Chapter seven
Petitefeeme: And here is the seventh chapter! Next week school will begin for me so I don't think I'll be able to post new chapters on Friday, more like Saturday. But for now, read and enjoy!
The second part of the tournament went well. The females had to prove their artistic talent while the males had to prove their strength (my inner feminist didn't like it at all, but I wasn't about to fight against that…yet). Atsuko played beautifully the koto, a traditional 13 stringed zither with a touch of modern music I taught her (I found traditional music a bit too slow, so I taught Atsuko how to speed up things a bit). She impressed everyone.
During the fights, I had to stay near Sesshomaru (he kindly provided me with a stool as I hated waiting standing). But I still saw Akane show off a bit and glancing at her each time he won. He even was a bit harsher when he fought lord Ichiro (meaning he beat him into a bloody pulp instead of just pummelling him).
After some time we finally reached the third part. It consisted in surviving in the wild alone or in a little group for one week. Fights were authorized. The males at the end of the week had to bring back a kill to prove they could provide for their mate. The females were given a doll they had to protect and bring back intact after the week.
"No I'm not!" I stated, arms crossed over my chest.
"Come one Haru-chan, pretty please." Pleaded Atsuko.
"No." I said, turning away.
"You're no fun." Pouted Chika.
"You know I can't participate." I explained once again "I'm not 400 yet. And I don't want anyone trying to woe me."
"Okay Atsuko let's go." Sighed Chika, taking Atsuko's hand and walking away, nose sticking high "You don't know what you're missing Haruki!"
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"I'm bored!" whined Chika before yawning.
In her wolf form Chika was a very beautiful pure white she-wolf with green eyes.
Atsuko rolled her eyes but said nothing back, preferring staring up to the beautiful sky lit up with sparkling stars.
In her dog form Atsuko was still golden, the fur glinting silver under the moonlight. Her eyes were still golden with pecks of green.
'Now I know why Haruki didn't want to come.' Thought slyly the dog demoness before sensing a group heading for them.
"Chika-chan." Warned Atsuko, getting up.
"Finally!" exclaimed the wolf, putting a barrier around their dolls "Some asses to kick."
However, it wasn't dogs or kitsunes that stumbled in the clearing, it was monks.
"Shimata!" swore Chika "We have to get out of here!"
But it was too late. The monks surrounded them and began attacking them.
'How is it possible?' though the inu demoness, dodging strikes of reiki 'For the spring tournament the organizers make sure no dangerous threats interfere.'
Chika was busy burning sutras when a monk came behind her and struck her.
"Chika!" yelled Atsuko before letting out a thundering howl, striking half of the enemies with her light beam.
Unfortunately the other half wounded her and she barely dodged a death blow.
'We're in deep shit.' She though.
Suddenly all the remaining monks were gone, crushed under the paws of a brown wolf and black inu demon.
Atsuko recognised Kiba, and too her desmise, Akane.
'He will never recognise me now that he saw how weak I am.' She thought, ashamed.
But hearing Chika's whimper as the wolf demoness tried to get up, the inu shooked herself out.
"Don't move Chi-chan." She said, moving near her "Let the reiki leaves your body first."
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"And after that?" I asked eagerly "What happened."
Chika let the suspense linger a bit before saying:
"After the monks' attack, Akane insisted on accompanying us back to the shiro. He looked after us, hunted to feed us and even stayed awake at night to protect us. Or should I say her."
She smirked mischievously at Atsuko who was still blushing as if her life depended on it.
"Since when is she like that?" I asked, a bit worried.
"Since Akane personally treated her wounds." Answered Chika, smirking wildly.
I blinked, surprised, before smiling with her. This was surely a big progress!
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"Spread." Kiba ordered his men.
They were tracking the monks' trail. Their presence was surprising and highly suspicious.
The security during the spring tournament was high and that a large group of monk was able to enter the area without anyone noticing them wasn't possible.
They had to have been helped.
Kiba transformed and sniffed around, his wolves slightly ahead.
Frankly, even if he was currently sloshing in the mud, even if the rain was threatening to fall, he was happy to be away of the western shiro.
