Ishiru plunged through the greenery, the branches tearing at her as she fell. She landed with an undignified crash on the forest floor, broken twigs and leaves raining down after her. She slowly got up, holding a large gash on her upper arm, a result of the actual attack, not her descent through the canopy. It was healing, slowly; slowly because her youki was mostly depleted from shielding her from Kaze no Kizu.
She stood, then detected a presence behind her. Ishiru spun, her eyes meeting the brilliant gold of the person behind her. Her stance faltered, and she nearly fell over. Ishiru backed up, afraid for some strange reason. Afraid to face him, afraid of what he would say. She knew she couldn't outrun him in her condition. Even if she could, Ishiru was unable to look away from him.
Sesshoumaru's eyes were held fast by her gaze, his face impassive and cold as ever. He blinked, and Ishiru collapsed, falling back onto her rear, released from his golden eyes. Sesshoumaru almost took a step towards her. His hand almost reached out for her. He almost whispered her name.
But before he could make a move, a purple, translucent orb formed around Ishiru, pulling her up into the sky, and away.
Sesshoumaru watched as she drifted away. He had seen that orb before, he knew to whom it belonged.
"Naraku…"
OOO
Ishiru didn't move as Naraku's barrier formed around her. But she didn't feel relief, only a sort of sadness. She wanted to go back, to see him again. But she couldn't bring herself to resist.
She kept her head down as the orb ended its journey at Naraku's fortress. She got up to leave halfway through Naraku's spiel on being careful.
"You've no right to lecture me, hanyou." She hissed, stressing hanyou with disgust, something she had not done since she first got there.
Naraku was on his feet, his hand tight around her upper arm, digging his fingers into one of the deeper gashes. Ishiru resisted the urge to wince, and looked at him, her eyes locking with his enraged, jet black ones. She had seen those eyes once before. Ishiru blanched. When Sesshoumaru attacked her. . . These were his eyes!
It clicked in Ishiru's mind.
She looked down, struggling to contain her anger. She would kill him. . . But not now. Now, she couldn't let him know, that she knew. She let her stance fall slack, "giving up" in the argument.
"Know your place girl." Naraku hissed. He pulled her close to him, his lips inches from her ear as he whispered. "You owe me your life, and would do well to act as a servant in debt, which you are." He shoved her to the floor. Ishiru caught herself automatically, landing in a low crouch.
She turned to glare at Naraku, but he was gone. Ishiru stayed on the floor, moving into a sitting position. Her thoughts were raging.
'He hurt me. . . He made me think that. . . And now Sesshoumaru. . . He looked like he hated me then. . .' Her eyes narrowed. 'Naraku will pay for this. . . But I can't do this alone. . . I have to get help.' With that final thought, Ishiru stood, turning down the hallway to her own chamber.
She grabbed an ink brush and parchment, quickly writing a note. She blew on the ink and set the note on her futon. With that, she snatched up her Mace-Whip and left.
OOOIshiru darted through the canopy, her feet alighting silently and unfailingly on branch after branch. She found the village very quickly, tracing her memory back to the battle site.
Their scents were still there. The wolf had gone one way, the group another. 'The wolf will be the easiest to hold off while I speak. . . I will go after him first.' She thought, following his scent up into the mountains. Ishiru noted the scent of wolves that marked the demon pack's territory. She extended her awareness, not wanting to be discovered until she reached the wolf prince himself.
She came upon a network of dens, wolf demons of all ages scattered along the mountainside. Two cubs played nearby and Ishiru took a moment to smile at their game before sneaking past them. She saw a particularly lavish den entrance at the top of the lot. Kouga's scent lead up that way.
Ishiru went around the dens, approaching her goal from above. She darted through the entrance, careful not to be seen. She found Kouga lying at the back of the den, about seventy feet in from the mouth of the cave. He looked rather cute. He was, in a way thankfully, asleep. Ishiru raised an eyebrow, walking silently towards him. He wasn't deeply asleep. His heartbeat was too quick for deep sleep, but too slow for wakefulness. Ishiru slid a dagger from the tie on her haori and placed a hand on one side of his neck, not touching him by a millimeter. In one short movement, she let her fingers touch his skin, sliding the dagger into the ground, pressing gently against his neck.
