Author's Corner

Thank you to the anon who sent me a lovely message about this fic via Tumblr. If you've made it this far, I hope you're still enjoying yourself!

This fic is nearly seven years old now and has seen several edits since its conception, but it still holds an incredibly special place in my heart. I feel like I've grown so much both as a person and as a writer since I posted the first chapter all the way back in 2015, and although it hasn't always been smooth sailing, I will always be grateful to this fic for being the cornerstone of my creative journey.

Trigger warning: depictions of violence, blood and gore, and allusions to sexual assault.

EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 80: Retribution

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The visit wasn't going as smoothly as he'd hoped it would.

Sesshoumaru had arrived in the Panther Tribe's domain at dawn and been met with immediate resistance from the band of felines who manned the border. None of them were any match for his strength or speed, so he could have easily torn through their defences and flown straight to the fortress, but he wanted to do things right this time.

From there, he was escorted to the fortress at the heart of the territory, where he was greeted by Shuran, who waved as he approached. Sesshoumaru inclined his head in response and followed the other youkai inside.

"You look like shit," Shuran remarked, looking him up and down.

Sesshoumaru fought the urge to growl.

The panther chuckled. "That was uncalled for. Sorry." His expression suddenly turned serious as he murmured, "We heard about the stronghold. Horrible. Just horrible. You have our condolences."

Sesshoumaru chose not to respond. Mercifully, Shuran didn't push for further details. In fact, he didn't utter another sound until they'd climbed to the very top of the fortress.

Shuran's younger sister, Shunran, was lounging on a bed of cushions in the centre of the overly spacious room, weaving something into a small cotton tile. She glanced up from her weaving when they entered and blinked in surprise, then set her materials aside hastily.

"Lord Sesshoumaru," she said with a small bow. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Where are your sisters?" Sesshoumaru asked curtly.

"Right here," replied Toran.

Sesshoumaru turned and saw the two demonesses enter the room gracefully, like wraiths creeping through the night. Karan's red eyes glittered with amusement, whereas Toran's blue ones were cold and calculating. Sesshoumaru kept his focus on the latter and waited for her to address him first. He disliked being so courteous, but the context of his visit made it a necessity.

"We weren't expecting you," Toran stated flatly. "We may be allies now, but it's still rude to show up at a friend's home uninvited. What is the reason for this impromptu drop in?"

He decided not to call her out on her hypocrisy, since they hadn't exactly been invited to Tanabata, either.

"I take it you all know that my position as Lord of the Western Lands has been compromised?" They nodded. "The usurper's name is Tsunayoshi. His father was Ryukotsusei."

"As in the Ryukotsusei your father sealed to a cliff?" Karan asked sceptically.

"Yes."

"Impossible," said Toran. "Ryukotsusei had no offspring."

"No legitimate ones," Sesshoumaru corrected. "His son happens to be a hanyou."

"He bedded a human?" Shunran squeaked.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "Not a human. It was a creature called a hatchling."

Toran laughed.

They all stared at her questioningly.

"Have you gone mad?" she asked once she realised that he wasn't joking. "Hatchlings aren't real. They're fairy tales."

Sesshoumaru remembered what Octavia had said to him on the beach. In her time, youkai were no more than stories used to frighten children. There, magic was just a fantasy – a thing people wished was real but wasn't. Perhaps all stories had been real once, in some manner of speaking.

"So are we," he said.

"You still haven't told us why you're here," Karan pointed out sharply. "You wouldn't have come all this way just to spout rubbish at us. What do you want?"

"An army," he answered honestly.

All four of them laughed that time.

"You really have lost it," Shuran snorted. "Why should we sacrifice precious members of our clan after everything your family has done to us?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "Because that's what an alliance is. You were the ones that proposed a partnership between our two clans, therefore, you must honour it. It is obligatory."

Toran smirked. "Is it? Because I seem to recall forging an alliance with the Lord of the Western Lands, which is a title you no longer possess."

Sesshoumaru was stumped. He'd anticipated some pushback, but not an outright refusal.

"A partnership works both ways," she continued. "Tell me, what would the Panther Tribe hope to gain by helping you?"

"I would owe you a great debt," he replied.

"What good are debts after our clan has been wiped out by this usurper's forces?" Karan rebuked passionately. "We came close to extinction once already, and we'll be damned if we let it happen again. If you really want our help, we'll need to hear a better offer."

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw.

"Take some time to think about it," Shunran suggested. "You must be tired. Why not rest your aching muscles in a nice warm bath? I have some wonderful lotions that I can lend you."

