InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Lifetime Loving You Part 1; Seasons in Owari ❯ Communication ( Chapter 23 )

Chapter 23; Communication

(Inu-taisho's POV)

I didn't understand her. I had become curious about the woman who had nursed me since the injuries I suffered fighting Ryuukossei. One thing I did know was that the chain around my neck that bound me to the nut tree was subduing my power and that I couldn't attack her.

When I curled up to her after my meal, I found a slight trust in her and could sense no harm would come to me. I had never been captured by humans before, nor had I found comfort in their presence. Yet, something about this woman's scent made my head spin. It relaxed me, and when I curled up in her lap I found myself at ease in a woman's touch. She was comforting, and I felt warm as I fell asleep in her touch as her fingered combed through my mane.

She was an odd creature. Human in every way, but strange because of the power I could sense in her blood. She had the power of spirituality and kindness, like a priestess would have. Yet, she dressed as though she were royalty.

I wanted to know more, I wanted to ask her questions, but found one problem. This woman spoke a language I did not understand.

All my life, my pack has spoken the old dog demon tongue that has been passed down from my fathers. We have spoken no other tongue, because they believed in the old ways. Sashimi was an exception, however. She came from a pack that knew the human tongue in this land, but I refused to have her speak it in my pack. Tough secretly I knew she was teaching it to my son.

Now, I had the urge to know the language of humans as well so I could communicate with this mortal woman. Only question was how I was going to approach her. I hadn't spoken a word to anyone since Sashimi's death. Would I scare her if I began talking suddenly?

I thought hard for a moment as I sat at the base of the tree that morning, in the clean robes that she had given me that morning. A white summer kimono kept me cool that warm day, with my repaired black hakama. I put on my thick hide boots and rolled tightened the strings around my ankles. It felt good to be in old clothing again.

I took homage in the tree and waited for the second meal of the day as I watched the tiny shrine house from my perch. Then, I found the large woman that cared for the one who fed me and a few of her servants bring out a rather large wooden basin and fill it with steaming water. A moment later, the mortal woman appeared in a rush when her caretaker called for her. Her hair was tide into a large bun and a white robe was wrapped around her body.

As her care taker conversed with her, I admired the curve in her neck and jaw. A moment later, the robe rolled off her shoulder and then the other as the caretaker lectured. I rested my head on the branch and hugged it as I watched the mortal woman listen to her caretaker.

A moment later, the servants were gone and the woman was alone with her caretaker. I soon bore witness to more than my eyes should have seen. Her robe was removed by her caretaker and all that was left to see was beautiful pale skin. My eyes widened in surprise and awe as I took in the detail of every curve in her body. Her hips were of fair size for childbearing, but they were also so soft and seemed to flow with the deep curve in her waist. Her breasts were no exception with their own beautiful curve and skin that seemed so flawless. Her legs were long and moved with elegance as she took a step into the warm water. Soon the body I was looking over was hidden from my eyes once more, but my heart was pounding in my chest.

"How can such a frail creature be so beautiful?" I asked myself aloud, fully expecting no answer.

As my eyes watched her through the thick greenery and I sat up to watch more comfortably, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I yipped and removed the kimono from my shoulder to reveal a tiny flea that was getting larger by the second. "Flea demon! I should have guessed from the bite."

I slapped my arm and looked at my palm as the flattened pest in my palm. I grunted and waited until the thing popped back into its normal state. He was dizzy as he got to his feet and then looked at me. It blinked a few times and then crossed his arms. "Humph, serves you right for spying on the princess."

I jumped at the tiny voice. "You can talk?"

He jumped into the air angrily and waved his arms in the air. "Of course I can talk! All demons can."

"No, no," I explained myself, "You speak the old tongue, old dog demon."

