Woot, another chapter in just three days. And one I happen to be fairly proud of. More Atma and Kiriln fighting. I'm really enjoying them. Anywho, just a quick comment: Thanks to all those who have been reviewing lately. (All three of you.)
Special thanks to Time's Mortal Enemy, who constantly keeps me going. Hehe, sorry I lied. No kohaku in this chapter, but I'll get him in. I also got a really great plan to make up for the mistake I mentioned last chapter, so I'll hopefully be able to give him the personality I want him to have, and give him good reason to have that personality. Anywho, enough of my random ravings. Here ya go!
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The patter of bare feet on hard stone was the only sound Rin gave off as she moved through the streets of Shinjuku. The streets had once again returned to normal, now that Aaron had gotten bored, and gone off to observe other amusements.
It was, however, for that very blond haired crazy man that Rin was searching. She dashed around the allies, through gutters, behind buildings, and down streets that few others even knew existed. It wasn't long at all before she came to Aaron's ally. It was marked off by a great many hanging quilts blocking it off from the rest of the street. Rin made short work darting between those barriers.
Aaron was sitting on the large clump of clothing that made his bed, facing her. He did not, however, actually focus on her. His eyes were crossed right on his nose. Balanced on his nose were some chopsticks. Rin sighed, and shook her head. She had seen Aaron try to balance chopsticks on his nose before. He was very good at it. She had seen him go for a week before.
Before Rin could even speak, Aaron held up a hand for silence. Rin could see the sweat running down his brow. He had probably been in this state all morning. She could see his mouth slowly start moving in odd patterns, counting out loud to himself. "Six thousand eighty seven. Six thousand eighty eight. Six thousand eight nine." He said, concentrating hard.
Rin smiled lightly, and giggled, amusement flashing across her girlish features. "Two hundred forty two." She said happily.
Aaron's eyes widened, and he glared at Rin. "Six thousand ninety." He said, slightly more nervously.
There was no way Rin could resist. "Five million and three seconds."
Aaron's eyes narrowed. "Six thousand ninety one. Six thousand ninety two."
"Square root of eight point three two one plus eighteen seventeenths."
"Ummm…" Aaron said intelligently. "Six thousand… and…" He glared at Rin angrily, and crossed his arms. "One, two, three, four, five…"
Rin laughed again, and ran up to him, taking the chopsticks off his nose. "Sesshoumaru-Sama wants to see you." She said, happily, jabbing him in the side with the chopsticks.
Aaron sighed, and stood up. He was currently wearing a long white open haori, which flowed all the way down to his knees, and a black hakama, tied with the traditional piece of rope. "And what does the mighty lord Sesshoumaru want with me, now?" He asked.
Rin shrugged. "I dunno." She said, holding two palms skyward. "He was having a meeting with a bunch of dragons and a pirate, last time I looked."
"Hmph." Aaron snorted. "Probably something to do with all this Menomaru crap going on." He sighed, and took a few gangly steps towards the mouth of the ally. "Well, you wanna go with me to see what he wants?" The blond man asked.
Rin shrugged. "Sure." She said. "I'll race you."
Aaron smiled arrogantly. "Oh really?" He asked. "I don't' think that you can even hope to beat me."
Rin smiled, and before Aaron could even blink, she was past him, the sounds of her footsteps disappearing behind down the long streets.
Aaron blinked, then crossed his arms. "That was a very unfair head start." He remarked. And then was gone as well, tearing after the little girl.
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Claws slid idly across solid alabaster walls, as Atma slowly wandered through the corridors of Sesshoumaru's mansion. Her lips were tight, and her shoulders drooped. The tips of her wings trailed on the ground.
Where had she gone wrong? What had happened? How could this have happened?
She paused in front of a window, and glared out at the city.
It was true… All true…
The dragon race was falling apart. It was three dragons. Only three, and two of those weren't even very loyal.
Tiamet. Atma snorted. Tiamet only stayed with them because she hadn't yet thought to do anything else. And Gelledius wasn't really with them either. He simply stuck around because he felt like it. In fact, there wasn't even a them. There was just a her.
But why? Why was everything falling apart on her. Atma had tried. She had tried so hard. When Vadise had been in control, then the dragons were revered. There were at least twenty of them at that point. And all the dragons were completely loyal to Vadise. They followed her orders. Revered her.
But then Atma had shown up. And Vadise had left. Left without giving the young dragon any coaching. Left without giving Atma any instructions at all. Just, "Okay, Atma dear! You're in command now! Don't screw everything up!"
But then things started falling apart. Almost immediately, three dragons left, abandoning the clan. Others never really bothered to carry out her orders, and others treated her like a kid. Only a few actually treated her with any respect. And most of those were gone. Now all she had were Tiamet, and Gelledius.
How had it happened…
With a sigh, Atma continued down the hall, brooding in her own thoughts. Where had all the old days gone? Before she had come, the dragons had been a mighty race. A clan able to make anything possible. But within only a few hundred years of her reign, the clan was on the verge of destruction. How the hell?
How on earth?
She slowly wandered into a large sitting room, and folded herself into a heavy chair with a high back. She bent over, and rested her arms on her knees, staring intently at the floor.
"It was inevitable, you know." A feminine voice from behind the chair said.
"Shut up, Kiriln." Atma muttered, clasping her hands together. "I don't wanna hear it."
"Of coarse not." Kiriln said, leaning against the back of the big chair, looking down at Atma. "You never want to hear anything."
"I said shut up." Atma growled again, her eyes narrowing.
"You couldn't have stopped it even if you knew it was coming."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Atma growled, standing from her seat, and walking towards a large window glaring light into the room.
