InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Catch Me ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Title: Catch Me

Author: Lady Hiko

Chapter: 2

Genre: Inu Yasha

Rating: PG

 

(Check it out. I have storyboards of pre-existing scenes and of some possible future scenes or occurances.

 

Disclaimer: Fields of paper flowers and paper moons. Yeah, those are about as real as me owning this particular show…or any other show for that matter. It still belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

AN = Author's note, a random comment by me.

 

Also, I use some terminology that may be foreign to non-art majors. Those terms are starred and their explanations are at the bottom of the chapter.

 

Last time on Catch Me:

 

His thoughts were abruptly disturbed however as he heard Rin chuckle. Apparently when Rin came back she thought him wearing his bulky armor without a shirt on was funny. It did really dwarf his form in reality though, so he didn't retort as she grabbed onto his leg. She peered around them to look at the hanyou. “Is Aphreal-sama going to be ok?”

Not moving his head, he peered down at the girl. She looked as ridiculous as he did with that garment on her head. “Aphreal-sama, huh?” Rin nodded her head. “I think Aphreal-sama will be just fine.”

With that Rin squeezed Sesshomaru's legs tightly in a hug.

 

The fire was built closely to Aphreal that night. Rin and Jaken slept close by. All through the night Sesshomaru sat awake and at guard or at least that is what his intention was. In reality he was staring between the hanyou and the girl, wondering as to how he had allowed himself to become so soft. Somehow he had allowed for not only one female under his care, but now two, each resurrected under the careful guidance of that blasted sword of his. What was happening to him?

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Now on with the show!

 

----------------------------------------------

 

The sun had risen slightly in the sky and for once, Aphreal felt warm and somewhat comfortable. Forgetting as to where she was, she began to stir, and abruptly stopped. There was something bound to her body that restricted her movement almost completely. Something felt as though it was bound around her chest, ribs, forehead, wrists, ankles, waist, and thighs. She was wrapped in a manner that reminded her of puppeteer threads. `No…he doesn't have me again…he can't have me again! I'm no longer his to control!' She sniffed the air and smelled an inu-youkai, a human, and a small toad demon. It was then that she remembered that she was under their care, calming her a bit; however, what perplexed her was why the demon male's scent was so strong this day. `It's almost as if that Sesshomaru guy is right next to me?'

She opened her eyes and noticed that she was not wrapped in her own clothes at all. In fact they were missing…and she was wearing his shirt? She quirked an eyebrow and was amazed that it didn't hurt that badly. `If that didn't hurt much, maybe I can get up on my own.' She attempted to do so, but let's put it this way, she was very quickly dissuaded from doing so. Who dissuaded her? Let's just say all her muscles vetoed the action. Instead she settled for lifting her head and looking around. THAT at least didn't hurt. Slightly confused, she found herself lying next to a dying fire; the toad demon and Rin were lying opposite of her. `Where's the adult?' she thought as she sniffed the air again. `I know I smelled him.'

Much further from the fire than anyone else was Sesshomaru. He looked different though; something seemed off. It took her a second to place it, but then she realized what was so different. Lying in the full glory of the morning sun was the white prince, fast asleep and topless. Aside from that furry bola-thing that he wore, nothing clothed his bare chest, for his armor was placed close by. Painted by the golden sun, she saw why he could bear to wear such heavy armor for his slim figure was graced with flowing pectorals, a rippled abdomen, and well defined biceps. Somehow just lying there in the sun, Sesshomaru actually looked peaceful, kind, and actually…happy… In his sleep, you could almost see a pleasant smile on his face, something you'd never expect to see while he was awake. He almost could be considered attractive looking…

“I wonder what he's dreaming about,” Aphreal quietly murmured.

Poke, poke.

Aphreal felt something prodding her in her shoulder, something small… She snapped her head to left - an action she would regret later - and realized that Rin had caught her looking as though she was ogling Sesshomaru. She jumped slightly.

“It's not as it looks, I swear!” she belted out in surprise.

