THROUGH THE WELL AND BACK AGAIN. PART 1.
It was a typical late spring day. Lovely and green, almost movie moment worthy even. Birds singing, new flowers blooming, animals taking their young ones out to look for food and drink. Practically perfect, if it wasn't for the voices beginning to echo loud enough to make every living thing dart off to hide, that is.
"Take it off!"
"No!"
"Akane, for the last time take it off!"
"And for the thirty fourth time, NO!"
"DAMN YOU WOMAN, TAKE IT OFF!"
"BITE ME!" Akane roared as she marched herself away from him as fast as her feet could go.
"Release this Sesshomaru from your enchantment this instant!" He yelled as he followed after her, not going as fast as he could, but it was clear by his tone that she was pushing him to use his powers soon.
"That's just a long ass way to say the same thing that you already said!" She hollered over her shoulder at him.
~I told you this was a horrible idea, Akane, why on earth did you actually go through with it?~
"Take it off NOW, human!" Sesshomaru growled, now right behind her and approaching fast.
"Fuck no! You can die with it on for all I care!"
…
{Flashback to earlier that day}
"You can try and fool me, Akane, but something is totally bugging you today." Kagome said with concern, hands on her hips and not allowing Akane to pass.
The two had been visiting after running into each other after a long stint apart. Of course, the two brothers had not been as thrilled to cross paths, but only a slight bickering followed the glaring match. Then Sesshomaru wondered off, telling Akane to spend time with her friend until his return.
In a way it was sweet of him to let her catch up. And she knew this was his way to try and cheer her up. Even he had been sensing the strange mood Akane had been in for the past few days.
But it wasn't like Akane could tell anybody about her kiss with Naraku… Or about how fucking messed up both her heart and head felt because of it. Talking to Shen really wasn't an option, since the dragon had zero trust in Naraku and thought she was insane for liking him.
"I'm fine." Akane sighed, having said the word fine far too much lately, and even Shen at this point felt bad for all his lectures. The two had a pretty big fight about it last time and now she kinda didn't respond to his comments much, feeling emotionally drained.
Kagome gave her a mother type stare. "Nuh-uh, not buying it. Have you and Sesshomaru been fighting again?"
Akane blinked her blue eyes pointedly. "Nooo..."
Unless arguing about what was bugging her counted of course. Which in a way was funny, but it also was making things worse with him showing concern.
"Did he toss you over his shoulder again and make you stay behind? I thought that kinda stuff stopped once you got the new sword."
Akane snorted, but also realized just how long it had been since he had pulled the whole he man act an her. He really was making an effort lately… Damn.
"Not in a long while he hasn't." She answered with a small smile at the memory of the last time he did it.
"He's letting you fight then I assume?" Sango asked, frowning while gathering wood and sticks for whenever they set up for the night. Both Akane and Kagome had been helping at first, but had quickly gotten distracted with talking like they always did.
"Sometimes he does, especially with how he seems more pleased with my sword skills."
Kagome blew her bangs out of her face and huffed at her, getting more and more worried. "Well, does it have to do with him or not?"
Akane looked away in shame, biting her lower lip and holding her small bundle of sticks a bit too tightly.
She hated lying, and had been doing way too much of it lately, so she might as well go for a half truth at least.
"Kinda, yeah. He's… part of it at least."
~That's the understatement of the year.~ Shen scoffed, and it took everything not to react to him.
Sango simply nodded, eyeing the way Akane was clutching the sticks but clearly deciding not to pry further.
But Kagome on the other hand, pointed at her with an accusing finger, dropping half of her own sticks in the process. "Aha! I knew it."
That made Akane laugh a bit, wishing she could come clean to these girls, but knew they wouldn't understand considering everything the spider had been doing to them, and sometimes she questioned her own sanity about this whole situation, but she had a gut feeling that Naraku could be a good person.
"Oh no, not that depressed sigh again! That's it, Akane, you come with me." Kagome suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, making even more sticks fall and Sango picked them up without a word as she followed.
The girls had been talking alone, and now went into the campsite. Rin and Shippo were playing chase, while Jaken watched in a silent sulk about being left behind by his lord yet again. Miroku looked to be preparing food over the remaining small fire while Inuyasha sat back watching, and both men looked up as they approached.
