Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or
concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
(Note! This chapter contains matters of a semi-sexual and implied-sexual nature between two adult females of different species! If you are offended….. Then I'm sorry?)
The Annals of the Heroine Akane, and the Dreaded Demon King. A Tale of the Mirrorverse.
Chapter 16:. Fights sometimes come to a swift and violent climax.
Xian Pu had tried to stick to the plan. She really had. It was the fault of that last goblin. It had almost made a sound that someone could have heard. She was being responsible! If it had got a warning out, then the camp could have been alerted, after all! She should be praised for being so thoughtful! Praised and petted! Wait… where did that thought come from? Nevermind, it didn't matter. She was committed now, and that would help her keep her mind busy.
Xian Pu moved, as fast as the wind blowing through the trees as her four paws carried her towards her foes. As swift and unstoppable as death itself. This is what she reveled in. This is what she lived for. The thrill of the hunt! The rush of the kill! The taste of flesh and blood. The smell of fear and death.
Then, why did soft but strong hands keep entering her mind? A smell that she liked, even as it seemed to taunt her? A strong yet soft body against hers? Why did that cursed human linger so in her thoughts? It was obviously all her fault, that cursed human. She would just have to take it out on her later. A good nibble or three… Maybe a bite. Yes, that would surely make her feel better.
Xian Pu burst into the camp and trampled the first goblin in her path before he could do anything more than scream. The feeling of his bones breaking under her weight as her claws shredded his broken body was satisfying. The next one died in a shower of blood as she raked him with the claws on her hands in passing as she barreled into the camp. She could see the hob out of the corner of her eye as he yelled directions and shoved more than one goblin towards her. She was more than fine with that. More bodies to the slaughter.
The only thing that worried her at that moment was the sight of archers moving away from her and readying their bows. But even that concern faded as one of their numbers suddenly jerked and vanished into the bush behind him. Xian Pu understood immediately. That sneaky, conniving human woman had used her as bait.
She definitely was going to bite her now.
Nabiki observed the wanton carnage as a little thrill ran through her body. Xian Pu, the demon that she had fought with a few times now, was something else. All sleek muscle and soft fur, vicious claws and fangs. Attitude and the ability to back it up. It was a shame that they were on opposite sides of this war, fighting alongside her everyday would be thrilling, in more ways than one. Nabiki shook her head as she started to imagine running her fingers through that soft fur and instead focused on what she needed to be doing. Just as she had figured, the archers had decided to get some distance between the whirling ball of claws and death and themselves. And where, exactly, would that be? Why, right where Nabiki had hid herself. Happy little accidents, right? Or the plans of a conniving, sneaky woman.
Nabiki grinned to herself as she reached out and looped her garrote around the neck of the goblin that had stopped in front of her hiding place and yanked back as she tightened it. The small body gave one jerk as it flew back into the bushes, and Nabiki finished it with a vicious twist. She let the dead body slump to the ground as she shifted positions to get the next one before they noticed that their numbers had dropped.
She waited until her next target had taken aim, his tiny frame holding the bow taut and attention fixed in the target before she struck. A knife below the rib, angled upward ended it's life in a wet gurgle as she stabbed to her right, and took another archer below the ear. Nabiki backed up as she turned to face the last two archers in this group, her bloody knives held ready.
Her opponents let out noises of distress and anger as they reach for the crude weapons at their sides, the bows cast aside for the moment. Nabiki grinned a feral grin as she feints at one, then faded back as the other tried to stab her during that brief opening. She steps to the side and turned, for a moment she is back to back with the shocked goblin before she continued the step and drove her right hand knife in through its nose, piercing it's brain. The same motion continued as she released the embedded knife and cast the other into the throat of her other opponent. As she stepped past the two bodies, she had already drawn two more daggers to continue her bloody battle.
Xian Pu had to admit that this is what she enjoyed. She could spend every day in combat, and never grow tired of it. It was the purpose she had been trained for her whole life. It was why her Master had use for her, after all. She was a good scout, yes. But this is where she excelled.
She grinned at the next group of combatants and pounced. "Entertain me more than the last bunch!" Xian Pu growled out in the language of the demons.
Their screams of terror were her only answer.
The hobgoblin seemed to be getting more and more desperate as the number of lackeys between him and the two women had diminished at a rate that was disconcerting to the leader. He looked at them, and pushed the last of them towards the two as he prepared to run. It was better to tell the boss and beg for his life than to face these two. With his leader, it was only almost certain death. With these two, it was a certainty.
