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the-witches-you-couldnt-burn · 3 years

Text

It started with a whisper

I originally wrote ‘Like I did with you’ as a one-shot but people wanted a sequel. This turned out to be waaaaay longer than expected (4.7k word count). Inspired by Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. I hope you lot enjoy!

Ao3

(Also this is Mari’s new outfit, all credits go to the original artist)

————

Two teens stood upon the balcony of a large banquet hall, exposed to the midsummer night air. The sky was a lilac blanket that hung over the Parisian buildings, speckled with glowing stars. The moon, with it’s crescent smile, beamed down of the young couple.

Hey, baby, won't you look my way?

Marinette’s eyes were closed as she rested her head upon his shoulder, relaxing after the night’s rapid escalation. Tonight she had arrived at the ball with the intent to be there for her friends, but somehow she found herself within the arms of Gotham’s (and probably Paris’) Ice Prince. She had overheard his nickname from the Gotham students, one of which being Jon, who was in the middle of mocking the young Wayne. She had never considered that nickname as suitable; sure he was temperamental & had a tendency to snap, but icey to the core? No.

I can be your new addiction

Damian was calm. For the first time in his life he felt like he could take a breath. His exhale was carried off by a small gust of wind, the bush over hanging the stone railing rustled. With his inhale, the scent of Marinette’s perfume became present once more. Mixed with the crisp night’s air, her usual scent of pastries was mixed with what could only be described as ambrosia. His phone vibrated within his pocket, it was never on volume due to the potential risk it caused during his heroic activities.

“Shit.” Notifications covered his screen, multiple tweets, Instagrams and Tiktoks in which he had been tagged in. But the alert came from his family’s private messaging chat. The whole thread was a shit storm, Grayson and Todd’s messages were completely capitalised (he learnt years ago this meant ‘to yell’ in writing form) and both had multiple ‘keyboard spasms’. Drake, like the thorough detective he is, had combed through the images and videos, investigating their validity. His honorary sisters had replied with ‘awwwww’(s) and ‘Omg we MUST meet this girl! I need to know how she tamed the demon!’. He could practically hear Brown’s shrill voice from across the ocean.

Hey, baby, what you gotta say?

No reply from his father or Alfred. The two of them were the only semblance of ‘normal’ paternal figures he had within his life, after the sham of a relationship he had previously held with his grandfather. Their silence unnerved him.

Marinette had noticed his attention had shifted to his phone, her own mobile was buzzing away within her baby pink purse. Messages, notifications of account tagging and comments galore. A sigh left her lips when she saw her parents seemed to be none the wiser. Good, she didn’t need to deal with future adoration for ‘The boy who swept our daughter off of her feet’ (or something along those lines).

Her cheeks regained some of the warmth they held before as she thought of her parent’s reaction. Scrolling through her Twitter she saw her friends had posted multiple images of the night’s events, majority being her shared dance.

Chloé Bourgeois @TheBestBourgeois

what kind of Disney shit is this? (Insert video of two teens dancing around an mostly empty dance floor.)

Alix Kubdel @Sk8trGirl

Replying to @TheBestBourgeois

I KNOW RIGHT?! THEY WERE FUCKING FLOATING!!!

All you're giving me is fiction

She was thankful that they hadn’t tagged her but she hadn’t been spared by others in attendance. Her post thread had blown up, thousands had commented and even more had viewed the evidence. There was no way she would come out of this unscathed.

“Has anyone been on Twitter today?” The blonde of the family asked as she walked into the dining room. Her eyes focused on her scrolling screen, brows furrowed in confusion. “Actually has anyone seen what’s happening on any of our socials?”

It was early in the afternoon and the family had recently returned home after a straining stakeout. The Joker had broken out of Arkham and the Batfam had to deal with his minions. Dick’s arm was in a sling (sprained from a grapple gone wrong), Jason was icing his hand, Alfred was stitching Bruce’s chest wounds while Tim and the girls escaped without severe injuries. All were still recuperating and finally able to recharge.

Alfred always enforced a strict ‘no devices at the dinner table’ rule; no matter how urgent it was, it could wait until after sustenance was consumed. Tim strongly opposed this, but there was no arguing with Agent A. This all surmises that probably no one had seen the crap storm on social media.

I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time

Bruce sighed, bringing his free arm up to rub his eyes. Tilting his head back to look at Steph, “Who was it this time?” Barbara quickly took out her phone to see what Stephanie was talking about, all the while glancing accusingly at Dick and Jason. Both of whom held up their arms (or in Dick’s case arm), declaring their innocence.

“It wasn’t fucking me!”

“Jason! Language!” Dick shot a glare at Jason and was met with one in return. “It wasn’t me either.”

“Then who-“ Bruce started before being cut off by his most rambunctious daughter.

I found out that everybody talks

Stephanie with a squeal, exclaimed that it was Damian. Visions of what the Wayne brat could have done flashed through the heads of everyone in the room. He had been sent overseas before the quarantines and lockdowns hit. During Damian’s first month in France he had been forced into online schooling and then finally when he got to go to in-person classes he hated it. Described the class as a kindergarten with petty and vindictive toddlers.

Had he broken someone’s arm? Was that person of such importance that it had spread over multiple social media platforms? France’s government had announced on June 15th, that teens were now being inoculated so him having COVID-19 was doubtful. Had he insulted the wrong person? Had he taken over the government? He certainly had the potential.

Everybody talks, everybody talks

What they saw stunned them, even Steph as she watched it for the 7th time. Damian Wayne was dancing. But not only that, he was dancing with a girl.

It started with a whisper

“What is this shit?”

No one verbally objected to Jason’s outburst but he was sent a harsh glare from Alfred, Dick and Bruce. Their focus soon returned to the images and videos before them. Babs’ and Steph’s phones were returned to them as the others ran to grab their own devices. They all met back at the table, comparing the posts and comparing their notes.

I can hear the chitchat

“There’s no way this can be real.”

“Jesus Tim,” Barbara rolls her eyes, “have you seen the amount of posts there are? You’d be an idiot to think otherwise.”

Take me to your love shack

“I’m with Tim, how do we know this isn’t some skit. I mean, Demon Spawn almost looks normal. That’s a matter of concern.” He almost dry heaved when he agreed with Tim. Damian couldn’t be capable of naturally exuding that amount of humanity unless there was something in it for him.

Mamas always gotta backtrack

“I was just saying Babs, that we should check the credibility of these images. For all we know they could be gorilla glued together and trying to get unstuck.” Tim cringed at his own reasoning, he really needed to either sleep (probably not going to happen anytime soon) or find his favourite coffee brand (which had been one of the first to vanish after the covid hoarders appeared).

When everybody talks back

Dick was too busy freaking out and spam messaging the youngest Wayne, to defend Damian’s humanity. The family saw this and followed suit, wanting to get information from the source.

Chat name: Alfred supremacy

BigBird: AHHHHHH DAMIAN!

BigBird: YOU LOOK SO CUTE!!!

BigBird: HAIFJDNDNFI

LittleWing: WTF HAPPENED DEMON SPAWN YOU LOOK ALMOST HUMAN

Babs: who knew the city of love would influence the brat

Blondie: they are so cuteeeeeee!

Blondie: We HAVE to meet her!

Silent-but-deadly: agreed.

Timbo: YO DEMON

Timbo: Apparently the videos are legit

Timbo: are you being blackmailed?

And it just devolved into more chaos from there, fueled by the fact that they saw Damian’s ‘Blood Son’ account appear online before vanishing once more. Dick shrieked, “I FOUND HER ACCOUNT!”

The family gathered around the eldest son, peering over his shoulder to view his iPhone 12max screen. They saw a young girl’s Instagram account. It was locked but they could see her profile pic, the girl had black hair and looked to be if Asian decent. They compared it to the videos but it was hard to see due to the hall’s lighting and the minimised facial features of the pfp. Alfred suggested that they search up her username and see who has tagged her, some might have other photos of her.

After research for awhile, the family began to get frustrated with lack of results.

Hey honey you could be my drug

You could be my new prescription

“Come on!” Jason complained, “What kind of teenage girl doesn’t post her life online?” He ignored the girls glares and went back to researching. How had the account by the name of ‘mariiiiinette’ to managed to prevent the entire Wayne clan from accessing it? Damn Instagram privacy settings. He groaned, dragging a hand down his face, “We are fucking stupid. Why don’t we just use the Bat-computer? It would be so much fucking easier.”

“It shouldn’t be used for civilian issues-“

Too much could be an overdose

“The girl could be a meta for all we know! We aren’t safe until we know who she is.” Jason points a finger at Tim, his paranoia flared up and even though he would never admit it, Jason would do anything to protect each member of his family (although Bruce is still debatable).

All this trash talk make me itching

Barbara and Tim took their usual positions as Oracle and Red Robin (who had been banned from patrol due to lack of sleep). The rest of the Batfam stood behind them either with arms crossed or still failing at researching.

Oh my my shit

“The account is owned by a girl called Marinette Dupian-Cheng. She is French-Chinese and her parents own a popular bakery. Also if it wasn’t already obvious, she goes to Collège Françoise Dupont, aka Damian’s French school.” Tim begun informing his nosy family, “But this account has been inactive for the past 6 months, which is strange due to her frequent posting schedule before hand. It seems she probably has a second account and this is her old one.”

Everybody talks, everybody talks

“Not only that,” Barbara interrupted. “There are unopened messages from other accounts that accuse her of being a bully. There is a whole Facebook page about this girl and how she has been hurting her old friends, but neither side seems reliable. The so called victims seem to be twisting the truth but there is barely any information about Marinette so we can’t disprove it either.”

“Read out some of the messages.” Bruce took a cup of coffee from Alfred and sipped it.

The main screen of the bat computer displayed a Facebook group with the banner picture being a photo of Marinette. “They are mostly complaints expected of teen girls when there is a girl they don’t like; ‘Marinette is such a know-it-all’, ‘She is constantly insulting Lila’s intelligence’. They go on to talk about how Marinette was briefly expelled from the Collège before being reinstated by the principle for a reason unknown to them.”

Everybody talks too much

“Her school reports up until this year were good. The newest one states, ‘While Marinette is a wonderful and bright student, I encourage her to settle her disagreements outside of class. This seems to only be a recent occurrence and I implore her to go to the guidance council if she is in need of help.’” A beat of silence echoes through the cave, Tim sighed. “Jason’s meta theory could be correct. She could have just recently started exhibiting her abilities and using them to get what she wants.”

“Bruce what do you want to do?”

“We’re going to Paris.”

She opened her eyes to the blaring morning light that streamed through the blinds. Her lashes still painted with mascara that refused to leave. She felt a pang of sorrow when she was removing her makeup and dress last night, she never wanted the night to end. She shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen, covering her mouth when she yawned. She greeted her mother as she entered the kitchen to get breakfast.

She glanced at her phone and there was the chaos that was started hours ago and it was still occurring. It was the weekend, she wouldn’t need to deal with her classmates until Monday. But she would still have to survive her parent’s interrogation. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her mother smirking at her.

Everybody talks

“Nadja told me some interesting news about last night.” Marinette held her breath, glaring at the toaster, willing it to hurry up so she could escape. “Well,” Sabine patted her shoulder before rubbing Mari’s back. “I know you didn’t want to go but I hope you had fun.”

With that she exited the kitchen, probably going to help her father in the bakery. The ravenette stared after her, eye widened in shock, jumping when the toaster went off. Buttering her toast she went over the conversation, her brows furrowed in confusion. She had expected a ‘When do I get to meet the oh so famous prince?’ or ‘Should I be expecting a new guest sometime in the near future?’ or at least a ‘Who was that young man, Bǎozàng (宝藏 it means treasure)?’ But she said nothing.

A small smile was plastered upon her face as she changed and went down to help her parents in the bakery. Her father didn’t say anything either, he gave her a knowing smile before continuing to kneed the dough. She sat at the the store front as the cashier whilst her parents were busy making ‘Paris’s Finest Pastries’.

Her musings slowly faded as she was brought back to reality by badly hushed whispers. Two young preteens were by the bread roll casing near the door. She had seen them come in before with their parents, the girls went to the prestigious international school over in the 16th arrondissement. The one with purple hair kept whispering to the brunette, both ‘subtly’ glancing towards her. Using her enhanced hearing she listened in on their conversation.

“That’s her, I swear that’s her in the video.”

The blonde’s face soured likes she sucked on a lemon. “No, it wasn’t good lighting there is no way he would dance with someone like her.”

Everybody talks

Marinette had tough skin but their words had an impact, only a small one due to her defence mechanism of repressing emotions. She stopped listening and went back to drawing in her sketchpad, she was in desperate need of a new school outfit.

The two girls eventually came up to the counter, goods in hand. Marinette rung up and bagged their items (paper because save the turtles sksksk) in a tired daze. A phone was shoved into her face, her eyes barely adjusted to view the screen before the blonde spoke.

“Is this your instagram?” She asked in a tone so snobbish that it should be illegal from a person her age. Marinette finally was able to view the screen that was barely an inch from her face. Her old Instagram ‘mariiiiinette’ was displayed on screen, she hesitantly nodded, gaze flicking back to the two in front of her.

The blonde’s nose scrunched up and the purple goth girl squealed in delight. They soon after left the store, their conversation had devolved into ‘See! I told you’ and ‘Yeah, yeah. You were right.’

Walking to school on Monday, she had finally come down from cloud nine. She still rode the tail end of her high as she rushed along her path to her campus, she wasn’t going to be late but she sure wasn’t going to be early. She had spent the better part of the weekend designing and sewing a brand new outfit. Her new look was composed of a black cropped singlet (L'amour gagne hemmed into it and it’s straps), paired matching peach plaid cropped overshirt and a-line miniskirt. Her hair was down, ballet flats were worn and her makeup was the usual with the added edition of a rose gold eyeshadow.

Even though her face was covered in a black and gold mask, she looked hot.

She reached the campus and the whispers started again, people were still buzzing from Friday night. Her classmates, the majority of her grade and the younger years seemed to gossiping before class about the formal’s events. She couldn’t spot any of her friends or the two Gotham transfers, so she was stuck listening the the chitchat. Why couldn’t she have been late like usual?

Damian had a fowl disposition and it showed in multiple icey glares (and that was before he even reached the collège). His family had made their appearance known in Paris at 1am Sunday morning. He could have used his dorm to escape but his family didn’t have the word ‘privacy’ within their vocabulary. He didn’t want to have to pay for a lock replacement due to his brothers’ (most likely Todd with Drake & Grayson laughing at him) lock picking habit.

The Ice Prince was back with full force. He had just been... influenced by all the other couples. Yes he did respect Dupain-Cheng and he appreciated her company & pleasant conversations. He would struggle to hide a small smile at the memory of the dance, even if he denied himself the happiness of normality, he felt content when reminiscing.

“Ooo the Ice Prince is here, did he have a fight with his princess or something?” The voice seemed to mock him.

“The Disney Magic is gone. The demon is back.”

Everybody talks

At the second jeer he shot a glare at the perpetrator. Jon held his hands up in an ‘I surrender manner’, laughing as he joined Damian at his side. The two entered the school’s large foyer and looked to see if any of the classes were open yet. Sadly they weren’t, before he was wrong and the his class was plain torture but this was truely hell.

He saw Dupain-Cheng sitting alone on the stairs, drawing within her sketchpad. He wondered how a girl like her, who always seemed to be involved in other’s lives (for the better) was ignoring all of the comments about her. She felt his focus centre on her, eyes flicking up to meet his, she provided him with a small wave before continuing to draw.

Jon nudged him with an elbow to his ribs and dragged him off to the side, into the boy’s locker rooms. Jon scowled at the door, “It’s a mad house out there. You’ve heard what some people are saying right?”

“Why would I care about these imbeciles?”

Jon jabbed Damian in the chest, causing the demon to stumble. Green eyes darted from blue eyes to the tan finger. “You care when lies hurt people you care about.”

The day began to rapidly decline once the two dance partners took their seats, next to each other. They had both been placed up the back of the class and them sitting together hadn’t been a problem until now apparently. She wasn’t even safe when the teacher started their lecture, whispers and glances were cast towards them. Once the two got to biology it was better, Ms Mendeleiev was a strict teacher and was able to control the class.

Everybody talks

But the recess came. When the bell rang she slowly started packing up her equipment, Alix and Max (who she shared biology with) waited for her; she watched as the Ice Prince left through the door. She knew she didn’t need to be concerned about her friends joining in with the gossiping, if anything they would dispel people and tell them to ‘Mind their own fucking business’ because this whole situations is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

She did receive some slight teasing from Alix about being a Disney princess, but Marinette quipped back about the skater’s fairytale story being ‘Pinknette, the Geek and the Beast’. The three met up with the other two of their group, they had just come from geography. Kim was complaining that Argentina was a state in America.

“That’s Arkansas you idiot!” Chloe shrieked, lightly hitting his arm with her white handbag. Max held his head in his hand as he approached, how had his tutoring sessions failed so badly?

Chloe turned to Marinette, a smile forming from her glare. The blonde examined the designer’s clothing, nodding. “You look like you are about to have a hot girl summer.”

Marinette’s face burned, the tips of her ears coated in red. Alix chuckled and nudged her shoulder.

Everybody talks

“Look at her, she is so desperate for his attention that she probably copied those designs.”

“Why do you think he danced with her anyways? Maybe she has something on him? I mean, she forces him to sit next to her in class, who knows what else she has done.”

What. The. Fuck.

Chloe glowered towards Lila’s posy. “We have a fucking seating plan, those cretins-“ She made a motion to storm over but was caught by the ravenette, looking back to Mari, her rage decreased from a boil to a simmer.

“No Chlo. It’s fine, it’s not worth it.”

Everybody talks... back

The group walked out to the school’s front steps, it was a mad house... a mad courtyard? Students sitting on the stairs, on the grass and standing around mingling, all of them now were staring at her. She held her backpack close to her chest (she had swapped her signature coin-bag purse for the pastel pink bag), pretending its a shield. Her friends circled around her becoming an obstacle to prevent their stares. If people were afraid of a scowling Kim then they don’t know the scorn of Chloe or Alix’s bite. And Max, sweet quiet Max.... you better hope he doesn’t have blackmail on you (he probably does), he can dismantle your life with a single anonymous post.

Rushed footsteps approached them. The group was broken apart by a rude Wayne boy, he swept Mari away from the school and the gossip crowds within. Her four friends shouted at him and he kept walking, shooting a glare at them in response. He kept pushing Marinette forward with a hand placed on the small of her back, her backpack was now swung over his other shoulder.

They ended up in her favourite alcove. She had brought him here with the other Gotham transfers for a native’s tour of Paris. It had always been her safe place to be creative.

It started with a whisper (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“My apologises for our rushed departure but you seemed to want to get out of their anyhow.” His gruff tone danced through the silence, his head still peaking around the corner; watching for any unwelcome guests.

“Thank you.” She whispered, her voice almost being carried off by the gentle wind. A genuine smile illustrated upon her face.

“We weren’t able to converse after the events of the other night. I would like to formally apologise once more for my actions causing this adverse reaction. If I had kn-“

“You don’t need to apologise!” She squeaked, hiding her eyes behind her fisted hand. Her shoulders curled inwards as she tried to make herself seem as small as possible, a side effect of her common use of her secondary miraculous form: Multimouse.

“I chose to dance with you, you don’t need to apologise for my own actions.” He stared at her with confusion. He had taken the blame so she wouldn’t need to do so herself; but she had taken it anyways. He had given her an out. Why does she always take the blame, even for things out of her control?

“But if I hadn’t danced with you then you wouldn’t have been the focus of the entire school.”

Marinette stepped forward, her eyes hardened and blazing. “Damian Friday night I went there out of obligation to my friends, I didn’t want to be there. But dancing with you? That was the highlight of my week, probably my month too. I enjoyed our time together.” Her face softened, lips twitched downwards ever so slightly. “I don’t regret anything about that night, but do you?”

He was bad at comfort. Everyone in his family avoided him when they were in need, he plainly didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t visibly upset but he sensed that she is disappointed that he apparently didn’t share the same opinion of the night. The only thing he regretted about that night was letting Jon call him a coward, but then again if he didn’t he never would have danced with Dupa- Marinette.

He picked up her clenched hand, the tension in her body alleviated at his embrace. He remembered how Grayson would apologise to Kor’i or how his father interacted with Ms Kyle. He brought their hands up and placed a kiss upon her knuckles.

And that was when I kissed her (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“I do not regret anything either—“ he cleared his throat, “In fact, I’d appreciate if we would be able to interact more, especially outside of that cesspit.”

Was he...?

It didn’t matter.

She smiled the same dazzling smile she gave him at the dance. She nodded while laughing, “I’d love that.”

Everybody talks

The two stay talking, hidden within their secret alcove for the rest of the day. She texted her parents to say she was with a friend and would be back later that night. Damian didn’t bother texting his family, Marinette knew he had to be back soon due to his dorm’s curfew.

The sun was setting at they walked back together, he did the gentlemanly thing and dropped her off at her bakery door. She could see her mother behind the register inconspicuously looking over at the two of them. Damian’s lips quirked upwards, she was satisfied with his kinda-smile.

He walked back, hands in pockets and a neutral expression upon his face instead of a scowl. He reached his door and took his keys, he found that it was already open. Damn.

His family was splayed out within his two roomed dorm. Todd and Drake were fighting over a place to sit on his bed, whilst his father sat at his desk, watching the commotion. The three of them turned to him as he enter the room, they were the only family members able to attend on short notice; Cain had a ballet audition, Gordon & Brown had concert tickets for tomorrow, Grayson had to take care of Mar’i while Kor’i was on Tamaran and Alfred stayed to ensure no one died during their night time activities.

“We need to talk Damian.” His father stood, leaning onto the desk chair. “The school called and said you had an unexcused absence for half the day. Where were you Damian?”

Damian stared into his father’s eyes. He was fifteen, almost an adult, but was treated like he was ten again.

“I was with a friend.”

“Probably the girl from the dance. Marinette, right?” Todd mocked him. Damian snapped his head in the direction of his bed, glaring at both his brothers.

“That’s what I want to talk about with you Damian. Now I don’t know her personally but from what we’ve discovered through our investigation we have some concerns. What’s happened Damian?”

The youngest Wayne’s glare shifted off of his brothers to the floor, and then finally to his father; his family sitting in wait for his answer. Straightening his posture, his shoulders clicked as he rolled then back. His statement’s tone was sure and steady, “Everybody talks father.”

Everybody talks... back

#maribat #marinette x damian #mlb x dc #batfam salt #batfam is concerned #Daminette #the aftermath of ‘Like I did with you’#everybody talks by neon trees #max kante has blackmail and will use it #Alix will bite if provoked #dc x mlb #damian wayne x marinette dupain cheng #Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a meta?#supportive Dupain-Cheng parents ❤️

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hewwocopter · 3 years

Text

Irony

Monkey King was always awful at keeping secrets.

Posted on Ao3 as well! (1395 words)

MK caught Monkey King rubbing his left eye. He frowned at the sight of it; it had been itching a lot lately, by what Monkey King had said when MK first questioned him about it.

“It’s no big deal, bud. It’s just healing.”

Healing from what? His mentor had never explained what had caused him to return so late, covered in scratches and minor injuries nonetheless.

What concerned MK the most was that while the simain’s injuries were healing steadily, the nick above his left eye was not. The cut eyebrow refused to grow back, and the line began to form into the beginnings of… a scar.

Now Monkey King was constantly scratching at the eye, rubbing at it in every spare moment he was on the ship.

He wasn’t the only one who had noticed of course, MK had shared a glance with Tang after a particular instance that Monkey King was sweeping the deck of the ship (he was given the job as to not overexert himself, much to his dismay). He had paused and cursed under his breath, and upon the observant looks of Tang and MK, he remarked he had gotten some dust in his eyes.

Yeah, MK snorted in disbelief as the king turned away. For the fourteenth time that day. Tang didn’t look as though he had believed him either, but he chose not to comment. Monkey King was awful at keeping secrets, it would seem.

MK had decided he was finally going to get to the bottom of this, once and for all. By confronting his mentor about the problem at hand.

Before he could do that, however, Monkey King yelled and jumped away from his sweeping spot. The broom clattered to the floor, and in its place a puff of purple smoke erupted.

“It’s Macaque, everyone get back-“ Monkey King started, before he was cut off by snickering.

“Aww, Peaches. You ruined the surprise.” A blurry visage could be seen in the smoke, before Monkey King cleared it with a brush of his hand. “Come on. A little element of mystery never hurt anyone.”

MK couldn’t believe his eyes. Macaque was here on the ship! But how?

Macaque turned over to the boy, ignoring Monkey King. The others began to emerge from different parts of the ship from the noise.

“Uhhh who the heck is that?” Pigsy questioned. “You said Macaque? Who the heck is-“ He was cut off by Mei.

Mei’s priorities lay somewhere else. “Evil Monkey King?”

Tang and Sandy both remained silent, opting to observe the situation.

“Good to see you’re still alive, kid.” The shadow smirked.

“Excuse me.” Monkey King cleared his throat, making himself known. “I’m giving you five seconds to get the hell off this ship before I throw you off of it.”

Macaque finally faced Monkey King, looked him up and down, and guffawed. His lighter counterpart looked rightly offended at the disrespect that the other was showing and snarled.

“Oh, this is rich!” Macaque hugged himself and doubled over in laughter, while the others looked on in confusion. Monkey King only glared. “You seriously think you can take me on right now? Like that? Come on!”

While MK was still a little peeved at his mentor for leaving him on ‘vacation’, he wasn’t angry at him and therefore felt a right to defend him. “Hey! He can kick your a-“ A sharp look from Pigsy cut him right off. “euh- butt- any day of the week!”

Macaque wiped a tear off his face. “Doubt that, kiddo.” He straightened himself, addressing the crew. “Well, not right now at least. I’m surprised he still has enough power to hold up that glamour.”

Monkey King froze.

“What glamour?” Tang questioned.

MK slowly turned to face towards the monkey in question, who in turn slowly began to avoid his gaze.

“Uhhhh…”

Macaque decided to pour more salt onto the wound. “I guess it is sort of… eye-ronic. But also kind of a waste? I mean… you could be saving your powers for something more useful.”

Oh. Oh shit.

Sandy’s brows furrowed. “Monkey King, what is he talking about?”

“I don’t know, big guy.” Monkey King laughed nervously. “I don’t know if you’ve met this guy, probably not, but he’s a trickster. A liar. I wouldn’t trust him if I were you.”

“Oh ho ho, you wound me.” Macaque pretended to swoon, placing a paw over his heart. But his grin remained razor sharp. “Just like your eye. Who did that to you?”

MK’s heart dropped.

His suspicions were confirmed.

All eyes went on Wukong.

“You son of a bitch.” Monkey King growled out. “Nothing happened. Drop it.”

“Can you just give it up already?” Macaque sighed, shrugging. “We already know the jig is up. Gods, you were always horrible at keeping secrets.”

The king didn’t move, insisting on standing in place glaring at the other. The macaque stared back.

“Monkey King.” MK started, causing the older to startle and look over at him with wide eyes. “Please.”

They remained like that for a few moments, before the king finally relented. He sighed, air leaving him as well as a few wisps of magic.

MK knew what was coming, but he couldn’t hold back the gasp at what he saw. He wasn’t the only one either, as Mei dropped her phone and Sandy nearly lost his grip on Mo.

A milky white eye stared back at him. It wasn’t as intense as what Macaque’s had been by any means, but it still sent him reeling. It had healed mostly fine, with only a few blemishes in the skin here and there.

“I didn’t want you to see.”

“What?” MK found that the words tumbled out of him before he could stop them.

Monkey King’s gaze hardened. Even with that one eye out of commission, it held so much emotion. “You’d be discouraged. Right? The amazing Monkey King. Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Half blind. Partially deaf.”

MK’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re-“

The monkey continued, wiggling his finger. “Can’t use my shapeshifting powers anymore. So, you know, that’s probably a good sign.” He heaved a heavy, self deprecating sigh. “You know when that started?”

Everyone was silent.

“After I gave you my powers.”

What.

Wait, then that would mean...

The simian cut that line of thinking off right away. “I want to tell you this now. This was never your fault, MK. I chose you as my successor for a reason.” Monkey King walked over to the boy and took a hold of the boy’s hand. “This was how it was meant to be.”

“What do you mean?!” MK sputtered out. “You mean that Lady Bone Demon-“

“Well, no! Not her, no! I was supposed to take on anything that you couldn’t handle, I was supposed to be at your side.”

“Holy shit.” Pigsy muttered. “It’s happening. Actual communication.”

Tang hushed him.

Macaque snorted.

Monkey King ignored the three. “But Spider Queen happened. Lady Bone Demon happened. It was a lot more than I thought you could handle, and while I was right, I should have never kept you in the dark about it. I know I’ve been a shitty mentor, but I’m learning as much as you are right now.”

MK nodded in agreement to his words. “So, are you going to teach me more?”

Monkey King smiled. “Of course, bud. Especially more of the fighting stuff. While we can’t really use our powers at the moment… there are other methods we can use.”

“So, like…” MK turned to Macaque, who smirked.

“That’s right, kid. You can never have too many teachers. Right?”

Monkey King started to reply, before Mei cut him off with an inquiry. “Yeah, so uh, who are you? Like a hot version of Monkey King?”

“A hot version of m- excuse me?!” Monkey King squawked in indignation. “I am too hot!”

“I’m not so sure about that Peaches…” Macaque drawled.

Monkey King whirled on the macaque. “You used to date me, so you definitely thought I was hot! So shut up!”

You what?!” MK screeched.

That was the breaking point for the crew. They all broke out in noise, all firing questions at the two.

“Look what you’ve done.” The simian groaned. “I should have thrown you off the ship when I first saw you.”

“Aww, you love me.”

#yuh #written in an hour and unedited.. as always #one day I’ll force myself to write a big story #one day #not today #Monkie kid #Monkie kid spoilers #writing #sun wukong #MK #macaque #shadowpeach #Mei #Tang #Pigsy #Sandy #Mo #posted 5/30/21 #hewwo writes

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enkelimagnus · 3 years

Text

A Castle in the Forest

Percy x Vex’ahlia, Chapter 11, 2942 words,

A Modern AU, in which Vex is a park ranger taking over the Alabaster Sierras post, and finds much more than she bargained for.

Read on AO3

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Vex had succeeded in evading Vax’s questions about the bow.

She hadn’t really given him the option to speak at all. After resting for the night, her exhaustion had melted away and left all the space for anger. She’d driven out on her truck, not on the motorcycle, but that was only because the bike wouldn’t go on the snow very well. She’d just wanted to get to one of the temples fast.

They let her walk right into a fucking trap. They hid this from her and she could have died. There is going to be a scar on her shoulder, even with the healing she’s received. She wants to scream at all of them.

What if she’s not the first one to get hit by whatever the fuck the fiend is capable of doing? What if there are bodies literring that castle, bodies of innocent people who walked in on a fiend and died because no one fucking warned them?

Her rage carries her through the whole drive, until she stops in a furious screech of tires not far from the temple and basically runs to it. It carries her as she slams her whole body into the door and it bursts open. She doesn’t care about the bruises she’ll have after this.

She’s lucky, she guesses. They’re all there. Pike, and Grog, both priests and Cassandra. Somehow, the latter’s presence is no surprise. They were acting a little weird about everything, after all.

“What the fuck is up with the thing in the castle and why did none of you bother telling me about it?” Vex roars.

She can feel her hands shaking as she balls them into fists, trying to canalize her anger at least somewhat. She’s a professional, she can’t go and yell the heads off of clergy. Or maybe she can. Maybe she needs to, right now, because they let her walk into an incredibly dangerous situation.

