I thought I would post this a little early because I don't get out of work until a bit late tomorrow and I know how antsy some people can get when waiting for things. My most constant reviewer has taken to always demanding I update soon. TeeHee. You'd think my schedule was obvious by now.
Okay, fun things happen in this chapter. And yes, the title does have something to do with it. But again I would like to stress that there is no lemon. As fun as it would be for there to be a lemon here,I have no experience in that department. That's right, I'm a 24 year old virgin, and liable to stay that way for a long time. Besides, I think certain things should be kept private and I figure this is my way of making it up to my favorite Character. She should be the only one privy to what Sesshoumaru does to her, right?
Oh and we meet Sesshoumaru's former nanny in this chapter. It's not a particularly significant introduction just yet, but she's still cool anyway.
And did I mention that Fred doesn't like Sesshoumaru? Thankfully the feeling is mutual for our entertainment.
I've finished writing part four, and so long as I type it all up, there should be no delay between the end of part three and part four. But that's a long ways into the future.
Here's a question: Would anyone like for me to post my outline for this fic? Because I actually have one and I try to keep it up to date as to which chapter I'm working on. It might likewise help keep chapters and storyline straight.
A couple chapters back I failed to make mention of a third reviewer. This might be because it was hard to tell if the review was good or bad. As I was telling my friend, I can't really tell if it's a reluctant compliment or a veiled insult. Heh! I read her profile page and I would have to say it's most likely a reluctant compliment and I'm flattered she even took the time to read this fic. Thanks again for the review!
I'll be sure to let Rumiko Takahashi know that I'm not completely off in my interpretation of her characters despite how difficult it is to grasp Sesshoumaru's fluffy atire and run with it.
One Way to Get Warm
When rain is feeling a bit vindictive, you know it. You know it in the way the clothes you were wearing go from being perfectly dry to absolutely soaked through in a single second. You know it in the way the rain decides to suddenly change the rules and comes at you from one side and then the other in a matter of synapse pulses in your brain. And the worst thing about when the rain decides to be vindictive, you have absolutely no defense from it beyond staying indoors and praying the precipitation doesn't decide to just kick the door down and prove just how inadequate a door is as a defense.
Unfortunately, Caves without doors weren't much of a defense either, but at least once they were deep enough into the cave they could find some respite from the pounding drops of water.
It had taken far longer to find the cave than it should have. They were completely soaked through. Sesshoumaru was chilled to the bone and could only imagine what such a chill could do to Aki in her condition.
The sedative was taking effect with a vengeance and Aki could barely keep her eyes open. So when they got inside the cave she didn't care that she was drenched to the skin. She curled up in a ball and passed out.
Her sudden decent into somnolence was not a particularly comforting event under normal circumstances. Sesshoumaru's worry increased exponentially when he realized that Aki's fever had gotten much worse since the night before. Her breathing was raspy and labored and he was certain being stuck in wet clothes could only worsen her condition.
He looked around their temporary shelter in a vain attempt to find something helpful and amazingly discovered the cave wasn't as horribly empty of useful items as he thought. His gaze had landed on the shirt Aki had left behind; the same shirt that Fred had been harping was her promise to return.
By some piece of elusive good luck the bit of fabric had been discarded far enough inside the cave to avoid the rain. Apparently, it was the last piece of good luck Sesshoumaru was going to receive because he couldn't get Aki to wake up.
If Aki wouldn't wake, then she couldn't dress herself in the new shirt. Sesshoumaru certainly couldn't do it; he only had one arm. Even if he could somehow find a way to change her clothes without her conscious help, he would have had a hard time making himself do it. One simply didn't go around ripping the clothes off unsuspecting females. It just wasn't done.
True, no one else was likely to ever know, but Sesshoumaru would know and that was more than his fine sensibilities and ironclad sense of honor could take. The fact that he was even considering it made him slightly ill. It didn't matter why he was contemplating it. It didn't matter that changing Aki's clothes was for her own good, it still seemed wrong to him.
Not that it mattered. Sesshoumaru wasn't going to cut her clothes off with his claws in any case. For one, he couldn't imagine the fit she would throw upon discovering he had destroyed her clothes on top of rendering her naked. For another, he was pretty certain her being wholly unclothed would not exactly be an improvement upon her wearing her wet garments. Even if he used the dry shirt to cover her like a blanket.
