Questions from the previous chapter:

Much Loved Guest: Your story is definitely interesting. A question though: is she a cat half demon or a fox half demon? I thought you said cat last chapter, but I could be wrong. Anyways I can't wait for the next chapter. ?

Thank you for the review, it makes me happy to see that others are enjoying my work! She is, indeed, a fox half-demon.

x

Anyhow, Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or the characters, but I do own Akemi, my another OC's, and this tale.

Chapter Four

"What did you dream about, Akemi?" Rin spoke, she was sitting in Akemi's lap while the half-demon gave her a loose french braid. The young girl had, apparently, had a dream about the two of them flying through the clouds and playing hide and seek. It was rather cute.

The noirette froze at the mention of the previous night, "Oh, I... didn't sleep last night."

She was too busy staring at the stars and being depressed, but at least she had healed. Though her company had been monotone, arrogant, and racist, he was still some company.

"Were you not tired?" The brunette asked, sounding concerned, as the older tied the braid off. The other half-demon she knew slept every night.

"Nope, not at all," She smiled widely as she leaned back against the tree, "All done."

"Thank you, Lady Akemi!" Rin smiled brightly and bounded off to Sesshomaru, the noirette rolled her eyes, but ignored the slip-up, "Lord Sesshomaru, look!" She spoke excitedly as she turned for Sesshomaru to see her braid, "Akemi braided it for me! She says it's a braid from her homeland!"

Sesshomaru nodded. Even he had to admit that the braid was impressive and beautiful, he never seen a braid such the one Rin now wore. It started on top her head and moved downward, flowers woven into each strand. He quirked an eyebrow in the female's direction, just where was this female from? However, she didn't catch his glance as she moved towards Jaken.

"Jaken." The noirette spoke as she approached the imp, he was seated next to Ah-Un, who was relaxing in some shade. "Do you have any books I could read?"

Noticing that she was not going to gain any more of Sesshomaru's attention Rin walked out into the meadow with a hum. She decided to pick flowers, perhaps she could braid them into Akemi's hair later. The thought made her happy.

"Bother someone else, half-breed." He hissed in annoyance, but the girl just rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god, my name's Akemi." She rubbed a hand over her face.

"Your name is of no concern to me, half-breed!"

"Ooohhh," She dragged the word out as she popped her knuckles with a stretch of interlocking her fingers, she was so sick and tired of that word, "Call me a half-breed one more time and we can test a theory on whether or not your skull will cave under the strength of my fist." She growled out the threat in an irritated tone.

Sesshomaru would never admit it, but this girl was amusing him and her threats weren't half bad either.

"Ha! As if a half-breed like you could-"

Akemi fist connected with his head before she could even finish the sentence, he fell to the ground, "Oh would you look at that, I was right!" She spoke in a dramatic voice, as though she was surprised. His skull hadn't caved, she would never put that much strength into it, but she was pissed off and would tease him.

"Wh-what?! There's no way!" He rubbed his injury and sputtered about, even if she had, he would be healed by nightfall.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Toad." She spoke as she moved to face Ah-Un, ignoring Jaken, "Do you have any books?" She asked politely, still irritated, but wondering if the two-headed demon would be helpful.

"Do not ignore-!" She tuned him out.

Ah-Un's left head shifted to point at a smaller bag that hung from his side, she grinned and opened the bag. Inside was a book, it appeared to be a romance novel, but she didn't mind too much, "A book!" She smiled brightly and smoothed a hand over Ah-Un's mane, "Thank you, Ah-Un!" She liked the two-headed demon. He huffed in response but looked rather pleased with the affection.

"You insufferable-!" To cut him off, she purposely stomped on him, feeling a little satisfied as she did so.

"Master Jaken, perhaps you shouldn't irritate Akemi," Rin commented as she looked up, tearing her eyes away from the flowers she had been picking.

