InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Taming the unruly ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 13 )

Ana gasped, bolting out of her futon, sweat trickling down her face. She grabbed her chest, the sound of her heartbeat thundering in her ears. The dream had felt so real and damn that was the best wet dream she ever had and it wasn’t just because of how wet she felt. It felt as if his touch was lingering on her skin. Did it really happen? She shook her head. That couldn’t be, for crying out loud he was too modest. Okay, so it was a dream. She chuckled, it wasn’t far fetched considering the fact that she had wanted the man before her ordeal and he was still the same hot Sesshômaru. Just a different circumstance. She groaned, dropping back onto her futon. More than likely whatever Mizuki had told her was true, she had no reason whatsoever to lie about the issue and for a woman like her to become this emotional… She shuddered, remembering the look in her eyes. If that was the case she needed to make a decision and make it quickly. If, however, she wanted to do this she would need to learn more about Inu culture. Being educated on the matter would be better than going in blind. One thing she knew was that she had to talk to him, apologize at least. She should give him a chance and figure out how she really felt in  this whole matter. She didn’t want to give him hope but she also didn’t want to hurt him. Now that she thought about her past actions she wanted to slap herself. Whatever, now that she knew, she was determined to fix it. Mind made up, Ana decided to learn as much as she could until she could figure out a way to approach Sesshômaru.

The library would have been the best place to get information but she needed information fast, especially after Mizuki had told her about the harsh reality of rejection. Who better than the fearsome mother of the one who was being afflicted? She was the type of woman who would do anything for her son, so giving her a lesson on Inu culture would be easy, right?

Ana questioned her sanity as she approached Mizuki’s evening room. It was just yesterday that she had seen a glimpse of how mama Inu could kill her without hesitation. She wouldn’t because that would hurt her son, so she had an advantage, at least she would like to think that. The woman could easily hurt her in other ways. That thought alone made her shiver in fear. Okay, no need to have negative thoughts. You have something important to do. With that small resolve she walked toward the guarded door letting one of the servants know that she wanted to speak with the Lady. The servant disappeared for a few seconds, then returned to escort her to where she would meet Mizuki.

“It seems you have made a decision?” Ana turned her head towards Mizuki who stepped past a door connecting to an adjoining room. The only thing she could do was stare at the ethereal woman, her hair loose as opposed to being in its normal hairstyle. Instead of her royal purple clothing she wore a light blue kimono littered with  blossoming spring flowers. “It isn’t polite to stare.” Ana shook her head out of her stupor, still in a bit of awe at the beauty of the woman. It really shouldn’t be a surprise, but it was still breathtaking to see. “How did you know that’s why I came?” she asked, curious. She wrinkled her nose, “It’s in your smell.” Sensing her confusion she continued. “You reek of  nervousness, which leads me to conclude that you are here because you have made a decision, one I might not like. So tell me, what is it?”

Ana stuttered a bit taken back by the accuracy of this woman, still unhappy with the fact that everything she felt could be sniffed out so easily. Clearing her throat she answered, “Since we both know that I care about your son I wanted to know if you could give me a lesson on Inu culture,” She paused, licking her suddenly dry lips  before continuing, “ Um.. I haven’t made a decision to accept, if anything I wan.-”

“You won’t accept?!” Mizuka exploded, obviously not liking the way the conversation had turned, eyes instantly turning red. Ana jumped, overcome with anger, unaware of the danger she was suddenly in. “I didn’t say that!” Mizuka pointed her finger at her accusingly, “Do you know what you’re doing to my son?! For the past couple of months I’ve had to watch him fight  a one sided duel with madness and he's failing.  Being  so close to the woman he is supposed to be with and she didn’t even know he’s slowly dying on the inside!”

Angry tears swam in Ana’s eyes as she stared at the female demon. “That’s not fair,” her voice cracked, “How was I supposed to know that his demon chose me to be his mate? That there were consequences on his end?  What if I don’t like him back? How am I supposed to make a decision when I don’t know anything about him! You forget that I’m just human!” Her chest heaved, throat suddenly dry from the outburst. “And that may just be the problem.” Mizuki whispered. Eyes wide with shock, body vibrating with pent up emotions she stared at the demon. How dare she pin all of this on her! She hadn’t asked  for this, never asked for this! Just as she was about to retort, and possibly say something she would regret, the doors burst open. “Jouou-sama!”

