A Loaded Deck

Her mismatched eyes watched the General as she spoke in nothing louder then a whisper.

"You don't scare me General Jaganishi. You or your army of beaten C class demons."

Inukiba's growl of a voice got only a little louder as she swung her legs underneath her, and since her arms had a few feet of movement despite the chains she sat up straight with he bent uncomfortably behind her.

Hiei drew his sword and put the tip under her chin, touching her throat a little more aggressively then he normally would have and drawing a little blood from her tan neck.

Seiko looked at her friend, knowing she was a little too headstrong, and then saw that something was hidden in Inukiba's hands behind her.

"What are you gonna do?" Seiko hissed too soft for the general to hear and Inukiba merely shook her head.

"I do however, have a last request...Let Seiko go."

"So her name is Seiko?" Hiei asked with a violent gleam in his eyes.

"Yes. A freelancer who's only in this for money, buy her out she won't tell Yomi anything." Inukiba's eyes looked pleading but the General's eyes stayed firm with a deadly gleam.

"No, your request is refused. Or did you forget traitors don't get last requests?"

Hiei drew his sword back to make to killing thrust just as, all at once, Yukina walked in, and Inukiba swung her legs out from under her powerfully, she slammed her legs into the water pump and knocked it clean away from its link to the main aquifer, leaving an opening to their one remaining water supply.

She was laying with her lips by it, a vile full of poison held in her powerful jaws so that, if she where to close them, she would poison herself as well as their only water.

"Brother, what-!" Yukina was cut off as she screamed at the sight of Megan's feral apearance and as Tsume, their last medic shoved her out of the way so he could say quickly to Hiei, "General! Yomi's men are attacking again I!-Inukiba!"

Tsume was stunned, she was threatening death to everyone, but now, she had also managed to knaw at one of her shackles enough to weaken the metal enough so she could break it. She was contained now by only one shackle.

Seiko knew now what Inukiba had been doing while she'd been asleep...She'd been knawing on the metal. To weaken it.

But now, with that free hand she wasn't threatening just their water supply, but Yukina's life. The koorimes throat held in her clawed hand so one contraction of muscle would end her life.

"So?" Seiko asked after a few moments of stunned silence with a victorious smile.

"Who'll it be? The girl, and your troops, or our freedom?"

Yukina started crying, gleaming tear gems sliding down her face in fear as Inukiba moved the bottle in her teeth...

Then Hiei smirked.

He'd suddenly remembered that, without her free hand, (which the guards had already informed him of before his arrival within the tent), she was helpless.

She couldn't defend the still shackled Seiko, from Hiei… or herself, What a shame it was that he was faster.

Inukiba's mouth felt dry, and as she contorted herself to keep a good grip on Yukina, her delicate ears picked up the fight going on outside before she cursed in a mental connection to Seiko.

"Damnit...I can't believe this..."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone just died-" the connection snapped As Hiei slammed his foot into Inukiba and stabbed downward quickly. She let out a yelp and held the poison in her now closed mouth as blood stained the ground. Hiei had rammed his sword through her black dog-ears and pinned her flat.

But even though she still had the vile shut in her jaws and couldn't poison the water, Yukina still had Inukiba's claws around her throat, and she snarled at Hiei as slowly they began to tighten, and Hiei saw the first drop of Yukina's blood appear.

Another lesson Inukiba remembered learning from her pack. Always play with a loaded deck when your playing with your life.

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