That touch was all it took to wake the sleeping demon. Ishiru moved an arm to hold him down as he tried to leap up. She wanted to immobilize him, not kill him.
"I have a dagger at your neck. Getting up would not be the best of ideas." She told him. Kouga looked at her, rather blank-faced, for a moment, then he glared as he recognized her.
"Before you start growling at me, just listen." She said. "I have recently discovered something about my master. And I wish for your help in destroying him." Kouga's expression didn't change.
"How do I know that this isn't a trap?" He growled.
"You don't." Ishiru said. "But if you put that nose of yours to work you would." Kouga did so. He wasn't prepared for the sweet mist and greenery that encompassed her scent. But he did find the sharp spice of her anger, begun not long ago. Ishiru saw his recognition.
"So, if I let you up, will you attack me?" She asked. Kouga shook his head mutely and Ishiru pulled the dagger from the ground beside his neck, sitting back on her heels. Kouga sat up and immediately shifted to face her, still somewhat untrusting.
For a while they conversed. Ishiru explained her situation to him, leaving out Sesshoumaru, Rin, and her life before the incident. She thought for a moment on what she would say when the subject of her past came up. 'That I don't remember. In a way, I suppose that's true.' She thought.
Kouga agreed to help her, thinking that an insider would doubtless be of great help. But, the thought lingered in his mind that it could all be a ruse. 'I will have to come up with some sort of back-up plan.' He thought as Ishiru got up to leave.
"I'm going to find another group that I think will help me." Ishiru said, stopping for a moment at the cave mouth.
"Well, whoever you're thinking of, I would suggest getting help from the hanyou that creamed you earlier." Kouga said, supporting himself on the cave wall a few feet behind her. Ishiru rolled her eyes at his slight teasing, thinking that it was a big step for him to be familiar with her.
"Oh! Which reminds me." She said, pulling something from her obi. She turned around and grabbed Kouga's hand, placing two Shikon shards in his palm.
"I picked these up on the way here. If anyone asks, you found them on your own." She said, before turning and darting out of the cave.
Kouga stood for a moment, slightly startled. He had felt an unimaginable amount of raw power beneath her skin when she had grasped his hand. He rubbed his hand where she had touched him, trying to rid it of the tingling sensation she had caused. Just who, or what, was this girl?
OOO
Ishiru backtracked to the village once again. It took her even less time to find the scent of the group. Following it though, soon became a task unto itself. The hanyou's scent blended with the human girl's after a little ways, and the scents of the tajiya and monk blended with that little feline creature she saw, and then vanished. Then hanyou's began to appear only on spot after spot.
Though Ishiru was able to track them, she was quite annoyed with it by nightfall. Thankfully, it was then that she reached their camp, which was placed in a good-sized clearing in the middle of… Well, pretty much nowhere. Ishiru perched in a nearby tree, withdrawing both her aura and scent. She watched, waiting for some sort of an opportunity.
It was not long before she spotted the oddly dressed girl leaving the clearing carrying what looked like a rather fluffy cloth and a few bottles. Ishiru was puzzled at the nature of her items and followed. The girl was unarmed, so she would be able to do very little against her.
Kagome walked to the hot spring, her bathing supplies under one arm. She sensed a nearby jyaki, but it was very faint, nor was it threatening, so she ignored it. Ishiru circled the spring while the girl began to bathe, moving to a group of jumbled boulders that jutted out of the water. Kagome sunk beneath the water for a moment and Ishiru took the opportunity to move out into view. She sat nonchalantly on a boulder, near to where the miko would emerge, which Kagome did within moments.
It did not take her long to notice the jyaki so close to her. Kagome's eyes darted open to stare at Ishiru, who was perched atop the boulder nearest her. Before she could react, Ishiru spoke.
"I prithee, don't scream. I am not here to hurt you." Ishiru said, hoping to calm the miko's rising pulse. "I know you think I work for Naraku. But I also know, that you think I do so willingly, which I most certainly don't." Ishiru paused, but Kagome didn't say anything she went on ahead.
"Due to recent events, I am now against Naraku. He does not know as much, nor does he know that I am here." Still Kagome said nothing. Ishiru blinked, then dropped all pretenses and formalities, letting her posture fall slack and giving the girl a very dry look.
