A/N: Chapter 2! Will Neku confess to Joshua? And if he does, will Joshua return his feelings? We'll find out… Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story.

Demon Inside

Chapter 2

"Neku?" Joshua's voice called out from below the tree I was sitting in that evening. "Neku, come on down!"

"Comin', Josh!" I yelled back, and quickly climbed down the tree's trunk. "Heya Josh, what's up?" I asked when I landed in front of him after jumping down the last few feet.

"It's time for dinner, 'kay?" he said, and started to head back to the house. I shrugged and followed him inside. As soon as the door shut, though, my nerves kicked in again. I was nervous because I didn't have a quick escape route in case I slipped up and Joshua learned of my attraction to him. Joshua seemed to sense my anxiety, though, because he said, "Neku, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied softly. I could tell the silverette wanted to press things, but I was relieved when he didn't. Instead, he went into the kitchen, where he finished getting dinner ready. Once we sat down, he spoke up.

"Neku?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay? You've been acting really strangely around me lately," Joshua pointed out worriedly. I stiffened, suddenly fearful of him discovering my secret. "I can tell you've been avoiding me, and when you're around me, you're really anxious. Did I do something?" I was quick to think of something to say.

"No, you didn't," I told him. "I'm fine, I promise. I'm just trying to get alone time, is all."

"Bullshit."

"What?"

"Neku, I know something's on your mind. Don't lie to me," Josh growled. I immediately felt scared of what would happen, and my body tensed up in response. The silverette's eyes narrowed at me, and I realized there was absolutely no way out of this.

"…I…I'm…in love with you…Joshua…" I breathed, and his eyes widened in response. It was silent for a long time, and tears started to form in my eyes. Joshua stood quickly and came to my side, looking upset. He hugged me tightly to him, but still didn't say anything. I started to cry hard now, the sobs wracking my body, but still, Josh said nothing. Finally, after what felt like hours, he spoke.

"Neku, I love you, too. But we can't be together," he told me. "I'm a demon, you're a human, and I don't want to hurt you." My eyes snapped open wide at that, and I swiftly got up and ran out of the house, running into the forest.

"NEKU! NEKU, WAIT!" Joshua's voice rang out after me, but I didn't listen to him. I completely ignored him, continuing to run through the forest with speed I didn't realize I had. I was running far too quickly for a human. I finally ran through a creek and followed the flow of water about eight yards until I climbed out and took off through the brush again. I finally climbed up a tree, feeling nothing but hurt and anger towards Joshua.

I hid my face behind my fringe, the tears starting to flow again. I couldn't help it; I resented Joshua for pushing it, and even more so for not trying to show me that he loved me back. He seemed to think that just because we're a little different, him being a demon and me being a human, that we can't love each other. It doesn't matter what we are, it's who we love!

I kept repeating that to myself in my mind like a mantra until I heard the snap of a twig. My head snapped up, and a quiet growl rose in my chest. My eyes flicked about, trying to find the source, but then I saw that it was Rhyme. She was the most accepting of the four that followed Joshua, and had accepted me into the group easily, as compared to her brother and Shiki. Mr. H was also easily accepting, but not as much as Rhyme.

The small blonde noticed me and almost called out for the others before I raised a finger to my lips. I motioned for her to come up and join me, so she did.

"Neku? Are you okay?" she asked quietly once she was up on the branch with me.

"No, I'm not," I mumbled. "Didn't Joshua tell you?"

"No, he didn't. He just told us you had run off, and to find you," she answered.

"I confessed to him that I love him, and he told me he loves me, too, but we can't be together because he's a demon and I'm a human, so he doesn't want to hurt me," I whispered. The small blonde demon's eyes widened in shock.

"I knew you had feelings for him, and vice versa, but I didn't think he would say that," she murmured. "I'm so sorry, Neku…"

"Don't be. He doesn't really care, obviously," I muttered. Rhyme shook her head.

"I don't think that's true," she argued. "He was really panicked when he summoned us and told us to look for you."

"Still…"

"I can see that you just want to be left alone, so I won't call the others. I'll leave you be, Neku, but please don't be a stranger," she pleaded.

"I won't," I promised. She nodded in approval before jumping down and running off. As soon as she was gone, I shivered; it was getting cold, and I needed to find someplace warm to sleep tonight.

I waited for a few minutes until I was sure the others had left, and then climbed down to find a sleeping place. Eventually, I found a cave that was shielded from the night wind, and I crawled inside, immediately feeling warmth. Suddenly, there was a loud growl from the depths of the cave, and then my mind went blank.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When I woke up, I was lying on my side on the cave floor, and there was a dead mountain lion off to the side. Blood was streaked on the rock walls, and I had stinging cuts and scratches and some blood smeared on my arms. I suddenly realized that I had somehow killed that mountain lion, and I gasped upon the realization. I straightened up quickly and pressed my back against the cave wall, but stiffened when I felt something unfamiliar on my back. I slowly looked behind me.

On my back and connected to my shoulder blades were wings. They were black, leathery ones, similar to Joshua's, but slightly smaller. My eyes widened in shock when I realized what this signified. I'm a demon.

How the hell did this happen? I thought, for eight years, that I was born a human, and had always believed such. That obviously wasn't the case anymore, but still! I didn't remember my past before Joshua found me, and I wasn't sure if I had ever wanted to know it, but now I was dying to know.

Out of nowhere, a pang of hunger hit me, and I decided to find something to eat. The mountain lion smelled really good, but could I eat it raw? Just as that thought came to me, I felt sudden warmth around my hands and a glow came from them. I looked down and raised my hands up to find that my hands had summoned fire to them. Using the fire, I cooked the mountain lion's body and began to eat.

Upon finishing, I curled up, feeling completely warm and comforted by my new self. I still disliked Joshua, but I'll take care of him in due time. Patience is a virtue, after all.

A/N: Awesome, another post on this fic! R&R, peeps!