Author's Note: Hey! Another chapter! Yes! I'm cranking em out fairly quickly here ^__O Keep all those reviews coming, they can only make things go faster!

Lord Hiten stood in the middle of the floor, hands clenched as he waited for his servant to appear. Angrily he ground his teeth as the minutes passed by; he made a promise to himself to punish the whelp later for her insolence. It must have been a full quarter hour before he heard a curt knock at the doors; the youkai smiled slightly as he made no move to open the doors, only crossed the floor to stand to one side of them.

After a few moments, he let the red doors part to reveal the girl; she had the audacity to stand there and look innocent with head bowed respectfully. She stepped into the room and walked right past him; a growl rumbling in his throat, the youkai stepped forward with claws extended.

Then the human turned around, eyes round and mouth in a silent 'oh!' as she stared at him.

For a minute, the lord wondered what game she was playing. Then he caught the full impact of her expression; in her eyes, there was no recognition of him. What stupid creature is this?!

For a handful of seconds, the two stood silently. Then the slave's expression changed and recognition crept over her white features, eyes finally taking him in. Her mouth moved silently; the youkai frowned at the reflex. Idiot whelp; does she not know she is without a voice? Or has she forgotten?

Even as the scornful thought crossed his mind, her face reddened and a look of embarrassment came over her. As Hiten closed the distance between them, she hid her face, bowing with hands clasped tightly together.

Hiten let her stare at his unshod feet for a moment, mind trying to decide which form of punishment he thought most fitting. Ah... so many ways to discipline her. A pity she would not last more than a few lessons. Humans are much too fragile for those kinds of things. Still...

Reaching down, the youkai dug his fingers into the slave's hair, enjoying her rasping attempt at speech and the twitch in her shoulders as his claws dung into her tender scalp. Slowly, he brought her head up so that she was face to face with Hiten. Yes, let her see and fear her lord. She is the human refuse that I, in a bought of feeble-mindedness, let live.

A small smile curling the corners of Hiten's mouth, he grasped her chin between thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up to him.

"You are late. What do you have to say for yourself?" Lightly, he shook her. "No answer, my insolent slave? Do you enjoy pain; do you want to be punished?" He let his eye bore into her own, relishing the way she cringed in his grip.

Hiten slid his hand from her hair down to grasp the back of her neck, hoping to elicit a response. After a moment, he saw the old defiance in her dark eyes; Hiten's mind leapt in anticipation of a struggle. Just like old times; bone snapping. Biting and clawing... ! Its been far too long.

But then, as quick the fire had sparked, it faded till Hiten wondered is it had really been there at all. He sneered as she went limp like a sodden rag against him, eyes down cast in deference. Maybe the little thing's spirit has been broken after all... All that long while ago… When Maten…

The lord felt his blood lust fading rapidly at the thought, leaving a bad after taste in his mouth. He had been high on the slave's fear and now the feeling ebbed.

The woman/girl lifted her eyes to his once more and he was struck again by the sudden force of them. And, as memory washed over him, he felt his grip weaken as it had before. Damn her eyes...

For what seemed like eternity, Naga had thought her life was about to end. She'd come so far and yet, now... Just as Naga felt it could last no longer; the youkai's grip loosened around her neck. Her eyes flew his face, wondering why he was behaving so... His face became strangely slack and expressionless. Then her lord released his grip entirely.

Keeping a neutral expression, Naga swallowed, hands shaking slightly as she watched him exit the room, leaving her alone in his room. Naga looked around the unfamiliar room, wondering what he had planned for her. Is he going to leave me to stand here? For how long? Or is he trying to decide in which way he most desires to punish--

*Crash*

A door flew open and the youkai strode through, clad in his usual gray pants, but otherwise naked. Naga stood still, head held stiff as she tried to calm her nerves; she could not read his expression, but knew what he must be thinking.

Lord Hiten raised his hand, causing Naga to flinch slightly. He threw a small black object at her; with a slight fumble, she managed to catch it. Turning it over, she realized it was a comb; with a frown she met the youkai's eyes.

"Have you never seen a comb, whelp? Or do your mortal kind use their own greasy fingers," Hiten sneered at her expression. Then he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her forward. " You're mute, not deaf. Well?"

Swallowing an angry retort Naga knew she could never voice, she moved to stand behind him with the comb in hand. Naga reached out and grasped a handful of his hair, lifted the comb and proceeded to drag the smooth teeth through the dark mass.

The youkai remained silent as the sounds of bone and wood smoothing through hair reached Naga's ears. It surprised her how thick and silken it was, not coarse and stringy like she might have expected. Under her deft hands, her lord's muscles seemed to relax as she worked the comb through the dark thick mass. How strangely aesthetic it is… I would never have thought this could be so relaxing….

When Naga had worked out all the illusory tangles - how could there be in such hair? - she stood on the tips of her toes, drawing her fingers along the crown of her lord's head, smoothing the hair back from his face. After drawing the hair into a handful at the base of his neck, Naga divided it into three parts and began to braid it.

It was such an easy, yet time-consuming task; Naga's hands moved smoothly among the ink black strands as her mind drifted. The youkai stood ramrod straight, never moving an inch though Naga sensed the ever-present tension had left him. Naga finished the long whip like braid and used a bit of hair to finish it off in a knot; when she released it from her fingers, it lay straight against his bare shoulders down to his waist.

Naga did not know she had been staring at her master's nakedness until the youkai turned to face her; with a start, she pulled her eyes from him, holding the comb before her. For a minute Hiten stared at her, then at his finished hair, walking over to the strange glass on the wall.

For a moment he made the pretence of staring at his reflection. "It will suffice." The youkai turned his back on her pulling a robe around his shoulders and securing it with a sash. "You may go."

Author's Note: YES! Its chapter **7** (cheers wildly and hops around) Ankoku and all readers: don't worry-- Naga will soon get her feistiness back ^__O Just keep reading!!! I'm also starting to do a leetle romance type stuff, if you can't tell. Hope you like!

--K.A.