Disclaimer: The characters and world of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The Alien characters and movies are not mine either. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter 33

For hours now Sesshomaru had been threading threw the dense foliage in the deepest parts of Inuyasha's forest. The late afternoon sun was hot and his armor was becoming a hindrance, as well as his sword and pelt that got caught in almost every little branch.

Usually, he was able to walk through any woods without so much as cracking a twig. Today however, it was not the case. Irritation was starting to build up inside him, but he was patient enough to tolerate this and control himself until he met his goal. He was trailing Kitana's scent since he set foot on the ground, and this was the reason of his predicament.

The girl apparently knew nothing about walking in animal tracks, even after months of travelling with him in deep woods. Every animal of the forest, be they dears, bears, wolves and even down to rabbits and grouses, would never walk into the thick of the woods. These simple minded animals with an intellect just high enough to harbor some instinctual behaviors knew that it was a risky way of locomotion: if the noises didn't attract predators, then exhaustion would get them for it was very difficult to walk in these parts. It was easy enough to locate those tracks made after years of use by the local fauna and walk in them, as he always did.

Kitana had disregarded those very simple principles, as her subtle scent was telling him. Oh, the girl was probably travelling through the canopy, but nonetheless it was an ordeal to follow her. The taiyoukai could have jumped into the higher branches as well; in fact he did it at first. But he quickly changed idea: tracking was easier on the ground where the soil had absorbed the so few molecules that attested of her passage, and he was a little heavy to hide atop the trees. His footing was sure even with boots on, but he couldn't run and jump like she surely did while following her smell; he had to stop regularly to assess if he was still on her tracks, and those pauses put too much strain on the tree limbs.

He first tracked the marten, as her musky scent was easily recognizable, but he soon discovered they parted ways not much longer after leaving the castle. At some point before they separated he had also smelled other scents, those of inuyoukai and maybe fox and they followed Kitana's track. She had somehow led her pursuers away from the marten, deep into these rough woods, and for this reason he was thus reduced to walk a snail pace through thickets even a goat wouldn't enter.

He was surprised not to feel any kind of worry for the situation of the black creature; his trust in her was more solid than ever before, and after an hour of tracking her he finally confirmed the legitimacy of his faith in her when he found a sleeping dog youkai. The guy was wearing the uniform of his mother's personal army and even a well-placed kick in the ribs did not wake him up. Later on, he found three others, all of them deeply asleep, and he left them be.

These soldiers were way behind him now, having diverted from Kitana's path a short moment ago, but apparently she continued ahead in an area as dirty as the rest of the woods he went through. It was easy enough to forget about this whole predicament for the simple pleasure of placing his feet where he wanted them to be, on a ground not covered by white marble and in a forest so deep he couldn't see past the few trees ahead of him. No unobstructed view where you could see that the whole universe was resumed in a handful of buildings scattered across a courtyard. It felt so good to be free again, to regain his control over his own life, that he was ready to travel miles across the dirtiest forest without complaints.

His first thoughts when he left the castle were about Rin. He finally decided against seeking her, not for her safety since the child was present in most battles that he fought, but for the sake of not loosing time. He knew Kitana was waiting for him somewhere and he did not want to postpone the results of her plan to get the child back.

The meeting with his mother's advisors had been a huge farce, and he still had difficulties recalling what happened without seeing his temper flare.

When he set foot into the dining room where the assembly was convoked, he was first shocked by the small amount of people in presence. The courtyard had been teeming with life on the last evening with all the spies and messengers sent to give information about Naraku, while at the reunion only one or two out of ten were present. The demonic music that Kitana unleashed at the feast totally exhausted most of the guests. A majority of them had left the grounds at first light, at least those who had some carriage in which they could sleep the way home. Those who were present at the reunion had either arrived late this morning or had woken up mere moments before the meeting with sleep still etched on their features as they sat around the long table. Apparently the generals obtained the information they needed before everybody flew from the castle, for even the messengers in presence were sitting a step back from the table, behind the general that they depended on.

To his utmost displeasure, the intelligence he gathered was finally very scant. The generalities went on for half an hour before the real discussions started; apparently every one of the spies wanted its region of origin to be well known before giving away anything they knew about the whereabouts of the hanyou Naraku. Almost every part of Japan was represented, down to the most remote swamps or snow-covered mountains. At last, when finally the subject of Naraku came he was greatly disappointed by the results; apparently no one in the vast network controlled by his mother had anything to say about the spider. He did not utter a word in the whole meeting, his mother being the one asking the questions in that reunion, but it did not matter; she asked for what he wished to know, for unexplained disappearance of high ranked youkai, devastated human settlements or huge gatherings of lower youkai abandoning their turfs to travel in huge masses in the skies. She even thought about the toxic effects of Naraku's miasma on the trees and shrubberies, but to his dismay even this was not observed by the youkai in presence. He knew some definitely lied, but as the spies had the presence of mind to send messengers in their stead, it was impossible to find and punish the liars: the messengers only repeated what they were told to say, and did not know of the veracity of their words.

