The Demon's Love

VIII

Naraku continued with his planning. The loss of Akago really sent a message to him. He wasn't as invincible as he had originally thought. He thought that he could keep Akago safe, but he hadn't been able to. It was all Naevia and Lucretia's fault.

Naraku clenched his fists as he tried to control his fury. 'Damn them! I can't believe I allowed Lucretia to deceive me like that, and I should have killed Naevia long ago. Now I have to be extra careful. Hakudōshi is the only thing keeping me from death. Should he be destroyed, I will be as vulnerable as any other demon.' He looked at Hakudōshi, Kanna, and Mōryōmaru. 'But it won't matter. Soon my heart will be protected in a way so that I will no longer have to worry.'

"Naraku." Kanna whispered, interrupting his thoughts.

He turned his angry red eyes on his daughter. "What is it?"

"Byakuya approaches."

Finally some good news. "Excellent. That means that Lucretia is dead, and the jewel shard is in my possession once again."

A few minutes later, Byakuya flew in on his paper crane. He was clutching his chest, where a bloody stain remained on his shirt.

Hakudōshi chuckled. "Looks like you had a bit of trouble."

Byakuya glared at his brother, looking at him with only his right eye since the left was closed. "You think?"

"Yes, I do. So tell me, was Lucretia with Kael?"

Byakuya nodded. "He was. And he wasn't the only one. Naevia was with them."

He couldn't help but smile at the looks on Naraku and Hakudōshi's faces.

"Impossible." Naraku snarled. "I crushed her heart in my hand."

"She couldn't have survived." Hakudōshi insisted.

Byakuya shrugged. "She was certainly alive when I fought her."

Naraku growled. 'It's not possible. How could she have…' His eyes widened as he figured it out. "Tenseiga!"

Byukuya raised an eyebrow. "Tenseiga?"

"Kael's sword of healing." Said Kanna quietly. "He uses it to resurrect the dead."

"He must have used it on Naevia." Said Hakudōshi.

Naraku was really struggling to control his temper, but he supposed that there was a bright side to this. "Then I will just have to kill her again. And this time I will make her suffer. Kanna, perhaps I'll even have you imprison her soul in your mirror; after all, one of the things Naevia hates the most is lack of freedom. But I will deal with her later. First things first, Byakuya, give me the jewel shard."

Byakuya shook his head. "Sorry, Naraku, but I was unprepared for Naevia's presence. She distracted me long enough for Kael to give me this wound. I had to retreat for the time being."

Ok, now Naraku was really mad. "So you're telling me, that after all this time of searching, you finally found them, and you let them escape."

"How long is it going to take to find them again?" asked Hakudōshi, sounding bored and annoyed.

"Oh, don't worry." Said Byakuya. "I'll be able to find them again much easier than last time."

Hakudōshi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and how are you going to do that?"

Byakuya chuckled, opening his left eye. It was not in its socket. "I'm keeping my eye on them."

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Lucretia woke early the next morning, and carefully unlatched his arm from Rin's grasp; she always slept by him.

"Lucretia…" she muttered in her sleep.

He froze for a moment, sparing her a glance before he quietly made his way to another area. Taking a look around, he decided that this would be a good place to practice. He had been getting up extra early the past few days. After their little run in with Byakuya, Lucretia was determine to get better so he would be ready the next time they met. And he knew that they would meet again.

A scowl crossed over Lucretia's face as he remembered the amused look on Byakuya's face as he had terrorized Rin. How dare that monster do such a thing! Lucretia swore to make him pay. He would never allow harm to come to Rin.

He threw the sickle, slicing through several trees. He made such clean cuts that the trees actually stayed in place for a few seconds before falling. His sickle had already returned to him and shot back out several times before the first trees even hit the ground. His movements were so swift that they were nearly invisible to the human eye.

He was good. Very good, but he knew he could do better. There was always room for improvement. And he would need to improve if he were to fight Byakuya again.

Byakuya. There was something different about this demon. He wasn't like Naraku's other incarnations. Lucretia couldn't put his finger on it, but somehow this demon was in a class of his own.

He tossed out his sickle again and was surprised to hear metal hit metal. After he got over his surprise, he realized that Kael had blocked his sickle with Toukijin.

"Kael?" he said in surprise.

