Part of me was angry with myself, how horrible was my sense of smell that I couldn't tell the scent of a demon in heat.
Why didn't I fight harder?
And why didn't Kize just kill me then, I was so vulnerable...
/em
Aya pushes away from Mio to lay on her back, she stares at the ceiling with sleepy eyes, her body was tired but her mind was wide awake. In an absentminded manner, she places a hand at her breast before running it down to her stomach, there she begins to rub gently. Her eyes flash red at the thoughts that flew through her mind.
emstrongWas I angry that once again I survived?/strong/em
Slowly, her anger gives way to sadness, she turns onto her side to allow her tears an easy escape. emstrong
As sad as I was, I guess...I'm sort of relieved now. Death scares me... so you know what they say, with the new day comes the chance to make a miracle happen.
Never heard it, ...well me either./strong/em
The next morning, Aya stood at the outside of the house with the children in her arms, Rin stood at the side-line watching them.
"Well be good," Aya whispers to the teary girls. "You two are too dull to notice when you're being watched, so be careful. Do the wrong thing and you'll have my fist in your skull."
Mio rubs her head and Lana nods.
"Be back soon please," They say in unison.
Aya smiles at them before turning on her heel toward the town's exit, as she walks past Rin, she catches Sesshomaru's scent on the air.
emstrong
Good, two birds with one stone.
/strong/em"Goodbye Rin," Aya calls over her shoulder as she passes Sesshomaru and Jaken.
Rin rushes over to Sesshomaru with a happy grin, "I had so much fun Mi'lord, Mio and Lana are really nice, could I come to visit them sometime?"
She clasps her hands together pleadingly, which was the first move in her arsenal but when Sesshomaru continues to ignore her, she's forced to reveal her secret weapon. She pokes her lower lip out with a small and sad whimper, "please Mi'lord!"
He raises a brow at Aya who walked away as if she hadn't heard anything, surely she cared enough about her humans to say something. He looks at the sniveling girls with slight disgust, neither of them bared demonic markings or showed any signs of being mixed breed but they cried like two puppies missing their mother.
"Oh Mi'lord let us go, I am sick of their cries!" Jaken whispers up to Sesshomaru, who once again chooses to ignore his group.
Sesshomaru looks down at his sword, maybe if he made some aggressive action, she would react? He takes the hilt of his sword into his hand, he starts to raise it but the dog demoness had already stopped.
Like a mirror image, she followed his movements with her katana. Jaken raises a brow, he was slightly impressed with the lady demon, she followed Sesshomaru without even looking at him. .
Suddenly, Sesshomaru turns on the girls with his sword, he brings it above their heads too quickly for them to fully realize what was about to happen to them, he swings it downward with all of his might. Though, his originally had no intentions of killing the girls, he also did not care if he did, they meant nothing to him in his pursuit of knowledge.
Just as the sword cuts air near the youngest girls' face, it clashes against another blade.
Aya stares up at him with malice filled eyes from her place on the ground, she pushes into him but he pulls away sending her flying forward, just as she catches herself, Sesshomaru tosses her into a nearby house She bares at her teeth at him when he covers her body with his own, he does the same before placing his nose her neck.
She smelled of peony, bergamot...and wilting roses, he raises his head to look her in the eyes, the wilting rose scent was usually carried by dying demonesses, but she looked healthy to him. She looked no different than any other Kai Daiyoukai, with her dark features and piercing icy blue eyes, but something about her was different, something within her.
Sesshomaru quirks a brow when she snaps her teeth at him.
"Aya...right?"
Aya sneers at him now.
emstrong
Who does he think he is, first he goes to attack Lana and Mio and now...this!?/strong/em
"I'd suggest you let me go, Lord Sesshomaru." She rasps. "Wouldn't want to scare the children."
She looks over his shoulder at the surrounding group, her warning had clearly come far too late, Rin was holding Jaken for dear life and Lana and Mio held one another, she goes to shrug away from him but Sesshomaru grabs her hair in his fist; holding her in place.
"Who are these children to you?"
"None of your business!"
The acid dripping from her words almost makes Sesshomaru reach for his sword again, but he thinks better of it.
"Where are you from, where are you going...and why do you smell of death?"
