Strike at the Heart

Chapter One

Hisao the demon guard waited silently in the night. With his sharp senses, he could smell that the person he had come to meet was not far away. He smelled like a cat. A demon of the snow leopard tribe, to be exact, and one of the last of his kind. After all, rumor had it that the great Lord Sesshomaru had put to death the rest of his clan.

Hisao knew the other demon was ready and anticipating his arrival, but he preferred to make him wait for a bit. He needed to be in control of this meeting, and the delay implied a sense of authority. He also needed a moment to calm his slightly ruffled nerves. If his Lady, or especially if her son Lord Sesshomaru, discovered that he was here, it could mean his life. But Hisao had a mission to accomplish, with or without the approval of his liege.

Holding his chin high, Hisao stepped quietly through the woods until he came upon his target. The other demon found him immediately with sharp yellow eyes. His form was slender, humanoid, and graceful despite the frown tainting his face. The robes he wore were of a fine quality, though it seemed clear that they had not been washed for some time, and a spotted white leopard's tail twitched agitatedly behind him.

"You are late," the demon observed sourly.

"Apologies," Hisao replied coolly. "Can I assume you are Kitashi of the snow leopard tribe?"

The other gave a curt nod. "And you are? Your messages were somewhat ambiguous. I came only because of your promise for a swift revenge on Sesshomaru."

"And I will keep my word. It was too dangerous to say so with written messages, but I am Hisao, captain of the guard at the Great Dog Demon's palace. I was in the service of Lord Sesshomaru's father for two centuries before his untimely demise, and have been faithfully serving his mate and their son for another two."

The leopard demon's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Then what business do you have with me?" He then quickly frowned once more. In a swift cat-like motion, he crouched and held one hand out in front of him, revealing sharp claws. "If this is a trap..."

"No trap," Hisao replied calmly. "No tricks. I simply think you and I have something in common: we both take issue with Lord Sesshomaru."

Kitashi relaxed only slightly. "How so?"

"First of all I must make certain of your resolve: are the rumors that speak of My Lord devastating your clan correct? If so, what would you do to take your revenge on him?"

The demon barred his teeth, letting out a hiss-like sound. "The bastard murdered my entire tribe! I would see him strung from a tree with the birds feasting on his innards! We were expanding the borders of our territory and killing as necessary, but we did not step within his lands!"

"I believe Lord Sesshomaru would disagree with you there, but in truth that does not concern me either way. All I needed was confirmation of your determination, for the proposition I have is a risky one. Tell me how it is that you survived my Lord's attack."

Kitashi growled. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because if my suspicions are correct, you are not strong enough to take on Sesshomaru alone. Mind you, there are few who are."

The feline demon paused, considering Hisao. Then he reluctantly confirmed, "I was on a hunting trip, just nearing our camp, when the attack happened. I saw it from afar. The dog demon only swung his sword once. But the destruction continued through everyone it touched, and then everyone who touched them. The whole clan was gone in minutes."

The guard nodded slowly. "Bakusaiga. Lord Sesshomaru's weapon of power. In many ways, he has come to equal his father." Here he let a frown form on his face. "But he has also inherited one unbecoming quality. He returned to the palace about three and a half years ago. None of us had seen him in decades. At first glance, he had not changed. Still persistent, calculating, and deadly. So much like a combination of his parents. But with him he brought two human children. Not only did he make no move to harm them, it quickly became clear that he was protecting them. One in particular. A small girl. He jumped headlong into the meidou to rescue her when she was sucked in, and would not return until he had retrieved her body, even though my Lady offered him a way out. When he brought her back, dead, it was clear that he was distraught. He was so relieved when his mother revived the girl that he actually bent down and touched this human in what I can only assume was a compassionate gesture.

"I'm afraid he will follow in his father's footsteps. The Inu no Taisho came to care so much about a mortal woman, that he met his demise trying to save her. I would not see this happen to his son as well. He is the best hope the dog demons have for a powerful, conquering leader."

Kitashi crossed his arms. "Why did you send for me then? I want Sesshomaru dead, and you obviously do not."

Hisao's lips twisted into a wry smile. "Our problems may be different, but the answer is the same. You want to harm Lord Sesshomaru to enact revenge; I want merely to set him back on the right path. The solution to both is to kill the human girl he's attached to."

Hisao watched as the leopard demon's tail began twitching again. He was interested. The guard captain continued, "I would not risk my position or my favor with my master, and so I cannot kill the child myself. That's why I've been in search of someone with a strong enough desire to do it for me."

"Need someone to do the dirty work, eh?" Kitashi sneered, but still he leaned forward as if to listen better. "I don't like it. This plan doesn't involve Sesshomaru dying."

