Jakiri's POV
My mistress was lying in her bedroom, groaning as she battled a disease that couldn't be defeated unless we found the source. Kurama had taken off to investigate, and he had taken Keiryi with him. Sakore was shocked to find that one of his best friends was back from the dead. However, that hadn't taken his attention off of me. We'd only been married a few years, and the passion thrived in both our souls.
Those first few years of marriage had foretold a great future together. When we'd first met, he expressed an interest in me. Only eighteeen years had passed since he saw me at the grave. I'd been sitting on the grass, roses laid out on his tombstone. When I gazed at that tombstone, I remembered the look of anguish when my mistress first realized that he was really dead. The famous fox, Kurama, had finally been defeated.
Visiting the grave was even hard for me, although I'd been thoroughly annoyed by the fox when he was alive. He'd stolen the attention of the only person I ever trusted completely, but I could remember the look of happiness on her face when she was with him. They were meant for each other, and my less spiteful side wanted them to be together instead of undergoing this anguish. A few lonesome tears fell on the ground. How could I have let Ithryl use me like that?
"Why?" I demanded of the world. "Why did you have to take him away?"
"Because nothing in this world is forgiving enough to leave them together," a faraway voice said. Smooth and sophisticated, it sounded just like him...the one I'd been with for a night. Sakore. My experimental lover.
"What are you doing here?" I asked irritably, wishing to be alone. "I thought you abandoned the gang after he died."
"Wrong," he said. "I tried to keep us together, but they wanted to disband themselves. I left Makai because..."
"What!" I shouted, standing bolt upright. My light blonde hair formed several thin lines across my vision, and helped to hide the tears. "Did you want to take his lover now that he's gone? You don't understand what she's gone through, and if you touch her, I'll..."
"You'll what?" he spat back. "I was hoping you'd be a little more welcoming."
"I'll make you sorry you ever let your desires get out of control."
"That's not what I came for," he stated gravely. "None of the others would understand what I longed for after that one night. I longed to be near that shining diamond, the power that lies within you. I don't know if that's all that drives it, but it's eating at me like a hunger. I couldn't live after experiencing being so close to something so immense."
My mouth hung open, and everything came crashing down. Sakore had only been in it for the thrill back then, and that was all he wanted now, but there seemed to be something more to his words than what showed. "I am only a servant," I said stonily. "Why would I have so much within me?"
"You're the last of the Iceshadow clan, are you not?" Sakore replied.
"Yes. My father taught me how to fight, and my mother taught me self-control. I was branded by the clan, a child of the darkest depths of Makai."
Even now, my childhood stood out against everything else I'd experienced. My parents had done those very things with me, and then they'd left me. They said that there was no longer any need for the protection that the Iceshadow clan provided. My father told me that Fehreil had become a bloodthirsty, arrogant warlord, and that I couldn't serve him. Outraged at the betrayal of such a long-lasting alliance, I ran away, to the surface.
Instead of going to the palace, though, I stopped in Hell's Grove. Apparently, Fehreil had a daughter, and she had been born there. For a while, I remained there, until Fehreil found me. "So you're the Iceshadow dragon...the one that belongs to me," he said, kicking me to the ground. "I've been waiting for you so."
"I'm not here to serve you," I replied quietly. "I heard of your daughter. The one born here, and..."
"Shut up about that filthy little mongrel!" Fehreil shouted, and punched me so hard that I felt my chest cave a little.
After Fehreil insulted his daughter, though, the ground began to shake, and I heard whispers from everywhere. Be careful what you say, Fehreil. You forget whose territory this is, they said. Leave, and never treat one of the Iceshadow clan so poorly again. He grit his teeth together and stalked away, furious at the voice.
"Thank you," I whispered, and a girl came out from behind the bushes.
"I'm sorry," she said. Her dark hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and her golden eyes shone with the brightness of youth. "My father...he does the same to me sometimes too."
My first reaction was to bow before my master, the heir to the throne of Makai. "I have come from the depths to serve you," I stated with conviction. "My name is Jakiri, of the Iceshadow dragons. Your wish is my--"
"No," the girl said. "I don't want servants. That would make me like my father, and I want to live more simply than that. I don't want to be as cruel a leader as he is."
"Then would my lady honor me with so little as a name?" I asked, still oblivious to the fact that she had totally rejected me.
"Kaiina," she said. "Just Kaiina. Not Kaiina Mowvinh El Shaddar. Not Kaiina Lothlen."
