Chapter: 3
Author: Lady Hiko
Genre: Inu Yasha
Rating: PG
Email: URL: http/ "Do not attempt to move or we will be shooting ourselves." Oops, sorry about that. Apparently I was channeling Genie for a minute. Any who, me being magical like him is about as possible as me owning this show, or anything else like that for that matter.
"…" Speaking
'…' Thinking
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Last time…
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Deep inside the house, another one was stirring. For some reason Sesshomaru had felt a pull of sorts, something akin to an inkling that told him, urged him to look outside. Sesshomaru looked up from his codex. 'There's something coming. What is that?' He thought to himself. Sniffing the air, however, told him that it was just Aphreal and Rin coming back from the bath. He turned back to his codex, but he couldn't concentrate on it. Aphreal's scent had crept into the room and had begun to surround him. It enticed and disgusted him all at once. 'Enticed?' his mind reeled. 'No, there is only disgust. Hanyous deserve disgust.' Even so, her scent was overwhelming his senses, making it next to impossible to concentrate. 'FINE,' he thought. 'I will assess the situation and dismiss this nonsense.' He set down his codex and left the room.
So there he was when they returned, leaning up against the door and waiting for them. Sesshomaru's eyes widened ever so slightly as he drew in the minutest breath. The weakeningly disgusting scent that Aphreal carried had grown stronger and had appeared to have taken over her demon scent. She held a strong glow around her in the light of the full moon and a trail of feathers led from the bath. Her luxurious fluffy white tail had disappeared all together and were replaced by two large shimmering wings.
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On with the show!
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Aphreal was a sight to behold. The immaculate white kimono that she wore lay in tatters on her back as the wings had sprouted through it. Rin was mindlessly talking in front of her, clearly oblivious of the transformation that her companion had undergone. Oddly enough, Aphreal hadn't seemed to have noticed herself. What she did notice, however, was that Sesshomaru was staring at her, an odd occurrence for such a stoic person.
"What are you looking at?" she demanded, rather disturbed at his behavior. This of course stopped Rin from talking momentarily and caused her to stare at Aphreal as well. "What!"
"I knew you had wings!" Rin shouted, her eyes bulging at Aphreal.
The demon lord quirked an eyebrow, the peculiar aura she emitted had increased by tenfold now that she was near, and it was starting ever so slightly to make him nauseous.
Aphreal looked behind her and blanched. This had never, ever happened before without her father causing and controlling it, and she wondered how she could not have noticed. The wings twitched in response to her thoughts. Realizing that she could move them consciously, she began to lift and spread one, and then the other repeatedly. This, of course, stirred up a bit of a wind. Her scent stewed and swirled around the white prince, blocking almost all thought. All that was left was the bare minimum. He thought that the scent was somewhat pretty, if not a bit nauseating. His thoughts, however, returned to him immediately after Rin grabbed a hold of one of the wings and had started to pet it. Aphreal could almost be seen purring at the touch.
'The scent is somewhat pretty?' Sesshomaru repeated in his head. 'Where did such rubbish come from?' He was starting to lose composure within his own head and one could almost, almost see some sort of emotion playing across his face…almost. 'No, her scent is disgusting. A hanyou's scent is only deplorable and will make this Sesshomaru unwell if it goes on like this.'
"Hanyou," he stated coldly, drawing Aphreal's angry attention. He knew her name, couldn't he just say it?
"Hanyou," he continued. "When will this end?"
"End? How the hell am I supposed to know?" she stated rather peeved. "This has never happened before."
Sesshomaru stared at her as coolly as he could muster. 'All hanyous are the same. Inuyasha has one night where he is human. The hanyou will have one night where she is…whatever she is.' He couldn't bring himself to admit even mentally that he could have been wrong and that half tennyous could exist.
With that he turned on his heel and into the castle. 'Let the hanyou do as she pleases. This is none of this Sesshomaru's concern.'
Aphreal watched as Sesshomaru left into the castle. 'Why the hell did he bother to come out?' She sharply turned in the opposite direction, 'Why should I care anyways?'
She was drawn from her odd brooding by a small tug on what was left of her kimono.
"Can you fly?" Rin asked, a look of adoration in her eyes.
Aphreal skewed her face and ran her hand through her hair, "Good question." She stretched out her wings and began to flap them, subconsciously flapping her arms as well.
"Maybe you should run too," Rin suggested, chuckling as she spoke.
Aphreal, not knowing what else to do, took off at a canter in the opposite direction of the castle, gaining speed until it was hard to breathe. As she neared the edge of the river, she felt suddenly lighter and her feet skimmed the grass below her. To her amazement she rose a few feet, however, when one is flying, one should watch where she is going. For mere moments later, Aphreal had managed to fly directly into a tree, getting her wings entangled within the branches.
