Chapter 4 Amusement

Kaoru body stiffened as her eyes widened at her opponents condition, she remembered Taiki fighting over mating her with the other males in the last mating season, she was quite popular among the male bachelors in the tribe but she specifically told them that she wasn't going to take a mate that year. Some bachelors understood and went ahead to find another female to mate with, but of course Taiki's pride wouldn't allow him to forgive her rejection and began to hold a grudge against her and her brother.

"Well female … what do you say?" Taiki was pushing her.

"I accept Taiki" said Kaoru as she unsheathed her sword and took a fighting stance.

"Wise answer now lets get this over with mate" said Taiki as he licked his fangs after saying the word mate. "I won't go easy on you"

"And neither will I"

And with that, Taiki leaped towards her summoning his dagger and aimed for her waist tearing the fabric from her shirt and barely tearing the smooth skin of her stomach, Kaoru leaped upwards and swung her sword horizontally at his head, but Taiki ducked and kicked Kaoru's legs from under her making her fall to her knees.

"It's about time you were on your knees, that is your true place" mocked Taiki as began to chant a spell.

As Kaoru began to get up, vines began to emerge from the ground underneath her and wrap themselves around her wrists and ankles, immobilizing her from moving

"Shit" thought Kaoru as she struggled to free herself but the vines only tightened their hold.

Taiki smirked as he walked towards his prey and knelt before her; he placed a dagger underneath her chin and lifted her eyes towards his own.

"Looks like I won mate, nowyou belong to me" he said as he began to lean his head towards her neck

"I wouldn't say so" said Kaoru as she murmured a spell that made her sword, which she had dropped earlier, appear in her hand.

Kaoru swung her sword towards the vines that held her legs and sliced herself free, then positioned her feet on Taiki's stomach and very swiftly kicked her opponent off of her, making him crash into a nearby tree.

While her opponent was trying to pull himself together, Kaoru sheathed her sword and by using a speed spell her brother taught her, she disappeared from sight and reappeared at the top of the tree that Taiki crashed into. Taiki lifted his eyes to look to his opponent, but his eyes widened when he saw that her sheath was now an inch from his face, it came closer and collided on his cheek.



The next moment, Taiki was on the other side of the battle field with one hand clutching is face while the other held one of his daggers, he saw Kaoru advancing towards himself.

"not good, I cant let his female beat me, I have to get her distracted somehow" growled Taiki as mindless thoughts began to pop into his mind, but when he realized that Kaoru was merely a new feet from him he threw the dagger he held in his hand towards her.

Kaoru had already thought that she had ended the fight with her last attack, she never expected him to throw his last dagger towards her so she was caught off guard when the dagger impeded itself on her left shoulder, making Kaoru gasp and fall to her knees.

"Shit, he used the same poison on this dagger with the poison he used on that human, I have to act fast before he has the advantage over me" thought Kaoru as she waited to catch her breath and think of her next action.

Taiki smirked as he saw his opponent again at her knees as her breath began shallow, he began to advance towards her to finish this fight and win his prize, he stopped in front of her and extended his hand towards her hair. But when his hand was within an inch of Kaoru's hair, his body suddenly froze as his yells of pain filled the forest.

His body wanted to move backwards, but a burning and hurtful feeling was on his left foot as Kaoru's dagger was impeded firmly in the ground through his flesh, breaking the bone and ripping the fiber. Unable to withstand the pain, his body fell backwards on the ground as Kaoru stood up, making her body tower over him.

Kaoru stared at her opponent with pity, demon law says that she has the right to kill him then and there, one of many laws that Kaoru doesn't agree on. In the background she could hear the crowd chanting for the kill, her emotionless eyes made contact with her Taiki's shocked ones as she raised her sword in the air and quickly trust downwards missing Taiki's head by an inch, making the crowd fall silent.

"You have lost Taiki; go in search for another group to hunt with" declared Kaoru as she removed her sword from the dirt and walked away from the fight scene to rest.

She opened the flap of the hut that she and Kenta shared and placed her sword down next to her as she laid down on down animal fur that she used as bedding. A few minutes passed when the flap opened again and as Kaoru expected, Kenta was standing in the entrance holding a bowl and some rags. He made his way towards her lying form and kneeled in front of her.

"You need to tend to your injuries" he said plainly as he set the bowl next to him.

"They are nothing" said Kaoru, forgetting for a moment that she had injuries.

"Those cuts may be nothing, but they still need to be treated and also your body was subjected to Taiki's poison in one attack" Kenta pointed out as he dabbed a rag with a familiar sticky substance which Kaoru recognized as the same medicine she used on that human.



"Sit up" ordered Kenta gently.

Kaoru huffed as she did as she was told as Kenta spread the medicine on her shoulder, making the wound disappear; they sat in silence as Kenta tended to her other injuries.

"You should have finished him off" said Kenta as he finished cleaning his sister's wound.

