The Demon's Love

V

Naevia noticed a change in Lucretia. He seemed much happier, and he wasn't avoiding Rin anymore. In fact, he seemed to be spending all of his time with Rin. The two children got along very well. It made Naevia smile. She was glad Lucretia was happy. He deserved to be. There was still guilt within him, but it would heal over time, and Rin was doing a very good job at helping him to get over it.

"Hey, Kael." She said.

The demon lord glanced at her. "What is it?"

Naevia snickered. "Don't think I haven't noticed the change in Lucretia. He seems to be doing much better. Curiously enough, it started the day you had your private conversation with him. Just what did you say that made him feel better?"

Kael looked away, turning his attention back to the children. "You are mistaken. This Kael merely questioned him about his service with Naraku. Rin did the rest. It is she you should be thanking, not I."

Naevia held her fan in front of her face to hide her smirk. "Whatever you say." She looked back at the children. Rin was chasing Lucretia, who was running just fast enough for her to keep pace, but not catch him. Naevia chuckled. "You know, I think they like each other."

Kael didn't respond. He was for than aware of the relationship between his ward and the demon slayer. He didn't know how he felt about it.

'Why do I care? It shouldn't matter to me. It's not like Rin is my daughter.'

"Lord Kael, Rin is hungry." The girl said.

Jaken was the first to speak. "Again? You just ate not too long ago!"

"We humans are not like you demons." Lucretia reminded him. "We need more rest and sustenance than you do."

Jaken growled and muttered something that sounded like, "What a nuisance."

"Come on, Rin." Said Lucretia, holding out his hand. "I'll find something to eat for you."

"Thank you, Lucretia!" cried Rin happily, taking his hand.

Jaken looked back and forth between the children and Kael. "Milord, are you just going to let them leave?"

"Rin is in safe hands." He assured the toad-demon. "The boy won't allow any harm to come to her."

Jaken shrugged. "Well, if you're sure."

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"Try and catch Rin, Lucretia!" the girl cried, running away.

Lucretia smiled. He loved how innocent Rin was. She was the definition of kindness. How she could ever see him as a friend was something he would never figure out, but he was grateful to have a friend like her.

Unconsciously, he reached up to feel the place she had kissed him. Why did she kiss him?

'It was just a friendly kiss.' He told himself. 'Just a kiss among friends, nothing more.'

But then why did he blush whenever she smiled at him? Why did he want to spend every waking moment with her?

'Great, I've got a crush on Kael's ward.'

"Ooh, apples!" Rin cried happily.

She ran over to the apple tree, attempting to climb it.

"Be careful, Rin." Said Lucretia worriedly.

"Rin will."

As she said this, she suddenly fell. Lucretia quickly caught her before she hit the ground. Once she got over her initial shock, she started giggling.

"That was fun."

Lucretia shook his head. "You're silly."

He set her down and took out his sickle. With a few tosses, he cut down several apples, which Rin was quick to gather.

"Rin loves apples!" she stated. She handed Lucretia the biggest one. "You can have the big one."

Lucretia wasn't all that hungry. "No, you go ahead."

"But Rin wants you to have it."

He sighed and accepted the apple. Anything to make Rin happy; not that she ever wasn't.

"Hey, Lucretia, lets get Master Jaken and play Hide-and-Seek."

Lucretia gave her a curious look. "Hide-and-Seek?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "This is a good place to hide. There's lots of hiding places. And now that there's three of us we can have a real game."

"Um…"

"Let's go ask Lord Kael."

And she was off again. She was fast for such a little thing. Lucretia was surprised. She was just a little girl and he was a trained demon slayer, yet she seemed to have just as much energy as him, if not more.

"Master Jaken, come play Hide-and-Seek with Rin and Lucretia!" she cried.

Jaken looked appalled at the idea. "I do not play Hide-and Seek with children!" he cried.

Rin pouted and turned to the demon lord. "Lord Kael, Master Jaken won't play with us."

Kael didn't even look at them. "Jaken, play with Rin." He said.

"B-But, milord…"

Naevia smirked. "You heard him. Start counting."

She sent a blade of cutting wind at him. It hit the ground by his feet, sending the toad-demon flying. Rin giggled and turned her head sideways to look at the upside-down Jaken.

"You're so funny, Master Jaken." She said. "Ok, you count to 50 while Rin and Lucretia hide."

Jaken grumbled. "Fine! One… two… three-"

"Master Jaken, you're supposed to close your eyes and count."

Jaken looked beyond frustrated. "One… two… three… four…"

Rin ran over to Lucretia and grabbed his hand. "Come on, Lucretia, let's go hide!"

"You're just bursting with energy, aren't you?" he said smiling.

