Here's the new chapter of Purgatorio .

Side Note:

Arariel: Angel (made him into a demon) that people pray to in effort to cure stupidity.

Purgatorio: A play on the word Purgatory - Limbo since that is basically at what Kenshin is stuck at both literally and symbolically (as you will see as the story goes on).

This is a rated M fic so you HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Lyrics are the translated (from Spanish) 'Because of You' by Juanes

Enjoy!

Shiin

Kaoru awoke alone in the bed. She rolled over onto her side and found that Kenshin's side of the bed was deserted but the covers still warm.

He hadn't been gone all that long for his morning flight.

Kaoru sighed softly pulled the covers up under her chin, snuggling back into the covers. 'Don't want to get up… too tired… it's nice and warm and feels good….' She thought sleepily.

All thoughts of sleep vanished however when Demon suddenly jumped onto the bed landing solidly onto her chest.

'Get up!' There was a note of whining in his voice. 'Please you have to make it stop!'

Kaoru blinked at him. "Make what stop?"

Demon's ears flattened against his head. 'Can't tell you exactly, it's a surprise, Kenshin has threatened to skin me alive if I spoil it. But it sucks, so will you please get up so it can end?'

Kaoru blinked some more in confusion. "Okay…"

'Good,' Demon grumbled, jumping off her chest and back onto the floor.

Kaoru shook her head softly and got out of bed. Pushing open the door she followed Demon out into the hallway.

She stopped and tilted her head… music? What?

Her radio was playing a Spanish ballad and she translated it immediately in her mind….

"…And because of you...

That I speak of love again

And it's because of you...

That my eyes shine today

And because of you…

That I soothe my hurt"

'Biggest sap ever!' Demon declared. 'Now turn it off please? It's hurting my ears!'

"Shush," Kaoru retorted, listening.

'My teeth are rotting!' Demon wailed. 'I am going to go into convulsions of sugary-sweetness!'

Kaoru continued to ignore him and listen to the song a grin stealing across her face as she translated the music:

"Every time I wake up

And I see that you're by my side

I feel renewed"

'Rotting…. Falling out of my mouth…' Demon whimpered.

"Fine, fine," Kaoru said and turned off the song, the grin still there.

Demon sighed softly, 'Thank you. He's had that one song on repeat for the past half-hour. The first time it was fine… the seventh and I was starting to wonder if I could smash the radio.'

Kaoru stuck her tongue out at him, grin finally falling from her face. "So where were you last night?" She asked.

'Visiting Megumi,' Demon replied. 'She makes a really nice tuna dish.'

Kaoru snorted. "Speaking of food did Kenshin make anything for breakfast?"

'Yep, and you'll be happy to know he burned the toast as I suggested.'

Kaoru blinked, "really? He actually burned it."

Demon stared at her, 'this is Kenshin we are talking about remember. No… it's not burned in the charred-and-falling-pieces-way it's burned in the dark-brown-around-the-edges-way."

"Of course," Kaoru snorted. "He probably threw a fit the second it started turning dark."

'Yep,' Demon agreed. 'Now hurry up and eat before he comes back and thinks that you're not eating it because it's quote: burned – end quote.'

"Will do!" Kaoru scampered off into the kitchenette

She found Kenshin had set out a bowl of oatmeal he had ringed the edges of the bowl with cut slices of strawberries. A pot of freshly brewed green tea, the aforementioned toast and yogurt to round it out.

She sat down and began eating, starting with the toast incase he came back and found it uneaten and thought she didn't like it.

She was halfway through her bowl of oatmeal when she heard footsteps and a moment later Kenshin poked his head into the kitchen. His hair was in disarray, falling around his shoulders in a windblown tangle. He was barefoot and not wearing a shirt and she took a sip of her tea to keep from drooling.

"Have a good flight?" She asked once she swallowed.

"Mmm…" Kenshin rotated his shoulders and cracked his neck to ease some of the tension that had developed while he was flying.

