A Furry Nuisnace
Chapter Eight

"My lady, your berries and herbs are here."

"Thank you, Kasumi, Yoko. Would you leave them outside?"

The two girls looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces and then looked at the closed doors of their lady's chamber. Since when did their lady liked to be cramped in a room?

"Lady Rin," Kasumi called out. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No," she answered, "No, everything's fine."

The hurried answer merely made the suspicion towards their lady grow between the two girls, but they knew better to be nosy. They may be close to their lady, but they knew Lord Sesshomaru didn't approve of any servant being disrespectful towards their superiors.

"We'll be located just down the hall if you need us, Lady Rin," Kasumi said as she nudged her friend to start leaving.

They heard their lady whisper her thanks behind the closed doors and hurried along to get on with their chores.

The hallway was silent for a moment or so before the closed doors slid opened just a bit. Rin poked her head out into the hallway and carefully gathered the basket of plants and quickly closed the door behind her.

It was early noon, the day after the Eastern Lord had arrived. Kaede had left to ask Jinenji for some herbs that morning and still hadn't returned. Jaken was supposed to be in front of her door as a substitute for Dakeru's shift as a personal guard under Sesshomaru's orders, but he had hurriedly left his place when he was informed that Ah-un was again for the third time of the week, lured to the villages by the kids with a cluster of grapes. The sun was shining brightly through the vast window and every now and then the wind would blow to cause the silk curtains to flutter. The only thing that was different about the room from yesterday was the small lump under the bed sheets.

After choosing a few wild berries from the basket, she cautiously made her way to her bed, where the small lump lay under her sheets, moving this way and that.

She slowly slid the sheet off of the bed to reveal a tiny bear cub. He was not even a month old, judging by the wee teeth he had, and was clearly frightened. He let out a low whimper when he tried to stand on its short legs. His left hind leg was bandaged with a white cloth, which was now stained with crimson blood.

"Shh..." Rin slowly stroked the folds under its neck and he immediately became quiet. Over ten years of spending her life in the forest had taught her well of the wild animals and plants that flourished in it. She offered the small cub a cluster of gooseberries, which she learned that was a favorite treat for most bears. However, the cub only took one, chewed noisily, and refused to take another after wrinkling its nose.

'That's strange,' Rin thought as she tried another futile action of offering berries to the stubborn cub, 'They usually like these...'

"He's not weaned yet."

Rin nearly dropped the fruit she had been holding. She quickly looked around her and to her immense surprise, she found the young Eastern Lord hanging on his legs on the thick branch of the oak tree next to her window. He flashed her a smile and with great agility and grace, jumped onto the windowsill.

"He's not weaned yet," he repeated as he lowered his right leg onto the tatami mats. "Not used to solid food in other words. Good guess though, my lady. Gooseberries are their favorite. Oh, and may I?" He arched his left eyebrow, asking her permission to enter the room.

"Oh, yes," she blushed lightly, thinking how rude she had been to not invite him in the first place, as he gracefully lowered himself into the room.

"Lovely room you have," he said as he freely looked around. "Fit for a beautiful lady like you."

She blushed again.

Silence claimed the room as Rin tried her best to tend the cub while feeling the uncomfortable stares from the Eastern Lord roam around her body.

"What do you think I should do?" She finally mustered up her courage to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Eh? Oh right!" He was soon by her side, a little too close in her opinion, looking at the frightened cub over her shoulders. "Where did you find him?"

"He was limping through the gardens," Rin replied as she tried to remember what Jaken had told her to do when men were making uncomfortable contacts with her body(If she recalled correctly, he had said "Stab him in the eye." but that was certainly out of the question), "Probably got caught by the traps the hunters set up."

"Well, shall we take him back to his mother?" He whispered softly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Yes, we should," she answered as she moved away from him to pick up the whining cub. "But I don't know where his mother is."

"Then all we need to do is find out don't we?" He flashed her another toothy smile and took the protesting cub from her arms. He held up the squirming cub to his eye level. His left pupil became crimson while it stared deep into the beady eyes of the struggling cub. This was a little tougher than the butterfly due to the size of the animal. He practically glared as a few veins around his left eye started to pop out of his skin. He heard a small intake of breath from the lady beside him.

