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______InuYasha woke slowly, his vision a bit fuzzy. "What in the seven hells happened to me?"
______He examined his surroundings for a while, his vision slowly returning. He was in Kaede's
house, but how he gotten here? Better yet, why did his head hurt so much? It slowly came back
to him... He and Kagome had come back through the well from a visit to her time. He had
smelled SesshouMaru and someone else in the area. The other person had smelled not quite
human, but not like a Youkai either. Kagome had shot two arrows in the direction he had
indicated and... That girl who moved like a demon... She had attacked them. She had cut
Kagome's wrists... no, Kagome's wrists had been fine... but he had chased her... his legs!
______InuYasha tried to feel his legs, but couldn't feel anything below his knees. He
remembered everything now, including hitting the ground headfirst. He lifted his head up to
see if his legs were still there. They were there, he just couldn't feel or move them. He laid
his head back down on the pillow. InuYasha groaned weakly.
______"InuYasha," he heard Kagome's voice ask hopefully.
______"InuYasha!" Shippo bounced into view. "You scared me, you jerk!"
______He groaned again.
______Kaede's hovered over him, "Can you feel that?"
______"Feel what witch?" He growled.
______"Hmm," Kaede said, ignoring his rudeness. "I had hoped that with demon blood you
would've healed by now."
______"What happened to me?" InuYasha growled. "Where's Kagome?"
______"I'm right here InuYasha," Kagome said, her head coming into his sight range. "How are
you feeling?"
______"Not my legs," he murmured pitifully.
______Kagome and Kaede worked together to help InuYasha into a sitting position. (You use
your legs a lot more than you'd think, even in just sitting up.) Kagome not using her hands,
just kind of pushing with her arms.
______"What happened to us Kaede," InuYasha asked again, more politely this time.
______"I'm not sure," Kaede said quietly. "I've never heard of anything like this before, much less
seen it."
______"Damn," InuYasha muttered. "I just know SesshouMaru had something to do with this..."
______"Actually," Kagome said. "I saw SesshouMaru follow you when you went to chase that
girl."
______"Now, about that girl," Kaede interrupted. "You are sure that she wasn't a demon?"
______"Yes," InuYasha snapped. "She didn't smell like Youkai. She smelt like a human... sort of."
______" 'Sort of' ? " Kaede asked urgently.
______"Well there was something strange about her scent," he said reluctantly. "It was a sweeter scent
than human, but it was close."
______"Maybe she was a partial demon," Kagome suggested. "Less than half maybe?"
______"No," InuYasha decided. "It was nothing like Youkai."
______"Whatever she was, the effects of her sword do seem to be slowly wearing off," Kaede said
encouragingly.
______"Yeah," Kagome said smiling and wriggling one finger slightly as proof.
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______Only a minor residence of the Great Demon of the Western Lands, this lair lay hidden in a cave just
behind a waterfall in one the forests that blanketed Lord SesshouMaru's territory. It was a den, dug deep
into the granite, but it was far from a damp hole. A long tunnel led from the entrance to the main hall,
which lay just beyond the gilded doors. Those mighty portals were carved with terrifying images of Lord
Nishi, SesshouMaru's father, rending his foes limb from limb and were big enough for a monstrous demon
dog to pass through. They had once been the entrance to the main residence, but SesshouMaru had
replaced them with one's honoring his own battle prowess after his father's death. Large slabs of black
marble covered the walls of the main hall with white veins running through them. Immense stalactites
banded in silver served as columns to hold up the roof, ornate carpets from China covered the smoothed
out floor, and torches, hung in plain brackets lit the hall as brightly as any noble's home you could care to
name. Weapons, armor, and the bones of fallen enemies once belonging to SesshouMaru's father decorated
the hall. On a dais at the far end of the main hall was a gigantic throne, made entirely from the bones of demons
that had once challenged SesshouMaru's father. It was draped in their hides, broken weapons and
shattered armor. SesshouMaru had had it moved here after his father's death to make way for his own
trophies in the main residence.
