InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Moving Pictures ❯ Catnip Madness ( Chapter 8 )

FFnet reviewers: Witch of Darkness, forgotten angel, Shock1119, gothic_ember

 

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

 

Chapter 8 - Catnip Madness

 

Rin fidgeted nervously, “She's been gone for a while…”

 

Sesshomaru glanced at her and sighed inwardly, running his hand over the soft fur of his Mokomoko-sama. Rin had not heard the far off cry, but he had. He was still very angry, with himself for the fit of jealousy when he'd smelled the unfamiliar male's scent on her skin and with her for wandering off, allowing herself to be touched by a man, then openly defying him. This anger was beneath him, not to mention the jealousy; what did he care of a dirty-blooded female with no sense of propriety?

 

He followed her scent through the forest to where she must have stumbled and fell. Her body had left a swath of disturbed soil and broken plants until it disappeared at the drop-off. Picking his way carefully down the slope, he peered over the edge. She was rolling languidly in a patch of weeds, her long blonde hair tangling over her face and the crushed plants. The rumble of her purr floated through the air.

 

She opened her eyes and smiled brilliantly up at him, propping herself up on her elbows. His breath caught in his throat; he'd never been smiled at like that, as if he were the only being in the world that mattered. Giggling, she let herself fall back into the plants and closed her eyes again, golden ears cocked carelessly to the side.

 

He leapt off the cliff and landed next to her, wondering what had caused such a drastic change in behavior. Kneeling down and breaking a stem of the aromatic herb, he brought it up to his nose and sniffed it delicately. He thought he recognized it; the name was on the tip of his tongue but escaped him for the moment. A warm hand wrapped around his arm and he raised his golden eyes to meet hazel-green ones, pupils dilated to the point that the slit was unnoticeable. She was smiling again, wetting her lips with her tongue as she gazed at him with heavy-lidded eyes.

 

“You're an ass. But that's ok because you are fine.”

 

He blinked, startled at her bluntness and the heavy scent that curled around her. He felt his body responding and could only sit still, fighting against his own need. She chuckled huskily and rubbed her cheek against his face, breathing in his scent. “You smell good, too.”

 

Growling, he shook her hand off his arm and grabbed her shoulder. “Stop this nonsense,” he bit out between clenched teeth. She blinked slowly and shook her head as if to clear it, then focused her bleary gaze back on him. `Drugged… damn cat,' he realized what the plant must be.

 

Squirming out of his grasp, she nuzzled into the fur of his Mokomoko-sama, her youkai crackling around her as she crawled into his lap. Kneading his back with half-sheathed claws, she leaned into him, grazing fangs over the vein in his neck and nipping at his earlobe, the length of her body rubbing against him. The friction finally broke his will and he buried his hand in her hair, roughly grabbing it at the nape of her neck and pressed his lips to hers.

 

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back, fiercely, passionately, her soft lips massaging his stiff ones. Her purr deepened as he opened his mouth and their tongues met, twining together in a fight for dominance.

 

With a growl, he shifted their weight, pinning her to the ground with his lower body as he shrugged out of his armor. Wrapping a leg around his waist, she arched her back and turned her head to the side, exposing the flesh of her throat. Licking a path from her jaw, down her neck and into the hollow between her breasts, he savored the taste of her salty skin, flavored with catnip.

 

`Catnip,' he groaned, remembering that she was not in her right mind. Pulling away despite her yowl of protest, he stared down at her flushed face. He would not take a woman under the influence, even if she had initiated it.

 

Face gathering into a petulant pout, she grabbed his Mokomoko-sama and pulled, rolling away from him until she was completely wrapped up in the white fur. He snatched at the end, missing it by a hair, and she was on her feet in a flash. Giggling hysterically, she raced off into the forest, the long white fur trailing behind her.

 

Sesshomaru stared at her retreating form in utter disbelief. In all of his long years, no one had dared touch, let alone run off with, his Mokomoko-sama. Too shocked to be angry, he sprang to his feet and raced after her.

 

XxxxxxxxxxxX

 

Charlotte woke to running water. Disoriented, her first thought was that she'd slipped and bumped her head while getting into the shower. `That can't be right,' she rubbed a hand across her eyes, trying to clear her brain. She'd definitely fallen; she fingered the knot on the back of her head. Something soft and furry tickled her nose and she sneezed. Opening her eyes, she blinked groggily up stormy face of the dog demon above her.

