Note: I apologize in advance for the length of the A/N at the end of this chapter.
{.x.o.} | Beauty & the Blood | {.o.x.}
{x| Chapter 8: Insufferable|x}
I hate to think about her. I haven't seen her in years, I really shouldn't bother… I'm stupid. This is dangerous, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm here looking down at her little village of slayers. They think they're so safe, that none of my kind would dare attack them at their strong hold, but really it's simple for one of us to slip into the area to do some minor surveillance. They'd surely notice a horde, but none seemed to pick up that I was here. I stood under the shade of the tree all day until the sun began to set—perhaps she left this village? Went somewhere else? Maybe… she's dead? Humans die frequently…
Right before I decided that I needed to go fest I heard her laugh, one of the many aspects of her that had me enchanted, and turned around to see her walk out of one of their little huts they call homes with… a child in arms. I can't tell how old that thing is, I'm not good with guessing ages of humans. It was laughing, too, and trying its best to grab at his toy that she was dangling in front of it—is it a boy or girl? I can't tell from here.
She looked happy, very happy…
Then another man walked out of the very same hut, just as bundled in winter clothing as she and her child were, a smile plastered upon his lips as he placed his hand on the small of her back and another on her stomach as he whispered something intimately in her ear, whatever he said made her smile change into a more surreal one as she turned her head to look at him. It was her husband, I could tell from the ease she had in allowing him to touch her like that… the way she leaned into his arms. She was too proper; she wouldn't let a mortal touch her like that unless they were bond in 'holy' matrimony.
Were they expecting another child?
She moved on… she was the last person that I had expected to give up the hunt to raise a family. It's pathetic, she's pathetic… but then where does this insufferable jealousy come from as I stand here staring at the happy little family?
I can't take it. I almost tore the tree I grasped with such grizzly strength before I ran off.
That's it. That's the last time I'll ever see her.
I'll go back... I'll go back to her, back home.
—{.x.o.x.}—
How could she? Of all the things she could have said in retaliation to his sincere request why did she have to say she'd rather die than turn into a vampire? Than to spend forever with him?
The stupid bitch, he just… gave up and tried his best to think less of her and more of his lair and the dismal dynamics that entailed being one of the elites there. Months passed by in a blink to him when the news ran him down. He had to go with a few others to speak to Kouga and his pack about how they continued to intrude on their feeding territory. Ginta and Hakkaku leaped at the chance to throw it in his face the fact that his little mortal was to be married and wouldn't be a threat to them any longer. Being the stubborn bastard he was he didn't believe them at all, how could she marry another so shortly after him? How could a mortal win her heart when he couldn't?
Then Kouga said it with detached candor, "that little vixen? The Higurashi clan is on lock down right now because if it, I guess she's marrying someone that's a big deal in her clan. It doesn't matter anyhow to me, just the fact that they'll be out of my fur for a while."
He didn't do it out of spite like the fucking wolf Inuyasha knew so well would if he wanted to insult him, it was just a fleeting notion, just a 'heads up' to his allies in the war against slayers… and it made him believe.
That was it; he couldn't take anymore of anything. He couldn't stay… not anywhere near her, not when there was a chance that their lives would be tangled together once more. That knowledge… knocked his conscious out, numbed him for his null journey east.
To the only person that could make it alright, that could make him alright.
—{.x.o.x.}—
Great gingers greeted him the moment he walked in to the fabulous fortress, not a bit of him was surprised that she knew he was there. It was another part of their bond, he could feel her near and she him, but the way her unblinking, awe-struck straight followed him around while he spoke to the elders of her new lair did.
"Really," he started up as soon as he finished the formalities to walk over to her, "you can't say you're surprised, can you?"
"Dumbfounded would be a better word choice," she retorted, folding her bare arms below her fair sized bosom, "what are you doing here, Sei?"
"You were wrong," he simply stated. He needn't say anymore, the way his daylight filled stare flickered away from her said it all. With a tilt of her head she sighed and stepped forward to lean her forehead to his chest, "I wanted to see you."
"You crossed the raging sea just because you wanted to see me?" She murmured. Did he expect her to be that naïve? Didn't they know each other better than that by now?
"I need you," he whispered after he loosely lifted his arms to wrap around her waist. She pulled away only enough to look up at him before away once more. A silent sigh escaped her red lips before she let her exposed shoulders sag, she could feel his hands waver over her maroon gown, float upon her corset covered back, and finally rest upon her bare skin.
There was really little more that could be said.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"I like this," he quietly confessed as his fingers traced her left cheek bone, his eyes assaulting the very area before he kissed her scarred shoulder, "is it permanent?"
"Of course not," she muttered back after she folded her arms under her head, her gingers following his every moment as his lips continued to linger on her skin, smothering the blemish she so fervently hated until he began up her shoulder and to her neck, skipping over the chocker she still constantly wore, all the way up to the new minute maroon star upon her cheek.