After dropping their sticks and wood next to Miroku, Kagome pulled Akane over to her big yellow backpack before she released her wrist and plopped down. Sango had seemed to decide that whatever was going on wasn't her business, and stayed to help the monk.
"I had something made for you a while back, but it never seemed to be a good time to give it to you..." Kagome said in a rush of excitement. Akane watched the girl dump all kinds of books and food on the ground while rummaging through her pack like a madwoman.
~It will forever fascinate me just how much stuff this small girl can manage to haul around.~
"Y'know, mine has more pockets and storage space then that old thing." Akane teased her friend, snorting at Shen's little comment.
"Yeah but it's such a cute color!" Kagome protested, not bothering to look up, tossing another school book.
Akane cringed at the thought of that shade of yellow ever being CUTE. That backpack was just plain ugly.
"Kagome, why the hell are you making such an awful mess over here?" Inuyasha said as he approached them, arms crossed and scowling as the pile never seemed to end.
"I'm finding something for Akane." She replied, sounding bothered that she still hadn't managed to find it.
For an odd reason, this made him brighten up with a creepy happy grin. "You mean, THAT something?"
Akane blinked, growing more and more puzzled. "Huh?"
Kagome paused and glared up at him. "Yes it's THAT something. But it's not to make YOU happy."
"Too bad. Cause it DOES. So much." He let out a short laugh, looking entertained while watching her dig around.
She rolled her eyes and returned to her chaotic mess in progress. Akane watched, both worried and super curious at the same time. "Just what are you both talking about?"
Inuyasha laughed evilly. "Something that will piss that bastard off. And he won't be able to do a damn thing about it either, which makes it even more perfect."
Kagome growled, which would never threaten anyone, sounding more like a kitten. Akane found it adorable.
"Okay, yeah, he'll be upset at first so of course you'll be the most happy about it. But you can't tell him about it first, Inuyasha, she has to sneak it." She stated matter of fact while giving him a warning look.
~Sneak it? Alright, now I'M curious.~
Akane was going nuts at this point, looking back and forth between them. "What the hell do you expect me to be able to sneak with Sesshomaru?"
Kagome laughed as she finally pulled out a small and thin black box, handing it to her. "THERE! Found it! Calm down girl, and open it. I think it'll be good for you."
Akane did as she was told quickly, curiosity killing the dragon... BOTH dragons, until she pried open the thing.
A silver chained necklace was inside. The chain was thick, not dainty, made for a man. Between every three links of chain on the bottom part of the necklace was a silver crescent moon. Making three moons all together at the part that would be seen hanging from a persons neck.
It was really cool.
"K-chan, this is awesome." She said, touching the metal and feeling an oddness to it, almost like a hum or low vibration like her sword tended to put out, yet it wasn't actually making any noise.
~Magic… Don't tell me…~
Inuyasha cut in while she studied the necklace with a scoffing sound. "That ain't for you, it's for Sesshomaru."
Akane looked up in confusion, and Shen loud out a low groan like he had been kicked or something, but he didn't bother to fill in the blank for her.
Kagome punched Inuyasha in the arm, making him back up three steps. "Okay, see, the thing is, it's enchanted. Like the one on Inuyasha." She explained while pointing to the beads in question at his neck.
She didn't get it at first, but then Akane gaped. Did they HONESTLY think that mister high and mighty would ever allow her to put this on him?
"Ya'll be crazy. What have you been eating?" She said in a serious tone, narrowing her eyes in worry.
Inuyasha laughed until a glare from Kagome made him shut up. The black haired girl looked at Akane with a pleading expression. "I just want to know you have a way to make him back off. Whether it's in a fight, or him just being an ass. Trust me, it comes in handy."
As if to prove it, she simply looked at Inuyasha and he backed away again, hands raised.
~This will not end well you know.~ Shen stated, but it wasn't as if she didn't know that already. But if he ever found out about her and Naraku, she might need this…
"Sooo, I just have to get this on him and it will work the same way as Yasha's?" Akane asked, curiosity sinking in.
Kagome beamed at her, pleased that she wasn't flat out refusing the idea. "Yup! And you can use any word you like once it's on him. Pick a good one."
"If she can GET it on him, that is." Inuyasha scoffed with an eye roll, but he clearly still wished to be there when it happened. Not that she would allow that, it would only make the whole situation worse.
