HOW WE FIRST MET.
An entire year had come and gone since Akane's new life had started, and she wouldn't trade it for anything. She was sixteen now, and becoming a different person then who she thought she'd be stuck as for the rest of her life.
Her golden blonde hair was now just barely past her shoulders, and without the need to wear binders anymore, her previously constricted breasts were now free, making all the students now know without a doubt that she was female, and a rather busty one at that.
But her female fan base was far too large for it to matter at this point. Sure, she might wear the girls uniform every now and then, but her male persona was popular enough that not many cared.
Akane was known mostly as Aki, the mysterious and charming Prince of the school who was the star of the girls soccer team and judo club, and was allowed to play on a few of the boys sports teams with little fuss from teachers as long as it wasn't an official event. Her clothes depended on her mood, but mostly stayed the boys uniform, and her grades were almost top of the class.
Akane played the part of the school prince willingly as a small way to keep her twin brother alive, but also as a way to keep people at a distance. It wasn't easy for her to let strangers in, because she didn't like talking about her past. For goodness sake, even she knew how crazy complicated it all sounded, and that's with leaving out the possible dragon ancestor bit!
So despite all the effort when she had first arrived to Japan to drop her old life and find her feminine side, she ended up being a tomboy anyway. But at least now it was because of her own choice. Kagome didn't seem to mind, and kept saying that the right guy would bring out the girl in her, something that always made Akane roll her eyes.
She loved Kagome, but didn't believe a word of it, knowing that if she ever found a guy that didn't make her wanna hit him after the first date, it would truly be a miracle.
She had nothing against guys, and in fact had many that were good friends, she just naturally got along better with them, but it seemed that friends was all she could be. Because as soon as she tried to date one, they started wanting her to change her behavior. Saying she was too bold and forward in her way of speech, and cursed too much for a girl, that she needed to be more soft spoken, which normally DID end up with a punch to the face.
So she was perfectly fine being considered one of the guys, and keeping it strictly friendship level. Even if those friendships were shallow with no real deep connection, aside from Kagome of course. That girl was the only reason she didn't miss her two only friends back in America enough to be completely miserable.
…..
So despite a few hurdles along the way, Akane's life had settled at last into something close to normal. Well, normal all except for what had been going on with the dragons pendant around her neck lately...
Ever since she turned sixteen, she had been hearing a soft and quiet male voice in her head.
NO, she's not crazy.
At least… She doesn't THINK she is yet.
The voice would whisper to her words of encouragement or advice, but go away if she addressed it. And now and then when she played soccer she swore the pendant would heat up seconds before she would feel a burst of extra energy.
An ancestor of hers WAS supposed to be sealed inside, but according to her Uncle, there was no record of anyone else in the family hearing a voice from within. His theory when she called to ask was that perhaps it was speaking to her because she was the first girl to wear it.
Akane wasn't sure how to take the fact some great, great, who knows HOW many greats, Grandfather was whispering things every so often in her head. But the only reason these new events bothered her was because she had never truly believed she was part dragon, despite her few abilities and knowing full well that the so called supernatural creatures of the world were in fact very much alive and real.
Her current art teacher was a panther yokai, her childhood guitar teacher had been some kind of shape shifting sorcerer from France, and a stray kitten she had taken in as a kid had ended up being a runaway cat boy named Luca. Not to mention the vampires who ran a cafe' right here in the city, another accidental find of hers that ended up being the best part time summer job one could ask for.
So yeah this voice from the family pendant didn't shock her all too much like it might have any other girl her age. Yokia lived everywhere, and were called different things depending on where they were from.
Fey, shifter, spirit, monster, yokai, even some called them demons. All of these names were just different broad terms for a race of creatures with human intelligence and, yet very rarely, human like ethics and morals.
But if THOSE creatures were real, if different forms of magic did exist, and her pendant DID hold a dragon ghost...
Didn't that also not prove she was a cursed child, just like her Mother said? If everything else was real, then the legend and prophecy passed down in her family was real, and THAT meant it was her fault after all. The death of her real Father and twin brother, was because she existed.
To this day it still haunted her. You would think being attacked and blamed by a crazed woman shouldn't have effected her, but that crazed woman had been her Mother, making it not so easily forgotten no matter how she tried.
