A/N: I think many of you expected this to run a bit differently, but let's be honest. Sesshōmaru needs a bit more pushing before he will done his cold-hearted mask. Anyway, chapters will start to become a bit more mature from here on. I'm not sure if it's mature enough to deem it 'M' instead of 'T', so I'll leave the rate like this.
Please comment (your opinion on the rating of this story would certainly be appreciated)^^
InuYasha does not belong to me
o.O.o
Chapter Twenty-Two, A Yōkai and his human ward
His molten amber eyes, which normally glinted with scorn or indifference shone in a different light that moment. His grip tightened on her hair, the tips of his claws curved softly against her scalp. He was so close she could practically count the lashes on his eyelids and her eyes flitted hurriedly from his eyes to his lips and back again. She would have thought he was attempting to kiss her had it not been for the curious look he gave her.
"What are you doing?"
He didn't answer. At the Western horizon, the sun was starting to rise, warm light filtering in through the entrance. She waited It shouldn't have surprised her and she sighed, digging her fingers into her sleeves. His lips brushed against the shell of her ear when he leaned over her. "You should know whom you belong to…"
As he pulled his hand back she felt a few strands of hair rip against his claws. She felt her eyes narrow. "I'm not yours." She told him simply. "You can't just decide to own someone just like that."
A tremulous smile tugged at his lips but she curled up onto her side and turned over, curling her knees to her chest, pillowing her head on her arm. She remained close enough to feel his body heat radiating off of him. Behind her shuttered lids, the mere morning light lingered yet she was tired enough to drift off to sleep in mere minutes.
When she woke up three hours later she was covered up by Sesshōmaru's larger haori and the Daiyōkai was nowhere to be seen. With a yawn she slowly sat up, pulling her arms through the sleeves of the haori and fastened the bindings messily. It reached just past her knees and she felt far more comfortable then she had last night in just her pyjama. As she sat up, she fingered around the cave to sit up when she felt a sash next to her. With her eyebrows furrowed together, she tightened the cloth around her waist.
"Oh, you're finally up?" Jaken, Sesshōmaru's green retainer, asked her stiffly and her eyes narrowed at his tone. "Do all measly humans sleep this long?"
"Jaken, I swear to God, if you say one more insulting thing, I'll purify you."
"You aren't capable." He retorted dryly and she gave him the most poisonous glare she could muster while her reiki flared in warning. He eyes her angrily but quickly back-pedalled and she paid him no more heed. With a tired yawn, she shifted uncomfortably to her feet and attempted to smooth her tangled, wind-blown hair out of her face. Rin was still sleeping and with the practiced ease of a girl who'd taken care of her younger sibling many times, she pushed the dark fringe out of her face and tried to gauge her temperature.
The girl was still too warm, but at least she was looking better. With a tired sigh, she slowly sat back at her haunches and peered at the herbs she'd gathered just hours ago. Although most of them looked still useful, she could see the rims of the leaves starting to turn brown.
"I'm going to gather more herbs and I want to bath. My feet look like I've tried to give myself a mud-bad and failed at it." She told him, picking up a wooden basket with a small lid.
Jaken didn't answer. She wriggled her toes disdainfully and ventured out of the cave, trekking into the forest. A watery sun had broken through the clouds, illuminating the billows of mist and the leaves of the canopy above. A large dark crow peered down at her, sitting on the stark branches of a tree. It fluttered its wings before taking off in the air and she watched it sear up in the sky with curious eyes. In the distance, she heard the running of water and she sniffed the air, hoping against hope there would be a hot spring close by.
She sank to her knees next to a spot of wild mint and carefully pulled them out, extracting the leaves and dropping them into the woven basket. The birds around her chirped and the forest animals busied themselves not too far away from them.
When she'd gathered enough herbs she kicked the lid on the basket with her foot and trekked further into the woods. She trudged along the forest floor, thin rays of sunlight piercing through the hood of darkening sky above. The chilly wind raked through her borrowed haori and picked up her hair. She trembled in the slight cold and slowly shrugged out of her clothes, swiftly stepping into the water. The cold liquid stung at her skin, leaving a tingling sensation running down her legs. She inhaled sharply before sinking under the water's surface. Cool darkness pressed down on her and she peered up at the warped face of the sun.
She came up for air again and waddled through the water, rubbing at her dirty feet and knees until they're returned to their normal colour. In the distance, she heard humans going about their way. She pulled herself out of the water, drops riveting down her body, and redressed again.
His haori must have been of a special silk because as she stood she felt it dry against her skin and, considering she'd seen it torn and bloodied before, she was rather sure it must have some special repellant into it as well.
