Disclaimer: I own nothing and this the only time I'm going to say it in this story.

'' thoughts

"" talking

But I Like My Guards!

Chapter 1

firefox369

Inutaisho sighed as he sat at his desk, signing one parchment after another. The piles of treaties, requests and petitions were high on his desk, surrounding him from all sides. Just thinking about all the work to be done made his morale drop to an all time low.

"Why am I doing this…? I'm not even king yet…!" he asked to himself. The prince ran his long, calloused fingers through his bangs. "I need to get out of here for a day or two…Myoga!"

His youkai chancellor came in and looked at the distraught prince expectantly. The flea youkai was small, barely the size of the tip of the young male's claw, but knew how to do his job well.

"Yes, my lord?" Myoga inquired, curious as to was brewing in the young heir's brain.

"I need to get out here for a few days; you take over for me while I'm gone. I want to explore my father's kingdom." Myoga's eyes bulged and he opened his mouth to protest. Inutaisho's stern gaze allowed no room for argument. The flea visibly deflated.

"Make sure to bring your guards and a carriage" the chancellor sighed, dreading what the lord was going to do once he found out that his son had once again bailed out on his royal duties.

"I know, I know…" Inutaisho snorted, setting the flea on his desk.

"Don't 'I know, I know' me young sir, it is dangerous out there for someone of your status." Myoga hopped up and down in protest as he watched the heir grab his plated armor and strap it to his shoulders. Inutaisho fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"I know, Myoga! Relax!"

"I will not relax while you are out there! I will worry until you come back safely. You are still young and have much to learn."

"I'm 19 in demon years, Myoga! I'll be fine! I'm more than-"

"No matter what you say I will always argue with you and-"

"I'm leaving now, have fun being stuck in this stupid castle" Inutaisho growled as he slammed his room's door shut behind him. Sometimes the little flea was too much for him to bear. Inutaisho was trained to fight by the very best ever since he was born, surely he could take care of himself!

The inu youkai went out to the guard quarters and retrieved his most trusted guards, very unroyal-like, he knew, but he didn't care. Often times he broke the status quo of royalty simply to break away from the strict, unspoken rules he was told to obey. If only for a moment, the prince would feel free and unrestrained, and that was what he truly wanted from life.

He wanted to know what it was like to be a normal 19-year old. He didn't want to have to worry about all of those damned parchments anymore. Besides, the prince signed them until his hand cramped up and he couldn't feel his fingers, anyway. He deserved a break.

Inutaisho hopped into his carriage and his guards on their horses. The carriage jerked as they started off towards the castle town. Knowing how long it took to make a round of the entire kingdom, he would be back at the castle town as the first snowflake fell. He couldn't wait to see the snow outside of his bedroom, and even more so, outside of the castle.

When he went out of the castle gates he could feel everyone's eyes on his carriage and the guards. He peeked out of the window in curiosity and gazed down at everyone in wonder. What it must've felt like, to wear such light clothing…how comfortable it must've been. A scowl formed on Inutaisho's face. Much more comfortable than the horrible layers of his royal clothing; in that, he was positive.

He smelled the fresh bread and saw the meat dangling from the butcher shop. He saw the stray dogs running around, and the people doing their everyday business. He wished he could be one of them, with so much freedom and…well…freedom. He wanted to try bread right after it got out of the oven, and he wanted to see how swords were made, and he wanted to do so many things in his life that he would never get a chance to do.

'I want to know what it feels like to farm a field, and when the crops grow, I want to know the joy of that. Okay, well, maybe not the planting part but the growing part I'll do any time.'

As the carriage left the castle town and entered the nearby woods there was a sudden disturbance in the horses and hounds. The hounds bolted. Some guards ran to follow them, but most stayed their ground and drew theirr weapons. The horses tried to turn around, eventually bucking the guards off and carrying Inutaisho's carriage away. Inutaisho could hear the indignant cry of his guards as the horses galloped farther into the woods. Faintly, the prince could hear a flute playing, and the music was getting louder.

He growled in annoyance and opened the front of his carriage to find the driver gone, most likely fallen off when the horses reared and jerked into a gallop. Inutaisho took out his sword and jumped onto one of the horses, chopping the wooden beam off of its harness, and then did the same to the other. He made the spooked steed stop and calmed his pounding heart as he looked at his surroundings with narrowed, calculating eyes. These woods were unfamiliar to him, and who knew how far the horses had wandered off the trail.

A snap from behind him made him swivel from his seat, but he was tackled to the ground before he could draw his sword for protection. He was quickly rolled onto his stomach and his hands were bound behind him. A harsh yank on the material binding his hands made him hop onto his feet and he turned his head to get a glimpse of his captor. All he saw was blue-gray eyes.

"What are you doing? Release me before I have to claw your arm off!" he demanded.

"Sorry Taisho, but I suggest you keep your pointy little nails to yourself" the person mused, eyes still lit up from the thrill of the hunt.

"I could kill you with these 'pointy little nails' in an instant, moron" Inutaisho growled, flexing his fingers in preparation for his acid whip.

