Wow it sure has been a long time since I have updated! Please forgive me
about that but things have been so crazy at school lately since the end of
the school year is drawing near. Okay well this is going to be the last
chapter in this story. So for sure they will get back together in this one.
Yay! Don't worry though even though this story is ending, I'm not going to
stop writing fanfiction. In fact I think the next story I put up on the
site will be for the anime Saiyuki! So keep an eye out for it, it will most
likely be called A Light in the Dark. Okay well since you've waited so long
for this chapter I won't keep you any longer, so without further ado, I
present the last chapter of Crimson Love, enjoy!!
Natasha Z: I hope this chapter will be to your liking since you've waited so patiently. Hey don't worry about wanting to kill Megumi and Karisou cause everyone else wants to also! They will get what's coming to them in this chapter though. Congrats on getting so many good grades! Anyways, thanx for the review and thanx for being so patient till this chapter came out! Enjoy!
meheeners: Yay!! You're back!! Sorry that you didn't enjoy your trip to Boston. Yeah it does feel good to arrive home after being away for so long. Hahahaha when i read the line about Pippin I was like, uhhhh okay.... But that's pretty funny now that I think about it. Kinda disturbing in a way though. Thinks about Pippin giggling and shivers. Thanks so much for the review and I hope you enjoy this last chapter!
feudalfairyfan4ever: Well I know how to end the story, but I just didn't know how I wanted to make them get back together, that's what I meant. Sorry for the confusion. Having fun torturing Karisou? Hahaha, don't worry him and Megumi get what's coming to them in this chapter. Mwuhahaha, finally they will pay. Okay well thanks for the review and have fun reading this!!
fluffyscatdemon: Hahaha i loved your comment about killing Karisou and then bringing him back with the Tenseiga and then killing him again. Hmmm perhaps I could put that in the story. On second thought maybe not cause he doesn't deserve to come back to life, even if he would just be dieing again. Plus it's more dramatic if he just dies once. Thanks for the review and enjoy this chapter!
migele: Awww sorry, please don't hate me. I know it's torture waiting for them to get back together, but it makes it more suspenseful right? Yeah, don't worry Sess will kill him before he has a chance to do anything, or will he...? Mwuhahaha I'm so evil cough. Sweat drops Uhhh sorry I don't know what that was about. Hehehe, anyways sorry for frustrating you and thanks for the review! Now enjoy!!
Disclaimer: Okay sorry not much of a disclaimer here, but I figured that since you all have been waiting for a long time for this chapter to come out that I wouldn't waste anymore of your time. Anyways, you know how it goes, I don't own InuYasha or any other character within it. Oh and Sesshoumaru rules!!! On with the story!
Chapter Twenty-One: Together Again
Ayame slowly came back to consciousness. Her head was throbbing and it was incredibly painful. She opened her eyes and waited for them to slowly adjust to the dim lighting. Once she could see clearly she made out that she was in some sort of a dungeon cell. The walls were made of dark stones and moisture gleamed upon them from the small amount of light that came from a nearby flickering candle. Ayame turned her head to the side and hissed in pain when her head protested this movement. She raised one of her hands to her head and noticed that when she did so, a metallic clinking noise was produced. The cause of this noise was the fact that her arms had shackles around them.
'Ugh, this is just great.' Ayame thought sarcastically.
She tested the strength of the chains by pulling against them. It was no use, they weren't budging. She had been so close to being with Sesshoumaru again and this just had to happen. Anger began to well up inside of her. It burned through her veins as she thought of every way possible for her to kill Karisou. Just as she was thinking this, the source of her hatred just happened to waltz through the cell's door and make his way over towards her. Ayame glared daggers at Karisou, who seemed unaffected by this. When he was perhaps only a few feet away, Ayame swiped her fist at him, but with no avail. The chains restricted her movement. When that attempt failed she tried to kick out at him, but this also failed to work because her legs were shackled also.
Karisou smirked at her petty attempts to strike at him. "As you can see your powerless to attack me. I'm afriad I have learned from my previous mistake and have taken the appropriate measures to prevent it from happening again. And hopefully you too will learn your lesson. I figure that if you aren't going to cooperate willingly, I'm going to have to force you into cooperating." Ayame didn't answer him, she just kept glaring at him with hatred burning in her eyes. "You see I figure that eveytime you perform a negative action towards me, like those two little stunts you pulled just a few moments ago, I'll counter your negative actions with ones of my own. So, since you have already performed two, I too will perform two."
Karisou approached Ayame and knelt down to her level. She didn't know what to expect so when Karisou took his claw and quickly cut her arm and cheek, her eyes went wide. She stared at Karisou in disbelief as she felt the cuts begin to bleed and the warm blood traveled down her flesh from where the cuts had been created. She blinked. All she could do was look at Karisou, and then the anger built up in her again. She desperately tried to attack Karisou, she wasn't thinking, her mind was just focused on her anger and Karisou's smirking face. Again and again she swiped at him, three, four, five, times, and each time she struck out at him, he would retaliate. Ayame stopped her attacks. Her chest was heaving and she had many cuts all along her arms, legs, and face.
