Author's Notes: Special thanks toYuyaSama, Kookie-chan, peckforever, Chaotic angel7, Phoenixkid, FlowerGirl, Behan and Crystaliz. I LOVE your reviews and appreciate your constant support! Seriously guys thank you so much, if not for you this fic would not be updated this quickly. ~Enjoy the chapter!

"The intensity of a passion is measured by the solitude that precedes it."

-Xavier Velazco-

"Serpent's Curse"

By: FenixPhoenix (Giselle González)

Chapter 4: "Vendetta"

Onime no Kyo sped down the streets, his muscles aching with each angry trot. What would he do? What would he do if she was not there? What would he do if he lost her? Did he still have time? Could he help her? Had he failed her?

He shook his head, rage making him look red. He could not lose her! Damn it, he would not lose her! She was his and his alone! She was the purpose of his life! Without her… who was he? Without her… what was there left to live for? What was there to die for?

He felt his legs burning as he forced the last run. The Inn came into view, and yet he could not shake away the dread that was clutching at his heart, threatening to consume him with grief. He pictured scenarios that made his blood run cold: Yuya broken. Yuya raped. Yuya dead. Yuya missing.

"Yuya," he barged into the Inn, stopping only until he reached the door to their room. He was panting heavily and could hardly hear anything beyond his heartbeats. He shouldn't have gone! He should have stayed with her! He should have protected her. He should have listened to her when she pleaded him to leave!

His body started trembling uncontrollably, his legs becoming jelly under him. He fought to stay standing, to not surrender all hope. Not yet! His mind was ruthless, though, showering him with terror. What was waiting for him inside? What sight would his eyes behold? He felt his eyes sting with tears and looked up, trying to keep them in.

What! What would he see?

He stepped closer to the door and cursed when he heard no sound from inside. It was the frigid silence of a tomb. Why was there no noise? Was it because she was not there? Or was it perhaps something else… something twice as terrible…

His hand took hold of the door handle and he slid it open slowly -his strength diminished by the single thought of not seeing her there. As long as he didn't look hope existed, but if he peered inside the room… would that be lost?

He squared his shoulders and made a decision. With eyes shut, he stepped inside and held his breath. Eagerly he waited for her voice to call to him. Woefully, he was greeted by silence. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and paled.

She was there! Kami, she was there!

He closed the distance that separated them with two wide strides; hope reigniting when he saw no blood upon her clothes. He knelt beside her and placed a hand atop her throat and there –Oh, there he felt it! Low but steady… she was alive! Not only alive but unharmed and safe! How or why did not matter as long as she stayed that way! Kyo frowned as another fear crawled inside his heart. What if she didn't wake up? What if he was never to see her eyes or hear her voice again?

"Yuya," he shook her softly. Sweet and welcomed relief filled his entire being when she stirred. Then her green eyes –those beautiful, gleaming emeralds—appeared from below her lids.

"Kyo," she greeted, focusing on his face. She frowned, probably at noticing his state of near panic. She sat up, awake and alarmed, and asked, "Kyo, are you alright? What happ-"

Looking at her… hearing her… it was the sweetest sensation. He felt his heart –which had broken with Kenta's words—mending at the sound of her voice. She did not mean a lot to him. No. She meant everything to him.

Without thinking -without paying attention to what she was saying after she had called his name- he pulled her towards him desperately. Ignoring the pain on his side, he held her tightly to his chest and kissed the top of her head, wanting nothing else than to drown in her essence. She was alive! He could hardly believe it but here she was… safely in his arms… right where she belonged.

After he'd regained some of his composure, he pushed away in order to study her. It was then he saw it. There was another bruise upon her body, another mark upon her skin.

"Who the fuck hurt you?" he hissed, his eyes narrowing dangerously. The lesson this was supposed to have taught him not quite learned, for his mind whirled once again into thoughts of delivering pain to the one who'd harmed her.

Yuya's eyes widened. He knew she was recalling her day because her eyes filled first with dread and then with shame. She lowered her gaze and fear made its way back into his heart. What had happened to her? Who'd dared touch her! Was she broken? And if so, could he mend her?

"Tell me," he ordered, though his voice lacked his usual strength.

Shinna Yuya crossed her arms, as if to protect herself from the memory, and told him all that had transpired between that moment and this, leaving no detail out. By the time she was finished, she couldn't look him in the eye. She felt dirty…tainted. Most of all, she was disgusted with herself. She closed her eyes and shivered as she recalled the feeling of the man's tongue sliding across her chest. It was appalling to have been so shamefully handled! It was painful to have been so easily overcome.

