Dance with the Devil

Summary: When Kagome finds a little boy marred with bruises and clothes stained with blood, she carries him back to camp. He seems nice enough, but is what she sees before her the truth...or is there something darker, hidden behind those chocolate mocha eyes?

Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Shaman King

Pairing: Kagome/Hao (In much, much, much later chapters.)

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Angst

Rated: M for Mature

A/N: Unlike Playing with Fire: Chained, this won't go through the tournament. Sorry folks! But, I hope you like it all the same! Take's place mostly in his past, but the last six or seven chapters will be in the future, with the occasional, Kagome returns home for some good, R&R and restocking supplies. Also, it won't follow the timeline of Shaman King much.)

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Chapter One

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'Stupid Inuyasha!' She glared harshly at anything that made way into her direct path, though, not as intimidating as Sesshoumaru or Inuyasha...well, not intimidating at all really. Shippou looked scarier when he was angry, mind you, she wasn't angry, she was upset, and that meant that she'd go back, apologize and the argument from earlier would be forgotten...yes, upset meant to later forget.

Sighing, Kagome walked over a moderately small hill, placing her bag against a tree; she walked up to the luke warm water, a slight chill caused by the fact that it was an outdoor spring, rather than an indoor tub filled with running water that had hot and cold settings. Yes, life on a primitive standing made her yearn for a hot tub, but...she wanted a bath still, and she wasn't one to be greedy. Slipping out of her undergarments and school uniform, she stepped into the water until it was up to her waist, her teeth chattering as she tried in vain to get used to the waters temperature. It wasn't even the water that was cold; it was the wind that was blowing while she was clearly dowsed in water that caused the chill to run up her spine.

"Maybe I should have waited..." She groaned, then frowning, she shook her head before dunking it back and soaking her hair, she wouldn't let a little cold air keep her from freshening up and feeling clean.

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It was about an hour later when Kagome started to make her way back to her friends, her hair was still damp after sitting out and stubbornly choosing not to return until she deemed she'd been gone long enough. Yes, she was waiting for at least an hour to pass by, and when it did, she stood up, gave her hair one final twist to rid it of residual water, then left back up the small hill and down the path she'd chosen to take to the onsen.

...well, that was the idea, she had been distracted, her attention diverted, and too easily had she turned another direction at the curious plea for help that she had heard off in the distance. She had started to run at the small voice, sounding light in laughter, but lost at the same time. It was weird, she couldn't explain it...but the words she'd heard...

"It's okay to be alone...I need no one..."

Truthfully, it had sounded like a whisper in her ear, so having heard it at all, she was surprised, but her heart had pulled, and her head turned, with an aching soul that called out for the owner of that frail voice, Kagome ran.

And then...she stopped...she wasn't sure why she was running so far away, so desperately in the middle of the woods, tearing up her clothes as they caught the vicious tips of branches and such, even almost tripping on a stone in her haste to get to wherever it was she was going. And upon arrival, atop a boulder, she saw a boy.

"Morning sun...morning sun...come my way,

come my way,

come my way,

come my way..."

Kagome moved closer and stared at the boy, he was adorable, and in his soft voice, she could hear his loneliness...so sad, it was what had called out to her. But he was so soft spoken, even as he sat there singing his tune in a voice similar to that of a Native America Indian or someone related to a culture similar to that of a Native American Indian.

"Take my pain,

take my pain,

take my pain,

take my pain..."

He sang his soul out and let all that he had shine, and shine it did. She walked a little closer, but kept herself at a distance, treating him as if he were a fox, or a wolf...perhaps. As she took in the sight of his tattered, blood stained haori, she couldn't help but feel a maternal need to protect the child.

"Down below,

down below,

down below

down below..."

Yes, a wolf, kind when treated with care, and befriended, nurtured and loved, but deadly, dangerous and vicious if startled or made uncomfortable. This child was a wolf...and she was sure, the darkness that surrounded him, which she could feel wafting off of him, could swallow her whole if she wasn't careful.

"Cool waters, down below..."

It was quiet for a moment, and Kagome wondered if maybe he was done when he suddenly jumped off the boulder and turned around, looking her square in the eyes as she stood there, lost in the child's flaming mocha brown orbs.

"Morning sun, morning sun, I thank you, I thank you..." He smiled, "Hello, morning sun."

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Inuyasha scoffed irritably, pacing the area as Sango and Miroku, who sat beneath a tall birch tree, paid him no attention. Shippou was playing with his top, laughing as Kirara would jump about in an attempt to catch it or attack it, but every time her paw touched the spinning top, she would jump back in sudden surprise.

"Where the hell is she?"

"..." Sango spared the upset hanyou a sideways glance before going back to basking.

Miroku smiled, "settle down Inuyasha, you upset her, and where does she usually go when she's upset?"

"...keh," He slumped down in his normal manner of sitting, a pout firmly on his face.

"Actually, if you are assuming she just goes to the springs when she's upset, you're wrong." Shippou decided to add his 'two cents' as Kagome had once called the action. "She goes home a lot too."

Miroku sighed as Inuyasha once more began growling, huffing and pacing. "I'd been trying to avoid that branch of thought," Shaking his head, he stood and made his way over to his doggish friend, "Come now Inuyasha, she wasn't that mad,"

"She's been gone since before we woke up! She must have gone to sleep angry and woken up even angrier!" He growled, "Damn it, I'm gonna go bring her back!" He took off into a run and was gone before Miroku could say anything else.

