Author's Note: After a rather long wait, the cause of which was a combination of writer's block, Internet problems, and pure laziness, here is the next chapter!

Chapter 16: A Word of Caution

The sound of Kasumi's bladed fan colliding with Tora's katana rang sharply across the meadow. The yōkai's eyes widened at the speed of the hanyō's movement. She had only just seen the blur of the blade, and in an instant, she realized her own danger. She leaped backwards just as powerful yōki erupted from inside Tora and rushed out in all directions. The sheer force of the explosive power flattened grass, and knocked Kasumi off-balance as she landed a good distance away. She instinctively dropped into a defensive crouch, and she glanced at the statuesque daiyōkai.

It was unnerving how he stood there as the hanyō's uncontolled demonic aura flooded the entire area as if he felt nothing more than a gentle breeze. Kasuma grimaced and turned her attention back to the hanyō.

The surge of familiar yet terrifying power engulfed Tora, racing like fire through her veins and dancing across her skin. Her hand released her katana as her fingers began to grow longer, stronger, and the nails turned to sharp claws. The pain grew until it felt as if she was burning from the inside out, and as her yōki came in contact with Kasumi's poison, she could barely contain her scream. In desperation, she clawed at her right arm. With painful snarls, she ripped the flesh again and again until her blood destroyed the poison.

As the pain lessened, she felt the familiar yet frightening power returned to her. The hazy that had been obstructing her senses was lifted. She could see the miniscule bead of sweat on her opponent's brow despite the distance between them; she caught the wild, earthy scent of the daiyōkai a few paces behind her; she felt the unmoving air around her; and she could hear everyone's breaths, as faint as a whisper in the midst of a typhoon.

The familiar urge to kill resurfaced in the back of her mind, but she would not lose control. Not this time. She had made a promise to Rin, and she would not lose herself in this awesome power. With determination, her clawed hand closed around the hilt of her katana.

Slowly, the hanyō stood. Her once dark eyes were now brilliant gold, flashing in a mixture of anger and resolve. Her pointed ears of ebony twitched to catch each sound, and her fangs were bared in a challenge. Across both of her cheeks, the faint markings common among inuyōkai could be seen. Bringing her blade up in front of her, Tora glared at Kasumi.

"This is rather unexpected," the yōkai commented drily. She gave a weak smile and clenched her fist. "Now there is no reason for me to hold back!"

Kasumi lunged forward, her poisoned claws and bladed fan attacking in unison. Her movements were a great deal faster than before, but Tora matched the yōkai's speed as she blocked each attack. She dodged the bladed fan, ducked underneath Kasumi's claws, raked her own across the yōkai's exposed side. In an immediate follow-through, she smashed the pummel of her katana into the yōkai's stomach. Kasumi hissed from the pain and broke away.

Refusing to allow her enemy the opportunity to recover, Tora raced after her. This time she attacked, her fluid movements so quick that they were almost impossible to see. With her heightened senses, she felt invincible. Her eyes caught every flicker of motion, her ears heard every rustle of fabric and in-take of breath, her nose detected the hint of frustration, and her skin felt the displacement of air seconds before Kasumi's attacks. She gathered all this information and easily avoided the yōkai's claws faster than the blink of an eye. This dance was swifter and more frenzied than any Tora had preformed before, even against the monsters that had attacked Rin. Her blade and claws were always moving. She was mercilessly pounding Kasumi, but the yōkai managed to block the attacks. As the battle lingered on and the two fought on equal grounds, neither one gaining the upper hand nor backing down.

As Tora side-stepped to avoid the vicious blades of Kasumi's fan, she caught a tiny opening in the yōkai's defenses. Without hesitation, she dropped to the earth, knocking the yōkai to the ground with a sweep of her leg. Before Kasumi could respond, Tora rolled on top of her. She knocked the bladed fan from the yōkai's grasp with the flat of her katana and used a foot to pin the yōkai's deadly claws before the fan even hit the ground. Baring her fanged teeth, Tora placed the razor edge of her weapon against Kasumi's exposed throat.

"You have been defeated," she growled.

