Author's note:

Before I begin this next chapter I'd like to clear something up. The creatures mentioned in this story are based on creatures of Japanese folklore and adapted to fit into my story. I am aware that Japanese make the distinction between different kinds of demons (such as oni, youkai and the like) but in this story I will not. I prefer to keep it easy to read and understand at first glance and I do not think that that kind of information is necessary to this story. Thus non-human creatures will be divided into two categories: ghost/spirit or demon.

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Chapter two: the Namahage.

"When you are dining with a demon, you got to have a long spoon." - Navjot Singh Sidhu

"Who is Kenshin?"

"Ah…" Sano uttered in a clear attempt to save time. He even had the cheek to share a look with the man in her mirror. "It's kind of a long story…"

The red-head didn't let that look linger long however for already he was looking back at her. His violet eyes were a little expectant as if he was waiting for her to speak again, completely ignorant to the fact that her tongue felt like it was made out of cotton in her shock. Whatever ideas he had of her that made him think she was perfectly capable of speaking now he was bound to be thoroughly disappointed in very short order. Her courage was failing her little by little the longer he stared at her with those uniquely coloured eyes.

It had to be the most disturbing thing Kaoru had ever witnessed: her mirror looking back at her. A fact made worse by the obvious intelligence she could see in those weird violet eyes, as if he was already dissecting everything that she was by looking at her alone.

Everything else in her mirror simply reflected the room as it was and so it seemed as if Kenshin was sitting very close to the front of the mirror and the strange mixed with the ordinary was a disturbing mix on its own. The only thing that comforted her, just a little, was that he wasn't making any attempt to get out of it. With a little luck he was unable to, leaving her free to kill Sanosuke the moment her heart stopped buzzing in her ears.

"This one assumed that Sano already explained everything, that he did." The red head told her gently, his smile soft but his eyes flickering back to Sano with enough heat in them to make the basan flinch. "I'm sorry to have given you such a fright, that I am."

And then he bowed to her.

"Ah…It's…a-alright.." Her voice was unnaturally high and squeaky and only now did she realize that one of her hands had shot up to clutch at her sleeping yukata at her collarbones, as if she was afraid that it would fall open if she didn't. She couldn't help it, with a stranger in her mirror she felt exposed and though he might look like a man she knew that he wasn't.

There was a demon in her bedroom.

Alright, technically there were three of them. But she knew the other two and something within her just knew with deep rooted certainty that this demon was nothing like the demons she had come to know. Nothing like the keugen she could shoo over her fence or the tanuki she had decided to take under her wing. The red-head felt older to her: more powerful and much, much more dangerous even if he was confined to her mirror rather than being there in the flesh.

"Look, Missy, it ain't as bad as it seems." Sanosuke spoke, eager to take advantage of her startled moment.

He and Yahiko finally stepped fully into her room but only Yahiko had the sense to look slightly uncomfortable about it. While the tanuki examined her mirror and the man within it, ironically the one thing he felt was safe to look at in this room, the basan walked over to where Kaoru was pressing her back firmly against the wall. When he crouched before her, his familiar dark eyes were concerned but lacked any sign of guilt.

She made a mental note to beat it in later with her bokken.

"Kenshin isn't going to hurt you." He practically sighed at her, as if she was the one being difficult and unreasonable.

"You still haven't explained who Kenshin is." She ground out, her eyes turning stubbornly returning back to her man in the mirror. Of course she realized that Kenshin was probably said man in her mirror but she wanted Sano to tell her more about him and asking what the heck Kenshin was might offend him. It was safer to insist on who he was instead. And in the meanwhile she had no intention of letting the red-head out of her sight: bad things happened when you took your eyes off a demon.

Fire breathing chickens not included.

"That would be the man currently sitting in your mother's mirror and freaking you the fuck out." Sano practically grinned at her but he quickly dropped it when she sent him a look that promised his immediate death.

"What is he doing in my mirror?" She hissed at the rooster, scowling at him before peeking over his shoulder. Kenshin was still looking at her, and it made her uncomfortable enough to shift so that Sano blocked his view.

"It's kind of a long story…" Her childhood friend sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before looking up at her. His brow was knotted and his dark eyes pleading silently as he suggested, "If I promise you can beat my skull in later, will you come to the living room so we can talk about it?"