Kaoru took another gulp of her tea and was rewarded by scalding her tongue.

Kenshin seemed oblivious which Kaoru wasn't sure if it was better than him knowing the effect he had on her. He sat down beside her, grabbing a mug from the cabinet on the way.

"How is breakfast?" He asked.

"Good," Kaoru said brightly. "Thanks for burning the toast."

A baffled look crossed Kenshin's face. "You like it burned?"

"It could be blacker," Kaoru admitted.

'Told you!' Demon crowed from his position against Kaoru's feet. He dodged Kenshin's kick and cackled softly.

"Damned cat," Kenshin muttered.

'True on both accounts,' Demon remarked.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Kenshin asked.

Kaoru made a face, "my first day back in college. You can stay here and watch TV or something while I'm gone to class."

"No." Kenshin said. "I'm coming with you."

Kaoru eyed him, "what am I going to do? Tell them all you're my bodyguard?"

"I can be invisible." Kenshin replied.

Kaoru's eyebrows rose, "literally?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"That… is… " Kaoru blinked. "What other powers do you have that you haven't told me about?" She demanded.

"Well," Kenshin said smugly. "That would be telling, now wouldn't it?"

Kaoru glared at him. "You're being sneaky. I don't like sneaky."

"Hmmm…" Kenshin dropped a kiss on her nose. "What time is your class?"

Kaoru blinked several times as her eyes attempted to cross. "Um…" She glanced at the clock and started. "Shit! Better get ready NOW!"

She scrambled out of the chair and bolted into the bedroom to take a quick shower.

She appeared moments later her hair tied up in a ponytail and a pair of jeans and a tank top with a light jacket thrown over it.

"Misao called while you were in the shower," Kenshin informed her. "She dropped your books off at your professors office along with the schedule for the rest of the week."

"Misao is wonderful," Kaoru dropped a kiss on her cheek. "I'll get her a gift certificate for her favorite café in thanks."

Kenshin twitched slightly at the image of a caffeinated Misao.

"Aren't you going to change?" Kaoru asked giving him a pointed look. Not that she minded the bare feet and chest…

"I'll be invisible, no one will see me." Kenshin shrugged.

Kaoru closed her eyes and muttered something under her breath that Kenshin didn't quite catch.

"Come on we've got to now. Making yourself invisible would be a good thing right now since I have no desire to attempt to outrun a group of screaming girls."

Kenshin blinked at that and then grinned. Faintly his outline shimmered for a moment and then grew solid.

"I'm invisible now."

Kaoru blinked several times, "then why can I still see you?"

'Only you can see him,' Demon informed her. 'He's invisible to everybody else.'

"Oh… goody…" Kaoru's mind quickly came up with some scenarios involving that and she discarded them immediately. "Okay… clock…time… late for class. Let's go now!"

She grabbed Kenshin's hand and pulled him out of the apartment.

It was very disconcerting to be walking through a crowded hallway with Kenshin at her heels and being the only one able to see him. At the same time it was quite amusing since he had to dodge people – invisible didn't make you immaterial and Kenshin could still get walked into or stepped on.

As happened several times and left him cursing under his breath.

He paled when she brought him to the train station and they boarded one of Tokyo's notoriously crowded trains.

At any other time having Kenshin wrapped around her would have inspired thoughts of other things. But his pale face and the slight tremors effectively doused any thoughts of sex that Kaoru could be entertaining. She murmured soothingly to him under her breath and added trains to her list of 'things Kenshin does not like.'

The second they arrived at their stop Kenshin untangled himself from her and bolted out the door to lean against a pole drawing in deep breaths.

"You ok?" Kaoru asked softly, making her way toward him.

Kenshin managed a slight smile. "I'll be fine. It was just… too crowded in there."

"I understand," Kaoru reached out and twined her fingers with his. "The University is only a few more minutes walking. Come on."

Kenshin nodded and didn't let go of her hand the rest of the way there.

