Woo-Hoo! It's Wednesday again, time for more of that awesome craziness. Or rather, time to pick up where that last chapter left off. Sorry if it seemed a bit of a cliff hanger, but I wound up dividing the chapter off, and that was the best place to leave off in the middle. Anywhere else and one of the chapters would wind up being too short, and we all know how that would've been taken.
But who cares! Now we get to finally know what the hell flew up Sesshoumaru's nose! And Fred gets to have a little fun too, fun giving Sesshoumaru a hard time that is.Ah Fred, if only every girl could have such an awesome friend. Sadly, such good guy friends are of exceedingly short supply unless you happen to live in a city full of Metro sexuals, and even then they're too stuffed with worry over their appearrance to be wonderful.
Fred was loosely based on a friend, and right around the time this friend started being rather horrible, bad/annoying stuff started happening to Fred. Heehee! Ah, I cleaned up some of it when I typed it up, but the correllation remains. Everybody's favorite ghost is the only original character derived from a single live person. And he'll never know because he doesn't watch anime or read fanfiction! (Shocking, I know!)
Just to give everybody a heads up, This is the last chapter in this part. Aki takes off again and the story has to catch up with her in the next part, so be looking for it next week! And as always, do not feed the Inuyasha characters or rattle their cages. They don't like that!
Here On Earth
While some people require very little to make them perfectly content, others always require a little something extra just to be contrary.
Sesshoumaru was apparently one of those contrary bastards.
It wasn't enough that Aki was alive and had survived the night. It wasn't enough that she actually had returned the way Fred had said she would. It wasn't even enough that she came back in better shape than expected. No, after hearing the words "returned to the state I was in" before he'd even met her left her lips he wanted to be certain his mating mark was still in place.
That's right. Sesshoumaru was only worried that some unknown party had revoked his mating contract while he wasn't watching. It was something that pulled all of his attention from everything else going on.
So when everybody else headed into the shrine building to heat up something for breakfast, he'd latched onto Aki's arm and held her behind. He'd been unable to see the expanse of skin he needed to from a discreet distance so he would have to take a closer look. He held her quietly, watching the others until the last of them disappeared in the doorway of their temporary shelter.
Aki just stood there and blinked. The talkative clouds had warned her that Sesshoumaru might pull something like this. Actually, she was slightly surprised it had taken him this long to do it. She knew what he wanted to know. She also knew he wasn't going to like what he would find out.
She waited calmly in the cage of his arms as he watched the shrine doorway a few moments longer to be certain no one would come back out. His arms tensed around her before one arm loosened itself to run through her hair.
Finally he sighed and drew the line of her body back against his own to take a single calming breath of her elusive scent before taking the proverbial plunge into the future. Sesshoumaru gently swept her hair out of the way and looked down.
The ivory column of Aki's neck greeted the molten gold of his eyes. It was perfect, without blemish, soft and smooth and his heart clenched at the sight. His mark was gone.
Sesshoumaru took another deep breath. Fine then. His mate stood before him unmarked, easily fixed. The inu youkai shoved her hair out of his way and gripped her tightly to hold her still. He tensed his muscles ready to sink his teeth into her again.
Aki shoved him away with her elbow before he could strike. "No!" she growled firmly as she stumbled and fell. The former English tutor turned to look at the growling taiyoukai. "No," she said again. "I didn't remove it, I didn't know I could, but I'm not going to let you push me into this again."
Sesshoumaru growled. What did she mean 'No'? She was his!
"I didn't have a say in this last time," she growled fiercely. "Now that I've got a second chance, I'm damn well gong to keep you from pushing me into this." Aki took a deep breath before continuing. "I wasn't asked for permission before, and I don't understand the whole thing, but I'm sure the hell not going to be manipulated back into something that is borderline to breaking one of my promises." The former English tutor leveled a severe glare at the demon lord. "Go find some other female to fill the position. I'm not interested in finding a life partner or mate. I'm not looking to betray my promises or myself simply because it's convenient to you!" Aki sighed, "It was never my intention to cause pain, Sesshoumaru, let me go."
Sesshoumaru reached out and caught her arm in a bruising grip. "I will not. You are my mate!" he growled at her stubbornly. "You are mine. I will not just 'let you go'."
