InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Case of Double Personality ❯ Explorations in the night: Pavillion of Love ( Chapter 12 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: j0yrid3

Chapter XII:

Explorations in the Night: Pavilion of Love

Kagome was hugging her knees quietly in front of the warm fire. Everyone else except her and Inuyasha was already asleep and she sighed for the tenth time, looking at the stars.

Inuyasha eyed her suspiciously. Why wasn't she sleeping? It was very unlike her to be quiet too and what the hell was up with all that sighing?

“I can't take it anymore! What the fuck is wrong with you?” he shouted, jumping to his feet to catch her attention.

“Inuyasha...you'll wake the others...” she whispered absently.

“Just tell me!” he said in a lower tone, sitting down again.

“Do you think she's alright?” The girl asked suddenly.

“That's what bothered you? Who cares?” Inuyasha replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Unfortunately, his words had an unwanted effect: another deep, long sigh.

“Kagome...” The hanyou spoke in a softer tone, putting an arm around her shoulders. “You always worry about others...”

He was completely disarmed in front of her sadness. Kikyou was like that too. Always concerned about others...devoting her life to the protection of everyone around her.

“Kagome, she's probably fine...” he gave in. “That idiot has a healing sword...and besides, he sticks to his word. No matter how much of an ass-hole he is, he sticks to his word.”

Kagome finally raised her eyes to meet his and gave him a warm smile. To him, that meant more than anything.

“You don't hate him, do you?” She asked softly, still looking into his eyes.

He seemed taken aback by her question and remained silent for a few moments.

”No.” he answered finally, lowering his gaze.

The girl smiled again and leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder. The hanyou's face began to bare a reddish tint, but he stood still and silent, worried that any move might ruin this perfect moment.

“I still wonder how she got through the well though...” she whispered absently.

Inuyasha suddenly jumped to his feet, causing Kagome to loose her support and fall to the ground.

“What did you say?” he spoke slowly, casting her a scrutinizing glance.

“What's wrong with you?” she asked angrily, getting up and shaking the dirt off her blouse. “I just said I don't know how she got through the well.”

“She's from your world?” Inuyasha asked in an ascending tone.

“Duh! Didn't you see her clothes?” Kagome answered, exasperated.

“What clothes? Those bloody rags that covered even less than your uniform?” he shot, annoyed that she had left out such an important piece of information.

“How...dare you imply...” she started, her voice trembling with anger.

“Yeah, yeah, save it! Why the fuck didn't you tell me that before?” he shouted as Miroku, Sango and Shippou raised sleepy heads and looked around to see what caused all the commotion.

“It didn't seem that important! She didn't have any Shikon shards anyway!” Kagome shouted, taking a step forward, toward the angry hanyou.

“Then how the fuck did she get through?” Inuyasha asked in a high tone, also taking a step forward.

“I don't know! How do you get through?” she shot back, glaring at him.

The hanyou opened his mouth to give her a witty reply, but closed it as he realized he had no idea how he got through.

“Well, I'm me.” he finally spoke, finding it to be a suitable reason. “And she's just a human, so how did she get through?”

Miroku, Sango and Shippou, now joined by Kirara, watched the argument with interest.

“It seems someone from Kagome's world got through the well.” Miroku gave his opinion.

“Without using Shikon shards.” Sango continued.

“I don't know, okay?” Kagome gave in, glaring angrily at the hanyou.

“Well you should've told me before Sesshoumaru got away with her, you idiot!” Inuyasha shouted, sustaining her gaze.

“Oh! It's that girl from earlier!” Shippou realized aloud.

“Yes, it would seem so...” Miroku said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“What difference would it have made?” Kagome tried a different approach.

“She would have told us how and why she got here!” Inuyasha continued restlessly.

“She was dying!” The girl shouted, exasperated.

“Well shit...And now we can't find her because the damn bastard's airborne...” The hanyou spoke, not being able to find a suitable reply to Kagome's last sentence.

“We'll track her down somehow...” Kagome said thoughtfully.

“Now do you mind if we go back to sleep?” Miroku asked, eyeing Inuyasha.

“Whatever...” The hanyou spoke, turning his back on them.

“I'm sorry for waking everyone up...” Kagome apologized, lowering her gaze.

“It's all right, Kagome-chan. It wasn't you.” Sango said, returning to the sleeping bag Kagome gave her.

“Keh.” Came Inuyasha's reply as Miroku and Sango lied down near the already asleep Shippou.

“Maybe I should have told him earlier...” Kagome thought sadly, sitting down next to the fire again.

“Kagome.” The hanyou said, putting a knee on the ground behind her. “You should get some rest too.”

“I'm...sorry I didn't tell you.” she said.