Besides, what if he really did have to defend her? For some reason the thought of some unnamed foe catching a glimpse of Aki's exposed flesh didn't sit well with him. Worse, what if he had to move her? Even Sesshoumaru could see that there was no way for him to carry her unconscious form and keep the dry garment covering her well enough to protect her from exposure. She would just have to survive in her wet clothes for now. Besides, it wasn't like they could stay wet forever.
He would just wait until the rain stopped then set them both out in the sun to help dry their clothes on their bodies. Sesshoumaru was convinced the rain couldn't continue to pound incessantly for too long.
Through it all Fred watched. He watched as the youkai found Aki's sole piece of dry clothing. He watched as Sesshoumaru attempted to wake his best friend. He watched as the demon puzzled over how to fix the problem upon realizing that Aki could not be awakened. And through it all, Fred's eyes were glued to the piece of fabric as Sesshoumaru's clothing dripped wetly onto the garment clasped in his clawed fist.
The ghost very much doubted that Sesshoumaru realized that he had made it absolutely impossible to still call the shirt 'dry'. Eventually the youkai sighed at the inevitable conclusion that Aki would just have to stay in her wet clothes for the time being. Fred rolled his eyes at how long it had taken the demon lord to concede to the unavoidable reality of the situation.
Fred did not like how things were playing out, but like Aki sometimes said, you didn't have to like how things were going in order for them to be real. He knew Aki needed someone, someone alive, to break through all the barriers standing between her and the world. He knew it, just like he knew she wouldn't willingly allow that to happen. In closing herself off she was protecting the world around her from the curse that had wiped out everything that had ever been important to her life.
It saved the world but left her stuck in a prison of bad memories and nightmarish emotional pain. She hung on to life by shear stubbornness and a strong desire to fulfill the promises she made to herself. And Fred could see her dieing slowly, an inch at a time.
Aki needed someone to make her want to live, to give her hope that there could be joy in her future and Fred was desperate to find the person to make it happen. He wasn't desperate enough to want that someone to be the emotionally constipated, effeminate, arrogant jackass Sesshoumaru. In fact, he was pretty sure the youkai lord would cause more harm than good for his hurting friend.
But the ghost had seen enough to see he wasn't going to get what he wanted. Aki wouldn't let anyone near her long enough for it to do her any good and only somebody like Sesshoumaru was pompous enough to resist her pushing him away. And he could see that the inu youkai in question was drawn to the partial youkai. Oh Fred could see where this was going, he could only hope that Aki didn't pay for it in the way he thought she would.
In the meantime, he could make a right nuisance of himself. He didn't care much for Sesshoumaru and his behavior towards ghosts in general. It was rather satisfying to annoy the hell out of the youkai lord and know that nothing could be done in retaliation. And an annoyed Sesshoumaru was a distracted Sesshoumaru. Distracted from his strange ruminations about Aki and her damp clothing.
Besides, Fred didn't want to think too much about Aki, or more specifically that her body was curled up in the youkai's lap. It was altogether better for everybody involved if all thought were focused on something other than the former English teacher and her soggy, feverish state of being.
Three days passed in this way without much change. Fred still didn't like Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru still greatly disliked the ghost. Aki was still unconscious. What's more, the rain never stopped and the youkai and his charge were still soaked to the bone.
Some things did change as is likely to happen in the space of three days. Aki's fever got worse as true sickness rose up to mix with the side effects of the witch's spell. Her breathing never eased and Sesshoumaru grew more and more concerned for her health.
The feeling was only intensified when the silly little water fed crevice in the back of the cave overflowed with the intent to flood the entire cave. Sesshoumaru had been forced to lift Aki onto a rocky ledge in the cave wall where he had to hover uncomfortably above her in order to fit them both onto the narrow space that offered the only haven from the icy water. As if that weren't enough, the saturated dirt above the ledge finally grew too heavy to stay where it was and caved in – right onto his head.
He was wet. He was filthy. And the only light in the misery of the past few days had been that Aki had been saved from further injury, even if it had been because his head was in the way.