"What'll happen with Kenshin?" She had to ask. The idea of a demon being in her bedroom without her present had to be at least as disturbing as it was now with her still in it. Sanosuke only picked up the round mirror that he had given her that she had dropped in her fright and before shrugging casually.

"He'll come with us in this. Chances are you'll be more ready to listen if he isn't in a mirror that allows him to show his real life size."

Buying for time, Kaoru peeked over Sano's shoulder at the red-head they were discussing. He was looking quite relaxed, hands folded inside his wide sleeves of his kimono and remarkably undisturbed by the way Yahiko kept poking at the mirror in an attempt to touch him. He looked as if he was barely any taller than her, a remarkably short man for a demon. His quiet, however, felt as dangerous as a locked tiger and suddenly she figured she would feel a lot better if said tiger was locked in a smaller cage.

"Alright." She agreed and finally let Sano help her up. It still took the entire way to the living room for her to release the yukata where she was holding it so tightly closed.

For a moment she had worried how the Namahage could move from mirror to mirror but Sano had simply left the room and she and Yahiko had been forced to follow his lead. It turned out the demon could smoothly slip into the handheld mirror that had been her birthday present, leaving him free to follow them to the living room without needing to even see said mirror.

After she had brewed them all some tea that was just a little too strong, they settled around the low table they usually ate at. Kaoru had taken the opportunity brewing said tea had given her to gather some of her nerves but she still felt off balance and tricked. That which she had thought was a simple birthday present turned out to be just a new kind of trouble brought to her home. She knew that she wasn't the only one feeling this way, because her student's brown eyes had darkened to a near black and his rude comments to Sanosuke now held a bit of a bite to them. He even sat besides the rooster so that Kaoru couldn't take the seat besides the basan and instead was forced to take the seat opposite of them, putting more distance between them.

Kaoru tried to gather her thoughts as she poured tea for the two men and herself and ignored the open mirror standing on the table between them. Sanosuke had placed the mirror at the head of the table and Kaoru wondered whether that was meant as a sign of respect to the man within it or if he had done it so that they all had the opportunity to look at him. She nevertheless wished he hadn't, because already his heavy gaze was giving her goose bumps every time it flickered over her and the fact that they could only see his face did nothing to diminish the air of danger he gave off. She was just glad that he seemed curious about Yahiko as well, giving her the occasional relief from his gaze. But she still didn't know why he was here and she was beginning to feel impatient about her lack of knowledge.

"Alright so…" She pierced Sanosuke with a fierce glare, "Explain."

"Well before I get right into it, I gotta know. Do ya know what a Namahage does?" Sanosuke asked her while sitting back to make himself more comfortable. There was some tension around his shoulders but she could only tell because she knew him as long as she did. She realized he might not be as comfortable with his decision to give her the mirror as she originally thought.

"They're some kind of disciplinary demon," Kaoru answered carefully, glancing back at Kenshin only to quickly look away when she realized he was looking at her, "They punish people for being lazy."

Yahiko snorted and Kaoru couldn't help but frown at his sudden shift of sides. Just a second ago he had been as irritated with Sano as she was but now the name Namahage was mentioned all bets seemed to be off. Of course as a kind of demon himself, it was natural for the tanuki to know more about demons than she did but he had spend most of his life pretending to be human. Most of the time he barely seemed to know anymore than she did, though it had to be said that he usually knew just enough to help her get rid of the smaller critters. For him to now openly mock her lack of knowledge instead of sniping at Sano some more, gave her a renewed sense of doom. Apparently namahage were notorious enough that even a small tanuki knew about them.

She couldn't help but feel annoyed. If he knew more than she did, he should've opened his mouth sooner than this rather than let her babble on and show her ignorance.

"Idiot," The tanuki scowled at her, holding his teacup closer to himself. Kaoru couldn't help but feel that it was a defensive movement, even though her apprentice frowned his usual frown and his dark eyes revealed little, "They don't just punish humans. They punish demons as well."

"For being lazy?" Utterly baffled the assistant instructor shook her head, "Why?"

"Not for being lazy," The unfamiliar baritone spoke to her again. She had no choice but to turn and meet Kenshin's gaze, which was steady and unafraid. Out of all of them the short demon seemed most at ease, as if he knew exactly what his place was among these strangers. "But for breaking contracts or upsetting the balance, that is."

