Author's Corner
"Thank you" – to everyone who reviewed. This is the last chapter with the same flow (19-21).
Song for the Chapter : "Vulnerable" – by Roxette. (Oh, it's beautiful. Not the exact meaning for this chapter, but very close for Sesh and Kikyo. It kinda applies to the first half of this chapter in relation to the last) – you'll see what I mean.
Sesshoumaru – The Path to Destiny
Chapter 21 : Where We Belong…
(important note: chapter title refers more specifically to the bottom half of the chapter)
+Scene Change+
The night was cool and the wind was soft, as a certain Taiyoukai sat gazing at the night skies.
Like always, Sesshoumaru hated crowds, and therefore as soon as he had made his official appearance, he had left the immediate vicinity to be by himself. Sesshoumaru had strolled into the giant garden, without sword and without armor, when his sharp eyes had caught sight of the tree which had been his mother's favorite. Sesshoumaru remembered that his mother used to spend a lot of time taking care of that particular tree; the Pink Chanuna Tree. Sesshoumaru always believed that part of his mother's warmth had been instilled in the tree; the way she had taken care of it, and it was his most liked spot in the entire garden. He had been a little irritated to find out that the miko had been spending time underneath this tree. 'As if there are no other trees in the garden that she had to choose this particular one.' he had thought.
But now, seated very comfortably; his shoulders leaning against the tree, his right leg stretched out completely while his left lay bent very slightly at the knee - leaving plenty of space in between them and his arm resting at the top of his right thigh… he felt warm. His fury pelt went behind his shoulder as usual and on reaching the ground behind him, it snaked its way forward; running along almost the entire length of his right leg before coming to an end.
Some of the fur of the pelt rose, every time the wind breezed across them; also making the bangs that fell across his forehead and the long locks that he had pulled in front and over his left shoulder, flow and move in a specific way and sequence that nature seemed to have written specifically for them.
Sesshoumaru thought of how the past few days had kept him in his study for most of the day; the damn paper work seemed never ending! Sesshoumaru's thoughts then finally turned to the events of the night and how the final agreement had gone. Sesshoumaru really didn't like appointing nobles to watch over particular parts of his lands, but even the most powerful Lord in all the lands couldn't be in more than one place at a time. Sesshoumaru concluded that it was the best and easiest way to take care of his lands, and it would also mean that he wouldn't personally have to go and settle or take care of each and every small problem. If it was a matter of great importance his subjects would inform him.
'I don't know why father made it a rule that we have a function when we make final agreements?' he mused in obvious irritation. 'I am certain that Rin does not like being sent to bed early.' A slight smile almost spread across his lips as images of the smiling little girl passed across his mind. 'At least she is enjoying the company of the miko. She seems to be getting very attached. I wonder if this will cause a problem when the miko has to leave. Hmm…' Sesshoumaru hadn't finished his thoughts when his sensitive nose picked up her scent far away. 'Damn! Maybe I am cursed.'
Sesshoumaru sensed her heading in his direction.
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, and as she got closer and closer, he sensed that something was wrong. Slowly he began to hear her ragged breathing and smell the salt of tears.
Sesshoumaru relaxed his eyes. 'So she is about to cry again.' he deduced uninterestingly. 'Nothing serious must have happened, or either Jaken or Gansoku would have informed me of such… I wonder what happened to make the strong willed miko cry… No, no, on second thought, I do not want to know. Maybe she won't see me behind this tree…'
Sesshoumaru waited quietly, as he sensed her getting closer and closer, but then he heard her suddenly drop to the ground…
+Scene Change+
Kikyo's mind immediately recognized the owner of the long silver locks. The tears that had been gathering up in her eyes broke loose, causing several of them to run down in streams on both cheeks. Her vision cleared and Kikyo saw him seated comfortably underneath her favorite tree.
"Sesshoumaru….." her voice rasped weakly. "Sesshoumaru…" she called out again weakly.
He didn't answer. Her blood had already begun to settle when her eyes had captured his form. Her breathing became a little regular, but the tears were now flowing out uncontrollably. Kikyo stood up groggily, and then with the last amount of energy she had, she lifted her robe slightly from both sides and sprinted towards him …calling out his name every few steps.