At this Rin just grinned and the two male demons awoke. Jaken jumped about three feet in the air, whereas Sesshomaru merely opened his eyes and coolly asked, “What is `not as it looks'?”

Rin's grin widened miraculously further as she stated, “Rin caught Aphreal-san staring at you.”

Sesshomaru's eyebrow quirked slightly as Aphreal's face took on a red-ish hue.

“It's not like that,” Aphreal quickly stated looking down and away from him.

`Her face is red and her heart has quickened. Strange. The hanyou is panicking,' he mused as his brows knitted together. He shook his head. `A hanyou is a hanyou and hanyous are not worth my time. Let her act as she will; it is not this Sesshomaru's concern. She will be lead to the castle for some new garments and will no longer be my burden.' With new resolve he stood and gathered his armor. “Come.” He turned on his heel and began to walk away before tossing over his shoulder, “We leave for Inutasho Castle.” On command everyone stood to follow, Aphreal stumbling far back at the rear.

It was less than ten minutes before Sesshomaru paused once again. Maybe it was the dead slow pace, or maybe it was the fact that it was approximately the twentieth time he heard the hanyou go “oomph” and fall to the ground. Either way that sound was really beginning to irritate him and at this rate they'd reach the castle by the time that Rin was thirty. In a rather stiff manner he turned around, his right hand fisted at his side as he demanded in a toneless manner, “Can't you walk any faster?”

From her recent most acquisition of the ground, Aphreal thought `insensitive prick' as she spit out a clump of dirt and replied, “Oh I don't know, let's take random chunks out of you and see how fast you move?”

`Irritable bitch. You'd think she'd be grateful for this Sesshomaru taking care of her wounds. If Rin wasn't here I`d…' His thoughts were cut off however as Rin dismounted Ah and Un and tugged on his pant leg.

“Aphreal-san can ride Ah and Un. Rin wishes to walk,” Rin stated softly.

“Rin! Don't suggest something as stupid as that,” Jaken interjected.

“Hanyous do not ride the beast,” Sesshomaru replied coolly as if to state that the argument was finished. Jaken nodded his head in agreement.

“Aphreal-san can ride Ah and Un. I wish to walk,” Rin restated firmly.

“How dare you disobey Lord Sesshomaru like that! Why…” Jaken looked in the place where Sesshomaru stood only to find it vacant. “Sesshomaru-sama? Sesshomaru-sama what are you doing?”

Keeping his stare flat, Sesshomaru had turned and continued to walk, thinking all the while, `Females…annoying little creatures… At least we'll move quickly now.'

 

It was about three hours later that the Inu Yasha party arrived at the recently deserted campsite. Of course, immediately upon arrival Inu Yasha searched out the missing ramen, whereas Kagome went searching for her missing articles of clothing among other things. This, however, led to two cries of agony to ring out through the forest.

“MY RAMEN!”

“MY CLOTHES!”

Anything that was not used by Sesshomaru and crew was either burned or smothered in dirt from being used as bedding. Kagome's queer garments did not seem suitable for anyone to wear. I can bet you can guess which was used for kindling. Poor Inu Yasha.

 

 

“Rin is tired.”

By modern standards it was 10 o'clock at night and Rin was far past tired. The half moon crept steadily up the sky providing illumination upon the occupants of the Sesshomaru clan. Still shirtless and wearing the bulky cold armor, Sesshomaru suppressed a slight shiver. The temperature had dropped a considerable amount and now that he thought about it, if they did not stop soon, Rin might become ill. Humans were such weak creatures in that manner.

“We will stop here.”

The place he had chosen was near to the river, as always, for it was what led the way to his castle. Judging by their placement, they were less than one day's travel away if they all rode Ah and Un for part of it. Then he wouldn't have to eat wild broses and the hanyou would be off his hands. Speaking of which…

Sesshomaru sat on the ground, leaning against the side of the resting Ah and Un as he pulled a handful of broses from one of the saddlebags hidden in its armor. He felt that it was better to keep what he ate a secret so as the enemy wouldn't know what to taint if ever they chose to try to harm him.

