Sesshomaru wakes from stabbing pain in his arm. He groans attempting to roll onto his other side only to be distracted by something warm against his chest. In their sleep they had shifted. Now Avalon lay stomach down on top of his chest, with her arms wrapped around his neck. He smiles because she can't see it and leans over laying a gentle kiss to her cheek, then rises out of the bed in search of obis.
'She said I will adapt.' He finds several in one of his trunks and sits back down on the futon attempting to tie them with one hand in his lap, while watching Avalon sleep. Every so often the pain throbs and he can already feel his body beginning to warm to compensate for the pain that will come. He tries to ignore it, still too proud to go to the Healer.
After a few moments, Avalon feels the lack of warmth and starts moving about searching for the missing heat. She gets to the side of the futon and falls, rolling out onto the floor. Her eyes snap open when her body hits the floor. She leaps up on guard. Her heart beats rapidly, pumping blood to her limbs as adrenaline fuels her body, fear is the greatest feeling at that moment. Her sword forms in her hand. She spins in place stopping once she sees someone on the side of the futon sitting. "Sesshomaru?" she lowers her sword letting it fade. Her heart feels like a jackhammer in her chest.
He looks up from his work, he's managed to get the first part of the knot in, seeing her distress. "Come sit with me," he speaks quietly. "What's wrong?"
Avalon crawls up on the bed and sits next to him. "It's nothing. I was just startled."
"Did you think you were still with him?" He folds the blue obi over, holding both ends, trying to make an eye to slide one end through with his fingers. His body shivers momentarily, warning him of another fit coming.
Avalon takes a deep breath. "Not exactly more like I just wasn't sure where I was. But perhaps he has a part in my heightened reaction. I'm sorry I overreacted. Are you okay?" she asks, concerned.
He fumbles the loop, dropping the ends and picks them up again. 'Simple things,' he thinks quietly. "The memories will fade." He's completely focused on his task, again trying to push a loose end through the hole. This time he completes it and sighs proudly. "It may take a day, maybe two for us to leave." He avoids her question, wondering if sitting so closely she can feel the rising heat in his body.
Avalon looks at him straining her eyes in the dark. She reaches out and touches his shoulder. "You're warm. You're hurting aren't you?" Avalon shakes her head, her heart hurts "We have a few more vials in the room, do you want one?" she asks, gently.
He finally manages to find a hole and slides the material through. "Must you always ask?"
"I don't want to presume. I'll get one but I can't see well," she says downtrodden. She gets up and stumbles in the darkness towards the area she had left the three vials. She reaches out with her hand feeling on the desk for the familiar shape of the glass till she finds one. She strains her eyes walking back to him. She opens it and hands it to Sesshomaru. "Here, I'm sorry."
He takes the vial and drinks it quickly, uninterested in debasing himself in front of her again. Sesshomaru wraps his arm around her shoulder, kissing her neck tenderly. "We agreed, you would tell me when it bothers you," he pauses and then points to the base of his stump. "Here it burns, like someone is holding a torch to it." He drags his finger up his shoulder and then across his chest. "Here to here," he traces his chest down to his navel, "like I am being crushed. You ache. Share your pain with this Sesshomaru."
"I...I...I…" a few tears slip from her eyes as she quickly wipes them away. "Mine aren't physical but they cause my heart to hurt. He tried to break me. He made me kill innocents, women, children, babies. He had me destroy villages and he would praise me for it and then take me to his bed and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I find peace in your arms and in your aura. It helps keep the nightmares away." Tears start pouring from her eyes. She tries to wipe them away but they come quicker than she can get rid of them. "I know I agreed to you...you...having an heir, but the thought of sharing you, for even a night makes my chest ache. I'm sorry," she admits, ashamed.
He sets the obi down, leaving it wrapped around his thigh and scoots closer to Avalon, holding her tightly. "I cannot change who I am overnight." He rests his mouth against the top of her head. "Find comfort in my arm, Onaga."
Avalon nods wrapping her arms around him, clinging to him as she cries. She whispers "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Over and over again in between her sobs.
"Shh, enough apologies. You ache," he tells her softly, letting her find comfort against his skin. "You ache." 'If only I had a vial to ease your pain.'
After a while Avalon cries herself out. She looks up into his face straining to see his eyes. "Why do you care about me? About my pain?" she asks softly.
He thinks to himself as he has no reason to. Events will not be as they should with her existence now. "Primal," he says, still holding her tightly. "The bond compels it, before? I do not understand the human desire to violate another. I have seen human women jump from cliffs to avoid it, after it, to end their pain. It happens rarely among our kind because the one who rapes is given a death sentence. You are strong. You have let this Sesshomaru make love to you, despite your fear." He smiles in the dark where she can't see. "You give me warmth."
"I don't feel strong. I feel weak and pathetic. I don't like crying," she says defeatedly.
