Finding The Balance

Okay, this is my last chapter for awhile, until I get some more inspiration. Sorry it's so feaking long (Like something else constantly found on this site LOL)


Chapter 6: Dinner, Desert and a Story


Ooooh damn. Saiyuri thought, knowing that the opportunity to run had long since passed. If she did anything so stupid as to try and run away now, he would, of course, catch her. Jaken rolled the door open and used his staff to nudge at the back of Saiyuri’s legs, to get her to walk. Feeling like she would rather do anything else, Saiyuri stepped cautiously into the room, realizing, too late, that it was dark in there.
“The woman you requested Mi’ Lord.” Jaken said, bowed and closed the door. Well at least the little toad-thing was out of her hair. Sesshoumaru could see her quite clearly, he didn’t need the light to see that she was wearing a bathrobe, or that her hair was still wet. He could also see her vivid green eyes looking around, not yet adjusted to the lack of light, and therefore unable to see pretty much anything. For once he allowed a grin to grace his lips, knowing she would not see it. “Come closer.” he ordered and watched as Saiyuri straightened a little.
“Where are you?” she asked and kept her hands out in front of her, her feet shuffling so she would not trip so easily.
“I could always come to you.” She heard the smirk in his tone, he could tell by the look on her face.
“Don’t go to the effort.” she replied testily. Her eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness, and his voice had given her some idea of where he was. Blinking hard, she began to pick up the outline of a person with long hair and an angular form. Haltingly, she walked a little closer and stopped a good four feet away, making sure there was more than arm’s length between them. Now she could see, he was sitting on a futon, something deep and cushy, as still as if he were a statue. When his golden eyes looked up at her glowing through the dimness, Saiyuri felt a thrill of fear run up and down her spine, making her profoundly uncomfortable again.
“Sit down.” he said and again she hesitated, before complying. Her gaze was set defiantly on him, just as his amber gaze studied her entire form. The silence stretched between them for quite awhile. Sesshoumaru could practically feel her stiffen when he rose to his feet and began to slowly pace around her, as she sat very still. Saiyuri half-expected to feel his claws slice at her flesh at any second, but it never came; he didn’t even so much as lay a finger on her. But finally his hand cupped her chin and forced her to look up him.
“I scare you don’t I?” he said, not quite smiling when she scowled up at him. Saiyuri shook her head from his rather loose grip, clearly annoyed.
“Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?” she bit out.
Not bad. he mused still watching her fume quietly. She may just be interesting. It was in his mind that there was a lot to learn from this woman, and if he played this game right, he could use the information. His hand gripped her chin again, and this time his thumb pressed against her lips. “Try to keep your tongue in check human.” he told her breezily. His hand drifted from her face to her long hair, which was still damp, his fingers weaving through it. “Stand up.” he ordered, and she gave him a suspicious glare before doing so. It was a little difficult with his hand holding her hair so tightly, but she still managed it. Sesshoumaru felt something like a warm draft on his small amount of exposed skin, and he grinned again. Now he was sure she was the cause of it, and he wanted to know how this was possible. But time enough for that. He knew it was a gray-area and that he would have to pick around it carefully if he was to get anything. So he started the interogation on another subject. “You said earlier that you lost much of your property in a fire. I wonder how that came to be?” Sesshoumaru stood in front of her again, his hand still in her hair, and watched for her reaction. Saiyuri heaved a disappointed and exasperated sigh.
“As I recall, I asked you not to ask me about it.” she said stiffly. Sesshoumaru growled irritably and pulled her head, by the hair, to one side, exposing her neck. He stepped closer and placed his free hand against her throat, one claw resting delicately on her jugular, reminding her who was in charge. Her hands fastened around the wrist of his hand on her throat, and dug her nails in. It yielded no difference at all. “Look,” she tried desperately to make him understand. “It’s got nothing to do with you, so why would I drag you into it?” The pressure on her throat let up a little, and Sesshoumaru eased his face closer to hers.
