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(WARNINGS: Kokushibo is in pretty rough shape with bad wounds and some blood loss, mentioned blood, Kokushibo murders two rivals later, koku gets stabbed, mentioned killing/attempted murder, Y/n gets cut when someone tries to attack Kokushibo, Kokushibo breaks someone's hand, spicy-ish near the end, mentioning of a corpse, someone gets burnt to death in a house fire, yandere possessive themes, etc. Again I don't support toxic relationships this is pure fiction. The song Y/n sings is A Thousand Years (Lullaby Version) by Christina Perri.) Your breath hitched in your throat. Quietly you stepped closer as and closer and CLOSER to the bush silently. Slowly behind the henhouse you went and stopped right in front of the bush. The wind blew swaying it's branches creepily and looked like thrashing arms. You grabbed a handful and silently and slowly pulled them back. And you froze at what you saw- The winds howled as the darkness crept across the skies. The darkness behind the bush shielded your form from the moonlight which cascaded down between the trees and clouds in the sky. The shadows danced and branches creaked as the wind blew them about. Like arms beckoning you closer to grab you away in their rough grip. Drag you into the shadows never to be seen again. You cracked an opening in the branches and looked out. The darkened sky looked out over the entire area. Tree branches swayed and night fell upon the ground. However you froze as your eyes met a sickening sight. R E D. The coldness of the air bit down hard on your skin, like painful bee stings pricking your skin. The terror far greater than seeing a thousand wolves sunk in. A hand flew to cover your mouth as a foul urge to vomit rose and a sickening copper smell filtered through the air. RED!! That was the color painted everywhere on the ground displayed before you. And there...lying face down slumped over was a man's body. A canvas for the color. Your eyes shrank in terror and your ears gained a ringing sound all on their own drowning out any noise. A DEAD BODY. In your backyard and lying right in front of your face. How-...How did this happen?! Where did it come from?! You wretched yourself away from the bush in shock and leaned over slightly. The urge to vomit riding as you did everything you could to keep it down. The bush branches snapping back into place hiding the sight from you. Automatically you gave a few coughs and gulped down air in an attempt to calm yourself head spinning. There was a dead man on your property! Oh gods! What if someone thought you were responsible for this!? You could be tried for murders- Wait... How did you know he was actually dead? That one thought made you freeze in your tracks instantly. That's right...How did you know for certain that he was dead? You just merely saw him covered in blood with a gash on his back. Your head turned back to the bush. He...he could've been hurt and tried reaching your house for help. What if he was laying there suffering?! That thought perked you back up into going back to the bush and cautiously reaching out to slightly pull the branches again. The body was still there unmoving. It...sure LOOKED dead but you couldn't tell in the dark. If he was still alive..you had to help him. You couldn't just leave someone to bleed out. The unmoving form still remained unmoving even as you noisily pushed through the bush and stood right next to the head....It was definitely a man. You could tell by how Large the body was and how muscular the exposed skin was. In the limited moonlight you were able to make out long hair and bangs that mostly covered his face and he laid in a position that suggested that he'd collapsed by himself. But the question still remained...Was he still alive? You hesitated again ...but slowly you reached over to the face laying on its side and touched the long bangs covering his eyes. It was .. surprisingly soft and silky to the touch and you slowly pulled it away from the face to examine it. The right side of a man's face greeted you. You nearly jumped back at what you saw. "Oh my gods...KOKUSHIBO!!" The demon that you had seen many times before, who had been patient despite the stigma and rudeness of the people who hated his kind, was before you. Splayed out on the cold unforgivable ground unmoving. His right eyes exposed from pulling his bangs back was closed obviously either unconscious or dead, and read streaks ran down his face in water dripping patterns from a cut on his forehead. However...that wasn't the strangest bit. Your hand instead went to almost touch his lips and flinched back feeling a weak warm breath blow across your fingertips. You reeled back in shock, hand to your chest, and jumping HE WAS ALIVE!! Hands grabbed his right shoulder and HEAVED. Barely moving an inch, but slowly the body turned, and with a thud he was collapsed onto his back. A shocked gasp escaped from your throat upon turquoise eyes seeing his front body. Oh gods...So much blood. His body was practically DRENCHED in the red color! And you found out why. He had the front of his shirt ripped to pieces to where it was barely hanging on over his shoulders. A large gash across his front from his left shoulder and ending just above his right hip was exposed to you. Definitely bigger than the gash along his back. And there was a third smaller gash along his right collar bone ending near his bicep. There was so much blood..How was he even still alive!? Wha-..What happened to him?! What caused him to get like this?! You reached out to touch it his neck for a pulse- But froze as a strong hand snatched you hand. Six eyes opened up and gazed up at the blurry figure above him. Not making any sense of the blurry, spinning vision. Until the eyes rolled up into the back of his head and the last thing he saw was a glimpse of turquoise. ************************************************** Warm. Everything was warm once feeling returned to his body. Which was odd. He was lying on the cold hard ground last he remembered. Logic was of course the first thing to return to him. His thinking was always faster than his reflexes. Then the feeling of his body settled in. Warmth...but incredible aching, throbbing soreness. It throbbed and pained his body. Hmm..So he wasn't dead after all. It was too painful to be heaven and not painful enough to be hell, and too annoying to be purgatory. So he was still alive but had passed out for a short while. An acceptable fate. Now...where was he? Eyes slowly opened themselves up to the world blinking rapidly at the light and his vision blurred until he could see...A one roomed house? It was mostly empty. A coffee table square in the middle, a picture frame or two holding a painting of someone on the walls, a basket in the corner, a shelf full of dishes and other small items, a fireplace with a fire currently going, and a few other bland things. Nothing that really stood out as anything important to him. But who lived here? Why was he inside? How did he get here? And who touched him? Wait...This place looked familiar but his throbbing head couldn't pinpoint why or how. His question was answered when the door opened and the figure of a woman in a blue kimono walked in. The smell of wood drew his attention to the logs she was carrying. Silently he watched as she slid the sliding door back closed with a foot before continuing on to the fireplace and proceeding to feed the fire the wood. He laid there silently staring at her legs as she worked, feeling too weak to look up just yet and not wanting to give himself away just yet. The sounds of a metal poker scraping against the fire appeared for a little while before it too went away and the legs turned to face him. They didn't move again for a long moment before he felt a hand touch his blanketed shoulder- Faster than either expected his left hand shot up to tightly grip a much smaller wrist and squeezed down just enough to get the other body to freeze. "Who are you and where am I?" His eyes