Fortune peered suspiciously over at the girl walking on the other side of Sesshoumaru. "How old are you, girl?"
Her light brown hair billowed out slightly in the breeze. There had been rain off and on for the past few days, and the resulting light breeze helped make up for the grey and dismal atmosphere. Fortune studied the girl's face, and found it unremarkable except for her rather serious green eyes. Those eyes met his, a flash of panic crossing her features upon finding herself the object of such scrutiny. She turned away quickly.
She then looked up at Sesshoumaru, as if asking permission to answer, and leaned up to whisper something in his ear.
"She's fourteen," Sesshoumaru stated.
Fortune narrowed his eyes at this exchange. The girl had turned their comfortable twosome into an awkward threesome, and already she appeared to have the stoic youkai wrapped around her grubby little fingers. It was really some sort of sickness, Fortune decided, the youkai was too tightly wound up and emotionally constipated for his own good. Spending time with the girl must be some sort of warped outlet for his softer, gentler side—a side locked deep inside the recesses of the youkai's twisty-turny mind. Any powerful immortal that can have the pants scared off him by roaches must have a few screws loose rolling around under all that pretty hair.
Fortune glanced up at the youkai—his face was a mask of perfect nothingness. Hm. He could be wrong about the emotion thing, after all, still…there must be something unusual which was causing Sesshoumaru's attentions to be held by this human girl. Did it have something to do with being a dog youkai? Could this be an outlet for his instinctive doggie need to protect? Whatever it was, it was certainly out of character and not in tune with the dangerous and arrogant youkai Fortune had come to know. Fortune could only guess the shock others around Sesshoumaru must have felt when he had taken up with the little girl, Rin, five centuries previous.
Frustrated at his inability to dissect the youkai's intentions, he turned his attention to the human girl. And, whatever did a teenage girl see in a youkai, Fortune wondered not a little jealously. This situation was wrong in so many ways. It is not as if he even talked to her, or, even looked at her very often, for that matter. He seemed to ignore her. This was not unexpected. Sesshoumaru always seemed to ignore Fortune as well, but that was different. Fortune could always draw the youkai out using his conversation skills or by resorting to all-out taunting. This girl was not attempting any sort of communication whatsoever, unless she was communicating telepathically—and if he thought the company dull, he was quite sure a teenage girl must be bored out of her skull.
Sesshoumaru's voice interrupted his ruminations. "We will accompany Erin to purchase food."
"We will accompany Erin to purchase food," Fortune mimicked in a high, wheedling voice under his breath. The girl certainly did not hear, but Fortune hoped that Sesshoumaru would get the picture. In Fortune's opinion, he was he kissing her ass like some besotted groupie. Shouldn't it be the other way around, Fortune thought, beginning to find the situation vexing.
Why was she here? What did she want? Why associate herself with a vampire and a rather dull youkai?
After deciding that a slip of a girl did not belong in their little boy's club, Fortune had already come up with a fitting nickname for the girl—'conniving little bitch'. Of course, he would keep her nickname to himself for now. What mundane activity would she require of the youkai next? He had a sudden image of Sesshoumaru following Erin around an amusement park carrying a teddy bear and a big, red balloon.
Sesshoumaru noted Fortune's brooding and jealous behavior. He was finding it quite amusing. It reminded him of Jaken when he had brought Rin into their midst as a new, seemingly useless traveling companion. What Rin lacked in utilitarian skill, however, she made up in sheer entertainment value. Watching her and Jaken bicker, and especially when she would assault the toady youkai, was a more pleasant distraction than he had ever thought possible. Oh, Rin was no match for the wiry little youkai in strength, but the threat of what Sesshoumaru would do to him if he fought back left him to take the brunt of Rin's practical jokes—rocks, sticks and other projectiles—and childish tantrums. After a few, particularly trying days, Jaken had just sat at the edge of the campsite cowering in fear, holding his pounding head and trying to keep sanity in check. It was a perfect outlet for a young, spirited girl's energy, and a perfect distraction for Sesshoumaru. Rin's normally pleasant disposition and pure heart kept the teasing and confrontations from escalating too far, despite Jaken's immense talent for subjugation. Perhaps it was that very entertainment value that prevented the youkai from noticing when his little indulgence inched and pinched her way into becoming a vital and indispensable part of his own heart.
All told, the current situation was bafflingly reminiscent of many days spent traveling with Jaken and Rin so many years ago.
Sesshoumaru walked at a steady slow pace through the forest, Jaken and Rin following closely behind.
"Jaken, Jaken, why don't the birds let me catch them. Jaken, can't you catch a bird for me. Jaaakeeen, if you don't answer me, Sesshoumaru-sama will be very put out with you 'cause then I'll have to ask him…," Rin wheedled.
"What!" Jaken waddled to catch up to her, "you stupid girl. You are to address me with your useless questions, not Sesshoumaru-sama, and I am not…"
"Jaken, there goes another one. Catch one for me pleeeasse."
