Disclaimer : Inuyasha's characters don't belong to me!
Chapter 7 : Private training
Auriane woke up with a start. Her mind in the mist, she wondered how she did get back in her room. She only remembered falling asleep in Sesshomaru's room. At his name, she jolted upright in her bed, checking in panic every part of her body to see if everything was at its original place. The dog must have been furious to find her like this and punished her in her sleep by cutting one of her limb or something else!
She realized suddenly that she wasn't alone in her room... Sliding her eyes to her right, Auriane jumped, not expecting to see Jaken so close to her face scrutinizing her face intently.
Punching him hard on his head till his face was glued on the mattress, she yelled, "What do you think you are doing imp! You scared the shit out of me!"
She could hear Jaken's voice smothered by the mattress, "You! Monstruous and brutal woman! I was just making sure that your brain was intact! You were acting strangely!"
"Oh! Sorry Jaken…" she said without conviction. Unsticking him from her futon she asked, "So why do I have the pleasure of welcoming you into my room in the middle of the night?"
Jaken cleared his voice. Taking a solemn position he answered, "First of all idiot, it is dawn, not the middle of the night!" Looking at her, he added with a jubilant air, "The Great Lord Sesshomaru sent me to fetch you. Your training will begin each day at dawn."
She lay back on her bed groaning, "Oh no! I don't want to go. I have no wish to be his punching bag! Plus I'm tired!"
She heard the imp choking at her sides. Pushing her out of the bed furiously with the tip of his stick he screamed, "No one defies Lord Sesshomaru's orders! He summoned you! It should be an honor for you!"
Auriane contemplated the options she had for a moment. 'If I stay here and I sleep, the dog will kill me. If I run away or I hide, he will find me and kill me. If I'm going to train with him, I have a chance to get out alive for good behavior ...'
"Okay I'm coming, just give me time to get ready!" She said getting out of her bed.
Sesshomaru hated to wait. He was waiting the infuriating onna on the tatami of his spacious dojo. Last night, she had already infuriated him when she hadn't wake up from his balcony's floor. He had to order a guard to transport her to her room and now she dared to make him wait once more! Suddenly, his sharp ears caught movements of steps heading rapidly towards the dojo.
After a few moments, one of the doors opened, letting appear Jaken and the human.
"My apologies, my lord. It's all her fault if we are late my Lord!" The imp said pointing an accusing finger toward Auriane.
"Jaken." The Lord said, his eyes not leaving Auriane's form.
The toad asked trembling, "Yes my Lord?"
"Leave." Jaken wasted no time to bow and leave the room.
Taking a deep breath the woman thought, 'So here we are… I hope to get out alive from this training session.'
She noticed a change in Sesshomaru, something was different. "You're not wearing your armor?"
The Taiyoukai let slide a mocking smile at the corner of his lips and answered, "There is no utility of it against an opponent like you."
"It's amazing how you are able to inflate my ego." She said in a small voice. This situation presaged nothing good… Feeling uncomfortable under the Lord's calculating stare she asked, "Where do we start? Should I warm up or something like that?"
"You made us lose too much time." Sesshomaru told her causing her to gulped. Advancing a few steps, he said nonchalantly, "Touch me."
"Pervert!" She abruptly exclaimed. Seeing the Lord was raising one eyebrow at her she added quickly, "Can I know why do you want me to touch you?"
"This is your first exercise. Now, enough talking!" She saw him charge straight at her and panicked. 'Oh no! I'm in a big shit!'
For several minutes, she tried to touch him when he was close to her, but every time he hustled her hard, causing her to always lose balance. The more the time passed, the more Sesshomaru accelerated his speed. Auriane felt like there was a white tornado obstructing her view. She could no longer distinguish the walls around her. She could only see white color surrounding her and when she tried to reach the white with her hands, she was severly ejected back. Sesshomaru was tireless, he knew the only way for her to take his training seriously and to see what she had in her guts, was to push her to her limits.