Sesshōmaru was a bit of an enigma to her, but most of all, she thought he might be lonely. Of course, he had Jaken around, who grovelled and followed him around everywhere, but the green bulbous-eyed yōkai only did that, because the Daiyōakai was very strong. She wondered if that was why he had Rin around now. She hadn't thought Sesshōmaru to have the patience to entertain a young human girl.
Till now she had thought him to be a bit of a psychopath. He was powerful — no doubt about that —, highly intelligent and felt little empathy for anyone. The latter rather obvious by the way he went after his little brother or how he killed without remorse.
Yet, the way Rin had looked at him it was rather obvious she adored him. She wetted her lips and leant back against the bark of a tree. He hadn't killed her yet either. Although her death hadn't really served a purpose she countered, even if she had no idea what purpose he was planning on. Perhaps, in time, he would use her humanity to wield the Tetsusaiga. She thought it rather surprising he hadn't tried it yet. If it was her, wanting to wield such a sword, that might have been the first line of action. Either, Sesshōmaru hadn't thought about that, or he truly did not covet the sword anymore.
The latter would mean he had practically ruined her life for nothing and she felt a dark sort of anger settle in the lower part of her stomach. Sure, she had become stronger and the fast healing rate had saved her numerous of times.
She shifted slightly when suddenly his choking aura crept like ice over her skin. He returned with barely audible footballs beating against the forest-floor and she blew a lock of hair out of her face.
'Think of the devil and he'll appear,' she thought dryly.
He didn't approach her immediately and after several moments of silence, she sighed. "I know you're there, Sesshōmaru."
"I was not concealing myself." He replied, stepping out of the foliage. She stared at him briefly and he sat down in front of her, cross-legged, one arm leaning on his knee while the other cradled his chin.
She always found his stares uneasy, because she never knew what he was looking for. His eyes lingered on her, or perhaps on his haori wrapped snugly around her fragile form and she sighed.
"Your sister seems to be quite fond of you." He offered slowly and Chiharu frowned. Of course, she was fond of her, why wouldn't Kagome be fond of her? They were twins and for a large part did everything together.
"Erm, yes," she nodded. "We get on well! I love her."
"Love…" He muttered.
"Yes, love," Chiharu pushed her hands in the large sleeves of her haori, watching him seated cross-legged near the chore. "You know what love is, don't you?"
Her last comment dripped with sarcasm and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly and his eyes turned a bit dark. She didn't understand him. She'd never had felt the need either, yet a bit of understanding could prove helpfully. He knew
"I cannot love," he stated stoically and Chiharu snorted. She met his gaze, pools of liquid amber clashing with her cobalt blue and dark brown.
"That's not true and you know it." she retorted. "You can love, you just build those walls around you…"
His face remained unchanged and she felt her fingers tingle with the need to slap him. He knew. She could tell. He was so different from his brother. Inuyasha barely ever sensed when he did something to displease Kagome until he was sat six feet under. Her eyebrows furrowed. Come to think of it, Inuyasha never really sensed Sesshōmaru approach until he was standing right before him, either.
"His senses aren't good enough to notice me." He told her, breaking through the shields of her mind.
"What about Rin?"
"What about her?"
"She idolises you."
"You're too naïve to be alive." He told her, before reaching out, grabbing her ankle and pulling her towards him. He was faster than her, taller than her, and as he toppled her over onto her back she realised with growing horror that he was also far stronger than her. Her heart pounded in her chest as the Daiyōkai loomed over her inches from her face. Chiharu had never doubted his greater strength, but she hadn't expected the way her Miko powers were useless against him. Especially since she had accepted his Youki so long ago.
Her eyes widened when he immobilised her upper body with one hand on her sternum. "What are you doing?" she whispered softly.
"You think you understand what goes on in this Sesshōmaru?" he whispered lowly.
"No, I don't think I do," she mumbled.
"You are so refreshingly naïve, not even Rin is like that."
"Get off me!" she snapped, trying to push his hand away from her sternum.
"Tell me, did my little brother explain the bond to you?" he asked smoothly. "Have you noticed the certain sight-effects, or did you think those were just awkward changes you had no control over?"
She glowered at him. "You are beating around the bush… I find it terribly annoying." she snapped, "Get off me!"
