CHAPTER FIVE

. . . .

There it was, the smell of fear became stronger and stronger. He could feel it, completely that it engulfed his whole mind and sent his senses reeling. The black wings on his shoulder folded back before it disappeared as he landed on the ground just a few feet away from the woman— his mate.

"Anata.." She whispered, her innocent black eyes shimmering with sadness. Then, he was beside her in an instant, his arms wrapping around her as if he wanted to absorb her pain. "Kazusa.." Gently, gingerly, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "My love.. what's wrong?"

"We have to leave.." She said against his neck. "We can't stay here any longer."

He drew back from her, his eyes wide with surprise and torment. His mate loved her family so much and for her to say such things.. something must have happened. Anger and the a strong surge of protectiveness rose inside him. "Did Higeshi threaten you again?"

She shook her head. "No. He didn't do anything this time."

"Then, why are you so afraid?" He said.

Kazusa remained silent, there's no use hiding what she felt from this man. He knew her mind, her heart.. her soul. The yearning to be with him at all cost despite the great difference between their worlds. "Tell me.. please." He whispered.

Kazusa knew that he could always force the answer from her and yet he had chosen the lesser choice and even pleaded.

This man, who's more powerful and far stronger than any human, would be so gentle with her..

Determindly, she raised her head and gazed at his blue eyes. "I'm carrying your child." She swallowed with difficulty as if it took all her strength to bring the words out of her mouth. He leaned head down, their cheeks side to side, and with a shaky breath, tightened his hold. "I'll protect you and the babe.. no matter what."

"I know.." She bit her lip and clutched his shoulders in a painful grip. "I know."

Kazusa rested against his solid body, allowing all of her restraint to fall away as if to blindly hope for a promise that had no definite chance of coming true. She knew without a doubt that he would protect her, but in her mind, she could still hear her father's words. 'Get rid of the child!.. do anything. Just get rid of that monster'. It hurt more than she had thought. Her father whom she loved and looked up to would think that any child born from her womb would be a monster.. a killer.

. . . .

"My Lord.."

The leaves rustled violently, a small woman with hawk like eyes and shoulder length hair the color of dark coals walked out of the shadows of the forest. Her body was painted with a bird with black wings made of fire on one shoulder and across her upper arm with its tail curving around and around her forearm and wrist. Aside from the tattoo, the rest of her skin was covered in a thick dark brown leather. Her other shoulder was covered by a simple iron plate the shape of a claw while her other arm was cloaked in a dark loose sleeve that reached past the tips of her fingers. She had an iron scaled thigh protector with a rope belt where her sword hang diagonally by her hips. And a pair of loose knee length trousers that was tied by ribbons for her upper legs while a tight fitted greaves covered the rest of her skin. She was, however, barefooted like the man in front of her.

"Yori, what brings you here?" The man said without a backward glance. His attire resembled what she was wearing, but there's no tattoo in his arm.

The woman bent her head as she knelt on one knee. "There's someone who wants to see you, my lord."

He stepped sideways and looked at her with interest. "I hope this is worth my time."

"Oh, I assure you it is." He pivoted on his heels and faced the woman who just made an unceremonious entrace. "Although," The stranger continued, her dark gray hair swayed past her hips. Pale blue eyes stared back at him as she sauntered past the kneeling woman. Those wolf like eyes were glinting with barely repressed amusement before she stopped just a few yards away from him. "This is certainly worth mine than yours."

Her lips curved into a lopsided smile, "Lord Hageshi of the Suzaku clan."

The man chuckled at the forthright irreverence in her tone and wrinkled his nose in disdain. "Ahh, you're one of those pups." He said. "It seems that dog general forgot to put you in a proper leash before he died."

Senri snorted. "Your sharp tongue is just as they claimed it to be. My dear mother said you nearly cut off her heart with it. God bless her soul for not taking that said part to her grave."

A few steps behind her, Yori stood and grabbed the hilt of her sword. Hageshi raised his brow in amusement and then motioned for Yori to back off. "Are we done trading insults, dog? Or should we draw our swords next?"

"Maybe some other time." She shrugged casually. "I didn't come here to shed some blood."

"And your motive?" He asked with blase indifference.

"For entertainment, of course," came her casual reply.

