Disclaimer: If you've read this far and you think I own Sesshoumaru--you're fuckin stupid! Come one! If ANYBODY owned Sesshoumaru, they'd be doing much better things that writing stories about him. wink-wink nudge-nudge
Summary: Jesira is captured! Now, Kagura may have Sesshoumaru all to herself, especially when he is in his weakened state. Will his fevered Heat cloud his thoughts and mind beyond his control? Kagura has plans for Sesshoumaru, as well as for Jesira. She knows what she must do in order to get what she wants.
Chapter Four
Jesira Captured
Sesshoumaru cursed at himself for allowing this to happen--of all the times for Kagura to attack! A weak, worthless demon maiden like Kagura would normally be of no object to Sesshoumaru. He had let his guard down; he had let her voice penetrate his sheild. Now, Naraku was with her, with the Shikkon Jewel. No doubt he'd use her to lure all sorts of demons to become one with his body. Sesshoumaru could not allow that to happen.
Of course, he thought, this could be a good thing. When she sings, he could come for her and destroy Naraku once and for all. Sesshoumaru could never forgive Naraku for slaying Jaken, for kidnapping Rin--and now for stealing away Jesira.
Sesshoumaru... came a familiar voice suddenly. Isn't that what you wanted?
It was the voice of his mother, Hanabata. She was calling him to her chambers, to the place she had both lived and died. He walked into the Estate as if in a trance, down the hallway, up the stairs, a right, another right, up another flight of stairs and follow the hall until you reached the Eastern sunroom.
Sesshoumaru... came his mother's voice again. You wanted her to lure Naraku to you.
Slowly, gingerly, he knelt and slid open the shojii screen. He could still see the white lanterns in the shadows of her room. His father had hung those lanterns as a symbol of mourning for his mother when she died. Her spirit, however, seemed to remain trapped within that room.
Sesshoumaru... she called to her son. It's the only thing she was good for. You thought so yourself...
He could see her in a faint outline, sitting on the bed. In the mirror, though, her prized possession and dowry gift, she was perfectly preserved. Her reflection was just as it had always been, blindingly beautiful with hair of snow white. She was sitting on the bed, combing her hair with that same blue comb. She smiled when she saw her son, brushing away her hair to reveal the blue crescent moon upon her brow.
"Come to me, my son... my killing perfection."
Sesshoumaru obediently came and bowed his head gently.
She motioned with long green nails in the mirror and patted the spot next to her on the bed's reflection. "Sit with me, and we shall talk as we once did. I'll comb your hair, just like I used to. Do you remember, my perfect one?"
Sesshoumaru nodded, feeling a little dizzy still from the Heat. He slowly came to the bed and sat down. Looking into the mirror, he could see his own reflection, sitting next to the reflection of his mother. She smiled gently, her eyes slanted, the color of the deep night sky. She gingerly stroked his cheek and kissed his nose as if she were there. With bony fingers and her magic comb, she began to comb Sesshoumaru's long white hair. He could feel it--her fingers, her comb...even though she wasn't really there.
"What a beautiful son I have," said Hanabata, her voice like a whisper in the wind. The green of her long nails ran through Sesshoumaru's hair gently, soothingly. She easily loved Sesshoumaru better than Inutaishou, her mate. "You must go, Sesshoumaru," she said. "Naraku will not expect you so soon. If the girl's voice is so powerful, he will want to use it. Then again," said she, bringing Sesshoumaru to look at her, "if she is beautiful, Naraku will rape her first. No doubt a low, useless demon such as Naraku would stoop to bedding with a human and give into his lusty desires. But not you, my son, you are patient and strong. You will lay with only the finest of demons, like your father once did with me. I suppose that when I died he had no choice but to hit rock bottom... It's unfortunate, however, that your father's grief led to an illegitimate half-demon. Don't you think, my perfect one?"
Sesshoumaru turned his head and stared at nothing in front of him, but his reflection stared at his mother's face, the epitome of demonic beauty.
She smiled, her lips curling up like a bow, her eyes slanting even further. "Is she beautiful, Sesshoumaru? I have yet to see her up close..."
He shook his head. "She's nothing compared to you, mother."
She laughed, her voice ringing like tiny bells in a high, tinky echo about the haunted chamber.