"I am not a piece of property!" Aki yanked her arm out of his grasp, ignoring the forming bruises. "I am a person with my own thoughts and ideas. I have obligations to fulfill and I can't do it with you forcing me to break them at every turn. Either you let it go or I will force you to!" and she promptly turned on her heal and followed the smell of food.
Sesshoumaru was just about to take off after her and prove his dominance when Fred's voice stopped him.
"Wait." The ghost demanded. "Don't go running after her right this minute. It'll only make your situation worse." His advice was rewarded with a look that could melt the dashboard of a car. "She told you she wouldn't break her promises just because it's convenient to you, remember? If you want her back as your mate, you've got to prove to her that it is more than just convenience that motivates you stupid," Fred drawled out as if the dog demon was too dumb to pick up on it.
"Will you get to the point already?" Sesshoumaru rumbled impatiently.
"My advice to you is to first off stop treating her like some object or toy you can own. It's degrading for her and presumptuous of you. Has she ever told you she was interested in belonging to you? No! Aki is her own person and she's going to live life her own way," Fred declared firmly. "So the next time you happen to talk to her, apologize."
Sesshoumaru growled at that, a note of chilled death clearly evident in the sound.
"If you don't respect Aki enough to apologize for continuing to pursue a behavioral pattern she has repeatedly requested you to quit, then you obviously don't want Aki," the ghost snapped smugly. "That's perfectly fine with me, I never wanted you for her anyway. You obviously can't be trusted with such a precious treasure. Go find someone better suited to your disrespectful, possessive nature." Fred turned to leave the demon lord.
Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes in irritation. What was more important? His pride or regaining Aki as mate? Actually the real question was how badly did he want Aki and why. He'd first desired the almost demon when he had encountered her after saving Rin. Her ability to accept whatever was thrown her way and fire back the same had likewise drawn him in. It was an unusual skill for a female her age. She was beautiful in any form she'd taken thus far, but that wasn't particularly important. There were other more malleable females who were just as beautiful.
The demon growled softly to himself, truth was, he liked the challenge she presented him. He was intrigued by her ability to control a conversation effortlessly. Her quiet smiling depression disturbed him and her gentle strength amazed him. There was no help for it. He wanted Aki and no one else would do.
Sesshoumaru groaned mentally, "So I apologize then what?" he asked quietly in resignation.
Fred paused to look at him of his shoulder. "You promise to try not to do it again. And you better be sure to say 'try'. Wording is very important. Explain that it's some instinctual thing to act that way. It won't make it right, but it might give you a little more leeway." The ghost paused a moment in thought. "That's just a start you understand, you will have to start treating her like a person and not some object." Sesshoumaru nodded sharply, "As for the other problem, that's going to take more time."
"How so?" the youkai asked impatiently.
"Well you can't just walk up to her and say 'I fancy you!'" Fred explained. "It doesn't work that way. I mean, besides it being totally out of character for you, she wouldn't believe you if you said it now anyways."
"This Sesshoumaru does not tell lies," Sesshoumaru snarled.
"I didn't say you did, but it would be all together too convenient for you to decide right now, right after she told you convenience wasn't enough, that you cared for her." Fred shrugged, "There is no quick fix for this, and you can't go into this half heartedly and never finish. Time is slowly running out." The ghost got a faraway look in his eyes. "Aki won't see the end of this if someone doesn't catch her."
"What?" Sesshoumaru demanded barely concealing his confusion.
"Okay, here's what you're going to have to accomplish if you're absolutely sure you want nobody else but Aki. First off, you're going to apologize, and then you're going to apologize every time you make her angry or upset. I don't care how trivial it seems or if it was for her own good, you apologize and try your damnedest not to make her cry. Secondly, you will no longer deny that you want Aki as a mate and no one else. You pride keeps messing things up and I'm going to tell you right now, if Aki ever lets you into her heart words can hurt her. Thirdly you will continue with the above behavior even when Aki isn't around! Your most telling behavior will be what you do when you don't think she's around to hear or see you. If nothing else an apology for something you did that she didn't know about will seem endearing and work directly in your favor. Also, just because you think she can't hear you doesn't mean she can't." Fred shook his head; "You've already lost brownie points for that once." At Sesshoumaru's blank look the ghost explained, "Aki was originally going to say goodbye to you before she left, but after hearing what you said to the little green guy when he asked about her she changed her mind and we left rather quickly."
