A/N: Here's a little trivia: Aokimaru's character is partly inspired by Alucard from the Hellsing manga/anime series, hence the black hound. He was my first 2D crush XD. Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter!
Tricked Into Position
It had taken them a lot of hard work, but Rin finally pushed Sesshoumaru to take them to a newly-opened, all-inclusive noodle eatery.
The three of them found themselves sitting in the packed place where it smelled of sesame oil and sake, not looking out of place at all. The surrounding patrons came from all walks of life, bonding through food and camaraderie.
Their orders came shortly after. Jaken took a whiff of his much-awaited tonkotsu ramen, and started retching. Maybe I'm pregnant, he thought.
Rin took a good look at Sesshoumaru. Her lord was exuding negative waves, resistant to the merry mood of the place. He was never a social person, but he was even worse today, all frowns and pouts.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, why are you covering your nose?" Rin asked innocently.
"I'm having a flu," came his brisk reply.
"But we don't hear you having the sniffles." Her eyes narrowed hard at him in suspicion. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Double high-five!"
Rin and Jaken banged the table, roaring with laughter when Sesshoumaru's hand left his face. "Your nose!" they pointed. "It's crooked! No wonder you've been hiding it! What a sight of the century!"
Sesshoumaru stood up abruptly. "Give me a reason not to kill the both of you right now."
How could they, Sesshoumaru anguished, fists clenching—how could they laugh at his sorry state? His spirits had been at their lowest since he lost the match to Aokimaru. To add salt to his injury, a damned apple had dropped onto his nose, causing irreversible damage to his perfect features. An apple!
The noble, aristocratic, and some even said frighteningly beautiful Lord Sesshoumaru was going to spend the rest of his days with a crooked nose. He sat down again and ate his caviar ramen sadly.
"It's not that bad," Rin chirped. "You look less intimidating now. People might even approach you more!"
"And why would I want that, pray tell?"
Suddenly Sesshoumaru clutched his stomach and doubled over. A beat of sweat rolled down his temple. "W-water closet," he mumbled. Rin and Jaken watched with raised eyebrows as Sesshoumaru sprung out from their table and into the back of the eatery.
"Has he always been this unpredictable?" Rin asked.
Jaken snorted. "That's because it's not him. He's an alien imposter, remember?"
A huge sigh of relief left him in the wooden cubicle. And this is why I hate human food, Sesshoumaru reminded regretfully to himself. In the middle of his business, his ears perked up to the loud conversation outside.
"Hey did you hear about it? I heard the hanyou army is in full swing right now."
"You don't say."
"And here's the best part! They're saying the General has already chosen his advisor, a human miko from the future. Make Nippon great again, I say! Hey, that makes a great slogan!"
"You don't say."
Upon hearing the news, Sesshoumaru rushed out violently. The two youkai standing outside passed him dirty looks. Then he went back in to flush the toilet. They smiled at him.
"Make Nippon great again! Hey bro, what's your name?"
Still slurping on her noodles, Rin spotted as Sesshoumaru hurried out of the place, as though he was late for something. He never returned.
"Did Sesshoumaru-sama just upped and left us here? That's real dodgy of him."
The waitress came. "The bill would be 450yen."
Rin paled. "450?! But we only ordered 3 bowls of ramen!"
"That's because someone ordered caviar specifically from a sturgeon from the Caspian Sea."
One week ago, at Aokimaru's fortress…
Kagome giggled at the courtyard as she watched Inuyasha guide the recruits in their fighting stances. Lately he had warmed up to the idea of the army, even participating in their training exercises as a fellow instructor. It was such a heart-warming sight to see him working among his kind.
The captain-commander cleared his throat quietly as he took his place beside her, half-dressed under the scorching sun as usual. She tried not to look at his abs too much. That was for Sango's eyes only.
"Ah, Goro-san! What's that you're wearing?" Kagome enquired with interest. There was an embroidered belt fastened around his waist, with a yellow tiger's head as its motif. Where had she seen that before?
"It's a senninbari or a thousand-stitch sash," Goro answered, smiling down. "It's given to a soldier for good luck."
"That's so cool!"
Kagome patted on her pocket. She should really give Aokimaru back his eyepatch, she remembered. And at the same time, tell him she had made her mind up about his offer.
Gee, I hope he takes my rejection well. Can't accept it after weighing the pros and cons. Too much drama.
"Inuyasha, I'm going to speak to the general!" she shouted. "Wish me luck!" He waved back at her.
Kagome took a deep breath as she walked into the long corridors of the fortress. Come on, you can do this!
She bumped into Johnny on the way. "Johnny-kun, mind showing me Aokimaru's room?"
The ninja-colonel smiled in delight. "Ah Kagome sis! Are you ready to visit the chief?"
"Is now a good time?"
"He's still recovering, but he'll feel even better if he were to see you." He led her through more walkways and corridors, taking her through a winding flight of stairs up a tower.
"Ah, Johnny," Kagome said, suddenly noticing it. "You're wearing a senninbari too!" This one, although in a similar tiger motif, looked distinctive in comparison to Goro's, as though it had been stitched by a different hand.
Johnny beamed brightly. "Yes! My wife and I made one for each other to exchange! Nyaaan!~"
"Ah, you mean the one you were making in your room? That's sweet, but isn't it only given to a soldier for good luck?"
Kagome's mind froze. Hold on a minute. Wait wait wait wait wait. Could Johnny's human wife be...
