Once Upon a Flower by Dafne U.

Prologue

Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha

Prologue

In Enemy Territory

She ran. Getting out of the forest surrounding the Palace was the only thing in her head. However, she couldn't escape from her persecutor since he seemed more dexterous regarding speed. One would say that the demon had pursued more than one intruder out of his Castle, and that was probably the truth. With a little luck, she would lose him between the high and thick trees that surrounded her. But she realized that she was caught when he appeared in front of her in the small clearing to which she was heading. His arm was holding the sword that would cut her heart out if she continued to go in that direction. However, it was impossible to change trajectory. If she did, he would realize it immediately and rip her torso with one of his attacks, so she opted to go to him and, with luck, she would find a way to escape from her persecutor.

She tried to reduce her speed but it would be difficult since she had been running fast, the double of the speed she generally used. She was able to stop on his left side and, a second later, the sword was down against her neck. Perhaps that was not the best idea, but she would have to endure it until she was able to abandon the mission, the place and her persecutor. She probably could do it with her head still attached, but she already was having doubts since the sword was leaving a thin mark in her neck and she felt a drop of blood make its heavy and invisible way under her clothe toward her breasts, slightly staining her attacker's sword.

He looked at her carefully to make sure she would not be a problem in case she was hostile. His energy caressed for hers but the absence of it made him frown. Furthermore, the ninja wasn't very happy to be about to lose her head and, moving fast, something he could see perfectly, she moved away and jumped to a tree at a distance that would keep her safe if he decided that she was not worthy of staying alive.

“Return what you have taken,” he ordered with a baritone and strong voice.

“Your Highness, I cannot give back the message. The information is false and it could cost the Western Lands many lives. Your spy has betrayed you and is plotting the downfall of the most powerful Empire in the Islands with the Southern Lord. They are recruiting an army on the eastern border. There are about a thousand of them and their numbers increase as time passes. The West must prepare for war,” she reported.

“How can I trust you when you enter my home and steal from me?” His voice was as cold as the ice.

“I understand your distrust, but I speak the truth. If you are unsure of my word, send someone to investigate before you decide to decapitate me. I can show you where to enlist and I even have the army's uniform if you choose to test me. I can give a recommendation so that your spy is accepted as one of them. I can share with you all the information on the Southern Lord's troops: their weak points and even the name of his strongest general. I can help the West, Prince Sesshoumaru. I know all about everybody. There are no secrets for me,” she told him.

“What do you gain by helping me? Why do you betray your people?” He queried while wondering who she was to have such influence on Southern Court.

“I'm not betraying anyone. I’m just avoiding more misfortunes. If the South is at war with the most powerful Land, it would lose what little has left. And we know that you wouldn't end up very well either. Although you would decimate our troops, we are not your only enemy,” she replied. “After all, the North has not given up for two hundred years, and I do not think they would start now that they would have such a good opportunity.”

The dammed ninja was right, but that didn't mean he would do what she wanted. It would be very dangerous if he did so, especially if she came from the South, which she claimed was going to attack them. Yes, she obviously knew very well her trade, but it wouldn't help her much. He was sure she wanted more than to stop a war. All of them were the same and that fake ninja wasn't the exception.

Apparently her explanation for the robbery wasn't welcome. If the obstinate Prince did not accept her help, even in exchange for her head, they would be on the losing side. Lord Hisoka's army was nearly ready and the attack would be in the next few days.

She was informed of the amount of troops on the Western army and the ongoing impact of the Northern troops against Lord Toga. There wouldn't be much resistance if the army was tired, wounded and ill-fed. But who would make the obstinate Heir of the West understand the risk he was putting his precious land in? And to think she had planned to help them. It seemed that the plan didn't work out just because he didn't know if the information was true or not. Well, also because she had stolen and replaced an official document, but what would be the worst that could happen? ‘Perhaps that nobody attacked and that the soldiers would be more tired.’ That was what he was probably thinking. However, her information was correct and returning without having the heir do something about it was not an option. There should be a way to convince him that she told the truth.

