InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Gone With the Wind. ❯ Romance is dead. ( Chapter 5 )

Gone with the Wind

Chapter 5

 

 

An elegant set of golden eyes silently roamed over the gentle curving form of a less then traditional human woman as she awkwardly sat against the ground and rubbed at her forehead as if in pain.

 

Sesshoumaru recalled briefly that the woman before him seemed to have a somewhat angry welt on her forehead; something he initially had found very confusing considering the last time he had seen THAT face, Kagura's face, it had been flawless.

 

Undoubtedly the female's condition lay squarely on the shoulders of his idiot half brother. Obviously he had been careless with the girl's safety; allowing her to cause herself harm despite her fragility.

 

`He is far too careless.' The taiyoukai noted accusingly as he silently pondered how his father could have entrusted such a hapless twit with his much favored sword for what seemed like the millionth time. Perhaps Inu Yasha and his father had more in common then he initially realized.

 

When Sesshoumaru thought about it, which he often did, it was amazing Inu Yasha hadn't lost a member of his pack all ready. Considering Inu Yasha's often brash behavior, he assumed it probably had something to do with the way the humans kept his younger brother's idiocy in check. After all, some humans were blessed with higher reasoning skills.

 

Sesshoumaru snorted loudly as the timing of his internal statement seemed desperately ironic.

 

Three times in succession the woman before him prodded at the angry bruise that he could now tell covered most of her forehead. And, three times in succession she had flinched and grumbled; as if the pain had somehow caught her by surprise.

 

Had the woman before him not insisted on covering herself in the foul stench of the odd herb she seemed to inhale almost constantly he would have approached her to inspect the wound. He supposed, considering the woman was from the future, it must have been some sort of anti-youkai protection. After all, what male in his right mind would attempt to rape, or even bed a female who positively reeked of ash and death?

 

Excluding his dimwitted half brother…that is.

 

It was a shame, the Taiyoukai admitted internally, because if the faint scent he vaguely remembered from the hot spring was any indication; her natural scent was quite….

 

Sesshoumaru fought the urge to roll his eyes as he noted Keiko's arm was rising for a forth jab. The great dog demon, in a brief moment of compassion, decided to save the woman….from herself.

 

“Woman.” The Taiyoukai warned dangerously. “Do not aggravate your injury.”

 

Keiko glowered as best she could as the small sore muscles in her forehead restricted the expression. “I can't help it.” She whined. “It hurts.”

 

The Taiyoukai blinked languidly once as remember why he typically refrained from associating with humans.

 

Kami, they were stupid.

 

“Is it your understanding that irritating it will somehow aid in your recovery?” The great dog demon questioned rhetorically.

 

Keiko huffed and allowed her arms to fall against her sides as she continued to stare at the dirt in front of her. He was right of course, even if he didn't specifically say it, she was acting like a fool. She was well aware that poking at her forehead wasn't going to force the pain away; all though she swore for at least a brief moment afterwards it seemed like it did.

 

The problem wasn't her forehead, Keiko admitted internally. The problem was him. The taiyoukai had stated, quite authoritatively, that they would be leaving in the morning, and all though she wasn't exactly thrilled with the concept of moving further from the well that inevitably held her freedom, she didn't understand why they were going to spend an entire day camping at this specific location.

 

It wasn't like they were doing anything important.

 

He was just sitting there.

 

Sitting there and looking at her.

 

Did he ever blink?

 

`What a weirdo.' Keiko remarked internally as she attempted to calm the uneasy nervous feeling the taiyoukai's cold and somewhat calculating gaze evoked by drowning it in a sea of nicotine.

 

Deftly the young woman pulled a cigarette free of the pack in her pocket as she lazily let it hang from her lips and cupped her hand around her lighter in anticipation of lighting up yet another `cancer stick.'

 

“Oooooo.” The young girl of the group exclaimed as she eyed the woman curiously. “What's that?”

 

Keiko's eyebrow arched slightly as she turned to the young girl who looked at her with impossibly big eyes. She was never any good with children, she admitted internally, probably because she had never had a chance to have a childhood herself.

