Lessons Learned

Author Shortey 83

Chapter 5 – A Forgiving Nature

Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha or Skyrim! I only borrow ideas because trying to drill them out of my head with power tools doesn't work! ^.^

Story Start:

It had been well over a week since Takara's encounter with Sesshomaru and the village had been in an uproar since, but only because they now thought that she had some strange demon controlling powers. The fact of the matter was that she only got away with it because it had been Sesshomaru. She had a feeling that if he had been any other demon at that time she would have been dead. While Takara had a pretty good idea that Sesshomaru hated her guts, Rin was thoroughly convinced otherwise. Takara had to admit that she did have a good point, but she couldn't see it for herself.

But now wasn't the time to worry about those things as she soaked in a hot spring with Rin and Kagome. Now was a time to relax and enjoy the heated water soothing her tense muscles and the sensation of getting clean. "This is absolutely amazing…" she sighed, slipping further down until the water covered her shoulders and watched as Kagome showed Rin how to properly wash her hair with the new scented soaps she had gotten. "You said it.." Kagome agreed as she took handfuls of water to rinse Rin's head with. When Rin had finished with the soaps, she passed it to Takara who dipped her head under the water before giving into the little girls demands and allowed Rin to wash her hair.

"You hair is so long, Takara. I hope mine will grow out to be as pretty as yours when I'm older." She sighed as she did her best to rub the soap into Takara's long, dark locks. "I have no doubt it will Rin, but at this rate, mine is getting impossible to keep up with since my comb broke." A disappointed sigh left her this time. "What happened to it?" Kagome asked as she washed her own hair. "Kaos chewed it up." Takara shrugged her shoulders "He got bored when InuYasha hid his ball and took it out on my poor comb among other things, but none so important as the ever needed brush." Rin giggled, "Is it really that important?" With a shrug Takara told her honestly "I've been thinking about cutting it shorter. It's getting to be unmanageable." Both Kagome and Rin gasped. "You can't cut your hair Takara!" the little girl exclaimed. "It's too beautiful to do that!"

Takara shrugged her shoulders before dipping her head to rinse out the sweet smelling soap. Before long, Rin and Kagome decided to head back to the village, but Takara decided to stay behind and soak a little longer. It was nice to have a little alone time after being surrounded by people at all times. At least it was at first, until the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end. She was being watched. "Who's there?" she asked, gripping the dagger that she had kept strapped to her thigh that Sango had given her. She was expecting a bandit or rouge samurai of some sort, not who stepped out of the tree line to her right.

She gasped in surprise, moving an arm to cover her breasts, and moved towards the far side of the pool as Sesshomaru stalked closer to the hot spring. "What do you want?" she demanded, realizing to her dismay that her towel and clothes were within arms distance of him. He stopped and raised a brow at her question but didn't answer. "Why are you out here alone?" He thought that she would answer him, not give him a smart remark. "I knew you were secretly a pervert." He growled at her "This Sesshomaru is no pervert, woman."

"The name is Takara, since you seem to have forgotten," she reminded him "And who are you trying to convince; me or you? If you're trying to convince me, then how about looking at my face, not my chest, I'm not going to move my arms any time soon." He must not have realized that he had indeed had his gaze fixed on her crossed arms because as soon as she said that, his eyes snapped to hers. "What do you want?" she repeated her question before he could growl at her again.

He regarded her for a minute before he spoke "You interest me. You are very different… from other humans that I have met."

Takara gave him a sigh as she rolled her eyes "Well here's some human 101 for you, don't be curious around human women while they are taking a bath. Since you don't like humans, I will warn you that they will do one of three things in your case." He waited for her to continue. "One; they will run away screaming because you're a demon. Two; they may be promiscuous and ask you to join them. Three; they will accuse you of being a pervert." She couldn't help but giggle a little as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Alright so I'm the only one who would resort to option number three." She paused and eyed her clothes. "Could you leave now? I need to get back before Kagome and InuYasha come looking for me."

Sesshomaru eyed the woman sitting in the pool in front of him. She was a curious human indeed. He had spied on her for the past few days and she never had a cross word to say to anyone; just himself. She was soft spoken and gentle with her words, and her laugh echoed often to him through the trees. Why was she so cross with him? Perhaps his words upon their meeting had angered her more than he had thought.

He hadn't meant to stare at her crossed arms over her full breasts, but the way she covered them pushed them higher and closer together, drawing even more attention to them. He was a male after all and while human, she was an attractive female. He watched her eyes go to the pile of clothes to his left, before they darted back to him and she asked him to leave. The defiant look had left her face and was replaced with a light flush of embarrassment.

He couldn't hide the smirk that had crept onto his face. Her embarrassment seemed to be the key to getting her to settle down some, so he stepped back a few steps and presented her with his back. "Why won't you just leave?" she mumbled. "We both know that you don't even like me. You're just here to tease me."