He had finally left the place frustrated and disappointed; had he known that his mother would be so inefficient at sniffing out his enemy, had he known all the trouble he would have to get through to obtain nothing more than a bunch of lies and misleading information, he would have refrained from ever going back to that damned castle. The only thing remotely interesting that happened on his stay was the revelation of the link between Kitana and his father, and the words of the turtles. Even this information he preferred not to think about for he felt they might very well spell trouble for his friend from space.

He still felt the heavy looks his mother sent him along the reunion. She was angry at her son, justifiably so, but she was too much of a lady to scold him publicly. He thanked her upbringings many times during the meeting; he had had enough of being humiliated by her words for centuries to come. He would not have endured it anymore.

He thought about the reason behind her anger while navigating around the roots of a fallen tree, one that had seen probably as many summers as he did. Yes, had he been much younger he would have received a good spanking for his actions. A devilish smirk came to his lips as he replayed the whole scene in his mind.

SSSSS

When he finally left his chambers after taking a long bath that left him clean of any remnants of blood and down, it was about mid-morning. He was a mere observer on this morning, not knowing exactly what Kitana had in mind to convince his mother and knowing it was best that way, for he needed to be genuinely surprised for the lady to believe in the clash between her son and the onyx skinned predator. He had the feeling though that it would not be the most pleasant surprise, and he braced himself for it.

He did not have much to do on this morning; speaking to Medved the Russian bear came to his mind, but he dismissed the idea immediately. He could not suffer the big oaf and whatever would unfold today would do so without his intervention.

He wandered on the courtyard in the general direction of Kitana's lodgings when he heard a group of youkai ushering somewhere behind a building. He approached the corner where they were hiding with no intention of modifying his path to accommodate their need for secrecy; nor did he want to eavesdrop, for the antics of the commoners were of no concern to him.

However, he changed his mind right as he was about to round the corner when one of the youkai mentioned a black-skinned female, a newcomer in the castle. He froze in his tracks and took some time to understand what was being said.

"I tell you those girls are lovers! Yoshi saw them this morning, and they were not hiding themselves at all, kissing like they were all alone! I wanna see that, guys, so it's up to you if you come or not, but I'm going! This black girl is a total whore, I wouldn't-"

The youkai's phrase was caught short when Sesshomaru's Tokijin appeared a hair's width away from his throat. A tiny rivulet of blood descended slowly along his neck, testifying how close he had been to have his head severed from the rest of his person. The guy, an oni taller than Sesshomaru by an arm's length, was waiting for his newly found enemy to either kill him, or explain himself.

The taiyoukai fiercely eyed the pitiful group of onis, two of them being smaller than he was with brownish skin and tattered clothing made of untanned animal skins; they reeked of putrefied flesh and unkempt bodies. The one he had under the edge of his blade was not very different; taller, his flesh the color of algae and mud, he sported a horn in the middle of his forehead. The horn gave the impression that he was squint, or maybe it was because the guy couldn't detach his eyes from the weapon that threatened his life; a repulsive creature that did not have the right to use words such as whore when talking about Kitana.

He then returned his whole attention to the one who was speaking before his entrance. The impassivity of his features always made his enemies uneasy, and that one was no exception; it wasn't long until he started to shake, his skin becoming paler as each second went by.

"This Sesshomaru wants to know who you were talking about, and the place she can be found."

The two midgets didn't dare to usher a word; better not become the center of the inuyoukai's attention. It was the large one who finally mustered his courage and spoke.

"The black-skinned woman, you must have heard of her… We arrived only this morning, but we were told that two days ago she totally trashed one of the high ranking soldiers to a pulp, some chick named Psy or Spy. Now she is hanging out at the dojo with her and they are more than close friends, if you get what I mean…"

Without a word, Sesshomaru put his sword back in his sash and went his way, in the direction of the dojo.

It wasn't long until he could see others gathering at the said location; the onis he just threatened were discreetly trailing after him, unable to resist the temptation their friend spoke about. The courtyard was empty compared to the previous day, but it was still much livelier than on a usual day. Some new youkai messengers were arriving at the main entrance, climbing the stairs or flying over them, and after checking in their first reflex was to follow whoever preceded them in a general movement toward the training grounds.

