Chapter 6: InuYasha
~Ameki~
Ameki soon realized, after five days of travel, that Jaken had not exaggerated when he had said the village was a long ways off. Her sore feet begged her to question why they had not taken the easy route and taken to the sky with Ah-un. She had questioned Jaken on the matter when they had stopped to rest, his reply of "Lord Sesshomaru doesn't wish to rush to meet his brother again," gained a nice little double decker knot that Sesshomaru had placed firmly on his head without hesitation. Ameki immediately dropped the subject once she realized the tension in the air was almost tangible and Jaken seemed less than eager to continue with an answer.
Sesshomaru wasn't the talkative type, not like the little imp. Jaken kept her company by sewing tales of his own feats before he had given up his life and promised his services to Lord Sesshomaru. Commanding an army of over two-hundred imps seemed unrealistic to Ameki, but who was she to judge? Just a little under a week ago she had been a princess, with a family and a home. Ameki enjoyed the little imp's far fetched tales of battles he had waged against the serpent demons in his home region. It wasn't everyday that mortals were presented with the opportunity of being in the presence of demons that did not wish to harm them.
On the eighth day of travel they came to a clearing. Sesshomaru stopped and scanned the area. In the distance lay a medium sized settlement, a farming community. Ameki took note of the figures that worked the fields. They were still a good distance away and hadn't been noticed. Jaken sighed and looked up to Sesshomaru.
"That's a lot of people my Lord, a lot of new people." Jaken swallowed.
"Some will not recognize you, maybe I should take her since I'm far less threatening." Sesshomaru cast a sideways glance down at the imp.
"My lord, please forgive me. All that I meant was that they might not act rashly against a little imp, but seeing a powerful demon such as you my lord might send them into frantics." Jaken's brow grew wet, but the, sometimes, brash action of his lord never came. Instead he only replied.
"There's no need. He'll come." Sesshomaru's gaze leveled. Who is "He," Ameki thought.
As if on cue a flash of red caught Ameki's attention. The bright color jumped from rooftop to rooftop and landed in the field where it then darted straight for them. Ameki's first instinct was to inch toward Sesshomaru, and slightly position her body behind his. Maybe it had been because he had saved her in the past, but she felt safer with a wall that was Sesshomaru between her and any possible threats. Sesshomaru didn't seem to mind, his focus was on the blur that was hastily approaching. Jaken let out an irritated sigh as he too watched the sight before them.
"Just as you said my lord. He's still so predictable." Ameki watched the flash of color, wondering if it was actually a person, or a demon. This "He" moved with speed much like that of Lord Sesshomaru's, but not nearly as graceful. Where Sesshomaru seemed to glide effortlessly, the figure would slow and then seemingly gain speed again once pushing itself off of the ground.
The closer the figure got, the more features she could make out. Long silver hair, also much like Sesshomaru's, became visible among the speeding figure. One more leap into the sky and the man landed on a fence post a few yards away from their group. A man, or a demon, or maybe both? Ameki was confused that a demon would be coming from a village, especially one that was so similar to Sesshomaru. The face was of a man seemingly in his prime, young, and his features displayed a sense of cockiness as he scanned them. Ameki peered around Sesshomaru's stone frame. The man before them slightly cocked his head and observed her as well. His eyes were the same Golden Honey that Sesshomaru possessed, and his hair was the same silver strands that Ameki was so close to in that moment behind Sesshomaru. His skin was not as flawless though, Ameki could see the faint shimmer of oil that glazed his features, oil and sweat. This was something she had never seen on Sesshomaru, even in battle he had not broken a sweat.
"I knew I smelled trouble. I'm just trying to find out why you of all people would be making a visit?" Sesshomaru didn't speak, in his place was Jaken to come forth with a ranted reply.
