Accidental Romance
Chapter One
Captured
Sumiko ran quickly through the forest racing against her best friend Princess Ayame. She had been working hard to get faster so that she could finally beat Ayame in racing. She could see the large boulder, that was the finish line, just ahead of her. But, Ayame was right on her heels. A few seconds later the girls reached out their hands and touched the boulder at the same time.
Ayame was panting hard "Wow Sumiko! I really had to work hard that time. But you still didn't really win so I get to keep the champion title for a little while longer."
Sumiko laughed "Well okay. But i've been training hard. Next time i'll win for sure."
They jumped up and sat down on top of the boulder to watch the sunset. Ayame's white wolves caught up to them and sat down below them to rest.
Ayame "Wow it's so beautiful here."
Sumiko nodded "This is one of my favorite places. You can see everything from here, but no one else ever comes out here."
Ayame looked up "Don't you ever get lonely out here? You've been living on your own in the wilderness all by yourself since your parents died. It's been nearly forty years."
Sumiko sighed "I can't believe it's been that long already. But I don't get lonely at all. I like it out here."
Ayame looked over sadly "Living by yourself is dangerous Sumiko. I really think you should come back to the tribe. I won't let anyone hurt you or treat you differently. I promise I will protect you."
Sumiko shook her head "No Ayame. You know my mother was exiled when she took a human mate. I came to the tribe before when I desperately needed help after my parents were killed, I was turned away like a stray dog. I am not welcome there at all. It took me a long time to get over that, but I still don't trust them and they don't trust me."
Ayame "I am so sorry Sumiko."
Sumiko "It's alright Ayame. It's not your fault." she giggled "You know, sometimes I think the only good thing that has happened to me in the last forty years has been meeting you. Your my best friend and I want you to know that. As long as I have you I will never be lonely okay. So stop worrying so much."
Ayame smiled and nodded "Your my best friend too. I love you and from now on i'll make sure to come and visit you more often.
Sumiko smiled "Alright, but don't you have a fickle fiancee to catch?"
Ayame gasped "Oh yeah! That no good bastard! You know he is cheating on me with a girl named Kagome. Ah, I hate her!"
Sumiko "Kagome? What kind of name is that for a demon?"
Ayame "She's not a demon. She is a human priestess. I guess she is kind of pretty, and nice, and powerful, and interesting, and..."
Sumiko "Whoa, Whoa wait a minute! She sounds like serious competition, what are you going to do about it?"
Ayame "I don't know. I've tried every thing to get Koga's attention, but nothing ever works."
Sumiko "Maybe you should give up on him and find yourself another mate."
Ayame looked down "But I love him." she said sadly.
Sumiko rubbed her back to comfort her and tried to keep her from crying. She had quickly started regretting ever bringing up Koga. The girls stayed there talking and enjoying each other's company long after the sun went down. Around midnight Ayame and her wolves finally left to go back to the Northern wolf tribe.
Sumiko said goodbye to her friend and slowly walked back to the cave where she lived. But she suddenly decided to take a bath instead. There was a wonderful hot spring not far from her makeshift home.
When she reached the spring she looked around and spread her senses out as far as they would go to make sure she was alone. Once she felt safe, she untied her pink obi an slid her dark purple yukata down over her large breast and shapely hips. Lastly she removed her undergarments and her black ankle boots, and walked into the water.
The water in the spring only came up to just below her hips but the warm water still relaxed her stiff muscles and calmed her mind. Sumiko loved taking baths. The warm water soothed her. Being able to take a bath was the only luxury she had, so she always made sure to take one or two everyday.
She took her jet black hair out of its high ponytail and it pooled in the water around her hips. She always wore her hair up because it was so long that it usually got in her way all the time. She dunked her head under the water and when she rose back up she started singing softly to herself.
Sumiko was enjoying her bath so much that she didn't realize that she was no longer alone. She had attracted some attention from a large black crow, who had settled into a nearby tree to watch the beautiful girl. When it had seen enough it took off on silent wings and flew back to its master.
The crow flew low over the treetops for about twenty minutes before it stopped and circled above a clearing. In the clearing was its master, a tall, feminine looking man with purple hair and blue eyes. He held up his arm and the crow landly lightly on it. He cooed gently at the bird and kissed the side of its head.
"Welcome back my sweet pet. What have you to tell me?" he asked sweetly.
The crow mentally sent pictures to the man of a beautiful, shapely woman with long, dark hair.
He smiled "Hmmm well done my pet. She is very lovely. The mistress will love her."
"Captain Zentaro, do we have a new target?" a soldier asked him.
Captain "Yes we do. Go and prepare ten men for departure. You will follow my pet to the girl and bring her to me. Make sure to wait until she is asleep, I don't want her damaged before I present her to our mistress."
The soldier went to the others and found nine volunteers to take with him on his mission.
Back at the hot spring Sumiko had finished her bath and walked the rest of the way to her cave. Her home was a large cave, but it had a small opening for an entrance. The cave was located on the side of a steep incline but a jut in the rock kept the entrance hidden from anyone on the ground. Also the entrance and tunnel behind it was so small that a full grown man would never be able to crawl through it. The interior of the cave was large and the only other tunnel was a shaft that went straight up through the top of the hillside to let light and air inside.