"I'd like to see you try."

"If you release me I'll gladly show you!"

The figure sighed and stepped closer. The prince noticed, for the first time, just how small his captor was. How he had gotten knocked off his horse by such a slip of a person was suddenly a question that wracked his mind. "Taisho, I just wanted to show you your kingdom without the protection of your guards. Then you will really know what's going on here, and how your people suffer because of your ignorance."

"But I like my guards. Is there no possible way for them to travel with me?"

"Ah, but that would defeat the purpose of bringing you on this little escapade, wouldn't it?" The blue eyes lightened a shade in amusment.

"Okay then, no guards it is" Inutaisho conceded. Afterall, this is what he had always yearned for, wasn't it?

"Good! Glad we agree!" the captor giggled and the prince blanched. He was captured by a girl, too. Oh, if his father found out he would be teased about it for the rest of his life!

"Can you untie me now, stupid ningen?"

The girl pinned him to a tree, a knife at his throat. "I'm stupid? If anyone here is stupid, it's you and your fan-bloody-tastic guards. You guys were outsmarted by a ningen girl. How does that make you feel?"

"Damn woman…" Inutaisho grumbled, thinking that he had smelled her somewhere before. With her so close, her scent wafted into his nose, enticing some deep, far-off memory.

"You and your guards and your stupid family. I hate you all."

"Why?" he questioned, still in a daze of thought and confusion. Where had he smelled her before?

"Because you damned-" She broke off mid-sentence before heaving a great sigh. She knew when a person wasn't paying attention to her, and the prince definitely was not listening to the words coming out of her mouth. Besides, he had warned her not to get too close in case he smelled her scent and recognized it. "Never mind."

"Eh?"

"I said 'never mind' baka" the girl grumbled, stepping away from the prince and lowering the blade. "Come on, we need to get moving if we don't want your guards to catch us."

Inutaisho watched as she took a sack off her shoulder and set it ont he ground. She gracefully untied the knot and opened it, revealing it's contents. There was a pile of clothing, some bread, two pouches of water, and a wooden flute. She pulled out some clothing from beneath the other items and smiled, nodding to herself as she held them up in front of her. What he could see of her face was scrunched up in thought, her eyes flicking back and forth between the clothes and Inutaisho. Silently, she held them out to the demon.

He gazed at the cloth for a few moments before reaching to take it, only to feel resistance from the rope around his wrists.

"My hands..." he mumbled and the girl grinned.

"Stop acting so helpless. You could have broken free a long time ago."

"So you're not that stupid" Inutaisho teased, melting the rope with his acid and taking the clothing from the girl. Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm smarter than you think. Now go change."

"You actually trust me not to run away?"

"Of course" the girl smirked. "I mean, why whould you miss out on this chance to escape from the confines of the castle?"

"True."

"Besides, I have your ID" she added, holding up a sheet of parchment and waving it in the air. "You wouldn't be able to get back into the castle town without it, anyway."

"How'd you get that?" Inutaisho panicked, reaching into the folds of his clothing in a desperate hope that she had a counterfeit.

The girl grinned. "I took it to make sure you wouldn't lose it as you changed. Now go on, we're short on time."

"Old hag" he hissed, stepping behind a tree.

"Psh. You're one to talk" she retorted, picking up the flute and playing a melody on it before he could come up with a snappy reply. There was a loud roar and Inutaisho poked his head out from his hiding place to watch as a large, two-tailed cat appeared and landed beside the girl.

She sighed when he came back out, relieved that the clothes fit him perfectly. He gave her his clothes and she took them, placing them in her makeshift, cloth pouch and knotting it before slinging it over her shoulder. She mounted her firecat and looked at Inutaisho expectantly.

"Hop on" she stated and he obeyed, climbing on behind her. His ear twitched and he looked behind them to see his guards and guard dogs.

"Um... hey-"

"Hold on tight" she suggested and the prince glanced at her slender waist. An uncofortable blush rose on his cheeks. He glanced back of at her to see if she was having the same reaction, but finally noticed that her face was covered by a veil. That's when he noticed something else.

"Why are you dressed like a dancer?"

"Shut up and grab on."

"Why?"

"Do it," she commanded as she summoned a bow and arrow into her hands. She turned around and aimed at Inutaisho, "or I'll shoot you in the face." The heir gulped and nodded. He could feel the holy energy coming off of her in waves, and did not want to be on the recieving end of that arrow. The woman aimed it at one of the guards and let the arrow loose. It hit a guard in the chest and he cried out as he fell off his horse, a large hole in his chest. The purified portion of the poor demon's body turned to dust and sprinkled the air. The sight of his guards galloping through the glittering ash as if it were snow was chillingly beautiful.

The young woman turned around to face front once she was sure that Inutaisho had grabbed on tightly and urged the firecat forward. With a mighty leap, the cat shot into the air and ran into the sky, running on clouds and losing the guards.

'What did I go and do now…?' Inutaisho asked himself, watching as the girl in front of him directed the steed. Neither woman nor demon looked back.

To Be Continued...