“Woman, are you telling me what is and is not my business?” his voice was calm and cool again. Saiyur found it difficult to weigh her options since his expression was unreadable. She was not able to guess how he would react to her answer.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with my problems.” she said in a quiet, stern voice. Sesshoumaru hesitated, merely breathing, thinking, watching and waiting. Where any other human would have just told him, this woman stubbornly would not, maintaining that it would only mean trouble for him. Why did she care whether or not it made trouble for him? His eyes were mesmerized by her deep, careful breathing of his captive. Finally, after several minutes of silent deliberation, he removed his hand from her throat and loosened the other hand in her hair. She, in return, let go of his wrist and put her hand against her own neck, apparently feeling for wounds. To her surprise, there were none, not so much as a scratch.
“Why did you come back here?” Saiyuri was statled when he spoke again, then registered his question with something close to disbelief. Then her green eyes narrowed.
“Because you had my friend by the throat.” she snarled at him.
“So that wench is your friend.” Not a question, more an observation.
“And so what if she is?” Saiyuri said defensively, folding her arms over her chest.
“What have you told her?” His voice was icy, his eyes staring straight through her and past a few walls.
“What do you mean?” Saiyuri asked, in a guarded tone.
“Did you tell her anything about myself, or Rin?”
Saiyuri looked shocked again. “First off all I told her regarding you, was that you let me live. And secondly, I’m not about to drag an innocent child into this issure you and your brother have.” Sesshoumaru still gazed hard at her.
“What prevents you from mentioning Rin?”
“My damn good sense!” her tone was sharper now. “She’s an innocent, a child for God sake! And she shouldn’t have to deal with any or your problems any more than you should mine.” she finished and tried to breathe deeply to get her air back.
“You have issues with children being put in that sort of situation, I take it.” Sesshoumaru could tell by her reaction that he had hit the bull’s-eye this time. Saiyuri stared hard at him for a moment, then looked away.
“I hate it when kids have to pay the price for something stupid adults do.” Her voice sounded as if she were forcing the words from the back of her throat.
“You’ve seen much of it.” To her surprise, his tone was gentler now, and she nodded.
“I’ve seen more than my fair share of it.” she muttered, and started when his arms went around her, pinning both of hers to her sides.
“Tell me about it.” he ordered softly, his breath brushing over her ear and nick lightly. Saiyuri drew back and looked at him in a calculating manner, which he did not like. But she sighed and sat down.
“Do you know what the term ‘Genocide’ means?” she asked wearily. The Western Lord had never heard the word and said as much, as he took a seat beside her. “Well the definition is basically this: the deliberate, planned out destruction of an entire group of people.”
“Is such a thing possible?” he wondered aloud.
“I’ve seen too many examples of it that show it is.” she replied stiffly. There was a pause as she got her thoughts together.
“It’s difficult to imagine.” he said softly.
“Not if you’ve seen the effects of it.” Saiyuri said gently. “My point is that this applies to kids too.” she looked at the wooden patterns on the polished floor, not really seeing it. Sesshoumaru put his arm around her shoulders and wondered why it bothered him that this subject hurt her. Saiyuri allowed her head to rest on his shoulder and she sighed. “I just don’t get it.” she said at length. Sesshoumaru didn’t quite know what she meant, but was spared the tedium of asking when she went on. “I mean, how could someone do that? How could someone kill a little kid who can even defend himself, and say it’s okay?” It seemed she was almost muttering to herself now, and he merely listened. “They’re something worse than human… people that do that sort of thing. They’re sick.”
“I agree.” his voice startled her for only a second and she looked at him.
“You do?” he nodded and a soft curve at the corners of his mouth told her he was smiling, but this was not his usual smirk. This expression was far more gentle and lacked his normal arrogance. She sighed, and the look on her face was warmer than he had yet seen it as she rested her head on his shoulder again. “I guess we have that much in common.” she said, then actually chuckled. “No wonder I say I’m not human.”
