Disclaimer: Nope, Sesshoumaru, Rin and Jakken still aren't mine. 'eyes the Sesshoumaru plushie that will be released in the US soon' Hmm…maybe for Christmas, though…
A/N: This story is rated R for language and violence. If you're at all interested in this story, you're probably wondering who, exactly, Amaya is and what she's doing in the Sengoku Jidai. All will be revealed in due time. Btw, the tale Amaya tells in this chapter is completely my own fabrication. I might post a full version of this story at my website, once "American Werewolf" is complete.
Jakken may also seem a bit OOC in this chapter – I needed the little jerk to open up and talk for the sake of the plotline, but he didn't want to do it naturally. Tight-lipped little bugger…
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The Moon Wolf Clan
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The girl nodded sleepily, and the woman settled herself back into the tree.
"Once, a very long time ago, there was a wolf hanyou who had sworn never to have anything to do with his human mother's people. It was an oath he was destined not to keep. For you see, one day, he fell in love with a human woman…
"Masako hadn't been looking to fall in love with a hanyou. She hadn't even been looking to fall in love. What she had been looking for were medicinal herbs – in particular, an elusive herb that resisted efforts to cultivate it and grew only in the heart of the forest. So imagine this young healer's surprise when, one day, she stumbled upon an unconscious young man in the middle of her herb patch.
"The young man was handsome…and also very, very hurt. Even with her healing powers – though no miko, she did have an innate power to heal - Masako was unable to revive him in the woods, and so decided to carry him back to her village. Once there, she was able to treat his wounds, but was unable to wake him until nearly sunset.
"He awoke nauseous and disoriented. He'd been left for dead in the forest and, at first, he thought he was dead. When he realized that he was not only very much alive, but in the house of a human, he panicked. He insisted on leaving, and when Masako tried to persuade him to stay, to let his wounds finish healing, he attacked Masako."
Rin shifted, rubbing her head into Amy's shoulder. "If all she was doing was trying to help him, why did he attack her, Lady Amy?" Amy smiled sadly, and rubbed her chin along the top of Rin's head. "Some people hate what they fear, Rin. And that young hanyou was very afraid…
"But Masako wasn't someone who gave up very easily. The young man was still bleeding, and Masako had little trouble following his footprints into the woods.
"She noticed the change just after sundown. The young man's footprints changed into paw prints. Masako had to backtrack just to make sure that what she was seeing was real – that the feet had really changed form. She should have turned back then, once she knew what it was that she was following…"
Amy shifted position, pulling Rin further into her lap until she was able to rest the girl against her chest and stretch her injured leg out. She winced as the muscles around her wound pulled – the flesh was an angry red, and had gone from seeping blood to seeping pus. 'Damn, I wish I had my med-kit…' The displaced wolf made a disgruntled sound at her as he nudged her leg. "I know, I know…sheesh." she muttered grumpily. She really did need to treat the wound before too much more time passed.
Amy sighed, and at Rin's sleepy "Hmm?" she continued her story. "She was following what my people would call a 'werewolf', Rin, but what your people would recognize as a wolf hanyou. You see, some hanyous appear to be fully a mix of their youkai and human heritage, except for the one night a month that they must become fully human. Some hanyous, on the other hand, are cursed to show their human heritage by day and their youkai heritage by night…and Masako's hanyou was one of these. By day, he was stuck in his human form…but at night his youkai blood was unleashed. On nights of the full moon…" Amy paused, her face tilted up towards the moonlight filtering through the forest canopy. "On nights of the full moon," she continued quietly, "he was able to take on the true form of a wolf."
The wind sighed through the treetops. Crickets chirped in the grass. Amy kept her ears open, but could not hear anything out of the ordinary. She still could not hear the sounds of battle, but took it for a good sign – she hoped that Rin's youkai would come and collect her soon, and allow Amy to retrieve her medical supplies. She cast a speculative gaze around the clearing. 'Hmmm…' she thought, 'those leaves would act as a good bandage, but I don't see anything that would draw the poison out of the wound…' She was pulled out of her reverie by Rin shifting in her lap. "What happened then, Lady Amy? Did Masako find her hanyou?" Amy sighed. This really was her least favorite part of the story.
