The Flea's Bargain, Part I: Pursuit

The flea was starving.

Well, in truth, he was not actually starving. It is difficult for a flea demon to starve, able as he is to take sustenance from mortal or demon, able to chose what he draws from the blood of his victim.

Nevertheless, from the flea's point of view, he was starving. It had been so long since he had had a decent meal! He didn't know how long he had been in these particular woods, but the sustenance available to him was of such low quality! Mortal blood could be tasty enough, especially that of humans, spiced with the effervescent tang that marked the humans' awareness of their short-lived mortality. But he had found no humans in this forest, and the blood of the creatures here all seemed to have a sour aftertaste that churned his insides and made him want to return the blood back to its unintended donor. As for demon blood, it seemed uniformly thin and utterly lacking in flavor.

So, it was not surprising that when he sensed the aura of an unusually strong demon, that he reacted quite without thought. Springing from the crack in the tree-bark in which he had been sheltering to a nearby limb, he paused barely long enough to determine a direction, and then started in pursuit.

He jumped and he jumped. Over and over, following that luscious scent. Sometimes it strengthened. Just as often, it faded, once or twice to the point of disappearing. But the flea would not give in. He would have this meal, the blood of the owner of this wonderful, tantalizing demonic aura. He would, he would, he would! Time meant nothing to the flea—well, as a demon, time was always relatively unimportant, anyways, at least as compared to the importance humans gave it. But the flea was totally committed to the hunt, not knowing if it had so far taken a day-or a year.

All things have an end. And, in a week or a month, the flea knew his chase was coming to an end. The scent was steadily growing in strength, and the object of pursuit was no longer moving. Yes, yes, yes! The flea found strength to jump further, to leap faster. Soon, soon, soon! And joy, oh, yes joy! This was not just strong demon! This was inu-youkai! His favorite, his absolute favorite! Feast time! Feast time!

White hair flashed, and pale skin beckoned. The flea spotted the neck, and rejoiced. The neck, oh the neck, where the rich, rich blood ran thickest, so tasty, so wonderful! The flea made one final leap, all six limbs extended to grab holds in the skin, the snout poised to pierce and suck, to fill the yearning body to blissful, swollen repletion--

And in the middle of the leap, two claws plucked him neatly from the air.

He screamed.

As loudly as a flea can scream, that is.

He wriggled fruitlessly against the two pinching points in his side, wailing in terror. "Let me go let me go!" he wailed. "Promise not to bite, promise, promise, promise!"

A low chuckle answered him. "Well, well, well." He felt himself moving through the air, and found himself confronted with a golden eye larger than he was. "A flea. Just what a dog demon needs." The voice chuckled again. "You have a strong aura for such a tiny thing. I thought I was being pursued by something slightly larger - oh, say something the size of a ... spider."

The flea whimpered. "Please let me go! Please, please!"

"Promise not to flee." The flea whimpered something that might have been taken for a 'yes.' The two claws eased their pressure. Wildly, the flea jumped, intent only on escape. He shrieked as the hand closed around him and light disappeared. He wailed, waiting for the hand to crush him.

Cracks of light appeared between the fingers. The flea stared at them, but did not jump, for even a flea can realize that escape is impossible. The cracks widened, and the voice rumbled with a hint of impatience. "I do not plan to hurt you, flea, so come on out."

Quivering, the flea obeyed. He found himself perched on one of the clawed fingers, staring up at his captor. The hand was now far enough away that he could see the entire face. The inu youkai was in his human form, with golden eyes glinting amusement beneath heavy, untrimmed silver bangs, and strong, black eyebrows. A jagged blue streak lined each cheek, and the pointed ears were half-obscured by the unbound hair.

"So, flea. You have been pursuing me for several days," said the inu youkai. "You do have a reason."

The flea trembled. "Please, my lord, forgive me. I only desired a bit of your blood – I have been so hungry for a good meal!"

"Is that all?" The inu barked a laugh. "From the intensity of your aura, I would have guessed your pursuit involved a matter of life or death." The flea tried to compress himself. "Or perhaps it was, to you?" he added, one corner of his mouth twitching. "So the blood of an inu youkai makes a good meal, does it?"

"Oh, the best, my lord!" exclaimed the flea. "So rich, so tasty! So, so filling! Nothing compares! Nothing!"

"Indeed? So what would you give, for such a meal?"

The flea blinked. "My lord?"

"If you wish to make a meal of my blood, should you not offer something in trade?"

The flea gaped. He had never considered such an idea. Blood was his for the taking. What he got in return, most times, was to be flattened by his irate host. "I – I – I – " he stammered, completely at a loss. What could a mere flea demon offer the great inu youkai?

The dog demon chuckled again. "I'll make you an offer, flea. These woods are strange to me, and there is something wrong here. You tell me everything you know about this area, and stay with me until I get out of here, and I'll let you have your meal. In fact, I'll let you have several meals, as long as you don't get greedy. Do we have a deal?"

The flea's eyes grew wider, if anything. A powerful youkai bargaining with him, a mere flea?
"No swatting?" he asked timidly.

"As long as you don't take me by surprise, and don't bite anywhere—umm, sensitive: no swatting."

The flea felt as if he would swoon in disbelief. A feast, without fear of being flattened. Impossible! Irresistible! "Oh, yes, my lord!" he shouted, jumping up and down. "Oh, thank-you, my lord! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!"

The dog demon flicked his hand over while the flea was in mid-air, letting the flea land on his wrist. "Go ahead, then. Just remember, we have a bargain."

The flea stared at that pale expanse of thin skin, filled with ecstatic anticipation. He leapt, drove his mouth through the skin, and was in instant bliss.

And so a bargain was made.