"You are so cold, like ice, Sesshoumaru--ice is water's perfect moment, Sesshoumaru. It becomes clear, beautiful, no ugly ripples or distorting wrinkles. I love ice when it freezes like glass. If that girl were to hear you say she was not beautiful, her heart would shatter like ice. I know this...and I know that you think she IS beautiful, so you lie to me."
"Mother, I would never lie to you!" insisted Sesshoumaru.
Hanabata nodded, placing her hands in her lap and looked straight out from the mirror. "Intentionally, no." She turned back to look Sesshoumaru's reflection in the face. "Wait a while before setting out to listen for her tortured screams. Until then, sit with me. It has been a long time since we've talked, you and I?" She pulled his reflection close to her, Sesshoumaru feeling the warmth of his mother's dead embrace. He leaned in, just as his reflection did, and held his head at her shoulder, finding the comfort he'd not had for nearly 500 years. "My darling, my perfect one...do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"
He sighed. "Mother..."
"Your fever...you'll soon be in Heat, won't you?"
Sesshoumaru blushed and cast his eyes away.
"Do not let the Heat dictate your actions, my perfect one. You have control over anything you set your mind to."
"I know.." Sesshoumaru said.
Hanabata smiled. "I know you know...and it is a Mother's Duty to remind you of such things." She kissed his forehead, their reflections in a tender embrace, Sesshoumaru's body leaning into nothing but air. It would be an eerie sight indeed for any to walk in on. "Your demon markings...they remind me so much of your father... He was a good demon, a powerful demon," said Hanabata as she stroked her son's silvery hair. "but you, my beauty, you are perfection. Your father was not without flaws, of course, but he was powerful. You are powerful and perfect, a true demon. I have named you well, my killing perfection."
"I miss you, Mother... I know that I shouldn't."
"That's right, you shouldn't." She tilted her son's chin up to face her. "Do you remeber the day I died, my perfect one? The day you made me a promise? Of course you do. Remind me again what you promised me."
"I promised that I would never shed a tear for you, and I haven't."
She kissed him again in the forehead. "My Sesshoumaru...my sweet, killing perfection. You haven't forgotten me at all, have you?"
He shook his head. "I could never forget you, mother."
"Good," she said, kissing him once more. "Now then, why don't you go and kill Naraku. Bring his head back for me as a trophy, would you, my perfect one?"
Sesshoumaru rose and nodded, their reflections lightly kissing, Sesshoumaru himself kissing air. He walked out of the jasmine-scented room, the entire place had not lost its sheen and brightness over the half-millenia. The servants still kept it clean and orderly, just as Hanabata had liked it.
Hanabata was the seventh daughter of a powerful moon demon, who could transform into a giant serpent in the light of the full moon. The blue crescent moon upon their brows was a symbol of this god-like heritage, as was their beautiful looks and deadly poison. Her long fingernails were pulsing with venom twice as deadly as Sesshoumaru's; her eyes of midnight blue were hazy with visions of the world beyond. Hanabata was sought to be the epitome of demonic beauty in Inutaishou's time, and that was why he had chosen her as a mate. A demon of supreme power, after all, must have a supreme beauty by his side. Oh, and Hanabata was not only a demonic beauty--she was also a fierce killer. Every battle she would emerge from, she would be soaked in her enemy's blood, laughing gleefully.
'She laughs,' his father would say, 'because they have chosen the wrong opponent.'
Hanabata loved the feeling of water, of blood, of being soaked and emerged in water. Sesshoumaru would often spend many an afternoon of his childhood in her lap as they watched the rain together on the veranda of the Estate. Together, as two white demons, they would run into the rain and get happily soaked in it, letting the wonderful water wash everything away. Hanabata loved the fresh and clean smell that would come after every rain. She was quite picky, in fact, about things being cleaned. Even the garments of white she would soak herself in blood with must be stark white and clean the next day. At his youngest years and memories, Sesshoumaru remembered being picked up and thrown into the rainy air, caught again in his mother's arms. Every time it rained, Sesshoumaru must be there, out beneath the clouds, letting it wash everything away. In the rain, there was freedom. Hanabata had always said that about it, ever since before he could remember...
