AN : Normally, I don't like to put author notes at the beginning of the chapter, but I feel that this should be an exception. I added more details, and reworked parts of the story since I noticed how vague several parts of it were.
I plan to do this for all the chapters that I have written thus far. Plus, actually outlining what I want to do and where I want to go with the plot. But, please be aware that this will likely be shorter than I had originally intended.
I realize that this will be the second time that I'm doing this, but I started the original story when I was 13 or 14. In the years since, I've learned a LOT about writing and editing and what not. As well as learned what does and doesn't make a good fic, and taken a few college level classes on writing and critical reading.
When I went back and reread what I'd written all those years ago, my reaction was along the lines of, "Ew, I wouldn't want to read this." And the rest, as they say, is history.
So, please, read this new version and tell me what you think. I will gladly accept constructive criticism but I will not accept anything that just slams my writing. Don't just say I suck, give me a decent reason why and tell me what/how I can do better.
Disclaimer: Anything you might recognize obviously doesn't belong to me. I'm just a poor college student.
How, Youko thought, could things have gone wrong so quickly?
This was supposed to have been an easy job. Get in, grab the treasure and get out; simple, right? Nope. A very wise person once said, "The best laid plans often go awry".
It was because of Youko's ego and arrogance that he had not checked to make sure there wouldn't be extra guards. After all, Youko reasoned, who would be able to take on him and his partner. They were two of the best in the business. They were as close to unstoppable as anyone could hope to become. His reasoning would prove to be their downfall. After all, when someone is confident they are the best, they usually become too confident and make mistakes.
It was simple enough getting in. The guards and sentries were quickly and easily dealt with. In fact, neither of the thieves had broken a sweat knocking out the guards, they were so used to the maneuvers. This either spoke highly of the thieves' skills or the incompetence of the guards. The protections on the treasure were dealt with even more quickly. Nothing stood in their way because anything that attempted to was swiftly eliminated.
Everything was going smoothly until the thieves tried to make their escape, tried being the operative word.
It was then that the additional "guards" made their entrance. The five members of the Shinobi Sect, the shadowy guardians of the Makai, emerged from the cover of the shadows and surrounded them. Immediately, Youko and his partner slipped into a defensive position.
"Saki, if you don't fight along side our prey, we'll let you leave here unharmed," Risho told her arrogantly, completely ignoring the demon standing next to her. He had already dismissed her as a threat. The previous leader of the Shinobi Sect, Risho's master, was among the ones who had broken her chains of slavery and helped her back to health. Risho, of all people, knew her and her story well.
Instead of reply, she sneered at him and tightened her grip on her weapons. She may have owed her freedom to the previous generation of the Shinobi Sect, but she owed her life to Youko. Saki would sooner take her own life, than to give up Youko's or betray him in any way. Foxes mated for life after all, and nothing short of death would separate a mated pair.
Saki glared at him with all the disdain she could muster. If looks could have killed, Risho would have been reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes. It was obvious she did not intend to leave Youko's side.
Risho made a sound of contempt. "As you wish then."
Youko and Saki had been trying to escape from the Shinobi Sect for quite some time, without much success. These were not the wise masters who had freed Saki from her imprisonment those many centuries ago. Rather, they were the now deceased masters' disciples. Although they recognized Saki from her time with them long ago, they were determined to stop Youko from escaping. Though, in honor of their masters and their fondness for the vixen, the members of the Sect tried to minimize her injuries to varying degrees.
In the grand scheme of things, if Youko had bothered to check, they wouldn't have gone that night. But, Fate can be a cruel mistress. Risho, the new leader of the Shinobi Sect, had intended to spear Youko with a skewer of sharpened rock. Instead, the rock stabbed Saki through the chest when she knocked Youko aside. The other members of the Sect, when they saw this, were momentarily frozen. Each of the Sect remembered Saki, if only a little. She had spent years with them recovering from her enslavement after the death of her "master".
Seeing his mate, his partner, so injured sent Youko's powers and instincts into overdrive. During the fighting they had moved from the corridors to one of the nearby courtyards. Every plant in the courtyard, from the tiniest weeds and flowers to the tallest trees, responded to his command and began attacking the members of the Sect.
During the ensuing confusion, Youko picked up his mate bridal style and made good their escape. He had to get her to one of their hideaways to treat her wound. She couldn't die. She just couldn't.