"Which is?"

"The human girl you've been searching for." She said with a knowing glint in her eyes while his narrowed cautiously. "I met her, not too long ago."

"Oh, did you?" He said just as casually, though his virulent eyes sharpened ever so slightly at her words.

"Pua Reinga." She said. "An ancient curse, I must say. I was wondering how did she acquire such a mark, though. I thought it only worked on demons." Her smile widened while Higeshi's humor disappeared like a bubble popping at the tip of a very sharp needle. His eyes darkened as he regarded her with a predatory look,

"Ahh, and how did you acquire such a knowledge? Last time I remember, the one who invented it died with my sword protruding from her back."

Senri watched as the expression on his face changed from serious to downright sadistic. She nearly cringed in disgust. "I'm not interested in your historical and rather gruesome family background, my lord." She said. "And it's not wise to kill me when I have something interesting to share."

"I'm waiting." He said impatiently and placed a hand over the hilt of his sword in a casual way, however, Senri didn't miss the threat and backed up a step.

"If you want to capture the girl," She said. "Then, you have to listen to what I say.."

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder at the forest behind him as the rain started to fall. Though it was moderately light and no where near a storm, the air became frigid, thus making it harder for him to decipher the mixture of scents around him. But he did recognize one smell, and it came with two other unfamiliar ones.

He stepped away from the small rocky hill and walked to the forest. The smell became stronger as the forest became denser. Larger and wider trees now surrounded him as they scattered shadows in all directions while the musky smell of swamp permitted through his senses and momentarily distracted him. But he went onward, uncaring of the small demons that crossed his path.

One demon in particular watched Sesshomaru with wariness and fear that bordered on agnostic as he hid behind a tree. "Don't tell me he's going to.." He murmured but he was cut off in the middle of his assumption when his companion whacked him lightly in the head.

"Shhh." She said to him.

"But that direction is—" again, another whack but this time it was stronger and the demon threw an irritated glance at her. "He can hear you." She whispered.

They're small in size— no, the two were puny. Their heads reached only a human's waist and most of their faces was covered by a fiery mass of red hair and the pointed tips of their ears were the only visible parts aside from their noses and mouths. Also, they had wings at the back, the upper one was larger and roundly elongated while the other one was round with a thin lace that seemed to be flowing and woving around their bodies like ribbons. Short and pale arms poked out of a sleeveless vest made of sheepskin while a pair of trousers tightly tied at the ankles covered their legs.

"Hey mister," A third demon which seemed to have popped out of nowhere called at Sesshomaru. She was a head smaller and chubbier than the two but seemed to be wearing the same clothes. Although her hair was a lighter shade of red and longer, there's no doubt that she came from the same brood.

"Where are you going?" She said.

"Eiko!" The two red haired demons exclaimed as they leapt out of their hiding spot. The smaller demon glanced at them innocently before she trotted closer to Sesshomaru who ignored her completely as he kept on walking, but still she persisted.

"It's dangerous to go there, ya know?" She said, her voice louder.

"Eiko!" Her demon companions called once again, "Stay away from him!" But the Eiko kept on walking closer and closer until she was an arm away from the demon lord.

"Don't go." She said to him.

Sesshomaru remained silent. "It's dangerous. There eats a big monster. He's really scary." She said with mild difficulty, as if she just started to learn how to talk. Then, her plump lips curved to a pout upon realizing that the demon wasn't particularly paying attention to her.

"Eiko!"

"Quiet!" The little demon barked at them, her face turning serious for a split second. Surprisingly, they did obey, but the little demon didn't miss their grumbled complaint as they fell a few steps behind. She huffed and showed her displeasure with a scowl at their direction before she turned back to the demon.

"He ate this girl." She said in hopes that he would listen to her, though she wasn't as cheerful as before. "She's very pretty. Eiko wanted to help her. She's kind and.." She trailed off, her nose wrinkling a few times before she raised her head and looked around like she was searching for something. Then, she moved closer to Sesshomaru and sniffed, her nose nearly burrowing against his mokomoko.

Sesshomaru glanced at her while the other two demons paled to a great extent, but Eiko seemed oblivious, in fact, she did it again as if to confirm something.

