Chapter 2 The Beginning of the Tour
Reiku led the way out of the room and they began the tour. They started with the outskirts of the estate and worked their way in. First Suni was shown the gardens, a lovely feature to be sure; she was pleased to know if this was to become her home nature would be ever present. The two geisha were quite inquisitive as to why they were showing her the estate. The miko certainly felt out of place as she was led about. The majority of the youkai were indeed of the inu variety, and the others were of various pedigree. In some places they milled about together in a variety of color and kimono.
"So, Suni, why exactly are we showing you about?" Mina, as she liked to be called, asked in a sly undertone.
"It is a… personal matter, you could say." Mina and Reiku looked at each other thoughtfully.
"A personal matter with Sesshoumaru-sama?" Mina queried. Suni was silently thinking. The two geisha looked at each other once more and burst into slightly less than appropriate guffaws. Suni sent them a curious look, unsure if she had missed a joke. They approached the dojo, barracks and armory which were located to the back of the estate. A secondary armory was located near the front, Suni was informed.
"No one has personal matters with Sesshoumaru-sama, respectfully, Suni." Reiku and Mina giggled, much more appropriately this time, and looked at Suni to join in. Suni looked confused, still lost to the humor of their statements.
"Personal, Suni. Personal. As in no geisha, mistress, or even miko has ever been personal with Sesshoumaru." Suni's little pink mouth formed an 'o' in understanding. She looked at the two geisha thoughtfully, they had reached the dojo after passing through the armory and barracks with little interest.
"What's so wrong with that?" The geisha rolled their eyes at her.
"Not everyone lives by a miko's purity standards Suni… In fact most people do not." Reiku responded. Mina picked up her statement and continued,
"However, for a ruler of his standing, not having interest in females could be a bad sign. It is not frowned upon, for inu-youkai mate for life, generally. Most of the courtiers, such as ourselves, are simply… curious." Suni absorbed the information. A celibate taiyoukai, how quaint. She was then distracted by the dojo/training ground before her. The entire building was made out of strong pillars, topped with a traditional roof, it was not truly a building considering there were no walls. The area was filled with warriors, some training, some observing. The outer section of the training area was being used as an archery field. There were many kinds of fighting going on below. Some were training with weapons, others focused solely on hand to hand combat. There were even two transformed youkai, battling fiercely with each other. A voice broke through her observations, that and the massive amount of youki that made her feel very insignificant.
"Reiku, Mina! What are you lovely creatures doing in our humble dojo?" A youkai approached with alarming speed and bowed before the ladies mentioned. He then noticed their guest, and she noticed him. He was taller than her, perhaps six feet tall. His hair was short and curly, dark as night. His eyes however glowed a brilliant green, the pupils created a dark slit in them. His skin was dark as well, darker than hers even, the rest of him was covered in a simple outfit of deep green with a black sash. Suni was the first to bow, and the stranger broke out of his stupor to return the gesture.
"I am called Suni, stranger." He stared at her once more, his mouth occupied with a lopsided grin.
"And I am called Ryu, beautiful Suni-san." Reiku giggled behind her fan.
"Suni, meet my brother. He is the Secondary General to Sesshoumaru-sama! Isn't it lovely, Ryu? We are taking Suni on a tour, courtesy of a personal matter for Sesshoumaru-sama… Would you like to tell her about the dojo?" Ryu was not hiding his appreciation for the looks of the little miko, and she was not hiding her apprehension about his 'friendly' mannerisms.
"Why of course dearest sister. Suni-san, please come with me. We will walk as we talk." He offered her his arm, and protocol made her take it.
"Now Suni-san, we have our varying level of soldiers. We have those in basic training…" He pointed to the group that was being given harsh orders as they went through their katas.
"Then we have the group of mid-level soldiers." These soldiers were being trained in hand to hand combat, and they had partners.
"Finally we have the higher level." These soldiers had been allowed weapons and partners, and were utilizing their weapons skillfully. Ryu kept walking but made no comment on the sparring transformed youkai or the other singular randomly dispersed amongst the dojo. Suni stopped in order to get his attention.
"What about them? What are they doing?" Suni was not unaware of the eyes following them around the training center. Since they had entered, eyes had remained wary. As she stopped, some of those near her blatantly stared.
"Those are simply sparring youkai. Either they are not on active duty or they are using this as recreation." She nodded in understanding, and continued walking. They had reached the other end of the grounds now and she was more than ready to release Ryu-san from her grasp. He, however was not.
"Suni-san, it has been and absolute pleasure being in your presence. I must leave you now, but if you ever wish to come back and see me, I would be incandescently happy." He then took her hand pressing his lips to the back of her knuckles and released her. Suni smiled sheepishly, flushing slightly, and trying not to wipe her hand off.
"You are too kind Ryu-san. And if I ever have the notion to enter the dojo again, I will surely think of you. Thank you for the lovely tour." Ryu took it as Suni wanted him, but his sister and Mina caught the barb and struggled with their giggles. The trio of females departed and Ryu was left admiring the view the little miko had left him with. He spoke softly to himself,
"Why don't youkai look like that…?" He turned back to his troops, a group of the basic variety, and found them looking distractedly in the direction the females had gone. He roared to get them back into action. They were soon looking straight ahead properly. He smiled and patted himself invisibly on the back for a job well done.
End Chapter 2