Emiko brought her face up to get a better look at the demon's face. He appeared to be in his late adult years, but at the same time he looked very strong and the kind of person you wanted to befriend. His eyes stared at her intently.

"I'm so sorry sir if I was intruding, but my curiosity got the better of me. When I saw the large tent I just had to get a better look. Please forgive me," Emiko sputtered out quickly, while giving a deep bow. The demon gazed at the young maiden with curiosity.

"So you are the young human that everyone is talking about. We have never had a human in our presence before and many here have never met a live human face to face before. So tell me young maiden what is your name?" the demon said with an emotionless voice.

"I unfortunately remember nothing of my past or of who I am, but one of your comrades has given me the name Emiko for the time being," nervously replied the young woman.

"Well my lady Emiko, if you would please grant me the pleasure of accompanying me I have something I'd like to show you." The demon said, showing no emotions.

Should I go with him, Emiko thought. All she had wanted to do was stretch her aching and sore muscles, and she had no idea who this guy was.

He could mean trouble, her inner self told her.

Or he could be kind, she told herself.

Ha! Don't make me laugh. Have you forgotten that demons and humans hate each other? Her inner self stated.

Just shut up and go away, Emiko said shaking her head slightly. When she looked up the demon was already walking away. Without a second thought Emiko ran quickly after him, only slowing when she was by his side.

As they slowly made their way through the camps, Emiko saw the way the other demons peered at them. At first glance of her they would send looks of disgust her way, but when they saw the demon she was walking with they quickly scurried off. The young maiden would occasionally look up at the stranger demon next to her, trying to figure him out, but his face showed no emotions.

After a good amount of walking the demon lead her out into the woods. At first Emiko was unsure, for all she knew he could be leading her to her death. All uncertain thoughts were put to the side as the duo pressed onward, deep into the forest.

Emiko staggered a few times as she tripped on branches and vines, but immediately pulled herself together and kept on marching through. She would, under no circumstances appear weak in the eyes of anyone, especially this demon. Emiko was determined to show these demons that she was not just some ordinary, everyday, greedy human, who couldn't survive by themselves.

"We are here, human, so you can rest now," the demon said after the longest time, as he stood at the edge of a cliff. Emiko slowly made her way to his side and gasped. Before them was a beautiful valley, where the trees were many gorgeous colors of greens. Fields of freshly bloomed flowers were everywhere. The signs of a snow storm having been there just a few days ago were impossible to find.

"It's beautiful," was all Emiko could say as she feels to her knees. The sight was absolutely breathtaking.

"I had no idea you humans could enjoy nature's beauty like this, for you seem far too busy trying to destroy it," the demon said, not taking his eyes from the valley. Emiko let out a small gasp at his comment. She couldn't tell if he was serious or joking, but something told her better then to ask.

"Humans and demons are not that different, or at least from what I can tell. Do we not all feel emotions, cry, laugh, feel happiness? I don't know why the demons and the humans fight, but I find that it is very silly in my opinion," replied the human, shocking the demon before her.

Katsu was right, she is not like any other human we have seen before, the demon thought.

"You are very wise for someone, whom has lost all their memories."

"It does not take much thinking or memories for that matter to see that this fighting is pointless," Emiko said trying to keep her anger under control.

You must not make a fool of yourself in front of this demon. He is just testing you or trying to get underneath your skin, so stay strong, she ordered herself.

"Sir demon, if I may ask a question?" asked Emiko, when she realized something.

"Yes?"

"I have just come to realize that I have been dragged all through the forest by a demon, who's name I have not yet been told."

"My name is Kurai and I am the leader of the fox demons here in this clan, whom has been caring for you these past few days." The demon lord said with pride. In his clan the strongest were made leader of each group of demon, so it was an honor to be given such an important position.

Emiko quickly rose to her feet when he introduced himself, and she held out her hand enthusiastically.

"It is a pleasure to meet you my lord," replied the young female, still holding out her hand. As the demon slowly held out his clawed hand, a loud shout was heard from the forest, and from what they could tell it was getting closer.

"Emiko!" a raspy and almost hysterical voice shouted. Kurai immediately recognized the voice and chuckled, as the young human girl stood perplexed.

When Katsu had realized Emiko was gone, he panicked for reason unknown to him. She was after all a weak, defenseless, selfish, and rude human after all, so why should he care. This woman was giving him nothing but problems and it frustrated him.

The woman's scent soon mixed in with another scent, which caused him to panic even more. Kurai, the leader of the fox demons in his clan was with the human. He could only imagine the trouble she was getting herself into. The demon leader was kind, but could be very fierce at times.

Katsu continued to follow the scents, deep into the woods until he came to a clearing. When Emiko's scent became stronger, he bellowed her name as loud as his lungs would let him. Emiko and Kurai stood at the edge of the cliff, looking at him like he had the black plague or something along those means.

