Hooray! Here we go again! Now it is time for Jade's reaction and Sey's reaction to what happened before! Plus, some other interesting events! Legend In Love will continue shortly, but first:

Thanks to the two people who reviewed so far! Feedback rules! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
And

disclaimer: I honestly do not own JCA, practically the only thing I own in this is Aku-sama, who may may not show up again, I'm still playing with where I want to go with this fic.......

Hey! Reviewers......Do you want to see Aku-sama again? Just asking!
Oh, hey! Special thanks to Tajeri Lynn and Splef for being the first reviewers! See? I told you I read them!

Chapter 4- Why Me?

Jade Chan sat in her room in the inn, she had started her Career Day report to just finish it and

get it out of the way as well as help her push the traumatic experience of the night before out of

her mind. She had been left behind by everyone so that she could work on her project in peace.

Jackie had promised that he would leave the most impressive discoveries intact so that she could

take his picture with them later for her report. They would return at noon for her, they had

promised. Jade glanced at the clock on the wall. Since there was no one else around, she decided

to take a break from her hard work. She had already written more than half of the mindnumbing

paper and was finding it harder and harder to concentrate. She got up from the small wooden

table that she had been sitting at for the last two hours. Her muscles longed for movement, but

a few stretches would have to do for now. Besides, in a little less than two hours, she would be

heading back to the temple, back to...

"Why...Why Jade?"

The image of Seymour's contorted and tear streaked face flashed across her mind. Jade lay

down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. The ceiling was plain, an empty canvas for her

imagination, try as she might, she could not force the terrible images of Seymour transforming

out of her mind, they continuously popped in and out of her consciousness. At the sheer thought

of the chilling scream that had issued from his pain wracked frame, her skin broke out in

goosebumps and she shivered. Jade suddenly sniffed, her nose was running. She absentmindedly

rubbed her nose with her sleeve. Jade tried to swallow, but found she had a lump in her throat.

"Why am I so worked up? Am I crying? Why did this have to happen to me?" she wondered aloud to herself.

"Oh, Sey," she whispered sadly," He looked so sad, so alone. What could have happened to him? I want to help him, I do, but what can I possibly do to alleviate some of his pain?"

............................

Seymour had secluded himself in the innermost sanctum of the temple. He was at once grief

stricken, ecstatic and angry. These three emotions confounded him, increasing his frustration.

He too, wondered aloud to himself:

"Why did she have to open her eyes? It was going so well, so well........Damn it! Damn it all! Why did she open her eyes?"

He slammed a taloned fist into the ground with all his confined stregnth. It hurt, throbbing

rhythmically afterwards. A shudder shook his form as he squeezed his eyes shut in a rather vain

attempt to shut out the pain. He began to speak out loud to himself again, after being alone for

so long, it had become a habit.

"I...I truly hope she comes back. I...It's strange, I felt so connected with her. So strange......I
never felt so calm as when I allowed her to touch my face with those wonderful, caring and gentl
hands of hers. The last time anyone touched my face was when......I can't even remember. I'm pathetic, sitting here, delusions of happiness dancing in my head. If she knew what I was thinking at this very moment, she'd probably think I was some kind of stalker. Undoubtably those mindless peasants have filled her head with that "Sky Demon" nonsense. Ah, well, what's a cursed boy to do? Jade, such a pretty name for such a pretty girl, so appropriate. I sound like an idiot! I don't even know what I'm saying! She'll never come back, I'm only fooling myself. But, I can't help but feel.....hopeful. I have no idea why, she saw me in my less than desirable form, I probably gave her nightmares. But, she knows what I really am so.......Arrghh! why am I so bothered by this? I should be used to it by now!"

Seymour gave his spiked head an annoyed shake, as if to clear the troubling thouughts from it.

Unsuccessful as usual, he could only let the breathtaking memory of her smile whisk him away

again to the land of fantasies. She smiled at him..smile.......

Fool! That smile was not intended for a monster like you! If she ever comes back, she'll never smile at you again! You'll be lucky if she even looks at you without wretching.

