iI know what I must do,/i Sesshoumaru thought. iNaraku must DIE!/i His eyes burned with a fire never seen before on the demon lord's face. His mouth was twisted into a half smirk, half smile as he ran. He had never felt like this before! He knew that lives were depending on him, but he also knew that he had the power to save them. iI'm coming, Raene./ibr
He gracefully sprang over a tall tree to land on a hillside overlooking his favorite demon lord wannabe, Naraku.br
Naraku was trying to come up behind Raene and put his arms around her, and laughed every time she shoved him away. "Why, Miss Raene, you seem upset. Come here and sit on my lap and tell me all about it."br
"NEVER!" Raene screamed. She stomped away.br
Sesshoumaru looked at Naraku, suddenly furious. Naraku was trying to steal his chosen mate! Sesshoumaru jumped into the clearing and started to walk toward the squabbling pair.br
Suddenly, Raene turned back to Naraku. "I do have one question for you, Naraku."br
"Yes?"br
"Are you really a baboon? Or is that just a mask...?"br
Naraku laughed. A cold, eerie sound that made Sesshoumaru's blood run cold. "Ah, no, silly girl. 'Tis only a costume, used to disguise the body I have stolen. However, you I will show..." He pulled back his baboon-head hood.br
Raene gasped and stumbled back a few steps. "You're...you..."br
"Yes. I stole the body of the weak prince. I never knew his name..." He laughed again.br
Raene stood mesmerized by Naraku's newfound identity. She had been a close friend of the prince, someone she had known since childhood, when he snuck out of the castle for a little fun. He had gotten dreadfully ill before his so called "death". Raene had been close to hysterics with crying. His name had been Hideki. "Is he...still in there somewhere?" She asked tenatively, staring into the face she had known so long.br
Naraku was silent. "Why should I tell you?" He said finally.br
"Because he was my best friend!" She looked straight into his eyes. "If you bring him back for a few minutes...I'll do anything."br
Naraku smirked at this. "Were you in love with him?"br
Raene didn't say anything, just looked away.br
Sesshoumaru stopped dead in his tracks. iIn love?/i He thought. He had heard this phrase before, but he didn't ever really think about it. He knew it had to do with affection toward another being...But as he thought it, he stepped on a fallen branch, making an ear-splitting crack.br
Naraku whirled around and saw the demon lord retreating into the trees. He was about to call out, but he decided against it. Let Sesshoumaru think he had made a clean escape. All the easier to catch him again. Naraku went back to pestering Raene.br
"Did you hear anything?" He asked.br
Raene shook her head. "No. Just the wind. Now answer my question. Will you let me see the real Hideki for a few moments?"br
"Let me think about it." Naraku disappeared into the trees, close to where Sesshoumaru had been just seconds before. iI'll find him,/i he thought with a smirk. iHe won't know what hit him./i Naraku stepped lightly, making no noise at all. His smile was cool and confident. He knew he had the upper hand.br
Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru was sitting up in the top of a tall tree watching Raene stand with her back to him. His eyes lingered there, with no where else to go. There was someone else for her. She loved Prince Hideki. iWhy do I care?/i He tried to convince himself that she was nothing. But every time he tried to rip his gaze away from the slender figure standing in the clearing, they just wandered back to her. He felt the need to protect her, like he protected Rin. But somehow it was different...every time he thought of her his heart did a crazy dance and his stomach tied itself in knots. Then he did something crazy; something no proper demon would ever consider.br
He leaped down from the tree.br
"Sesshoumaru!" Shouted Raene. She ran forward and flung her arms around his shoulders. Then in a lower voice, she murmered "Why did you come? It's dangerous!"br
Sesshoumaru was silent, and didn't return the embrace. Raene stepped back and looked at him strangely. "Are you alright?" She asked. iIs he angry with me?/i She thought to herself. But his face was soft, a small smile forming on his lips. Between his fingers he held the shards of the Shikon no-Tama. With that same hand he reached out and took Raene's.br
"Does Prince Hideki mean all that much to you?" He asked quietly. Raene started, amazed that the demon lord had heard her conversation with Naraku. She nodded slowly. "All right then," sighed Sesshoumaru. He let his hand fall back to his side. "I'll get him back for you."br
Raene looked excited. "How?" She asked eagerly.br
"The Shikon no-Tama can grant anything your heart desires. I will do anything in my power to get Prince Hideki back."br
Raene saw the sadness in Sesshoumaru's eyes. She remembered the day she had sat beside him by the stream. She remembered leaning on his shoulder, the soft scent of the wildflowers lingering near her nose. But then...Hideki...p
iFlashback: 5 years earlier./ip
