Disclaimer - Sesshy does not belong to me. So don't sue me.
A/N - I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, as I happen to think this is my most favortie one so far. Oh, and congratulations to Laochra and Granting Love445 for giving the correct answers to the last chapter's little riddles. They were the only ones to give me both correct answers, so kudos to them.
'"You fight your battles far from me, far too easily…"
'You never wait, Kaida. Like water, you change your shape and flow around things that block you, finding paths that no one else has thought about…tiny holes through the box that threatens to encase you.'
The first is lyrics from a song off of Final Fantasy X-2 called '1000 Words'. And the second is an amended version of a quote from 'Memoirs of a Geisha'.
Oh, and just so you know, there are going to be a whole mess of new characters in these last few chapters. But don't worry, none of them are major players in the plot. I just needed some Southerners to fill in the gaps a little. And for all of you who celebrate Christmas, I wish you happy holidays with your family and friends.
This extra-long chapter is my gift to the loyal readers this story has garnered. Thank you all, and Merry Christmas.
A.A.
Teaching Rin
Chapter 54
Uneven Ground
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Sakaki asked, looking around warily as he landed silently on the abandoned deck of the Western flagship.
"A friend in need and all that." Nekotu said. Sakaki shot him a look, making the wolf sigh. In gloomy tones, he told the other demon the truth. "Okay, so I lost the bet and the rest of the guys will have my ass if I don't find out what's going on in there. There's good chance that only one of them is walking out of there. And the General's in the lead with 20 to 1 odds."
"Yeah, yeah, but why am I here?!"
"If I'm going down, you are too." Nekotu answered bluntly.
"Great. We're all going to hell and I'm leading the caravan."
"You always were."
"Good point." Sakaki replied with a shrug. The two demons had made their way to the side of the cabin, and could see where Sesshomaru and Kaida were currently squaring off head to head. The crouched down and peered through the slit in the curtains, watching as Kaida and Sesshomaru continued their heated discussion.
"Well, look at it this way, you have front row seats for a show of massive destructive proportions." an amused voice said. The two Westerners almost jumped out of their hides when a rather small demoness seemingly appeared out of thin air behind them. She was dressed in practical armor that seemed to be emitting some sort of electrical charge, and had a head of orange hair and electric blue eyes that were currently trained squarely on them. "So, is she going to skewer him or just fry him all in one piece?"
"Either would undoubtedly be a long time in coming." a sweet voice chimed in.
"So whatta ya think, Rio? Skewered or fried?" the smaller female asked the newcomer. "I'm banking on fried, but I'm a bit partial after all. Maiko thinks their gonna yell each other to death, and Kanaye's telling everyone their gonna wind up doing the nasty before it's all said and done."
"Hopefully nothing too unpleasant occurs, Raika." the blonde said demurely, her arms crossed over her unarmored chest. "Although I believe the Lady would rather the last option of them all."
"So would I." the slight demoness grinned wickedly.
"Huh?" Sakaki asked dumbly, blinking at the two females standing behind them. "Skewered? Fried?"
"What are you two talking about?" Nekotu asked. "And who are you? You're not supposed to be on deck. Lord Sesshomaru ordered everyone to leave."
"Then what are you doing here?" the little demoness questioned.
"We're Lord Sesshomaru's elites." Nekotu said indignantly.
"So we noticed." the aforementioned Rio said, nodding towards the distinguished markings on their armor. "What do they call you?"
"You mean besides nosey, eavesdropping peepers?" Raika chirped.
"He's Nekotu. I'm Sakaki." the dog demon answered, ignoring the jab from the chattering demoness. "And you?"
"My name's Raika." the orange haired, blue eyed demoness chimed in. She then pointed to the blonde. "And this is Rio."
"What are you doing here?" Nekotu asked, the hairs on the back of his neck raising slightly from the little demoness' presence. It almost felt like her entire body was giving off some kind of electrical charge.
"Trying to keep our Lady from severing your necks from your shoulders." Rio said simply, giving them the once over.
"I doubt they are in any danger of invoking my dear sister's rage," Keiji's aggravated voice cut through as he turned the corner. "At least not while she has him to contend with."
"Lord Keiji. You're being as pleasant as always." Raika said cheekily, bowing to her Lord's son as he walked up as well. "I hope that sour attitude isn't contagious."
"It is when you're around me, you aggravating chatterbox." he deadpanned. Raika just grinned happily, as if proud of his admonishment.
"My Lord." Rio said, giving a shallow bow and none to gently elbowing the other female in the side, an attempt to keep her silent. Raika was known as the bane of existence for Keiji, who at one time had been her commanding officer before she'd been transferred to Kaida's battalion. The dragon lord and lightning demoness had never really gotten along, and Raika had a habit of teasing the demon when she could, which often led to her getting into massive amounts of trouble when Keiji was in a bad mood….like now.
"What are you two doing here?" Keiji asked, paying little attention two women.
"Speaking with those brave enough to chance our Lady's and their Lord's anger with their continued presence." Rio answered.
"Since when is speaking a sign of thinking?" Keiji demanded testily, looking at the two women. "I heard Sesshomaru tell everyone to leave. That means you two as well."
"We figured she could use some assistance." Raika said easily. "You know she has the worst taste in men. I mean, look what happened wit…."
"Raika. That's enough" Rio scolded, throwing a glare at the Southern demoness.
"Well she does!" the lightening demoness defended. The group's attention was quickly brought back to the occupants of the room when they felt Kaida's aura flare out, and Sesshomaru's match it instantly. The two nobles continued on arguing, but Kaida seemed to be on the losing end of the battle. By now, she refused to meet his gaze, and when she did, her eyes were burning jade flecks. The Southern noble was nervously fingering the hilts of the whip swords at her side, looking all the world like she wanted to do nothing more than whip them out and wrap them around the regal Sesshomaru's lily white neck.
"She's going to kill him." Keiji muttered.
"She's gonna try." Sakaki answered absently. "It hasn't happened yet, thank the gods."
"Would it kill you to show a little optimism, Lord Keiji?" Raika asked, peering over the men's shoulders and into the cabin to get a better look into what had captured their attention.
"Experience has taught me that wishful thinking only leads to disappointment." Keiji grunted. "But in this case, I would welcome being proven wrong."
"You know, I've always heard that sarcasm keeps you from telling people what you really think of them." Raika commented. "But I believe you're currently taking it a bit to the extreme, Lord Keiji."
"Uhh…I think they found us." Nekotu said nervously, pointing at the cabin window where they could see both Sesshomaru's and Kaida's glowering glares…aimed right at the assembled group.
"Now would be a good time to exit the premises, I believe." Sakaki blanched, gulping audibly. "Nekotu?"
"Right behind you." the wolf demon said, turning quickly to follow his friend off the deck of the ship. Bet or no bet, he wasn't about to get murdered for deliberately defying a direct order from Sesshomaru, not when the dog lord was already in a homicidal mood.
"My Lord, shouldn't we be going as well?" Rio asked demurely, unaffected as much as the others by the death glares emanating from inside the cabin.
"Get off of me already." Keiji snapped, sending one last glare at the window before stomping angrily away. The remaining Southerners sent each other a look that females use when no knife is present and the men around them were being ridiculously ignorant. They met their Lady's annoyed gaze through the window, and saw her nod imperceptibly. Without another word, they both gave a small bow and turned to make sure that their Lady and her newest attachment were not disturbed any further.
