Disclaimer: My situation hasn't changed since last time… Still don't own it…

A/N: I realize there is nothing I can say that will make it up to all of you wonderful readers who've waited so long for this. All I can tell you is why I haven't updated in so long and hope that you all understand. I have been going through a very busy and tough time in my life, with a lot of changes that has taken some time to adapt to. Since I last updated, I went to three different national championships, sent in portfolios to universities, graduated high school, moved across the country for university and very recently finished my first midterms. I hope I haven't lost any of you readers along the way and I hope you can still enjoy this fic. Now, as you've waited far longer than you should have, on with the fic!

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Of Age and Era

Chapter 6: The Devious

"That demon you just met, that was their leader, Kon Rei," explained Mizuhara Max. "It's a good thing I got here in time and he fled," the boy continued, "or you guys may have been seriously hurt."

"He's not getting away with our food that easily," a voice growled over Mizuhara's. Mizuhara turned to see Kai looking at him dangerously. "Don't get in my way!" he added to the young monk. Mizuhara nervously took a step backward and looked as if he could never dream of getting between Kai's sword and his target.

But something seemed to disturb the monk and he regained his composure. "It's too late. Just let the demon go. How about I treat you all to a meal at my place?" Mizuhara suggested. Hiromi, Takao and Kyouju all looked thrilled at the idea.

"Not a chance!" Kai snapped and he took off. Apologizing to Mizuhara for Kai's behaviour, Takao, Hiromi and Kyouju took off after Kai. To their surprise, Mizuhara came as well. However, the monk was much quicker on his feet than he looked and he, along with Kai, was soon out of sight.

Meanwhile, Kai chased the demon Kon Rei through the trees and brush. He ignored the branches which scratched at his face and arms and just focused on his view ahead. He could see the demon through the branches now. He was catching up to it. He could hear its devilish laugh. He thought this was fun. Kai would show the nekojin his idea of fun and games.

The laughter died suddenly as it was replaced with a gasp. Within seconds, the demon was hanging by a rope over a tree branch. His foot had been caught in the trap when he was paying attention to the angry samurai following him. The food that had once been in his arms now littered the ground, broken apart and ruined. "Oh great," he said exasperatedly as he rolled his eyes.

Kai stopped a few feet away from the demon and smirked. "Not too smart. You give a bad name even to demons," Kai mocked. "I'll put you out of your misery. Which do you prefer, to lose your head or your hear – Oops, my mistake, you have no heart."

"Ha, ha," Kon Rei feigned a laugh.

"Aha! You fell into my trap, demon!" Mizuhara Max announced a little too boldly as he came onto the scene.

Kai looked at him annoyed. "I thought I told you not to get in my way, monk!"

"Oh, come on. I wasn't going to let you have all the fun. Especially since I've been hunting him for a while."

"Then you can't be a very good demon hunter if such a weak demon could elude you for so long," Kai pointed out.

"Uh – well, I – he's very cunning, though he might not look it. He appears to be weak to throw unsuspecting prey like you into a false sense of security," Max explained.

"You think I could ever be caught off guard?" Kai growled

"Sure, everyone can be caught off guard at some point."

"Maybe you," Kai mumbled, more than a little annoyed now.

Takao, Kyouju and Hiromi finally caught up with them. They stopped when they saw the face-off happening between the monk and their friend. "You should listen to him, kid," the demon's playful voice rang. "I am much more dangerous than I look. If you continue to pester me, I will go after every last one of you and I won't stop until you're all dead!" Kon Rei began to laugh a joyous sort of bark. Nobody moved. Kai turned to stare at the demon hanging from the tree with his cold, red-eyed gaze. "Of course," Kon Rei started in after thought, "It might be a waste of mytime with someone as small and weak as you are."

Kai moved so quickly, Kon Rei shook in shock. Kai was in his face, his sword's blade against the demon's throat. He was looking straight into Kon Rei's eyes. "I could kill you now if I wanted to, but I wouldn't bother wasting my skill on such a weak demon." The two of them looked intently into the other's eyes, refusing to back down and concede the fight. Then, suddenly, Kon Rei's expression softened and he broke into a light laugh.

"Where'd you meet a guy like this, Max? He's hilarious! I like your new friends – real sense of humour this one has!" The four travellers were taken aback. Max sighed.

"You know, you're not supposed to give our secret away, Rei." Takao, Kai, Kyouju and Hiromi turned to face Max. He was shaking his head, but smiling.

"Aw, come on. I can tell they're not from around here. They won't care, I'm sure of it. Now come on and get me down, my head's starting to feel heavy." To the astonishment of the others, Max headed over to the tree and released the trap. Rei fell to the ground and landed on all fours before standing up. He proceeded to brush himself off.

