Chapter 1: The Fox and The Hound
He had seen her time and time again. Slipping in and out of the shadows of his territory. He never saw her as an immediate threat, however. He was after all, Sesshoumaru, son of the Great Demon Lord of the West. To him there was no demon around that could stand up to his might. Because of this, he knew the demon would not attack him or anything in his territory. Besides, her presence amused him. She was an odd looking creature at first glance. Large and furry with at least nine tails (he never really took the time to count her tails since they were always moving) and long slender legs. Her eyes were wild and burned with a ferocity that rivaled his father, the Lord Inu-Taisho. She wasn't hostile, though. She would sooner to flee from a fight than face it head on and she often acknowledged him with a nod when she noticed he was watching her from afar. Once she even bowed to him as he was patrolling. Obviously she wasn't looking for a fight. He thought it a pity for such a weak creature to have such angry eyes. He had wished she would fight him. He hadn't fought in years and the prospect of being able to dig his claws and fangs into an enemy sent a tingle of delight down his spine, even if it were a female. Female Youkai were just as ferocious as males, anyway.
Sesshoumaru climbed up a hill and glanced out across his domain. His retainer, Jaken, stood by his side, wielding the Staff of Heads. Sesshoumaru was on his usual patrol and much like his father, he didn't stand for any other Youkai invading his lands. Any aside from the usual female that would camp there. He hadn't seen her that day, however. A part of him actually worried that she may have been killed. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he had some interest in her. He scanned the area and expelled a light sigh. Jaken glanced up with an air of concern for his master, "Are you troubled, My Lord?"
Sesshoumaru sneered and eyed his retainer, "No, I am not. Now remain silent."
Jaken responded with a quick nod and quieted down again. Sesshoumaru looked to his left and blinked in surprise. There was a tower of smoke rising from the Southern edge of his territory. He sniffed the air and within seconds, caught the scent of blood. He snarled, "Who dares to invade my land?"
Jaken raised a hand to his eyes and peered across the great distance, "I am unsure, My Lord."
Sesshoumaru snorted indignantly, "You are never sure of anything." He leapt into the air and flew across the forest, dragging Jaken along, "I shall get to the bottom of this blatant example of encroachment on my territory."
Sesshoumaru landed half a mile from the smoke pillars origin and sniffed the air with caution. He could sense the presence of another Youkai. He sniffed again and backed away in surprise. He smelled not just one Youkai, but at least seven others. He drew in a deep breath and snorted, "Six dragons and a fox." Immediately his mind shifted to the fox Youkai that resided in his territory. It was her gentle scent that he picked up first. Surely she had been attacked by the dragon Youkai and murdered. It nearly pained him to think of her death. Before he realized what he was doing, he shook his head and expelled a heavy sigh.
Jaken looked at him questioningly, "My Lord, shall we investigate? Whatever the situation, it seems to be troubling to you."
His Lord regained his composure and shifted into his true form, the opposing, huge, fluffy white dog demon, "The scent of blood is strong and its fresh. A life has been lost here. The killers may still be around so we shall proceed with caution."
Jaken nodded and followed his Lord closely, "Any sign of them?"
Sesshoumaru shook his furry head and sniffed the air, "Nothing."
"They must have flown off, then, My Lord."
As they entered the clearing where the smoke had originated from, they were thrown aback by shock. Sesshoumaru had expected to see the smoldering body of the fox Youkai there, exposed and ravaged, but he did not. Instead, there lay the corpses of the six dragon Youkai. All of them were completely mutilated and beheaded. Jaken stared in disbelief, "What...happened...My Lord?"
Sesshoumaru's skin crawled and his fur stood up on end. Never before had he seen such destruction save for the battles that involved his father. Dragon Youkai were extremely hard to kill, so one would have to be incredibly powerful to kill six at once. The only scent in the air was that of the dragons, their blood, and the fox Youkai. The fox Youkai? Could it be possible that the odd looking beast had actually slain them all? Impossible.
Jaken pointed to a thick trail of blood leading away from the pile of dragon corpses, "It seems the murderer is on the move, My Lord. And it happens to be wounded gravely."
Sesshoumaru pricked his ears, "It seems to be heading away into the woods, possibly to die."
Jaken nodded in agreement, "Of course, My Lord." They turned and followed the bloody path, hoping to come across the demon responsible.
Sesshoumaru wasn't exactly thinking of devouring the beast, however. If it were truly the female fox Youkai that once roamed freely in the boundaries of his territory, he would be making a better choice by choosing her as a mate. She would bear him a strong son that would inherit his lands and his title as Demon Lord of the West. If she were still alive, that is.
