InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A New Love ❯ Chapter 23 ( Chapter 23 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 23


'Damn it! I can't take this anymore.' Ayame thought to herself.

Sitting up quickly she glanced nervously around making sure her movements had not woken her companions. 'Good they are still asleep now if I can just sneak out of here. Shouldn't be too hard with all the racket Totosai is making. Jeez I never knew anyone could snore that loud.'

In seconds Ayame gained her feet and made her way noiselessly out of Totosai's home. A quick sniff of the fresh air surronding her brought to her delicate nostrils no scent of intruders to her peace. Heaving a delicate sigh she began to walk aimlessly trying to clear her runaway thoughts.

Twenty minutes later found her in a clearing of tall grass gilded silver under the light of the stars and no closer to giving her brain a rest. So much had happened since she had ran from Kouga. Ayame was not sure what to think or where to go. She didn't know what she would have done without Kya and Kirara. Kouga would never know how close he came to catching her. She had been bone weary and ready to admit defeat when she smelled her friends. This situation was not their concern and she had desperatly wanted to get away and not involve them but she had no other options. It was either go in and beg for help or lay down and let Kouga do what he would.

Pride had ruled out. There had been no way that she would let Kouga defeat her. She would not be some plaything for his desires. So she had gone and begged for aid. It had been a hazy trip. Once they were in the air and safely away she had passed out, slumping into Kya's arms. Two days later she woke in a strange cave. She could smell Kya and Kirara but they were somewhere beyond the perimeter of the cave. Closer was the smell of fire, metall and magic. Trying as hard as she could Ayame could not place the scent. She knew that someone was nearby that she did not know. Was this cave their home. Well there was only one way to find out.

Sitting up carefully she moved all of her limbs slowly testing them for pain. Finding nothing amiss she rose from the soft furs she had been laying in. Checking her surrondings she found herself in a small room of sorts. Straight ahead of her was a doorway covered by a woven mat. Lifting the mat she found herself looking right at a gaunt little man bent over a fire. So this is the smell of fire. Now for the rest.

"Hello." she called out to the old man making him jump and spin around holding a half finished sword.

"Ah so you are finally awake. Good. Good. My name is Totosai and this is my home. Nice to see you up and about finally young lady." he said to her as he turned back to the fire.

Walking closer to the old man she could only look on him wide eyed as she said "You are the famed weapon smith Totosai. I have heard of your prowess since I was a small cub. I never thought that I would get to meet you much less enjoy your hospitality."

"Well it's nice to know that people still respect my work. Come sit and talk while I finish this sword." Totosai said as he gestured to the other side of the fire before him.

"Thank you master Totosai." she said as she made her way around the flames to sit. "Oh kami where are my manners. My name is Ayame and I am the princess of the white wolves of the North."

"Your manners are fine. Your friend Kya told me who you were. I want you to know that you are welcome here. Your friend told me that you are on the run from young Kouga. Might I ask why."

"You may ask master but I have no answer that I am willing to reveal at this time."

"That is alright child. Don't look like your afraid your going to offend me. Somethings people don't feel like talking about while they are still raw. When you are ready you will tell someone."

"Thank you master. Can you tell me how me how long I have been here. I don't remember anything."

"No you wouldn't. I have never seen anyone as worn down as you were two days ago when Kirara brought you and your friend here."

"Two days. Kirara brought us here." Kya said as she gave Totosai a glassy eyed look.

"Yes two days and Kirara has known me for some time. In fact she was here not long ago with that knuckleheaded Inuyasha."

"Oh you know Inuyasha too."

"Yes I do tetsusaiga is one of mine. Stupid boy thinks that I am a worthless addlebrained old man. Hah." he said as he finished the blade. "Anyway Kirara brought you and your friend to me for safe keeping. Who would ever look for you with this old man. No one that's who. Kirara knew this. She flew right up to the entrance of my home and roared. Took a good year off my life I tell ya. It took me a moment to realize who it was before I came out. Your friend was holding you and crying. For a moment I thought you were dead until I saw your chest rising and falling. Kirara explained that you needed a place to hide and that you were hurt. Seeing how pitiful you looked I couldn't help but take you in. So I gathered you up and put you and your friend in my spare room and that is where you have been until now."

Ayame opened her mouth to speak when suddenly there was a loud squeal from behind her. Before she could even turn her head she found herself flat on her back with a crying Kya crushing her into the cave floor.

"Oh thank Kami you are finally awake." Kya cried into Ayame's hair.

"Yeah I am awake but not for long if you don't ease up." Ayame choked out gasping for breath.

Immediately Kya loosened her hold and sat up. She looked Ayame over carefully checking for any signs of lingering fatigue of injury before she spoke. "So I see that you have met Totosai. Isn't he great. I have never met someone more absentminded in my life."

"Absentminded."