"Your skills are very good." Said Kael emotionlessly. "As a human, you have impressed me. But you can be better."

Lucretia nodded. "I intend to be."

"A wise decision." He swung Toukijin. "Try and strike me."

Lucretia looked surprised. "Excuse me."

"Strike me." The demon lord repeated. "If you can."

Lucretia prepared to throw his sickle. "You sure?"

"Do not make this Kael repeat himself."

Lucretia gulped and threw the sickle. Kael easily deflected it. Lucretia was shocked. He had barely seen the dog-demon move.

"Do not stop." Said Kael. "Proceed to attack."

Lucretia knew he didn't need to ask the demon lord if he was sure again. He continued attacking and Kael kept blocking. It went on for over two hours before a difference in the pattern changed. When Lucretia had thrown his sickle, Kael had still blocked it. But he didn't block properly. The sickle bounced off Toukijin and nearly hit Kael in the face, but he had managed to dodge the blade.

"Enough." He said.

Lucretia stopped attacking. He was grateful for the pause. He was tired and sweaty while Kael wasn't even breathing hard.

"You did well." He said.

Lucretia didn't answer right away. He was too surprised by the demon lord complimenting him. He didn't even know why he was complimenting him.

"I didn't land a single blow."

"This Kael did not expect you to."

Lucretia couldn't help but smile. "I guess. I'm nowhere near your level of power."

"A human should not expect to be as powerful as a demon."

"Yeah, especially you." said Lucretia. "Naraku even said that you're the perfect demon. That was why he tried to absorb you."

"He cannot absorb me." Kael assured him.

Lucretia nodded. "I know." he replied. "He was furious when he couldn't. That's why he…"

When he didn't continue Kael raised an eyebrow. "He what?" Lucretia didn't reply. "Lucretia, what did he do?"

The demon slayer sighed. "That was when he tried to make me kill Rin. He was hoping that if I killed her that you would kill me."

"For what purpose would he want this Kael to kill you? I was aware of what he wanted, but unsure of the reason for it."

Lucretia reached back and felt the sacred jewel shard in his back. "Because if you killed me out of anger, the sacred jewel shard in my back would have been tainted by malice."

So that was the reason. Kael had always wondered why Naraku wanted him to kill his own servant, but had never been able to figure it out. 'Naraku, how despicable you are to sacrifice others for such a purpose. I will destroy you.'

"He punished me and Naevia for failing." Continued Lucretia, bringing Kael out of his thoughts. "He cares for his followers as much as his enemies."

Kael's anger began stirring. "You say you were punished. What did Naraku do?"

Lucretia winced. "He didn't punish me physically. He made me feel all the guilt and pain I felt from killing my friends and family. Then he would wipe away the memories again, but it still left me emotionally hurt." He sighed. "Naevia had it worse though. He would put her in chains and torture her. He did it a lot."

Kael's claws dug into his hand and for a brief moment his eyes flickered with red. How dare that despicable half-breed torture Naevia! He would make him pay for what he did.

"Rest assure, Naraku will die by my hand." He said. "This Kael will personally kill him."

Lucretia gave the dog-demon a curious look. "Hey, Kael, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you after Naraku. I mean, I know you're after him because he had Rin abducted and he attacked you, but you were after him before then, weren't you?"

"I was."

"Why? What happened?"

Kael considered telling the boy what happened. He saw no harm in it. "I once sought to possess the Tetsusaiga. But the barrier around it prevents me from touching it. After I lost my arm, Naraku came to me, offering me a human arm with a shard of the Shikon Jewel embedded within it. He told me that with this arm I would be able to hold Tetsusaiga. In return, he wanted me to kill Inuyasha.

"Even with this new arms, I was unable to take Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha. It was then that the human arm I was using burst into flames, threatening to burn me to death. But I removed the arm in time. When I returned to Naraku, he confessed to trying to kill me. His intention had been to use me to destroy Inuyasha and then burn me to death so that he may reclaim the jewel shard. He intended to use and kill this Kael. Such an act can not go unpunished."

Lucretia nodded. It also suddenly registered to him that this was the most he had ever heard Kael talk. Was the demon lord warming up to him?

"Well, thank you for training with me." He said. "And for everything else you've done."

Kael suddenly made direct eye contact with him. Lucretia was surprised at the amount of seriousness he saw in those yellow eyes.