Aphreal had long since removed herself from the back of the beast and had stiffly followed Rin to the river for some fish. Riding all day and resting on Ah and Un's back had done her well. Her wounds had healed enough now that she wasn't constantly re-ripping them open from moving, which allowed her to walk around rather stiffly. She was still very sore.

“So what are we doing again?” she asked.

“YOU are going to help me catch fish `cause I don't see very well at night,” Rin replied.

Aphreal nodded and scanned the water for movement. Even with her fluid tapped eyes she could still see rather well at night. “Soo…” she began. Rin looked up. “Why do you stay with tall, white, and spiky over there?”

“You mean Sesshomaru-sama?” Rin asked perplexed, her hands still dangling in the shin deep water.

“Yeah, and what's with the sama tag? I mean, what's the point in calling him sama? He's not a god or anything.”

“Sesshomaru-sama brought me back to life, returned to me my voice, and took care of me.”

“Don't you have any parents?”

“No, they died a long time ago,” Rin spoke softly as she stood up, putting her hands on her hips. “Do you have any parents?”

Aphreal grimaced. This was not a subject she was fond of disclosing. Still, this girl was the reason as to why Sesshomaru brought her back her life. She guessed Rin deserved to know a little about her. She turned back to the river and snatched a fish from the water. “No.” Stiffly turning and tossing the fish onto the bank, she continued, “The man who is my father by birth ate my mother. So…” She reached into the water spearing a fish with her claws, the blood sifting through the nearly pitch black water. “I don't have any parents left.”

“Oh…” her hands dropped to her sides.

Aphreal tossed the second fish to the bank. Gingerly lifting her arm to wipe her forehead she grunted, “I wasn't even born with this tail, you know.”

“Huh? Then how did you get it?”

“My father sent my brother, Antithesis, to kill me. I tried to fight back and he reflected my attack back on me.” Rin looked confused. Aphreal sighed, “Antithesis is a full demon, unlike me, and because of that he is weakened to `holy' magic. Due to my heritage I am - to an extent - immune to that kind of power and able to wield a bit. I thought if I could `purify' him, he would go away. However, in my injured state, my mind wasn't considering the fact that he could rebound my magic with his telekinesis… Are you following what I'm saying?”

“Sort of…”

Aphreal cocked her head to the side, “Hey…I've been talking to you all evening and you haven't referred to yourself as Rin. Why?”

Rin's eyes suddenly changed, they no longer seemed to focus on Aphreal, but past her as she replied, “Rin refers to herself as Rin because it is a sign of subordination and respect towards those who have revived Rin. Rin says `I' to you because you have been revived too.”

Aphreal skewed her face in perplexion and turned around. The sudden change in speech made her believe that Sesshomaru was right behind her.

“So,” Sesshomaru asked, stoic as usual. “If you were born without a tail, were you an inu-hanyou from the beginning?”

“You were listening the entire time?!” Aphreal asked bug eyed. Sesshomaru grunted in response. The fact that they had taken so long for such a simple task had lured him there. Looking away, she flatly answered his question, “No.” Thoroughly flustered that he appeared out of nowhere, she grabbed the fish from the shore and stumbled off towards their campfire.

 

The morning greeted Aphreal with sun in her face and wind in her hair, as well as a child sleeping next to her and everyone else behind her. She looked around startled making the beast sway a little.

“Don't wake the child,” a flat tone replied from behind her.

“Wha?” she mumbled a bit surprised as she looked down and saw the trees far below. `This thing flies?'

“We are only four hours from Inutasho castle and if you do not wake her, we will not hear complaints about hunger…or other things…”

Aphreal took the initiative and tried to stay as still as possible, however, one can hang over Ah and Un in the same position for only so long. So about an hour before the journey's end, they were greeted with words such as, “I'm hungry! Are we there yet? I have to go…”

 

On approaching Inutasho Castle Sesshomaru's right eye was madly twitching. Rin had been madly talking for the past hour and did not hear him any of the numerous times he had ordered her to be quiet.

