The Price of Protection

Fairenz gazed between Raikyo and Ayame. When neither one of them made a move to say or do anything, the cat yawned with an air of laziness and strolled away. Raikyo's eyes darted tho Fairenz's back with his tail swaying behind him. How dare you leave me with her!

Raikyo looked back at Ayame. She looked down right terrified of him. That was a plus.

There was also something else behind those eyes and Raikyo wanted nothing more than to know what that was, because the look was annoying. The night time was falling faster than the leaves from the tree. In about 5 to 6 hours, it would be dawn, and Raikyo would be snapped awake by another nightmare. So...in short...he had to make this conversation short.

But that was impossible, wasn't it? For he couldn't even think of anything to say to her except...

"A bun? Why a bun?"​
 
"what you dont like it?" she said reaching up and pulling the lace..letting all her hair fall..

Not that she cared what he thought.. the bun was too tight anyways..

she couldnt think of anything to say to him.. so she started out with sorry

"i shouldntve kissed you.. and it will never ever happen again promise" she said holding out her hand to shake on it

she didnt want anything more then to be on his good side again..

again??

as if she ever was.
 
The demon gazed down at the tiny frail hand in front of him. She had apologized for the kiss...but why? He knew all about the emotions of a human. Sometimes, they just could no control them. Raikyo looked her up and down. She didn't seem to be the type of human to be able to contain her emotions for very long. Yet she apologized.

She had offered a truce with a simple hand shake. Her hair blew in the wind and Raikyo caught the smell of it. It was...horrible. Something of an acquired smell. However, the more he was around it, the more his nose was used to all of the different aromas that wafted around her. She had released her hair from the bun; for him? He did not know.

Raikyo knew there was a lot more to this hand shake than just a hand shake. If he took this girl's hand...he would be bound to be around her and protect her from the Heiran. Accepting apologies were basically like contracts to Raikyo. He glared at the girl with blue eyes, strands of black hair creeping across his view.

Then, he extended his arm out and gently took hers.

"I don't believe that."he said, mentioning the promise she gave him. Thing is...did he want to believe it? Or not?​
 
Ayame was crushed.. she didnt expect him to actually take her hand.. but what is done is done .. Ayame didnt break promises and she definatley wasnt about to break this one

"No?" she said bringing slipping her hand out of his " i wont kiss you again. i said it i meant it." she said turning away from him.. to walk.. home?

"Look raikyo.. i know something is after me.. it wants something inside of me.. what is meant to be will eventually be and im not going to fight it"

She tied her kimono tightly around her as the wind began to pick up even more " and i dont expect you to fight it for me either... im not asking for favors.."

she closed her eyes.. leaning back against the tree again "im going to get tired of runing... hopefully one day you get tired of runing too.. from yourself.. look. Inside every one us, there exists a dark side. Most people rise above it, but some are consumed by it. Until there is nothing left, but pure evil. "

She sighed "your a demon so your at a disadvantage.. but im trying to tell you not to be consumed by it.. you dont have to be the way you are.. from the moment i saw you up until now.. i watched you change.."

she was in a daze thinking about it... how he had spared her...


"look at me not shutting up again" she said embarassed... "anyways is that all you called me here for?"
 
"Oh shut up."he said, yanking a strand of her hair from behind her. It felt silky, like some fabric of high value. And she had a head full of it! He rubbed it between his fingers and expected it to dissolve into water or something. That was just how silky it was. The girl had been talking for what seemed like forever and he was starting to get a head ache.

"I know they want you. I know why and I know who set the orders out to get you."he whispered. "But I'm not gonna tell you."he said, pulling at her hair softly.

He knew he probably made her mad. Raikyo wanted to see what she would do if he did push those buttons. Then again, he was enjoying this time with her. The thought made him growl. I hate her.
 
"really? is that so?" she said turning to face him "you.. you know who is trying to kill me and your not going to tell me.... you can be pretty stupid when you wanna be raikyo." she said laughing to herself.

"well you can tell them i said i dont give a damn who they are and if they want me then come get me cause im ready to die"

she lied. but she was tired of looking weak.. he made her feel weak always.


"Do you want me dead raikyo?.. is that what this is about? you want me dead? huh? .. " she stepped closer to him " then kil me.. go on you big bag demon.. kill me"

you want to push buttons? i push back harder raikyo
 
What!?

Raikyo could only look at her serious face. His eyes had doubled in size at the request. She even stepped toward him, giving him the advantage he needed. At first she claimed she was ready to die, and now she wanted him to kill her? What kind of mind game was this! The girl's eyes were taunting him. She appeared serious...but why?

Raikyo, as confused as he was only reached out to touch the girl's cheek.

"Ayame..."he said softly.​
 
She normally would have embraced him, but her promise kept her from doing so..

"damn you raikyo! damn you!" she said her eyes swelled with tears "you hate me? you wanna kill me? you wanna break me down? come on then i give you permission to burry me!" She screamed pushing him away..