"Let him do as he pleases, Hoshi, it's not like we ever stop him anyways." Sango finally said.

"Yes, I do suppose your right," He sat back down and waited for either Inuyasha or Kagome to return, wondering who would make it back first.

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"...Morning...sun?"

A childishly sweet smile drew her closer and closer until she stood but a foot away from the boy. Taking in his looks, the long brown hair that danced with the wind around his waist, his deep mocha brown eyes which had only a few moments ago captivated her and rendered her speechless, and then...his sun toned skin, which made her fall back on the Indian theory, only, a little lighter, just a little...he stood just to her waist, and was absolutely adorable...beyond words, he was simply precious; yet still, that darkness lingered around him, over him, and inside him...and slowly, but surly, she could feel it surrounding and enclosing around her.

"Yes, you came for me, right?" he smiled ever so innocently; a darkness was hidden in that smile, one she couldn't detect yet. "You'll take me away from the people who want to hurt me, right?"

She couldn't say no, whether it was really a force that caused her to drop to her knee's before the boy, or her own weak heart, she would never know, all that she knew was that she was now staring at the boy at eye level. "Trying to hurt you?"

"Their not right," he pointed to his head, "here."

"Why?"

He stared at her, his eyes narrowed, but his charming, innocent smile, never once faltered. "They want the world to be polluted, and destroyed...they are helping horrible monsters tear down the forests, and are feeding them the animals of this earth. These monsters kill for no reason but to kill, and they take, for no reason other than to take...lives, innocence, choices...they just keep taking and taking...and the people who want to hurt me, are keeping these monsters alive. I don't like the monsters that they let roam this beautiful land, which is exactly why they want me dead." He held his hand out, watching her carefully as she reached out and took it. His hand was so small in comparison to hers, just a child's hand. "Won't you keep me safe...won't you save me...Morning Sun?" His smile grew only slightly as he spoke the name he'd given her and his eyes closed in a sign of trust, no longer watching her in caution, but listening with alertness.

Kagome pulled the boy forward, which seemed to have taken him off guard as he stumbled a bit only to be caught in a gentle, warm and heartfelt embrace. She didn't care about the darkness surrounding the child. His words, though possibly twisted around, were genuine. He wanted her to take him with her, to save him, and so...she would do it took to help him, no matter what.

"What is you name, little one?"

"..." Regaining a semblance of his earlier structure, he smiled, "Hao, Hao Asakura..."

"My name is Kagome, Kagome Higurashi." Pulling back a little, she smiled, "You can come with me, Hao, and I will protect you, from everyone, and everything...no matter what the cost may be." Kagome stood and lifted the child, who stared in wonder at her, into her arms.

Finally, he looked her directly in the eyes, deep blue reflected his own mirror image back at him, like looking into a pool of cool and refreshing water, 'No matter what the cost...' he smiled, "Thank you...Kagome..."

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Shippou sighed, he was tired of doing nothing, ready to take a nap, he suddenly caught the sweet waft of nature and something else he wasn't sure of on the wind. "Kagome's back!" he cried out, "...but she's not alone..."

Miroku and Sango frowned, standing up and readying their weapons, they watched curiously as Shippou sniffed, then pointed in the direction that she was coming from. Not even a minute later did she appear, carrying a little tribal boy that none had seen before,

"Lady Kagome," Miroku stepped forward but stopped at the sudden cold feeling that had draped over him, like a cold chill of nothing had run down his spine. "W-who is this?"

"Hao, his name is Hao, and he has asked to come with me. I've promised to take care of him, since he has asked me to." Kagome smiled, "Please, trust in me, Miroku, I know what I'm doing."

She placed the bloodstained child down and he watched as the little boy stepped forward and smiled a pleasant grin, polite in his mannerisms, he looked Miroku in the eyes, and for a moment, he looked honestly happy to see the man, "It is a pleasure to meet you!" He said cheerfully.

Miroku frowned, he could sense no falseness or lies behind the boys words, he was truly thrilled about meeting him. "The same, my name is Miroku."

"I am Sango,"

Miroku felt it again, the sudden chill, the darkness that seemed to have followed Kagome and the boy to their camp, it was their, lingering like a snake in the shadows, ready to strike at any given moment, waiting to make it's move, to go for the kill.

"I'm Shippou!" Shippou had clearly decided to throw caution to the wind as he shuffled forward and stopped before the boy, "Do you want to be friends?"

The child stiffened at the word, as if it was something horrible, as if the word friend could harm him. Kagome's hand tightened ever so slightly around his and he relaxed, smiling carefully back at Shippou, he nodded. "Yeah..." But it was a lie. Miroku could feel it clearer than anything he'd ever felt before. The child wanted no friends, he wanted Kagome, that was true enough, but friends were not in that equation, he had clearly no need for them, no want for them, and no pleasant thoughts concerning them. Miroku honestly was worried, not for them, but for Kagome. Clearly, the boy would only kill them, but for what reason, did he want Kagome...that he would put up with people he didn't wish to be around. He had enough power to kill them all, he could feel that from afar, but why not get it over with? Why wait? Why did he want Kagome? Was he after the Jewel too? Or...was it something else?

Miroku closed his eyes and sighed, 'I hope you know what your doing, Lady Kagome...'

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Me: First Chapter of Dance with the Devil, I hope you guys liked it! Please, tell me what you think in a review or PM! LOVE YOU GUYS!