Twelve Lords

by Max Jager

  With a half-smile and a small laugh, Yokiyo closed her eyes as she sighed. "What you really mean by that is if we met outside of the palace would I act first and try to kill you first?"

  "Exactly."

  "I wouldn't." Taking a deep breath as she sighed, Yokiyo let her head fall back as Takara washed the longer part of her hair. "I am sure you realize by now that I am not your typical miko. Unless provoked I will not just kill because I can. If they attack me, they are fair game. If they are actively attacking humans they are fair game. If they aren't doing either, then I will just leave them alone."

  Smiling as she gave a nod, Takara laughed as she rinsed her hair. "That is good. I do hope that we see each other again after this. As friends. Right now let's get you all washed up and then I will help you back to your room My Lady."

  With a smile, Yokiyo had to laugh. She hadn't had anyone wash her hair like this since she was five. And ironically enough she actually enjoyed it. The rest of her bath was very fast and before she knew it she was done, out of the spring and back in her room with a hot cup of tea thanks to Takara.

  Looking out the window as a single tear fell from each of her eyes she let out a long sigh. "Where are you at Senri? I wish that I knew if you were dead or alive right now. I could sure use some help with this damn situation that I am in. Damn you why did you have to leave me like that?"

  Groaning with an annoyed sigh, she whipped her tears away as she rolled her eyes. Scooting down in the bed she rolled so that her back was facing the window as she let her eyes drift shut as sleep started to claim her. "I really hate you right now Senri." As sleep claimed her flashes of her family flew through her eyes. She had never really thought about them as much as she has since she got here. And she didn't understand why now of all times.

  The Priestess and The Demon Chapter 61

  Having obviously been hurt worse than she thought she had, another week has gone by and now Yokiyo was finally able to move around her room without feeling like she was going to pass out. Now that she could do that, this was going to be her very last day and night there in that palace. She couldn't say that she wouldn't miss Imae. But to be away from that damned arrogant bastard. A giggle bellow, she looked down to see Imae and Yoite racing through the gardens. 'I still don't get why that sweet child looks up to him like she does. I just hope she is okay staying here. I can't wait till I can leave.'

  Hearing the knock on the door she turned as she glared at the door. "Come in."

  Walking in Kiyoshi growled at her glare as he stopped a few feet in the door. "You wanted to see me miko?"

  Taking a deep breath she nodded. "I did. I can finally move around this room for more than a few moments and not feel like I am going to pass out. I will be leaving tonight. When dawn comes I will be long gone."

  "Good."

  Turning back around to look down at Imae she sighed. "I want to tell Imae goodbye tonight though. I won't tell her the full truth about not being able to stand being near you. But what I am going to tell her isn't a total lie either."

  His eyes hardening as he growled, Kiyoshi was elated to hear that she was well enough to leave. But what was she going to tell his daughter. "And what exactly is that going to be?"

  Going to sit on the bed she kept her arms crossed as she closed her eyes. "That I am going to go and look for my brother. It isn't a total lie. He left me seven years ago and I haven't seen or heard from him since."

  "Fine. I guess now is as good a time as any. It will give her time to let it sink in through the day and adjust to the idea." Kiyoshi then turned and opened the door catching a maid as she walked by. "Go to the gardens and have Yoite and Umarus bring my daughter here now."

  "My Lord." But as the maid turned to go the opposite way she saw a strange look on her Lord's face. Everyone has noticed that since the miko started to stay here that he has been acting strange. And this was even more strange. She could have sworn that she saw sadness in his eyes about something.

  X

  Her eyes going wide and instantly full of tears, Imae grabbed onto Yokiyo. She knew that she would be leaving at some point but not this soon! Even though secretly she hoped she would stay forever! "What?! But why?! Why do you have to go so soon?!"

  With a smile as she sighed, Yokiyo reached out and gently whipped her tears from her face. "I know it is sudden honey. I will come back one day and see you. But right now I need to find my brother. That is what I was doing was looking for him the day that I met you."

  Her chocolate eyes turned quickly to her father who stood by the door then back to Yokiyo's dark blue ones. "Please stay just a little longer. I am sure that if you asked him Father would help you find him."

  Trying to fight back her tears herself, Yokiyo shook her head side to side as she kept her smile. "I am sure he would but this is something that I need to do on my own."

  Taking deep breaths as she tried to fight back the tears, Imae wanted to look as grown up as she could right now. But she just wanted to grab her and cry as she begged her not to go. "Will you come back and see me after you find him? Please?"

  Hugging the little as she sighed, Yokiyo felt her heart ache as her arms flew around her neck as she sobbed. "I promise Imae. As soon as I find him I will make him come with me and I will come back to see you again. Alright?" When all she did was nod, Yokiyo sighed as she hugged her a few more moments. 'Oh please don't do this Imae. I have to leave here. I can't stay here with him anymore. I just can't and this is making it so much harder.'