Kaoru felt herself relax as she stepped onto the campus. Another part of her life fell back into place. She was back in school, the thought held comfort for her.

"Kaoru!" The shout had her whipping her head over in the direction of where it originated from.

"Ichi!" She beamed as the taller man walked over to her. "Long time no see!"

"Heard you left Japan for a year," Ichi gave her a hug. "We missed you. Psychology was boring after you left, there was no one to debate with."

Kaoru ignored Kenshin's soft growl. "What's happened since I left, anything interesting?"

"We have a new professor and I swear he's trying to regress us back to elementary school." Ichi rolled his eyes. "Very easy class, but really boring."

"Ah," Kaoru nodded. "Speaking of class I better get going. It was nice to see you again!"

She turned back to find Kenshin looking at her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Ichi's one of my classmates," she told him. "I haven't seen him since I left Japan. I'll probably end up getting hugged and swung around all day by my old classmates." She wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed lightly. "You're cute when you're jealous."

"I am not jealous." Kenshin said.

"Mmm..." Kaoru batted her eyelashes at him and pulled away. "I believe you. Now let's get to class."

000

Ichi had spoken right when he said that the new professor was attempting to regress them back into elementary school. Kaoru felt like her brain was fogging over as the professor – a Mr. Sasaki – gave a lecture on nature vs. nurture.

'Didn't I learn about this in high school psychology?' Kaoru wondered vaguely. Half of her classmates she noted had dropped off to sleep.

Behind her Kaoru could sense Kenshin fidgeting.

'Poor guy. I did offer to let him stay home and watch TV all day. Now he gets to suffer with me.'

"What is the whole point of this lecture?" Kenshin asked.

Kaoru pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down: 'Have no clue it's insanely basic Psychology.' Where Kenshin was both invisible and unable to be heard they could hear her if she spoke so she'd resorted to writing down her responses.

"And you're interested in this kind of stuff?" Kenshin asked.

Yep. Kaoru wrote. It gets much better once we get into the more advanced stuff like mental disorders and ways of treatment.

"Uh-huh," Kenshin sounded dubious.

Go take a walk or something if you're bored. Kaoru jotted down.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself."

I'm in a classroom Kenshin nothing is going to happen. The most exciting thing will be that idiot over there toppling onto the floor and waking up. Kaoru jerked her chin in the direction of one of the sleepers – who's position looked decidedly uncomfortable and whose weight was tilting the chair back.

I give him five minutes before he falls and gives himself a concussion.

Kenshin snorted softly. "I'm still bored."

Find something to occupy yourself, Kaoru scribbled down.

She blinked at what she had written. 'Oh shit.' She didn't need to turn around to see the grin on Kenshin's face.

"If you insist I must find something to occupy myself than I shall," his breath ghosted across the back of her neck a second before he dropped a soft kiss there.

Kaoru made a squeaking sound as a feather-like touch brushed across her stomach. Another circling around the hollow of her throat. She turned slightly to see Kenshin smirking at her his hands still.

The hell?

"What are you doing?" She tried to keep from squirming.

"Occupying myself."

"But you're not even…"

"Touching you?" Kenshin's eye glinted. "Do you want me to?"

Kaoru glared at him, "I'm in class! Back of the room with no one paying attention to me yes! But still in class!"

"That can easily be changed." Kenshin said.

"How long do you want to sleep on the couch for? Two or three months?" Kaoru snapped back pitching her voice soft.

Kenshin sighed softly and she felt the ghost-touches go away.

"Thank you," Kaoru gritted out and turned he attention back to the professor.

Or at least tried to.

Her hormones had woke up and were complaining loudly. 'Hello! Kenshin shirtless and practically breathing down your neck! And the whole touching you – us – psychically thing has interesting possibilities. Plus, this lecture is really boring and we already know everything being told to us; and Kenshin is so much more interesting that psych class any old day…'

'Shut up!' Kaoru snapped at them.