Akane looked down at it, studying the silver chain. It was way cooler looking then the beads his brother had, and would suit Sesshomaru very well, but was also small enough that he could hide it if he chose.
Clearly Kagome had taken the time to choose something the Western Lord might not mind wearing, which was sweet on her part. Considering he wouldn't be able to remove it and would no choice.
"I... might be able to get it on him. While he listens to my music tonight. Sometimes he falls asleep first."
"That's the spirit!" Kagome gave her a high five and looked happy that Akane had accepted the gift.
~This will be very... Fun to watch.~
"Just don't tell him where you got it. I don't need him coming after Kagome because of it." Inuyasha warned.
"Like he would!" Kagome rolled her eyes before giving a solid SIT command. Inuyasha slammed face first into the ground with a loud smack.
Akane didn't think Sesshy would go after Kagome either. Most likely he would keep his anger to the one who actually dared to place it around his neck. HER.
Suddenly though, her mood was lighter. This truly would come in handy in the future.
"Thank you so much, K-chan!" She gave the other girl a tight embrace while Inuyasha moaned from the imprint he made in the dirt.
And that had been that.
Sesshomaru had noticed right away the next morning what was around his neck. He didn't seem to mind it at first, but the second he realized that he could not remove it himself, he put together just what the necklace was.
Rage was a light word compared to his reaction. It turned into the worst verbal fight the two of them ever had.
Akane had never seen him so mad at her, the man was actually using curses, which was so rare to his refined vocabulary, and it made both her and Shen nervous.
He insulted her on many levels in his rage, and she knew it was because he was mad, but it did not help ease the pain. So she gave as good as she got, to the point it even began to get a bit physical, which wasn't good.
Rin and Jaken had hidden behind Ah-Uhn in fear of them both. In a shoving match fueled with curses, Akane had barely zapped Sesshomaru by accident, which didn't help.
She even swore to only ever try to use it if he scared her.
But he didn't care, he wanted it off. Nobody controlled him. And sure as hell not a human girl.
So she had left. Taken Ah-Uhn and flew as fast as possible back to the well, with Sesshomaru right behind her.
{End of flashback}
….…..
Sesshomaru was angry, but less so than at first. While following behind Akane, in the few bursts of silence they had while flying, he did come to understand why the girl felt the need for some kind of protection against him.
It proved she was no fool. After all, for a yokai such as he, those sword skills of hers would be of little use.
But the truth of the matter was that Sesshomaru could never hurt her on purpose. His inner beast would never allow it. His first instinct, even while mad, was to protect her. It was rather a bothersome sign actually, but now was not the time to dwell on it…
So while her wanting this added protection was smart, it did sting his pride a great deal that she thought he would willingly cause her harm.
And while he DID understand her reasons, his anger was growing the more she refused to remove it from his neck.
"Akane-" He tried, but she cut him off.
"If you sling one more fucking insult about being part human, or being a girl, or any other thing my way I swear that I will zap you. And THIS time it'll be on purpose!"
And she would, he knew hands were shaking from the force of the bolts running across her fingers. Hell, she had even zapped him during their little shoving match.
He didn't know what to do.
"Damn woman, listen to me!" He barked out as he took hold of her shoulder. Why would she not understand that if it got out that a simple human had such control over him he would be a laughing stock from here to China?!
With a growl that hinted at her dragon heritage, she spun around and yanked free.
"What do you want?! I'm leaving, you should be happy. I'll never use that fucking necklace because I sure as hell ain't coming back to this time."
Sesshomaru paused, completely frozen on the spot mid reach for her. This was sudden. He hadn't expected her to be that upset at him. Surely she must understand his rage from before. His words had gotten out of hand, he knew that, but to just leave him? Leave… them?
If she hadn't been so distracted and angry, she might have seen the panic flash in his eyes.
"I will not allow you to go anywhere." As he said that, he grabbed her wrist.
"Ack! That HURTS you asshole!" Akane spat out in English, pulling hard, but he only held tighter in fear of losing her.
"Stop moving." He ordered, not meaning to hold so tight, but if he let go now she would fall into the well.
"Like HELL!" Akane twisted and pulled, using her free hand to reach out and zap his arm.
