Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know it's been ages since I updated. What can I say, the world got in the way. As appeasement, please accept a whole bunch of chapters.

I'd like to thank Kat Morning for the setting of my story, which is based on the alternate universe of her inu fanfic "Blood Ties."

Disclaimer: I do not own Miroku, Sesshomeru, or any other Inuyasha characters. They are owned by their author/creator, Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 21: Hiten's Massacre

It soon became clear that nothing could be planned until a powerful human magician was found to break the Nosferatu lord's seal.

Kura said, "You mean a monk or miko, right?"

Kagomeru sniggered, but one look from Sesshomeru silenced him. Koga quickly leaned towards her to explain, "It's not the occupation that's important, it's the talent. Most human magicians appear within established magical bloodlines: monks or miko in Japan, witch doctors in Africa, the Romani in Europe . . ."

"Romani?"

"You would probably know them as 'Gypsies.' In this city, our best bet is to look for bloodlines that created powerful monks and miko, right? So, do you have any more questions?" Koga smiled.

"Just one. Why is your hand on my ass?" Kura smiled right back, but showed more teeth than was strictly necessary.

"Ah . . . well," Koga muttered, "that one's tricky." He withdrew the offending hand. There were a number of smirks over his immediate compliance.

The demon warriors were quick to supply the names of human magicians. Sesshomeru was silent, sitting back with his hands steepled in front of him. No one was reprimanded for any suggestion, until the demon lord leaned forward and said abruptly, "That will be enough. Some of the humans suggested are unsuited for the task: Uchida, Abe, Hata and Tokita are not powerful enough. Matsumiya died last year during the engagement with the bat demon. Tsuruoka and Hirata are out of the country and not expected to return soon. Tanaka was an interesting suggestion, Yura . . . unfortunately, he has become unreasonable about demons ever since you killed his wife." Sesshomeru looked at each of his followers in turn; each dropped their gaze upon realizing that they had no other options to suggest. "Recently, a young monk has come to my attention. Miroku Higurashi was recently promoted to Senior Council member. His abilities are impressive. It took him only 20 seconds to break through a class-C magic circle that was reinforced by sutras."

Koga let out a low whistle. His companions wore expressions ranging from amazement to disbelief.

Sesshomeru continued, "More important, he has shown some sympathy with our efforts. Regrettably, his sympathy has earned him Council detention; we may need to free him, but care must be taken not to harm too many Council members, or we will alienate him."

Kagomeru snorted in disgust. "Why are we coddling the human? All we need to do is torture a member of his family or a lover, and he'll do anything we say." He leered at Kura out of the corner of his eye as he added, "Of course, any human might do the trick . . ."

"Impossible," Kagura interjected. "Human sorcery is tied to emotion and desire. His wish to save the human wouldn't carry over into a desire to follow our orders. While he was worried about the hostage, he could only call on his true power if he was rescuing her directly." She added sourly, "To break the seal of a Nosferatu lord will require all of the power he has."

"Working with humans!" Kagomeru muttered, "We never would have disgraced ourselves like this in the old days." He locked eyes with Sesshomeru; neither was willing to back down.

Abruptly, every demon turned to stare at the door. Kirara, who had been nosing about in the kitchen, raced into the room and froze, sniffing in the door's direction. Kura had no idea what was going on. Sesshomeru crossed to the door and flung it open, muttering, "What could make Masayo so anxious?"

Kura asked, "Who?"

"The rabbit demon who handles most of the lord's business calls," Koga explained. "She's leaping up the stairwell right now."

This time, Kura was able to hear a muffled thump as the demon cleared another flight of steps before hurtling toward the room. In her haste, she almost ran into Sesshomeru.

"My lord!" Masayo cried, out of breath, "It's Hiten!"

"What happened?" Sesshomeru's voice was calm.

"Police report he's attacked the shopping mall near the Nakai hotel, a quarter mile from your territory!"

The demon lord didn't curse, but his voice became even colder. "And his brother?"

"No sight of him, my lord."

