𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮 犬夜叉 ♡ ; 𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚞 𝚡 𝚘𝚌

near-death

. . . . → listen to - fumetsu no anata e ost - "ruts"

At the very end of it all, Kojitsu retreated. A quarter of the castle had been demolished, hundreds of his men, servants, and civilians alike were found dead beneath the rubble and almost 200 of his servants and concubines combined had escaped. Before suffering anymore damages or losses, he told his men to stand down.

"Damn that Sesshomaru," Kojitsu seethed, wrapping his bloody arm with a fresh bandage. He sat on a stool next to his large bed, shirtless in his chambers. Old and new scars were riddled across his body as a fresh bandage wrapped around his torso to stop the bleeding. His medium-length hair was coated in a grey, dusty coating that never ended the more he shook his head.

"When me and my men recover I-"

"M-my lord," interrupted a maid, her eye also bandaged and stained with old blood. She nervously stood in the entryway of his doorway with a bite of her lip and a furrow of her brow. Kojitsu had commanded his soldiers scour the perimeter of his castle and do a headcount of all missing and accounted for concubines, including Chiho. Whether it be good or bad, the maid standing before him named Katsumi was to report back to him.

She shyly lifted the shoulder of her silk kimono over her shoulder, careful to shield her voluptuous breasts from escaping its clothed chambers. The hem clasping her waist didn't help her efforts either.

"My lord, I have some news on the concubines."

Kojitsu gritted his teeth, holding his wounded arm as he turned to Katsumi. His eyes wandered from her chest to her face in achingly slow seconds.

"Well," he grunted, "What is it you have to report?"

"Ah, well, you see,"

"Out with it, Katsumi. Otherwise we can make this difficult for you to obey commands, again." Kojitsu warned her, tying his hair into a low ponytail. Katsumi was a former bedwench of Kojitsu who was demoted to castle messenger when Chiho came to the castle. Although it has been a while since Kojitsu and her shared a bed together, Katsumi still felt the ache in her belly from his "punishments". Although, to him it was a punishment, to her it was a secret satisfaction to be the Lord's "relief".

Katsumi blushed, tucked her hair behind her ear, and cleared her throat. Kojitsu could smell the "change" occurring on her with a twitch of his brow. In a different setting, he would have readily taken her but his mind was affixed elsewhere.

"My lord, there has been no signs of Chiho surrounding the castle or within 15 km. We are afraid she's escaped." Katsumi stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?! What do you mean escaped? There's no wa-" Kojitsu flinched from the sharp pain in his chest where Sesshomaru's poison claws landed. Katsumi, on instinct, rushed to Kojitsu's side and wrapped her slender hands around his arm, strategically placing her enlarged chest strategically on the same arm.

"My Lord, you shouldn't worry. Your men are searching near and far throughout the forest for her. In the meantime, allow me to tend to your wounds, My Lord.."

Katsumi snaked her hand closer and closer near Kojitsu's inner thigh, her soft lips breathing a warm tuft of air at the nape of his neck. Kojitsu shut his eyes, bit his lip, and shrugged Katsumi off with a jagged breath.

"Enough of this." He stood to his feet, grunting in both aggravation and discomfort. He looked out his window and looked downwards, watching his men clean the rubble, tend to the wounded civilians, and patrol the castle. He shook his head, cursing himself for allowing things to spiral in such an uncouth manner. He should have known better than to let his guard down. He made a note to himself that once he found the starter of this calamity that caused a large majority of his castle to be destroyed, he would make an example out of them.

"Leave me. Your services aren't needed." He commanded Katsumi, who remained on her knees where Kojitsu originally sat.

"But, My L-" Katsumi protested, her brows furrowing.

"I said leave!" Kojitsu hissed, pounding his fist onto the wall. Katsumi took the message, standing to her feet and hurriedly leaving the room.

Kojitsu continued to look onwards into the horizon, his scratched mouth curved deep into a frown. As he saw the river along the edge of the world lazily move about despite the recent destruction, his mind wandered. He couldn't let his plan go to waste and he couldn't risk losing Chiho and the potential for expansion of his kingdom.

He walked over to his desk, eyeing the multitude of maps, brushes, and ink. He decided on the terrain map surrounding his castle, eyeing the different landmarks, terrains, and potential hiding spots Chiho may have been. Using his clawed finger, he circled numerous spots, taking in as much of a photographic memory of the area as possible.

I'll just have to start East. He thought, clenching and unclenching his fist whilst in thought.

He took another step, instantly wincing in pain. He knew he was of no use today to search for her. He sat down, leaned against the headboard of his chamber bed, and shut his eyes to rest. With a breath, he felt a wave wash over him and relax his muscles, pulling him into a deep slumber within seconds.

Chiho..it won't be long till we reunite again.

-

Sesshomaru, A-Un and Jaken settled down for camp, Jaken visibly fatigued and a stone-faced Sesshoaru readily sitting down against a . Although Sesshomaru remained with a neutral expression, one could see from the scratches on his face, laceration welts on his chest, and bleeding forearms that it was a battle well fought.

Jaken released A-Un's reigns, giving him allowance to graze in the nearby fields.

"Ah, my Lord, I'm going to look around for some herbs and firewood for tonight." Jaken looked over at Sesshomaru, hoping to read his still face for a reaction. He looked at peace with his eyes closed and body still, as if he were sleeping the whole time. Jaken knew for a fact that a demon like himself would recover with time, but he knew for himself he didn't want to sit in the dark when they were still nearby of enemy lines.

"Come, A-Un!" Jaken raised his staff, clicked his tongue and began to walk around the edge of the river in search for herbs.

-

The lazy echoing of crickets danced across Sesshomaru's ears. He could hear the birds nearby and splashes of water hitting the boulders in the distance. His body lay still and his mind blank. It was foolish of him to continue with such a useless battle. Sesshomaru knew it within himself that he wasn't going to join his kingdom with another demon, another naiive demon to be exact. It was his own doing to humor himself with such an extravagant invitation and it was his own child-like eagerness to poke the sleeping bear.

The battle was a draw, but still a waste of time in his eyes. Nonetheless, he would need his wounds to heal and his sword to be attended t-

"My Loooooord!" Jaken's shrill voice jarred his thoughts to a halt. He could see A-Un and Jaken walking back to him, but he couldn't make sense of what was on A-Un's back. From a distance, it looks like a heap of firewood but when A-Un drew closer, he could sense something different.

He opened his eyes, squinting in the distance. The smell permeated his nostrils, filling with the sweetest of tangerine and sandalwood. Without moving from his position, his eyes continued to fix on A-Un until the heap of wood took the shape of a woman. Not just any woman, but a demon woman. She was sprawled onto A-Un, deeply unconscious. Her silver-blue hair whisked in different directions across A-Un and over her bruised and blushed face. Her breathing was low, scarce, and uneven. She was fighting death off of her.

A-Un lowered himself down for Sesshomaru to get a good look, grunting in alert as its head swayed in opposite directions. He sighed, standing to his feet with a crack of his neck. He wasn't in a particular mood to move from his position but when he walked over to the demon woman, his eyes slightly widened. It was her.

It was the demon girl that Kojitsu offered to him.