"Let the world stop turning, let the sun stop burning; Let them tell me love's not worth going through. If all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart, the only dream that mattered had come true… In this life I was loved by you."

-Bette Midler-

"Serpent's Curse"

By: FenixPhoenix (Giselle González)

Chapter 5: "Promise"

Onime no Kyo's eyes narrowed when the man before him divided into seven identical figures. Every face around him was marked with that peculiar scar that went from below the right eye down to the middle of the cheek.

"Kage bunshin…," Kyo whispered. Benitora had used this technique before, which somewhat gave Kyo an advantage. Despite this, he doubted this man would be easy to beat.

"Are you scared yet, demon?" the man asked before, as if on cue, the seven shadows charged.

Kyo's excitement increased as the fight progressed. The fact that he was relying heavily on his raw reflexes, demonstrated that his opponent possessed skills that almost matched his own.

"Do you know what is it like to have a family now, Onime no Kyo?" the shadows asked in unison and it was then Kyo remembered who he was fighting for. "I once had a family…"

Kyo parried a sword and, grunting when he felt another blade biting into his shoulder, spat, "Who cares!"

The man and his shadows snapped, "When you lose those you love, it is as if someone has taken something precious from you… You are broken beyond repair and never seem to grasp the feeling of complete happiness again."

Kyo beheaded a shadow only to have two shadows rise to replace it. Kyo understood in that moment that he was not fighting a man but a demon… a demon just like the one he used to be…

"After my family was killed," the shadows continued unperturbed, "I thought I would never feel happy again… but I was wrong. I found happiness when I was embraced by a new clan… A clan who was wiped out by a demon…"

Onime no Kyo frowned as he came face to face with a shadow who, if not for the sheath of his muramasa, would have painted a bloody smile on his throat.

"Sucks to be you," Kyo retorted, dodging a sword and retaliating. Once the shadows were out of the reach of his sword, he asked, "Are you going to finish soon? This story of yours is getting depressing."

"Do you not remember who I am? Can you not guess my identity from what you've heard?" the man enquired, his irritated tone brushing with unbelief.

"I told you," Kyo smirked and shrugged, "I tend to forget unimportant things."

"I am Takeshi Koga," he introduced dryly and, before he could say something else, they were interrupted.

"KYO!" Kyo froze when Yuya's voice registered. "What's going on?"

He half turned towards her and, trying to hide -if not quell- his urgent distress, he ordered, "Get out of here, Yuya!"

Shinna Yuya took in the scene outside her door. There were countless warriors, all of them wearing the same face and all of them hostile. Kyo was strong, but this might be too much even for him. She couldn't leave him alone to fend them off! He needed her help and she would give it to him, whether he wanted it or not!

"I am not leaving you!" She had barely given a couple of steps his way, when she felt a presence behind her. She spun on her heels, taking out her weapon and aiming it at whoever had tried to catch her unawares. Her eyes widened when she encountered those odd eyes, eyes that she'd seen before in a glimpse within the shadows.

She could have fired and ended it all. She had the perfect motive and opportunity. Yet, she couldn't! Yuya shook her head and lowered her weapon. He was unmistakable. She glanced at the shadows surrounding Kyo, they all wore his face. How had she not recognized him before?

"You," she looked back at the man before him. Out of all the figures, he looked the most corporeal; the most real. "You saved me…"

Takeshi Koga relaxed a little once he realized she would not attack. It had been a dangerous gamble that could have cost him his life, but it had paid off. He saw incredulity and confusion follow after her initial surprise. He smiled in what he hoped was a tender manner, wanting to lure her into a false sense of comfort.

She lowered her gun altogether, her arms hanging limply by her sides. Yes, yes, yes! His plan had worked! Yet something bothered him. Why? Why this hesitation from his part? Where had it come from?

I need to do it… I have worked too hard for this! Koga reminded himself furiously, fighting with that part of himself that regarded her as an innocent. She is nothing but a tool! A tool for me to teach the demon how much it hurts!

"Shoot, woman!" urged Kyo trying, in vain, to disengage himself from the six shadows he was fighting and barely keeping at bay.

Koga studied the girl, prepared to disarm her if she tried to attack. Yet, she didn't even move! He knew his careful planning had achieved the desire result. She couldn't kill the man who had saved her! A bullet wouldn't pay the debt she owed him and they both knew it.

Shinna Yuya didn't know what to do. She was torn. Part of her wanted to help Kyo but the other was appalled by the thought of hurting the one who'd saved her. Why was he doing this? Why had he decided to both help and destroy her?

"Why did you help me?" It was a plea more than a question. "Why are you attacking us?"

The man smiled awkwardly. His face distorted a little, and he looked like he was grimacing more than he was smiling. She wasn't sure which had been his intention.

"It's nothing personal, Yuya-san," he whispered, and she detected a slight tingle of sadness. "You have done me no harm… and I-I wished there was another way."

He opened his arms and stepped towards her. Yuya was frozen in place still, unsure what to do or how to react. The hug seemed benign, so she stayed there, wondering if she could convince him to leave without any more blood being shed. His arms came around her and she was about to hug him back when… pain. It was razor sharp, hot and unexpected. She felt something –like a blade—being inserted into her back. Her eyes widened, she tasted fear and blood in her mouth. He stepped back, his eyes unreadable; his face expressionless.

She looked down at his hands. A black-bladed knife glinted there, held by a hand gloved in blood. Depleted, she felt her legs trembling, her weight too much for them to handle. She started to fall but, to her confusion, the strong arms of her savior and killer caught her. He held her close, this time giving her a real hug. Then, he lowered her to the cold, hard ground ever so gently.

