InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Stranger In My Bed ❯ Chapter 5

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Riding on Sesshoumaru-sama‘s back is like riding a shark; he cuts through the snowstorm like a blade. It seems like his feet aren’t touching the ground, but I can feel the force pumping through his body like a turbine that he must be. His hair whips into my face so much that I can’t tell the difference between him and the snow swirling around us. It seems as if he’s become one with the landscape. His supernatural being expands into the environment I feel myself being swallowed and vitalized by the sheer proximity. It’s like being caught in an undercurrent, and you’re breathless, swallowing in water. There’s a split second where your body is in symbiosis with the eddies pulling you under: your self becomes subsumed into the immensity of the universe and all you want to do is stay just a while longer.

It’s so peaceful I don’t even realize I’ve fallen asleep.

“Ho HO! Stranger, where are you going so quickly?” The voice seems like it’s right beside me.

Sesshoumaru-sama halts in his stride, he braces his feet and holds an arm to block me from being seen.

He says nothing, until the stranger says: “I’ve been waiting for you. Follow me.”

I see a small house enclosed with huge maple trees. A burning lamp is glowing from within. Sesshoumaru-sama hesitates for a second before grunting and following.
Once in, Sesshoumaru-sama and I stand by the doorway. The stranger is stoking the fire in the fireplace.
His face is round like the moon, his eyes keen as a knife.

“I didn’t figure on you being along...”he says to me apologetically, opening a can of campbell’s soup. “Otherwise I would have had a nice warm supper for ya. As it is, we’ll just have to make do.”

“Thank you.” I say. After our last encounter with Raisin and Ape-face, I’m uncertain whether I should sit down. Anybody could be an enemy for all I know- but if Sesshoumaru-sama willingly came in...

“It musta been a long trek for you both, what with the snowstorm and all...” the stranger stands there with his arms wrapped around himself. His tall figure is leaning back like a curved bow.

“Not too talkative, are ya?” he says when neither of us answer. Sesshoumaru-sama is still standing by the window and my face is a perfect 0.

“My..uh.. friend is not used to small talk.” I say. Despite myself, the stranger seems very genial and likable! “How did you know my friend was coming?” I ask

“Ahhh...” the man touches his nose and winks. “I knew when your friend came... I felt it in the wind.”
If anybody else had said that, he’d be given a ‘just nod and smile’ reply. Considering the situation, and the sincerity with which he says it, I’m forced to believe him.

“You said ‘came‘, do you mean when he first appeared??” I ask. He doesn’t confirm me outright, but the tickled look in his eye is answer enough. I look to Sesshoumaru-sama to see how he‘s taking the news.

He must be quietly happy: he’s still just standing there, as if his death-stare would make the stranger confess everything.

I guess this guy doesn’t get along with anybody, much less his own type.

“What’s your name?” I ask then, just to make up for the silence.

“Ahhh... well, I don’t give out freebies.” he says mysteriously, the flames of the fire flicking shadows over his hooked beak of a nose.

“C’mon, I just can’t call you ‘Stranger’.” I reason with him.

“Names are power, miss. They’re secrets, and I don’t hand those out too easily neither.” he says, chucking me on the nose playfully. I giggle. Nobody’s done that since I was five.

I wonder if Stranger has any more information to tell: “So... if you felt him in the wind, would you know how to send him back to his time?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. That’s not all your friend is after, however.”

“What are you after then?” I ask Sesshoumaru-sama behind me, obviously confused.

“You talk too much.” he says after a while. I don’t know if he’s referring to me or to the both of us.

Stranger chuckles into his hand. “Have a seat, ‘friend’ you make me nervous just standing there glowering at me.”

Sesshoumaru-sama does so, lowering himself into the chair with a warrior-like flourish. Stranger chuckles again. “You remind me of when I was young. So noble. So self-important. Things had more meaning in those days, before the colonists and their new God... before we were all pushed out. Something I hope you don’t experience for a while.”

This idle chatter is like a duck on a pond: there’s a flurry of feet whirling underneath the smooth surface. Sesshoumaru-sama’s eyes have softened as he gazes upon Stranger’s face. There’s a message being conveyed in their eyes.

“Pushed out?” I interrupt, nudging myself into this conversation.

“Before your time, little one.” Stranger says, rising to the wood-stove and ladling some soup into a couple of bowls. “I’m guessing you don’t eat human food.” he says to Sesshoumaru-sama.

“Are you human?” I ask after thanking him for the soup.

“Oh, c’MON that’s WAY too silly to even answer!” he hoots, flapping his hands at me. “You gotta ask the right questions!!”

Of course, put on the spot, I can‘t think of any.

“I‘m just a messenger.” He says meaningfully then. “What you do with my nuggets of knowledge is up to you.”

I cock my head to the side, contemplating this revelatory statement. For once during our whole conversation, he has stopped being colloquial. I feel this is the first true statement of himself.

“Have you both met before?” I ask, noting the absence of formal introductions. Then again, I never gave him my name either.

“No.”

“Besides the wind, how did you know we were coming...?”

“It’s an aura thing.” he states, steepling his hands together. “The average human being’s aura is like the white of an egg around an egg yolk. It only reaches about ...“ He gestures about 3 meters above my head. “So far. Others like your friend shines out like a beacon for miles around. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ll both bump into the others on the way. That’s why I called you in tonight. Some of them will want a scrap of some sort.”

