Summary: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

Rating: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE.

Alright, I know I'm due for an update on Dance of the Firefly and Game of Chess and the rest of my fics but the seeds of this story crept into me head this morning and it will simply not leave me alone. I have always wanted to write a Supernatural genre fic for Rurouni Kenshin because I LOVE Ravyn's work and am so impressed with her. So this is sort of a tribute to Ravyn. Thank you for all those wonderful stories.

Dark Promises

Prologue

The wizened, old night watchman of the docks peered out toward open sea with sickly pink eyes. He waited. The last of the fishing boats had not yet returned home. The tide was high and the moon full. He sighed. It was not a night to be caught out on sea. He muttered an odd spell of protection and made a motion in front of his eyes with his right hand. It was an ancient gesture, handed down through the generations by parents, grandparents and other relations – a charm for the protection of a loved one – first two fingers held up straight, ring and pinky fingers bent and held together with the thumb. This hand posture could be held up and turned in a circle around the face to ward off evil. Cast furtively, it was laughed at by the mageborn who ruled and protected the city of Herath.

The mages were powerful sorcerers who had made Herath their home a thousand years ago. They gave protection to the city and its people and controlled the teaching of the craft jealously. One was born a mage; it wasn't something you could learn. Once a child showed signs of the power, he or she was taken by the Masters at the Academy to study. But once the child graduated from the Academy, it was their individual decision, whether to return to civilian life in the city or continue to reside at the Academy and use their power to protect the city.

The watchman suddenly perked up. Something was moving on the waves. His eyes bled water. He held a dirty handkerchief up to his eyes and wiped the water away. There it was! The final fishing boat, it was coming in now. He leaned heavily on his stick and stood. Reaching up beside his chair, he pulled upon a wide bell of brass. The clanging of the bell brought several men out to the docks and the pier was suddenly overrun with activity. The boat was pulled into dock. A plank landed on the pier with a loud thud and the fishermen came rushing out to the pier, as though the devil himself was on their tail. They looked fearfully at the boat.

Nobody spoke for a long time. The men standing on the pier looked at the fishermen inquisitively. They hadn't even bothered to drop anchor. The men who were holding the boat steady with rope glared sullenly at the fishermen.

One of them shouted angrily, "Why didn't you let the anchor go, you fools! How are we to hold on to this girl?"

The men who had just scampered off the boat shivered. "Let her go." The owner of the boat whispered in a shaky voice. "Let her go, let her drift…let her go where she pleases. I care not."

The swarthy man spoke again, "What the devil do you mean?" He turned his head, shouting to his men to hold fast.

The fisherman held his head in his hands and squatted on the ground, as though he would fall if he kept standing. "He will not let us fish anymore. He told us."

"Who?"

The fisherman looked up. The men on the pier felt a chill run down their spine as they glanced into the horror living in his eyes. "The demon. He has claimed the sea once again."

oOoOoOo

Soujirou heard the faint echoes of a bell ringing as he stood upon the rocky beach, several leagues south of the mortal city, Herath. He looked out to sea. Black clouds seemed to float upon the surface of the water. Further ahead, jagged cliffs of marble rose majestically out of the black water. He bit his lip. His master was supposed to be here by now. He pulled an ancient watch out of the side pocket of his silk waistcoat. He stared at the five hands rotating on different rhythms upon a pearly white dial. He frowned at the time and slipped the watch back into his pocket. Perhaps his message had been unclear; perhaps Sensei had not realized the gravity of the message. Or perhaps he just wasn't bothered. Sensei could be such a pain in the….

A whirlwind of dust appeared out of nowhere, shaping into a miniature tornado, concentrating upon a spot mere inches away from Soujirou. Soujirou yelped. He held his hands up, failing hopelessly at shielding his eyes. His attempt to raise a barrier was shot down as the powerful spirit-force of his Master blasted his shield away and singed him.

He fell back upon the sand; the wind ravaged his hair and as a final insult, bodily threw him back a few paces. The gyring tornado seemed to calm and the faint outline of a man became visible. He was slender, dressed in traditional clothes and had two swords strapped to his hips. His blood-coloured hair was contained at the top of his head with a leather hair tie. His features were beautiful, a cross-shaped scar was gouged into the skin of his left cheek yet it only served to deepen the aura of danger and mystery around him. He stepped beside Soujirou and nonchalantly shook the remaining dust on his person onto his hapless student.

Arching an eyebrow at the sulky expression on his pupil's face, he spoke, "What were you just thinking Soujirou?"

Soujirou's eyes grew wide as he replayed his last words in his mind. He grinned uncertainly and held his hands up. The older man snorted and pulled him up to his feet.

"Just because you are on a separate plane of existence, doesn't mean I can't get inside your head."

Soujirou nodded. "A thousand pardons Sensei. I was a little hasty."

"Typical." He turned towards the pebble-ridden beach, silently surveying the woods behind the causeway, the dark cliffs up ahead, the black sea. "Fine place you choose to call me. Where are we?"

Soujirou pointed south, towards a group of glittering dots. "That is Herath, a city of mortals. That's where I first felt Shishio's presence. At first, it was only a minor presence, about as powerful as a common mortal soul but in the past few months, that presence has been growing. I can feel it growing stronger."

"That stench I felt as soon as I entered this plane."

"Yes Sensei. It's growing stronger everyday."

The demon lord took a deep breath. "What is he up to this time?"

Soujirou couldn't stop the shudder that ran through his body. "That's why I called you Sensei. He's devouring human souls – specifically mage souls."

Author's Note

Well, what do you think? This is just the prologue and you will have the first chapter in a few days. (Gosh *gasp* a few days?) Yesss my lovelies, a few days. And to all those adorable people who send me panicked emails asking if I've abandoned DoF or GoC, have a care. I haven't abandoned anything. Relax. I will finish those fics. Just give me time.

And review for this one!