She had a bed made of warm straw and bear furs to sleep under if it got cold. She also had a hollowed tree trunk to hold fresh water. It came in handy when it was raining and she needed something to catch rain water in too. She also had a small trunk with all the possessions she owned in it; a hair brush, a winter kimono, a mirror, and a few knives she used for hunting. It wasn't much but she was safe and warm and she was well fed, so she didn't think she needed anything else.
Tonight she set the mirror up and looked at her reflection. She fingered her ears and ran her fingers down her chin to touch her parted lips, where she could just make out her sharp fangs.
She sighed "Maybe if I looked more like a demon. I could live with Ayame in the wolf tribe."
Her pointed ears, fangs, and bright, violet eyes were the only things that separated her from humans. Because she looked so human, her mother had tried to raise her in her dad's village. But, in the end they had been killed by demon slayers and she had just barely managed to escape with her life. Sumiko didn't feel like thinking about her parents so she just quickly braided her hair down the back of her head, got undressed and went to sleep. She was completely unaware of the danger just outside her door.
The black crow had lead the soldiers to the hot spring, but the girl was already gone. The men quickly set out to track down her scent. They were tengu so their sense of smell was not as strong as other youkai, but luckily for them the girl hadn't been gone for very long. They followed her scent to a hillside, but couldn't see where she could have gone. They decided to scale the hillside and quickly found the entrance to her home. One of the soldiers tried to go down the tunnel but he couldn't fit.
"Sergeant it's no use, none of us can get down the hole." one of the soldiers said.
Sergeant grumbled "Fine we'll just have to wait her out. She'll have to come out of that hole soon enough. We'll be right here whenever she's ready. It doesn't matter how long it takes, we cannot go back empty handed."
The man set a lookout at the edge of the forest and then set up camp a little ways away. The next morning Sumiko woke up a little after dawn, but she didn't leave the cave. She already had food in her cave and saw no real reason to leave out at the time. She spent most of the morning weaving a new basket out of long grass she had collected a few days ago. She used the baskets to hold the fruit and nuts she collected.
It was afternoon when she finally decided to leave her cave to stretch her legs and hunt for some meat. She climbed up to the entrance to her home, but stopped to make sure there was no danger. She didn't notice anything so she continued outside. The guard who was supposed to be watching had dozed off and hadn't noticed Sumiko leave her cave.
Sumiko successfully caught two rabbits for dinner and was returning to her den when she noticed the soldiers talking at their campsite. She stopped to study them.
"What are they doing way out here?" she said.
Soldier #1 "I hope this one is worth the wait. We didn't get anything for the last one."
Soldier #2 nudged him in the side "She must be beautiful if the captain sent so many men for just one girl. She'll defiantly bring us a prize from the mistress."
Soldier#3 "I still don't understand what she does with so many pretty girls."
Soldier #4 "I think she eats them."
Soldier #2 "No you idiots she uses them as servants. The mistress doesn't trust men, so no man is allowed to live in the Southern palace. Most of her generals and all her personal guards are women."
The men all agreed and understood.
Sergeant "One of you go check on the lookout the girl should be outside by now."
Two of the men got up and walked off. That was when Sumiko realized they must be waiting on her. She had to get away before they discovered her. She thought about her belongings but realized that she could come back and get them later. She slowly backed away from the campsite and tried not to make any noise. She was nearly far enough away to make a run for it, when the crow noticed her movement out the corner of its eye. It sent up a loud call and flew off in her direction.
"Oh no!" Sumiko said and broke out into a run as fast as she could, weaving and bobbing through the trees. She really hoped she had enough of a head start on the tengu, but her human blood put her at a disadvantage. She could sense the soldiers as they closed the distance between them.
Sergeant "Hurry men! Don't let her get away!"
Sumiko's heart was pounding against her chest and she was so scared that she couldn't think straight. She didn't know where she was running, but prayed that she would be able to make it to safety somehow. Her prayers were answered when she suddenly came upon a cliff. Below it she could see a river with a fast moving current. She looked back and saw how close the men were on her and made her decision. She jumped and fell down into the river. The men looked over, but they couldn't see her anymore, she had been swept under by the strong current.
Sergeant "Come on men, we'll catch her down stream!"
The men quickly continued down stream. Meanwhile Sumiko was desperately struggling against the current. When she finally broke the surface, she only had enough time to take a breath before being swept under again. She tried again and this time she was able to stay up long enough to grab unto a rock. It took all her strength to pull herself up onto the rock and then she blacked out. The soldiers had made it down river, but they would have missed her if it wasn't for the captain's crow who once again spotted her. The men quickly figured out a way to retrieve the girl from the river. The used their numbers to keep each other from being swept down stream. Once back on shore, they tied Sumiko's hands and feet and blindfolded her. Then they quickly reported back to their captain.
Okay everyone thank you for reading the first chapter of my sesshomaru story. Just to put it out there Sesshomaru is like my all time favorite anime character ever, so I love him. Anyways on to some background info on my original character Sumiko. She is half wolf demon, half human and she doesn't have any family. Her looks are very long black hair, purple eyes, and she almost looks human. She also isn't very strong because mother never thought her how to fight, but she does have a very special power. But you'll have to keep reading to find out what it is.
P.S. Sumiko means "clear" in japanese and tengu are birds demons for anyone who wanted to know.