Twelve Lords

by Max Jager

  Looking over at his mother as she paled and tensed, Kiyoshi sighed. "Unlike with me, where no proof was shown that those loyal to Kenji and Shinra had nothing to do with my grandparents murder, there is nothing like that h ere. Motoichi has not done anything to me personally and even Chiren and Soichiro said that Kado got his orders straight from Reijiro. You just have to trust me mother."

  With a sigh as she looked down at the sleeping baby, Sorae let out a long sigh as she nodded. He would be with her and Kurosai when it was time to eat anyway and safe. "I will."

  Nodding to his mother he then looked down at Yokiyo as Umarus came up to her and the kids fell from the tree. "Go on now." He then watched as Yokiyo, his mother and the rest of the women out there except Imae followed along. Umarus, Yoite, Kamui and Senri going with them as well.

  Turning to look at everyone else as his father and Shone joined him, Kiyoshi glared. "Father and Shone are coming with time. The rest of you go with the others." When he got nods as the rest made their way inside, he turned and growled at the gate. "Tonight he will be eating with us. I hate the fact but I have explained why already."

  Crossing his arms as he nodded, Kurosai growled. "I know son. It will give you a chance to get a good measure on him as well."

  "Indeed. Let's go." As they reached the gate, Kiyoshi openly growled as he made eye contact with the leopard. He already hated him. "You are?"

  Giving a low respectful bow with a polite smile, Shoji closed his eyes. "Lord Kiyoshi. My name is Shoji. I am a noble that was sent here to be present when you present your heir." He then stood with a smile as he laughed. "I have heard much from Lord Soichiro about the good food that the South has had. Might I be in time for the evening meal?"

  Growling as the three turned away from him and headed back toward the palace, Kiyoshi closed his eyes. "Just in time actually."

  X

  After taking Katana to Sorae, who was joined of course by Kurosai, but also Emiko, Nyoko, Yuriko, Isamu, Senri, Zokeni, Yukani, Kamui and Yoite, Yokiyo now found herself headed toward the dining hall with her head high as she held her daughter's hand.

  Walking into the room as everyone turned to her, she gave a small bow as she looked right at Shoji as she stood up, the glare in her eyes contrast to the sweet smile. "You are Shoji I presume?"

  Nodding as he half glared at her, Shoji closed his eyes. "Yes. I was sent by Lord Motoichi for the presentation." But then he snarled as he looked down at Soichiro and Chiren who came in just before she did. "I would like to know though what you and your poor excuse of a mate and cubs are doing here Soichiro?"

  Growling as he looked back at her, Yokiyo had Kiara before her. "I am Lady Yokiyo, and this is my daughter. Lady Kiara."

  Looking back at the miko, then down to the pup before her, Shoji went wide eyed. As she moved and sat her right next to her at the table, he just couldn't take her eyes off the pup. She was clearly a demon, but it was also so clear that the miko was her mother as well. He had no idea how that could have happened! And now that he thought about it, he hadn't smelled a half demon at all. But surely this couldn't be who he was presenting as his heir.

  Growling and pulling the leopards eyes to him as he jumped, Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes. "There is a reason why you are starring at my daughter like that Shoji?"

  With a forced smile, Shoji still had a rather shocked expression on his face as he tried to figure out what to say. "I mean no harm by it My Lord. It is just amazing. A human for a mother, and a demon for a father. I just can't fathom why she was born demon and not a half demon. It is just an amazing feat to me."

  With the same cold mask that her father had at the moment, Kiara glared up at Shoji as she took a deep breath. He was really going to try and kill her brother, and maybe herself and Imae. He was the one that was going to start the war, so she didn't see any reason why she shouldn't be a smart elic to him. She knew for sure that her parents wouldn't be cross with her over him. "No Shoji. It is not amazing. Or a miracle. Or anything else that you can think of to say that it is. It is merely fact. My father is a demon, my mother is a miko. But she is a miko that is powerful enough to birth a demon for a child. It is nothing but a fact of life."

