Someone Who Completes Me

Jaken folded his arms across his chest and let out a yawn. He wished his two companions would just sleep together and get it over with. The on and off sexual tension was giving him a migraine. He shook his head in resignation. It wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon—his master was too stubborn and the silly girl was too scared. Jaken had heard her say as much to the cowardly flea. He gazed across the fire at the two of them huddled against the evening chill and snorted softly. Jaken could hardly believe Sesshomaru allowed this; he was exceptionally stubborn about admitting his attraction to the girl during the day, but at night nothing could keep him from holding her while she taught him to read her strange writing.
Jaken hadn’t pushed his master to pursue a relationship with the girl because she seemed unable to decide what she wanted. There were times she would stare at Sesshomaru with barely concealed lust, and other times when she’d ignore his advances. Take their current sitting arrangement for example; Sesshomaru would sit in a meditative position and then she’d sit in his lap with his MokoMoko wrapped around the both of them. The girl had been visibly uneasy about this at first—she sat so stiffly it seemed she’d been carved from wood. When she’d done that for the first time, Jaken had swallowed a squeal of terror—Sesshomaru’s eyes had bled pink until she relaxed. Tonight, for the first time, she had simply sat in Sesshomaru’s lap and reclined against his chest immediately. Jaken fell asleep shortly thereafter, not noticing when his staff fell over.
Ali absently blew her bangs out of her eyes as her finger traced along the coast of Africa. She wondered what had possessed her grandfather to send something as dangerous as a world atlas into feudal Japan—as far as she remembered, only Holland had made it to Japan by this point in history. The country hadn’t left a great impression; rather, the Christians hadn’t. And with so many demons running wild in this time period, she couldn’t say she was surprised. She imagined that the high ratio of demons was the cause of Christianity’s ban. Ironically, that ban may have been why demons faded into mere legend over the next five hundred and seventy years… and this was making her head hurt, so she focused on Sesshomaru’s soft voice in her ear instead of her internal history lesson.
“What is this land called?” Sesshomaru moved her finger over to America and let his hand linger on top of hers. Ali squashed the spike of arousal as his warm breath caressed her ears. A month ago, they’d run into Sango and Marko. In utter desperation, Ali had told Sango a little about the way Sesshomaru acted on her human nights. She’d actually been intentionally vague, saying all demons were attracted to her scent—the last thing that Sesshomaru needed was his little brother teasing him about something he hated so much. Sango, with a knowing look, had given her a charm that demon slayer women used to keep their fertility hidden. Ali had ignored the look and accepted the charm gratefully.
“America. A colony has just been established here.” Ali fingered her charm absently and pointed to Massachusetts on the map. “Or it will be soon. I don’t quite remember when they arrive,” she said, her forehead wrinkling in confusion. Time travel was defiantly a headache. Sesshomaru leaned over her shoulder and traced over the huge landmass that was America.
“What goods does this country produce?” he asked interestedly. Ali shook her head.
“Nothing at the present. In the future, it produces a great deal of things I can’t even begin to accurately describe. Mostly services instead of products. Currently, the people that will ultimately control that country are barely building their homes, if they’ve even arrived yet,” Alithia murmured, her hand fidgeting with something at the hollow of her throat. It was driving Sesshomaru mad. She played with the damned thing every night, but he’d yet to see what it was. He looked back at the shiny map and studied it for a long moment, his hand stroking her rib cage with a deliberate sensuality. He lifted an eyebrow as her breath hitched mid-sentence, but her scent remained unchanged.
“Where is Nihon compared to where you lived?” he asked her. Alithia pointed to one of the larger territories and then slid her finger across the page until it covered one of the smallest land masses on the map. Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow. “Surely Nihon is bigger than that,” he said. Ali shook her head again.
“It’s only tiny on the map. Here, let me show you,” she said and dropped the charm she’d been fiddling with and flipped several shiny pages. “See? This is a closer view of Nihon. It’s still relatively small, but it will be one of the most powerful countries for centuries. You know you can’t discuss any of this, right?” Alithia twisted around to peer in his eyes. “At best, others will think you are completely insane. At worst, someone will find a way to capture and torture you for the information.” Sesshomaru glared at her and was surprised when she didn’t flinch. “Maru, I wasn’t talking about physical torture. I have no doubt that you can survive the harshest physical torture anyone could ever do to you without breaking.” She reached up and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear.