"Emiko are you ok?" asked the young fox demon when he came to stand by the duo. He sniffed the woman slightly, finding that she was unharmed. Besides being on the tired side and the wounds she had when they first found her, she was just fine from what he could tell.

"I'm just fine Katsu," The woman said smiling at him, "Kurai-sama here merely wanted to show me something, and I wanted to stretch out my sore limbs."

"As you can see Katsu, the human girl is unharmed and in good spirits, so you may end this fury of yours." The elder fox demon said.

"Father, why did you bring her out here?" questioned the younger fox demon. Bewildered by what he just said, Emiko looked from the younger demon to the older demon. They carried some of the same facial features, but the resemblance was very weak.

Did he just say father, Emiko wondered.

"Excuse me, but did you just say father?" Emiko managed to say, still looking at the two in shock.

"Is something wrong human?" the elder demon questioned.

"No, I guess I never expected someone like Katsu to be your son, and for that I ask for your forgiveness," Emiko said, taking a deep bow to show she was sorry if she had offended them. The two demons stared at the woman in wonder and curiosity. Any anger or tension that might have been there had disappeared.

After studying the human for a moment, Kurai gracefully turned on his heel and made his way to the forest, not bothering to utter any words as to why he was leaving. Kurai, was known to just leave without a say as to why he was leaving or where he was going to. He mostly did this in frustrating meetings with other demon "lords", leaving them there to rip out each other's throats.

"Did I say something to offend him?" questioned the human, when the fox demon elder left the area suddenly.

"No, it's just his nature. Ever since I could remember he would do that whenever he had many thoughts on his mind, or for no apparent reason." Katsu said in a matter of fact way. The demon turned to look at the female again, to see that she was smiling at him with such a warm and pleasant face.

"We should probably get going now, Kirei is probably worried sick about you," the demon lied. The silence and her smile were starting to make him uncomfortable, so he desperately wanted to get back to camp. He turned his back to her and kneeled on the ground, so he could carry her back. He figured after all that walking, she probably had no strength left to make the trip back. It amazed him that she was able to make it this far, without needing assistance.

When Emiko heard Katsu reply, she smiled. Kurai might seem a little scary and mysterious, but she could tell deep down that he was a really kind person. The demons back in the camp, from what she could tell, respected him and would do anything he said.

"Excuse me Katsu, but may I ask what you are doing," she asked when she saw him kneel on the ground. Had she missed something while her mind had been wandering?

"You'll slow me down if you walk, so it will be much easier and faster if I carry you. Get on, before I change my mind." Katsu said, getting slightly annoyed. Emiko inched slowly over to him and hesitated, before he told her to move it while he was still young. Emiko climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. When she was settled and he had a good hold on her, Katsu rose from the ground and began to speed off in to the forest.

Emiko was not used to the speed at which demons moved, so when Katsu quickly made his way back to camp she let out a small shriek, but quickly stopped when she remembered his sensitive hearing. She must be strong and just ignore the fact that her stomach was doing flip flops. At the speed they were moving at, she would only have to act strong for bit longer.

Katsu tightened his hold on Emiko's legs when he heard her shriek. Her shriek hurt his sensitive, demon ears, but the pain stopped when the shrieking stopped. Katsu cursed under his breath for not remembering that humans were not used to such speeds, so it was no wonder that she was scared.

The rest of the trip back was a silent and peaceful one. Katsu pretended to be concentrating on getting them back, without distractions. Emiko on the other hand, after getting over the speed they were moving at, was simply enjoying the beauty of Mother Nature's gardens.

Everything with Kurai had some secret meaning, so why had he brought a human so far out into the forest. It took all of Katsu's will power, to not burst out laughing at the idea of Kurai wanting to enjoy the beautiful scenery with a human. Kurai must have been testing Emiko, to see if she was a threat or not to the clan.

While Katsu silently carried Emiko back to camp, she felt at peace for some reason. Katsu had some way of making her feel safe, calm, and like she belonged there. As to how he did this, she didn't know. It could be the fact that it was he whom saved her, or maybe she was just overly tired. The walk up there had taken a lot out of her.

"Katsu?" whispered a voice, no louder than a mouse.

"Hmmm?"

"I was just wondering….well I've been thinking….never mind," Emiko mumbled.

"If you have something to say, than just say it!" Katsu said in his 'I don't care, cause I'm a guy' voice.

"It's nothing," Emiko whispered as she snuggled into Katsu even more.

Author's Note: I finally got the second chapter done, so I hope you enjoyed it! It was a little boring and slow, but it sort of had to go in there. As you can see Katsu cares about Emiko even though she is a human, but he is too "macho" to admit it. A new character was introduced too and you are just beginning to learn about the mysterious fox demon leader.

The next couple of chapters will be more interesting than this one, I promise! Emiko will learn some things about her hidden past and when the demons find out will they accept her? You'll also meet more members of Katsu's clan. Oh, by the way I have a new rule. No new chapters until I get ONE review. 1 review equals 1 chapter. Till next time!

MusicAngel7