His questioning takes her by surprise, she lets her guard down but for only a second, Sesshomaru takes this chance to grip her wrist and put them above her head as he goes back to sniffing her.
Aya turns her head away when he comes back up to stare at her.
"Answer me!?" He growls but she only laughs in his face.
"Oh my Lord, with all of these questions...I'm starting to think that you want to mate with me..."
As if burned by her words, Sesshomaru pushes away from her, he glances back at the children as Aya begins to straighten her clothes.
"If you must know, I am from the Southern Lands, that is where I am headed and my smell...well I've killed more than my fair share...so maybe I carry the scent with me forever, I don't know and I really do not care."
Jaken's jaw drops when she steps past them once again to tend to the children, he looks up at Sesshomaru expecting to see a storm of demonic rage, but he only stood there watching the woman.
"Mi'lord, she...she...she-."
"Be quiet."
As he says this, Sesshomaru starts from the road ahead, even Aya looks up in slight surprise.
emstrongCuriosity satisfied, I assume?
Good./strong/em
"As I said before, be good." Aya whispers to the girls.
Lana turns to Mio who had begun to cry again, "we will," she says as she uses the back of her hand to wipe away Mio's tears.
Aya gives them both a swift pat on the head before turning to the opposite end of where Sesshomaru was headed, she glances back at his disappearing figure.
emstrong
Got to be careful, that man clearly has his sight set on me, for whatever reason. Maybe I shouldn't go.../strong/em
She wanted to believe that he wouldn't come back, but other demons were so hard to read, most of them had strange and grandiose visions of themselves and their behavior often showed it. Aya knew of some demons who would destroy entire human villages just for fun, and every time she left Yurime she worried about that.
emstrong
I'm taking the chance of leaving them again, this time...with a strange demon with a strange interest in us.../strong/em
She cringes when she feels Lana and Mio's on eyes her, she didn't want to hurt them anymore, she always tried to pull swift entrances and exits, but the more she thought about them being alone, the more she hesitated.
She brings her fists to the thickest part of her ponytail, she runs her hands up and down its length almost nervously as she turns back to the village. By now, Sesshomaru and his group were pretty far away, the only thing she could see now, was Rin's bright orange checkered kimono.
emstrongAm I really thinking about...humbling myself...
No, not for some-.
/strong/em
"What's wrong, Ay?" Mio stands from her place at the front of the house but Aya ignores her question as she starts swiftly after Sesshomaru.
Lana gets to her feet as well to watch for Aya's next move.
"What do you think she's doing," she murmurs to her younger sister, but she just shrugs in response.
Aya speeds up to catch up to Sesshomaru, who had covered much more distance than she first realized, once she has him in her sights, she cups her hands around her mouth to call to him.
"Lord Sesshomaru!"
Jaken and Rin flinch at the sound of her voice, Rin turns to her with a happy grin.
"Lady Ay, are you coming with us!?"
Aya sucks her lower lip into her mouth as she shakes her head at Rin, slowly she was becoming annoyed, if Rin and the toad had heard her, why hadn't he?
For a moment, her pride returns.
What are you doing, it screamed at her in it's haughty glory but Aya manages to shake it off, she calls to him again and this time, he stops.
Aya rushes over to him when he turns his head to her direction.
"Sorry for bothering you," she says with a swift nod of the head, "but I need to know...are you planning to return to Yurime any time soon?"
Before Sesshomaru has the chance to open his mouth, Jaken jumps between them to defend his lord's honor.
"That is none of your business, you flea ridden trollop! Clearly you misinterepeted Mi'lord's intentions backs there, he wants nothing to do with you!" Jaken pauses to look at Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru narrows his eyes but nothing at this point could extinguish the fire in Jaken's heart, and besides, he was on a roll. This was most he was ever allowed to say at one time. "So I'd suggest you get back to your stupid little humans, because the Lord has no need for scum like you!"
Aya cocks her head when Jaken stops to catch his breath, "finished," she mutters before turning her gaze back to Sesshomaru.
"Aya Yuta, that is your full name."
"It is," she starts, "but ho-."
He turns to face her, "so your father is a noble...a powerful one at that...and he allows you to play house with human brats?"
His words ignite fire with her but she manages to keep calm.