"Raene! Come out, I have something to show you!" Hideki was standing under her window, a grin dancing around his face. The 19-year-old prince waved to her. They were planning on going to see the travelling performers later that day.br
"Coming!" She shouted. She ran the brush through her thick black hair one more time and smiled into the looking glass of silver. Then she ran downstairs.br
Hideki was sitting on the porch outside. He looked up when she came out and held out a dazzling bunch of flowers. "For you," he said proudly. "I took them from the royal garden. My maid was appalled. 'Prince Hideki! What do you think you're doing?! Those were your late mother's best flowers!'" Hideki laughed at his own impression. Raene brought the flowers up to her face and breathed deeply. "Thank you," she said shyly. Hideki got up and bowed his imperial best.br
Raene laughed. "I see you've been working on that. You didn't stumble once."br
Hideki made a face and jumped over the narrow fence. Raene followed after putting the flowers in her best vase, a beautiful hand-crafted piece of china her mother had bought for her.br
But Hideki had stopped and was leaning against a tree. "Is something wrong?" Raene put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sick?"br
Hideki looked back at her, his mouth turned up in a weak smile. "I'm fine...I just haven't been feeling all that well lately. The maid says it has to do with the spider demons all around the house...we're calling the best exterminators in the land to come and get rid of them. You know, Sango, Kohaku and the others. Meanwhile, a strange man has been hanging around taking care of me. His name's Naraku."p
iNaraku...Naraku...Naraku.../ip
i(End Flashback)/ip
"So it was Naraku all along," Raene whispered to herself. iHe was the one who did it! He brought Hideki all the way down to his weakest state so he could steal his body and have complete control! And while this was happening, we all just thought Naraku was another one of the doctors taking CARE of him.../ibr
"What?" Sesshoumaru looked at the human.br
Raene started. "Oh nothing. Just...talking to myself."br
Suddenly a sword flew out of the woods straight at Sesshoumaru's back. Sesshoumaru whirled around and caught it just before it struck. "What the hell?!"br
He heard that eerie laugh again. "So we meet again, Sesshoumaru. I knew you'd be back. A weak demon like you can't stand to see their mates hurt, now can they?"br
"Take that back!" Sesshoumaru hissed. He flexed his claws and pretended to throw the sword away, but really hid it in his belt.br
Naraku laughed and spit on Sesshoumaru's cheek. "Over my dead body."br
Sesshoumaru charged at Naraku with a yell that shook the forest. Raene fell to her knees, her hands clutched over her ears. Naraku disappeared, making Sesshoumaru's outstretched claws bury themselves in the tree behind him. Sesshoumaru yanked his claws out of the tree. Poison dripped from the tips, burning the leaves beneath him to ash. His eyes flashed, then he was gone.br
"Wha...COWARD!" Naraku twisted this way and that, his eyes darting, searching for the demon lord. "COME OUT THIS INSTANT!" He bellowed.br
"You are so foolish."br
Naraku whirled around to find himself face to face with the demon lord. He took a couple steps back.br
Sesshoumaru hadn't moved. "You always run until you know you can win. A true demon would fight his own battles without running or hiding. You are no respectable demon, Oni-Gumo."br
Naraku smirked. "Ah, but I am no longer Oni-Gumo. He was a human...I am not. I decided to take the road...the road of IMMORTALITY!" Naraku's voice rose. "How can a human soul compare that of a demon?! Especially when their weak bodies give up! You don't know what it's like to be human and have no...power...whatsoever!" Naraku slammed his fist down into the dirt.br
"I do."br
"Huh?" Both demons whipped around. Raene was standing there, her hand clasped over her heart.br
"I do. I AM a human. It's not so bad...Hideki never thought so...no matter HOW weak he became...Oh Hideki!" Raene ran over to Naraku and buried her head in his chest. "I wish you would come back..." she murmered softly.br
Sesshoumaru was stricken. "Raene...he's not Hideki anymore," he choked out.br
But Naraku's eyes had changed. They had become...softer somehow. And beside him stood a man, wrapped in bandages. "iI shall return,/i" it hissed. Then it disappeared into the wind.br
"Was that...Oni-Gumo?" Raene wondered.br
"Yes, Raene. It was. Or what he has become."br
"...Hideki...! OH MY GOSH!" Raene hugged him tight. The newly released Hideki stroked her long black locks while Raene cried and held him close.br
Sesshoumaru could only stand back and watch in horror. His mate...lost to another? But that was unheard of! Once a youkai chose his mate, it was complete instantly. The female would stay with them until they died.br
iI AM a human./ibr
Those words echoed through Sesshoumaru's mind. He watched as Raene cried and cried into Hideki's shoulder. "Hideki, I'm so glad you came back." Raene said.br
Hideki didn't say anything, just held her tight.br