"You really need to quit trying to intimidate people." Kaida muttered, rolling her eyes at Sesshomaru and placing her swords on the nearest table, but still within easy reach. It was obvious she wasn't going anywhere for a while.
"Why give up what works?" he questioned simply, stretching out his aura to make sure they were without eavesdroppers. When the search came back clear, he turned his attention back to her. Kaida had taken her interest to a rather large map that was pinned to the side wall of the small cabin.
"Shinegori and his crew are supposed to be coming from the West. We're in the perfect position for….Sesshomaru! What are you doing?" she said crassly when one of his clawed hands blocked her view of the map. He had walked up behind her and reached over her shoulder, obscuring her view. "Move your hand!"
"We can talk about this later." he said simply, ripping the map from its place on the wall and tossing it carelessly aside.
"We don't have time." she refuted, hands on her hips although she was still facing the now mapless wall. She glanced over her shoulder and found the amber gaze of the dog lord looking down at her with piqued interest. Kaida suddenly felt her blood run cold. She knew that look. This confrontation was not going to end well…
"Then we make time. I refuse to fall for anymore of your ingenious diversionary tactics." he said calmly, snaking his hands around her waist and pulling her back against him.
"Diversionary…" she asked, now utterly confused at his actions. Her hands immediately went to his in an attempt to get him to release her. "What are you talking abo…mph!" Kaida's world came crashing down around her when she realized exactly what Sesshomaru, her calm, level headed, supposedly cold hearted Lord, was doing.
She closed her eyes as he kissed her fiercely, moving his lips in a way that was unpracticed and unchecked. Without thinking, not that her mind was in any state to, she responded instinctively and met his flaring emotions with the passion for him she had hidden inside for so long. Suffocating wasn't the word for what she was feeling. Drowning would probably be more appropriate, but she wasn't really worried about defining anything right then.
Her anger flowed out of her, replaced with a feeling of need that had her panting hard. She latched onto him and laid her head back, savoring the unexpected caresses for all they were worth. The gods above knew she'd been dreaming of him for weeks now.
"See, you are pleased to see me." he said quietly.
"Yes." she relented, almost silently. Damn him for doing this to her!
"And you know my men and I need to be here as assistance."
"Yeah." she agreed mindlessly, enjoying the tingling of his warm breath against her neck.
"And you admit that you were wrong and out of line with your actions as of late."
"Hmm..yea….what?!" she asked, catching onto the question before she could implicate herself any further. She finally conjured up enough sense to pull away from his embrace and put some much needed space between them before she blindly agreed to something else.
"So you admit it then?" he asked, a superior look on his face.
"No!"
"You already stated otherwise."
"But…that was…you were distracting me!" she cried impetuously.
"Excuses will not change what was said."
"You bastard mongrel!" she cursed, her breathing heavy as she tried to get herself under control. She honestly thought she was going to burst out crying. Her passion for the demon lord was waging with her anger to a point where she wasn't sure which one was in control at the moment. "I should have realized you weren't above twisting emotions to get what you want."
"Now you know what I have had to endure the past weeks." he replied coldly.
"You're not the only one who's…" she started, only to snap her mouth shut. She wouldn't admit that she missed him. She wouldn't. Not to him. She didn't want to make his astronomical ego even worse than it already was.
"I am not the only one who has what? Walking the floors? Snarling at anyone who attempts to speak with me?" he suggested icily.
"How did you…" she began, eyes wide in surprise at the change in his usually regal tone. He couldn't possibly be suggesting that her exit from his lands had made that much of an impression, could he?
"Kaze informed me of your change in behavior when he searched me out. It pleased me greatly to hear that I was not the only one suffering from your abrupt departure."
"Suffering?" she scoffed. "I wasn't suffering from anything except overworking myself."
"Your actions tell another story."
"My actions have been known to deceive before." Kaida said offhandedly, slowly gaining a bit more reassurance in herself. So he had brought her here to make her grovel, had he? It wasn't going to happen. "Besides, Kaze's probably still mad because I didn't want him getting into the middle of this. He was supposed to be off on a trading route, somewhere safe."
"This is no deception." he said, placing his clawed hand over her thudding heart, causing her to freeze. She sucked in a breath of air and held it, afraid to even move. She could feel her heart beating strongly in her chest, caused more from the chaos and worry around her than Sesshomaru's close proximity…or at least that what she kept telling herself. "Admit it."
"I'll admit to nothing." she refuted stubbornly, knocking his hand away and turning around to face the wall again.
"I tire of these games, Lady." he said wearily. "I won't let you run from me again."
"I didn't run from you before." she said quietly, knowing she's telling a bare faced lie. Oh, she had ran….as far away from him as she possibly could, even going so far as to actually consider leaving for the mainland.
"So you like to think." he answered. Kaida whirled around and face him but found herself pressed up against his solid form once again, arms pinned lightly at her sides, amber eyes boring down into her tense face.
"Sessho...what.."
"Stop fighting me. You can do and say what you want, but I'm not going anywhere." he said softly. "Not this time."
"Don't do this…please. Sesshomaru, let me go." she begged, knowing that this conversation had just taken a one way path straight in the direction she didn't want. If he kept looking at her like that…kept touching her, she was going to melt into a big puddle of useless goo. Internally, she cursed herself for having such a weakness for the handsome dog demon.
"Make me." he challenged, closing the gap between them and kissing her again. The intensity of her struggles picked up but Sesshomaru's grip held firm. She couldn't do anything…well she could if she really wanted to. Kaida knew she could get away from him if she really, really wanted to. But at that particular moment, she was suddenly quite happy right where she was. Against her better judgment, and much to the delight of the voracious little voice in her head, she relaxed against him. He apparently took her release of tension as complete submission because the next thing she knew, her back was against the wall and it felt like the dog lord was literally trying to suck the breath out of her.
Her mind was in such a haze of worry and pleasure that it took a few minutes for her to realize exactly the position she had just put herself into. 'Stuck between a rock and a hard spot with no where to go' was a phrase that suddenly came to mind when she was somewhat coherent again. Sesshomaru's hands had found their placement underneath her thighs, helping to hold her up against the wall, and the caresses from his claws, coupled with the heady kisses they were sharing, was leaving her giddy. She was unable to process anything beyond the fact that he was there, with her, in an empty cabin, and apparently not regarding her as a simple tool anymore.
The sudden role reversal and shift in power had her floored.
"You are thinking unneeded thoughts again." he whispered, sensing her return to coherency.
"We shouldn't be doing this." she said quietly while he continued to plant kisses on her neck. She shivered from the contact and leaned her head back against the wall, trying to reorient herself. Sesshomaru, who seemed to hone in on the newly exposed skin of her neck, honed into the area with an uncanniness that reminded Kaida of a starving dog being fed for the first time in days. "We really shouldn't be doing this…mmmm…"
"Says who?"
"Common sense?" she suggested weakly, not really knowing what else to say.
"It can go jump overboard with the rest of those idiots." he growled, pulling slightly away from her. Kaida had no doubt that she was currently wide eyed and ridiculously vulnerable to him, something she did not like. He let her go, and she slid down the wall until she settle lightly on her feet, not daring to try and move until she was sure her knees were going to hold her. Sesshomaru, she was pleased to note, looked just as harried as she felt. He ran a clawed hand through his hair and closed his eyes as if trying to ascertain the situation and what he had just done.
