InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl ❯ The Dragon's Tale ( Chapter 1 )

The Girl

Chapter 1: The Dragon's Tale

"The girl is finally asleep," Un snorted to his scaly-headed companion.

His brother, Ah, nodded. "She exhausted herself. Cried herself to sleep."

The two heads took a moment to observe the dark-haired female curled up against their side. Despite the winter storm currently raging away outside, the cave den was quiet, save for the crackling of a fire at the center of the cave, causing the their long shadows to be cast against the rear wall of their wintertime dwelling, the interior of their home tinted in shades of yellow and orange. A heavy, fur pelt of wintery white kept the snow out and the heat in, as well as serving as a signal to both youkai and animals passing by that this cave was claimed by the Lord of the Western Lands.

During the winter months, travel was impossible for their lord's reptilian companions. The bitter cold would settle upon them, seeping into their blood, bones and bodies, a torpor settling over the two of them, inhibiting all but the simplest of movements. The girl who traveled with them had no such limitation, but she was human, and as such felt the effects of the cold just like any other warm-blooded creature. Her head rested across their back, her legs blanketed in the warmth of their tail, her arms tucked into her chest, the Staff of Heads wrapped tightly in her tiny hands, her long, lean fingers clenched around the weathered wood as if it were her only tie to keep her from slipping from this world into the next.

Jaken had died in his sleep, after all, and the two-headed beast could only imagine the terror of slipping into unconsciousness every night, having no assurance that you would awake in the morning.

"I think I felt her shiver," said Ah.

Un's slitted eyes narrowed, focusing on the girl's fragile frame. There was an uncharacteristic frown on her face, and he did indeed feel the girl jump in her sleep. He nodded, and the two began to move their shared tail as one, gently gliding the large appendage up and down her lower body, attempting to warm her and soothe her simultaneously. "It would be bad if she fell ill again," he quietly commented, speaking to his twin counterpart in a tongue only known to their kind.

Ah nodded. "Remember how upset the master became when he realized how serious her ailment was?"

"How could I forget?" his twin said. "We had to leave her in a village so the hanyou's mate could care for her."

"And she was so small at that time. Her fever and shakes and sweats. The liquid sounds of her own breathing. Her body attempting to drown her in its own fluids. What was it the female called her sickness?"

"Pneumonia," Un replied. "She was gone from us for three moons. Till the winter weather subsided, and she regained her former strength."

"The master was much troubled. He never journeyed far from her at the time," Ah recalled. "Our travels were inhibited, yes, but that never stopped our lord from keeping his own pace."

"True," said Un. "Part of me thinks he was willing to do the unthinkable and actually stay in the village with her."

"But he would never ask to do such a thing, and the villagers, not to mention the hanyou, would never allow him to stay with them. He is a murderer, a cold-blooded killer, a full-fledged demon."

"Our master does have quite the reputation," Un nodded, "but the girl has done much to change him."

"Unintentionally, of course."

"Of course," his brother agreed. "The girl hasn't a wily bone in her body."

"No," Ah agreed. "She always puts the welfare of others before her own, and I believe the master has slowly begun to follow her example. Had it been otherwise, he would have insisted she stayed with him regardless of her failing health. She is his to do with as he pleases."

"As are we," Un added. "Our lives, and therefore, our deaths are in his hands."

"Yes, we owe our lord and master much, Un, and we serve him well to the fullest extent of our abilities."

Again, his brother head nodded. "Transporting the girl and watching over her was one of our first truly personal commands from him to us."

"And what a glorious mission it's been. While our lord has never been cruel to us, he treated us as a mere pack animal, one born to bear and tote."

"And with his own abilities, he had little use for us as a means of transport."

"True. We were only used to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, as when we bore him into battle with his brother, InuYasha."

A smug smile appeared on Un's snout. "I clearly recall the fear on the faces of his two human companions and the kitsune cub that traveled with him at the time. We were quite a fearsome sight, my brother."

Ah joined him in his gloating. "Yes, striking fear in the hearts of humans was a pleasant pastime. To see someone as regal and composed as our lord, carried on the back of a beast so gruesome and fierce . . . they mistook us for the true threat when they actually had more to fear from our cold and cunning lord and master."

"Still it was good to be feared. People respect what they fear."

Ah snorted lightly then turned his attention to the human female nestled against their side. "But she never feared us, did she, Un?"

