Pairing: Sess x Kag

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I own no Inuyasha character.

Crimson Promises:

Chapter 3

The next morning brought sunshine, chirping birds, and one irritated human warrior. He huffed to himself, ignoring his silent companion as he walked to land surrounding the castle. Usually Akira enjoyed the days when he did this. It gave him time to sort out his thoughts- it also gave him time to practice anything he wanted, away from prying eyes. He sighed at the thought of missing important parts of his continuous training with the elderly woman in the village not too far away from the castle.

Shaking away such thoughts, he cut a glance to the stoic Lord walking beside him. The demon seemed to be ignoring him as intently as he himself was ignoring the Lord. He sighed once more and continued on, loosing himself in the thoughts. Unwillingly, his thoughts turned back to what was the cause of the demon Lord even coming with him.

The morning had started out well enough. Akira's internal clock woke him an hour before sunrise, and he rose, bathed, and then headed for a small stroll before his morning routine. The air outside had been crisp and fresh, with birds chirping as they woke with the light. He had enjoyed watching the sun rise, and had been amused as his soldiers trickled out of the castle as they headed for the training fields. Quite a few of them were stumbling around, half-asleep still. Akira would take care of that soon enough.

He waited for fifteen minutes, as usual, and then headed over to them. "Alright men, let us do our morning routine."

There were a few mumbled comments and groans, but all of the men stood in lines and started their morning exercises and stretches, their General joining in with them. By the time they finished, they had barely broken a sweat, and everyone looked more awake and alert.

"Attention men," Akira commanded. He was proud as they immediately stood at attention. "We are soon going to be getting new men, and it will be up to all of us to make sure they get the best training possible. The best training being the most rigorous, hard training they have ever encountered."

Most of the men knew not to react to this news. Some wanted to laugh, others wince. They knew better than to do that. One man, however, gave a bark of quiet laughter. Akira's eyes immediately alighted on his victim.

"Soldier," he called.

The man jerked in surprise, immediately regretting his outburst. "Y-yes, sir?"

"Care to explain to me why you have broken attention?" Akira asked sternly. He was by no means unfair, but he demanded obedience when it came to such things.

"Uh…" the man stammered. "I'm sorry, sir," he said, bowing his head.

"You shall drop and give me twenty, soldier. Remember, they will be put through the very same things that you all have gone through. They will become the best- your equals. One of them may very well save your lives," Akira said as the soldiers dropped without complaint and started doing pushups.

This was where the day started to go down the drain, Akira acknowledged, thinking back. It was at this point that he heard Lady Kikyo's girlish giggle as she drug a stoic dog-demon towards them by his arm.

"These are the best soldiers in our land. Akira trains them himself," she boasted flirtatiously, batting her eyes at the dog demon, who looked each of the humans over with a keen eye.

"Milady, milord. Is there something I can help you with?" Akira gritted out, getting irritated at the mere sight of the Inu. He bowed at his waist in respect, but he kept his icy gaze on the two. Especially where they were touching.

"Oh, Akira. I was merely telling Sesshomaru-sama about your training," Kikyo answered, not unkindly. Her tone, however, held a slight sneer in it, as if she was trying to impress Sesshomaru with her ranking over the General.

"My men are the best human soldiers in the Northern land," Akira said diplomatically, inclining his head as he echoed Kikyo's earlier statement.

"Hn…that is to be seen," Sesshomaru replied, his tone bland. He smirked inwardly as Akira's aura spiked with irritation. For some reason, it amused him greatly to annoy this man…

Akira stiffened at the implied insult, but before he could respond, Kikyo made an impatient noise, and tugged at Sesshomaru's arm. "Milord, please accompany me to the gardens?" She batted her eyelashes at him again.

Inwardly, Sesshomaru sighed. He was more interested in the army than in the brat, but he had to play nice. He allowed her to lead him away, plotting revenge. The brat would pay for his humiliation.

"Oh, Akira," Kikyo called, pausing. "My father wishes you to go to his study as soon as possible." Then the two were gone.

