Chapter 32
And here's another! Things are heating up in this chapter whoooo!
As always: Any part written about Saitoshi was written by SaitoshiTaishou, All I did was edit a few words here and there so it would flow better with my part of the story, a big round of applause for her please!
And I'm going to remind you again: If you're interested SaitoshiTaishou is writing her own fanfic about Saitoshi called 'Long Forgotten' please go check it out! Sonya will be appearing in that story too, a little bit of extra I suppose.
Oh! And another thing, I'm starting a little mini-series on the side, dunno when I'll be posting it (Possibly during a lull in this story when I get another one of my writer's blocks) but it's going to be called 'The Mini Adventures of Sesshomaru and Sonya'. It's purely crack, absolutely nothing to do with the main story or anything linked to it, I started writing little bits and pieces for it a few weeks ago and decided to just go ahead and type up a few chapters to see where it went. Anyway, like I said, I'll possibly post it whenever I take too long to type up another chapter to this, so keep an eye out!
By the way: only one review? Come on people you can do better than that, two or more reviews before I post the next chapter. And just as a bit of an incentive... A certain favorite is making a reappearance. REVIEWS PEOPLE!
Umm I think that's it for now, I'm sure I'll remember something else by the time I post this, but I'll save it for the next chapter.
Onward!
-I do NOT own Inuyasha or it's characters
-I DO own Sonya, Niki and the plot
~TL S0nya
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Saitoshi looked upon the village in anticipation from a hill side. "I will get him to notice me and weep for forgiveness. I'll take this tiny village from him in the most spectacular way. Won't Father be so proud." Chuckling in a sinister way that could send chills down a daiyokai's spine, she stood up and made her way towards the village only to stop once she realized a dilemma. "Should I stay in this form, or should I transform? Hmm... BIGGER THE BETTER! Even though it would be a waste it would stand out more and cause more attention. Hope you enjoy this, Father. It's all for you. Hehe!"
Saitoshi stopped walking and then flared her aura broadly. The ice-blue translucent color solidified and increased in size dramatically. When the smoke-like energy dissipated an enormous silverish-blue dragon roughly close to the size of Ryokotsuei emerged. Satisfied with the transformation, she resumed her journey back towards the helpless village. "Won't they all be surprised."
When she reached the town, she immediately began growling at the villagers, successfully scaring them. Having never killed or hurt people without reason, she just settled on looking the part of a massive demon trying to kill everyone to get her father's attention. He had a thing for saving these humans. Whipping her tail, Saitoshi destroyed a couple of huts once sure no one was inside. Turning around she blew on the water in the stream running beside the village, causing the water to freeze. In a mad panic, the villagers raced away, screaming in fear. "Someone is bound to get Father at this rate." Continuing on her work, she destroyed several more empty huts, as well as a few produce stands for good measure. Something to keep her busy until her father arrived.
The first pulse of her aura had Touga standing in the entry way of his shiro, demanding the guards to open the courtyard gates so the villagers could come in.
Narrowing his eyes, he watched as a heavy stream of frightened people ran into the courtyard, all of them claiming a dragon had invaded the village and was destroying it. Sending a silent thanks to whatever kami listened, he was glad he had sent Niki away just earlier that day, he knew for a fact she would be heartbroken to find out many of the people she cared for now had no home or possessions for the winter.
Biting back a growl, he made his way through the masses, sure the villagers all were in the courtyard, he ordered the guards to close the gates behind him and tend to the villagers there while he took care of the problem.
With a firm line to his lips, Touga stormed towards the center of the village where he could clearly see and hear the dragon wrecking havoc on the homes around it.
How he despised dragons, aside from a very rare few, he could barely stand the scent let alone sight of one. Closing his eyes, Touga brushed off a small pang tugging at his soul and stepped past the rubble of yet another ruined hut to face the dragon in front of him, familiarity once more tugging at him, he growled deep, demanding the demon's attention.
"What reason do you have here?"
Saitoshi grinned as well as a enormous dragon could. She had finally got her father's attention and it pleased her greatly. "I have come to claim your life, Father." The realization that he probably wouldn't recognize her in this form caused her to transform back into humanoid appearance moments later.
