A/N: Hi! Thanks for all the reviews and view! Finally, hit 50 reviews and 1000 hits. *hugs all the readers* Happy New Year! (In a few hours for some, so early Happy New Year!). Here's the awesome new chapter. I hope everyone likes! It's even extra long!
Freedom's Will
Chapter 11
Lovesick Over a Dog? Ha!
Not even half an hour later, I was back in the study, desperately searching through the books. I had to find, anything, anything at all to change the puppy's mind in this matter. He was going to give Naraku a few days to react before he actually preformed the whole plot completely. With any luck, Naraku would intervene before that time, but the chances were slim that he would, not with Sesshomaru still protecting me. If not, I could easily see how the situation could get so much worse. What if Naraku gave up on me completely? Would Sesshomaru still try to use me for years afterwards, still as his bride? The thought made me shiver with dread. Years of waking up to that cold, annoying, infuriating face while Naraku didn't give a damn that I wasn't with him.
But no, Naraku wouldn't let that happen, right? He couldn't. If he did, Sesshomaru wouldn't have to worry about him coming because I would drag that slimy bastard to him, by force if necessary.
The time was short. A few days to rattle my brain for any plausible ideas of how to escape this situation was all I needed to get out of this. I had found ways to get out of every other tough place I had put myself in so why would this situation be any different. My brain didn't seem to be cooperating, however. The only ideas that ran though my brain were horrible.
I couldn't help but think that being married to the puppy wouldn't be halfway bad or even bad at all. He was fun to mock and tease, as well to argue with, which would provide me with endless entertainment. He was bent on protecting me, even when I didn't even need it. It was okay that it was just so he could kill Naraku, too. For some reason, the reason behind his actions didn't bother me. And he was rich and powerful, the type of guy many a girl would dream of marrying. Heck, when I was little I had even dreamed of it, even though I knew it would be horribly impossible. The man obviously had a soft spot in his heart somewhere, as showed by Rin. He wasn't even that bad looking.
I shoved the thoughts away quickly. No, I couldn't be doing this, not now. How come my head wouldn't act normally and stray away from such thoughts? I didn't want to hear those thoughts, I didn't want to hear the truth in them, to realize the insight that I usually enjoyed in them. It didn't matter if he was basically my dream guy. I needed to get away from it all. I was the wind. I couldn't be tied down by a man even if I didn't mind the thought of being tied down by him.
I slammed shut the book in my hands. I didn't even comprehend the words, any ways; my thoughts were in the way. Why did this always happen to me? I didn't want or need this. The book fell to the floor as I put my head in my hands, closing my eyes and rubbing my face tiredly. I noticed, with a shock, that I had been falling for the dumb dog since I had met him. It was all the stupid man's fault that I wasn't thinking clearly.
The worse part about it was I couldn't escape him, not even for a day. I knew he wouldn't allow me to go out alone, or without him and I couldn't escape his presence in his castle. Even now, I was waiting to attend dinner with him tonight, which was only an hour away. It wasn't even helpful to know that Inuyasha and Kagome were having dinner with us. In some ways, their relationship made matters even worse.
No, this thing had been too short for me to respect it. I had only known the damn dog for a week, maybe two. I couldn't be falling for him. No, I was just making a big deal out of nothing. This whole thing would just blow over and I would be left thinking how stupid I had been. How stupid that I had ever thought that I could ever fall for a block of ice in the form of a dog. I rolled my eyes, back in good humor. But the thoughts of before staying in my mind, continuing to haunt me as I went back into the book, once again looking for an escape route.
My hour alone passed in a blur. One minute I was laughing at myself for ever thinking I had fallen for the puppy and the next the man himself came to get me for dinner. And I still had no plan of how to escape from my predicament.
Thankfully, tonight I wasn't forced into wearing the fancy kimono and I was able to just wear my usual one. I could only guess that the puppy noticed my mood was sour enough without making me wear the ridiculous outfit on top of it. I could only hope that at the wedding he wouldn't force me into wearing something as silly as that. Not that I was intending on letting the situation progress that far.
Kagome and Inuyasha were already in the room when we arrive, arguing about Inuyasha's outfit. He was missing the top of his kimono, leaving his chest to be covered with a simple white under cloth. He obviously thought it was entirely proper for the occasion while Kagome heavily disagreed. Sesshomaru only eyed him once with distaste obvious before silently sitting down. I followed suit, not really wanting to throw myself into the couple's heated argument.
