Have I ever posted this much stuff in such a short amount of time?? Oh well no matter.
Dreams of Reality
She moved swiftly, silently. A smirk tugged at her rouge-stained lips. They were close. She sensed them, waiting for her, fearing her sword. Ah, there, behind the ramen shop she saw them, and frowned, there were too few there for the amount of ki that she sensed. She stopped moving, staying in shadow. Something wasn't right. There was no way that the twelfth faction would only send out three soldiers to protect the commander of the Rishinkar forces.
She fingered the rough hilt of her sword, felt the scales of the twin dragons, and thought of her options. She could release some of her ki and use it to probe the area, detect if there were any soldiers hiding under stealth cloaks, but if one of the soldiers were youkai no doubt he'd be able to smell her if she did. She hadn't completely mastered ki suppression, not to the extent that she could release a small amount while using the rest to mask her scent and to make her steps silent. That left her with the second option, approach cautiously, survey the area fully and see what it was that caused the anomaly. That left her with the same problem as option one, being detected. She wasn't afraid of fighting, but she had been taught to know her enemy before rushing into battle, to not underestimate them, and to know what she was fighting against. Some soldiers believed retreat was not an option, but she knew that a soldier that retreated lived to fight another day. She decided to wait, watch them from a distance.
She fingered her sword again, and smiled, loving the feel of the faux scales. Dragons, she smiled at the memory of her first history lesson.
"Before man and his kind walked the earth the first creatures in existence where the dragon lords and the youkai lords. The youkai lords dominated the earth but the dragon lords were the supreme masters, they watched over the sky and the sea. The greatest of these lords was Roreku. When man first walked the earth the dragon lords were revered by them. The Lords of Men built shrines for them and came to them for counsel and protection.
Decades passed and men became arrogant, they fought wars against each other, raped, pillaged and fancied themselves the rulers of the world. The earth cried. Then war broke out between the youkai and men. Villages were burned, children were orphaned. The dragon lords watched from their homes in the sky and the sea, unhappy with both sides they worked to create a solution. Not to protect man and his mechanisms but to protect the land, to save what purity it had left. If the land became polluted the sky and sea would follow. Roreku approached the Emperor of Men, while his brother Vashrikyu approached the four youkai lords and they held counsel. An uneasy alliance between the two races was formed. Borders were created, man was forbidden to enter youkai territory, while youkai were forbidden to interfere in the acts of men. Peace was restored to the land.
Man continued to deteriorate, the dragon lords whispered to each other wondering if man would destroy himself. Roreku descended from his home in the heaven, he masked his dragon form, and lived on the land in order to keep order within the lives of men. His appearance was almost human, but his eyes were the color of golden flame, claws adorned his fingers, while his ears were pointed. His hair was crimson, he was a figure impossible to ignore.
Time passed and the age of men did not end. Roreku, greatest of dragon lords, became acquainted with a young human child. Innocent child, with large eyes and long dark hair, that neither feared the lord nor told anyone of their meeting. He watched her from afar, his golden eye intrigued. The child aged and as the woman-child tended her garden the dragon lord approached. Large brown eyes widened as he approached, she kneeled before him, head bowed in reverence. He watched her silently and asked her name. Her reply was soft, and he only nodded at the word. She wondered why he came and he asked to see her garden.
Time passed and the woman-child was no longer a child. Innocence left her eyes as the age of man continued and brother fought against brother for personal gain. Roreku could not stop the greed of men, they ignored his words and the dragon shrines abandoned. Roreku approached the maiden at dusk, a habit that began when he asked her name. She was waiting for him, resplendent in sapphire robes and he felt the stirring once more. He gave into the longing and she did not resist.
Roreku, the greatest of the dragon lords, removed himself from the earth that night. Returning to his home in heaven but resolved to watch his maiden from afar. Messengers from the Emperor arrived at the home of her father, asking her to appear before in court. She along with other unmarried women of unrivaled beauty approached the Emperor. She wished not to be chosen, having no desire to marry the tyrant who created wars for his own amusement. Alas, her desire was ignored and the Emperor enthralled by her chose her for his bride and ordered that in nine months hence she was to return to him, his bride and Empress.
The maiden cried on the journey home, she neither wanted to wed nor become Empress. And Roreku, with his golden eye, turned away from the her for he had resolved not to interfere in the decision of men. He could not stop her marriage, though he wished to. If he had stayed a moment longer, watched her for a few seconds more he might have noticed the small smile that broke through her tears, a hand laid on a small stomach. Life grew there; at least she had a small reminder.
