InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Transformations ❯ Big Story Part II ( Chapter 15 )

"Okay. It was two years later that I met your father, but before then, I learned by doctors that I couldn't have children." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "They did tests, gave me pills, gave me shots, did surgeries . . . And finally decided on giving me something permanent to try and make me. . . fertile. . ."

Chapter Fifteen

*Written in Flashback*

It was near midnight, but Ray was still awake. She still had no idea how to bear her husband a child. It seemed impossible.

The doctors said that her eggs, even though they were all right, died off after leaving her ovaries. Which meant that no matter how often they tried, or how early into her cycle, there was no chance of her getting pregnant. The tablets they gave her a few months back were supposed to heal the problem, but it would take years at best. That didn't hold much hope for her.

She smiled at her husband. He was nice about it, and almost never brought it up. He loved her anyway, and wasn't going to divorce her for it, he said. He didn't mind waiting until she had completely healed to have her bear his children. He wasn't going to demean her for something that wasn't her fault.

Sighing, Ray got up and decided to take a walk around the shrine until she got tired. She stopped by the well house [D/L: whatever] to take a look inside. The doors weren't supposed to be open, but her father might have left it open during his morning chores. She shut the door and walked away, planning on looking over everything else to make sure he didn't overlook anything else. He tended to be more forgetful these days - but never about one of his stories. He had so many it was hard to keep track of.

She paused suddenly, but didn't know why. She was listening for something. Remaining quiet, and steadying her breath to where she couldn't hear it, she paid equal attention to each sound, whether it be animal, the wind, or something out of place. And she heard the sound again.

It sounded like either the groan of wood or the groan of a man. Either way, it wasn't supposed to be there. Feeling strangely no fear, she followed the sound. It led her in circles, at times coming from several directions, but she eventually pinpointed it as coming from the well house, but only after hearing a crash like something heavy falling.

She opened the doors warily, having some weird foreboding feeling, like after she found out what was in here, her life wouldn't ever be the same. But she sucked it up and ventured in, straining her eyes in the darkness to see anything different about the usual crates and empty boxes.

Her heart jumped as she did when she heard an obvious gasp and groan of pain from very close. Her instincts surged up and she ran, right back into the house. It took a few minutes to get her breathing under control and rational thought to assert itself. There was nothing to fear! Honestly, if the person down there was in pain, they couldn't be a threat, right? She debated pros and cons for another minute before settling on going back there, but with a flashlight so she could see.

She followed her original path to the spot that spooked her before. She shined the flashlight in front of her and slowly moved it left, looking intently at each detail. At midnight, during a new moon like tonight, it was nearly pitch in every direction and one could easily overlook a teenager sitting next to you.

And Ray found the person she was looking for, directly left of her, half unconscious. She gasped and dropped the flashlight when she caught full sight of his injuries and fiercely fought off fainting. He was very nearly covered in blood.

He had deep blue hair, held in a ponytail at the back of his head that reached his shoulders, and there were several strands that had gotten free. He wore very old clothing, looking like [DL: To put it bluntly, since I don't know Japanese clothes' names] Kikyo's clothing, the top blue and pants black. The blue was several shades darker than his hair. He wasn't wearing shoes and his toenails were black, but not sharp. He had three black stripes on each of his cheeks and what looked to be green eyes and a white eight-point star on his forehead.

And every part of him looked as if it were bleeding. With no thought to the consequences, Ray bent down and looped her arm beneath his shoulders and told him to try and stand. Her other hand went in search of the flashlight.

It took several tries, but Ray got him to stand. It took more strength than she thought she had, but somehow, through his determination and her adrenaline, they managed to make it back to the house. It was a struggle getting him to a spare room, which had absolutely nothing in it, on the first floor. Without wasting a second Ray told him to stay conscious and left to gather first-aid equipment. When she got back he was still conscious, and trying to tend his own wounds while clearly fending off sleep.

"No, stop," she said kneeling down before him. He had taken off his shirt and without it he looked a little better. There weren't nearly as many cuts as she first assumed, but that didn't keep a blush from her cheeks. He was noticeably in shape. [D/L: *Blush* Sorry - I'm listening to "Take my breath away" from Top Gun.] Nonetheless, she carefully used swabs to clean up the smeared blood, ignoring the way her stomach was churning. Though if it was from him or his wounds or both, she didn't know.

Even as she applied bandages for the many cuts and antiseptics, she could feel him watching her. It only made her blush more.

"Why are you helping?" he asked, although his voice was dry and rough. Glancing up Ray saw he was thoroughly confused about this.

"Because you need it," she said. Then shook her head. "I'll be right back. Don't leave."

As she got up and left she heard him laugh and say, "Where would I go?"

She came back with tea, a type she rarely had to use for sore throats. After telling him to drink it she examined - blushing profusely - every visible inch to see if there was anything she missed.

"Why do you blush?" he said next, setting the cup on the floor.

Ray didn't answer. She looked down and tried to think up an excuse. She didn't see him reach out to her, and his fingers caught her chin and lifted her face. She found herself staring into soul-filled deep green eyes. It looked like there were entire fields in those eyes, which you could run through for all eternity.

Finding her voice with some difficulty, she tried to answer him. "I just. . . I'm not used to helping men with wounds. . . who. . . um. . . require to have their shirts. . . uh. . .removed."

