Chapter Eleven: Tempting:

He wants to devour her. This isn't good tonight, but he has his reasons. Love and desire are a couple of them, but not the main ones. He's curious tonight. Kitsune's most common way of feeding was through sex. Tsuzuki had heard the stories many times. A kitsune takes the form of a beautiful woman and seduces a lover into bed. Sometimes, it would be a serial thing. Other times, love followed with one source. Even marriage played into the scenario. However, that element never ended well.

Tsuzuki looked down the hall. A kitsune feeding off a shinigami, huh? Was that even possible? Almost all of a kitsune's targets were human. A shinigami would be a first. Tsuzuki shook head. Why am I thinking like that? The results aren't even in yet. So, it might be nothing. He frowned as that faith didn't last long. He just couldn't help but wonder�

He walked down the hall.

"Anna?" Tsuzuki whispered as he peeked into the room. "You asleep yet?"

"No," his wife replied. The shinigami leapt back with a small gasp.

"It's fine," Anna said. "Come in." Tsuzuki didn't move at first. Maybe this truly was a bad idea. He should just stop now, stop and go to bed. Anna was looking in the drawer for her pajamas when a pair of strong arms embraced her waist. She jumped with a frozen spine.

"Asato-kun?" she asked as she looked behind her. Tsuzuki rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I have to know," he whispered.

"Asato-kun�" Anna murmured.

"Please."

"But�"

He moved her hair and planted a small kiss on her nape. "I have to know tonight."

Anna breathed in slowly. "You could more damage to yourself."

"But I want to get this mystery out of my head. So, please, let me see for myself." He kissed her on the nape.

Anna drew her eyes closed. "I can't."

"But, please."

She shook her head. "I don't want to hurt you."

"But have to know."

"Stop," Anna whispered. He wouldn't let go. His curiosity and lust overpowered his logic. Her words couldn't reach him.

"I can't," he said. "So, just please�" The shinigami kissed her on the nape again. This time, he lingered on for ten seconds. Anna shut her eyes and tried to fight off her own hunger. She needed to stay strong and turn him down gently. Turn him down and go to bed. Why isn't she doing that? Anna swallowed hard.

"You promise I won't hurt you?" she asked.

"I won't know until we see," he murmured as his hands moved to her shirt. All resistance broke in Anna's mind. Her husband pinned her up against the wall. The hungry light in her eyes lured him deeper into his own fire.

"I thank you," he said with his head bowed. Tsuzuki kissed her on the lips. Anna took him in her own bewildered lust. She needed to stop him before it got out of hand, but the words were completely lost when he pushed his tongue into her mouth. His fingers tangled themselves into her red-brown locks. This could be potentially dangerous for him, but he doesn't want to turn away. Maybe, the Mother already has him hooked. Maybe, he's tempting his own ruin, might be both.

His mouth slid down to her neck. Small moans escaped from her lips. She held him with all of her might. His hands clutched her shirt and worked to slide if off. She tried to handle his hands on her body. The heat made her head swim as her nails dug into his nape once her shirt hit the floor. Tsuzuki's hands moved down to Anna's hips. She trembled his fingertips crawled up her thighs under her skirt. The warmth of her skin made his heart flutter. He broke off the kiss to breathe. His fingertips found her panties. Tsuzuki looked deep into her eyes. This wasn't really about carnal pleasure tonight, but the costume of this experiment became too convincing. This turned into dangerous game. Stopping wasn't an option anymore, however. He just had to see this experiment though. Tsuzuki inched his wife's panties downwards. Her deep breaths made his heart jump. Despite his appetite, he still had some gentleman in him.

"I can stop if you want," he offered. Anna could barely form words in her head as she quickly shook her head. Tsuzuki eyed her.

"No?" he asked.

"Don't stop!" she breathed. The shinigami smiled.

"Heh," he said. "How can I deny an angel's request?" He kissed her on the forehead. Anna's panties ended up discarded in the corner. Tsuzuki stepped back and undid his trousers. His violet eyes didn't reveal his thoughts to her. The fear and excitement of this overpowered his wife. Her racing heart told her to ride along until it ended. Tsuzuki embraced her hips and lifted her legs. The sudden movement made Anna gasp. He smirked at the part coming next.

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The rains reached the deep forest. A man walked along the spongy moss to guide his way home. Nightfall began to set and all of the game rested for the next day. He didn't have much luck on the hurt today. The man only caught three small birds. He looked at his kill.

This won't be enough for dinner, I thought. The fishing didn't do well either. He sighed and looked at the dim sky. What do I do now? The heavy rains hit his face. He stopped in his tracks when a low moan caught his ears. The man's eyes scanned the dense bamboo.

"Hello?" he asked. The moaning got louder the next time he heard it. The hunter took slower steps towards the direction that the sound came it. He kept his spear and bow close to his side.

"Come out!" he called. "I'm armed and I'm really strong!" The moaning led him to a clearing in the woods. He put up his spear to attack, but stopped in his tracks. A woman lay in the dirt in the pouring rain. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Her long red-brown hair tangled with mud. The downpour soaked her sheer white kimono through and through. Blood splattered her face and sleeve. The hunter rushed to her aid.

"Are you alright?" he asked. The woman stared at him with a blank face. The hunter found himself lost with her. He debated whether to help her or not.

"Excuse me," he said. "You're not hurt or anything, are you?" The woman didn�t speak, blinking. Maybe she couldn't speak or understand him? The hunter took slow steps towards her.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't hurt you. I just want to help. Could you please tell me your name?" His hand reached out to touch the maiden. He came within inches of her shoulder when her eyes widened with alarm.

"Wait," the man said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to�" The woman got up and ran away before he could finish.

"Hey!" the hunter yelled. "Come back!" He gave way to the chase. The run further into the woods yielded nothing. The man looked around with his hands on his hips.

Damn, he thought. Now where did she go? That woman couldn't have gotten far, could she? A splash caught his ears this time. The hunter turned and found a lake a few feet from where he stood. Another woman lay halfway in the murky water. The heavy, warm rain dumped itself on her naked body. She looked to be sound asleep where she lay. Concerned for her, the hunter hurried over to the woman.

"You can't sleep out here!" he called. "Hey! Are you trying to drown out in this rain? Hey! Hey!" The man just about reached out to her when he heard a rustling sound. He jerked his head and looked around. A woman in the form of his wife stood among the bamboo. Heavy rains poured down on her hazy pink and blue wedding dress. The veil did little to conceal her made-up face. The hunter stepped forward, tilted his head.

"Dear?" he asked. "What are you doing here? Where are the children?" The woman's dim eyes stayed on him as she said nothing. She vanished through the bamboo.

"Wait!" the hunter yelled as he ran after his "wife." He didn't exactly comprehend how and when, but by end of a fruitless chase, the man found himself back at his home by sunrise.

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Tsuzuki looked up at his wife. The clouded lust in her eyes gave way to exhaustion. He gently brushed some bangs from her eyes.

"You alright?" he asked. Tsuzuki didn't let her answer as lay there. He dressed her in her pajamas and put her to bed. He didn't have his answer just yet. The shinigami would have to talk to Watari when he got the results back.