Kome refused to be carried so both he and Souten were trampling through the underbrush. Souten was not happy since he could fly above it and was getting scratched by the thorny brush for no other reason than Kome's stubbornness. Suddenly they heard something crashing through the brush about a half mile ahead of them and as one they ran toward the sound.

They could see something white lying on the ground but there were too many bushes and trees to make out what it was. They pushed their way through the overgrowth and emerged in a small clearing. On the farthest edge lay a white horse with his back towards them. They could see that his back leg was broken and bleeding badly.

The unicorn looked at the two Demons with defiance. If he were to meet his end here, then he would do so bravely. Kome knelt by the creature's head and held out his open hands, "We mean you no harm. We are Protectors of Otherworld and we will not hurt you. Can we look at your leg?"

The deep blue eyes of the unicorn stared into Kome's eyes and then into Souten's. He nodded slowly. They gently checked out the wounded leg. It was badly broken; the bone had pierced the skin and caused a lot of damage.

There was not much they could do, so Souten took to the air to bring help from the Village while Kome guarded the unicorn.

Souten quickly found the main road between the Village and the Castle and sped along it. He had traveled only about an hour when he encountered Miroku and Kenshin with Miroku's daughters. Healer daughters! He landed in front of them and told them the news. A unicorn!! Miroku was very excited and told Hiten to carry Rin, the more experienced of the two, to the unicorn and they would follow after. Souten gave told them the directions and said he would return as soon as he left Rin with Kome and the unicorn. Then he picked her up and swiftly flew away.

Kome sat next to the unicorn feeling very helpless. The unicorn's eyes were now glazed from pain and the bleeding refused to stop. Kome wished there was something he could do and made a mental note to at least learn something about healing when he returned home. Suddenly he sensed the arrival of Souten. The young Thunder Demon arrived with Rin in his arms. Souten put her down and flew off to guide Kenshin, Miroku and Mirago.

Once on the ground, Rin immediately went to the unicorn. He was so beautiful, pure white with a long full mane and a long, long tail. His blue eyes were full of depth. She touched his muzzle gently. "I cannot help you in this form. Can you change?"

The unicorn looked at her, then nodded, and closed his eyes. The creature began to shimmer, soft golden light poured from it as its body began to change. It gave a sharp neigh of pain than turned into a scream. A man's scream. Where once lay a unicorn, now there was a pale man.  

When Kome returned, they pulled the leg straight and then set it. The man fainted from the pain and Rin was grateful for that. He had been through so much already. She heated the water to make her poultice while Kome when to get straight branches for a splint. By the time they finished putting on the poultice and the splint, the group had arrived.

Miroku was disappointed that the unicorn was in man shape and no longer looked like the mythical creature. Kenshin cut down larger branches with his sword to make a stretcher to carry the unicorn. They would take him immediately to the Castle; this creature was too valuable to take any chances with. But it was getting dark so they settled in for the night, setting two guards to watch at all times. They weren't sure if the unicorn had been attacked or had just fallen, but they didn't want to take any chances.

They walked the rest of the day and at dusk; the Castle's towers could finally be seen. Souten was torn between rushing off to the Castle to get help and staying to guard their treasure. He opted for staying. Two hours later, they reached the Castle's gates. When they heard about the unicorn, everyone rushed out to help. Princess Aara guided them to a bedroom close to her own and they carefully put him to bed, drawing the warm covers around him. Kaiba came down to see the man and, after examining the splint and the poultice, commended Rin on her excellent work. She blushed at the compliment.

"A unicorn! I didn't know any still existed!" Kurama exclaimed, looking at the sleeping man. "They have long been hunted by Demons. I wonder if he is alone or there is more of his kind."

"Let's leave him to rest. Kaiba will watch over him tonight." Aara said as she ushered everyone but Kaiba out of the room.

Aara went to her room to undress and put on her sleeping gown, kissing Vash when he entered the room to get ready for bed. "I'll be back shortly," she promised. "I just want to check on them." Then she went to Kurama's new room. 

Since she rebound them, she had changed their rooms to her wing of the Castle and things were still strewn all over. She carefully walked through the clutter to his bed. Kurama was sleeping quietly. She straightened his covers and kissed his forehead. Then she went to check on Hiei and InuYasha. For once Hiei was not in a tangled ball, but sleeping quietly and still covered. InuYasha was also sleeping peacefully and she stood there watching him, his silver hair shining in the moonlight. She had missed them so much! And she still had Vash! She quietly closed InuYasha's door, stopped to check in on their guest -- Kaiba nodded that he was okay -- and then went to her own room where Vash waited. Once again the golden light flowed from their bodies as they made love. They had learned how to control the glow many years ago, but tonight her happiness flowed out and lit up their room.

Before first light, Rin went to the unicorn's room. Kaiba asked that she send for him when the man awoke so they could change his bandages and put on a more stable splint made of metal. Then he left the man to her care and went to his tower to sleep.

He was so beautiful! As both a man and a unicorn. His long hair was blond, but so pale it was almost white and his skin seemed like pure alabaster it was so fair. And those eyes! A person could easily drown in those blue eyes. Rin took his hand, tracing his long, slender fingers.

She was still holding his hand when he woke an hour later and she quickly let go, blushing. He smiled at her. "Lady, I thank you for all you have done for me. Where did you take me?"

"To the Castle in Otherworld. The home of Princess Aara, the Protector of Otherworld. Have you heard of it?"

