Notaningen--Aww c'mon, don't spoil it! XD
Tikimoof--I'm glad you like it so far ^_^
Pepsi-chan--Mwa...fwiend XD I 'splain more Inuyasha to you when you come back online!
Lunakitty--I hope it's interesting by the time everyone's done reading it! XD My chapters should be shorter...people don't like them being so long I think.
Son Mist--My twin... XD I dont know where MS Kids is! I never got it back from Onee-chan!! ;_;
Dark-Meranda--Well, I don't think it's very dark ^^; maybe a little... I should really write something with a higher rating XP maybe more people will read it... I'm glad you like it too ^_^
And Dissclaimer: I own... my... Ankh ^_^
~*~Chapter2~*~
The black smoke cleared revealing a scorched Crystalline. The girl's beautiful hair was singed a bit and her wings looked like they were part of a barbequed chicken. "Calm down. I don't want to hurt you. Why are you here?" She spoke softly so as not to frighten or anger the magnificent creature. The dragon had a rather large abdomen, and it was fairly obvious that it--she--was pregnant. "I'm going to try something. Please refrain from burning me up. It won't help you." Crystalline glided under the dragon's bulging stomach. She closed her eyes and sighed, then concentrated. 'Where's that little thing?' She was searching her own soul for the wild magic she needed to connect with the Dragon. The corridors of her mind were cluttered and it was difficult to find the tiny pool but it didn't take too long to find. She reached out and grasped a thread of the copper fire and let herself into the Dragon's soul.
'Who are you?' Crystalline wondered, surprised that an animal's mind could be as organized as the young dragon's was.
'I am Silver Light. Who are you?' Came the heated reply.
'I am Crystalline. Why did you come to this place?'
'I sensed a purifying essence.' Her voice had a heavy accent to it that Crystalline couldn't place, along with a definitely snobby ring to it.
'Why do you need purifying?' Crystalline wondered. Dragons are extremely powerful creatures, and for one to seek out a demon for help was unheard of.
'My baby. She's dead.'
Crystalline felt very sorry for the large creature. If she had ever lost a baby... she didn't know what she would do, but destroying the world sounded good. 'That's so sad... If I heal her will you leave this place? You aren't safe with all the mortals around here...'
'How can a mortal like you save a dead Dragon?'
'I just can.' There was an edge of inpatients to Crystalline's voice and Silver Light thrashed a bit. 'Just calm down and let me work.'
She sighed again and grasped more of her magic, searching the dragon's soul this time for the golden aura of the baby dragon, which she soon found. She worked slowly, easing her magic into the still form with the greatest care. In a few minutes a faint heart beat was audible. The baby was alive again! Crystalline withdrew from the dragon's soul and took a second to steady herself. Once having done so she looked up into the large green eyes of Silver Light. "Done. Please leave now... She'll be born soon..."
Silver Light's scales changed to a shimmering gold and she scooped Crystalline up in one taloned paw and brought her close to her large face. Crystalline was exhausted, she had never used raw magic that much before. Dragons are magic resistant creatures.. A little gold pendant appeared in front of Crystalline. It was in the shape of a star with a circle around it. Surprised, Crystalline humbly accepted the gift. The second she touched it she knew what it could do. It had the power to create anything, if used properly. Silver Light nodded her approval and flew away, leaving behind a very wasted woman. Crystalline's breath was ragged and her eyes were hooded. Everything was blurry. Her wings soon slowed and then stopped flapping, and she fell silently to earth.
"Crystalline!" Sesshoumaru ran over to where she fell, "Are you alright?" Crystalline didn't move; she was out cold.
"Son, let's take her back to the cave. She needs rest." Inu-Youkai stopped behind his heir. He was in his full youkai form; that of a giant dog, and was carrying many of his wounded fighters on his back. Sesshoumaru stood up and nodded to his father and scooped the fallen girl up.
He carried Crystalline to not only the cave, but also his room, where a very white Jaken stood. "Jaken, do you know what this girl just did?" The servant demon shook his head dumbly. Sesshoumaru continued, knowing that it was beyond Jaken's comprehension level anyway. "She drove a first class dragon off--without fighting it. She has a lot of talent. Get a new kimono for her. Hers is all bloody." Jaken bowed and left. Sesshoumaru sat on the bed next to Crystalline and watched her. He just sat there for a few hours wondering why she hadn't tried to fight the Dragon. It might have been because she killed so many mortals and was injured from that wolf bite. 'She's a broken Angel... Why do I care so much about her? Isn't she just a girl?'
'A very pretty girl,' something in his heart reminded him. And she was. Her skin was unbelievably pale compared to the usual slight tan. With a sigh he sat where he was and stroked her cheek, just to remind himself that she wouldn't disappear like in his dream.