"Yes, Rin. It took her most of the night, but she tracked the hanyou back to the clearing where she'd first found him. By that time, his wounds had ceased to bleed, and his youkai blood had almost completely healed him. When Masako found him, she didn't recognize the black wolf in front of her.
"Masako had been careless. She had left her home without thought of protecting herself – only of keeping her charge from aggravating his wounds. As I said, her wolf had attacked her to make good his escape, and she had left a trail of her own blood behind her. The wolf took one look at her…and leapt at the spider youkai that had followed her.
"It was a fierce battle, and long. Masako was forced to retreat to the trees and watch in horror as the wolf and spider battled. At dawn, the spider was dead and the wolf slowly transformed into a human. Masako treated his wounds in silence. Once satisfied that he would recover, she asked him why he had saved her. He told her in no uncertain terms that he and the spider were old enemies – saving her had been merely incidental. Offended, Masako started to leave…only for the wolf to ask why she had treated his wounds and followed him into the forest.
" 'I'm a healer.' she told him. 'You needed to be healed.' After that, whenever Masako went herb-hunting, she was never alone – her hanyou shadow always watched over her. Over the years their grudging friendship turned into something more, but neither wanted to admit it. Until one day, a stranger appeared in Masako's village. The stranger was a youkai-exterminating monk." Amy shivered. "The monk took one look at Masako and fell in love with her. When Masako resisted his advances, the monk was affronted. When he found out about her hanyou friend…he was outraged.
"The monk hunted down the hanyou, and attempted to kill him. Masako managed to stop the monk, but not before he had sealed her friend so that he could only take human form."
Amy cocked her head to the side. She heard light footfalls in the distance. "Down, Derek." she said quietly as the tired young wolf started to growl. Whoever it was, it was approaching towards their front, and the footfalls sounded deliberately made. 'Huh. Not trying to sneak up on us, then.' She drew Rin closer with her left arm, and allowed her injured right arm to rest on her thigh, her fingers playing with the hilt of her sheathed dagger. "After a long journey, and much hardship, Masako and her wolf were able to find someone willing to lift the curse on the hanyou – a powerful miko who had herself once loved a youkai. But even this miko was unable to lift the curse completely – only to counteract it. She forged a powerful charm, called the 'Talisman of the Moon,' using the hanyou's blood, Masako's healing tears, and her own power. The talisman, so long as the wolf wore it, allowed the hanyou to unleash his youkai blood at will – or to contain it.
"When the hanyou and Masako mated, they found that the talisman's power – and the monk's curse - extended to their offspring. So long as the talisman was passed from rightful heir to rightful heir, its power affected all of their descendants, allowing them to choose how to counteract the family curse, to choose how to express their thinning youkai blood. When the talisman passed into other hands…"
Amy paused in her story telling, absently raising her free hand from her dagger hilt to scratch the ears of the sleepy wolf beside her. The footfalls had stopped just outside the clearing, and Amy had the distinct feeling that Rin wasn't the only one listening to her story. Amy discretely scented the wind, confirming her suspicions before softly continuing her tale.
"When the talisman fell into the wrong hands, disaster struck the family. Some, with a lesser amount of youkai blood, were rendered completely human. Some, who were born from matches between Masako's children and other wolf youkai, were trapped in wolf form. Still others were forced to live in rhythm to the cycle of the moon, ever changing between their youkai and their human forms.
"At times like that, when the talisman was stolen or misplaced, this family appointed a seeker to find the charm and bring it back to its rightful bearer."
Amy tilted her head, regarding the rustling branches at the edge of the clearing. She took a quick look at Rin and Derek, confirming that both were now sound asleep, before taking a deep breath and straightening up against the tree.
"You might as well come out of there." she said quietly. "The kids are asleep though, so don't you go waking them up, you hear me?"
Amy had to suppress a laugh as a small burr-covered youkai emerged from the brush with a glower on his face…and her knapsack over his shoulder. She inclined her head respectfully, if only to hide the laughter in her eyes.
"Would I be wrong to assume that you are the infamous Lord Jakken?" Amy took his continued silence for an affirmative. "Your little friend here has spoken quite fondly of you."
