The scent of fresh blood lingered the night air, the scent of human blood. It was tainted with passion and bitterness. A bold figure was standing in front of the bodies of the victims. His handsome features were as always, cold as ice. The muscles on his cheek tightened as he heard a piercing scream of agony, it was a woman not far away. His nose picked up another scent, a scent that disgusted and startled the Demon Lord at the same time. It was lust, the lust of Naraku. Lord Sesshomaru knew perfectly well that Naraku didn't love nor lust. His heart was only filled with the joy of watching others suffer. Then again, that was what made him so weak and vulnerable.
Suddenly, footsteps were drawing near. Sesshomaru knew exactly who they were. One of them was the most annoying creature he had ever encountered. The other one… well the other one was just plain strange, strange and beautiful. He would give her just one compliment, just one. Sure enough, Sayuri and Kikyou appeared just in time for Lord Sesshomaru to greet them with a chilling gaze.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Sayuri exclaimed and raced to the unwelcoming demon. She threw her arms around him and almost knocked him down, almost. Kikyou felt a sudden urge to do the same, but she quickly brushed it away.
"Sayuri, I see you have not changed," Sesshomaru rolled his eyes as he struggled free from her tight embrace.
"You haven't either," Sayuri smiled.
"Are you just here to say hi?" Sesshomaru questioned, obviously not liking the fairy's sudden appearance.
"You wish," she snorted jokingly, "Kikyou wants to talk to you able something."
"I do not wish to speak to her…"
"Is it because I have harmed your over-sized ego?" Kikyou questioned with the same posture.
"Sayuri, you do have a talent with people," Sesshomaru retorted, "The priestess was only with you for a few hours and she had already turned into an immature brat."
Sayuri cocked her head to the side, wondering if it was meant as a compliment or an insult. "Why wouldn't you talk to Lady Kikyou, Sesshomaru-sama?" Sayuri questioned.
"She is not worth my time," Sesshomaru said and turned away, "If you two don't mind, I have business to take care of."
"It's about Naraku, isn't it?"
Sesshomaru froze in his tracks, "Naraku, you say…"
"Naraku is the exact reason I am here, Lord Sesshomaru," Kikyou replied, a hint of mockery in her smooth voice.
"I have predicted that…"
"Of course," Kikyou grinned slightly, "I suppose you would have also predicted why would I care about Naraku at this moment, when I know he is dead?"
"He is not dead, you fear of his power."
"A perfect answer, m' lord, but you see, Naraku's power does not concern me, what does is the fact that he is using a human body to support his posture."
"Onigumo's body, I assume?"
"Indeed, and if this gets out of hand, I fear that a war shall break out just like the one more than a century ago. And no one wants that."
There was a pause as the demon viewed over the priestess's opinion. He understood her, of course, but what did she want him to do? "I could see your point, priestess, but where do this Sesshomaru exactly come in?"
"You need to tell me exactly how Naraku had perished," Kikyou answered, her eyes piercing into his, asking for a clean and clear answer.
"And why are you so confident that I was the one to send him to his death?" Sesshomaru challenged.
"You must have!" Sayuri suddenly spoke aloud, "You said you would finish him off!"
Lord Sesshomaru once again, hesitated to answer. He would have to plan this out carefully, Kikyou was right; no one in their right mind would want a battle to break out. It would cause millions of innocent lives. Even though Sesshomaru did not care at the least about the dying, he did care if he would be able to sleep soundly at night. So he nodded at the slightest and said, "Come with me."
!#$&()
"Do you wish to have tea?"
"No."
"How about some biscuits?"
"Ye…"
"No."
"Some cake, perhaps?"
"Yes! Yes and yes!"
"We will not need your service any longer, Kumiko."
"But…"
"Go, now."
"Yes, m' lord."
"Is this your way of treating your servants, Sesshomaru?" Kikyou questioned sternly, "She only meant well."
"Yeah! And I wanted those biscuits and cake!" Sayuri agreed as she crossed her arms in a pouting position.
"We're here to talk about the issues of Naraku, not to waste our time on midnight snacks," Sesshomaru replied.
"If you will to straighten out this matter, you'll have to start by being polite and respectful to ones below you," Kikyou's hazel orbs connected with Sesshomaru's golden ones in an unspoken staring match. Like swords, their sharp pupils battled fiercely, neither want to look away and show a sign of backing down.
"And why should I do that?"
"Because, the war between demons and humans may require much curtsy."
"I do not care for your foolish human gestures."
"I am not trying to force you into doing anything, m' lord, I am simply asking for your respect towards humans, treat them as your equal."
"Humans are below me."
"I see you are the same as Naraku then."
"He is a pathetic fool. He hides within a human body."
"Do you assume that humans are weaker than demons?"
"Of course."
"So why do you care if a battle might start?"
"Because I want to be able to sleep at night and with all the noises of war, I wouldn't be able to close my eyes."
"If you treat others with more respect, they probably wouldn't feel hatred towards your being, Sesshomaru. If a war breaks out, it might not be only Naraku's fault. He toys with other people's emotions, but he is powerless if others do not agree with him."
"Your shallow knowledge would not understand my thoughts," Sesshomaru finally broke eye contact with the stubborn priestess.
"Try me," Kikyou challenged.
"You're not worth my time," Sesshomaru replied.
"So you admit defeat…"
"This Sesshomaru does not back away, but he will consider what you have said and perhaps fix a few flaws on his plan," Sesshomaru replied, keeping his cool façade.
"Why wouldn't you speak of your plan?" Kikyou questioned.
"Because it does not need to be messed up by you," with that, the Demon Prince stood up and exited the room. On the way out, he nodded slightly to the dismissed servant in acknowledgement. And she gave him a bow in return. He thought to himself, perhaps this wasn't a bad idea after all.