Well, everyone, I know it's been a bit, but I'm posting what I have left in this story. I'm exorcising my writer's block by writing another short fic, which I will post here. You guys'll have to tell me whether it's any good, k?
Deds:
Water Kunoichi - Thanks for the very nice compliments, and I feel better now, but I'm sure my cold will make a comeback!
Kouga's Archi - Well, I dunno how lemony this'll be (I haven't edited it yet, but I'm about to), but I'll try, as soon as I get rid of this fucking writer's block! Ugh! My other fic is coming along nicely, though, I hope to finish it within the next 24 hours, yay.
Disclaimer: You know what to do, just don't sue!
Every Time We Touch
(Forgive this giant space. This thing is fucking pissing me off. What's with the font, and spacing? - I don't know, just bear with me, grrrr. Oh, NOW IT'S NOT DOING IT...FUCK IT!)
Naraku's castle, shrouded in the purple stains of miasma, came into view below.
"We've got a target!" Kitana shouted, and all came running the dragon's head to see where she pointed.
Sure enough, atop the mountain range, Naraku's barrier fluctuated, giving them brief flashes of his castle.
"Is he even there?" Sango asked, and Kitana said, "We'll find out. Storm, stealth!" She blew the whistle once, long and smooth.
The usual round of winces ensued, and the dragon flapped its massive wings, taking them higher.
"How does this work, Kitana? I don't understand. What does 'stealth' mean?"
"It is a command Storm has been trained to respond to; stealth is a mode for him to assume. It means that he can mask his presence and those riding him, and he will circle above an intended target for up to three days at a time, and no one below can tell he's there, his wings are so silent, and he blends with the clouds, so no one can see him, either. In fact, I believe he can go invisible, for no one's seen us yet. And you've got to admit, he is a huge dragon; he'd be hard to miss, even if you weren't looking for him."
Kagome said, "He can circle without landing for three days?"
"Oh yes, easily. His endurance is incredible. And he makes no noise at all. He's the perfect spy transport."
Inuyasha glanced out to the right wing; it moved only every few minutes. He guessed they were circling, but couldn't feel any centrifugal sensation, so he couldn't be sure. When the wing did move, it moved fluidly, making no sound at all. He felt as if he were hovering just within a confusing mist of white cloud and grey air, for as they stood there, he could only catch glimpses of the ground below through breaks in the clouds.
They made themselves comfortable and took turns watching the castle through the clouds, and when night fell, still they hovered, but nothing of interest happened below.
It was Miroku's turn to watch the castle when he spied movement below. He snapped his fingers and Inuyasha came over. "What is it?"
"Down there, " he pointed, and Inuyasha could barely make out the figure in his night vision. He shook his head. It was no good.
Raising his hand and giving his brother the finger, he was rewarded when Sesshoumaru strode over, his eyes shimmering. "Are you trying to shorten your life, Inu-"
"Shut up, asswipe! I got you over here, now make yourself useful and tell us what that is down there, with your superior vision."
Sesshoumaru peered over the side, and squinted in the darkness. Kagura had summoned her feather, and took off, in the direction they had come from. He smiled.
Both Inuyasha and Miroku saw it and said, "What?"
"Naraku has lost us."
"Really? This scheme of Kitana's worked?"
"It would appear that way." He stroked his chin in thought. The girl was more clever than he'd given her credit for.
"Then let's get him!" Inuyasha was about to call everyone together when Sesshoumaru held out his hand.
"No."
"What do you mean, 'No'? Now is the perfect time!"
"That's what he wants us to think. If it appears that he has lost us, he thinks it will draw us out, thinking we're catching him by surprise, when he was counting on us to react that way the entire time."
Miroku nodded, agreeing. Inuyasha huffed, and slipped Tetsusaiga back into the sheath, crossing his arms.
"We will wait, and bide our time. We will decide what to do when the wind witch comes back." It was Sesshoumaru's final word on the subject.
The boys relaxed then, and went to sleep. Only Kitana and Sesshoumaru remained awake.
Rising, Sesshoumaru sat himself next to the blue-haired demoness, and made himself comfortable. Finally, he spoke.
"I can't stop thinking about you."
"Nor I, you."
"I want you."