"There is no need—"

"We insist," Toran cut him off. "You might be a dog, Sesshoumaru, but that doesn't mean you have to smell like one."

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Rin turned slowly and met Tsunayoshi's murderous gaze. The whites of his eyes were a pure jet black, and his irises resembled blood moons – full and alarmingly red. The fury in them was enough to make a coward out of anyone.

Her heart stopped when she lowered her own eyes and saw what he had trapped in his powerful talons.

Shippo struggled helplessly, trying and failing to free his limbs from Tsunayoshi's strong grasp. He locked eyes with Rin and shot her a desperate look. Instinct drove her to take a step forward, only to be overpowered by rationale. Tsunayoshi's hands were wrapped firmly around the kitsune's wrists and ankles. One wrong move and he would tear Shippo in half like a leaf.

"I can explain," she said, not even trying to hide her trembling.

"I should think so," he growled. "Illusions don't work on me."

She winced when he stretched and twisted Shippo's body like he was wringing water out of a towel. The kitsune cried out in pain as several of his joints cracked in protest, but he didn't beg for mercy or even try to call upon his magic. She briefly wondered why, until she saw that the beads around his neck were still intact. He was pretending to be powerless for her sake.

"My patience is wearing thin, girl," Tsunayoshi warned, twisting harder. "Now speak."

Rin's eyes shone with tears. Nothing she could say or do would convince him that Shippo had simply been her pawn. She'd run out of options.

Even the best liars know when to stop.

Kohaku was right about her. She'd never been very good at giving up.

"Forgive me, my lord," she breathed, letting her tears flow freely. "I was scared. I'm only a young girl. I've seen so little of the world. Shippo-chan, on the other hand, has seen so many wonders. That's why I asked him to change into me and spend time with you on my behalf. We weren't trying to trick you . . . I thought his stories would make me seem more interesting."

Tsunayoshi's expression faltered slightly. "If that's true, why are you here? And don't lie. I know you came to see the boy."

"I did come to see him," she confessed. "But not for the reasons you think."

"Enlighten me, then."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Kohaku and I were once very close, but Sesshoumaru-sama became envious of our bond, so he forbade us from ever seeing each other. He couldn't stand that I preferred a weak human over him. At first, he wanted to kill him, but I managed to talk him out of it. I persuaded him that banishment was a worse punishment than death."

"That it is," Tsunayoshi said quietly.

"When Kohaku heard that the stronghold had been captured, he assumed the worst. For all he knew, you were a man-eating monster who planned on devouring me. So he and his companions hatched a plan to rescue me."

"He's in love with you."

It wasn't a question, but she answered anyway.

"Yes," she lied.

"Do you reciprocate his feelings?"

She shook her head. "He was only ever a friend to me. Besides, my heart belongs to another."

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. You only have eyes for Sesshoumaru."

"Not anymore," she whispered.

He frowned slightly. "Then whom do you speak of?"

She dropped to her knees and bowed. "You, my lord. I am yours in every way."

When he didn't respond, she stole a glimpse at him through lowered lashes and fought the urge to grin. The starstruck look on his long, misshapen face told her all that she needed to know. At last, she had him right where she wanted him.

Tsunayoshi released Shippo's wrists and ankles, causing the kitsune to land unceremoniously on his back. Rin remained on her knees as the usurper stepped over Shippo's weakened form and walked towards her. Her heart raced as he peered down at her the way the wolves had, radiating a similar hunger. Fresh tears slid down her cheeks when he knelt in front of her and dragged his tongue across her right temple.

"Don't be afraid, my bride," he purred. "There is nothing dull about you."

She shivered when the cold air hit her saliva-damp skin.

"Deceit cannot go unpunished, though."

She only had a couple of seconds to process what he'd said before he was standing and marching back over to Shippo. Her eyes bulged in horror when Tsunayoshi seized him by the neck and pressed him into the ground, before driving two sharp talons into his left eye. Shippo screamed in agony as the usurper gouged the eyeball cleanly out of its socket, snapping the nerve that connected it to his brain and causing blood to cascade down his face like a waterspout.

Rin clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her own scream.

Balancing the severed eyeball between his fingers, Tsunayoshi released Shippo's neck and sat back on his haunches to admire his handiwork. The left side of Shippo's face was drenched in blood, and his lips were parted as he gasped for breath. His rising and falling chest was the only part of his body that moved; the rest of him rendered motionless by shock.

