The General's Daughter

Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream

Pairing: Sesshoumaru x OC

A Quick Note:

- MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

- I hope ya'll enjoy!

- Please Review!

Behind the Names:

Kaori - Smell, Perfume, Fragrance

Daisuke - Great Help

Hayato - Falcon Person

Saburo - Third Son

Hayate - Smooth

Hideyoshi - Esteem or Excellence with Good Luck

Takeshi - Military, Warrior

Yuki - Happiness or Snow

Disclaimer:

I don't own Inuyasha or the characters but Kaori, Daisuke, Hayato, Saburo, Hayate, Hideyoshi, Takeshi, and Yuki belong to me!

The General's Daughter

Chapter 1 - Enter Kaori, The General's Daughter

"What's going on, Daisuke?" a white-silver-haired woman asked her guard as she peered out of a private room in the western palace. Outside her calm and peaceful room, chaos could be heard. Screaming, crying, people scrambling about...it was like nothing she had ever seen before.

"Get back in your room," the young man ushered, his plum eyes wide as he tried to force her back into the room. "We're being invaded."

"What?" The woman asked, her bright blue-violet eyes widening in shock. The palace itself was more of a fortress than a palace and it was built with defense in mind- the ocean laid behind it and mountains to either side; it was nearly impenitrible. The only way one could try to invade was from the front and it was always heavily guarded... "Who's attempting to invade? Don't they know that this place belongs to Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Some powerful hanyou," Daisuke frowned as he ran a hand through his short dark purple hair. He had a small bit in the back that was long, the hair tied back into a small ponytail at the base of his skull, the bound hair dancing down to his thighs. "And apparently he knows...he also knows that Sesshoumaru-sama is not here..."

"Cowardly fool!" she snapped. "The audacity! I'll teach him a thing or two..."

"No, milady, you can't!" Daisuke fruitlessly tried to stop her from slipping out of her room and into the chaos that the castle had errupted into. "Kaori-sama!" She stopped briefly, his hand caught on her arm as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"I'm the general's daughter, Daisuke, I've got to do something," Kaori replied, his grip not letting up.

"That may be...," he responded softly, his eyes filled with fear. "But you're also heavy with Sesshoumaru-sama's child. I can't allow you join in this fight." She paused again.

"I'm sorry, Daisuke...," Kaori surprised him, her tone contrite. He slowly released her arm, thinking she was about to cooperate. "Please forgive me!" In a move that shocked him, Kaori slammed her fist into his nose and he was sent reeling backwards. Kaori then turned on her heel and headed deep into the crowded halls of the palace.

"Sesshoumaru-sama is going to kill me!" Daisuke groaned as he sat up and put a hand around his newly broken and heavily bleeding nose. He had lost sight of Kaori...he was going to die...

Kaori pressed through the masses of the castle, her ears ringing with all of the noisy havoc around her. There were too many civillian youkai servants here, many unaccustomed to fighting. They were panicking and running around in a similar manner as a chicken with its head cut off. At least beheaded chickens were quiet. This...was ridiculous.

"Dammit...where are you, father?" Kaori hissed as she slammed open the door to the war room. It was empty. If he wasn't there... "He's fighting. With that leg injury of his...he won't last long." Cursing colorfully under her breath, Kaori fought her way to the nearest empty guest room. Sliding the door shut behind her, she made her way swiftly to the window, shattering the glass when she leapt through it. Kaori easily pulled a layer of youki up around her body so that the glass shards didn't touch her. An added bonus was that she got to use her youki to cushion her landing, too- she'd jumped from a room on the third floor. Though Kaori's ears still lightly buzzed from the sounds of panicked servants, she could clearly hear the sounds of battle now. Metallic weapons clashed and clinked together and war cries echoed loudly around the somewhat enclosed premises. Kaori was at the back of the castle; there was no action there, but the sounds easily reverberated off of the mountains. Taking a deep breath- the scents of metallic blood and sulfuric poisons almost making her gag- she drew her sword and sped around to the right side of the castle. Most of the fighting was being done at the gates, a demonic army pressing in on the highly-trained men she'd worked with for most of her life. Kaori frowned when she realized that they were losing ground...and the dark-haired opposing leader was amusedly standing back from the fight, letting his soldiers do all the work.

