Avalon waits until he is breathing deeply before she menuevers herself away from Sesshomaru. She holds her breath, waiting to see if he wakes. When he continues to slumber, she walks silently towards Inuyasha and his group. She joins them by the fire they built and sits down between Miroku and Kagome. She sighs softly. "I'm sorry about that. Thank you for staying."
Inuyasha keeps his arms folded, but his eyes are off in the twisted branches where Sesshomaru is sleeping.
"Is the little girl okay?" Kagome asks Avalon.
"Physically yes. She is just sleeping," Avalon says, sorrowfully.
"I wonder what she was doing here?" Miroku says, thoughtfully.
"I'm surprised he protected her," Inuyasha says more sincerely.
"I'll tell you a secret, but you can't let him know I told you," Avalon says mischievously.
"What?" Miroku pipes up excitedly, while Inuyasha ignores her.
"I don't care about secrets—" Inuyasha starts, but Miroku elbows him.
Avalon smiles and her eyes dance. "He has a soft spot for children." She continues in a more somber tone, "the little girl Rin is an orphan."
"This is ridiculous." Inuyasha gets up and walks away from the fire into the forest.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome chases after him, leaving Avalon alone with Miroku and Shippo.
Avalon looks over at Miroku. "You have questions. I can see them just bubbling under the surface. Ask." She opens her arms to Shippo offering him a lap to sit in, if he wishes.
Shippo jumps into her lap snuggling up to her. "Hi."
Avalon runs her hands through the kitsunes hair. "Hey."
Miroku taps his jaw, thinking carefully. "You said Naraku held you prisoner. Why?"
"Well, he wanted to control the Murasaki no Raikō Miko. He held my young charge Hikari against me. She is safe now. He also figured out that I knew things I shouldn't. And also I was a good bed warmer or at least that is what I was told," Avalon says bitterly.
"How terrible," Miroku says thoughtfully. "Why ally yourself with him?" He points at the tree Sesshomaru is slumped under.
"I came to this world involuntarily and when I landed, I was captured by five men. I was taken against my will and he saved me from being killed. Since then, he has saved my life quite a few times."
"Mmh," Miroku becomes pensive, not sure what to believe.
Sesshomaru feels the absence of warmth, her scent is missing. He wakes suddenly, bolting upright so quickly it pushes Rin off him. The muscles in his stomach cramp fiercely making him shake and Rin stirs, starting to cry.
Avalon notices his movements. "Gomen I must go." She bows her head and hands Shippo to Miroku before rushing to Sesshomaru and Rin. She kneels down to Rin and pulls her against herself, while her other hand runs along Sesshomaru's cheek soothingly and she brushes her lips against his. "Sleep," she whispers to him.
Rin screams, pushing against Avalon, struggling out of her grasp and flings herself into Sesshomaru's chest, making him flinch in pain. "I don't think she wants you." He awkwardly pats Rin's back. "Her family was killed tonight."
Rin starts sobbing.
"Tonight?" Avalon whispers sorrowfully. She runs her hand through the girl's hair soothingly as tears threaten to fall. "I'm sorry Rin," she says softly.
Rin bats Avalon's hands off her head.
Sessshomaru tries not to laugh that Rin would find more comfort in him than another human.
Avalon pulls her hand back. "I think she finds you as comforting as I do," she says tenderly.
He lays back down, taking Rin with him. "Shh," he tries to quiet her. "Perhaps she is hungry."
"She might be, I'll go find something." She leans down to capture Sesshomaru's lips before retreating back to the fire. "Miroku-sama do you have anything to eat on you?" she asks gently.
He searches through Kagome's bag and finds some ramen, a half eaten bag of chips and some dried meat. He hands them to Avalon. "Just these."
"Arigato, it's more for Rin. I don't know the last time she has eaten. Keep the ramen, I don't want to upset Inuyasha. It's his favorite," she says lightly, taking the chips and the dried meat.
Sesshomaru rubs Rin's back until her shoulders stop shaking and she slumps against him.
Avalon walks back to Sesshomaru and Rin with the meat and chips. She notices that Rin looks asleep. A soft smile appears on her lips. She lies on the other side of Sesshomaru. "You'll make a good father," she whispers to him.
He only shakes his head in response. "That night, when I was feral, I felt the need to impregnate you." He leans over Rin to make sure she is asleep and won't hear them speak.
"Yes, you told me to give you a child," she says hesitantly.
He becomes quiet again, but twirls her hair between his fingers. His own stomach is beginning to churn with hunger. It rumbles loudly. "I am also hungry."
