"Now if the artist will please explain their work," the bird judge rasped.
"I wished to capture the most beautiful woman in this land in her purest form! I was struck from the first moment I saw her," a voice roared. The Masked Fox was now standing, unmasked. Souten's breath caught. "And that is why for my piece of ultimate beauty I depicted the Lightning Princess Souten!"
The blood drained from her face; she thought that woman had looked far too familiar. She looked back at the Fox demon, stunned by the conviction in his voice, and only found herself more stunned by the conviction in his blue, green eyes.
The Storm Lord suddenly leapt from his seat, seizing the lewd piece of artwork in one hand. As he studied the piece his face changed from deep blue to deep crimson.
"Explain this blasphemy fox!" He boomed. "How dare you depict the future daughter of this clan in such a light!"
The familiar looking young fox man bowed deeply. "Forgive me, but I could not imagine any other sight more pleasing to the eye!"
The Storm lord's face quaked with rage. "Seize him!"
Fish soldiers lunged at the man, but he easily evaded them. The fox demon smirked as he began to leap away.
Souten leapt up and reached out a hand. "Lightning!"
With a crash a gigantic bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, striking the Fox man. He fell from the sky with a cry of pain. Once he landed he was seized by the Storm Lord's servants and brought before the lord.
The massive demon loomed over him.
"My lord," the bird judge interjected. "Please have mercy on this man, it would be a tragedy to lose such a skilled artist."
"Yes father," Masao chimed in. "He is truly ahead of his time. Perhaps he did not know how he shamed our princess-"
"Silence!" the Storm Lord ordered, throwing a hand back. "Unless someone can give me a truly good reason to preserve this man, I shall destroy him."
The Fox demon, grimaced, as he shoved into the ground before the Sea demons. Souten definitely knew his face. Without a doubt, it was the fox demon she had tried to destroy years before, Shippo. He was the one who had shown her the beauty of crayons, the reason she was an artist.
"Dear father-in-law," Souten called, approaching the group. "I believe this man is what they call a prodigy." She stopped and looked down at the fox demon. "You are Shippo, correct?"
The young man's eyes suddenly flew open. He looked like a wild caged animal as he stared up at her. From the confusion in his eyes, Souten could tell that he did not recognize her, but it did not matter.
"My dear lord," she continued kneeling down before the great ruler of all Sea demons. "It pains me to say that I have this man to thank for my art. It is he who introduced me to the wax blocks called 'crayons' that I use today."
"See it is as I say," the bird judge exclaimed. "This young demon is ahead of his time." He pointed to the portrait of the woman. "Just look how fine these lines are. It is like no craftsmanship I have ever seen before."
The Storm Lord massaged his brow and let out a heavy sigh. He studied Souten's face carefully, before looking to Shippo who was still staring at Souten.
"Artist," the large lord grumbled.
"Yes my lord," Shippo replied respectfully.
"How is it that you had the gall to our Princess in the nude? You have not seen her in such a state have you?"
There was a great deal of threat in the demon's voice, but Souten was quite surprised that he was so calm. After all, he wasn't called the Storm Lord for nothing. It was said that he alone was the reason humans were not able to venture too far from the coast to go search the eastern seas. For him to be merciful was very rare.
Shippo's response was also not what Souten expected; he laughed. This was answered by the Storm Lord giving him a questioning look.
"I am a professional," the young Fox demon finally said, a smug grin plastered across his face. "I have enough experience that I can tell what a woman looks like from simply looking at how her kimono drapes over her body."
Souten's face was suddenly warm. All that time Shippo had been looking her over was him mentally undressing her.
"That's an incredible skill," her fiancée gasped, his eyes bright. Souten groaned inside; she knew her future husband had been too perfect. Little did she know he was a closet pervert.
She looked to the Storm Lord, who seemed deep in thought. Then suddenly the bulky demon burst out laughing. He waved a hand dismissingly, and the fish guards released the young fox demon. The mighty lord then stroked his beard and gave Shippo a mischievous grin.
"So…" he mused. "Do you have any material that I might analyze as proof of your profession?"
"My lord-" Souten protested.
"Of course my lord," Shippo replied, pulling a small book out of his kimono.
Souten couldn't decide which was worse: the fact that her first love had apparently become an erotic artist; or the fact that her future father-in-law was going to check out smut in front of everyone.
The Storm Lord flipped through a couple of the pages of the book carefully before handing it back to its creator.
"I have made a decision," he announced loudly the murmuring crowd. "Though I cannot condone his exposing of our princess, I declare this young man the winner of the competition!"
The crowd suddenly erupted into mixed cries of joy and outrage. Some demons spat at Shippo, while others danced wildly about.
"Silence!" The Lord cried. In an instant the people obeyed. "As his reward, I hereby invite him to stay in the palace however long he may like." He then turned to the servant by his side. "Please wrap the celebration up for today."
"Yes my lord!"
The Storm Lord then stood and turned to Shippo. "What say you, young artist?"
Shippo grinned wildly. "I gladly accept my lord."
"Excellent," the large demon beamed. "Masao, please escort your betrothed back inside. We have had enough excitement for today."
"Of course father," the young lord replied.
He quickly was at Souten's side offering an arm, but his fiancée's focus was completely on Shippo as he collected his things and rushed to the Storm Lord's side.
Souten sighed. She never thought that she would see Shippo again. Now she had, and, although he studied her well enough to pretty much see through her clothing, he did not recognize who she would. Perhaps it was because she had grown… When she thought about it, she had barely even recognized herself in his portrait of her.
"My lady," Masao whispered, snapping Souten back to her senses.
"Yes, let us go," she said, attempting to give him a reassuring smile. She then turned to her dragon friend who was looming nearby. "Kouryuu, please gather my things."
"Yes, Lady Souten," the dragon replied simply with a bow.
Kouryuu only came to her later that night after she had changed into more comfortable clothes. When he dropped off her art supplies she was sitting by a torch looking holding but not reading an atlas that she frequented whenever she felt troubled.
"My Lady," Kouryuu murmured, gliding up to her. "Are you alright?"
Souten looked up at her long time servant. Her eyes were distant.
"He is not as I remembered him," she whispered.
The dragon studied her silently. He then inched closer to her side and stuck out his neck.
"Would you like to hit me?" he asked.
She laughed reaching out her hand. She balled up her fist, but then released it and gently stroked her servants head.
"You are so kind Kouryuu," she said smiling. Tears began touching the corners of her eyes. "I think I'm just in shock."
"My lady…"
Her eyes were suddenly full of fire, and her strokes were slowly morphing into pats.
"That pervert embarrassed me in front of the entire clan," she simpered. "And I saved him…"
The dragon shrank away from his mistress.
"Think of it this way Lady Souten," he pleaded. "He owes you now."
Souten scowled at him, but quickly replaced it with a smile.
"Yes," she whispered. "And I will make him pay."