InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed ❯ Observations ( Chapter 22 )

Chapter Twenty Two - Observations

 

Yuti yawned. It didn't matter that this was the strangest thing she'd ever been apart of, watching a human sleep just wasn't a very exciting occupation. She hadn't moved since she fell asleep on her stomach several hours ago except to twitch her arm or leg occasionally.

 

“Who are you?” She asked quietly to herself even though she knew she would only be met with silence from her charge. Strangely enough, it wasn't silence that answered her. At just that moment, she heard the distinct sound of two people approaching the rooms and she knew exactly to whom the two sets of boots belonged. A few moments later, both her mate and her lord slipped quietly into the room. Both men nodded in her direction as they made their way over to the sleeping human.

 

It was then that Yuti noticed something. She had been so absorbed in the return of Sess and his unexpected companion that she hadn't taken the time to really look at the lord himself. There was a great deal about him that was different. Some of it was easy to spot. First, the cloths he wore. They were not of a youkai design and nor were they fit for the position he held. They were the cloths of human peasants. Next was his hair. The once calf length, silver mane now only fell to his mid back and made the youkai appear even younger than he already did. And finally, the expression on his face the moment he came near the human. It wasn't distant and stoic, instead it seemed to hold a thousand expressions all at once. The funny thing of it was, even now it was a difficult expression to read despite the multitude of emotions etched into it, as though they all cancelled one another out.

 

Yuti drew her attention away from her lord and laid them squarely on her mate. What she saw made her want to laugh out loud. She kept herself in check as she realized both the inconvenience it would cause in waking the human and that she probably bore a very similar expression when she first laid eyes on her. He just stared at the figure and though he couldn't see most of her due to the position in which she slept, she knew full well that he was aware of her all too human heritage, any youkai would have been able to. She smelled like one, breathed like one and cast the simple aura of one.

 

After the shock of the moment passed, Sesshoumaru motioned to both of his generals to follow him back into the hall. He had no desire to wake her. She had been through so much in the last day and a half. The sleep would do her good and perhaps she would be easier to deal with after she was rested. He doubted it but he held out hope for the possibility anyway. Once they were outside, he spoke.

 

“For the moment, I believe it would be best to keep her presence a secret in light of the current situation of the Western Lands.” He looked at both of his generals in turn and didn't say anything else for a moment. The pause was awkward until Tomo and Yuti realized that he was waiting for their opinions. Both were caught off guard. Though it had been a year, they were not used to their lord asking for their thoughts often on matters such as this or anything else for that matter.

 

The three discussed the best approach both to his return and how to handle the unusual situation of the human he'd brought with him. Though he'd said very little to the effect, Yuti and Tomo understood clearly that sending the human away was simply not an option though neither knew the reasoning behind the desire. After a time discussing the pros and cons, they decided that playing down his return would be the best. Make it appear that his absence had not been anything truly worthy of notice. That way his detractors would have less ground to stand on if any of them decided to make any kind of fuss over the incident.

 

All three heard when the human cried out from within the bedroom. All three heads turned.

 

“We will finish this discussion in the morning.” Sesshoumaru stated, effectively ending the conversation for the night. Yuti and Tomo both bowed and turned to leave as their lord slipped back into his rooms. They exchanged glances at one another as they made their way back to their bed. Their lord Sesshoumaru had awakened them to a reality that was far stranger than any dream they could have even imagined having.

 

 

With the discussions outside his door finished, Sesshoumaru soundlessly slipped inside his chamber and to the human woman inside. After hearing unintelligible scream only moments before, he fully expected to find her awake and brandishing some sort of weapon. What he found was quite the opposite. Instead, he found her fast asleep but thrashing fitfully as though caught in some unseen creatures grasp. He'd seen another human act just like this some years ago. He recognized a nightmare now when he saw it. He quickly but quietly made his way to the bed. Her agitation seemed to almost completely go away when he gently placed his hand on her flushed cheek. Almost as though she were physically drawing comfort from his touch, she turned her face into his caress.

 

He stood there for several long moments wondering if she might wake but when her countenance finally turned back to that of someone peacefully asleep, he knew she would not. It was a small measure of comfort to him that at least in sleep, she did not ignore him. As carefully as he could so as not to disturb her, Sesshoumaru slipped into the bed and wrapped his body around hers. The slumbering Takana easily nuzzled into the warmth and protection he provided. He couldn't help but sigh. With everything going on around him, the difficulties that lay ahead in his leadership of the Western Lands and with his relationship with Takana, he was content to simply hold her. He knew it would not last and willed the night to last forever. The coming dawn was bringing more with it than simply a new day but a daunting variety of obstacles he would be forced to face and overcome.

 

 

AN: Sorry for the very short chapter but even though it's not much and doesn't seem very complicated (even to me when I read it) it was a pain in the ass to write. I know you are all looking forward to some more Sess/Takana interaction, so am I, and I promise that there will be some in the next chapter. I've decided that convoluted plots are tough. What was I thinking? After this, it's back to PWP. What can I say, I'm feeling lazy.