Suddenly Johnny pointed to a large double-door at the top of the stairs. "That's the chief's room! Have fun!" he winked, before fleeing off.
"Johnny, wait!"
Before she was ready, the doors slid open with a quiet sound. Kagome whirled around. There was another person inside. A guard? Of course, he was a general after all.
Immediately a sheepish blush fell over her. "H-hello. Can I come in?" The doors slid wider for her and Kagome stepped inside.
Gosh, she wondered in awe, looking around the large room, sparse, but eloquently decorated. She'd never been to a high-ranking official's, let alone a general's room. The beautiful paintings on the screendoors beckoned to her and her eyes roamed further until they landed on the spreaded futon on a raised platform.
Oooh, a nice bed.
"What are you doing here?" the guard spoke behind her.
Kagome turned with a jolt. "I'm sorry, I'm looking for..." Her brown eyes widened. "Aokimaru-senpai?!" That was no guard, it was just him all along!
Kagome slapped her forehead. The general looked so different that she couldn't recognize him. Gone was his large, cumbersome armour and fearsome helmet. He was draped loosely in a red silken robe, revealing the bandages on his torso. His aura more subdued, less threatening. Aokimaru looked appealing even, if her mind dared to stray.
The only thing that reminded her that he was indeed the same hound that filled the courtyard and shocked her a few days ago, was his black hair, wild and proud, falling down to his shoulders in arrogant waves. Kagome quickly remembered the reason she was there.
"Here," she said, pulling out the item from her pocket. "I came here to return your eyepatch."
"Ah, so it was with you all along," Aokimaru replied. "I almost had it in mind to request for a new one. Well, is that all? Your reason to come here?"
Kagome gushed. "Of course not. I wanted to see how you were faring. I was really worried when you disappeared for days. Johnny said you were still recovering."
He chuckled. "I got a little scratch that's all, but Kagome, you shouldn't lie. You were just worried about Sesshoumaru, weren't you?"
She tried to fight her blush. "I am, but I'm equally worried about you too, honest to God!"
"Ah, you're so sweet." Aokimaru looked at the eyepatch in her hand. "Do you want to wear it for me?"
She giggled. The general was such a joker, wasn't he? However her smile stiffened when he moved to close their distance.
"You don't want to?"
"I don't see why not," Kagome said, mustering her courage.
Aokimaru gave a deep chuckle and lowered his face. She tried not to look at it—his scarred, blind eye as she lifted the eyepatch. But he lifted his hair, forcing her to look.
"Is it hard to believe that I incurred this injury from fighting for Izayoi's hand?"
"It will make an interesting tale for sure."
She secured it with a knot and he leaned closer to her face. "I don't mind sacrificing my other eye, if it means I can win you for myself, Kagome Higurashi."
Kagome blinked nervously. God, he wasn't joking now, was he? Aokimaru's bright eye was staring at her so intently that it made her heart pound. The air was suddenly hot and stuffy around them. She found her feet moving back, only to meet a wall behind.
She looked around and tried to laugh. "Things are getting intense here, isn't it?"
"You invited yourself into my bedchamber," Aokimaru said quietly. "What did you expect me to think?"
Bedchamber?! She found herself stuttering with embarrassment. "I—I'm sorry, if I had known..."
Kagome yelped when he lifted her off her feet. She yelped again when her back hit the soft covers of the futon bed. A flash of disbelief hit her.
No way…
Aokimaru slanted his large body over her, propping on his elbow. Kagome was trapped in a compromising position in bed, and it was the last thing she had predicted when she came to see him.
"Do you know what it means when a woman sees a general stripped of his armour?" he asked with a teasing smile. "She's either a healer...or she wants to join his bed. Well, which is it, Kagome?"
She burned red. "You're mistaken! That was totally off my list of priorities!"
He smiled, cupping her face affectionately before his hand slipped down the gradient of her neck. "Have you done it before? I'd like to believe that none of Inutaisho's stupid sons have claimed you. They wouldn't know a gem if it was right in their faces..."
Kagome thrashed her legs. "I actually came here to talk about your offer!" she screamed.
"Oh? What about it?" he replied, unperturbed. He lowered his face and took a deep whiff. "Ah the delicious scent of a female mortal." He gripped both of her shoulders, making her squeak. "Gets me everytime."
Kagome's heart was ready to burst from her ribcage. Only one thing spun in her mind.
If I reject his offer and offend him…is he going to take me by force? She bit her lip, paralysed in her indecision. Oh lord, I never dreamt my first time would be like this!
"I've... I've made my mind up," Kagome stammered, steeling herself. Come on, Kagome! Be brave! Just tell him you can't do it!
Then Aokimaru blew a warm breath into her ear, and all her resolve melted.
"I'm going to be the High Oracle!" she cried out.
"Say it again," he whispered, his breath hot, his voice deep and sultry.
"I want to be your divine High Oracle, Aokimaru-senpai!"
Aokimaru's weight lifted off her. There was a smug, triumphant smile on his face, before it creased into laughter.
"You're an easy one, aren't you? I just had to tease you a little bit..."
Kagome stared at Aokimaru in disbelief as he continued to laugh. He took her hand and placed it under his lips. He grinned.
"You've finally made your decision. And for that I thank you, mademoiselle."
He kissed her hand. "You..." Kagome started, her whole body shaking. She rose slowly with anger when she realised what he had done.
"YOU TRICKED ME!"
To be continued…
