The house was dead silent, as everyone prepared for a nice long rest. Katana sat on her bed behind locked doors, Sesshomaru's gift in hand. Now that she was alone, she was scared to open it. What if it made noise? Who cared? It was from her love, and he knew her better than anyone, so why worry…
She took a deep steadying breath and lifted the golden seal on the box. It began to glow brightly as she did, a surreal light that filled her room. Katana gasped when she saw Sesshomaru standing before her, bathed in the light. This was a slim portal, and he remained only for the moment, but he was there. His chest was bare, and on it she could see his slashed tattoos against his skin.
"Katana…"
His voice was soft, a whisper, meant for her ears alone.
"Yes?" she answered softly. This must have been meant to be a secret, or else he would have done it while she was still in his world.
"Open the box," he said gently.
She did, lifting the lid to reveal a small satin cloth folded over something. She lifted it neatly. In the center of the cloth was a single silver ring. Katana felt her heart skip a beat; it was the most stunning thing she had ever seen. She only just barely heard the words that Sesshomaru spoke, so absorbed in gazing at its beauty.
"This is the crest of the western lands," he said softly, "The crescent moon surrounds a blood red jewel. It's very powerful, and its luster is eternal…"
"It's so beautiful," she whispered. Looking up at him, she could see that there was something more. She was silent as he spoke.
"It's- an engagement ring," he said slowly.
Katana was shocked into silence, she could not speak. But her smile was enough for him.
"If anyone finds out, you may be in danger-"
"I'll be fine," she said finally, "So long as I'm with you,"
She stood before him, and he slipped the ring onto her finger.
"I'll never leave you…"he whispered, his presence in her world warming her like a gently burning fire. And now, she was his. Forever.
"I have to go now," he said quietly, "be careful."
"I will."
And then, he was gone. So quickly, Katana might have sworn it was a dream, except for the gleaming silver ring on her finger. Overcome with emotion, she wrote everything down quickly so as not to forget. Her journal slide easily into her windowsill, and she tucked it away carefully before collapsing onto her bed.
"What a day…" she mumbled silently, before falling into a dreamless sleep.
"OH MY GOSH!!!"
"Shshh!!" Katana got up and closed her door. Payton, Kelly, and Jayme sat on her bed overwhelmed with giggles.
"Who cares?" Paiton got up and dragged Katana back to bed.
"All I want to know is did you accept?"
Shyly, she nodded and held up her hand. The ring shone bright in the lamplight and they oo-ed and ah-ed over it for a several minutes before settling down.
"Soo…when's the wedding?" Paiton, the ditz, had been speechless when she first heard that Katana was engaged to a demon, and a lord at that.
"Come on Pai, he has his own estate for peat's sake!" and that was Jayme, a believer till the end. She hadn't even been surprised at the news. Almost as if she had expected it, Jayme just smiled and looked happy that they had finally figured it out.
"She was all smiles through the whole school day," Jayme said, "Only her little Sesshy boy could have made her that happy…"
"Oh grow up," Kat laughed, "besides, Sesshomaru is no boy…"
"And how would you know?"
They laughed again, but soon the smiles faded.
"So, did you tell your mom?" Paiton asked softly.
Katana shook her head, "I can't."
"You have to eventually, right?"
"No," she said, "I-I don't know how…"
"Oh, just do what I did with my mom," Jayme said easily, "Cut her off and forget she ever had you."
Katana laughed and Jayme smiled at her accomplishment.
"You guys," she looked at them closely, "I can't wear his ring, can I?"
Kelly shook her head and Paiton agreed.
"No way, people will talk," Kelly said.
"And they'll tell your mom," Paiton added.
"Who cares?" Jayme was obviously annoyed, "So you're engaged to a demon, big deal. Invite her to the wedding and you should be good."
"That's not all," Katana drew them closer, "If anybody wants to hurt Sesshy, they might try and use me. Or they might try and get the magic from the ring,"
"Wait, he gave you a magical engagement ring?"
Katana nodded, "Sesshy said it's powerful."
"Wow," Jayme gasped softly, "If Sesshomaru said that, then it must be really strong…"
"Yeah, you know he's never wrong."
"And he has that habit of understating things a bit…"
"More like a lot…"
"Hey!"
Kat tossed a pillow at Kelly and sighed.
"I don't know if I want that kind of attention," she said finally, "I mean, I'm already a target to humans, why add demonic problems?"
"Marrying a demon lord won't make that any better…" Kelly whispered, "especially one with Sesshomaru's reputation."
"Yeah, I know," she looked around, "but there has to be another way."
They all thought heavily. There had to be a compromise somewhere.
Jayme perked up suddenly.
"What if you just ask him to keep it for you?" she suggested.
"What do you mean?" Katana asked.