Three days passed, during which Sesshoumaru thought only of Crystalline. He didn't eat or sleep. Rumors flew around the court about how he was trying to appease Shinigami, the god of death, enough to make him not take Crystalline from them. Sesshoumaru did not truly think she would die, but he kept remembering his dream. The one where Crystalline died in his arms. That frightened him because, even though he never believed in prophetic dreams, there may have been the slight possibility that it was a sign of the future.
On the fourth night Crystalline woke up. Moonlight illuminated the room, decorated with all manor of swords and armor from throughout Japan and even a few from mainland China. There were wall scrolls and drapery hung all around and there was a deceptive feeling of peace to the room. Sesshoumaru was sleeping with his chin resting on the side of the bed. Crystalline smiled and realized that he must have been waiting for her to recover. The sleeping boy felt the bed move under him and he opened his eyes to see Crystalline awake, fully recovered and bathed in pale blue moonlight light. With the moon behind her she really did look like an angel.
She sat up quickly and swayed. "How long was I out?" she asked, brushing her bangs out of her eyes with one hand.
Sesshoumaru pushed her down gently, staring subconsciously into her stunning eyes. "Three days." He whispered. "But you should still rest."
Crystalline sat up, this time grabbing his arm to steady herself. She gave him a warm smile to reassure him. "I can sit. Were you waiting for me to wake up?"
He blushed, "Yeah." Standing up he opened the door. The ugly servant, Jaken, was pacing in front of it, he jumped when he saw his Lord.
"M-my L-Lord! Is it true that you will not leave your Lady's side 'till she recovers?" He was answered with a kick to the head. Sesshoumaru didn't like rumors at all.
"Go get some sake and the kimono I ordered for Crystalline."
"Y-yes Lord! I came only to say that your old friend, Lord Yuri, has come to visit you." Jaken stuttered, bowing repeatedly.
"Yuri...?" Sesshoumaru repeated, "Of the eastern lands?"
"Yes Lord! He wishes to see how you've been."
"Tell him I will see him in a short while. First I must attend to Crystalline. Now get the kimono and sake!" Jaken bowed swiftly, dropping his hat. In an undignified scramble he grabbed it off the floor, mumbling apologies, and left.
Returning to Crystalline Sesshoumaru smiled. "Jaken's getting you a new kimono."
"Because I ruined my old one in the fight?"
"Yeah." A few minutes later Jaken brought in a yellow kimono with flowers and swans on it and a large jug of sake. Crystalline went behind one of Sesshoumaru's decorative screens to change. Blushing Crystalline came out in the overly large silken kimono.
In a few seconds a dark haired, blue eyed, and tall, male demon wearing a dark blue kimono, entered. Crystalline blushed when she saw him and tried to hide behind Sesshoumaru to hide it.
"It's okay Crystalline." Sesshoumaru said, smiling at his best friend. "Hello Yuri. This is my friend Lady Crystalline. Crystalline this is Yuri."
"Hello m' Lady." Yuri smiled and he kissed Crystalline's hand, making her blush even more. "I'm glad Sesshoumaru has learned to keep good company."
"You're one to talk Yuri." Sesshoumaru smirked.
"Hello Lord Yuri..." Crystalline smiled, but was still partially hiding behind Sesshoumaru.
"Sess, I didn't know you had a mate." Yuri smirked back at his long-time friend, "Clue me in once in a while why don't you?"
"Drop it Yuri."
Crystalline smiled at the carefree attitude Yuri seemed to cause Sesshoumaru to lapse into. She poured the tea for the three of them and sat back, sipping her sake daintily. And, had he not known better, Sesshoumaru would have thought she was a princess as opposed to a warrior. Yuri glanced at her then back to Sesshoumaru. "Hey Sess, can we talk in private?" Yuri indicated Crystalline with a slight toss of his head.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Crystalline..."
"Would you guys like me to go outside?" She asked simply, looking up from her tea as if she hadn't heard him at all.
"It's raining, m'Lady, you'll probably get sick." The blue haired man said, mildly surprised that she would be so willing to leave the den. Most girls like her, as far as he'd seen, liked staying inside where it was warm and safe.
"Lord Yuri, thank you for worrying about my health, but rain calms me. I always feel better when I'm wet, especially after a battle." Crystalline smiled, placing her empty tea cup upside down on the tea tray. With a smile to both of them she bowed and left.
Sesshoumaru watched her go. 'I didn't know she liked the rain too.' He thought.
Crystalline walked outside into the light rainfall and sat with her back against a large birch tree. She sighed and looked up at the clouded sky through the canopy of leaves above her. "Why did I have to come back so far?" She asked to no one in particular, "The spell wasn't supposed to take me all this far back. I was supposed to just go back to where I met Sesshoumaru, not before Inuyasha was born! Sesshoumaru is so different here... And Jaken isn't so clingy, although that's got to be a good thing."
