Ohhhh… Gaawwwd. I don't want to make excuses for why this one is severely late, too, but, Christ… this has REALLY not been my last couple of months. I need to VENT!

Whine, whine, bitch, bitch, blah, blah… there. It's done. It's out of my system.

But ANYWAY, I also had to revamp some of the ideas I had in my mind, because it occurred to me that the way I'd had this thing plotted out, things were going way too slowly. So I've sort of edited what I intended to do, if only so we can get to the cool parts a lot faster. This chapter is where the pace starts to pick the hell up.

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…what?

…Oh! That's right, isn't it? We've hit the hundred review benchmark! That means I owes you peoples a little something for your diligence, much as I may not deserve it considering what I put you people through.

Well, then! Have yourself a gander at our heroes stripped of all clothes… and professional dignity!

Remember, copy, paste, then close the spaces… and be advised that it's NUDITY. (Albeit, tasteful. At least in my opinion.)

MAX!

ic1. deviantart. com/fs11/f/2006/ 239/f/c/ NudeMax.jpg

If he looks a little cocky in the first two, it's because he has good reason to be... that body is (or will) be the result of some intensive training.

If he looks ashamed in the last pic, it's also because he has good reason to be.

I might color both these pics later on, as well. Well see how squeamish I am around the male genetalia with a coloring brush.

AL!

ic1. deviantart. com/ fs11/f/2006/ 239/4/0/ AlNude.jpg

I was a bit conflicted on this one here... see, I didn't picture Al as having a model figure, but when I tried drawing not-so-perfect figure Al, it came off all man-like. So I settled and went for not-quite-anorexic, not-quite-chubby Al. She looks like she's still got some meat on 'er, I guess.

Oh, and that thing on her arm is a tattoo. I'm not sure if that's clear, but that's what it is.

THE PREVIEW PIC YOU CAN'T SEE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE SOME WEIRD IS GOING ON WITH THE D.A.!

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 38801808/

…oh, and the usual illustration for the last chapter. (Nothing explicit, besides the language.)

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 38786453/

Now then…

Nikanaru

Chapter 14

A Barking Dog Never Bites.

Or

Incidentally, a Baked Dog Never Bites, Either.

"What?.!" Al managed once her heart settled back down into the cavity from whence it jumped, alongside the rest of her body.

"I…ah…" Max's good judgment suddenly came back to him in the immediate aftermath of that sudden outburst… a mental system of judgment whose first order of business was remind himself that he was a moron.

Dear Maximus Higurashi. The following is a message from your retrospective: "YOU, SIR, ARE A FUCKING MORON." Thank you, and good day.

Once that was taken care of, the second thing on the agenda to deliberate on the topic of what was to be done with the sudden realization that he and Al were now some several hundred years back in time. Or, more specifically, how to break this news to Al.

Pending a conclusive assessment on the situation by the subcommittee of brain cells assigned to deliberate the issue, the president of the United States of MaxLand issued an order that the administration's usual policy of "stalling" be put into action.

"I…said…puppies."

"No you didn't!" She snapped back. "You said 'Fuck'!"

Damage control! Damage control!

"Well, if you already knew that, then why'd you ask?"

"Wh…no! I meant 'what?' as in 'what' are you screaming for?.!'"

"Scream?" Max faked offensiveness, hoping desperately to shift the conversation away from the actual context of his poorly thought out vocal eruption. "Hey, I do NOT scream! I… yell. Or shout. Maybe roar. Only girls scream…or those opera singers who had their nuts lopped off."

"Excuse me? You're still echoing out there!" Al pointed out over the horizon, where Max's shrill voice was still reverberating off in the distance.

"…fuuuuck…uuuuck…uuck…"

Goddamn, that IS girly. I should probably start smoking and rasp up my voice some.

"Okay, fine, so my voice still breaks… a little. Uh… well, demon puberties last longer that human ones usually do." Max tried, making up some complete bullshit and hoping no one would be the wiser.

"No they don't." Unfortunately, Kikyo called him on it.

"Oh, hello." He dejectedly acknowledged. "You're still here?"

"Max…" Al uttered through a clenched jaw. "… I want to know, right now, what it was that made you scream… yell… shout, or what the fuck ever you wanna call what you did just now."

Shit! Well, Al wasn't stupid, so he should have guessed that he couldn't lead her astray with an insipid debate. Face it, buddy… you just don't have that Monty-Python-esque talent for disorienting people with non sequitur tangents.

Ah, hell… He dejectedly decided. Don't bother hiding the truth from her anymore. Just be completely honest, but try and break it to her in such a way that likely won't make her panic and, y'know… kill you.

"Okay…" He murmured, hand eloquently placed behind his head. "… well… how can I put this?" A deep breath was taken. "I'm not sure if you can believe this… buuuut…"

"After everything that has happened to me in the last two days, I'm pretty much willing to believe anything." She stated.

