Falling from Eden

I managed to pry my eyes open and I looked around. I was still in the bed. The bed. I shuddered when I inhaled through my nose and realized that I could still smell the scent of sex. It was everywhere, but, then again, we had screwed everywhere. I tried to sit up, but I still hurt everywhere. I took a deep breath, steeled myself and turned over twice so that I fell out of bed and hit the floor on my side.

"AH!" I screamed as I jolted my right arm. I rolled onto my back and winced as another jolt shot up my back, which Naraku had bruised last night. Shaking my head, I looked up and watched as the door to Naraku's room slowly opened as a young human boy entered. I really shouldn't say young. He was only a few years younger than I was, and I was a demon.

I tried to sit up, but my left wrist was still painful, so I was reduced to gasping on the floor as the boy came towards me.

"Stay… away, human." I finally ground out, when the boy stood next to me. I glared up at him and waited for him to make the next move.

"He said you might still be here." The boy replied. His voice was very quite and almost soothing. I looked closer at him and noticed that his hands were shaking slightly.

'Addict.' I pegged him. 'Just like me. So I wonder what takes him to Eden.'

The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of white powder.

"I'm to give you this." The boy replied, holding it out of me to take.

"Drop it down to me." I commanded. "I'll have it when I'm healed enough to move."

"Are you hurt?" The boy asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Hn. If I was a worthless human like you, I'd be dead." I smirked slightly, before frowning. "You humans have all the luck."

I watched as the boy knelt next to me and looked me over.

"What do you want?" I asked, wondering if the human was going to try anything funny.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere. Now, go away, you gawker. Hey! What are you doing?" I yelped as the boy slid his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a sitting position.

"Grab onto my neck and I'll help you onto the bed."

"No!" I cried, pushing him away. "Leave me alone!"

"But… doesn't it hurt to lay on the floor? You're going to get stiff and cold." The human argued and I shot him a withering glare.

"I'd rather… die… than lie on that bed now." I hissed… and I meant it.

"What's wrong with it? It looks… oh." The boy whispered. "I see."

"Well then. Run along and leave me alone." I told him before I attempted to stand on my own. Grabbing me around the waist, the boy helped me stand.

"Lean on me." He told me. "Where do you live?"

"Here, but my sister live about a mile from here."

"Wait here and I'll bring a car around." The boy replied as he lifted my arm from his shoulder. I slumped against the wall and took a deep breath.

"Hey, boy." I called, as he was about to shut the door.

"Yes?"

"My name is Kagura. What's yours?"

"Kohaku." The boy replied and left. I waited from him to return and tried to think of what I would say to Kana. Kana was very much against my 'habit's', and she always made sure I knew. It wasn't that she talked much—the girl was almost a mute. However, it was the little glares and pointed pamphlets that she left lying around that reminded me of her disapproval. I kept reminded her that it was one of my 'habit's' that paid for her apartment.

It was true that I had started sleeping around to pay for my rather expensive, drug addiction. On the other hand after a few nights with Naraku, I learned that he could be very generous to his favored whores. Once I was sure I was in his favor, the sex started to call in few other favors. I didn't call in too many, mostly because I didn't want to owe him more than I already was paying him. But I did call in enough to put a little money in the bank for Kana and pay for her apartment.

I heard a car pull up outside and I managed to half-walk, half-pull myself through the doorway. Kohaku was sitting outside in a Porsche, fiddling with some buttons. I hauled my battered body into the car and looked over at him.

"Gimme a minute." Kohaku sighed. "I'm trying to find the radio."

"How long have you had this car?" I asked as I looked around at the car. It wasn't terribly new, but I figured it was about two years old, since it wasn't too dirty or too clean.

"About ten minutes." Kohaku replied as he found the radio.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Why are you still here?" I asked, as I opened my eyes to see Kohaku sitting in the living room of my sister's apartment. I was lying on the couch with a blanket covering me. I sniffed and found that Kana's scent, though heavy, was a few hours old, so I decided that she must have gone to bed.

"How are you feeling?" Kohaku asked, looking over at me.

"Sore, but it's getting better. You changed the subject"

"Someone needed to take care of you. Your sister looked tired, so I sent her to bed."

"I want you to leave."

"Why?" Kohaku asked, as he leaned back in his chair.

"Because I don't trust you."

"I don't trust you either, but I'm not making you leave."

"That's irrational, and you know it."

"Maybe. How old is your sister?"

"Look at her again and I'll rip your eyeballs out, that's how old she is." I told him, flexing my right fist.

"That's a bit young for her to be living alone, isn't it?"

"She's a demon; she's mature enough. Besides, I… 'pay'… all the bills for her."

"That's interesting. I can't figure it out. You're obviously a crack addict, but you still support your sister. This isn't a slum apartment either." Kohaku commented as he stood and stretched. He walked to the end of the couch and pushed my feet aside before sitting next to them. "So obviously you whore yourself out to pay for all that."

"I'm not a whore."

"Whatever. But why are you doing this?"

"Don't you have family? I've got to take care of her. She's the only family I've got."

"I've got family." The boy shot back defensively. "But… doesn't it hurt your sister to know what your are?"

"She doesn't approve, if that's what you mean. But it would hurt her more if I left." I replied with a shrug, and I could see that Kohaku was turning this over in his mind slowly. I was about to ask what was on his mind, when he stood up and quickly left the apartment, shutting the door softly behind him.

I soon fell back asleep and, in the morning, I was well enough to return to Naraku.

"WHORE! You think you can just come back to me and think that all is forgiven?" Naraku snarled as he backhanded me. I wasn't putting much of a fight, so I flew across the room and hit the opposite wall.

"Please. I only went to visit my sister." I pleaded, once I had gotten a bit of air back in my lungs.

"With my new enforcer. You slut. I'll bet that ever time I turn my back you're spreading your legs for another man."

"No." I whispered. "Only you."

"Damn straight. Come over here, slut." Naraku beckoned and I crawled over on my hands and knees. It was degrading, but I knew that it pleased him. Anything to avoid more pain. "Good bitch."

I squashed the impulse to slap his hand away as he ran his finger down my face. I shivered, about to gag. Taking my face in his hands, Naraku nipped at my lip, drawing blood.

"I love the way your blood smells." Naraku whispered, and I nodded. He told me everyday. "But I love the way it tastes even more. Bleed!"

I gasped in surprised as Naraku kissed me roughly and bit the tip of my tongue. I cried out in pain as Naraku sucked at the muscle, swallowing my protests and my blood.

I suppressed the urge to cry as Naraku began to undress me. It was moments like this that I hated myself more than anything else. I hated everything I did and the degrading acts I allowed my body to endure. I hated the way I pretended to enjoy it and the way I play Naraku's game, just so that I could be happy for a little while.

I was falling and someday I knew that I would hit rock bottom so fast that something would be crushed. I knew that someday Eden would kill me, or I would kill my Eden. I wasn't sure which was the better end though, and I wasn't sure if I would ever know.