"What has gotten into you?" she asked worriedly. This demon in front of her was not the same Sesshomaru she had left standing in the Southern Lands weeks ago. The Western Lord she knew was not the type to throw her up against a wall and kiss her into senselessness, nor was he one to appear confused and disoriented like he was now. He just looked….aggravated, for loss of a better term. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, more as an offer of reassurance than anything. "Are you okay? You're scaring me."
"That was not my intention. Forgive me, Lady General." he said stiffly, his back ramrod straight and no signs of the passion induced voraciousness she had just been on the receiving end of. Kaida perversely thanked the gods for the mood swing. Him in this mood she could deal with.
"Sesshomaru." she began calmly. "You're being unreasonable. Just calm down and tell me…"
"Unreasonable? I am being unreasonable?" he growled angrily, his furious amber gaze now trained on her. Kaida flinched and backed up against the wall once again. Okay, now he really was scaring her. "That is the most hypocritical statement you have ever made, Lady."
"Sess...I just…I'm confused. Good gods above!" she cursed, matching his attitude with a calmness that she didn't know she possessed. "What do you want me to do?"
"You are no innocent. Figure it out." he answered bluntly. Kaida felt her hopes fall once again into the pits of despair. So they were back at that again, were they?
"Is that it? That's all I am?"
"I would not have rallied my entire naval fleet, pulled every one of my elites from their duties, and then turned them over to you to use at your discretion if that was all I considered you, Kaida." he said forcefully, only to have a bit of sarcasm slip through. "Glad to see I have your respect."
"You've always had that. But I know you…or at least I like to delude myself into thinking that I do. Right now respect is the last thing on your mind." Kaida answered calmly. "Besides, I didn't ask for your help."
"Of course you did not. But you were more than willing to run to Seiti for help, were you not?" the Western Lord ground out.
"Wait just a minute…"
"No, you wait, Lady." he said. "Look at the facts. We both know what he wants. Now whether you have efficiently deluded yourself into thinking otherwise, I do not know. His desire to have you with him is no different than my own, except for the fact that with Seiti, you'll become the very thing you hate. You'll become another of his conquests."
"This is not just about sleeping with him! It never has been! I am no blushing little virgin, Sesshomaru! I know exactly what he wants!" she yelled back at him. Kaida snapped her mouth shut and inwardly kicked herself for letting him get her angry enough to speak before thinking. If the mildly surprised look on his face was anything to go by, this had just gone from bad to worse.
The Western Lord had quite possibly never been in such a situation as he now found himself in. Standing toe to toe with a demoness who could simultaneously drive him crazy with worry and anger, after he'd lost his cool and basically thrown her against the wall to hold her in place while he tried to convince her of his intentions with bruising kisses, was not a situation he'd ever thought he'd find himself in.
But, again, this was Kaida he was dealing with. Odd situations and tense moments were a common occurrence with her.
How the hell did she do this to him?
"If you know why he wants you, why are you voluntarily going along with this?" he asked calmly, despite the roiling thoughts in his head. She took a deep breath and visibly calmed herself down as much as possible.
"I value my integrity, but not to the point I'll make myself miserable for the rest of my life."
"Then explain what is so damned different, because I can not seem to figure it out." he demanded.
"Other than contempt, I don't have an attachment to him." she said coldly. "He's a means to an end, nothing more. He gets his conquest and I get relative freedom. There is no emotional ties on my part, so I won't be hurt in the end."
"He will use you, and cast you aside. Is that what you want?" Sesshomaru asked. "He'll bed you, destroy what is left of your so-called integrity, and then move onto the next willing partner without a second thought."
"It's not what I want, but I could deal with it given some time. I don't care about him, so I honestly couldn't care less if he was unfaithful to me." she admitted.
"Kiyoshi held the same views, and you swore you would slit your own throat before taking him as a mate. As far as I can see Seiti is in the same frame of mind, yet now you are considering the same proposal that you got out of when the neko was killed."
"It's not the same thing…"
"If who you mated with didn't matter, then what difference is there between Kiyoshi and Seiti? One of the participants has changed, but the situation remains the same." he pointed out, wondering at the perversity of women. "All you did was switch a cat for a bird."
"There is a difference…" she began.
"Where is the difference?" Sesshomaru ground out. "He wants you. He presents a greater threat to you than even myself, yet you are compelled to ask for his assistance in your time of need, rather than request my help. Why? And do not try to feed me some line about your reputation being at stake. We both know you're reputation has been dragged through the mud countless times before now. Why are you worried about letting it be tramped into the dirt all of a sudden? It never bothered you before now."
"I already told you. I don't have any attachment to him." she ground out.
"But there is an attachment to me?" he queried, knowing the question would through her off.
"Let's not bring you any further into this than you already are." she replied coolly.
"No. I want an answer. You would so freely give everything you have to him, and deny to me, the one who you do care about, the exact same thing?" he demanded. "That is quite possibly the worse insult you could give me, Lady." The controlled expression she gave him spoke volumes more than words ever could. And he realized that he had finally touched the nerve of what was wrong with her. He understood her preposterous rationalizing, and knew what he had to do to counteract it.
"Insult? The everything you speak of is nothing more than a mesh of mix-matched skills and bad attitude wrapped up in a packaging that's too rough around the edges to ever smooth out. That's not much of a prize, if I may say so." she said stiltly.
"That is nothing more than semantics." he refuted.
"No it's not."
"You are interpreting facts to support your own conclusions and arguments. If that is not semantics, then I am eager to hear what your definition is." he challenged. Kaida shook her head again and crossed her arms, regarding him with a frigid glare that he had been on the receiving end of before. He honestly felt like groaning. It had been so much easier when he was kissing her….at least then she couldn't talk because that wicked tongue of hers was otherwise occupied.
"You should be ashamed, Sesshomaru. Now you're just playing to my vanity." she said sarcastically.
"Never the less, that everything may not to amount to much in your mind. But I have told you before, the differences between our perceptions are highly skewed." he said calmly. "You are hardly as heathenish as you like to believe."
"Yes, well, all perception differences aside, you have to admit that this is different than before." she tried again.
"You'd like me to, but I will not." he refuted. "As far as I see it, there is no difference."
"Yes, there is!" she yelled. "With Kiyoshi I didn't have a choice! I was bound to the union because of an agreement made when I was born. At least with Seiti, it's my own choice!"
"So you are going to voluntarily walk into the charade of a marriage instead of being pushed into it by tradition. Yes, that is quite the difference." he said, the sarcasm thick. "Which one of us are you trying to convince? Yourself or me?"
"Sesshomaru, damn it! Quit talking in riddles and just tell me what you want from me!" she exploded. There was no defeat left in her, and he knew it. But she was on the verge of an internal breakdown if something wasn't done to ground her mind into the here and now. She almost looked on the verge of tears, and that only made Sesshomaru angry at himself for handling this in such a stupid fashion. He closed the small distance between them and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders. Kaida looked up at him, her mouth nothing more than a tight line across her pretty face.
She was cracking.
"Everything." he answered.
"Excuse me?"