 

“It's a cigarette.” The young reincarnation explained matter-of-factly as she momentarily eyed `daddy dearest' to make sure she wasn't going to be reprimanded for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

 

“Is it candy?” Rin questioned again; causing Keiko to nearly gag, despite the fact that she hadn't lit her cigarette yet.

 

“No.” The young woman warned as she pulled the tip of the filter free of her lips. “And it's definitely not for children.” She felt compelled to add.

 

 

“Why not?” The young girl questioned, once again with impossibly big eyes, as she stared at the small box the elder woman pulled from her jacket.

 

“You see this?” Keiko questioned as she tapped the bottom of the pack with her index finger to draw attention to the surgeon generals warning. “That says….If you smoke these…you will die.”

 

“But…” Rin began, obviously a little more then confused considering she wasn't talking to a ghost. “You aren't dead.”

 

“Not yet.” Keiko corrected with a dark half chuckle that suggested she fully believed what she was saying as she deposited the pack back into her jacket and once again let a lone cigarette hang from her mouth.

 

So engrossed was Keiko in her conversation with the small child that she did not notice the tall demon lord who had, only moments before, abandoned his position as he stood mere inches in front of her.

 

Keiko felt as if she might fall over as she slowly rolled her head backward in an attempt to reach the taiyoukai's face.

 

`Kami he's tall.' Her brain registered dimly before she, all at once, found herself hanging in the air by the front of her jacket; a very strong arm lifting her from the earth as if she were nothing more then a small child's doll.

 

Once again one of Keiko's cigarettes fell haphazardly to the earth causing her to curse as she noted the damp soil had more then likely ruined it.

 

Soundlessly, Sesshoumaru walked the woman to a tall boulder as he seemed to set her on it as if it were shelf; making the doll comparison that much more disturbing.

 

Deftly and without a hint of apprehension the taiyoukai thrust his hand into the woman's pocket as he withdrew the small white box she had been showing off before; giving it a tentative sniff. While he couldn't identify all of the putrid components found in the tiny objects, he could most definitely detect some sort of poison.

 

After all, it was his specialty.

 

“Hey!” Keiko exclaimed as she attempted to reclaim her recently pilfered cigarettes. “I need those!”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at the woman before him. All though he did not scent any deceit coming off of her (at least while the stench still clung to her body) he could not understand why she would insist upon needing something to repel youkai when he was obviously more then capable of fending off any potential attack.

 

There was also the possibility, he acknowledge begrudgingly, that the woman needed the foul smelling herb for medicinal purposes, which meant destroying them at this point would only prove foolish.

 

Deciding that the foul herbs were much less offensive to the senses when unlit, Sesshoumaru quickly deposited the small pack into the folds of his kimono. He would wait and see if the woman did, in fact, require them for something other then protection, and if so, he would relinquish them to her when her disease made it's self known.

 

If her health did not fail, however, he would toss the disgusting things into the nearest stream.

 

First however, he had a question that demanded an answer.

 

“Why would you purposefully inhale poison?” Sesshoumaru questioned flatly.

 

Keiko rolled her eyes at what she felt was a ridiculous question.

 

“What are you…my mother?” She remarked bitterly. “What do you care what I do or do not inhale?

 

Sesshoumaru seemed to stare through the young woman's shoulder as he contemplated her answer. Why would a human, all ready blessed with a short and easily ended life, seek to shorten it further by inhaling poison?

 

While he understood how a human might seek to end their life, surely there were more expedient means.

 

“Gimme!” Keiko whined as she noted the taiyoukai before her seemed to be off on some mental vacation after stealing her personal property only moments before. Warily she thrust her hand into the dog demon's kimono as she attempted to locate the imprisoned package.

 

“Woman.” Sesshoumaru warned as he grabbed the familiar looking woman's wrist in his palm and shot her a look of warning. Instantly her face flushed a deep shade of red as he held her hand in place within the fabric of his kimono.

 

A lone dark eyebrow rose into the great dog demon's hairline as he watched the odd expression play across Kagura's features. Was she embarrassed? Was she angry? Never in his lifetime had he ever imagined seeing Kagura's face such a color. Tentatively he lowered his head slightly to sniff the young woman and possibly discern her mood; pulling back sharply as his nasal passages were filled once again with the foul smelling odor.