"Well, okay." Clasping his hands together, Max spoke very nervously, eyes looking away. "I'm, uh, fairly sure now that our problem isn't so much a matter of our location as it is… a matter of our…chronology."

"…………what?.?"

"Lemmie just check something here…" Max spoke, turning around. "Say, Kikyo… would you happen to know what year this is?" In response, Kikyo raised one eyebrow in the ever-so-slight manner in which all of her facial expressions were conducted.

"Is this some manner of trick question?" She asked after a slight pause.

"No. No, you just take the question at face value."

"In that case, it is the sixteenth year of Eisho." She stated matter-of-factly. Max cringed.

"Uh…" She was going by dynasty era dates… something Max wasn't terribly familiar with, given how regularly he'd nodded off during history classes.

"Or, if you prefer…" She continued "…Imperial year…"

"1520." Al interrupted. Max turned to her with ever-present bewilderment. "The Eisho Era started sometime about 1504. If it were the sixteenth year, then…" As Al semi-absentmindedly deconstructed Kikyo's statement, the implications of it suddenly hit her. "Waitaminute, 1520?.!"

1520. Five hundred years. Yup, that sounds about right.

"If the Common Era is your preferred calendar system, then yes." The older woman acknowledged. Al gaped at Kikyo briefly before slowly turned back to Max.

"So… what, were you just trying to see that she IS crazy?" Her question was put with her usual bluntness and tactlessness.

"Weeeeeeeellllllll…" Max pursed his two index fingers together while trying desperately not to look Al right in the eyes. "…she…ah…actually…might…not…be…"

----------------------

20 Minutes Later

Chicks are complicated.

Max, Al and Kikyo strode fairly casually through the outermost streets of Shahskul village. This feudal town was about the same as Max had always imagined they'd look, judging from all those history textbooks he'd flipped through. Old-looking buildings, primitively, yet effectively built. A few stacks of hay and other old-fashioned knickknacks littered the streets, along with a stray chicken or two.

It was still very early. There were only a few people out, so far. They'd gone a few streets down, but they'd still only crossed paths with two or four people.

This grand occasion marked the first time Max Higurashi had brazenly walked by a complete stranger with no illusionary crystal on. Walking around in public with his demon form uncloaked, it felt to him like he may as well be going out in the streets stark naked. He was understandingly very self-conscious about the whole thing, but Kikyo had assured him beforehand that the villagers wouldn't give him any trouble at all.

And… as it turned out, she'd been right. The first time they'd encountered a person, they'd walked right by a bald, middle-aged man. He was dressed up in the robes that people of the day would typically wear, his hair was rather disheveled and unkempt, and he wasn't particularly clean. Max could actually smell that he must not have bathed in a day or two… it certainly served as evidence that these were less convenient times than they'd come from. But, the man had silently bowed his head as he'd passed the group, as casually as he would anyone else. Max had given him a quick nod back before nervously continuing on.

Now, the odd thing was, his going out sans-incognito wasn't the most important thing on his mind, despite it being a groundbreaking experience in his life. There were just so very many things happening right now, and so much that was bouncing around that head of his…

Being some five hundred years away from home…

The fact that he was in completely unfamiliar territory, around completely unfamiliar people in a primitive culture which he was, amazingly enough, unfamiliar with…

What in the name of hell he was supposed to do now…

Dreaded pondering about what he was going to be forced to do with no working toilets in this era…

But what dominated his thoughts, at this moment, was Al.

Chicks are really complicated.

She was… calm. Not perfectly, emotionlessly calm, such as Kikyo was, but Al seemed far more settled down than a person in her situation rightfully should be. Especially considering what had happened not so long ago.

About twenty minutes prior, Max had disclosed to her his realization that they had, through circumstances he had yet to figure out, essentially traveled back thought time. By about 500 years. So, the world, the people, the home and the life she'd once had did not exist, and would not exist for what would be the equivalent of about ten of her lifetimes.

How had she taken it?

Not too fucking well.

---------------------

20 Minutes Ago

After being abruptly awakened by an unusually loud "Fuck!", the people of Shahskul were further roused by yet another loud voice coming from atop the hill outside of town:

"BACK IN TIME?.! YOU SENT ME BACK IN TIME?.! YOU FUCKING SENT ME BACK IN FUCKING TIME?.!.?.!"

Holy hell, she's a lot stronger than she looks! The collar of Max's coat threatened to rip right off under Al's vice-like grip while she vigorously shook Max, his head bouncing around like a bobble-head figurine.

"I d-didn't do it on purpose!" His voice sounded a bit more turkey-like than usual as the walls of his throat reverberated with each violent jerk.

"Oh! Well, that just makes everything all perfect now, don't it?.!" Her voice continued in scream, despite her face being right in front of his. It might have been considered romantic if the circumstances were… completely and utterly different.