"I am a jealous creature, my dear Lady. You realize that well enough by now." he admitted, enveloping her in an embrace. "Quit running. Stop fighting me. Let me do what I can to assist you in this."
"That is an awful big offer…with ridiculous risks and even worse consequences." she said, laying her head on his chest, but not fighting him anymore.
"And it is mine alone to make."
"You don't understand…" she began, looking up at him.
"My soldiers trust you, enough to threaten to defect from my rule to come to your aid had I not intervened and come here myself." He wasn't lying either. He had overheard Bano on the way to the coast, saying that if Sesshomaru hadn't stepped in, he would have left the elite's ranks and gone to offer his assistance anyway. There had been an agreeing murmur that filtered through the ranks, and Sesshomaru had very little doubt that his men would not have acted against him for her. "You told me you cared the last I saw you….cared about me. Has that changed in the few weeks since we last spoke?" he asked. "Or has it simply grown to the point that you cannot stand it anymore and are trying to ignore it?"
"Don't put words in my mouth." she pleaded. "And why make me say it when you already know."
"Then answer my questions and I will not have to." he replied. Kaida's grip on his sleeve tightened fractionally, and she looked down at the floor.
"Tell me you didn't come here just because you thought I couldn't handle this on my own." she said quietly, pleadingly.
"I came here to insure that this was a fair fight."
"Since when do you fight fair?" she asked, a lilt in her voice that put him a bit more at ease.
"Since I realized that having you at a disadvantage puts myself in a disadvantage as well."
"Exactly how did you figure that?" she asked, giving him a questioning look. Sesshomaru just gave her what could be construed as his version of a grin before shaking his head dismissively.
"My men and I are here only as backup, to hold off the peons until Shinegori is sufficiently dealt with. As I said before, we are acting under your orders." he answered.
"You're leaving them in my hands again, all of them."
"All the power within my lands are at your disposal." he said. "Myself included."
"Is that so wise?" she murmured.
"I can think of few safer places to be."
"Your faith in my capabilities of destruction is ridiculously overrated." she scoffed, a smile on her face. Sesshomaru felt better now, knowing instinctively that they had come to an agreement.
"My faith is perfectly reasonable and soundly founded. I have seen first hand what you are capable of, the good and the bad. Shinegori will not know what he has gotten himself into until it is far too late to do anything about it."
"It still sounds like you came here to babysit me." she groused childishly.
"I came here to make sure you would walk away, relatively unscathed."
"More like to give me a reason to want to walk away."
"If that is the way you see things, then so be it." he answered sagely.
"Is this more of your skewed perception mess?" she asked, her eyebrow quirked. "Or does that fall under emotional manipulation, like trying to force admissions by kissing the daylights out of me?"
"Whichever you prefer." he shrugged. "I call it gathering tactical information."
"Asshole." she muttered under her breath. Kaida couldn't help but stare at him though, momentarily take back by his uncharacteristic words. She'd never known him to be at a loss for something to say. Of course, Sesshomaru was a demon of few words to begin with, leaving his actions to speak volumes as a result. She knew this. Just like she knew this had gotten to the breaking point. He would probably never utter the phrase 'I love you, Kaida.'. It just was not his way of doing things.
But seeing him standing there, and knowing that he'd come all that way just to ensure her safety in a fight that he honestly had no part in, she finally understood that she meant something to him, something special….something besides a tool to exploit for his own gain. It was almost like a little light just clicked on in her head, and she finally understood exactly what he was trying to convey to her. And she felt doubly guilty for acting the way she had up until that point.
But she knew how to convey the message to him. Questions was…was she ready to let him all the way into her heart? Kaida steeled herself, making up her mind with much less fuss than she had assumed. It had gone on long enough, and she was tired of the tension, the fighting. It was time to put an end to this. With a deep breath, she crossed the small room in a few steps, reaching out to tentatively lay a hand on Sesshomaru's tensed back. 'It's now or never.' she thought.
"Show me." she said quietly.
"Excuse me?"
"Let's face it, Sesshomaru. You're as bad as I am as far as putting feelings into words. Whatever you're trying to tell me…it's not working. We've been talking in circles since we walked in here. And for the first time since I ever met you, I think you're on the verge of rambling." she said softly.
"Agreed."
"Look, I really am sorry, for everything I've done." she admitted. "I've been childish and a coward and heartless and full of myself…..you can stop me anytime, you know."
"I will take my part of the blame as well." he admitted, although rather reluctantly. "I have never been in this position before."
"Me neither." she admitted. "So…you think we can figure it out before we wind up fuming at each other again?"
"I believe it is a possibility." he relented.
"I know I'm headstrong, and not the most observant of women." she said, her voice gaining a bit more confidence as she continued to speak. "I've always heard that actions speak louder than words, so…show me. I'm here, just show me what you want."
"That is quite the request, Lady." Sesshomaru said, giving her a pointed look. Did she have any idea how that request could be misconstrued, how he could twist the meaning of that phrase into her giving him exactly what he'd almost taken minutes before.
"And it is mine alone to make." she answered quietly, throwing his own words back up into his face. She gave him a half grin and stretched up onto her tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips before burrowing into his embrace again. Sesshomaru looked down at her, feeling her arms hug his neck tightly. Well, it seemed as though they had finally gotten on the same page somehow. "You're going to regret this later, you know." she whispered, threading her fingers through the thick hair at the nape of his neck when he bent down to burrow his nose into her hair.
"How can I regret what I want so much?" he growled. Kaida's stomach started churning at the heat in his words. He wanted her.
"At least promise me that you're going to make this worth regretting later." she quipped playfully, watching as his smoldering gaze caught hers. Oh, gods, what had she just gotten herself into? She wasn't exactly sure.
But she liked it. And he was in a considerably better mood. So it was a win-win situation for them both, right? 'Oh, what the hell!' she thought. 'Not like either of us can do anymore damage than we already have.'
"That…I can do that." he stated headily, swooping in to claim her lips with a scorching kiss that left Kaida lightheaded and clutching the chair behind her in an attempt to stay upright and on her feet.
"Sessh…"
"You are mine." he growled in between nipping at her neck and running his hands down her sides and back then over her hips teasingly. He knew he sounded desperate, but damn it all to hell! He'd waited and fought and argued and put up with enough bullshit from everyone around him to get to this point. She was willingly in his arms, responding to his attention, and wasn't going anywhere. He finally had her right where he wanted her, and she was going to stay there even if he had to cold-blooded murder every pirate answering to Shinegori.
Sesshomaru could feel himself smiling against Kaida's barely parted lips when he captured her mouth again. They were moist, slightly chapped, and felt like absolute heaven. The feel of her soft lips and muscled form pressing against him made Sesshomaru decide that from now on he'd welcome any and all surprises she sent his way. If his mouth wasn't much more happily occupied, Sesshomaru would have smirked in contentment. Oh yes, she was his now.
She'd had her chance to back out and refuse his advances. She wouldn't get a second chance. Even if her grip on him slackened, his wouldn't. He had her now and he was never letting her go. Never.