As he walked he began to think that Hanabata was right. Jesira was only there as a lure for Naraku, nothing more, nothing less. Sesshoumaru did think she was beautiful, and that she had a very pretty voice, but that was probably because he would soon be in Heat... Yes, that had to be it. Sesshoumaru would never fall for a lowly human girl--and one that wasn't even fully Japanese! No, Sesshoumaru would have no part of that. No part at all.
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Naraku looked up when Jesira entered, still wearing the clothes that Sesshoumaru had given her. She glared at him angrily.
"I thought you were changing..." purred Naraku at the thought of her naked body.
"I like my clothes from Sesshoumaru," she snapped, "and I would like to go back."
He stood, his kimono gathered at the waist of his pants. His lithe and pale body gave an eerie glow in the dim candlelight of his castle. "First," he cooed, "you will do a little favor for me..." He tried to reach out and caress her face, but she angrily turned away, her long wavy hair whipping like willow branches as she spun her head. He slipped his arms around her waist, despite her angry struggling and cursing.
"Get your filthy hands off me, you pervert!" she shouted.
"Shhhh...my angel, no yelling... You wouldn't want to harm that beautiful voice of yours, would you?"
Jesira blinked. "My voice?"
"You mean you haven't noticed?" asked Naraku as he turned her around to face him. "You, my love, have the voice of a thousand angels. You have the power to lure all demon men to wherever you are singing. Humans great and small must succumb to the power of your voice and sing along with you. You have no idea of the power you have..."
She looked away, trying very hard to stay angry, rather than intrigued.
"What, Sesshoumaru hasn't told you this?" He smirked. "Well, let me fill you in on a little secret..." Naraku's arms became long vines that ensnared her lean body and brought her close. He whispered gingerly in her ear. "Sesshoumaru only wanted you to be a lure for me."
"What?" Jesira asked. "Sesshoumaru wouldn't do that!"
"Oh, come now, my love--"
"Stop calling me that!"
"You don't really believe that Sesshoumaru kept you around because he enjoyed your company? The only reason he has that girl-child Rin around is because she once cared for him when he was injured--Sesshoumaru is indebted her for that. Tell me, my siren, what have you ever done for Sesshoumaru to make him want you? He is the most prejudiced demon you'll ever find!"
Jesira backed away as Naraku released her, letting her mind scramble for an answer. Sesshoumaru couldn't have done that...could he? He was cold...he was cruel...he was heartless...but she knew that they had been pleasant together, and she knew that he knew this as well. She knew that he could feel it--she knew that he had blushed when he tried to compliment her about looking better with her hair down... No, this can't be true...can it?
"What do you want from me?" she demanded suddenly.
"Sing."
The command caught her by surprise. Naraku went and sat on a great cushion throne.
"Sing," he said again. "Show us your power. Maybe then Sesshoumaru would come and rescue you?"
"That's what you want, though, isn't it?" said Jesira, clenching her fists. "I've heard about you, Naraku, the demon that absorbs the bodies and powers of other demons to gain strength. You're nothing but a lowly leech--and you expect me to sing to lure more demons for you? More powers? Sesshoumaru? Never! I'll never sing for you!"
Naraku frowned, giving a little growl. He rose to his feet, coming to Jesira. She assumed a fighting stance.
"Come and get me!" she said.
He laughed, his thin and pale lips curling into a wry grin, his long limbs reaching out for her. She quickly bad his hand away and hit him across the face with an outside crescent kick. Jesira ran out of the room before he could stand again, holding up the long fabrics of her kimono to her knees. Turning the corner down the hallway, she was stopped by the sight of a ghost! No, not a ghost...a demon girl, with hair of white and a heart-freezing gaze.
"I am Kanna," she said. "Naraku, he wants you. You should go back now."
Jesira cringed at her voice--this girl reminded her all too much of the children in The Shining. She turned and ran back the other way, Naraku appearing in front of her suddenly in the corridor, ensnaring her in web-like fibers. She shouted and cursed, but to no avail. Naraku laughed at her suffering, taking great pleasure in the sight of her writhing body. He took her into his arms as she was completely swaddled from shoulder to thigh in the tight webs. Lean arms carried her into what appeared to be Naraku's bedchambers. He tossed her on the bed as if she weighed nothing at all.