"Let this be a lesson to you, boy," the usurper hissed. "She is not your master. I am."

Shippo didn't respond.

Tsunayoshi plopped the eyeball into his mouth and swallowed it whole, making Rin's stomach turn. Sensing her revulsion, he tilted his head sideways and smirked at her. "Do you still love me?" he taunted. "I wager not."

Determination coursed through her like a river, reminding her of what needed to be done. She lowered her hands from her mouth and repeated his earlier statement. "Deceit cannot go unpunished," she murmured. "A lesser man would have ordered one of his underlings to carry out the sentence in his stead, but you aren't like those other men. They are spineless and weak, whereas you are noble and strong. It is an honour to love you, my lord."

Surprised laughter bounced around the jail sector. "Interesting!" he barked. "Very interesting indeed . . ."

She resisted the urge to cry out when he marched over and grabbed her by the arm. He dragged her past Shippo's crumpled form and the pool of blood that surrounded him, refusing to acknowledge her as she begged him to summon a healer before it was too late.

When they arrived at the bride's bedchamber, he shoved her through the door and tossed her roughly onto the bed, then slammed the door shut with them both inside. She was too afraid to move as he approached the bed and snarled.

"Are you going to kill me?" she whispered, her voice small and childlike.

"Of course not," he hissed. "What use would you be to me dead?"

Her stomach turned again when she realised what the alternative was. "Then . . . You've decided to finally take what's yours?"

He surprised her by laughing uncontrollably. "Don't insult me, girl. If I am to achieve my true goal, your virtue must remain intact."

Her fear was making her dizzy. "Your true goal?" she asked weakly.

"That's right," he said, bending over and capturing her chin. "You thought you had me all figured out, didn't you? I admire your determination, so I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't want to kill Sesshoumaru. I want to break him. The duel is nothing but a ruse to capture and enslave him. Then I will make sure that he pays for his crimes against my family. This I promise you."

He traced the curve of her mouth with his thick, calloused fingers.

"That's where you come in," he continued. "Did you know that in some cultures, newlywed couples are expected to take part in a ceremony where they must consummate their marriage before a group of witnesses? I intend to honour that tradition, but with an audience of one."

"Why?" she whimpered.

"Because I want him to know how it feels to lose everything. He stole my whole life from me before I was even born. All of it, gone. It's only fair that I return the favour."

Rin shuddered as Tsunayoshi's fingers left her lips and he stood straight, towering over her.

For a moment, he reminded her of the bandits who'd slaughtered her family. Suddenly, she was back beneath the floorboards, watching through a crack in the wood as one of the men drew a line across her father's throat with his sword, whilst another did the same to her mother's, but only after he'd slashed through the seams in her clothes and had his way with her.

Overwhelmed by memories from that day, Rin stifled a sob. Upon seeing her tears, the malice in Tsunayoshi's eyes faded, replaced by something that looked almost like fear.

"Don't do that," he said. "Your crocodile tears won't work on me. Stop it."

She tried, but now that she'd started, she found she couldn't stop.

"What's wrong?" he asked, then added mockingly, "I thought you loved me."

Her breath hitched as she remembered Kohaku's words.

Bravery isn't the absence of fear. It's what you use to fight it.

She took a steadying breath and gazed up at Tsunayoshi with big, watery eyes.

"I do," she sniffed. "But it isn't enough for you. I'm not enough for you. You said I was, but you were lying. You don't care about me. I'm just a means to an end. You only want me to get back at Sesshoumaru-sama. I wasn't enough for him, either. He was pretending, too." She made a show of choking on her tears and promptly covered her face with her hands. "It doesn't matter what I do! I can't change what I am! I wish I could, but I can't! I'm just a useless human—"

"Enough!" he boomed. "I don't . . . I can't think clearly when you're like this."

She felt him lay his hand on her shoulder and squeeze it. Keeping her eyes downcast, she waited for a sign that he'd bought into her lies. Seconds passed. Then minutes. Or was it hours? An eternity seemed to crawl by before Tsunayoshi finally opened his mouth and spoke.

"You're more than enough, Rin. In fact, you're exceptional."

Taking that as confirmation, she leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stiffened – seemingly taken aback by the gesture – but made no attempt to push her away.

She smiled a secret smile when his other hand came to rest on the nape of her neck, delivering reassuring strokes. However, unbeknownst to Tsunayoshi, the real comfort came from the knowledge that although she couldn't use magic or wield a sword, she wasn't weak at all.

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