Inu-Youkai seemed to materialize from behind the tree. "Hello Lady Crystalline. Why are you standing out in the rain? Weren't you too sick to leave Sesshoumaru's room only this morning?"
Unfazed by his sudden appearance, Crystalline smiled. "Yes Lord, I was a bit tired because I used a lot of raw magic up during the fight. I'm fine now."
"You fought well, no one else could have gotten rid of such a powerful creature." Inu-Youkai smiled thinly at the girl then turned his gaze toward the sky. A drop of rain fell onto his nose and he shook it away, "Why are you out in the rain? You could get sick."
"I like the rain, it reminds me of all the times I felt bad, and I had a person wash all that away. If it came back, he'd just wash it away again." She looked away and wiped a tear from her eye, hoping he wouldn't notice. She missed the way she remembered Sesshoumaru terribly.
Inu-Youkai saw her tear and took a gamble, "Sesshoumaru?"
Still unfazed by his insight she chuckled dryly. "Yeah, he did. But he doesn't know."
"Why is that?
"He doesn't realize he does it."
"Really now?"
"Just him being near. It calms my soul." Crystalline sighed softly and smiled, closing her eyes. "He doesn't need to know he does it either."
Inu-Youkai sat next to her and looked down at the top of her head. He watched as the rain water seemed to gather just above her long ears then run down her cheek and onto the ground. "Why don't you tell him?" The demon lord asked, with a thin smile.
"He'll probably laugh at me. He isn't a very open person when it comes to his feelings." She sighed and the two of them sat in silence until the rain stopped. With another sigh she stood up, her Kimono was soaking wet and was covered in mud. She blushed, "I'd better go get dried off." Without waiting for an answer she ran into the den and changed.
Yuri was coming out of Sesshoumaru's room just before she arrived. "Sess, is that cat girl still working for your Lord father?"
"Ryuu? She sure is, and she dumped that thunder Demon, Hiten, for two timing her."
"Really? Well then, 'scuse me Sess, I'm going to go console her."
"Oh you're a nice guy. Going to a girl when she's most defenseless." Sesshoumaru snorted at his friend.
"I always was." Yuri flashed a brilliant grin at Sesshoumaru and Crystalline, then went down the hall toward Ryuu's quarters.
"Hey, Crystalline..." Sesshoumaru said once his friend was gone. "I've got something to ask you."
Crystalline turned, a little surprised that he'd ask her anything. "What is it Sesshoumaru?"
"Er..." He shook his head and changed his mind. "Why do you smell like dragon?"
She blushed, "I used the pendant I got from Silver Light to make a new kimono. The one you gave me was ruined in the mud outside... I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to get ruined..."
"That's alright." Sesshoumaru blinked, "Wait, what pendant? And who is Silver Light?"
Crystalline motioned for him to follow her into his room and sat down on his bed. "Silver Light is that Dragon from the battle field, she had a baby and the baby died before she was born. I used most of my wild magic to bring the baby back to life. Silver Light gave me this magic pendant which can create anything, if used by a pure heart. I does other stuff too but I don't know what they are."
"Wild magic? Is that like sorcery?"
"Yeah it is. But I used too much, and got drained."
"Oh, okay. I um... like your new kimono." Sesshoumaru said, the magic topic having gone fairly high over his head. He couldn't think of anything else to talk about either, so he had mentioned the first thing that came to mind.
Crystalline blushed, "Thank you, Sesshoumaru."
"Where did you go when we sent you off?"
"I went outside in the rain."
"Oh yeah. Um... on another subject..."
"Yeah?" Crystalline looked up at him and saw that he was a little fidgety.
Sesshoumaru blushed, twiddling his thumbs subconsciously under the folds of his kimono's sleeves. "Yuri says his father wants to have a party next summer. I was wondering if you'd come with me."
"Like how?" The girl asked quizzically, wondering why he was so nervous-sounding.
"As a couple. Sort of."
"Sure! I'd love too!" Crystalline smiled. "What kind of party is it?"
"A um... dancing and eating party."
"I'd love to go! How formal is it?"
"Very formal. All the lords of Japan will be there." He was blushing very brightly now.
Crystalline gave him a big smile, noting with glee his brightening face. "Shall I leave you alone?"
Sesshoumaru looked up, startled, "Why? Do you want to leave?"
"No, I just thought you might want to talk to your Lord father. He's coming down the hall."
Inu-Youkai stepped into the room excitedly. His face was a picture of extreme joy not quite befitting a fearsome demon lord. "Son, Crystalline! Shinju is having her baby!"
"What? She is?" Crystalline and Sesshoumaru chorused. As if replying 'yes' Inu-Youkai grabbed their wrists and pulled them down the many halls and all the way to Shinju's chambers.
