The Demon's Love

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"What?" asked Lucretia.

"Something in here is alive." Kael repeated, pulling out Toukijin.

His eyes scanned the room carefully. All he saw were pieces of demons. Wait, what was that. He could have sworn he saw a pile of remains move. Apparently he wasn't imagining things because Naevia saw it too, and immediately unleashed her wind attack. Whatever was hiding under the pile of demon remains leapt out, and it shocked all of them, even Kael.

This creature, whatever it was, was the Frankenstein of demons. It was hideously deformed and seemed to be made of random pieces. It looked as if someone with cruel and careless hands had molded it together, not bothering to put anything in the right place. It had more than one head, but only one of them seemed to be alive. This thing was the definition of abomination.

Kael looked at the creature in disgust. He couldn't figure out what type of demon it was or even if it was male or female; it seemed to be both. But whatever it was, it smelled of Naraku.

"You're the worst one yet." Said Naevia, sounding sickened.

"What do you mean, worst one?" asked Kael.

"I told you before how Naraku discards pieces of himself." Naevia explained. "But sometimes when he does that, some of his life force goes into the pieces and a new demon is born. I remember awhile back there was this one that was a giant ball of hair with a mouth. This thing is one just like it. I guess you can call guys like him accidental incarnations."

"Demons created by Naraku without him meaning to." Said Lucretia.

"Naraku." The demon growled. "Did you say Naraku? Where is that pathetic excuse for a demon? He expelled me from his body without care for my makeup. Look at me!"

"I'm trying not to." Naevia remarked.

"Silence, wench!" the demon snarled. "I never asked to be born this way!"

Kael was already getting tired of this demon's rambling. He considered killing it since it obviously hated its life. Then again, that wouldn't change anything. Killing it wouldn't change the demon. It would still be exactly the same, just dead. It seemed as if its very existence was bad.

'Naraku, you go about creating life as carelessly as you destroy it. Just one more reason to kill you. Perhaps this pathetic creature knows where Naraku has gone.'

The demon glared at Kael. "What are you staring at?"

Kael decided to ignore the demon's nasty tone. "Tell me who you are."

The demon growled. "Call me Daiakaio."

"Well, Daiakaio, would you happen to know Naraku's whereabouts?"

"Why should I tell you?"

'Big mistake.' Thought Naevia and Lucretia.

Kael's eyes narrowed. "This Kael will not ask you again."

Daiakaio snorted. "Fool, if I knew where Naraku was hiding I would be tearing him apart right now."

Kael seemed satisfied with that. "Then this Kael has nothing more to say to you."

He turned to leave, much to Lucretia and Naevia's surprise. They would have thought that he would kill Daiakaio for the way he, they were considering it to be a he, spoke to Kael, as if he were nothing. Naevia failed to realize that she had spoken to Kael in a similar manner in the past, and that was back when he was still a cruel person.

"Uh, Kael, are you feeling alright?" asked Lucretia uncertainly.

"I am fine." The demon lord replied. "We are leaving."

Lucretia and Naevia glanced at each other and shrugged before following him.

"Wait." Daiakaio growled. "You, woman."

Naevia turned to the hideous monstrosity. "Me?"

"Your scent is similar to that of Naraku. You're one of his incarnations, aren't you?"

Naevia rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me." She said, turning to leave.

Daiakaio suddenly charged at her. For being so big and so misshapen, he certainly moved fast. But it wasn't fast enough. Before he even reached the wind-demon, Kael's appeared in his path and viciously backhanded him. The force from the blow sent Daiakaio crashing through the wall, several walls actually, until he burst through the final castle wall.

"Nice shot." Said Naevia. "And thanks."

A moment later they heard a scream that sounded a lot like-

"Rin!" Lucretia cried, running through the holes in the wall until he reached the outside.

Daiakaio was climbing to his feet. Several feet away were Rin and Jaken, both looking shocked by the demon's sudden appearance.

'Hang on, Rin.'