"Why'd you do it?"
"It's a trend," she mused, "it will only last a few years before it fades away. Suikotsu liked the idea…"
Finally, she touched at the topic that brought such rigid tension to her body, the one he had been avoiding for her sake, but not anymore. "How will he take this?"
"This betrayal?" She sighed, "he'll blame you… sweet Suikotsu doesn't have a mean bone in his body but for you he'll probably make an exception. He'll hate you. He'll forgive me… like he always has. It's far worse, I think, for him to forgive me… it kills me, Sei, it really does," she squeezed her eyes shut more, along with her hand around her scarlet sheets.
"I'm sorry," he lied before pulling her off of the bed and onto him.
"What happened?" She gently groaned, nuzzling her forehead against his neck all the while.
"She said she'd rather die than ever convert… than stay," he complained while his fingers fiddled around in her long, shinning, straight onyx strands.
"Did you tell her what I told you to?"
"Yep," he gripped, "you were wrong."
"Ah," she nodded lightly, "this is punishment then, is it?"
"Keh! You think bedding me can be a punishment?" He snarled as he jerked her all the way against him, barring his nose in her hair as he shut his eyes.
The smallest of smiles crossed her lips, "you are full of yourself, as always, it's nice to know she didn't destroy that in you. How long are you going to be staying here?"
"However long you plan to."
"Seishirou," she snapped while she pushed off of him and glared down at his blank face, "you are not staying here!"
"Seeing as I'm the creator, and I'm the only one with power to order anyone around… and that I'm the oldest by more than two centuries and that the elders of this lair just welcomed me here with open arms, I'd have to say otherwise," he countered while a smirk crossed his lips.
"Sei!" She almost whined as she rolled off of him and up in her sheets, "just because that wretched woman rejected you does not mean you can come here and ruin my relationship!"
"You are once again," he lingered on that word for a bit, "in bed with me willingly. What type of relationship could you possibly have with him?"
"You are my creator!" She stomped as soon as she got off the bed and to her feet, grasping the sheets that she was tangled in with grand force to cover herself from his prying eyes. "Of course I am! Even just an implication by you makes me want to do it!"
"I know I'm good," he gloated as he pulled himself into a sitting position, "but—"
"That is not what I mean," she complained as she crotched forward some, "and you know it! An order must be followed but to have one's creator just suggest something makes it… I want to please you, that's been embedded in me since you converted me, of course I'd be here with you!"
"Not everyone has sensational sex with the creator all the time," he coaxed, not letting his smug smirk falter a bit, "I know I don't."
She just groaned before slamming her bathroom door behind her.
"Women," he mumbled to himself before shaking his head and sinking down into the bed once more.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"Seishirou!" He didn't even cringe at the ferocity filled name as he turned around to see a rather steaming Suikotsu storm his way, his not even shoulder length hazelnut hair held up in a tight ponytail and blaring beige eyes locked intently to the dull ambers before him.
"Suikotsu," Inuyasha grinned right as the man snatched his white shirt collar in hand and yanked him closer, "how's it going?"
"Don't screw with me," he demanded, shaking the conceited man slightly before continuing, "leaving Kikyou alone. She's with me and has been for the past two decades now and you know it! I have put up with your insufferable interference for far too long now, will you please just leave her alone? We left the west for a reason and you follow us all the way? Only to join my lair? What is it that you want? To take Kikyou away from me? You've had your chances, now let me have mine."
It amused him to see how the fleeting fury faded so swiftly, the threat fused into a plea. Kikyou was right; he was a kind man and could muster up only so much anger even towards the man that was ripping his beloved away.
… for what reason?
"You do understand that I have never ordered her into bed with me, don't you?" Inuyasha inquired as Suikotsu's grasp slipped off of his shirt and down to his side, his brows bending in a different manner. "Face it, I'm her creator, her feelings for me will always be deeper than any she might have for you. I will come and claim her whenever I want, it is my right and you have no standing to interfere in that."
Slowly, Suikotu's stare moved from Inuyasha to the far off elegant tapestry upon the stone wall, "that is only because you are her creator. She loves me, there is no outstanding circumstance. She simply does."
"Not enough to tell me no, though," Inuyasha jabbed, he almost felt bad to see the almost nonexistent cringe course through the man before him. "If you want peace, let Kikyou go, I'm here to claim her as mine once and for all. I'm not going to let her go anymore."
That got burning beiges to snap back to him, "I will not let Kikyou go. I love her; you obviously don't know what it means to love someone. Do you know what pain you constantly cause her!?"
Inuyasha only rolled his eyes, "she's mine, Suikotsu, you can't do a damn thing about it. As I've said a thousand times and will a thousand more, she's my creation, and better yet," another grand grin crept up his face, "I'm your elder."
The well-natured man only pressed his lips and clenched his fists, it was true… Inuyasha was his senior by about five decades and that was enough that he had to respect the difference.