Karisou sighed, "Perhaps this is going to take longer then I thought it would. I guess I'll have to take away your meals as well. That is until you learn and no longer try to kill me. It's your decision." With that Karisou stood up.
He was just about to leave when Megumi entered the chamber. She saw Ayame on the floor, panting and with bleeding cuts all over her body. Ayame glared at her and Megumi cleared her throat in nervousness and bowed when Karisou turned around to regard her.
"Please forgive me Karisou. I tried to get Ayame to return to you and I even sent you a letter informing you were she was. I did everything within my power to try and get her to leave the western lands." Megumi spoke while still bowing. She looked up when Karisou began to speak to her.
Karisou had taken out the piece of paper that was Megumi's letter. He had a menacing look on his face and Megumi started to slowly back away from him as he slowly approached her. "Yes, I recieved you letter Megumi. In fact I got it just a few hours ago. You do realize that if I hadn't left right when I had regained consciousness and caught her, then she would be back with Sesshoumaru already. You have failed Megumi and I do not tolerate failure. You do remember what I told you I'd do if you failed, right?"
Megumi nodded her head. "Please Karisou, forgive me. Please give me another chance. I won't fail you this time, I promise you." She begged.
Karisou growled and scratched Megumi's cheek. "I'm sick of your promises Megumi!" He yelled and quickly regained his composure as Megumi's eyes began to water. Karisou heaved a sigh of frustration. "Very well, Megumi, I will give you one more chance. Remember if you fail this time, I will kill you. Now get out of my sight."
"Thank you Karisou." Megumi uttered and hastily made her way out of the chamber.
Karisou turned around and stared at Ayame who held his stare. "I'll be seeing you later." He told her and left, closing and locking the door behind him.
Outside, Megumi was running back towards the western lands, a scowl upon her face. That had been the last straw. Karisou had gone too far and she wasn't going to put up with it anymore. When she had entered the chamber and saw Ayame all cut up on the ground she had actually felt some pity for her. Megumi wasn't going to put up with Karisou anymore. She had had enough of his threats and of him always inflicting some sort of injury upon her. Megumi decided that she was going to go to Sesshoumaru and tell him everything. She would tell him about her deal with Karisou and how Ayame was still alive. After that she would beg Sesshoumaru for forgiveness and hopefully he would not kill her. Hopefully he would kill Karisou and she would be free from him.
Four days later, in the western lands
Sesshoumaru was in his study going over some papers. Recently he had been spending most of his time in his study, isolating himself from everyone else. He would spend hours at a time just reading his scrolls. It helped to get his mind off of things, especially Ayame. Sesshoumaru had just finished reading the scroll that layed upon the table in front of him, when there was a knock on the door. He rolled the scroll up and looked towards the door.
"Come in Jaken." He said.
Jaken slid open the door and entered the room. He bowed to Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru-sama, InuYasha and the others are here to see you." He reported.
Sesshoumaru stood up. "Very well, thank you Jaken." With that he walked out of the study and made his way towards the garden where he could sense that his half brother and the others were at.
Upon entering the garden he could see Rin, Shippo, and Kirara playing tag. InuYasha and the others were standing together under the shade of a nearby tree. Shesshoumaru headed over to them. The group heard him approaching and they turned around to greet him.
"Yo." InuYasha greeted Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru just nodded his greeting. "What brings you here InuYasha?" He asked.
"Just wanted to see how things were going." He answered.
"Things are fine." Sesshoumaru lied.
His lie didn't fool anyone, however, and InuYasha confronted him on this. "Really, that's not what we heard."
"And what have you heard?" Sesshoumaru asked, his tone indifferent.
"Rin tells us that you have been locking yourself up in your study for hours even days at a time." He informed Sesshoumaru. "And she also says that a few days ago she spotted Ayame over there in the trees." He added while pointing to where Rin had told them Ayame had appeared.
"That's none of your business." Sesshoumaru replied in an icy voice.
"Oh but it is, because she was our friend too." InuYasha said. "So what's the deal? Is she alive? Because if she is then we need to go look for her."
"How can she be!" Sesshoumaru shouted. "You saw with your very own eyes that she died. You saw me bury her. So tell me InuYasha how can she be alive?" InuYasha didn't have an answer. "That's what I thought." Sesshoumaru spoke and then turned around and went back inside to his study, leaving a stunned InuYasha behind.
The next day
Sesshoumaru, InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were outside watching Rin, Shippo, and Kirara running around playing. There was suddenly a shout coming from inside of the house.
"Sesshoumaru!" Megumi shouted as she ran outside, Jaken following her.
"Please forgive me Sesshoumaru-sama, I tried to stop her." Jaken apologized.
Megumi ran over to where Sesshoumaru was. She stopped when she reached him. She took a moment to catch her breath. InuYasha and the others just stared at her, wondering who she was.
"What do you want Megumi?" Sesshoumaru asked, he was getting impatient.
Megumi looked up at him. She then looked down because she didn't want to see his face when she told him everything. "I'm sorry Sesshoumaru, please forgive me, but I just have to tell you this."
"What is it?" Sesshoumaru inquired.