“How do you mean?” he asked, his lips just brushing the place were jaw and neck met. He felt her give a slight shiver before she answered.
“I can’t understand the human race. And I think I’d be kinda scared to.”
“Hm.” was his only response. There was a knock at the door and the Lord of the Western Lands looked irritably up. “What is it?”
“Your dinner is served Mi’Lord.” said the annoying squeak of Jaken and there was a scurrying sound before the dog-demon stood and walked over to the door. Jaken was nowhere to be seen and had presumably gone elsewhere, but a tray of food was resting there, sending soft ribbons of steam into the air above it. Just as he picked up the tray, he heard the young woman get to her feet.
“I’ll let you eat in peace, shall I ?” she said and was going to pass through the door. His tail shot out and coiled around her waist, nearly yanking her off her feet as he dragged her into the room behind him again. “You could’ve just asked me to stay.” she said somewhere between exasperation and amusement as he released her again.
“Sit down.” he told her and his tail closed the door as he set the food down. Saiyuri sighed tiredly and sat down, too worn out and sore to want to get into another argument. She didn’t know exactly what to expect, but Saiyuri was surprised when Sesshoumaru was suddenly sitting right next to her. Then his arm was around her and before she knew it, she was sitting in his lap.
“What’s-?” she started, but wasn’t allowed to finish.
“You still look pale, you need to eat.” he told her as if he didn’t care where she was sitting. A pair of chopsticks were in his hand and holding some food.
“I can feed myself you know, I’m not completely helpless.” Saiyuri told him with a bad attempt at dignity.
“Am I going to have to feed you another way?” Sesshoumaru sighed, and held back a grin at the blush creeping into Saiyuri’s cheeks.
“Don’t you try it.” she said saucily. He smiled and offered the food again, which she took without complaint. Presently, she noticed that only some of the food on the tray was cooked, about half was apparently various raw meats. Sesshoumaru was a little surprised when she reached out and picked up some of what was clearly his food. Needless to say, he was even more surprised when she held it close to his lips. One slender silver eyebrow rose and he looked at her with confusion. “Oh c’mon, you’re feeding me. Turn-about is fair play.” Normally, he would’ve argued, but he found less inclined to do so. That and the fact that a slightly fiendish idea had found its way into his head. He took the offering, but brought her fingers into his mouth as well. Feeling her give a slight jerk, he held her hand and the chopsticks at the same time. Saiyuri noticed that same thrill run up and down her spine again at the feeling of his tongue moving around her fingers. It scared her a little, especially being so close to his sharp fangs. Sesshoumaru had his eyes open and locked on her face the whole time. He wanted to know what her reaction was, and the more rational side of his brain wondered why he cared. She looked nervous, but also like she was trying to control that uneasieness too. Sesshoumaru could feel that she had given up trying to draw back her hand, and he smiled inwardly. With a final luxurious lick, he allowed her fingers to retreat from his lips. He knew he had probably scared her a bit with that little stunt, but it was good for her to remember who was in charge here. Eventually, dinner was complete and Sesshoumaru set the chopsticks on the tray, as he tasted Saiyuri’s fingertips again. Vaguely he wondered why he liked this. Was it just the feeling of it? Or was it the way she tasted? Or possibly it was the fact that he now knew her scent well. He could tell by a mere inhalation if she was scared, or mad, or something else. And by now he also knew something important; she was still untouched. Maybe that was part of why she was nervous about being alone with him.
Well, she’ll have to deal with it. he mused as he set the tray outside the door and closed it again. He caught the sound of her feet padding across the floor and turned to her. Her hand was on the door, but his fingers closed around her wrist, stopping her from what she obviously meant to do.
“Look,” she said with an attempt at civility again. “I just want to go get my backpack, that’s all.”
“And what’s so special about it that you need it?” Sesshoumaru asked, his usual lack of distinct expression on his face.