Aphreal looked far ahead at the approaching skyline, waiting in anticipation for the castle that the child had been blathering about for the past hour. The great red peaks towered over the treetops, visible miles before approaching the site. The river below detoured and created an L shaped lake off to the side. At the base of the L sprouted a gargantuan weeping willow, its great sweeping boughs dipping into the water. Starting at its base and leading all the way to great ebony doors was a bubbling green mass, or at least that's what it looked like from her viewpoint. Nudging Rin, who was still talking nonsense to herself, she asked, “What's that?” She indicated the moving green mass below.

Rin chuckled, grinning to herself. “Those are our servants.” As they drew nearer, the figures below became clear. They were hundreds of little demons… hundreds of little *toad* demons. Aphreal cringed. It appeared as though there were millions of little Jakens milling around, each squawking in their own high pitched voices, all looking about with their beady little eyes. She suppressed a shudder as she thought to herself, `please not let all of their names start with a J.'

Of course, her fear was unfounded as the little girl leapt from the beast shouting, “Baikotsu! Boshou!” Two little green heads popped up from the horde. “Is breakfast ready? Please tell me Buso is not in the kitchen…” She continued to babble until they were at the door. Apparently all of the toad demon's names started with the letter B, Buso being the possible exception, for he was nicknamed Doku for his horrible cooking. It was a common occurrence to get food poisoning after eating one of his new concoctions, hence the nickname. There was a solitary female within the horde, Barubu. She stood the same height and was approximately the same physical shape as the rest. What defined her as being female -aside from the fact that her name was effeminate- was that she wore womanly attire, had a slight bust, spider leg-like eyelashes, and her voice was somehow higher than the males'. She was no great beauty in normal terms, but to the many millions of toad demons milling about, she was a goddess. This was probably due to the fact that she was sincerely one of a kind at this place.

Inutasho castle was a building to behold. Standing in its presence was as if comparing ones self to a monument; a solitary man would easily feel infantile in its titanic shadow. This was no traditional Japanese castle and no building that could rival it in its immense magnitude. The fact that it had great red roofs was its only apparent similarity. The palace itself was akin to one giant window with many little toads climbing up and down, scrubbing its various surfaces. Flying buttresses* covered the exterior so that the 300 or so foot high towers did not fall in on themselves, giving it an upward ribbed look. The vast majority of the exterior was built of thick stone and solid dark wood, something atypical to the area. Between the areas of wood molding, stone, and colored glass, were white washed walls. A great shimmering rose window* graced the front of the building a number of feet above the 90 ft high door and just below the uppermost roof.

Looking up and agape at the bold gigantesque wooden doors in front of her, she asked, “We're not really going to open those doors, are we?”

Standing firmly at the base of one of the doors, Sesshomaru looked at her and replied in his usual flat tone, “Of course not.” He pushed on a spot on the door, revealing that there was a man sized door built into the large door, and stepped in. “They're merely for show.”

The interior was a marvel on its own. Though the exterior was purely foreign, the interior was reminiscent of the standard Japanese castle… well, at least on the upper floors. Dark wood floors zigzagged throughout the castle and stone walls shot to the vaulted heights of the interior. There was a great stone fireplace proportional to the building built against one of the exterior walls and it was several stories high. Traditional Japanese cloth wall coverings draped over what little existing wall space to provide insulation against the seasonally cold nights and most bits of what could be considered furniture were left out on the floor in an orderly manner. Bits of colored light filtered through the various windows, making extravagant patters from room to room. Not every inch of glass was colored, but enough that a person could live in the place without going mad. There were various windows of mainly clear glass at the center and stained glass twinkling around the edges as well as the shimmering colorful ones. Many windows depicted images of colossal sized demon dogs; however, there were two solitary windows endowed with drapery, their images hidden from view. The vast majority of the main hall was clearly visible from the entrance, giving glimpses of random little green heads peeking from the various rooms. Somehow it reminded Aphreal of small little rodents looking for a predator from their boroughs. It was easy for one to see some of the uppermost floors, for they wrapped around the edges of the building, leaving a 5 foot by 15 foot opening in the floors leading all the way to the uppermost ceiling.