Out of reflex he released her, only to go for her again as she tumbled backwards like he knew she would. Soon they were both falling down inside, and the falling never seemed to stop.
….….
Akane landed on her ass. Pain went through her spine as the air was knocked from her lungs. That had been the hardest landing EVER. But given how she fell in, it made sense. She stood slowly and patted herself clean, then jumped back as another figure landed by her side.
Sesshomaru hit the ground flat on his back with an audible ooof sound. He looked very undignified like that.
~So only cats land on thier feet after all...~
"You alive?" She asked coldly, mildly pleased at seeing him land in a heap and trying not to grin or laugh.
Sesshomaru hadn't moved yet, and it was getting really REALLY hard not to giggle or react at all to his regal self all spread eagle splat in the dirt.
"That hurt." He said in a deadpan tone while doing that slow blink thing of his, staring up in shock.
Akane snorted at him before reaching her hand out, a bit surprised at the fact he actually took her offer for once and slowly got to his feet.
"There is no sky." He stated, cracking his neck while looking up out of the well, and the silver necklace came into full view while doing so.
It did suit him, the bright silver paired well with his white hair and pale skin. He might have even liked it had it been a simple gift, rather then a trick.
Akane felt like shit about it, but she was still mad. At both him and herself. She was a mental mess of mixed feelings ever since she started seeing Naraku in secret and she was taking it out on Sesshy, which wasn't right.
~The boy is still staring at the ceiling like it might eat him or something.~ Shen pointed out, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to the question Sesshomaru had asked.
"Oh, no sky, right. Yeah, cause you followed me here. We're in a well house on Kagome's property. That's why there's no sky. Now you need to go back."
He looked to her with open wonder, like he was too amazed to bother hiding it for once. "You are saying that this Sesshomaru is in the future?"
Akane glared at the well above them, avoiding looking at him, and trying to keep her mad face.
"Yes. But are you forgetting how you got here? I'm in no mood to be nice. That necklace ain't coming off, even if you kill me." She stated with all her determination.
He seamed to have hoped she had somehow forgotten all that, by the way his shoulders dropped, she could see it from the corner of her eye, making it hard to stay mad.
"I would never kill you, Akane. And I do not find that to be funny." Sesshomaru almost sounded... sad.
~I think the pup has hurt feelings.~
She glanced over, Sesshomaru was looking at her, but he kept glancing away, and if she didn't know any better she would swear he seemed nervous or something.
Scratch that. He WAS nervous.
He kept swallowing and moving from foot to foot, and when he noticed her staring he cleared his throat.
Yet another rare moment of him reminding her of a normal teenager. Was he actually gonna try and verbally say sorry to her? Was he really?! Sesshomaru hated doing that.
"The necklace. It is not worth fighting about." He started, looking at the ground like he might be sick.
"Uh-huh." She replied like she wasn't paying attention, even though she was hanging on every word.
"And it got out of hand…" The poor guy sounded like he had no idea what he was doing, and was trying to figure out just HOW he was supposed to say sorry.
"I agree." She kept the smile off her face as he ran his hand through his white hair with a frustrated sigh, but damn was he adorable when nervouse.
"The things that were said..." Sesshomaru once again tried, seeming to literally be stuck, like the words just wouldn't come out. Akane stared in silence as he refused to look at her now.
~Come on boy, spit it out already.~ Shen said in irritation, but she simply found the Western Lord's rare moment of being tongue tied to be utterly sweet.
"This Sesshomaru is... I'm sorry." He at last said in a single breath, like it was forced out.
Silence. She made sure she made no movement, no breath. Just silence until he got the nerve to look at her. He turned from the spot on the wall to fully face her, she had never seen him look so worried before.
"This necklace is not worth losing you over." He said while looking her right in the eyes.
Something bubbled up inside her, too fast and too forceful for her to gain any control over. And Sesshomaru gave a surprised and unmanly yelp as Akane tackled him.
The unprepared man toppled to the ground in her embrace as Akane buried her face in his armor, not caring about being poked, laughing like a loon.
"Gawd, I love you." She said, too excited and blissfully happy to bother with Japanese, knowing he understood.
She had said it many times, both quietly and openly over these past few months, and she didn't care if he believed her or not. But to her shock, she felt his hand in her hair, ever so lightly returning her embrace.