"Dishonorable bastard," she growled as she joined the fray in the courtyard, locking weapons with a large gray demon that had almost brought his axe down on one of Sesshoumaru's men.

"Kaori?" the man- Hayato, a falcon demon and one of her good friends- gasped as his sharp golden eyes found her. "What are you doing out here?! You should be inside, resting, in your condition!"

"I'm not even showing yet," Kaori snorted as she thrust her sword up with enough power to make the great demon before her stumble. She took her opening, slicing neatly through the demon's torso. "Three weeks with pup and you'd think I'm dying the way people treat me..." The gray demon slid apart in two pieces as somewhat exasperated yet bemused blue-violet eyes met uncertain and slightly amused gold. She offered him her hand. "Really, Hayato, I'm fine. I can't sit idly by while these goons try to take over. Especially not when they're gaining ground..." Hayato gave a slight nod as he accepted her hand and stood with her help, his long feathery black-and-white peppered hair brushing against her skin. He wasn't too bad off, a few scratches here and there. The most concerning of his wounds was a small gash on his left forearm.

"I suppose that's understandable," Hayato inclined his head, the man grabbing his spear as a new enemy approached. "Just promise that you'll be careful. Sesshoumaru-sama will have our heads if we lose this battle...or if you lose the pup because of this battle." He swung around, batting the enemy in the head with the blunt side of the spear before he lunged and sent the tip of the spear straight through the demon's heart.

"I promise," Kaori nodded as she took on her own enemy, clashing swords with him a mere three times before she cleanly severed his head from his body. She pulled back quickly from the blood that sprayed, feeling a bit nauseous. "If all else fails, I can use this pregnancy against our enemy..."

"How so?" Hayato asked as they began tearing down more demons.

"The scent of all of this blood is making me a bit ill," Kaori admitted, getting a concerned glance from the falcon demon as they fought nearly back-to-back. "I could always transform and empty my stomach on them...the acid should be strong enough to take a few out."

"That...is disgusting...," Hayato both cringed and laughed as another demon fell. "But it would make for a decent distraction, at least."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Kaori grinned as they lessened the number of youkai in their area. "Quick question." Hayato hummed as his spear entered the neck of another enemy. Kaori turned her head so she didn't have to see it...though her sensitive nose still picked up on the massive spray of blood... "Have you seen my father? I couldn't find him inside."

"He's about at the heart of the conflict," Hayato admitted with a soft sigh, pointing to an area near the gates. There was a congested mass of soldiers and enemies facing off in close quarters. "His leg was still bothering him, but he went in anyway. That's the general for you..." Kaori couldn't help but sigh. "I haven't seen him since the start of the fight, though, so I don't know how he's holding up. Are you going to head that way?"

"Yeah, I need to," Kaori nodded. "Sesshoumaru-sama would be unhappy if he lost his powerful general." Hayato nodded slowly, his spear finding another enemy's gut. Kaori took out another three enemies before looking back at Hayato. "Can you handle it from here?"

"Yeah," Hayato grunted, staving off another enemy. "I'll be able to use more powerful techniques when you're out of range, so don't worry about me." Kaori nodded. She knew his abilities first-hand; he would be fine.

"I'll leave it to you, then," Kaori relented as she took out another two before sprinting off towards the gates. Her blade found several enemy torsos on her way there, the woman flitting across the battlefield in a white-silver blur, her silken blue haori rustling as she went. Kaori had almost reached the gates when a large troll demon came barrelling into the courtyard. Standing nearly as tall as the three-floor castle, he roared deafeningly as he raised his large club fashioned of rock. The area around him immediately cleared, none wanting to get stepped on or bashed in by the club. Kaori slid to a stop, her breath hitched as the giant purple troll hit the ground, causing a miniature earthquake. "You've got to be kidding me..." The soldiers went out of their way to avoid the creature as it attacked friend and foe alike. They were afraid...and it was understandable, but...he had to be dealt with. If he continued as he was, he'd take down the palace... "You're the general's daughter. It's the general's job to rally the men in situations like this. The general can't right now...but I can..." Taking a deep breath, Kaori decided on a risky course of action. Wrapping her fluffy tail- much like Sesshoumaru's- around her waist to help reinforce and protect her belly, Kaori leaned forwards and easily dashed into the clearing with the large demon that no one wanted to face. Standing straight and proud before the threat, Kaori drew up her sword.

