Chapter 1 How It All Began
*3 Months Ago*
Wandering alone, I contemplate my existence. Why do I exist? What roles am I to play? Are my actions true? Or am I just a puppet in some god's sick game?
Is there even a god who cares?
I scoff at the thought. Only the humans would believe that the gods actually cared about mortal blood. All the gods care about is themselves, or their games. Gods tend to only care about youkai and humans when it involves their twisted humor.
Isn't that why I'm in this mess to begin with, because a megami-sama decided to have some fun with me? It's still fresh in my memory...
*Earlier that day, Morning*
I am walking through the forest, bored out of my mind, with my charge, retainer, and mount following close behind me. I ignore them as my retainer continues to squawk about something or other. My mount trots behind the group keeping one head dutifully watching its charge while the other keeps a look out for danger. My charge is happily frolicking down the path, picking all the "flowers" (for truthfully, to any 5 year old child, all vegetation are flowers).
My thoughts are miles away from my companions' antics. I'd like to say that I'm thinking of my half-brother but instead, my thoughts focus on the girl who follows him blindly.
I've thought of her ever since the incident in my father's grave. At first those thoughts were of annoyance that she, a human female, could remove Tetsusaiga when my half-brother and I could not. She showed intelligence then, telling my half-brother to attack my pride- since it was obvious he could not attack my body. I had found that interesting and had thought to take her after the mongrel was dead, to see how intelligent she really was. So when she "accidentally" pulled out the sword, I had found a chance to make sure she did not escape. Even though I knew that the sword's protection spell would defend her, I doused her in my poison. I watched as it eroded her surroundings and trapped her in a makeshift prison. She somehow managed to escape me. The hanyou removed my arm, leading to my retreat. I was annoyed, and it was all her fault.
Upon the second meeting, my thoughts were of her power and pure heart. For with one arrow, she untransformed Tetsusaiga. She then warned me of where she would attack next, thus allowing me to easily dodge her futile attempt. At the time, I thought she was being stupid, but after seeing the relief in her eyes I realized she didn't want to hurt me. I played it off as a simple mind trick and charged at her. Foolish child. She still thought she could attack me, Sesshô-Maru, Lord of the Western Lands, and succeed. Yet, after coming face to face with the girl, I realized she has no fear of me. She had only acted like she was scared. It was her scent that betrayed her, showing signs of only uncertainty- no fear.
When we next met, I was hunting Toutousai. I tried not to notice her worried looks as I fought with the disgraceful hanyou. I know not what happened, but upon hearing her voice worriedly calling HIS name, I wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard. I don't remember much from that point on, but I do remember when Inu-Yasha released the Scar of Wind onto me...
I had thought I was dead and would have gladly accepted it ...
For some reason, I looked over at the miko and saw her looking at me. With not just any look, no, this look held fear, sympathy, worry, and compassion...all towards me. It gave me a warm feeling and I knew I had to survive. I could not let her keep that expression; she shouldn't ever have to feel that way. After that thought, I found myself surrounded in light and brought to kami-sama knows where; injured beyond belief and unable to move-but I was alive.
"Sesshô-Maru-sama! Sesshô-Maru-sama!" I am pulled from my thoughts as the small body covered in an orange and yellow kimono is flung onto my leg. Absently, I reach my hand down and pat her head, showing her that she has some of my attention. "Look, Rin picked these pretty flowers for you Sesshô- Maru-sama!" I inwardly raise an eyebrow at the bouquet of weeds my charge is holding out to me; such a look of pride upon her face.
"Stupid girl! Sesshô-Maru-sama can not be bothered with your weeds" Rin's eyes seem to dim from Jaken's comment, and I am sorely tempted to kill him, again. Instead, I work to control my smirk as I comment to her.
"Rin, why not cover Jaken with your 'flowers,'" she does not seem to notice my sarcasm about the flowers. So with an enthusiastic "HAI!" she skips over to a horror-struck Jaken. With Rin happily busy once more, I continue with my thoughts.
That was when I met my charge, Rin, actually. Then she was just a little mute girl trying to take care of me, the big bad taiyoukai of the West. There was a certain quality about her that reminded me of the miko. Sure Rin's eyes were brown and the miko's blue-gray, but they did share the same hair color. They also shared a helpful, kind soul; which I was able to see later when she came to me bearing food when I was badly beaten- her own body suffering as well as mine. It was that same day that I stood and followed the smell of blood, only to find her dead on the path with wolves ravishing her small broken body. With a single glance I frightened the wolves form her body. I considered leaving her body on the path, seeing as I had no use for her now.