  Looking over to see Kiyoshi nod to him as he walked out of the room, Umarus stepped up behind the miko and Imae. She was still crying but not as hard now. Reaching down he touched her and then scooped her up into his arms as she turned to him from the miko. "Come on now Princess. Let's go and get you some training in and cheer you up."

  Hugging his neck as she hid her face, Imae shook as she tried not to cry anymore, she shook her head side to side. "Can I just please go back to my room for a while Master Umarus? Is that alright?"

  Walking out of the miko's room with Yoite, Umarus sighed as he closed his eyes and rubbed her back. "That is just fine with me dear." Once in her room he lay her down and then nodded to Yoite as he left the room. 'And while you let that out. I am going to go and have a talk with your father.'

  Once her door was shut behind Yoite, Yokiyo let her tears fall as she turned and punched the post of her bed. "Damnit why was that so damned hard?"

  Going to the window she looked up to see the sun just reaching it's highest point in the sky. "Damnit I still have half a day to wait. But I have to leave as soon as she is in bed. If she let those chocolate eyes of hers cry for me one more time I don't think I would be able to leave."

  X

  "Imae."

  Hearing her father come in her room, Imae looked up as even more tears streamed out of her eyes as she flew off her bed and into his arms. "Father can't you please get her to stay longer? Please?"

  Cradling her in his arms, Kiyoshi walked in to her bed and sat down with her on his lap as she shook and clung to him. "Imae we talked about this that day. You knew that as soon as she was healed enough to leave she would be leaving." He then used a finger and made her look up at him. Those swollen and sad chocolate eyes nearly making him cave and give her exactly what she wanted. "You knew this was going to happen. This was why I did the best that I could to limit the amount of time you spent with her the last two weeks."

  Dropping her head again, Imae leaned into his chest as she took a shaky deep breath to stop from crying again. "I know. It is just that…."

  "Just what Imae?"

  With both her little hands fisting in his clothes with everything she had, Imae shook like a leaf blowing in the wind. "It is just that when I went to see her, she didn't treat me like everyone else. It felt like….." Another deep breath and she curled into a smaller ball. "It was almost like she was my Mama."

  Blinking with shocked eyes, Kiyoshi could only look down at her for a moment. Though he wan
ted to growl out of irritation. He limited the amount of time that she spent with the miko and yet she got even more attached than he thought that she did. It was going to be harder for her to adjust and move on, but if she stayed it would make it that much harder if she did leave even in a month.

  But this tiny ball of tears and sobs in his lap that captured his heart before he knew what was going on had an effect on him that even he couldn't explain. He hated this. And if the miko staying would stop this, he would have to learn how to deal with her and she him. "Imae. I will talk to her. But that is all that I can do."

  Gripping him even tighter, Imae nodded as she smiled. "Thank you Papa."

  His eyes going even wider when he heard her call him Papa, Kiyoshi gasped just slightly. She only called him Papa one other time since he met her. The day that he told her that she was going to be with him forever and always as his eldest daughter. She was his pup. Something happened to him inside every time she called him that, something that he couldn't explain.

  Wrapping his arms around her he smiled as he just sat there with her. 'If she ever figures out that Papa makes me break down as fast as her tears do then I will be in big trouble."

  X

  Looking out the window as she waited for night to fully fall, Yokiyo sighed as she hugged herself. She was so torn right now. She knew she had to leave but she couldn't get the image of those chocolate eyes spilling tears over her out of her head. "Damnit. Why do t hose eyes have to get to me like this?"

  "It isn't just you they get to miko. Come with me. I need to talk to you."

  Turning a glare for him, Yokiyo refused to budge as her eyes narrowed at him. "Talk here."

  Reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, Kiyoshi took a deep breath. Even going to ask her to stay there for Imae's sake was annoying him with this attitude she had all the time. "I would prefer that my daughter not hear this conversation. Come."

  Rolling her eyes, Yokiyo followed him out of the room and into the gardens just as the sun started to set. She was ready for him if he started to try to yell at her or force her to do anything. She was leaving so she wasn't going to take anything from him right now. Nothing.

  Once in the gardens, Kiyoshi stopped by one of the koi ponds and sighed as he turned his emotionless mask to the miko. "I will say this only once. I would be willing to stay away from you as much as possible, even though this is my home. If you were to agree to be civil and show respect when we are around each other and my daughter is there if you stay longer."

  Giving him an odd look, Yokiyo wasn't sure what to say or what to think on that one. It was almost like he was asking her to stay longer. Shaking her head she sighed as she rubbed her temples. "You know that almost sounds like you are asking me to stay longer. I thought you wanted me out as soon as I could get out."

  "I do. However it is as you said in your room. Those eyes." Turning his back to her again, Kiyoshi looked up at the moon as he let the smallest of smiles grace his face. "I know you do not see it that way, but I do everything I can now to keep tears out of those chocolate eyes. I thought that she was prepared that you were going to be leaving at the soonest possible time. Apparently she isn't."

