InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Vision ❯ Chapter 41 ( Chapter 40 )

When Ai awoke, her dais was surrounded by retainers and physicians. It appeared that her pregnancy had been discovered while she was searching for Kirara. Now officially confined to her suite, Ai spent her time learning more about her powers. She found it was very easy to enter the body of any being she touched. She could travel with them, seeing what they saw, feeling what they felt, or she could take total control of their body, which would respond as if it were her own. After a great deal of trial and error, she found that she could enter the bodies of more distant beings. This power was more problematic. After her first few tries, it became easy for her to seek out Kirara. She supposed this was because of the close bond she shared with the fire cat. It was more difficult for her to make contact with acquaintances or strangers. The more she practiced, the more successful she became. It was only by accident that she discovered that she could enter a trance state by gazing into a dark basin of water, and that she could see visions in the surface. Her powers of divination were not perfect, for the visions were random and confusing. It was during this time that she also learned to change her own body to assume any form she desired. For many years, Ai had been left alone by her mate’s retainers. There was no political benefit to be had in currying favor with the Lady, who was regarded by all as an insane human witch. Ai was free to practice her new skills without interference.

Ai spent a lot of time looking out through Kirara’s eyes. The warrior-priestess and the fire cat left the slayers’ village each morning and went into the surrounding forest to hone their skills. Most days, Midoriko was met by Inutaisho. Ai watched as Inutaisho presented the priestess with a great sword and demon armor. He seemed to be taking an extreme interest in turning the human woman into a killing machine. When the pair was not training, Inutaisho was tender and caring. Ai became hardened to the sight of her mate coupling with Midoriko. The demon lord and the priestess did not care that they had an audience. Kirara was a mononoke, incapable of speech or assuming human form.

Their battles became more intense every day. Fighting seemed to bring out Mikoriko’s powers. The more fierce the engagement, the more her power grew. One late afternoon, when the beams of the sun were slanting through the leaves of the surrounding trees, Inutaisho called a halt to their sparring. S’ounga was thrumming with energy. The sword seemed to take joy in the vicious sparring. The crystal orb set into the hilt of S’ounga glowed with a strange, intense light. After staring intently at the orb, Inutaisho returned S’ounga to the sheath at his back. He swept the sweaty, disheveled priestess into his arms and carried her to one of his favorite places, where a waterfall cascaded from high above into a pool of crystal clear water. The water was tepid in the shallows, warmed by the sun, but grew increasingly cold in the deeper areas where the water crashed down from above. Surrounded by a thick border of flowering shrubs and vines, the pool was very secluded, the only sound that of the falling water, and the calls of many small songbirds. The demon lord removed the priestess’ armor, stopping now and again to kiss and lick the beads of sweat from her heated skin. He peeled off the sweaty leather uniform, and then quickly removed his own white silk. Midoriko pressed herself against Inutaisho’s lean, hard body. She wrapped her arms around his slender waist, nuzzling her face into his sculpted, rock-hard pecs. He was so much bigger than she, and considered by all to be the greatest warrior in all of Japan. In the demon lord’s arms, she sometimes had to struggle against the urge to believe that she actually deserved to be treated like a fragile, cherished princess.

He led her into the pool, stopping when the water reached his waist. He scooped up warm water in his big palms, rinsing the sweat from her body, taking the opportunity to caress every inch of her skin with the greatest of care. She clung to him, trembling with a mixture of fatigue and anticipation. He held her against him, kneading the tight muscles of her shoulders, as she pressed her lips against his chest. Next he ran his hands down her back, using long, firm strokes, practically hypnotizing her as he repeated the motion over and over. Lowering his hands to her buttocks, he squeezed them gently and rhythmically, insinuating his knee between her thighs. She sighed against him as he grasped her hips, lifting her up in the water and down onto his length.

Giving in totally to his domination, she gazed up at him, and caught him staring into her eyes intently. Not for the first time, she wondered what he was thinking. Did he love her? She had always been told that demons were not capable of love. She knew he had a beautiful young mate. So why was he investing so much of his time in her, a simple priestess from an insignificant village? The men of the village had never shown any interest in Midoriko. She was too tough, too driven, and her body bore too many muscles and too many battle scars to be considered beautiful. She was grateful for the training he was giving her, and the demon sword and armor were better than anything she had ever hoped to possess. But she was a plain, hard woman, not in the habit of engaging in fantasy. There had to be a reason for the great demon lord’s interest, and Midoriko intended to find out what it was.

