InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Invitations to Trouble ❯ The Cat and the Spider ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six

Opulent curtains of jet black silk hung richly from the marble-edged ceiling, shrouding the room in a mysterious and decadent air. Gold filigree and smoky dark stone graced the floor while inlaid semi-precious jewels winked flirtatiously in the flickering lamplight. Fiery golden yellows and stark inky blacks were the predominate colors in the palatial suite. Subtle accents of blood-dark crimson drew the eye here or there, but the other hues held an unwavering supremacy.

In the center of the spacious room, a decadently arrayed bed sat poised like a satin-drenched galleon in the lavish sea. It was large enough to comfortably accommodate a small village on its own. Yet it was occupied by only two.

A deep and irritated hum arose from the crisp white sheets that were bunched and tangled across the expansive resting place. There was a swish, followed by a moist thump. A moment of silence passed and was broken by the feather soft patter of servants. With the speed and fluidity of those used to performing such tasks regularly, they bore away the lifeless body and cleaned the expensive tiles until they gleamed once more.

Amazingly, not a drop of the young woman's blood had marred the pristine sheets. Watching the servants impassively, the lithe, corded figure that remained on the mattress ignored them in favor of focusing his attention elsewhere.

"What news have you brought me this time little spider?"

Mellow and rich, the voice was a study in graceful indifference. Slitted emerald eyes with just a trace of gold in their depths pierced the shadows near a thickly curtained window.

"If I had known that you had come, I would have shared her with you." Needle-sharp teeth peeked out from between firm lips. "She might have lasted long enough for you to enjoy her favors as well."

The figure near the window bowed slightly, hiding an indulgent smile. It was a joke, and both men knew it. The youkai lord had been well aware that he was not alone the entire time he had been with the girl. Having an audience to bear witness as he slowly and painfully satisfied his carnal desires on the unwilling body that had been pinned beneath him had not affected his enjoyment of the girl at all. Even her expiration towards the end had not halted him because he had not cared in the least.

The speaker managed to match the lord's tone of inborn confidence, but only by a small margin of success. Mild amusement spoiled it.

"While both gracious and generous, I fear I must decline the kind offer. Everyone in your holdings knows that after an evening in your embrace, a woman no longer yearns for the touch of another lover."

Thickly fringed, almond-shaped eyes crinkled at the corners as a purr rolled off the pink tongue that curled in a yawn. "Stroking the cat to stave off its claws?" Propped up against the padded headboard, the dark head turned slightly away to gaze at nothing in particular.

"Wise, very wise indeed. We both know that after tonight, the wench is only fit for the cold arms of the grave." The rumbling hitched a bit in rusty laughter. "Human women. They truly are fragile creatures, are they not?"

"Indeed my lord. And yet, I have heard that you have quite a preference for them." The humor was more pronounced this time.

Furry ears shaped like silken, black butterfly wings twitched slightly, the only outward sign that the reclining lord had noticed any change in the other's manner.

"Only as a passing amusement. They have something about them that I find to be...pleasant." Deadly talons slid out from the tips of gray-furred fingers before they were re-sheathed within the yielding flesh.

"However, I find that they break far too easily to provide much lasting pleasure." The luminous jade eyes slid over to the shadows. "But that is not why you have come to me, is it little spider?"

A knowing smile flashed invisibly as the figure moved forward into the very edges of the light. "Actually my lord, it is a small part of why I have come. I might be able to provide a solution to your problem with the maidens you seem to have a fondness for. One that I am sure you will find satisfactory."

Boredom dripped from his answer as the neko youkai flowed from the bed and onto his feet. "How much of my soul do you require in return little spider?"

Short, tabby-marked fur lined the neko youkai's entire body like velvety skin. Dark gold and black markings wrapped around Enjuku's shoulders and back, fading as they neared his rippling, creamy abdomen.

A floor-length tail protruded thickly from just above taut buttocks that flexed as the youkai slowly stretched.

The same ghostly servants appeared once more to dress him in a robe as rich and refined as the room he was in and then silently vanished again. Although padded like the cat he resembled, the youkai's hands and feet bore a more than passing likeness to human digits. Except that razor-sharp retractable claws replaced nails.

Still lacking any humor, the cat had lost his purr as he faced the speaker. "I know about you and your type of gifts." Closing those disturbingly intense eyes, Enjuku quoted aloud,

'A deal will be struck, a bargain is made.

Only wonder later, at the price you have paid.'

Coarse and patterned hair fluffed as he shook his head. "No little spider, I wish to know the nature of this wondrous solution first."