'He smells good too!' The whined childishly.

'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!' Kaoru snarled.

Kenshin chuckled softly as he heard Kaoru cursing under her breath. Some of the expletives were quite interesting and could most definitely be called original… She heard him and shot a glare at him.

He merely smiled in return; she looked adorable when she was angry.

'Couch. Three months. Alone. No bed.' She mouthed.

Kenshin nodded. Sure Kaoru… whatever you say…

She held up four fingers.

Four months?

Someone was in a bad mood.

He couldn't just allow her to stay in that bad mood either.

Kaoru growled softly under her breath and turned her attention once more back on the lecture. Several moments passed and she finally began to relax as it appeared Kenshin had shut up and settled down.

She heard his chair creak and tensed. What was he up to now?

She peeked back at him and nearly let her head meet the desk in exasperation.

He was braiding his hair, looking oblivious to her.

It was a normal everyday action but not when Kenshin was doing it.

She balled her hands into fists as she watched the silky strands spill through his hands and he twisted them deftly into several smaller braids scattered throughout his hair. His touch was light and gentle and Kaoru remembered all too well the feel of his hands on her. He tossed his hair back over his shoulder and Kaoru eyed the line of his neck.

'He's taunting me!' She seethed.

Kenshin quirked an eyebrow at her. "Hmm?"

"Nothing," Kaoru bit off.

She felt like kicking something.

"That's fine then Kaoru."

Kaoru felt her brain turn to mush. 'Kaoru-dono! Dammit he's going to be calling me Kaoru-dono when I'm through with him!'

"Kaoru?" A different voice said and she snapped her head back to see the professor and rest of the class looking at her.

"Are you all right?" The professor asked.

Kaoru blinked, "um… yes…. Sorry I spaced out there… Jet lag?" She offered.

Kenshin laughed softly and she cursed.

The professor nodded – apparently that was an acceptable answer and resumed teaching the class. Everyone else pulled their eyes away and either went back to sleeping or attempting to listen to the professor drone on.

You are SO DEAD! When I get my hands on you! Kaoru wrote to Kenshin, nearly ripping the paper apart with her pen.

"If you say so," Kaoru heard the chair creak as he leaned forward and barely repressed a whimper as he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.

She shot her hand into the air.

"Can I go to the nurse?" She asked. "I feel dizzy." 'From all the blood leaving my brain.'

The professor nodded and Kaoru all but ran from the classroom with Kenshin trailing after her.

The hallway was deserted and the doors closed. Kaoru whirled around and fought the urge to smack him senseless/pounce Kenshin.

"Next time I have class I you are staying at home! Alone! With only Demon for company! And if you every do anything like that again I-" Her tirade was cut off as he pulled her into his arms and she found herself being kissed.

'No! Kissing does not make everything better!' She snarled as she found herself melting against him.

'Bad hormones bad!' She growled. 'Bad Kenshin too.'

'We'll have to disagree with you on that one,' her hormones replied.

He nipped at her throat and she felt her bones liquefy.

'Oh yes total disagreement there.' Her hormones decided.

She tried to muster a glare as he pulled away. "You're still in trouble."

"Mmm…" Kenshin kissed her cheek seeming unconcerned.

"Lots of trouble," Kaoru said firmly.

"If you say so," Kenshin replied and ducked the swat she aimed at his head.

"So what else for today?" Kenshin asked.

"I'm not going to class with you unless you're in a strait jacket." Kaoru told him.

Kenshin blinked at her, "what's the point of that?"

"They're hard to get out of. That'll keep you occupied."

Kenshin sighed and Kaoru swatted at him again.

"I would like to go get something to eat for lunch but A. your invisible and B. shirtless." Kaoru grumbled.

She blinked at Kenshin as a shirt suddenly appeared on him.

"You can just pull clothes from thin air?" She blinked some more. "Then WHY didn't you tell me I DIDN'T have to bring you clothes shopping?"

