by Max Jager
Blinking as she looked up at her sister, with an odd look. What were they counting on her for? "Counting on me for what Imae?"
Holding up three fingers, Imae laughed as she dropped to her knees to be even with her little sister. "Well the first one is that you take extra good care of Katana. You and Miss Takara know him better than anyone who is going with you guys. So you and Miss Takara are the only ones who can take care of him like Mama would right?"
Nodding Kiara blinked as she glanced up at her brother than to her sister again. "I will do that. Number two?"
Laughing Imae took down one finger so she only held two up. "You also have to make sure that you help Yoite protect him. You may not be able to do anything physically but that brain of yours can work. And we both know that Motoichi is going to most likely send someone after the two of you."
"I know that." Then she smiled as pride shined in her eyes that she was given such a big job. "But Imae what is the third one?"
"Ah that is just as important as the other two. And I know you got it." Imae then dropped her hand and gave her sister a sharp nod.
Blinking, and wanting to know what it was, Kiara took a step closer to her. "What is it Imae?"
Winking at her as she pushed in on Kiara's nose, Imae nodded. "you are going to the West as a daughter of the Southern Lord. Show them all in the West how formidable and relentless the South is. And how we can be just as respectful. You can handle that can't you?"
Her eyes misting over as she smiled, Kiara let go of her parent's clothes and threw her arms around her sister. "I will do what you ask Imae! I will do it all. I promise I won't let you, Mama or Father down!"
Hugging her back with a sweet smile, Imae laughed. "That's my little sister."
Moving so that he stood right behind Kiara, Kiyoshi smiled as he watched his daughters embrace. As she moved from Imae's arms he pulled her eyes to him as he sighed. "Kiara."
Turning to look up at him, and pulling a startled gasp from those that knew her personality best, Kiara jumped from the ground and threw her arms around his neck as she closed her eyes and buried her face in his neck as she held her breath.
Wrapping an arm around her as he closed his own eyes, Kiyoshi sighed as he stood there a moment. He then pulled her from her and sat her down before him as he gave her a stern look. One he knew that Kiara would get. He had a connection with Kiara and Imae that was different. Imae, a simple word or saying her name would get his point across. But Kiara was just a simple look.
Nodding, Kiara then moved to stand with her Uncle Senri as she took a deep breath, and looked up proudly. "Right."
"Good."
Without delaying this even more, Shone turned and lifted his son up onto his back, lifted Kintare in his arms and then they were off. Takara in Yoite's arms holding Katana, Senri with his mate in his arms and Kiara on his back. Nyoko hanging off of her brother's back. Once they were out of the gate they broke into a run.
Dropping to her knees as the tears rushed from her eyes, Yokiyo was a mess of sobs. "I hate this!"
Looking as Umarus and Atsana lead the second group on out the gate, Kamui looked like he had Kiara hanging off his back, and his mother carrying Katana to throw anyone who was watching off, Kiyoshi sighed as he lifted his mate into his arms. A final glance over his shoulder toward his pups which were just barely visible already and he sighed then turned and headed to his room. He didn't even try to talk to her. Right now Yokiyo was beyond words reaching her to calm her down and her understood. Watching as two of his three pups left and not being with them to protect them tore him apart inside as well.
Instead he lay her down on the bed and curled up with her letting her curl as close to him in his arms as she could go while she cried. Breathing deep to keep his composure, which was hard with her raging emotions, glared at the wall. 'Damnit all to hell. Someone should have killed that bastard when he was a cub.'
A New Heir Chapter 94
By late evening, Kiyoshi looked up toward the window as he caught the scent of his now mated daughter and Sanzo returning. He really didn't know how to feel about this development in Imae's life. He wasn't going to fight it since it was what she really wanted. So long as she was happy.
Hearing the door open, he turned and met his father's eyes as he sighed. "Father?"
His eyes going down to the sleeping woman in his son's arms, Kurosai let out his own sigh. "I was just coming to check on her." He hated to admit it, but since the birth of Kiara, she grew on him and he did care about her. It was like she was one of his own like Yukani.
His eyes half closing, Kiyoshi looked down at his mate as she slept with her head in his lap and sighed. "She will be alright. When she wakes up she cries herself back to sleep not long after."
Stopping next to his son, Kurosai crossed his arms as he took a deep breath and landed his eyes on his son's face. "So how is that effecting you?"
"Not like I would have thought." Hearing steel clanging, he glanced out the window as his father moved toward it, Kiyoshi methodically ran his fingers through Yokiyo's hair. "It just gives me a headache."
Stopping at the window as he sat on the edge, Kurosai growled seeing Imae and Sanzo once again sparing with each other. "You know I am not thrilled about who she chose. But I did see them coming over the wall as I walked in the palace. You should of seen her face."
Moving his eyes back to his mate, Kiyoshi half smiled. "She was happy?"
Turning his dark blue eyes back to his son and his mate, Kurosai smiled as he nodded. "Very." But then his eyes turned sad as he turned back out the window to his granddaughter. "Do you think she has a chance to end up mating like her mother did?"