"Kikyou's mine, Suikotsu, get over it," was all he had to say before he went on his way. He only got down a set of stairs and one hallway before he ran into yet another exasperating obstacle.
"Seishirou," the husky, deep, voice beckoned getting him to stop in his tracks and glare over at the grinning fool leaning lazily upon the wall, "we need to talk."
"Bankotsu," he grunted, it appeared that he, too, had gotten into the new fad of tattooing one's face. The purple rather bulky cross upon his forehead—it was perfectly framed by his black bangs, too—matched his eyes well. "I'm late to a meeting with the elders, will you fuck off?"
"I'm going to have to say no to that one," Bankotsu kept up as he stepped in front of Inuyasha's way, his long braided black hair bouncing upon his back all the while. "Kikyou is your creation—"
"I just had this conversation with Suikotsu not more than two minutes ago," he groaned before he stuffed his hands into his pants pocket and took a step back, "it's between him and me, not you, back the fuck off or I'll—"
"What?" Bankotsu interrupted, "we're equal in age, Sei, you can't do jack fucking shit to me. Suikotsu is my brother," he stated, his playful façade faded just like that with his step forward so that the two were almost pressed against each other. "I like Kikyou, I like her… attitude, she's good for Suikotsu, she loves Suikotsu and he is beyond that with her. You need to back off and let them be."
"Really?" He awed harshly, "you are going to tell me I need leave my Kikyou alone? She's fucking mine! You have no right to meddle!"
"She's with Suikotsu!" Bankotsu boasted, "leave it!"
A deep seeded growl was all that Inuyasha could find before he clenched his teeth together to snarl, "I don't have time for you! I need to get to the fucking meeting!"
"By all means," Bankotsu let his carefree smile shine as he stepped aside, "just keep in mind that fucking with Suikotsu means you'll have to deal with me."
He shook his head and tried to wiggle the wrath that was building up in him out before he found the doors that held the council, a deep breath in and another out, he had to stay calm… they no right to get between him and his creation. No matter what they say.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"Suikotsu's very upset, Sei," Kikyou pouted before he pulled her to kneel around his lap, "please—"
"I need you," he whispered, his golden gaze locked up on her gingers that softened at the sound of his plea, "I really do. I don't… I can't. I want you. I'm sick of everything, Kikyou, I'm sick of the stupid politics that I have to play a part in. I love you," he stressed, "it hasn't anything to do with the bond. Please, I need you, Kikyou."
"So… you are asking me to give up Suikotsu so we can have another fling?" She frowned; the most petite sigh flowed from her parted lips, "he's important. He's in love with me. Besides," she shook her head lightly as she lifted her hands from his shoulders to his cheek, "you are essentially waging war against Suikotsu and his brothers if you keep this up. He's a sweet man and he wouldn't do anything but the other six…"
"It's ridiculous to call them 'brothers'," he mocked with a roll of his eyes.
"What would you call it? They all have the same creator, is that not essentially what they are?"
"It's ludicrous to have seven creations," he gripped only to feel Kikyou yank his face so he'd look at her serious stare. "It is."
"I know Bankotsu bothered you today, and the two of you are of equal age, you can't bully him like you can the rest. Jakotsu—"
"Please," Inuyasha muttered with a small shiver, "I don't want to talk about that one…"
A smile almost broke out before she gave her knees a break and sat down in his lap, her hands in hers, "Kyokotsu, Mukotsu, Renkotsu, and Ginkotsu? " She shook her head lightly, "do you really want to deal with them? Renkotsu is almost your age, Ginkotsu is a grotesque monster, and… well, we all know how you feel about Jakotsu. Is it—?"
"Are you worth it?" Inuyasha inquired, "don't be a moron, of course you are. I'd fight with each and every one of them, or all of them at once," he shrugged, "I love you. I don't care if you think it's because of our bond or anything moronic like that. I don't want to be without you anymore. I don't want you with anyone else. This is it," her eyes met his, "I mean it. I'll beg," he offered with something akin to a pout as he pulled her close, "I'll get on my hands and knees for you," he pressed his lips to hers, "I'll fight each one of the so called 'Band of Seven' to win you over."
"Sei…" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "you are hurting from that girl… you—"
"If anything, she's shown me that I've been looking in all the wrong places. I'm done," he assured as his eyes wondered in hers, "I'm here because I want you. I'm here because you're all I need. You know me better than anyone, you…" he paused for a moment before he pressed his forehead to hers, "even back when we weren't bound like this… you never left me. You refused to let me convert you but you never wanted me to leave your village and each time I did you told me to come back. You didn't ask, you demanded that I did," a smile swept up his lips, "I always did… and you were always there."
"That's true…" she whispered.