Perhaps she should have paid more attention when her followers had told her that the demon was calculating. Shit, even with the warning she would not have been ready to confront Prince Sesshoumaru. This was one of those cases in which rumors were not so far from the truth. The demon in front of her was hard, and unwavering. As beautiful as a God, but he was a fool. His golden eyes glistened in the dark like fires that, instead of warm, froze anything they looked at. His silver hair danced around him while the wind blew in the silent forest. His body was concealed by the clothes but the energy emanating from him was huge and she could almost imagine his arms and abdominal muscles. He was taller than her and obviously more powerful.

He looked into her ocean eyes. She was thin, with a good figure obtained from training and she was smaller than him. She was a weak little thing in his opinion. But the fragile figure before him had infiltrated the Palace of his father and stolen an important scroll from his own private office without anyone realizing. He sniffed the air but the only scent around was his own, and he applauded her for some of her capabilities, she was really good hiding her presence. She was dressed in black shirt and pants that covered her as if they were her own skin and she wore a small sword at her side. Her face was covered and only left her hypnotizing eyes to see. Her voice was sweet and gentle and he could at least say that she was somewhat educated. However, that confused him. At that time and age, women were not taught to handle swords, much less allowed to go on a mission.

He wondered how strong she was. If he had not seen a shadow moving near the window – a shadow that many people wouldn't have noticed – he wouldn't be there talking with this unknown messenger South. But what concerned him most was what she had gone to say. If the South had violated the Peace Treaty there would be no mercy, and that included the traitor. He didn't like the guy much, so the treachery didn't really surprised, but the Southern Lord should know better. The man had too many things to protect but it seemed like he didn't care.

“My Lord, the South has become corrupted with the passage of time. They need to be stopped, but the old Lord does not listen to reason and gives orders to continue. Lord Hisoka is being manipulated. He is not the best of leaders, but I can assure you that he's not foolish enough to go to war against the strongest of the Lords. Someone must have put this horrible idea in his head,” she said.

“And who are you to know who surrounds the Southern lord?” He asked.

“I am nobody my Lord...” she replied too fast for his tastes.

“You seem to know more than you let on. Come and show me your face, so I'll believe what you have said,” he ordered. The woman had to have good connections in the Southern Court to know so much.

“I cannot assent to your request, my identity has little importance in this case,” she answered while preparing to escape.

‘Smart,’ he vaguely thought. “Then you die,” he attacked the woman who was ready to flee.

He moved so fast that she barely had time to react. She avoided his sword several times, but because of her carelessness, he managed to cut the shirt from the neck to the waist. Fortunately, he didn't cut her but found herself exposed since the cut passed through to the underclothing. With a fast movement she held together the two ends of the shirt and made sure that the Prince hadn't seen anything. However, Sesshoumaru didn't care that she was vulnerable and attacked her again. This time, she had to unsheathe her sword or she would be dead meat. She could barely avoid the damned blade and, a few seconds later, her back was against a tree with an angry prince in front of her. He was already tired of playing cat and mouse with the little ninja and thought it was time to find out who was playing him.

Being in a situation that obviously wouldn't have a good outcome for her, the ninja decided that getting out of there was more important than her dignity as a woman, all in all, she was more valuable alive than dead. For her plan to work, both hands would be needed. And although she didn't want to, she would have to let go of her shirt which she was holding with her left hand. She noticed as the Prince readied himself for his last attack. Fast and agile, he let his sword fall over the head of his cornered prey. The ninja, having determined her course of action, released the shirt and stopped the final blow with the small sword using all her strength.

The Prince never thought she would do such a thing since, so far, he had never met a woman who would go to extremes. He thought they were poisonous and manipulative, preferring to do things behind his back and avoiding confrontations. But apparently not all were the same. This small thing was willing to do anything to keep her identity secret and her life intact. She also had very attractive breasts.

A little tired of her breasts being the main event for the Prince, she decided to end the battle. The truth was that she had never fought with someone stronger than her. So this time, she had to use her energy to send the Prince flying a few meters. Using the surprise to her advantage she decided to leave and put enough distance between her and the pervert. Accessing her energy to run more quickly than the previous time, she sped away. After all, she didn't want to see the demon even if they paid her a thousand gold coins.

However, she couldn't prevent worrying about lands of the South. She thought she had managed to pass the message, or at the very plant some doubts, and hopefully this would stop the advance of the army of Lord Hisoka. If so, a great war would be avoided and the Treaty could be re-established. If that happened, her country's economy would greatly improve. The next step would be to get rid of the malicious Ministers in the court. That way she would be able to create another nation as powerful as the West. One she could protect better.