"Okay, if you don't say something soon I'm going to leave and talk to your more violent companions." Ishiru said. Kagome seemed to catch herself and ducked down into the water a little.
"I'm sorry. I'm just a little surprised." Kagome said, a little flustered. "Weren't you attacking us just yesterday?" She asked.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. If you're worried about your wolf friend, he's just fine. I found a couple of new jewel shards for him. He got them when I spoke to him earlier today." Ishiru said. "And, as I said before, very recent events have set me against Naraku." As she spoke, Ishiru slid into a more relaxed position on the boulder. She talked with Kagome for a while. Explaining the same things to her as she had to Kouga.
"Okay." Said Kagome. "That sounds alright. But you'll have a little trouble clearing yesterday's incident up with Inuyasha."
"Why's that?" Ishiru said, raising an eyebrow. "He beat me." Ishiru had become quite comfortable around Kagome in the short time they had spent talking. She was easy to like.
"Well, Inuyasha's not exactly the nicest-"
"OIY! Wench! What's taking you so damn long?" Said hanyou shouted, coming into view. Ishiru looked up at him from her place on the boulder. She had relaxed to the point of lying down on the warm rock so she had to prop herself up on her elbows.
"Oh. I see." She said, her expression dry.
"YOU!" Inuyasha shouted as he saw Ishiru. He immediately pulled Tessaiga from its sheath. "What the fuck are you doing here? Didn't get enough last time?" With that he leapt towards Ishiru, raising Tessaiga with the intent of cutting her in half. Ishiru's expression was somewhere between bored and annoyed, something she had learned from Sesshoumaru. Kagome on the other hand, didn't take the situation quite as calmly.
"Inuyasha OSUWARII!"
SPLASH!-
Ishiru darted out of the way of a barrage of water, which had resulted from Inuyasha crashing into the hot spring. Despite her efforts however, Ishiru ended up getting soaked. Kagome had gotten out of the water and wrapped a towel around her torso. She walked over to Ishiru.
"Like I was saying. He's not the most forgiving, or nicest of people." Kagome said.
"So I see." Ishiru replied, wringing out the edges of her haori, silently thanking Sesshoumaru for having her always wear bindings under her training clothes. The white parts of her silk garment had become strikingly see-through. Bubbles came up from where Inuyasha was under the water.
"Umm… Will he be alright under the water for so long?" Ishiru asked, pointing to the bubbles.
"Probably not, but the spell will let him go in a moment." Kagome replied. And, true to her words, Inuyasha came leaping out of the water moments later, again ready to attack Ishiru. She rolled her eyes and turned to Kagome.
"Just a second." Ishiru said, then leapt across the distance between her and Inuyasha, closing it in a moment. She quickly pinned him to the ground, a dagger against his neck.
"Hey! What are you doing? You said you wouldn't hurt anyone!" Kagome protested, running over.
"And I'm not going to. I just don't want to worry about him trying to get up." Ishiru said, hoping Inuyasha wouldn't catch the fact that since she wouldn't hurt him, the dagger wouldn't make any difference.
He didn't. Ishiru gave him a quick, thirty-second, version of what she told Kagome. After making him agree to no more fighting, Ishiru let Inuyasha up, saying she'd explain everything in further detail to the rest of the group as well as him.
Ishiru walked behind Kagome when they entered the clearing, hoping to avoid startling anyone. Shippou ran up and hugged Kagome around the neck, greeting her happily. It was barely a moment before he looked up into Ishiru's face, which was quite close considering that she was standing right behind Kagome. Shippou yipped in fright and jumped down.
"K-Kagome! There's a demon right behind you!" He shouted, jumping up and down in anxiety. His words triggered a reaction from the entire group, save Inuyasha and Kagome. Sango stood, reaching for her boomerang, Miroku following suit, a hand catching hold of his prayer beads.
"Guys, guys wait a second!" Kagome said, raising her hands, palms forward. "She's not going to hurt us."
"She says." Grumbled Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped.
"It's alright." Ishiru said. "He doesn't really have any good reason to trust me." She stepped out from behind Kagome, looking at each member of the group. "I give you my word that I will not harm you."
"Not good enough." Growled Inuyasha. Ishiru looked at him.
"I have nothing else I can offer you." She said. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "But then, there may be something I can tell you that will convince you."
"What?" Inuyasha said, his tone untrusting.