Grog is still holding up his axe. He doesn't look specifically aggressive but she knows he’s ready to defend his friends against her if necessary. She appreciates that, even in this situation.

“You saw him?” Cassandra asks, standing up. “Does he… look alright?”

Vex blinks.

She wasn’t expecting this. Cassandra seems concerned, but more about the thing than about the fact Vex was in close contact with it and could have died.

“He’s a smoking fiend in the shape of a humanoid and I don’t know what kind of shit he packs but it made a hole in my shoulder. A big one!” Vex snaps back. “That doesn’t sound alright to me.”

Cassandra’s face hardens in as neutral of a face as Vex has ever seen. Pike reaches for them, gently putting a hand on their arm, beckoning them to sit back down.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Pike says quietly. “Do you need more healing?”

Vex shakes her head. “No. I have a couple of Healing Spells, and my brother gave me a potion. I’m fine.”

She’s mad that they’re showing concern, when they should have told her this was a threat. Pike and Grog make it all worse. They knew, when they took down the Barbed Devil, that it wasn’t the fiend Vex had sensed. And yet, they let her be fooled, let her believe that she’d done her job correctly.

“Lady Vex’ahlia, I think you should sit down,” Father Reynal says then, with his serene priest façade that Vex wants to smash through right now.

Grog gets up to bring another chair and they all stare at her until she moves and sits down at the table. They all settle back down.

There’s a large file on the table, closed and title-less. Vex raises an eyebrow. Father Reynal takes it and pulls it off of the table, away from her prying eyes and wandering hands. Smart of him. Suspicious too. Vex is on high alert and everything right now is a threat.

“I’m not a lady,” she mutters.

“I know,” Father Reynal nods. “But I’m being polite.”

Vex rolls her eyes. “Cut to the chase. What the fuck is going on here? What is that thing and why didn’t you tell me?”

They all settle back in their seats, all tense, all very unwilling to talk. Vex isn’t budging until she’s given answers though. She’ll camp here and harass them until they crack. She doesn’t give a fuck how long it takes.

“We didn’t tell you,” Keeper Yennen starts. “Because there was no reason for you to know. The fiend cannot walk out of the castle, the trail had been condemned by our work, and the secret tunnel was… well, secret.”

Vex sighs slightly. “Until Keyleth told me about it.”

“Our dear Keyleth is not skilled in the art of deception,” Father Reynal adds then. “We should have expected this would happen. But we couldn’t take you into account when all of this started. Your predecessor, Ranger Regae was not… exactly zealous. He was either oblivious to what was happening or didn’t care enough to stop it. All the contrary to you, my lady.”

“Not a lady,” Vex repeats. “Please stop calling me one.”

They nod as well. “Apologies,” they mutter. “Now. As for your other questions…”

Cassandra bristles. “His name is Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III,” they rattle off without even blinking. “Depending on which succession law you follow, he’s either Lord of Whitestone, or just my brother, in which case I am Lady of Whitestone.”

Vex takes a second to take in all of what she’s just been told. The De Rolos are not all dead. At least two remain. She’s staring at one of them, and the other is the thing in the castle. And they’re all covering it up.

“What happened? Because that’s not a person in there anymore,” Vex points out. Cassandra flinches at that.

Well… The eyes flashing to blue and the humanoid voice could belong to a person. The part that had yelled her to run… that could be a person.

“We don’t know exactly,” Cassandra continues, despite her flinching and obvious uncomfort. “We know that he’s been possessed by a fiend. Which I’m guessing you sensed and came in contact with.”

“Do you know how he came in contact with the fiend? What kind of fiend it is?” Vex crosses her arms.

“He.. came back to Whitestone with the fiend already with him. I haven’t been able to get more details from him.”

Every time Cassandra or anyone else says something, it just adds more questions to Vex’s plate. Where was he before coming back? Why had he left in the first place?

“As for the kind,” Father Reynal interjects. “I haven’t gotten to see it up close since he became possessed by it the way he is now, but from Keyleth’s description, it seems like a demonic creature. Perhaps a shadow demon of some kind.”

Shadow demons are more difficult to take down than barbed devils, but they’re not… impossible. Between Keyleth, Pike, Grog and the others, they should have been able to take it down a long time ago… Though it isn’t just a fiend. It’s also Cassandra’s brother. That changes things, she guesses, for all of them. There’s a person trapped in there, the one that made it so Vex could get away.

That’s the thing with possession. There’s always someone else than the creature involved in it.

Vex sighs heavily, putting her hands over her face. “You haven’t told any sort of authority, I’m guessing?” She asks.

“They’ll just… kill him to take out the creature,” Pike points out. “None of us want that to happen. We want him safe. As safe as possible.”

“Or they’ll fuck up the barrier we put up and he’ll be free to roam and probably kill more,” Keeper Yennen adds. “That’s another one of our concerns, and one of the reasons we didn’t tell you. We’re aware rangers have some spellcasting abilities and we did not want to risk you messing with the barrier.”

Vex huffs. “Well, I can’t promise I didn’t do anything but I don’t think my encounter with it fucked up your spell.”

They all fall quiet then. As she looks around the table at these people, these people of faith, of knowledge, of ability, it suddenly dawns on her the mess she’s gotten into. There’s a nobleman possessed by a fiend, with a weapon from the nine hells that shoots holes into people. They’ve been dealing with it for who knows how long, and they’re not getting anywhere. They seem at a standstill.

It’s all terrible. She should run away now. Grab Vax, pack her bags, and never come back to Whitestone again.

She’s not going to succeed at her job here, not when the fiend in the castle is much stronger than she is, not when there are people who won’t let her deal with it quickly and efficiently because it would mean murdering someone. Not that she would murder someone to do her job, but… it’s just another thing to think about.

She should give up and leave.

But where can she go? She can’t go back to Syngorn. Syldor’s made it incredibly clear in the letter she read yesterday. It was only yesterday but it feels like weeks. The emotional distress and the encounter with the fiend, or Percival de Rolo… It all seems so far away.

So she has to stay, and she has to deal with this somewhat. Because there’s no way she can go back to her life when she knows about the thing in the castle. No way. She’s too… stubborn.

“I have many questions,” Vex starts after a moment. “And I want you to answer them to the best of your abilities. If you want me to help in this matter, you’re going to have to be straightforward with me. Honest. If I catch you in a lie, you’re fucked.”

She doesn’t really think she’ll tell any authority about this, but she is going to use every bit of power she has to get her way and get the answers she’s desperate to have.

“Fine,” Cassandra nods. “I think that works with us.”

Vex doesn’t reply that they don’t have a choice anyway. She’s not that big of a dick.

“My very first question,” she moves forward. “How did you know my last name?” She stares at Father Reynal, with his chestnut eyes.

He sighs heavily and takes out the folder that had been on the table when she came in. He slides it over the table towards her and she takes it, and opens it.

Everything. They have everything. They have her grades and report cards from the schools she attended in Syngorn, from the noble general educations to the specialized ones, to the ones from her training with the TWC. Things on Vax as well. And then the Shademurk. Reports on the fire, a copy of the report she wrote for the TWC about what happened. Pictures of her and Saundor at the official parties he dragged her to, both because she was the ranger attached to the Shademurk, but also because she was his trophy, and he wanted to show her off.

She remembers the specific day this photo was taken on. She remembers the pretty green silk dress with the completely open back, almost the exact color of his skin. He’d insisted she made her hair in a way that uncovered her ears. He’d made a braid of vines that wrapped around her neck in a necklace. He’d called her perfect. She’d been the only non-fey in attendance, and all eyes had been on her, and on him, because he’d brought her.

She’s smiling in the photo in front of her. It was taken when she was already tipsy on sweet and heady fey wines. That was why she was smiling so much. The evening hadn’t been pleasant. Some sort of anniversary of something where she’d obviously been there for people to stare at, for Saundor to have. He had not let her move out of his side all evening, arm wrapped around her waist, hard as stone, unmovable. Possessive. She’d already known better than to try and break his hold on her, it had been months after she’d realized he was much, much stronger than her. When he decided to hold her, there was no getting out.

She slams the folder shut when it gets to more details about the fire.

Her hands are shaking when she looks up at the priest in front of her.

“Why?” She asks. Her voice is weak. It’s shaking, it’s ugly.

“We had to know who you were, who had replaced Regae. If you’d be a threat for us and Percival,” Father Reynal explains. “I’m sorry.”

He’s not. It’s obvious he’s not. Vex gets it, but it doesn’t qualm her anger and betrayal. She grabs the file in her hands. “I’m keeping this.”

None of them deny her that. Good. She would have exploded if they did.

Her mind is swimming. The pictures of those nights in the Feywild, the reports on the fire and her escape, the fiend, the trapped noble, her father’s hatred of her, these people… all of it was too much. She needs a fucking break. But they won’t let her have one.

“I need to go for a moment,” she says. This time her voice is steadier, and she’s so incredibly glad.

“You have some decisions to make,” Keeper Yennen nods.

Vex stands up. She’s not as shaky as she expected she would be. “I’ll be telling my brother all of this. You’ve involved him.” She points at the file. “Non negotiable.”

Cassandra looks a little uncomfortable at that but says nothing. Good. She’s getting Vex to help in saving her brother, Vex is involving hers.

This is too much to deal with alone, anyway. She needs Vax by her side with this. Despite everything, she needs his presence, she needs him. They’re both unsteady and neither of them are the rocks the other needs, really. But they’ve got each other and that’s at least something. It would be horrible if they couldn’t have each other.

She walks out of the temple with barely a word. She can’t do the goodbyes and everything else right now. She can’t pretend her mind isn’t full of questions and fears and anger. She needs to take time with all of this.

It’s hard. A part of her feels for Cassandra, and even the rest of them. She can understand why they did what they did, why they hid it from her, from the world. But she’s still so deeply angry about all of it.

And the file just made it so fucking worse. It’s all there, all the things she wishes to forget, all the things she prayed there were no traces of. She hoped the fire of Shademurk destroyed all evidence of her presence there, of the months spent in Saundor’s thrall.

Just like the memories and the scars she bears, just like the bow under her bed, it’s not going to go away this quickly. She should have expected pictures to be taken of the parties, she should have expected the reports to exist somewhere in the system.

What kind of research power did they even have, to acquire such information from her schools in Syngorn and the TWC?

Fuck. She gets into her truck and punches the leather outside of the wheel, cursing out loud. She puts the file down on the passenger seat and exhales. She needs to calm down. Her hands are shaking and she needs to be calmer to drive home, or she’ll drive herself into a fucking tree.

She would have thought being researched would be the worst part. But the worst part is the memories of Saundor the research brings. She’s fought so hard to put this behind her, she’s spent months bothered by horrible nightmares, every time she fell asleep. She’s better now, but this is a lot to deal with.

She really thought she was going to be safe from him now that she was hundreds of miles from the nearest portal to the Feywild. But the memories will not leave her and the scars are still obviously on her skin.

She can’t be safe. Not when she has her memories intact and his bow under her bed. It hasn’t been long enough. Maybe she’ll be done with him in a few years, or a few decades. Hopefully it will fade away faster than what her father did.

Falling from Syldor to Saundor was to be expected, now that she thinks about it. She was desperate for approval from some sort of authority figure and Saundor was that. And he had her wrapped around his little finger within days of meeting him.

Gods, she loved him. At least somewhere in the middle. Not at first, no. It had been all for comfort and pleasure. And then… at the end, it had been fear and hopelessness. But she had loved him in the middle. She’d worshipped him.

The great powerful Lord Saundor the Forsaken.

Her forehead hits the leather covering the wheel and she sighs heavily. She’s so tired. Her fingers find the key and turn it, sending the engine roaring on. The radio turns on with it as contact is made. It’s still on that pop channel since they went for a groceries run whe Vax arrived.

It feels like it happened weeks ago. The onboard calendar says it’s the 28th of Cuersaar. Vax has been in Whitestone for three days.

#mine #fic #critical role #vox machina #perc'ahlia #vex'ahlia

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lavendertwilight89 · 4 years

Text

Shelter

Part 3

Here is the link to AO3

SMUTS. SMUTS AHEAD!!!!!!!

Tag wall:

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Inuyasha had heard Kagome say she loved him before when they were alone together back in the hut. He had known it was on accident--just a slip of the tongue. But hearing her proclaim it to the demon slayer, the monk, his asshole brother, and his sister in law? He was at a loss for words. Not to mention she was burning the crap outta him. So there weren’t a lot of words that could be said that weren't curses...

But she seemed to be taking care of telling off the slayer. He held his ground to stay near her even as her power flared up. He was only half-demon--worst thing she would do was turn him human.

He noticed Sesshomaru had bounded across the room with his mate. Inuyasha was slightly confused because Sesshomaru was a fairly powerful demon. Yea, the purification would hurt him but he was not one to cower from a fight. And this was the second time he pulled Rin away from Kagome while her power was being invoked…

OH. Fuck. He whelped her. That-that--damnit!!! So many emotions were flowing through him; pain, hurt, jealousy, anger, frustration--but he needed to take a moment. He needed to get out of there. Scratch that, they needed to get outta there.

Sesshomaru. He impregnated her. A hanyou. After centuries of being a beating stick, being loathed, a burden because of his ‘tainted human blood’ and this bastard decided to have his own?! He hadn’t nearly apologized enough. Yea, he called them family. Yea, he brushed off his thanks because it wasn’t necessary but--but--FUCK! Fuck him!! They needed to go back to his room before he fucking beat the shit out of him and they were homeless again.

He stood and took Kagome’s arm trying to make it look like he was only enraged by the slayer’s insinuations--not that he wasn’t, but he knew that low blow was coming. He was prepared to be called out on only being loyal to her because he was a half-demon and he had found his mate.

The thing was he really had fallen for her. It hadn’t really mattered she was his mate. The only thing that did was keep him around so he could learn about her. But he soon grew to care about her. He was a moth to a flame and that flame was Kagome. She was fire in spirit--she had to be fed and cared for to burn brighter. Her spirit was so bright, how could anyone not be drawn to her? She was so open with her emotions, her thoughts… Even though she kept so many secrets, she did it in order to try and protect people. They weighed her down and it sometimes seemed it would crush her light. Originally he respected it; he didn’t tell her everything about himself either. Not that he had to. She was annoyingly intuitive but she never forced him to open up. No, she would just call him out on his shit with a smile and carry on with her day. Like nothing.

But in those times when she would look like she was going to break because the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, he would try to prove himself to her. Prove he wasn’t as big of a jackass as he tried to make off to be. Try and show her he could be more when this was all over.

Even then though, he still would backtrack, he’d say callous things to her. Almost like he couldn’t completely put down his walls and barriers to let her fully in. But she would either fight back or let them roll off her back. She knew him better than he knew himself. He honestly couldn’t believe a priestess had allowed him to be that close to her, allowed him to defend her, provide for her, and even hold her when she felt like she might break.

When the monk called after them he about lost his shit right then. He just needed to get the fuck outta there. What part of 'see you at fucking dinner' was not understood?!?!

The only reason he backed down was Kagome’s reassurance. He had half a mind to drag her back to the room but she wanted to talk to the monk. Her needs came before his own. He began walking slowly down the hall. Their initial part of their conversation became muffled. He knew Kagome would likely want it to be hushed but then their voices began to raise and he stalled in his gait.

“--do you know how depleted your life force actually is?!? You have maybe a couple of weeks left! If you’re lucky!!” The monk yelled. Inuyasha froze. He had been walking slowly to ensure the asshat didn't start anything with Kagome… he hadn’t been expecting to hear that was what the monk wasn't saying when he inspected Kagome's body when she was unconcious… Why hadn't he told them? That was why he had been summoned.

“I know!!” Kagome shouted back. Inuyasha’s thoughts turned dark. Of course she knew.

“Are you going to tell him?” He heard the monk lower his voice thinking he didn’t hear their conversation. Dumbass.

“I don’t think it’s really his business at the moment,” she replied back harshly. Typical information withholding Kagome...

“You realize when demons mate you end up sharing life-spans, correct? What happens if you completely deplete or drain his??” The monk questioned. Inuyasha felt his world stop. What…?

“I--I don’t know. We just--Look I appreciate you keeping this to yourself. I will handle this the way I see fit.”

“Lady Kagome--”

“No. No more. Thank you, see you at dinner, lord monk,” she clipped as she turned away from the monk to rejoin him. Inuyasha could only try to hide his face from hers; he didn't want her to know he knew just yet. Also seeing how her face was contorted with plaguing thoughts and ideas… He did the only thing he could honestly think of--play dumb.

“Everything ok?”

“Hm?” She honestly didn’t realize he was standing right beside her again. Her face looked shocked, then worried, then she locked her forced smile on. She was so infuriating. “Oh, ye-yea. He just wanted to know about how I could heal someone is all…”

Her scent didn’t deviate likely because it was slightly true; so he couldn’t call her out for being a filthy liar. When was she going to learn to stop keeping this kind of shit from him?? She slowed her pace obviously realizing she had no way to really know how to navigate the halls back to his room. He took the lead and slightly brushed his hand against her own. She jumped and looked like a frightened deer.

It hurt that she was put off by what the monk had said to her. But what was worse, was the fact she decided to hide it from him.

I’m over this, hanyou. It is my turn.

You’re just gonna scare her off, so fuck no.

Half-demon--you’ve tried your way. She isn’t responding the way she needs to be. It is my turn.

I’ll repeat: Fuck. No.

I will not harm her. I will get her to fight with us.

You want her to, what?!

Her fire is dying. She obviously is going to try to run again. Pay attention hanyou; anytime our life has become threatened, she becomes determined to put distance between us. Our mate must learn we are the protector. We are the provider. We are the alpha. She is who we protect. She is who we love. She is ours.

She probably will purify us to hell the moment you tell her to submit.

Not the plan. Just watch and pay attention.

They got to his room and he opened the door allowing her to enter first. As soon as she was all the way through, he stepped in closing the door quickly before he allowed his demon half to emerge. Play time was over.

His senses began to rise and sharpen; her heart beat started to become more frantic and he realized she likely felt his demonic aura grow and wrap around them. When she turned her sapphire gaze on him, she gasped. He knew his eyes were red, the purple jagged tattoos present, and his fangs were hanging outside his mouth.

Stepping towards her, she didn't move. She watched until he was an inch from her then she looked up into his eyes. Her eyes were hesitant but oddly firm.

“Inuyasha…” At her breathy voice, he nudged her to be against the wall and then took her wrists in his hands.

“I don’t like secrets, Kagome,” he warned.

“I don’t like eavesdroppers,” she retaliated when she realized what this whole scene would be about.

“Keh, can’t help listening when you’re both screaming about you only having weeks left,” he growled.

“I’m not submitting to you about this,” she stated, keeping her head facing him in defiance.

“Yes; you are! What the fuck were you thinking?!?!”

“I was thinking I was saving my mate!!”

“At the cost of your own life!!”

“Better mine than yours! Obviously I’m cursed!! You have a chance to have a family and go on! I'll never be able to have that kind of life. My duty was always to the jewel! It always will be! No matter where I go, what I do, I will always have to defend it and put it first!"

“Bullshit, Kagome. Don’t feed me that crap.”

“Come on Inuyasha; we’ve known each other for a month. You can’t honestly expect me to believe you love me. Or that you are ready to sign up for a long term commitment; you have a chance to move on and actually fall in love, have a family...” Her eyes started shifting and as much as she was trying to control her words, her scent was shifting. She was nervous, she was scared. Her fiery personality was dying off quickly. It was then he realized she was actually afraid he didn't care; that he would leave her and go fuck some other woman and mate with her. That she really was just a stand-in for something greater...

“Same to ya bitch,” he enunciated the last word hoping to reignite that flame that burned within her. He knew she hated that word and he kept himself from saying it to appease her. However when he allowed his demonic blood to surface, promises he made with his human heart got put on the back burner.

“What does that mean!?” She shot him a glaring stare.

“Exactly as it sounds--how do I know you love me? You’ve claimed it twice but all you do is run and hide at the first sign of conflict. You clearly hold no trust in me. You’ll have to actually convince me of that statement you declared in the hut and with the slayer as your actions always seem to negate it,” he smirked. He knew he was getting to her. His instincts knew all the tricks and ques to making her react the way he needed her to.

"That's not fair! It should show you that I do care! I don't know what I would do if you-- if you got hurt because of me! I don't know if I could ever get over losing you!"

"Then prove it, little mate," he purred as his body was now firmly pressed up against hers.

"N-no-- Inuyasha-- we can't-- I can't-- I won't mate with you if it means killing you!"

"Why do you put so much faith in a monk who turned you away instead of listening to your story like the half demon who stayed and protected you? Why value his words over mine?" He questioned as his hands released her wrists and moved up her arms.

"To be fair, the first thing you did was push me away, literally," she huffed.

"Are you still angry about it?"

"N-no-- Inuyasha-- please-- we can't--"

"I told you before that I couldn't leave you even if I wanted to," he began.

"Then why?! Ugh!! You're so-so--"

"Why what?" He asked as he stilled his hands on the curve of her hips. Her scent was flooding his nose and he knew he was being more forward than usual. But his instincts were in control. The arousal she was emitting literally could have killed him but she still hadn't submitted. He wouldn't give her everything until he had what he wanted. He made sure his intense bloodlust filled eyes bore into hers so they made her answer.

"Why did you threaten to leave then?" Her voice cracked and she was heartbroken. Fuck.

Go back.

Hanyou--

No. She needs to hear it from me.

I am a part of you, dumbass. Why from you?

Because I'm the one who hurt her…I’m the one who tried to leave her. To protect her from you--from our instincts.

Fine. I will take back over if you fuck this up. We are not losing our mate.

Without arguing further, his demonic blood granted him back full control again. He peered down at the distressed woman caged between his arms. He didn't deserve her. Honestly. Yet here she was, professing her love to him and the undeniable fears she had with it. The fact he might run. The fact she might kill him. The fact she thought he didn't love her. The slayer’s words likely affected her more than she had initially let on. The fact she insinuated the only reason he wanted to be with her was because there was no other option. But it actually was the opposite. Even if Kagome was somehow not his mate, he’d still be with her.

"Kagome," he said softly. She looked up at him with a genuinely surprised face. "I don't always say the right thing. I'm not good with words. The only people I've honestly talked to are in this palace or they're dead. If you ask any of them, I've hurt them, pissed them off, or I’ve just ran from the situation without even trying to speak. When I get mad, I don't always think. I just talk; say anything 'til I got what I wanted. Which is distance. To hurt someone before they could hurt me.

"For a long time it never mattered who I hurt, because it was only me. No one gave a shit about me, Kagome. Not until you came along. And I know I said unkind things when… when Naraku almost killed me. I felt betrayed by you because you were hiding things. I still don’t understand, but it sounds like you do that because you’re afraid of the information yourself; that you’re scared you are cursed. That you actually do think you’ll be the death of me.

“But let’s get one thing straight; even though I said those things--I had no intention of leaving you alone. Even if you refused to be my mate because of what an asshole I am, I planned on just being around you for the rest of your life. Watching you from afar, marrying another man, having his children… Just seeing you alive would be enough. I meant when I said I would die without you.

“Demons only have one mate, Kagome. You’re mine. Yea--we’ve only known each other for a month and not gonna lie; this month has been kinda shitty. But it has also been the best one of my very long shitty life. Even if I could go back and change it, I wouldn’t. Because I found you. So purify me if you have to, but I’m not going to let you go, ever again. You're mine."

She looked shocked from his confession. He knew that's the most he had ever said in a day let alone an hour. Her parted lips finally closed and her teeth took in her bottom lip.

Take it out of her mouth.

Shut up. Be patient.

Hanyou. Do you not have demonic vision? Do you not see the beauty that is before us? Can you not feel the desire to mark this creature as ours?? Take her!

God, you’re such an asshole. You act like I’m only human when you aren’t in the driver’s seat. I'm dying too, asshole; but I'm not going to push her that far. She needs a second.

Not yet. But you will take her.

Do you ever just stop talking?!

"You--I-- that's not a confession," she argued weakly.

"God, you are so fucking infuriating! I love you, you stupid girl!" He yelled before he lost control and slammed his lips upon hers.

She stiffened underneath his hold but he didn't let up. Fuck that. He wasn't lying when he told her he wasn't going to let her go. She was stuck with him. If all they had was a week, a month, a year at most, it'd be the best year of his life. This amazingly beautiful woman had done more for him than anyone else in his miserable life.

He felt her hands grip the front of his haori. When a moan escaped her mouth, he almost lost the very little control he had over himself. All he could think of was her. Her body he had unintentionally gotten to know very well when he first healed her wounds the first day they met. The curves, the dips, and even the swells over her luscious body were ingrained in his mind. His hands apparently had minds of their own as they began to trace her lithe body he imagined.

In order to protect her from himself, he needed to pull back now. He should. He didn't. Fuck him. Well, that's exactly what he wanted. Or rather the other head that was currently in charge wanted. He knew she could feel it pressed into her stomach but obviously, she was either oblivious to it or she wanted it as bad as he did.

Damnit. It couldn't be like this. Even though his tongue snaked its way out of his mouth and across her eager opening lips to let him taste her, he knew they needed to talk. Their discussion was far from over.

She was supposed to be a voice of reason, right?? Shouldn’t she be running by now? Not stroking her tongue against his fang making him groan. Shit. His treacherous hands had somehow lifted her by her ass and was brushing her--oh fuck she was completely bare. There were no undergarments! Fuckkkkkk she was wet. He could feel it. Nope. He had to stop.

Pulling away he growled at himself and slightly cursed his self-control. Thank God she was just as breathless as he was otherwise he probably would have immediately gotten lost in her again. She was panting and he pushed her head into his chest, still holding her up with one arm by her bottom. He needed to regain control as she apparently had none either. Keeping her head smooshed to him seemed to be a good start because then those daunting kiss-swollen lips were hidden from his sight and not tempting him to eat them. He pressed her nose into her hair and inhaled deeply.

“Kagome--we’re not done talking.”

“R-right,” she stammered.

Fuck he needed his heart to slow the fuck down. Distance. Yea--that’s what they needed. He reluctantly let her down and stepped away from her. Her eyes shot up to him in worry.

“Relax, wench. We just need to slow down a minute.”

“N-no, you’re right. I was careless. I don’t know what came over me,” she said, averting her eyes, embarrassed.

He rolled his eyes. Stubborn as hell woman. Whatever. That worked for now. Turning, he made his way back to his bed, hoping she’d catch the clue and follow. He turned and luckily she did, albeit, reluctantly.

“I know you’re scared. I won’t lie and tell you I’m completely okay with the situation either. But you have to understand Kagome, now that I found you and fell for ya, even if we don’t solidify the mateship, I will still end up following you in death.”

She knelt down hard next to him, somewhat defeated, “But why??”

“Demons don’t just fall in love--we’re not human--”

“But you’re half-human--”

“Yea, but my instincts and demonic half are stronger than most. Also, I’m stubborn as hell,” he added as he pushed his arms into his sleeves.

"Inuyasha, I'd want--"

"Yea but this isn't a ‘you want but I want’ situation. This is an all or nothing."

"I wish I had been more honest…"

"Same, but it doesn't matter; we'd likely still be in this situation. You care too much."

"To be fair you're saying I care about you too much. "

"My statement still stands. If I died before we mated, you’d still live.”

“Wait--how--” She started as she sank down to a full sitting position beside him, now fully engrossed in their conversation. Good. She was finally talking.

“While yes, I can fall in love and care about people because I have a human heart, my loyalties and devotion are kind of separate. They are instinctual. Because I’m human, I can ignore those instincts but if I want to stay alive, I typically follow them.”

“That doesn’t--”

“Kagome do you know how many people have ever accepted me besides you? Do you know how many people treated me with the kindness you did? The care? The equality? My mother. Even Sesshomaru didn’t give a flying fuck about me. Or rather didn’t until Rin came along…”

“Inuyasha… are you--are you upset by Rin being pregnant?”

“No!” The knowing stare she gave him pissed him off further.

“Why aren’t you happy for them? Rin is so nice and she seems like she’s really changed your brother for the better! Look at this room, and the kindness they have given you. No, I do agree, it cannot make up for everything he has done but it’s a start. I could have very well killed Rin accidentally twice now and Sesshomaru is still here. Still helping us. That has to mean something, right? He wants to help you.”

He finally looked at her after her little speech was over and felt like he melted. The heart and body he kept as hard as castle walls and coarse as sand were so easily broken down and softened by this woman.

“Fuck. I don’t like you sometimes.” Her giggle was fucking magic to his ears. He couldn't stop himself from pulling her against his chest and onto his lap. She obviously held no reservations about the contact. Something he was beyond thrilled about. Also slightly terrified. He was attached to her so much; how could she ever think he wouldn’t die if she went away?

“Inuyasha?”

“What?” He shot out shortly.

“I’m… sorry.”

“Nah, I didn’t mean to be so gruff. What’s wrong?”

“What do we do now?”

“Well, you can either cry about your lot, or make the best of it. My youkai believes that mating won’t kill me though; it thinks it’ll heal you fully.”

“You… talk to your demon blood?”

“Kinda. It’s hard to explain. It’s like having conversations with yourself, but your instincts and consciousness actually have a voice. He’s me and I’m him.”

“Is he… uhm… is that the you who you became when you demanded I submit?”

“Yea, he’s an asshole. That’s one reason I needed to put some distance between us. Sesshomaru had helped me learn how to control it; it wasn’t until you came along I started struggling to control it again.”

“Is it hard?”

“Sometimes. It’s easier when we’re like this.”

“Li-like--” He could smell her hint of arousal and some embarrassment.

Chuckling he pressed his head into her hair, “Yea. It likes you enjoying being close to me. That you are depending on me for comfort amongst other things. That you accept this closeness and like it.”

“D-do you like it, too?”

“Dummy, of course I do! He’s not a separate person! He’s just me--just uh… baser form? Less wordy?”

“You mean more basic instinct? Like--closer to your dog demon self?”

“I don’t actually have that form since I’m part human. But basically yes--my more animal self.”

“Don’t say that so disparagingly. There’s nothing wrong with you or your demon half,” she soothed, cupping his cheek, making him look into those beautiful ocean eyes. Gods. How did he get so lucky? He loved her and for whatever fucked up reason she loved him in return. He had begun to lean in to kiss her forehead when he felt her shift and pulled his forelocks to kiss his lips.

Fuck. He could forever get lost in her. In fact, he swore to himself he would in whatever time they had left together…

Kissing Inuyasha was absolutely amazing. Kagome had never felt those kinds of desires before. As a priestess, she had assumed her life would be one of chastity. Even though she was promised to Hojo, she just didn’t see that ever being a thing. There was nothing wrong with Hojo--but she just never saw him as anything more than a friend. Her own revelations of life of priestesshood became even more so apparent in her eyes when it had been revealed the jewel was housed in her own body. Then it had been solidified when Naraku appeared.

Inuyasha broke all the rules she had set herself. And she loved it.

She felt so free, so cherished, so wanted… and desired. She felt his hardened cock grinding against her when he held her against the wall. The way their hips battled for dominance was so new, inviting, and she wanted more--needed more.

When he had pulled back though she was snapped back to her senses. It was embarrassing how caught up she allowed herself to get just by the brush and stroke of his mouth. The way his fangs felt under her tongue. The way he moaned into her mouth… how he made her feel so powerful over him.

She shook herself alert and noticed he had dropped down onto the bed. Joining him in their discussion, she felt bad that she hadn’t noticed the tension that was caused by Rin’s hidden pregnancy.

