Disclaimer: Disclaimers suck. I don't own InuYasha.
Chapter Five (a/n wow, five already!): Blood Truths and Broken Promises
Sesshomaru had been content to watch his friend sleep. Granted she was sleeping naked with no blanket covering her, which may have been the cause of his contentment. However after an hour or so he decided enough was enough and dragged himself out of the very pleasant hotspring (in truth he was beginning to see why Miori liked them so much) and did the only logical thing to do in the current situation.
"MIORI GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS! YOU STILL NEED TO TAKE A BATH SO THEN WE CAN DO THE DIRTY DEED AND BATHE AGAIN AND THEN GO BACK TO THE CAMPSITE!" Miori jumped as Sesshomaru screamed as loud as he possibly could in her very sensitive ears. Acting without thinking, and still half asleep, she pushed him back into the spring and began trying to drown him.
"Ergh..Cut…Ack!..Stop…Your Gonna…Kill Me!" he sputtered as she held him under the water with a surprisingly large amount of strength for someone her size. Never mind that she was a demon. He finally succeeded in pulling away and swam to the other side of the spring, staring at Miori with huge frightened gold eyes.
"It serves you right for waking me up like that! See if you get any!" she dressed herself quickly and crossed both arms and legs, glaring at him from the bank, "You have two minutes and then I'm leaving with or without you!"
"I'm sorry." He whined sounding very much like a small child. The effect was ruined by a toad jumping and landing on his head. Miori giggled at the toad when her eyes got huge all of a sudden.
"Fluffy, where's Jaken? You didn't kill him while I was gone, did you?"
"Nooo…Not for lack of trying." Sesshomaru tried to look very innocent, which failed miserably under the furious glare of his friend.
"Sesshomaru. Where is he?" The glare doubled in intensity and Sesshomaru shrank back.
"I don't know where he is right now." He shrank back from the growl that escaped Miori's throat as her eyes began to glow a frightening shade of red. She was really starting to get mad, "I know where I'm supposed to meet him though."
"Where. Is. It."
"About two days from here. Please don't kill me."
Miori's eyes returned to normal and she visibly calmed down having gotten her answer, "I'm going to head back to the camp. We can go get Jaken tomorrow." Her actions decided she jumped into the trees heading towards the camp. Sesshomaru jumped out the spring and followed, dressing as he did so.
"Would you slow down?" he shouted after her disappearing back. She obliged keeping pace with him, instead of forcing him to travel at her speed. Granted it took much longer to reach the campsite that way.
Upon reaching the camp Miori slammed to a stop just inside the clearing. The surrounding area was torn, and it looked like there had been a battle. Inuyasha and the others were strewn around the ground in various shapes of injury. Miori ran to Sango who was the nearest, checking everyone around them.
"They're all alive. Just unconscious."
"Oh goody." He replied sarcastically. He didn't truly care if they were all alive, but he kept that thought to himself at the glare he received from Miori. She prepared to heal the monk, who was the most severely injured when they both caught a strange scent. Sadly, they did not have enough time to act. Five strange dog demons jumped from the trees surrounding them. Miori's eyes returned to their previous shade of red as she prepared to fight but before either of the two could react they were grabbed by two demons each, and tied.
"Get your fucking hands the hell off of me, you piles of hanyou shit!" screamed Miori fighting against her captors while continuing to scream similar obscenities. Sesshomaru fought to break free not noticing the very large tree branch the last demon was aiming at his head. He felt a solid crack, then everything went black.
Miori was lucky enough to not be hit by a tree branch in the head, but not lucky enough to escape her captors. She was thrown into what appeared to be a box. It did not look very strong, but she discovered she was not able to break it. She was kept inside of it for a week, screaming and threatening the whole time. Well, the first four days anyway. After that she was forced to stop due to the fact that she lost her voice from screaming so much.
She finally decided to give up on escaping for the time being, and fell asleep. She could swear she had only been out for five minutes when she was awoken by a guard prodding her in the ribs.
