Kiyohime, though knew in advance, still gasped, with a hint of unease in her eyes.
"Hm?" Tsuda poked Haru, getting no answer.
Kiyohime stuttered, "It's… calming tea. Maybe… he was too tired… probably."
Tsuda doubted her. Before she could say more, laughter came from the wall.
"Hehehe… Careless, aren't you, human?" Yumeko stepped out, fanning herself with a smile, but her eyes were sharp like a hunter's.
"Sister!" Kiyohime gasped. "Why did you come out?"
When Tsuda saw her, he immediately recognized her as Shion's captor. Shock, joy, hate, and anger filled him.
He drew his rusty sword, knowing he was no match but standing tall.
"Demon! Where's Shion?" he shouted, his eyes burning with anger.
Yumeko only feared Haru, and with him "down," she relaxed, chuckling, "Oh, that little girl…"
Seeing Tsuda's worry, she smirked, showing sharp teeth. "Her blood… was tasty."
As soon as those words came out Tsuda shook, his sword trembling.
Loving his reaction, Yumeko went on, "But what a shame. Humans are so weak. I just took a little from her, added some herbs, and she… died. So fragile."
She pouted, "I didn't mean to; I'd have been gentler, played with her longer—"
Clang!
The jagged blade scraped her fan, sparks flying, lighting her sneer and Tsuda's dull eyes.
Even weakened, Yumeko outmatched the boy. She blocked his strike easily, faking fear. "Oh my, you scared me… Is this supposed to scare me or make me laugh?"
Tsuda didn't listen, swinging again and again, with his full strength. The recoil numbed his arms but he kept going, pushing past human limits like a machine.
'All openings, no skill. Is he a beginner?' Yumeko thought, unbothered by the strikes.
In this world, the faster and the fiercer the attack, the better. But speed and force alone weren't enough. Without control, it was just wild swinging.
Tired of blocking, she closed her fan and tapped his sword, almost nearly knocking it free from Tsuda's hands. As he stumbled, she hit his chest with her fan.
It looked light, but Tsuda felt a hammer blow making him spit out his blood.
Yumeko stepped on his head, her voice cruel. "Don't worry, I won't kill you fast… I'll 'treat' you well, hehe…"
Unseen, Haru's fingers twitched on the table. He shifted quietly, touching Muramasa's hilt…
"Sister… what are you doing?" Kiyohime asked softly.
She'd watched the fight and felt worried but felt relieved when her sister won. Then she heard her words and grew afraid again.
Yumeko grew impatient at Kiyohime's innocence and snorted. "What? I'm going to restore myself!"
"Sister, I'm injured and have no guards left. I am afraid I wouldn't hold my spot in the Hundred Demons like this. I need strength, and these two are young, full of energy; one's even a sword master. They'll taste good…"
"Eat people?!" Kiyohime was shocked. "Sister, how could you? We never eat humans."
"That was before!" Yumeko snapped. "In this chaos, you die without power. Just training won't get you anywhere."
She grinned, "I used to know only mountain streams, rabbits, and trees. But out there, I found fine clothes, delicious food and beautiful gems. Kiyohime, you haven't seen how great the world is."
Kiyohime smiled sadly, shaking her head. "I've never left, and I don't want to. Living quietly here with loved ones is enough… Sister, you lied again; you never meant to stay."
Yumeko paused. "You saw through me?"
"How could I not?" Kiyohime's smile was faint. "I'm your sister; I guessed from the start but told myself otherwise."
"I'm sorry for using you, but I'm not ungrateful." Yumeko met her eyes. "Come with me to Kyoto. It's a demon-ruled paradise; you'd be so happy!"
"Kyoto?" Kiyohime frowned. "Isn't that the human capital… controlled by some big demon…"
"Ah, you mean Hagoromo Gitsune."
Yumeko beamed. "She did rule Kyoto, but that's old news. Now it's theYellow Springs Hundred Demons!"
…..
Demons differed in power. Weak ones hid in mountains or grouped up. Strong ones roamed alone or took over lands, from rivers and villages to cities or nations. Like Japan's "Sengoku Period," demon territories were a messy tangle.
The fundamental reason was the chaos in human society. Wars, famines, plagues had created bodies and angry spirits, birthing more demons. The old demon order couldn't hold them, so trouble brewed.
