NB: Just a quick note - I'm sorry it has taken me this long to update it. The painful part is the entire story is written - but is written in second person, so I have to go through it, word for word and change it. I do trust Sesshomaru's revenge will make up for my long period of absence. It was always one of my favourite's... And I do trust we all remember that Sakuto is female shape-shifting dog demon in a human male form. Just thought I'd refresh everyone's memory. Please enjoy!


The Pain Within

Chapter Four: Let the Battle Begin

Ever since Sakuto had had her revenge on Sesshomaru, making him fall flat on his face, she had completely avoided him. Yet life was still largely routine and quite dull for her, and during Jasuto's period of absence when he was resting after the 'accident', she had taken to training the men in their swordsmanship. She doubted Sesshomaru would approve, but she felt obliged since it was her fault Jasuto was injured.

The morning Jasuto was due to come back, he had everything set up for swords training, expecting to find them all lax after their break. Sakuto stood under a nearby tree, resting against the trunk as Jasuto was amazed by how much they had all improved. They automatically broke off into pairs and began training in the fashion that she had taught them while Jasuto stood back, mouth open in surprise. Instantly he turned to her,

"What has happened? Who has been training these men?" He asked, amazed. Sakuto remained silent as she watched proudly as the men continued their mock battles.

"Did Lord Sesshomaru train them?"

"No."

"One of the other officers?"

"No."

"Then who?"

The two remained silent for a moment, watching as they continued their training without the need for instruction.

"At this rate I might actually have a chance in that stupid mock battle."

"What?" Sakuto raised an eyebrow curiously.

"You'll find out." He replied with a smirk as he began pacing between the men, correcting a stance or a technique every few steps, but overall he was highly impressed. Sakuto sat under the tree and rested her head back against the rough bark, closing her eyes as the sound of the clashing of metal against metal filling her ears. Occasionally she rose to correct or demonstrate something when the sound was not quite right to her ears, but mostly she listened.

She found her mind straying back to the day Sesshomaru had fallen from that very tree, and could not but help smirk at the image.

"What are you smirking about, insolent fool?" The deep, crisp voice commanded, making her jump.

"Ah, my Lord!" Jasuto cried happily as he swept over to Sesshomaru's side. Sakuto glanced up at him nervously as he refused to break eye contact with her.

"Look at how well these new troops are doing! I might actually stand a chance against the other officers now!" Jasuto's joy was lost on her, and Sesshomaru only glanced at him before turning to the men, who were becoming increasingly anxious in the presence of Sesshomaru. He remained silent of several minutes, until,

"Yes, you might actually be able to make a stand with these ones. Unlike last time." Jasuto chuckled heartily at this.

"Who has been training them in your absence?"

"You think I am not responsible for their sudden burst of talent?"

"No, you are not. You may be a good commander and strategist, but you are a terrible instructor." Sesshomaru replied.

"Very well, I don't actually know who trained them, probably one of the other officers."

Sakuto's eyes widened slightly as Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, clearly deep in thought as he continued watching. A terrible feeling of dread suddenly washed over her and Sakuto found herself quickly creeping away from the scene. She had doubts Sesshomaru would be thankful if he found out who had really been training the men, considering a lowly soldier taking control of a battalion of troops could quite easily be seen as treason. She continued to crawl away on all fours like a dog until a claw wrapped itself around the back of her tunic. Sakuto was slammed against the tree, knocking the breath from her lungs as Sesshomaru's familiar grip around her neck increased.

"You trained these men." He stated, matter-of-factly.

"I did." Sakuto managed to choke out, shivering nervously under his harsh glare. It seemed an eternity before he finally spoke.

"Interesting." He remarked before allowing her to fall to the ground. She rolled over and jumped to her feet, fearing Sesshomaru's wrath for breaking rank. Yet to her surprise, he merely turned and walked away.

"That could have ended badly." Jasuto remarked as Sesshomaru vanished towards the castle. "But I am amazed! You trained these men while I was recovering?"

"Well, it was my fault you were out of action." She muttered, rubbing her neck.

