Woot! Sorry I'm so late with this one too! My schedule's been really screwy lately.       I've got choir tour coming up, as well as a concert for mens choir. The local collage is coming out of session soon, so any college classes I have are becoming more and more frenzied. Not to mention our sr. high drama, Taming of the Shrew, is going down in about two weeks. Sigh! I'm so busy. But after that, I have almost no after school responsibilities, so slow updates shouldn't last too much longer. Anywho, on with the fic!

*****

"So, what have you been up to these past few years?"

            "Oh, not much."

            "Really? That pirate guy seems kinda cool. You got anything doin' with him?"

            "Not yet. He's looking for some quick cash, and I needed a way to get to Japan without getting noticed. Any sea youkai would have reported something like me swimming alone strait away to Atma, and I would have been busted. But a sea serpent pulling a ship. That's obviously just some stupid beast of burden."

            Tiamet and Kiriln sat conversing by the harbor. Tiamet on the edge of the great, marble pier that started Shinjuku. Her wings were unfolded, and she was enjoying the hot sun beating down on her skin. It was too bad that skin didn't retain as much heat as scales did. Tiamet in general enjoyed her reptilian form, but this one did have fun uses as well. She glanced over at her old friend.
            Kiriln's head was rising out of the water, and rested next to Tiamet's comparatively small frame. The rest of her long, sinuous body was coiled around in the water near the pier, enjoying her heat of the water near the surface.

            "So, why did you leave, anyway?" Tiamet asked.

            Kiriln smiled a big toothy grin. "It was time." She said.

            Tiamet blinked at her. "Oh, jeez, like that's a decent answer." She said. "C'mon, I'm not Atma, y'know. You can tell me."

            Kiriln rolled a, yellow, slitted eye towards her. "Tell me…" She began. "Why do you follow Atma as your leader?"

            Tiamet blinked. "Because she is our leader." She stated simply. "You know how it works. It's the instinct."

            Kiriln's jaws closed again in a strait line. "Yes, of course. All we dragons have it."

            All dragons did have it. They simply couldn't find the words to explain it. It was a feeling of how things were supposed to work. They had always followed it. An instinct told them who was to lead. If instinct said it was Atma, then Atma would lead. If instinct said a half eaten piece of steak would lead, then by golly, the dragons would follow it. Except for maybe Tiamet, who would eat it. Then they would follow something else.

            "So, what about it?" Tiamet sighed.

            "Why do you follow it?"

            "What?"

            "Why do you follow the instinct?" Kiriln persisted.

            The red dragon thought for just a moment. "Because, that's what we're supposed to do. It feels wrong not to."

            "Do you remember when me and Ryuukotsutsei left?" Kiriln asked.

            Tiamet nodded. "It was just a little while after Morkleb rebelled."

            "The night before we both left, Ryuukotsutsei came to me." Kiriln whispered. "I had never really liked him. He had the same feel that Morkleb had. But he came to me, and spoke to me that night." She chuckled sarcastically. "I thought he was crazy. He said that his instinct was telling him that he was our leader. He said that his instinct was telling him that he should destroy Atma and the rest. He said that he was leaving." She snorted, sending steam out to sea in the process. "You can see why I thought he was so crazy."

            Tiamet nodded. "That day we fought with him, alongside Taisho. He was spouting something about that."

            Kiriln chuckled. "Yes, but he was doing the average thing. He was spouting about how he would leave, and raise an army, and come back. He would conquer you all, and he would be triumphant. Blah, blah, blah. It was like right out of some cheesy legend." She snorted again. "And get this, he wanted me to come with him. Be his queen."

            This time it was Tiamet who laughed. "Are you serious?" She asked. "That's great."

            Kiriln laughed. "Yes, well. Naturally, I told him to get lost. But one thing he said bothered me. It was about the instinct." Kiriln took a breath. "Mine was telling me weird things too." She grinned at Tiamet. "It was telling me to leave."

            "To leave?" Tiamet blinked.

            "To leave." Kiriln said firmly. "I thought that something was just wrong with me, but when I heard Ryuu speak, I thought that maybe it was something more. So I left."

            "You mean that all this time you were following the instinct?"

            Kiriln shook her head very slightly. "No." She said. "After I left, I didn't know what to do. I wandered for a few years, sank some ships. But my instinct was silent. Completely and utterly silent." She chuckled. "Eventually I decided I'd do something I'd always wanted to do."

