I'm back and with chapter five. In this chapter you'll get to find
out what exactly happened in Ayame's past. Also remember how Sesshoumaru
was thinking things like 'Is it really her..?'? Yeah, well I'll also be
explaining that in this chapter also. Grrr! I HATE school! My English
teacher is evil! He gave us this big long packet of review that we have to
have done by Friday and it's so not enough time to finish it. Why must
teachers be so cruel? From now on I'm gonna put review responses underneath
my little intros of nonsense.
Ivan's Kitsune: I know, I do update kinda fast, but that's a good thing right? Most likely on Mondays, Wenesdays, and Fridays, I will have a chapter out because I get outta school at 1:00, so it gives me plenty of time to type them out. Tuesdays and Thursdays are kinda iffy cause I get outta school at 3:20. And Saturdays and Sundays I most likely will also have a chapter out. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you don't mind the sadness!
Heaven-Dragoon: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad to know my story is startin to get around. I most definetly agree with you that Sess is cute! I'll try to update as often as possible and I'll try to keep to the schedule that I listed above. But if my evil teachers keep giving me so much work, then a chapter might get delayed *gasps in horror*. Thanks again for the review!
Disclaimer: *Walks into her room and then sees Sesshoumaru* "My wish came true!!" *Pounces on Sesshoumaru* "What do you think your doing wench?" "Oh Sesshoumaru, don't deny your love for me!" *Sesshoumaru removes Aries from around his waist then leaves* *Aries plops down onto the ground with a frown on her face. Holds up a sign that reads, 'I don't own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does.' Flips the sign over, '*sigh* Sadly she also owns Sesshoumaru.'
A/N: " " means talking
' ' means thinking
~ ~ means in a dream
Chapter Five: The Past
~ "Sesshoumaru wait!" Called out Ayame desperately. All she could see of him was his back getting further and further away from her as she ran closer to him. Her legs were growing heavier from running and her voice grew hoarse from calling out to him. She slowed down and began to whisper his name, "Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru please, I'm sorry." He never turned around once and never stopped walking away. Then she heard his voice loud and clear, repeating the same words she would always wake up remembering, "Someday."~ That was her cue to become conscious. She sat up in bed and just stared into the darkness. She could hear the soft sounds of breathing coming from the other ocupants in her hut. Quietly standing up, she made her way to the exit of the hut. Scanning the sleeping forms, she made sure that she had not awakened any of them. Then turning around, she left and just the same as every night, she made her way to the hill.
InuYasha opened his eyes and watched as Ayame left. He had awoken when he heard her tossing and turning in her sleep. She had been mumbling something, it sounded like she was calling out to someone, but he couldn't make out who. When she awoke he slowed down his heartbeat and breathing so as not to alert her that he was awake. When she left he wanted to follow her but decided against it. He had questions for her, but thought it better to ask them when everyone else was awake too. Glancing outside, he calculated that it was a few hours before dawn. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, then tried to get some more rest.
Ayame was sitting ontop of the hill watching the fireflies below. She shivered as a cold wind blew by, 'Guess I should start bringing a blanket with me now that the seasons are changing.' She stared ahead of her, lost in thought and oblivious to the fact that unlike every other night, this night was different. This night, she had company. Hiding within the dense foliage, was Watari. He knew that he would find her here and that worked out to his advantage. He had also whitnessed her meeting with the strange group of travelers the previous day. He quietly growled from the back of his throat. That hanyou that was among the group had a striking resemblence to the mutt that had left Ayame heartbroken. He knew that now, more then ever, she would be thinking of Sesshoumaru.
He needed to make his move and fast, before she would be lost to him forever. Walking out from behind the branches, he slowly approached Ayame. Sensing someone behind her Ayame turned around. "Watari, what are you doing here?" "I need to talk to you Ayame." "If your going to tell me to forget about Sesshoumaru again, then just please keep it to yourself." Watari balled his hands into fists at that name. "That's not what I wanted to talk about." Quirking an eyebrow at him, she waited for him to continue. "Ayame...I...." He sat down next to her and held her hands in his own. "You know how I feel about you Ayame. That's why I want you to be my mate." Ayame was speechless, she knew Watari liked her, but she never would have expected this from him, at least not now. She knew she had to tell him how she felt about him and also knew he wasn't going to like her answer. Looking into his eyes, she softly spoke her words as gently as possible. "I'm sorry Watari but I can't be your mate. I love you as a dear friend and nothing more. I will always be there for you and I know that one day you will find a demoness that you will love even more and who can make you happy. Until then, you can count on me to be there for you as a friend."
