Sesshoumaru woke in a near sweat, which was unusual in itself. He never broke out in a sweat during anything, not in battle, and most definitely not while sleeping.
And since when had he ever let his guard down to sleep so soundly when among strangers? Well maybe they weren't strangers anymore, but they certainly weren't trustworthy.
With the exception of the miko. He knew he could trust her and that was only because she had been gutsy enough to trust him with a secret that could very well destroy her. Maybe not physically, but if something ever happened to that well, she'd certainly be emotionally unstable.
Mokuren.
He fought the urge to go to her, scoop her up and take her away.
Not Mokuren, Kagome, he reminded himself, fighting against the soul within. He wasn't about to let Shion win. He wouldn't give his body to an entity that didn't belong there. But why him? Why did the soul have to enter his body? Why not somebody else, like his baka brother, or the monk? The monk was lecherous enough that he'd probably let Shion have his way and wouldn't fight him.
He looked at the miko fast asleep in her sleeping roll, the kit curled up next to her. Being this close to her was tempting, and it shouldn't be considering his view on humans. But he could feel the pull within him, something inside struggling to get him to succumb to its will.
'I'm stronger than it,' he repeated in his head, determined to win.
Looking back at the sleeping girl, he took off into the night, searching for some place to ease his mind, and perhaps sleep without being haunted by dreams.
His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, including possible places to go and people to see who would know anything about at trapped soul, especially one as powerful as the one inside him. Not that Shion was more powerful than he was.
He ran to his home deep in the Western lands, enjoying the feel of the air rushing by him. He wanted to kill something to ease his frustration. Everything was asleep, anything awake wasn't worth his time. He sneered at the inability of many low level youkai of being able to surpass their current strength and improve. There was nothing around that could defeat him at the moment.
What he wouldn't give for Naraku to show his face right now, maybe then he'd be able to vent some of his frustration and anger.
Or even Inuyasha.
But he knew with the promise the miko extracted from them both he couldn't fight him. He didn't lack honour to go back on his word.
He came to a halt when he arrived at his home, a small cave he had laid claim to many centuries ago. No, he didn't need comfort or luxury, he just needed some place to come back to now and again when he was finished with whatever business he had set out to do.
In the corner he could see his ward and retainer fast asleep, near a dying flame. He had satisfied his curiosity to know that she was safe. That's all it was, curiosity as nobody hurt or destroyed what belonged to him.
He settled himself into a corner across from them, satisfied that he wasn't anywhere near the miko, and looked into his mind to see who would have the knowledge he was seeking. As optimistic as the others were about the monks, he didn't share their view. They were merely human, what did they know about youkai souls?
'Bokuseno', he thought. The old tree demon should know a little something, after all he had been on the earth himself for a long time. He had seen and heard everything and had knowledge much more expansive than anybody else he knew. When he returned to the group tomorrow, he would let them know about his side trip, out of mere courtesy. The sooner the miko expelled the soul within her, the sooner she would stop throwing herself at him.
He rested his head against the cool stone and thought back to her again. How calm and peaceful she looked while sleeping, how her hair framed her face as it started curling from the damp air.
He could feel a growl begin to rise from his chest.
'Mine.'
His mind started to fog over again as he inhaled the scent of fresh flowers. It was so different from the miko's, but it belonged to her nonetheless.
Mokuren.
Sesshoumaru's eyes turned red before tinting green. She was his and was currently out of his reach. This wouldn't do at all. Without giving his actions a second thought, his mind clouded over completely and he took off into the night, forgetting the other occupants in the cave. He had one goal in mind, one person to see.
'Mine.'
Although to the others it appeared as she was sleeping, she was laying in her bedroll fighting the temptation to lay down next to the demon lord. His body looked warm and inviting in the cool, damp night. This really wasn't like her at all. She supposed though, that it was due to Mokuren's influence. It was amazing as to how accepting she was becoming of the situation. But it scared her as well.
And it made her uncomfortable.
There was this presence in her that didn't belong to her, unwillingly invaded her body to use it as a host. The soul's memories were now her own as they were slowly revealed to her, and who knows, perhaps her own deepest, darkest secrets were becoming known to the soul. It was an invasion of privacy is what it was.
But as of right now, they didn't have a solution to the problem. They weren't close to a solution and it was starting to irk her. She didn't even know where to begin searching for answers as this wasn't a common problem A dark priestess, perhaps, may know the answer as they dealt in curses as a trade, but she thought back to Tsubaki and didn't want that experience again.
No, they would avoid any and all dark priestesses until they had no other avenue in which to search.
Then there was the well. Her time was filled with knowledge and resources such as the Internet, which could help greatly, but it wouldn't let her pass. It dawned her then. Inuyasha could pass. She could send him with a note to her family, filling them in on the situation and ask them to give her friend the books she needed.
And maybe one of them could go online for her as well. Although she had slowly begun to teach Inuyasha all about computers and the wonders of the Internet, he was too impatient to be left alone with the computer. She could picture him taking Tessaiga to her laptop in frustration because it wouldn't do what he wanted.
No, that wouldn't do at all.
But the books were a possibility, and Souta was now old enough to distinguish which books in the library would be crap, and which might actually be useful. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was a start.
As she tossed and turned in her bed, she could feel a headache coming on, and dreaded what she knew was to come. She was exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally, and didn't have the strength to fight her. Worn out from the day's adventures, she closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.