Lucretia jumped down from the tower, regardless of the 70-80 foot drop. He slammed the blade of his sickle into the wall, slowly stopping his fall, and nearly pulling his arm out of its socket in the process.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, Lucretia pulled his sickle free, letting himself drop the remaining 6 feet. He got to his feet and turned to Daiakaio. The abomination was looking a Rin with an expression that was indistinguishable on his twisted features, but Lucretia didn't think it meant anything good.

Lucretia threw his sickle. It sliced through what Lucretia assumed was part of Daiakaio's head. A cloud of miasma escaped the wound.

'Damn, should have seen that coming.' Thought Lucretia angrily. "Rin, Jaken, get out of there!"

Jaken immediately scrambled away from the toxic cloud. Rin followed his lead, but several of Daiakaio's tentacles shot out and wrapped around her.

"Let her go!" Lucretia shouted.

He ran at the demon, putting his mask on so he wouldn't breathe the toxic fumes. His sickle flew out, slicing through Daiakaio's tentacles. Rin fell out of his grasp as more miasma escaped the demon's injuries.

"Rin, come on, you have to get out of here." said Lucretia, helping the girl to her feet.

"Lucretia, what's happening?" asked Rin.

"Just go with Jaken. He'll take care of you."

"I'll take care of both of you." Daiakaio growled. Several more tentacles shot out, wrapping around the two of them. Daiakaio tore Lucretia's sickle out of his hand and tossed it aside. "So, you don't like my miasma? It's not so bad once you get used to it."

He breathed a cloud of miasma at the two of them, holding them with in the purple mist.

"Rin." Said Lucretia worriedly.

She looked at him with fear in her eyes. "Rin can't breathe." She wheezed.

'It's the miasma!' Lucretia realized. Without hesitating, he pulled off his mask and stuck it over her face. "Rin, keep this on." he told her.

The tentacles wrapped around them tighter, preventing them from moving as Daiakaio tore the mask off Rin's face.

"You don't need that." He sneered.

A mighty wind picked up and blew away the cloud of miasma. A moment later, blades of wind sliced through Daiakaio's tentacles, freeing the children. Naevia immediately flew towards them on her feather and scooped them up out of harm's way. Though Daiakaio had wings, from different species of demons too, he didn't appear capable of flight.

"Get back here, you b***h!" he bellowed.

He made to follow them, but Kael was suddenly in his way again. "You're opponent is me." He said.

Daiakaio growled. "If you want to die too, you just needed to ask."

Kael showed no reaction to this threat. "Fool, you should have left with your life while it was still an option."

"You dare to threaten me?"

"Should you attack this Kael, the result will be your demise."

Daiakaio laughed. "We will see."

Something large and red shot at Kael. It was Daiakaio's tongue. At the end was a poisonous barb; Kael could smell the venom.

'Poison cannot harm me.' Thought Kael.

He slashed at Daiakaio's tongue, cutting straight through it. Daiakaio grunted, but quickly recovered. His now forked tongue grew longer, each half going by either side of Kael. The dog-demon merely raised an eyebrow as he looked at the two rubbery pieces of flesh on his left and right. Spikes suddenly grew on the insides of the tongue as the two slabs of flesh came together.

Kael easily jumped up and out of the way, heading straight for Daiakaio. He slashed the demon, inflicting a serious wound. Daiakaio didn't seem to mind the pain. Different color tentacles flew out of the wound, heading straight for Kael. The ends of the tentacles peeled open like bananas to reveal hands, claws, stingers, and various other things that Kael easily dealt with using his energy whip.

Daiakaio growled as long gray arms sprouted out of the sides of his head, reaching for Kael. The demon lord allowed Daiakaio to grab him as he studied the demon's abilities.

"It appears that whatever injury you receive immediately changes your body." He said.

Daiakaio laughed. "Yes, that is the only useful thing being born of the discarded pieces of demons provides. Anything you do to me will just cause me to mutate and evolve. In short, you can't defeat me."

Kael couldn't help but smirk slightly. "So you claim. Lets put this theory of yours to the test."

