To be a Normal Demon

Years have passed since the miko’s disappearance after the major battle between good and evil. Black and white. Things have slowly started on a downwards spiral since then. Jaken and his random fits of rage were getting longer, and more intense. Randomly he would be lashing out at the nearest human, which sometimes would be Rin, or when Inuyasha’s taichi would visit.

Rin became a sort of recluse, always staying in her room or going to the gardens. No laughter came as easily as it did before. Her thoughts were on the one woman that treated her like an equal in these odd times of her youth. How she missed her Kagome-sama. It showed as the months turned to years and Rin was still a pale, skinny ten year old, with only a handful of friends. Only her Sesshomaru-sama made her smile, and that was rare and far between.

Everyone watched as Sesshomaru acquired a mellow attitude towards life and humans. The miko somehow got to him and changed that little snag he had in life. He saw beauty in flowers and nature for once. Stopping to look at the stars. He never looked at the stars in his long angry life, that is until he saw her looking that night.

She sat in the tall grass, arms behind her holding her top half up as she stared in wonderment. Her legs were crossed over one another, like she was meditating on something, only she was being pulled into the sky. The young miko looked like she has never seen such a simple sight before, it was like she was lost in thought from the majesty of it.

“Why do you look at the stars, miko?” His curiosity was peaked as he stared at her, long slender neck craned to look up at the darkened sky. He took a seat next to her on the other empty side of her.

“Where I come from you can never see the stars like this. Only a few in the sky now from so many lights in all the houses’. Now, this,” she stated and looked up once more pretending he wasn’t there and yet talking to him all the same, “this is simply beautiful.”

At that moment he turned he saw Rin laying in tall grass dozing. She stirred and looked at her lord and smiled. Than back to the onna in the middle. “Kagome-sama.”

“Yes, Rin?”

“Rin wants to know something.” A slight blush tinted her cheeks at her own child like boldness.

“Ok.” And Kagome waited, while she plucked some tall grass from the ground and dusted what little dirt was left on and put it between her teeth.

“Rin wants to know, what is a light?”

“Oh.” He watched the little miko grab for straws as her idea’s formed to explain. Than her face lit up and she stared at the tired eyes of the young girl. Grass still firmly between her lips as she spoke. “You know when a storm comes in the night and there is that scary noise, thunder yea. What happens before the loud noise?”

“Lightening, Kagome-sama?” She asked with a slight questioning look on her face as she stared back at the older woman.

“Yes. That light, from the lightening, is used to make more light where I come from. So much light is used to the point where you can’t see the stars, not like this any ways. Kinda like a storm, but brighter.” Kagome smiled down at the girl who just shrugged her shoulders and cuddled to find another comfy position.

Three years have passed since that conversation under the stars, since she disappeared from the field, and some people were affect by her disappearance. Some were not. He looked around and let his head fall on his chest.

Why?

“What can be done to easy the pain in your heart, milord,” asked the dyeing woman-child on the raised futon. My how she had grown. It was like she accept her death in such a simple fashion, to her nothing mattered. She was already alone and the last person to accept her left her, why try to fight what was inevitable?

Said lord was sitting on the futon pushing the sticky hair out of her face. How can she ask me any thing now. He watched the blood pool in the center of the bed, stained the silken bed spread and his haori. But he never noticed, all he saw was a scared child trying to act strong.

How could this have happened?

He went on a routine patrol. Killed no one. Kept the peace, where did it go wrong? This was not suppose to happen. She was suppose to die of old age, asleep like all other silly ningen. Not, not like this.

She was stabbed repeatedly in her sleep. Barely alive when he burst threw the doors knocking them off the hinges, not caring what was left destroyed in his demonic will powered wake. He flew towards the darkness and decapitated the culprit. It still came to a shock to see the little gomi’s head roll to his feet and the staff of two heads falling to the floor.

Why?

Almost like the toad knew its eyes flew open and stated with his face scrunched up in anger and his words cold towards his master. “Because you have become to soft...” Before he could state any more the lord of the mansion strong acrid poison covered the servants head and watched in sicken fascination as it dissolved along with the floor boards. A slight sizzle was the only indication in the dark quite room.