How it actually hurt him. But she did the only thing she could do; helped heal him. Helped his heart let go of those feelings. Maybe one day she could heal all the wounds that humans and demons battered him with. But for today, she would help him feel better--help him forgive his brother who seemed like he was trying to make amends.

Even if he had no one, she would stay by his side. She would make up for anyone and everyone who shunned him.

The fact he called himself an animal in such a condescending manner only told her how much humans had ingrained in his brain how he wasn’t worthy. How he could taint anyone or anything. It hurt. It physically made her ache with sorrow. She wished she was born sooner--or he was born later. He should never have had to live like that. He was so special. Kind. Handsome. Why did no one else see that?

She didn’t even fight the pull to kiss him again. His sadness, his hurt was her own. She would take it from him and replace it with happiness. Love. It bothered her that she was the only one who could give him this kind of love because he deserved it from everyone. But she would happily give him everything and more. Why should they wait? Even if they didn’t bond, he made it abundantly clear he would likely die shortly thereafter.

Even if by some miracle she survived, even if her powers somehow dissipated for lying with a demon, she would never regret her decision to lie with him. Ever. While she knew her fate was to protect the Shikon Jewel inside her body, she knew her destiny was to be with Inuyasha. That call was a thousand times louder than the one she heard for the jewel.

She brushed her hands through his hair and grasped his ears lightly and stroked them gently through her fingers.

The growl of his pleasure made her so wet she was concerned that there was something wrong--until his hand was suddenly down there stroking between her glistening folds and she felt his moan vibrate through her mouth. It pulled her own groan from her body. She clenched onto the back of his head and neck as she tried to press her body as close to his as she possibly could. She didn’t want to ever let go.

Maybe even in death they could be this close. No space between. Honestly, she wouldn’t be surprised if she was already dead and this was her nirvana. Her peace. Her heaven. Gods, she loved him so much it hurt.

He was so caring. Dashing. He put her ‘human’ needs before his own. Yes, their original first meeting was rough but after getting to know him for the month they were stuck in their shelter, she realized why he was the way he was. She broke down his barriers. Their tender moments meant the world to her. The fact he trusted her that much to embrace her, help her up and down to even pee in the bushes, slept by her futon while she slept on the bed--she owed him. But this wasn’t about repaying a debt at all. This was about the pure lust and desire that flowed through them to mark each other as theirs.

The idea she was fated to be with someone only drew her longing more. This was where she was meant to be. Here--in his arms.

Him stroking her clit. Gods. She pulled her mouth away from his and whined loudly. It felt so good. So overwhelming. She’d never felt this way before. Not even in her free time had she really ever… explored. It seemed forbidden to her. With her duties and destiny riding over her, how could she find time to relax and unwind like that? Not to mention, there was no one who really sparked those interests in her anyway. Hojo was… Hojo. Koga was mated and honestly, he was just a friend. Anyone else in the village only revered her.

She slightly wanted to ask how he knew what he was doing but also couldn’t make him stop. Hell, she couldn’t form words outside of the syllables of his name.

“Inu--Yasha--”

“Gods, you’re so sensitive,” he mumbled against her shoulder. Her yukata had fallen open. How’d she not notice that? Oh, he untied it? Or did she?

A little clear-headed, she took stock on what was actually happening. Aside from the fact she felt like something in her stomach was tight and was going to explode--snap. Not in a bad way---slightly different, but Gods did she not want it to stop. She wanted to see what the feeling would become.

She literally thought she might die if he stopped. Thrusting herself into his hand that was still stroking her jewel, she also felt his finger starting to tease at going inside her; she wanted more.

“Yash,” her voice whispered. She knew he would hear her though. He slightly paused and she whined. “Pleaseeeee,” she moaned pitifully.

Finally, she got what she thought she was begging for when one of his fingers slipped into her. His thumb still caressed and stroked her nub all the while driving her higher and higher.

He was panting in her ear, his hand that wasn’t toying with her sex was wrapped securely around her waist, holding her close to him. Thank all the Gods he needed the closeness too. Without it, it likely wouldn’t be that amazing.

Finally she felt something snap and she screamed out due to the overwhelming sensations and feeling of being so ungodly complete. Full. She felt liquid soak her legs curled beneath her and Inuyasha shiver in her hold as she gasped for air. Coming down from her high she felt him kissing her forehead sweetly.

“Gods,” she finally croaked.

“Fuck Kagome, that was fucking hot,” he said unsteadily.

She shivered in response and he slowly pulled his hand from her. Gazing up at him, still slightly out of it, she caught him licking his fingers. They locked eyes and he looked slightly ashamed. No--she wouldn’t have that. Barely managing to raise on her jelly-like legs she nuzzled his neck and licked his neck seductively as she mumbled, “Do I taste good?”

“Goddamn Kagome--”

“Is that a yes?”

“Fuck yes,” he groaned into the crown of her hair.

“Mmmmmm,” she hummed happily. Then it dawned on her the very hard appendage that was against her calf and immediately blushed ten shades of red.

“Don’t worry, I ain’t a pup. I’m fine. I know I got kinda carried--”

She didn’t allow him to continue his apologies or his resolve to stop in hopes to control himself for whatever reason. She had been serious; she wanted all of him. What he gave her was beyond wonderful but she needed all of him. Shoving him down to lay down she straddled him; her robe was still open so it made it easier for her to shrug off completely. She took his hand and placed it on her breast making them both hiss from the contact.

“Kagome--”he started.

“No. I don’t want to wait anymore, Inuyasha,” she said as she dipped her head down to capture his lips. “Please, if we only have weeks, then please, take me. Make me yours.” Did she sound whiny? Absolutely. But she hoped it got her point across. She wanted him--needed him. If they were fated to die together so be it. Let it be while they were officially bonded so they had no regrets.

“We don’t have to rush this, Kagome,” he soothed, splaying his hands across her hips and raising his own to grind against her own.

“Who’s rushing?” She tried to say it strongly. But it came out as pants. Broken. Whimpered.

“What if this takes your powers, though? What if we have a chance to fight that bastard who took you?” He asked as he sat up still pressing himself against her--the friction between his hardened length still encased in his pants and her core brought her back up to a blubbering helpless pile of goo.

“I-I thought about that--I trust you. I trust that you’ll take care of me. Protect me. Pr-provide for me. I doubt that’ll happen though--that I-I’d lose my reiki. Ah!! J-Just because you’re a demon doesn’t mean you’re tainted,” she gasped when a solid thrust brushed his soaked hakama against her clit again. Her hands were at his obi trying to untie it when his hands stilled her own.

They locked eyes and he was almost testing her. Ensuring this was, in fact, what she really wanted. She was nervous. But there was no doubt that she desired him. Heart and soul and body.

“A-Are you sure?” She finally asked.

“It’s not that I’m not sure, Kagome,” he finally relented, kissing her temples, then cheeks. “I just know you took your duty so seriously until literally a couple of hours ago. In my demon form, he didn’t think about these ramifications. He just wanted to claim you because that was what our instinct called for. I just want to make sure I’m doing right by you.”

“I didn’t know I was going to die. I didn’t know our time was limited. I don’t want to waste it now--”

“That could be changed. We might be able to stop this.”

“Inuyasha,” she breathed. Why was he being so… stubborn about this? Was stubborn even the word? “What’s really wrong? You seem uhm, reluctant about this?”

“Trust me; it’s not that I don’t want you. Fuck every goddamn part of me does,” he added an extra thrust that sent her keening into his shoulder to emphasize his point. Obviously the attraction was there. He was still humping her even through his clothes. “I just--fuck why is it me who has an actual working brain right now, Kagome? You’re usually the one who has the sense.”

The beration he was trying to give her didn’t help her non-functioning head. “Probably because I’ve never done any of this before and you feel so good; being so close to someone was never something I was really allowed. I never allowed myself to have those kinds of desires even alone. It’s intoxicating; you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. Someone I honestly never knew I needed. A shelter--a home. Someone I want to call my own. I don’t want to ever fight these feelings. I just want to be together,” she whined.

“Kagome,” he whispered in awe.

His hand that had moved back on to her breast started kneading it, and then twisted and pinched her nipple. She lost herself and barely realized he had lowered her down onto the pillows the way his mouth was distracting her. His lips moved against hers like magic; he made her feel somewhat more experienced than she was. Especially when his breath hitched when she blessed him with her tongue probing his mouth. She wanted to learn his taste, the feel of his tongue against hers, the way his fangs felt--actually she wanted his fangs to nibble and nip across her body. Along with his tongue. She wanted him to memorize every scar, curve, and crevice of her body. And she wanted to learn all of his.

She wanted him to learn what got her going just like he was teaching her. She wanted to learn the same about him.

Was it crass to ask someone how they were good at stimulating someone? How they knew what they were doing??

“Dunno. Instinct. Also, you’re not quiet or shy about making sure I hear what you like,” he smirked, wiggling his ears.

She knew she was blushing madly. “I said that out loud?!!?”

He chuckled as he moved his face to-- oh thank the Gods, his fangs were pressing against her neck. Panting, she writhed beneath him unable to continue their conversation further. But good to know his instincts were that powerful. Not that she would have cared if he had explored another woman’s body. They did have a rather large age gap between them. OR even if he had to learn everything with her--it would have been okay. Because they would do it together.

“Just so you know--for future reference or whatever, demons are fairly loyal to their mates. Possessive. They don’t stray like humans. Sex is different to us. I am half-demon. So I know what sex means for a human--but I’ve always been too much of a coward to look for sex on my human nights. Also, why bother when I’d have to run the next morning before the sun rose? It was too dangerous to ever explore any of that kind of crap. But with you…”

“You can be vulnerable,” she sighed as his lips descended and suckled on her breast making her cry out and buck her hips off the futon.

“See? Smart girl,” he groaned as he continued his ministrations. Soon his lips dipped lower as he continued to nip and bite her smooth skin. It was a good thing Rin’s yukata covered her body fully--by the time he was done she wouldn’t have a single unblemished part of her skin left. Which only made her body burn hotter. She was embarrassed to think of where she wanted his head the most but it seemed like he knew--or at least that’s where he wanted his head to be as well.

“You like the idea of me tasting you?” She felt a sharp nip at her hip making her focus somewhat as she saw his bright amber eyes searching hers. Why was he asking in such a leading way? Did he feel uncomfortable without her actual words of consent?

“Gods yes,” she pleaded, giving him the permission he was obviously seeking. His face closed the final inches between them and his nose pressed up against the soft curls of her womanhood.

He exhaled shakily making her slightly anxious. Did she smell alright? Was she clean? Did he like that she was as wet as she was?

"Relax, Kagome. You smell fucking amazing," he placated as he took a long leisurely lick of his tongue between her folds.

"Ahhh!! I-I didn't ask that out loud did I?? Ugh! Inu--" Her hands went to interweave her fingers in his hair as she pulled his face as close as possible as she let unadulterated sounds escape her mouth.

Humming his approval only sent her body into uncontrollable spasms. The vibration made her hips rise further into his mouth as he grazed his fangs inside of her folds. His tongue laved every available surface and she swore she was going to actually cry. She had never felt this much pleasure, this much-heated desire and wanting it almost scared her. Almost. The other half of her demanded he finish what he started and to quit teasing her.

"Inuyasha please," she begged, trying to steer his head where she wanted him the most.

His tongue re-entered her and began stroking inside her wet dripping opening. His fingers latched onto her clit and squeezed, twisted, and pulled forcing out her second powerful release.

It was weird to think about--she swore she had left her body from such an extreme high from the mind-blowing orgasm--that he was literally drinking from her.

The villagers talked. Kagome’s knowledge came from treating the women who were married and gossiped about everything. Everything. EVERYTHING.

Those conversations always left her mortified. She couldn't imagine these things these women did for their husbands. Like taking them in their mouths OR how they would just enter them whenever they felt like it... And...just how little it seemed like they got back. Sure, they told her about reaching climaxes but nothing about a man reaching out and touching between their folds, nothing about a man lying between their legs and licking up all the juices they produced. Hell, the liquid that seeped out of her was such a rare topic she could say she was initially concerned when she felt herself become so wet. But Inuyasha only made her wave off her initial discomfort. He apparently was enthralled with the idea her body produced such things. Just the fact Inuyasha was so different from those men made her realize how very special he was. It made her realize how blessed she was.

He slinked his way back up to her and pressed tender kisses on her temples, cheeks, then nuzzled her neck while humming that purr of happiness. He was happy. Inuyasha. He was happy he pleasured her.

She hummed acknowledging she was more aware and back from her vacation of bliss before she moved her hands to rub his delicate ears. Then she did something without even thinking; she pulled his face up to hers and kissed him. She fully tasted herself and it was… wonderful. Erotic. Arousing.

Just knowing that she was only for him. That only they knew the taste of each other. That she drenched him in her own flavor and being able to taste proof of it was enough to make her want to try that thing the village’s women told her about. He was obviously distracted with her mouth perusing him as she finally dropped her hands to his obi and untied it. She stealthily took her leg and used it to push down his hakama as her hands came up to part his kosode and haori.

She must’ve caught his attention as her breath stalled as his fingers brushed over his chiseled abs and pecks; he looked deep into her ocean eyes with fiery ambers. Biting her lip she returned his gesture he often did to comfort her and nuzzled his neck in comfort to coax him out of his shell.

“Kagome…” he sighed.

“Inuyasha,” she said in return and took his hardened length between them in her hand and gave a light tentative stroke.

“Fuck,” he croaked. “Don’t stop.”

This is exactly what she had thought previously as she felt him shudder and moan into her shoulder. He made her feel powerful. Needed. Desired. Somehow she was the puzzle piece he was missing.

“Never,” she breathed into his hair. That was a promise.

Inuyasha wasn’t sure what had come over him when they started kissing again. It was like his demon half had taken control--only it hadn’t. It was all him. He did listen to his instincts of where she should be touched, how hard, how much.

But he was also really testing the waters as he felt around for her nub, twisted her breast, nibbled, and laved her body in the most intimate of ways. He had not only made her come once but twice. And she still wanted him. She still touched him. She was slowly coaxing him to not give a fuck and stop all higher brain function in general.

Fuck. He wasn’t going to be able to last long with her soft unblemished hand stroking him like that. He was going to explode all over her.

He had never been with a woman. A partner. It never really mattered if he saved a village or saved a child, people from far and wide only saw him for what he was; a half-demon. A monster. Sure, he had gazed upon the naked form before. Sure, he had taken matters into his own hands but fuck. Kagome saw him as a man. Someone she wanted to be with. Someone she said it hurt because she desired him so much. His hand would never be able to do the job again.

Even more than that though, Kagome allowed him to do whatever his body and mind seemed to call for. She teased him about if she tasted good when he tried to sneak a taste from his finger and then egged him on to dive deep face-first into her sex. Then by all the Gods, she let him kiss her and her scent of arousal only sparked back to life while she sampled her own flavor on his tongue.

She had thoroughly wound him up so tight he hadn’t even noticed when she had untied his obi and somehow pushed down his pants as she parted his kimono. Only the sensation of her gentle and curious caresses of his chest brought him back from his thoughts that were flooded around the ache of his throbbing dick.

He initially wanted her to realize if they were going to stop--they needed to. Either way, there was no turning back for him. He’d have to hurry to bathe to take care of his cock or finish what they started. Either way, he’d likely have to get this hard-on out of the way so he wasn’t too eager if she did choose to continue because he’d wind up hurting her.

All thoughts went out the window when she took hold of him and started stroking. Fuck. Shit. He was gonna mate with her. Yep. Settled. She was definitely fucking his. No discussion. He’d never allow her to leave. Now, fifty years from now, hundreds, whatever, she belonged to him. Only he would know the gentleness of her hands but firm pull she gave, only he would know the depths and curves of her body.

Fuck he was losing his mind. Over her just fucking touching him. They weren’t even mating yet.

“Kagome--I’m gonna--”

“Please--I want you to; but can I try something else?” She was so sweet. An innocent little angel. It made him harder when she spoke so kindly and brazenly without trying. Not to mention it turned him on more knowing she had never tried this before. Even on herself. The fact he made her feel this way was making his demon beyond excited. Far more possessive than before; it swore they'd go back to the village and slaughter anyone who had ever laid eyes on her.

No; that’s a little drastic.

Whatever hanyou. She is ours.

And whatever she says goes, asshole.

Touche, half-demon.

Her pushing on his chest startled him from his thoughts as she beckoned him to sit up. What did she say? She wanted to try something? What did--OH FUCK. Her mouth was on his dick.

Her. Mouth.

HOLY SHIT.

Was. On.

Good fucking GOD.

His. Dick.

His hands flew down to her head but he showed restraint he had no idea he had and forcibly did not shove himself further in her mouth. If anything just having his hands entwined in her hair just solidified how real and tangible this was. This was better than any fantasy he had ever cooked up in his marble-sized brain. Her tongue grazing over his hardened length, her teeth lightly scraping, her fingers playing and teasing his sac, her other hand rubbing where her mouth couldn’t reach--

It was wayyyyyyyyy too fucking much. He was panting, his ears were pressed down, and the sounds being ground out of his mouth were incomprehensible.

He tried to give her some signal that she was gonna taste him. If she wanted to stop, that would be the time. But she hummed and kept bobbing her head back and forth and damnit--he came with a crashing force; he was scared he actually hurt her when he held her head in place as she drank him up.

When he finally figured out which way was up and down again, he finally looked into Kagome’s eyes. He let go of her head, stirred deeply that she was looking at him so… sultry. She was fucking proud of herself. Shit, she was beautiful.

She let go of his still slightly hard cock and smiled at him while she sat up from her previously crouched position and licked her lips.

“Was that okay?”

“Good Gods woman--I thought that--”

“I was the village healer. You think men are bad. Women are worse,” she laughed. And her laugh only made his dick fully rise again. She had to be the embodiment of lust. Beauty. She was so perfect. This wasn't even about being mates; this was about being in love.

He leaned in and kissed her. Shit. It was like she didn’t totally just blow him. He was up, almost painfully so, and ready to go for round two. Tasting the mixture of her and his own juices was driving him to the brink of insanity. Even though his instincts were yelling at him to flip her onto her hands and knees, he knew he should take her the way he had seen human men take their bitches.

Honestly, the idea was just as tempting--to be able to kiss her, look deep into her beautiful ocean blue eyes, watch her face contort with pleasure, have her hands actively stroking--

I agree. Take her.

“Inuyasha,” she breathed. It was fucking magic to his ears. And cock. This beautiful naked creature beneath him literally clouded all coherent thought. He hadn’t even noticed he had laid her back and his body was covering hers; that her legs were spread apart and he rested between them. Their most intimate parts grazing each other. He was completely drunk off of her. He would never need to drink or eat again if she was on the menu at night. He dipped down to recapture her lips in his.

He swore he had to be dreaming. Fuck. He had never felt this complete in his life and they hadn’t even joined yet. All they had been doing was touching. Yea, sexually but shit. He couldn’t even begin to dissect or discern how this was all so different. New. Amazing.

Was it fucked up that he almost wanted to thank Naraku for driving her to him? Probably. Whatever, he probably would when he was taunting him about how he marked his ‘so-called mate’ as his own. If they made it that far. He knew he would take great pleasure in killing the bastard if they got the chance.

Honestly, Inuyasha didn’t even care if they never saw him again. All the mattered, all that consumed his mind was Kagome.

He pulled back and looked back into her eyes then softly caressed her cheek extending to touch and smooth down her sex-frazzled hair.

“Are you… really sure?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“It’s gonna hurt, but I’ll go slow, alright?”

“Mhm,” she nodded with glittering eyes.

He couldn’t stop himself as he kissed her again as he lined himself up with her entrance; his dick was covered with her wetness as her ground against her clit. He felt her arms wrap around him and her hands grip the back of his shoulders to hold him closer to her. Taking a steadying breath he entered her tight wet core trying to ignore the hitch and whine she exerted.

He slowed his pace even though all he wanted to do was slam into her over and over again; he began kissing her face and then nuzzled her neck licking up to the back of her ear before shakily exhaling her name.

Her walls loosened slightly and he finally finished entering her. They laid still, trembling, holding each other for a few moments. Him, giving her time to adjust while he was given the opportunity to comfort her. Her, likely trying to get used to the intrusion and the rub her hands all over his body.

She finally released a breath she was holding and nudged his cheek with her nose and slightly raised her hips as if testing the feeling. All it did was drive him crazy but he refused to move until she said otherwise. He didn’t even care if he came right then. They likely wouldn’t have to wait long to go again if that happened. But he wanted her comfort first and foremost and fuck--he wouldn’t rush it.

“Y-you can move, Y-yash,” she said, kissing his cheek and bringing her hands to his face to angle it down to kiss her. He was only happily complied as he slowly shifted his hips and pulled out to push back in. This time he felt her hymen burst as he reentered her; he also, unfortunately, heard and felt her cringe and whimper underneath him.

He moved his face and kissed her eyes then licked her tears. Her delicate little hands shifted from his face to his ears. He let out a calming rumble through his chest to help ease her discomfort and pain.

She moved her hips again and this time her voice was laced with a heated moan rather than one covered with hurt. He took her cue and proceeded to restart his movements.

His ears flicked with the sounds of her uneven breathing, her whimpers of need, the long drawn out sighs of broken versions of his name. Fuck.

She was so wet again, she wasn’t faking anything--not that he thought she would but everything from her scent to her body rising off the futon to meet his thrusts was telling him she was getting as much out of their lovemaking as he was.

That sounded odd to him. He would never have referred to sex as ‘love-making’. Rutting, fucking, coitus, but never something so--girlie. But with Kagome, that’s what this was. While yeah, she was encouraging his primal urges to emerge and work, and yeah, they weren’t going so slow that they’d never finish, but they were fully expressing their feelings for each other. It was an odd sensation and realization to him that he was loved as much as he loved someone else.

Her bellowment of pleasure brought him out of his ponderings; though he was far from silent as well, he thought his growls and grunts would scare her but if anything it made her pull her legs tighter around his waist, her hips churn to hit parts of her she clearly wanted to be touched, her nails grasp his shoulders and dig in deeper--shit he was close but he needed her where he was for the mate-bond to hold.

Moving one of his hands from her hips, he used his thumb to stroke the nub he had originally discovered in his venture of fingering her. Her breath caught and she cried out. She writhed beneath him as he felt her contract around him.

Resting his forehead against her as he continued his ministrations, his hair fell and curtained around them as they were trapped in their own sweaty, hot, panting world. He honestly thought about skipping dinner after all. He would never get enough of this gorgeous woman wrapped around him.

“Kagome, I--I’m gonna mark you.”

“O-Okay,” she ground out with another cry along with another squeeze to his deeply submerged cock.

He lowered his head to the crook of her neck and licked as she began to cry out his name.

“Come for me, Kagome,” he said steadier than how he felt. He was nervous, excited, crazed, everything was swirling around in a timeless blurr. When she began to spasm around him, screaming out her orgasm, he couldn’t hold back his to even save his own life. Right before it was ripped from his body, he bit down on her neck and allowed his youki to flow through her. He hadn’t expected her own reiki to react by flowing back through him.

Coming down from their mutual bliss, their high from release, he raised his head up from her shoulder and gazed into her eyes.

“I love you, Kagome.”

“I love you too, Inuyasha,” she whispered leaning up to kiss him again.

There was a surge of reiki beneath him--coming from Kagome. But it oddly didn’t burn. It seemed to have startled her too because initially, she tried to shove him off of her. He looked down at her hip and saw a bright light that blinded him before it formed into a fucking person.

Now he’d seen everything. Of course, they would be fucking naked, just enjoying the bliss of the afterglow from having sex and a fucking ghost would appear. He pulled out of her and sat up in front of her. Snarling.

His demonic blood hit him full force, without even a warning or blip to alert him before it took over. Kagome's hand grabbed his bicep quickly from behind as she pressed her body into his.

“Wait--” she gasped.

“Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?!” He growled menacingly.

“Relax, half-demon. I am not here to harm you or my descendent,” the ghost waved her arm in placation.

“‘Descendent?’ Are you… Lady Kikyo?” Kagome asked.

“I am. I’ve come to warn you,” she stated emotionlessly.

“After we mated? Your fucking timing sucks,” Inuyasha snarled.

“Yes, that is why I came,” she said.

“Too late now,” he grumbled. Of course, her ancestor would be a judgemental bitch.

“Lady Kikyo, I love Inuyasha. Even if you are here to warn us about mating, it’s already been done and I still have my reiki. Even if I didn’t, he is my mate--”

“No, I came to warn you of Naraku. Your mating only destroyed the things he wanted most. He will be rather angry.”

“What do you mean?” Kagome questioned, still securely pressed to Inuyasha’s back.

“By solidifying your mateship, the jewel has been purified. The act made from pure love was too much for the jewel to take--it is no longer of this world. For that, I am indebted to you.”

“You mean--”

“Fucking made the jewel pure?” Kagome smacked him. Likely for how he had phrased their mating. To be fair he was in demon form--fucking was what it was called. His human half could call it love-making. Same fucking thing.

“Yes; I did not mean to intrude on your post-coital bliss but, we must speak before my spirit is gone. There was a remnant of it imprisoned by the jewel. It was taken to serve as a warning to whoever purified the jewel.”

“Why?” Kagome asked.

“Naraku was once my betrothed, Onigumo. However, he fell prey to the jewel’s darkness, and soon, the demons descended and ripped his body and soul apart. He ceased to exist and became what you know now as Naraku. He is the one who slew me, hoping I, too, would fall and use the jewel for my deepest desires. However, I took the jewel with me to the netherworld knowing it should be destroyed.

“Then it was born again in you, Kagome. For that, I am sorry. But you were able to purify it, unlike so many before you failed to do. You found the answer no one else could come up with.”

“Love?” Kagome curiously said.

“Indeed. Your love for the hanyou is what ultimately purified the jewel. The selfless love you had for him made the jewel unable to maintain its form. But now that the jewel is gone, Naraku will be even more enraged. The fact you have been claimed by this half-demon may even send him over the edge. This is the warning I give to you; Naraku will not stop until he has exactly what he desires. Even if that means he has to start over.”

“Start over? What the fuck does that mean?”

“You will soon find out,” Kikyo said as she slowly began to disappear.

“Wait!! Inuyasha and I won’t be around long enough to finish what you started! OR what we started! Whatever! How--”

“Do not be foolish. You allowed another’s prejudices to cloud your mind. Your mate bond with Inuyasha has, in fact, saved your life. His youki has refilled your life energy and the reiki that you lost when the jewel was purified.

“It is still your destiny to destroy Naraku. But it was never your destiny alone, Kagome. Good luck,” Kikyo finished as she disintegrated from sight.

Inuyasha’s blood receded with Kikyo’s presence gone and he turned to face Kagome who was staring at him in shock. Tears pooled at her eyes and all he could do was grab her face, smashing his lips to hers. She frantically returned the pressure and moaned into his mouth.

When he withdrew, they were both breathless. She giggled with unbounded happiness. Inuyasha wiped her tears away with his thumbs and couldn’t help but return her smile with all the love he felt for her.

“Told ya,” he smirked. She batted his chest and made him chuckle. He took her face and lightly pressed his lips to her when they heard a frantic knock at the door.

“Lady Kagome?? Lord Inuyasha?? Are you both alright???” Rin’s voice called.

“Go in! We must check on her!” They overheard the monk saying.

“This one advises against entering,” Sesshomaru said evenly.

Kagome blushed the brightest he had ever seen and he tossed her the first thing he could find to coverup with--which was his kosode but fuck it--something was better than nothing at that point! He threw on his hakama in haste hearing the slayer demand to enter to make sure neither of them were injured in the surge of demonic aura and reiki.

The door finally burst open. The slayer and monk lead the way followed by the sheepish Rin and exasperated Sesshomaru. Kagome sat behind Inuyasha again, grabbing his bare arm making sure he felt her reiki flow to him to calm him. It oddly worked in settling his raging blood that demanded he slaughter the humans for seeing Kagome in such an intimate position. Wrapped up in his clothes, flushed from their activities, mark fresh from their binding, hair wild from lust, her scent still hot, spicy, and mixed with his own.

Not that they could smell that--but his asshole brother could. It made him growl.

“Lady Kagome--we sensed a large amount of reiki; are you alright? Lord Inuyasha, are you??” The monk began.

Kagome kept hold of his arm as if sensing he was about to tear the monk's arms off and use them to beat him. “Y-Yes we’re fine,” she mumbled into his back. Oh fuck. He needed them to leave so he could take her again. Her full breasts so intimately rubbing against him, her hot breath swaying his hair and brushing against his neck. Fuck. She was so fucking desirable without even trying.

Rin stepped out from beside Sesshomaru and gasped then rushed to Kagome’s side. Inuyasha snarled a warning and she whacked him. Rin. Rin hit him?! What the fuck?!?

“Shush you! Oh my goodness!” She exclaimed, turning to Kagome and slightly touching the area he marked. “You did it!!! You mated!! EEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

“Rin,” Sesshomaru tried.

“We truly are sisters now!! How exciting!!! You probably want a bath before dinner, do you not?? Why don’t you come with me!!” Rin more or less ordered as she grabbed her yukata that was sprawled on the ground and held it in front of Kagome so no one else could see her get dressed.

“What the fuck--no--Rin--” Inuyasha started. Then she whacked him again. WHAT THE FUCK!?!? Why did she keep doing that and why was his fucking inner demonic jackass self taking it?!?

Alpha male’s whelped mate. We aren’t looking for a challenge. We have a mate to consider. Allow the woman to bathe her that way we can reinstate our scent and mark later. When we won’t be interrupted. When we can take her over and over and over--

Fucking hell.

We respect the chain of command, hanyou. Calm your hormones.

“Now, now, respect your lady. She needs a girl talk and a bath. She hasn’t had a proper one in a long time and I’m sure she would love a woman’s touch, Lord Inuyasha. Stay and chat with my lord husband.” Rin helped a frazzled, still heavily blushing, confused Kagome and led her out of the room.

“Inu--” Kagome started.

“Stay,” Sesshomaru ordered the moment Inuyasha began to rise. “Slayer. Accompany them.”

“Excuse me?!” The slayer bellowed.

“Now Sango, maybe they would uhm… like to get to know you better. It seems our goals for vengeance have aligned,” the monk tried to soothe.

“Fine…” she glared at her husband then shot a deadly glare to Inuyasha. He only thought the response he wanted to say; he didn’t want to set her off further while she was going to be with his mate by saying his derogatory thoughts aloud.

Once she was gone, Inuyasha turned back to his brother, “Whaddya want? Obviously you wanted our mates gone.”

“We received something at the gates,” Sesshomaru informed.

“What do you mean you got something? From who?”

“We believe it was from Naraku… We wanted to share this with you before we shared it with Lady Kagome. It is--unpleasant,” the monk added, obviously off-put by whatever it was they got.

“Well what is it?” Inuyasha demanded.

“It belonged to your Miko,” Sesshomaru grimaced. He grimaced. That bastard didn’t give a shit about anyone or anything--well besides Rin. What in the fuck did Naraku have that could disturb Sesshomaru? Stoic Inu-no-Taisho, Lord of the fucking West?

Inuyasha began to get nervous. Edgy. His youki automatically went to seek Kagome’s presence out. Low and behold it found her and her reiki stroked back comfortingly. She was safe. Rin had her. Why was that so comforting?

“Sesshomaru… just fucking tell me. My instincts are all over the fucking place right now,” Inuyasha finally relented to his brother.

“As they should be. You just mated with your priestess. If your youki wasn’t melding with hers, it would be an issue,” he commented as he pulled something from his sleeve and extended it to him.