He grabbed one of the arms holding him, digging his claws into Daiakaio's flesh and unleashing his poison. Daiakaio's arm melted off, but it immediately mutated as three lobster like claws grew out of the stump.

"Fool, I told you that you can not win." Daiakaio sneered. "I'll just get bigger and stronger with anything you do to me."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "And if I were to destroy your entire body, what would you do then?"

He grabbed the other arm holding him and crushed it in his fist. There was a loud snapping noise as the bones broke. Kael charged forward and buried his claws into one of Daiakaio's many eyes. Now that caused the demon to cry out in pain. But just like before, he mutated. A long pink tentacle grew out of the wound in his eye.

Kael frowned in disgust. This demon was beginning to annoy him. He unsheathed Toukijin and swung downward, nearly cutting the demon in half right down the middle. But even from an injury like this Daiakaio mutated, using it to his advantage. Large teeth grew along the sides of the cut, turning the wound into a large mouth.

"Care to try that again?" Daiakaio asked, his voice sounding slightly different due to his new mouth.

He snapped at Kael. The demon lord jumped up in the air and landed on Daiakaio's back, burrowing Toukijin in him. The sword was immediately pushed out as long large spider legs grew out of this new wound, lifting Daiakaio into the air as his former legs mutated into arms.

"You can't beat me, Kael." He said. "I am a survivor."

Now Kael was seriously getting fed up. At first Daiakaio's mutation ability had intrigued him, but now he was getting tired of this.

'It is time to end this pointless battle.'

He channeled his demonic energy into Toukijin and unleashed its power. Daiakaio was shocked by this display of power as half his body was obliterated. He collapsed to the ground and remained motionless.

Kael sheathed Toukijin and began to walk away. 'What a pathetic creature. He honestly thought he stood a chance against this Kael.'

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of tearing flesh. Turning around he saw Daiakaio was mutating again. Kael placed his hand on Toukijin again, but before he could strike, someone else did. A sacred arrow, glowing with spiritual energy struck the mutating Daiakaio. He cried out as he was consumed by the pink light and disintegrated.

Kael glanced in the direction the arrow had come from and saw the beautiful face of the undead priestess. She lowered her bow, paying no attention to Kael, and glanced around.

"It seems that Naraku has long since abandoned this place." Kikyou remarked.

"Clearly." Said Kael uncaringly. He had to resist making a face as he picked up her foul smell of bones and graveyard dust. 'What did Inuyasha ever see in this mortal wench?'

"Lady Kikyou!"

Kikyou turned at the sound of her name being called and spotted Rin and Lucretia riding down on Naevia's feather. Rin, having been the one to call the priestess, jumped off the feather and ran over to her.

"Rin is happy to see you again, Lady Kikyou." Said Rin happily.

Kikyou smiled. "It is good to see you again too." Her eyes moved to Naevia and narrowed. "Naevia."

The wind-demon nodded in greeting. "Kikyou."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Naraku?"

Naevia glared at the priestess. "Naraku can go jump off a cliff for all I care."

Rin nodded enthusiastically. "Lady Naevia is traveling with us now." She said happily.

"Apparently Naraku forced her to do his bidding by holding her heart." Said Kael.

Naevia smirked. "But thanks to Kael here, I was able to escaped from my so-called father. I'm through with that bastard; not that I ever wanted to have anything to do with him in the first place."

Lucretia frowned at Naevia's language. "Naevia, watch what you say in front of Rin." He told her.

Kikyou turned her attention to him. "And you, you are one of Naraku's henchmen."

Lucretia's fist clenched. "Not by choice. I broke his spell."

"Did you now?" said Kikyou. "And it was through that jewel shard in your back that he controlled you. He may do it again. Perhaps I should take it."

"No!" Rin shouted. She immediately ran over to Lucretia and grabbed onto him. "No, Lady Kikyou! He'll die if you do!"

Kikyou's face showed no emotion. "I am aware. But with that jewel shard he is cheating death. He should have died long ago."

