The demons lurked in the shadows as Kanbei and the men he had commanded were coming back from a long day of rooting out gangs and discontent in the Yuurei district, Kanbei tired from having to deal with the strain of having to soothe the men's fears as well as fight physical battles. The demons, sensing that Kanbei was tired, decided that it would be a good time to attack, since the other men would only be able to wound them a little, and those wounds would heal quickly.

They didn't expect, when Kanbei fought back against their ambush, that Kanbei would have a Cursed sword.

Kanbei made quick work of the demons, even as some the men he had worked with ran away in pure terror. He sighed, unhappy, and worried. This wasn't a random attack. This was thought out and focused. But why...to get to Kyuuzou. That's why. If there were demons, it had something to do with Kyuuzou. He collected and soothed the other men, who were all wary of him and his sword that could kill demons. His calm,rational words eventually got them walking back to the castle, Kanbei bringing up the rear in case of another attack.

---

"Wonderful! Now my patrols are being attacked!" the Lord exclaimed, frustrated. "Who is able to control these creatures?"

Kyuuzou watched the Lord pace back and forth, already having an educated guess as to who might be behind this.

He made a pact with that...Demon...when he escaped, and so can now control some ranks of demons. But, the question is, what is the price he's going to pay...?

He sought out Kanbei as soon as he was relieved of duty, but was dettered by the fact that he was surrounded by other people. But he wanted to check if he was unharmed, make certain for himself that there was no demon-infected wound on him. He looked around and saw that Kanbei's shadow was touching the shadow of the wall where Kyuuzou was standing.

How convienet.

Kyuuzou made the small switch into being a shadow rather than flesh and blood and slipped into Kanbei's shadow. He moved along until he was directly behind Kanbei. His hands slowly began to trace down Kanbei's back, checking that first, and felt Kanbei jump a little, yet managed to continue the conversation with little hitch. It was only when Kyuuzou ran his hands over his butt and down his legs that Kanbei had to excuse himself, after finding a break in the conversation. The soldiers, not noticing anything to be wrong with Kanbei, bid him a good night and watched as he walked away, only one feeling as if something was wrong with Kanbei's shadow, but, blamed it on bad lighting, and turned back to his friends.

---

Kanbei closed the door to his room behind him, and then growled in annoyance.

"What were you doing? That was not an appropriate time!"

Kyuuzou melted out of Kanbei's shadow and walked around him, running his hands down one arm, then his chest, then the other arm.

"You are unharmed."

"I'm better than you think I am," Kanbei said dryly.

Kyuuzou reached up and pulled Kanbei's face down so that it was even with his own.

"Demons are not humans."

Kyuuzou's eyes were filled with rebuke and annoyance, but underneath the obvious emotions were anxiety and relief.

"You've been looking a little...sick, these last days, Kyuuzou."

Kyuuzou let Kanbei's neck go and refused to say anything in return to that statement.

"Kyuuzou. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Kyuuzou."

Kyuuzou looked back at Kanbei, his eyes bordering on being distant, yet also annoyed. "It's nothing."

"Liar."

Kyuuzou bristled. There were two things he hated people calling him, and that was one of them. Kanbei saw this, and waited.

"The light...is...unpleasent."

"What do you mean?"

"The longest light of the year is a few days from now."

"So?"

"The shadows are smallest then."

Kanbei understood. "I see." Kanbei reached out and touched Kyuuzou's face, sliding his fingers down Kyuuzou's cheek to his jaw, to tilt his head up.

"Take it easy tommorrow. Don't overexert yourself if you feel ill."

"I'll be fine." Kyuuzou snapped.

Kanbei's look told Kyuuzou that he didn't believe him. Kyuuzou's eyes were slowly becoming cold, but Kanbei leaned down and kissed Kyuuzou, only to find himself drawn into a more heated kiss, and drawn closer to the younger man. They broke away after a long moment, and looked at each other.

"You be careful, too, Kanbei."

"I will be."

---

Toshiyo was displeased by the news of their failure to capture Kanbei, but had really expected no less. He sat and thought, planning out carefully what he would do. To make a mistake would be fatal at this point. Once he had the plan entirely laid out in his head, he rested, and dreampt of which demons he should use; which were most tolerant to light, which ones would be able to overwhlem a swordsman with a Cursed sword, which would be able to jam any emotions or thoughts from reaching Kyuuzou through Kanbei. He slept for two days straight, drawing all his energy reserves, so that he would be able to both summon and control the demons he needed. After all, it would not be good if they suddenly turned on him,finding it better to ally themselves with a fellow demon than a hated human. He awoke, refreshed and ready, and began the difficult, painful process of calling and binding all the demons he needed to his will.

Author: This is a short chapter because the next two or three will be VERY long and VERY detailed. So, this is a nice, little break for eyes before you begin to slave through elaborate stuff. Not that it won't befun to write/read. Anyway...I love you all, even more if you comment! By the way...I want chapter names for all of these, but I don't know what to name them,which is why they have the original titles "Chapter 1", Chapter 2" and so on. help is appreciated!