Jun: Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well.

This chapter was requested by Miko Vampire:

-How do you feel about a Naga Izaya finding a poor lost Neko Mikado and instead of eating him he decides to devour him in a different way?-

I hope that you like it!

Wow, this is the 30th story of the collection, far more than I had ever thought would happen when I started this. To those who are reading this, I want to tell you that it has been a wonderful time together and I have learned so much from all of you. Also that I am incredibly sorry to any of you who have left a prompt but it has gotten lost somewhere in the internet or it has not been written because I couldn't think of anything for it. I'm letting you know requests will now and forever be open. It's been trial and error opening and closing it, but I think I like it more always open. I will continue to add new stories to this whenever I can and again, I love you all.

On with the chapter!

Izaya hissed in pleasure as he licked the last of his dinner off of his claws. Another traveler that wandered into his territory. Pathetic.

The naga paused sensing another intruder in his forest. Izaya flicked his tongue out tasting the air. He could faintly taste the blood, salt, and death coming from the newcomers. He listened carefully hearing sobbing.

Izaya slithered toward the intruder, the sobbing grew louder as he went, high pitched like a hatchling's. What was a hatchling doing here? He'd never met hunters cruel enough to use hatchlings as bait.

The naga licked the insides of his sharp teeth finally coming across the scene. Izaya circled the figures silently from the shadows.

A young black furred feline covered in dirt and wounds cried on the ground next to his dead mother. Izaya could see the fatal stab wound among the blood on her back. Izaya flicked his tongue out at the delicious smell of the blood. This hatchling was lucky he had eaten moments ago.

Izaya hissed silently to himself. He could not leave the child as in the middle of the forest. Its cries would attract unwanted attention.

Izaya slithered toward the crying hatchling making plenty of sounds catching the little kitten's attention. The small figure jumped and fearful blue eyes met his. "Who-who are you, mister?"

The naga couldn't help but stare at the little hatchling. What pretty eyes this one had. And such a sweet sounding voice. Izaya circled the youngling, surrounding the small one with green coils that dwarfed his little body. He wanted all of this hatchling's attention. All of it all to himself. Izaya slowly used one of his clawed hands to wipe away the tears on the small face. "What is your doing in my territory."

The hatchling sniveled. "I'm sorry, mister! I-I don't know what's wrong with my mama. She won't wake up! Please make mama wake up."

Izaya soothed soft black hair. "And how did you and your mother come to be in this forest."

The young kitten keened. "I don't know. The villagers started chasing us and-and hurting us for no reason. They said something about the crops. I-I don't know- I don't know what happened to my papa. We left him at the village sleeping like mama."

So an orphaned hatchling then. Izaya looked into those bright blue eyes of the youngling and feel instantly love. Two shining gemstones filled with innocence gazed at him trustingly. Well, he hadn't had a nest mate in a long time, not since his sisters left him.

Izaya lifted the little hatchling in his arms, tucking the little one to his chest. "Kufufufufu~, do not cry. Izaya will take care of you. What is your name, little one?" His new hatchling hid in the warmth of his embrace falling asleep little by little. It seemed his hatchling was worn out.

"Mikado. My name is Mikado Ryugamine."

Hissing contently, Izaya returned to his nest reminding himself to return for the mother later. A growing hatchling needed to eat after all.

Izaya woke to the sounds of the morning birds. The naga instinctively looked for his little treasure and found him curled up next to him using his coils as bedding. Izaya hissed contently watching his nest mate sleep. It was nice sharing his home again. He curled his tail tighter around Mikado and readjusted his neko's blanket.

How his little one has grown over the many winters spent together. He was no longer the tiny hatchling he found in the middle of his forest. He has grown. Nearly full grown now.

Izaya brushed a hand through Mikado's hair. He remembered spending afternoons slithering around the forest with his young one teaching him how to hunt. And failing.

The many nights having to drag his hatchling out of the lake after his little one had fallen in trying to catch fish. All the times his little one would hide behind him in fear of the little prey wandering around his land.

