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Chapter 2


Keira had been running for nearly an hour, Ritzuko still passed out in her arms. Her mind was racing. What if father discovered her absence? What if Rollin was punished for helping her? What if Yumi came after her? She clenched her eyes shut and tried to pass the thoughts from her mind. For now, she only wanted to focus on getting Ritzuko to a safe place. After a minute, they approached a large clearing that was ringed in trees and was bisected by a clear stream. She laid him down near the stream and began to dab water onto his face. “Please Ritzuko, wake up!” she said, a lump catching in her throat. Yumi had undone most of Uncle Ren’s work and had even added more scars. He took her over shirt and wrapped it around his torso to help stop his bleeding, but it was to no avail. She watched helplessly as he began to shiver and bleed faster. Her tears soaked the wounds as she held him close, feeling the warm blood drip across her skin “Ritzuko! Please! Wake up!!” she cried. She watched his face for any sign of motion, but her concentration was broken when a small voice piped up, nearly a squeak. She looked around, but saw nothing of the source of the disembodied voice. “Ahem, Miss?” the voice said as she felt a tiny tug at her sleeve. She looked down and gasped. This wasn‘t happening.


Tugging on her sleeve was a tiny, young female neko with the wings of an angel. The tiny being smiled and bowed. “Hello, you must be Miss Keira! I thank you for rescuing Ritzuko from that cruel lady!” it peeped, smiling at her cutely. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. “W-what……What are you?” she asked confused. The being bowed and introduced herself “I’m Ritzuko’s guardian angel! My Name is Ryumi! It is wonderful to meet you, but I do wish it were under different circumstances” she said, looking down at Ritzuko. She gently floated down to his chest and sat down cross-legged. “This is serious, he has been hurt a lot, but not like this. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how humans can do this” she sighed. Keira looked at him then to her. “What can we do? I cant just leave him like this!” she pleaded. Ryumi looked up to her and gave her a reassuring smile “He will live, but what I mean is…well….his mind is pretty shot. You see, Ritzuko has always endured this kind of thing: beatings, torture, and such, but it has ate away at his feelings. Heck, he has virtually no free will anymore thanks to that Yumi lady” she said, staying calm despite the anger that filled her expression. Keira looked hopelessly “Is there anything we can do?” she asked. Ryumi stood on his chest and floated to his forehead, placing her hand on his cheek. She closed her eyes and focused as her hand began to glow. After a few seconds she removed her hand and looked up to Keira. “I…well…need you to remove his shirt.” she said, blushing a little. Keira also blushed, her face becoming as red as blood. She began to speak fast, a hint of panic lacing her voice “O-okay, but what is wrong? I don’t have to….um……you know….” she stopped and squealed in a high pitch, her eyes slamming closed. Ryumi shook her head and spoke again “No, but you need to help me get him awake. And there’s another matter that needs tending to once he is healed.” she said as she flew high above him.

Keira nodded, blushing, and gently eased what was left of the torn garment over his shoulders, revealing his chest and stomach, still slowly bleeding. Another tear formed as she whispered to him “Ritzuko…I’m so sorry she did this” Ryumi smiled. Ryumi watched her and smiled “Thank you. Now I can get to work. You needn‘t worry. I promise he will be okay.” she said as her hands began to glow bright white. She whispered a near silent prayer and closed her eyes. She held her palm open, feet away from the worst cut, and prayed again, now in a different language. Her palms began to glow a sea blue as the cut followed suit. She traced the cut with her hands as the skin began to completely heal. Keira watched them with wide eyed curiosity. What was she doing? Was this some kind of magic? Ryumi finished her work and landed softly upon Keira’s shoulder “Now Miss Keira, can you flip him over?” she asked. Keira nodded and did as she asked. His back was devoid of scars, a product of Ryumi’s spell. Ryumi leapt to his back and held her index finger to his the center of it. She whispered another spell as her finger began to glow black. She traced a large symbol on his back which was too blurred by the black light for Keira to make it out. When Ryumi finished, she smiled at Keira and looked to Ritzuko’s back. The light vanished as it revealed a large, uncolored rose drawing. Keira tilted her head and looked to Ryumi. “What is it?” she asked. Ryumi looked to her feet, her index fingers pressing together. She looked as if she were hiding a secret from her. She blushed and looked up to her, smiling “Well…..now you need to do one other thing…You need to lean Ritzuko into a sitting position.” she said quietly. Keira nodded as Ryumi watched them. Keira turned him over and held him in a sitting position, placing her hand on the rose mark, supporting his weight. Ryumi smiled and snapped her fingers. Ritzuko’s collar glowed softly , as a tiny, white thread of light shot from his collar to Keira’s neck. The thread retracted and pulled her to him. As she let out a tiny “Eeep!”, her lips met his. Her eyes went wide, then began to close as she felt a burst of warmth shoot through her. The rose, unseen to her, began to glow brightly, becoming a dark, rich red. Ryumi giggled and snapped her fingers again as the thread disappeared. Ritzuko fell backwards, taking her with him , as he began to breath softly. Keira’s eyes looked up to Ryumi in confusion. Ryumi smiled widely and looked down. “This is a spell that we guardian angels learn to bond two people as partners in life. You are now Ritzuko’s protector and he is yours. It’s known as the Rose Bond, which you can guess where the name is derived from.” she explained. Keira was amazed at her non-chalant attitude “What do you mean ‘protector’?” she asked., holding Ritzuko’s head close to her heart. Ryumi shook her head and smiled “You will see.” she whispered as she flew off into the sky. Keira yelled at the top of her lungs “Damn it! Are all you angels so ominous?”. She saw that Ryumi was long gone and looked down at Ritzuko, gently stroking his hair. “Man, my Mondays are so weird”