Ayame punched the tree .. it made her knuckes red.. she didnt care. "I hate you raikyo! i hate you!" she said breathing heavily she kept pushing him until he was against the tree "i hate you.. i hate that i love you raikyo!" she screamed more...

wait... what?
 
Once again, she had caught him off guard, shoving him against a tree. Hard. Raikyo gasped at her words. She...what? The girl, though continuously crying, and stopped shoving him for a moment, looking just as confused as he was.

Raikyo's back the tree hard, his hair waving in front of his pale and bandaged face. He was shocked. He couldn't find the words to tell her. Everything was moving so fast. Then...finally...the angry throbbing came back into his head. If only I had killed her sooner, I would not be going through this!

Finally, the demon grabbed her face in his hand and squeezed, forcing her to look at him.

"You want me to kill you? You wanna die? Fine, so be it." he replied coldly. With that said, he threw her down on the ground and up a foot over on her chest to stop her from moving. Raikyo was angered, and the blue aura began to swirl around his body. For some reason he was breathing heavily. His shoulders and chest rose gradually up and down. Ayame looked scared, but he didn't care. He was giving the stupid human what she wanted.

In one quick flash, the silver sword was summoned from the aura. It appeared in his hand in a cloud of blue smoke, almost as if it had always been there. Raikyo glared at the girl and took aim.

"Don't move. It'll make this easier."he said, putting pressure on her chest with his foot.
 
Tears streamed down ayames face... something inside her told her she was ready to die.. if this was how it was going to end.. atleast she saw her killers face..

millions never will..

"she grabbed the sword pushing it down to her neck.. it was so sharp.. it cut her hands as she did so...

"come on.. its already stained in my blood.. you do this.. and its proof to me you never really cared"

it began to rain.. fast and hard.. and his eyes flashing in the lightning frightened her more.. making her scream.
 
"As you wish..."

Raikyo smiled malevolently down at her. The girl was terrified, shaking like a leaf. She was anticipating the end so much, she even yanked the sword down onto her neck. The sword was sharp. Oh, yes, and her dainty little hands were even stained with blood. Raikyo only glared down at the face. Even when it started to thunder and lightening, she continued to talk. The water drenched his hair and clamped them together in separate strands, with tiny droplets falling from the ends.

In one quick motion, Raikyo raised the sword above his hands, and brought it down quickly and dropped along with it with a loud roar. The sword stabbed...right into the fabric of her kimono, next to her neck. He was face to face with her, the water from his hair dropping on his chest.

"Why?"he asked, his eyes softening a bit.

"Why do you talk so damn much?"​
 
Ayame continued to shiver.. she couldnt believe she was still alive

he had spared her... he cared for her...

a smile sketched itself across her face but she didnt sit up.. she simply stared at him.. what was his next move?

what are you thinking raikyo?

she thought about his question... she answered it like a 5 year old

"because i can"
 
Raikyo's right ear wiggled at the response.

"Because you can?"he repeated. The girl had lightened up a bit, but still didn't move. Raikyo smiled down at her and backed away, yankning his sword from the ground. It disappeared in a wisp of blue smoke.

"You know what I can do? I can always stop you."he replied, looking at her with a smirk. "I've done it before and I can do it again. I have made no promises."

Raikyo was feeling better. Even the rain had began to sooth his nerves. Raikyo thrust his hand out to help her up.

"Come on, Ayame. Get up."​
 
Ayame smiled at his gesture and as he helped her up.

They had such a complex..love hate relationship it was dangerous.. but thrilling.

as the rain let up and the night went on She led him to her favorite spot to star gaze

She sleepily turned to him as She layed in the grass, "Raikyo.. what do you think if i traveled with you... instead of keeping you here?"

she said finally, she had been wanting to ask him but wasnt sure how to... she knew demons like raikyo didnt stay in the same spot for long periods of time and whether he wanted to admit it or not he had done it for her... but waiting around here protecting her was making them something like sitting ducks, and the demons that were after her would always know where to find her. If she just went where raikyo went then it might get easier...She thought of all the people she would be leaving behind but in order to live she had to

of course she wouldnt tell them that, it would only worry them, so if raikyo said yes her plan was to run away, that way she didnt owe anyone an explanation.
 
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Raikyo stiffened at the girl's proposal. Travel with me? His blue eyes glittered in front of him, thinking of any or maybe all scenarios that could come forth if the girl followed him around. She would have to walk a long time. If one would take a single glance at her, one would be able to tell that the human wouldn't be able to go 1 mile without passing out from pure exhaustion. Raikyo, on the other hand, had a high metabolism; and he was also a demon.

His ear twitched while his head swam with more thoughts. Ayame would definitely see the real him. The murderous and malicious him. He wasn't quite able to show her so far, but she'd see soon. With all of the human roaming around with a negative disposition towards all demons, even the innocent ones. Raikyo remembered the old man that Fairenz had made kill himself. Was there even an innocent demon? The reason Raikyo didn't kill him was because he was bored. Fairenz only killed him to eliminate the threat; and because the noise coming from his mouth was interrupting the cat's precious siesta.

