[ToxicShadow]

Kajiame's two-toned eyes grew wide as he gazed upon Yukina, his heart pounding in his chest as if it might tear straight through his bones and flesh, lurching for her. Her evident, overwhelming fear felt like a dagger in his chest, and there was no logical explanation as to why. He stood abruptly, wanting to go to her, to comfort her, but he knew that would only cause her even more fear. Had he really scared her all that much by admitting the truth? If he had wanted her dead, wouldn't he have killed her by now? Would he even have told her the truth?

"I'm sorry," was the first words he uttered, stepping back away from the table, putting an even greater space between him and the adorable demon, who's own tears seemed to bring him sadness. The cold, at the very least, didn't seem to have any visible effect on him. His own icy powers were to thank for that and, vaguely, he was thankful to his father for his obscure abilities. "Truly, I am sorry..." His canine ears, along with the now visible, fluffy and barbwire wrapped tail, drooped down. "I don't want to kill you! I didn't come here to do that, or to send you away from your home. You invited me here, you're kind, your not like our enemies... That being so, I do not wish to bring you harm."

Yukina was absolutely nothing like the demons that he and his family had spent their days hunting, especially not if her reaction was this. Rather than lashing out at him, she was afraid, truly, truly afraid, and he couldn't bare to see it. She didn't even attempt to really defend herself against him.

"You must understand, my family's life was ruined by demons, by monsters, and that is why... That is why we hunt the wicked creatures, but I couldn't dream of hurting someone that is innocent!" His words were full of conviction. Kajiame didn't have an ill bone in his body, and he only became a hunter of demons for the purpose of protecting other people, those that couldn't protect themselves - much like his mother had been.

"Please... don't cry. I can't bare to see a woman cry."

[MillietheWarrior]

Yukina had managed to sink down onto her knees, one hand still gripping the cabinet as she watched him with wide, wary eyes that had suddenly gone, to her surprise, blurry with tears. The fear coiling inside of her nearly suffocated her, and she opened and closed her mouth several times, small, squeaking sounds escaping in lieu of actual words. She couldn’t seem to find anything to say. “But-but…” she began, as if trying to find a reason to speak. “Your enemies are demons! I am a demon. I’ve heard of hunters! You don’t-don’t care what kind of demons you kill! You’re ruthless murderers!”

She’d been warned about them from a very early age. Living on the floating ice world above demon world, her kind were generally safe from them, but that didn’t mean the stories were any less potent. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the racing of her heart and the pounding of her icy blood through her veins. The tears still clouded her vision, and she closed her eyes, briefly, to try and relieve it. When the droplets rolled down her cheek, they crystallized and dropped to the floor with dull thuds. The tears had turned into the famous Ice Maiden Hiruseki stones. The little crystals gleamed pale blue and teal and silver in the light, looking like diamonds surrounding the fearful ice demon, who was slowly trying to master that fear.

“How do you know-” she began at last, and her voice was very soft, sounding hurt by accusations against her kind. “-that the other demons you kill are not innocent? How do you know they haven’t done anything wrong? What makes us evil? What makes it justified for you to judge them for something they may or may not have done, and then take their lives based on your own judgments?” When she opened her ruby eyes, they were hard, but still afraid, and they still swam with tears that she refused to let fall. “I may be a woman, but I am also a demon. Can you bear to see a demon cry?” she demanded in a whisper, lowering her eyes from his and clasping her hands against her chest.

[ToxicShadow]

The strange man didn't make any attempt to move, not toward Yukina, but not for the door, either. While he was a demon hunter, he had never been asked to pass judgment on someone how hadn't committed any crimes. It wasn't like him, nor like his mother, who taught him their ways of the hunt, to kill without reason. Killing could never really be justified, but killing someone of innocence absolutely couldn't never even dream to be.

His eyes, however, never left the woman slumped on the floor some feet away from him. He couldn't allow himself to look away, for some measure of shame in making her this way, scaring to seemingly half to death. Kajiame's eyes were troubled, it was painful to watch her, but he wanted to reassure her that everything was okay.

"It doesn't matter rather you are a demon not," he finally said, his voice stern and, for once, sure of himself. If he was to answer her honestly, he had to stop second guessing himself, and he had. "My mother is a demon, as is my uncle, just as I partially am as well. It's not what someone is that troubles me, it is the nature of that person. If that person has attempted to kill or has killed, that is when my family steps in. I haven't met many kind demons in my day outside of my family, you'd be one of the first, but I couldn't justify hurting someone that didn't deserve it. It's all pretty twisted, being a demon and a demon hunter, but we have our reasons..."