However, when I went to walk away I saw within my mind the child being replaced by my brother's miko. Her eyes were glazed and soulless, looking off into the distance but seeing nothing as her body was covered with teeth and claw marks. It hurt. Thinking of her like that gave me a feeling of someone ripping at my chest slowly and painfully. That's when I felt it, a pulse from the sword Tensaiga. Thinking to only test the sword's power, I used it to revive the broken body of the child. That was the only reason I did it, to test the sword. Not because I had any feelings of sympathy for her. Not because I wanted to release from my mind that disturbing image of Rin being the miko. I just wanted to see what my inheritance was capable of. Once the child was raised, she started following me everywhere and I only allowed it because she stayed out of my way, mostly.
Even after my close encounter with death by my brother's hand, I was still on his despicable tail. When I came across the head of a demon that had destroyed Tetsusaiga, I was, to put it lightly, impressed. Even though the demon was slain, it was still capable of destroying my father's fang. However, there was something odd about the scents in the area. I could easily smell my brother's miko and friends, but his scent was different. As if for this battle he had been a youkai, not hanyou. That did not matter to me at the moment, only getting a new sword did. So, taking the head, I sought out Kaijinbou to make me a sword from its fangs. A sword that would be Tetsusaiga's equal, or preferably, it's superior.
After reviving the head with Tensaiga, as Kaijinbou stated was needed, I left him to his own devices. Which was a mistake on my part, for the new sword took possession of the feeble-minded sword smith and through him- it sought revenge upon my brother.
This led to my next encounter with Inu-Yasha and his miko. As I was picking up my new sword, I could not help but notice the worried look my brother's miko's face was giving out. Though I knew this time it was not directed at me, which ruffled my fur a bit. After retrieving my new possession, I challenged the mutt to a fight- to the death of course. The fight was easy, seeing as how Inu-Yasha was having difficulties wielding the new and improved Tetsusaiga. It was only when I knocked Tetsusaiga out of his hands that, for once in my life, I held fear. For the same scent of blood that was on the defeated demon, was emitting from Inu-Yasha- the blood scent of a youkai.
Before I could investigate more, Toutousai fired flames at me. Using that confusion, my brother's friends fled with the hanyou. But my curiosity got the best of me so I sought out my father's friend of old, Bokusenou, for information regarding the hanyou and his blood. Once I had the info I wanted I again sought out the half-breed, just so I could confirm...
Luckily I found him, because he had transformed and was wrecking havoc on a human village. When I challenged him, I realized what a monster he had become. Unable to think or remember, he was only out to fulfill his blood lust. Not wanting to fight this pathetic excuse of a monster, I knocked him out. When I was simply staring at his unconscious form, his miko (which if the truth was to be told, I was getting tired of referring to her as my brother's woman. For clearly she was not his, for in all the previous encounters, including this one, I had yet to smell a mark on her) positioned herself between me and my fallen brother.
"Stop this now!" came her frightened voice.
"So he has finally stopped moving," was my reply, I did not want her fear, for some unknown reason. I started to move towards her, I had an urge to reach out and touch her.
"Stay away from him!" was her angry response to my approach, as tears started to well in her eyes.
I didn't know what to do. Something inside me wanted me to walk to her and pat her, to do something so she would not cry. I was scoffing at those thoughts, when I heard it. "He'll kill Kagome along with Inu-baka..." Kagome...I let a little mental smirk into my head. Her name was Kagome...it sounds, nice.
"If you want to stop him, use Tetsusaiga to undo the transformation. If he regains consciousness now, he'll attack again."
"W-what?" was her quiet whisper and she looked at me, surprised. I was sorely tempted to smirk at her, but her friends had decided then to step between us, and I lost all facial expression.
I was too busy looking at Kagome, her long legs exposed to the elements by her indecently short kimono (my brother shouldn't allow her to waltz around like that, most humans and youkai would see the clothing as her being only a bed mate), to really listen to what the monk was saying, but I knew what he was implying, so I just told him what he wanted.
"I'll kill him eventually. But at the moment, for someone who doesn't realize anything at all, killing him has no value." And with that comment and one last look at the puzzled miko, Kagome, I left.