"Lord Roku wants to see you." He informed her, his manner all glaring seriousness.
"Huh?" she tilted her head, looking at him from glazed blue eyes. He gave up and threw her over his shoulder. At this point she was too tired to object and simply back asleep. She was awoken by her guard setting her on her feet in front of a very large old dog demon.
"Whuz you?" she questioned, jabbing in what she hoped was the general direction of the new demon, "Dids yous ajduct neh tuh bez myah fwend?" (Translation: Did you abduct me to be my friend?) She was still very tired, and it affected her speech badly. Luckily the demon laughed and stared at her.
"I really didn't believe it when I heard it. But it's true."
"What?" Miori had woken up and regained her powers of intelligible speech at the demon's deep rumbley voice. It reminded her of thunder. She liked storms. They were so pretty and wild. Yes, she like storms very much. Her random thoughts were interrupted by the demon's voice once more.
"Do you know who I am little one?"
"No. And who you calling little! I'll take you on anyday!" she stood fiercely, as though preparing to battle causing the demon to laugh once more.
"If I had any doubts I do not anymore."
"Would you explain what the fuck you're talking about!" she screamed out her frustration at not being in control of the situation at hand.
"My name is Roku little one. I am Lord of the Southern Lands."
"Yes." She waited patiently for him to explain what he wanted with her. Damned if she was asking.
"You are the half dog half fox demon Miori, are you not?"
"Yes."
"Then you are my granddaughter and the heir to my throne."
"WHAT!"
Five years later Sesshomaru sat in his study. His bitterness over losing Miori again was double of what it was before, only this time it was directed at himself. Despite his bitterness, or perhaps because of it, he and Inuyasha had grown closer then they had ever been. Sesshomaru had even proclaimed Inuyasha his heir if he died without fathering a child. He was in an especially foul mood today as he had to meet with the rulers of the Southern and Eastern territories, Roku and Naruto (Who happens to be Kouga's uncle. Give you three guesses who his heir is), along with their heirs and various under lords to discuss alliances against the Northern Lands. The Northern Lord, Majahal, had recently declared war on the Eastern and Western Territories. Thanks to the fact that the Northern Territory was the most heavily populated (a/n I swear those horny ass fox demons multiply like rabbits) despite being the smallest territory, neither Sesshomaru nor Naruto's armies were faring too well. They were hoping for Roku's aid in the matter, otherwise the war would drag on forever.
"Milord?" Jaken had entered the room meekly, peering around the door cautiously at his irascible master, "Lord Roku is here."
"Thank you Jaken. I'll be down momentarily." Sesshomaru glared out his window, forming a temple with his fingers. He sat there for a moment longer glaring out the window before rising from his seat. He arrived in the hall and was greeted by Lord Roku. The dog demon was old, but still immensely strong. Sesshomaru respected him very, very much.
"Sesshomaru, it's good to see you again! I'd like to introduce my heir, Lady Edana." He turned around and beckoned someone forward. Sesshomaru gasped.
"Mi…Mi…Miori!" it was undoubtedly her, though she had changed immensely in the past five years. Her hair now fell an ungodly length of down to her knees (a/n How do people deal with long hair? Mine gets more than a couple inches past my shoulders and I get it cut.) and she had grown a couple inches. Her figure which had been lovely before, was downright voluptuous at this point, her curves even more nicely filled out. Her face had lost its mischievousness while in its place was a serene air of superiority. Her cheerful smile had been replaced with that of a seductive smirk. She was wearing loose white pants that hung dangerously low on her hips, with what looked like her old blue sash tied around the waist. Her white sleeveless top fit like a second skin with a blue band around the top. Her face was thinner, more sharp and cunning looking. He realized with at start, that she had finally accepted her fox blood, and had grown into her mixed blood heritage. She looked at him consideringly.
"Miori? She doesn't exist anymore Fluffy. Miori died five years ago. Edana took her place." The words were gentle but firm, delivered precisely. SEsshomaru's stomach twisted into knots, but he recovered quickly enough.