She turned to look into his hazy eyes, hooded with lust as he stared at her.
"Do you?"
He licked his lips, his throat was suddenly dry.
"More than anything."
She faced forward again, and brought her knees to her chin.
"No."
He blinked.
"Why not?"
"Because. You are not ready."
He began to feel angry at her. Why was she making this so difficult? No one was watching, for God's sake!
"And how do you know that?"
"You'd be surprised by what I know."
He closed his mouth, a retort ready, but bit it back. He couldn't push her. Maybe she was trying to tell him she wasn't ready? She seemed ready enough at the pond yesterday, his inner demon argued.
Good point, he thought, and inched a little closer to her.
"Give it up, Sesshoumaru," she said, her insides twisting. She hated to reject him, but he needed to stay focussed. He frowned, and, growling, moved to kiss her anyway. If she wasn't going to give in to him, he was going to take what he wanted, dammit!
He'd almost reached her, but she'd anticipated his thoughts, and she touched his nose, freezing him to the spot, just as she had done to Kouga.
His eyes narrowed, the only part of his body that would obey his mind. She shook her head sadly at him.
"This hurts me much more than it hurts you, you know," she said, and he gurgled something, angrily. It sounded like, "Unfreeze me, goddammit, or I'll kill you!"
She tsked with her tongue.
"
No, you wouldn't do that to me," she said, running her fingers over his sub-zero skin. Where her fingers touched it, the ice melted.
"I can't let you lose control of yourself," she whispered, and he quieted.
"If we are to be successful against this Naraku guy, we can't have you all feather-headed over me. Promise me that you'll ignore me when it comes down to the final fight. I don't want him thinking you love me. I won't be a liability to you."
He widened his eyes. Who had she been talking to? Was his love for her that obvious? Or had he given himself away by trying too hard to act normal? He didn't know.
"We will speak of this again when he has been defeated. Besides, we cannot let our guard down; he could be watching us."
Her words were true, he had to agree with her logic. He sighed. She was right. But she was so irresistible…
"Besides," she whispered, "I don't know what you want from me." Reaching over again, she touched him, and he thawed immediately, and shook out his hair, before coming close and saying, "I said I wanted you. What more do you want?"
She sighed. He didn't get it.
"I want to know how you want me. Am I just going to be a one-night stand for you? Or are you ready to settle down? Because I'll tell you right now, I'm in no position to fool around. Besides, I'm not as young as I used to be, and mated life sounds very appealing right about now."
She knew if he wanted her as a mate, they would have to court each other in the proper tradition; he was a Lord, after all.
Sesshoumaru was quiet, thinking. Someone had once asked him the same question, many, many decades ago…
He awoke, and she was sitting on him, straddling his waist, and he smiled into eyes as golden as his own, though hers were much more beautiful.
"Good morning, you animal," she giggled, and stroked his bare chest, fully awakening - and arousing - him.
He yawned, and smiled lazily.
"Was it as good for you as it was for me?"
"Better." She licked a nipple. He gripped her hair.
"Ai…" he groaned, then regained control, and pulled her up to face him.
"What?"
He stared at her. She was so beautiful, and this past month spent with her had been heaven. He shuddered to think what his Father would do if he found out…but found that he really didn't care. He loved Ai, and he wanted to mate her.
But what about supreme conquest? the little voice in his head niggled. He ignored it.
A shout came from the hall; someone was looking for his Father. Worried, both he and Ai climbed out of his bed and dressed, all thoughts of intimacy gone as they rushed out the door to see what the ruckus was about.
"My Lord!" a servant, huffing, ran down the hall to his Father's study, and met Inu no Taisho coming out.
"What is it? Speak!" he urged, for the servant was out of breath and could not speak.
"The Lady…Amaya…in danger…" was all he got out before Sesshoumaru saw red. Grabbing the servant, he shook him violently.
"What happened to her? Where is she?" His gut contracted to think that his Mother was in trouble, and neither he nor his Father were there to help her.
"She went after Ryuukotsusei again, on her own," he puffed, and Sesshoumaru threw him aside. Why would she do that?
"That crazy bitch," his Father muttered, going back into his study to get his swords. "I swear if she gets herself killed, I won't shed a tear."