Sesshoumaru's eyes unfocused as he tried to remember any such conversation. He nearly blanched when he did. She had over heard that? It's a wonder she would even speak to him now!
"I wouldn't try to apologize for that now, you've already lost the chance to do so without making it worse," Fred informed him. "One last thing I can tell you, don't lie. And I mean about anything. Especially if it's something bad or embarrassing about you. She'll believe you don't trust her and that will be detrimental to what you're attempting to accomplish." Fred smiled warmly, "Of course if something never gets brought up, she doesn't have to know. And that's about as much help as I can offer."
"Why are you offering me aid?" Sesshoumaru questioned the ghost's motives, it was very clear they shared a mutual dislike of each other.
"Because I like Aki and you're the only one so far that's managed to get past her barriers. Because I suspect her curse will be taken care of shortly thereby circumventing one of her promises. Because when it does, Aki may be so far beyond help as to be incapable of healing," Fred answered quietly without looking at the taiyoukai. "Because Aki plans her battle with Naraku to be her last." The ghost turned to look fully at Sesshoumaru, "you asked her once, when she was human and you'd just lost your arm, if she had a death wish. She didn't answer you then, just like she wouldn't now if you asked her again. I'll tell you now, Aki wishes she had died with the rest of her family, she wouldn't hurt so much and I can understand it. She won't take her own life because of the promise she made and under normal circumstances she wouldn't go out of her way seeking trouble. Kagome's quest gave her an excuse to seek death without breaking her promise. I want you to be there to stop her wanting to die. I want you to give her the reason to live. Aki is too good to die now."
"Hey Fred," Aki called from inside the shrine.
"Coming," Fred answered cheerily before the demon lord could question him further. The ghost winked at him quietly before immediately turning to the vision of Aki framed in the doorway.
"I hear I owe you profound thanks for saving my soup," Aki beamed at the ghost.
"No thanks needed," Fred grinned. "I knew it was your last can. Once Kagome found that out, she did her best not to ruin it."
"Ah," Aki nodded.
"Aki, here's your soup," Kagome appeared it he doorway holding the mug from before.
"Thanks!" Aki replied cheerfully. Kagome smiled and disappeared back into the shrine while Aki slid down to sit on the porch with her back to the wall. The almost demon happily breathed in the aromatic steam floating over the cup with a smile.
Sesshoumaru took a deep breath to calm his temper. She had every right to be difficult about his previous marking. He, himself, hadn't followed the rules. He slowly moved to the porch. Aki didn't look up at him as he sat facing her with his back leaning against a support pole.
"It's impolite to stare you know," Aki scolded him mildly.
Sesshoumaru just scoffed at her and continued to watch her eat.
"You know, if you were anybody else, I'd think you had an unhealthy fascination with watching people eat," she teased him while sipping the salty broth in the cup.
"Indeed," he said softly.
"Did you want something?" Aki began then changed her mind. "Scratch that. Did you want something I'd be willing to help you with?"
Red flashed in his eyes momentarily before he got a hold of himself. Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and held it as he tried to decide what he should do. Should he take Fred's advice and apologize while promising to modify his behavior? Should he ask her to promise no other would take his place while she refuses to accept him back?
One thing at a time, he first had to make sure she was willing to "talk" to him at all. He gave a barely audible sigh while Aki continued to absently eat her soup waiting for his answer. One thing he knew about her, she could be incredibly patient if the situation warranted it. Sometimes he envied her patience, and his own was legendary!
Sesshoumaru mentally shook his head and addressed the female before him. "We need to talk," he said softly. The four words dreaded by almost everyone who has ever heard them.
Aki focused on her cup, "About what?" she asked indifferently. It had better not be more of the "you belong to me" rhetoric or she was going to be thoroughly pissed off.
"Many things, most of them private," Sesshoumaru glanced darkly at the suddenly quiet interior of the shrine.