"When the pain comes, I am also weak and pathetic. It will pass."
"You are never weak or pathetic, even when you are in pain, you are still strong and could crush your enemies if they came for you," Avalon says haughtily.
"I will tell you a secret," he whispers, nearly inaudible. "When it comes. I cannot move, I cannot think. I cannot remember what I say and do."
"You may not remember but you move and you lash out with your whip at things that annoy you," she says mischievously.
"And cut things that are tender." He rubs her back. "Remove the cloth, let me see if it's healed."
"It was nothing." She starts pulling the kimono off to expose herself. She turns so he can see her back. "Must be nice to be able to see," she says jokingly.
"Humans have such weak eyes," he says as a crooked finger glides up and down her back. "The skin is healed." He lifts the kimono back up for her. "I chose this one to fit your form. The colors remind me of you."
"Well they are lovely but why did you get me ten? Do you intend to shred them so rapidly?" she says playfully.
"Do you not like them?" he asks befuddled. 'Strange female.'
"It's not that I don't like them, it just confuses me. I don't feel like I deserve such extravagant gifts."
"You lacked clothing after the battle," he tells her, still not understanding her shock.
"True but one or two kimonos are really the only necessity. Two are better so you can wear one while you wash the other. I guess I've just come to think in simple terms. It's not like I'm a princess or something," Avalon says, then adds with genuine gratitude, "thank you for the kimonos."
"You will dress befitting your station. And they were made for ease of movement. You will not be hindered in battle."
"What is my station?" Avalon asks curiously.
"The mate of Daiyoukai. You will not humiliate this Sesshomaru by dressing like a peasant."
Avalon rolls her eyes. "Okay…" she says slightly annoyed "But as your mate, what does that mean for me? I mean, I know about you know the bond and the desires but where does that leave me? Are we married, you're a Lord so what does that make me?"
"A Lady," he says as if she should know that. "You may thank this Sesshomaru for elevating a peasant ningen to such a status. Bonding is similar to marriage."
Avalon slips out of the futon and prostrates herself on the floor before him. 'I was never a peasant.' "Thank you for elevating this peasant ningen to a Lady."
He tickles her neck. "You are not my pet. Get up."
Avalon gets up giggling. She leaps at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, making him fall against the futon. "No, but you wanted me to thank you. I figured I would do it properly."
He groans at the pain the impact causes on his stump but settles for tracings the contours of her face.
"Sorry." she says gently. "So why are you up so late anyway?" she asks curiously.
He searches in the dark for the obis he had set next to him and shows them to her. "Adapting."
"So how's it going so far?" she asks quietly.
He pushes her off him and sits up pointing at his hip. "I was just beginning when an Onaga fluttered her wings." Sesshomaru sits by the head of the futon again. "Sit with me."
"Sure. I'd be happy to," she says, coming to sit by him indian style.
He takes in Avalon, sitting close to him but not near enough. He takes her wrist and gives her a firm tug, pulling her next to him, so he can feel her warmth on his side. "You warm my heart. I do not understand the need for love, it's blinding, it killed father." He rests his head on hers, tenderly nuzzling her hair with his nose.
"I'm unable to explain the need for love to you, but I am sorry that your father passed for his love. Not all love is so tragic."
"It is what you want from this Sesshomaru." He inhales, moving the hair of her scalp while he does. "Forgive me for tying you to this fate."
"I do want love," she says quietly. "But who's to say you won't in time." She shakes her head. "I can hope, can't I?"
"A fool's hope. I do not love. It is a weakness. I cannot love a human."
"Then I guess I will be a fool," she says softly. 'Let me hope. It's all I have.'
He groans, tired and frustrated he can't convince her of the futility of gaining his affection. 'I feel nothing.' He exhales and hands her an orange obi. "Try to tie the obi with one hand."
"Ummm, okay." Avalon puts one end in her mouth. She wraps it around tightly once, then loops it around her waist on the left side letting it go with her hand to wrap it around again to make the other loop, releasing it. She grabs it again and pulls it around once more. She ties it around the strip she is holding in her mouth before dropping it. She makes a loop holding it with her right elbow. She makes the other side into a loop. She twists her fingers as the base of the two loops making a loose bow. She leans over grabbing one loop with her teeth while pulling the other with her right hand. "And there," she says proudly.
"I said one hand, not hand and mouth." He lets out a small laugh and then stops himself, pinching his teeth together. "What are you doing to this Sesshomaru? I do not laugh."
"Making you friendly?" She shrugs. "You can laugh around me. You don't have to pretend to be anything. You don't have to maintain a certain persona with me. I'm your mate. I won't judge. I won't think less of you for laughing or even smiling." She smiles up at him.