Finally, the animal stopped its futile struggles and stared back. He never broke the eye contact between himself and the bear and a moment later, the young cub was squirming again and a small smirk was playing upon the young lord's lips. His pupil turned immediately turned back to its normal black color and the veins hid themselves under his lightly tanned skin once more.

"Not far from here is it little fella?" He smiled as he lowered the cub into Rin's open arms, "His mother dwells in the forest just around the garden."

He waited for a moment or so for her to ask him about his eye, like everyone did when they first met him. His little magical eye he liked to refer as instead of the foul words he had heard from others about it. He remembered spending most of his time in the secluded dojo as a child, silently crying when everyone around him pointed at him, called him foul names, and even abused him.

He wondered how she would react. Pass out in shock like his mother did? Wince like his warriors? Spit out insults like everyone else?

He waited, but the lady said nothing. Her smile never left her face as she stroked the cub's furry head. She finally opened her mouth to speak, but the words that came out from her lips were quite unexpected to him.

"Thank you, Lord Kenshiro." Rin gave him a soft smile of genuine gratitude as she hugged the cub to her chest.

"...Ken..." He whispered as his eyes shone softly at her, "You can just call me Ken."

He watched the fair lady cuddle the cub with care. He couldn't help but to think that she would be a wonderful mother. Hopefully a mother for his kits.

He stared at her petit form. He never liked those big glamorous demonesses. Too demanding, too rough, too... perfidious. But humans. Delicate, humble, and in Rin's case, pure. He wanted to protect this delicate woman, to keep others away from tainting her innocence. He wanted her to look at him and him alone, like he did for her. But in order to get what he wanted... he would have to slash a certain inuyoukai out of the picture.

"Come on, there's no time to waste!" He suddenly cried out. He gently pushed Rin towards the window.

"Pardon?" Rin looked at the young lord with a confused look on her face.

"Don't you want to bring him back to his mother?" He asked as he got onto the windowsill.

"Yes, but..."

"But...?"

"Sesshomaru-sama told me not to leave the chamber," she whispered as she lowered her eyes onto the animal in her arms, "Kaede will be worried and Jaken-sa-"

He silenced her by placing a finger onto her lips. He lowered his torso from the windowsill so that his mouth was right next to her ear.

"Relax my dear lady," he whispered, "He won't know. Just a quick outdoor walk."

"But the maids- Kasumi and Yoko- and Jaken-sama will be back soon and-"

"Shh..." He was amused by her small ranting like an excited child. Just as he remembered her. "The toad won't be back soon I promise you and as for the maids..." he turned his head towards the window. "They won't know that you left by the window, would they?"

"Lord Kenshiro-"

"Ken."

"Ken-sama we're-"

"Just Ken."

"We are on the third floor of the castle," she looked at him with pleading eyes. "I won't be able to make it down."

"Then I'll carry you down."

With that he bent down and gathered her small form in his arms, earning a surprised gasp from her and a squeal from the cub in her arms. She unconsciously moved closer to him after noticing the alarming height. He could feel the smile tugging onto his lips.

"It'll just be a secret between the two of us," he said as he looked down at her, "You, me. Me, you. Just the two of us. And the little runt we have here."

She felt him bend his knees and gasped in surprise once more when he suddenly leaped into the air. The strong rays of sunlight blinded her eyes and the welcoming wind blew her hair towards his face. He skillfully cut his way through the mass of leaves and branches as he landed on the tough branch of the oak tree that stood next to the window. He waited for a moment to let her collect herself and calm down the squawking cub while he lowered his nose into her soft tresses. She felt him shifting her closer to himself much more than necessary and blushed a deep hue of crimson. Another frightened whimper from the cub reminded him he had business to attend to and starting leaping from tree to tree with a small smile tugging onto his lips.

Blurs of green flashed beneath her and the sound of the passing wind was calming her down. She held the cub tighter and finally relaxed, enjoying the cool breeze whipping her face. The last time she ever got to feel so free and wild was almost a year ago. Jaken had made sure that she was acting properly like a lady even months before their arrival of the Western Lands. No playing with flowers, no riding Ah-un, no singing, no running, no catching fish, and on and on. She had spent her last few months of traveling in the forest waiting patiently for her lord to come back from his travels while reading scrolls Jaken had magically got his hands on and practicing proper manners. She wasn't used to it even now, for it was her nature to run carefree and shout in excitement. But a long lecture from Jaken told her that she would have to behave if she didn't want to bring disgrace to her lord.

