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By the time Sesshōmaru had carried Tōran to the chamber set aside for them, she was giggling uncontrollably. Tōran really was unable to hold her alcohol. Carrying Tōran made Sesshōmaru realize just how light she was. He knew all too well that she wasn't frail, delicate, or dainty but somehow, he expected her strength to literally make her heavier. "Sesshōmaruuuu! Tell me a secret!" His eyes snapped to hers. They were full of energy, blazing with hungry desire. It annoyed him that he was hesitating.

Drunken Tōran was an entirely new experience for Sesshōmaru. Was she joking around or was she serious? "Tell me!" she hissed, and the sour smell of alcohol wafted past his nose. Her claws dug tightly into his arms. So, she was being serious after all. Time to play for time. She might lose interest.

"Your siblings don't like me," he frowned. Tōran snorted and laughed.

"That's not a secret! You punched Shuran and you're supposed to get me pregnant at some point. Of course, they don't like you. But they will obey you and right now, that's all that matters between you and them. At least, they will if you keep me happy. So, tell me. I'll tell you one in exchange. Oh and let's get comfy." Tōran untied her sword belt and tossed it aside, watching Sesshōmaru to see if he got the hint. She smiled when she saw that he did.

"So tell me a secret," she whispered into his ear again, after they finished satisfying each other. Tōran pressed her body against him, snaking her legs between his.

"This whole place smells like cat," he replied nonchalantly, still playing for time. Mostly it was a thick, musty smell. It was different from other places and strangely, not always in a bad way. Sesshōmaru was just too used to thinking of the smell as indicative of an enemy.

"S'not a secret, you country bumpkin," Tōran snarled, biting playfully on his left ear. "One more chance before I start getting angry."

Sesshōmaru sighed and started to think. Only one thing kept coming to his mind and he really wasn't sure it was wise for him to share it with Tōran. It would definitely puff up her already far too large ego. But he really didn't keep secrets. No one confided such things to him and Sesshōmaru considered that he was pretty honest with himself. So, there was only the one thing which he could share to satisfy Tōran's determinedly feline curiosity.

"The first time I felt humiliation," he saw her perk up and open her mouth to say something before shutting it, "was when we fought each other for the first time. You were the first one I failed to kill."

"Can't say you didn't try. I remember how much I hurt after that fight. Every time was close. You and I…" Tōran sobered up quickly at the thought. Sesshōmaru expected mocking but she was being serious. Was it the alcohol or was this going to be another deep talk like the ones on their way here? "We really are going to be unstoppable together. Just don't get me pregnant before the fighting starts." Sesshōmaru didn't respond to her words. He was still thinking about her sincerity and candor, which was so unlike her usual swaggering arrogance.

"Your turn," he said, wrapping an arm around her and cupping a breast. She moaned in pleasure at the stimulation.

"You're so energetic tonight. Trying to conquer me in another way?" Tōran purred, "It won't work. I've always been impervious to your canine charms." Sesshōmaru didn't rise to the bait. He just began twisting and pulling her nipple lightly. She purred louder. "So, you can be underhanded when you try. I'll tell if you keep doing that. But one day, you'll tell me about this free wind nonsense." Tōran shifted a little to curl up against Sesshōmaru.

"Growing up under my father was harsh. He wanted boys and was cursed instead with three daughters before he got a son. Our mothers had it worse. I wished I could transform into a boy. I hated being a girl and I hated being told what a weak girl I was." She paused as if reflecting on something. Sesshōmaru let her be, believing that it would be in his best interest. The alcohol was clearly loosening her lips, and this was interesting background. He also chose not to mention how he never saw her as weak. After all their history, she was the only one whom he acknowledged as worthy of being his equal. If she was weak, then so was he, and he knew exactly what to do to anyone who dared call him weak. And she had confirmed his suspicion that the Devas were the offspring of different mothers. Such different powers had to have come from different sources given that their father had none of the elemental powers of his children.