“Get me the witch. Now!” Bellowed the demon as he turned to the child and sat down on the side of her futon rubbing her face with the back of his clawed hand.

Reliving those moments again in his mind as he waited for the witch to enter. Turning to the child, for the first time entering the room, he began to wet his drying lips with his tongue he and tried to speak once, than twice.

Nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he started again. “Do not leave.” He stated with a tone full of authority.

“Where is Kagome-sama? I need to tell her...” She paused to try and gather some inner strength as she tried to speak again. The taiyoukai could not damaged her spirit any more than what was already done, and so he placed his hand on her mouth for silence.

By the time the witch entered the chamber, his once haori was black with dried caked blood and Rin’s gasping breaths were the only noise in the room.

The witched sat down next to the bed and stated, “If she is to live, than she must come with me. And stay.” That statement struck a chord in the youkai as he flinched. She waited for the lord of the castle to look at her, she had more to say and she wanted him to understand. “She will never age. Stuck as a child for ever. Never be married, have children, or leave the island.” The witch stared into his eyes and began anew, “If you wish for her to live, than you must say good bye now. Years from now, she may not wish to be a woman locked away in a child's body. If that time should come than she will leave the island and age rapidly. You must explain it to her, before we leave. You only have moments, my lord.”

With that the witch stood and left the room to give some privacy.

As he looked down at the now pale girl something in the futon, his chest started to twist painfully. He clamped his hand into her small one and gave her some of his healing youkai till the witch entered. He never told the girl what was to happen. He felt as if he failed her and was beneath her now. All he could do was let her live.

As he waited for what seemed like forever he tried for the life of him to leave an imprint of this moment. The way she smelled. The way her hair pooled behind her tilted head. The way her face..

Four sets, and eighty seven drinks later, Kagome started her yelling of the last call for the few patrons still in the establishment. Ten more minutes and she would have to count down and slipped tips, she thought as she patted her pocket.

What a tuesday, she thought as she turned to look at the smiling, glassy eyed taiyoukai. She was slightly buzzed, but played it off quite like her companion in the corner of her bar, with a stupid smile.

She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind her. Two-fifty AM. The miko started to look around for her little brother to see what he was gonna do tonight. Plus he had classes today, but they were on in the after noon. She may need to walk him home, which wouldn’t be a first, since she started to work here.

Souta was in a very interesting conversation with Michi, something to do with airplanes and soap. She could barely make it out, since their heads were on the bar, in their arms. Kagome didn’t really even want to know as she saw all the patrons wave and say they would be in tonight. Bart came to the bar, Yoshi never stopped by to relieve him tonight, which wasn’t like her boss at all.

“Hey Kid, you were fantastic tonight!” Bart gave her a fatherly pat on the shoulder and continued. “Go ahead and count down, and start the weigh in for me. I trust you.” He said with a wink at her. He gestured with his head towards her brother. “We’ll take Souta home, so don’t worry. We’ll be right back.” He turned towards Michi and her younger brother, tapping their shoulders and motioning to the door. “Oh,” Bart remembered, “I’m gonna lock the front door now, so just make sure you lock the back for me. Can you do that Kid?” He took his keys out and didn’t bother to look back for the young bartenders reply.

In a way dear readers, he already saw her nod her head to his question. But we as watchers will only wonder if he just wanted to hear his voice at that moment, or was it just to remind his slightly drunk friend.

The last noise from Bart that evening was him closing the door and the locks tumbling into place. Kagome got the impression that he wasn’t coming back tonight. Shaking her head at her friends antics she sighed with a smile. Some people’s kids, she thought. Her attention turned to the living shadow in the corner.

“Hey, it’s gonna take me a while to count down, do you wanna wait for me or just leave me a number to reach you?” She started the count then, while waiting for the other half of the conversation to start.

“This Sesshomaru will wait for you, miko.” The youkai in the corner with his deep rich voice, with a mild flourish of his arms and a mock drunk bow. “I barely sleep any ways. Nor do I have any other engagements for the time being.”

“Ok.” She said while never taking her eyes off the other being in the bar.

Five minutes later, when the cash register slammed closed and her numbers were in the spread sheet the miko turned around behind her and gazed at the most honorable sight that she has ever seen. There was just too many. She looked at the wall of alcohol and started to face the drinks she used and write in the tally on her sheet. Today wasn’t so bad, the weekends were murder, due the fact that the high rolls were off and got a cheap drink of Petron from the bar.

