The newest chapter. I had tried to get it ready for Halloween but obviously I failed.
"Slow and steady, Rin-sama. No need to rush," Tsubame said, watching Rin puzzle over the mathematics problem. "Remember the steps we talked about." Rin felt frustrated. She knew how to add and subtract. She also understood the idea of multiplication and division. But it was hard to know when she needed which. And then Tsubame had to teach her about the order to add, subtract, multiply or divide. It was all too confusing. Tsubame would wait and observe what Rin did and then when Rin was finally too flustered, she would give suggestions and short discussions before having Rin try it a different way. Tsubame was so patient and Rin felt like a bad student, unable to do anything to show her progress.
Rin knew that there was no way to compete physically with any of the demons but she had hoped she was at least as intelligent as them. Now, she felt like a failure. They expected so much from her and she could only struggle. "I won't give up!" Rin snapped aloud, startling Tsubame. She quickly apologized the older girl.
"That's the spirit! Tell me if you need to explain something again," Tsubame smiled.
"Fifteen minutes until archery practice! Better clean up and get ready!" Taiya called from the hallway.
Rin washed her brush and put away the bottle of ink before changing into her exercise robes. After multiple poor performances with the older girls, Captain Tsukiyo had moved her to a class with younger girls. While Tsubame and Taiya dressed for archery, she would be practicing jujutsu. Rin found it both heartening and disheartening. She wanted to be with her friends, but she found it easier to compete physically against the smaller demonesses. All of them were around Rin's size and had less experience than the older ones. This made it easier for Rin to trick them in sparring and she had won several matches, much to Jaken's delight.
Shunran turned around and counted to five. When she had finished, she turned back to see Sesshōmaru and Tōran still entangled in each other's arms.
"You were saying?" Tōran asked.
"Sh-Shuran is awake," Shunran replied, looking away with a scowl.
"Can he fight?" Shunran half-turned her head to look Tōran in the eyes. Tōran knew the answer to her own question. But she wanted Shunran to say it, thereby confirming Tōran's authority over her sister. "Can he fight?" she pressed, her voice hardening as she gripped Sesshōmaru tighter. His hands were slyly worming their way to places they shouldn't be right now.
"Yes, he can fight!" Shunran exploded. "All of us can fight, will fight for you, die for you! Nee-san! But why should we fight for him?" She pointed her finger at Sesshōmaru, revealing her anger and frustration at her sister's unilateral decision to take Sesshōmaru as her mate. Tears began to form. For all they knew, Karan had already died for Tōran. "Why!" Shunran demanded as the tears began to flow.
Sesshōmaru's hands surreptitiously extracted themselves, much to Tōran's gratitude. He might be denser than a rock, but he clearly understood that the time for playing around was past. Tōran let go and both yōkai straightened. Tōran started to move towards her youngest sister but stopped when she saw Sesshōmaru stride forwards faster than her. He towered over Shunran, who glared defiantly back at him.
"Because I will fight and kill for you. Your enemies are mine. I have already sworn, there will be no survivors." There was silence between them for a moment and then he left, striding towards the hut where Shuran was. Tōran immediately rushed to Shunran and they embraced. Shunran let her tears flow freely, crying like a child for her eldest sister while Tōran stroked her hair.
In the back of her mind, Tōran was impressed by Sesshōmaru's performance. She had thought he was incapable of such theatrics. Maybe he was learning more from her than she gave him credit for.
-
"I asked for my sister," Shuran growled, sitting up straighter as he saw Sesshōmaru approach him.
"She's busy. We have a plan to rescue Karan," Sesshōmaru declared, loud enough for all in the hut to hear.
"Let me guess, stroll in there and murder all of them. That's your style," Shuran sneered.
"Yes. And no." Shuran waited for Sesshōmaru to elaborate but he didn't.
"Not going to tell me when you obviously need me? Enjoying looking down on me?" Shuran asked acidly.
"When you stand." The simple reply wasn't meant to be condescending but most things Sesshōmaru said came across that way to those weaker than him. He knew it and after observing Tōran, wondered if he could use it as a way to manipulate others. Every panther yōkai clearly had some preconception of him as a powerful daiyōkai so, he was intrigued to see if he could manipulate their reactions using such presumptions about him.