“They will destroy everything you hold close to your heart and then make you relive it over and over until you told them what they wanted know. And even then, they might not stop. Maru, you have Mental abilities, but they are not as strong as your physical and magical ones; it is possibly your only weakness, and one that they will exploit,” she said softly.
“I will tell no one,” he murmured back to her and picked up the charm she’d been fiddling with. When he got a clear look at it, a foreign feeling pressed into his chest, followed quickly by anger. He’d seen this charm before—it was one worn by demon slayer women to protect against unwanted attention from male demons. He dropped the charm as if it had burned him and stood so abruptly Alithia let out a yelp of surprise as she was dumped to the ground. “I have acquired all the knowledge I wish to from you. We will no longer continue these sessions. You will practice the things I have taught you on your own for now.”
Ali stared at the spot where Sesshomaru had stood for a long time, cradling her wrist in confusion. She didn’t understand; what had she done to make him so angry? She rubbed the last bit of soreness out of her wrist, which she had wrenched in her attempt to keep from smashing her face into the ground when Sesshomaru dumped her out of his lap. A sudden thought made Ali’s chest clench painfully. She should never have shown him the world atlas; she’d just endangered Rin. She angrily threw the atlas into the fire and crawled into her blankets, pulling them over her head to smother quiet sobs. She didn’t see a figure leap from a nearby tree and snatch the book before it became too badly damaged.

Two weeks later
Sesshomaru stared at the lump of blankets across the fire. He did not know what he was going to do with Alithia. He did not dare leave her with his idiot of a brother—trouble followed the girl too closely. He felt his lip curl in a silent snarl. She still wore that damn charm. Why it made him so angry he had no idea. He snorted. It certainly had helped limit the number of times he lost his ability to remain aloof. Not that he had many opportunities to do so recently; Alithia had been avoiding him as much as possible. He snorted again. She might have not retreated into herself after the night he’d realized what her charm was had it not been for the very next night. He’d been meditating and somehow had ended up seeing her dreams—her very erotic dreams. She was still unable to look him in the eye because the dreams had been about him.
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. The things that girl had dreamed of them doing together completely contradicted her reactions to him. Tomorrow he would confront her about it. Tonight, he would attempt to see her dreams again and confirm that she was merely toying with him. Just as he was thinking this, Alithia let out a muffled cry.
Sesshomaru closed his eyes and began to meditate. Once his mind was clear of all distractions, he deliberately brushed against Alithia’s mind.
Immediately, he fell into a thick grey fog full of shadowy figures. Sesshomaru’s stomach turned violently as the acrid scent of fear choked him. A tiny figure darted past him, and he realized that this was not an erotic dream. He attempted to leave her dreams, but stumbled as something slammed into his legs. He turned and saw that the tiny figure had returned—it was a very young Alithia.
“We have to go this way!” she hissed at him and grabbed his hand. He resisted her insistent tugging with a raised eyebrow. Alithia was scrawny and very filthy; it looked as if she hadn’t bathed in weeks.
“I do not fear anything,” he said. She let out a terrified whimper as a shimmering veil approached them and buried her face into his hip.
“He’s going to hurt me again. I was just hungry,” she whispered. He crouched and tilted her chin up with one finger.
“You are only dreaming, Alithia. You cannot be hurt,” he assured her. His words did nothing to reassure her, and she began to suck in panicked breaths as the veil drew closer. Sesshomaru pulled her into his arms and tucked her head into his shoulder. “Do not watch,” he said softly.
As the veil passed over them, a sharp burning sensation crawled across his spine. A bright light nearly blinded him, and he blinked. When he could focus again, he saw a kitchen with strange devices. All the cupboards had locks on them, and there was food stored in small cages on the counters, locked as well. The Alithia in his arms trembled as another Alithia slipped into the kitchen. She hid under a long table for several minutes with her head tilted toward the door she’d just entered from.
She must have been satisfied that she was safe, for she climbed onto the counter nimbly and opened the one storage device that didn’t have a lock. A second later she began cramming bread into her mouth, barely chewing as she devoured it. She suddenly froze and lifted glowing purple eyes to the door way. Panic filled her eyes, and she swallowed hard. Shoving the remaining bread back where she got it from, her eyes turned brown just as a tall figure burst into the room and walked through Sesshomaru.
“You ungrateful little bitch! What the hell do you think you are doing?” the man snarled as he lifted Alithia from the counter by the front of her shirt. He shook her hard when she gave him a defiant look.