Watari was crushed by her response. Somewhere deep down though, he had been expecting that answer. He let go of her hands and cast his eyes downward. "No Ayame, your wrong. There will never be another who makes me feel this way. There will always only be you." Without another word he stood and left her alone upon the hill. (A/N Ahhh poor Watari. Don't feel so bad for him though, you'll see why later on.). Ayame just closed her eyes and was once again in deep thought. As Watari was making his way through the forest, desperate thoughts were flooding his mind. 'Damn that mutt for ever coming into her life! Damn him for making her fall in love with him! There is no way I will be able to be with her. She won't be able to come away with me because of the damn village she protects. Ha! She would rather spend her entire life until she dies, protecting that village, than to live a happy life. Well, I'll just have to fix that and I know the perfect way how to." Since the first time Watari had seen that Ayame was in love with Sesshoumaru, he had been coming up with this plan. He had a few years earlier met a strange hanyou who was gathering jewel shards. The hanyou had approached Watari, seeing as how he had in his possesion a few shards and requested that he hand them over or die. Watari struck a deal with the hanyou. The deal being that Watari would give him the jewel shards if he would do one favor for him. The hanyou agreed and Watari, still to this day, had not had that one deed performed. Now of course he knew exactly what he wanted that hanyou to do for him and he would make sure it was done today. (A/N Uh oh what's gonna happen? You know what hanyou I'm talkin about right?)
The sun had now risen and one by one, each member of InuYasha's group began to rouse from their sleep. The first being InuYasha, followed soon after by Kagome. Rubbing her eyes in an attempt to push the last remnants of sleep away, Kagome looked around. "InuYasha," she softly asked, so as not to wake the others, "where is Ayame?" "She left a few hours ago." He simply put it. "Left? To where?" "How should I know?" "Well, what should we do now?" "You should hurry up and make breakfast wench. I'm starving. Then afterwards, we'll go search for her." Kagome's eyebrows twitched together at InuYasha's rude comment, but she went ahead and started fixing breakfast anyways. Awoken by the commotion, Sango sat up and stretched. "Morning Kagome." "Kagome smiled at Sango, "Good morning Sango. Breakfast will be done in a few minutes." Sango nodded her head, then began to pet Kirara who had jumped into her lap the second she was awake. Miroku was the next one awoken, then shortly after was Shippo. "Mmmm, something smells good." Shippo said tiredly through a yawn. Kagome smiled at him. "Breakfast is ready." The group ate their meal in silence, then stood and prepared themselves. Exiting the hut, InuYasha sniffed the air and found the scent he was looking for. He began to walk in the direction of Ayame, followed closely by Kagome and Shippo, Sango and Kirara, and lastly Miroku.
Ayame was sitting and enjoying the warmth of the sunlight, when she became aware of the presenses coming towards her. InuYasha and company walked up to Ayame, then seated themselves in the grass next to her. "Okay, start talking. Why do you protect a village of humans?" Demanded InuYasha. Ayame lightly laughed, "You get straight to the point don't you?" InuYasha didn't respond to her, he sat and stared at her with those amber eyes that were all too familiar to her. She took a moment to gather her thoughts and to ponder on where to start her story. "I suppose I will just have to start from the begining. I hope you all are prepared for a rather lengthy tale." With that said, she began. "When I was a child I lived in the eastern lands. My father and mother were the lord and lady of those lands. I say were because they were killed."
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*Flashback*
(A/N Yeah yeah I know another one. This one won't be as long though). "Mommy? Daddy? Where are you guys?" A child Ayame of about six, was running through the halls of the expansive house in search of her parents. She turned a corner and came upon her father's study. She could hear talking coming from inside, so she pressed her ear to the door. " Lord Ryu, Lady Yumi, it is a pleasure to have you visit." Came the polite gretting from a soft, soothing voice that Ayame recognized as her mother's. "It is a pleasure to be here Lady Sazume." This voice Ayame did not recognize. It was low and rugged sounding. "And where might your mate be?" The owner of the rugged voice inquired. "He should be here shortly." Ayame's eyes were suddenly covered up with a pair of clawed hands. "Guess who?" Came the rich and smooth sounding voice of her father. "Daddy!" Ayame squealed in delight. She turned around and hugged his neck. He had medium length black hair and soft chocolate colored eyes. There was a yellow cresent moon in the middle of his forehead and golden stripes on his cheeks. "What are you doing out here little one?" "Well I was looking for you and mommy, when I heard strange voices coming from inside. Who is in their daddy?" Ayame's father smiled down at his daughter and she smiled in return. "What do you say we go find out?" Ayame nodded her head eagerly and held out her arms, signifying that her father needed to pick her up now.
He scooped her up in his arms, then pushed open the door and entered. All attention from within the room was turned to Ayame and her father. Ayame saw her mother standing by her father's desk. She had long golden hair and sapphire blue eyes. A purple cresent moon in the middle of her forehead and maroon stripes on her cheeks. Ayame then looked at three unfamiliar faces. A tall lanky looking male neko, who had stringy black hair and intimidating green eyes. There was a red star in the middle of his forehead and crimson red stripes on his cheeks. Standing next to him was his mate, a female neko, who had medium length red hair and purple eyes. An orange star was in the middle of her forehead, accented by pale-orange stripes on either cheek. Lastly standing next to her was a male child neko, only a few years older than Ayame. He had inherited his father's stringy black hair and his mother's purple eyes. He had a pale-blue star in the middle of his forehead and teal stripes on either of his cheeks.
