Disclaimer - Hanaea does not own Inuyasha. She only owns HaEun and some parts of the plot which are not in the original Inuyasha franchise, as well as some more minor OCs.
Chapter Nine
Haeun was ramming her entire body against the locked door. It might be locked, but it was thin. She was satisfied that the stench of the blood would have had to reach someone's nose, and had decided she would take matters into her own hands. She threw herself into the door again, the wood splintering slightly.
'If only I knew how to control my Youki..' she thought, looking down at her palms. She didn't know if it would work, but decided to try anyway. She stepped away from the door and focused all of her remaining energy on breaking it down and getting free. She wanted to see her friends again. As if an unknown force had felt her resolve, a bright pink flash blinded her temporarily, and she could make out the sound of wood being broken.
Without a second of hesitation, she hurried forward with newfound energy. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as she sprinted through corridor after corridor, searching desperately for an exit. So far she hadn't run into the Spider Hanyou, which was suspicious, but also a good thing.
Just as she was turning a corner, she ran into a.. Mokomoko?
"Sesshomaru?" She asked, turning her eyes from the big fluff to the stoic carrier. Maybe it was just because she spent months in a black room, but he was attractive. With his long, silver hair and yellow eyes. Even his demon markings made him more attractive.
"Woman." The Daiyoukai said, staring at her. Haeun swore she could see a small sign of relief in his eyes, but she could just be seeing things.
"You don't know how happy I am to see a friendly face." She said, throwing her arms around the Inu. Maybe 'friendly' was an overstatement, but he was a friend nonetheless. She felt herself being lifted from the ground, and noticed that the Daiyoukai had picked her up in his arm again, and was carrying her to what she assumed was an exit.
"You're injured." He said. Looking down at her bloodied knuckles quickly before tearing his gaze away.
"Ah.. They'll heal in a few days. I did it to myself." She replied.
"Hn. Did the Spider Hanyou harm you?" He asked.
"He said a few things, but no injuries, if that's what you're asking."
"Hn."
She buried her face in his Mokomoko, inhaling the familiar scent that made her tense muscles relax. It took her a few minutes to register, but she was safe now.
The Daiyoukai carried her outside, just in time for her to see a cloud floating away and the younger Inu killing some lesser Youkai.
"You gave up a fight to come and find me?" She asked, looking up at the older Inu.
"Hn."
He placed her down as Kagome hurried over, enveloping the girl in a tight hug that she gladly returned.
"I missed you, Kagome." Haeun said, running her fingers through the younger girl's hair as she cried, remembering the gesture her mother would do when she was sad.
"You had us all worried, don't ever get kidnapped again!" Kagome said, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders and staring into her chocolate eyes with her own blue ones. Haeun giggled.
"Come on, I can't really control when I get kidnapped or not. At least you all came to save me. I knew you would." The foreign girl said, looking over her friends shoulder "Oi, c'mere, Yashie." She said, beckoning the Hanyou closer as he sheathed his Tessaiga.
"Feh, enough with the nicknames alre-!"
He got cut off as the girl wrapped him in a tight hug, Kagome following soon after. Eventually, it turned into a group hug, with Sango and Miroku joining the pile, Shippo clinging on to Haeun's shoulder, and Kirara nuzzling the girl's back. Sesshomaru was the only one who didn't get involved, watching everyone with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Everyone was walking through the forest, looking for a place they could set up camp again, as their previous camping spot was too far for Haeun to walk. Said girl was trailing at the back of the pack, with a stoic Inu next to her.
"How's Rin these days?" The girl asked the Daiyoukai, who didn't even turn to look at her.
"She is well."
"And Jaken?"
"Hn."
"Is A-Un still wearing the flower garland?"
"Hn."
"And are you wearing the bracelet?"
"Hn."
This got the girl's attention, and a small smile made it's way onto her lips.
"Do you like it?"
"Hn."
"Not much of a talker, are you?"
"Hn."
"You know, the Spider told me you wouldn't come."
The Daiyoukai turned to look at the girl, silently urging her to continue.
"I knew you'd come, though. You're my friend, right?" She asked, turning to look at the Inu.
That was the first time that he noticed how different her features were. Her once soft, wavy hair was now thin and matted, clumps missing and knots everywhere. It looked as though a bird had lived in it for a year. Her one deep, fiery eyes looked shallow, and the fire had dwindled down to a flame. Her skin, once pale and flawless, had red patches and blemishes. Despite that, she still wore a smile.
"...Hn."
The fire crackled and the moon was high in the sky. Kagome was asleep, leaning against Inuyasha's shoulder. Miroku was sleeping on the ground, suspiciously close to Sango. Shippo and Kirara were curled up together near the heat of the fire. Haeun lay on the hard floor, looking up at the clear skies above.