The look of hatred and frustration on the yōkai's face suddenly vanished, replaced by a smile that was completely different from any she had previously given. Tora hide her surprise and narrowed her eyes. What trick would the vile creature pull now?

"Will you kill me then, my daughter?" Kasumi asked in a low voice.

"You are not even worth killing," Tora replied with disgust. She released the yōkai but kept the blade inches from Kasumi's throat as she straightened and stepped back.

"Answer me just one thing, my daughter."

Tora glared at the yōkai as silence settled on the meadow. She heard the soft rustle of fabric as the daiyōkai approached, but the majority of her attention was on the yōkai lying on the ground before her. There was no trace of the proud, condenscending attitude that she had displayed earlier. Even her voice seemed slightly different, and Tora was confused. She seemed gentler somehow, and all of the anger Tora had felt towards her faded away.

Tora stood quietly, listening to the sound of her own heartbeat and the rush of blood through her veins, as she struggled to control her emotions.

"What spurred the change?" Kasumi demanded just as the daiyōkai moved next to Tora.

The hanyō's eyes moved down to her claws caked in the Kasumi's blood and then to the vicious wounds that were just beginning to heal on her arm. In her mind, she saw Rin's solemn face staring up at her and heard the pleading whisper: Tora-san, are you going to stay with us? Forever?

She let her soiled hand fall to her side.

"I made a promise," Tora replied softly.

"I see." Kasumi straightened her kimono and stood. "Tora, there is something you should know before I take my leave."

Her pale hair had fallen completely from its pins and cascaded around her shoulders, softening her features. Tora thought she could almost see the woman her father must have fallen in love with, the woman she had always imagined her mother to be. Yet how? This was not right... she was supposed to be a heartless monster... not like this.

"I made a promise of my own, many years ago, to your father, Asakura Sorin. Perhaps one day, I will explain everything to you." Her dark eyes darted towards the silent daiyōkai. "As for you, Sesshomaru-sama, I was instructed to pass on a word of caution from my lady — your mother."

Tora stiffened slightly in surprise and glanced at the daiyōkai just in time to see his own eyes narrow. Fighting with her own past past and trying to sort through a whirlwind of conflicting emotions had left little time to contemplate the aristocrat man she had chosen to follow. Though she realized it should not have been so surprising, she was startled to learn that even he, Lord Sesshomaru, had a hidden past. And a mother.

Despite the tension that hung so heavily in the air around them – or perhaps because of it – a strange image pushed through Tora's mind. A chubby, adorable, toddler Sesshomaru wrapped in his furry mokomoko sitting on the lap of some gorgeous, long-haired woman. She fought back a laugh and tried to look as somber as possible. She quickly turned her attention back to her own mother.

" 'A single arrow is easily broken'," Kasumi quoted solemnly. Yet there was a trace of an amused smile lingering on her lips. Her dark eyes sparkled as she stepped back and raised her hand. Her bladed fan was pulled from the dirt by an invisible force and landed in her palm. She tucked it into her obi and then vanished.

The daiyōkai and Tora were left alone in the center of the flattened meadow. The tension in the air dwindled until it was possible to breathe and Tora found herself relaxing slightly. Yet her mind was filled with confusion. It seems her first impression of her mother... this Kasumi ...had been all a façade. Who was her mother really?

A gust of wind suddenly blew from the east, bringing the scent of the wood to Tora's nose. And something else. She sniffed. The distinct scents of Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Uh were on the air, faint but growing stronger as they slowly made their way towards the meadow.

Sesshomaru stirred out of his own thoughts, and looked down at Tora.

"In a real battle against a higher yōkai, hesitation to kill your opponent will only result in your own death," he said. "Never hesitate."

Tora wiped the blood from her blade with the end of her obi as she quietly took the daiyōkai's reprimand, yet with her heightened senses, she noticed that the usual condension that usually occupied his reprimands was missing. He must be preoccupied himself with that strange word of caution.

A single arrow is easily broken.

"Come."

The daiyōkai turned on his heels and headed into the forest in the direction of the wind. Tora sheathed her katana, flexed her still clawed hands, and followed.