Her head was spinning excruciatingly to the point she was losing her balance without even being pushed by Sesshomaru. To get back up on her feet was a task that asked her a superhuman effort since the pressure of Sesshomaru's aura was suffocating. Knowing that the only way to make him stop was to succeed this challenge, she concentrated with all her might once she was back on her feet. She could hear the voice of her Sensei of the village of demons slayers ringing in her head. 'You have to welcome the aura of your opponent inside you till your own aura captures the intruder. Then let yourself be guided, his aura will guide yours to its source.'
She cut herself from the world for a short a moment and looked inside herself. Disregarding the Inuyoukai's movements, she concentrated on the beating of her heart. She could hear it beating loudly in her ears, making her deaf to any other noise. As a liberation, Auriane felt her aura arise around her, wrapping her protectively.
When she opened her eyes, she saw something strange, in all the white made by the speed of Sesshomaru, she could see a distinct a form of red color. 'It's him! It's his aura!'
Sesshomaru had noticed the change in the attitude of the human. She had become steady on her feet and her aura of a strange bluish color was surrounding her body. He wondered what was she waiting till he could feel her trying to reach him invisibly. He charged at her again, ready to destabilize her again, when to his astonishment he saw her stepping to the side and felt the hand of the young woman stroking his arm. It was brief, but he felt it! She had succeeded, faster than he would have thought!
The Lord wasn't finished with her yet. He caught her by the neck and lifted her body in the air, awakening her from her trance.
"It's not fair!" Auriane tried to exclaimed, but she couldn't say anything more with Sesshomaru's hand circling her neck like a vice. Cursing herself for having forgotten to take her gauntlet to protect herself with the dome, she thought, 'What does he wants? This bastard should be congratulating me, not strangling me!'
She wanted him to let go of her with all of her being. She struggled furiously causing the Lord to smirk.
Growling, she managed to say angrily, "Let go of me! NOW!" Realizing that the Taiyoukai wasn't loosening his hold, she appealed to her last resort and scream in her mind, 'Makejidamashii!'
Strangely, instead of appearing in her hand, the ax materialized behind Sesshomaru. The Lord saw the look of shock on her face as she looked over his shoulder. When he detected the new presence behind him, it was already too late. The axe slipped through the air towards its owner, cutting Sesshomaru's cheek on the way, spreading a few drops of his blood on the tatami.
During a fraction of second, the youkai's eyes were wide, looking intently at the beautiful axe in the onna's hand.
'Oh god! That's it! I'm a dead woman!' Auriane started to panic, "I'm really, really sorry! I didn't want to hurt you, I just wanted you to release me, that's all!"
He wasn't listening her, his eyes were still glued on her weapon,"You have hidden this particular information from me." Sesshomaru told her lowly.
She gulped loudly, feeling reassured when she saw his cheek healing and suddenly exclaimed stupidly, "Surprise!"
Without addressing her, he left the room, leaving Auriane collapsing of exhaustion on the ground. Sesshomaru walked briskly through the halls and stairs, ignoring everyone in his path, completely absorbed by his new discovery about the human. "Kensaku! Jaken!" He ordered. The Lord informed them of his departure and specified, "Jaken, ensure that nothing happen to the humans in my absence."
"Of course my Lord!" The toad replied, wondering where his Lord was going and why.
Before leaving the room, Sesshomaru looked at Jaken out of the corner of his eyes, "If you were to disappoint me Jaken, I will have to kill you!"
"Yes my Lord!" The imp said holding his breath.
Satisfied, the lord could finally go hunting the witch Tadako. It would be better for her to be cooperative once he find her. He was seeking answers and required to have them fast!
Auriane was snoring lightly on the tatami when a small hand pinched her nostrils, followed by childish laughter. Smiling, she grabbed Rin and attacked her with ticklings, causing the girl to scream and struggle.
"Stop it Auriane-chan!" Rin tried to say between laugh, "Masaari said breakfast is ready and that I should come looking for you."