"Yes, I have."

She rang the bell pull to send for Kaiba. "Are you thirsty?" He nodded and she gave him cool water to drink. "I am Rin. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Keiki."

Kaiba entered the room at that moment and Rin introduced the healer mage to Keiki. Together they changed his bandages and put on a metal splint. His leg was healing well, but it would take a long time for the badly broken bones to knit. Kaiba sent for some soup for him. Keiki quietly told them that he ate only plants, no meat. A broth was made from vegetables and tofu and brought to him. Rin put pillows behind Keiki to prop him up so that he could eat. While he was eating, visitors began to come into the room. The first was the Princess and Kurama.

Keiki could sense that the woman was neither human nor Demon but something else. But he also sensed the goodness in her. The human with her was not truly a human but a Demon in a human's body. Keiki's senses were far greater than even a Demon's. Princess Aara asked both Kaiba and Rin to leave them alone with Keiki.

"As you know I am the Protector of Otherworld," Aara began, "and Kurama is the head of the Protectors and my first male. We want you to know that no harm will befall you while you are here in this Castle. And we wish to offer you and any of your kind a permanent home here."

"Thank you, Princess. For a unicorn, the world is perilous. It will be nice to have a safe haven while I heal."

Keiki looked at the Demon turned human and answered cautiously, "Please understand that we have been hunted since time began by Demons. You want to put us in an enclosed area under the control of Demons. You are asking a lot of us. I doubt that the others would be willing to take that chance."

"Yes, I know who you mean." Keiki remained silent for a minute, and then said, "I need more time to get to know you. Not you, Princess, but the Demons around you."

"I can open their feelings to you with my power. Would that help?" Aara asked.

"I can sense their feelings also and that is the only reason I am even entertaining the idea at all. My power is nothing like yours, but it is enough to know their hearts."

"As you wish. But I insist that you stay here until you are healed and can travel on that leg. And right now, you need rest." She stood up to leave him, "Please know that we truly want to help you."

He nodded and settled into the pillows, soon falling fast asleep. Rin returned when the Princess left and she sat there all day watching him sleep.

The fox Demon looked up and motioned them to chairs. "I have heard some very good things about you both." Both of the boys relaxed visibly.

Kurama continued, "And yesterday you saved a unicorn, guarding him with your life and going for help. I have heard nothing but good things about you both, and because of those reports, these are for you." He took out two small velvet boxes from his pocket and slid one to each boy. They opened the boxes and almost jumped for joy when they saw the contents. Inside each box were two crystal shards. "Put them on. You've earned them."

Souten put his on his forehead like his father wore his, and Kouga put one on each shin. Now he could run as fast as his father! They thanked Kurama profusely and turned to leave. Suddenly, Kome felt a strange pull. He looked at Kurama. "I feel weird, but I'm not sure why." He sat down heavily and Kurama went to the young Demon. It was obviously a reaction to the shards but why? No one else had reacted negatively before -- all the shards did was augment your own power. Kurama suddenly had an idea. He took Souten aside and whispered instructions to the Demon. Souten nodded and left the room. After a few minutes, Kurama asked Kome to tell him where Souten was.

"How can I do that?" he asked, and then suddenly he sensed two shards! They were in the library to the west. He pointed in that direction and Kurama nodded. He went to the door and called Souten back.

"I forgot the other power of the shards. They can bring our any latent powers you might have. It seems that you have inherited your mother's power -- you can sense the shards. You are now absolutely invaluable to us!"

Later that afternoon, Souten went to his meeting with Princess Vara, which was in her new room. She had decided that she no longer wanted to share a room with Ashara, and moved to a room in the East wing of the Castle. The Castle was shaped like a square with a courtyard in the middle. The mages' towers rose from the North and South wings at the corners. Her mother now lived in the North wing, leaving the South wing to Ashara, while Yukina and Toya lived in the West wing.

Souten knocked on the door and walked in when Vara answered. The young Princess was sitting in a comfortable chair in front of the fireplace. She motioned to a chair across from her and Souten sat in it.

"Congratulations on receiving your shards." she began. Souten thanked her, and then sat there waiting. Perhaps she had a mission for him. Now that he was a full-fledged Protector with shards of his own, he could probably expect things like this all the time.

Souten leaned forward, unable to keep a smile off his face. He was going to be sent to bring a Demon to her. Maybe he would get to go into Demon World! He wondered if Kome could go with him.

He almost fell off the chair. What? She wants to bind me?

"You are a Thunder Demon and a very powerful one at that. Hiten says that your powers surpass his own when he was your age."

His father never told him that! He didn't know what to say. Was she telling him that she was going to bind him or was she giving him a choice? Did he want to become one of her males? Her first male! He would be the equivalent of Kurama. A million thoughts rushed through his mind.

"Please think about it and let me know. I will not force anyone to me. Any male that I bind will give himself freely."

Souten stood and bowed to her, "You honor me and I will give it much thought." Then he turned and left her room. And almost ran to the room he shared with Kome. He breathlessly told Kome what had just transpired. Kome was equally amazed by the turn of events. What a day this had become! He now had the power to sense the shards and Souten could become first male to Princess Vara. Neither boy got much sleep that night. Souten wished his father was here so he could ask his advice. He had no feelings for the Princess but he knew that the binding would take care of that. Once bound, he would belong to the Princess heart and soul. He was torn between wanting to be Princess Vara's first male and being free.