Sesshoumaru and Jaken continued on the trail until the blood gathered in one massive puddle. Jaken took a step before his Lord and glanced about, "It seems the beast has stopped. Perhaps it took flight and has gone to die atop a mountain in custom." Dying atop a mountain was a noble way to go to the fox Youkai. Sesshoumaru knew this, but had trouble believing she could fly in her state. Besides, he could smell her scent strongly. If she had flown away as Jaken guessed, her scent should have been faint.
Jaken continued on, "My Lordship, I can smell her near, yet I see her not. I've failed you in–"
He was silenced by Sesshoumaru with a swift blow to the head, "Hold your tongue, toad. She is still here."
Jaken hushed immediately, bowing in apology instead.
Sesshoumaru snorted indignantly and stepped ahead of the toad, "Stay." The toad did as he was told. Sesshoumaru walked along the perimeter of the blood pool. His feet staying just short from the thick red liquid. If she were dead, her blood would have reached for him, hoping to possess him. The blood remained where it lay, however. She was still very much alive. He stopped suddenly when he felt a gentle gust of hot air hit his paw. He was standing before her open jaws as she breathed. He chuckled dryly under his breath as he thought: 'This beast is cloaking itself in fear that I may finish her off. How pitiful.' He turned toward the source of the hot air and spoke, "Show yourself. I was not seasoned yesterday, so I know you are here."
At once, the cloak faded. Once a fox Youkai's illusions were penetrated, they immediately dispelled, leaving the fox temporarily open. The beast no longer tried to muffle her ragged heaves and pants. Blood poured from her jaws and filled in the patches of green grass beneath her open mouth. Sesshoumaru could not help but step back at the ravaged beast that lay before him. He wanted nothing more than to put her out of her misery, but a part of him told him to stand down. He twitched his nose as the stench of death lingered nearer. She hadn't much time before she herself would follow the dragon Youkai to the unknown beyond. Jaken stepped back as he found he was standing on one of her tails. Sesshoumaru eyed the toad before noticing he was only stepping off of one of her tails. He held his scolding and turned back to the female before him, "I would like to know how you managed to single-handedly kill those dragon Youkai. They all appeared to be seasoned warriors."
She opened her jaws wider, but quickly shut it as the blood began to pour out as a waterfall. She cast her eyes up to him and whispered through clinched teeth, "I mean you no disrespect, My Lord. I speak this way to avoid bathing your clean white paws in my filthy blood."
Sesshoumaru was slightly surprised that she could keep her cool when she was in such a dire state, "This Sesshoumaru understands and shall step back. Now answer my question."
The fox demon opened her jaws and allowed the blood to pour until it stopped on its own, and then spoke up as best she could, though more sounds were coming from the rip in her throat then through her actual mouth. "I was walking through My Lords lands, searching for a place to den for the night when the dragons had sensed I was here and came to take me away."
Sesshoumaru sat back on his haunches and stared at her through his blood red eyes, "Why would they seek out a common kitsune?"
She spat up more blood before continuing, " Their Lord is enraged with me for refusing his advances and running away. He sent his best warriors to bring me back."
Sesshoumaru smirked and licked his chops, "He would be willing to fight another Demon Lord for a mate that refused him? You are not all that pretty to me, fox?"
She nodded slowly, her heavy head dragging across the ground as she did, "Not for my looks nor personality, but for my skill. I was once a student of the Great Phoenix of China. Because I was the first born I was obligated to train under his guidance as my mother before me. A right held exclusive to my clan alone." She heaved and coughed, splashing Sesshoumaru's left paw with speckles of her crimson blood. She winced and shut her eyes, "Forgive me, My Lord."
Sesshoumaru was a bit confused now. Surely a creature that trained under the mighty Phoenix Lord and defeated the best of a powerful Demon Lord's warriors, would have more confidence in their self. It almost disgusted him to see such a creature behave that way. He realized that she was staring at him now, and he snorted, "I forgive you. Now, tell me who you are." She remained silent as she stared back at him. Her staring eyes irritated him and he stood up once more, glaring back at her, "I asked you a question, fox!" Still she said nothing. Jaken took a step forward but stopped, remembering he was told to stay. He shook his head and lowered his head in silence. Sesshoumaru did not pick up on his retainer's actions and instead snarled with rage at her blatant display of disrespect by ignoring his question. It was then that he finally noticed she was dead. His eyes scanned her body and confirmed it. She didn't move neither did she breathe. He turned and walked away without another word. The toad was at his side in a heartbeat and followed his Lord without saying anything either. He silently praised the fallen warrior for her courage in standing up to a powerful demon and the humbleness she had shown to his Lord. He sort of wondered why she never attacked Sesshoumaru, though. She had the power to possibly kill, or at least critically wound the Demon Lord, but she never did. Instead deciding to show him a more demure side to her "raging demon". Sesshoumaru also felt the same, but the toad did not know that.
