Natsu pov:

My mouth was partially open and I blinked not believing the person in front of me. Was I dreaming, or was it really Rei who was standing there?

“Oh my….look at that demon. Isn’t he handsome!” Mina giggled idiotically from behind. She and some other demon servants were supposed to perform a special dance for the guests and they were standing behind the curtain. I rolled my eyes at her comment but heard the other demons giggle too.

“I heard he is the eastern lord’s general! His name is Rei….oh what a nice ring it has to it, don’t you think girls?” She said and I stiffened. His name is Rei….but he’s a demon and a general to the eastern lord. So there’s no way he could be my friend Rei, right? But he looked just like him!

“I am going to get him for myself tonight….” I mentally gagged at what she said and when all the other demons wished her good luck. “And there’s no way a lowly human would have any chance to even step close to a demon like him. He would probably slice her into pieces before she can get one foot close to him.” I turned back and saw her sneering at me. I guess she had seen me watching him and I just rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” I mumbled.

Sesshomaru stood up when the eastern lord approached the throne. They shook hands and exchanged greetings. “Lord Sesshomaru, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. This is my general, Rei.” This Rei person bowed in respect. “Its an honor to meet you, lord Sesshomaru.” I twitched. He even sounded the same!!!

I clenched my fist and almost gasped when he met my gaze. But he showed almost no emotion and turned away. The eastern lord sat down on a fancy chair next to Sesshomaru and his general stood next to him with his hands behind his back.

“Onna, bring out the tea and the entertainment.” I nodded and walked into the curtains. The demons walked out. They were kinda dressed like Egyptian dancers and I mentally chuckled. They looked like a dance party in all these ‘aincient’ Egyptian movies. I shook my head at my thoughts and got out the tea in a trolley and came out of the curtains. I went in front of the 2 lords and sat on the ground and prepared the tea. I placed 3 cups of tea on a tray and served it to the lords and the general.

“My my, lord Sesshomaru. That’s a rather beautiful human you have serving you.” The eastern lord smirked and grabbed my hand. I mentally scowled but gave a small smile and bowed. “Thank you, lord Yuudai. I am honored.”

He smirked wider and kissed the back of my hand. I clenched my jaw but didn’t lose my smile. “How about you come to my chambers tonight to thank me, lovely one? Or perhaps you should give me your beautiful name, hmm?” When he said that, Sesshomaru grabbed my hand and yanked me away. “She is Rin’s caretaker. Don’t think of using any of my servants for your twisted ideas, Lord Yuudai.” He said with venom in his voice and I sighed.

The eastern lord chuckled and waved his hand. “Lord Sesshomaru, are you going soft? You touched a human, and even more, got angry when I touched her. Do you by chance have feelings for her?” He mocked and Sesshomaru clenched his fist. “Don’t be foolish! This Sesshomaru will never lower himself to do such things!” He growled and I rolled my eyes slightly. What’s with all this major ego issues?

Why cant people not be stuck up for once? Sure, he was a strong demon and had a great reputation and all that, but still! I mean, this was so childish….and obviously, him kissing me and saying all those weird stuff had to be a joke, right?

I went back to the tea and gave it to the general too. He took it from me, he gave a hard stared and I stared back, equally curious about him. He smiled slightly and I blinked confused. I bowed my head a little and walked back to Kaito who was waiting patiently for me next to Sesshomaru. When I looked back at the dancers, they were still dancing but they were sending glares my way, especially Mina. I sweatdropped.

When the public hungama of the lords was over, I was excused with Rin and Kaito to put them to bed. I bowed to both of them and the general and walked out of the hall. Some other servants escorted the eastern lord and the general to their chambers.

I had to carry Rin and Kaito to their room because they were tired and had fallen asleep in the throne room itself. With great difficulty, I managed to open the room doors and get inside the room. I softly laid them on the bed and tucked them under the covers. I kissed their foreheads and changed into a simple kimono. I sighed. I was going to have to spend the night at the servant quarters today. Since I had to get up early to serve breakfast and snacks to the guests and Sesshomaru from tomorrow till the time they stayed here. How bothersome…..

I exited the kids’ room and walked down the hallway. When I turned a corner, I bumped into something hard and lost my balance. Before I could fall though, I was caught by strong arms. I blinked and looked up to see the general. I took a step back and he let me go. “Sorry.” I bowed and he watched me hesitantly.

“Um, are you…..Azuma Natsu?” I gasped. “Rei?” He widened his eyes and caught me in a tight hug. “Its really you! You’re alive!” I patted his shoulder. “Rei….cant breathe….” He let me go and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry….I just got a little excited.” I chuckled and shook my head. “I could see that…..but it really is you right?” I asked, still holding his shoulders.

He shook his head and hugged me again. This time I wrapped my arms around him and hugged back. “Yeah….I’m so glad to see that you’re alive…..I was so worried….I never thought I’d see you again.” I closed my eyes and sighed. “Yeah….boy am I glad to see you too..”