"That is none of your concern, you don't see me asking about your relationship with Rin."
Sesshomaru doesn't flinch at the venom in her voice but he doesn't challenge her either, she glances at Rin, who was completely immersed in the conversation.
"L-Lord Sesshomaru...Lady A-Ay, please don't fight." She presses her hands together pleadingly but neither Aya nor Sesshomaru were paying her much mind.
They stare at one another intently, waiting for the other to say something or make a move, but neither does.
"Mi'lord..." utters Jaken as he steps between them.
Aya turns her head away when Jaken shakes his staff in her face, she places her gaze on the ground so as to deflect the waves of aggression flying from Sesshomaru's eyes.
She folds her arms as she turns away from him, "I just wanted to know...are you coming back to Yurime?"
As Sesshomaru goes to answer her, Rin rushes over to grab their hands.
"Lady Ay, do you want to come with us, since you're going to missing the Lord so much." She sings.
With a pat on the head and a slight push aside, Aya shuffles Rin out of the way, she raises her head at Sesshomaru to look down at him as she awaits his answer.
emstrong
Yes or no./strong/em
"I don't." He states simply.
Aya nods, "good."
She pats Rin on the head again before going to take her leave of the their group but the sound of little feet running after her, makes her stop. She turns to look back at Rin, who stood behind her holding a single red ribbon.
"You promised that you'd do my hair, remember!?" Aya frowns when Rin lowers her head and raises the ribbon, "do it like you have yours," she calls up to her.
emstrong
I don't remember that at all, did I make such a promise?
No, but what would it do for me to argue with her, Ok Rin, I'll oblige you for now./strong/em
Aya takes the ribbon into her hand and for a moment she looks at Rin's head, as if mapping out a course of action, she leans over taking all of Rin's hair into her palms. emstrong
She was right when she said her hair's condition is bad, feels like...steel wool./strong/em
With a bunch of tugging and whimpers from Rin, Aya manages to tie Rin's hair up atop her hair, with a bit of gusto she ties the ribbon into a bow at the outside of Rin's bun. Rin brings her hands up to finger her hair, she frowns a bit when she feels the dainty ball sitting there.
"But I said like yours."
"I know." Aya smiles at her, "but it's especially cute that way."
emstrongMio...my...my sweet baby sister./strong/em
"She wore it that way,"Aya whispers more to herself than to Rin.
Rin doesn't seem to notice Aya's happy smile melt into a mournful lour, Rin plucks at the bun some before turning to Sesshomaru.
"You think so too, Mi'lord?"
"I do not care for such things," he mutters turning away.
"What a bastard." Aya slowly resurfaces from the dark dank crevices of her mind when she hears his curt reply, "Ri-."
"Oh Lord Sesshomaru has been down a lot lately...I just think he's grown lonely, you know."
Rin plucks her bun one more time before rushing after him, Aya watches their disappearing figures as she starts for the other end of the road.
emstrong
It seems that she thinks very highly of him, so she's not a slave and not a daughter, she's all human...hmmm./strong/em
She pauses to look at them over her shoulder again.
emstrongI wonder why they travel...and for him to bring her along, isn't that dangerous? I could never bring Lana and Mio, they mean far too much to me, but then again...leaving them home alone worries me as well./strong/em
Aya looks toward the road that led to Yurime.
emstrong
How and why does he do it, maybe one day I'll be able to ask-...wait, what am I thinking. What anyone else does is not my business./strong/em
She starts to walk again, this time taking her katana from its sheath to hold it over her shoulder, just in case anyone decided to try her chin. The walk, as per usual, was tortuous. Between her roving mind and the harsh almost frozen ground under her still aching feet, Aya nearly loses her will to continue. It's not until the familiar smell of wisteria reaches her nose, that she finally gains back some of her earlier conviction.
emstrong
Home sweet home./strong/em
Being born from the South, Aya navigates through it's Wisteria covered roads with ease, she raises a hand to allow some of the purple petals to brush against her hand.
emstrong
Mio loved them as well, she would climb into the trees and hide out whenever I played with her, and when I least expected it-/strong/em
"Dah!"