"You will not sing for me, angel?" he asked, throwing his kimono to the floor and approaching her. Webs tied her ankles down as he slid his hand up her leg. Jesira's heart pounded in fear--she was going to be raped. "Perhaps, then, you'll scream--then Sesshoumaru will hear you. And when he does, I will absorb his demonic power into my body."
Angry tears came to her eyes as she growled lividly. "You won't get away with this!" she hissed through clenched teeth.
He came and slid his hand about her neck, coming closer. "The more you resist, the more it will hurt. Besides, Sesshoumaru will never care for you the way I will. You want to get home, don't you?" He smiled when she looked up. "That's right, I can help you get home. Just...sing for me for a few days or so...and I promise I will send you home when I have no more use for your voice. Or, well," he chuckled, "we could always do this the hard way." He ran his tongue along her ear, shuddering in pleasure. She jerked her head away.
"If I sing for you," Jesira began, "you promise you won't hurt me or Sesshoumaru?"
"Sesshoumaru? I cannot guaruntee that...after all, he comes looking for me. If I can find a demon to absorb more powerful than Sesshoumaru, well..." He ran his long fingers along her thigh, now exposed through the kimono. Jesira jerked away.
"You promise to send me right home?"
"Of course!" said Naraku. "Anything you desire. All you have to do is use that pretty voice of yours to lure me some powerful demons. Do we have a deal?"
Jesira looked at him, a pale, lithe young body with a pretty young face had never seemed so disgusting in her entire life. This lecherous creep... "It seems I don't have any other choice, do I?" she said bitterly. "Coersion is the worst form of manipulation!" She looked away, the spider webs melting off the fine silk Sesshoumaru had given her. She felt Naraku' shands on her shoulders.
"I know you think I'm a monster, Jesira, and I know that you're very frightened--"
"I am not frightened of anything."
"But you are. You're frightened I'll do horrible things to you or that I might kill Sesshoumaru, even though your worry for him puzzles me to no extent. When has Sesshoumaru shown you any affection? Any friendship? Anything but that cold disposition of his? What makes you want to protect him? Is a warm bed and some new clothes really worth all that loyalty?"
He's right, she thought--Sesshoumaru's never shown...kindness, has he? Only ettiquette and formality. No... You can't think this, Jes, you just can't... Sesshoumaru may be cold, but he's not crazy!
Naraku kissed her shoulder. "I'll let you calm down for awhile and check on you later." He rose and left. A few moments passed when that frightening girl all in white came.
"What's your name?" she asked.
She sighed, cradling herself with her hands. "... Ryutoinu Jesira desu..." She looked up through teary eyes. "You're Kanna?"
The girl nodded. "You'd best do what Naraku says, Hime, at least until Sesshoumaru comes for you."
Jesira scoffed, a sudden bitterness rising to her heart. "Sesshoumaru comes for me, huh? As if he cared in the first place." She paused. "Did you just call me Princess?"
"Don't believe Naraku," said Kanna. "He only says things in order to get what he wants. He holds us captive with fear and with pain. My sister incarnate Kagura is the worst--Naraku keeps her heart in a box and threatens to squeeze it until it stops if she does not do exactly what he says."
She looked up, the loose waves of her hair falling over her shoulder. "Her heart? Her actual heart?" It all seemed so illogical, yet this was feudal Japan, and it did appear that demons and faerie tales were actually real at some point. Superstition, it seemed, was truly based on fact.
"Don't trust Kagura either," said Kanna. "She is in love with Sesshoumaru, and hopes that getting you away from him will let her get close. Her plan is to lead him here--then when he finds you dead, she'll move in."
Jesira gasped. "Finds me dead?"
"That's what Naraku will probably do to you if Sesshoumaru comes. He will kill you in front of him in order to get what he wants. Naraku does these things with no remorse."
"... I see..."
"I hope I didn't upset you too bad... You should probably start singing soon, though, just not for Sesshoumaru." With those words, Kanna left.
"Don't be upset, eh?" She growled and groaned, beating the floor with her fist. "Stupid stupid stupid!" she screamed. "I hate this! Augh!" She flopped back on the bed, suddenly feeling filthy. "Sesshoumaru...even if you don't care...just get me out of here..." As she said this, she could feel Grandmother's pearls and gem glowing warmly.
"Your wish..." came a voice "is my command..."