Oh how wrong she was. She was the most interesting female Sesshomaru had ever encountered and there was no way he was letting this curious creature evade him. He said nothing, simply standing where he had been until he finally heard her sigh and the water ripple as she moved closer to the edge of the pool. She waited, probably trying to determine if he was going to turn or not and finally sighed again. He heard her rise out of the water and fabric rustle as she covered her body with the towel, but that was all the time he gave her. Using his demonic speed, he suddenly stood before her, while she had only managed to wrap the towel around her body. Takara gasped in surprise before she backed up, her back hitting one of the large boulders that surrounded the pool, her small knuckles white from holding her covering so tightly.

Sesshomaru frowned "I am not going to assault you, woman." He watched as her tongue darted out to quickly moisten her lips before she looked away from him, the flush on her cheeks now covered her entire face. "If you don't back up, I'm going to punch you right in your face" her voice shook as she threatened him. He only stepped closer to her and put his hands on either side of the boulder behind her, waiting for her to strike. It was a good thing that he was prepared for her attack because he found that she didn't do as she had warned and her knee came dangerously close to connecting with an important part of his anatomy. He growled at her audacity to attack him in such a way. "You lied to me" he growled leaning closer to her. "You are both dressed and armed, while I'm not. Of course I'm going to fight dirty." She mumbled, her blush finally spreading to the tops of her full breasts.

It was mouthwatering to watch it spread, but he couldn't keep wasting time. He had come to inspect her more closely and he would. He may have gotten a good hint of her scent, but he wanted a better one. Careful to mind her hands and knees, he leaned in closer until his nose brushed the column of her throat where her pulse hammered out of control. He inhaled deeply taking her scent in deeply, sorting out the scent of the soap she had used and her scent. He was surprised at how delicious she smelled. He had thought that she had smelled exactly like his Kimiko from a distance, but now, as he drug his nose up the side of her delicate neck to the hollow behind her ear, he found that her scent was slightly sweeter than the woman she resembled. There were no scents of bones or graveyard soil to be found on her. Somewhere deep down he had suspected that she had been recreated from the remains of his beloved to torment him, but with this he is certain that she was not here, summoned from his personal hell to torment him.

She trembled under him, but her free hand had moved to the free expanse of his chest that his armor didn't cover and pushed against him, trying to move him back. "Be still, woman. I said I wasn't going to assault you. I'm merely wish to get your scent." He growled from where he stood, not moving an inch, but at least she stopped pushing on him. It was futile on her part after all. He continued to remember each twist and turn of her sweet complex scent and wished that he had caught her before her bath so that the soap didn't make it so difficult to memorize.

When he was finally satisfied that he had her true scent, he nipped her neck with his fangs lightly before he backed away. Takara jumped at the sensation of his fangs pinching the skin of her neck before he backed away. "What was that for?" she asked, moving her hand to the place where he had nipped her. "For being so disrespectful to this Sesshomaru" he answered before he turned to walk away. "Now dress so you may leave. I will escort you out." His head turned towards the direction of the wind. "I smell unfamiliar humans approaching as well as something else."

Noticing the change in his attitude, Takara fled behind the boulder and put her clothes back on before she chickened out or before Sesshomaru decided to peek. She was well aware that she had caught Sesshomaru off his guard his first meeting and was lucky to have tossed him down, but now he was ready for her. If the demon decided he wanted her, there wasn't much she could do about it. Thankfully he seemed more interested in the approaching humans than her, but better safe than sorry. Picking up her bow and placing her quiver on her back she walked up to him. He gave her a curious look. "Can you even use that, woman?"

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you, my name is Takara. Ta-Ka-Ra… and yes I can use this. It's not for decoration." She informed him coldly. "I only asked because you may need to." He informed her walking away. "Come, I smell blood"

That doesn't sound good… Takara thought as she followed him out of the forest. However, once they neared the edge he paused and Takara heard the sounds of men fighting. "Wait here" he commanded her, drawing a sword his side before stepping out of the trees. Doing as he instructed, Takara remained hidden behind a tree, peeking around it to watch Sesshomaru rushing into the battle before her. It looked like nothing more than a bandit raid, a large one at that. However she thought InuYasha would be able to handle it. Something must have been off for Sesshomaru to rush into the battle, sword drawn.

That was when she heard it. A loud roar silenced the battlefield and she watched in astonishment as one of the men in the battle seemed to be ripped apart as something tore out from within, something large. She looked on in awe as the creature that had emerged from the man's body roared again, sending some of the village men running back a bit. Its deep green hide was covered in scales that stretched over the length of its snake like body. Two branch like horns were perched on top of its fang filled head, its' long jaws snapping at nearby enemies. Finally she noticed the four limbs that were protruding from the things body.

