Chapter Four
Naomi wakes up as the sun rises to see that she had miraculously not fallen out of the tree in her sleep. She was a bit melancholy about the dreams that had plagued her. After languidly stretching her body, she jumped from the tree she had been perched on to a nearby one. She swung from tree to tree and searched for a nest with eggs for breakfast. About half a kilometer from camp, she found one with three eggs. She held them up to the light to make sure that the little bird had yet to develop before jumping down to search for some berries. She didn't have to search for long. She found a few bushes with different types of berries and proceeded to grab a bunch of them before heading back to camp. She set everything down by the makeshift fire pit from the night before and walked over to the riverbank to catch some fish. After catching about ten fish, she started up the fire and started cooking.
The smell of the fish and eggs hit the nostrils of the sleeping males, who proceeded to lazily stretch out their tensed muscles and made their way over to Naomi. She set two fish, an egg and a handful of berries on three large fish and passed two of them to Koga and Mamoru. They immediately start devouring the food. Koga went to reach for another fish only to be hit by Naomi. He flew back a few feet and sat up rubbing at the sore spot on his chest.
"What was that for?! I just want another fish!" He glared at her as she threw the fish he had been reaching for to fudo, who swallowed it whole letting out an excited bark at he waited for another.
"These are for Fudo. He needs his strength since he will be carrying Mamoru."
"But I am still hungry!" Koga whined expecting to have her jump to her feet and catch some more so he could have his fill. He was sorely mistaken- instead, she threw her little knife at him and embedded it in the tree trunk just behind his head.
"Then go catch some more." Koga looked ready to cry as Naomi threw the last fish to the red little puppy and grumbled as he got up and walked over towards the riverbank. Mamoru, who had watched the entire scene while nibbling at his fish, was clearly trying real hard not to laugh at his pack leader's distress. He kept having to cough to hide his laughter, earning him another bark from Fudo. Mamoru finished just as Koga brought two more fish over to the fire and skewered them with sticks. He threw the leaf into the fire and gave a little bow to Naomi.
"Thank you for the breakfast, it was delicious. Whomever you marry is going to be a lucky man." Naomi, who had been taking a bite of fish, started choking and coughs it up a few feet away and turned around to give a small nod of thanks.
They finished eating shortly after that, Koga grumbling about how mean Naomi is, Fudo jumping and barking excitedly at Mamoru's attempt to cover up his laughter, and Naomi telling Koga to get over himself and quit being a baby. The group packed up and headed out. Naomi stayed ahead of the guys, still a bit embarrassed by Mamoru's comment and annoyed with Koga. She kept thinking about tying him up and knocking him out for the rest of the trip, but figured it wouldn't look too good showing up at her clan with a wolf demon, who they are trying to make peace with, tied, gagged and unconscious. Mamoru decides to take advantage of the time alone with Koga and proceeds to ask him the questions that have been plaguing him.
"Koga, what do you think is in the letter the hanyou carries?" Koga shrugs a bit exasperated.
"Probably some sort of treaty where we hand over the killer and join together to defeat our mutual enemies." Mamoru thinks about this and nods before asking his other questions.
"Would you hand over the killer?" Koga nods.
"I just want peace. We have enough to deal with as it is. Add to this some of the elders are breathing down my neck to get married and take away my only freedom."
"I had no idea that they were. If you don't mind my prying sir, why are you keeping it a secret from Naomi that you are the leader? Are you worried she will try to assassinate you?" Koga scoffs at this.
"I can not be brought down by a half demon!" There is a pause as Mamoru apologizes for his assumptions, which Koga just waves off. He is staring at Naomi's back as she runs ahead of them, as fast as Koga usually travels, if not faster. "I find Naomi to be rather interesting. I want to see how long it takes her to figure it out." Mamoru glances back and forth between Naomi and Koga. All he could think about was if it took Naomi a while- when she did finally find out- she would be very livid. Something told him he was glad he would be away when that happened more than likely. There is silence between them for a moment as Mamoru figures out a way to phrase his last question.
