Takara leapt backwards with ease and watched as Rei stumbled forward, the momentum of her would-be strike carrying her a bit too far. The taiyoukai grinned in amusement as the young girl caught herself, then spun clumsily and prepared to attack again, her claws outstretched.
Suddenly, a tornado of blue-green fire rushed straight for them, colliding with Takara's barrier and making the air around them shimmer for a moment. Rei screamed, and Takara turned narrowed eyes in the direction the fire had come from.
"Stay here, Rei-chan," she commanded, and then walked out of her barrier, her senses focused on a faint scent she had just begun to pick up.
"A kitsune," she muttered to herself. The words were barely out of her mouth before the youkai attacked, running from the trees with his claws outstretched.
He was a head shorter than her, with medium length red hair tied in a ponytail, as well as a reddish tail that reached to about mid calf. He was young, probably still a teenager. He wore loose blue jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a brown vest.
Takara leapt back, avoiding his claws. With a lightning quick move she grabbed his face in her hand, and a green cloud of poison began to seep from her claws.
"Ahhh!" The kitsune cried in pain as the poison got in his eyes, and she moved her hand from his face to around his neck. She then lifted him off of the ground, her face cold and expressionless.
"Who sent you?" she hissed. The kitsune opened his eyes, blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again.
"I can't see!" he cried.
"I know you can't; I put a small amount of my doku in your eyes. Now answer me, kitsune."
He continued to blink and squint, a terrified look on his face. Takara narrowed her eyes further and tightened her grip on his neck, her claws almost piercing his skin.
"You will answer me, kitsune. And you will do so quickly, before I lose my patience."
He whimpered slightly, holding her wrist with both hands. For nearly a full minute, no one said a word.
"I see," Takara finally said. "You are afraid of what your master would do to you if he found out you told me. Do you not think I could do much worst things to you?"
"You…you won't kill me!"
"Oh I won't? Don't try to deceive yourself. I am a full-blooded taiyoukai, daughter of Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands. I would not hesitate to destroy you if I thought it fitting."
He trembled. "Please…I can't betray him…"
"What is your name?"
"Um…Shiro."
Takara pulled his face close to hers, and tilted his head to the side.
"Shiro," she hissed in his ear. "You tell your master that he shames himself by sending young kitsunes to fight a taiyoukai in his place. Do not think I am being compassionate towards you; the only reason I'm letting you live is so you can deliver this message."
She released him, and he fell on his butt at her feet.
"Go," she ordered, and started to walk away.
"But…my eyes…I can't see!"
Takara looked back where Rei was standing, her gold eyes huge after watching the entire exchange.
"Rei-chan," Takara said. "Go inside and fetch a glass of water."
As if her voice broke a spell, the girl blinked and nodded rapidly, before running inside. She returned a moment later and handed the glass to Takara. The taiyoukai then poured the water over the kitsune's eyes.
He blinked a few times, and then his eyes got wide. "I can see…"
"Go to your master now," Takara ordered. The kitsune looked up at her icy expression, and then bolted into the forest. Her already thin eyes narrowed more.
What game are you playing, Michiomaru? She thought, looking into the forest where the boy had gone. She then turned and walked back towards Rei.
"I think it's time for you to go home, Rei-chan," she told her. "You've learned enough for the day."
Rei nodded, and they entered the cabin to retrieve her clothes. She changed, and folded the pretty outfit back up into its box to take home with her. Takara stood, staring out of a window at the forest as Rei got ready, many thoughts going through her head. Am I supposed to just defeat the youkai he sends to me? She thought. It seems too easy. I could fight kitsunes all day and not get tired. Surely he knows my strength.
She escorted Rei to the edge of the forest, and as she turned to go, Rei looked up at her with her now dark eyes.
"Takara-sama?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Would you really have killed him?"
Takara looked away, the cold, expressionless look returning. It was the look her father had always had. A completely emotionless look.
"Rei-chan, I am a taiyoukai. My otousan was a great lord who despised all ninjen. When he was alive, I spent many hours in training with him, learning how to not allow my emotions affect me, but to simply push away any sympathies and do what needed to be done. A youkai cannot be afraid to kill."
"But he didn't do any harm."
Takara sighed. "Rei-chan, I am being hunted right now. The only way to not be hunted anymore is to dispose of those who are hunting me. I realize this may not seem right to you; after all, you have grown up in a ninjen society where there are very few real dangers. But I must do what needs to be done."
Rei looked down at Takara's claws. She knew the threat they presented, and now, she wondered how many had died by those claws for what Takara said needed to be done. She looked at the ground, and Takara saw tears welling up in her eyes. Immediately, her eyes softened, and she hugged the girl in front of her.
"No matter what happens, I will protect you, Rei-chan," she promised. "You have my word."
Rei nodded, and then walked towards the city. Takara watched her retreating form, closed her eyes, and sighed.
Already, she is beginning to doubt me. She thought. She is too ninjen. Her youkai blood is quenched by ninjen morals and ideas. But she will never fully fit in with the mortals either.
She turned and started to walk back to her cabin. I will teach her. Not only to fight, but how to be a youkai.