Through it all, Aki never stirred. She showed no signs of waking. She made no restless movement in her sleep. The only proof that she was merely sleeping and not beyond the ability to wake was hernear constant coughing that brought up more tainted blood. Sesshoumaru was certain he never wanted to use his poison claw ever again. He was sick of the smell.
He was almost certain he would rather Aki slip into a sleep that was almost impossible to awake from instead of continuing to cough up blood.
Sesshoumaru had decided it was more than time to get out of the cave. He was tired of being damp. He wanted to be warm again. He wanted to be dry, and he wanted the same for Aki. It shouldn't have mattered that much to him, but the girl in his dreams had been growing progressively more tired looking and short of breath as Aki grew more and more ill. It didn't take a genius to make the connection.
Aki was the girl in his dream and he had decided that the first person to treat him to the youthful pleasures he'd been denied in his youth deserved some kind of consideration from him. Besides, watching over her as the others had appointed him to had to include protecting against death by illness.
It wasn't like moving her through the rain would chill her anymore than keeping her stationary in a cave did. He truly hadn't expected to be away from Rin this long and he was certain that after collecting the child and his retainer he could get Aki to shelter quickly. Quick enough to avoid all encounters that could delay getting her to their final destination.
Sesshoumaru shoved his feet into the ankle deep frigid water on the floor of the cave with an internal grimace. Transporting Aki did present a few problems, but none of them were great enough for him to further risk her health by staying. True, he couldn't carry Aki the way he had before without a small amount of her help that could only be offered by a conscious female. True, it was difficult to hold her bag open and stuff what few items had been taken out back into it, but he managed. Granted it wasn't the neatest packing job and he was pretty sure Aki would not be happy to be slung over his shoulder if she should awake mid transport, but that was unlikely and it was the best he could do under the circumstances.
Sesshoumaru checked the cave one last time for anything belonging to Aki before promptly turning and striding out the cave mouth and into the still pounding rain. He nearly winced as the driven water dug into his muscles uncomfortably. The wince was more for Aki than himself though. She was fully exposed to the rains biting touch whereas he was partially shielded by her weight.
With a flick of his wet silver hair, Sesshoumaru flashed out of the area leaving behind a frustrated ghost to curse after him.
Fred was absolutely certain that Sesshoumaru wasn't going to stop and let him catch up periodically like Aki did. Which meant that the ghost was going to take even longer to get to Aki when the taiyoukai finally reached his destination. The spirit's cursing continued nonstop for quite a while. And since he's quite fully entertained by himself no one needed to pay him any real heed.
Sesshoumaru was finding that his ward and retainer had not remained where he left them.
Normally he would be terribly annoyed by this blatant disregard of his very specific orders, but Jaken and Rin had moved towards his ultimate goal so he might be able to overlook it for now. Not that Sesshoumaru was wholly conscious of his thought on the subject. He was much too focused on getting Aki out of the weather.
For some strange reason the taiyoukai couldn't form true coherent thoughts under the urgency he felt to get Aki somewhere she could be looked after properly. He couldn't seem to forget even momentarily his burden was suffering in the weather and still completely unconscious. Sesshoumaru couldn't escape the nearly overwhelming desire to see her open those unique green eyes of her own will.
Under this slightly unconscious need to see Aki well and as soon as could possibly be arranged Sesshoumaru pressed himself to speeds he'd never accomplished before. Had he stopped to think about it, he would've flayed himself alive for achieving this now when he was goaded by emotions he shouldn't be feeling rather than when he normally pressed himself for excellence. Luckily, Sesshoumaru was in too much of a hurry to stop and think about it.
When he made it through the gates of his family seat he barely had the strength to order the servants to look after Aki before he collapsed in an impossibly dignified way. This one time he was glad he hadn't managed to dismiss all of the staff that had served his father's second love. They were the only ones likely to know how to treat an illness of any kind. He could only hope that Aki was human enough for their prior experience to actually mean something significant for her health.
Sesshoumaru's watchful eyes never left Aki's limp form until she was taken out of sight to a destination unknown. Once she was out of view he let out a sigh of relief so out of character his servants temporarily fled a small distance before realizing he wasn't about to attack them.