 

“You smell like catnip,” she mumbled, sniffing in his direction. She frowned thoughtfully, “So do I.” The color drained from her face as the implications hit her and she clutched at the white fur wrapped around her body and sat up, bringing it in front of her face. She stared at it, horrified. `No wonder he's mad…' with a frantic struggle, she managed to unwind it from around her.

 

She refused to meet his eyes; instead she stared at the misty froth at the base of the waterfall as she held the boa out to him. “Sorry. I'm finding all sorts of new and interesting ways to embarrass myself.” He was silent as he took it, watching the emotions flit across her face. The realization that she more upset by having taken the Mokomoko-sama than anything else helped to lessen his annoyance.

 

She winced as the memories that crowded in on her: falling into the plants, kissing him, stealing his boa and running…how had she ended up unconscious by this waterfall? Finally looking at him from the corner of her eyes, she hugged her arms to her chest. “I appreciate that you didn't take advantage of the situation.” Most men wouldn't have stopped. Was he honorable or just not interested? Would she have minded if he hadn't stopped? `Probably not…ya big ho.' She rubbed the throbbing lump on her head, trying to analyze her thoughts through the persistent haze.

 

He inclined his head, a hint of a smirk touching his lips as if he could read her thoughts, “Do you attack every man you meet in a catnip patch?”

 

She looked at him sharply, “No, I usually stay away from the stuff. I fell in. It was an accident.” He wouldn't know that it lowered inhibitions. She'd only respond like that to men she found attractive, but she wasn't about to enlighten him: that kind of information would give him way too much power. `Now he really must think you're indecent,' her conscience spoke up. She scowled at the waterfall, `I don't care what he thinks.' The little voice sounded almost sarcastic when it replied, `Sure you don't.' Irritated, she flicked her ears to shake off the moisture that had collected there. `I don't, and I'm not arguing with myself about it.'

 

Clearing her throat, she glanced at him again, “How did I…” He hefted the rock in his hand and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes widened incredulously, “You threw a rock at me?” That would explain the painful knot on the back of her head, despite the soft, earthy bank on which she lay. Laughter bubbled out of her; his bored look only made her laughter. She should be mortified, disgusted, angry, but the sheer ridiculousness of the situation struck her funny and the lingering catnip didn't help. Clutching her stomach, she howled until tears ran out of her eyes. Her giggles had finally subsided when the soft `plop' of Sesshomaru's other rock hitting the dirt sent her into gales of more laughter.

 

“It isn't that funny,” he remarked, staring at the lion youkai in bemusement.

 

“I know!” she gasped, trying to smother the last of her giggles. “Can't help it. I know, I know: indecent.” Wiping her face and smoothing her hair, she pulled herself together.

 

“Indeed.”

 

“I need a bath.” He stared at her impassively, but she had the feeling that he was annoyed. She sighed; it should be obvious. “I have to get the catnip off or I'll be loopy for days. And I'm muddy. You should bathe, too.” She waved vaguely at him, painfully aware of he smell of catnip on him. He raised an eyebrow at her suggestion but didn't say anything.

 

Turning her back on him to hide the blush at her slip of the tongue, she eyed the waterfall. It was tall but not very big and fell from a fissure in a rock wall into a small, shallow pool that barely collected water before emptying into a stream that tumbled down the hillside. Ferns and moss covered the wet rocks. It was the closest thing to a shower that she had seen in a week. Stepping into the pool that was no deeper than her knees, she stood under the rushing water, clothes and all, flattening her ears to her head to prevent water from getting in.

 

The cold water was cleansing, purifying, and she felt immensely better after only a few minutes. The silk of the kimono was ruined of course, but it had to be washed, too. She glanced at the tall demon standing on the bank. He was glaring off into the distance, but seemed to feel her gaze and turned his head to look back at her.

 

The setting sun caught his eyes and ignited them with a golden fire. His hair glowed, surrounding his head with a nimbus of rainbow colors. She couldn't help staring, her heart hammering in her chest and her lips tingling with the memory of their kiss. What was it about him that affected her so deeply? No guy had ever gotten to her like this. He glanced away, breaking the spell, and she sighed in relief. `I have to get home or I'm going to get into trouble.'

 

She climbed out of the pool and wrung the water out of her hair, careful to keep her eyes down. `Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts,' she repeated to herself until her heart calmed. Sesshomaru's rock lying on the ground caught her attention and she glanced down at her soggy, ill-fitting clothes, `So much for the sophisticated, glamorous city girl,' she though, unsuccessfully trying to stifling another giggle.