Sesshoumaru glared at his Father's back. He knew his parents were at odds lately, but when his Father went back to his study, his heart hardened, for he didn't come back out immediately, and he thought he wasn't going to.
Sesshoumaru flung off Ai's hands as she tried to comfort him.
"Don't touch me!" he snarled, and she recoiled in fear; he'd never snapped at her like that before, and it surprised her.
Running down the hall, she watched him disappear through the door, breaking it off its hinges in his hurry to get through it. A moment later, Inu no Taisho breezed by, following.
When Sesshoumaru got to the scene of the fight, Ryuukotsusei had gone, but his Mother's body still lay where it had fallen.
The Lady had been an odd duck her entire life; she had an independent streak that drove her mate mad, and they often fought over her solitary forays into enemy territory. She spent all her spare time sparring, training, and fighting in the dojo, and when she wasn't there, she was teaching Sesshoumaru the art of hardening his heart to the emotions that would betray him, and she had begun to mould him into the image of herself. If one were to ask Inu no Taisho, he would not deny that he and his wife were not close; their marriage had been arranged, and they only just tolerated each other at the best of times. They'd kept their squabbles private, though, and Sesshoumaru had only begun to realise that his parents did not love each other, and he began to wonder if maybe this was somehow his doing.
He cradled his Mother's dead body as his Father approached, his eyes moist.
"I told her to leave that goddamn dragon alone," he said, and turned his gaze to the sky. "But she would never listen. This isn't the first time she's challenged him, Sesshoumaru."
He wasn't listening; his heart was too busy breaking. For all her strangeness, she had loved him, and he, her. His eyes were red as the tears flowed unchecked from his eyes, and, picking her up, he walked away, carrying her body in his arms.
Inu no Taisho followed, silently. He was worried; Sesshoumaru was taking it harder than he'd expected. Amaya had brought him up in her image, after all; he'd had little to say about anything to do with the boy, she'd been adamant that she would take care of his education, and wanting to avoid another confrontation in an endless string of disputes he'd agreed, though now he regretted his decision, for Sesshoumaru was not reacting as she'd taught him. Amaya would have stayed as hard as stone.
He couldn't help but feel that if he had died and not her, Sesshoumaru would not have given him another thought.
Damn you, Amaya, he thought angrily. She'd drummed into Sesshoumaru's head his entire life a credo he'd come to rely on: Emotion is weakness. Fear is weakness. Love is weakness.
His son had been a walking corpse, feeling nothing, until Ai had come along.
She had brought out the child in Sesshoumaru that Inu no Taisho remembered; carefree, smiling, happy. His Mother had had a hard time breaking his spirit when he was young; as he grew it became easier.
Inu no Taisho regretted ever setting eyes on his son's Mother as he watched his son's back, stiff and straight, even in his hour of crisis. Her body hung limp in his arms, and he laid her on the grass on her favourite spot, a hill overlooking the dojo on the Eastern side of their castle.
Then, he began to dig.
Hours after his Father had left, Sesshoumaru refusing his help in digging the hole, Ai came, her eyes sad and her hair whipping against her face in the brisk winds. A small bouquet of flowers were in her hand.
Personally, Ai had hated Sesshoumaru's Mother; the woman had done nothing but glare at her furiously since her arrival a month earlier. But for Sesshoumaru, she would pretend to be sad that the older woman was gone.
He heard her approach, but did not turn around; he did turn, however, when she laid a hand on his bare back, having removed his haori when he got too hot, and he cried in her arms like the child he used to be.
Ai held him, soothing his wounded heart. She knew he loved his Mother, though he seemed not to know that he was the only one. She had been a hard woman, the Lady Amaya.
When he finally stopped shaking, she'd looked into his eyes and asked, "Are you feeling a little better now? I can't even imagine what you must be feeling, darling."
He looked back into her eyes; how had he lived before her?
Wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug, he began to undress her, and she let him. He took her there next to his Mother's resting place, and when he was finished with her, he rose, and walked away, not even bothering to re-sod the dirt of the gravesite. She supposed a servant would take care of it.
He refused to speak to anyone for the next week, nor would he accept food. Eventually Inu no Taisho broke down his door and, as he'd suspected, Sesshoumaru was gone.
