Disclaimer: Takahashi's toys, not mine. Am just borrowing.
A/N: Wow, I actually get this out almost exactly a month after my last update. It's a miracle!
I noticed a story-line mistake in the last chapter, so I fixed and reposted it a few days ago. For those who don't want to go back and re-read the last chapter, I had to include Amy's shoulder-wound that was caused by Jiman in "Sibling Blades: Pride and Joy". Tenseiga healed it when it regenerated part of Sesshoumaru's arm. Of course, anyone who wants to re-read the chapter just for the lime is more than welcome to take this excuse to. ((winks))
I also ended up doing some last minute research into Japanese geography and woodworking. And I tell you what, good English maps of Japan's mountains, lakes and medieval villages are darn hard to find but I still love Google for trying.
Used some more Japanese words, so here's a quick vocab list:
Katai Hogosha: Honorable Protector
Saimyoushou: Hell Insects, or Poisonous Insects, they are those annoying hornet-like bugs that Naraku sends out as spies.
Jiman: "Pride", it is the name of the broadsword that was commissioned by Amy's older brother, Keiji, and is now being wielded by her grandmother, Ingrid.
Kietsu: "Joy", the dagger that Amy wields, forged of a sliver of Jiman's blade and one of her own fangs.
Suginoki: A species of cedar indigenous to Japan. Traditionally used in the creation of cabinetry and furniture. Modern Japan furniture makers tend to use cedar imported from the U.S. and Canada.
Honshu: Considered the mainland of Japan, Honshu is the largest island in the Japanese archipelago. Edo (or modern-day Tokyo) lies on the eastern side of this island.
Hida Mountains: The northernmost mountain range of the Japanese Alps.
Hokkaido: The northernmost of the four large islands that comprise the spine of the Japanese Archipelago.
Kyushu: The southernmost of the four main islands of Japan, lying just to the south of Honshu, and southwest of Shikkoku (the smallest of the four main islands). Nagasaki lies on the western coast of Kyushu, and Nagasaki Bay was the first Japanese port opened to Western traders in the late 16th century. It was also one of the two Japanese cities devastated by American atomic bombs during World War II (the other was Hiroshima, located in the southwest of Honshu) .
That all said, enjoy!
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Katai Hogosha
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Despite what it appeared, she was not avoiding him.
She was simply…occupying herself elsewhere.
Indefinitely.
Amy sighed, and laid her chin back down on her arms, which were crossed and resting on her bent knees. Her eyes followed the wolf and child that were chasing a two-headed dragon around one of the greenest pastures she'd ever seen, while she sat watching them from the shade of the only tree in sight. Dark clouds rolled on the horizon, though whether they were the product of her foul mood or of the oncoming rainy season, Amy didn't know.
'Stop kidding yourself, girl, you're scared of him now and you know it.'
She snorted, shaking her head. 'Funny, I thought the only thing I had to avoid doing was pissing him off. Who would have thought that I'd have to worry about turning the Frostman on?'
Her cheeks grew warm as the memory of his hot skin against hers assaulted her senses, her eyes closing as she ground her teeth in frustration. How could she have let that happen?
She never would have said that they'd grown closer in the scant few days they had known each other, nor would she say that they had grown comfortable with each other.
What they had done was grow accustomed to one another, and what had happened last night was the result of both of them letting their guards down.
Amy would admit that she did harbor certain…feelings towards the youkai lord. First and foremost he'd earned her annoyance with his cavalier attitude. He had earned her grudging respect with his prowess, both as a hunter and a warrior, and for his nonchalant protection of his weaker pack-mates.
She would even admit to harboring a tiny amount of admiration for the way he had been able to ignore whatever wound came his way, even as the healer within her was exasperated at the same trait. And he had certainly earned her gratitude when he not only embroiled himself in a youkai/human conflict at her request, but carried her unconscious and wounded self to safety afterwards.
He had never, until Tenseiga pushed him, done anything that even hinted at dishonorable conduct towards her or her nephew. Even when Tenseiga had egged him on, he had backed off when she had told him to stop.
Okay, so she had technically forced him away from herself. Amy wasn't fool enough to think that her strength alone would have made him stop if he had felt like pressing the issue, even if her pride wanted to believe it.