Even if I did leave to return to my companions, that conversation will forever remain with me. It was the first time, not in the middle of a fight, that I had gotten to see and speak to her. Her determination, loyalty, power, purity, courage were things humans did not possess, but she did. I was starting to realize, that maybe the miko, Kagome, was different from the rest.
"Sesshô-Maru-sama! Save your loyal servant!" I mentally sigh at my retainer's panicked voice as I am yet again wretched from my thoughts. I glance over to see Jaken covered in flowers, weeds, grass and other forms of vegetation. He looks like a walking, talking bush. I give a slight smirk as Rin looks over at me, beaming happily.
"Sesshô-Maru-sama doesn't Jaken look nice?" Rin beamed happily. I was about to make a comment when an unfamiliar aura caught my attention.
Turning swiftly, I am nearly blinded by a brilliant light coming from the tree branches. Shielding my eyes I watch as slowly a figure steps from the light onto a branch. I can not see their face or anything else because of this light, but I do hear its voice.
"Sesshô-Maru of the Western Lands, are you not?" comes a tinkling of sweet bells. It angers me that such a creature would address me without the proper respect due to people of my station. I answer back at it, a bit of a bite to my words.
"You will do well to address me with proper respect, creature, for I, Sesshô-Maru, will not hesitate to slay you where you stand!" Laughter floats to my ears on the slight breeze that has picked up.
"Iie. It is you who should address me with the proper respect, Sesshô- Maru,"
The slight movement of the branch tells me that the mysterious creature has moved. I watch the shadow as it descends to the ground. The light finally disappears as the creature gracefully touches the earth, not making a sound, and I gaze upon white feathers.
Slowly, the feathers seem to disappear only to give mortal eyes a sight. Long, shapely legs lead to cloth covered thighs and a curvy waist that is adorned with a beautifully sheathed long sword and an unmoving tail. A skin tight shirt shows a well muscled abdomen and a superbly developed chest. Powerful arms lead to squared shoulders and a strong neck. A shapeless mouth is supported by a stubborn chin. A slash scars diagonally the pristine surface of her right cheek. Another scar reaches from the depths of the women's hair to the tip of her nose, crossing over a sealed eye. The woman's only seeing eye seems indecisive as it changes colors seeming, to me, to follow its masters absent mood. Placed, majestically on her forehead is the kanji for love, glowing crimson. Long silken strands of hair reaching, before unnoticed, to her ankles while small, pointed cat ears were placed at the top of her head. Finally, long, angelic wings spread out from her body, shining luminescence white with the exception of two black feathers, in the middle of each wing.
Standing about the same height as I am is a female, not any female but a megami-sama, and the second I recognized this I knew my life as I know it would end.
Dispelling my sudden unease, I command, "Who are you, and what business do you have with me?" to the still unmoving megami-sama
"I am Suzaku's daughter, Ayame; Princess Goddess of Love, Protector of the South and Guardian to all mortal emotion," her voice remained monotonous and eyes unfocused as she responded. But with her next words, her eyes narrowed upon my form, "You, Sesshô-Maru, have for too long renounced your own feelings."
"You have no sway over me, wench," I shoot back at her with the same monotonous voice. "One should know that I do not have emotions. You are wasting my time and your own, be gone!"
"Where are you?" is her only reply
I stop at that and take a quick look around. Dappled sunlight is falling through openings in the leaves of the resident trees, who form a protective circle around my party. A single tree, small in stature compared to its brethren is slightly to the side of the clearing. Besides this being the tree that the woman was standing on, there is nothing special about it. In fact, there is nothing at all special about the area.
"Any baka can see that I am within a clearing in a forest, in the Western lands," I say smugly. "Now, if this meeting is through..." I turn to leave.
A sigh reaches my ear. "I thought I could save you..." yellow power starts to fill the clearing, swirling mostly around the woman, "this pain you shall receive..." slowly, the ki starts to move into her outstretched, palm up hand, "But you answered wrong..." power residing fully in her hand now licks and snips at the air surrounding it. I watch, fascinated, as she closes her fist around the power. The gasps of my companions bring me from my trance, as the power has jumped from her hands, forming spheres of ki to surround them all.