Aki almost smiled, one would surmise that Sesshoumaru wouldn't be so leery of a bunch of lowly humans overhearing what he had to say if Inuyasha and Tama weren't part of the same group. "Perhaps you would prefer talking somewhere more private, hmm?" she asked quietly as she finished the contents of her cup. "Pick a hut, we have a whole village to choose from."
Sesshoumaru looked like he would reject the idea of remaining within the confines of the village for a moment. Then he really thought about it. If they remained in the village, they would risk the half-breed and his friends eavesdropping on them, but if they moved out of the village they risked stray demons catching the conversation. Staying in the village was the lesser of the two evils. It amazed him that she had already come to that conclusion on her own so quickly.
"All right," he said softly as he slid off the porch of the shrine.
Aki set down her cup and pushed to her feet, using the wall for support. A movement made more difficult by the sudden dizzy spell that left her vision swimming. When she could see straight again, she carefully moved away from the building, giving Sesshoumaru a miniscule smile of reassurance, before walking down the road to the other end of town.
After a bit of looking they managed to find a hut on the outskirts of the village that was wholly undamaged. It smelled strongly of its former inhabitants, making the inu youkai vaguely uncomfortable. Sesshoumaru suppressed the grimace of distaste and focused his attention on the other occupant of the enclosure.
"Alright, talk," Aki encouraged softly.
The corner of Sesshoumaru's mouth quirked up into a kind of half smile. It only lasted a moment, barely a second in time, before his mask fell into place. "Aki," he began hesitantly. He'd never had to really apologize before in his life, he wasn't sure of what to do.
"Hmm?" She encouraged a little bit more.
"I wanted to, to…" drat! Who knew it could be so difficult to say one word? Aki nodded for him to continue whatever he was saying. "I wanted to apologize," there, he managed to spit it out.
Aki blinked in surprise. "What?"
"I said," Sesshoumaru fairly growled.
"I know what you said!" Aki interrupted. "I want to know what prompted this!"
"I…" Sesshoumaru began slightly at a loss. Suddenly it struck him that it might be unwise to tell her that Fred had told him to apologize. "I – I just realized that you were right." Aki blinked owlishly at him stunned. "I have continued to disregard your reasonable request for me to modify my behavior towards your person. I am ashamed of this inexcusable disrespect and therefore I should change my treatment of you and your preferences accordingly."
"Um, thanks?" Aki murmured, bewildered with this conversation.
"What I am trying to impart is that I will try to stop treating you as a possession, but I might not be totally successful," Sesshoumaru paused hesitantly. "It is in the nature of inu to be territorial. It is instinctive to be possessive, but I will try to curb it."
Aki slowly absorbed what he said and a smile blossomed on her face. "Thank you," she sighed happily. "I'll try not to be too waspish about it then, as long as I know you're trying." Sesshoumaru gave a big sigh of relief. Aki quirked up her eyebrow at his strange behavior, "that wasn't too hard was it?" she reached out and squeezed his hand. Almost immediately her grip tightened in instinctive panic as the room seemed to sway. She cried out as she began to fall only to be wrapped securely in Sesshoumaru's embrace.
"What?" he asked, barely suppressing the worry in his voice. "I thought you said they fixed you."
Aki's mouth quirked up on one side, 'fix' her indeed! Shaking her head reassuringly she informed him that while they did 'fix' her, she still hadn't had enough sleep.
"Are you quite certain that is all this is?" the youkai lord inquired.
Aki smiled up at him, "Yep, while the rest of me is fine, my brain does require sleep in order to recuperate properly."
"If that was the case, why did you not sleep right away?"
"Well for starters you tried to kill me, then that detachment did. Then I had to explain things. Besides, the people that healed me also told me I needed to eat before I conked out for a few hours," she closed her eyes as the world went spinning again.
"Then sleep. We have an empty, quiet hut to ourselves, you have eaten, and no one is attacking you. Should anyone try, I am here to convince them it is not wise. Sleep if you need to," Sesshoumaru shifted her in his arms until they were both on the floor with Aki in his lap.
"I can't just conk out. You weren't done talking yet!" she grumbled, pushing against his chest mutinously. How she knew he had more to talk about he couldn't be certain.
