*Runs over to computer, throws floppy disk in, and opens document* Omg! I'm
so sorry! *sighs* you won't even believe all i've been through with this
computer! First a virus, then my internet crashes and i hav to get a new
ethernet card... i mean damn! err excuse my french. I was so mad cuz i
couldn't post or anything...I'm SOOO SORRY to keep you guys waiting like
this! *pant pant* i hope this is worth it!
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Derenti re-read the letter that Sesshomaru had sent him, then looked to the paper Kouga had given them, reading through that as well. Ventai sat easily, watching her mate walk to and for. "This is bullshit." Derenti mumbled, Ventai's expression not changing.
Tsume stood by the door way, watching his mother and father. He had just delivered Kagome's letter and returned, his father still pacing as he had been before. "We could use the help, but the fact is, I don't trust Kouga." Derenti continued to argue with himself.
"I will agree with you there." Ventai replied, standing and going to her distressed mate. " Look at the facts. At the last meeting Kouga seemed more of an enemy then Rashka. Now he suddenly offer's help when he knows we could use it. It would be a mistake. Tell him you'll work with him, but crush his army instead of allowing him to win." Ventai explained, seeing Derenti shake his head in disagreement.
"That's part of the problem. One army to three? We'll need a lot more demons, even humans, if we want to oppose all three at the same time." Derenti stated, glancing at Tsume. He got an idea. "Tsume."
Tsume perked up slightly, hearing his name. "Yes?"
"I think it's time to find some more soldiers. Do you mind fulfilling this task?" Derenti asked, seeing Tsume nod and smile slightly.
"I'll do this." Tsume bowed, then left, leaving Derenti to continue his contemplating.
X'ith paced the dark room, thinking about recent developments. He didn't know where the Miko was either. Which meant she had to be close to a powerful demon, one strong enough to hide her from his spells.
A powerful knock on the black marble door caused X'ith to turn, looking to see who wished to speak to him. Councilor Chii walked in. She was a slimmer shadow demoness, but just as powerful as the others. "How does Inutaishou fair, my lord?" she purred, standing one step inside the door way.
"No better then Ventaru did. At least that worthless demon got close to her. Inutaishou seems to have lost her." X'ith growled, seeing her smile a white fanged smile.
"My lord, have you tried to send another to the surface?" Chii asked, seeing his red eyes narrow at her.
"You know as well as I with the two seals...." X'ith trailed off, red eyes flashing as he realized his mistake.
"One seal, my lord. Kikyou is dead. One seal is left." Chii smiled cruelly.
X'ith wanted to strangle himself for forgetting that fact. With one seal left, he could send another to the surface. As he watched the slim shadow demon before him, a plan began to form within his mind. "Chii, I think you will be the one I send." X'ith smiled, seeing her smile faulter slightly.
"My lord, such an honor, but surely Ash or Morvith would be a better pick." Chii replied, her mind racing. She had no desire to go to the surface. She was promised reign down here once X'ith had the surface. The surface held no interest to her.
"But your talents could be useful to InuTaishou." X'ith chuckled, seeing her confusion. He stalked closer, inspecting her like she was prey.
"You want me to seduce Inutaishou?" she asked, frowning slightly and getting agitated when X'ith laughed.
"Not Inutaishou." he replied, looking at her back and waiting for her to come to the same conclusion he had.
She whirled on her heel, facing him with a flashing smile. "Sesshomaru....With my abilities, not even his cold heart will be able to resist. With him out of the way, Inutaishou can take care of the dragons then Kagome." Chii squealed happily, a slight breeze created by the wind demons happiness.
"Yes. Now you understand. Allow me to prepare. You shall leave soon enough" X'ith chuckled, dismissing her and beginning his preparations.
Inuyasha walked down the hallway to his 'fathers' room. It was the set meeting time that Inutaishou had requested his presence. Suki had decided it would be best if she didn't go. After all, Inutaishou was at war with her family. He would think her a spy. And Inuyasha had agreed.
He turned the corner, stopping when a bulky wolf demon stood in his way. "You must be Inuyasha." stated the wolf in a deep voice.
"Yeah. My father wanted me to meet him." Inuyasha replied, seeing the wolf nod.
"Yes. Lord Inutaishou told me to let you pass. He is waiting for you." the wolf stated, moving out of the way so Inuyasha could walk past. He walked over to the door and knocked lightly.
"Come in." replied the voice Inuyasha had known through out his entire child hood. Inuyasha slowly opened the door and walked in.
Inutaishou turned at the sound of his door opening, already knowing who it was. "Ah, Inuyasha. So good to see you." he greeted his former son, forcing a smile. Inuyasha half smiled in return.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Inuyasha asked, curious as to what his 'father' would say.