"Things never change with you InuYasha. You never address your brother with the respect he deserves." Ameki felt her brow crease as Jaken uttered the words. Brother? This was Sesshomaru's brother? She could see the similarities sure, but this InuYasha character was a bit more...rough… around the edges. He wasn't nearly as groomed as the great dog demon that she stood behind. His robe held no designs, the cloth looked insanely itchy, his hair was a windswept mess and alas he did not wear shoes. Sesshomaru was royalty among his kind and presented himself so, which led her to question why this man did not.
Ameki caught sight of a small furry ear that twitched on top of his head. Her breath halted as she yet again made another comparison. Sesshomaru's ears were smooth, hairless and came to a point at the ends on the side of his head. InuYasha's ears were on the top of his head, and quite possibly reminded Ameki more of a dog than Sesshomaru did.
"Half-brother, half blood. Sesshomaru has only pointed that out to me numerous times." InuYasha retorted with a smirk. Jaken's face grew red as he became flustered.
"You ungrateful mutt!" InuYasha only smirked with a pointy tooth grin as Jaken carried on in his outburst.
"Enough!" The sudden demand from Sesshomaru made Ameki slightly jump away, coming into InuYasha's full view. She watched as he sniffed the air like a dog.
"You, why do you smell kinda familiar? You kinda look familiar too." InuYasha was talking to Ameki. She froze on the spot. She didn't know how to answer considering she had never even met him before. She was for certain that she would remember if she had. The adorable ears on top of his head would have been a dead giveaway.
"Uhmm… I think." She paused and glanced past InuYasha to the tranquil village in the distance. Many flowers and shrubbery blanketed the area.
"I think my mother was from here?" InuYasha cocked his head to the side as he sniffed once more. His bottom and top eyelids retracted into a shocked stare. He stayed like that for a moment looking her over.
"Are you Rin's little brat?!" InuYasha's reply gained a low sound that resonated from Sesshomaru. It had almost sounded like a growl, but Ameki could have been mistaken. Surely growling must have been below lord Sesshomaru, but she wasn't sure that the same would apply to his brother.
"How did you end up with this big stiff?" InuYasha asked pointing at Sesshomaru.
"Ameki will stay here." Sesshomaru's voice was cold as he spoke, adding emphasis on Ameki's name. InuYasha tried to mirror his brother's glare as he replied.
"Alright, provided you give me a good explanation as to why you show up out of the blue toting Rin's daughter with you." The two brothers were in a deadlock stare down neither one giving into blinking. Did they even need to blink?
Ameki was surprised that InuYasha knew who she was. Deductive reasoning soon made her realize that maybe InuYasha had made the connection through Rin's past with Sesshomaru, and also maybe her scent. She brought her wrist up to her nose where she slightly sniffed. All that she could smell was the faint aroma that lingered from her soap that Sesshomaru had gifted to her. Sesshomaru and InuYasha were still in a battle of gazes, but Jaken took notice of Ameki's odd behavior. With a little frown the Imp broke the tension.
"What's wrong with you?" Ameki jumped at Jaken's question. She hadn't realized that anyone had been watching. She felt silly that she had been caught, almost like a child doing something they weren't supposed to do. Her cheeks heated as she rushed to make up an explanation.
"I thought I smelled something weird on my sleeve master Jaken." Ameki lied.
"Hmmm, the only thing that smells weird around here is that mutt InuYasha." Jaken seemed pleased with himself that he could insult InuYasha without repercussion. InuYasha was still enthralled with his little showdown he didn't seem to want to lose with Sesshomaru.
"I don't have time for games InuYasha." Sesshomaru said, maintaining the cold tone that he had earlier when he had spoken as well.
"Oh, this was a game?" Retorted InuYasha. Though he seemed mature body wise, Ameki assumed that he still had some maturing to do in a mental capacity.
"Doesn't matter I guess. You show up unannounced like you used to. I just figured you were looking for trouble." InuYasha waved his hand in annoyance.
"Come on, it's not like the villagers are gonna try to behead you or anything. They are used to demon's by now." InuYasha winked towards Ameki. She was confused by his statement, but she figured she would soon find out what he had meant.