"Is that Orion? Or is it Taurus..?" She said outloud to herself, trailing the pattern of the stars with her finger. She narrowed her eyes slightly, focusing for a few moments before making a grunt of frustration and rolling over. She was staring right at a certain Inu's shoes.
"Woman."
"Hm?"
"This Sesshomaru demands to know what it is you are doing." The Daiyoukai stated. The girl rolled back onto her back and patted the ground next to her.
"Lie down and I'll show you, you ever stargaze before?"
"This Sesshomaru does not engage in such activities." He replied matter-of-factly. Nevertheless, he lay down on his back next to the Kitsune.
"I always wanted to stargaze, but in Seoul, there's too many clouds in the sky. Whenever I went to visit my Eonnie, I'd spend as much time as I could outdoors to cloudwatch and stargaze." She explained.
"Hn."
"Look, the constellation there is Monoceros. It looks like a pole you hang someone from." She said, pointing and tracing the shape with her finger.
"Hn."
"There's another one under that one, but I don't know whether it's Orion or Taurus."
The girl rolled over to face the Daiyoukai, who, to her surprise, was mimicking her previous action. He was tracing the pattern of Monoceros with a clawed finger.
"Stars are pretty, right?" She asked, propping herself up on an arm.
"Hn."
She smiled faintly, although the Inu was stoic and could seem cold at times, he seemed to have a soft core.
"This Sesshomaru demands to know why you do not use Kitsune magic." He said, catching the girl off-guard.
"Ah.. I don't know. I don't know how I use any magic, really. All I know is I can put up defensive domes, and break things with pink. Did you know pink is my favourite colour? What's yours?" She asked, pushing to get to know more about the Daiyoukai.
The Inu was unsure of how to answer, and his gaze flickered back and forth.
"This Sesshomaru does not have one."
"Eh? No favourite colour?" Haeun was taken aback, "You seem like you'd like the colour white. It signifies purity and innocence, kind of like Rin!" She giggled at the comparison, remembering the cheerful child whom she had grown to love.
"Hn."
"Or maybe you'd like black? Or a really, really dark blue, like the sky! Maybe a brown? You don't strike me as the type to like complicated colours, like purple or turquoise." She explained, moving her mouth to the side in thought and tapping her chin.
The male stared into the Kitsune's dark brown eyes. He had never bothered to look that much into them, but now that he did, he could see that there was a flurry of emotions. The firelight reflected off of them, reminding him of the stars that the girl loved so much.
"Brown." He spoke up, catching her off-guard.
"Really, you decided on brown?" She asked, her ears twitching.
"Hn. Dark brown."
It was now midday, and Sesshomaru had left Inuyasha's pack to go back to his own. He would not admit it, but he was worried about Rin wandering off or Jaken screwing up. Haeun had said her goodbyes quickly, and was now wandering alongside Inuyasha and Kagome. Her pullover hood was up to conceal her caramel rats' nest, flattening her ears against her head and muffling her hearing slightly.
"So, Yashie, did Kags behave while I was gone?" She said, grinning widely.
"Weeeeell..~" The Hanyou chirped, his face looking deep in thought. Kagome was fuming, she hadn't done anything!
"Osuwari!" She yelled out, causing the teasing Inu to fall face-first into the ground.
"Kags.. that was harsh!" Haeun said, stifling a giggle.
"Oh hush, you would've done the same!" The younger girl yelled, her fists at her side and her feet firmly stomping into the ground.
"Maybe, it was cute, seeing you two lean on eachother while you slept." The Kitsune pointed out, watching both guilty parties blush a bright pink and become sputtering messes, yelling and blaming each other for what had transpired. Sango and Miroku, who had been casually conversing with Shippo, were now sweat-dropping at the display while Haeun was holding her stomach from laughter.
It was going to be a long day indeed.
Terms To Know:
Eonnie (KOR) - Big Sister
Author's Note:
Ahh.. a late update! College is wearing me down.. But no fear! Hanaea is here! This update came late because I was typing it while at college, but I decided I didn't like how the chapter played out. Originally, Kagome was the one who found Haeun, but it just didn't flow as I would've liked! I spent the last two hours re-writing it until I was satisfied. I'm trying to not leave anyone out, so next chapter will focus more on SanEun and MiroEun interaction! There was a lot of SessEun in this chapter, I think I wrote it pretty well! Feedback is appreciated, over 400 views and no reviews.. that makes Hanaea sad.. I will continue updating even without reviews, but they would be appreciated! I like to know what I'm doing right and wrong..
I listened to BoA's 'Kiss my lips' album while writing this, Fox reminds me of something Haeun would sing along to! Fufufu.. Green Light really gets my inspiration flowing.
~ Hanaea.