"She is just as strong of a miko as Yokiyo." Reaching out and pushing her bangs from her face Yokiyo moved her head, Kiyoshi smiled. "And the want is there like it was with Yokiyo. All we can do is hope. Just not the exact bond that we have."
"I can agree with that one." Kurosai gave his son a last look then headed for the door.
Looking up just as his father got to the door, Kiyoshi sighed. "Father."
Turning to his son, Kurosai nodded. "I will tell her you want to talk to her."
"Thank you."
X
Walking out through the garden, Kurosai couldn't help but laugh as he crossed his arms and headed right for his eldest grandchild and her new mate. He couldn't believe it. They haven't even been mated a full day and and she already had him sparring with her. Though it did show that she was already the boss of the mating which to him was good. Someone needed to keep the bird in check.
Reaching them, Kurosai kept his eyes on Imae. "You know Imae. Most newly mated couples spend their first couple of days doing something other than this."
Stopping as she turned to her grandfather with a smile, Imae giggled. "I know that Grandpa. But one thing is true though. You of all people should know that I am anything but your typical newly mated female either."
Laughing as he looked at Sanzo with a wink, Kurosai shook his head. "So are you sure you are ready for this one? That was her mother coming out in her. With her and her mother being human, things aren't exactly typical for us anymore as she said."
Standing next to her, Sanzo laughed as he gave a nod then looked down at her as he put his arm around her waist. "More than ready. Trust me Kurosai, I wouldn't have her any other way than the way she is right now."
Closing his eyes as he nodded his head, Kurosai relaxed as he uncrossed his arms. "That was a very good answer kid."
"But wait what?" Blinking with more than a confused look on his face, Sanzo didn't understand what he meant by a very good answer. "I only told the truth."
"I am sure it was. But it is also good practice. That way when you do screw up she won't kick your ass too hard." Kurosai then threw his head back in a fit of laughter as he heard Imae growling at him and the shocked look on the birds face. He sure was going to give this one a hard time. Enough for his own father too.
Growling, Imae crossed he
r arms as she glared up at her grandfather. She was not amused by this. Not at all. "Really Grandpa? Really?"
Leaning down toward her, Kurosai winked as he pointed a finger in her face with a big smile. "You think what I just said was bad huh? Just you wait. Wait until your mother is back to normal." Laughing again as he stood up when her face paled but she still growled at him, he held a hand up as he shook his head side to side. "Oh just get over it. The only ones who won't do this to him right now is your grandmother and father. And besides. Your father wants to see you."
Blinking now, Imae looked up at him odd. "He does?"
With a sigh as he crossed his arms and lost his smile, Kurosai nodded. "Your mother has done nothing but cry herself to sleep each time she wakes up today. He hasn't left her side."
Nodding to him, Imae gave Sanzo a smile then she turned and walked away from them headed for her parent's room. She may be mated to Sanzo, but she wasn't leaving home until after the war, and was still going to enjoy all the time she could with them.
Crossing his arms, Sanzo smiled as he watched her walk away from him. With a strange feeling of feeling whole now. He hasn't felt like that since before his parents were murdered. But then his smile faded. "So if Yokiyo is that upset then how is he handling it?"
"He said that when she cries it gives him a headache but that is about it." Taking a deep breath as Imae vanished inside the palace, he turned and looked at the bird next to him. "You are totally okay with the fact that she may not bond to you like her parents did and you only have a short amount of time with her. You won't be able to find another mate."
"I know that she may not bond like Yokiyo did." Never losing his smile as he looked into Kurosai's eyes, he took a deep breath. He didn't think he would ever get over giving her up to death if it happened. But he would at least be prepared for it. "But I am alright with it. I will have our chicks. They will be as much a part of her as they will be me. I will be able to smile when I think of her knowing I will always have a part of her with me in them."
Nodding as he couldn't help but feel pride in this bird, Kurosai smiled. "That is good to know Sanzo. Good to know." 'Torakus. You and Sarigi should be proud of this son of yours. He isn't mine and I am.'
X
Opening the door, Imae's heart went out to her mother as she lay in what looked like a peaceful sleep in her father's lap. Looking up into his iced blue eyes, she smiled. "You wanted to see me Father?"
"Come in Imae." Glad that he could effectively hid the pain that he felt about losing his daughter, Kiyoshi sighed. He always wanted her to mate a demon, but always thought that she would do so and stay in the South. But to be Lady of the East was easing for him. Though watching her leave was going to be a double edged sword.
Looking down at Yokiyo when she moved, Kiyoshi once again brushed the hair from her face as Imae sat down on the opposite side of the bed. "Lady of the East."
Dropping her head, Imae turned red. "Don't call me that Father."
"It is what you are now." Kiyoshi couldn't help but smile as she dropped her head even more like when she was smaller than Kiara.
"I know that is what I am but still." With a sigh Imae let her shoulders fall. "I am worried that I will not do a good job as Lady of the East for however long I have the title. And it just doesn't sound right hearing you say that."