 

First things first, the great taiyoukai decided, if he was going to spend any amount of time around this woman….. she was going to bathe.

 

“He—ey!” Keiko squawked as she was once again thrown over the taiyoukai's shoulder, ironically getting used to being tossed about like a rag doll.

 

“Where are we going?” The young woman questioned as they seemed to once again take off into the forest.

 

“You smell.” The taiyoukai retorted insensitively.

 

“Yeah…..well.” Keiko grumbled as she attempted to return the totally unwarranted insult to her character. “You have a fat ass.”

 

Sesshoumaru snorted sharply at the obviously flippant argument before deciding it wasn't worthy of a response. `This Sesshoumaru does not have a fat ass.' The great dog demon noted internally.

 

“Lord!” Jaken protested as he seemed unsure whether or not he should follow the departing figures into the forest. “Where are you going?!”

 

“The wench requires a bath,” Sesshoumaru answered over his shoulder, “we will return shortly,” he added before both figures were swallowed up by the tree line.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru-sama is going to take a bath with Keiko-chan?” Rin questioned with bright childish eyes as she blinked several times in Jaken's direction and curved her mouth into a tiny `o' shape.

 

“Waaaaaaah.” Jaken wailed piteously as he allowed himself to fall face first into the earth in a most undignified fashion; the dirt effectively muffling his sobs.

 

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

 

 

“Kagome…” Inu Yasha huffed warily in a tone that suggested it hadn't been the first time he had attempted to gain the miko's attention.

 

“Shhhhhh.” The young woman chastised without pulling her nose out of the book she held in front of her as she clumsily plotted along.

 

Inu Yasha grumbled as he stared at the glossy pink cover that so openly mocked him.

 

Why hadn't he burned that thing when he had a chance?

 

He supposed if he was to be perfectly honest with himself, it was the cover that initially caught his attention. `Why would Kagome read a book with such strange people on the front?' He had wondered after several minutes of searching through her back pack had finally been rewarded with the object he was seeking.

 

On the cover of the book of doom, or so he liked to call it, there was a woman wearing this….strange looking dress that was enormous, except for the part that covered her breasts. No, for some reason the tailor seemed to run out fabric when he got to that part of the dress. The woman seemed to be distraught, he noticed, possibly over the dress, as she seemed on the verge of fainting while a tall man attempted to catch her. Why the man wasn't wearing a shirt he hadn't a clue. Maybe it was hot? Yes, that would seem to make sense. At any rate, it piqued his interest, which he supposed was probably the whole purpose of having such a ridiculous image on the front of the book.

 

He hadn't read much the first time he thumbed through the pages; initially hoping to find out what had the woman on the cover so distraught, only to be disappointed as the words seemed to be nothing more then a simple retelling of some overly sentimental girl who grew up on a farm somewhere.

 

It hadn't been until the war broke out that he really understood why Kagome turned to this particular book from time to time.

 

This Drake person seemed like a tough fighter, Inu Yasha noted with interest, and he could really relate to someone like that. He could also relate, unfortunately, to the poor man's dilemma over this Tiffany person.

 

He swore if he ever met Tiffany he would tell that bitch to “Quit with the crying and let him protect you!”

 

Which he supposed wouldn't be at all helpful considering the girl's propensity for tearful declarations. It really didn't help that the book seemed to focus on Tiffany more then anyone else, and he often had to read pages and pages of crying before he got to anything he deemed exciting.

 

So, maybe he wouldn't tell Tiffany to shut it. After all, he couldn't stand it when women cried, and he supposed she wasn't entirely overreacting.

 

This Drake guy seemed to be, in Inu Yasha's opinion, a complete idiot. How could this guy possibly spend as much time as he did with this girl and not pick up on the fact that she liked him as more then a friend? Honestly, was anyone that stupid?

 

“Inu Yasha,” Kagome questioned as she sensed her puppy-eared companion seemed to be day dreaming. “You're still looking out for trees aren't you?” She finished without pulling her nose from the book.

