InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Moving Pictures ❯ Full Moon ( Chapter 6 )

A/N:

 

FFnet:

Shipposfriend, forgotten angel, Shock1119

 

gothic-ember: Thanks! He is difficult to keep in character, mostly because there isn't much to pattern him after. Especially the dialog; he doesn't talk that much.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Chapter 6 - Full Moon

 

The sun glared off of Ah-Un's bridal and no matter which way she turned her head, a shaft of light pierced her eyeballs, intensifying the pounding in her head. Jaken had taken much delight in her hangover, making a point to lecture Rin on the evils of rice wine, wanton women, and human blood in general. She rubbed her temples as he started in another good rant, a growl seeping from between her lips.

 

“See that, Rin?” he pointed at the grouchy woman trailing the group. “That is a prime example of the foolishness borne in human blood. Be sure you take note and do not succumb to it yourself.”

 

Rin nodded solemnly, her eyes wide and serious. The girl had given Charlotte a wide berth since she'd growled at Jaken first thing in the morning. It wasn't that he hadn't deserved it; he'd whacked her with his staff to wake her. However, she usually acted as human as she possibly could, and humans didn't growl like that.

 

Sesshomaru was a problem unto himself. His graceful stride, long silver hair billowing behind him, sent twinges of desire through her body. The resonance of his voice caressed her like fingers under her skin. Her hyperactive libido only served to irritate her more and she desperately hoped that he didn't notice. With the way her luck was going, he was probably silently laughing at her.

 

The daylight dimmed as dark, ponderous clouds lumbered over the sun and thunder rumbled in the distance. Charlotte sighed in relief as the brilliant light dulled, blinking away spots from the backs of her eyelids. Another clap of thunder sounded overhead and the sky split open, drenching them with large, warm drops. Pinning her ears and hunching her shoulders, Charlotte growled with the roar of the falling rain.

 

She should have known better than to drink the night before the full moon. Stupid sake. Stupid pack. Stupid soldier. Her beast flared within her in response to another comment from Jaken, wanting to pounce on the impudent little toad. Fighting it back down, she glared at the back of his head. She hated being around people when her beast was so close to the surface of her mind; usually, she called in sick or worked from home. Rin had lost interest in his lecture, abandoning him for jumping into the rapidly forming puddles. Caught up in her own thoughts and internal battle, she entirely missed Sesshomaru's sharp glances.

 

XxxxxxxxxxxX

 

Charlotte quickly slipped through the trees, trying to quiet the hammering of her heart. No one had seemed to notice when she left, but she felt naked without the cover of true darkness. They would probably be happy that she was gone; she'd been horrible company the entire day, even after it had stopped raining. She'd thanked her lucky stars that Sesshomaru had disappeared late in the afternoon. He might have come after her, as he had the previous night. She glanced at the sky, inky blue overtaking the rosy tint at the horizon. She had a scant half-hour before the moon rose.

 

The thick forest broke around a small clearing encircled by ancient oak trees. A rough ring of flat stones lay in the middle of the clearing, mossy and almost overgrown by flowering vines. Pale, trumpet-shaped blossoms bobbed on their stems in the evening breeze. Charlotte stared at them in wonder, brushing the fragile blooms with her fingertips. Smiling softly, she pulled off her kimono and panties, folding them neatly, and sat on her knees in the grass just outside the ring of stones. She set the small pile of clothes beside her and waited for the change.

 

Her skin prickled with energy; the first sign that the full moon had risen. For as long as she could remember, she had taken her beast form on the night of the full moon. It wasn't something she could control but she could make it more comfortable by relaxing in privacy. She didn't even like transforming in front of her brother, who would be going through the same ordeal.

 

Usually, she roamed the Verdugos on nights like these, running through the chaparral forest and chasing rabbits. Once in a while, she stayed with her brother in Yosemite with the entire park to wander. In lion form, she lost the carefully maintained façade of humanity; even human thought was pushed to the side to be overwhelmed by her beast. Memories of these nights were vague and indistinct, more dream than anything else. `Beast…that's what Mom always called it. I wonder if she meant youkai, demon?'

 

She rubbed her arms briskly to lay flat the tiny hairs that stood on end, cat ears twitching to catch the forest sounds. A branch creaked to her left but she didn't bother to check it out; she could feel the energy shift in her body that meant that she was starting her transformation. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles so that the change would be easy and painless.

 

A strong hand grasped her upper arm and hoisted her to her feet. Shocked out of her light trance, she grabbed at the arm that held her and drug her eyes open, fighting against the power that crackled through her, initiating her transformation. Cold yellow eyes glared at her, framed by silver hair.

 

Vision blurry and feet unsteady, she glared back, eyes shining red in the twilight. “Leave me alone!” she gasped, clenching her jaw as another wave of energy surged through her. She couldn't fight much longer; the moon's pull could not be denied.

 

“What's wrong with you?” Sesshomaru shook the trembling woman. Her head fell back and she shrieked, a high-pitched cry that stroked his youkai, teasing it to the surface. Her spine stiffened, then arched as she dug sharp claws into his arm. He released her and she dropped to the ground, her form blurring as youkai energy washed over her. Thickening and stretching, her body sprouted a thick coat of golden fur. Fingers shortened into curved toes on paws and her face lengthened into a white-whiskered muzzle. A long, yellow tail grew from her backside and twitched in the grass.

 

Sesshomaru stared at the large, golden cat that lay on her side at his feet, panting heavily, her tongue lolling from her mouth. Hanyous lost their demon powers periodically and became human, but he had never heard of one turning into an animal. The cat opened her eyes and raised her body onto her elbows, licking her chops and eyeing her surroundings. `Not an animal,' he corrected himself. The cat's eyes still blazed with red youkai light. Hardly sparing him a glance, the cat pulled herself to her feet and padded into the forest.