We pulled away and he cupped my face. He twitched and straightened out. I looked at him quizzically. “The eastern lord called for me, I should be going….” I nodded. He moved past me and I grabbed his arm. He looked back and I bit my lip. “Meet me at the servant quarters at midnight.” He smiled and nodded. “Roger that, captain.” I giggled and he walked away with a wave.

I smiled. This was definitely a good change.

>>Timeskip

Sesshomaru pov:

I clenched my fist tightly. That general of that damn eastern prince was trying to lay hands on my property! He had held her in his arms and she even invited him to the servant quarters to meet her! How dare she!!

My blood had boiled when Kazuki had told me what he had seen and heard. Unfortunately, the eastern lord was there too and he didn’t seem very happy either. And surprisingly, I had seen one of the demon servants angry at her as well. She was watching with a glare and I felt like I wanted to snap her neck in half. Who was she to glare at my property? Only this Sesshomaru was allowed to be angry at her.

The eastern lord and I came to an agreement to keep an eye on them when they met in the night. It was close to midnight and we concealed our demonic aura’s and went to the servant quarters. The wench was sitting on the roof and gazing at the stars and the cursed desire to kiss her again came over me. But not wanting to look weak in front of another demon, I controlled my urge.

I also saw the same demon female watching her from a corner and I narrowed my eyes.

The general appeared and I clenched my fist in anger when they smiled at each other. “Jeez, I thought you weren’t gonna show up.” She said and he just chuckled again. He climbed up on the roof and sat down too close to her. “So…..you’re Lord Sesshomaru’s servant huh?” She shrugged. “I guess so….”

It was silent for a minute and then she spoke again. “Didn’t know that you were a demon….and a general for the eastern lord. Pretty intense, if you ask me.” He chuckled and leaned back on his arms. “But seriously, how come you’re a demon and I’m a human?” Natsu whined and I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

“I dunno….luck I guess.” She rolled her eyes and laid down next to him. “Either that or its my punishment for kicking your butt at army school.” They broke out into laughter and then they were enveloped by silence again. I narrowed my eyes. It was the first time I had seen her talk to anyone so freely….as if they knew each other from a long time. Were they close? Just thinking so made me so angry! She never even smiled at me.

“Natsu….how did you end up here?” She sighed and closed her eyes. “Honestly, I don’t know….” She sat up and looked ahead of her. “That day, during the test flight….when you guys told me that I could turn around and head back to the airport to land, I was really happy that the test drive was a success. But when I was turning, I saw a hot air balloon.”

What was she talking about? I couldn’t understand one bit….and it irritated me. The eastern lord seemed irritated too and was frowning. “A hot air balloon?” The general asked with a frown. Natsu nodded her head and sighed again. “Yeah….it looked like it was out of control and kept rising. Thankfully, there was no one inside it though. But I was on a head on collision course with it. I knew that if I hit it, the plane would blow up because of the gas tank. It was too sudden and I had to drop a few notched really fast.”

She ran a hand through her hair and we took a step closer to them. “When I dropped the altitude suddenly, I lost control of the plane. I crash landed in the middle of a forest then…..I tried to contact the control tower, but there was no signal. So I thought I’d find a close by phone booth and call you so you could tap the line and find out where I was. But I had landed in a forest, even though I didn’t remember seeing any forest cover within the test flight zone.”

“When I continued to walk through the forest, I was knocked out and woke up with a bunch of people captured by slave traders. That’s where I met Kaito.” “That half demon kid?” She nodded with a smile and I could see the flow of emotions in her eyes. Why didn’t she look at me that way? Why did she show that kind of feeling to a mere half breed and not to this Sesshomaru?

I mentally cursed. Why was I thinking like this?

“Yeah….he was so scared then. I didn’t have the heart to leave a kid alone so I stuck with him. After that, we were sold to lord Sesshomaru and I became Rin’s caretaker. Well, that about me….”

Natsu pov:

“Wow….a lot happened huh? But you know, you’re really lucky that you got chosen by lord Sesshomaru. Other demon lords are not really pleasant…..” I chuckled and took a deep breath. “I could tell by looking at their faces in the auction….”

“Do you know that Kaito is a half dark angel demon?” I nodded. “It was mentioned at the auction, and I even saw his black wings.” Rei nodded and I felt so warm and loved after so long. Being with someone you know was really comforting. “Dark angels are very strong…..especially half demons.” Rei said and I watched him curiously.

“They have the ability to control the darkness and the shadows. They can create hallucinations and nightmares of people they attack. People attacked by a dark angel die from the inside out.” “Why are you telling me this?” Rei sighed and looked at me. “I just want you to be careful. He will probably start understanding about his powers soon, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Relax dude…” I punched his arm and he chuckled. I gave a nice long stretch and fell onto my back again.

