Having just regained consciousness, Asher was reluctant to open his eyes. How much of what had happened last night had been a dream? He was afraid to find out. Suddenly, he realized that he had a sensation on his hip. Further, he felt periodic bursts of warm air on his neck. Now he REALLY didn't want to open his eyes. It couldn't have happened. It HAD to have been just a dream. There just wasn't any way he'd really…His heart jumped. He heard a sigh and felt the sensation on his hip move slowly up and down his leg. No.
"Asher, you awake?" he heard a female voice, seductive and apparently elated.
No.
"Asher, wake up."
God, no. Please, God, no.
The voice became playfully annoyed. "C'mon, Asher, get up. Please?" The sensation now moved upward, across his chest, then slowly back toward his legs.
Son of a bitch.
He opened his eyes. Lying in bed, facing him, was Star. Her long brown hair was carelessly thrown back behind her head, revealing her full, curving, naked body.
Okay, calm down. She's probably just pulling some kind of joke. Some kind of malicious, terrible, sick joke.
"God, Asher. Last night was SO amazing," Star sighed.
Oh, God. This isn't some sort of joke. This really happened. What am I going to do?
"What's wrong, Asher?" she asked, pulling his body to hers so he could feel her bare skin pressed against his.
Asher couldn't find the strength to push her away. This time, the thought made it past his brain and out of his mouth. "This can't be happening."
"What do you mean, Asher?"
"We didn't…I mean, we couldn't have…"
Star held him more tightly. "Mmmm…you smell nice. How about a repeat of last night, huh, Asher? I won't tell anyone."
Asher frowned and tugged lightly, trying to signal to Star that he wanted her to let him go. "Star, I shouldn't have…"
She brought her mouth close to his ear. "Asher, you know you needed this. You needed it, and I wanted it. There's nothing wrong. Don't worry. She'll never know. So, c'mon. One more time, and then we'll say we're done?"
God, that sounds tempting…
"Star, I don't think I can go through with this again."
Star gave a disappointed sigh. "All right. I won't try to force you to do something you don't want to do."
"You won't WHAT!?" Asher jumped out of the bed and threw on his cloak.
"Asher?"
"You won't try to force me to do something I don't want to do? What the hell do you think last night was?!"
"Asher, I didn't force you to…"
"You might as well have! You knew I was engaged! You knew I wasn't in the right state of mind last night! You took advantage of that!"
"Asher, that's not true. I didn't take advantage. I just gave you what you wanted."
"Excuse me? You gave me what I wanted? What the hell is WRONG with you?! I even TOLD you last night that I was engaged and I wouldn't give that up for anything!"
"Asher, you're being unfair!"
"I'm being UNFAIR? Damnit, Star, you took advantage of me! You want to know why I went along with what happened last night? Do you really want to know? Here's how it happened. You fell on me, and I made a little joke. I felt bad. I went into this room here to try to calm myself down. Then I got to thinking about how I shouldn't have made that joke, how I should have kept my mouth shut. I thought about Trista, and how much I missed her, and how I didn't deserve her if I was gonna flirt like that with someone. I felt so guilty, I started to punish myself. Then, you came in. You wanted to comfort me, so I let you. I needed comfort. You were afraid to touch me, afraid that it might turn into something bad. So, I let you know that it was okay to touch me to comfort me, so you did. But you didn't stop there, did you?"
"Asher…"
"You knew I was weak, you knew I didn't have self-control in my condition."
"Asher…"
"What's wrong with you?"
"Asher, STOP!"
"Why the hell should I stop? You raped me, you little WHORE!"
Star froze. "I what?"
"You heard me. You RAPED me."
"Asher, that's not a fair statement. You went along with everything that happened last night."
"Star, you don't honestly believe that, do you? You took advantage of my lack of self-control to get me to have sex with you. Self-control that I lost because I was mentally unstable. That constitutes rape."
Star stormed out of the room, either not noticing or not caring that she'd forgotten her clothes. Meanwhile, Asher fell to his knees. "It doesn't matter," he said weakly. "It doesn't matter that she took advantage of me. I still went along with it. Trista will never forgive me."
Asher heard Axel's voice in his head, answering him. "Just don't tell her."