He was slowly awakening and, in a few seconds, he mewed and yawned. He looked around, curious of where he was and saw his master holding him. He looked into her eyes as his small hands rested on her chest. He smiled, showing his tiny fangs. “Master, where are we? Did we take a trip?” he asked in a tiny, innocent voice. His tail and ears were twitching in happiness as he smiled. She looked down and blushed a little. He’s so cute…Can he really be my age? And how can he forget what Yumi did to him? she thought. She hugged him tighter, her face showing her relief and sadness as she recalled watching Yumi and Ritzuko. She tried to smile as a tear fell down. “Yes Ritzuko. We just stepped out for a while” she said. He smiled and closed his eyes, letting out a tiny purr. “It is a beautiful day, Master Keira. I would like to stay here with you for a while, if it is okay.” he whispered. Keira’s eyes snapped open as her heart leapt. Her mind raced as she felt his body grow warmer against her chest. She smiled and looked down at him. “Yes, Ritzuko. We can even sleep here tonight if you wish.”


The town wasn’t that big. The streets were, however, full of people, mostly shoppers and business people. It was also a tightly packed town, only a few inches between the people as they seemed to move as one large mass. The closeness of the people blurred his sense of smell, causing him to lose his target. This no longer mattered now, as his mission had suddenly changed. These details ran through Ryura’s mind as he watched the crowd. His tall, muscular body was surprisingly slim and well concealed as he stood on the roof of one of the towns bank. His long, black hair was matted tightly to his shoulders as a short, thin, young wolf demon leapt across the roof tops of the town, unseen by the humans because of her speed. He watched her draw nearer until she was in front of him. She grinned and spoke with a tone he had known too well. It made her sound like she was a child opening a birthday present. “So, Ryura. Any idea of what we will need to do to track him down?” she said, her ears and tail standing upright. He looked down at her, his eyes a steel grey, showing his seriousness. “Yes. His scent is no longer here, but I sensed a burst of energy. It has to be angelic magic. If that is the case, tracking him will become a little more interesting. Additionally…” he began, stopping to look to the woods, which were far off to the west, at the edge of the town. Aura looked in the same direction and grinned wider, her fangs coming over her bottom lip. “Additionally, you sense a new life energy as well, correct, sensei?” she asked. His eyes popped open and he looked down in astonishment. He was amazed at her sense. It was a mark of her ability as a student and hunter, a position in which had made great progress, being his student of 10 years. He nodded “I’m surprised you sensed it so easily, but yes, there is another. Normally, we would just focus on our objective and leave others out of this, but when I sensed the second life, it was in extremely close proximity to him at the time I sensed the spell.” he said in a low monotone voice. Aura smiled and looked to her waist, fondling the grip of her rapier. Despite the trend of hunters carrying larger blades, as her sensei did, she preferred a lighter blade. This was not due to her strength, which far surpassed that of most hunters of either sex., but rather to her style of fighting. Her teacher had taught her that in battle, brute strength was not enough to defeat a skilled enemy if you could not strike fast enough before they reacted. She looked back to his eyes “Do you think we will have to fight him like the last one?” she asked in her cutest voice. The thought shot through Ryura’s mind and he came to his solution quickly: “Hopefully we will not have to spill blood, but we shall not hesitate if need be.”