"You smell like her." She said in a starled tone and stared up at Sesshomaru. And because of the closer proximity between them, she had to pull her head all the way back until she was practically facing the sky.

"You smell like her." She repeated, awestruck. "Is she alive?" She said excitedly.

Sesshomaru glanced at her once again, this time the usual jaded look on his face disappeared and was replaced with curiosity. It was subtle, almost imperceptible but Eiko knew that she said something interesting. She continued to sashay from left to right like a child who couldn't wait to hear his reply.

Then the branches started to rattle around them and the leaves to rustle violently. A very strong gust of wind struck them right after and she was thrown several feet away. She shrieked and tried to brace herself.

She crashed against something soft and warm though, and when she opened her eyes, Eiko saw a white fluffy piece of fur encasing her securely.

Blinking her eyes in confusion, Eiko looked up and saw silver strands of hair and a pair of golden eyes. Those eyes narrowed before he disappeared like a lightning flash. She held onto the bark of the tree with all her might as the winds continued to blow like a torpedo around them.

With Bakusaiga drawn in one hand, Sesshomaru deflected the broken branches of trees flying at his direction with a single wipe of his poisoned whip. The wind grew even more stronger which slowed him down and nearly prevented him from going further. Quickly, he raised his arm and impaled Bakusaiga deep in the ground, his feet burying against the soil as the wind blasted some of the trees away from its firm roots.

Then, the wind stopped quite all of a sudden. And the forest became silent as a grave except for the eerie sound of bells clinking softly, louder and louder at the same time a mist filled with miasma slowly plodded through the forest like snakes.

Eiko wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell and quickly climbed the tree.

"Eiko! Where are you?!" Her companions shouted a few distance away behind her. She coughed against the smell of decaying flesh and placed her hand over her lower face to keep herself from retching. The plants below started to wither because of the smell.

"Eiko! Let's go now!" The red headed demons said furiously.

Turning around, she sent a worried glance over her friends and reeled back at the horrified expression on their faces. Frantically, she swiveled on her toes, her eyes widening themselves as she beheld the biggest and scariest bird she had ever seen. No— she had seen that creature before. It was the time that human girl appeared.

Crouching in front of them was a gigantic bird with dark wings. Only three long feathers, thicker and bigger than the others had a few streaks of red while its stomach, starting from the lower underside of its jaw to its belly was covered in white smaller ones. Its eyes was glowing like the crown of feathers on its head. And the massive claws connected to a pair of sturdy legs scratched against the soil restlessly.

Then, its head cocked ever so slightly as it gazed at them with hunger. Slowly, its large beak parted, the sharp hook of its tip glinted dangerously before a shrilling sound came out of its mouth. The pressure of the volume nearly splintered her ears and Eiko had to hold onto the branch before she fell dizzy to the ground.

"Tch. What an annoying sound." Sesshomaru said and leapt high above the ground. However, as he slashed his sword at the direction of the monster, an electric current sparked around the blade before his hand stilled in mid air. It seemed like the blunted side of his sword was cleaving against a transparent wall.

"A barrier." He muttered to himself. A barrier that Bakusaiga could not break.. "Interesting."

He landed softly on the ground where the mist had grown thicker and the stale smell of rotten meat became stronger. Then the smell changed as the did the color of the mist and its shape. Slowly, it turned into clouds of fire, circling him until it formed a cage.

Sesshomaru planted his sword in front of him just as a blue sheen of light flashed off the blade in a form of a two headed reptile. Its body rippling like water as it swashed through the cage of fire, even the ground cracked under its force and left a carve of broken pieces of rocks and tree roots protruding out of the ruin.

He stepped away from the destruction as if it was a mere scratch on the ground and walked slowly and almost leisurely toward the monster. But while he looked so composed, Bakusaiga, one the other hand, shook and rattled violently in his grasp, as if it was striving to control itself.

Sesshomaru raised his arm and savagely brought it down. A wave of light, wind, earth and other elements blazed ferociously through the air, bringing a new wreckage in its wake until it crashed against the barrier. It breached, and though the crack was small, Bakusaiga's power passed through and left a slash of wound across the stomach of the bird.

"Hmp." He muttered, displeased at the minor damage. His weapon was a killing tool, not a kitchen knife. However, the bird was more than displeased by it and opened its mouth to let out another shrilling scream.

