Chapter Three

Markers referred to a physical trait that identified the type or abilities of a demon. Most times, those markers were easily identifiable. Cat demons, for example, had fluffy ears to match their namesake, a wide range of colored hair, and long tails. Their eyes could also be slitted, unless they were a specific type of big cat, such as a tiger or leopard. Other demons were a little more difficult to identify by their marker, and usually required a demonstration of skill before their demon type could be confirmed. Coal demons were one such type. They generally had dark, rough hair and eyes that were so black they appeared bottomless. Nothing else about their appearances were similar to one another. It was when their abilities were activated that they revealed their true nature. For small things, Tomoe was able to keep her normal appearance. If her abilities required a more thorough use, her entire body would turn black, and if heated, red.

The fact that his small ward had no discernable marker was extremely rare. Kenshin had argued that her eyes were her marker, as they were a unique shade of blue. However, Tomoe had argued against it, as any known demon-type to have blue eyes also had other markers that were easily recognizable. Water or ice type demons usually had bluish skin, green hair, or gills. No demon that either of them could think of only had blue eyes as a marker. That, of course, did not mean that there were none. When they tried to question the young demon about her origins, though, she had been unable to answer. Kenshin was beginning to suspect more and more that she had some form of amnesia. For now, that left them with two options: either her eyes were her only marker, or, more likely, she was unconsciously hiding them.

There used to be many demons that were able to hide their markers, back when humans were the dominate species. In order to walk amongst them unmolested, they would disguise themselves as humans as best they could. Now that the humans were long since gone, no demon felt it necessary to hide who they were. Not many even knew how to hide their markers anymore.

Kenshin was one of the few who still did, at least, to an extent. His red hair was his marker, but it was a watered-down version of it, and it was only one of the many that he had. It was, in fact, the only one he allowed to show. Fire demons were feared, as bad omens or bad luck. As the last remaining fire demon, Kenshin preferred to leave his demon-type ambiguous. He had no desire to frighten others, or cause any unnecessary trouble. For the most part, others assumed he was a super-heated coal demon, or even a fox demon.

His age had much to do with the latter assumption, as Kenshin had been born while the humans were still alive. Fox demons were notoriously long-lived. Elemental demons were as well, but not many knew that fact anymore. Many of the elemental demons were considered part of the old guard, like his father, and had died out during the great clash with the humans.

It had, in fact, been his father who had taught him how to hide his markers. For some reason, though, he could never turn his hair any color but red. It had amused his father so much, that he had started leaving his own hair red so they could match.

A small smile pulled at his lips as memories from what felt like another life surfaced in his mind. Slowly the smile faded as a familiar twinge of sadness accompanied it. Though it had happened ages ago, his father had showed him nothing but love, and he had always carried that love with him as a result.

Sighing, Kenshin adjusted his shoulders against the hard wood of the floor, and blinked open his eyes to stare at the ceiling of his apartment. That bored him quickly, so he let his muscles relax and his head rolled to one side. Between the legs of the small table separating them, he studied the young demon that had stolen his futon. I guess I let her have it. A rueful grin tugged one side of his mouth upward. She was bundled beneath the blanket with nothing but the strange ball they had pulled her hair into sticking out. Like a cat with a ball of twine. This time he stifled a snicker, and shifted onto his shoulder completely as his boredom retreated.

Kaoru. She was definitely a strange one. Why she had attached herself to him so quickly, he couldn't fathom. But there she was, sleeping in his apartment, wearing his clothes, and eating his food. For some reason, her presence made his apartment feel… different. He couldn't explain what that difference was, but knew it was there all the same. It didn't really feel wrong, either. In fact, he kind of liked having someone else to focus on. To say she needed a lot of attention was an understatement. After everything Tomoe had explained to him about the condition of Kaoru's body, she had obviously suffered extreme abuse. She needed more help than he could give her on his own, and he knew that.

"I'll be back tomorrow. We can talk about it more then. For now, you should let her get some rest." Another perfect bow, and then Tomoe turned to walk away.

I'll need to come to a decision on this. I know this is her best chance of getting the help she needs, but…

But going back there was something he had promised himself he would never do. Crossing his arms over his stomach defensively, he curled in on himself though he felt no chill.

Sometime later, soft, exerted breathing interrupted the silence of night, and Kenshin woke from his doze in time to watch the blanket suddenly rip wide to one side. One shaky arm barely braced the young demon for several long seconds as she caught her breath. Then a flop dropped her straight back into the futon in a way that could only be described as disgust. Both hands came up to cover her face, and she lay quietly like that for some time, with her elbows angled in the air. Just barely, a sniffle signaled the end of whatever had just happened, and then her arms slumped into the cushion of the mattress as well.