"You will bloom like a rose during winter, Yuya-San," Koga whispered, kissing her cheek, "and, like a flower, you will wither away."

Onime no Kyo felt fear and anger tearing at his heart as he witnessed the scene. How dare he harm her! How dare he touch her! More than that, he felt the sudden and undeniable need to get to her! To save her… He screamed, his rage making him see red. What had Koga done!

"Yuya!" he called, aware more than ever of the fact that he needed her! He could not afford to lose her! She was his life! And he would gladly kill the grim reaper itself if it dared to come and rip her from his side!

"Mumyo Jinpu Ryo Satsujin Ken," he hissed, concentrating on only the solid form of the handle of his sword, "The God murdering sword technique… Mizuchi!"

In seconds, he cut down each and every one of Koga's fucking shadows, using the wind to enlarge the blade of his sword. He moved his arm, hoping to get the real Koga, who was still towering the body of Yuya. The wind slashed at his exposed arm and Koga jumped back in time to avoid being shred to pieces.

"Impressive," he acknowledged with a dip of the head and that fucking horrid smile.

"You heard it too, didn't you?" Kyo said, closing the distance between them in a blink. He was so near, he could smell the man! He brought his sword down, trying to cut his arm off, but Koga parried with his sabre. "...the voice of the wind."

"You cannot save her," Koga said, reminding him that Yuya's life was at stake.

Kyo moved away from him, positioning himself defensively in front of Yuya. Kyo could tell Koga had been having a hard time keeping his blade at bay. What his skills had been unable to do, his words had accomplished. Kyo would have to fight and kill him another time.

"You're lucky," Kyo hissed, glaring at him.

Koga smiled in return and said, "Now, you'll know how it feels to lose everything…" He raised his unharmed arm and dropped a grape-size pebble onto the floor. Smoke rose soon after, veiling him from view. When it cleared, Koga was gone.

"Kyo," it was Yuya who called him and, drawn by her voice, he made his way through the unnatural mist and to the place where she was sitting –the grimace of pain he had seen on her face dissappeared under a frown of confusion.

Without a moment to waste, he scooped her up and, cradling her protectively in his arms, he hurried to their room. There –as gently as he could under his urgent need to help her—he placed her on the futon and almost ripped opened her stained yukata.

He wiped away the blood with careful movements to discover… nothing. There was nothing there! There was no wound, even though he'd seen it. Koga had plunged his knife into her body, the entire blade had disappeared into her back! Hell, the amount of blood she'd shed was proof enough of that!

What the hell did he do!

"Kyo," she frowned, "I don't feel pain anymore. What did you do?"

"I…" what could he tell her? He hadn't done a damn thing! He gathered her into his arms and whispered into her ear, "There's no wound."

"What? Are you sure?"

He stayed quiet, not knowing what to say, fearing what it meant.

"What could this mean?" she asked, gripping the fabric of his kimono almost desperately. He could feel her trembling against him, and he hated the fact that, once again, he'd failed to keep her safe.

"It means you're going to be fine…" he promised, tightening his hold and placing his chin atop her head. He kissed her beautiful locks and silently vowed that he would keep her alive, whatever it took. Even if that was the last thing he did, he would save her… You are going to be fine… I promise…

He continued holding her in silence for what seemed an eternity. When it was clear what had to be done, he broke the hug.

"Put some clothes on," he told her, wrapping a bandage around his torso and tying his kimono up.

"Are we leaving?"

Kyo shook his head. He had never run from a fight before and he was not about to start now. He would kill Koga, that was a fact, but he had to do things properly; to plan out his priorities. First he needed to find out what he had done to Yuya. Kyo, however, had never been good with things as complex as spells or curses. Probably for the first time in his life, he accepted the fact that he needed help.

There was only one man that could help him. One man who knew more about his past and his kills than he himself did. A man who not only knew how to get information but –most importantly—how to 'use' that information. That man was Yukimura Sanada.

When Yuya was ready, he stood up, took her hand and made his way towards the front desk. He ordered her to sit down while he wrote his letter.

"What are you doing?" she asked, peering over his shoulder. He had already written a letter to Yukimura and to his servant number two and he was on the process of writing a third to Akira.

"Calling in the cavalry," he answered, then after a pause added, "plus a baby-sitter."

Yuya frowned, "Baby-sitter?" In answer he pointed towards the letter addressed to his servant number two. Yuya's eyes narrowed, "Baby-sitter for whom?"

Kyo rolled his eyes, "I believe it's obviously for the one who managed to get attacked three times in less than five days."

"What! It was not my fault!" she argued heatedly. "Plus you were attacked the same number of times!"

"There's a difference between getting attack and getting into a fight, woman."

Shinna Yuya scowled. Yet, her building irritation quickly turned to worry when she saw Kyo's relaxed stand switch to a tensed one, "What! What's wrong?"

Kyo sighed, "Tell me you know their addresses…"

She face palmed herself. "And here I thought something horrible had happened to you!"

Yuya snatched the letters from his hands and wrote on each envelop the addresses her friends had given her before they parted ways. "What would you do without me," she sighed dramatically.

He smiled cynically, "If it wasn't for me you would probably be long dead."

She scowled, blushing furiously, "You can be such a jerk sometimes, you know!"

Kyo smirked, taking her anger more than her words as a compliment. Yuya decided to ignore him for her sanity's sake. Once she finished jotting down the addresses, he handed the letters to the owner of the Inn who would, in turn, sent three messengers to deliver them for a relatively cheap amount of money -that was after Kyo threatened to slit his throat open and burn his Inn if the letters did not arrived at their destination in less than three days and adding, naturally, that he was not willing to pay more than fifty yens for the service. So, the letters were delivered and the only thing left to do was to wait for their team to arrive.

To be continued…