Nocturne - An Inuyasha Fanfic

Chapter Forty-Six: The Ningyo

Nocturne - Chapter Forty-Six: The Ningyo

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)

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o - o - o - o - o : Indicates scene or POV change

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

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FInding the yokai proved to be a feat all on its own, but nothing Sesshomaru could not accomplish succinctly. He had no need for immortality, so once he came upon the ningyo, the creature was unprepared to face him. The beast had implored him, pleading and promising him unimaginable power for sparing its life, but Sesshomaru was not one to be led astray by things he already possessed. He tactfully bartered with the ningyo for a pound of its flesh.

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"Whats ye gots to trade?" the creature had asked through needle-like teeth.

"This one has much. Name your price, yokai." Sesshomaru had little respect for those beneath him, but he must treat the ningyo with as much courtesy as he could muster; otherwise, the trade may be void.

The ningyo grinned widely if it could be called a grin for one whose mouth was unable to close around its angler-like maw. "Youse has nothing I want, nothing worth even one of me golden scales."

Sesshomaru had to be tactful with the creature, lest it return and hide away in the sea for a century. His chance of finding another ningyo within the miko's lifetime was slim. "I offer up a part of myself intangible."

The ningyo's large yellow eyes narrowed in skepticism. "The price to be paid must be equal to what is given, lord daiyokai. I canst tells ye what to give, but like me flesh, it must be given freely. Tell me what ye will part with."

The great lord Sesshomaru had already assumed there would be such a price. He knew that his father was willing to pay the price, and he would as well without question. "A year from this one's own life for each year given."

Now those yellow eyes burned with an unknown hunger, bulging within the deep-set sockets. "Lord Daiyokai! A steep price ye shall pay, indeed. Be it the lass worth it, me hopes."

The creature had accepted the trade, though Sesshomaru did have uncertainty about what the small yokai gained from it. The ningyo used its razor-sharp claws to carve out a pound of flesh and surreptitiously handed it over to Sesshomaru. It nodded its bulbous head and looked about before swimming off into the murky depths from which Sesshomaru had retrieved it, likely off to hide until the flesh grew back.

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Sesshomaru would never admit, even to himself, his fear. He had gone to great lengths to make certain those worries were never realized. That was why he had not explicitly informed the miko of his intentions. Those fears would make him weak, and weakness was not an option. Especially now that the circumstances were precarious, he knew that if she had known of the ningyo, she would have inquired on the price behind it, and if he were honest, she would refuse the gift; deny him. The miko would state that the price was too high and not something she would willingly accept. He knew this to be accurate, for his woman was as selfless as they come, which was one of her intriguing qualities.

When the miko learned of the ningyo flesh through his treacherous mother, he inwardly knew that she would react in anger. He had prepared for that, too. He had not prepared for the army of Fan Tsenpo to breach the perimeter he had so precariously set so quickly. The man, Fan Tsenpo, was a tenacious one, indeed.