But now she forgot all that. She wasn't the Lady of the Western Lands anymore. She was just a carefree woman of eighteen, hoping to bring a cub back to his mother. No need to keep her thoughts to herself. No need to stay quiet. No need to sit with her two legs folded beneath her, which would give her terrible leg cramps. She let out a small laugh of glee and surprise, when she noticed that they have almost arrived at their destination in less than a minute.

"Hold on." His voice whispered into her ear.

Suddenly, she felt herself plummeting to the ground at an amazing speed. A few loud rustles of leaves and a soft thump of landing feet told her that they have arrived.

She waited for a moment or so for him to let her down on her feet, but soon found out that he had no intention of doing so.

"Let's see..." He shifted her position so that she was sitting on his left arm, her torso leaning into his chest. He took a few cautious sniffs in the air and took off deeper into the forest. He heard a distance shout to his right and saw out of the corner of his eye, an elderly woman run out of a hut near the garden. He recognized her as the woman who was supporting Rin the day before. What was her name...Kato? Kaidi?

He inwardly shook his head, wondering why he was even interested in learning her name when he heard Rin intake a sharp breath. He stopped in his tracks, forming a cloud of dust near his ankles, when he saw the immense bear lumbering ahead of them.

The bear stopped and looked back at them with beady eyes. It suddenly turned around and let out a menacing growl.

"Um...I take that you are his mother?"

Rin looked up to see Ken smiling at the bear. Was he talking to the bear in front of them that was capable of ripping them in two if she wanted to? The animal blinked in surprise.

"We brought him back to you. Aren't you going to thank us?"

He finally let Rin down from his arms. She carefully lowered the excited cub to the ground. It made a beeline for the larger bear with a few limps in between as his mother likewise ran towards him. The two nuzzled their noses and the mother let out a few grunts in relief. She looked up at the two in front of her. She nodded her head a few times.

"She said thanks."

The two bears soon made their way into the forest, the cub still making a racket of squealing in delight. Rin watched the two with a relieved smile as they hid themselves behind the thick trees.

"Well, now that's all done," He looked at her, smiling, excitement dancing in his eyes. "Won't you care of going around a forest tour with me?"

He could see the yearning in her eyes at the thought, but she shook her head. "I must get going Ken-sama. Kaede would be probably back by now."

"I really don't prefer titles, too stuffy in my opinion, but if you still wish to call me with it, I won't argue with you my dear lady. But tell me," his smirk grew wider,"when was the last time you went outdoors? Not just for a short visit to the gardens or some little walk. When was the last time you roamed around in the forest, like you used to in the past?"

She lowered her eyes to the ground... Not even wondering how he knew about her childhood, but pondering.

"You've been in a shell too long, my lady," he gently held up her chin with his right hand, so that she was looking at him straight in the eye, "A shell of a proper lady with the polite manners and controlled emotions. The shell that would not shed a tear when you were upset. The shell that would not yell when you felt frustrated. You're cooped up and I know you're banging from inside it to be let out. We can break that shell, just for today." He held her slender hand in his large one and slowly stroked her fingers. "I'll help you. No one would know." He smiled widely. "Again, this will be a secret between the two of us. Me, you. You, me. No little runt this time to know about this secret."

She stared down at her hands, which were captured in his, lost in thought. She could follow him and have the time of her life just for a few hours. Or she could refuse and head back for the castle, where she would have to stay in bed with Kaede scolding her endlessly for leaving without any notice.

A beautiful smile grew on her lips as she looked up to the young lord. It was not the fake ones she would plaster on her face for courtesy, he noticed. It was one full with life and gratitude. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that the love of his life was finally opening up to him.

"I...would love a tour, Ken-sama," she breathlessly said. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and joy.

He grinned broadly and tapped her nose.

"And a tour it is, dear lady."


"My lord."

He heard Jaken's voice from outside of the closed doors.

