The Moon and the Sun
Summary: SesshyOc Her eyes widened at seeing several blonde strands of hair. Not brown. She dropped the mirror as pain surged through her body. "What did you do to me?" She screamed. "I did nothing!" How do you go from human to full-blooded yokai in a matter of hours?
Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha. I only own the sun-inuyokai's, got it?
Chapter 3 – A Sun-Inuyokai
Hotaru opened her eyes to the dull gray ceiling of the cave, nausea returning quickly. She was getting sick of this…literally it seemed. She turned her head to the side again, seeing the little girl that had only been inches away from her face earlier. She was wearing a pretty orange and white…kimono?
The little girl looked up at her movement, her face bright and cheerful and Asian. "Hi! You woke up!"
Hotaru groaned and sat up. As horrible as she felt, she felt a little better than she had earlier. "Nn…yeah." The girl smiled and walked over to the fire, picking up a bowl. She kneeled beside the teenager and held it out.
"Here. I made some soup for you. You seem sick."
Hotaru smiled gratefully at the child before taking the bowl into her hands. "Thank you, that's very sweet. I'm Hotaru, what's your name?"
The child's face got even brighter. "Hi, Hotaru-sama! I'm Rin!" She turned and pointed to the two figures behind her. She quickly recognized the silver-haired man. "That's Master Jaken and Sesshomaru-sama. They're both yokai from the western lands. Sesshomaru-sama is the lord of the western lands."
Hotaru frowned slightly. Sama? That was a Japanese term, wasn't it? Yes, it was, it was a term for someone of very high rank. She remembered Sisi telling her the other day. Very cautiously, she asked, "What country is this?"
Rin cocked her head, confusion written all over her face. "It's Japan, of course! Where else would we be?"
Hotaru choked on the soup. "Japan? JAPAN?" She sputtered, jumping to her feet. The soup spilled over the ground. She groaned and grasped the sides of her head, stars peppering her vision.
Sesshomaru stood. "You should stop doing that. You're not well enough yet."
Hotaru ignored him. "Japan? Japan? How the heck did I get halfway across the world? Ugh…my head…" She froze and put her fingers to her lips. "My voice… This language… Oh ye gods…"
A firm hand rested on her shoulder, gently urging her into a sitting position. She looked up into the golden eyes of Sesshomaru. "You need to rest, Hotaru-sama." He said firmly. Hotaru frowned a little. He didn't seem to be the kind of person to use that term lightly, if at all.
Sinking to the floor, she looked questionably up at him. "What happened to me? Why do you call me 'sama?" I'm…" She winced as her stomach lurched slightly. "I'm not anybody sp-special."
He raised an eyebrow. "From what I just witnessed, you transformed from a human to a full-blooded sun-inuyokai in a matter of hours. I don't know how or why, but the sun tribe is a highly respected clan. In fact, you outrank me in status. I am but a moon-inuyokai. It is only fitting that I refer to you as 'sama.'"
"Inuyokai?"
"Dog-demon.""
Her eyes widened ad her hands bolted up to her ears, feeling the elf-like tips. She pulled her fingers away and stared at her changed hands, taking in the strange orange markings and long fingernails. Remembering her cheeks, she felt at her face.
"W-where's my mirror?" She asked somewhat shakily.
Rin rushed over to her bag and brought her the largest shard of mirror. "Sorry, you accidentally broke it." She said apologetically. Hotaru took the mirror into her own hands and gaped at the reflection. She brushed her fingers across the orange sun on her forehead, ran her fingers through stunning blonde hair that tumbled to her waist, tousched lightning-yellow, ragged streaks on her cheeks, pursed her permanently bright magenta lips, and stared into liquid gold eyes and dark red eyelids.
"Impossible…" She murmured. She dropped the mirror with a clatter, staring blankly into space. Rin picked it up, staring into the teenager's eyes concernedly.
"Are you okay, Hotaru-sama?"
"How…how do I know this isn't all a dream?" She said, shaking her head slightly. "I was born human, everyone I know is human. I hate them for being so, but I'm stuck with it." She shook her head again, astonishment gracing her features. "How is this possible?" She asked no one in particular. She attempted to stand, but Sesshomaru pushed her back down again
"You are not well enough."
"I just need some fresh air."
"Understandable, but I don't want you moving around too much until you can stand without going through excruciating pain. Your clan could have me killed if anything terrible happened to you while under my care."
"My clan?"
"The other sun-inuyokai."
"Right." She frowned once again. "But…do I really count? Like I said, I've been human all my life up until now. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm not anymore, but… Ohh… I'm so confused…" She sighed, burying her face in her hands.
Sesshomaru's face was a stoic mask. "Jaken. Take Rin to find something more to eat."
"Y-yes, mi lord!" He saluted. "Come on, Rin."