Whenever she voiced these thoughts to her best friend Kagome, the other girl would get that famous Kagome frown and place her hands at her hips right before giving Akane a long and reassuring lecture that it wasn't her fault.
Kagome, or K-chan, as Akane affectionately called her, really was her best friend. Akane's connection with the girl was close to sisterhood. So when that sister didn't come to school for three days, it didn't take long for worry to set into Akane's heart. Three days turn to a week, and when she called Kagome's home and was refused the right to visit by the grandfather that had never refused her before, the need to see for herself what was wrong made her go anyway.
….…
Akane makes her way up the stairs to Kagome's home, and just barely catches a glimpse of the other girl going into the little building in the side yard. What was she dong in THERE of all places?
So she follows right behind. But when she opens the door, Kagome is nowhere to be seen, only cobwebs and an old well were inside. Akane stands there for a while, confused, when she hears wind coming from the INSIDE the well.
A mixture of instinct and that whispering voice in her head telling her to go investigate. She moves closer, and slowly peeks over the edge, shocked to see what looks to be blue sky at the bottom where dirt should be.
Well now, that wasn't normal.
And out of pure curiosity, she jumps inside.
Who wouldn't right?
Closing her eyes, feeling the wind in her hair, Akane seemed to fall, then to float, before landing... at the bottom of the well.
"What in the world?" She climbs up and gasps.
Gone was the shrine and well, gone was the house and road, and in their place was a forest. A deep, thick, old looking forest. Feeling like Alice in Wonderland, she walks around, trying to find Kagome and make some sense out of what just happened. Going deeper and deeper into the forest, Akane climbs hills and crosses streams. Loving the fresh air and the nature that seemed to be untainted by mankind. Trees so thick, three men would barely reach around, sky so blue that there was no way pollution was in the air.
At least an hour had went by before she heard it, and just as she did she could just barely hear the male voice in her head telling her to be on full alert mode. As if he needed to say anything, Akane already knew she was being followed.
Suddenly, a rustling sound RIGHT behind her made her turn, it was followed by a hissing sound that sent chills down her spine, the necklace heating up for some reason and she held it tight.
"Who's there?" She says, then calls herself a moron for saying the VERY thing idiots did in horror movies, right before dying. But Akane wasn't an idiot. She had found a tree branch that she had made into a walking stick as she traveled. It could become a weapon in her skilled hands. So she stood, feet parted in the proper stance, holding the branch like a staff and growled at whatever was there.
~That's it Akane, be brave.~ The voice in her head told her, the loudest and most clear she had ever heard it, causing her to jolt as if someone spoke right in her ear.
So now you decide to openly talk to me? She thought, unsure if it could hear her thoughts to begin with, as it had never responded to her attempts to communicate before even if she spoke out loud to it.
No reply came, but she once more focused on whatever was coming at her from the bushes and quickly mentally ran through all the judo and karate lessons she used to take, hoping they would help scare off whatever THIS was.
But all the tough guy thoughts flew from her mind as the huge Lizard yokai came out at her with a long and creepy hiss worthy of a horror movie.
It would be over six feet if it wasn't hunched over like that, scaly and dark green. Drool dripped from it's open fang filled mouth as it darted at her full force, shoving aside a small tree and nearly snapping it as it passed.
For a moment she froze. The few yokai she had met in her days had been nice enough. Her cat from her childhood, her teacher, and vampires at the cafe'. Hell, even some of her classmates were yokai and other creatures blending with humans, and they had all been good people.
Was she gonna have to kill this one? COULD she? The red eyes and teeth said so...
~Run child!~
At the yell in her head, Akane broke from the spell of shock and made a break for it. She dashed between trees in a zig zag pattern at almost inhuman speed as she looked for fair fighting grounds.
The lizard kept up, sticking close behind and hissing with hunger, slashing at her back as she went. She twisted around to strike at it while she ran, risking tripping, yet barely managing to make a few hits in between running like she was in a marathon.
The warmth from the pendant seeped through her clutched hand and felt as if spreading to her legs, causing her speed to increase ever so much. It started to feel like she was doing more flying then running at this point as each kickoff from her feet sent her forward with surprising distance.