"It was my clumsiness, but that is not important, what is important is that for the first time I actually have a chance of my men finishing higher up than last!"

"What are you talking about?" Sakuto snapped.

"Well, you know how every officer has under his command a battalion of about 50-100 men? Well, once a year we stage a mock battle where each battalion goes against one another."

"Why?" Sakuto scoffed at the ridiculous idea.

"For a variety of reasons, to boost morale, the men find it great fun to test themselves, see how you lot would go in a fight under battle conditions, and mostly so that we can decide who is to be promoted if there is an officer position available. As you know, the last officer… well… died. So we need a new commander to take his place."

"I take it this is aimed at the older troops."

"Yes, no one expects the new recruits to last long. But usually, since we keep track of the people who get out, or "killed" we tend to bet on whose group will have the most "survivors"."

"I see…" Sakuto were highly unimpressed by this pathetic show of human foolery. It seemed like such a waste of time. She picked up her sword and aimed a strike at Jasuto.

"I suppose I must participate in this… battle." She asked, not trying to keep the disdain from her voice.

"Yes, you must." He smirked as he thrust his sword towards her.

"Oh lucky me."

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Before long, the announcement was made and the date and time was set. All the men were excited, everyone that was, except Sakuto. She cared little for their excitement, knowing it would be just another excuse for these pathetic humans to try to show off their strength, a term which she used loosely. If she wasn't busy training, she was hurriedly trying to avoid Sesshomaru. She just could not be comfortable around him, not the way that she was forty years ago. Back in those days, when Sakuto was an esteemed demon lady of a powerful family and not pretending to be a weak human male fighting in a demon's army. Sesshomaru had seemed so reserved, polite but cool. He had always known how to deal with the demon aristocracy; his mannerisms and demeanor always wining him credit points. But Sakuto had never imagined this was the way he treated those beneath him. She knew she was not much better in her time, humans were weak creatures, only truly useful for destroying one another, but Sesshomaru, he seemed to walk over them as though they were nothing more than dirt on the ground. It was as though Sakuto in her human male form was hardly even worthy of breathing the same air as him. It was the kind of attitude Sakuto despised, for even though she detested humans, she still had a slight sense of awe for them, after all their race had still managed to survive this long, and would probably thrive long after the demons of the lands destroyed one another. Humans may be weak and stupid at the best of time, but they had something that demons would never understand, and that was a loyalty to each other that would withstand any amount of pressure or danger. She knew that now after spending so many months watching as their bonds grew the longer they had to train and live together. She couldn't help but show a little respect for them, even if it was just a little.

The night before the mock battle came surprisingly quickly, and most of the men turned in early. There was still the mutterings of conversation racing around the room as Sakuto tossed and turned, the day looming upon her like a dark cloud. She had no desire to spend half the day fighting a battle that would ultimately prove useless. It seemed like a complete waste of strength. Yet that was not the only thought troubling her mind, Sakuto knew that she, a powerful dog demon, would be forced to lose to a bunch of pathetic humans. That was where her respect for them ended. She was easily twice as powerful as them, and she wasn't sure if her demon pride would be able to keep her from wining over them. She could easily defeat the most mature soldier in the blink of an eye, but the fact remained, the new recruits never lasted very long. Sesshomaru already seemed to be highly suspicious of her, the last thing she needed was to draw his attention further. But the pain of defeat? Would that be less than the pain of discovery? Sakuto had to scoff at the idea. She'd rather Sesshomaru discover the truth now, rather than later after she had had her pride destroyed. It was all that she really had left.

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Slowly the sun dragged itself over the horizon as Sakuto kicked the covers from her male body and dragged herself out towards the lake for her ritual early morning laps. She stripped and jumped in, eager to fight of the thoughts of the battle that would soon eventuate. Before long her breathing was ragged and her heart was racing as she paused by the shore to have a quick break. As she inhaled deeply, a particular scent hit her nose. Sesshomaru was nearby. She fought back a groan and continued on with the laps, hoping he was not in a murderous mood this early in the day. Nearly an hour later, her muscles were aching and her stomach was growling. She knew she would be late for breakfast but she was too relieved by Sesshomaru's disappearance to care. She pulled herself onto the shoreline, her muscles quivering with the extra workout as she dropped onto her back and lazily reached for her towel. Her hand brushed over nothing but grass. Frantically Sakuto sat up, her eyes searching for her belongings only to find nothing. Her eye twitched in annoyance as she gripped a handful of grass in her fists.