Inuyasha took it and was assailed with not only Kagome’s scent but Naraku’s. It had another scent on it as well but he hadn’t smelled that person before. He looked down into his hand and saw what looked like a ring… with her hair entwined with it. What in the seven hells--

It was a western tradition to exchange rings when someone became betrothed. Was it possible this was that Hojo-person’s ring? How did Naraku come to have it? He gazed back at Sesshomaru who didn’t look pleased by the development.

“What?! What aren’t you telling me?!”

“It was attached to a finger, Lord Inuyasha,” Miroku conceded.

“A finger?? Whos?!”

“I assume the male of which you scented on the ring. Did you know your mate was betrothed?” The monk watched Inuyasha’s face for a sign of anger, remorse, or whatever. It pissed Inuyasha off further.

“Of course I did. She told me when we were stuck in that shelter we found after we met.”

“Yet you still pursued her??” The monk inquired curiously.

“She was the one who told me she wanted nothing to do with the marriage. Even if she hadn’t run, she said she wouldn’t have gone through with it,” Inuyasha sneered at the monk.

“My little brother would not mate with a woman who was spoken for unless she had been forced into the said arrangement. Your insinuations must stop if you wish to remain here and find your vengeance for those you have lost.”

“My apologies. As I have admonished before, this is an odd situation for me in general. A Miko the mate of a demon, who happened to be the reincarnation of the legendary Kikyo and holds the Sacred Jewel in her body, who we originally thought was mated to the demon who killed our friends and family, and now who happened to be betrothed to another man in her village. Lady Kagome just keeps proving to be a very special woman.”

“Speaking of my mate, she still has her reiki.”

“Unsurprising as she is the keeper of the Shikon no Tama,” Sesshomaru expressed.

“Yea… about that,” Inuyasha started. “When I marked her--the jewel uh--vanished. Purified or whatever.”

“A thousand pardons, Lord Inuyasha. But do you mean to say that--when you and the Lady Kagome were-- intimate, you purified the jewel?”

“Yeah, pervert. And her ancestor, Kikyo came out and had a nice little chat with us. Which was why you sensed the large amount of youki from me and the spiritual power from her. She told us about Naraku. What he actually wanted. Then gave us some half-ass weird ominous warning about him still trying to get what he wants even if he had to start over--now that we covered that, why the fuck is my mate’s hair wrapped around her ring??”

“We believe it was cursed. Especially with the finger that was attached. I have locked the uh--appendage away for now. Lady Kagome’s power may be able to ward off the evil that we sensed with it.”

“The ring is fine though?” Inuyasha demanded.

“We do not sense jyaki from it. So it is. For now,” Sesshomaru spoke.

Damnit all! Of course, the bastard would still be at large! Ruining the time that Inuyasha should be exploring his new mate’s body, solidifying their bond, rutting her over and over, making her glands literally drip of his scent--

"This conversation should be continued with your new mate, Inuyasha. We should see if she is able to detect anything from the object. I have also invited another guest to enlighten us on these recent developments. He should be here by dinner time. "

"I agree with Lord Sesshomaru," the monk added. "Lady Kagome should be informed of the newest situation."

"Maybe I missed something, but why are you trying to be all 'buddy buddy' now?"

"It will be discussed at dinner which should be ready shortly, little brother. Get dressed and head down to the dining hall," Sesshomaru lamented as he left his chambers.

Before Miroku could bow Inuyasha grabbed him by the robes and hauled him in front of him. He let his aura flood him just so he knew how powerful he actually was.

"Look here monk; that asshole may say we should wait ‘til dinner but I want answers. Now."

"Lord Inuyasha, we never meant any harm to begin with. As I have said, this is a peculiar situation--"

"Can it. Why did you change your mind? Why are you willing to stick around with Kagome and I? You and your bitch didn't seem keen on the idea the moment you laid eyes on her."

"We all make mistakes, Lord Inuyasha. We learned quite a bit more after you and Lady Kagome engaged in--"

"Shut the fuck up. You're such a bozzo."

"My apologies. Old habits die hard. However, we did learn from scrolls about mating, a little more about Naraku’s whereabouts, and also about another Lord who has been having trouble with him.”

Oh for fuck’s sake--

“Lemme guess; Koga?"

"Yes. He was more than eager to join us at the castle knowing Kagome had come here for refuge."

"My asshole brother say anything else to him about why she was here?"

"I don't believe so; just that she was under his protection. I think he was going to leave it to you and your mate to inform him on bond.”

“Good.” Not that he thought it’d be disrespectful of Sesshomaru to tell the wolf of his and Kagome’s now marked mateship, but he knew Kagome was friends with the fleabag. She would likely want to be the one who shared the news with him.

Walking over to the chest, he pulled out another clean kosode and redressed himself. He turned and saw Miroku still standing there waiting for him.

“What do you want?”

“Lord Inuyasha, I do wish to extend my deepest apologies for upsetting you and your mate. We hold no grudges against her. While we know it was truly not her who attacked our friends and family, her face still does strike a raw emotion for my wife and I.”

“How long ago was the attack on your people?”

“Just over a month. From Lady Kagome’s tale, he likely had her for a couple of weeks between when we saw her to when you two met. Did anything happen between them?”

“Even if anything did happen, it’d be none of your business.”

“Of course not. It is apparent Lady Kagome does not wish to associate with him. She seemed uncomfortable at the mention of his name entirely.”

“She’s not the most forthcoming person in general.”

“As most priests, priestesses, and monks are. When things come from a higher power, we tend to try and control the situation as much as possible.”

“Huh. I’ll keep that in mind. Explains why you failed to mention her lifespan was shorted.”

“Again, I am truly sorry--”

“It’s fine. It’s fixed now.”

“Your bond truly does astound me, Lord Inuyasha. I wish you and your mate many years of happiness.”

If Inuyasha had anything to say about it, they would. Centuries even. He would always make sure Kagome was taken care of. Physically. Emotionally. And intimately. Kagome was his life now. He would be damned if he let anyone or anything get between their happiness. As he and monk made their way to the dining room, the tension between them slowly lifted. But a new realization hit him; he knew they would still have some battles to overcome. Naraku. Her family… if they were still alive. Where they would go. What they would do.

All he knew was that he would always ensure she and himself had a shelter. A home. A place to call their own they could fill with their love that was deemed so pure, it purified the jewel.

#inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha x kagome #inuyasha au #sesshomaru x rin #inukag #inu x kag #smut smut smut #shelter part 3

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schrijverr · 4 years

Text

Get out of jail for free-card

Stanford-era Sam gets a call from Dean, who has been arrested and needs him to bust him out. Jess insits on coming with him and is in for a bit of a surprise with the revelations that come with meeting Dean.

On AO3.

Ships: Sam x Jess

Warnings: Their childhood. Tell me if I missed anything or if you want me to tag something!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was Friday, which meant drinking and having fun for Sam and his friends. Jess was just asking what everyone wanted to drink when a phone rang. It took a few seconds before Sam realized it was his. He shot a confused look to his friends and picked up: “Uh, hello, this is Sam Winchester speaking?”

“Sammy, thank God.”, came Deans voice from the other side.

Shocked Sam said: “Dean?”

“Yeah, it's me, already forgotten the sound of my beautiful voice?” Sam practically heard the smirk in that statement.

He couldn't help the bitch face as he answered: “How could I ever forget that annoying sound. But why the fuck are you calling me?”

Tom raised his brows to Jess who gave him a confused look back, Sam wasn't known to swear and neither had ever heard of this Dean person. They were pulled back to the phone call when Sam exclaimed: “What do you mean you got arrested.”

The comment got Jess to give him A Look, so Sam told Dean: “Wait a sec, gotta move.”

Then he waved at them and said: “Sorry have to take this, you guys go and start the movie.”

Jess frowned, but Sam didn't notice as he was saying: “Yes, Dean, movie night, normal people do that sort of thing on Friday. And don't call me Samantha. Now why are you arrested again?”

“Grave desecration, not really a good excuse for that, you know.” Dean said.

Sam rubbed his forehead and asked: “And why is this my problem again?”

“Dad's in Ohio together with Bobby, a demon, he wouldn't take me, so I got an easy salt 'n burn in San Francisco, but I got busted.” Dean replied.

“Do you need bail money or do you need to be saved?” Sam asked with a tired voice.

“I'm no Disney Princess, dude.” Dean said, “Psh, getting saved. But no, no bail for me, just heard you're pre-law now.”

Sam sighed as he read between the lines, Dean needed Sam to bust him out of a holding cell. He said: “Tell them you called a lawyer and won't do anything until he's there. And what name are you going by right now?”

“Phil Rudd.” Dean said, of course it was a rock star name.

He sighed again and said: “I’ll be there in 50.”

“Thank you, Sammy.”

“It’s Sam.” Sam bitched back, then he hung up and snagged a tie out of his closet along with a dress shirt.

He walked back into the room, where no one had started the movie and everyone was ready to pounce him with questions. “Who’s Dean?” Jess asked.

“And why is he arrested.” Tom added.

Sam grimaced and awkwardly said: “He's my brother, so I'm gonna go pick him up at the police station.”

“And why is he arrested?” Jess asked with an intense look.

“Uhhh,” Sam looked away with an embarrassed flush and said: “Grave desecration.”

“He did what!” Jess exclaimed, “That's terrible! Why would he do that?”

“He has his reasons.” Sam said curtly, then he realized that that didn't help the situation, so he went on: “Look he's a good guy, honestly, just a shitty past that he didn't shake off as well as I did. If you'd meet him, you would know.”

“Then take me with you.” Jess demanded.

Their friends had been watching the discussion like it was a tennis match and in the tense silence that followed they kept their eyes on Sam. Sam, who was having a small crises. On one hand he didn't want to fuck up his relationship with Jessica because he didn't take her with him, but on the other hand he also didn't want to fuck it up because he was busting his brother out, illegally.

When the silence dragged on Jess said: “I’m not letting this go, Samuel, take me with you or this is over.”

And that made the decision for him, he said: “Okay, let’s go, I told him I'd be there as fast as I could.”

The ride was silent and tense for the first 15 minutes, then Jess said: “I don’t want to meet your brother with just a bad image, so what's your best memory?”

“Huh?” Sam asked dumbly.

“What's your best memory of you and Dean?”

Sam smiled softly and said: “Where do I start? God, he was always there for me for a start, according to him my first words were “Bean” in an attempt to say his name, he says he cried.”

He thought some more before saying: “I know it sounds weird, but with Dad almost always gone and mom dead, while constantly on the road, Dean was my everything. He was my brother, best friend and mom all rolled into one. We were SamnDean, no spaces between us.”

Jess shot him a look, but didn’t say anything and he didn’t either, he just looked at the road and thought back to the times were this sight was his daily view, just from the backseat, with two pairs of shoulders and two heads blocking his view.

When they arrived Sam turned to Jess and said: “I need you to stay in the car, please?”

Then he got out of his flannel and buttoned up the dress shirt and put on the tie. Jess frowned at that and asked: “Why? What's going on, Sam?”

“It’s kinda hard to explain, but you have to believe me when I say I hate this as much as you will. Just stay in the car. Me and Dean will be here in a few minutes.” He gave her his best puppy eyes and she relented with an “I don’t like this.”

He gave her a peck on the cheek and said: “I don’t either. See you in a bit.”

Then he was out the car and walking into the station.

Half of the scam was the confidence, so Sam strutted up to the front desk and said: “I’m John Singer, I'm here for Phil Rudd.”

The lady gave him a one over and raised a brow. He knew he was still wearing his shaggy shoes and jeans, plus he looked very young. So he kinds dropped the confidence a bit and said: “I’m just the intern, but my boss, Simon Wright, is out of town, so I’m taking the calls right now.”

A look or pity showed up on the ladies face as she said: “Didn’t expect a call this late, did ya?”

He nodded and said: “I haven’t done this before, sorry, could you point me in the right direction?”

She smiled and quickly walked him through what was expected of him. He thanked her profusely as he walked away.

Dean greeted him with a smirk and said: “Hey, man, what’s the plan?”

Sam gave him a bitch face and said: “I’m risking a lot by being here, so don’t try anything, okay? Jess is waiting in the car, so lets make this quick.”

“Wait a minute. Who’s Jess?” Dean said.

“My girlfriend, now pay attention we can talk later.” Sam said.

Dean whistled impressed, but stayed quiet while Sam explained: “They think I’m an intern, so a newbie. You are going to punch me and then use this time window of no surveillance you've created to escape and hide in the back of Jess’s car, okay? It’s the blue crappy Honda.”

Dean chuckled, but nodded. He got ready to punch but Sam held up his hand and quickly sent Jess a text: ‘Dean will join you in the car shortly, don't say anything to anyone. See you in a few.’

Then he allowed Dean to punch him. He waited until Dean was out the window before he yelled: “Help! He punched me and he's gone!”

Soon the whole room was filled with police. His statement was taken and he was checked over, but after 15 minutes they'd let him go while he gave them Bobby's number for if they wanted more info.

On his way out he texted Bobby about it with a side note not to tell Dad, while he ignored Jessica's messages about how this wasn’t funny.

He got into the car and was immediately slapped by an angry Jess. He looked to Dean who was lying on the back seat to stay out of sight, but he just shot him a ‘hey-don't-look-at-me-dude-this-is-your-problem’ look.

When he said nothing she said: “What took you so long?”

He told her the truth: “They still needed my statement.”

She looked even more angry and said: “Then why is he telling me you busted him out. Illegally!”

He whipped around to give Dean a look and said: “Because he is an idiot.”

“Hey! You brought her with you and told her about your plan. I thought she knew, don’t blame me!” Dean defended himself.

“Why would she know?” Sam said frustrated.

“I don’t know, maybe because she is here and you texted her your plan?”

“God, this is just like Seibert.” Sam gave him an angry look.

Dean got angry as well and loudly replied: “How is this anything like Seibert?”

“Your lack of filter almost fucked me over that’s how.” Sam had a full on bitch face now.

“I told you back then that a twelve-year-old isn’t as convincing as an crying ‘help me I’m lost kid’ than an eight-year-old.”

“And I told you that someone smaller was better for sneaking around, you’re lucky they caught me after I had given dad the keys.”

“I was trying to buy you time, which was my task in the plan.”

“And telling them I was there seemed smart when my task was to remain unseen?”

With every comment their voices got louder and angrier, but before the fight could escalate any further Jess cut in: “What are you even talking about?”

“1991, we were staying in Seibert, but Dad got arrested.” Dean began.

Sam interrupted: “Since when are you such a sharer?”

“Since I’m trying to save your relationship here dude. Look at her, she wants the truth lets give it to her.” Dean shot back.

Sam looked at Jess, who he saw was siding with Dean on the subject. He crossed his arms and muttered: “Like that isn’t gonna ruin everything.”

Then he started up the car and said: “I’m dropping you off at your car hopefully you haven’t lost that too.”

“No, baby is still at my motel, Civic Center Inn, you can drop me there.” Dean said, Jess marveled at how quickly the two calmed down, then Dean turned back to her and said: “So, 1991, Seibert Colorado. Dad had gotten arrested, this wasn’t the first time, so me and Sammy go and bust him out.”

“It’s Sam.”

“Yeah, whatever. So, my plan was that he goes in and acts like he’s lost, creating a diversion for me so that I can sneak dad the keys of his cell.” Dean explained, “Except Sam didn’t agree with that, said I had to play lost, because he was smaller and therefore would be able to sneak better.”

“Which is true.” Sam commented.

“No, it’s not, because it almost went wrong.” Dean jibed.

“And that was your fault.” Sam said.

“No, it’s wasn’t.” Dean started up the discussion again.

Jess just wanted to know what had happened, so she interrupted: “Let it go, both of you.”

“Sorry.” Sam said immediately.

Dean coughed, but Jess was certain she heard “Whipped”, Sam probably did too, because his lips tightened, but he didn’t say a thing.

Dean went on: “Anyway, I go in and start crying telling them I’m lost and it does create a diversion, but not long enough, so I also tell them I lost my younger brother while I was supposed to be watching him. That does work, a small child is lost, so everyone there starts looking and it the end they find him. He tells them he was looking for the bathroom and wondered away and we get dropped off at a random house, which we tell them is ours. Then we walk to the motel where our father joins us shortly after.”

“We skipped town that night.” Sam finished.

Jess sat quietly for a second as she takes everything in, finally she said: “I’m sorry, Sam, that sounds horrible.”

Sam just shrugged and said: “I’ve never known different, so I never missed it. I’ve been helping in illegal scams since I was three or something. That’s just life.”

“Not that he ever liked it.” Dean felt the need to insert himself into the conversation, “He and dad were always fighting.”

Sam rolled his eyes and said: “Yeah, he didn’t want me to go to college and get a normal life, sorry for wanting to be like everyone else.”

“That didn’t mean you had to fight with him about every little thing, Sam.” Dean said.

Jess sat there awkwardly, feeling that this was a whole other set of issues. She quietly asked: “Is that why you never talk about your family?”

Sam sighed sadly: “Yeah, the last words my dad said to me were: “If you go, don’t come back.” not really heartwarming, is it?”

Dean flopped backwards and said: “Our whole family is shit.”

Sam looked over his shoulder with a surprised look and said: “Didn’t think you would say that.”

Dean shrugged and said: “Doesn’t mean you’re not part of it, Sammy. Just call from time to time, okay? Oh, look there’s the turn.”

Sam turned onto the parking of the motel and Dean got out of the car. Before he slammed the door he said: “Jess, that’s your name right? Yeah, okay, Jess, don’t judge Sam for something he never wanted to be a part of. And Sammy? Sammy you don’t let her go, she’s cool. See you next time, nerd.”

Then he was gone.

Sam sat quietly for a minute then he drove off. They didn’t say anything until they were near San Mateo, then Jess carefully said: “Are you going to call him?”

Sam looked at her and said: “He knows we can’t call each other, he didn’t even give me his number to pretend. We’re never gonna talk again and that’s okay, life happens.”

Jess gave him a pained look, but she didn’t know what to say about it.

Sam asked: “Are we over?”

“No, Sam, we aren’t, just, just be more honest about your life to me, okay?” she said with a sigh.

“Are you gonna tell everyone I broke him out instead of paying a bail that didn’t exist.” Sam asked after a moment of silence.

Jess thought about it for a second. Then she shook her head and told him: “No that’s between you and your brother. I just waited in the car and we had a nice chat about you on the way to his motel, nothing peculiar happened.”

Sam grinned: “What would I do without you?”

Jess smirked back: “Crash and burn.”

When Dean broke in to Sams house two years later, he was glad to see that Sam had listened and hadn’t let Jess go.

#RR writing #supernatural #Supernatural pre-series #Sam Winchester #sam and dean #Sam and dean wierd childhood #dean winchester #Jessica Moore #Stanford-era #supernatual stanford-era

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annelixa · 4 years

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Trust Chapter 22

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Can also be read on AO3

Summary: Cassandra seeks Varian shortly after she stole the Moonstone so that she can use his intellectual gifts. Lucky for her, no one seems to be telling him what happened at the Dark Kingdom and he still sees her as the wise and trusted person he always knew. Utilizing that image of herself, she takes him for herself while under the guise of protection.

Fandom: Tangled the Series

Quirin was wrapped up in Rapunzel’s hair, snarling as he fought to escape. Taking the opportunity, Cassandra struck him with the Shadowblade. Since he was Varian’s father, she didn’t want to seriously harm him but he had to be stopped. None of them were confident about what was causing the pair to swear destruction on Corona, but they had to find out and help them remember who they were.

The blow knocked him across the room and he slammed into a wall. Dazed, he swayed as he rose to his feet and charged at the women again. Not backing down, the warrior swung at him once more, catching him in the side. Blood spilled down his shirt and he yelled in anger. Rapunzel wrapped his hair around his ankles, sending him crashing to the floor. Dizzy and losing blood, he fell easily. He didn’t get up again as he smashed his head into the hard marble floor, knocking him unconscious.

Not wasting a moment, the pair turned to the other mesmerized man in the room. Stalking forward, the Dark King backed Eugene into a corner. The man tried to think quickly, the man before him was an incredibly skilled fighter, having done little else with his time for over two decades. Not to mention, he was also his father, if he believed the somewhat insane, old man. He would need to be smart and careful to attack him without hurting himself or his father. A crash caused them all to jump and turn to see the arms of a massive automaton had destroyed the wall into the throne room. Spotting an opening, the captain swung his sword at his father’s chest and ducked around him as he stumbled away.

“Run!” he shouted, the other two quickly following him out of the room. They dashed to the nearby library which was still intact. Shoving his sword through the door handles, Eugene collapsed the thick, oak doors as he panted. “We…we need a plan…”

The princess dropped into a chair, trying to think as she caught her breath. Around them, the castle continued to shake and chunks of stone fell as the automaton's arms continued smashing into the walls. Taking a position by the window, Cassandra tried to assess the situation. From her vantage point, she could see Adira and Hector viciously attacking any that attempted to enter or exit the castle. They would not be able to go that way unless they wanted another fight that they would be outmatched in; the two vastly skilled fighters. Dozens of unfamiliar people were attacking the citizens of Corona. Blood and bodies littered the courtyard from what she could see between the smoke released from Varian’s chemical compounds. A face she easily recognized caught her attention as it hurried away from the battle.

“Andrew,” she growled under her breath. The traitor crawled into the automaton that was obliterating the castle around them. “We need to get into that machine,” she declared, facing the pair. “Varian made it and if he was anywhere, it would be inside that monstrosity. My mentor would want him protected and in a position where he can maintain that beast.”

Joining the warrior, Rapunzel gently touched her arm.

“You didn’t tell us who your mentor was,” she whispered. “It would be helpful to know who it is and how to defeat them.”

With a sigh, Cassandra met the blonde’s eyes. She didn’t want to tell her the harsh truth that she had been avoiding herself.

“I don’t actually know,” the warrior admitted. “She never told me her name and no one else could see her. She was the one who informed me of my ‘destiny’ and led me toward it.” She scoffed and looked back out the window, avoiding the eyes of the other two. “We didn’t agree in the end. She didn’t approve of how I was treating Varian.”

Worried, Rapunzel’s grip tightened on her arm.

“Cass, please tell me you didn’t hurt him…”

“I didn’t touch him.” Worry lifted from the princess’ heart for only a moment. “But Andrew did…” A hard look entered her eyes. “I paid him back for that.” She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter now. We need to get to Varian and stop all this.”

“But how?”

“I’ll create a distraction,” Eugene called, drawing the attention of the women. “You get in there and get Goggles back.” Crossing to his side, Rapunzel hugged her boyfriend tightly. “Go get him, Sunshine.” He pulled back, meeting her eyes and cupping her cheek. “And if he’s hurt, give them hell.”

Rapunzel smiled at him and kissed his cheek before he retrieved his sword and ran back into the battle. Using his sacrifice, Cassandra grabbed a decorative lance from a nearby suit of armor as the pair darted back toward the throne room. Leaping into the air, the warrior jammed the lance into the automaton’s arm and used it to propel herself onto the back of the great machine. Moments later Rapunzel landed lightly beside her and they approached a small hatch. Pulling it open, Cassandra dropped down first. Not seeing anyone, she signaled the other could join her. The pair peered through the darkness. They knew Andrew at least was inside but they didn’t spot him anywhere so they headed toward the controls at the front of the machine.

“I’m glad you decided to return, Cassandra,” a voice called, making both jump in surprise. “I knew you would rejoin the correct side.”

Clenching her fists, the warrior fought the urge to listen obediently.

“Where’s Varian?” she demanded instead, watching her mentor step forward. “We came here for him!”

“You sound like the Sundrop,” the girl replied, rolling her eyes. “Didn’t she say the exact same thing to you twice before yet still left empty handed both times?”

“I’m not leaving without him! Nothing will stop me!”

Shocked, Cassandra turned to her.

“You can see her?”

No one else had been able to see her before, only Cassandra. Why could Rapunzel see her now? What was going on?

“Well of course she can, Cassandra. She helped me regain my physical form. You both did actually.” Noticing their confusion, she smiled. “Your fight back at the tower,” she explained. “It released me and allowed me to return to this world so I can destroy Corona.”

“Who…who are you…?” the warrior asked, wary of the answer.

“You should already know that by now. You have met many of my previous disciples after all.”

Gasping, the woman stumbled away from her. How had she not noticed? How could she have let a demon control her?

“Zhan Tiri…” she whispered, eyes wide and fearful.

The other woman wasn’t swayed, her worry for Varian’s safety outweighed her terror of the demon in front of her.

“Where’s Varian?” She repeated the warrior’s question.

“Why, Sundrop, he’s been right here the entire time.”

Grinning, she yanked a cloth off of a lump in the corner revealing a beaten and bloody alchemist. The chain around his neck seemed to be the only thing keeping him upright as he tried to determine where exactly the voices were coming. His eyes and mouth were still covered with the scraps of cloth, keeping from joining the conversation.

“Varian!” both women cried, moving toward him. “Release him!”

The sheet was tossed to the floor, the demon uncaring about where it landed.

“Why ever would I do that?” she asked, curious. “He had a great time working for Cassandra and myself, Rapunzel. You know that he can’t stay away from evil. He’s a villain. He is drawn to chaos and confusion. He craves it, the challenge, the power. We simply let him have it.”

Varian tried to defend himself, muffled yells echoing around the room.

“If he was so willing, so eager to help you, then why is he chained now? He should be out, fighting against me himself.” The princess stepped closer, reaching out to the demon. “This isn’t his battle. Let us take him home. Please, Zhan Tiri.”

The demon laughed loudly, wiping her eyes with a gloved hand.

“Not his battle? Sundrop, have you even seen the glorious war that is waging outside this machine? Have you even noticed who made the very machine you are currently standing in? Your dear alchemist crafted all the weapons that are being used against your citizens at this very moment! He became a key part of this war months ago when he started creating these weapons believing they were for you!” Ashamed of himself, Varian shouted his apologies but they were too stifled to be understood by either of his would be rescuers. Clucking sympathetically, the demon ran her knuckle down his ruined cheek which he pulled away from violently. The action caused a weak whimper to escape his mouth and the two women seethed. “I know, sweet boy. Your friends lied to you and used you so you had no choice, did you?” Her tone was honeyed and quiet, but it only made the other inhabitants more uncomfortable. The alchemist whimpered again and anger bubbled in the stomachs of both Cassandra and Rapunzel. “You only did what you thought was right but once again, your good deeds caused people to get hurt.”

The cloth around his eyes grew wet as he began to cry, choking on the identical strip covering his mouth.

“Take that off of him!” Rapunzel yelled, fury at the demon and terror for her friend battling in her chest. “He can’t breathe!”

Reaching forward, the demon pulled the cloth loose and allowed it to fall onto the rock collar around his neck. Finally realizing what it was, the rage the princess was barely containing spilled over.

“How dare you put that on him?! Remove it this instant!”

The demon wasn’t fazed.

“Sorry, Sundrop. I didn’t collar him.” She grinned again, a cruel reminder of her true nature. “Your dear friend Cassandra did.”

Shocked, she turned to the woman who had joined her to save the boy.

“Cass! How could you?!”

Fumbling to explain herself, she forced out, “I only put it on for his safety! I was going to take it off but he was taken before I could!”

A scream interrupted Rapunzel’s reply and glancing at Varian she realized it came from him. Fresh blood was running down his face from three deep scratches extending from the gash on his cheek. Standing at his side, uninjured hand harshly squeezing his shoulder was a man they both recognized.

“Hello ladies.”

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bluepjo · 5 years

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Control - Dark Percy

Summary: Percy is at his last summer at Camp Half-Blood before he goes to live in New Rome for college. His powers are growing exponentially and he struggles for control. (I just really love dark Percy okay? Also yes, this is a lowkey songfic from control - Halsey.) Beta read by @tevi-tevi

Genre: Oneshot Dark!Percy fic, no warnings

Word Count: 6617

Read on AO3

“I sat alone, in bed till the morning

I'm crying, "They're coming for me"

And I tried to hold these secrets inside me

My mind's like a deadly disease”

Percy’s sword arm hurt. He can’t remember how many monsters he’s killed. They just kept coming and coming. How did they get into camp? There were so many of them now that Percy couldn’t see his friends fighting. Suddenly the air turned humid and hot, like it was trying to choke him. As he turned around the comforting landscape of Camp Half-Blood slowly melted into an all too familiar horror. Tartarus. It can’t be. I can’t be back.

More monsters came at him. He recognized everything he’d ever fought or read about. Percy yelled out for help, calling his friends, Chiron, Poseidon, anyone. He looked back to see where they all were, but rather than seeing them fight, he saw something so much worse. A mountain of bodies, stacked up to at least a giant’s height. Blood flowed down like rivers. All the faces were familiar. His mother. Annabeth. Every friend or ally he had ever known. Percy stopped fighting.

His sword was stuck. He turned towards it and found not the Cyclopes he thought he was slaying but rather his best friend. Percy tried to pull his sword out from where it resided in Grover’s chest but somehow he pushed it in deeper. The satyr fell to his knees. Percy tried to speak, to say anything. But the words won’t come. All he can do is stare and hold his best friend’s dying form. Percy called on the water, hoping that it could help heal. The waves came swirling around their heads, but would not go towards Grover. Soon there was enough water to separate them from everything else, trapping Percy in a dome made from the ocean.

“You did this.” Grover spoke before melting into the soil.

Percy fell forward and started to yell frantically. For help or for grief, he didn’t know. The water started to close in. Percy thrust his hand out, trying to push it away, but water from the ground started to rise instead. Quickly. Percy couldn’t control it. He swam and thrashed around, desperately trying to find a way out. Soon the water was over his head.

He couldn't breathe. The water felt clean and normal but Percy couldn’t breathe. Panic filled his lungs where air should be and he prayed to his father.

A deep booming voice resonated through Percy: “You’ve gone too far. You are no longer worthy of the gifts I have given you.” His father’s voice echoed in his head, over and over again until he couldn’t hold his breath any longer.

Percy jolted up in his bed, sweat clinging to him. He took deep breaths trying to convince himself it wasn’t real. But Percy had had visions before. Is the camp under attack? He stood up and walked out of his cabin without bothering to find shoes. He ran towards the Big House where Grover was staying and walked in without knocking. Opening the door of the satyr’s room, he let out a sigh of relief. Grover was in bed, surrounded by tin canes and snoring very loudly, but definitely not dying.

He considered waking the goat to discuss the dream but decided to let him sleep. It was probably midnight. It could wait until morning. He walked back toying with his camp necklace. There were five beads, one for every summer he’d known of this world, as well as a trident pendant his father, Poseidon, gave to him after the Giant War. Once Percy got back to his cabin, he tried to go to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, images from the dream danced around. After about an hour of restlessness, he got up and headed for the arena.

Percy didn’t know just what it was about saving the world a few times that made people act differently around you, but since the whole Gaea thing, the harpies that guarded the camp and threatened late nighters like himself didn’t really bother him anymore. He, of course, didn’t mind this as sword practice after a bad nightmare was his go-to therapy. He’d either tire himself out to the point where he had to go back to sleep, or he’d sit there practicing jabs and strokes until sunrise where he would sneak back to his cabin and pretend he got up with the rest of the camp. Tonight was the latter option. By the time the sun came rolling around and he was getting dressed for the new day, Percy’s arm was tired and the bags under his eyes were prevalent.

Annabeth met up with him after breakfast, flipping through papers as she walked. “I’m captaining capture the flag tomorrow, you’re leading offense, I’ll take defense.” Percy nodded his head and slipped his hand into hers.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Not quite. These are the plans.” She gave Percy half of the papers she had. “Those are all my battle strategies I wanna try out, choose one soon so I can match a defensive plan.”