A nightmare?

"Are you alright?" Making sure to keep his voice low so as not to scare her, he wasn't surprised when he did not succeed. Her head snapped toward him with more force than he thought she was capable of, but it took barely half a blink for her to recognize him. With the glow of artificial light filtering in the window from an outside streetlamp, he easily watched her lips bow into a smile. Turning onto her side to face him, she balled her hands beneath her chin, and nodded as if nothing scary had ever happened to her in her life.

She trusted me so easily. I don't understand why. And how can she be this happy when such terrible things have been done to her? Why do I… want to help her?

Kaoru continued to smile, even while fighting a yawn. Though the room was well-lit, it was still nighttime, and any details the day would uncover were now muted and concealed. As a result, it took him a while to notice that her hands were still shaking. Is that a show of pride? Or is it something else. Is she trying not to worry me? Or fear that I will react negatively if she shows me her weaknesses?

Such strength.

Extending his arm underneath the small table, he offered her his hand as comfort. Strength did not supersede a need or want for comfort. Deep blue eyes blinked as she considered how to respond. It took little time before her still quivering fingers bridged the distance and slipped into his. The smile on her face softened to something warmer, and she pushed her nose into the pillow bashfully before closing her eyes.

The next morning, he found his ward had woken before him, and was back to scribbling on the piece of paper left on the foldable table. She smiled briefly at him when he sat up, but returned her attention quickly to what she was doing. As far as Kenshin could tell, there was no subject of her drawing, only deep scratches from the pencil in harsh squiggly lines back and forth. Not really concerned, he stood to make something light for breakfast.

As with her previous meal, Kenshin had to make sure she didn't eat it too fast for fear she would make herself sick… or choke. It was obvious the ball in her mouth made it hard to eat, and whenever she drank anything parts of the liquid would run down her throat. Despite her struggle, she was eager. Truth be told, he wanted to feed her anything she wanted until she couldn't eat anymore, but knew that would be counterproductive. It would be a long, slow process before she was healthy again. For that to happen, he also knew he was going to have to accept the help that Tomoe had offered. Even if he didn't like it.

Tapping a finger against his leg restlessly, Kenshin stared at his phone for a full five minutes before he convinced himself to dial the number already brought up on the screen. Tomoe answered after two rings, and he gave her his decision without fanfare.

"You can take her to the lab, but I don't want her to perform any experiments on her."

There was a slight pause. "Do you intend to appoint yourself as her guardian?"

The question caught him off guard, as it made him think through his decisions. I owe this young demon nothing. Doing this much is more than enough. And yet abandoning her didn't feel like an option, either.

"For now… a-at least until we can find her family."

"I see. I will send a car to pick her up. You will accompany her, I assume?"

"I would prefer to."

"Very well." There was no judgment in her voice, but then again, there was no approval in it, either.

Sighing, Kenshin put the phone down and watched as Kaoru doggedly persisted with covering the once white page in gray lead. As he stared at it, he realized that there were two places on either side of center that were lighter than the rest, but was still unable to recognize what she was trying to draw. If she was trying to draw anything.

"Miss Kaoru?" With features now clear of most of the dirt from the day before, he could see more of the emotions that played across her face. At that moment, she was distracted, but gave him her attention begrudgingly. Her cheekbones were much too pronounced. "Would you like to see Tomoe again today?"

An instant smile, and she nodded. It appeared that Tomoe had earned her trust quite quickly as well.

"This time, we are going to where she is. To where she works. Are you fine with that?"

The return of fear in her eyes was startling, and she shook her head. Her free hand jabbed a single finger down onto the table, as if to demand that she come there instead.

"You'll be safe, Miss Kaoru. I'm going to be with you, and I promise nothing will happen that will cause you harm."

Stubbornly, her head shook again, and for a moment he wanted to give in. She needs more help than you can give alone. Repeating the confession to himself, he tapped his fingers again upon his knee restlessly.

"Don't you want that pin out of your mouth? They can take care of that there."

Strangely, the declaration seemed to alarm her, and she dropped the pencil to lean away from him. Almost protectively, her hand came up to cover her mouth, and her head only shook harder.

She doesn't want it out? Why would she ever want to leave it? "What… do you want to do, Miss Kaoru? You can't stay here. It wouldn't be healthy for you."

