The young yokai stood atop the mountain, his raven hair whipping about wildly in the wind, overlooking the mansion beneath. He smiled to himself as he caught Kyoko's scent on the wind. "I finally found you, Kyoko. I've waited so long… I'm going to take you home…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One week later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sesshoumaru watched as Kyoko shifted fitfully in her sleep. He was intrigued by her movements now; she seemed to be in the middle of a nightmare, but he was unable to bring himself to wake her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kyoko's dream sequence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyoko strained to force dust from her eyes as she heard the oni approach herself. She scrambled backwards as she heard the beast's claws fly through the air, wildly at Kyoko. She flinched as her vision finally cleared and she saw that the oni's claws had barely missed her. She leapt up and drew her sword, her gift from Sesshoumaru, and positioned herself to attack the oni. She dodged an attack from its left forearm and vaulted towards its chest. What she had not taken into account, however, was the beast's other arm. It forced her to the ground, pinning her down with its right hand. She struggled to escape, but to no avail. Her movement seemed only to make the creature push her into the ground further.
As she took what she was sure was her last breath, the beast's arm fell to the ground, severed by Inu Yasha's Tetsusaiga. Before Kyoko was able to do so herself, Sesshoumaru threw the severed limb out of the way, allowing Kyoko to get up. She smiled as Sesshoumaru approached her. "Kyoko, you shouldn't fight just yet."
Kyoko brushed herself off as she looked away from Sesshoumaru. "I'm perfectly capable."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then…." Sesshoumaru tapped her right arm with slight force, sending her to her knees in pain. "That's what I thought."
[When did that happen?] Kyoko held her injured arm closer to herself. "Sesshoumaru…"
"Stay here." Sesshoumaru grinned playfully as he walked away from Kyoko and towards the oni, where Inu Yasha had diverted its attention.
[What's going on?] Kyoko watched as Sesshoumaru walked towards the creature. He stood before it, his sword drawn and ready to attack. Kyoko looked to just behind the beast, where Inu Yasha had jumped into the air.
Inu Yasha raised the Tetsusaiga as gravity pulled his towards the oni. He thrust it forward and ripped through the beast.
[NOO!!!] Kyoko's heart skipped a beat as she saw where it was that the sword continued, right to Sesshoumaru. She ran to the two brothers and saw as she had feared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End sequence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyoko sprang upright, panting. She looked sharply to her left and saw Sesshoumaru watching her.
"Bad dream?"
Kyoko caught her breath as she smiled faintly. "Yes… just a dream…" She pulled herself nearer to Sesshoumaru. [But… what did it mean?]
Sesshoumaru looked softly into Kyoko's eyes, which were again iced with pain and fear. "What's wrong?"
Kyoko shook her head. "Nothing…"
Without knocking or announcing herself at all, Rin burst into the room. "Kyoko-san! You're awake!!"
"Yes, Rin. Otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you, right?" Kyoko smiled at the young girl. [It still amazes me that Sesshoumaru had saved this child… this human child… I had thought that he despised humans… but to save her life… he truly has changed…]
The child giggled as she took Kyoko's hand. "Kyoko-san, do you want to go pick flowers with me?"
Kyoko grinned again. "Of course."
"Yay!!" Rin ran ahead and out of the house, waiting for Kyoko.
Kyoko sighed as she glanced back at Sesshoumaru. "We'll be back shortly."
"And I'll be waiting."
Kyoko lingered a few seconds longer, but then hurried out of the house. She followed shortly behind Rin.
Rin paused a moment and turned back to Kyoko. "Kyoko-san, do you have any parents?"
Kyoko shook her head as she continued walking, with Rin beside her. "No, they're dead, Rin."
"So, you're like I am?"
"Huh?"
"My mommy and daddy and brother all died too. But now, I have a new family."
"A new family?"
"Hai, Rin has Sesshoumaru-sama, Jaken-sama, Aun, Azuka-chan, and Kyoko-san…"
Kyoko nodded and smiled at the child's wisdom. She knelt down and patted down the grass around herself as she allowed the child to begin plucking the wildflowers from the ground. She thought she had heard something moving around them, but dismissed the sound as being Rin. She nearly jumped from her skin when she felt a hand rest upon her shoulder. She turned around slowly, poised to attack.
"Kyoko-himé, it is so nice to see you… I've searched tediously over this country, but my quest seems to draw to an end."