Rin nodded. "Lots of energy is good. You can have more fun."

She looked around for a suitable hiding place. She wanted to find a good one. A place where even a demon would have trouble finding her. Suddenly a thought struck her. She turned in the direction Jaken was in and shouted as loud as she could.

"MASTER JAKEN, YOU HAVE TO LOOK FOR US! NO FINDING US BY OUR SCENT!" She turned to Lucretia and gave him smile. "You go hide now."

Lucretia hesitated as she took off. He didn't want to leave her alone. Who knows what lived in this forest? There could be demons nearby.

Lucretia shook his head. 'Don't worry so much.' He told himself. 'You can't live in fear all the time. Besides, if any demons were nearby, Kael would have picked up their scent.'

Feeling more at ease, he went to find his own hiding place.

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Naevia leaned back against a tree and sighed. She was happy. She felt like she was finally living. Her life under Naraku's command had been awful, having to go out to either spy, kill, steal, or whatever else Naraku wanted. Naevia had hated that life. But now he no longer had control over her.

Sighing again, Naevia lifted her hand to her chest to feel her heart beating. She smiled when she felt the now familiar thump, thump of her heart.

"I assure you that it's in there." Said Kael. "Just as it has been every other time you've felt it."

Naevia smirked. "I know, I just like to reassure myself. You have no idea how awful it is not to have a heart. Personally, I don't see how Naraku could so carelessly toss his aside."

Her words brought up a few things that Kael had been wondering. "Tell me, exactly how did Naraku separate his heart from his body."

Naevia tapped her closed fan in her palm, thinking of the best way to answer the question. "It's hard to put into words. You see, Naraku was born when several demons merged with Onigumo. He uses other demons to make up his body. But he is still just a half-demon. And like any other half-demon, he has a time of weakness. But instead of turning human, his body breaks down into the pieces of the demons that make up his body."

Kael raised an eyebrow. That was interesting. If he could get Naraku during his time of weakness, the half-demon wouldn't stand a chance.

"When is his time of weakness?" he asked.

Naevia shrugged. "He decides that. He can choose when it is. And during that time, he examines his body and removes any parts that he sees as a weakness. It's because of this ability that he can create incarnations. He just used his heart as the piece that gave Akago life."

Kael nodded. "I see. So he cast out his own heart. But tell me how he was able to steal your heart. Did you cast out yours and he stole it?"

"Ha!" Naevia laughed. "I don't have his abilities. And even if I could, I would never cast out my heart. No, when he created me, he separated my heart from my body. I don't know how or why. Maybe he had a feeling that I wouldn't be loyal, maybe he was just experimenting, I don't know. But whatever the reason, he had the power to take my life at any moment." She laughed humorlessly. "It's funny, he had my heart and could kill me whenever he wanted, but by holding my heart he saved my life."

"How so?" asked Kael.

Naevia sighed. "Remember awhile back when I first told you that I found Naraku's heart? I had that large wound in my chest. I would have died if I had my heart back then, but since I didn't, I survived. It's similar to the way Naraku has his immortality."

Kael didn't reply. Naevia glanced at him, but his face showed no indication of what he was thinking.

"Naevia, how did you obtain that wound?" he asked.

Naevia did a double take. She hadn't expected him to ask a question like that. "I attacked a fortress where I thought Naraku was hiding his heart. I received the injury in the battle. I fled after that…"

"And came to meet me." Kael finished.

Naevia didn't reply right away. "…Yeah."

"And why did you come to this Kael during what should have been your last few moments alive?"

"I… I…" She blushed and didn't answer. She turned away instead. "No reason…"

"Why do you not want to answer the question?"

Naevia opened her fan and used it to hide her red face. "It's… nothing."

"You lie." Said Kael calmly. "You hesitate to answer, and your tone tells me that you're embarrassed. What reason would you have to be embarrassed?"

Naevia growled. 'The smart ass. Why does he have to be able to read me so well?' "I had my reasons."

"Did you think I could save you?"

"…That wasn't it." Now she was getting frustrated.

"Did you think I would avenge you?"

"…No."

"Then why did you-"

Naevia lost her temper. "BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE YOU AGAIN BEFORE I DIED!" she shouted.

When her voice died down, there wasn't a sound to be heard in the entire area. Naevia's anger quickly changed to embarrassment and she hid her face behind her fan again.

Kael looked at her, still showing no emotion. "And why would you want to see this Kael before you died?"

There was no way he was getting anything else out of her. She just 'humphed' and refused to answer. Kael waited a few seconds before deciding that she wasn't going to tell him.

"Very well, you need not explain."

His uncaring tone infuriated Naevia. Here he was asking all these questions, and finally she starts answering, and just before the important part comes, he acts like he's not interested.