 

“Yeah…yeah.” Inu Yasha retorted casually as he noted it wasn't just the book that was pissing him off.

 

When Kagome read that thing she completely ignored him and something about her scent….changed. It was well beyond weird, the hanyou decided, considering she never reacted that way to any of the other books she brought back with her; but then she had never been so adamant about reading those books either. Something about the foreign scent was pleasing, he decided, much in the same way the scent of her happiness was pleasing, but sending an all together strange feeling through his body.

 

Suddenly he wanted her attention but didn't know why.

 

Suddenly he wanted to know what chapter she was on so he could know what she was reading.

 

Suddenly he had forgotten to watch out for trees.

 

“Kag-“ The hanyou began, only to flinch with his ears falling flat against his head as Kagome's foot connected with a large stump.

 

“Ah!” The young woman exclaimed as she began to fall forward; pin wheeling her arms.

 

“Gotcha!” Inu Yasha exclaimed triumphantly; a toothy half smirk exposing a fang as he caught Kagome by the hand and spun her around so she lay in his arms just short of connecting with the ground. He noted her eyes were still closed as she seemed to be anticipating her impact with the earth; a slight pink tingeing the hanyou's face as he suddenly wondered what Kagome would look like in an enormous dress that hung several inches too low.

 

“Inu Yasha?” Kagome whispered softly as she finally opened her eyes and stared up at the man that held her.

 

“Y-yeah Kagome?” Inu Yasha questioned as he suddenly found it hard to swallow.

 

“You were supposed to be looking out for trees…you baka!” The young miko exclaimed as she swiftly swatted the disobedient dog against the arm with her book.

 

Quickly Inu Yasha set her back on her feet before burying his hands in his sleeves and looking away from her in agitation; the atmosphere they once shared completely destroyed.

 

“I caught you didn't I?” The angry dog demon barked.

 

“That's not the point!” Kagome argued.

 

“The fuck it ain't!” Inu Yasha retorted; making even less sense then usual.

 

“Inu Yasha…” The miko warned in a tone that the hanyou long ago learned to fear. “Oswarri!”

 

Instantly, and with little more then a high pitched whine, Inu Yasha was shoved violently into the earth as it embraced him in an all too familiar way.

 

“Are we stopping?” Sango questioned from her place atop Kirara as she remained completely unfazed by the happenings beneath her.

 

“Good idea!” Kagome beamed as she seemed to instantly regain her usually chipper expression. “Maybe I'll even have enough time to get to the end of this chapter!”

 

Inside a puppy sized crater a pride-wounded hanyou released a pathetic string of whimpers.

 

He really should have burned that book when he had the chance.

 

~0~0~0~0~0~0~

 

As any young woman with a healthy sex drive would; Keiko's deviant mind supplied all kinds of naughty imagery as the tall, muscular dog demon informed the others he was giving her a bath before whisking her away on his shoulder.

 

Her imagination took her places that fluctuated between pathetically boring to hardcore porn and everywhere in-between.

 

There was of course the obvious abundance of nudity, she remembered wistfully, followed by the awkwardly misplaced bar of soap, she recalled with another mental sigh, only to be outdone by the possibility of a tongue bath (which Keiko didn't feel was that far fetched considering he was a dog demon), but this….

 

This was no where near what she expected.

 

“Stop!” Keiko sputtered as she was pulled roughly from the freezing water again by her hair.

Why wouldn't he just ASK her to bath?

Could she really smell that bad?

 

Sesshoumaru paused momentarily as he leaned in to lightly sniff in the girl's direction.

 

As his nose crinkled in an expression of disgust Keiko quickly filled her lungs with air and pinched her nose closed; bracing herself as she was shoved under the water again.

 

Apparently she could.

 

Sesshoumaru stood in the thigh-deep water as he held the woman under by her long black hair. She was no longer fighting him; something he was thankful for, since he detested getting wet when he didn't need to, but the smell was still not completely off her. He had concluded long before they reached the stream that the smell was not only prevalent in her hair and skin but throughout her clothing as well.

