All rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi etc.
The unmistakable, pungent smell of dog was polluting the air, which meant that Kōga was in the right place. He held up a fist to stop Ginta and Hakkaku. They were in a snowy bamboo forest, perfect for ambushes. "Greetings, leader of the Yōrō clan. I am Shiroime, a hunter for the Demon Dog Clan." A short, white-haired dog demon revealed himself from behind a tree. Were all the wretched dogs white-haired, Kōga wondered to himself. The dog demon carried a short spear in one hand and a case with more across his back. A long dagger or knife hung on his belt, next to a large sack. Kōga found himself looking down on the shorter demon, finding him unimpressive especially when compared to his master. The dog was wearing dark colored rags, which covered his white fur.
"You're the skilled hunter I'm supposed to meet?" the wolf asked, frowning.
"So, I am reckoned," the dog replied politely, looking up to reveal milky white eyes. Kōga had to force himself not to recoil instinctively though Ginta and Hakkaku did so. The dog demon cocked his head as if confused for a moment before nodding in silent understanding. "Ah, do my eyes trouble you?"
"You're a blind hunter," Kōga said. It wasn't a question but there was doubt in his voice.
"Oh, certainly," Shiroime replied, smiling wide enough to reveal his fangs. "I use my nose and ears to find my prey. My arms to spear and skin." With that, his left hand dropped to the sack and untied it. From within, he pulled a bloody head to show Kōga. It had a beaked mouth containing sharp, knife-like incisors and ivory horns protruding from its head. "Our prey for the next few seasons. You can tell from the mud and general lack of hygiene. A very distinct smell not in keeping with the scents of our native beasts." He chuckled and tossed the severed head over to Kōga, who caught it.
The wolf yōkai turned it over, taking in its disgusting smell. The head wasn't cold, despite the winter temperatures. "When was this killed?" Kōga asked, not believing the blind dog could actually hunt.
"A few minutes ago. It did not like having my spear in its heart," Shiroime chuckled again as Kōga passed the head to Ginta and Hakkaku. They held it gingerly, frowning at the smell and looking at the dark red blood still dripping from the severed neck.
"How many of you are there?" Kōga asked.
"Including myself, we have eight hunters working now. My partner is cleaning up our little ambush while the other pairs are searching for other points of intrusion," Shiroime replied, pointing to the north. Kōga nodded, understanding the situation.
"Twelve of my men and their hunting wolves will be here tomorrow. We should pair them up and work together."
"Of course. I will gather our hunters and return here by dawn tomorrow. If we are not here, withdraw."
Kōga nodded and replied, "Same." If either group was missing, it would mean that they had been attacked and wiped out. In such case, the surviving group would be waiting indefinitely.
Once the dog had left, Kōga turned to his friends. "Hard to believe that old fart can hunt," he remarked condescendingly. "No doubt he's strong and powerful but throwing a spear, he couldn't hit anything. You saw his eyes. He's so ancient that his sight is gone."
Ginta frowned at those words. "I don't think he's that old to have gone blind with age. I mean, his name seems like he was born with that blindness." Kōga snorted at that. He'd believe it when he saw it. A blind hunter was useless.
"This is all so confusing, like a bad story written by a child," Sango exclaimed, after listening to Kagome and Inuyasha's explanation of what had transpired a few nights ago. "And why should you involve yourselves in his fight?"
"I never expected Sesshōmaru to settle down with a wife and plan to have children. At least, not in my lifetime," Miroku added, stroking his chin.
Kagome laughed and Inuyasha snorted, "It was more like a shotgun wedding," she said. At the others' blanks stares, she explained what the phrase meant. After understanding her meaning, the others nodded.
"But going back to Sango's question… I don't think we have to," Kagome looked at the new bow she had been unceremoniously handed. It was smaller, recurved bow which was much harder to string and draw. But when she practiced, the physical power of each arrow loosed was more intense than the longbow from Mount Hakurei. "The only thing Sesshōmaru said was that we were useful so that the rest of the demon dogs didn't simply kill us there and then. You remember how he didn't want Inuyasha in the fight against the Panthers. I think he's just trying to goad Inuyasha."
"Be that as it may," Miroku said, "we cannot deny the safety of the village is threatened. Sesshōmaru's sudden removal of Rin from here is proof of that. He believes all of our strength here wouldn't keep her safe, so he's brought her to the only other place where he thinks she would be safe. We should consider having the villagers flee as well, at least until the danger is past."
"I'm out of practice and Miroku only has his priestly abilities. Plus, there's the children,"
Sango said, looking very sternly at Miroku. "We can't help you if you decide to join this fight. Though, I agree that now the storm is past, we should start preparing to leave before spring arrives."
"Inuyasha, you've been awfully quiet. What do you think?" Kagome asked, turning to look at her husband.
"Sesshōmaru is moving forwards. He isn't happy yet with where he is or who he is. I am. I have the best wife and great friends. But, if it's true that some great big demon army is coming from the north in spring… I can't just sit around, boasting about how wonderful life is. Me and Tessaiga will rip holes in them. Even if it means working with … them." He spoke the last word with extra disgust. Inuyasha still hadn't forgiven the Demon Dog Clan for its haughty treatment of him. The others were silent as Inuyasha stood up and left the house. "I'm going to get some air and calm down."