Onime no Kyo was very quiet and very still. He felt rage building in the pit of his stomach as he imagined the four men attacking. Yet, his main concern was her savior. Who was this man and why had he helped her? Perhaps more importantly… how did he know this was her room and why –if he was Kenta's companion—did he bring her home instead of killing her right then and there? Had he decided to let her live? Had he taken pity on her?

No. The man who'd inspired so much fear on a warrior like Kenta would not be someone weak of heart. The man he was dealing with was wicked and cold. He should know it, since once upon a time he had been that way too.

"Kyo… I-I am sorry," she said, brushing at her tears. She closed her eyes, unable to look at him, perhaps fearing his thoughts or expecting his judgment.

Kyo place a hand on each of her shoulders and gently pushed her down. He lowered himself on top of her, brushing his lips against her battered cheek. He hesitated for a second, eyeing her carefully. Since she wasn't rejecting him, his lips moved down to her bosom. He kissed every inch of her chest, hoping to erase –or at the very least replace her memory with something better. Something he hoped was comforting.

Shinna Yuya let everything go. The disgust and shame and everything else that was painful. It was all ebbing away, leaving her with only Kyo and his gentle touch. She arched and ached and allowed him to continue imparting his magical ministrations. At some point, though, she pulled him up to kiss his lips. It was then she felt moisture on his side and detected, for the first time, the rusty scent of blood.

"Kyo," she pushed him back carefully, not wishing to further rattle his wound. When had their roles switched? When had she become the first concern? When had she become the selfish one?

He looked at her evidently annoyed at being interrupted. She was on her feet and rummaging inside the medicine box before he could think of pulling her back into his arms. She felt his eyes upon her and she gave him a chiding look. She sat by his side and pulled his robe open, exposing his chest.

She took a towel out of the bucket of water she'd carried over, and wiped away the coat of crimson with soft and gentle hands. He grunted and winced—yes. The great Onime no Kyo winced when she proceeded to treat his wound with an herbal potion, protecting him against infection.

"Easy, woman!" he snapped, glaring at her and clenching his jaw.

"Well, stay still!" she huffed. So the man was able to grin when he was being slashed or sliced but he snapped and grunted when she was trying to tend to him? Something was definitely wrong!

He scowled and turned away. "What's that?" he asked, his eyes inspecting something that was resting on the corner table. Her eyes came to rest on a ceramic pot she hadn't noticed before. It had two strange white flowers. They weren't horrible to look at, but they made her shiver nonetheless.

"I don't know," Yuya confided, reaching for the pot intent on inspecting the flowers thoroughly. She was about to sniffle them when Kyo stopped her by taking her hands.

"Are you stupid, woman!" he growled, snatching the pot from her fingers briskly.

"What did I do now?" she threw her arms up in exasperation. The man! The demon! How was it he could be so charming one second and be a brute the next!

"This could be dangerous," he said, eyeing one of the five petal flowers critically.

Yuya rolled her eyes, "Excuse me? …Since when are flowers dangerous?"

He scowled but remained silent as he probed one of the white petals with a finger.

"WATCH OUT!" she yelled. When Kyo retrieved his finger, she laughed.

"What the hell's wrong with you!" he snapped.

Yuya brushed away the tears that had escaped from the corner of her eye. "We don't want that big and evil flower eating your hand, do we?"

"Funny," he retorted, putting the pot aside while she tried her best to wipe the smile off her face. Naturally, she was far from successful.

"Have you finished?" he asked drily.

She nodded and her eyes widened at a sudden thought, "What if that's a gift from my rescuer?"

"All the more reason to dispose of it," he stated.

"Aw…," he turned to her and cocked an eyebrow, "you're jealous!"

"Dream on. You're not that good looking," he snorted, moving towards the corner of the room and sitting down, still sporting that glare.

"You're a jerk!" Her eyes narrowed in his direction. He was not that handsome either! Or so she wished she could belief.

Silence descended upon them for a long while with neither giving any ground. However, Yuya could take it no more. The sudden desire -the sudden need to feel his body lying next to hers overcame her, and she cursed because he gave no indication of feeling the same. Darn the man and darn the fact that he did not need her half as much as she needed him. Eventually, yielding to her relentless desire, she crawled towards him trying to be as seductive as possible.