He indulges in Avalon's mouth. He releases her shaking his head. "I am not used to feeling more than anger, rage. Perhaps one day I will smile for you." He nuzzles the underside of her chin, wanting a distraction from the obligation of love. "Tell me more about the child, this Rin. How will I know it is her?"
"Hmm, she is young. Eight summers old. She wears a pink tattered kimono. She will be missing a front tooth. She wears her hair in a side ponytail. And she will not speak to you or anyone."
"A creature of silence." He will appreciate that after how frequently Avalon needs to engage in conversation, but in the quiet of the night, it doesn't bother him. He unties the obi from his leg and sets it aside, settling on holding Avalon around the waist and setting his mouth against her neck. For now, there is no pain and he only feels tired.
"We will leave when I can go more than a day without it," he pauses, not wanting to admit how bad it has been, "without it blinding me with fever. Onaga," he whispers in her ear. "Did you wake afraid because this Sesshomaru was not in bed with you?"
"You were there when I went to sleep and then you weren't. I was afraid when you weren't there," she admits.
He tries to suppress the twitching of his lips into a smile. Any normal human would be terrified of him, yet this one had always found comfort in his presence. "Should I wake you next time? I do not often sleep. These nights I have spent with you, will not be when we leave."
"I understand," she says looking away from him. "But yes I would like it if you would wake me if you and I sleep together and you need to leave me," she says sadly. "Will you understand there are times that I will want you to hold me through the night? Not often but sometimes."
"For what end?"
"Comfort. Keep my nightmares away," she says quietly.
"I hunt at night," he says, straining to connect to what she needs.
"You hunt every night? All night?" she asks softly.
"To eat and to gain strength."
"I won't ask often, just every once in a while."
He strokes her back, considering her request. "When you can't sleep. I will comfort you."
Avalon sighs, shaking her head. 'You can't even grant me that? To be by my side every once in a while? Is it really that difficult a request?' "What about when I wake in the middle of the night and you are off hunting and I can't sleep? There are times when I know I'm going to be more susceptible to the nightmares and it's at those times I might be asking. "
He points at a long pointed ear. "Call for this Sesshomaru. I will come."
"You will come when I call?" she asks hopefully.
"I will come," he reassures her. Sesshomaru pulls her down into a lying position with him rather than sitting up and says quietly, "If I am to heal, I must rest." His eyelids feel heavy once again and he finds his own solace in her arms. "Your scent gives this Sesshomaru comfort."
"Your warmth and your aura give me comfort. Sleep. Stop talking to me." She kisses his cheek and closes her eyes to fall back asleep.
He tickles her side. "Naughty Onaga." He buries his nose in the back of her hair. "You will check on the child in the morning. Ensure that Hikari is satisfied with her room. She will be safe here. Did he know of this place?"
"No and he never was able to get much out of me. I was careful with my wording. I never lied but I would never give him what he wanted. Giving him any advantage would harm you and I would not do that."
"I cannot kill the hanyou?" he asks, ruefully, while pulling Avalon's body closer to his. He wanted to feel all of her against his skin.
Avalon sighs. "He has a part to play. He cannot play that part if he is dead. I do not know if we could defeat Naraku without him. His companions play a part too, so no killing them either," she says, snuggling closer to him.
"It will not stop me from reminding him of his place." He curls his arm around her waist, letting his nose fall into her neck, then he reaches up and pulls the kimono off her shoulder. "If this Sesshomaru must comfort you when I would rather hunt, you will remove this and let me feel your skin."
"You may strip me of my clothing whenever it suits your needs," she says seductively.
He tugs the rest of the cloth down. "I do not wish for intimacy. Your skin and scent help with the pain. Give me your skin."
"I would like to keep my skin thank you very much, but you can have as much access to it as you need. I said whenever it suits your needs and this is a need." She tosses the kimono aside and brings herself close to him letting her skin contact as much of his body as possible.
He sighs at her warmth and the way her body fits into his. He holds her so her front is pressed against his, and every contour of her breasts, stomach and hips is against his chest. "You trust this Sesshomaru," he says with his eyes closed, knowing that she really did.
"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"
"Because you didn't. Only a few days before you tried to leap from a cliff to avoid this." His mouth connects with hers, licking her cavern sweetly and then he mutters, "for your trust."
"I feared being a prisoner again. I didn't understand what it was, even now I'm still learning what this means. But I trust you, I really do."
"You are free, Onaga. Your body is yours. You may reject my advances and I will not take you without your consent. You are free." He kisses her again, letting it linger longer this time.
"I enjoy our encounters. Why would I reject them?" she says, smiling at him.
"Shh," he hushes her, silencing her with his mouth. "Sleep."
Avalon brings her lips to his and rocks her hips against his before resting her head down "Alright, good night Sesshomaru."
"My Onaga," he kisses her forehead already mostly asleep and feeling some relief from the pain he feels he caused her by not searching for her. 'I could not stop it then, let me heal you now.'
