Disclaimer: None of the characters here are mine, but the ones I create. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. :3
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"Milord, your guest has arrived...Lord Takaryu."
The Inu Lord, who had been busy going through some scrolls on his desk, glanced up at the elderly maid before him and let out a silent huff through his nose. Takaryu was the son of the Eastern Lord, and he was more than likely here to make sure their treaty was still intact for the upcoming year...peachy. Dealing with the dragon yokai was probably one of the least favorite parts of his duties...but it had to be done, or else war would be a very real threat. And as one of the Daiyokai, it was his duty to try to prevent that at all cost...for his sake and his land's.
Waving a hand, he dismissed the maid and acknowledge what she said, waiting for her to leave before he pushed aside the paperwork before him, all an assortment of complaints and pleas for help with the decayed mountain inus that had just recently been plaguing his lands. What did it mean, why were they here? The same old questions on the matter came to mind. He had to find out what was really going on, and who was behind this...
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It was almost noon when another maid finally came in to take Kaname to the meeting hall, where she would finally be able to figure out why she was here, and what Lord Touga could possibly want with her. After the maid led her there and spoke with the guards at the door, the formidable looking doors were pushed aside as they gestured her inside. Subconsciously standing straighter, Kaname double checked that her kimono was in decent shape, and that her hakama had no extra, unsightly folds before she cautiously walked inside, barely hiding how timid she felt at this moment.
Almost as soon as she stepped inside, she could feel several sets of eyes on her. Most belonged to the guards positioned at the different doorways, but she could see that across the room Sesshoumaru was watching her, a strange calmness hidden behind his usual blank expression. However, it was the man sitting beside him that caught her attention at this point in time. Even sitting, the yokai commanded complete attention, even away from the beautifully crafted room, causing a small bead of sweat to run down the side of the girl's face.
Quickly wiping it away, Kaname swallowed her doubts and took carefully placed steps towards the two Inus, making sure not to look them directly in the eye so as to not disrespect them. As soon as she was a few meters from them, she noticed a smile grace the older yokai's lips, making her feel more uncomfortable again...it wasn't a mean smile, not by far, but a kind smile from a yokai couldn't mean anything good. Kneeling to the ground, she bowed respectfully to the two before her, holding her questions until given permission to speak.
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When was the girl coming? Touga was never really known for his patience, especially when it came to something like this. He finally was going to properly meet the Shikigami user, who by what his son had said, had discovered her powers on their way to his castle, even progressing to the point of being able to willingly create guardians from the different abilities she possessed...unheard of in one so young. Tapping his claws on the arm of his throne, he vaguely noticed his son staring at him, more then likely wondering what was bothering he, his chichi-ue...There were too many things besides his impatience to recall.
The young heir watched his father closely, noticing his impatience growing while they waited for their guest to arrive. Sesshoumaru still wondered what his father was up to, or if he even knew when it came to this ningen Shikigami user...He had tried to ask ahead of time, while he was healing, but his chichi-ue simply told him to wait until the meeting today. Letting out a mostly-silent huff, the young Inu turned his attentions back towards the main entrance to the throne room, where the guards would be letting Kaname enter.
Luckily, their wait was over. The doors began to open, revealing the slender form of the young woman they both recognized as Kaname. As she made her way over, the Inus noticed her nervous demeanor, and without realizing it, they both felt the need to try to reassure her somehow. Sesshoumaru's eyes softened ever so slightly at the girl, and his beast within chuckled at him, one who had always claimed to dislike humans and want nothing to do with them. But at the same time, his beast was pleased. It had taken a liking to this girl - she not only smelled delightful, but she wielded power, and a rare type at that. With the thoughts of his inner self, Sesshoumaru immediately silenced them; he may be willing to accept her power, but she would always be a ningen, and was off limits. His beast needed to get that through its mind, and fast.
Touga, on the other hand, observed the girls nervousness and his beast felt compelled to calm her, much he would with his pup when Sesshoumaru was much, much younger. The girl was young, far from home, and in a home filled with yokai...how could she not feel nervous?
Smiling some, he watched as she knelt before them, bowing in respect. Glancing toward the nearest pair of guards, the Dai narrowed his eyes, sending a clear message to leave the hall to give them privacy. The guards immediately obeyed, and the message was clear even to the other guards who had not witnessed their lord's glare, so they all opened their doors and exited, closing them behind them to guard from the outside.