Asher sighed. "Axel, I have to tell her. She trusts me, and I need to be honest with her."
The world around Asher quickly faded to a white abyss, like in the Hall of Rememberance. Axel stood before Asher, helping him up. "If you're HONEST with her, she SHOULD understand. You're pretty smart; I don't think you'd pick a girl that didn't understand the truth."
"Yeah, but…what do I do now? About Star?"
"Forgive her."
"Forgive her? Why? After what she did?"
"Sure. She's just a kid, Asher. She made a mistake. She followed her body's desires instead of her heart's."
"Trista wouldn't forgive her for what she did. She'd be furious."
"All the more reason for you to be forgiving, Asher. Or do I have to remind you of some of the sins YOU'VE committed?"
"What are you talking about?"
Axel shook his head. "I'm in your head, Asher. I can see your thoughts. I can see your memories, what you've done. You're not exactly a saint."
"Don't judge me, Axel. You, of all people, have NO RIGHT to judge me."
"Maybe not, but you certainly don't have any right to judge this little girl."
"Axel, I can judge whoever I want however I want."
"Of course." Axel said sardonically.
"My past has nothing to do with what happened last night."
"Maybe it doesn't, maybe it does. But that's not the issue. The issue is you refuse to forgive this girl for committing a sin, when you've committed a few of your own."
Asher's eyes narrowed. "Those people DESERVED what they got!" He pointed a finger at Axel accusingly. "Are you trying to tell me that what I've done is worse than whatever you did? Because I doubt it!"
"You're being very hypocritical today, Asher. You use my past as an excuse to say that I don't have the right to judge you, but you say that your past shouldn't affect your ability to pass judgment on that girl for what she did. Is what she did worse than what you did?"
"Axel, just stop. I know what you're trying to do."
Axel shook his head. "You really think you can walk away from your past?"
Asher sighed. "No, Axel. I can't. I know I can't. I just… I don't think I can forgive Star for what she did. I don't think I can forgive myself for what I did."
Axel smiled. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: Forgiveness is something you can give to someone else, something you can get from someone else, but not yourself. Self forgiveness is a pipe dream for most people. Best thing to do is just…forget, and move on. But as for other people…you gotta forgive them, Asher. Because if you don't; if you just let them suffer…you'll regret it."
"As usual, Axel, you're right," Asher conceded.
The real world faded back into view as Asher's vision ended. Asher looked at the clock. 10:00 AM. He'd been talking to Axel for three hours? How? The conversation had only lasted a minute…
He drew his composure. It would take a lot to apologize to Star and keep the problem from happening again, both without hurting her. The door opened and he walked out, inching his way uncomfortably toward Star, who now sat in the computer chair, pretending she hadn't felt crushed. "Hey, Star?"
When she turned around, Asher could see tears streaming down her face. He flinched. "What do YOU want?" she asked angrily. "Can't you see you've made me feel bad enough?"
"Actually, Star, I've come to apologize."
"Really?" Star sniffed.
"Yeah. I'm sorry I snapped on you, Star."
"So…you're not mad?"
"Well, not AS mad. I still feel like you took advantage of me, but I'm forgiving you for it. But, there isn't going to be any more sex between us, okay?"
Star nodded. "Okay, as long as we're still friends."
"Sure."
"Wow. I would have thought that it would have taken a lot longer for this to happen than it has."
"Well, Star, normally, I don't think I ever would have forgiven you, but…an old friend of mine explained something to me."
"I see. So…there's no need to tell your fiancée, right?"
"No, Star, I'm sorry, but I still have to tell Trista. I have to be honest with her. Even if it means…"
"Oh. I don't have to be there when you tell her, do I?"
Asher looked helplessly at Star. "I guess not. But I don't know if it'll go much better if I tell her alone."
"I'm sorry, Asher, I don't think I can do it."
Asher sighed. "I understand," he said. He looked at the ground, beginning to feel uncomfortable with looking Star in her wet, bloodshot eyes. "So, are we there yet?"
"Almost. Looks like we still have another couple of minutes."
She got up from the chair and wiped the remaining tears from her face. Then, her arms outstretched, she approached Asher cautiously. "Look, Asher, I'm sorry for what happened."