The tiny pest itched his head and then nodded. I dropped him on the branch and waited for the bug to brush himself off. A moment later he cleaned his throat. "I am Myoga, the flea that lives off of the chickens in the barn not far from here with the misses. Been married since we were young, and I haven't been more miserable since," he joked. I crossed my arms and looked out at the walls around the gardens. The flea cleared his throat again. "And you must be of the western dog demon clan just south of here, are you not?"

I closed my eyes and opened them to look at the pest again. "Yes!"

The flea seemed happy. "I knew it, I knew it! The taste in your blood confirms it. Only the western dog demons have such delicious blood. Alas, I have always wondered what Lord Inu-taisho's would taste like. Many a fleas have told me that his blood tastes better than all the demon blood in the world. Only, none have known the delicacy for themselves."

I heard the flea tell his story, and turned away. "You'll be sad to hear that the pack has been slaughtered then."

The flea jumped in surprise. "What? How?"

I looked at him and held in my anger. "Ryuukotsusei has slaughtered the males in the pack, thus the western tribe has been broken since the females have no other male to mate with. We were the last of our kind, and the tribe was large. I thought we would survive. Now the females are all that remain."

The flea shed a tear. "So, the rumor is true. The Western Dog Demon Tribe has fallen, and Lord Inu-taisho has fallen with them."

I leaned back into the tree and smirked. "Inu-taisho hasn't fallen, not in death anyway. His mate Sashimi has killed him in some way though. She marked him with the demon life mate sign. His blood will die with him."

The flea looked at me for a moment. "The son of the lord as well?"

I smirked again, "Sesshoumaru is not his equal. He can never be as powerful as his father is. Inu-taisho dreams of baring a son that will be an equal in his power and might. But with his dead mate's mark, that child will never be born."

The flea sat down on the branch and shook his head. "For such a great and terrible demon, why would any mate do such a thing?"

I didn't say a word and then heard the sound of clothing rustling and the sound of earth moving as it was stepped on. I turned my head and crawled down the branch to look down at the boulder. There the mortal woman took a seat atop of the large rock and began to read a scroll. I leaned over the branch to watch as my blood sucking friend jumped over to my shoulder.

He looked at me and then looked at her a few times before snickering. "I see this here, now. You think she's beautiful, too, don't you? What a world where dog demons would find human woman attractive."

I snorted and whispered, "She only baffles me with her kindness. You would think she would have tried to kill me by now with the power I can sense in her blood. I fear her for that reason alone. She has the scent of a priestess, but she does not dress like one."

Myoga snickered and took a seat in one of the nuts that had been hollowed out. "A Princess of Kyoto is what your nose fails to sense."

"What?" I jumped, and without truly realizing it, the branch broke from my force and I fell to the earth with a loud thump.

The woman turned and dropped her scroll before coming toward me from a fair distance. She knelt down and began to converse with me in a worried voice.

"Are you alright?" she said in her tongue.

I rubbed my head and looked at her. Not sure what she had said or even how to respond to her. I grunted as I tried to get up, only to yip when my arm felt tender. She gasped and came to my arm as I groaned. She touched me gently, and tensed a little knowing how close she was. I could tell she was tense as well, but she was far more concerned with my arm. Gently she rolled up the sleeve of my kimono and looked over the injury. She smiled gently at me. "It's only a scratch."

I looked at the injury for myself and preformed the same healing power over it. She watched and touched the area where it once was. "Amazing!"

Her fingers were warm as they ran over my skin, and the touch made a warm feeling run down my spine. My nose picked up the scent of her bath and the perfumes that were mixed into the water that made my heart beat faster. She smelled so wonderful.

I wanted to converse with her. I wanted to learn how to speak to her and help her understand, but how?

I wasn't sure of what I was thinking, or even what I was doing, but the next thing that happened was a reaction my heart must have taken control over.

"Ruzo Mroso" (Thank you)

She gasped and her eyes widened as she looked at me with her large purple eyes that I was now looking into for the first time. Her lips trembled a little before she spoke again. "What did you say?"

