Toodle Pip Lovelies!
How's the nub and thrust of things? Double cool with knobs?
Sorry about the lack of updates, but I have been busy moving into my dorm...
I have decided to be a Brit for today's author's note, because I have just finished And Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers, which is a book full of hilariosity. I am actually an upstanding citizen from Hamburger-a-gogo land, but we shall pretend I live in the brilliant land of afternoon tea.
Right, well this is getting a bit confusing, and my sister is being bloody loud shouting at me to get off the computer. What a nazi.
So fanks to all you dear reviewers who are very kind like…two kind things. Ooer.
I lurve you all so very much! Cheerio!
-Amy-loco
Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own any characters besides Aimi and Tomoko.
The Phoenix: Chapter Four
It only took the trio one day to get back to Sesshou-maru's estate with the Western Lord flying. His home turned out to be a very large stone castle in the middle of a forest, with a steep cliff looking out over his lands on the Western side of it.
They entered through a window into Rin's rooms. Sesshou-maru left immediately, to alert the staff that he had returned. Aimi put Rin to bed, and then decided to wander around the huge mansion, and explore a little.
At the end of the hallway Rin's rooms were off of were spiraling stone steps. Aimi followed it down to what she could tell was the ground floor by windows spaced every level in the staircase. She found an archway leading to a large grassy courtyard. There was a pond, and out of its center a fountain rose, trickling water down into the small body of water. A large tree by its bank had a deep shadow due to the bright full moon that was out.
Aimi felt very tired all of a sudden; the activities of the day, and keeping her past shoved firmly into the back of her mind, had exhausted her. She dropped down by the dark pool of water. She looked up at the stars…on that horrible night the sky had been clear…no clouds…Aimi remembered. And then the rest hit her all at once: the panic and despair, the horror and sorrow, and especially the fear.
Aimi began to cry, tears streaming down her face. She looked down from the stars, and sobbed into her hands.
Sesshou-maru stood in the stone archway, watching the girl. Who was she? She was a human and miko, but also demon. He watched her shoulders heave as she cried. He felt something stir inside him…something similar to compassion, and this time he did not ignore it. He would follow his instincts; he would do as he pleased. He went to her, silent as the moonlight.
Aimi stood, about to get control of herself and head inside, when she felt silk fabric brush her arm as arms sneaked around her waist. She couldn't smell who it was; her nose was stuffy from crying.
A nose nuzzled lightly against her cheek, and a long piece of white hair fell over her shoulder. Sesshou-maru.
"Why are you crying." Sesshou-maru asked, although his tone made it sound like a statement. He turned Aimi around, to face him.
She closed her eyes and looked at her feet, but he once again tilted her head up, to meet his eyes. A clawed finger pushed some of Aimi's dark hair out of her face.
Sesshou-maru tucked her hair behind her ear, tracing the outer edge and lobe with his claw. She didn't flinch, and he marveled at her beauty even though she was pink from crying. Her skin was flawless in the silvery light (besides the blush in her cheeks, and slight redness of her nose), and her eyes seemed darker than ever…darker then water in the small pond behind her…so deep, so endless.
"You will tell me…" He said.
Her eyes flashed once with her familiar anger at being ordered around, but immediately flared out when she saw that his eyes were strangely gentle. She gave him her reply with her eyes. He sat, pulling her once again into his lap. She took a shuddering breath to compose herself, and began her story.
"I grew up in a small town in the Southern Lands. I lived there in the Phoenix Clan, where our lives are in a constant state of transition…so no one was very close-minded there. Hanyous and demons, even some humans lived together, not like here.
"I had a large family...there was my father, mother, three sisters, seven brothers, two sets of grandparents, fifteen aunts, eight uncles, and too many cousins to keep track of. It was always crowded at our house…but we all were happy most of the time." Her voice choked a little, and Sesshou-maru instinctively tightened his arms. Her voice turned bitter and regretful. "Then Naraku came, with many demons. We were stronger, but there were so many. If he'd just killed them I could have saved them, but his demons ate them…even the children…still alive sometimes."
"My aunt was a very strong and prestigious demon, and she hid our scents, and managed to smuggle myself and one of my little sisters into the woods. But Naraku had been prepared and set demons into the woods to sniff out anyone trying to escape. It was only bad luck, really, that he found us. He was an owl demon, and he had amazing hearing and sight like two telescopes…My aunt, she screamed at me to save my sister, so I fought as hard as I could…she died protecting us, and my sister was so small, she couldn't fight for very long before they got her. I didn't notice my aunt or my sister was dead, until I killed the demon. And then I saw them lying there in pieces…" Aimi began to sob again, so hard she could barely breathe, and Sesshou-maru sat with her, silent, until she fell asleep.
When Aimi opened her eyes, it was light out, and she was on a bed in a beautiful room. The large canopy bed she was lying in had creamy-yellow silk sheets, and the curtains and canopy were a lovely deep green. There were four floor length paneled windows, with clear bright light coming through. The walls were also a warm off-white, but the ceiling and floor were white and intricately bordered.
She slid out of bed, looking at the room in closer detail, and admiring the painted woodwork on the furniture and bordering the windows. She washed up in a water basin on a stool in a corner, between a window and the largest wardrobe she'd ever seen. Feeling refreshed, Aimi found a red silk dress placed on a maple bench at the end of her bed. She slipped the smooth, cool material over her head.