  Pride radiated off of Yokiyo as she smiled down at her pup. And she wasn't going to tell her not to do this, nor was Kiyoshi she could feel his pride in her as well. Just like the other night with Isamu, she can get under anyone's skin with her words alone. That was just one of the many weapons that she had.

  Forcing a smile as he tried to hide the glare in his eyes for the pup, Shoji waited a moment as he mulled over his words carefully. He did not want to say the wrong thing and die before his plan could be set into motion that would take out her brother and m other as well. Finally he sighed as he closed his eyes. "That is correct My Lady. It is a fact. However the fact is that you were birthed by a human either way it goes. So though you have the aura of a pure demon, your blood is still just as tainted and no better than a half demon would be."

  Chiren never liked this noble. He was loud, rude and always tried to cause trouble and a total suck up. "Watch your mouth Shoji. Acting the way you do in the North here, it will end in your head rolling."

  His glare hardening, and an evil hate in his eyes, Shoji turned to the cub and made eye contact with him. He was right next to the little witch. "You Chiren. You and your family are nothing but traitors. Lord Reijiro was right to not trust you or your father. I am also sure that he and Lord Motoichi would very much like to know where you are at when I return home."

  Growling at him, ready to keep this going, Chiren then stopped when he smelled Imae coming. Sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed he closed his eyes. "If that is how you feel then so be it Shoji. However, I would still watch your mouth with speaking to Lady Kiara. And I do not mean the fact that her parents are sitting right in front of you either."

  With his head falling to the side, Shoji gave him a very odd look. He knew that he could only go so far when it came o the pup or her mother before Kiyoshi would take his head off. But other than he, he had no clue who else he should be leery of. "And just who am I supposed to look out for Chiren? You. That would be funny. You can't beat me and you know it."

  Rolling her eyes as she kept her face down at her food, Kiara sighed. "He is talking about my older sister. Lady Imae."

  "Lady Imae?" Thinking for a moment then letting it sink in he blinked as he kept his eyes on the pup. "You mean the human your parents adopted? Why would I have to worry about her little one? It is not like she can defeat a demon lord you know."

  With a smile and a glare at the same time, Kiara looked up at him as she laid her chopsticks down. But what she was about to say is the truth. And sometimes like her mother says, the truth hurts. "You would do well not to underestimate my sister. She is after all a human that has been trained by the best of the best demon lords Shoji. And besides. Even if she fought you, we would not know if she could fight against a demon lord or not anyway. You are a demon lord after all."

  Not hiding his glare this time, Shoji let a small growl out as he kept eye contact with the pup. "Excuse me? I happen to be a noble of the Northern Court. That makes me a demon lord."

  Shaking her head side to side as she sighed and put her father's mask back in place, Kiara then glared back at him. "It is just another fact of life Shoji. Demon Lord is a title that is given to the Lord of each land and their family. Their mate's, children, their mate's and children and so on down that blood line are demon lords. It is a blood birth right. Just because you are a noble of the Northern Court does not mean that you are a demon lord. You do not come from the same blood line as Lord Chiren does. They are demon lords, you have no right to lay claim to that title not coming from their bloodline."

  Soichiro growled seeing it in Shoji's eyes, he was working up and gearing up for a rant. "She is right and you know it Shoji." Narrowing his eyes as Shoji turned to him. "You lose your head about what she said, and your head may really roll."

&n
bsp; Growling as his eyes narrowed, Shoji was tired of hearing about this! "Not by the human they adopted! No way in hell could a human woman beat me."

  A rumbling growl so loud it vibrated the table, Kiyoshi let his eyes bleed slightly as Shoji turned back to him. "That human as you say is my daughter Shoji. You would do well not to forget about that."

  "I am sorry Lord Kiyoshi."

  Closing his eyes as he took a deep breath, Kiyoshi turned his face away from him. "So tell me then. What do you know about Kado attacking to try and kill my children three nights ago Shoji?"