As the blue flame like haze began to dissipate, she emerged in her humanoid form. Walking closer to her father she smiled sweetly. "Now that I think about it, I want you to pay and claiming your life will not be enough. Maybe... your human pet could be useful to me." Clearly referencing to Niki with a careless wave of her hand. "You know, the one you sent away. What would happen if she... had an accident?"
Saitoshi wanted him to react, to become angry and lash out. During her visits, she had silenced her aura when she watched her father and his interaction with said human woman. It didn't take long for her to notice that he had a fondness for her and possibly wanted to mate with the woman. This will work out in her favor perfectly, if he reacted the way she expected him to.
Grinding his teeth slightly, Touga bit back the harsh retort he longed to fling at the woman in front of him. His own daughter? She dared to threaten the woman he desired so deeply? It was apparent she had no dealings with a powerful demon such as himself and their chosen mates, even before the mark is given they become nearly feral to protect them.
Narrowing his eyes on her, Touga advanced a few steps forward until they were mere inches away. "You will not go near her, you will not touch her." The underlying threat clearly hanging in the air between them: 'Or I will spill your blood myself.'.
Stepping back once more, he rested a hand on the hilt of his improvised sword, he had yet to hear back from Totosai about his request for a new one being both of his sons now held his old swords. "Leave now. I have no desire to fight you this day."
With that said, he turned to leave and made his way back to his shiro, the sound of wings alerting him his wayward daughter had left. Reaching the gates, he motioned for the guards to open up and let him back into the courtyard where he could hear the sounds of scared villagers still.
"The demon is gone, those of you without a home will be given rooms here while they are rebuilt, anyone requiring rations go to the kitchens." His strong voice silenced the babble, easily heard in the fading afternoon. Already he had plans for builders to be commissioned to rebuild the destroyed huts starting the next day.
'Maybe... Your human pet could be useful to me.'
Saitoshi's words resurfaced in the forefront of his mind, causing Touga to grit his teeth again. If she so much as dared to hurt her! His hand clenched tightly into a fist, claws biting into the flesh of his palm deep. No, she was safe, Sesshomaru knew better than to let anything hurt her while he wasn't around.
Shaking off the worry he held for Niki, Touga called for several of the guards standing nearby, ordering them to station themselves around the town for extra protection, more for the villager's peace of mind than anything. For now, he would have to believe she would be alright, if he didn't, he couldn't do anything for the village.
Ducking behind one of the garden bushes, Niki clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to keep quiet. They were only feet away, she could hear the snow crunching under their boots as they moved closer with each step.
'Stupid! Superior sense of smell! Of course they found you...' Reaching out, Niki grabbed a hold of the only thing she had to defend herself with and waited. breath held, hands clutching her defensive item of choice while listening to her pursuer's hushed voices.
"Over there?"
"No, I can smell she's close..."
Gritting her teeth, Niki crouched lower behind the bush, waiting for the first face of her attackers to show themselves.
The second she spotted the tip of a nose, she let out a war cry and launched the snowball in her hand, smacking Sonya in the face with it before darting away to hide behind a tree when Rin retaliated with her own snowball.
"Cheater! You got Sonya to help you!" She whined, stooping over and packing another snowball in her cold hands.
"All's fair in love and war!" Sonya called out, a wide grin on her face as she and Rin stalked their target, advancing from both sides of the tree so she couldn't escape this time.
"Don't get me started on 'love and war' you jerk." Niki muttered, eyes shifting from side to side as the both of them appeared on either side of her with identical evil grins.
"Be fair, she is only eight." With a shrug, Sonya smashed the snowball in her hands on Niki's head then ducked away when the woman swung at her in retaliation.
"Still, your nose shouldn't count!" The wet splat of Rin's snowball seeping into the back of her woolen cloak chilled her skin quickly, earning a shiver from her. "You know, I love the snow and all, but I don't like it when it's soaking my clothes."
"Yeah, I think it's about time to head inside." Sonya agreed, eyes on Rin's red cheeks and nose as she ushered the two humans inside. "Rin, go change quickly, meet us in the hot springs, alright?"
"Okay!" The little girl grinned brightly then darted off while Sonya lead Niki back to her room. "You know, for a human, you're pretty resilient."
"Yeah, well... Your face." Niki shivered again, completely forgetting the idea of searching for a proper comeback as she slid her door open, revealing a very surprised Shibori. "Bath."