Nabiki took down the next two that didn't fall back fast enough as she watched the leader push the last of them towards Xian Pu, then promptly turned and started to run. The path he was taking was the fastest route from this camp towards where she figured the main encampment lay. It confirmed exactly what she had speculated, and would make keeping track of the main group a lot easier. She just hoped that he appreciated her little gift as much as Xian Pu had in the ruins.
Xian Pu tore another pair to bloody shreds, then saw the leader running away as the last few goblins stumbled in her direction. She bared her teeth as she rushed towards them, intent on getting past them to stop the leader. Then she caught the cold, calculating look on that obnoxious human's face, and she got a sudden odd feeling, like she was about to see something that was a bit too familiar to her. Then she remembered the other woman's fondness for traps.
Well, at least it wasn't her this time. That was the thought that passed through her head as she engaged this last group and watched Nabiki heading for the captive at a quick pace. Xian Pu weaved her way through the last dispirited group and glanced at Nabiki as she knelt down next to the captive. Nabiki looked back and nodded her head down the trail the hobgoblin had taken. With a nod, Xian Pu bounded off after the last of them while she kept an eye out for the traps that were sure to be laid in wait.
She found the hobgoblin on the ground, trying to crawl off with one of his ankles cut from the wire trap that he had found. Xian Pu gave him a distasteful look before she flipped him over and ripped her throat out with a quick slash of her claws. She knew she needed to hurry back, there was little chance that the changeling would last long, and she had to make sure that Nabiki didn't learn anything that could endanger her master.
Nabiki knelt and tried to do what she could for the bloody mess that was once a person. One leg had been broken bad enough that bone was poking through the skin. Her eye and part of the side of her face were a bloody mess. Her breathing was labored, probably from broken ribs. WIthout her sister's healing magic, there was nothing she could do. The odds of the woman lasting long enough to get back to the camp… Nabiki was too much of a realist to even give that thought any credence at all. She more felt Xian Pu's return than heard it, as she continued to do what she could to at least let her pass in peace. With a grim look, she pulled a small, stoppered vial from within her clothing.
"Human medicine? To make better, yes?" Xian Pu said as she approached cautiously, her eyes meeting the glazed eye of the changeling.
Nabiki shook her head. "There is nothing that we can do for her, unless you can wield healing magic? If not, I am at least going to ease her pain. It's a paralytic poison, it will at least numb the pain for her."
Xian Pu stilled for a moment, then nodded. "Is better than suffering."
The changeling looked up past Nabiki, as her eyes met Xian Pu's for a moment. "K...Keep them.. Safe… Please…." She choked out, then slumped as a last breath rattled out of her. Nabiki held her for a moment, then gently laid the dead woman down. She cast about for a moment, then grabbed a broken pot.
"What you do?" Xian Pu asked as Nabiki moved off away from the clearing and started to scrape the ground.
"I'm going to bury her. We can't take her back to the town, and there is no way I'm leaving her for the animals." Nabiki said as she set about her work.
"Move. Let Xian Pu. Puny little human spend all night digging." Xian Pu said as she nudged Nabiki aside and set to work with her claws and paws.
"Why would you help? She was just a human." Nabiki said as she moved to the spot opposite Xian Pu and kept working.
"Because no one deserve to die like that. Is wrong. No leave body to animals or the others. Better this way." Xian Pu said as the hole quickly deepened. Once it was sufficiently deep, the pair of them went and almost gently collected the body to place her in the ground, wrapped in some of the cleaner hides that were scattered about.
Nabiki looked at the demon, and shook her head. "I don't think I will ever understand you, Xian Pu. You don't fit the stories, not at all."
Xian Pu chuckled and eyed Nabiki in return. "Same with Nabiki. No seem like what heard."
Nabiki smirked and shook her head. "We need to get out of here, in case they send anyone forward to this camp."
Xian Pu nodded, then hesitated for a moment as Nabiki started to move quickly back towards the camp. Xian Pu watched the sway of the other woman's hips. Drank in the smell of her, and remembered what her blood had tasted like in her mouth. Her tail twitched once, twice, then she started to trail along behind Nabiki with an odd intensity in her gaze.