"Please let me say everything before you do anything. I came here to tell you that Ayame is still alive. She is being held captive by Karisou. You see Karisou and I had a deal. He would keep Ayame and I was to stay with you and keep you distracted so that you wouldn't find out that she was alive. I'm sorry Sesshoumaru, I really am." Megumi told him and she still couldn't look up at him.
Sesshoumaru was stunned. So it really had been Ayame that Rin saw the other day, it hadn't been a ghost. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. Karisou was holding Ayame captive and this made his eyes bleed red. Without another moment to wait Sesshoumaru turned to Jaken.
"Watch over Rin. I'm going to go get her." He told Jaken who nodded his head in compliance and with that he started to run in the direction of the eastern lands.
"Wait we're coming too!" InuYasha shouted.
Kagome hopped onto InuYasha's back as Sango and Miroku got onto a transformed Kirara's back.
"Stay here with Rin, Shippo." Kagome shouted as InuYasha began to chase after Sesshoumaru with Sango and Miroku following and Megumi following behind them.
One day later, in the eastern lands
Karisou was pacing back and forth in his room. His scout had told him that Sesshoumaru had been spotted heading this way. He had five people with him and one of those people was Megumi. Karisou growled in anger. He was going to kill Megumi for this. Karisou stormed out of his room and made his way down towards Ayame's cell just as he sensed their presences coming towards his location.
Outside Sesshoumaru and the others stopped when they reached Karisou's house. He apparently knew that they were coming because he had his army of demons waiting outside for them. Sesshoumaru and the others quickly headed towards the ready demons and began to cut through them. When Sesshoumaru had made a path he took Megumi and headed inside while the others fought off the rest of the demons outside.
"Show me were she is." Sesshoumaru commanded.
Megumi nodded her head and she began to guide him to the dungeon. When she had reached the door a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her throat. Karisou had Megumi by the neck. His eyes were blood red as he stared at her.
"What a foolish thing you have done Megumi." Karisou growled at her and without waiting for an answer he cut her throat and tossed her dieing body over at Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru watched the body fall to the ground. He then looked up at Karisou, his eyes also red from anger. There was no talking as the two sized each other up. After a few seconds Karisou ran at Sesshoumaru, who dodged his attack and appeared behind him. Karisou spun around and swiped at Sesshoumaru. He was able to cut across Sesshoumaru's arm. It was time to stop fooling around. Sesshoumaru unsheathed his sword, Tokijin, and came at Karisou. He swung his sword at Karisou and he was able to duck and dodge it. Again and again Sesshoumaru would swing at him but each time, Karisou would dodge it. Sesshoumaru was growing tired of this so he gathered up all of his strength and speed and swung one final blow at Karisou. This one Karisou couldn't dodge. The sword went through his stomach and out the other side. Sesshoumaru then yanked the sword sideways so that it ripped through Karisou. Karisou fell to the floor. He was dead before he even connected with the ground. Sesshoumaru sheathed his sword and turned towards the door that was behind him.
He turned the knob but found that it was locked. Frustrated with all of these obstacles, Sesshoumaru grabbed hold of the door and ripped it out of its frame. He threw it aside and entered the chamber. Over in the corner he could see a form slumped against the wall. He strided over towards it and knelt down when he had reached it. He could see that it was Ayame. Sesshoumaru's chest clenched painfully as he gazed upon her battered and bruised body. He gently shook her to wake her up, but she wouldn't. He spotted a cup of water near her. He picked it up and sniffed it. Sesshoumaru growled and threw the cup against the wall. She had been sedated. He saw the shackles about her arms and legs. Sesshoumaru grabbed onto the part of the shackle that went around her wrist and forcefully pulled. The metal bent and became big enough for him to free her arm. He next repeated this process until finally she was free. Sesshoumaru picked up her sleeping form and headed back outside.
InuYasha and the others had just finished killing the last demon as Sesshoumaru came back outside with Ayame in his arms. The group just stared at him. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ayame actually was alive. They watched as Sesshoumaru walked past them, heading back towards the western lands. The others followed suit and also headed back.
In the western lands
Ayame opened her eyes. She found herself staring up at a very familiar ceiling. She sat up and looked around her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that she was home. It was nice and sunny outside and a cool breeze was blowing through the room through the open window. Ayame picked up the scent of Sesshoumaru upon the wind. Ayame stood up and fixed the sleeping yukata she was wearing. She carefully walked over to the balcony and looked around. She could see Sesshoumaru, Rin, InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara outside in the garden. Ayame quickly turned around and ran towards the door. She slid it open and began to run towards the garden. When she reached it she stood there, just staring.
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as a refreshing breeze blew past him. His eyes shot open, though, when he smelled the distinct scent of lavenders mingled in with wind.
"Ayame." He spoke and turned around.
The others heard what he said and they too turned around. There they saw Ayame standing near the entrance to the house. She was just staring at them. They saw a few tears roll over her eyelids and travel down her cheeks. Ayame then began to run towards Sesshoumaru. When she reached him she immediately hugged him tightly. She began to sob against his chest as Sesshoumaru encircled her with his arms and held her close. Ayame couldn't believe it, she was actually back with Sesshoumaru. She was so happy that she couldn't help but to cry. Sesshoumaru gently lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. Ayame blinked away her tears and stared back into his golden eyes. She could see the intense amount of relief and love in his eyes.