"I wanted to thrash you so soundly, when we first met, that no one could say I was weak. If the daughter of the Panther King defeated the Demon Dog Lord's son, it would prove I was strong. So, we both came out of that fight with bruised egos." She smiled wistfully. "And look where it's gotten us."

"You spoke in the past tense. When did you stop feeling that way?" Sesshōmaru asked.

"Probably when I realized that I could use my sex as a way to make you mine. And then the first night together sealed it. It's quite fun being a girl when I have you," Tōran giggled again.

"You are very strange when you drink," her mate observed, studying her by looking directly into her eyes. Tōran returned his gaze with a self-satisfied grin.

"I'm being nice. I drank so you'd get the truth tonight. I'm very bad at lying when I drink," she replied.

"You're even stranger when you're being nice," was all he could manage.

Later that evening, Sesshōmaru slept lightly as he kept expecting an assassin to sneak into their room. Tōran was sleeping deeply, curled up next to him. Her cool breath in and out tickled his neck but if that made her happy, it was a small price to pay. Overall, Sesshōmaru found Tōran's proximity less and less intrusive as each night they spent together passed. He was getting used to her fondness to snuggle. Before she had insisted on it, Sesshōmaru had never really slept next to anyone. For now, their arrangement was working quite well though they hadn't met any real resistance yet.

The wind outside had stopped its howling and the snow had ceased falling, which added to the quietude of the night. It was that stillness which made the sudden clanging of a bell sound like the eruption of a volcano. It pierced the night with its frantic clamoring as if someone was beating as swiftly and powerfully as he could. And then it abruptly stopped.

By that time, Sesshōmaru had shot out of their bed and thrown on his robes. By the time he had dressed and slid his swords into place, Tōran was stirring groggily. "What?" she asked muzzily.

"Trouble," he replied and was pleased to see the sudden focus in her eyes. The prospect of danger had awakened her own killer instincts and put her on the alert.

Karan burst through the door and took a knee as Tōran began dressing. "Spiders," she panted, "are attacking. Every side. Shunran is gathering the families and Shuran is rallying the warriors. But we're being pressed by their numbers." She did not mention that the Panther tribe's warriors were also caught off-guard by the attack.

"The Spider clan is one of the demon clans subordinated to my rule. It seems they have chosen rebellion. I wonder if the Northern Trolls offered them something," Tōran explained, slipping her own sword into the belt.

"They are enemies," Sesshōmaru said simply, then turned to Karan. "Where are they strongest?"

"The western gate. They have some of their stronger fighters there. No match for you though," Karan replied with a smirk.

"What are you thinking?" Tōran asked, seeing something of a plan forming in her mate's head.

"I will smash their assault and draw them all to me. You two will find the leader and kill him. The other two will keep doing whatever it is they're doing."

Tōran smiled at its simplicity. "It works. Open a path to the western gate, we'll make it look like the two of us are making a retreat while you act as a rearguard. Now kiss me." Karan looked scandalized by the last command. She had nodded at the plan, approving its basic outline. But this was too much! She looked in open-mouthed horror as Sesshōmaru obeyed. He and Tōran engaged in a single, passionate kiss which she would never have thought the dog yōkai capable of. "Go forth and conquer all, my dear Sesshōmaru. I will return with our enemy's head."

Shuran roared as he sent a bolt of lightning hurtling at an oversized spider, which chittered loudly as it was cooked to death by the bolt. Panther warriors flanked him with spears and faced off against a wall of black armored spiders, their red eyes glowing menacingly. Some held torches aloft, swatting at the spiders which got too close.

"Give up, Shuran. You can't win against our might!" a voice cried out. Three human-like bodies rose above the wall of arachnids. Each had eight giant legs sprouting from their backs but their human faces showed their absolute belief in their superiority.

"Never! Panthers never give up!" Shuran bellowed and charged up another bolt when something slammed into his shoulder and pain surged. A large dagger was stuck in his left shoulder and he roared with pain, releasing the uncontrolled bolt into the air. One of the spider-human hybrids had thrown it with blinding speed.