“Just...go to sleep.” he replied in a soft tone.

Kagome nodded in approval and got up, walking towards her own sleeping bag.

“Good night, Inuyasha.” she said before taking off to the world of dreams.

“Good night, Kagome.” he answered, his warm golden eyes resting upon her sleepy face.

ooooOOoooo

Kumiko opened sleepy eyes, while she experienced all of Midoriko's recent memories.

“What a bath tub...I wanted to sink in there...” she thought bitterly, admiring the image in her mind.

It was still dark outside and cold air came in through the balcony.

“I'm thirsty.” she realized, getting up and scanning the room for anything she could use.

It was a blessing that her wounds didn't hurt anymore and she reminded herself to thank Sesshoumaru. There was a plate of food on the table, but nothing to drink. That was a problem, she thought, making a move to exit the room.

“Is this such a good idea? I don't know my way around this place and besides...it's full of demons...” she said to herself, stopping in front of the door.

“But I'm really thirsty...must be the blood loss...” Kumiko thought, sliding the shoji and exiting the room.

The hallway wasn't nearly as dark and creepy as she had imagined a demon castle to be and she even managed to find Sesshoumaru's room. She could recognize it because of the huge white door with golden symbols on it.

“Good. Now if I just continue straight ahead I'll find the exit, and I know I heard a spring around here when I came in...” she followed her string of thoughts, walking further.

Now she could clearly see the front door and sighed gratefully as she walked out into the garden.

A wave of floral scent hit her in that moment and she concentrated to hear the running water again. It came from her right, so she took the appointed path, gazing around her with big eyes. Even at night, she could see the magnificent flowers and trees in this garden and they made her feel peaceful and happy.

The sound of the spring became louder and she started to walk faster until she suddenly bumped into something and fell down on her backside.

That “something” took out what seemed to be a blade and pointed it at her neck, speaking in a low voice:

”No one is allowed to walk in the gardens at night!”

The moon finally came out of the clouds to lighten her attacker's face and she distinguished the youkai from earlier, who had announced Jaken's arrival.

The demon seemed to realize who she was too and sheathed his sword, offering her a hand up:

“Please forgive me, my lady, I did not realize it was you.”

She accepted and gave him a trembling hand as he pulled her up easily.

“Are you all right?” he asked, casting her a worried glance.

“I'm fine...It's just...you scared me.” she admitted, lowering her eyes.

“I'm sorry, my lady.” he spoke, bowing his head.

“Oh, please don't call me that! My name's Kumiko.” The girl informed him.

“I am sorry, but I don't think I can call you anything other that my lady, seeing that you and Sesshoumaru-sama...” he started in an unsure tone.

“Oh, no...We're not...we're just allies.” she answered, blushing deeply.

“Allies?” The demon asked in a distrustful tone.

“Yeah...I'm stronger than I look!” she replied with a smile, thinking about Midoriko's powers.

He merely gave her a smile that could have meant anything and, as his purple eyes pierced through her, spoke:

“I am Menoumaru, Lord Sesshoumaru's right hand.”

“Oh, that's right...You're the higher level demon who's youki Midoriko felt in the bath tub...” Kumiko thought, analyzing his aura. She had just found a new ability and practiced it whenever she got the chance.

The demon in front of her had long, dark blue hair and, in the dark of the night, she couldn't tell if his garments were black or the same color as his hair. The eyes watching her were a mix of purple and lilac and, for some unknown reason, she found herself shivering underneath his gaze.

“Why is no one supposed to be in the gardens at night?” she spoke, pulling herself together.

“Lord Sesshoumaru often walks through the gardens at night. He does not like to be disturbed.” Menoumaru answered in a low voice.

“Then why are you here?” The girl asked, narrowing her eyes.

“To make sure no one wanders around.” he replied, eyeing the strange human girl curiously.

“So you do this every night?” Kumiko wanted to know. “Poor thing...” she thought, pitying him.

“Not really. I came out for a breath of fresh air.” he admitted with a smile.

“Oh...Well I came out because I'm thirsty so I'll just visit that spring over there now.” she informed him.

“You came all the way out here for a drink of water?” Menoumaru asked in an amused tone.

“Yeah...I don't know where the kitchen is...the castle's pretty big...” she said in her defense.

“Indeed, the castle can be confusing...even to those of us who have lived here for a long time.” he admitted thoughtfully as the girl quickly approached the running water.

She cupped her hands and captured the wonderful liquid, taking it to her mouth and drinking it heartily. After performing the operation a few more times, she got up and sighed happily.

“All better?” he asked in an even tone and again she couldn't tell if it was mocking or not.