“Ah, great, more homework,” Annabeth laughed at him and turned towards the cabins.

“I’m on cabin check, I’ll catch you later!”

“Wait, Annabeth!” he called after her. He hadn’t seen Grover yet and he knew that if he talked to Chiron, the centaur would make into a bigger deal than it was, but he wanted to talk to someone about his dream.

“What’s up, Seaweed Brain? Is it about Rome, have you heard back?” Percy shook his head. He definitely did not want to think about college right now. It had been hard enough graduating high school that spring, what with his grades and the fact that he’d missed most of the junior year, courtesy of Hera.

“No, I just wanted--” Percy faltered. He didn’t really know how to describe his dream. Annabeth just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. As he thought about, one thing about the dream bothered him almost more than anything else.

“Is it, I don’t know, possible for a god to...take away powers?” He tried. Annabeth just raised her eyebrows in confusion. “Like, if Hephestus wanted to take away Leo’s fire ability, could he do that?”

Annabeth looked down in thought. “I don’t know, Perce, maybe? I mean I imagine if they could, they would have done it to all the demigods that supported the Titans. Why?”

She was looking at him with concern, all stormy eyes. He didn’t want her to worry so he cracked his signature lopsided smile, giving him that special Percy-Jackson-idiocy look. “Just thought about it,” It seemed to have worked as Annabeth just laughed.

“See you later, Seaweed Brain.”

Percy smiled and waved her off. He used to hate the fact that everyone, even Annabeth sometimes, took him for being the happy-go-lucky dumb one. He joked around a lot, and yeah, he didn’t do great in school, but that didn’t mean he was incapable. Lately, however, he almost appreciated the persona people had made for him. The only time his allies delved from that idea was when he was on the battlefield.

Then everyone’s ideas changed. Rachel said he looked fierce and terrifying. Frank said he fought like a demon. Everyone always wanted battle Jackson on their side and were afraid if he wasn’t. It never bothered him much at first, but now it kind of scared him. He’d take happy-go-lucky over demon-fighter any day.

“I paced around for hours on empty

I jumped at the slightest of sounds

And I couldn't stand the person inside me

I turned all the mirrors around”

A wave of demigods all strapped up in armor gathered at the entrance of the woods. It was time for capture the flag and Percy had just explained everyone’s roles, courtesy of Annabeth’s strategy.

He was readjusting his straps that he couldn’t seem to make fit right, despite having done it hundreds of times. He hoped the game would go over well, but Percy’s head just wasn’t in it.

He’d had more nightmares of drowning, and to top it off, he’d gotten a letter back from the college in New Rome. As much as they were “pleased the former Praetor” wanted to attend, his grades weren’t good enough to get into their marine biology department. He would have to write another entrance essay and pass a STEM test to be accepted. Percy knew they were being generous, they did mostly deal with preoccupied demigods, but he still felt flustered and angry.

“Focus on the game, Jackson,” he grumbled to himself as he tightened his shoulder strap. Percy uncapped Riptide and headed out into the woods to get to his post before it started.

The plan was fairly simple, but the Ares cabin was leading the other team. They didn’t have much more strategy than hit everything you see. There were two offensive teams. Percy’s team was the distraction, leading the Ares defense out to fight. The second would retrieve the flag and bring it back to base, where Annabeth’s team was defending in several groups.

The fight broke out fairly quickly and half of the other team’s defense was on Percy’s group within minutes. They would need to plow their way through these guys in order to get the others to come, making the flag vulnerable.

For Percy, going against the other campers was fairly easy. He had three on him, two bulky Ares kids and one Demeter kid. He disarmed the Demeter kid first, stunning him so he wouldn’t have the opportunity to use any plant magic, and slashed and blocked with the other two fighters. His body was on autopilot from all the battles he’d been in. Unfortunately, those battles were life or death. This wasn’t. Percy went too hard. He slashed towards the left of one and turned to hit him with the butt of his sword, knocking him to the ground. He stepped in close enough to the next one that she couldn’t use her sword and hit her jaw with his forearm. He felt bad for a moment, but the strategy was working. The rest of the offense came up to avenge their teammates.

He tried to take on the bulk to the campers to give the rest of his team a better chance. They were going one to one while Percy was in four to one. His experience didn’t fail him. At this point, he might’ve even been able to beat Luke. Campers went down left and right. Too quickly. Percy’s mind wandered to his dream, the monsters' bodies that went down only for them to be revealed as his half-blood friends. He felt the panic rise up. His movements became slow and one of the campers got a hit in on his arm. He felt one approaching from behind. Percy’s body moved before his mind. He’d lost the Curse of Achilles long ago but sometimes his body seemed to forget and his only instinct was to protect his back.

Percy summoned water from the creek to blast the three in front of him. He turned around and thrust his hand out to the camper, expecting a water wall to push her down. She fell back, but there was no water. Percy realized with a start that he’d controlled the water in her. He had pushed her back. Without even touching her.

Fear overtook him and he dropped his sword to run to her side. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean--”

“Percy, it’s okay, I just fell,” Percy looked at her furrowed brow. She didn’t know. He’d let go as soon as he realized and she didn’t know. He apologized again, or maybe it was several times all rushed together. He pushed past everyone else who had stopped fighting and ran for something.

The ocean. It always calmed him down to sit on the shoreline. It smelled so strongly of the sea and of home that once he got there, Percy almost jumped in to escape his thoughts. But something held him back. Honestly? He was afraid to. How could he have done something as violating as control another person’s body without meaning to? He could still see Annabeth’s face, in fear of him in Tartarus when the met up with Misery. He did that.

Percy could hear the hooves coming up behind him before Chiron spoke. “Percy,”

He turned towards the centaur and nodded. “I’m sorry I left, sir,”

Chiron put his hand on Percy’s shoulder and spoke evenly. “It’s alright, though I will admit I am curious as to why you did. Your team won the game and when dear Annabeth went to find you, the others said that you ran off, after knocking several members of their team unconscious.”

“I’m sorry about that really, I didn’t realize--I don’t know.” Percy sighed and looked down. Chiron had the same effect as his mom did: feeling like you disappointed them was the worst feeling in the world. And Percy was no stranger to bad feelings.

“They are all resting up in the infirmary, perfectly fine. It will serve them good motivation to spend their time in the arena wisely. Now, why don’t you tell me what’s happened?”

Percy did. As he talked, he found himself realizing things he wasn’t aware of before, at least not fully. His restlessness since returning home last summer. His struggle to separate fend-for-your-life battles and training exercises like today. He even told Chiron about his dream and his fear of drowning.

“I’m afraid that maybe one day, I’ll need to control the water to help and I won’t be able to or...or maybe I’ll control it too much.”

Chiron nodded, his face a mask. Percy guessed that after thousands of years of teaching, you could probably hide any reaction. “Percy, you have been through a lot for your young age,” Understatement, Percy thought but didn’t interrupt. “These nightmares and worries are normal from someone in your situation and even expected. However, with your abilities, you need to discover control. You have done well training, but how much time of your training has been devoted to your unique powers?”

Percy thought for a moment. Chiron had a point. His summers at camp had mostly been spent working on his swordsmanship. Sure, he’d practice every now and then, and he almost always used his water abilities in combat or during war games. However, he’d never really practice in order to strengthen those abilities.

“Percy, I recommend that you use this summer as an opportunity to make sure you know your limits before you leave for New Rome. If you would like to avoid using this...blood bending, then you need to make sure you know what your powers feel like, and what their limits are.”

Percy thanked Chiron and walked back to his cabin quietly thinking. He definitely didn’t want to go to New Rome with his powers out of control -- they already thought Neptune was bad enough. He could definitely put some more work into his training.

“Percy, wait up,”

Annabeth came running up to him just before he stepped into his cabin. “Hey, you alright?” Her wrinkled brow and stormy eyes made him smile.

“Yeah, all good, Chiron just gave me some advice.”

“Okay, I was going to head down to the fire with Piper, you wanna come? Jason will be there,” She smiled and held his hand.

“Yeah, okay,” He laughed.

They walked to the amphitheater like everything was fine because, for the moment, it was.

“I'm well acquainted with villains that live in my head

They beg me to write them so they'll never die when I'm dead

And I've grown familiar with villains that live in my head

They beg me to write them so I'll never die when I'm dead”

Percy spent almost the entire day with Annabeth. Normally, that’s not something he would complain about, however it was spent alternating between writing his essay and studying math. Not his favorite activities but at least she was there to help him. Without her, he probably would have put the essay off until the week of the deadline, and it definitely would have been less articulate. Annabeth always had a strategy, even when it came to Percy’s education. This time it was “finish as soon as possible while still being good so you’ll impress them”. If they followed her timeline, Percy would be ready to take the test, which New Rome kindly allowed Chiron to administer, in about a week.

Needless to say, Percy needed to blow off some steam. While the other campers headed to the campfire after dinner, he trudged towards the woods. He thought if everyone was together in the amphitheater, he could be alone to follow Chiron’s advice. Part of the reason he’d never focused his training on his Poseidon abilities was that no one knew how to teach him. No one knew the limit of what he could do--not even Percy.

When he got to the creek, he started with just relating to the water. He stood in the bank and just focused on its power. He could feel it rushing, sense its wildness. He always felt a connection to the water; it was reckless and strong, it refused to be controlled for long, and more than anything it wanted to be free.

Percy wanted to start simple. He willed just a small line of water to rise. It was easy, nothing he hadn’t done hundreds of times. The point, however, was discipline. He dropped the water and stepped out of the river. He concentrated on raising one side of the creek, then the other. The whole stream oscillated back and forth.

Then he started making shapes with the water. Small things, at first: A sphere, a cube, a pyramid. Then he went for intricate. He started to recreate Poseidon’s cabin. First, the basic shape, a generic house. Then the memorized details of spending summer and summer there. The shells embedded in the walls. The curve of the window planes. He was so focused, he didn’t hear it.

Something slammed into his back and threw him to the river. The falling of his cabin-sculpture was enough to startle whatever it was just long enough for Percy to turn around to face it.

Of course, it was a giant scorpion. Percy had his fair share of luck with them. He reached into his pocket but Riptide was gone. Probably floated downstream when he fell. Percy was pinned under the monster and wouldn’t be able to stall long enough for the sword to reappear. As the scorpion's pincers rushed forward to end Percy Jackson’s life, he thrust his hands towards it, trying to push it off.

The monster went flying into the nearest tree. It couldn’t move but wasn’t dead yet. Percy had done it again: controlled the water inside another being. Apparently just as the human body had 80% water, monsters had their fair share too. Unlike during capture the flag, Percy was reluctant to let go. The thing that attacked him was at his mercy. It would be so much easier to end it like this. Even as he thought about it, water started coming from inside the scorpion, swirling around them. If he could take down monsters with just his thoughts, everything could be so much easier. All of his quests, done in half the time. Right before the last of the water was gone from the monster, Percy saw Annabeth’s scared face in his mind.

He let go. He didn’t even finish the monster off with his sword; he felt too guilty for that. It crawled away back into the woods. Percy fell to the ground. He couldn’t breathe. There was panic and guilt pushing on his chest and he had no idea what was happening to him. He couldn’t breathe. The creek responded to his anxiety and pushed water against him, pulling him into the creek. The water was soothing and helped calm his breathing but he still felt the weight of the sky on his chest. Percy realized he was moving upstream. He wasn’t controlling the water, which meant something else was. He started to fight it but stopped quickly. Could it be his father?

Percy let the water take all the way to the ocean. He fell in and instantly swam under, looking for any sign of Poseiden. In the waves, a shimmering figure appeared. It solidified into a woman with dark flowing hair and a soft smile. Percy wasn’t sure how to react so he bowed. “You’re the Nereid that helped me in Santa Monica?” Despite Percy accidentally wording it as a question, the woman held her smile.

“I am, child. It has been a long time since we first me, though I have always kept an interest in you.” She brushed her hand on his cheek and Percy felt warm currents. She still sounded so much like his mother.

“Did my father send you?”

“Not this time. I come for you only; we are shielded from his gaze.” Percy furrowed his brow. Why would she not want Poseidon to know they were meeting?

“It is okay, young hero, no wrong has been done. I simply come with advice.”

“Advice for what? Why haven’t I seen you in so long?” She laughed, a soft sound that reminded Percy of swimming with his mother in the frigid waters during their trips to Montauk. His favorite memories.

“Child, you are more powerful than you know. Like Poseidon, I must keep my distance. Playing favorites among heroes is something Olympus looks down upon. But you are the favorite of the sea, Perseus, and the sea stands behind you.” For some reason, he didn’t mind that she’d called him by his full name.

“What do you mean?” Percy was confused and felt disorientated. “What can I even call you?”

“I have gone by many names throughout your history, though I was never as well known as my sisters. You, child, may call me Maera.”

“Your sisters?”

“The Fifty Nereids, you have met some of them. Amphitrite is married to your father, and I believe you know Calypso without introduction.” Percy’s face warmed. He hoped it wasn’t noticeable underwater. He would always have a soft spot where Calypso was concerned.

“As for what I meant, I think you know. You are growing stronger, but you still have more to gain. To unlock yourself, you must push the limits, Perseus, but be wary. You can do incredible deeds. One day, you may even be able to rival your father. In order to get there, you must keep focus. Do you understand, child?”

Percy slowly nodded. “I think so, but I don’t get why I need to practice. There isn’t much more than Titans and Giants and those are over with.”

Maera brushed his cheek again. “Because one day, a choice of power will come to you, and you will need to be prepared for it.”

“I don’t want power.”

“And that’s what makes you worthy of it. I must go back to Poseidon’s court.” She started to fade back into light. Percy reached out to her, not wanting her to go yet.

“Wait!”

“We will see each other again, young hero, I promise. Follow your heart!”

And just like that, she was gone. Again. Percy stayed underwater for a while, not wanting to leave the safety. He sent out a silent promise to Maera that he would do as she asked.

He walked back to the cabins and ran into Annabeth.

“Hey! Are you...you’re wet.” She stared at him like he was on fire and could only be dosed out by a puzzle.

“Yeah.”

“You’re never wet.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?” He felt bad for cutting her short, but he didn’t know what to say, except about meeting Maera and something told him that he should keep that to himself. He cracked the Jackson smile.

“I’m sorry, I just started working on training, y’know Chiron’s advice, and I’m pretty tired.”

She gave him a worried smile and kissed his cheek. “Okay, well, get some rest and we’ll work on your essay tomorrow?”

He nodded and kissed her goodnight before heading back into his nightmare filled bed.

“I'm bigger than my body

I'm colder than this home

I'm meaner than my demons

I'm bigger than these bones”

Not even Chiron could’ve come up with a more intense training regime. From then on, Percy was entirely focused. He would get up every morning before camp broke and run the length of the beach, racing against various sea animals, or sometimes Blackjack. At first, he had no chance. As the days passed, he started to get closer and closer to winning. He was still yards away from the hippocampi, but he’d bested two dolphins.

Then he would eat breakfast with Annabeth, working on his studies. It was difficult as he was more restless than ever, but Annabeth was determined--and it paid off. He finished his essay in a week and a half and took the STEM exam by late July. His score certainly wasn’t outstanding but he passed, which was enough for the marine biology program.

After that, he was either in the arena, the woods, or the ocean. He would spar with the Athena and Ares kids. Hand to hand, he had yet to beat Clarisse, but he was a lot closer than he’d ever been. She was actually trying now. When it came to swords, however, no one came close. He usually trained with them to keep up the practice, not get rusty. But now he was trying to improve his skill. He didn’t go easy on them. It took a month before he could beat every member of both cabins in one day. As a favor (that may or may not have stemmed from swapping shower times and chore charts), the Hephestus cabin built him three super-powered warriors that could keep up with him. When he first went against them, Percy felt like he was sparring Luke, Chrysaor, and Quintus (or rather, Daedalus) all at once. It was finally a good challenge. It took two weeks before they needed repairs. After that, the warrior bots needed fixed every night.

“Come on man, what are you training for? The bronze versus sword Olympics?” Leo joked. Percy offered to teach him as payment for the constant repairs. He found teaching helpful, it reminded him of old tactics. Soon he had a class of about half the camp that he taught three times a week. Even Annabeth and Jason signed up for a couple. When he wasn’t teaching, people came to watch him fight against the bronze warriors, watching for tips. He’d gotten good at blocking out excess noise and just focusing on the battle at hand.

Unlike the arena, his time spent in the woods and ocean were private. He would never tell Annabeth, but he was practicing this new blood bending technique. Only on monsters in the woods, and only to a point. He hadn’t killed any with it, and he didn’t plan to. At least, not anytime soon. He had gotten a fair grasp on it. He could now pinpoint how he wanted the monsters to move, rather than just away.

In the ocean, he worked on bending waves and currents to his will, shaping water and utilizing it. He focused on summoning hurricanes and controlling them. His stamina improved enough that starting a storm didn’t wear him out anymore if he was careful. Though it did make some of the campers who were previously enjoying a nice sunny day upset with him. He talked more with creatures under the surface. Rather than just talking to them when either he or they needed help, Percy developed relationships with them. Learned from them on how to better navigate the ocean and his training. Sometimes he would even go looking for a sea monster.

He always won.

One day, Percy skipped out on dinner to stay under the surface. Not entirely voluntarily. Some fish had gone back to Poseidon with the knowledge of Percy’s training and since then his dear old dad would send various underwater menaces Percy’s way when he couldn’t be bothered to clean up after them. Normally it was fine. Just a big fish or a scaley being, nothing to be too worried about. This time, Poseidon went too far. He sent a skolopendra.

Shrimpzilla was worse the second time around. He was pushing currents against it and throwing sharped water its way, but it wasn’t easy. Percy was defending himself well enough, but just went he tried to go in with Riptide, it all went wrong. One of the tentacles grabbed Percy, the sharp ends tearing into his skin, and threw him out of the water. He went flying. Great, Percy thought, If I don’t die from impact, Zeus will be sure to shoot me down. He landed hard just outside the mess hall, some forty yards away from the shore. As soon as he hit down, the ground shook, as if he weighed enough to pressure it. A small earthquake.

Percy was admittedly pissed. He didn’t ask for his dad’s fights. He certainly didn’t ask to be thrown by some crayfish monster. He didn’t even ask to be a half-blood, which is what it all came down to really. He turned his anger into fuel, called upon water from the air to strengthen him. He ran charging at the ocean. About halfway there, his feet picked up from the ground. The storm he was causing was strong enough to lift him up. In the back of his ADHD mind, he wondered if this counted as Jason’s flying and if that would put him in hot water with Zeus. As he was lifted to the monster, who at this point had emerged from the water, he thrust his hand out and called on the water swirling around him to create a weapon in his hand. He came down on the skolopendra, driving a water made trident right in between its glassy eyes. The monster dissolved under him and he used just a little bit more strength to guide him back to shore (where campers had started to gather) before dismantling his hurricane, leaving him soaking wet.

But Percy wasn’t done yet. No, of course not, he always had something to say.

“Really?!” He shouted at the ocean in a voice that sounded a lot more malice than his own. Several campers stepped back.

“What was that?!” He threw the water trident into the water, it sailing well beyond what should have been capable. He imagined it going all the way to Poseidon and punching right into his desk. “Hmm, I don’t wanna deal with fucking Shrimpzella, so I’ll just send on over to my favorite son, Percy, yeah?!” He didn’t know what else to emphasize his point, but he was angry with his dad, so he uncapped Riptide and threw that into the ocean for good measure. “Then again you never were good at cleaning up your messes, huh, dad?”

He started to walk away but paused. He tore the trident pendant from his necklace off and threw it into the water.

“You can have that back too,” he said, though the malice was gone, and he just sounded tired.

Percy kept his head down as he walked to the cabins. One of the campers tried to grab his arm and stop him, but Percy growled out a “Don’t touch me,” and kept going. Only later did he realize it was Annabeth and apologized to her.

No one brought up the sea monster, at least not around Percy.

“And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

God damn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?”

They were lucky that the Golden Fleece made the camp barrier so strong. The monsters that had gathered just hit against the barrier, causing no damage. A few had followed some new demigods to camp, and then called for backup. Normally, the would just wait it out until they left, but it had been a while. Chiron let Clarisse lead a group to “dispatch” the beasts. Percy counted three Laistrygonians, two Cyclopes, and something that resembled a leopard crossed with a shrimp.

“Group One: take on the giants, Jackson you take point. Rodriguez, you lead Two to go after the Cyclopes. Chase, you’re with me. Attack plan twenty-three.”

The broke up and prepared to exit the barrier. The plan was to divide and conquer. Separate each monster so they couldn’t work together, stay in pairs so it’s always two to one. Percy was paired with someone from the Apollo cabin, Ashley. They would stand back and use a bow while Percy got in close with his sword.

The fighting started the second they left the camp line. Percy could hear the Cyclops in the distance, but focused his attention. He ran at one of the giants while arrows went over his head. He played it simple. Ducking under the Laistrygonian, he slid in between its legs, slashing the calf. The monster fell over and Percy twisted as he stood up to drive his sword into its back, vaporizing it.

He signaled to Ashley to go after the nearest giant. Together they ran towards it. Ashley aimed a flash arrow right on his forehead, stunning him, while Percy rolled through and slashed at the chest. The other two campers fighting got the idea and jabbed their weapons into its sides. The now bigger group went to help with the last giant, who was already on the ground. Percy looked around to take inventory. Two giants down, one Cyclops was missing, and… Annabeth fallen. Whatever the leopard thing was, it was on top of her, claws deep.

Percy felt anger and panic rise in his chest. He was too far away to run to her in time. The Cyclops. It was backed into pond. That would give him enough strength. Maybe. He ran towards it, breaking the pattern. Splashing into the water, he called on its power and rose up. He used the Cyclops’ head like a springboard and jumped into the air. When he landed, he focused his power into the ground, taking in water from the pond, from the air, even from himself. A tremor rolled through the ground, knocking everyone off of their feet. Percy thrust his hands down and with them fell each monster. He imagined their lifeforce, the water in them, in his hands. He slowly made a fist. Then he took the driving force and punched the ground.

After that, everything was a blur. He’d used a lot of his strength. The monsters were dead. He was at Annabeth’s side. She was awake. The cuts across her midriff were bleeding, but they weren’t deep.

She was okay.

Percy blacked out.

When he woke, he was in the infirmary. His head felt like he had banged it against a concrete wall for fun. Annabeth was there, asleep on the chair. Percy sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“You were out for just a day, but I imagine you’ll need a few more for recovery.”

Percy looked up. A man with rugged features and green eyes stared down at him. Poseidon.

“Dad?” He wanted to ask why he was here, but his voice was so raspy, he barely got out the single word. Poseidon gestured to the table next to him. A cup of iced nectar was there. Percy gratefully took it.

“Percy, you are very powerful. After all, you are my son.” Poseidon looked at him as if trying to gauge whether or not his words were sinking in. “But you must be careful when using your power. What you did on the hill, not even I use that ability often.”

Percy was confused. Moreso, Percy was angry. “You’re kidding, right?” Poseidon just blinked at him.

“I have been trying to get you to help me understand what I can do since I was twelve! I only see you when the world is about to end!” Percy yelled. As much as he had forgiven his father for, there was an equally long list of things he hadn’t.

“You send me quests and monsters and expect me to risk my life for you, and now you think you have full range to question my abilities? If you wanted to be able to do that, then you should’ve been there when I was discovering them.”

If Percy had been strong enough to stand, he might’ve pushed the god. Which probably would have been a bad idea. He imagined he could get away with yelling at his father, but at the end of the day, Poseidon was immortal and all-powerful. He wasn’t sure what to expect for a reaction. He did not expect Poseidon to nod.

“I understand why you’re angry. I would have liked to have been there for you, to train you myself, but there are rules which I must follow. And there are rules which you must follow.”

“Rules?”

“Demigods are limited by their bodies. There are given godly power but are not born in something that can handle it. I appreciate you trying to connect with the ocean, and gain control over your abilities. But if you keep on your path, you won’t be the one in control. You will burn yourself up, and I am not speaking in metaphors.”

Percy wanted to ask why he was given them. He wanted to yell at Poseidon for trying to mentor him. But he stayed silent.

The god walked over to the nightstand and placed something down. “I must return to my court. I would advise adhering to my warning.”

And just like that, he was gone, melted into water that disappeared before it touched the floor. Percy’s energy to be angry with his father melted with it. He reached over to the table to find what Poseidon left. It was the trident charm he had thrown in the ocean weeks ago.

At least the god had been listening.

Annabeth stirred and he set the pendant down.

“You’re awake.” She muttered.

“And you’re not,” He chuckled back. She reached over and took his hand, but wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Percy, what you did…” She struggled for the words. “Some things shouldn’t be controlled.”

Percy felt like someone punched his stomach. Those were the exact words she’d said to him in Tartarus, only instead of looked terrified, now she just looked worried. He didn’t know how to respond.

Chiron stepped into the room.

“Percy, I am sure that you do not want to hear this, but you must be careful.” Percy sighed and looked down. He didn’t argue. Chiron was a strong mentor, and even though he didn’t want to talk, Percy knew that he should listen.

“I have never seen powers like yours in my lifetime, and I’ve taught many heroes. What you did, it was godlike, Percy. I do not want your demise being caused by your gifts growing.”

“Chiron, I--” Percy faltered. He didn’t know how to explain it. He still felt as if he shouldn’t talk about the Nereid, but it was beyond her advice. He wanted to understand his limits, his capabilities. “I’m not sure if I can help it from becoming stronger.

He looked down again, speaking softly.

“I’m not sure what I’m becoming.”

#pjo #pjato #hoo #rick riordan #riordanverse #percy jackson #annabeth chase #chiron #sally jackson #jason grace #piper mclean #leo valdez #nereid #poseidon #pjo fanfiction #pjo fic #dark percy #mine

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runningwolf62 · 5 years

Text

Ah it’s Bridge to Turnabout Day! May our scheduled crying over the Fey family begin!

@wardencommanderrodimiss @pachelbelsheadcanon

On Ao3

Life at the monastery is weird and that’s by Larry’s life standards. He can tell something is bothering Elise, and there’s the nun who keeps avoiding him (which like he’d understand, girls occasionally had that response, but he had only said hi to her so who knew what that was about), not to mention it was cold!

But the snow was fun to play in (listen having a snowman outside of his little shack made it homely) and useful in landscape portraits he’d been doing. Well doing in-between being fussed over by Bikini like he was her son and reassuring Elise that he was fine being here and pretending everything was normal.

So he’s hanging out and trying to paint Dusky Bridge because that is just the challenge in painting perspective he needs. Elise has been distracted all today, in fact earlier when he’d made a joke about their family resemblance she’d seemed to just ignore him entirely. So here he is. Painting bridges.

He only snaps out of his painting trance by the sound of voices. “Huh? Oh, uh sorry.” He doesn’t know who he’s apologizing too and then he realizes no one was speaking to him. They’re blocking his view though.

“Can you move? You’re standing right in my view!” He calls and the figures turn around Larry’s soul leaves his body in that moment. Of course this was weird enough to get Nick’s attention. He just hoped no one died. But more than that he’s three seconds from grabbing his easel and fleeing.

Maya and Nick look flabbergasted and yeah okay Larry is going to need to say something.

“Gotta run! See ya!” He scrambles to grab his things without ruining his portraits.

“Wait a minute!” Nick yells as the two rush over and he’s busted for sure. He grins sheepishly at them and then puts on a confident smile.

“Hi! I’m Laurice Deauxnim!” He offers a thumbs up too but they are not willing to play along.

“Liar!” Nick always cuts to the heart of the matter and says Larry’s greatest fear, “ You're Larry! Your clothes may change, but you're still the Butz.”

“Shut up!” Larry snaps and Nick jerks back as though startled. Maya looks equally surprised and Larry didn’t mean for that to come out so harshly.

“I’m Laurice Deauxnim. I’m just here to a sketch of the Dusky bridge.” He says firmly but he can’t look at Maya, not after last time, not after how they’d started to be friends and he’d fucked it up. He can barely look at Nick and the exasperated disgust on his face at seeing him again.

Maya laughs though, “so it really is our Larry!” She sounds delighted to see him and Larry gives her a small smile. “Though I’m not sure why he’s pretending to be someone else.”

Nick turns to him with brows raised and Larry looks down and looks away. Hot shot lawyer, doesn’t even have to ask.

“Well I- I just-“ he caves the way he always does when Nick questions him, “I just wanted to start over with a clean slate!”

“A clean slate?” Maya looks confused and concerned and Larry looks away from them to the painting of Dusky bridge.

“After that last case I realized even I didn’t like me.” He admits and thinks he sees Nick flinch slightly. The story pours out of him after that, the loss of his job, the need to remake himself, discovering The Magic Bottle and reaching out to Elise.

He can’t admit that he feels like he’ll forever be overshadowed by Nick and Edgey and that finally having a career where he’s made something of himself makes him feel like less of a failure when measured next to them is a comfort. That he feels like he’s becoming a better person. That this all spun from Warrior Cats.

“You’d make a great book salesman!” Maya says with a grin, “now I wanna get that book too!”

Larry laughs at that and relaxes some. Nick looks more thoughtful and says, “I’m proud of you. Sorry about uh, earlier.”

Larry tilts his head to think of how to respond before finally saying, “I- I get it. Like I said, I didn’t exactly like me either.”

“So you and Elise are getting along?” Maya chimes in, and Larry nods eagerly.

“She’s the most amazing person in the world! I’d follow her anywhere!”

“She is a very elegant woman,” Maya speaks only the truth and he and Nick are blessed to have her in their lives.

“Uh you want to see a picture I took of her?” he pulls it out to show Maya while Nick gives him a weird book, “don’t tell her though it’s secret.”

“Larry-”

“I’m making a drawing!” he defends himself as Maya takes the copy from him, “It’s to be a thank you present for everything she’s taught me!” To Maya he says, “you can keep it if you want I have a couple copies for references. Can’t be too careful.”

Maya nods, “it’s a great picture too! I can’t wait to see you draw it.”

“Thanks!”

Nick shoves his hands in his pockets, “still it’s hard to picture you as a children’s book artist.”

“Hey now! I graduated college with an art degree didn’t I?” Larry reaches over and pokes his arm, “big talk from the guy who thought he could be a lawyer by studying it on the side!”

Maya covers her mouth to laugh, Nick gives him a dirty look.

“And I remember you moaning through the entire final which was only half of what a book would require so-”

“I was twenty-two and stupid then!”

“Then?”

“Nick!” Maya scolds him and Nick is quick to apologize. Larry lets that one roll off him, it’s nice to be able to talk to them and tease Nick.

“Honestly I was going to wait to tell you until the book was finish and then just drop a copy on your desk. Signed and published and just tell you that way.”

Nick looks surprised, “you weren’t going to- how long have you been apprenticed under her?”

“Uh it’s February?” Larry pauses and counts back, “uh, January, December, half of November, so close to three months.” Has it really been that long? Wow. Times really flown past.

“You just weren’t going to tell me?”

“I was going to!” Once he had something to show for it. To prove this wasn’t just the latest in his string of jobs and fuckups.

“Everyone!” They all turn to see Pearl standing there bouncing on her feet.

“Hey there, squirt!” Larry teases her and she grins up at him.

“Hi Mr. Larry!” She doesn’t question why he’s here, instead she pulls herself up to her full height. “Dinner preparations are ready!”

“That’s great! I can’t wait to dig in Pearly!” Maya says excitedly and Nick murmurs in agreement.

“I’m going to the Inner Temple to fetch Sister Iris!” Pearl starts before Larry calls to her.