Kagome gave a final huff before turning to us. A smile crossed her face and she presented her hand. A ring lay on the ring finger, glittering in the light. I looked on in surprise.
"Inuyasha finally decided to be my mate," she squealed. I suddenly noticed the discreet bite mark on the junction of her neck and shoulder. Sesshomaru didn't even glance over. I felt my temper rise. If I was going to play along with his little scheme, the least he could do was act as if he wasn't in pain because of it. He was simply off in his own world, not caring what anyone thought of it. At least Naraku had acted a tiny bit excited about the affair, even if it was sick and twisted. I blinked. Where the hell had that thought come from? Since when did I care what or how Sesshomaru treated the situation? It wasn't as though I was really into the whole thing.
"Congrats," I said dryly. "Next time you do something like that, try not to publicize that you two are closed up in a room for the whole day. It takes all the guess work out of it," I had guessed as much of what they were doing, even if I hadn't guessed that they had finally mated. Kagome blushed while Inuyasha hmphed.
"So are you two going to get together soon?" Kagome questioned. I grimaced. Inuyasha laughed snidely. My eyes narrowed.
"Ha. As if that bastard would actually act. It would show he's not a freaking block of ice," Inuyasha growled. I noticed out of the corner of my eye how Sesshomaru's hand twitched toward the hilt of one of his swords. I intervened quickly. A fight was fun to watch but I wasn't in the mood to watch one at the moment. The moment was too sour already without having to help an injured puppy lick off his wounds.
"Do you actually think that mating with Kagome shows anything about you? Except maybe how scared you are that a weak wolfy will carry her off someday?" I purred. Kagome had to restrain Inuyasha in his chair to keep him from leaping at me. So murmured something in his ear to calm him down and he relaxed in his chair. But it didn't keep him from glaring at me murderously. He needed to learn to control his temper. I smirked at him before beginning to drink from my glass.
"I plan to marry the witch next week," Sesshomaru announced. The water quickly went down the wrong way as I took a sharp intake of breath. I began to cough, sputtering all the water all over. My breath wouldn't come. Why the hell did he do that? Had he just freaking waited for me to take a drink? I heard Inuyasha and Kagome's reaction while I was fighting for some air. Finally, all the moisture cleared out from my lungs, leaving me free to glare at the puppy. My looks seemed to bounce right off him.
"Really? Maybe we should have a double wedding?" Kagome bubbled. I was forced to remove my gaze from the puppy to look back at her.
"Shut up, Kagome. I doubt the bastard will make it real," Inuyasha cut in angrily. Everyone else glared at him coldly. Sesshomaru went so far as to reach for his sword. I gave him a warning look. I didn't want to deal with their shit tonight.
"If I know him, Naraku will check before he lets me go," I replied. "If it was fake, he would know. He'll probably send one of his little minions to make sure." Inuyasha growled at me. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. If he didn't want an answer, he shouldn't have asked the question in the first place. Sesshomaru sent a glare my way. He just seemed to be handing them out in droves, tonight.
Kagome sighed. "I guess a double wedding wouldn't work. We'd have fighting relatives," she grinned at me before very deliberately looking at the two brothers. I smirked and looked down. She was probably right about that.
The meal came swiftly afterwards, cutting off all talking for a while. The silence was relaxing but I couldn't seem to focus on plotting. It felt all too weird with Sesshomaru sitting next to me. It almost made me feel guilty, as if I got out of this plot, it would mean I didn't hold up my end of the bargain. But if Naraku wasn't dead, it didn't matter too much, did it?
"So, after Naraku is dead, will you two break apart somehow or what?" Inuyasha crudely broke the silence. I stared at him, not knowing what to say. It would be most dishonorable to break a marriage like that, if it was real. Unless I didn't get pregnant, which shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. That would mean the marriage wasn't consummated and I would be free to leave. There was no way in hell I was going to mate with puppy and I doubted he had such thoughts in his mind, either. Or at least I hoped he didn't, for his sake.
"What do you think I'm going to do, stay with the annoying puppy forever?" I snapped. "Of course we'll break apart afterwards," Kagome frowned while Inuyasha looked to his brother expectantly, as if he couldn't believe he was just going to let that insult fly. Sesshomaru just gave him a flat look and didn't respond.
"Oh," was all Kagome said in a dejected tone. I realized that she wanted it to be real. But why? Did she enjoy my company or something? Or was it just that she wanted Sesshomaru to settle down? Either way, she would have to get over it. And Sesshomaru could find another demoness to treat with his cold ass attitude. The silence returned.