"Step aside," a quiet, hated voice said from behind him. Shuran turned to see Sesshōmaru, standing behind him with a single sword drawn. It was the new one, which he had never seen before. It glowed with emerald power and Shuran felt the familiar, strangling killing intent radiating from Sesshōmaru. They had fought against each other in the past, trying to kill each other. He well knew how intimidating it was to stand against Sesshōmaru. The Panthers around him parted, out of fear or obedience, it didn't seem to matter. Every one of them knew the Demon Dog's reputation for ruthlessness. Tōran and Karan appeared behind Sesshōmaru.

"Go and get that seen to," his eldest sister commanded as Shuran reluctantly made way for his so-called King.

"Not while there's a fight," Shuran refused.

"Do as she says," Karan hissed, "It could be poisoned!"

"Not while there's a fight!" he repeated stubbornly.

Ahead of them, Sesshōmaru advanced steadily towards the black chitinous wall of spiders. They clicked away, unsure of who he was. "I am Sesshōmaru, Demon Dog Lord of the West and co-ruler of the Panther Tribe. There will be no survivors tonight," he announced and unleashed Bakusaiga's power in a sudden, green flash.

Shuran stared in awe at the display of power. In a single flash, Sesshōmaru struck down a dozen spider yōkai and charged into their midst. Tōran and Karan dashed in behind him, unleashing their own elemental powers of ice and fire. Spiders collapsed as ice shards pierced their thick chitin and flames leapt through them. And then Tōran and Karan were gone. Only Sesshōmaru remained, swiftly dispatching opponent after opponent with his green sword.

The human-spider yōkai chittered and their surviving minions backed away. All three advanced swiftly and launched a flurry of strikes with their spider legs. Shuran saw that the speed of those attacks was too fast for Sesshōmaru and he took hit after hit as he tried to parry with his own sword. Just as quickly, the attacks stopped. "He's not dead!" one screeched.

"He's cut me!" the third gurgled and collapsed. Shuran turned and saw that its legs had indeed been cut off and a large red slash pumped out of the demon's lifeblood, staining the white snow.

Sesshōmaru snarled. "I thought I dealt a killing blow."

"How are you still alive?" the first spider hissed. Shuran knew. The spiders' legs were laced with fast-acting poisons. They only needed to scratch an opponent to kill. That was what they had done to Sesshōmaru, who was immune to all poisons. He could feel the poison in the wound he had received but Shuran refused to leave the fight, even if his part was minimal.

Sesshōmaru ran his right thumb down a scratch on his left arm and licked the blood off, as if tasting the blood. A moment later, the wound was healed. "I don't need to answer a dead demon." And then he launched forwards to begin his own assault.

"I think there's one in the woods ahead, nee-san," Karan said, pointing to the dark patch of trees ahead.

"Then let's catch it and find out why they chose tonight and here to attack." However, the moment they entered, Tōran knew something was wrong. She could feel the trap waiting to be sprung on them. "Karan, retreat!" As they turned, Tōran saw their way was barred by thick layers of sticky, spidery silk.

"I've got this!" Karan declared, throwing a fistful of fire at the webbing. It seared, sparkled, and popped but the webbing remained in place save for a black mark. "Okay… I don't got this." Karan turned to her older sister.

"Watch the woods. Whatever's lurking in here is coming for us. I'll see what I can do." Tōran summoned an ice spear and ran it down the webbing, pumping her own ice powers into the weapon. Slowly, the silk seemed to stiffen and get brittle. A little time and she would be able to break it.

"Nee-san…" Karan began to say unsteadily.

"Burn down the forest if you see something!" Tōran snapped impatiently. Immediately, Karan's bright flames leapt up around them. Instantly, Tōran regretted that decision. The heat made the ice melt faster. She didn't turn around to see what her sister was firing at. Tōran trusted Karan, all of her siblings, to fight smart. She wasn't always sure about Sesshōmaru.