"Please... promise me something." Saki's words were barely a whisper.
"What is it?" Youko glanced down at her pale, drawn face as he continued racing through the forest. He was becoming increasingly worried as more and more of Saki's blood seeped from her wound.
Youko had done what he could to stem the blood flow as soon as he had put distance between them and the castle, but he knew that his efforts would be in vain unless he could get her to safety.
Despite not being a healer, he knew enough about wounds to know she was losing blood too quickly. Youko desperately wanted to remove the skewer but knew that would only increase blood flow. Something that would kill her all the more quickly. Saki needed more than a crude wrapping around the skewer and proper care from a healer if she was going to live.
Saki's breathing was becoming more and more labored as her heart worked furiously to supply her body with an increasingly smaller amount of blood.
"Please... promise me... that you won't die…" Youko had to strain to hear her words, they were whispered so softly.
"Why? I have no reason to go on living...! Especially now. I…I can't!" Youko's words were full of anguish, torn from the depths of his soul. His soul which he had tied to hers until the day their spirits were born anew and all traces of their current lives cleansed.
"I can't explain now, but you'll see... one day. So... please," her brows nit close together as she fisted her hands into his clothes, needing to hear him promise her.
She needed him to understand that they would meet again, that her gift of premonition had shown her a feeling that one day they would meet again. Although they would wear different shells, their souls would recognize each others' again one day.
"If it's what you want, I swear it. I'll stay alive." Youko had such uncertainty in his eyes, and she saw this clearly.
"You'll understand someday," Saki loosened her grip and relaxed into his arms with a sad, somber smile. "But the only thing I can give to comfort you with is the knowledge that... one day we'll... we'll be together again. So, please... stay alive." Her words were becoming softer and softer. Becoming so quiet he had to strain to hear her, even with his superb hearing.
She gave him a small smile. "But... I'm sorry... I couldn't give you… that family you'd wanted."
"I've never always wanted a family... in fact, if you'd ask me back then, before I met you, I'd say the idea of creating a family would be absolutely revolting. But you changed that. You taught me that there is more than lust. I've been with many beautiful demons, but you're the one who won my heart and the right to claim me as 'mate'."
He smiled at her, a smile meant to reassure in these last moments they had together.
"I'm glad… to hear that…" Tears fell from those same amber eyes that had once been sparkling with life, now glassy from pain and dulled with exhaustion.
She took the rose that had been nestled behind her ear and presented it to him, her small, pale hand trembling slightly. His eyes widened at the sight of it, having never seen such a kind of rose before. It was of the palest rosy pink color he had ever seen, rimmed with white along the tops of the petals and dusted with a deeper pink at the very base of the rose on a long, pale green stem.
"I had," she paused, suddenly wincing from pain, but continued, "I had meant... to give this to you at another time. But... it seems... I can't now," she murmured as she handed it to him.
"... I've never seen this breed before. Where did you acquire it?" he asked, confused as to where she could have gotten a type of rose he himself had never even known about.
"Silly fox… that's my secret… I'll tell you if you find me again," she said smiling again.
"I... I'll always treasure it." He furrowed his brow, fully aware that the last drops of life were slowly to dripping out of her. She noticed his grief and placed her hand on his cheek, smiling reassuringly. Her hand, normally so full of warm and life, was shockingly cold.
"I know you will... Think of it… as a promise... that we'll meet again," she whispered as her eyes closed, for the last time. Her hand fell away from its place on his cheek.
His eyes widened. She was gone.
Bowing his head, he swore to himself that no matter how long he had to wait, he would until they were reunited. He rose from his kneeling position with her limp body in his arms from the forest floor. Silently he took her to the field of flowers by the river where they had first met. With all the love and care he held for her, he gently placed her into a borrow formed by the roots of a towering tree with soaring branches.
A twist of power and the roots of the great tree enveloped her body, ensuring that no one and nothing would desecrate it. The rose he laid in the hollowed depression of the roots. A soft pulse of energy and the single blossom become a bush with roots and leaves spreading over Saki's final resting place. Grown with his power and feed the nutrients of the Makai, the rose bush would become semi-sentient. It would ensure that even if he couldn't, her grave would be undisturbed.
For the first time in a long time, tears brim the fox's eyes.
He wept.
Years passed. Yet, he still expected to hear her voice or catch a trace of her beguiling scent.