'Was it just me, or did his face twitch when I said that?' she mused. The imp had inched closer, keeping a wary eye on the lightly snoring wolf. "Come now, surely you are not afraid of a mere cub, Lord Jakken?" Amy teased. "His teeth are not that sharp...yet."
The imp glared at her, slowly moving until he was just out of reach of her claws. He slid the knapsack off of his shoulder, tossing it towards her. Amy's hand automatically snapped out, reflexively grabbing the bag with her right hand. She winced as the force of the catch jolted up her arm and disturbed the still-healing wound.
"It has been many years," the imp began in a gravelly voice, "since this Jakken has heard the history of the Moon Wolf Clan discussed so casually." Amy's eyes widened in surprise, and she sat up straighter. The imp stood stiffly erect, his bulbous eyes boring into her own. "I also never thought that I would see the day that that human would willingly curl up to sleep with anyone of wolf blood. You are full of surprises, hanyou."
The imp chuckled, a dry and unappealing sound, before settling himself just beyond Amy's feet. "I would suggest that you tend to your wounds, half-breed, and cease your gawking at this Jakken. Lord Sesshoumaru was very insistent that I bring you the medication that is in that bag." The imp quirked an eyebrow. "Though, I find it hard to believe that your unique blood would require any extra help."
Amy blushed, and carefully opened the bag. "My arm will be fine, probably within the hour." she stated quietly. "My leg, on the other hand…the youkai I fought today had some sort of poison in its tentacles." She looked ruefully down at the rash that was now spreading around her wound, extending from her knee to her ankle. "Unfortunately, even my blood is having trouble neutralizing that youkai's poison. It didn't help when that corpse aggravated the wound."
She rustled in her bag, and carefully extracted her med-kit. Sighing softly, she removed a small brown bottle and uncorked it with her teeth. Dropping the cork back into her bag, she carefully poured the antitoxin into her wound, wincing as the potion bubbled up on her torn flesh. Ignoring the pain, she dug once more into her med-kit and extracted a tube of antihistamine cream. She liberally applied the cream to the rash until her reddened flesh ceased to itch.
She nodded in satisfaction, and returned her gaze to Jakken. "Though, with the help of this medicine, I should be back on my feet by dawn. You have my thanks, Lord Jakken, though I will admit to being curious as to how it is you came to be in possession of my belongings?"
The imp snorted, and settled himself more comfortably. "Lord Sesshoumaru found them, and ordered me to bring them to you. I can only surmise that he smelled your scent on the bag, and recognized that scent when we discovered you fighting with Kagura. Lord Sesshoumaru is a powerful youkai, and some have accused him justly of being cold and unfeeling. Yet it has been this Jakken's experience that he takes care of those who serve him willingly and well."
Jakken inclined his head towards the sleeping human. "Doubtless he did not think it honorable to allow you to die after rescuing one of his most loyal followers from certain death."
Amy looked at Jakken in disbelief, and spoke with pride in her voice. "This wound wouldn't have killed me. Slowed me down for a few days, perhaps, but it wouldn't have killed me."
Jakken shook his head. "Silly girl, not every hanyou is blessed with both the healing properties of youkai blood and the mystic energy of the human healers. Were you a mix of more inferior bloodlines, you'd have been dead hours ago. That youkai you tangled with today wasn't a normal water monster – it was a castoff of a much more powerful being."
Amy stared at the imp. "A castoff? But what…who, could have created a youkai such as that?"
The imp settled himself more comfortably. "Let me tell you of the despicable hanyou, Naraku…"
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Kagura walked slowly down the darkened hallway, carefully measuring each of her steps. It wouldn't do to appear anything less than calm, not after failing so miserably.
Not that she had wanted to kidnap the girl. If anything, she was relieved that Naraku had been thwarted yet again. No, what she had truly failed to do was to speak freely to Lord Sesshoumaru.
She paused outside the door, visibly collecting herself before roughly pushing the mat aside and entering the room. A lone figure sat in the corner, shadows draping his form like fine silk. A golden glint briefly showed itself in his hand before he tucked the bauble out of sight.
