Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The following story is for entertainment and not profit.
Chapter 12: "Who are you?"
She opened her eyes to a cup of steaming liquid, "Drink."
Not awake enough the question where she was or who was talking to her, Naosu reached out and took the cup that was being offered. She attempted to identify the cloudy fluid as she let it fill her mouth, it was bitter and tasted of herbs. Swallowing, she felt the warmth returning to her limbs and found herself taking another sip.
"Thank you." She said as she lowered the empty cup to her lap and raised her eyes to look at her host.
"You should be thanking the girl. If it had not been for her I would have left you to the elements."
Naosu felt her eyes widen as she took in the figure before her. She had thought that she would never get to see the Lord of the West again. She noticed his eyes dropping slowly to her lap and fought the urge to squirm under his scrutiny, before following his gaze to the small vessel she still held. 'Oh,' she chided herself, pushing away the thoughts that had been started to creep up on her. She was relieved that she had managed to control her outward appearance and that he could not see into her mind. Offering him back the cup, she was surprised to see him accept it with two hands. Her eyes moved from his right, to his left, and then to his face searching for an explanation. The Lord she had known had only had one arm. As her eyes reached his face she noticed that he too has looking at his left arm, but quickly moved to meet her gaze.
"I suppose that I should be thanking you for the restoration of my limb." He paused when he saw her expression full with confusion. "Do you not remember?" Again he paused, but was met only with her stunned silence. "I am not surprised. You seemed to have entered a deep trance state, but none the less this is your work." He moved the arm into her line of sight and watched as her mind struggled with his words. "It is not important that you remember." He finally said, not wishing to waste his patience on a minor matter. "Tell me how you came to be so near to my home, and why you are without my half-brother. Were you not travelling with him?"
"I don't know. I just ran. I had to, it wasn't time." She spoke the words softly let her head bow. Although he had no difficulty hearing her or catching the dark shadow that crept across her features at the mention of the hanyou, found her statements more confusing.
"Explain." He had learned with Rin that simple commands often worked the best.
Her eyes snapped back to his, "He was trying to kill me and the only way to stop him would have been to tell him everything, but I cannot. It isn't time. He wouldn't believe me and they would all die and it would be my fault for not stopping it."
It was more of an answer than he had been expecting to get, and technically more informative than her previous ramblings, but he found to created more questions than it answered. "Why was he trying to kill you?"
He watched as her fingers tangled themselves in the silver streak in her hair and got the feeling that whatever it was that she was attempting not to tell him was going to be important for him to know.
"He thinks that I'm working for Naraku." Naosu furrowed her brow and again let her eyes drop to the now empty hand resting in her lap. "How could he think such things, after everything Naraku has done to…but he doesn't know. He doesn't know my past…just because I know…"
"Stop." He was becoming irritated with her confusing digressions and let the sharpness of his tone inform her of such. He had hoped to get answers from her quickly, but if he was going to get anything useful out of her it seemed that he was going to have to be 'patient.' He needed to rethink how best he would be to go about this.
As her host's thoughts turned inward, Naosu decided to use his seeming distraction to take stock of her surroundings. She sat propped up against a smooth stone wall. The floor, too, seemed to be a fine worked stone. It looked as if it should be cool to the touch, but she dared not move to press her hand to it for fear of disturbing the youki Lord. She was insulated from the stone of the floor by a large futon. The Lord of the Western Lands was seated before her, his muscular body framed in her sight by a large arched opening in the far wall that looked out on the ocean. As the warm orange light of the setting sun slipped from the room, Naosu became aware of small notches in the walls lined with reflective curves of metal that housed small dishes of burning oil.
As she admired the cavernous room she was in, she heard a deep sigh from the youki across from her. "Who are you?" Sesshomaru realized as he watched her that he did not even know the name of the woman that he had brought into his home.
"Naosu, my Lord. Please forgive me for not offering it without your asking." Feeling uncertain with how he would take her lack of introduction, Naosu pulled her legs under her and bowed her apology as deeply as she could. She wasn't sure if he would take her mistake for rudeness of just insolence. She didn't want to come off as either.
"Rise. You have not finished answering my question." Sesshomaru was careful to maintain his emotionless tone as he continued to feel his patience being tested. Giving only the faintest sign that he approved of her behavior, he continued. "I do not simply wish your name, but to know who you are."