Once the woman stopped interested by the word 'food', Rin asked, "He said that you must be hungry after your training with Sesshomaru-sama. Is it true Auriane-chan? Did you train with Sesshomaru-sama? How was it?"
"Woah woah! Too many questions in one line little girl!" Extending her hand to Rin she said, "I'll tell you everything on our way to the kitchen. I even have some news about Ah-Un!" The child squealed happily hearing the dragon's name.
At the kitchen, Masaaki informed them of the Lord sudden departure and discreetly advised Auriane to stay on guard now that the Lord was absent. The day passed quickly. After their delicious breakfast the girls went to keep company to Ah-Un. Then, Nahoe showed them every corner of the castle and they ended up the day annoying the poor Jaken.
Dawn came far too soon for Auriane, who was awakened by a light tapping on her door. Lowering her quilt in order to see who was coming into her room she answered, "Come in!"
She saw a smiling Nahoe appeared in the doorway, "Good morning Auriane-san! Jaken told me to wake you for your training!"
Auriane answered confused, "Sesshomaru came back to kick my ass again?" She really was not motivated to have the meat of her poor body tenderized by the strenght of the Taiyoukai.
"No, Lord Sesshomaru isn't back yet." Nahoe told her laughing, "But he gave specifics instructions to his Lieutenant Raidon to train you during his absence."
"Why me! Couldn't he forget about me just a little while?" The human said throwing her quilt away. "But no! Mr Smartass Sesshomaru had to hand me over to his blood thirsty lieutenant!"
The maid tried to reassure her while she was putting on her pants, "Do not worry Auriane-san, Raidon-sama is a very respectful Inuyoukai and can adapt his strength according to his opponent."
Auriane approached her face very close to Nahoe's one and peered at her suspiciously. She had felt a strange emotion coming from the female youkai when she pronounced Raidon's name. "You like him!"
The maid blushed furiously and stuttered, "No, why are insinuating such an inappropriate thought?"
"You like him!" The woman repeated stupidly, proud of her discovery.
"Hush! Don't say such a thing! Other youkais may hear you!" Nahoe said worriedly.
"Why do you sound so worried? would it be a bad thing for you to like the lieutenant?" The human wondered.
Accompanying Auriane toward her door, the maid lowered her gaze and confessed, "It would be frowned upon for a maid to even think about having this kind of thoughts toward a high ranking youkai like Raidon-sama."
Leaving her room Auriane exhaled, "It's really sad Nahoe."
"Do not worry about me Auriane-san, I am used to it now." The maid smiled and led the human to the dojo before taking her leave.
Facing the giant door of the dojo, Auriane wondered how to coax the Lieutenant. Inside the dojo, a very tall Inouyoukai was meditating on the tatami, wondering when the human on the other side of the door will dare to cross the threshold. He was sitting cross-legged, his long white hair tied up in a high ponytail, the top of his training kimono was slightly open, revealing a chest particularly muscular.
He opened one eye to see what was doing the young woman, after hearing the creak of the door.
He spotted a stick entering the room, at the end of which hung a piece of white cloth.
"What is the meaning of all this?" Rang the big voice of the youkai.
"It is the human way to say 'Hi! I come with friendly intentions'" Raidon heard the woman say through the door. He roared with laughter at her antic.
"Why are you doing this onna?" He asked her.
"Well to preserve my butt from being kicked of course!" Auriane answered.
"Jaken informed me that you are full of resources and to stay on my guard. I have to say I wasn't expecting this!" Standing up he said, "Come in young human. It is time for your training to start!" He laughed when he heard the woman grown behind the door.
When she entered the room, Auriane immediately understood why Nahoe was in love with the lieutenant. He was huge, imposing and handsome. His face was sweet, charming and smiling. His presence was kind of reassuring, appeasing. He seemed to be calm on the surface, but she could feel something boiling, something passionate inside him.
He invited her politely to come and settle in front of him.
"Morning, I'm Auriane!" She said, thinking that if they established links, he will have more qualms if he manhandled her.