"Don't leave… Akane." He barely said out loud, but she heard him. She could have sworn he had almost said don't leave ME, and the thought made her heart swell at the fact that for once he wasn't pushing her away.
….….
Sesshomaru didn't know what to do. He was overjoyed that she had forgiven him yet again for his words, and to hear yet another bold declaration of love made him smile.
But how could she claim to love him when just moments ago she had planned to leave him alone forever? Akane was such a strange creature.
While laying in the dirt, still a bit in shock from her tight hold, he decided that convincing Akane of removing the necklace could wait for another time. As long as it was not used for people to see, it would not be a problem for some time to come. After all, she had been mad before they fell, yet did not use it on him.
When at last she released Sesshomaru from her grip, she was leaning over his chest with a bright smile. "I'm sorry too, for more things then you know."
What an odd thing to say. But the fight was over and done.
And he, Sesshomaru, had said sorry yet again to a human girl. But she was more then just that wasn't she?
"So, lets get you back home." Akane stated while standing up, dusting herself off even though he was the one to have landed in the dirt a second time.
"Back? This Sesshomaru is not going back until seeing this time." He scoffed, getting up with as much dignity he could manage for someone who had landed in the dirt twice in a matter of minutes.
Akane rolled her eyes with a huff strong enough to move her blonde bangs. "So, back to being the demanding and stubborn old you huh? I kinda liked that shy one from a second ago, can you bring him back?"
"I am NOT shy!" He bit out, not meaning it to come out as loudly as it had. This ridiculous teasing about him being shy had become a regular thing, he just didn't know why.
Akane grinned and patted his arm. "Kidding, kidding, if you acted any other way I think I might freak out."
Should he be insulted? He honestly didn't know anymore when it came to things she said to him...
"Where did we leave Rin and Jaken?" She suddenly asked before he could be insulted or not, just now seeming to remember they had left the small ones behind.
"Ah-Uhn was to return after dropping you off. I gave Jaken orders to go wait at the village." He stated, annoyed that she might have thought he'd just left them alone again. That was a mistake he wanted to avoid repeating after the last few times of leaving without thinking.
For some reason, the look of approval she just cast his way had both beast and man swell with pride, and for once it didn't even embarrass him.
"Well… Since they'll be okay… I guess you can have a look around or something. Since Yasha does come here allot I suppose it's only fair. Come on then." Akane began to climb a ladder that was not in the well at the other time.
Sesshomaru simply jumped out and landed gracefully on the floor before she emerged from her climb.
"Show off." He heard her mumble, and a chuckle escaped him as he followed behind her out the door.
….….
Akane would never get used to the way this man behaved.
But the fact he had said sorry to her, rather then just act as if nothing had happened, that had touched her deeply. Not only that, he had dropped the argument about the necklace entirely, which she was grateful for.
She was still stressed about so many things that she would have to figure out soon. But this would prove to be a nice distraction from that. The fact she was about to show him her world had her stomach in knots.
~His brother is hard enough to handle in this time, so I wish you the best of luck.~
While he had a point, surely a curious Sesshomaru would be less chaotic then Inuyasha... Right?
"First things first, you gotta leave the armor behind." She stated the moment they were in Kagome's front yard.
As expected, he frowned at her. "Why is that?"
"You see me wearing stuff like that?" She huffed, waving a hand over herself for emphasis.
It was freaking cute how he stared all puzzled until he got it, golden eyes wide with realization. "I see. Your manner of dress may be strange in my world, but it is normal here. So this time it is I who needs to try and look less strange."
She had expected a bit more of a protest about it, but he calmly removed his armor, leaving only his robes. Akane placed his things, including his swords despite a glare, back inside the well house. She knew Kagome and her family would leave them alone.
Akane then looked him over. Without the armor he looked like some elven cosplayer. It would do until she could get him clothes that fit.
~You are going to get many stares walking around with him dressed like that. I hope he's ready to be blasted with sensory overload once we get to the city... Not to mention people asking for his picture.~ Shen pointed out, finding this whole thing entertaining as always.
"It smells odd here." Sesshomaru stated, perfectly timed somehow to the dragon's comment, and Akane giggled at the way he scrunched up his nose in displeasure.
"Yeah, that would be the pollution in the air. Welcome to the modern age." She waved around them with a smirk.