"Oh, and one more thing." InuYasha turned back towards Sesshomaru using his two fingers to point towards his own eyes, then motioned toward Sesshomaru in a "I'm watching you" suggestion.
"Be on your best behavior. Don't shake your fur and muddy up the place, don't jump up on furniture, wipe your paws at the door and whatever you do please… Use the bathroom outside." InuYasha smirked at Sesshomaru. Ameki watched as Jaken's jaw landed on the ground. The look of astonishment and disgust was clearly present in his features concerning the way InuYasha had just spoken to his brother like he was a common household dog.
Ameki looked to Sesshomaru, a feeling of dread washing over her as she waited for his reaction. A simple slow sprouting smile was his only response. Jaken's response however, was to back away. Ameki followed.
"Oh my… I know that smile." Jaken murmured nervously. Ameki waited for what was to come, but instead of a brawl, it was words.
"I see that human woman finally taught you manners." Sesshomaru's smirk disappeared. InuYasha's ears twitched at Sesshomaru's response.
"Oh I see. You've got jokes now huh? It doesn't suit you." With that InuYasha turned around, hopped off of the fence and began walking toward the village. A loud exhale of breath sounded beside Ameki. She looked over to see Jaken's skin returning to green from a bluish color. He had been holding his breath, waiting for Sesshomaru to pummel his little brother.
"That was... very intense." He whispered. Ameki gave an awkward grin to the imp, not even understanding half of what had just happened.
The village was bustling with life, and no one seemed to mind the fact that a powerful demon was within their midst besides a few women who stopped what they were doing to ogle him. Sesshomaru ignored their coo's and whispered comments. A few of the statements that Ameki overheard made her blush profusely. She assumed that these people would be used to demon's by now considering one lived among them, or maybe… Ameki caught sight of a few women with pointed ears and bushy tails. She stopped in her tracks. It was her turn to stare. The women were beautiful. One of the two girls looked to be about Ameki's age, and the smaller one appeared to be maybe around fourteen.
They caught sight of Ameki's gaze and gave a warm smile. Ameki realized that she had been gawking and quickly gathered her thoughts and self, pushing forward to catch up to Sesshomaru and InuYasha. Ameki's amazement got the better of her. This village seemed untouched by the war, and if it had been, they done a good job on repairs. Ameki noticed a few other people that didn't quite seem… human. The possibilities reeled in her mind. These people were aware that there were demons among them, and they didn't seem to be bothered. Then again, for the last week, Ameki herself had been traveling with demons. Something that seemed almost unfathomable in retrospect.
They came to a halt in front of a shack that sat on the left side of an archway that lead up steps to no doubt a shrine. The Shack looked as if it had been remodeled to add on rooms over time. Ameki could tell the original shack from the added on areas due to the appearance of aging on the wood. A straw curtain that covered the doorway dangled in the breeze. She wondered why they had come here. InuYasha turned to Ameki and directly spoke.
"Once the people inside realize who you are I can't promise your safety." Ameki froze and Sesshomaru shifted his weight. InuYasha chuckled and shrugged.
"They will probably squeal and do all kinds of things that will make Sesshomaru and I want to tear our ears off." Ameki relaxed, realizing his previous statement had only been a joke. InuYasha turned back toward the door.
"Oh Kagome, Sango...We have a visitor." InuYasha chided through the curtain.
"Visitors!" Jaken chimed in.
"Your manners haven't changed, you have visitors!" Jaken corrected him in a patronizing tone.
The curtain opened. A miko stepped outside, followed by another woman. Both women were beautiful and Ameki was caught in awe once again. Ameki wondered if the water around here had been contaminated with a celestial essence of sorts. These women were clearly middle aged, she could tell by the way young wrinkles teased the edges of their eyes, and the stray strands of silver that could be seen in dark heads of hair. They both smiled warmly at Ameki, and gave a slight nod in Sesshomaru and Jaken's direction. Ameki smiled back in return.
"Who do we have here?" The miko asked, directing her question toward Ameki.