Inutaishou watched Inuyasha for a moment before replying, "Yes. I wanted to talk to you. How have you been?" Inutaishou asked, sitting down in one of his chairs and indicating Inuyasha should do so as well. "It's been awhile since we've spoken. Tell me what my youngest son has been up to."
That was not one the of the questions Inuyasha thought Inutaishou would ask him. "When you...uh, left, I stayed with mom until she died. At about then I found about the shikon no Tama and tried to steal that to become a full demon." Inuyasha shrugged, not finding any reason to lie about this past.
"A full demon?" Inutaishou questioned, watching him curiously.
"I always wanted to become one until recently." Inuyasha nodded and replied.
"Recently? What changed your mind?" Inutaishou asked, leaning back into his chair and relaxing slightly. If he acted calm, perhaps he could learn more then if he sounded overly interested.
Inuyasha thought a moment before deciding he wouldn't lie about this either. "Kagome, Miroku and Sango. They are the reason I changed my mind. They are my friends and accepted me for who I was. As did Suki." Inuyasha answered, seeing Inutaishou nod.
"And you are the dragon young's mate then?" Inutaishou asked even though he already knew the answer.
"Yes." Inuyasha answered, relaxing slightly. Before he had gotten here, he was afraid Inutaishou was going to ask a lot about Kagome and Sesshomaru. Instead, he seemed to be interested in him.
"I'm happy that you have found a mate. As I'm happy your older brother did as well. But I have a feeling Sesshomaru doesn't want to hear my praise at the moment. How are you handling the sword?" Inutaishou stated, indicating the blade resting at Inuyasha's hip.
"I have figured out the wind scar, if that's what you mean." Inuyasha replied, glancing down at his sword then back up at his father.
"That is good to hear. When I had it made, I wasn't sure if you would be able to figure it out on your own. I'm glad to see my fears weren't realized." Inutaishou smiled, glancing at the window to see what time it is. "It was good to catch up a little, Inuyasha. Tell your young dragon mate that as long as she is here, and I have no reason to suspect her, she is as welcomed as you are. Perhaps we should speak again, and soon, but for now I have pressing business what with the war and all."
Inuyasha nodded once and stood as Inutaishou did. "Call if you need anything." Inuyasha stated, bowing slightly then leaving Inutaishou to himself.
Sesshomaru sat on his balcony, watching the sun rise. Another night of sleeplessness. He didn't need to sleep every night, but this was this third night in a row. His thoughts were on his mate, currently in the northern lands. He craved her touch, to hear her moans. It had surprised him at first because he had lived so long without anyone. But now he found he simply needed her.
If anything, Sesshomaru was starting to think he should take a 'trip' to the North. He knew he couldn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't think about it. Sesshomaru continued to look at the rising sun as Kari entered his room.
"Lord Sesshomaru? Up early once more?" Kari asked, standing slightly behind him and looking at the sun rise as well.
"Yes." Sesshomaru lied in his normally emotionless voice.
"Reshki returned last night. He will be heading to the North soon to pick up Derenti's reply." Kari informed her lord.
Sesshomaru's mind began to work at this bit of information. Could he risk it to go see Kagome? He shook his head, trying to shove that thought out. 'But I could go for an hour. With my ability to fly, I could get there quickly, spend some time there, then return.' He argued with himself. In the end, he knew he wouldn't go. He had to much to worry about here and didn't have time to leave. Glancing back at his big, empty bed, he sighed.
He finally stood and walked to it, laying down and looking up at the ceiling, visions of his mate swimming in his head as he slowly slipped into a restless sleep.
Kagome walked down the hall. She had just spoken to Derenti about Rin staying with them. He had agreed to the little girls presence and had sent someone after her. In either case, Rin could be used against Sesshomaru if Inutaishou found out about the little girl.
Kagome walked into her room, seeing Shippo coloring. She sat beside him, grabbing a coloring utensil and joining him. "I talked to Derenti, he said having Rin over would be a wonderful idea." Kagome smiled, drawing little stick figures on the paper. Shippo looked over at her and smiled.
"I'm glad I'll get to see Rin again!" he stated happily, looking at Kagome's picture and comparing it to his.
Sango and Miroku walked in then. They had went to the dojo for some training. Kagome had decided she needed to spend time with Shippo, so she had refused to train today. Shippo's mood seemed to have increased when Kagome had said she would play with him today.
"What did Derenti say?" Sango asked, sitting on the bed close to them and looking at the pictures.
"Rin will arrive shortly." Kagome replied, studying her drawing and smiling faintly to herself. She wasn't a good artist, but the picture was of a family...her family to be precise, Sesshomaru included.
"What's that a picture of, Kagome?" Shippo asked, coloring in his green blob.