"I will give you one last chance, Sesshô-Maru. Answer my questions right, your companions are freed, answer wrong, and they... leave," she gives me a blank look, her eye, I notice, is a deep blue with swirls of red and brown. "Where are you, Sesshô-Maru?"
I am now angered, this...woman was playing a game using me. Barley containing my anger at such an insult, I spit out "I have already told you the answer to that bitch, now release my companions."
Another sigh, "It seems that question is too hard for your feeble mind to answer, milord," I bristle at the sheer disrespectful venom of that word, "and before I continue with my questions, I would like you to notice that I am a neko NOT a inu," I am shocked at the amount of emotion in her voice, but I hold it down, not letting it show. "Now then, what is more important: your lands, your life, your honor, your swords, your companions or your emotions?"
"That is easy, my lands and honor are the most important, followed by my swords then my life."
"Do you care?"
"I can not care. Emotion brings weakness; I do not have weakness, meaning I have no emotion. Thus I do not care."
"And what of your companions?"
"What about them?"
"Why are they with you?"
"For protection."
"Only protection? Do you not also keep them around because you secretly find their presence soothing, especially the child?"
I flinch inwardly at the comment, knowing it to be semi-true, but I refuse to tell her that. "I only protect them, nothing more," comes out of my mouth.
A high pitch scream makes me turn quickly around. In the spheres I watch in a blank faced horror as flames start climbing the bodies trapped within. I move to help them, only to realize I am stuck in place. Standing, I watch as the flames consume the small withering and screaming body of Rin.
"I was hoping it wouldn't lead to this, but you must be taught a lesson," the barriers drop and flames die, leaving only a pile of ash where each one of my companions once stood "I am sorry for your loss, but you shouldn't be feeling anything, after all, you have no emotion and do not care about them."
I can feel my body shaking as my youkai blood tries to take over. It pounds through my veins as if it were a horse, strong, fast and heavy. Her soft whisper draws my attention.
"Everything you truly care about has now been taken form you, because of your own heartlessness." I want to kill her. Slowly, I turn around, preparing to lung at the baka megami when...
"Hmmmm...I am mistaken. There is another being that is within your heart. One you have been thinking of much lately and the reason for your emotion towards the child," I stiffen at this remark. "This Kagome woman must also suffer the same fate as the others."
"Go ahead, her death will mean more to my brother then it will to me," I state truthfully.
That's when she spoke them, the words that would haunt me:
"That may be true. However this human will be killed simply because you were thinking about her. She had no reason to be brought into this, but you did bring her the second you saw her in the child's place. Now I must hunt her down and kill her as I did your companions, which you say you are fine about," slowly, her mouths twitches into an evil looking smirk. "All I ask is one thing, where is the honor in allowing her to die when in the past, she has assisted you with your charge?"
With those parting words, her wings covered her body and in a burst of light, she was gone.
*End Flashback, Evening*
I growl low at the memory. That megami decided to mess with my honor and pride by taking and destroying my charge, retainer and mount. Telling me it was my heartlessness that destroyed them and will destroy her.
I thought almost the entire day about her words. Surprisingly it was a picture of a woman holding an unmoving child in her hands, checking for any wounds then slowly bringing the child to me. "She is alright Sesshô-Maru, just unconscious," Blue-gray eyes shining with worry, unease and caring for the bundle in her arm.
It is that memory of Kagome holding Rin in her arms that lead to my decision. That is why I am walking the countryside looking for my brother's rag-tag team.
Seeing the absolute truth in the words, my honor will not allow me to sit idly by as this girl that I owe a favor to, is being hunted.
I will not allow the megami Ayame to kill this girl.
Because my honor is at stake...
nothing more...
I'll make sure of it...
*End Chapter 1*
Hello Minna-sama, I know it has been a long time since I posted this supposed to be one-shot. However, you must realize that it was meant to be a one-shot so I had to think about a plot, characters, storyline and all that other fun stuff. Not to mention life got in my way. For instance, my laptop completely broke down right after I posted my story. I had no computer access for 2 months straight. I had gotten an idea for the story around that time and started to write up chapters. I got to about chapter 23 when my friend came over one day and cleaned my room. ALL my story ideas/stories/chapters were thrown in the garbage with out my knowledge. And when I did find out, they were GONE!! :'0{ But now I'm back and finally stating to piece this thing back together. So please be patient. Anyways, that's all I have or now. Ja ne. Love,
Suzaku, Ayame
*3 Months Ago*
Wandering alone, I contemplate my existence. Why do I exist? What roles am I to play? Are my actions true? Or am I just a puppet in some god's sick game?