 

Her good humor lasted the entire walk back to camp, in large part due to residual catnip in her system. She'd made catnip tea before; it was a mild aphrodisiac apart from lowering inhibitions. However, she'd never been exposed to so much of the living plant. Besides rolling in it, she'd eaten quite a bit of it, too.

 

Jaken managed to kill the buzz within minutes of them returning.

 

“You idiotic, good-for-nothing, cat! How dare you inconvenience Lord Sesshomaru!” he brandished the two-headed staff in her face.

 

The tirade took her aback. “Hey! I…”

 

“Silence, wench!” he whacked her with the staff, by coincidence hitting the still tender spot on her head. She didn't look it, but she was actually a fair staff fighter: as children, she had taken dance classes while her brother had taken martial arts. However, he'd tried out all of his new moves on her and she'd learned to defend herself fairly quickly. Eventually, he'd taught her offensive techniques and they'd sparred with wooden staffs until they were bruised and exhausted.

 

Old reflexes came to the surface and she snatched up the staff, twisting it out of Jaken's grasp and booting him into the air with a well-aimed kick. With a quick thrust, she threw the staff at the airborne imp. The tip caught the back of his jacket and buried itself in the trunk of a tree with a crack, pinning the imp against the tree. Silence descended on the camp, broken only by the crackling of the campfire and the twang of the staff, vibrating in place. Jaken stared at her, beak open and flapping but nothing coming out.

 

She felt eyes on her back and turned around, meeting Sesshomaru's surprised stare. “What? I told him I'd nail him to a tree if he hit me again.”

 

“Shall I nail you to a tree?”

 

She gaped at him in shock, barely remembering to close her mouth. He must have no idea how that sounded, but she couldn't resist. “You want to nail me? Got your spike ready?” She gazed at him from under her lashes, the corner of her lips quirking in a small grin. `Serves him right for not washing off the catnip.'

 

“M-my lord! Help me!” Jaken found his voice as he struggled to reach the base of the staff that had him pinned in place.

 

She was teasing him again. He had no idea what she was talking about, but the innuendo was fairly clear. “The catnip is still affecting your behavior”, he said, ignoring the pleading of his servant. She rolled her eyes. He was right, but she wasn't going to admit it out loud.

 

“…Charlotte?”

 

“Yes, Rin,” she turned to the child who was staring at her with wide, shocked eyes.

 

“You didn't hurt him, did you?”

 

“No, but I did warn him.”

 

“But…”

 

“You should never make empty threats, Rin: always be prepared to follow through. Otherwise, people won't take you seriously.”

 

Her lips rounded in a perfect `o' and she nodded slowly.

 

“Just so,” a deep spoke from the evening's shadows. “My Lord,” Stepping into the firelight, a burly demon bowed low and reverently. Sharp tusks curving from his bottom jaw and his short, stubbed nose reminded Charlotte of a hog or a boar. He glanced surreptitiously at her, his predatory eyes lingering over her breasts, which were outlined by the wet silk. `He looks like he wants to take a bite. Now I know how restaurant lobsters feel. Eww.' Her skin crawled in revulsion.

 

“Kato,” Sesshomaru fixed the youkai with an impassive look. The boar youkai was one of his scouts and must have had good reason to seek him out. He should have sensed him earlier, but the scents of catnip and cat were distracting him. He definitely did not like him looking at Charlotte, but neither did she, so he stifled the growl that was threatening to rise out of his chest.

 

“My Lord, the Southern lord has sent word that he is paying you a visit.”

 

“Why do you disturb me with such news?”

 

“He is due to arrive at the mansion in three days.” Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly and Kato hurried on. “We would have informed you sooner, but we just received his message two days ago.”

 

Sesshomaru yanked the Staff of Two Heads free of the tree, not even acknowledging the sobbing imp at his feet. “We will leave tomorrow.”

 

Charlotte's muddled thoughts slowed to a crawl. If she went with them, she'd be abandoning her search for a way home, but she didn't like the idea of wandering the countryside alone. So far, she'd been able to get herself out of most of the predicaments she'd gotten herself into, except for the catnip, but even the attempted kidnapping hadn't been very serious. If a demon attacked her, such as that creepy boar, she'd be in trouble unless she had some sort of weapon. She refused to consider the alternative: using her innate ability to channel energy. Her mother had taught her that it was too dangerous to use and she would be destroyed if others found out about it.

 

“What's wrong, Kitty?” Rin's quiet question broke her reverie.

 

“Nothing”, she lied quickly. She also didn't know her way around or anything about the culture of Medieval Japan. She'd be wandering blindly, just waiting for a disaster. She worried her lip with a sharp fang, `Should I go or should I stay?'