Title: Haven

Chapter: Introduction – Unspoken Agreement

Date: October 31st, 2005

This is an introduction to a story that was posted on 2002, which I'm editing now and reposting on an attempt at getting back on my writing tracks. Any comments will be highly appreciated. Thank you for reading. J

Shihori.

The soft summer breeze made the branches of the willow trees surrounding the thick brick wall to sway. It was an entrancing movement that made her sleepy from staring at them. It made her wish she could turn into one of those leafy, thin branches and be led by the wind. The sound of the shoji door sliding open brought her out of her thoughts and slowly she turned her face to the newcomer.

It had been a while since she had last seen him. After all, the argument they had hadn't been a light one, and for all he could count, she had betrayed him in a gravely manner. No matter how many times she had stated that her loyalty lied with his father, subsequently with his current mate and child, he would not understand that she had saved the lesser kind. Sometimes she wondered if he forgot that she was as well 'lesser' kind as he called humans, when in a kind mood. Sometimes his way of expressing himself about humans, hanyous, and youkai weaker than him was harsh to the ears and harsh to the soul -hers in particularly.

He knew she would be here, for when not in duty she would retreat to the library. Probably, she thought with some hope, he has reconsidered his decision of ignoring me.

She watched her with careful eyes as he moved with light but determined steps towards one of the shelves to the corner and bringing out a scroll. He looked young around the age of 19 for a human being, but she knew he was at least a pair of hundred years older than her. His white hair, she recalled, takes a silver coloring in moonlit nights, giving him the aura of a merciful god. However, merciful is the one adjective that could not be used to describe the personality of this demon dog. Even if she knew this, she could not stop her racing heart whenever he was around.

He came to the wide rosewood table and sat opposite to her, unbinding the scroll to its length on the table. It was a map. She searched for the title of it and found the answer near the swaying candle. Paper lamps were lit all over the room, but she still needed a candle next to her scroll to be able to read. It was not good for her sight, she knew this, but tonight her restlessness had taken then best of her and led her here.

"Akiko." His voice suddenly interrupted the quiet space between the two.

She looked up from the onyx lettering on the map to settle her eyes on his face. He was staring at her with his usual blank countenance. She could not make out from his face if he was still angry with her or not, much less from his evened tone. Her eyes shifted for a second to the crescent moon on his forehead and she felt an urge to trace it with her fingers along with every single marking on his body, and maybe more. His eyes claimed her attention once again, or she forced herself to look directly into them before her mind took a trip on its own.

"Yes my lord?" She questioned in a soft tone, knowing that he was waiting for those three words before speaking again even though he knew he had her entire attention from the moment he came through the door.

"What are you doing out of your chamber?" He questioned, disapproval dripping in his words.

She tried not to sigh with boredom, so she just stared down at her scroll again. "I've been confined to those four walls for who knows how long. I grew restless and came to read before bed."

"The injury you sustained is no light matter for a human. Go back to your room." He declared with a tone that accepted no discussion about the matter.

She ignored this and continued reading. "Inutaisho is moving against the south clan after all?" Her eyes shifted a moment to the map before him and then back to her reading. "Last thing I heard was-" His exasperated grunt made her stop talking immediately. It is not fear or respect for him what ended her sentence short, but curiosity for what he might say.

He said not a single word, nor made any sound, so she could not help the small gasp that escaped her lips when she felt his clawed hand wrap tightly around her arm and pulled her to her feet. With no warning at all, he dragged her towards the door and out to the hallway. Her legs had fallen asleep under her so she was cursing lightly at his ill treatment of her and her unresponsive feet. Finally she stood on her own feet and walked next to him as he continued to pull her away.

"What's the meaning of this?" She demanded in angry tones. "What's your problem this time?"

"Your wound is bleeding again you careless human." He said in his usual even tone. "You'll be useless if you're requested to accompany us to the battlefield again."

She frowned. Yes she had felt the bandages slightly moisten but it was normal, she had been told, for the wound to bleed slightly until it closed. They stopped at her chamber door which he slid with ease and dragged her in, finally releasing his grip. As he turned to the door again, she felt her anger double. "You're just running away. Just say it! You can't stand the sight of me anymore and want me confined in this room until the time of my death!" She knew she was being childish. She knew he did not care, but she did care if he was with her or not.

Their last argument had been right in this room, while she lay on the futon wounded and ill. He had not waited for her to be better to make his wrath known to her. It was that argument which had distanced him from her for the last two weeks and it was killing her. She knew he only saw her as a piece of furniture, a toy at most, but it was he who made her remain under this roof, in this time foreign to her. She would not let him turn his back on her again.

He had stopped at the shoji door at her words and a short, uncomfortable silence fell upon them. After what seemed like an eternity to her, he turned his face slightly to look over his shoulder at her. "You use that word too lightly human. The time of your death might as well be now, in this room, if you don't learn to respect your master."

The word master brought a smirk to her lips. "I don't remember ever accepting you as anyone's master." She repeated the last word with disdain. As soon she had dropped the last word, she felt herself swept off her feet, literally, only to find herself lying on the futon face down. She could feel his weight pressing her hips down and she fisted the scarlet covers in her thin fingers. Inside a battle of wills was raging: one demanding control of the body to get rid of the insolent pup, while the other, stronger and determined, settled the other will by saying that this is what she wanted. 'If I can't have him,' She thought, 'then I might as well die at his wish.'

