Chapter Four
While Kuronue stood there dumbfounded, the grandmother reentered the building. "Now look what you've done," she scolded him. "You let her get away without explaining things properly. If this keeps up, you'll never have the whole story."
"I promise you, it wasn't on purpose," the bat demon replied, running his hand through his long black hair. "She just seems to keep escaping me."
The old woman huffed. "Well, next time try not to flirt with her until after the serious conversation is over. Kerima's very skittish." She shook her head at him. "Well, help me back into my chair, will you? It's rude to make an old woman stand."
Kuronue laughed, amused by the grandmother. "Of course, of course," he replied. "But in return, tell me a little about her."
"Deal," she stated, and sighed in relief as Kuronue helped her to her chair and she finally sat down. "Now, what kind of things would you like to know?"
"Hmmm…" He thought about that for a moment, draping himself gracefully in the chair across from her. "Since you're her grandmother, why don't you tell me what you would consider important for me to know?"
Grandmother nodded in approval at his response. "Kerima's a skittish girl, but very gentle and quiet. Don't mistake that for a lack of courage or determination. She'll stand by her decisions, few as they are." She eyed him. "She doesn't trust you at all, and it will be a long time before she does."
"But I'm so trustworthy!" Kuronue protested jokingly.
She rapped him on the head with the end of her cane. "Quiet, you whippersnapper. I'm not done talking yet." She shook her head and snorted. "Her mother's long gone from his world, and her father's a brute. Kerima's the weakest one in this village if you don't count the children." She gave him a very pointed look. "If you wish to live a long and happy life, you'll keep an eye on her, won't you?"
He wasn't quite sure how she meant the threat. Would she hurt him if he didn't watch over the girl, or would harm come to him through the link? He didn't know what to think, but he figured it would make more sense after a good night's sleep in a woman's bed. "I'll see what I can do."
Grandmother frowned at him, obviously not liking his tone. "You're not taking this as serious as I'd hoped. So get on with you. Go sleep with someone until you're sated and feeling more productive. Then, go talk to Kerima again."
Kuronue stood up and stretched. "You don't have to tell me twice. I have an offer to take someone up on." He winked at the old woman. "I don't want to disappoint anyone so soon after my arrival."
"Young men… all lust and no brains," she said, laughing as he left.
Kuronue wandered around the small village, marveling at the number of children. Most demons just didn't have that many children, if any. A female would give birth to one, perhaps two children in her lifetime, but with how many kids were in the village, the women were having three or four children within the space of a decade. He wondered what their secret was, or if it was simply because of the type of demon they were. He would ask Kerima when he had the chance.
The village was a pleasant place since it was not longer winter. Everything was green and beautiful, with flowers everywhere. Many of the houses even included gardens, although for the life of him he couldn't identify what they were growing. That was Youko's department, not his.
A small child ran into him, falling to the ground afterwards. Kuronue looked down at the little boy that was all brown curls and green eyes. The child couldn't have been any older than seven or eight, although it was always hard to tell with demon children. Each type of demon had it's own development cycle and aging process. Some demons only looked like children for a year or two, which always made it hard to guess the age of a demon.
"Hello there," the bat demon said to the child, smiling gently. "I was wondering if you could take me to Siela."
The young boy looked at him for a few moments and then nodded his head. "Yeah, but she's a bitch," he replied in a rather young-sounding voice.
Kuronue raised an eyebrow at the youngling's language, but he didn't comment. At the very least, the little demon was being honest, and he couldn't fault him for that. "Don't worry about me. I can handle her." He grinned, knowing just how he planned on handling he.
"Okay. Follow me."
Kerima worked furiously hard on the medicines she needed to make. The bat demon was such a jerk and a player. She wanted nothing to do with him, and she wanted him to go back to wherever he had come from. She had been such a fool to even consider saving his life the way she had, but she hadn't been able to help it. Upon seeing him so badly wounded, her heart had gone out to him, and she had taken him back to her village to heal him. The spot he had nearly died at was close to their village, and she had been gathering herbs for her medicines.
She hadn't saved him because of Youko, and her village owed no debt to the silver fox. They never had, but she hadn't wanted to tell Kuronue the real reason she had saved him. She didn't want to be just one of his many women; whatever man she took to her bed would have to be hers and hers alone.
A sudden feeling shot through her, her muscles unexpectantly tensing. She cried out, dropping the herbs she had been working on grinding into dust. Wrapping her arms around her self, she fought for control over her body as she felt her blood heat up and her face flush. For a few moments she had no control over her body and all thought left her.
When the feeling passed, she laid on the floor and waited for her breathing to return to normal, wondering why fate hated her so much. Had she done something so horrible in the past? Or perhaps everything was happening merely because she was her mother's daughter.