"Why do you think they sent the hanyou and let her be part of their clan?" Koga seems just as perplexed about the latter part of the question, but has an answer for the first half of the question as if he had pondered this a while back.
"They probably sent her in case things didn't go well. Nobody would miss the half breed. They might have even hoped one of us had killed her before reading the letter." They fell into a lapse of silence for the rest of their journey, except for the whining complaints Koga would yell out. Fudo was apparently getting annoyed with him though. He had let out a low growl for a warning before trying to bite Koga's legs.
Naomi starts slowing down and straightens her stance as they approach her clan. Koga watches her transform from someone who is laid back, uncaring into someone strong, aloof, with a cold air shrouding around her. It was midday when they arrived and the sky seemed to have grown colder as she did. The demons watched as they walked towards the largest hut in the little village. Some were glaring, at the wolf demons, others at Naomi, while others gave small nods of approval as they passed. Naomi walks into the hut, and bows at the demon in front of her. He is tall, his hair graying slightly. He is wearing a deep red kimono, his fluffy tail swaying back and forth slowly. His deep ocean blue eyes scan over everyone, twinkling with years of wisdom. He gives a small bow back to the group, to which everyone rises from their own bow. Naomi gives a quick recap of her trip to the wolf village as well as the agreement reached thus far. Mamoru steps forward and gives another quick bow at the end of her speech.
"It is a pleasure to be here sir. I hope our clans will be able to reach an agreement and end this feud." Ryuu nods before looking over at Naomi.
"You may leave now Naomi-chan" She gives a bow and walks out with a regal air around her. Mamoru goes to stand near the door as the two leaders begin to speak.
"It is a pleasure to meet the young leader of the wolf demon clan. Have you read my letter yet?" Koga shakes his head.
"Naomi does not know I am the leader, and even if she did I doubt she would hand it over yet anyway." He grumbled. Ryuu let out a small chuckle and shakes his head as an affectionate smile crossed his face.
"She has always been very stubborn, and very cautious and slow to trust anyone, even as a cub." Koga, who has been fed up with the female in question, becomes irritated by the leader's clear affection for her.
"Why do you allow a half demon like her to be part of the clan?" He growls out. The smile leaves Ryuu's face as it hardens and his eyes take on a cold murderous glare. Koga, a little shocked by the sudden change, takes an involuntary step backwards.
"Naomi-kun is my daughter." Mamoru and Koga's eyes both widened at the realization. Naomi was the child who witnessed her mother's death, the reason the clans had been at war for the past eight years.
"I am sorry Ryuu-san, I didn't realize that."
"Naomi doesn't mention it because she doesn't want people to treat her differently just because she is my daughter." His face becomes a blank mask as Koga changes the subject.
"Does she know what is in the letter?" Ryuu gives a small shake of his head no.
"She only knows that it is a request for peace with a potential solution."
"What is your idea for peace Ryuu-san?"
"You will find out when you read the letter." Koga lets out a low growl of frustration.
"Old people are so dang cryptic." He mumbles, earning a low chuckle from the Canis clan leader.
As soon as Naomi had been released from her father's home, she ran into the woods to the meadow that held so many memories for her. It was the meadow she went to to train, where she would cry when she had been bullied, where her mother had taught her to sing and a dance, and where she found her mother being killed by a wollf.
Right as she broke through the trees into the clearing, she saw Orochi standing on the other side, his usual smirk in place. Her heart skipped a beat as she broke out into a sprint and jumped into his arms and kissed him.
"Orochi! I have missed you so much!" He patted her back and gave her a quick squeeze, but gently pushed her away as she went to kiss him again.
"Did you recognize any of the wolves?" She frowned and shook her head, upset about the topic of conversation as well as being pushed away. She took a step back and crossed her arms and glared.
"You will get your revenge Mi-chan, just be patient." She growled as she pulled her hair and began pacing around the little meadow.
"I have waited long enough! I am sick of this! I want to find that bastard and kill him slowly and serve his cooked corpse to his loved ones." Orochi stepped in front of her path, put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to stop the rant he knew oh so well.
