InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Dance To Remember ❯ A Little Girl Named Nothing ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer - Wishes aren't coming true here…because I still don't own Inuyasha. However, the poem below is MINE-and so help me god, if anyone tries to copyright it like someone else that I know, so help me there will be hell like thou hast' never known! That's all! Hehe!

 

Translations - Kenatsu : Translated as Sword Pressure, it is Tôkijin's ability to cut and harm enemies without physical contact.

Dokkassô - (Poison Flower Claws): An attack where Sesshomaru's claws release deadly acidic poison which can melt flesh

Neko - Cat

 

Notes - Someone asked what Kagome did when she snapped her fingers? The answer is that she stopped Sesshomaru from burning up; basically she cheated during the fight and was able at any time to stop the things happening to him. Ah, I love it. Also, sorry for the obnoxiously long wait. I emailed this chapter and chapter 7 of ADCT to my betas more then a MONTH ago and they never responded so I'm just going to post them. So- for any of you who read ADCT, chapter 7 will be up within the hour! Thanks a bunch!

 

 

 

Chapter 7: A Little Girl Named Nothing

 

I need hope, because desperation hasn't worked for me yet

I need love, not some flowers and a short nap to send me off

Can't you lock away your hate?

Stop watching me at every turn?

Don't abhor me the way you do!

Stop hurting what was never yours to hurt…

And don't say you don't when you knowingly grab my heart and squeeze

Forcing me to scream in pain.

Your actions themselves at every second, fill my skin with your poison-

Dehydrating every pore of bliss I ever had before I knew you

I feel the pain as I lay here from your cold and unjust fingers

Until all I know is this sorrow…this lonely greed of wanting something more.

And suddenly it seems that no matter how small I am,

I stick out...and you hate that so you just beat me down.

You hate it-hate it all about me!

Until you make me break! Make me burn! Make me fall…

From heaven because you never let me escape long enough to get there.

You never let me go from this prison within your hell.

And my life now is centered on one thing-

Even as you tighten the emotional chains around me.

And that is if my tears can ever stop bleeding from my eyes.

Because my mouth and ears did long ago when you took them from me.

You took my voice and understanding.

 

~alakeshadow (Poem “Abused Love” 8/10/06)

 

 

He found her outside the castle in one of the pastures used for grazing the horses.

 

She was laying on her back, her arms held limply at her sides as she stared up at the perfect blue sky, her hair around her head in a hallow of black, acting as calmly as if she was just a guest visiting for the moment.

 

It thoroughly infuriated him to no end.

 

Silently striding up to her, he stopped at the base of her feet to stare down at her angrily. His amber eyes were cold, his body was tense, as he waiting for her to run so that he could knock her down and do whatever he needed to do to cripple her…to make her stop scurrying away from him, her master.

 

She glanced at him as he did so since his tall figure was blocking out the sun.

 

“Can you please move, my lord?”

 

His gaze darkened at her calm attitude towards him. For a moment she expected him to kick her or at least verbally berate her but to her surprise he did move. Walking around the side of her, he stood next to her head and glared coldly down at her figure, his hands held calmly at his sides, composedly controlled his anger.

 

“You have overstepped yourself with this.” He growled softly, his eyes flashing red momentarily to show how he was not impressed.

 

She sighed deeply, reaching behind her to whip her hair onto the grass beside her head.

 

“I did nothing to warrant such harassment.” She said dismissively, settled back more comfortably and closing her eyes. Fury filled him at her carefree attitude making his jaw tighten painfully.

 

“Look at me. Now.” He hissed as one of his fists clenched.

 

She gave small sound of annoyance and opened her eyes again, waiting for the dam to crack.

 

“I could kill you.” He growled softly, his right foot coming up to lower onto her neck.

 

Calmly, her eyes scanned from his foot's dangerously resting place, to his knee, up to his face, and then derailed him entirely as she threw her head back to the best of her ability and laughed.

 

He stared at her his mouth so tightly closed he was sure he might break off one of his teeth. Was she deliberately mocking him? What was this woman? Surely she wasn't human because she acted more like one of the *Hisa Me that resides in hell!

 

But as he listened, he suddenly realized that he had never heard her laugh like that. Maybe once, at a party of with her mother, but it hadn't seemed like this. Despite his growing dislike for her and everything she touched, the sound of her laughter was actually a quite pleasant sound…but no, it was a distraction. She was deliberately trying to throw him off balance…and he would not let her succeed!

 

“Stop that clamor now. I do not like that sound.” He said seethingly.