"No… but you know what would make things just at least a little bit better?.?" Max asked, suggestively trying to restrain Al's wrists and gently stopping her from rocking him like a seesaw.

"God! I mean… GOD! How is this kind of shit even possible! And why…?" Her eyes clenched shut, as though her fury was about to make them pop out. "…Why? Why the hell did this happen to us?.!"

"I'm gonna be sounding like a broken record here if I say 'I don't know' again, huh?" Max innocently asked. Regret immediately came upon him when her head dropped down in despair, now holding herself up only by her grip on his collar.

"Well, look at it this way…" Max tried. "…you know that science project that was due Thursday? Well, we've just gotten a really, really big extension for..."

NOT. SMART. He immediately realized when Al's head shot back up, complete with a look that suggested she was about ready to take a swing at him. Wisely, he carefully dislodged her hands from his jacket while trying to calm her down.

"Okay, okay, listen… I know this whole thing looks pretty shitty, but it might not be all that bad."

"I…not bad?.!.?" She hissed out through tightly gritted teeth. "How in the hell is this anything other than the worst Goddamned thing that has ever happened to me?.!.!"

"I… well, and mind you, I'm just going by my preliminary thoughts here, but I… just might know how we can fix this." That managed to settle her down, as she paused to look at him very seriously.

"How? Didn't you just say that you don't even know what it was you did?.?"

"I did. And I still don't." He continued. "But I have… heard a thing or two about time travel that might be useful."

"This isn't your pop culture bullshit again, is it?" She threatened. "You're not expecting a DeLorean DMC-12 to pop out of nowhere with Michael J. Fox offering us a lift home, right?"

"Uh…again, that would be incredibly cool, but no." Max replied, quietly surprised that she would make that kind reference. "No, like… there are a couple of things about magic, mystic, alchemy things that I do really know. And I'm not talking this theoretical witchcraft and fantasy wizardry shit… I mean like there are actual proven facts about the occult and time travel… and I know some of them!"

"You do?" She asked carefully.

"…Yeah! Kinda… sorta." He sheepishly continued. "I've never actually experimented with any of this stuff… it's secondhand knowledge from a, uh, very reliable source."

"Ffffffffffffffff…." Her lip quivered like she was about to unleash a hell storm of profanity. Max wisely brought his hand over her mouth.

"Just listen, okay?" When Al took a deep breath and appeared calmer, Max lowered his hand and continued. "See, my grandma told me these stories about this well…"

-------------------

20 Minutes Later (Again)

It took some doing to calm Al down and convince that he was being completely serious about the whole "well" fable. He had to admit, it DID sound far-fetched, but there was never a doubt in his mind that his family would have lied to him about it. Yet, as near-hysterical as she'd been, Al had eventually decided that he was telling the truth… or at least the truth as far as he knew it to be.

The weird thing was, though, once she'd calmed down, she really calmed right down. It was like someone had just flicked the switch on her "crazy bitch" setting. It seemed unnatural, to say the least of suspicious, that she could go from inconsolably distraught to reasonably tranquil in the span of a but a few minutes.

"You know, your dad pro'lly won't be too happy about the stretch marks in this jacket." He mumbled, inspecting the collar that Al had previously held a death-grip on.

"What do I care? He hasn't even been born yet." She indifferently replied.

"Point." He sheepishly admitted, deciding to himself that it was best not to provoke her further… if she wasn't about to enter another screaming frenzy, then he certainly wasn't about to look a gift horse in the rabid, foaming mouth. "Anyways," He continued, changing the subject. "… in all that excitement, I almost forgot… we're still hungry, aren't we?"

"Yeah. I guess." Al patted her stomach thoughtfully. "I dunno… is there anywhere we could get food around here?" She looked over at Kikyo.

"I have not been here in years and much has changed. I'm afraid that your guess is as good as mine." The old woman shrugged.

"People live here. They must eat something." Max pointed out. "We may as well ask."

"Ask who?"

"I dunno… anyone." Max said slowly. Then it dawned upon him. "Hey! Yeah, we can… I can totally ask anyone!" The sudden excitement Max was showing made Al give him a peculiar glance.

"…What?"

"I can…" Max happily said, waving his arm across the street. "…ask anybody! I can walk right up to these people and just talk to them!" That didn't really help Al understand what the hell he was acting so jubilant for.

"Um… as I recall, you've done that almost everyday of your life. Why 's that excite you now?"

"Yeah, but… hey, look at me!" His hands waved over his body for emphasis. "I'm not wearing any disguise or anything… I can totally interact with these people as… well, what I really am. I don't have to pretend to be human so nobody runs away screaming!"

"Okay." She said simply, not sounding particularly impressed. "And this is some kind of big deal for you?"

"Well… kinda, yeah!" Max stated in wonderment. "I feel… I dunno, disguising myself as a human was never a big problem for me, but this is still pretty liberating. It's sort of like I just came out of the closet, except without any of that messy sodomy business." Kikyo's eye arched and Al grimaced.