Shuran shot to his feet at the challenge, lightning arcing from his body and fists. Sesshōmaru considered that both a good sign for Shuran's health and a minor success for his experiment. "Follow me outside." Sesshōmaru turned and strode out, stopping in the open area outside the hut. Shuran obeyed, making faces silently. Other wounded panthers whispered their encouragement to him as he passed. He was one of their champions, the fourth Panther Daeva.
"Your powers have improved since we last met. That is good," Sesshōmaru said as Shuran came out. Time for another experiment. It helped that Shuran wasn't the most intellectually gifted of the Panther Daevas. It made him more susceptible to these attempts.
"For whom?" the Panther demon asked, looking at his Demon Dog counterpart with suspicion.
"That should be obvious. Your sisters, your tribe, and yourself. Isn't a man's job to protect his family and kin from danger?" These were platitudes which Sesshōmaru had heard from his father. Even now, Sesshōmaru didn't know if he believed them. In retrospect, though, his own actions in the past two weeks were evidence that he was acting on similar sentiments. Moving Rin, claiming his clan's lordship, and binding his ties to Tōran in both blood and promises of vengeance. Still, Sesshōmaru conceded, none of that meant he believed in such ideas, only that his pragmatic actions happened to align with the nonsense his father believed.
More lightning arced and crackled as Shuran clenched his fists in frustration. "If I had been stronger, you could have gone with them!"
"That is not a guarantee that the same thing wouldn't have happened," Sesshōmaru shot back. "Hit me with your full power."
"What?" Shuran turned incredulously to Sesshōmaru.
"Hit me."
Above, the clouds began to gather, and more electrical power collected around Shuran as he built up energy to hit Sesshōmaru with his full force.
He pulled back his fist to strike Sesshōmaru who stood with arms folded. "You asked for this," Shuran said and swung. Sesshōmaru watched the fist coming towards him, intending to take the full blow. He saw electricity crackling along Shuran's arms and the power of his mucular physique was nothing to scoff at. To his surprise, three consecutive bolts of lightning struck the Demon Dog Lord from above in the instant before Shuran struck, distracting Sesshōmaru and then Shuran's fist landed on his face. For an instant, Sesshōmaru lost his balance and began to fall backwards before stopping in mid-fall and rising back up. He had used his ability to fly to counteract the pull of gravity and push himself back up. Nonetheless, it was a powerful hit and the sneaky lightning strikes had worked well. One day, Shuran would be an opponent worthy of Sesshōmaru's full power.
"We can make use of you, after all. Walk with me and I will tell you what we intend."
"Who's the human brat?" Kōga asked, looking at the young human man following behind the eight Demon Dog hunters. The human was carried a sword on his side and a large sickle on his back. A small, familiar-looking nekomata loped along beside him, evidently enjoying the snow.
"Kohaku is a human retainer to our lord, tasked with eliminating the trolls' leadership. He will follow us today to learn more about the enemy," Shiroime replied formally. He wore the blindfold which helped put strangers at ease. "So, I was of a mind to split into three groups."
"For north, east, and west. Who will lead the third group?" Kōga observed. It was obvious to him that he would take one group and the old dog would take the second. That left the third group.
"As you have the larger group, it would be best if you chose," Shiroime smiled with predatory glee, causing Kōga to scowl. The old man was looking down on him.
"Ginta, lead the third group. Let's meet back here in eight hours. The group with the fewest trophies will hunt dinner," Kōga declared.
"Agreed. For trophies, to save space, may I suggest cutting off right thumbs?"
"Done," Kōga agreed. Both he and Shiroime began the work of splitting their hunters. It was decided that Kohaku would follow Shiroime and they would go east. Kōga's group would go west, leaving Ginta to hunt in the north. "May the group win!" Kōga declared and sprinted off to the west, his clan members right behind. The three Dog Demons were momentarily startled but shrugged and set off after him as well. Ginta and his group left when they did.