Sesshomeru turned his head slightly toward the warriors. "Grab your weapons, men. We're leaving." He was halfway to the balcony when he remembered something and commanded, "Kirara, carry Kura."

Kura stared at the demon lord's back, dumbstruck. If he wasn't so serious, it would have been funny. She was supposed to be carried by a kitten? Her confusion was resolved when, in a burst of flame, the two-tailed kitten transformed into a saber-tooth tiger. Kura stared nervously, but strong hands grabbed her from behind and tossed her easily onto the cat's back. "Koga, what the hell are you--" she began, but almost swallowed her tongue when Kirara took a single bound over the balcony railing and into empty air.

Kura was too terrified to scream. She clung to the great cat's neck, and felt a purr rumbling in its chest. Her body jerked with the rhythm of the great cat's run. "Huh?" Kura wondered, "Why aren't we falling?" She took a look down-- and down, and down, and down . . . Kura tightened her stranglehold on the cat's neck when she realized that they were bounding along on air, hundreds of feet above the ground.

She had her eyes squeezed shut, so she had no warning of Kagura and Yura's approach until one of them spoke almost in her ear. "What's the matter?" Yura teased, "Afraid of heights?"

"Yes. Ever since Sesshomeru-sama pulled his last stunt like this one." She cracked an eye, and saw a sight so bizarre that she forgot her predicament. Kagura, her kimono carefully arranged, was kneeling on an enormous feather, which was floating along like a magic carpet. Yura sat behind her with an arm encircling the wind demon's waist, although whether this was from fear of falling or a more romantic sentiment, Kura couldn't tell. "Where are the others?" Kura asked.

Yura pointed. Kura could barely make out a white blur streaking along the rooftops ahead of them, followed by two darker blurs. "Sesshomeru, Masayo, and Jeromeru carrying Kagomeru. Koga is down on the street."

Kura looked down, and immediately regretted it. She buried her face in Kirara's ruff, ignoring Yura's laughter, and refused to look up again until she was sure the cat's feet were on solid ground.

From the screams and fleeing crowds, it was obvious they had found the place. Kirara transformed into her less conspicuous form, making the entire group seem mostly human, to casual inspection. The crowd parted instinctively to let them pass, but paid the demons little attention.

They found Hiten in the large center court, where the ground floor opened up to the height of the third floor. The marble fountain was smashed; water sprayed into the air from the broken pipes. Large burn scars and walls reduced to rubble were mute testimony to Hiten's directionless rage. At least half a dozen young women lay sprawled on the floor or under the rubble, their throats savagely torn out and blood pooling by their corpses. The demon hovered in the air using his flaming wheels and held up another woman by her throat.

Kura felt nausea and a moment's dizziness at the gruesome sight. There was a touch on her elbow; Masayo was offering the human her silent support. The rabbit demon leaned close to say softly, "This matter is between Lord Sesshomeru and Hiten. We're here to support our lord, not to interfere."

"That girl he's carrying . . ."

"Still alive. For now," Masayo added pessimistically.

"His victims . . . Why are they all young women?" Kura wasn't at all certain she wanted to know.

Masayo scowled. "Bastard's always been a misogynist. You know, the 'all women are sluts' type. You should've seen his face seventy years ago, when Kagura beat him in a contest; I doubt he's forgotten yet."

Kura looked around at the other demons, and noticed the females looked particularly angry, subconsciously drawing together for support. Kagomeru and his brother alone seemed unconcerned; Sesshomeru's battle aura showed his extreme annoyance, and even Koga had dropped the pretense of happy-go-lucky good humor in favor of a snarl.

Sesshomeru did not shout, but his voice carried in the tense silence. "You have disobeyed my direct orders, Hiten. Where is your brother?"

The demon of lightning made a noise of grief, a combination of yell and wail. "That-- BITCH-- from Council and her men MURDERED him!"

Sesshomeru was unmoved. "I gave you the information you needed to avoid Council entirely. I also instructed you to harm no humans within Tokyo."