"Just people." Kagome replied, glancing to see Sango look at her funny. Kagome smiled, reassuring her friend she wasn't depressed any more.
Sango was about to ask Kagome how she really was doing when Trey walked in. Sango couldn't get used to that. He'd just walk right in, like this was his room as well. When he had first done so, only Sango had been in the room, and she had been relaxing. She had jumped at the sound of the door opening. Trey had just walked in, grabbing some first aid supplies then walked out of the door. He didn't say one word and didn't even register that Sango was in the room. He had gotten the first aid supplies when Kagome had taken a nasty hit to her knuckles, on accident, of course.
"Are you done entertaining the Kitsune?" Trey asked, walking over and sitting in one of the chairs, relaxing.
Kagome didn't even look up as she replied, "I'm not entertaining him, I'm enjoying his company. And you?"
Trey sighed as he responded, "Well, Derenti is massing his armies. Sending them to the border. So basically I have nothing to do."
"Kagome, do you think we could go play tag?" Shippo asked, glancing at every one else as well.
"Sure Shippo, and I'm sure Trey would love to play." Kagome replied, smiling at Trey, who scowled slightly.
"Miroku and I will play too." Sango smiled at Shippo, then Miroku, who returned her smile.
"Really? YAY!" Shippo jumped up happily, grabbing Kagome, who grabbed Trey, and practically drug them down the hall.
Tsume walked into Kagome's room, seeing it was empty except the scattered papers the Kitsune had drawn on. Tsume had come to see if Kagome had a reply to the letter. He was about to walk out when he noticed a sheet of paper folded neatly, Sesshomaru's name on the outside. He walked over to it, picking it up and glancing inside, to ensure it was a completed note, before smirking and leaving the room.
X'ith stood in his chamber, finally ready to send Chii to the surface. She stood before him, in her shadow form, silently hoping he would change his mind. She did not want to go to the surface, but if it helped kill the Miko so she could have reign below, Chii was willing. Two other councilors stood in the room, watching as X'ith performed his spell.
Just as X'ith mumbled the last syllable to the spell, Chii's form took on a smoke like appearance and drifted towards the surface. Chii opened her eyes on the surface, immediately covering her white eyes against the bright sun. 'He had to send me during the day, didn't he?' Chii grumbled, looking down at her figure and realizing she would be extremely noticeable if she walked around like a shadow demon. Chii concentrated on the form she had before becoming a shadow demon, watching as her black body began to shape down and gain color. A couple of minutes later, Chii stood in her demon form. Her body was the very definition of feminine. Her curves were well defined and her body was developed in all the right places. She had waist length cinnamon color hair, which fell light and straight along her back, flashing in the sun.
Before Chii had died and become a Shadow demon, she had been a neko youkai with a special ability. Natural attraction. She had made it so well in life with that ability. Any male would feel some attraction to her and if she shown interest in that male, the attraction would increase. She glanced along her curvy and full form, smiling. "I had almost forgotten what I look like." her smile widening as she spoke to herself, wrapping her slim cat tail around her small waist.
She stretched each muscle, getting use to the natural agility and grace that neko youkai possessed. Sure she was graceful and agile as a shadow demon, but that grace and agility was down played with the strength she had while a shadow demon. Chii easily pulled off a back bend, pushing her feet into the air for a handstand. "Oooo, this'll be fun." she giggled as she pushed off of her hands and flipped before landing on her feet. She blinked her light blue cat eyes, looking around at the bright forest that surrounded her. "Now which way?" She shrugged before running lightly towards the direction the sun was. As good as a direction as any.
Inutaishou, Kouga, and Rashka sat in the meeting room, going over many different battle plans and strategies. "A simple way to overwhelm Derenti would be to attack all at once. With his one army spread over three borders our armies could easily push his back." Rashka hissed, looking at the extremely detailed and accurate map.
"His army knows the terrain better. And he has had time to prepare. But perhaps you could be right. But that would require all of our forces. These human villages," Inutaishou indicated the eight large human villages, "are going to fight with him. They know what will happen should Derenti fall. On top of that, since it is Derenti's land, he will have stable defenses. It will take more then a simple rush to get his lands." Inutaishou explained, eyes scanning the map.
Kouga's eyes went to the forest on the border. "We should forget trying to push in all of his borders. I say we go through that forest." Kouga explained, pointing to the large forest.
"Why the forest?" Rashka asked.
"If we push three armies through there, his defenses will hold. Hell, I bet we could sneak more then half of the demons through that woods. With as thick as it is and how dark it gets in there, a quiet demon could dance in front of you and you wouldn't know unless you used your nose." Kouga replied, glancing at Inutaishou.