“Why do you do that?” Sesshomaru’s curiosity was getting to him as he watched he woman actually weight the bottles and write down a number.

“It’s something you do at a bar. To make sure that all sales were accurate and no booze was over used.” She turned to him and gave him a small smile. “First time at a bar during closing I take it?”

“This Sesshomaru normally drinks at home with the company of one. This is a far too new idea, drinking in public, for this Sesshomaru any ways.” As he talked he slowly started to make his way to the bar. Truth be told, he had no idea why he was going towards her. It was like a magnet was pulling him to be near her. The smell of polished wood and sweat was strong in the air, but it all was a blur to the demon. She already showed him something new today.

“Well that’s not a fun life.” She wondered absently how old the demon was, shaking her head she decided that the night was not over yet. “I’m just about done, so did you have anything else in mind? I have to do some laundry tonight, other than that I free.” She put all the papers back in the clip on the clipboard and placed that on of top of the restaurant style ice machine.

“It is rather late out side. Do you mind that this Sesshomaru be your escort for the even, miko?” He walked over to the bar and rested against it.

“Aren’t you at least tipsy there, sir?” Kagome looked at him up and down, oddly. “I mean you drank just as much as me and your still using proper etiquette for God’s sake!” She threw her arms up in the air and looked into his sunflower like eyes. “No, an escort would be ok, but a friend hanging out with me would be much better.” She sighed when he gave her a strange look. “Lemme just put my electric in the case and we’ll go out the back door.”

Slightly shocked at the way the female address his good manners he tilted his head and watched her pack up her bright red electric guitar and place it in her oddly striped case. Moments later, the door was closed and they begun the walk to her apartment.

“So, are you one of those people that likes to act like their really smart while intoxicated or do you like to go swimming, like me?”

That got the taiyoukai’s attention right down quick. The trademark eyebrow rose above in a slight arch towards his bangs, but not drastically so. Swimming? While.. doing laundry? Odd. “So are we going to swim or are you going to do laundry. Because, as of now, you have just confused me on so many leaves, miko.”

“Well,” she began as she tucked her walkman in her pocket, “laundry isn’t a thing that takes million upon millions of hours. Even while doing it drunkenly.” She nodded her head in silent agreement with herself as she continued. “Plus, the apartment complex that I live in, the laundry room is right next to the pool.” She stated the last part in a smug kinda of way, like: ‘you would just wait for me to finish than you would know, huh?’

“Oh.” He let his gaze drop to the sidewalk, as they continued to travel to her complex in companionable silence.

“You didn’t answer my question, you know? Maybe,” she tapped her fingers against her lips in silence as she stared at the sky, “you just a quite type of guy? So is that how it is when you have sex?” She glanced up at him with a glint of mischief in her eyes, as she waited for his answer either a calm, cool collected one or a..

“What?!”

If Sesshomaru had a drink right now, it would be across the sidewalk in a spittle arch rainbow. Thank God, he didn’t.

Yep, he freaked out. The miko smiled at him all the brighter when she got a reaction she wanted.

“Well, you are old and your a dude. I’m not so naive and innocent about the sex life of people. Suprising, a miko that is so accustomed to sex. Scary, huh? But that's the twenty-first century for you. Like Souta-”

Before anything could come out of lips he clamped his hand on her mouth. “I don’t think I want to know right now. I can smell, so I really don’t want to know right now, cause I have this bad feeling that I already know and I would rather have my ignorance till the bitter end.”

He cleared his throat, took his hands off of her mouth and they continued walking. “I haven’t had sex in..” Starting to count his fingers and then looked down at his toes and wiggled them as he counted. Than grabbed the miko’s hands and used those for counting and than contemplated using her toes as well before he looked back up and just simple stated. “In a long, long, long, long time. So lets drop that, ok?”

