Unexpected Meeting (Protective Fortress Part 2)

The moon's gentle light shone down on the earth below and past the leaves from the trees, once the clouds passed by. Sango within minutes or so from before, had fallen asleep against the tree, despite feeling somewhat uneasy. Fujinki now sat across from her, keeping an eye on the young woman. Still, he was trying to figure out what made her so different from other human women, or even humans in general. She did have that fighting spirit though, that much he could see. Looking to his left, he narrowed his eyes on a bush that had begun to rustle again for the second time. Was it the wind... or a demon in wait? Slowly, he lifted his left hand in order to strike at whatever demon had been in wait, and end its life the moment it decided to move out. Soon, something leapt out and Fujinki was about to do quick work of it however, he stopped in realizing what it was.

There before him was a creature about the size of a cat, perhaps a little bigger by an inch or two. Near white fur covered its entire body. There atop its cat-like head, twitched two five-inch ears while it's nine-inch twin tails did much of the same. There were several other things that caught Fujinki's eyes, such as the dark crescent moon laying on its back with a sort of diamond shape stabbing it through the center, or at least it looked that way. The creature's hind paws resembled a rabbit? Strange. Examining the creature further, its little front hands resembled not those of a cat but they were indeed small, like a squirrel's. This was a strange creature, they were quite rare from what he recalled, perhaps even endangered. Fujinki watched the creature tear its red glowing eyes away, to focus in the direction of the sleeping human woman: Sango.

The small cat-like creature scurried over to Sango, under the watchful eye of Fujinki. Should it attempt an attack, he could easily cut its life short. He flexed his claws in preparation, though the hushed whimper from the human proved distracting. She called out a name in her sleep: Kirara? Who or what was this... Kirara? Garnet orbs rose from the creature to the human for a moment before movement from the little critter caught his eye again. It was scurrying closer, its movements curious, clearly evident from the twitching tails. Eventually, it got close enough to sniff at the two hands that was laid over the woman's abdomen, the creature's nose taking in Sango's scent in the process. Leaning back on its hind paws, it looked up at her sleeping face.

Curious, that it was.

A small leap, and it found himself atop the human's lap to which she was startled awake, causing Fujinki to crack a smile, and his hands to visibly relax somewhat. Sango looked down at the strange cat-like animal. No... that wasn't the right word, was it? Demon was more like it. From its slitted red eyes down to the twin tails, its strange but familiar features were what drew her out of a startled daze. Sango blinked a few times before reaching to pet its head, and as wild as the little critter might have seemed, it actually allowed the touch. The creature's whiskers moved up and down slightly for a moment when suddenly, its left hind paw begun to thump on her leg a little bit. Clearly it enjoyed the little pet scratch behind the ear. Fujinki lowered his guard regarding that critter and instead tried to focus on his surroundings, despite the saddened face on Sango. She would likely cry... again.

And there it was, the smell of fresh tears and whimpering that was heard. After a short few minutes it all stopped, then he turned to look at them. The small cat/rabbit-like demon was smart enough to know that she was sad and needed comfort. The image of the two was endearing, he noticed it trying to catch the woman's tears, causing her to stifle out a small laugh even as she held onto it.

"You remind me of Kirara..."

So it was a name. Perhaps of a similar creature? The small critter seemed to understand to a degree, and hopped out of her arms. Taking a moment to try and fix the fur atop its ruffled head and once succeeding, it wrote in the dirt... something, by Sango's right.

"Zanku?"

So his senses were right indeed, it was a male. At the name spoken, his ears moved and his head turned to look directly at her. Either tails on the creature twitched and moved as he blinked. Fujinki watched on cautiously as Zanku hopped onto Sango's lap. He curled onto her lap, to which she smiled and itched his head slightly. The dog demon across those two let out a sigh. They already seemed close and now, this would seem so difficult to separate the two. Knowing her fighting spirit and the fact that she likely had a similar creature before, it would not stop her from keeping that critter; demon or otherwise.

After a few minutes of petting the strange little twin-tailed demon, she'd fallen asleep and he wasn't far behind. Fujinki kept an eye on the two for the rest of the night, while maintaining his senses on high alert. But thinking about it... perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea for her to have a companion to stay at her side constantly, should danger arise or otherwise. Should he be called elsewhere, he'd know that she'd at least have some extra protection with her. His decision was made. He'd allow Zanku to venture with them.

The next morning, Sango was awokened by the smell of... food? Peering her eyes open, she noticed Fujinki had gathered wood and made a fire. From his experience, Fujinki knew that humans required and preferred warm food over something raw. He'd caught a deer, its corpse sat a few feet away. Noticing her discomfort almost immediately, Fujinki moved to hide the carcass elsewhere. Once that task was completed, he looked over the food cooking over the fire.

"This may not be the best breakfast, but your little friend seems to be enjoying it"

Turning to her left, there were several small cut pieces of heated meat that were greedily being eaten by Zanku. He only stopped long enough to look at her and blink, only to return to his meal shortly after. She was handed a few sizable pieces of meat that had been put onto a makeshift skewer, fashioned from a branch that he'd made, hours before making this breakfast. Sango slowly begun to eat. It was not perfect but not half bad either...

Once their meal was complete, Sango stood from her spot beneath the tree and looked over at Fujinki, who in that time had extinguished the flames. He looked at her before turning around to walk ahead a few feet.

"Let's go, we're behind... I'm sure Kyaru is at the fortress, now"

"Fortress?"