Akira shook his head, pushing away his ire as he turned to his men. "At ease, men. Go about your normal jobs." He did not stay to watch them leave, merely turning on heel and headed back into the castle.

Finding the study was not very hard for Akira, as he had been there hundreds of times. He knocked on it lightly, and did not enter until his Lord called for him to.

"Milord," he said, bowing with his hand fisted over his heart in a gesture of his servitude.

"Akira, just the person I wanted to see. Please, sit," said the Lord kindly, gesturing at the seat in front of the desk he himself was sitting at.

Akira obeyed, and stared at his Lord. "Is there anything that I can do for you, sire?"

Lord Higurashi stared at the young warrior for a moment, before cutting to the chase. "Soon, we shall be holding a wonderful ball in honor of Kikyo's eighteenth birthday. I would like you to make sure your best warriors are in attendance as guards, as I do not wish anything to go amiss. After your patrol today, your only task is to get the group up, and get the approval from myself and no one else."

Akira inclined his head, showing he understood. "Is there anything else milord?"

The Lord propped his elbow up on the table, and leaned his face against his palm, "I would also like you to take Sesshomaru-sama on your patrol today."

Akira's eyes widened. He bit back a smart remark, casting his eyes down. He bit his tongue a moment before commenting in a neutral tone, "Yes, sire."

"Good. That is all. Dismissed, Akira." He smiled kindly at the young General, and went back to his scrolls.

Akira left, his aura nearly vibrating with ire. He had one more stop before he was to set off to find the demon and leave for patrol. He paused outside of the sliding door of the Lady of the House's quarters. He tapped lightly.

"Enter," called the woman in a soft voice.

Akira opened the door silently and slipped inside, before closing the door just as silently behind him. "My lady," he bowed.

"Kagome," muttered the woman gently.

The young warrior stiffened, looking at the woman in surprise. "Akira, milady," he corrected hurriedly.

"Please, put a protective barrier around the room," the woman said. She sounded tired.

Akira obeyed, and then knelt next to the reclining woman. He stiffened as he felt the touch of the woman's hands against the mask, before they moved to the back of his head. She untied the mask, and pulled it gently away from the young warrior's face. The face underneath was undeniably feminine with thick black eyelashes that framed the intensely blue eyes, a button nose, and full, pouting lips. Her face was heart shaped. All in all, the girl revealed was quite beautiful- and bore a similarity to Kikyo.

"Kagome," the woman murmured again, caressing the girl's face.

"Yes…mother," replied the warrior. She glanced down at her hands, which were folded neatly in her lap, still wrapped in the black gloves.

"You must hate me," said the woman suddenly. Kagome's eyes jerked up.

"Hate you?"

"Yes. I have forced you into servitude. You are a rightful heir to the throne, yet you have to act like the General of the army. Like a man."

Kagome slowly shook her head, "I don't hate you. You did what you had to do. Kaede explained everything the last time we met…but we shall not get to meet this time."

"Why not?" the Lady asked in surprise.

"My Lord has asked me to allow Sesshomaru-sama to accompany me on my patrol," she said, irritation coating her tone.

"He has, has he?" She didn't seem too surprised as she let out a sigh. "I know that you don't get to enjoy things like Kikyo does. I know it hurts you that your father and sister know nothing about you even being part of the family. I am sorry that Lady Fate has delivered such a harsh fate to you, my daughter." And she did sound sorry.

"Mi- Mother. Is something the matter?" Kagome asked instead of replying. She loved her mother, father, and sister. And she did not trust Sesshomaru with her sister. That was the true reason behind her ire towards him. There was something about the demon that just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Nothing, servant. I am merely tired." Her voice was soft, but harsh. It was clear that their little 'family' moment was over. Kagome pulled on the mask with a practiced move, and tied it back securely once more. She was now Akira.

"Then I shall leave you to rest," he said as he took the barrier down.

"Akira…" she murmured as he stood to leave. He paused at the door. "If…if you wish to attend the ball, then you have my permission…it is a masque ball, after all…"

Akira tilted his head considering. "My Lady, I shall attend it. I am to get my most skilled warriors together and prepare them for it."