Aya gasps when a man falls from the trees before her, even as she glared at him, he wore a charming grin. Clearly, he was a demon, his black facial markings said as much, what kind- she couldn't tell, the heavy scent of wisteria had overtaken her already weak nose. His long black hair hung down his back and nicely contrasted his pale skin, he winks a lime green eye at her as he bows.
"Kaiten, nice to meet you Lady Ay, welcome home."
Before she has the chance to answer him, he takes her hand into his own, he leans down with a peeked eye as he places a gentle kiss at the back of her hand.
"Who...are you?" Aya pulls her hand into her chest and he smiles.
"Kaiten Erizumi, I, beautiful Aya, am a dog demon just like you."
She looks him up and down, he wore the usual garb of a high ranking Daiyoukai, lots of armor and lots of fabric, she places her eyes at a black mark at his neck and that's when she sees his bushy black tall wrapped around his arm.
"Well," she starts moving past him. "I don't really care."
She closes her eyes as she moves away from him, just as she preparing to dismiss him from her mind, she feels a feathery light sensation against her back, as she turns to face him again, her long black hair whips over her shoulder.
"I like it better that way," he teases from above her.
She looks up to see him standing in one of the trees, he winks at her before disappearing into a thicket of wisteria.
"What do you want from me," Aya mutters as she brings her fists to her hair.
He drops into upside down position from the tree, his lips were almost touching her chin as he says, "I simply wanted to see you."
Aya pushes away from him but he falls from the tree, following her, he throws his body into hers and they fall onto the petal covered earth.
"No wonder he likes to play with you so much," he whispers as he crawls across the ground to catch her, his eyes turn hard and his face into stone when she points her katana at him, "you're much too serious Ay."
"Who," she barks as she makes her way over to him again, she stands above him with her katana pointed directly at his neck, "no wonder who likes to play with me!?"
His face turns even graver, "like you don't know...," he shoots to his feet abruptly and Aya backs away.
"Goodbye beautiful Ay," he turns to leave but something seems to stop him, he turns to her with a knowing grin. "Isn't...today your birthday, dear Ay?"
She gasps and his grin grows even more.
emstrong
I had forgotten it even...how does he know?/strong/em
"See Ay, I know more about you than you think, we're...almost connected."
Once again, he turns to leave but this time Aya tries give chase only to be swept up in a tornado of wisteria leaves, they spin around her, whipping at her face and eyes until she's dizzy, Aya swings at them but for every thick wave of petals she knocked away, another replaced it. emstrong
What is this!?/strong/em
She fights against the petals but this only seems to aggravate the problem, they begin to close in on her, suffocating her with their perfumy scent. She panics when her arms begin to feel weighted and her movement slows, she couldn't breath and now she couldn't fight.
Aya loses consciousness before her body even hits the ground.
em
"Happy birthday big sister, look at what I brought you!"
"What...a-."
"A steel fan, red and white, your favorite colors. Father said that you'd never use it and that you wouldn't know how to, but...it's pretty so...here."
"What a strange gift but...I love it, thank you Mio."
strong
The last birthday I celebrated, she gave me this beautiful steel fan. I was shocked to say the least, I had never had any use for weapons before, Kize and father took care of the unwanteds.
I put the fan away somewhere in my bedroom, hoping to keep it safe...I never went back for it.
Hmmm, that beautiful fan...I wonder if it's still there now./strong/em
"Do you think she'll wake up soon?"
"Who knows, who cares!"
"Well, L-."
"Be quiet!"
"Wait, she's moving!"
emstrongYes, I am awake...all of the incessant chattering did it./strong/em
Aya fights against her exhausted body to sit up but she couldn't, her limbs were far too weak, she only manages to open her eyes.
"You're awake Lady Ay!" Rin crawls closer to her when Aya picks up her head, "are you OK now?"
emstrongHow did I-/strong/em
Rin smiles at the stark confusion on Aya's face, she points at a darkened path to the back of her, "Lord Sesshomaru..."
"What, but how did he find me...you were headed...West, right?"
Aya pushes herself into upright position when Rin nods.
"We were, but then...Lord Sesshomaru just turned around, I thought he just wanted to see the pretty flowers, but then we found you laying there, all pretty covered in flower petals!" Rin says clasping her hands together.