~That's it Akane, run! Don't look back!~ The voice cheered.
"Doesn't it look like I am?!" She snapped while avoiding another slash from behind, causing the male voice to mutter an apology before going silent once more.
Sure Akane, piss off your only helper... SMART.
Every now and then she would see a flash of something white to her left, and for a moment she pondered what else was out there, following close behind as if to wait for it's own shot at her flesh. Like seriously, was it open dragon girl season or something?
"Hold ssstill you!" The creature hissed out, and the sound made her blood chill.
"Not on your life, lizard breath!" She retorted, turning long enough to whack it on the head with the branch, causing it to pause in pain. Akane took advantage of that and darted off ahead, putting in some much needed space between them in order to think.
She was now in a clearing, a small field that ended at a cliff. She was cornered and had nowhere to go from this point on. The lizard came out with a laugh that reminded her of nails on a chalkboard.
"Well, well, I get lunch after all." It sang horridly.
With a gulp, Akane raised the branch like a sword, prepared to fight. "Come and get me ugly!" She called out with mock bravado.
~It's not very wise to make it even more angry...~ The voice nearly groaned as if frustrated with her.
"Funny how you only talk when I'm in some kind of trouble." She muttered quietly to herself.
The lizard roared loudly and attacked. At first, fear filled her, but as the fight went on, it became somewhat fun. Like all the small fights she used to get into in her old school. It was a rush that filled her whole body.
This was the first ever fight that she did not have to hold back, and she reveled in it with the more blood she drew, the pendant still radiating that heat that somehow fueled her abilities.
The beast was covered in gashes from the tip of her staff, while she had a decent gash to her shoulder and her black boys uniform was torn across the stomach, thankfully that had barely missed her body.
~I do hope you have some kind of actual plan...?~
Akane snorted, she knew she couldn't kill it with a mere stick, and of COURSE she had a plan as she slowly moved the fight closer to the edge of the cliff, choosing to ignore the voice. Slowly, without the creatures notice, she inched closer and closer to the edge.
Nearly there...
She barely dodged a slash to the neck, flipping backwards to avoid contact, she twirled and landed a blow to it's chest. The tip actually ended up stuck in the spot she had shoved it, sticking out of the spot like a cartoon moment.
"Aw, crap!" She stepped back twice, getting in the desired spot while the creature howled in pain and yanked the branch out of it's chest with a wet and sickening sound.
~That was lovely, part of the plan was it?~
"Why the hell are you so fucking talkative today voice man?" She snapped, only to hear a chuckle in her mind.
The lizard was now fully recovered from having the branch removed, blood soaking the ground at it's feet as it wheezed and hissed at her, glaring death threats.
Come on ugly, you know you wanna dive at me, she thought as it tossed the branch aside with a snarl, saliva dripping to the ground.
He dove at her, full force, without thinking and Akane used all her muscle to jump above it at JUST the right time, sending it over the edge of the cliff and down to it's doom with an ear shattering scream that echoed in the air.
Down. Down. Down...
Akane winced as it made solid contact with the jagged rocks below. It's mangled body was nearly to much to look at. But the fact she just survived her first yokai attack overpowered that horror. Doing a total fist pump in the air, she let out a whoop of victory.
"I did it! And the crowd goes WILD!"
~Well done child, despite being mostly human of course.~ The voice was clearly amused at her actions.
"Just what do you mean by that huh? Now that you're more talkative you have MUCH explaining to do buddy, but that will be after I celebrate my first ever true fight!" She knew she looked stupid, talking to herself in the middle of nowhere, jumping up and down like an idiot in victory.
But she jumped anyways, not feeling the ground beneath her feet give way, and with the finale jump and yell, she felt herself begin to slip and fall. The very ground crumbling, and she was too close to the edge.
"Well fuck!"
To win a fight, yet to die by simple broken dirt?
She laughed and screamed at once as the man in her head shouted in joint fear. The pendant heated to the point she could feel it seep into her blood, causing something deep inside her chest to begin writhing, as if some other living being was inside her body and trying to wake up.
