A/N: Yeah, yeah…we don't Inuyasha or the other characters…except the original ones we created. Now leave us alone about it.
Kayla: -Rubs neck as she stares at computer screen- Why do I have to be the one to type all of these chapters?
Amanda: -Laughs from where she sits on the futon- Because you type faster…and I'm too lazy.
Kayla: Oh yeah…my bad.
Khira: -Leans over Kayla's shoulder to read what she's typing- Hey! Why haven't you started writing my chapter yet?
Kayla: Oh come on, Khira. You aren't that anxious to see what chapter 1 has in it, are you?
Khira: -Shrugs and scratches ear- I guess not. -Goes and sits down in the floor to wait…until 5 minutes later- Do I at least get to do some cool stuff?
Kayla and Amanda: -Exchange a bored look before Kayla goes back to typing-
- - -
"Mommy! Look what I found!"
Glancing away from the surrounding trees and shaking off memories best forgotten, Khira stopped so her son, Aeroes, could show her his latest treasure find. At four years old, he was already proving that curiosity was a cat's, even a half-demon panther's, biggest weakness. Khira inwardly sighed. Thank God Pandora, her youngest cub, exercised more caution.
Khira's eyes widened in alarm when she saw the knife clutched in her son's small fist. Aeroes didn't know what he was carrying. She, herself, used staves to fight…and only when hand-to-hand combat wasn't an option. She knew that knives could be used up close on an opponent, but Khira liked a challenge when she fought. Knives and any other weapons that could be thrown, she considered a coward's way out. Never mind that it took considerable skill to wield them. Because of this, she had never had the opportunity to warn her cubs of the danger they posed.
Beside her, Pandora was studying the knife with her usual cautious curiosity. Sometimes she wondered who the mother was. Ever since their birth, Pandora had been the gentle and quiet one while Aeroes had been the rash and reckless one.
When their father had left, Khira had worried that being only a half-panther demon would make it hard for her to raise and protect her cubs properly. Male panthers almost always left after their litter was born. Khira struggled against bitterness. After all, it had been the expected outcome. She was letting her human emotions cloud her logic. Besides, her father had been different. He had loved her mother.
Aeroes called her impatiently, knocking her out of her reverie. She crouched gracefully and took the knife from her son. She cringed inwardly when she felt the smooth handle fall into her hand, bringing up old memories.
"Aeroes, this is a weapon, a dangerous one, and you should be more careful."
He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay, but what is it?"
Khira hesitated, remembering her reservations about thrown weapons. Knowing Aeroes, he would probably want to learn how to use it. She could teach him, but what if he preferred knives to close contact weapons? Despite her aversion to the thought, she chose to answer him truthfully. Honesty was a quality she always tried to maintain.
"It's called a knife. It can be used to stab or cut your opponent either by throwing it or using it at a close range to parry and thrust."
Aeroes's yellow-green eyes gleamed with cat-like interest. Both of her cubs had inherited her eyes, but instead of her black hair with blue tints, they had their father's golden colored hair with black streaks. Khira had the compact, sleek build of her demon father and, at 5'7", weighed 140 pounds of mostly muscle.
Before she could dampen her son's enthusiasm, Pandora tugged at her hand. "Mommy, there's someone watching us."
Khira stilled. Her senses flared out, seeking the source of her daughter's agitation when Aeroes cocked his head. Apparently, he had also sensed a presence nearby. Khira rolled her eyes. Sometimes it was downright embarrassing to know that her children were better demons than she was. True, she was just a half-demon while they were three-fourths, but, still, she was the mother!
She concentrated on finding the intruder, using her advanced hearing and keen sense of smell. In the woods to her right, she could just make out an unfamiliar, but unmistakably demon, scent. She pulled her stave from the sheath on her back, putting herself in front of Aeroes and Pandora.
"Show yourself, stranger, or I'll view you as a threat."
There was a moment of hesitation and then a figure cloaked in a baboon skin and mask stepped out. Khira watched him avidly, waiting for him to do something so she could gauge him as friend or foe. She didn't have to wait long.
The man's disembodied voice rang out. "Your children are very powerful to be so young. They will be useful."
Her protective instincts roared to life. "The only use they'll have for you is cleaning up the mess I make of you if you come near them." Her voice was low and deadly, a tone she only used when her and hers were threatened.