The exhausted inu youkai might have fallen completely unconscious right then if it weren't for the constant irritant found in the person of his retainer. Why his father had chosen Jaken to serve him Sesshoumaru would never understand, and his promise not to kill the little imp once and for all still kept him from exterminating the annoying creature with the foul stench and inflated opinion of his own worth. On some level Sesshoumaru suspected Aki would approve of this ingrained behavior. She didn't seem to pursue violence with as much zeal most would find in a youkai, partial or otherwise.
Unfortunately, It was times like these when he cursed the day he ever promised to let the toady live. Jaken was barking out orders to the servants who were trying somewhat unsuccessfully to get their lord warmed and cleaned and dried. The servants did not need his direction. They were well trained. And certainly, none of them were deaf, as Jaken's volume seemed to indicate.
Eventually Sesshoumaru's already frayed nerves and exhausted patience snapped and he knocked the retainer unconscious leaving himself and the skilled servants to do their work in peace. In his exhausted state, the young lord barely noticed the smug smiles the servants attempted to disguise at his action, but since not a one of them moved any less efficiently than before he let it slide. Besides, there was some comfort in knowing he wasn't the only one to find the little youkai tiresome.
Elsewhere in the building there were servants who worked without the harassment of greenish imps with delusions of grandeur. Instead Sesshoumaru's staff worked under the strong will of the very capable housekeeper and head of the women's side of the estate in place of Sesshoumaru's as yet unfound Lady. And Tama knew how to deal with human ailment, having personally looked after the late Lord's Izayoi before his untimely demise that made Sesshoumaru a lord and Inuyasha fatherless.
Oh yes, Tama knew how to deal with illness. She also knew how to deal with an unconscious body that needed to be cleaned and warmed and dried. Being the resident nanny for so many years can teach a body many things. Things the raising of children of any species will teach.
Aki's unconsciously limp body was treated rather roughly in comparison to how one might treat a child's in such a case. After all, once asleep everything is done to keep a child asleep. In the case of this as yet unnamed female their lord had brought home, Tama was determined to wake the girl up. Sesshoumaru had never brought home any creature other than Aki. Rin came with the toad, Jaken and had never been inside the family holding before. But Aki had been brought in by the young lord that Tama had seen in diapers and Tama was quite protective of all the children she had looked after.
That aside, the girl's appearance begged that she had been unconscious and ill for some days, quite enough time to develop a substantial hunger. A state of being that can be dangerous in youkai for two reasons. First is the obvious weakening a lack of sustenance can cause over time. The second is that youkai who are greatly hungered can attack without warning to fill the emptiness knawing at their insides. It was an instinctual reaction that often turned out badly, especially among strangers like this foreigner was.
Tama directed her underlings to undress the shivering, slowly warming foundling in their care to be bathed. How this female could have drawn Sesshoumaru's attention as filthy as she currently was Tama couldn't imagine. Usually he was rigorously fastidious, the company of Jaken was the only flaw in his incredibly clean appearance. Inu youkai's sensitive olfactory nerves practically required such behavior. Anyone who didn't practice a similar hygiene regimen did not spend a great deal of time breathing around an inu.
At least they didn't unless they held some importance or generally were cleaner than circumstances have contrived to allow them to be at the time. Tama clucked at the slowly rousing female soothingly as she scrubbed the stunning mass of hair from scalp to tip. Under the grime the old goat youkai could tell that this stranger certainly did take better care of it when she wasn't being kept unconscious by injury and malady.
Tama and the rest of her team of servants finished scrubbing Aki down to the reddened, warming skin before removing her from the tub of water and roughly chaffing her tender skin with coarse absorbent cloth before depositing her not so limp body on a warm soft cushion next to a low table.
Aki no longer slouched as much as she would've before her somewhat brutal bath. She was slightly more awake than she expected to be but the fuzzy feeling in her brain kept her from resenting the fact. Oh but she was tired and amazingly, a little hungry as the smell of Japanese soft rice steamed into her sinuses.
It was bland but warm and safe to eat as the strange horned woman spooned it into her mouth with slightly more force than was necessary. Tama took this opportunity to observe the female's many physical oddities.