Kiriln shrugged, and sat down in the chair. "The clan is finished, Atma. It has been since Vadise left. Some of us just saw it sooner than the others."
Atma whirled around, and glared at her contemptuously, a dark shadow against the bright sky. "So that's it then?" She demanded, fists clenching. "The clan's finished, so you just leave?" She spat on the ground. "You make me sick. The second something becomes hard, you just bale out." Her face flushed red. "Do know how hard I've worked to keep us alive? Do you have any idea how hard my job is? Trying to keep us together, when everything in the world is trying to tear us apart?"
Kiriln smiled lightly at her. "Atma, you just don't get it, do you?" She asked. "It's over. The clan doesn't exist anymore. You've got two dragons, both of whom stay more out of friendship than loyalty. And you don't even know how to command them properly. Face it, you're the youngest dragon. You don't know enough to be a leader yet. You only have command because Vadise gave it too you."
"The instinct-" Atma insisted.
"The instinct doesn't work!" Kiriln interrupted. "It's this little voice from who knows where in the back of our heads. Listening to it is ludicrous." She stalked up to Atma, and stared strait into her eyes. "You wanna know why nobody gave you any respect when you became the Ancient Wyrm?" She asked. "It's because you never became the Ancient Wyrm."
Atma's eyes widened in shock, and her jaw went slack. The redness in her face faded. But Kiriln pressed on mercilessly.
"When Vadise stepped down, and handed power over to you when you showed up, we were all confused as all heck. Our instinct was still telling us that Vadise was out leader, but she consistently maintained that it was you. The only reason we accepted you at all was because we figured that Vadise had something up her sleeve." She laughed. "But no, I think that Vadise figured out how bogus the instinct was faster than anyone else. She just got out faster than the rest of us."
Atma's look had changed from one of anger to one of horror.
Kiriln smiled lightly. "Yeah, you understand now, don't you." She scoffed. "We dragons were never meant to live in a clan. We're supposed to live on our own, and only come together when it suits us." She crossed her arms, and grinned at Atma. "It's not a bad existence, Atma. You should try it voluntarily, because sooner or later that's how you're going to end up."
Atma looked up at Kiriln, beginning to breathe hard. She shook her head, not quite believing. There was no way. All her work, all her life, just a waste of time? All her cause spent fighting off an inevitable fate?
A low feral growl started deep within her throat, and she rose to her full height, and flared out her wings. She crossed her arms, and glared at Kiriln with a wild look in her eyes. "Whether by instinct or anything else, I am the leader of the dragon clan." She hissed. She stalked past the sea dragon, hitting her aside with a leathery wing. "If it's doomed, then so be it. But until it falls, I'll fight." She disappeared down the hall she had come from.
Kiriln watched her go, then shook her head, returning to sit in the seat. "Okay, little Atma." She said softly. "Since you're so determined, I'll wish you luck."
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Sesshoumaru sat patiently in a large, wide-backed chair, tapping one finger on the hard wood of one of the long, oaken arms.
"Come in Rin." He said before any sound could have reached his ears.
The heavy door to his official meeting room opened, and the little girl dashed in, light footed as ever. "I win!" She declared, running up to her lord.
Sesshoumaru regarded the capricious spirit carefully. "Where is Aaron."
"Oh, he should be here about…"
The lord of the west waited for a few moments. "About?" He prompted.
"Now." Rin said matter of factly.
There was a loud smash, and the sound of many pieces of glass breaking, and Aaron scrabbled through the door breathing hard.
"I win." Rin giggled at him, pointing.
"I noticed." Aaron commented gruffly, slowly regaining his composure. "How the hell you managed it, I don't know, but you did."
"I just ran." Rin said innocently, as if it was obvious. "But Sesshoumaru wants to see you now."
"Yeah, yeah." Aaron said with a wave of his hand. "What do ya want now?" He demanded.
Sesshoumaru wouldn't have taken such an insolent tone from anyone. Anyone except for the man in front of him. "Are you aware of what is happening in the world?" He asked.
Aaron nodded. "Menomaru kicking people's butts. Yep." He said. "What do you need me to do about it."
Sesshoumaru crossed his arms. "We are assembling and training a military force. If memory serves, you helped my father in his war against Hyoga."
"And you want me to train your little troops, eh?" Aaron asked, rubbing his nose. "Well, I can probably do that. It's been a while since I was in a good war." He shrugged, and pulled on the sides of his haori proudly. "Why not? I'll give it a try."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Good." He said simply, and rose from his seat.
"What's the pay?" Aaron asked before Sesshoumaru could even take a step.
Sesshoumaru turned to face him. "You are allowed to live unmolested in Shinjuku, are you not?" He asked.
Aaron beamed at him. "Actually, I think that I'm allowing all these youkai to live in my city." He said happily. "Now what's my pay?"
Sesshoumaru gave him a stare that lasted longer than it had any right to. "This is my city Aaron." He said slowly. "Assuming we win the war, you shall have free service at any establishments serving alcoholic beverages in the city."
Aaron's grin widened. "Free beer?" He asked?
Sesshoumaru's eyes closed. "Free beer." He affirmed, still holding his monotone and with that word, he strode out of the hall, Rin dashing after him, flapping her arms frantically in a last ditch effort to fly.
Aaron crossed his arms, and smiled. Free beer was good, but getting it for righting a war. It was perfect. It had been a long time since Aaron had been in a war. Aaron always found he enjoyed war. But then again, that probably came from previous professions he had. After all, all war ever brought was death. And death wasn't that big of a deal. Whistling softly, he began to walk out of the hall.