I just wanted to say thank you to all of my reviewers; your good words are appreciated. Stolen Seasons will continue, with about 20 scenes in all. I'm hoping to keep up a twice-weekly update schedule, though I shan't have time this week. Look for the next Seasons post on Tues. or Wed. next week. Thank you, enjoy, and please review! --Lm. Samiko
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Stolen Seasons VII
Skipping Stones
Lm. Samiko
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The small, smooth stone skipped along the surface of the pool, causing it to ripple wildly, though the movement was barely noticible in the darkness of the new moon. Sesshoumaru didn't mind the blackness; he welcomed it. The light revealed far too much. "You come again," he commented quietly to the figure in the shadows.
"What else can I do?" she questioned, moving forward to stand beside him. "We seem to be attracted to the same places, you and I. More so, now that Naraku has given us such a clear path."
"The hanyou is mine."
"I think there are quite a few who would challenge that claim," the woman replied evenly. "He damaged your pride; most of us have suffered the loss of family and friends. Still, I don't think it should be an issue. The point is to bring the bastard down. I don't give a damn who strikes the final blow. But I would like it if you and InuYasha wouldn't waste the chances we get fighting each other for the privilege. Still," she sighed, "I have no illusions that either of you will listen to me."
He eyed her briefly, then returned his gaze to the now-still pool. "Should you not be with that hanyou this night?"
"Eh?" Her surprise seemed geniuine, to be replaced by comprehension. "Oh. No, there's really no reason for me to stick around. He can take care of himself, after all. And, truth be told... it's nights like this that make me feel more alone. He can't accept it, you see, and he retreats into himself. He always has."
"Hn. How is it, woman, that you feel alone amongst your comrades?"
"Same reason you do," she countered. He turned to look at her. "I come from a world so very different from this one. A world without youkai or magic or whatever. I've become trapped between here and there. They're my friends and they try, but they can't ever understand how that feels, not really belonging anywhere. They can never understand what I think or why. Everything from my home is just a novelty to them. Even my opinions and knowledge." It was her turn to eye him. "I think you understand how I feel."
"You presume to understand me, woman?" His eyebrow lifted.
"Not at all. I merely think that you understand how it feels not to be understood." She laughed then, a light sound that skipped over the air like the stone over the water. "It sounds rather muddled, doesn't it?"
"I comprehend your meaning."
"And I think... you understand what it feels like to be alone." Her voice was low; he would not have heard it with ordinary human hearing.
"Yes." Strange, that he felt no compunction over answering this woman's comments. That he knew she would not run to tell tales to the hanyou. That she would simply accept whatever he said without judgment.
"I'd..." She hesitated and he wondered what she was going to ask him now. "I'd like someday to hear what your life has been. One day, if you ever don't mind telling. But for now... I'll be your friend, if you'll let me." She moved toward him and he tensed, centuries of training putting him on his guard. The woman moved again, more slowly this time, slipping her hand into his own. She watched him shyly when he did not object or toss her hand away. The truth was--and he had taken her advice to heart not to lie to himself, however much he might fight it--the truth was, he had been craving this touch ever since their last meeting, its open warmth reminscent of the way his mother's fur used to feel... They stood upon the edge of the pool and listened to the silence of the night--which, of course, wasn't really silence at all.