InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ My Plague ❯ Preparations ( Chapter 2 )

Majuun let out a rumbling purr, the heat from the water seeping into her exhausted frame. It had taken a while for her to get clean, years of grime and dirt had built up on her skin, her hair and her clothing. The taiyoukai certainly bathed when she had the opportunity but she didn't go out of her way to look for hot springs or to preen herself. As the Lady of the North and sworn enemy to the leopard youkai of the East, her duty came before vanity.

 

Once she had gotten herself clean, she opted to soak in the tub to relax. Even taiyoukai had their limits. It was hard to believe that she had been gone for more than fifty years, fighting. It was more like the senseless and delightful slaughtering of the leopard daimyo and his clan. He had been foolish to try and oust Sesshoumaru from the Western Lands and equally foolish to war with an ally of the Northern Lands. She had responded quickly when word of the daimyo's movement against Sesshoumaru had reached her. The taiyoukai had left Shizumi in charge and had taken a shishi mount, riding hard to reach the battlefront.

 

The tora-youkai female stretched and her tails unwound from her waist to lay over the edge of the wooden tub, dripping water onto the jade floor. That fight had been glorious, other than she had to share space with the likes of other canine youkai. Majuun could tolerate inu-youkai; they were noble and took pride in their appearance unlike wolves, jackals, kitsune, and coyotes. She could also tolerate them because Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho hated wolves as much or more than she and her father did. It was what forged their alliance, their common dislike of wolves. Shizumi still didn't comprehend her dislike of the `cute' wolves. Of course the rat didn't, she was just as filthy and slovenly as they were except she had her uses. Wolves were good for nothing but dying and being used to fashion her armor. The same went with leopard youkai, worthless until dead.

 

It was good that Sesshoumaru had taken care of the leopard daimyo's body and his offspring. Her lips tightened into a thin, white line. Allowing those four to escape with the daimyo's corpse had been a stupid mistake, she had fallen victim to bloodlust. Even taiyoukai were susceptible to the thralls of bloodlust. It was a fact she often forgot. Majuun snorted and rose from the tub, water running down her lithe and curved body in glistening rivulets. She shook her tails out, the fur immediately fluffing up so the twin appendages were three times their original size. The tora-youkai stepped out of the wooden barrel and padded over to a bench. Grabbing the drying cloth, she wiped her hair down, from scalp to ends. Once she was finished with the black mass, she removed any stray drops of water that clung to her skin. Majuun picked up a plain, black robe and put it on, knotting the sash to keep it closed. Each clawed foot slid into a wooden sandal before the Lady of the North retreated to her chambers. There was still the matter of that wolf princess, Ayame. She needed to die and the white wolf's pelt had to be retrieved. It would make an excellent cloak.

 

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Shizumi scurried about in her lady's dressing chamber. Majuun had specified that she wanted to wear her tora-youkai armor and that required practical attire. Additional flaps or sleeves would simply not do. The rat youkai decided against a kimono, her lady wasn't fond of wearing male or female styles. Something that happened when males raised a female. She grimaced in disgust. Her lady was most improper, preferring to do the work of a lord rather than a lady. Majuun SHOULD have been mated and rearing kittens, allowing her mate to take the vacant lord title but no, nothing was EVER that simple with a tora-youkai. Her lady wasn't interested in birthing heirs or sharing her power with a male who would look upon her as being lesser simply because she was female. Majuun would never share her power with another, let alone a male. That was probably why all of her past suitors left in pieces. The noble line of tora-youkai would die out if Lady Majuun didn't get her priorities together. And at the rate she was going, the clan WOULD go extinct and the Northern Lands would be vacant.

 

The small youkai sighed. While she was most grateful to the late Torataisho for allowing her to become a retainer, Shizumi wished Majuun were easier to handle. Deciding upon a black hakama and several rolls of black silk for wrapping, the rat youkai left the dressing chambers and made her way to Majuun's bed chambers.

 

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Fully decked out in armor made from the bones of her fallen kin, Majuun finished by slipping two scabbards into the black obi around her waist. One was a long piece of bamboo, painted a shiny black and bore no visible signs of concealing anything that might resemble a sword. The other was ornately carved and decorated; bearing twin leaping tigers for the guard and the pommel was also a leaping tiger. The scabbard was heavily imprinted with pieces of white jade and images of tigers in various states. Neither sword possessed a special name and neither had any special powers, despite being forged by Totosai. They were simply tools in which her jaki could be channeled.

