Behind a tree was a small group of experienced dog demon warriors. They crouched on the ground, not making a sound.

"In a minute, send out the second signal to attack," Inukimi whispered. She was dressed exactly the same as the last time she approached this castle. Last time, she had returned in defeat. But she convinced herself that she would never let that happen again.

"Princess, are you sure that it's okay?" Another female warrior questioned, "Without requesting his majesty's permission?"

"I will not fail," replied Inukimi, "I will accomplish what father wished for all his life, which was to merge the two kingdoms into one. Right now is the perfect opportunity, as the castle walls are damaged and the new lord is fairly inexperienced."
It may not have occurred to her that she had completely misunderstood what her father had meant.

As Inukimi was about to signal the attack, she suddenly looked behind her. There was a rustling sound coming from a bush about 60 feet away. Her sensitive ears noticed it immediately.

"Shall we attack?" Asked the same female warrior, "Huh?"
The princess was gone, even though she was beside her a moment ago.

Inukimi stealthily hurried to the thorn bush, partially hidden behind a tree. She gazed into it, then suddenly reached behind and grabbed something soft. It was the collar of a coat! Very angry that someone was eavesdropping on her, Inukimi dragged the person out from behind the bush.

"Ahhh!"

Inukimi stared in surprise. It was a young human woman, strangely dressed. Inukimi had never seen clothing so unusual, not even in foreigners. From her point of view, the girl was wearing some strange coat with a straight metal line in the middle, rough dark blue pants that looked unnaturally tight, and weird black shoes that had a shiny white patch at the front with a thin white rope crossed in a zig zag pattern at the top and tied in a bow.

"A human!" Inukimi cried in disgust, dragging the young woman by her coat collar, "What kind of strange clothes do you call those? And how did a human like you get here?"
The young woman was visibly terrified, and did not say a word. This only further enraged Inukimi as she was a princess and was not used to asking questions and not getting an answer. She raised her claws, ready to kill the unwelcome human. But that was when she sensed a dangerous presence.

"Oi!" A voice said quietly but forcefully behind Inukimi. This made her turn around and draw her sword. It was so dark, Inukimi could just see someone standing a small distance away. Despite having very acute vision herself, dogs are not cats and are not the best when it comes to seeing things in the dark.

"Let her go," the voice commanded.

Inukimi was mad. How dare he order me around? She thought.

"Let her go!" The voice repeated. Annoyed, Inukimi let go of the woman. The woman promptly got the message and ran away quickly, disappearing into the woods.

"What are you doing?" The voice asked.

"None of your business, you rude wretch," Inukimi replied, standing up straight and entirely removing her sword from its sheath, "If you do not wish to be killed, move out of my way."

"You wouldn't be attempting to ambush here and attack the castle, would you?" The voice continued, not taking any notice of Inukimi's words.

Inukimi listened on, and found that the voice was familiar. Very familiar. And very, very annoying.

"Well, go home," Said the voice, "You can't take them by surprise anymore. Because..."
He suddenly burst out laughing and screaming about how silly her plan was.

"You!" Inukimi said, infuriated, "Are that stupid dog general!"

Inu no Taisho walked out into the moonlight, coughing and spluttering from laughter overload.

"I can not stand you a minute longer!" The furious dog demoness shouted. She drew her sword and skillfully slashed at him.

Inu no Taisho never won by speed, and he was never the type to dodge blows. He drew out Tetsusaiga with great elegance, and blocked the blow from her sword. The two swords made an echoing clang as they clashed together.

"Still want to fight? Why don't you just give up already and go home?" Inu no Taisho taunted.

Inukimi backed away a few steps, and then charged towards the dog general once again. Inu no Taisho was preparing to block another blow when the most unexpected thing happened. Inukimi suddenly tripped on a rock and fell.

"Woah, lady!" Inu no Taisho cried out in surprise. Acting purely on instinct, he ran forward and caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her in his arms.

"Are you alright?" He asked. She gave him a deadly glare. It was then that he felt something cold pressed up against the base of his neck. It was...the blade of her sword.

"You are that stupid?" Inukimi said coldly, not moving from Inu no Taisho's arms, "You genuinely thought that someone with as much fighting experience as me would trip on a rock and fall?"

Careful not to get his throat slit, Inu no Taisho didn't dare movie either.

"You sure are a more crafty woman than I thought..." He whispered to her.

"Sometimes, in order to obtain what you want, one must use crafty methods," She told him.

"You think you've won the fight, do you?"

"Of course," Inukimi replied with a hint of pride in her voice, "Do you dare move?"

"No, of course not," Inu no Taisho chuckled, "But you need to ask yourself that question too."

Inukimi gasped. The blade of the Tetsusaiga was also at her neck. She was utterly shocked and speechless. In fact, her eyeballs looked as if they were about to pop right out of their sockets.

"When you are too confident and focused on your own plan," Inu no Taisho said wisely, "You can often neglect important details."
He then tightly gripped Inukimi's right arm, allowing him to pull her blade away from his neck. Inukimi knew that she had lost the fight, and realized that Inu no Taisho was still holding her in his arms. She suddenly felt a little shy. Inukimi pushed the dog general aside, acting stubborn and angry like a child.

"That's it, go home," Inu no Taisho told her, while putting Tetsusaiga back into the sheath, "Don't try to attack again."

"You're going...to let me go?" Inukimi asked, "You're not...going to kill me?"

"I don't hurt women."
And with that, the dog general turned his back on Inukimi and walked off into the clearing, where he transformed into his true form and beautifully flew across the night sky, back towards the tall walls of his castle.

His figure, his creamy coat, the way he flies, is so beautiful...thought Inukimi.

"Ah!" Inukimi put her hands to her cheeks, "What the hell am I thinking? He is my enemy!"

Inu no Taisho climbed back into his room through the window, took off his kimono and threw it on the floor. Then, he collapsed into bed, pulled the blankets over himself and went to sleep.

"My lord!" Screeched the annoying servant, "Back from your walk?"

The servant approached the bed.

"Oh, you are sleeping. Sorry, my lord. I shall leave at once."

It was great that he did as he said. Had he stayed a moment longer, his lord would have considered using his face as a temporary punching bag.

~~End of Third Chapter~~