Finally, he reached the huge wall encasing the opened dojo. At first glance, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Small groups of two or more armed men sporting his mother's colors trained together, some with weapons such as swords or the half-moon spears that were the signature of the house, others with nothing more than their bare teeth and claws. The different elevated arenas were the scenes of various combats, encouraged by men standing on the sides. Bets were forbidden, the pure spirit of a dojo being one of comradeship and free competition, but if one were attentive it was possible to see money changing hands after a fight.

He was intent on finding Kitana, but her delicate smell was lost in what was a sea of musk, blood and sweat scents. Male hormones were running high in that part of the castle, and their laughs, shouts and screams of pain were so loud no feminine voice could be heard above the ruckus.

It was finally by sight that he found her, and an onlooker could have said that the taiyoukai's impassive eyes twitched a little when they fell upon her form; or maybe it was just sunshine. But the fact was that he couldn't believe what he saw: the way the girl was dressed was totally outrageous, and even if he knew about her peculiar clothes, he gulped down hard when he looked at her.

The marten was slowly circulating between the groups of fighters, correcting a stance here and there with a swipe of her claws in the exposed areas; she always drew blood, and the soldiers were trying their best to avoid her hits.

Close behind her was Kitana, and let's say that she was one of the reasons why the soldiers were more bloodied than usually this morning: her presence was quite distracting.

She had gotten rid of the ladylike fashion she harbored the night before; gone were the flowing garments and silken pants. Her clothes were hugging her body closely up the neck and wrists, giving a good view on her assets to anyone who wanted to see, especially when they did not know she was not showing her real skin. The worst though was the way she used golden-colored trims to emphasize her feminine curves. Her golden collar had been modified into the neck strap of a short camisole that barely covered her breasts and stopped below her armpits, apparently held in place only by the thread that linked it to the collar. The golden band that was usually seen around her waist was now much lower than usually and thinner, looking like a mere string of tissue suspended upon her hips. Sesshomaru felt his temperature rising when he discovered how she had used the band as a minimalist loincloth, which attached at the base of her tail and descended down it in a complicated weave that went from a vertebra to another. Her snake-like bracelets were back on her forearms and similar ones were placed upon her lower legs. The tiara above her brows looked much more defined than it usually was, with its three spikes bent backward and elongated until they reached the top of her forehead. She was stunning, but the overall impression was that of a luxurious whore richly paid for her presence.

He was not the only one to think that about her, for a small group of youkai was following behind the women. Squinting his eyes to take a better look at them, he recognized the onis that were behind him moments ago; they went into the dojo when he took his time to study what was going on, and they were apparently quite riled up about something, giving each other elbows and pushes toward the girls. Finally, the big one made a move; the wrong move. He extended an arm and squeezed Kitana's backside, while his other arm snaked around her waist and turned her around. Sesshomaru stayed immobile; this guy would learn his lesson.

"Hey girlie, how ya doin' today? I heard you were fooling around with the little miss over there. I'm gonna teach you what a real man can do to a chick like you."

Surprisingly, the onyx girl did not retaliate immediately; it was the marten who intervened. The youkai around them, both the newly arrived messengers and the soldiers in training, gathered to have a better look at the situation. The oni had said out loud what many of them thought but weren't brave, or foolish enough to say and they wanted to see what the outcome would be. What Kitana was trying to do, thought Sesshomaru, was a public example, a loud demonstration of the strength of her bond to Sai. However, he would not let things unfurl just as she planned for his mother was more cunning than she thought; she would need more than that to be convinced and let her escape with Sai unharmed.

The small black haired marten turned around and eyed the large, dirty male who was groping Kitana. Fists balled on her hips in a negligent way, she smiled evilly.

"The girl is mine, mud-boy. Go back to your swamp if you value your life."

Seeing this slip of a woman act boldly in front of his large self only made the oni laugh in a thunderous exclamation that drowned the conversations around him. In an instant, the whole dojo became silent, in expectation of things to come.

"Lil' girl, you are funny. Maybe I will take you with me too, so I can see how two chicks can have fun together!"

Still enclosed within the oni's arm, Kitana finally reacted.

"And what is it you want to show me, that is so much better than a woman's touch?"

"Oooh, maybe you are interested, girlie?"

"Maybe… Come closer and show me, lover boy…"

The oni bent toward her, a smile on his dumb face while he tried to kiss his captive. The black creature did not push him back, and under Sesshomaru's unbelieving eyes, she accepted his kiss eagerly.

The taiyoukai was about to jump in the scene to destroy the impudent oni when the counterattack started. Suddenly, the back of the oni's head burst open in an explosion of brain matter and blood that covered every youkai in a two meters radius behind the large guy. In a swift movement, Kitana disengaged herself from the madly twitching dead body and threw her tail at it, opening up the abdomen of the guy and exposing his innards to everyone close enough to see. In a third and last move, she kicked the falling corpse and propelled it backward, where he fell on the two oni comrades that were accompanying him, burying them under the mound of bloodied flesh.