"That is a good idea. Derenti's army will be spread over the border, not sure where we will be attacking. Pushing through one area, especially this forest, would be a solid plan. By the time he realized where we were breaking in through, we'd be knocking on his palace doors." Inutaishou grinned, looking at Kouga with approval.
"So all we have to do is mass our armies and push through. I think we should set up the base camp along the north western border. As far from the forest as we can so he doesn't get any ideas." Kouga stated, smiling inwardly at remembering to tell Derenti that he would position his army as defense. He knew the dragon would not believe his plan and mass his army to slaughter his instead of allowing them to hold a defensive position. Which was what Kouga wanted. With Derenti thinking he would move from the west, that left the forest to the east open to them.
"That could work." Inutaishou nodded his agreement, imagining the battle to come.
"What of your sons?" Rashka asked, scowling slightly.
"Inuyasha will be easy to deal with." Inutaishou waved that away before he to, scowled slightly. "I'm working on a solution to Sesshomaru. He will either work with me or I will be forced to remove him." Kouga nodded his agreement.
At the end of Inutaishous's statement, there was a light knock at the door. "Enter." Inutaishou stated, wondering who it could be. His Guardian entered.
"Lord Inutaishou, a guest is here for you." his Guardian stated.
"Send this guest to my room. I will be there shortly." Inutaishou replied, glancing to the other lords once his Guardian had shut the door. "In one weeks time, I want to be able to attack. You might want to return to your lands if you need to."
"One weeks time? I will be ready before that." Kouga smirked but agreed with the time.
"I shall be ready." Rashka hissed as he stood. "I will leave now to prepare for my trip to my lands."
"I'll go now as well. Why put it off?" Kouga stated as he stood, following Rashka out of the door. Inutaishou glanced at the map once more before leaving and going to see this 'guest' he had.
Chii sat in the room, on the bed, and looked around. The room was a good sized room and reeked of Inu youkai, as did the whole palace. Even if the Inu youkai were two different ones. The aura's in the palace amazed Chii. Inutaishou's aura's essence was everywhere, except in one hall, where it seems Sesshomaru's lay. She was thinking of him when Inutaishou walked in his room.
It took Chii a moment to realize who it was. She had never seen Inutaishou is his normal demon form before. He stood tall, a good couple heads taller with long silver hair that came down to his mid back. He had dark gold, almost hazel eyes with one strip gracing each cheek and a full moon on his forehead.
"Who are you?" he asked curiously, standing easily and crossing his arms.
"I'm hurt, Inutaishou." Chii pouted, standing and clasping her hands behind her back.
"I asked you a question, neko." Inutaishou growled slightly, ignoring the pout she threw him and the slight attraction he felt towards her.
"Oh you're no fun." Chii giggled before announcing, "It is me, councilor Chii." Inutaishuo looked at her skeptically, like she was a psycho that had ran off the streets. Chii rolled her eyes and as she did so, they turned as white as lightening while the rest of her body took on a black tint to it. She flashed him a smile as she twirled her index finger, creating a small whirlwind within the room. Knowing she needed no further proof, she blinked, her eyes returning to light blue and her body taking on its natural color.
"Why are you here Chii? Does X'ith think I cannot handle this?" Inutaishou asked, keeping his arms crossed.
"I'm here to help you with Sesshomaru." Chii smiled, winking at him.
"What do you mean?" Inutaishou scowled slightly.
"Oh Inutaishou, are you telling me you don't feel it?" Chii purred as she stalked closer to him. Inutaishou fought the urge growl as a wave of warm, pleasurable heat coursed through him.
"I see." He stated, watching her closely. Chii giggled happily, twirling lightly on her feet.
"It's apparent you understand." Chii smirked, glancing along his body to his length. She heard him growl at her, drawing her gaze back to him. "The only thing I need are some decent clothes. These traveling clothes will do no good." Chii stated, frowning down at her apparel.
"You can take on the guise of one of my Guardians. No one will question your appearance then." Inutaishou stated, seeing her nod. "I will get you a room as well and some...clothes." he finished, wanting her out of his presence as soon as possible.
"I think I'll go take a peek around this place. See what kind of trouble I can stir up." Chii smiled innocently before easily walking around Inutaishou and out the door. She stood out in the hall, frowning at her clothes once more. "First things first, if I'm going to stir up some trouble I defiantly can't do it in this." Chii walked down one of the halls, finding a servant and asked for clothes. After receiving directions, Chii easily found the room and picked out something more 'appropriate' to wear.