Time passed, Roreku refusing to gaze upon the maiden but focused on other areas of the world disliking what he saw. The maiden confined to her home and forbidden any visitors once her condition was known gave birth to a child, whose crimson hair betrayed his lineage. She cried at the sight, loving him instantly and knowing that she had to leave him. Night approached, the new moon hung in the sky and she draped a cloak across her shoulders. Hood drawn to mask her features she carried her babe to the shrine, there she laid him, one month old and said a prayer, asking the servants of her lord to protect him. She left, turning to gaze at the child tears dripping down her face, and walked towards her life with the Emperor.
The child was found by sweet Narkshava and taken to the sky; she promised the fading form of the maiden that the child would be protected. She looked into her golden pool to see the face of the maiden and gasped to see the woman charged, a death sentence over her head. The Emperor angered by her lack of virginity ordered her beheaded. She neither begged nor pleaded simply looked ahead and walked calmly to her fate. The blade fell and Narkshava called Nasaphet, favorite servant to Roreku and told him the news. Nasaphet walked to his lord's chabers, knowing the new would sadden him. When Roreku heard the news he whispered her name. Eisaru. He ordered the child be brought to him and acknowledged him as his son.
Roreku, greatest dragon lord, angered by the acts of the Emperor called a dragon meeting, no longer would the dragons interfere with the earth, no longer would they enforce the old laws. Youkai and men could do as they wished. The sea dragons nodded in understanding retreating to their palaces in the bottom of the sea while the other dragons remained in their palaces in the sky.
Roreku, gazing at his son, knew that the earth would not be rid of dragons, his son would one day return to earth and the dragon blood would be intermingled with the humans. One day the dragons would return, the innocent and the land needed protection. He knew this would happen and he named his son Arkansu. From Arkansu comes the Raizen clan, from Arkansu comes your dragon blood. You are the decedent of Roreku, greatest dragon lord and with his blood you will protect those who cannot protect themselves."
She shook her head at the memory, and wished for the hundredth time that her hair was crimson instead of its normal ebony. She knew it was a pointless wish, only the male descendents were graced with crimson hair, and even that was a rare occurrence. Her older brother and her father both had the hair she wished to have but neither her grandfather, nor her great-grandfather inherited the hair. However, she reminded herself, this was not the time to be crying over hair-color. She turned to look once more at her enemies. They were still poised and waiting.
Damn it all, she cursed. She couldn't bloody well complete her mission if she couldn't attack. And she couldn't attack unless she knew what she was fighting against. She suddenly stiffened. Something or someone was moving closer to her.
She didn't recognize the ki.
Moving slowly, using a little bit of her ki to levitate her barely off the ground, enough to not make a sound when she walked, she used a little more to mask her body, make her blend into the background just a little bit more. She looked at her prey once more. Still poised and waiting. Her eyes narrowed and then widened as she realized what was happening. Inwardly she cursed herself for not recognizing it sooner.
Honorable youkai weren't known for illusions, dishonorable ones, however, were willing to do whatever it took to win a battle even if it meant using youkai magic to trick the enemy. This was one such trick, oh but she was a fool.
Father once told her never to be blinded by her success, to always keep her guard up. She had messed up, she got too confident. Now she was probably surrounded by them, they hadn't seen her yet, that much she could gather. Youkai attacked swiftly, destroying their enemy before it became a nuisance. Well then, she'd just have to be careful and extract herself from the situation.
Her hand went down to her sword again. Just like the rest of her family she wore a sword on her hip, a sword that bore a dragon on it. Some had it engraved on the blade itself like her father, grandfather, and brother. She, however, chose to display her lineage on the hilt.
She moved again, in a different direction from where she came, slowly, carefully, but also away from the "enemy" but still in the general direction. The hair on her arms rose; she was being watched she could feel it. Cursing again, she moved faster and easily dodged a blade aimed for her heart. She dodged the blade a second time, the third time she blocked with her sword. She had to fight. There was no avoiding it. Cursing again, she quickly dispatched of the swordsman, knowing that his comrades were honing in on the sound of steel against steel and now they also had the scent of blood to go by. Frustration growing she moved faster, sensing a stronger presence coming at her. She knew it was youkai, sensed it and knew it wasn't as weak as the others.
She thought it strange that the strongest in the group would come at her directly instead of letting his (or her she muttered) underlings perform the execution. If the youkai was the leader, and if she did kill him, then there was a chance that the underling being without direction would be confused. Then she could make her escape, be reprimanded for her failure, and then be punished in a way deemed appropriate. The prospect was grim, but she was not to make a scene, therefore, it was the only prospect available. She drew her sword, blade glistening in the moonlight.
He came at her quickly, sword dancing in the air and she gauged his strength by the swing of the sword, tested his speed by how he blocked her blade. She swung her blade slicing his neatly in half and he looked startled for a moment before the green eyes narrowed and he poised himself for a different type of attack. He never got the chance, head rolling several feet away from his body. She wiped the blade on his clothing before moving on again, not having the time to wipe her hands clean. She moved, the ramen shop getting smaller and smaller as she moved, she wasn't being followed. She moved faster, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, purposely making wrong turns just in case she had overlooked a follower. "You can make one mistake. But not two." Her grandfather told her when she first received her sword. "Remember that." She would, she would never forget those words, or any of their advice again.