"Rin seems to be very fond of you."

Lucretia blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected the demon lord to say anything like that. "Um, yeah, I guess." He said, blushing. "She's a very sweet girl, and a good friend."

"Just a friend?"

Lucretia blushed some more. This was very awkward. "Y-Yes, just friends."

Kael's eyes narrowed. "Do not lie to this Kael. You're feelings run much deeper than friendship." 'For both of you.' "What are your feelings towards her?"

"I… I…" Why was he being confronted like this? "I care for her… a lot."

"As a friend?" asked Kael. "As family? Or are you harboring other feelings?"

Lucretia gulped. He knew what Kael meant when he said 'other feelings'. And he was afraid to answer. But the look Kael was giving him told him that he had no choice but to answer, and truthfully.

"O-Other…" he said, blushing.

Kael's expression gave away nothing. "She is special to you?"

Lucretia nodded. "Very."

"How much do you care for her?"

"I…" He couldn't find words for it. "I can't describe it. I care for her as much as I do for my sister, though my feelings for her are different. I'll do anything for Rin."

He really wished Kael would stop looking at him like that. It was making him so uncomfortable. What the demon lord said next shocked him.

"Do you desire her as a mate?"

Lucretia's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "Wh-What? I… we… we're too young for that. I mean, I'm only 12 and she's 8. It's too soon to consider that… But, someday…" He blushed again. Why did he keep doing that? "I could definitely see spending the rest of my life with Rin, although I know I don't deserve someone like her."

"That is up to her." 'And me.' "You will protect her?"

Lucretia nodded. "With my life."

"But would you die for her?"

"Without hesitation."

The two stared at each other. Lucretia was becoming more and more uncomfortable under his gaze. Finally the demon lord turned away.

"Very well, you have this Kael's blessings."

He turned and walked away, leaving a stunned and confused Lucretia behind.

'I have his blessings? What does he mean?'

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Rin hummed happily to herself as she continued to string together the flowers she had picked. Naevia walked over to her curiously and sat down beside her.

"What are you working on, Rin?" she asked.

Rin smiled and showed Naevia what she was doing. "It's a present for Lucretia. Rin is making him a crown of flowers. Rin hopes he'll like it."

Naevia chuckled. "I'm sure he'll like anything you give him. He really likes you, you know."

Rin blushed and looked at the ground. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, he like likes you a lot." Naevia smirked. "And I think you like him a lot too."

Rin blushed some more. "Mm hmm." She muttered, nodding.

Naevia's amusement grew. "Do you love him?"

If it were possible for Rin to blush any harder, she did. She didn't answer Naevia's question, though. Instead she just smiled and giggled, her eyes shining with happiness.

Jaken, who happened to overhear their conversation, snorted. "Please, Rin is but a child. She can't possibly fall in love."

Naevia glared at him. "No one asked you."

Rin frowned at Jaken's words. "Master Jaken, don't you know that love knows no bonds."

Jaken rolled his eyes. "So what, you're saying you do love him?"

"It's none of your business!" Naevia snapped, waving her fan, causing Jaken to be blown away.

Embarrassed, Rin buried her face in Naevia's kimono, but she had a smile on her face. Naevia smiled down at her and gentle stroked the girl's hair.

"Lady Naevia, do you think Rin is too young to fall in love?"

Naevia just smiled. "There are all kinds of love Rin. There's romantic love, there's friendly love, there's family love-"

"But Rin doesn't love Lucretia like a family or just as a friend." The girl said. "What does Rin feel?"

Naevia chuckled. "Well, right now what you're feeling would be childhood love. But one day that will change to a romantic love. You'll feel different about the one you love and you'll want to do different things."

"Like what?"

Naevia stopped stroking Rin's hair for a moment. There was no way she was getting into that conversation. "I'll tell you when you're older. You're still too young to feel those kinds of things yet."

"What things?"

"Adult things, Rin."

What Rin said next really surprised Naevia. "Is that how you feel about Lord Kael?"

Naevia tensed, giving the girl a surprised look. She certainly was a curious little thing. Naevia didn't really feel the need to hide it from her since Rin obviously knew how Naevia felt.

"Yes, Rin. That is how I feel."

Rin finally took her face out of Naevia's kimono. "Are you and Lord Kael going to get married?"

