If you give C&C, More will come.

    The small chime in the window made it's soft musical sound as inside his room Ushio slept sprawled out on his futon and exhausted from the fight that day. His beloved spear lay a hands breath away from him, too far. Farther than he'd ever allowed himself from it. There was one who would make use of the distance.

    A shadowy figure began to materialize next to the sleeping boy warrior and soon the transparent form solidified and a monster the size of two large lions looked down on him with a large and toothy grin. //Stupid human. Very stupid.// Tora's blue eyes narrowed menecingly, //I told you I would eat you as soon as you left the spear away from you.//

    He reared back his razor claws and chuckled low croutching over the young form. One quick swipe and. . . The claws never found their mark. Tora's narrowed eyes widened slightly. No longer menacing but confused. upon the boy were swatches of stark white against his bronze countanance. Bandages from the piercing arrows the hunter had been aiming at Tora. Ushio had stepped into the line of fire. He had taken the hits so that they would spare the monster who had done nothing but hurt and mock him.

    Tora growled at the human who possessed the power to enslave him again. But then his eyes narrowed in consentration. Something was slipping from the boy's mouth. A bug? The cat like thing crept down to look closer. That's when the stench hit him. Rot and incect eggs and dry, stale blood. Before his eyes the truth was revealed. //No!// "Ushio! Ushio! Ningen no baka! Wake up! USHIO!!!"

    The monster king jumped from his perch on the roof and fell hard to the growned. "Itai. He paused and thought of what he'd seen. "Ushio!"

    The window was open like always and he almost fell inside to discover the human sleeping soundly. //He's alive. Just a dream. Why the Hell did it disturb me?! I WANT to kill him!// "Stupid human. Your face looks so rediculous when you sleep. You don't seem worth killing tonight."

    He growled, but he knew in his heart that he didn't want to kill this human any longer. No, Ushio had taken pain for him, could have died for him, and the hunter hadn't understood why Tora didn't run when the man/child fell to the blades. But Tora knew. //When did you stop being food, and start being a friend?// He ran a carefull claw over the short hair that spiked onto the tan forehead. //When did I begin to care about if you lived or died?//

    Ushio murmered something in his sleep and turned onto his side and Tora vanished but kept watch from afar. There was something about the boy who slept there in that room full of creations and fantasy. Something that no one had possessed before. Something that made Tora long to possess him in a wholely different way than before.

    "Tora."

    The yellow/orange beast froze and his eyes widened as far as they could. "You dream of me human? Of your demon pet?"

    "Tora. . . don't hurt Tora. . . he's . . . no. . . he's mine."

    //Yours? Am I?// The beast frowned slightly and then lept out the window to search the grounds for danger. //I will still eat you one day Ushio human.//

    In his room Ushio tossed on the bed and whimpered in a way that was totally un painfull and arched into a phantom touch. "Please."

________________________

    The next morning, Ushio looked very pleased and more awake than ever before. He wrapped his spear with a cheerfull whistle and almost ran downstairs. "Ohayo Tora."

    "What're you so cheery about?" He mumbled in his usual disinterested tone.

    "I had a good night is all. Haven't slept that well in a long time."

    "Baka."

    He didn't stop smiling, didn't even hit the large beast as it rested on his shoulders. Tora glowered. This was unnatural for Ushio so early in the morning. Something was different in the boy's scent. He didn't like the implications of it, even if he couldn't place them.

    "What did you dream of ningan?"

    "I can't remember but I woke up feeling great!"

    The God of monsters remembered his name on the human's lips and said nothing. Nothing could come of these stupid protective feelings he was getting. This went way beyond protecting his meal, but the human didn't need to know what kind of hold he had over him.

~tbc?~