Aphreal was dragged from her analysis of the building quite literally as Rin grabbed her hand and yanked her from room to room, entailing as to where everything was and gushing about the various servants that serviced the building. Oye, the B names! Who could have ever known that so many names of that variety existed!

The base levels of the building consisted thick columns at the corners of each room and rooms to be expected of a palace. The lower floors were reserved for the rooms required of the servants. So, although there were many upon many rooms, there was scarcely an available one. The higher you went, the more slender the columns and the more Japanese the walls became. However, the rooms themselves became more foreign. Beds raised above the floor adorned each room and many pillows covered each bed. Since these rooms occupied the uppermost floor, the ceilings were unusually high and domed in appearance, allowing for the beds to be canopied with fine thin cloth. All these styles didn't seem to mesh properly somehow, and yet, in a way it just seemed appropriate of its benefactor. Once again, though, there was something completely amiss. One room was not on the tour, walled off to all occupants of the house, even Rin. Upon asking about it Rin just shrugged and Sesshomaru, who was standing dully at the end of the hall, remained silent.

“Rin's room is at the end of the hall by the stairs,” Rin began, and then whispered to Aphreal, “it's easier to get to the lavatory this way.” She then walked to the other end of the hall to a room situated directly to the right of the off limits room and said, “And this is Sesshomaru-sama's room. Jaken sleeps downstairs with the other toads. Rin doesn't know where we'll put you though.” She looked at Sesshomaru.

One could tell from looking at this situation that Rin was this demon's only weak spot, for the look on Rin's face appeared to have fractured his expression momentarily. It didn't last long though as Sesshomaru expressionlessly led Aphreal to a room directly to the left of the locked room and said it was hers. He didn't stay to watch her examine it. Turning on his heel, he threw over his shoulder, “Find a kimono that fits. Midday meal is in an hour. This Sesshomaru's clothes will be returned then.”

Rin stayed behind and Jaken nervously remained outside the door, clutching his staff as he stood. Opening the door, Aphreal drew in a breath of awe. She was in the most lavish red room that she had ever seen. The floors were made of rosewood trimmed with various crimson carpets with black flowers crawling across their faces. Mosaic style mirrors adorned most every wall and cherry colored silk curtains embroidered in black flowed from the slender windows. Each window was edged with ruby, gold, and emerald colored glass. A delicate and slender armoire crept up one wall, and a low desk with parchment crawled along another. Little emerald colored bottles and baubles with leaf patterns blanketed the desk. Odd and against the windowed wall was a fireplace, an extension off of the gargantuan fireplace several stories below. Off to the right side and apparently the focal point room stood the bed. Built of cherry wood, it was raised from the floor on a platform three steps high. The linens were of a fine burgundy material, similar to fur to the touch, but were not made of hair. The pillows were of a fine scarlet color edged in gold, the one of the light touches of gold in the room, to match the silken sheets that pooled over the sides. Tall slender posts thrust towards the ceiling, connected by ribbon-like gold shafts and draped by a light and airy claret material.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Aphreal finally spoke, a glint of green reflecting onto her face.

“It was Inutasho's late mate, Izayoi's room,” Rin replied.

“Huh?”

“Inutasho was Sesshomaru-sama's father. Inutasho built this place and it was initially completed shortly before he died. For a while Izayoi lived here with Inu Yasha, but when she died, Inu Yasha left and Sesshomaru moved back in.”

“It took forever to get that awful stench out of here!” Jaken squawked from outside the room.

Rin quickly explained, “Izayoi was human. Sesshomaru-sama despises his brother for being a hanyou and Izayoi for being his father's second mate. That's why there are two windows covered downstairs. He hates anything that reminds him of them.”

Aphreal stared on wide-eyed at nothing as she mulled over the strange new insight she had now about the queer white stranger she had come to depend upon.