Kitana finally stopped her attack and turned toward Sai. Languorously, she licked her lips before bending her head down at the marten. Sai had fire in her eyes, a desire and lust so strong it was almost palpable, and Kitana couldn't help but capture her lips with her own in a kiss. The marten answered by encircling her black shoulders within her arms and kissed her back fiercely, tasting the metallic blood of the oni that lingered in Kitana's mouth. Finally, they separated, eyes locked together in the same passion.

Sai then let go of her partner and turned toward the assembled youkai.

"Listen here, you maggots! When I say this girl is mine, I mean it! And she can defend herself! If someone here wants to contest it, it's now or never, understand? So, anybody has a problem with that?"

At first, there was only silence coming from the small crowd, but after a few moments some whispers started, then grew to hushed exclamations. Before the couple, the crowd slowly parted to give way to a lone silhouette. An ethereal being was advancing toward them, paying no attention to the youkai surrounding him. His silver hairs swayed with his movements, while his pristine fur pelt trailed behind him like a sign of royalty. A tranquil assurance was fuelling him, and no emotion surfaced on his features just as if he was frozen inside.

However, the one who could feel it knew all about the turmoil he was in. Anger, irritation and lust were mixing up in a dangerous blend; he was in a bad mood.

"This Sesshomaru does."

Sai was startled by his appearance. She was clearly not prepared to face him, and she was much too weak to even try. She backed down a little, trying her best to stay strong before the soldiers and other witnesses, but knowing full well it wasn't her place to affront him publicly.

Kitana however took the bull by the horns and sidestepped the marten to advance toward him. She looked angry, very angry, and the people who were still beside her after she spectacularly killed the oni wisely turned their back and fled to most distant watching spots in the dojo.

"Sesshomaru! I told you I wanted nothing to do with you anymore. What did you not understand in that, you stupid dog?"

Sesshomaru looked at her with icy eyes, before focusing his attention to the marten.

"This Sesshomaru told you not to take what was his, thief; so as a thief you will die, before I punish the traitor."

Slowly, he unsheathed Tokijin, still not paying any attention to Kitana. The sword started to absorb his youki, before he elevated it high above his head, in preparation for a strike.

Then, right between him and his prey Kitana appeared, eyes a blazing gold. His focus lost, he just then felt the effect of her powers on the air surrounding his arm: he was unable to move his sword down in the finishing move he planned.

"This is between you and me, dog. Don't involve Sai, unless you kill me first."

An evil smirk came to the lips of the taiyoukai.

"It will be my pleasure."

She nodded, freedom was given back to his sword arm, and then he struck.

The split second necessary to remove the effects of hardened air upon Sesshomaru was all she needed to build up her armor over her arms. Under the taiyoukai's eyes, the strong plates that he had seen so many times protecting her forearms were created, with the spikes that decorated them; or rather, that allowed her to face off a swordsman with her bare hands. His Tokijin descended upon her and she blocked it with both arms, the sword caught in between the black spikes. He added strength to his attack and she began to shake under the strain, her legs pushing against the ground with all her might. This face-off gave just enough time to Sai and the soldiers and onlookers to step back away from the opponents. Then, when everybody was at a safe distance, Kitana jumped backward as far as she could, and landed in a low to the ground crouch, her tail swiping behind her from right to left, as the tail of a cat wondering what to do now.

Sesshomaru wouldn't hold back in this fight; he couldn't, for many of the soldiers present in the dojo knew him from a young age and knew all about his fighting style. If he allowed the safety of his challenger to come to his mind, or if he stopped the fight and let her flee, it would soon be known that the whole thing was fake for Sesshomaru never forgave one who crossed him.

His fierce gaze searched for Kitana's eyes, and found them. She knew that he would fight her with all his power, and it thrilled her. Her black and gold eyes were shining, alight with a flame similar to what he had seen in her in the instants before she kissed the marten so passionately: she was aroused. By him, by This Sesshomaru and not by any mere girl that pursued her with her feminine charms. It was him, for the first time ever, who lit that flame into her eyes, into her soul, and it gave him such pleasure that he almost smiled right there on the battlefield. He would not deceive her: this fight would be grand.