"Talking can wait, you need sleep, or I could hunt down that herb Kikyou used to put you to sleep before," he threatened gently.
"Or you could just keep talking and finish what you started," she demanded.
"I only had one more thing to ask you," Sesshoumaru began, running his fingers through her hair absently.
"Hmm," she yawned hugely.
He tucked her head under his chin and cuddled her closer. "I can ask you later," he assured her. "It is not something that requires an answer just now." Sesshoumaru listened to the sounds her body made as it slowly shut down to rest.
He sat there for hours, cradling her body to his chest and watching the sunbeams skate across the earthen floor by the door. And as boring an occupation as it may have been, he was still unhappy to see Inuyasha at the door of the hut telling him the day was nearly over and he had to move.
Inuyasha didn't actually say it like that. He wasn't that stupid. What he'd said was that Tama was erecting a barrier around the shrine building for the night so that everyone could get a good night sleep after the two nights before. "She figures that at the very least it'll keep Aki out of trouble until morning." The hanyou explained sarcastically.
Sesshoumaru nodded and stood up fluidly, still holding Aki to his chest, and exited the hut after his half sibling.
"How long's she been out?" Inuyasha asked slightly worried about his sister-figure.
"A while," the taiyoukai answered blandly.
"How long is 'a while'?" Inuyasha inquired slightly peeved that the bastard hadn't given him a straight answer. Was it so hard to just answer a question without being so die-hard vague about everything? It wasn't like the information would hurt anything.
"Since just after she ate."
"That was this morning! Are you sure it's alright for her to sleep so long?"
"Aki's fine," Fred insisted from behind the dog boy, causing him to jump and curse the ghost.
"Don't do that!"
Aki mumbled something in English and shifted slightly in Sesshoumaru's arm. She rubbed her cheek against the silk covering his chest before settling again.
"Would you be quiet!" Fred hissed at the loud hanyou as Sesshoumaru picked up his pace, leaving the ghost and Inuyasha behind.
There was no real need to wake Aki just yet, no matter what Inuyasha thought. The whelp always had been impatient with others.
Despite his efforts to keep her slumbering quietly, Aki's sleepy eyes fluttered open with a reluctant moan. She blinked and rubbed her eyes to clear the sleep from them before focusing on the face hovering above her. She smiled tiredly up at him and cleared her throat.
"You can put me down now," she told him softly and punctuated her statement with a huge yawn. His arms tightened around her unwilling to let go. "Please Sesshoumaru, this is going to be really uncomfortable in a few minutes."
He had to think about her words a moment before he managed to grasp that she was talking about her impending changes brought about at sunset. She really would be uncomfortable if Sesshoumaru continued to hold her this way while nearly her entire shape changed. He gently allowed her to stand on her own.
Aki gave him a tired smile and soft thanks, before her breath caught and she was engulfed in the brilliant light of her change. Fred cursed in realization as he and Inuyasha caught up with them. The light pulsed brighter, forcing Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to look away or risk being blinded.
Almost as quickly as the torment began, it ended and Aki's knees gave out under her in relief causing her to pitch forward. Sesshoumaru caught her without much effort.
"I swear you do this to make us worry," Fred griped playfully.
"I assure you Fred, that if I had the ability, I would so be hurting you right now," Aki gave a dry cough as she pushed against Sesshoumaru to stand on her own. The inu youkai refused to move too far away in case she showed further signs of weakness. "So what were we doing before I woke up?"
"Returning to the shrine," Sesshoumaru answered.
"Because?"
"'Cause Tama's going to put up a barrier so everyone can sleep tonight," Inuyasha explained.
"You weren't the only one that was awake almost all of last night," Fred informed her. "And some of those same people won't be able to sleep tonight if they don't feel that you are beyond harm's reach."
Aki blinked for a moment before a slow smile slid on her face. "Well, if me being behind a barrier of Tama's making would help these people sleep, what are we doing still standing out here?"
Fred stared at her suspiciously, "You're up to something."
"Probably," Aki agreed blandly. "But as long as I get inside of Tama's barrier I can't possibly get into any trouble right?"
"There's a loop hole in that, I'm sure of it," Fred muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded. "Nobody makes a stronger shield than Tama! Hell, I've heard she managed to block you, so I wouldn't be too worried."