 

Majuun pulled her long, black hair into a topknot and tied it off with a leather thong. Shizumi had wanted to put her hair into an intricate and elaborate design, decorate it with jade and strips of brightly colored silk. The taiyoukai blew her spiky bangs from her face before the strands fell softly to rest upon her brow. Stupid rat, always pushing and pushing for her to be more lady-like. She was youkai! She didn't HAVE to act meek and submissive, bowing to male dominance. The only males she ever bowed to were her father and Sesshoumaru's father, but both were long dead.

 

The female youkai growled softly, recollecting the fool males who had been her suitors. All of them were weak and arrogant, arrogant in the way that they would control her or she'd be punished. Many of her suitors were sons of the Lords of the East and South. None of her suitors would take her defiant answer; rather they wouldn't accept that a female had refused them. When they became forceful, she relieved them of their heads and sent them back to their fathers. It had been a week before the war that the suitors stopped visiting. However, with her return, there were bound to be stupid and weak youkai, eager to claim the title as Lord of the Northern Lands. As if she'd allow anyone lesser than herself to rule HER lands. Her attention was shifted from her thoughts when her ears detected footsteps. The tora-youkai turned to the doorway and saw Shizumi. Majuun groaned and gave a slight nod. “What do you want, Shizumi?”

 

“The runners have returned, my Lady! They have confirmed the scent of a hanyou near the West and South borders. They have also seen Lord Sesshoumaru and he travels with Jaken and a human girl.”

 

“Is that all?”

 

The rat youkai paled and shook her head. “One of the runners was attacked by wolf youkai. He is not expected to live beyond sunset. He said the pack leader possessed two shards of the Shikon, making him like the wind. Another of the wolves wore white fur and attacked with leaves.”

 

Majuun smirked. “The puppy is bold, seeking aid from another pack. No matter, they will all die. Make sure that his family is looked after upon his death. He is to be given a place amongst my family's crypt and have a lamp lit for him in the shrine. Record his name upon the sacred scroll and grant any last wishes he may have. I go to find these wolves and the hanyou.”

 

“What about Lord Sesshoumaru? Wouldn't it be wise to let him know that you have returned? I am most certain that he took notice in your absence at the meetings between the Lands. Please, my Lady, at least MAKE an attempt to seek him out and apologize for your delayed return. He is your only ally and it would be wise to remain in his favor.”

 

The taiyoukai twitched, the barest of muscle contractions at the corner of her mouth. “You make it sound as though we are courting, Shizumi. I would NEVER mate with a canine youkai, no matter how powerful he may be. I submitted to his father only out of respect but I will not bow to him. Sesshoumaru would be insulted if I apologized for something he understands. You aren't taiyoukai, rat. Do not pretend to know how we are. Prepare Roka, he is the fastest of the shishi and his colors will serve a purpose.”

 

Shizumi bowed repeatedly, never turning her back on the taller female. There were times, such as now, when the rat youkai wished she could just slap Majuun until that ego disappeared but she wasn't entirely stupid. There was a reason the tora-youkai was taiyoukai and Shizumi had seen that reason only once in all of her years of service to Majuun. It was something she had inherited from her mother and not being able to control the warring halves of her soul was what drove her to an early death. Her mistress was still young and lacked the discipline to control such a primitive force. That was another reason why she wanted Majuun to seek out Sesshoumaru. He had a calming effect on Majuun's fluctuating emotions, keeping her from going over the edge. Keeping her from unleashing a feral side that made a hanyou's full-blooded youkai side seem mild. Shizumi never wanted to witness that side of Majuun again. The rat youkai chattered to herself as she rushed to complete the requests of her lady.

 

 

 

 

S.W.H Speakeths- Another chapter and growing nearer to the inevitable confrontation between cat and dog! I'm a little disappointed at the lack of reviews but hey, fuck you. Much love to Loke, who as always, answers my dumbass questions about Inuyasha. I luff youse!! xD