~*~Adding another chapter just because I can.~*~

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A week had passed since Naomi had recovered from her injuries. He knew he had to keep an eye on her now that at least one set of demons knew where he was. Things were just going to get harder now. There she was at target practice again. While she held back the bow, a loud and annoying voice screamed for her from the front.

"Naomi-sama!!! Where are you??"

Naomi lowered her bow and sighed, rubbing her temples. He looked over at her with a questioning look. "It's okay Kurama. It's only Sóra. She comes up to the shrine now and then to learn new things from me."

He nodded and moved to go inside the house. The last thing he needed right now was another person sending him evil glares because he was a fox demon. He just made it inside when a bubbly little girl ran to the back and up to Naomi.

"Naomi-sama! Did you miss me?"

The miko smiled down at the girl no more then ten years in age. "Of course, Sóra. Now what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

The girl looked around, seemingly looking for something. "Mom told me I was to see if the rumors are true about you living with a male fox youkai. She also said I…" The girl's eyes went wide as she paled. She turned to the miko who looked at her bewildered. "She also said I wasn't supposed to tell you. Oopsies."

*Sweatdrop*

Naomi sighed. "Well, let us not keep anything from your mother." She turned and headed to the house and pushed the door open. "Wait there Sóra, and don't touch anything please. The arrows are sharp." The girl nodded and Naomi went inside the house.

The place was dark but she soon found him sitting in the room he had somewhat assigned himself to. He looked up when her scent reached his nose. She walked in and smiled, bending down and took his hand. His eyes widened. "What the…?"

Naomi's smile grew. "She came to meet you. Do not be afraid. She's just a child."

He shot her this look of annoyance. "Who said I was afraid?"

Naomi just smiled. "No one. Come on."

He looked away from her. "Why should I?" Suddenly, she got down beside him and looked straight into his golden eyes with her violet ones.

"Please? As a favor to me?"

After looking into her eyes for a moment, he sighed and got up, ready to be lead to the child that would surely scream at his appearance. Naomi's eyes lit up and she took his hand, leading him to the child. He was glad she was happy, which almost made him glad to do this for her. Almost.

Sliding the door open, Naomi dropped his hand, much to his disappointment that he didn't understand why he felt. Standing there was a small girl with dark brown hair and big blue eyes. Blue eyes that were wide and staring at him at the moment. It was a bit uncomfortable to say the least.

"Sóra, this is Kurama. Kurama, this is Sóra." Naomi looked first at him then at the girl. There was a few moments of awkward silence until to his horror, the girl smiled brightly. "KAWAII!!!!" She began hopping up and down to reach for his ears as well as try to pet his tail.  Notice the word try. He moved away from her and eventually had to get behind Naomi, who was just laughing. Her laugh was sweet and caused a warm feeling to stir inside him.

The girl then stopped and looked at him curiously. "You can't be an evil demon. Mom said you might be trying to cloud Naomi's mind so you could kill her in her sleep, but you're hiding behind her now, so you can't be that bad. Mom was worried that since you have been here so long you two might be having too much fun. She didn't tell me what she meant but only said I wasn't old enough to understand."

Both the miko and the demon behind her turned a bright shade of red and slowly moved away from each other. Naomi was definitely flustered while he looked everywhere but at the two females. Naomi was the first one to find her voice. "Sóra, what else did your mother say?"

The girl though this over for a minute. "Well, she said that you spend too much time up at the shrine so you're gonna die an old maid because no guy will even look at you cause you stay up here too much. She says you need man to take care of you and… and… and that you should be with guys from your own kind, not some crumby demon, but I didn't understand that. I mean donuts are crumby but that guy doesn't look like a donut, but he did hide behind you so I'm not sure."

Out of the corner of her eye, Naomi saw him start to flex his claws, looking as if he was going to attack. He had had enough of this… child. He soon felt a delicate hand on his arm, restraining him. Naomi whispered into his ear, "It's only for a few hours. Please try not to kill her."

The look in her eyes practically begged him to not harm this… creature, so he made a fist at his side instead. He also noticed a bit of sadness in her eyes. He made a mental note to ask her about that later. 'Wait… why do I care?'

Naomi turned her attention back to the girl. "Sóra, how long are you here today?"

"Oh! Mom said I could stay here over night. She said something about leaving her headache behind, but I didn't get that either."

He tried so hard not to laugh, but instead just smiled a knowing smile. 'Jee, I wonder why.' He could see Naomi visibly cringe but put on a smile. "Great. Well, I guess I'm going to have to find you a room to stay in." A look of panic crossed her face. Then he figured out why. There were only two bedrooms in the house. One was hers and one he had taken possession of. Naomi shook her head and headed inside. "You'll sleep in my room, Sóra."

"But where are you gonna sleep, Naomi-sama?"

She turned back to the girl. "Don't worry about that. I just want to make sure you are comfortable. I'll find somewhere to sleep."

This did not sit well with him at all. The child shrugged and dragged Naomi off to show her how to shoot and such. He stood off to the side and watched. 'Even though the girl is very annoying, Naomi keeps calm and explains things to her. It's almost… motherly.'

This little scene continued until Naomi decided to make dinner. She looked over at him. "Kurama? Could you watch Sóra while I make us all some dinner?"

As much as he didn't want to, he nodded, agreeing to watch the little pup for awhile. She smiled at him and headed inside, passing him. As she did, she whispered so only he could hear, "Thank you." He nodded and she went in to start on dinner.

The girl ran up and sat beside him, looking him over intently. He raised one eyebrow as she examined him, something he did not like at all. "What are you doing?"