"A means of safety for you, at the present time"

Sango looked down at Zanku who sat there, then he was quick to leap onto her shoulder. Seemingly enough, it reminded her of Kirara again. It saddened her and Fujinki picked up on that, so he was quick to put her at ease, or at least he attempted to do so.

"Sango, why do you seem so upset? Because of Kirara?"

"How do you..."

"You spoke in your sleep before your little friendly critter approached you. You mentioned the name Kirara"

Silence stretched on between the two, and Sango looked over at Zanku, who by now stared at her, curiously. She smiled a little though it seemed sad, yet she was actually happy. Fujinki turned to look at those two, not expecting the sight before him. She was genuinely smiling which was soon followed by a laugh, as Zanku leaned his cheek against hers. That critter was nuzzling her, offering her better comfort in a sense. The demon dog turned to look ahead, with a bit of a hidden smile. She's special, indeed.

At the castle in the sky, stood none other than the Lady of the West. InuKimi whom by now, had seated herself onto her husband's chair in the office. The smell of that human girl was here. Not fresh, but that scent still lingered in the air. For whatever reason it infuriated her, though she wouldn't dare express that outwardly. Deep yellow-gold eyes moved over to the door sliding open. There stood her right-hand man, as some would likely put it.

"Dokubana"

"Mi'lady" his voice came out smoothly, but there was masculinity hidden within.

He stood at about five feet and eight inches, taller than his master but shorter than most males of their kind. What he preferred to wear was a red feminine kimono sliding down his shoulders, yet with the top part remaining in place, only revealing a little bit of his upper chest. A gold obi was neatly wrapped around his waist. The bottom part of the kimono, revealed some of his legs but not any higher. Dokubana's silver and black hair was neatly tied back in geisha style, with two silver hair pins adorned by a dark blue crescent moon hanging from either one. Several strands of black fell down on either side of his face. His skin was pale, but perhaps a shade or two darker then his master. Two dark blue streaks adorned his cheeks in nearly the same fashion as InuKimi, yet they were some inches lower, thicker and longer. His lips were painted red, as were his eyelids. Either of his pointed ears were pierced with a pair of clear blue crystal-shaped earrings. And finally, he held a very unique weapon within his right hand. A double sided pike-like weapon: On the top were three blades in different angles and only one had an extra blade pointing down. On the other end of the pike, was a single thunder-shaped blade about five inches long.

"I need you to do something for me"

"Anything for you... my Lady" he purred. A smile grew on his lips, revealing sharp fangs.

Meanwhile, Fujinki continued to walk upon Sango's insistence to do so, while she was a few feet ahead from him. Along the way some low-class demons had strayed too close for his liking, but glaring their way with a small raise in youki was enough to scare them off. Looking at the skies by now, it was nearing noon and they were still a ways from the fortress. He looked down to see Sango had stopped to glance back his way.

"I thought you said it would take a day for us to get there"

"Correct, but I did not take in the fact that you would prefer walking rather than being safely carried in my arms"

Sango turned her head away with a light hint of a blush forming on her cheek. Unfortunately for her, Fujinki had not missed it. He approached the demon slayer, giving her head several gentle pats even as she rose her cinnamon orbs at him.

"How about I carry you the rest of the way?"

Sango averted her gaze from him with a sigh, before nodding. Fujinki took her in his arms bridal-style then leapt into the air, while a dark youki cloud formed under his feet. He flew high, giving both Sango and her little companion a nice view of the forest. Large masses of greenery were seen from their moving position in the sky. She hadn't really taken the time to notice it before but... the forest looked so much more lush and lively here. Once she had looked around enough, her eyes fell onto her companion who by now, had made himself comfortable over Fujinki's head.

"I think he likes you" Sango let out a soft laugh.

"So it would seem..."

After another few hours, Fujinki finally saw the fortress come into view. Stone walls surrounded the inner fortress, with well over ten guards standing tall and mighty at the high gate. He landed on his feet once he got there, offering a light nod to the guards before passing through the previously closed gate. Sango was set down on her feet even after he had heard her gasp. What surrounded them was like the castle she had slept in... was it one night? Either way, it was nearly the same. To the right sat a garden with a pond, yet there were stones leading up to the strong structure of the fortress made of wood, in hues of red and various colors. Fujinki led her up the few steps and into a room where a large futon sat, to the front of it was a desk of sorts, paper and a small paint brush atop its surface. A lone full body mirror sat to the right of said desk, and a kimono hung by the bed on the wall. It was her kimono, though there was something... different about it.

"Lord Inu no Taishou had asked Nari and I to clean it, and make a few... adjustments" came the familiar voice from behind them.

Sango turned to see Kyaru standing there with a displeased stare aimed at Fujinki. She blinked a few times before once again looking at her kimono. It was mostly the same yet... there was a red obi with the Western crest hanging from the sleeve. It was quite a bit longer then what she was used to... the green skirt also had the Western crest. A bead of sweat slid from her temple and along her cheek, and her eyes grew small upon noticing all the changes. Kyaru moved her eyes towards Sango, lifting a sleeve-covered hand to her mouth and looking elsewhere.

"I do believe she's not pleased with the Lord's choice..."

Fujinki stood there with a few sweat beads forming on his face, a small nervous laugh escaping him. Kyaru turned and took her leave from the room, leaving the male to deal with this problem.

"I want to speak to Touga"

"... Lord Touga"

"I don't care, I want to see him now"

Fujinki itched his cheek with a claw. She was most definitely displeased.