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The black beads surrounding the gem glistened with the reflected light. Grandmother looked over at the Shrine of her husband, Junichiro Ryutoinu, who had once been her dannu. The half...the broken half of the jewel was glowing for its partner. She looked through her wrinkles at her husband's portrait.
"So," said she in Japanese to herself. "That is where Jesira-chan has gone? You were truly right with your tales of being spirited away, my husband?" The gem disappeared from the shrine's altar, seeming to fade away. Grandmother looked up. "The cycle has begun again. Just like with you and I, Junichiro." She came and rung the little bell at the shrine and prayed to her husband's picture. "I will tell Hotohori-san at once not to worry, as Jesira-chan should be home soon."
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Sesshoumaru walked alone, regardless of what Jaken had asked. Jaken had to stay and guard the Estate in his absence, and may just be in his way when he faced Naraku. Though fevered with his desires, Sesshoumaru would remain strong through his scattered thoughts, the desires of his flesh. It would be a challenge, though, as he had never left the Estate when he was in Heat before. The few times he had gone into Heat, he usually locked himself in his room or went away for a few days to let it pass. Though they were few and far between, they were quite a burden--especially now.
A flash of white light suddenly came from nowhere--it seemed to become from beneath his feet! He was dazzled for a moment, his eyes going red into his demonic form, but then subsided once he realized that there was nobody around. He glanced about, sniffing the air, then looked down. A string of precious black pearls hung about his neck, along with the other half of the Shikkon no Tama. He held it between clawed fingers--it looked to be the other half of Jesira's jewel. How was this possible, though? He knew that Inuyasha and his girl-wench had a good amount of jewel shards, and that Naraku had the rest.
He then remembered: Jesira came from the future. Perhaps the Shikkon no Tama had found its way to Jesira's family throughout the centuries, and was now a family heirloom? If that was the case, then there were two Shikkon no Tamas in this time, now. One belonging to Jesira and himself, and the other that had been scattered over Japan. But why had this jewel come to him now? Did Jesira's jewel call it here? If it did, then why should Sesshoumaru get it instead of going straight to Jesira? Surely she needed the other half. He removed the necklace from his throat and held it to the light with his claw. The pale pink of the jewel shined brightly and filled the forest with a sheet of light, that came in thinner and thinner until it drew a line that pointed due South.
"Jesira...?" he breathed. "This jewel-half is leading me to yours, isn't it?" As he put the necklace back on, the light faded, and he recalled a concept from the Mainland, from China, called Yin and Yang. It was a concept of balance, of the middle way. Yin could not exist without Yang, and Yang could not exist without Yin. Only in perfect harmony could they both exist. A romantic concept, thought Sesshoumaru, glorifying balance. Father had said that too, that a warrior must be balanced, be hard yet soft, stand firm yet sway in the breeze.
"You're too hungry, Sesshoumaru... Will power really make you complete?"
"Father..."
He put these thoughts aside and walked South, over the hills steadily, over the rocks carefully. He began to think about what his mother's apparition said to him, and what his father's words had meant to him. 'Will power really make you complete?' Complete...I am complete--I need no one. I have my own yin and yang, no need for Jesira's...
But, he thought, in the instance she was attacked, you were angry. You were scared. He gave a muffled sigh. In the very short time they had been together, it seemed that she had stirred thoughts within him that none other had. Stirring thoughts of his mother and her music, stirring thoughts of his father and his advice... And yet she was a mere human girl...that he had thought to be very pretty. Could it be that it wasn't the Heat? Could it be that he was really and truly attracted to a human girl like Jesira?
A gentle breeze came. Kagura appeared on the path in front of him, smiling and holding her fan like Jesira had done earlier that morning. "Sesshoumaru..." she said.
A sudden wave of Heat came over him, but the jewel released a cool vapor to make it subside. The jewel had a mind of its own, trying to keep Sesshoumaru on his path. It was probably because the jewel would pull him to Jesira until she was found.
"I see you're going to take on Naraku? You've come sooner than I expected. I suppose you really want her back?" She cocked her head. "Or is she really just a ploy to get closer to Naraku? I never expected you to use a human like that, Sesshoumaru." She held out her hand. "If you're really planning on taking on Naraku, why not team up with me?"
Sesshoumaru glared. "Are you jealous, Kagura?" The words were shocking to him, even as they spilled from his lips he was shocked. He never meant to say that... He looked down. Was the jewel telling him to say these things? It felt deeper than that, though...like the jewel was delving into his own thoughts.