Saiyuri put her hands on her hips and glared at him indignantly. “I’m not spending the evening in nothing but a bathrobe.” She stated tartly, her cheeks aflame. There was nothing he could do. Sesshoumaru knew that dignity and decency were on her side tonight and his damn sense of honor would never let him hear the end of it if he forced her to go without some more suitable clothing.
Not that she was wearing much then either. he mused quietly, then released her arm. “Very well. Go and get your things, but once you do, you will come straight back here.” Saiyuri looked about to argue, so he put the tips of his fingers to her lips. “That is an order.. I expect it to be followed.” As his fingers lef her lips, the same hand softly cupped her cheek. But Saiyuri felt a sharp sting on the side of her face, and felt a few thin lines of warmth slide down and drip from her chin. She was out the door and down at least two long halls before she stopped to catch her breath and put a hand to her face.
Damn it! Why does he always do that? she wondered, though in a state of panic and fury. She kept her hand on her face as she wandered around looking for the bathing area where she had left her backpack. How anyone could navigate through this place was beyond her. Especially when every door looked like another door, every hallway looked like another hallway, it was disorienting to say the least. Saiyuri guessed it to be about fifteen minutes since she had left the Lord and now came upon the bathing springs. Sure enough, her backpack was still there, unmoved from where she had left it. Before venturing back to the embodiment of arrogance himself, she though it a good idea to clean up the fresh cut he had given her. Once it was taken care of and properly bandaged. She washed her hands and found a pair of descent pajamas to put on. Normally, she preferred nightgowns, but in this case, she was more than willing to make an exception. She pulled on the nightshirt and fleece pajama-pants she had brought with her and began to walk barefoot back towards Sesshoumaru’s room. It wasn’t like she wanted to go back there, but what choice did she have? She really had no idea what might lurk in any of these other rooms, and curiosity could kill more than a cat. But after about half an hour had passed, she determined that she was impossibly lost. Sitting down for a moment to catch her breath, she had been walking at a rather fast pace, Saiyuri let her eyes close for a moment to concentrate on deep even breaths. It began to rain outside, soft at first, then heavier, and the air hung damper around her now. Saiyuri breathed it in deeply and sighed. The scent of rain always helped get her out of a foul mood. But like all good things, the peace did not last. A hand that materialized out of nowhere came down on her shoulder and gripped hard. Saiyuri only had enough time to gasp when a voice, one that was becoming all too familiar, spoke.
“Where have you been?” Sesshoumaru was clearly annoyed, she could tell even without looking at him.
“Catching my breath the last two minutes.” she remarked testily, and was even more annoyed to note that this was quickly becoming her usual demeanor around him.
“And the rest of the hour?” the pressure he put on her shoulder increased.
“I was lost!” she turned and tried to wrench herself free of his grip, to no avail. “This place is built like a maze, and besides, I spent at least ten minutes cleaning up.” She tilted her head and pointed at the bandage on her face to indicate the newest wound he had given her. “Give me credit for making the attempt alone.” she told him still irritated. With one hand still on her shoulder, effectively holding her in place, Sesshoumaru lightly touched the bandage, as though he were cautiously curious. She jerked away from him, scowling “You’ve done enough for one day thanks.” He did not like her tone, but felt he should not be surprised at it either.
Are all females from her land like this? he wondered, and nearly pitied the men if that were the case. It seemed that she was still tring to get free of his grip and to his surprise as much as anyone’s, he jerked her back and held that defiant boday tightly against his own.
“Will you let go already?” she snarled, but he was not listening. The one hand still held onto her shoulder, but the other now rested tantled in her long soft hair, and he bent his head down ever so slightly, inhaling the scent. He felt he hands against his chest, now free of armor; she was trying to push him away, and snarling something about shaving.
“You smell good.” his mouth formed the words and somehow got them out before he had a chance to stope them. There was dead silence for a moment, except for the persistent thudding of the rain on the roof.
“What?” Saiyuri’s voice was so low and quiet that, had it been anyone else they would not have heard her at all. But he did hear her, even if it didn’t quite register.