"I thought I'd never see you again." Ayame whispered.
Sesshoumaru smiled down at her. He then inched his face closer to hers until his lips pressed against hers. He kissed her deeply, trying to convey all of his feelings for her through that passionate moment. He didn't even care that InuYasha and the others were watching. He had missed her so much and he had dreamed of being with her again every day and night that he was alone. And now finally, here she was, within his arms, and he couldn't help himself, he had to kiss her. To let her know everything was okay and that he was there for her. Sesshoumaru reluctantly broke the kiss. He stared down into Ayame's crystal-blue eyes.
"You will never have to worry about that again because I will always be with you. I will never leave you. I will stay with you until the day that I die." He whispered, so that only she could hear his words.
Ayame smiled up at him and then she layed her head against his chest and hugged him again. She could hear the others walking over towards them. She pulled away from Sesshoumaru and looked over at her friends.
"Hey guys." She said while smiling at them. She then proceeded to hug each and everyone of them.
"Okaasan!!" Rin yelled and ran up and embraced Ayame.
"Hello Rin. It's so good to see you again." Ayame spoke to Rin and embraced her in return. Everything was back to normal and Ayame never wanted this moment to end.
Four months later
Ayame was sporting a rather large belly. She and Sesshoumaru were outside with Rin. InuYasha and the others were also present. Sango and Miroku had been wed the month before and InuYasha and Kagome had also become an item. Ayame smiled at the sight of the children playing. She placed a hand on her belly and leaned into Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru put an arm around her shoulder and placed his other hand over her hand that was on her stomach.
"How do you feel?" He asked her.
"Just fine." She answered him and smiled up at him.
Sesshoumaru leaned over and kissed her. Ayame reveled in the moment. He took his hand that was on her shoulder and began to take his claws and gently scrape them down her back, causing shivers to run through Ayame's body.
"Hey go get a room you two!" InuYasha shouted at them. Ayame blushed and looked away.
Rin ran up to Ayame and grabbed her hand. "Come look at the pretty flowers I found." She said and pulled Ayame away.
Rin had been showing Ayame the flowers for about twenty minutes now. Ayame carefully stood up from the kneeling postion she was in. She stretched her back and froze when her stomach began to hurt. She sucked in a sharp breath. Sesshoumaru saw her in distress and hurridly went over to his mate.
"What's wrong?" He asked, a bit panicked.
Ayame grit her teeth. "It's time." She said through the contractions that she was having.
Sesshoumaru quickly scooped her up and hurried inside. The others followed. Sesshoumaru shouted at some servants to get some towels and warm water. Sesshoumaru placed Ayame down on the futon. Some servants came in with what he had asked for. He was then pushed outside by Kagome and Sango and they closed the door.
A few hours had gone by. Seshoumaru, InuYasha, and Miroku were in the main entrance to the house. Sesshoumaru was pacing back and forth, the spiting image of a worried father.
"Will you calm down." InuYasha told him. "You're starting to make me nervous."
Sesshoumaru just glared at him. They all looked up when there was a piercing scream full of pain from upstairs. Inside the room Kagome, Sango, Keiko, and another servant were with Ayame.
"This is all his fault! I'm going to kill him!" Ayame threatened Sesshoumaru through gritted teeth.
Kagome and Sango both laughed. "Well first I think you should concentrate on your breathing and pushing." Sango suggested.
Ayame nodded her head. She began to push and there came the crying of a little child followed by a second one. Ayame relaxed. She sat up in bed reached out for her children as they were handed to her, wrapped up tightly in warm blankets. She cradled them and smiled as they stopped crying and opened their eyes to peer up at her. Kagome sighed at the picture before her. She and the others left the room to go and retrieve Sesshoumaru. They walked downstairs where Sesshoumaru had stopped pacing and was sitting down.
"Congradulations Sesshoumaru, you're now a father. She just had a boy and a girl. You can go and see her now." Kagome smiled at him.
Sesshoumaru got up and headed towards his and Ayame's room. Inside he saw Ayame with two bundles in her arms. He went over and sat next to her. Ayame smiled over at him. She had completely forgotten that she wanted to kill him. She handed over one of the bundles to Sesshoumaru. He smiled down at the little boy in his arms. He had black hair and blue eyes like Ayame, but he had Sesshoumaru's color markings.
"Takeshi." Sesshoumaru said to the little child who was smiling and grabbing onto his hair.
"And this one is your daughter, Yuki." Ayame said to Sesshoumaru.
Ayame took Takeshi and handed Sesshoumaru Yuki. He gazed down at her and was stunned to find that it was like he was almost looking into a mirror. Yuki had white hair and golden eyes just like Sesshoumaru, but she had the same color markings as Ayame. Sesshoumaru looked at Ayame who was staring at him, watching his reactions.
"They're beautiful." He said and leaned over to kiss Ayame.
It was hard for Ayame to think that just a few months ago she had been reunited with Sesshoumaru and now here she was, with her mate and her two newly born children. At this moment Ayame couldn't be any happier. She knew from here on things would be okay and that everything was going to get better as time went on, and she gladly welcomed it.
