Chapter Two

Jay's POV

The sound of branches rattling against the side of her shed woke Jay. "Wake up, Jay, you dormouse!" she heard someone yell. It was Sachi, her only friend in the village. Jay opened her eyes. The sound of rain had stopped, and she sighed as she hauled herself to her feet and changed from her sleeping clothes to the plain kimono that Sachi's wife had sewn for her. Tahoi was growling because of the noise, and Poppy's kittens were squealing.

"You can stop shaking the bushes," Jay called out as she slammed the door open. "I'm awake now."

"Finally," Sachi grumbled as he lumbered to the front of the shed. "I was about to come in there and drag you out by your feet. It's time for training, lazy bones. Look alive."

"I'm coming," Jay replied simply, letting Tahoi pad outside before closing the door. Jay and Sachi taught fighting every morning before the village boys began their chores. Sachi showed them how to fight with weapons, and Jay showed them how to fight hand-to-hand combat. She hadn't yet met a village boy who could beat her. It was a short walk from Jay's shed to the field where they taught fighting, but Jay's feet were muddy by the time they reached it. Most villagers wore straw sandals, but Jay never wore shoes. She didn't like the way they felt on her feet.

"I'll take the older boys this morning," Sachi growled. "I caught one of them trying to steal from the butcher. I'll teach him a lesson today. He'll be so sore he won't be able to raise his arms for a week." Jay chuckled. Sachi would tan the boy's hide with a bamboo pole. "All right!" Sachi bellowed. "Older set with me, younger set with Jay! Let's see if you've learned something yet!" The village boys scrambled to obey. The younger boys crowded around Jay, while the older ones reluctantly followed Sachi.

Taking a deep breath, Jay said calmly, "Try and get me."

Sesshomaru's POV

The weather was finally turning nice. The ground was still muddy, but it had finally stopped raining all the same. Sesshomaru pulled a brush through Ah and Un's manes, preparing him for the journey to the hunting grounds. His father was already saddling his dragon, named Tsume. Tsume was old and stiff, but Sesshomaru's father refused to ride any other dragon, and Tsume wouldn't have let him anyway.

"Behave on this journey," Sesshomaru ordered Ah-Un sternly. "Or we'll all be in trouble again." Ah and Un chirped in unison. Sesshomaru took it as an agreement. The stable master was saddling him because Sesshomaru still wasn't old enough.

"And I'll have a few juicy steaks awaiting your return," he promised them. Ah-Un purred happily, turning their heads to appraise the stable master with critical eyes.

Sesshomaru's father laughed. "Bribe the beasts," he chuckled, mounting Tsume. "Are we ready to set out, Sesshomaru?" he added, glancing at his son. Sesshomaru quickly climbed into the saddle and nodded. His excitement soared as his father led them out of the stables and into the courtyard.

Jay's POV

By the time the lessons ended, Jay didn't have a scratch on her. The village boys, however, were covered with bruises and soaked through with sweat by the time Sachi bellowed, "Alright! Time for chores and work, not fun and games!"

"You call this fun?" Jay heard one of the boys mutter as they slunk away towards the village.

"It could be worse," she threatened them quietly. "Sachi and I could make you run the field for five minutes. So I'd quit complaining if I were you."

"How did she hear that?" the boy squeaked.

"Jay has the ears of a bat," one of them said darkly. "Come on. Mama will be expecting us in the fields."

"Great job today," Sachi growled approvingly. "I saw you busting heads. You were vicious today. This'll teach those soldiers not to come near our village again."

Jay nodded. "You should take a dip in the pond before you go home," she said, sniffing. "You smell like blood. Who'd you crack open?"

"The boy who was stealing." Sachi cursed. "The fool tried to outmaneuver me. Never saw it coming when I brought the pole down on his head."

Jay scowled. "I thought the idea was to teach them to defend themselves."

