Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.
Strange Interlude
Chapter 6
She was shivering. It was cold. Her neck hurt. The floor was damp and hard. She sleeplessly tossed and turned, straining hard to sleep, to turn off her brain, but the situation was hopeless, the above-mentioned things prohibiting this. It seemed she was doomed to never sleep again.
*shiver* {It's so cold.}
Unexpectedly she felt a great uplifting and sudden warmth.
{Mmm...So pleasant. Thank you.}
Sleep came at last.
***
The sun rose but had not yet struck the mouth of the cave. The birds outside chirped the harbinger of morning. This, rather than the sun, woke Jennifer.
Jennifer covered her head with the covers.
{Damn birds...Wait! Covers?}
Jennifer sat up.
Yes, covers. She was on a pillowy mat with sheets and a large wool blanket. There was a faint breeze coming in through the cave's mouth. Jennifer yawned and stretched and looking around her she noticed that, yes, she was in a cave.
This all seemed very strange for since when do you put bedding near the entrance of a cave, and more importantly, why had she not found this bed in last night's search? What happened last night between nightfall and now that got her to where she was? She had no dreams; in fact she didn't even remember when he had fallen asleep. All she remembered from that night was the bitter sensation of cold transformed to warmth.
She took another look around her, this time to the inner of the cave. Small oil lamps lit the way down a small corridor where sat a table and several chairs. The path continued and ended in what resembled a cul-de- sac of five doors.
Jennifer's stomach rumbled and she had to use the restroom. She got up, stretched her legs, and looked for a bathroom. She passed the table and went into the small alcove of five doors.
She went to the door on the far right and opened it. The room was dark. She put her hand on the wall and felt around for a light switch.
{Oh wait...Feudal Era...no electricity. And that means no plumbing either.}
She closed the door.
There were four more rooms; a least one of them had to have food in it.
"Let's see what's behind Door #2."
She pushed open the crude wooden door to reveal a storeroom filled with all kinds of weapons, shields, and armor pieces. Finding no food, she moved on to the third and middle door.
She pushed on the door. It wouldn't budge. It must've been locked. The fourth door.
She walked into the fourth room. A single oil candle was lit giving the room a creepy air. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness and she began to walk its depths.
The ceiling gradually grew lower as she walked further into the room. Against a wall was a small bed, maybe three feet in length. Next to the bed was what looked like a flag post.
{Strange,} Jennifer thought.
The walls and ceiling were solid stone. She followed a drop of water along the ceiling until it fell into a knee-deep pool in the corner of the room.
Jennifer had to crouch down now for the ceiling was only four feet tall. For fear of getting claustrophobic she decided to go no further.
"Still no food," she muttered. She looked over at the small pool, "But I guess I can get a drink while I'm here."
She cupped her hands and poured a drink of water into her mouth. The water slid down her parched throat and, for a while, all was happy. She turned to the door and, standing when the ceiling became high enough, exited the room.
The last door. It would seem like the most likely to have food, but, alas, there still was none.
It was another bedroom--kind of. A simple mat lay in the back corner. Like the last room she visited, this one had one lit candle, but from the look of it, it seemed that no one had used the room in a long time.
Completely annoyed, hungry, and still needing to use the restroom Jennifer did the only natural thing and went outside to contemplate on what should be done.
After she relieved herself, he sat on the edge of the rock and let her feet dangle off the side. The sun shone brightly, warming her body. It was a truly wonderful day. The birds were singing a sweet melody and there was a slight breeze that ruffled Jennifer's hair. The morning atmosphere was very pleasant and soothing, but her boredom, indecision, and hopelessness hindered the continuity of her perfect day.
She sighed, got up, and began to walk back to the cave when something caught her eye. A small apple tree found refuge on a moss-covered rock several feet above the cave's mouth.
"Thank God!"
Without delay or second thought, Jennifer scrambled up the mountain's face a few feet to the tree. A great shadow, perhaps from the sun going behind the clouds, covered her. She clasped her hand around a small ripe apple. It was cool to the touch. With a single yank the apple came loose, but so did her foothold. She lost her balance and began to skid down the rock on her knees. Jennifer could feel the flesh on her knees tear. Her body was slowly leaning backward, becoming horizontal, and eventually lost contact with the rock face.