YAY!!! The story is done!! I hope you all liked it! It has been a blast writing this story and I hope that when I get my Saiyuki story up on the site you'll all check it out, that is if you want to. Anyways, I want to thank all my reviewers. You guys are the reason I wrote this story. Thanx for sticking with me to the end and telling me what you thought! I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! So for now, I'll be seeing ya!!
Aries
Natasha Z: I hope this chapter will be to your liking since you've waited so patiently. Hey don't worry about wanting to kill Megumi and Karisou cause everyone else wants to also! They will get what's coming to them in this chapter though. Congrats on getting so many good grades! Anyways, thanx for the review and thanx for being so patient till this chapter came out! Enjoy!
meheeners: Yay!! You're back!! Sorry that you didn't enjoy your trip to Boston. Yeah it does feel good to arrive home after being away for so long. Hahahaha when i read the line about Pippin I was like, uhhhh okay.... But that's pretty funny now that I think about it. Kinda disturbing in a way though. Thinks about Pippin giggling and shivers. Thanks so much for the review and I hope you enjoy this last chapter!
feudalfairyfan4ever: Well I know how to end the story, but I just didn't know how I wanted to make them get back together, that's what I meant. Sorry for the confusion. Having fun torturing Karisou? Hahaha, don't worry him and Megumi get what's coming to them in this chapter. Mwuhahaha, finally they will pay. Okay well thanks for the review and have fun reading this!!
fluffyscatdemon: Hahaha i loved your comment about killing Karisou and then bringing him back with the Tenseiga and then killing him again. Hmmm perhaps I could put that in the story. On second thought maybe not cause he doesn't deserve to come back to life, even if he would just be dieing again. Plus it's more dramatic if he just dies once. Thanks for the review and enjoy this chapter!
migele: Awww sorry, please don't hate me. I know it's torture waiting for them to get back together, but it makes it more suspenseful right? Yeah, don't worry Sess will kill him before he has a chance to do anything, or will he...? Mwuhahaha I'm so evil cough. Sweat drops Uhhh sorry I don't know what that was about. Hehehe, anyways sorry for frustrating you and thanks for the review! Now enjoy!!
Disclaimer: Okay sorry not much of a disclaimer here, but I figured that since you all have been waiting for a long time for this chapter to come out that I wouldn't waste anymore of your time. Anyways, you know how it goes, I don't own InuYasha or any other character within it. Oh and Sesshoumaru rules!!! On with the story!
Chapter Twenty-One: Together Again
Ayame slowly came back to consciousness. Her head was throbbing and it was incredibly painful. She opened her eyes and waited for them to slowly adjust to the dim lighting. Once she could see clearly she made out that she was in some sort of a dungeon cell. The walls were made of dark stones and moisture gleamed upon them from the small amount of light that came from a nearby flickering candle. Ayame turned her head to the side and hissed in pain when her head protested this movement. She raised one of her hands to her head and noticed that when she did so, a metallic clinking noise was produced. The cause of this noise was the fact that her arms had shackles around them.
'Ugh, this is just great.' Ayame thought sarcastically.
She tested the strength of the chains by pulling against them. It was no use, they weren't budging. She had been so close to being with Sesshoumaru again and this just had to happen. Anger began to well up inside of her. It burned through her veins as she thought of every way possible for her to kill Karisou. Just as she was thinking this, the source of her hatred just happened to waltz through the cell's door and make his way over towards her. Ayame glared daggers at Karisou, who seemed unaffected by this. When he was perhaps only a few feet away, Ayame swiped her fist at him, but with no avail. The chains restricted her movement. When that attempt failed she tried to kick out at him, but this also failed to work because her legs were shackled also.
Karisou smirked at her petty attempts to strike at him. "As you can see your powerless to attack me. I'm afriad I have learned from my previous mistake and have taken the appropriate measures to prevent it from happening again. And hopefully you too will learn your lesson. I figure that if you aren't going to cooperate willingly, I'm going to have to force you into cooperating." Ayame didn't answer him, she just kept glaring at him with hatred burning in her eyes. "You see I figure that eveytime you perform a negative action towards me, like those two little stunts you pulled just a few moments ago, I'll counter your negative actions with ones of my own. So, since you have already performed two, I too will perform two."
Karisou approached Ayame and knelt down to her level. She didn't know what to expect so when Karisou took his claw and quickly cut her arm and cheek, her eyes went wide. She stared at Karisou in disbelief as she felt the cuts begin to bleed and the warm blood traveled down her flesh from where the cuts had been created. She blinked. All she could do was look at Karisou, and then the anger built up in her again. She desperately tried to attack Karisou, she wasn't thinking, her mind was just focused on her anger and Karisou's smirking face. Again and again she swiped at him, three, four, five, times, and each time she struck out at him, he would retaliate. Ayame stopped her attacks. Her chest was heaving and she had many cuts all along her arms, legs, and face.
Karisou sighed, "Perhaps this is going to take longer then I thought it would. I guess I'll have to take away your meals as well. That is until you learn and no longer try to kill me. It's your decision." With that Karisou stood up.
He was just about to leave when Megumi entered the chamber. She saw Ayame on the floor, panting and with bleeding cuts all over her body. Ayame glared at her and Megumi cleared her throat in nervousness and bowed when Karisou turned around to regard her.