A new resolve appeared on her features, along with a wicked smirk of her own. She had felt his own desire for her, and she was responding to it in kind. The golden garments that constituted her clothes disappeared, melting with the black suit that covered her up. In a mesmerizing movement, it began moving upon her, concentrating on some body parts in a way he had never witnessed before. Her arm protections reached the tip of her fingers, were three inches long claws appeared. The spikes on her forearms lengthened and became thicker, while similar attributes developed along her legs up to the knees. The three claws on her feet became terribly long and sharp as well as her tarsus that elongated in mortal looking points. The long scythe-like structures on her back underwent a transformation as well, hardening and lengthening a little, but it was nothing compared to her tail. The skeletal appendage was moving faster around the creature, its vertebras developing long, sharps edges on the dorsal and the lateral sides that looked as dangerous as the blade on the very tip of the tail.

Then, before his very eyes, she became something else entirely. The otherworldly suit went past her collar and covered her neck, then her face, forehead and skull, totally erasing the features he had come to know and love. Her nose and eyes disappeared under the black substance and her face smoothed up like she never had any to begin with. The tail was now swirling at a mad pace around her black form, and Sesshomaru was under the impression that even without apparent eyes, he was under her scrutiny. Then, she parted her lips, lips he couldn't even distinguish from her face before they opened up. Her closed teeth appeared in a snarl worthy of any predator, and then they opened up widely. Her cheeks were torn apart in verticals strings of flesh and her inner jaws were thrown forward, along a hissed scream that chilled the crowd. She was poised to attack, and she did.

Her claws dug in the marble of the dojo when she lunged at him, all of her strength concentrated in those long, muscled legs. Sesshomaru savored the moment as her movements appeared almost in a slow motion to his heightened senses, her legs pushing her forward before bending again in preparation for another push. She was running on all four, her arms extended as far as she could to receive her weight before her legs entered into play again. To think that this powerful body could be his, could writhe in passion under his touch excited him to no end. She was a beast, a beast matched against an opponent too strong for her and knowing it; he could therefore be faced with anything, any trick she had in bank would be used in this fight, and it delighted him.

Time seemed to speed up when she reached him, her attacks fast and deadly. Claws sliced through the air within a hair breadth of his face. He countered her with Tokijin, using the sword almost as a stick to push her away from him. In the backward movement he imposed her, she brought up her feet and in a burst of energy, threw them at him. He backed up at the last second, letting her claws gouge six long marks in his armor right were his chest was; then, he felt pain coming from his right leg and he looked down to see the side of her tail slicing through his calf, superficially but deep enough to draw blood.

His eyes reduced to slits, he eyed her carefully as she somersaulted backward, going back to a safe distance from him. He was not holding back, but she wasn't as well and while he fought with a deadly demonic sword, she had natural weapons and protections well matched against him. Her strength was nothing compared to his, but she was cunning and had come out alive from tighter situations in the past. Underestimating her would be a mistake.

He prepared for her next offensive move by placing Tokijin horizontally in front of him, his weight well balanced upon his feet. When she finally hissed and lunged forward, he put his muscles in action; in a movement too fast for the naked eye, he hurled himself toward her, and brought his sword down on her in an horizontal slicing movement.

He first hit her forehead and it was like hitting an unwavering wall. Then, his blade slid along her smooth skull and rebounded on the first spikes of her back, leaving them unscathed but diverting the sword up in the air. Surprised by the resistance of the appendages, he reacted just quick enough to face off against the tail that was sliding toward him again. Tokijin hit it as it aimed for his head, and in a fast series of shocks the deadly tail was pushed back.

Even in their past sparring sessions, the fact that her garments could repel the sharp edge of his Tokijin had always disturbed him; how could something that appeared to be so pliable be strong enough to withstand a strike with a blade able to crack his own father's fang? It appeared impossible. But now in this fight that fact pissed him off, for he looked like a fool in front of the crowd that was quickly enlarging. He would have to find an opening, somehow he needed to break her skin; it was then that he remembered how once an enemy achieved this feat.

In the fight against the cat youkai, her first real fight after he found and trained her, one of the cats managed to make her bleed by attacking her from behind: he bit her at the nape, and for some reason her armor did not react to that attack. Every attack that she could see coming was inevitably repelled, but somehow that bite from behind her back while she was focused on something in front of her did the trick.

Smirking, he knew what had to be done; he would not kill her, he did not even intend to touch her long enough for her acid to eat through his blade. However, wounding her would be spectacular and maybe enough for her to change her strategy to fleeing instead of fighting. Fleeing would be good: she could fit in spaces where he couldn't go, and she was good at it. It would be a nice way to end this fight, but for that she really needed to understand she had no chance of winning against him.

He called forth his youki and at an incommensurable speed he followed after her. She had not yet hit the ground after her attack that he was upon her, striking her down right at the junction between the neck and the shoulder, at a spot he knew did not hold any vital organs but would bleed nonetheless. There was no way she could have seen this attack coming.