"COWARDS!" Kaori had caught the attention of many of the surrounding allies and enemies alike. Even the bald troll demon turned his large red eyes to her. "Don't avoid the enemy! Let alone, he will decimate everything and everyone. Stand up and face him as you would any other enemy! He can bleed just as well as they can!" The troll tried to bring his club down upon her, but Kaori was too fast. She ran to the side, leaping up as the club hit where she'd been mere moments ago. Kaori's feet found the back of a stumbling enemy, and she used him to push off of. Leaping high, Kaori managed to land on the troll's rising club as the enemy she'd used fell to the ground. Surprised red met narrowed blue-violet. "This enemy is as mortal as any of us and his weak spots are much larger and unprotected! Strike him down!" In a smooth move, Kaori had slid forwards on the club and swung her sword gracefully and swiftly against his exposed inner wrist. Giving a loud cry, the troll dropped the club and grabbed his right wrist with his left hand. 'Dammit!' Kaori cursed silently as she leapt onto the troll's arm. 'I didn't cut deep enough...I missed the vein...' The angered troll tried to swat her away, but Kaori just climbed up his arm onto his shoulder before he could touch her. She quickly scrambled over to his thick neck, her sword at the ready. Before she could strike, the troll gave a cry and moved jerkily. Looking down, Kaori could see that she'd succeeded in riling the troops. Five or six danced around the troll's feet, slicing them with their weapons. While that was great...it was also kind of bad. She had to dig her claws into his shoulder to hang on, as he was only wearing a loin cloth and he had no hair to grab onto. The troll let out a groan of frustration, trying to stomp on the soldiers underfoot. Distracted by trying to hang on, Kaori didn't see his hand coming at her. His hand collided with her body, knocking the air from her lungs. She couldn't have been happier that she'd thought to protect her belly, but he had still knocked the wind from her. Flying from the back of his shoulder, she managed to catch herself just in time to bring her youki up and cushion her landing a bit, her boot-clad feet digging into the rocky terrain as she slid back and struggled to regain her breath.

"You okay?" Saburo asked as he broke through the enemy lines to skid to a stop at her side. Thankful blue-violet orbs met worried forest green as he quickly helped her fully stand up again from her somewhat crouched position.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kaori reassured the wolf youkai she thought of as an older brother as they both turned back to the stumbling troll demon.

"I see you padded the pup," Saburo noted idly as they watched the fight a long moment.

"Yeah...," Kaori touched her throbbing tail still wound around her midsection. Between that and her special body armor that her father'd had Totosai make her a long time ago, Kaori was certain that her pup was safe- her midsection didn't even hurt. The armor she wore didn't look like typical armor. It was crafted from her hair and dragon scales into a skin-tight black fabric that covered her skin from her neck down her arms and torso- in front and back- down to her thighs. It was incredibly flexible and comfortable, but also hard to penetrate. She wore it beneath her knee-length, blue, sleeveless silken haori. A simple black tie kept the haori to her form without restraining her movements. She skipped out on hakama for mobility. Kaori was allowed to wear what she wished when off duty, and she'd been off duty for about four weeks...it had started when her father had used her as a bargaining chip for their lord, to give Sesshoumaru a strong heir while also strengthening his own bloodline. She was his only child, after all. His mate, her mother, had died giving birth to her, so she would have no other siblings. Kaori had to do what was necissary to make up for the lack of male heir and make her father proud. "I made sure he would be okay. I had to..."

"Hm," Saburo nodded understandingly. "Should you even be out here?" He turned his questioning gaze to her, his brow lifted expectantly.