Rollin walked down the hall, the house abuzz with rumors and questions of the previous events. A few of the slaves had begun to ask Rollin where the young miss and slave had disappeared to. He told each the same story: They were simply taking a walk in the woods and would return soon. Ren had kept Ray from realizing their absence using his normal method of distraction, calling a co-worker of Ray and asking him to make a mock office emergency. Ray had rushed out the door at the news and wouldn’t return for a while. Niania had been trying to clean the room in which Ritzuko had been, but the blood was deep in the carpet and sheets. She was worried about Ritzuko. He was really young and this kind of treatment must have taken a toll on his mind. Rollin stepped into the room as Niania stopped her scrubbing and let out a sigh of despair. “Ritzuko sure took a beating. What the hell was that woman’s problem? No one deserves this!” she said, pointing to a large puddle shaped stain on the floor. Ritzuko’s blood was everywhere, most of it still sprayed across the bed sheets. Rollin showed his disgust as he spoke in a hateful tone “It is unclear to me why she is even a human. Satan himself wouldn’t do that to one such as Ritzuko in their right mind. Then again, she is a slave trader and it is a routine part of the job. These people are taken, used by their ‘masters’ and thrown back into the system once the masters get tired of them. Many are used to do chores and errands, but Ritzuko is a special breed, so to speak. He is one of the few, unlucky ones who are destined by birth to be nothing more than mere toys. His body has known only the cruelties of lust. But…..Maybe Miss Keira will be able to change that. Maybe she can help him change destiny.”. Niania looked at Rollin and managed a day dream like smile “A young couple going against the tide and changing destiny? Rollin, you should write sometime.” she said, her smile changing to a grin. Rollin chuckled and nodded “Maybe, but now I want to focus on that Yumi character. Something about her just isn’t right.”

Yumi had left the house shortly after the panic had subsided. She had gone back into the room to discover Ritzuko had disappeared, the window open. She knew that Ritzuko could not have done that alone, as he had been too afraid and also because the chains were strong enough to restrain large beasts, let alone little Ritzuko. “Haru, don’t you find it strange that that Rollin character was the one who was closest to the fire alarm?” she asked as they barreled down the road leading to her home. She had chose to live far into the countryside, rather than in town. This gave her the privacy she loved so much when she kept Ritzuko, but now she would have to occupy herself with the other slaves. Haru looked in the rearview mirror and a smirk shot across his face. “I think it wasn’t a coincidence. After all, fire alarms don’t go off when there isn’t any smoke, and besides, he didn’t exactly hide his displeasure at what he was tasked with. It seems that Ritzuko has a little more protection than we thought.” Yumi nodded. “Your right. My poor little kitten, all alone in the woods with that girl. Who knows what she might do?” she whined, biting her nails and making a tiny squeal. Haru smiled and laughed. She was such a child in her mind, but she had a much more menacing side, which no one had ever seen……..and lived to tell.


Ritzuko had never seen a forest like this before. The trees, the flowers, all of the scenery flowed through his mind as he began to run around , climbing trees, playing on the few large boulder sized rocks that lay in the clearing, and watching the fish in the small stream. Keira watched him play as if he were a kitten. “It’s really wonderful master! I’ve never seen such a beautiful place!” he yelled in excitement, pouncing on a small grass hoper, which easily leapt clear of Ritzuko’s grasp. Keira giggled “Ritzuko, you are so cute when you act like a kitten!” she blurted out. She looked towards her home, which was still visible thanks to the elevation of the clearing, which was atop a small hill. She knew that Ren and Rollin, as well a Niania, would be worried if they did stay overnight in the forest. She stood and stretched as Ritzuko sat on the grass, tail swaying as a light wind blew. Keira walked to Ritzuko and held out her hand, closing her eyes and smiling “Let’s go home, Ritzuko. We can get a nice hot meal and a bath. Things at home should be less hectic now.” she said softly. Ritzuko grasped her arm and mewed “Yes master!”. As the two began to walk off, Keira remembered Ryumi’s words “ You will see.”