"Oh you must have just woken up. You'll see when you are more awake and you get a chance to talk. So are you hungry. Kirara and I have been outside enjoying the air while I finished our evening meal. Let me go get you something." So saying Kya jumped up and was out the door in a flash as Kirara in her kitten form came in and curled on the now sitting Ayame's lap.

"Totosai what did she mean by that. I find nothing wrong with you." Ayame said as she looked at the man.

"Well let me just say that you are one of the few people that I have actually talked to like this in a long while. For most I just act like a crazy old man so that they will leave me alone or learn a lesson for themselves. You can not tell anyone this though. This is just our little secret."

"Ok." she said as she started to laugh. Just then Kya had came back in carrying a bowl of some kind of soup. Looking at the puzzled expression on Kya's face Ayame could only say "You were right he is one funny old man."

After the meal the two girls made thier way to a hot springs some distance from the cave. As they sank into the mineral rich waters Kya had asked what had happened while Ayame was with Kouga. Ayame thought hard about telling Kya everything. In the end she decided to say nothing. She needed to work it out herself. With the warm waters relaxing her Ayame sank down into the water and let it wash her troubles away. Kya was silent for a long time before she finally had to speak.

"So the least you could do is say thanks."

"Thank you Kya. Don't think for a second that I did not notice that you had cleaned me up and dressed me in clean clothing. I just wonder how you cleaned my hair."

"Well it wasn't easy to do your hair but I couldn't leave it as it was. The clothes on the other hand did not come from me. Actually they came from Totosai. I do not know where he found them but the first morning we were here he gave them to me to dress you in since your own furs and armor were in tatters."

"I'll have to tell the old man thank you for his generosity." said Ayame as she reached for a small jar containing a homemade soap of some sort.

"Hey Ayame I need to ask you about one thing that has been bothering me."

"Ok what's the matter." Ayame said as she began to lather her hair.

"Well what is with the bite on your neck. All of your other wounds look better but that bite still looks pretty red."

"The bite. Where is it."

"The one on your neck right by your hand." Kya said as she gestured to the now exposed bite.

Ayame trailed her fingers over the bite mark on her neck and let out a rough growl as a searing heat ran through her. Half pleasure half pain.

"What's the matter. Are you ok. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just Kouga did that after you were poisoned and I thought that it would be healed by now."

"It's nothing Kya. Don't worry about it." Ayame said as calmly as possible. "I think that we should go back now. I am kind of tired and I would like to go to sleep now."

The girls finished soon after and made thier way back to Totosia's home. Moments later both girls were in the guest room settled to sleep. Kya fell asleep quickly but Ayame was left alone with her roiling thoughts.

'Why in the hell did Kouga mark me.' she thought. 'I bet he just did it to help me and because he knew that Kagome would not know what it meant. Well I'll just have to put Kya off for awhile and let the bite fade. Two weeks should be long enough and then we will go from there.'

Two weeks went by and Kya was ready to go back to the village that lay near Inuyasha's forest. However Ayame put her off saying that she was not ready to leave. She let Kya know that she could go if she wanted and she would catch up later. Kya would not leave her friend she did ask if Ayame was ready to talk yet. Ayame said no.

What did Kya want her to say. That Kouga loved Kagome and had marked Ayame instead. Hah Ayame was no ones second choice. She herself was restless and ready to leave. She loved Totosai but it was just to quiet here but they could not leave yet. The bites were still on her neck. They should have been gone by now. Ayame could not figure out what was going on. She wasn't stupid. Every demon knew that a male could mark a female that he was intimate with to warn away other males. Usually these marks had to be renewed at least once a week. The only way for them to last longer were if the male and female exchanged marks and accepted one another. These marks were permanent and the male and female would always carry these marks unless one partner were to die. So what did it mean that Kouga's mark was not fading as it should. Ayame knew that she had not marked him.

That thought along with others had plagued Ayame for almost two more weeks. Tonight she could not handle the strain. That is why she had to get out of the cave. She knew that a decision must be made on when to leave the peace of Totosai's home to meet back up with Inuyasha and his friends. At least the mark was finally fading. If she was careful no one should notice it. If they did she was not certain how she would answer thier questions.

'I guess with thoughts like that it means it must be time to leave. Well at least Kya should be happy. I know that she is anxious to see Inuyasha. Crazy girl really loves him. I hope he knows what a good thing he has with her. I'll be very sorry to see her leave the pack. When they mate and I go back home I will have no one to talk with. No matter. I have done it before. I will be able to do it again.' she thought to herself as the sun began to rise.