Seymour's inner voice tormented him once again, it did so often after an encounter with another

human. He usually paid it little mind, half expecting it to berate him whenever a drunk farmer or

raunchy teenage couple stumbled upon him. Those were never as bad as when girls his own age

saw him especially on.......special nights, as he called them. For some reason, he could never

fully adapt to the shrill feminine screams that issued from the delicate mouths of every female

he came across, they disturbed him the most. All of them despised him, screamed obscenities at

him and told him how evil he was, never stopping to think that even what they believed to be a

"demon" may have feelings and may understand every cruel word that was said to him. Terrified

looks, pleas for mercy, begging for their very lives.......it all made him sick. He'd never done

anything to any of those villagers. True, he had stolen a chicken or two over the years, but it

had been a last resort. He'd been starving to death, he'd had no choice. They believed he was a

new manifestation of Hsi Wu, an ancient Sky Demon who was apparently very sneaky and violent,

according to legend. Seymour had learned to conceal himself very quickly after his first few

encounters, he still had a scar from one of them.

He gave a sigh and looked at the ceiling, a plain ceiling that allowed his imagination to wander. A

single stream of light peered through a crack in the wall and shone on him, as if a form of

heavenly light were shining on him. Seymour chuckled, the very thought of him being in heavenly

light was ludicrous, still, it was comforting. He thought he had felt heavenly light before, last

night, when those gentle fingers caressed his face. A silent laugh slipped out of his fanged

mouth.

"I'm being sentimental," he said outloud,"Why me?"

.............

Jade must have drifted off to sleep, for the next thing she knew was that Jackie was pounding

on her door, which she'd locked. She sprang off the bed with her usual youthful vigor and quickly

unlocked her door.

"Jade, I hope you're ready for some excitement! I saved the most exciting part for you! We left an incredible jeweled mural in place, we're going to remove it when you accompany us there to get you, ah, photographic evidence," at the last comment, he gave a cheerful chuckle. Jackie was

always so cheerful, so optimistic, and why not? He hadn't seen what Jade had seen last night.

Jade quickly gave her head a shake, to remove such venomous thoughts from her head. She

couldn't be mad at Jackie, it wasn't his fault. It wasn't Seymour's fault either. It had been no

one's fault, simply a horrible accident that she had opened her eyes. She wondered, if she ever

did see Seymour again, would he forgive her?
"Jade, is something wrong? You look very sullen," Jackie's voice resonated with concern and affection.
Jade forced a smile.


"Yeah, I.....I was just thinking,"

"Oh,I see,"

"What do you mean you see?"

"You were thinking about your new little friend,"

"How did you know about that?" Jade demanded.

"It was easy, you mentioned someone named Seymour last night,"

"Oh," Jackie didn't really know about what happened, he only used what she said. Grrr! Jade

thought to herself, I must be more careful with what I say!!!

"Is my little Jade experiencing puppy love?"

"Ewwwwww! No way, Jackie! I don't do that romantic stuff! That's just nasty!"

"Take it easy, I was just fooling,"

"Uhhhhh...yeah. Of course, I knew that,"

Jade crossed her arms and tried to look triumphant. She cast a side glance at Jackie who

seemed to lose interest and begin his trek down the stairs of the inn toward the door. Jade

sighed, grabbed her camera, and followed as loyally as a dog.

...........................

Uncle inspected the mysterious murals on the walls of the temple. A vast majority of them

were easy to make out, but others seemed to lose all meaning, even to someone as well read and

well versed in the ancient world as the great chi wizard. He bgan to mumble the characters and

picograms he could translate. He could hear Tohru's pencil scribbling furiously on a pad of paper

so as to copy every word that his sensei said. Uncle made a mental note to tell himwhat a good

apprentice he was. He hadn't even been told to write anything dow and here he was writing madly.

"Long ago......sky....sea.....sun........moon.....two sisters......One evil, beware the curses of her

mighty........Fear her wrath, cruelty of soul. Black is the demon heart of .......Her mercilessness is

infamous as is her great selfishness and undying desire for her own radiance, all

human.......fear.....flee...........fiery talons of Aku-Sama,"

"Aku-Sama, sensei?" Tohru's question interrupted him.

"Ah, yes, one of the youngest demons, she is well known for everything wrtten here,"

"What of the other demon, sensei?"

"Other demon?"

"Yes, the characters mention sisters, who is the second sorceress?"

Tohru was indeed becoming an excellent apprentice, Uncle had not given it a second thought. He

had believed that the temple was erected to prtect against the curses of Aku-Sama. Was there

any need to know who her sister was or if she had anything to do with it? Uncle decided he better

cover up his small error.