He smirked, his canines showing and his long hair fell against her cheek. He made no sign to remove himself from her and Chiharu glared into his face. "You have the foolish notion that you need love to find someone to be your other half. All you humans do but this bond—"
He lowered his face to the crook of her neck and sniffed delicately. Chiharu noticed the change in his scent. She could smell the overwhelming scent of a man mixed with rage and passion. She'd learned long ago not to agitate him and yet… Her heart quickened its pace in her chest and for a split second, she forgot that he was a murderous Yōkai on top of her and recognised the man.
Awareness woke in her body with a startled and desperate complexity and she knew he noticed, his breath puffing against her skin as he chuckled. Her nipples hardened and her breathing grew more laboured. The thrumming of her nerves must have been visible because his fingers ghosted over her hips. She allowed his fingers trailing over her suddenly exposed abdomen and drew in a shuddering breath. She lay there beneath him, unable to move and unable to stop him.
"This bond between us means you will be forced to want to please me," he whispered. "It doesn't matter what your rational self wants. Do you understand that, Miko?"
She renewed her struggles. Hands tangling into his haori, trying to pry him off of her: "Right, you've had your fun humiliating me," she hissed, "Just get off of me!"
He chuckled lowly before covering her mouth with his. Her mind screamed at her and she sank her dull nails into the flesh where his neck met his shoulder. Her struggles were futile and his mouth overtook hers, tongue exploring her mouth and Chiharu felt horror dawn onto her when her body started responding to him.
His claws fisted into her hair, pulling her head back and began to trace the puckered flesh of his mark.
She strained to keep control of her now writhing body. Finally understanding what he meant when he said she would want to please him. Her body wanted to please him, yet her mind was capable to resist him. He nipped at her ear as he held her hair and she shivered. His other hand started to wander up her exposed torso, pushing her haori off. He cupped her breast in his greater hand and her breath escaped her in a soft hissing sound. Her body was betraying her and as he twiddled her nipple, a soft moan escaped from her lips amidst her battle. She wriggled underneath him trying to get away again but to no avail.
"You see?" Sesshōmaru whispered into her ear, her breathing laboured. "You are mine!"
Her mind reeled with excitement and fear. Her mind screamed at her, but her body fought back with its own intentions. She couldn't deny her obvious arousal, even if it might only mirror his.
"You can't hide what your body so readily displays," he continued.
"You said it yourself," she panted, "my body is only mirroring yours."
He growled, red bled into his eyes. She ignored the warning bells in her head again and wondered if she should slap him. "And yet with all your so-called power, you cannot really do anything to me. Newsflash, genius, I am not your property, everything this bond resembles was forced."
She felt her breath hitch when pure anger took over his face. "You Are Mine!" he whispered angrily, and she hissed when his mouth clamped down onto the mark again. Her back arched, fingers fisting into the silk of his haori. Her hips canted on its own accord and she moaned when his claws trailed over her stomach. Tears accumulated in the corners of her eyes and he abruptly rose.
"Do not test me again, Miko."
She lay there for a brief moment before pulling her clothes up and wrapped her arms around her chest. "You're an arsehole, you know that?"
"This Sesshōmaru has always been aware of your opinion, yet it is of no concern."
Chiharu rubbed her hands together, getting up to her feet, breathing harshly. She had been right in her assessment. He was a psychotic arsehole and had no idea how to deal with people. Yes, she would admit she had provoked him. Some of the violence had been hers. Since she came here, she hadn't been exactly a perfect example of a good citizen. Stealing food and fighting with the locals, she was in many ways a hypocrite. She shivered and then remained very still, angrily staring out over the water surface.
I-I. ⌡. Γ┐
She refused to speak to him. Didn't speak to him unless absolutely necessary and although he must have thought her childish, it gave her a grave sort of satisfaction when she noticed the muscle in his cheek tense and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Rin grew stronger the days following the incident and all that remained was a soft cough, a shortage of her usual energy — if Jaken was to be believed — and a hoarse voice.
They were somewhere in the high lands and it was already dark when Sesshōmaru sent them out to find some food. A hint of a colder wind slashed rather harshly against her cheeks and Jaken led them down the twisting passageways between the boulders out onto the tall grass. The Nintōjō swayed with every step the small imp took. and the silky black hair of the female of the once-beautiful woman tousled into the soft wind.
They had just travelled around a small mountain and Rin squealed with glee. There just a few metres away from them was a patch with melons. They were large and green and ripe and Chiharu felt an unusual tug in her chest at seeing them.
"Well," Jaken started, uncomfortable for some reason or the other, "go ahead, I don't have all night."
Rin nodded excitedly and Chiharu silently peered down at him. She was quite sure that if Sesshōmaru would order it he indeed would have all night. The imp-yōkai glared at the melon patch and Rin crouched down over a ripe melon. She sat down cross-legged before the fruit, cracking it open with a stone, and used both hands to pull out the fruit flesh. In seconds her whole face was covered in reddish goo and the child grinned.