He was almost savoring his victory when his blade bounced against her armor. Even there, on that spot behind her back, where she could not see what was going on, her armor reacted and protected her. Sesshomaru blinked in surprise before he felt something snake around his ankle. While he attacked her, she silently sent her tail up his leg, and the small drop of yellowish liquid that hang at the very tip of the blade spoke volumes about her intentions: she lured him out by offering him her back while all along she intended to use her poison on him, to put him to sleep.

He jumped away before the tiny stinger hit his flesh, and took an instant to evaluate the situation. The girl was sly and was ready to play dirty, for she knew he would dominate her the instant she tried to face him honestly. She prepared for this fight in a way he had never seen before; after all, this whole body armor could have been used in previous fights if it was so efficient. But it was the first time he saw her use her clothes that way, and for the first time she was able to block an attack from a blind spot. He had to understand how, and regain his advantage. Once again calling forth his tremendous youki, he felt it swirl along the blade of Tokijin as it filled it with strength. The sword pulsed, happy to feel its master's youki accumulate inside it, and answering his call it let go of a wave of power directed toward the girl.

Kitana couldn't fight against the kenatsu and she was harshly hurled backward into the wall of the dojo, where she was crushed into the hard marble. Her mouth opened, apparently searching for air, and she fell to her knees. Defiantly, she rose and hissed toward her opponent, her eyeless face conveying her rage in a way Sesshomaru wouldn't have thought possible.

Once again, he used his terrible speed to appear right beside her and sent another wave of youki to her, sending her flying halfway across the dojo, landing atop one of the elevated arenas. He followed her in a jump, appearing at least twenty paces from her. He wanted to understand what was so different in her armor, and the time she needed to recuperate after his strike would be sufficient.

Eyeing her carefully, he immediately saw something that should have been evident to him right from the start. Her armor was thick and solid, but not everywhere: the ridges and lines of her true skin showed through the armor at many places. Her back beneath the spikes was exposed, as well as her abdomen, armpits and inner thighs. Instead of letting the armor construct itself as the fight went on to protect her instantly when she could feel an attack coming, she used it in a more traditional way by creating plates dedicated to withstand pressure and the cutting edge of a blade, in the areas she would need to expose to his strikes. Everywhere else she was vulnerable, but her strategy was good: she knew very well how fast he could be, and how she would be unable to see anything coming fast enough to protect herself. The enforced areas of her body, her legs, arms, skull, tail and back blades were all she needed to face him, for she could block everything with these. He would have to crush her with his youki instead of physical attacks.

His opponent had used the time he needed to study her defences to rise in a strange posture, her hands flat on the ground and her legs assembled under her. Her breathing was slow and deep, her focus intense. He took in that sight with pleasure; how could he have sparred against her so many times in the past and not see the beauty of her, the raw bestial strength that flowed in her feminine yet deadly body. When she lunged, he prepared to do the same, to clash with her in a combat of wills.

But his feet would not move and he barely managed to stay standing. Eyes opening up in surprise, he did not understand what was happening to him fast enough to react accordingly; he could only push her away with a blast of youki from Tokijin mere instants before she hit him, and once again the tip of her tail came too close for his comfort. As she plummeted backward, he tried to move his feet again, to no avail. Looking at them, he saw something incomprehensible: they were encased in the marble of the floor up to the ankle.

In a flash, comprehension came to him. She had used those fleeting moments of respite he unwillingly gave her while he studied her to call forth her powers over the ground. Unable to see her eyes, he had not sensed anything out of the ordinary in the moment she was in that weird stance, and she managed to turn the marble into a matter soft enough so he would sink into it, and then harden it back to its original state.

A rumbling sound reached his ears as he pondered her new strategy, and he raised his head just fast enough to see over a thousand of marble pieces hurled toward him, some as large as a plate. He inhaled sharply before fighting the urge to jump back, which he could not do in his state. Instead, he calmed down and called upon the youki he stored inside his blade, sending a wave of his demonic aura right toward the stones. They were reduced to dust right in front of him, creating a cloud of small particles that blocked his sight. Not wanting to be caught off guard a second time, he directed another blast of youki toward the ground near his feet, destroying an area twenty feet wide all around him to free himself.

She wanted to use her newly acquired power upon the ground against him? Fine, he thought, he would not give her the opportunity again. He jumped up, out of the smoke, and he created his signature cloud of youki below his feet, easily floating up above the dojo. He heard her hiss of frustration as she hurled herself inside the dust to discover her opponent was not there anymore.

Now truly smiling, in a way that sent chills through the bones of the youkai assembled at the periphery of the dojo and on the walls, he decided that he would force her to move from his high vantage point. Excitation was reaching new summits inside him, his lust for her growing at every move she made to counter him, and he was immensely enjoying the fight. In a large movement of the arm, he sent a huge blast of power toward the ground, totally destroying what was left of the arena they fought upon.