 

As easy as it was to get a foreign scent off one's person, getting it out of clothing was an all together different matter.

 

Quickly Sesshoumaru pulled the sputtering woman from the freezing water as he determined seeking her opinion in such matters might prove useful.

 

“I cannot remove the stench from your clothing.” The great taiyoukai admitted as his hand remained buried in the damp ringlets of jet black hair at the top of the woman's head. “Remove your clothing or remain here until the scent dissipates.”

 

Typically he didn't exercise such leniency, but typically he didn't travel with strange women from the future either.

 

Keiko eyed Sesshoumaru quizzically. Was he serious? Was the man who kidnapped her, stole her only pack of cigarettes, and recently threw her into a freezing stream actually giving her an ultimatum?

 

Silently the young trembling woman decided to answer the demon lord's request with the same thoughtfulness used to express it.

 

Raising a now numb limb from the water she willed her now frozen muscles to move as she made a fist and then, with a mild amount of difficultly, lifted her middle digit to effectively flip the great taiyoukai off.

 

Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed as he looked at the odd gesture, and then at the face of the fuming woman it was attached to. After several moments of confusion he finally looked up to the heavens to determine what it was the odd woman was pointing at.

 

He had barely surveyed the sky when the woman beneath him seemed to break into fits of laughter, effectively gaining his attention again.

 

“Oh Kami.” Keiko laughed as she placed a numb hand against her middle; not sure if laughing so hard while she couldn't feel her body was dangerous or not.

 

“That was priceless.” She practically sobbed as the taiyoukai above her simply stared.

 

“Explain.” Sesshoumaru demanded as the fact that he didn't understand what was so priceless about the moment grated against his nerves.

 

Keiko crinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue as she simply shook her head and stared at him with a big silly grin on her face. He was actually kind of cute when he was confused, she decided; dunking her head under the water in yet another attempt to get the phantom `smell' he insisted was there off of her person.

 

Despite the fact that she was completely numb and that he was the cause she decided the least she could do was cooperate.

 

She always was a sucker for a cute guy.

 

Sesshoumaru stared down at the woman with an almost dumbstruck expression. Since when did any woman choose freezing cold water over being nude in his presence? Not that he would have cared, of course. But he had fully expected the female to jump at the opportunity to disrobe before him.

 

“Still?” Keiko questioned as she emerged from the water; holding out her arm for the demon lord to give it a good sniff.

 

He nodded once and the woman sniffed at her arm in disbelief before releasing a string of obscenities and dunking herself under again.

 

Had he lost his touch? Sesshoumaru found himself wondering as he seemed to ignore the woman who scrubbed frantically beneath the surface of the water.

 

He had no want, need, or desire to rut with a human female, even if her soul was once a demon, but shouldn't she at least…want him?

 

“Still?” Keiko questioned again as she emerged from the water and held out her arm; huffing lightly as the taiyoukai before her barely gave it a passing glance before nodding. She grumbled softly before dunking her head under the water again, wondering if perhaps Sesshoumaru just enjoyed watching her suffer.

 

Silently and completely unbidden Sesshoumaru found himself pondering the woman's previous accusation.

 

Did he have a big ass?

 

Surely someone would have mentioned it before?

 

“Still?” Keiko questioned expectantly; the look on her face suggesting she held out hope for a different outcome this time.

 

Sesshoumaru nodded once and the young woman groaned loudly.

 

“You're shitting me.” She offered randomly.

 

“I do not.” He answered back distractedly, not really sure what she was talking about but pretty sure, whatever it was, he wasn't doing it.

 

“Ugh!” Keiko exclaimed again before disappearing below the waters surface.

 

Approximately half an hour later the two would wade free of the water; Keiko flopping loudly against the ground as she collapsed near the fire and opted to let her clothes dry while she wore them, and Sesshoumaru once again taking up his post against a comfortable looking tree.

 

Sesshoumaru would eventually find himself mildly disturbed by the fact that the woman before him remained clothed.

 

Ironically, sometime later, Sesshoumaru would realize his disturbance regarding such matters was disturbing as well, and quickly push all the unbidden thoughts free of his mind.