"How can you breath?" He sounded genuinely worried.
"You'll get used to it. Now let's go. This girl is in serious need of modern food!" She laughed as she walked across the yard with him in tow behind, thinking of where to take him as she began to walk down the stairs to the street below. At the bottom, she realized he wasn't behind her.
Looking back, she seen him at the top, staring out at the city before him in a mix of horror and awe.
~I knew he would be in for a shock!~
"Tall buildings huh?" She said once he slowly made it down to her side, still looking up.
Those golden eyes weren't even bothering to hide the amazement this time. "Indeed..."
"Try not to freak when you see a car."
He looked to her then, offended, gaining a bit more of that famous indifferent attitude. "I recall how you described them. Do not think that I shall act a fool and embarrass you in front of your people. This Sesshomaru will not use any powers or cause an unwanted scene."
That shocked her. "You could never embarrass me. I was just giving you a warning that your going to see them soon Sesshy-sama, and was only teasing."
"Hn." Was his reply.
They walked in silence for a while and she watched him calmly take in the sights of the streets, occasionally wincing at a car horn or the sound of a train. All in all, he was reacting way better then expected, that is, until they reached the heart of the city.
Here it was not so quiet, it was just about that time when people were leaving work and school, packing the roads with cars and the sidewalks with more people then he could have ever seen in one given place. And like she and Shen had expected, his appearance was gaining many extra looks and flashes of phone camera's.
Akane could sense him become more unnerved the deeper they went into the river of walking bodies. The feeling radiating from his aura was surprising, he had to be really nervous for her to be able to sense it so clearly.
Which made sense. If he was stressed in Shika's small village, he had to be on super alert mode now.
"You can hold my hand so you don't get lost, if you want, there are allot of humans at this time of day."
THAT made him glare down at her. "This Sesshomaru does not get lost. And I am not a child."
~Testy thing, isn't he?~ Shen mused, but she didn't find the snappy tone funny when she was just trying to help.
She stopped walking, and people bumped into them as they passed. Akane placed her hands on her hips and returned that glare. "Oh, so if I were to leave you here right now and walk off, you're saying you would be able to find your way back to Kagome's place just fine?"
He stared down at her stubbornly, ever silent.
"Even with all these people and all these new scents and sounds?" She added, seeing doubt flash in his eyes.
"Of course." He bit out, all bravado despite how obviously unnerved he was in this crowd.
"Fine." She stated. "I'm going home, and if we get separated I am so not going to look for you."
Akane turned and stormed off, making her way through a wave of people who had just come off a crosswalk, going the opposite direction. If that man was too stubborn to take her offer, then if he got lost it was on him.
~I know you're trying to make a point here, but is it REALLY wise to leave a nervous and edgy dog in the middle of a crowded area? What if he attacks someone?~
"He won't attack anyone unless provoked, of that I'm pretty sure." She pointed out, still walking forward, but guilt did start to set in. How cruel was she to abandon him in a world he knew so little of?
Sesshomaru didn't know how to blend in with humans...
He could most likely smell the other yokai, but not know why he could not see them. This wasn't good.
Just as she was about to look back, she felt a hand tightly take hold of the back of her T-shirt. She turned to see Sesshomaru looking very unnerved and relieved, like he maybe had lost sight of her and gotten scared.
Aaaaw! She should feel bad but Akane couldn't keep from smiling as he refused to look her in the eyes, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. He could be so cute.
They walked on without another word, once again dropping their little bickering moment with a mutual knowledge that he hadn't meant to snap, and she hadn't meant to offend.
And despite his obvious shyness about it, he never once let go of the tight grip he had on her shirt.
….….
Sesshomaru felt completely ridiculous.
He was holding onto Akane like a child to it's mother and he was ashamed of his actions. But the moment Akane had stomped out of his sight, and the sea of people came at him, it had the beast in him go into a fearful frenzy.
He could not catch her scent among the new ones mixing together, causing what he feared to be an actual headache coming on. Indeed, it would take a long amount of time to get used to the scents, sounds, and lights that were now attacking all his senses.
So when he had spotted that honey golden hair in the sea of black and brown, he reached out to her without a second thought. Sesshomaru was coming to understand that both sides of himself may care for Akane far more then he was willing to admit.
