A/N: Apologies for the delay, I relocated for a job that didn't work out and had to relocate again, so I'm done moving (for this week at least!) back and forth now and have had a moment to sit down and continue posting. Enjoy! And thanks for reading and sticking with me :)
Ava came out of her peaceful slumber rather roughly, jerking to an upright position at the sound of a loud shriek. She glanced around, realizing Sesshomaru was no longer with her but his mokomoko had been wrapped around her and used as a pillow. She heard another shriek that sounded very non-human like and she quickly stood, grabbing for her tanto that had been placed on the ground next to her.
She swallowed as she pushed her hair out of her eyes and lowly whispered, "Sesshomaru?"
She heard a rustle behind her and turned quickly, drawing her small blade. From the treetops above a man with very monkey like features swung down and landed before her, baring a rather vicious set of teeth.
She stepped back and then it's long brown tail suddenly reached out to grab her. Before it could coil around her wrist, the monkey demon let out a piercing howl as she watched its tail be sliced in two.
"I believe I made it abundantly clear to your tribe members that she was very much off limits."
Ava turned to see Sesshomaru standing across the clearing, a greenish colored whip of semi-solid form pouring from his fingertips.
The monkey demon bared its teeth again and shrieked at Sesshomaru, preparing to lunge. As soon as it bounded into the air, Sesshomaru had his whip wrapped around the demon's neck, tossing him far into the forest as his poison ate through his skin to separate his head from his body.
Sesshomaru dispelled his whip, approaching Ava who was still gripping her tanto.
He grabbed the blade from her hands gently, putting it back in its holder at her hip. "I'm sorry they woke you."
Ava swallowed, looking up into Sesshomaru's bright amber eyes, "What happened? Who was that?"
Sesshomaru couldn't help himself as he reached out to cradle Ava's cheek, "A tribe of monkey demons, attracted here by your scent and aura. They were stupid enough to challenge me."
"Oh…umm…I'm sorry?"
The corner of Sesshomaru's lip twitched in amusement, "It is of no concern, your scent is tantalizing after all. And after last night, it's heavy in the air."
Ava felt her cheeks redden, "What were they challenging you for exactly?"
Sesshomaru ran his hand down along to the collar of her kimono where his mark lay, "For you…to mate."
Ava's eyes widened, "That's disgusting. Geez, I am most certainly in a different time, but it might as well be a different world."
Ava took in a breath, Sesshomaru still close to her, his hand lingering on her shoulder as a reminder of how different exactly the world could be. She gazed up at Sesshomaru, his eyes hooded as he gazed down at her with great interest.
I've never felt like this before. He makes me feel safe, beautiful, wanted…And after last night, I can't stop imagining what he would actually be able to do with his body if just his youkai aura could bring me to orgasm…My gods I really want to kiss him…and strip him naked.
Ava moistened her lips as she wound her arms around his neck, "Thank you then, for watching over me."
When she tilted her head back and began to rise on her toes to kiss him, he met her halfway and wrapped an arm tight around her waist, pulling her up and flush against his body. The kiss was light at first, her soft lips meeting his warm flesh. She pressed into him, thankful his armor was still on the ground as the kiss turned more passionate, her tongue seeking his as she boldly flicked her tongue against his lethal fangs.
He growled lowly in approval, the sound vibrating her body and making the ache between her legs return. The hand at her waist traveled lower to squeeze her bottom and pull her hips closer to his. Ava moaned into his mouth at the feel of his hard appendage poking at her belly, her hands practically clawing at his kimono to rip it off.
"Rin! Get back here! Lord Sesshomaru specifically said you were to stay inside the barrier."
Jaken's high pitched yelling was heard in the distance, causing Sesshomaru to narrow his eyes and growl angrily as he let Ava back down to the ground. He had been so caught up in Ava's heady scent he couldn't even smell Rin or Jaken coming until he had heard Jaken's voice.
Now is not the time or the place, you put the both of you in danger attempting to mate her out here in the open. Sesshomaru grudgingly agreed with his inner beast, as hard as it was to restrain himself, he could not lose himself in a mating when an enemy could very easily get the jump on them and put Ava in danger.
Sesshomaru placed a gentle kiss on Ava's forehead before moving to put his armor back on just as Rin burst through the bushes excitedly.
Ava looked back at the little girl and sighed, it is going to be another long day.
By the time high noon had come, Sesshomaru suddenly came to a halt, his hand reaching for Tokijin. Ava watched his back and caught the side of his face as he turned his head, inhaling deeply. She could see anger in his eyes and stiffness in his form that hadn't been there when they had encountered other demons, his lip curled up to reveal his fangs as he snarled.