"Do you want the dried meat or I can try to hunt something down for you?" Avalon offers holding the dried meat out to him.
He picks it up and blanches. "Are you so desperate to be rid of me? Giving me this poison?"
"Poison?" Avalon says, taking the meat from his hand. "No, I would never want to kill you. I didn't know, I'm sorry."
He taps her chin playfully. "I don't eat human food. I will hunt when I have recovered."
"I can go. I'll find something for you," Avalon says, bringing her lips to his. "I'll return when I get something."
"And how will you find it?" He pinches her nose. "Has this noss become like this Sesshomaru's and you can smell game now?"
"No," Avalon says glumly. "Do you eat reptiles? Snakes, lizards, turtles, things like that?" she asks as an idea occurs to her.
"No," he answers and pulls on her wrist to make her sit next to him. "It can wait."
"But I don't want you hungry," Avalon laments.
Sesshomaru's eyes dart over to the other camp at Inuyasha and Shippo. 'I am not asking them.'
Avalon follows his eyes, seeing that Inuyasha and Kagome have returned. She smiles. "What if I used someone else's nose?" she says slyly.
"No," he replies quickly.
"But I'm hungry, you're hungry and Rin is going to be hungry. We need food," she says while kissing his neck along his pulse, sucking gently.
"Mmmh." He tilts his head, giving her more skin to suck on. "You think to seduce this Sesshomaru?"
Avalon's mouth moves along his neck, licking and sucking and grazing her teeth along his skin. "Never," she says playfully.
His body jolts when her teeth hit his injured flesh and he grabs her by the upper arm, moving her mouth to his. "Lips are safer."
Avalon devours his mouth. She explores his body, careful to avoid his injuries and not disturb Rin. She was feeling rather frisky and dampness pooled between her legs.
"We can't," he says as he returns Avalon's kiss. "Unless you can move the child."
Avalon breaks the kiss to look down at Rin sleeping soundly at his side "I'll wait," she says. "But I'm not done with you yet." She returns to kissing him passionately.
He buries his fingers into her hair, releasing the smell that wafts off the strands. His tongue enters her mouth and he sucks lightly on her bottom lip.
Avalon slowly pulls back. "Let me go hunt for you?" she asks softly
"You may hunt." He digs painfully into his pocket, removing a hair comb with emeralds on the spine and weaves it into the hair by her ear. His forehead finds hers and their mouths meet again. He lets himself feel a plethora of emotions he isn't used to.
"I will return." She gives him one last chaste kiss, then gets up and walks towards the fire. "Inuyasha-sama?" she calls gently.
"What?" Inuyasha growls out.
"Would you help me hunt, please?" she pleads, bowing her head
"I'm not hunting for that asshole," Inuyasha snorts at Avalon and walks away.
Shippo tugs at Avalon's kimono. "I can do it."
"Aw, Shippo Arigato." Avalon offers her arms for the little kitsune. "I'll need you to sniff out some prey." Avalon's gaze shifts to Miroku. "Can I trust you not to attack Sesshomaru-sama?"
"If he doesn't attack us," Miroku says.
Shippo jumps onto her shoulder and points towards the west. "That way. There are some rabbits." He points East, "that way, there are shika and behind us somewhere are boar."
"I think I want to get a shika. So we will go that way. Miroku, I'm certain he won't attack you guys," she says, walking silently in the direction the Shippo pointed. "Tap my shoulder when we are getting close," she whispers to Shippo. She steps with light feet, avoiding stepping on anything that would make noise.
"Okay," he says, perching on all fours. "But you have to be really quiet. They scare easily."
"Most prey animals do," she whispers, continuing her careful walk through the woods, keeping her eyes on the ground, waiting for Shippo to tap her shoulder.
They pass some trees, through a small field and then they start to hear running water. Shippo knows they must be near the river. He points straight ahead of them and then points at his nose.
Avalon nods her head, looking straight ahead scanning for the deer. She walks a little closer, keeping her steps light and avoiding making any noise. She stops and her eyes flick around, finally spotting the Shika. It's a large buck. Avalon bites her lip as she pulls a bo-shuriken from her sleeve.
Shippo shakes his head and cups his hand by her ear. "Downwind." He points to another area of trees where they should go.
Avalon nods. She slinks back into the woods, watching her footing to reach the area Shippo indicated. Once she is there, she peers through the trees, relieved to see the buck still there. Avalon carefully focuses reiki in her arm and into the bo-shuriken coated in sleeping poison. She flicks it out, releasing the needle. It plunges into the bucks hide, making it take off. Avalon smiles while she runs after it.