"Even when you hated me with a burning passion you never left my side. When I needed you, you were there. Whenever… Kikyou," he tightened his grip on her, "you are always there when I need you. I don't think it's just because of the bond we share. I honestly believe you'd be there with or without it. Don't you? Don't trust that I'd always be there for you, too? If you turn me down now I'll keep trying, I might not have the 'kind soul' that Suikotsu has but… I love you, desperately. Crazily—"
"So," she soothed as she pressed a slender finger upon his lips to stop him, "you are really willing to go against the Band of Seven, for me?"
It wasn't until he saw her genuine, glorious, smile that his returned, "Kikyou, before our bond came about, how many monsters did I help you fight off to keep you all to myself? I can't help that I'm selfish like that."
"Sei," she laughed as he toppled them over onto the bed fully only to clash his mouth with hers.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"Seishirou!" He liked his name, better than that atrocity she called him, but the more people shouted it out with an edge of spite the more it ate away at his already very short fuse. He knew that particular judgmental tone and ignored it completely as he started down the swirling stairs. "Seishirou!"
"What?!" He screamed back, stopping midway down the narrow corridor to turn and see a familiar figure only a few steps above him. The purple-blueish strips upon his cheeks weren't a new edition at all, "what?"
"Don't take that tone with me," the older one with finely kept silver hair tied behind his head and fiery filled ambers locked upon the boy below him demanded, "what trouble are you starting?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha snapped back, "why are you here? I thought you were fucking high commander of the west or some bullshit like that."
"You are such an ungrateful," he shook his head and grinded his fangs before he relaxed, "I came to survey the east. We are having too many problems with slayers in the west, and the more I see of this land the more I like—"
"So what?!" Inuyasha snarled as he clenched his fists around the stairs railing, "we're going to abandon the west to those fuckers? We're going to run!? They'll only follow!"
"You are really one to talk," the other scowled, "from what I hear you let the same slayer girl go three times."
That got him to press his lips together and snort before he turned around to head on to his task.
"Get back here, Seishirou!"
As soon as he leaped down to the final floor he spun around, "what the hell do you want from me?! I haven't seen you in years and you come here to what? Lecture me!?"
"No," he retorted, rubbing his temple to restrain his temper, "I came to speak with Bishamon and heard that you were staying at this lair now. You jump around more than any other vampire I know; it's hard to keep track of you."
"Whatever," he scoffed, "what do you want?"
"I heard you are in the center of the latest drama, it has to do with you and your creation—"
"Gods," he groaned as he clenched his fists, "this is intolerable! She is mine! My creation! I'm sick of this! The rules state that no one can get between a creator and his—"
"That's true," he nodded, "I'm just—"
"Are you saying you want help me?" Inuyasha ridiculed with a cocked brow, "ah, I see, you are here to save the day? Of course, when it's convenient for you, you're the most helpful guy in all the world, huh?"
"Stop it already," he sighed and folded his arms, "do you want my help or not?"
"I'd rather be staked, see ya' in another few decades," he stated before he began off down the passage.
"Get back here, Seishirou!"
"You can't make me!" He shouted back with a backhanded wave.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"I can't," a breathless beauty hushed as she rolled over onto her back.
"Are you kidding me?" Inuyasha retorted, not even he could move onto his side to look at her.
"You are nonstop…" she sighed with closed eyes, "I don't know where you get all the energy…"
His classic, "keh", was all she heard in retaliation.
"I saw Taisho-sama today," she dared to mention, "I assume he knows you are here…?"
"He just happened upon me being here, he didn't intend to see me but the lair's leader Bishamon. Now that he knows I'm here he suddenly wants to act all buddy-buddy like we're somehow…"
"Family?" She mused as she turned her head to look at him as he stared ever so aimlessly at the ceiling, "he is your family, just as I am."
"Keh," he muttered, "I don't want to talk about him, alright?"
"Fine," if he didn't want to talk about that then there was a rather pressing issue she had been meaning to address. "When was the last time you had something to drink?" she meekly inquired.
"Recently."
"I don't believe that," she whispered while she turned all the way to twirl her legs with his and rest her head against his chest, "your heart beat is far too slow… Sei, I'm worried about you. I'm ravished after all our time… in here," she smiled shyly as she shut her eyes, "you must be, too, let's go get something to drink."
"You go, I'll—"
"Be a fool?" She muttered, pushing herself off of his firm chest to look down at him, her somber strands framing their faces like curtains, "I'm sorry that dim-witted slayer hurt you so, Sei, I am, but drinking only every now and then is not going to make it stop. Do you love me? Truly? Like you promised you did when I left Suikotsu for you?"
His eyes flickered away from her for a moment before he nodded, "I do."
"Then, my darling, let's get dressed and go get something to drink," she leaned down to kiss his earlobe and murmur sweetly, "we've been in here for two nights now. It's about time we make at least one appearance around our home."
"Maybe," he grinned, "I am thirsty…"
"Of course you are," she let her lips move from his ear to his jaw line all the way to his bottom lip, "Sei," she whispered upon his bottom lip before tugging on it, "I'm here."