"Because I can't create things unless I've seen them and I didn't know what kind of clothes the people in this time wear." Kenshin replied, trying to diffuse her anger.

Kaoru glared at him, "good excuse."

Kenshin smiled, "you mentioned food?"

"Yes… food…" Kaoru grumbled still annoyed with him.

And judging by the looks they were getting as they made their way to a nearby restaurant. Kenshin was anything but invisible.

Kenshin wrapped his arm around Kaoru's waist loosely and she fought the urge to elbow him in the side. At least if it looked like he was taken – which he was! – They'd be less likely to have random bimbos come up and flirt with him/give him their number.

Kaoru found a booth at the back of the restaurant and a moment later a waitress arrived to hand out menus and take drink orders. Any thoughts of flirting vanished when Kaoru met her eyes with a glare that said 'mine, back off and walk away slowly.'

Kenshin coughed softly to keep from laughing and tightened his arm around her waist. Kaoru huffed softly and flipped open the menu.

They made their orders and settled down to eat with only a few more disruptions.

000

Demon twitched softly as woke up.

It took him a few moments to become aware of everything. And he wondered at the sluggishness of his brain and actions.

'Huh?' He blinked.

A long arm and hand met his eyes instead of a paw.

His head shot up and he blinked several more times.

Body… yes… body.

Human body.

There was a rustle against his back and he felt a grin steal across his face.

Wings as well.

'I'm no longer a cat! Yes!'

He pushed himself to his knees and got to his feet. His knees buckled and nearly sent him crashing back down to the floor.

'Two feet not four,' he concentrated on keeping his balance and did so though he swayed slightly.

'Can I finally talk audibly again?' He wondered.

"Ara…" His voice came out as a croak, rusty from not being used in several thousand years. "Arariel."

Yes that was his name.

Arariel.

He heard the doorknob rustle and his head whipped toward it.

Kenshin and Kaoru were back or so it seemed.

"Gah can't think correctly," he grumbled.

The door opened and he turned slightly unsteadily to meet them.

Their reactions weren't exactly what he had expected.

Kenshin growled and Kaoru stared at him.

Oh right… he wasn't wearing any clothes.

Oops.

The appearance of a pair of pants helped somewhat – though Kaoru was still doing her best not to blush.

"Who are you?" Kenshin snarled.

"Idiot," Arariel snapped.

Kenshin blinked.

Oh goody his voice still sounded the same.

"If you actually used some sense you could read my aura and know exactly who I am." Arariel huffed.

Kenshin blinked again realization dawning on him as he did just that. "Demon?"

"Yep." He replied. "Arariel."

"Ara…" Kenshin eye's widened. "The demon in charge of curing stupidity?"

"The same," Arariel grinned. "Though I've been locked up and a bit remiss in my duties or the past couple thousand of years I have some catching up to do."

"You're really Demon?" Kaoru asked. Her eyes narrowed as she took in his appearance. He was about the same height as Kenshin. Black wings just like Kenshin. But his eyes weren't like Kenshin's at all. A green-gold and with slitted pupils like a cat's. His hair hung shaggy around his face and across his shoulders, black tipped with red.

It was Demon.

Or whoever it was that had been Demon.

"I'll explain everything in a bit." Demon… Arariel's stomach grumbled. "But can I first have something to eat that doesn't contain fish?"

"Sure…" Kaoru made shooing motions to Kenshin who grunted, still eyeing Arariel and the three of them went into the kitchenette where Kenshin made some spaghetti and Kaoru tea.

"Food!" Arariel's reaction to food the first time gave Kenshin's a run for its money. "Taste buds yes!" He attacked the spaghetti and it was done with it in a few minutes.

Kaoru handed him a napkin to wipe his face free of the sauce.

Arariel gave her a rueful smile, "thank you. I'm fighting the urge to lick myself. I've been a cat too long."

Kenshin snorted. "And how did you end up as a cat?"