She blinked. "Jealous? Of what?"
He shook his head. "Out of my way. I have no need of your assistance--I can and will take out Naraku on my own."
Kagura frowned, an angry flush coming to her face.
"You were going to betray Naraku?" he asked. Sesshoumaru looked up. "Speak of the Devil..."
She gasped. "Naraku!"
"So, Kagura, you were going to betray me?" He held his hand up, squeezing hard at a bloody mass of something. Kagura froze and gasped, going all white. She clutched her chest and fell to the ground, huddling in the fetal position, crying in pain. "Oh, does it hurt when I squeeze your heart like that?" He threw it into his pocket as Kagura passed out from the pain. "Sesshoumaru, I didn't expect you so soon..."
Sesshoumaru growled, an eerie wind blowing all around him and through his hair.
Naraku looked down at the necklace. "Is that a Shikkon jewel shard?"
"Half," said Sesshoumaru.
"The other half belongs to the songbird?" he asked. He laughed. "I see...so does that mean you actually want her back? Or is it only to kill her in order to find the other half of the sacred jewel for yourself."
Sesshoumaru growled. "I have no need of the sacred jewel--it is useless to a full demon like myself. An inferior demon like you, however, I can see why you'd want it."
He laughed maniacally. "Sesshoumaru, I would have said it was a chore bringing you here, but capturing your human Jesira was absolutely delicious. Funny, you and I wanted her as the same thing--bait." He came out from underneath the baboon pelt and revealed his true form, a human torso with thousands of demon legs and tentacles like an octopus.
"Hmph," said Sesshoumaru. "So, Naraku, that is your true form? A sad patch-work of demonic trash."
"The real me?" Naraku repeated. "No, this form is only a work-in-progress." A branch-like tentacle came and slashed at Sesshoumaru, but he had leapt out of the way before it hit the ground. Thick green arms came at him like monsters. With Tokijin in hand, Sesshoumaru quickly slashed off the arms and landed gracefully on his feet. His powerful thighs pushed him forward as he slashed quickly at Naraku's side, making his human torso fall slightly.
"You second-rate demon... You'll never lay a hand on Sesshoumaru." He growled as he raised Tokijin. "Behold, Dragon Strike!" Lightning of blue came forth from black clouds in a great and powerful twister of lightning that struck Naraku and destroyed over half of his manor. He looked at Tokijin as Naraku slowly regrouped at Sesshoumaru's ankles. Had he really mastered his new sword so quickly? He remembered that he wasn't like Inuyasha, that it would be natural for him to be a fast learner. The black beads were glowing as was his Shikkon half. Naraku's body was forming around Sesshoumaru. He angrily slashed away at it, being careful not to slash at his own legs.
Naraku regrouped and appeared out of the gelantinous mass of his many arms and legs. "Sesshoumaru..." said he as more of the arms rose up from the ground. "Become one with my body!"
"NO!"
A piercing sound came, causing the ground to shake. Naraku screamed, covering his own ears. Sesshoumaru looked up when the scream stopped. It was Jesira, standing from the tower. Her voice must have caused it. Whenever she screams, her siren-like powers must cause a sound blast to paralyze an enemy.
Naraku looked up at her. "Disloyal wench!" he cried. A beige claw came towards her. Her eyes went wide and she instinctively put up her arms to make an X-block. A barrier appeared just at her arms that shattered Naraku's claw. She looked around confused.
"Sesshoumaru!" she called. "You have the other half of the family jewel?"
The two jewel halves glowed violently. A rope of light came from each to meet in the middle and pulled Jesira off the balcony; it was too quick for her to even scream about it. Instinctively she flipped and landed hard on the ground just as Sesshoumaru was running to catch her. He looked at her questioningly. Another giant sheild came about the two as the jewels became closer to burn Naraku's tentacle.
Sesshoumaru's eyes glowed red as he leapt from the sheild to deliver another powerful slash of his sword Tokijin. He landed and saw a great slash going through Naraku's body. When he looked, it was Jesira, wielding a katana of black steel. It looked to be made of obsidian.
"Akuga!" Naraku cried at the sword's slash.