Ava approached him boldly, placing one hand on his back, "What's wrong?"
Sesshomaru didn't move, his sight focused ahead of him and to the right, "Ko Kira is up ahead on the outskirts of a youkai village. He's either going to run, or face me in battle, but either way, I am not letting him leave with his life today."
Ava's hand tightened into a fist in his kimono as the memories suddenly resurfaced of how he had ripped into her womb to place his curse, her heartbeat rising.
Sesshomaru turned, uncaring that the rest of his pack was watching, as he cupped Ava's cheek in one hand, a steely look of determination in his eyes, "His name will no longer haunt you after today, I swear it."
Ava swallowed and nodded, closing her eyes as she took comfort in his touch and relaxed.
His hand dropped and he turned, the group proceeding with a bit more caution than they had before.
Shortly thereafter they ran into their opponent on the outskirts of the village as Sesshomaru had said. Ko Kira resembled the form of a demon that Ava was more familiar with in pop culture, with his dark purplish red skin and curled horns on his head, a rather large Shikon shard over his heart. He looked every bit of the evil, disgusting demon that he was. Sesshomaru had Tokijin drawn, its power crackling along the blade as Jaken, Ah-Un, and Rin stood a distance back, Ava between them and Sesshomaru.
Ko Kira stood from where he was stoking a fire, a nasty grin on his face as he drew his own sword, "Ah, the Lord of the West. I was wondering when you would come to seek vengeance for your little bitch."
Sesshomaru snarled, Tokijin's energy flicking angrily, "You will pay with your life for what you have done."
Ko Kira cackled, "I don't think so, you see, I don't travel alone either."
And with a snap of Ko Kira's fingers, ugly little imp like creatures popped out of the soil all around them, surrounding them.
Ava drew her tanto as she watched Sesshomaru engage Ko Kira swiftly, the horned demon barely having enough time to defend himself. The imps moved to attack the rest of the group, but Ah-Un was quick to throw the majority of them back with a great swipe of his claws and swing of his tail. Jaken fended a few off as Rin ran to Ava for protection, gripping the back of her kimono in fear.
When an imp snarled and lunged for Ava, she drew her tanto back in a swing and sliced right through its midsection, the creature lying dead at her feet. As another group made its way to her and Rin, she watched as Sesshomaru's poison whip came down on them in one strike, killing the remaining imps before them.
Ava turned her attention to Sesshomaru's fight, noticing that Ko Kira was missing a horn and one hand. Ava held Rin under her arm as the girl buried her face in the side of her kimono.
With every strike Sesshomaru made, another piece of Ko Kira was removed. Ava realized then that Sesshomaru could have ended his life already, but that he was slowly slicing the demon apart to ensure that he suffered.
Ava didn't know that she could feel so much satisfaction in watching someone be sliced apart, but knowing that Ko Kira was nothing but pure evil and had killed unborn babies and destroyed other women's ability to bear children, she was strangely enjoying watching him suffer.
The tortuous actions of Sesshomaru went on like that for a bit longer, until with a final growl Sesshomaru sliced Ko Kira's head from his body and ripped the Shikon shard from his chest. As his claws entered his chest to rip out the shard, Sesshomaru secreted his poison into the body, ensuring that there was nothing left of the evil demon for Naraku to try and revive. Putting the Shikon shard in his kimono and sheathing Tokijin, Sesshomaru turned back to his pack.
His eyes widened in horror as he saw Ava on the ground on her knees, Rin pulling her hair out of her face as Ava threw up, clutching her stomach in pain. Sesshomaru knelt beside Ava, his hand over his mark on her shoulder as he poured his aura into her to see if he could determine where she was injured. Sesshomaru smelt the blood that he could not see, realizing that she was bleeding between her legs.
His youkai energy probed and he realized that the curse had lifted, at the same time his ears catching the sounds of youkai on the move from the village towards their location.
He scooped Ava up quickly, "Jaken, take Rin on Ah-Un and follow me, quickly. We are returning to the Western Palace."
Ava grimaced as she jostled in Sesshomaru's arms, feeling the blood seep through her kimono and trickle down her inner thighs. Her stomach clenched in pain.
Sesshomaru took to the air quickly as he looked down at Ava, "The curse has lifted from your body. You are experiencing the side effects of it leaving your system. I'm sorry to move you so quickly, the youkai from the village would be upon us shortly at the smell of your blood, and we needed to leave before I was forced to slaughter an entire village."
Ava nodded, her forehead feeling hot as sweat began to drip down her brow. She leaned her forehead against Sesshomaru's chest, her arms still wrapped around her midsection as another bout of pain coursed through her.
