Hello again! I hope you have been enjoying what you've read so far, but if you are here on the second chapter then I am assuming that means you are so...

Please Enjoy!

Revised Note: I did not change much about the chapter, just reworded some things and changed some stuff that sounded weird.

"Lady Soten please I beg you reconsider," Koryu sped through the sky in cloud form with the brooding thunder demon on his back. They had been traveling for several hours and were getting close to Fujiyama castle.

"Would you give it a rest, I already told you I'm doing this, so you begging ain't gonna work," Soten was more determined now than when she first decided she would accept the human's offer.

"But won't seeing the fox only bring about bad memories? I know he treated you like a child before, but at the time you were very young and he didn't want to cause problems because you're a girl"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!" Soten's rage cause a bolt of lightning to flash across the blue sky. "I don't care what reason he had. HE...WILL...LEARN!" she struck Koryu on the head as she voiced each word, forgetting that the dragon returns to form when hit. She was taken aback when he transformed leaving her tumbling toward the earth at full speed.

"MASTER!" Koryu flew into action catching her by her pants leg which he grasped between his teeth. "You're being reckless already" he sighed mumbling the words without fully opening his mouth. She flailed around in anger before folding her arms and pouting.

"SHUT UP KORYU!" she yelled up at the dragon as she hung suspended upside down watching her braid swish in the wind.

She frowned for the remainder of the trip,letting Koryu scold her for already letting her emotions get the best of her. They arrived at Fujiyama castle, landing outside the gate with Koryu in the glory of his dragon form. Soten jumped from his back and straightened her armor. The guards trembled under the sight of the large red dragon before them and they readied their weapons in attempts to look threatening.

"You there...what business do you have here?" one of the guards starred in her direction, quietly hoping she was not a dangerous visitor.

"I'm here to see Raizo,"she remembered what the chief had told her when she accepted the job and she didn't want to waste time with guards.

Without another word they returned their weapons to a resting position and opened the gate. Soten nodded to Koryu and he flew upwards into the clouds, watching her as she entered. They had agreed that because of his size he would wait outside unless she called for him.

She made her way to the building in front of her and paused at the door, listening to the muffled voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying or how many people were inside, but she took a deep breath and put on a face of confidence. She wanted to be ready to face whoever she might see behind the door. Entering the room the conversation fell silent and all eyes were trained on her.

In the room the human general she met earlier sat as he chatted with two other people. He had never introduced himself properly but she assumed him to be Raizo. To his side was a young woman with black hair and bright round brown eyes. She wore an elegant, yet simple, kimono and sported a smile that oozed kindness. Beside her was a man a few years her senior wearing a demon slayer's outfit that reminded her strongly of the one Sango wore. His brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and his freckled face projected a grin in Soten's direction.

The remaining cushions in the room were empty, so she predicted that she would not be the last to arrive. She held back a sigh after she realized Shippo was not present, but she dared not show any weakness in a room full of humans.

"Miss Soten," Raizo bowed a greeting "please take a seat".

Soten plopped down across from him and dropped Raigekijin to the floor in front of her.

"So you are Soten?" the demon slayer's smile widened. "I am Kohaku," he bowed and she nodded silently in return.

"I am Rin," the chipper young woman beside Kohaku chimed in excitedly and Soten couldn't help but crack a smile at her.

"These are your comrades, though we are still waiting on another" Raizo leaned back lazily on his cushion as he spoke.

"Name's Soten, nice to meet ya"

"We've heard a lot about you, it's comforting to know that you are on our side" Kohaku chuckled and Soten grinned internally, from the praise.

"I've heard things about you guys too" she let her head swell from the nice treatment she was receiving.

The group sat and chatted for a while before, thumping footsteps outside the door caught their attention. Raizo moved to the door and opened it to see several guards running about in a panic.

"What's going on?" he stopped a soldier and waited for an explanation.

"It's the princess sir, she has disappeared and the lord has requested she be located immediately"

"Why didn't you report to me" Raizo scolded the man and he hung his head.

"Well you were busy with the guests-"

"Don't mind us" Kohaku stopped them before Raizo got angrier.

"Yeah, is there anything we can do to help?" Rin asked with genuine concern in her voice.

"We wouldn't want to trouble our guests" the soldier put up his hands defensively.

"Nonsense we are here to help, that's what we were hired for" Kohaku stood and dusted his clothes.

"We will help you search the grounds" Rin moved beside Kohaku and they prepared to head outside.

"Yeah I was getting bored anyway" Soten sighed as she realized she couldn't just sit there and ignore the situation. This job was starting to look exactly like she feared, babysitting a spoiled princess.

The group wasted no time and split up to search. Rin went with Kohaku and Soten tagged along with Raizo. They were searching the garden when they heard yelling from the fence.

