EIGHTH BLOOD
Chapter 117: Prey
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The princesses were seriously weirding him out.
Inuyasha had never met a group of youkai who were so interested in him. They bombarded him with questions about his life—who his mother was, where he'd grown up, how sharp his senses were, what abilities and weapons he had.
He'd been surprised to learn that his ownership of the Tessaiga wasn't common knowledge. They knew it had mysteriously disappeared after his father's death and that Sesshoumaru had been searching for it, but none of them had any idea that it had been in his possession the whole time.
After an hour of being interrogated by them, Jaken of all people finally took pity on him and asked if he could be excused. The princesses seemed disappointed, but their brother merely smiled and thanked him for his patience. Unlike his sisters, the new Lord of the Eastern Lands didn't give Inuyasha a headache. He had a calming aura, and his scent didn't trigger Inuyasha's fight-or-flight response the way most Daiyoukai's scents did.
He caught Kagome's eye and gave her a meaningful look. She nodded discreetly, then turned to strike up a conversation with the princesses.
Yuudai was speaking to Jaken and the demoness with the bat wings. Inuyasha lingered in the doorway for a moment. He'd recently learned that she and her brother were related to Shiori. According to Octavia, they'd been kicked out of the tribe after their father had been exposed as a traitor and executed for his crimes. In a shocking turn of events, the Inu no Taisho had taken it upon himself to raise them as his wards. Now that he was gone and with Sesshoumaru's mother having spent so much time away from the stronghold, they were amongst the highest-ranking youkai in the entire Western Court.
Not bad for a couple of fellow outcasts.
The resemblance wasn't obvious, but it was undeniably there. Kanetsugu and Kannika had inherited the wings and sharp teeth, however they were both dark-haired and had neither red nor purple eyes. The darker features must have come from their mother's side.
Inuyasha wondered how they would react to Shiori. Did they know she existed? Would they even care? She might be a hanyou, but she was an outcast, too. And her mother was human. She wouldn't live forever. He didn't want Shiori to grow up alone like he had. If by some miracle they agreed to meet with her, then maybe she wouldn't have to.
The gardens were his favourite part of the stronghold. They were expansive and wild, with no shortage of places to hide. Inuyasha visited them often, usually when he needed a break from the fast-paced nature of life at court. It was exhausting trying to be civil to people all day, every day, and he felt constantly on edge with so many Daiyoukai around. He knew none of them would dare lift a finger to hurt him on account of him being Sesshoumaru's kin, but he couldn't help it. Being overly cautious was the reason he was still alive, and old habits die hard.
He veered off the path and walked along the edge of the pond with his hands tucked into his sleeves. Huge bricks and broken pillars protruded from the water, creating small islands that doubled as stepping stones. There were presumably plans to remove them at some point in the near future, but Inuyasha liked the way they looked. Everything else in the stronghold was so nauseatingly perfect. The debris from the invasion and the overgrown plants gave the place some much-needed character.
His ears perked up at the sound of voices. There were two distinct scents approximately fifty yards away from where he was standing. Koga was one of them – there was no mistaking his foul, wolfy stench – but the other smelled like Rin.
Inuyasha frowned. Something didn't feel right. First, Rin was terrified of wolves. Second, wasn't Koga supposed to be waiting for Ginta and Hakkaku outside of the stronghold? And third, why were they alone out here? What could the two of them possibly have to talk about?
His curiosity got the better of him in the end. He followed their scents to a grove of maple trees, which had completely shed their leaves and towered over him like giants' skeletons. An icy wind gusted through the area, making the branches shiver. The air was getting colder by the day. It was only a matter of time until the rains gave way to snow.
He wondered how Sango and Miroku were doing. It had been months since he and Kagome had left the village, and Inuyasha missed them fiercely.
Hachiemon had returned to Musashi on their behalf and informed the pair of their plans to stay in the Western Lands until the Church and Octavia's brother had been dealt with, so they at least knew where they were. Not that it would stop them from worrying. Inuyasha wished he could have delivered the message in person, but they couldn't afford to leave whilst the location of Augustus's troops was still unknown.
He spotted Koga first. The wolf was sitting beneath one of the maple trees with his back to him. Inuyasha opened his mouth to call out to him, but paused when he noticed a pair of arms looped around Koga's neck.
His eyes bulged so wide that they almost fell out of his head.
What the fuck?
It was Rin, all right. But she wasn't acting like the Rin he knew. This Rin was flushed and breathing hard against Koga's mouth—the mouth she just so happened to be kissing. It was more than just a light peck on the lips. It was a full-on smooching frenzy.
Inuyasha was appalled. Who had allowed this? Even if they were courting, a girl of Rin's status should never be left alone with any of her suitors for this very reason. Did no one care? Or were youkai attitudes less strict than human ones? And where the hell had she learned to kiss like that?
She'd been awfully good friends with those girls from the pleasure house. Their grandfather had lived in the village up until his death. Kaito had been a sickly man, but he'd always worked up enough strength to smile for them whenever they came to deliver new medicines for him. Rin had befriended them when she and Kaede visited the old fellow one day whilst his granddaughters were in town. At the time, Inuyasha had been happy to see her finally making friends who were the same age as her. Surely they hadn't . . .
He shook his head vigorously.
Should he intervene or not? If he didn't, who knows what might happen, but if he did, he risked the possibility of upsetting Rin. He didn't give a fuck about Koga, but he had grown fond of Rin during the time she'd spent living in the village with them. He didn't want to embarrass her. Maybe he should just walk away and pretend he hadn't seen anything.