During the third part Kiba was stuck with Akane. He knew from the beginning it wasn't a good idea (Akane tended to attract females like honey attracted bees).
He still didn't know why, but he stayed with him and handed saving Haruko's friends.
Unfortunately, doing so, he did something he swore to never do. He impressed a female.
And know, each time she saw him, the wolf demoness (her name was something like Choyi, or Chako) would flirt with him. At the beginning he was polite but now he was more than annoyed.
And recently she had begun following him around, almost chasing him!
He was distracted from his thoughts by one of his wolf howling.
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It turned out, following Kiba's investigation, that the monks were helped by someone coming from the east, the cat territory.
Apparently, after invading the east, the enemy was preparing to invade the other countries, beginning by the west.
The country began to prepare for a war. Hayate particularly was passing his days in the training ground, occasionally visiting his mother and siblings. Mikomi was staying with him most of the times, making sure he ate, drank and rested enough (but she didn't like him or anything of course!).
Akane, Kiba and Toga were also dividing their time training and organising the army (Kiba was supervising the scouts). Atsuko made sure to visit Akane regularly to make sure he had at least a good rest a week (he was a demon but he still needed sleep sometimes), and bringing him home made wagashis. Chika often tagged along with her, liking to flirt (more like annoy) with Kiba a lot.
Sesshomaru and the youngest eastern prince, Hideki, became friends and the cub often slept with him. The eastern lady, after trying to fight her son to sleep in his own room settled in the Oôkooen with us. She didn't complain a lot, seeing as the building was a bit out of the way and peaceful. It helped calming her.
I was supervising the protection of the western shiro with Haruki's help (she was too nervous to stay put and Lady Inukimi wasn't a big help) as well as the infirmary's organisation and the healers that will go to the front. I was also seeing that the villages near the eastern borders were evacuated, and the villagers spread in temporary other places.
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"The nerve of some people really!" grated irritatedly Mikomi, stomping her feet loudly, a childish pout on her face.
"The man was just stressed out." Tried to sooth Haruki "We're at the brink of war. People are afraid and tense."
Mikomi 'humphed' and pouted a bit more. Shin, who was on her shoulder, rubbed his head against her neck and Akiko pushed her head against her stomach.
"Okay." Said Haruki, stopping in a clearing "We'll stop here for the night. Do you want to hunt this time Mikomi?"
"But the shiro is just a few hours away." Replied curiously Mikomi "We should continue."
"I'd rather stay here for the night." Said stubbornly Haruki.
"Is it Sesshomaru again?" asked Mikomi.
"Surprisingly, no." Smirked Haruki "He is strangely polite, patient and attentive. No it's his fangirls."
"He already has fangirls at his age?" exclaimed Mikomi, surprised "But he's still a child!"
"Apparently his 'exceptional capacities' like his teachers said, attracted some vultures after his wealth and titles."
"Do I hear a hint of jealousy in your tone?" taunted Mikomi, a smirk on her face.
"Absolutely not!" denied the golden haired demoness "It's just that since they saw me with him, they began thinking I was a rival and ganged up on me."
"Of course." Sarcastically replied Mikomi before turning to Akiko "Come on Akiko, let's go hunt."
The wolf woofed and followed the cat hanyo. Haruki pouted slightly before shoocking her head and beginning to gather firewood.
Shin hoped off his mistress's shoulder and walked off in the woods. Yes he was extremely loyal but he was primly a cat and needed his space sometimes.
He skipped in the woods, frolicking around and enjoying the scents of the forest. One of the advantages with his chosen mistress was that he got to travel a lot to see different things and various smells.
He walked in a clearing and stopped in his track when he saw a yellow patch within the green of the high grass.
He neared it and saw a little tailed cat like him sprawled unconscious on the ground.
He smelt blood and became worried about her health (of course he smelled she was a female, and probably a light, as well as a fire cat).
He had to get her back to his mistress. Large wisps of black swirls surrounded him and he transformed into his larger form (not anywhere as large as his elders, but he was proud of what he achieved at his early age) and gathered delicately the tiny kit in his mouth.
