Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kurama, Sesshoumaru's General! ❯ Prepare For War ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Prepare For War

~*~Morning~*~

Sesshoumaru woke to a small tapping on his door. Frowning, he released his VERY comfortable hold on Kurama and stood. Glaring at the door, he quickly dressed with his youkai speed and silence, then left the room silently. On the other side of the door stood a cloaked figure.

"Yes, Kannei?" Sesshoumaru asked, annoyance evident in his voice.

"Milord," the figure bowed, "I have some bad news."

Sesshoumaru frowned, then inclined his head slightly.

The figure took this as a sign to continue, and said, "The Lord of the Northern Lands is planning to attack your lands, Milord, and has already begun to gather demonic and human armies."

Sesshoumaru's face remained impassive, but on the inside, his mind was working furiously to figure out why Lord Nenki would wish to declare war upon him. "Will he declare war formally, or will he be the coward and attack secretly?" he asked with a colder chill than normal in voice.

"He will not declare war," the cloaked figure said with confidence in his voice.

"Then he knows that Lord Sesshoumaru will be able to easily defeat him. It is a sign that he is weak and unsure. We can use that against him," Kurama said calmly from the just opened door, clad in green.

Sesshoumaru turned to look at Kurama, shock not appearing on his features. `So silent…'

The cloaked figure was surprised as well, though the dark shadows hid his expression. "How can you deduce this from so little information?" he asked softly.

Kurama only smiled and continued, "Lord Nenki surely thinks that since I am now Lord Sesshoumaru's general, his army will be easy to defeat. Please Lord Sesshoumaru, may I lead your armies, now, and prove to Lord Nenki that I am no fool?"

Sesshoumaru eyed Kurama for a moment before inclining his head in consent. "Yes, you will lead my armies. But, we must devise a way to keep you from danger as you give orders…" Sesshoumaru turned his eyes to the cloaked figure. "Kannei, you will be a shadow and protect Kurama while he gives orders in the army."

The cloaked figure bowed. "Is there anything else, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"No."

"Very well, Milord." With that said, the cloaked figure disappeared, only to reappear unseen in the shadows not far away.

Kurama was surprised when he could no longer sense the cloaked figure, and resisted the urge to frown and scan his surroundings. "Lord Sesshoumaru," he began, "when will you summon your army?"

Sesshoumaru stared at Kurama with no expression on his beautiful face. "This very moment. Lord Nenki will waste no time in attacking." With that said, Sesshoumaru strode calmly down the hall.

"Sesshoumaru…" Kurama began slowly, "What do you want me to do in the meantime?"

"Go to my library."

Kurama nodded his head, though Sesshoumaru did not see, and walked in the opposite direction, closing the door before he left. Gracefully making his way down the hall, Kurama contemplated Nenki's form of attack. `Kannei said that Nenki had gathered both human and demon armies. What kinds of demons reside in the Northern Lands that could aid him?' With that thought, he decided to look into the Northern Lands in Sesshoumaru's library.

To his surprise, there was much information on the species of demons in the Northern Lands, as well as the terrain. It had plenty of mountains, and fields and plateaus as well. Again to his surprise, he found a map of Nenki's Japanese styled castle and the entire terrain surrounding it. There was also a map of the borders of the lands. He studied them throughout the day, memorizing every bit of every map he found, his overall knowledge of the lands growing considerably, until he had one large map planned out in his mind.

That was how Sesshoumaru found him, his head bent over a bit of parchment, a quill in his hand. With his demonic sight, Sesshoumaru was shocked to find that the parchment was a half-created map of Japan, every little detail written down on it in small, neat writing.

Kurama looked up from the parchment, and spotting Sesshoumaru, smiled.

"Are you hungry?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Kurama's smile remained as he replied, "Yes."

Sesshoumaru nodded, and gestured for Kurama to follow him.

Kurama did so as the lord left the library, eager to get something into his grumbling stomach. He had no idea what time it was, but it had to be past lunchtime.

They arrived, to Kurama's surprise, at the same `dining hall' that Kurama had first been to be shown to the lords of the lands.

Sesshoumaru knelt at the head of the large table, and motioned for Kurama to sit on his right side, adjacent to where he sat.

The redhead did so, and sat waiting patiently as the food was laid before them. Only when Sesshoumaru lifted his chopsticks to his mouth did Kurama cover his plate with food. He was famished, and ate politely, although not entirely slowly…

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow when Kurama managed to stuff his mouth, yet eat gracefully at the same time. Mentally sweatdropping, he went back to eating his own meal, which was MUCH smaller.

Once Kurama had had his fill, he placed his chopsticks on his plate and sat patiently. Sesshoumaru sat still for a moment before turning to look at Kurama.