His eyes going soft as his smile grew a little, Kiyoshi sighed. "You will do just fine Imae. Just remember to always do what you think is right and keep that bird in check. That is all you need to do."
Moving to sit next to him as she kept her eyes on her mother, Imae smiled. "I don't think I have anything to worry about where Sanzo is concerned. And if he does try to give me trouble I could always threaten him with telling Mama. Or Grandpa."
Giving her an odd look, Kiyoshi's smile was gone. "Your mother I understand but your grandfather?"
Nodding as she smiled and dropped her eyes back down to her mother, Imae smiled though her eyes were sad. "When he came to tell me that you wanted to see me he was razzing him before he even told me. Even telling me to just wait until Mama is back to normal. Then he told me that you wanted me and Mama wasn't herself."
"Indeed. I do believe that bird won't know what to think when your mother is back to normal." But then the father in him kicked in again as he gave his eldest child a serious look. "You will be fine but be careful. It was Sanzo's mother's guard that turned on her. You will be a target in the East."
"I will don't worry." Imae then looked up at him with an odd look as she saw the look in his eyes. "Father are you alright?"
A glance down at his sleeping mate, then back to the soft chocolate eyes of his eldest pup, Kiyoshi let out a long sigh. "I am fine. I knew that when I adopted you as my own daughter that you would find a mate one day. I would have let you chose, though I always wanted your mate to be a demon. Even as a child when you wouldn't leave me alone, a human terrified you. Except for your mother. It is just that….." He then went out of character as he reached out with a free hand and gently cupped her face as he gave her one of his rare true smiles that not everyone got to see. "I just always figured that you would stay in the South after you mated like Aunt Yukani."
Letting a few tears fall from her eyes, Imae pulled a gasp from her father as moved and threw her arms around his neck as she hugged him. "I always thought the same thing too. But then Sanzo, just sort of happened." Whipping her eyes as she smiled at him leaning back out of her arms she gave him a sharp nod. "One thing you don't have to worry about Father, Lady of the East, mated, or anything else. Nothing will keep me from coming to visit, or being here whenever you or Mama need me."
"That's good to know." Kiyoshi then joined Imae in looking down at Yokiyo with smiles as she sucked in a deep breath and then sighed it out with a small smile on her face.
X
As she walked back outside toward where she left her mate and grandfather, she blinked with a curious look. Her mate was sitting down with a pale face and a look on his face like he just saw a ghost. Turning a glare to her grandfather as she crossed her arms and growled. "Really Grandpa? What did you do to him this time?"
Still laughing as he looked down at her as she stopped next to him, Kurosai shook his head as he smiled. "Don't look at me this time Imae. I didn't say or do anything to him."
Looking down at Sanzo as he still just stared at the ground with his pale face. "So if you say or do anything to him then why is it that he looks like he has seen a ghost?"
Shaking his head with crossed arms, Kurosai looked back at the shocked bird. "Your Uncle Senri it would seem left a note for your new mate."
Looking back to her mate, Imae blinked when she noticed the scroll in his hand. "Okay so what did he say in that scroll to do this to him?"
Throwing his head back as he covered his eyes with one of his hands, Kurosai couldn't stop laughing as Sanzo started to stutter. "He bluntly told him that if he found out that you cried over him even one time, that he would personally come to the East and turn him into a female as slowly as he possibly could with a dull…."
Shivering Sanzo shook his head as he closed his eyes and dropped the scroll. "With a dull tofna."
Moving to stand next to him, Imae joined her grandfather in laughing as she looked down at him. "Well then I guess you have even more of a reason than Mama to make sure that I stay happy don't you."
Glaring at her as he stood up, Sanzo crossed his arms and hissed at her. "Really? You think that sounds amusing."
"Very." Imae then laughed as he glared for a second then groaned and dropped back to sit on the bench and let his head fall backwards.
X
A few days pass, and now even though she still missed and worried about Kiara and Katana horribly. Yokiyo was back to normal in a way. And now as she glided through the halls with a small guard with her, she was on a mission. Her eldest little girl was now a woman and mated, soon to be leaving the South for the East. She knew it was a few days ago when everything happened,
and she would have normally had a talk with her before it did. But she was still having the talk with her daughter. She wasn't not going to do it just because she was a few days late.
As she exited the palace, she found them sitting on a bench. Walking up to them, Yokiyo had a sly smile on her face as she crossed her arms. "Are we behaving ourselves?"
Hearing her mother's chipper voice, Imae flinched then dropped her head as she turned red. "Mother! Really!"
Stopping with a sigh as she shook her head side to side, Yokiyo gave her daughter a face. "I actually wasn't talking about that yet Imae." She then turned a glare on Sanzo as she pointed a finger at him. "You daft old bird! You have given my daughter a dirty mind already!"
Gasping as he jumped to his feet behind the bench, Sanzo held his hands up as he shook his head. "I didn't I swear!"