"Uh… okay." Max looked around the surrounding streets with a new sense of zeal, scanning them for anyone whom he could now proudly make conversation with. There were still only a very small number of people out, though. Passing them by now was a young boy, probably seven or ten years old, dressed up in some ragged clothes and lugging around a large, wooden bucket of water. He made his steps carefully, concentrating hard on his task so as not to spill any.

"S'cuse me, lad." Max addressed the child with exaggerated politeness. The boy's head snapped up with wide eyes to meet the demon's. "You wouldn't happen to know where a fella could get himself something to eat around here, would you?"

Unfortunately, the reaction was not at all what the young demon had anticipated. Rather, the kid's eyes grew even wider as, looking terrified, his lips and arms began trembling. Max watched on in complete incomprehension as the kid dropped his bucket, letting its contents carelessly soak the dirt streets, and ran off screaming in the opposite direction.

What the fark?.!

The smile now effectively wiped off his face, Max simply stared slack-jawed off in the direction that the boy had fled in.

"You frighten little children." Al impartially observed.

"Wha… wait." Max turned to Kikyo in perplexion. "But… all those other guys before?" He turned to look down the street again and then back at Kikyo. "What's the deal? No one else here acted like that when they saw me!"

"I believe that child interpreted your question as a vague threat that you were going to eat him." Had Max been sipping on a drink right then, he would've comically spewed it all over the place.

"What?.! But… why in the hell would he…?.!"

"You wouldn't happen to know where a fella could get himself something to eat around here, would you?" He replayed in his mind.

"Uh… okay, I can see how that might be misconstrued…MAYBE. But that's still a pretty far stretch." Came his hesitant admission. "I mean… c'mon! The only reason he'd be thinking along those line if demons habitually…" Another click sounded in his mind. "The demons around here EAT people?.!"

"I've heard stories." Kikyo admitted. "Though it's more likely just a threat they use to keep the humans in line." Aghast, Max looked over to Al, who also now wore an expression of horror.

"What the hell?.? I thought you said the people here wouldn't be afraid of me!"

"What I said..." Kikyo sharply corrected. "…Was that no humans here would trouble you. I certainly did not imply that they would not fear you."

"But… wait, I thought…" His brow furrowed into several lines, distorting the moon-shaped red birthmark on his forehead. "I thought demons and humans got along in this era… or… coexisted well or something."

"And whatever gave you that idea?" Kikyo scoffed. "I already told you that we were in the middle of a war."

"…A …war?" Al reluctantly echoed, remembering the brief argument she had with Kikyo a few hours ago. In this setting, she now had to set her pride aside and silently admit that Kikyo had indeed never been crazy, nor deluded in any way. Even if she had been a hermit, this was her world far more than it was Al or Max's, and she held a great deal more knowledge about it than either of them could. If she claimed that there was a war going on, then they could only assume that was the truth. And based on what had just happened, it wasn't hard to guess what the nature of this war was. "Between… humans and…"

"…demons?" Max finished, thinking along the same lines as Al, but dreadfully hoping they were both wrong. He'd guessed, based on the stories that his grandmother had told him about her daughter's ventures into the past, that demons and humans must have been on at least some good terms with each other, considering that her daughter had supposedly befriended several. Now that he was actually here in the past, he'd hoped that it could at least mean that he could be a demon and still be on good terms with humans.

Instead, there could be a fucking war between the two going on, and he could be deep in enemy territory.

Kikyo nodded her head, confirming that fear.

"Oh God… damn." Max groaned, suddenly very eager to crawl into a dark alley.

"This town is not considered human territory, though. It was conquered some years ago and renamed in supposed 'honor' of the petty war chief, Shahskul. A fool who'd prided himself with subduing a village of farmers and merchants." She continued with some bitter edge to her voice.

"Wait… but there's nothing but humans here." Al observed.

"They are servants. There are demons here, but not very many are needed to maintain control of this village and its residents. They use this place as an outpost supplying goods and shelter for traveling war parties… and the humans are used as servants who produce whatever 'goods' the war parties may need." Kikyo stated, before eyeing Max cautiously. "You can at least smell them, can you not?" Max blinked.

"The… people?"

"The demon masters."

"Uh?" Max stopped to re-scent the local atmosphere… certainly, he could smell the humans, but there were a small number of things that didn't come across as at all familiar.

"So your natural abilities are not THAT terrible, then?" She intoned harshly. "You can at least tell that there are other demons here?"

Those smells are other DEMONS?.?.? The thought alerted in Max's mind sharply. Holy…

"Yeah…" He feigned. " I, uh, can tell that."

"Good." She sighed, stepping back. "Then all I can advise you to do is to go speak with them. They will likely help you find the way back to wherever it is you are trying to get to." With that, she gave a slight bow before turning around.