"I'm...I meant hello." Ameki shifted feeling out of place among these beautiful women.
"My name is Ameki Yamato." She paused, wondering if she should give anymore information. She didn't have to it seemed. The miko glanced toward InuYasha with a pondering gaze.
"That name sounds oddly familiar." She brought her hand to her chin and glanced back up at Sesshomaru, and finally resting her eyes back on Ameki. The same dawning shocked expression that InuYasha had possessed earlier now displayed on her face as well.
"You're… You're Rin's daughter!" The woman beside her mirrored the expression as soon as the miko blurted her response. For a second Ameki wanted to sniff herself again, it had become instinct to assume that people were sniffing her out. However, the women before her were clearly human, so she dismissed the notion.
"We received a letter from your mother when you were born, but I never thought the day would come." The miko stepped forward with outstretched arms. Ameki wasn't sure how she should act in this situation. The Miko grabbed her into an embrace and lightly giggled as she squeezed her. The woman that had been beside the miko began patting Ameki's arm and smiling.
"You must be completely confused." The woman beside the miko stated.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm sango, and this…" She patted the miko's arm.
"This is Kagome." Kagome pulled back and beamed at Ameki releasing her from the hug. Ameki smiled warmly at the two, slightly relaxing at their unexpected reactions. InuYasha had clearly warned her, and she should have heeded his words.
Sesshomaru and InuYasha disappeared after that. Jaken had stayed with Ameki during the events that followed. After Sango and Kagome had brought her into the shack, they did a little catch up on events. Ameki shared with them the fate of her mother, Rin, and her home and family. The two had been very sad to hear the news, and even cried with Ameki, comforting her in any way that they could. Ameki had even seen Jaken tear up while talking about Rin, but she knew that he would never admit to it.
Ameki was given the full rundown of how things happened. They had been surprised that Rin had never shared her past life with Ameki. Ofcourse, they could understand the traveling with Sesshomaru part. Rin had been devastated when Sesshomaru had stopped coming to see her regularly, and they knew that she had held a bit of resentment for a long time. It had only been when she fell in love that she had forgiven Sesshomaru. It was then that she realized that Sesshomaru had only done what was best for her, and it had been InuYasha that had finally convinced her. However, they were completely puzzled as to why Rin had kept her home in the village a secret. They thought that maybe even the lord, Ichiro, might have said something.
Deep down Ameki knew that her mother must have had her reasons for being so secretive. Maybe it had been to protect Ameki from something, or maybe even just to protect Ameki's father's interests. After all, Ichiro's brother Yuudai had been strict, and would have most likely done everything in his power to destroy his brother's reputation to gain the title of Lord. Even if that meant tarnishing Ichiro's wife's name for coming from a village of demon sympathizers.
Ameki learned that Sango was a demon slayer, something she had only heard of a few times in her life. Demon slayers were very rare, and the fact that one sat across from her amazed her. Sango was married to a monk named Miroku, and they had six children. Five girls and one boy. Sango carried on about how Miroku had been a lecher in his day, but after their daughters came of age, he spent most of his time chasing off the lechers. It was almost poetic justice to Sango. She smiled fondly at something she was remembering. Kagome was married to Inuyasha, and had been for two and a half decades. They had one child together, Akio. InuYasha had wished for a son, but they had a daughter instead. They kept the name Akio, because InuYasha had often talked to Kagome's stomach while she had been pregnant. He had used the name numerous times, and Kagome said that it would have felt wrong to change it.
Ameki was amazed to find out that InuYasha was much older than he looked. Kagome explained that he was only a half demon. This meant that he aged much faster than demons, but much slower than humans. Kagome didn't even care to try and add up his age, she only mentioned that for fifty years of his life he had been bound to a tree. That fact alone astonished Ameki and made her mind whirl.