The stranger gave a low laugh. Suddenly, an extended root-like arm shot out from beneath his cloak. Khira quickly leapt out of the way and charged him. She bounced off an invisible shield and flew into a tree. It knocked the breath out of her. She looked up to see Aeroes charging the demon.
Her heart lurching, she yelled, "Aeroes, no! Stay back!"
It was too late, though. He had already reached the demon and, instead of running into a shield, he rammed straight into him. Even more surprisingly, the demon let him. Too late, Khira realized that Aeroes really had run "into" him. The demon was absorbing him!
Khira jumped up and ran toward them, her heart in her throat. The demon's arm shot out again, but she was read.
"Steel claw slash!"
Her claws ripped through his arm and she brought the stave down on his head at the same time. He grunted in surprise, but Aeroes was still being sucked in.
He screamed, "Mommy! Help me!"
She saw something at the edge of her vision. It was Pandora. Her daughter's lethal nature had surfaced when she saw that her brother had been caught. The young panther leapt straight at the demon, claws extended, fangs bared.
Khira reached for Aeroes, desperately trying to grab him. The demon had recovered from the shock of getting bashed on the head. He threw Khira off and stepped back. Pandora, instead of landing near his face, ended up with Aeroes.
Khira's eyes widened. She pulled the dagger from where she had placed it in her obi after taking it from Aeroes. Praying she hadn't gotten rusty in the years since learning how to use it, she threw the knife. She aimed for his heart, as her father had taught her. The knife hit its mark.
There was no cry of pain, but she knew she had wounded him. All of a sudden, Aeroes and Pandora fell to the ground, motionless. The demon released a cloud of poisonous gas and retreated into the trees.
She choked and tried not to breathe in. She desperately searched for her children. After finding them, she gathered them into her arms and leapt into a branch that carried her away from the deadly fumes. She tried not to think about the fact that neither of her cubs had stirred since she had gotten them.
Spotting an open clearing, she jumped down and laid Aeroes and Pandora gently on the forest floor. She brushed her hands over their faces, softly calling their names. When they didn't respond, Khira started shaking them with increasing urgency.
Her mind was frozen. She couldn't—wouldn't accept the truth. She kept shaking them, calling out to them, tears streaming endlessly down her cheeks. She didn't notice. She was on the verge of screaming when Pandora's eyelids flickered. Khira froze. Slowly, her cub's eyes opened.
Pandora smiled gently, weakly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Aeroes, Mommy. I tried."
Khira breathed deeply, struggling to contain the emotions raging inside her. "It's alright, baby. It wasn't your fault."
Pandora smiled again, more strongly. Then, with a whispered, "I love you, Mommy," closed her eyes. She didn't open them again, not even when her mother shook her, begged her to.
Khira did scream them, releasing all the fury of her grief and, unconsciously, a power she had locked away long ago. When she was done, she sat there, sunk in pain, remembering all the moments of her children's lives. Finally, she stirred and mechanically dug graves for them.
When she was done, Khira stood and stretched, muscles loosening and bones popping. She leapt into the trees, one thought fueling her. The demon had killed her cubs and unleashed the predator in her. He would pay with his life. Khira lifted her head, sniffing the wind. A now familiar scent drifted in the breeze. She smiled, fangs glinting wickedly. Her eyes burned with rage and a need for vengeance. The hunt had begun.
- - -
INTERLUDE
Khira: You just killed my nonexistent children! You guys must really hate me to create me then cause me so much pain!
Kayla: -Sweatdrops- Heh…well…uh…I didn't write this chapter. Maybe you should talk to Amanda about it.
Khira: -Throws a shoe at Amanda's head, knocking her off of the futon- You witch! I don't see you doing this to Jade!
Jade: -Walks in with a bewildered expression- Someone called?
Amanda: -Rubs head and climbs back onto the futon, ignoring Jade- KHIRA IT'S JUST A FREAKIN STORY! Calm down! Jeez…. glares at the character she created…isn't it enough that you get to kick Naraku's ass in later chapters?
Khira: Meh…-crosses arms over chest and glares at creator-…whatever. I still don't like you right now.
Amanda: -Shrugs- I can deal with that. Now go get me a coke.
Khira: Go get your own damn coke!
Amanda: HEY! I created you and I can get rid of you! There's this wonderful thing called "Backspace"! Now, go and get that coke!