On an intellectual level, she would even admit that Sesshoumaru was possessed of several attributes that any female of youkai descent would find desirable. His strength alone would have seduced most of her youkai kin, as would his cold intelligence and his ruthlessness, though many would have fallen victims to their lust at the first sight of his perfect exterior.
'Well,' she amended to herself, 'his near-perfect exterior. There are females who would be idiotic enough to reject him for the want of his arm, whether he needs it or not.'
Which brought her thoughts back to the event that had unnerved her in the first place.
'How can it be…that Tenseiga is tapping into my healing powers?' she thought wonderingly.
As one of the few members of her clan that was more human than wolf, her youkai abilities were relatively limited. She'd had to train long and hard to gain the speed and endurance that came naturally to her cousins, and while they were able to control all of the elements around them only thunderstorms had answered Amy's call.
And even then, before she'd gained Kietsu as a focus, she'd had to be either furious or scared nearly out of her rational mind before the storm's full fury would bow to her command.
On the other hand…she rubbed her newly healed shoulder as she thought. Her healing abilities had always been at her beck and call – as simple and as natural to her as breathing. But the amount of energy it would have taken to heal this particular injury…the last wound she'd received from Jiman had taken nearly two months to heal.
Granted, Sesshoumaru had said that Tenseiga was a sword of healing. But Amy had to wonder if its master was the only person Tenseiga was trying to make whole.
'Could it be that Sesshoumaru does need his arm back?' she wondered. 'But if that's the case, why? And how would the Tenseiga know?'
And considering that they had had to touch before Tenseiga could tap into her abilities, how long would they have to be touching in order for the sword to complete the regeneration? And just how intimate would their contact need to be?
Amy squelched that train of thought before her hormones could voice their own opinion on the matter. There was no way, absolutely no way she was going to mate with him, not when she was going to be leaving this time period in less than two weeks.
There was no such thing as a one-night stand for wolves, not even for so-called "good causes". Wolves mated for life, and dogs…well, dogs mated whoever was handy.
It was possible that all she had to do was lay hands on him. But touching him would lead to caressing him, caressing him would lead to kissing him, and kissing…
'No! No! No!' she told herself sternly, shaking the thought from her mind. 'No mating!'
But why? Her hormones whimpered back. He's delectable!
'Because I am not staying here, that's why!' she roared back. 'I am tracking down Naraku, taking back the Talisman, and GOING HOME!'
Well, you haven't exactly been 'on the ball' you know. Her hormones muttered sullenly. If you don't get a move on, in thirteen days time will go all ka-blooey and we'll be stuck here anyway!
Amy snorted at her wayward thoughts. Much as she hated to argue with herself, it was a good point. She did need to shake a leg, and that meant making battle plans with the dog youkai.
And as much as she wasn't avoiding Sesshoumaru, she wasn't exactly eager to be in close quarters with him and his sword again, either.
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This was utterly ridiculous. He, Sesshoumaru, feared no one.
And yet every time he began to walk out towards the wolf's scent, his will to move abandoned him.
'What the hell is wrong with me?' he demanded to himself. 'It isn't as though I've never spoken to a female before.'
Though granted, Amaya was the first female he'd ever met who was trying to avoid because of his other sword.
It had not helped him that his bed had been permeated with her enticing scent. His sleep had been plagued with erotic dreams in which piercing green eyes and the smell of repressed desire had played a prominent role. When he'd awoken aroused and alone, her scent a teasing phantom upon his bedding and in his nostrils, he thought he'd go insane.
Were she a youkai of any other species, Sesshoumaru would have had her in and out of his bed - and his mind – before dawn broke that morning.
But well he knew the folly of that idea. Many humans and youkai had sought a single night of pleasure with a beguiling wolf, only to find themselves captured in a mating bond before dawn's first light. It was said that once a male lost himself inside a she-wolf, he would never desire another female so long as she lived.
Granted, Amaya was not a pure-blooded wolf youkai and it was possible that her tainted blood would prevent the mating bond from occurring. Sesshoumaru, however, was not a fool.
And he was not one to take foolish chances.
Nor was he weak. Yet the ease with which his control had abandoned him the night before appalled him. He was no spring pup, to be manipulated by the whims of a mere blade!
Tenseiga pulsed at his hip, and he glared down at it. "Behave." He hissed menacingly. "Or I'll lock you up in the Armory."
