Tsukiko laid her hand flat against a tree, her ears swiveling. Idiots, think they can sneak up on me? She thought. Her parents had started letting her wander the forests near the palace on her own when she'd turned twenty, signaling that she'd finally neared a state of mental maturity. Of course, physical maturity wouldn't hit for much later. She still looked to be about the age of a twelve-year-old human. Her nose twitched. Whoever it was, it wasn't someone she recognized, and they had their aura tucked into themselves pretty well, so she couldn't judge how powerful they were. Slowly, she took another step. Just as she was about to take another, her insides started tingling. Danger. She stopped and bent inhaling deeply. Metal. She reached out and gently touched the ground. Her fingers ran lightly over the sharp edge of a metal bear trap. Was that set for me? She wonders. No humans hunt in this forest, and demons don't employ this kind of thing. She heard the soft breathing of whoever was following her and straightened. It was about time she got some answers.

In an instant, the young demon had spun and covered the distance between her and her pursuer. Judging from the his breathing – the scent was most definitely male – which came from over her head, he was a good two feet taller than her. She punched, satisfied when she was proven correct when he doubled over. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, she brought his head down and her knee up. There was a sickening crack and the man collapsed. She let him drop and checked for breathing and a pulse. Both still there. Smiling, she dragged him to a tree and used her obi to tie him to it before sitting down to wait for him to wake up.

About half an hour later, he groaned softly and his breathing and heart rate picked up a little. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Rise and shine, sleepy," she called in a singsongy voice, sitting just outside kicking-range. The man sat bolt upright.

"H-hey! W-what the-?"

"No, no. That's not how it works. You see, now is the time that I get to ask the questions, here. So let's start with who are you?"

"Why would I tell you anything?"

"Because I've got you tied up and can do anything I want to you without threat of repercussions, legal or otherwise. So let's try again. Who…are…you?"

"…My name is Izanagi, I'm a servant to Lord Akihiro."

"Lord? Come now, he's little more than a petty provincial ruler, no need to call him Lord, between the two of us. Now, why are you here?"

"He sent me…to kidnap you."

"Is that so? Interesting – and why would he do that?"

"He thought…he could gain some power over your parents that way, maybe get a foothold in the royal court."

"Why are you so forthcoming with this information? Have you no loyalty?"

"My Lady, my loyalty lies first and foremost with the royal family, if Akihiro did not have my family captive…Besides, I would rather not be tortured on top of this humiliation."

"Humiliation?"

"Being caught by a pup…a blind one at that."

"My blindness is not a weakness, Izanagi."

"I have noticed. B-but what am I going to do now? He is waiting not five miles out with my family captive. If I do not return with you within the week, he will kill them." Tsukiko sighed and began to untie him.

"I guess we have little choice – I'm sure he'll know if we tell my parents, right?"

"Yes, he has eyes in the palace."

"So we must go ourselves."

"What?"

"I will come with you. Tie my hands, quickly. Let's go save your family."

"But, My Lady-!"

"Hush. I know what I'm doing. Just do what I tell you to." Doubtfully but left with no other option, the demon did as he was bid. The young princess smiled gently at him. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to your family."

Akihiro looked up as his servant came into view. Walking behind him, wrists tied, was a young, frightened Inu pup. The provincial lord smiled.

"Izanagi, well done," he praised.

"My family," the demon demanded. A woman and two children were sitting there, tied, with a guard menacing them. Izanagi walked over to them. "You have what you want – let them go, now."

"Of course, of course." The guard untied them and backed off. "No need to make enemies where I have none." Akihiro now walked over to Tsukiko, bending down to look at her. The pup was shaking with terror, her sightless eyes casting about frantically.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered.

"Well, I won't if I don't have to, but that's really up to your parents, dear," the older demon purred. He straightened, and suddenly all traces of fear dropped from the girl. Her foot came up, slamming right into his solar plexus, causing him to double over, gasping for breath. Now her heel hooked around, catching him in the temple. Izanagi grabbed the guard as he rushed to help, knocking him over the head with his sword hilt. Tsukiko delivered a quick kick to her captor's knee, causing him to drop to the ground, howling in pain.

"You moron," she sneered. "To think such a pitiful plan could come to fruition. I am Tsukiko, Heir to the Great Dog Demon and Princess of the West. I have not only had the best training offered but also have the blood of the proud Inu Tribe running through my veins. To think that you could defeat me…it's preposterous. That you used such petty methods of coercion to get Izanagi to do what you wanted only further proves my point that you are a weak, pathetic worm unworthy of your standing, no matter how low it is. She slipped her hands free of the loosely-tied rope. "Have you any last words?" she asked.

"My Lady, don't!" Izanagi stayed her. "Let me. Someone your age shouldn't have to kill anyone." She hesitated then took a step back.

"Very well. Finish him." She turned her back on the encampment, and as she walked away, she heard a scream and then silence. Her nose twitched as the stench of death reached her. "Izanagi?" she called.

"It is done," he replied. She nodded and ran off, headed back home. When she got to the manor, her parents were both waiting for her, none-too-please. InuYasha grabbed her by her shoulders, holding her at arm's length.

"You were supposed to be back three hours ago! We have been out searching for you, and only just because we caught your scent coming here did we return in time to greet you! What happened?!" he demanded.

"I had a minor issue of state to take care of," she replied haughtily.

"Don't give me that! Tell me what happened!" She pouted. "And you don't pull that off nearly as well as your father does," InuYasha added a little more gently.

"You know Akihiro?"

"Him? He runs a town just to the east of here, right?"

"Yes. He sent someone to kidnap me, but I defeated him only to discover he was holding the poor man's family captive. So…I went with him and defeated Akihiro and then came straight home. No harm done. Oh, and apparently he had eyes and ears in the court – you might want to see to that?"

"Is he alive?"

"No. Izanagi – the man he sent to kidnap me – killed him."

"Right, then we needn't worry who he had on the inside – chances are he just had something over them, too. But next time, you should find a way to tell us. You had me worried to death." Tsukiko sighed and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, daddy." Now she walked over to Sesshoumaru, who was just standing there, staring down at her in his most reprimanding way. "I'm sorry, father. I won't do something like that without telling you, again."

"Good…at least not until you're older," Sesshoumaru murmured. "Now come on, you're late for lessons." The three of them headed inside. Well, at least she can handle herself, InuYasha thought. Even he had to admit that she seemed to be lined up to surpass both him and Sesshoumaru in power and skill. Then again, that was to be expected. Still, he hated it when she got herself into dangerous situations, and while it didn't happen too often, it shook him thoroughly every time that it did. It was a wonder that people didn't seem to learn that her youth and blindness didn't make her weak. He'd always thought of demons as clever creatures, people who could learn from the mistakes of others, but now he was more inclined to believe that their arrogance made them stupid. It seemed to him that they always believed that somehow their scheme was somehow more solid than the previous ones. He sighed and put those thoughts out of his head. She was safe, and he wasn't going to let that change, no matter what other people did.

Hey, ya'll...Not sure what else to do with this story, so unless I get some ideas or anything, I think I'll end it here. I don't want to walk through all of Tsukiko's life, because that's just a whole different story on its own, and not one I'm inspired to write. If you all have ideas for this one, feel free to PM me or put it in a review, and I'll think about them, but this is getting a little repetitive, I think, so...I'd call this the end. I was actually going to end it last chapter, but I did want to give you guys a scene of Tsukiko kicking some demon butt. Anyways, thank you all for reading! Please review! :)