~*~I'm slowly breaking through my writer's block. I also want to get to 15 reviews, but I doubt I will. If I can get close to that, or even past that, I'll update again. Enjoy the chapter! ~*~

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It had been two days since she had gotten injured. After those two days, the miko was still unconscious. Worried, he crossed over to her, bent down and examined the wounds again. 'This does not make sense. She should have been awake by now.' Taking a close look at the wound on her side, his suspicion was proven correct. 'It is infected. She was dropped on it. Perhaps something got into the wound.' He sat there looking at the wounds thinking of what he could possibly do. 'Wait…'

With that, he got up and went to the forest, running at full pace. 'I will return soon. Please be well until I return.' He took one last look at her before leaving the shrine. Her face was pale and she looked very weak, lack of food entering her body. Her hair was tied back and lay on her side as her body rested on the futon, the blanket coming up to her neck. For some reason, he felt unsure of leaving her alone like that. 'I'd feel a lot better if I knew someone was there to protect her while I was gone. That just means I have to go even quicker.'

Deep into the forest he went, looking around and snatching up different looking plants here and there. 'I have all but one. Where could it be?' Finally, after searching for a few more moments, he found the herb he was seeking. 'Yes, this will do it.' Collecting all he had gathered, he sped off back to the shrine as quickly as he could. 'Every second I waste, she slips farther away. I must hurry.'

The scenery flew by him as he went through the forest, breaking a new record for himself when he finally saw the shrine. With a sigh of relief, he saw no one had entered, leaving the miko safe from harm. He then entered and searched the place, looking for anything he could use for crushing all the herbs together. After finding what he required, he went back into her room to keep an eye on her while he prepared what he believed would help her.

After the herbs were all crushed, they formed a coating of some kind. He reached over and began applying it to the infected wounds, one on her arm near the shoulder and the one on her side. 'That should do it. She should be alright after a day or two.'

With that, he set aside the bowl he used and yawned. He hadn't slept since the run in two days ago. 'A few minutes wouldn't hurt.' Leaning against the wall, he made sure she was in his line of vision in case she needed anything and slowly closed his eyes, the young miko being the last thing he saw.

When he awoke, it had turned into morning. Stretching, he looked over to see the miko turn slightly in her sleep. Sighing, he held a small grin on his face. 'That means the medicine is working. She wasn't even moving before.' Quickly and silently, he went over to her side to reapply the medicine.

"Kurama?"

Startled, he looked up into the face of the miko whose eyes were slowly opening. Her voice was weak and small, so unlike her that he wasn't sure it was her who spoke.

He wanted to smile with relief, but masked his concern. "It's about time you woke up."

"How long was I asleep?"

"It's been three days now."

The weak girl lifted her head to see what he was doing. "What is that?"

"It's a medicine I learned of a long time ago. It works on demons so I thought I'd try it on you. Your wounds had gotten infected so I tried to heal them."

A strange look crossed her features. "You were worried about me?"

The white haired demon didn't know how to answer that. If he said yes, then it would look like he cared, but if he said no… well, then she could come back with why did he make this stuff for her. A though crossed his mind. 'Wait… Why did I?'

Still applying the coating to her wounds, he answered. "I told you before. I shall be the one to kill you, no one else."

A small smile spread on her lips. He noticed this out of the corner of his eye and felt like smiling as well, but did not. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Naomi."

Her whole body stiffened at that moment. Curious, he turned to look at her, a questioning look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Shaking her head, she replied. "Nothing. It's just… you've never said my name before. Does this mean-"

Picking up the bowl, he stood and went to leave the room. "You should get some more rest. Your side wound will take a few days more to heal."

She nodded and crawled back under the covers. "Kurama, before you leave… Thank you for what you did. For saving my life and… umm…"

One of his fox ears turned slightly in her direction. "And…?"

Shaking her head, she smiled at him. "And nothing. Thank you."

He nodded and left the room, leaving the miko to rest.

As promised, she was up and all healed the next day. In fact, she was up at target practice when he got up. From a distance, he watched her as she let loose her arrows to the target. Perfect bull's eye every time.

After while, he let himself get lost in his thoughts. 'Why did I help her? She's just a human. Worse, a miko. I'd be better off if she died, wouldn't I? If that's true, why did I worry about her? I don't understand.'

"Kurama?"

Blinking, he looked at her as a soft breeze went by, blowing her hair to the side. She had this weird look in her eyes and she was smiling at him. For a moment, he was lost in her eyes, her deep violet eyes. 'She looks so beautiful… Wait a minute. Where did that come from??' Frightened by these thoughts, he shook his head and looked up again. Naomi had come closer and was kneeling in front of him, a concerned look on her face. "You looked dazed for a minute there. You okay?"

He just nodded and stood. "I'm fine."

Blinking at him, she sighed and went inside. "I'll have dinner ready soon."

All he could do was nodded. That thought still rang in his head which scared him a bit. 'Why did I think that? She's a human! But, she's different from the rest. They all run in fear of me at first glance or try to kill me. Not her. She tried to help me. She defended me and trusts me. It doesn't make sense… but…'

"Kurama! Come on. Dinner's ready." Naomi stood at the doorway and smiled at him while waving. "Come on! Don't make me eat this all by myself."

He smiled at her, a pure genuine smile. Her smile got softer, yet wider as she reentered the house. He moved to enter as well. '…but… I'm glad it doesn't.' With that, he went inside, sat at the table and ate dinner with her, a miko, an enemy… a friend.

~*~Now we're getting somewhere. I appreciate any comments, even flames. That just makes me work harder to prove your opinion is wrong. *wink* Anywho, just a random thought. If any of you own or have rented Spirited Away, watch it in Japanese with the English subtitles. The story is a bit different that way. The whole Chihiro/Haku relationship is seen more. It's so cool!!!!!! Anywho, Ja ne! ~*~