Yay I got a quick reaction to my story! So as a reward I'm going to update the next chapter! Thank you kpotter1993 and Kagome141414 for your reviews. By the way I forgot to mention last chapter that there will be swearing so don't read if you take offense to that kind of stuff. Now on to the next chapter!

Chapter 2: In the Woods

Keiko got up and noticed from her window that it was bright outside though the sky was dark. That could only mean two things in a village like theirs: a demon or demons were attacking, or there was a large fire. By the looks of things she guessed it was the latter. Demons could be dealt with but a fire could spread quickly with little trouble. She nodded at Shizuru to show she understood then they both quickly fled the room. She noticed Kuwabara's door was opened and figured he had gone to fight off the fire already. Keiko and Shizuru joined the women and children as they left behind the village, going to the safe house not too far from the village for them to stay. They used to flee into the woods when they had to evacuate but after Genkai moved here, she had a house built large enough for almost everyone to cram into. Genkai also warded the place so that only the strongest of demons could get through unless they were allowed in by someone.

Keiko fell back to the end of the group to make sure no one was left behind. As they walked through the forest they held the torches they carried with them high and everyone bunched together. It was unlikely but there was still the chance of a demon attack. Suddenly Keiko saw Shizuru freeze at the head of the group before she turned around with a panicked look on her face.

Shizuru started shouting. "Everybody run! We have to get away from here quickly so follow me. Now!" Shizuru had spiritual awareness that was the best in the village and was great at sensing danger. If she said run you go as fast as your feet can carry you unless you want to die.

As everyone started running forward Keiko tripped on a rock on the path and quickly got left behind. She jumped up to follow after when she heard a noise. It sounded like a growl to her right. She knew she couldn't lead it to the others as this was probably what Shizuru sensed so she turned to her left, got off the path they had been walking on, and went into the forest. She figured it was a stupid thing to do but her only other options were not desirable like standing and fighting. Keiko may have a strong hit but it wasn't going to be enough to stop whatever came after her. She also wasn't a fighter so her best option was to try to hide in the woods. Maybe then she could mask her scent and hide until it was gone. Not that she had a choice. She just had to hope she didn't run into anything else dangerous.

As she got farther away from the path she heard more growls but not close enough to worry her. Finally the growls stopped so she figured that it had found something else to interest it but that left her with another problem. She was in the woods. Alone. By herself. Keiko tried hard not to panic; she hated to be alone. She was deep in the woods filled with demons who would be hunting. Keiko didn't know how long she walked before she heard the sound of water close by. She decided to head there and get something to drink. She also might be able to use it to guide her back to the village. Surely the fire had been contained by now or so she hoped. She didn't know how big the fire had been when they left or how far it had spread. Not like she could do anything about that now.

When she got closer to the sound of the water, Keiko got the feeling that something was behind her, hiding. She sped up to get away from it when she heard a small crunch. She started to run. If it came down to a fight she would prefer to be in a more open area so that she had a way to dodge and run in any direction. She broke into a small clearing but as she looked back for a pursuer she ran into something. She fell to the ground hard and sat dazed. Then she snapped back to attention as she realized she hadn't run into something but someone. She jumped up and put some distance between her and the one she had run into. She got ready to attack; even if she stood no chance. She would go down fighting.

Keiko looked to see who she would fight. When she caught sight of him she froze. 'Gorgeous' was the only thing that ran through her head. Whoever he was he had slicked back black hair with beautiful brown eyes. He wasn't wearing a shirt so she could see his tanned, muscular chest. He had a lean body but his muscles showed he wasn't weak. 'Get a grip on yourself Keiko! No human wanders the forest alone at night no matter how strong they are. He's definitely a demon and he might decide to kill you. Stop staring!' While all this was running through her head the man never once took his eyes off Keiko nor did he move.

"What's a human girl doing out here alone? And in such little clothing?" He asked leering at her figure clearly visible in her nightgown. Before Keiko realized what she was doing she went up to the demon and slapped him.

The demon had a stunned look on his face as Keiko slowly backed away, fearing retribution. Then he surprised her by laughing.

"Goddamn that hurt. You're stronger than you look. Not to mention your bravery for slapping me." Keiko blushed a little at the indirect compliment but held her ground.

"You're a pervert and deserved to be slapped. Now either move out of my way so I can get to the stream or I will make you!" Keiko had gotten louder as she went on. Fear flashed across her face as she saw his face turn serious.

"You'd make me move. I'd like to see you try. By the way, why are you here alone, especially in that clothing?"

As he said this Keiko thought she might have heard an underlying tone of concern but she dismissed the thought. Why would a demon be concerned about a lost human girl. She decided to answer him truthfully. It couldn't hurt and she was afraid he might try to force it out of her.

She told him everything that happened though she left out specifics when it came to her village. She didn't want him to try and attack it. He listened to everything she said and even once she thought she heard him mumble "No wonder I couldn't smell anything." She was a little surprised by his interest but she could tell that he was an upper-class demon and they didn't get that way by brawn alone. She knew a little of demons from Kurama, who told her that only the stronger demons look human-like. Kurama told her of the classes of demons and said that he was a A-class demon, though in his human form it was lowered to a B-class. He also mentioned that this could happen in the case of demons possessing humans or from half breeds but he told her the latter was extremely rare and most demons didn't bother with possession, especially in areas that were secluded.

When she finished her story he nodded and moved to the side of the small path, allowing access to the stream. Some of her suspicion must have shown because he smirked at her and jerked his head towards the stream.

"Go on. I won't stop you. You answered my question after all." Keiko said a quiet "Thank you" as she passed him, grateful he was letting her get a drink though she was still uncertain about turning her back to him. But then whether her back was turned or not probably didn't matter as he could probably kill her easily either way. She hoped that by letting her get a drink he wasn't planning on killing her here. 'Just in case I'll keep my guard up. Not that it would do me any good but it's better to be prepared.' She noted as she looked back and saw he had followed her. Keiko was getting worried.

"So what's your name girl?" Even though she disliked the girl part he sounded genuinely curious so she decided to answer.

"Yukimura Keiko." Keiko didn't mean to but she said this quietly, almost like a girl introducing herself to her first crush. She blushed. He noticed.

Smirking he replied. "Keiko, huh? Pretty name for a pretty girl. My name's Yusuke by the way. You can call me baby though." He said this smoothly with velvet in his voice.

"Why that's a perfect name for you as you probably have the brains of a one year old." Yusuke looked at her then grinned.

"Guess I walked into that one. Speaking of walking I'll take you back to your village. Sakura Village, right?" This instantly got Keiko's attention and she tensed. She had never told him the name of her village. He saw this and quickly fixed his mistake. "I'm not going to do anything. There's only one village anywhere near here and I've been there a few times."

"Why should I let you walk me back? I can use this stream to find my own way back. What do I need you for, especially since you're a potential threat?"

"I'm going to protect you. No demon would harm you with me around." Keiko was shocked. This demon wanted to help her but…
"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know I can trust you not to attack me?"

"You can't." Yusuke said simply.

Alright there's chapter two. It's a bit shorter than the first but not by much. I probably won't update too soon because I need to work on Caught Inbetween as well as continue writing this story so I don't know when I will next update but reviews make me work faster! Saying that, please review!