Chapter Ten:
Taro's Foolishness
"You didn't even scratch her?!" Taro, the oldest of the kitsune brothers, exclaimed angrily. Jiro and Manzo, the twin middle siblings, looked away from their brother, both sporting bumps on their heads.
"First Shiro lets the female defeat him with doku, and then you two can't even touch her! How can one mesuinu be so hard to beat?!"
"Taro," Shiro, the youngest, spoke up. "You know yourself she's a taiyoukai. She's very powerful."
"I don't care if she's a taiyoukai or not. She's a mesuinu, and it is our job to exterminate her. Is that concept so hard to grasp?"
He glared icicles at his brothers, who shuddered at the wrath of their older sibling.
"If you three are such wimps, then I will take her out myself," Taro hissed. He drew a katana from his side and held it in front of him. "And when I kill her, you will know the difference between being a taiyoukai, and having raw power."
* * *
Takara was down in her basement going through a chest full of clothes when she heard a knock on her front door. Sniffing the air, she recognized Miyo's scent, and climbed up the stairs to let her in.
"Miyo-chan," she said guardedly. "Why have you come by yourself? It's dangerous."
"You haven't been in school," the girl accused. Takara moved to the side and let her enter the cabin.
"I have been busy," she told her. Miyo looked up and down Takara's Feudal Era outfit, the clothes she had been wearing ever since the attacks had started.
"That's pretty," she complimented. "Where did you get it?"
"Otousan had it made for me shortly before he was killed. I have been going through the old clothing I have, and seeing what is still in good shape. I prefer to wear the clothing of that time."
As they talked, they walked back to the door that led to the basement, and they began to descend.
"That time sounds dangerous," Miyo observed. "I'm glad I live when I do now."
"Of course. This is the age of ninjen. The few youkai that are left are in hiding, disguised as ninjen. You have nothing to fear in your time."
They approached the chest Takara had been going through, and Miyo spotted something.
"Hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing at a piece of white and red material. "It's pretty."
Takara looked at what she was referring to, and immediately masked the emotions she felt.
"That is my otousan's clothing. He wore it whenever he scouted his lands. It was what he always fought in. It was what he died in."
Carefully, Takara lifted the elegant outfit from the chest and unfolded it. The material was worn and old, and the white areas were stained with blood from Sesshoumaru's last battle. Here and there was a rip, but despite the aging and the stains, it was still remarkably in tact. In fact, with a little care, it would even be wearable again.
Suddenly, Takara had an intriguing idea. She refolded the material with great care, and set it aside where she would see it later.
"What is in all of these chests?" Miyo asked.
"Many things. Mostly clothing, but other things as well. Some scrolls."
Miyo looked confused. "Scrolls?"
Takara was about to explain, when her senses picked up the presence of a youkai. It was near. Very near.
"Miyo-chan, stay here," Takara ordered. "I must tend to something."
In a flash she had left the basement, and exited her cabin. Standing just outside of her barrier was another kitsune, one who looked older than the other three she had seen. Her eyes narrowed, and she showed her fangs as he unsheathed a katana and stood in a challenging stance.
"You dare challenge me, kitsune?" she said, almost amused. "Your species must enjoy being beaten."
The kitsune growled back at her. "You may have defeated my baka [stupid] otoutos, but do not underestimate me, mesuinu. I, Taro, have trained under the best."
Before she knew what she was doing, a sly grin had made its way to her face.
"Then let us see just how good you paid attention to your trainers, Taro."
She leapt into the air and landed directly in front of him, tearing the front of his shirt open with her claws and leaving a thin line of blood on his chest. He stumbled back, surprised, but quickly collected himself and swung his sword at her.
She leapt backwards, easily avoiding the blade. ~I could easily make him succumb with doku as I have the others. But that is too easy.~
From two fingers on Takara's right hand came an energy whip, another thing she had inherited from Sesshoumaru. She swung it in a lazy circle over her head, and then snapped it at Taro.
The kitsune barely leapt out of the way in time, and was still distracted from the first attack that he completely missed the second one. As quick as lightening, she snapped it towards him again, and the end of it wrapped around his sword, yanking it from his grasp.
Takara pulled back, and snatched the katana up with her left hand. The whip disappeared.
"You kitsunes are really beginning to irritate me," she said. "At first it was fun. Now I'm just bored."
Taro looked at his empty hand, unable to believe he had lost his sword. This was not going at all as he'd expected. In a blur of movement his eyes couldn't track, Takara was suddenly right in front of him, and had her right hand around his neck. She lifted him up to eye level, and looked him straight in his blue eyes.
"It appears my training was a bit more complete than yours," she said. "Either that, or the mighty kitsune isn't as great as he thought he was."
Taro growled, struggling in her grasp. "You are a coward, mesuinu."
Her look turned to pure ice. "What. Did. You. Say?"
"You heard me," he spat. "You are a coward. You defeated all three of my otoutos, but let them live, just as you will let me live. You can't kill. You've become too ninjen."
Her eyes burned red with fury at his accusation.
"We shall see," she whispered. Her hand radiated green, and then she sunk her claws into his neck, poisoning him. Within moments his eyes were lifeless, and his body hung from her hand like a rag doll.
She walked into the forest, and once she was a good distance from her home, she dropped the body by a tree and laid the katana by his side. The red in her eyes dimmed, and she took to the air, arriving back at her cabin in seconds.
The moment she walked in and saw Miyo standing in her living room, she knew the human had seen everything. She didn't attempt to explain her actions; after all, Miyo was only a human. Why should a youkai have to explain her actions to a mere mortal?
Miyo stared at Takara's hand, and the youkai looked down to see what she was looking at. Her claws were stained with blood, evidence of the deed she had just done.
"Go home, Miyo," she ordered, and began to walk away.
"No," came the reply. Takara stopped, and turned around. Tears were running down Miyo's face, and she looked right into the eyes of her friend.
"Takara-chan…"
"Go home. You have seen what I am; you have no reason to stay with me. Go back to your own people."
"Takara-chan, you are my people."
"No!" Takara said forcefully. "You are a ninjen; I am a youkai. We are completely different species. This body you see isn't even my true form. Go back to your family, your civilization, and let me be a youkai."
The tears flowed harder down Miyo's cheeks. "What has happened to you, Takara-chan? I'm your friend."
"That is why you must go!" Takara's voice was stern, but her eyes had begun to soften. "Don't you understand? This forest is not safe for you. It will not be safe until Michiomaru has been dealt with. Until then, you must stay with your own people."
~I don't want you to see me kill again,~ Takara added silently. She watched as Miyo wiped her eyes, and turned towards the door.
"Will I see you again?" she asked. Takara looked away.
"If I defeat him, I will come to you when it is safe," the youkai promised. "If I defeat him."
Miyo nodded, and walked towards the door. Opening it, she hesitated one last time.
"Goodbye, Takara-chan."
Takara said nothing as her friend closed the door behind her, and walked away.
* * *
A/N – Special thanks to Niamh for pointing out a typo in this chapter!