Author's Note: Hey guys! Another chapter for you - seeing as the feedback for the last chapter was AMAZING! Thank you to everyone for all your wonderful comments!

My amazing Beta and Editor and partner-in-crime InsanityIsReality suggested that I place a warning for this chapter, and I thank her for all her wonderful support and ideas and constructive help.

NEW-EDIT: this chapter has been edited to better suit the purposes of this story. I hope you enjoy it.

Date Night

"Hello?" Came a voice with a click.

"Hey… Mom… It's me." Valerie murmured a little stiffly. Her heart beat a little uneasily as she rubbed the back of her neck with one hand whilst the other held the phone to her ear.

"Valerie?" Her mother said with shock evident in her voice. "Oh… I wasn't expecting you to call…"

"Yeah, I know it's been a while…" The daughter murmured awkwardly. Her stomach was already twisting.

"Yeah, it has…" Her mom, Stephanie, mumbled back before her voice picked up again as she tried to make her routine excuse. "I would've called sooner, but work is very busy right now, I'm working on a very difficult case."

"I know." Valerie sighed. Her mom was always busy, there was never a day when she wasn't. "I just thought I'd ring and tell you… erm, I've finished the first year."

"Oh? Yes? How did you do?" Her mother asked as if she only just remembered.

"I think I did pretty well. But I won't know for sure until the results come out in a few weeks." Valerie shrugged to herself as she paced back and forth across the room as a form of nervous habit.

"But that's still great, Valerie. Well done." Stephanie said with average sincerity.

Valerie felt her lips purse, though stopped herself from giving a little snapping comment that would send her and her mother into one of their normal spats. But she honestly wanted her mother to show just a little more enthusiasm. She'd finished her first year at University, surely that warranted more than a 'well done'. If her dad were here he'd be throwing confetti over her and making them have a friendly beer at home as he smothered her so much he tried to embarrass her. He always did, even if she accomplished the smallest things. Her dad had always wanted to make her feel proud of what she'd done, to the point where she got so embarrassed she loved it. Her mother never did that; her mom was nothing like her dad. That had always been the problem.

"So… will you be coming home for the summer?" Stephanie's nervous but hopeful question brought Valerie back to the present.

"I…" She hesitated, feeling her stomach sink as she could only imagine the disappointment on her mom's face. She hated being the bearer of bad news. "No Mom. I've got a good steady job here – I doubt they'd give me a choice on leaving. And I've got a good apartment here as well…"

"Oh… okay. Will you come up for Christmas or thanksgiving, at least?" Her mother asked.

"Sure. I'll see if I can make it." Valerie said vaguely.

"And maybe I'll squeeze a weekend to come and visit you. That would be good… right?" She could almost hear how strained her mother's smile was.

Valerie didn't say anything. She and her mother both knew that she wouldn't have time, that she probably wouldn't even make time to come and visit her all the way in San Francisco. They said the words because it was what they always did, ever since Valerie had been young when her parents divorced and her mother moved away. Nothing ever changed.

"Look, Valerie…" Stephanie sighed, suddenly sounding very tired. "I know we haven't exactly been… good lately…" She said slowly, and Valerie heard her gulp, completely out of her depth as she didn't even know how to talk to her own daughter. "But… I do want us to be close again. I'm willing to try."

"I know Mom. But you know why I left," Valerie murmured.

"Yeah, I do." The real regret in her mother's voice was enough to make her blink in surprise. "I just… I thought we'd settle past this by now…" Stephanie murmured with a slight tremble.

"Yeah…" Valerie whispered, trying to not allow her eyes to sting – she wouldn't let herself cry! "Look Mom, I gotta go. I need to get ready."

"Ready? For what?" Her mother asked almost defensively.

"I… erm, I'm going on a date tonight." Valerie replied awkwardly.

"Really?! Oh wonderful! Well, I'll let you get to it then!" Stephanie's voice perked up cheerily, as if she'd never been bothered.