 

She laughed a few seconds more, her straight white teeth flashing in the sunlight, her eyes opening to look at him again after a moment.

 

“No.” She whispered calmly, her hand fluttering up to rest on the side of his leg, and sliding deftly between the tie at his ankle and moving up, her fingers gliding teasingly across the front of his calve and then dipping behind to gently grasp the back of his knee.

 

“You can not kill me.” She said softly, her voice accompanied by one of the horse's screaming at another of its companions.

 

“You think this, do you?” He asked dangerously, seeing her shrug unworriedly.

 

What was she doing? Both of them were wondering it and yet neither knew. She was tempting her fate - asking for him to end her life, and yet at that moment she had never been more sure of anything, that he would not kill her.

 

But he could hurt her.

 

As if reading her thoughts, he put pressure onto her neck, making her mouth open slightly in surprise, but her eyes staid as calm as they had been the entire time. Defiantly, she dug her long nails into his skin, squeezed his knee painfully, trying to see if he would loose his balance. Sesshomaru snarled at her.

 

He was on top of her in a minute both of his knees digging into the dirt beside her thighs. His arms were all of a foot away from each side of her head, his head hovering above her enough for them to look into each other eyes. Their gazes locked, gold on greenish brown, and she gave him a cheeky smile.

 

“Is this all you think about?” She challenged him softly as her hands seductively tickled his sides.

 

“A dog to the end, right Sesshomaru?” She asked a scornful note in his name.

 

His eyes widened at the contact and she knew he felt a small thrill pass through him. His eyes narrowed dangerously at her actions realizing that she was trying to make a fool out of him. She was distracting his mind from the issue at hand.

 

“How dare you challenge me?” He asked bestially, his teeth bearing at her. She ignored him, calmly continuing to stare up into his eyes. Her hands stilled and then dropped to her sides and he snarled at her in his rising anger, lifting up on arm and smashing it down beside her head to leave a small crater in the ground. It was a clear threat and yet she ignored it.

 

She saw green acid out of the corner of her eye, seeping into the ground as it leaked from his claws.

 

“Damn you…answer me!”

 

“No.” The word was firm, and he snarled again, his head ducking down so that he could bury his face into the corner of her neck where two large purple scars stood out vividly against her white skin.

 

“You think you have a chance of besting me…but you don't.” He growled against her skin. One of his hands grabbed the side of her face, twisting it to the side to completely bare her neck to him. A small shiver of something went through her and he could feel her disgust.

 

“These will never heal.” He said with a soft growl as he mockingly bit into the exact place that he had on their wedding night. Growling herself, she forcefully freed her face of his hand and glared at him from the corner of her eye.

 

“Monster.” She spat, rage bubbled up inside of him until he felt ready to explode at any given moment. Forcing himself into control, he drew back a little and looked down at the marks.

 

“You may not except yourself as my wife but these scars will always be there. They will remind you of who you are.” To his surprise, she leaned forward, getting up onto her elbows. He drew back, sitting on his knees, his body still straddling hers.

 

“Your right…they will.” She said softly, her eyes growing hard in their complete and utter calmness. His own eyes flashed to mirror hers and she forcefully pushed her hands against his chest to get him off of her.

 

“They will remind me of what you did. Forever explaining to me why I hate you.” She spat hatefully at him.

 

“I am no monster!” He snarled, slamming his fist into the ground again, the acid spraying into the soft green grass. She watched it indifferently her eyes turning back to look at him when he was done.

 

“You will always will one to me.” She said, feeling her powers beginning to well up inside of her.

 

“You will submit to me!” She stated menacingly, wanting her to run, wanting her to become afraid of him and just RUN damn her! But she wouldn't. She never did. She stood up strong and spit in his face every single damn time!

 

“I will never submit. Especially to you.” She spat again, her hand closing over the marks on her neck. She had tried to heal them so many times…but they were more potent then any curse she had ever been put under…any training she had ever had. They were unmovable, and like she had said, they would serve as a reminder forever.

 

“How dare you call me that? I have given you everything you have wanted-”

 

“I call you a monster because what else is there to call someone such as you? You are a monster who has raped, abused, and kicked me around like some target on a training field!”

 

She paused, her voice softening, losing its anger.

 

“You have yet to ask me even what my middle name is.”

 

He exploded, his aura swallowing up her own, and she felt a brief stab of fear for an instant before she pushed it back down.

 

“I am your master! I don't need or care for things like that!” He sneered, his hair falling over his shoulder.

 

“You're my jailer Sesshomaru.” She said quietly, dismissively looking away from him to look out over the grass.