What the hell was he doing anyway, thinking of walking out there to drag her back in? He had servants to do that! He had Jakken to do that! Fetching was beneath him!
And yet…he wanted to speak to her. Wanted to hear the wry tones of her voice, have her fresh scent replace the memory that slept in his nostrils.
And that thought chilled him like no other could.
Without hesitation, he turned and strode back into his castle.
"Jakken." he snapped out, not pausing in his stride as the imp rushed to join him. "Find the Princess Amaya and inform her that she is to meet with me in the War Room. Now."
"Of course, my lord." The imp bowed until his head nearly scraped the floor, not straightening until a flash of silver told him that the deadly daiyoukai was already quite some distance away.
"And Jakken," his master's glacial tone seemed to freeze the very air between them, "if either of the children tries to join her, distract them. I wish to meet her alone."
"Yes, my lord." The imp acquiesced, turning without hesitation to carry out his appointed task, though his mind raced a mile a minute at the implications.
He hadn't missed the partial regeneration of his master's arm, nor that it had occurred while his lord and the hanyou were alone together the night before. Normally, when Sesshoumaru desired a solitary meeting with a female, his master had only one purpose in mind. But surely his lord wouldn't be considering a wolf hanyou for that?
What the devil was Lord Sesshoumaru up to?
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Meanwhile, in a forest nearby…
The group walked slowly along the forest trail, enjoying the shade while they could. Summer had finally arrived with a vengeance, and despite the hanyou's grumpy attitude all three humans were reluctant to move any faster than was absolutely necessary in the cloying heat and humidity.
"I'm tellin' ya, Sesshoumaru ain't up to any good!" Inuyasha groused, thumbing the hilt of Tetsusaiga in irritation as he walked in front of his friends. "He's never done anything decent in his life, and he sure as hell ain't going to start now!"
"Nevertheless," Miroku objected, placing his hands in his sleeves in a calm counterpoint to his friend's pose, "it did appear that the princess and he were on… friendly terms. We cannot discount that he did seem to be fighting alongside her, if not outright protecting her. He even carried her from the battlefield."
"And there is Rin to consider." Kagome said quietly. "Inuyasha, that little human girl has been following him for years now. He has to be taking care of her, or she would have died by now."
Her friend's ears flattened. "So what's your point?"
"My point is that he can't be as heartless as he wants everyone to think he is." Kagome replied, shaking her head. "His actions speak louder than his words…you just have to look at the right actions. He's even protected you when he thought no one would notice."
"The hell he has!" Inuyasha yelled. "Need I remind you, he's claimed the right to KILL ME!"
"And in the process he's made it so that no one else from the ranks of the higher youkai can go after you – he has every right to slaughter them for encroaching on his lawful prey." Sango spoke up, shifting Hiraikotsu as she walked. From her perch in Sango's arms, Kirara mewed in agreement. "In a very round-about way, your brother has placed you under his protection, Inuyasha."
"Not to mention all the times he could have killed you and took a pitiful excuse not to." Shippou piped up from the basket on Kagome's bike. "Like that time he knocked Tetsusaiga away from you and you turned into a demon…or when we battled all those zombie soldiers So'ounga raised!"
"Your brother has certainly proven himself to be devious." Miroku mused. "By taking the official stance that he hates you and other half-breeds, he will have appeased any of his allies who saw your family as weak when your father took your mother as a mate. Yet by claiming the right to kill you, he's insured that you are still under the protection of your father's house. Clever…very clever, indeed."
"Keh!" Inuyasha huffed. "Clever or not, I still think the bastard ain't up to any good!"
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The wind shifted, bringing Jakken's scent to the pasture long before the diminutive retainer actually came into sight.
Amy still waited until she could hear his footsteps behind her before she addressed the irritating imp.
"What's up, Jakken?" she said warily, her eyes stilled trained on the wolf, child and two-headed dragon who were playing a complicated game of 'Tag' while the weather still allowed for it. The dark clouds were rolling closer, the scent of rain heavy on the wind.
She heard the footsteps slow behind her, and then the imp cleared his throat in an obnoxious way that let her know that he was most likely on official business.
"Lord Sesshoumaru demands your presence in the War Room, Princess Amaya." Jakken said imperiously.
"Lady Amaya, Jakken, is fine." she said acidly, wincing as Rin rolled to avoid a pounce from Derek and the wolf plowed into the ground. "And Lord Sesshoumaru couldn't request this himself because…?"
