• Chapter 4

    She waited for hours hoping and praying he would come but as time passed on she realized he wasn't coming. She sighs and just stares out at the great nothing that is this land. The injured villager limps up to her, "Tsuki, he's not coming is he?"
    She looks down at the ground, "No, he's not."
    "I'll tell the rest of the villagers." he says as he turns and limps back.
    She follows him but before reaching the rest of the villagers she turns and slams her hand to the ground opening an underground passage way. "Alright listen up everybody!" she calls out to them. "Until the village is repaired we shall stay in the secret underground village! I will leave tomorrow and leave our strongest villagers in charge!"
    "Where's that guy that was going to watch over the village?" one of the villagers ask.
    "He didn't come like I had hoped, but no need to worry if anything happens the underground village is protected by a barrier which not even the strongest of things can get in it. The entrance is hidden and can only be opened by me or by anyone who knows how!"
    All the villagers limp slowly into the underground village whispering as they walk about how their leader has failed them.Once all the villagers are safe and that none are left she closes the door and walks over to the front of the village. A long silence before she utters a spell that puts a barrier around the entire rubble that was once her home. She whispers to herself, "That shall keep any intruders out and kill anything that gets near. I shall leave a clone in the underground village so the villagers don't worry where I am." She makes a clone and sends it through the barrier and down underground. "Now it's time to see what's caused this to happen." She leaps off towards the direction of the humans town. On her way there she had passed many destroyed villages some still half way standing others, like her own, just a big pile of rubble. The more villages she passed the more she started to realize...that all of them were homes to demons. She stops and looks at the next village she sees, "Why has this strange threat been killing all the demon villages?" she thinks out loud.A woman walks up to her and asks, "Excuse me but are you a demon?"
    She looks at the women strangely, "Yes, I'm a demon."
    The woman calls out for a man named Fenikkusu and he comes running over. "What is it Aisu? Is this person bothering you?" he gives Tsuki a glare.
    "No, brother she's a demon that could be of use to us."
    "Hmm? She doesn't seem like the type to kill."
    "It doesn't hurt to get to know someone now does it?"
    "Well no but she's just not what we're looking for, c'mon sis lets' go see if anyone's left in this village."
    "But brother we need some help."
    "Not from someone who can't kill and has a caring cute look." he again gives a glare to Tsuki.
    "What's the point in finding demons if you think all of them look childish or caring or cute?"
    He just ignores his sister and walks off to the dead village. Aisu looks at Tsuki and shrugs. "Hey brother wait for me!!" she runs after her brother. Tsuki stands there for a minute or so before walking off.