For a moment his brother took on a slightly thoughtful countenance, his eyes focusing on the female as well, a frown seeming to work its way between his scaly brow. "No," he finally agreed. "Our lord told her she was to ride upon us, and she simply did as he commanded. She climbed on without a fear, without a doubt, without a second thought. In fact, I believe she was quite pleased with the idea and started giggling."

"Quite an opposite reaction from that of the little kitsune who practically wet himself the first time he laid eyes upon us."

The girl's shaking seemed to subside, so they ceased the motions of their tail, again allowing it to drape over her slight frame, embracing her in its warmth. She sighed, the former frown replaced with an expression of peaceful slumber-her face pale, her brow smooth, her lips slightly parted. They looked down at her then up at each other, a smile playing across their individual snouts.

"I do believe she has tamed us, Un."

"I am inclined to agree, Ah."

"And our master as well," Ah concluded. "For whom else would he hunt for in this weather?"

"Only her," he replied evenly. "And what wouldn't a male do to win this girl's affections?"

Ah nodded. "But one cannot 'win' this girl's favor; it must be earned."

"And our lord and master has done that. She waits patiently for his return, but, oh how she misses him."

"We are her beloved pet, Jaken was her beloved caretaker, but neither of us can compare to her beloved Sesshomaru."

"Yes. Even when we left her in that wretched village for so long, she was only too eager to return to us."

"On both occasions," Ah said. "When she fell ill, and when we went to war with that meddlesome group of wolves."

"Yes," Un nodded. "It was a long and bloody battle. The wolves were relentless."

"But to think they could invade our lord's territories and still leave with their lives," Ah huffed.

"Yes, the impudence. But it took us nearly a year to send them completely packing. They breed so quickly and were surprisingly well organized. Our lord did well to fend them off with the few supporters we had."

"But what is a year to one of our kind?" Ah asked.

"It is nothing to us," Un replied, then dipped his head, drawing Ah's attention to the sleeping female below them. "But what of her?"

The head on the right put on a thoughtful frown.

"Think of how much she changed in just those three short moons from winter to spring."

"Yes," Ah replied, "we left her a sickly, young girl, and she returned to us a young lady on the cusp of womanhood."

"Nonsense," his brother replied. "She was a woman even then. We could all smell the blood on her."

"An unsettling scent."

Un nodded.

"I wonder why he has never taken her, our lord and master. I have scented his desire for her on more than one occasion, and any other male would have no qualms about taking such liberties with a female in his charge."

Un snorted. "He is too proud. His father lost much because of his human mate."

Ah nodded then grunted. "But what does he have to lose? The castle was destroyed shortly after his father's demise. Truly respectable youkai refuse his company. His only possessions are carried with him at all times. And a name that once inspired awe and respect as it was shouted throughout the lands is now only whispered in quiet corners of the youkai community, a mixture of disgust and contempt evident in their tone."

"True," he nodded. "Our once mighty lord is little more than an outcast. His father's disgrace still hangs heavily over his head, and the other's fear of him does not decrease their willingness to mock him."

"You can hardly blame them, though. He and his father were once so grand and mighty. They stepped on many on their climb to the top."

"And it was a long, hard fall on the way down. Many were only too happy to kick them on their way down. He lost his father, his home, the respect of his peers . . ."

"His left arm," Ah added.

The second head nodded. "The title is now meaningless, practically worthless. The only things he has of true value are his father's sword and territories . . . which grow smaller with every passing day."

"Yes," Ah agreed. "Our lord is but one man, after all, and he cannot be everywhere at once. Had the wolves not made such a blatant attack ..."

"Yes. They could still be making their homes on his land."

Rin made a small whimper. The two again moved as one, seeking to soothe her with the motions of its tail.

"Why do we stay with him, then?" asked Un. "Surely we would do just as well on our own."

"He needs us," replied Ah. "He saved us from the trap of those demon hunters and gave our lives a purpose."

"Do you ever wonder why he saved us, though? Even among youkai, being born with two heads is an oddity. It's considered a bad omen-an unnatural separation of two things that should have been one. He should have thought nothing of letting us slip from this world into the next."

"Our lord and master is a practical one. The natural conclusion is that we would be of use to him."

Un nodded. "And the toad? Why did he follow our lord?"

"The imp never knew him as anything other than perfectly composed and deadly powerful. It is natural for the weak to want to cling to the strong."

"And the girl?" Un asked. "She is certainly human, but 'weak' is not a word I would ever use to describe her. Why does she . . . waste her life to stay by his side?"