Kayla: Oh, for Christ's sake! -Throws Amanda and Khira down the stairs- Stinking ninny heads!
Jade: So, uh…yeah…-big smile-…have you started my chapter yet?
Kayla: -Sigh- Don't you start in on me too! I'm about to start.
Jade: Do I get to kick that Naraku guy's ass too?
Kayla: -Warning tone- Jaaaaade…..
Jade: Yeah, yeah…I'm shutting up. Type away, Oh Creator.
- - -
"Shuriken spiral illusion!" Jade screamed at the top of her lungs, launching a throwing star at the tree that she was using for target practice.
The single star multiplied into seven identical illusions, spinning toward the tree. They enclosed the target in their deadly circle, coming closer and closer. Finally, the real shuriken embedded itself in the target, slightly off the mark.
Jade swore, pulling a dagger and launching it into the knot she had originally aimed for. Throwing stars were not her weapons of choice, but they came in handy when she was being attacked. That seemed to be happening more and more since she had found two jewel shards and claimed them as her own.
Sighing, she trudged to the tree and removed both weapons. After replacing them in their hidden sheaths, she dug her claws into the tree and stretched sinuously. She was sore after a long day of practice.
Now, more than ever, she had to be on top of her game. When she had found the shards, she'd thought they would improve her skills with the throwing stars. Instead, they'd enhanced the agility she was born with as a half-demon lynx.
Jade yawned, displaying her white fangs, as she removed her claws from the tree. Humming tunelessly, she walked to the stream that served as her bath and water fountain. As she crouched to get a drink, she saw her reflection.
Her hair, escaping the confines of the chopsticks she used to keep it out of her face, was longer than she remembered. It trailed around her cat ears and halfway down her back in riotous black curls with red highlights. Her lithe body had hardened into firm muscles from years of fighting and weapons training.
She sucked in an angry breath as she stared into her jade green eyes. They were the same as her hated father's. She could explain away or ignore every feature except those.
She smacked the water as memories of her father emerged. The lynx demon, Kenshi, had lured Jade's mother away and claimed her as his mate. She'd died giving birth to an unwanted child.
Kenshi had raised his daughter without love, using her as a means to continue his line and nothing more. The only good thing he had ever done for Jade was teaching her how to use daggers and, somewhat, shurikens. The lessons with the throwing stars had started a few months before Jade had rebelled and run away from him when she turned 16. That had been less than three years earlier.
Now, at eighteen, she was independent and her father was dead. Apparently, the heartless bastard had been killed by a nameless demon that traveled in the guise of a baboon.
Jade smiled grimly, sending silent thanks to the unknown demon. It had unknowingly saved her a trip back into her father's territory. She had always planned to kill Kenshi herself, but the demon had spared her the inconvenience.
Standing, she pushed the thoughts of Kenshi away. There was no sense in dwelling on the past. She had enough to worry about in the present.
A twig snapped behind Jade, causing her to grunt. She had stolen some food and valuable trinkets from a small village the night before. The same boy had been following her since then.
"You're clumsy," she called out to him. "You can come out now, boy."
A gangly youth stepped out from the cover of a tree. Scowling, he demanded, "Give me my things."
She laughed scathingly, her ears twitching in amusement. "I don't have anything of yours. Spoils to the victor, don't you know?"
"You're nothing but a dirty half-demon!" He exclaimed angrily. "If my father was alive, he'd have your ears as a souvenir!"
Jade's eyes narrowed in fury. "But he's not alive," she stated icily.
The deadly tone of her voice sent chills down his spine. He took off running, crashing through the bushes. Jade tracked him ruthlessly, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. Finally, she dropped in front of him, causing him to shriek and back away from her in terror.
Grabbing him by the throat, she pushed him up against the tree and smiled toothily. "I'm really going to enjoy this."
He whimpered and tried to squirm away from her, but she held tight. His legs were weak as her claws grew tighter around his neck. Just as he thought they would puncture his skin, she threw him over her knee.
"How…dare…you…call…me…a dirty…half…demon!" She demanded, punctuating each word with a smack to his rear. "Now go home before I change my mind and kill you just for the hell of it."
He ran away from her awkwardly. Her claws had slightly ripped his pants and he clutched the fabric together to keep from exposing himself. It didn't work very well.
Jade doubled over in laughter. She'd never seen anything that funny in her entire life. Wiping tears from her eyes and still giggling slightly, she returned to the stream.