At the exact moment she began to fall, the shadow retreated. The sun shone into her eyes, temporarily blinding her.
An arm suddenly appeared out of nowhere and abruptly scooped her from the air. A small flash of pain ran through her. One of her arms landed on something soft and furry. The other dangled over the saving arm, which securely held onto her torso.
Who caught her? What if it was another wolf demon to take her away? Her fear was rising.
The demon smelt this fear and rolled his eyes.
"Open your eyes, human," he said to her.
Jennifer instantly recognized the manner of speaking, and when she opened her eyes was greeted by Sesshomaru's stolid face. Jennifer was confused on how she should feel: happy to see him or afraid. After all, he was the one who brought her here, practically kidnapping her. What did he want now?
Jennifer was suddenly reminded of the apple she was seeking and found it still tightly grasped in her hand.
By this time Sesshomaru's feet had already touched the ground. He let her down, and she began to dust herself off. She arrived at her lower legs to find that the rock ledge had scratched them up pretty badly. She carefully proceeded to try and remove the worst of the dirt from her legs, but pain shot through her legs when she did. She cringed at the sudden pain.
Sesshomaru flinched as well and looked at the human. Strange, he thought, that for almost a second it seemed as if he, too, felt her pain. He shook his head from the thought.
"Come," he said, "Let us go inside and clean your wounds."
He turned and walked toward the entrance of the cave. Jennifer looked after Sesshomaru and followed him into the cave. The lamps were all on now. She looked around to realize that Sesshomaru was nowhere to be found.
{What happened?} she thought. {He was only a few feet in front of me. How could he have gone off without my knowing?}
Sesshomaru finally emerged from the middle room, back in the corridor. He held bandage wraps and a bottle of pale green medicine. Sesshomaru shot a glance at her, and she sat down on one of the chairs. Sesshomaru approached and kneeled before her. Jennifer's heartbeat sped up.
{Why?} she asked herself, {Why am I acting like a flirty little fan girl?}
Jennifer watched Sesshomaru open the small bottle and dip a finger in the vial. He dabbed the pale lotion on her knees and the worst of her scrapes. The sensation she felt was unlike she had ever experienced before; the pain was instantly relieved, replaced by a cool, relaxing feeling.
His soft fingers continued to caress her wounds. His face remained emotionless, but his eyes occasionally darted back and forth between his work and her face.
{What am I doing?} he asked himself.
He shook his head and retreated his fingers. Sesshomaru wiped them off on a damp cloth and began to unravel the bandage. He started to wrap the thin cloth around the worst part of her shin, but could not get it to go all the way around her keg. This was a two-armed job where he only had one.
Sesshomaru sighed and asked, "Do you mind?"
The question startled Jennifer.
"Uh, no."
She grabbed the cloth bandage and helped Sesshomaru wrap it around her leg. She stuck the roll underneath her leg and Sesshomaru grabbed it only to hand it back to Jennifer so she could wrap the underside. During this her hand touched his. Embarrassed, she quickly pulled her hand away. However, his was unflinching. He impassively looked at her, then tied off the bandage and stood.
Sesshomaru's form towered her own.
"Come. I shall show you to your room."
He turned away and began to walk, his tail-like shawl flowing behind him.
{Ok Jennifer,} she told herself, {stop picturing him in slow motion.}
She stood and ran after him.
They arrived at the alcove of wooden doors. He pushed open the door on the far left. It was the room with the simple pallet and fur rug. She walked farther into the room. She looked around her. The cave ceiling sloped steeply upward.
What she had neglected to notice on her earlier excursion was a hole in the roof of the cavern that let a bright beam of sunshine in. Despite the fact the hole was only the size of a textbook, it added a substantial amount of light to the dim room. Still, her "room" was a letdown.
She sighed, {This is my room?! What am I, a prisoner? Wait. Why am I here in the first place?} She looked at Sesshomaru, {Would he answer if I asked?}
"Sesshomaru-sama," she began, making sure to add the title so as not to offend him, "Why have you so gratefully giving me a place to live?"