WHAT? his mind was yelling so loud that it was a wondered the sound hadn’t formed in his throat. What the hell am I doing? SHE’S HUMAN DAMN IT! “You don’t smell like my brothe anymore.” he said, stiffly. He half-hoped that she would think that was the only reason he had said the other comment, but part of him wanted her to know the truth. She had smelled really good when he got that first wiff. Finally, he let go of her and she took a few steps back, getting some distance between them. Her hand rubbed the opposite shoulder as she stared at him. He stared straight back at her, and of course she blinked first. The young woman turned and picked up her backpack, slipping her arms through the straps again. Without another word between them, Sesshoumaru turned and Saiyuri follwed as they went back to his room. Once they entered, she slid the pack off and set it on the ground. The Lord of the Western Lands watched with fascination as she untied something from the top and rummaged a moment for something else actually inside the bag. “What are you looking for?” he was curious, and he found that the more he asked, the more he learned about her.
“A pillow.” she mumbled absently. Before he could asked how a pillow could fit in there, she made a sound of satisfaction and pulled out something rather flat-looking.
“That’s a pillow?” his tone was skeptical, and even a bit amused. She ignored this and found the little plastic stopper on one corner of the thing. Taking it between her lips and teeth, She exhaled hard and the odd flat thing began to inflate. Sesshoumaru stared wondering what the hell was going on, when she stopped blowing and put the stopper in the thing. She looked smugly at him.
“Now, it’s a pillow.” and she tucked it and some odd roll of fabric under her arm. He raised on thin silver eyebrow, but shook off the feeling and walked over to his own, rather massive futon. Noticing her stop at the edge of it, he glanced over his shoulder at her. But Saiyuri seemed not to notice. She was busy untying and unrolling the strange, and now clearly thick, material. It made an odd noise as she opened it up and Sesshoumaru caught himself staing again as she somehow closed it again, now with only her head visible.
“Trying to turn into a butterfly?” his voice caught her attention. She hesitated, then noticed him smile. It was odd how he could look scary as hell with that grin, or as was the present case, look genuinely amused.
“It’s called a sleeping bag.” she said, actually smiled back at him, then she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, trying to indicate that this conversation was over. But the quiet lasted maybe a minute when two strong hands sat her upright again pulled her onto the futon. “Now what do you want?” she was so exasperated that she sounded childish, but at the moment, she didn’t care. She was still encase int the cocoon of fabric and stuffing, but through all that she could still feel his chest against her back, and now his arms around her waist. She visibly stiffened when his chin rested on her shoulder.
“You’re sleeping with me from now on.” The shock that simple sentence had given her would have been enough to send her through the roof, if only his arms weren’t so tight around her.
“Repeat that?” she hissed and he could tell she had misinterpreted what he had meant.
“Do not think, even for a moment, that I would mate you.” he growled quietly in her ear. “When I say you will sleep with me, you will do simply that: sleep, and nothing more.” Somehow seeing her profoundly uncomfortable was both hilarious and bothersome. On the one hand she seemed ever the more amusing when she was nervous; At least her expressions, facial, body language and so on, was entertaining. But the down side was that it made her want to get as much space between them as possible, and for some reason, he found he didn’t like this at all. The wind threw rain even harder against the roof and the land outside. There was something about it that made him wonder if she was alright, though he still wasn’t sure what that something, eliciting the emotion from him, was. It was disconcerting and annoying that he didn’t know. He laid her down along side himself, his arms still holding her there.
“This is improper and you know it, oh Mighty Lord of the Western Lands.” she was deeply sarcastic and he didn’t like it at all. Something else surfaced though, a realization of sorts. He found it od though. It seemed that she only used his title when she was angry with him.
As a punishment? he wondered about this. There was a light little patter of small feet down the hallway and they stopped abruptly at his door. There was a soft knock and both adults clearly heard if for they simultaneously looked up at the door. “Who is it?” the Western Lord called in his usual calm voice.