"You obviously don't know Aki very well," Fred grumbled under his breath.
Tama erected her barrier and everybody ate and settled down to sleep in the peaceful comfort of the secure. That is, everybody but Aki.
While the rest of the occupants dreamt the dreams of reassurance, the partial youkai was wide-awake and preparing to make her escape. That is, once she managed to get out from under Sesshoumaru's arm.
He held her like she was his teddy bear and he a very big, handsome toddler. Even so, she was determined to get away.
"What are you doing awake?" a voice asked out of almost nowhere. Aki did not jump in surprise.
"Fred," she hissed so quietly he had to float closer to hear her. "I've got to head out. I can't do that if you wake everybody up. I have to be somewhere in a few days and come hell or high water, I will be there." Aki continued keeping her voice incredibly quiet. "Now you can either help me or get out of my sight because I most certainly will find a way to hurt you if you screw this up!"
"All right! Sheesh!" Fred grumbled. "I can't help it if I forgot about that museum trip being in a few days."
"Well, now you remember, so are you going to help me or not?"
"I'm dead. I can't exactly do anything," Fred hissed in a harsh whisper.
"If I was dead I'd be able to figure something out," Aki grumbled as she tried to roll out from under Sesshoumaru's arm. An attempt that failed badly as the unconscious inu youkai pulled her tight against his chest at the first sign that she was moving away.
Fred nearly laughed, "The great and powerful Aki, cuddled to death by an unconscious demon that wants to get in her pants!"
"Shut up!" Aki hissed. Then she picked up a lock of Sesshoumaru's hair and tickled the skin behind his ear. The arm around her waist lifted to brush aside the offending hair before resettling around her middle. Aki did it again and escaped as soon as he moved to attack the evil hair that dared to annoy him in his sleep.
A few minutes later, the youkai lord settled with his unconscious victory of the evil tickling hair.
"I'm amazed that worked," Fred stared in disbelief.
Aki nodded her agreement before collecting her stuff and heading to the room housing Azusa. There was no way in hell she was leaving the little girl here after all she'd been through, especially not with the way Sesshoumaru had treated her after Aki got stuck in the circle. She gently lifted the little girl into her arms and headed to the shrine exit.
The child stirred half way through the large room, asking her "what's going on?" Aki replied in mild tones and finally reached the door.
"Well, wonder woman, how are you gonna sneak out of this barrier without immediately incurring the wrath of one relatively ancient demon goat?" the ghost asked tauntingly.
"Just shut up and watch, stupid," Aki murmured. The almost demon closed her eyes and whispered something under her breath. "Really, you'd think they'd realize after the information I gave Miroku that you just can't hold someone like me against my will like this."
"What do you mean by that, Aki?" said monk called from the doorway. "Where do you think you are going?"
"I have a prior engagement back home in a few days and a group of people I can't let down. Go ahead and wake them all up. By the time you're done, I'll be long gone with a shield in your way so you can't give chase," Aki informed him.
"Then I won't waste the effort, but how do you plan to get out of Tama's barrier?"
Aki rolled her eyes, "Miroku, what is this barrier made of?"
"Youki," the monk answered promptly.
"Which is…"
"Youkai spiritual energy-" he closed his eyes in chagrin. "Energy. The barrier is made of energy, which you are adept at sensing and manipulating. Now I feel remarkably slow."
Azusa smiled at him comfortingly, "Don't worry, Fred didn't think of it either."
"Hey!" the ghost cried.
Aki turned back to the barrier and finished setting up her escape. "All right Azusa, let's go," Aki stepped forward confidently. "Sorry Fred, but I couldn't fix it so that you could come. You're stuck here until the barrier lets up in the morning."
Fred just nodded, "No worries, I'll catch up."
Aki smiled and settled the little girl on her back as she walked to the edge of the village, then she started to run, disappearing out of sight.
"Tomorrow shall be a very interesting day," commented the monk.
"No more so than yesterday," Fred grunted. "I'd play dumb if I were you."
Miroku smirked, he'd not needed a dead man to tell him that. There was no way he was going to own up to letting Aki get away. He liked being alive just fine.