"Hey!" Naevia snapped angrily. "Kael saved mine and Rin's life with Tenseiga! We too cheated death. He's just using a jewel shard instead of Tenseiga."

"The dead should stay dead." Kikyou replied.

Naevia snorted. "You're one to talk. At least he's actually alive, unlike you. You're nothing but an animated corpse made of clay, using the energy of those souls within you to provide movement. And you have the right to say that he doesn't deserve life when he's actually alive."

"My undead existence is all I have!" Kikyou seethed. "For him there will be an afterlife. For me there won't. When I died I was reincarnated into Kagome because I tried to take the Shikon Jewel with me to the next world."

Naevia shrugged. "That was your choice. You should have known that the jewel couldn't be destroyed like that."

"I did not know I would be reincarnated because of it. My intention had been to take the jewel into the afterlife and guard it there, away from evil. But my plan backfired. Now Naraku has most of the jewel. He cannot be allowed to complete it."

Naevia threw her head back and laughed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it you that gave Naraku the jewel shard to begin with?"

Kikyou didn't deny it. "It was. But my intention was to gather the nearly completed jewel in one place, and then destroy it along with Naraku." She looked back at Lucretia. "As long as he possess that shard in his back, Naraku may yet still have a hold over him. It will be better if I remove it."

Naevia whipped out her fan and took an attack position. "You can try."

Kikyou reached for an arrow. "Oh, I will."

"Enough!" Kael snapped, surprising them all by raising his voice. He immediately took on a calm emotionless tone again as he addressed Kikyou. "The boy is under my protection. Should you attempt to harm him or anyone else in my company, you will have to go through this Kael."

Lucretia was shocked beyond belief. He was surprised when Kael had allowed him to travel with him, but he was shocked to hear him flat out defend him.

"Kael…" he whispered in admiration.

Kikyou glared at the demon lord. "You dare to challenge me? You are a fool to do so."

Naevia rolled her eyes. "No, you are the fool."

"That's right!" cried Rin, sounding angry. "No one can beat Lord Kael!"

"We will see." Said Kikyou. She strung an arrow and aimed at Kael, who hadn't moved an inch. "I will purify you, and send you into the next world."

She fired the arrow. It flew through the air, glowing with spiritual energy. Kael easily caught it; the glowing arrow in his hand losing its spiritual energy in until it was no more than an ordinary arrow again.

"You cannot purify this Kael." He told her, snapping the arrow in half. "I cannot be defeated by a human."

Kikyou's eyes narrowed in irritation. "I am no mere human. I am the most powerful priestess since Midoriko."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Are you? I had thought that Inuyasha's human was stronger, having inherited your power as well as having her own."

Kikyou didn't like being compared to her reincarnation. "She is but a copy."

"She is more real than you." Kael told her. "She has a soul of her own. She has a life. She has a real body. You are not even the original Kikyou; that Kikyou no longer exists. You are nothing more than a clay statue that looks like her and has inherited her memories from the small portion of Kagome's soul that you stole. You are more of copy than her."

Now Kikyou was really angry. She held her bow out horizontally and channeled her spiritual powers into it. The bow began glowing with spiritual energy before the power blasted out of it, consuming Kael in a pink light.

Kikyou smirked. "You should never have challenged my power, demon. Now you will see how powerful I truly am, and just how real I am."

The power increased. Kael felt Kikyou's spiritual powers trying to overcome his demonic aura and kill him. She was indeed strong, stronger than that one monk and his followers that had challenged him when he had gone to rescue Rin. She had more power than all of them combined. But he knew that she was no match for him. And he wasn't overestimating his powers or underestimating hers. It was the truth. The most her powers did was force him to take a step back.

"Lord Kael, no!" Rin cried fearfully, making an attempt to get to him.

Lucretia held her back. "No Rin. Stay here, you'll just get hurt."

"But Lord Kael-"

"Will be fine. Watch."

Kael's eyes turned red, the first sign of his transformation to his demon form. His demonic aura flared up, overcoming Kikyou's spiritual energy. The force of his power not only dispersed the spiritual energy surrounding him, it also knocked Kikyou off her feet.