"I would prefer the information that this would insinuate remain known to as few as possible." Ishiru said, looking at the ground.
"Fine." He grunted. Ishiru looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected him to agree to it.
"A-Alright. Come with me." She said, walking back into the woods, Inuyasha in tow. After they were out of earshot, Ishiru turned to face him.
She felt a clawed hand grab hold of her haori front. A flash of memory went through her mind before she brushed it aside. She let Inuyasha slam her into a tree trunk, hoping to convince him that she was not a danger.
"Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Inuyasha growled. Ishiru looked up at him, her face a perfect imitation of Sesshoumaru's emotionless mask.
"I swear by the honor of Sesshoumaru Lord of the Western Lands, I will not harm you, nor any member of your group." She said, her voice even and emotionless. Inuyasha froze. Few had the audacity to even speak of the Western Lord, much less assume they could borrow his honor for an oath, this much Inuyasha knew, despite his "upbringing."
"Who are you exactly?" Inuyasha growled.
"I told you before, at our first meeting. I am Ishiru." She replied, slowly letting the mask fall.
Inuyasha loosened his hold on her. He now remembered. That incident had been slipping his mind at an oddly frequent rate. Sesshoumaru had been looking for an "Ishiru." He recognized the look she gave him, and the way she spoke. Just who was this girl to Sesshoumaru?
"Fine." Inuyasha said, releasing her fully. "I believe you. But, you've got more explaining to do." Inuyasha began to walk back to camp. Ishiru regained her composure and followed. Upon their arrival back at the campsite, most of the previous tension had left. Kagome had just finished explaining Ishiru's story to the group.
Miroku was the first to greet Ishiru. He got up, and walked over to her. He then knelt and took a hold of her hand. Ishiru was utterly perplexed at his behavior. Sango, Kagome, Shippou and Inuyasha were all waiting for the inevitable.
"Ishiru-sama, would you do me the honor of bearing my child?" He asked.
Ishiru blinked in confusion. 'What does he want? Surely the mother of his child could carry the baby.' She thought, translating his request in a different way than everyone else was. Finally Ishiru spoke.
"What?" She said, her head tilting in confusion. Miroku flinched, expecting a hit. Everyone else in the group was something akin to shocked. Ishiru looked up at Kagome. "Why can't the child's mother carry it?" She asked.
Kagome was unsure how to answer. It was a shock, even to her, how naive the girl was.
"Eh. . . It might be better if I don't explain it." Kagome said, slightly flustered.
"Not at all Kagome-sama." Miroku said, standing up. He turned to Ishiru. "Now, children are made by-"
WHACK!-
Sango removed her boomerang from the Houshi's head, leaving him unconscious on the ground. Ishiru blinked, then looked down at Miroku, then up to Sango.
"Umm. . . Will he be alright?" She asked hesitantly.
"Not to worry. He gets hit a lot. So by now he's pretty resilient." Sango said. "I'd not listen to a word he says if I were you."
Now that Shippou was not afraid of her, he climbed up onto Ishiru's shoulder, messing with her pointed ears and patting her hair. She let him, hoping to win the cute little youkai's trust. Shippou seemed to approve of her, but opted to Kagome's shoulder once he was through. Kirara sniffed at Ishiru's fingertips, giving her a lick of approval before going back to Sango.
The group began to settle down for the night. Ishiru was still talking with Sango about the schematics of Naraku's fortress and the surrounding barrier. Ishiru agreed to give them every other shard she collected for Naraku. As much as Ishiru hated to do anything to benefit the degenerate hanyou, she couldn't just cut of her service without arising suspicion.
Inuyasha remained perched on a tree-limb, watching Ishiru as she conversed with the Tajiya. 'Who the hell is this girl?' He thought. 'She knows Sesshoumaru, that's for sure. But how? And why was he looking for her before? If she stays here for too long, he might come here looking for her, plus she'll loose her pretense with Naraku.' Another thing occurred to Inuyasha. 'And why the fuck doesn't she have any clue about mating? Even children know more than that! And she looks something like seventeen. . . So she learned enough from Sesshoumaru to learn that expression. Keh. . . Well I can't really see him teaching anyone about the birds and the bees.' He grinned as he thought that. "But, she can't stay with us, Naraku will come looking for her." He looked back down at the youkai girl. 'Whoever she is, she needs to leave. . . Soon.'