"Can I call you mine?" she asks softly
He shakes his head back and forth, eyes closed and heavy with sleep.
Avalon sighs sadly and a few tears slip past her eyes. 'I'm not free. You don't love me and you won't even try. You claim me but I can't claim you. I'm just a piece of property to you. I'll never have love.' She falls asleep with these sad thoughts.
Avalon suddenly wakes. Her eyes shoot open, tears streaming down her face. Panic and disgust fill her. She feels the arm wrapped around her waist and feels even worse. 'I slept with Naraku willingly.' She struggles to get out of Sesshomaru's grasp. Once she is free, she dashes to the corner of the room and curls into a ball holding her hands over her head. The emotions overwhelm her.
"Avalon?" Sesshomaru unfurls his eyes slowly, feeling the struggle against his arm and the tang of fear overpowering the cantaloupe and honeydew smell. 'Not again,' he groans internally, feeling the deep, throbbing pain in his stump. He forces himself out of bed, slick with sweat, hair matted on the sides and cautiously approaches the scared woman in the corner. "Onaga, what's wrong?"
"Kill me please? I don't deserve to live. You deserve so much better than me," she sobs out, still covering her head, not even looking at him. The tears pour down her face. Her bare body curls in on itself making her as small as possible.
He crouches down in front of her, setting his palm on the back of her head, breathing heavily from the growing burn in his shoulder. "I'm not going to kill you," he whispers, stroking her scalp tenderly. "You are safe."
Avalon bats his hand away. "You don't know," she whispers, feeling her chest tightening at how heartbroken she feels. "I don't deserve to be with you."
He lowers himself painfully down next to her, bracing his weight on his right hand, slipping down the last few inches. He rests his back against the wall and folds his legs in. "Tell me?" Breathing is getting difficult. 'Not now…'
"I...I...I...I." Her breath becomes more labored and her throat feels like it is closing up. "I slept with him." She finally gets out breathlessly, her heart racing and pain permeating her chest.
"He violated you," Sesshomaru speaks in a low voice but the words are laced with venom. "It was not your choice." He hugs the stump, gritting his teeth. This was not a good time for him to be hurting like this. He releases the stump and tries again to set his hand on her head.
Avalon shakes her head. "Noooooo, noo, nnooooo," she wails. "I slept with him. I deserve death! Please?" she begs him. The tears come unyieldingly. She whispers, "Kill me? Please?"
His eyes widen in shock. "Willingly?"
Avalon nods. "Kill me?"
"No." His body begins to shudder from pain. "Live."
"Why? I slept with him. I did it of my own accord. I...I...I wanted it. I don't deserve to live. I am not fit to be your mate." Her body shakes with emotion. She wraps herself so tightly she can barely breathe.
"Urges are not to be ashamed of." He gasps at the growing pain in his arm, the way it dips into his stomach and burns in the stump. He scoots closer to her, pressing his sweat-soaked side into hers and rubs her back in broad circles. "I want you. You are fit for this Sesshomaru."
Avalon shakes her head. "How can you be okay with this?" she whispers.
"Because you gave yourself to me. He took what was not his to take. Your purity is mine. You were a prisoner in his castle and did what you had to in order to survive. There is no shame in that."
Avalon looks up at him with tears in her eyes looking into his eyes. "You don't hate me?"
"I am f...f...fond of you," speaking is becoming difficult as a jolt of pain shoots through his stomach into his chest, changing the rhythm of his heart.
Avalon finally sees his sweat soaked brow and can see the pain in his eyes. "Your arm!" she says getting up and running to the desk grabbing a vail, opening it and handing it to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize sooner," she says ashamed.
He tries to take it, but his fingers won't stop shaking. It slips through them landing on the floor, spilling the contents as he finally falls sideways, unable to resist the pain any longer. He curls into himself, nearly convulsing from the shooting flames in his stump. "O...Ona...Onaga…"
Avalon tries to catch the vial before it falls but misses and goes for the last vail on the desk. She pulls his head into her lap and starts to pour the liquid into his mouth slowly. "I don't have another one, here," she whispers.
In the dark of his mind, he recognizes the liquid that stops these fits of fever. His head aches, his legs are cramping. He swallows painfully, half choking, while reaching around her waist to pull his nose against Avalon's bare stomach. "F...f...forgive...me," he speaks through clenched teeth. "M..my...fault. Your pain…"
Avalon shakes her head. 'Yes, you are part of the pain I feel but I can't fault you for it. It's who you are.' A few tears spill down her face. "I don't deserve to be yours. I don't deserve to be safe. I'm a whore and I betrayed you. I told him when you would be weakest and that was when I attacked. That's why you are like this. I'm sorry, you don't need to ask for my forgiveness. I need yours."
