Grey. Everything seemed grey in the newborn hours of waking twilight when none but he saw fit to move about. The cold north wind whipped about him mercilessly, and on its breath came a scent so sweet his teeth ached. There was blood shed on the western lands and he was robbed of the satisfaction of being its cause. With his intended destination forgotten, he lifted his nose to the trail.
Lounging at the waters edge, she let her eyes wander over her newest acquisition. A corpse. With the fingertips of one dainty hand she tipped the scruffed chin of Isamu toward her so that she might better appreciate the beauty of his face... Deep set eyes of azure stared far into the heavens, past her curious gaze, past life, and all things of this earth. Though there was no mistaking his intent when he had come upon her she still regretted the loss of a soul. Her wakizashi lay buried hilt deep in his chest, and despite herself... she flinched. As she withdrew the instrument of death she allowed herself a moment of recollection to admire the flawless precision with which his death was delivered. A strong presence pulled her from her musings, forcing her attention to the present and the new dangers that arrived with it. The aching muscles of her body knew this song, and with the ease and grace of one long practiced she felt into a defensive stance.
He watched her, and under the intensity of the stare she returned he felt every bit as naked as she actually was and acted none like. Still, feminine curves were the last thing on his mind. The one who dared intrude upon his lands was foreign to him. No doubt ignorant of the boundaries of his vast territory, she was never the less guilty and deserving of swift and absolute punishment.
" You trespass here. Kill here. You disrespect this Sesshoumaru." His gaze dipped low to the blood sprayed across her upper body.. following the macabre pattern to one porcelain cheek. There was no denying her crimes and had she tried to he would have ended her then. Still, her silence was equally maddening.
The dull glow just beneath the horizon cast shadows across her exposed flesh. A moment of hungry anticipation passed between the two, their shared wild blood eager for the sacrifice of life a violent clash would leave in its wake. It passed, reigned in tight by the cool rationality of a well disciplined mind. At last she blinked, rising with grace unparalleled... and as her bare feet touched upon the green earth, the sky caught fire. His inferior by several inches in height, she was never the less a commanding figure in her ethereal beauty. To see her, to breath her in, was to want her. It was irrational, and the undoing of Isamu, her guard. She stepped over the disgraced mans chest while giving Sesshoumaru a wide birth as she collected her belongings. Wary of the strong sense of old world mannerisms that seemed prominent in this one, she was careful to face him at all times even if her eyes were elsewhere.
" No disrespect was meant. Life and death wait for no man.." As if it were an after thought, her lips part around an addition "or Lord." Shrugging into the heavy brocade kimono- a lovely thing of summer pink silk- she moved to pass him by and be on her way only to pull up short as a pale hand encircles her throat. She had anticipated such a move ( his entire body radiated tension) but felt it would be wiser to allow the little Lordling his arrogant pride if she wanted to avoid further conflict. And so she suffered his petty display of dominance and power, her chin lifted defiantly, her eyes meeting his with a bravery uncommon in the women of her era. The ghost of a smile tugged at her full lips as his upturned nose twitched. He had caught her scent.
She smelled like nothing on this earth. Heady as it was elusive, he could not place her scent but found it pleasing none the less. The lids of his eyes and the thick lashes they supported seemed suddenly heavy, and he found himself taking another deep breath though such a thing was hardly necessary. He could taste her, the sweetness of her very being lingered on his tongue and in his delicate nose. Still, his indomitable will would not allow something so trivial as the scent of a slip of a girl to overwhelm him. His reaction was swift and impossible to foresee in its spontaneity.
In a blink of her dove-grey eyes the kashira of Tokijin met the side of her head with force. The malice of the blade overwhelmed her, and with one final accusatory look at the lord of the western lands from wide eyes the world faded to black.