He didn't come back. Months passed, and Ai continued her lessons alone. She had thought she was miserable when her parents died; she was twice as miserable now.
He wandered. He wandered the entire land of Nihon, and still the ache in his heart would not go away. When he returned finally, after two years, Ai was gone. He went to the Eastern border, and she appeared to ward off what she thought was a trespasser on her lands.
"Sesshoumaru? Is that you?" The man she'd once knew was now a stoic tower of demon strength. His arms, when he extended them, were wiry and the muscles defined.
"Ai…I am sorry I left you."
She felt her heart go out to him…she still loved him.
But she could tell that his Mother's death had wiped away all traces of love he'd ever felt himself; he was a shell of the man he'd once been, of the man she'd brought out in him.
"Are you claimed yet?" he asked the question point blank, and she blinked.
"No," she hedged, then added, "but I have several suitors. Will you be one of them?"
He was silent, contemplating her answer.
Finally, when he refused to say anymore, she got fed up.
"Look, Sesshoumaru, I love you, but I don't think you know what love is anymore. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your Mother - well, she was not a very nice woman. She had a lot of problems, and don't tell me you didn't notice it, because you had to, it was right in front of you the whole time. Even your Father couldn't get along with her. The only person she ever invested any time in was you, and look what happened. You are just like her. You are dead, Sesshoumaru. You are a walking shell of a man."
Having said her piece, she walked away.
"Are you ready to settle down? Then come with me. If not, I refuse to be your kept woman. I've waited two years for you, and I'm done waiting. I'm ready for a life, and there are plenty of demons out there fighting to give it to me. Besides, I have a Province to run, I don't have time for indecision."
That was the last he saw of her, for he could not bring his feet to follow, but he did say, "I do love you, Ai."
She stopped, and looked back over her shoulder. "You did, once, and it was the best time of my life. But now that time is gone, and I cannot get it back." She continued on her way. Another fragment of Sesshoumaru's heart turned to ice.
That night, he went to find his Father, and he followed his scent, Ryuukotsusei's scent coming through strongly too, intertwined with the old dog demons'.
When he reached the battle site, he'd made a decision. Now was the time to challenge his Father for Supremacy; after all, what did he have left to lose? Besides, as the only heir, the Western Province rightfully belonged to him upon his Father's death.
His Father was bleeding when he reached him, and Ryuukotsusei was sealed to the side of a cliff nearby, his powers rendered dormant.
Inu no Taisho knew Sesshoumaru was coming; he'd felt his strong aura miles off. His son paused behind him and said disdainfully, "I see you've taken up with a human, you reek of her scent. Does it make you happy to know that while you are out enjoying yourself with trash, my Mother is rolling over in her grave?"
I
nu no Taisho sighed. He was still sore about that day?
"Sesshoumaru, did you come here to accuse me of things I didn't do, or are you just angry that I have finally found someone who loves me as much as I love her?"
Sesshoumaru growled. His Father was missing the point.
"I want your swords, Father. I'm here to challenge you for the title of Lord. Who you fraternize with in your spare time matters not to me."
He sighed, then chuckled. "Doesn't it? You sounded pretty angry there, son, for someone who doesn't give a shit. Listen, your Mother and I were different; whether or not I had been with her, I couldn't have stopped her from taking on that fucking dragon." He flung an arm in the dragon's direction.
"We were always different; I may as well tell you, if you haven't already figured it out, that we didn't love each other. In fact, we could barely look at each other without fighting. I still can't believe we even managed to conceive you; Amaya wouldn't let me near her for the first six months of our marriage. And believe me, our marriage was not a happy one - for either of us. Do I not have a right to be happy, Sesshoumaru?"
He turned to face his son, but Sesshoumaru only hardened his heart. He would not let his Father wheedle his way out of this so easily.
He remained silent, and Inu no Taisho took his silence as a negative. He sighed again.
"I'm not going to stand around and let you take out your anger on me, Sesshoumaru. I am not old, but I am severely wounded, and Izayoi needs me. You will have a brother soon, but of course, that matters not to you."
Sesshoumaru lifted his brow higher, and sneered at his Father:
"Of course. But, before you go to save your human slut and the brat, give me your swords, and we can forget this whole conversation."