For a moment, Akane thought this feeling might save her, that whatever this THING moving and twisting in her chest would burst out. But that feeling ended the moment it had begun, causing the voice to curse at himself as whatever he had been trying hard to do failed, pendant going from hot fire to ice cold.
I'm going to die.
Barely sixteen a whole month and I'm going to die.
Akane closed her eyes and gave in to her fate.
Maybe she was a cursed child after all, and this would make up for somehow causing the death of her brother Akito and her Father. After all, she shouldn't have been born in the first place. Only made to be used as a tool by her mother, and she had failed even at that.
Akane went silent as the voice still yelled in her mind, apologizing and still in a panic.
But then a strong hand took hold of her right arm, jerking her body from the sudden stop as it felt like her arm might pop out of it's socket from the force of it, a set of claws digging into her skin.
A yelp of pain left her lips, the claws in her arm released enough for the hand to slip and take hold of her wrist instead, still tight but minus the claws.
The wind made her hair stay in her eyes as whomever had a hold on her wrist seem to… Wait, were they actually floating in the air?
Yes, yes they were. This new person had caught her halfway down the cliff and was now slowly floating them both back up to the top as if it was a simple task, as she just dangled from their grip.
~Thank the gods... I was hoping he would arrive.~
"Who?" Akane asked out loud, wind still whipping her hair and blocking her view. Had the ghost or spirit in the pendant also noticed the white creature following them during the fight? Was it that being that had saved her? She kept her eyes closed, having been afraid of heights her entire life, and hoped this stranger wouldn't drop or eat her whenever the odd floating came to an end.
At last they were at the top of the cliff, and she quickly fixed her messy blonde hair with her free hand once she was set on her feet, sputtering and shivering from being so high up seconds ago. Akane was so shocked to have been saved, and then FLOATED back up, that it took a moment for her to fully realize and comprehend what had happened in the past two minutes.
Once her hair was tamed and her stomach didn't feel like she would hurl, she looked to her savior. And then she thought she had died after all and gone to heaven, because this creature before her eyes was an angel.
Okay fine, that was a bit dramatic.
But if she could choose what her guardian angel looked like, well hot dayam this would be it. Male. Very male, but somehow managed to be both handsome and pretty at the same time. His hair was so long it looked like it nearly touched the ground behind him, and white as the first snow despite the clearly youthful face. It was so shiny and silky looking she had a strange desire to reach out and stroke it.
He was tall, freakishly tall for a Japanese person, with long legs that made her stare. A man with long legs had always been a weakness of hers…
The stranger just now released his hold on her wrist, and she noticed the long slender fingers that did indeed have pointed claws at the tips, and for a moment she was surprised there was none of her blood on them considering how they had been digging into her arm moments ago.
Akane's eyes trailed up his arm and finally rested on the face she had been avoiding, knowing from the first glance that it was perfection just like the rest of him. But now she soaked in every detail. A perfect blend of feminine male beauty, and yet pulled it off along with looking deadly all at the same time.
~Care to at least TRY and blink? I can almost feel your arousal from here.~ The voice whined, causing her to at last blink and then blush at how long she was staring in silence, but she couldn't bring herself to look away just yet.
Akane was trying to figure out if the markings on his face were tattoos or some kind of birthmarks. A purple crescent moon in the center of his forehead, bangs parted as if to show it off, and two reddish magenta slashes on each cheek that his creamy skin made stand out.
Yeah... they had to be yokai marks...
Which meant he had to be pretty powerful, she wasn't sure if this was a fact, but read in a book once at the library that only really strong bloodlines carried those types of face markings, and also normally only those bloodlines could look so human. Like this one did, well, kinda.
His sunset gold eyes had a look that said he could tear her apart if he chose too, and those eyes where framed by thick black lashes. Anyone could tell that this man was a deadly creature that could kill you in a blink. Yet he was so beautiful that you wanted to reach out and pet him anyway like a fool to be eaten.
Not that she would mind being eaten by him…
She had never had such arousing thoughts about anyone before, and now she really, REALLY hoped her necklace ghost couldn't read her thoughts because-
"Those eyes are so fucking beautiful..."
Hang on, had she just said that aloud?!
According to the slow and surprised way the sexy male just blinked at her, and how the voice in her head was now laughing, she had. Well shit.