"Demons can't break promises, Missy. That's why we call them contracts." Sano explained because Kenshin had only made her look more confused than before, "It's what enables humans to make deals with us because we can't go back on our words."

"But you trick us," She had to argue, frowning as she did so, "My father always warned me against making deals with demons. It's not safe."

"Just because you humans don't know how to listen properly doesn't make it our problem." Yahiko interrupted and grinned wide enough to show his small fangs. She wacked him at the back of his head just to feel normal again because she didn't like her apprentice revealing the darker part of him.

It made her acutely aware of being the only human in the room.

"Tricking humans by leaving things unsaid is one thing, that it is." The namahage stated, putting their conversation back on track. His voice sounded as if he was simply sitting with them in the room, not shielded by the mirror that had caught him, and it was another sign of the magic interlaced with the wood of the mirror. "However if demons break their contracts and fail to fulfil a promise then there must be consequences."

At the word consequences his eyes bled into the golden colour she had first glimpsed in that mirror. Startled, Kaoru shifted to put more distance between them even though she was already sitting at the other end of the table. Noticing her reaction Kenshin blinked, once, twice, and then the gold was gone to be replaced by the more gentle violet colour. Part of her appreciated the effort he made into making her feel at ease but for most of her it was already too late.

The red head was on the verge of thoroughly freaking her out.

"So when a demon breaks their word…" She said, purposefully letting the men fill in the blanks while she gathered her wits.

"Demons like Kenshin come and deliver punishment. More often than not, it means that they come to kill." Her childhood friend answered calmly, "Which brings us back to your birthday present."

"Some birthday present." She grumbled, reaching to refill her tea and determinately ignoring the other's amusement at her grumpy comment. Her grouchy attitude was one of the last defences she still had. There was a gaping black hole of uncertainty ahead of her and something told her that it would only get worse from here. Sano sighed but decided to let her comment slide. Instead he looked pensively at Kenshin before turning to meet her gaze.

"Remember how I used to hang out with the Sekiho Army?" He asked her and she nodded. Sanosuke had been a constant factor in her life growing up but just as constant had been his absence from it. The rooster had often gone to find trouble and for several years in a row he found it at the Sekiho Army. There had been a captain there and, young as Sano had been then, he had impressed the basan to the point of blind dedication. While he was there the army was tricked, having been promised glory and sweet victory and instead met betrayal. The army ended up being used as a scapegoat, the head of the army that Sano had so admired had been beheaded and Sanosuke had returned to her with defeat in his eyes.

She didn't like to imagine what would've happened if she hadn't been there. Sano usually dealt drastically with his emotions and she was sure he would've become some kind of vagabond if she hadn't been there to offer a home to return to.

"Well whenever demons and humans get together like that, it usually gets the attention of a namahage. They protect the contract that is made between them and will punish either party if they think a deal is broken. It was thought…" Sano's voice became hoarse then and he had to clear it before he could continue, "That I had broken my word."

Kaoru blinked and uncertainly she looked over at the man in the mirror. The namahage wasn't watching her this time but instead his steady gaze was fixed on the Basan. There was a sense of knowing in his expression and just a hint of camaraderie. And with the feeling that there was a stone sinking to her stomach, Kaoru realized that Sano and Kenshin were friends. Which meant that whatever the rooster would tell her next, it would only confirm that which Kenshin's look just told her.

There was no way out of this. No simple matter of tossing that wooden mirror away and pretend it never existed.

"Kenshin came to kill me." Sanosuke stated flatly and turned his dark eyes to study the red head in the mirror. Some form of recollection crossed both their expressions before, rather at the same time; they allowed themselves a tiny smirk. "He made a different call. As we were fighting he came to know me and realized that it was the humans who had gone back on their word. He didn't just let me off the hook, though. He helped me get revenge for the Sekiho Army and found the bastard who gave the order to betray us."

"But this was years ago." Kaoru couldn't help but interrupt him, frowning at her old friend. Something inside her felt queasy because of how easily Sano spoke of killing humans. She knew that their values were different and she had always known that Sanosuke had killed before. Over the years she had made some kind of peace with it, had simply been forced to if she still wanted to continue their friendship.

She just didn't like hearing about it.

"It's important you understand why I felt indebted to Kenshin." Sano impatiently ran a hand through his hair as he said so, "Because a demon debt ain't exactly easily repaid, you know?"