"Lord Taeru is here."

"Invite him in." He nonchalantly answered as he read the pile of scrolls before him.

A tall youkai with bright orange hair and a couple of sleek tails stepped into the room. The fine kimono blended well with the light tan he had and his piercing green eyes did not waver from the inu youkai before him.

Sesshomaru stood up at nodded in respect. Likewise, a nod was returned.

"What brings you here, Lord Taeru?"

The fox demon's many tails twitched slightly in irritation as he answered. "I just got a letter from my general."

Sesshomaru said nothing. Lord Taeru took that as an indication to continue.

"He says that the snaketribes had attacked my lands two days ago."

"That's not very unusual, Lord Taeru." He answered nonchalantly, but Jaken, who was waiting outside the door, could tell that he was a bit irritated by the fact that he had been disturbed for such dispensable information. He turned his gaze towards the pile of letters and contracts that were waiting to be signed.

"I know, Lord Sesshomaru." The demon's tail switched again. "I only came here to warn you that your lands could be in danger too."

"Are you doubting my abilities of protecting my lands from a few reptiles?" His golden eyes flashed.

"I'm not saying the snakes are a threat. I'm saying the creatures that got rid of them are."

This was something Sesshomaru hadn't expected. He turned his gaze back to the fox demon to see a dark look on his face.

"They are starting to expand their territory," he continued, "According to my general, they recently attacked the Eastern Lands too."

Sesshomaru felt something stir inside him. That blasted cat demon was leisurely spending his time here on his lands while his people were being attacked? Not that he cared for the neko youkais. Never did, never will, especially since they had tried to kill him and his father in the past.

But since he is the lord of the Eastern Lands...Maybe he will leave sooner than he planned? The small hope inside him stirred once more.

"But it's unusual, Lord Sesshomaru," the fox demon came closer to him, "The snake tribes...There were hundreds of them. Thousands even. But they were all killed. A massacre." He hesitated glanced behind him as if tensing for an attack. "Every single one of them were found dead the very next day they encroached into my lands."

"Perhaps there was turmoil between themselves. Again, not unusual." Sesshomaru coldly answered back, but something was tugging his mind.

"Yes, yes...Not unusual. But how they died is unusual."

"...Continue."

"The corpses were all around the forest near the boundaries of my lands. The Eastern Forest. My men investigated them and..." the demon scrunched his eyebrows slightly. "They reported that their insides...the organs... were gone."

Sesshomaru's left eyebrow twitched very slightly.

"It's as if something went inside of their bodies, ate their organs, and came out again. There were no smells of blood. Everything reeked of death and their rotting cropses. We can't make out what murdered them," he turned his gaze to the crackling fire in the fireplace, causing the orange light to bring shadows over his face. "The snake tribe attacked my palace the day they arrived. My men had successfully driven them out, but the foolish demons merely retreated into the Eastern Forest. And when my soldiers tracked them down an hour later...They found their lifeless bodies already decaying in the bushes."

Lord Taeru looked back to the demon lord in front of him. "We have to warn the other lords. We need to find out who's behind this. These creatures are endless in number. As long as we don't know their identity, they can be a major threat to us. We need to track them down."

Silence engulfed the room once more as the fox demon stared at the demon lord in front of him with an intense look. The fire slowly began to die as a small gust of wind came through the open window.

"...I will have to ask you to contact Lord Motoshi of the South while I contact Lord Kenshiro," Sesshomaru said as he sat back down again. "We will meet at Bokusenou's glen in three days time."

"Kenshiro?"

"He's the new lord of the East."

"Oh yes...Lady Rin has mentioned him once." Sesshomaru noticed the many tails twitch again as the fox demon headed for the door.

'She has mentioned of him?' A small ember of anger seemed to burn inside of him.

"By the way, do you know where she is?" Lord Taeru stopped at the door, which he had already opened halfway. Sesshomaru could see Jaken still standing next to it. "I just want to say a short goodbye."

"She should be in her chambers like I have asked her to," he coldly answered.

"Really? I stopped by on the way to find it empty."

It was like someone had poured fuel onto the ember. A fire soon roared inside him. He heard Jaken's nervous squeak and hurried footsteps headed for Rin's chamber. He growled. A certain toad was going to spill blood tonight.