'Damn! This means another crying session I suppose.' Sesshoumaru thought nimbly.
Kikyo didn't think about how much she had been angry at him only a few moments before, for all the things she was going through, but as she felt herself getting closer and closer to him… she felt her loneliness getting further and further away from her.
Kikyo almost tripped again in her sane frenzy but she kept going and after crossing a small winding bridge that ran over a small pond; he was now in her full view, every step bringing her closer and closer to him, to his warmth, to his familiar company, to his powerful intoxicating scent- the scent of pure luminescent moonlight cast from a full moon combined with the scent of pure night air found at the very top of the greenest mountain and having all the essences of nature in all its mightiest and rawest forms. His scent was everywhere around her, but not powerful like his. Tears drops glistened in the night like sparkling stars as they were thrown from the ends of her cheeks and flung into the night air that was pierced with moonbeams.
Only about three feet of grassy ground separating his familiar body from hers; she flung herself onto his resting form! The landing was softer than expected and she had him instantly caught in a tight embrace; her head buried in his left chest rekindled that eternal flame that was dying out on her. She lay almost completely fallen on him. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, she wept and she wept and she wept……
All that loneliness had instantly been kicked out of her system as her body felt the warmth of his; his cool free scent extinguishing the fiery hate that burned within her. Her mind cleared and was rejuvenating itself, her soul, yes, her soul, calmed and fell silent in peace… What had been building up over the course of many days of being surrounded by nothing but demons, was finally released, as she wept, and wept and wept.
Sesshoumaru had seen her cry before, but this was worse than the first time. He could feel her tremble and tremble against his body, all because of the sheer force of the tears that were falling and again soaking his pure white haori.
In the process of crying Kikyo purposely pulled herself up a little more, so that she could clearly hear the steady sound of his heart beat. This was her first conscious effort to do so, but any thoughts of why or what didn't interrupt her as she was still crying; it just seemed like the natural thing to do!
OOO
Her left hand now lay; a tight fist on top of his right chest. Kikyo didn't know for how long she had been crying but she finally slowed down to gentle sobs.
"Why? Why? Why?" Kikyo asked in a cracked voice; her face still embedded in his chest.
For the first time Sesshoumaru softened for her ever so slightly. But he was Sesshoumaru and would not change the manner, in which he spoke, 'but maybe just this…once……' he decided.
"Why what, miko?" he asked gently. That's right, gently.
Kikyo's sobs stopped as she heard his voice; the voice that reverberated through her and the voice that she had been longing to hear.
As she lay against him, torso on torso, her legs in-between his, her breasts against his lower chest muscles, her head at his heart; his voice… directed at her… shook the foundations of all the negativity that had taken structure in her heart, bringing them crashing down and turning them to dust.
Kikyo didn't have an answer to his question. It was far too difficult to explain all that she had felt and even harder to try to sort them out and present them one by one, so she said something else.
"They were insulting and taunting me." she said resting the right side of her face against his chest.
Sesshoumaru didn't mind not being answered this time, but only this time. "I am not surprised." he said. "You knew they would." he added.
Kikyo gently wiped away her tears with the sleeve that covered her left hand. "Yes… But I didn't think that it would affect me like this, that… it would hurt me like this."
"Why do you care, what they say?" Sesshoumaru asked in curiosity.
"I don't know. Maybe it was because there was nobody to stand by me." Kikyo said. Then she suddenly; her hands still leaning against him, half sat up. "Why weren't you there, beside me?" she shouted. "You are supposed to come to me when it is night. Why didn't you come? If you had been there they wouldn't have dared say anything to me. It is your fault!"
Sesshoumaru let his gaze shift down to the miko, away from the stars. Her sudden burst of anger and questions hadn't surprised him. He was expecting them, in fact he expected that to be the first thing to be expressed from the miko when she found him.
"It was you who said that you would tell me when you needed me. You said nothing, so it is not this Sesshoumaru's fault, it is your own."