Rising to meet his gaze, she remained silent for a moment. How was she to answer him? The truth seemed to be her only option, but how much of the truth could she tell him? "You have discovered that I am not just human, yes?" His barely noticeable nod gave her the go ahead she was hoping for. "Then to best answer your question, I am the great grand-daughter of the hanyou Naraku." Before the confusion she knew her statement would cause annoyed him farther, she rushed on, explaining everything she knew of the Bone Eater's Well and its ability to transport some individuals through time. Sesshomaru sat, listening intently, his outward appearance unchanging, but thinking about how her words not only explained her original but answered questions he had been asking since the first appearance of the other strange woman he had come to know, Kagome. "So you see, I, too, am not from this time, but from about five hundred years in the future. That is why Naraku wants me, so he can learn what is to happen to him, if he will defeat Inu Yasha and if he will be successful in his plan to gain control over all the lands."
Sesshomaru's thoughts turned inward as he considered everything he had just learned. Time travel, it seemed impossible but it made everything else she said make sense. "If what you say is true, then Naraku will kill Inu Yasha and those that travel with him."
"And you too." She hadn't meant to say it, but something within her told her she must if she was to have any chance at getting his help, and she was going to need it.
The stoic Lord visibly flinched. That hanyou was going to success at killing him, impossible! "Explain."
Naosu breathed deeply to prepare herself for the memories she was about to face. "On the night of the new moon Naraku chose to attack the village near the well and your brother. By the end of the battle every villager, the old miko, the young kitsune, the younger miko, Kagome, and Inu Yahsa were all dead. The only one of your brother's companions left alive was the exterminator, Sango, who Naraku chose to take as a spoil of war." Naosu paused to fight off the horrid images of the rape of her great grand-mother and the years of torture that had followed that threatened to suck her deeper into the collective memory that was passed down along with her demon blood.
"But how—"
"Does that lead to your destruction?" she finished his question, the momentary sound of his voice pulling her from herself. "Let me ask you, would you ever allow your father's sword to be claimed by the likes of Naraku? When word of your brother's defeat reached you along with the news that Naraku now possessed Tetsusaiga, you went to reclaim what you have always thought of as rightfully yours." Again she paused, her right hand reaching up to stroke her hair. Sesshomaru found his eyes drawn to the movement and the stripe her fingers caressed. And then the thought hit him, not just the thought, but also a wave of fear that his thought could be the truth. No.
"Yes." Naosu responded when she saw the look in his eyes and knew he had guessed her implication. "He was barely able to subdue you and so chose to make you part of him, to use your strength to help him dominate the lands he hoped to conquer, and this," her eyes moved to the silver hair she now held in her hand, "he and his descendents have bore ever since." Sesshomaru found himself at a loss. He had never felt so vulnerable. Why had she chosen to share this with him? His eyes refused to be moved from her; her sorrowful gaze holding him transfixed.
"My Lord! My Lord! There are demons approaching from the north!" Sesshomaru blinked, his outward demeanor returning to its regular state, the spell broken by the concern in his retainer's voice.
Jakken came rushing into his master's room only to be brought to a sudden hault when his eyes fell upon 'that woman' sitting in the middle of his Lord's bed. He was about to question this development when Lord Sesshomaru strode pass him, "Come Jakken." Hesitantly he turned and followed his master, breaking into a run as he remembered why he had come looking for his Lord in the first place. "My Lord there are demons approaching—"
"So you have said." Sesshomaru cut off the smaller youki, feeling more irritated than usual with his servant for interrupting him. "Now what makes this such an urgent matter?"
"My Lord, they appear to be searching for the female," Jakken gestured back towards his master's room, "Shall we give her to them?" he asked, his voice hopeful.
"No, she shall remain here. I will deal with the demons."
"But my Lord…" Jakken began to object only to find himself speaking to empty space.
Naosu crawled to the edge of the futon and got to her feet, surprised to find that the stone was not as cold as she had expected, in fact in was almost warm. She looked towards the opening through which her host had disappeared and considered the possibility of sneaking after him, but knew she wouldn't have a chance against Sesshomaru's keen senses. 'Besides doing so would be extremely disrespectful,' she reminded herself. Instead she made for the balcony that opened onto the vast expanse of the sea. The view was amazing, the clear morning sky meeting seamlessly with the distant horizon. The deep water acting as a rippling mirror, reflecting the waxing moon and the brighter stars as they slowly faded in to the growing light of the approaching dawn.
"If only I could stay with you forever." The sadness she felt was overwhelming, but she had promised herself that she would be strong and stop Naraku, no matter the cost. The sound of footsteps made Naosu turn to see a determined Sesshomaru marching towards her. "You shall stay here. I have business to attend to." She watched as he stepped up onto the railing, "If you have need of anything, the child shall assist you."
Before she could think to respond, he was gone.