"Well then, I'd like to get to know this Edana who got rid of her better. Can I convince her to have supper with me privately tonight?" Miori/Edana laughed at him and stepped forward giving him a hug.
"For an old friend? Gladly."
Miori/Edana sat across the small table from Sesshomaru sighing contentedly after the amazing food that she had devoured moments previously. Her appetite had increased in the past five years, but not by much. He busied himself observing his friend, but they had not spoken yet. Finally she looked at him and prodded, "Well?"
"What?"
"Fluffy, I've know you a very long time. I've changed quite a bit, but you're the same as you always were. This is the time to ask anything." He looked at her startled.
"How did it come about that you became Lord Roku's heir?"
"Remember that demon we thought was my father? It wasn't him, it was my dad's best friend. My dad used to use his name when he was traveling so no one would know who he really was. During those seventy five years I traveled I ran into some of Grandpa's soldiers. He knew my dad. Not only do I look almost exactly like him, I smell somewhat like him. He told Roku, who then tracked me down. Of course he couldn't have explained this to me, he had to abduct me." She rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms upward, relaxing into her chair.
"Your fox blood?"
"I made peace with it. I'm not much at using any kind of fox power though. I can make plants grow if I really put my mind to it. It changed the way I look and personality quite a bit, but I'm sure you saw that." She smirked at him, well aware of the changes in her body. Sesshomaru realized that this girl was entirely different from the one he had known five years ago.
"Is that why you changed your name?"
"No. My dad always wanted a kid. Edan means bravery or something. The feminine form is Edana. If he ever had a kid that was his choice for a name. I figured since he died before ever knowing he did have a kid I should change my name for him." She shrugged looking at her empty plate distractedly.
"So what do I call you?"
"Well, I'm kind of used to Edana at this point. I don't even think of myself as Miori anymore. You can use it if you must, but I might not respond." Her smirk became amused at the sudden reoccurrence of her old name.
"Do you have any questions?" he glanced at her face. She was entirely relaxed, her legs crossed, one arm resting on the chair behind her, the other in her lap. Calm confident perfection.
"I don't think I can ask any questions Inuyasha didn't already answer." They both chuckled at the recollection of Inuyasha tackling Edana to the ground, squealing in delight at her sudden reappearance. He had then proceeded to tell her everything that had happened to him in the past five years, "I don't believe you made him your heir. Him me and Kouga. We should start a club." She noticed the look Sesshomaru was giving her. She had always considered Inuyasha a younger brother, and had treated him as a child, never her equal. He hadn't even known that she knew Kouga.
"You've changed Mi-Edana."
"I have," She glanced at him, and he realized with a start that he could no longer read her body language, could not tell what she was thinking without even looking her way, "and I get the feeling you don't like it. I told you earlier Sesshomaru, Miori died five years ago, the second she found out the truth about her birth. That lusty friendship we had? That died with her. I'm the heir to the Southern Kingdom now. You rule the Western lands. There can be only alliances, no friendships between us. And that promise you made, to never throw me away like my mother did? Forget it. I don't need your lies. Thank you for supper, I need to go now." With that she retreated from the room, effectively giving herself the last word.
Sesshomaru stared after her, wondering what the hell could have changed her so much.
Wow, I suddenly got reviews! Thanks I feel loved!
HahaI'mBetterThanYou: I'm glad you liked it! I'm kind of scared if you're like Miori…
Christian: I will continue writing. Please keep reviewing!
Tuatha de Danaan: Thanks to both you and your friend for reading! I'm sure you're not copying, and I don't particularly care if you are. I'll put in a warning for the naughty stuff from now on!
Elizabeth Hemingway: Truly it's not that I don't enjoy writing this, I just find it discouraging when no one reads it. School assignments suck, I generally half ass those too. As for the disparaging of my own writing: I'm something of a perfectionist and I believe there's always room for improvement. So I'm always trying to be better in everything I do and it causes me to be highly critical of my work and everything I've achieved. Thank you for your review and wonderful advice!