______"M'lord," Jaken asked nervously. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
______"Is she awake," SesshouMaru asked calmly.
______"No M'lord," Jaken said even more quietly. "Me thinks the girl dead."
______"She is not dead," SesshouMaru growled. "Jaken, leave me."
______Jaken hurried out nervously. SesshouMaru laid his head in his hands as he sat on what was once his
father's throne in the main hall. What if she was dead? He didn't want to have an entire army of her
people with those strange swords like hers as enemies. He didn't know enough about them to even put
together a strategy if it came to that. No, she had simply used a lot of energy; he had seen demons do that
before with certain attacks. She would wake up once she was fully rested. It had only been twelve hours,
after all. He heard a sound at the main entrance to the great hall and looked up, ready to punish Jaken for
not leaving him be. There stood his childhood friend and right hand demon, Lord Haren. He was
much like SesshouMaru, humanlike and just as elegant with pale, delicate features, but he was a good foot
taller with long, curling blue hair, and his only markings are three blue stripes on each cheek. He leaned
casually against one side of the entrance, not with his typical halberd, but a bottle of sake in one hand
and two glasses in the other.
______"SesshouMaru," Haren said pleasantly. "You are far too troubled m'lord. Surely it is not over
this girl in the guest apartments?"
______SesshouMaru smiled and stood up, "My friend, I thought you were at my main stronghold. What
are you doing here?"
______"I was contacted by Jaken," Haren answered walking to where he was a few feet from
SesshouMaru." He said you were acting strangely. He is concerned for your welfare, as am I."
______"There is nothing to worry about," SesshouMaru said coolly. "I was looking for my brother and
instead met up with a rather strange woman, but let us sit. It is a rather interesting story."
______The two demons sat down across from each other, and Haren poured some sake in each of their
glasses.
______"Jaken mentioned the girl," Haren said sipping from his glass. "A demon who smells like a
human, he told me. And he said that she lies near death in the guest apartments."
______"Not quite," SesshouMaru answered, sipping from his own glass. "She is not dead, but rather
resting. We had a run-in with my brother. Furthermore, she is not a demon, but rather a highly ranked
lady of a new race who is visiting our lands. They may prove powerful allies."
______"New race," Haren said curiously. "What might they be called?"
______"They are called Elves," SesshouMaru smiled at the irony as he spoke. "They are not demons, but
the humans in their territory call them forest demons."
______"Hmph," Haren seemed amused. "I must say I've never heard of anyone called a forest demon,
or an Elves for that matter. You mentioned a fight with your brother, how are their fighting skills?"
______SesshouMaru sipped his sake and remembered the fight, "Quite good actually. She moved with
speed equal to any demon that I've met, and the same goes for her agility. She commanded a rather
strange sword though... She drew it from thin air, and when it cut, it left no evidence of injury... but it did
prevent the use of wherever she had cut the person. As for her sense of smell, I'm not impressed. She can
determine a lot from the sounds of someone's movements however, and it makes up for the lack of the
other. She knew how to compensate for an opponent with a good sense of smell too; she hid in the
branches of a tree that was in bloom just above my brother before dropping down to attack. Even I couldn't
locate her until she moved to attack."
______Haren nodded, "Quite impressive. Now about that sword of hers, what was it?"
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______Storm awoke on a futon in a strange room. Tapestries of battles hung on every wall, and the
stalactites that hung down were ringed with gold. The floor was smooth granite with a thick brown fur
laid across the center of the room. A low table contained a parchment, quill and ink, and a pair of halfway
burned red candles. One lit torch was hung on the far wall; the only lit one of four in the room. A rice-
paper sliding door made up one wall, the only exit. Storm sat up and scanned the room. It was nothing
like the treetop home that she knew. There was a cold formality to it. She shivered, remembering her first
raid on a human castle; it had had a room much like this. Well the door was thin paper and wood rather
than thick oaken doors on giant metal hinges as they had been at that other place. Somehow, this place
was built more in harmony with the stones, and didn't call up as much hate as the human castle had; it
was really rather nice when she thought about it.
______Storm looked up, suddenly disturbed, as she heard a soft scuttling noise outside the door. She stood,
removing the dagger that was hidden in her boot as she did so. It was something small, certainly not
SesshouMaru, and she wasn't about to take chances.
______The door slid open slowly as Jaken stuck his head in to check on Lord SesshouMaru's guest. Much
to his surprise, she was awake, and waiting to attack if need be. "I-i-i I'm Lord SesshouMaru's servant,"
he mumbled, trying to use the door as a shield in case the girl decided to throw the knife at him.