'Hmph. I can't believe he still thinks that we do not know of this charm, or how he attained it.' Kagura thought in disgust. It wasn't as though they could have ignored the comings and goings of his new 'partner'.
True, the woman was quite secretive, never staying in the castle longer than a few minutes. Though what it was that Naraku had offered her in exchange for the powerful talisman, Kagura couldn't say. 'Whatever it was, it must have been worth it.' she thought glumly. Two months had passed since this partnership was forged, and in that two months Naraku's strength had grown in leaps and bounds. His need to absorb other youkai had all but disappeared, and the number of Kagura's 'siblings' had more than doubled.
Much worse, in Kagura's opinion, was that in those two months Naraku had never once reverted to his human form.
"Kagura." Her attention snapped back to the seated man, and she fought the urge to hide behind her fan. "Yet again, you have disappointed me." Her ribs suddenly constricted, and Kagura's knees hit the floor as she clutched her chest. She gazed with loathing at the hanyou who now held her heart in plain sight, choking as he tightened his grip. "Why is it that you keep failing me, Kagura?"
She gasped for breath, fighting not to fall completely on the ground. With a sigh, Naraku loosened his grip and allowed his servant to breathe freely once more. "Do you think she might be doing it on purpose, my dear?"
Kagura's head whipped up as a form emerged from behind Naraku. A cold figure stood gazing down at Kagura, her once-vibrant hair swaying slightly in an invisible breeze. "If you really think that she is deliberately defying you, then why is she still breathing, Naraku?"
The hanyou chuckled. "She has her uses…as do my other incarnates. Perhaps you can redeem yourself, Kagura." Naraku tightened his grip, causing Kagura to double over once more in pain.
As she gazed up at him in hate, Naraku spoke coldly and deliberately. "Tell us of the hanyou who came between you and the child."
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Naraku watched his minion limp out of the room, trying to hide how much he had drained her. 'Keh. Still hiding things after all of this time, Kagura? Really, I would think that you would know better by now.'
The woman behind him was as still as the grave. "It is her." she murmured, disbelief lacing her tone. "I did not think the council would be able to send anyone so quickly, let alone her." Naraku pretended to hide a yawn. "And this is bad…why?"
If anything, rage made the woman grow more still. "It is bad because she knows me, dumb ass! For the Council to send her means that…"
The woman froze as one of Naraku's tentacles snaked its way around her neck. Naraku slowly rose from the floor as his tentacle tapped the Shikon shard embedded in the woman's throat.
"Means what, Ingrid? That they know that you are no longer dead?"
The tentacle wrapped around the woman's throat and lifted her easily off of the floor. As Naraku gazed in pleasure at the now choking woman, his voice grew dark and menacing. "It would be far too easy for you to become dead in truth, Ingrid. A fact you would do well to remember when you are addressing me."
He waited until the woman ceased to struggle, and then dropped her onto the floor. Striding out of the room, he paused as he heard the woman's abused throat draw in breath.
"You promised." she hissed.
Naraku looked back over his shoulder, a cruel glint in his eyes. He stood gazing down at the prone woman, his right hand already lifting the doormat aside.
"Promised you what, Ingrid? Revenge?" He lifted his left hand, allowing the light to briefly caress the charm he held. "I would say that you had your revenge the moment this was removed from its former bearer."
The woman hissed. "You promised me they would all die!"
Naraku smiled cruelly, tucking the charm away once more. "I assure you, my dear, without this talisman they will all die.
"Your living to see their deaths, however, was not a part of our bargain."
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Amy leaned back against the tree, aghast. "To have done such horrible things…" she murmured. "This Naraku truly is a despicable guy."
She absentmindedly ran her hand over the sleeping wolf as she pulled Rin in closer. She frowned as she felt the child shiver, and let go of the wolf long enough to root around in her knapsack. Smiling slightly in triumph, she pulled out an oversized sweatshirt that she draped around the girl. Pulling her close once more, she sighed in contentment and rested her chin on top of the girl's head.