"Not...a...whore." He swallows, trying to speak as the vial slowly works its way into his system. "Innocent...p...pure." His nose dips down and he kisses the top of her opening, lost in the fever. "V...like...a...v...virgin."
Avalon cries over him, wrapping her body around him. 'How can you think that? I will do whatever I can to make this up to you. You healed me, took my pain and I betrayed you. I have so much to make up for.'
His teeth begin chattering as the cycle of the flare up continues. He feels less pain, but his body has already hit it's boiling point. "D...d...don't...leave...I need you."
"I won't ever leave you," she promises through her tears.
He nods, curling his body around hers, raising his knees up to meet her thighs and his eyes begin to close in exhaustion, but he fights sleep, for fear that she will try to take her life. "Don't jump...stay."
"I'm not going anywhere," she says soothingly.
His breathing finally calms as his temperature slowly lowers and breathes more freely. His eyes crack weakly. "You have value," the words are slightly slurred. "So much value." He shifts against her on the wooden floor. "So tired."
Avalon nods, but she doesn't feel she has any value right now. "I'll be here," she says gently.
He nods back, finding the floor very uncomfortable. "Help me into the futon." He slips trying to sit up from the sweat running down his body.
"Of course," she responds while catching him before he falls. She wraps her arms around his waist, taking most of his weight on her hip while she walks him to the futon and helps lay him in the bed. She climbs in beside him pressing her body against his and allowing him as much access to her skin as possible.
"Submissive Onaga. You are a good mate for this Sesshomaru." His breaths become deeper. "I will protect you. Safe…" he trails off, falling asleep again.
'I don't deserve it.' she thinks as she falls asleep with him.
A few hours later an elderly inu-youkai slides open the door followed by a younger inu-youkai. The elderly youkai walks over to the bed looking at the sleeping couple. Her eye twitches. "What have you done?" she asks quietly.
Sesshomaru's eyes bolt open, he grabs a blanket to cover Avalon, not caring about his own nudity. "Ksa-baba, get out!" he bellows at her. "And you," his eyes train onto the younger youkai, with long black hair. "You do not belong here."
"Hmm, you have not come to see me and Gobodo-sama has told me I must check on you," she says patiently not moving from her spot beside the bed.
Avalon walks with the sudden movement. She looks around and spots the two individuals in Sesshomaru's room. She swallows a scream but instead she wraps the blanket around herself, looking stunned.
Sesshomaru gets up and flies at Chie, wrapping his fingers around her neck, slamming her back first into the wall. "GET. OUT!"
Chie wraps her hand around the one holding her throat and twists forcing him to release her. "So disrespectful," she chides.
"Exertion will cause pain," the youthful one finally speaks as his head cocks to the side examining the stump. "This was forced to close?" he asks Chie.
Sesshomaru attempts to get out of Chie's grasp by throwing her off his arm, surprised by her strength. "I did not send for you." He widens his eyes in threat at the younger boy, "and this is not where you are meant to be."
"I answer to Gobodo-sama over you Sesshomaru-sama and it was her command I come see you. So stop being stubborn and allow me to see your arm." She cocks her eyebrow at him. "Or I could deny you these." She pulls several vials out from her pouch with her free hand.
"I do not need those," Sesshomaru replies icily.
"Your lies could never fool me," Chie says airily.
Avalon looks over at Sesshomaru. "Maybe you should let her look," she suggests gently.
Sesshomaru glares over his shoulder at Avalon, but releases Chie. "He will leave," he says of the younger youkai. "There is no reason for him to be here."
Chie sighs. "Yamamaru is learning from me, but if it truly makes you uncomfortable. You may leave Yamamaru-san."
Yamamaru bows to Sesshomaru, Chie and then to Avalon, then leaves the room.
"Do what you must, Baba." Sesshomaru turns so she can see the stump.
"Come now, have a seat," she says as she walks over to the futon, patting the end.
Sesshomaru picks a yukata out of one of the unopened packages. It's a soft lavender made from fine, thin silk and he hands it to Avalon. "Turn around Baba."
Chie laughs but turns around. "It's not like I am unfamiliar with the female form," she says.
Avalon slips the yukata on and tries the strings. "So what are you looking for?"
"I just need to make sure it is healing and I have a few questions. Some things are not making sense to me. May I turn around?"
"Avalon?" Sesshomaru raises an eyebrow at her to confirm whether or not she feels comfortable.
"Uh…" Avalon gets up and grabs clean hakama and holds it open for Sesshomaru shrugging her shoulders.
He tosses them aside. "Chie is the Healer. You may turn Baba."
Chie turns around and walks over to him. "You know your nickname for me? I find it endearing," she smirks, grabbing the stump to examine it.
Sesshomaru snarls in pain, pulling the stump out of her hands, gritting his teeth. 'Baba should know the base is not to be touched.'