'Damn your easygoing attitude.' She thought, risking a peak at him. The wind picked up, blowing his empty sleeve. Naevia smiled as a thought struck her. 'Time for some payback.' "I've answered your question, time for you to answer mine."

He gave her a curious look. "What question?"

She smirked at him. "How did you receive your injury?" He raised an eyebrow in question. Naevia snickered. "Don't think I haven't noticed that your left arm is missing. A battle wound of your own perhaps?"

Kael closed his eyes and turned away. "It was back when I was a different person. I was arrogant and overconfident back then. I searched for the Tetsusaiga, only to discover that it rightfully belonged to Inuyasha. I had underestimated my brother's ability to handle the sword and paid the price for it."

"So, he cut off your arm." Said Naevia. She sighed and leaned back. "Yeah, his sword is powerful."

"It was forged from our father's fang." Kael explained. "Father gave it to him so he could use it to protect those he cared for. And he gave me the Tenseiga so I could save those I cared for."

Naevia smiled. "Well, I'm glad you had the Tenseiga, or else I would be dead right now. I owe you my life, Kael. Even if you did only save me so I could tell you about Naraku's heart."

Kael caught her eye, and she saw the slightest bit of surprise in them. "You think that is why this Kael spared your life?"

Naevia raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it?"

Kael turned away. "I do not need any help in defeating Naraku. Your information was not why I saved you."

He got up and walked away, indicating that he was done talking. Naevia remained where she was in complete shock.

'He didn't save me because I had information on Naraku?' she thought in bewilderment. 'Then… why did he save me?'

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'This will be the perfect place to hide.' Rin thought happily, as she continued to climb the highest tree she could find. 'Master Jaken will never find Rin up here. And it's a good place to hide.'

She went as high as she could go, poking her head out of the top of the tree and looking around.

"Wow, this is a big forest!" She said. "It must go on forever! Oh, there's Lucretia!"

She saw the demon slayer hiding inside a hollow tree trunk. She wanted to wave to him, but didn't think he would see her, and she didn't want to give her hiding place away to Jaken.

"I wonder if Master Jaken has reached 50 yet. He should be looking for us by now." She giggled. "I bet he finds Lucretia before he finds Rin. Oh, there he is now!"

She spotted the frustrated toad-demon shoving bushes and shrubbery away as he made his way through the forest, most likely complaining about babysitting, looking for them. Rin giggled. Jaken could be so funny sometimes.

It was then that she heard what sounded like the flapping of wings. It sounded like it was coming from behind her. Trying not to fall out of the tree, she turned around just in time to spot a hawk-demon right before it caught her in its talons. Rin cried out as she was carried off.

"I haven't had human in ages." The demon remarked. "You look very appetizing."

Rin turned as much as she could in the demon's claws to look at it in the face. "You better let Rin go or else Lord Kael and Lucretia will get you." she said angrily.

The demon just laughed. "Good, then I'll be eating well tonight."

Rin glared at the demon before screaming, "LORD Kael, Lucretia, HELP!"

"No one can help you now, girl. You're-" A sickle attacked to a chain flew by the hawk-demon, just missing. "What the hell was that?"

Rin smiled happily. "Oh, Lucretia!"

The demon angrily watched the sickle return to its owner. His anger doubled when he saw that it was a human that had the nerve to attack him. "Human, how dare you attack me!"

Lucretia glared at the demon. "Put her down!"

"I don't take orders from a weakling!"

Rin pounded the demon's talon with her fists. "You better do what he says! He's a demon slayer! He'll beat you up!"

Some interest appeared on the demon's face. "A demon slayer, you say? Interesting." He landed by Lucretia, tossing Rin aside. "I'll deal with you later, girl. First I'll take care of the slayer."

Lucretia held up his sickle. "Rin, are you ok?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the hawk-demon.

She nodded. "Yes, Rin's fine."

"Good. Now listen up, demon, no one hurts Rin. Leave now or I'll be forced to take you down."

The demon laughed. "Foolish boy, I won't be taken down by a human. Now die!"

The demon lashed out with its talons. Lucretia dodged its outstretched arm while slashing it with his sickle. The demon cried out and opened its beaked mouth to unleash a blast of demonic energy. Lucretia jumped to the side, avoiding the attack, but the shockwave of the blast still knocked him off his feet. The demon charged at him while he was down. Lucretia swung his sickle, striking the demon across the chest.

"Damn human!" the demon cried. He spread his wings and took to the air. "Lets see you hit me now!"

Lucretia prepared himself for an aerial attack as the hawk-demon circled overhead. Its entire focus was now on him. He decided to lure it away from Rin, so she could get away.