The undead priestess looked at the demon lord in disbelief. 'How did he overcome by spiritual powers? It's not possible.'

Kael's eyes turned back to their golden yellow color as his power faded. "If you are finished, we will take our leave."

He turned and began to walk away. Kikyou narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You're not going to kill me?"

He stopped. "For what purpose?" he asked, not even facing her. "There is no point in killing what is already dead."

"You could still end my existence."

"True, but this Kael has no reason to. You are powerless against me. But heed my warning, priestess. Should you ever attack this Kael or those in my company again, I will finish you off." He began walking away again. 'Let the priestess have her undead existence. It would be pointless to kill her, less she wishes for her misery to end. But there are still things she wishes to do. Let her do them before her time is over.'

Naevia, Lucretia, and Rin followed the demon lord. When they passed Kikyou, Rin paused by the fallen to priestess to see if she was alright.

"Lady Kikyou, you're not hurt, are you?" she asked worriedly, seeming to have already have forgiven the woman for attacking Kael and for wanting to kill Lucretia.

Kikyou gave Rin a surprised look, but managed to smile. "I am fine, Rin. Don't worry yourself over me."

Rin nodded. "Ok, bye."

As she turned to leave, Kikyou stopped her with a question. "But before you leave, tell me, why do you travel with Kael and Naevia?"

Rin gave Kikyou a confused look. "Why wouldn't Rin?"

"They are bad people."

Rin giggled. "Silly Lady Kikyou. They're not bad. They're really nice. They've just made some mistakes in the past, like everyone."

Kikyou looked at Naevia and Kael. So they were good people, were they? Well Kikyou decided that she would be the judge of that. Using her priestess powers, she looked into their souls to see just how good they really were.

She rose an eyebrow once she finished her soul searching. Well, they weren't pure of heart or the nicest of people in the world, but they certainly weren't evil. And their goodness was growing, mostly due to Rin's influence.

Kikyou looked at Rin in amazement. 'Could this girl really be capable of seeing the purity in the hearts of others more than me?' she thought. A smile appeared on her lips. 'This girl has a heart of gold. Should she be a priestess, her powers will be extraordinary.'

Kikyou nodded. "Thank you for telling me that."

Rin giggled. "You're welcome! Bye now!"

She ran after the others. When she caught up with them, she saw Kael glaring down at Jaken.

"And where were you, Jaken?" Kael asked coldly. "I believe this Kael specifically ordered you to watch Rin."

Jaken looked like he was going to have a heart attack. "F-Forgive me, milord. I did not mean to abandon Rin." He panicked when Kael continued to glare at him. He dropped to his knees and began continuously bowing. "Oh, please forgive me, milord! I thought she was right behind me when I fled! I promise never to make an assumption again! Please have mercy on your poor servant!"

Kael was silent as he let Jaken squirm for a few seconds more before finally saying, "Don't let it happen again."

Hands over his head, expecting some sort of physical punishment, Jaken opened one eye to look up at the demon lord. 'He… he's not going to punish me? Oh thank the heavens!' Kael then continued onward, deliberately stepping on the toad-demon cowering at his feet. 'ACH! I should have expected that.'

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"My things are certainly getting interesting." Snickered Byakuya, watching the scene with his flying eyeball. "A confrontation between Kael and Kikyou. Who could ask for more?"

"I could."

Byakuya turned to his master. "Ah, Naraku, come to see what's happening?"

Naraku crossed his arms. "I cannot see what you're seeing."

Byakuya laughed. "I know, it's a real shame. But what was that you were saying about asking for more?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want the jewel shard in Lucretia's back."

Byakuya frowned. "Aw, so soon? You're going to spoil my fun."

"You have observed them enough." Said Naraku, getting frustrated. "Go after them now and get me that jewel shard."

Byakuya sighed. "Whatever you say." He pulled out his paper crane and enlarged it. "Be back in a flash."