"Nor is a human's." She interrupted crossly, feeling she needed to make a point. Her statement had drawn Kenshin's eyes back to her but Sano merely offered her a dry look.

"Humans generally don't tie magic to everything they do, half the time without meaning to."

Point made he cleared his throat and reached over to slide his forgotten tea back to where he was sitting.

"Half a year ago I was passin' through this village and ended up wandering over their market. There was this weird sneaky lil' guy who was selling a bunch of freaky stuff. I decided to take a look and found Kenshin in that mirror." He hummed before his grin turned lopsidedly and as roguish as she was used to seeing when Sano remembered a particular feisty brawl, "I persuaded him to give it to me."

"Which is nice and all." Kaoru frowned at Sanosuke, anger painting her eyes a darker shade than before and her arms moving to cross tightly across her chest, "But still doesn't explain why-"

"I'm getting there." Sano grouched at her and made an impatient noise from the back of his throat before he decided to continue.

"So I opened the mirror and there was Kenshin, right? But the demon that locked him in it-"

"He was put in there by another demon?" Kaoru couldn't help but interrupt again, looking to Kenshin on instinct as if she was half expecting him to disagree. The namahage just looked at her with that same steady gaze she was now quickly beginning to associate with him, the quiet confidence within it making her nervous yet again. Quickly she looked away and back to the rooster only to meet his irritated scowl.

"Will you just let me tell my story, woman?! You can ask questions later. Geez…" He sighed after he said it and looked annoyed enough to make Yahiko snicker. Her bratty apprentice was always so ready to draw amusement at her expense…

Sanosuke paused, pointedly waiting for her to speak again, but when Kaoru only huffed and crossed her arms he deemed it safe to continue. Distractedly he turned his cup in his fingers as he did so and she knew that the basan was eager to pull out a bottle of sake to replace the tea in front of him.

"Anyway, as I was saying, the demon that locked him in it made it impossible for other demons to get him out. I guess the bastard knew that there would be plenty willing to try." Disgustedly he snorted and, more out of habit than anything else, raised his cup to his lips. While he took his time to drink, much to her impatience, she could tell that Kenshin was studying her again. What was it with the damn red head that made him so interested in her, anyway?

"Turns out he needed a human to fulfil the requirements of the spell and end it. Pretty damn specific, not to mention downright nasty of that bastard."

"Doesn't seem that nasty to me," It was Yahiko, this time, who interrupted Sanosuke's story. His eyebrows knotted together in confusion and in an attempt to hide it he hunched his shoulders and crossed his arms in a way that Kaoru had seen over a hundred times by now. "So you need a human to break the spell. Big deal."

"Humans usually can't see most demons and spirits, Yahiko." Kaoru answered, unable to keep herself from it when it was her student who asked a question. "There are only a few demons that all people can see. Most demons need to be intent on being seen or be particularly powerful for humans to see them. It's why most of our legends about you guys are so far off."

"You can see us just fine though." Yahiko grumbled, embarrassed to have something about demons pointed out by his obviously more ignorant teacher. He must have already taken some liking to either Sano or Kenshin because the tips of his ears were becoming red in embarrassment. Kaoru hoped it sprouted from the slumbering admiration towards Sano that she had seen before. Sano, at least, she knew. Who knew what kind of influence Kenshin would have on the boy?

"Missy here is different though." The basan shrugged, before leaning heavily on his elbow put upon her dinner table and supporting his chin on that hand. He studied her as easily as only a lifelong friend could. "She's always been able to see all kinds of demons and spirits and things."

"Wish I didn't." Kaoru couldn't help but note, wrinkling her nose, "Some are just downright nasty looking."

Three not-very-impressed stares from three demons around her quickly made her rethink her words.

"Spirits! Spirits I mean! Spirits can be nasty!"

"Whatever the case..." Sanosuke continued after what undoubtedly been an awkward pause, "It didn't take us long to figure out that a human was needed to break the spell. And since most humans can't see Kenshin, that made them pretty much useless. Luckily I happened to know a human who could see demons at hand."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Kaoru frowned again, quick and eager to draw the upper hand, "You two all but gave me a heart attack with your little stunt. Not to mention that you're going to have to share the guest room because my home isn't that big."