"Well," Jayme stood up, "if you wanted it to be your wedding ring, then he'd give it to you at the wedding, right?"
"Yeah…"
"And you're already promised to him, right?"
"I guess…"
"So…he gives it to you when you're both ready for the wedding."
Katana smiled, that just might work. If she could ask him to keep the ring, then he would be safe, and she would be worry free.
"And once you're married, then nothing else will matter, will it?"
Paiton broke them up with a question that only she could think of.
"So, um…are you two having kids?"
"PAI!!"
"What? They would be half demon, right?"
They all laughed again and Katana blushed deeply. Jayme nudged her and pointed to the door. There was a shadow just visible under it; Sean was obviously listening to their conversation. They nodded to Kelly and Paiton who kept laughing softly and whispering, while they crept to the door. Giggling softly, Katana grabbed the handle and yanked it open. Naturally, Sean fell into the room with a THUMP! that caused the floor to shake.
"Ow…" he moaned softly. Jayme poked him with the tip of one of her knives.
"Hey Kat," she looked pointedly at the window, and then back at Sean.
"Oh, that's mean…" Paiton backed away, but Kelly, Katana, and Jayme grabbed him and dragged him over to the window. There were plenty of bushes below, so his landing would be pretty soft. They leaned him, almost carelessly, out of the window.
"HEY, HEY! LET GO!!" he struggled and they released one of his legs. Now only Katana and Jayme were keeping him from connecting with the ground below.
"You sure you want us to do that?" Jayme loosened her grip a little and he slid farther down the wall.
"NO, PULL ME UP, PULL ME UP!!!"
Katana laughed and they let him slide down to his ankle.
"Should we pull him up?"
They looked at each other smiling, then simultaneously let go. Sean fell screaming to the ground, landed in the bushes, then got up slowly and brushed himself off. The girls leaned out the window, doubled over with laughter. He looked up at them angrily, but shrugged it off mumbling.
"Girls…" he said to himself, "why do I even bother…"
"You okay Sean?" Katana yelled out the window over the sound of her friends' giggles. He just looked at them irritably before going to the porch. He reappeared a minute later and threw a few rocks up at her window.
"Kat, open the door!"
Laughing again, they all ran down the stairs and looked out the hall window. Sean was standing on the porch waiting for them.
"Come on, I'm freezing!"
Kelly shrugged and started to open the door, but they grabbed her before she could.
"Kell, you just threw him out the window!" Paiton said breathlessly.
"I don't think he's too happy about that," Katana added, "maybe we should let him stay out for awhile…"
Kelly looked at them and shrugged, "I think he'll just get madder."
"Yeah," Jayme smiled, "well we'll just let him in for breakfast, okay?"
Katana nodded in agreement, "He should be cool by then."
Kelly and Paiton went to the window and shook their heads. Sean banged on the door but the weren't going to budge.
"Sorry Sean, you're outnumbered!" They yelled through the glass and made some silly faces. He returned with a few chosen hand signals.
"So childish…" Katana went back upstairs and grabbed a blanket out of her closet. She dropped it out the window.
"Hey Katana! Get down here!" Jayme yelled up the stairs, sounding stressed out.
Katana rushed down the stairs and saw her standing against the door. It was pushing back against her.
"He's trying to get in!" Kelly said.
"Who opened the door?"
They all looked at Paiton who was trying to avoid being noticed. Katana walked up to her.
"Pai?"
She looked up a little, then backed up a little.
"Pai…"
"Don't hit me!"
FLICK!
"There, now, help us push him out."
Paiton rubbed her head and walked over to the door. Jayme scooted over so that Paiton could shove the door closed. She locked it, dusted her hands, and plopped down on the floor. Kelly was standing at the window smiling.
"He's laying down," she said softly.
"Good!" They all laughed and relaxed, sliding to the floor.
"Whelp, nap time…night…" Jayme leaned against Katana and nodded off quickly. Kelly dozed against the wall, chains and all. Paiton had forty winks with the stairwell, before sliding down to the floor. Even Sean was out, literally.
Katana slid carefully away from Jayme and went to grab a few more blankets from her room. She layed them over the girls, then went outside to get the one she had dropped for Sean. He was curled up on the porch swing. She smiled, he looked so cute when he slept. It's one of the few times when you could see the nice guy he really was, the one she didn't mind calling her brother.
Thinking for a moment, Katana pulled him up and half carried, half dragged him into the house. He was heavy, but she managed to get him on the couch before going back for the blanket. She closed the door softly with a click, then walked over and layed the cover on Sean. He rolled over and continued to sleep.
Katana looked around, her friends slept soundly on the floor, and her 'brother' snoozed on the couch. She smiled.
"Night guys…"
They replied with snores all around.