"Same way you ended up in that pendant." Arariel replied. "Kasshin magicians."

Kaoru winced, "my family were not nice were they?"

"That's the understatement of the century," Arariel growled.

"What exactly did they do besides the whole angel-killing, hurting Kenshin thing?" Kaoru bit her lip and squeezed Kenshin's hand gently.

"Long story," Arariel raked his hand through his hair, pulling it out of his eyes.

"We've got time." Kaoru said. Kenshin pulled her off her chair and plopped her onto his lap. She tucked her head under his chin, playing with a free strand of his hair.

"The Kasshin have always been… unique to the human race… Born with magic and oh hell they know how to use it." He and Kenshin both flinched. "They've never liked Angels. Fallen or Non-Fallen. They hate them both equally. Don't ask me why I don't know how it started. When the incident with Kenshin's mother happened they were ready to kill him. – I was already cursed in that damn cat form so I was there. They decided to let him live and they basically used Kenshin as their attack dog in their war against the angels."

Kenshin tensed and Kaoru squeezed his hand.

"When they weren't killing angels they were doing other things. Manipulating the strands of the world, blackmailing various royal families, and insinuating themselves in dark plots taking place around the world. In a nutshell they were basically setting themselves up to rule the world." He snorted. "Alexander the Great has nothing on the Kasshin."

"So what happened?" Kaoru asked softly.

"All of their enemies – and they had a lot – attacked them all at once. That was when Kenshin's last mistress was killed and I zapped myself into the pendant along with Kenshin. We thought that the Kasshin had been destroyed completely." He nodded at her. "But obviously that isn't the case. The magic they used to bind us is weaker now – thus I am back in my regular form and no longer a cat."

"So could Kenshin be free of the binding?" Kaoru asked softly.

Arariel shook his head, "the binding of him to one of Kasshin blood is still intact and damn near unbreakable. But the ones restricting his powers are fading since they haven't been renewed in over a thousand years." He smiled wryly at Kenshin. "I'll give you a few days before interesting things start to happen."

"What kind of things?" Kenshin asked.

"Just take a look in the bible. They got some things wrong but that's basically the gist of what an angel can do – and you as a half-angel – even though it is a Fallen angel you descend from have all those powers. Or will have in a couple of days if I've judged the rate correctly."

"And here I don't have a bible in the house," Kaoru rolled her eyes.

"Just try not to smite anyone please." Arariel said.

Kenshin snorted. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Anything else we need to know?" Kaoru asked.

"You need magic lessons." Arariel informed her.

"Say what?"

"You are Kasshin. Thus you have magic in you. It needs to be awakened."

"Uh…" Kaoru blinked.

Magic.

She suddenly had the mental image of her stirring a cauldron.

Oh dear… is spell casting was anything like cooking…

"We'll start tomorrow," Arariel said.

"But I have classes!" Kaoru yipped.

"Forget about them for now. You need to be trained."

Kaoru tried to make herself smaller and whimpered. "Is this anything like cooking?"

"No," Arariel said.

"Oh good this may work out fine after all."

"It's harder than cooking."

"Oh fuck."

000

There was a curse.

"He's free."

"And the other one?"

"The bindings are loosening. We need to act fast before they fall away entirely."

"And the Kasshin bitch?"

The first one smiled grimly, "kill her and he'll be powerless and trapped oncemore."

"You know we can't let Him know anything about this don't you?"

A snort. "Of course not or else I'd better start slicing myself to fit into that hand basket and mail myself back to Hell."

"So she has to die."

"She's the last of that damned line. Of course she has to die."

"She dies and he he'll go back into that pendant." The second murmured.

"Exactly. And then we'll shatter the pendant, melt it, and drop it into the deepest pit of hell and he'll be gone forever."

"Good plan," the second sounded impressed.

"It isn't it?" The first one preened.

"And after that?" The second queried.

"Taking over Hell sounds fun."