A Paradoxal Mistake
A/N: Argh sorry for the late update. Summer's busy and all. Anyway thanks for reviews, favorites and follows!
Chapter Four: Tsushima Leopard.
Sesshoumaru had left all of his responsibilities behind him in order to pursue a way to better himself. He, demon lord of all things Western, did not particularly need bettering; however given the circumstances he was quite sure he needed Tetsusaiga. His missing arm was beginning to weigh down on him dreadfully so and although the demon lord could not feel self-consciousness its absence did indeed bother him. His half breed brother needed to be euthanized and his sword stolen, although it was incredibly difficult to wield, being as Sesshoumaru did not have an ounce of human in him. Nor did he have the will to protect any humans – or did he?
He glanced over to where Rin was safely tucked against Jakken, both of the small beings leaning against a tree while Yuka remained asleep by the fire that had died long into the hours of the night. He stared at his human companions and wondered briefly if he was going soft so quickly into his first stages of adulthood. Narrowing his eyes and pressing that unfortunate thought into the back of his mind the demon lord watched the sleeping girl in utter silence, hearing the soft inhale and exhale escape from her slightly parted lips, the soft snore that she emitted occasionally when her head was lolled too far to the left. He noticed that her yellow hairpiece was lopsided and falling off of her head due to her shifting during her night's rest, the way her skirt was shifted far too high up her skinny, smooth and milky looking thigh and how her uniform's red tie was disheveled.
His golden eyes gleamed in the soft morning light as the sun made it's way slowly over the horizon, cascading a soft glow over the dew soaked blades of grass. Songbirds flittered from tree to tree; singing amongst themselves in a tune that only they could understand yet was pleasing to the ears of other forest-dwelling creatures. It was right them, as a particularly high note caught his ear, that he realized he had been staring at the human woman. His gaze adverted and suddenly his senses snapped back into the reality of the warm summer morning and he lifted his head regally with his nose in the air, casually inhaling all of the scents around them one catching his attention more so than others.
Not far from the campsite resided three tsushima leopard demons, two of which were very primitive looking, much like the wolves in Kouga's pack. The most human of the three leant down and stalked through the bushes with his aura pulled against himself in an attempt to mask his presence. The demon was spotted all over, and although he stood at an average 5'6" tall for a human and wore clothing to cover his legs and chest, he very much resembled the leopard that he was. His hair was bright red with stripes of brown and black and was cut in a very short and wild fashion while more rounded ears stuck from the sides of his head. His eyes were wide and green and a fangy smirk was worn in a dangerously smug manner.
"The one with silver hair is the one we want, kill the rest." He instructed his comrades with raised furry eyebrows before moving to strike, his legs lifting him into the trees swiftly as he bounded from branch to branch in the direction of the demon lord himself who was still seated rather comfortably against the tree that he had slept beside.
Around the campsite the bushes shook as the two cats leapt into view on all fours with their large fangs bearing, ears forward and tails raised. They were much bigger than the true tsushima leopard, and much more intimidating as one gave out a horrendous hissing roar, causing Rin to awaken with a scream. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" She shrieked, waking Yuka, Ah-Un and Jakken in the process. "We're under attack!"
"Humans," scoffed the humanoid demon from a branch high above the group his smirk widening and his eyes gleaming maliciously. "what use are they?" He leapt down, landing mere inches away from Yuka who was crouched in the grass with eyes as wide as saucers, her mouth hanging open stupidly. "Although this one's rather pretty," he bent forward and grasped her hanging jaw with a clawed hand, roughly pulling her face upward for him to view. The points of his claws drew blood from her cheeks and he uncomfortably moved her face from side to side to get a good look at her. "I wasn't aware that you were interested in human whores, Sesshoumaru-" he paused and threw Yuka down into the dirt. "sama."
Was this demon invading his camp, abusing his party and mocking him? Sesshoumaru sat and watched boredly, the expression on his face unchanging as Yuka desperately scrambled backward on her rear to collect Rin into her arms, Jakken standing in front of the two humans. "State your business or leave." The demon lord said his voice baritone and booming with finality.
"My business? Why, it's to kill you of course."
Word Count: 855.
Note: The Tsushima leopard cat is actually a critically endangered animal in Japan.