 

“You will look at me.” He hissed, forcefully twisting her neck so that she did as he wanted.

 

Unwillingly, she found herself cringing because he had hurt her.

 

“I refuse to put up with this disobedience-”

 

“The only thing I have done is not back down to you.” She said, smiling bitterly at him.

 

“I have refused to let you break my spirit…and you act as if I have wronged you because of it.”

 

“You have!” He nearly howled, his facials markings sticking out even more then normal. She turned her head away from him again.

 

“Have I? I wronged you when we fought and I agreed to a rematch. I wronged you when I laid out a peace treaty between us-”

 

He cut her off, his hands going around her neck and squeezing enough to force her into quietness.

 

“You have done those things because you are weak. Weak and foolish that something could come out from those pathetic tries!” He hissed dangerously. She closed her eyes and sighed, his hold increasing in pressure, but she didn't make a sound.

 

“If you do not break I will kill you.” He said solemnly, his eyes flinty. Her own eyes opened as she looked into his, and she caught him off guard when she raised one hand and cupped the side of his face.

 

“I will let no one kill me, least of all an abomination like you.” She whispered softly. His eyes narrowed but he never got the chance to speak as her hand erupted in purification powers and slammed into his face. He yowled softly, throwing himself away from her to dodge her next attack. It never came. When he was finally able to clear the flames from his eyes, he saw her sitting up, her body twisted sideways as she balanced herself on her hands. Her beautiful raven hair flowed out around her shoulders and down he sides, encasing her in its dark hold.

 

Murder came into his eyes, his hand readying his poison whip, but then suddenly there was a shout and he looked over to see a guard running towards him, stopping in front of them both, and falling to his knees to honor them.

 

“Speak.” Sesshomaru said angrily, glancing sharply at his still silent wife.

 

“A mixed troupe of demons and humans…possibly bandits, has attacked a village a few miles outside of the castle. Everything's in flames and there are many casualties already!” The guard said as he stood, keeping his eyes to the ground as he waited for orders from his lord.

 

“Go and save them.” Kagome said softly from her spot on the ground. Sesshomaru's head snapped into her direction with a dangerous growl but she only shook her head at him.

 

“It is what your duty is as their leader.” She said as she rose, bowing respectfully to him, and walked past him to make her way back to the castle. Because the guard was there, he was unable to attack or argue with her as it would make him lose face, and grudgingly, he turned, levitating into the air on his dust cloud and speeding off towards where he could faintly see smoke and fire. Damn it…if he hadn't been arguing with her he would have smelt the danger sooner. Now it was her fault so may people had already died.

 

He would continue their discussion when he got home.

 

*****

 

`Thank every kami for that guard.' She thought for probably the one hundredth time as she sat in their room, visibly shaking in her effort to calm herself down. She wanted to collapse into tears and curl into a little ball but she wouldn't allow herself to. Now was no time to relax. He would be back…and when he got back she severely doubted he would have forgotten about their little encounter.

 

She sighed and collapsed backwards onto her sleeping pallet. Would he…violate her like he had last time? It seemed like that was what it had been anyway, even if he did not actually touch her the whole way. She sighed again, closing her eyes as she thought.

 

This whole marriage was from hell.

 

“He thinks he can win…” She whispered to the empty room, glancing over at the open doors leading to the balcony. As she did, a cool breeze blew in and ruffled her hair. She smiled despite herself as it did so, and sat up briefly before standing and walking out onto the stone structure.

 

Looking out, her hands rested lightly on the banister as she watched the guards below hurry about on their ways. Like tiny insects, they scuttled back and forth, mounting horses or patrolling. Some were even sparing. She spotted the blonde hair of one guard and recognized him from someplace but couldn't think of where. Leaning forward, she watched him and another guard spar with one another, their lithe bodies blocking and attacking one another fluidly.

 

It was amazing to watch them…like a talented dance that no one except they themselves knew. At times it was choppy…unrefined and jerky. But at other times it was perfect, their swords and arms moving graceful as their legs moved them, dodged them, lifted them, until they were all but flying. Was this somehow real? This whole idea of life which was just like those men fighting down there? Sweet at one moment and bitter the next? One wrong move…a slip up, a trip…and you were finished. Extinguished from life and everything it had? Was that how it was for her and she just hadn't realized it yet?

 

No…no it couldn't be.