"This makes no sense to me. Did you force yourself to heal?" she asks, crossing her arms.
"What difference does it make?" He rubs the base of the stump, furious with Chie.
"Using yoki to force a wound to close will stop the bleeding and will give you a momentary reprieve to fight but the pain will linger. So I ask again, did you force it closed?"
"If you cannot provide something to speed my healing your presence is unnecessary. Leave, Baba."
"Pff, you're so sweet. Perhaps I can, perhaps I can't but I will need all the facts first," she challenges.
"You are not needed. Leave."
"Sesshomaru-sama please tell her," Avalon pleads at his side.
"I do not need her."
"You think that, but you are still so young. Tell me what happened and this Chie will help."
"What I do on land, is none of your business or hers," he bites out, knowing this was all at the hand of his meddling mother.
"I would not speak to your mother of this. She knows that, she is only concerned about you. She knows of your pain," Chie replies.
He shifts his gaze away from Chie and waves his hand at her dismissively.
"He forced himself to heal," Avalon blurts out.
"Hmmm, who is this woman to you Sesshomaru-sama?" Chie asks, she had assumed it was just a bed mate.
"If you cannot tell, perhaps your age has finally caught up to you," he snorts at Chie.
"My age," Chie walks over to Avalon to look more closely at her.
Avalon shrinks into the futon away from the piercing golden gaze of the elderly youkai.
"You mated a ningen?" Chie asks curiously with shock in her voice.
"No," Sesshomaru boasts, "you are aging. This Sesshomaru mated the Murasaki no Raiko Miko. Why would I waste my strength on a weak ningen?"
"A ningen and a miko? We are youkai!" Chie says to him, whirling to face him. "Have you lost your mind?"
"To allow you to remain in my room when you are unwanted, perhaps I have."
"So did you mate her before or after you lost your arm?" Chie asks, shaking her head. 'What has befallen the mighty Sesshomaru-sama?'
"That is private," he shoots back, refusing to divulge details of their battle or how he saved her.
"After," Avalon says while hiding her head under the covers. 'She might be able to help. Stop being so stubborn.'
Sesshomaru reaches out to Avalon's toe and pinches it. 'Quiet. Stubborn Onaga.'
"So how soon after losing your arm did you bond her?" Chie asks, waiting for the non-answer from Sesshomaru and the answer from the shy mate hiding under his covers.
Sesshomaru ignores Chie.
"Within hours," Avalon speaks wincing.
"You lost a limb, bonded and forced it closed, anything else I should know?" Chie gasps, shocked he was even still alive.
"You are incapable of submission!" he growls at Avalon. "I did it to save your life and spare you the pain of healing what I tore in half, because you could not stop yourself from giving away my location!" He's finally had enough and leaves the room, slamming the shoji door behind him.
"Well that explains it. I'm surprised he is still alive. He truly is strong. His strength reminds me of his father's."
"I should go to him," Avalon says sadly.
"Here take these. He should be better in a few days." Chie hands Avalon a satchel full of vails. "Tell him for me? Will you dear?"
"Of course. Why is he in so much pain now?" Avalon asks.
Chie smiles sadly. "He used his yoki to save your life and take your pain. There is none left to block his pain now, but I could feel the yoki rising when he was angry with us. I can tell in a few days he should be back to himself."
Avalon nods her head. "Thank you for telling me." She grabs a plain white yukata from a chest for him and seeks out his aura.
Chie follows Avalon out of the room and heads to her chambers.
Avalon lets her reiki fan out, locating his aura, following it to a garden. There are large trees that tower over her and small white pebbles make a path way. She steps onto the pebbles since they are so smooth they don't bother her bare feet. She walks until she spots Sesshomaru sitting down in the grass leaning against a tree.
"Hi," she calls gently to him offering the yukata to him.
He holds his arm out for her to sit with him.
Avalon joins him sitting in his lap. "I'm sorry, I just want you to be healed and I thought she might be able to help if she knew."
He stares at the sun, making his golden eyes seem almost yellow instead. "Why did you tell him where to find this Sesshomaru? Did he threaten you? Hikari?"
Avalon shakes her head. "I had a fever. I didn't even remember telling him or wanting to...with him. I was very sick at the time," she says sadly.
"I do not like speaking about what is private."
"I get that, but she is a healer and she told me that you should be back to normal in a few days. She said when your anger rises, she could tell by your yoki. You didn't have to take my pain. I could have dealt with it." Avalon turns to look at him. "Thank you," she says as she kisses under his chin.
"I could not allow you to endure more pain. I smelled his seed in you, I knew what he had done to you. It was enough. I am youkai, my body is stronger than yours."
"But you're in pain now because of me and I feel awful about that."
"You are in pain now," he reminds her softly. He kisses her cheek. "It aches more than the pain in my arm."
"Why didn't you just let me die and then bring me back?" she asks, she knew he could, he did it with Hikari.