"I'm pregnant, not incapacitated," Kaori huffed, making his lips curl at the ends. "Looks like I was needed here, anyway." Saburo could only incline his head as he speared an enemy with his cat's claw without looking at him. He threw the body off with ease and shook off the blood. Kaori felt her stomach roil with the scent she'd been trying to ignore. 'Damn pregnancy,' she inwardly scowled. 'Blood and guts don't usually bother me...I'm not squeamish in the least...' Growing up trained as a boy, she didn't have time to be squeamish.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Saburo spared her a glance as he flicked his deadly hand at another enemy. "You look...green..."

"Pregnancy illness," Kaori crinkled her nose at him as the body fell, spraying blood. "The scent of blood bothers me, that's all."

"Ah...bad place to be, then," he answered with a chiding look that didn't fail to make her feel a bit sheepish. "Why don't you go back inside? You've faired well and you've given our troops hope of defeating the troll. That's more than we could have asked of you at this time."

"I can't," Kaori sighed as she sliced into another enemy, sheilding her nose as he fell, blood gushing and his body twitching. "I've got to find father, at the very least, and back him up..."

"He's fine," Saburo waved off. "Hayate's got General Hideyoshi's back and Takeshi and Yuki have flanked him. He's hurt- obviously- but safe."

"And the hanyou that attacked?" Kaori asked, feeling better about her father's condition. "You know he's standing beyond the gates, watching the destruction rather than joining it, don't you?"

"We saw," Saburo nodded. "He's too powerful to approach without a few of us banding together. We can't do that until we whittle the numbers down a little more... Will you go back inside now?" Kaori nearly laughed at his almost pleading tone. He was only looking out for her well-being, she knew, and she would heed him...after she finished her fight.

"Help me take down the troll and I'll run, screaming, back into the castle," Kaori agreed, gaining a full-out smile from the wolf.

"What've you got in mind, then?" he asked curiously as they turned together and took out a few demons thinking to ambush them.

"Have you got any guro wire?" She asked expectantly. He nodded, pulling a bit from a pouch for show.

"Devil's Chokehold, then?" He asked knowingly, Kaori nodding back at him. It was a maneuver they'd come up with years ago to take out particularly large and powerful enemies. He nodded back at her, the woman swinging her sword back to catch two more demons in the gut. "I'll go first. You follow up and wind it around his neck. Be careful. Keep your footsteps light so that he won't catch you again."

"Right," Kaori nodded as he holstered one of his two cat's claws and pulled out the long length of guro wire. He handed her one end of it as he grabbed onto the opposite end. "In the Western lands of the setting sun..."

"The enemy's life will wane with the light, and our lord will rule the night," Saburo finished the age-old motto of the guard. The motto had been in place long before Sesshoumaru's family had ruled the West, and it had been passed down through the ages. The motto could be traced back to the first family who had taken the lands as their own- a family of bat demons. It suited the bat demons better than any of the other demons that had ruled, but the motto continued to raise morale, so it was never changed. "Ready?"

"Ready," Kaori nodded as she sheithed her sword. She'd need both hands for this. With a quick incline of his head and a jab into another demon's gut with his remaining cat's claw, Saburo headed off. Kaori took a breath and counted to ten in her head before she followed, the wolf already at the troll's feet. A few enemies closed in on her, but she easily shoved them out of her way. Saburo was climbing the troll's body, zig-zagging so that he wouldn't get caught. Kaori leapt up after him, swinging on the troll's loin cloth as he turned, trying to swipe Saburo away. The simple-minded troll was so busy with Saburo that he didn't notice Kaori. She took precautions to keep out of sight and to keep her footsteps light as she climbed the giant's body. With some time and effort, she managed to make it to his shoulder. Saburo was climbing the troll's arm when she looked down, the man looking up at her and giving her an approving nod. Kaori nodded back, taking a firm grip on the guro wire before she took off across his back, Saburo swinging on the wire on the other side to support her weight as she made it to the other side. Kaori held onto the wire as he swung back around, pulling on the wire a bit as he did. She waited until she had slack before pulling enough up to fully wrap around the beast's neck. Taking a breath and a chance, she leapt from one shoulder to the other, drawing the troll's attention. He stumbled and grunted as she flew before his eyes, but it was too late for him. "NOW!" Kaori firmly grabbed the wire and yanked it towards his back and pulled down. At the same time, Saburo yanked the wire down the troll's front, causing the wire wound around the troll's throat to slice into the tender flesh. Gurgling sounds came from the troll's neck and lips as he tried futilly to pat at both Kaori and Saburo to try and free his neck. Kaori was down his back and she made sure to stay between his shoulder blades so that he couldn't grab her. Saburo had a tougher time of staying out of his grasp, but he did well enough. Soon, they'd pulled hard enough. The wire did its job with the help of their combined weight- the wire dug in all the way to his spinal cord. Blood spilled down all sides, soaking them both in the sticky red goo as he began to stumble and fall. "Ech!" Kaori had to hold her breath as he fell. She watched a bloody Saburo leap down and roll off to the side. She jumped before the giant could fall, the woman covered in blood. Youki softened her landing and Saburo was at her side in an instant.