 

She watched as the blonde soldier shouted something, twisting around and high kicking their opponent; their foot landing squarely against the other guards jaw. The opposing guard fell backwards, his sword falling from his hand into the dust. In an instant, the winner had their own sword at their throat, signaling their death. A pause was seen as both acknowledged their positions as victor and loser, and then they backed away from one another and two different guards took their place. These new opponents used Bo Staff's instead of swords and she remembered how Sesshomaru had knocked her around before she had gotten the upper hand.

 

`Why haven't I run away?' She thought as she watched one, a smaller demon with fiery red hair lunge at the other who immediately took the defensive.

 

`What will I have lost besides my pride and my honor?' She turned away from the sparring pair and walked back into the bedroom.

 

“I have nothing here except despair and sadness.” She said with a sigh as she quietly opened the sliding door and stepped outside. Not even bothering to close it, she slowly walked down the hallway, her head raised as she took her first real look at the castle around her. There were portraits everywhere…some of her husband, but the majority were of his ancestors. Hard-faced demons who glared down at her with a venom perhaps more potent then Sesshomaru's. For the first time, she found herself wondering what he had had for a childhood growing up. Had he perhaps even had one?

 

`Is there a story behind his cruel nature?' She thought as she stopped before a gigantic painting that was more then four times as wide as herself, and nearly twice her height.

 

`Inu taisho…'She thought as she craned her neck up to stare into the hard face of Sesshomaru's father. She had never known him…her husband's parents. But she had heard much about them…especially his father.

 

“Is it so worthwhile to rule a kingdom with sheer brutality?” She asked the painting quietly as if expecting a reply. It remained silent to her question, and she bowed her head to look down at her feet, her hands clenching.

 

“Is it so fair to rule a woman by force?” She asked again as she looked up, tears sparkling in her brown eyes. Once again the painting remained cold and distant.

 

Like Sesshomaru.

 

“Why?” She asked, the tears dripping from her eyes as she slowly fell to her knees, her palms reaching up as if pleading for him to help her up. He did not, and she allowed a small sob, barely detectable in the empty hallway.

 

“WHY?” Her pale white hands gently touched the wall below the painting and she craned her head up once more to try and find the eyes of her husbands maker.

 

“I did not ask for your son…I asked for nothing in this world except to be with my horses…” She said quietly as her hands slid up the wooden frame to play across it. She bowed her head once again, her hands falling to the ground as her forehead touched the ground, her body curling in on itself.

 

“Why…?”

 

*****

 

`Fools…thinking that they could cross my territory.' Sesshomaru thought angrily, the rage he felt towards his disobedient wife still flowing hotly through him. How dare she? How dare she defy him at every turn?! Every moment he was beginning to think only about how she would only spit on his orders! How she would always fight…how she would not break no matter what he did. Easily, he dispatched of the human men who rushed at him as soon as he set foot in the village. The wails of their wounds lingering in the air as his whip of light cut them to pieces.

 

Blood splattered everywhere, but he nimbly avoided the spray, his mind still woring furiously.

 

And then - at completely irrelevant times, she would do something to appease him. And just throw him right off track! And how dare she do that? How DARE she?! No one derailed him! And yet every time he saw her it was either hell or limbo. There was no heaven concerning that woman. She was set in her hatred and wasn't letting it go. And then there was that. She hated `him'? Well by god, no woman he had ever known had said such a thing to him! Ever! He was Sesshomaru after all. The best of the best, the most powerful of all four cardinal lords. And that didn't seem to impress her one bit. She would rather marry someone like Hukoi, one of his guards, or better yet Aito, his stable manager! How dare the little slip of a woman - a priestess - not want him? Want the weakest of the weak, and not a powerful leader like him? The whole situation was driving him to a level he had never been in before, and he didn't like it. He didn't like `it', and he didn't like `her'. But then that worked out fine because she didn't like him either. The woman was surely begging for death! Death, or a life of foolishness!

 

He was rushed at by six demons at once but he simply pulled Tokijin from his side and used its Kenatsu attack to destroy them. In seconds they were simply a pile of ash.

 

He sneered balefully at where they had once been and turned, neatly blocking a sneak attack by another bandit. They ended up with a face full of his Dokkassō. They howled with pain and fell backwards, his corrosive poison already sinking into the bone of his attackers face. Ignoring him coldly, Sesshomaru turned, calmly sheathing Tokijin as he began to walk through the blazing village.

 

All around him, huts and even villagers were on fire. Dogs were barking as they were either trapped inside their homes or free to chase after their masters. All around him were dead bodies, blood staining the dusty ground a dark red. As he went, he killed more of the vermin who had dared come on to his property but as he did so, he suddeny felt an aura much stronger then the combined human demon forces around him.