"I would hope so, Lady. You're soaked through!" Tutting lightly, the maid turned to gather clean clothes from one of Niki's trunks then stood to follow the two women towards the hot springs, stopping only so Sonya could duck into her own room and grab her things as well.
Simply stepping into the steamy room had Niki nearly melting into a puddle on the floor. The hot air trapped inside swirling around her with hints of honey that had most likely been poured into the bath before they arrived.
"Come on, out of those before you do get sick." Shibori's no-nonsense voice leaving no room for argument as she firmly began undressing Niki much to Sonya's amusement. "Shibori, I could use twenty of you around here. With that kind of attitude I'm sure this whole place would shape up in just one day."
The maid flushed lightly and ducked her head in a bout of shyness, eyes rooted to the wet cloak she held in her hands. "I am sure you don't mean that, Lady Sonya."
The wolf rolled her eyes and sunk into the water beside Niki, keen eyes watching Rin as she splashed away happily on the other side of the spring. "No, I really do mean it. Half of the people around here lay down so you can walk on them, the other half are too stuck-up to know what a simple thank you is." A small huff escaped her while Niki patted her shoulder sympathetically.
"It is high praise then." Shibori bowed deeply, still embarrassed the Lady of the West even bothered to acknowledge her despite Niki's constant reassurances she wasn't as stuck up as most people seemed to think she should be.
"Jeesh, I see what you mean." Sonya muttered to Niki who was sending sympathetic looks over at her maid who seemed about to self-combust under the sheer weight of Sonya saying she was good at her job. "Shibori, come on, you're not my maid here, you're my friend while we're staying at the west, come join us."
"My Lady, I cannot!" The maid stiffened her spine so quickly, Niki was sure she popped a vertebra or two with the action. "Oh stop it, you and I are closer than almost anyone around here, just join us already, or I'll just have Rin splash you until you do."
Shibori sent a nervous glance over at the child who was now sneaking over to the side of the spring she was standing on, a glint in her eyes she didn't like one bit. "But-"
"No butts until your butt is in here. Now come on, the water feels great!" Niki smiled wide as she relaxed against the heated rocks behind her, one eye cracked open just enough to see her Maid sigh lightly and reluctantly began to remove her clothes. "This isn't proper for a maid to bathe with her Lady and the Lady of the West."
"What lady? There's ladies in here? Where?" Sonya looked around curiously, earning a snicker from Niki and a weak smile from Shibori as she slid into the water across from them. "Very well, I can see you two are indeed much alike."
"Yeah, we could be twins and no one would know better." Sonya slung an arm around Niki's shoulders, her head knocking against the human's lightly in a playful manner.
"If I had two tails myself I could probably even fool that man of yours." Niki muttered, earning a low growl from Sonya for it. "Don't even think about it, I worked hard getting him."
"Not from what Kagome told me, she said he chased you until you finally just gave up."
"Did not! I was playing coy!"
"Pfft, you, coy? Give me a break."
"I'll give you a break in the leg!"
Soon the argument spawned into an all-out splash fight between the two of them, thoroughly soaking the other bathers and the floors as well until Shibori cleared her throat pointedly and made the two stop and bow their heads slightly in apology.
"Sorry..."
'My, they even speak like twins.' Shibori shook her head with a small smile on her face, relaxing for the first time since Sonya had given her that compliment. In truth, she viewed her Lady more as a younger sister than her mistress, and the way her friend treated her, she began to feel the same towards the wolf as well. They were cheerful, bright and very friendly towards everyone they met, until said person gave them a reason to dislike them.
Without any more arguments or splash wars, they finished their baths cheerfully, talking away about everything they could think about, Shibori and Rin adding their own bits from time to time. Before long, a servant appeared in the doorway to alert them of the evening meal being served shortly, sending the bathers into a slight panic to get ready before it was time.
After Niki slipped on the wet floor, Rin nearly tipping over the rack of dry Kimono and Sonya almost sliding straight into the wall beside the door, they decided it was best to tell someone about the water before anyone else tried to take a bath themselves.
That of course started Sonya laughing at the image of Sesshomaru slipping and falling on his hind end, the mere thought of the Inu doing anything remotely ungraceful sending her into a frenzy of giggles the entire walk back to their rooms.
Of course it might have helped if she told her friends just what she was laughing about, because during dinner she'd start snickering again and would get several confused and worried glances sent her direction the rest of the night.
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