They trotted out of the cavern, leaving Sesshomaru and Hotaru alone. Releasing her shoulder, he sat across from her on the other side of the fire, leaning against the stone wall. She stared blankly into the flames, her face void of any emotions. He observed her from where he sat, taking note of her golden appearance, odd clothing, and her smell of aged books, ink, and peppermint.
A sun-inuyokai… It had been a very long time since he'd come across one of those. He had been a mere child the last time he'd met one. They were rare, extremely rare, and had all but severed themselves from the outside world; the moon-inuyokai, his clan, being practically their only outside contact. Not only that, but their power and strength was legend. No one outside of the clan knew the true span of their ability. Nut then, this girl… No, he corrected himself, this young woman… was certainly something out of the ordinary. Mere hours ago, she had been human and now… It was something that confused him and that did not happen often. But even he was more than aware that he had to treat her like the sun-inuyokai she appeared to be or there might be… unpleasant consequences. Whether she was real or not. It wouldn't matter to her clan; she looked it and that would be enough for them.
She winced again and wrapped her arms around her middle as the pain returned. Standing, he picked up a bowl of tea, made from specific herbs he had had Rin and Jaken collect earlier, and knelt by her. She tilted her face up and he placed the edge of the bowl to her lips, indicating that she should drink. She did so obediently, parting her lips slightly and sipping the contents, staring up into his eyes.
Damn, he was attractive. There was only one word that could describe his face, his golden eyes, his shimmering silver hair…beautiful. Handsome? No, he was more than handsome. How? No, hot was too crude and slang to describe him. Beautiful was the only word that truly fit. Never in a million years would she have dreamed to have such an amazing man sitting in front of her and taking acre of her like this! It was either a dream or a dream come true. She'd take either one.
She relaxed as the pain in her stomach dulled and he lowered the bowl. He noticed as her eyes flickered to his left shoulder, realizing that he lacked a left arm. And though he didn't show it, he was thankful when she didn't bring up the subject.
"You don't have to do this for me, you know." She said. "It's really not necessary."
"Many would disagree." He stated simply, standing and heading back to his place on the other side of the cavern.
It seemed she had nothing to say to that and a comfortable silence fell upon them. Both were relatively glad that they did not bombard one another with questions.
Finally, Hotaru broke the silence, unable to withhold her curiosity and longer. "Lord Sesshomaru? The sun-inuyokai, I mean, my clan, could you…tell me what they're like? I'm… rather clueless."
He studied her for a moment. "In all honesty, Hotaru-sama, I do not know much about your clan. They are very secretive and I have only met one in my lifetime, many decades ago when I was still a pup. His name was Kenshin, and he was but a messenger. What little I do know about your clan is this. They are very secretive and very powerful and no one knows for sure where their civilization resides. The only times they are seen in numbers are during very serious wars when the moon-inuyokai ask for assistance or they are affected somehow. My clan is their only outside contact, and even then it is not very common."
"I see." She said, nodding, and didn't press that matter further. Suddenly, a thousand smells burst into her nose. She swore and pinched her nostrils, eyes watering. She could smell everything! And it hurt…
Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. It seemed her abilities were still developing.
Rin and Jaken chose to reappear at that moment, Rin skipping up to the fire with a fistful of flowers, a half-eaten apple, and a very irritated looking toad-yokai that was muttering to himself about how stupid flowers were.
Rin turned to Hoatru happily, grinning from ear to ear. "Here you go, Hotaru-sama!" She said happily, holding out the bouquet. "I picked these for you! Are you okay? Are you crying?"
Hotaru kept her nose pinched and shook her head. "No, Rin, I'm not crying; it's just that I can suddenly smell everything and it's hurting my nose."
"Really? Everything? That's a lot of smells! I'm sure you'll get used to it fast though, if you're as strong as Lord Sesshomaru says. And he's always right, so don't worry!" Out of the corner of her eyes, Hotaru almost caught the dog-demon lord smirking. Almost.
"Alright, Rin, time for you to go to bed. It's late." He said.
"Aww! Okay."
He turned to Hotaru. "You should rest also."
She released the hold on her nose, sniffing and flexing it experimentally, and nodded, closing her eyes and folding her hands in her lap right there, not even bothering to lie down. She fell asleep almost instantly. She had been more tired than she realized.
Sesshomaru turned to his servant. "Jaken, Clean up the spilled soup."
.o0O0o.
Whoa. Sesshomaru seems really, really OOC in this chapter. Don't worry, that won't stick around long. The Sesshy we all know and love is still there! He's only acting so caring because Hotaru is, well, a sun-inuyokai and he has to show her some respect or risk getting his ass kicked. (Sesshy getting his butt kicked? Omg! Not possible!) Plus, even you must've realized that he didn't say anything particularly comforting, so he's still the cold hearted bastard we fan-girls swoon over. You read it, you get it; I'm not going to repeat myself. Oh, and Ah-Un is still here, he was just outside so he didn't get introduced.
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