Sesshomaru acted as if he did not hear her.
He instead said, "I will bring you food," and then left the room.
At the mention of something to eat, Jennifer's stomach remembered its hunger.
{Wait a second,} she thought, {Didn't I have an apple? Where'd it go?} She looked about her and saw nothing. {I must have left it on the table in the other room.}
She walked to the door. She pushed open the scruffy slab of wood. She entered the main room to find Jaken and Sesshomaru, their backs turned from her, near the mouth of the cave.
They were talking about something but Jennifer didn't really care; she was looking for her apple. She spotted it where she thought it would be-- on the table. The problem was that the two demons stood by it, and she didn't want to disturb them. She decided on a plan to sneak up to the table and just take the apple. If they noticed, too bad; she was hungry.
Jennifer began her mini-quest and slowly approached the table. She soon came close enough to listen in on the demons' conversation.
Jaken, "But master, why must I prepare food for the human?"
Jennifer was only inches from the table and mere feet from Jaken and Sesshomaru. She could only hope that Sesshomaru's super-canine senses did not detect her presence.
Jennifer crouched low and reached out her hand.
Jaken continued, "I don't see why we can't just let the stupid human starve."
Without looking, Jaken snatched the apple off the table and took a huge chomp out of it. Jennifer's heart dropped.
"Jaken," Sesshomaru spoke, "how inconsiderate of you. She wanted that apple."
Sesshomaru turned to look at Jennifer, her arm still outstretched. Jaken also turned to face the human.
He smirked, "Oh did you?" He took another bite from the apple, "Pathetic Human," he muttered.
Jennifer could feel the rage building inside her.
"Go on," said a voice, "hit him."
It was Sesshomaru. But it seemed that the voice sounded through her mind rather than aloud. She stood, snatched the Staff of Skulls from Jaken's hand, and began to beat him into the ground.
Sesshomaru's lips broke into a smile and then into a full-blown laugh.
Both Jaken and Jennifer froze and stared at the demon lord. Jaken feared this new wrath that would surely be wrought upon him and, characteristically of Jaken, claimed that his life had been shortened by 100 years or so.
Jennifer just stared. She wasn't sure what to think. But she was still hungry and even the half-eaten apple that had rolled across the cave floor was beginning to look appetizing.
So then they ate. Well, Jennifer ate. Sesshomaru sent a grumbling Jaken to "terrorize" a village. Jennifer didn't approve of the harming of people just to eat, but she didn't really have a choice in the matter.
This brought up her earlier question of why she was there in the first place. Jaken listened intently for it, too, was a question he wanted answered. Sesshomaru still did not respond.
He merely stood in that silent way of his. He wouldn't answer. Jennifer shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat.
When she had finished Sesshomaru approached her, "You wanted to know why."
"Eh?"
"Come," he beckoned to her, and then snapped at Jaken, "Jaken, clean out the fire pit."
Jaken, who had heard none of Sesshomaru's hushed comment to Jennifer, mumbled a 'Yes, milord' and went outside.
Jennifer turned back to Sesshomaru. He was already walking away. She was quick to follow him. They went into the hall of five doors and came to a stop at the middle one. Sesshomaru passed his only hand across the door. A faint click was heard and the door opened. He walked through, Jennifer following closely behind him.
The door led to a long hallway. Oil lamps stood on either side of the path, and as Sesshomaru passed each one, they lit. Jennifer observed this and watched Sesshomaru closely. She noticed that Sesshomaru's blinking occurred at the same time the wicks of the candles came alight.
At last the hallway grew in both length and height. The room's walls were covered in elaborately designed tapestries. Yards of rare silk were rolled and stacked against the walls. Next to one wall was a thick mattress for sleeping. Upon it were sheets of brightly colored Western cloth. The room smelled of a light perfume. The smell was quite a difference in fragrance than the dank, almost rotting, stench of the cave. Jennifer's nose welcomed it very much.
Sesshomaru stopped in the middle of the room and whirled around to face her.
He repeated, "You wanted to know why."