"Getting to that, It goes on. Second sibling..................unknown.......intentions..........souls

of.....fear the vengeance of......Aku-Sama's older sister.........Kinder.....blesses our

village......left....spoke of a day when a girl dressed in colors of the sun and sea would come and

change someone's life forever. This village hails its savior,...............All will praise the sorceress

who saved us from Shendu in the time when he sought to add our mountain to his kingdom. None

of us will forget you, honorable guardian, Kodomo-Yasha,"

"Kodomo-Yasha? Demon child?"

"Yes, Do not worry. All is safe if Kodomo-Yasha watches the place. "

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I know these things and she is an old friend of mine,"

"You met a demon, sensei?"

"Why is that so difficult to imagine! Demons are everywhere! People are just too blind to see

them!"

"What is Kodomo-Yasha like?"

"She is a small, but very powerful demon who apears in the form of a human child. I haven't seen

her for nearly thirty years,"

"Will she remember you, should we meet her?"

"Of course! Kodomo-Yasha never forgets anything!"

"Like an elephant?"

"No, like an incomprhensible force that has photographic memory. One more thing, there is a

vicious rivalry between the two siblings. Kodomo finds Aku very childish and spoiled, she often

attempts to undo any injustices done by her younger, more tempermental sibling. Kodomo has

worked very hard, but still had along way to go,"

"Why is that?"

"Aku is a very shallow and cruel monster! She cursed many humans and places. She hates to

have her will undone and will react violently if she is defied or insulted! Never call her old or ugly!

Or she will curse you horribly! I've heard many stories about her evil. This very temple is a

central piece in the rivalry between them,"

"How so?"

"It was built as a refuge from Aku, who is always referred to as Aku-Sama,"

"Why is she always referred to in such a way?"

"She is self centered and vain, such a title increases her sense of importance,"

"Ah,"

"One more thing, the reason we are here is to see if 1: the place is truly chi enchanted against

Aku's magic and 2: To see if one particular legend of Aku's evil holds true,"

"What legend is that, sensei?"

"The legend of the Temple Demon,"

"I am unfamiliar with it,"

"Many years ago, there was a noble family which lived in one of Aku's mansions. The greedy

sorceress discovered tat they had come into great wealth and decided to take back what was

rightfully hers, as well as all the wealth that the family had accquired. The Lord of the house

denied her and Aku threw a great tantrum that is said to hve made mountains shake. Still, the

Lord did not relent. inspired by his father's bravery, the family's only son stood up to her as well,

at once defying and insulting her. Enraged, Aku cursed him by changing him into a winged demon

so terrifying that not even his parents would look at him. The boy was only able to return to his

true form on the night of the full moon, but if any human girl saw him, he would revert to his

demon form. You see, he had to gain the affection of a uman girl to break the curse. However,

he was cast out from the family and imprisoned in this very temple,"

"But that was so long ago, surely he must have died by now,"

"Aku is not so merciful. The curse forces him to remain the same age throughout the centuries,"

"But, why have we not seen or heard him since we have been here?"

"We've heard him, just not seen him. I believe that he is quite good at hiding and I dobt he will

trust strangers who wander into his temple and begin to disassemble areas of it,"

"Sensei?"

"Yes?"

"What shall we do if we find him?"

"Speak to hime and if we can, help him break the curse. He's suffered enough, wouldn't you

say? Besides, I'd like to help kodomo with something, I owe her a great deal,"

"I see,"

"Tohru?"

"Yes, sensei?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Someone is in here,"

"Could it be..."

"Shhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Uncle crept along the wall to the doorway. Slowly and silently he peered around the corner.
Nothing. The hallway was empty, not a single sound emitted from any crevice in the immediate vicinity.
"Uncle!"
The chi wizard jumped several inches off the ground. Jackie's unpredicted greeting had startled

him beyond all imagination.

"AI-Yah! What the hell are you doing, Jackie? Trying to give Uncle a heart attack?"

"No......Owww!" jackie yelled as two fingers whipped across his face.

"Where is Jade, I thought she was coming with you?" Uncle asked, looking around anxiously.

"She is with me, she's right..........."