______Storm sighed and returned the dagger to her boot and coolly said, "I wasn't sure."
______Jaken took it as the closest thing he would get to an apology and came all the way inside. "You are
awake and well?"
______Storm straightened herself again and nodded. "Where is your lord?"
______"He is with Lord Haren in the great hall," Jaken said nervously.
______"And that would be where?" Storm asked impatiently.
______"You plan to go before two lords in such attire," Jaken asked in shock.
______Storm looked at her outfit, suddenly concerned. She wore her best travel boots, brown pants, and a
green sleeveless tunic. It wasn't really dirty, but then again, she didn't know what people wore around here
all that well. She ran one hand through her somewhat tousled hair, it straightening itself out as it was
used to doing. "What do people typically wear?" she asked nervously, remembering SesshouMaru's fancy
outfit.
______"Well," Jaken said. "Ladies wear kimonos."
______"Ah," she sighed remembering having seen a few women in human towns dressed in those. They
didn't seem very practical for battle or traveling. "Leave me," she ordered.
______Jaken left quickly, not caring for the young lady at all. He closed the door behind him and scuttled
away, wondering if he should tell SesshouMaru that the girl was awake. No, best to let him have some
time with Lord Haren, unconcerned by foreign ladies.
______Storm decided that she could at least appear to be a proper lady, considering that SesshouMaru had
been so kind as to let her stay here. She found her pack under the writing table and pulled it out, opening
it to search through its contents. She pulled out a carefully folded length of blue silk. It was a small magic
to make it into a dress, or in this case, a kimono. She laid it out on the futon and whispered a few words
over it. It glowed slightly, and grew to be a pale blue kimono, with silver lightning streaks on the right
shoulder. Silver under kimono lay under it, along with a silver sash. She reached into her pack again and
pulled out the mother-of-pearl hair comb.
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______"Jaken," SesshouMaru flagged Jaken down as he tried to slip unnoticed through the main hall.
______"Yes M'lord," Jaken said nervously rubbing his small hands together.
______"How is our guest," he asked. He was in a better mood due to Haren's presence, and the sake.
______"She awoke about thirty minutes ago m'lord," Jaken said nervously.
______SesshouMaru raised one eyebrow curiously, trying to decide whether to be angry with Jaken for not
telling him, or to be concerned that she hadn't come to the main hall yet.
______"Well then toad," Lord Haren said quickly. "Bring us another glass and a bottle of sake. If she
isn't in here when you return, you'll just have to fetch her."
______"Yes m'lord," Jaken said bowing and exiting the hall.
______"What do you think is keeping her," SesshouMaru asked, concern layering his voice.
______"She's a woman," Haren said. "She's probably primping."
______"She didn't seem the kind overly concerned by appearances," SesshouMaru said quietly.
______"Well," Haren mused. "Perhaps your toad advised her to dress more lady-like."
______"He would, wouldn't he?" SesshouMaru mused. The two demons laughed at the idea of the toad
demon giving fashion advice to anyone, not noticing the exact moment Storm entered the room. Suddenly
Storm was standing just behind Haren, her hands clasped in front of her, silent as a tree.
______SesshouMaru simply looked up and smiled at her, "Welcome Lady Storm."
______Haren, not expecting her to be able to sneak up on him, turned quickly in his seat in an attempt
to look at her, losing his grip on his glass of sake as he went.
______She knelt quickly down catching the glass for him and gave an almost mocking smile as his eyes
met hers. "Problems," she asked, her voice as soft and melodic as rain coming down.
______Haren quickly regained his composure and straightened himself, taking the glass, "I didn't
realize you were behind me."
______Storm continued to smile, her storm cloud-colored eyes more mocking than her smile, "Oh! So you
meant to drop your glass?" She stood up. Her silver hair was swept up with a glittering mother-of-pearl
comb, allowing a few strands to hang loosely across her face, making rather good show of her pointed
ears. Her kimono was the palest of blues, rather like a pond, and silver lightning bolts streaked over her
right shoulder, her under-kimono matched the lightning and was visible by an inch at her sleeves, hem
and neck. It was tied across her waist by a silver sash.