"Aurgh!" she screamed as she squirmed within in her entanglement, trying to dislodge herself. Its hold was strong and binding, bringing back terrible memories and making it hard to breathe. She was literally starting to hyperventilate within the tree's branches. "Get me out of here!" she shrieked to the poor little girl below. Not knowing how you dislodge a hanyou, Rin started throwing small objects at her, which served to hit Aphreal and irritate her already aggravated state. Seeing that this was doing nothing of use, Rin proceeded to get the biggest stick that she could carry to knock her companion out of the tree and found that it missed Aphreal by several feet.
"Stay there Aphreal! I'm going to go get Sesshomaru-sama!" she shouted as she bolted off towards the castle.
'As…if…I..could…get..away….anyways…' Aphreal thought as she dangled within the branches. Nightmares of her prior servitude plagued her head and in her current predicament she had not the mobility to neither run away nor block out the murmurs rumbling in her head. The souls, she couldn't block out their voices. Blood, she could still smell it, taste it, feel it as it coursed down her body and blinded her eyes. The sound of their tormented screams as she ripped through their flesh, the bones cracking, their hopes dwindling. She could feel as their life's glow went out and could hear the cackles of her father as he invaded her mind, controlling her motions…
It was then that Sesshomaru arrived yet again, although this time the situation was a bit more peculiar. Although Aphreal was still clad with wings and that sickening aura, this time she was caught in a tree like some absurd cat…a cat squirming just fresh from a bath.
With an impassive glance he used a poisonous whip to cut away the branches from around her. This, of course, caused her to fall straight to the ground with a resounding whump.
She didn't immediately stir, but more like curled up on the ground, her wings making her look like some crippled bird. Sesshomaru once again turned on his heel towards the castle, stating to Rin over his shoulder, "Take care of her."
The next morning dawned bright and full of sunshine, however, for the white prince things were not so cheerful. With morning came a headache and tired eyes for a restless night's sleep. It was not that he was worried about or for anyone, far from that. In fact, it was that improvident hanyou's aura that was bothering him. Her bedroom was directly across the hall from him and her scent and everything that came with it leaked through the doors and walls.
Standing and adorning another impeccably white haori, the demon lord rubbed his eyes and went to look in on Rin. Most mornings he was greeted by two big brown eyes staring at him from the doorway, but this morning there was not a blink of her. Peering into her room, however, proved to be useless. All that was there was a very sickly looking Jaken looking equally confused as to the absence of the dweller of the room. Upon further inspection though, he caught a trace of her scent, which led straight to the hanyou's room.
Wondering as to why on Earth that he was bothering with this, he opened the hanyou's door, not bothering to knock, and checked for the little girl. And there she lay, loftily encircled within the hanyou's wings, holding onto the hanyou's waist with a small smile on her face. The hanyou's face, however, was quite different. It was creased rather uncomfortably and her body as well as her face twitched in a wincing manner. She looked like a dog having a strong nightmare. How the child slept through that was well beyond the grasp of the white prince's comprehension.
"Hanyou," he stated flatly. "Wake up."
Rin awoke, but Aphreal did not. She just continued to shudder on the bed.
Seeing this, the white prince commanded Rin to, "Wake it up." His headache was far too strong for him to be polite. At this though, for once Rin looked rather unhappily at her Sesshomaru-sama. She didn't like to be called 'it' and didn't like others to be called 'it' either. So she frowned at Sesshomaru rather distinctly, got off, and then proceeded to gently wake the sleeping hanyou.
"Aphreal…Aphreal-chan, wake up," she whispered as she softly shook the hanyou awake.
The hanyou, however, did not wake softly. She awoke with an animalistic shriek and bulging blue eyes promptly followed by a purifying cloud. The prince merely stepped back and lightly shielded himself with his haori. Jaken stumbled back very dizzily from his post near the door. It was a very weak cloud but it was enough to spike the prince's headache a bit more.
Realizing where she was, Aphreal shook her head a bit and looked at Sesshomaru apologetically. Sesshomaru snorted in disgust, which was in fact the most emotion that she had yet seen him display.
"Come," he said icily as he left the room.
This time instead of having a servant instruct her to a kimono, he led Aphreal to a room in the far back of the castle. Neither Aphreal nor Rin had explored this room. The white prince stood at the door and coolly explained, "This is the room where all of the possessions of my fallen enemies are kept. There are items in there from all over Japan and several from over the seas. Find something that will cover you and not disturb your wings nor you tail." He had enough. He would take her to get her problem under control, but needed her dressed first. With that the prince coolly stalked off.
