Disclaimer: I do not own anything Inuyasha related.

Pairing: Sess/Kag

Crimson Promises: Chapter 2

Sesshomaru stared out of the window of his carriage, bored out of his mind. He had been on the road for the past couple of days, and he was slowly loosing his mind. Of course, if you were to look at him, you would never know his mental state. He let loose a mental sigh as he glared out the window. "If I was able to travel normally I would be there by now..." he grumbled mentally. "But of course, they are human, and expect me to arrive by mundane means. Stupid humans..." he sighed again.

Why was he traveling to see humans? His father had set up a marriage proposal to Lord Higurashi's daughter- Kikyo. He knew nothing of the girl, but that she was going to be just like the other Lords' daughters. They were spoiled, and used way too much make up. They were also quite bratty- children, in his opinion. But, unfortunately for him, he was expected to play nice until his father gave him other orders.

The scenery barely changed- he was going through a forest, on a bumpy, dirt road. It made no matter that his rump was going numb, or that he was bored out of his mind. His comfort didn't matter, compared to the mission. He sighed mentally once more, this time in relief as finally, finally the castle came into view. Hiding behind his impassive mask, he wished that he was at home, training, instead of sucking up to this Higurashi brat. His only escape was that he was renowned not only for his looks, but also for his stoic attitude. His mask was his only strength, as he was welcomed into this completely foreign home.

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A young man stood, spine straight, as the Higurashi family accepted their special guest- the Dog Demon prince, Sesshomaru. The young man had heard many stories of this man- er, demon- and was concerned in a small way for his charge- the Lady Kikyo. He stood beside her as her own guard, as Sesshomaru was introduced and welcomed by the Lord and Lady of the castle. He watched as she seemed to vibrate with excitement, and fought the urge to roll his eyes. The Lady Kikyo was spoiled- very spoiled. She was the typical 'princess' and as such, she was, of course, arrogant and a pain. But the young man loved her like no other, and always wanted to keep her safe. He watched as it finally came time to introduce Kikyo to Sesshomaru. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he watched with cool blue eyes as the demon prince turned to her.

"If I may, Lord Sesshomaru, I introduce our daughter, Kikyo."

Kikyo bowed- as was proper- before giving him a sultry smile. "Hello, Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru inwardly winced with irritation as he bowed to the girl. She was as he thought, he could see that in her improper perusal of his body. Oh, if only this mission wasn't of the upmost importance...He sighed mentally as he straightened and glanced at the young man next to Kikyo. He was obviously a warrior, he could see such by his stance, and the way he was dressed. He was the epitome of darkness with black armor, black hakama, and haori. Even his gloves and boots were black. As Sesshomaru gave him a once-over, he found that the katana hilt peeking out of the man's black obi was wrapped in black leather, which he only caught a glimpse of, as he noticed that the man's hand was clenched around the hilt.. The only features of the man that were not covered was his long, raven braid and the bright blue eyes that gleamed at him from behind the most peculiar item in the ensemble- a leather mask, tied in the back with what looked like a black silk ribbon.

"And you are?" Sesshomaru asked with disdain. The warrior gripped the hilt harder for a moment, before releasing it, and bowing low at the waist- a warrior's bow. The only disrespect that Sesshomaru noticed was how the young man kept his frost-colored gaze on him as he did so. Before the man could speak, however, Kikyo interrupted.

"He's no one, milord," she said, whining lightly as she stood closer to the handsome demon prince. When Sesshomaru said nothing, she sighed, "he is just Akira- Akira is the Great General of the army, and is also among our castle's elite group. Akira is also my personal guard- although he can get a bit boring," she snipped, glaring at Akira for taking the demon prince's attention from herself and putting it on himself. "You are dismissed, Akira," she sneered out.

Akira bowed lower, although stiffer- and walked out of the room."I don't know what the problem is, milord, usually Akira is easy to get along with. He's pretty well-liked around these parts," said Kikyo almost apologetically as she batted her eyelashes at him.

Sighing mentally, and cursing his father, Sesshomaru offered his arm and the two walked out of the room. Neither were aware of the suspicious blue gaze that followed them. After they were gone, Akira sighed audibly, relaxing slightly, and headed for the dojo. He had some steam to blow off. He headed to the dojo. He did not take off his boots as he walked into the room, and merely glanced at the sparring soldiers in the room. When they all noticed his presence, they stopped and bowed in respect before continuing with their spar. He nodded to them, and grabbed his favorite weapon- a staff with a blade at each end. He twirled the weapon's familiar weight in his hands, before he got in a fighting position and began going slowly through each move. The soldiers knew that when Akira did this, he was frustrated and better left alone. No one bothered Akira as he blew off his steam by fighting his imaginary enemies.

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Sesshomaru had finally gotten rid of the pest that was Kikyo. Her mother had summoned her, and much to his relief, Kikyo had gone without a fight. Afterwards, he set about wandering the palace, familiarizing himself with it. He ignored anyone he passed in the halls, and wondered how such a simple place was called a castle. As if by instinct, his feet took him to the dojo. As he stepped inside, he noticed that it was empty, and that it was getting dark. This was his favorite time to practice, even though no one knew it but himself. As he pulled a sword off of the wall, something whistled through the air and imbedded itself in the wood next to his head. Glancing from the corner of his eyes, he saw it to be a peculiar staff-like weapon that had blades on each end. He listened hard, pretending to be nonchalant as he gripped the sword tightly, preparing for any attack.

Nothing. He couldn't hear anything. Not the padding of feet, not the thumping of a heart. Nothing. He couldn't even feel an aura. He swung around, spinning on the balls of his feet, only to be greeted by an empty dojo. Slowly, he turned and pulled the weapon out of the wall. The person had missed him- was it on purpose or simply by accident? The thing that disturbed Sesshomaru the most was that he hadn't really heard anything. And he prided himself of his senses. Refusing to be frightened away, Sesshomaru continued with his practice, seemingly pretending as if nothing had happened. The rest of the night was passed without incident.

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Akira slumped against the door to his room, wondering what the hell had possessed him to throw his weapon at the demon. He had no idea why he was so hostile to him, other than his love towards Kikyo. He wanted to protect her, wanted her to be happy. He knew that if she married him, she would be well taken care of…yet he had been all but openly hostile with the demon prince. Sighing to himself, he straightened and walked over to the bed, which he then proceeded to flop onto, very ungracefully. He stared up at the ceiling, as he had done often since he was a child. Although the ceiling was colorless and bland, it soothed his mind, made it go blank. His last thought before he slipped into sleep was, "I'll try to do better tomorrow…"

Hey, all! Thanks for reading! It took me a bit to put up this chapter due to unforseen complications, but hopefully I'll be able to post a chapter a week. ^^

If I get the chance, I might even work on an old, uncompleted story! (Probably not, but hey, I tried!)

Reviews are welcome, flames are not. I was severely disappointed by the lack of reviews...

Well, gots to go!

Lotsa love,

~TheBlackKnight87