Sesshomaru watched as Akemi she sat under a tree and opened the book, with a sigh. She briefly glanced to Rin, to see if she was entertaining herself. The woman then looked over at him, almost nervously. When she spotted that he was watching her, she quickly looked away, he could sense her irritation. She was still upset from last night, but he thought she was being childish. She was a half-breed, lesser than even a human. It was to be expected that she would be targeted for hateful comments and even be attacked, was she not used to this treatment?

"Akemi! I got some flowers, may I braid them into your hair?" Rin came running up to the noirette, very excited.

The older smiled softly, "My hair is pretty difficult to braid, but you can give it a shot." She turned so her back was available, her hair couldn't be braided if she was pressed against a tree.

"Thank you, Akemi!" She smiled widely and sat down, she hummed in concentration as she tried to split the hair into three.

Akemi was quiet the entire time, enjoying her book, well... she had a hard time enjoying the story. The plot was cliche and poorly written, but it wasn't easy to understand, which gave her challenge she enjoyed. Finally, a tap on her shoulder drew her from her book and she peeked around to see a smile.

"I finished! Your hair is very difficult to braid, but it turned out quite pretty."

The noirette pulled her hair over her shoulder to examine the braid and she smiled. It was the best dry braid she had seen from her hair and the flowers were beautiful, but she would need to leave it in. Her hair would be frizzy if it came undone. "I love it." Rin's smile widened at her words, before glancing down at the book.

Her smile faltered, "Akemi... Are you sure you aren't nobility?"

The girl looked to the brunette, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you can read... and usually, only nobility can read." She shifted nervously, she didn't want her question to be confused with declaring the half-demon a liar, "The only reason I know is because I was taught recently."

"Oh, no, I'm not," She had forgotten such a thing wasn't common in this era, "Where I come from, everyone can read and write."

"Really?" The girl's gaze sparkled with curiosity.

"Of course!" Akemi's smile widened a bit.

"Half-breed," Sesshomaru spoke up, he had been watching with interest, and the noirette visibly tensed. "Where do you come from?"

Her hate for the word faded and she frowned, she couldn't tell them that she came from the future. She didn't know what they did to crazy people in this time, but she knew they would do it, "I-uh... I don't remember the name."

The dog demon quirked a subtle eyebrow, not convinced in the slightest, "Do you think me a fool? Do not lie."

Akemi flinched and Rin frowned, watching the scene play out before her, "I do not know where my home is." That was the truth, she didn't know where she was in Japan, so she didn't know where her home was.

He frowned, feeling she wasn't telling all the truth, but he decided to drop it. He didn't wish to start a fight with the half-demon in front of Rin.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

A hooded demon with glowing green eyes walked the side of the road, humming a silly tune he made up. The sun was disappearing over the horizon, but he had no interest in setting up camp. His footsteps were patterned, as if he was trying to entertain himself while he walked, his bare feet tapping against the dirt. He wore clothes that didn't belong to the area, not in the slightest. His bare chest was partially covered by a cloak, that being held closed by a leather strap. His pants were loosely fitted and made from deer hide. His tune made it to his lips and he started to whistle. As he took in a breath to whistle some more, he caught a scent on the wind and paused.

"What..?" He frowned and turned to the direction of the curious smell, "How... How is this possible?"

XXXXxxxxXXXX

It was the middle of the night when Akemi woke with a rough jerk that had, somehow, not woken the snoozing brunette that was next to her. It was so far into the night that the fire had burned out. She sat up, careful not to wake the young girl, and ruffled her curly bangs. She had taken her braid out shortly after Rin had eaten. She had tried to sleep since Rin had insisted, but apparently, her mind was far too plagued with the current events. Her forehead was slick with sweat and she trembled slightly, she looked around, checking to make sure no one had seen her wake from a nightmare. She spotted Sesshomaru and his eyes were shut, but she knew that didn't mean he was asleep. She pulled herself from the fur blanket and sat in front of her tree. With a small tug, her blanket was pulled into her lap, it was dry, she pulled it around her body and wiped her forehead.