 

Looking up slowly, he saw a neko demon riding a winged horse and gave it an uninterested stare, continuing to walk on. The neko demon hissed as his dismissal and dove down, his sword held high in one black paw as he came straight towards him. Sesshomaru, still as disinterested as before, waited until the last moment possible and then easily teleported himself to the right. The winged horse gave a snort of surprise and careened upwards to avoid hitting the ground, the demon rider on its back, kicking it roughly in the sides. They soared up into the air, carefully searching the ground for their prey. Then suddenly he was right in front of them, and his hand shot forward to grab the offending demons neck. The neko hissed at him, clawing at his hand but he ignored it and squeezed harder until its air was nearly cut off.

 

“Who are you? And why are you here?” He asked dangerously, his eyes coldly staring into the green eyes of the demon rider. The demon struggled more, trying to urge his winged horse forwards but Sesshomaru with his other hand grabbed the reins, the hand holding the demon beginning to turn green.

 

“I will not ask again.” He said, one long claw stabbing into the demons neck. The cat's eyes widened but wasn't able to cry out at his lack of oxygen. It hissed at him instead and spat in his face.

 

“Long…live…the Age Of…One.” It said, eyes rolling into the back of its head as Sesshomaru released his toxic poison into the demons neck and watched as it took it right off. The animal beneath him snorted, trying to rear as its master's body fell to the side and landed in a headless heap on the ground, a green glow still coming from its neck.

 

Glaring coldly down at it, he looked down to the reins he held in his hand, suddenly taking in how large the animal was. It could easily have fit three people on its back, and it was powerful built, thick and yet graceful and fast. His hands tightened on them and began lowering himself to the ground, the winged horse - now his - in tow. The animal snorted at the sudden change of command and Sesshomaru stopped, his eyes flashing red as he released a small amount of his powerful ki. The horse pawed the ground, eyes challenging his, its powerful wings coming out and flapping the air. He thought it was towards him at first, but then the horse took a step forward, its head reaching out to blow air through its nostrils at something.

 

Turning, he stilled at the sight of the small form of a little girl cradling the bodies of a charred man and woman. He lifted his nose at the sight, preparing to mount on top of his new steed, but then an idea came to him and he stilled. He had no patience left with his wife…she disobeyed him at every turn, crossed his path at every intersection and fork…but how much longer would she if he had some leverage against her? He turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. She was still, the only thing to show she was even still alive being the nearly undetectable heaving of her sides as she cried silently.

 

`She is too kind to allow an innocent to be punished for her own wrong doings.' He thought as he stepped forward, reins still in hand. The stallion gave a brief show of resistance but then gave in at a deadly look from Sesshomaru. He walked quietly to the girl, standing tall over her as he looked around. Almost all of the villagers were dead…the ones who were alive either would not last long or were in no condition to take care of anyone else besides themselves. His men would be there in moments to help them and clean up this mess.

 

He looked back down at her, watching as her face silently turned to look up at him. He was surprised when no tears were in her eyes.

 

“Come with me if you want a life.” He said monotonously. The girl looked away from him to stare at her parents, her small hands gently sliding over what must have been her mothers, long hair. She was silent, her head bowed as she did the same with her father, her small body only a forth as big as him. Sesshomaru gave a warning growl and turned, suddenly not in the mood to watch her sadness. It made him feel strange inside…it seemed…familiar. The winged stallion snorted at him once again as he began to walk back to the end of the village, his long footsteps gaining ground quickly. He did not feel like forcing a child to his home. There were other ways to deal with his wife.

 

Suddenly, the stallion stopped, and barely curious, he listened as he heard the sound of small feet hurrying after him. Without turning, he waited for her to catch up. She stopped by his side, her head still bowed as her black hair moved back and forth across her back. He glanced down at her quickly but then started forward once more, and she continued to follow, her small form dwarfed by himself and the winged horse.

 

“What is your name?” He asked without looking around at her as they left the village and made their way to the castle. She did not answer and he glanced down at her to see her shaking her head.

 

“Your name is `Nothing'?”

 

To his surprise, she nodded, her hand reaching up hesitantly to touch the magnificent horse. It looked down at her, its head cocking to the side as it tried to make out what exactly it was that she was. Her eyes staid focused on the ground, even as she felt the warm flesh of the animal. Then she shyly looked up at it and it shook its head, pawing the ground menacingly. Sesshomaru was about to punish the stallion until he saw `Nothing” give a hesitant smile. Frowning inwardly at allowing the action, he continued forward, his new steed and a little girl named Nothing, in tow.