"It's beautiful," Rin managed to whisper after staring at the scenery before her.

"Yes...Beautiful." Ken muttered behind her, his eyes glued to her face and a smile curled on his lips.

They were standing on the cliff of a nearby waterfall. The strenuous roar of the water was full of life as it fell down more than nine hundred meters into the flowing current below, splashing the sun-baked rocks near the banks. Trees were encircling the waterfall as if concealing it from the world beyond, although it was doing a poor job of doing so because of the alarming height of the cliffs. The clear water sparkled under the sunlight and the plains below the cliffs were covered in brilliant flowers.

He didn't think that a waterfall and a few flowers would make her this excited. From all his past experiences, he thought the only things that pleased women were jewelry, robes, or whatever garments that would show off their finincial power. He was immensely pleased by her reactions and amused of the innocent part of her.

"Would you like to go down?"

She looked back at him with a smile. He took that as a yes and gathered her in his arms again, noticing that she no longer tensed and expertly bounded from cliff to cliff. He landed on the damp banks of the rivulet and carefully laid her down onto the moist bank. He wished he had at least gave her time to gather her shoes, but soon noticed that she did not need them, seeing her casually avoid the rough stones. He watched her make her way to a huge stone near the bank and sit at the edge, dipping her feet into the cool water.

"Ken-sama," she looked back and called for him with a cheerful smile, "would you like to join me in the water?"

He merely jumped over the bank and swiftly landed in the water, soaking his hakama as he splashed around. He trudged through the water and stood in front of her. He was eye-level in this position, for his height was as same as her seated height on the stone. He needed to make something sure. He wanted an answer to the annoying question that had been nagging his mind ever since he met her. He did not smile or laugh like he did, but stood emotionless. She was a little startled from his sudden change in behavior, but she no longer blushed under his gaze.

He stared and she did likewise, not saying a word. The only sound that could be heard was the roar of the waterfall and the sound of the gentle current of the water. He waited for her thoughts to plague into his mind, like it did with others. He figured out on the day he got his gifted eye that he would be able to know one's thoughts, just by looking them straight into the eye. Their thoughts would just flow into his head as if they were saying it out loud. It was something very useful and he used every advantage of it. Now, he wanted to get to know the lady before him better, to understand how she views the world, how her mind worked, but mostly how she chose her men.

But for some reason he couldn't quite point out, he heard nothing.

He blinked a couple of times, trying not to show the mild shock he was under, and tried once more. Nothing happened.

'Did I lose it?'

His mind was swirling with panicked thoughts. This special ability never went against him when he tried to use it. So why now when he desperately needed it? Hadn't it worked a few times before on this very same woman? He quickly looked to his left and discovered a squirrel, which was busy with an extra hard acorn. His left pupil turned crimson in a flash and he could soon understand what the critter was thinking about: what it could do to crack open the damn acorn.

He looked back at the lady before him, who looked utterly confused. His eye worked fine on the squirrel... Why the hell not on Rin?

"Ken-sama?" She gently touched his hand. "Is something wrong?"

He looked at her, finally realizing that anyone who was watching him frantically shaking his head and staring at squirrels(His left pupil changing its color every few seconds) would definitely take him as a nutcase.

He finally forced a smile and pulled her forward. She let out a small gasp of surprise as he caught her in his arms and set her down in the water.

The cooling sensation of the liquid brought back the memories of her old days, when she would catch fish with Jaken, watching him sliding and jumping to catch them.

He could sense her excitement and anxiety of being in the water. He felt the sudden urge to help her break through the shell she was in, to help the woman release her care free spirit into the welcoming arms of nature. He couldn't help to replace his facade into a satisfied smile as he grabbed her hand.

"This way, my lady," he laughed as he splashed through the rushing current. "I'll make sure you have the time in your life."


Karang stood motionless in the heart of the bamboo forest, listening to the approaching footsteps behind her. The rough sound of landing feet told her her brother had arrived.

"How is she?" She asked.

Kourang picked a leaf out of his hair as he answered her in a tired voice.

"She wasn't there when I arrived. Kyoto told me she went out to train."