A small black form caught his eyes to the right, and he directed another attack that way, then another one. Kitana was zigzagging between his blasts, sensing the path of the energy mere instants before it went crashing down on her. The wicked smile on Sesshomaru's lips became larger as he saw her twist and turn under his power, her strong legs pushing her forward and making her turn on a dime depending on his whims. Soon enough, he had created enough craters in the white marble of the dojo that the place looked like the tortured landscape of a forbidden land; and to his dismay, the clouds of dusts that floated upon what was now a battlefield became deep enough to cover everything, efficiently hiding Kitana from his senses.

He strained his eyes in an attempt to find her; from his elevated place, the area to scan was not very large. When finally he thought he had pinpointed her location, he felt a terrible pain in both his legs, a pain that only torn muscles and tendons, only crushed bones could trigger, and he fell to his knees on his now flimsy cloud of youki. The creature was once again using her powers against him, but this time he was under the very first mind attacks he saw her make. Fighting back the pain with all his might, he remembered how easily she had crushed the hearts and brains of the swarm of lower youkai Kagura sent against her in that valley. She was not aiming for his vitals, only for his legs, but the pain was awful and he finally had to call upon his youki to heal his legs at the same time she destroyed them. In an attempt to stop her, he sent a barrage of needle-like kenatsu attacks on the dojo down below, trying to force her to move. It worked; he felt the pressure upon his legs weaken and then snap. She wanted to fight him up close and personal and he would give her what she wanted.

He landed on the destroyed floor of the arena, amidst a cloud of dust deep enough to make anyone cough and weep. Not wanting to be hindered by the dust, the taiyoukai chose to do something he seldom did; a wind of youki was created at his feet and quickly rose up, swirling around him as his eyes reddened and his mouth became jaws. Feeling the thrill of the transformation, he stopped it halfway, just as the twister he created had sucked up most of the dust, finally allowing him a good view of the damages he dealt to the construction.

Of the four elevated training arenas, only one remained slightly intact. The three others were piles of overturned white marble stones, cracked and some even pulverized by the sheer force of Tokijin's blasts. The barracks in the back of the area, where the trainees stored their weapons and could shower after their sparing sessions received a rain of pebbles and rocks and now resembled more a jumble of wood and stones than a building. Here and there, he could distinguish dark holes between the piles of marble, holes that could only announce an entrance to the underground maze that Kitana discovered the night of their arrival; she now had multiple ways out if she was wise enough to flee. The onlookers were reduced to a handful, mostly those who could climb the walls surrounding the whole area and watch the fight at a safe distance. Amongst them, he recognized the black and orange headed Yoko, accompanied by the marten. Returning his attention to his fight, he looked for his opponent.

There she was; standing proud and tall about five paces behind him, she was waiting for him. Her armor had changed in the moments of his halted transformation, and her beautiful face was now uncovered. The gaze she sent him was so intense it made his insides burn with desire; she was as aroused as he was, enjoying their fight as if she was only discovering who he was, who she had been travelling with for all these months. He returned the gaze and golden eyes clashed with each others. When he saw her slowly lick her lips, he was sure that somehow when all was said and done, she would be his. Nothing would stand in his way to possess this female, nothing could stop him. He would show her how strong he really was and she would bow to his power, in awe.

When she felt his intent to attack her, Kitana discreetly bowed before calling back the protection of her full body armor and adopting her crouched fighting stance. Once again, she resembled a nightmarish creature, ready to pounce on her prey.

Sesshomaru decided however that it was time to end the fight. Pushing as much youki as he could within Tokijin, he held it horizontally in front of him before he leapt in the air. She barely evaded his attack but could do nothing about the rotating kick that followed the sword strike and caught her side. Propelled in the air, she crashed down hard on the ground. He did not give her any time to recover and stand up though; the time for fighting cleanly was gone and as she tried to kneel, a second kick in the guts made her gasp as air was forcefully chased out of her. The third kick made contact with the small of her back, sending her crashing face first in the dirt.

Sesshomaru jumped up just in time to avoid a furious swipe from her tail, and from his now reformed youki cloud he eyed her carefully. She was looking hurt and defeated, but he knew the girl could be cunning and he stayed prepared. The decision was wise, for in a split second she turned from her hunched position to a full speed gallop on all four, in the direction of one of the holes. Satisfied by her choice but still wary that his moves could be misinterpreted by his mother's spies, he cut off her escape by appearing in front of her in a motion so fast she did not see it coming and sent her flying backward with a wave of youki from his demonic blade.