After a moment, "You really met Sesshōmaru's mother?" Sango whispered to Kagome, who nodded in reply. "And he really tried to cut her with Tessaiga?"
"And Tessaiga just stopped, dead in the air, when it touched her flesh. It changed into this bright, shiny blade. And then she just frowns at him and talks down to him about how poorly his mother raised him. As if she did such a great job with Sesshōmaru." Kagome took a breath, willing the memory of the Inu no Kimi's hostility away, "Still… I wouldn't want to be on her bad side. She's definitely smart and definitely really, scary powerful," Kagome said, recalling the confident, calculating way the Inu no Kimi stopped and held Tessaiga. She saw exactly where Sesshōmaru got that side of his personality from. "I think Rin was happy, being there. I was concerned that she wasn't making friends here but…I think we've always known what choice Rin would make."
Miroku nodded and Sango sighed. "No human family could ever meet her expectations when compared against Sesshōmaru."
"Shuran is weak," Shunran said, pointing to her brother laying on a soft mattress in obvious pain. "I don't know what poison they used so I don't even know what I could use to relieve his pain. If I tried something, it could just make the poison more deadly! Same goes for everyone else who was hurt by a poisoned weapon!" Her frustration was evident as Panther Tribe healers made their rounds between the numerous wounded Panthers, warriors and villagers alike.
Tōran was still thinking back to the trip which she and Sesshōmaru had returned from. They had gone to the forest where Karan had last been seen. Her mate used his new flashy sword to cut right through the spider silk like it was nothing and they began their search. Dozens of scorch marks and a handful of charred lumps of ash remained but nothing that was Karan. Dark patches marked blood on the ground and snow, but none of it was Karan's. All that they could conclude was that she had been kidnapped by the spider yōkai, but they could not fathom the purpose other than the obvious. "A trap," Sesshōmaru had said. Tōran agreed since she knew exactly where they made their lair. She was determined to bring her entire army there to wipe them out, trap or not. She and Sesshōmaru had already formed a plan but she needed Shunran and Shuran for it to work.
"Nee-san, did you hear me?" Shunran asked, snapping her sister back to the moment.
"Sesshōmaru," Tōran said, "Poison is your area. Not mine." He looked at her as if asking what she was asking of him. "Can you identify the poison?"
He took a moment to look around the room before replying. "I don't know its name, if it even has one. But I can tell you its effects and replicate it."
"Then why didn't you say something sooner!" Shunran shrieked and snatched up a paper and brush. "No, wait. You can make it? Just make some and put it in here! We can make an antidote from that!" She slapped down the paper and brush and shoved an empty tea cup into Sesshōmaru's chest. He looked down and took it, obeying her instructions without changing his deadpan expression. Tōran really liked that about dogs. Once they were tamed, they were obedient pets.
He held his hand above the teacup and slowly, a clear, sharp-smelling liquid began to trickle from Sesshōmaru's claws. Tōran and Shunran looked at each other. "Did you know he can do that?" the younger sister asked. Tōran just shook her head and looked at Sesshōmaru, appraising him in a new light.
When Shunran judged enough of the poison had been collected, she took the cup without a word and sped off, shouting orders at other healers. Some of them turned away from their patients and hurried to join her. "If there's an antidote, Shunran will find it," Tōran said, clenching her fist. Sesshōmaru looked at her without a word. She knew, without a doubt, he was biting back some cutting remark. Part of her appreciated his attempt at restraint but another part of her almost welcomed his challenge so that she could have something to beat up. "Have you always been able to make poison like that?"
"That was my first time doing it," he replied, picking up another empty tea cup and filling it with another poisonous liquid.
"What's that?" she asked.
"The liquid form of a gaseous poison. Some human tried to use it on me. I assumed, at the time, that his recipe was just another useless human weapon against yōkai but now, I'm wondering if it was just my immunity," Sesshōmaru explained, sniffing the liquid in the cup. He had replicated it as a liquid, but the human had used it as a gas.
"Well, don't test it here," Tōran snarled, pointing to the wounded Panthers around them.
"I was thinking we could coat your sword with it," Sesshōmaru looked to her blade. She almost never drew it, using some ice weapon instead. "Unless that's just a decoration?"
"Yeah, it's just a decoration. I don't have any fancy demon weapon," Tōran snarled again. What was he driving at? Sesshōmaru looked as if he was about to say something but stopped. Instead, he just drank the poison and looked at her, waiting for her. It was so infuriating that she strode out without another word.
The sun was rising now, and messengers had been sent to the other Panther encampments and fortified villages. Tōran had run out of things to do and was too fretful to eat. Sesshōmaru had followed her around silently, contributing very little. So, she had now taken to pacing inside the room where she and Sesshōmaru had slept the night before.