"H-Hey!" Max halted her, arm outstretched. "You're just… you're just going?.!"

"As of this point, I have done everything I can for you." Her stride unbroken, she simply marched right through Max's arm, pushing it aside. "The demons… the other demons are the only ones who can help you, now."

"I…" Max wasn't anything close to happy about her leaving… now that he knew that he was in a completely different world which he knew next to nothing about, having a sympathetic native around was a huge relief. "Could you… could you just wait…?"

"Oh… actually,…" She stopped and turned her head over her shoulder. "Given the severity to which you are ignorant of how things are in these parts, I would also advise that you two not separate from each other."

"Uh…?" Max and Al exchanged glances. "Why?"

"If the demons masters here see a human that they don't recognize as one of their own, they will likely assume either that she's a spy, or simply a wandering stray. Either way, they would respond in ways I would not consider pleasant." She said seriously. "If she stays close with you, they will simply assume that she's your servant and leave her be." That said, she again turned her head back and resumed her medium pace.

"Look, could you… could you just hold on a sec?.?" Max pleaded after her. "We really…"

"Speak to the demon masters." She repeated, not even bothering to stop or turn around. "Their business is to deal with travelers… this is all that can be done for you now. I wish you well." With that last piece of council, the elderly woman resumed her medium pace, back the way going out of town. Max glowered at her, still wanting to stop her, yet resigned to the apparent futility of it.

"Yeah, well… thanks." He called after her, though it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. After she disappeared around the corner, Al and Max simply stood where they were, in the middle of the street.

Both were silent… neither could think of what to do or say. Al glared around half-liddedly, and Max suddenly seemed fascinated with the shoes he was shuffling around in the dirt. They felt like two lost little kids who'd just been abandoned in a shopping mall by their mother.

"……Okay." Al finally spoke. "So… are we gonna try and find out where this, um, 'well' is supposed to be?" Max perked up and spun around.

"Right!" He noted, index finger raised pointedly in the air. His "plan" for "fixing" this, as far as he'd explained earlier, was to find this "Bone-Eaters-Well" that his grandmother had told him so much about. According to everything he knew, it was supposed to act as a gateway between the world as it was now and the world as it would be, conveniently enough, five-hundred years in the future.

It wasn't much of a plan, considering that he'd once actually tried and failed to use the well back when he was a kid… But that was really all he had to go on. And, hopefully, if it still wasn't working, whatever was blocking the time portal might be on this side.

With any kind of luck, it's just clogged with hair or something.

Of course, knowing his luck as it had been recently, it would probably be something worse… some magical problem he couldn't even fathom understanding. But, luckily, this was the era of magic and spirituality… maybe he could find an expert or something.

But, in any event, they'd cross that bridge when they'd get to it. For now…

"Well, the first thing to do would be to find out where Tokyo is… or supposed to eventually be." He paused, thoughtfully. "Uh… that's…"

"The Kanto region."

"Right, right." He insisted, somewhat insulted.

Christ, I know I'm not the smartest cookie in the jar, but I know which fucking region I live in. Another though occurred to him. Oh, shit…

"So, uh… was that ever renamed over the centuries?" He asked, deciding to put aside his pride and acknowledge Al's superior knowledge of history.

"No. Not within the last five hundred years' span, anyway. Although the Tokyo area used to be called Edo."

"Awesome!" He beamed, punching his open palm. "So, let's see… our Shrine is on the outskirts of Tokyo, so that's probably nothing but forestland right now, a few hundred kilometers away from Edo…So… alls we gots to do… is… get there. Somehow." Rubbing his fist into his palm in concentration, his lower lip pursed out in thought. "…and, uh, also, figure out where the hell we are at this very moment."

"And where do you suppose we start with that?"

"Well, I guess we can start with what Little Old Lady Sunshine suggested." He wondered, looking around. "We can ask one of these demon dudes… wherever they are." As he looked around, another person, older this time, probably in his teens, about their age, was walking by. They both eyed him, and then each other.

"I'm also thinking…you should probably ask for directions, this time." Came his sigh.

"Yeah… I think I agree with you on that one." Al concurred. Max stood back as she took a deep breath and approached the young man. Crossing his arms and trying to appear nonchalant from a few feet away, he observed carefully. Even if the streets were minimally busy, he still kept himself way of anything that might conceivably happen. When Al came within a reasonable distance of the stranger, she loudly cleared her throat. " 'Hem. Excuse me, sir?"

The "young man" who'd been looking off into the hill as he walked by, sharply turned his head around to meet Al, a movement similar to a hawk. Standing back from where he was, Max saw Al visibly stiffen when she looked directly at him. Max also noted that the guy was scowling lightly at her.

"What business have you addressing me?" The man curtly shot at her. Frowning, Max started to inch a little closer.

"Uh…I…" Something odd was going on. Al sounded absolutely stunned, somehow.