The tension in her body loosened all at once in heartbreaking dejection, and a soft, shaky breath sucked into her lungs. Undecided, she looked between him and the door and then back again, and every muscle in her face scrunched. It wasn't until she lurched to her feet, almost over-balanced, and started limping for the exit that he realized she had misunderstood him. Luckily, but also sadly, she couldn't move very fast, and he caught her before she could completely abandon her slippers and once again brave the outdoors without anything on her feet but the dressings Tomoe had applied.

"Wait. That's not what I meant." Holding her upright by the shoulders, he swallowed when her eyes glanced tearfully up at him. Eyes so deep they consumed him. "I'm not kicking you out. I just… I want to help you. I don't know what you've gone through, but your body needs more than some bandages and ointment. You need proper care in a proper setting. I know you don't want the police involved. I don't understand why, but I'm not going to pry, either. Tomoe won't report you, and whatever happens at the lab, no one will hurt you. I promise."

She was listening, but still seemed undecided. She wanted to trust him, but something frightened her. At that moment, her fear ran deeper than any brittle trust she had for him.

"How about we make a deal? If you're scared at any time and you want to leave, we'll leave. No matter what's happening, I'll take you away and we won't go back. Not unless you want to." Still cracked lips pursed slightly, and he could tell she was on the verge of believing him. "Just do this." Rushing to think of something, he held up a closed fist, but left his pinky finger extended. "If I see this little-finger I'll know you want to leave, and we'll leave. Okay?" This young demon was so afraid, and it was starting to affect him. He wanted to help, but his attempts didn't seem to be working. As a result, it jerked at his vocal cords vulnerably. "Okay?"

Hesitantly, she nodded, and he breathed an unsteady sigh of relief.

The fear in her had not been assuaged, however, and she clung to his hand in the back of the car Tomoe had sent to pick them up. Once they arrived at the lab, Kenshin's own apprehension threated to swallow him, but he bit it back desperately to keep from influencing her. This was her best chance of getting help, or at least the best chance he could provide to her.

The lab Tomoe worked at was not strictly affiliated with any hospital, and was meant for the study and development of rare or extinct demon abilities and their potential for medicinal applications. That was their external motto, at least. There were many departments within the company, and it required immediate access to most equipment and medicine found in a hospital. There was, of course, a risk that Tomoe could lose her job just by bringing in an unofficial subject, and Kenshin knew this was part of the reason she had suggested consulting with her colleague. If that "colleague" also happened to be her boss, it would make it easier to explain away a presence that wasn't supposed to be there.

Tomoe was waiting for them in the parking garage with a wheelchair, which Kaoru was placed in so that she would not be required to walk. Nothing was said until they were standing inside the elevator that would take them to an upper floor.

"I'm glad you changed your mind, Himura-san." One of Tomoe's hands unfolded from the other and reached over to touch Kaoru's forearm. "I was worried about her… and you as well. I know this isn't easy for you."

"I'm fine." The lie wasn't as smooth as he had hoped, and it earned him an almost sad smile. She understood. Better than anyone else.

From her seated position, Kaoru twisted to latch both of her hands around Tomoe's one. When dark eyes connected with blue, she studied the expression of anxiety on the young one's face. "It's alright, Kaoru-san. You will be safe here." Uneasily chewing her lip, Kaoru let her chin drop, but kept hold of the coal demon's arm until the doors dinged open.

"This lab requires a high level of clearance, and is remote compared to the other labs in the building. No one we don't want to know about her will be able to access her here."

At a steel door with no window, down a hall far from the elevator, Tomoe swiped her access badge across a card reader, and then pushed open the door for them to enter. The immediate room they stepped into was small with expected lab equipment and computer screens. Another door to their right led them into a larger room with floor to ceiling metal cabinets, a long line of monitors with three keyboards, and a full glass wall that looked into another space with a hospital bed. A wide range of medical equipment cluttered the walls of the glassed-in space and surrounded the bed that was situated at the very center of the room. Three of the monitors hanging from the ceiling caught different camera angles of that bed, for recording and observation purposes. The remaining monitors were dark, and lined a metal table that bordered only half the glass wall. There were two desks in the room as well, opposite the wall of glass, but they were bare, as if no one had used them in a long time.