"Okay, I'll speak to you soon." The blonde murmured her usual farewell before she shut the phone off and plugged it back in to charge. She sighed as she tried to brush the stress she'd been feeling when waiting for her mother to pick up the phone. She'd been meaning to call her for the past few weeks, but thanks to the whole incident where she'd been recovering from Hak Foo beating her to a pulp and the demon-stuff since, it had slipped her mind. But now it was over with, and she could go back to normalcy.

So once again, Valerie was doing her absolute best to try and pick out an outfit.

Her date with David was finally here, and seeing as neither Bai Tza nor Shendu had been seen or heard from since the incident at Embarcadero Station, Valerie was confident enough that she'd be in the clear for tonight. It had only been a few days, but it was the first weekend since all the schools had broken up for summer-break, Universities included. Jade had been over the moon to be off school, and Valerie had to admit she was looking forward to not having to worry about assignments as well as demons.

The click-click sound of fingers on a laptop could be heard from the living-room of Valerie's small apartment, reminding her of her temporary guest. Surprisingly enough, Nataline and Valerie managed to get along even when living together. Despite the fact that they had started off rough when they'd first met, since Embarcadero Station, Valerie had to admit that Nat wasn't that bad. Living together was somewhat easy. They both went to the shop during the day, or Nat would go to the gym a few blocks away, and during the evening they just did their own thing – Nat constantly on her little laptop and Valerie reading a book. They'd talk over dinner sometimes, and Nat didn't seem to mind sleeping on the couch and didn't complain. Though Valerie would swear to never let the demon-hunter cook again. The one time she did, she nearly set the whole building on fire and the food at the end was almost inedible; needless to say that Nat was much fonder of take-out then she was of home-cooked food. But despite the fact that she couldn't cook to save her life, Valerie was surprised by how much of a clean-freak Nat was. Nat insisted on doing the cleaning every night and got incredibly frustrated when she saw Valerie doing it, exclaiming that she constantly 'missed a spot'.

Focusing her attention back to getting ready, Valerie looked herself over in the mirror. Seeing as her black dress still stank of fish and seawater and she'd lost one shoe in Embarcadero Station, Valerie had had no choice but to go for the only other option she had. The only other dress she owned was a white dress with a low cut front and off the shoulder sleeves. It was tight around her chest and waist and hugged her hips all the way down to her knees in a mermaid-style, hardly giving her any freedom of movement. The only shoe choice that went with the outfit was a pair of silver heels, which already made Valerie groan at the thought of the blisters she would end up with in the morning. Though she did think of a clever plan, seeing as how she was only sitting down to dinner, she could take the shoes off whilst her feet were under the table. She'd been most of the past hour pulling her hair into an immaculate ponytail, and then curling the strands of the tail to give her more of an exotic look. With a little bit of eyeliner and lip-gloss, she knew she was as ready as she was going to be.

Wandering out into the main-room, Valerie then began to hunt through the kitchen as she searched for her handbag and everything she would need to put in it. From her position on the sofa, Nat looked up from her laptop and eyed Valerie over the counter.

"Why on earth are you wearing that?" Nat asked as she eyed the outfit with a quirked eyebrow.

"'Why Valerie, don't you look lovely.' 'Oh thank you, Nataline, that's very kind of you'." Valerie said sarcastically as she threw Nat a dead-panned look over her shoulder.

"Seriously, though, why are you wearing that?" Nat demanded.

"I'm going on a date with a boy from school, remember?" Valerie reminded her with a role of her eyes as she dug through the kitchen drawer for any loose change.

"So you're wearing those." Nat actually curled her lip as she glared at the pointed shoes on Valerie's feet.

"They're the only shoes that would go with the outfit." The blonde shrugged.

"Didn't think you were the fashion type." Nat murmured as she glanced at her computer screen before looking back up at Valerie.

"I'm not." She agreed as she walked to the sofa and picked up her handbag. Opening it, she took out all the old receipts and pieces of paper that had grown in there over the past months. "But I've given up too much of my femininity to being a book-worm, I'm not getting rid of my right to be pretty every now and then."

"This guy worth it?" The demon hunter asked as if she seriously doubted it.