"So you finally decided to join us did you Shin?" The lanky neko joked. Ayame didn't like him and so she pushed herself into her father's chest as fas as she could. "And this must be little Ayame? Hello there." He smiled and waved at her. Ayame didn't answer him at first, but was then nudged by her father. "Go on, say hello Ayame." "Hello." She barely said above a whisper. "She's darling." said the male neko's mate. "Allow me to introduce myself Ayame. I am Lord Ryu of the southern lands. This is my mate Lady Yumi and my son Karisou." Ayame glanced at each figure as he introduced them. Shin walked over to his desk and handed Ayame over to her mother. He motioned for everyone to sit down and then sat down himself. "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit Ryu?" Ayame made herself comfortable in her mother's lap, then listened in to the conversation. "I have a proposition for you Shin." "Oh, and what is that?" Ryu looked to Ayame then back to Shin. "I propose an arranged mating between your daughter and my son. The two of them would be good together. They would be able to rule over both the southern and eastern lands with an iron fist." The room was silent for a moment. The only movement was that of the eyes of Shin glancing at his mate then returning his gaze back onto Ryu. "I'm sorry, but I must decline Ryu. I will not force my daughter into a mating. I would prefer her to choose her mate on her own."
This was not the answer Ryu was looking for. He became enraged and raised his voice in anger. "Don't be a fool Shin! Why would you risk having your daughter choose a mate who could possibly be unsuited for ruling over your lands? My son is strong, intelligent, and is perfectly capable of this task!" Shin just stared at Ryu, unfazed by his shouting and calmy answered his inquery. "I don't care if my daughter chooses a mate who is not suitabe for ruling over my lands." He looked over to his daughter who was being rocked in her mother's lap. "I only care that she chooses a mate that will make her happy. A mate who can promise to keep her safe. And a mate who she truly loves with all her heart." He returned his attention back to Ryu. "That is why I decline your offer." Ryu didn't know how to respond, he looked to his mate for help, but found that she was just as speechless. Noticing that the conversation was over with, Shin stood. "Well if that is all, then I must say that you have over stayed your welcome Ryu." Ryu glared at Shin, but then ushered his mate and son out of the room. Ayame caught a glance from Karisou as he disappeared behind the corner of the hall. "You'll regret this Shin. You have made a foolish mistake." The neko family of the southern lands then left and returned back to their own home.
Shin huffed a sigh of relief, then walked over to his mate and daughter. Sazume noticed the worried expression on his face. She held his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. He returned this smile then looked down at his daughter who was struggling to get out of her mother's arms and into his. He laughed, then picked her up and swung her in a circle. Ayame giggled in delight. She was then pulled into his chest and he hugged her tightly. She gazed up at him, "Daddy what was all the shouting about?" Shin smiled at her innocent nature, "It was nothing important my little one." She then leaned her head against his chest and began to doze off. Shin walked with his mate to Ayame's room and placed her down onto her fouton. Then kissing her forehead, he and his mate turned and left. They walked down the hall and into their room. Closing the door behind her, Sazume confronted her mate. "Shin, I'm afraid of what Ryu might do. You know what he is capable of when he does not get what he wants. And I"m guessing that he wanted this arranged mating only for the purpose of gaining more land and power." Shin had also quessed that to be the reason. He turned to his mate and took in the worry that was laced within her posture and eyes. "Don't worry Sazume. I will never allow Ayame to mate with his son. And I will never allow any harm to come to you or her."
The following months were a blur for Ayame. Within those months she did not see her parents as much. They were busy with matters that they said she "Would not understand." Ayame was now spending most of her time out in the garden. On one such day she was skipping along and picking flowers. She had strayed some distance from the house, but she didn't care, the prettier flowers grew farther away anyways. She was about to bend down and pick some when she was stopped by an unfamiliar voice. "Hello Ayame." She looked to her left and saw Karisou walk out of the bushes. "You do remember me don't you?" She did remember him. She had not heard him speak on that day when his family was over and she found that his voice was actually rather calming, compared to his father's. Ayame barely nodded her head. Karisou smirked. "You know Ayame, your father made a stupid decision." Karisou began stepping closer to Ayame and she began stepping away from him. She was about to run away when he suddenly appeared right in front of her and seized her upper arms in his grip. He bent his head down and sniffed her hair. Ayame was frightened, she didn't know what he was doing. She began to struggle. This only increased the grip upon her arms. "You know," came Karisou's voice, "I could have loved you Ayame. You are very beautiful. I could have protected you and given you anything you wanted." "I want you to let me go!" Shouted Ayame. Karisou then complied to her wish and released his grip on Ayame. She fell onto the soft ground beneath her. "Your father will pay for his choice Ayame." She watched as he walked away and was enveloped in the darkness of the trees. (A/N Ayame is seven right now and karisou is twelve. Just wanted to clear that up for you.)
Ayame stood and ran towards her house. She was scared for her mother and father's safety. She ran inside and noticed the hurry everyone was in. Servants were running back and forth and she even saw some guards running about. "Ayame!." It was her mother. She ran to Ayame and picked her up, then began to make her way to the other side of the house. "Mommy what's going on? Why is everyone in such a hurry?" Sazume looked down at her daughter, tears in her eyes. "There's no time to explain, I need to get you to a safe place." Sazume ran down one hall after another until she came to a dead end. At the end of the hall was a painting of a family portrait. Sazume placed her daughter on the ground and hugged her tightly. "Ayame I want you to go through this tunnel that leads outside. When you are outside you must run as far away as possible. Make sure that whatever you do, you do not run south. Do you understand?" Ayame didn't understand, but nodded her head anyways.
