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Shout-out to starrat and Demi-Angel2011 for their reviews on the last few chapters! I hope you both enjoy this one! (Haha chapter 69 lol)

EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 69: Truce

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Tsunayoshi's men brought them to a room on the first floor without windows and furniture. A barrier had been erected around it, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out unless they were holding a small crystal fragment. Rin watched with fascination as the youkai escorting them tapped the barrier with the crystal, which opened up a hole large enough to walk through.

Before she could protest, she and Master Jaken were shoved into the hole, where they landed on the floor. The hole closed behind them, trapping the two of them inside.

"Rin-chama!" Cyril cried, dropping to his knees in front of them. "And Jaken-dono! Thank the gods. We thought you were both . . ." He gasped when he saw the rip in her kimono and the bruises on Master Jaken's face. "What happened? Who did this to you? Was it that hanyou?"

Rin glanced around the room and spotted Nagisa and Kannika in the corner. They were sleeping, but their expressions looked strained and distraught.

"Are we the only survivors?" Rin whispered.

Cyril nodded grimly. "I believe so, though it's possible that a few escaped during the invasion."

"Did you see Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"I didn't. That hanyou came to see us on the first day and asked us if we knew where he was. It's not out of character for him to disappear, but it seems odd that he would leave after Eita was murdered. The last time anyone saw him was when he went to check on you, Rin-chama."

"I never saw him," she said. "I went to bed early that night. Did you say somebody was murdered?"

"It was horrible," Master Jaken murmured, shuddering at the memory. "I saw the state the room was in after Sesshoumaru-sama revived the victims. There was so much blood. Eita was a good man. He didn't deserve to die. What kind of monster would deface someone's body like that?"

"Did the guards find out who was responsible?"

"The guards were the main suspects," Cyril answered. "But for some reason, Sesshoumaru-sama was adamant that they weren't to blame. He said they were just puppets on strings."

Rin furrowed her brow. "I remember Octavia-san telling me about the creatures that sealed her magic. Apparently, they had the power to possess others. Maybe there were more of them than the ones she and Sesshoumaru-sama met on the island. Maybe they're here in the castle."

"But why would they w-willingly serve a hanyou?" Master Jaken stammered.

"Perhaps he's one of them," suggested Cyril. "What colour were his eyes? The victims from that night claimed that their attackers' eyes were pitch black."

"They were red," she answered. "Like hot coals. And he didn't sound possessed."

"What does the bastard even want?"

They all turned their heads and saw that Nagisa had opened her eyes. She stared at them from across the room, waiting for her question to be answered.

"He wants vengeance," said Rin. "He wants Sesshoumaru-sama to pay for something that happened in the past . . . I think he's going to try and kill him."

Nagisa snorted. "Is that so? He must be mad. As callous as it sounds, a weak hanyou like him has no chance against a powerful Daiyoukai like Sesshoumaru."

"How do you know he's weak?"

The sea dragon arched a brow. Rin looked down at her hands and picked at the blood between her fingers. Lord Sesshoumaru was powerful, but so was Inuyasha. If he'd been weak, he wouldn't have been able to chop off Lord Sesshoumaru's arm. He might have lost more than just his arm if Inuyasha hadn't been holding back that day. The usurper certainly wasn't going to show any restraint when he inevitably faced him in battle.

Rin locked eyes with Master Jaken. "When you see Sesshoumaru-sama, tell him to run before Tsunayoshi finds him."

"He would never agree to do something so cowardly," rebuked Cyril.

"You have a point," Nagisa agreed. "There's no way he'll just leave us here. His pride simply won't allow it."

Master Jaken hung his head and sighed. "I'll worry about that when I've found him. First, I have to get the Nintoujou to point him out. I've never used it for anything other than spraying flames and tracking down the Inu no Taisho's grave. I don't even know where to start."

"You can do it," Rin assured him. "I know you can. And once you've gotten the hang of it, you could use it to find Octavia-san."

Kannika was showing signs of stirring. Her eyes peeled open slowly, before settling on Rin and Master Jaken. Kannika's breathing hastened and she scurried over to them on her hands and knees. Rin noticed that she was missing both of her middle fingers, and her wings were full of holes. She grabbed Rin's hands and gazed deep into her eyes, searching for something.

"Have you seen my brother?" she asked. "Was he with you? If you know where he is, please tell me."

Rin shook her head. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen anyone else except you four."

Kannika's face fell, and she let go of her hands. "Oh . . ."

Nagisa rose from her seat beside the wall and walked across the room to where Kannika was kneeling. She reached out and placed a hand on Kannika's shoulder, being careful not to touch her mutilated wings. "Don't give up," Nagisa said. "He may have escaped."

"I doubt the hanyou would have killed him," Cyril added. "Kanetsugu was Touga-sama's ward, too. Why kill one but not the other? Whether he escaped or not, I'd wager that he's still alive."

Rin caught Kannika's eye and shot her a determined look. "I'll ask Tsunayoshi about him later. He wants me to eat dinner with him, so I'll try to learn as much as I can then."

Kannika nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Rin-chama."

"Be careful," Nagisa warned. "Sky dragons are cruel and impatient. This one might have diluted blood, but he probably won't have any qualms about killing you, so try not to piss him off."