turned upwards slowly tilting his head...and he gave pause at the shocked face staring at him. The soft features looking as if sculpted by an angel. Soft, warm, and very beautiful. Definitely a woman. Wait a minute. He knew this troublesome woman. You stared at him in shock at how fast the man moved despite the fact that he was still extremely hurt and had blood loss. He was extremely trained if he could react this fast. You jumped as he lightly squeezed your wrist. It didn't hurt, not at all, but you couldn't move. This man was obviously serious and probably still on edge from whatever happened to him. So taking a breath..you exhaled slowly to calm yourself. "Calm yourself," you spoke holding up your free hand despite his face already being an odd calm, "Relax back. You might reopen your wounds-" "Must we always meet at such ridiculous times?," he asked annoyed slightly, "How did you even move me?" "This is my home. I found you unconscious outside last night and brought you in here, and let me tell you it wasn't easy. You're very heavy and I had to drag you foot by foot. I was so scared I'd open your wounds more." You watched his eyes looking you up and down.. before he slowly let go of your wrist and lowered his arm back down but paused when he saw the white wrapped around his palm and held his hand out to look at the bandages wrapped around it. Before his eyes slowly looked down at his now uncovered torso and saw even more bandages snuggly wrapped around his entire upper body, over his right shoulder, and part of his upper right arm. A hand reached up to feel his head and again found more bandages wrapped around his forehead. The throbbing soreness he's been feeling throbbed from most of the bandaged spots. And a deep inhale made him aware of some kind of ointment or herbal treatment under them. "...You have treated my wounds." You nodded finally smiling at him. "I did." He slowly looked back to you and blinked. "I wasn't aware that you had medical training." "I don't. I only know so much because I accidentally cut my hands a lot when I carve soaps and candles." You held up your palms displaying the years worth of scars from cuts of all sizes you've gotten over the years from your job. He hummed. "My sword. Where is it?" "It's by the table. You were passed out so I didn't know what to do with it otherwise." He looked back to you. "Your shirt was also ruined but I managed to save your other clothes. They're washed and drying outside so you should be able to get them back soon." "I see." Again he looked back to his body. "What of the state of my injuries?" "You have a few large gashes across your back, chest, and shoulder here," you gestured to his torso. "But they're not deep at all and should heal rather quickly. You have a few cuts also but they're even smaller and should heal faster." You then frowned. "However I am worried about how much blood you managed to lose. There was so much. I honestly thought you were dead when I first saw you." "I'll live," he said simply before sighing through his nose. "Is there anyone else that lives here?" You shook your head. "No. Just me-" "Where does that door there lead?" He pointed out the Smaller sliding door near the shelf. Oh right. You never told him that whenever he was here. "Oh. That leads into my bathroom." You blinked before looking at him. "My house isn't that-" You blinked at the man who was sitting up. ... Kokushibo was .. sitting up. The man was sitting up despite his blood loss- He sighed through his nose before pulling the blanket to drap around his shoulders and slowly struggled to stand up. Your jaw dropped in disbelief as he was able to stand up and turned keeping the blanket draped over himself. Eventually you shook you head and snapped after him. "Hey! W-Wait a minute!" He stopped when you grabbed the blanket around him and tugged back. "Where do you think you're going?!" "To bathe." He turned his head back to you. "Please bring me my clothes." He then tugged the blanket out of your hands and continued on his way. Grabbing a towel from the shelf and entering your bathroom. You stood there stunned for a very long time opening and closing your mouth like a fish before you looked at the empty futon and then back to the door as the faint sounds of running water started up. ....HOW WAS HE ABLE TO STAND AND WALK RIGHT NOW?! HE SHOUDN'T EVEN BE ABLE TO SIT UP!! But there he was. You were absolutely stunned to say the least, but did as he asked and got the clothes you cleaned from the line. You ended up just quickly shoving them inside closing your eyes and slamming the door back shut to give him respect of privacy. He still took his sweet time however and the next time he opened the door he was fully clothed minus a shirt. Steam escaped from the room behind him as he approached your sitting form at the table but he didn't even acknowledge you. Just reaching out to grab the sword off the table. He stood there examining the sheath of the blade with a calm face... before he paused. His eyes went wide as his arm flew to clutch his stomach as a wave of pain and dizzying nausea came over him. He stumbled two steps to the right before something grabbed onto him barely able to lift him up. "I TOLD you! You're body's too weak to stand yet. C'mon. Come lay back down." You some how managed to hold up his heavy body just enough to make it back to the futon and help him sit down but he refused to lay down no matter how hard you pushed him to lay back so you gave up and just looked at him breathing heavily. "There. Now don't try that again. You need to recover." His hair was down now completely cascading down his body and slightly wet covering most of his back but he still turned to you peeking through his hair. "It seems...so. I must take some time to recover." "I also need you to remove your coat." He raised a brow at you. "To replace the bandages you removed. It'd be better if I treated them properly." He remained silent but placed the sword on his lap and reached up to silently remove his black and purple checkered coat. You blinked but quickly looked away with red rising to your cheeks. Right! You'd better get those bandages. You were surprised at how silent and calm he was. Not once did he flinch or make a hurt face when you retreated his injuries. Only silently raising his arms and moving his hair when you wrapped new clean bandages around his torso red faced. He was...very physically fit. When you were finished he just silently pulled the coat back over his shoulders. "You should be fine now but you should rest." He hummed in response. ".... Why were you behind my house?" "Why do you need to know?" You rose a brow. "Well considering I found a demon bleeding near my home and treated him without asking for payment in return I think an explanation would be the least you could give me." "I owe nothing." "Maybe not but it would be polite." There was silence again before he said one word. "Fine." You blinked before smiling. "Well good. Now-..Would you tell me what you were doing outside my home?'' He hummed again cracking an eye open at you. "Nosey aren't you?" "Concerned is more like it. You'd be too if you found a bloodied man outside your home." You then glanced at the sword on his lap. "...Were you fighting?" A large hand clasped around the sword in an instant. "....Yes." He settled on saying carefully after studying your face for a long moment. "I was engaged in battle before coming here." Your brow rose. "Combat in the middle of the woods?" "I prefer traveling without trouble following. The forest provides a peaceful cover. However I miscalculated an ambush. I will not make the same mistake." Who attacked him? Other samurai? You've seen these men a few times while in town from the waring clans but never spoke to one until Kokushibo. "....But do I have to worry about trouble coming here?" "...No. I have already assured that I wouldn't be dealing with them again." You decided not to delve further into that. Wasn't your business anyways. At least you didn't