 

He watched her leave, intrigued. Her behavior had been erratic all day and he'd finally left to escape the scent of desire that had surrounded her. At first, he'd thought it was the after-effect of the alcohol she had drunk the night before, but he soon realized that it wasn't the case. Normally concealed and suppressed, even in her natural form, her youkai had pulsed in her. There had been several times when he thought she might transform.

 

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

 

Dawn broke as the lion strolled into the clearing to the pile of clothes near the ring of stones. Shaking the dew from her coat, she sniffed the kimono, whiskers twitching. A rustle of fabric caught her attention and she lifted her head, ears cocked forward. Tail slashing the air as she advanced, the cat stared at the demon standing at the edge of the clearing. He didn't seem threatening, even less so when he kneeled to meet her at eye level. She sniffed his face, pink, wet nose leaving cold spots on his skin, and stored his sandalwood scent in her youkai subconscious. She allowed him to run a hand through her thick fur before licking his scent from her coat.

 

Stretching her long tongue in a yawn, she wandered back to the kimono, thick with her own scent. Her skin itched, a familiar, if not particular welcome, feeling and she shook her body again, sneezing. The itch intensified as the other fought its way back, pushing through the haze of feral thought and reshaping her body.

 

Charlotte lay still, disgusted by the wet grass tickling her bare skin but unable to do anything about it. Her entire body ached, each breath torture. Something had gone wrong when she had transformed, but her mind was too cloudy to remember what. Her kimono was draped over her with a whisper and she whimpered, the silk brushing against her skin like sandpaper, raw nerves burning in protest.

 

A cold voice spoke above her, garishly loud in the quiet of the morning. She recognized the voice but was having difficulty working out the words. A familiar sandalwood scent surrounded her as she was lifted into a sitting position. Crying out, she could only shiver as the kimono was drawn close about her shoulders.

 

“Open your eyes,” the voice commanded, and this time she understood, opening her eyes obediently and bringing the face in front of her into focus. Those golden eyes, they had been there before her shift… She tried to jerk out of his grasp, whimpering as pain shot through her.

 

“Can you stand?”

 

She took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to answer. Her tongue felt heavy and thick in her mouth, but she managed a “No” on her second attempt.

 

“Is it always like this?”

 

“No.” Finally, the jangling of her nerves was quieting and her body was beginning to respond to her commands. “No, only when I fight it.” She managed a half-hearted scowl at the dog demon as she pulled her forearm out of his hand, slipping her arms into the sleeves of the kimono. She knew she should be furious that he'd interfered and was now looking at her almost naked body, but she simply didn't have the energy. His scent comforted her on a primal level and, for the moment, she let him help her.

 

Glancing around, she found her belt on the ground and wrapped it around her waist, tying it firmly. A lock of golden hair became tangled in the knot and she stared at it, confused. Pulling it out of the knot, she gave it an experimental tug. It was definitely attached to her head. She must have really resisted the change to alter her natural form. Grimacing, she recalled the summer of her twelfth year, when she fought it so hard that she'd ended up with a tail in her natural form until the next full moon. Wrapping a hand around her hair at the base of her neck and twisting it into a long rope, she pulled it over her shoulder. “What else has changed?” she asked the dog demon who was now standing in front of her.

 

He caught her chin in his hand and perused her face, “Your pupils are slit.” He released her chin and drew himself to his full height. “But the crests on your back were there before you changed.”

 

Annoyed by the reminder that he had seen transform, not once but twice, and had seen the crests she had kept hidden for thirty years, she drew her brows together in a glower. Unconsciously, she rubbed her lower back through the fabric of the kimono over the cinnamon-colored marks: two curly `S's lying on their sides, one a reflection of the other. Her eyes she could deal with; they would look normal in her human form.

 

“You asked,” he reminded her. “Do you change every full moon?” Charlotte nodded, embarrassment rising as she began to feel more like herself. “Is there anything else I should know about you?” His eyes narrowed at the truculent look she gave him. “You are traveling under my protection and I do not like surprises.”

 

“I'm allergic to penicillin,” she grumped, flicking her ears. Hell if she was going to volunteer any more information than was absolutely necessary. `He's right, you know. He is taking care of you,' a little voice in the back of her head nagged her. `He's also the reason I feel so shitty,' she snapped at it.

 

He gave her a long, calculating look, but let the matter drop; he did not want to admit that he didn't know what penicillin was. `Disposable' was a word that came to mind, but it didn't ring true. If she were truly expendable, he'd let her wander off and not bother to bring her back or simply run her through with Tokijin. Instead, he watched her, followed her, waited for her all night in this infernal clearing. Tenseiga's influence, he thought with growing irritation. It had compelled him to save Rin and now it was inuring him to this strange mix-breed. Without looking back, he left the clearing, trying to forget her lush curves and the silkiness of her skin under his fingers.

 

Charlotte remained huddled on the ground, listening to him leave. Exhaling a rush of breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, she rubbed her crests again. That had one of the more awkward, humiliating moments of her life. She was used to being strong, independent and in control. She dated often but didn't let any man get too close, and she never let one see her weak. A pang of homesickness gripped her heart and she moaned, longing for her cozy apartment, meddling friends, and tedious job. Boring, yes, but comfortable and safe.

 

“I want to go home,” she groaned, burying her face in her arms. Heaving a long-suffering sigh, she pulled herself together and stood, straightening her kimono and running a hand through her now long hair. Regardless of what she wanted, she had to go back to the others. At the moment, traveling with them gave her the best chance of returning to her own time. Reluctantly following after the dog demon, she promised herself that she would not get into any more embarrassing situations. After all, what could possibly be worse than this?