***

Sesshoumaru was still looking at the tree against which the little Ninja had been minutes earlier. It seemed she was fast and strong enough to fight him and get out alive. But his mind was still looking at her white, firm breasts. He imagined what it would be like to suck one of the pink nipples and how her melodious voice full of desire would sound. He could almost taste the sweetness of her skin and imagined licking the small open flower tattooed over her heart.

He was not the kind of demon who got like that just because he saw a very exquisite part of a female. So he blamed it on the fact that he hadn't held something of the opposite sex for some time. Perhaps later he should visit one of the concubines and remedy the little problem the ninja had created. But it would have to wait so he shook his head in a try to clear his mind and went to his office to see if the little thief had taken something else.

Thinking seriously about the situation all indicated that another problem had appeared. On one hand, they could not leave the South to continue with the attack. It would only tire the troops even if it was evident that the West would win. Also, they were constantly under attack by the North. Since the previous Lord had been overthrown, the northerners had become obsessed with the conquest of the Islands and he was not expecting them to stop when they found out the West was being attacked since they had spent two hundred years trying to dethrone the Dog General. And surely the Eastern Lord would also get involved. He didn't want to think of the consequences if the other three kingdoms attacked them at once. And there was something else that intrigued him, the part the ninja played in all this. Perhaps she was interested in helping the West, and if so, maybe she was willing to help in other ways.

Just as he came to his office he found his general waiting for him. He sat behind his bureau and began to inspect the documents.

“Speak,” he ordered.

“My Lord,” the awaiting demon kneeled on the floor in front of his Prince. The movement made his silver hair fall all around him, “the troops on the eastern border have sent a message describing strange occurrences in recent months. According to them, there has been more movement than usual in the area where the East, South and West meet. They have heard unknown noises, large groups of people armed to meet in the middle of the night and even whispered conversations in which sometimes the West is mentioned.” He paused before he continued with the report getting to the most important part. “They had thought that it was group of bandits who planned to lay waste to border towns until recently, when the numbers have dramatically increased.” Sesshoumaru’s eyes moved from the paper he had been looking at to pay full attention to the general. Somehow, he felt he wasn’t going to like what was coming next. “They sent a spy in hopes of gaining some information, but the place was unreachable. It was protected by a barrier and patrol groups. After our spy found his way in, no information has been heard from him.”

“It is very suspicious. Could it possibly be an army?” He said carefully. He hadn’t actually believed the ninja but had taken into consideration the possibility. Now he thought the ninja was right to steal the message. The report from the soldiers in the frontier seemed to confirm the story she had told him.

“An army? Who would dare attack the West? I could only think of the North demon,” hurried to say Katsuro a little alarmed by the idea.

“I have just spoken with a spy. She said the South had planned to attack. I didn't take her seriously until you brought this report to my attention,” he said while replaying the conversation with the ninja.

“She?” The general whispered, his blue eyes wide hardly believing he was hearing right. “Are you serious Prince Sesshoumaru? A woman came to tell you that the south was going to attack us?”

“Yes, Katsuro, a woman. But who informed us doesn't matter. What really matters is how we use the information.” Sesshoumaru took a minute to consider his next plan of action. It was obvious that everyone should be informed. “Apparently she knew of what spoke and that is enough for me,” he added as an afterthought. “Go and tell Father of what we've discovered.”

Katsuro was a bit baffled by the attitude of his master. Never in his life had Sesshoumaru accepted something from a female so freely. For him, what females did, required something in return. According to Sesshoumaru they only wanted his title, power and money. The prince had it all, even the looks, and he learned the hard way that that was something none of the females he had met deserved to have. But something made this woman seem different, and if his Lord saw it, then it had to be something, because he also believed that females only served for one thing, and that was not sending messages.

Deciding it was time to follow orders, he rose from the cushion and went towards the door, which opened to make way for the very person he was sent to find. The lord of the castle entered with his youngest son in arms. The baby was just a few months old. The half-demon pup had inherited the white hair very similar to his father and brother, and also the golden eye color only belonging to the Crescent Moon Clan.

“Sesshoumaru, did you catch her?” the Lord smiled a little excited with his son's experience. He had met few females with the spunk the little thief had and he thought that she would be good for his stick-in-the-mud son.