Ever so slowly and carefully, he began to step around the table, toward Yukina, hoping he wouldn't entirely frighten her and cause her to run in fear or worse. "I swear, I wont bring harm to you." Unless, of course, she went on some crazy murderous rampage but, even then, he would choose to avoid it himself, given his word.

[MillietheWarrior]

“And you kill your own kind,” Yukina said at last, her eyes closed as she lowered her head, fingers clasped together against her chest and hair obscuring her face. “I know there are bad demons out there. But there are bad humans too. Can you honestly tell me that they don’t deserve to be punished for their crimes?” She remembered the man who had kidnapped her, had hurt her to gain her tears, had killed her little bird friends to make her cry. He deserved his fate, and she couldn’t find it in herself to be sorry for his death. Then she remembered the day she’d spoke to Kurohi before he’d ventured back to demon world. How she’d told him her people didn’t deserve to survive, weren’t worth their existence because they’d frozen their hearts and shut themselves off. She remembered the strong feelings of hatred for her own kind, and her surprise when Kurohi had told her that if she wanted something done, she needed to do it herself, and stop waiting for a phantom sibling to do it for her.

He’d told her, in no simple terms, that if she wanted her race to pay for their sins, she’d have to destroy them herself, not hope that her brother reappeared and did it for her. She didn’t think, even then, that she could kill them. They were horrible people, with hearts and minds made of ice, but she could never harm them. She lifted her gaze to Kajiame as she heard him move closer, and instinctively flinched, leaning backwards and away from him with her hands still clasped in front of her. He was half demon, and perhaps he understood that some of his kind weren’t worthy of their lives. She was a hypocrite for judging him, when she herself had once said that her own people didn’t deserve to live. “I-I understand,” she murmured, her voice soft as she lowered her head, allowing him to move closer to her without scuttling away in fear. “And…and I believe you.”

She lifted her gaze to him, her eyes still shining with unshed tears, but a small, timid smile on her face. “I’m sorry…for judging you so…quickly. But you have to understand that demons fear hunters for a reason, the same way that humans once feared demons. I-I thought you would…” She folded her hands in her lap, making no move to get away, and bowed her head. “I’m very sorry. But you…you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. I’ve never met a kind hunter. Or a hunter at all, actually. Um…” She motioned to his ears and, strangely enough, the tail that had appeared. “Now you…you have a tail as well…And your ears.” Despite the lingering fear and uncertainty, the urge to rub his ears and feel how soft they were returned, and she stared at them, transfixed by the sight.

[ToxicShadow]

"Never once did I say that we didn't hunt unworthy humans," Kajiame corrected Yukina with a faint smile. "I did say specifically that we hunt 'wicked demons and monstrous creatures, whatever form they take.' Humans, though they may not look it, can be monstrous. Wickedness can come in many forms, and we hunt them all. The first 'victim,' of my family of hunters was a human." It happened such a long time ago, before he had been born, but his uncle had brought justice and revenge in the form of death to the human that had killed Kajiame's mother. Chemical Vain's actions then was how their story began, only to be later magnified when Sathia had healed him with her demonic abilities. Instead of just healing him, he absorbed the powers, and the two set out to slay monsters.

"I will only leave if you want me to. You're the first demon that I have met, outside of my family, that hasn't been corrupt." It seemed that without all of the words, he had accepted the she-demon's apology without a second thought. Her reaction had been reasonable, and he didn't hold any of it against her. He stepped even closer to her and offered her his hand with a warm smile. "It wont do to have you slumped on the floor like that."

As he made the motion, it occurred to him that Yukina had been staring at his ears and, habitually, they both wiggled up and down in an adorable manner. "You can touch them if you want. I don't bite. Not hard, anyway." Already he was teasing her, but what he wasn't about to tell was that his ears were possibly one of the most sensitive parts of his body. When it came to his tail, though, that was a strictly a 'do not touch,' zone. "They vanish and reappear like this, so it's normal. My original form is akin to a large winged wolf. At least, that was the form I was born into."

