Chapter 15

(Enishi)

I left him there, not returning for a few hours. When I returned my demon was motionless where I had left him. I crouched beside the bed, looking into dull, clouded, lifeless eyes. The only reason I knew he was still alive was the rise and fall of his back.

I grinned. "I think I've broken you Battousai." He did nothing and I chuckled, standing and untying his wings. The bed was littered with loose feathers, and I picked on up, twirling it in my fingers. "Get up Battousai."

He obeyed wordlessly, standing before me on shaky legs. I snapped the leash on his collar, throwing a blanket over his shoulders and wings. "I'll get you clothes later." I got no response, just as I expected. I gave a tug at the leash and he followed me instantly, trailing listlessly behind me.

I led him into my main room. Now that he was trained and obedient I didn't need to keep him in the dungeons anymore. I sat at the table and sent for food for me and clothes for my oni-chan. (little demon)

They were brought and I threw the clothes at the boy besides me. "Get dressed." He did so slowly, having to work around the ropes still tying his hands together in front of him, along with the leash I held.

I ate slowly, enjoying the meat and fruits. The demon sat quietly on the floor beside me, now dressed in a hakama and a ruddy gi. The gi was ripped and torn, just like the hakama, so his wings were not hampered by the clothing. I held a small chunk of bread down to him.

He stared at it, looking confused. I shoved it into his bound hand. "Eat it oni." He took a bite hesitantly, watching me. I went back to my own food.

After a moment I felt a hand on my elbow and looked down into dull pleading eyes. A whimper sounded from his thin, bruised throat, and I saw what he wanted. I was holding a cup of wine, and his golden eyes were trained on it.

I blinked, and then nodded. "Very well." I sent for some water, some part of me knowing he needed it, so I consented to his wishes. Besides, he was begging, which meant he was learning his place as my pet.

A cup of water was placed before me and I handed it to him as he whined. He drank it greedily, and then set the cup on the table.

I put my hand up, and watched as he cringed. He was expecting me to hit him. Instead I patted his head lightly. "Good oni. You are learning."

He shrank down beneath my hand, but did not try to run. I grinned slightly. I had myself a pet.

One year later I still marveled at how blindly obedient he was. He did whatever I said, and I was growing tired of no resistance. And on thing confused me. He never spoke, not a word escaped his lips.

I led him from my room early in the morning, going outside of the castle. "You need a bath my oni-chan. We're going to the river."

He walked quietly, nodding slightly and making his still short red hair sway around his thin face. I liked his hair that way, so I had kept cutting it.

Once we reached the river I unbuckled the leash and looped it around his hands as I always did. "Go on."

He waded into the water fully clothed, and I could see the tensing of his muscles through the rips as the current tugged at him. The river was full of melting ice and snow from the winter, so it was stronger than usual.

He ducked underwater, but did not resurface. I frowned, searching for him. I spotted him an instant later, being swept downstream. I let out a shout, running towards him. His bound hands were reaching to me, fear covering his features, the first emotion I'd seen from him in a long time. A large piece of ice suddenly careened into him and he was knocked underwater.

The next thing I heard was the only thing I would ever hear from him besides the whines and whimpers: his scream as he was taken over the falls.

I never saw him again. It wasn't until years later that I would even learn he was still alive. Until then, I would wait, and wonder what had become of my little demon pet.

(Kaoru)

I breathed deep of the cool air, walking towards my home in Tokyo. I had only just finished my first return to teaching after winter, and was heading home. I taught Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, my father's sword style. I lived alone in my dojo, my mother had died when I was young, and my father had died in the Revolution only 2 years before. Though I was only 17, I carried on our sword style proudly, now teaching at many dojos as well as my own.

I still had my bokken resting on my shoulder, and I swung it down to push it through my hakama's belt. It was still a little cold outside, and I tucked my hands into my cloak. As I walked over the bridge I looked down at the water and raised my hands to my mouth to hold in a scream. I ran quickly down to the bank, my heart thumping madly in my chest.

There was a body floating in the river, stuck between rocks and a branch. I pulled at the arm, dragging it from the water. I nearly cried at the state of the person.

It was a male, a young boy by the looks of it. He was so skinny I could make out nearly every bone in his body. His hands were fastened together in front of him with what looked like a leash and there was a leather collar around his neck. His entire body was covered with bruises, cuts, welts, and scars, and I brushed some of the short crimson hair away from his pale face. "You poor creature…" I whispered.

I thought he was dead, from the paleness and listless way his limbs lay. I idly examined his body further, and it was then I saw the two battered wings on his back. I gasped, reaching out a hand to touch them. My fingers brushed a wound and the wing twitched.

I looked to the boy's chest. 'Dead bodies don't just twitch.' I thought. There! Nearly imperceptible, but there was a slightly rise and fall to the boy's chest. 'He's alive!'

I quickly flung one of his limp arms around my neck, wrapping an arm around his ribcage. His head fell to my shoulder and I pulled him up with me. He was a little taller than I was, but I managed. My dojo wasn't too far away; I knew that I could get the boy there without much trouble.

When I arrived I lay him on a futon, covering his frozen body with a blanket. He did not react, which worried me greatly.

I heard a call at the gate, and I reluctantly left the injured boy to answer it. Yahiko Myojin, one of my students, stood there. "Hey busu (ugly)," he said as I opened the door.

"Not now Yahiko!" I snapped. "I want you to go run and get my friend Doctor Megumi Takani, quickly!"

He seemed confused, but did as I told him. I returned to the boy's side, watching him worriedly. 'What happened to you?'