Is there even a god who cares?
I scoff at the thought. Only the humans would believe that the gods actually cared about mortal blood. All the gods care about is themselves, or their games. Gods tend to only care about youkai and humans when it involves their twisted humor.
Isn't that why I'm in this mess to begin with, because a megami-sama decided to have some fun with me? It's still fresh in my memory...
*Earlier that day, Morning*
I am walking through the forest, bored out of my mind, with my charge, retainer, and mount following close behind me. I ignore them as my retainer continues to squawk about something or other. My mount trots behind the group keeping one head dutifully watching its charge while the other keeps a look out for danger. My charge is happily frolicking down the path, picking all the "flowers" (for truthfully, to any 5 year old child, all vegetation are flowers).
My thoughts are miles away from my companions' antics. I'd like to say that I'm thinking of my half-brother but instead, my thoughts focus on the girl who follows him blindly.
I've thought of her ever since the incident in my father's grave. At first those thoughts were of annoyance that she, a human female, could remove Tetsusaiga when my half-brother and I could not. She showed intelligence then, telling my half-brother to attack my pride- since it was obvious he could not attack my body. I had found that interesting and had thought to take her after the mongrel was dead, to see how intelligent she really was. So when she "accidentally" pulled out the sword, I had found a chance to make sure she did not escape. Even though I knew that the sword's protection spell would defend her, I doused her in my poison. I watched as it eroded her surroundings and trapped her in a makeshift prison. She somehow managed to escape me. The hanyou removed my arm, leading to my retreat. I was annoyed, and it was all her fault.
Upon the second meeting, my thoughts were of her power and pure heart. For with one arrow, she untransformed Tetsusaiga. She then warned me of where she would attack next, thus allowing me to easily dodge her futile attempt. At the time, I thought she was being stupid, but after seeing the relief in her eyes I realized she didn't want to hurt me. I played it off as a simple mind trick and charged at her. Foolish child. She still thought she could attack me, Sesshô-Maru, Lord of the Western Lands, and succeed. Yet, after coming face to face with the girl, I realized she has no fear of me. She had only acted like she was scared. It was her scent that betrayed her, showing signs of only uncertainty- no fear.
When we next met, I was hunting Toutousai. I tried not to notice her worried looks as I fought with the disgraceful hanyou. I know not what happened, but upon hearing her voice worriedly calling HIS name, I wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard. I don't remember much from that point on, but I do remember when Inu-Yasha released the Scar of Wind onto me...
I had thought I was dead and would have gladly accepted it ...
For some reason, I looked over at the miko and saw her looking at me. With not just any look, no, this look held fear, sympathy, worry, and compassion...all towards me. It gave me a warm feeling and I knew I had to survive. I could not let her keep that expression; she shouldn't ever have to feel that way. After that thought, I found myself surrounded in light and brought to kami-sama knows where; injured beyond belief and unable to move-but I was alive.
"Sesshô-Maru-sama! Sesshô-Maru-sama!" I am pulled from my thoughts as the small body covered in an orange and yellow kimono is flung onto my leg. Absently, I reach my hand down and pat her head, showing her that she has some of my attention. "Look, Rin picked these pretty flowers for you Sesshô- Maru-sama!" I inwardly raise an eyebrow at the bouquet of weeds my charge is holding out to me; such a look of pride upon her face.
"Stupid girl! Sesshô-Maru-sama can not be bothered with your weeds" Rin's eyes seem to dim from Jaken's comment, and I am sorely tempted to kill him, again. Instead, I work to control my smirk as I comment to her.
"Rin, why not cover Jaken with your 'flowers,'" she does not seem to notice my sarcasm about the flowers. So with an enthusiastic "HAI!" she skips over to a horror-struck Jaken. With Rin happily busy once more, I continue with my thoughts.
That was when I met my charge, Rin, actually. Then she was just a little mute girl trying to take care of me, the big bad taiyoukai of the West. There was a certain quality about her that reminded me of the miko. Sure Rin's eyes were brown and the miko's blue-gray, but they did share the same hair color. They also shared a helpful, kind soul; which I was able to see later when she came to me bearing food when I was badly beaten- her own body suffering as well as mine. It was that same day that I stood and followed the smell of blood, only to find her dead on the path with wolves ravishing her small broken body. With a single glance I frightened the wolves form her body. I considered leaving her body on the path, seeing as I had no use for her now.