"I understand how you feel Mi-chan, but you have waited this long... What is a few more days compared to the years that have already passed?" Tears started to leak out of the corner of her eyes as she glared up at him, her mouth a tight line to keep her from crying. He bent down and kissed her forehead before he continued, "You can plan how to take your revenge around your father's plan for peace." Naomi sighed in defeat with a nod as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I can't stand this. The peace treaty is rediculous, we should be attacking the wolf clan's cave and killing every single one of them that way the murderer pays for his sin." She pauses before leaning her head back to look up into Orochi's coal eyes that appeared to be the dying embers of a fireplace, before speaking again, "but the thing that I can't stand the most is being away from you." He smiled down at her and kissed her. When she tried to deepen it, he pulled away and brought her to lay next to him in the shade of the trees. They laid there in each others arms, not really saying much, until the sun started to set. They stand up and Naomi goes to grab his and hand walk forward only to have him pull out of her grasp.
"Mi-chan... You know the rules.." Orochi trailed off as she looked up at him with pleading eyes. He simply shook his head, turned and walked out of the clearing. Naomi let out a growl of frustration as she pulled on her hair and stormed out of the clearing the way she had come. She let her usual mask slip back into place as she neared her clan.
Koga, who was wandering around the quaint little village, spotted her exiting the forest. Unlike back at the cave, she held herself up straight with a royal, aloof air about her. She started heading to what he assumed was the communal kitchen to help prepare the feast. Naturally, Koga had to follow to see how the demons here treated her. He waited on the side of the hut just a foot or so away, and appeared to be admiring the garden. When Naomi slipped inside, the idle chatter immediately stopped.
"Is there a dish ready to be brought out?"Naomi asked politely, though her voice had an edge to it he couldn't quite place. One of the demons growled at her demanding she leave.
"I am still apart of this clan-" Naomi started to remind the offending woman.
"You may be the leader's daughter, but you are still nothing but a half-demon piece of trash." Laughter erupts as the other girls give murmurs of agreement as they file out. Koga turns and watches them leave. The girl in the front, who he assumes was the one who spoke inside, set down the platter she had been carrying and walks over to a tall dark haired demon with a scar on his left cheek and gives him a chaste kiss as he stroked her cheek. Koga looked over to the doorway of the kitchen to see Naomi standing there, her face unreadable. He didn't miss the flash of hurt and betrayal that brewed in the depths of her eyes. She closed her eyes and took in a deep, calming breath as she straightened her shoulders and walked towards the head of the circle where he father sat. Koga followed at a distance, greeting people as he went. When he reached where Ryuu was sitting, he noticed there were two other seats to his right, while Naomi sat on his left. Mamoru was taking the seat furthest from the leader, allowing Koga to sit there. Once Koga took his seat, Ryuu stood, and silence fell immediately.
"Tonight is a joyous night for us! We are on our way to ending this terrible feud that has waged for far too long. We have with us this historic night two demons from the wolf tribe of the west: Koga and Mamoru. Mamoru will be staying with us while my daughter Naomi," Ryuu gestured toward his daughter with a wave of his hand, and an affectionate smile. She gave a cool nod and slight smile as her father continued, "will be staying with them while a treaty is made. Tonight we will celebrate and welcome Mamoru into our clan as if he were one of us!" Everyone cheered and began eating.
The feast went by quickly and music began playing as couples now drunk began dancing around the fire. Koga kept looking from Naomi to the crowd of dancers, laughing at the celebration. He noticed, however, that Naomi kept her eyes glued the couple up front. A tear had slid down her face, but she wiped it away while she stretched, making Koga wonder if it had really been there at all. The four of them stood up near the end and head towards Ryuu's home. Ryuu gives his daughter a hug and tells her goodnight then heads inside. The other two guys go to follow, but Koga stops in the doorway when he noticed that Naomi was heading away from the house.
"Where are you going?" He called.
"I'm going to sleep!" She rolled her eyes as she took off into the forest, where her own hut happened to be. Koga watched her go until she disappeared into the throng of the forest before heading inside to get some much needed sleep.