She sat down next to Rin, cracking her own melon open and carefully picked at the fruit flesh. The taste of fruits in Sengoku jidai was different. Just like the air was less polluted and in a sense cleaner, the foods were cleaner as well. She relished in the soft taste, although slightly sour and closed her eyes.
They snapped open seconds later when an aura she couldn't place, neared. It was fast and her nose wrinkled when she recognised Naraku's dour scent. Just as a gust of wind struck down onto the melon patch, Chiharu had moved, pulling Rin up against her chest and using the inhuman speed she was getting so used to, to dodge the blow.
"Kagura!" Jaken screeched, hastily following after Chiharu as she settled the child down behind a tree and faced Kagura.
The wind-witch's eyebrows were furrowed together. "The Miko girl," she whispered softly, "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same." She returned stiffly and Kagura flipped her fan up, smiling leisurely at her.
"I am here for the child."
Chiharu cocked her head to the side, giving Jaken a meaningful look, which for once he understood, and peered back at the woman. She was an attractive young woman, although the red eyes and the pointy ears were a dead giveaway she wasn't human. Her hair was pulled up in a bun and two white feathers stuck out the bun as some kind of pin. Chiharu pushed her aura outwards and she saw Kagura fidget.
"I'm afraid you can't have the child." She told the woman dryly and red eyes narrowed at her.
"I'm sure getting you would be just as fine." She simply stated and Chiharu's eyebrows furrowed together.
"You do understand I am not human, don't you?"
"You look like one." Kagura goaded and in that second she could clearly see the resentment the other held for Naraku. The words unspoken — 'you look human enough to get close to Naraku' — hung in the air and she felt some of the tension leave her body. It was a foolish idea, idiotic even, but over the last few months, the group of shard-hunters had had little luck finding the foul baboon-wearing creature.
"I see,"
The wind-witch smiled, scooping down to grab her and Chiharu realised with more than a little tingle of horror that she was going to let her. Thin arms scooped her up and out of nowhere, a feather appeared, cushioning her slight fall.
"Act docile." The Wind-witch muttered and Chiharu sucked her cheeks between her teeth. She wasn't very good at acting docile but nodded stiffly.
The wind quickly slapped her hair out of her face and Chiharu made an effort to push the youki as far back as she could. It was a marvelous plan. She would be Naraku's docile prisoner and with that, she would be able to purify him. And as it was now, Kagura would literally serve her up on a silver platter. Fate, however, seemed to have other ideas in mind. She hardly even saw Naraku and in less then ten minutes she got dumped with Sango's little brother Kohaku. The boy didn't remember her and stoically peered at the opposite wall. Her patience lasted ten more minutes before she stalked out of the hut she'd been left into. The cottage had been guarded by a hoard of yōkai, but with her temper teetering on their last reserves, the purifying heat had boiled from her body and blindingly had purified them all.
Jaken had the gall to sigh miserably when she found them. After she had been 'kidnapped', Sesshōmaru had led their group down the twisting passageways into a small cave. The Daiyōkai decided he'd enough of Naraku's scheme and would, for once and for all, take care of him. Ah-Un watching over Rin, as the Sesshōmaru stepped out of the cave.
"I'm coming along." She decided, noticing that both men gave her almost identical annoyed looks. Rin seemed blissfully oblivious to them and curled up against Ah-Un. "Naraku has a large part of the Shikon jewel and I and my sister are supposed to restore it."
"You won't survive the miasma," Jaken cried outraged.
"Can you handle it?" She asked annoyed, glaring up at Sesshōmaru's too-perfect-face.
"Hn,"
"Than I am sure, I can too."
I-I. ⌡. Γ┐
Naraku had been expecting Sesshōmaru. His eyes momentarily widened when he noticed her paddling up behind him, unaffected by the miasma or the poisonous gas. She peered at the Hanyō's form, noticing the Shikon jewel gleaming above his chest and frowned. His humanoid body was gone and in the place was a grotesque body, made of parts from all kinds of yōkai. His face, though, remained unchanged and he smirked haughtily.
Sesshōmaru drew Tōkijin, appeared before Naraku in the blink of an eye and brought the sword down, blasting the hanyō apart. The hoard of yōkai circling around the castle-shrine seemed surprisingly unaffected by that and Naraku's body shattered over the ground.