“What!” Mizuki responded, not sounding like the imperial lady she was supposed to be and Anas breath hitched upon seeing the bloody shell that must have at one point harboured a powerful demon. “It’s Sesshômaru-sama.” the guard rasped, clutching onto his side with an arm barely even attached to the rest of his body. “We couldn’t...” he continued coughing, “You were attacked?”, Ana asked in horror, but the guard shook his head, blood from the gashes blemishing his face dripping onto the tatami while he did so. Averting her eyes from the bone clearly visible, Ana pondered, what on earth could be strong enough to disfigure an Inu soldier like that? He looked as if he had started to disintegrate, as if hit by some chemical, slowly eating away his flesh. Dread filled her as she realized just who she knew to use such a chemical as a weapon. “We...He has lost control.” The last statement was a whisper as he collapsed onto the floor, confirming her fear, skin and flesh still sizzling and burning. Mizuki looked at the body, growling in anger and frustration. Ana, however was bewildered and terrified. That’s impossible. Why would Sesshômaru lose control? That’s unlike him. That’s when the earlier conversation came back to her. Could this really be her fault? The thought alone had her chest constrict painfully, bringing more tears to her eyes. “Leave.” Mizuka directed to her. “Wha-”

“Leave. I have to go rescue my son before his beast consumes him. You’ve done enough,”’ She turned to leave but Ana spoke without thinking. “I’m coming with you.” Mizuki turned on her heels, amber eyes staring back at her like daggers. “You will do no such thing. As I have said before you have done enough.”

“I can help.” Ana pushed, not sure why but something, a feeling of sorts, told her that she could be helpful. It didn’t seem as if Mizuki was listening to anything she was saying. “How in the world could a mere human be useful in a situation like this? The man you just saw dying was one of our strongest soldiers, I won’t have my son live with the guilt of killing his intended mate!”, the woman barked, just barely holding on to her humanoid features. How could she make her believe? She had to go, had to try at least “He won’t hurt me,” she said, not knowing where that conviction came from, but sure of it nonetheless, “If-if I don’t prove to be useful, or can’t stand up to it, I’ll leave.” Her heart felt as if it was about to break, but why? “I’ll- I’ll leave so I won’t hurt him anymore.” Mizuka looked at her, contemplating her plea. “I, as a mother will not allow my son to live such a life. Seeing your determination I will allow you to come, BUT make no mistake, if you do not prove to be useful I will not hesitate to leave you behind. I don’t want my son to end up like-” She broke off, giving Ana a sad smile as if moments ago she wasn’t about to rip through the girl. “Go get yourself prepared. We leave in five minutes.”

It didn’t take long for her to be saddled onto Ah-Un and Mizuki to leap gracefully into the air, ki cloud gathering underneath her before flying away. As they travelled, her mind wandered, was this truly her fault? How far from madness was he? This was her fault, if it wasn’t for her he wouldn’t have been in danger. She shook her head, intending, but failing to shake  the feeling of guilt that weighed on her mind.   

Several minutes later she could feel his presence. They weren’t even near him and his power felt as if it was crushing her body. Ah-Un trembled beneath her, losing altitude and landing altogether. An agonized howl ripped through the skies, her throat closing up as fresh tears streaked down her face. “Ah-Un, please,” she whispered, the lump in her throat making it difficult for her to speak, “please.” The cry got louder, more agonized if possible. She wrapped her arms as far as she could around the two headed dragon. They trembled again, whimpering when another wave of demonic energy washed over them. “Please.” she tried again. The dragons slowly got up, pushing through their struggle before taking a leap into the sky and flying as far as they could go before landing once more from the suppressing energy.

It was close enough to see how truly massive he was. His mother flew above him,  while guards tried but failed to get close to him. He shook his massive head, slamming his body into a nearby mountain. “Sesshômaru,” she whispered, a choked sob cutting off any words she would have said. Another wave of energy sent her to her knees, a sudden sharp pain shooting through her body. She gasped for air, grabbing her chest, the pain all too similar to her asthma attacks as if a heavy object was placed on top of her. Her body collapsed, curling into itself as the pain intensified, her breathing ragged and shallow. Another howl echoed through the skies sounding even worse that the previous one. Eyes squeezed shut, she  willed her body to get off the ground, pushing herself harder to move. She had to help him. She had to! What she felt probably could not compare to the pain that he was feeling at this moment.

Just as she was about to cry out, the air around her shifted, getting lighter. Surprised, she looked down at her hands to see a soft, pink light surrounding them. She heard a whisper, “Go to him. Do not be afraid.” Wha- before she could even ponder the thought there was a loud whimper. Heart clenching she turned to see Sesshômaru, his giant form on the ground with a beast, much like his own, its teeth in his neck. “Mizuki?” Frantic she searched within for answers on what to do, hoping her inner voice would help her out. “Just one touch,” it echoed through her mind, light and airy as if a thought of her own and yet utterly different. It sounded insane that just her touch could do anything but a gut feeling was telling her to trust the voice, so slowly, pushing herself off the ground she approached the subdued beast.  She was but a few feet from his form when his eyes snapped open. Startled she jumped back, yelping form the surprise. Blood red eyes filled with pain watched as she inched forward, another whimper gurgling at the back of his throat. Her hand was just a touch away from his muzzle when he jerked away, twisting then slamming his body so that Mizuki would release her grip. The force wrenched the others teeth from his neck, a sickening crack permeating the air. He turned his feral gaze towards her, disregarding his mother, whom he had just shaken off of him a moment ago. Hands clamped over her ears as he barked, the sound leaving her deaf for a moment. Her eyes snapped shut waiting for him to attack but after a moment the heavy thumping of her heart  reminded her of the life she still had.

Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself face to muzzle with the beast. A growl passed his lips, a sneer exposing his deadly fangs. She could feel herself slowly hyperventilating, a testament to the fear that was slowly swallowing her soul. Swallowing, she tried to keep the fear from rising but to no avail, she was rooted. “Do not be afraid,’ it whispered again, “He won’t hurt you.” She swallowed again, trying to wet her dry throat and once again tried to push back her fears.  “Don’t be afraid.” The fear she felt slowly ebbed away, her breathing slowing down as she looked into his eyes. He had stopped growling and was merely observing her. Slowly, with a renewed sense of calm she tilted her head, exposing her neck as a sign of surrender. His piercing gaze softened, a look of astonishment gracing his canine features before he growled once again as a warning for her not to move as he sniffed her. He nudged her with his wet nose, a low content growl permeating the air, apparently he was satisfied with her actions. Slowly, she drew her hand upward, delicately touching his jaw. There was a low hum as she touched him then a blinding white light engulfed the world.  

Everything felt heavy, her vision blurry while white and black spots danced behind her eyes. She blinked, rubbing her eyes to help clear her vision. A clatter caught her attention and she turned her head to see Mizuki straddling Sesshômaru. “Drink Sesshômaru, do not make me force you.” Vision finally cleared she looked on with furrowed brows as Mizuki growled in frustration before striking the back of her hand viciously across his face, the sound echoing in the forest. He coughed and she poured the liquid into his mouth before slapping her hands over his mouth. Ana called out to him, eyes widening as she watched his body twist, hands trying weakly to pry the fingers from his mouth before going limp. She gasped, anger filling her body, “You’re killing him!” Mizuki rose gracefully, huffing when she turned to look at her. “Don’t be foolish.” She winced, putting her hand to her neck, frowning when she saw blood on them. “Insolent pup used his poison on me. He’s lucky  I’m immune or I would have broken his fingers and knocked out his teeth as punishment.”

Ana looked at her, wondering for a moment if she was completely crazy. “Do not look at me as if I have grown a second head.” Ana said nothing, too perplexed amongst other things to form a coherent response. Her eyes travelled from the woman to the body next to her, gasping when she saw the teeth marks on his neck and gashes on his abdomen. “How-?” she breath “Do not worry, you didn’t hurt him. That was from me.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” she muttered. “It wasn’t supposed to. Regardless, I have given him a sedative so he’ll be out for a while. Since we cannot move him in his current condition you will stay here with him while I fetch the healer,” she commanded, no room for argument in her voice. “You’re going to leave me here alone with him like that?!” she squeaked. Mizuki looked at her with a raised brow. “From what I’ve just seen, you can handle yourself well enough.” Ana looked at her with disbelief. “Do you trust me?” Was that supposed to be a trick question? Nevertheless she nodded slowly. “Well trust me when I say you’ll be safe.” She took one more look at her son, her features softening just a bit before turning and flying off.

Ana looked down at the sleeping form, wincing as guilt made itself known. She slowly walked over to him, kneeling at his side. He looked terrible, sweat plastered his bangs on his forehead, his abdomen littered with bruises and claw marks. His clothes were tattered, blood and mud covering the silk garment. Teeth bites, that were slowly healing, were etched in his neck and a long gash ran down his arm. She flinched, imagining the pain he had to be in. As she looked at him her heart felt as if it would crawl out of her throat, she wanted to cry but it seemed as if she had dried herself out. A shaky hand reached out to brush away his bangs, his skin cold and clammy to her touch. Unsteady breaths escaped her as everything that had happened that day finally sank in, she was tired. When would the healer arrive?

After what she assumed to be hours, judging from the low dipping sun, she knew something was wrong. It shouldn’t have taken the healer that long to get to them. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes for the thousandth time, trying to get rid of the sleep that plagued her. A groan caught her attention and she looked to see Sesshômaru’s face contorting in pain. Panicked she bit her lips, trying to figure out what to do. Hesitantly she reached forward, tenderly caressing his cheek, hoping that that would calm him. His eyes fluttered open, face contorting into confusion as he tried to figure out who was beside him. “Anastasia?”

“Sesshômaru,” she choked, a sob hiccuping at the back of her throat. It took all of her will power not to lunge onto him. “Wha-what are you going here?” he panted. “You shouldn’t be talking, the healer isn’t here yet.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” he reprimanded, groaning as he tried to get up. “Don’t move. You’re making it worse.”