"Perhaps, but you and I both know that is nearly impossible. Even if you mount an army against him, he can wipe them out with a single swing of Bakusaiga. You've seen so yourself. Instead, you can strike him where he will be most vulnerable: his heart."

Kitashi was silent for a moment, crossing his arms and staring at the grass beneath his feet. Finally he said, "How am I supposed to kill this human if Sesshomaru protects her?"

"She no longer travels with him," Hisao answered at once. "About three years ago, he left her at a human village. It's taken me a long time to find out exactly where that is, but I finally have."

The other demon looked up quickly. "So she's unprotected?"

"Not exactly. The village she lives in is also inhabited by the Great Dog Demon's other son, Inuyasha. He's only a half demon. I can't imagine he'd be that much of a threat, but apparently he's become quite strong. I can't think of another reason why Lord Sesshomaru would choose to leave his ward there."

Kitashi stuck his nose in the air. "I can handle a half demon."

Hisao smiled. His plan was finally starting to fall into place. "Of course, of course. But even so, killing the girl may not be so easy. My Lord's sense of smell is greater even than any of the rest of us dog demons. If you lay a hand on the child to slay her, and he catches your scent on the body, you can be sure he will swiftly hunt you down. That's why I've come up with a better way."

The demon guard turned and retrieved a small metal box he had hidden here in the shrubs earlier that evening. It was cold to the touch. He could feel its demonic energy pulsing through the lid of the box, begging to be let out. "It's taken me months, but I've devised a spell specifically for this purpose. Once you open this case, the creature I've compiled within will be irrevocably drawn to the first human it sees. It will infuse itself into the human's blood, and every demon for miles around will be drawn to it with an intense desire to kill. You or I will never touch the girl; we'll let other demons take her life. It will never be traced back to either of us."

Kitashi frowned. "Why not just do it yourself then?"

"I dare not leave my post long enough to do so. If I did it, and the girl died shortly after, it might arouse suspicion." He held out the box to his companion.

Kitashi did not take it right away, staring directly at Hisao. "What of Inuyasha? Or Sesshomaru, if he's nearby? Will this device make them desire to kill her too?"

The guard shook his head. "Unfortunately not. Otherwise the job would have been much easier. As a lower-ranking daiyoukai of my clan, my magic will not work on other dog demons. Even the half breed should be spared. However, if Inuyasha has decided to protect the child, as I predict he has, it may make it difficult for outside demons to get to her. But there's still hope. If no one else can reach her, there are apparently at least two other demons living in the village with her that she will not expect to attack. This plan should take care of itself. All you need to do is put it in motion, and your revenge on Sesshomaru will be set."

Kitashi remained silent, looking the other demon straight in the eye for a long minute. At last he nodded slowly and took the metal box from him.

"One more thing," Hisao warned. "Make sure you do not use the spell until the girl is alone. Not only so that you can be sure to target the right human, but also because there are two priestesses living in the village as well. One is old, by human standards, and should not pose much of a threat. But I've heard that the younger one is somewhat powerful. Word has it that she is responsible for the annihilation of the Sacred Jewel. If you unleash my creation while she is close by, she might sense the demonic energy before it has a chance to take effect." Then he smiled wickedly, so that his pointed teeth gleamed white against the moon. "But once the spell is in place, she will not be able to remove it. It penetrates the blood. She would have to drain it all from the girl's body in order to purify it completely."

"How will I know which human child it is?" the leopard demon asked, clearly trying hard not to heed the call of the demonic spell inside the box and set it free. "All humans look the same to me."

"I've thought of that as well," Hisao answered smugly. He reached inside the leather of his breastplate to pull out the swatch of cloth he had tucked there between his armor and his shirt. Without unfolding it, he tossed it to the other demon. "This is a piece of cloth from the same bolt of fabric which Lord Sesshomaru had our servants make a kimono for the girl recently. Our scent should still be on it, and should match that of the kimono she now wears. I assume cats can smell well enough to detect it, yes?"

Kitashi scowled, wrinkling his nose. "Smells like a dog."

"Then we're on the same page."

The two demons considered each other in silence for a moment longer. "Yes, I believe we are."

Hisao explained briefly the location of the village, and then without another word, they bowed slightly to one another, keeping eye contact, and then turned and went their separate ways.

Hisao smiled to himself as he quickly and quietly made his way back to the palace. If Sesshomaru did manage to figure out that a spell had been placed on his little girl, and how it got there, then Kitashi would be blamed. There were many possible scapegoats before he could ever trace it back to the captain of his mother's palace guard. This plan was a long time in the making, and finally, finally it was coming to fruition. In later years, Sesshomaru may even look back and be grateful that his temporary distraction had been removed so that he could continue his goal of supreme conquest uncorrupted by the human, conquering the lands in the name of the dog demon clan...