Alchemistangel this chapter is for you!
Ayu
Chapter Five: Standing Up
I still couldn't believe it. I was with Sesshomaru.
Well, not with him, exactly, for he wasn't there at the moment, but still. I was being held captive…I think.
God, he had some explaining to do.
"Come on Miss Ayu!" Rin laughed, grabbing my hand. "Let's go play!"
Now this kid, was cute, more than cute, she was adorable! But I couldn't get up.
Oh, I tired, I really did, but my ankle still hurt like hell, not to mention the hefty bump on my head.
I sat back down in the grass, resting my back against the nearby tree.
"Are you alright Ayu?" Rin asked.
I nodded, raising my hand to my head. "Yeah, I'm fine. My ankle just hurts."
"That's because you tried to run from my Lord Sesshomaru." The little imp, Jaken, snapped.
I did not like him. God his voice was annoying.
"What is this?" Rin said, pointing to my guitar, which was lying beside me.
"Oh, that's my guitar." I said. I was really, really tired of explaining to people what it was.
But hey, she was a little girl, I'd be patient with her.
"Do you want me to play?" I asked.
Rin grinned and nodded. "Yes! Yes!"
I smiled and picked the guitar into my hands, strumming a few notes softly, then picking them up slowly, playing Avril Lavigne's "Thing's I'll Never Say"
"I'm tugging at my hair, I'm pulling at my clothes, I'm trying to keep my cool, I know it shows." I sang. "I'm staring at my feet, my cheeks are turning red, I'm searching for the words inside my head."
I smiled as Rin's eyes lit up and she sat in front of me, watching my fingers move across the strings as if it was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen.
I continued to sing until I got to the chorus. "If I could say what I want to say, I'd say I wanna blow you away. Be with you every night, am I squeezing you too tight? If I could see what I want to see, I wanna see you go down, on me. Marry me today, yes I'm wising my life away, with these things I'll never say."
I continued through the rest of the song, ignoring the two people sitting in front of me, just getting into the music.
At least, until I finished the song, and noticed a shadow standing over me.
I gasped and spun around, only to find myself staring at Sesshomaru's legs.
I looked up at the demon Lord. "Hello."
"You are awake." He said flatly.
No duh. My he's a smart one.
I nodded and turned to Rin. "Could yo go and pick flowers while I talk with Sesshomaru?"
Rin nodded. "Okay Miss Ayu."
Then she got up, and ran into the fields.
I turned back to Sesshomaru and got, painfully, to my feet. But I stood, so that was a plus.
"Why am I here?" I asked.
And, of course, he didn't answer me.
I glared at him. "Hey dude, I asked you a question. Tell me why I'm here or I'm leaving."
"You can not just simply leave." Sesshomaru said, his cold amber eyes fixed on me. "You do not know your way."
"So?" I snapped. "At least I'd be away from you."
He frowned at me. "You are not permitted to leave. Not until Inuyasha comes for you."
"He won't come for me." I snapped. "We don't exactly like each other, in case you haven't noticed. So I suggest you let me go now, unless you want the same treatment as last night."
I held up my guitar threateningly. Then Sesshomaru did something that almost made my heart stop.
He grabbed my guitar.
"No!" I shrieked, reaching out to grab it, only to have him hold it from my reach. "Don't break it! I need that!"
"What is it?" He asked. "Last night you used it as a weapon, and just now you used it to entertain Rin."
"So what?" I growled, reaching to grab it again, no luck. "It's called a guitar. It's used for music. I knew your hearing was sensitive, that's why I used it last night. It's not normally used as a weapon. Now give it back!"
"I think I'll keep it." Sesshomaru said. "You may have it back when Inuyasha comes for you."
I stomped my foot, my fists clenching at my sides. "Give it back. Now."
Sesshomaru glared at me. "Do not, give me orders, girl."
"I have a name." I snapped. "It's Ayu, my name is Ayu. And when my guitar's life is at stake, I will give all the orders I want."
He glared at me, but did not say a word.
All he had to do was glare, that was words enough.
So I did the only thing I could think of, at the moment.
I punched him, hard, in the jaw.
I think it hurt me more than it hurt him.
"Ow." I mumbled, shaking out my hand.
But then I looked up at him.
He looked…stunned.
Wow, emotion.