Hiten protested, "It was only two whores, Sesshomeru!" His eyes blazed with madness as he continued, "They were human sluts in short skirts who wanted to be fucked." His voice dropped to a whisper. "These ningen will pay for the death of my dear brother."

Sesshomeru asked simply, "You fought with Council members? Did any of them die?"

Hiten flushed, but admitted, "Not yet, but I will feast upon their still-beating hearts. They murdered my bother!"

"Good," Sesshomeru answered, his eyes flashing. "It saves me the trouble of killing him." The lightning demon blanched. "You will die for your insubordination; I will carry out your sentence immediately."

Hiten's smirk was pale and sickly. "Ha. You'll show your power here, surrounded by humans? You don't have the guts."

Sesshomeru's standing vertical leap would have put pole-jumpers to shame. His energy whip snapped out at his startled opponent, who threw the woman he had been choking at the demon lord. As Hiten had hoped, Sesshomeru pulled back his whip and reached out to catch the woman, leaving himself vulnerable. Hiten darted through the air to the demon lord and swung his spear up and brought it down towards Sesshomeru's head.

Hiten doubled over from a blow in the abdomen, but didn't know what had punched him. His strike went wide, barely clipping the sleeve of Sesshomeru's kimono. Cradling the victim's neck in his elbow to prevent whiplash, Sesshomeru landed and went down on one knee to lessen the impact.

Hiten, who had barely avoided being knocked out of the air, yelled, "You are a disgrace, dog! Down on your knees for some woman! You would probably let a female be on top when you take her to bed." Even as he mocked the demon lord, Hiten was retreating hastily, pedaling his flying wheels backwards.

Sesshomeru carefully set the demon's victim on the ground and stood. "You are a fool. Did you really think I was defenseless, even without the use of my hands?" He swished his long, plush tail back and forth. Hiten stared, amazed. He had believed the tail a useless decoration that the demon lord had unformed. "It is true that I haven't formed it for many years now, but I haven't forgotten how to use it. Now, prepare to die."

Even in his panic, Hiten noticed the woman who had moved just a couple of meters too far from her lord; he smelled the stench of human. Ignoring the battle, she had moved away to aid an older man trapped beneath the rubble. "Wait! Don't move, or I'll burn this woman to charcoal."

Kura realized her danger too late. Sesshomeru narrowed his eyes, calculating how long it would take him to reach the human woman. The answer he arrived at left a bitter taste in his mouth. The words he spoke were even more bitter. "A bargain, Hiten."

There was a moment of shocked silence. Then Hiten's cackle filled the air. "Who is this bitch, to make the proud Sesshomeru bargain with an enemy?"

Sesshomeru ignored the question, stating, "I have only one offer, traitor. Leave the human alone, and I will give you a chance to run. As long as you stay clear of my territory and threaten the lives of neither my demon servants nor any humans, I will give you forty-eight hours to flee."

Hiten's eyes darted from the demon lord to the human woman. "How can I be sure of your word? Perhaps I should take the girl with me, for security."

Sesshomeru raised his eyebrows. "Get any closer to her, and I'll kill the both of you. I won't make any further concessions."

Hiten trembled in fear and anger. Finally, he yelled, "Damn you and your whore. I'll have my revenge!" He aimed a blast of lightning at the skylight, which shattered into lethal shards. While his warriors ran for cover, Sesshomeru darted forward to snatch Kura and carry her to safety. When they looked up again, Hiten had fled through the hole in the ceiling.

Feeling Kura struggling against him, Sesshomeru reassured her, "He's gone. Don't worry, you're safe. We should leave now, before the police arrive."

When he released her, she started running back to the man pinned under a block of concrete. "He's still alive! I've got to help . . ."

"Wait!" Sesshomeru called, annoyed. "I'm ordering you to leave!" When she continued to ignore him, he darted after her.

Kura didn't notice the shards of glass she was walking on; none of them penetrated the hard soles of her boots. She took more care kneeling beside the pinned man. He was in his early fifties with hair and a beard that was more gray than black. His left leg was caught under a block of concrete that weighed more than eighty pounds. To her horror, Kura saw that his lips were stained with blood.