She hissed and Sesshomaru tensed in response, "I'm sorry I can not heal you, that much dark energy has to leave your body naturally and isn't allowing me to interfere."
Ava swallowed, the sickening taste of vomit still in her mouth, "It's OK, but are you sure, that the curse is gone I mean?"
"I am."
Ava managed a small smile as she closed her eyes to try and fight the nausea, "Then no matter what, the pain is worth it."
Sesshomaru couldn't help the feeling of pride swell in his chest at the woman in his arms who was facing her pain with such strength. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead, noticing for the first time that she was burning up.
"I'm bleeding all over you, and sweating, and I think I'm going to throw up again soon…"
Sesshomaru began to curl his body around hers, "Take a deep breath and try to relax."
She did as instructed and found herself surrounding by a bright light, forcing her to close her eyes and focus on Sesshomaru's scent. Sesshomaru moved with blinding speed in his light orb towards the Western Palace, Ah-Un following behind as quickly as possible. Minutes passed and then they slowed, Sesshomaru once again on his cloud.
Ava inhaled deeply and turned her eyes towards their destination and gasped.
A beautiful fortress of white stood out among the forest, something she had only ever seen in a fairy tale. Her view was short lived though as they were soon inside the Palace, Sesshomaru landing as he rushed through the Palace. A servant ran to greet him, but he returned the greeting with a growl, the servant bowing her head as everyone stayed out of his way.
Sesshomaru made it to his rooms, swinging open the door and kicking it closed behind him. Ava gripped the front of his kimono with one hand and her stomach with the other, "I'm going to throw up again."
Sesshomaru laid her on his bed quickly, grabbing a basin to which she immediately emptied her stomach. She heaved and wretched, Sesshomaru stroking her hair as she held onto the basin. When it seemed her sickness had passed, he put the basin outside his door.
"Has the pain lessened?"
Ava nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow, "Yes, it's not hurting so badly now, but I really need to get washed up before I bleed on anything else. I'm still surprised there isn't a speck of blood on you."
Sesshomaru scooped Ava back up, moving towards his washroom that was filled with a large in-ground bath with a natural hot spring. He began to set her on her feet, but she swayed for a moment and he was hesitant to let her go.
She laid a hand on his arm, "I'll be fine, just give me a bit to clean up and I'm sure I'll feel a lot better. Did Rin make it back safely?"
Sesshomaru nodded, "I heard them land just moments ago. Rin is fine."
"Could you bring my bag from Ah-Un? I really want to brush my teeth."
Sesshomaru looked at her skeptically, not wanting to leave her alone.
Ava smiled reassuringly, "I'll be fine, I promise. I feel a lot better already."
Sesshomaru left Ava hesitantly, and once he had gone from the room, Ava gratefully slipped out of her clothes and immediately into the bath. The water filtered itself quickly because the tinge of blood in the water did not stay long as Ava scrubbed herself with the soap she found on the edge of the bath. She quickly washed her face and hair, rinsing out her mouth in the process, to try and get the entire stench off of her as soon as possible.
She had just finished washing when Sesshomaru returned, her bag in his hand.
He laid it down next to the bath and Ava looked up at him, "Do you have a towel, or robe, or something I could wear? That kimono is ruined."
Ava pointed to the blood soaked kimono, which Sesshomaru picked up with one clawed hand as he silently turned, setting the kimono outside the door and moving to his closet, returning with a kimono in a silver white hue. He laid the kimono on top of the bag, turning to give Ava privacy. Ava fished her toothbrush and toothpaste out of her bag, brushing her teeth thoroughly.
Ava stepped out of the water when she was done, wringing out her hair and braiding it quickly before slipping into the kimono. She realized that the kimono belonged to Sesshomaru, its sleeves were much too long for her and the fabric was dragging the ground.
She giggled as she wrapped it around her, and Sesshomaru turned, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "The seamstress is having a new kimono made as we speak, you won't have to wear that for long."
Ava gave him a sly look as she shuffled past him into the bedroom, the kimono dragging on the ground. She brought the fabric of the collar up to her nose and inhaled, "I don't know, I rather like it. I can smell you on it."
She blushed as the words left her mouth and then grimaced, her stomach zinging her with pain again.
She sat on the edge of the bed, Sesshomaru by her side, "Lie down and get some rest. I'll have an attendant bring you some food, and I'm sure Rin will want to come visit. While you recover I need to tend to the affairs of the West, I'm sure much as happened since I've been away."
Ava nodded as she settled into the pillows atop the silk sheets, this bed much different than the fur pelt one at his private home, "Alright, thank you."
Sesshomaru leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips before exiting.