Words to know (most of them you can probably figure out from context, but just in case...):

Onna- Woman

ningen- human

mokomoko- Sesshomaru's fluff (it's actually a type of parasite demon)

sambucus- poisonous berries kinda look like blueberries

nashi- Japanese Pears

'Sesshomaru's beast speaking in Sesshomaru's head'

'thoughts'

Another Sesshomaru Story

Chapter 4: Marionette

~Sesshomaru~

The first thing I felt was pain lighting each nerve throughout my chest. Pain was a good sign; it meant I was alive. After my battle with the Southern Lord, I managed to hide in a cave in the Eastern Lands near Inuyasha's Forest. Ignoring the pain in my chest, I smelled the air. My blood was the dominating scent and then my own, the animals in the woods, and a peculiar sweet rose scent was particularly strong and intoxicating. I heard light breaths and a heartbeat close, right next to my person. I cursed- I could not fight off an enemy in this state. My eyes snapped open, glaring red, and searched for the fiend.

I shifted a little and the pain shot through my chest. I glanced next to myself and my eyes widened. Beside me was an onna ningen curled in my mokomoko. The foolish onna was asleep. What was she doing here?

'She came to us m' lord.'

'Silence. Your opinion is not needed beast.'

I tried to lift myself, but the ache was shooting through my nerves and too great to ignore. I glanced downwards only to discover the makeshift bandage on my wound. It was bleeding through the shreds of my kimono.

'She cared for us.'

'Silence.'

I inwardly growled. My beast was never this talkative. This foolish onna would pay a price for shredding my clothing, but also rewarded for her astute hospitality and my beast whole-heartedly agreed.

~Ayami~

I shifted in my sleep as I felt eyes on me. I blinked cursing the light coming through the cave entrance. I yawned and snuggled back against the strangers fluff. Wait. Fluff? Oh right. I had fallen down a well and walked mindlessly through a forest until I found a cave with a bleeding kabuki actor. I sighed and figured I should at least change his bandages.

I pushed myself off the fluff and looked around the cave. The fire had died out and the bright light meant that it was probably the middle of the day. However, there was something missing, the stranger. How could he possibly be walking around with such a gash across his chest? I stood up and immediately regretted it. My head spun and my eyes blackened from the lack of food. My hypoglycemia was acting up again. I needed food now before I passed out. Ugh. This was not my day. I walked out of the cave and began my search for food.

Looking for food in a forest is a nightmare. It wouldn't have been so bad if I had any training at this sort of thing, but since I didn't, I had no idea what was poisonous and what was not.

"Is that a blueberry?" I mused aloud. I really didn't know. At this point, I really didn't care and was going to eat it anyway. I picked a few berries and was about to eat one until the earlier stranger knocked the berries out of my hand. "Hey. I was going to eat those."

The silver haired stranger glared at me. "Those are sambucus. They are poisonous."

I frowned. "But I'm hungry." My vision blackened again. "And I really need to find some food before I pass out."

His eyes narrowed and he walked away towards the cave.

"Hey wait!" I called, but the silver haired stranger ignored me. "Can you at least tell what's not poisonous?"

When we were almost back at the cave, he stopped and looked up. I followed his gaze and saw hundreds of yellow nashi covering the tree branches. I reached the lowest limb and plucked as many Japanese pears as possible. When I was done with my haul, I carried them back to the cave and ate a few of them.

"So how come you can walk around with that gash? Doesn't it hurt?" I said taking another bite out of the fruit. His eyes narrowed. I was beginning to think it was his favored expression.

"This Sesshomaru is not weak like you ningen." He sounded disgusted.

"I did not presume you were. I just figured you would want a wound like that to heal before walking around. It might open again." As if on cue, the blood began to seep through his clothing again. "I could change the bandages. That is if you would let me." I looked at him expecting to give the go ahead.

"Hn. It is unnecessary."

He didn't even glance my way. I had never met someone so… I don't know. He acted like my existence didn't matter and his ungratefulness was quite apparent. Although he showed me the pears, he hardly cared at all about my well being. Ugh! He was so entirely frustrating! I wouldn't care if he was some kind of king, I did not deserve being ignored. I gathered the few pears I had and stomped right out of the cave. Well… that was my plan until he materialized out of thin air that is.

"How… how did you?" I stuttered and backed away until I tripped on a rock, falling and spilling my pears. He stood over me in all of his domineering glory. He glared like an ethereal god, beautiful and deadly.

"You will stay here onna. It isn't necessary to leave yet." He spoke in a stoic tone, but everything else about him screamed 'obey me or die'. Unfortunately I wasn't one that liked being told what to do.

I turned my head in defiance. "I won't stay. I am leaving."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw his eyes narrow and flicker red, but he said nothing. He just sat across from the black ashes.

I had won or so I thought. Little did I know that the Western Lord never loses, I just played into his hand by leaving the cave like and pawn in an intricate game of chess. By the end of the night, I would be his and there was little I could do about it being the weak human I am. Or so he thought. I was not weak.

A/N: Woot! Another chapter! I unfortunately will be updating my other story next (Unrequited Love), so the next chapter may take longer than anyone (including myself) likes. Sorry I'm so sporadic with updating. I truly try keeping a schedule and then it dies... Happy Halloween!