"Well?.!" The guy snapped angrily at her. "Are you here for no other reason than to waste my time, girl?.!"

That does it.

"HEY!" Max shouted as he stormed up. "Look, ass nugget, I don't where the hell you get off…" When the man twisted his head around to meet Max, it became his turn to stiffen up in shock.

It was very subtle. That's probably why he didn't notice it at first… but facing him, Max could see it now. This 'man' was not a man at all.

Pointed ears… just like his own.

Eyes that had bright green retinas, and cat-like slit irises.

And just now… Max noticed the scent. No human bore that kind of scent.

This was another demon.

Max stood agape, his own demonically golden eyes wide, staring right into the feline-like demon's narrowed eyes. A massive swirl of thoughts came torrentially through his mind all at once… this was another fucking DEMON! One of his kind! Of course, being in the past now, he knew he was going to meet one soon, but to suddenly and completely unexpectedly just meet one like this was… well, it was hard to say.

Great, scary, amazing, alarming, relieving, exciting… it came to him all at once, and his mind couldn't decide which one it was.

"Is she yours?" The demon intoned, pointing condescendingly toward Al.

"Uwa…" Max took a second to clear his throat and swallow all the spit that had gathered in his mouth. "Uh… y-yes?"

"I see." The demon gave Max a hard look, passing his eyes over Max's modern clothes and deducing that he must no doubt be a traveler for far away. "I don't know what things are like where you're from, Inu… but while you're in our territory, you'd be well advised to teach your slave to employ the proper form of respect when speaking to those higher than she." Max was only half-listening to what he was being told, still staring saucer-eyed at the demon.

"Uh… yeah." He absentmindedly mumbled. "I…I'll do that."

"Good." The demon quickly. "I assume, then, that you'll be wanting to speak with the chief. You can find his outpost in the center this little cesspool of a hamlet."

"Uhh…sure." He muttered still. " That's… that's great."

"Yes…great." Without so much as a bow, the rude cat-like demon simply brushed past them and continued on his way. Both the befuddled demon from the future and the teenaged girl watched after him as he haughtily walked away.

"W…wow." Al said simply.

"Yeah." Max quietly concurred.

"Is that the… first time you've…"

"Uh-huh." He nodded. Exhaling slowly, as if he'd forgotten to breathe, he placed one hand over his chest, noting that his heart was thundering in his chest. It was a quick, inconsequential little encounter, but Max had been wondering his entire life what it might be like to meet another demon…

In an odd sort of way, it was almost like that forgotten childhood dream of one day meeting Santa Claus. Like many children around the world, Max had always wanted to, (along with the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and that "Lucky Charms" leprechaun) but the bitterness of maturity destroyed that dream, just as living in the human world for so long had made him complacent to the fact that he'd never meet another one of his kind. But, all of the sudden, Santa is REAL, and he appears before you! It's such a shocking thing, that you don't even notice that "Santa" is a rude, pompous, elitist prick.

The shock seemed to leave Al much sooner than it did Max, and she noted how Max looked anywhere from astounded to… smitten.

"What, are you in love or something?" She dryly commented. That managed to knock Max back into his semi-regular state of mind.

"Well… he certainly was devastatingly dashing and had those smoldering eyes that you could just lose yourself in." Came his sarcastic reply. "But he seemed to me like a top, and I like to be in charge. It would never work out between us." Despite it all, Al managed a slight exhale, which was about as close to a laugh as she ever got.

"So… middle of town, then?"

"I guess so. And remember…" He added coyly. "You gotta address me as 'master' now, 'servant-girl'."

"Go fuck yourself and die." She muttered instantly.

--------------------------

So much had yet to be done.

She'd given them the impression that she was leaving town and heading back to her hut in the woods from whence they'd come. But that would not be the case. She would… she could never go back there now. Not with the series of events she had to set in motion. She could not leave him unsupervised and unchecked. Instead, once she was out of their sight, she'd turned and made her way slowly across to the other side of Shahskul. Far off from where she'd left them, and well beyond out of earshot.

But she could still sense him, even from the significant distance she was putting in between herself and them. Merely being around him, with his power tingling at her, was slowly reawakening her long dormant senses of spiritual and aural perception. That demon absolutely radiated with the power of the Shikon… like the shards of the jewel she'd chased after so long ago, she could feel his very presence from miles away with her inborn powers, the same way she'd sensed him while he was stuck in the void between time and space.

But he was far more than any mere shard… he was very nearly the whole thing. As one of only the two mikos of the Shikon, gifted with the ability to sense its presence, he stood out to Kikyo's senses like the bright sun in the morning sky. Even at this early stage, while he was soft and naïve in the ways of the warrior, like a newborn pup, the power of the Shikon practically oozed from his skin. The poor fool probably had no idea the kind of strength he could be capable of… it was incalculable, even for someone who was as well versed in these affairs as Kikyo.