"Please forgive me Karisou. I tried to get Ayame to return to you and I even sent you a letter informing you were she was. I did everything within my power to try and get her to leave the western lands." Megumi spoke while still bowing. She looked up when Karisou began to speak to her.
Karisou had taken out the piece of paper that was Megumi's letter. He had a menacing look on his face and Megumi started to slowly back away from him as he slowly approached her. "Yes, I recieved you letter Megumi. In fact I got it just a few hours ago. You do realize that if I hadn't left right when I had regained consciousness and caught her, then she would be back with Sesshoumaru already. You have failed Megumi and I do not tolerate failure. You do remember what I told you I'd do if you failed, right?"
Megumi nodded her head. "Please Karisou, forgive me. Please give me another chance. I won't fail you this time, I promise you." She begged.
Karisou growled and scratched Megumi's cheek. "I'm sick of your promises Megumi!" He yelled and quickly regained his composure as Megumi's eyes began to water. Karisou heaved a sigh of frustration. "Very well, Megumi, I will give you one more chance. Remember if you fail this time, I will kill you. Now get out of my sight."
"Thank you Karisou." Megumi uttered and hastily made her way out of the chamber.
Karisou turned around and stared at Ayame who held his stare. "I'll be seeing you later." He told her and left, closing and locking the door behind him.
Outside, Megumi was running back towards the western lands, a scowl upon her face. That had been the last straw. Karisou had gone too far and she wasn't going to put up with it anymore. When she had entered the chamber and saw Ayame all cut up on the ground she had actually felt some pity for her. Megumi wasn't going to put up with Karisou anymore. She had had enough of his threats and of him always inflicting some sort of injury upon her. Megumi decided that she was going to go to Sesshoumaru and tell him everything. She would tell him about her deal with Karisou and how Ayame was still alive. After that she would beg Sesshoumaru for forgiveness and hopefully he would not kill her. Hopefully he would kill Karisou and she would be free from him.
Four days later, in the western lands
Sesshoumaru was in his study going over some papers. Recently he had been spending most of his time in his study, isolating himself from everyone else. He would spend hours at a time just reading his scrolls. It helped to get his mind off of things, especially Ayame. Sesshoumaru had just finished reading the scroll that layed upon the table in front of him, when there was a knock on the door. He rolled the scroll up and looked towards the door.
"Come in Jaken." He said.
Jaken slid open the door and entered the room. He bowed to Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru-sama, InuYasha and the others are here to see you." He reported.
Sesshoumaru stood up. "Very well, thank you Jaken." With that he walked out of the study and made his way towards the garden where he could sense that his half brother and the others were at.
Upon entering the garden he could see Rin, Shippo, and Kirara playing tag. InuYasha and the others were standing together under the shade of a nearby tree. Shesshoumaru headed over to them. The group heard him approaching and they turned around to greet him.
"Yo." InuYasha greeted Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru just nodded his greeting. "What brings you here InuYasha?" He asked.
"Just wanted to see how things were going." He answered.
"Things are fine." Sesshoumaru lied.
His lie didn't fool anyone, however, and InuYasha confronted him on this. "Really, that's not what we heard."
"And what have you heard?" Sesshoumaru asked, his tone indifferent.
"Rin tells us that you have been locking yourself up in your study for hours even days at a time." He informed Sesshoumaru. "And she also says that a few days ago she spotted Ayame over there in the trees." He added while pointing to where Rin had told them Ayame had appeared.
"That's none of your business." Sesshoumaru replied in an icy voice.
"Oh but it is, because she was our friend too." InuYasha said. "So what's the deal? Is she alive? Because if she is then we need to go look for her."
"How can she be!" Sesshoumaru shouted. "You saw with your very own eyes that she died. You saw me bury her. So tell me InuYasha how can she be alive?" InuYasha didn't have an answer. "That's what I thought." Sesshoumaru spoke and then turned around and went back inside to his study, leaving a stunned InuYasha behind.
The next day
Sesshoumaru, InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were outside watching Rin, Shippo, and Kirara running around playing. There was suddenly a shout coming from inside of the house.
"Sesshoumaru!" Megumi shouted as she ran outside, Jaken following her.
"Please forgive me Sesshoumaru-sama, I tried to stop her." Jaken apologized.
Megumi ran over to where Sesshoumaru was. She stopped when she reached him. She took a moment to catch her breath. InuYasha and the others just stared at her, wondering who she was.
"What do you want Megumi?" Sesshoumaru asked, he was getting impatient.
Megumi looked up at him. She then looked down because she didn't want to see his face when she told him everything. "I'm sorry Sesshoumaru, please forgive me, but I just have to tell you this."
"What is it?" Sesshoumaru inquired.
"Please let me say everything before you do anything. I came here to tell you that Ayame is still alive. She is being held captive by Karisou. You see Karisou and I had a deal. He would keep Ayame and I was to stay with you and keep you distracted so that you wouldn't find out that she was alive. I'm sorry Sesshoumaru, I really am." Megumi told him and she still couldn't look up at him.