  "Kado was here?" Doing his absolute best to play shocked, Shoji blinked. He had hoped that Kado would have gotten at least one of them. But seeing who all was here and would have been here when he and his men showed up, it was no wonder he lost. "I have not the slightest clue about that. I am here on orders of Lord Motoichi. Kado takes his orders directly from Lord Reijiro and I do not know if he had any other plans. Though you speak in past tense so he must have been defeated. He should have known better than to try such a thing with you and your mate so close to them."

  A glare on her face, Kiara growled as she met his eyes. She knew that her parents were looking at her but right now she didn't care. "My parents were not the ones who defeated Kado. It was my older sister who killed him when he tried to kill me and my brother."

  With a sigh and a smug smile, Shoji leaned back in his seat. "I am sure that you want your sister to be a hero to you little one. But there is no way that a mere human could best Kado. The training that he received to be Lord Reijiro's head guard was far too intense for a human girl to beat him. It just isn't possible."

  Smiling as he looked up at him, Chiren laughed. "It happened Shoji I watched it happen. He though the same as you, she was a human woman and he was a demon. The head of Reijiro's guard. He underestimated her and it ended in his death, in a rather painful way."

  Snarling at him, Shoji pointed at the cub's face. "I told you cub. There is no way that a human no matter who she is could have touched him let alone kill him. No way in hell!"

  Hearing the end of what the leopard said as she opened the door, Imae looked over with wide eyes. The glares on her sister's and father's faces. The annoyance in her mother's eyes. He really was pushing it. Silently she moved to stand behind him and let a hand fall on one of her katanas. "Would you like for me to demonstrate the power I used to kill the fool who tried to kill my brother and sister?"

  Jumping with a start to find the human in question, Shoji got to his feet as he looked down into her face. Growling as he glared and crossed his arms. "You may have some moves and know what demons can do. But compared to him and the training he had, you wouldn't be able to beat your way through a paper house. The only thing that keeps you here and alive I am sure is the claim from Lord Kiyoshi that you are his eldest pup."

  When she didn't move but smiled a rather sweet smile, with a look of intent to kill in her eyes, he wanted to rage. She didn't even flinch at what he said. So he would hit bellow the belt with her. Smiling as he let his head fall to the side, Shoji let his eyes trail her body. "Or perhaps there is something different keeping you here? Perhaps your talents lay elsewhere. I would very much like to experience that and more for myself tonight if you wouldn't mind."

  On his feet Kiyoshi growled as he started to make his way toward the noble. He wasn't about to take that sort on an insult on his pup and not do anything about it. But he took one step from the table and stopped when the purification hit his nose as Kiara growled. Looking at his youngest daughter he had wide eyes. She was glowing purple. The sensations sending all the other demons jumping from the table as they turned to stare at her. And yet the sensation didn't bother him at all. Looking up at Shoji, he was pleased to see him struggling not to run and squirming.

  With his shocked eyes back looking at hers Kiara growled as she let her fangs show. "I would not continue with that insult. By blood or not she is my sister and I won't let you say things like that to her."

  With his eyes wide and filled with mix of pure wonder and terror, Shoji couldn't move at all. She was a demon! How could she use the same pure purification that a miko could! It was clear that she would have gotten it from her mother, but using it, she should have killed herself instantly. 'This is bad. This is really bad. She has to die along with her brother. She can't be allowed to chance living.' He started to force himself to sit down and hissed as he went back to his feet as a much stronger purification from behind him causing even more pain. Turning he looked at the human they adopted glowing blue! 'She is one too! What the hell is wrong with him he does have a death wish!'

  Forcing himself to sit down as he dropped his head, Shoji wasn't about to say anything else. He wasn't going to risk his life like that. His job was simple and he would live through it. There was no reason to take any extra chances and risk screwing that up. 'I am no fool after all. But all four of them have to die. Just in case.'