"Sorry, is this sword yours, Naraku?" asked Jesira with a wry smirk, glad to have the upperhand. "Well it's mine now!" The jewel glowed violently as she drove the sword into the ground. "Hell fire!" She shouted the attack as a great crack formed in the earth, lava coming up from the crack and burning Naraku's body.
"Dragon Strike!" shouted Sesshoumaru, bursting Naraku into fleshy bits, his entire body exploding with light and miasma. Sesshoumaru held up his arm as Jesira ran into his chest, a great barrier forming around the two. When the miasma died down, Naraku was flying away with the Sanyosho bugs in a mist.
"Sesshoumaru-sama to Jesira-hime... I fear I must retreat today...but I will have your demonic powers, and your voice for my own."
White hair flared up in anger as gold eyes glowed red. "Baka! You think you can run from me!"
"He's gone?" asked Jesira, not realizing that they were still in each other's arms.
Sesshoumaru looked down at Jesira, his eyes calming, his grip softening. She turned back to meet his eyes.
"What?"
"Where did you learn that?"
She assumed he meant the sword. She looked down at the black katana in her hand. "I...am not really sure. Just instinct, I guess."
The strength of a demoness, Sesshoumaru thought. Gentle, yet strong... Very strong. I have never seen the kind of ferocity and fearlessness come from any human woman. Not even Inuyasha's women. Kagome is easily frightened, Sango is easily distracted. Jesira is...almost as focused and instinctual as I am. Mastering a sword she had just picked up was completely amazing for anyone--even a demon. What gave her this power? Was it the jewels? The Shikkon no Tama only enhanced certain traits one already had...What if she wasn't this amazing without it? He was snapped out of his daze by Jesira quickly and sharply throwing both her arms around his waist, nuzzling her cheek to his chest.
"I'm so happy you're safe!" she said gleefully. "I was so scared that Naraku would get you..."
"Hmph," scoffed Sesshoumaru. "Naraku isn't good enough to be my enemy, what a waste of time."
She pulled away and looked at him. "If it was such a waste of time, then...why did you come?"
He looked up to see Naraku was completely gone, his scent carried away by the wind. Damn... He turned away and began walking out of the ruined manor. "Ridiculous..."
Jesira smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kanna. She gave a courteous nod, remembering her manners before happily following Sesshoumaru. She looked at the gleaming black sword; it seemed to be surrounded by an air of danger. Jesira took out the sheathe she had found the sword in and tied it around her chest to it fell at her back. After a few moments of walking, Sesshoumaru saw her beamingly shy smile.
"... ... ... What?" he finally asked.
"You like me," she said half accusingly, half playfully.
"What?"
"You like me!" she laughed. "Oh come on, admit it! You like having me around."
"Not right now... You're annoying me."
She giggled. "I'm annoying but he li-ikes me!" sang she in a very "Guys and Dolls" style.
"Jesira..."
"I'm annoying but he cares..." She danced behind him with jazz hands. She laughed. "Oh come on, I'm only fooling with you."
"Hmph."
Jesira blinked. "Sesshoumaru!" she called. "Would your head explode if you showed any signs of a sense of humor?" She ran out in front of him and walked backwards to keep his eye contact. "Hey, I'm just trying to say 'domo arigatou gozaimasu' for what you did earlier today. I can't think of any other time I was so scared... For a moment, I even thought you weren't coming, but then..."
"But then what?" he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, I just had this feeling, like a pull towards outside, you know?" She clasped the jewel with her long dancer's fingers. "It's just comforting to know that you rescued me."
Comfort, eh? He blinked and kept on walking, Jesira finally turning around and walking beside him. Comfort, he repeated in his mind. A pull...the sacred jewel... That must have been it. What other explaination could there be?
For a long time they walked, through the forest, through the plains, the entire time Jesira keeping his pace. She was a fast walker, too, with plenty of stamina. He remembered that her city was full of steep hills, so naturally she'd be able to keep up with him if she was used to such uneven terrain. They reached the middle of a deep forest. Sesshoumaru stopped in front of a giant oak tree, gazing at it like it was sparking a distant memory
"Oh! Sesshoumaru!" she said, reaching into the deep sleeve of the kimono he'd given her. "That reminds me--I have something for you."