"PRINCESS!" a guard stood at bottom of a tall tree looking up into the branches. From the distance they were Soten could see small bare feet and the trim of a pink kimono.

"Oh no what is she doing?" Raizo huffed and started to move toward the commotion with Soten following silently behind.

"Please my lady be careful!"

"Come down from there!" they heard several men attempting to coax the young woman but she climbed to a higher branch and onto the tall fence surrounding the castle.

"WHY IS MY FATHER AND EVERYONE ELSE THINK THEY CAN RUN MY LIFE!" she shouted through a cracking voice as she steadied herself on the narrow fence.

"Please lady Miyu-" as the man began to speak a gust of wind blew turning is gentle words to horror as the young girl tumbled backward off the fence. It happened so fast Raizo and Soten didn't have time to react before they heard her scream and a loud thud on the other side of the wooden barrier.

"LADY MIYU!" Raizo yelled and immediately moved toward the gate to go around to the fallen princess.

Soten felt her heart drop a little when she saw the girl fall, but she snapped herself into action and jumped the tall fence in one leap landing outside expecting to see a hurt human woman. Instead she saw the princess rubbing her head as her body straddled a man, who was apparently in the way when she fell.

"Ow that hurt" she whined and pouted just as Raizo and a couple other people made their way over.

"Lady Miyu, thank goodness you're okay" Raizo sighed in relief, but Soten found herself extremely irritated.

"GIRL ARE YOU CRAZY!" Soten yelled not caring that she was talking to a noble's daughter.

"WHO ARE YOU TO YELL AT ME?!" the princess shot back not used to being yelled at.

"A LOT SMARTER THAN YOU OBVIOUSLY!" Soten frowned extremely annoyed that she couldn't hit the girl. "I know not to go climbing up fences in a tissy just because DADDY made me angry" Soten teased as the girl's cheeks turned bright red.

"WHY YOU - " the princess attempted to stand but a sharp pain in her ankle forced her back and she tripped on the unconscious man who broke her fall. She started stumbling, but a set of arms caught her.

"Are you alright?" the smooth unknown voice caught the young girl by surprise and she looked up flustered at the man who caught her. She blushed at the smiling face looking back at her and Soten felt her eyes widen.

"Shi-Shippo?" Soten stuttered somewhat in shock even though he was the main reason for her agreeing to this job.

"So you remember me huh?" Shippo's smile turned into a cheeky grin revealing his fang which slightly hung from his bottom lip.

"You two know each other?" Raizo looked surprised that they were so familiar with one another.

"Oh we go way back" Shippo chuckled and winked a green eye at Soten.

"That woman is so cruel" Miyu clung to Shippo helplessly after she realized Soten's reaction. She couldn't completely read it, but she wanted to see if she could make her angry.

"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble last time we met," he laughed and Soten shot him a dirty look.

"DON'T TREAT ME LIKE A CHILD!" she pouted making herself look even more childish.

"Well you were arguing with a young girl"

"I was not arguing with her, I was just trying to make her see how she could have gotten hurt."

"No she was being rude" Miyu buried her face in Shippo's shirt.

"No lady Miyu, Soten is right" Raizo spoke up after listening to the conversation unfold. "You were being reckless and you shouldn't try something like this again."

The young woman only frowned and turned up her nose.

"These two will both be accompanying you to your marriage meeting Miyu, so please try to get along" he begged.

"I have no problems with Mr. Fox," she huffed referring to Shippo and then turning a glare to Soten. "But I don't think I can deal with HER."

"Well that's too bad," a powerful voice rang from behind the group. It came from an older man with a thinning head of hair and a long swaying beard.

"Father" Miyu gasped as the man approached her. He looked her up and down as she was sheltered in Shippo's arms to support her weight off her bad foot, then he looked to the man slumped over on the ground.

"Thank you for saving my daughter" he looked Shippo in the eye not showing any other emotion.

"No, no she helped me" Shippo pat the girl's shoulder in gratitude as he spoke. "This man was a thief I was pursuing and she happened to have really good timing. Unfortunately she hurt her ankle and I caught her. I should really be thanking her though" Shippo replied politely and Soten held back a gag.

"Regardless of that I put my trust in you" he nodded then gestured his guards to assist his daughter from the strange man's arms. "Raizo continue the briefing tomorrow. For now let our guests rest" he turned and followed the men carrying his daughter without speaking another word.

"Yes sir" Raizo bowed then turned to Shippo and Soten. "Please Miss Soten forgive me for asking another favor of you, but might you show Shippo to the waiting room? I will join you shortly after I retrieve Rin and Kohaku."

"Yeah sure, no problem," she nodded and watched him walk away before leaving herself with Shippo in tow.