Naevia gasped in shock. She almost regretted getting into this conversation. "Well Rin, first of all, demons don't get married. They become mates. Humans get married."

Rin c****d her head to the side curiously. "What's the difference?"

Naevia considered her next words carefully. There was no way she was going to tell the entire way demons became mates. "Well, for the most part, the two demons mark each other."

"Mark each other?"

Naevia nodded. "Yes. When demons become mates, they mark each other, which permanently bonds them to each other, body and soul forever. Unlike human marriages, demon matings are permanent, they can't be broken."

"Eternal love!" cried Rin happily. "Are you and Lord Kael going to become mates? Rin knows you love Lord Kael, you even told Rin! And Rin knows that Lord Kael loves you!"

Naevia sighed. "Rin, I don't know how you see things, but I don't think Kael likes me like that."

That wasn't exactly true. Naevia knew that Kael harbored some feelings for her, not to mention he desired her. She had smelled his arousal at times and caught him stealing glances at her. She just didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Of course he does!" Rin cried. "Rin knows. Lord Kael tries to hide his feelings, but Rin can tell. Lord Kael loves you!"

Naevia just sighed again. "If you say so." She said, telling the girl what she wanted to hear.

"Yay! Rin is so happy for you and Lord Kael! You two are going to get married! And when Rin grows up, she's going to marry Lucretia!"

Naevia laughed. "Rin, you can't decide that on your own."

"Rin knows. But Rin will make Lucretia fall in love with her. And then we'll be married and live happily ever after!"

Naevia chuckled. "You two would be so cute together." An evil look passed over her face. "Do you want to kiss him?"

Rin turned beet red. "Lady Naevia, you're embarrassing Rin!"

"I'm not hearing a no."

"A no what?"

The two women looked up as Kael and Lucretia returned. It had been Lucretia that asked the question.

"What aren't you hearing a no to?" he asked again, curiously.

Naevia just waved it off as Rin continued to blush. "Nothing, just girl talk."

Rin got up and walked over to Lucretia. "Look Lucretia, look what Rin made for you!" She placed the crown of flowers on his head, giggling.

"Uh, thanks Rin."

Rin giggled again. "Come play with Rin!"

She pulled on his arm, taking him to play in one of her childish games again. Lucretia went willingly, with a smile on his face.

Kael glanced at Naevia once the two children were out of hearing range. "What were the two of you discussing?"

Naevia smirked. "Probably the same thing you were talking to Lucretia about. So, how did your little chit-chat with the boy go?"

Kael turned away, looking in the direction Rin and Lucretia had gone off in. "The boy harbors deep feelings for her."

Naevia smiled. "Well, as you guessed, I spoke to Rin on the same subject. The feeling's mutual. The bond they share is very special. It's only going to grow as time goes on." She smiled. "They may be young, but that means that their love is pure and true. There is not yet a physical attraction between them, yet their feelings run deep. That will change when they mature, they will come to desire each other physically as well as emotionally."

Kael growled. He may have given Lucretia his blessings, but no father enjoyed the thought of their daughter getting 'physical' with a man, and Kael was no exception, even though Rin wasn't technically his daughter.

Naevia looked right at Kael, curious to see his reaction when she told him what else she discovered. "Rin wants to marry him when she grows up."

She waited for a reaction, certain that even Kael would react, but surprisingly, when Kael turned to face her, she got none. "Then this Kael will see that this happens."

Naevia was left speechless.

High above them, hidden from their eyes and noses, a red eye watched them, a flicker of amusement in them.

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Far away in Naraku's fortress, Byakuya smirked. He had seen everything that had happened and it amused him greatly. Hakudōshi noticed his brother's smirk and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Care to tell me what's so amusing?" he asked.

Byakuya chuckled. "Well, brother, it seems that our dear sister has fallen in love with the Inuyasha's older brother."

"Kael?" said Hakudōshi. "My, that is interesting."

"Not really." Said Kanna. "Naevia has been having feelings for Kael for a long time now. Those feelings have indeed turned into love."

"She's not the only one to find love." Said Byakuya. "Our little demon slayer and Kael's ward have fallen for each other as well."

Hakudōshi chuckled. "It seems that love is in the air."

Byakuya nodded in agreement. "Yes, this will make things interesting." He snickered at all the ways he could use their feelings as a weakness. "Very interesting."