            Tiamet blinked. "Yeah, so?" Tiamet did things that she wanted to do all the time.

            Kiriln looked at the little red haired dragon girl. "I don't think you understand." She said. "I actually did something I really wanted to do." She smiled. "You see, even you don't do everything you want. You have your instinct as a safe-guard. You won't do anything unless your instinct tells you to go for it."

            Tiamet narrowed her eyes. Now that it was mentioned, she couldn't remember doing anything that her instinct ever didn't like.

            "Now you realize it, don't you?" Kiriln asked slyly. "You don't actually notice it until someone points it out to you."

            Tiamet's eyes narrowed even further. "That's not fair." She hissed, a sudden rush of things she wanted to do but had never done rushed into her head. "That's not fair at all."

            "You see it." Kiriln stated simply. "I simply… started doing what I wanted to do."

            Tiamet nodded, her eyes narrowed speculatively. "So, you ignore the instinct?"

            Kiriln shook her head. "I don't have the instinct, as you know it. I have instincts, but I don't have anything that determines my will." She grinned wolfishly. "It's actually pretty fun."

            Tiamet smiled. "I might try that sometime." She said wistfully.

            "You should, Tia." Kiriln chuckled. "This life would suit you."

            There was a sudden, awkward silence. They both felt it. They both felt her.

            "I guess I couldn't hide forever." Kiriln muttered, and snaked her head around.

            Standing in the middle of the pier, arms crossed, crimson hair blowing in unseen winds, was a very, very angry Atma. One of her eyebrows pricked up, and one side of her mouth picked up in a very, very scary grin, one fang poking out of her mouth. Her eyes glowed inhumanely.

            "Hello, Kiriln." She whispered.

            Kiriln perked a scaly eyebrow, and smiled a big toothy grin. "Hey, Atma." She smiled. "Long time no see, neh?"

*****

            There was dead silence in the streets of Shinjuku. Aarons rampage earlier had cleared out most of the streets, and seeing the lord Sesshoumaru stalking through the back allies had finished the job.

            There was only the occasional sound of the pirate captain Morgan taking the occasional step back, trying to make his escape back to the harbor.

            Sesshoumaru stood in the street, silently regarded the Chinese women before him.

            Shin reached down to her sides, and drew out her long, curved, Chinese blades. "Sesshoumaru-Sama." She said in clear, sonorous, sensual Japanese. "Would you give me your fang?"

            Sesshoumaru's eyes made a quick dart down to the hilt of the Tenseiga in his belt, then back up to the woman. "My fang?"

            Oni cracked her knuckles, and grinned. "Enough talk." She said, speaking fractured Japanese. "We take fang. You not much match for us last time we meet."

            Sesshoumaru said nothing. His amber eyes regarded them coolly. He recognized them, of course, from all those years ago. They were two of Hyoga's generals. Amazons, most likely. Back then he had picked a fight with them on the battlefield. He had lost, badly. They had left him wounded for the little brat Menomaru to finish off.

            But he was older now. They were immortal. They hadn't changed at all.

            Oni grinned, and whipped her spear from behind her back. "Doggie boy dies now." She declared gleefully.

            Shin shrugged, might as well. She charged, just a second behind her partner.

            The tai youkai reguarded them coolly, and brought two fingers up in front of his face. They began to glow.

            Oni was almost upon him when the beam of light slashed out from his fingers and hit her square in the chest, smashing her back into the thick pavement. Shin gasped in the middle of her dash, and hit her foot into the pavement, stopping her short. She leapt into the air, avoiding the whip of light that slashed across the street floor.

            She grinned savagely as she came down on Sesshoumaru, slashing down with all her might. Except Sesshoumaru wasn't there anymore. She flipped forward, and landed on her feet, turning around. Sesshoumaru's claws connected with the side of her head with stunning force, sending her flying across the street into a marble wall. There was the sickening sound of shattering bone as she hit the unyielding marble, and slumped to the floor.

            Sesshoumaru stood up, and flexed his fingers. His knuckles cracked menacingly.

            Slowly Oni got to her feet, one hand on her breast plate. Her fingers and lips were stained red with blood. "You better." She muttered, and spat red on the white street. "You improve?"

            She held her spear at the ready, more cautious this time.