Bowing at her he answered, "Good morning Auriane-san, I am Raidon, Lord Sesshomaru's lieutenant."
Taking a fighting stance she asked, "So what fate do you have in store for me today?"
Sitting crossed leg, he answered with charming smile, "Meditation." He chuckled when he heard her say it was the last thing she was thinking about.
"Why?" He asked her, curious to know her thought.
"Well, Do not get me wrong but, you're an Inuyoukai and the only Inu youkai i know..." Closing her eyes and laying her hand on her heart while taking a dramatic posture, she added, remembering her trainings with Inuyasha and the Lord, "Have always been particularly rough with me during workouts. I think that loving to fight and manhandle the opponent is a Inu thing."
Raidon smiled. She was not completely wrong. He also loved intense fights with strong opponents. It made him euphoric. This is also why he was particularly fond of training with his Lord.
"We, Inouyoukai love challenges. I concede that sometimes we can became a little too enthusiastic when we're facing a formidable opponent." He answered her.
"Yeah, like the thrill of the hunt?" She replied, smiling.
He laughed and said, "Yes you can say that. So now Auriane-san we will start our training. Lord Sesshomaru told me about your ability to use your aura. So you will focus on it, until I give you further instructions."
"Okay!" Crossing her legs, she started to relax and tried to clear her head of all thoughts as she had been taught. After a few minutes, Raidon was amazed, apart from the mikos and witches, he had never seen a human having an aura so developed and strong.
"Well now let's see what you can do in close combat!" Raidon said interrupting her meditation.
Auriane had lost track of time, she was exhausted and sweaty, a real zombie, while Raidon didn't even have a hair askew. It's been some time now that she didn't have the strength to launch attacks anymore. All she could do was undergo those of the youkai.
Raidon finally decided to put an end to her misery and to Aurian's relief he said "Well, I think that will be enough for today young one!"
She felt her legs under her weaken and collapsed. From the floor she exclaimed, "Thank you! You just made my day! I think I'm gonna stay here for a little while longer though. Just the time for my body to stop dying."
Extending a hand to her to help her getting up he confessed, "I must say, you have pleasantly surprised me Auriane-san. You are very tough for a human and a female one I might say!"
"Thank you!" She wasn't used to be complimented by a youkai, this pleased her greatly.
Raidon began to walk her back to the castle when they saw Nahoe approaching them at brisk pace. Auriane could see the eyes of lieutenant brighten at the sight of the female youkai, followed by a glimmer of concern. Frowning she turned toward a panicked Nahoe, "Is something wrong Nahoe?" She asked her.
"Rin-san! Rin-san is missing!" She nearly screamed, causing the sudden concern of the women and the lieutenant.
"How can she be missing? Do you know if …" Auriane didn't finished her sentence. The maid explained to her everything she knew, while they ran towards the castle. Apparently, Rin had accidentally broken a vase in the room of Sesshomaru when she put fresh flowers inside it. The chief of the housekeepers was present and had violently attacked the child. Nahoe tried to calm the housekeeper, but she said horrible things about Rin, who fled to her room crying. Jaken alerted by the cries rushed to separate the two demoness and demanded to know what was happening. He locked the chief of the housekeepers in her room until the Lord's return so he could punish her himself. But when they went to see Rin to comfort her, she had disappeared…
Arriving at the castle they could hear the desperate cries of Jaken outside. "Riiiiiiinnnn! Riiiiinnnn!"
"Jaken?" Auriane tried to attract his attention.
"Lord Sesshomaru will kill me if something happen to Rin!" Jaken sobbed while envisioning the Lord ripping his head off his body.
"She is nowhere inside the castle." Came Kensaku's voice behind them.
"Do you think she was able to leave the field" Nahoe asked Auriane worriedly.
"If she isn't in the castle, she's probably gone in search of the person she trusts the most in the world..." Turning towards the dense vegetation surrounding the area, Auriane added, "She's surely gone to find Sesshomaru."