Just then Shin came down the hall towards his family. He looked to his mate and she knew that it was time. He then looked down at his daughter, confusion clearly written upon her face. "I'm sorry my little one, but you must be going. You cannot stay here, it is too dangerous." Ayame didn't understand what he meant. Whay did she have to go? What was going on? Why was it dangerous? Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to cry. She was wrapped up in an embrace from her father. He was making soft soothing noises. "Please don't cry little one. Everything will be okay, but you must go now." He held her at arms length and wiped her tears away. "You need to be the brave little girl I know you can be, okay?" Ayame nodded her head. "Good. Now you have to get going. Hurry." Shin lifted up the painting on the wall and Ayame entered the tunnel that laid behind it. She turned around and the last thing she saw was her mother crying and a sad look on her father's face. "Goodbye my little one. Always remember that we love you." With that her father lowerd the painting and Ayame was consumed in darkness.
She did as her mother and father told her to do. She made her way through the tunnel and made it to the end. Stepping outside she turned around and saw that there was smoke coming from her house and what seemed like a endless number of demons were engaged in battle. She now understood what was happening. The southern lands where attacking her home land because of her father's refusal of Ryu's proposition. She also understood that she would most likely never see her parents again. Distracted in her thoughts she didn't notice two demons making their way towards her. "Well looky here. Seems like we have ourselves a survivor." Said one of them. "Yeah, I guess we'll have to fix that won't we?" The other one responded. Ayame's vision was becomg ingulfed in red. She could not control her anger and it overtook her. She had had some training in fighting from her father after the meeting with the southern lord. He had said that it was necsessary and now she was glad that he taught her. She lashed out at the two demons and struck them down.They had managed to get in a few good hits though. She had been slashed along her back and down her leg. When the demons fell upon the ground dead, her vision once again became clear and she remembered the last part of her parent's wishes. She was to run away, but to make sure not to go south. Despite the pain in her back and leg and the warm blood that was being soaked into her clothing, she ran.
She had been running for three days now. She had not stopped and she never looked back. Exhaustion, pain, and hunger, however, were pressing down on her. She was about to give up, to just collapse and lay down in the forest and die, when she smelled humans. There was a village upahead. She urged her body foward and made it to the village. Some people had noticed her and gasped in horror at the sight in front of them. They saw a beaten and worn-down demon, wearing clothes that were now a crimson color. A few ran up to her. "Please," began Ayame in a weak voice, "I need help. It hurts so bad...hurts so bad." Finally giving in to her exhaustion, she collapsed onto the ground. A man gathered her up and took her to the village healer. She had spent the next few weeks recovering. When she was fully healed she decided to repay the village for its kindness. She would stay there and protect them for as long as she was alive and there was strength within her body. The villagers accepted her decision. They even helped to build her a hut outside of the village in a nice clearing within the forest.
She had lived there ever since and kept true to her words. The village had never been harmed because she had always kept it safe. That is how she met Watari. It hade been ten years since Ayame first arrived in the village. Watari had been roaming the forest and came upon the village. Thinking that he could easily take it over and make the villagers serve him, he tried to attack it. He was not prepared to meet Ayame however. She had defeated him in a battle and he returned to the forest with his tail between his legs. A few days later though, he was back. Ayame was prepared to fight him again, but he said he was not there to fight, but to apologize. Since that day they had become friends and remained so to this day.
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*End of Flashback*
"So now you know the whole story." Ayame had purposely left out the part about Sesshoumaru though, having a hunch that InuYasha was Sesshoumaru's half brother. The group was in silence, processing her words. 'Poor Ayame, she has been through so much sorrow.' Were the thoughts of Kagome. InuYasha was in shock, 'She was the daughter of the lord and lady of the southern lands? I had heard stories of what had happened when I was younger, but I always thought that she too had been killed.' Miroku was in thought, with his eyes cast down and Sango wiped a tear away from her eye. "If you don't mind me asking Ayame," Kagome softly spoke, "what happened to the eastern lands?" Ayame glanced at Kagome and had a hard time coming up with words. She managed to, however, and spoke, "I can only guess that they were taken over by Ryu. His son Karisou is most likely the lord of them." "Oh..." Was the quiet response from Kagome. Their conversation was put on halt, when a flock of birds came fluttering out of the forest causing a racket. Ayame suddenly shot up from her sitting position. She sniffed the air and her eyes went wide in horror. "No....it can't be." She raced off towards the village. 'Please don't be what I think it is.' InuYasha was running to the village also. He had also smelled it. There was smoke in the air.
Dun dun dun, my first cliffhanger! Phew, this chapter took awhile to type out. So now you know about Ayame. Isn't it sad? When Ayame told her story to Sesshoumaru she had left out the part about her being the daughter of the lord and lady of the eastern lands. That's why he was wondering 'Is it her?' cause he had heard stories about what had happened, just the same as InuYasha had. In the next chappie, well you'll see. I don't want to give anything away. So now that the reading is done, that means it's review time! Thanks for reading! Until the next chapter, see ya!
