Chapter 3: Remove my WHAT!?

"Remove your clothing." 'Did she truly think she was clean when she had not removed her clothing?'

"Uhm..."

Avalon looks at Sesshomaru in surprise. Did he really just tell her to strip? 'Do I really have a choice?' Deciding that it will most likely end with her naked anyway she simply did as he told her. She isn't embarrassed of her body but it isn't exactly correct to be naked in front of Sesshomaru. She heads back to get deeper into the water and then she leans over and removes her shorts and brings them between her hands and starts rubbing them vigorously to clean them the best she can. She then tosses them up on shore. She goes to face away from Sesshomaru as she is about to remove her shirt when Sesshomaru's voice stops her movements

"Stop, turn back around."

'Shit, is he trying to humiliate me' "Sure"

She flinches and then composes her face into a soft smile and slowly turns back to face him.

'I was intrigued she did not argue with me but complied. Perhaps she know her place when it came to me being a Lord. I had suspected I would have to be more forceful with my words.'

She pulls her blood stained shirt over her head. She knows she has a good looking body. She is toned and her breasts are perky. Her pale skin glistens in the moonlight as her waist length black hair flows down behind her trailing into the water. She has trained in martial arts since her rape when she was 15. She also trained in Kendo and archery. She knows she is decent with the katana and that was why she had stopped to grab one. A sour expression crosses her face as she thought back, 'If only it was one on one or even two against me I would have stopped them. 10 freaking years and it still wasn't enough!' Shaking her head to dismiss the thought she looks to see Sesshomaru's intense gaze looking at her body.

"See anything you like?" She didn't know if that was a wise thing to say but she said it. She then corrects herself. "Does my body please you my Lord?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrow and send her a deathly glare but he continues to eye Avalon's body. 'I see that her body is well toned and she is healthy. I will not deny she is attractive but she is beneath me.' Sesshomaru was still eyeing her as she went back to bathing. She scrubs her shirt free of as much blood as possible and tosses it on shore and then scrubs her body. When she is sure she is as clean as she can get she steps out of the water without shame and grabs her acquired katana, the kimono, shirt, and shorts. She walks right over to the fire and throw her shirt onto the ground and sits on top of it. She lays her other clothing out next to her to let them dry and sets the katana down next to her. All the while Sesshomaru has not looked elsewhere. She has noticed it but she cannot figure out what his intentions are and honestly she doesn't care. Her mind keeps drifting back to her recent attack and she keeps pushing it to the back of her mind. She looks from the corner of her eye and notices the Sesshomaru is removing his sword. 'Odd, not that it would harm me anyway.' She watches transfixed as he removes his obi and armor and then his kimono. He never lets his gaze wander from her. She suddenly has a horrible realization, 'Does he intent to rape me!' Her heartbeat began to quicken and her blood began to flow faster. She holds her katana with a deathly grip but knows it would do her no good. Part of her is excited for some reason by the idea of him taking her but another part is screaming to get away and to fight to her last breath.

Sesshomaru can hear her quickening heartbeat. 'Does she think I will be engaging in sexual activity with her? Is she afraid? Has she heard of demons raping women? Perhaps but I would do no such a thing. I value my honor above all else and rape is never honorable.' He tosses his kimono over to her. It lands on top of her head.

"Put it on. Jaken will be back soon."

She slips on the kimono and notices how the material is wonderfully soft, silky, and holds his warmth.

"Thank you my Lord."

Sesshomaru redresses himself as Avalon put on his kimono. She turns to look at the fire with a contemplative look on her face. Sesshomaru keeps his eye on her expression. He is waiting for the breakdown he is sure is coming. She is simply trying to keep her demons from surfacing again. She doesn't want to be that crying, broken, little girl again. She doesn't know what to say to Sesshomaru so she simply figures she will wait until Jaken returns. She idly wonders what Sesshomaru is thinking of and why he keeps staring at her. Avalon wonders how long the silence will last when suddenly it is broken by a loud grumble. She turns her head down and has a slight pink dust her cheeks.

