Chronicles of the West

Chapter Five

Sesshoumaru blinked at the messenger. His absent eldest son had seen fit to relay his return to Taisha. He appeared to be in no hurry however. It was not this that gave the demon lord pause. Toga had taken a ward, a human ward. His mind traveled back to the day he brought Rin out of death's clutches.

What had driven his cool mannered son to take her. A human girl. His golden eyes settled on the slim line of his wife. She was staring out the tall window as though not paying any attention. He, of course knew better. Turning his attention back to the messenger, he barked out a dismissal.

Slowly, the footfalls faded from his acute hearing. "A human girl?" Ayeka asked softly and Sesshoumaru cut his eyes to the side at her words. He grunted in response. "I blame you entirely" he informed his lovely mate who smiled and blew him a kiss. "I, Sesshoumaru am not the one who first took a child ward" she reminded him, "Perhaps you are more alike than he wishes to admit"

Sesshoumaru growled softly at his wife, his eyes hinting of the many punishments that he might visit on her later. His mind however, was already mulling over his son. Toga did not have the healing blade, that remained with him and would until his life ended. Why then, had he done this thing?

Not that the western lord minded. He didn't. His son was long since grown and able to make his own decisions. It was mere curiosity and Sesshoumaru hated the itching feeling of it.

Years passed all too quickly for Toga. His travels continuing across the lands as he made his way home at a leisurely pace. Time had not touched him, he still remained as he had been. As Ippiku did. Time however, had touched his ward. In the fours years they had traveled together, her body had changed.

Aislin grew no taller, but her body blossomed as women of his lands rarely did. She was sweetly rounded, voluptuous really and all the while her scent nagged at him. Her hair grew longer and her voice was no longer that of a half child but of a woman.

Toga had been hard pressed not to act on his primal urges. Aislin had yet to realize that her companions were not human. Toga found himself uneasy about that ever happening. She had never questioned the oddities surrounding their pack. No, she seemed oblivious to them. Always warm and sweet, loving.

As these changes occurred, Toga found he avoided others more and more often. He was quite aware of his ward's appeal, painfully aware. He also knew that any male with a heartbeat would want her. Hell, he did himself. He reminded himself on a daily basis that she was his to protect, not to take. She was human and for the most part they avoided demons.

His mother and Aunt Kagome had been rare exceptions. No, he would take her to the north and in time she'd wed a good human and leave his halls. He, on the other hand would end up mated to some noble demoness. Some demure thing that knew her place and would leave him be.

A light bubble of laughter rose in the air, drawing his attention back to the small clearing. Ippiku was telling Aislin outrageous tales and she was clearly enjoying them. Toga kept his distance as much as he could. Aislin was far too tempting to him. She always made her way to him at night however, curling against him in the dark hours. The dark was more dangerous and he'd cautioned her to stay close.

So he slept night after night, with her small warmth cuddled against his back. Her soft breathing soothing him, even as her sweet scent inflamed him. What the hell, had he ever done to deserve that torment, he wanted to know. He had to get home.

Several days later they stumbled across a group of humans fleeing. "What's the rush?" Ippiku had asked them. They had been terrified in the face of the tall and stoic demon that towered over them. His golden gaze heavy with cold indifference. "Bandits" they had muttered and he watched them flee from him.

Aislin stepped to his side, her small hand finding his. "Bandits my lord?" she asked. He grunted, "They are no concern of ours" he told her with a small reassuring squeeze of his fingers. Aislin was quiet for several minutes as they walked on. The oni horse trailing behind, resting in the spring air.

"Lord Toga," she said softly. He said nothing but she knew he was listening. "Innocent people will be hurt". She made a simple statement, asked nothing but he felt as though she was waiting for him to act. "Aislin the village is not our business" Ippiku told her, noting the strange flicker across Toga's face.

"You would leave them then?" she asked. Toga bit back a growl, "They must learn to fight for themselves Aislin. This is not my land and I have no cause to attack. The bandits have done nothing to me" he replied firmly. She nodded and held her tongue. Toga was strange like that.

She knew that he had taken an interest in people before. He was capable of helping. He'd helped her and from what she had gathered on this journey, there had been others. Many others, who had never forgotten his kindnesses. There were also darker whispers, rumors and voices that said he was cold and cruel, not even fit to be called human. A vicious killer. She didn't believe those. She couldn't.

That night they had made camp as usual and Ippiku stood guard overt the camp while Toga hunted for the evening meal. He used the time away to clear his head. Would she have him be a hero to the whole world? He found himself thinking that he could be, if she wished it. His ward had brought odd feelings to life in him in recent weeks. He didn't like those. They were weakness manifesting itself.