~Aries
Ivan's Kitsune: I know, I do update kinda fast, but that's a good thing right? Most likely on Mondays, Wenesdays, and Fridays, I will have a chapter out because I get outta school at 1:00, so it gives me plenty of time to type them out. Tuesdays and Thursdays are kinda iffy cause I get outta school at 3:20. And Saturdays and Sundays I most likely will also have a chapter out. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you don't mind the sadness!
Heaven-Dragoon: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad to know my story is startin to get around. I most definetly agree with you that Sess is cute! I'll try to update as often as possible and I'll try to keep to the schedule that I listed above. But if my evil teachers keep giving me so much work, then a chapter might get delayed *gasps in horror*. Thanks again for the review!
Disclaimer: *Walks into her room and then sees Sesshoumaru* "My wish came true!!" *Pounces on Sesshoumaru* "What do you think your doing wench?" "Oh Sesshoumaru, don't deny your love for me!" *Sesshoumaru removes Aries from around his waist then leaves* *Aries plops down onto the ground with a frown on her face. Holds up a sign that reads, 'I don't own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does.' Flips the sign over, '*sigh* Sadly she also owns Sesshoumaru.'
A/N: " " means talking
' ' means thinking
~ ~ means in a dream
Chapter Five: The Past
~ "Sesshoumaru wait!" Called out Ayame desperately. All she could see of him was his back getting further and further away from her as she ran closer to him. Her legs were growing heavier from running and her voice grew hoarse from calling out to him. She slowed down and began to whisper his name, "Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru please, I'm sorry." He never turned around once and never stopped walking away. Then she heard his voice loud and clear, repeating the same words she would always wake up remembering, "Someday."~ That was her cue to become conscious. She sat up in bed and just stared into the darkness. She could hear the soft sounds of breathing coming from the other ocupants in her hut. Quietly standing up, she made her way to the exit of the hut. Scanning the sleeping forms, she made sure that she had not awakened any of them. Then turning around, she left and just the same as every night, she made her way to the hill.
InuYasha opened his eyes and watched as Ayame left. He had awoken when he heard her tossing and turning in her sleep. She had been mumbling something, it sounded like she was calling out to someone, but he couldn't make out who. When she awoke he slowed down his heartbeat and breathing so as not to alert her that he was awake. When she left he wanted to follow her but decided against it. He had questions for her, but thought it better to ask them when everyone else was awake too. Glancing outside, he calculated that it was a few hours before dawn. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, then tried to get some more rest.
Ayame was sitting ontop of the hill watching the fireflies below. She shivered as a cold wind blew by, 'Guess I should start bringing a blanket with me now that the seasons are changing.' She stared ahead of her, lost in thought and oblivious to the fact that unlike every other night, this night was different. This night, she had company. Hiding within the dense foliage, was Watari. He knew that he would find her here and that worked out to his advantage. He had also whitnessed her meeting with the strange group of travelers the previous day. He quietly growled from the back of his throat. That hanyou that was among the group had a striking resemblence to the mutt that had left Ayame heartbroken. He knew that now, more then ever, she would be thinking of Sesshoumaru.
He needed to make his move and fast, before she would be lost to him forever. Walking out from behind the branches, he slowly approached Ayame. Sensing someone behind her Ayame turned around. "Watari, what are you doing here?" "I need to talk to you Ayame." "If your going to tell me to forget about Sesshoumaru again, then just please keep it to yourself." Watari balled his hands into fists at that name. "That's not what I wanted to talk about." Quirking an eyebrow at him, she waited for him to continue. "Ayame...I...." He sat down next to her and held her hands in his own. "You know how I feel about you Ayame. That's why I want you to be my mate." Ayame was speechless, she knew Watari liked her, but she never would have expected this from him, at least not now. She knew she had to tell him how she felt about him and also knew he wasn't going to like her answer. Looking into his eyes, she softly spoke her words as gently as possible. "I'm sorry Watari but I can't be your mate. I love you as a dear friend and nothing more. I will always be there for you and I know that one day you will find a demoness that you will love even more and who can make you happy. Until then, you can count on me to be there for you as a friend."
Watari was crushed by her response. Somewhere deep down though, he had been expecting that answer. He let go of her hands and cast his eyes downward. "No Ayame, your wrong. There will never be another who makes me feel this way. There will always only be you." Without another word he stood and left her alone upon the hill. (A/N Ahhh poor Watari. Don't feel so bad for him though, you'll see why later on.). Ayame just closed her eyes and was once again in deep thought. As Watari was making his way through the forest, desperate thoughts were flooding his mind. 'Damn that mutt for ever coming into her life! Damn him for making her fall in love with him! There is no way I will be able to be with her. She won't be able to come away with me because of the damn village she protects. Ha! She would rather spend her entire life until she dies, protecting that village, than to live a happy life. Well, I'll just have to fix that and I know the perfect way how to." Since the first time Watari had seen that Ayame was in love with Sesshoumaru, he had been coming up with this plan. He had a few years earlier met a strange hanyou who was gathering jewel shards. The hanyou had approached Watari, seeing as how he had in his possesion a few shards and requested that he hand them over or die. Watari struck a deal with the hanyou. The deal being that Watari would give him the jewel shards if he would do one favor for him. The hanyou agreed and Watari, still to this day, had not had that one deed performed. Now of course he knew exactly what he wanted that hanyou to do for him and he would make sure it was done today. (A/N Uh oh what's gonna happen? You know what hanyou I'm talkin about right?)