  Smiling as he sat down, Imae let her aura fade and then snapped her fingers bringing Kiara's attention to her as her purification vanished and smiled at her. She then turned and went to her father and leaned down by his ear, speaking so that only he would hear her. "Master Umarus said to tell you that he got the report. Reijiro is outside the palace walls on the right side. And has at the very least ten dozen men. Could be more."

  With a nod, Kiyoshi watched as his eldest stood and rushed from the room to go back to her brother. He then let his eyes land on Shoji as he fought not to rip his head off. He knew what was going on and he couldn't do anything to him because of it. 'Damnit. He dies first tomorrow. Then Reijiro.'

  Feeling the pure rage from Kiyoshi, Yokiyo sighed. He was as angry as she was, and figured it had to do with what Shoji was doing, and Imae probably told him that Reijiro was spotted. With a smile she stood and smiled down at her mate. "My Lord I do believe that it is time for Kiara and I to retire for the night." She then turned and gave a glare for Shoji, then a smile to the rest of the Lords before she took her daughter's hands and headed for the door. Once she was out she heard it open again and she and Yoite turned to find Chiren standing there. "Chiren what are you doing?"

  A slight bow, Chiren smiled. "I know just how cunning they really are and I wouldn't put anything past them. I will escort you back to your son along with Master Yoite."

  Smiling as she turned and lead the way on down the hall, Yokiyo winked at him. "Well thank you very much."

  Once she reached their bedroom where everyone else was, Yokiyo went to Takara who now held her son and pulled him into her arms. Laughing as he giggled and reached his hand up toward his face. "That's my little boy." But then looked over at Kiara as she went to stand with Imae. "And you Kiara when did you learn to snap your aura like that? You only figured out you had powers three days ago."

  With a true smile, Kiara looked up at her big sister as she nodded. "Imae started teaching me at night the very next one."

  With a laugh as she tossed her sister's hair, Imae nodded as she looked up at her mother. "I did. She can do it, and I didn't want her to be caught by chance without one of the three of us so it is something that can keep her safe until we get there. She knows how to snap it and make a barrier."

  Pulling another round of giggles from her son Yokiyo smiled as she rubbed her nose on his. "I don't mind that you taught her Imae. After all this is said and done I was going to start training her in the basics anyway. It just amazed me that she knew how to do it so fast."

  Looking around the room, Ayame was the only one who wasn't nodding in agreement as they looked at the pup, and was at a total loss right now. Holding her hand up as she blinked and looked at Yokiyo she let her head fall to the side. "I don't mean to be blunt but did I miss something? What exactly can she do now that you didn't know about five days ago."

  Turning to the bird with a smile, Imae winked at her as she crossed her arms. "Kiara can use purification. Just like me and Mama."

  Blinking as she looked at the pup, a week ago s
he would have called her a liar. That there was no way that a demon can use purification. But then again a week ago she would have sworn that a human was not capable of birthing a demon, and yet Yokiyo did not once but twice. So she wasn't going to rule that out. After a moment she let out a groan as she her head fell into her hands. "Will there ever be a normal day around this place?"

  Now standing side by side with Yoite, Takara smiled as he crossed his arms. "Lady Ayame, I would gather that it would be safe to say that this is the new normal of the Southern Palace."

  His own smile as he watched the two pups, Yoite nodded in agreement. "I agree. Anyone who comes to this palace to work, mates into it, or just to visit is going to be in for one wild ride."

  Joining everyone in laughing as Ayame let out another groan and fell sideways on the bed, Yokiyo then turned to Chiren and winked at him. "So Chiren. What do you think of the new pack of the Southern Lands? Since this is your first time here, I am interested to know what our first impression is."

  With a smile and a small laugh, Chiren closed his eyes as he rubbed the back of his head. "I must say that this is a unique pack for sure. But from what I have seen so far, not only is the palace itself always active, but with the right guidance for them, I would pity the fool who riles this packs anger."