  Crossing her own arms and turning her back to him, Yokiyo sighed as she closed her eyes. "You know unless I stay indefinitely it will only hurt her worse if I did leave any later than tonight. And I doubt that either one of us would be able to live in the same place for the rest of my life."

  Going closer to the koi pond when he said nothing she fell to her knees and sighed as she reached out and ran her hand in the water causing shinning ripples as the moonlight caught them. "I just don't want to stay longer and hurt her more than I know she is right now. I don't know it almost feels more like a mother wanting to shield her daughter from as much pain as possible."

  Looking over his shoulder down at the miko, Kiyoshi took a deep breath. He wasn't going to tell her that Imae said the same thing to him earlier that day. "If you wished to stay for her, I will be civil as long as you are. If it is for her sake I can force myself to do it. Even with your defying ways you have."

  Not even looking up at him, Yokiyo let her eyes half close as flashes of her parents and brother smiling flew through her eyes. "You know that you can't really blame me in a way. I told you what happened." With a snort of a laugh, she dropped her head even more. "I always thought before that day that you were a good guy. Mama and Papa always talked about you like you were kind and fair no matter what anyone else said about you. But then that day. I was five years old and watched someone my parents respected fly over and not even look down. You can't really expect me to fawn all over you because of it."

  With a frustrated sigh, Kiyoshi turned and growled slightly as he glared at her. "Even though I didn't have to I explained my actions that day." Taking another deep breath he sighed. "However that is more than once you said that you parents talked about me. Did they…."

  Whipping a stray tear, Yokiyo didn't move from her spot. "Papa came here to the palace one day with Mama to tell you of some demons that were causing trouble near our village. It was before even my brother who is five years older than me was born. He said that you seemed disinterested when he was here, but yet you still did exactly what you told him you were going to do. He always said that in that alone he would take up for you. That regardless of how you feel about humans you at least kept your word. And to Papa that was everything."

  "I see then." Moving to stand right next to her he let out another small sigh as he held his hand out for her to help her stand. "For the sake of my daughter, and your father's memory I am asking you to stay for a while longer. Eventually we will come up with something to let you leave without a torrent of tears as she understands more if you wish."

  Standing on her own, Yokiyo sighed as she looked down at his hand. She didn't want to do this. But knowing how much that little girl was going to cry for her. And having not had a stable place to stay for more than a night or two wasn't a bad offer for her in and of itself. Finally with a sigh she looked up at him with stern eyes. "I can agree to that. Unless it is because Imae throws us together, we avoid each other as much as possible. And only play friends when we are around each other for Imae's sake. That is the jest of it right?"

  "Exactly."

  "I agree to that."

  However both gasped at the jolt that each felt the second that she took his hand to shake it. It was a sensation that scared them both to their core. It was the first time that either had not touched the other out of anger in the past two weeks. Seconds later Yokiyo pulled her hand from his and dropped her head. More like a shy little girl than the outspoken miko that she was. "Well then I guess I am going to be going back to my room now."

  "Right." Turning and leading the way, Kiyoshi had his eyes closed to hide the shock that was in them. That jolt was more like a bolt of lightning shooting through every nerve ending he had in his body. He had never felt anything like that before in his life. The intensity of it is what scared him right now more than anything.

  X

  His green eyes now gleaming in the moonlight, Hachiro smiled broadly as he overheard what the miko and Kiyoshi were saying. He had been watching her and following her wounds. He worried he might not get the chance to do anything before she left! But now she was going to stay longer! He had time to either seduce her or force her. Whichever would work.

  Going back to his room in a separate building for the servants and guards, he lay on his bed and closed his eyes with an evil smile. As he closed his eyes, flashes of Yokiyo flew through his mind. Seeing her beneath him as he mounted her to take her for his mate. Imagining what it would feel like to be inside of her. Taking a deep breath he sighed. "I will have her one day. I will experience that. She will be mine!"

  The Priestess and The Demon Chapter 62

  "Tell me again Father how exactly you are planning to start a war with us verses everyone else? There is no reason for us to be in any other land to get it started right now."


  With a snarl as she stood at her mate's side, Rinako glared at her son. "Reijiro. Do not speak to your father in such a way as that. You should know by now that your father always has a plan for anything and everything that he wants to do."

  With a sigh as he crossed his arms, Motoichi looked up at his son and smiled. "It won't be long now Reijiro. That damned blood pact that my idiot for a father signed into action will be null and void. Once that happens, we won't have to have a reason to be in another land to get anything started. We can just move and be done with it."

  With a growl for his father, Reijiro also crossed his arms. "That is true but have you thought about the fact that Kiyoshi, Shone and Sanzo are all thick as thieves right now? If even one demon got out to take a message to two, I have no doubt that we would barely be finished with one fight and no time to recover before two more bear down on us."