"Ojii-san," she said gently, "Don't worry, I'm here to help. Just lie still for a minute, and I'll get your leg free." She rested a hand on his chest, and felt the warm blood that had been invisible against his dark suit. Looking closer, she saw that a knifelike glass shard had impaled him. There was a horrible rattle in his throat; he couldn't draw another breath.

"He's dead," Sesshomeru said flatly. "You can't do anything for him. Come with me."

The demon lord towered over her, but Kura couldn't obey. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted his scabbard. "You could still save him. The Tensaiga--"

"No." His tone made it absolute. "I do not save humans."

"You saved me," she protested.

"And you're making me regret it. Get up, girl."

Kura winced both at his callous words and at the anger in his voice. She stood, and was thrown over the demon lord's shoulder like a sack of rice. Rejoining his warriors, Sesshomeru shoved Kura over towards the great cat but didn't look at her. She struggled to mount, and received an unexpected boost from Masayo. The rabbit demon squeezed Kura's knee as if to reassure. As the group ran for the North exit, Kura could hear police sirens arriving at the South entrance.

"Kagomeru. Jeromeru. Follow Hiten, and report back," Sesshomeru instructed.

"Hai," Kagomeru agreed. He was riding piggyback on his stronger brother, and he steered the near-wild demon east, the direction Hiten had fled.

Kura felt Kirara's body tense and held on while the great cat leapt. When the cat's feet touched down on the balcony, Kura dismounted awkwardly. She looked up, directly into Sesshomeru's furious eyes. She met and held his gaze, resisting the temptation to cower.

"Masayo," Sesshomeru finally instructed, "show this girl to Rin's room, then join us. We should continue our discussion." Kura thinned her lips in anger at being ignored so pointedly. As he turned away, Sesshomeru added cryptically, "I'll decide what to do with you later."

Rin's room was completely different from the rest of the house. The walls were a pale blue, and the fancy canopied bed was a shocking pink. A glass pendant hanging in the window cast rainbows around the room. The understated elegance of the rest of the house, the dark wood paneling and expensive leather furniture, was completely missing from this room. It was the only room that showed someone lived there: skirts and kimono were draped over the back of a chair, and a couple of dirty blouses had been shoved part way under the bed. In the corner was a pile of once-cherished stuffed animals. Kura's eyes went immediately to the beautiful china doll atop the chest of drawers. Kura lifted it gently, admiring the silk costume it wore.

Grinning at Masayo, Kura said, "My sister gave me a doll like this, before she . . ." The joy went out of Kura's face when she paused, then finished, "before she married."

Masayo's brow creased in sympathy. "Dear, perhaps you should rest. You've been under a great deal of stress lately, hmm?"

"You're right. I do feel tired." Kura sat on the bed and smiled gently at the other's concern. It was nice to have a friend here, especially when Sesshomeru was angry at her. When the rabbit demon tried to leave, she almost tripped over Kirara in her kitten form. The cat leaped up into Kura's lap, and rumbled like a small motor when Kura stroked her. Two friends, Kura corrected herself.

"Oh, Kura?" Masayo said just before closing the door. "Try not to judge him too harshly. Our lord has reasons for what he does . . . and what he doesn't do."

Kura leaned back into the cushions and yawned. Did Masayo mean that Sesshomeru had a good reason for refusing to save Hiten's victims? Why hadn't he just said so? Kirara curled up against her chin as Kura fell asleep.

Sesshomeru found Kura still sleeping when he came to talk to her a few hours later. He had calmed down considerably and was ashamed of his earlier curtness. It was silly to blame the girl for Hiten's escape; she was only a human, acting as humans do. Although, if that was true, how was she able to constantly surprise him?

Of course Kura wouldn't understand how the Tensaiga worked, and would expect miracles from it at every turn. Sesshomeru intended to explain it to her, to avoid future misunderstandings, but decided that it could wait until she woke.