have to worry about trouble showing up on your doorstep. You slowly closed the box containing your medical kit. "I'll have to buy some more supplies in town. ...Are you hungry? A full stomach would help you feel better." He hummed again. " You're cooking beef stew in the fireplace." He nodded. "I will take it." "And water." He again looked at you. "You lost a lot of blood. You need fluids and get rehydrated fast or else something bad might happen." You stood up and turned away from him. "I'd rather not have my guest collapsing on me again." Walking over to the shelf, you placed the box back. "You can stay here until you recover, but I think it might be a good idea if I had the village's doctor come look at you-" "NO." You turned around blinking at him as he narrowed his eyes at you. "I won't have anyone else seeing me or knowing I am here. I will stay until I am well enough to walk within a week but until then no one else will know I'm here." The intensity of the state he was giving you reminded you of a wolf staring at a rabbit. ..And you suddenly had a thought that perhaps you had better stay out of whatever business Kokushkbo had. So you nodded and he relaxed back but still stared at you. Watching as you set about getting him a plate stuffed full of rice and beef and whatever else you decided to give him. "Thank you." He said plainly before just grabbing a pair of chopsticks to start eating. "I hope you don't mind such a meager meal. I don't have exactly have access to top meat." "This will be enough for now but I will need more later to fuel my body's regeneration rate." He said before just silently putting a chunk of the food in his mouth...and pausing before just looking at the food. You noticed that and tilted your head. "Is something wrong? It's too hot isn't it?" He was slow to respond. "No... It's quite good. I rarely have home cooked foods." Mostly he feasted on prey he caught these last few months between the battle fields and missions and home cooked meals like this were rare these days. You smiled at him. "Thank you. If you're still hungry later then you're welcome to take more of it. If you can't move just ask me and I'll get you more." A jug full of water and a cup was placed next to him. "Here's some water. Drink some. I'm going to clean up the mess you made of my bathroom. Next time don't leave your old bandages next to the tub." "My apologies." He did not say anything else as you left to clean up the bathroom and dispose of the old slightly bloodied bandages he had wrapped around himself. "Burn them." You paused in the middle of carrying the small pile of bloodied bandages in your hands. "What?" "Burn them in the fireplace." His eyes glanced to the fire. "It'll better for any trace of me to be cloaked for now." He took another sip of his tea before looking at your face calmly but seriously. "When you are finished, I want you to take the ashes from the fire pit and go outside. Cover any pools of blood I might've left behind with them. It'll mask the scent until the dirt fully absorbs the blood away." "Mask the scent from who?" "Anyone wishing to find me and finish what the others failed to do. Try not to let anyone see you do it." You weren't exactly sure who these 'people' were, but you'd rather not risk it considering the spike of fear from his words. So you did what he asked with an approving hum from him. Throwing the old bandages into the fire until they burnt into ash and collecting the burnt out ashes and logs in a metal bucket nearby. He only watched silently still eating as you heaved the heavy bucket out of your house, around back, and where you found his collapsed body. Sure enough there was some red blood stained there from where he laid for who knows how long before you found him. Taking the still hot ashes, you made quick work of it looking around yourself to be sure no one else was watching you before all the red ground was covered up. Leaving you to scurry back inside to him. He seemed pleased with your work and just finished eating silent before you began collecting the dishes he set aside once he was finished with it. He stayed like that for the rest of the day, just silently sitting there and looking like he was in deep meditation. You didn't disturb him still feeling strange from the intense look he gave you earlier. However you did comply with him when he asked for more food before retiring to the futon you set up. Not wanting to disturb him, you just pulled out a spare set of blankets from the shelf and curled up near the front door just in case you needed to jump out for whatever reason. However you woke up the next morning in surprise to find him sound asleep still. Seeing as you still had a quiet morning to yourself, you quietly made your way out to go to work which wasn't too long a job but you thought that the man would've been awake by the time you came back. You were surprised to see that he wasn't. Instead he remained there in the same position you saw him in when you first got up. Long hair splayed all around him. But what caught your attention towards him was the twitching of his eyelids. He looked incredibly bothered by something. So when a hand touched his forehead, his eyes snapped open immediately to look at you. "You're running a fever...It doesn't feel too high thankfully. I have some fever medicine in my kit. I'll give you some and you should feel fine later." He merely hummed before closing his eyes back shut. "Do what you must." You smiled and made to move..but paused. Removing your hand you stared at his bare forehead in confusion. ".... That's strange. Didn't you have a cut on your forehead?" "You're mistaken." He didn't bother opening his eyes. You stared at him before opening your mouth. That's not true. You DID treat a cut on his forehead but again you decided not to bother fighting him and again treat him with a herbal tea infused with the medicine. He opened his eyes and would've sat up to take the drink from you, but blinked as all of a sudden a hand pushed itself under his head and lifted him with extreme gentleness he'd never felt before. As if he was cracked glass and at any moment could shatter. Something warm and herbal smelling wafted over his lips as you cradled his head and held the cup to his lips. "Here. Drink." The eyes stared up at yours and how soft your features were... before they glanced at the cup, and slowly opened his mouth. It was enough for you to tilt the cup for him to drink taking great care to not spill any on him. Making sure to also give him breaks between gulps to allow him to breath until it was empty. He'll also need something solid in his stomach. Good thing you still had leftovers from dinner last night. He didn't make any moves to stop you from cradling his head and feeding him until he seemed to be full enough and you gently encouraged him to sit back up. You needed to treat his wounds again. He seemed to struggle to sit up by himself so you had to push him up into a sitting position before you could again treat him. He just remained silent and compliant throughout the entire process until he was laying back down and a cool wet towel was being pressed against his forehead. "There you go. You should feel better soon. Is there anything else you want?" "No. This should suffice." You smiled at him again. "Well you should be well for now. I'll come back later and get you some more water after I finish cleaning the house. For now rest." He looked at you closely. "You're doing your duties even while caring for someone else fully?" "Well ..Yes. You're my guest, and I should be a good hostess but I shouldn't neglect my chores either." "Hm. The markings of a devoted housewife." He nodded. "Your future husband will be pleased." You paused blinking.. before slowly looking at him with a look. "I'm not seeing anyone for the last time.." His eyes looked back to you. "Really. I'm not. I clean my home and provide for my own person because I like independence." His brow rose higher than before. "A woman living alone and supporting