Chii looked into the mirror, smiling. She wore a dark blue 'dress' that ran down to the floor but had two slits up the sides of the leg to her upper thigh. She had done that on her own. The top half consisted of thin straps with a low cut neck line. All in all, Chii looked 'easy prey'. And that was the part she would play. She quickly wrapped her hair into a high pony tail, smiling at her reflection. "This is going to be fun."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ I'd thank everyone for the reviews, but in order to post this asap, i gotta do it now...so thanks to everyone who have been waiting patiently and those who didn't lose faith and came back and read this! I owe u guys one ^^
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Derenti re-read the letter that Sesshomaru had sent him, then looked to the paper Kouga had given them, reading through that as well. Ventai sat easily, watching her mate walk to and for. "This is bullshit." Derenti mumbled, Ventai's expression not changing.
Tsume stood by the door way, watching his mother and father. He had just delivered Kagome's letter and returned, his father still pacing as he had been before. "We could use the help, but the fact is, I don't trust Kouga." Derenti continued to argue with himself.
"I will agree with you there." Ventai replied, standing and going to her distressed mate. " Look at the facts. At the last meeting Kouga seemed more of an enemy then Rashka. Now he suddenly offer's help when he knows we could use it. It would be a mistake. Tell him you'll work with him, but crush his army instead of allowing him to win." Ventai explained, seeing Derenti shake his head in disagreement.
"That's part of the problem. One army to three? We'll need a lot more demons, even humans, if we want to oppose all three at the same time." Derenti stated, glancing at Tsume. He got an idea. "Tsume."
Tsume perked up slightly, hearing his name. "Yes?"
"I think it's time to find some more soldiers. Do you mind fulfilling this task?" Derenti asked, seeing Tsume nod and smile slightly.
"I'll do this." Tsume bowed, then left, leaving Derenti to continue his contemplating.
X'ith paced the dark room, thinking about recent developments. He didn't know where the Miko was either. Which meant she had to be close to a powerful demon, one strong enough to hide her from his spells.
A powerful knock on the black marble door caused X'ith to turn, looking to see who wished to speak to him. Councilor Chii walked in. She was a slimmer shadow demoness, but just as powerful as the others. "How does Inutaishou fair, my lord?" she purred, standing one step inside the door way.
"No better then Ventaru did. At least that worthless demon got close to her. Inutaishou seems to have lost her." X'ith growled, seeing her smile a white fanged smile.
"My lord, have you tried to send another to the surface?" Chii asked, seeing his red eyes narrow at her.
"You know as well as I with the two seals...." X'ith trailed off, red eyes flashing as he realized his mistake.
"One seal, my lord. Kikyou is dead. One seal is left." Chii smiled cruelly.
X'ith wanted to strangle himself for forgetting that fact. With one seal left, he could send another to the surface. As he watched the slim shadow demon before him, a plan began to form within his mind. "Chii, I think you will be the one I send." X'ith smiled, seeing her smile faulter slightly.
"My lord, such an honor, but surely Ash or Morvith would be a better pick." Chii replied, her mind racing. She had no desire to go to the surface. She was promised reign down here once X'ith had the surface. The surface held no interest to her.
"But your talents could be useful to InuTaishou." X'ith chuckled, seeing her confusion. He stalked closer, inspecting her like she was prey.
"You want me to seduce Inutaishou?" she asked, frowning slightly and getting agitated when X'ith laughed.
"Not Inutaishou." he replied, looking at her back and waiting for her to come to the same conclusion he had.
She whirled on her heel, facing him with a flashing smile. "Sesshomaru....With my abilities, not even his cold heart will be able to resist. With him out of the way, Inutaishou can take care of the dragons then Kagome." Chii squealed happily, a slight breeze created by the wind demons happiness.
"Yes. Now you understand. Allow me to prepare. You shall leave soon enough" X'ith chuckled, dismissing her and beginning his preparations.
Inuyasha walked down the hallway to his 'fathers' room. It was the set meeting time that Inutaishou had requested his presence. Suki had decided it would be best if she didn't go. After all, Inutaishou was at war with her family. He would think her a spy. And Inuyasha had agreed.
He turned the corner, stopping when a bulky wolf demon stood in his way. "You must be Inuyasha." stated the wolf in a deep voice.
"Yeah. My father wanted me to meet him." Inuyasha replied, seeing the wolf nod.
"Yes. Lord Inutaishou told me to let you pass. He is waiting for you." the wolf stated, moving out of the way so Inuyasha could walk past. He walked over to the door and knocked lightly.
"Come in." replied the voice Inuyasha had known through out his entire child hood. Inuyasha slowly opened the door and walked in.
Inutaishou turned at the sound of his door opening, already knowing who it was. "Ah, Inuyasha. So good to see you." he greeted his former son, forcing a smile. Inuyasha half smiled in return.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Inuyasha asked, curious as to what his 'father' would say.
Inutaishou watched Inuyasha for a moment before replying, "Yes. I wanted to talk to you. How have you been?" Inutaishou asked, sitting down in one of his chairs and indicating Inuyasha should do so as well. "It's been awhile since we've spoken. Tell me what my youngest son has been up to."