As though she read his mind, Ishiru finished her conversation with the Tajiya and stood, turning to speak to everyone.
"Thank you very much for your trust, and help. I would stay, but Naraku will, without a doubt, check on me every now and then. And the last thing I want is to lead him to you." She said.
"Are you sure you won't stay for the night?" Kagome asked, as she was still curious about the new character.
"Yes. Naraku will most likely check using Kanna's mirror, and I can only sense it, not block its vision. Should he look in on me while I'm here, it would give me away." As she spoke, she moved to the edge of the clearing. "I'm sorry to leave in such haste, but I truly must go." With that Ishiru darted into the underbrush, soon leaping up into the canopy and away.
Kagome looked up at Inuyasha once Ishiru was out of earshot.
"Well? Do we trust her?" She asked. Inuyasha paused for a while before answering.
"Yeah. . . For now."
OOO
Ishiru ran, lost in thought. She was undeniably nervous about what she was going to do. She ran through uncountable possible scenarios that could happen. Before she knew it, she was exhausted. She had done more than her share of running that day.
Ishiru stopped at a river, standing at the bank. She dipped her feet into the cool water, sighing softly. It was a serene, peaceful place. Trees hung low over the water, the tips of the branches trailing into the water. The river was wide, and deep in the middle. The riverbank was peppered with boulders. They had been there for quite some time, worn smooth by both water and the ages.
She slowly slid from the water's edge, stepping deeper into the river. The water flowed about her thighs, gently soothing her sore muscles. She trailed her fingertips on the water, watching the ripples that spread out from the delicate digits. She walked back to the shore, climbing up onto a large boulder. After a moment of work, she had loosed and shed her obi, discarding her yukata and folding them both on the smooth rock.
"Tonight, I'll just relax. I've worked enough for now. That bastard never gives me any time off." She murmured, unraveling the bindings from around her arms, legs and torso. Once finished, she slid off the boulder and into the cool water.
For a while, she just swam about, enjoying the one chance she'd had to relax in a long time. Naraku wasn't the easiest of people to be indebted to. After she had her fill, she began to play with the water, shaping and moving it about using her youki. She made a sloppy orb then brought it up into the air to hover at her eye level.
Her ear twitched as the sound of branches moving reached her ears. Acting as if she hadn't heard, she brought the orb up into the air, raising her hand as though pulling it along. She jerked her hand to the right, sending the blob flying into the underbrush.
OOO
Sesshoumaru was, yet again, out late at night. He hadn't been able to sleep. . . Again. He hadn't had this problem since he was a pup. Yet, here he was, walking through the edge of his lands, in the middle of the night, for no reason. His thoughts wandered, touching on item after item and never lingering. But then one thought stayed. Ishiru. He had seen her the day before last, and Naraku. . . Naraku took her away. Did that mean that she was working for Naraku now? Would she eventually come after him? She had severed all ties with him when she left. She had no reason to remain loyal to him. Or was Naraku controlling her? No. Those were her emotions he had seen. That was her who had backed away from him. In fear? Not quite, there was something else in her eyes. What it was, Sesshoumaru did not know.
Whilst he thought, Sesshoumaru kept walking, his feet leading him places unknown. Sesshoumaru was snapped out of his thoughts when a scent hit his nose. He tuned his hearing and picked up a soft heartbeat. Sesshoumaru froze, his tracks stopping dead when he sensed a familiar youki. He followed his senses, withdrawing both his aura and scent. He stepped silently, the soothing scent of water, mist and greenery leading him to the river. He stopped dead when he saw Ishiru discard her yukata and bindings.
"Tonight, I'll just relax. I've worked enough for now. That bastard never gives me any time off." Sesshoumaru heard her murmur as she folded her clothes on the boulder beside her.
'So,' He thought. 'She doesn't not like Naraku, even if she is serving him. No doubt she let go of her concealing spells when she decided she would rest.' He watched, well hidden, as she slid into the water and swam about.
He monitored her ever movement as Ishiru played in the river waters. After a time, he found he didn't really want to leave. That surprised him. Why should he want to stay and watch her? The wench had no hold on him! Just to prove it, he straightened and turned to leave.
His sleeve caught on a bush and tugged.
