A Demon of a Woman /Sesshomaru Calls\*
Chapter 3
Sesshomaru's POV
"Sesshomaru"
I had glanced over at the girl…Corrine…who had called out to me. I couldn't help but watch her, if just for a second.
'What is it about her-…wait…her hand?!'
I watched on and Corrine just eyed me back, not realizing that the burned flesh around her neck had healed. This discovery was followed by a green aura that rippled from her neck and down her arm. The final amazement was when her hand had a ghastly green flow erupt from her fingertips. Dripping with the poison Sesshomaru recognized too well, corroding the ground underneath her hand.
'How could she-did she…she absorbed my-'
"Wind scar!"
Sesshomaru cursed at himself, disappointed at how he had allowed his guard to drop. It was only for a fleeting moment, but long enough for Inuyasha to land a deadly blow.
It was easy for anyone to see that Sesshomaru had been caught off guard, but he was still swift enough to attempt dodging it…or so it looked to everyone watching him. In a leap it looked as though he distanced himself a mile away.
I couldn't help but do a double take, seeing what looked like a speck in the sky falling into the tree line. I know I had leaped distances myself but still- 'How could he-' I pondered, trying to wrap my brain around how he could have crossed such distances in mere seconds.
I turned towards the group of people before me. The one who had yelled 'wind scar' stood hunched over, his shoulders heaving as he took a few deep breaths, then turned around.
"First things first," He turned his golden gaze to me, "Why was Sesshomaru after you, woman?" He more so demanded than asked as I stared down the blade of his sword stuck in my face.
"Why the hell should I know?! All I know is that after coming out of that freakish time wrapped well, I got thrown into a tree by a lunatic who tried to kill me! Can you figure it out now that you have the same information as I do!" I yelled at him, quite pissed that he dared to threaten me with that sword. He just saved me, which means he clearly doesn't mean the threat, so what's his deal with yelling at me when he could have just asked? Also, I might not have been in the mood after this whole ordeal…that just might have played a part in yelling at him.
In almost unison, the three humans gasped and shuffled closer to that stupid arrogant one.
"D-Did she say 'the well?'" A man holding a weird staff questioned, acting as if turning his head and holding his hand out to cover his mouth would silence his words from my ears.
But lucky for me, I have fantastic hearing. "'That freakish time warped well' to be exact!" I hollered to them.
The humans jumped when I shouted, glanced at me, then shuffled a few feet farther away. As if that would help. "She does wear weird clothes like Kagome" That squeaky voice came back, poking his head around the side of my arm and looking back and forth between my dress and boots.
"So, she's from the future, too?" A woman in black and pink tight clothes also questioned.
"But she's just a human" The sword wielder named 'Inuyasha' wiggled its nose and scrunched its face, "How the hell could a pathetic human come through?" He remarked.
"Hey! I resent that!" The girl I assumed to be 'Kagome', based on her 'weird clothes', yelled at Inuyasha. For a moment the fierce man who had fought Sesshomaru showed a hint of fear, like he was scared of the small woman next to him.
"YOU KNOW I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE! THIS 'PATHETIC HUMAN' ISN'T DEAF NOR INSENSITIVE TO YOUR OFFENSIVENESS!" I hollered with great aggravation. My hand twitched at the hem on my dress for the gun in my boot.
"Do you know Kagome?" The small squeaky one piped in again, ignoring my outburst and perching on my chest with his face in mine.
I just stared at him dumbfounded for a second at his actions, then swiftly clonked it a good one to the head. It rolled off, landing on the new bump on his head.
I lifted myself back off the ground and walked up to the group, stopping in front of the one non-human who had moved his sword to the side. With my hands clasped in front of my face, I gave short bow, then looked back up at him. "Although, I still owe you my thanks for saving me. I owe you my life." I said calmly, then began to walk off. In what direction or where, I wasn't sure of.
"Wait!" Inuyasha howled after me. "Where do you think you're going?!"
I just kept walking, not responding to his yelling.
"You owe me your life, don't you?!" He threw my words back at me.
'Shit…why must I have a soul?'
I turned promptly on my heel and did a quick jump back. When I landed I found him on the ground sniffing at my heels like a…like a dog? "What are you doing?" I asked in a freaked-out tone and brow raised in wonder.
"What are you?" He prompted, swiftly jumping up and in my face in less than a second, a questioning eye staring me down.
"Owe you my life or not, you think I will be comfortable talking about things that don't concern strangers? Especially ones as offensive as you?" I stated, disregarding his question. 'Why does everyone keep asking that? First Sesshomaru and now this twerp?'
Behind him, the others scuffled around pretending to smile innocently and rubbed the back of their heads nervously. In response, Inuyasha just growled and jumped back to the others in one leap while jabbing a finger in my direction.
The two girls approached first, excitedly grabbing my hands and shaking them. "I'm Sango," The one with the tight ponytail and black and pink outfit introduced. The giant feline I had seen before was now a miniscule kitten perched upon her shoulder like a parrot. "-and this is Kirara"** Kirara purred in response as if it was her 'hello'.
"I'm Kagome" The younger girl, in what I considered normal clothes, introduced.
"And I'm- "
"If you wish for your had to stay attached to your body for the rest of your life, you will do well to keep it to yourself." I growled, watching the man with black hair creep away with a nervous sweat drop on his rosy cheeks.