"He may have been a dishonorable fool, but he still may be of some use to another group" said Kaoru.

"Is that your only reason?" asked Kenta sarcastically as he lifted his eyes to meet hers.

Kaoru sighed, there was no use hiding it her brother knew her too well, he knew that she didn't agree with some of demon laws which resulted in them having many arguments in the past.

"You know my reasons well brother" said Kaoru plainly.

"Well never the less, you fought well today" praised Kenta

"Thank you Kenta, I must admit that he was a bit of a challenge" said Kaoru

"But you still came out victorious and I'm proud of you" smiled Kenta holding one of his arms out for her.

Kaoru could only smile as she moved closer into her brothers embrace, she always loved moments like this with her brother, it's was very rare for demons to show emotion among each other, even if they were blood relatives. But she knew that Kenta and she shared a special connection, after all he did raise her after their mother passed away with her birth.

After sometime, they heard someone approach their hut as they pulled away from each other.

"Can I come in Kenta-Sama?" asked a familiar voice from another side of the flap

"You may" answered Kenta.

The flap open to reveal Shura as she entered the hut, she was a childhood friend to Kaoru as both of their mothers were once friends.

"How are your injuries Kaoru" asked Shura

"They are nothing, I thank you for your concern" answered Kaoru smiling.

Nodding, Shura turned her gaze to Kenta who was waiting patiently for Shura to tell them what she wanted.

"The elder would like a word with you Kenta-Sama" informed Shura.

"Very well, I'll go see him now" said Kenta as he stood up from his seat.



"Yes Kenta-Sama, now if you'll excuse me I need to go feed my young ones" said Shura as she bowed to Kenta and left the hut.

"I will go on patrol" declared Kaoru as she stood up and inserted her sword on the leather belt that was on her waist.

"Are you sure your well enough, you need to rest from the battle" said Kenta

"Yes I need to clear my head a little, don't worry about me Kenta" said Kaoru smiling

"I can't help but worry" said Kenta

"I appreciate your concern Kenta but really I won't be long" said Kaoru as she gave Kenta a quick hug and running out of the hut, missing Kenta's smile as she left.

Kenshin flexed his shoulder muscles as he sat down in his house after an exhausting exercise in which he had just taught Komatsu a lesson about not abandoning his fellow team, of course no one in the village objected because they agreed with Kenshin that that was a cowardly and dishonored way.

Kenshin's mind wondered at the memory of that female demon that saved his life, he couldn't stop thinking about her and her reason for helping him. Her appearance was also a surprise in which he almost mistook her dark blue hair for black hair; she looked almost human save the ghostly skin and blue eyes. Kenshin snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head to clear his head.

He then kicked up a familiar ki coming towards his house, he sat there and waited until his front door flew open and there stood a tall man with wild brown hair and a tooth pick in his mouth.

"What do you want Sanosuke" said Kenshin not moving from his position.

"Aww come on Kenshin is that any way to talk to your old pal" said Sanosuke walking in the house and slamming the door shut. "Watched your little lesson with Komatsu, why didn't you tell me, you know how I like a good fight, but of course Komatsu isn't really considered a good fight"

Kenshin chuckled at Sano's remark, it was just like him. He met Sano 10 years ago when he was training closely to the village, he was badly injured by demons that ambushed him and his tribe and Kenshin took him in for a while until he got better. Sano's Hatred of demons is almost as great as Kenshin as he trained hard for years in order to become stronger and avenge his tribe, now he is one of the strongest men in the village, but is also one of the most carefree and fun guys to be around.

"Why don't we head out to Tae's and grab a few sakes" suggested Sano

"Isn't too early for you to start drinking" said Kenshin teasingly

"Aw come one Kenshin it's never too early for drinking" complained Sano as he lay down on a discarded cushion. "So what do ya say?"

"I'll pass" said Kenshin "I am planning to go for a little walk"

"Demon hunting again?" said Sano raising an eye brow.

"Is there any other reasons to go on walks?" smirked Kenshin

"Why do you have to be so serious all the time? I mean it only make you unpleasant to be with" joked Sano

"Why do you so carefree all the time? It only makes you a pain the ass" countered Kenshin smirking at his friend.

"Look, we both hate demon but you don't find me spending most of my time killing them down, sure it's fun but there are other things in life … and anyway if you keep this up you wont have a chance to meet any women" Sano pointed out.

Kenshin just shock his head and walked out of his house, completely ignoring sane.

Kaoru leaped out of the tree branch and landed on all fours in the solitude area she was in with the human earlier, realized to find it empty. Her sensitive ears picked up voices in the near distance, she slowly and carefully moved towards the voices that were behind a bolder, she climbed on top of it and pressed her body onto the rocky surface so she wouldn't be seen and peered beneath her.