"It is not your place to ask why Lord Sesshoumaru does or does not choose to do something, hanyou!" Jakken huffed. "As it is, I am sure that he is quite busy!"
Amy swiped her hand at the non-existent dirt on her knees, making sure her claws were in full view of the retainer. "Then kindly tell Lord Sesshoumaru that I will be happy to meet with him…provided Tenseiga isn't anywhere near him."
"You are in no position to make demands upon Lord Sesshoumaru!" the imp protested. "He has fed you, housed you, protected you…!"
His voice trailed off as Amy's head turned slowly to regard him, her eyes bleeding to red as they locked with his own.
"I am," she growled, "quite aware of all that Lord Sesshoumaru has done for me and mine since he insisted that we accompany you here, Jakken. Nevertheless, I refuse to be alone in a confined area with him and that damned katana."
Her gaze returned to the playing children, but her body remained stiff. Jakken barely caught her irritated voice as she muttered under her breath. "Sesshoumaru should be well aware of why, and quite frankly if he is as smart as I know he is, he won't have it on him, anyway."
"Nevertheless." Jakken settled for taking an imperious tone. "Your presence is wanted in the War Room."
Amy sighed, and pushed herself up from the ground. Brushing away the blades of grass that clung to her spare clothing, she cast an aggressive look at Jakken.
"Is there a reason you're still here?" she growled.
For once, Jakken listened to that little itty-bitty voice inside him that told him that speaking would be suicide. He bowed politely and toddled off towards the castle, confident that the wolf would not be far behind.
After all, nothing was more dangerous than disobeying a direct order from his lord.
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'Damn it all.'
Kagura had never been more miserable in her life. And considering how miserable her life had been, that was saying a lot about her current situation.
It wouldn't be so bad if she was actually allowed to take to the air. The oncoming storm was bringing gusts of wind that practically begged for her to come ride them. But no, of course she had to stay on the ground and trail behind a giant wolf automaton that didn't know which way it was going.
Alright, to be perfectly fair he did know which way he was going, but Kagura was doing her damnedest to keep him from getting there. She had thought that the scent trail would have been fairly diminished by the rainstorms that had raged the day before, but apparently she was wrong.
It hadn't taken the wolf even five minutes to pick up the princess's scent once Kagura led him to her observation point, and barely another hour before he had sniffed out the perimeter of Sesshoumaru's barrier.
Now they were prowling the edge, looking for a weak spot. And lest the reanimated corpse slip in without her, Kagura was ground-bound until they found it.
She did wonder why it was that Naraku trusted her with this assignment, instead of his confidante du jour. It was possible that Ingrid and the wolf had some sort of history – after all, the rumor mill had it that the woman had traded her soul to Naraku for revenge against a wolf clan.
The same wolf clan that Sesshoumaru's princess hailed from.
It would appeal to Naraku's twisted nature to allow Ingrid to have her vengeance, only to resurrect the person she killed and draft him. Not only would full satisfaction be denied to his ally, his newest adversary would most likely be forced to fight against a former comrade.
It was an old tactic for him, and one that Naraku reveled in.
After all, Naraku had amused himself quite well by pitting the two youkai exterminating siblings against one another. He had pulled the boy's strings for a good two years before he regained his memories and turned on Naraku.
Kagura flicked her fan open, idly sending another gust of wind against Sesshoumaru's barrier. Even with her discreet help, the young exterminator had had no chance of succeeding. The longer he remained at Naraku's side, the more delight Naraku took in twisting him, until the boy finally realized that his absent amnesia was no longer a secret.
Kohaku had escaped into the wilds of Japan nearly a year ago, and Kagura had barely kept Naraku from discovering her own part in his defection.
Oh yes, pitting the two siblings against each other had been a very fulfilling game for Naraku. Naraku took the greatest of pleasures in doing whatever caused his enemies the greatest pain, and he merely considered allies to be enemies that hadn't turned on him yet.
Of course, with allies like Kagura around, that was probably a wise view to have.
Take today, for example. Every so often she would send a gust of wind the wolf's way, distracting him from his search. She could only do it when the Saimyoushou were buzzing somewhere else, but she took every limited opportunity she got.
So far, she figured that she had wasted at least half-a-day with her little diversions.