That was not one the of the questions Inuyasha thought Inutaishou would ask him. "When you...uh, left, I stayed with mom until she died. At about then I found about the shikon no Tama and tried to steal that to become a full demon." Inuyasha shrugged, not finding any reason to lie about this past.
"A full demon?" Inutaishou questioned, watching him curiously.
"I always wanted to become one until recently." Inuyasha nodded and replied.
"Recently? What changed your mind?" Inutaishou asked, leaning back into his chair and relaxing slightly. If he acted calm, perhaps he could learn more then if he sounded overly interested.
Inuyasha thought a moment before deciding he wouldn't lie about this either. "Kagome, Miroku and Sango. They are the reason I changed my mind. They are my friends and accepted me for who I was. As did Suki." Inuyasha answered, seeing Inutaishou nod.
"And you are the dragon young's mate then?" Inutaishou asked even though he already knew the answer.
"Yes." Inuyasha answered, relaxing slightly. Before he had gotten here, he was afraid Inutaishou was going to ask a lot about Kagome and Sesshomaru. Instead, he seemed to be interested in him.
"I'm happy that you have found a mate. As I'm happy your older brother did as well. But I have a feeling Sesshomaru doesn't want to hear my praise at the moment. How are you handling the sword?" Inutaishou stated, indicating the blade resting at Inuyasha's hip.
"I have figured out the wind scar, if that's what you mean." Inuyasha replied, glancing down at his sword then back up at his father.
"That is good to hear. When I had it made, I wasn't sure if you would be able to figure it out on your own. I'm glad to see my fears weren't realized." Inutaishou smiled, glancing at the window to see what time it is. "It was good to catch up a little, Inuyasha. Tell your young dragon mate that as long as she is here, and I have no reason to suspect her, she is as welcomed as you are. Perhaps we should speak again, and soon, but for now I have pressing business what with the war and all."
Inuyasha nodded once and stood as Inutaishou did. "Call if you need anything." Inuyasha stated, bowing slightly then leaving Inutaishou to himself.
Sesshomaru sat on his balcony, watching the sun rise. Another night of sleeplessness. He didn't need to sleep every night, but this was this third night in a row. His thoughts were on his mate, currently in the northern lands. He craved her touch, to hear her moans. It had surprised him at first because he had lived so long without anyone. But now he found he simply needed her.
If anything, Sesshomaru was starting to think he should take a 'trip' to the North. He knew he couldn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't think about it. Sesshomaru continued to look at the rising sun as Kari entered his room.
"Lord Sesshomaru? Up early once more?" Kari asked, standing slightly behind him and looking at the sun rise as well.
"Yes." Sesshomaru lied in his normally emotionless voice.
"Reshki returned last night. He will be heading to the North soon to pick up Derenti's reply." Kari informed her lord.
Sesshomaru's mind began to work at this bit of information. Could he risk it to go see Kagome? He shook his head, trying to shove that thought out. 'But I could go for an hour. With my ability to fly, I could get there quickly, spend some time there, then return.' He argued with himself. In the end, he knew he wouldn't go. He had to much to worry about here and didn't have time to leave. Glancing back at his big, empty bed, he sighed.
He finally stood and walked to it, laying down and looking up at the ceiling, visions of his mate swimming in his head as he slowly slipped into a restless sleep.
Kagome walked down the hall. She had just spoken to Derenti about Rin staying with them. He had agreed to the little girls presence and had sent someone after her. In either case, Rin could be used against Sesshomaru if Inutaishou found out about the little girl.
Kagome walked into her room, seeing Shippo coloring. She sat beside him, grabbing a coloring utensil and joining him. "I talked to Derenti, he said having Rin over would be a wonderful idea." Kagome smiled, drawing little stick figures on the paper. Shippo looked over at her and smiled.
"I'm glad I'll get to see Rin again!" he stated happily, looking at Kagome's picture and comparing it to his.
Sango and Miroku walked in then. They had went to the dojo for some training. Kagome had decided she needed to spend time with Shippo, so she had refused to train today. Shippo's mood seemed to have increased when Kagome had said she would play with him today.
"What did Derenti say?" Sango asked, sitting on the bed close to them and looking at the pictures.
"Rin will arrive shortly." Kagome replied, studying her drawing and smiling faintly to herself. She wasn't a good artist, but the picture was of a family...her family to be precise, Sesshomaru included.
"What's that a picture of, Kagome?" Shippo asked, coloring in his green blob.
"Just people." Kagome replied, glancing to see Sango look at her funny. Kagome smiled, reassuring her friend she wasn't depressed any more.