What needed utmost consideration, though, was that this was not at all like it had been before. This was NOT the jewel. The power was no longer some inanimate object that could be controlled like so much a tool. This was a living, breathing creature. This was a person. This was a DEMON.

The energy of the Shikon was such that it responded to the emotions, to the desires and to the soul of those who possessed it. Even back when it had merely been a jewel, the Shikon itself could become corrupted or purified merely by the nature of whoever held it in their hands. As an object, as a jewel, turning the forces within the Shikon to either light or dark was as relatively easy as switching hands, like flipping a switch.

But the power was incarnated as a person, now. A person with his own independent will, emotions and thoughts that could not be so easily manipulated by others.

Not easily… but not impossible.

Kikyo could sense very well what state the Shikon was in, and in this boy it was… surprisingly neutral. Neither dark, nor light. Far from corrupt, but leaning only slightly towards purity. What was more was how incredibly calm the energy was… normally, it should be swirling around vigorously, but despite how huge and abundant it was in this boy, the power was passive and stilled. Obviously, the boy had rarely, if ever at all, used it.

That was very strange, though. The Shikon's powers should have responded whenever the boy became exceptionally distraught, angry, happy, or experienced any other form of heavy ardor. The extreme emotions he should have experienced at various points over his life should have aroused the Shikon on several occasions, but it felt as if it had almost never been touched at all.

Perhaps… perhaps he had lived a sheltered life? One as free of pain and suffering as it had been of pleasure and euphoria? It wasn't inconceivable, considering that she knew nothing of the other world he'd come from. And his ignorance certainly suggested that he had lived in a place very guarded of the outside world.

If that was the case, then he needed to be educated. She held considerable knowledge of demons, but most of what she knew was with respect to how to more effectively slay them. Regarding how a demon is trained and learns to take advantage of his or her natural abilities, that she knew very little of.

Luckily, she knew of someone that did. And convincing him to "help" should be easy enough, with a little incentive. That matter would be taken care of later today.

But convincing Max to go along with it would not be so simple. The Shikon's energies mirrored how passive the boy was. And, based on his conversations with the girl, he clearly had little intention of staying around. He only wanted to find that well and go back to his "time." If she wanted him to stay and fight, then she needed to give him a 'motive'.

Which brought her ponderings back to that girl. Alexandria… None of the various scenarios Kikyo had been running in her head saw the girl's presence as being anything but a bothersome element that would cause inhibit them in the long run. She wanted her out of the equation, but knew doing so was no easy task, considering that the demon was guarding her carefully. She had little doubt that she could easily defeat Max in his current state and kill Alexandria, but Kikyo also needed to have the boy's trust.

"Hey! Old woman!"

Which was the whole reason she was now doing precisely what she'd just advised Alexandria not to do… wander the streets alone and unescorted. Kikyo continued walking, feigning ignorance at the voice calling to her.

"Are you deaf, bitch? I'm talking to you!" Still she pretended to not hear it. Sounds of footsteps in the dirt came up from behind her, and she knew there had to be at least four of them.

"Hey!" A large, forceful hand came down on her shoulder, making her to stop. She bit back her instinctive outrage the audacity some fool had to touch her person. For now, she allowed herself to be forcibly turned in order to face those who were accosting her.

"Are you senile, or just stupid, woman?" Just as she was hoping for. Demons. Four local guardsmen, probably out on a morning patrol… a bear and a lizard demon, while the other two were of some more obscure variety. All of them were armed and armored, and sneered at her with disgusting pompousness typical of the arrogant. The bear, which'd held her shoulder, towered above her with his eyes narrowed. "Did you not hear me, hag? When your betters address you, you will show them the proper respect!"

"There is little respect to be shown to those such as yourselves." She coldly returned, barely able to keep the contempt out of her voice. The bear's eyes widened at being spoken to in such a way before narrowing harshly and tightening his grip on her.

"A crone like you is probably too old and useless to even bother disciplining. Death might be a far more sensible penalty for those words, woman!" He warned though gritted teeth. "Who is responsible for you?.!"

"None bear responsibility for me. All of it, I carry with me." She spoke back, careful not to give in to the desire she had to burn his hand right off her shoulder.

"I'll ask again, bitch. And bear in mind that your life could depend on your answer… who is your master?"

"I have no master. And above all, I would never degrade myself in calling any of you by such a lofty title." Enraged, the bear grabbed her top robe and lifted her several feet off the ground.

"I thought so." The lizard commented with a chuckle. "She's an outsider. Quite a mouthy one, at that."

"Do you suppose she's a spy?" Another one asked.

"Hardly." The bear scoffed. "She's far too stupid to be any spy."

"What shall we do with her then?" Even being held several feet off the ground as she was, Kikyo gave a cold, condescending stare into the bear's flaming eyes. A malicious grin slowly formed on the bear's muzzle.