'Sesshoumaru…whatever you're planning, hurry up and do it before it's too late.' Kagura thought fervently.
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"Jakken said you wanted to see me?"
The dog murmured an affirmative, but did not take his eyes from the weird table that he was leaning over. Amy was relieved to see that he'd donned the same clothing and armor he had worn during their travels, complete with that fuzzy, fluffy…thing…wrapped around his shoulder. It was hard enough to think straight with his warm, masculine scent coating the air, the last thing she needed was for him to be running around all half-naked and yummy-looking again, too.
Her relief quickly turned to annoyance when she saw Tenseiga in its customary place upon his hip, nestled comfortably between his body and the Tokijin.
'Okay…guess he's not as smart as I thought he was.'
Her irritation, however, had to take a backseat to her fascination when she was able to take a closer look at the map upon the table.
If she didn't know better, she would have sworn it was a hologram of some kind. Three-dimensional, the map showed the entirety of the Japanese Archipelago, including a small, charred spot that winked at her from the middle of the Hida Mountain Range. As she looked closer, Amy realized that the illusion even included little puffs of smoke that rose from the map's surface only to dissipate within a few seconds. Illusionary fog was rolling down from the nearest mountain, meshing with the tiny smoke tendrils, and with a start Amy realized that she was staring at the ruined village and where Sesshoumaru's castle lay hidden from magical view.
Sesshoumaru held his breath, looking from beneath his eyelashes at her as she approached the opposite, western side of the table and leaned towards him. With her hair pulled tightly back into a braid, he had no problem seeing her eyes focus on the magical map that his father had had commissioned in the earliest days of his administration.
Covering the entire length and breadth of a seven-foot by seven-foot table made entirely of aromatic suginoki wood, the map was in a constant state of fluctuation. While his father had employed countless scouts and entrusted them with keeping the map as up-to-date as possible, Sesshoumaru preferred to update the map himself.
Now was not the first time he had questioned the wisdom of doing so, but he believed very firmly that if you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself.
His father's scouts, after all, had failed to provide Touga with the intelligence needed to prevent his death. Sesshoumaru refused to make the same mistake.
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as the princess's scent invaded his nostrils from across the table, willing himself to stay still though every muscle in his body demanded he leap over the map and pounce her, his instincts clamoring for him to rip her black long-sleeved shirt and strange pants to shreds.
It was with the greatest of efforts that he managed to stay on his own side of the table.
And besides, Sesshoumaru knew for a fact that they were the only clothes she had left. If he destroyed them, he would be forced to either clothe her himself or watch her walk around with only her hair as a shield between her and the elements.
And while the first option did not appeal to him in the least, the second was downright disturbing with the lecherous thoughts that its mere contemplation inspired.
"Nifty map." Amy drawled, her attention still focused on the Hidas. "So, if we're here," she pointed her finger at the appropriate spot, unaware of Sesshoumaru's internal struggle, "where do we need to go?"
'My bed.' was his unbidden thought, squelched quickly beneath his mental heel. 'Damn you for this, Tenseiga!'
The sword remained unusually silent upon his hip. Dismayed, Sesshoumaru wondered if his train of thought had truly been a nudge of the sword's…or purely his own.
"Umm, Sesshoumaru?" He looked up to meet the she-wolf's piercing gaze, and was disturbed by the calmness in her eyes.
"The north." He replied automatically, moving to the southern end of the table to point out the faint purple lines that began in the east and west of Honshu, only to combine in a solid line at the southern point of Hokkaido. "For the last several weeks, Naraku's minions have been steadily traveling northwards."
"That doesn't make sense, though." Amy said, shaking her head as she took a step to the northern end of the table. "The portal is on Kyushu, barely ten miles from Nagasaki. Why would Naraku be gathering his army at the opposite end of the archipelago?"
"Perhaps there is another portal on Hokkaido?" Sesshoumaru countered, taking a step to the western side of the table to peer closer at the northern island.
Amy shook her head, wisps of her hair escaping her braid to gently frame her face. She walked to the northern end of the table, missing the narrowing of Sesshoumaru's eyes as she waved her hand over where, someday, the city of Kushiro would lay on Hokkaido's eastern shore. "Yes, actually, there is, but the Talisman is linked to the Nagasaki Gate. It won't open any of the others while that portal remains active. Naraku will either have to go through Nagasaki, or remain in this time period.