Sango was about to ask Kagome how she really was doing when Trey walked in. Sango couldn't get used to that. He'd just walk right in, like this was his room as well. When he had first done so, only Sango had been in the room, and she had been relaxing. She had jumped at the sound of the door opening. Trey had just walked in, grabbing some first aid supplies then walked out of the door. He didn't say one word and didn't even register that Sango was in the room. He had gotten the first aid supplies when Kagome had taken a nasty hit to her knuckles, on accident, of course.
"Are you done entertaining the Kitsune?" Trey asked, walking over and sitting in one of the chairs, relaxing.
Kagome didn't even look up as she replied, "I'm not entertaining him, I'm enjoying his company. And you?"
Trey sighed as he responded, "Well, Derenti is massing his armies. Sending them to the border. So basically I have nothing to do."
"Kagome, do you think we could go play tag?" Shippo asked, glancing at every one else as well.
"Sure Shippo, and I'm sure Trey would love to play." Kagome replied, smiling at Trey, who scowled slightly.
"Miroku and I will play too." Sango smiled at Shippo, then Miroku, who returned her smile.
"Really? YAY!" Shippo jumped up happily, grabbing Kagome, who grabbed Trey, and practically drug them down the hall.
Tsume walked into Kagome's room, seeing it was empty except the scattered papers the Kitsune had drawn on. Tsume had come to see if Kagome had a reply to the letter. He was about to walk out when he noticed a sheet of paper folded neatly, Sesshomaru's name on the outside. He walked over to it, picking it up and glancing inside, to ensure it was a completed note, before smirking and leaving the room.
X'ith stood in his chamber, finally ready to send Chii to the surface. She stood before him, in her shadow form, silently hoping he would change his mind. She did not want to go to the surface, but if it helped kill the Miko so she could have reign below, Chii was willing. Two other councilors stood in the room, watching as X'ith performed his spell.
Just as X'ith mumbled the last syllable to the spell, Chii's form took on a smoke like appearance and drifted towards the surface. Chii opened her eyes on the surface, immediately covering her white eyes against the bright sun. 'He had to send me during the day, didn't he?' Chii grumbled, looking down at her figure and realizing she would be extremely noticeable if she walked around like a shadow demon. Chii concentrated on the form she had before becoming a shadow demon, watching as her black body began to shape down and gain color. A couple of minutes later, Chii stood in her demon form. Her body was the very definition of feminine. Her curves were well defined and her body was developed in all the right places. She had waist length cinnamon color hair, which fell light and straight along her back, flashing in the sun.
Before Chii had died and become a Shadow demon, she had been a neko youkai with a special ability. Natural attraction. She had made it so well in life with that ability. Any male would feel some attraction to her and if she shown interest in that male, the attraction would increase. She glanced along her curvy and full form, smiling. "I had almost forgotten what I look like." her smile widening as she spoke to herself, wrapping her slim cat tail around her small waist.
She stretched each muscle, getting use to the natural agility and grace that neko youkai possessed. Sure she was graceful and agile as a shadow demon, but that grace and agility was down played with the strength she had while a shadow demon. Chii easily pulled off a back bend, pushing her feet into the air for a handstand. "Oooo, this'll be fun." she giggled as she pushed off of her hands and flipped before landing on her feet. She blinked her light blue cat eyes, looking around at the bright forest that surrounded her. "Now which way?" She shrugged before running lightly towards the direction the sun was. As good as a direction as any.
Inutaishou, Kouga, and Rashka sat in the meeting room, going over many different battle plans and strategies. "A simple way to overwhelm Derenti would be to attack all at once. With his one army spread over three borders our armies could easily push his back." Rashka hissed, looking at the extremely detailed and accurate map.
"His army knows the terrain better. And he has had time to prepare. But perhaps you could be right. But that would require all of our forces. These human villages," Inutaishou indicated the eight large human villages, "are going to fight with him. They know what will happen should Derenti fall. On top of that, since it is Derenti's land, he will have stable defenses. It will take more then a simple rush to get his lands." Inutaishou explained, eyes scanning the map.
Kouga's eyes went to the forest on the border. "We should forget trying to push in all of his borders. I say we go through that forest." Kouga explained, pointing to the large forest.
"Why the forest?" Rashka asked.
"If we push three armies through there, his defenses will hold. Hell, I bet we could sneak more then half of the demons through that woods. With as thick as it is and how dark it gets in there, a quiet demon could dance in front of you and you wouldn't know unless you used your nose." Kouga replied, glancing at Inutaishou.
"That is a good idea. Derenti's army will be spread over the border, not sure where we will be attacking. Pushing through one area, especially this forest, would be a solid plan. By the time he realized where we were breaking in through, we'd be knocking on his palace doors." Inutaishou grinned, looking at Kouga with approval.