"So, Kohaku my lad, the northern troll is a formidable prey. As an individual, it is physically strong and full of malicious cunning. In groups, they become organized and hierarchical based on whoever is perceived to be the strongest. Once you cut out the leadership, they need to stop and decide who is the new leader," Shiroime began speaking to Kohaku, loud enough for all to hear. He passed the young man another sack containing the head of another troll. "Pass it around if anyone else wants to see the face of our enemy. They make weapons and armor and have individuals who can wield strong powers. Not a foe to be taken lightly at all. But they die just as easily as any other demon when you know their weaknesses. The head and the heart." Shiroime pointed to his own head and then the center of his chest. "Their hearts are dead center, protected by thick ribs running down their torso. So, you need to either come from a side or strike from behind. If you strike from the front, your blade will most likely be deflected by bone and get stuck between the ribs." Kohaku nodded, storing the information. "All set? Then let us hunt," Shiroime said, flashing white fangs in a predatory smile.
The forest before them loomed dark and gloomy, despite the bright wintery sun. Sesshōmaru could already feel the air warming up ever so slightly. Tōran already had an icy lance and clearly wanted to go charging in. "Remember, dear Sesshōmaru, that Jorōgumo is mine. And if you interfere, I will cut you down." As if he needed the reminder. Sesshōmaru looked down at Tōran and their eyes locked. She knew he understood. Tōran's panthers surrounded the whole forest and all of them waited.
"I don't like the idea of you two going in alone," Shuran said, electricity crackling from his body. The added moisture in the air from the slowly melting snow increased his power.
"Neither do I, nee-san. What if you need help?" Shunran added, fidgeting with her fingers. Both she and her brother had voiced many doubts and reservations about the plan, but neither could deny that Tōran and Sesshōmaru together were sufficiently powerful to deal with all of the Spider clan's best fighters.
"Then Sesshōmaru will save me before we rescue Karan. After that, I can spend the rest of the day scolding her for all the trouble she's caused," Tōran replied, trying to hide her nerves with sarcasm.
"Why not retreat if it's too difficult?" Shunran asked before instantly regretting the question.
Tōran exploded with fury. "I will not run away again!" Sesshōmaru mentally counted the three times Tōran had conceded the battlefield to him. In each instant, their duel was never settled. External circumstances always forced her to retreat. "Shunran, our sister is trapped in there. That is enough reason for you and me to give everything to get her back. Now do it."
Shunran bowed her head and sighed. Then with an unexpected suddenness, rose into the air and then said, "The barrier is up. Bring Karan home, nee-san."
Tōran and Sesshōmaru sprang forward and dashed into the trees. They were immediately assaulted by large spider yōkai but those were swiftly dispatched. She led the way, fearlessly advancing into the swarms of spider yōkai and savagely cutting them down. Sesshōmaru found himself transfixed by the sight of a vengeful Tōran, whose wrath was directed at someone other than him. It was both entrancing and attractive, he decided.
"Little Tōran, it's not very nice to barge into other demons' realms without a formal greeting." A female disembodied voice echoed through the forest and the waves of spiders used Tōran's momentary pause to retreat. "And I see you brought your new bedwarmer. How quaint but it will die quite soon." Sesshōmaru frowned as more power radiated from Bakusaiga. Even Tenseiga's normal attitude had changed to one of indignation. He could feel the healing sword's disgust and understood it was his father's feelings coming out. Bakusaiga simply exuded his own growing desire to kill the speaker. "Karan and I have been chatting. She's told me all about your new boy toy and how he's turned you into a real woman."
"Give me back my sister and you won't die, Jorōgumo!" Tōran snarled back.
"Temper, temper, little one. Karan is quite comfortable where she is. You're in my realm now and I would be remiss if I didn't welcome you properly. And I did promise that troll I would deliver you alive to him. So, come in and find us!" Jorōgumo cackled as her voice receded.
As the pair advanced deeper into the forest, the light faded until they were engulfed in darkness. "Webbing," Sesshōmaru pointed to the thick layers covering the treetops. Tōran snorted in reply, uninterested in anything but the killing. Both had nocturnal vision and could easily navigate in the darkness.
"Follow me," Tōran snarled, cutting down some offending branches in her way.