Where are we going? I would like to know myself. Sesshomaru decided to leave, and so we were. Unfortunately for me, I'm not accustomed to following people blindly. I wasn't all for following the demon lord around the world, no matter how attractive he is. The other unfortunate part about this was the fact that I had no choice in the matter. I just had to go and open my damn mouth, didn't I? If I had just let Kagome tell me about Sesshomaru, I wouldn't be in the situation. No, if I didn't stand around like an idiot while the others ran, then I wouldn't have been condemned to this situation. I would always regard characters in movies or anime that stood around and did nothing with the utmost disdain. Here I am now, acting like those characters I hate.
I followed behind Ah-Un, who was currently carrying Rin and Jaken. I decided that I wouldn't focus on my self-proclaimed captivity, instead, I would think about something that would lift my spirits. My mind drifted to the thought of my return to my world (the real world?) and not having to worry about magically getting transported back here. I don't want to get attached to anything or end up finding myself or someone else dead. If anything, I fear the two mixing the most. My train of thought came to a halt once I saw the outer rim of what I thought our destination was. This better not be where I think it is. If it is, I'm going to fangirl, and that's not entirely a good thing at times like these.
"Sesshomaru-sama, where are we?" Rin asked.
"We are at my manor." He answered.
I felt a stream of blood run down my nose. Sesshomaru turned and stared at me, obviously intrigued by my sudden bloodshed.
"I, well… this's never happened to me before." I told him as I accepted the handkerchief Rin offered to me.
I wiped off the blood and kept the piece of cloth to wash on my own. Sesshomaru seemed to be a bit reluctant to return his attention to what was ahead of him, but he did when I assured him that I was fine. I think I saw his right eyebrow twitch, as though he was saying that he didn't care about my condition, but that might have been my imagination.
When we finally broke through the trees, we were met by a rather large gray gate. It opened at his command, revealing a compound that was the size of about half my neighborhood, so approximately 3 to 5 acres of land. It was vast to say the least. There were four different buildings on the compound, each having at least three or four floors. The building, which I will call "Luigi", that sat in the far right side of the rectangular shaped land had around six or seven floors, but it wasn't as wide as the as the other buildings. The building closest to the front of the gate was the shortest when it came to height, but was the widest of the three, hence my naming of it "Wario." The building located on the opposite side of Luigi, "Mario", was a short building that seemed to be proportioned equally, making a squarish shape. The last building was stationed in the middle of the three buildings. My name for that one will be "Yoshi." From the corner of the buildings, I could see vast lands before hills rolled into the back of the territory. Those hills were covered in varying colored flowers as well as trees.
Rin jumped off of Ah-Un, and ran to catch up with Sesshomaru. I took my time and observed as much as I could without being left behind. When we reached the doors of the main building, I was so stunned that I couldn't help myself from awing at it. I've always been awe-struck by Japanese palaces, but that was from pictures of them. It was completely different from seeing an inhabited one in person. The walls stood proudly, holding the ceiling high as their residents walked swiftly from place to place. Vases, and flowers filled the place. How long had it taken to build this place? There were so many small details I knew I glanced over, but I didn't have the time to stop and admire them all.
Sesshomaru was instantly greeted by maids and butlers. They were all demons, not that I was surprised by this. Seeing that Rin and I were not far behind him, it was apparent that they noticed us too. They paid no mind to Rin, I was a different case. They found it necessary to stare. Yes, I am a human, and I am conscious of what was happening, but did they really have to stare?
"Take the humans to their rooms." Sesshomaru instructed as he went off to do whatever he needed to do.
Rin and I followed the maids as they led us to where we were to stay. The room we were given was huge, and covered in crescent moons! It was ridiculous.
"Please come this way." A maid said to Rin. "I will take you to your room."