"So all we have to do is mass our armies and push through. I think we should set up the base camp along the north western border. As far from the forest as we can so he doesn't get any ideas." Kouga stated, smiling inwardly at remembering to tell Derenti that he would position his army as defense. He knew the dragon would not believe his plan and mass his army to slaughter his instead of allowing them to hold a defensive position. Which was what Kouga wanted. With Derenti thinking he would move from the west, that left the forest to the east open to them.
"That could work." Inutaishou nodded his agreement, imagining the battle to come.
"What of your sons?" Rashka asked, scowling slightly.
"Inuyasha will be easy to deal with." Inutaishou waved that away before he to, scowled slightly. "I'm working on a solution to Sesshomaru. He will either work with me or I will be forced to remove him." Kouga nodded his agreement.
At the end of Inutaishous's statement, there was a light knock at the door. "Enter." Inutaishou stated, wondering who it could be. His Guardian entered.
"Lord Inutaishou, a guest is here for you." his Guardian stated.
"Send this guest to my room. I will be there shortly." Inutaishou replied, glancing to the other lords once his Guardian had shut the door. "In one weeks time, I want to be able to attack. You might want to return to your lands if you need to."
"One weeks time? I will be ready before that." Kouga smirked but agreed with the time.
"I shall be ready." Rashka hissed as he stood. "I will leave now to prepare for my trip to my lands."
"I'll go now as well. Why put it off?" Kouga stated as he stood, following Rashka out of the door. Inutaishou glanced at the map once more before leaving and going to see this 'guest' he had.
Chii sat in the room, on the bed, and looked around. The room was a good sized room and reeked of Inu youkai, as did the whole palace. Even if the Inu youkai were two different ones. The aura's in the palace amazed Chii. Inutaishou's aura's essence was everywhere, except in one hall, where it seems Sesshomaru's lay. She was thinking of him when Inutaishou walked in his room.
It took Chii a moment to realize who it was. She had never seen Inutaishou is his normal demon form before. He stood tall, a good couple heads taller with long silver hair that came down to his mid back. He had dark gold, almost hazel eyes with one strip gracing each cheek and a full moon on his forehead.
"Who are you?" he asked curiously, standing easily and crossing his arms.
"I'm hurt, Inutaishou." Chii pouted, standing and clasping her hands behind her back.
"I asked you a question, neko." Inutaishou growled slightly, ignoring the pout she threw him and the slight attraction he felt towards her.
"Oh you're no fun." Chii giggled before announcing, "It is me, councilor Chii." Inutaishuo looked at her skeptically, like she was a psycho that had ran off the streets. Chii rolled her eyes and as she did so, they turned as white as lightening while the rest of her body took on a black tint to it. She flashed him a smile as she twirled her index finger, creating a small whirlwind within the room. Knowing she needed no further proof, she blinked, her eyes returning to light blue and her body taking on its natural color.
"Why are you here Chii? Does X'ith think I cannot handle this?" Inutaishou asked, keeping his arms crossed.
"I'm here to help you with Sesshomaru." Chii smiled, winking at him.
"What do you mean?" Inutaishou scowled slightly.
"Oh Inutaishou, are you telling me you don't feel it?" Chii purred as she stalked closer to him. Inutaishou fought the urge growl as a wave of warm, pleasurable heat coursed through him.
"I see." He stated, watching her closely. Chii giggled happily, twirling lightly on her feet.
"It's apparent you understand." Chii smirked, glancing along his body to his length. She heard him growl at her, drawing her gaze back to him. "The only thing I need are some decent clothes. These traveling clothes will do no good." Chii stated, frowning down at her apparel.
"You can take on the guise of one of my Guardians. No one will question your appearance then." Inutaishou stated, seeing her nod. "I will get you a room as well and some...clothes." he finished, wanting her out of his presence as soon as possible.
"I think I'll go take a peek around this place. See what kind of trouble I can stir up." Chii smiled innocently before easily walking around Inutaishou and out the door. She stood out in the hall, frowning at her clothes once more. "First things first, if I'm going to stir up some trouble I defiantly can't do it in this." Chii walked down one of the halls, finding a servant and asked for clothes. After receiving directions, Chii easily found the room and picked out something more 'appropriate' to wear.
Chii looked into the mirror, smiling. She wore a dark blue 'dress' that ran down to the floor but had two slits up the sides of the leg to her upper thigh. She had done that on her own. The top half consisted of thin straps with a low cut neck line. All in all, Chii looked 'easy prey'. And that was the part she would play. She quickly wrapped her hair into a high pony tail, smiling at her reflection. "This is going to be fun."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ I'd thank everyone for the reviews, but in order to post this asap, i gotta do it now...so thanks to everyone who have been waiting patiently and those who didn't lose faith and came back and read this! I owe u guys one ^^