            Sesshoumaru betrayed no emotion on his face. He held up his hand again, and inspected in negligently.

            Oni growled, and took a step forward, probing her spear out cautiously. Sesshoumaru didn't pay any attention.

            The blue haired Amazon's eyes narrowed. This wasn't right. Sesshoumaru had been an arrogant little punk last time they had fought. But this fighter… he was completely different. How had the insolent little whelp become this man?

            With a sudden dart, she flashed her spear in, going for his neck. Sesshoumaru didn't even glance up. He simply stepped smoothly to the side, and dashed forward, embedding his claws into the hole already in her armor.

            Oni's eye widened in pain, and she looked haltingly down at the three claws in her wound. Sesshoumaru didn't even look at her. Her eyes widened in pain as suddenly a sickly greenish liquid bubbled from her wound.

            Sesshoumaru pulled out his claws again, and shook them off negligently. A slight wisp of acidic green smoke drifted from his fingertips.

            Oni stumbled back, the spear falling from her fingers. One hand clutched at the breastplate. Around where the wound had been her armor had melted ever so slightly. Her eyes watered tears and blood, and she fell back, gasping in pain.

            Coldly, Sesshoumaru turned again to regard Shin. She was still on the ground, grasping her ribs. Sesshoumaru briefly considered leaving her there, but decided against it. They were immortal. Best not to let them recover too quickly.

            He smoothly reached down, and wrapped his hand around her face. She gasped slightly as he lifted her easily off her feet. "How…" She stuttered, on eye poking out from behind his fingers. "You were only a puppy back then."

            Sesshoumaru didn't respond. His claws clenched around the face, and she screamed as greenish steam began wafting from her claws. The tai-youkai tossed her away again negligently, her face disfigured. They shouldn't be up and active for a while now. He turned around, to go to pursue that pirate again.

            But Oni was already standing again. Her hand was clutched across her chest, and the spear was clenched back in her fingers. "Silly dog." She sputtered, her eyes looking slightly crazed. "You no match for us." She whirled her spear around, and charged at him.

            Sesshoumaru easily sidestepped, and lashed out, leaving four bloody marks across the Amazon's face. She hissed, at him, and lashed around with her spear, going for his legs.

            Sesshoumaru simply leapt over the spear, and jabbed out with his fist, smashing his palm into her face. She winced in pain, and dashed away, breathing hard.

            Sesshoumaru gave to quarter, dashing after her, his index finger glowing. They chased down the street, Sesshoumaru lashing out with his whip of light. Oni dodged back and forth, screaming in rage every time the glowing whip struck her.

            The Amazon growled savagely, and charged the tai youkai, leveling her spear at his throat with stunning precision.

            Sesshoumaru sidestepped once again, and prepared to lash out with his claws.

            "Bad doggie!" Oni cried out suddenly, and twisted her wrists ever so slightly.

            Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, and his eyes went to the spear. Only it wasn't a spear any more. What had once been a wooden haft was now long, scaly and sinuous. Where the blade had been there was a hissing snakes head.
            Like lightning, the tai-youkai brought his hand up, and caught the snake head before it hit him. He didn't even wince when he felt the fangs sink into his flesh. He ripped the snake out of her hands, and swung it furiously. The tail whipped around the Amazon's neck, and Sesshoumaru jerked his hand. There was a snap, and blue haired girl fell to the ground, her head hanging at an odd angle.

            Sesshoumaru instantly hurled the snake aside, and it became a spear again. He held up his hand, and inspected the two, deep fang marks right at the base of his wrist. Poison. His breath shuddered slightly, and his eyes narrowed. His hand blurred before his vision. Hopefully, he would recover before they did. He slumped forward onto the ground.

            It was only after a few moments before Morgan risked poking his head out of an ally near the scene. He walked cautiously to the unconscious Sesshoumaru, and inspected him.

            He stroked his beard as he considered what to do. He should probably help him. It would get the pirate into the good side of the ruler of the city. Morgan cocked his head, and blinked. Well, there was only one thing to do. He reached down, and grabbed Sesshoumaru firmly by his shoulder guard. He hefted the tai-youkai up over her shoulder. Then he unhooked the shoulder guard.

            Sesshoumaru slumped back to the street floor, and Morgan hefted the shoulder guard, testing its weight. It was worth a good sum. With that, he disappeared down the street, heading for the harbor.