Asher pulled away, rejecting the hug as if he were afraid of her touch. "Don't worry about it. In time, we'll both forget it ever happened," he said, walking back to his room to put his clothes back on under his cloak.
Star frowned. I won't, she thought.
---
When the Gummi Ship landed outside of a small village in Feudal Japan, Asher was reluctantly the first one to step out. He hadn't given Star the chance to get dressed yet, and, upset as he still was with her, he didn't want her out in this world naked. He wouldn't wish that on anyone. As soon as he got outside to look around, the ground shook. He turned to his right to see a cloud of smoke puff up from the center of the village and quickly dissipate. From as far away as he was, he could still make out the gist of what was happening. He saw a gigantic figure a few hundred feet from the burst of smoke. It looked more like a plant than a creature, but on the top, Asher saw a white piece of cloth of some kind. Squinting to get a better look, he realized what it was. An albino baboon skin. Perfect. Watching the figure, he soon saw another, much smaller figure jumping from building to building, narrowly avoiding being clobbered by horrendously enormous roots. The figure was mostly red, and Asher knew instantly what that figure was. Inuyasha. Asher sighed. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with Inuyasha. He doubted that Inuyasha would understand what he was going to do, anyway. Well, it couldn't be helped. He supposed that if Inuyasha tried to stop him, he'd have to fight. He'd just have to be sure that Inuyasha wasn't killed. As Asher decided that he would go to help Inuyasha, Star emerged from the Gummi Ship wearing a very short black skirt and a green button-up vest over a white tank top that didn't serve to cover much more than her breasts.
Asher sighed. "Star, why are you wearing that?"
Star had a look of genuine confusion on her face. "It's the only clean outfit I have right now. My dad picked it out for me."
Asher raised an eyebrow. "Your father picked that outfit out for you?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Nothing. I just didn't realize your world didn't value modesty."
Star stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. "At least my clothes are clean. I don't wear the same thing every day."
"My clothes ARE clean. I do laundry almost every day."
"How do you wash your clothes if you only have one outfit?"
This was the girl that raped me? "I take them off."
Star pondered it for a moment. Her face sported a look of one who had just realized that they had said something foolish. "Oh. Didn't think of that."
Asher shook his head. "Come on, let's go help Inuyasha before he gets himself killed."
"Inuyasha?"
"The human/demon guy I told you about."
"But I thought his name was Naraku."
"No, the other one. The dog one, or wolf one, or whatever he is."
"Oh, okay."
The two ran to the village. However, when they got there, they were almost disappointed. Inuyasha was already in the process of tearing the puppet to shreds. "WIND SCAR!"
At that, powerful bursts of energy flew from his blade and tore through the puppet. It fell to pieces and a small, pink crystal fell from the sky. Kagome was there to catch it. She giggled. "Another jewel shard! At this rate, we'll have 'em all in no time!"
"Hmph. I still don't like this, Kagome. If these things are back, it can only mean that Naraku's still out there."
Asher spoke up, much to the surprise of Kagome and Inuyasha. "Naraku's still alive?"
Kagome smiled. "Asher! Hi!"
"Hello, Kagome. Hello, Inuyasha." He tried his best and managed to sound polite to both Kagome and Inuyasha. However, his courtesy had fallen on deaf ears.
"You again?"
"Yeah, me again."
"Great. Just what we need. Someone snooping around."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Inuyasha, don't be so rude. So what brings you back here, Asher?"
Inuyasha squinted disapprovingly. "I'll bet I know what brings him back here," he muttered under his breath.
"Oh, hush, Inuyasha!"
Asher sighed. "Maybe this is a bad time. Besides, I only came here to help Inuyasha, and it looks like he didn't need any help. So, we'll just be off, then."
He started to walk away when he realized he didn't hear footsteps following him. He looked back and saw Star talking to Inuyasha, with Kagome giving her a death glare. "Oh, you've gotta me kidding me. She's like a damn schoolgirl."
She IS a schoolgirl, remember? Asher shook his head and walked back.
"Apparently we'd be delighted to stay and chat."
"I can see that," Kagome remarked drily.