"Well, we sure did give the villagers a show for their money today," Max went on saying.

"Um, excuse me," Takao started. Max and Rei turned to see four pairs of eyes staring in their direction. "What exactly is going on here?"

"I suppose we have no choice but to tell you now," Max sighed. He seemed very light-hearted considering Rei seemed to have just given up some huge secret of theirs. "Maybe we should all sit down." Max found a nice patch of dry grass and sat down. The others followed suit other than Kai who chose to stay leaning against the tree where Rei had been tied up. "This all started about six months ago. You see, I was hired by the villagers to 'dispose of their demon problems'. I took the job; I needed the money for food and, of course, it was my duty as well. So I started hunting down the demons. After a few days, I managed to trap one – her name's Mao. She told me that they weren't doing anything against the people and she begged me to let her go. Of course, at first I didn't believe her. I mean, who would listen to a demon in a profession such as mine? That was when she used her spirit demon to contact Rei and bring him to me. That was the first time I met Rei," Max smiled at Rei. "Rei overpowered me and once I was defenceless, he told me his story. I sat there and listened, naturally, and finally, it all made sense."

"Rei told me about the deal he had with the King; he even brought the papers to prove it. It turned out that Rei and his clan had agreed to stop hunting the villagers and any of their livestock in order to live peacefully. In fact the agreement had been around for several months already by that point and they had never broken it. But the villagers were a little less thrilled about having demons nearby. They didn't believe that Rei and the others could leave them in peace and so, they hired me to get rid of them. Unfortunately for them, they didn't take into account the idea that I may not be as much of a cold-blooded demon-killer as they might have thought I was. And so, I made my own little partnership. Rei or one of the nekojin will run about town every now and then, and I'll chase after them and get whatever it is that was stolen back, but unfortunately, the demon will get away," Max winked. "Of course, every now and then I will fail to get all the food back. Those are the nights we have a great feast. And the money I earn from the village helps pay for nice meals too. All in all, it's a win/win situation."

"Not for the villagers," Kyouju pointed out.

"Oh, come on, they're the ones who were undermining the King's decree. I am loyal to the King, not to his subjects. It serves them right for going back on their word." Max nodded forcefully as if what he said could never be truer. He really did believe himself a saint.

Hiromi smiled. "It's good to hear that there are at least some still loyal to my fa – " she stopped herself after catching a look from Kai. His eyes were wide with warning. "To my Lord Tatibana," she recovered herself.

"Anyway, we should head out. If someone comes this way, it would be best not to be found here," Rei stated. He had a very dark look on his face and with his legs and arms crossed and his brow furrowed, he looked like he was thinking very deeply.

"Yeah, come on," Max said, "we can repay you for the meal Rei ruined."

"Hey!" Rei protested playfully at having his name thrown in with the act he was very aware of committing earlier. Max just beamed at him. For a monk who used to fight demons, Max was a very positive person. He seemed to like smiling a lot. It gave him a very carefree appearance and people couldn't help but like him. It was probably why it was such a shock for Takao, Hiromi, Kyouju and Kai to find out that he'd been swindling the villagers for six months already.

Rei on the other hand, gave a very down-to-earth feel. He was rough around the edges, his bright eyes and long hair and scruffy tail showed that much, but he, too, seemed very kind underneath.

All in all, both were very likeable.

Takao accepted Max's offer to food, something he couldn't wait to get his hands on, and so the group followed Max and Rei as they led them through the forest to a small rocky area. A small cliff rose up the backside of a hill. That was where Rei and his band of demons lived. Rei carried Hiromi and Kyouju up but Kai and Takao both managed the climb on their own. Max, who obviously visited often, climbed the cliff as easily as Rei. Once the newcomers were faced with the inside of a small cave, they looked around and studied the demon's home. It was very quaint to, say the least, and clean. Some human objects, such as rugs and tables were set up around the small space. In one corner, a female nekojin with pink hair and amber eyes sat counting inventory on the food they had. Across from her, another nekojin, this one male, was resting against the wall. When Rei stepped in, thetwo nekojin looked up.

"The others are out," the male nekojin stated, not looking at Rei, but eyeing the company he had behind him.

"Okay," Rei said simply. "We have guests tonight. These are travellers Max and I had the pleasure to come across. The red-eyed one has a great sense of humour," he added, turning to smile at Kai. Kai was pouting slightly. He hadn't wanted to come here. He grew up being taught to hate demons after all, but he had no choice. He knew the others could really use a good meal and he didn't want to return to the village to get more food. That would look suspicious to say the least. Besides, there would be no arguing with Tyson. Kai already sensed what a strong will the young samurai had and he had no desire to make a scene in front of these strangers. The sooner the night was over and they were on their way, the better.