[MillietheWarrior]

Yukina stared at the offered appendage hesitantly, her eyes wide with uncertainty. Timidly, she reached out her own hand, small and pale in comparison to his, and grasped his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. It didn’t make much different in height; she still had to crane her neck upwards to speak to him(And he was really close, so it was like looking up at a tree, she reflected). She was still staring at his ears as she spoke, but her eyes were gentler, and her smile had returned, still shaky, but as kind as it had always been.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be right of me to question…what you hunt. Some demons are bad, and I understand that. It’s just…well, our kind are always taught to fear the hunters and…there have been more before you, much worse, who killed indiscriminately and wrought terror on demon world. Maybe I judged you too soon.” But it never hurt to be cautious, especially when her life could hang in the balance. She leaned down to the floor, and carefully gathered the fallen Hiruseki stones in her dainty hands. When she straightened, she held them out to him. “Would you like these?” she asked quietly. “They’re called Hiruseki stones. They’re very precious.” And very valuable, but she didn’t need to tell him that. He’d probably figure it out on his own; if he was a demon hunter, then he would be aware of different facets of different demons.

Ice Maidens were widely known for their Hiruseki stones, even though it was very rare for them to give them away, or even produce the precious gems. She found her gaze was drawn back up to his ears, and curious, she gently lifted his hand and placed the few stones into it, before she reached up both of her hands, indicating she’d like to touch his ears. She couldn’t quite reach; she was far too small and short, and he was far too tall and broad. Blushing lightly, she lowered her hands and shot him an embarrassed smile. “They are adorable,” she admitted, turning her gaze away abashedly. “As is your tail. May I…May I see your wolf form? If it isn’t too much trouble. If-if you don’t want to show me, that’s completely fine. I-I know that must be a terribly awkward request.”

[ToxicShadow]

"I-I can't possibly take them," Kajiame had protested, sounding more like an uncertain child than anything as he stared at the crystallized tears that Yukina offered to him. He had gone and made her cry, and he wanted to somehow punish himself for it. He didn't deserve the gems that she offered - gems created from the sorrow and fear he had made her felt. And yet, before he could protest anything farther, she had gone and forced them into his hand. He couldn't decline then, and he couldn't just throw them away. "I'm so very sorry that I made you cry." He made this remark as she reached for his ears, and he smiled down at her, realizing a moment too late that he should have leaned over to make things easier for her.

"Ah, sure..." He hadn't been asked to reveal his original form and he seemed a little surprised by the request. "It's no trouble at all. I get... pretty big, though." As if he wasn't already.

Looking around, he stepped away from Yukina, slipping the Hiruseki stones carefully into his pockets as he stood in a more empty part of the room. He double checked himself and a flash of silver flames whirled around his form, his mismatching wings closing around his body. In the next moment, a wolf stood in the man's place, nearly just as tall as he had been before his transformation, though a whole lot longer. His now barb wire wrapped tail was pulled close to his body, and his black and silver licked coat was thick and soft in appearance. The wings had remained the same, though now pulled close to his body, one angelic and feathery, while the other had a more leathery appearance, more typically associated with demon-kind.

In order to make everything easier for her, he crouched low to the ground, an awkward canine smile on his muzzle. Luckily, he didn't lose his ability to speak. "There, you see? I take up so much unnecessary space."

[MillietheWarrior]

Yukina’s smiled widened marginally when he slipped the stones into his pocket, effectively silencing his own protests. “It’s all right,” she assured, clasping her hands together in front of her. “Really. It’s…it doesn’t matter now. We can forget about it, and be friends, right?” She tilted her head and her eyes closed and curved with the force of her smile, her pale, teal hair falling over her shoulders. It was probably unheard of. A demon and a hunter being friends. But why not set a precedent? Kajiame himself was part demon, so that meant they were at least compatible in a few ways. And she’d never seen a demon or a half breed quite like him. It was, actually, odd to see a hanyou (half-breed) demon at all. The races didn’t often mix, to be honest, and the only one she could think of who came close was Kina.

But the kitsune was merely wearing a type of human disguise; she wasn’t actually human. Yukina took a step forward, looking half curious and half excited to see his wolf form. It wasn’t often she got to see anything like this, and she’d never seen another demon transform before., She was incapable of it herself, and she only had this singular form, so to see someone, anyone really, with more than one was interesting. Again, Kina was the only example she could think of; the human woman could take on her kitsune form if her emotions fluctuated wildly enough, or, as she’d been training lately, at will if necessary. His nervousness made it a bit more adorable, and Yukina leaned forward eagerly with her hands clasped in front of her to watch him. The way he changed was new and different, and she let out a small gasp of surprise when the flames engulfed him.