Kikyo crashed back into him again. "Fine! It's my fault then!" She said a little angrily. Then she started sobbing again, and Sesshoumaru didn't mind.
OO
A while later she had calmed down again.
"You have made me weak Sesshoumaru." Kikyo said gently, tilting her head up to look at his face.
"Likewise." he simply stated.
"I have made you weak?" Kikyo asked, her teary eyes widening a little.
"To a certain extent, yes." he replied, looking back up to the skies.
"Hmm…" Kikyo mused. Suddenly both she and Sesshoumaru realized that she had done it exactly like him! A smile forced itself across Kikyo's face, but Sesshoumaru grunted and looked away. Kikyo's heart was warm again.
Kikyo slowly pulled up the fury pelt, and spread it across her, covering her body partially. Sesshoumaru ignored her actions. Kikyo closed her eyes and got comfortable. But even after a while the Taiyoukai couldn't hear steady breathing; she was still awake.
"I felt lonely Sesshoumaru…" Kikyo admitted suddenly. "…that's why it hurt so much."
"You were always surrounded by someone or the other except for when you were sleeping." he reminded.
"Yes. But they were all demons and Rin as wonderful as she is, is only a child. I can't talk freely to her."
Sesshoumaru thought about what Kikyo had said, trying to make sense of it. "You said 'felt lonely', so you do not feel like that now?"
"No." she answered.
"Why not?" he questioned; his mind twitching!
"Because I am with you." she answered instantly with no problems.
Sesshoumaru didn't know whether to be insulted or angry. "What does that mean miko? I am a demon too." he said with an edgy tone.
"But you are different." she answered in a completely relaxed manner.
Sesshoumaru was really confused now, and he didn't like that, but he chose to go with the flow. "Different how?"
Kikyo's eyes shot open at his question. "I don't know… you just are." And she added, "In a good way."
Both of them enjoyed the silence of the night for a while.
"You were alone before, why do you feel it more now?" Sesshoumaru asked Kikyo, while he watched her draw imaginary lines on his chest.
Kikyo didn't have to think much to answer him. "I suppose it's because I now have a body of flesh and a complete soul."
"So you require adult human company, to not feel lonely?" Sesshoumaru asked.
Kikyo had to think about this question a bit more.
"No." she answered. "I think I'll be fine as long as I spend the nights with you, and stay away from those demons."
Sesshoumaru chose to ignore the middle part of her answer as he thought about the frailness of the human mind.
"Let me ask you this miko."
Kikyo who had now started to draw imaginary circles on the silk that covered his chest, stopped and looked up at him, but he was looking up too.
"If you had been else where, that is to say not in my castle, what would you have done if some demons insulted you?"
Kikyo wasted no time in thinking about that because she had the answer at the tip of her tongue.
"I'd have purified them and turned them into dust!" Kikyo spat out.
"Why did you not do that now?" he challenged.
Kikyo got back to drawing her imaginary creations as she wondered whether he was asking her a trick question. "Because this is your castle, their land and I am outnumbered."
"Hmm…" Sesshoumaru mused. "You are sure it was not because you were scared?"
"Ha! Those ignorant demons, nobles or not, do not frighten me." Kikyo replied in distaste.
"Hmm…." Sesshoumaru mused again. "The way I see it miko, you are not being yourself. You are letting outside factors prevent you from doing what you would normally do. It is no wonder that you feel you are weak."
"But what about the consequences of doing that?" Kikyo asked him as she put her palms on his chest to hold her in place as she faced him; face to face.
"Hm." Sesshoumaru gave out a weary sigh. "One should always believe in oneself, stand up for what he or she believes is right or wrong, provided it is justifiable, and always, always, defend his or her honor – at any cost."
Kikyo leaned back into his warmth. "Is honor worth dying for…" Kikyo asked as she closed her eyes.
"Always…" he replied.
Now the Taiyoukai heard her breathing getting steadier and steadier.
"Miko…" Sesshoumaru called in his normal tone, loosing the former gentle pitch.
"Uhmm…?" Kikyo acknowledged sleepily.
"Make sure you have a bath tomorrow morning, before you exit your room. You have my scent all over you."