His stomach turned in protest. He should probably tell Sesshoumaru. Rin was like a daughter to him—or at the very least, a sister. If Inuyasha had a daughter of his own and someone stumbled upon her in a similar situation, he would appreciate the heads-up. The only problem was he didn't know where the bastard had run off to. He could be anywhere; land, sea, sky. The possibilities were endless. What was he even doing that required him to leave the stronghold at such a precarious time? Had he forgotten that the Church could strike at any moment?
Inuyasha scowled. Regardless of what Sesshoumaru was doing, it was high time that he came home. And if Inuyasha had to physically drag him back, then so be it.
He turned and deliberately stepped on a twig before leaping into the air. The resounding snap echoed through the grove, bringing Koga and Rin back to their senses.
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They were headed southeast, seemingly towards Mount Ishizuchi, though Asuka hadn't yet been able to ascertain their final destination.
The pair had been sighted by one of their lookouts a fortnight ago, making the crossing from Aki to Iyo via boat. After discerning their identities from the soldiers' descriptions of what they looked like, Augustus sent Asuka to keep an eye on them.
She had been monitoring their movements for the past seven days. They hadn't bothered to hide their tracks, so following them was easier than it should have been. Asuka had always been an exceptional tracker, but it was impossible to miss the signs they'd left behind in their wake. Their carelessness was astonishing. Wherever they were going, had it not occurred to them that they might be pursued?
Despite the painfully obvious trail, she'd only seen them twice. The first sighting had been from the top of a hill whilst they trekked through the valley below, and the second had been from an abandoned watchtower. She couldn't afford to get too close. If they suspected that she was following them, they wouldn't hesitate to cut her throat.
The trail led her through a dense forest and up a rocky bluff. The area was more open than she would have liked, but her new clothes were an effective camouflage. She'd substituted her usual robes for a grey haori and brown hakama trousers. Yellow was a little too inconspicuous for this particular mission.
She followed the sound of rushing water to a steep ledge overlooking a river. The water raced through the gorge and crashed against the sides violently.
"Don't move."
The command made her blood run cold. She stayed completely still and waited for further clarification.
"Turn around," the speaker ordered coldly. "And put your hands up."
She turned slowly and raised both of her hands so that they were in line with her head.
The two Daiyoukai were glaring at her from across the bluff. Asuka sighed through her nose when the one with the stripes pulled out a scimitar and aimed it at her. She really should have seen this coming.
The trail had been a farce. They had never been her prey. She was theirs.
"Why are you following us?" asked the one with the bat wings.
She didn't answer.
"Listen here, lady," the tiger started. "We're not in the mood for games, so you can explain yourself or we'll skin you alive right here. Your choice."
"I wasn't following you."
"Bullshit."
"I wasn't," she insisted. "I don't even know who you are."
His pink eyes narrowed. "I think you do. Why else would you be alone in the wilderness? There are no human settlements around here, and you don't look like a merchant. Now, tell us the truth. Who are you and what do you want with us?"
When she failed to reply, he took a step towards her.
"Wait," his companion said quickly.
"What?"
"Look at her weapon."
Asuka followed the tiger's gaze down to the spool of rope secured to her obi, then to the knife with the Shikonstone blade. She had misplaced the sheath a while ago, so the bright purple blade was clearly visible against her plain clothes.
His eyes widened in realisation. "You're one of them," he spat.
"Don't come any closer," she warned.
He ignored her and drew a second scimitar from his belt.
She swore internally. This was bad. If she didn't think of something fast, her innards would be on the ground. She could try throwing her knife at one of them and then incapacitate the other with her whip, but there was no guarantee that her aim would strike true. Her best option was to get the hell out of there.
Backing away, she reached for the ring on her index finger. It was no ordinary piece of jewellery. Augustus had created it by combining the mitama marks for 'metal', 'heat' and 'blood'. The latter was one of the forbidden marks, so no one besides the Commander and herself knew the full extent of what the ring was capable of. When activated, the ring served as a teleportation device that transported its wearer to wherever the blood donor was. Since it was Augustus's blood, the ring would take her directly to him.
"Wait," the winged Daiyoukai said again.
The tiger stopped to glower at him. "What is it now?"
"We should take her with us."
"Have you lost your mind—"
"I meant as a prisoner. It would be a waste to just kill her. We should find out what she knows first. She might be able to tell us where the mage is hiding."
Over my dead body, thought Asuka.
The tiger seemed to be considering it. If he'd known it was her who had murdered his father and brother, she doubted it would have been such a difficult choice.
The ring was halfway up her finger when she heard a loud crack. She looked down just in time to see the ledge crumbling beneath her feet. The wind lifted her hair as she fell, and she tasted blood in her throat. Before she could even think to reach for her whip, something caught her by the wrist and halted her fall. It was the Daiyoukai with the bat wings.
Asuka screamed and kicked her legs helplessly. She tried to wriggle free from his grasp, but it was like trying to undo handcuffs without the key. She would drown before she let them take her.
"Quit it already!" he yelled. "This ledge is unstable enough as it is—"
The rock split open and they went plummeting down with it.
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Author's Corner
Fun fact: Asuka's transportation ring made its first appearance back in Chapter 23 when she used it to escape from the mountain in Ebisu. It was nice to finally be able to explain how it works lol.
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review :)