Tentatively, she approached him, and realized he was still as tall as he had been. His head was a little higher than hers, but when he crouched down, they were at eye level. Yukina had always been a lover of animals, especially adorable furry ones. While he looked rather fierce, he was still adorable, and she couldn’t help herself as she reached out and ran her hands through the thick ruff of his neck, scratching with light, delicate fingers as her hands moved up behind his ears. “You’re very cute,” she said at last, her eyes wide with awe and her cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment at her own words. “Um, I mean…regal. Uh. Fierce? But…but…adorable.” Maybe the other descriptions had softened the ‘adorable,’ but Yukina couldn’t help herself as she threw her arms around as much of his neck as she could reach and snuggled. “Very adorable,” she crooned, giggling lightly.

[ToxicShadow]

The 'adorable,' had sent a strange pang of embarrassment through Kajiame, one that he wasn't very used to, and one that he definitely couldn't display well in such a form. Yes, his ears both drooped down but, aside from that, there was much less facial expression and no awkward blushing when you were a fluffy canine creature. 'Damn it. I'm cute. That's a first.' Well, not entirely a first, as his mother had called him cute several times before, but that was her being his mother, and wasn't like this. This was different because it was Yukina, a beautiful women he didn't really know, that had gone and said it. He didn't even know what to do, being completely and utterly new to... any of this. What the hell was this, anyway? He thought that she was cute, and beautiful.

Just slightly, not enough to disturb Yukina, he shook his head, trying and failing miserably to shake off his embarrassment. A part of him found that he almost hated those words, the more unreasonable 'manly,' part of him that most guys seemed to have, while the more logical side of him reasoned that she hadn't said the words to embarrass him. And besides, now she was hugging him. Wait. Hugging. Both of his ears perked up and his tail began to wag back and forth. All thoughts of embarrassment were gone, melted away just like that.

"Most people that see me like this don't think 'cute,' as a first rule," he finally said, his voice rougher than it had been in his previous form. His words didn't seem harsh, rather, he seemed amused. "But, um, thanks?" Of course, whenever he took to his wolfish form now, it had usually declared at he was on the hunt and a dangerous force to be reckoned with. With his claws and teeth he had gone and shredded demons and humans alike into unrecognizable pieces. He wasn't about to tell her that, but it was the truth. Instead, he sat down, lifting one of his forepaws around the woman's form and seeming to hug her in return, nuzzling her side like an adorable, though giant, puppy would do.

"If you want, we can... go for a ride sometime?" he suggested, not all that bothered by her snuggling and, in fact, probably enjoying it more than he should have. "I can fly, and your certainly small enough to be carried." Lifting her would be absolutely no problem, regardless of the form he took. It would just be a more comfortable ride for her sitting on the back of a large wolf rather than in the arms of a man.

[MillietheWarrior]

Yukina marveled at how soft his fur was. For a fearsome beast that most likely had hunted and torn apart demons with his bare fangs and claws in the past, he certainly was cute. And soft. And adorable. She repressed an adorable squeak of her own at the idea, finding him just too sweet to ever be mad at. Now, how could she have ever thought this man was here to do anyone harm? She scratched him behind his ears, fingers running along the soft, fluffy appendages with a gleeful smile. She wasn’t exactly allowed to have pets at Master Genkai’s temple; the closest she had was elixir, the spirit beast, but Elixir had sharp metal spikes and wasn’t exactly made for hugging.

Kajiame on the other hand, was a different story. “it’s like you were made to be hugged,” she giggled, sounding pleased by the discovery. “And I didn’t see you as cute as a first rule either. But, well, this is a different story.” Then, seeming to realize what she said, she sat back on her heels, her cheeks warming slightly in embarrassment. “I-I mean, I’m not saying you weren’t cute. You were cute. But in a human sort of way. Like-like handsome. I…wait, that wasn’t what I meant!” She released him, hands flailing back and forth as her cheeks grew ever warmer.

