Chapter 3: The healing flame and its curse

A short while after Kaijin disappeared with a mortally injured Kagura, the male youkai approached an enormous rock that protruded out of the ground. It reached a towering height of 19 feet and cast a dark shadow over him as he stood in front of it. Kaijin made sure that no one was watching him, and held Kagura with one arm with his unimaginable strength, while placing his left hand on the strange rock. His hand made contact with the cold stone and a ripple appeared in front of him. The natural abnormality was far more than that. It was his home, hidden from all prying eyes. Kaijin placed his arm underneath Kagura and entered quickly, and once inside the ripple disappeared, concealing the entrance once more.

The interior of Kaijins' home was pitch black, shrouded in darkness, his eyes began to glow a fiery red, and without saying a word, torches that were mounted on the walls lit up. Kaijin hastened his pace and walked past a few locked rooms, until finally coming to one that was wide open. It was his bedroom. Kaijin carefully laid Kagura on his bed, and pulled his arms from underneath her back. As he did that, he realized that she was still bleeding heavily, he ran out of the room and retrieved a clean piece of cloth. Moving as fast as he could he walked back inside, standing over her motionless body, biting his lip. To stop her bleeding he would have to remove her kimono, and clean off her deep injury.

His hand was caked with dried blood. He hesitated as it hovered over her chest. "Why didn't I just leave her back there?" he thought to himself.

Kaijin placed his hand on the blood-soiled kimono and removed it. He gently lifted her up as he pulled it off of her body. Kaijin looked away a number of times, feeling aroused by her shapely figure. After removing her kimono, Kaijin looked away again, realizing that his guest was completely nude. He began wiping off the dry blood on her body as fast as he could, continually looking away. Once she was cleaned up, Kaijin placed the palm of his hand over the large wound, and he closed his eyes. What he was about to do, he did for no one. A strange crimson flame covered his hand, as he pressed down, Kaijin started to tense up in pain, suffering, he was taking the mortal injury away from her and making it his own. Healing her completely, he staggered backwards, as blood began to seep from his clothing and onto his armor. Kaijin felt strange, it wasn't the wound that was causing him severe pain, it was something deep within his heart, as if he was losing his.

Kaijin clutched his new injury and fell on his knees, holding in the desire to let out a scream of pain. His blood dripped onto the stone floor and he looked back at Kagura who was completely nude. Using the last of his strength he grabbed a large pelt of fur and covered her, before he fell beside the bed next to her.

Kaijin could not take his eyes off of her, and he pressed down hard on his wound, and with his other hand he retrieved his sword from behind him. It is unclear to us, the reader, if he did that for the sole purpose of protecting her, in case someone happened to find them, or if was meant for his protection against her. Kaijin began to nod off, facing Kagura, hoping that she wouldn't wake before him.

One day passed, and a completely recovered Kagura opened her eyes, she sat up quickly, confused, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings. At first she was more worried about the demon that tried to violate and kill her, and found it to be nowhere. But, there was one familiar face in the room with her, the young male youkai. Kagura quietly slipped out of bed and stopped dead.

"Where are my clothes?" she panicked looking around, feeling defenseless and vulnerable without them. Kagura placed her arm over her firm breast and felt the wound was mysteriously gone, but how, she thought, even she wasn't capable of healing from a wound that deep. She scanned the room and saw that they were lying beside Kaijin, but she also noticed that he was holding the sheath of his sword in one hand.

Kagura stealthily tiptoed over to Kaijin and bent down, ready to take her clothing, when she heard him moan and move. Instead of taking her clothing, her hand softly grasped the handle of the sword and pulled it out from its bamboo sheath. Kaijin opened his eyes, as the cold blade pressed against his throat.

His eyes moved to the side, following the blade to the person holding it, "you're awake…if you're going to take my head, at least thank me first." He asked.

Kagura pressed the sharp blade even more, causing a small amount of blood to trickle down his Kaijin's neck, "Why should I thank you?" she asked.

Kaijin keep his head up high, knowing that if he lowered it the razor sharp blade would take his head off with little to no effort, "I could've left you to die at the hands of that mongoloid youkai, but I didn't. Even when I cut its head clean off, I could've left you back there to die, but I didn't. So the least you could do for me, before you kill me, is thank me. You owe me that…" Kaijin looked her in the eyes, and saw some reluctance to kill him.

Kagura became angered and she squeezed on the handle of the sword and pulled it away, giving Kaijin a hateful glare, "You stupid, arrogant man! Why couldn't you leave me back there to die?" she asked. Kagura dropped the sword and grabbed her clothing off the ground. She threw her tattered kimono on and walked away from Kaijin.

"do you want to know why I couldn't leave you back there?" he muttered.

"…" Kagura stopped and looked back.

"I just couldn't leave you to die."

"What? But why?" she asked. "You don't owe me anything. I tried to kill you." She yelled.

"I know, but when you were on the verge of killing me, I didn't resist because I was lost in your beauty." Kaijin slowly got on his feet, and made his way over to his bed. On his way there, he stumbled, falling on his face. Kagura walked over to him, feeling in debt to him, she helped him up. The wind sorceress took his arm over her shoulder, and led him to his bed. When he sat down, he smiled, and Kagura felt strange and she looked away from him, as he looked into her eyes.

Kagura moved away from him and began to walk away again, when Kaijin said something to her, "thank you for not killing me when you had the chance." He said in a weak voice.

"…if we do meet again, I'll kill you and take your head." She replied.

Kaijin frowned as Kagura walked out of his room. Kaijin tried to remove his protective armor and groaned loudly in pain, as he reached to his back. The pain that was going through his body caused a tear to run down his eye, as he finally pulled it off.

Kagura gritted her teeth, she didn't know why, but she felt guilty leaving Kaijin in his current condition. She walked back into his room and saw the surprised look on his face, when she reentered. The wind sorceress carefully pulled his blood-drenched haori off and removed the rest of his clothing, revealing his muscular build, and the wound that he took from her. Kaijin smiled, thanking her silently, but she continued to look away, just as he did as he tended to her wound.

Kagura bandaged Kaijin and listened to his delirious rambling, she was astonished that he was able to survive the wound that nearly ended her miserable life. Kaijin spoke incoherently for an hour, before finally falling into a deep sleep. Not wanting to stick around any longer Kagura made her way out of his room once more, and searched frantically for a way out. She spent two hours using her abilities, trying to create an exit, but the stonewalls were highly resistant to her powers. At one point she even tried to open the closed doors, hoping to find an exit behind them, but they were sealed shut, immune to magic and physical strength.

"Kuso, what is this place?" she cursed, tired from her failed efforts, she looked around for a place to rest, but found none. And she wasn't going to stoop low as to sleep on the cold hard ground, she had no choice but to wander back into Kaijin's room. Kagura blew out the torches that lit the room and could be heard slipping out of her clothing and under the warm pelt.

…End chapter.

AN: I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, I'm trying to divert from my well-known ultra-violence style and build on these two characters. Giving both more depth than anyone ever has, showing that even though they're youkai, they have hearts beating in them. I might throw in some violence in either the next chapter or maybe the one after that. Please send me any idea's, feedback, comments…you get the point. I value everything you guys have to say, good or bad.

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