"Might be," Valerie shrugged as she straightened, glancing in the mirror on the wall and nervously fiddling with her dress as she wandered if it was too much for the occasion. "Either way, I like to dress up when I go out – makes people take a second glance. I call it the 'Cinderella-effect'. You'd probably wear combat boots."

"Yep. I much prefer the 'don't-rape-me-effect." Nat smirked smugly.

"David isn't like that," Valerie snapped.

"Oh, they never are." The red-head rolled her eyes with her sarcastic words.

"I get the sense you're saying this just because you don't like high-heels." Valerie said as she resisted the urge to stick her tongue out or make a remark that would have them go into a sarcasm-war.

"Hell no, they're death-traps!" Nat proclaimed with a look of hatred as she once again eyes the shoes in question.

Valerie snorted before going on a hunt through the apartment for her cell-phone, trying to remember where she'd plugged it in last. There was a short silence, but Valerie seemed to sense that Nat wanted to say something, she could almost image the cogs turning in her head as she tried to find the words. But finally, as the silence grew heavier and heavier, the red-head spoke.

"Why did you save the demon?" Nat asked in an unnervingly unreadable tone.

Valerie paused mid-step, her heart skipping a beat in slight fear. Honestly, she knew that this question was coming, and wondered why it hadn't sooner. She'd seen the looks she'd been getting from everyone at the store, nothing bad, but more like they were trying to work out what was going on inside her head. But she'd known it would be Nat out of all of them who would speak first. She tried to carry on as if nothing were amiss, even when she felt her stomach tying itself in knots.

"I didn't." She murmured. "I went to save Valmont."

"Really?" Nat eyed Valerie suspiciously, and the woman felt her insides coil up and tense with fear.

"Yes." She said, trying to not allow her voice to shake. "I know you're more than prepared to kill for the greater good – but that's something I don't get. My dad… he always used to say that we need to keep everyone safe, because if we don't then we're no better than the bad-guys."

"But you hate Valmont." Nat pointed out as she slowly stood. Valerie didn't want to admit that she was intimidated by the way the huntress was looking at her, as if determining whether or not she was truthful, and as if her life depended upon that answer. Valerie had thought that they were past this, but she knew that Nat just didn't want Valerie going over to the dark side.

"Yeah, I do." Valerie admitted quickly, trying to cook up an excuse that would settle with Nat, and decided to land on one of Uncle's. "But you heard what Uncle said. If Shendu dies in that body, he's free to possess another. At least in there we know he can't do much damage."

"Yeah, but –"

Bleep-Bleep. Bleep-Bleep. Went the cell phone next to Nat, interrupting her. She sighed, before picking up the phone and flipping it open as she accepted the call.

"Hey Grandfather," She greeted in a cheerful and soft voice – and Valerie was somewhat surprised to see a sincere smile grace the red-head's face instantly upon hearing the voice of the man on the other end. "Yeah, everything here's going great. We're narrowing down our search, we're just waiting for the big fish to make her show… I know, I know… Hey, did you tell dad about… uh-huh? … Oh good! Maybe I can…"

Valerie decided to take this opportunity to slip out of the door. Nat had been receiving calls almost daily from her father and grandfather in Japan, and she was always on the phone for ages whenever they rang. Valerie knew she wouldn't get another opportunity, and so grabbed her keys and left the apartment.

She hailed a cab to take her to the restaurant she and David had agreed on, the new Sushi place uptown. Having never tried Sushi, Valerie was eager to try it especially after both Nat and Tohru's recommendations. When she'd arrived, David had already been waiting for her, and quickly made a round of compliments on her appearance. Valerie blushed under the praise, feeling her attitude towards the evening lift a little. Despite the fact that Valerie was not a vain person, seeing as she considered herself to look boring and plain compared to other women, it did feel nice to be noticed.

They went into the restaurant and Valerie and David quickly settled onto a familiar topic to ease both of their nerves: history. They both talked through their final papers and managed to discuss and debate their answers and how well they thought they did. The conversation then moved onto their excitement for the next year, and then it moved onto what they wanted to do after the university course, and then why and then onto trivial things, and so it went on. They both tried Sushi, and although Valerie admitted she kind-of liked it, David didn't; though thankfully there were other options on a specials menu.