“Who, Father?” The prince inquired in spite of knowing who his father was referring to.

“The little thief that broke into your office and who you followed, of course,” answered Toga as if speaking about the weather.

“Oh, her? She just came to leave a message, nothing more,” he said ending the upcoming questions about the woman. “More important, Father, I received a somewhat strange report from the border and a notice of an attack planned by the South. Is there any chance of that happening?” Sesshoumaru asked. “If so, we must prepare to negotiate; we know that if we don't, a simultaneous attack from the other lands would be ensured.”

“I see. So the old Hisoka has decided to do something in regard of his situation. It's absurd of him to think he could take us by surprise or even conquer the West. I wonder who is manipulating him now,” added Toga absent mindedly.

“Father, you already knew the South going to attack!?” Sesshoumaru accused thinking it strange that his father had done nothing to prepare against it. If his father had known, that was withholding vital information that could have cost the lives of thousands of unprepared civilians and soldiers.

“Silence!” Toga ordered his wayward boy. Sesshoumaru had no idea of how little choice he had in that matter. This time around, whoever was manipulating the Southern Lord was smarter than many others and it had greater goals as well. “Some rumors reached my ears so I decided to send someone I trusted to investigate. Soon all seemed to be true, but all we had was word of mouth and nothing concrete to convince the Council that it was necessary to prepare for war. Besides, the council members are very concerned with the North and would not have paid attention to my demands until it was too late. It seems that the spy has found it very difficult to get to the source of the recruitment or the camp. He has never failed me before and he has been working for several centuries as an informant. Which brings me to the little thief. I wonder who her sources are to have access to that kind of information,” he added.

“That I wonder myself,” was Sesshoumaru's disinterested response.

Toga smiled. It seemed that the little thief had drawn the attention of his eldest son. The façade he showed confirmed his suspicions. He was not to be misled by his son indifferent response, he knew him too well and his thoughts were most likely circling around her. He liked the little thief since not many men dared to enter the premises without an invitation and she did it rather easily. She seemed strong, smart, determined, and something he valued a lot, feisty. He turned toward the door ready to leave. There were many things to take care of.

“Katsuro send a message to Hisoka. Tell him to withdraw his army, or he will feel the wrath of the western soldiers on his lands. Also, inform him that Sesshoumaru will visit in a week to re-establish the Treaty and to ensure that he is not a threat,” said the Dog General while opening the sliding door. “And call the Council into session, will you? I want them in the Conference room in half an hour.” He closed the door behind him not waiting to hear the general’s answer, and headed for his lover’s palace to leave the small bundle he carried. However, Toga couldn’t shake a feeling of dread. Something was different this time around. There was a greater plan at play here. He just had to find out what.

***

The female ran from where the Heir to the West was as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't dare look behind her to find out if he followed her or not. Actually, she feared he wouldn't let her go, therefore she hasten the step more than once. She was going so fast that she arrived at the border between the two lands in an hour. Breathing with difficulty, she stopped to listen to the sounds of the night. ‘It seems like he didn't follow me,’ she thought. Letting her guard down, she relaxed.

The way the demon had looked at her was embarrassing and inadequate of his position. Nothing like the rumors said. Despite the coldness that existed in his golden eyes, there was also a hidden fervor inside them. It was like a firestorm waiting to be unleashed in the world, and remembering that that burning gaze had been on her for less than a minute made the hair on her neck stand on end. She was still blushing under her mask, and tremors went up and down her spine. Perhaps she should be more careful when she saw Sesshoumaru again because, although she didn't like it, there was a huge chance she would see more of him in the coming months.

She shivered. The night was cold, indicating that it was late. However, she still had enough time to reach the Southern Capital where her followers waited for her. It was good she wasn't in a hurry to get there. Although she needed to give new orders and give a detail account of the events of that night, it could wait a little longer. She was exhausted since she had spent too much energy and needed to rest if she wanted to arrive safely.

She stopped in a clearing and went to lie against a tree. Placed a barrier around herself to stop any curious creature from coming too close and closed her eyes.

***

Sesshoumaru sat next to his father and in front of the Council members that looked expectant at their Lord. He looked at every person in the room and tried, for the eleventh time, not to lose patience. They had been discussing several problems that could be solved in the blink of an eye. But the Council, as always, was slow in its decision. He wondered why he had to listen to these elderly people talk for hours when his father could make a better, faster decision.