Jennifer was a little taken aback by Sesshomaru's non-aggressive manner. He looked off to the side, not connecting eyes with her.
"50 years ago a shrine priestess, who held the Shikon Jewel, pinned my disgusting half-brother to a tree.
"Not long after, a demon by the name of Basoni came to me and demanded payment for the "death" of InuYasha.
"We fought and although I was the stronger of the two of us, I lost."
Jennifer noticed a twitch in Sesshomaru's facial features.
"The punishment was imprisonment: an eternity trapped in stone. It was a curse that could only be broken by a human."
He turned his head and looked directly into he eyes, "You."
A slight blush came over her. She remembered the kiss she gave his stone eye.
Sesshomaru showed no emotion and continued with the tale of Basoni's "death". His story was interesting to an extent but hardly explained why she was being kept.
Sesshomaru seemed to notice her confusion.
"Let me explain. I seek to destroy my brother, for he indirectly cursed me. If it were not for him, the demon and I would not have fought. Thus the curse would never have been placed.
"Also, I seek the Tetsusaiga, the fabled sword crafted from my father's fang. My accursed brother, having also been revived, took the sword, which gives me yet another reason to kill him."
Somewhere during his speech his eyes wandered back to the spot on the wall. They turned to meet her gaze once more.
"This pertains to you in quite a peculiar way. When Basoni spoke of the human who freed me, he said that human would also be helpful in my conquest of the world, should I care for her."
Sesshomaru became lost in thought, {That despicable demon, Basoni. My fate truly is a wretched one if I must care for this human...But I can't help but to think that...}
Jennifer compiled this information and sorted through it, {He needs me to fulfill his own purposes and for no other reason.}
Her heart dropped, though she wasn't exactly sure why.
"So you see," Sesshomaru said, coming out of his thoughts, "you are the key. Somehow you will help me destroy InuYasha."
{Wow,} she thought. {That definitely wasn't what I wanted to hear just now.}
Jennifer stood. Sesshomaru's eyes took notice of the action while the rest of his face remained still. He smirked inwardly.
She half-smiled, "That's very...interesting...I'm tired...I'm going to sleep."
She waited a moment as if waiting for some kind of nod or form of permission for her to leave. When she got none, she made her way to the door.
She stopped to uneasily thank him and continued out of the room, slowly shutting the door behind her. A clicking sound signaled that the door had been locked.
Jennifer crossed the hallway to where her "room" was. She lay her self down on her thin pallet and stared up at the night sky through the small hole in her ceiling. The room smelt very badly compared to Sesshomaru's. Jennifer sighed and longed for home.
***
Sesshomaru sat looking at himself in a mirror.
{What is wrong? A human, kill InuYasha? How so? You can only rely on your own strength.}
Sesshomaru stood and crossed the room to the door.
{Nothing else will bring you to your goal. Your father was a great ruler. If only he had not become soft and fallen for a human...}
Sesshomaru had now entered the main corridor. He hesitantly pushed open the far-left door and looked upon his--I mean--the sleeping human.
{Humans. So pitiful. So much work. Hmp. She wanted to know why...}
He stepped closer to her. Her brow was furrowed; she appeared to be having a nightmare and she was shivering.
Sesshomaru went to a nearby shelf and pulled down a wool blanket. He laid it over her.
{Why...That's what I want to know.}
~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+
Another chapter down! Yay!
Today, August 28th, is a very special day. Today, August 28th, is my Birthday. And not just any birthday: today, August 28th, is my 16th Birthday.
YAY!
It's 12:24 am and I have just finished typing this chapter. I wanted to post it today as a gift to you all. (Ha, kind of funny. It's my birthday, but I'm the one handing out presents...)
Ah, so tired.
Anyway, thanks to all who have faithfully reviewed my story: FranceGamble, Kessie, and Gaeamaker13.
These are the only names my brain can come up with at 12:27 in the morning, so if I've left anyone out, I apologize.
*looks over A/N* Well that looks long enough. As always, thanks for reading, Happy Birthday to me, see you next time, and goodnight.
ZzZzZzZzZzZ.