At first, nothing happened. Then the flesh and bones began to slither around, crackling together and the flesh began to join itself back together. The ripple of something dark and ominous ran through him as if he hadn't just been hit by Tōkajin's evil aura and suddenly he stood again, in a very cocky way. He was unmistakably alive, dark scarlet eyes swivelled, staring at his opponent and for a moment she felt afraid.
Sesshōmaru didn't share her worries and struck the foul Hanyō again. Chiharu watched Sesshōmaru, as formidable as ever, fight. His pristine kimono whipped in the air, perfectly in tune with his moments. He moved gracefully, showing no signs of tiring and although Naraku's usual horde of yōkai had appeared, remained unfazed.
He lived up to his name well.
She wished she could say it was a surprise when Naraku went for her. He callously used the love his enemies held for their comrades as his greatest weapon against them, so it was a move she'd come to expect from him. Even now, she suspected he didn't know what had happened to her. To him, she was still a human Miko, who was perhaps just what faster than the average. She snorted when a tentacle came her way and dodged it with ease.
Sesshōmaru snarled, suddenly appearing in the centre of the hoard of yōkai, previously surging towards him and with a flick of his wrist, slashed through them. She flinched when parts, bloody and slimy fell down, striking her arm and with a pinched up face, she tried to dislodge it. She darted around the clearing, careful not to step in yōkai-bits, when suddenly a sharp pain shot up her leg. One of Naraku's tentacle's had cut fiercely into her leg and blood trickled out, thickly, from beneath her fingers.
Falling hard to the damp ground she clutched her calf and hissed. Sesshōmaru appeared from behind her and she gasped when he hurriedly grabbed her by the back of her haori, hoisting her up to his shoulder — she was growing rather tired of his shoulder — before flying in the air. The flesh wound on her calf was already knitting back together, yet, blood still rushed down her leg, darkening the front of his kosode and Chiharu wildly wondered if her failure annoyed him.
Grinding her teeth together she peered over his shoulder. The throng of yōkai was so thick, Chiharu couldn't see Naraku at all. Sesshōmaru dropped her unceremoniously down behind a boulder before resuming battle.
Her reiki surged, uncomfortable heat caressing her skin and instead of the brilliant light it pulsated a darkish blue. Rather, it pulsed within her blood, like a liquid fire and as a new hoard of yōkai neared her, the heat shot out from her, engulfing her body in bright blue light. It was blinding, and combined with the dormant youki lethal. The scent of cooked meat entered the air and flesh sizzled as it dissolved by the agitated reiki.
The palace shrine Naraku had lured them to collapsed in on itself and the slimy pieces of his army, of his own mismatched body, lay scattered over the ground like gory confetti. His miasma was evaporating with holy power and the yōkai were dissolving, as if her reiki was the strongest acid, leaving no trace of them.
Naraku's eyes had widened. Red eyes bored firmly into hers and for the first time, his full attention was on her. Her power still pulsed dangerously through her veins, tingling, heady and powerful. Naraku's creepers did near her, but with so much purifying energy around her, they disintegrated before even coming close to her.
With a snarl, the Naraku took to the air, his poisonous air quickly clearing in the face of so much holy power and she noticed her powers starting to eat at his arms and face as well. Jaken, wherever he'd hidden before, came up next to her. His dark green had paled to an almost grey and he was blinking sluggishly. He wasn't being disintegrated, but she suspected he was affected. Despite the scent of burnt flesh thick around her, Chiharu still recognised Inuyasha's scent suddenly closing in.
She felt weak, spent and dizzy, like all the energy her had been drained from her body. From her peripheral vision, she noticed his red haori and silver hair coming her way and as her legs gave out beneath her, she felt an arm wrap around her. She let herself collapse against him and her.
"What did you do to her?"
Sesshōmaru's rude snort almost sounded funny to her ears. "I didn't do anything, little brother. She used up all the energy her body produced."
"Fuck!" Inuyasha snapped, "How the fuck did she do this?"
"This girl—" Sesshōmaru's voice was thoughtful. "This Miko is far more powerful than I'd initially suspected."
Chiharu wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear that last comment and could no longer hold on to consciousness. She was almost glad when someone fully picked her up from the floor and tucked her into the crook of his arms. The darkness enveloping her like a warm bath was not unexpected at all.
To be continued...
A/N: I suppose Sesshōmaru would do anything to fight any lingering feelings he has for a simple human girl. He's definitely still a jerk...
Anyway, it seemed like something Kagura would do. Conspire with the enemy to get rid of Naraku. I think Naraku wouldn't have known about Chiharu's powers, so it seemed plausible for Kagura to use that against him. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Next update on upcoming Thursday^^