“I wasn’t stealing this time. The bread wasn’t locked up, and I was hungry,” she said with a defiant look. Sesshomaru pulled the trembling girl in his arms closer to his chest. He’d met men like this several times in his long life—and the one thing they did not stand for was defiance. Sesshomaru knew that this man was going to hurt Alithia badly now. He swallowed his enraged growl and tried to cover the ears of the girl in his arms so she wouldn’t have to hear herself being beat.
As Sesshomaru guessed, the man was like every piece of scum who loved power. The man swore at Alithia and punched her in the mouth, then tossed her across the table. As she lay on the floor whimpering, the man, who was still just a blur, walked over to a drawer and unlocked it with a deliberate slowness. He pulled out a cat of nine tails, something Sesshomaru hadn’t seen since his travels to the main land. It was something that was used onboard foreign ships to punish unruly sailors. The man began to speak, tapping the whip in his hand.
“I have tried really hard to teach you how to be a good little girl. I hate having to punish you like this. If you wouldn’t act like such a little freak we could avoid this. This punishment is for your own good,” the man said as he raised the whip.
Sesshomaru closed his eyes as the man began whipping Alithia, whishing he couldn’t hear the cries of pain she was trying to suppress. Something wet trickled off his arm, and he pulled it away from the Alithia he was holding to see blood. He looked down in concern and saw that every time a blow from the whip landed, a line of blood appeared on both Alithia’s’ backs. He clenched his jaw in anger. He would find that man and rip him to shreds with his bare hands and leave his body for scavengers to feast on, though the man didn’t deserve such a kind ending. When Sesshomaru began to feel the sting of the whip on his own back, he knew that he was dangerously close to permentantly merging with Alithia’s mind.
He picked up the disturbingly still child in his arms and began walking away from that disgusting scene. He passed through another shimmering veil and emerged in some sort of field. Alithia stirred in his arms and looked around. “I don’t want to be here either,” she whimpered and burrowed back into the crook of his neck.
A moment later, a chubby little girl with braided hair skipped past him. Sesshomaru felt his eyes widen in surprise as he recognized a happy Alithia. She was clean, well fed, and about two years younger than in the memory he’d just witnessed.
“Oka-san, outa-san, hurry!” she shouted, waving at someone behind him. Sesshomaru turned to see a smiling couple following Alithia. He followed Alithia as well, still carrying the older version of her. He was beginning to wonder why she didn’t want to see this—she was happy here, as was evidenced by the fact she was laughing with the people she’d called her parents. For what seemed like a long time, they walked through a wooded area and then stopped by a river to eat. After eating, Alithia wandered off to play. Eventually, her father came looking for her and found her just as she spotted something.
“Teddy bear!” she squealed, and ran toward a bear cub caught in some sort of snare. Her father went pale as he realized what she was about to do and broke into a run, shouting.
“ALI, DON’T TOUCH IT! GET AWAY!” he screamed. An angry roar made him run faster, and he tackled Alithia just before she reached the cub. He rolled with her and laid over her as the mama bear attacked him. Alithia began to scream in terror, and her mother ran over waving a strange device. It made a loud banging noise and gave a small flash of fire, which startled and distracted the mother bear. She charged at Alithia’s mother until the woman made her device make that sound again, and then the bear gave a last roar of anger and rumbled out of sight, her cub finally having worked its way out of the trap and fleeing as well.
Sesshomaru began walking again and passed through both dreams several more times before he came to the edge of her dreamscape. He set Alithia down and tilted her trembling chin up.
“We have to wake up now. I will disappear for awhile, but when you open your eyes I will be there, I promise. I must leave you here for now. When I call your name, you will wake up,” he said to her. Alithia nodded bravely and stepped away from him.
He concentrated on pulling himself out of his meditative state and woke to chaos. The fire, which had nearly burned down before his brilliant decision, was now a thirty foot column of flames. Jaken was screaming his fool head off, and Ah-Un was braying in alarm. Rocks were levitating and spinning through the air as well, some of them occasionally hitting Jaken. Sesshomaru calmly stood and walked to the twitching bundle, stepping on Jaken as he passed the idiot.
Sesshomaru knelt next to Alithia and called her name. “Alithia,” he said just loudly enough to be heard over the roaring column of fire. It was giving off incredible amounts of heat, and he was sweating under his armor. He quickly shed that nuisance and called Alithia’s name again. She bolted upright with a strangled gasp, her eyes darting around until she saw him. For a moment, she didn’t appear to recognize him and scooted backwards in fear.