"Coward, where do you think you're going?" the demon wailed.

It swooped down, talons outstretched to grab him. Lucretia dove forward at the last moment, causing the demon to fly past him. He quickly threw his sickle, catching the demon's wing, and held on tightly. He was dragged across the ground a bit, but the demon was worse off as the blade cut down its wing. Spinning out of control, it crashed head first into a tree.

"Lucretia, are you alright?" Rin cried worriedly, running over to him.

"Rin, stay back, you could get hurt!" he cried.

The demon stumbled forward, clutching his head as its injured wing rested limply at its side. "Damn you! Damn you!"

It pounced at the two of them. Lucretia quickly pushed Rin away. The demon landed in between them, but ignored Rin as it turned to Lucretia.

"I bet you think you're real tough." it said. "Well, now I'll make your death slow and painful."

The demon lashed out again. Lucretia batted away its claws with his sickle. He blocked the attacks, but the demon was pushing him back until he was eventually against a tree.

"Got you now." The demon declared.

A sudden tug on its tail feathers distracted it. Turning around, it saw Rin pulling on its long tail feathers.

"Leave him alone!" Rin cried.

"Rin, no, get out of here!" Lucretia cried.

The demon didn't give her a chance to leave. "Pesky human!"

It swung at her, claws out.

"NO!" Lucretia shouted, throwing his sickle.

It flew through the air, cutting the demon's hand off before it reached Rin. Crying in pain and spraying blood everywhere, the demon turned back to Lucretia, clutching the stump where its hand used to be.

"Little bastard!" it shouted.

It opened its mouth to unleash another blast of demonic energy, but this time Lucretia was ready. He threw his sickle at an angle that caused the chain to wrap around the demon's beak.

The demon's body expanded three times its size as the attack erupted within it. Its eyes rolled up in its head as smoke escape its mouth. Lucretia pulled back his sickle, releasing the demon's mouth and allowing a cloud of smoke to escape. The demon dropped to the ground and remained motionless.

Lucretia glared at the unmoving demon. 'That will teach you for trying to hurt Rin.'

"Lucretia!"

He suddenly had the wind knocked out of him as Rin crashed into him, hugging him tightly. Lucretia's face turned beet red, but luckily Rin didn't notice.

"Rin, are you ok?"

Rin didn't seem to hear him. "You saved Rin! You saved Rin!"

"Of course I did." He said, willing the warmth out of his cheeks. "I'll always protect you."

"There you two are!"

The children turned to find Jaken hurrying towards them, out of breath from running. It figured that he would show up after the fighting was over.

"Master Jaken."

Jaken caught his breath and glared at the girl. "Don't you 'Master Jaken' me!" he scolded. "You have to be more careful!"

"Rin's ok." Said Rin. "Lucretia protected Rin."

Up in the trees, a short distance away, Kael watched his servant continue to scold his ward. He glanced curiously at Lucretia as he sheathed Toukijin. He had watched the battle, interested in the boy's ability to fight; though he had been ready to step in if he needed to.

He looked at the demon that had attacked. It was about 12 feet tall, with brown feathers covering its muscular human shaped body. Hawk wings grew out of its back, and talons, complete with long sharp nails, were on its hands and feet. This demon would be no match for him, but against a human it would be pretty strong.

'You have skills, boy, but you still have a long way to go.'

"-should have known that demons could get you if you wandered around!" Jaken continued. "Next time pick a game that doesn't involve you going off on your own without anyone knowing where you are! And as for you," he turned to Lucretia, "how could you let that demon get hold of her in the first place."

Lucretia hung his head. "I'm sorry, Master Jaken. It won't happen again."

"Don't be upset." Said Rin. "You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, you saved Rin."

Jaken didn't see things the way she did. "He still allowed that demon to lay its hands on you! You're lucky it didn't just- AH! IT'S STILL ALIVE!"

Lucretia and Rin turned to see the hawk-demon on its hands and knees, looking furious. It gave them a look of pure hatred.

"You, I'll rip you to pieces, you puny human!" it roared. "But first, I'm going to-"

It suddenly stopped talking as an energy whip cut through it, right down the middle. The two halves fell away as the demon dropped dead. Behind it stood Kael, having been the one to finish it off.

"Lord Kael!" cried Jaken. "I was just telling Rin and the boy that…"

He trailed off as Kael turned and began to walk away. "Jaken, we are leaving." He said tonelessly. "Rin, Lucretia, come."

Rin smiled. "Yes, Lord Kael!" she said happily, as if she hadn't just been attacked by a demon.

She grabbed Lucretia's hand and pulled him along, leaving a grumbling Jaken to follow behind them.