However, when I went to walk away I saw within my mind the child being replaced by my brother's miko. Her eyes were glazed and soulless, looking off into the distance but seeing nothing as her body was covered with teeth and claw marks. It hurt. Thinking of her like that gave me a feeling of someone ripping at my chest slowly and painfully. That's when I felt it, a pulse from the sword Tensaiga. Thinking to only test the sword's power, I used it to revive the broken body of the child. That was the only reason I did it, to test the sword. Not because I had any feelings of sympathy for her. Not because I wanted to release from my mind that disturbing image of Rin being the miko. I just wanted to see what my inheritance was capable of. Once the child was raised, she started following me everywhere and I only allowed it because she stayed out of my way, mostly.
Even after my close encounter with death by my brother's hand, I was still on his despicable tail. When I came across the head of a demon that had destroyed Tetsusaiga, I was, to put it lightly, impressed. Even though the demon was slain, it was still capable of destroying my father's fang. However, there was something odd about the scents in the area. I could easily smell my brother's miko and friends, but his scent was different. As if for this battle he had been a youkai, not hanyou. That did not matter to me at the moment, only getting a new sword did. So, taking the head, I sought out Kaijinbou to make me a sword from its fangs. A sword that would be Tetsusaiga's equal, or preferably, it's superior.
After reviving the head with Tensaiga, as Kaijinbou stated was needed, I left him to his own devices. Which was a mistake on my part, for the new sword took possession of the feeble-minded sword smith and through him- it sought revenge upon my brother.
This led to my next encounter with Inu-Yasha and his miko. As I was picking up my new sword, I could not help but notice the worried look my brother's miko's face was giving out. Though I knew this time it was not directed at me, which ruffled my fur a bit. After retrieving my new possession, I challenged the mutt to a fight- to the death of course. The fight was easy, seeing as how Inu-Yasha was having difficulties wielding the new and improved Tetsusaiga. It was only when I knocked Tetsusaiga out of his hands that, for once in my life, I held fear. For the same scent of blood that was on the defeated demon, was emitting from Inu-Yasha- the blood scent of a youkai.
Before I could investigate more, Toutousai fired flames at me. Using that confusion, my brother's friends fled with the hanyou. But my curiosity got the best of me so I sought out my father's friend of old, Bokusenou, for information regarding the hanyou and his blood. Once I had the info I wanted I again sought out the half-breed, just so I could confirm...
Luckily I found him, because he had transformed and was wrecking havoc on a human village. When I challenged him, I realized what a monster he had become. Unable to think or remember, he was only out to fulfill his blood lust. Not wanting to fight this pathetic excuse of a monster, I knocked him out. When I was simply staring at his unconscious form, his miko (which if the truth was to be told, I was getting tired of referring to her as my brother's woman. For clearly she was not his, for in all the previous encounters, including this one, I had yet to smell a mark on her) positioned herself between me and my fallen brother.
"Stop this now!" came her frightened voice.
"So he has finally stopped moving," was my reply, I did not want her fear, for some unknown reason. I started to move towards her, I had an urge to reach out and touch her.
"Stay away from him!" was her angry response to my approach, as tears started to well in her eyes.
I didn't know what to do. Something inside me wanted me to walk to her and pat her, to do something so she would not cry. I was scoffing at those thoughts, when I heard it. "He'll kill Kagome along with Inu-baka..." Kagome...I let a little mental smirk into my head. Her name was Kagome...it sounds, nice.
"If you want to stop him, use Tetsusaiga to undo the transformation. If he regains consciousness now, he'll attack again."
"W-what?" was her quiet whisper and she looked at me, surprised. I was sorely tempted to smirk at her, but her friends had decided then to step between us, and I lost all facial expression.
I was too busy looking at Kagome, her long legs exposed to the elements by her indecently short kimono (my brother shouldn't allow her to waltz around like that, most humans and youkai would see the clothing as her being only a bed mate), to really listen to what the monk was saying, but I knew what he was implying, so I just told him what he wanted.
"I'll kill him eventually. But at the moment, for someone who doesn't realize anything at all, killing him has no value." And with that comment and one last look at the puzzled miko, Kagome, I left.