"Only Crystalline can enter. It's a girl thing." Ryuu said simply, glaring at Yuri. It was fairly obvious that he had tried to go in and help, partially by the large hand print on his cheek.
Sesshoumaru nodded; he didn't even want to go in. 'The last thing I need is to see that woman giving birth to something.' he blinked at the thought. 'I didn't think I hated her so much. She's Father's woman, not mine I don't have to like her, I just need to be quiet about it around Father.' Sesshoumaru looked at his Father, 'Does he realize how embarrassing and shameful it is to marry outside of our species? Humans are unable to bear young powerful enough to survive among Demons and they can't survive among people either. He must realize that the child will be shunned among all species.'
Inu-Youkai put his hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. "Son, if Shinju has a girl I don't know what to name her. If she has a boy I would like you to name him. Do you have any suggestions?"
Sesshoumaru looked at his father's hand and felt humbled a bit. 'Killing Blade' was definitely not what Ryoko wanted to name her first and only son. Although she had been a murderous youkai, she wanted her son to have a name that, in her opinion, suited him better. 'Yukito' had always appealed to her, but Inu-Youkai had argued with her for days on the subject, promising that she could name her next born. Although honored, Sesshoumaru was also surprised and answered dutifully. "The name must only glorify you. I hope the child is a warrior to follow in your shadow as I do."
His father smiled at the words of his son and was quiet for a moment. "Crystalline may have thought of a name." he whispered, "I heard her say something about an 'Inuyasha.' Perhaps she can see the future."
"That would not surprise me at all father. She is definitely full of mysteries."
"That she is... that she is." Seemingly out of the blue Inu-Youkai turned to his son and said; "I think she likes you more than as a friend."
"Father, what do you mean?"
"She said you make her calm, and that when she is sad you comfort her subconsciously. I truly believe the two of you could become the next lord and lady of this land."
Sesshoumaru looked up at his Father with the same look he had when he was little, a look of pure wonder. "Father?"
"How do you feel about her son?"
"I... I don't know." Sesshoumaru looked away and blushed. 'Crystalline may like me too?'
The door opened to Shinju's chamber and Crystalline, and Ryuu came out with Shinju in a wheeled contraption created with the magic of Crystalline's amulet. Shinju was carrying a small bundle of pink cloth. Inside was a tiny, white haired, golden eyed, dog Demon.
"Crystalline, will you name him?" Inu-Youkai had smelled the child and immediately knew that it was a boy. He gave a playful smile and waved his hand before the baby's face and was delighted when he was bit by a pair of tiny canine teeth.
"Um... okay... How about Inuyasha!" Shinju and Inu-Youkai nodded. "Really? I picked it because he has m' Lord's ears. And his eyes are shaped like a demon I knew." Crystalline was lying of course; she named him that because she knew him in the future, where she came from. She silently wondered, however, how Inuyasha would have gotten his name had she not been present.
Shinju showed Inuyasha to Sesshoumaru proudly, "Inuyasha, this is your big brother, Sesshoumaru."
"Bra... Braba." The baby waved his arms at his brother, having released his proud father's hand. Sesshoumaru blinked. What was the child trying to say? ''Braba?' What is that?'
"Take him Sesshoumaru, he wants you to hold him."
Sesshoumaru looked at Crystalline, and she nodded. "Okay..." Clumsily, he took the tiny bundle of pink cloth from Shinju and held it in his arms. Inuyasha grabbed a tuft of Sesshoumaru's hair and started chewing on the ends of it, giggling madly, thrilled with his new toy. Although taken aback, the new older brother couldn't help but laugh a little at the antics of his little half-demon brother. Soon the entire company was laughing.
From the shadows Jaken watched the family rejoicing. 'Lord Sesshoumaru is becoming tame. I need to fix that... And that Crystalline girl is breaking his spirit! I'll just have to destroy her!' He cackled evilly and ran off to plot.
Crystalline's sharp ears picked up the noise of Jaken scuttling down the stone corridor. She snuck away from the group and followed him, wondering what the deep feeling of foreboding in her chest was. 'What's that little toad doing now? I sense something bad coming. Like a dark cloud gliding towards this place. Should I change the future?' She ran faster through the deserted corridor, pulse quickening. 'I know Jaken. He's going to try and keep me from Sesshoumaru, but I can't let history change it's course. I'll have to keep this time on the same path as it's supposed to follow. No time for trail blazing... although I'm sure I've messed things up already.' She stopped at a dead end and looked around, trying to catch her breath. 'Where the heck is Jaken? He's not that fast.' Just as she thought it something loomed out of the shadows and clobbered her with a gigantic stone from the wall. She was out before she hit the cold floor.
~*~TBC~*~
Well I'm sorry for the wait ^_^ but here I am as of thus... chapter 3 needs
more work I think... and reading the other story won't really help! XP
R/R~ ^_^