Sesshoumaru froze, hoping Ishiru hadn't heard. He looked back to her in time to see her ear twitch, then nothing else. She had heard him. Sesshoumaru knew it. He himself had taught her not to act like she knew anything in such situations. But, he was almost certain that she did not know it was him. With no scent or aura to go on, she couldn't possibly know.
He watched as she lifted the ball of water into the air. He tensed, waiting to have to dodge the thing. When she shot it off to the side, he was slightly confused. Then he thought. 'She is probably compensating for where I would have moved in that time.'
He relaxed slightly, and waited, hoping for an opportunity to leave without her noticing.
He wasn't expecting the sharp splash of water that hit the back of his head.
OOO
Ishiru opened her eyes and whirled to face where she had heard the orb connect with its target. She couldn't see just what she had hit, but she was now on her guard. She withdrew her scent and aura, just as a precaution, and drifted through the water towards her clothes.
Sesshoumaru on the other hand, was stunned. She had masked the youki needed to propel the orb with her overall aura, and fooled him into thinking that he was safe for the time being. Had he grown so slack in his skills? He shook his head, ridding it of most of the water. When he looked up again, Ishiru had her yukata back on and had moved from the boulders to the rugged yet grassy terrain beyond the rocks, facing him.
"Come out. I know you're there." She growled. She did not have any idea who it was. But she knew that they were both a demon, and powerful. Only demons of great power could hide their scent, and Ishiru smelt nothing but the river and greenery around her.
Sesshoumaru gave a mental sigh of "defeat" and stepped from the foliage, locking his eyes with hers.
Ishiru nearly faltered in her stance when she saw him emerge from the greenery. But she held firm, bringing up her mental "defenses" in hopes that she would avoid an incident like the last. She was a goner as soon as his eyes met hers.
Sesshoumaru saw her tense. 'So, she is still unsteady around me' He thought. A mischievous thought came to his mind.
Ishiru took a step back when Sesshoumaru took one towards her. He took another. So did she. This continued until she was backed up against a boulder. Sesshoumaru kept walking until he was less than an arm's reach from her. He lifted a hand, his claws slightly extended, moving a little closer. He moved his hand so his claws glinted in the moonlight.
"Your skills have become rusty." He whispered. "I could kill you right now and you'd be helpless to stop me." As he spoke, he gently touched his claws to her cheek, then throat.
Ishiru snapped out of her little daze when his claw touched her neck. 'So, he wants to play?' She thought. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn't bring herself to believe that he would actually kill her. 'I can play too.' Ishiru thought, grinning mentally. No pretenses, no tricks, nothing different from before. Just a spar, like they used to do.
"I will admit that they have." She said. "I have not had a challenging opponent in the longest of times. So it is only natural that my skills would deteriorate." In a flash of movement, Ishiru knocked his hand away, leaping up and over him, away from the boulders. "Let's test them, shall we?"
Sesshoumaru grinned mentally. 'So, not quite so unsteady.' He thought before darting towards her. His motions were blurred as he grabbed hold of her wrist, pulling her arm away from the side it was guarding. Ishiru, rather than be vulnerable, kept her arm in place and was pulled to the side. She then ducked, and slid under his arm, forcing him to release her. She snatched the instant he took to turn and slashed her claws through his armor, shattering his breastplate. She then leapt back, barely avoiding an agile strike of Sesshoumaru's claws, and loosing a bit of her sleeve to the attack.
OOO
Naraku summoned Kanna to his chambers. The child arrived within minutes and knelt before her master.
"Show me Ishiru." He commanded. Kanna didn't move as the mirror began to glimmer. After a moment, Ishiru appeared in the glass. Naraku's eyes narrowed as he saw what she was doing. Sesshoumaru moved in to attack her, his claws slicing through the air just beside Ishiru's face. She countered, a strike of her claws taking out some of his sleeve and the remaining fragments of his armor.
Naraku grinned in satisfaction. So, she still held a grudge against the demon lord. It had been Naraku's intent to check on her, and make sure she was chasing the shards as her note had said. Her actions over the few days before had made him slightly wary of her. But this. . . This somewhat eased his worries. A few more displays like this and he might start sending her on more important chores.
Though he knew that Ishiru could not defeat the demon lord, Naraku was confident that she could hold her own, and flee should she begin to loose. Satisfied, he sent Kanna away.