“Hey, that bridge is a bit dangerous, I can go.”

“No that’s okay!” Pearl smiles at them, “I want to see where Mystic Maya is going to be training! I’ll be careful!”

Larry looks to Nick and Maya as the adults in charge of Pearl and they both nod so Larry nods as well.

“We’ll try not to eat everything before you get there!” he teases as he packs up his brushes. He sees Maya and Nick glance at his canvas but neither makes a move to look at it.

“Alright let’s go,” he dusts his hands but Nick stops him.

“Wait.” His eyes are trained on Pearl as she crosses the bridge. “I’ll let her go on her own but…”

Larry nods and continues to move as though cleaning up.

“What are you doing?” Maya asks him, following him around as he pretends to pick things up.

“Kids know if you don’t think they can do something. This way Pearl doesn’t think we’re all standing around worrying over her and upset her ‘cause we don’t think she’s mature enough to cross the bridge by herself. Now it just looks like you and Nick are waiting for me.”

“When did you get good with kids?”

“I’m apprenticed to a children’s book author Nick!”

Maya sees him bend down and begin to make the snowball but only grins and winks at him. Once Pearl is safely across Nick turns away.

The snowball splatters over his neck and down his shirt and Larry takes off sprinting for the temple before Nick can register what just happened.

“What is this thistle-headed fool doing here?” Viper stopped before them and Orangestripe was ready to run but Wolf simply yawned.

“He’s visiting and telling us about Clan life.” He and a few others from Demon and Viper’s group were gathered around to listen to Orangestripe and ask him questions, “he’s not taken any prey nor is he bothering anyone. We’re just learning about our neighbors.”

Viper still looked like she’d like to claw his ears but slowly she relaxed. “Very well. Keep it that way.”

Orangestripe let out a sigh of relief and Wolf laughed while the others scattered to do various chores and likely avoid Viper’s wrath.

“Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet. “

Orangestripe followed him unquestioningly as he led his way over to a den. An older she-cat lay there, basking in the sun and blinked at them when they arrived.

“Wolf,” she greeted him and he nodded.

“This is Orangestripe of SpiritClan.” He turned to him, “Orangestripe this is Maria. Demon’s working on adding some more Clan like roles to the group so I think she’s what your Clan calls elders?”

“Older cats who offer advice and stories and are cared for by the younger cats?” He asked.

Maria let out a soft purr, “I’m not that old yet am I?” Orangestripe shook his head quickly though he could see a touch of gray to her muzzle.

“I wanted to speak to you though,” she signaled for him to sit down, “if you have the time.”

“I’m not needed back at camp for a while,” he assured her and it wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong. He was helping Demon’s group yes but he was doing nothing that would harm SpiritClan. Plus he suspected Spiritstar knew where he’d been sneaking off to anyway.

“I’d like to hear your Clans stories and tell you a few of my own if that would be alright.”

“I’d love to!” Orangestripe settled on a soft patch of grass nearby, with Wolf settled near them to groom his paws while they began to pass the day away with stories.

Maya sets off for training after dinner and they all slowly scatter. Elise pauses next to Larry while Pearl bounces away to wash the dishes.

“How’s your landscape coming Larry?”

“It’s coming,” he lets out a laugh and then rubs his hands together, “I’m trying out a new style like you suggested so it’s going a bit slower but I like the effect I’m getting!”

“That’s good!” Her smile seems a bit sad and Larry’s not sure why? He lets it slide though, saying his good nights and goodbyes until it’s just him and Nick.

“So about that girl Iris.” He sees the look in Nick’s eyes and rolls his own, “no I was going to ask does she seem flighty to you too?”

Nick hesitates and Larry continues, “since Elise and I got here she’s gone out of her way to avoid me- Not a word Nick – and Bikini says she’s not normally like that and then I saw she was giving you the same runaround.”

Nick hesitates and slowly shakes his head, “I don’t know.”

Larry doesn’t need to be the turnabout terror that Nick is to sense that lie but now he’s got a new puzzle piece. Whoever Iris is she’s somehow tied to Nick.

He’s headed out the front door when the realization slaps him across the face.

She looks like Nick’s girlfriend from college.

The one that tried to kill him.

"You remind me of someone I heard stories about," Orangestripe remarked one day.

"Who is that" the elderly she-cat asked, Maria had just finished one of her stories and now it was his turn.

"Spiritstar and Cherrywing's mother," he paused and recalled the tales, "she was good leader, until the end. She made a tragic mistake and the Clan paid for it so she stepped down and her daughter became leader. Everyone remembers her as a wonderful cat who loved her clan and kin though. But one that suffered for a terrible mistake."

The she-cat blinks at him. "I never had any kits but from what I've heard I'd have been proud to call those two mine."

Orangestripe nodded and began to tell it more in-depth, what he remembered and attempted to use the skills she’d taught him. As Orangestripe spoke he noticed Demon had come over to listen, his ears pricked.

"I didn’t remember that story," he said when Orangestripe had finished.

The orange tom huffed and glanced around for Venom. "I’m not surprised, I doubt Spark would be telling the story of how SpiritClan rebuilt itself."

Demon let out a bitter laugh, "you'd be surprised Orangestripe."

A tremendous crack of lightning splits the sky and pulls him out of sleep as his room fills with light. Damn it and he’d just gotten to sleep too, after Iris didn’t show up. Larry covers his eyes and looks over to take stock of what happened.

Lit by the flames leaping off Dusky Bridge he sees someone – hood, thin, Iris? – fly over the bridge. There’s a lot to process but his first thought is I have to draw that.

He reaches for his sketchbook and colored pencils, and this is a terrible way to draw and his fingers are stiff from sleep but he sketches quickly in terror that if he moves to a different position in those few seconds he will lose his perspective.

Once he’s finished it kind of occurs to his now more awake brain he should go check that out. He finally looks away from the fire to scramble out of bed and into his warm clothes, hurrying to get over there.

By the time he arrives the fire is truly blazing and he skids to a halt a good ten feet from the bridge and can still feel the heat rolling off of it.

“Jesus,” he shakes his head at the bridge and looks around, “Iris?” He knows he saw her. At least he thought he had. He’d for sure seen someone.

He begins poking around the snow, it had finally stopped coming down but if anyone else had been Larry’s pretty sure their tracks had been covered.

Until he spots something glittering and reflecting the flames. He snags it, the stone is cold against his fingers as he rolls it in his hands. Was this one of the stones off Iris’s hood? It was dark though, too dark to be that he thought. He shoves it in his pocket for now, he can show it to Nick later and ask him what he thinks.

And speaking of the devil, barely a minute later Nick comes charging up the path winded and wild eyed, the fire reflects off him almost like he’s the firebird he’s named for.

Larry hurries to him, “Nick?”

“AGH!” Nick about leaps into the air away from him, eyes wide with fear.

“What, is it me?” Come on he wasn’t that bad? What was wrong?

“There’s been a murder! Here! At Hazakura temple!” Despite the heat a chill runs through Larry’s veins. Who. Nick looks wild, could it be Maya?

“Look just call the police I have to- the killer might be over there, I have to get to Maya.”

Larry snaps his gaze over to the other side of the bridge and grabs Nick’s arm, “you can’t, Nick the bridge is on fire, it’s not safe, Nick you can’t!” He can’t do this, he hates choosing between Nick and Maya but he has to and he’s choosing Nick, he can’t do that year from hell again.

Nick pushes him aside though and orders again, “Call the police!” and then sprints for the bridge.

“Nick!” Larry stops at the burning embers that don’t even slow Nick, he can hear the ropes snapping as he watches Nick vanish into the smoke and flames.

He backs away coughing as a gust of wind blows the smoke and embers into his face, “Nick!”

He moves to the side to try and see better and his heart plunges out from his chest the way the boards give out under Nick.

The rest is a blur. He knows he hits his knees and reaches for him as though he can try and stop Nick from falling, try and stop another tragedy.

He knows he calls the police.

He remembers calling Edgeworth crying and coughing from the smoke that Nick might be dying and that it’s bad and he’s panicking – he doesn’t even know who’s dead or if Nick’s dead – until somewhere in the confusion he hears it.

Elise Deauxnim is dead.

He goes numb after that.

#Ace Attorney #CRYING IN THE CLUB TONIGHT #Larry Writes Warrior Cats

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bluieeeee · 6 years

Text

I am Torn Apart by You

Alec's reaction after the Clace kiss in 1x07 after he walked out Ao3 link

Alec leaned on the glass panel as he watched the scene before him unfold, gripping it with his hands tightly. Just a few feet away Jace and Clary were together, Jace looking uncharacteristically worried and Clary having a combination of excitement over finding the cup and cockiness about having beaten the Shapeshifting demon. The small redhead wrapped her arms around Jace who stood shocked for a moment before returning the hug, softly rubbing her back, Alec shifted on his feet, shaping his face into a look of indifference even though his stomach had felt like it was attached to an anchor, slowly sinking further and- further. Alec bit the inside of his cheek before turning his glance away to his approaching sister and began to fill her in on the events at the police station after they had split up. From meeting up with Luke to Clary surprisingly killing a demon on her own.

“She has the cup?” Isabelle asked, there was eagerness in her voice. Alec gave a short nod before turning back to where the redhead and Jace had been conversing only seconds ago to see Clary rising on her toes to press a sudden kiss against Jace’s lips, cutting off whatever it was he was saying. Jace unsurprisingly enthusiastically reciprocated the kiss, his arm wrapping around her waist and the other hand cradling her head. Alec felt his already sunken feeling stomach begin to feel hollowed out as his heart contracted painfully in his chest. He bit the inside of his cheek again, hard enough to taste the metallic, penny like taste of blood, and shifted on his feet, feeling like the world was unsteady beneath him. He felt Izzy’s eyes on him, knowing she would easily see through his indifferent facade he avoided looking at her at all. He stared only a moment longer before pushing away from the panel and walking off down the hall next to them. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he needed to get away from Clary and Jace.

It wasn’t long before Alec heard the click of heels behind him, indicating Isabelle approaching him, Making Alec speed up, he didn’t want to see anyone right now, not even Izzy, even if she did mean well.

“Alec!” Isabelle yelled down the hall as the clicking came to a sudden halt. Alec stopped at the call, attempting to calm his breathing by taking a long careful breath through his nose while closing his eyes before spinning on the heel of his foot.

“What?” He snapped, his voice coming out much harsher than he had meant for it too. Isabelle— standing there with her arms crossed over her chest— raised her eyebrows at his tone. More often than not Isabelle is unaffected by Alec’s occasional harshness, knowing that it is his way of repressing his emotions more than he actually being a harsh person. “Sorry,” he said. “I just want to be alone, Izzy,” he said with a much calmer voice this time.

Isabelle strode closer to Alec. Even now, with no one else around Isabelle had such confidence oozing from her in the way she held herself, It had been something Alec had found himself jealous of over the years, wishing he could be as confident in himself as his siblings were in themselves, but instead he is constantly receding to the back of the group hoping to go unnoticed, training extra because he knows he isn’t as good a fighter as his siblings, feeling as if he is not, and never will be good enough.

Isabelle now stood directly in front on Alec. “I’m right, you know,” She said. Alec raised a questioning eyebrow at his little sister. “If you keep repressing your emotions, it’s only a matter of time before you snap, big brother.” Alec thought back to the other times she had said words similar to those. She has told him it for years since she found out about his feelings for Jace, but lately, especially since Clary arrived she has been bringing it up more often.

“I don’t repre—” He started but cut himself off as Izzy raised her eyebrows at him, both of them knowing full well that she is right. “Fine,” he said. “She shouldn’t be here. She is hardly a Shadowhunter, she has never once trained before a few weeks ago. She’s Valentine’s daughter for Raziel’s sake! He—we have no reason to trust her!” His voice gradually elevated without him noticing as he went on. “Since she’s arrived our whole world's been turned upside down, Iz!” Alec took a breath, having had talked too long and fast without a break to breathe.

Izzy’s look towards him shifted, her expression now sad. Instead of trying to defend Clary as Alec had expected, and hoped for, she said “we both know that isn’t what this is about, Big Brother,” softly. Alec had hoped that Izzy would allow him to try to just reflect his feelings to anger towards Clary even though she knew what this was really about, but he should have figured she would not.

“Yes,” he said, his voice stiff. “It is, Isabelle.” Izzy frowned.

“No, it is not,” She said, her voice firm “Why can’t you just talk to me, Alec?” she asked, there was hurt in her voice. “It’s not like I don’t know what is going on with you.”

He stared down at his little sister who was looking up at him with such love, part of him wanted to let her in, tell her how he felt, how much Jace’s feelings for the Fairchild girl had been hurting him. But another, bigger part of him was terrified too, he had never even said the words “I’m gay,” or “I’m in love with Jace” out loud to anyone, even when she originally found out about his feelings he hadn’t said it, just let her figure it out for herself. He stayed silent.

She moved a little closer to him slowly like she was approaching a scared dog. “You know as well as I do that this isn’t about Clary or what the Clave thinks,” She said, her voice soft and quiet. “You know this is because of your feelings. Because you can’t stand seeing Jace falling in love with her” Alec felt himself tense at her words. “Because you’re in lo--”

Alec cut her off, his voice tense and hushed, putting his hand up in between them, making a physical barrier as well as an emotional one between them.

“Don’t,” is all he said.

“Alec--” Isabelle started but before she could say what she wanted to Alec turned on his heel and begun walking away. “Just talk to me!” She yelled down the hall to him. Frustration clear in her voice.

Alec clenched his jaw and breathed deeply, knowing what he was about to do was wrong, that it would only hurt him and his sister, that it would only drive her away from him and cause more problems, that this was just another form of self-destruction.

“Maybe I don’t fucking want to Isabelle! Ever think about that!?” He yelled harshly, not caring if anyone heard him. He automatically felt bad when he saw his little sisters face change with hurt but he kept going, walking closer and lowering his voice but with no less harshness. “You act like you know what’s best for me, but you don’t!” He sighed, his head spinning. “You just don’t get it, Iz.” Isabelle stood staring at him, her dark brown--almost black-- eyes boring into him full of hurt. Alec struggled to keep the angry expression as she searched his face before finally sighing and stomping off.

Alec let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and leaned against the wall beside him. His head was spinning, making him feel dizzy and he still felt like his stomach was fallen to the floor. He took a few shakey breaths that got stuck in his throat before pushing off the wall and rushing down the hall, the pale white light from the witchlights feeling suddenly too bright. He knew he had gone through the wrong hall for him to be able to go to the living quarters, and he had no interest in walking through the main room which was currently full of other Shadowhunters including Jace and Clary who he was especially uninterested in seeing him in this state.

Considering his direction he could either go to the training room or make his way outside to the city.

Knowing it was far too late and dark now to go in the city with no backup and no weapons he chose the earlier choice.

When he entered the room he was relieved to find it unoccupied and much dimmer than the hallway. Even though his eyes were having trouble focusing and his heart was still hammering at an increased speed along with his breathing he stripped off his shirt and walked over to the nearest punching bag, not bothering to wrap his hands before doing so. When he threw the first punch he was surprised by the jolt of pain which traveled through his arm; it had been a long time since he had last trained without wrapping. After the surprize the pain had caused Alec, he relished in the pain, how it seemed to clear his head even just for the second. Alec hit again, this time knowing what to expect, causing another jolt of pain to go through his arm. Before he knew it he was rapidly punching the bag, absorbed into the training, letting it clear his head for him.

Though the calmness couldn’t last forever, before long it started flooding back in. He thought about how Clary had ruined everything the group had, how she had suddenly infiltrated, but as Isabelle had said; that wasn’t was caused this. Now different thoughts rushed in. How Jace had been so much more concentrated on helping Clary than any of his duties or Alec. How he had begun to not consider Alec’s feelings or seem to care much about him anymore, how he had been down right mean.

“Maybe your mother was right and your best just isn’t good enough” Alec remembered Jace saying. Maybe they were right, he thought. He wasn’t good enough, how could Alec be a good Shadowhunter, or especially a good Head of an Institute--His dream role-- if he couldn’t keep his own feelings and emotions in check? Alec hit the bag harder, the pain in his hand and arm from punching so long with no wrapping being almost dizzying. Finally, he thought of the kiss, of Jace’s feeling for the Fairchild girl. Alec remembered when he first realized that this was much different than any other girl from the past, those Alec could handle, just on the first night Clary was at the Institute Jace had begun acting differently, seemed less focused. He also remembered seeing his staring at her while she wasn’t looking, how he could see how he felt for her clear on his face, something that never happened. He thought of how at that moment he had thought ‘She is all he sees now.’

Alec stopped punching and leaned his head against the bag to steady himself. His breathing was ragged, he heart rate out of control. He didn’t know if it was more from exertion or his own thoughts. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping to clear his head but instead all he saw behind his eyelids was Clary in Jace’s arms, there was a stinging in his eyes caused by tears building up.

Alec took a deep breath in, counting to five before letting it back out. This was something Isabelle had done with him once when she walked in on him in a state similar to this one a few days after his Parabatai ceremony when he was sure he had made the biggest mistake of his life. He supposed there was likely a Mundane word for this state but Shadowhunters didn’t have one that he knew of. “Breathe with me, big brother.” She had said softly, her hand on top of his chest. He did as she said after his breathing calmed his mind had seemed to it clear enough to listen to her and let her talk some sense into him. The thought of Isabelle now caused another ache in his chest, after all the times she had helped him and believed in him and he had just lashed out at her. He cut his mind off not letting himself remember the hurt on her face or the way he had spoken to her.

He took another breath,

One, everything is going to shit.

Two, you caused Isabelle to hurt.

Three, everything is changing.

Four, Jace is falling for Clary.

Five, Let it all out.

He continued this multiple times until his breathing was back to normal and his heart rate was even. He removed his head from where it had rested on the bag and pushed his hand through his sweaty hair. He pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes before straightening up, grabbing his shirt from the bench and heading to his room for a much-needed shower.

#malec fanfic #alec fanfic #angst fanfic #alec lightwood #unrequited jalec #myfanfic #shadowhunters

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chrysanthmilk · 5 years

Text

a guide to being death: chapter 6

by staccato

“Death is very, very tired of its Master’s strange wants and whims. This is the last time it does something he wants.”

aka: a apocalypse fix-it, featuring a master of death who has been reincarnated into a winchester. things can only go up from here.

chapter 6: pamela goes blind, but don‘t worry, harry is there to heal her. dean remains unconvinced of castiel’s powers, and challenges him to a gun (and knife!) fight

read it below, or on ao3

Harry woke up from his nap when the Impala came to a stop. He stretched, feeling the pop of his bones. “We arrived?”

“Yeah. Come on, imp. Let’s see what this psychic has got for us.”

Pamela Barnes was beautiful, witty, and she was going to die in a few months.

But first, she went blind.

The ambulance came quickly. Bobby rode with her to the hospital, while Harry followed along in Bobby’s truck. After he parked, he found Bobby in the waiting room, being questioned by a nurse. She was trying to figure out how Pamela’s injuries came to be, but Bobby avoided answering by speaking rapid Japanese and flailing his arms around. Harry stifled a laugh, and joined him.

The nurse gave up a few minutes later, and they were left to wait in peace.

“I didn’t know you could speak Japanese,” Bobby said, in Japanese.

Harry shrugged, and replied in the same tongue. “It was a boring four months.”

That was true, but that wasn’t when he learned the language. He learned it sometime in the 18th century, when he had been reborn as a peasant farmer. So even though he could speak the language, he couldn’t read or write it. That just hadn’t been a priority for his station in life.

But Bobby didn’t know that, and misunderstood his answer, as Harry had intended for him to do. He squeezed his shoulder, an act of brief comfort, then pulled away.

And, okay, as Harry Winchester, he would have found this acceptable, perhaps even a little too much; but as Harry, the immortal being who had been reincarnated into thousands of lives, it was not. He just insinuated, to his surrogate father no less, that he had learned Japanese to keep busy and avoid thinking about Dean’s death. Shouldn’t he at least get a hug?

But he doubted that this was the best time to open that can of worms, so he kept quiet, fiddling his ring and listening to the angel radio. Castiel seemed to be feeling some smidgen of guilt for burning out an innocent woman’s eyes, and some higher-ups named Zachary was comforting him.

By which he means, Zachary was telling Castiel that humans were nothing more than mud monkeys, who did not deserve an angel’s sympathy.

‘It’s not your fault she foolishly disregarded you warnings and continued with the séance. Really, it was like she was asking to be burnt. And she was being impertinent, anyways, demanding to see your true face.’

‘But…’

‘No buts, Castiel. You’re an angel, she’s a human; we’re superior, and they’re inferior. Do you understand?’

‘…yes, Zachariah. I do.’

Harry closed the connection, shaking his head in silent disgust. And they said angels were supposed to be compassionate.

Why did you leave, Chuck? He wondered. Are you really satisfied with the world, as it is right now? Is it everything you had envisioned?

A few hours later, a doctor stepped out, clipboard in hand. “Family of Pamela Barnes?”

He told them that they’ve stabilized her conditions, although it was certain that she’ll never be able to see again. She had been moved out of ICU, and can accept visitors, but only one is allowed in the room at a time.

Bobby went in first, while Harry called his brothers to tell them the good news. The two of them had stayed behind, cleaning away any evidence of the séance. Judging by the sound in the background, they had now relocated to a diner.

“I think we’ll leave pretty soon,” he said. “Save me a milkshake, won’t you?”

“You bet,” Sam said, with the tone of someone who had absolutely no intention of doing so, and hung up.

Well, he was the health nut of this family.

Soon, Bobby came out, and Harry slipped inside. Pamela was lying in the middle of a hospital bed, pale-skinned and weak, nothing like the feisty woman he’d just met, half a day prior. A roll of bandages had been wrapped around her skull, covering her eyes. She jolted when she heard the door open.

“Is that you again, Bobby?” She called.

“No, it’s me. Harry.”

“What do you want?” She asked, words tinted with bitterness. Harry doesn’t blame her. She wouldn’t have lost her eyesight if it weren’t for them.

“I just wanted to apologize,” he said, “and to see if I could fix things.”

Pamela scoffed. “You certainly can’t make things worse.”

Harry moved forward, stopping mere inches from her bed. He raised his hands, hovering them above her eyes, and murmured a spell. Somethings were capital-F fated, which means if he messed with it, he’ll draw attention to the divergence and thus, himself. But her blindness wasn’t—if she had just backed off when Castiel asked, she would have been fine—so Harry healed her.

(He’d even corrected her eyesight, because why not? The woman was going to die in a few months. For putting up with their shit, she deserved to live the rest of her life in 20/20 vision.)

Immediately, Pamela gasped, hands flying up to her face and unraveling the bandages. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the harsh fluorescent lighting. “What…? How did you—what the hell are you, boy?”

Harry shrugged, tucking his hands into his jean pockets. “Well, I’m not a demon, if that was what you were worried about. But you would have known that already, right?”

She studied him, gaze roving from the soles of his shoes to the wispy strands of his hair. “You definitely don’t feel like a demon…and even a demon wouldn’t have been able to do that. It wouldn’t have wanted to, either. But then…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, with an exaggerated wink. “For now, why don’t you just think of me as someone with a little extra juice, trying to protect my brothers and fix their mistakes?”

“Do they know?” She pressed. “Does Bobby know?”

“It’s just between you and me for now, love,” he paused, and cocked his head. “Of course, if it’s too big of a secret for you to handle, I can erase your memories.”

She shook her head, shifting away as much as she could, as if an extra feet of space could deter him. “No, no, no, that won’t be necessary. You don’t need to do that, I can keep quiet. I owe you one, right? For the eyes?”

“Sure,” Harry agreed, even as he discretely wiggled his fingers. Now, if she tried to speak of this to anyone, she’ll suddenly find herself mute, though that would only last a day. Still, it’s a neat little spell, just in case someone decided torture the information out of her. After all, this was bigger than things that go bump in the night. Angels and demons were involved, and he knew better than to underestimate either of them. “Well, I’m glad we could reach an agreement, love. Bobby and I will take our leave now. We’ll try not to bother you again.”

“Wait!” she cried out, just as his hands closed around the doorknob. “Do you know…that thing I summoned…do you know what Castiel is?”

“Of course I do,” Harry said, not turning around. “But the less you know, the better off you’ll be. Have a good day, Ms. Barnes.”

Harry had no idea what happened between the phone call and them arriving at the motel, but whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good. Because when Bobby pulled up in the parking lot, Castiel was yelling at Dean, trying to tell him that Sam had returned to the diner to kill the demons. Unfortunately, all Dean heard is static and high-pitched ringing, so Castiel was forced to stop, frustrated. Bobby and Harry burst into the room just as the last of the mirrors exploded.

(They were kicked out of the motel, obviously.)

This must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, though, because Dean announced that he was going to try and summon Castiel. Or, as he knows him, a super powerful, supernatural creature capable of pulling someone out of hell, terrifying the demons, and burning out eyes. He has no guarantee that Castiel won’t harm him at first sight, nor does he have a way of defending himself from such attacks.

And he still wanted to summon him.

What. An. Idiot.

Bobby obviously agreed, peering at Ruby’s knife doubtfully. But like Harry, he also doesn’t want anyone else to be hurt, so he relented, directing his truck to an empty warehouse on the outskirt of town.

“We could really use Sam on this, Dean,” Harry suggested from the backseat.

“Nah, he’ll just try to stop us. He’s better off where he is.”

Well, Harry knew that wasn’t true, but he also didn’t want to explain how he knew, so he kept quiet, twisting his ring.

This time, Dean noticed, zeroing in on the action through the rear view mirror. “Didn’t know you were into jewelries, Henry. Where did you get that from?”

“An old friend gave it to me,” Harry said. “Supposedly, it can bring back the souls of the dead.”

“Oh,” Dean said, and Harry suddenly realized the implication behind his words. He thought about backtracking, about claiming that he never tried to summon Dean’s soul, but he wasn’t sure Dean would believe him.

“Well,” Bobby said, interjecting false cheer into his tone. “At least if this turns out to be a disaster, I can bring you back to kill you again.”

It was a disaster.

Harry had presumed that, since Castiel didn’t mean to do Dean any harm, the encounter would go smoothly. They’ll have a chit-chat, Castiel will explain and apologize for his mistakes, and then inform Dean of his role in the upcoming apocalypse. They will part ways, somewhat peacefully.

What a stupid presumption.

The problem began after Bobby completed the ritual, and all them stood back, hands on their respective weapons, waiting for him to appear.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

Harry glanced at the ritual circle, frowning. Bobby definitely did the ritual right, so why wasn’t Castiel responding? Wasn’t he the one who tried to reach out to Dean in the first place?

He tuned into the Radio, and immediately received his answers.

‘…leave a good impression on him.’

‘But I have already impressed my handprint on his arm. Is that not enough?’

‘No, no, it’s a different kind of impress. You want him to like you, right?’

‘It would be an honor to be favored by the Righteous Man.’

‘Exactly, which is why you got to make a cool entrance, okay?’

‘What is this “cool entrance” you speak of? How do I make it?’

Harry left the conversation, biting his cheeks to stop from bursting into laughter. It seemed like they were going to be waiting for a while. He abandoned his spot beside the ritual circle, and jumped up to sit on one of the tables. His gun was returned to its holster.

Dean and Bobby gave him disapproving looks, but eventually, both of them gave in, joining him on the tables. They swung their legs back and forth silently, chocked by the anticipation in the air.

Harry was the first to break. He hopped off the table and headed for the door, waving a pack of cigarette as an explanation. The other two moved to stop him, but he was gone because they could speak.

Leaning against the side of the warehouse, Harry lit up a stick, inhaling and exhaling the smoke gratefully. He had been trying to quit but, fuck, this day had been very, very stressful. Besides, he’s the Master of Death. What’s a cigarette going to do, kill him?

And, because he had been looking up at the bright sky, he saw a sight he was never going to forget.

One second, there had been nothing above the warehouse; in the next, a figure appeared, large wings extending from his back. Harry expected Castiel to land on the roof, perhaps survey the area before entering.

He didn’t.

Instead, he stumbled in mid-flight, rolling down the slanted roof until the concrete gave up, and fell straight down to the ground with a thump.

Harry gaped.

A second later, Castiel stood up, cocking his head in the direction of the warehouse.

“Why couldn’t I get through?” he muttered to himself, but the night was quiet enough that Harry overheard the words.

He blinked.

Oh.

Castiel must have intended to fly through roof and land straight into the ritual circle, which, to be fair, would have been quite the ‘cool’ entrance. Unfortunately, Bobby had come across an angel-warding sigil in one of his books, though neither he nor the author knew its purpose. Still, he had painted it on the walls, which prevented Castiel from phasing through like he had intended. Instead, he had been tripped up by the ward, and fallen.

Once he and Castiel become friends, Harry was going to give him so much shit for this.

For now, though, he simply wiggled his fingers. The ward disappeared. Castiel frowned harder when he registered the change.

“Whatever,” he said at last, almost petulantly, and blasted the warehouse doors open. He sauntered forward, and the sound of shotguns firing filled the air.

Harry vanished his cigarette—he knew better than to litter, considering the state this planet was already in—and rushed in behind Castiel, who was now looking down at Ruby’s knife in a bemusement. Ruby’s knife, which had been jammed into his heart.

Oh, Dean.

Unconcerned, Castiel pulled it out, letting it drop to the ground with a clatter. The wound healed immediately, and Dean stared, shocked. Bobby, however, jumped into action, swinging a crowbar at Castiel’s head. But Castiel caught it without looking, using the momentum to swing himself around. He touched Bobby’s forehead with two fingers, and sent him to sleep.

Wow, Harry thinks, not even bothering to bring out his gun. That was very, very cool.

“We need to talk, Dean,” Castiel said. “Alone.”

Unwittingly, Dean’s gaze flickered to over his shoulders. Castiel followed his line of sight, to where Harry was standing by the doors. There was the sound of wings fluttering, and Castiel disappeared from view.

“What the hell?” Dean whispered.

Too late, Harry realized what Castiel was planning to do. But by then, Castiel had already landed in front of him, fingers extended to brush against his temple. Unprepared, Harry’s awareness shut down, and he crumpled to the ground, asleep.

#harry potter #supernatural #apocalypse fix-it #fanfic #ao3 #agtbd

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not-a-space-alien · 7 years

Text

First Meetings, Part 7: Kabata and Yulera

Series masterpost

On AO3

1 year ago

Once upon a time, down in the seventh circle of Hell, there lived a demon named Yulera.

Yulera was an outstanding demon in a number of ways, one of which was her incredible cowardice. She was, in fact, the least brave demon in existence. She would have been awfully embarrassed to see the rankings.

She was so un-brave that she was one of the last few demons in existence that had never stepped foot on Earth even once. She had fallen from Heaven, dug herself into Hell, and stayed put for 6,000 years. She simply refused to go up. There were angels up there, and you could get hurt, really hurt. You could even die. No thank you.

The only being Yulera had any regular interaction with was Ritze, another demon who was extremely cowardly, but less so than Yulera. It would not be fair to say that they were friends, because demons are not supposed to have friends, but they never tried to kill each other, at least.

Ritze was the only one who could coerce Yulera to come out of her hole. She could even, on occasion, convince her to come all the way up Limbo. But no further than that.

“Come on, Yulera,” said Ritze, stamping her feet on the dry grass of Limbo. “Just for a few minutes.”

“No,” said Yulera. “I’m not going up there.”

“I’m telling you, you’d like it. More than down here.”

“No, I’m staying in Hell.”