"Anyway, this is Rai and Mao," Rei said introducing the two other demons. "And I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've done proper introductions yet," he said turning to Hiromi. She stared back.

"Right, call me Takao!" Takao said stepping up happily, unaware that the question was directed towards a different individual. And this here's Hiromi and that's Kyouju and Mr. Freeze over there is Kai." Kai put his head in his hand. Did Takao know how to keep his mouth shut? It seemed doubtful indeed. But after a moment, the conversation continued on and it appeared that Max and Rei and the others missed the connection between Hiromi's name and the Princess's. 'Perhaps things will work out after all,' Kai thought.

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It turned out that Rei was an excellent cook. Takao was especially a fan of his food and by then end of the meal he ate just as much as Hiromi, Kyouju and Kai combined. Hiromi had tried to stop him, telling him how rude it was for him to stuff so much food in his mouth, but Rei insisted that he eat as much as he wanted.

Sitting by a roaring fire that provided light and heat for the party, the acquaintances became fast friends and over the hours, they told stories and jokes to one another like old friends and played several games to pass the time. The only one who didn't join in the talk and games was Kai. After eating, he left the cave and sat watch outside on the edge of the cliff, his eyes scanning over the forest like the eyes of a hawk. No one seemed to have followed them thus far. Everything was going as planned. If this kept up, it wouldn't be much longer before it was over.

"Hey Kai, what'cha doing out here when all of your buddies are in there?" Rei said coming out of the cave to join Kai outside.

"Leave me alone demon. I have more important things I need to think about than the gossip in there." He nodded toward the entrance of the cave.

"All right, I get it. You don't like me because I'm a demon. It's humans like you that ruin the relations for all humans and demons," Rei said, suddenly bitter.

"And what kind of a human would that be?" Kai asked spitefully.

"You think you're so superior to everyone else. You don't consider anyone else even remotely as important as you consider yourself. Why, I wouldn't even be surprised if you're using those people in there and trying to pass yourself off as their friend until you're done! It's people like you who make me sick! People like you are the reason the King was never able to settle agreements between all humans and demons before he died!"

Kai broke from his indifferent stare out into the wilderness and snapped his head towards Rei. Rei was staring at Kai with vigour and suspicion. He couldn't know about the King. News about it should have been far behind them. They left it lying there in the rubble and burning ashes of the castle. So how did this demon know?

Kai regained his composure. "I don't know what you're talking about. The King can't be dead. I would've heard about it."

Rei moved up to the edge of the cliff and sat down right next to Kai. His expression was unreadable, even for Kai. "I've heard the rumours of grey clouds of smoke hanging over the castle and I recognize Princess Hiromi's scent. I was invited personally to the castle to discuss the relations between humans and demons with the King. I met her once. She doesn't remember but I remember her. I remember her and her scent. I know the Hiromi in there is the Princess, whether or not you'll admit it." Rei paused. Kai stayed quiet. He didn't know how to answer. He realized he couldn't make up a lie to get out of this situation, but he wasn't about to confirm the demon's – Rei's – thoughts on the matter. "I'm going with you guys tomorrow," Rei announced to Kai. It wasn't a request, but Kai would still fight him on it.

"No you're not. A demon would attract too much attention and it will put them in danger." Kai stated.

"Well, I'm not so sure that they're not in danger already." Was it just Kai's imagination or did Rei growl that last sentence? He looked Rei in the eye again. Rei was trying to read Kai's face.

"What is it?" Kai said with his own force put behind his words.

"Once stained with blood, its scent never completely goes away. You reek of the blood of many and I don't doubt that they were victims of your sword. I'm just worried that you plan on taking the lives of the children in there as well. I'm coming tomorrow."

Kai and Rei were locked in yet another battle of looks. "You can't – "

Rei cut him off. "Do they know? Do they know how many you've killed?"

"They know I am an elite Samurai."

"Yes, but even a samurai doesn't kill as much as you have. Not even in their whole lives and you're still so young." Kai considered Rei for a moment. It was true. If Takao or Kyouju heard Rei's account of how many he'd killed, they would know that the figures were beyond high. Kai couldn't think of a counter-argument in which Rei didn't reveal his secret and he needed Hiromi's and the other's trust. Without it, nothing would succeed.

Kai bowed his head in defeat. Rei stood up. "Good, I'm going in there to tell everyone the good news, new travelling buddy of mine."

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And that's all for this chapter folks! Once again I'm terribly sorry for not updating sooner. I will try to get the next chapter out faster, especially since it's supposed to be a little smaller. Well, I will give you permission to shoot me if I take any longer getting the next chapter out than I did with this one. :p But in all honesty, it shouldn't be as long a wait. Well, the next chapter title is Entrapment. Things are going to start heating up again!Until then!

.:Fey Phantom:.