She sat on a rock overlooking her tribes people set up camp once again. The game had moved on months ago and therefore they needed to follow as well. As of a few minutes ago she was helping this poor family set up their hut since the head female was heavy with child. The searing summer heat wasn't helping at all and the female was forced to sit while she and her man built the hut out of grass, wood and mud.
Barely out of childhood and she was delivering babies and building houses for others. Life wasn't fair sometimes, but for some reason, she was chosen by mother earth to help lead these people in her own way. For some reason, unknown to her, she was granted holy power and therefore she was expected to do things she once believed she would never have to deal with.
She had stolen a moment for herself, knowing that she wouldn't get away with it for too long, knowing that her people needed her. But right now she needed her sanity. She needed to feel like herself. There were many people who would need her help, whether it was putting up a hut, or helping those suffering from exhaustion, or even walking around with a water sac to make sure nobody became ill from extreme thirst.
But what of herself? Surely she would be forgiven for being selfish once in a blue moon.
She sighed and lay back on the rock. The sun beating down on it had warmed it some, but it felt so nice to be resting that she didn't mind the heat coming off it. It actually felt pretty good on her back.
As she closed her eyes she could hear footsteps approaching her, and she didn't want to open them knowing she'd find another tribesman who required her assistance. Putting on a brave face, knowing that her rest was over for the day, she opened her eyes.
And saw deep green ones staring back at her.
"Shion," she nearly trembled at the sight of the powerful demon lord. The rational side of her told her he wouldn't harm her, in fact he had saved her life once before when she was young, many moons ago. But she couldn't help but shudder at the immense power she could feel radiating from him.
"You remember," he sat on the rock next to her, looking down.
She marveled at the way his black hair fell behind him, every strand remaining perfectly in place despite the wind. "One doesn't forget one such as you." She raised herself up so she was no longer lying next to him. If he was going to kill her, she didn't want him to do so while she was in a position of submission. "What brings you here?"
"I'm always here," he replied.
"I've never seen you."
"I didn't want to be seen. Surely a priestess as strong as yourself has felt my presence around here." She thought back to the moments when she actually had some time for herself, and reluctantly she admitted he was right. She had always sense somebody nearby, but always brushed it off as it appeared to be non-threatening.
"You're always here," she murmured.
"And you're always working too hard."
She laughed. "It's my duty to work hard for my people. To be tribal priestess is something I take great pride and honour in."
"So you believe on the outside, I know deep inside you hate it, you condemn destiny for putting you in such a position."
If she were a demon, she'd have snarled. "Who are you to tell me how I feel."
"I'm always here," he repeated again. She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks as he reached out and ran a finger down the side of her face. His touch was a shock to her system, and the longer his finger remained, the more she craved him. "You're young yet," he murmured as he placed his whole hand on her face, cradling her cheek. She closed her eyes and savoured the first sense of true contentment she had experienced in years. His voice broke through her thoughts. "When you're older…"
He let go and before she could open her eyes, he was gone.
Shion…
The headache receded and she opened her eyes to the sun rising in the distance. She sighed and stretched as she thought of the dream, and smiled at the emotions running through her, even though she knew most of them didn't belong to her.
Wonder.
Excitement.
Nervousness.
Love.
Love? Was that what Mokuren was feeling? Did she love the demon Shion at that time? Probably not, but she was probably falling in love with him at that point. She could sympathize with the poor girl though. She knew what it was like to fall in love with somebody who was shunned by society. Neither human nor demon accepted hanyou. To love Inuyasha like she did only served to exile her from society even more.
But love was worth it, she knew. She'd rather love and be loved by Inuyasha any day than be considered a proper member of society.
But she compared her love for the half-demon to the love she knew Mokuren felt for Shion, and somehow it was different, weaker, not as intense. Could it be she didn't really love him after all? So many questions and no time to think them through. Even more so she really wanted to talk to somebody about it, but there was nobody to turn to here.
Her thoughts were broken though as she heard a large crash coming from across the field. And before she could blink she found herself face to face with the demon lord.
And all she could see were the green-tinged eyes.
Author's Notes
I know it's been ages, I'm sorry. Firstly, let me tell you, the block just sucks. To sit here and read so many great fics and not have inspiration for my own is horrible. I can't tell you how many times I've had a free moment here, or a free moment there and open my file only to type one line, then delete it.
Now, I really love this chapter for some reason. I'm having issues with chapter nine as it's not working. I'm thinking I'm going to delete it and look at it from another angle. Initially I thought maybe it's this chapter that's problematic, which is why it hadn't been posted yet despite the fact that it's been written for ages. But each time I reread this chapter I can't find a single thing I'd change. So, hopefully soon I can get chapter nine figured out, but the way I see it, I better post this one before I do something stupid and delete it too in my frustrations.
On top of the block, let's look at timing issues. I work two jobs and both are becoming increasingly busy as I get more and more new big name clients for one, and my responsibilities in the second keep increasing. Most days I'm working for 12 hours of the day between the two jobs. I'm also a girl guide leader and that has kept me busy between several camps, a major unit project (the girls put together a talent show), and now I'm attending a major camp that's coinciding with the Western Hemisphere Regional Conference, which is exciting as girl guides from all over North and South America will be in attendance, but I'm not ready yet and I only have a few more days to get ready lol.
But I heartily thank all of your for your patience in this. I haven't given up and I hope you don't either because your support means the world to me.
To my fellow Canadians, a very happy Canada Day tomorrow! I will be stuck working my second job (stupid retail taking Monday off instead of the holiday) but at least in the afternoon I get to partake in some of the festivities at my local city hall.
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Co. do not belong to me, they belong to the esteemed Rumiko Takahashi