herself?" The eyes scanned you up and down. That was unheard of. "With how young and beautiful you are? A woman by your age is usually married or engaged to be married soon. It's unheard of to hear that you're not." You paused. Before your face lit up a light pink at his words but despite that you shook your head with a frown. "No. I like living by myself and providing for just me. It's simpler and more peaceful." "You do not want to be married? Or start a family?" You gave a thoughtful look. "Well..I think it would be nice to settle down eventually, but it shouldn't be forced. Marriage is supposed to be about love for one another, not just what I look like." "You haven't gotten any suitors?.. Outside of the man calling himself Sabo." You shook your head picking up a bucket. "No. I have but most of the ones I've gotten have always been pushy or only wanted to marry me because they thought I was pretty or for some other selfish reason. Living on the edge of town helps but sometimes someone still comes here and try their luck. Some more pushy than others. A lot of the time they don't like hearing no." Kokushibo silently seemed to be giving a thoughtful, considerate look to what you had to say. "I see." He said nothing else as his eyes closed once again and you left to fetch a pail of water from your bathroom. If he wanted to rest then you wouldn't disturb him. Only rolling up your sleeves/bottom of your kimono before starting to scrub the floors. He remained still as you worked even as you moved furniture and pushed him and the futon over at one point to clean under him. He merely perked an eye open, before immediately closing it again unbothered by anything. Made no difference to you. You just continued to go about your business dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc. You again changed the towel on his forehead and fed him more later in the day but it wasn't anything special. However come the third morning he was there you started to think maybe demons were more supernatural than you thought. You had woken up as usual and gotten up but froze when you found the back door open and he was just sitting there already helping himself to what must've been the last of the large pot of stew and rice you made. How the heck was he able to eat so much? He noticed you before you could even say something. "Apologies for devouring your food. If I wish to regenerate fully faster, I need more sustenance to sustain the energy my body uses to generate the healing process. But rest assured this only means I won't be a bother for you sooner." You blinked looking at where he had been resting the day before then at him opening your mouth.. before just closing it. "It's..not a problem. You must be really hungry. I'll cook you a few eggs." He only tilted his head slightly as you silently went over to make his bed, without complaining about it to him, before exciting the home to begin your work. A woman who didn't complain about things he did and just offered him more food without a second thought. The markings of a good woman who'd take good care of her husband and the home when he was away. However she seemed very stubborn minded about remaining single. She'd most likely die alone. He'd just finished the food you'd given him and you took his plate away with a smile when a knocking noise from the front door caught your attention. Kokushibo merely cracked an eye open from his meditative state. Neither of you moved and then the knocking came back again but louder. "Who could that be?," you mumbled putting the plates to the side. "A man." From the presence he sensed and by the smell, it was a male around the same age as you and from the smell of animals, he was either a hunter or was wearing some kind of animal pelts. You hesitated looking at him both wondering how he knew that and a bit concerned. He said he didn't want anyone to know that he was here, but he didn't make any moves to hide or move out of sight...You supposed it would just be ok to answer the door, you just had to make sure to not accidentally show Kokushibo was there. So with a sigh you steeled yourself with a smile and walked on over to the front door, just sliding it open enough to peek your head out... before you blinked and your face frowned. "What are you doing here?" Kokushibo's head perked up at the heavy distaste in your tone. "I came to see the love of my life.~ Isn't it obvious?~ I missed you so much.~", came a gruff but young male's voice he'd never heard before. Behind the door you placed a hand on your hip. "You're not allowed back in town. You were banned after you almost killed that elder a year ago." "It was an honest mistake-" "You got drunk and picked a fight with that poor old man for no reason! On top of that you dishonored your family and that was on top of the pile of horrible things you've done!" "You don't live in town. This is just outside it, so I'm not breaking any laws." Kokushibo's head turned to the side and rose a brow seeing a hand caress the side of your head through the doorway. "I missed you.~" SLAP! The hand was harshly slapped away from your face. "GET OFF MY PROPERTY!!" You bellowed out at him in a tone that surprised Kokushibo could come from such a soft lady especially since he's never heard such a tone come from you. ''I don't know who you think you are but you're not welcome here! You're NEVER welcome here! You disgust me to no end! Now get off my property! I don't want to see you again!" There was an instant reaction to your words. One of which being that you were shoved back harshly. Enough to send you stumbling back and falling to the floor as the sliding door slammed open and someone stepped inside. The someone was a man about her age maybe a year or two older with a few scars and clothing made from animal skins. Ah. That explained the smell of animals. He walked in initially with a smirk on his face but paused upon seeing the face of another man staring back at him calmly and silently. Except Kokushibo made sure that he kept his eyes under his hair, concealing his true identity. You shook your head scooting back from the new man entering your home and glared at him. The two men silently stared at one another before finally the first one sneered in anger and pointed at Kokushibo. "Who the hell are you?!", he demanded. "Who I am is not important for you to know," he responded back calmly only making the newcomer angrier. "What?! Did you get married or something while I was gone?!" He snapped to you in question. "So what if I did?!" "SO YOU GOT MARRIED!?" "Again that's none of your business! I don't owe you any explanation on what goes on in my life! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!" The man didn't. Instead he snarled at Kokushibo who took his sweet time standing up and turning to face him. His calm expression beyond repair making him even more so. "I believe she had asked you to leave this house," he spoke more calmly half lidded eyes staring at him. You looked up at him. Holy crap...he was a lot taller than he looked. "Tch. And what right do you have to it?," he asked silently sizing the samurai up. "None. I am nothing but a mere guest to this household however you are not. Now you had best be on your way. I would find it improper for you to stay any longer." Perhaps it was the previous blood loss that had dulled his senses or the fact he didn't take this man as a threat (and to be perfectly honest he wasn't a threat at all) but when a hand shot out he stiffened awaiting the blow- However it-...Never came? The smell of blood filled his nose after a body flew up and something metallic and shiny slashed across your face. A cut formed on your cheek. Pain exploded as you yelled out stumbling back until you collided with a body. Kokushibo blinked as you fell against him easily catching you in one strong arm as you gritted your teeth and clutched your cheek as a cut bled out on. Kokushibo slowly blinked as you felt tests start to stream down your face. Kokushibo slowly let his eyes grow