[Did he just call me himé?] Kyoko sprang forward and then whirled around to see who it was that had approached herself. He was a yokai. He stood tall and seemed to be about the same age as Kyoko was, perhaps slightly older. His long raven hair was pulled into a tie atop his head. His eyes were a fiery orange, reflecting the morning sun. "Wh-Who are you?"
His eyes seemed to sparkle as he heard her speak. He cleared his throat as he introduced himself. "I am Kusanagi. I am your betrothed—your fiancé."
"NANI?!?!?"
"Yes, I've come to take you home." He calmly stepped forward towards Kyoko.
"Take ME—HOME???"
Kusanagi nodded. He slipped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer to himself. "Isn't it great?"
Kyoko paled as she felt his arm touch her.
"We were betrothed at birth… Your father will be so pleased…"
Kyoko worked herself away from Kusanagi's arms. "I—I thought my father was dead."
"No. Your mother may be, but your father is very much alive—he's the one who sent me here."
"And why did you call me 'himé' earlier? I'm—I'm not of any consequence."
"To the contrary, Kyoko-himé, you are the first in line as heiress to your father's lands."
"And if I don't want to go with you?"
"You ARE going."
Sesshoumaru growled as he approached Kyoko and this strange yokai. "Kyoko, is he causing you any trouble?"
[Whew… how convenient…] Kyoko nodded as she rushed to Sesshoumaru. "He claims to be betrothed to me, Sesshoumaru. He insists I leave with him."
"I know not who you are, but I advise you leave Kyoko alone."
Kusanagi approached Sesshoumaru. Everything he did advertised his own cockiness—his smirk, his gait, the way he popped his knuckles as he stood directly before Sesshoumaru, looking straight into Sesshoumaru's icy glare unflinchingly—it was almost as though he were too sure of himself. "And if I don't leave her alone?"
Sesshoumaru dropped his eyelids in annoyance. "You'll not live to tell the tale."
Kusanagi whistled. "I'm soo scared. By birthright, I am to take her home with me."
Kyoko shook her head. "I won't go. This is my home. If you took me there, I'd only be a foreigner. I cannot even speak the language."
"You'll remember soon enough. Jeez, you mother really did not want you to ever come back. She let you forget that you were to be betrothed, she told you that your father was dead… What a liar!" Kusanagi chuckled but his expression soon changed to an instigating grin that he shot to Sesshoumaru.
Kyoko clenched her fists as she turned away. "Don't ever insult my mother again. I don't care what you all think, she died getting me here, and that's all that matters to me." She paused a moment. "Rin, come on, let's go back to the house."
Rin scurried along towards Kyoko. She grasped Kyoko's hand as she held up a small bouquet of wildflowers. "See what I got, Kyoko-san?"
"Wow, that's really pretty," Kyoko feigned a smile as she continued on with the girl.
Sesshoumaru watched as Kyoko and Rin disappeared in the distance and then he turned towards Kusanagi. "Who are you?"
"I am Kyoko-himé's fiancé, Kusanagi."
[Kyoko-himé??] "Why is it that I should believe you?"
"Feh, you're the reason she doesn't want to leave, aren't you?"
"I asked you a question."
"I know, and I just asked you one too, but I bet you won't answer it."
Sesshoumaru reached for Kusanagi's neck, but Kusanagi dodged.
In the distance, Kyoko's voice rang out to their ears. "Sesshoumaru, come on!"
Sesshoumaru shot Kusanagi one last glare as he turned towards the house.
"Don't worry, lover-boy, I will take her from you. Just wait and see."
Sesshoumaru began to turn back around, but Kyoko called out to him again, giving him the excuse for not beginning the bloody battle that would likely have ensued. He raged as he strode away, hearing Kusanagi's laughter behind him. He raced back to the house, in order to stay by Kyoko, just in case Kusanagi came to take her forcefully.
Kyoko stepped out of the house as she saw Sesshoumaru. She frowned as she saw Kusanagi shortly behind him. "Kusanagi, we have plenty of spare rooms here. You have a long journey ahead of you, so you may stay here for a few nights. HOWEVER, I will not permit that you bother Sesshoumaru, Rin, or any of the others here. Understood?"
"So be it." He answered as he strode into the house, a smirk on his face so that Sesshoumaru could see.