Two other doors exited from opposite sides of the second room. One was firmly shut, but a sign next it to identified it as the radiology room. A warning sign on the door itself instructed anyone going in to make sure the room was not in use first. The other door was open, and it was here that Tomoe's colleague waited. It appeared, at first glance, to be a rec room of sorts, with a heavily cushioned couch, a small desk, and even a carpeted portion of floor. A camera in the corner suggested the room had nothing to truly do with relaxation. Standing with her arms crossed next to the couch was a tall fox demon, and she lifted her chin when they entered and spoke impatiently.

"There you are. You know I'm very busy, Tomoe-san." When Kenshin came in behind her, pushing the wheelchair that Kaoru sat in, the fox demon paused. "Ken-sama." Cinnamon colored irises looked him up and down. "What a surprise. Are you why Tomoe asked me to meet her here?" Half-mockingly, she shifted her weight. "I thought you said you'd never come back."

"I certainly did not plan to." He could feel his lips smiling as he attempted to protect himself, but he was forced to grip the handlebars of the wheelchair harder than necessary in order to keep his hands from shaking. "Needs must."

"Right." There was no half to the sarcasm in her tone now. "And what is this need exactly?"

Stepping in smoothly, Tomoe touched a hand to Kaoru's shoulder. "This young demon needs our assistance."

One of the black ears sprouting from her unbound hair twitched. "Then take her to the police. This isn't a charity."

"The police… are not an option in her case."

The fox demon huffed out a breath and tapped her foot. "You brought a criminal into my lab?!"

Tomoe took a step forward to place herself in front of Kaoru, and bowed her head politely. The poor girl was already terrified, and her boss' admittedly justified alarm was not helping matters. "Of course not, Megumi-sensei. But she does appear to be a victim of some sort of trafficking or kidnapping. She…"

"All the more reason to take her to the police. You're wasting my time, not to mention your own. Get rid of her and get back to work."

Somewhere inside him, Kenshin was actually relieved, but mostly he was just annoyed. "I'll pay you. Whatever your price." The words were firm, and the fox demon's ears perked up. Behind her, five dark tails swished against one another in barely contained interest.

"Will you now?" Staring over Tomoe's bowed head, Megumi smirked with only one side of her mouth. "Now, you see, Tomoe-san. This is interesting. Very interesting." Red-tinted eyes were practically glinting in that excited way that made Kenshin leery and uncomfortable, and they observed him as only a scientist could. A moment later, they finally dropped to look at Kaoru. "And just what is so special about this scrawny scrap of a thing? Hmm? Why would you go through so much trouble? Is she someone you know? Some long-lost acquaintance?"

"No." Reaching down to place a steadying hand on Kaoru's shoulder, his usually amiable features darkened. "I ran across her only yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Laughter erupted from the fox demon's mouth, and she pushed Tomoe out of the way so that she could press her face close to Kaoru's own. "Are you clever then, girl, to bewitch this fire demon so thoroughly? You certainly aren't anything to look at."

Seated in the wheelchair, Kaoru tried to force herself backwards away from this new person she did not know or trust, but succeeded in only stretching the backrest taught until it creaked under the stress. With the fox demon now bent in front of her, the long hair hanging down Megumi's back fell all to one side and revealed that it was only dark around her face and shoulders. Halfway down its length, it faded into a soft orange, like tangerines. The five tails sprouting from her lower back were also only dark at the tips of each individual strand of fur. Underlying that deep black was a deeper orange mixed with red.

"She's an unknown type." Trying to bring some order back into the encounter, Tomoe spoke up in what was almost a hasty way. Successfully, her statement grabbed Megumi's attention. "I was hoping you might help me identify her since your specialty is genetics."

"Re-ally?" Straightening, Megumi observed the three before her thoughtfully. "That still sounds boring." Purposefully, her eyes landed back on Kenshin.

A solid pit of suspicion dropped into his stomach. "What… do you want?" He didn't need to ask. He already knew, and something akin to despair clawed at him from behind.

"I think you know. My research was interrupted so rudely last time, and has been left unfinished. I hate unfinished things. I promise I'll be nicer this time. I just didn't know you were so fragile."

"No." The denial was nearly inaudible.

"Megumi-sensei, that research was abandoned for a reason. There's no need to continue it anymore."

While Tomoe tried to reason with the fox demon, Kenshin felt his mind retreat inward. This was a place he did not want to be. It drowned him in misery and helplessness. It removed the peace he had finally achieved in his simple life and reminded him of the things he had done and the things done to him as a result. For his own survival, he had separated himself from that past version of himself, and now thought of him as someone else entirely. He did not want to remember that man, nor the torture he had endured as a result of that man's actions.