wide before looking at the man who also seemed surprised as he held up a dagger. "Leave him alone!," you bellowed out at the other man, "He's hurt enough! Just leave us alone! GET OUT! GET OUT!! GET OUT!!" Well..that escalated rather quickly. He stared at the woman starting to cry in his arms then back to the man holding the knife. Her body was slowly slid until she was gently placed on the floor. Turquoise eyes blinked as he easily stepped over and placed himself between her and the other man. An unusual feeling of anger bubbling from his surface and he found himself wanting to do nothing more than smash this man's head open like a walnut. ..The sobbing continued behind him which made him give pause. Hmm. That would possibly escalate the situation to a much worse scale. Kokushibo decided he wouldn't be ending any lives. Not now. Not today at least. He chillingly looked back to the man. "You have been told to leave. If you don't wish bodily harm upon you, you'll honor the request." The other man stared at him before daring to growl. "Who's gonna make me? You?" "Obviously. Normally I wouldn't care of what business or purpose you have with her, but you attacked my hostess. I can't simply let that slide." "I'm not going to let a woman order me around like a weakling. And I'm sure as hell not going to let you get between me and my business!" An arm was raised up high and the dagger was raised only to be swiped down- And grabbed by a large fist faster than either could comprehend. Shocked eyes stared into the calm face, eyes hidden by burgundy hair. CRACK- Your body curled up on itself as a man's shriek echoed throughout the home. Pain wailing through his hand and up his arm shooting off like fireworks. The knife fell to the ground with a clatter by their feet as Kokushibo effortlessly and calmly crushed the man's hand. It was all a quick blur. His hand swiping from the hand to his neck, grabbing him by the throat and lifting up. You watched shocked as Kokushibo was able to effortlessly lift up the dangling man like he was nothing and walk him to the open front door struggling and wheezing for air grabbing at the calloused hand clamped around his throat. Until the samurai stopped just in the doorway. "A man's place is to protect and provide for the woman he devotes his life to. Your proclamations of love are as empty as your threats. You are neither a man nor a worthy lover. It's only because I'm being courteous to my hostess that you live. She just cleaned last night and I'd hate to make a mess and ruin all her hard work. But make no mistakes. Should our paths cross again for whatever reason..." The calm eyes narrowed as the grip increased. "I will be the last thing you see before death claims you." The man's body dropped like a ragdoll with a thud and a large gasp left his mouth followed by a current of coughs as sweet oxygen filled his lungs. He simply watched him wriggle and struggle like the pathetic worm he was before he was able to scowl and struggle himself away. He stood there until he was no longer in sight and then some before closing the door in front of him. Silence resumed for a long moment. "...That was incredibly stupid of you." You blinked as he turned to look at you. "I didn't ask you to defend me and if you do it again I'll be sure it's the last time you do." You ...just blinked. Staring at him as tears continued to roll down your cheeks before you scowled. "I-" "Should be the one protected," he stated bluntly, "It's a man's job to protect the women not the other way around. You've already done me a great deed by feeding me, giving me shelter, and treating my wounds without a thing in return. I owe your safety at least in return." You said nothing as he walked on over to the shelf and grabbed the box you kept your medical supplies in. "Now treat the wound. It will be better if you did." You wiped at your face before nodding. "F-Fine. But remove your coat so I can care for your wounds in return.'' "There is no need. They will be fully healed by tomorrow anyways." That wasn't true. The gashes on him weren't deep but they'd take a long time to heal fully. "Even still, it'd be better to treat the wounds until they heal fully and I said I'd take care of you until you healed fully." He regarded you for a long moment. "A woman who insists on treating others before herself...You would be an ideal wife if the right man wished to court you." You deadpanned at him. "Nevertheless I agree but treat your cheek first." You didn't argue against that or when he suddenly pressed a cloth to your face to wipe off the tears and blood from your cut. Your eyes just widened as a hand tilted your head up to look at him and he continued working...a redness spreading across your face much to his inner amusement. "Who was that man?" His voice made you jump. "W-What?" "He seemed to know you. Was he a past lover?" You scowled in his hold. "He wishes. No. Not even remotely." He hummed. "He seems to think otherwise." "His family owns a successful fur trading business in town. Because of that he's very spoiled. He thinks he can get away with anything but last year he was exiled from town because he almost killed an elderly man after he got drunk and picked a fight with him for no reason. Everyone was tired of his selfishness." "What is his business with you?" "Nothing. His parents tried to convince me to make an arranged marriage between us as children and I guess since I've told him no he can't seem to get over it. But I'm afraid he might make good on that loophole." He hummed wiping around your cut. "Technically I don't live in town. I live just on the outskirts of it. So if he comes back here then he wouldn't be breaking the law.'' "And they never asked your parents for that?" "I don't have any parents." He paused giving you a look of interest. "Years ago there was a wild fire in the area that burnt down a quarter of the town. A few people were killed in the flames. My parents were two of them." He watched as her eyes sadly looked back down to her work. "I was taken in and raised by a very nice older couple who didn't have any children. I'm forever grateful for their kindness especially concerning my boundaries. However now Nori has returned-" "If he returns, he dies." You blinked as he seriously spoke. "I warned him. If he so chooses to not listen to that warning then he'll face the consequences of his own actions. I never go back on my word." You blinked at him before pulling away red faced. "Y-You didn't have to do that." "I did what my role entails." The rustling of clothing had you look over and freeze as his purple and black checkered coat dropped to his feet and exposed his torso to you. "Now you may treat me like you wanted." Your eyes stared at his toned chest- "It's rude to stare." Jumping you scrambled grabbing your medical kit as he just calmly raised an arm to allow you to quickly pull away the old bandages and trying (and failing-) to not stare at his torso and his scars-...Wait. The bandages fell away from his skin and you froze staring at his wounds. Except..they weren't wounds. They weren't even scars! They were just light markings that looked extremely faded to the point that they were barely present. You just...stared at them. Wounds don't heal that fast. Staring silently you slowly looked up at his eyes. "Is something the matter?" You opened and closed your mouth but quickly shook your head no. "N-No! You're healing up quite nicely! You were right when you said you'd be better in a week!" You offered a smile. "After this I'll make you some more food and drink. Do you like tea?" "That's fine....You mentioned that you had no lover?" You shook your head busing yourself by just removing his old bandages trying not to think too much about the mysterious scars. He... probably just had a rare healing rate. Or the wounds weren't as serious as you thought at first "No. Nori was very selfish and any others weren't really what I was looking for. I'd rather make my own way." "Would you ever accept a courtship?" "Well...Yes. I