"I will not, you useless female. Leave me alone or I'll…"
BONK
"Aaaahhh, what did you do that for, you little viper! I will not put up with this insolence…."
"Jaken."
"Oh, yes, yes, milord. I am sorry for all the commotion…"
"I threw the rock."
"Oh, yes, I did deserve that certainly…"
"Damare."
"Yes, mi.." Jaken stopped in mid-sentence under his lords penetrating gaze, quickly covering his mouth with his tiny hand before any more words escaped.
Stopping on the street, Sesshoumaru wondered why his memory had pulled such a trivial event out of the dark recesses of his mind, but he still smiled briefly. He could recall many similar instances. It was fairly typical of what happened when Rin had nowhere to channel her boundless enthusiasm for life and had reached her limits of boredom. Ah, Rin and Jaken—how he had missed the girl's warm company and even his sycophantic follower as well. In a gesture of habit and affection, Sesshoumaru picked up another rock and aimed it at Jaken's head.
BONK
"What the fuck!"
Sesshoumaru blinked, and shook his head slightly—the images of Rin, Jaken and medieval Japan melted down his vision like rainwater, replaced by the grey of concrete sidewalks, brick walls, and a massive live oak tree. Did he just….forget where he was? Had his powerful memories caused him to loose his grip on reality and addle his brain?
No, that was quite impossible, he decided quickly. He reassured himself that he had simply been reminiscing, and had thrown the rock at Fortune because the vampire reminded him of his past servant.
Fortune lobbed the rock back at Sesshoumaru, who dodged easily. What did he do to deserve that? Where did he even find the blasted rock in the first place, Fortune wondered, rubbing the back of his head. "If you want to play baseball, youkai, I am more than happy to find a nice, hard bat and show you how it's done."
Instead of a derisive look or snort at the veiled threat, or even a responding threat, the youkai simply looked dazed. It is just as well, the vampire sighed, back to being ignored then.
That is when he heard the sputter. He turned and saw that the sound was coming from behind the youkai. It was the girl. She had both her hands pressed to her mouth, and her shoulders were shaking in what could only be laughter, at his expense no less. "You girl, what is wrong with you," Fortune snapped, "you had better not have told the youkai to…," he stopped there, reconsidering, "you gave him that rock, didn't you," he accused. With that, she gave up trying to suppress the laughter and her laughter spilled out of her mouth in a high, tinkling giggle, "Hee heee heee hee."
All Fortune could think was "What a strange laugh. He must be coaching her."
Fortune had opted out of the food buying expedition in favor of acquiring some dinner of his own. He normally only had to feed once a week or even less, but if for any reason he waited any longer he would often feed several days in a row after his hunger had festooned into a feeding frenzy worthy of any great white shark. And, sometimes, like most creatures, he would eat out of boredom. But, tonight, he was eating to try and quell the irritation he felt at having to spend the evening with the unwanted, as least by him, hangers on named Erin. On a dark street, Fortune crouched beside his victim, thinking the man's blood had not satisfied him in the least and wondering if he should ditch the youkai and girl for good. Having to endure dull company was one thing, but having it irritate him enough to loose his ability to enjoy the taste of blood was another.
Sesshoumaru and the girl were almost on him before he noticed, as he was now thoroughly occupied with contemplating how best to get rid of the human girl while making it look like an accident.
Sesshoumaru growled at the vampire, seeing him crouching beside the dead man. He did not wish for Erin to see the vampire and his recent kill. Sesshoumaru wondered why this had not dawned on him when he smelled the now familiar faint scent of blood mixed with Fortune's scent. But, when he arrived, he recalled suddenly that Erin did not comprehend exactly what Fortune was—she likely thought him youkai as well. He was not eager to enlighten her that his friend was an undead killer who lived off the blood of her kind. Not that he was any less familiar or comfortable with death than the vampire, but he did not wish to explain that to Erin now either.
Glancing over at Erin, he saw that though she looked concerned, she did not seem to grasp the enormity of the situation. Good, he thought and decided a lie was the best way to avoid any awkward questions, or possibly terrified shrieks. "Fortune, you and your drunken friend are obviously busy here, so Erin and I will continue to the park so that she may eat her dinner."
"Oh," Fortune began, quickly catching the meaning behind Sesshoumaru's words, "yes, I found my old friend, Bubba, lying here unconscious. Been hitting the whiskey a little too hard, haven't you, Bubba. Phew!" Fortune waved his hand vigorously in front of his face, "you reek! This is the last time I help you out after one of your binges."
"Do as you wish, we are leaving." Sesshoumaru said curtly, eager to depart before Erin questioned the strange situation before them. He stepped over the dead man and walked in the direction of the park.
"Oh, don't you worry," Fortune called after him with a hint of menace in his voice, "I'll happily accompany you two as well. But, since I cannot leave my friend, Bubba, here, to the dangers of the night, I will just have to take him with us."