Ever so gently, a hand curled around the one he had left on Kaoru's shoulder, and he blinked his unseeing gaze to find her staring up at him. As terrified as she was of this new place, those fears had been pushed down to reveal concern for him. He didn't know how long she had been pulling at his fingers for attention, but it must have been too long. Not a moment after his return to reality, she unveiled a new first for his eyes to bear witness to.

Anger contorted her mouth and flattened her eyebrows, and a sudden push half stood her from the wheelchair. The abrupt movement swiveled the free-turning wheels in a drunken projection, forcing Kenshin to hold it steady as she braced her weight on one armrest. Momentarily distracted, his wide violet irises jerked upwards when Kaoru started speaking in garbled noises of unmistakable outrage.

Startled, Megumi stepped back and her brow line lifted as the young woman continued to lecture unintelligibly. Because of the pin in her tongue, she was unable to articulate hard consonants or fully sound out the vowels as they should. This forced her to use more air and grunts, which could be produced from her chest and throat instead of her mouth. It continued for far longer than anyone imagined she would. Finally, Kenshin caught her by the shoulders and forced her back down into the wheelchair, and she huffed irritably before gesturing with her hands that she wanted to leave.

"What… in the hell was that?" Unconcerned by the reason for her outburst, Megumi bent forward once more and stared not at Kaoru's eyes, but her mouth. "Is the girl dumb?"

"She…" Slightly startled herself, Tomoe had to clear her throat. "Has some sort of metal pin holding her tongue in place. It prevents her from being able to speak."

"Hmm." A noncommittal noise informed Tomoe that Megumi was no longer listening. Something was turning over in her mind, and the sharp interest in her eyes betrayed her. With one hand, Megumi pinched her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger, scraping the pointed claw of her thumb against the fragile skin. A telltale sign that she was deep in thought. Kaoru's deep blue eyes stared back with a less than welcoming expression. One long minute later, she stood and folded her arms so that her hands were gripping each opposite elbow.

"Fine. You can treat her here."

Wary, Kenshin frowned. "My answer was no."

Impatiently, Megumi waved a hand in the air and her tone was dismissive. "I'm not interested in you, Ken-sama. Stop being so conceited."

Now he had even more reason to feel mistrustful. "Why the change of mind?"

A sly smirk twitched her mouth, and she braced her chin on her thumb. "Because I'm such a good person, obviously." Switching her attention to Tomoe, she pointed haphazardly behind her. "You can store her in the room here. And give her a bath. She stinks."

"You mean 'house her.'" Tomoe's voice patiently corrected her, but there was a note of exasperation in her tone.

"Yes, that's what I said." Megumi's response was flippant. Walking past them, Megumi touched a hand to Kenshin's shoulder. "Oh, and you will be paying me for this. I'm too good for my services to be free." Smiling sweetly, she left them in the lab alone.

X

Sipping at his coffee and ready for the end of his shift, the dog demon waltzed through the police precinct towards his small desk tucked away against a far wall. It had been a quiet day, and while he preferred it that way, it made his shift feel longer than ever. Positioning the coffee mug against his lips to finish it off, his eyes slid to the side and glanced over the computer screen on the desk he was walking by. A large picture was plastered over it, and it briefly caught his attention. Mostly out of off-hand curiosity at first. Two steps past the desk, and he choked on the now lukewarm liquid.

"Hey man, you alright?" A large hand pounded him on the back as he continued to cough, and he recognized the voice as his missing-persons colleague.

"That girl." Trying to catch his breath, the dog demon cleared his throat and pointed with his now empty mug. "I've seen her."

"What? You sure?"

"Yeah. Yesterday, right outside. She was with someone. I think he said he was her cousin or something."

"If it was right outside, I bet we've got security footage." The police officer's voice was excited. "That's great! I've had her on my missing person list for at least three weeks. Her brother's going to be thrilled if we can track her down. He's called almost every day."

X

A/N: I like getting to play around with the physical appearances of some of the characters. Fox demons or spirits are usually my favorites in anime. Their tails are so much fun. 😊 As I thought about which RK characters I wanted to use in this story, I wanted to try to include some that I didn't in my last story, as well as some that I'm not used to writing about at all. On the other end, I want to make sure I don't use some characters that I have become way to comfortable with using. I realize that I have only introduced four so far, but there are more to come. I may bend their personalities a little as well, and I hope you will bear with me. Please let me know what you think, and thank you for all of the advice!