"Uhm." she voiced in agreement, before falling asleep.
Sesshoumaru was sure that none of the guests; who were probably still merry making inside, would come into the garden, so he decided to spend some more time outside, under the stars, even with the miko on him.
OOO
It was a few hours later, late in the night that he decided to retire to his room. But Sesshoumaru had managed to forget about the miko who was sleeping on him.
'Oh, yes, she's still here.' he realized with a sigh.
'This means I have to carry her again.' Sesshoumaru thought.
Sesshoumaru certainly wasn't about to carry her through the castle, or let anyone see her with him… in such a manner as this. 'This woman has caused me to sneak around my own castle. Damn.' he cursed.
But it was impossible for the Taiyoukai to sneak; he never did anything sneakily - no! That just wasn't his style. The fury pelt was immediately put to work as it curled itself around her legs, unfortunately the robe prevented it from going in-between them, therefore Sesshoumaru was forced to shift her body to his right side so that he could snake his only arm around her to support her body equally. With a type of deliberation and effort that he never had to go through before, he finally stood up only like a prince would… holding her in his arm.
The figure in white turned around and soared into the air, sailing over the tops of his castle, like a knight carrying away a princess through the night; every bound and landing, smooth and soft. Escaping all eyes he made it to the side where the Royal quarters were. Finally landing on the grass again, he saw that he had only one leap to make to the Rose Room through the open window, and so he did.
He landed softly inside the Rose Room that was only lit with the moonlight that let itself in through the windows. But he froze as soon as he turned left and saw her bed.
'I am actually in a bedroom at night, with a woman in my arm. A human woman.' he added.
Sesshoumaru looked out at the night sky again, and far, far in the distance, he thought he saw the same white cloud that he had seen on his way to Mount Hakurei; the partial impression of the giant dog.
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he stood there looking out the window; the wind blowing the silky white curtains that were gathered at the sides. He suddenly remembered how much he hated humans and their weaknesses; he was above and beyond them all.
'But what about Rin?' he wondered in slight confusion. 'If I have allowed her to come into my pack, allowed myself to… …protect her, and she is a human, doesn't that make me weaker than them? No. No. Rin is not like the others of her kind. She is different….she is… special. Yes. That is why I have Rin. But what about this damned miko, how in the hell did I get myself into such a position? Yes, it's Rin's fault. No, no, she is only a child. It is my fault for letting her get kidnapped so easily. Damn. I can't believe I have put myself into such a position as this.'
With still narrowed and dangerous eyes, the great youkai looked down at the human miko who had made herself very comfortable in-between his arm and chest, and was sound asleep; her right hand again inside his haori.
'I mustn't lose focus and needlessly frustrate myself.' he planned. 'I have already accepted the circumstances and will not be swayed by these irritating thoughts that I get. The sooner we destroy this threat, the sooner I can get her out of this place.'
(SHHHHSHHHOOOO……… SHUT!)
Immediately after that thought had passed through Sesshoumaru's mind, the wind shifted direction, shutting close the giant windows, and trapping the two beings inside the walls of the castle. Sesshoumaru thought it rather strange that the wind shifted so suddenly, but he decided not to give it any further thought.
He gracefully made his way to the futon, and for a moment actually contemplated the consequences of just dumping her on it, but decided against it. Sesshoumaru immediately realized that he had another dilemma. If he laid the miko on the futon and then tried to remove his pelt that was curled around her, there was a chance that she would wake up. So after careful planning, he first set her feet on the futon, then snaked his arm around her upper body and released his fury pelt of its load.
When Sesshoumaru had made up his mind to do something, he always gave his best effort.
Then climbing onto the futon with his knees, he gently dragged her body up, and with her head cradled against his chest he gently leaned down and laid her to rest; her head fell softly onto a pillow. After which, he slowly began pulling his arm out from under her, but his youkai senses went on alert! Her steady breathing had become interrupted; Sesshoumaru froze for what must have been the third or fourth time, completely settling his youkai aura. He hoped for the best. But it was too late, Kikyo's hands that were lying on either side of her, gently snaked themselves around his neck and pulled his face down.