Funny enough, demons and humans, sworn enemies, reflected each other in this shifting age…
Originally, the demon world was divided into several big nations. Although there were constant wars, the internal balance was more or less maintained. Then came Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father, the unmatched demon "Toga," leader of the dog demons.
He made the dog demons the west's strongest, became its lord, and started a war to unite all, crushing the eastern leopard cats.
He could've united every demon, becoming the top demon king… but he met Inuyasha's mother, Princess Izayoi.
To save her and their son, Toga fought a tough foe while injured but both died in the end.
His death left a huge gap, nearly breaking his lands apart.
His first wife, Sesshomaru's mother, Lady Inukami, took over. Sesshomaru was grown and could have ruled…
But he turned against his dead father's legacy, wanting to outdo him, and left with his followers.
Without Toga's strength, demons stirred, and Lady Inukami could only hold the west, not stop the unrest.
Toga's gains shrank back to the west's old borders.
When Sesshomaru returned as lord (and, like his father, took a human wife; a young one at that), the age of strife was locked in.
Not just demons; humans too faced dark times, both worlds twisting together, hurting and feeding each other.
Even Sesshomaru couldn't fix two eras alone, choosing to steady things over conquest.
In this gap, new demon groups rose.
Standouts were Kyoto's Hagoromo Gitsune and the Nura Clan's "Hundred Demons Night Parade."
Hagoromo Gitsune, reborn many times with her son Abe no Seimei's help, was strong.
The Nura Clan started small, gathering wild loners and dark rulers under the "Slippery Gourd", building the "Hundred Demons Night Parade."
The Slippery Gourd was a new power, maybe the next "Master of all Monsters, Goblins, and Ghosts."
(Demon kings and Master of all Monsters, Goblins, and Ghosts were like rulers and war chiefs; different kinds of power.)
…..
The Nura Clan's "Hundred Demons Night Parade" was well-known, even reaching Kiyohime's quiet ears, but she knew it as that, not "Yellow Springs Hundred Demons."
Yumeko explained, "Over a hundred years ago, our leader, the Slippery Gourd, led his 'Hundred Demons' to beat Hagoromo Gitsune in Kyoto. With the great onmyoji's aid, they defeated the strongest human protectors, the Keikain family."
"In just a century, under the Slippery Gourd and Lord Yellow Springs, the Nura Clan's 'Hundred Demons Night Parade' became the 'Yellow Springs Hundred Demons'!
I joined twenty years ago, working hard to earn a low spot in the hundred demons…"
"Now, the Yellow Springs Hundred Demons rule from Edo to Kyoto. All the humans there are our food."
Excited, she grabbed Kiyohime's hand. "Kiyohime, I'm alone now. Come with me; I'll look after you!"
Kiyohime looked at her, then smiled. "Sister, you won't tell me the truth, will you? Lying is not good."
She gently pulled her hand free, limped to the door, and gazed at the stars.
"Kyoto… doesn't have stars like these."
Turning back, she smiled softly. "Sister, I want to stay."
"Fine, I won't push you." Yumeko wasn't too upset; she'd seen it coming.
"Whatever. I have the maiden; if I offer her, I might keep my place… Better not wait and kill that swordsman first…" She felt a pull on her leg.
"Hm?"
Tsuda gripped her hem, struggling to stand.
"Oh?" She hid her face with her fan, mocking, "Still moving? Pretty tough for a human… Wonder if you're as hard to eat."
Tsuda looked up, his eyes blank with no anger or despair.
For some reason, Yumeko shivered. 'He's unconscious? No, he's… past anger?'
"Hmph! Humans are humans after all!"
She pulled an iron feather from her fan, flicking it into a two-foot double-edged sword.
She wasn't great up close, but against normal people, it was enough.
"I'd planned to keep you alive for fun… but better end it now!"
Tsuda's strange look unsettled her; she chose to strike.
He was mortal; one stab would do it. Yumeko grinned, imagining the scene of blood splashing on her.
Kiyohime flinched, wanting to stop her but held back by her injury. Haru, on the table, gripped his sword, ready to move.
Then, a dull clang broke everything.
Clang!
Yumeko's strike aimed at Tsuda's neck hit his rusty sword, veering off just in time.
Sparks lit Tsuda's numb face. Then, his blade scraped along the feather, aiming for her wrist!
....
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