Jackie's voice trailed off as he noticed that Jade was nowhere in sight. She had been at his

heels mere moments before, but now she had vanishe dwithout a trace.

"AI-Yah! We must find her!" Uncle shouted. The three off them took off in different directions, all

calling Jade's name and looking throught the labyrinth of rooms and corridors with no luck. Little

did they know, Jade was exactly where they were originally heading, steadily making her way

toward the inner sanctum.
.............

Jade entered the inner sanctum with quiet curiosity and reverence. Stone statues, their

dragon-like faces frozen in snarls gazed at her from around the room. Intricate murals covered

the walls telling stories of people and places from long ago. Strangely, one of the wwalls was left

entirely blank, as if the artist had no idea how to end the story. Jade sighed to herself and

kicked at a pebble on the floor. Moments later, she heard something shift in a corner opposite

her. She shivered involuntarily and began to look around as if expecting one of the statues to

come alive and attack her. She attempted to put up a brave front, biting her lower lip and

forcing a smile. Then, she noticed that a stream of light that poured through one of the cracks

in the ceiling illuminated a familiar wing, though the rest of its form remained hidden in the

darkness of the shadow. She smiled for real now, finally she had a chance to apologize.

"Seymour?" she asked somewhat loudly.

The dark form visibly jumped, she saw the two glowing eyes stare at her in confusion and

surprise, perhaps a bit of dread too, she couldn't be sure. Still, it did not move from the shadow,

it seemed to be debaing whether or not to emerge. Jade decided to assist with the decision. She

shut her eyes tightly and took a few steps forward. She smiled widely in his direction and

extended her hand, just as she had done before.

"Hi Seymour, look!I've got my eyes closed and everything! I really wanted to tell you I'm sorry, I

didn't mean to hurt you. I hope you're okay, you wanna talk or something?"

Seymour took a moment to process this information. His heart quivered in his chest. She had

come back, she stood there with her hand extended in friendship, eyes shut, smile on her face,

just like before. He swallowed the lump in his throat and emerged from the shadow. He was no

longer afraid, something had just happened to him that he could not explain. A spurt of internal

growth and understanding.

He reached out and took her small hand in his taloned one. A smile twitched on the ends of his lips.

"Jade, you came back. Thank You, you have no idea how much this means to me,"

"Can I feel you again?"

"Yes," he answered uncertainly.

He guided her hands to his cheek, shivering as her fingers traced over it and up his face, over his

pointy ears and sharp spines and back to his cheek again. She smiled again and said,

"Ohhhh, pointy. Can I look at you now?"

He mentally debated this, Seymour found himself struggling to overcome his own securities that

he had set up over the years, to be seen was to be hurt, killed even, but he forced himself to

overcome the most prominent fear he had ever known.

"Of course," he answered, sounding a little more certain.

Jades bright eyes trailed over him, absorbing every detail. He heard her inhale sharply at first,

but that was all, no shrill screams and no sharp word, just smiling Jade. Something fluttered in

his chest, but Jade drew almost all his attention from it.

"See?" she asked,"That wasn't so hard,"

Seymour felt a foolish smile play across his demonic features, Jade giggled at the sight of it. He

did look rather silly, a demonic monster smiling like a child. He seemed so innocent how anyone

could be afraid of Seymour was quite beyond her mental capacity. Yes, he was fearsome looking,

but underneath it all, he was just a boy, Nothing else.

"Seymour, like I said, I'm sorry about the other night, if i'd known what was going to happen, I

wouldn't have......"

"Its alright, you didn't know, I understand. Why did you come back Jade?"

"It was the right thing to do. II felt really bad and I want to help you if I can,"

"You want to help me?"

"Yes,"

"But how can you stand to even look at me, not even my own mother would look at me. Do you know what that's like?"

"You must have had a very hard time, but to me, you're Seymour. You're my cool new friend, if

you'll let me be,"

"Friend?"

"Yeah!"

"I'd like that Jade,"

He smiled again and Jade smiled back. This trip was proving interesting after all. How often do

you get to make friends with a demon? Much less a nice one? Jade chuckled to herself, she

wondered what Drew and the others would say f she showed them a picture of her and Seymour.

End Chapter 4
PHEWWWWW! This took awhile, I'd better get bac to homework now, but I just had to finish this chapter! It was bothering me! I hope you enjoyed it!