Five days, perhaps more, had passed since Katara had been expelled from the dingy cave and Inuyasha's unwanted presence.
Three days ago, Sesshomaru has begun speaking to her.
An hour ago he told Rin and Jakken to take Ah-Un and pick berries in a nearby field. They complied easily, and now Katara and Sesshomaru were alone, for the moment…
Katara stood, anxious and awkward, looking on at Sesshomaru, who stood in the distance, gleaming majestically as he faced the sun, as though challenging its power. Katara was certain Sesshomaru would win.
Katara inched forward, looking to the dirt beneath her, but was stopped because her feet rammed into black shoes. Looking up, she faced Sesshomaru, his expression vague, his posture ambiguous. As she studied him, Katara felt a jolt of regret for just how little she truly knew about this guy!
"Lord Sesshomaru," Katara began, ready to bombard him with questions, "Why am I really here?" Okay, that was not the question she planned on. Why did she always make everything about her? Katara felt angry, and nearly betrayed by herself! She has always considered herself fairly…selfless. But being around Sesshomaru, she was beginning to realize things about herself that she wished she didn't know. Now, here she was, and there was no escape but to face what she had always feared, and what Sesshomaru represented.
Katara blanched, and stumbled. Sesshomaru caught her arm, his tight grip shocking her into awareness.
She turned, shivering, locking eyes, half turned away from him. Katara's eyes widened, but her sight was blurred. His pupils dialated, Sesshomaru turned to look at her, darkness seizing over his eyes, dashes of yellow barely visible. Katara remembered hearing once from her grandmother that when a man's pupils grow wide and dark, it means he wants you. But that was probably just an old wife's tale.
Sesshomaru turned, his white robes fluttering, his hair blowing in the breeze as he swiftly moved across the landscape, Katara dashing to keep up.
"We're going to visit a man called Totosai," Sesshomaru said quietly. It had been hours since they had exchanged words, as Sesshomaru was hardly the chatty type.
Katara opened her mouth to respond, but delayed when she saw Sesshomaru's expression.
He was deep in thought, his eyes narrowed, seeking what lay forward. It was getting to be nighttime, and they would need to rest. Sesshomaru seemed to realize this as well, for he stopped abruptly, and Katara nearly fell on him.
"It's nearing sunset. You must rest," he said distantly. Katara nodded, and nearly collapsed as she sunk to the ground next him. He leaned down, until their eyes were almost level. "Do you want a bed, or will you sleep here?"
"Here is fine," Katara moaned, still yawning as she stretched out on the grass. The warmth of the sun she so lacked at home was now comforting, and as she closed her eyes, Katara thought she heard a far-off throaty chuckle cradle her asleep.
Katara leaned on Sesshomaru as he steadily lead her forward. She had awoken to the sound of his movement, and silently stood beside him, until they began walking. Only now was it dawn. Sesshomaru clearly had no sense of time.
After what had to be another hour, they came to a stop. Katara looked up, and in the distance was smoke. What appeared before her looked almost like a…volcano? Katara had never seen one in person, only in books kept in her grandmother's room.
"Lord Sesshomaru, Successor of the Great Dog Demon," said a voice from behind them. Katara turned to see a gaunt man in a stripped kimono, with big bug eyes astride a 3-eyed ox. Had he not taken her by such surprise, Katara would have laughed for his near-comical appearance.
"Mo-Mo told me you approached, and I was already heading out of my volcano, so I thought I'd pay a visit. What could the great Warlord of the Western Lands want with me this time? Is the Tokijin still in good use?"
"I find that sword useless. It cannot possibly harness my power." Sesshomaru said, still monotonous as always.
"And who's this?" asked Totosai as he leered at Katara, "Pretty one, ain't she? You wanna get a bit of her in your next sword, Sesh?"
Patience running thin, Sesshomaru coldly said, "You will forge her a weapon. We'll be back tomorrow," he spoke clearly, but Katara could hear the menace in his voice: the unspoken or else.
Katara couldn't help but wonder what they were going to do for the day until they retrieved this weapon. Katara was also nervous about what this weapon might be and how the heck she was going to use it. And then there was nighttime. She had managed to sleep last time, but what would they do when it was just them? Did Sesshomaru, being a demon, even sleep? Katara shivered at the oncoming prospects.
"Katara?" he said, nearly silent.
She looked over, and had she not been sure it was his voice that had caressed her name, Katara would have thought he had remained mute, by the way he stared off into the distance, appearing preoccupied only with his thoughts.
"Y-yes Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked, nervous, but managing to match his emotionless tone.
"Come here," he said.
She paced forward warily, eyeing him with faith but bewilderment. He opened his arms, and folded them stiffly around her. It was almost a hug, accept there was a foot between their chests. Katara still flushed furiously
"What?" was her brilliant response. This was utterly bizarre.
But Sesshomaru didn't answer. His hands were firmly positioned on each hip. Then, with a jerk, they rose in the air. As if her adrenaline could be spiked any farther!
So, before she knew what had happened, Katara was soaring through the air with her Lord. But as soon as it started, it ended. Although she closed her eyes, she could feel the wind slamming against her unprotected ear, subside, as they slowed, and finally hit ground once again.
When she looked around, she saw a town about a mile away.
"Here is your challenge: prove to me you are worth this new weapon. Slay all who inhabit that village."
"What?" Katara exclaimed, her exhilaration replaced with terror. Her? Kill someone, or multiple someones? "I couldn't kill anyone, especially not if they're innocent!" she complained.
At this he laughed mirthlessly.
"Oh, they are not blameless, I can promise you that. If you can do this, and give me your absolute trust, then you shall deserve your new weapon, the mizuyaiba*. I could teach you several techniques to perfect of mizusendo**. I would trust you as much as a demon can rely on a human, and you would remain with me worthy, while I track Naraku. If you refuse or fail, I will leave you at this village for good. Make your choice."
And suddenly, everything was different. Her unstable world tottered almost off the edge at the prospect of loosing him. She could hardly comprehend such a turn of events.
"So…this is it for us?" she whispered.
His eyes seemed to sharpen, blazing into her skull.
"Only if you cannot do this. But if you do, you will remain with me as long as I can find use of you. Decide now."
"I…I can't do it!" Katara's eyes clamped shut; she hugged herself from stress. As much as she desired to remain with Lord Sesshomaru, and receive her weapon, she would not end lives for it.
"Do as you please. But Naraku's demons are there, overtaking the town, controlling and torturing the residents. You would put them out of their misery. And I will do it if you do not!" Sesshomaru had never spoken so much at once, nor so vehemently He was livid, and this was the ultimatum. It was now or never that she would loose Sesshomaru, man she was beginning to love.
WWWWWWWWW
* Water Blade
**Water Death (give me any ideas you have about other techniques)
Special thanks to Forcystus5 for giving me the idea/inspiring the whole water-weapon from totosai thing!
Please keep reading + reviewing, and tell your friends to do the same…haha okay maybe you don't have to do that. just a heads up, I wont be able to update much soon, or will update less, b/c finals are coming, and we're about to get another dog who will be adjusting (wish me luck with both) 3
Thanx,
Chrissy