Lady Higurashi knew what this meant. He had politely turned down the offer. She gave her daughter a sad smile as she left, and closed her eyes. She meant what she said. If only her daughter hadn't been marked…but if she hadn't been marked, she wouldn't have had the life that made her into such a wonderful young woman. Not spoiled like her sister, but someone who knew the world- someone who could survive in the world. This was the Lady's last thought as she slipped into a fretful sleep.

Now, here Akira was, patrolling the lands with the admittedly handsome demon beside her and feeling nothing towards him but ire. She supposed that perhaps she had been a male too long to even look at him, and she quietly hoped that she never experience the emotion of love towards a member of the male species. She wasn't sure how she would take the pain of it. Pushing such thoughts away, she looked at Sesshomaru once more.

"Human, if you must insist on staring at me, please refrain from the sighs. They are quite irritating."

Akira rolled his eyes. "I wasn't staring at you," he said defensively.

"Hn. You were, too." Sesshomaru smirked inwardly as the ire- that had been in the young man's aura from the start- spiked.

"Fine, I was. But it's only because you're so weird looking."

"I am not weird looking," the young demon bit out, cutting a glare down at the male beside him. He noticed for the first time just how small the man was. He was hardly a threat to someone a head taller and quite a bit wider. Especially if that someone was a demon, like himself.

"Considering humans generally have black or brown hair and the eyes the same colors, you are weird looking." He mentally snickered at the irritation that flashed through Sesshomaru's eyes.

"Then what are you? You wear a mask and have blue eyes. You are weird looking, as well." Sesshomaru countered. He was surprised that this human could bring such responses out of him.

Akira shrugged, "I suppose I am. Maybe that is why no woman is interested in me." Maybe not. Thank Kami, thought Akira to himself. He might not be interested in men, but he was definitely not interested in women.

Sesshomaru was curious as to the disgusted smell coming off of the male. He assumed that the male had self-esteem issues and merely put them from mind as the circled around, heading back to the castle. It was an hour or so past midday by this time.

"You are attending the ball for Lady Kikyo, are you not?" Akira asked after a while, trying to make small-talk.

"Hn," the young demon lord grimaced.

"Hn?" Akira asked, curiosity thick in his tone.

"I do not enjoy such events," Sesshomaru admitted.

"Well, if you don't attend it, Kikyo will be upset," drawled Akira.

Sesshomaru could have cared less, but he passed off another, "Hn."

"Tell you what. I'm curious as to what you can do, and I'm assuming that you are curious as to what I can do. How about we have a spar match, and if I win, you go to the ball with Lady Kikyo. If you win…well, what are your terms?"

"If I win, you take off your mask for me," Sesshomaru said, after thinking for a minute.

Akira stiffened, drawing Sesshomaru's curiosity even more. "Deal," he said. He was pretty sure of his abilities, yet he was worried all the same.

"Deal," said Sesshomaru. His tone was full of smugness, as if he had already won.

"You know, Pride is one of the seven deadly sins," Akira said, mild irritation coloring his tone.

"And I do not care."

"Your Pride will be your downfall," Akira observed as he folded his arms behind his head casually, staring up at the sky.

"…" Sesshomaru glared at Akira. "As if something like that would cause the downfall of one such as me." He sniffed in disdain of the thought.

Akira shrugged, not commenting back.

They arrived at the castle an hour later, and the two headed straight to the dojo. Each chose their own weapon, before facing off. Once more, Akira had the two-bladed staff, while Sesshomaru had his Tensaiga, so as to not hurt the human unintentionally.

The two stared at each other, waiting for their opponent to move first. Minutes ticked by. Neither moved. In a blur, the two moved together, towards each other.

The sound of metal meeting metal rang in the air, marking the beginning of the match. It drew the attention of the men outside of the dojo. Soon, most of the soldiers were crowding the doors and taking bets as their leader fought the visiting Lord.

The two pushed away from each other before crashing together once more. Akira noted Sesshomaru's strength and speed. His expression gave nothing away, and if Akira hadn't been trained so well, he wouldn't have even saw the minute movement that came as Sesshomaru tensed in preparation to move. Parrying another blow, he twirled away, but kept his eyes on the demon.