'I will not spend the night in the same bed with her!' he told himself vehemently. But alas, there was very little even a demon as powerful as he could do against a woman who wasn't afraid, who he was in debt to and who was stubborn and powerful.
Sesshoumaru increased his youkai aura a little making the sheets of the futon slightly rise and fall, to try and intimidate her, but it didn't work. She pulled him down and made him plant his lips squarely on hers, and she pressed and sucked on them in a heated fusion.
Opening her eyes, she saw his narrowed eyes.
"Stay." she said softly, raking her left hand through his hair starting from the front and going behind.
Sesshoumaru had had enough, not only was she trying to force him to sleep in the same bed as her, but her 'stay', sounded like a command – as gentle as it was. His youkai aura increased around him, making the sheets flutter and her free wild hair tremble in the air.
But Kikyo was a sleepy and tired woman, she didn't have time to remind him that he had to do whatever she asked him to, so she opted to push her head up, meet his lips with hers and simultaneously attack his ear lobe.
Sesshoumaru knew that she was only asking of what was in the terms of agreement, and the massaging of his ear was a finisher. He let her drag him down with her; his body relaxing on the futon crushed close to her body.
She finally let go of his lips and as expected was met with the cold expressionless face.
"Stay." she said even more softly, her warm breath calming the hidden anger on his face. She then gently pulled him down to her right, his head, coming to rest face down on the soft pillow next to her own. Her right arm going underneath his neck and palm resting on the top of his head; her fingers embedded themselves in his thick locks. Her left hand reached for his exposed and reachable right earlobe and soothingly began massaging it, and this time his entire ear was treated.
Sesshoumaru had managed to pull his arm from underneath her, but since he didn't have another arm on the other side to support any movement or shifting of weight, he had to let it lay across her middle; made to feel her intake and output of air as she breathed. But Sesshoumaru, even though he was a demon, needed to breathe at some time or the other, so he turned his head in the only direction he could; to face the side of hers. His nose picked up her fresh scent and the perfumed smell of her hair, as he closed his eyes.
But Sesshoumaru's mind was still at work. ' 'Stay' she says… as if I had a choice! I can see that she is treating herself well. The liquids she has used to wash her hair do smell good. She must be the only human I have come across that smells this good, other than Rin. That wench of Inuyasha's smells good too, but her scent has a lot of artificial properties added to it, but this miko's is natural. Hmmm… curious.'
With those thoughts his mind went to rest too.
LJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJ
And so it came to be, that on the night when; the wind was soft, the sky was starry and beautiful, the spirits of the earth were at peace and the full moon shone the brightest, a powerful Taiyoukai Prince and a beautiful Human Miko shared a bed, in almost complete innocence, in a beautiful and powerful castle, in an ancient and mystic land…………………………… and thus…another part of an ancient prophecy…… came to be fulfilled…!
So this is one of those chapters; you know, one that is a small part of a big picture. Don't you think the last part was a little sad/sweet; where Sesshoumaru found out that he couldn't move because he didn't have an arm to support such a movement. I had to mention that part, to show that even with his disability Kikyo treats him like she would a normal person (where some might feel sorry and consider his situation when in bed). And his disability was also what forced him to keep his other arm around her middle… (with the prophecy being mentioned there, it kinda makes you wonder whether his arm got lobbed off just for this reason, on this particular night. Hmmm….)
Important, Important.
Well anyway, I am very sad to say that it seems that most people don't respond well to this story (perhaps you find it boring or something like that – coz I got only two or three reviews for the last chapter and almost every chapter before that). Anyway I'll wait and look for your response to this chapter but if it is indeed failing to make a lot of you read it every time it is updated – then I am going to stop for a while. This story is my first and my favorite, so I will finish it, but I'll take my own time in doing it and not worry myself about updating as quickly as possible. You guys have to realize that I put a lot of effort and time into writing this, and your reviews are the only way for me to know how many of you might be reading it and enjoying it. (don't mean to be grumpy – but it's the truth). But anyway, the rate of progression of this story is in your hands – I am going to devote time for oneshots (I have got a sudden interest for them – lol)