Strange Interlude
Chapter 6
She was shivering. It was cold. Her neck hurt. The floor was damp and hard. She sleeplessly tossed and turned, straining hard to sleep, to turn off her brain, but the situation was hopeless, the above-mentioned things prohibiting this. It seemed she was doomed to never sleep again.
*shiver* {It's so cold.}
Unexpectedly she felt a great uplifting and sudden warmth.
{Mmm...So pleasant. Thank you.}
Sleep came at last.
***
The sun rose but had not yet struck the mouth of the cave. The birds outside chirped the harbinger of morning. This, rather than the sun, woke Jennifer.
Jennifer covered her head with the covers.
{Damn birds...Wait! Covers?}
Jennifer sat up.
Yes, covers. She was on a pillowy mat with sheets and a large wool blanket. There was a faint breeze coming in through the cave's mouth. Jennifer yawned and stretched and looking around her she noticed that, yes, she was in a cave.
This all seemed very strange for since when do you put bedding near the entrance of a cave, and more importantly, why had she not found this bed in last night's search? What happened last night between nightfall and now that got her to where she was? She had no dreams; in fact she didn't even remember when he had fallen asleep. All she remembered from that night was the bitter sensation of cold transformed to warmth.
She took another look around her, this time to the inner of the cave. Small oil lamps lit the way down a small corridor where sat a table and several chairs. The path continued and ended in what resembled a cul-de- sac of five doors.
Jennifer's stomach rumbled and she had to use the restroom. She got up, stretched her legs, and looked for a bathroom. She passed the table and went into the small alcove of five doors.
She went to the door on the far right and opened it. The room was dark. She put her hand on the wall and felt around for a light switch.
{Oh wait...Feudal Era...no electricity. And that means no plumbing either.}
She closed the door.
There were four more rooms; a least one of them had to have food in it.
"Let's see what's behind Door #2."
She pushed open the crude wooden door to reveal a storeroom filled with all kinds of weapons, shields, and armor pieces. Finding no food, she moved on to the third and middle door.
She pushed on the door. It wouldn't budge. It must've been locked. The fourth door.
She walked into the fourth room. A single oil candle was lit giving the room a creepy air. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness and she began to walk its depths.
The ceiling gradually grew lower as she walked further into the room. Against a wall was a small bed, maybe three feet in length. Next to the bed was what looked like a flag post.
{Strange,} Jennifer thought.
The walls and ceiling were solid stone. She followed a drop of water along the ceiling until it fell into a knee-deep pool in the corner of the room.
Jennifer had to crouch down now for the ceiling was only four feet tall. For fear of getting claustrophobic she decided to go no further.
"Still no food," she muttered. She looked over at the small pool, "But I guess I can get a drink while I'm here."
She cupped her hands and poured a drink of water into her mouth. The water slid down her parched throat and, for a while, all was happy. She turned to the door and, standing when the ceiling became high enough, exited the room.
The last door. It would seem like the most likely to have food, but, alas, there still was none.
It was another bedroom--kind of. A simple mat lay in the back corner. Like the last room she visited, this one had one lit candle, but from the look of it, it seemed that no one had used the room in a long time.
Completely annoyed, hungry, and still needing to use the restroom Jennifer did the only natural thing and went outside to contemplate on what should be done.
After she relieved herself, he sat on the edge of the rock and let her feet dangle off the side. The sun shone brightly, warming her body. It was a truly wonderful day. The birds were singing a sweet melody and there was a slight breeze that ruffled Jennifer's hair. The morning atmosphere was very pleasant and soothing, but her boredom, indecision, and hopelessness hindered the continuity of her perfect day.
She sighed, got up, and began to walk back to the cave when something caught her eye. A small apple tree found refuge on a moss-covered rock several feet above the cave's mouth.
"Thank God!"
Without delay or second thought, Jennifer scrambled up the mountain's face a few feet to the tree. A great shadow, perhaps from the sun going behind the clouds, covered her. She clasped her hand around a small ripe apple. It was cool to the touch. With a single yank the apple came loose, but so did her foothold. She lost her balance and began to skid down the rock on her knees. Jennifer could feel the flesh on her knees tear. Her body was slowly leaning backward, becoming horizontal, and eventually lost contact with the rock face.