“Alithia, you are safe now. Come here,” he ordered. She threw herself into his arms and nearly knocked him over, her ears pinned against her skull. He held her close as she began to weep, trembling violently the whole time. Sesshomaru moved himself into a more comfortable position and simply held Alithia, occasionally making soft growling sounds in his chest to reassure her she was safe.
Awhile later, she lifted her head from his neck, still shaking. She avoided his gaze and attempted to back away from him. Sesshomaru didn’t let her go, but pulled her closer instead. “I saw what you dreamed. We will talk about it tomorrow,” he said quietly. Alithia hesitated only for moment before curling back into his arms. Slowly, the column of fire disappeared as she fell back into an uneasy sleep.
The next evening, Sesshomaru sent Jaken and Ah-Un to Inuyasha’s village to announce his arrival. Once Jaken was out of hearing range, Sesshomaru turned to Alithia and took her hands gently.
“I will not apologize for invading your dreams—I have been under the impression that you are hiding something from me. The first time I saw your dreams was an accident. I find myself very confused. Why are you wearing this when you have such dreams about me?” he asked and pulled the charm from under her collar. Alithia blushed and dropped her eyes.
“Because of those dreams. Because of what happens every month between us. Despite what I said to Eddie when he captured me, I am not willing to be anyone’s whore. It’s stupid to pretend that I’m not attracted to you. But it’s not something you want—you only react to me because of the pheromones my body produces on my human night. I’m not stupid; even if you were actually attracted to me, you’d never marry me.” Alithia paused and began fidgeting with a long strand of hair. “You don’t wish to be like your father in that respect. Right now, you have the respect of the other demon lords precisely because you’ve distanced yourself from making the same ‘mistake’ as your father. It’s the same reason you’d never make me your concubine either. Besides, there will be times you can’t watch over me when I’m human—you have other responsibilities.”
Sesshomaru had a hard time keeping himself from flinching as Alithia spoke. Edward had really messed with her mind, and he hadn’t helped at all with his hot-then-cold attitude with her. He sighed and gently covered her lips with his own. He smiled at the stunned look on her face. Her ears went into their confused position, and she stared down at the charm.
“It is working as it should. I am doing this because I want to.” Sesshomaru cupped her cheek and kissed her again. “It is true I have fought my attraction to you— and yes, I am attracted to you,” he said when she made a sound of disbelief. “My father died because humans found out that their precious princess was married to a demon. That is part of why I refuse to be like him. Falling in love with that woman made him weak, made him vulnerable. I will not put myself or the one I care about in danger like he so selfishly did,” Sesshomaru said bitterly.
Alithia took his hand from her face and interlaced their fingers. “Your father chose to save Izayoi because he loved her. I don’t think it is a coincidence that he fought Ry?kotsusei the same day humans attacked Inuyasha’s mother. Your father was the most powerful demon in the land. There was no reason for him to be unable to defeat that demon unless he knew Izayoi was in danger. He only took time to imprison Ry?kotsusei because he knew that Izayoi was in danger. I wouldn’t consider that a weakness, Maru, I’d consider it strength. I’m sure your father never intended to die that day. He probably thought that he’d have time to come back and finish his fight with Ry?kotsusei. He chose to put the one he loved before his personal battles, and I admire that. He probably didn’t realize how seriously he was hurt until he began fighting that insane hu-mmmhf!”
Sesshomaru halted her words with a deep kiss. “I have never considered that possibility. How is it that you are able to see these things?” he asked, resting his forehead on hers. Alithia blushed and gave him a shy smile.
“I’m pretty objective to your family situation. I didn’t witness any of it, only heard about what happened through the people who experienced it. I also read a lot. What I just theorized about your father always happens in books. I wouldn’t be entirely shocked to find out that the Shikon jewel had something to do with his death, you know. It seems to be connected to your family rather intimately,” she said softly. Sesshomaru snorted in agreement.
“Those dreams I saw last night—is that why you were so afraid of me at first?” he asked her quietly. Alithia nodded mutely. He pulled her tight against his chest and sighed. “I do not know what the future will hold—I admit that marriage between us is impossible—but only because it would endanger you,” he confessed. Alithia pulled away from him and walked to a large rock. She perched herself on it and faced the forest.