After a while, all the non-talking began to get on my nerves. Everyone just sat there and ate. It grew to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore. I excused myself when I was done and hurried outside.
The night air was cool and relaxing. The sounds of the night filled the air and the moon hung in the sky with the clear stars twinkling around it. I stared at the sky. It looked very similar to when I had been in the illusion and seen the sky. It was still just so peaceful and beautiful. I wished I could take out my feather and fly off in the stars, as far away from everything that I could go. To just lose myself in the sky and the stars until I was in a new land, where everything was freer.
A cherry tree sat in the middle of the courtyard I had walked in, the breeze gently shaking the blossoms on it. It was so similar to the one back at my home. It was just like the one my dad used to help me climb to pick off the new cherries and would take the blossoms off to put in my hair. I quickly shook off the memories. They didn't matter, not anymore. It was my past and it needed to stay my past. But it didn't help fade my craving to climb the branches.
It only took a few seconds to climb to the top branches, where if I went any higher the branches would break. Blossoms surrounded me on all sides, still waving gently. I couldn't even see the world outside my new fortress. It was like my own little place, secure and quiet. I inhaled the scent of the blossoms happily, closing my eyes softly in the process. This was probably really child-like behavior but who really cared? It never hurt anyone to let loose now and then.
The crack of the branch below was the only warning I had before the branch I was on shook softly. My eyes snapped open, my pleasure and peace instantly vanishing. Sesshomaru sat on the branch before me, as calm as could be. I glared at him.
"Can't you let me be in peace for at least an hour or two before performing your watch dog duties?" I hissed, annoyed. He looked at me calmly, except for his eyes which were gently scalding. I felt myself tense up at the expression in them.
"Then I suggest you don't run off, witch," he replied. I growled and hefted myself off the branch. This was no fun if the puppy was joining in. In fact, it made it the very opposite of fun. It just sucked when the puppy showed up and spoiled all my good moods.
He caught my arm quickly and pulled me back up. I jerked away but didn't get anywhere. My eyes blazed with anger. What the hell did he think he was doing? I quickly stopped jerking and sat down. If I kept trying to get away, I knew I couldn't. So I did the next best thing, I simply pushed him off the branch as hard as I could. He wasn't expecting it, for he fell, surprise in his eyes and the branches snapped beneath him and blossoms rained down.
I only sat there and laughed. The stupid dog deserved it. Then I noticed he wasn't moving, not one bit. I looked down suspiciously. That fall had been a few meters so how could he have been hurt. But he looked as if he had been knocked unconscious. Although it went against my better judgment, I need to check to make sure he wasn't. After all, if he was hurt, he wouldn't be able to kill Naraku…or marry me. I shoved the last part away quickly. As if I cared if he did that or not.
I dropped to the ground beside him gracefully and bent down, until I was right above him. He grabbed my foot quickly, making me fall into his chest. A half smile filled his face. I stared at him. Since when was he low enough to trick someone? Was this yet another illusion?
Then his face changed, into an almost worried look, although it didn't show well. I blinked and that was all the time it took for him to kiss me quickly. I froze in horror. That damn dog was dead! How dare he do that? He just deepened it, forcing me to react. Shock froze my body in place. This had to be an illusion. It only made me more positive this wasn't really when Sesshomaru picked me up.
We ended up in the bedroom. When we reached there, he dropped me on the floor harshly and stalked to window. I stared at him, wide eyed. What the hell was going on? He surveyed the view outside before walking back over, his face cautious.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I screamed at him. He gave me a flat glare.
"Pay attention, witch. One of Naraku's brothers was watching," he explained. I looked at the floor.
"Which one?" I asked, too stunned to say anything else.
"Hakudoshi," he replied. I shook my head. So that was the reason for the kiss. Of course. He had been trying to give the image that we were actually together. I quickly put together that the scene we had put on outside was rather like a couple, even though it wasn't intended to be, not by me. The bastard could have at least warned me that Hakudoshi was watching. Now, hopefully, he fell for it. Then maybe Naraku would come after me and the marrying business would be over. I felt a tiny part of myself recoil from the thought, the miserable part of me that also said that kiss had actually been rather good. I crushed that part of me, dreading that it would come back, as I knew it would.
A/N: I hoped everyone liked. I know people were expecting a wedding but it's not quite yet. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone…. Anyways, don't forget to review…you know you want to!
