Yaaaaaaay! An update! …that's probably a piece of crap. Nothing really...happens. So it's kinda boring, heh. I wrote this during math, lol. There's probably millions of mistakes, but oh well. Some things might not make sense, but bear with me. Sorry it's kinds short…

Thanks to my reviewers, they enthused me write more :)

000000 is the time or scene changes

Chapter 3: Melancholy Crickets

The shadow stalked closer, and Juromaru's fear heightened even more so. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked up, his eyes widened, and his stomach lurched. He shuffled back as far as he could go and let out a soft, pathetic whimper. His chains clanked together, and his wounds screamed out in protest. He was suddenly very cold, and started to wrap himself in a tight ball. This only caused him even more pain, but he was too scared to take notice; his mind was on the figure looming towards him.

To put it short, he was absolutely terrified.

He was so scared that tears started falling down his cheeks, and small whimpers escaped from his throat. The shadow was right in front of him; he could hear it breathing, and a low, almost inaudible growl came from its throat. Juromaru shakily covered his head with shackled hands, as if expecting a blow from the shadow before him.

A blow was not dealt upon him, but his wrists were grabbed away from his head. He let out a small cry in fear as the shadow gripped his wrists tighter, the shackles bruising his already wounded skin. The shadow was so close he could feel its hot breath, and for a moment he thought that it was going to eat him. He let out a small whine at the thought.

Koga let go of him when he realized the demon was obviously terrified of him. At least he knew who was in control, though. He grabbed his wrists to make sure the demon wouldn't claw at him, but it didn't seem like he wanted any contact at all. Not even hurting the enemy, A.K.A, Koga.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" the wolf-demon growled out, staring hard at the curled up, sniveling demon in front of him. After a couple moments of staring at the demon's hand-covered head, he decided to go back to the entrance of the cave and just watch him. Koga's sudden absence didn't cause any chance in the demon's behavior; he was still cowering in a corner of the small cave, his hands upon his head and his knees curled up to his chest.

Koga had questions for the demon, but he wasn't even sure if he could talk. He could definitely think, though, that was for sure. The raven locked wolf-demon began to ponder again, trying to find the missing pieces to this impossible puzzle. He shot one last glance at the bruised and whimpering monstrosity before walking out of the cave, leaving a confused and terrified Juromaru behind.

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Kuragari and Yuki sat by the fire, staring into the dancing flames with mild interest. A slight breeze caused the yellow blaze to reach out in one direction, and also caused the two wolf-demons to subconsciously snuggle closer to the warmth of the fire. Five fish were brutally shoved on sticks, their eyes white and scales browned by the small inferno.

The third member of the small band was a few feet away from the fire, leaning against the entrance of the cave and waiting for the fish to finish cooking. His dulled eyes stared up at the sky in a feeble attempt to count the billions of stars as his heightened hearing listened to the calming sound of chirping crickets.

"Hey, Koga? I think the fish is done."

The raven-haired demon slightly sniffed the air before walking over to the fire and settling himself on a series of stones. Yuki handed him a shish-kabobbed fish as he chewed on his own, the flavor bringing wonders to his mouth.

Whatever was left of the fish had been casually thrown toward the cave entrance, the previous eaters not noticing where the scraps had been hurled. The three now sat around the fire, and uncomfortable silence settling on them as Yuki and Kuragari kept shooting glances Koga's way.

"What do you want?" came an irritated response to all the obvious looks. "You've been doing that every time I come back here, so what is it?"

Kuragari looked at Yuki for a moment before stuttering a quiet reply. "Well…it's just that you haven't really told us anything about Juromaru and…" He trailed off. It was quite strange for Koga not to brag about the demons he had fought or killed, and this "Juromaru" seemed to unnerve Koga in ways that worried his companions. It might have been because he was born from Naraku, like Kagura, but one could never be sure. Their leader had always bragged about his quarrels with Kagura, so it didn't make any sense to them that he wouldn't do the same with Juromaru.

"And what? What do you want to know?" Koga's arms crossed as he sent icy glares at his two accompanying companions, who, somehow, got to the totally opposite side of the fire within seconds.

Koga waited patiently, and once the other two wolf-demons realized he wasn't going to chew them out or hit them, Kuragari spoke up once again. "Well…We know his name's Juromaru, he's one of Naraku's minions, and his brother is supposedly in his stomach. And…we know this is a stupid question, but…what can he really do?"

Kuragari and Yuki gulped as Koga picked himself up and loomed over the fire, his cerulean eyes staring into the flames. "He's fast. Maybe even faster then me," he admitted quietly, "his brother's just as fast as he is, and the little bastard can go underground."

"Oh...he's really that fast?" Yuki faltered, both he and Kuragari surprised by Koga's admittance to the demon's speed. Koga nodded slightly as he grit his teeth, evoking the fight he had had with the violet-haired duo. The two wolf-demons stared at their leader, both silently wondering if that was what was unnerving him so much. Koga's speed was, after all, extremely important to him, and the fight with Juromaru could've taken a blow at his pride in some way.

"Then…shouldn't we kill him now? While he's weak and wounded?" Yuki suggested. Kuragari stared at him for a moment. Sometimes he wondered if Yuki could read his mind.

Koga just stood there and stayed silent. He pondered over that before, and it made perfect sense to kill the demon now and save the hassle, abut something in the back of his mind told him not to. A few things about the demon's behavior and obvious wounds brought up practically unbelievable options to think about. Perhaps Juromaru was being controlled during the fight. By whom, though? Naraku? Questions once again plagued his mind, and he was starting to get a headache from too much thinking.

His storm of thoughts and the eerie and uncomfortable silence came to a sudden halt when small stones clashed together near the cave entrance. Koga's attention immediately focused on where the sound had come from, and his head jerked towards the cave. Yuki and Kuragari huddled together and got to the other side of the fire and Koga's feet. They weren't able to use him as a baby guard for long, however. He had jumped away and was creeping over to the cave entrance, being extra careful to remain silent.

Once he had reached the edge of darkness, he peered down at a pale, bruised and shackled hand that was feeling around for the leftover fish that had been subconsciously thrown. Koga made a note to smack his companions for their stupidity later. He glared down at the thin, bony fingers before suddenly stomping on them right before they reached the mutilated fish. A muffled yet loud yelp erupted, and the hand beneath his foot tried to pull back, desperately trying to get away.

However, the harder the hand was pulled, the harder Koga squished down onto it. Another shackled hand came out to grab Koga's ankle, but the grip was weak, and the wolf-demon paid no heed to it. The weakened demon finally stopped pulling on his hand, and just sobbed discontentedly s he waited in pain for the abusive foot to be removed.

After a couple moments of listening to the violet-haired demon sob, he finally removed his foot and watched as the hand was immediately jerked away. He stood there for a moment before picking up the discarded fish bones and throwing them into the nearby river. The vile creature called Juromaru didn't deserve anything to eat.

He walked back over to the fire and sat down, the only sound in the listless night being muffled sobs and the melancholic sounds of chains being dragged back further into the cave.

The crickets had stopped chirping.

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