“You won’t marry me because I am half human,” she said archly. Sesshomaru winced. He hated that she was so observant—she’d seen right through him. A soft laugh caught him off guard. “I’m not at all offended. You will need to produce an heir, a pureblooded heir, if your family and lands are to remain safe. It isn’t fair, but that’s the way it is. I will find some place in the mountains perhaps, where I will rarely see anyone, and certainly not Rin, to spend the rest of my fairly long life. I know you worry about Rin, so be assured that she will remain safe.” Alithia stood up on the rock and moved to leap off it into the forest. He caught her hand and turned her to face him.
“I do not wish for you to leave my side yet. I will have to marry eventually, but until you are old, I wish for you to remain at my side. It pleases me to see you smile and to hear your voice every day. I can wait to marry. I do not foresee finding a suitable mate in the near future, so I wish to spend that time with you. It will not be forever, but it will be a long time,” Sesshomaru said softly.
Ali bit her lip and tried to ignore the warmth of Sesshomaru’s hand. She was scared that she was going to choose the wrong thing. She could be his mistress—there was no mistaking what he was implying— but she’d only disappoint him, and she’d be shuttled off to some hut in the mountains where he knew where she was at all times. She could persuade him that becoming lovers would only endanger Rin and hope he would let it go. She’d have to make sure that she didn’t tease him, but that was something she could live with.
Ali licked her lips and tilted her head up to the star scattered sky. Of course, Sesshomaru could take the rejection much harder than she imagined. She’d proven to have a poor judge of character before. He could banish her to the mainland so that there was no chance of seeing her ever again.
She was distracted from this rather intense train of thought when a meteor streaked across the sky just then, followed closely by several more.
“I asked the gods to do that for you. I thought you might like it,” Sesshomaru said with the slightest teasing note in his voice. Ali felt her lips twitch. She knew very well that meteor showers where entirely scientific in nature, and she suspected Sesshomaru did, too, but it was a romantic thought nonetheless. She sighed and turned to him.
“I don’t think—” she began. His golden eyes grew fierce as he picked up the rejection in her tone.
“Do not think, Alithia. Feel. What is wrong?” he asked. She pulled her gaze from his and stared at a blade of grass.
“I will not please you if we were to become lovers. I have unusual, striking features, yes. But it’s not enough with all of my scars,” she said quietly. Ali knew he’d seen her point when he didn’t respond to her statement. She blushed and tried to free her hand from his.
Sesshomaru felt as if Inuyasha had struck him with the Wind Scar again—she had no idea of her potential or her beauty. He really was going to kill that damned monster who’d done this to her. He growled when she tried to free her hand from his and gently captured her chin with his other hand. “Never let me hear you say such things again, Alithia. You are beautiful, and I would not have even proposed this if I did not think you would please me. You have good instincts and will be one of the best lovers I have ever had. After this moment, you are to disregard anything that bastard ever said to you, do you understand?” he asked quietly.
Ali caught her lip between her teeth but before she could chew on it, Sesshomaru’s thumb gently pulled it free. *Eddie was never this gentle with me without wanting sex. He usually ignored me. Sesshomaru has always shown me kindness without ulterior motives.* Hurt flickered into Sesshomaru’s eyes at her further hesitation, and he began pulling away. Ali quickly leaned down and kissed him, her arms looping around his neck.
Sesshomaru’s chest had clenched as Alithia chewed on her lip after his declaration, indecipherable emotions racing across her face. He had then gently freed her lip from her teeth before she could injure herself. Her eyes went wide as if she were coming to some conclusion. He thought he knew what that conclusion was and had started to pull away from her. But, then she was kissing him and all thought fled from his mind. He hauled her off the rock and held her tight against him as he returned her kiss, only stopping when the need for oxygen forced him to. Alithia rested her forehead on his and gulped oxygen into her own air-starved lungs.
“Why?” he managed to pant. She smiled shyly at him as he set her feet on the ground.
“Because you are kind to me in a way he never was,” she whispered softly. Sesshomaru snorted and kissed her again lightly before burying his face into the crook of her neck to breathe in her scent.
“Maru? What made you give in?” Alithia asked him quietly. Sesshomaru held her tighter and sighed.
“Your dreams—both the erotic one and the one we shared last night. It showed you possess a strength I did not believe you to have. I never want you to endure that sort of pain again, and this is a way to ensure that does not happen,” he murmured softly.