"It only works once." He clenches his teeth and then redirects his discomfort by softly nipping at her shoulder, swirling his tongue against her skin. "It was a painful death. You begged this Sesshomaru to take your pain."
Avalon looks over at him moving her lips to meet his. She twists her body so she can kiss him better before breaking it to breathe out, "Thank you."
He nods and pulls her closer to his body, until she is straddling his hips. His fingers curl into the hair by the base of her skull. "I could not let you die." His lips press harder into hers, his tongue dips in her mouth. "Live...do not ask me to take your life."
"I'll live," she says, kissing him and running her hand over his chest and then bringing her hand down to run along his hips and thighs.
His hand slides up her yukata, parting it to find her breast as his mouth falls onto her neck, licking and sucking on the supple flesh. He wants her. To bask in Avalon's body and warmth. His chest is burning with a passion he doesn't understand, but he wants to possess her, to comfort her pain, to give her life.
Avalon starts rocking her hips against him, wanting to connect again, to feel him inside her. Not only was her body yearning for him, her heart was too. She reaches down to move his fundoshi aside.
"Not yet," he gasps out against her mouth, then starts licking lower.
Avalon pants breathily.
He pushes his index and middle finger inside her core, letting his thumb slide up and down her clit, feeling how tight and hot she was already.
Avalon moans with pleasure rocking her hips into his hand. She leans forwards kissing his lips, running her tongue along his bottom lip begging for entrance.
He opens his mouth for her, thrusting harder with his hand, wanting her to finish, to find release. He twirls her clit more quickly, sweetening the sensation for Avalon, then whispers, "Touch me."
Avalon reaches down to grasp his rock hard cock in her hand. She runs her hand up and down his shaft. When she feels the precum, she runs her thumb through it and uses it to help lubricate his member, stroking him up and down. Her grip tightens with each pass over her clit without even realizing it. She bites down on his bottom lip gently and lets it slide through her teeth.
He groans in pleasure, wanting more. So he kisses harshly down her chest, scraping his teeth against her skin, forcing her back to arch backwards over his knees, while he nips and kisses her chest. He removes his hand from her core, to support her back and hips, replacing it quickly with his shaft, unable to hold back any longer. "Onaga," he pants out, going upright again while keeping her back over his knees.
Avalon's eyes widen. She shifts upright to look into his eyes wrapping her arms around his neck. "Sesshomaru," she groans out half in passion and half feeling uneasy with him taking her like he had.
His mouth finds her neck again and he puts pressure on her trunk, supporting her back. "Go back," he whispers, licking her earlobe.
Avalon looks at him unsure, not wanting to explain again how she felt.
He ceases his thrusting, reaching up to grab her shoulder from behind and he arches her back again, leaning over her, to give her time to adjust. "Where is your trust?"
"I...I trust you," she says softly.
He begins thrusting again, gasping and panting at how hot and wet she is. "Stay down." He bites down lightly on her shoulder and then licks her nipple on the way up. "Trust this Sesshomaru." He shudders in pleasure.
Avalon swallows thickly but stays laying back as he asked her to. She tries to focus on the pleasure she was feeling but the longer she couldn't see him the more she started to feel fear rising.
He leans forward again to touch his chest against hers, picking up the pace. "So good," he tells her and kisses her lips, lovingly. "Listen to my voice, Onaga." He sits up again, knowing that she felt fear, but lost in the euphoria of their bodies sliding against each other.
Avalon tries breathing deeply, finding some comfort in his voice but the way she was feeling, she wasn't sure if she could continue to do this. "Sesshomaru?" she questions weakly.
He lifts her up, running his moist fingers into her hair, keeping her engaged. "You're scared," he says, seductively in her ear.
Avalon nods sadly as she wraps her arms around him.
"Let go of the fear," he whispers, kissing her neck, down to her collarbone. "Let go."
"I'm trying," she whispers against his shoulder.
"It will feel good. Focus on my voice, my scent, my skin. Trust this Sesshomaru, lean back." He struggles to contain himself within her, only rocking gently to maintain both their arousals.
Avalon nods while letting herself lean backwards again. She holds the side of his thighs to feel his skin in her hands.
He leans over with her, leisurely kissing her mouth, thrusting his hips into her thighs. "So brave," he mutters, "so strong." He flexes harder inside of her. He swirls his tongue around her nipple several times before sitting up again. "Touch yourself if you want," he says tenderly, and begins thrusting more quickly, angling to hit higher against the roof of her vagina, feeling it flex with his motions.
Avalon shakes her head 'no' while she grips his thighs tighter, trying to focus on how Sesshomaru was doing this to her. It wasn't anyone else and she was willing to be part of it. Her finger nails dig into his thighs, drawing blood. She realizes when there is wetness on her fingers. She releases her hold. "I'm sorry," she cries out.