"No."
Sesshoumaru growled. His Father was making this difficult; he was in no mood to deal with difficult.
Inu no Taisho listed to the side; a major gash bled heavily from his ribs, and blood dripped down his hand from his wounded arm.
"I'm going to them; I doubt I'll make it back."
He turned, and Sesshoumaru flung out his hand, his fingertips glowing, issuing his challenge to the man who was his Father; the only family he had left.
However, Inu no Taisho paid him no attention; he only transformed into his demon form, and said to Sesshoumaru before he left, "Put your claws down, I have no desire to kill my son. I need the swords more than you do, and I'll decide when and which ones you get."
He sighed.
"You've become a hard man, Sesshoumaru. Look after the lands, and don't make your Mother's mistake." And just like that, he was gone.
Seeshoumaru looked at Kitana once again, her blue eyes intoxicating him.
"You are correct," he said at last.
"We will not speak of this again until that hanyou trash has been dealt with."
Disappointed, she nodded, but kept her face cheerful. She didn't want him to know how badly she'd hoped he wanted to settle down…with her.
An uncomfortable silence followed. Kitana sighed and rested her chin on her arm, when a flash of movement caught her eye.
She grabbed Sesshoumaru's sleeve and pulled her over, saying, "Look! Down there!"
Only fifteen minutes had passed; where had Kagura gone to? He was certain it was she he was seeing, flying below them, returning through the barrier over the castle, its surface rippling to admit her.
Hmm, Sesshoumaru thought, she came from the same direction as us. Was she looking for our camp?
He knew that if he was correct, and she had been sent to locate them, or their last whereabouts, that she would report back to Naraku the disappearance of their trail, not far from this very spot. They would have to form a plan - now, before they lost their advantage.
"Wake the others; we have business to discuss."
Kitana nodded, and started smacking everybody, waking them up.
"What's going on?" Kagome slurred, and Inuyasha came up from behind her, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Yes, Sesshoumaru, what is going on? Has Kagura returned?"
Now that he had everyone's attention, save the Shippo's, he spoke.
"She has," he answered the monk, "and she came from the same direction we did. I believe she had been sent to scout our location, and has come back empty-handed."
Miroku was the first to realise the implications of this statement.
"We need a plan," he said, getting up, and Sesshoumaru nodded.
Everyone was wide awake now.
"Well? What are we gonna do?" Inuyasha asked, holding Kagome in the cold wind as the dragon beneath them slept, still circling soundlessly in the sky above Naraku's barrier.
"Well, we have the advantage of surprise - for now," Miroku started, rubbing his chin in thought. "We can't just rush into this. We have to have a fool-proof plan, one that's flexible enough that we can change it if the situation dictates. This could be the final fight; we have to be united, and we have to be fast."
Everyone nodded. Inuyasha sighed.
"Okay…that tells me nothing. I need to know exactly what it is we're going to do!"
Kagome grabbed his hand, and whispered something to him; he settled down.
"Calm down, everybody. We still have our surprise, and Naraku's going to be on his guard, right? Maybe if we wait a few more days, he'll let his guard down and do something stupid, like letting down his barrier, and then we can attack, like Death From Above, or something."
Kitana looked around her for agreement, but none was forthcoming. I
nuyasha was laughing. She frowned.
"Okay, you do better!" she spat, her pride bruised. At least I offered an idea! she thought, sulking.
"That won't work, because he won't let his guard down. If anything, the longer we're invisible, the more cautious he'll get. And besides, his barrier isn't a problem; Tetsusaiga can break it, no sweat."
"Oh," she said, frowning. Show-off, she thought.
Sesshoumaru was quiet. He hated to admit it, but Inuyasha had proven his point; it was better to act now than to bide their time any longer than they already had. If only we could set a trap for him…
Well, that's it. I promise to work on it some more, and finish it, as soon as possible. It's just so long, and overwhelming...I'm going to need a few days to sort everything out. Please forgive me. Like I said before, I will not abandon this story, so keep your eyes peeled! (P.S. Sorry, Kouga's Archi, no smut this chappie, but I promise some when I get this thing back on track, k?) Oh, by the way, if anyone has any ideas about where I should go with this, lemme know, I'd love to hear them!