"I apologize I must be hungry."

"Then go feed yourself."

"Uh, like I said, I'm not from around here and I have no idea what is edible and I have no means of catching live prey."

Sesshomaru nods his head as if thinking of something. 'This will be bothersome having to feed this onna. What a hassle.' He then stands and starts to walk away from the fire towards the forest.

Avalon watches him as he leaves and hopes he is going to look for food and isn't just tiring of her.

Sesshomaru travels further into the forest along the stream and comes upon a duck asleep in the brush. He snatches the bird with lightning speed and effortlessly snaps its' neck. He turns the bird over in his hands and slits the belly open and digs the innards out. He tosses them into the stream and turns around and heads back the way he came. He emerges from the trees. Avalon is staring at him. She has not moved since he left and kept her gaze where he departed from . A half smile graces her lips when she sees the bird in his hands. He walks closer to her and tosses the bird to her. She catches it with both of her hands. She turns the offered item over in her hands as she then comes to a stark realization. 'I have to prep this thing to eat it and where are the guts did he eat them?' She gives her head a slight shake trying to dislodge the image that she just painted for herself. She places the duck down on a nearby rock and pushes her sleeves up and over her shoulders to keep the clothing as clean as possible and picks the duck back up and starts to pluck the feathers.

Sesshomaru looks at her with slight admiration since she has thought to avoid sullying his kimono with blood. Avalon tosses the feathers into the fire as she pulls them off. 'Jeesh this is harder than I thought it would be.' A slight sheen of sweat forms on her forehead. Absentmindedly she uses the back of her forearm to wipe it away. She gazes at her blood covered hand and thinks back to when that man violated her. Her heartbeat picks up as she is brought back and she feels vulnerable again. As quick as the thoughts enter her head she pushes them back with as much vigor as she can. 'NO I need to push those thoughts away. I need to survive. I cannot drag myself down that rabbit hole again. It isn't my fault. I didn't cause it. He and his men are to blame and they are all dead.' She closes her eyes and forces her heart to slow and her nerves to calm.

Sesshomaru notices the change in her heartbeat as well as her scent and idly wonders what is happening when the heartbeat slows and the scent starts to dissipate. Avalon goes back to plucking the bird. She finishes and walks over to the stream and bends over, rinsing the duck and her hands free of blood. She places the duck in the crook of her elbow and starts searching the ground for branches that would work for making a spit and cradle for the bird. She bends over a few times and finds 2 "Y" shaped branches and a sturdy looking skewering branch. She walks back over to the fire and gives Sesshomaru a small apologetic smile.

"Uh, Lord Sesshomaru, would you mind holding the bird or placing the branches in the ground for me?"

Sesshomaru looks over at her and sees her hands are full and decides on placing the two Y branches in the ground for her. He reaches out and grabs the two Y shaped branches. He rises from his seat and walks to one side of the fire and thrust the branch into the ground, then walks to the other side and repeats the process.

"Thank you my Lord."

He gives her a slight nod of his head in acknowledgement. Sesshomaru strides back to where he was sitting previously and sits down once more. Avalon turns to look at the bird still in her hands and gives a slight scowl. 'Not much conversation here'. She thrusts the skewer through the back end of the bird and forcing it to penetrate the neck. She sets the bird on the cradle that was created to roast the bird. She settles herself in front of the fire and watches as the flames lick at the flesh of the bird. 'I wonder how I'll know when it's done?' She soon smells the savory scent of the meat roasting and her mouth starts to water. She glances to her left when she hears rustling in the trees. She isn't afraid. She is just curious who it is, when Jaken emerges from the trees holding a bundle.

"MY LORD! I have retrieved the clothing for the wench."