"Avalon, you can't catch a running shika. We missed our chance," Shippo laments.
The buck starts to stumble and slow, then falls onto the ground. It slides along the dirt. Avalon runs up to the fallen buck. "Are you sure you want to watch this Shippo?" she summons her sword.
Shippo chuckles and hops off her shoulder. "I'm fine. Before I met Kagome and Inuyasha, I had to hunt on my own. I've seen it before."
Avalon smiles down at the little kitsune. She pushes the blade straight through the buck's heart, ending his life. "Well, I guess we should get this guy back to camp. You won't want to ride my shoulders." Avalon focuses reiki into her arms and legs, giving her extra strength. She hefts the buck on her shoulders and starts walking back to camp.
Shippo runs after her and jumps on top of the buck, and whispers, "can I have some of the blood? Inuyasha thinks it's gross. But I love it."
Avalon looks over at Shippo. "You can have the blood that is leaking from the buck but no cutting it to get more."
"Yay!" He runs over to the side that is drizzling and starts lapping at the blood. "I haven't had this in forever not since before…" he stops speaking and his voice breaks lightly. "Well, not for a while anyway."
"I'm sorry," Avalon says, gently. She spots Miroku and whispers, "you might want to stop or you'll freak out Miroku," she says impishly.
"He might want to stop groping females or he'll freak me out." Shippo giggles and wipes his face. "Should I play a trick on him?"
"I wouldn't mind. Can I help?" Avalon grins from ear to ear. "I still owe him for groping my behind and knocking me out."
"We could make him think a pretty lady came, but then he might grope me. I could make you look scary?"
"Can you look like me?" She thinks of a fun trick.
Shippo pops like a pink cloud and forms in front of Avalon a perfect twin, minus his tail. "Opps," he looks at his backside and then wrinkles his nose and the tail disappears. "How do I look now?"
"Great, can you take the Shika?"
"I can take it. I'm a lot stronger than I look," he brags and takes the Shika.
"Now, I want you to go to Miroku and tell him that I lost you and send him in my direction." Avalon stops walking and hides behind a tree. "Drop the shika by Sesshomaru after Miroku takes off."
"Okay...um...Sesshomaru isn't going to hurt me right? OH no...he's not going to try to kiss me? That's even scarier than Miroku!"
"No, he isn't going to try to kiss you. Shippo, you're a demon. You should know better. You smell all wrong." Avalon rolls her eyes. "And no, I'm not going to hurt Miroku."
"I don't care if you hurt that baka...I just don't want Sesshomaru to kiss me. Yuck."
Avalon giggles. "He won't kiss you. Now go play your part. And you can just drop the buck and leave. He'll know it's not me," she assures him.
Shippo/Avalon walks timidly through the forest, circumventing the camp and totters on the brink of terror as he/she approaches Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru still holds Rin tucked against his chest, sleeping peacefully, but with her fists balled into the material of his clothing.
Sesshomaru's eyes flash open when he sees Avalon, smelling completely not like herself. She/He drops the shika in front of him but is caught by the arm when he tries to back away. "Don't hurt me, she made me do it!"
Sesshomaru raises a threatening eyebrow.
"We're playing a trick on the monk," the words fall out of Shippos mouth.
Sesshomaru eyes the fox curiously and then releases him.
"Um..that's for you. She'll come back soon. Bye!" Shippo runs, thankful Avalon had such long legs to get away from Sesshomaru. 'He's even scarier up close!' He falls on his knees, truly looking petrified after his counter with Sesshomaru but still in Avalon's form.
"Avalon-sama!" Miroku runs to her/him, holding her by the shoulders. "What happened?"
Shippo puts on his best Avalon voice. "Something happened. We got separated and something came from the bushes. It was too strong for me, it took Shippo! It went that way, hurry!"
Miroku nods and runs in the direction that Shippo points, while Shippo starts laughing.
Avalon hears the pounding feet of Miroku and she sticks her leg out, right in time to trip him. He flies forward, landing sprawled on his stomach. Avalon pounces on his back. "Konnichiwa houshi," she says in a low seductive voice, drawing out the syllables.
"Avalon-sama?" Miroku mumbles in shock from the ground. "You were just in camp?" But then her voice rings in his ears and he gets up with a boyish grin on his face. "Did you tell Shippo to do that so we could?" he implies more by raising his eyebrows.
"You think I would want that? After all you put me through." She wags her finger, eyeing him. "You think a woman enjoys being knocked unconscious and being manhandled?"