We got separate rooms? This was supposed to be MY room? I could have a party with fifteen people in this room alone! Even so, I put up no argument. I always wanted my own room. Once Rin and the maid left, I started to wander through the room before sitting on the bed. The soft silk that lined my bed pleased my fingers. Silk originated in China, so I'm not surprised that Sesshomaru has obtained some, especially since his land is on the western part of the island. I looked around again before feeling a slight headache. I tried to shake it off, assuming that it was a reminiscent from the fever.
"Miss?"
I jumped at the sound of a foreign voice. I was on edge today, and for a valid reason. I'm surrounded by full demons, and I'm completely helpless on my own. I turned around to face the person that had called me.
We stared at each other before she spoke. "Master Sesshomaru wishes to speak with you." She told me as she turned away from my direction.
"Do I have a choice?" I asked with a sigh.
"No." She said.
I didn't expect "yes" but it was worth a shot. I got up, ready to follow the maid, but she noticed my… lack of grace when it came to wearing a kimono. She redid it for me, and I was grateful. Not knowing how to wear a kimono has really made me appreciate western clothing. I missed my jeans and tank-tops. After dressing properly and becoming "presentable", she took the lead to where he was. Surprisingly, it didn't take that long. I expected to have to walk to another building, but after a few turns and a couple of minutes of walking, we arrived at a larger door. The maid opened it for me and shooed me into the room with her eyes. I wasn't exactly excited to do so, but eventually entered what looked like a library. The maid closed the door behind me, leaving me to stare down the beast on my own.
"You called for me?" I asked, hoping to receive some sort of clarification. I hadn't done anything wrong… yet. It takes time to be mischievous.
"Sit."
I opened my mouth to reply, but the gaze he shot at me sat me down in the nearest seat I could find.
"What are you?" he asked me.
Didn't I already answer this question? "I'm human, like I said before."
His scrutinizing gaze made me want to wriggle where I sat, but I forced my instinct away.
"You are not human." He told me.
I tilted my head as I felt my face deadpan. My "smartass" demeanor quickly surfaced as I questioned how he thought he could tell me what I am. I mean, it's not as if I've lived my life in my body. I'm a complete stranger to myself. After hiding my change in attitude, I listened to what he had to say. Sure, being a demon sounds like fun; but I'm human. It was completely impractical for him to say otherwise, hence my decision to hear him out. He wouldn't say something that made him seem stupid without a reason.
"And what is your basis for that conclusion?" I asked, verbally letting him know that I was going to listen to what he had to say. It would take a very persuasive argument to make me contemplate it, but I would listen.
I could see that he understood that I wasn't open-minded to what he was saying. I watched him as he took a book from his desk like table and tossed it at me. I, being the uncoordinated klutz I am, tried to catch it but I failed, epically. It smacked me in the middle of my face before making its way to the ground. It took a moment for my body to finally register the pain, but when I did, I gingerly placed my fingers on my head and attempted to wipe away the pain. It stung; it stung a lot. I ignored the tears that formed in the corners of my eyes as I picked up the book. Is that what a Maka Chop felt like? Poor Soul, Maka leaves indents in his head.
The book didn't help my headache at all. The pain seemed to become sharper. How did the book even get there?! Sesshomaru tossed it toward my lap! Silently cursing karma for its way of warning me to not be a smartass to the guy who can kill me in the blink of an eye, I opened the book and turned to the page that was marked.
This demon was hunted yata, yata. Yata, yata, yata. Vulnerable, yata, yata, killed. Currently hides itself as a human, yata, yata, yata deterred majority of those who hunt... Yata, yata, yata. Wait. What did I just read? I don't think I can consider that as reading actually.
This demon, a breed of Inu yōkai was almost hunted to the point of extinction. This breed of Inu holds the capability to bear powerful yōkai with power equivalent to that which would be accumulated over approximately 3 generations. Considering its lower strength compared to its Inu relatives, it was classified as a target worth fighting for. Because of their ability and vulnerability, many of these demons were killed or were taken too early. Those who were able to conceive were often killed, along with their child, by enemies to prevent powerful heirs from being born. To stop their species from going extinct, they adapted to the point where they are born in human skin, and live amongst humans to avoid being preyed upon. Their adaption has deterred majority of those who hunt after them. However, these demons cannot maintain their human forms and scents forever. As time progresses and the demons age, their demonic traits begin to surface. Scents become potent, and demonic traits begin to resurface.