Ritze pointed straight upwards to the dark ceiling of the cavernous space, where light was streaming through a single opening. “Yulera, it’s right there. Just use your wings and fly up. Smell the air. Look at the grass. Just stick your head out.”

“No,” said Yulera. “I’m sure someone will lop it off.”

Ritze sighed and sat cross-legged on the ground. “Yulera, what’s the point of living if you’re just going to sit around in a hole all the time? Don’t you want to experience something different for a change?”

Yulera’s lip quavered. She did. But she was too scared, and Ritze was not good at giving her courage. “I’m doing an important job down here.”

“What, torturing sinners?”

“Yes.”

“When was the last time you tortured someone?”

Yulera was silent, because even though torturing sinners was her assignment, she had never actually tortured anyone. She had simply run away the first time someone tried to hand her a pitchfork.

The black sky suddenly flashed to life from a fireball streaking across it. Ritze’s eyes widened as it touched down a ways away.

Ritze stood. Yulera said, “Ritze, no!”

Ritze had already grabbed Yulera’s hand and started pulling her along. “Come on!”

“Don’t you know what that is?” wailed Yulera.

“A newly fallen angel!”

“Yes!”

“Come on!”

“No!”

“Fresh meat!”

“Stop it! Just leave them alone!”

The impact had made a small crater, the dry and withered grass blown aside. In the divot was a bulky man-shaped being, but he was becoming progressively less man-shaped as he writhed and flailed and screamed in agony.

Ritze dragged Yulera to the very edge of the crater and peered into it. “Hurts, doesn’t it!” she yelled.

“Ritze!”

“Holy shit, who is that? That was an archangel, Yulera. Something serious must be going on if Heaven is booting archangels out again.”

The newly fallen archdemon finally resolved into a steady shape. It was impossible to make out any details of his new appearance because he was covered in a thick layer of soot, except for a pair of impressive horns spiraling out from his head.

“Which one do you think it was?” said Ritze, hopping into the crater and circling the newcomer. “I hope it was Uriel. I’d love to see her face.”

“W-Who’s there?” sobbed the new archdemon, extending his arms out.

“You sack of shit,” said Ritze, grabbing his horn and yanking his head sideways. He cried out in pain, his hands feebly scrabbling at her grip on his head. “Finally getting a taste of your own medicine, huh?” She spat on him.

“Ritze, stop it,” said Yulera, finally gathering enough courage to slide into the divot herself.

“I can’t see,” said the archdemon. “I c-c…”

“It’s dark down here,” said Ritze. “I thought you would have realized that from the time you threw us all down here.”

“Stop it!” said Yulera as Ritze raked her claws over his face.

“Yulera, let’s throw him into the lake of fire.”

“What!”

“With Satan gone and all the other archdemons fighting each other, no one will notice.”

“Please,” he begged.

“What’s your name?” said Ritze, yanking his horn again. “Hm? Please tell me you’re Uriel. What’s your name?”

“C-c…”

“Can’t you talk? Pathetic!”

“Ritze, stop!” Yulera burst out again, smacking her arm away from him. Ritze stared at her, amazed.

“Now you finally work up your courage?” she snarled. “Now? To defend him? A stranger?”

“We don’t know why he fell. Do you think it was fair when we fell? We should give him a chance.”

“Why should we?”

“I don’t know! Because we can! Stop being so petty!”

Ritze stared sullenly at the archdemon, past Yulera, who had planted herself between them. She crossed her arms. “Hmph, if you want to be kind like some angel, then go ahead I guess. See where it gets you. I’m not going to stick around and watch, though. Do what you want with him. I wouldn’t be surprised if another archdemon comes along to kill you both, with the way they’ve been going at each other.”

Ritze stalked away, leaving the two alone. Yulera watched her go, thinking that she may have just lost the only sort-of friend she had with her first ever burst of courage. She sighed and knelt down by the newcomer, turning his face towards her with a gentle hand. Blood welling from the claw marks ran tracks through the ash covering his face, as did the tears.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

His lip quavered, and he shied away from her.

“It’ll stop eventually. You’ll have to get used to getting better over time, without healers.”

“I can’t see,” he said again.

“Your eyes will adjust to the darkness.”

“It hurts.”

“It will get better.” She put her hand to his face again. “I’ll stay with you. Don’t worry.”

She helped him up. His hand was enormous in hers, but it was shaking.

“What your name? Do you know what it is?”

He remained silent.

“It might take you a moment to figure it out. But it’s different now.”

“It’s…” His eyes were beginning to burn with their new infernal colouration, pupils finally dilating and allowing him some sense of sight. “It’s Kabata.”

Yulera’s residence of choice was a literal hole in the wall, which she did not often leave. It was lined with choice bits of junk: interesting rocks, artifacts and weapons she did not know how to use, bones, and any manner of garbage that a scavenger would accumulate in 6,000 years. And books.

Books were Yulera’s favourite. Her lair contained as extensive of a collection as it was possible to accumulate in Hell. They were mostly books Ritze had brought down for her, or ones that had been brought down for someone else that she had stolen. Books were the only thing she went out of her way to steal from others. If a book went missing on Earth, it was probably because Aziraphale had found some excuse to take it, but if one went missing in Hell, it was probably because its owner had turned their back, and a scavenger with an insatiable love of reading and no courage to go up to Earth had snatched it up.

When you spend 6,000 years hiding in a hole, there is not much else to occupy your attention.

The occult knowledge and trade secrets in Yulera’s books probably would have let her take down Satan himself, if 1) He had still been alive, 2) Yulera knew how to use any of the knowledge in the books, and 3) She were not so scared of going outside that shadows moving on the wall in her home sent her into a fit of fearful crying.

She kept her books separate from the rest of her collection because she did not want to get them dirty, and the rest of her collection was mostly trash. And now that trash included a living, breathing archdemon.

There was only one comfortable place to lounge amidst the mess, which is where Kabata was currently stretched out. Yulera was curled up on top of him. They had just finished having sex at her request, and now they sat there in post-coital satisfaction.

She ran a finger on the ridges of his horns. “You have such nice horns.”

Kabata did not know what to say. He didn’t particularly like his horns.

She leaned her head onto his shoulder. “What are you most afraid of?”

He stared down at his hooves.

“Kabata? Are you afraid of anything?”

“God,” he finally answered.

Her eyelids drooped closed. “Funny. That was my answer, too.”

Hell is a no-smoking zone, but Hell is also where you’re supposed to break rules, and Kabata, who had never had sex before, felt like smoking was something one might do after sex. He materialized a cigarette and lit it up.

Yulera, who had had sex before but never smoked, was intrigued by this novelty. Her thin, feathered tail twitched on his calf muscle. “What’s that?”

He passed her the cigarette, and she took a puff, copying him. A distasteful expression overtook her face. “S’all right,” she said, releasing smoke as she spoke.

He watched as, instead of giving it back, Yulera pinched it out and went to stash it among her belongings. He did not complain because he had not been particularly enjoying it either.

She moved from her piles of junk over to her collection of books.

Yulera was an outstanding demon for a number of reasons, one of which was that she had a perfectly photographic memory. She had the contents of all her books memorized down to the punctuation. She crawled down on her knees and retrieved her favourite volume, bringing it back over to the bed. She flipped it open to her favourite page.

“This is a bestiary I took from someone who was going to give it to Satan,” she said with a small quiver. It had been one of her proudest moments. Her victim had been a demon who had been going to try and earn brownie points from Satan by introducing him to the possibility of using a sphinx as a lie-detector, but abandoned his plan as soon as he discovered the volume was missing.

“The griffin is my favourite,” she said, running her finger over the charcoal illustration on the page. “Apparently most of these magical creatures are very rare and roam the Earth, only stopping for those who are worth their attention. Wouldn’t that be amazing, Kabata? Wouldn’t that be grand? If a griffin thought you were worthy of their notice? Or a sphinx? Which is your favourite? Kabata?”

Kabata was not listening to her. He was looking at the mouth of the entrance, a crevice barely big enough for him to get through up in the wall.

Yulera sat back, disappointing overcoming her. “You’re going to leave, aren’t you?”

Kabata hauled himself off the bed, replacing his shirt. “It’s been long enough.” It was hard to tell the passage of time down here, and he had no idea how long it had been since his fall.

“You don’t have to go,” she said. “You could stay down here with me. No one would ever know where you were.”

He sensed the rising desperation in her voice, and just looked at her for a moment.

What was she so afraid of this time? The idea of him leaving sent panic spiking through her.

He was the first one who had ever made her feel brave. Powerful. She had slapped Ritze’s hand away and told her off and suddenly this vulnerable person was no longer in danger. Because of something she had done. It proved she could do things if she wanted to. And if he left, she would never see him again, and it would be like she had never done it at all.

And he had not stayed with her out of pity like she knew Ritze did. And his aura was so huge he practically radiated power. His smell was intoxicating. She already longed for the touch of his skin again.

She loved him. Or maybe she loved the idea of him—what he represented, the possibility that things could get better. The idea that someone might see something worthwhile in her.

“I love you, Kabata. Please don’t leave me.”

Kabata broke eye contact to grab his trousers from the floor. “Would you like to know a secret?”

She nodded.

“It’s what got me kicked out of Heaven.”

She nodded more vigorously.

“The secret,” he said, “is that God is not truly immortal either.”

She just stared at him.

He pulled his trousers up and cinched his belt. “I had better go put in my bid for the throne. Thank you for your hospitality, Yulera. You are very kind.”

Kind was not a complimentary thing to call a demon. Demons were not supposed to be kind. “The throne? You’re not serious, are you?”

“I am.”

“The throne?” She crawled forwards. “Kabata, are you serious? The throne?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t go. Let someone else take it. Don’t take it. Don’t take the throne. Let someone else have it. Stay here with me.”

“Unlike you, Yulera, I actually face my fears.” He smiled viciously. “And I know exactly where— or rather, with whom—to start.”

“You’re not going to kill anyone, are you?” she said.

“You can’t expect an archdemon not to kill anyone.”

She sat back, looking like she wanted to cry. “Just tell me you’re not going to kill anyone. Even if it’s a lie. I won’t ever know the difference.”

“All right. I won’t kill anyone. Just for you.”

She watched as he struggled up to the crevice to exit, then disappeared, leaving her among her belongings in the dimness.

Yulera knew that demons were not supposed to kind, even to one another. And as she sat alone once again, she began to think that maybe there was a reason they were not supposed to be kind.

#good omens #my writing #my good omens fanfic

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lavendertwilight89 · 4 years

Text

Shelter

Part 2

Just a tad shorter than the first part but there is A LOT of needed dialogue. Enjoy!

Let me know if you’d like to added the to the tag list!!!

Also posted here in my AO3

There was a strange ringing in her ears. Maybe it was in her head. Either way, she honestly thought someone was screaming at her. She heard muffled versions of it.

Crap. She wanted to respond. But she felt so heavy. Her mind and body were weighed down by an invisible force. Well maybe it was visible. She just couldn’t open her eyes. Her mouth was so dry. She needed water. A whimper of desperation escaped her mouth, or at least she thought that was the sound she made before it all went silent again.

When she came to again, it was oddly quiet. Too silent to be with Inuyasha. Did he leave her? Did she stop him? It was so fuzzy in her head. She couldn’t remember all the details–she assumed it was because her head still weighed at least a thousand pounds.

She was able to sit up–barely. Her head pounded fiercely. She almost threw up but her stomach was completely empty. How long had she been out?

Opening her eyes, she was in… a room. It was still light out. There was a large open screen with a balcony overlooking the clouds. How’d she get there? Panic began to swell within her. Where was she? Where was… Inuyasha?

She quickly tried to take in her surroundings which had proved difficult because of her aching head. It seemed like she was in a palace or something. The room was large, well furnished and decorated. The futon she laid upon had many pillows and she was in--WHO CHANGED HER CLOTHES?!!?

Instinctively she grabbed her chest and lightly twisted the silk fabric of the yukata she was wearing between her fingers. It was brightly colored-- a bright sky blue and hughes of yellow. This was… different. Different from the last time she was taken and woke up alone. That didn’t mean she should trust it. She couldn’t trust anyone--anything. Well… not just anyone. Just Inuyasha. But he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was wrong.

Standing uneasily, she found her way to the door and clung onto the wall. Panting she gathered her energy and opened the door. The hallway appeared empty as she glanced both ways. Her spiritual power was weakened, just like the last time she was drained. Like someone devoured it. She couldn't sense anyone--or anything. She felt blind like a mole crawling around in the dirt looking for food. It was uncomfortable--it made her vulnerable. She almost missed the dark because then it gave her more of an excuse to be more powerless.

Taking a couple of steps out of the room she had been lying in, she realized she was quickly mistaken by the action. She heard gasps and murmurs that she was awake before she ran as fast as she was able to in her condition. Running down the hall, she heard them swiftly move after her, calling for assistance. She almost bumped into one of the guards; he tried to grab her but she swiftly erected her barrier and enlisted a cry from the demon.

"Fall back! She's scared! Her power will harm you, let me try to calm her," a young woman's voice reasoned from behind the demons.

As she stepped forward Kagome maintained her shield, curling her legs up underneath her, bringing her hands to her chest. She would not be fooled. She needed to be on guard. Not again. She wouldn’t be touched, or grasped, or trapped ever again. She would rather die before that happened. Correction, she would die before it could happen.

"Hi, my name is Lady Rin of the Western Lands. You do not need to be afraid, Lady Kagome. Lord Inuyasha has brought you here to us," the woman with long dark brown hair soothed. But Kagome didn't move. Well, not intentionally. She couldn't stop the tremors of fear shaking her body mercilessly. The liquid adrenaline that pumped through her veins was the only thing keeping her from passing out from being so afraid.

"St-stay away from me," Kagome tried to say strongly but it came out as frightened as a hare staring down a drooling wolf.

"It is alright, Lady Kagome. You are safe," the woman tried to convey again, reaching her hand to her barrier. The girl was foolish to think she wouldn't try to zap her to protect herself--to ensure she wasn't a demon in disguise. As she charged up her power the woman dressed in the rich navy and golden laced kimono was swept up by a flash of silver.

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut to the growl she heard and slowly lifted her hands to cover her ears. She was going mad. Crazy. Something was wrong with her. She was either dreaming, delusional, or in a trap. Either scenario, she was losing. The growl was too familiar but not the same. It wasn’t his. Naraku was copying it. Playing her. All she wanted was--

“Kagome!!! It’s okay--I’m right here. Let down the barrier,” she heard the voice she wanted to hear plea to her to lower her defenses. It was too good to be true. It had to be. No. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t in the same room as when she awoke. It was a lie. A trick. Naraku was good. Really good. But she guaranteed if she opened her eyes, this Inuyasha would have black hair. He had no idea he was actually a half-demon. Naraku commented that she downgraded to a ‘human’.

They weren’t in the hut anymore. He likely left her--figuring she was a waste of time. Her mate left her. How could he not? All she did was drag him down and endanger him… She was pathetic. And Naraku came back. He took her. He had her once again.

Regardless, she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. She almost wanted to stay in the dream. Tears were streaming down her face as she wept in fear. She was trapped. She was fucked. Her powers were weak, she was drained--it took everything in her to not let go of the only shield between her and the monster.

“Kagome, please, open your eyes; I’m right here. Come on!”

“Go away!!!” She screamed trying to extend her power, she heard him groan in pain but then growl.

“Damnit Kagome!! That fucking hurt!! Open your fucking eyes you crazy wench!!! It’s me!! What the fuck is your problem?!!” Her eyes flew open at the insult. Naraku wouldn’t have likely known that Inuyasha was so crass with her. As if he would know her wanna-be mate would cuss her out; he would try to sweet talk her. Woo her. It really was Inuyasha!

She was so relieved when she saw his silver hair and his beautiful fluffy ears atop his head. Standing shakily, the barrier shattered as she leapt to close the distance to embrace him; he caught her with ease and she felt his nose bury itself in her hair. He began shushing her worries, rumbling from deep within his chest to soothe her anxieties. That was new. But not unwanted or unwelcomed. It was so… him.

“I-I--I was so scared,” she wailed into his crimson kimono clutching the back of it, not even caring in the slightest they weren’t alone. She didn’t even care if he was upset by their show of affections. She just needed him.

“I’m sorry--I was speaking with Sesshomaru and the monk he summoned… I was only gone for a minute. Then the guards told us you were awake and panicking--I fucked up,” he spoke softly to her. It was literally magic in her ears--magic in her soul.

“I’m sorry--I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just--”

“Shut up; it’s my fault. Don’t be fucking sorry. If the asshat wants anyone to pay for what happened, he should punish me.”

“No!!” She looked up at him tearfully. “No! Lord Sesshomaru,” she turned to the great daiyoukai as she still clung to Inuyasha. “Punish me! I am at fault!! Not Inuyasha!”

“Enough,” Sesshomaru said evenly.

“Lady Kagome,” Rin spoke calmly from the arms of her mate. “It is alright. No harm done. We understand… somewhat. We actually don’t know the full story, but we know enough that we acknowledge you were merely defending yourself. No need to apologize or ask to be chastised for the misunderstanding. Right, my lord?”

“Hn.”

“See? That’s the way my lord says he forgives you,” she said as she wiggled out of his arms and clapped her hands. “Now, let’s get you some lunch, hm? I am sure you are hungry! Lord Inuyasha, would you like to see her back to your room? I will have Akami bring in some light stew and some bread in a moment. After she has eaten, will you both join us back in the study so we may discuss our… uhm--predicament further?”

“Sounds like a plan. Uhm, thank you Lady Rin,” Inuyasha nodded in the form of a bow as he still held onto Kagome. She sank further into his chest thanking every kami listening he hadn’t left and was obviously not embarrassed by their display.

“Please,” she giggled merrily. “Just Rin, Lord Inuyasha. You’re being too formal. Though, I’m sure you are only doing it for you mate’s honor,” she winked mischievously. “Come, my lord. Let us rejoin the monk and slayer, hm?”

“Keep watch over her, brother. No more situations like these or--”

“My lord!” Rin clipped.

“Yes, Rin,” Sesshomaru acknowledged as he turned around to follow his headstrong outspoken mate.

Inuyasha exhaled; she was unsure it was from relief or exhaustion from dealing with his brother and his mate. He lifted Kagome into his arms and proceeded to walk back down the hallway she had just run through. She looked around, as much as she could without leaving the safety of his chest. She tried not to be obvious as she inhaled his scent--musk and pine trees. But she couldn’t help but want to be comforted by it. By him. Her… well, her nothing. Her wished mate. Maybe she should just tell him--just be upfront. It might help their relationship in the long run? She still didn’t remember much from after healing Inuyasha to waking up.

Just bits and pieces of them yelling at each other. Him saying nasty things, trying to leave… Obviously he either came back or she had convinced him to stay. Either way, she counted her blessing he was, in fact, there. With her. Holding her. In his arms.

He opened the shoji door and stepped through then proceeded to close it. A couple more steps were taken as he dipped down and began to try and release her back onto the bed. Nope. Nope. NOPE. She clung onto him, whimpering, and refused the loss of contact.

Sighing, he readjusted some of the pillows and then sat down on the futon. She recurled herself up in his lap and he lightly wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m not good at this--but I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered into her ear.

“Please--just don’t leave me,” her voice cracked as she cried the words.

“I’m not--I know I fucked up losing my temper the last time we talked but…. Shit. Kagome, it’s hard to understand and be okay with the fact you are keeping so many secrets. I didn’t even know how to explain to my asshole brother what was going on other than Naraku was hunting you. Not to mention one minute you’re telling me to go, the next you’re wrapped around me so tight. Fuck.”

“Why didn’t you just wake me up?” She muttered softly, still unwilling to let him go. She didn’t care if she seemed desperate or insane--she needed to be in his arms to affirm everything was real. The comfort and security she could only receive from him, she demanded fully.

“Kagome,” he pulled back to look into her eyes. There was a weird light of disbelief and concern. “You--you wouldn’t wake up. I tried everything. You’ve been unconscious for over a week… Sesshomaru ended up calling in a monk to try and figure out what happened.”

Gasping, she tried to control her utter shock. She knew that wasn’t good. She drained herself in healing Inuyasha that last round so much so she… Did he know? Were all her secrets exposed? She messed up--badly. She should have been upfront. He was going to leave her after all. This embrace wouldn’t last. All her hard work, all her concerns, and all her fears were rushing to the surface. She needed to figure out what he knew--what he had actually learned about her.

“Wh-what… uhm… What have you learned since I’ve been asleep?”

“Don’t sound so nervous. I haven’t learned anything honestly. Nothing you haven’t said. Besides that, nothing is going to take me from your side... All we learned was that Naraku hasn’t made his mission a total secret to humans or demons. As for your health, the monk wasn’t helpful at all. I don’t actually believe he’s as powerful as he led Sesshomaru to believe. ”

“What does your brother know about Naraku?”

It took Inuyasha a moment to gather his wandering thoughts, or at least that what it had seemed like. Sighing, he laid her down forcefully, but she clutched onto his haori so he reluctantly followed, scoffing at her neediness. Even though he had sighed defeatedly, his arms remained around her. She also swore she could feel him twirl her hair through his fingers. That had to mean something right?

“We have other things to discuss, Kagome. Like this… behavior,” he added blushing looking at her tight fists on his shirt.

“Inuyasha--please--”

“No. Why are you acting like this? Understand I’m not angry, I’m just kinda confused. You’re shooting me some serious mixed signals. No evading or I am out that damn door and down the hall.”

Shaking, she finally looked up at him. His resolve was fierce, his eyes hard, but nurturing. She exhaled shakily and buried her face back into his chest, desperate to hear his soft rumble he had exuded earlier. When he did it again, she was pleased and began her story.

“I… told you Naraku was hunting me. I left out the part where he had caught me.”

“He what?!!?” She felt his youki grow but tried to use her own depleted reiki to soothe him.

“He… I don’t know how long he had me, or even actually where. But he held me for at least a few weeks. It was dark, cold, wet… It was hard to tell time. When I noticed he was gone for a while, I finally escaped and that's when the demons came. I ran as fast as I could and then I found you--or rather you found me. You tried to lead me out of the forest but I tripped and you protected me. I was able to blast the others before they attacked again and then got us to the hut. I’m so sorry… I--I didn’t know how to tell you it was all my fault you became seriously wounded the first time.” She opted to not include the fact she was naked and touched by the sick demon in her time of imprisonment. He already seemed like he was hanging on to his sanity by a thread.

“Goddamnit!!! What did he do to you?! You're not being very specific! Obviously you're still holding back,” he snarled as his eyes glowed red.

Kagome gasped and took his face into her hands, "Shhhh. I'm right here. I'm fine. I-I’m safe. I’m with you, remember?"

"That's putting it loosely… you're acting odd. Clingy. Open. I should almost ask you if you're real."

"I…" How should she put it? Should she tell him everything? Maybe one day. Just not today. Not yet. Little by little. "I was afraid. That you had actually left after Naraku’s attack and that I caused it. You're right. I need to try and--and not hide so much from you. You stayed with me. You protected me in your human form; twice now. I should put some trust in you. I mean, afterall you're…" She caught herself about to confess too much and swallowed hard. He might not even know that he was her mate. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe it was just hopeful thinking--but he hadn't pulled away yet. He was still next to her; that soft rumble still echoed through his chest. His claws were still caressing through her hair. His arms still wrapped around her.

"I'm what?" He asked leadingly. Crap.

"Important to me," she finished lamely. It was better than nothing.

He seemed to ponder over her words but didn't push further. "So… what else you feel like sharing? Or is that it?"

"You don't want to know what the sick bastard did. I honestly don't know either. I'd rather not think about it…" she murmured softly.

"D-did he…?" He couldn't even finish the thought. But she knew what he was implying. He wanted to know if he tainted her. If he defiled her with his disgusting body.

"No, thank the Gods. But he…" She tensed and shook, having flashbacks of the revolting wet musky hands caressing her thighs, brushing her hair from her face, and the sick twisted laughter that haunted her dreams. "He did… other things. But not that. He didn’t touch me there, "she finished with a deep lump in her throat.

She felt his arms grip around her tightly. Truthfully, she never felt so safe. So secure. So… loved.

Inuyasha traveled with Kagome for a full day before finally arriving at Sesshomaru’s castle. He stood with the young in his arms and he was utterly exhausted. Not only had he been awake his entire human night, but he'd been fatally wounded. As he had run to the fortress, he thought about theory after theory of how he had awoken whole. None of which really added up.

The only one that was possible, but seemed just as far-fetched as others, was that she healed him. This was the second time she'd likely done something like it too. Did mikos of stronger spiritual power have the ability to heal wounds? It wouldn't have shocked him in all reality. There was some strange shit out there he'd seen the past couple centuries he'd been alive. It just seemed so unreal; the idea that such a beautiful woman and soul would help him in such a way that it would drain her to the point of unconsciousness.

Standing in front of the castle, he noticed the guards hadn't moved. Likely his brother had told them to stand down so he could deal with him himself. He made it to the doors when they were opened and there stood the ‘great and mighty’ Inu no Taisho, Sesshomaru. Stoic as ever. Jackass.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure, little brother,” he said snarkily. Well, it was actually as emotionless as ever, but Inuyasha thought it came off as condescending as usual.

“Sesshomaru…” Inuyasha wasn’t sure where to begin. How could he swallow his pride and ask for his help? Looking down at the young maiden in his arms, he knew where he needed to draw the strength from; he just needed to say the words.

“I… Sesshomaru… We--”

“You bring a miko into the house of a daiyoukai? Are you foolish?” Sesshomaru glared briefly before the guards finally appeared. Welp. So much for coming back to the castle asking for help. Kagome was wrong. Honestly he couldn’t wait to tell her he told her so… Kinda. Not really. He actually didn’t want to see the sympathetic look on her face and the reassurance that she cared about him even if no one else did. He didn’t want to see the look that she would shoulder the pain and burden of his rotten life…

“My Lord! That is no way to treat your brother or his guest!” Inuyasha turned back to see the short woman emerge from behind his brother. She was dressed in a fine purple and orange kimono fit for a hime. Which she honestly was-- she was the Lady of the West. Wife and mate to the Inu no Taisho. Rin.

“Rin…” he said in warning.

“Don’t you ‘Rin’ me! Welcome back home, Lord Inuyasha,” she said cheerfully after she warned her mate to back off. She proceeded to step forward in front of Sesshomaru and glide gracefully to Inuyasha. “Who is your friend? Is she alright?”

“I-I don’t know,” he said meekly.

“Rin, she is a--”

“I’m aware of what she is, my lord. That does not mean we turn her or your brother away. She is obviously someone who is important to Lord Inuyasha as he brought her here, to us, his family,” she said pointedly.

“Who is she, brother?” Sesshomaru asked, losing patience.

“Sesshomaru… she’s--she’s my mate,” Inuyasha finally admitted out loud. To someone. While he hadn’t admitted it to Kagome yet, it felt good to finally say it to another person. Even if that other person was his asshole jackass of a brother. The acknowledgement made it seem real; it wasn’t a made up idea in his head. That the desire could actually become a reality.

“Oh my! You found your mate, Lord Inuyasha? How exciting!! We must hear the whole story--”

“Rin, there’s something wrong with her. Her aura is weak--I think she used her powers to heal me. Is that possible?”

Sesshomaru watched on and signaled for the guards to disperse. “Spiritual powers are different from youki. We would need to invoke another spiritualist… The scrolls also may hold this information. Allow this one to research while Rin assists with getting your mate to your quarters. I will send for Jaken to seek a traveling monk who is rumored to know more than most.”

“Sesshomaru, she doesn’t know she’s my mate. We should put her in a different room--”

“It does not matter, little brother. She will remain in your room as we do not know the miko or her intentions. She will be allowed into our home but that does not mean she is trusted at this time,” Sesshomaru growled as he turned back into the castle, as he likely headed to the study of the castle. Or to find Jaken to take his frustrations out on.

“Follow me, Lord Inuyasha. Let’s get her settled. I will provide her with a sleeping yukata and change her clothing. We can also give her a quick bath before we have the healers come in and examine her before the monk.”

Inuyasha nodded nervously. He was usually brash, full of bravado, and ready to run sword raised into a dragon’s nest. But at that moment he felt like the smallest ant; he had to be humble, sincere, and somewhat appreciative they were willing to give him-- give them a chance to prove themselves.

Without Rin, he would have likely been shit out of luck. They would have had to find another hut for shelter and pray to whatever kami that was listening that Naraku wouldn’t find them again until she was healed. He knew he owed Sesshomaru too. Sesshomaru was technically the alpha, but he really did roll over for Rin. It was funny to watch the more than a head shorter woman boss around an eight-hundred year old demon like he was a newborn puppy.

Once they got to his old room Rin had made Sesshomaru set up for him to stay in here and there, she stepped out briefly and returned with a spare robe of hers and a bucket of water with a cloth.

“Are you comfortable staying or would you prefer I do this alone?”

“She doesn’t know she’s my mate… but I have seen her, uhm, bare,” he said somewhat bashfully, blushing.

“It’s up to you, Lord Inuyasha. I’m sure she would be more comfortable with you being here.”

“Wh-why do you say that??!?” He sputtered flushing even more.

“Well, I know that before Lord Sesshomaru and I mated when he brought me here to tend to my wounds after he saved me from the bandits that I wanted him in the room even though he hadn’t confessed to me yet who I was to him.”

“What??”

“Has he honestly never told you that story??? He is so funny,” she laughed as she undid Kagome’s haori and hakama. “Well, he wanted the healers to take a look at me but I refused to let him leave even though he was trying to ‘preserve my modesty’. Pft. My village and family had just been raided by bandits. Not much left of that.”

“Were you…Did he save you in time?” Inuyasha wasn’t sure if that was too personal ask his sister-in-law. Or if Sesshomaru would just kill him for thinking his mate was defiled.

“Yes, Sesshomaru saved me just in time. Ahhhh, my big strong samurai inuyokai…” she gazed dreamily down at Kagome as she washed her body of the grime, sweat, and dirt. “I don’t ever wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn’t met him. He is everything I have ever dreamed of and more. It was so weird… when I first laid eyes on him, even though he had just cut a man in half and the blood had splattered on me and the other women--it was like I knew. Like he was the thing that was missing in my life. The missing puzzle piece.”

“You sound like a child.”

“Hmmm, have you ever been in love, Lord Inuyasha?”

“Wh-what?!?”

“Well, when you are in love, nothing seems embarrassing or childish. Your life becomes someone else's.”

Inuyasha remained silent then proceeded to help Rin remove Kagome’s garments from her and then helped get her into the robe. Rin patted her shoulder softly, happy with her work. He covered Kagome with a blanket and then wasn’t sure if he should leave or not.

“Lord Inuyasha, let me be honest; I can tell you are in love with this woman. You shouldn’t hide your feelings from her. Tell her. Be open with her.”

“Rin…” he growled.

“It’s obvious; you came here to help her. I’m proud of you for coming home. You’re both welcome to stay as long as you’d like. I’ll send in Akami to bring you dinner. If your intended awakens, just poke your head out and send Shizo to the kitchen to have Akami get more for her.” She patted his shoulder gently before standing and making her way out of his room.

“Rin?” He called, still facing Kagome.

“Yes, Lord Inuyasha?”

“Th-thank you, s-sister…”

“You’re welcome, elder brother.”

Inuyasha gazed down at his mate lovingly. Fuck. He hated being wrong. But, in a way, he also was relieved he was. And of all people to be wrong to, he was thankful it was Kagome. He laid down next to her and couldn’t help himself as he pulled himself close to her body and just held her close. He heard Akami enter and leave his meal, but he kept his eyes closed and his face buried in Kagome’s hair.