Kumiko decided to act as if it was not and nodded, giving him a smile.

“Come. I will escort you back to your room.”

“If...it's okay with you, I'd rather stay here for a bit longer. The fresh air is good for me anyway.” she said, raising her eyes to meet his.

The demon regarded her for a few moments before answering politely:

“As you wish.”

“I wonder what kind of demon this one is...” Kumiko thought, eyeing him curiously.

Menoumaru interpreted her look wrong and asked in a low voice:

“Does my company disturb you?”

“Oh, no! Really, no...” she answered, embarrassed.

“Good. Because I wasn't planning on going anywhere.” he informed her, smiling.

Again, she didn't know what to make of his answers. She really couldn't figure this one out. Not that she had figured Sesshoumaru out...

“Demons...Who gets them?” she said to herself, deciding to let the matter drop.

With that in mind, she simply turned around and started to walk through the garden. She had only seen such magnificent plants in pictures and it was very well maintained. The moon's reflection shined in a pond just ahead and a pavilion lied in the middle of it.

She took the rocky path that crossed the pond and entered the pavilion, taking everything in with saucer-sized eyes.

It was rather small, compared to the rooms in Sesshoumaru's castle and it seemed designed to host no more than two people. There were pillows all over the floor and a very small, low table sat in the middle. A smell of incense surrounded the place and it awoke some feelings the girl had firmly suppressed since the last encounter with Sesshoumaru. There was something extremely arousing about that smell...

“Talk about bachelor pad...” she thought, sitting down on one of the pillows.

“Comfortable, isn't it?” she heard a voice coming from her right.

She turned quickly to see Menoumaru lying down besides her with an innocent look on his face.

“What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?” she snapped, glaring at him.

“I wouldn't dream of it.” he replied peacefully. “Besides, we're not supposed to be in here.”

“Why?”

“This is where Lord Sesshoumaru's father and his concubine spent most of their time.” he answered thoughtfully.

“His concubine? You mean, Sesshoumaru's mother?” she asked curiously.

Menoumaru's eyes snapped to hers and she sustained his gaze innocently.

“It is better that we do not talk about this. Also, please forget that I told you anything.” he said firmly.

“But...why?” she wanted to know, not understanding anything.

“If you do not know, I cannot tell you.” he excused himself, getting up. “We should go; you are wounded and need to rest.”

His last remark left no room for argument and she got up with a glum expression, allowing him to lead her back.

As they passed the magnificent plants and entered the castle, she couldn't help but die of curiosity.

“That means his father's concubine was not Sesshoumaru's mom? And why is he acting like it's such a big secret?” she thought. “That means he either cheated on her, or...she died...or...” Thousands of possibilities went through her mind as they walked further into the hallway.

Menoumaru noticed her silence and guessed what she was thinking.

“I made a mistake in telling her about that.” he scolded himself. “Still, there's something about this girl that makes one open up...”

When they reached her door, he opened it for her and gracefully stepped aside.

“Good night...Kumiko.” he said.

“Good night, Menoumaru...” She answered absently, thinking about what she had just learned.

The demon turned around and soon his figure disappeared in the giant hallway. Kumiko closed the door and threw herself on the bed, thus gaining a very painful warning from her wounds not to do that anymore.

“Damn...I almost forgot about them.” she thought bitterly, moving into a more comfortable position and pulling the blanket over her body.

After a few more minutes of pondering, she decided it was pointless to try and find an answer this way. Maybe she could ask Sesshoumaru...

“Or maybe not...” she thought, as a vision of a red-eyed, very angry daiyoukai appeared in her mind.

“It seems Menoumaru's my only hope. I'll get it out of him somehow.” she said to herself confidently.

With that finally out of her system, her thoughts strayed to Sesshoumaru. She could still feel his lips, if she remembered that moment. What was he doing anyway? The wound didn't stretch that far...Maybe it was just a precaution. Of course, what else would it be? It's not like an all-powerful taiyoukai, who also happened to look like a god, would be interested in her...

What was it with these youkai anyway? Were they all good looking? Menoumaru wasn't too bad either, she thought, smiling at the thought of him in modern Japan with school girls drooling all over him.

“So I could consider myself lucky, right? After all, I'm still alive, I'm staying in a castle and I'm surrounded by gorgeous demons...” she thought, closing her eyes and letting sleep claim her as the smile lingered on her face.

A/N:

I took forever to update...I'm apologize to all of you for the long wait...I finished all my exams and hopefully from now on I'll update a lot faster!

About the fact that this chapter seems more like a filler...some of the information in it may play a crucial part in the plot...so don't take it so lightly :)

P.S: I know the chapter title made you all expect a lot more, but there will be no lemons...yet ;)