The sun had now risen and one by one, each member of InuYasha's group began to rouse from their sleep. The first being InuYasha, followed soon after by Kagome. Rubbing her eyes in an attempt to push the last remnants of sleep away, Kagome looked around. "InuYasha," she softly asked, so as not to wake the others, "where is Ayame?" "She left a few hours ago." He simply put it. "Left? To where?" "How should I know?" "Well, what should we do now?" "You should hurry up and make breakfast wench. I'm starving. Then afterwards, we'll go search for her." Kagome's eyebrows twitched together at InuYasha's rude comment, but she went ahead and started fixing breakfast anyways. Awoken by the commotion, Sango sat up and stretched. "Morning Kagome." "Kagome smiled at Sango, "Good morning Sango. Breakfast will be done in a few minutes." Sango nodded her head, then began to pet Kirara who had jumped into her lap the second she was awake. Miroku was the next one awoken, then shortly after was Shippo. "Mmmm, something smells good." Shippo said tiredly through a yawn. Kagome smiled at him. "Breakfast is ready." The group ate their meal in silence, then stood and prepared themselves. Exiting the hut, InuYasha sniffed the air and found the scent he was looking for. He began to walk in the direction of Ayame, followed closely by Kagome and Shippo, Sango and Kirara, and lastly Miroku.
Ayame was sitting and enjoying the warmth of the sunlight, when she became aware of the presenses coming towards her. InuYasha and company walked up to Ayame, then seated themselves in the grass next to her. "Okay, start talking. Why do you protect a village of humans?" Demanded InuYasha. Ayame lightly laughed, "You get straight to the point don't you?" InuYasha didn't respond to her, he sat and stared at her with those amber eyes that were all too familiar to her. She took a moment to gather her thoughts and to ponder on where to start her story. "I suppose I will just have to start from the begining. I hope you all are prepared for a rather lengthy tale." With that said, she began. "When I was a child I lived in the eastern lands. My father and mother were the lord and lady of those lands. I say were because they were killed."
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*Flashback*
(A/N Yeah yeah I know another one. This one won't be as long though). "Mommy? Daddy? Where are you guys?" A child Ayame of about six, was running through the halls of the expansive house in search of her parents. She turned a corner and came upon her father's study. She could hear talking coming from inside, so she pressed her ear to the door. " Lord Ryu, Lady Yumi, it is a pleasure to have you visit." Came the polite gretting from a soft, soothing voice that Ayame recognized as her mother's. "It is a pleasure to be here Lady Sazume." This voice Ayame did not recognize. It was low and rugged sounding. "And where might your mate be?" The owner of the rugged voice inquired. "He should be here shortly." Ayame's eyes were suddenly covered up with a pair of clawed hands. "Guess who?" Came the rich and smooth sounding voice of her father. "Daddy!" Ayame squealed in delight. She turned around and hugged his neck. He had medium length black hair and soft chocolate colored eyes. There was a yellow cresent moon in the middle of his forehead and golden stripes on his cheeks. "What are you doing out here little one?" "Well I was looking for you and mommy, when I heard strange voices coming from inside. Who is in their daddy?" Ayame's father smiled down at his daughter and she smiled in return. "What do you say we go find out?" Ayame nodded her head eagerly and held out her arms, signifying that her father needed to pick her up now.
He scooped her up in his arms, then pushed open the door and entered. All attention from within the room was turned to Ayame and her father. Ayame saw her mother standing by her father's desk. She had long golden hair and sapphire blue eyes. A purple cresent moon in the middle of her forehead and maroon stripes on her cheeks. Ayame then looked at three unfamiliar faces. A tall lanky looking male neko, who had stringy black hair and intimidating green eyes. There was a red star in the middle of his forehead and crimson red stripes on his cheeks. Standing next to him was his mate, a female neko, who had medium length red hair and purple eyes. An orange star was in the middle of her forehead, accented by pale-orange stripes on either cheek. Lastly standing next to her was a male child neko, only a few years older than Ayame. He had inherited his father's stringy black hair and his mother's purple eyes. He had a pale-blue star in the middle of his forehead and teal stripes on either of his cheeks.