She blushed scarlet as the sexy males face quickly returned back to that expressionless mask and he stepped away from her as if afraid to catch something deadly, practically twirling around so that his back faced her, white hair swirling around him like a cape.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that- not that they aren't beautiful- cause they are fucking beautiful so you must get that allot. Just, I really didn't mean to voice it." She stammered, but he was walking away from her by then.
~How smooth of you child. You flirt better with girls at your school.~ Came a chuckle filled response.
"I WASN'T flirting!" She bit out with embarrassment.
Akane hadn't said that part very loudly, but the male ahead paused mid step as if she had said it to him, but then continued on like he didn't care.
~Go after him, he'll keep you safe.~
"Hey, wait a second would you!" She called out, having already planned to do just that before the voice had said anything, but despite her trying to get his attention on purpose this time, the man ignored her.
She ran after him, which wasn't easy, the guy took two steps and she needed to take four to keep up, those long legs making it hard, plus she was still recovering energy from the fight with that lizard.
"Gawd, could you stop?! You can't just leave a girl in the middle of nowhere and not ask if she needs help. I may not look it, but I am a girl you know, and your not being very friendly! I mean, you saved me and all, so one would think you'd as least ASK if I need help-"
He came to such a sudden stop that she crashed into him from behind with jogging speed, knocking them both over onto the ground in a heap as she heard him let out a comical "Ooof" sound as if she had knocked the air from his lungs, which she most likely did. She wasn't exactly a slim kind of girl.
After moving around in an embarrassed panic, Akane somehow wound up on top of the man. He had to be really powerful if her untrained senses could feel his yokai aura, it was practically coming off in waves and made something deep inside her stir, that same feeling from before, of some other being within herself uncoiling like a serpent, reacting to something about him.
~This would look very wrong to someone watching...~ The voiced mused, bringing her out from focusing on the sensations the man beneath her was causing.
Akane gasped as she realized her legs were tangled with his in an awkward way that made the situation look very wrong indeed. Those golden eyes glared lovely daggers up at her from the ground. How could he look hot when also looking like he wanted to kill her?
She was about to get off, but his scent hit her and she nearly sighed like an idiot. It was a unique and wild smell, the forest after a rainstorm, and it made her blood heat in her veins in a way that startled her. Was THIS what it was like to be turned on? Cause if it was, none of the guys back home did it for her. Damn.
A barely concealed, and very canine growl escaped the man, making her come out of the spell she was under with a jolt. Her eyes now landing on those perfectly formed lips which were frowning in a rather cute way. Was anything on this male not perfectly tailored to her taste…?
~He growls at you and you get turned on, my gods child will you not?~ This time the voice was both amused and horrified, snapping her head right back to reality once more as her face turned scarlet.
"Oh gosh! I'm sorry, honest I am! You just walk so darn fast- sorry!" Akane all but jumped off of him, continuing to babble like an idiot and asking him to forgive her rude staring again. All the while he just watched her with what appeared to be annoyed curiosity.
When she stood, she offered her hand, but he ignored her and rose on his own. That was when she noticed he only had one arm, his left kimono sleeve swaying empty as he moved, something she had not realized before. The sudden urge to strike the one who had hurt him hit her so hard she frowned at the intensity. She didn't know him. It made no sense to feel such an intense desire punish whoever had done that to him, and for all she knew, he deserved it.
But then again, it also made no sense to feel this freaking strong of an attraction towards a stranger, right?
He was standing before her now and staring with a bored look as if he was waiting for her to do or say something.
Could he not speak?
"W-what is it?" She asked while glancing away, toying with some of her hair, a nervous tick she thought to have broken. But he made her more nervous then anyone back home.
The way he was watching her, like he was studying her every move. And he STILL hadn't replied to the question, so she took in a breath to calm herself and tried again.
"Look, I said I was sorry-"
"Do you?"
She jerked her head back to look at him, and blinked in surprise at the deep and smooth voice that had cut her off.
That icy calm voice had, like his appearance, shocked her, because there was something familiar about it.
"Huh?" Was her stupid reply, and she cringed a bit at how intelligent she must seem to him.