"Desperate times," he mumbles out and then takes her hands. "But I could offer you a much more honorable relationship than a life by the side of a demon who hates humans."
"Oh, are you going to marry me?" she says mockingly.
"Would you bear my children?" he asks excitedly.
"So you what?" She gets closer to him, pressing their joined hands to her heart. "Get me pregnant and then leave?" She looks into his eyes, blinking innocently.
His mouth comes closer to hers, itching to kiss those plump pink lips. "I would never," he says warmly. "You would bear my children and we would be happy. He can't give you that," Miroku says tepidly. "He's a heartless beast."
Avalon's eyes turn cold and her voice drips with contempt. "You don't know him and you don't understand a thing if you think I could leave him for you." She takes her hands from him standing and stomps back to camp calling over her shoulder. "He would kill you if you even tried to bed me."
"It would be worth it," Miroku sings to himself as he saunters back to camp.
Sesshomaru hears the entire conversation, wishing he could get up and throttle the monk for attempting to take what is his but for several minutes he wonders what her answer would have been if he hadn't bonded her. 'Would you have gone with him?'
Avalon walks back to Sesshomaru, cracking her neck mumbling, "creep." She pats Shippo on the head, smiling down at him. She sits down next to him. "You want the blood right?" she says as she grabs the head of the buck, summoning her sword to decapitate it.
He nods, examining her demeanor, equal parts proud of her for rebuffing the monk's attempts to seduce her and annoyed that she had even entertained them in the first place.
She slashes the neck and collects the blood in her palm. She brings her cupped hand to his mouth. "You heard the conversation?" she asks, pretty sure they weren't far enough away for him to not have.
He inclines his head as his mouth dips into her palm, grateful for both the warmth of the blood and how it coats his parched throat. He drinks until her palm is empty and then tenderly sinks his teeth into the heel of her palm, leaving indentations.
Avalon shakes her head, while smiling and puts her hand under to collect more blood. "I have no interest in the monk. Never have. Never will. I only wanted to play a trick on him. I owe him many pranks. I will think of more," she says evilly, bringing her hand full of blood back to his lips.
His tongue curls around the liquid, bringing it to the back of his throat and swallowing, feeling the void in his stomach becoming less and some of his strength coming back. He holds the backs of her hands with his fingers as he finishes and again lightly sinks his teeth into the heel of her palm and kisses her wrist.
Avalon collects more blood and repeats feeding it to him till no more pours for the beast. She sighs when the flow stops, bringing the last of it to his lips. "That's it."
"Thank you," he finally says to her, wiping his mouth. He tickles the comb by her ear, wondering why she had not noticed it before.
Avalon feels him touching something in her hair. She catches his hand and follows his fingers to a hard material. She grabs the item from her hair. Her eyes light up when she sees the beautiful design and the emerald stones lining the spine. "It's gorgeous! When did you put that there?" She doesn't give him a chance to answer. Her lips crash down on his, passionately devouring them.
He lets her have her way with his mouth, fighting the need to tell her not push him down so hard because his back is burned too. He settles for cupping her face and caressing her jawbone. "Before the hunt."
"I didn't even notice. I'm sorry, thank you!" She pushes the comb back into her hair, smiling down at him. "Did you want a leg or did you want the heart?"
He shoves his claws into the chest cavity and pulls the heart out, nibbling on it. "This child is lazy. All she does is sleep."
Avalon rolls her eyes. "Children need more sleep than adults. She also has been through a great loss. Rest can help her deal with the pain," Avalon voice dips remorsefully.
"And your pain?" He thumbs the half moons under her eyes. "Your dreams?"
Avalon face droops. "My pain can only heal with time, and my dreams, I have a feeling you have been intervening." She eyes him suspiciously. "A certain Sesshomaru appeared that did not seem right to me."
"What was not right about this Sesshomaru?"
"He was too soft," she says. Her eyebrow raises.
"Odd. Why would you dream of a soft version of this one?" he asks Avalon, raising his eyebrows.
"I think we both know you had a part in it. My conscious mind knows the difference between you and what I have read in something called fanfiction. My unconscious isn't so distinguishing. Just as I know I am no longer under Naraku's control but I still have dreams of him controlling me."
"Fanofiktin?"
"Oh yes, thousands of women would love to have you between their legs," Avalon giggles.
"You are not the only one that knows about this Sesshomaru?"
"Tell me the truth. Have you been in my dreams and seen my room in the future?" she says challengingly.
"What do you remember?" he challenges back.
"Everything, including feeling a second presence that felt like yours. Come on. Tell me. You've seen it?"