"So you finally decided to join us did you Shin?" The lanky neko joked. Ayame didn't like him and so she pushed herself into her father's chest as fas as she could. "And this must be little Ayame? Hello there." He smiled and waved at her. Ayame didn't answer him at first, but was then nudged by her father. "Go on, say hello Ayame." "Hello." She barely said above a whisper. "She's darling." said the male neko's mate. "Allow me to introduce myself Ayame. I am Lord Ryu of the southern lands. This is my mate Lady Yumi and my son Karisou." Ayame glanced at each figure as he introduced them. Shin walked over to his desk and handed Ayame over to her mother. He motioned for everyone to sit down and then sat down himself. "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit Ryu?" Ayame made herself comfortable in her mother's lap, then listened in to the conversation. "I have a proposition for you Shin." "Oh, and what is that?" Ryu looked to Ayame then back to Shin. "I propose an arranged mating between your daughter and my son. The two of them would be good together. They would be able to rule over both the southern and eastern lands with an iron fist." The room was silent for a moment. The only movement was that of the eyes of Shin glancing at his mate then returning his gaze back onto Ryu. "I'm sorry, but I must decline Ryu. I will not force my daughter into a mating. I would prefer her to choose her mate on her own."
This was not the answer Ryu was looking for. He became enraged and raised his voice in anger. "Don't be a fool Shin! Why would you risk having your daughter choose a mate who could possibly be unsuited for ruling over your lands? My son is strong, intelligent, and is perfectly capable of this task!" Shin just stared at Ryu, unfazed by his shouting and calmy answered his inquery. "I don't care if my daughter chooses a mate who is not suitabe for ruling over my lands." He looked over to his daughter who was being rocked in her mother's lap. "I only care that she chooses a mate that will make her happy. A mate who can promise to keep her safe. And a mate who she truly loves with all her heart." He returned his attention back to Ryu. "That is why I decline your offer." Ryu didn't know how to respond, he looked to his mate for help, but found that she was just as speechless. Noticing that the conversation was over with, Shin stood. "Well if that is all, then I must say that you have over stayed your welcome Ryu." Ryu glared at Shin, but then ushered his mate and son out of the room. Ayame caught a glance from Karisou as he disappeared behind the corner of the hall. "You'll regret this Shin. You have made a foolish mistake." The neko family of the southern lands then left and returned back to their own home.
Shin huffed a sigh of relief, then walked over to his mate and daughter. Sazume noticed the worried expression on his face. She held his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. He returned this smile then looked down at his daughter who was struggling to get out of her mother's arms and into his. He laughed, then picked her up and swung her in a circle. Ayame giggled in delight. She was then pulled into his chest and he hugged her tightly. She gazed up at him, "Daddy what was all the shouting about?" Shin smiled at her innocent nature, "It was nothing important my little one." She then leaned her head against his chest and began to doze off. Shin walked with his mate to Ayame's room and placed her down onto her fouton. Then kissing her forehead, he and his mate turned and left. They walked down the hall and into their room. Closing the door behind her, Sazume confronted her mate. "Shin, I'm afraid of what Ryu might do. You know what he is capable of when he does not get what he wants. And I"m guessing that he wanted this arranged mating only for the purpose of gaining more land and power." Shin had also quessed that to be the reason. He turned to his mate and took in the worry that was laced within her posture and eyes. "Don't worry Sazume. I will never allow Ayame to mate with his son. And I will never allow any harm to come to you or her."
The following months were a blur for Ayame. Within those months she did not see her parents as much. They were busy with matters that they said she "Would not understand." Ayame was now spending most of her time out in the garden. On one such day she was skipping along and picking flowers. She had strayed some distance from the house, but she didn't care, the prettier flowers grew farther away anyways. She was about to bend down and pick some when she was stopped by an unfamiliar voice. "Hello Ayame." She looked to her left and saw Karisou walk out of the bushes. "You do remember me don't you?" She did remember him. She had not heard him speak on that day when his family was over and she found that his voice was actually rather calming, compared to his father's. Ayame barely nodded her head. Karisou smirked. "You know Ayame, your father made a stupid decision." Karisou began stepping closer to Ayame and she began stepping away from him. She was about to run away when he suddenly appeared right in front of her and seized her upper arms in his grip. He bent his head down and sniffed her hair. Ayame was frightened, she didn't know what he was doing. She began to struggle. This only increased the grip upon her arms. "You know," came Karisou's voice, "I could have loved you Ayame. You are very beautiful. I could have protected you and given you anything you wanted." "I want you to let me go!" Shouted Ayame. Karisou then complied to her wish and released his grip on Ayame. She fell onto the soft ground beneath her. "Your father will pay for his choice Ayame." She watched as he walked away and was enveloped in the darkness of the trees. (A/N Ayame is seven right now and karisou is twelve. Just wanted to clear that up for you.)
Ayame stood and ran towards her house. She was scared for her mother and father's safety. She ran inside and noticed the hurry everyone was in. Servants were running back and forth and she even saw some guards running about. "Ayame!." It was her mother. She ran to Ayame and picked her up, then began to make her way to the other side of the house. "Mommy what's going on? Why is everyone in such a hurry?" Sazume looked down at her daughter, tears in her eyes. "There's no time to explain, I need to get you to a safe place." Sazume ran down one hall after another until she came to a dead end. At the end of the hall was a painting of a family portrait. Sazume placed her daughter on the ground and hugged her tightly. "Ayame I want you to go through this tunnel that leads outside. When you are outside you must run as far away as possible. Make sure that whatever you do, you do not run south. Do you understand?" Ayame didn't understand, but nodded her head anyways.