Mikado shifted in his sleep beginning to wake up. His little one looked up at him smiling sleepily. "Good morning, Izaya." The cat teen stretched up to nuzzles against Izaya which the naga fondly returned. "Good morning as well, little one."

Mikado pouted. "I'm not little anymore." The teen's ears and tail twitched in his annoyance. Izaya laughed and flicked his tongue against Mikado's cheek. Mikado made a face rubbing away at the spot.

Izaya hummed. "Of course not, little one. You are just smaller than Izaya."

The teen smothered Izaya's face with his black-furred tail in retaliation.

Mikado was picking herbs out in the fields like usual. The teen sniffed the herb making sure it was fresh before adding it to his basket. Some of the herbs were for medical purposes in case something happened, but most of them were for food.

As good as Izaya is at catching food, he was a terrible cook. It probably had to do with the fact that the naga ate his food raw and in one piece, unlike Mikado.

The teen felt suddenly green remembering the times Izaya had tried to cook for him. The intention was nice, but that didn't mean anything when your cook gives you food poisoning.

The neko stretched his back sighed in relief at the pops. He had come really close to the forest border, closer than Izaya would approve of. Mikado got chills thinking of all the tales Izaya would tell about the outside world. The teen hurriedly backed away from the tree lining heading deeper into the forest he knew as his home.

Izaya had always told him that the outside world was a scary, unforgiving, cruel place filled with nothing but bad bad people. Killers that would sneak into homes and slaughter people in their sleep. Horrible men that would steal children right off the streets and the children were never heard of again. Families doing cruel and unforgiving things to each other for the approval of others.

He didn't know how their neighbor, the traveling lone wolf Shizuo, could stand the outside world. Shizuo said that the outside world wasn't nearly as bad as Izaya made it out to be. But Izaya would never lie to him, would he? Mikado shook his head. Izaya was everything to him, of course he wouldn't lie to him about such things. He was just trying to protect Mikado, right?

Mikado hummed to himself as he made his way back to Izaya's cave trying to distract himself from his thoughts.

What was that?

Mikado's ear twitched. He glanced around warily.

…

There it was again. He could hear it, someone was in the forest with him. "I-Izaya? Is that you?"

The teen jumped out of they just in time as an arrow embedded itself into the tree where he just was. Mikado dropped his basket and ran for it. Mikado covered his head with a cry when another arrow whizzed past his head.

The forest blurred around Mikado as he ran faster and faster. He could feel his feet become numb and prayed his legs wouldn't give out on him. The teen had no idea who it was chasing him or why but something in him told him to run now ask questions later.

Mikado heard the running behind him getting closer and chanced a look back missing the root in front of him. Pain burst in the side of his head as he collided with the ground. He scrambled to get up again but instantly a hunting net was thrown on him. Mikado shuffled as best he could back toward the tree behind him making himself as small as he could.

Hunters. From the outside. The teens ears flattened as he stared in fear of the approaching men grinning down at him. He didn't know why, but these men caused unexplainable fear in him. Like these men had done something horrible to him that he couldn't remember.

The dog hunter holding a bow and arrow smirked maliciously at him. "Well well, look what we caught here brother." The second dog hunter holding the ropes to the net trapping Mikado nudged the teen with his shoe. "A pretty pathetic thing if you ask me. But I'm sure he'll fetch us a good price in the market." The man sneered dragging Mikado away like a wild animal.

Mikado fought against the net and clawed at the ground through the net trying to claw his way free. The brother with the bow and arrow stomped on Mikado's hand making teen yawl out in pain. "Stop your struggling you worthless brat. You might be worth more unharmed but we won't hesitate to break you in if we have to."

Mikado curled into himself shaking cradling his hand. It felt like the hunter had broken his fingers. He couldn't move them anymore it was too painful. He wanted Izaya. Izaya knew how to make everything better.

"IZAYA!"

"SHUT UP." One of the hunters kicked him square in the head making his headache ten times worse. The teen watched the ground pass by him dazedly. Why didn't he call for help earlier? Why did he wait this long? Now Izaya might not ever find him.