At the exact moment she began to fall, the shadow retreated. The sun shone into her eyes, temporarily blinding her.
An arm suddenly appeared out of nowhere and abruptly scooped her from the air. A small flash of pain ran through her. One of her arms landed on something soft and furry. The other dangled over the saving arm, which securely held onto her torso.
Who caught her? What if it was another wolf demon to take her away? Her fear was rising.
The demon smelt this fear and rolled his eyes.
"Open your eyes, human," he said to her.
Jennifer instantly recognized the manner of speaking, and when she opened her eyes was greeted by Sesshomaru's stolid face. Jennifer was confused on how she should feel: happy to see him or afraid. After all, he was the one who brought her here, practically kidnapping her. What did he want now?
Jennifer was suddenly reminded of the apple she was seeking and found it still tightly grasped in her hand.
By this time Sesshomaru's feet had already touched the ground. He let her down, and she began to dust herself off. She arrived at her lower legs to find that the rock ledge had scratched them up pretty badly. She carefully proceeded to try and remove the worst of the dirt from her legs, but pain shot through her legs when she did. She cringed at the sudden pain.
Sesshomaru flinched as well and looked at the human. Strange, he thought, that for almost a second it seemed as if he, too, felt her pain. He shook his head from the thought.
"Come," he said, "Let us go inside and clean your wounds."
He turned and walked toward the entrance of the cave. Jennifer looked after Sesshomaru and followed him into the cave. The lamps were all on now. She looked around to realize that Sesshomaru was nowhere to be found.
{What happened?} she thought. {He was only a few feet in front of me. How could he have gone off without my knowing?}
Sesshomaru finally emerged from the middle room, back in the corridor. He held bandage wraps and a bottle of pale green medicine. Sesshomaru shot a glance at her, and she sat down on one of the chairs. Sesshomaru approached and kneeled before her. Jennifer's heartbeat sped up.
{Why?} she asked herself, {Why am I acting like a flirty little fan girl?}
Jennifer watched Sesshomaru open the small bottle and dip a finger in the vial. He dabbed the pale lotion on her knees and the worst of her scrapes. The sensation she felt was unlike she had ever experienced before; the pain was instantly relieved, replaced by a cool, relaxing feeling.
His soft fingers continued to caress her wounds. His face remained emotionless, but his eyes occasionally darted back and forth between his work and her face.
{What am I doing?} he asked himself.
He shook his head and retreated his fingers. Sesshomaru wiped them off on a damp cloth and began to unravel the bandage. He started to wrap the thin cloth around the worst part of her shin, but could not get it to go all the way around her keg. This was a two-armed job where he only had one.
Sesshomaru sighed and asked, "Do you mind?"
The question startled Jennifer.
"Uh, no."
She grabbed the cloth bandage and helped Sesshomaru wrap it around her leg. She stuck the roll underneath her leg and Sesshomaru grabbed it only to hand it back to Jennifer so she could wrap the underside. During this her hand touched his. Embarrassed, she quickly pulled her hand away. However, his was unflinching. He impassively looked at her, then tied off the bandage and stood.
Sesshomaru's form towered her own.
"Come. I shall show you to your room."
He turned away and began to walk, his tail-like shawl flowing behind him.
{Ok Jennifer,} she told herself, {stop picturing him in slow motion.}
She stood and ran after him.
They arrived at the alcove of wooden doors. He pushed open the door on the far left. It was the room with the simple pallet and fur rug. She walked farther into the room. She looked around her. The cave ceiling sloped steeply upward.
What she had neglected to notice on her earlier excursion was a hole in the roof of the cavern that let a bright beam of sunshine in. Despite the fact the hole was only the size of a textbook, it added a substantial amount of light to the dim room. Still, her "room" was a letdown.
She sighed, {This is my room?! What am I, a prisoner? Wait. Why am I here in the first place?} She looked at Sesshomaru, {Would he answer if I asked?}
"Sesshomaru-sama," she began, making sure to add the title so as not to offend him, "Why have you so gratefully giving me a place to live?"
