InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Naraku's Expiriment ❯ Enchanment of the Moon ( Chapter 15 )

Chapter 15 ~ Enchantment of the Moon

 

Autumn began to get a tingling sensation that started at her toes and spread over her body. Her body decreased slightly in height and mass, the highlights disappeared from her hair along with the ears, and her eyes resumed their normal hazel color. Since Sesshoumaru had let go of her for the moment being, she decided to risk his anger and peer into the river to see her reflection. She was…human again.

 

Sesshoumaru watched this even with mild interest. Interesting, he thought. My cursed half-brother transforms on the new moon, and this little wench transforms on the full moon.

 

Autumn continued to stare at the mirror image of her in the water. It had been so long since she had been human. Long enough that looking at her reflection was like seeing a long-lost friend. Then she stopped remembering that another attribute of humanity was pain.

 

An unbearable amount of pain wracked her body, causing her to roll away from the water's edge. It felt like someone had doused all her wounds with kerosene and then lit a match. “Oh shit,” she muttered through gritted teeth. She had forgotten that since she was stronger as a demon, when she became human the wounds would hurt like hell. Just like they were doing now.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama!” Rin cried, “She's bleeding!”

 

Sesshoumaru looked down at the now human girl and found Rin was right. Crimson flowers were blooming on the girl's right side and chest. He frowned. It appeared that the girl had gone unconscious.

 

“Can we help her?” Rin asked, voice rising. “Can we?”

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru does not need to help…my lord, what are you doing?” he inquired as he noticed Sesshoumaru starting to draw the tenseiga. “Surely you're not going to…?”

 

Ignoring him, Sesshoumaru slashed it over her with one clean sweep. Rather than slicing her in two, the wounds disappeared and her troubled breathing eased slightly. Then he stooped down and picked her up.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru, what are you doing?” cried the anguished toad.

 

“Exactly what it looks like,” he growled, before turning his attention to the girl. Thank the gods that he had healed his left arm. He would never have been able to balance her comfortably without that arm. She muttered something in her sleep and he wondered what she was dreaming about. Then he wondered why he even cared. The little human/hanyou was not worthy of his help so what was he doing?

 

He tried to push that thought out of his mind as the three of them returned to his castle.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Splash!

 

Autumn woke up with a start, “What on earth?”

 

“Get up!” a voice screeched, ten times more annoying than the average alarm clock, “You've slept long enough.”

 

She sat up and found herself lying in a bed, absolutely soaked. Standing by the door, holding a now empty jug of water, was the offender: the toad she had seen last night. “You little son of a… where am I?”

 

“You are in lord Sesshoumaru's castle,” he said with a sniff, “Not that you deserve it. Honestly, first Rin, now you…soon the entire castle will be overrun by humans.” Jaken shivered with the thought. “That will be a nightmare.” Then in the next instant, he was flat on the floor, hit by his own staff.

 

Autumn raised her eyes and saw Sesshoumaru standing there, holding the toad's staff as if he was going to beat him with it a second time. “She is not a human, Jaken, and you will do well to remember to heed this Sesshoumaru's orders.”

 

“But my lord, she…you hate hanyous.”

 

“Yes, I do,” Sesshoumaru said. He threw the staff at the toad and said, “Get out.”

 

Jaken scurried out the door, muttering about needing to check on Rin. Sesshoumaru watched him go and then turned towards the girl who looked increasingly uncomfortable. He could smell her fear and uneasiness. She was also soaked. The latter of which caused him to raise an eyebrow.

 

“Um…the toad thing threw a jug of water at me,” she said awkwardly,

 

“I see.” He couldn't help but look at her eyes. They were so much like Rin's, a dark hazel, that it was uncanny. “Jaken.”

 

Autumn broke his gaze and looked around, the pack Kaede had given her was on a chair by a window and her clothes were on the chair. Wait! Then what am I wearing? She looked down and found she was wearing a similar outfit to Sesshoumaru's. Oh, God…he must have…

 

Sesshoumaru frowned in agitation. Now the human was blushing. Was there no end to the madness?

 

“Um…excuse me, but where's my sword?”

 

He tried to decide whether he should grant her question with an answer.

 

“Where?” she asked desperately.

 

“You don't need it here,” he said, turning to go.

 

With surprising speed for a human, she got out of bed and grabbed the back of his haori. “Where?”

 

“Release me,” he said coldly. For a moment, it looked like she was going to disobey, but then she slowly let go and took a few steps back. She was looking up at him with fear…yes, that was only to be expected, but there was determination and curiosity too. Fascinating. Deep in his own thoughts, he glided down the corridor, without looking back.

 

Autumn watched him leave until she felt what seemed to be a small hand tugging at the bottom of her pants.

 

She glanced down and saw a child with big brown eyes and a hasty ponytail grinning up at her with an `I am an evil child' smile. “I'm Rin,” she said brightly.

 

“Yes,” Autumn said, “I know.”

 

“Want to see the garden? Rin's flowers are really pretty.”

 

Smiling, she followed the little girl and said, “OK.”