Ippiku let his youki flare, looking for danger. He felt Toga roughly a mile away. Not far at all. Aislin was sitting near the cheerful fire, humming softly to herself. He'd begun to relax when the scent caught him. Human. Bloodied humans. Coming towards them fast.

He flew to Aislin, "Aislin, danger comes you must hide!" he told her. She nodded and he tugged her long hair towards a thicket of brush. Surely that would suffice long enough for him to freeze them and call for Toga. He spun back just as they broke into the clearing.

Clearly, these men were bandits. They had blood on their clothing but he suspected that it was none of theirs. "Well what have we here?" came a smooth voice at the back of the group. Ippiku caught it then, youki. There was a demon among the dozen men. "Who are you?" he demanded, preparing himself to fight. A man with sandy blonde hair and yellow green eyes muscled his way to the front. He looked human enough but Ippiku knew, he was a lynx demon. Not a weak one either.

The demons eyed one another carefully. "Well ice demon," the cat growled, "Your camp reeks of dog and a human. A female by her scent". Ippiku drew himself up to his full height, an unimpressive six inches. "You best begone. The master is very close. He will have sensed you by now" the tiny creature said darkly.

The lynx narrowed his eyes in a catlike smirk. "Is that so? I fear no mutt you pissfly" he chuckled. His nose twitched and his eyes fell on the thicket. "So this where you hide your playthings". Ippiku shot a large ball of his youki at the cat. The demon reared back clawing at his frostbitten face.

He growled menacingly then, "Is that all you can do? You are pathetic" Ippiku readied another blast but suddenly his world was full of pain and then went dark. One of the humans had managed to sidle by and strike him with a large branch. He should have seen it coming but he'd been too worried about that cat getting it's claws on Aislin.

The men chuckled as the lynx strode forward and reaching into the brush caught a slim ankle. Aislin screamed as she was dragged from the brambly branches and into the open. She could hear several attackers and Ippiku had grown oddly quiet.

"Ippiku?" she cried out, but for once he didn't answer her. She felt cold fear grip her. Where was he? Was he hurt? Dead? Where was Toga? The lynx peered down at the odd woman, anyone could see the little crumpled heap of blue not even a arm's length from her.

She didn't follow his movements either when most prey would. He waved a hand before her face slowly and seeing no response he threw his head back and laughed coldly. "This bitch is blind!" Aislin shuddered at his words, good people didn't enjoy that knowledge.

She made her way to her feet, the lynx allowing it. After all, where could she go? She was like a helpless little rabbit. "Where is your master girl?" he demanded harshly. She refused to answer him. He growled his question again and she lifted her chin in defiance.

The lynx drew his hand back and dealt her a deafening blow. Aislin tumbled to the ground from the force of it. She rolled to her stomach and pushed herself up. He was over her demanding again. She lifted her head to his voice and spat at him in a venom filled voice, "Go to hell".

The lynx chuckled. She was feisty and he liked those kind the best. They always took longer to break and screamed longer when he killed them. "Where is the dog?" he growled at her. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "I .. I don't understand. We don't have a dog" she told him. The lynx kicked her hard in the ribs, sending her sprawling backwards. He straddled her chest and touched her cheek with his claws.

"Do not play games with me woman. Where. Is. The. Dog?" his words were accented by deep scratches against her arms and chest. She cried out in pain. "We have no dog!" The lynx snarled, sniffing at her, "Then why do you smell of him, where is your master?"

Aislin panted for breath under his weight, "We have no dog and my master will make you very sorry for this" she whispered hoarsely. A small dark crimson trickle dribbled from the corner of her mouth. Testament to his initial hit. He leaned closer to her. "I'm going to slice you to bits lovely, after I play". She felt him tug at her clothing and she shrieked into the growing darkness.

Toga had caught scent on the air and then a cry rent the air. Her cry. The dog demon was racing though the forest. His anger and need driving him to true form to reach her in time. His silky white fur ruffling in the night air, eyes glowing brightly.

Aislin felt the earth tremble and then her attacker stilled. Then he laughed lightly, "So. He comes". The lynx turned just as the demon crashed into the clearing. The trees to dense here to hold true form. Golden eyes took in a pinned and weeping Aislin and a battered Ippiku.

"Get up you bastard" he snarled. Eyes red and slitted. The lynx took his time crawling off the woman and stood. "So. You must be Toga" he mused, his tone bored. Toga glared at him. "Is there anyone else as strong as I am?" he asked coldly.

The lynx grinned, "Perhaps not. But how strong can you be? You can't even defend a mortal girl or a frostbitten butterfly". Toga growled low in warning. His eyes having taken in the human men surrounding his camp. Aislin was trying to get up now, but he could tell she was hurt. "Be still Aislin" he commanded, his voice gruff.