The night was easy and carefree, and Valerie had to admit that she was enjoying herself. David was a good guy, and able to set her at ease by the fact that she never sensed that he wanted something from her, he just wanted to enjoy her company. Valerie appreciated him for that, though as David began to talk about his parents and where he grew up, she couldn't help but wonder… Was this just two friends having a nice meal to celebrate completing their final exams? Or was it something more? What if Nat had been right? Would she get dressed up like this if it were Jackie taking her out to celebrate? Probably not. And then the next set of awkward questions came: did Valerie want something with David? The thought made her slightly uncomfortable with apprehension. Despite the fact that Valerie had had one or two boyfriends before, she'd never had a lasting relationship. She was no virgin, by any means, though it had been a while since her last boyfriend. That had been almost a year before her father's death, and since then Valerie had been too wrapped up in her own little world to think about romantic relationships. Did she want to be romantically involved with someone? She didn't need it, for she was perfectly happy living her life as she was. But then she didn't want to end up like her mother, all work and no love in her life…

Did David think this was something more? Despite the fact that her mood had been extremely good up until this point, she felt herself suddenly sober. What if David wanted to take this further? Thinking about the implications of being romantically involved with David somehow made Valerie's stomach quiver with unease. She'd never been confident around men, mainly because she was most of the time overlooked for much prettier specimens of the female gender. Thinking about David wanting to kiss her, to take this one step further… she suddenly felt extremely shy, and sat back in her chair, unconsciously putting distance between herself and the man she was sharing a table with, who seemed oblivious to her behaviour.

But why should she fight this? She pondered that. Why should she deny herself something for no good reason other than the fact that she was a coward? It wasn't like she was in a relationship with anyone else, nor was she pining over a recent breakup. She had no excuse to not go for something special, and perhaps this might add a little spice to her home life so she wouldn't need to spend all her free time at the shop. David might even end up being the one. She would never know until she tried.

Shrugging off her nerves, she focused her attention back onto David with a plastered-on smile, determined to enjoy herself tonight.

Shendu roamed the streets of San Francisco, the late night hour meaning that hardly anyone was about. His human body, even with his glowing red eyes, was unnoticed by the night. Valmont was extremely unresponsive inside of their shared body, Shendu's punishment for the mortal for rendering him unconscious and trying to banish him. Shendu had lashed out and made sure his spirit had hurt his host with volts of electricity that he knew would hurt, before squashing the human conscious down with fury. The human had not been in control for a few days now, and Shendu was determined to keep it that way for as long as possible to punish the human for his transgression.

The demon-in-human-skin now wandered the streets of San Francisco looking for his twin sister. Since the incident at Embarcadero Station, when he'd awoken from slumber to find her in the middle of causing a flood before being stopped by the Chi-Wizard, the water demon had almost disappeared. Shendu was certain that she remained either in or near the city, more than likely using the sewer systems as she plotted her next move. Shendu needed to find her because he needed to convince her to set him free of this prison, no matter the cost.

As he walked along, he glanced to the side when he saw a taxi pull up to a stop across and up the street. It was quite late, and Shendu had thought that no one would be about. But he was mildly surprised when he saw none other than Valerie climb out of the car. His red eyes widened as he saw her.

She was a vision of womanly beauty, in a white dress that hugged her figure in the most delicious way, accentuating her female curves to such a tight degree that Shendu couldn't help but feel his body temperature rise to a feverish degree. Her hair was up and pulled back but curled in a way that seemed to accentuate the angles of her face and showed off the curve of her throat. Oddly enough, Shendu found himself most drawn to the white colour of the dress she wore. It was such a pearly shade that it made her already pale skin look like snow, and it made her hair seem that much more yellow in the moonlight, and her eyes sparkle. Shendu had noticed how in this western world, brides were often dressed in white to signify their virginal innocence… and he couldn't help but be pleased with that imagery. To see Valerie in a white dress in all her glory as if she were the sacrificial lamb… it made him shudder as a wicked grin spread across his face.