"Sesshomaru!" She screamed, hearing her voice echo through the forest, reverberating off the trees before fading into the background noises. "That bastard! That damn bastard! This is his idea of revenge, huh? Oh I'll get even, I promise you Sesshomaru, I'll get even!" She muttered as she crept back through the forest, darting between trees. She was about to dash through the clearing, hoping everyone would be in the mess hall by now and nearly walked straight into the clearing filled with rows of troops, all standing at attention as the officers at the front spoke, giving a list of instructions. She could sense Sesshomaru on the opposite side of the field, pacing back and forth near the barracks with his nose to the air. She couldn't help but groan at this turn of events and began sneaking through the bush, the long way around the field so she could get to the barracks and find a change of clothing. Maybe this would work out to her advantage, perhaps she'd be able to sneak away from the battle and conveniently appear once it was all over. The thought amused her as she approached the barracks, now creeping along the trees directly in front of the lines of men, all standing at attention. She glanced to Sesshomaru, who was making no serious attempt to hide the smirk gracing his lips. Sakuto muttered a string of curses as she slowly edged past him, verging on vanishing from sight behind the barracks. It was obvious he knew she was there, but when his voice suddenly rang out silencing everyone, Sakuto felt herself grow pale.

"It is about time you decided to join us, Makita." Slowly she turned to find Sesshomaru staring straight at her, an almost playful glint in his hard gaze. "Come here." He smirked, motioning to her with the curl of his clawed finger. Sakuto's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was doing to her. She refused to move, the shock obvious on her face as Sesshomaru scowled. He growled dangerously and she knew she had little other choice but obey. Holding her head high, she stepped from the cover of the bush to stand before him. She could feel the eyes of the entire army burning over her body, trying to bite back their laughter at the sight of her naked before them. Her chest and back was covered in small scratches from the branches she had had to pass to avoid detection, and now all for nothing. Unable to contain themselves, everyone other than Sakuto and Sesshomaru were doubled over in laughter, incapable of speech for the tears that were streaming down their faces. Sesshomaru's amber eyes never once left her face, searching for her embarrassment, which she did her best to conceal. At least she had managed to chose a fit, strong and healthy body, something she could be somewhat proud to show off, regardless of the horrific situation she now found herself in.

"Now go and get dressed." He smirked, watching with a hunt of amusement in his gaze as she turned on her heels and strode straight into the barracks, out of sight of those thousands of eyes at last.

"So much for my pride and dignity." She muttered to herself as she stopped at the end of her bunk, her hands clenched into fists as she stared at the clothes lying perfectly folded on top. Beside them was a small platter containing some bread, meat and cheese, which she thankfully scoffed down as she pulled her clothes on.

With narrowed eyes, Sakuto crept back outside only to be grabbed by Jasuto the second the sunlight hit her. With surprising force he pushed her into line with the other men from his battalion and shoved a wooden sword into her hands.

"I do trust you're finished making a fool of yourself." He snapped, clearly irritated.

"It wasn't my fault!"

"I don't care, the only good thing about this is that now everyone will underestimate your abilities. Mind you, they probably would've done that anyway, you didn't really need to go prancing about in front of everyone completely naked."

"But…"

"Not another word!" He snapped and was about to leave when Sakuto grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

"Why the hell have I got a wooden sword?"

"Because we're not stupid enough to give you real ones. This is a mock battle after all! Your not supposed to really kill anyone!" Sakuto muttered some more obscenities before being spun around and pushed towards the middle of the field. All the men had been separated into their battalions while Sakuto had been getting dressed and were positioned facing one another on the huge field. The sound of a gong echoed through her head as all around her the men began their charge.