He nodded and, after a few more seconds, released her chin and leaned fully against the wall. It was then that Ray noticed two more details about him. His fingernails were sharpened and black, and his ears were curved to points.

"Who are you?" she whispered, without meaning to.

"I intend to know who you are first."

"Oh, um. . . I'm Ray."

"My given name is Lockhart. I prefer to be called Rare."

She tilted her head. How was "Rare" like "Lockhart"? She mentally shook the question. It wasn't her place to inquire a guest in need of medical treatment. Nevertheless, another question slipped her lips.

"Why are your ears pointed?"

Rare glanced at her without turning his head that way. He looked annoyed. "You've not seen ears like mine before?"

"No. Never."

"Because I was born this way." Then he sat up and leaned toward her. "Where am I?"

"At my family's shrine. We live here."

"It wasn't here a second ago."

"What do you mean?"

He lifted his chin. "I got knocked into the well during a fight. There was a full forest then. Now there's no forest and a house was built around it."

"I don't have an reason. Wait . . . My Dad told me there used to be a forest around five centuries ago. Does that help?"

He leaned back again. "Yes. It does." He looked so deep in thought Ray thought he might've just forgotten about her.

Without knowing what she was doing, she leaned forward and pulled the tie from his hair. A second later she felt her eyes widen. Just what was she doing?! She mumbled an explanation that his hair was a mess and left to get a brush.

When she got back not a word was said as she brushed back his hair and tied it exactly the way it was, resisting the urge to knock her head against the wall in stupidity in the meantime.

Lastly she went to get a pillow and blanket for him, wishing she had another bed so she wouldn't seem so harsh, but then, Rare didn't seem to mind. He poked the pillow a few times, and even told it to speak if it could. It seemed like he was making sure it wasn't alive before deciding to sleep on it. It made her smile at least.

It was nearly two when she went back to bed, answering her husband that she had to go to the bathroom as she crawled back in. Good thing he didn't know she got up at twelve.

She got up the next morning at lunchtime, and panicked. She half-expected Rare to be at the table, having been found by her father or husband in the morning, or caught wandering about. But he wasn't downstairs eating lunch. She waited until her Father got to his chores and her husband left for work before checking in on Rare.

He was standing, with his back turned to her, when she came in. He still wasn't wearing his shirt. And at the moment it looked like he was examining his right arm. She was going to say something - until she caught sight of another abnormality she couldn't have missed at any other time than last night.

"You have a tail?!" she said, before she could stop herself. It was the same color as his hair. Naturally, she berated herself, and was fluffy and reached the floor plus another foot.

He spun quickly when he heard her and glared. "Must you yell like that?" he snapped.

"Oh," she said, lifting her hands to her mouth. "I apologize. But I wasn't expecting to see. . . I mean. . . people don't have tails!"

"Humans don't, that's true," he said, carelessly. He then went back to looking at his arm.

"Are you implying that you're not human?"

"Yes. I'm a demon. Wolf Demon, to be exact."

Ray was close to fainting now. Was this guy for real?! He couldn't be a demon - they were evil and. . .

"What were you fighting?" she said, hoping he didn't say "Angel".

"Lein. He's a bear demon."

"Uh-huh." There was a long pause between them before she spoke again. "What do you mean by 'Demon'?"

"I mean all demons are above humans in every aspect." He looked at her. "You've honestly never heard of one before?"

"Yes, but they are in Hell. Demons that - "

"That's not what I mean by 'Demon'. You're thinking about those devils in Hell that follow the orders of Satan. We're different."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning. . . Why do you ask so many questions?" He turned to her and walked up close to her. It was then that Ray realized how much taller than her he was. She eyes were on level with his jaw.

"Because. . . I-I don't know these. . . things. . ."

"You're stuttering."

"Well. . . you're just so. . ." She lost her words, seeing him lean in closer and look over her face. His hand was on her neck, his clawed thumb against her cheek.

"Are you mated?"

"Wha. . . what? Mated? . ."

He tilted her head to one side and then to the other. "No, you're not."

"Is that a. . . good thing?"

He smiled. "Very good," he whispered. His nose was almost touching hers, and her blush was increasing with each passing second.

And then he kissed her, lightly. Ray instantly was loving it, recognizing now that he was inhumanly handsome. Which made sense, him being a demon and all. . .

That last thought caught her during their second, deeper kiss. She jerked back and saw him lose balance and fall to his knees. He got up slowly, somewhat painfully, and Ray wished that hadn't just happened. He didn't look too happy.

In fact he growled as he got back on his feet. "Why do you pull back? You're not mated!"

"I don't even know what that means!" she snapped back. "Rare, I'm married!"

"And I don't know what that means!" he shouted back.

"It means I have a husband, who's also my lover!" Ray shut up then, wanting to take that back, but unable to. She changed the subject to the original reason as to why she was here. "Are you hungry?"

It took a full minute, but she got an answer - rather, a question. "Can you cook?"

She smiled in spite of herself. "The best in the city. Or so my father says."

Rare nodded. "Alright. Then cook."

Ray nodded, knowing she had to eat anyway. "Are you going to stay here?"

"I'd prefer it."

"Okay." She turned and shut the door, setting her mind on cooking/making lunch.

__________________________________________________________

Wow. Looks like somebody likes somebody, huh? *Sigh* "Take my breath away" is back on. No injuries this time. At least not to any readers. *Sigh* I love this song.

*Melts into a puddle on the floor. But a puddle with a smile*

See ya. . .