Before she could mull over much, she was dragged over to the armoire where most of Izayoi's kimonos were stored. Considering that she did not traditionally wear a kimono, she instructed Rin to choose one for her as stripped off Sesshomaru's haori and dropped it outside the door on Jaken's head. A small squawk of frustration emitted outside the door. Sitting on the floor, Rin helped Aphreal into a simple white silk kimono adorned in purple flowers. Silk to not irritate her wounds, the flowers secretly for Sesshomaru-sama's liking. Aphreal did not notice nor did she care as stumbled over to the bed and fell onto its feathery down mattress, letting it encompass her. Figuring that Jaken would come for them, Rin crawled in alongside Aphreal, falling asleep almost as instantaneously.

 

Aphreal awoke later to one of the most freakish sights one can see upon awakening. She awoke to a pair of great bulging white eyes enveloped in green spider like lashes. They were staring at her and when they finally blinked, she jumped with a start.

“Didn't mean to frighten you miss,” an ear piercingly high squeaky voice replied. It was the solitary female, Barubu, and it now became clear as to why the white prince had employed only one female. The high pitched voices of a flock of them would shatter all the windows.

Rubbing her ears slightly, she asked what time it was, for when she had fallen asleep, it was still day.

“It is now supper time, miss. You and the young mistress slept through the midday meal so I thought I should wake you for supper.”

This was much to Aphreal's surprise, but when she turned around, Rin was sleeping soundly still and somehow through Barubu's squeaky voice.

“Will you be coming?” Barubu asked.

Aphreal nodded and Barubu left. She turned slightly on the bed and gazed down upon the small child. Like many things as of late, it was strange to gaze upon her. How could such a small creature be her savior? Sure, Sesshomaru resurrected her, but knowing what she knew already of him, without this little girl he would not have even batted an eye at her demise. Moving her gently, she roused the small girl from her sleep. Rin rubbed her eyes and yawned, her stomach growling in response. Aphreal fixed the small girl's hair and smoothed her own before attempting the daunting task of the seemingly millions of steps leading to the dining hall.

Upon reaching the main floor after what seemed like hours, but was merely minutes, Rin regained her bouncy-ness and immediately dragged Aphreal to the table where a small feast stood at one end. Plates upon plates of meats, cheeses, soups and the like stood on the furthest end from Sesshomaru, who of course was at the place of prominence, the end of the table. However, the closer you got to Sesshomaru, the more you could call it a vegetarian's delight. Various vegetables, steamed, baked, browned, and simmered were placed near to him, all covered in tender steamed broses. The fact that Sesshomaru was a vegetarian caught her so off guard that she didn't realize that Rin had seated her next to him until she sat down, which was unfortunately on her tail. Kimonos don't leave a hole for that you know.

“Ouch!” she yelled as she stood up and rubbed the affected area (AN: Eat your heart out Miroku). “How am I supposed to sit in this thing?”

“Move your tail to the side,” Sesshomaru replied emotionlessly; the bola thing at his side twitching as he spoke.

`Wait…it…twitched?! Is that thing…alive?!' Aphreal thought before yelling, “It moved!” She did this while pointing at his bola.

Sesshomaru was almost amused at this, almost as amused as a cat with its tail caught under a rocking chair. He stared at Aphreal coldly. “It's my tail. I am an Inu-youkai,” he replied as if to finish the conversation and began to eat his meal.

 

Aphreal had been in that jigsaw puzzle of a house for about a week now. Sesshomaru's cold stares and the mir-cat-like movement of the toad demons became ordinary to her somehow. All was quiet, except for, of course, Rin's endless talking. The little girl followed her from room to room on most days blathering to her whatever she felt. Perhaps the girl liked to do that because she did not need to use a subordinate tone around her. Aphreal though had a distinct feeling that she was always like that. `Hrm, maybe that's why Sesshomaru has let me stay so long…to keep Rin occupied.'