She did not act wounded this time and as soon as she touched the ground, she was already fleeing toward another hole she detected. Once again, he cut her escape short with a kick in the legs that made her stumble and loose her footing. She ended up on her back, facing him as well as she could in this position.

He would not let her get up yet; a last strike was necessary to prove his desire to kill her to the ones who would report his actions to his mother. One last time, he appeared in front of her, Tokijin raised up in the air in preparation for a vertical blow; and he struck.

To his surprise, instead of dodging the attack, she quickly sat up on her heels and attempted to block it with both her arms crossed in front of her, catching the blade in between the spikes that adorned the back of her forearms. In her low to the ground position, it was no easy feat and she had to withstand the full strength of his attack with not much support from her legs. Her arms flexed under the pressure, but she managed to hold on and avoid being hit. The taiyoukai's frowned upon her decision, but now was not the time to back off so he continued to push down on her arms. It was not long before she began to shake slightly, and in an effort to convince her to back away and flee for good, Sesshomaru let go of a kenatsu.

At point blank, his attack had a massive effect on her; the chunks of marble under her feet were reduced to dust in a circle six feet large. Her armor could apparently not take that much abuse and under his eyes, the sharp side of the Tokijin started to cut through it, gaining millimetre by millimetre.

Kitana reacted to this new development by reinforcing the armor at the point of contact with the sword. To do so, she uncovered her head and tail, as well as her abdomen, basically moving the matter that constituted the garment toward the most critical parts of her body: her forearms.

She fell down on one knee, but the gesture only strengthened her posture as she now had three points of support on the ground instead of only her two feet. She pushed Sesshomaru back slowly, meeting his eyes in the process. Gold melted into gold, the power of their mutual arousal only increasing as they competed in strength and endurance; physical power for Sesshomaru, will power for the other. Knowing she would be defeated but not wanting to admit it yet, Kitana started a rotating movement with her arms in preparation for her escape; she planned to remove the spikes that held the blade in place and let it slide down to the ground, but to do so she had to orient her arms away from her. The resistance she met was extremely strong, and as she pushed harder against the steel of the blade, she discovered her mistake.

Tokijin had become embedded in her armor before she solidified it. By pressing down with both arms she was imposing a double rotary movement to the blade in two opposite directions, and Tokijin reacted the way any sword would do under the same circumstances.

It snapped.

The weapon broke cleanly in two parts, the hilt with half of the blade still held within Sesshomaru's strong grip, and the other half falling to the ground where it landed with a metallic sound; a sound that resonated in the tense silence of the dojo as a thunderbolt in a calm summer afternoon.

Both opponents could not really understand what just happened, and they stayed immobile, staring wide-eyed at what was left of Sesshomaru's demonic sword. Suddenly, a swirling wind of youki came out from the two parts of the Tokijin and collided with the taiyoukai's puzzled form. All the demonic energy he had imbued into the blade during the fight came back to him in a rush, filling his body and fur pelt so fast he could not contain it anymore. His eyes quickly turned a deep crimson color and as his fangs elongated and the corner of his mouth turned into a hellish ear-to-ear smile, Kitana couldn't help but back away. Then, as a second immense demonic power came closer, she disappeared down one of the hole that had been opened during their fight.

Sesshomaru saw her take her leave, eyes wide and mouth opened in an emotion he couldn't define, but he could do nothing to reassure her; he was fighting against the return of his own youki, trying to channel it through his body and into his pelt in a way that wouldn't trigger a transformation. However, when another source of youki collided with his own and a humongous white paw sent him face down on the ground, he lost all control and felt the winds of transformation engulf him.

When the winds of the transformation calmed down, two enormous white dog youkai were standing in the almost demolished dojo, their red eyes locked in a battle of will, teeth bared in terrible snarls. The smallest one was the one who provoked the other and its longer ears and finer snout defined it as female. The largest one, going on only three paws, was the more aggressive of the two and his toxic saliva dripped to the ground while he growled menacingly, a cloud of acidic fumes now rolling at his feet.

Posturing, turning around in a half circle, both of them finally calmed down, the growling diminishing to a more tolerable level. Lips covered fangs, muscles relaxed somewhat and their hackles went down as they stood calmly, facing each other. Then, as in a common decision, they both became shrouded in a mist of youki and transformed back in their humanoid state. Mother and son were soon standing proudly in front of each other, their hairs and fur pelts finally descending and adopting their usual place around and over their shoulders.

"Son, you are waited for in the reception room; do I have to tell our guests you are remodelling my dojo, or will you honor us with your presence?"

Sesshomaru did not answer.

SSSSS

The forest before him was becoming less harsh to travel in, and finally he caught a much stronger whiff of Kitana's scent. She was there, a few paces ahead, and had been there for a moment if he could judge by the smell.