"Kaori, are you...," Saburo started and stopped as Kaori took a shaky breath. The sickening scent of blood filled her nostrils and her stomach roiled painfully again. She couldn't stop it this time- Kaori doubled over and retched. "Easy, now..." He held her thigh-length hair back as she emptied her stomach out onto the soiled ground.

"Everything alright?" Hayato asked he covered them, taking out all of the nearby foes. A new recruit that Kaori didn't recognize soon joined him.

"Yes...she's just ill," Saburo waved off, noticing the relief of the soldiers all around them. With the death of the troll, they were able to catch their second wind. The enemy was almost defeated...almost... A few more and they could start after that blasted hanyou. "She'd said that the scent of blood was bothering her..."

"She mentioned that earlier...," Hayato sighed as Kaori panted, finally able to breathe. The blood still made her stomach churn, but there was nothing else left for her to expel... "Take this and have her clean her nose and mouth." Hayato tossed back his white headband. Saburo caught it and offered it to Kaori. She took it gratefully and completely cleaned her nose of the troll's blood and the area around it, as well as her mouth. Fresh air! She could smell fresh air!

"Thanks," Kaori managed to get out huskily. Her haori was soaked in blood... "Pft!" She spit several times to the side, cleansing her mouth of bile. "You want it back?"

"No...I've got a few more," Hayato answered honestly. She let the fabric drift to the ground as Saburo let her hair go and helped her stand upright again.

"You going to run screaming back to the castle now?" Saburo teased amusedly. "You've reached your level of helpfulness for this battle, I think."

"Probably so," Kaori managed to give him a weak grin. "Yeah, I'll go back inside. You guys take care, alright?"

"Will do," Hayato nodded, giving her a sidelong glance and a small smile.

"Get to safety, Kaori, and don't worry about the rest," Saburo gently patted her back. "We've got it from here." Nodding and feeling like everything was going to be okay, Kaori drew her sword and started back towards the castle. Things were going well, but there were still enemies around. She would defend herself if need be. Jogging through the groups of demons, mostly Sesshoumaru's soldiers were left now, she wound her way back through the courtyard towards the palace.

"Mnn...," Kaori hummed as she gave a glance at the barricaded front entrance of the palace. She quickly decided it was best to go back to the the rear of the castle and get in through that third floor window that she'd broken out of earlier. She was turning the corner when a hand reached out and grabbed her left elbow. Startling, Kaori looked up into a pair of unfamiliar and sinister-looking crimson orbs. The man's- hanyou's- skin was a deathly pale pallor and his ink-colored hair danced over his heavily armored form in loose waves. This was not one of Sesshoumaru-sama's soldiers. She knew their faces, even the new recruits. A smirk slowly formed over his face and it hit her. This was the hanyou that had started the attack, the man she'd seen standing away from the fight a little while ago. "You."

- End of Chapter 1 -

- Cliffy! Dun dun duuuuuuun! Suspense! lol XD (Sorry, guys!)

- Who is this hanyou? Why has he attacked the palace? Why did he sneak around and grab Kaori? Find out in Chapter 2!

- Hope ya'll enjoyed!

- Please review!