Now, Tama was used to the various extra appendages certain youkai can sport in their guise as humans. She herself wore her horns with pride, but Aki, in all Tama's experience, was the weirdest looking creature she'd ever seen. No one had ever borne both scaled tail and feathered wings in her times. And never had the old nanny come across a youkai that carried talons and the same fleshy ears some inu youkai did. And her eyes were the wrong colour for any of her "extras" as the humans would call them.
Perhaps it was her many oddities in appearance that had drawn her lord's attention to this still drowsy partial youkai; he always was a strange child.
Not that it mattered much to Tama. The old goat youkai set aside the bowl of soft rice and reached across the table to seize the girl's chin firmly. She gave her captive a short shake to garner the female's undivided attention. "Listen you! You are a guest of this house and you will be safe here. However," Tama gave Aki another shake, "if you are ever the cause of harm befallen the master of this house, I will personally see to it that you live just long enough to regret whatever action you took to cause it!"
Aki blinked in dumbfounded surprise. Had some strange goat woman just threatened her? When had she fallen into the twilight zone again?
In the end Aki dismissed it all as unimportant when compared to the sleepy fog her now clean, warm body was foisting on her mind. Her elevated temperature was still on the rise, but Tama barely gave it any heed because of the bath water and the good scrubbing the girl had received. Her skin was flushed and tender. She felt achy and when the old goat woman lead her to bed and let her crawl in, Aki could barely tell that it was meant to be soft, but she was too exhausted to care.
Back home with the taiyoukai, Sesshoumaru was likewise warm and dry and quite pleased with his former inability to be completely rid of all his father's servants. Just the knowledge that Tama was still chatelaine settled his mind like no other reassurances could.
The remembrance had come to him in the middle of his bath and the resulting complete relaxation of the previously tensed muscles in his body had quite seriously alarmed his attendants. He was so at ease that Sesshoumaru didn't really mind that they hauled him out of the water sooner than he otherwise might have preferred.
Just as he finished dressing, that same goat youkai entered the room with a tray of food to break his fast. Sesshoumaru hadn't really eaten since before Aki had been placed into his protection and such a long space between meals wasn't generally a good thing. But Tama had anticipated his need without any prompting. This was the sign of a truly skillful servant and housekeeper.
Tama stayed only long enough to watch every morsel disappear from the tray before removing it and sending the servants on their way before her. Sesshoumaru desired quiet repose and the old youkai had foreseen his wishes and worked toward allowing him that goal.
Sesshoumaru certainly hoped he was not always so horribly predictable. True routine was good for discipline, but predictability was a weakness easily exploited.
The youkai lord mentally sighed and retreated to the room that held his well-cushioned futon. In truth he couldn't truly consider the subject as fatigued as he was. Strangely, he was looking forward to the helpless hours in his near future. Perhaps the Aki-child was there waiting for him.
Sesshoumaru drew back the bed coverings and lowered himself into their soft embrace. A moment later he realized that there was another body under the blankets. He sat up and drew down the coverings one more time to expose the flesh of Aki's back and face as she lounged comfortably on her stomach. As he watched, she cracked one eye open briefly and upon observing him gently slid it closed again.
Aki for her part had not been able to return to the dark shores of sleep. Every time she began to drift off she would shiver just violently enough to wake her back up, but she was too warm and too clean to get frustrated about it. Besides, allowing the involuntary movement of her own body to frustrate her would only wake her up more completely, the opposite of what she wanted.
Sesshoumaru gazed upon her in surprise and a swell of relief. She was finally conscious. The passing thought as to why Tama had placed the girl in his bed was swiftly discarded after the realization that Aki was quite undressed. Suddenly his hand was no longer under his conscious control.
The taiyoukai watched as the appendage grazed though the air above Aki's pinkish skin mesmerized by it's journey over a territory he didn't yet dare to traverse in full until she shivered violently in the cool air. His fingers came in contact with her warmed skin so suddenly and accidentally it sent a jolt of electricity through him that took his breath away.
Suddenly his brain caught up with what was going on a moment after his hand pushed forward to fully lie upon her skin. After that, his brain didn't stand a chance. Instinct overruled all conscious thought as he leaned into her, making a claim he had never realized he wanted to make.
The night closed around them and the Urasei's spell was finally appeased.