Aya turns to look at Jaken who stood near a burning fire at their side, he shoots her an icy glare before turning away, Aya takes a deep breath as she crawls to her feet. Her first few steps are a struggle but Rin takes her arm to support her, Aya gives her a nod to thank her before starting toward the dark path.
strongem
I have to know, why did he follow me./em/strong
The road begins to lighten up as she makes her way toward where Rin had pointed, when she comes upon a small tributary, she's pretty sure she's found her spot.
"What do you want?"
Aya turns to face Sesshomaru who lay against a tree not too far from her, he watched her with an expression of utter boredom. She takes a few steps closer to him, sitting on the ground before him, she pushes some of her hair behind her ear as she searches for something to say.
"Who is Kize?"
Aya gasps, "how-."
"When I found you, you were were talking in you sleep about him...you cried."
Aya ducks her head at this, she felt vulnerable, he had seen her in a moment of weakness, which was not something that she felt good about allowing other demons to see.
"He...He's my brother." She breathes, her anxiety once again pushes her hands into her hair, she runs her hands furiously down its length. The sound of movement from his corner makes her look up, in his hand he held a red and white steel fan, he turns it over in his hand before extending it to her.
"This is yours, isn't it?"
She clamors for it but he holds it away from her, "give it to me," she growls.
He places it close to his nose, "smells of death, just like you."
"Where did you get that," she growls, he raises a brow as she begins to move closer to him.
"On the ground next to you, it's aura...was different, but it still smelled of you," he tosses the fan at her and she catches it by its handle.
emstrong
He can't be telling the truth, I haven't seen this fan in years...
/strong/em
"Liar."
She opens the fan in her hand and as expected, the smell of age reaches her nose, the smell was mixed with other more familiar scents that bring tears to her eyes.
"Who are you really, and what do you want with Rin."
Aya looks up only to be met with the steely end of Sesshomaru's sword, he stared down at with immense contempt and what looked like anger, even his eyes were covered on a faint red glare.
"I don't know what you mean," she says training her eyes on the sword, "I-."
"I am not a fool, everything about you is strange, from your scent, to the company you keep. And what's even stranger is the fact that you keep appearing around Rin." He pushes the sword closer but she doesn't back away. "Who are you?"
She starts to get to her feet but he kicks her back down, "I told you before...," she whispers. "My name is Aya Yuta, am an a Kai Inu Daiyoukai from the Southern Lands, and I am on a personal mission, that has nothing to do with your Rin."
He studies her for a moment, looking for any sign of dishonesty and once he finds none, he sheathes his sword, "you'd better be telling the truth."
He turns to take his seat at the trunk of the tree again, this time he closes his eyes.
strongem
What a bastard, so rude...and all of these questions... He's asked me about myself in such an invasive manner, it's only right that he returns the favor./em/strong
"Tell me Lord Sesshomaru, why is it that you travel?"
Silence fills the space between them, Sesshomaru opens his eyes when she claps her hands at him.
"Go away woman," he murmurs to her but she only claps her hands again.
"You bothered me with your annoying questions, now oblige me, tell me why you travel. Tell me who Rin is to you and tell me how you find me, why did you help me, w-."
"I travel for nothing other than work, Rin follows...she is my responsibility."
Aya narrows her at him, "but why, she's clearly not your child...is she perhaps the child of an ex-lover-."
A swift sneer from him takes her words away, she shrugs a shoulder, "then tell me-."
"I found her."
"But-."
"She had been killed by wolves, and so...I revived her."
He closes his eyes again but this time he turns away, however the Aya's interest had only be stoked, she crawls even closer, this time putting her hand to his arm. His eyes shoot open abruptly, his glare sends chills down her spine but she doesn't remove her hand.
"How...did you...do it," she whispers.
He suddenly raises a sword from his side, a different one from the one he usually used, he swings it toward Aya but the slice only results in a dull thud against her upper arm, he places sword back at his side.
"This sword does not cut, it heals."
"It heals," Aya crawls around him to stare at the sword more closely.
The sword radiated with a strong demonic aura, one that did not come from Sesshomaru. Aya raises her hand to touch it, but a sharp look from Sesshomaru stops her. He stands abruptly, sending her falling away from him as he turns to the path that lead back to Rin and Jaken and without a word he leaves her.
strongemThat sword, I need it.