"How are they supposed to learn if you don't give them a few injuries?" Sachi asked, gathering bamboo poles. "I'm not gentle like you."

"Just because I don't break bones doesn't make me gentle with them," Jay warned. "And how are they supposed to come back for more lessons if they can't walk? Or think, for that matter." Jay heard Sachi gasp. Her brow furrowed. "What's the matter, Sach?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sachi spluttered. Jay felt unease form in her stomach like a large, cold stone. "Sachi?" she asked in a small voice. It wasn't often that Jay got scared, but there was always a good reason when she did.

"Jay, go back to the village," Sachi ordered in a low voice.

"Why?" she asked, straining her ears. She could hear distant wingbeats, but that was hardly unusual. She heard hawks flying all the time.

"Just go," Sachi snapped. Jay could hear him slowly backing away. She trembled. Either something was horribly wrong with Sachi or something horribly wrong was approaching the village. Not possible, she thought firmly. My ears are as good as a bat's. No way something could sneak past me.

The wingbeats were growing closer. "Jay, Run!" Sachi bellowed. This time, Jay did as she was told. She took off full-speed towards the village. She could beat any man, woman, or child in a footrace, but this time she was too slow. Something swooped down close to her head and landed right in front of her. She tried to skid to a stop three seconds too late. With a loud 'thud' she slammed into something with the full force of her run. She felt hot breath on her face from a gigantic creature standing right in front of her as she lay on the ground, stunned. She dimly heard Sachi yelling for her to move. But she couldn't. She had lost the control of her limbs. All she could do was lie there and wait…but for what?

Sesshomaru's POV

Sesshomaru loved the feel of the wind in his hair as Ah-Un sped through the sky, following Tsume and Sesshomaru's father, the Inutaisho. They were passing a human village on their way towards the Inutaisho's favorite hunting grounds when Sesshomaru spotted the disturbance. Many human males were trying to harm a single female. Sesshomaru yelled for his father. "Father, look!" he shouted, pointing below. The female was fending off every male with fierce concentration. His father peered down at the scene. "What are they doing?" Sesshomaru asked, raising his voice to be heard over Ah-Un and Tsume's loud wingbeats.

"I don't know," the Inutaisho replied carefully, reigning Tsume in and telling him to circle the field where the fight was taking place. Sesshomaru did the same, watching the female with wide, worried eyes.

It was all he could do to stop Ah-Un from diving down and murdering the males. There had once been a stable master who'd beaten them with a poison whip. Sesshomaru's father had killed the stable master, but Ah-Un still felt very strongly towards violence. To them, watching a female being attacked by several males was torture. They wanted to help her. After a while it became apparent that the female wasn't in any danger. She blocked every blow almost before they happened. But Ah and Un were still fighting Sesshomaru's control. They growled and snapped their jaws at Sesshomaru's legs.

"Look!" he ordered them, fighting to gain control as he pointed down to the female. The males had broken away from her and were trudging away, obviously defeated. The female was breathing hard but otherwise unharmed. She turned to a large male on the other side of the field as he called out. The large male was collecting poles from the ground.

Ah-Un watched the large male tensely, waiting to see if he would attack the female like the others had. But they appeared to be friends, talking together like they were. The female even gave him a short sniff before pointing in the direction of a large pond. "See?" Sesshomaru soothed. "She's fine."

But Ah-Un dived anyway. They needed to be sure that she wasn't injured. Sesshomaru heard his father curse before urging Tsume to follow his son. The large man turned and saw them. His face paled considerably. The female ran towards the village, but Ah-Un swooped down close to her head and landed in front of her. She slammed into them and landed on her back, staring blankly at the sky. Ah-Un sniffed her all over for injuries. The female didn't move. She was having trouble getting her breath back.

Sesshomaru stared at her. She was pretty, dressed in a simple brown kimono. She had black hair and bright blue eyes…sightless blue eyes, he realized. He looked at her in awe. This female was blind!