Sesshoumaru was stunned. So it really had been Ayame that Rin saw the other day, it hadn't been a ghost. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. Karisou was holding Ayame captive and this made his eyes bleed red. Without another moment to wait Sesshoumaru turned to Jaken.
"Watch over Rin. I'm going to go get her." He told Jaken who nodded his head in compliance and with that he started to run in the direction of the eastern lands.
"Wait we're coming too!" InuYasha shouted.
Kagome hopped onto InuYasha's back as Sango and Miroku got onto a transformed Kirara's back.
"Stay here with Rin, Shippo." Kagome shouted as InuYasha began to chase after Sesshoumaru with Sango and Miroku following and Megumi following behind them.
One day later, in the eastern lands
Karisou was pacing back and forth in his room. His scout had told him that Sesshoumaru had been spotted heading this way. He had five people with him and one of those people was Megumi. Karisou growled in anger. He was going to kill Megumi for this. Karisou stormed out of his room and made his way down towards Ayame's cell just as he sensed their presences coming towards his location.
Outside Sesshoumaru and the others stopped when they reached Karisou's house. He apparently knew that they were coming because he had his army of demons waiting outside for them. Sesshoumaru and the others quickly headed towards the ready demons and began to cut through them. When Sesshoumaru had made a path he took Megumi and headed inside while the others fought off the rest of the demons outside.
"Show me were she is." Sesshoumaru commanded.
Megumi nodded her head and she began to guide him to the dungeon. When she had reached the door a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her throat. Karisou had Megumi by the neck. His eyes were blood red as he stared at her.
"What a foolish thing you have done Megumi." Karisou growled at her and without waiting for an answer he cut her throat and tossed her dieing body over at Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru watched the body fall to the ground. He then looked up at Karisou, his eyes also red from anger. There was no talking as the two sized each other up. After a few seconds Karisou ran at Sesshoumaru, who dodged his attack and appeared behind him. Karisou spun around and swiped at Sesshoumaru. He was able to cut across Sesshoumaru's arm. It was time to stop fooling around. Sesshoumaru unsheathed his sword, Tokijin, and came at Karisou. He swung his sword at Karisou and he was able to duck and dodge it. Again and again Sesshoumaru would swing at him but each time, Karisou would dodge it. Sesshoumaru was growing tired of this so he gathered up all of his strength and speed and swung one final blow at Karisou. This one Karisou couldn't dodge. The sword went through his stomach and out the other side. Sesshoumaru then yanked the sword sideways so that it ripped through Karisou. Karisou fell to the floor. He was dead before he even connected with the ground. Sesshoumaru sheathed his sword and turned towards the door that was behind him.
He turned the knob but found that it was locked. Frustrated with all of these obstacles, Sesshoumaru grabbed hold of the door and ripped it out of its frame. He threw it aside and entered the chamber. Over in the corner he could see a form slumped against the wall. He strided over towards it and knelt down when he had reached it. He could see that it was Ayame. Sesshoumaru's chest clenched painfully as he gazed upon her battered and bruised body. He gently shook her to wake her up, but she wouldn't. He spotted a cup of water near her. He picked it up and sniffed it. Sesshoumaru growled and threw the cup against the wall. She had been sedated. He saw the shackles about her arms and legs. Sesshoumaru grabbed onto the part of the shackle that went around her wrist and forcefully pulled. The metal bent and became big enough for him to free her arm. He next repeated this process until finally she was free. Sesshoumaru picked up her sleeping form and headed back outside.
InuYasha and the others had just finished killing the last demon as Sesshoumaru came back outside with Ayame in his arms. The group just stared at him. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ayame actually was alive. They watched as Sesshoumaru walked past them, heading back towards the western lands. The others followed suit and also headed back.
In the western lands
Ayame opened her eyes. She found herself staring up at a very familiar ceiling. She sat up and looked around her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that she was home. It was nice and sunny outside and a cool breeze was blowing through the room through the open window. Ayame picked up the scent of Sesshoumaru upon the wind. Ayame stood up and fixed the sleeping yukata she was wearing. She carefully walked over to the balcony and looked around. She could see Sesshoumaru, Rin, InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara outside in the garden. Ayame quickly turned around and ran towards the door. She slid it open and began to run towards the garden. When she reached it she stood there, just staring.
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as a refreshing breeze blew past him. His eyes shot open, though, when he smelled the distinct scent of lavenders mingled in with wind.
"Ayame." He spoke and turned around.
The others heard what he said and they too turned around. There they saw Ayame standing near the entrance to the house. She was just staring at them. They saw a few tears roll over her eyelids and travel down her cheeks. Ayame then began to run towards Sesshoumaru. When she reached him she immediately hugged him tightly. She began to sob against his chest as Sesshoumaru encircled her with his arms and held her close. Ayame couldn't believe it, she was actually back with Sesshoumaru. She was so happy that she couldn't help but to cry. Sesshoumaru gently lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. Ayame blinked away her tears and stared back into his golden eyes. She could see the intense amount of relief and love in his eyes.
"I thought I'd never see you again." Ayame whispered.