Sesshomaru acknowledged that the young warrior was quite good. He seemed to sense when Sesshomaru was going to move, and was good at parrying his attacks. Yet, the human did not make a move in defense, merely offense. In Sesshomaru's mind, he had already won.

Akira noted the smug looked that passed through Sesshomaru's eyes. Even though he always wore an emotionless mask, Akira noted that the Inu slipped up more when it came to his eyes. And Akira was a master of masks, literally. He feinted a slash to the left, before twirling the staff and catching Sesshomaru's arm. The blade did not cut Sesshomaru, but it did cut his hoari, revealing a bit of taut, pale skin.

Sesshomaru's eyebrow rose in a small show of surprise. The human had actually landed a hit.

Akira had barely broken a sweat. He had no idea how long the match was getting last, and he was hungry. Upping the fight a notch and flipped away from the demon, he twirled his staff as he did so. Sesshomaru followed him closely, not giving him a moments rest as he sliced through the air gracefully. He himself landed a hit- slicing through the soldier's arm. If Akira was surprised to be unharmed, he did not show it. He merely flipped away once more and stood, staring at his opponent. It was at this time that Sesshomaru registered a slash across his stomach. His other eyebrow rose in surprise, before he held up a hand.

"One moment."

Akira nodded his assent, standing still as Sesshomaru stripped off his top, to reveal a perfectly sculpted body. Akira, for the first time, was distracted by a man's body as she looked it over. Mentally, she whistled to herself. Outwardly, she stared at him impassively.

Sesshomaru noticed where the man's attention was directed, and held in a smirk. Although it was uncomformable for another man to oogle his body, Sesshomaru was well away that his body was absolute perfection.

Shaking himself, Akira got back into a fighting stance as Sesshomaru padded on silent feet over to him.

"Ready?" Akira asked mockingly.

"Hn," was Sesshomaru's response, before the two collided again.

The match wore on for a while, and Akira could feel his body getting steadily weaker and more and more tired. He had not eaten much that day, and he knew that he wouldn't last much more longer. So, he put his finishing moves on Sesshomaru, as an almost desparate last attempt at victory.

Sesshomaru was taken off guard when Akira flipped forward on one hand, kicked his leg out from under him, and straddled him, his blade at Sesshomaru's neck.

"I win," he panted.

"So do I," Sesshomaru countered, his own blade pressing against Akira's throat. He was thankful for his instinct at that moment.

"Seems like we are in a bit of a draw," Akira commented nonchalantly. He did not move from his place.

"Hn."

"How about we both win? You go with Kikyo, and I will do as you asked."

"...Fine. Just get off," Sesshomaru answered, tired of the human man sitting on him.

Akira complied and flipped off Sesshomaru.

"Well?" asked the demon with a raised eyebrow, as he stood.

"Oh, I said that I would do as you asked, but I never said when. You failed to specify the time in which I should comply," said Akira. And somehow, Sesshomaru knew there was an insufferable smirk on the man's face under that stupid mask.

"..." Sesshomaru made no answer, but irritation flashed in his eyes as he turned and left. Akira rolled his eyes, believing that the man was pouting. Akira might take up his mother's offer...Pssht, yeah right. He laughed a little as he put his weapon away. He sent a hard look at his men, who scattered like cockroaches.

Ah, victory was indeed sweet.

Author's note:

First thing, I am sorry about the chaos, but I will be jumping back with addressing Akira as a female and as a male. I'm assuming that you all will know what I mean whenever I use it around her, since you all know his/her big secret. XD

Okay second thing, things have been crazy, and I have been lazy. (Hehe that rhymes. XD) I don't know when I'll update next, but at least this was long, ne? I'm currently half-asleep and whatnot, so let me know how it was. I hope to be able to update again sometime soon! I start college soon, though, so...I am quite uncertain...-.-0

Wells, that's it for now. Look for the next update, and please leave a review! Pllleeeeaaassseee? XD

Lotsa love!

~TheBlackKnight87