The more time Ai spent in Kirara’s body, serving as Midoriko’s sparring partner while they waited for Inutaisho’s arrival, the less she resented the priestess. Through Kirara’s eyes, she saw that Midoriko was sad and lonely, and realized that Inutaisho was most likely her only close friend. That is the way it had been for her when Inutaisho rescued her from the cave and brought her to Japan. He had showered Ai with attention, spending hours with her that he could have spent attending to his lands. As Ai had gradually regained her grasp on sanity, she came to find the way Inutaisho would stare at her intently for hours to be strange and disconcerting. It was as if he were looking for something when he gazed into her eyes. What she had once viewed as romantic, she came to see as disturbing. It was when she was listening to palace gossip through the ears of a little servant girl that she came to realize that not only did he never encourage the members of the demon court to interact with her, he actually led them to believe that that she was dangerously insane. He told Ai, in turn, that it was not safe for his human mate to get too close to the court, which was full of deceit and intrigue.

One morning when the sun rose in an orange haze, Midoriko felt it was too hot and muggy to spar. She sat with Kirara, petting the big cat, and speaking to her gently. Ai listened as Midoriko attempted to puzzle out Inutaisho’s motives. Ai learned that the priestess felt the same misgivings as she did about her mate’s strange behavior. She resolved to use her powers to find out what he was up to.

As Midoriko stroked Kirara’s head, Ai’s soul jumped from the fire cat to the priestess. Ai relished the strength and coordination of the bigger woman’s body as she made her way quickly to the nearby pool. She came to an overhanging willow tree, which shaded the water. The bottom of the pool was covered in the dark fallen leaves of the willow, rendering the surface reflective and suitable for scrying, though she usually preferred nighttime and candlelight for practicing this form of divination. Leaning over the pool, she stirred the surface with her fingers, gazing fixedly into the water. She thought hard about her mate. She gradually entered a trance state.

She saw a large room, which she assumed to be a dungeon. The floor and walls were made of quarried squares of gray stone, fitted tightly. There were no windows, and only one visible door, a sturdy one bound in iron straps and hinges. Light came from strange, colored crystals that had been mounted here and there on the walls. In the middle of the room, strapped to a high wooden table, was the body of a dark haired young woman. She appeared to be dead at first, but then Ai noticed the signs of shallow breathing. Suddenly, the heavy door slammed open and Inutaisho swept into the room. Ai watched as he took care to secure the door with a spell. He moved quickly to the table, where he seemed to loom over the captive woman. No matter how hard she tried, Ai could not see the captive’s features, or even the details of her body, just pale female skin and the long, blue black hair that lay loose and tumbled on the wood of the table. She had no idea if the vision was taking place in the past, the present, or the future. Her mate was unchanging in his appearance. The woman on the table was nude, so she could not use the fashion of her dress as an indicator of the time period. She could also not be sure if the vision was literally true, or a symbolic representation of something less concrete. Inutaisho reached over his shoulder and grasped the hilt of S’ounga, drawing the sword from the sheath he always wore at his back.

Inutaisho sensed Midoriko’s presence by the pool. The day was becoming very hot, and he was not surprised to find his lover in the cool shadow cast by the great willow tree that leaned over the pool. He detected the presence of strong magic, and felt hope swell in his chest. He went to her, and drew her up by her hand. He tipped her chin upward and looked into her eyes. What he saw was indeed strange. Midoriko seemed to be in a trance. He shook her shoulders lightly, and felt relieved when she came to herself. The priestess resonated with power.

Ai returned to Midoriko’s body to find herself staring into her husband’s face. She traced the jagged markings on his cheeks with Midoriko’s fingers, bringing her palms to rest on his chest. Ai could not think of how to trick Inutaisho into revealing the secrets she was now sure he kept. She decided to try the direct approach. “When you look into my eyes, what is it you are looking for, My Lord?”

Inutaisho encircled her in his muscular arms. He had searched so long for the priestess who would finally grant him the power he deserved. Surely, Midoriko was the one he had been seeking. He leaned his chin on the crown of her head. “All my life, I have been looking for a very special woman, the one who will make all my dreams come true. And I think, after all my years of searching, I have finally found her in you.”