A good part of the day was spent exchanging stories. Ameki felt at peace knowing she could possibly have a life here, among a place that was left in her mother's past. Jaken seemed oddly bored as he sat in the corner listening to story after story. Only when Naraku was mentioned did Jaken jump in to add a plethora of details pertaining to Sesshomaru's involvement. Jaken got carried away, even winded as he spoke of his master's heroic exploits and the ultimate destruction of Naraku. Ameki saw the shared glance of humor between Sango and Kagome as they sipped their tea.
Ameki was truly enjoying herself. She had made it a habit to search out and keep in touch with people in her old home, in the castle and the village. However this felt natural. They didn't see her as their superior, they weren't scared to speak with her. They spoke with her as if she had been a long time friend, and ultimately that is what made her realize that she was on the right path. Everything had been taken from her, but she did have something to gain. She could have a second family, a second chance right here in this village.
The back of Ameki's neck began to burn. The burning was joined by a pinching sensation right at the base of her head and the top of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hand over the area, lowering her head. She tried her best not to gain too much attention.
"Hey are you alright? I know Kagome can sometimes get chatty." Kagome playfully swatted at Sango.
"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy." Ameki replied and returned her gaze downward.
"If it's a headache I have just the thing." Kagome stood and walked over to a linen bag that was in the corner. She removed something from a strange foreign container and crushed it inside her mortar. Sango grabbed Ameki's empty cup from in front of her and refilled it with fresh warm tea. Kagome brought a white powder substance and stirred it into the tea. She handed the cup back to Ameki who slowly accepted it.
"I promise that will help ease the pain. Just sip on it, and once it cools drink the rest." She smiled and returned to her sitting position across the fire.
They resumed their earlier topic of Akio's whereabouts. She had wanted to become a great swordsmith and had taken an apprenticeship with an old demon named Totosai. From an early age Akio had formed an obsession with her father's sword and his constant misuse of its power to impress her. She had vowed that one day she would forge a sword to rival the tessaiga. Sango mentioned that her son had taken up the trade, and was now a demon slayer, he was often gone with his uncle, Kohaku, on jobs. Her daughter Chinami was married and lived here in the village with her husband and a little one on the way. Her other four daughters had married and moved off, sending letters every month to keep in touch. Sango didn't seem sad that her children were all spread out, she seemed rather happy that they were happy and living their lives. Ameki wondered if that was what her mother had wanted for her.
Ameki had never considered finding a suitor. She had been introduced to many men that had been potential suitors, but her father never forced her into political weddings like most princesses. It was her uncle that had intended to do that. That is until he realized that she was hopeless. It wasn't so much her age as it was her motivation to marry. She had never found the spark that her mother had spoken of having with her father. That had been what she was looking for.
The pain in her neck dulled slightly, but it continued throughout most of the afternoon. Sesshomaru and InuYasha had yet to return. Sango left, knowing her husband Miroku would be returning from one of his trips.
"The food won't cook itself, I've tried letting it." She stated as she released the straw curtain letting it sway where she had once been standing. Kagome smiled and stood as well.
"I suppose I should cook something as well. Our snack we had for lunch is wearing off, and I'm a bit peckish, how about you?" Before Ameki could even reply Jaken jumped up.
"Yes, that sounds good. I'm absolutely famished. Ameki's cooking is okay, but it's time for some real food!" Jaken rubbed his clammy hands together in excitement. Kagome rolled her eyes and made her way to a corner of the shack that held a trove of cooking supplies. Ameki scooted back so that she was against the wall and closed her eyes. Sleep had been somewhat elusive for her in the past week. Her last bit of good sleep had been the night before Sesshomaru presented her with presents. Every night following that was filled with bad dreams. Dreams that were cold, and filled her chest with an unimaginable pain. The face was what scared her the most. A beautiful face with fiery eyes, and a malicious grin that exposed fangs. The beautiful face would darken and contort into something that resembled a scaled beast. She woke up numerous times each night with the burning pain surfacing on the back of her neck. She had muffled her tears, but she was almost certain that Sesshomaru knew. How could he not? She had noticed that Sesshomaru had slowed his pace for her, knowing that she hadn't received much sleep. It was the small things that he did that showed that he truly cared, and those were the things that Ameki noticed. Those were the things that Rin had no doubt noticed too.