"Heh heh…I'm Miroku!" He introduced himself nervously with fake enthusiasm to throw me off.
"Miroku?" I said breathlessly, "Really?!" I gasped with fake astonishment that he obviously missed as the sweat drop disappeared. "Well, if you're ever in the mood to cut your life span in half, then you're welcome to try that again." I finished, my tone completely different; more stiff and dangerous, causing him to shuffle away with a new sweat drop.
"Inuyasha" Was all the dog guy said, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to me.
"And I'm Shippo!" The small squeaky one finally revealed.
"Corrine." I nodded, sitting down like Inuyasha, but with my legs stretched out in front of me to keep the dress hem down low.
"Now tell us." Inuyasha demanded, sounding like he was finished with some game we had been playing.
"You really don't beat around the bush, do you?" I responded dryly.
Inuyasha just acted as If he didn't hear my remark and just replied with, "Stop stalling."
"I'm human" I replied simply.
"That's what I thought…" Miroku murmured as he rubbed his chin in thought, "None of us sense a demon aura, and Inuyasha can't smell anything that would suggest otherwise." He continued, just listing the facts off aloud.
"But that doesn't explain how she was about to come through the well. There has to be something more…" Inuyasha grumbled, not satisfied with my answer or Miroku's conclusion.
"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing in the shrine?" Kagome spoke up.
Instantly all eyes were on me, realizing it probably would have been the smarter way to start the interrogation.
'How do I answer? Clearly, they may be capable of understanding me more than anyone else could before…but more than half of them are still humans…and to top it off, the man they were fighting had markings just like me. What if they are different kinds of whatever it is we creatures are…and maybe whatever my kind is isn't accepted at all. At least not to this group. I could be their enemy…'
I had to quickly think of something to answer. "I was taking a walk, and as I passed by the shrine, a strong force of wind started up nearly knocking me off my feet. After that, I guess you could use the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat', and I couldn't help myself but to follow the direction it came from. That's what let me up the stairs and into the shrine where anther wind came along, and I was knocked over into the well." I lied.
"Hmph. Only a normal human would go off rambling like that." Inuyasha muttered, to which he received an elbow in the side from Kagome.
"Are you trying to test my patience today?" She growled at him with her fist clenched and eye twitching.
"But there has to be something that allowed you to go through…" Miroku pondered, still as hung up as Inuyasha on the matter.
"I think we should see Kaede. Maybe she can shed some light on this once she talks to Corrine." Sango piped in.
They all nodded their heads with 'hmmms' of agreement and gathered their weapons to head off to see 'Kaede'. I hadn't even agreed, but they stopped and turned to me, waiting for me to get up and follow along.
'I might as well not even be here' I grumbled internally to myself.
We were all gathered around in the small hut that was Kaede's. Shippo seemed to stick to me like glue as we sat around an equally small fire.
'Seriously, where am I?' I wondered as I gazed around the hut. Walls of wood and clay with stones on the roof to keep it from flying off with a strong breeze. The floor consisting of hardened clay with straw mats atop, as if it was the equivalent of a rug warming up a cool hardwood floor. In the center of the room was a cut away from the clay, revealing a pit of fresh earth that the fire burned in. 'Did I step into a reenactment camp?'
"What do you mean, 'you don't understand', you old hag?!" Inuyasha hollered at the old woman.
His loud and crude response to the woman startled me back to the present. 'But could I really call it the present?'
I looked over to the elderly woman in shock, wondering if she would take such talk from him. She shot him a chilling death glare in response, but didn't need any further retorts of her own as Kagome shouted 'Sit boy!' with a an annoyed 'hmph' for good measure.
Inuyasha's body slammed into the floor and I must say, I couldn't stop my outright laughter at the sight. "Haven't you ever heard respect your elders?" Kagome chastised, "She's helping as best she can."
"Elders! I'm older than she is! I'm the elder! She should be respecting me!" Inuyasha argued as he wagged his fist in Kaede's direction. Kagome just turned her head away from him, pretending she didn't hear him.
"Must I repeat it to ye again? For a mutt, ye sure are hard of hearing" Kaede commented, finally getting in her retort. She kept her face straight, but it wasn't hard to see the smugness radiating from her; it was almost comical. "Corrine," She turned to me for what could have been the millionth time that day, "Are ye of demonic power?" Kaede implored.
Tired of repeating myself, I just gave a slight nod and reverted my attention back to Shippo. He was like a little child…well is…and I couldn't help but smile at the look of heaven on his face. I used what nails I had to rake them through his hair, massing his head. He had looked so much like an animal in my arms that I could help but to start petting him unconsciously when we first arrived; and this is where it had managed to lead to.
'I've finally found a world where I could be…normal. A world where I could possibly be myself without fear, and yet I'm still filled with it. It's clawing down my throat and plunging into my stomach, burrowing itself a home where it can grow…will I ever find a place I could truly call home?
*I do not own the Inuyasha manga or TV series. I do not have any affiliation with the writer of this series. This book is a fanfiction and I do not own any of the characters that are from the Inuyasha series. The only character that is mine is the original character Corrine Matsumoto
**Character name-Spelt 'Kirara', pronounced 'Kee-la la'