The fact he had forgiven her for the necklace proved that.
If any other person had done this to him, they would be in chains until the cursed item was removed from his neck.
And now, simply holding onto her was easing his nerves in this crowd. His beast trusted her completely, and despite his best efforts, so did he.
It didn't take long for him to relax enough to regain his composer, and Sesshomaru watched as Akane smiled the whole time that she showed him her world.
They passed by clothing shops with all manner of odd items, and she kept asking his opinion on male styles. He got the feeling she intended to get him something if his stay in this time became a longer then expected one, and he wasn't exactly against the idea. He simply wondered if this place would except his currency…
A few times they were stopped by a group of human girls who wanted a photo with him, saying something about cosplay, which Akane was quick to decline for him in a very defensive and cute way. But it did not stop them from taking a couple as they walked away, the flashes making him wince, feeling grateful that Akane never used the flash in the few photos she had begged him to let her take.
Restaurants and Cafe's were on every corner, filling the air with a mixture of both familiar and strange scents. It was beyond odd to have his mouth watering at the same time his stomach was twisting in disgust. How on earth did the people of this time survive?
The headache came, but began to fade as time went by.
Because of his love of music, something not many knew about him, Akane made a point of taking him inside amusic was in awe at all the instruments that had been created, and the sound each one made.
For a rare moment he wished that he had both arms again. While he hadn't ever played a guitar before, he missed playing the koto whenever he was alone in his room at the estate. Just seeing all the string instruments brought back memories of his father teaching him to play, the feeling was both nostalgic and sad.
Akane seemed to sense the slight change in his mood, a talent he was starting to appreciate despite it annoying him in the beginning, so they moved on to more clothing shops. She asked if he minded her picking up a new pair of jeans, since the last was nearly torn to shreds from their previous battle with a yokai, and she ended up taking him into a store specifically for women.
The scantily clad females walking about did not escape his notice. And when Akane tried to push him past a section, he of course had to look and see what had made her let out that little squeak. His face then matched Akane's shade of red as he seen a wide variety of items that matched what she wore beneath her shirts, and many other things that seemed more for… entertainment.
Just picturing Akane wearing some of those lacy things set his blood afire, and he didn't protest when they quickly leftwithout her getting her desired jeans.
Walking in awkward silence, the two moved on until she dragged him to a shop with what was called ice cream.
The girl had spoken of the stuff often with a look of pleasure in the past, and he had to admit that with all the other foods she had made him try recently, he was rather curious. So when she made him wait at a table, bringing back two small white dishes, he didn't bother to argue.
Sesshomaru was handed one filled with a light green version of the stuff, while hers was purple. It smelled of mint and while it was unexpectedly cold, it tasted divine.
He must have made a face of some kind, because she smiled like crazy and claimed to have thought he would like the flavor. And he didn't deny she was correct.
Akane all but forced him to try hers as well, with that far too cute pouty look that he was practically weak against. Taking a bite of hers while she did the same to his, he instantly regretted it, whatever berry the purple stuff was clashed with the mint still on his tongue, making it more bitter then it should be, and he involuntarily shivered, nose crinkling and shaking his head, making her laugh at his reaction followed with a look of apology.
Sesshomaru could almost say he was enjoying himself at this point, senses slowly adjusting to his surroundings.
The scents of different yokai did mix with that of the humans filling the streets, now that he was getting better at sorting everything coming at him all at , between his time and this, the world of the supernatural found a way to hide in plain site, or blend in very well.
Sesshomaru was just about to ask Akane if she knew anything about how it had come to be this way, when he seen something out of place.
They were crossing another street, cars had stopped to let them pass, as they had every time until this point.
Yet a rather large one did not come to a stop, and it was moving fast, too fast to stop in time.
That caught his attention quickly enough, but what held it was the fact it was coming right at Akane, who was looking the other way.
It all happened too fast to think.
People yelled, Akane turned, and there was a horrid squealing noise followed by the sound of crunching metal and bones as he tossed the girl out of the way.
WHY did he toss her, rather then fly them both out of harms way? Because of the humans, and his promise not to make a scene and gain unwanted attention. That's why.
And he regretted being a man of his word as pain filled every part of his body, Akane screaming out his name, mind unable to process what had happened.
Then all went black.