"Everything?" he asks, wondering if she remembers the child he gave her and making her a virgin.
"Well, I vaguely remember a dream where it was like I didn't know who you were and I was a virgin but that doesn't make sense. I became a mom," she says lovingly.
His brows raise in silent confirmation.
"You? How?" Avalon asks fascinated
"To see if you would make the same choice, had we not been bonded and I wasn't a picture on the wall."
"And I chose you, I wanted you, I needed you," Avalon says, bringing her lips to his.
He holds his hand up, blocking her mouth. "The picture. If no youkai exist, why am I known?"
Avalon sighs. "Well there is a thing called a TV. It plays sound and has moving pictures on it. I watched a series. It's like a play. That's how I know what I know. I don't know if I am from the future or from a different dimension. But the series spans over a year, so when you ask me to remember things, I'm digging through a year's worth of information that I learned over several years," she admits, ashamed looking down.
"And it never occured to you to say it until now?" He feels his chest flare with anger, but he keeps a placid look on his face. 'She knew? Is this what she wanted? Why she had the picture? To send herself back here and seduce herself into my presence?'
"I'm sorry. I just didn't know how to bring it up until now. I know I should have told you sooner," she says morosely. Her lip trembles a little in fear.
"How does this show explain the mark on your neck? The rises in yoki?" He hides behind a mask, keeping his yoki in check and his face the same as it always is. 'You lied...again.'
"Well, that is kind of interesting. People who have watched the series would write their own version and make their own lore. One of the more popular themes is that you bite your mate's neck and push your yoki in through the bite. Then you seal it and you can sense your mates emotions and sometimes vice versa. The yoki rising would be your counterpart using his yoki to help control my emotions and soothe me when I was distressed," she says tepidly.
'Idiotic,' he thinks angrily, while drawing lazy circles on her neck with his claws. "Then you would be one of the many women that wanted this Sesshomaru between your legs?" His eyes darken and he struggles to keep his yoki down. 'Fool. Fool to believe I would love you, to make me feel for you.'
"Not like you're thinking. I fantasized, but when I met you, it was different. I felt an attraction to you, but it had nothing to do with the fantasies. Your aura drew me in, your presence. I did not just want to have sex with you." Avalon shakes her head frustrated, while her hand goes to the bridge of her nose massaging it. "Just because you think about something, fantasize about it, doesn't mean you do it."
He retreats to silence, closing his eyes and resting again. "I need to sleep now." Inside he's furious with himself for ever attempting to feel anything for Avalon, for being the one to find her that day in the forest, knowing that this was all her doing. All because she had a crush on him. It didn't matter that the lore of their bonds had been perverted over time. What mattered now was that the Great Sesshomaru was bound to a human, doomed to sire bastard hanyou children against his will. He forces himself to look as if he is sleeping, taking deep and even breaths, while his hand rests on Rin's cheek. 'At least this one has not deceived me.'
In the distance he knows Jaken is on to him. For reasons Sesshomaru has never been able to figure out, that damn imp has always been able to find him. And so Sesshomaru rests. 'A little longer and I will be able to stand.'
Avalon sighs. "Rest, I'm sorry. I wish I could explain it to you better. I didn't do any of this on purpose." She kisses his cheek. She grabs one of the legs and hacks it off leaving it for him and drags the rest of the deer back to the rest of the group. She starts hacking away at the deer to cook the meat for Rin and herself.
Inuyasha exhales heavily, arms folded, watching Avalon hack the deer to pieces. "What are you doing here? Your camp is over there, with him." Inuyasha points at Sesshomaru.
Avalon purses her lips. "Sorry I just figured we could share." She pulls a large slab of meat off the deer. "You want any?" she asks, while extending it in Inuyasha's direction.
"No," Inuyasha answers quickly. "You nearly got us killed, why would I take anything from you?"
Avalon looks up at Inuyasha. "An olive branch, I suppose. I'm sorry," she answers quietly, then looks down, lowering the slab of meat to rest on the carcass of the deer.
Inuyasha rolls his eyes and ignores it, folding his arms. His gaze is on Sesshomaru, wondering how long they have to stay here until he regenerates.
Avalon looks over at Miroku and then Kagome. "There really is too much for me to eat alone. Have some. Please."
Miroku glances at Kagome not sure what to do. Kagome looks at Inuyasha, unsure if she should go against him, until all three of them are passing glances but no one is speaking.
