Kai's left.)

Kai walked over with the steaming hot pot and set it on a cloth he had put on the table earlier. He opened the lid and clouds of steam rose up from the pot. This is… fresh. Ray thought as the steam started to subside. Kai was starting to ladle some of the soup into each bowl and asked Ray to grab the pitcher of water on the kitchen counter.

Ray walked over to the counter, picked the pitcher up and walked back cautiously to make sure the water wouldn't spill. He placed it a few inches away from the pot and sat himself down. Ray took a final sniff of the soup and picked up his spoon. He smiled at Kai.

"Thanks for letting me stay here Kai." He said dipping his spoon into his dinner. He took a sip of it. "It's great!"

"Heh. It'll be something you'll be having for a while." Kai said taking sips from his portion of soup. "We'll head to town next week, when the food is at its best."

Together they ate their soup and talked as the moon began to rise.