Two human pups were playing some sort of game, their laughter emitted from them make Kaoru smile as one chased the other without having a care in the world, she ducked her head even lower when she noticed the pups parents coming towards her young, when the pups noticed their parents coming their smiles grew bigger as they ran towards them, one tackling the father and the other latching himself on his mothers leg. Kaoru was astounded by this behavior but smiled as the father started playing with his young; something Kaoru found was unfamiliar to her own species.

Demon pups start to train as soon as they reach their fifth summer, the pup's parents would teach their young skills of combat and survival, expected to behave like warriors at all time, and they were not allowed to waste time in trivial and amusing things until their training is complete. But seeing this display of affection from human parents with their pups gave Kaoru the longing to have this in her own species.

She started to climb down from the rock so that she would leave the family alone, when her feet touched the ground, she started to turn but was surprised to see the end of a sword aimed at her neck, and from the owners scent she could tell that it was a human.

"Damn it, I dropped my guard and didn't notice this human coming" thought Kaoru as she raised her eyes traveled to the owner to come face to face with familiar violet eyes.

"It's him, the human!" Gasped Kaoru

Kenshin had just entered the forest when he felt a demon ki close by, he quickly rushed towards it to find a demon female crouched on top of a bolder watching a family he knew.

"Damn that demon, do they have an appetite for humans now, I wont allow that to happen" thought Kenshin as he watched the female starting to climb down the bolder.

This gave him the opportunity to move; by using his god like speed he unsheathed his sword and move forward, barely catching the demon of guard as he positioned his sword against her neck when she turned around. His eyes widened when he recognized the female as the same demon who cursed his wound earlier.

"w-w-what is she doing here?" thought Kenshin.

Kenshin kept his grip on the sword as he continued to stare at the demon's eyes, analyzing them.

"Well human?" said Kaoru catching Kenshin of guard.

"Well what demon" said Kenshin confused

"Aren't you going to slay me or are you thinking of ways to kill me slowly?" taunted Kaoru

"Aren't you scared? Aren't you going to beg" asked Kenshin.

"You offend me human, whether I beg or not I know that you will slay me, so if I were to die now I want it to be with honor, I wouldn't lower myself to beg for my life" explained Kaoru.

"And you demons would know about honor wouldn't you?" insulted Kenshin

"Says the human who was abandoned by his fellow companions" countered Kaoru.

"damn" cursed Kenshin, silently amused by the demon's witty tongue, he held her life in his hand and she still challenges him, he tried to read her emotions but her eyes were unreadable. Suddenly he remembered his previous musing about this particular demon.

"Why did you help me?" asked Kenshin.

"I told you the answer to that" answered Kaoru

"I don't consider that an answer" said Kenshin.

Kaoru just remained silent not wanting to answer, which made Kenshin even angrier.

"Answer me" hissed Kenshin as he pressed the blade firmer on her neck.

"It was a matter of honor" answered Kaoru completely unaffected by the threat, but knew that if she didn't return soon her brother would come for her.

"Honor?"

"Yes we demons are bound by honor, our counsel has placed a few laws to keep that honor in tacked and attacking you like that broke that law"

"As much as I don't want to do this demon, but I am also bound by my own code of honor which means that I owe you my life" said Kenshin almost choking on the sentence.

Kenshin removed the sword from her neck but kept it sheathed just in case.

"What were you doing here? in human territory" he asked

"I was observing"

"Observing"

"I have always been fascinated with the human ways, they are much more calmer and heartwarming that our demon ways"

"How so?"

"that is a long story to be said on another day, that is if we run into these circumstances again, maybe the next time we meet I will have my sword on your neck" joked Kaoru

Kenshin chuckled at her joke, and then both of them froze at what they were doing.

"I am here talking and joking with my people's sworn enemy, this is wrong but why do I feel comfortable with this human" thought Kaoru

"What in the seven hells I am doing? I'm interacting with a demon! A DEMON! The very same species that made me an outcast, but this demon seems different, any other would have tackled by now" thought Kenshin.

"What do your people call you?" asked Kaoru surprising Kenshin with her question.

"Kenshin Himura" he said recovering from his shock

"Ken-shin, heart of a sword" said Kaoru testing his name "it suits you well"

"What do your people call you in your tribe?" asked Kenshin

"Kaoru Kamiya"

"Kaoru" he said

The way he said her name sent shivers down her spine, it was so different and foreign on how he said it, no one has ever said her name so roughly and widely before, she snapped out of her trance and shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"This is going to sound strange but you amuse me Kenshin" said Kaoru

"You amuse me too Kaoru" smiled Kenshin

And for the first time in 500 years, a human and a demon forgot about their hatred for each other and instead found friendship.

A friendship that would soon be something more.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, things are starting to pick up and soon it will become even more dramatic, Huge thanks to all of the reviewers you guys keep my muse up for all of my fics so i'm looking forward to more

Please review

antica