Despite himself, the hidden figure was impressed. Both with the inherent power that had seeped like an electric field around the other, but also with the ingenuity of the youkai. Very few who accepted his assistance ever wished to know his intentions. No, no one could claim that Lord Enjuku was a fool.

But even the wise could not know everything.

"It will cost you nothing at all my lord, I assure you of that."

Enjuku automatically equated the price with half of his worldly possessions and enough of his youki to fill the sea.

"So you claim little spider, so you claim."

In an effort to appear willing to compromise, the speaker said magnanimously, "If my gift pleases you, you may keep it. All that I ask is that you deny any political request made of you within the next three weeks."

The smile widened a fraction. "As a feared and respected lord, I am sure that this is something you would find enjoyable without my request to do so."

A hitching purr that passed for the feline's chuckle answered. "Far too true little spider. There are many who have sought to press my hand about some meager concern or another." Claws shone again, "They found that my hand was a bit hard to hold."

"Hopefully, my lord will find that this is a better fit then?" Fur rustled as it was swept aside. Enjuku half glanced at the corner. His eyes widened in surprise and he fully faced the figure that stepped towards him.

Approaching on dainty feet was a beautiful girl. As she drew closer and raised her eyes to meet his, Enjuku felt the force of her gaze like a physical blow. Desire thrummed in his blood.

"Magnificent little spider. Simply magnificent." Reaching out, he cupped the heart-shaped face and drew the girl closer to him.

Firm breasts pressed against his chest and he rumbled in approval. "She is young, as well as beautiful. But I must say that you have outdone yourself in finding one who possessed eyes such as these." Stroking a rough pad over her rosy lips, Enjuku let his other hand caress the gentle swell of her hip. "Truly, I have never seen this color before today. As pale as the shadows cast by pure ice. Glorious."

He was delighted further when she leaned eagerly into the touches.

If the speaker was pleased with the praise, he gave no sign. "As you can see, although her eyes rival the icy perfection of a single snowflake, she will burn fiercely for you indeed, my lord."

A curious blend of man and cat, Enjuku's face creased with faint displeasure. "I want nothing that has been used by another. Since you claim to know my preferences, you should realize that as well."

Utterly relaxed, the voice tickled his ears, "I assure you that she is untouched my lord. But, she has been well trained to serve you in all capacities." A superior note flavored the next words.

"I think you will find that her eyes are not the only thing special about your little maiden. Please my lord, cut her."

A whiskery brow rose at the unusual request. Tracing the slim shoulders before him, Enjuku privately delighted in the small whimper that escaped the girl as he dug his nail cruelly into her flesh. It evaporated when the wound began to heal even as his finger withdrew.

"I want no youkai wench!!" Angered, the short hair stood on end as Enjuku whirled towards the shadowed area his recently acquired advisor favored. His hand fisted in the supple white fur that the mysterious man seemed to eternally wear. "I was under the impression that the girl was human." The claws punctured the fur, cutting into the body beneath. "Was I mistaken in some way?" His tightly punctuated words declared that if he had erred, someone would suffer greatly to correct it.

Unfazed by the shallow wounds, the voice didn't rise an octave above its usual mellow pitch. "No, you were not my lord. Taste of her blood."

With a silent sneer, Enjuku brought the gore-stained digit to his lips, sucking it as one would a sweet. The peridot eyes widened and slid over to the girl, who had not uttered a word. "She is human." Rumbling laughter carried a wicked purr. "Deny a claim for three weeks you say?"

"Aye my lord. Just for three weeks. The girl is yours to do with as you wish the entire time." A dark chuckle rippled out into the room like the breath of winter. "She is all yours, and I promise, she will not disappoint you."

Striped fingers were already tugging aside the thin white and yellow kimono the girl wore, pawing eagerly at the supple skin beneath it. Cat-like nostrils flared as Enjuku inhaled deeply, savoring the fragrance of her long dark hair. "Tree blossoms...very nice." Sweeping her up, he purred when her fingers rubbed expertly along his ears and through the dark gray, shoulder-length mane. "Well-trained and beautiful? You have a deal little spider. Now be gone so that I may enjoy this gift."

Smiling as he receded into the shadows, Naraku replied, "As you wish my lord. Should she wander, her name is Kenami." Smiling at some private humor, he vanished into the night.

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Midori dropped her sack by the door, calling for her sisters as she entered the house. Heavy silence met her call. Curious, she went on a search of the house. Despite having been home to a huge number of people, the house only had five large rooms. Two had been exclusively the rooms of the children. One for the boys and one for the girls, with Shinaki sharing the sleeping area with her daughters.