Even if I did leave to return to my companions, that conversation will forever remain with me. It was the first time, not in the middle of a fight, that I had gotten to see and speak to her. Her determination, loyalty, power, purity, courage were things humans did not possess, but she did. I was starting to realize, that maybe the miko, Kagome, was different from the rest.
"Sesshô-Maru-sama! Save your loyal servant!" I mentally sigh at my retainer's panicked voice as I am yet again wretched from my thoughts. I glance over to see Jaken covered in flowers, weeds, grass and other forms of vegetation. He looks like a walking, talking bush. I give a slight smirk as Rin looks over at me, beaming happily.
"Sesshô-Maru-sama doesn't Jaken look nice?" Rin beamed happily. I was about to make a comment when an unfamiliar aura caught my attention.
Turning swiftly, I am nearly blinded by a brilliant light coming from the tree branches. Shielding my eyes I watch as slowly a figure steps from the light onto a branch. I can not see their face or anything else because of this light, but I do hear its voice.
"Sesshô-Maru of the Western Lands, are you not?" comes a tinkling of sweet bells. It angers me that such a creature would address me without the proper respect due to people of my station. I answer back at it, a bit of a bite to my words.
"You will do well to address me with proper respect, creature, for I, Sesshô-Maru, will not hesitate to slay you where you stand!" Laughter floats to my ears on the slight breeze that has picked up.
"Iie. It is you who should address me with the proper respect, Sesshô- Maru,"
The slight movement of the branch tells me that the mysterious creature has moved. I watch the shadow as it descends to the ground. The light finally disappears as the creature gracefully touches the earth, not making a sound, and I gaze upon white feathers.
Slowly, the feathers seem to disappear only to give mortal eyes a sight. Long, shapely legs lead to cloth covered thighs and a curvy waist that is adorned with a beautifully sheathed long sword and an unmoving tail. A skin tight shirt shows a well muscled abdomen and a superbly developed chest. Powerful arms lead to squared shoulders and a strong neck. A shapeless mouth is supported by a stubborn chin. A slash scars diagonally the pristine surface of her right cheek. Another scar reaches from the depths of the women's hair to the tip of her nose, crossing over a sealed eye. The woman's only seeing eye seems indecisive as it changes colors seeming, to me, to follow its masters absent mood. Placed, majestically on her forehead is the kanji for love, glowing crimson. Long silken strands of hair reaching, before unnoticed, to her ankles while small, pointed cat ears were placed at the top of her head. Finally, long, angelic wings spread out from her body, shining luminescence white with the exception of two black feathers, in the middle of each wing.
Standing about the same height as I am is a female, not any female but a megami-sama, and the second I recognized this I knew my life as I know it would end.
Dispelling my sudden unease, I command, "Who are you, and what business do you have with me?" to the still unmoving megami-sama
"I am Suzaku's daughter, Ayame; Princess Goddess of Love, Protector of the South and Guardian to all mortal emotion," her voice remained monotonous and eyes unfocused as she responded. But with her next words, her eyes narrowed upon my form, "You, Sesshô-Maru, have for too long renounced your own feelings."
"You have no sway over me, wench," I shoot back at her with the same monotonous voice. "One should know that I do not have emotions. You are wasting my time and your own, be gone!"
"Where are you?" is her only reply
I stop at that and take a quick look around. Dappled sunlight is falling through openings in the leaves of the resident trees, who form a protective circle around my party. A single tree, small in stature compared to its brethren is slightly to the side of the clearing. Besides this being the tree that the woman was standing on, there is nothing special about it. In fact, there is nothing at all special about the area.
"Any baka can see that I am within a clearing in a forest, in the Western lands," I say smugly. "Now, if this meeting is through..." I turn to leave.
A sigh reaches my ear. "I thought I could save you..." yellow power starts to fill the clearing, swirling mostly around the woman, "this pain you shall receive..." slowly, the ki starts to move into her outstretched, palm up hand, "But you answered wrong..." power residing fully in her hand now licks and snips at the air surrounding it. I watch, fascinated, as she closes her fist around the power. The gasps of my companions bring me from my trance, as the power has jumped from her hands, forming spheres of ki to surround them all.