Avalon continues cutting the meat off the beast and skewers it, placing it over the fire to cook. "I did not want anyone to die. I did it because it was something that was supposed to happen. I'm sorry that you all were hurt," she says sadly, while staring at the fire.
"And what makes you the one that has to be in control of what happens?" Inuyasha growls out, angrily.
Avalon looks over at Inuyasha, swallowing thickly. "Because me being here isn't right. In my world, this is a famous story of you guys defeating Naraku and destroying the jewel but I'm not supposed to be in it," she says ashamed, thinking of how much her presence has changed things.
"How do you know this world you come from is true? And if you aren't supposed to be here, then you being here means you don't know what's going to happen, because it won't be like it was?" Miroku says, then wrinkles his forehead.
"What?" Kagome asks him.
"Her presence changes things. Which means anything that would happen, wouldn't happen the way it would," Miroku responds.
"So she can't predict what happens?" Inuyasha wonders.
"Not entirely," Miroku posits.
"Mirkou is right. I can't tell you exactly what is going to be happening, but the major events that play out seem to happen regardless of what I do but this one…" Avalon bites her lip "Naraku would have offered Sesshomaru the arm. He also provided him with a nest of wasp-like insects called, Saimyosho. They are very poisonous to you, Miroku. They can kill you if you suck them in. I did what I thought was best. I am sorry, but I am trying to keep things on track."
"Again, why is it your job to keep things on track?" Inuyasha says more severely. "You aren't a god. You can't control anything and when you do, all you do is make a mess of things."
"You're right. I'm not a god. I can't possibly control the outcome of anything but…" Avalon takes a deep breath. "What would you have me do? You learned the windscar because of this. Even still, I am sorry you all were harmed."
"Stop trying to interfere. You're just making things worse," Inuyasha replies angrily. "It doesn't matter. I would have learned it some other way. Does he actually believe you?"
"That I have this knowledge? Yes, I proved it several times to him already. I knew you would be released, I knew the jewel would shatter and I told him that the entrance to your father's tomb was the pearl in your right eye."
"You bitch," Inuyasha snarls.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome grabs his arm to stop him from getting up. "Don't!"
"You know what I think? I think you think you think because you know what is going to happen, you just want to manipulate everything!" Inuyasha storms off in Sesshomaru's direction.
Avalon remains quiet. 'What can I say to him?'
"I knew we couldn't trust her," Inuyasha grumbles and stops in front of Sesshomaru.
"Do you believe her?" Inuyasha keeps a decent distance from Sesshomaru.
Avalon gnaws on her bottom lip before getting up and walking over to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry," she says and continues walking past both of them, into the forest, unsure of everything. 'I just want to be alone.' She finds a tree and climbs into it while tears form and drip down her chin.
"I believe her," Sesshomaru answers Inuyasha's earlier question. "Whether or not your life is necessary, no."
"Of course you would say that," Inuyasha snarls at Sesshomaru. "But she's from the future?"
Sesshomaru nods.
"She told you where to find us?"
"I don't need a ningen onna to find the blasphemous scent of a hanyou."
Inuyasha grinds his teeth.
"She begged for your life," Sesshomaru smiles evilly. "If that is what you are concerned about."
"I still kicked your ass. I bet she knew that would happen too. Maybe she's only it for herself."
"Maybe." Sesshomaru shakes it off, already livid with Avalon for her earlier confession.
Avalon is close enough to hear the conversation. She shakes her head. "I can't," she whispers.
Sesshomaru ignores her tears. It was enough what she already did, the lies she told and the way she has tried to control everything.
"Why are you cuddling a human?" Inuyasha asks Sesshomaru as if Avalon hadn't spoken at all.
"None of your business. Just something else from the future someone with a small mind like your own wouldn't be able to understand," Sesshomaru flares back, letting his yoki rise.
"Whatever. If you come after me again, I will kill you."
Sesshomaru snorts. "Show me you are the true master of Tetsusaiga Inuyasha and when you do...my own weapon will end the mistake father made with you."
"The same one you're going to make with her?" Inuyasha starts laughing as he walks away. "Just wait until you get your own 'blasphemous hanyou.'"
Avalon's jaw tenses in anger. She jumps down from the tree and goes to Sesshomaru "Do you really think that I am only in this for myself?" she asks quietly.
Sesshomaru closes his eyes again, his body aches and he's exhausted. Jaken was closer and in a few more hours, Sesshomaru would have the strength to stand. "Go to sleep Avalon," he tells her blandly.
"Please Sesshomaru, I...I'm sorry," she says, unsure of what else to say. She clutches her kimono against her chest. Her heart aches, knowing that is what he thought of her.