One day, when he had gone to visit her final resting place, a bounty hunter found him there. This was perhaps the only place where he let his guard down for even a moment. The hunter, who happened to bear an ominous power, wasted no time attacking him. He had weakened vastly over the years out of poor will, so the blow dealt a mortal damage.
Having lost too much blood, and youki, the dispirited fox had no other choice but to run. The hunter was persistent and would not allow his prey to escape.
He ran, knowing that if he didn't, if he stopped for even a moment the hunter would kill him. Slowly but surely the hunter was gaining on him…
With no other choice, for he couldn't break his vow, he separated his soul from his body and escaped to where not even the hunter could follow. If he waited, he would get his youki back.
When he regained his strength, he would return to the Maikai…
And wait for her.
First Draft Written: sometime in 2004
Original Release: December 14, 2004
Final Draft Released: May 13, 2011
My beta/best friend and I wrote the little crack dribble when I first wrote this fic. And please remember, she and I wrote this years ago, so things have changed a great deal between now and then. But this bit is still funny and childish. So I left it for the laughs.
Arriku: Please review this desperate woman.
Shinku: Hey, I'm NOT desperate!
Arriku: Yeah, and Kurama is waiting in a bathtub full of rose petals for you.
Shinku: -blushes- Ummm...
Arriku: Ya know ya waaaaaant him. -grabs her wrist, throws her into the bathroom and locks her in-
Shinku: -eyes goes wide as saucers-
Arriku: Not to mention the fact that YOU'RE the heroine of the story. So it makes sense, right. –whispers- Self-inserter!
Shinku: NO, NO, NO! S'not true, I say! It's only my nickname!
Arriku: That's just weird! I call you So-kun! Hmmm... Ya know what -pulls Shinku outta the bathroom and locks herself in instead- Since you don't want 'im...
Shinku: NO, NO, NO! I didn't say that -throws open the door and rushes into the bathroom-
Arriku: -having a spaghetti dinner with Kurama- So, Foxy-chan, how's the love life?
Shinku: -stares with wide twitching eyes- o.0
Kurama: -smiles sexily- Looking good. From the looks of it, I'm universally liked. Both girls AND guys dig me.
Shinku: -joins the tub party-
-Just to let you know, they are all FULLY clothed. As bizarre as that may seem ;)-
Shinku: So umm... any love interests? I mean, have you had any affairs with anyone?
Kurama: -takes out a notebook Uh let's see, there's Botan, Keiko, Mia, Hiei, Yusuke, Sesshoumaru, Kagome, her mom, that one hot janitor, Kuronue, Sephiroth, Tifa, her cousin, her cousin's daughter, Botan's hair stylist, a hundred fangirls, and -looks up at the story- Saki. And a couple of Mary-sues.
Arriku: Wow, G, you be pimpin'! Could ja maybe lend me Sesshoumaru...? O.0
Shinku: -stares blankly at the both of them- Umm... I think we should end it here now.
Arriku: NOOO! I want SESSHY, AND SEPHY! I WANT MY SILVER-HAIRED BISHIES NOW! -looks at Kurama- Hey, can ya turn into Youko really quick?
Shinku: -sighs- Kurama, just give 'em to her and be done with it. Knowing her, she won't stop 'til you do give them to her.
Kurama: I find this all very amusing. Let's continue. -smirks sexily-
Shinku: -stares dreamily at him- Umm, sure... -starts drooling, then snaps out of it- NO! NO! NO! We are ending it now. I appreciate both of you for coming, but enough's enough!
Kurama: -looks into Shinku's eyes mesmerizingly- Oh come on, please... -continues to be the epitome of sexiness-
Arriku: -smiles wickedly- Got her!
Shinku: Oookaay... -melts-
Arriku: So, what were we talking about?
Kurama: Damn. I don't know. -sighs and runs a hand through his hair... sexily-
Arriku: So I guess it's over. Cyaz for now. -Leaves room dragging Kumara with her-
Shinku: -snaps out of it again- Huh! Hey!
Arriku: Review and I'll willingly beta any story of yours. My calling card is CENSORED. Call me. And no, I will not do fanart for you.
Fast, deep commercial-like voice: ARRIKU IS AN ACTUAL PERSON AND CANNOT ACTUALLY COMPLETE ANY REQUESTS. ALL RESTRICTIONS AND RULES APPLY. BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED. © Copyright 2004