"What were you planning to do with that map?" he asked emotionlessly.

Kurama blinked and blushed slightly. "Well, I was just memorizing the land, and I was drawing that map to practice, so I could draw another if need be." He cleared his throat, his light blush covering his cheeks.

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but stare at Kurama as he blushed. His face remained expressionless as he stood, and inclined his head to Kurama. "You may finish what you were doing. I have business to take care of." With that said, he left without another word.

Only once Sesshoumaru had left the hall did Kurama stand and leave himself, once again going to the library.

When he arrived, a shadow flashed out of the corner of his eye. He pretended to not notice it, and walked to the desk.

He spread out his awareness once he sat down, and tried to sense where the shadow was. After a time of concentration, he sensed a small spark of youki in the room. Zoning in on it, he tried to locate it. Soon the youki was easily sensed, and he found it hiding in the shadows of bookshelves behind him to his right.

Pulling the unfinished map towards him, he began to finish every little detail of it. Once he was done, he checked the master copy with the smaller maps he had to make sure it was right. A small smile reached his features when it was perfect. Crumbling it, he prepared to toss it into the fire when a voice rang out.

"So you are the new general of the Western Lands…"

Kurama turned to the opened door and spotted a wind elemental demon standing there with a smirk on his face.

"You don't seem like much." The blond haired demon walked forward, his icy blue eyes gleaming in the firelight.

Kurama smiled calmly with his eyes closed and replied, amused, "I don't, do I?"

The demon frowned at this, not expecting such a reply. "Why do you admit this? Have you no honor?"

Kurama merely continued to smile and turned back to the task at hand: throwing the ball of parchment into the fireplace. He did so, and then turned his gaze back to the wind demon. "I have honor," Kurama began calmly, his smile gone, "but it is wasted on a cocky demon such as yourself, who cares not for such things."

The wind demon scowled and gathered a small twister of wind in his hand. "I could blow you away with this twister, and YOU mock ME?!" he asked furiously, obviously not too happy.

Kurama pretended to be thoughtful for a moment, a finger raised to his chin for effect. "Now that I think about, yes, I DO mock you," he said with a calm smile upon his beautiful features.

The demon growled angrily, and crushed the twister in his hand. The wind that was used to create flew around wildly before disappearing. "You will regret those words you speak," he said angrily.

"I will, will I? Then please, do show me regret," Kurama said with a bemused smile on his face.

The wind demon continued to growl angrily, but did not make a move.

Kurama asked out of the blue, "What's your name?"

The wind demon seemed to calm down slightly with the question, more or less surprised. "Kaze," he replied simply, blinking.

"Kaze," Kurama repeated, testing it on his tongue, "Wind. The name suits you very well."

Kaze seemed surprised, and took a small step back. He frowned, and asked, with no fury in his voice, "What ARE you?"

Kurama blinked innocently. "Me? I am but a weak little human who was appointed general by Sesshoumaru because I killed Hikume," he said calmly with a small smile on his face.

Kaze looked shocked. "So you really DID kill Hikume? How?" he asked incredulously.

Kurama's smile disappeared as he sobered. "Sesshoumaru gave me his sword, Toukijin, to kill Hikume. I suspect he had lost all patience for the cocky bastard," he said with a hint of cold steal in his voice.

Blinking, Kaze said, "I guess you're right." He walked up to Kurama's desk, and kneeled down opposite the redhead. "I, Kaze, am second in command of Sesshoumaru's armies. It is a pleasure to meet you, General," he said with dignity.

This change of character surprised Kurama, and the bow that Kaze offered surprised him more. He paused for a moment, then bowed in return.

Kaze smiled at Kurama. "Please forgive me for my rudeness earlier. I was already in a bad mood after something that happened earlier on today," he said with the smallest of embarrassed blushes on his face.

Smiling, Kurama replied, "Of course I forgive you. Tell me, what did you think of Hikume? Truthfully."

Kaze scowled, and burst right into an angry rambling. "He was the cockiest bastard I've ever met, and he infuriated me to no END when he was ALIVE! He always acted so above everyone else, and treated all those under his command like the dirt beneath his feet," he ground out bitterly.

Kurama blinked in surprise. "You didn't really like him, did you?"

"I hated him," Kaze responded with absolute disgust on his handsome features. His blond hair was as long as his elbows, and was tied at the base of his neck to hold the strands out of his face with a strip of cloth. His eyes were human enough, though they were ice blue, and there were long, thin, blue, diamond shaped markings running across his cheekbones. He wore gypsy-like clothing, the white pants not as baggy as a yukata. A deep blue vest-like top hung from his shoulders, and a sword was slung across his back. A major portion of his chest was visible because of the `vest'.