______SesshouMaru cleared his throat, "Lord Haren, this is Lady Storm of the Sano Monte Clan.
Lady Storm, Lord Haren."
______Storm closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly to Haren and then SesshouMaru. She didn't
know what they did in this land, but in her home it was a sign of respect and trust to do as such.
______Haren and SesshouMaru each returned the gesture. SesshouMaru smiled at her and spoke, "We
were just discussing your sword Lady Storm."
______Storm smiled, "Just call me Storm, Lord SesshouMaru." She sat gracefully down just to the left of
SesshouMaru and the right of Haren. "I suppose you would like me to tell you about the sword."
______Haren answered, "Well Storm, I have never heard of such a weapon. If it is possible, could I see
it?"
______Storm nodded, "Of course." She reached before her and pulled the sword from midair once again.
______Haren reached forward to touch it, only to have Storm slap his hand away. He growled at her,
"Why you little bi--"
______"I'm sorry Lord Haren, but you really do not want to touch this sword." She explained quickly.
"It is called Sepiesbhle, or Spirit Blade, by my people. It does not cut flesh, but rather the spirit of its
victims. I did not allow you to touch it because, without extensive training as well as a certain level of
talent, one cannot even hold the blade without it cutting through them, much less use it. The effects
however, are not permanent, for the most part. For instance, I sliced through that human girl's wrists
yesterday and she lost use of them, I had cut them off from the rest of her spirit. She will regain use of
them in a few days or a few weeks, it depends on the person. There are certain places though, that if cut, it
kills the person." With that Storm returned the blade to thin air and looked at them, waiting for questions.
______"What are they made from?" Haren asked.
______"The Sepiesbhles were the combined effort of a master smith and a High Elven mage several
thousand years ago. It is said that the smith forged them from silver and moonlight, and when he finished,
the mage divided his spirit and magic into each of the blades. The smith then trained only certain warriors
in how to use them and said they were to be passed only to those who would use them to serve the people."
______"How many of these blades exist?" SesshouMaru asked his eyes glazing over at the thought of an
army trained in the use of such weapons.
______"Two hundred exist, and only half of them currently have masters. Half lay dormant in Elven
settlements, waiting for someone to wield them," Storm stopped for a moment, seeing the hunger in the
demons' eyes at the idea of a hundred such swords up for grabs. "The swords protect themselves. If they do
not consider you a worthy master, you do not survive holding them."
______SesshouMaru nodded, "I see. Do the sword-holders not travel together?"
______"No," Storm said quietly and looked at the floor as she remembered how far from her forests that
she was. "I've never even met another sword-holder."
______Jaken came back in with a new bottle of sake and another glass, "M'lords..."
______"Ah, Jaken," Haren said, motioning the toad-demon over. "About time."
______"I apologize m'lords," Jaken stuttered as he refilled Haren's and SesshouMaru's glasses then
setting the new one before Storm and filling it.
______"Well, Storm," Haren said politely as Jaken poured. "What is your station in your lands?
M'lord SesshouMaru never told me precisely."
______"Ah," Storm began, and then went silent; she wasn't all too thrilled at the idea of explaining her
heritage to Haren. She had trusted SesshouMaru for some odd reason, that was certainly a rare thing
for her, instant trust like that.
______"She is the heir of a powerful clan in her lands," SesshouMaru answered quickly for her.
______"I'm honored by your presence," Haren said, more out of habit than anything else.
______"It is of little consequence here," Storm said suddenly, looking up and into the faces of the two
demons.
______They were all silent for a moment. The demons uncomfortable by her comment, and Storm having
nothing else to say. Jaken took the opportunity to slip out of the hall.
______SesshouMaru broke the silence, "What happened that you collapsed after using the Sepiesbhle?"
______"The Sepiesbhles drain energy from the wielder when in use," Storm explained. "I merely used it
for too long."
______"You didn't have it out more than a few minutes though," SesshouMaru said quietly.
______"True," Storm agreed. "I had not done battle with the brother of a demon lord before, and so I put
more energy into the sword than was necessary. Certain opponents tend to require more energy for the
sword to be effective than others."
______"I see," SesshouMaru said.
______"Fascinating," Haren mused.
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