"WENCH!" Avalon is up in front of the little imp so quick Jaken jumps back in surprise. Sesshomaru watches with a glint of amusement in his eye. 'I wonder how she will react. She seems offended by the word "wench".' Avalon reaches for the bundle and relieves Jaken of it and turns and stomps away while throwing over her shoulder, "Thank you for serving Lord Sesshomaru so well TOAD!"

"That is Master Jaken to you, Wench."

The amusement dies in Sesshomaru's eyes as he realizes she will engage his retainer no further. He then speculates, 'was it out of fear of Jaken? No she had no scent of fear. Perhaps it was respect for me. Good, however that is rather boring. I am sure my retainer will annoy her again. I wonder how long she will restrain her temper.'

"Jaken"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Keep the duck from burning. It will be your job to provide food for Avalon while she is in our group."

Jaken gasps and looks up at Sesshomaru with horror filled eyes and his mouth slightly open. Jaken attempts to collect himself but stammers

"Ah ah ahhhh as you wish, my Lord. But how long will she be with us?"

Sesshomaru sends him a glare but says nothing since he himself did not have the answer. Jaken recognizes that glare and prostrates himself on the ground.

"Please forgive me my Lord!"

Avalon keeps stomping into the trees but all she wants to do is turn around and go beat the ever living pulp out of the little toad. 'I would and could, but I don't know if he would find it funny or disrespectful.' Once she is behind a thick bunch of trees she removes Sesshomaru's kimono and places it gently on a branch. She unwraps the little bundle and slips on the new kimono Jaken provided. She watches as the material spills onto the ground and realizes how fancy it is.

"This isn't for traveling!"

She looks at the kimono it is deep blue and has beautiful cherry blossoms on the sleeves and along the bottom. The obi is a pretty pink that matches the color of the cherry blossoms. 'This is just going to get ruined. I'm sure Sesshomaru doesn't want me ruining his. But how do I put this thing on?' She grabs the large wide strap of material. "Well I know this is an obi but what are these thin ones and how do I get this kimono to not drag on the ground?" She frowns and attempts to lift the material of the kimono and tying it with the obi but then it just slips right back out. She murmurs softly to herself "This will never work grrrrrr 'Memoirs of a Geisha' why can't I remember it better I'm sure there was a scene on how to put this thing on." Finally steeling her nerves she calls loudly and hopes he comes "LORD SESSHOMARU PLEASE COME HELP ME!" She holds her breath and waits within moments Sesshomaru appears beside her in a highly agitated state his eyes flashing from left to right searching from something.

"Where is the danger?"

"Danger, oh no there is no danger at least not that I'm aware of I just can't figure out how to put this thing on."

Sesshomaru turns to look at her. The kimono is parted at the front exposing her middle and the obi hangs loosely around her waist.

"I see"

Sesshomaru grabs the obi and removes it and pulls the kimono off of her. Avalon gives him an indignant look but he doesn't pay it any mind. He grabs the white nagajuban that was still in the package and put it on her. He forcefully spins her around and pulls the collar down in the back and turns her back around. He fixes her front putting the right panel under the left and put on a soft sash under her breasts. He places the kimono on Avalon and he pulls the front of it up till the material was no longer resting on the ground and grabs a himo and ties it around her. He smoothes the kimono down and ties the obi around her making sure the bow was in the back.

"There."

Sesshomaru then stalks out of the woods back to the camp. Avalon calls after him

"Ah, thanks."

She grabs his kimono and slips on the sandals and walks back out of the wood. Sesshomaru's head turns to watch her as she approaches the camp. She walks over to him and hands him back the kimono and gives a slight bow

"Thank you most graciously for lending me your kimono Lord Sesshomaru."

She looks around the fire for her katana finding it right where she left it, she picks it up and places it in her obi and turns towards the fire. She pulls the blade from the sheath and sets her sights on Jaken.

UP NEXT CHAPTER 4 DEATH TO JAKEN?

A/N I could not do this without elohiniar. She is an excellent Beta Reader and you should check out her stories they are amazing.