"A demoness of your standing should not show such emotion in front of others," Sesshōmaru finally said, breaking the silence. He had grown weary of Tōran's edginess. One of the few lessons he had picked up from his mother was that any yōkai of standing needed to be able to control his emotions. If a daiyōkai lost control of his emotional balance, he lost the ability to make a sound decision. Most of those lessons used his father as a negative example, with many mentions of how his father had become infatuated with a human woman, leading to his death. "Calm yourself."
His remark sparked an immediate, explosive reaction in Tōran. She spun on her heels, lowered herself, and pounced in a flash, claws unsheathed with a loud, low growl. Sesshōmaru found it oddly endearing as he shifted his feet and braced to take her assault. He saw her eyes turn red as her claws and fangs extend as she partially shifted into her true daiyōkai form. A small part of Sesshōmaru's brain noted how Tōran still seemed beautiful when she was angry. Then she slammed into him, slashing with her claws and trying to bite his neck. Tōran really was trying to make a kill, like a panther going for its prey's neck.
Sesshōmaru felt her claws dig into his chest as they tumbled to the floor and she pinned him. There were two options. Resist or let her physically vent her frustration on him. Whatever choice he made would define their relationship going forward. Except their relationship was already defined – they were equal partners. Decision made, Sesshōmaru barked his defiance and pushed himself up, partially transforming to release more power. Tōran rolled away, rising on all fours with her fangs bared, ready to spring at him again.
Before she could, Sesshōmaru lunged forward with a roar and pushed Tōran backwards into the wall, knocking over the crossed spears which had hung above them. Both yōkai ignored the loud clatter as Tōran retaliated by clamping Sesshōmaru's left arm. Sesshōmaru felt her break skin and blood began to flow freely down his arm and into her mouth. He watched her swallow the blood and the red drained from her eyes. Slowly, Tōran released her jaw and transformed back to her human form, licking her lips. "I didn't know you were so delicious." She pulled his head closer, put a finger to his lips and said, "How about round two in bed?"
But before he could reply, Shunran spoke. "Shuran's better and wants to … Oh!" She had simply walked in without announcement and turned bright red as she realized what she had walked in on.
"Sesshōmaru's mine. Go find your own," Tōran snickered. Sesshōmaru relaxed now that Tōran had something else to occupy her.
"How did the meeting with the Wolves go, Shiro?" one of the other Demon Dog hunters asked as they sat around a fire, cooking skewered meat.
"Same as it goes with anyone who sees these eyes for the first time. Disbelief and disgust. One even called me an old man as I left! I'm only a couple centuries older than Lord Sesshōmaru!" Shiroime laughed, pointing to his eyes which were now covered by a band of cloth. The others laughed as well, long used to the predictability of how strangers reacted to their leader's blindness. "We're meeting them tomorrow at dawn and they're going to bring their hunting wolves."
"How cute of them to bring pets," commented another hunter.
"Maybe those wolves are just their children trying to learn from the parents?" joked another.
"Well, whatever it is, the boar is about done," Shiroime said, plucking a skewer from one of his compatriots and taking a bite. "Needs more salt."
"No, next time, we should make it with some of the sweet marinade Shu's wife claims is a mainland recipe! Sweet roast boar! Sounds good, right?"
Author's Notes
1) My final Master's submission took longer than I thought it would. 60+, 11pt font, Arial single spaced pages submitted on the 18th. So, yes, it's a bit late but I'm not going to apologize to the one anonymous reviewer for prioritizing my degree over my hobby. All "guest" reviews go into my moderation queue so I deleted it since it had nothing constructive to add.
2) I'm not happy with this chapter since I originally planned to include the attack on the Spiders' lair here. However, I'm also really tired of typing (did I mention 60 pages, single space 11pt Arial) so this is the compromise. I would like to put the rest up in August but we will see.
3) The troll description is similar to that of Goshinki, from the anime, except that I putting an actual bird-like beak with teeth. I believe another reviewer was asking about why I used the word "troll." When I started writing the story, I was working more from memory than the wiki and I remembered one of the unofficial translations using the word "troll" at some point. I could be wrong since I first watched Inuyasha back in high school when it was airing on Toonami and also using various anime download sites to get episodes which I missed. So, that's where I got the word from. The Inuyasha wiki translates as Oni as "ogres" while glorious wikipedia gives us, "demon, devil, ogre, or troll." Therefore, I am simply going to proceed with Troll being a subspecies of Oni.
4) I wanted Shunran to walk in while our lovely couple were working things out in Round 2 but, alas, this main story is T-rated for maximum exposure. There will be other opportunities to scar her and her siblings. Like when they meet Sesshomaru's mother! Won't that be fun for us?
5) Shiroime - such an original name. White Eyes. I know. He's the last daiyokai for the Demon Dogs. The juxtaposition of Sesshomaru, Tsukiyo, and Shiro should be interesting going forwards. One is born with his power, one has to work for her power, and the last? You'll see.
6) Some of the Japanese people I've met don't believe that their "cha shu" is just them copying "char siu" from the Chinese, even after I point out that it and ramen (la mian) are written in katakana.