Sesshomaru acted as if he did not hear her.
He instead said, "I will bring you food," and then left the room.
At the mention of something to eat, Jennifer's stomach remembered its hunger.
{Wait a second,} she thought, {Didn't I have an apple? Where'd it go?} She looked about her and saw nothing. {I must have left it on the table in the other room.}
She walked to the door. She pushed open the scruffy slab of wood. She entered the main room to find Jaken and Sesshomaru, their backs turned from her, near the mouth of the cave.
They were talking about something but Jennifer didn't really care; she was looking for her apple. She spotted it where she thought it would be-- on the table. The problem was that the two demons stood by it, and she didn't want to disturb them. She decided on a plan to sneak up to the table and just take the apple. If they noticed, too bad; she was hungry.
Jennifer began her mini-quest and slowly approached the table. She soon came close enough to listen in on the demons' conversation.
Jaken, "But master, why must I prepare food for the human?"
Jennifer was only inches from the table and mere feet from Jaken and Sesshomaru. She could only hope that Sesshomaru's super-canine senses did not detect her presence.
Jennifer crouched low and reached out her hand.
Jaken continued, "I don't see why we can't just let the stupid human starve."
Without looking, Jaken snatched the apple off the table and took a huge chomp out of it. Jennifer's heart dropped.
"Jaken," Sesshomaru spoke, "how inconsiderate of you. She wanted that apple."
Sesshomaru turned to look at Jennifer, her arm still outstretched. Jaken also turned to face the human.
He smirked, "Oh did you?" He took another bite from the apple, "Pathetic Human," he muttered.
Jennifer could feel the rage building inside her.
"Go on," said a voice, "hit him."
It was Sesshomaru. But it seemed that the voice sounded through her mind rather than aloud. She stood, snatched the Staff of Skulls from Jaken's hand, and began to beat him into the ground.
Sesshomaru's lips broke into a smile and then into a full-blown laugh.
Both Jaken and Jennifer froze and stared at the demon lord. Jaken feared this new wrath that would surely be wrought upon him and, characteristically of Jaken, claimed that his life had been shortened by 100 years or so.
Jennifer just stared. She wasn't sure what to think. But she was still hungry and even the half-eaten apple that had rolled across the cave floor was beginning to look appetizing.
So then they ate. Well, Jennifer ate. Sesshomaru sent a grumbling Jaken to "terrorize" a village. Jennifer didn't approve of the harming of people just to eat, but she didn't really have a choice in the matter.
This brought up her earlier question of why she was there in the first place. Jaken listened intently for it, too, was a question he wanted answered. Sesshomaru still did not respond.
He merely stood in that silent way of his. He wouldn't answer. Jennifer shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat.
When she had finished Sesshomaru approached her, "You wanted to know why."
"Eh?"
"Come," he beckoned to her, and then snapped at Jaken, "Jaken, clean out the fire pit."
Jaken, who had heard none of Sesshomaru's hushed comment to Jennifer, mumbled a 'Yes, milord' and went outside.
Jennifer turned back to Sesshomaru. He was already walking away. She was quick to follow him. They went into the hall of five doors and came to a stop at the middle one. Sesshomaru passed his only hand across the door. A faint click was heard and the door opened. He walked through, Jennifer following closely behind him.
The door led to a long hallway. Oil lamps stood on either side of the path, and as Sesshomaru passed each one, they lit. Jennifer observed this and watched Sesshomaru closely. She noticed that Sesshomaru's blinking occurred at the same time the wicks of the candles came alight.
At last the hallway grew in both length and height. The room's walls were covered in elaborately designed tapestries. Yards of rare silk were rolled and stacked against the walls. Next to one wall was a thick mattress for sleeping. Upon it were sheets of brightly colored Western cloth. The room smelled of a light perfume. The smell was quite a difference in fragrance than the dank, almost rotting, stench of the cave. Jennifer's nose welcomed it very much.
Sesshomaru stopped in the middle of the room and whirled around to face her.
He repeated, "You wanted to know why."