"She's too old to be laborer… and far too decrepit to make a good whore. I think I'll just squeeze until those insolent eyes pop out of her skull." A round of sadistic chuckles emerged from the trio behind him as the bear brought up his other hand, preparing to crush her tiny head with it.

"Touch… me… with… that… hand…" Kikyo slowly spoke, proverbial venom now dripping hideously from her mouth. "…and you will not live long enough to regret it."

"Keep talking, hag." The bear scoffed. "It will make your screams all the more satify…" Just as his hand was about to enclose around her face, a sudden spark was felt… like a static shock, only far more powerful. Grunting slightly in surprise and confusion, the bear recoiled his hand. Without missing a stride, Kikyo placed her own hand atop the one holding her up.

A sudden, and very sharp hissing sound was heard, followed by a wail of pain from the bear. His paw released Kikyo, and she fell back down to her feet with an odd grace and dignity while the bear cradled his hand. The surface which Kikyo had touched was smoking and full of singed fur.

"She's a miko!" The lizard cried out, as the group, suddenly alarmed, took out their weapons.

"You would be lucky if I were only a miko, wretched little filth." One of the two unidentified demons lunged at her with an ax. Almost casually, Kikyo waved slightly in his direction. From this small gesture, a burst of pink light arose from thin air and incinerated the demon within less than a second, leaving only ashes.

"Gods… it's that witch from the woods!" Panicked, the remaining three tried to back away, preparing to scream for help, but she would afford them no such opportunity. Raising that same hand, she encased herself and the three of them in a sphere of pure, holy energy. It was low intensity, though, meant only to cripple and pain them, not kill. At least not yet…

Their bodies, and even the air in their lungs now surrounded with miko energy, the three dropped to the ground, writhing horrifically as though they'd been trapped in the fires of hell itself. Standing above all their wretched forms like a Goddess of death, Kikyo slowly approached the bear, who was in too much agony to even reach his sword.

"P-P-please!" In a most pathetic display, the bear met her with pleading eyes, begging over the muffled screams of his two remaining comrades. "M-Mercy!.!"

"Mercy?" She intoned darkly. "You will find I am quite lacking in that. Especially for cowards such as yourselves."

"For-Forgive me! I didn't… I didn't…AAARRGGHHH!" Oh, how it took every bit of Kikyo's self control not to just purify this miserable wretch into nothingness. But resist the urge she did, as this miserable wretch happened to be what she needed at this time.

"Forgiveness, I am even less inclined to." She threatened, making sure these three deplorable creatures would think that their meaningless lives were about to end. But at the last moment, she relented, decreasing the intensity of her bubble. "But it is as you suggested, demon… killing someone is the only reasonable course of action when presented with a life that is of no use to you. So the question you must now ask yourself, demon… is whether you could be of any use to me."

"I…" The bear hissed with what little remained of his breath. "…I will…I'll do whatever you ask! Just… please…don't…!" Seeing that he was completely out of air, Kikyo dissipated the field, and like swimmers coming up for air, the three demons lay on the ground, gasping for oxygen. Kikyo stood above them, staring down at them with all the contempt they deserved.

"You will do as I command, then?" She verified. Looking at her fearfully, the bear briefly appeared as though he was considering grabbing his weapon and making a quick move, but thought better of it.

"Y-yes." The bear bowed his head, and the other two followed suit. "We… we shall withdraw our forces from this place at once! It… may take some time to convince our Lord…"

"No." She sharply cut him off. "You will stay in this village. And you will tell no one, least of all your Lord, of this incident."

"I… what?" The bear responded in confusion. "But… but are you not with the human army…?"

"Stupid creature. Do not presume to understand my allegiances." She hissed at him. "The task that I require of ones such as you is fittingly simple." That was both true and false… it was a simple task… one which she imagined that these fools would actually enjoy… for what little remained of their lives.

"Y-yes, mistress! Forgive us! What would you have us do?" The groveling bear bowed his head down even further. Satisfied with the submission she was being shown, Kikyo laid out their undertaking.

"In this town, an Inu demon recently arrived. As well as this human girl accompanying him…"

End Chapter 14

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Koday: Waaaaahhaaaahhh!

Seriously… come over to my place and throw things at me. Shove my face down the toilet and bang the seat against my head. Hold me at gunpoint over the keyboard and give me the occasional pistol whipping. I'm starting to think that's the only surefire way of making sure chapters will get out in a timely fashion.

But I'm tryin'! Oh, lordy, I'm tryin'!

Oh, and I did some research, but none of it extensive (i.e. wikipedia) on the history of Tokyo. If I got something factually wrong here, then… sorry. One way in which I relate to Max is in having paid very little attention in my history classes. (Not that it made much difference, anyways. Public schools don't exactly study Japanese history in Quebec.)

Well, stay healthy, all!

Koday