Her image in the black dress from what he could remember when he'd awoken at Embarcadero Station had been tantalising enough. Her body soaked and pressed against his had very much –

But then, a second figure climbed out of the car, and Shendu halted in his advancement and quickly slunk into the shadows, unseen. He watched with narrowed eyes as he saw the second figure was a young man, perhaps Valerie's age. He had brown, almost auburn hair, but was skinny and not much taller than Valerie. He was dressed in a cheap but smart grey suit, and he kept his hands in his pockets as he walked alongside Valerie. Shendu felt his eyes narrow in suspicion as a flame of anger ignited in his chest.

Sticking to the shadows, he decided to follow them, his earlier mission completely forgotten in favour of being a little territorial. He kept his eyes focused on how close the two were, and his focus kept shifting from one to the other as he tried to piece this together. They were dressed similar, but it was late and they seemed to be heading in the direction of a set of apartment buildings. Had they just been out together? Why was Valerie so dressed up for this twig?

At the junction of an alley just before they could cross the street towards the apartment building, they stopped. Shendu darted into the shadows closest to them and held himself still as he leaned in to hear. His prey was unable to see him, though his eyes still glowed ominously out of the darkness.

"Thanks for tonight, David," He heard Valerie say with a sweet smile on her face. "I had a really good time."

"Me too." The young man – David, Shendu thought with a curl of his lip – said with such eagerness that it was almost a little overwhelming. "Maybe we could try it again sometime? I know the summer months can be pretty long…"

"I'd love to." Valerie said softly, and Shendu had to fight to keep himself from growling a warning.

"Cool!" David grinned. "Maybe next time we can pick a place that we know we like the food."

He laughed at his own joke, and Valerie chuckled to join in politely, though Shendu could see right through her. He saw how the laughter was slightly nervous, a little hesitant. She acted like a deer who didn't know whether to bolt or stand still and stare.

There was an awkward silence that fell over them for a moment, the boy shifting a little on his feet as he tried to decide what to do. Valerie stayed perfectly still, as if she didn't know what she was supposed to do now. But then, David seemed to muster his courage, and suddenly took a daring step forward as he leaned in towards Valerie. Her eyes widened as if she had not expected this, before she seemed to force them closed as he kissed her.

Shendu hissed in outrage, and before he could stop himself, he was charging towards them. He was so enraged that he cared not if anyone saw him as he ran forwards with in-human speed. He was ready to kill, to tear and break the boy into little pieces for daring to touch what wasn't -

But before Shendu could fully reach them, Valerie's hand came up and pushed David back. Perhaps it was a little stronger then she'd intended, because the boy stumbled a little, his expression confused, and possibly even hurt. Shendu darted into the shadows before either of them noticed.

The awkward silence this time was almost unbearable. Valerie cleared her throat uncomfortably before speaking. "I'm sorry, David. But I don't think I can..."

"Valerie, I'm sorry, just let me-"

"I think you'd better go." She looked away from him at the floor. Her arms crossed over her chest, cutting him out. "I'll speak to you later."

David looked like he wanted to argue, but closed his mouth. He nodded, and slowly climbed back into the cab. Shendu watched it leave. Valerie sighed, her shoulders sagging as if she'd finally relaxed for the first time in hours. She turned around and began to walk into the alley, her high-heels clicking loudly on the floor.

Shendu chose that moment to step out from the shadows beside her. "That was a close call."

Valerie jolted back in surprise, and her eyes widened as she beheld Shendu standing before her.

She growled to herself, and walked away from him. "Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Who was that?" he asked, trying to mask how tight his voice had become.

She continued walking on, seemingly determined to ignore him. "A boy from school and none of your business. Why?"

"I consider it my business when he decides to move on you like that."

"What are you, my stalker now?" She glared at him. "Shendu, I'm not in the mood for this tonight. Just leave me-"

He caught her arm and spun her around to face him. "We are talking about this. Now. I have been very lenient with your behaviour, Valerie, but this is how you repay me? Unfaithfulness is something I will not tolerate."