Jakken watched her in silence. It was amazing the amount of care this hanyou put forth for the human child, all things considered. It would be too much to hope that the hanyou would take Rin off of his hands. As much as Jakken longed for a return to his Rin-free days with Lord Sesshoumaru, he knew firsthand how murderous the daiyoukai could be whenever someone threatened to take Rin away from him. "What Rin does is her own choice." he could almost hear Lord Sesshoumaru say. Jakken barely contained a snort at the thought. 'Yes, what she does is her own choice so long as what she chooses to do is to remain with him.' he thought sourly.
"Lord Jakken?" The imp shook himself from his reverie, and looked the hanyou in the eyes.
"Yes, Lady Amaya?" he said gruffly.
The woman shifted as though uncomfortable, before blurting out "What is Lord Sesshoumaru like?"
The imp raised an eyebrow as the hanyou blushed. "That is, I mean…" she stuttered before regaining her composure. "I was sent to this land on a quest, Lord Jakken, and was led to believe that Kouga of the Wolf Tribes was the ruler of this particular territory. Your young friend here has informed me otherwise, and while I do have Kouga's permission to search these lands, I do not have Lord Sesshoumaru's." She hung her head, and then slowly looked up at Jakken, hope in her eyes. "Do you think that he will forgive my oversight and permit me to continue searching?"
"That would depend," a cool voice interrupted, "on what exactly it is that you are searching for, Amaya of the Moon Wolf Clan."
"My lord!" Jakken squawked, hastily scrambling up from his seat. Rin shifted and whimpered in her sleep as the young wolf started awake. "Grrr-row-ow?" he said sleepily. "Go back to sleep, Derek. It'll be alright." Amy murmured as she glared daggers at the overexcited imp.
"You could be quieter, you know. These kids need their rest!" she said in a low voice. To her chagrin, the imp didn't look the least bit penitent as he took up his accustomed station behind his master. Gently, Amaya disentangled herself from the sleeping children and, taking care with her injured leg, bent her knee to the taiyoukai.
"Forgive me, Lord Sesshoumaru, for not seeking you out sooner. I have come to these lands to retrieve an heirloom that was stolen from my clan."
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow as he stared coldly down at the hanyou. His first impression of her – strong, intelligent, and possessing an unhealthy amount of mortal blood – appeared to be quite accurate. He had not been as far behind Jakken as he had let the imp believe, and had chosen to remain out of sight while his retainer approached the hanyou. She appeared to be well-mannered, if one did not count her intrusion into his domain. 'But how could it be,' he pondered, 'that even a hanyou such as her would not know that these lands are mine? Could she be lying?'
His eyes narrowed at the thought. "And what is it about this…heirloom…that would persuade this Sesshoumaru to give a worthless hanyou permission to traipse about in his domain?" Amy flushed, and forced herself not to rise to his bait. 'What a jerk!' she thought in disgust.
"Were this heirloom to remain in unfit hands, this Sesshoumaru might find worse than this hanyou 'traipsing about' in his lands." She forced herself to speak calmly. "This Sesshoumaru might find youkai in his lands who would use this heirloom to challenge him for his domain. Perhaps even this despicable Naraku whom your retainer has so graciously informed me of."
Amy took a deep breath, and forged on. "Forgive this hanyou for being blunt, Lord Sesshoumaru, but it would not be wise for such an item of power to fall into the hands of a monster such as him, or any other of his ilk."
Sesshoumaru stared coldly at the still kneeling hanyou, his hand resting lightly on Tenseiga's hilt. The sword had begun to grow restless the closer he had come to the injured hanyou, forcing Sesshoumaru to remain a good distance from her. 'Tenseiga,' Sesshoumaru thought curiously, 'what is it about this hanyou that disturbs you?'
He quietly continued his perusal of the hanyou that had piqued the sword's interest. Wisps of her reddish-brown hair had escaped from her disheveled braid and obscured her pale, demurely down-turned face. She was still dressed in only the long, blood-spattered tunic that she had fought in, though this time her dagger remained in its sheath. The wound on her arm was visibly healing, as was the deeper wound in her leg. 'Tenseiga…is it her injuries that concern you, or just her blood?'