"What… what do you mean by that?" He swallowed as her assault continued down his neck, he could already feel whatever meek amount of blood still flood through him head south.
"She's not here," she stated as her fingers slid down his sculpted stomach, "I'm here. Like you said, I'll never leave you… and as long as we are together, as long as you are mine," she teased, "I demanded you take better care of yourself."
"You demanded it, do you?" He smirked, "well… I can't disappoint my lover, can I?"
"Only if you want me never to," she coaxed as she pulled away from him all together, the prettiest pout on her painted lips, "you know, shall we, Sei?"
"After you," he insisted with a sincere smile, he always enjoyed watching her dress herself anyway.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"Are we at this again?" He sighed as he sat down on the cherry wood table and folded his arms, his eyes wondered between the bald boy in front of him—two purple slits shot up his face—and Bankotsu beside him. "It's been two solid months now, Kikyou is with me. I didn't order her to leave Suikotsu. She wants to be with me. Get over it."
"It's not about that anymore," the bald one smirked, "Suikotsu told us to stand down but…"
"Renkotsu and I just can't seem to get over what a little rat you are," Bankotsu explained, "taking another man's women like that… we'll have to teach you some manners."
"Suikotsu told you not to do this?" Inuyasha dragged out, "I think you best listen to your 'brother'."
"Suikotsu is still head over heels about Kikyou, he's a better man than you," Renkotsu roared as he jerked forward to wrap his large hands around Inuyasha's neck, "we've been with this lair for years, you just joined, do you really think that anyone's going to care if we beat the shit out of you?"
"I doubt you could," Inuyasha retorted with a shrug.
"Ginkotsu," Bankotsu called out as he glanced to the door of the lone room, "lock it."
"Ow," Inuyasha grinned right when Renkotsu gripped him, "I'm so scared."
"You oughta be," Ginkotsu growled, "three against one, your odds aren't looking so good."
—{.x.o.x.}—
"Oh my…" Kikyou gasped as she knelt down in front of him, "what happened?"
"Nothing," he muttered meekly.
She shook her head over and over again as she raised her hands to his discolored cheeks, "you need to drink something… who did this?" She swayed side to side each time his dreary suns dodged her gingers, "Bankotsu…?"
"Ha," he gripped, "as if, I could take Bankotsu, don't insult me, Kikyou."
"Whatever, Sei," she sighed as she stood up, both his hands grasped in hers, "come on, we need to get you something to drink, you look like hell."
"I almost won," he murmured as she tried to pull him out of his seat but he moved as much as a mountain would budge from the breeze.
"I get it," she grumbled, "it was more than just Bankotsu… I'll take a guess that it was Renkotsu and Ginkotsu with him, too, right? I know you'd have cuts if Jakotsu was involved… then again he finds you oh so pretty."
"Didn't," he cringed.
"Seishirou!" She groaned as she pulled away to shake her fisted hands in frustration.
"Oh, I know I'm in trouble now," he ridiculed as he leaned back in the seat and groaned mildly. His cherished creation only called him by his full name when he was in trouble… now that he stopped to think about it, like he had so very often since she left, he didn't like the name too much. Kikyou, his beloved, only used it when she was upset otherwise it was 'Sei'. Whenever he heard it from others it was usually being shouted if not snarled… it was a bothersome thing.
"Stop fooling around!" She shouted with a sturdy stomp, "you are truly hurt, Sei! You need to come with me to get something to drink now or you will not heal!"
"Maybe I don't want to," he mused to himself as he shut his head, only to feel a strong sting swipe across his cheek with such force that he almost fell out of the sheet, if he hadn't awkwardly set his feet upon the ground and grasped the back of the chair he would have ended up face first on the floor.
"Is she worth it, Seishirou!?" Tore through his being before he looked back over to the fuming female whose hand was still up in the air after the strike she placed on him.
"Wh… what…?" He barely managed on whatever little breath was left in his limp lungs.
"Is she worth it?" She repeated grimly while she placed her hands firmly on her hips.
"I…"
"Don't," she shook her head lightly, "don't you dare lie to me, Sei. This is all about her. She breaks your heart so… what?" She shrugged one shoulder, "she took your thirst with her? Her blood was delicious, I understand that, but you still need to blood," she emphasized each and every word with ample space between them. "She hurt you, she spite your offer right back in your face after you gave up your ego. You, mister prideful, I understand that must have hurt you. I do," she stressed, "but how dare you… how dare you say something like that to me. Ever."
"Wh..?" he couldn't even think to finish that with the look she showed him… she was beyond upset with him in every way possible—he was… hurting her. Why didn't he see that before?