But how, do I kill him...but that would be almost impossible and even if I did, I doubt I'd be able to make it too far in the aftermath...that's a battle that wouldn't have any true victor.
Do I steal it...no that would lead to a fight eventually. But then again, once they're back...I don't care what happens to me./em/strong
"Aya, what are you getting yourself into." She whispers to herself before starting for the clearing, once there she's met the harsh glare of Jaken and the squeals of Rin.
"Lady Ay, you've returned!"
She rushes over to takes Aya's hand, she turns to smile up at her as she leads her to a large tree. Once there, Rin drops to her knees at its base, she pushes her hands into the greenery that stood there to reveal a large hole at the bottom of the tree.
"Lord Sesshomaru said that it's going to rain...or maybe even snow, and that to keep myself from getting sick...I should stay in here with Jaken for the night."
Aya wrinkles her nose at the hole, to her it looked to be an abandoned nest, it was dark and damp and its smell was offensive but she too could feel the chill in the air, snow was coming and when it did, Rin would almost definitely get sick on the outside. From living with Lana and Mio, Aya learned of how easily humans could fall ill, especially the children.
"You should stay with us, Lady Ay!"
She smiles up at Aya as she starts for the inside of the tree but Jaken squeezes between them, he pushes his staff into Aya's face violently.
"This...woman...has got to be on here way, she has no place with us, we don't know her and nor do we care to!" He shouts up at Aya, she sneers at him when he looks past her, at Sesshomaru. "Right, Milord!"
"Why do you insist on being irritating," Sesshomaru mutters. "Your voice is grating to my ears."
Aya turns her head to look at him, he sat against a tree not too far from them with his eyes closed, she allows her gaze to fall on the sword at his side before turning back to Jaken with a small smile.
He gasps, "b-but Mi'lord!"
"Jaken, leave her."
The slow drain of color from Jaken's face makes Aya's smile grow even more, she glances back at Sesshomaru before turning to Rin.
"Rin," she starts, "I've just woken up, so I'm not so tired but you and Jaken should rest...I can take the cold."
"But Lady Ay...I wanted to talk some more." says Rin as she rushes into Aya's lap.
Aya raises a brow, "oh really...what about?"
Rin presses her index finger into her chin as she tries to think up an answer, but the sound of Aya tutting at her breaks her almost meditative thought process.
"Too late." Aya whispers pushing Rin into her spot, she turns to Jaken with a grin. "You next."
He protest but she still picks him up and pushes him into the hole.
"I will not be talked to like I am some child you flea-ridden wench, I am a great demon, powerful and wise-."
Aya shushes him before turning to join Sesshomaru where he sat, Rin giggles into her hand when Aya sits across from him.
"Do you think they like one another Master Jaken?"
Her question disgusts him into silence, he turns away from her muttering to himself, all of the things he'd do to Aya when she finally showed her true colors.
Rin sighs as she turns to face the inside wall of the hole, "I hope they do," she yawns.
Sesshomaru opens his eyes when Aya sets herself before him, "what do you want?"
She shrugs, she wasn't sure of what to say, she just wanted to keep things level until she could make off with the sword. However, she knew that just sitting before him and waiting for a miracle would do nothing, no smart demon would let their guard down so quickly- and Sesshomaru was no dummy. The thought of having to stick around for the sword annoys her, but what more could she do?
"I was wondering, would you mind...if I...accompanied you to the Western Lands." She blurts as soon as the thought enters her mind, she pauses for a moment to think about it. "That is where I am headed, and what better way to enter those lands than with the Lord?"
Sesshomaru eyes her almost suspiciously, she could feel his gaze as it moved up and down her body, searching for any tells of dishonesty. His piercing gaze made her feel vulnerable, and as a result she wraps her arms around her body, the sudden movement seems to set off alarms within him.
"You can, but be warned. Any suspicious behavior will get you killed." He whispers.
emstrongPfft./strong/em
"Don't worry Lord Sesshomaru, I shall be on my very best behavior." She crawls to the tree adjacent from him, "sweet dreams."
Pretty soon after closing her eyes, she falls asleep, unbeknownst to her, Sesshomaru still watched her.
emstrongNext Chapter: To the West
/strong/em/pre