She found herself struggling to come up with something to say to him and it was beginning to make her angry. All this time she imagined having some witty remarks when she saw him and the only thing she could managed was silence. It didn't help that he was just as quiet. His stoic calmness made her wonder what he was thinking. She wanted to believe that he was just a flustered as she, but is was unlikely he would have problems handling stress, based on how easily he dealt with that brat of a princess.

They arrived at the waiting room and the awkwardness of the atmosphere was driving her insane. No one else had arrived and Shippo sat on a cushion near the door prompting Soten to remain on the far end of the room. She sat with her legs twitching, searching for something to say, but before she could think straight Shippo's laughter broke her concentration.

"What's so funny?" she asked more curious than angry, but tried to sound irritated at his outburst.

"Nothing" he spoke as his chuckles subsided and flashed her an innocent smile. "I just hope we will get along, seeing as we will be comrades."

"Whatever, it's not like I am here to make friends or be all buddy, buddy" she muttered to herself but she was more than loud enough for Shippo to hear.

"Oh so you are here because of the money?" he teased knowing that she was being difficult on purpose.

"LIKE HELL" she spat back. "What do I look like accepting money from humans. I am here because WE have a score to settle".

"A score?" Shippo's interest was definitely peaked.

"Don't play dumb, Mr. High and mighty" she pointed a finger at him. "Even now you still treat me like I am something to be mocked, but you won't be able to do that once I beat you."

"Beat me?" Shippo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You want to fight me again, aren't we passed all these childish games?"

"Fight you, oh please" Soten laughed as smug as she could. "I am simply here to begin my journey to greatness, by taking back the respect I lost when I let you walk away."

"So we aren't going to fight?"

"Why? I would obviously win" Soten gloated.

"So you don't want to fight me, but in order to meet your full potential you feel like you need to settle a score with me so you accepted a job from humans and travel all this way just to prove something to me?"

"..."Soten was completely silent. She hadn't thought about the way that sounded before she said it. Why would she want to prove anything to him. They were kids when they met, and their battle ending in a tie meant nothing. For a moment she was regretting ever accepting to come in the first place. She hated to admit it, but maybe Koryu was right about her overreacting.

Soten's face was twisted into what looked like a strange mix of intense concentration, anger and probably a little bit of constipation. Shippo hesitated, but he felt if he didn't say anything the thunder demon might hurt herself.

"NO!" before he could speak Soten let out a loud outburst and painted a devilish grin on her face. "I will not let you sway me" She once again made sure to point directly at Shippo for dramatic effect. "You were the first one to ever fight me, you realized you couldn't beat me, then you had the nerve to walk away like it wasn't worth your time because you found out i'm a girl. You started it, and ever since then it has been rinse and repeat of the same thing, and every time since I have crushed my opponent, but not you. So once I prove that I can be better than you at EVERYTHING, even if it means protecting a little brat from some weak ass demon, I will know for a fact that losing to you was a fluke."

"Who said it was a fluke?" Shippo sat quietly through her entire rant and when he finally spoke up he was surprisingly serious. "So childish Soten, to hold a grudge for so long" he chuckled and she growled. "But I suppose if the memory of losing to me was so bad for you all I can do is obliged your wish for redemption." He paused cutting her a cunning glare. "But I suppose the bigger question is, CAN YOU DODGE THIS, SMASHING TOP!"

He pulled a hand from his inner kimono and whirled a wooden top a Soten making her fall back and cover her head. She remembered this attack and the fact that the toy would certainly grow much bigger than it's normal size with a force that could disorient a foe easily.

She shielded herself but nothing happened until she felt a small thump on her shoe. She looked down to see the small toy top wobbling to a stop at her feet. Then the uncontrollable laughter of the spinning top's owner pierced the silence.

"Oh man I got you" Shippo managed to talk between breaths. "You were so scared"

"What?" Soten looked around confused, "YOU JERK!" she shrieked as she hurled one of the sitting cushions at his face, smacking him head on.

"Okay Soten" He stopped laughing and smiled her way. "But if you want to beat me you are going to have to try as hard as you can. I have a thing about not leaving girls in danger and Miyu is pretty cute, so I will be extra protective".

"Do you know how much of a perv you sound like right now?"

"Not pervy, I just think that childish innocence should be protected, why do you think I have been so nice to you?" He teased sticking out his tongue.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME A KID AGAIN!"

"Well you have to admit, you have been failing all day at NOT being childish"

"Whatever" was once again all she could muster as a reply. He WAS right, that argument with Miyu didn't really leave the impression she was hoping for when she saw him again. The embarrassment of the situation began to settle in and she found herself hoping Raizo would come through the door and save her from herself, but as time ticked on the atmosphere fell back into a calming silence, and she let herself relax and steal a few unnoticed glances at the silent kitsune who fiddled with the green flame he produced at his fingertips.