Asher walked up to her. No sense turning the visit into an entire waste of time. "She's a charmer, isn't she?" he asked, chuckling at the distressed look on Inuyasha's face.
"Has she done this before?"
"Oh, I've only seen her do it once. But that was more than enough."
"So, are you two…"
"No. She's just travelling with me. Or, I'm just travelling with her, I guess. It's her ship."
"I see. So, why ARE you back, Asher? Didn't you get what you came here for?"
"Yeah, but we're looking for someone now. Someone really bad. We won't be able to find him ourselves, so we're gonna do something so that he'll find us."
"Oh? What's that?"
Asher shifted uncomfortably. "We're going to take control of his Heartless."
Kagome looked at him inquisitively. "Why?"
"Because if he notices that the Heartless aren't doing his bidding anymore, he'll come to investigate."
"I see. That makes sense, I guess," she said absently. She stepped closer. "Asher…I was wondering…"
"Wondering what?"
"I was just wondering if you could help us."
Asher breathed a sigh of relief. As narcissistic as it might seem, he was worried she might have said something else. "What can I help you with?"
"Well, with the puppets back…I think…that is, Inuyasha thinks that Naraku's still alive. That that girl didn't kill him."
Asher shook his head. "I don't see how. Most people can't survive being cut in half without putting themselves back together. And it looked like she made it so that he couldn't put himself back together."
"Still, he could be alive."
"Has he come back from the dead before?"
"I'm not sure. He's definitely made us believe that he was dead before, though. That's what worries me. Maybe we'll never kill the real Naraku."
"I'm sure you will. Now, what makes you think he might still be alive, besides the puppets?"
"Well," Kagome explained, "Inuyasha's been finding his scent everywhere. And it's all really recent. At first he thought he was going crazy, but then he was sure that it was Naraku. Plus, when the girl killed Naraku…or whoever that was that looked like him…there weren't any jewel shards in him. Naraku always keeps a large fragment of the Shikon Jewel with him. It makes him stronger."
"I guess. Whatever Star killed might have been another puppet."
"See, Asher, that's the weird thing. Naraku's puppets need jewel shards to power them. That…creature didn't have any jewel shards in it. What do you suppose it means?"
Asher pondered for a moment. "I'd say…I'd say it means that you've got a Naraku look-alike on your hands. Or, at least, you did."
"So, will you help us defeat Naraku?"
Asher looked over at the half-demon. "Well, I'm not sure Inuyasha would want me to help."
Kagome frowned. "Forget Inuyasha. He needs to learn that he can't do everything himself."
Asher sighed. "I guess I can help…"
Kagome smiled. "Thank you!" She gave him a big, uncomfortable squeeze that nearly made his ribs crack.
Getting himself free, Asher was about to say something when he was interrupted by a very distinguishable voice. He didn't know whose it was, but he knew he'd remember it from now on.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Inuyasha. Still cavorting with disgraceful humans, I see. I'd expect nothing different."
Asher saw a flush of anger across Inuyasha's face, but also a slight amount of relief. At least it was an excuse to draw his attention away from Star. "Hm. What are you doing here? Come to get your ass kicked by my Tetsusaiga?"
"YOUR Tetsusaiga? That sword should belong to me."
"Not this crap again. Nobody CARES who the sword SHOULD belong to, Sesshomaru. It was given to me."
Asher questioned Kagome quietly. "Sesshomaru?"
"Inuyasha's older brother. A full demon. He wants the Tetsusaiga, and to kill Inuyasha."
"Is he gonna need some help?"
"I don't know. It's been a while since they've fought. Inuyasha's gotten stronger, but maybe Sesshomaru has, too."
Asher decided to step up. He started a nonchalant march toward Sesshomaru. Kagome protested slightly. "Asher, I think Inuyasha would want this to be his fight…"
He stopped a few feet to Inuyasha's right and spoke up. "Is there a problem here?"
Sesshomaru's eyes gravitated slightly toward Asher, as if he were acknowledging Asher, but would not afford him the status of 'threat.' His white cloak was quite plain, save a few colors here and there, but attention was easily drawn to the fur around his neck, his large spiked shoulder armor, and the purple marks on his face that resembled (but couldn't possibly be) scars. His white hair flowed in the wind. "Stay out of this, human."