Like most in a mother and child type relationship, Aphreal and Rin often occupied the local hot springs most every night under the pale moon and tonight was no different. Within the encompassing warmth of the water, Aphreal laid her head back and relaxed, forgetting all her worries as Rin did the same. However, Rin wasn't contemplating anything, just simply was star gazing. It was a full moon out tonight, but that was the furthest thing from Aphreal's mind, and the closest to Rin's.

Pointing a solitary finger to the sky, Rin shouted, “Look Aphreal, it's a full moon out tonight! Isn't it pretty?”

Surreally relaxed, Aphreal looked up into the heaven's splendor and replied, “Yes, it is.” A little bit of gold reflected the moon like pools in her irises. Sighing and removing herself from the water, Aphreal redressed and motioned for Rin to do the same. Then tonight, just as they had done every night, they traced their way up the steps leading back to the manor. Something seemed off tonight about Aphreal though, something that plagued Rin since supper time. Aphreal's mannerisms seemed quite queer and Rin thought that she had been dropping feathers. Looking back at the hot spring, she was almost certain that she had seen a few in there. Now bathed in the moonlight, she could have sworn that Aphreal was glowing.

Deep in side the house, another one was stirring. For some reason Sesshomaru had felt a pull of sorts, something akin to an inkling that told him, urged him to look outside. Sesshomaru looked up from his codex*. `There's something coming. What is that?' He thought to himself. Sniffing the air, however, told him that it was just Aphreal and Rin coming back from the bath. He turned back to his codex, but he couldn't concentrate on it. Aphreal's scent had crept into the room and had begun to surround him. It enticed and disgusted him all at once. `Enticed?' his mind reeled. `No, there is only disgust. Hanyous deserve disgust.' Even so, her scent was overwhelming his senses, making it next to impossible to concentrate. `FINE,' he thought. `I will assess the situation and dismiss this nonsense.' He set down his codex and left the room.

So there he was when they returned, leaning up against the door and waiting for them. Sesshomaru's eyes widened ever so slightly as he drew in the most minute breath. The weakenly disgusting scent that Aphreal carried had grown stronger and had appeared to have taken over her demon scent. She held a strong glow around her in the light of the full moon and a trail of feathers led from the bath. Her luxurious fluffy white tail had disappeared all together and were replaced by two large shimmering wings.

 

~~~~~~

 

Last minute Author's Notes:

 

1. Doku means poison in Japanese

2. I do highly doubt that there would be a gothic style building in the Japanese wilderness, but according to Rumiko Takahashi's manga, the Sengoku-jidai was from 1467-1568, around the approximate time of the Romanesque and Gothic periods in France. Also, gargantuan building structures have existed since before the time of Christ, at least around 300 BC. For example, in early Mesopotamia, **** built a great fortress like palace that had gargantuan gates to intimidate anyone who entered. You could see it for miles before approaching it and by the time you reached there, you knew that there was nothing you could say to the guy that would change anything. He was in charge, and you knew it. Either way, the French obsession with tall, slender buildings seemed to be just Sesshomaru's style to me. With how long it takes to build one of these monument like buildings, I figured Inutasho commissioned most of it, and Sesshomaru finished it with the Gothic architecture. Ah yes, the glories of fiction, where a person can mettle with time, style, and the such. *big cheesy grin* I know that I have a tendency to insert a ton of technical jargon, which is of course a big no-no, so I am going to clarify a couple of things:

1) A flying buttress is basically a braced arch on the outside of a building that connects to a specific point on a building to take the thrust off of a wall that has to support vaulted ceilings. This allows for many, many windows and lots of light. It makes a rather interesting exterior.

2) Vaulted ceiling - think an arched ceiling rather than your standard issue flat ceiling.

3) Rose window- technically speaking, a rose window doesn't necessarily have a rose shape to it. Basically, it is a giant circular window several feet around with thin tracery (in this case, molding) creating the shape of an almost abstract flower.

4) Codex - That is what they called books back then. Either you use a scroll, or do the chic and handy thing and use a codex. It's also easier to have illustrations that way. =)

Also as a side note, when I refer to the word queer in this story, I refer to its original meaning “weird”. It's not used to represent someone's sexuality.