    * * *

    After about twelve hours she decides to rest by a nearby river side. "I wonder how cold the river is?" she says and feels of the river water. "Not that cold..." she looks around to make sure no one is around and when she confirms the coast clear she decides to take a bath. "The river's quite warm tonight." she whispers.
    "Demons are not aloud in human territory." a strange voice out of nowhere says.
    She immediately dunks underwater leaving half her head up. "Who's there?"
    "That is of no concern to you." the voice says.
    She looks carefully around and spots a bright light on the other side of the river. "What do you want?"
    "Your life." the voice says and the light flies into the air and heads for her. She dives under water and goes as deep down as she can. The light is above her on top of the water, and a shadowy figure looking down towards her. She dives even deeper so it can't see her. The bright light dives down at her and grabs her ankle. It begins pulling her back up, she quickly wraps herself in ice making it harder for the light to lift her. It keeps trying to get her above water, struggling to get free she covers herself in more ice. The light pulls with full force and finally gets her out of the water, the shadowy figure walks to land and the light drops her on the ground, she lay unmoving. The shadow figure picks her up by her throat, "Your a pathetic demon." he says as he crushes her throat breaking the ice around it. He pulls out a tiny knife and stabs her throat, "You are the weakest demon I know." he laughs maniacally. He drops her to the ground and walks off across the water. Tsuki quickly comes out of the water in fox form knocking the shadow all the way across the river. "Oh I'm so sorry I didn't see you standing there." she says sarcastically, "Here let me help you up." she growls and charges at him.It quickly gets back up and sends its light after her, she dodges the attack and disappears. The light searches for her, she comes up beside it from the water and cuts it in half. It falls in the water and floats to the bottom leaving a trail of sand. She looks for the shadowy figure. "Where did you go?" she says to herself.
    "I'm right here." it says as it grabs her tail and slings her across the river and through the forest.
    She slams into a canyon wall, she slowly gets up as the canyon starts to crumble. She tries to get out of the way but she was to slow and was crushed by the crumbling canyon wall.It walks up to the rubble, "Like I said, your the weakest demon I know." it says laughing maniacally. "Oh, you were wondering who I was weren't you?" it puts its' leg on top of the rubble, "My name is..." it takes a pause, "Shinikaketeiru Jumyo. Just to let you know Tsuki, I didn't want to hurt you." he lets' out a depressed sigh. He begins taking all the rocks off her crushed body.
    "You get fooled to easily don't you Shinikaketeiru."
    He looks to where the voice came from. Atop the canyon stands a man with a bleeding scar across his right eye. "Hinote!" he glares at him.
    "So, you remember me do you? It's been so long I'd guess you would've forgotten about your old friend." he says with an evil grin.
    "You were no friend of mine you demon possessed human!"
    "Demon possessed human you say?" he jumps down on top of the rubble, "I think I'll use that as my nickname from now on." he laughs.
    "What was your purpose of coming here!?"
    "I heard all the commotion and thought I'd drop by and see what's going on."
    "Your not welcome here!!"
    "I know, but your not either."
    Shinikaketeiru is shocked at what he hears, "I am to welcome here! I am a loyal guard of the human society!"
    "If so, why are you in love with two demons?"
    "I'm not in love with two demons!!" he feels a sharp pain in his chest and begins coughing blood.
    "You better get back before it's to late." Hinote says.
    "I don't need to-" he's interrupted by more coughing.
    "You were always such an idiot. I'm surprised the sickness hasn't killed you yet." he disappears in a swirl of fire.'I must get back to the village...but I regret not getting you out of there.' he thinks as he disappears in a flash of light.
    Tsuki comes out from underwater after he left gasping for air, "Finally he left I was just about to die under there." she swims to shore. "That was "refreshing", no demon should have to put up with these wretched humans." she says angerly, "Well back to my bath." she jumps back into the river. "Such refreshing water when I don't have to worry about fighting."
    "Hello is anybody out there!" a voice sounds from the bank.
    Not noticing the voice Tsuki continues on with her bath.
    "Who's that I wonder?"
    Tsuki finally realizes that there's someone there with her, someone that she's seen and heard before. 'It can't be...Axl? How'd he find me?' she thinks.
    "Hello." he touches her shoulder.
    She turns around quickly and pushes him under water while transforming and swimming back to shore. Axl surfaces, "Hey!" he swims back to shore also and walks up to her.
    "You know, it's rude to walk in on someone while they are bathing."
    "How was I suppose to know you were bathing?"
    "Easy, I was in the water with my clothes off."
    "Your a fox. What does it matter if you have clothes or not?"
    "I am not a fox." she transforms back, "I'm a demon fox."
    "Er....um....your...um....naked."
    She slings her tail over his eyes, "Now I'm not." she puts her clothes back on. She pushes him back into the water with her tail, "Didn't think you'd be a pervert." she smiles playfully.
    "Your mean." Axl spits water out of his mouth. Tsuki giggles, "Your silly."
    Axl tackles Tsuki and starts tickling her, "Ha! I win!"
    She flips them and begins tickling him, "What was that?"
    Axl rolls around gasping and laughing trying to get her to stop. "I win!" she stops tickling him and gets up.
    He gets up and stands there for a few seconds... "I win." he tackles her into the water. She laughs and stares at him. He stares back, "Your beautiful...you know that." he smiles.
    She smiles back at him. Axl leans his head closer to hers. A bolt of lightning strikes him and he falls off her on the ground smoked. "Axl, are you okay!?" Tsuki checks to make sure he's alright, "Axl?"
    "I see smoke."
    "Yeah that's you."
    "I feel funny." he puts his hand in the water and gets zapped even more.
    Tsuki smacks her forehead and drags him back onto shore. Another bolt comes down and almost zaps him but Tsuki gets in the way, she looks up angry, "Very funny father."
    "Was that who zapped me?"
    "Yes, don't know what he hates about you though." she glares at the sky.
    "Maybe because I'm not from your clan."
    "Maybe."
    "Don't see why he should hate someone that's outside of your clan."
    "That goes a long way back, so lets' not get in to that."
    "Okay." he sits up, "Why are you way out here Tsuki?"
    "There has been a strange threat going around and we suspect it to be the humans so I was heading there."
    "Why go alone? Why didn't you take someone with you to protect you?"
    "My village had been attacked by this strange threat so most of the villagers were to injured to come with me."
    "May I come with you then?" he smiles at her.
    "Of course." she smiles back at him.