Eiko placed the flat of her palms against her ears and ended up falling on the withered bushes below, her eyes swirling. Her friends came in just in time when a blazing fire came out along with another scream. And it engulfed Sesshomaru.

"Ahh!" The trio shouted in unison. The fire continued to rage like a scorching cyclone from hell, they could not even see a breadth of hair or the whites of his clothes.

"Stupid bird!" Eiko spat, now upset as she clambered to her feet and ran toward the monster.

"Eiko! Don't!" Her companions warned, but Eiko ignored them and stopped a safe distance away from the blazing fire.

Then, she placed her hands in front of her with her forefingers crossed while the others was tightly clenched in a fist. She raised her chin a few notch higher as her hair began to flow and wave around her, her bangs revealing a pair of bright green eyes that seemed to be swirling with stardust. And with the rest of her face revealed, the small sea dragon emblem on her forehead began to glow and the monster burst into green rage of fire.

The bird let out a scream and the fire that it spewed became big clouds of smokes.

The little demon waited until the smokes cleared. But the demon lord disappeared and in his place came in a ferocious beast, but Eiko did recognize the crescent moon on the its forehead and knew that he and the wolf were one in the same.

The little demon watched in awe as the beast stood high and mighty on its four legs. It had a thick white fur and a long mane weaving around its body. A pair of blood red eyes narrowed threateningly before a deep growl came out of clenched teeth so sharp that Eiko's jaw slackened. Her fangs looked like thin sticks compared to that.

The bird, who felt the same way, flew a few phases away from the beast and became restless as it flapped its wings. Sesshomaru let out a snarl and leaned down on his forelegs, ready to attack when the soft clinking sound of bell resonated around the forest. The bird then, looked up the sky as it spread its wings before it flew away and disappeared in mid air.

Sesshomaru returned to his humanoid form and regarded the place where the monster was standing a few seconds ago. Then, he walked to the place and knelt on one knee, his hand searching through the debris of stones and plants. He pulled out a piece of cloth and brushed the silky texture with his thumb.

"Heeey!" The little demon shouted, her hair was once again covering her eyes while she skipped, hopped, and jumped over the ruins around her. "Are you alright?" She said upon reaching Sesshomaru's side.

"Eiko, you pesky little runt!" The other two followed. "How many times do we have to tell you not to go anywhere without us?"

They stopped, heavily panting and all, beside the little demon who was frowning at the piece of cloth in Sesshomaru's hand. Then, she placed the tip of her finger against her pouting lips and turned to Sesshomaru.

"That," She pointed to the cloth, "belongs to the pretty lady!"

Her companions looked at the cloth and nodded their heads. It was small and ripped at the sides as if the wearer had been in a some kind of a struggle, but there was a discernible design of pink autumn leaves in the middle, although splotches of blood covered almost all of it.

Sesshomaru looked at her. Eiko instantly babbled about the person she was talking about. She told him about how they met. "She was lost. Just like you!" She grinned, although the latter statement was obviously absurd, Sesshomaru couldn't just knock her off like the way he often did to his servant whenever Jaken said something stupid. And so, Sesshomaru remained silent and only half listened to her.

"She's very beautiful! And her name is.. her name is," She said and frowned in confusion. Then, she turned to her companions with a pout.

The duo sighed in unison. "Akemi." The female one answered.

"Geez, you keep forgetting her name." The other one said before he glanced to his side. "She's getting old, right?"

"I'm not old!" Eiko said indignantly.

The female one bent forward, hands on hips. "Oh, yes, you are. You're twice our age and yet you act as if you were just born yesterday." She said and then shook her head in reprimand.

"You," She enunciated firmly, "can't just talk to anyone and you shouldn't even follow someone you don't even know!" She darted a glance at Sesshomaru who stood and stared at them.

"What happened to her?" He said to Eiko who looked up at him and didn't even hesitate to answer. "Two scary demons took her away." She ended her statement with a snarl, her fingers curving in front of her and her cute little fangs showing as if to copy the faces of the demons, though the extra effort weren't that helpful for Sesshomaru. Many demons looked scary after all.

"Ohh! And! And!" She added animatedly.