OOO
'Her attacks are light and fast, faster than I remember. It seems that that is all she has been training though. If I can get a good hold on her. . .' Sesshoumaru thought. He moved to the side, avoiding a quick strike.
"Rin misses you." He said. Ishiru froze, thrown completely off guard. Sesshoumaru acted quickly, his movements nearly invisible. He took hold of the striking wrist and pulled her across his front, taking hold of her other wrist moving her arm to cross her belly. He then pulled her tight against him, immobilizing her. Ishiru struggled for a moment, then relaxed.
"You cheated."
OOO
Sesshoumaru, to his credit, listened patiently while Ishiru told him what had happened. He and Ishiru had found a flatter area near the river to sit. Well, Sesshoumaru was sitting. Ishiru was too tired to remain fully upright and was leaning, half lying down, against a boulder.
Sesshoumaru watched her as she spoke to him. She was tired, that he could easily see. But what surprised him most of all, was how relaxed she was. Did she trust him that much? Her position was so, comfortable. He had not seen anyone like that around him, save for Rin. But Rin was a child and did not understand most dangers. Ishiru was fully aware of his strength, yet she held no fear of him. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Ishiru's posture became slightly tense.
"Did. . . Does Rin really miss me? Or did you just say that to throw me off?" Ishiru asked, looking at the ground. Sesshoumaru didn't answer for a moment.
"Yes she does." He said. Ishiru bit her lower lip in guilt. Sesshoumaru saw this. "And Jaken misses having someone to distract her." He said. Ishiru grinned, a soft laugh spilling from her lips. Then, she stopped and looked up at him, her surprise evident.
Where the hell did that come from? Sesshoumaru had no idea just why he had said it. It wasn't important at all, nor did it have anything to do with her question. But, he did enjoy her laughter. Wait, what? 'This Sesshoumaru does not care whether she is happy or not.' But. . . He had felt some need to erase her guilt. 'No I didn't.' Sesshoumaru thought vehemently.
'Why did he say that?' She thought. 'I didn't ask about Jaken at all. Did he want to cheer me up? . . . No, that's not like him. So why did he say it?' Ishiru watched as faint ghosts of emotions flickered one by one in his eyes, nowhere on his face but his eyes. Anyone else would have missed them. But Ishiru knew how to look. She was about to voice her question when Sesshoumaru spoke.
"Why were you afraid?" He asked, looking pointedly away from her. Ishiru thought for a moment. How did she want to answer him?
"I. . . I don't know." She said finally, her eyes trained on the ground. It was the truth. She really didn't know why. Sesshoumaru seemed to accept her answer, then changed the subject again.
"We will meet here again." He said. "Your training has become slack in your absence. In exchange for my help in defeating Naraku, you and I will spar each night at this place." Ishiru looked up at him. At the beginning of all this, she hadn't expected him to want anything to do with her. Now, not only was he going to help her, but he would start training with her again. Wait. . . That didn't really seem like much of an exchange. Ishiru thought it better not to say anything about that though.
Sesshoumaru stood and Ishiru followed suit. She bowed to him. "Arigatou gosaimasu, Sesshoumaru-sama." She said. Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment.
"It is a deal. You need not thank me." He said. Ishiru straightened.
"I know." She said, a small smile on her lips. After a moment, she spoke again. "I had best be going. If Naraku checks on me and I'm with you, he'll suspect. Goodnight Sesshoumaru-sama." Ishiru turned to go.
"Wait." Sesshoumaru's voice was commanding, but not harsh. Ishiru stopped automatically, then turned to face him. He pulled something from his robes, an item wrapped in cloth, and handed it to her.
"You forgot this." He said, then left, almost vanishing.
Ishiru looked at the little bundle in her hands, then carefully unwrapped it, fold by fold. The cloth fell away and Ishiru stared at the item in her hands. The silver wings fluttered softly, the tiny gem drops twinkling in the moonlight. Ishiru smiled a truly radiant smile and hugged it to her chest. She wrapped it back in the cloth and tucked the little parcel into her obi.
Ishiru settled down in a thicker patch of grass to sleep for the night. Just as she was about to drift off, something occurred to her.
'Neither of us were expecting to meet, but he still had it with him.'