"I'm afraid that we still require your assistance, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru wasn't sure what startled her more: the fact that Kenshin finally spoke up again or the respectful way he addressed her. It was enough for her to forget about her apprehension concerning demons she did not know so that for the first time that night she met his gaze somewhat fearlessly. She was rewarded by a smile that seemed friendly, if not downright harmless and the thought crossed her mind that she had never seen a creature that looked less like a demon than Kenshin did. But she had seen a glimpse of that confident smirk, those golden eyes, and she made sure to remind herself of them before she made the mistake of lowering her defences.

"You see, by carving your name in the mirror you only agreed to commit yourself to a deal, that you did." He continued, eyes closing as his innocent smile widened and apparently completely clueless about the way she had paled, "Now we must determine the terms of the deal before Kaoru-dono can safely break the mirror, that is."

"I did what?" She gasped, feeling the world underneath her feet shift for the second time that night. Not for the first time she had to grit her teeth in order to reel in her temper, fighting the urge to strangle her childhood friend on the spot. "Sano…what did you make me do?"

With her tone and murderous glare making sure that the rooster had no way to avoid her question, Sano was forced to hold up his hands in a placating gesture.

"I needed to make sure you didn't accidentally throw the mirror with the trash or something. So I just made the decision to make the first step for you, that's all." He tried, soothingly, but all it did was put her more on edge.

"What does that mean, I committed myself to the deal?" Kaoru all but growled at him, her temper only more stimulated by the worried frown that was now hovering over her apprentice's face. Yahiko apparently had some idea of what that meant, but considering his uncertain look towards the man in the mirror, he wasn't quite sure either. Either way, they were upsetting the boy she was responsible for. Another thing for the assistant instructor to worry about and she had to curl her hands into tight fists to try and keep a hold of her temper. She had been behaving very well, she rather thought extraordinary well considering the circumstances, but her nerves were nearing their breaking points.

"It means," Kenshin calmly spoke when all Sano could do was sheepishly laugh and stutter in the face of her wrath, "that we must determine what kind of deal we'll make, that is. Because by writing your name in the mirror you have agreed to begin this process and now there is no going back. You will ask for something and in return I will take something from you. When you know what it is that you want, you will break the mirror and sacrifice some blood for the deal to begin taking effect. Until you do, I cannot leave your side, that I cannot."

"What do you mean take something from me, like what exactly?" Kaoru's voice was rising and she knew it, but she had carved her name in a piece of haunted wood and the panic she had been burying under her temper and humour was rising to the back of her throat like one of her particularly badly cooked dinners. Names held magic, even she knew that, and when Kenshin said that there was no going back she felt the truth of that statement settle like a stone in her stomach. "And you want me to sacrifice blood for it? Are you…a-are you insane?!"

Frightened she finally stumbled to her feet with enough force to upset the pillow that she had been sitting on and sent it flying. She was aware that the three men were watching her uneasily, rather like men tended to do in the face of an emotional woman, but there was nothing she could do to stop herself.

To her horror she realized she was beginning to feel dizzy, as if ready to faint.

"Now Kaoru…it really isn't all that bad," Sano tried to sound soothing, carefully so and eying her like a ticking time bomb, "Kenshin isn't like those demon you hear about taking spleens of humans…"

"He can take my spleen?!"

"Well…well…don't worry about that too much, that you should not." Kenshin tried to intervene and though she couldn't see his hands she was sure he was holding them defensively up just like Sano was, "It's an acquired taste, that it is. But this one has not taken on the habit of eating humans, that he has not."

"What do you mean acquired taste?!" Kaoru all but cried in her frustration but before the men could answer she held up her hands in a silent demand for them to be quiet. Closing her eyes, she took a shaking hand to pinch the bridge of her nose as she forced herself to take a deep breath.

"Now..." Her voice trembled and so she cleared her throat before trying again, "Now, I am going to go and make some more tea. And when I get back either Kenshin will be gone or you guys are going to start making sense and until that happens I am not breaking anything."

Her eyes opened, two slits of dark blue that bordered on black in the midst of her emotion as she all but hissed through gritted teeth, "Understood?"

When Kaoru came back it was with a fresh pot of tea and some resemblance of dignity. She felt calmer now she had taken some time alone in the kitchen, without strange demons sending her long assessing stares. There was still that feeling of having a stone in her stomach, that inability to escape the situation her dear childhood friend had put her in but those fifteen minutes alone in the kitchen had helped. At least she was getting answers now, and the one sure way to manage to make some kind of peace with the situation was to have it clearly explained to her. Right then she decided to take it slow, make sure she understood every detail before she would continue to panic.