Bringing his hands firmly around her back, he slid his fingers around her. Inserting a knee smoothly between her legs, he tightened his arms, bringing their bodies even closer together. At the intimate press, Kaida gasped and jerked instinctively backwards. However, the arms he'd wrapped around her held fast and his mouth clung to hers. He wanted to know which places on her body would make her writhe and how many different sounds he could coax from her lips. From the way she was pressing their mouths together, he guessed that she did had more experience than he had originally assumed. She groaned and adjusted her grip on his shoulders again.
No blushing little virgin, indeed…
On the other hand, that primitive possessive part of his soul rejoiced, feeling fiercely glad that she was not as innocent as he'd thought. These feelings and this taste he had of her was not his alone…someone else had felt it as well. But there would be no more after this. She would be his, his treasure. Sesshomaru realized that he would not be the first to lead her step by step into that spiral of pleasure that filled him with violent anticipation…but he was the only one now. There would be no more.
Running his tongue along the now parted seam of her lips, he flicked lightly against her teeth. Slowly he drew his hands up her back, pausing occasionally to caress and massage the bits of skin he could see. Bringing his hands around her body, just barely brushing against the outside of her breasts in passing, he smoothed his fingers over her shoulders to curl around her throat like a golden necklace. As he nibbled on her lower lip, he used his thumbs to gently tilt her head until he found the precise angle he wanted.
Kaida's hand tightened its hold on the hair at the nape of his neck as she opened her mouth wider at his urging. Satisfied, he stroked his tongue teasingly into her mouth. Smothering her gasp with his lips, he licked along the inside of her teeth.
The hand on his shoulder slid down languorously until the tip of one finger came to rest on the sensitive skin just inside the fabric at his waist. Even though he knew it was only a fingertip, it felt like more. That bit of skin slipped beneath his clothing felt magnified, as if both her hands and lips touched him there so intimately.
Growling, he thrust his tongue deeper inside her mouth, devouring the taste of her. Ravaging her mouth, he brought his hands down her back over the rough fabric of her clothing. He wondered why he had waited so long before tracking her down…before allowing himself to enjoy this.
Before he could find out, the feisty demoness in his embrace began responding more heatedly, deftly tangled her tongue around his. When she unexpectedly closed her lips around his tongue and sucked, his mind flared blindingly white. For a minute he feared he might explode. When he came back to his senses, he found himself holding Kaida tightly up against the cabin wall, forcing her in place as he savaged her mouth. Ripping himself away from her swollen lips, he pressed kisses along her scarlet blushed cheeks and closed eyes.
As another whimper escaped out of her throat, Sesshomaru pulled back just enough to see her. Enthralled, he drank in the sight of her flushed face and head flung back to allow him access to her throat. Aroused, her eyes looked like huge jade jewels: dilated into deep green pools of liquid. He knew it was a trick of his eyes, a fluke of the moment, but it seemed like shadows kept part of her face shrouded in darkness, as if warning him that although he was starting to know her body, he still had much to learn about the mysterious depths of her soul.
'You are mine..'
Kaida flinched at his possessive words, even as her body instinctively reacted to his caresses. She didn't belong to anyone, much less him. And she was gearing up to tell him just that when their lips met again. But her brain decided to let him say what he wanted, so long as he didn't let her go anytime soon. She could correct him later…maybe.
She felt like she'd been struck by a bolt of lightning from the heavens above. Staring into those blazing amber orbs, she supposed half-hysterically that she now knew where the sun had disappeared to. The way his eyes burned brightly into her own made her feel like she'd been branded by a scorching hot poker. Ripping her eyes from the blaring intensity of his gaze, she looked down, searching for something familiar to look at, something to ground her to the present.
For a brief second, Kaida felt a moment of despair. She couldn't think when he kissed her like that. It wasn't fair, and she had a feeling that she really wanted to think about this. The things he was doing, the things he had said, seemed too good to be true. Why now? Why was he suddenly doing this now? Was it because of the fight? What had acted as a catalyst to bring on this flare of passion? What if this was because of pity?'I will not take pity, no matter how good it feels right now. ' she tried to reason. Her body rebelled at the thought though, telling her quite loudly that it did too matter! The sinful things his lips and hands were doing right now really were the important things, her body insisted. Ignore his motivations, it demanded.
And ignore it she did.
Moving her hands to his shoulders, she tried to push him away. At that moment, he tightened his arms and moved his mouth from her lips to her ear, sucking and nibbling on her earlobe. Her warring thoughts scattering like broken glass, and she could once again only revel in the sensation. Slowly she brought the sensitive pads of her fingers down to his corded wrists and then back up, tracing the muscles along the way. She could feel a slight tickling against her palms from the hair on his forearms. As his mouth moved down her neck, she buried her hands in his silver hair again. Nuzzling her nose against his temple, she breathed in the scent that was indefinably male, undeniably Sesshomaru, and for her, safety in its entirety.
"Sessho…" she whispered breathlessly, the heady feeling coming back in full force again.
"You belong with me…at my side…"
"But Seiti's going to be he…"
"The bird be damned!" he growled, his grip tightening. "I want you."
"I'm right…here."
"Finally…." he murmured. The last sound that registered to her was the ripping of cloth. And then her soul exploded in his hands.
The sun was just beginning to set into the horizon when Seiti and Ryuji finally got to the area where the Southern and Western ships were anchored. At first glance, Ryuji had thought that they had arrived later than expected because of the large amount of ships clustered together. And unless the carpenters who had been repairing the damaged boats in the Southern villages worked at the speed of light, he figured Kaida had somehow managed to coax some assistance from someone else.
He never thought it would be from Sesshomaru.
"Welcome, Lord Seiti. I am glad to see you and Lord Ryuji have arrived safely." A blonde headed demoness welcomed them respectfully as the two demons touched down on the Southern flagship. Ryuji took a quick look around, noticing that the sailors seemed to be in high spirits, despite the impending fight.
"Rio? I did not realize you were being sent here as well." Ryuji said blankly, surprised to see the assassin leader of the Triad. "Where is my sister?"
"Forgive me, young lord, but she is currently in conference with Lord Sesshomaru, and has asked not to be disturbed." the red eyed female said, bowing low to them.
"Sesshomaru?" Seiti demanded. "What is that dog doing here, Ryuji? He has no part in this!"
"I am not sure exactly, to be completely honest, Lord Seiti." the dragon demon said calmly. "But we shall find out soon enough. Rio, where is Kaida?"
"She left for the Western flagship some hours ago."
"Is she still there?" Ryuji asked.
"Of course." the assassin said, bowing slightly. "Lord Keiji should be with them as well. Would you like me to show you the way?"
"We'll find it." Seiti said before Ryuji could even get a word in. "It's not all that hard. Just look for the biggest damned ship amongst the ranks."
"Actually," Rio chimed in calmly, gesturing towards another ship anchored a few hundred feet away. "The supply ship of the Western fleet is the largest. The Lords and Lady are on the second largest…that one." Seiti glowered at the demoness for correcting him, but said nothing else and took to the air, headed for the Western flagship.
"Must you antagonize him?" Ryuji asked tiredly, sending a dry look her way.
"I am fairly sure you wish you could have done worse during your tenure as his babysitter." the female answered calmly.
"That's beside the point." the dragon lord said quickly. "How is Kaida?"
"Well enough. The reunion between the two of them was quite explosive, just as you predicted." she replied. "But a few hours after he arrived, she went to speak with him."
"Am I to assume from the remaining intact vessels around us that they worked out whatever problems they had?"