With what she said, Kaiina could just as well have been denouncing her title as royalty. I was determined to fill my place in the world, though. "May I be your friend?" I asked. "A friend who will confide in you and keep you from harm?" She freely accepted, and I smiled, satisfied that I'd finally found my place.
Anyhow, in the graveyard, the two of us stared each other down. Finally, Sakore smiled and said, "You are an Iceshadow dragon. Legends speak of the great power hidden within the depths of a dragon's soul. I believe that when we're together,that power comes out. It makes you one of the most fearsome beings in this world."
"I told you," I said flatly, "I'm just a servant, and that's all I'll ever be. Quit wasting your time." Sakore approached, and I shook my head.
"I guess I'm just as foolish and stubborn as your mistress," he said with a warm smile. "Maybe this will change your mind."
He kissed me, and it was like something was swallowing me up. Rain began to pour, and my golden hair was plastered to my neck. In the front, I could see strands of pure white returning once again. Pure as fresh-fallen snow. "I want you," he said, "and nothing else is more intoxicating." I ran a hand down his neck, snaking down to his waist.
"Don't tell me silly things like that," I breathed heavily. "Actions speak louder than words."
We sat on the ground together, and soon he was lying on top of me, his mouth plastered to mine. A car pulled up on the curb, and we parted. "I'll be back, someday," he said. "We'll have even more fun then." I stood there in awe, and looked back at the roses on Kurama's tomb.
"He needs you to knock some sense into him," I said with a short chuckle, and then left. My mistress was still swollen and with child then, and I knew it was his. It had to be his.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream shocked me out of my reverie. It had to be my mistress. Dashing into the room, I saw her curled up in the bed, clutching her skull as she transformed into her demon form. I hadn't seen that beautiful, wild creature in a long time. She opened her eyes wide, and they were brilliantly golden once again. "Mistress?" I said in shock. There had never been such a savage look in her eyes even when we were common bandits. Struggling to overcome my fear, I approached her bed.
"Are you alright?" I asked with concern.
"I feel better than ever," she confessed. "Thanks for the boost, Yuki. Now it's time to go and eliminate them. They've kept me far too long." She smiled darkly and lunged at me, her hand pinning me to the wall and suffocating me at the same time. "Do you even remember what it's like to fight, Jakiri?" she asked. "You became soft when he tamed you...when you became a wife. Soon you'll fall into the weakness of a mother's love. Leave it all behind, and we'll take that power. We'll take it and rule all three worlds."
Vivid green energy enveloped my master, and pulled her away from me. "It's been growing!" Yuki shouted. "Go get Keiryi and Kurama! They need to get to him before Kaiina gets to them! Try and find Hiei, too. He can help." I nodded and scrambled to leave, but she broke free. My mistress was chasing after me, her eyes filled with the lust of an eager hunter.
It was the only thing I could do. Nobody else was on the street, and there was no other way out. Slowly, my golden hair vanished, and my skin was replaced with perfectly white scales. My sight became keener, and two long, pointed horns lay flat against my head. Wings as large as a playground spread out, and just as the thorns started to climb toward me, I was in the air, flying with all the strength in my body. A glistening portal opened up, and I slipped through, leaving her to rage at herself.
The demon world looked even more desolate than before as I streaked through, hoping that I could find them. Instead, there was the figure of a tall, dark-haired woman standing where Hell's Grove was. Since that was a place to which Keiryi might have gravitated, I landed there, only to see that this woman was alone. "Welcome," she said softly. "If you are here to find them, they have already left. They know not where to go, but I am sure you know it already. I begged and I pleaded for him to leave her alone. Why couldn't he just kill the rest of them? However, this is the most cruel punishment he has forced on her yet."
My eyes were open wide as I stared at this woman. "You're Rhia, aren't you?" I said quietly, almost inaudibly. "I thought you died."
"Spirits don't die," Rhia said. "They live on, they haunt people, they guard their homes to the best of their ability, but they do not die." My wings folded in, and I shifted back to my original humanoid form. Snow white hair flowed freely down my back, and I wore my old kimono.
"I am so glad to meet you," I said, "but I need to know where to find him."
"He is in his castle, but there are many copies, with one controlling them all. You will have to know how to search for him. If Kaiina comes back...she will be drawn to him. Follow her when she comes here, and you will have him pinned."
I grinned at the thought of all of this being over. For so long, we'd all fought our personal battles, and now, a little peace was past due for everyone.
Surprise, surprise! I bet you had it figured out anyway, but there you go. Chapter 16. I enjoyed writing it, even though no one reviewed again. Oh well. R&R, and love to those who reviewed this chapter or previous chapters. I'm waiting for the return of my avid fans.