Ah focused his yellow eyes on the small female slumbering at their side, her hands raw, heavily blistered and slightly bloody from breaking through the frozen ground to lay the dead to his final rest. He recalled her stricken expression when she discovered she couldn't rouse the imp at sunrise. How her soft brown eyes shimmered with unshed tears as the doleful nature of the situation dawned upon her. She didn't cry, then however. She knew how the toad hated tears, and so she scooped up his small, limp form, briefly cradling the gruesome, green creature in her slight arms before she forced herself to her feet, pulled back the pelt and walked barefoot into the snow.

Their master had gone on a hunting expedition. Game was scarce in these parts during this time of the year, so he announced that he would be gone for three days in order to gather enough meat to last them through the winter. This was only the beginning of the second day. They all knew their master would not return in time to save the toad this time.

But Rin did not cry. Due to the wintery torpor, the two-headed dragon was unable to follow after their mistress to see exactly what she had done, but when she returned, the toad's body was not with her and the tip of the Staff of Heads was muddied with frozen earth. Her pale cheeks were flushed from the cold wind, her skin damp with sweat from an obvious exertion. Her dainty feet were nearly blue, due to the lack of blood flow, each step she made controlled, though unsure. Crystalline flakes evaporated off the thick blanket of black waves that made up her hair and splotches of wetness appeared across her crimson and gold kimono where the snow had settled then dissolved.

When she at last made her way to the rear of the cave dwelling, she gracefully sank down to her knees and buried her head in the smooth scales of the dragon's hide, one arm flung haphazardly over his back, her frigid fingers lightly caressing the over-sized creature, her other hand maintaining a tight hold on the Staff of Heads, her palms read and her knuckles white with strain.

Then she cried. She cried as the beast nuzzled her with their noses, their tail attempting to return the warmth to the lower half of her body.

"He's gone," the girl had said. "He's really gone."

The toad had done little to make the girl's stay with their master a pleasant one, but still she wept for him. She loved him, cared for him, watched over him even as he watched over her. The girl's heart was large, leaving plenty of room to accommodate the stingy, little toad.

"She loves us," Ah finally replied. "Does she not groom us? Does she not feed us? Wasn't it she that gave us our name?"

His brother was quiet.

"Even if things with the master aren't as she may like them to be, she stays for our sake, and we stay for his."

Un nodded. "The master has been quite . . . aloof with her of late."

"It is not such a recent development. Remember the times she was abducted. Recall the death of the wind sorceress, Kagura. Remember when she fell ill that winter many, many moons ago. And recall his demeanor when we left her to battle the wolves."

Un put on a thoughtful frown, his eyes narrowing, focusing again on the girl. "He dislikes being parted from her."

Ah nodded. "Even the thought of being parted from her."

"But she is here with us. She intends to stay with us. She wants to be with us. Even the time she spent with that young, demon slayer didn't alter her opinion of us."

"But there are some choices not hers to make. Look at her, Un. We continue to call her a girl, but . . ."

The second head once again turned his attention to the sleeping girl. There, among the heavy waves of black, flowing hair was a single strand of silver, sparkling in the firelight. He slowly lowered his head and gave the girl an exploratory sniff, slightly surprised at his findings. The hair was hers, and not their master's at all.

"The girl is a girl no longer, but a woman of middle age," Ah said softly. "She is very nearly thirty and most humans last a mere sixty years."

Un gave the girl a gentle nuzzle then a careful lick. "She will leave us, then."

Ah nodded. "She has no say in the matter, nor does our lord." He followed his brother's example, giving the girl a gentle nudge against the side of her neck, then sent his forked tongue out to make a sweeping pass over her right cheek. "Our lord was quite displeased at the death of the wind witch. Imagine how he will feel when the girl is gone."

Un snorted, his head shooting straight up. "I refuse to think of such things."

"But the reality of the situation is unavoidable. Our lord and master has already realized this and so . . ."

"He is distancing himself from her."

Ah, again, nodded.

"Will he abandon her in her last days?" Un asked. "As he abandoned Jaken."

"If he kept company with the witch during her demise, he can show no less loyalty to our lady. She is his, after all. Even if he refuses to claim her."

The cavern fell quiet.

"It is cold, Ah, and I am tired."

"Let us rest, then. We'll all huddle together to keep ourselves warm."

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Author's Note: Hi, all! This fic will have three parts. This section is told by Ah-Un, the next will be Rin's POV, and Sess, as always, will have the final say on things. Each chapter will begin where the last left off, rehashing previous events then furthering the story. The next chapter will be called "A Life Not Lived."

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope I didn't disappoint,

theMaven :)

aka quothTheMaven