Chapter 3: Old Tracks, trail of family

Tenparumaru’s travels had brought him to the edge of the Southern woods; he had been traveling now for several months and had passed through several human villages with small incidents here and there. He seemed to find that humans were very timid creatures and seemed squeamish if any kind of youkai showed up, though he was accepted in good faith after spending about a week at the village; he imagined it helped that he turned raiders back from the village with a single attack that wounded their leader. Though he knew better than to leave it at that, in fact he knew he was being followed by the bandits; though who vowed revenge for their leader’s quick disgrace in a conflict.

Even now Tenparu found that they were trying to wait him out, believing him the need to sleep as commonly as humans; he found them amusing and fools for their believed observation. He rested more often than other daiyoukai but certainly he didn’t require it as they believed, any inuyoukai could go for three days easily without sleep. He found now as one of those times that he’d show it, since he was sitting in front of a fire and showing no signs of weariness; despite staying there for over 5 hours of the early evening and not moving around too much. He just leaned back against a tree and had let the fools think he was tiring or slowing down, in truth he was just shaking his head as he heard rustling further back in the deep bushes; they were thinking to strike at him soon. He decided to listen in on their conversations as they moved in on him.

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“Stupid dog demon, we’re going to skin him alive and show that village what happens when you screw with us. He beat our leader and scared us off with a light show; stupid youkai always playing around with some kind of light shows and think it’s gonna work.” The tallest of the bandits had been speaking the worst kind of trash talk, though whispering it was quite loud to Tenparu.

“I want to cut his hair off and keep the locks to cover my head, maybe I can get the ladies more interested in me that way; stupid bitches are always telling me that my head is a spectacle, apparently I’m a cue bald dome in their eyes.” The remark got a snigger or two from his comrades.

“I just want to gut him last, so he sees it was me; the one he thinks he can scare off in a gesture. We’re going back to the village right after this, we’re going to kill the children and rape the woman. We’re going to pillage and leave them in shambles with little to no survivors and that will be their lesson for believing that we back off from things like that.” Indeed that was the leader speaking out, this furthering the reasons for Tenparu to kill them all where they stood.

Tenparu however wasn’t beyond mercy, he would give them the dignity of attempting to assassinate him, this just before he’d kill them and show them how little a chance they stood against him. He knew already, that their numbers were surprisingly small for a single band of thugs; no more than 7 were here tonight to try to kill him.

“Surprise doggy!” the tallest of the bunch had said, while the rest of his gang had joined him in this attack; surrounding Tenparu on all sides and with the tree at his back, they imagined the kill would be an easy thing.

“No, surprise to you scum; I’ve heard your plans and I am going to send you to hell for your troubles.” The single response that had come from the powerful daiyoukai who simply raised his right hand and brought two fingers together; flicking them down gently, though instantly shooting the whip of light through the tallest of the bandits. The whip of poison light had obliterated him entirely.

“W-what the hell!?!” the bandit leader was more than shocked to have lost a man in a single graceful action performed by this bastard youkai, he drew his sword and had gave a battle cry; though it was ended abruptly with a single gasp of shock.

Though at first it only seemed like the bandit leader had been the one to suffer the damage, he wasn’t the only person who had; as each of his men were frozen solid from the single action of Tenparu’s poison light whip.

“I bid you all a good evening, in your last moment of life remember why you were damned; continuing the ways of hedonism you now only suffered death. Enjoy your stay in hell for the trip will be sound.” He said it idly, gathering his mokomoko-sama over his right shoulder and walking off; leaving the men to fall into pieces. Though the poison also melted their flesh and bone with ease, it showed just how corrosive it was; eating away at what flesh there was left. Though it could be certain that it left nothing remnant left in its wake after destroying them.

Tenparu looked ahead of him, amber orbs paying the moon a good eyeball worth of a look. He found something about this night would be very defining to him as he went on. He was too sure that he would find something to change his very path and without much thought to it, he took off running straight into the fields and away from the woods; not realizing what he was doing until he caught a faint scent on the end of his nose. He sooner realized why he was chasing it and just why he was so excited suddenly within.

“It must be my bloodline with that scent…there is no mistaking it, its mother’s scent…but not exactly. It’s also so close to mine, I can taste it…it must be Onii-san, Lord Sesshoumaru. I wonder what he is doing so far off to the South like this. Perhaps traveling like me for the enrichment of life itself? I doubt such.” He scoffed a little at his own idea, since he remembers well the way his mother described his brother and how he was as a Lord.

He was a proud and cold warrior, he was calm and cunning by nature and unfaltering. He realized that his brother was an accomplished warrior who had utterly mastered his abilities to likely the most basic level; to the simplicity of explaining his attitude towards humans, his mother left it at the fact that he was a proud Inu Daiyoukai Lord. There was nothing more that needed to be said for such darkness incarnate, a cold and ruthless killer who would destroy anything in his path. It seemed well put that he had such powerful blood in his family, though Tenparu counted himself as lucky that he hadn’t ended up the same combination; as many people know that families need people to stir up it up occasionally.

He himself was a testament to that really, of two children that had been birthed by his mother; he was a kinder and far gentler version of his father. While Sesshoumaru seemed to embody the destruction and the desire and need to rule over an area wit justified strength; it simply wasn’t him by nature. He knew it now as he went on, there was a chance his brother might try to kill him; probably just to test his strength if it came up. He imagined that he would have to prove his training had been effective and he had every intention of doing so, he never once planned to face any family in battle; but sighed as he moved on since he realized it would likely come up.

“So be it, if I must prove myself a son of Inu no Taishou, then I will show my prowess in combat; I will be the daiyoukai that many learn the hard way that I am now.” Despite his words of proclamation given to the night sky and any creatures living, he didn’t imagine it would amount to anything until he actually did so by hand.

His nose twitched softly as he passed the carcass of some lesser youkai, smelling the scent of the kill; he could tell that it was his brother, though more importantly he had several companions with him that he didn’t know. All the more exciting would it be for him to find out, which were traveling with such a dangerous Daiyoukai without fear? He would sooner then see he imagined.

(End Chapter)

Hope it wasn’t too lacking for you readers; I just didn’t have a whole lot to get through in this part; not much beyond the fact that he would begin tracking his family. Namely his brothers, with Lord Sesshoumaru as his first target of choice; I intend to make the real action what will happen in the time to come.

Well R&R .