"H-Hey! What did I say? Don't talk to—

"I think that big ugly birdie's their pet!" Eiko stated.

"Ugh, she's not listening..." The other demon stooped in defeat. "A pet, huh?" Though the humongous bird couldn't be just a pet. It must be a war pet or some such, but she didn't say anymore. It doesn't matter anyway. The little she-devil would only ignore her.

"They have the same smell." Eiko stood on her tip toes and sniffed. Then, she tilted her head and smiled at Sesshomaru. "See?" She said. "Why don't you smell it?"

Sesshomaru didn't have to be told what to do. He already knew what the cloth smelled like without sniffing it like a dog, so he just stared at the little demon as if he couldn't decide whether to kill her or leave.

He chose the latter, but the damned creature grabbed a fistful of his mokomoko.

"Ahh! Eiko! Let go!" Her companions chided, the female one grabbed her shoulders while the other one watched Sesshomaru carefully, his hand hidden behind his back. No doubt holding a weapon.

"Are you going to save her?" Eiko said to the demon lord, her eyes hopeful.

Sesshomaru stared at her as if to intimidate her, but something in his expression softened before he turned away and uttered a simple 'No.'

Eiko let go of the white fluffy fur with disappointment shining in her eyes as though she was near to tears. The human must be really important to her, but she just stood there watching him walk away without saying anything in reply.

"Come on, let's go." Her friend whispered softly beside her. It was futile to follow him anymore, so Eiko turned around and walked the other way.

. . . .

"Hmmm." Hageshi murmured. "You're not lying, after all."

Senri chuckled. "I wouldn't dare." Then, she turned to face Higeshi's servant who was kneeling in front of them, her shirt had a big red stain of blood, and the tattoo on her shoulder fairly sizzled while she breathed shakily.

Senri took her gaze away from the woman and raised an incredulous brow at Higeshi. "You'd risk your companion's life to see if I was lying?" She scoffed. "I'd rather not think of what you'd do to a stranger like me if I displeased you so."

Hageshi, though, seemed uncaring, or rather unaware, that Yori was bleeding to death, in fact he looked maniacally thrilled for some reason. His eyes didn't even move to check up on her as though his mind was in a different dimension.

"That kind of power," He snickered. "As expected from the son of the great demon lord of the west."

"Told you so." The she-wolf huffed.

"And he managed to even break the barrier." He added, as if he hadn't heard her.

"Lord Sesshomaru has a new sword." Senri said proudly. "One that far surpassed even that of his father— From what I heard, that sword prevented Naraku from regenerating and it could kill a battalion in one strike."

Higeshi finally turned towards her. "He protects the girl, you said."

She nodded. "But I don't know why he sticks with her."

"Oh, I know." Higeshi said with a scornful laugh. Senri looked at him in curiosity.

"But that's something I'd rather not share with you." He said to her. Senri's eager face fell. "You said you'd help me get the girl in exchange for my mother's scrolls. But I only stick with one bargain at a time, unless, " he smiled. "You have something else to bargain for."

Senri clenched her teeth and said the word 'bastard' in her mind instead of voicing it outloud. Patience was generally lacking in her breed, but Senri would make an exception this time. After all, she couldn't risk loosing her only chance at immortality.

"Fine." She said evenly. "What do you have in mind?"

To be continued.

...

AUTHOR'S NOTE

My original draft for this chapter didn't acutally include adorable demons the size of an elf, but somehow the story turned that way. It always amuses me to see Sesshomaru interacting with a cute child, but Rin's all grown up. So I added a character (quite on impulse) just to make the story a bit funny. Although, that's my initial reason for creating Eiko, she and her friends will appear again later on.

Senri came back and she's totally bitchy about Rin. What is she planning now with those two mysterious demons? And why are they after Rin anyway?

Akemi was still missing but now there's a clue on who kidnapped her (Higeshi and Yori). At the first part of this chapter, Higeshi's name was mentioned by Kazusa's mate. And as you all know, Kazusa is Rin's true mother. So, what's the catch?

Find out soon :)

PS: I'm sorry for the late update. My friends and I went on a long vacation trip. It's summer now in our country, and I just can't resist the allure of waterfalls, exotic foods, and fresh air.