Dragon… Her mind whispered as she drew an arrow from her quiver and tucked it firm against the bow string. There was no doubt this dragon was evil. The way its eyes glowed a vicious red and snapped at the villagers. Sure enough, the bowstring gave way as she aimed at the creature, but then InuYasha and Sesshomaru began attacking it making it nearly impossible to get a clear shot. Regardless, she had to make a shot and make it count because she had been spotted and bandits were heading her way. Please hit… She silently begged as both Sesshomaru and InuYasha descended from a simultaneous attack. Then she fired as the creature turned her way letting out a roar of rage at the brothers. She watched the arrow soar through the air before its mark, hitting the creature right between the eyes, driving deep into its skull.

Then men coming after her stopped as they heard the dragon roar in pain before it suddenly collapsed in a heap of flesh and scales. Then it was burning, dark green scales falling from its body before another light began to rise from the flaming corpse and began streaking towards her. The light wrapped around her before it began seeping into her with fiery warmth that almost burned. Then the sensation was gone and she was left standing in a daze and breathless. The bandits took that as a sign to attack, but before she could think, she reacted. "FUS RO DAH!" she shouted the unfamiliar words and watched in amazement as the bandits coming after her were suddenly thrown back.

Takara gasped in shock, slapping her hand over her mouth. Did I just do that? She wondered in amazement. What did I do? She pondered this intently while a shaky hand drew another arrow and aimed it at the bandits who were still lying on the ground in a daze from being knocked back by whatever she had shouted. The more she thought on her actions, the more she realized what she had done. It was as if a dam in her mind had begun to leak and she now knew things that she was unaware she had known. Slow trickles of knowledge began to seep into her conscious thoughts until she realized what she had done. She had spoken in the language of dragons.

"Takara" InuYasha called as a few of her attackers finally made it to their feet and began making their way to her again. She didn't hesitate this time as they filed into a nice line for her like ducks in a row and she released her next arrow at the man in front, but it didn't stop until it reached the last man in the group, finally coming to a halt in his neck.

She shook from her actions as InuYasha finally made it over to her and put himself between her and the rest of the bandits. The magnitude of what had just happened hit her hard as she reeled in shock. She had just killed four men; just extinguished four lives with her actions. That thought alone had her trembling. With a single swing, InuYasha eliminated the rest of the attackers, turned to her and spoke but Takara didn't hear his words. What have I done?

"You think she's going to be ok?" Kagome whispered to InuYasha as they starred through the bushes at Takara. She was huddled up against a tree on the outskirts of the village crying. "Yeah, but she should be happy with herself after a shot like that." InuYasha grumbled. "Four guys with one arrow was pretty impressive." Kagome almost told him to sit, but refrained because she didn't want her friend to know that they were watching her. "Perhaps for you, but I imagine Takara's feeling really guilty right about now." She informed her half demon husband with a sigh. "She hates violence and she just killed four people, self-defense or not. I can't imagine what she must be thinking about herself." InuYasha sighed. "I guess you're right. I know if I were in her place, I wouldn't be mourning over the men I killed." Kagome turned her head back to her friend "Takara has a big heart."

Sesshomaru also watched the girl. He waited until his younger brother and his female had left before he approached her. He couldn't fathom the reason behind her tears. The men who she had killed wouldn't have mourned over her death, rather, they would have relished it. Perhaps he would never understand humans, especially the females.

He wanted to turn and leave, but something about the sight of her there drew him to her. She looked just like his Kimiko when she was sitting there crying. She is not her… He silently told himself even as he took the steps to close the distance between them. Before he knew it, he was standing beside her and then kneeling down to look at her. He didn't say anything, but he knew that she was aware of his presence.

"Please go away." She whispered "I'm not in the mood to argue with you." Sesshomaru may not have understood humans, nor did he desire too, but something deep within him that he wished no longer existed began to stir at the sight of Takara's devastation. She was too gentle for such battles. Knowing he shouldn't but doing it anyways, he too leaned against the tree beside her. "You must have nothing better to do if you're really just going to sit here to torment me." She grumbled with a soft sniff. Sesshomaru didn't reply. He simply reached his arm behind her, wrapped it around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. Takara gasped from the quick movement, looking up at him with surprised, tear filled eyes.

Using his free hand, he wiped away a few of the stray tears that had fallen from her beautiful blue eyes. He hated the salty smell of human tears. Takara starred at him in shock for a few more seconds before letting out a trembling sigh, finally calming as she leaned into his chest, resting her head on his fur. She closed her eyes and just sat in his lap for a few more minutes, sitting completely still before she moved again, turning her face fully into the fur at his shoulder. Then she sighed again, only this time she turned in his lap to where she was facing him more than before. "What are you doing?" he finally asked, although he knew full well that she was insistently cuddling herself into the mass of fur on his shoulder. She mumbled something into the fur, but it was too muffled for him to understand. He waited for her to speak again. His breath was nearly stolen away as she turned her face to him with a beautiful smile as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I said "It's so fluffy!"" She laughed and began cuddling her face in it. At least she wasn't crying anymore.