iWell, there's nothing left for me here. I'll get Rin and be on my way.../i Sesshoumaru started to walk out of the clearing. But a hand on his arm stopped him.br
"Sesshoumaru, wait. I want you to meet Hideki."br
Sesshoumaru pulled his arm away. "I have no reason to," he said without looking at her. "I'm going to get Rin from Kouga and be on my way."br
"But Sesshoumaru...Rin's MY daughter. And why do you have to move on so soon?" Raene ran her fingers through his glossy white hair.br
"Because you are in love with Hideki." The words stung his heart like no sword could ever do.br
Raene started laughing. She laughed so hard she couldn't stop. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" Sesshoumaru demanded. He wasn't used to being laughed at.br
"You are!" Raene gasped. "Hideki is already married with a daughter of his iown!/i" Sesshoumaru sat there with a blank look on his face. "But you still love him."br
"No! I love him as a friend!"br
They heard little footsteps coming up behind them. They turned to look. A little girl dressed completely in white was running out of the woods. Her long white hair flowed in the afternoon breeze. "Father!" She cried. She jumped into Hideki's arms. She was followed by a young woman with her hair pulled up in a loose bun. She came over and softly kissed Hideki.br
"The little girl's name is Kanna, and his wife's name is Kagura," Raene explained.br
Sesshoumaru was silent for a long time. Then slowly, he said, "But Rin must have had a father."br
Raene's smile faded and her eyes filled with tears. "Yes," she said quietly. "She did."p
iRin's father was a hunter...a common one. But one day he set out for a bit of sport. He and his friends were out in the woods hunting deer. Then all of a sudden they were ambushed by a herd of wolves. They managed to kill them all. But later on a wolf demon came to our village to avenge his fallen comrades. He burned the town to ashes and killed everyone there. Except for my daughter and I, every person perished. Including my husband, Takeo./ip
Raene had buried her head in her hands and was sobbing uncontrollably. Hideki came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. But it wasn't him she grabbed.br
It was Sesshoumaru.br
Sesshomaru jumped as Raene put her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist, tightly grasping just above the base of his tail. He looked quickly at Hideki, trying to hint that he needed advice. Hideki looked confused, then he grabbed Kagura and demonstrated what to do.br Sesshoumaru made a disgusted noise. iHumans show affection very oddly.../i He thought. What proper creature touched so much? Why put your lips to another's? It was totally pointless. He decided to show his affection in the demon style.br
He ran a claw along her neck.br
"Ouch!" Raene yelped. "What did you do that for?!" She jumped backwards and looked at him. A line of blood ran down her neck.br
Sesshoumaru stared at her. What he had done was desired by every female youkai. It showed them that the demon who had issued the cut cared enough about the other that they wouldn't hurt them. He sighed. "How do you HUMANS show affection then?"br
Raene blinked. He had been trying to show AFFECTION? iI'm scared to find out how youkais show HATE.../i "Like this." She gestured for Hideki, Kanna, and Kagura to move away. They disappeared into the trees. Raene leaned forward and kissed Sesshoumaru's lips. To her surprise, they weren't rough and dry, but soft. She slid her arms around his back and tugged him close. Sesshoumaru tried to back up, but he tripped and fell to the ground. His heart was hammering harder than in any battle. Raene was on top of him, her lips still pressed to his. The demon lord was paralyzed. Raene played her hands through his long white hair, which was spread out on the ground behind him. Sesshoumaru didn't dare throw her off for fear of harming her fragile human body. This was crazy! Yet he couldn't stop her. For once in his life, the demon lord was completely and utterly powerless.br
Then a voice rang out through the trees. "So Sesshoumaru, I see you finally went soft." Kouga!br
Sesshoumaru sat bolt upright, Raene still sitting astride him. The wolf demon was sitting in a tree laughing at the spectacle. Rin was trying to clamber up behind him, but she lost her footing and grabbed onto Kouga's tail for support. "OWWWWWWWWWWW!" Kouga's eyes went wide and he toppled from the tree. Rin stared wide eyed at the wolf demon who lay sprawled on the ground. "...Oops..." She dropped down to the ground. "Mr. Kouga sir are you ok?"br
Raene ran over and hugged Rin. But Rin just wriggled out of her grasp. "Sessie!" She ran over to and flung her little arms around his neck. Then she backed up and looked at him with a serious look on her face. "Why were you making out with my mom?"br
Sesshoumaru looked at her blankly. "What does making out mean?"br
But Rin didn't answer. She was just jumping around in circles yelling "I'm gonna have a daddy I'm gonna have a daddy!" Sesshoumaru got up. Perhaps being a human's mate wouldn't be so bad after all.