That thought stirred the other will in rage and it practically barked in her chest for she felt it echoing within the confines of her chest. 'Then die at his mercy for his petty ministrations you stupid bitch! I should have let you die back then!' It cried out, and emerged from her body in a black whirlwind. It materialized at the shoji door into the form of a huge black dog with black fur and blood red eyes that glared with great intensity at the white haired demon dog who had settled itself over its vessel's body. At the sight of a small smirk forming on the corner of his lips, the dog settled for a low growl before leaving the room through the shoji doors that had been closed by the young demon.

Akiko forced her breaths to slow down, waiting for his next movement. Yes, she knew herself to be his toy, nothing but a passing entertainment. Irregardless of his treatment of her, she felt she needed him no matter what. Masochist was a word that had become rather familiar to her in her new vocabulary, but there was something about him that attracted her like moth to the flame. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd end her days by his claws, but until then… 'Until then, I'll do anything to keep him by my side.' She thought, closing her eyes as she felt her breaths finally fall into a sedated rhythm. It was then when she felt his weight shift forward and his warm breath tickled her earlobe.

"You continue to defy me in every way possible; your latest feat being the great stupidity of keeping that bitch and her mutt alive." She heard him say in a low whisper as his sharp claws traveled on her neck, catching the fabric of her kimono on the way down and cutting strips as they continued their trip to the small of her back. "Do you really know what you are asking for human?"

His tongue trailed the curve underneath her ear towards the nape of her neck, making her sigh. On the tip of her tongue, she had the answer to his question, which she knew would only enrage him and probably earn her the death he so easily threatened her with. She had made no verbal request, but he was complying to her wishes absent mindedly. The thought of him believing to be in control of their firecracker relationship made her smirk against the soft cover. He may be on top, she thought, but it was she who had led him here.

There were things she'd never tell him, she mused trying to ignore the warm sensation flowing through her limbs as he shredded ever so slowly her clothing; the tip of his claws igniting her sensitive skin while he nibbled on her nape and shoulders with great care to keep from breaking her skin with his fangs. Words like I love you, she swore to herself, would not come out of her lips. Or, if I don't have you, I shall die. Those were words that went better unsaid for they might break the delicate unspoken understanding between them: he was the master and she let him believe it.

She felt his hand wrap around her wrist and she released the cover. His weight lifted from her body, and with a light pull of her arm, he made his wishes known to her. She turned around slowly under his legs and sat on the futon and he immediately resettled on her legs. Reaching slowly to the breast plate's clasp on his shoulder, giving him time to reject her touch, she undid it and it immediately fell downwards. He caught it and threw it aside before the heavy material fell on her lap.

She looked up to him, closing her fingers on the neckline of the haori and leaning her forehead against his chest. Breathing in his scent of soap and spices unknown to her, she recalled his angered eyes the day they first met. 'Everything had been spinning around me that day and the days before it, but it was this stubbornly proud being that became my stability without me noticing this, or without getting his consent.' He pulled out the hairpins holding her tresses in place and threw them away. She lifted her face to him and his lips descended on hers immediately, locking in a slow but hungry dance. 'The day he decides he has no more use for her', she thought as he settled her back on the futon, his hands traveling down the curves of her body shredding the clothes he had given her and hers working to undo his garments, 'she would be left adrift once again. Death was preferable to being lost again.'

He listened to her shallow breathing indicating she had finally slipped into deep sleep. His left hand rested between her breasts enjoying the slow rhythmic movement of her chest that soothed him in the oddest way. Their bodies remained spooned, the last position they had taken during their session, which allowed him to breath in her scent and the perfume of her hair. He had been careful not to come close to her during the last two weeks for two reasons: she was wounded and in heat.

Sesshoumaru had taken her as his companion but wouldn't consider lowering himself to the same level his father had stooped to, mating with a human female. As much as this woman tickled his interest and kept him entertained, he saw no reason to mate with her; after all, humans could only give birth to weak creatures. This woman, he recalled while watching her sleep, had invaded his life abruptly even though he had tried to keep her away.

Upon his return from the border patrol, -a custom he had been cultivating since young, but for the last months had turned into his escape from her tantalizing aroma while in heat, he was able to find her scent in the air, no longer bearing the sweet strands that had drove him almost to madness every month for the last year and a half. He sought her immediately, his excellent sense of smell leading him to the library, but as he stepped in front of the shoji door he caught the scent of his father. When he went in, the scent of his forbearer mingled with hers had stirred feelings of possession on him that normally would remain asleep. He tried to reason with his more primal reactions, knowing that his father would not take this human, -mainly because he had mated with another already. However, the scents made him want to strangle her until she understood she could not go near another male for she was his. Trying to ignore the raging feelings, he tried to settle into more important matters, but at her mention of his father, he felt something snap. By the moment they had reached her chamber, he had somewhat regained control of himself. 'But this woman,' he smirked as he leaned over to lick a small red line on her neck, which he had done with his fangs at some moment of their foreplay, 'always knows how to tick me off; with her I never have a moment of peace.'

She had fallen asleep only a few moments ago but he already wished to have her staring back at him with those odd green eyes of hers and in his selfishness he set out to wake her up. Pulling her leg over his, he trailed slow caresses along her loins and a low growl rumbled in his chest as he nibbled her neck again. He felt her body responding to him immediately and he knew soon she would turn her face to him, open her eyes and smile that slow smile of hers. He did not know what would bring the new day, or the one following it, but he was certain of two things regarding this woman he had not allowed into his life but had taken into his bed irregardless.

His lips twitched into a small smirk as she opened her eyes and immediately smiled at him with innocent abandonment. 'If this woman does not drive me into killing her any time soon,' he decided silently as he captured her lips with his claiming her mouth's warmth as his, 'I will keep her at my side until the end of her days.'