"How dare you," she repeated before pressing her lips together and closing her eyes before she slid her arms into a folded state under her boasting bosom, "if you want to be a suicidal moron for some wench that dumped you, go right ahead, but don't you dare come to my new home and… make this mess. Don't you dare," she shook her head ever so slightly as she took a step away from him, "Sei… I'll kill you, I will, if you keep this pathetic attitude up. The Sei I love… would never say something like that."
"K… Kik…"
"Don't," she swallowed the lump in her throat as she slowly opened her wavering gingers to look him straight in the eyes, "the Sei I love would never… even think to give up because of some girl. The Sei I love is a man. The Sei I love has been through hell all his life and never let that get in his way… The Sei I love… where did he go? Did she destroy him?"
His eyes weakly moved away from her to the floor for a moment before he groggily managed to get up, "I… I love you."
"Stop…"
"Listen," he requested as he placed his hand upon her shoulders covered with scarlet fabric for more than one reason—the second most important was the simple fact he would most likely fall over without her support. "I… am a wreck. I will get better and I swear I will never say something like that again. I… I love you," he whispered once more as he leaned his forehead to hers, "because… I really do… Kikyou, I'll… I'll let you go."
Her eyes widened as she straightened her posture and pushed him up some so she could see his bent brows, all she did was a cock her head to the side.
"I'm selfish… but for you I can manage to be gallant for a bit. I love you," he repeated, "I want you to be… happy and Suikotsu can do that better than I can, right? I don't… I don't want to give you up," he calmly whined, "but for you… for your sake… I will. I love you, but maybe… he does more?"
Her shoulders sagged as she nodded, "Sei…"
"Right," he muttered as his grasp slipped away from her, his gaze moved once more to the ground. Right… Suikotsu was better for her. Right… he couldn't keep her to himself. Right… he was better off alone… right?
But then she pressed her lips to his and grasped his battered face in her hands to keep him up right.
"Ki…?" he tried to start only to be pushed back into the chair he was once in, "what…?"
"You truly love me, don't you?" She inquired with the sweetest of smiles.
"Are… you just now figuring that out?" He countered.
"I suppose I am," she bit her bottom lip lightly before she knelt down and placed her hands upon his knees, "you have to truly love someone to be able to let them go, when you really believe it's in their best interest. You think it's in my best interest to be with Suikotsu but you want me to be with you, don't you?"
"Should I even dignify that with a responds?"
She leaned her head into his lap as she closed her eyes, "I want to be with you, Sei. I… I finally think that our feelings are true. You needn't go through all this alone; I'll help you move on. We can move on. Together."
"Together…?" He coaxed before he leaned forward to place his head upon hers, "I want that. Badly."
"Then it's settled, Sei, I'm all yours."
—{.x.o.x.}—
Years faded for him like a swift spring breeze. The pain that his—no, she was never his—slayer caused him was always there, with each bang of his heart. It was bearable, more than just that, with his beautiful companion. Within a year the thick air of tension passed and things settled down between him and the Band of Seven—rather six, Suikotsu never comforted him after Kikyou broke off their relationship. She was grand, how would he have survived without her?
He didn't care to keep up any sort of charade, he asked her to move into his room so they wouldn't have to be apart anymore than necessary and she was giddy to oblige. She was… his. All his, always his, in every sense of the word and, best yet, she allowed him to have her openly. There was no shame; on the contrary, she was more than honored to be openly his.
She loved him. She loved him and proclaimed it to him each day, every night.
The twinge that tore at him from the knowledge that the mortal would have never have done the same subsided with time because… he loved his companion, too.
He always had, always would.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"Kikyou," the most subtle voice called out to her, stopping the closest thing to a goddess that existed in their kind in her steps. The way she turned her head, allowing her hair to cup her face, enchanted him… like she always did, always would.
"Suikotsu," she whispered before she swirled all the way around to walk in the empty hall to meet him, "how are you? I heard… you left to an allied lair for a while…"
"One in the Kyumai area," he nodded, not at all hiding the way his beige gaze's survey over her entire being. If it were anyone else she would have felt a pang of repulsion but it wasn't anyone… it was humble Suikotsu, there was true care in the way his watched washed over her. "How have you been?"
"I have been fine," she assured as she hesitantly reached her hand out to tilt his head up so their eyes could meet, "how are you?"
"I miss you," he came out with earnestly. "I miss you… I miss you so much."
"Suikotsu…" she let her fingers slide delicately off of him, he tilted his head into her touch to let it linger as long as possible until her hands returned to herself.
"Does he still make you happy? Does he still want you?" Suikotsu inquired, "it's been years… he usually moves on to another lair by now…"
She bit her ruby lips together before she took a deep breath and leaned forward to kiss him softly, innocently, "I'm sorry I hurt you, Suikotsu. I still love Sei, and Sei still loves me."
"I want… you to be happy," he sighed as he looked away, "if that's with him… then so be it."
"You are a good man, Suikotsu," she needn't say his name so often but… she missed it, the way it rolled off of her tongue, the way it sounded, everything about it. Everything about him. "Anyone would be blessed to have you as their companion. I will... be rooting for your happiness as well, Suikotsu."