"There is nothing between us for me to be faithful too!"

"No more games, Valerie." He glowered at her. "You know you belong to me, and you were foolish if you thought I would let this slip!"

"I belong to no one!" Valerie snarled as she tried to shove Shendu away from her, though with little result. "You honestly think that there is anything between us? There's nothing!"

"Why must you be so stubborn?! I've played the game your way, though I'm starting to tire of it. What must I do to win your attention?"

"How about not following me into dark alleys?" She grumbled.

"Call me territorial."

"I'm not your thing!" The woman snarled at him with enough venom, Shendu would have mistaken her for a demon herself. "Rule number 1: there is nothing a woman hates more then being treated like a piece of property."

"You're not property, you're-"

"Your Other. I know." she groaned. She rubbed her hands over her face, as if exhausted. "Look, Shendu, I'm can't do this anymore. It's been months. When will you understand? I'm nothing to you, I feel nothing for you! Get that through your thick skull and leave me –"

"You're lying."

"What?" She blinked at him stupidly as his words made her lose track of her thoughts.

"I know there is something inside you that wants me," He leered down at her as he began to close the distance between them. Valerie slowly backed up, until she pressed herself against the brick wall behind her. He left room for her to escape if she wanted, but she merely stared up at him, wide eyed. He leaned in, his mouth was hovering right beside her ear. "I can hear your heartbeat race when I come near. Your breathing changes ever so slightly. Your pupils dilate when you look at me."

"Those are also signs for a number of different things." She murmured distractedly. But still her heartbeat refused to quieten. He grinned triumphantly as he leaned back away from her and she gave a subtle sigh of relief.

"Then why did you save me?" He asked, watching her carefully as her eyes shifted about uneasily. "If you felt nothing for me, then why didn't you let me drown?"

"You've saved me plenty of times. I wanted to wipe the slate clean." She muttered, though she wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Is that why you kissed me?" he asked, his grin growing wider. Oh yes, he remembered that kiss, even though he'd been half conscious and drowning, he'd still felt her give him wonderful air. And then he'd felt her for the tiniest moment almost kiss him back… even though he'd been underwater (a realm he usually hated with a passion) he'd still rejoiced in victory when he'd finally felt her succumb.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her eyes had turned somewhat fearful as she looked anywhere but at him.

"Lie if you will, but I remember how your lips moved…" he murmured with a slight purr as he leaned closer to her again. This time she refused to give ground to him, but he saw the slight shiver run up her spine as he rumbled to her with his seductive words. "How you tasted… how you pulled me closer… You kissed me, Valerie. You might not admit it to yourself, you might not even realise it, but you're mine now."

"Keep dreaming!" She hissed as she tried to push him away.

"Why are you doing this to me, Valerie?" he demanded, patience becoming thin. "What do I have to do to get your attention? Why would you pick that weakling boy over me?"

"It's not what you-"

"Don't lie to me!" He snarled. "Tell me why you would choose that pathetic creature, when you could have me. I would make you a Queen, I would give you the world…"

"There's nothing between David and me! And it's none of your business anyway!" Valerie snapped.

"It is my business!"

She looked up at him defiantly. "What, am I not allowed to have a normal life? Are you that paranoid that you're now following me to check up on everything I do? I'm not giving up my life for you."

"I'm not asking you to." He shot back, losing himself in his anger before he could actually comprehend what he was saying. "I don't mind what you do with your life, you could do anything you pleased, so long as no other man touches you. In which case, I will gladly make you watch as I tear him apart right in front of your very eyes! I don't suffer traitors well; I'll take you from everything you love and lock you from the light of day until you remember who you belong to!"

He saw her tremble as she took his words seriously. It took him a moment to realise what he'd said and regret them for the way she might interpret them, even if they were secretly true. After everything he'd now gone through to try and ensnare this woman, he wasn't going to lose her to anything. He saw Valerie's eyes shift back and forth as she looked at the ground, thinking hard. When she looked up at him, there was something new in her eyes – something reserved and suspicious.