Sakuto raced forward with the rest of her group and before long found herself surrounded by men she had never seen before. Everywhere she turned, someone was swinging at her wildly, thinking her an amateur who had probably never wielded a sword before in her life. Sakuto smirked to herself at the surprise on their faces when nearly twenty of the men that surrounded her were suddenly through to the ground. She swung her wooden sword with perfect accuracy, not bothering to waste unnecessary energy with wild swings. Practically every swing managed to hit someone, but considering how tightly everyone was packed around her, Sakuto wasn't surprised.

In half an hour the field of men had been cut in half. Sakuto was still in the middle, and managed to get some satisfaction out of the surprise on the faces of the men she confronted, all completely shocked to see the young man who had paraded before then naked still standing. But they were beginning to become wearier now. Regardless of where she turned, Sakuto could not find a single member of her group still fighting. She gulped, feeling her muscles begin to ache and a throbbing pain in her head begin as the hour dragged by.

After two hours, there were a quarter of the men still fighting. These were the hard ones, the men who were naturals with a sword in their hand and who didn't waste as much time with wild swings. But still, most of them just diving and jumped around hoping to make a hit here and there. More often then not, they missed. Sakuto never once felt the wooden blade touch her as she used her demon senses to avoid every swing that came her way. But with each new attacker she had to be extremely careful not to lose her temper and unleash any more of your demon strength than was necessary. Because of this, Sakuto found herself becoming tired faster than she would have considered normal. Holding her human male image, restraining her demon strength and fighting men from every side were quickly beginning to take its toll. But the men still fighting were clearly slowing down as well.

Only a handful remained as the battle crept into its fourth hour. Sakuto still managed to leap and dodge while attacking with ease; the other men almost fainted just watching her. Yet as she landed each time and turned to face a new opponent, she could feel the last shreds of her strength fading. The amber eyes of Sesshomaru were constantly burning into her back, and she could feel it even though she had no real idea where he was. She didn't care, all that she knew was he was just waiting, hoping she would screw up.

Finally with only two remaining soldiers, Sakuto and a large, well-muscled man, all eyes turned and everyone was holding their breaths. Sakuto's eyes narrowed, and she could see the concentration in her opponent's expression. She held her sword before her and closed her eyes. The man took it as a sign of weakness and with a smirk ran forward. With his sword held high, he went to bring it down on Sakuto's head, but froze on the spot, the sword still poised, ready to make the final blow. He looked down with surprise at the wooden blade pressed against her stomach before his gaze rose to meet hers. Sakuto watched emotionlessly as he threw the sword at her feet and bowed his head. Suddenly cheers rang out from all around and Sakuto blinked as she glanced around, clearly dazed and disorientated. Her entire body was shaking, her muscles quivering, but it was over, she had won.

"Take that Sesshomaru." She muttered to herself as she stumbled off in the direction of the lake. As she passed, hands clapped her on the back while others cheered and congratulated her, but in her exhaustion, she could hardly hear any of them. She stumbled at last into the peaceful and serene surroundings of the lake and collapsed onto the grass. She closed her eyes, drifting into a shallow sleep as she finally allowed her muscles to relax.

Yet before she could fully relax she felt someone nudge her awake once more. She reached up without much thought and wrapped her fingers around the front of the shirt of whoever was bothering her. Slowly Sakuto opened her eyes.

"What do you want, Jasuto?" Her tone was as emotionless as Sesshomaru's.

"Lord Sesshomaru wishes to see you." He answered hesitantly, clearly caught off-guard by her harsh glare.

"He can wait." She snarled, pushing Jasuto away and closing her eyes once more.

"No he can't, now get the hell up!" He snapped as he straightened his clothes out and grabbed her arm, dragging her to her feet.

"But I'm tired!" She groaned, pulling herself free as he legs threatened to give way underneath her.

"I can imagine, but you should have seen the faces of the other officers! They were green!" He cried joyfully.

"Must I go now? I just fought for four hours straight!"

"Yes! Now come on! The sooner you get this over with, the sooner you can rest." And with that, Jasuto dragged Sakuto off towards the castle.