"I should say so. She didn't emerge from that cabin for nearly three hours afterwards." Rio grinned. "I'd say they are back on speaking terms again."
"And Keiji?"
"Fuming like a teething dragon child." she said simply.
"That is to be expected. He still thinks Sesshomaru is trying to take his twin away from him." Ryuji said exasperatingly. "Where is that blasted Yuri when you need her?"
"If Yuri was here, I seriously doubt your younger brother's attention span, or mood for that matter, would get any better." the light haired dragon demoness said.
"You're right, as usual. Have you heard any reports about Shinegori's whereabouts?"
"I sent the nearest pod to track down where they could be." she answered. "We should know within a few hours exactly where his ships are."
"And Maiko?" Ryuji asked, referring to another member of the Triad.
"She is elsewhere with the Packs. You know all those wolves like being together. I believe they are planning their own strategy for tomorrow's fallout. They like to hunt in a group, you know." she reminded him.
"I know." he said. "They make a damned bloody mess every time they hunt."
"They are efficient, none the less." she said.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Ryuji grunted. He knew the lay out of his sister's battalions well enough. She had split the rag tag group of demons into groups with anywhere from six to ten members. These groups had been honed into perfection over the decades, with each member contributing their own abilities for the overall betterment of the group. Each group had been deemed a 'Pack' by some of the other soldiers. And the name was representative for exactly what they done. Like a pack of wolves, each group moved with fast efficiency and stealth, capturing or incapacitating their targets quick as lightning.
Each 'Pack' had a leader that answered to Kaida and gave her systematic reports. One such group was a group of wolf demons who specialized in hunting and flushing out hidden enemies. They were led by Maiko, when she wasn't busy with Triad duties, and held the title as the most vicious of the Packs. The most lethal was led by an orange haired lightning demon named Kanaye. He and his sister Raika had been the bane of Keiji's existence before being sent to Kaida's regiments. But the lightning sibling's goofy behavior and seemingly frail bodies belied exactly how powerful they were. That particular Pack had a reputation for frying their enemies into a crisp before expending the energy to elsewhere incapacitate them.
The Triad was actually a group of his own invention, that answered directly to his father. It consisted of two demonesses, Rio and Maiko, and a moth demon called Laos. They were his father's personal group of assassins. That was the reason he had been surprised to see Rio on the deck when they had landed. The Triad was usually sent on missions of a lesser scale than a sea battle. They worked within the security of the night, taking their targets from the shadows. The Triad was not accustomed to functioning in concert with other fighters.
"I do not like this." Ryuji muttered. "Something does not feel right."
"Shinegori is a second rate pirate whose only reason for success had been his ability to remain undetected until the last minute. But that is about to change and you know it as well as I do." Rio said boldly. "This battle will be swift, and over before there are a large amount of casualties. You needn't worry. The soldiers of the South are well trained and know what they are doing."
"And the assassins?" he asked. Rio gave a small, knowing smile and reached out to pat the taller demon's head, threading her fingers through his thick locks of hair. Ryuji's eyes drifted closed unintentionally and he welcomed the light scraping against his scalp.
"We are never seen, therefore never targeted. Your Triad will be unharmed." her warm voice said. "We meld into the shadows too readily to be found during a battle we already know the outcome of. Now go make sure your guests do not try to flay each other alive." The scratching stopped and Ryuji opened his eyes, only to find that the demoness had disappeared from sight. The second eldest son of the Southern Lord rolled his eyes at the familiar tactics of the leader of the Triad, and prepared himself for the fights ahead.
"I really wish you would quit disappearing on me, Rio." he said aloud. "Assassin or not, that's just creepy." A light chuckle was heard as he took off towards the Western flagship, but he paid it no attention, knowing good and well that the soft voiced dragon demoness with a perchance for water manipulation had securely hidden herself once again, only to be found should she desire to.
Sesshomaru felt the aura of Seiti as soon as he was within range of the anchored ships. So he was ready when the mainland Lord came barging his way past the elites who had returned to the Southern flagship. Before the demon could even knock on the door, Sesshomaru had risen from his seat and opened the door.
"Seiti. I see you finally arrived." he said dully.
"What are you doing here, Sesshomaru? You've no part in altercation." the falcon demanded. Sesshomaru, now in a much better mood and frame of mind than a few hours before, just gave him a bored look.
"My business here is none of your concern. Suffice to say my presence here is to discourage anyone from getting the wrong idea and believing they can take something that rightfully belongs to me." he answered evasively.
"I certainly hope you are not referring to Kaida." Seiti spat out.
"Referring to me for what?" the familiar voice of the Southern demoness sounded as she walked around the corner of the cabin and stood before them.
"Ah, Lady, glad to see you well." Seiti said respectively, his attitude doing a spontaneous turnaround.
"You as well, Lord Seiti." she answered calmly. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Certainly not. I was telling Seiti that we can begin to organize the retaliation against Shinegori's forces now that he and your elder sibling have arrived."
"Yes. Where is Ryuji, anyway?" Kaida asked.
"Present and accounted for, dear sister." the dragon demon replied, dropping out of the air and to her side. "Excuse my tardiness. I was just catching up on why exactly Lord Sesshomaru was here."
"A question I was wondering myself." Seiti said.
"My assistance was needed when I got word that your ships had been attacked, Seiti." Sesshomaru said simply. "Such an unfortunate turn of events, especially on the eve of a battle." The two demon lords stared each other down for what seemed like a small eternity.
"We should get started immediately." Kaida said, breaking the building tension. "The sooner we rearrange the battalion's positions, the better I'll feel."
"Do you still have the map in your flagship that shows the water currents this time of year?" Sesshomaru asked, looking at Kaida.
"Yes. Why?"
"I believe it may come into use with a plan I have."
"I'll go get it and meet you in the cabin." she said.
"I'll go with you." Ryuji said suddenly. "I need to speak with Keiji about some planning on our part anyway."
"We will begin upon your arrival." Sesshomaru said, inclining his head slightly in their direction. The siblings turned and left without further recourse, leaving a fuming Seiti and calm Sesshomaru to deal with each other once again.
"She's being awfully calm. Last I heard, she was ready to take your head off." Seiti commented bitingly.
"Apparently you heard wrong."
"What did you do to her this time, Sesshomaru?" Seiti demanded angrily, following the younger demon into the cabin. "If you put so much as one finger on her, I swear I'll…."
"I did nothing she did not want or ask for." the Western Lord replied smugly. Seiti's eyes dipped into narrow slits with that proclamation. Sesshomaru just acted bored.
"Now wait just a minute!" he began.
"No. You wait a moment." Sesshomaru hissed, suddenly turning vicious. "You have overstepped your bounds, Seiti. By dragging the Southern Lands into this pathetic excuse for a fight, you have angered not only myself, but the other three high lords as well."
"I have done nothing except call upon an agreement made years ago between Ryu and myself. An agreement, may I remind you, that has nothing to do with the Western Lands or its sovereign." Seiti defended himself, his handsome face turned down into a scowl of hatred.
"This ceased having nothing to do with me the moment these pirates decided to raid my cargo ships and threaten the villages along my coastal lands." the white headed lord refuted. "I also find it quite odd that you have allowed this to escalate into a budding war between the mainland and our homelands when you could have stopped it weeks ago."