“Hey Natsu?” “Hmm?” “Why don’t you come back with me to the eastern lands?” I thought I heard a growl and I looked to the side with a frown. But there was nothing there and I shrugged. I looked back to Rei’s serious face. “Why do you want me to go to the eastern lands with you?”

He took a breath. “So we can be together….when you disappeared so suddenly that day, I….my whole mind went blank. I didn’t know what to do, what to think….I was so afraid that I had lost you.” He turned to me and held my hands in his. “Come back with us. I’ll protect you and even better; there’s a pond in the eastern castle.”

I giggled. “Rei, I know that you know I like ponds and swimming pools and stuff, but seriously….” He chuckled and shook his head. “Its not just any pond. It contains an elixir. It can change you into a demon, and a plus point – you can chose what kind of demon and what powers you want to have. You’ll be able to protect yourself!”

I stared at him for a minute and then smiled sadly. I pulled my hands away from his and sighed. “I cant, Rei….” “Why not?!” I looked at the sky. “Because…then I wont be me. I like who I am right now, Rei. And besides, I have to stay here. I have to take care of Kaito and Rin. They’ve gotten too attached to me, you know?” I looked back to him and he ran a hand through his hair agitated.

“Natsu, that’s not the only reason I want you to come with me. When we were in the discussion room earlier today, there was a decision made. The 2 lords have waged war against each other. In a month’s time, they will be fighting a war. And….I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“War? So….deciding who has to rule the lands?” Rein nodded. “Whichever person loses, their servants and subordinates will go under the control of the other. And anything can happen – torture, death….anything.” I frowned. “Then why don’t you stay here?” He chuckled and ruffled my hair. “I cant….I’m his general.”

“Well, then we could deflect to the side we’re sure will win right?” I heard another growl and the feeling of being watched seemed to be increasing by every minute we spent together. Rei took a deep breath and let it out of his mouth. “That’s the point….both are almost equally matched. The result is 50-50.”

I nodded in understanding. “I see….but I still cant leave.” Rei looked at me sadly. Then he gave a tiny smile. “I suppose you’re too much of a hardhead. I can never change your decisions.” I glared playfully and punched his arm. “Don’t be mean!” I stuck my tongue out and we laughed. We spent the rest of the night just talking like idiotic friends under the moonlight.

>>Timeskip

It was dawn when Rei and I were done chatting. I hadn’t slept the whole night and it was already time for chores. After we had dispersed, I had gone into one of the shared rooms with Aiko, taken a shower, dressed neatly and headed to the main castle.

I had prepared breakfast and tea and served it to Sesshomaru and the eastern lord in the dining room. Apparently, the news about them going into war against each other was true, and the eastern lord had decided to leave as soon as he was done with breakfast.

And not so surprisingly, he had sent flirty looks at me which had earned glares and growls from Sesshomaru. And I could also make out that Sesshomaru kept sending glares at Rei too. The whole room was filled with tense air and I was feeling suffocated by it all.

Once theywere done with breakfast, the eastern lord and Rei were escorted to their carriage by Sesshomaru, myself and Kazuki. Before Rei got on the carriage though, he turned to me, which earned him another glare from Sesshomaru. “My offer still stands, Natsu….” I smiled sadly. “Sorry, but I’m too much of a hardhead, aren’t I?” He chuckled and ruffled my hair.

Sesshomaru growled and I rolled my eyes. “Be safe.” I smiled sadly. “You too.” He straightened up and bowed to Sesshomaru. He got on the carriage and it sped off away from the castle. I took a few steps in the direction they had left and bit my lip. I finally had a chance to be with someone I know, and someone I considered as close to my heart, but I had stupidly given reasons to stay here and not go with him.

Of course, Rin and Kaito were important and if they really wanted me to be with them, I could have taken them with me, but those 2 were not the only ones that were in my mind when I thought about leaving. The nagging feeling of how I would feel lonely and….somewhat pained if I left Sesshomaru was bothering me too.

When Rei had asked me to leave, images of how Sesshomaru had kissed me, how he had said that I was the first person who made him feel that way he was feeling….those things just left such a big mark in my mind. Thoughts of hearing him say it again and having him kiss me seemed….unavoidable. It was true I was starting to get feeling for Sesshomaru, but at the same time, I was afraid to love and get hurt again.

But nonetheless, these thoughts had made me firm my decision of not leaving from here.

When the carriage was no longer in sight, I turned back to see Sesshomaru’s glare on me. I swallowed and looked at the ground, not knowing what to say or do. When I didn’t hear anything, I looked up and Sesshomaru was already walking into the castle.

I sighed and followed. Kazuki fell in step with me and chuckled softly. “Looks like lord Sesshomaru is pissed with you. I didn’t know you knew the eastern lord’s general.” I huffed with a soft laugh. “Well, we go back a long time….and I can tell that he’s pissed with me.” I shrugged. “Its not something new. I seem to get on his bad side a lot.”

He chuckled and shook his head.

Today is gonna be a long day……

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