"Is that what you did to Lo Mei?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Shendu was so shocked by her sudden question that he was unable to answer straight away, and simply stood there staring at her blankly. But that was all the conformation she needed. But still he wondered how she could have known, unless she had been there… Ah, Lo Pei. There was no other explanation.

"I see you spoke with the terracotta warrior, then," He murmured with a scowl at the mere thought of the ancient warrior.

"He told me some, but not all of it." She told him in a soft voice, though her suspiciously narrowed eyes never left him. "I want you to tell me. I want you to tell me what you did to her, and why."

"You will not like the answer."

"Tell me." She insisted. Watching her carefully, Shendu curled his lip. If she wanted to play with fire, then who was he to stop her?

"Very well." He said. "You must understand, Valerie, that when you can live so long that eternity spreads in front of you, and you have no more enemies to fight and you have gained everything you wanted, life grows… dull." He explained, losing himself in the tale as the emotions from almost a thousand years ago still lingered inside of him, even to this day.

"Dull?" Valerie questioned.

"Yes…" He murmured. "My demon brethren had all been banished. I ruled an empire that would soon eclipse the world! I was powerful beyond measure, there was nothing left in existence that could challenge me. Without that challenge, however, life became monotonous, and I grew bored with my existence. I had no goal left to strive for, no enemy to destroy, and no purpose. And I knew that this would continue for eternity, as I was immortal and the stretch of forever seemed infinitely long to spend uninterested in anything. I wanted something to bring back my relish for life, when I came upon an epiphany. I watched my slaves go about their business, and saw them live and die and birth new generations to take their place. It was the cycle of life to create a dynasty to secure one's place in the world, and I knew this was what I needed. I wondered if perhaps I could father a legacy of my own! My father had done so by creating his own demon brood, so why not I?

"I wanted a human to birth my legacy, as a demon or other supernatural entity might give me a child that may surpass me, and I was not foolish enough to want that." He continued as he explained, Valerie's eyes never leaving his. Shendu stared into the distance as he almost faded into memories. "I was walking through the gardens of my palace, when I saw a human woman amongst the flowers."

"Lo Mei…" Valerie whispered.

"Yes." Shendu nodded. "I saw her beauty and female elegance, and I desired her. I chose her to be my bride, which was quite an honour, seeing as other human females had only ever been a concubine to me. But I then discovered that she was in love with another. I was not of a mind to share my things. So I killed the boy and made her watch, and took the girl as my prisoner."

A sneer curled Shendu's lip, and a rumbling growl was faintly heard as the memories became more tinged with anger and hatred the further he remembered.

"The girl's father, Lo Pei, and her brother, Lo Shun, launched a campaign against me to get her back. I crushed their forces on the battlefield, but did not anticipate that Lo Pei had been studying scroll-magic, and so I was imprisoned in a statue. The rest, you know."

"No…" Valerie's word was murmured, and when he focused his red eyes back on her, he found her expression to be disbelieving, her suspicion growing. "That's not it, that's not the whole story… Pei said she died."

"She did." Shendu replied with an unreadable voice.

"But why? How?" The blonde pressed, and although Shendu didn't want her to go down this line of thought, he would not hide the truth.

"The girl was beside herself with grief over her lover's death. She wandered onto the battlefield and killed herself. She picked up the nearest fallen sword and impaled herself on it."

Valerie's eyes grew wide before a pity filled them. She looked away from him, eyes glistening as she was probably imagining the tragic image he painted for her. Shendu grew angry at the stab of regret he felt at having told her. He shouldn't have to apologise for anything, he was a demon-sorcerer, a creature of evil and dark-chi. Why should a mortal girl make him bow to her?!

"And now you know everything!" He growled at her, awaiting her judgement.

Valerie didn't speak for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity to Shendu. She simply stared at him with those sparkling blue eyes, and it drove him insane to not know what she was thinking.

"Do you regret what you did?" she finally asked in a small voice.