He ran back to camp.
It was literally chaos when he stumbled upon the camp.
He saw Haruko and Mikomi, swords drawn, facing feline demons.
So he put the kit down and leaped in the fight.
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Forearms deep in the guts of a deeply wounded soldier, I concentrated on regulating the blood flow to save his life.
The infirmary tent was chaotic, dozen of people running around, carrying tools, bandages and medicine. Medics were yelling orders, the injured were moaning in pain and the ones more or less able to walk were rushing out to fight before returning here in makeshift stretchers.
The demon I was trying to save passed from tensed to totally relaxed. I sighed, closed his eyes and motioned to the helpers to move him.
They brought another one on my table and I checked on him before gently stopping his heart, making sure he would die without any pain.
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply to chase away all sorrow and will to curl in a corner to weep.
The third had more chance, the nasty wound on his stomach was already infected but the internal organs weren't pierced so I was able to close the deep gash. And after a painful washing to clean off the infection, I assured him he would be able to go try to die again in one day.
I heard a shout and turned to see Kiba enter the tent on a stretcher.
My heart stopped for a moment and I ordered the men transporting him to put in on my table.
An assistant held a bowl of water to wash my hands.
I took seconds to rearrange the bloodied kimono and apron before my hands glowed dark yellow once again.
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"How is he?" asked Toga the moment he entered the tent.
"I'll tell you if you sit down and let me heal your shoulder." I replied irritatedly. After more than ten hours of healing, more than one time using my powers, without even a full hour of sleep, I was less than willing and friendly.
Toga must have seen that and wordlessly, if not reluctantly, sat on a table.
I began removing the arrows on his shoulder.
"I did all I could do. The rest is up to him." I said while treating his wound, using my powers to repair his torn skin "If he passes the night, after some rest he will be ready to gloat about his war scars."
Toga smirked and I bandaged his shoulder before patting him to go out.
I still didn't know how I was able to make half a joke, but I did.
"Go rest a bit." I said "You can't go fight if you can't lift your sword properly."
"You should too." Replied the demon, looking at me up and down (and I must have looked like a tramp or something like that).
"I can't." I sighed indicating all the wounded waiting for a treatment.
Something passed in Toga's eyes that made me wary.
And with reason as he suddenly grabbed me by the waist, taking me with him.
"Toga!" I exclaimed, struggling weakly against his grip "I have people to heal! Let go!"
He replied nothing, instead entering his tent.
One moment I was in his arm, the other in his makeshift bed.
"Toga!" I tried again. But he only sat beside me.
"Sleep." he ordered, bringing a cover on my shoulders.
"I can't." I replied, marking each word before trying to get up.
He pushed me down.
"You can sleep an hour or two." He said "Or I can tie you to the bed until you're rested enough."
I pouted childishly but leaned down on the bed, glaring at the stubborn yokai before turning around, my back facing him before closing my eyes.
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Toga narrowed his eyes on the huge panther demon in front of him.
"My name is Ouhyo, the panther king." Roared the demon "Do you think you can beat me tiny mutt?"
"My name is Toga, lord of the west." He replied after a few seconds, drawing Tetsaiga "And I will defeat you."
The panther king began to laugh and added:
"With your measly stick? You're nothing but a weak lord! Soon enough I will rule the east and the west!"
In a flash Sesshomaru, Haruki and Mikomi's smiling faces came to his mind.
He remembered how he left Haruko, sleeping peacefully in his bed.
At this moment she looked so fragile, so delicate. And yet she was so strong and powerful. She was a contrast.
He refused to endanger them. He refused to see tears roll down their cheeks or their lifeless bodies on the ground, unmoving, because he wasn't strong enough to protect them.
He refused to see the smile on Haruko's face disappear. He wanted her to be happy.
"I will defeat you." He challenged "Because I have someone to protect."
He didn't notice that he only included one person in his phrase.
Petitefeeme: I hope you liked it! Don't forget to leave a little review! That'll sure encourage me for the upcoming doom (namely school).