Just then Shin came down the hall towards his family. He looked to his mate and she knew that it was time. He then looked down at his daughter, confusion clearly written upon her face. "I'm sorry my little one, but you must be going. You cannot stay here, it is too dangerous." Ayame didn't understand what he meant. Whay did she have to go? What was going on? Why was it dangerous? Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to cry. She was wrapped up in an embrace from her father. He was making soft soothing noises. "Please don't cry little one. Everything will be okay, but you must go now." He held her at arms length and wiped her tears away. "You need to be the brave little girl I know you can be, okay?" Ayame nodded her head. "Good. Now you have to get going. Hurry." Shin lifted up the painting on the wall and Ayame entered the tunnel that laid behind it. She turned around and the last thing she saw was her mother crying and a sad look on her father's face. "Goodbye my little one. Always remember that we love you." With that her father lowerd the painting and Ayame was consumed in darkness.
She did as her mother and father told her to do. She made her way through the tunnel and made it to the end. Stepping outside she turned around and saw that there was smoke coming from her house and what seemed like a endless number of demons were engaged in battle. She now understood what was happening. The southern lands where attacking her home land because of her father's refusal of Ryu's proposition. She also understood that she would most likely never see her parents again. Distracted in her thoughts she didn't notice two demons making their way towards her. "Well looky here. Seems like we have ourselves a survivor." Said one of them. "Yeah, I guess we'll have to fix that won't we?" The other one responded. Ayame's vision was becomg ingulfed in red. She could not control her anger and it overtook her. She had had some training in fighting from her father after the meeting with the southern lord. He had said that it was necsessary and now she was glad that he taught her. She lashed out at the two demons and struck them down.They had managed to get in a few good hits though. She had been slashed along her back and down her leg. When the demons fell upon the ground dead, her vision once again became clear and she remembered the last part of her parent's wishes. She was to run away, but to make sure not to go south. Despite the pain in her back and leg and the warm blood that was being soaked into her clothing, she ran.
She had been running for three days now. She had not stopped and she never looked back. Exhaustion, pain, and hunger, however, were pressing down on her. She was about to give up, to just collapse and lay down in the forest and die, when she smelled humans. There was a village upahead. She urged her body foward and made it to the village. Some people had noticed her and gasped in horror at the sight in front of them. They saw a beaten and worn-down demon, wearing clothes that were now a crimson color. A few ran up to her. "Please," began Ayame in a weak voice, "I need help. It hurts so bad...hurts so bad." Finally giving in to her exhaustion, she collapsed onto the ground. A man gathered her up and took her to the village healer. She had spent the next few weeks recovering. When she was fully healed she decided to repay the village for its kindness. She would stay there and protect them for as long as she was alive and there was strength within her body. The villagers accepted her decision. They even helped to build her a hut outside of the village in a nice clearing within the forest.
She had lived there ever since and kept true to her words. The village had never been harmed because she had always kept it safe. That is how she met Watari. It hade been ten years since Ayame first arrived in the village. Watari had been roaming the forest and came upon the village. Thinking that he could easily take it over and make the villagers serve him, he tried to attack it. He was not prepared to meet Ayame however. She had defeated him in a battle and he returned to the forest with his tail between his legs. A few days later though, he was back. Ayame was prepared to fight him again, but he said he was not there to fight, but to apologize. Since that day they had become friends and remained so to this day.
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*End of Flashback*
"So now you know the whole story." Ayame had purposely left out the part about Sesshoumaru though, having a hunch that InuYasha was Sesshoumaru's half brother. The group was in silence, processing her words. 'Poor Ayame, she has been through so much sorrow.' Were the thoughts of Kagome. InuYasha was in shock, 'She was the daughter of the lord and lady of the southern lands? I had heard stories of what had happened when I was younger, but I always thought that she too had been killed.' Miroku was in thought, with his eyes cast down and Sango wiped a tear away from her eye. "If you don't mind me asking Ayame," Kagome softly spoke, "what happened to the eastern lands?" Ayame glanced at Kagome and had a hard time coming up with words. She managed to, however, and spoke, "I can only guess that they were taken over by Ryu. His son Karisou is most likely the lord of them." "Oh..." Was the quiet response from Kagome. Their conversation was put on halt, when a flock of birds came fluttering out of the forest causing a racket. Ayame suddenly shot up from her sitting position. She sniffed the air and her eyes went wide in horror. "No....it can't be." She raced off towards the village. 'Please don't be what I think it is.' InuYasha was running to the village also. He had also smelled it. There was smoke in the air.
Dun dun dun, my first cliffhanger! Phew, this chapter took awhile to type out. So now you know about Ayame. Isn't it sad? When Ayame told her story to Sesshoumaru she had left out the part about her being the daughter of the lord and lady of the eastern lands. That's why he was wondering 'Is it her?' cause he had heard stories about what had happened, just the same as InuYasha had. In the next chappie, well you'll see. I don't want to give anything away. So now that the reading is done, that means it's review time! Thanks for reading! Until the next chapter, see ya!
~Aries