"Excuse me?"
"My informants have sent some curious information to me as of late. Information that leads me to believe that you have deliberately allowed your forces to be defeated in the guerilla attacks along the frontlines."
"You informants are mistaken. Why would I sacrifice my own soldiers in a rebellion that is threatening to overtake my lands? You're making no sense, Sesshomaru."
"I am making perfect sense." the younger demon hissed, tossing three unrolled scrolls at the falcon demon's feet. "My spies do not send faulty information. You ordered the withdrawal of six battalions of your men along the frontlines only a week ago, leaving one of your largest supply villages open to invasion and destruction. Why?"
"I had my reasons." Seiti answered stiffly.
"Reasons that I suspect have to do with falsifying evidence that you are severely underhanded in manpower and in need of assistance from your allies. Besides, if you were as desperate as you are trying to make everyone think, why didn't you ask your nearby allies for assistance instead? Trikio from the lands north of you would have come to your aid, as would Aoshi from the west. Why contact Ryu specifically?"
"I needed the best."
"So you say. I have other suspicions." Sesshomaru added.
"Even if your preposterous accusations were correct, and they are not, you have no proof to back them up."
"Baseless accusations have a way of looking all the more plausible when there is little physical proof." he answered. "I know what my informants have told me. Your men pulled away from villages that were later destroyed. Two of your leaders torched otherwise unharmed supply stores, and went unpunished. Not to mention the execution of one of your Generals because of some reported 'moral qualms'. Try telling me again that you are not at fault."
"You have lost your mind." Seiti said defensively. "I have done nothing wrong!"
"Let me be the first to tell you that Ryu is as suspicious as myself. So you would do well to watch your steps." Sesshomaru said, giving the elder demon a withering look. "You would start a war that you could not win, just to get your hands on her?"
"Wouldn't you?" Seiti answered simply. Sesshomaru said nothing, but tossed another scroll at the falcon, who caught it. The bird's admission was enough for him.
"This fight will run its course. Shinegori will be dealt with accordingly, and the financing for his rebellion against you destroyed. The fighting will cease and you can do what you please with your lands and whatever you take back from the soldiers under the pirates orders." Sesshomaru said calmly. "In return, you will give up your ridiculously asinine plots to get Kaida onto the mainland."
"And if I refuse?" Seiti questioned insolently.
"Then I inform the Southern family that you allowed this confrontation to get so far out of hand that you had no choice but to ask for their assistance, thereby engineering a way to take Ryu's youngest daughter for your own devices. I do not tolerate deception, and Lord Ryu is even harsher than I when doling out punishment to traitors."
"You do not leave me with much of a choice, do you Western Lord?"
"Then we are in agreement." It wasn't a question...it was a statement.
"Yes. We are."
Night fell on the ships, and the Westerners were surprised to see that the Southern sailors had a rather peculiar custom they practiced while in the middle of the sea.
"Music?" Yukio asked, scratching his head as a half dozen demons pulled various instruments out of ornately engraved cases. "We're supposed to be fighting, not listening to a concert."
"If you don't want to listen then that can easily enough be arranged." Kaida said saucily, giving the bear demon a look of annoyance. "Would you prefer I cut your ears off, or just throw you overboard?"
"How about we just send him back to the flagship?" Raika said. "We may actually need the overgrown brute in the fight."
"Good to see you're feeling better, General." Nekotu grinned, slapping her on the back as Yukio proceeded to defend himself against the big mouthed Southerner. "You had us worried there for a while. We thought you didn't want to see us!"
"I wonder why?" a gray haired demoness commented as she walked by.
"Now, Maiko, play nice with our guests." another demoness said teasingly as she walked by. The Triad member gave Nekotu a grin, took a glass of wine from the table, and flicked a piece of hair out of her face before turning to face the blonde dog demoness who had just appeared.
"I will if they will." she replied easily, smiling prettily at the Western elites that had gathered on the deck of the Southern flagship with their Lord. "Good evening, gentlemen." She turned, her gray and white tail moving easily back and forth as she walked away.
"She swings those hips any more and she's gonna dislocate something." Kanaye commented with a shake of his head. The lightning demon poured a few more glasses of wine and handed them out before taking a seat across from his chuckling sister. "Assassins…I'll never understand them."
"Hey, Raika?" Sakaki called out, getting the slight demoness' attention. "What is she?"
"Maiko?" Raika asked, a childish grin on her face. "She's all wolf, pup. Don't even think about it. She'll chew you up and spit you out before you even realize what's happening."
"Sounds like your kind of woman, Nekotu." Sakaki joked, nudging the other younger Western soldier in the shoulder. "Go introduce yourself, eh?" The wolf demon glared at the dog demon, but said nothing.
"Actually, I'd steer clear of her, if I were you." the dog demoness said, rolling her eyes. "Maiko gets a bit….feisty when there's fresh meet around."
"You're making them sound like steaks on a spit, Emi." Raika teased the blue eyed demoness as she took a seat on a crate. "I'm sure these boys can take care of themselves."
The newcomer wore the dark blue haoiri and black hakamas of the sailors onboard the Southern ships. But unlike the others, she carried a small holster of daggers on her waist. There were blue markings on her face, almost like Sesshomaru's pink markings, and her long blonde hair was tied back at the nape of her neck.
"I don't know." she answered with a grin. "I'm kinda doubtful."
"Yeah, now that you mention it," Raika said dubiously. "You'd think they never seen a woman in battle gear before. You should have seen their reactions when these lugs found out that Rio and the rest of us girls were coming along. It was priceless, Emi!"
"Surely it wasn't all that bad?" the now named Emi answered, her head tilted in polite interest towards the Southern soldiers sitting nearby.
"Forgive us for thinking it a bit odd that Lord Ryu would permit demoness' to fight." Sakaki said, giving the newcomer a slight bow.
"You do not have any female fighters amongst your groupings?" Emi asked curiously.
"No. Lord Sesshomaru's army is comprised entirely of demons." Nekotu admitted with a shrug. "In fact, I don't think that a female has ever even stepped foot into our ranks, at least not before Lady Kaida came along."
"I can imagine the chaos our Lady could cause." Emi said with a smile, sipping the wine. "But there are not really all that many in the Southern ranks either, are there, Raika?"
"Nah. Not really. A dozen tops, and we're all in Lady Kaida's battalions." the lightning demoness said with a scoff. "Apparently none of the guys like having us around. I think Lord Keiji said something about us being distracting."
"He was probably just talking about you, sis." Kanaye added on with a grin.
"I wonder why he would say something like that?" Sakaki asked rhetorically, sending the chattering demoness a bland look.
"No idea." Emi quipped, taking a sip of her wine, using the glass to cover up her grin at the orange headed demoness' obvious outrage.
"That's beside the point. Anyway, you, Rio and Maiko don't really count." she added.
"Why's that?" Nekotu asked.
"Because they're usually busy with Triad business and she's usually gone." Raika continued, pointing a finger at Emi accusingly.
"It's not my fault." Emi said defensively.
"You are a soldier?" Sakaki asked, glancing over at the dog demoness with a slight amount of new interest. She shook her head.
"I'm trained to fight, if the need arises." she explained. "But my main responsibilities lie in keeping the trade fleet from being ambushed while on the water."