"You had a nightmare." Spoke the monotone voice of her 'midnight buddy'.

She sighed and looked at him, he was peeking at her with one eye, but other than that he hadn't moved. She gave a hesitant nod, to confirm his words.

Sesshomaru hummed and stood to his feet, "Follow me." He started off towards the meadow and the noirette frowned, but let the blanket drop as she followed after him.

He lead her through the meadow and she looked back at the camp, she was nervous since they weren't close to the fire. However, she continued to follow him, after all.. what else could she be doing? Engage in some more depressive star gazing?

Sesshomaru stopped and turned suddenly, "Show me what you can do."

"Wait," She frowned, her body tensing, "What do you mean?"

He huffed and rolled his eyes, "I will not repeat myself."

When she still didn't move, he launched himself at her, his claws out and ready to strike. She rotated her body and dodged the quick attack, she stared at him wide-eyed, her ears flattening, "Are you trying to kill me?!"

The demon continued to swipe at her and she dodged, she was sloppy and unpracticed, but he was going easy on her, "When I was a pup, my father would take me out to spar on the nights I needed to clear my head."

Akemi's eyes widened and she realized that Sesshomaru, despite being an asshole, was trying to distract her from her nightmare. Her heart would have warmed, had he not been slicing his claws at her. Her expression relaxed a bit and she jumped back a little farther than what she had been doing, she pushed off the ground and charged at him. Back at home, she had taken several martial arts classes, but she had never taken it to competition. She never saw it as something that was to compete with, she always saw it as fun.

She swung at him and he dodged fluidly, his claws swiping at her in turn. It nicked her clothing as she jerked away, but she didn't mind in the slightest, she was enjoying herself.

Sesshomaru was impressed with her form, she had skill. However, she wasn't fighting like a demon, she fought like a human.

He swiped at her face and she dropped to her knee, quickly spinning her leg under his, catching him off guard. He started to fall, but pushed off the ground with his hand, he stuck a smooth landing a good ten feet away from the noirette. Not wasting a second, the half-demon moved towards him and they traded blows, each attack missing its target.

Akemi dodged a change in his pattern, but his elbow connected with her stomach. She flung across the field, her body bouncing off the ground in a similar fashion as to when she met Sesshomaru. His eyes widened a fraction, he hadn't meant to hit her as hard as he had.

On the final bounce, she slid against the grass, "Ow..." She chuckled out the word of pain as rubbed her stomach with a small wince. The demon was quickly by her, he was surprised to see that she was grinning. She let out a small giggle, but soon she was full on laughing.

"Why do you laugh?" He sat on the ground and peered at her curiously, he couldn't understand how getting hit in the stomach was enjoyable.

A rough wince halted her laughter, "Because I had fun." She was smiling widely.

Sesshomaru gave a hesitant nod, he could understand that, but he was taken back by her smile. Usually, he only saw such a happy smile on Rin, never had he received one by someone else.

"Thank you.." She whispered softly, her gaze looking back at him "For the distraction, I needed it.."

"Hn." He hardly acknowledged the gratitude as the noirette carefully sat forward, "You need to work on your fighting style."

A frown came to Akemi's lips, but her eyes still sparkled, showing her good mood, "What do you mean?"

"You fight like a human." He could still see her confusion, "I fight with my claws because they can deal more damage than a closed fist."

"Ooh." She understood now, she looked down at her claws, "I've never fought differently than with my fist's.."

Sesshomaru watched her for a moment, conflict glinting in his golden gaze, before humming, "You will come with me, to visit an acquaintance of my father's."

"Hm?" She tilted her head in confusion, the sun was starting to shine it's bright glow on the surrounding area.

He slowly stood to his feet, "Clothes will be made for you and then I will train you to fight like a demon."

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