"What." Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks. He turned and saw Fortune hoisting the corpse up and looping its left arm over Fortune's shoulder. Though Sesshoumaru's expression did not change, he did arch an eyebrow when the vampire began to move forward, dragging his late victim with him. This scene confirmed his suspicions that the vampire was, indeed, completely insane.
"Bubba, you are heaaa-vy," Fortune laughed, "you are lucky I am such a nice guy." The dead man's head was pitched forward at an odd angle, arm falling from its place around Fortune's neck, but the vampire tightened his grip around the man's waist, holding him up easily so that only his limp shoes drug the ground as he walked forward. Unless, like Erin, you were none the wiser, the scene was decidedly gruesome. Despite the youkai's outwardly calm expression, he was seething inside. Fortune's practical joke was going too far this time. He was not about to allow the vampire to drag a corpse around all evening. The entire thing was highly demented, but the vampire's behavior did not surprise him in the least.
Fortune continued dragging the corpse until he was standing flush with Sesshoumaru and Erin. "Come on, Bubba," he chuckled to himself. Erin did not seem concerned, she was busy fishing a potato chip out of the paper sack she carried. With her dull human senses, he surmised, she could not readily decipher that this man was actually dead, not simply unconscious. Assessing the situation, he could think of no easy way to be rid of Fortune without alerting the girl that something was amiss. Keeping this in mind, Sesshoumaru decided to allow Fortune's little charade to continue for the time being, hoping he would soon tire of it.
They continued for some time, Fortune still merrily dragging the corpse, while Sesshoumaru made a point of ignoring it. Erin tried to get a glimpse of the man's face from her vantage point beside Sesshoumaru. "Um. Will he wake up soon?"
"I don't think so."
"Will he be okay?"
"Oh, he'll be as well as can be expected," Fortune was on the verge of bursting into giggles at this point.
"Is he hurt?"
"Oh, no, not in the least," Fortune assured her with a little too much enthusiasm.
"Just drunk, huh," Erin clarified for herself. "A couple of times, at one of my sister's parties, a few of her friends got so drunk that they passed out like that."
"I see. A few of them ended up like my friend here?" Fortune had a wicked gleam in his eye at this, "your sister must not have decided that they were not very good friends, then."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, obviously, if she killed…"
"Fortune," Sesshoumaru interrupted warningly.
"As I was saying, obviously, it must have been a killer party, then," Fortune finished, staring at the youkai innocently.
"Oh," Erin replied, not really wanting to know what that strange exchange was about. It was better that she did not talk to Fortune anyways, since he appeared half-crazy, had attempted to harm her in the past and did not seem to like her very much.
Arriving at the park, Erin ran over and seated herself on the nearest bench, eagerly opening her package of potato chips and pulling a muffaleta sandwich out of a brown paper sack. Sesshoumaru took advantage of the distance to address Fortune's appalling behavior.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, you bloodsucking parasite," Sesshoumaru gritted through his teeth in a low voice.
Despite his ever calm appearance, Fortune knew that the youkai must be quite angry if he stooped to name calling. "What is the matter, Sesshoumaru, jealous of my new friend. You have your new friend, why can't I have one as well? Mine is no less dull. Isn't that right, Bubba?" Fortune patted his new friend amicably on the shoulder.
"You're new friend is a corpse."
"I realized that."
"Get rid of it."
Fortune gave him a look of mock horror, "did you hear that, he wants me to abandon you, Bubba!" Fortune grasped the dead man's hair and pulled his face up so that his gaze seemed to meet his own, "I think he's a just a tad jealous, don't you, Bubba?"
"Who do you think you are holding a conversation with, his ghost?"
"Oh, so now you think you can be funny all of a sudden after ignoring me in favor of that twit all evening."
Both were silent for a long moment, seeming to be sizing one another up. Sesshoumaru was the first to speak, "You can't drag the corpse around all night," he said logically.
"Just watch me."
"Then leave us, and you can have the entire night to get to know your friend, Bubba, better."
"No, no, I don't think so. Bubba and I are enjoying your company even if you don't feel the same."
Sesshoumaru merely stared at him in disgust. "Your behavior is hideously bizarre. I can always kill you."
"Can always try to kill me," Fortune corrected, "but I suppose my little joke has run its course. Perhaps it is best that Bubba here is left reclining on the bench to sleep off his hangover."
"That sounds wise."
"I'll just set him down beside Erin. I'll explain to her when we leave."
"Explain what, exactly," Sesshoumaru asked suspiciously.
"Only that Bubba will be safe for the night here, and he'll wake tomorrow with a throbbing headache," Fortune answered innocently.
As the three were leaving, Fortune made a big show of rearranging his friend's mussed hair and shirt collar, "wouldn't want him to wake up looking messy, now would we."
Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. Fortune's sense of humor was ghastly. He wondered at what point, exactly, in his long lifetime, the vampire had lost his sanity.
AN: Sorry so long in updating. I was out of town. Will update in a few days. As always, thanks so much for the reviews! They really make writing worth it!