Asher frowned. "You say the word 'human' like it's an insult."
Sesshomaru afforded himself a slight chuckle. "It is an insult."
"Oh. I see. Well, I don't take kindly to being insulted. I'd appreciate it if you'd shut the hell up."
A small, green, beaked demon with a large staff peeked out from behind Sesshomaru's white cloak. "Those who threaten Lord Sesshomaru won't live to realize their mistake!"
Sesshomaru looked down at the pathetic creature. "Be quiet, Jaken," he said, pounding down on the creature's head with his fist. "It appears our interrupting guest believes himself to be a challenge to me."
Sesshomaru stared into Asher's eyes, keeping an indifferent look on his face to intimidate Asher. "So, am I correct? Do you think yourself a challenge, human? Pitiful. I should crush you right here for your insolence, weakling."
"Go ahead and try."
Sesshomaru flicked his wrist and a green flash of light whipped toward Asher, who barely managed to sidestep. Asher looked at the ground and saw the grass instantly die where the light flash had touched it. "Poison whip? What the…"
He didn't have much time to react before Sesshomaru's outstretched hand with its clawed fingers reached for his face. He grabbed Sesshomaru's hand by the wrist just centimeters from its target. He saw Sesshomaru's claws glowing purple. "Let me guess: the claws are poisonous, too?" He tried to sound cocky, but he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to stop Sesshomaru's next attack.
"I have to admit, I've never had a human halt an attack from me before. You're most likely no ordinary human. No matter. I've killed my share of humans of all kinds. You're just like the rest. You'll die all the same."
Sesshomaru raised the other clawed hand. Asher wanted to grab it, to make it stop its inevitable descent toward his skull, but he knew that he only had enough strength in his two arms to hold back one of these powerful hands. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for some sort of miracle. Suddenly, as Sesshomaru began to swipe, he felt a shift in the demon's balance. Thanking no god in particular, he managed to take a step backward, the claw narrowly missing taking off his face. I can't fight him. He's too strong.
Asher flung Sesshomaru's wrist back, hoping to catch him off balance. However, Sesshomaru didn't move. Sesshomaru balled his other hand into a fist and punched Asher hard in the gut. Choking from the rapid escape of air from his chest, Asher summoned his Keyblade and began swinging wildly at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru brought out a sword and began to block Asher's onslaught. As Sesshomaru drew himself back into a killing stance, Asher felt something hit him hard on the side. It was the hilt of Inuyasha's gigantic sword. Asher flew to the right, tumbling over himself as he hit the ground.
"He's mine, you got that?!"
Asher shook his head. Remember to thank him when this is over.
"Do you even know this human, Inuyasha? I haven't seen him with you before."
"None of your business."
"Protecting someone you don't even know? So, you're going even MORE soft. How degrading."
"Just shut up and fight, Sesshomaru!"
"I'm afraid that I'm not here to fight you, Inuyasha. Tempting, though it may be. No, I'm actually here as an…informant. It would appear that Naraku is still alive."
"Why would you tell me?"
Sesshomaru dismissed the question. "That's not your concern. Naraku's very interested in someone, Inuyasha. And this time, it's not you."
Sesshomaru glanced over at Asher, who was rubbing his side as he got up. "It would appear that Naraku's interested in a human. A human from somewhere…else. You wouldn't happen to know a human like that, would you?"
"Maybe it's the girl. You can take her away if you want."
Sesshomaru eyed Star carefully. "No, I don't think it's her. I think it may be your friend over there, whose side you kindly broke in your eagerness to fight me."
"Sesshomaru, what the hell's going on? Why are you telling me this?"
"Like I said before, it's none of your concern. Just pass the information along. I'm sure your friend will be delighted to know that Naraku's looking for him."
With that, Sesshomaru turned around. "Come, Jaken. We're done here."
"But Lord Sesshomaru…the human…"
"Jaken, we'll leave him for now."
"Surely you won't allow him to get away with his insult, my lord!"
"Jaken, you are dangerously close to a skull fracture. Now, let's go, before I grow impatient."
"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder. "Another time, Inuyasha. Another time."
Sesshomaru grabbed Jaken by the collar and leaped out of sight.