"I will give you one last chance, Sesshô-Maru. Answer my questions right, your companions are freed, answer wrong, and they... leave," she gives me a blank look, her eye, I notice, is a deep blue with swirls of red and brown. "Where are you, Sesshô-Maru?"
I am now angered, this...woman was playing a game using me. Barley containing my anger at such an insult, I spit out "I have already told you the answer to that bitch, now release my companions."
Another sigh, "It seems that question is too hard for your feeble mind to answer, milord," I bristle at the sheer disrespectful venom of that word, "and before I continue with my questions, I would like you to notice that I am a neko NOT a inu," I am shocked at the amount of emotion in her voice, but I hold it down, not letting it show. "Now then, what is more important: your lands, your life, your honor, your swords, your companions or your emotions?"
"That is easy, my lands and honor are the most important, followed by my swords then my life."
"Do you care?"
"I can not care. Emotion brings weakness; I do not have weakness, meaning I have no emotion. Thus I do not care."
"And what of your companions?"
"What about them?"
"Why are they with you?"
"For protection."
"Only protection? Do you not also keep them around because you secretly find their presence soothing, especially the child?"
I flinch inwardly at the comment, knowing it to be semi-true, but I refuse to tell her that. "I only protect them, nothing more," comes out of my mouth.
A high pitch scream makes me turn quickly around. In the spheres I watch in a blank faced horror as flames start climbing the bodies trapped within. I move to help them, only to realize I am stuck in place. Standing, I watch as the flames consume the small withering and screaming body of Rin.
"I was hoping it wouldn't lead to this, but you must be taught a lesson," the barriers drop and flames die, leaving only a pile of ash where each one of my companions once stood "I am sorry for your loss, but you shouldn't be feeling anything, after all, you have no emotion and do not care about them."
I can feel my body shaking as my youkai blood tries to take over. It pounds through my veins as if it were a horse, strong, fast and heavy. Her soft whisper draws my attention.
"Everything you truly care about has now been taken form you, because of your own heartlessness." I want to kill her. Slowly, I turn around, preparing to lung at the baka megami when...
"Hmmmm...I am mistaken. There is another being that is within your heart. One you have been thinking of much lately and the reason for your emotion towards the child," I stiffen at this remark. "This Kagome woman must also suffer the same fate as the others."
"Go ahead, her death will mean more to my brother then it will to me," I state truthfully.
That's when she spoke them, the words that would haunt me:
"That may be true. However this human will be killed simply because you were thinking about her. She had no reason to be brought into this, but you did bring her the second you saw her in the child's place. Now I must hunt her down and kill her as I did your companions, which you say you are fine about," slowly, her mouths twitches into an evil looking smirk. "All I ask is one thing, where is the honor in allowing her to die when in the past, she has assisted you with your charge?"
With those parting words, her wings covered her body and in a burst of light, she was gone.
*End Flashback, Evening*
I growl low at the memory. That megami decided to mess with my honor and pride by taking and destroying my charge, retainer and mount. Telling me it was my heartlessness that destroyed them and will destroy her.
I thought almost the entire day about her words. Surprisingly it was a picture of a woman holding an unmoving child in her hands, checking for any wounds then slowly bringing the child to me. "She is alright Sesshô-Maru, just unconscious," Blue-gray eyes shining with worry, unease and caring for the bundle in her arm.
It is that memory of Kagome holding Rin in her arms that lead to my decision. That is why I am walking the countryside looking for my brother's rag-tag team.
Seeing the absolute truth in the words, my honor will not allow me to sit idly by as this girl that I owe a favor to, is being hunted.
I will not allow the megami Ayame to kill this girl.
Because my honor is at stake...
nothing more...
I'll make sure of it...
*End Chapter 1*
Hello Minna-sama, I know it has been a long time since I posted this supposed to be one-shot. However, you must realize that it was meant to be a one-shot so I had to think about a plot, characters, storyline and all that other fun stuff. Not to mention life got in my way. For instance, my laptop completely broke down right after I posted my story. I had no computer access for 2 months straight. I had gotten an idea for the story around that time and started to write up chapters. I got to about chapter 23 when my friend came over one day and cleaned my room. ALL my story ideas/stories/chapters were thrown in the garbage with out my knowledge. And when I did find out, they were GONE!! :'0{ But now I'm back and finally stating to piece this thing back together. So please be patient. Anyways, that's all I have or now. Ja ne. Love,
Suzaku, Ayame