“I’m healing, it’s fine.” He tried once again, succeeding this time to get to his feet. Ana stepped closer to him when he staggered, but he gathered his composition before she got too close. He turned from her, holding his wounded hand as he walked away. Growling she walked behind him. “Sesshômaru, you shouldn’t be moving. Your wounds-”

“Will heal!” he stopped, taking a shaky, deep breath before walking forwards once again. “I know that, but you’ve been out for hours and I know you heal faster than that, your wounds aren’t even closed yet.” She spoke slowly, trying to reason with him. Why wouldn’t he listen to her for once? He suddenly stopped, his non injured hand pressing against something invincible in front of him. He growled, turning another direction before stopping. “It seems as if mother had no intention of sending that healer you mentioned.” She looked at him, bewildered by his words. “What the hell do you mean, she said-”

“She lied,” he growled, body tensing for a moment. “I hear a river nearby and judging from the smell of the area I know where we are. Come.”, She scowled at him for his command but at this moment she was too tired to argue so she just followed. Sure enough, after many minutes, due to his slow movements and his pride for asking for help, they made it to the river and a short distance up the bank was a cottage.

She looked at him, worried as he hissed, sliding down its wall to sit. “Sesshômaru, let me help. I helped you once.” When he didn’t reply she grabbed his arm, stopping him from removing his haori. He looked at her, definitely, still refusing to say anything. “I’ll take your silence as a yes.” He growled softly. “You do not intimidate me, especially when you’re this..” she broke off her sentence, not wanting to say he was weak. That would have been the straw that would have broken the camel's back and she wasn’t in the mood to argue. He huffed, allowing her to help him remove the tattered clothing. She frowned, running her fingers delicately across the bite marks. “Why aren’t you healing properly?” She looked up when he didn’t answer. “Sesshômaru-”

“My demon currently hates me, so apparently he decided not to feed me as much demonic energy as punishment,” he scuffed, scowling at his revelation. “Oh.” Silence settled across the room but was broken a moment later when he hissed, touching his wounded arm. “I’ll go get some water from the river to wash your wounds.” Solemnly, she rose to her feet looking around the room to find something to gather the water in. She found a small bucket in an adjoining room then headed out to the river.

The cool river waters lapped at her feet as she stood by the river’s bank. Bending she scooped up some water, rinsing out the bucket before filling it. When she returned his eyes were shut, his breathing even. He never stirred as she cleaned his wounds, removing any excess mud and blood from his torso. It took a bit of effort but she was able to move him, resting his head on one of the many pillows in the room. Tearing the already tattered clothing she cleaned the wound on his arm and torso before wrapping them.

Finished with her task and left with a sleeping Sesshômaru she decided it would be best to find something to possibly change out of or maybe take a quick dip in the river to get rid of the mud and grime before the sun set completely. Now that she had time to actually look around she realized that the cottage was like a larger, much fancier version of Kaede’s home. The wooden floors were polished, a large fireplace in the center of the room. Cushions and furs adorned the floor, filling in the empty space. She should probably light a fire after she cleaned herself up. Walking back into the adjoining room she noticed a closet. Curious she opened it to reveal clothing, royal clothing at that. Why do I have a feeling that this was intentional? Sighing she looked around the room some more, noting that there were some candles and only one large futon. If she wasn’t so tired she would have cringed. One large futon, one room in a large cottage with royal female clothes and she was sure if she looked in the covered boxes that she would find male clothing. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who this place belonged to, and what had transpired here, so yeah cringing after looking at the futon did make sense. Definitely intentional, just like that damned book in the library, that probably was her doing as well. Taking the closest yukata she walked out the room and headed for a bath.

After a quick cold dip in the river and changing, she was left in a dilemma. How was she going to start the fire? She was no girl scout and the only knowledge she had were from watching movies. Chewing on her thumb nail she pondered on how she was going to pull this off. Okay, so from what she could recall she needed twigs. Definitely needed dry leaves and she had wood. Nodding she ventured outside to collect the necessary items needed to start the fire. It took her a while, more than a while, before she got a flame to start but now it was stable and she felt proud of herself. Her stomach grumbled, letting her know that it hadn’t been fed in hours. There was nothing she could do because the sun had already hid itself and the moon had taken over.

She looked over at Sesshômaru’s still sleeping form, it was a miracle that he hadn’t woken up yet, but then again he was in bad shape. It hurt to know the truth, to understand that she had a large part to play in his current state of both mental and physical pain. Man, she really had some apologizing to do. Sighing she moved closer to him, collecting his fur to rest on before curling next to him. She didn’t want to sleep in the room by herself. As she lay next to him, his warmth radiating next to her, she felt a moment of happiness. It was just so right, but did she deserve it?