Finally the important issue was to be discussed the possibility of war and an unknown entity behind it. Sesshoumaru was not concerned with the Southern Lord much, because the female demon had mentioned the possibility of someone manipulating Hisoka and that worried him more. Although he did not know much about her, she was showing she could be trusted. Also his father had mentioned something similar, and if he had learned something, was that his father was right most of the time. If someone was behind the incident, then he wanted to know who he was, why he did it and what he planned to do. And since all started in the South, that would be the perfect place to continue the search and the small ninja could help him.

“What do we do? Most of our army is defending the northern border against the dragon demon,” said a fat bull demon. The man was a coward and Sesshoumaru had to ask again why his father listened to these people to do what was best for the lands.

“We still have enough soldiers to resolve the problem, and the armies of the Dragon are withdrawing as we speak. It was the best they could do after we massacred his troops. Also, a message has already been sent to the Southern Lord in which we requested the withdrawal of his army. If they don't heed the warning then we'll declare war,” said Katsuro.

“So fast?” Kaoru exclaimed. She was the only female demon who was part of the Council. He had to admit that the old hag was cunning and she knew what she was talking about. If she believed that the decision was taken too fast was because the Council's opinion had not been taken into account.

“We couldn't leave it as it was. While we could take our time to come up with a solution, the situation could become more dangerous,” said Katsuro thinking ‘duh, old hag. The council shouldn't intervene in everything. You are not as necessary as you want to believe.’

“What is the awaited response, Lord Toga?” asked another demon to his left. This was a water elemental, if Sesshoumaru wasn't mistaken, that had served many years under his father and had more experience than he appeared to have. He believed his name was Tomoya.

“I'm hoping that he will accept my request,” said the Lord.

“And what would that be?” the elemental asked noticing the evasive answer. Sesshoumaru didn't like his boldness. No one had the right to inquire in the affairs of his father, even to him had been denied an answer regarding some matters. But knew he couldn't go against them so he had to stay quiet.

“I asked the withdrawal of his army and an audience with him in his lands,” the Dog General said preparing himself to hear the protests that were sure to follow.

“But, Lord Toga, they could kill you. It's too dangerous. There is no hope to obtain something in enemy territory,” yelped the bull demon from before.

“Yoshiki, it's not me who is going. It's Sesshoumaru,” answered the Western Lord with calm.

“But your Majesty, he’s your heir. You cannot send him to a place where he could be killed,” added once again the same demon. “It has to be another Ambassador, but not the Crown Prince.”

“It's too late for that. The message has already been sent and it can't nor will be changed. In addition, Sesshoumaru is my son. He won't fall easily. Or perhaps you doubt my word?” The Dog General asked in a threatening tone.

“No, of course not, but...” stuttered Yoshiki seeing himself in a somewhat dangerous situation for his fat well-being.

“Leave it already,” argued Tomoya in favor of Toga. “Our Lord, as always, is right. If we change the Ambassador they'll think we fear them and might believe themselves to be some kind of threat to our livelihood if we don't send Sesshoumaru. It could also give them a false courage and decide not to sign the new Treaty. Most likely, they would send us the corpses of the Ambassador and the guards accompanying him if we sent other than his Majesty. The authority of our Lord would be put in doubt and the last thing we need is to look weak.”

“I also think that it would be good for Sesshoumaru,” hasten to add the old hag. “He should take this as a test.”

“It's been decided, then,” Toga rose from his seat. “Sesshoumaru will go and discover why Hisoka is threatening my land when we have a treaty,” turning around, he left the council room. Others, taking his departure as dismissal, also left, muttering about the departure of their future Lord to a rival region.

***

She arrived at the forest surrounding the Southern Castle two hours later jumping from tree to tree. As planned, several demons waited for her. She could hardly perceive their presence but it was there, hidden among the annoying chirping of crickets. If she was not mistaken, the energy signature was from Shinju and Takara. She almost smiled. When Shinju saw how she looked she would freak out and soothing the elemental demon was not a feat that many were able to finish with the ego intact. The redhead had been in the castle for a long time and had become a simple maid unnecessarily worried for the welfare of those above her. But there wasn't much that could be done, since it had become a tradition of the group. However, and many thanks to the Gods above, Takara was there to distract the woman from worrying about unimportant things. Her calm behavior and mischievous nature made Shinju's patience reach its limit, and thanks to that, she forgot about the people around her.