When dealing with demons, after all, the probability of panicking increased dramatically.

"Okay, so we're going to take this one step at the time." She bossily told the men when she returned to the living room with a now full teapot in her hands. Calmly and without shaking hands she filled the cups with tea again, giving her something to do and something to look at as she continued, "So you guys can properly explain to me what the heck you have gotten me into."

She took a moment to send the rooster another glare before fetching the pillow she had sent flying and settling upon it. Kaoru then calmly smoothed over the wrinkles in her yukata before fixing her stare upon Sano. Looking at the Namahage made her nervous and her childhood friend was perfectly capable of giving her the answers as well.

"When I carved my name into the wood of that mirror, I made the promise to make a deal with Kenshin?" She asked, waiting until Sano had nodded before continuing, "And what else did that do, exactly?"

"It made me able to move between mirrors, that it did." Kenshin answered her, and with some discomfort Kaoru found she was forced to look at him again, "Before Kaoru-dono carved her name I was confined to this mirror alone, that I was."

"But why?" She couldn't help but ask, yet again confused. The more she heard about spells, the more complicated they seemed to be.

"So that this one can stay near Kaoru-dono, that is." When she visibly paled again, Kenshin offered her a sheepish smile that wasn't nearly as reassuring as he seemed to mean it to be, "The deal must be able to be made at any time, that it is. So the spell binds this one to the mirror closest to Kaoru-dono until it is made."

It seemed that's what Kenshin meant when he said that he was unable to leave her side. Just wonderful.

"So…" Kaoru said, struggling not to think too hard about the complications having a demon in her mirror at all times would bring. "So…you wait for me to tell you what I want? And then what?"

"Then Kaoru-dono must break the mirror, that she does." Kenshin continued and as he spoke his voice lowered and turned into a more warm and soothing sound because of it. Kaoru realized it wasn't just for her sake. Her agitation had an effect on her apprentice, influencing his mood. The tanuki's tail was puffed up, his ears were flat against his skull and the boy's body language gave him a look of being lost. She gave him a sense of stability along with a home and right now both seemed to be threatened by another demon neither one of them knew.

Their only consolation was the fact that he was a friend of Sanosuke. Not, she mentally added, that that said anything considering the man's fondness for hanging around the gambling districts and making friends even there.

"Breaking the mirror will free me, that it will." Kenshin continued in that same deep voice, "So that I will be able to hold my end of the deal and give Kaoru-dono what she requested."

Kaoru swallowed thickly, her throat suddenly dry. Part of her didn't want to know but there was no choice, she had to ask.

"And after that?"

Violet bled into gold, and the soothing quality in Kenshin's low voice was replaced by a hint of danger.

"I will take something from you."

Kaoru shuddered and had to look way from those golden eyes staring so steadily at her. Yahiko was frowning at Kenshin and for a moment it seemed that a blanket of tension slowly lowered onto all of them. Then Sano laughed, far too loud and far too merrily.

"Now Missy, no need to look so worried!" The rooster grinned at her and she knew by his boisterous manner that if she had sat beside him, he would've ruffled her hair in that way he knew annoyed her. "Kenshin could decide on a lock of hair or something. It doesn't have to be anything drastic and he's a good guy, really. I'm sure he won't hurt you or anything, he's not like that."

"Geez Ugly," The tanuki sneered, obviously relieved by Sano's words to the point where he deemed it appropriate to insult her again, "You're so easily scared!"

Hope blossomed in her chest at the actions of the two demons, just a tiny spark of it, and on instinct Kaoru turned to look at the demon in the mirror to confirm what the basan had said. But the red head had lowered his face until his bangs hid his eyes and that spark of hope spluttered and then died at the sight of it. Dread once again made a stone in her belly as she sighed heavily and reached out for her teacup. She felt cold all of the sudden and she drew some comfort out of wrapping her hands around the warm porcelain.

"Idiots." She sighed, remembering some of the things her father taught her. He had never had her gift but his mother had and he had read the books her grandmother left him. What he had read had left some kind of fear within him and he always made sure she understood how tricky demons really were. Something she understood all the more clearly now that the namahage was unable to promise her that he would take something harmless.