"There you go, being all modest again, Emi." Raika interrupted. "Geez, you might as well tell them the entire truth."
"I don't see where it really matters."
"Don't listen to her, fellas." Raika continued, ignoring Emi completely. "Emi's one of the highest ranking traders in the South. Her clan clan's responsible for building almost all the ships in the Southern fleet. In fact, the very ship we're sitting on was designed by her."
"Your exaggeration is going to get you in trouble on day." Emi said, shaking her head.
"So what exactly do you do then?" Sakaki asked.
"Hopefully more than this motor mouth does." Yukio said, jerking his finger towards Raika.
"Hey!" Raika cried indignantly, sending a small bolt of electricity towards the bigger bear demon. The jolt shocked him just enough to make the demon jump up from his seat, patting his behind. Everyone else just grinned at the two's antics. The huge Western bear demon and feisty little Southern demoness had been annoying each other to no end since Sesshomaru's fleet had arrived. And it didn't look like the entertainment would be stopping anytime soon.
"What the hell was that for?" Yukio growled.
"Keep your opinions to yourself, you overgrown ox." Raika said grumpily. "From what I've seen, knots on a log are more helpful than you."
"I oughtta tear you a new…."
"Come on, big boy. I'll fry your sorry hide right where you stand." she answered boldly, her left hand already beginning to cackle with a build up of static electricity.
"Now children. Stop it before someone gets hurt." Emi scolded, sounding almost like an exasperated mother correcting two erring children. "Really, Raika, get rid of that energy before you set the whole boat on fire."
"He started it." Raika pouted childishly, dispersing the cackling energy in her hand and sitting back down without another look at the bear demon who was still holding his bottom end. Yukio just growled and sat back down as well, continuing to glower.
"Now, as I was saying, I oversee the import and export into the Southern lands." she said, turning back to Sakaki. "Well, at least the stuff that is shipped over the sea routes."
"I can imagine that's been hard since the pirating started up again." Sakaki commented.
"You have no idea." the demoness answered. "I was on the last trip that was vandalized. These guys have got to be stopped. Everyone of my sailors were killed."
"And you came back out here to face them again?" Nekotu questioned.
"I've got to protect my investments." the demoness answered. "My clan has been living on and in the sea for centuries. It's the only thing we know. Can't have some second rate demons calling themselves sailors getting the best of my clan twice, now can I?"
"I suppose not." Sakaki grinned.
"And besides, since Emi managed to get away in the last raid, we've got some good ideas on how this bunch of asses plan their attacks." Kanaye quipped. "So we can plan accordingly and counterattack."
"What exactly do they…"
Kaida listened as the chatter between the sailors and soldiers quieted when the musicians struck the opening chords of a well known ballad. She grabbed a glass of the rich wine and leaned against the railing of the boat. It was a custom for at least three of the sailors on the cargo ships to have some sort of musical training. They would play in the evenings after the majority of the work had been finished for the night, a way to pass some time while on the open ocean.
After the day she'd had, it was a welcomed respite. She chose a seat next to Raika, and grinned as the surrounding demons chattered, bickered, teased, and tormented each other. Soldiers would be soldiers, and the mixing of Sesshomaru's elites into her and her brother's battalions were providing some entertainment at least. The ever present force that was Raika kept everyone on their toes. And with new targets, the orange haired demoness was on a roll. Rio was proving to be a wealth of information as well, and Kaida wished she'd had more time to speak with the quiet assassin before now. It really made her day to see how flustered Ryuji could get when he tried to talk to the woman. Kaida wondered what was going on there, but decided she could find out later. The only downside was that Keiji was apparently less than pleased with her, as she hadn't hardly spoken to him after she and Sesshomaru had finished their little chat. She had told Ryuji of Keiji's reluctance to have Sesshomaru's presence, and the elder demon had said he would smooth things over between the twins. Obviously it hadn't done much good because Keiji was still avoiding everyone.
But she didn't let it bother her at this point. Keiji was a hothead, and she'd go talk to him tomorrow to even things out. And if he didn't like what she had to say…well, he'd either get over it or live with it.
At this point she really didn't give a damned either way.
Sesshomaru watched as Kaida quietly slipped away from the lighthearted festivities on deck, her glass of wine in hand as the traders-turned-minstrels struck up the final tune of the evening. The group had been playing for almost two hours, and were wrapping up the entertainment after this final song.
Sesshomaru had just be given a report on Shinegori's position from Ryuji, and figured then was as good a time as any to relay the newest bout of information to her. He waited until the gathered soldiers were sufficiently distracted with the newest song being played before slipping into the shadows to track down the elusive Kaida. His search was short, and he found her leaning against the railing of the boat, looking out at the moonlight playing on the waves.
"Trying to run again?"
"Trying to get some peace and quiet." she said with a grin. "We have received word of Shinegori's whereabouts."
"The pods came back?" Kaida asked, referring to the dolphin pods that communicated with Rio on a regular basis. "What did they say?"
"His ships are a few hours away, but not headed our way."
"He'll move tomorrow evening then. All the other attacks have happened at dusk or full night." she said calmly. "Can we do this?"
"Why do you suddenly start questioning your decisions now?" he asked, wondering why her confidence had begun to waver.
"You have never questioned yourself the eve before a battle?" she retorted easily.
"Not that I can remember." he refuted. Kaida gave him one of her patented looks that showed she didn't believe a word he was saying, and Sesshomaru relented. "Maybe once or twice."
"That's what I thought." she said.
"Your brothers are not hovering. I am surprised." he said, changing the subject easily since it was obvious she didn't really want to talk about the impending fight. He considered that ironic since it seemed to be the only thing on her mind earlier that day.
"I talked to them." she explained. "Although I'm not exactly sure how much good it did."
"Do they still wish to take off my head and throw my body to the creatures of the deep?" Sesshomaru asked drolly.
"Ryuji never wanted to do anything to you." she said with a laugh. "Keiji…well, he's another story altogether. I'm still working on him."
"And Seiti?" Sesshomaru asked carefully, joining her at the side of the boat.
"He's unusually complacent, actually." she answered, her voice a bit surprised. "I haven't seen him more than half a dozen times all evening, now that you mentioned it. I wonder why?" Since she was focused on the waves below her, she missed the wicked grin that momentarily adorned Sesshomaru's face.
"Surely you do not miss his attentions?" the Western Lord queried.
"Hardly. If anything, it makes me wonder." she admitted, only to shake her head and turn to face him. "No matter. As long as he knows his place, I don't all that much care what he does."
"My sentiments exactly, Lady." Sesshomaru said smugly, his hand placed securely on her waist. "I could not have said it better myself."
A/N - Well, how was that? You guys didn't actually think I was going to keep them separated for long, did you? Nah. I couldn't do that. And look, they even made up and are on stable grounds again….well as stable as possible for those two anyway.
I hope their little get together scene was not as cheesy as it seemed to me at the end. I really tried not to have the typical 'fall into each other's arms without a care to the outside world and what was going on…'. Oh, well. I'd like to hear your thoughts about it at any rate…along with any suggestions you may have.
Hope you enjoyed, and I'll be around with the next chapter sometime after Christmas, so consider this an early present from me to all of you. ;)
Later,
A.A.
Oh, and please remember to review. I'd love to know what you are thinking.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!