"I..." He didn't know how to answer. "I hated her at first. It was in grief for her death that forced Lo Pei to turn me into a statue. Indirectly, I blamed her for starting it all. I hated her for taking from me what I wanted. But... I suppose... I regret losing what she represented: a future that did not require magic and spells to fuel it. A future to look forward to. A future with..." he looked over at her with almost nervous eyes, "...someone."

There was a long moment of silence, and they both merely stood there, staring at each other, not sure where to go from here. Shendu had never been unsure of anything in his life, and it left him feeling… vulnerable, and he didn't like it. She seemed to be deciding on something, her eyes shifting and her lips pinched together as she thought of what to say. Something was clearly on her mind still, and Shendu decided to wait patiently for her to speak.

"Why me… Shendu?" She asked slowly. "Why did you choose me?"

"You know I had no hand in choosing you as my Other," he told her. "That was fate. We were made for each other."

"But I know that being someone's Other doesn't have to mean you must be romantically involved with them." A blush crept across her neck and she swallowed thickly. "But I mean… why… w-why do you want me? Is it because… I look like Mei?"

She looked at the floor as a blush of shame appeared on her cheeks, and it made Shendu frown. Did she honestly believe she wasn't worthy of note for her own merits? Did she think the only reason he would be interested in her is because of her passing resemblance to another woman? Shendu felt the instant need to correct this great mistake she had come to.

"When I first saw you," he began to explain slowly, and Valerie looked up at him with apprehensive eyes. "Your brief resemblance of Mei was what first grabbed my attention. At first, I wanted revenge on Mei and Pei, by bestowing that vengeance on you, their descendant."

Valerie looked back at the floor, as if her thoughts had been confirmed by his words. Shendu then gently took hold of her chin in his fingers and tilted her face upwards towards his so that she couldn't look anywhere but at his eyes.

"But I grew to want your fire, your spirit." He told her huskily. "You were intelligent, resourceful, defiant, something I had never encountered before. I desired your untamed beauty, and the passion I can see beneath your eyes. And now… I want you and no one else. Mei held a small place in my desire for a short time. But you… you hold everything I am: mind, body and soul. And you forever shall."

Valerie looked up at him in complete astonishment at his words, mouth gaping open as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was rendered utterly speechless, and unable to keep himself back, Shendu took full advantage of her shock, and leaned in and kissed her.

As their lips met, Shendu felt warmth bloom across his body as he felt her soft lips against his, and tasted her against his tongue. He felt her stiffen in shock at his actions, but he paid her no mind. He pulled her against him with one hand whilst the other went to the back of her head to gently cup her face and tilt her head so that he could have a better angle. Before, he'd always been rough and forceful in his kisses with her, but now, for some reason… he was gentle, slow. His lips massaged hers, sweetly trying to show her how tender he could be, if only she'd let him.

And then, after a long moment of hesitation, he suddenly felt her ever so slightly lean into him, and she closed her eyes. It might have been his imagination, at how much he wanted to believe she was kissing him back, and he almost thought she was when she opened her mouth slightly and he readily deepened the kiss on instinct. Her taste swam across his tongue, and he purred in the back of his throat. He pushed against her until he forced her back against the brick-wall, and she squeaked in surprise.

It was enough to break the enchantment that had been held over him. He suddenly didn't know whether or not she had been kissing him back or if she were simply waiting for him to finish. Either way, he couldn't allow himself to divulge in this temptation. If he did, then he might very well lose control of himself and break his promise to her. And he knew she deserved better than a dark alleyway.

So, in a flash of movement, he pushed himself away and was gone from the alley in the blink of an eye. Leaving the woman standing stiff where he'd left her to ponder his words and her own emotions.

Valerie stood there for a long while, trembling in place with the force of adrenaline that coursed through her veins. She couldn't move, she couldn't even get her own thoughts under control, she was so shaken by what had just happened. Her heart was aching and confused, and she didn't know what to think. She didn't even know what she'd done just now! She'd learned things that changed everything, and then learned other things that changed it in another way. But whether these changes were for good or ill, she did not know.

Her head hurt and she really needed to sleep, perhaps in the morning she might be able to understand the confusing emotions inside of her.