"For one, you're not keeping anyone here. I could leave in a heartbeat and let you do whatever the hell you want to. I'm not your bodyguard, human."he spat, trying to rid his ears of the affection she displayed. Stupid human.

"But...the Heiran want you. And I don't like them. So..."he let his sentence trail off, hoping it spoke for itself as he looked off towards the trail winding its way to the outskirts of the village ahead.​
 
Ayame smiled brightly whiping away her sleepiness"So i can come?" she said ignoring his last comment. "Ohh thank you raikyo!!" she said tackling him again in a hug...

She remembered the promise she had made, but she never did say anything about hugs. "Im gonna go home and get some things and then ill meet you back here in about a hour how does that sound??" she said getting up and runing off from him without his okay. She was too excited..

Ayame a couple of days ago would have been excited just to be traveling with a demon.. she was just happy to be traveling with raikyo now.

She went next to fairenz who was sleeping and tugged on his ears twice "fairenz im gonna be traveling with you guys!" she said not waiting for a response runing off down the hill to her village.
 
Fairenz yawned once and opened his sleepy yellow eyes. The large cat's yellow eyes swiveled over to Raikyo. Raikyo stiffened once, listening to the cat's words deep inside his mind.

"Shut up. It's only pay back to the Herian. And nothing else."he snapped. Fairenz only continued to stare, the corner of his mouth lifting. Raikyo swore under his breath and tossed himself away from him. "Idiotic feline..."he muttered.

"Still talking to yourself, Raikyo? Now now...you know that is only for crazy people."

Raikyo hesitated at the voice. What!? Even before his aura had the chance to power up, he could feel the green smoke swirl around him.

"Minero...why are you-"

"Simple answer, really. I have come for the girl."the voice answered. In a second flat, the voice was not a voice anymore, for a ground of green smoke gathered in front of Raikyo, forming in the shape of Minero, until all the smoke dissolved, leaving just the demon. Raikyo didn't flinch at all while Minero, on the other hand, sneered at him.

"I am quite disappointed in you, Raikyo. Mr. Cat Man inviting the mouse to a journey. Not knowing that we have the chee-"

"Fairenz!" Raikyo called out at once. Before the cat could react, however, Minero snapped his fingers once. Like magic, the vines from the bushes around the panther shook and twisted, until they became ropes. The vines wound their way around the legs and mouth of the cat, dragging him off until an unknown location. Raikyo made a move to turn to the cat, but was only met with a single knee to the stomach. He let out a surprised grunt, grasping his stomach in anger.

"How dare you..."he said, shaking. Minero only sneered down at him through the black hair that covered Raikyo's face.

 
Ayame had just finished up packing her kimonos when she saw the green smoke from the hill she had just climbed down. "Raikyo.." she said dropping her things and climbing the hill "Raikyo?!!" she screamed seeing raikyo bent over in pain... she began runing towards him "Stop!!" she screamed a little high pitch because she was out of breath from climbing the hill to minero "What did you do to him?" she said approaching him still at a fast pace, in the corner of her eyes she saw fairenz tangled up in the bushes.. "Fairenz!!" still runing towards raikyo. She got in front of him holding her arms out on either side of her body as if to block minero "You leave him alone!" she yelled at the demon "Or... you just better leave him alone!" she continued
 
Dammit! Ayame was not supposed to be there! Minero's smile only widened when the girl thrust herself in between the two of them.

"Ah. It comes to me and doesn't run away! What a brave little mouse."Minero purred, reaching a finger towards Ayame. In an instant, Raikyo broke through the pain and yanked her roughly by the collar of her kimono, dragging her against his body as he leaped away.

"Don't you dare."he yelled. Through his voice, he could hear a far off whimpering of some sort. Fairenz... Raikyo shook away at the feeling. There was no way to save the panther at the moment. Besides, he wouldn't die. Minero's green eyes flashed to Ayame and then to Raikyo.

"No...you haven't!"he gasped in mock surprised. Raikyo only glared at him, bared his teeth, and growled, much like Fairenz.​
 
Ayame held on tight to raikyo but looked back at fairenz.. she didnt know that fairenz couldnt die, her eyes began to water "Fairenz!" she yelled to the panther. "We have to go back for fairenz raikyo.." she said tugging at raikyos shirt. "What if that demon kills him??!!" she said contemplating whether or not to let go and go back for him, she decided against it knowing it would only make raikyo angry but she didnt stop pressing the issue "Raikyo!!!! we have to go back for fairenz!!" she continued knowing it would irritate him. she braced herself for the yelling.. after all she was used to it. "What did he mean we he said you havent? i dont get it?" she continued with the questions.. she didnt understand anything going on around her whatsoever. everything had happened so fast it was ridiculous. She looked up at raikyo who looked like he was getting angrier and angrier.. she hated seeing him like that so she held on to him tighter maybe to calm him down.