Onime no Kyo didn't acknowledge her when she approached. He kept his eyes shut, his pose relax, faking indifference. He did not take it lightly when someone made fun of him and his pride was too strong to allow him to ignore what she'd done. At least for the time being…

His brow twitched when her lips brushed one side of his face. She nibbling at his ear playfully, threatening to break his resolve. With almost inhuman effort, he restrained from answering her touch. Kyo knew he wouldn't last long unless he thought of something. So he did.

"You just can't keep your hands off of me, can you?" he smirked when he felt her stop. He opened one eye and was rewarded with her flustered face. It was too easy.

"Fine then," she said, retreating only to be, in a second, pinned to the floor. He bit back a groan when he felt his side aching but he ignored the discomfort.

"I can't blame you, woman" he said smugly, pulling her yukata open. "I'm simply irresistible."

Kyo didn't give her a chance to argue.

-o0o-

The mysterious mansat on a rock that protruded out of a lake in the Inn's premises.

"Wonderful, wonderful, Onime no Kyo," he praised, chuckling gleefully at the show. He welcome the caress of the night's cold breeze and kept his odd eyes on the door that led to them… his victims.

It was so fantastic, so exhilarating to see his plan working out so perfectly. How could Kyo not see it? Had he not realized what his present meant? Did he not felt danger around him… around her?

"Taste her, Kyo…," he whispered, "for soon you won't be able to… I will take her away from you and you will shatter the same way I shattered when you first walked into my life."

Can you hear me, Kyo? Can you sense me dwelling… waiting for you to come and get me? Can you feel my hatred, burning brighter with every second? Can you imagine how I yearned for you to see how I've changed and evolved? Your time is near, so near I can already taste it! Come, Kyo, come out and meet the one who'll finally destroy you, demon!

-o0o-

Onime no Kyo opened his eyes. He had sensed him outside for quite a while but he hadn't wanted to alert Yuya. He didn't want her to worry. In addition to that, part of him enjoyed thinking the man was outside waiting for Kyo to acknowledge him. He smirked at the thought. As long as it was his move that needed to be made he was in control… he had power over him…

So Kyo waited and once he was certain Yuya had fallen into a deep slumber he moved away from her, careful not to wake her, and clothed himself with his dark robe. He went to the door, retrieving his muramasa from where he'd left it forgotten. He slid open the rice door and stepped out, securing the door behind him.

"Who dares disrupt my sleep?" he asked casually.

The intruder was looking at him intently, a sly grin on his face. "Ah, Onime no Kyo," he greeted, tugging at the braid behind his ear, "Did you have a… good day?"

Kyo smirked, "I killed your man. Of course, I had a nice day."

The man chuckled, "Kenta? I thank you for that. His death was set before you unsheathed your sword." He tilted his head and cracked a shoulder. Kyo seized him up. He was the same height and built as him and wore a wine jerkin with only one sleeve. "But tell me, Kyo," the man continued with an awkward smile; as though he wasn't quite sure if he was happy, "do you not remember me?"

Kyo shrugged, "I tend to forget unimportant things."

Yet, there was something about the man and his outfit that seemed awfully familiar. Squinting, Kyo noticed that one leg of his dark pants had the image of a serpent -a cobra going round and round and finishing just above the knee.

The man chuckled, the sound psychotic, "Ah, but you will remember me from now on."

Kyo smiled and unsheathed his sword. "Let's see how true your words are."

"Oh, but I know this! I know!" he stood up, unsheathing the saber that had been tied to his back. "I will strike were it will hurt you the most and you will not even see it coming, Onime no Kyo."

Kyo's eyes narrowed, not liking where this was going. It reminded him of someone… Kenji! Yes! This sounded like something he'd said. Kyo's amusement and excitement vanished altogether. There was only one weakness he had, but as long as he protected the door he would not reach her and she would not be harmed. Kyo decided, right then and there, that he would kill this man and wipe the threat he posed. He would destroy him, because he'd dared to threaten Yuya!

The strange man smiled. Nature was giving him leave to set his plan in motion. He glanced at the sky painted red by the full moon. Finally his revenge was at hand! Only two men had wronged him –only two warriors had unleashed his rage. Onime no Kyo was one of them.

"Let the show begin," he said, sparing another glance at the sky. A red moon… blood will be shed tonight…

To be continued…