Jennifer was a little taken aback by Sesshomaru's non-aggressive manner. He looked off to the side, not connecting eyes with her.
"50 years ago a shrine priestess, who held the Shikon Jewel, pinned my disgusting half-brother to a tree.
"Not long after, a demon by the name of Basoni came to me and demanded payment for the "death" of InuYasha.
"We fought and although I was the stronger of the two of us, I lost."
Jennifer noticed a twitch in Sesshomaru's facial features.
"The punishment was imprisonment: an eternity trapped in stone. It was a curse that could only be broken by a human."
He turned his head and looked directly into he eyes, "You."
A slight blush came over her. She remembered the kiss she gave his stone eye.
Sesshomaru showed no emotion and continued with the tale of Basoni's "death". His story was interesting to an extent but hardly explained why she was being kept.
Sesshomaru seemed to notice her confusion.
"Let me explain. I seek to destroy my brother, for he indirectly cursed me. If it were not for him, the demon and I would not have fought. Thus the curse would never have been placed.
"Also, I seek the Tetsusaiga, the fabled sword crafted from my father's fang. My accursed brother, having also been revived, took the sword, which gives me yet another reason to kill him."
Somewhere during his speech his eyes wandered back to the spot on the wall. They turned to meet her gaze once more.
"This pertains to you in quite a peculiar way. When Basoni spoke of the human who freed me, he said that human would also be helpful in my conquest of the world, should I care for her."
Sesshomaru became lost in thought, {That despicable demon, Basoni. My fate truly is a wretched one if I must care for this human...But I can't help but to think that...}
Jennifer compiled this information and sorted through it, {He needs me to fulfill his own purposes and for no other reason.}
Her heart dropped, though she wasn't exactly sure why.
"So you see," Sesshomaru said, coming out of his thoughts, "you are the key. Somehow you will help me destroy InuYasha."
{Wow,} she thought. {That definitely wasn't what I wanted to hear just now.}
Jennifer stood. Sesshomaru's eyes took notice of the action while the rest of his face remained still. He smirked inwardly.
She half-smiled, "That's very...interesting...I'm tired...I'm going to sleep."
She waited a moment as if waiting for some kind of nod or form of permission for her to leave. When she got none, she made her way to the door.
She stopped to uneasily thank him and continued out of the room, slowly shutting the door behind her. A clicking sound signaled that the door had been locked.
Jennifer crossed the hallway to where her "room" was. She lay her self down on her thin pallet and stared up at the night sky through the small hole in her ceiling. The room smelt very badly compared to Sesshomaru's. Jennifer sighed and longed for home.
***
Sesshomaru sat looking at himself in a mirror.
{What is wrong? A human, kill InuYasha? How so? You can only rely on your own strength.}
Sesshomaru stood and crossed the room to the door.
{Nothing else will bring you to your goal. Your father was a great ruler. If only he had not become soft and fallen for a human...}
Sesshomaru had now entered the main corridor. He hesitantly pushed open the far-left door and looked upon his--I mean--the sleeping human.
{Humans. So pitiful. So much work. Hmp. She wanted to know why...}
He stepped closer to her. Her brow was furrowed; she appeared to be having a nightmare and she was shivering.
Sesshomaru went to a nearby shelf and pulled down a wool blanket. He laid it over her.
{Why...That's what I want to know.}
~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+~!@#$%^&*()_+
Another chapter down! Yay!
Today, August 28th, is a very special day. Today, August 28th, is my Birthday. And not just any birthday: today, August 28th, is my 16th Birthday.
YAY!
It's 12:24 am and I have just finished typing this chapter. I wanted to post it today as a gift to you all. (Ha, kind of funny. It's my birthday, but I'm the one handing out presents...)
Ah, so tired.
Anyway, thanks to all who have faithfully reviewed my story: FranceGamble, Kessie, and Gaeamaker13.
These are the only names my brain can come up with at 12:27 in the morning, so if I've left anyone out, I apologize.
*looks over A/N* Well that looks long enough. As always, thanks for reading, Happy Birthday to me, see you next time, and goodnight.
ZzZzZzZzZzZ.