…
"So… You think I'm one of these?" I asked.
I received silence as his response.
"Nope, nu-uh, I'm human. I don't care if I am one of these demons, I am human."
"You are speaking nonsense."
"What brought you to this suspicion to begin with?"
"Your scent."
"I am a human, nothing more, nothing less." I reiterated.
"We will find out for sure when you become of age."
"So is this why you brought me here?" I asked. "If I was one of these demons, what would you do with me?" I could hear the low grumbles in his throat. They warned me of his increasing agitation, but I didn't care. "What would you do? Would you try to take me? Would you become one of the demons that forced those demons to hide in the first place?" It wasn't his accusation that made me upset, it was his intention.
That question seemed to strike a nerve, the nerve karma just warned me about.
"You will question me no further." He told me as he entered my personal space.
"Why shouldn't I?"I asked, feeling defiance power my body at this point. "If you haven't realized, I'm not a conventional woman."
"Remember with whom you are speaking." He growled through clenched teeth.
"I have not forgotten that I speak with Sesshomaru."
"You are not my equal."
"That can be taken two ways."
"I am your alpha. You will submit." He snarled
I got out of my sitting position and stood my ground. "Sesshomaru, you are NOT my alpha." I spat back at him. I was sick of him and his assumptions
It was dumb of me to argue with him in his face. Before I knew it, he had his hand wrapped around my neck in his signature death grip, which got tighter every second. Sesshomaru was pissed at me, karma was pissed at me, but I was pissed at Sesshomaru. I was fighting a losing battle, and at the moment, I thought it was worth it, that I wasn't going to go down so easily. Unfortunately, I did go down easily. Why? Because he threw me at a wall. Yeah, he just chucked me across the room. When I made contact with the wall, it was less than pleasant. I felt as though I had been tackled by a football player completely decked out in his gear while I wasn't paying attention. No time to brace myself, no time to try to avoid it, only pain, and lots of it. To make matters worse, gravity said that I needed to be on the ground, whether I was ready to catch myself or not. My right shoulder ended up taking most of the force from the fall. Even though I was sprawled against the floor, barely able to move, I couldn't stop the 'smartass' in me from remarking to the situation. I mean, of course I deserved it. It's COMPLETELY reasonable for someone to throw a person across the room without a care in the world. There's no such thing as spinal cord injuries. That's just a myth. Golly gee, I have no reason to be sarcastic with this. Sesshomaru's frustration is 100% legit. I almost hurt his pride for goodness' sake! Questioning people should be considered a crime!
So what if I was struggling to get oxygen back into my lungs? That didn't matter because it made Sesshomaru proud. Oh, I hope he's proud of this. You know what? I ought to say it out loud. I didn't care how much pain I was in, I didn't care that I was putting myself in the same situation again. I was going to have the last word.
"Congratulations, Sesshomaru. You managed to throw me at a wall. I hope you're proud." I told him.
I ignored his growl.
"It's too bad that you still have no power over me."
"My strength will force you to submit." He replied.
I would have rolled my eyes if I wasn't struggling to speak. "Strength? Who said anything about strength? I said 'power'… There is much more involved when it comes to power."
"Strength is power, which you know nothing about." He growled at me.
"I know more than you could ever hope to know with that mentality of yours. My refusal to listen to you, to obey you, to stop speaking against you is strength."
"Then let your strength strike down your enemies."
"Have you learned nothing from your father?! You only wish to strike down what you see as an obstacle. That is why you were given Tenseiga. You need to see that strength is not power! You must see that…power… is-" I started, but my vision became freckled with black spots. I wanted to get my last words out, but I had gotten too fervent. My body was out of breath, forcing me to pass out.
