Of Death and Demons

Chapter 23- Courage And Family

"Test of courage?" I questioned.

"It's like a game." Rin explained. "You go to a 'scary' place and complete a task. You come back and that's it."

"These woods are notorious for being haunted by ghosts. There's a ton of people who say they see ghosts every year. Our task is to find the river and bring back a stone. We'll go in teams of three." Sanjirou said.

"Okay, Rin, Sanjirou and I are one team. Ratio, Haruki, and Rokura, Reika, Izumi, and Harumi, and Katsu, Kazuma, and Inari. Sound good?" I asked.

Everyone nodded. I was worried about Rokura but he should be okay with Ratio and Haruki. Both were great fighters and really nice to Rokura. But there was something I was worried about. Even though I was a demon, I was afraid of ghosts. It's hard to let go of childhood fears.

Of course, because I picked the teams, we went first. The woods were very dark, thankfully the moon was out giving us some light. Rin and Sanjirou walked slightly ahead of me. I slowed down to look around at the trees. I was trying to feel the area, hoping to detect any demonic energy. I felt none. I looked back but Rin and Sanjirou were gone.

"Rin?! Sanjirou?!"

I turned in circles, seeing nothing but trees. Now I was lost as well. All the trees looked the same in the dark. A twig snapped to my left, causing me to jump and yelp in surprise. Damn it, I don't have my sword with me. I stepped back but tripped on a big root. Something grabbed my shoulder and I screamed.

Rin was behind me, his eyes wide. Tears started forming in the corners of my eyes. I threw myself onto Rin, relived. He held me tight, rubbing my back to calm me.

"I'm so sorry." Rin said quietly.

"Rin. I got lost and I...I was so scared." I sobbed.

"I didn't know my litle demon princess was afraid of ghosts." Rin teased me, trying to cheer me up.

I giggled and wiped my eyes. Rin kissed the corners of my eyes, smiling gently. He put me on his back again and went into the bushes, where Sanjirou was standing. I noted how Sanjirou looked unhappy that Rin found me first. We found the river and took a stone back to the others. Everyone else went with less incident.

We ended the night around a campfire, laughing and telling jokes. I stood up going to get more drinks but Sanjirou stood too.

"Is everything okay, Sanjirou?" I asked.

"Yes. Please know I am sorry about this." he said.

He pulled a sword out of nowhere and pointed it at my heart. In this position, before anyone could do anything, I'd be dead. I merely started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Sanjirou demanded, clearly unnerved.

"Because you're so stupid. You thought I didn't know what you were? How could I not when you're giving off so much demonic energy? You may be able to hide from the others but you can't hide from me. Even Rokura could tell. You wanted to get close to me before you took me, didn't you? Brother."

Everyone's eyes widen in shock. I stared at Sanjirou calmly. He was the third son of Satan and my older brother. He severly underestimated me if he thought this would take me down. I knew he was here under order, which meant he couldn't hurt me.

I grabbed his sword and pulled, sending it into my shoulder. I winced in pain, a trickle of blood already forming in the corner of my mouth. Reika gasped and covered her mouth, her and everyone else's eyes even wider. I couldn't look at Rin, his pain filled face would make this harder.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Damn it, I'm going to be blamed for killing my sister. Father is going to kill me." Sanjirou paniced.

"You're just like father. But...you called me 'sister'. Why?"