"My lord he's mad" she whispered, "He kept asking about a dog". The lynx swept his eyes over the tall demon and laughed. "She has no idea does she? She doesn't know what you are!" Toga growled more loudly. The lynx leapt back to land behind Aislin and leaned close to her. "Your master is quite different from you" he told her in mockingly gentle tones, "He isn't human girl"

Aislin shook her head. The lynx continued keeping the girl between them to prevent the dog from striking. "Oh it's true. He isn't human and he never will be. He's like me" The lynx caught her hand and slowly lifted it to his head, letting her feel his pointed ears and then his claws and finally he pressed a fanged kiss to her palm, letting her feel the points there. She snatched her hand away with a cry. "That's right girl. A demon."

One of the humans lunged at Toga and he let his whip snap out like deadly lightening slicing the man neatly in half. Several more followed after that. The lynx rose, ready to take on this opponent and Toga growled as he unsheathed his own sword.

"I shall make you suffer greatly now" he promised the smug cat. While his remaining human companions fled into the night, fearful of a painful death, he faced off with the dog. He swung his thick blade at the taller creature. Toga easily blocked it, throwing his heavier weight against the cat's blade.

Steel clashed on steel and demonic auras crackled and hissed in the air around them. The lynx was good but he would never be good enough. With a swift step Toga entered the personal space of his challenger, slicing deep. The lynx lashed out on reflex but Toga slapped his sword from his hand with his blade.

The cat fell forward onto the blood coated grass and Toga kicked him to roll him over. "You never touch what is mine" he growled softly and plunged his fist into the chest of the other demon, grasping his still beating heart and wrenching it free with a sharp tug. Thank the gods Aislin couldn't see it.

He held the heart in his hand and watched as the flopping cat eyed it. Toga grinned cruelly down at him, "To remind you what a heart is for!". He shoved the heart past the lynx's lips and let the creature choke his last moments on it.

He flicked the blood from his hand and rose, looking over his shoulder at Aislin. She lay on her stomach and panted heavily. "Ippiku?" she whispered. Toga lifted the tiny imp in his palm. There was a heartbeat and Ippiku breathed, although it was painful sounding. He would recover. Toga gently tucked him beneath his shoulder armor. "I..Ippiku?" the girl sobbed quietly.

Toga looked at her tear stained, slightly bruised face. "He is fine Aislin. He has just been knocked into sleep" he assured her. She shook as she tried to rise and he knelt beside her. She flinched when he touched her, and he eased his hands from her ribs.

"Is it… true?" she asked. Toga knew what she meant and he remained silent. He was not ashamed of being a demon, so why hadn't he told her? 'Because', a whisper said in his head, 'you didn't want her to fear you and they all do. Even the ones you help'.

Aislin used him to pull herself up on her knees. In all their travels she'd never asked what he looked like, never touched his face. Her hands crept higher and he clenched his jaw, knowing what she was doing. Her hands traced over his shoulders to his neck and higher.

Her breath hitched when she encountered the delicate points of his ears. Her whimpers growing louder as she traced his face, learning the elegant lines that promised his beauty. Her fingers ghosted over his lips and he bit his bottom lip waiting for her fear and revulsion. She'd either run from him now or demand he take her to a village. And he would do that.

Her fingertips touched the hard points of his sharp canines and her hands shook terribly. There was no denying it, no tossing aside the strange things she'd noticed. "You….are not.. Human" she whispered to him, tripping over her own words.

Toga closed his eyes, "No," he whispered, "I am what he said. I am a demon". The words fell from his lips like poison. He'd lost her. Knew by the scent of her fear, and the shaking of her hands. He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see the look of horror on her face.

Aislin brushed her hands over his cheeks and he felt her tears fall onto his bare hands. "You didn't tell me" she breathed, pain filling her voice. He nearly flinched at her words. For they hurt him, cut him deeply with soft accusation. "Why didn’t you?" she demanded.

Toga swallowed. He was a demon and she was a human and nature said she would fear him. That he should be feared. He didn't want that though. "I didn't want you to fear me" he told her quietly. Aislin surprised him then. She leaned closer to him, and his eyes snapped wide when her soft lips blossomed against his bottom one, caressing a fang as she moved.

He blinked at her and she tucked her head against his shoulder, "I don't care" she told him, "You are my lord Toga and that is all that matters to me. So we are different. That isn't a bad thing". He felt a strange warmth flow over him then and his hold on her tightened slightly. She knew what he was, knew and didn't care.

She didn't scream or try to flee, she didn't babble prayers at him, she didn't demand to be released. She held him as he held her and Toga understood that she accepted all of him. He hadn't felt that since he'd left home. Lifting her up he carried her to the nearby lake and helped her clean the blood from her body. Then he settled her by the fire and cracked his whip, scattering the ashes of his enemies into the night.