Now that they were alone, Touga sighed softly and turned back to the girl before them, still bowing, but obviously confused about what was going on around her. "Girl. You may stand, your respect is appreciated but no longer necessary..." He watched her flinch slightly at the sound of his voice, one he'd always been told from a young age that it had a commanding tone to it, as she lifted herself into a sitting position, her hands folded neatly on her lap as she continued to stare at the floor. A small chuckle emitted from his lips at how formal she was being, a trait unexpected from a ningen in this time toward a yokai. Apparently surprised by it, the girl's eyes widened slightly as she finally looked up at him, surprise evident on her face. His smirk still in place, Touga spoke up once more, this time softer so as to not startle her too much. "Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were that polite, or so disgusted you didn't want to look upon us...Welcome to the Western castle, young one. My name is Touga, and I am the Daiyokai of these lands. My son has told me much about you and your journey...Kururugi, was it?"
Flustered and still blushing after the Inus comments, Kaname was caught off guard and nearly forgot how to speak after she realized she hadn't even introduced herself! "H-hai, milord! Forgive my manners, my name is Kaname Kururugi. I'm honored that you invited me here, and had your son escort me..." Her demeanor changed as she said that last bit, as she remembered that while protecting her, Sesshoumaru had been hurt by those freaky decayed dogs...it wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, the parts she remembered anyway.
"Oi. Keep your emotions in check around the lord, a girl's sadness, or pity, bother us..." Kaname's eyes widened as she turned her attention to Sesshoumaru, forgetting how easily Inus such as themselves could pick up on even the slightest change in her emotions...how embarrassing! She felt her cheeks growing warm as she looked away in embarrassment, hoping he couldn't read her mind, too.
"Sesshoumaru. Hold your tongue." Shooting a look at his son, the younger Inu immediately looked back ahead of him and went silent, obeying his father's wishes. The older Inu's gaze softened as he turned back to Kaname, his voice changing to try to soothe her worries. "Forgive him, he means no harm...now then, it's very nice to finally meet you properly, Kaname. I'm sure you're curious as to why you are here..." Immediately the demeanor of the two young ones shifted, clearly expressing that they were indeed curious and eager to hear his reasons.
"Kaname. You are here because the night you were attacked by that Mountain Inu, I witnessed you release a power the likes of which I'd never seen in the entirety of my lifetime. And it was clear that you would no longer be safe, because after I finished that cur, I could already feel a shift in the air that told me only more would come for you. So, I sent my son, Sesshoumaru, to follow the scent and aura of my mark to bring you back here, for your own safety...only until I returned to the castle did I realize how wise it was to do so...
As you've seen, that vile creature that attacked you originally wasn't alone. And the ones the two of you fought off are not the last of them, either. I can smell the scent of their deathly bodies all across my lands, extending to the other territories as well, most likely. Because of this, I retreated to my study to see if there were any old documents on such creatures, or such an occurrence. And that was when I found this," lifting his hand, Touga reached into his sleeve and withdrew a weathered scroll, "which contains quite interesting, yet disturbing information. It would seem you, my dear, are not the only Shikigami user recorded. And this form of attack on one of the domains has also been recorded, though of a different caliber. There isn't much deciphered and much has been lost to the test of time, but from what I could understand, there was a time when Shikigami users were far more prominent, almost as common as mikos. However, many were sought out and wiped out of existence by creatures known as 'kyonshi'. This is the title given to the creatures from then, and the ones we face now. What they do is take the very life essence of one from the plane of the living to 'feed' themselves, so that they may exist and move about...
The reason they targeted Shikigami users was because of their special abilities, making for a very powerful soul essence that could let them live for a decade on just that one soul. The situation is, obviously, different in our time because of how rare Shikigami users are, but that doesn't change the fact that you are one. And any of the kyonshi that recognize that fact will stop at nothing to hunt you down for your soul, even if that means fighting one another for the chance at such a...delicacy to them, shall we say..."
Touga stopped. Looking at Kaname, concern immediately arose within him. The poor girl, still so young, was obviously trying to take everything in, and when she heard that others of her kind had been wiped out by the same sort of creatures going after her now...it would terrify anyone so young and inexperienced with life. Touga should have taken this much more slowly and delicately...but unfortunately, now was not the time, for there was no time. The kyonshi were after her now, and dragging out the explanation would get them nowhere...he just hoped it wouldn't be too much for her to handle.
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I am so, soooo sorry for leaving you all like that. Many things have been going on with my life, and for a long while there I lost any motivation to write fanfic. Only recently, after I started RPing a bit more as Kaname and Sesshoumaru, did I start to get slowly inspired again. And it's made my thoughts on where to go with this story different, but much better. I'm hoping to make this quite the tale, if you all would be willing to join me again.
Again, I apologize for just disappearing with no warning, and now that I've finally gotten back to writing, I'm hoping to get this story written for you all. The uploads may take a lil bit, since my internet's not really working atm, but I'll do my best, for all of you.
It's been so long since I've said this, but...I look forward to your R&Rs. ^^