Rin and Aphreal cautiously peered their heads into the room. Goods foreign and local filled it to the brim. Statues, busts, and countless numbers of armor overflowed the room on one side and on the other laid the finest of silks that Aphreal had ever touched, foreign gowns and petticoats. Conversely, in the middle laid the most curious of garments that Rin had ever seen. They looked like armor, almost. It was made completely of maroon leather with golden embellishments. Seemingly hundreds of leather straps hung from the skirt with golden studs at the end of each. With the open back she would not have to worry about her wings and with the leather straps she wouldn't have to worry about the tail. It reminded her of some armor she had seen a creature wander in with while she was still under her father's control. This would look perfectly fine with her scars and seemed to be about her size, so she picked it up. It was about that time that the armor around the middle fell off. Not really wanting to know why it fell apart the way that it had, she put it on as is. Glancing at a rather large multipart mirror, she found that she looked rather nice in it, even if it were a bit drafty. There was a slight problem with it though. Although there were many, many straps that hung from the waist, one would have to just catch her at the right moment to see some unmentionables. Glancing around, she found something that would cover that bit and used a claw to cut a hole for her tail for later. Feeling much more confident in her new appearance, with Rin's approval, she left.
Sesshomaru was waiting outside the door. The sooner he could get her out of here and taken care of, the sooner she would be out of his life. He was, however, mildly shocked once she had come through the door. Of all the garments in the room, he had least expected that. Frowning slightly, he grabbed a random kimono from inside the room and stuffed it in her arms.
"You're indecent," the daiyoukai stated. "Put that on when your wings have gone."
Aphreal stood there mildly stunned for a moment, her arms still holding the silk garment before she shouted, "Well where am I supposed to put this until then!"
The white prince elegantly shrugged, something of which is rarely seen, before completely leaving the corridor.
It was approximately two hours later that they had once again set off. There were a few tearful goodbyes between Rin and a couple of servants, but Aphreal was almost certain that they were glad to see her go. She was anticipating a great cheer to arise from the crowd of little demons as soon as her back had turned. Not that she could blame them, she was probably making them physically sick with her new aura. Now, however, was not the time to contemplate that as she, Rin, and Jaken boarded onto Ah-Un. The beast elegantly curled onto its haunches and bound high into the air. Aphreal wondered for a moment as to why Sesshomaru had not boarded as well, but was immediately rewarded with the sight of him bounding effortlessly into the air as if he too could fly. They glided in the air among the clouds for a few minutes before the white prince turned to her and said, "Hanyou."
This, of course, issued a glare from both females present.
"You can fly," Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow slightly. "Yes?"
Aphreal paused a moment. "Yes?" she replied uncertainly.
Ah-Un threw her from it's back, for she was making the poor beast nauseous. Aphreal fell from the sky for a few moments in terror before realizing how stupid she was being and opened her wings. She spread them fully, catching a warm stream of air before flying up near the flying and bounding group above her.
Not even turning to look at her, which was really starting to irk her, the white prince stated, "Fly far behind us so that you do not make Ah-Un sick."
She was about to retort to that, but realizing that making Ah-Un sick could cause it to fall from the sky and potentially cause Rin to fall as well, she decided she would hang back a bit.
"Besides," she heard a squawky voice retort. "Hanyous should never travel as equals next to a full demon's presence."
Aphreal had a strong urge to knock Jaken from the sky but fell back as Rin actually reprimanded him.
"Be quiet Jaken!" Rin's raised voice was most certainly a surprise, for Jaken actually fell silent.
--- Approximately 3 hours later on the ground ---
Totosai calmly laid in his cave by the fire. His eyes were closed and in his mind he dreamt of sugar coated Tetsusaigas and dancing demonesses all trodding on Naraku's head. Such a strange dream for a demon to posses, but it was his none the less. While sleeping, his nose crinkled and he wiped his hand across his face. The stench did not go away and in his dreams Naraku began to dissolve. Although perhaps it could be considered a good thing in a way, something felt foreboding. It wasn't until he felt the bite of a flea that he bothered to move.
SLAP!
He opened his left eye and watched as the little flattened flea demon floated to the ground with satisfaction.
After inflating himself to his satisfaction, Myouga shouted in panic, "Sesshomaru is coming!"
The old man jolted upright with a start. Myouga jumped onto his shoulder as Totosai ran in an effort to scramble away, but it was too late. For as his right foot hit the cave entrance it abruptly collided with that of the foot of Sesshomaru. He jumped back in surprise.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" the old man squeaked.
The white prince stepped in, looking at him.
"Old man Totosai," Sesshomaru drawled coolly, setting in a smile.
The old man stepped back further yet. To see a smile on the daiyoukai usually meant almost certain death.
"I've got a proposition for you, To-To-Sai," he continued, emphasizing each syllable.
Before Totosai could ask what the proposition was the room was filled with a strange, nauseating scent and the air became clear as in a meadow. So clear it had become so that Rin easily wandered in, unharmed.