She was looking at the view from her window when she heard a knock on the double wooden doors behind her. She opened one door, and standing there, looking solemn and polite, was a crane hanyou. The half-demon was clearly a servant.
"Lord Sesshou-maru requests your presence for breakfast." She said shyly and softly.
"Thank you." Aimi said, smiling. The girl's eyes flashed with surprise, and unease. Aimi suspected smiles were rare in a household run by Sesshou-maru.
"This way, if you please." She said. Aimi nodded, and they set off down a long hallway. "I will be serving you while you are here."
It took Aimi a moment to respond…'while you are here'…after last night she had hoped Sesshou-maru would warm up towards her. How long would he allow her to stay? What would he tell Rin if he made her leave? She didn't want to leave Rin…or Sesshou-maru, she surprised herself by thinking.
She had been under the impression this was a long-term job…and she would treat it like that. She wouldn't give up so easily! Rin needed her.
"What's your name?" Aimi asked the servant.
"I am called Tomoko, miss."
"Nice to meet you, and you can just call me Aimi." Aimi said, "I grew up in a poor village in the South, so there's no need to be so formal."
"…all right. I will try to remember." Tomoko said, after some thought. Aimi could hear the smile in her voice. "Here we are." She stopped at door, smaller compared with the ones Aimi had seen so far. A ten foot tall man could still walk through it comfortably, however.
Tomoko opened the door, and Aimi slipped through. "Thank you…I guess I'll see you later?"
Tomoko nodded once, and was gone, silently and quickly.
Aimi turned around; she had just stepped out onto a balcony. Trellises of morning glories lined the walls of the castle, and well as the wide stone railing.
"Oomph." Rin flung herself at Aimi, hugging her around the legs. Aimi laughed.
"Rin." Sesshou-maru's cool voice warned the little girl to behave. She guiltily let go of Aimi and stepped away.
Aimi knelt and hugged her properly. "Good morning."
"Morning. Rin is sorry."
Aimi laughed, the small girl was too cute; she hadn't even been upset. "Its fine, Rin." She stood, as she let Rin lead her to the breakfast table. "Good morning Sesshou-maru."
"Good morning." He replied. He had been looking out over his lands; the balcony faced the cliff side of the estate, but now he faced Aimi. She could read something in his eyes…something that almost seemed like confusion…
Aimi sent him a small frown as she sat at the table, and Rin poured her some juice, proudly not spilling a drop.
As soon as she and Rin had finished eating, Aimi asked, "Rin, I need to talk to Sesshou-maru for a minute alone. Could you excuse us?'
Rin thought for a moment, them nodded, and put her napkin down on the table politely. She jumped down from her seat, and slipped out.
Aimi went over to the balcony next to Sesshou-maru. "Is something wrong?" She asked. "Because you look a little conflicted."
Sesshou-maru's voice was normal: cold and stoic. "How did you know that I am confused about a matter?"
"Your eyes," She said, looking up at him, meeting his gaze. "Will you tell me what is wrong?"
"I do not know exactly." He said, and Aimi was surprised. Since when was Sesshou-maru not sure of something? "You are a hanyou, and a miko. But I find myself-" He stopped. Aimi realized that Sesshou-maru did not talk about himself often at all, and expressed his feelings even less. So she was silent, and waited for him to continue. "You are beautiful and strong." He said it so flatly; Aimi would have thought any other man would have been joking. "I suppose I do not know what to make of you. All I know is that I want you to-"
He stopped dead again, and Aimi realized he had been drawing closer, but she had been so captivated by what he was saying she hadn't noticed. But this time, he wasn't pausing.
He was completely alert; he was frozen, listening and smelling. Suddenly he said, "Go inside." She hesitated. "Now." He said, sharply.
Aimi went for the door but it flung open from a sudden gust of wind, banging into the castle wall. Purple and blue morning glories littered the ground. But there was no one behind the door, the hallway was empty.
She turned back to Sesshou-maru, confused, but there was suddenly a woman floating on a giant feather, just off the balcony.
Sesshou-maru stood cool and confident, even thought he could sense her intentions were not to propose an alliance, as they had been in previous encounters.
"What do you want, Kagura." He said, face blank. His body was all tensed up, ready to spring out at her.
"I am here for the girl." She said, flicking her fan open, and grinning cruelly, then hiding it with her fan.
Aimi could feel his anger radiating off of him…he backed up, to put his arm around her possessively. His eyes were tinting redder by the second. How dare the wind witch come to his home and make demons? How dare she try and take his property from him? How dare she even think about taking his mate from him?
That thought startled him. Mate? His mate? He returned his attention back to the problem at hand.
"Tell him if he even touches her, he will die." Sesshou-maru's voice was calm, but his grip was tight on Aimi.
"Suit yourself." Wind shot through a thin silver whistle on a band around Kagura's wrist.
Aimi couldn't hear anything, but Sesshou-maru's eyes widened in pain. He clawed at his ears, and she saw blood leaking out. His eyes were dazed…disoriented, and suddenly Kagura had a hold of her, and then they were gone.
Just like that.
All Aimi could see was the horror in her last glimpse of those golden eyes…
Then everything was dark.
Reeeeeeeeview...REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIVIEW!!!
P.S. the whistle Kagura has is a dog whistle, get it? so only dogs can hear it... ha, I found that amusing just now, dunno why...
P.S.S. REEEEEEEVIEW!!!