She pulled the chopsticks from her hair and stripped off her crudely made fur clothing. She waded waist deep into the water and sunk down to her chin. Hurriedly, she washed the grime from the day's practice form her body and got dressed.
As she pulled on her shirt, Jade caught an unfamiliar scent in her territory. Nose twitching slightly, she followed the strange smell for a few minutes. It turned abruptly in a different direction, skirting her land.
Grimacing at the close call, Jade turned and went back to her clearing. Just as she jumped the stream, the smell invaded her nostrils again. It was closer, but slightly altered. The distinct sound of buzzing entered her ears.
She angrily pulled out a dagger and a shuriken, waiting for the intruders to show themselves. She didn't have to wait long. A swarm of poison insects followed closely by a demon in a baboon skin appeared on the other side of the stream.
Jade's mouth fell open in astonishment. This was the demon that had killed her father! She lowered her weapons slightly in confusion. Did the demon have a blood feud against her family?
One of the demon's root-like arms shot toward her, but her weapons were back in place and she was ready. She cast a throwing star without hesitation.
"Shuriken spiral illusion!"
The star hit its target for once, slicing the arm in half. She smiled smugly. "I don't know who you are, but unless you wanna die, I suggest you get your ass out of my territory!"
The demon remained silent. The poison insects, buzzing behind him until then, swarmed toward Jade. Taking advantage of the distraction, the demon launched more of its arms at her.
Jade concentrated on her powers, slicing downward with her knife. "Diamond dagger blood letter!"
The lynx demon seemed to multiply into three more identical figures. They surrounded the baboon, boxing him into a diamond shaped trap. He was wounded in the exchange of daggers. As he fled, the remaining insects got close enough to Jade to remove one of her jewel shards before she could back flip away from them.
She expected them to pursue her again, but, having the jewel shard, they followed their master in fleeing. Sighing, she gathered her shuriken and dagger. As she sheathed them, she caught the scent of yet another demon on her territory. Growling, she rushed toward it.
Soon, Jade came upon a lone half-panther demon. The panther was poised to attack, stave held at the ready. She growled when Jade unsheathed a dagger and a shuriken.
"I don't know why all you psychos think you can come into my territory, but I'm about to make a panther kebob out of you if you don't march your ass back the way you came!" Jade told the half-demon menacingly.
"Calm down, child. My fight's not with you," the panther retorted.
Jade's eyes widened. "Child? Child!"
The demon sighed. "If you really want to fight make it fast. After I finish with you, I have a baboon to hunt."
"A baboon?" Jade straightened, putting her weapons away. "He just stole one of my jewel shards."
The panther raised an eyebrow, asking, "Jewel shards? A child like you has…never mind." She put her stave into the sheath on her back. "I'm Khira."
"Jade."
"I won't deny I want his head for myself, but I'm not stupid enough to pass up an ally."
"Ally?" Jade snorted, her eyes narrowing. "I work alone."
"Do you?" She eyed Jade scornfully. "In that case, I'll be on my way."
Jade gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride. "On second thought," she smiled charmingly, "you could be a good back-up in a fight."
- - -
Kayla: -Stretches and sighs- FINALLY! I'm done!
Jade: -Reads over shoulder- Damn, I kick ass! -Busts out with a kung-fu move-
Kayla: -Rolls eyes and vacates computer chair to go get some much needed refreshments- Don't hurt yourself, Jade. I need you for future chapters.
Jade: Meh…-lays down in the floor to read a good book just as Khira and Amanda come up the stairs, fighting with each other- Not again. What is it this time, you two?
Khira: The Mighty Creator, here, has decided that I have to be punished for hitting her with a shoe. Wanna switch creators? -Hopeful gleam in eye-
Jade: -Flips a page without looking up- Not a chance. If you were nicer she wouldn't treat you like that.
Khira: Oh! Like you're one to talk!
Jade: Heh…I'm mean to everyone EXCEPT the creator. I remember firsthand how painful the Backspace key can be.
Khira: GRRR! -Smashes stave down on Jade's head- Stupid lynx!
Jade and Khira: -Get in a cat fight in the middle of Kayla's room-
Kayla: -Comes up the stairs with cheese and crackers, sitting down with Amanda to watch the show- Should we break them up?
Amanda: Nah…this is too much fun to watch! -Eats a cracker-
