Inuyasha: Lords of the Night

Chapter Seven: Taiketsu

By the time they got back to camp the amount of stress and uneasiness flooded the area so intently that Kazuki put his guard up instantly. Seihomaru stood next to Ose who was armed and ready for battle, yet there was nothing in sight.

Seihomaru shook his head and glanced at the three who entered. Immediately the young lord slid over to Kazuki, knowing full well he was untrained and certainly not ready for any kind of fighting. He could feel the presence of something, yet there was nothing there.

Traylaymaru instantly grabbed his sword from his bedding and moved towards Seihomaru. "We will have company soon." He stated, having been on the mainland long enough to know the difference in temperature and aura. His nose was also twitching detecting the scents on the air.

Seihomaru glanced around again, brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't see anything." He whispered.

Traylaymaru nodded. "Nor will you until they get closer. This is no simple group that approaches. They are curious, so please refrain from saying anything that will set their tempers off. It might be something as simple as we have encroached on their land, so they may think of us as a threat."

Kazuki growled softly. "How do we approach this?" He asked the only member of their group who has lived on the mainland for several years.

Traylaymaru grinned. "Carefully. Guard Seihomaru and let the rest of us take care of the threat if it boils down to a fight."

Kazuki nodded. He gripped the spear that was thrown at him by Nii, and Shigeo merged into the shadows with his counter part. With a sharp thrust, the guard planted the spear end into the ground in front of Seihomaru allowing a small bit of energy to flood through it. Astounded, Seihomaru watched everything intently, from the guards simple ability to work as one unit without being commanded to move, down to the power being emitted from Kazuki's spear.

Kazuki growled again, this time directed at his youki spirit who was gleefully chanting in his head. 'Keep in check! I may have need of you, yet we do not want to threaten those who approach.'

'Oh relax, I will only intervene if you give me free reign to. But isn't this exciting? I so needed to stretch my legs being asleep for so long.' Taizo exclaimed excitedly.

Kazuki barred his teeth.

Soon the area was flooded with huge amounts of energy and everyone in the camp stood ready for anything, most taking their cue from Kazuki. Traylaymaru walked forward and inclined his head at the large group of oni who appeared out of a thick fog.

Seihomaru peeked around Kazuki's large frame and released a soft gasp. This was his first time seeing another youkai that was not of their Inu clan. His eyes widened at the large beasts who stood there, some red skinned, others with brown, a few with blue skin. Their heads were large, with menacing horns protruding from their foreheads. He noticed that the red-skinned youkai had glowing horns, while the blue-skinned ones were rather bland in appearance. His eyes watched every move Traylaymaru made as he gave them respect and introduced himself.

Seihomaru frowned when he heard a snort on his left and his eyes fell on Turari who stood there shaking his head as though disgusted. The sneer on his lips gave away his full opinion of the new youkai.

"What brings you to our small insignificant camp?" Traylaymaru asked.

"We want to know why you have invaded our lands." One big red oni growled out, anger apparent on his face.

"Apologies, we were unaware that we were intruding on someone else's territory. We only wanted to rest after our long sail across the sea and take shelter from the sun." Traylaymaru continued without missing a beat. Seihomaru was clearly impressed.