Moving past the main room, Midori headed for the kitchen which was her baby sister's domain. 'Maybe Ki is having a late snack there.' Her heart warmed as she thought of her little sisters. After marrying Kiso, she had feared for both Ki and Aka's well-being since the Lady Kuroi had made it clear that she would not tolerate her new in-laws remaining her servants. Kiso had stepped forward and offered them a place in his home beside their sister Midori. Pleased at the generosity of their new big brother, the two had readily agreed.

Midori peeked into the kitchen and moved on when it proved as empty as the bedrooms. Her hand traveled to her still flat belly where her child was growing. 'I do wish they could find someone as wonderful as Kiso. Then they could have families of their own as well.'

The last room, a storage closet for miscellaneous family items and heirlooms was the last one she had yet to explore. Sliding the partition aside, she saw that it was as empty as the rest. The distant shelves were empty, save for the highest one. It was filled with a double row of tiny, stoppered bottles.

A little grin tugged her greenish lips up. Thousand year old white peach elixir. 'Lady Shinaki must brew that stuff by the gallons to have filled this room with it before.' Part of the former cache of the liquid had gone to the mansion with the older woman, part of it had gone to her adopted daughter Kuroi and new stepson Inuyasha. Midori idly wondered how the two were getting along.

Panic had yet to replace her previous curiosity, but it was knocking on the door of her mind. "Where are Ki and Aka?" Going back through the house, she headed outside. There was one last place she could look. 'I hope they're there. This is becoming worrisome.'

At the foot of the sloping garden path stretched a smooth strip of soil leading to the stream formed by the waterfall. Although it was dark, the half-moon provided more than ample enough light to see by. Midori made her way easily down the foot path towards her destination.

Tucked beside the roaring waters was a small natural indention in the cliff face with a stone bench, worn smooth by time. It was a favorite place of her husband's.

Drawing near, she spotted a large body that could belong to none other than her beloved. Blackish-green brows drew down in a look of confusion. From the size, she knew it was Kiso, but the outline looked somewhat off.

"Kiso?"

"Yes koi?" The gravelly voice that reached her seemed drained of life. Rushing over, she laid a hand on his face. Normally as rugged and wondrous to her as the pounding waters behind her, under the wan light his features looked slack and waxy. The normal, easy laughter that had always lain beneath the surface appeared to have been snuffed out of existence.

"Kiso, what is wrong? Where is Ki and Aka?" She didn't attempt to hide her growing apprehension.

The large hands that wrapped around her shoulders felt too thick and the skin felt all wrong. Pulling away, she stepped back into the moonlight. "Kiso?"

Creaking and odd clinks reached her ears as he rose and followed her from the shadows of the scooped-out stone. Her eyes widened as she beheld him in the cool light. "Kiso?"

"Ki and Aka are with my mother. They wanted to stay here and wait for you, but I sent them ahead. I wanted to say goodbye to you alone." His pale yellow eyes, so hard to read because they lacked a pupil of any kind, seemed as dull as his voice.

Swallowing, Midori marveled that she found the strength to speak. "You're not leaving me Kiso. Not now."

"I don't have a choice!" A leather covered fist pounded against the rocks near his shoulders, sending small shards flying. She wondered if he even felt that impact through the gloves.

Layered and tightly woven hide and metal armor rubbed against each other as the turned away from her and said resolutely. "I am a servant of my lord. If he calls for my service, I am bound to answer."

"You are not leaving me." Steadier, her voice broke his heart, but he could not deny Lord Yamatsu.

"I am going Midori. I have no choice."
"Neither do I."

Confused, he spun around to face her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but it was the soft smile she wore that bothered him the most. "Midori?"

She came to him, floating up to his face on a wisp of pale green mist. He didn't pull away from the shy kiss she gave him. "You are not leaving me beloved. Lady Shinaki told me all about the order the Lord has had to issue. You have been assigned to guard his greatest treasures."

When he frowned she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into the dark blue ear by her mouth. "Trust always in the Lord beloved. You are to be a part of a squad of soldiers who will watch over his new wife and family. The Lady has also requested three new hand maidens to assist her with the children." She tenderly kissed him again, "Trust always in our Lord, beloved."

Both the kiss and the sudden relief of knowing he would still be with those he loved, knocked Kiso down as his knees gave way, forcing him to sit roughly on the ground. He joined Midori in her tearful laughter.

Yes, he would always place his faith in Yamatsu.

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A/N:

Hi.

No, I don't have anything to say.

Bye.