Sóra blinked at him. "So you can talk. Good. Now I can ask you stuff."

He raised his gaze upward and wondered what the hell he had done to have to listen to this girl. Whatever it was, he took it back ten times over.

The girl looked at him and smiled. "Mom told me you arrived here a long time ago, but why haven't you left yet? I mean you are a wild demon and all."

How could he answer this girl when part of him didn't even know the answer? Sighing, he thought of the best possible answer he could give. "I owe her for saving my life. I stay here to help protect her."

Sóra smiled again. "Are you sure? Cause I think you really like her. That's okay with me. I think you're cool, but Mom thinks she should look for someone else. So do ya? Do you like Naomi-sama?"

He looked at her as if she had the plague. Could that possible be the hidden reason why he stayed so long? No, it was just to repay his debt to her, that's all. But was it?

To his delight, he did not have to answer her question for Naomi came out to get them for dinner. The girl at first frowned, but then jumped up and ran inside, he walking behind her.

Dinner was a bit louder then to his liking, but he reasoned it wouldn't be for long. Naomi kept listening to the child and made some comments now and then. Eventually they all finished and cleared off the table, washing the dishes and putting everything away. He turned to her and was glad when she looked at him.

"I need to go-"

"-for a run? Sure, I can handle things here. She gets tamer after dinner. Enjoy yourself." She smiled at him and turned to attend to the child living in her home presently. He smiled at her retreating form and soon left the house, heading straight to the forest for a nice run.

When he got into the middle of it, he stopped his run and inhaled the smells all around him. He could never tire of it. It was one of the few things that calmed him. 'Naomi calms me as well.' Snapping his head up, he was startled by his own thoughts. 'But it is true.' She just brought some peace to him, making him feel relaxed. How could this be? Was that girl right?

His thoughts ran wild as he fingered the pendant around his neck. It had been Kuronue's when he was alive. For some reason, he felt the need to have it, to remember his fallen partner.

Shaking his head, he returned to his running as he headed back to the shrine. When he got there, most of the lights were off, signaling the inhabitants were probably asleep. 'Was I gone for that long?' As he went to open the back door, the door opened and there stood Naomi, a bit surprised to see him standing there. "Oh, sorry. I was just going to head over to the hill. Sóra's asleep so I thought this would be a good time. Care to join me?"

He moved out of her way as she stepped out of the house. He closed the door and followed her to the hill. Sitting down, Naomi looked at the village below. He sat right beside her.

"How was your run?"

"Good."

"Clear your mind?"

"Yes."

"That's good." She had this far off look in her eyes, as if she had her mind on another topic entirely. Then he remembered before when Sóra mentioned everything about settling down. For some reason, he just had to ask her about that.

"Why were you sad before?"

The miko looked at him with surprise written all of her face. Finally realizing what he was referring to, she looked away from him. "It's nothing. Nothing important."

He looked at her and knew she was hiding something. That same look was in her eyes as before. "I would really like to know."

There was a long silence that filled the area surrounding them. He looked over at her to see a single tear fall down her cheek. Instinctively, he reached up and wiped her tear away. "It has to be more then nothing if it brings you tears."

She turned her head away from him, as if trying not to show her weakness to him. He reached over and pulled her chin so she would look at him. Her violet eyes looked as if the tears were building up, but were not permitted to fall. Concern filled his golden eyes as he looked at her. "Naomi?"

Sighing, she blinked a few times in an attempt to force the tears back. "It's not big deal. My aunt keeps telling me, ever since I was little, to give up my dreams and this life I have now. And now Sóra comes and is repeating this for me."

"What would she have you do?"

"Be married off and let some man take care of me while I become the perfect little housewife and have his kids."

This was a big shock for him. He just could not picture Naomi happy in that kind of situation. She had a wild spirit and was best at where she was, helping others and being herself, not some man's slave. This bothered him greatly.

He shook his head and looked into her violet orbs. "You have a fire that burns within you, young miko. Do not go for anything lower then what you are. People turn to you for guidance and wisdom. Would you want to give that all up for a woman who does not seem to know anything about you?"

The look in her eyes told him she understood everything he had said and that they meant the world to her at that very moment. The sadness disappeared from her beautiful eyes as they sparkled due to the stars above. He could feel himself getting lost in her eyes.

She turned her head away, gaze returning to the village below. "Thank you Kurama. Those were the words I needed to hear."

He just nodded and sat back a bit. When did he become so comfortable here? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shiver a bit due to the cool air. Sighing, he reached over and pulled her towards him, covering her with his arms. It was a bold move he realized when he saw her blush. "You were shivering."

She relaxed in his arms and placed her head on his shoulder. He soon realized how good this felt to him. But why?

He did not know how long they stayed that way, but soon they got out of each other's embrace and headed back to the house. Naomi walked over to the couch, but he followed her. "It is not right for you to sleep on the couch. Use the room I occupy. I shall take the couch."

She immediately turned to him. "Oh no. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking your bed from you."

He moved closer to her and looked at her with certainty in his eyes. "Please, I insist."

After a few moments, Naomi agreed, smiling her thanks as she opened the doors and went inside, disappearing from his sight. Smiling to himself, he lay on the couch, which wasn't too uncomfortable. Looking up at the ceiling, he soon found himself so relaxed he drifted off to sleep.

~*~Gotta love the fluff. Anywho, sorry it took so long. And sorry for the child! I wanted to kill her as I was writing her. But she is important to the story, so she stays. Review please. Ja ne!~*~