He ceases thrusting, lifting her up again and holding her close to him. "Does it hurt?"
"No, I hurt you, I made you bleed," she says, crying into his chest.
He fights his body, feeling tense from arousal. "You will finish. Does it feel good?"
Avalon nods. "But I hurt you."
"I want you to finish. Do you want me to go back to my hand? Touch you here?" He dips his index finger between her lips, just over his cock and puts pressure on her clit.
"You're not upset I injured you?" she asks, confused.
"Onaga...I am at the edge. I need you to finish." He starts circling her bud again.
Avalon brushes her lips against his and her fingers weave into his hair. She rocks her hips on his cock, enjoying the feeling of him inside her and being able to hold him to her.
He circles faster, tugging at the tip of her bud until he feels her bearing down on him. "Finish," he urges her. "Show this Sesshomaru your strength, your bravery." He speeds his thrusting to satisfy her, until he feels her tighten and then pulsing against him. He groans, fighting the urge to pound into her. "Lean back." He holds her shaking body. "Submit to this Sesshomaru. You are a worthy mate, show me your trust."
Avalon nips at his bottom lip before leaning back again, more relaxed now that she had come. Her hands move back to his thighs to grasp them again but her fingers no longer dig in.
He breathes in and out heavily, preparing himself. He thrusts so painfully slow, extending his pleasure, curious if he can make her come again. He dips deep inside her folds, exploring every inch of her, wanting to know where it felt the most pleasurable. He thrusts deep watching her reaction. "Does it feel good?"
"Yes," she says breathily, taking deep calming breaths. running her hands along his thighs.
He thrusts high. "And that? Such a sweet Onaga." He adjusts his grip on her back, tormenting himself.
"It's good," Avalon replies, liking the way he is asking each time he hits her differently.
"Good?" His mouth falls open as he starts shallow thrusting. "I would have been bored with the rest by now. Oh," he groans, taking his time with her. "You give this Sesshomaru the release he desires."
Avalon tilts her head up slightly annoyed with him mentioning others while they were in the middle of intimacy. "Please don't mention others when we are being intimate?" she asks, trying to not sound angry.
He gazes down on her fiercely, changing from shallow to deep thrusts. "You think you are unworthy," he groans again, falling on top of her still moving inside of her. "I give to you, I did not to them. I allow you the comfort of my arms," he grunts again, so close to his own ecstacy. "You are so worthy. Have pride in this. Ask this Sesshomaru to please you, to make you finish again. Deep?" He thrusts deeply, making her legs spread wider, "or high?" He moans at the contact against her walls.
"Make me finish again, please? Deep and fast is best," she says gently, while her lips brush against his.
He grits his teeth nodding, holding her in place while erecting his body again. He thrusts deeply and quickly inside of her panting and straining not to finish before she does.
Avalon moans in pleasure as he hits her deep and quickly stimulating her clit as he slams his pelvis into her. She opens her legs wide to allow him easy access and her breath becomes faster and faster as she comes closer and closer to another orgasm until her body stiffens and her walls clamp down on his shaft. She screams her release, "SESSHOMARU!"
He slams himself into her one last time, slumping over her body as she milks him. "Do you understand now?" He lifts her limp body up to curl against his chest. "You mean something to this Sesshomaru."
Avalon nods her head lazily as her body is exhausted and so relaxed she feels like jelly in his arms.
"Live," he whispers next to her ear, supporting her body, struggling to understand the warmth he feels in his chest, his need to please her as never had the others. They were solely meant to pleasure him, whether or not they enjoyed it was their own affair. "Live, Onaga."
"I will live," she says, half falling asleep in his arm.
"YOU'RE HAVING SEX WITH HIM!" Hikari screams from the hall, then her feet pad away quickly, with Jaken Jr at her heels. "AND I SAW IT!"
A/N Thank you for your continued reading. This story has been an escape from the stress of my daily life. My wonderful co-author Elohiniar I can not thank her enough for her help. She has been dealing with so much and she gives me her time and patients I feel so blessed. Please review this is my first fanfic and I am honored to have so many followers.
I was thinking of maybe doing an interview with Avalon and Sesshomaru and maybe a few of the other cast. What do you all think? What questions would you ask them? Leave me a message or write it as a review. If I get enough people wanting it and enough questions I'll do it.
Itzatakahashi - He can be romantic is his own way. Will the staff respect her? When and if Sesshomaru will create a pure blood heir? You will have to wait and see. Thanks for the review.
Smmahamazing- Very much a power play. Will Gobodo-sama continue to like Avalon? Who knows. I am so glad you are loving this story and thanks for leaving me a review they let me know how well I am doing.
Curlystruggle- I don't know about throwing her out a window she probably can fly so that wouldn't do much good. I'm so glad you are passionate about this fanfiction.