"I won't," Rin promised.

"You stupid girl," Master Jaken sighed, tearing up again. "If only I'd gotten to you sooner."

Rin's eyes softened. "Don't cry, Jaken-sama. It wasn't your fault." Smiling, she leaned in and kissed his swollen cheek. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. After the bandits slaughtered my family, I stopped believing in people, but you, Ah-Un and Sesshoumaru-sama taught me how to trust again. I'm sorry for always taking you for granted."

Sniffing, he smothered his face with his hands in an attempt to stop his tears from escaping.

Rin clutched his sleeve until two stony-faced demonesses came to take her away.

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Kanetsugu and the volunteers returned later that evening with packs full of supplies.

Octavia helped them distribute clean clothes and food to the other survivors whilst Kanetsugu listed the names of the people they'd buried. Sou – Sesshoumaru's most trusted guard – was among them, and so was Suki. Octavia briefly closed her eyes in remembrance, before glancing up at the waterfall and wondering if Sesshoumaru was listening from behind the watery curtain.

Once Kanetsugu was done, she asked him if he'd learned anything about the usurper. He hadn't. Disappointed, she wandered over to the remaining supplies and searched for something to change into. Her eyes ended up being drawn to a pure black kosode. It was a little worn and torn, but beggars couldn't be choosers. She felt her chest tighten when she recalled the Dressmaker's comments regarding her dress. Gold won't suit you at all. Black, on the other hand . . .

Octavia threw the black kosode over her shoulder and picked out a pair of dark grey hakama. She knew how it would look to outsiders. A man dressed all in gold versus a woman that fought alongside demons? It was fairly obvious who people would assume was the hero, but frankly, she didn't mind being Augustus's monster. She no longer cared what strangers thought of her.

She chose an off white kosode and a matching pair of hakama for Sesshoumaru before leaving to remove her stiff and faded gold dress. The black kosode was almost exactly the same shade as the tattoo on her chest. She tied the obi around her waist and touched the Prophecy-Breaker with the pad of her thumb. The yellow jewel shimmered brightly, winking at her from below.

She crossed paths with Kanetsugu on her way to visit Sesshoumaru.

"Are you following me?" she asked accusingly.

"You're always sneaking around up here," he said, confirming her suspicions. She tensed as he moved closer and whispered, "I know what you're doing. It won't work, you know. You're wasting your time. No one can reach him now. It's too late."

"You're wrong."

His eyes slid down to her black kosode and narrowed menacingly. "That colour becomes you. Have you finally accepted the truth? It was infuriating watching you pretend to be something you weren't. You should have stayed away. We don't want you here. Why did you even bother coming back if you were just going to make everything worse?"

She stood her ground. "How did we get like this? When are we going to stop being so selfish? We don't have to be friends, but we can't keep antagonising each other every time we speak. Especially not now. It's important that we present a united front when we face the fucker that did this. You can go back to hating me once this is all over."

Kanetsugu clenched his jaw. "I will never put my trust in a human," he hissed.

"I'm not asking you to trust me. I sure as hell don't trust you. But our personal feelings don't matter anymore. The people in here need us. Sesshoumaru needs us. We have to be there for them. I don't care if you think it's a lost cause. We have to try . . . Please try."

He balled his fists. She was almost positive that he was going to walk away, when he opened his mouth and asked, "Where is he?"

She tried not to let her surprise show.

"This way," she said, leading him to the uppermost caves.

When Sesshoumaru saw that Kanetsugu was accompanying her, his eyes turned red and he snarled at him. Kanetsugu recoiled in pain, reacting to the powerful waves of youki that were being directed at him. Octavia stepped into the small space and shook her head. Frowning, Sesshoumaru reined in his youki and waited for her to explain herself.

"I picked these out for you," she said, gesturing to the clothes. "They didn't bring back any armour, but at least these are cleaner than what you're wearing now."

The blank expression returned. "Leave them by the door."

"No."

Kanetsugu's eyes widened at her disobedience.

Sesshoumaru arched a brow. "No?" he echoed.

"They'll get dirty if I leave them on the ground," she said firmly. "And I'm not a maid. Get up and take them from me yourself."

Kanetsugu's lips parted in shock. She met his horrified stare and fought the urge to smirk.

"Kanetsugu has something to tell you, as well."

Sesshoumaru looked at him suspiciously.

Kanetsugu finally caught on to what she was doing. "Your ward wasn't among the dead we found today," he said. "Jaken, Cyril and Nagisa-san weren't, either."

"What about your sister?" Sesshoumaru asked him. "Is she dead or alive?"

"We still don't know."

Octavia's eyes flitted back and forth, travelling from one to the other. The tension was more subdued now, but the animosity between them remained. She sensed that it would never disappear completely, but as long as they kept it buried for the time being, it wouldn't affect their plans to reclaim the stronghold. None of them could do it alone, but together, they stood a chance.

Sesshoumaru rose from his seat beside the curtain of water and walked towards them. Octavia waited until he was close enough before offering him the clothes. He accepted them wordlessly, taking notice of her new attire as he did, before his features adapted a much sterner look.

"Gather the others," he told them. "We leave at first light."

"Where are we going?" Octavia asked curiously.

"Somewhere safe," he answered.

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