"Thank you," he nodded dully before he turned away.
"Are you back to stay?" She shouted out before he was too far.
"Yes," he didn't even look back to her… he couldn't.
—{.x.o.x.}—
"How long have we been at this?" Kikyou inquired as she let her fingers twirl around in his silver tresses, his head leaning against her bare chest all the while, "four years? Five? Six, maybe?"
"Something like that," he mumbled, he was ever so close to slumber, why'd she have to keep him up? Being as they were, two impervious to the sunlight, their schedule was drastically different from the others; it was… frankly whatever they felt like. If they wanted to stay up all day, they would, if they wanted to stay up all night, they would, if they wanted to do both, they would.
"Which is it? Four, five or six?"
"Kikyou," he groaned as he nuzzled against her, "shut up."
"How crude," she whispered with a kiss upon the top of his head, "how… how is it that after all this time you still think of her? How is it that she has such a grasp on you?"
He sighed ever so heavily, "let's talk later… and I don't, by the way."
"You do," she cooed, "I can tell by the way you look at the moon. You used to hate it yet now it seems to have enchanted you... you'll stare up at it for hours without a word. It's rather attractive, I'm not complaining," she whispered before placing a kiss upon his head, after all, how often did the loud mouthed man actually shut up?
"I never hated the moon," he murmured with a hint of a growl.
"You are here with me most of the time, I know that, and I can deal with that." She hummed, "but you still think of her, don't you?"
"Kikyou," he scowled after pushing away from her to lock eyes with her, "why are we having this conversation?"
"I love you," she assured as she lifted her fingers to trace his face, "remember what I told you? What won me over to you finally? Fully? After all these years?"
"I… was willing to give you up to Suikotsu," he gripped before lying down all the way to pull the luscious covers over him and rolling over so his back was to her, "I'm not joking, I'm actually very tired tonight."
"If you truly love someone, you need to be able to let them go when it is in their best interest," she whispered.
"Yeah, you said that," he nodded against his pillow.
"I love you, more than anyone… but I can't have you…"
"Fucking hell," he moaned into the golden pillow as he rolled over to look at her, "what the hell's that mean?"
"You think of her…" she frowned slightly as she cupped his face with one of her hands for only a moment, "you need to go back. You need to see her."
"Suikotsu is back," he snarled, "I know it. That's what this is really about, isn't it? You wanna go back to him then go back to him! Don't use her as an excuse."
"I'm not," she mused as she lifted her hand up his chest to his lips, "I saw Suikotsu, I kissed him earlier tonight—"
"What?!" It shocked her how quickly someone who was supposedly so 'tired' could pop out of bed and rush towards the door.
"Wait! Wait! Sei!" She shouted as she sat up, he lingered at the door, pressing his back to it to look at her with a fiery temper.
"I kissed him and I realized… my heart truly is only yours… that I have feelings for Suikotsu, but mine for you are so much stronger," the way her blemish free face wrinkled with worry soothed him some, "and… for me to know that… gave me some peace. You and I can never have serenity until you have closure with her… you have to go back east and see her—"
"She's married," he coaxed.
"You don't know the circumstances; humans arrange marriages all the time. Perhaps she still loves—"
"I've told you nothing but awful things about her throughout all these years," he growled, "so how is it that you always find a way to address a slayer with some sort of respect?"
She shrugged slightly as she lifted the sheets to cover herself, "I feel a strange kinship with her. I understand… the difficulty of being told to do one thing by your training, by your mind, and your heart telling you another…"
"Kikyou… you don't know if her heart was telling her anything," he sighed before he walked back over to drop to his knees with a harsh thud in front of her, "I want to be with you… forever. Marry me?"
"Sei," she gasped as her hand shot up to cover her mouth, "what?"
"Marry me, I've wanted to ask you for a very long time now… this is far less romantic than I had hoped but if you are going to keep talking such utter nonsense then I just have to ask," and, hopefully, get her to shut up about that 'utter nonsense', too.
"Sei…"
"No, Sei in less it's followed by yes," he requested with a grin, "please, Kikyou, I'm really serious here."
"I believe you," she whispered, "and I'll marry you… I want to," she smiled, "only if you go east and find closure there."
"Kikyou," he groaned as he collapsed on the floor rather overly dramatically, "I refuse."
"Then I refuse," she swiftly stated.
"Fuck me," he groaned as he folded his arms over his eyes, "you're impossible."
"And you are some sort of picnic to live with?" She inquired as she nudged him with her feet.
"You'll marry me if I go?" He murmured before he lifted his arms just enough to look up to her.
"If you come back," she corrected.
"Of course I'll come back, why would I stay?"
The slightest of smiles slipped across her sorrow singed façade, "if she tells you 'I love you', you'll stay."