~Sesshomaru~
Sesshomaru and InuYasha emerged from the forest to look out over the village. The afternoon hours were upon them. Their detour to visit Royakan, the guardian demon of the forest, had taken longer than anticipated. Sesshomaru was rather irritated with the Spineless demon. He had mentioned that his scouts would keep an eye on Yakunan's army movements, but when asked about his personal involvement he simply withered in fear. Sesshomaru had always known that Royakan was was less that brave, but this was urgent. He needed to know of Yakunan's exact movements and locations so that he could leave Ameki long enough to seek out knowledge. He wanted to understand what it was exactly that Yakunan had done to Ameki, and to do that he would need to visit a colony of Demon's on the west coast. Demon's that were more familiar with magic's from the continent. He couldn't trust some measly apparitions to do the scout work, no, he had wanted Royakan out in the field.
InuYasha sighed as he took in the view before him.
"He really was after Rin wasn't he?" InuYasha let his guard down for the first time around his brother. He knew deep down that Rin's death had saddened his brother, He could tell by the way Sesshomaru's eyes changed at the mention of her name. InuYasha knew how it felt to lose people he cared for, and even though Sesshomaru paraded a strong facade, he could see right through it. His snarky comments were left in the dust as he watched Sesshomaru's subtle change in demeanor.
"Yes, and I plan on tearing out the hearts of everyone involved." InuYasha didn't reply. He didn't blame his brother for the anger he felt. Sesshomaru was an arrogant bastard that InuYasha despised at times, but he wasn't the monster he used to be. InuYasha had thought on it multiple times. What is a greater feat? To be born good, or to turn from wickedness and pursue good? InuYasha had watched his brother transform from a non discriminate killer, to a man who only drew his sword when necessary. It was a leap that InuYasha never fathomed he would live to see. InuYasha had never even dreamed that he could hold a civilized conversation with Sesshomaru, but there they were.
"You know, you did right by Rin. For a long time she resented you and sometimes I swore that her thick headed trait was something she got from you. I did my best to make her understand that where life was taking you, she couldn't follow. She was convinced that she could follow you blindly anywhere." InuYasha chuckled at the memory. Sesshomaru remained quiet.
"When she fell in love with Ichiro, she realized that it wouldn't have been possible if you hadn't left her. Being on the move all the time was no environment for a healthy courtship. She also realized that what you were doing was to protect her. In gaining control of what was yours once again, you were protecting all of us." Sesshomaru gave InuYasha a quizzical side glance.
"You can drop the act, we all knew you were culling the demon attacks on human villages. You're pretty much the only white spectre in these parts." InuYasha laughed.
"I'm not trying to buddy up to you, goodness knows we can't allow our father happiness in the afterlife. All I'm saying is…" InuYasha paused.
"You aren't a half bad person anymore. Personally, I don't like you. I still think your face needs rearranging, but Rin had a certain effect on you. You stopped squishing everything with your prideful thumb and started acting like a man." InuYasha inhaled and turned a cocky grin toward Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru simply narrowed his eyes in response.
"And as for Ameki, she's welcome in the village. I can already tell you that much. Kagome isn't going to let that one go. Ever Since Akio left with her apprenticeship Kagome has been looking for something to coddle. So yes, she will be safe here. We might not rise up to your standards, but we stand for something. I'm sure she will be comfortable. She won't have all the luxuries of a princess, but she'll have family, she'll be able to live." InuYasha paused.
"She'll have everything you wanted for Rin." Sesshomaru closed his eyes and exhaled as InuYasha spoke those last words.
Sesshomaru knew what would be best for Ameki, but that wasn't an option any longer. She would not be afforded the same opportunities that Rin had as long as Yakunan lived, but the problem with that was that if Yakunan died, so did Ameki.