The old man drew back his arm in disbelief. No human should ever be able to survive in there, let alone a small one. However, the shock didn't end there, for held in toe to the little girl was a heavenly being, or at least it smelled and looked as such. She had long white hair, queer sheer armor, and the strangest markings. It wasn't until he had looked harder at them that he realized they were scars, scars that made her to look somewhat like Sesshomaru now that he thought of it. He cast Sesshomaru a confused look, which just earned him a wilt worthy glare.
"As you can see I have a problem, one which I would like you to resolve. This hanyou," Sesshomaru calmly elucidated as Totosai looked on confused. "appears to be caught in her other form and will not dissolve her sickening appearance after a day as all hanyous are supposed to."
"Then why don't you just leave her somewhere and leave this senile old man alone to his age?" Totosai shouted.
"I could leave her here with you," the white prince stated. Pretty as she may be, the old man declined with his arms flailing in the air. She was making him queasy already. Taking the cue, Sesshomaru continued, "I need you to resolve this problem."
"And why should I?"
"You sure you don't want another resident or two?"
"Good point," he hastily replied. Looking down, he thought for a moment before reaching into a nearby jar for something. Somehow he knew that these would come in handy one day, although for the life of him he couldn't remember how on earth he got them in the first place. "Here," he said as he deposited several small black beads into Sesshomaru's palm. "Take these to Kagome; have her bless them."
"I will not," the white prince replied flatly, a mild tone of indignation hidden in his words.
"Do you want to be stuck with that aura!"
The demon lord paused a moment. "Why do I have to take these to Kagome? This creature is part holy."
Aphreal glared at him from his back, her purifying energy spiking a little bit making almost every demon present flinch a little. On the outside Sesshomaru seemed unaffected, inwardly he cringed. 'Ok, this Sesshomaru will not call you creature.'
"Because…" Totosai began, and then turned to the holy woman. "What is your name?"
"Aphreal."
"Because Aphreal is untrained. She can't control her aura consciously, let alone bless something. Kagome-sama is also mostly untrained, but she can do this simple blessing . Kikyou would refuse if you asked, so don't even think about it."
The white prince flattened his stare to nearly a glare. "Then I will have Rin do it."
"If that is your wish it's all the same to me. Just get them blessed," Totosai replied, trying to keep his voice as nonchalant as possible.
At this, Sesshomaru turned on his heel to leave, however, he was immediately stopped.
"Just a moment, Sesshomaru-sama," Totosai rasped.
He paused, not looking back. "You have this Sesshomaru's attention."
"There is one more thing I need to ask of you," Totosai croaked. "Come here."
Mildly curious, the white prince sauntered over to the old man.
"Sit down."
"This had better not be a farce," he blandly threatened.
"Believe me, it won't be," Totosai mumbled as he reached behind himself. "Open your mouth."
The demon prince's eyebrow quirked the minutest amount as he attempted to say, "Why should I?"
What he really said, however, was "why" simply because while his mouth was in between saying why and forming should, Totosai moved faster than he had in his entire life and robbed Sesshomaru of all four of his fangs.
Mildly stunned, the white prince grabbed Totosai by the throat, his claws lightly glowing, a warning before his venom would seep out.
"Speak swiftly, for I will not hold back much longer," he shook his hold slightly before continuing. "Why is it that you seized what is mine?"
"Gah," Totosai gasped and squirmed, trying to speak. Sesshomaru let up slightly. "When…when the purified beads hit her neck…she'll need something to control the demon blood."
Mouth feeling strangely hollow, he emitted a growl so low that no human and almost no demon could hear. He then uttered, "Do not presume to touch me again." And dropped Totosai gasping to the floor.
He stood and sauntered out the door, a stunned group followed.
The next number of hours were spent in silence. Aphreal took her position at the rear flying high without complaint and Rin rode Ah-Un without a word as Sesshomaru let his nose guide him through the air, bounding off treetops as he went. Not that he really needed to follow his nose. It was well known by now that Inuyasha made his base the village of Edo. Still, the mild concentration of it allowed him to take his mind off of the indignation of losing his fangs to an old man and the hollow feeling in his mouth. Sure, his fangs would be back in about half a day, but still it did feel weird.
Upon arriving at Edo, Sesshomaru smelled another holy woman nearby who had a scent similar, but not the same as Kikyou.
'Hm, perhaps I won't have to deal with the annoying miko after all,' he thought, nearly smiling in his head.
Not many moments prior, Kaede paused from her dinner. Some local men had given her an offering of fish for her services earlier that month, so she combined it with some rice for herself. She was about halfway through one fish when she felt it, the distinct chill in the air. It settled all around her in waves, chilling her to the bone.
"Youkai," she mumbled, abandoning her meal for the time being. Grabbing her bow and arrows, she left the safety of her home to meet the demon when he landed, lest he was to attack the villagers before she could get to him.
Fortunately or unfortunately for her, he was standing there waiting just outside her door.
"Miko-sama," he drawled. "I am in need of your assistance."