Sesshoumaru smiled down at her. He then inched his face closer to hers until his lips pressed against hers. He kissed her deeply, trying to convey all of his feelings for her through that passionate moment. He didn't even care that InuYasha and the others were watching. He had missed her so much and he had dreamed of being with her again every day and night that he was alone. And now finally, here she was, within his arms, and he couldn't help himself, he had to kiss her. To let her know everything was okay and that he was there for her. Sesshoumaru reluctantly broke the kiss. He stared down into Ayame's crystal-blue eyes.
"You will never have to worry about that again because I will always be with you. I will never leave you. I will stay with you until the day that I die." He whispered, so that only she could hear his words.
Ayame smiled up at him and then she layed her head against his chest and hugged him again. She could hear the others walking over towards them. She pulled away from Sesshoumaru and looked over at her friends.
"Hey guys." She said while smiling at them. She then proceeded to hug each and everyone of them.
"Okaasan!!" Rin yelled and ran up and embraced Ayame.
"Hello Rin. It's so good to see you again." Ayame spoke to Rin and embraced her in return. Everything was back to normal and Ayame never wanted this moment to end.
Four months later
Ayame was sporting a rather large belly. She and Sesshoumaru were outside with Rin. InuYasha and the others were also present. Sango and Miroku had been wed the month before and InuYasha and Kagome had also become an item. Ayame smiled at the sight of the children playing. She placed a hand on her belly and leaned into Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru put an arm around her shoulder and placed his other hand over her hand that was on her stomach.
"How do you feel?" He asked her.
"Just fine." She answered him and smiled up at him.
Sesshoumaru leaned over and kissed her. Ayame reveled in the moment. He took his hand that was on her shoulder and began to take his claws and gently scrape them down her back, causing shivers to run through Ayame's body.
"Hey go get a room you two!" InuYasha shouted at them. Ayame blushed and looked away.
Rin ran up to Ayame and grabbed her hand. "Come look at the pretty flowers I found." She said and pulled Ayame away.
Rin had been showing Ayame the flowers for about twenty minutes now. Ayame carefully stood up from the kneeling postion she was in. She stretched her back and froze when her stomach began to hurt. She sucked in a sharp breath. Sesshoumaru saw her in distress and hurridly went over to his mate.
"What's wrong?" He asked, a bit panicked.
Ayame grit her teeth. "It's time." She said through the contractions that she was having.
Sesshoumaru quickly scooped her up and hurried inside. The others followed. Sesshoumaru shouted at some servants to get some towels and warm water. Sesshoumaru placed Ayame down on the futon. Some servants came in with what he had asked for. He was then pushed outside by Kagome and Sango and they closed the door.
A few hours had gone by. Seshoumaru, InuYasha, and Miroku were in the main entrance to the house. Sesshoumaru was pacing back and forth, the spiting image of a worried father.
"Will you calm down." InuYasha told him. "You're starting to make me nervous."
Sesshoumaru just glared at him. They all looked up when there was a piercing scream full of pain from upstairs. Inside the room Kagome, Sango, Keiko, and another servant were with Ayame.
"This is all his fault! I'm going to kill him!" Ayame threatened Sesshoumaru through gritted teeth.
Kagome and Sango both laughed. "Well first I think you should concentrate on your breathing and pushing." Sango suggested.
Ayame nodded her head. She began to push and there came the crying of a little child followed by a second one. Ayame relaxed. She sat up in bed reached out for her children as they were handed to her, wrapped up tightly in warm blankets. She cradled them and smiled as they stopped crying and opened their eyes to peer up at her. Kagome sighed at the picture before her. She and the others left the room to go and retrieve Sesshoumaru. They walked downstairs where Sesshoumaru had stopped pacing and was sitting down.
"Congradulations Sesshoumaru, you're now a father. She just had a boy and a girl. You can go and see her now." Kagome smiled at him.
Sesshoumaru got up and headed towards his and Ayame's room. Inside he saw Ayame with two bundles in her arms. He went over and sat next to her. Ayame smiled over at him. She had completely forgotten that she wanted to kill him. She handed over one of the bundles to Sesshoumaru. He smiled down at the little boy in his arms. He had black hair and blue eyes like Ayame, but he had Sesshoumaru's color markings.
"Takeshi." Sesshoumaru said to the little child who was smiling and grabbing onto his hair.
"And this one is your daughter, Yuki." Ayame said to Sesshoumaru.
Ayame took Takeshi and handed Sesshoumaru Yuki. He gazed down at her and was stunned to find that it was like he was almost looking into a mirror. Yuki had white hair and golden eyes just like Sesshoumaru, but she had the same color markings as Ayame. Sesshoumaru looked at Ayame who was staring at him, watching his reactions.
"They're beautiful." He said and leaned over to kiss Ayame.
It was hard for Ayame to think that just a few months ago she had been reunited with Sesshoumaru and now here she was, with her mate and her two newly born children. At this moment Ayame couldn't be any happier. She knew from here on things would be okay and that everything was going to get better as time went on, and she gladly welcomed it.
YAY!!! The story is done!! I hope you all liked it! It has been a blast writing this story and I hope that when I get my Saiyuki story up on the site you'll all check it out, that is if you want to. Anyways, I want to thank all my reviewers. You guys are the reason I wrote this story. Thanx for sticking with me to the end and telling me what you thought! I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! So for now, I'll be seeing ya!!
Aries