He'd heard enough of her and Jakken's conversation to know exactly who – and what – the hanyou was. He quickly decided that the heirloom she was seeking was the fabled Talisman of the Moon – it was the only reason why a member of the elusive Moon Wolf Clan would have entered another youkai's domain with such haste. After all, the Talisman was rumored to give hanyous the power of full-blooded youkai or to even give youkai the ability to escape death by purification. Daiyoukai such as himself, of course, did not need to resort to such things to bolster their strength. But there were those in his domain who would find such a prize to be quite…tempting.
"And what," he spoke coldly, "makes you think that this Sesshoumaru could not handle such a…problem…on his own?"
Amy discretely drew in her breath and slowly exhaled. He was testing her now, she could smell it.
"This hanyou believes that this Lord Sesshoumaru would have no trouble dealing with such a problem if he chose to do so." She spoke softly, yet firmly. "However, the Moon Wolf Clan believes that this situation is their responsibility to resolve. As such, they have sent their most capable seeker to track down the thief and retrieve that which has been stolen from them."
Sesshoumaru continued to gaze coldly at the woman. "If the Moon Wolf Clan is so concerned over this heirloom's safety, they should not have allowed it to be taken. That they allowed this to happen does not inspire faith in this clan's abilities, or in its choice of seeker. Why should I allow you to roam my lands when I doubt your competency?"
Amy ground her teeth in frustration. "The heirloom's last protector," she stated in quiet fury, "gave his life trying to protect it. You have no idea, Lord Sesshoumaru, of how far I have traveled in order to track this murdering thief down." She raised her head to glare through the wisps of her hair that covered her face. "Nor do you have any idea of what lengths I am willing to go to in order to retrieve this heirloom and avenge my fallen kinsman."
Sesshoumaru's breath hitched when she finally raised her eyes. 'Green,' he thought faintly as Tenseiga gave off a strong pulse, before shaking himself and meeting her blazing gaze with his own chilling one. "Your words are not helping your cause, half-breed."
Amy shrugged, refusing to lower her heated gaze. "I am a hunter, Lord Sesshoumaru. Not a diplomat."
'No kidding.' he thought sarcastically, tightening his hand on the hilt of his stirring sword. "Perhaps you should learn to be both, Amaya of the Moon Wolf Clan. What if your words persuade me not to permit your search of my domain?"
Amy stilled, her eyes cooling as her voice grew determined. "Necessity demands that I search your domain regardless of whether or not I have your permission, Lord Sesshoumaru. Honor prefers that I have your permission, but I cannot let its lack keep me from completing my quest."
Sesshoumaru felt his hackles rise at the hanyou's impertinence. 'How dare she!' he raged internally. 'Does she not know what I, Lord Sesshoumaru, am capable of?'
Amy gasped as she found herself suspended in midair, the powerful youkai holding her aloft by her chin. A low rumble resounded from the youkai's chest as her hand reached for his, and she forced herself to lower the offending appendage. "You would do well, hanyou," his voice growled, "to remember to whom you are speaking. This Sesshoumaru does not suffer to be insulted thus."
"Most people find deceit to be insulting, Lord Sesshoumaru." she choked out. "At least I was being honest."
Their stare down lasted a few moments longer, Tenseiga's pulse reverberating up Sesshoumaru's arm and gently vibrating the hanyou's chin. Sesshoumaru delicately sniffed the air around the offending hanyou. What he found caused his eyes to widen imperceptibly, and he unceremoniously dropped the woman.
'Tenseiga…her wounds are healing faster now, yet you did not cut her. How?' he thought in wonder.
With a yelp, the woman landed on her rear before scrambling to stand, wincing as she forced her bad leg to bear some of her weight. Sesshoumaru observed her in silence, waiting until her furious gaze locked once more with his.
"Your scent is filled with fear of me, hanyou," he stated quietly, "and yet you still dare to defy me. Why is this?"
Amy forced herself to breathe slowly, calmly. "Not even four hours ago, I witnessed you tearing full-blooded youkai warriors apart with your bare claws. Only a fool would not fear you after a display like that."
She paused, and Sesshoumaru forced himself to be patient. "However," she resumed softly, "I am more afraid of what will happen if my family's heirloom is not retrieved."
