Everyday Megumi would go visit Kousuke after her daily training. They began to fall in love with each other. Megumi's parents wondered why she would train for hours but not improve in her training.

Sango was the only other person who knew about Kousuke, Sango was really excited. They would about it all of the time.

One day when they were talking about him and giggling as usual, Sango's father received news from a man dresses in his fighting outfit. His eyes went over to the girls and nodded. The man left. He walked over to the girls with one hand on his forehead.

"Girls,   I have some news."

The girls stopped talking and looked at him.

"What's wrong dad?" Sango asked.

"You girls are going to have your first fight tomorrow. There is a pack of demons in the middle of the forest. They have been attacking small villages. The next one they will attack is just on the far edge of the forest. We are going to get them there. This is your first test."

Sango nodded. Megumi bit her thumbnail. "Kousuke…" She thought to herself.

*~*~*~*

She picked up her stuff to go. Her arms were slightly sore from the constant training that day. She hurried to meet Kousuke. He was waiting for her in their favorite place. He ran his fingers through his hair. She looked up at him.

"Hi."

"Hey." He looked away.

"Whats wrong Kou?" She looked at him with a concerned look on her face.

"I don't think we will be able to talk to each other anymore."

"Why?"

"Family issues, they don't want me to fall in love with a hu…you." He corrected himself.

"What?!"

He turned away from her. Tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I loved you!"

"I loved you too, but I have to go."

Kousuke began to walk away and Megumi crumbled to the earth, sobbing. Kousuke stopped himself from turning around. Hearing her cry made tears fall from his own eyes. Megumi got up and ran to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "No, don't go!"

He sighed and looked at the ground. "I have to. Something might happen if I don't."

"I will risk it."

He wouldn't look at her but stood there as he felt her tears slid down his back.

Toshio slashed at plants that lay before him. He knew Megumi came out this way. He saw a lake ahead of him. He slashed away at more things that lay in his way. At last he came upon the lake that he saw. He also saw his daughter holding onto another person. He realized that it was a boy. He also saw that Megumi was crying. He took a few steps forward, neither of them noticed him.

"Megumi! Megumi!" He yelled to her.

Megumi picked her head up and turned it quickly toward her father. When she saw him she let go of Kousuke. "Oh no!"

Kousuke saw him. "Aww shit!" He then ran off into the forest.

Megumi had a scared look on her face. Her father became very angry. This is where she had been going after her training everyday. He walked over to her and she covered her face.

"I have nothing to say to you!"

"Dad, it is just a boy."

"NOT JUST ANY BOY, HE IS A DEMON!"

"He is not a demon. I would know that."

"So you didn't notice the glow about him!"

"Well, I did but I never thought anything of it."

"You are so naïve Megumi."

"But I love him father."

He glared at her and grabbed the front of her clothes. "You will not be allowed to see him anymore, got that?"

Megumi nodded and would not say a word.

"I will escort you home from your training everyday." He let go of her clothes and she looked away. "Follow me. We are going home." He then spun himself around and started to walk in the direction of the village. Megumi trotted behind him, tears still pouring from her eyes.

*~*~*~*

Yaeko gasped when she heard the news that Megumi was spending time with a demon.

"But mother I didn't know." She whined.

"You were raised to be a demon exterminator not a demon reproducer."

The harsh words cut Megumi like a knife. She never thought her parents would act in such a way.

"What will people say if they saw? They would think less of us. What parents we are." Yaeko began to cry.

Megumi was surprised that this topic would bring her mother to tears.

Toshio looked at her. "If word gets out about this you could be kicked out of the village, at the least. I don't know if we would be punished. I know we will claim that since you were not born from Yaeko that even though we taught you to hate demons you still associated with them."

Megumi cried and looked at her mother who would not look at her. "Are you telling me that you don't love me because I am not really your child but a hopeless girl you found face down in the mud? Is that all I am to you now? Ever since you have had your own child I guess you have hated me for not being born from your womb. I always thought I was born from someone else's womb but your heart. But I guess I don't matter to you anymore since you have your own son! I hope I die tomorrow so you will have the life you wanted, without this dirty homeless girl that you found half dead 9 years ago!" She screamed. With the last note she stormed to her room and pulled out her futon to sleep on. Tomorrow was the big day. Her big test. Was she ready? What kind of demons would she face? All of these thoughts ran through her head.

"Hopefully my parents will be a bit more understanding or I will leave and live with Kousuke." She sighed with a bit of a girly flare. "I wonder if they really feel this way or if it is just because of Kousuke."

She thought of Kousuke. "I hope not, I love him and they can't stop me."

She laid her head down and then closed her eyes. Thinking about tomorrow's battle. She thought about what she would do. Was she ready for a battle like this? She knew Sango would do great but doubted her own abilities. She spent a lot of precious training time with Kousuke instead. She bit her lip. She can't do anything about it now, she will just have to wait till tomorrow. She rolled onto her back and fell asleep.