might if the man wasn't interested in my looks or any other selfish reason. Like you for example. You don't seem to care much about those things. If someone as materialistic as you proposed to me or if I asked I would hope he said yes.Uh...N-No offense." "None taken." He raised his arm higher looking over you carefully before closing his eyes with a hum. "Like me?" "Y-Yes. But that's rare to happen-" "I see." Kokushibo did not leave when he stayed an entire week. Your shock of seeing Nori near sun down left you just finishing bandaging him and cleaning up the small mess Nori left behind. Kokushibo took the dagger Nori left, but you had no idea what he did with it. He only returned to what he had been doing before Nori showed up, which was meditate for the rest of the day until it was finally nighttime. Kokushibo insisted on you taking back your futon and you still bring in shock just laid down staring at the ceiling until you fell asleep. You awoke the next morning to once again finding Kokushibo silently meditating in the corner helping himself to what must've been a full jug of water. Yesterday's events shot through your mind and you got up sitting up immediately. "I see you're awake," he stared plainly, "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep in the entire morning. I'm quite hungry." You only gave him a look of annoyance before nodding with a sigh. "Alright but then I need to head for work." "Is that wise?" He asked watching you stretch and get up. "Your cheek is still wounded. Someone might ask questions." "I'll just say that I accidentally made a wild fox angry or something." You yawned again and he couldn't help but blink at your figure stretching out gracefully. "It would be more suspicious if I didn't show up to work." "Hm. Understandable. Will you be cooking me a meal?" You deflated only looking at him before sighing and moving to get him the food he asked for. If he was still recovering from the blood loss then he shouldn't push himself until he was fully recovered. He mentioned it would take him a week to recover right? Today was the fourth day so he'll only be here for another three days at most. Maybe he'd forget about you once he left. But for now you'd keep your promise and care for him. It was the least you could do after he drove Nori away. Hopefully that would keep him away too... Oh how wrong you were about that. You ended up serving him more eggs and fruit from the wild trees. He didn't seem to mind however and thanked you before taking it. Leaving you to just go about your work until retiring that night. As suspected your boss asked about the cut on your cheek, but she only scoffed and called you clumsy when you told her you had just fallen on sharp rocks. The next two days were relatively the same. He'd meditate or watch as you went about your own chores after you got back from work or to ask you to cook for him which you obliged. You also checked over his injuries only to find they had healed to the point that there wasn't even any scars left behind. You'd never seen anything like in on another man. Even your had small scars from burning himself on a stove or cutting himself on a carving tool. Perhaps he was born with fast metabolism that fueled his body's healing? Would be why he ate so much. You didn't bring it up. You were feeling relief on the seventh day. It'd be his last day here before he left apparently and you wouldn't stop him. However you weren't expecting him to ask you for a brush for his hair. Huh... come to think of it his hair had been worn down outside of the ponytail he had when you found it. "I'll fix your hair for you if you'd like me to," you offered which caught him off guard as he blinked at you in light surprise, "I can style hair a little bit. My mother showed me how to, so I can put your hair back up if you want." Kokushibo just slowly blinked again before closing his eyes with an exhale through his nose. "Do as you wish." You smiled in return at him and went to fetch your brush. He didn't move but did lightly open his eyes when he heard you return and grab a strand of his long soft hair. It was soft to the touch and you took gently care in pulling apart the small knots you felt before even pulling the brush through the very bottom of the long fall of hair. He found the treatment acceptable so allowed it to continue. There was silence for a while as you hesitated until you spoke again. "You have beautiful hair... You're a very handsome man." He froze. Something soft and gentle touched his head which automatically made him freeze. His body instinctively standing on end and a thumb and finger curiously tugged gently at a strand of hair....But no hard metal comb yanked through his scalp. Instead two gentle hands caressed the strands and gently began to weave out the tangled big and small so slowly it didn't even pinch. A hum of a woman's patient voice sneaking through as she worked. The murmurs of a lullaby echoed and gentleness wafted with it.  Silence. Other than the lulling memories of melodies and the soft touch that was left behind. "Heart. Beats. Fast. Colors and promises. How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone?" You gently pried apart two strands of burgundy hair as Kokushibo remained still. "But watching you stand alone, all of my doubts suddenly go away some how." hands gripped into the fabric. He fell silent and didn't make any moves to stop her. When was the last time he ever felt such a gentle touch? He couldn't remember? Perhaps when he was a babe still in his mother's arms before he was snatched away into the harsh care of his father. Perhaps whenever His brother insisted on being kind to him. Maybe when he even indulged himself for the company of a woman when nights were particularly cold and hard. But this?..No. Never this. Never something so...intimate. A thing to share between lovers. His body went into absolute shock as tears weld up in those eyes and freely flowed down his face from the gentle treatment. "One step closer. I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more. " You continued working through the hair which was surprisingly easy to brush through. "Time stands still. Beauty in all she is. I will be brave. I will not let anything anything take away what's right in front of me. Every breath. Every hour has come to this." Arms lightly shook as she nearly completed her work and red eyes watery glanced at the blankets that covered him. Pathetic. That's what his father would call him if he saw this. The state he was in. The emotions his body shook and caved into. Stop it, stop it! Regain control of your body!! Do not allow your useless emotions to conquer your mind!  "One step closer. I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more. And all along I believed I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more." You finished up and leaned back to look at your handy work. However he just slammed his eyes shut from view and snapped his head away so you didn't have any clue he was even crying. Instead you rose a brow. Wow. You weren't expecting a thank you but that was a bit rude of him.  "I'm finished," you told him even though he probably already knew that by now, "But I would like to get your bangs too if that's ok?" You leaned over more causing his body to visibly stiffen. "Oh. Are you alright?" "..I am fine." He forced his body to relax with a sigh through his nose. Quickly picking up his haori he had taken off earlier and slipped it back on over his shoulders, briefly wiping his face off to cleanse himself of the proof of his weakness. "You may proceed and finish but do so quickly. I intend to leave tonight as per my plans." "Do you think you'll be ready? I mean you were so hurt just days ago," you mumbled in concern shuffling to sit in front of him and gently grabbed the hair framing his face before running your brush through it too. "Why don't you stay one more night? You might feel better." "No. I will leave once it's sun down. It's almost time anyways." She sighed and he cracked his eyes up at her. She was sitting in front of him now but looked at him once he grabbed your hand gently. "I have a question to ask you." She blinked her big shiny eyes at him. "That man from earlier this week, he wanted to marry you. I can see why you haven't accepted him, but why not anyone else? Why not just give someone your companionship already?" You gave him a look before sighing. "Because there's no one who's shown me respect or at least interest in an equal partnership." "And you would let that stop you how? I would see no benefits in waiting so long." "Respect is earned not given." You firmly stated reaching out to again brush aside his bangs. "I hope for someone can get me to respect them not by intimidation, but by mutual respect. I want a good man. A strong man who doesn't see me as just a woman or a wife or something just to give him children. I want a man who sees me as an equal. As a person with my own mind. Someone to share our lives together. Not to put one above the other. I want someone better than what I was offered before." "... Interesting. What would you say would make someone better?" "I don't think anyone is better than anyone else unless they chose to be a bad person." You rose a brow. Why was he asking you this? "I don't think I'm better than you or anyone else. It's not that simple either however." His gaze on you intensified. "Explain." "I just said it's not easy to explain. You may have a higher position than someone like a homeless person but I would still treat you as an equal and with respect as long as I see you treating others with the same respect and equality. If you believe something like strength or wealth makes you better then that's your own flaw." What would be a good way to explain this in a way a demon could understand a human? "...A painter may not have the strength of a blacksmith but that doesn't mean they both can't create beautiful masterpieces. A florist may not know how to till the land like a farmer but that doesn't mean they can't grow beautiful plants. A teacher may not be able to win against the strength of a samurai but that doesn't mean their different skills makes one more important than the other.," You explained making him look up in awe at you. "You can lose skills, you can gain skills. There's always going to be people that do things better than you, and there's always going to be people that do things way worse than you. But that shouldn't define the worth of a person. Whether it be a man, woman, child, or even a demon." He regarded you for a silent second before humming. "Then how do you define who is a good person?" "That isn't as simple either." "What do you mean?" "Some people are just good. Some people are just bad....But a lot of times it's subjective to different people. Good people can do bad things especially if they think what they're doing justifies the greater good. Bad people can do good things if they want to, whether that's because they still have some kindness or because it's to get what they want I can't say. ...But most people I believe aren't inherently bad or good. Most fall in a place between."  "Then....What traits do you use to judge others if you yourself have done wrong?," he spoke to you. You blinked surprised at all the sudden questions from Kokushibo but it was interesting to know that he wanted to know your opinion. "Well...Firstly Id admit what I did was wrong and not deny it. Secondly, I would judge someone else by what makes up that person." You gestured at him. "Their actions, their words, their morals, their personalities, and how they apply all of those things when interacting with me or anyone else. I'd also think about their point of view if I thought it would help me know how or why they would treat someone in a way." There was silence afterwards for a long, long moment. You could feel him looking directly at you calculating, as he was trying to figure out how he felt about what you just said to him. You wordlessly went back to brushing through his bangs silently. That was another thing about Kokushibo you liked. From all of your interactions he never really pushed anything when you said no. He never yelled at you the way your boss did calling you foolish and naive. He never did anything Nori did. Oh definitely not. Sure he called you troublesome but it seemed more because of the strange ways you both kept meeting up. Ironic. The first and only demon you've ever met and he treated you better than a lot of people already did by being silent and just listening.  Your eyes gazed over at his still observing you and you really took a moment to really look at him closely. He really was rather handsome. If it wasn't for the fangs and extra eyes, he would've been no different than any other man. It's sad these simple features were ridiculed by everyone else. His eyelids closed on instinct when a hand reached up to touch his face but he stiffened shocked. Her delicate fingertips soothing over the soft skin, reaching over to trace the mark on his forehead. His open eyes instinctively darting to your hands caressing his features. ".... You're different from all the others." He visibly stiffened at your words. "Your structure is beautiful that way." He stopped fully just ... looking at you yellow irises expanding wider. You smiled. "Just by looking at you, you're very strong. I guess that's why you're so power-"  You stopped once as two large hands just grabbed yours within their grip. The brush dropping to the floor with a thud. "-ful. Uh..K-Kokushibo?" "Your eyes." He mumbled leaning closer holding your hands within his grip. "I have..never seen such color before on any woman." You stopped in front of the lights shining on you just the right way to give him the impression you were an angel. A sight he was hesitant to leave when he bent down. Huh. And you were both closer than he remembered. Just a few inches from one another twinkling under the fire pit 's lights. And you blinked at the sudden closeness too. Face going a dim pink and a few chuckles from the moment escaping you. No one was here too. So it was just you two. Alone out here with nothing but each other for company. His mind felt completely blank and numb but in a good way, compelling him to reach his hands up and cup a cheek of yours something his rational brain wouldn't allow himself to do. Inches away now. You didn't move away. He stared at the woman in front of him, this strange, strange woman with the beautifully flowing hair and the cute smile. If he was watching this as an outsider, he would've laughed at how they were literally just strangers less than a while ago, but right now it didn't seem any of that or anything else mattered. Not even the topic they had been discussing just a few seconds ago. The draft blew some and blowing some of that pretty hair into his face, which she immediately reached to pull away and Kokushibo made no move to stop her from doing that. Or removing the hand that now cupped his cheek. Maybe it really was a mutual madness they both shared or some form of chaos in their lives, but right now....With them being so close...And so vulnerable. It was only natural of course-.. It's what soulmates do-.. Of course they would since-... Your lips just pressed for a few wonderful seconds before Kokushibo suddenly pulled himself away looking at you and breathing heavily. His grip on you tightening and untightening in waves as if restraining himself. His warm breath ghost over your lips and face warning them as he stared half lidded.  "I need to know that you want this," his usual monotone voice whispered out, "I need to know that you know fully what the implications of being with a demon will do to your reputation if they found out you let me stay here let alone kiss me. If anyone found out... You'll be exiled. Ridiculed. Shamed wherever you go if they know-" His answer was her death gripping his head and pulling him close. Soft lips collided with his as he was again taken off guard. "How many times is this woman going to surprise me?" He made no comment back. Embracing the woman against his chest tightly and deepening the kiss. Yes. He could stay for one more night.  