Kurama nodded his head, agreeing. "He was entertaining, though."

Kaze raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Kurama smirked a dark and sexy smile as he replied, "He was quick to anger."

Blinking, Kaze stared at Kurama, just realizing how attractive the boy really was. "How old are you?" he asked.

Kurama wondered if he should tell Kaze a lie… `No, I won't lie to him. He seems like a very kind person… though very passionate [Insert sweatdrop].' Winking at Kaze, he said, "That is a secret I will not yet reveal."

Kaze groaned like a child kept from ice cream and complained, "But I HATE secrets!!"

Laughing softly at the cute pout on Kaze's face, Kurama absently wondered about the abilities of Kaze. "Tell me, Kaze, how old are YOU?"

Abruptly, Kaze stopped pouting and looked thoughtful. "You know… I don't really know. But if I were to take a guess, I'd say around 300."

"How old is Sesshoumaru?"

"Around 200."

"He's YOUNGER than you?!" Kurama asked incredulously, a priceless look of shock on his face.

Kaze blinked innocently. "Yeah… He is… Why?"

Clearing his throat, Kurama answered uneasily, "No reason…"

"So tell me, what's your name, General?" Kaze asked.

Kurama smiled slightly and said, "Kurama."

"Kurama…" Kaze frowned thoughtfully. "Hm… I like it."

"Kaze," Kurama began calmly, "May I please see your abilities in any sort of training area you might have in the castle?"

Kaze smiled brightly, puffing out his chest. "Sure!" He stood abruptly, and walked to the door. Once he reached it, he turned around and motioned Kurama to follow him.

Kurama stood and did so.

After a short time of walking, they reached a very, VERY large room with a dirt floor. Weapons lined the walls, and Kurama examined every single one with a quick sweep of his eyes. Turning his gaze to Kaze, he watched as the wind demon jumped to the air.

Darting through the air doing many aerobatic feats, Kaze showed off to his new general. After a while, he stopped and formed a twister of powerful winds, that, mind you, didn't affect Kurama at all (therefore showing his `incredible' amount of control).

Kurama, on the other hand, was easily watching Kaze demonstrating his skills, and was mildly surprised to find that this wind demon ALMOST had enough skill to challenge Jin the Wind Master.

Once Kaze was done, he landed in front of Kurama with a smirk on his features. To his surprise, Kurama had a thoughtful look rather than one of shock.

Kurama smiled at Kaze and said calmly, "You demonstrate good control of the winds. I am impressed. Could you, by any chance, show me your most powerful wind attack? Or tell me what it is?"

Kaze blinked and said, "It would blow up the room, so I'll tell you. It's called Yami no Kaze, and it forms a dark twister that explodes outwards with terrible slashes of wind when I command it to."

Kurama nodded thoughtfully. "Well, let's go back to the library, I would like you to update me on Sesshoumaru's armies. Their habits, eating tastes, skills, species, temperaments, etc."

Kaze nodded his head and followed as Kurama left the training room to head back to the library.

Once they arrived, they sat down by the fire on cushions, because Kurama insisted. Kaze got into a detailed description of the main demon army of Sesshoumaru, and explained that every single one of them were well disciplined, though some had nasty tempers.

"…Actually, there's this guy named Kyo, he's a great friend of mine, but he can really be an ass at times when it comes to orders. He's kind of… the wild and barbaric one. He has spiked lime green hair, and deep violet eyes. He's the out-going cocky type, you could say, but not like Hikume. Kyo's a great guy, and is actually rather sensitive on the inside. Everyone in the army hates him, though, just because he disrupts their `perfect obedience'. Actually, someone's tried to kill him a few times, but Kyo sliced their throats open with his scythe [Insert smirk]."

Kurama blinked after the VERY descriptive, mind you, description of Kyo. He smiled slyly at Kaze and asked, "Kaze, how friendly are you with Kyo?"

Kaze blinked, and then a blush coloured his face. "We're just friends…" he said uneasily.

Kurama smirked and asked, "Would you like it to be more?"

Kaze cleared his throat and stood. "Please excuse me, General, I have some business to take care off," he said hurriedly, then flashed out the door.

Kurama blinked, then smirked sexily. "This shall be entertaining…"

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Kannei was holding in his laughter. Kurama was SO good at exploiting weaknesses!! `This is going to be the most `interesting' mission I've ever been assigned to,' he thought with smirk.

Hearing something that sounded strangely like muffled laughter, Kurama realized that the cloaked figure was still watching over him. `Well, that must have amused him, so.' A mask of calm hid his smirk as he stood from the cushions and went back to studying anything he could get his hands on…