"You are not sorry. You got what you wanted," he speaks cooly. "You wanted to be in control."
"I don't control anything," she says quietly looking down. She turns, walking back to the fire, grabbing the meat off and bringing it back. "Here, for when she wakes." She keeps her head down.
Sesshomaru takes the meat and sets it down, then closes his eyes again. He's had enough of this. She knew and it was nothing more than a childish crush, a fantasy and now he was stuck with what he hated the most and no way to free himself.
Avalon swallows and walks away. She lays down to sleep, but her mind is a spiral of pain and loneliness. Tears prick at the side of her eyes and eventually she falls asleep.
Sesshomaru waits a while, until the moon rises high in the sky and Rin shifts against him, hugging his pelt instead of his body. He pulls himself over to Avalon. His body is in need but in too much pain to get what he wants. 'More omissions. You expect everyone to trust you because you saw us in a box with moving pictures? All you have done is make things worse.' His forehead rests against hers and he enters her dream, wondering what nightmares he will give her, before he leaves her behind.
Avalon is in darkness, no sound, no light. The room is cold as ice. It's as if her mind is in a void. Avalon sits on the floor, tears streaming down her face creating a pool around her. Her body is luminescent, creating the only lighting.
Sesshomaru stifles the pain in his heart, the part of him that truly wants to comfort Avalon's pain. He's too angry to latch onto it. Instead he changes the lighting, taking them back to the field where he had made love to her the first time. The wind is blowing harder than it was that day, sending both of their hair flying. It echoes his mood. "Avalon," he calls her. He's dressed himself in his usual garb but without his swords or armor.
Avalon looks up from her tears. They still trickle from her eyes. "Sesshomaru," she replies crestfallen. The wind whips her hair around her body and face, putting a black curtain around her whole body.
He rolls his eyes, opening the curtain to sit down next to her. "What happened now?"
"You think I am only in this for myself." The thought had haunted her as she went to sleep.
He can't speak, because if he does, he will tear her to pieces. He would tell her how desperate she was. How the picture in her room proved it, the series she was attached to and how from the start she has been so tight-lipped asking others for trust while giving none in return. So he settles for pulling her to his chest and slowly kissing her mouth, offering her a mask of comfort to hide his rage.
Avalon returns the kiss. She wraps her arms around his neck, seeking the warmth she knows only he can give her.
He opens his hankimono and hanjuban, while pressuring Avalon onto her back. He pulls on the back of her knees, able to do here what he can't without both hands in the real world. Sesshomaru yearns to make quick work of this. Their hips begin to rock together through their clothes.
He changes the dream again, so they are on her bed in her room and their clothing is removed. He grabs her breast, forcefully teasing the nipple, while kissing her neck. Now, he just wants to take.
Avalon gasps in pain and pleasure at the same time She rocks into his hips, wanting him, need him. Her hands run along his back. The blunt nails scratch his back, digging into his skin.
A part of Sesshomaru wants to spend time with the Avalon that had no memory of him, that had not fallen in love with the picture inside of a box with moving pictures. This one, it made no sense that she had held onto him so much. She knew nothing about him.
Their bodies come closer and he gives her no warning before he sheathes himself in her folds. He restrains his need to make her a virgin again, to give her what she wanted, it would be too cruel and his honor was still intact. 'I said I would not lash out physically again,' he thinks, shielding her from his thoughts. He rolls onto his back taking her with him, pulling her mouth back down to his again.
Avalon breath hitches at the sudden and intense invasion but it felt so good to connect to him. It doesn't matter to her. She rolls her hips and moves herself up and down his shaft while her mouth devours his. A low moan builds in her throat as pleasure compiles inside her.
Sesshomaru thrusts harder, sliding his thumb between her slit, to stimulate her bud. His other hand grips her ass, keeping her from moving too far off him and giving him more control. He rages inside, focusing it into the sharp thrusts of his hips.
Avalon gasps with each thrust. It was somewhat painful but the constant stimulation of her clit had her just about ready to crash over her precipice. She moans and grunts with the harsh thrusts.
"Is this what you wanted?" Sesshomaru teases her sinisterly, finally breaking the silence. "The love of a youkai?"
Avalon moans as a final thrust and strum of her bud pushes her over. She groans in pleasure. Her walls contract around his shaft, sucking him in. Her body slumps against his as her hips roll lazily against his. "Hmmm?" she looks up at his face, wondering what he was referring to.
The contraction of walls brings him to his own release and his body relaxes against the soft bedding. "The love a demon," Sesshomaru pushes Avalon off his chest. "How did you do it Avalon? What dark magic did you use to send yourself back?"