Lowering her head, she made a groaning noise in the back of her throat, and sighed. “Never mind. Forget I said it.” Her face brightened at the idea of flying, however, and her cheeks lost a majority of their reddish hue as she lifted her head, fingers clasping together in excitement. “Oh, that would be lovely!” she cried happily, and resisted the urge to once more throw her arms around his adorable furry face. “Could we go now? I-I mean if it’s not a bother, and you don’t have anywhere else to be, of course.”

[ToxicShadow]

As with any canine creature, Kajiame's tail began to wag like a harmless pup as Yukina scratched at his ears, whimpering softly. It felt good, almost too good. Even though he was painfully aware that his ears were the most sensitive part of his person, he'd never really had his ears petted, scratched or played with. Rather, in the days stuck only in their wolfish forms, his mother's typical punishment was to chomp down on those soft ears of his. Oh, those adolescent days. He once found it surprising that he didn't have scars just from his punishments.

When the alarmed and embarrassed ice maiden pulled away from him, he couldn't help but to chuckle gently, tail still wagging in a friendly manner. "Don't worry about it, I know what you mean," he assured her. "Actually, I'm flattered, but you're much cuter than I am, even now." He found the woman to be much cuter than he could ever be, even with all the fur and the fluff on his side. She was a delicate, lovely little thing, and had she not been a demon, he might have feared her to be as fragile and breakable as a porcelain doll.

"And, yeah, we can go now, if you want." How could he possibly turn her down someone so adorable? "I don't have any plans today at all, so you can keep me for however long you want." With the rest of his family gone, there had been nothing at all for hanyou to do, so Yukina's company was greatly appreciated. "You aren't scared of heights, are you?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Yukina couldn’t help but think that Kajiame looked remarkably similar to any normal dog. Albeit, a very large, slightly demonic looking ferocious dog, but still a dog nonetheless. She observed him carefully as she backed away, turning towards the door and sliding it open to hide the blush on her cheeks. He’d called her ‘cute.’ That honestly wasn’t something anyone had ever called her before; maybe as a child, one of the adult ice maidens had occasionally remarked on her beauty, but in general, her kind didn’t show that type of affection for one another. And certainly, no one in the human realm had dared to ever call her such a thing.

She pressed a hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth of the skin beneath her fingertips and marveling at how someone who was, in essence, a complete stranger, could manage to make even her cold heart warm and fuzzy. No one had ever done that before. It was a strange feeling, but not at all unwelcome. “Thank you,” she managed belatedly, referring to his compliment as she daintily stepped over the threshold to the world outside, slipping her sandals onto her sock-clad feet and swinging down off the raised porch onto the ground below.

The wind swept through the trees, ruffling her teal hair as she turned to gaze back at the wolf through the open door. “If I kept you as long as I wanted, you might never leave,” she suggested innocently, a smile blooming across her face and crinkling her eyes. “And, well…My home used to be a floating island, but it never really seemed that way. So I’m not sure if I’m scared of heights; I’ve never been up very high before so…” She fiddled with the hem of her sleeves nervously. “Is flying scary?”

[MillietheWarrior]

Yukina couldn’t help but think that Kajiame looked remarkably similar to any normal dog. Albeit, a very large, slightly demonic looking ferocious dog, but still a dog nonetheless. She observed him carefully as she backed away, turning towards the door and sliding it open to hide the blush on her cheeks. He’d called her ‘cute.’ That honestly wasn’t something anyone had ever called her before; maybe as a child, one of the adult ice maidens had occasionally remarked on her beauty, but in general, her kind didn’t show that type of affection for one another. And certainly, no one in the human realm had dared to ever call her such a thing.

She pressed a hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth of the skin beneath her fingertips and marveling at how someone who was, in essence, a complete stranger, could manage to make even her cold heart warm and fuzzy. No one had ever done that before. It was a strange feeling, but not at all unwelcome. “Thank you,” she managed belatedly, referring to his compliment as she daintily stepped over the threshold to the world outside, slipping her sandals onto her sock-clad feet and swinging down off the raised porch onto the ground below.

The wind swept through the trees, ruffling her teal hair as she turned to gaze back at the wolf through the open door. “If I kept you as long as I wanted, you might never leave,” she suggested innocently, a smile blooming across her face and crinkling her eyes. “And, well…My home used to be a floating island, but it never really seemed that way. So I’m not sure if I’m scared of heights; I’ve never been up very high before so…” She fiddled with the hem of her sleeves nervously. “Is flying scary?”