Things were too muddled, it should've been easy. Defeat the guard, go in slay the twelfth commander, get out. Simple. Her first mistake was being too confident, her second not sensing the youkai magic at work, her third being seen by the enemy. There were never supposed to be witnesses, she'd slain the ones she had come across but there could be others.
Suddenly she stopped, shaking slightly she knew that she must be getting punished for something. There before her was the youkai lord she was never supposed to approach. He looked bored, silver hair teased by the wind, grey armor against white robes. She'd been seen, she'd been able to escape the Rishinkar forces, and now she didn't know if she'd be able to escape. She knew the name of this youkai lord, knew the name of the father that sired him and his half brother.
There was no mistaking the crescent moon, the delicate stripes; it was Sesshoumaru, youkai lord of the Western Lands and leader of another faction in this miserable war. She was told never to approach him, the Lord had his own motives for battle, they were personal and she believed honorable. He was defending his land, his subjects, and with the war spreading further and further across the land he had joined the foray in order to prevent his borders from being crossed. He defended his own. He wasn't her enemy. The enemy of her enemy was her friend, that's the way it should have been. Sesshoumaru made no alliances. Sought no help from the other factions, he worked only with his troops.
He was alone. She knew that much. She bit her lip in frustration. She didn't know how the youkai would react to her presence; she knew he could probably smell the blood on her hands. She wasn't a threat to him, but that didn't mean he would allow her to cross.
And then he stared right at her.
"Little dragon."
He saw her. He knew her. No, he saw the sword and guessed, there was no way he could know her.
"Come here."
She dared not defy him; she knew that he could kill her easily. She was still in training, he was centuries older than her.
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered before approaching him.
He looked at her, stared at the blood on her hands. "Why have you come here?"
He did not appear to care one way or another nor did his hand reach for his sword.
"I did not intend to come across you or you people, Sesshoumaru-sama. I am merely returning to my-" she faltered. She couldn't tell him she was returning to her home, just because they shared a common enemy did not mean he couldn't order his troops against her and her clan. Still, he had no reason to send his troops after her, none in her clan nor their allies ever attacked one of his own. "I am returning to my personal resting place."
He looked at her with those amber eyes, no emotion on his face. She suppressed a shiver at his scrutiny. Slowly he nodded, seemingly pleased with her answer.
"Leave, I have no quarrel with you and I advise you not to give me reason to."
She looked at him in shock, "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." She bowed to him before turning to leave. She smiled lightly, no one need know that she came across the youkai lord, the rest she would divulge but this would be her secret.
She ran, though one who saw her might say she flew over the rooftops, leaping towards her destination. A flash at the corner of her eye alerted her to her attacker. Sword drawn she moved to defend herself and was knocked from the air. She didn't have time to land before the youkai before her slammed her against the wall.
It hurt.
She could feel blood trickle down her temple taste the acrid liquid in her mouth. Leopard youkai, she thought, rogue, mercenary, whatever he was there was madness in his green eyes. He cared little about reason; he wanted to kill, to tear, to hear bones breaking beneath his hands, to smell blood. She whimpered.
"Well, well, what have I caught here? A little girl all alone? You should know better than to carry a weapon without knowing how to use it girl."
Had he been a lesser youkai, if only she had didn't have to finish her training, if only, if only. She didn't need to bother with the "if's", she was going to die, die because she wanted to go on a mission alone, die because she was too stubborn to listen, die because she wanted to prove she was strong enough to take care of herself.
How could she protect the innocent if she couldn't even protect herself?
She was going to die in vain.
The pain increased, her arms, her legs, stomach, back, even her eyes were in pain. She refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream, but the pain; he was keeping her conscious the bastard.
She opened her mouth, and screamed a name. She didn't know why, perhaps she had a dim hope that he would come, like a night shining armor, to rescue her.
The blows stopped, she opened her eyes, barely believing the sight before her eyes. He was there, the leopard dead at his feet.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered before darkness claimed her.
Rin woke with a start, eyes wide and searching. She stared at her hands, small, clean, no blood, no calluses from using a sword. No bruises on her face, arms, or feet, no darkness either. Just the trees where Sesshoumaru-sama and Jaken-sama had left her the day before. It was a dream then. Still she remembered the pain, phantom bruises on her skin; she'd been told that feeling pain was impossible in dreams. Still, there was no other explanation; she wasn't a young woman but a child of eight. She didn't have a sword, her family was dead, and Sesshoumaru wasn't engaged in a war. He was just trying to kill Naraku. She shivered once again, still not satisfied with the explanation. It was just a dream.