Stolen Seasons XI
Crimson in the Darkness
Lm. Samiko

-

Near complete darkness masked the nakedness of the trees, the new moon hiding as though terrified of the death of another year. At a time when humans gave thanks for bountiful harvests, nature lived in trepidation. What would survive and what would die before the coming of spring? To Sesshoumaru, the tension was almost palpable, though it did not affect him. He would survive; it was not a question. The woman seemed to have felt it as she journeyed to meet him, her fear palpable from a distance. Once she reached him, however, she seemed content to lie along the ground near his feet, staring up at the stars. Her breath exhaled in a sigh, ending a long silence. "Why do you hate humans so much, Sesshoumaru?" she asked. Her voice sounded lonely in the dark.

"I do not," he informed her. "To hate them would require me to waste my time thinking of them. I merely disregard them as you disregard the ants beneath your feet--of no consequence unless they present themselves in my way. Even then, they are merely a minor nuisance."

"Oh." She did not look at him. "Why do you 'waste your time' with me, then?" Her words took on the timbre of a lost child. "Why do you waste your time with Rin?"

Silence. It was a question he had refused to ask himself, merely following his inclination--his instinct. "Sesshoumaru?" She sounded fearful now, perhaps thinking that he had left her alone in the dark. Something he could no longer do.

"You--and Rin--were both placed in my path," he said finally. "I wish to know why. It serves no purpose to abandon or kill you until I know." 'Why' was a question he rarely permitted himself to ask. The world simply was the way it was, to be accepted and then either manipulated or forced into the shape he desired.

"Perhaps..." she began hesitantly, "perhaps you need us. Or perhaps... we need you."

"Hnh. Why would I need two humans?"

Her gaze turned inward again. "I think..." she began slowly. "I think you've been hurt in the past. Emotionally, I mean. I can only guess how. But I know there's a reason your father gave you Tenseiga, a reason you don't allow yourself to feel. He wanted two strong sons, Sesshoumaru. And he knew enough to realize that denying part of yourself will only weaken you, no matter what you believe. And..." Her eyes lifted to look uncertainly in his direction, reflecting what little light there was. "And I would never, never hurt you, never betray you, Sesshoumaru."

"Both you and Rin will leave someday. By your deaths, if nothing else."

She shook her head violently. "I said I won't and I won't. I can't promise not to die; I know that. But I swear to you..." Her voice thickened and faltered. "I swear to you, Sesshoumaru, Taiyoukai of the Western Lands, that I will never leave you alone. My spirit will always be with you. If nothing else, my reincarnation will find you. Until the end of time, Sesshoumaru. For as long as you need me."

"Pretty words, woman. In the end, pretty words are nothing more than perfume on the wind. Easily dispensed, easily dispersed. I need no such promises." A hitch so slight he assumed she would not notice. "I need no such sops to my"--and here he sneered--"feelings."

The woman shot bolt upright. "So I am to trust your word, but you won't trust mine! You, you... arrogant, self-absorbed, terrified bastard!"

"'Terrified'?" A dangerous edge tinged his echo of her words.

"Yes, I said terrified! You are so fucking scared of feeling anything that you run like a damned rabbit from it! You hide yourself in whatever little corner of your psyche 'cause you can't deal with the possibility that you might be hurt!"

Sesshoumaru's hand curled into a fist in his lap. "This Sesshoumaru fears nothing, human," he spat.

"Bullshit!" she shot back at him. "You are so damn full of it! Just admit it! Just fucking admit it! Or," she sneered, rivaling him at his best, "are you too weak to look yourself full in the face?"

He had her pushed against a tree before she even realized he'd moved. "Do not presume too much upon the goodwill of this Sesshoumaru," he growled, his hand at her throat, holding her inches above the ground. "I am one of the strongest youkai alive. I fear nothing. You remain alive only at my sufferance, woman."

She gripped the fist at her throat, trying to alleviate the pressure, but he realized with surprise that no fear emanated from her even as she choked for air. He released her with the same speed he picked her up, dumping her body to the ground. She coughed harshly, a dry, hoarse rattle that repeated when she spoke.

"You fear yourself, Sesshoumaru," she rasped, gazing up at him. "You fear your past. All you've done is prove it to me." The woman picked herself up, slowly coming to her feet. He watched her approach, even now reverting to his usual stoic demeanor. She would not see what occured beneath the surface. "I can't help you with that unless you let me. I thought you... I thought you were beginning to trust me." She sighed and he felt the movement of air. Then his brows knit in puzzlement as the air continued to move, swirling ever so slightly around the slender woman, rustling the silk of her clothes, playing through her thick, dark hair. Sesshoumaru watched warily as a glow surrounded her even as she reached for an arrow at her hip.

His mind questioned but did not object when she reached out a hand to pull his out in front of him and open, palm upward. That she might use her power to harm him did not even cross his mind now, though it would make no difference to him if she tried. Sesshoumaru merely watched as she cut open her own palm with the tiny blade of the arrow, letting the drops fall into his palm. The liquid was warm and... soothing. It did not excite the bloodlust in his nature; it wrapped him in a feeling that he had no name for, a feeling that did not dissipate as her magic coalesced, forcing the blood to harden into a jewel-like stone whose curves fit exactly the shape of his hand.

When he looked up from the entrancing stone, he met a pair of dark, serious eyes. "Wherever, whatever I am, Sesshoumaru, that stone will lead you to me. Whenever you need me. Use it as you wish." She turned, walking away from him and not looking back.