"Do. You. Need. Help." He said each word in a short clipped tone, like the thought of repeating himself was beneath him and for a moment all Akane did was continue to blink up at him. What was he, royalty or something? Or just someone with a REALLY low patience level?
~He's not exactly nice is he?~ Disappointment was strong in the tone, but she continued to ignore the voice and instead answered the sexy annoyed man's question.
"Need help? Well yeah, kinda. I'm looking for another girl, dressed odd like me, but not like me cause you can tell she's a girl from the start, her name is Kagome and-" Akane paused as his eyes darken at the mention of her friends name. A clear flash of anger and something else…
Ooookay…
So he apparently knew Kagome, but wasn't exactly happy to hear the name, like it came with a bad memory.
"Hn." Was all he said as he turned and walked away once more, but Akane noticed it seemed to be at a slower pace then the first time. So she could keep up maybe? Or at the very least not risk crashing into him again.
"Can I follow you then?" She says looking up at him, sticking close to his side, he glanced at her with those cold yet lovely golden eyes and gave a barely visible nod.
~It seemed he doesn't talk much.~
Akane sighed, rolling her eyes at the voice's obvious words, and followed after the man. For a good three minutes they walked without a single word between them, he wasn't even glancing behind to see if she was still there. The silence was getting to her, and she ended up mumbling to both herself and the voice in her head just to help and try to ease her nerves.
"Stupid Akane, falling off a cliff like that. And what was that moment of power, just before he saved me? Was that me or the pendants magic... You ARE a magic pendant right?"
~In a sense yes, I was attempting to lend you some of my power, but I am too weak. However, I did sense your own inner dragon reacting to my attempt. So perhaps we could work on that when you begin training.~
"Training? What training?" She hastily whispered down to the thing at her neck, looking up just in time to catch those golden eyes quickly glance away. This poor guy probably thought she was completely nuts.
~Shall we save the talking for more private time?~ As if mirroring her thoughts, the voice went quiet so as not to make her sound more crazy then she already did.
Sadly though, Akane wasn't much for long silences unless she was comfortable, and ended up talking to herself again as she replayed the past hour or so in her minds eye, which only made the embarrassment over her previous staring and gawking increase.
"Bad, bad, Akane. First you stare like an idiot who's never seen a hot guy before, then you end up tumbled on top of him within the first five minutes after he saves your life! The poor guy thinks he nearly kissed a boy." As she said it, her cheeks heated as she recalled just HOW close their faces at been, and just how wonderful he smelled…
"Do not think me a fool." The sudden calm anger in the man's tone made her jolt in surprise.
"... ... What?" She said, baffled and staring again as he continued to walk without looking at her.
"This Sesshomaru never once mistook you for a boy." He said matter of fact, like she was stupid.
"Oh..." She looked at herself. She thought she looked like a boy, especially with how tight she had made her chest earlier that day to play soccer with the boys. A habit she still wasn't out of, cause lets face it, if you have decent sized breasts, no sports bra works as well as a chest binder for certain sport activities.
Granted, her chest wasn't FLAT when she did this, but with the baggy boys shirt it wasn't as obvious. And her hair was still kinda short…
"Your scent is very much that of a woman." He stated with a glance, as if he noticed her thinking about it.
Face red as possible she merely said, "Ah."
Akane could have sworn she caught a spark of amusement in his eyes at her reaction, but he quickly looked away again and said nothing more for another three minutes. Silence seemed to be his thing.
"So you say my scent is a woman, which brings to mind so many questions but the top one being, but is it a bad scent or what?" She joked lightly.
More silence.
"And you called yourself… Sesshomaru?"
The lack of response did not surprise her, and she smiled, a part of her was on fire at the thought of finally having someone not take her for a boy at first sight despite not having an overly girly appearance. But it wasn't exactly first sight now was it? More like first SCENT? She giggled.
They walk in more silence for a long time. Which Akane was starting to get used to, and she liked watching the way his long hair moved like water as he walked, almost making her self conscious of her own still kinda short hair.
It was no fare a guy had such amazingly long silky looking hair, and she wanted so badly to reach out and touch it.