She took out a long and thin mass all wrapped in purple silk and cradled it like a child as she unwrapped it. Sesshoumaru gasped--it was his left arm.
"I found it in Naraku's bedroom. I guess he was planning on using it for another one of his experiments. I've been thinking... If I sew on your arm with a bit of my human hair, it will protect you from Tetsusaiga's barrier."
In the face of danger and adversity, Jesira was thinking of me? He thought for a long time, just standing there as Jesira held out his left arm. It would easily reattatch by itself, but...with her natural power strengthened by the Shikkon jewel, then perhaps it would give him enough of a human air to wield it. He shrugged, thinking that it couldn't do any harm.
Jesira smiled. "Great!" She pulled a needle from her hair as they both sat at the oak tree's base. With a tiny nick of Akuga, a locke of her hair fell loose from the nape of her neck. Sesshoumaru removed his armour and dropped one side of his layered silks to reveal his pale and slender physique, as well as the sliced nub of his left arm.
The entire procedure took about an hour, but Sesshoumaru felt like it was much longer. All the while she sewed his arm with the strands of her ebon hair, he stared at her from the corner of his eye. He wandered over her every feature, every flaw, every perfection. She truly was beautiful, even though he hated to admit it. Ryutoinu Jesira was beautiful, strong, patient, courageous--everything that a human was not to him.
She caught him staring at her once. She smiled and went back to her sewing.
"Jesira?"
She glanced up. "Yeah?"
"I've just noticed...your teeth...they're a little bit crooked on the bottom."
Jesira blinked, looking back down. "I'll get them fixed.."
"I like them crooked."
She looked at him, wide-eyed with surprise. She smiled with a tiny laugh as she went back to her sewing. "I'll leave them."
He smiled inwardly as he looked back out. Everything seemed to move so slowly, so calmly, like music was dancing with the wind. Sesshoumaru then realized that Jesira was singing softly under her breath. Though he did not understand the language, he could hear it was very beautiful.
"Hands touch...
Eyes meet..
Sudden silence,
Sudden heat--"
She looked up. "Gomen," she said, blushing.
"You don't have to stop," he said, half whispering.
She smiled as she began to sing, a little louder this time.
"Hearts leap, in a giddy whirl...
He could be thaaat boy,
I'm not that girl..."
The forest's dappled light seemed to dance on her hair.
"Don't dream
too far...
Don't lo-ose sight of
Who you are...
Don't remember that rush of joy...
He could be thaaaa-at boy,
I'm not that girl."
Sesshoumaru looked up as birds sang with her. The forest bowed to the power of her voice--and so did he. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the bark as the pricking against his skin was balanced with the song.
"Ev'ry so often,
We long to steal to the land of what might have been...
But that doesn't soften
The ache we feel, when reality sets back in..."
She smiled as she continued. It was like singing Sesshoumaru to sleep!
"Blithe smile,
Lithe limb...
She was winsome,
She wins him...
Gold hair, with a gentle cuuuurl.
That's the girl he chose,
And heaven knows...
I'm not that gi-irl."
Jesira looked up at him through her eyelashes, almost sad as she watched him rest.
"Don't wish.
Don't start.
Wishing only
Wounds the heart...
I wasn't born for the rose a-and the pearls..."
She took in a breath.
"There's a girl I know...
He loves her..so...
I'm not... that girl..."
She bit off the remaining hair with her teeth. The arm's flesh seemed to push and smoothe itself out as her hair vanished entirely into his skin. The arm was healed completely as if it had never been cut off. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. His skin felt hot to the touch--was Sesshoumaru getting sick?
Jesira felt his cheek with the back of her hand. He did have a fever! Sesshoumaru had said that demons do not fall ill...but perhaps it was mere over exertion? She closed her eyes and leaned her cheek on his shoulder, hoping that he'd get better soon. He deserved a good rest; a good, long rest.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! huff-puff huff-puff Kawaii! lol Cuteness! Is Sesshoumaru really falling for Jesira? Could he possibly love a human? What of the new and mysterious sword called Akuga--or Fang of Evil? What will happen now? Now that Naraku is taking a break to recooperate, will their passion blossom as Sesshoumaru descends even further into Heat? Find out on the next chapter of No One Mourns the Wicked!
PS, the song "I'm not that Girl" is from the Wicked Soundtrack of the broadway musical. Check it out!