“It’s me.” re;ied the little-girl voice of Rin. Sesshoumaru released his grip on Saiyuri and sat up, but to his surprise, she sat up as well. He walked over to the door and rolled it open, looking down at Rin. The child looked scared and sad and for a moment sh ejust stood there. Then she threw her arms around his leg and cried against it. Not really in touch with human emotions, Sesshoumaru merely picked her up, off his leg and carried her into the room. He set her down on the futon next to Saiyuri, who took one look at the child and put her arms around her.
“What’s the matter sweetie?” she asked in a soft soothing tone.
She could calm a storm with that voice. Sesshoumaru thought, watching the little gril cradled in the woman’s arms.
“The storm scared me.” she said in between her sobs. Saiyuri looked at Sesshoumaru and he felt a kind of pang inside him. The look on her face was pleading, begging him to help her calm the little girl. He rested his hand on the child’s shoulder, bent over and kissed the top of her head. Saiyuri had to smile, he looked so paternal when he did that, it could even be called cute.
Cute? Him? Yeah right! And elves made my shoes. she spat mentally. “It’s okay Rin.” she said and the little girl’s crying died down to just some hiccupping. Sesshoumaru marvled at the young woman’s ability to ease Rin’s fright. As far as he had known, people were not all that nice to the little one, even though she was still just a pup. But this woman was different, she had spoken with kindness and caring, rather than scorn.
She’d make a good mother. He thought, them damned himself for thinking it.
“You know what all that noise is?” Saiyuri asked with a playful smile and Sesshoumaru wondered why the point of that was. Rin shook her head to show that she didn’t know. “Well, my father used to always tell me that all that thunder and rain was just angles playing a game called Bowling.”
“What’s Bowling?” Rin asked, now distracted.
“It’s a kind of game where you roll a big heavy ball at some funny-looking wodden things called pins, that are shaped like this.” she drew the odd shape in the air with her finger and rin smiled. “the idea of the game is to see how many pins you can knock over.” Saiyuri finished, still smiling at the child.
“Do angles really play that up in heaven?” Rin aske dwith reverence and this made the older female chuckle.
“Yes they do.”
“Have you ever played it?” Rin asked, still snuggling into the warmth provided by the elder female body and the blanket thing they were in.
“Yes, but only a few times. Now go to sleep sweetheart, and everything will be alright in the morning.” Sesshoumaru put both arms around them and helped ease the pair so that they were laying down on the bedding. He still didn’t remove his embrace when all three of them where resting on the futon, but instead kept one arm beneath Rin and the other on Saiyuri’s waist. She didn’t seem to notice, and just sighed as Rin fell asleep again.
“Was it true?” she looked up when she heard Sesshoumaru’s voice.
“Is what true?” she asked now feeling sleepy herself.
“What you told Rin about angles playing that game, is it true?”
“Who knows?” she said with a slight shrug. “But since there’s no way to really tell for sure, why worry about it? Besides, it’s okay to say it, if it helps her get some rest.”
“I’d never heard such a thing.” he confessed, though it was really more like a comment.
“Well, that’s probably because that old story doesn’t come from here.” she said through a yawn, and closed her eyes.
“What do you mean?” he was more intrigued than ever. If what she said was true, then she had some knowledge of other cultures besides what he had always known.
“It’s kinda Scottish.” she mumbled.
“And you heard it from your father?”
“Mm-hm. He was Scottish.” and that was that about that. She was asleep and there was nothing to be gained by waking her now. For quite a while, the Western Lord laid awake, turning it all over in his mind. Being born of a different culture most likely accounted for the odd skin, hair, and eye color. But that spirit of hers was another matter entirely. His golden gaze fell on the little girl and the young woman, who both resided in his arms. And he listened to the much calmer patter of the rain outside his home. Looking back on that night, he would never remember when he drifted off to sleep.

Like I said, last chapter for now, I will update when I get some reviews and some inspiration. Tell me what you guys and gals think and remember: There's no "I" in "Team" But ther is a "Me"