"To be honest, I don't see what good an army of human conscripts will do him, anyway." she said thoughtfully, shifting to the eastern side of the table as Sesshoumaru deliberately moved to join her at the north. "An army of youkai soldiers, maybe, but the farmers of this time period would barely be cannon fodder against the armies of the future. Ingrid should know better than that."
"Princess," Sesshoumaru growled, jerking her attention from the map to him, "are you running away from me?"
"Umm, no?" she countered, taking another step to the south.
He sank his claws into the edge of the table, ordering his howling instincts to stand down even as they demanded he give chase. "Then why do you keep moving away?"
"Why do you keep crowding me?" she countered, crossing her arms in defiance. "I thought we agreed it was best if we didn't get too close to one another?"
"No, we agreed that we would take care of this…problem…once Naraku has been dealt with." He said calmly. "In the meantime, there is no need for you to be skittish around me."
Her nostrils flared. "Who said I was skittish of you? Maybe I just don't want your matchmaking sword anywhere near me!"
An incredulous look crossed Sesshoumaru's face. "Are you questioning my control over my own blade?"
Amy scoffed. "After what happened last night? What do you think?"
Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru removed his claws from the table. Reaching into his obi, he pulled the Tenseiga from its customary spot and laid it upon the table's edge. Slowly, deliberately, he walked towards the defiant wolf, until he stood but a step away and could look fully down into her face.
He was at least eight feet away from the interfering blade, and yet the desire to rip her offensive clothing to shreds had not diminished a single iota. Her scent still curled sweetly in the air between them, and the fierce, partially frightened look in her eyes made things low in his gut coil and tighten. Could it be that the Tenseiga was not the sole cause of his fascination with her?
In wonder, he stared down at her and brought his hand up to gently caress her cheek.
Amy fought not to tremble in the weight of that gaze. Passion and anger fought in his eyes, and when his hand came up to gently cup the left side of her face, Amy could not hold back the shiver that ran through her body.
When he spoke, his tone was quiet but commanding. "Tell me truly, Amaya, which it is that you were running from – the Tenseiga, or this Sesshoumaru."
"Honestly?" He nodded, his roaring instincts calming as she leaned, ever so slightly, into his hand. "Both of you." she admitted. "I don't know if what happens between us is because we will it, or because the Tenseiga does. And that …disturbs me."
Her eyes closed as his lips touched her brow, his hand dropping from her face to allow his arm to wrap around her body and pull her comfortingly close. "This Sesshoumaru rules by the sword, but the sword does not rule him." He murmured, his head rising to rub his chin on the top of her head. "You have nothing to fear from the Tenseiga.
"Besides," he continued mischievously, his face dropping to murmur in her ear, "Even without the Tenseiga's presence, this Sesshoumaru can still smell your desire for him. When are you going to admit that you find me attractive, Princess?"
He held her fast as her hands immediately planted themselves on his chest to push him away, ignoring the growl that issued from her throat.
"Not today, buster." Amy glared at him as he refused to let her go. Geez, did he have to take such delight in embarrassing her?
"Is that so?" A teasing light came into his eyes. He knew he should not be doing this, but taunting her gave his hormones the mistaken impression that he was actually doing something about their misbehavior, and quieted them.
Besides, her reactions when so pressed were quite entertaining.
"If not today, then perhaps tomorrow?"
Amy made a disgusted sound deep in her throat, and ducked out of his grip. "We have more important things to worry about, Sesshoumaru."
A low chuckle escaped him as he allowed her to back away, turning his attention back to the map. "That we do, Princess."
Amy straightened her shirt, walking once more to the western side of the map while glaring at him. 'He is so…so…aggravating!'
Sesshoumaru turned his full attention to the map, his eyes tracing path Naraku's army cut towards Hokkaido as he mused aloud. "You are right. An army of mere humans will not do him any good. Even the samurai provide poor sport for the youkai of this age. But why would Naraku gather such an army so far from where his real goal lies? That schemer does nothing without a purpose…"
Amaya's earlier words, 'cannon fodder', echoed in his mind. There was a connection here, he could feel it. But what…
A string of curses fell from his lips before he could stop it, words so vile that the wolf clapped her hands over her ears and glared at him.
"What the hell was that for!" She growled at him as his tirade ended, slowly lowering her hands.