Nabiki felt an odd tingle on the back of her neck, and turned to look at her companion. As she recognized that intense, focused gaze and the dilated eyes along with the flared nostrils she started to panic a little as she backed up, her hands towards Xian Pu. "Now… No more biting, you great furball. Back! Stop! Oh… Why me!" She said as she turned and started to run.
That seemed to be what pushed Xian Pu over the edge, as she lunged after Nabiki in great, powerful bounds before she was on the fleeing woman, and bore her to the ground. Nabiki let out a very undignified squeak as the massive form of the felinoid demon slammed into her from behind, and she felt those strong clawed hands and arms wrapped around her once more. She stumbled to the ground even as she felt one breast squeezed in a mix of pleasure and pain. As the massive maw of her pursuer wrapped around her shoulder again, she flushed as a very uncharacteristic moan slipped from her parted lips.
The two rolled about on the ground, as Xian Pu sought to exert her dominance over the smaller woman through her strength and tenacity, but Nabiki was a wily opponent, and the two exchanged positions many times over the course of the next few minutes. When they came to a stop, Nabiki was once more pulled back against the heaving chest of the larger demon, and certain assets of hers were being handled in a way that was not quite what one would expect from two mortal adversaries. As Nabiki felt that clawed hand move as it tried to remove her vest she placed a firm hand over Xian Pu's.
"Stop. If… If we are going to do this… At least… At least let me take it off, you… Great furry brute…." Nabiki said as she slipped out of her vest and turned to face Xian Pu. She tossed her sweaty hair out of her face and looked at the magnificent, unpredictable being that had her wrapped in her arms and forelegs. "Why… Exactly…. Are we doing this?" Nabiki panted out breathlessly.
"Because… Feel good…" Xian Pu answered before she licked the side of Nabiki's neck with her rough tongue and let out a pleased little sound as Nabiki gasped and shuddered.
Nabiki closed her eyes and laced her fingers through the luxurious fur of the other, an odd thought passing through her mind. It felt like petting that damned hellcat of Ranko's. Her eyes slipped open as Xian Pu leaned into her touch in a very particular way and Nabiki got a thoughtful look on her face for a moment, until Xian Pu pulled her in close and started to lap at her wherever there was exposed flesh.
It was not long until the two of them had forgotten about whatever else might have been on their minds.
A bit later, a very disheveled looking Nabiki made her way back into the camp. She was a bit dazed, and somewhat miffed. After… Handling her in a way that she would not soon forget… The damned cat had strutted off while she left Nabiki to put herself back into something resembling order. On top of that, she had bites in places that would be very awkward to explain to Kasumi.
What annoyed her even more was the stupid grin that seemed to be plastered across her face now. She would get back at that damned cat, if it was the last thing she ever did. She walked over and plopped down on the stump, and gave Robin and Akane a look that would not allow any comments. She was a bit more content when the two talked amongst themselves for a moment, then wandered off to their separate tents. Nabiki couldn't help but notice that Akane lingered for a moment at the entrance to the tent and eyed the back of Robin for a moment longer than was proper before she slipped into her own tent.
Nabiki eyed the little terror that had wandered over and seemed to smirk up at her. Without thinking about it, Nabiki picked the furry terror up and settled her into her lap before she started to pet her as she seemed to do more often than not anymore. She felt the cat in her lap flinch and turn away as she slid a hand over its side. With a curious look, she held the suddenly struggling cat still and examined its side. A small cut was on it's side, the edges looking pretty smooth and clean. Almost like it had been nicked with a very small knife. Nabiki eyed the cat speculatively for a moment, then shook her head as she dismissed the crazy idea that had popped into her head. She reached for her kit, and pulled a little salve out and rubbed it carefully over the wound. "Now, you just stay there and behave, you little terror. I said, lay there and be good. If you were not so cute, you would be impossible to deal with, you know?" Nabiki said as she looked at the cat, who she could almost swear preened at the compliment, then rolled over to present it's uninjured side to her.
Nabiki sighed as she continued to pet the little monster, while she waited for the day to come. Best not to think about that night too much. They were being followed by a force of unknown size, and… What had happened between her and Xian Pu was something she didn't want to dwell on. It raised far too many questions about herself, for one.
"Next time, I will deal with you, and your cute little furry ass, Xian Pu. I promise you that." Nabiki said under her breath, then looked down at the cat that had looked up at her and sighed. "Yes, I know…. Brood less, pet more. You furry little slut."
And that is exactly what she did, until the sun rose over the horizon.