He had definitely gotten taller, which she noticed as they walked together. Boys normally grow slow, but he was now quite a few inches taller than her. His large childish green eyes had grown into his features, giving him a much more mature face. His reddish brown hair now hung in a long ponytail down his back and stopped just before the end of his shoulder blade. She also made a note that he was now able to hold a humanoid form without any sign of his fox nature, aside from his claws, fangs and tail which swished near his feet. Even his fox like legs had transformed, so Soten was sure he could change from animal to human form at will. Either way he definitely seemed more mature and that would mean she would have to be level headed if she wanted to keep her cool.

Soten's mind drifted and she forgot she was staring at Shippo who noticed and smiled back at her. He reached into his sleeve and removed the small spinning top that he tricked her with earlier, turning it so it sped across the floor and into Soten's leg. She snapped from her daze and pinched the toy between her fingers examining it on all sides. She returned her focus to Shippo only to see him with a goofy smile plastered on his face. He winked at her, and her face instantly reddened. Thinking for a way out of being caught staring at him, she drew her hand back to throw the top back at him, but the door opened stopping her in her tracks.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" Raizo entered followed by Rin and Kohaku.

"Not at all you didn't take that long" Shippo shook off his apology and stretched, groaning away the stiffness in his joints at the same time.

"Ah, Shippo you made it" Kohaku beamed as he entered and saw the red head leaning on the wall.

"Of course" He smiled back and Rin waved at him from behind Kohaku's shoulder. "You know I couldn't leave you and Rin alone, who knows what you would do" Shippo acted like the comment meant nothing but the blush on Kohaku's face told a different story.

"What?" Rin looked confused, but Kohaku intervened before Shippo could say anything else.

"Nothing, you know Shippo he is always thinking he is everyone's protector. He is just worried about you is all…" He shot the fox an evil look and only got a chuckle in return.

"Ah to be young again…" Raizo looked on the group with envious eyes drawing everyone's attention at his strange comment. When he realized the puzzled stares he recomposed himself and bowed to the four guests respectfully.

"Unfortunately the days events have delayed our discussion, but the princess is fine and that thief you were after has been taken into custody Shippo. Anyways i'm sure you would like to rest so I will tell you more details of your mission in the morning. For now please follow me to your rooms," Raizo turned and everyone eagerly followed tired from the commotion earlier.

After Raizo showed them all to their respective quarters he retired himself and left the others to relax. Soten finally found herself alone and able to think, but she really didn't know what to make of the day.

She couldn't imagine how awkward she must have appeared. She was so focused on yelling at Miyu earlier that she didn't notice that she looked foolish arguing with the young girl like they were kids playing on the street. She squeezed her fist and realized that she still had the toy top gripped in her hand. Unable to think of a reason not to, she figured she might as well give herself one more chance to face him.

She slid from her room with the toy in her hands and stepped swiftly down the hall, with her socks making tapping noises on the wood as she moved. The servants of the house were scattered about, but none of them seemed to notice her as she glided by. Eventually she made it to Shippo's door and paused, considering if she would only be making her day worse if she knocked. Before she could decide what to do, a soft shove pressed into her shoulder.

"BOO! did I scare you again?" Shippo appeared beside her and she rolled her eyes at his lame joke.

"No, you didn't" she huffed and extended her hand with the toy top sitting flat on her palm. "You did leave me with your junk though" she gestured to her hand and Shippo looked at it and smiled.

"Keep it"

"I don't want your stuff" she whined pushing her hand closer to him.

"But when we first met you always wanted my things, and that one is handmade to spin really fast" He spoke about the toy like he was giving her a sales pitch. "Not to mention I have plenty" he flashed his inner kimono and the imprint of several small tops lined his pockets.

"And you call me a child when you walk around with pockets full of toys".

"Well I use them for my magic, but i'll let you keep this one for good luck" He tapped her nose and entered his room leaving the blushing thunder demon in the hall.

She grumbled to herself and returned to her own room flopping onto her bed after removing her armor and undoing her braid to let her black hair fall over her shoulders. She sighed and decided she didn't feel like thinking anymore. She wasn't prepared today and Shippo made her flustered, but tomorrow she will be prepared.

Closing her eyes she let the sound of the creaky castle sing her to sleep. As she drifted she held her hands close to her chest, and in her palms she gently squeezed a small wooden top. A dinky little trinket with no real value, and when she thought about it, she probably should have thrown it away just to show Shippo that his teasing meant nothing to her. But, she decided hold onto it, at least for now.

Thanks again for reading. See you in the next chapter!

-ErynBeane