Karang let out a small sigh. "Let's take that as a sign that she is well."

"Aw... I didn't know you actually cared for me o'ne-chan!"

A bright voice, quite familiar to Ken's manner of speaking, rang through the forest and immediately a young female was riding on Kourang's wide shoulders. She had short flaming red hair and mischievous pair of eyes and her casual training suit was armed with a few daggers. She giggled as she felt her brother tense in mild surprise.

"Yo, Karang o'ne-chan! Kourang oni-chan! Beautiful Shunrang at your service!" She laughed as she heard her brother chuckle and her sister sigh again.

"I've heard that line before," Shurang said as came down from the bamboo trees to greet her sister.

"Where's Ken-sama?" The excited girl asked as she practically climbed all over her brother as if he was a tree.

"Hold on Shunrang," Karang pulled the girl down from her brother. "You need to answer some few questions."

"Fire away, sister."

"Where were you after you were attacked?"

"At the bank. Seriously, how could you guys think I was dead?"

"Correction, Kyoto said you were dead so we believed him," Kourang muttered. The four siblings sat down in a circle as Shunrang continued to talk.

"I was on the roll! Just a little twitch of my finger and boom! Lightening strikes down on those worms and the next foolish batch were coming upon me."

"There was a highly large amount of the demons Shunrang," Karang narrowed her eyes at her sister. "I thought I told you not to go out alone."

"Sorry o'ne-chan..." Shunrang lowered her head.

"And don't go training until all your wounds have healed," her sister continued. "You are the one with the most powerful nature essence within your blood. We can't afford to lose you."

It may have sounded like she was only caring about a weapon in matter, but Shunrang knew it was how her sister spoke when she was worried. She smiled brightly.

"Hai!"

"And then what happened at the bank?" Kourang leaned forward. "Lord Kenshiro told us that he sent...Warriors..."

Shunrang's eyes widened slightly and she bit her lower lip. "Yes...I think he did..."

"What do you mean 'think he did'?"

"It was...I don't know...strange? And disgusting at the same time?"

"Speak so we understand you, young one."

"I was at the banks of the Koi River...The one near the snake camps I mean..." she nervously glanced at her older sister. "No, I wasn't going to ambush them," she quickly added, seeing her sister's eyes narrow once more. "I just injured my leg! I couldn't move even if I wanted to! I was going to head back for our camp...When I met that...Thing..."

"Thing?" Kourang raised his eyebrow.

"It was...Black."

"What was black?"

"That... Thing."

"What thing?" Shurang asked in an exasperated voice.

"It was what killed the snake tribes."

"Elaborate on that."

"The 'thing'... It was... It looked like ink."

"...Ink."

"It was a blob of black ink that had this white circle on the top - I guess it was his eye- and that could move...Incredibly fast."

"How did this 'ink' kill them off, Shunrang?" Her younger sister, Shurang, rolled her eyes.

"They were numerous! The first one just popped out of a bush beside me and landed on my knee. It freaked me out, but once his eye looked straight into mine, I saw Ken-sama and I got this feeling he sent them."

"He sent you blobs of ink?" Kourang asked skeptically.

"Scary blobs of ink!" Shunrang shouted, excitement glistening in her eyes. "Those blobs of ink just leaped into the camps and went down their throats!"

"Calm down, Shunrang," Karang moved to sit beside her. "The ink went down the snakes' throats?"

"And then they came out again! Those demons were freaking out! Once the ink went into their mouths and down their throats, they started to yell and double over.Then he would cough and the ink would come out and then...He would just...collapse."

"...Is this how all the snake tribes were killed?"

"I think...These other group of inks just carried me all the way back to the land gates."

Silence claimed the four neko warriors before Karang whispered quietly to herself.

"Mochitsu..." She muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Those are called Mochitsus..." Karang rose to her feet. "Lord Kenshiro must have made allies with them."

"He made allies with blobs of black ink?" Shunrang looked shocked at the news.

"Yes...Which is good news for our people, but how he even got to make contact with them is a wonder."


O'ne-chan - older sister

Oni-chan - older brother

Dojo - gym

For those who are wondering, who is the eldest of the four warriors, the answer is Kourang. Then Karang, then Shunrang, then Shurang.