With her thoughts finally feeling settled now that she had decided to leave she lay back to watch as the sun peeped lazily over the top of Totosai's mountain home. The golden rays touched everything in sight making them shiver with a touch of magic. As the sun emerged fully Ayame decided it was time to return and let everyone know of her decision. She hated to say goodbye to Totosai no matter how happy it would make Kya and Kirara. The old man had been wonderful. Anytime that Kya was near he would act funny making her think that he could not remember from one second to the next. It never failed to make Ayame laugh. It was the times Kya was not around that Ayame grew to love. Totosai reminded her very much of her own beloved grandfather. He was full of useless information and always a sense of comfort for her. She wished that the old man could go with them when they left. Maybe she could convince him to move to the mountains near her tribe.

Reaching the cave entrance she could tell that everyone was already up and eating the morning meal. As she walked in to join the others they all looked up and called thier own version of good morning. Ayame returned the greeting as she sat and grabbed a bowl of rice. She ate slowly to delay telling Totosai goodbye. As she swallowed the last mouthful she looked the old man in the eye and smiled sadly before turning to Kya.

"Well little sister I think that it is time to quit imposing on this nice man and head back out on our journey."

"You mean your finally ready to leave now." As Ayame nodded her head Kya jumped to her feet laughing and ran to Kirara's side to hug the fire cat to her.

"Kya could you please wash these bowls for Totosai before we leave."

"Sure be right back." Kya said as she ran out of the cave to the nearby stream.

"Totosai. How can I express my thanks for all that you have done. I feel honored that you have let us stay in your home. Just this morning I was thinking on how hard it would be to tell you goodbye. You are as dear to me now as my own grandfather. Is there anyway that I can convince you to move to the northern mountains near my pack."

"At this time I think I will stay here. However, I will keep your offer in mind. Never can tell when I might need to move. Your a good girl Ayame. I was more than happy to have you here and feel blessed that you think of me so dearly as I see you as the grandaughter that I never had. Now before your friend gets back I have something for you."

Totosai stood and moved to the back corner of the room where he kept his finished weapons. There he grabbed something wrapped in fur and brought it to Ayame. He kneeled in front of her extending his bundle to Ayame with a sense of expectation. Slowly Ayame grasped the bundle from his hands bringing it to her lap. With trembling fingers she opened the furs to reveal a katana. Raising her eyes to his she could only gasp. Finally, she caught her breath.

"Thank you Totosai. This is beautiful. Isn't this the sword I saw you forging when I first woke up."

"I see you have a good eye. This is indeed the sword you saw me making. Very tricky too. One look at you and I knew that I had to make you a sword of your own. The only problem was I thought that your friend would never leave. I had to bring her a kimono for you and hint that I could watch you for a bit so that she could find a place to bathe. As soon as she was gone I pulled one of your fangs to help make your sword. I knew that neither of you would notice. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all I am awed that you would give me such a gift. What is it's name. Does it have any special abilities."

"Since it is a part of you and never owned by another the name is up to you. You must name it when you feel the time is right. As for special abilites yes but I don't know what they are. This sword has left all of it's secrets for you to find. Most of the time they talk to me and tell me things. This one has kept silent. Oh I have something else for you. Kirara helped me with this. It's hard to find a good youkai armorer these days."

Reaching behind him Totosai gave Ayame a new chestplate that looked almost like her old one. This one however was such a dark green as to appear almost black. The fur wrap was still the same at first apperance but you could feel the magic swirling just under the surface. Ayame had tears in her eyes as she looked at the kindly man.

"Well you better go change quick girl. Your friend will be back any second and she is ready to leave my humble home."

Not needing to be told twice Ayame raced to the guest room to put on her gifts. Moments later she stepped back out to see Kya tapping her foot impatiently. As she approached she could see Kya's eyes widen as she took in Ayame's gifts. Totosai simply looked at her with something that looked like pride. He stood and walked to Ayame's side. Motioning her outside they all began to walk out to where Kirara was already transformed into her larger form. Kya wasted no time in crawling onto Kirara's back. Ayame stopped short of Kirara's side to turn to Totosai. After a breif moments hesitation she hugged the old man as hard as she could and kissed his cheek. Pulling back she looked at him trying to imprint this moment on her memory forever.

"Thank you so much Totosai. I will never forget your kindness."

"Goodbye princess and good luck." he said with a wave as Ayame jumped on Kirara's back and they began to ascend into the sky.

"You know two seconds from now he won't even remember who you were Ayame." Kya said with a grin.

"Maybe your right but I think that he will remember me just like I will him." Ayame said as Totosai finally got too far away for her to see anymore.

They had covered many miles before stoping for a noon meal. Resting only briefly, they decided to walk until they made camp for the night to let Kirara rest. Many miles were covered before they found a good spot to rest for the night. It would take at least another half day before they would reach Inuyasha's forest. The girls caught fish for their meal and ate in comfortable silence. Once their stomachs were full they both stretched out lazily to glance at the sky where the sun was just starting it's descent from the heavens.

"So Ayame I smell a hot spring. You up for a bath before we sleep." Kya questioned as she stood.