Avalon rolls over to look at him. "I didn't do any magic," she says, grabbing a sheet to wrap herself in.
Sesshomaru gets out of the bed and wills his clothes back on. "Then what? It was your plan all along wasn't it? Force yourself on this Sesshomaru? Make me feel? All in the name of the sword you claim exists? Or in the name of this?" He points to his picture on the wall.
"No, I didn't plan any of it. I didn't force myself on you. I wanted to jump, you wouldn't let me," she says as tears start piercing her eyes. She gets off the bed, standing before him. "Is that what you really think? I planned this? I planned on being raped and you just happened to save me from being killed by the four other men? Huh? I planned to become Naraku's sex thing and his puppet. To kill innocent people. Wow I really am a mastermind," she spits out bitterly. "I told you to kill me, yet you won't. I'm not offering it to placate you. I am truly asking for you to end my life." She sinks to her knees, burying her head in her hands.
"Is there a picture of him hanging somewhere?" He starts pulling out her drawers, opening her closet and throwing her belongings on the floor. "Or maybe it was just too dark and twisted for you to admit even to yourself. You are dishonest, deceitful. Pathetic."
"You can tear my room apart Sesshomaru, I have no desire for Naraku. Here, let me show you where you will find his picture, along with several more of you. Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and someone named Sango," she says unemotionally. "Follow if you wish." She walks into her living room.
"I am done following you," Sesshomaru calls from her bedroom. 'The one with no memory of me,' he lets her hear his thoughts, 'I would love her. But this one, that lies, omits and hides.'
Avalon gathers the DVD set she owns and brings it into the bedroom and throws it on the bed. "Here, this is it. This is the series in disc form. I'm not hiding anything from you anymore Sesshomaru. I have nothing to gain and I don't want to hide." She opens each disc set, laying out the paperwork and the discs. Her heart mourns at him saying there was a version of her that he would love but it wasn't her.
"When you wake, I will be gone and when I return, you know what I will expect," his voice rings out coldly and cruelly.
"Will you force me to?"
"I won't have to," he laughs. "The bond will make you beg." He dissipates, leaving her dream, at last able to stand. He can hear Jaken sniping in the distance. He picks Rin up, waking her in the process. The little girl clings to his shoulder, while he holds her on his hip. He walks away, leaving Avalon. He limps weakly to a field.
Avalon wakes screaming and bolts upright, watching as he leaves. "SESSHOMARU!" She gets up running after him. "Please don't do this," she begs falling at his feet.
He doesn't look back. He keeps moving, dragging his right leg behind him slightly and gritting his teeth. He can see Jaken now with Aun in the open field as the sun rises.
"Please." She crawls after him, not daring to touch. "Please!" she wails out. Her heart breaking with each step he takes.
"Who is she?" Rin asks, peering at Avalon over Sesshomaru's shoulder.
"No one important," Sesshomaru tells Rin as he stumbles lightly, catching himself on the dragon. He puts Rin on and then pants from exertion, holding the dragon's back to stay upright.
Avalon's lip trembles and she doesn't have the strength to move any further. 'No one important.' His words ring in her ears and her body feels so broken. "Please don't leave me?" she can only get out in a whisper. Tears pool in front of her face.
Sesshomaru pulls himself painfully onto the dragon's back and slumps against one of the heads, letting it take the weight of his body. His head lays limp against its neck. "Go."
"NO!" she screams at the top of her lungs as the dragon takes off, leaving her on the ground. She watches as he flies out of sight, before curling up in a ball, shaking uncontrollably. She loved him and he would never love her. Her body rebels against her and her lungs refuse to let her breath. Her chest tightens. Her heart pounds painfully in her chest. She knows she will pass out from lack of oxygen any moment and hopes she will never wake again.
A/N I am sorry about this being late. Life is still hard my father in law is in the hospital and with everything going on the world has gone crazy. I've been rather distracted sorry. Thank you for sticking with me. I can't thank Elohiniar enough for her input as my co-author and beta. Please read and leave a review thanks.
Cat2k10- I am glad this story is impacting you. It was the goal to make people feel for the characters. Thanks for the review and I will update when I can.
Itzatakahashi- I have a feeling you might be disappointed with this chapter. I am sorry about that but Avalon needs to be more honest and open with Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru needs to stop jumping to conclusions but that is one of his traits quick to judge and calculate. Great for battle not for a relationship. Thanks for the review and please keep reading the story takes many interesting twists and turns.