The naga dragged his fresh catch back to his nest. He always made sure Mikado had prey to eat first before eating himself.

Izaya waited with the prey for Mikado to return but his treasure is out longer than usual. Izaya instantly went on high alert and sniffed around. He couldn't smell them but he could hear them. Intruders giving chase to something. Or someone.

"IZAYA!"

He was gone in an instant. Izaya sped through the forest fast enough to make the wind jealous. Someone was after his treasure. Heads were going to roll.

Izaya saw red when he came to the scene. He instantly lunged at the man holding the trap encasing Mikado and sunk his claws into the man's gut. The hunter screamed as Izaya viciously ripped the man in two.

The second hunter notched his arrow yelling something that Izaya didn't care about but it was too late. Izaya wrapped the hunter in his coils and crushed almost all of the bones in the man's body making the man give out a gurgled scream. The naga unhinged his jaw and engulfed his prey's entire neck before striking down, sinking his fangs into the neck before him and then yanking, ripping the hunter's head clean off.

Izaya licked the blood from his lips. The forest around them was covered in blood and the discarded pieces of the vile hunters.

Whimpering brought Izaya's attention back to where it should be, on Mikado. His treasure coward under the net trap, wide-eyed, and covered in blood and bruises. The naga's eyes narrowed smelling that some of the blood belonged to Mikado. Mainly from the large gash on his head.

Izaya shooshed his little one as he untangled him from the netting. His poor poor frightened mate.

"Shhhh, shhhhhh. It is alright now, Mikado. Everything is better. Izaya is here now. Shhhhh. The bad men are gone now." Izaya said huddling Mikado to his chest. The teen buried himself against Izaya like he did when he was younger. Izaya ignored the way the cat's claws cut into his skin as his treasure held on fast, still trembling.

Izaya rubbed Mikado's back as he slithered back to their nest. He'll come back for the bodies later.

Once at the nest grabbed some medicine herbs and blankets before heading to their stream. Izaya gently eased Mikado's blood soaked clothes off and started washing his poor mate. The naga cupped his hands in the water and, mindful of Mikado's bleeding head, scrubbed the blood out of the teens hair.

The entire time Izaya washed him, Mikado stared ahead with unfocused eyes. Izaya worried this might be from the injury on his head. Izaya dried his little one with a blanket before dressing all of his cuts and bruises with the herbs he had brought. He noticed Mikado had been holding his hand close to him. He gently coaxed Mikado into showing him how bad it was. It looked like two of his fingers were dislocated, none broken.

"Mikado. Hey, look at me." Izaya took his hatchlings face in his hand and turned him so Mikado was looking him in the eye. "Just look at me, Mikado. This will hurt but look at me." Izaya continued to coo at Mikado as he quickly set Mikado's fingers. Mikado yelled in pain and whatever trance Mikado was in broke and the teen began crying. Izaya tore away a ribbon of blanket to wrap the neko's hand.

The naga cocooned Mikado in the rest of the blankets and carried him back to the depths of their nest to their furred bedding. Once laid down Mikado began full on sobbing.

"Why would they do that!" Mikado's voice waivered. "I didn't do anything to them but they still came after me. I did nothing to them but they tried to-tried to- it hurt." Mikado's tail curled around him and his ears hung low.

Izaya hushed his treasure again curling his now blood free coils around him. "It's just how those outsiders are. Izaya has always told you, outsiders are mean and ruthless and prey on innocent hatchling like you. Only stay in the forest. Izaya will protect you, little treasure."

Mikado nodded rapidly, mumbling incoherently.

Izaya watched his poor mate in pity. How he wished his little one did not have to learn this way. But he needed to learn to never go near the forest lining again. This way, his mate would be too scared to leave him. And he would stay here. Forever.

Jun: Hoped you guys liked it!

The next chapter will be twistedsister-emogirl's and MapleAnimal's request: Childhood Friends.

Unedited version on my LiveJournal account.