"I should have known." Sesshoumaru said bitterly. "His human army is merely a distraction. The most deadly of Naraku's enemies will not fight humans unless the humans attack them. By making his presence in Hokkaido so obvious, the majority of his enemies will go there to seek him out. And while his enemies are thus preoccupied with opponents they will be busy trying not to kill, Naraku will take the opportunity to escape this time. That cowardly bastard!"
"But that does make my task much simpler." Amy said decisively. "If someone attacks his northern forces before he expects it, his hand will be forced. He'll either have to head for Nagasaki prematurely, or hide somewhere else. Either way, he will be forced to move and once he does it will be much easier to find him."
Sesshoumaru nodded, a clawed finger already tracing a faint red line just outside of his own domain. "Flushing him out may be a fairly simple matter. My half-brother and his allies are already traveling towards his army's lines. It would take a mere nudge to ensure that they actually cross paths."
Amy looked at Sesshoumaru in surprise. "I didn't know you had a brother."
The daiyoukai's shoulders stiffened. "Half-brother." he corrected her.
Amy cocked her head. "I take it you two don't get along?"
"The only things we have in common," Sesshoumaru growled, "are our father's blood, and our desire to destroy Naraku."
Amy held her hands up in a placating gesture. "Hey now, I wasn't trying to pry, Sesshoumaru. If you don't want to talk about him, then I don't want to hear about him. Okay?"
Sesshoumaru stilled at her words. Of all the people who knew of his relationship to Inuyasha, Amaya was the first who had not tried to coax all of the morbid details out of him. Even Rin had asked annoying questions before Jakken had made her stop.
It was a refreshing change.
"Our father died because of him." he said quietly. "He died a pitiful, meaningless death because he took a human woman for a mate, and sired a hanyou son on her."
"Your father died protecting them?" she asked gently, her heart clenching in sympathy as a brief look of pain crossed Sesshoumaru's face.
It was a look that was quickly covered by a stoic mask. "Yes." His voice was clipped, his tone final.
As much as she wanted to press the issue, Amy could feel Sesshoumaru's walls sliding back into place. If she was going to learn anything else, she was going to have to leave it alone.
For now.
"So how are we going to 'nudge' your brother into going after Naraku?" She waved her hand over the map, indicating the red trail. "They're close to the army's path, but a single distraction could draw them away."
Sesshoumaru's lips curled up in the barest hint of an evil smile. Amy shivered – to be honest, he wasn't so much smiling as baring his teeth, and the wolf instincts deep inside her knew that the gesture boded ill for someone.
When he spoke, his tone was smug and his voice fairly dripped with venom.
"That can be accomplished quite expediently."
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Kagura straightened from her sneezing fit, covering her nose with the back of her sleeve. 'What the hell!'
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And that's all for now, folks. This chapter would have been out yesterday, except that Sesshoumaru's "playful" side decided to come out again while I was doing the final edit on this chapter. And it's so much fun to write him teasing Amy…what I can't wait for is when Amy turns the tables on him. ((evil laugh))
Reviewer Responses
Rave264: That's what makes Sesshoumaru such an interesting character to play with, though. If you pay careful attention to the anime/manga, Sesshoumaru is capable of love – he's just not very capable of showing it. Rin's attachment to him appears to be thawing him out, which is why I set my story about three years after Rin joins him – I figure that's given his character time to soften on that point.
Kagura-the-Living-Wind: I'm glad you think so. I think they're a cute couple, too, but then I'm very, very prejudiced in that regard…
Angel of Mercy: I lmao when I read your review. I LOVE reviews like that! They let me know I'm not the only one enjoying this story…
Darkest Goddess: Why, thank you. I'm glad you like.
Sanood: Gotta love lust. And Sesshoumaru in lust is just divine. As for sitting back…I have a feeling this fic will be done around Christmas. I hope you aren't waiting that long to do your CaFS sequel?
Mitsukai-san: Thank you. Part of the problem with writing Sesshoumaru in a romance is that he IS so emotionally-constipated in the canon. Thus, it is impossible to write an in-character romance for him without doing something that either A) Evolves his character, or B) Puts him in a setting/situation that we don't see in the canon universe. That's why I didn't let him make a move on Amy until he was back in his own domain – I figured that he'd relax and let his personal armor down while he was in a place that he knew was safe.
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