The Long Road to Freedom Part 1: The Dastardly Prince

Pursue

        "Where the fuck have you been?"

Kaijou growled at Kuroihi as she showed back up behind him. He himself couldn't be bothered to give two shits about the hanyou, but she belonged to Sesshoumaru, and he was loath to have to be the one to report that she had run off or been damaged.

"Can a lady not handle her private business without being interrogated afterward?"

Kaijou snorted, and Kuroihi didn't miss the way his eyes flicked over her shape.

"Whatever. Let's just go."

Kuroihi continued to consider reasons for altering their course as they ambled along. One of the last semi‐beaten paths that branched from the main road would soon be upon them if she took the merchant at his word, and it would be the last path they could take that would lead to the coast. She had to decide quickly.

"Hey, Kaijou."

"'Hey' what?" he grumped.

"The coast isn't that far from here, I think fish would be good for dinner."

He snorted.

"No way."

"Why not?"

"For one, it's completely in the opposite direction to where we need to be going; for two, land game is significantly easier to catch."

"I'll do the fishing."

Kuroihi cringed at the thought but conceded. Sacrifices did have to be made. Kaijou paused. She tried to ignore the way he looked her over again.

"You'll do the fishing?"

"I will do the fishing," she reiterated.

A sly smirk pulled at Kaijou's mouth, and he chuckled, waving a hand toward the path that led to the coast.

"Then, please, by all means."

He let Kuroihi take point, and as they walked, and she started to cringe again at the thought of being naked in front of the wolf.

Half, she consoled herself, you'll only be half-naked.

***

Kaijou allowed himself to grumble a bit as he followed Kuroihi to the coast.

'Damn the prince. Damn the Taishou. Damn that half‐breed.'

He knew better than to say any of this out loud or to even think it too loudly around the demon lord, but it soothed his wounded ego. At least the view wasn't bad from where he was at the moment.

When they arrived at the coast, Kaijou was more than pleased to see Kuroihi keep her half of the deal as he set up camp far enough from the surf so as not to lose the fire to it. As she worked, he did his best to further acclimate to the overwhelming scent of salt and amassing of smells in the moist air. He was admittedly proud of himself; he hadn't passed out yet. It only took her two trips to fetch enough for the two of them, and he made no effort to hide his lecherous gaze, but what he saw gave him pause for a moment.

Certainly, the half‐breed was long and lean and curvaceous as one would expect a female to be, especially with the way her soaked shitagi clung to her form, but through the nearly translucent cotton, he could make out the scattered scars that marred her otherwise porcelain skin. The one that drew his attention the most was around her left wrist, a deep and angry red burn mark in the shape of a palm and fingers.

He didn't need to think too hard to imagine where it had come from, and for only a moment, he almost felt something akin to pity for her. Kaijou shook himself mentally and snorted. He had no time for such weakness. They were both creatures of service and had suffered similarly. Bemoaning what had been or what currently was did no one any good. The only things that mattered were making it day to day, and taking the small pleasures when and where they could be found.

'Speaking of,' he smirked as Kuroihi returned, 'free fish.'

He happily snagged his share from the pile she left without so much as a glance or a 'thank you,' sinking his teeth into the sweet, tender flesh of a sea krait.

***

Kuroihi didn't complain about his bad manners. As far as she was concerned, the faster he ate, the faster he was full, and the faster he would fall asleep. As Kuroihi hoped, Kaijou merely shrugged and grunted as she offered to take patrol for the evening. Dried, dressed, and fed, she made off to begin her rounds, taking her time to note all that she could. A quick survey told her there was little here that would come after them unless provoked. A couple bears, some lesser spirits, an oni or two, and...

'There, there it is.'

Kuroihi paused and lifted her nose to the soft breeze that carried to her the concert of scents. She sorted through each until she found it again. In the same way one would blend lavender and vanilla, so, too, were these two distinct scents she found the perfect blending of human and demon that indicated a hybrid; two of them, to be precise, a male and a female.

As the merchant had suggested, they had been here, and not terribly long ago, if she was analyzing it correctly. Her nose burned in protest to being put to such use with so much salt in the air, and she felt dizzy, but she pushed on. She stretched her patrol radius further and further inland, following the scents until, finally, she found the source, the very creatures she'd been hoping to find.

Carefully, quietly, she ducked down under the high grasses that rose out of the sand here, making sure to stay downwind of the pair as she crept slowly as close as she dared try to get. They had camped themselves out in a thick of bamboo growing tall and sturdy just inside the forest line. From here, it was difficult to tell they were there at all, but her cat‐like eyes weren't hindered by the darkness.

They were as the merchant had described; a male and female, both half‐breeds, with hair cut short. The male did indeed have ears exactly like Kuroihi's, which strained to pick up their soft voices, though they spoke little and of nothing terribly important that Kuroihi could make out aside from travel plans. They would be leaving this place soon. Kuroihi contemplated approaching them tonight, here, and now, in case they changed their minds and left sooner, but a sudden trepidation kept her rooted in place.

What was it that made her hesitate so? Was she afraid she would find what she hoped and would be tempted to flee, to escape her servitude to Sesshoumaru in a single, simple gesture? Rather, was it her fear that the lies she'd told herself through the decades‐‐and she knew they were lies‐‐would be disproven, shattering the dreams of a loving family that mourned and missed her?

She drew the pendant from her yukata and considered the carving.

'Well, it wasn't cowardice that brought me this far.'

Kuroihi curled her fingers tightly around the pendant, took a steadying breath, and fought against the intangible weight on her body and made herself known to them.