"The women would have to say a whole hell of a lot more than those three words, Kikyou," he assured as he sat up, "I'm insulted that you think you mean so little to me," much to his dismay that didn't get her to smile anymore towards him. "Look, I don't think there's anything she could say… She didn't even call me my real name… I doubt she cared about me more than a fuck."
"Sure," she whispered after she glanced away, "so you'll go, then?"
He couldn't help it, he was a bit of an ass by nature, so he furrowed his brows and muttered, "you'll wait for me?"
"Sei," she groaned, knowing full well what that meant, "you don't trust me at all, do you? If you ask—"
"OK, OK, OK," he waved his hands in front of him to cease her complaints, "I'll go… and I'll come back, and we'll get married?"
"If it works out like that, then yes," she smiled with a nod.
"It'll work out like that, I promise," he nodded while he rolled over, "now let me sleep."
"Sei," she laughed as she nudged his back with her toes once more, "do you truly want to sleep nude on the floor? Come up to our warm bed, love."
"You like me best when I'm nude," he taunted, "I don't know… if I come up there you'll just keep yapping."
"You are such a crude man, sometimes I wonder why I love you," she joked with a tilt of her head, "if you come to bed I'll let you fall asleep to a nice, long, massage."
"Massage… eh?" He grinned grandly, pushing himself off the ground in the processes, "where would that massage be for?"
"I thought you were tired," she smiled softly as he joined her in their bed.
"Well… there are just some things a man can always find energy for."
—{.x.o.x.}—
Just as he promised his darling betrothed he headed east the next day, it took him only a week once he reached the continent to find the slayer's strong hold. They weren't grand about hiding it, they just thought they were at protecting it. He almost laughed at how easy it was for him to sneak into their area, up on the hill that over looked the village, and hide under the shade of a tree. He just had to see her, that's all he had agreed to. He didn't actually want to speak to her, he didn't even really want to see her… he wanted to leave as the day progressed and there was no sign of her. He hadn't truly expected to find her at the village, she was probably off on a hunt like the little bitch she was…
Maybe… she was dead?
Dusk dribbled over the sky before he decided he would rather go find something to feast on than waste anymore time waiting to see if she'd come out. That's when he heard her laugh; it still tugged on his heart strings as he searched to find her with… a child in arms.
She looked overjoyed at her bundled child…
He could be wrong, it might not be hers, it might be a friends… it could be, he could hope, right? Then another man walked out of the home she had just exited, just as packed away in winter clothing, a stupid smile lifting his lips as he placed his hand on the small of her back and another on her stomach as he whispered something intimately in her ear, whatever he said made her smile change into a more surreal one as she turned her head to look at him.
It was her husband… he just knew it from the dread that dug itself deep in his gut. Her husband who began to wiggle his hand in front of the child's face… his child's face. Inuyasha was certain of that…
Were they expecting another child? Was that what his gesture just meant?
That was it. Fuck it, that was his new motto. She had officially moved on and had herself a happy family, a perfect smile on her face as her little brother—if Inuyasha remembered correctly—walked up to her.
Fine, if she moved on he could to… he had it, his closure. He'd tell Kikyou, she'd accept it, and they'd be able to move on with the life they should have always had anyway.
Still, seeping envy ate away at him as he clenched the tree he rested against. He simply shook his head and closed his eyes before turning away and headed off. He'd be able to return to a ship in less than a week, he wouldn't make any stops like he had on his hesitant journey there. He'd probably make the next ship out, in two days.
He'd leave the west beyond, forever.
Note: Again, I personally respect, admire, and adore Kikyou. Keep that in mind while reviewing, you've been warned.
A/N: I updated~ I think that a two day wait isn't that bad, am I right? I'm pretty good about updating (against the will of part of me that knows I should be studying instead). So, since I'm pretty good about updating, mind doing me a favor? I've got this story planned out until the bitter end (it's an expression, don't fret) so I already have another dedicated idea for the next story I'll put my full effort towards. Here's a rough summary...
At the bittersweet age of seventeen Higurashi Kagome discovers she has the fate of human kind in her unstable hands. Demons race to her in hopes of fathering the devil that only she can bring into the world. Fortunately for her, the heavens have be preparing to protect her for centuries... the only problem is, the one the send to guard her's a demon, too.
By rough, I mean rough, I can't really find a way to describe in only a few sentence the length of this story. This one is particuarly dear to me because I've had it as an idea for ages and ages. I find it far more difficult to figure out a title to a story that I'm close to, does that make sense? So I need your help, please either go to my profile and vote on a title or give me your opinion in a review:
Requiem for the Wrecked
Requiem of the Damned
Requiem of a Shattered Soul
Damned Darling
If you don't like any of these and think you have a far better idea for a title, I'm all ears. (Of course, I'll take care to give credit where credit is due, too).
Thank you all for your help, I hope you continue to enjoy B&B until the end.