"My name is Akane Akiha by the way, is your name just Sesshomaru? Or do you have a last name?" Anything to keep her mind off of his long legs, his sexy way of moving, his hair... This creature was walking sex.
But of courses he only gave her more silence.
"Not much for conversation, are you big guy?"
Nothing.
She sighed. In all honesty, she didn't mind going back to just watching him move in that animal way, but she was hoping to learn more about him. Or where they were going at the very least.
"Why does a girl wear clothes that are clearly meant for a male?" He at last said something, making her jump.
Akane blushed at his question. Looking at her feet, she mumbled, "T-that's a long story."
"It will be some time before we reach our destination."
She perked up a bit. At least he wanted to know about her. That or he had noticed her fidgeting because she didn't like silence, either way was sweet.
"You wanna know, or are you just being nice?" She asked while looking up at him. Trying to decide if she should tell him anything or not. After all, he didn't know her. And once she met up with Kagome it was most likely that they would never meet again.
Silence, for the count of thirty.
"Your hair is a strange color." He glanced at her.
Akane smiled. "I could say your hair is strange too, big guy, but that would be rude."
There it was, barely there. Had she even seen it? A teeny tiny hint of a smile. The silence started again, and the thought of venting to this person, someone from a whole different world, it almost seemed like the best time. He clearly didn't care, so wouldn't judge, had only asked so she had permission to fill the silence that bugged her, and there was something appealing to that. Blurting out her life to a stranger wasn't like her at all, but there was just something about him making her want to. Something made her trust him, a gut feeling she couldn't shake.
So she told him. She wasn't sure why. But she told him everything. About being part dragon, raised as a boy both before and after her twins death, her Mothers mental break and how the woman had attacked her and called her cursed. Being sent to try and start a new life and becoming friends with Kagome, and even explained to him about the new voice from her pendant. It all just kinda came out.
Akane would leave gaps in between her stories, but he never once would comment, only occasionally glanced at her as if to say she could continue talking. And even if he wasn't actually listening, it felt relieving to say it.
Not long after she ran out of things to say, having fallen back into silence and Akane feeling a mix of embarrassed, regret, and relief, he stopped walking and looked down at her, once again seeming to study her with that aloof intensity. Maybe he HAD been listening after all…
"Y-yes?" She said with a swallow, not sure she could ever get used to the way he stared without blinking.
"Kagome is down there," He stated, pointing down the hill they were on, and she followed the direction of his claw tipped finger to see a village at the bottom. Akane barely managed to make out her friends green and white school uniform standing near someone in bright red.
"That IS her! Thank you so much, both for this and letting me babble like an idiot along the way!" She turned to him, her smile wide, causing him to do that slow blink thing.
"But since you've given no proper introduction, I still can't thank you properly, that is unless you want me to just call you Big Guy." She had meant that last part as a joke, whether he took it that way or not, she couldn't tell.
He simply raised a questioning eyebrow at her, still clearly on the fence about her sanity. "I am simply Sesshomaru, and I do believe to have said my name at least once before."
"You did, but that was you speaking in third person, not an actual introduction." She grinned up at him, but all he did was frown down at her. She watched him turn to leave, grin only getting wider at his somewhat cute oddness.
"Thank you, Sesshomaru, for saving my life, and keeping me company while showing the way. I hope we see each other again soon so I can repay this kindness!" She called after him with a warmth growing in her chest, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was crushing hard.
He paused, looking over his shoulder at her with an annoyed expression. "We shall not meet again, Akane Akiha."
And with that, he was gone, leaving Akane to stare after him with a bit of longing sadness as she repeated the way he had said her name in her mind. He pronounced it a bit different then others normally did, and she utterly loved the sound of it on his tongue.
~Truly a man of few words I see.~
"ACK!" Akane jumped, having nearly forgotten the ghost and his constant presence.
"Okay buddy, after I speak to Kagome, you and I have much to talk about!" She demanded, causing him to chuckle.
~Very well. I have been waiting for a good time, but recent events pushed my plans forward.~
"Consider them pushed then. Now shush up until I make sure K-chan is okay!" And with that Akane dashed down the hill after one finale look back, having a feeling in her gut that Sesshomaru was watching her from the trees, instinct telling her she would be seeing him again allot sooner then either of them expected.