Because even if Tōran broke this webbing by making it so brittle that she could smash through it, she wasn't sure there was enough time for both of them to escape through the hole. And Tōran was not going to leave her little sister behind. Which begged the question of what Sesshōmaru would do.

"Nee-san, if we don't get out of this, I need to ask you something."

"What?" Tōran asked, concentrating on exerting more power to make the frozen area big enough.

"Does being with Sesshōmaru make you happy?"

"It's all going according to my plan," Tōran replied, dodging the question. She didn't want to think about that right now. "Almost there!" The air around them was thick with smoke from burning wood. Tōran knew it didn't bother Karan but the smokiness made it harder for Tōran to focus on the task.

"Answer the question, nee-san!"

Tōran seethed at her sister's sudden impertinence. "Yes! Most of the time. He can be as dense as Shuran sometimes. There."

"Then, make sure you come back for me," Karan said and Tōran felt herself lift into the air. The area she had been freezing grew closer until she smashed through it and breathed the cold, fresh air. Tōran stopped herself in mid-air and spun, planning to go back for her sister.

"Karan! Karan!" she screamed but the hole was already closing and all she saw of her sister were the final flashes of her fire before it become dark.

The snow exploded in front of Sesshōmaru but that didn't bother him. He flung Bakusaiga straight into the wall of snow and turned his attention skywards. But then he shielded his eyes as a blinding light struck the spider above him. Rather than strike from above, the carcass crunched into the snow and began to boil it into gas. He looked from the burning mass to the Panther Deva, Shuran. He was the youngest of the siblings, the one who might have had the most expectations on his shoulders. Sesshōmaru nodded curtly and turned to retrieve his sword, impaled on the final human-spider hybrid, which stared blankly into the dark night sky.

A sudden crumpling sound in the snow, made Sesshōmaru turn. Shuran had collapsed. "Bring him back for treatment," Sesshōmaru ordered the Panthers as he calmly drove Bakusaiga deeper into the hybrid, twisting the blade. The hybrid screamed, causing many of the Panthers to jump in surprise. Sesshōmaru snarled. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

His prisoner continued to scream senselessly. "Useless creature," Sesshōmaru sneered and pumped a second wave of toxins into the hybrid so it would die burning and desperate for relief. The exact same kind of poison which they tried to inject into him. It was a new way to use his power, he had found. If he ingested a poison, he learnt about its composition and his body could replicate it. The implications of this extension of his power made him quite pleased. Maybe there was a poison which could shut Tōran up.

Sesshōmaru looked up to see Tōran stumble back to the gate, drained of her energy and alone. She had been beaten. Not only that, she had lost Karan. Sesshōmaru comprehended the loss. His own fear of losing Rin. The regret at being unable to save Kagura. Without a word, he went to her and wrapped his arms around Tōran. She sunk into his arms. Only he could hear her words, but they made his lips twitch into what might have been a smile. He was mistaken – Tōran wasn't beaten, she was already planning her revenge. Sesshōmaru tightened his embrace as he realized another new thing about himself. He cared for Tōran's feelings and that caring made him reply, "There will be no survivors."

Author's notes:
1) A very different idea from what I had originally envisioned this chapter to look like. Toran was going to be kidnapped and Sesshomaru was going to have to rescue her with her siblings. Except that she would already have freed herself. But a bit too predictable. Rescue mission is still go but for Karan? Maybe?

2) I am clearly straying away from the original material for the Panthers since there's really not much on them. I suppose the same can be said for Sesshomaru but every character must continue to change and grow.

3) I'm going to be doing a straight up sex scene between our lovely couple at some point. There will be a short mini-chapter next month on what Tsukiyo's hunters and Koga's wolves have killed as well as what Inuyasha's group is going to do once they hear the news.

4) Feedback is always welcome. Your support of my hobby is always appreciated.

5) To anyone who is wondering, I do own a cat and she does contribute to the story.