I didn't know how to respond and I decided to say something. "Corz gro derzoro mino?" (Can you understand me?)

She made a face that told me she didn't and my chest fell trying to think of ways to make her understand me. Finally, she took my hand and my eyes met hers. "You...you can talk!"

A moment later she was smiling and giggling with joy and the brightness in her smile made the heaviness in my chest lift. Again she took my hand and looked at my hand trying to think.

She turned around and picked up the scroll she had tossed when she came to my aid. She held it up to me and presented it to me. "Scroll," she said simply. I looked to her and then at the roll of paper before me.

She repeated the word, and I took the scroll into my hands, praying it wasn't a sutra. I was unaffected and looked at the scroll in my hands. "Scroll," I copied, and then looked at her as her smile appeared. I held it out to her and did the same. "Kiro" and she took the roll of paper from me. I hoped my translation was correct, and she copied my words, "Kiro".

I sat up in my dog like stance and nodded franticly with joy. She laughed as she shifted her legs to the side. She quickly unrolled the scroll to show a series of ink drawings she had made. I looked over the art work as I crawled on all fours to look at each drawing. The first was of a mortal woman and a moment later I looked to her to learn another word. "Hirosa" I said, and pointed to the picture of the woman.

She looked at the picture and pointed. I nodded waiting for her to answer me. She thought for a moment. "Hirosa," she said and looked at the picture. "Woman! Mortal woman!"

I looked at the picture and then said the word. "Woman," I said and the word felt strange to my tongue.

I then took her hand again and looked at it. "Woman," I said trying to make sure I understood.

She smiled and nodded to show that I was correct. Then she took my hand and placed her hand over my chest. "Yokia," she said and this word I didn't have to think about to translate. "Dimros"

She smiled, "Well at least that word is easy for you to understand."

I waited as she looked to me trying to think of a way to tell me another word. The next word I would learn wasn't really one at all, but the sound of my voice saying it would make my body feel warm for the rest of my life.

I watched as she placed her hand over her chest and looked at me. "Mika," she told me. At first I didn't understand and placed my hand over my chest. I looked at her completely lost. The look in her eyes made my heart ache and I crawled over to her to find some way to comfort her troubles. I wanted her to teach me. I would learn with time, and she would correct me. I would learn each word in a period of two weeks, but this word I would treasure.

"Mika," she said once again, and the sound in her voice made my heart beat faster.

I understood and held her chin. My eyes took in the beauty I saw in her violet eyes, and slowly I said the word. I said her name for the first time.

"Mika"

My heart skipped a beat and her eyes glowed with a beauty I had never seen in any female demon's eyes. Her mouth fell open and she suddenly began to lean forward. I had no idea what the custom was, and I leaned away in confusion wondering what she was doing as her eyes closed.

I stared at her as she sat there leaning toward me with her lips slightly open, and I stared at her as though she was the strangest bug I had ever seen. A second later her eyes opened and she drew back slightly embarrassed as the blood ran to her face.

She sat back down and turned away feeling completely ashamed of herself, but after I was comfortable with the situation I took her chin again and she was slightly startled. I then placed my hand over my chest and spoke. "Lamoro Inuuzo-Taijaoroma"

She wasn't sure how to say the large name, and so I repeated. "Inuuzo- Taijaoroma"

She concentrated on the name and she spoke softly, "Inu...Inuuzo-Tai--"

Mika sat back and spoke the name, "Inuuzo-Taijaoroma" and the look in her face told her that the name was familiar. I had spoken my full name formally in old dog demon, but I knew my name that my tribe had given me

...and the name the people of Kyoto had given me.

Mika looked at me and spoke my name, "Inuuzo-Taijaoroma"

I then waited as her eyes grew and the name I knew she would say came to her lips.

"Inu-taisho," she whispered in complete amazement. Her eyes were filled with awe and surprise, but that was all I could see in her. I couldn't smell or see fear in her. Mika only smiled. "Inu-taisho...so it was you all this time."