His eyes opened slightly half lidded. His embrace increasing slightly. Yes. Then he had a few more things to take care of after. *********************************************** Beware of things that go bump in the night. Moonlight peeked out through clouds chasing the darkness away a little. Enough for someone to have a little sense of sight in the somber darkness. Most living creatures hiding away from view all warm and snug in their homes inside dens and hollowed out trees. Or if you were a human, you'd be found safe and sound in your house. Snug cozy and warm inside their soft beds in slumber until the safety of the sun next morning. However one would not survive this night. The walls didn't provide a sleeping man shelter. A door didn't stop the Moon's Shadow from sliding it open and stepping inside. Blankets couldn't hide the identity of the person within it's grip. The darkness didn't stop six eyes of hatred from seeing his form. Oh look. He wasn't fast asleep like he expected to be in fact he was barely asleep at all. He was moving around in his sheets. Stacking two extra blankets on him for extra warmth against the cold. Even moving the futon ... dangerously close to the fireplace. The fire was small enough that it'd be out before morning but if it was even slightly bigger than it would surely catch the whole bed and eventually the house on fire. Six orbs maneuvered to the stack of many logs by the fire pit. Yes. Truly it would be a tragedy if the fire was bigger. The shadow loomed over the now terrified looking man. Too shocked to speak out of fear, but not scared enough to grab a nearby pen and thrust it at the approaching abyss. The item successfully sank into flesh but the shadow hardly flinched. No screams or noises were had when a clawed hand wrapped itself around the terrified man's throat and squeezed. "Quiet. You have no say in what you've brought upon yourself." Hands uselessly grabbed at the clasp around his neck. Legs uselessly kicking out.  "Between us both, I was actually going to spare your life. Only place you outside and burn everything you hold dear to the ground and watch you have to struggle to actually work for it back like she had to do since your entire bloodline treated her so vile...but then you attacked me-" Again the pen was sunk into him. This time the eyes did widened as pain fell from the still timid flesh that just finished healing.  "R-Rot in hell!" A hoarse voice wheezed out from under the fist. "She deserved everything that happened to her. If you weren't here I'd have her doing-" A tighter squeeze ceased all air from his lungs. A different hand slowly reached down to pull the pen from his chest. "The moment you dared to get in my way, was the moment that sealed your fate." Struggling was useless. Futile even. No matter. His fate would be the same as the other then. A hand brought him closer by the neck. This man disgusted him. His claims of having her to himself only furthered that disgust. He remembered her soft hands holding him, the same soft hands THIS PIG harmed. "H E R  L O V E  B E L O N G S  T O  M E." A warmth spread throughout the entire home as  fireflies flickered around growing flames slowly moving from a futon to other parts of the home. Step after step a shadow took disappearing entirely from view. Their sights already focusing on another important fire burning brightly as the first scream of the town's people awoke. A fire crackled in a bit of rocks. Feasting upon wood that melted into ashes in its grip. A sloshing of liquid heard as a gourd was passed exchanged from one hand to another. Warm skin of a hand warmed by the fire brought the sickly sweetened alcoholic drink to his lips. It burnt his throat in a good way that left him licking the burning sweetness from his lips with a snack, a sleeve wiping at his face as he did so. "We shouldn't be out here," one man out of the six gathered around the fire commented. His face illuminated by its flames casting dancing shadows among them. "I don't like how quiet it is tonight. Listen...Not a bird. Not any beast. Not even the crickets sing their tunes tonight. I tell you it is a bad omen." The man with the burning sweetness on his tongue sneered at his comrade. "Don't start giving me that talk about devils and inhuman monsters. I've hunted and camped in woods more silent than this since I was a child. The only danger you'll face out here is nothing but the usual teeth and claws of a wolf or a bear if you're really unlucky. I don't believe in such things." The rest of the men only muttered in agreement with him or gave glances of weary. "Then we all share in your incompetent thinking by being out her while the moon wanes ordering bloodlust. And for what? A couple of measly game that hasn't even shown themselves." A stick was tossed in frustration to the fire. "I tell you the beasts were scared off by something far scarier. I say we take their warning and head home while we still have light to see by." Another scoff. "A single fat deer would fetch more gold than two giant grizzlies on a good day! Are you really letting your fear blind you from what you could have?!" "Perhaps he's right, Nori." Heads turned to the second oldest man of the group whom was staring at him with a thoughtful expression. "We haven't seen any hide or tail of the herd. Not even a footprint since we got here this morning. Even if there's no monstrous beast, it's obvious that the herd has moved out of the area. We should be home comforting our wives' worries and protecting our families from the dangers of others this night. We'll not be seeing anything here." "BAH!!" The fire hissed in protest as liquid was spilt on thrown from the gourd splashing it as hot the ground. "You all are nothing but a lot of whimpering dogs catering to a woman's stupid fears! We should be looking more instead of lazing around where nothing is happening!!" "You're lucky your parents hired us to tolerate hunting with you! After you got yourself exiled last year, you've done nothing but lust for a woman and then act like an ass when she rejected you!," the second youngest man sneered  The older man sighed once more. "Alright...We will give one last look around the area-" He said defusing the situation between the angry men. "-but afterwards we go home. I would rather have the warmth of my wife than that of the fire." Grumbled were had. Murmurs were said. Footsteps crashed through the otherwise silent night. The light of the moon distorting everything with an eerie red hue as different men headed different directions. Splitting up to widen the search and make it back to dose the fire faster. Perhaps an unwise choice they would make. Bushes and branches of the trees did not stop the ambition of one man whom stepped his way forward to a direction where the beasts drank their full of water. And the place he'd find a strong stallion o

“AHHHHHHHH!” That scream came from Starlight Glimmer in the nurse’s office. Inside, Starlight winced in pain as Princess Luna applied some rubbing alcohol on her back. “It’s alright, young one,” Princess Luna said as she treated the wound on Starlight’s back. “We’re going to have you fixed up in no time.” “But it stings,” Starlight cried as Luna continued to fix up the wound on her back. “Still can’t believe that crows would go around like this,” Princess Luna said as she applied some topical ointment on Starlight’s back. “Normally, they would be docile. But the way they attacked was very unusual.” “Unusual is an understatement.” That came from Danged Spell, who was alongside Moondancer, Sunburst, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle. They were all worried for Starlight’s well-being, considering the stings that were on her back. “What were all those crows doing in the school grounds?” Moondancer asked. “Even I have no idea youngling,” Princess Luna said as she