Beta is gone for the week, so forgive me if it's crappy. >> Next chapter will be up soon, I hope.

A raspy whimper escaped Anju's throat as her eyes fluttered open, her head suddenly surging in pain from crying so much the night before. Blinking slowly, she held a hand to her forehead and pushed herself so that she sat up. Blurred cerulean eyes took in the fuzzy surroundings…and she groaned s she realized where she was.

This wasn't the first time she had fallen asleep in the well, but going back up and having her mother yell at her for "sneaking out" was not something she looked forward to. Whimpering again, she noted that she was still naked, and had obviously been sprawled out on the cold floor. She looked up again at the sound of Kafei's dark laughter to find him sitting casually in his 'throne', his garnet eyes burning through the shadows.

She crawled over to him slowly, whimpering, and then rested her head on his lap. He began to stroke her hair, his fingers weaving through auburn locks softly, almost comfortingly.

"Sleep well?" He asked of her, grinning down at her slightly shaking form.

It had been at least three months since their little…rendezvous' had begun. Anju had come to accept it now; he was her master and she was his pet. The more she fought, the more she hurt. The more she accepted, the more Kafei seemed to act almost…gentle. She even liked it when he played with her hair like this, though it had taken her weeks for her to admit it to herself.

"Well?" Kafei's voice broke Anju's train of thought, and she moved to look up at him as if confused. He chuckled then, and ran a clawed thumb over her cheek. It hurt…but it was…nice, "Did you sleep well?" He repeated, certainly fake gentleness is his voice as his cold hand cupped her cheek. She looked down, shaking her head slightly, and then couldn't bring herself to look back up into his eyes.

Of course she hadn't slept well. The ground was cold and hard, and she had been more or less raped the night before. But of course, if she actually replied like that to Kafei, she would probably be killed.

"I..." She began, whimpering, "I need to leave..."

"What?" Any hint of gentleness or care was gone from Kafei's voice this time, and the hand in her hair grew more menacing than comforting.

"I…Master, I…" She whimpered, burying her face into his lap, "I'm sorry…my mother…she'll be so mad if I don't go home soo—aaiiihhhh!"

She cut herself off with a squeaking scream as Kafei's clawed hand roughly grasped her by the nape of her neck and lifted her up to eye level.

"You're not leaving me." He growled garnet eyes narrowed menacingly. He didn't seem to falter at all, watching her face contort in pain as his hand pulled constantly at the back of her neck and her hair, "You're mine."

"Y-you told me I could go home every morning!" Anju cried, reaching up to try and remove his hand from her. This only resulted in him roughly moving her onto his lap, his mouth moving down to the crook of her neck.

"Well it's not the morning anymore, now is it?" He grinned and bit down on the skin, his hands sliding down her naked sides almost s if he was trying to tease her.

…this was all too much. Anju finally felt herself break, and she collapsed against him in her sobs, hands clenching the soft and inviting fabric of his opened shirt. It wasn't pained cries this time, but rather sincere mournful sobs. Her life was ruined. She had a hell to go to every night and now a hell to go to every day thanks to her mother. She wanted to die.

"Please kill me. Please just kill me and let me wander around the well like all the others. Please…let me leave...but don't let me go back up there…" She sobbed into his shoulder, curling up in his lap, her fingers trembling as they clutched his shirt. She didn't know why she was confiding in Kafei…this was the man that raped her and beat her every night…and yet she felt attached to him in a way she couldn't explain.

And she hated it.

To her surprise, he did not respond by smacking her across the cheek, or digging his nails into her back. He made no effort to comfort her, but instead just sat there in silence, staring down at her; but that was alright. It was the most comfort Anju had received in monhs.

"Because you're mine." He replied after a few moments. This caused Anju to stop her crying briefly, pulling back to look up at him. The way he had said 'mine'…he had almost sounded like a little boy…

He was trying to look at her sternly, but he wasn't doing a good job. Anju immediately noted the faint concern in his expression, causing her to almost smile. Her sobs were silenced now…and slowly she let her head fall onto his shoulder, her warm breath curling against the cold skin of his neck. She remained like that until…she feel asleep…her last flickering thoughts being ones of amazement at Kafei's sudden display of…compassion…and…understanding.

Meanwhile, Kafei wanted to kick himself. He was just sitting there with some powerless little human girl sleeping on his lap, with his hands on her waist. And he wasn't doing anything. She had just yelled at him; snapped at him, and then begged for sympathy from him….a feat which should have brought about her death. But he couldn't bring herself to touch her in any harmful away.

It appeared the all-powerful Shadow Spirit had a soft spot.