Kagome didn’t even seem fazed about the way the conversation was turning. Maybe it was the booze talking for her, who knows, who cares. This miko sure didn’t. As they crossed the last intersection before they reached her complex she let out a sigh of relief. “I got more to drinks at home. Mostly rum and coke, along with vodka and I can make that drink,” she scratched her head trying to remember the name of the drink and gave up on it, “from that movie “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, this is gonna be a great night, Sesshomaru. But I warn you know, I sleep practically naked and well I get antsy. And if my neighbors come out, it’ll be like a frat party. Ever went to college?”

“Um, no.”

“Oh great. Were definitely gonna have a night to remember than mister.” Winking playfully at him, she grabbed his large hand and pulled him through the gates and running towards her specific building. Clambering up the stairs like there was no tomorrow, she turned around. “Um, I don’t have a t.v so your going to have to find something for your entertainment while I get all my clothes together. Sorry.”

Turning from him sheepishly and facing her door followed by grabbing her keys from her pocket to disengaging her lock, as she held the door for her guest she turned on the living room light and waited.

He was not expecting her living room to be filled with book cases, full of every book you could think of. “Wow.” The youkai slowly made his way to a case that was nothing but medical books. “Did,” grabbing a book about the bodies fluids and leafing through it, “did you read all of these book?”

Kagome was already in her room grabbing dirty clothes and shoving them into her hamper. “Yeah. From the moment I got back to my time. Since I barely passed my exams to test out from school. Just because I don’t do the college thing, doesn’t mean I’m not smart.” As she finished her little speech she grabbed her jade bikini from the dresser. “Oh, do you need a towel?” Changed into her bikini, she grabbed towels and put an over sized t-shirt on her small frame.

“Who said I was going to swim?”

“Come on! I’m going swimming. I got some basketball shorts you can wear. Souta left them from the last visit.” She poked her head out of her room and looked at him.

“Only if you make me a drink.” Sesshomaru spoke as h lift his head in the as if to say, ‘that is that.’

“Great! I needed one too. I can feel the sobering side of my conscience kicking in. Any thing you want?” She came out of her room, hamper in her hands with the towels also the shorts balanced on top, and made her way to the kitchen.

Getting out red plastic cups from her cabinets and booze and mixings. As the demon came into kitchen he grabbed the shorts and turned the corner. He looked at the odds and ends of what was gathered there. Than he remembered that odd drink from his party days. No, not the sake bomb, something different. “Can you make a mojito?”

“Your talking to the best bartender this side of any where. Sheesh.” Than she grab the ingredients, went into the fridge and grabbing some mint and her limes. Heading back to the sink to fetch the mortar and got to work. “Can you make a mojito? Pfft.” She mocked him as she bruised the leaves in his cup and added the limes. Turning towards him and giving him a slight glare. “Well, are you going to get ready or not? Shoo. Shoo.” She ushered him out of the kitchen.

“Which one is the bathroom?” He looked puzzled as he searched the hallway for the designated room.

“Your gonna have to go through my room. So just change in there. Sorry.” She called after him, as she unscrewed the bottle and added a large amount of vodka to the concotion.

Following with his nose to the spot that smelled the most like her, he traveled to the very end of the hall and opened the door. What he was saw nothing short of organized chaos.

Whoa.

Everything had a place, and yet the place had far too much stuff in general. Its like she saved every little thing from her childhood, and the corner held that monstrous backpack. Slightly faded, and holes here and there, but none the worse for wear. He saw her closet near capacity, a bomb ready to go off, if you add just one more article of, well any thing. Her walls though, that's what was odd. She had book shelves put in, but other than that, they were bare. Naked.

“I’m bringing the rum and coke down stairs, do you want me to take the vodka too?” She stuffed the rum and coke bottle in the hamper, vodka bottle in hand waiting, a slight tap in her foot.

Forgetting about the room he quickly shed his close while calling out a quick, ‘Yea.’ Shoes, socks, pants, shirt. He was a whirl wind of changing clothes, if the Guinness book od world records had a time for it, he woulda won. Yea, fast. Now, all he had was his boxers on, ehh.. stay. The basketball shorts while having a string and were the appropriate size, lacked to be in a safe color. He sighed to himself as he stared at them, of course a matter of time though his mind was made up. After all, it was dark out he should be fine.

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ahh, another chapter. i was have a tough moment there putting it up.. its on dokuga.com too.. but.. meh. some people like one site more than another.. i get that.. soo no worries. next chapter, hilarity shall insue.