Sesshoumaru held her gaze, testing her will, her resolve. He briefly contemplated ordering her out of his lands, before an angry pulse from Tenseiga persuaded him to reconsider. 'Tenseiga…I will humor you. But I will also find out what it is about this hanyou that…attracts you.'
The daiyoukai slowly nodded his head. "You may search my lands, half-breed. But I cannot allow you to wander these lands without supervision." His gaze pointedly dipped to her wounded leg before returning to her outraged eyes. "Already, the scent of your youkai blood is fading. You have merely a few days before you revert completely to your human form, do you not?"
The woman nodded tersely, pissed that her little secret had been so easily sniffed out. "I have until the new moon, and then I will have to spend one full day as a human, yes."
Sesshoumaru nodded, barely hiding a satisfied smirk. "Even with youkai-blood, you are unable to keep yourself from injury, hanyou. You should consider yourself privileged that I, Sesshoumaru, am deigning to accompany you on this quest."
A frown marred the woman's face. "I didn't ask for your help, Lord Sesshoumaru."
Jakken looked furiously from his master to the offending half-breed, his anger having grown throughout the two's exchange. He couldn't take it anymore! How dare this lowly, unworthy scum speak with such disrespect to his beloved master?
"You ungrateful hanyou!" Jakken shrieked. "How dare you speak in such a manner to Lord Sesshoumaru! Especially after he so graciously saved you from Naraku's minions!"
The imp waved his Staff of Heads threateningly at the hanyou, who bared a fang and growled at the annoying retainer. "He was saving Rin, you jackass. His rescuing of me was…"
"Incidental." Sesshoumaru interrupted in a deadly voice, stopping both in their tracks. "This hanyou rescued Rin after you fled in fear, Jakken. Her injuries were gained while protecting Rin in your stead. Were it not for you shirking your duty, this hanyou would never have been in danger from Naraku's minions." The imp shrunk back, hiding behind his Staff of Heads. "You should show her more respect."
"Of course," the imp murmured softly, the very picture of contrition. "Forgive me, Lady Amaya."
The hanyou sniffed, casting a glance at the sleeping children. "I will forgive you this time, Jakken, but be thankful you didn't wake those two up."
As Jakken backed off, grumbling softly about overbearing, ungrateful hanyous, Amaya mulled over Sesshoumaru's words. 'So he intends to accompany me, hmm?' she thought glumly. 'This certainly changes things a bit. I can't tell him everything…at least, not yet. Boy, I can just see it now: Gee, Lord Sesshoumaru, I didn't just travel here from a whole 'nother land, I traveled here from a whole 'nother century. And half the reason I have to retrieve the Talisman of the Moon is so that I can seal the portal that I used to travel here. Oh, did I forget to mention that if I don't do it by the next full moon, the portal will stay open permanently, allowing the deranged bitch who stole the Talisman to lead whole youkai armies from this century into mine? Did I mention that the woman who stole it was supposed to be dead and rotting in her grave, and had been for almost a century?' Amy snorted at her thoughts, earning an annoyed look from the youkai lord. 'Yeah, I wouldn't sound completely crazy if I told him that, really…'
"You don't need to do this, you know." Amy said quietly.
Sesshoumaru smirked. "Of course not. This Sesshoumaru does not need to do anything." he said, a touch of both pride and annoyance in his voice.
Amy looked at him in curiosity. "Then why are you?"
Sesshoumaru nodded towards the sleeping children. "You saved her. Why did you choose to do that?"
Amy shrugged defensively. "She's just a kid; I couldn't just stand by and let her get killed. Besides, why not?"
Sesshoumaru gazed out at the gradually lightening sky. "Why not, indeed?"
As the hanyou looked at him in confusion, Sesshoumaru made up his mind. "Rest, hanyou. When your wounds have healed, we shall move out from this place…and track down your thief."
'Tenseiga…I will discover what there is between you and this…female.' he swore silently to himself.
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A/N: Well, how was it? It seemed a little choppy to me, but I did what I could to polish it up.
Btw, my goal when writing these chapters is not to release a chapter until it has surpassed 5,000 words. So it will probably be about 3 weeks between each of my updates. On the upside, I think I might have figured out how this story will end, which is always a good thing, lol.