The ninja landed between the two women that didn't look surprised to see her appear out of nowhere. After all, their job was to know who was where in their vicinity because if they were discovered and killed, it would cause havoc in their plans, and that was not an option. She belonged to the largest network of information in the Islands and was the head of the best spies in the world. Certainly, she could not afford to be negligent. She had inherited the title from Kaede, the woman who saved her and taught her all there was to know about espionage, combat, cryptography, cryptanalysis and much more. It was a pity that the woman had only been mortal and died, but she had lived her life as she wanted to.

When she straightened herself, her followers saw the ripped shirt. Shinju's eyes grew as round as plates and Takara just raised an eyebrow as if asking ‘what is that?’ They were quite predictable.

“Calm down Shinju. I'm not injured, it's only the shirt,” she said in an exasperated whisper.

“What happened?” Takara asked in apparent calm while Shinju approached her carefully to see if there was some damage and the ninja was hiding it.

“It doesn't matter. There are more important things to attend to. Where is Masami? I would like to know if she has any news. If there army is going to attack we have to be prepared,” she said. Masami was one of the few women who were in the army, not as a warrior but as a nurse. The people of these lands were very sexist. They didn't allow women to lift a finger to defend themselves. Obedient to their husbands and birthing children was what was expected of the female species. In her opinion that was a huge mistake. One never knew when self-defense would come in handy, especially when it came to defend oneself from a spouse.

“Well, how did it go with Frosty?” Takara asked in a mocking tone.

“Not as well as I had expected or wanted. When you said that he was a little proud I never thought that it was an extreme case of arrogance. The damned Heir attacked me as soon as I refused to show him my face,” the ninja said a little angry. Calming herself down, she added. “It doesn't matter. All I know is that I could live without an asshole like that walking the earth. Talking of more important things, I want Miyako to follow one of the Lord's advisors. A few days ago he disappeared for a long time before coming out of nowhere.”

“What for? We know he does it often. I think it's a waste of time following Master Hideaki,” said Takara.

“Well, it is not Takara. You're right that he has disappeared a few times from the Palace, but never for too long or too often. There is something about it that I don't like and I want to find out what he's planning,” thinking about something, the ninja looked strangely at Takara, like she had just discovered something nobody else knew.

Takara changed feet in nervousness and fidgeted under her boss's insistent gaze. The friendly exchange lasted only seconds.

“What?” She asked unable to take it anymore. Her boss was giving her the famous glance that made everyone a bit uncomfortable.

“Nothing. Just that I didn't know you liked cats, you know, being a dog and all. I thought pups didn't get along with kittens, but if you are calling him Master Hideaki then I got the information wrong,” she told the golden eyed demon. Her eyes were very similar to Sesshoumaru's.

This one groaned. She didn't like the idea of being friendly with cats, but stranger things had happened in the world and she was proof of that, since she was the daughter of a fox and a dog, which, as was well known, didn't get along either.

“I don't like Master Hideaki. As you said, he is a cat and don't get along with them. I just call him like that because everybody else does,” answered the mixed demon trying not to give importance to the issue. However, in her voice the longing was palpable.

“Takara, you know you shouldn't be too hopeful. I know that you like him but we've proven that the guy is no good for you or anyone,” said Shinju in a motherly tone.

“I know, I really know that,” she said a little desperate.

“It's good you know. Regardless, we’ll always be here for you, no matter what,” the ninja assured her. To her, they were her real family, her sisters. “Changing the topic, where is that crazy Dragon? I heard she arrived today.”

“Miyako was still for a few minutes before you arrived, but it didn't last long. She said she had seen something strange in the palace and went to investigate,” informed Shinju.

“Tell her to see me in the morning if it's something important, I'm tired and I would like to lie for a few hours,” said the ninja.

With a mutual ‘hm’, Takara and Shinju disappeared from the clearing leaving it as if they had never been there. They planned to rest for the night since there was nothing else to do. It was something they loved but hardly had time for with all the spying.

The mysterious ninja half turned and also disappeared into the night without a trace.