"It's in the nature of demons to take what they want. Even you guys are like that, no matter how much you joke about it or apologise for it later." Even as she said it, Kaoru knew the truth of her words. Her eyes sought out the man in the mirror but the demon would not look at her and his bangs still hid most of his expression. "Kenshin can no more promise that he'll take something harmless than you guys can promise not to snore in your sleep."

The assistant instructor had clearly shut her friends up with her morose little statement and Kaoru knew that Sano was finally looking uncomfortable, more aware of what he had done. The rooster hadn't really thought about the consequences of his actions and the tanuki was still too young to really understand the nature of demons. Kaoru couldn't help but feel it was ironic that out of all men in the room, Kenshin was probably the one who understood her reluctance best.

Unleashing demons was simply never a good idea.

"And there is nothing I would be able to do to stop him from taking it. Kenshin could probably take my firstborn child and I wouldn't be able to stop him." Kaoru sighed, making sure they understood her point even though just thinking about it made her sick. In fact, this entire night had made her feel sick to her stomach and unbelievably tired so that she found herself yet again wishing for the comfort of her bedroom. But now, she wouldn't even be able to hide from the truth there because the red head would be there as well: hiding in one of her mirrors.

"This one apologises." Kenshin spoke, finally lifting his head enough to reveal that his eyes had not yet shifted back into that gentler violet colour. But his brow was furrowed in regret and when his steady stare drifted back to the assistant instructor it did not feel quite as menacing as before. "But I do not know what I would take, that I don't. This one tries very hard to have no desires but one cannot stop being a demon. Once the mirror breaks and this one is free, one will eventually take something from Kaoru-dono. With or without her consent."

In the silence that followed the demon's words, Kaoru drank what was left of her tea and tried to regain some sense of calm dignity. With a sigh she then looked up and met Kenshin's gaze and knew that he realized what she was going to say before she said it.

"I'm sorry Kenshin. But until you know what it is you'll take from me, I cannot break that mirror." It was ridiculous, she thought hotly, that she felt guilty as she said it. Any human being with a sense of self-preservation would have done the same. And yet she had to wring her hands to release some of the anxiety she felt and found she could not look her childhood friend in the eye. Not Sanosuke who, for the first time in both their lives, she refused to help when he asked her to.

"This one understands, that I do." Kenshin merely answered her and there was no spite in his gaze.

Kaoru couldn't hold that gaze however and so she averted her eyes and nodded before standing with as much dignity as she could. Only when she stood did she dare to look at the men in her living room again but immediately wished she hadn't. Yahiko was frowning deeply, obviously still going over what was said that night but there was disappointment in his eyes. She had always simply been Kaoru to him, neither human nor demon but Kaoru, and for her to act like such a human was upsetting to the tanuki. Sanosuke was scowling at his teacup, his hands clenched into fists and she knew that before the night was out the basan would probably find a bottle of sake and drink every last drop. Kenshin, meanwhile, was a man resigned to his fate: his gaze set in front of him but seeing nothing, merely waiting.

"I'm going to bed now." She offered, and cleared her throat when she heard the tremor in her voice. "I will see you guys in the morning. Good night."

When she turned to return to her bedroom she did not wait for them to return the sentiment and she purposefully left the mirror on the table as a reminder of what had happened. She did not realize that Kenshin had some leniency before needing to appear in the mirror in her room. And with her mind occupied with the things she had heard that night, she did not hear Sanosuke's voice when he turned to look at Kenshin who was still in that small mirror.

"But what about Shishio?"

"We will deal with that later, that we will." Kenshin merely answered and disappeared.

Kaoru found him in her mother's mirror. Though she had expected it she still jumped a little before a flash of temper made her put her hands on her hips.

"I don't care how close you'll have to be. I'm not going to bed with the knowledge that you can see me sleeping." She told him before all but stomping over to the mirror.

"Oro?" Kenshin uttered as she advanced upon him but she ignored him as she reached for the edges of the mirror. With a grunt of effort she turned it so that it faced the paper wall and then stomped over to her pile of clothing to fetch one of her kimonos. She threw her kimono over the glass for good measure and then dusted off her hands with satisfaction.

"There." She said, and there was a pause before Kenshin spoke.

"Goodnight Kaoru-dono." For the first time his voice sounded muffled, as if the fabric of her kimono was covering his face and not just the mirror.

"Goodnight Kenshin." She said and slipped into her futon and determinately pulled her blankets up.

She barely slept that night.