Author's Ramble: Here it is folks! Back by popular demand! Now that we're all here.shall we?





The Bandit and the Lady



Jade Kaiba





It was unbearable. He was riding towards Kuto. What the hell was wrong with him? He was doing this to save his best friend's lover but under any other circumstances he wouldn't even touch a Kuto woman. And what was Sakura doing in Kuto anyway? Koji was getting ahead so he rode to catch up. Koji was coming down with a cold but still he pressed on. Genrou admired the older man's chivalry. Koji sneezed for the umpteenth time that day and Genrou finally forced him to stop and rest.



They were in Kuto.









He had won. Riyanu had broken Sakura for him. The woman was so silent; it was as if she wasn't there at all. She stood there, clad in only rags for she had just been taken out of the dungeon earlier after almost a week. Various bruises and cuts defiled her elvish flesh. Sakura had her eyes downcast. Riyanu stood next to her, smirking, his blue eyes twinkling. Qiu Ying smiled at him.





"Arigatou gozaimas for your work Riyanu-sama. Tell your father that I greatly appreciate your services and will not hesitate to call upon them again." He said. Riyanu said nothing, only kept his hands behind his back and stepped forward.



"I don't think you'll be calling on my services anytime soon old man." Qiu Ying puzzled what the demon meant when Sakura cried out.



"He HAS A SWORD!!" Qiu Ying dodged a fatal blow and blocked another with his own sword. Sakura took this chance to hide. Qiu Ying fought for he refused to let a demon have what was his. Even if he was the son of Seiryu. Riyanu was inhumanly fast due to the demon blood that ran in his veins. Qiu Ying was fast due to the elvish blood he had been drinking through out the ages.





"The elvish blood has been wasted on you long enough!" Riyanu snarled and slashed the old man's face off. Sakura had to keep from screaming and began to crawl out of the room to search for a way out. Riyanu brought his sword down in front of her.





"And where do you think you're going, my little flower? You still serve a greater purpose. You will lure two bandits of Mt. Reikaku here for me. Then, I'll kill them. But right now, I need to find a place to hold you." Sakura began to cry much to Riyanu's dismay. He repulsed at the smell of her tears.





"Shut up wench! Do as your told and maybe you won't be reduced to the role of my slave." Sakura began to sniffle. Riyanu had no idea why he did what he did next but he still had the bait.









Koji got up before dawn and began to pack up camp. Genrou was snoring softly in his blankets in front of the dead fire. Koji spread snow over the wood so that they would leave no trace in case they were being followed. Genrou snorted and began to snore again. Koji nudged the red-head with his foot.



"Genrou, get up. We have to go." The red-head gave no response only to roll over. Koji kicked him and Genrou shot up, pointing his tessen at the other bandit.



"Shit Aniki! I thought you were one of Seiryu's folk! Geez, why are we up so early?"



"Because I know where Sakura is." Koji replied and saddled his horse. Genrou yawned and realized how cold it was.





"Shit. Man, I wish you'd have let me sleep a little longer. The dream was getting' so good too."



"You and the priestess again? Genrou, those are getting old really fast. Try dreaming of someone different."



"Hey, not all of us have a drop dead gorgeous elf to dream about every night and hold and kiss and what not."



"I won't have that drop dead gorgeous elf if we don't hurry."











Riyanu lay on his back. Sakura lay on the floor. She had received a new mark. Two punctures in her neck. Riyanu had marked her as his own. He had worked hard to get his scent on her and the bandit's scent off. Sakura cried silently to herself. Did Koji even love her? Why wasn't he here? Was he still alive? Sakura buried her face in her hands and held back a sob.



"Sakura, why do you love him so? He is insignificant compared to us." Riyanu asked suddenly. Sakura blinked. Had he spoken to her? Or was it just her imagination? Sakura felt herself being lifted onto the bed.



"How can I love someone whose only intention is to cause me pain?" Sakura whispered. Riyanu snorted. Sakura was not naked but what was revealed to him was arousing enough.



"You have such a beautiful body Little Flower." He whispered running his paled fingers over the large curve of her hip. Sakura flinched away. Riyanu sighed and pinned her to the bed, one knee between her legs. Their noses touched, then their lips. Soon, his tongue slipped into her warm mouth. Sakura moaned but then realized it was Riyanu.so why was she seeing Koji in her mind's eye?



"Beautiful." Riyanu whispered and kissed her neck, stopping to lick the two puncture wounds in the side. Sakura's breathing quickened. The rags over her chest were stripped away and Riyanu continued to kiss her. The one knee between her legs was slowly spreading them apart. Sakura arched slightly as Riyanu took a breast into his mouth. His free hand stripped the last of her rags away, leaving her completely nude in the moonlit room. Riyanu played with the hardened buds on her breasts until she begged him to stop. Riyanu looked Sakura in the face and saw pain there. His gaze traveled down and he saw why. He had bitten her again. Riyanu kissed her lips.





"I'm sorry.I love you so much Sakura." He returned to her lower body. He kissed the petals of her flower causing her to spasm. Then, slowly, his tongue dove inside to taste her sweet nectar. Yes, Riyanu loved sex and he was damn good at it.