“’Scraps’ are nothing to me.” Sesshoumaru-sama contradicts.

“Ha HAH!! Success! He INTERACTS!” Stranger crows in delight, winking at me.

“What makes you think the ‘others’ won’t come in here? And why would they want to fight?” I ask in concern.

“To the first question: Because it’s my house.” he continues slurping. Noticing my furrowed brow he stops with the spoon halfway to his mouth. “Not helping, huh?”

“You’re so damn obscure!” I say, half-frustrated, half-delighted by this strange man.

“Call it a habit of old: I only point you in the right direction. How you take it from there is up to you. As to the second question: Because your friend reminds them of their former selves. Being reminded of the shambles you‘ve become makes you resentful. Others will just come to bask in nostalgia.”

“Are you an ... animal spirit?” I ask uncertainly, putting the pieces slowly together.

“I see why you brought her along.” he says to Sesshoumaru-sama.

“Her usefulness remains to be seen. She is only human.” The last bit is said like an epithet.

I look darkly at Sesshoumaru-sama. “You arrogant, little....bastard!!”

“Eva -” This comes out like a whiplash. “It is best that you sleep. The journey will be longer tomorrow.”

“I’m not a child!” I hiss.

“All humans are mere children.” he retorts.

“And yet your kind will into decline because of us children. He’s indicating the fact that your powers will shrivel up because you’ll stop being relevant to us. Face it - every great regime has fallen under the power of the people - You need humans to survive!!!”

I know I‘ve hit a nerve: his hand is at my throat as if trying to rip those words away. He is squeezing so tightly my eyes are bleeding tears. “The only time I‘ll ever need a human is to clean the blood off my blade.” he grates dangerously.

I can’t say anything, but I give his face a sound slap. The Sesshoumaru-sama I know has melted into this vicious creature: his lips are curled back revealing his fangs, his eyes glow red and a low growl emanates from his throat.

Stranger just sits there, his hands clasped as if I’m just a servant receiving proper scolding.

Suddenly I hear his gentle voice reminiscing: “I used to love being with humans. You were all so tranquil, and... humble. Now you’re just not patient enough, not satisfied enough... Always wanting more, always needing more... That’s why everybody I know is... everybody‘s just struggling now.. barely half-alive .. Waiting, just waiting to .. die.”

Sesshoumaru-sama releases me, and I gasp for air, coughing up phlegm. He has his head turned to regard the fire. Stranger is waving a tired hand across his forehead. He seems to have aged in a glimmer of a second. It’s such a wretched picture, I don’t know whether to cradle that head in my arms and croon all his nightmares away or just cry.

“Let me help you with your bedding.” Stranger says, slowly returning to himself.

“Are you alright?” he asks later as we move off into another room. He examines my neck, tsk tsking for awhile.

I don’t trust myself to answer. Right now they’re both my enemies. “I can’t believe you just watched.”

“It wasn’t fatal. He was just trying to scare ya.” he says, as if Sesshoumaru-sama had only jumped out of a closet and yelled ‘Boo!’. “Truth to tell, you scared him more.”

I consider the ramifications of my words while Stranger sets up a futon on the floor. “Demons are different. They work on the periphery, terrorizing humans, feeding on humans... they‘ll learn eventually that‘ll all change when humans stop being afraid. ”

“You think he brought me for a snack?????” I ask suddenly, horrified.

Stranger laughs. “Good night.”

I lie in the darkness, my eyes unable to close.

***

I’m disturbed by Stranger seeking his bed in the growing light. It must be close to morning. I see Sesshoumaru-sama’s incandescent white figure in the crack of the open door. I hate him so much right now. That’s the second time he’s put his hand on me. Then I remember Stranger’s words: “Truth to tell, you scared him more.”

Doesn’t mean he can act like a bully. I’m so angry I can’t go back to sleep. I finally throw the covers off and march into the next room. He hardly notices my presence, sipping at a cup of tea.

In spite of it, “Are you going to eat me?” is the first thing that comes out of my mouth.

He looks at me in distaste, as if I just recommended dog-shit for breakfast.

“You touch me again, I’m leaving.”

He ignores me.

“Let me make it very clear: You touch me again, you lily-faced bastard, and I’ll kill you myself.”

His indifference makes me even more irate, the same boiling hate I felt as I looked into his hate-filled eyes tastes like copper in my mouth.

And then Stranger’s words come into my head again: “Truth to tell, you scared him more.”

What’s violence going to do here? I ask myself. Stranger’s been spinning the same old environmentalist/spiritualist /ecofeminist philosophy on modern society‘s relationship with nature. Modern-day society is so estranged from its spiritual roots, the only way it can communicate with nature and the old-ways is through violence. Wiping out. Integration.

“I’m sorry.” I say, wrapping my arms around Sesshoumaru-sama’s shoulders from behind. He stiffens like a board as if a spider just crawled up his leg. I smell the snow in his hair.

The longer I know him, the less I actually know about him. For all I know, I could be risking him breaking my neck for touching him.

After a while though, he says “hnh” instead, and continues to sip his tea.