Ok, it's been a while since I last updated. Sorry! But I'm back in school again, in college now. Don't fret! College work will never keep me from writting my stories! I shall continue to give you my works or writting! ...or something like that... Anyway, I don't have the reviews for the last chapter in front of my so I'll just say thank you all for reviewing and please continue to read my story!

Chapter 10

Night fell and the air chilled, but it didn't bother Gojyo as he stood outside smoking a cigarette. He took a drag and blew out the sweet smoke. The moon was nearly full and the stars shinning brightly. It was a beautiful night, one that was sometimes rare. He took another drag of the cancer stick and blew a smoke ring. It was a quiet night, one that was even more rare considering all the youkai that kept attacking them.

For some reason, his mind started to wander back to his mother. He remembered how she always cried whenever she would look at him. The face of his father and the woman she never knew. It had to have been hard for her, knowing that his father was with another woman, and a human no less. He couldn't blame her for wanting to kill him. A half demon. That's all that he was, the child of a youkai father that was born of a human mother. His red hair was proof of that. He hated his hair. It stood out like a warning or blood. Gojyo sighed a bit as he ran a hand through his crimson hair, the hair he wished he didn't have.

"Mind if I join you?" Gojyo blinked and looked at Kirashi as she walked out of the inn, already pulling out a cigarette of her own. She put the pack back and started digging in her pockets for her lighter.

"Sure, I don't mind," Gojyo said as he pulled out a lighter and lit it for her. Kirashi put the cigarette to the flame, took a drag blowing out the smoke, and nodded her thanks. They stood in content silence as they smoked outside.

"So, what's so important for you out West?" Gojyo asked, breaking the silence. He had been wondering what was bothering Kirashi so badly that she needed to head West.

"I have some unfinished business with someone who's most likely gone that way," Kirashi answered, leaning against the wall of the building as she took another drag.

"Is it this Yukio person I heard Maki talking about earlier?" Kirashi blinked and looked at him. She then sighed and nodded.

"Old boyfriend?"

"Fiancé actually. He sold us out to that innkeeper, and I plan to get revenge for it," Kirashi said, glaring at the ground. Obviously this was what was bothering her so much.

"So why head west? Something there you know he'll go after?"

"Well, not exactly. You see, when Hitachi came to visit with Julin, a sibling wanting to check up on her sister, we had a home out West. That's where we built a house with our own hands and planned to raise children there. But we decided to go with them for a while and explore the world before we settled down." Kirashi looked towards the sky. "It was our dream to have a family together, until we got separated. I planned to leave first thing in the morning to find him, but I never did get that chance."

Gojyo looked up at the sky as well. "So you think he'll return to that home?"

"I hope he does. That'll be his final resting place," Kirashi replied. She then smirked. "As they say, till death do us part."

Gojyo grinned a bit and looked at her. "You're serious about this huh?"

Kirashi laughed a bit, a laugh that Gojyo hadn't heard in a while. "Damn right I am. No one betrays me and gets away with it."

Gojyo chuckled a bit and looked back up at the sky. "Hey, Gojyo." He looked back at Kirashi, who looked back at him. She then reached over, gently tracing the scares on his cheek. "How did this happen?"

Gojyo blinked and then signed, turning his head back towards the sky. "Well, as you probably know by my hair and eyes, I'm a half demon. My father had me with a human mother, but the mother I lived with was a youkai, his current wife. She hated to look at me, knowing I wasn't her son but my father's." He gently touched the scares on his cheek. "I got these when she tried to kill me, tears always running down her face."

"She tried to kill you? Because you were a half demon?" Kirashi asked, listening to Gojyo's story.

Gojyo nodded. "Yeah, I would've allowed her to, so long as it made her happy. Anyway, when she was about to kill me, my brother killed her. My brother was her son, a full youkai. He killed his own mother, to save me."

"That must've been hard for him," Kirashi said as she looked back up at the moon. She never really knew her mother, but she could just imagine how hard it must've been to have to slay your own flesh and blood to save someone.

"Yeah. After that, he disappeared. Then I found him, only now he's Dokugakuji."

Kirashi blinked and coughed, nearly choking on the smoke in her lungs. "You're kidding? You mean that guy really was your brother?"

"Yeah, though he wasn't always that way. He was a pretty good guy back then," Gojyo said as he looked at the youkai woman.

"Man, this just keeps getting more and more confusing," Kirashi said as she rubbed her head a bit.

"Yeah, but anyway. My bro is full youkai so of course he was born to look like my youkai mother and father. While I was born to resemble my father and human mother. So it always made my mother cry to look at me." Gojyo took a piece of his crimson hair and looked at it. "It's also the reason I got this color hair. Red as blood."

Kirashi blinked at him. "You don't like your hair?"

Gojyo laughed slightly. "Not really. I see them more as being a warning or a beacon that I'm a half demon. Sometimes I really wish I could just cut it all off."

"Don't do that!" Gojyo blinked and looked at Kirashi. "I like your hair. You stand out above anyone else because of it. I think your hair is a sign that youkai and humans can live with one another without sacrificing anything." Gojyo blinked at Kirashi. She looked a bit upset at him for even saying that.

Kirashi reached over and ran her fingers through his crimson locks. "You're hair is beautiful, and it suites you. Never be ashamed of who or what you are. That's what Hitachi told me. She taught me that you should never let people judge you for what you are, because you can't choose those types of things. Be proud of it, because that is what makes you different from all the rest."

Gojyo stared at her a bit, her fingers still entwined in his hair. He never heard anyone say things like that. He always hated his hair, being the one thing that would tell people he was a half-breed. But from the way she put it, it didn't seem that bad. In a way, she sort of let him believe that it was ok to be a half-breed, if only for a little while.

Gojyo smirked a bit at her. "Well now, since you put it that way, I wont cut it all off again. Sound cool?"

"Good, cause then I'd have to kick your ass," Kirashi replied, her hand slipping from his crimson locks.

"I'll remember that," Gojyo said as he took another drag of his cigarette. He looked over at Kirashi as she looked back up at the sky, the cigarette dangling from her lips. He never noticed before but she was quite beautiful. Her hair was as dark as the night sky while her eyes were more like the burning embers from a fire. The scares that he could see suited her, letting people know not to piss her off. Gojyo smirked as he looked back up at the moon. Dokugakuji was right about one thing. She was quite a looker and strong to boot. Maybe hangin around them wasn't so bad after all.

Ok, that's chapter 10! Next up will be an encounter with Sanzo and Hitachi! And another surprising new twist! So be ready and review!