His eyes had widened, slightly, and his mouth was parted, a small red mark was forming where I'd hit him.
I don't know when I knew I was in trouble, but I think my first clue was when he dropped my guitar and lifted his hand to his face.
And then his gaze fell on me.
Or maybe it was the way he moved towards me so quickly that I didn't even have time to realize what was happening until I was on the ground, my cheek burning from where he'd hit me, hard.
I lay there on the ground, staring blankly at the grass, my eyes wide, my hand resting where he'd hit me.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, I turned and looked at him. He was staring down at me, not frowning, just staring.
"I guess…" I said softly. "I deserved that."
For once in my life, I had been silenced. Slapped into place, literally. I could see Rin and Jaken standing not too far away, staring, wide-eyed, at us.
What would Rin think? Why would Sesshomaru let her see that?
"You will learn," Sesshomaru said, causing me to turn back to him. "While you are here, to hold your tongue, girl."
"Ayu." I said, getting shakily to my feet. It hurt to stand, a lot, but I did it. I wouldn't show that I was weak, and couldn't just be pushed around. "My name, is Ayu."
He stared blankly at me, as if he were trying to figure out why I was standing up to him, even after he'd struck me.
And to tell you the truth, I didn't even know why.
Something almost…drew me to him. Drew me to contradict him, even though I knew I could get hurt in the process.
"I'm not afraid of you." I said softly, and yet steadily. "So you can hit me all you want, I don't care, but I'll never be afraid of you."
I looked defiantly up at him, ignoring the astonished gaping from Jaken and Rin, waiting for his reply.
But he didn't reply, and half of me didn't expect him too.
No, instead he turned and walked away, leaving me to stare, dumbfounded, after him.
As soon as he disappeared into the now dark forest, I sunk to my knees.
He'd left my guitar.
Maybe…there was some compassion, some emotion, in him.
"Ayu!" Rin breathed, rushing up to me, bunches of flowers in her hands. "Ayu are you alright?"
I nodded from my place on the ground. "Yes Rin, I'm fine."
She smiled. "Good. Ayu?"
"Yes, Rin?"
"Will you play for me, again?" She smiled sweetly. "That sound, I liked it, before."
I sighed and nodded, grabbing my guitar from the ground. "Yes Rin, I will."
XxXxX Sesshomaru's POV XxXxX
I watched the girl, Ayu, play the object from the shadows of the forest.
I had struck her, after she'd struck me, and yet she had barely flinched.
Any regular human would have screamed and ran away or begged for mercy. But she hadn't. She'd stood, knowing very well that it caused her pain, and stood up to me.
No one had ever done that before.
No human, anyway.
I watched her continue to play, her fingers working across the neck of the object, the guitar. Then she began to sing.
My breath caught in my throat; she had an amazing voice. I had never heard a human that sounded like that before. Her voice blended perfectly with the tune, faintly eerie that gave me the impression of the wind.
How could this girl, this woman, have such a sharp attitude, and yet produce something so beautiful? That's what she was, a woman. Though, I could smell her innocence, so she was still, somewhat, just a girl. But the way she carried herself showed others otherwise.
Would Inuyasha and his friends really come for her, as I had hoped? Or would they forget about her?
If so, would I keep her here, or let her go?
I was still deciding.
I ran my fingers along my jaw, where she'd hit me. It had been a good hit, for a female mortal, and I could still feel the slight static from her touch. But her, I knew, would feel the mark I'd given her in the morning, not I.
There was something else about her scent that I just couldn't get. It was human enough, but it was different from all the other humans in this world…it was almost…sweeter.
She was no priestess, that much I could tell, but there was definitely something different about her, as if she hadn't lived in Japan her whole life.
She wasn't Japanese, that was for sure.
I found myself wondering if striking her had been too rash a move, for when she'd looked at me after, there was shock in her eyes, and almost…disappointment.
I shook my head, frowning. Since when did I care what I did to humans?
I growled, walking from the forest towards where the girl was sitting, playing for Rin.
The sooner Inuyasha came for the girl, and I killed him, the better.
Then the girl would be gone, and I would no longer have to put up with her presence.
But until then…she had to stay alive, no matter what.
Okay! I hope you liked it! (Don't worry, Sesshomaru's not abusive. He just has a short temper) Review!