"That sounds good lets go."

As they walked through the forest following the smells of the water Kya couldn't help but wonder if she would be able to finally get Ayame to open up about what happened to her. She had been so closed off about the incident. At first Kya asked for answers. With none forth coming she waited on Ayame to spill her guts. Each day she watched as Ayame seemed to close herself off more and more. Sure she had still talked and laughed but something was missing. The sparkle that always glowed around her seemed to be gone. Suddenly it just seemed like Ayame was just going through the motions. Kya didn't like it at all. She wanted her sister back. She wanted the Ayame that talked to her about everything. Well if Ayame wouldn't fess up already then Kya was going to have to poke at her until she snapped.

Shaking her head to back up her thoughts Kya finally noticed that they were at the springs. Ayame had already undressed and gotten into the water while Kya seemed to be staring off into space. Ayame saw Kya give her head a little shake before she seemed to realize that they had reached their destination. Quickly Kya shed her clothing before jumping like a child into the warm water with her. Neither girl spoke as they hurried through the cleansing of their bodies. Once they were done they settled back against the smooth edges behind them to relax and enjoy this moment of time. Ayame was enjoying the peace of the moment until Kya decided to start her poking and prodding.

"So what really happened between you and Kouga." Kya asked as she looked deeply into Ayame's eyes.

"Kya can we just not talk about it." Ayame said as she tried to look away.

"I think that you should tell me what happened."

"It's nothing Kya."

"It's not nothing Ayame. Your changing and I don't like it. I think that you need to tell me what happened."

"No I don't. It's none of your concern. What happened is over and done with. I just need to work it out for myself."

"Ayame you have had a month to work it out and so far you still look lost. Let me help you. You my sister and if that stupid wolf hurt you I'll kill him. Come on Ayame help me out. I don't know what to do to help you if you won't talk to me."

"Damn it Kya just drop it. I already told you that it is none of your concern just leave me alone about it ok."

"No. I refuse to drop this. What's really the matter are you scared Ayame" Kya yelled at her friend.

"What." Ayame said with a furious hiss.

"You heard me. Are you scared. Never thought that I would see the day that you tucked your tail between your legs."

"You." Ayame said as she stood and pointed her finger at Kya. "You bitch. Fine you want to know the truth I am angry. I have never been this angry in all my life. I want to kill the stupid bastard."

"Why." Kya said as she stood and moved to her friend to lay her hand on her shoulder.

"Because." Ayame began as she started to calm at the touch of her sister. "Because he marked me."

"He what." Kya questioned.

"He marked me Kya. That bastard still loves Kagome but he marked me and mated with me."

"Well doesn't that mean that you two are boned as mates now."

Kya could only watch in horror as Ayame began to laugh hysterically and then cry in the next breath. She watched as Ayame seemed to fold in on herself. Her body sank into the water with a splash as her hands covered her eyes. Her shoulders shook violently with her harsh sobs that ripped through her body. Kya wasn't sure what she should do other than try to comfort her and get her to let it all out. Moving to Ayame's side she sank beside the girl pulling her into a warm embrace and letting her cry onto her shoulder.

"That's it Ayame. Let it all out. I know that this has been eating away at you. Just let it all out. Be angry if it makes you feel better. I don't mind your temper. This quiet of yours has been killing me. I couldn't stand the look in your eyes. It has been so cold."

"That's what is so funny." Ayame said as her sobs tapered off and she caught her breath. "I really am angry but where I thought my anger would burn it has been cold. So cold and harsh. I don't understand him. What he did basically made me his concubine. We didn't exchange marks Kya. He bit me and then had his way with me. The mark he gave me tells all other males that he has had me and to stay away until he is done with me. What really gets me is that it should have been gone after a week. This type of mark constantly needs renewing but that asshole did something. It hasn't completely gone away. It's still there. Why would he do this to me. He never wanted to be my mate so why humiliate me and toy with my feelings this way."

"He's stupid Ayame. You know what fuck him. He's not worth the time."

"I still don't know why he chased me. I guess he was just pissed that I would tell Kagome what he did. I hope I never see him again Kya. That stupid wolf will never make a fool of me again."

"That's the spirit girl. You can get through this. I know you can. He is not worthy of you. Don't let what he did change you. Just forget about him and move on. I bet the bastard is probably off chasing after Naraku and far away so you shouldn't have to see him anytime soon."

"Your right I bet he is far away and that will give me just a little more time. I don't want him to know that his mark is still on me. He might be tempted to try something."

"Don't worry. So are you feeling better now."

"Yes. Thank you. I was scared. I had been ashamed to tell you. Well now that we have had this heart to heart I think we better go get some sleep so that you will be ready to face Inuyasha. I bet he is pissed that you have been gone so long and he didn't know you were."

"Your right. We better get out and get some rest." Kya said as she laughed and Ayame joined in.