He honestly didn’t care if he was caught by her. His new resolution was to try and trust her for keeping things from him. The secrets she carried must’ve been taking a toll on her… He needed to cut her some slack. Maybe if he opened up, she would too.

Days passed and Kagome remained in her deep uninterruptible slumber. Inuyasha refused to leave her side. Each day made him more and more agitated; agitation caused by fear, loathing, and the unknown. Rin often came in to check on her and clean her face then would take her leave. She tried not to linger too long; she respected they needed their alone time even if Kagome was not awake. Rin spoke with Inuyasha about why aside from his mate being unconscious, they came to seek refuge with them.

Inuyasha reluctantly revealed to Rin the nature of how he and Kagome had met. He also told her while he was fairly in the dark about Kagome’s past, he knew at least one thing was true: Naraku was after her and wanted her as his mate. The information had been unsettling for Rin. She said she would speak with his brother and see if he knew anything more of Naraku than what they had already heard in passing.

It wasn’t until the fifth day Sesshomaru emerged from his study to speak with him. Rin, of course, accompanied her mate. Sesshomaru had informed him after researching the archives he had received from their father and even some of the more current ones, there were only a couple of mikos or monks who were even capable of such power. The monk he invited would hopefully give additional information. Jaken had informed him earlier that morning that he had been and had agreed to journey into their territory.

He had also dug as much as he could to try and find out more about Naraku. There wasn't too much more to tell. Just the twisted fuck traveled around in the cloak of an animal--a baboon Inuyasha had informed, and that he had begun spreading rumors of Kagome being his mate. He apparently also made it clear his intentions were less than noble--he tricked and clearly had smeared Kagome’s name as a priestess in the mud. The only other piece of knowledge that Inuyasha had not heard was where Naraku had been seen the most--likely where Kagome’s village had been.

Near the wolf dens. She likely knew Koga and Ayame. It made him question why she hadn’t asked them for help. Koga was the Lord of the Eastern lands. He hadn’t met Koga himself, but he knew Sesshomaru kept strict treaties with the other lands to maintain peace. That was why Naraku was so concerning because he threatened the balance between the demons and humans.

"Brother, the miko must reveal Naraku’s hidden intentions. Without that knowledge, we will not know how to assist her or put an end to the inconvenience."

"Don't gotta tell me that, " Inuyasha muttered.

"My lord, Lord Inuyasha told me that right before he brought Kagome here they were fighting about everything."

"Then your presence here will be conditional depending upon her cooperation," Sesshomaru admonished.

"But my lord--"

"If we do not know why the demon is hunting her, nor what he is capable of, then the priestess could be endangering everyone. I will not allow her to put you in harm's way because of her pride," he said evenly.

Rin sighed her compliance and shot Inuyasha a look of apology. He merely nodded, conceding as well. He knew full well the lengths Sesshomaru would go for his mate. They were brothers after all and they both came from the great Touga who sacrificed his own life for Inuyasha’s human mother. Their loyalties went far for their beloveds.

The monk arrived the following day with his wife. Inuyasha scoffed at the idea, but then again, his own mate was a priestess. He needed to have some faith she would accept him as more even though she was one of the God’s children.

“Monk. Slayer,” Sesshomaru greeted.

“Welcome to our home!” Rin cheerfully called from Sesshomaru’s side.

“Thank you for having us. We are more than happy to serve the Lord and Lady of the West,” the monk said with a bow. “I am Miroku and this is my wife, Sango. We also have a neko-youkai named Kirara.”

“A pleasure to meet you my lord and lady,” the woman called Sango said as she bowed and the cat demon on her shoulder mewed.

“Please, come in; allow me to show you to your room during your stay,” Rin said, taking Sango’s hand. Typical Rin. It took all Inuyasha had not to roll his eyes. But it was well worth seeing Sesshomaru’s tired expression.

After Rin showed them to their quarters, she escorted them back to Inuyasha’s room where he and Sesshomaru waited outside the door.

“This is my younger brother, Inuyasha.”

“The Lord of the West has a brother?” Sango questioned.

“No, I’m a fucking puppet.”

“Language,” Sesshomaru hissed.

“Forgive him, he’s been under a lot of stress. His mate has fallen ill,” Rin said apologetically as she returned to Sesshomaru’s side.

“In the letter you sent, you stated it was a priestess in your care that was ill, did you not?” Miroku asked.

“That is correct,” Sesshomaru said.

“We uh… never heard of a priestess being the mate of a--” Sango started.

“Yea yea, whatever, can you help her or not?” Inuyasha was losing his patience. Quickly. He also didn’t care for their tone of judgement towards Kagome. She would always be the purest soul even if they did complete the mating bond. This monk and slayer were judging her? He hadn’t realized he was growling before Rin placed a comforting arm on his bicep.

“Please, she is to be my sister-in-law. Can you please just examine her? We think she healed Lord Inuyasha and it caused some sort of backfire with her reiki.”

“Of course, our apologies. It is just something new we have come across. No offense was meant, Lord Inuyasha,” Miroku bowed in apology. Sango bit her lip at her question and also bowed as she muttered her own apology.

Rin lightly pushed him and gained his attention. He stepped aside and she opened the door to his room and they filed inside. Inuyasha took residence next to Kagome, eyeing the monk and slayer skeptically. He narrowed his eyes as he saw their faces twist. The slayer looked angry and the monk looked confused. Both not good signs.

Snarling, he leaned over Kagome to block her from view of their pointed stares, “What the fuck is your problem??”

“Is there an issue?” Rin asked quickly, trying to dispel the clear tension that had arisen.

“Explain your concerns, monk and slayer,” Sesshomaru ordered.

“She is the mate of Naraku! They killed some of our best slayers--my family!! You expect us to help her?! And how can you claim she is your mate?!?! She is mated to that--that--that monster!!!”

“My wife, while upset, speaks the truth. She also entered my old monastery and helped destroy the temples… The miko also did claim her love for the demon Naraku. She professed they had mated and she would help him oversee his ultimate desires.”

Rin looked to Sesshomaru and then Inuyasha for clarification. Inuyasha couldn’t stop his demonic half from rising even if he wanted to. He knew his eyes were glowing, he felt his claws slicing through Kagome’s blanket, and his fangs were sinking into his bottom lip.

Sesshomaru had risen and stood to block Inuyasha’s view of them--but he heard the slayer stand in front of the monk in defensiveness when Sesshomaru spoke.

"The miko's virtue is intact. You were likely deceived like the demon planned. It seems his goal was to completely isolate her from any possible ally. To what end, it is unclear."

Rin scooted closer to Inuyasha and enlisted a warning growl from him. Sesshomaru turned and pinned him with a challenging stare to which Inuyasha initially refused to secede. He kept his ears high, snarl low and fierce. Honestly he wanted a fight. He needed to beat the shit outta someone-- while it should be the humans, they were the only ones who likely could tell what was wrong with his mate.

"Back down brother,"Sesshomaru spoke in inuyoukai. Rin stayed near but did not touch Inuyasha.

"They insulted my mate," he barked back.

"We need them to examine the girl first. Then we will spar. Control your temper like you were taught, " Sesshomaru replied shortly.

Inuyasha scoffed but tried to tap down his anger at the insult towards Kagome. It just--enraged him. To hear someone speak so ill of her. She had saved him. Twice. Almost died once in the process because she was so weak… The idea that they would say such dark things about her made him furious.

“Brother?” Rin asked quietly.

“I’m… fine,” he finally relented fully. Rin finally wrapped her arms around him from behind and pulled him back to sit beside Kagome. Sesshomaru took his place by Rin, but remained standing. He was pushing forth his aura to make sure the mortals knew their place on the chain of command. It made Inuyasha feel maybe a millimeter better.

The monk bowed and then knelt across from Inuyasha to be beside Kagome. Sango stood closely to his back and narrowed her stare at the daiyoukai; he had to give it to her. She was ballsy as hell.

Miroku closed his eyes and waved a hand over her form and he clenched them briefly when he reached her heart. Opening his eyes, he looked fairly concerned and distressed.

“Well?” Inuyasha snapped.

“There isn’t much I can tell you aside from the fact she did in fact heal you. It is what drained her aura…” Inuyasha could tell he was holding back. What he was holding back and why, he wasn’t sure. Was it spiritualists in general that were so fucking secretive???

“And??” he growled in return.

“And until she awakens that’s all I can say unfortunately. Her aura is very weak to be able to discern more than what I have already told you.”

“You heard him,” the slayer defended.

“Let us give Lord Inuyasha and my mate some time. Come, I will get you food since you traveled so far and tended to our priestess first,” Rin said, releasing Inuyasha and gracefully brushing her hand against Sesshomaru before leading them out the door.

“What are your thoughts, little brother?” Sesshomaru asked once they were gone.

“Fuck if I knew. She was just as forthcoming about shit as the monk…”

“Likely it had to do with their reiki. An unspoken alliance. It has been confirmed she is able to use her power to heal others. We at least have one answer. Rest for now with your mate. I will call upon you if I learn anything else from the mortals,” Sesshomaru said as he began to leave the room.

“Sess?”

“Hn?”

“Thank you… for this…”

“Thanks is not necessary. You are my brother,” he informed as he left the room. Inuyasha supposed that was his way of off-handedly apologizing for being a total dick until he met Rin. He’d take it. They weren't a very wordy family. They were men of action. The fact Sesshomaru summoned a monk, researched for five days straight, and even allowed them entry into his home… That was more than enough.

He had been talking with his jackass brother and fake-ass monk about Kagome’s condition two days later when they heard the guards shouting. All he could do was berate himself for the one time he left Kagome’s side that she had woken up. Typical ass Kagome. Stubborn as all damn hell.

When he finally came upon her, she was even further from the girl he had first met. The strong, sassy, hand-licking, weird, beautiful, kind, priestess. She was drenched in sweat, paler than a ghost, shaking, trembling, saturated in fear and anxiety. Those beautiful sapphire eyes were hidden from him. It was crazy to see that change in her that had taken place within a month of them meeting. It killed him inside she was that afraid and had taken to hiding within her weak little barrier than barely covered her body that was folded in on itself.

He called to her--the only way he knew how. He had never spoken to her so gently before--anyone that kindly before. When she finally let down her barrier after burning the fuck out of his hand and he held her as close as he could to his body it finally clicked. What Rin had said about being in love--how literally nothing else mattered, no else in the room was of concern… It was just them.

Finally having her back in the room, it was weird how… intimate they had gotten since she awoke from when she had fallen asleep. It wasn’t like they hadn’t touched before. There were always small carasses from her, a slight lean of her on his shoulder, a hug or two, but this--this was so different. It made him feel powerful. That she put so much faith and trust in him to hold her like this. That she wanted him to protect her and hold her…

Obviously she had counter offers. The Hojo guy from her village and that sick and twisted fuck Naraku. But she wanted his no good half-breed self to hold on to.

When she finally confided in him about being captured and touched in ways that made his blood boil and his desire to kill Naraku only increased ten-fold, did he begin to understand why she wasn’t as forthcoming about Naraku.

“Inuyasha?” Her voice was barely a whisper when she finally spoke again disrupting him from his thoughts. His very graphic thoughts of torturing and killing Naraku. Over. And over. And over again.

“What?” He said more gruffly than he meant. Honestly.

“I--” There was a knock at the door that made her jump and bury herself into him further making him growl.

“Damnit. It’s your food; let me grab it.”

“Wait--”

“I’m just going to the door,” he said as he finally was able to detangle himself from her. She simply scurried and sat up quickly. Even with his back turned, he could feel her big ocean eyes locked on him.

Opening the door, he saw Akami and took the bowl from her. “Let Sesshomaru know we’ll be down shortly.” She bowed and left.

Turning back, he didn’t even notice Kagome was directly behind him and almost dropped her bowl of food, “Fuck!!!”

“Sorry,” she said disparagingly.

“You just scared me. Come on,” he said, taking her hand and leading her to the small table in the corner of the room near the open door to the balcony. He set the bowl down and waited for her pointedly.

She looked unamused. Unmoved by his basic direction of thought. Groaning, he sat down at the table then glared at her. She slightly hesitated but sat as close as she could to him without being on his lap and slowly began eating.

"So… you healed me?" Probably shouldn't have said that while she was eating. Her soup was likely spat outside off the balcony. Gross. He noted to himself to make sure to have Akami clean up after they left. He didn't want his room smelling like sick-people broth.

"How did--"

"I may be a little slow and you can even say I'm an idiot sometimes but I don't just magically heal like that. Especially with something as serious as someone running me through my gut on the night I’m human before the sun even peers over the horizon. Is that why you were so drained?” He knew the answer. But he wanted to test her to see if she’d hide it or lie.

“Yes…” she said defeatedly.

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why did you heal me? If it was gonna do that to you, why did you do that?”

“I--Inuyasha! You can’t expect I would have just let you die!! How can you even think that?!?” There was that fire he was missing. The spunk and resistance.

“When it basically killed you--yea! You have to pick yourself over me!! Fuck Kagome, what would I have done if it had been you?!?!”

“It wasn’t so--”

“It could have very well been!! A week, Kagome! A full fucking week of you unconscious, not moving and me freaking the fuck out not knowing if you were EVER going to wake up!!”

She swallowed and averted her eyes, “ I’m sorry. But I don’t regret my choice and I would do it again.”

“Of course you would,” he said exasperated.

“Look, you took the hit for me, didn’t you? To try and protect me? You did the same thing the first night of the new moon. Obviously it’s ingrained in us at this point we will protect each other.”

“Don’t mean I’m happy about it,” he sulked. It hurt his pride in all actuality of the situation. That she had to help him because he had failed in protecting her.

"I'm not your responsibility, you know. I've been taking care of myself for a while now."

"Fine job you've been doing," he added sarcastically.

"Look, I was doing just fine before Naraku thought I'd make a nice mate, or whatever."

"What is his other reason for hunting you down? Typically demons don't just pursue a mate who wants nothing to do with them," Inuyasha stated.

Kagome bit her lip. Her silence seemed like it was in contemplation of what to say or how much to reveal.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I know he's not your mate." Uh oh. He was digging his own grave. Saying too much. Even though he… he kinda wanted her to know. He wanted to continue holding her. He wanted to be able to do more.

"You do?"

"W-Well yea," he stammered.

Man up, dumbass.

No one asked you.

I'll tell our mate she is ours.

The fuck you will--

Then grow some fucking balls, hanyou.

Why you--

Did your conversation with our brother's mate just go over your head? Did you lie to yourself about fucking talking her?

N-no, I… Damnit, just shut the fuck up.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked, concerned as she was grasping his arm gently.

“Sorry, I got distracted,” he muttered embarrassed as he turned away from her.

“Th-thank you for still believing in me. In that at least. I… I promise he isn’t my mate…” she looked like she wanted to say more but at the same time, fear soaked through her.

“Can a priestess sense that tie between two people?”

Her blush was likely an answer if any… Did she know?

“Kago--”

“Inu--”

“Yo-you first,” she stammered.

“What do you know about mates?” There. That was a clear question.

Coward.

Shut it.

“Just what one of my demon friends has told me. Just the pull between mates is undeniable. It’s like--indescribable, he said. I believed him of course.”

“Your friend has a mate I gather?”

“Yes, he found her last year. They are expecting twins, or rather were. I’m sure she had them by now…” She said, reminiscing her old life. She gazed out the window as if looking at her family. Her friends. Anyone but him. It hurt honestly.

“Do you… miss them?”

“Yes. But…” she said as she turned back towards him and that radiant soft smile on her face. “I don’t regret meeting you. This may sound crazy but--” she leaned forward slowly. Like she was testing to see if he’d pull away. There was a second he slightly panicked but his inner instincts held him firm. If she was going to give him a taste of her sweet mouth, he was going to take it. It made him consider she did know--that she felt the pull herself.

“‘But?’” he repeated looking down at her parted lips. Her breath slightly hitched.

“Do you--”

“Kagome,” he said softly but also gruffly as he was losing patience with the song and dance she was doing. To be fair, he wasn’t being as helpful either.

“I really care about you; more than I think you know. I’m scared I’m pushing you away. Well, I was terrified you had gone… It broke me when I woke up and didn’t see you at my side. The thought you had gone--”

“I get it. Just so we’re clear, I won’t leave you. I can’t,” he admitted.

“You ‘can’t’?”

“Not if I don’t want to die…”

“What does that--” she snapped.

“Can you just shut up??” He finally closed the distance for them and pressed his hungry lips to hers. The sigh she made might as well have been an oasis in the desert. Fuck. Why didn’t they start their relationship like this?? Oh yea. Because he was a dumbass.

Finally-- you admit it.

Do you ever go the fuck away?!

He broke off the kiss at the thought as he looked down into her slowly opening sapphire eyes. She looked as disheveled as he felt.

“You… know?” she asked quietly.

“You mean you knew?” He replied irritated.

“I mean--I was pretty sure--”

“Oh for fucks sake--” he growled.

“This is why you can never get anything done…” Sesshomaru said boredly from the door.

“Eep!!!” Kagome yelped, jumping away from him. If Inuyasha could kill someone with a stare alone, his brother would have been burned into a giant pile of ash. Son of a bitch. Literally.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! How long have you been standing there you fucking perv?!!”

“Long enough to see the pitiful show of affection; Akami said you would be joining us a while ago. Are you done discovering you both knew you were each other’s mate? Or should I come back?”

Kagome reeked of embarrassment and found the wall of his room fairly fascinating while Inuyasha could only snarl at his brother.

“Then you both shall join us,” Sesshomaru ordered as he left the room.

“Damn him to the seventh hell!!”

“It’s fine,” she said farrrrrrrrrr too quickly. She stood and brushed off her kimono and started walking to the door.

Oh fuck no, he thought as he jumped to his feet and was suddenly between her and the door.

“We’re not done yet,” he said stepping towards her.

Swallowing she averted her gaze. “I--”

“What else have you been hiding?”

“Inuyasha--”

“They can wait.” He grabbed her arms and made her look directly at him. “What. Else?”

“Inuyasha please--” She was panicking. “I--I shouldn’t--”

“I’m your mate. You belong to me. Our lives and souls are bound together. Just fucking tell me Kagome. As much as I’d love to get the fuck outta here, I think we need my asshole brother to try and take down Naraku. And his conditions were pretty fucking clear when I brought you here-- either we tell him why Naraku is really after you, or we’re out. While I have confidence in my skills and I am the last to admit this, we may need some help. So will you just tell me?! What are you so goddamn afraid of?!?”

“I’m scared of losing you!!!! Before I had nothing!! NOTHING! I had family, an arranged marriage, and friends, but that was easy to walk away from, Inuyasha!! They were safer if I was away from them! I didn’t want to marry Hojo! But you--I’m afraid of letting you in!! That you’ll realize how much trouble I actually am and decide to run for the freaking hills! I don’t want you to look at me differently! I want your scowl, that hardened face that turns soft when you think I’m not looking, I don’t want you pity or you just be nice because you think I’m a freak! I want you to treat me exactly as I am!! Who I am!! Not what I am or who I was!”

“At least we’re finally getting somewhere,” he smirked down at her.

Kagome’s head was spinning when Inuyasha kissed her. She had been too nervous to close the final distance between them and thank all the Gods he did it for her. It was a key opening a lock. So freeing. She wondered if he felt the same.

When he began to question her, curse, she was so lost in him. Their old way of communication; their own song and dance. Then Sesshomaru spoke. And she had never been so embarrassed.

She wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Then he used the actual words she and Inuyasha were skating around: mates. What was crazier was Inuyasha didn’t deny it. So obviously, he did know. Maybe his fears were just as justified as hers. Or maybe he had doubts. About them. About her.

Once Sesshomaru stepped out, she stood as gracefully as she could and tried to follow but, of course, Inuyasha decided then he wanted to continue their chat. Typical. Not.

Then she word vomited everything she had been thinking. Even better!! Be vulnerable and chase the only guy she had ever been attracted to, pulled to, wanted to be drawn to, away!! She was an idiot if she ever met one.

But his smirk was so alleviating. It was like all the weight she had placed on herself was suddenly lifted.

“Inuyasha…”

“Do I literally have to drag everything out of you until we’re yelling at each other??”

“You’re one to talk, dog-boy,” she sneered.

“There’s my girl. Now spill. Why would I look at you differently??”

“Inuyasha… I’m--I--” How does someone just tell someone else who they really are? What they are guarding??

“Spit it out!!! I’d prefer I know what the fuck I’m walking into before my asshat of a brother!! Kagome, don’t you trust me at all?!?”

“Of course I do!!”

“Obviously you don't!! Kagome,” his hands tightened on her arms. She shivered at her thoughts of being held close by him again. The feel of his lips on hers-- “You don’t look at me any differently for being the freak that I am. You treat me just like a normal person. Don’t you think I’d extend the same courtesy to you? You’re my mate.”

He kept saying that now that it was out in the open--but did that even mean he cared though?? He hadn’t said that yet. Did he even love her? Or was all of this just because she was his mate?

“That doesn’t mean you care or anything. It just means you know that--”

“Kagome will you just stop the fucking excuses and just fucking tell me?!? Don’t feed me that shit that I don’t fucking care about you! You know damn well and good I do otherwise I would have taken off and decided you weren’t worth all this drama. I wouldn’t have begged my fucking asshole of a brother for shelter let alone asked for his help! You can sit there all you want in fucking denail but pull your head out of your ass and stop stalling!!”

She wasn’t sure what she was most shocked about; was it the fact he admitted he did care about her? Or was it the fact he did it in such a roundabout jackass way?

“This isn’t--damnit! Inuyasha this isn’t a conversation that I can just rush!! There’s so much that goes into it--”

“Give me the short version otherwise that dick is gonna come back,” he growled, releasing her arms. Something she didn’t want to happen. The contact they shared made it easier to unintentionally spill her beans but… obviously she didn’t have much choice.

“You’re not going to understand--”

“Probably not--but I wanna be the first one to know.”

“UGH! Why are you so---”

“--Impossible?? Yea; you are too, sunshine.”

“Ughhhhhh!!!” She groaned. “Fine!!! I’m the reincarnation of a priestess named Kikyo who had to guard the Sacred Jewel of the Four Souls; she was killed by her fiance and had the jewel burned with her body because she claimed it was cursed!!! We know I’m the reincarnation because the stupid thing is inside of me!!! That’s what Naraku wants!!

“I still don’t know why he claims I’m his mate. I still don’t really know what he wanted with me when he caught me because all he did was keep me in the fucking dark cave naked and touch me like a made of stupid glass--like he couldn’t actually bring himself to do anything further!!! That’s it! That’s everything!!!” Okay--that was a lie. But it was a little white lie. She wasn’t about to say she gave him her life force while healing him.

He just looked at her. Blankly… well, incorrect phrasing--more like his usual scowl and he was just… staring at it. To be honest, she would have preferred some form of shift in his stare. Confusion? Anger? Relief? Something?

“Uhm… Inuyasha?”

He still didn’t respond. Did she break him?

“Uh--hello?” She waved a hand in front of his face to which he caught and growled.

“I’m just--fuck--ok--come on,” he pulled and led her through the door and down the hall. She thought he was being a little rough, but she relished the re-established contact between them.

“O-ok,” she whispered as he dragged her down the hall.

He stopped right in front of the opening to what she could only assume was where they were meeting his brother and turned back to her. He finally held a different look--one she hadn’t quite seen before. Disbelief maybe? Regret…?

“We’ll get through this, alright?”

“Inuyasha…” His name floated from her lips like the air they breathed.

“I’m not going anywhere. I may not totally understand--but we’re gonna defeat that bastard together.”

She smiled at his words and squeezed his hand that was gripping hers.

They entered the room and she froze. She knew her face showed her emotions and heard Inuyasha growl in displeasure. The monk and slayer she had met before… the ones that claimed she was mated to that thing.

She felt herself shrink behind Inuyasha as if by instinct. Embracing his full protection and support.

“Stand down Inuyasha, they mean no harm,” Sesshomaru admonished.

“They are making her uncomfortable with their fucking stares,” Inuyasha snarled as his hand brushed against her hip in a soothing gesture.

“Lord Inuyasha, it was a misunderstanding--one of which we do owe an apology to your mate for,” the monk spoke first. Kagome kept her face in Inuyasha’s haori though. He could apologize to her from her current position.

“Priestess, we do--uhm--apologize for our rash behavior when we first met…” the woman slayer began. She sounded uncomfortable with the idea of apologizing. Either she felt she was still in the right or had never had to apologize before in her life.

“It-it’s fine,” she finally spoke but still refused to leave the comfort of Inuyasha’s person. This was a little much. All a little too new. She hadn’t been around people in a long time. And here she was, with four new ones, none of her old friends she had even trusted. The only thing she could do was latch onto something familiar. Someone who would understand. That person who meant more to her than anyone.

“It’s actually not fine, but don’t worry. It will be later,” Inuyasha sneered.

“Is that a challenge?” She heard the slayer say in a deadly voice.

“Take it however you want, bitch. Just know this little chat isn’t over,” he said, guiding Kagome to sit on the other side of him away from them.

When he got her to sit down a hand touched her shoulder and she about jumped out her skin. She saw a very pleasant looking woman. Oh---the Lady of the West!

“Hello, I am so sorry about our original meeting. I’m Rin, your--well--have you and Inuyasha--”

“Your asshole mate told her,” Inuyasha scoffed.

Rin laughed merrily as if nothing the past hour had happened. Kagome couldn’t but be in awe of her joy. “Of course he did--he had not tact at all. Well then, I am to be your sister in law--should you accept Inuyasha as your mate that is. It is nice to make your acquaintance. I’ve heard a little about you from Lord Inuyasha when I would bathe you.”

“O-Oh,” Kagome blushed. “Y-yes, it’s nice to meet you as well, Lady Rin.” She began to bow before the hand on her shoulder tightened, stopping her movements to look back into Rin’s glowing face.

“Just ‘Rin’, sister…?” she asked leadingly with a twinkle in her eyes. Oh Gods. She was going to be trouble.

“U-uhhh, y-yes. Sister is fine,” Kagome admitted, sinking into Inuyasha’s side asking silent permission. His arm wrapping around her waist was relieving to say the least. It meant he felt the same. But they clearly had much more to discuss.

“If you are done,” Sesshomaru finally spoke.

“Yes, my lord! I will go grab fresh tea since Lord Inuyasha took forever and a dayyyyyy,” Rin chided teasingly.

“See what I mean?” he whispered into her ear.

“Talkative. I got it,” Kagome agreed with what she thought would be a permanent blush on her face.

Once Rin returned, Sesshomaru turned to Kagome. Silently. She was a little uncomfortable with such a stoic look and was confused about what he wanted.

“Well?” he prompted.

“The bastard wants you to tell us your story,” Inuyasha finally spoke, looking annoyed at his brother.

“Oh… right. My apologies. I’m sure it has been quite the topic of discussion since our arrival.”

“And then some,” the slayer added.

“I guess I should start at… the beginning. First, what do you know of the Shikon no Tama?”

The monk made a face of wonder while everyone else remained silent except for Sesshomaru. “This one knows of its existence until about fifty years ago when the priestess who guarded it took it with her to the underworld.”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“How do you know of the jewel?” the monk asked.

“My family was the line of Shrine maidens that was charged with the jewel’s protection from demons. Only close monks and priestesses were let in on that knowledge in case something happened to one of us. I… assume you are one of those branches of monks?”

“Yes, my grandfather was told of Kikyo’s death. He went about trying to figure out if the jewel could somehow make its way back into the world but--” he paused and it was if understanding dawned on him. “You--”

“Yes,” Kagome said sullenly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. “The jewel was reborn in me--the reincarnation of Kikyo. We decided not to tell anyone in hopes we could find out a way to purify the jewel like Kikyo had wanted. She had claimed the jewel was cursed as most if not all the priestesses who were charged with protecting the jewel met an unfortunate end.

“Our explorations didn’t really reveal much so… We gave up. Hoping the secret that it was inside me would be enough to keep it dormant. But we were sadly mistaken.

“On the eve of my eighteenth birthday, Naraku appeared and propositioned me when I was alone by our village's lake. He wanted me to join him. I told him no because I could sense the underlying evil within him. He only laughed at the rejection and said I would grow to regret that decision. That I would ultimately change my mind…

“The villagers started giving me weird looks and then it erupted into an almost controlled chaos. They were claiming I was stealing things, tipping carts, causing damage, and that I had even gone so far as to hurt someone. My family of course stood by me… But I was concerned. So I ventured into the wolves territory to speak to my friends.

“Shippo is a fox demon they adopted when I had found him in a trap outside our village. The villagers were wary of demons, so I figured they would be okay helping him out. Koga was alright with it. So I asked Shippo if he had been pulling pranks on the villagers which he had sworn he hadn’t. Koga also validated his story. He mentioned there had been a demon trespassing around their lands, but their scent shifted and changed which made him harder to track. It was then it dawned on me what Naraku had meant; that he would give me no other choice than to choose him.

“That night, I packed a few things and left without a word to anyone. I initially tried to take refuge with the slayers…”

The woman slayer met Kagome’s glance and still looked somewhat upset. Not in a bashful sense. In an angry sense. As if she didn't necessarily believe her story. Inuyasha’s arm tightening around her waist made her relax knowing she was just being paranoid.

“Monk, keep your woman under control before I take her outside and teach her some manners,” Inuyasha growled.

“Sango is her own person and I cannot blame her for her skepticism after what happened at her village,” the monk defended, placing a calming hand on his wife’s arm.

“I’m not saying she aint her own person, but I am saying she needs to back the fuck down because if I smell my mate’s discomfort again--”

“Enough,” Sesshomaru ordered. “Continue your story priestess. Judgement shall be held off until after she has finished her story.”

“They turned me away saying I had aided Naraku in killing some of their best slayers… then I tried different montasaries, even different shrines, I even went to some villages and all had the same story. That I helped Naraku kill people, harm others, whatever the offense, I was guilty. It was long after that he had captured me and kept me locked up for a couple weeks.

“I was able to escape and that’s when I found Inuyasha, or rather he found me…” She turned back to gaze into his eyes. That rich pool of honey was hard to look away from. Her lip somehow became embedded between her teeth and it was all she could to not kiss him.

“And you just expect us to believe you??! I saw you there!” The slayer definitely killed the mood. Her hand had slammed down on the table they were sitting at stirring the cups of tea. She was standing and leaning over the table as if expecting her stance and infuriated face pointed towards Kagome to change her mind.

“What you saw was an illusion,” Sesshomaru stated as calmly as ever. Kagome shot a look at him and saw Rin was looking at him adoration.

“Her scent remained neutral throughout the whole story. There was no presence of lies and she is the mate to my brother. A human is not given the option of having more than one mate if they are linked to a demon. She still is scented of purity and holds no outlying scent of Naraku. Even if she was still plotting with him, she would have some sort of scent marker on her; but neither I nor my younger brother have scented it.”

“That’s a bunch of bullshit Lord Sesshomaru! You were not there!!!” Sango’s voice broke in suppressed grief that she masked with a look of rage.

“Enough of your ignorance, slayer. Naraku indeed succeeded in his plans to drag you away from the actual pressing issue. His goal was to make the priestess feel alone enough to accept him. However even then, she made her escape. While you may not trust her, she is a part of the court of the West. You will hold your tongue while you reside in our home.”

“Sango, I know you are upset. It is not that I do not believe you, but it is likely plausible… Naraku seems to be a shapeshifter of some sorts.” The monk tried to reason with his wife.

“That does not explain how both he and she were standing before us!!!!”

“He uses demon puppetry,” Inuyasha finally said. “He likely was using a puppet in the baboon suit and assumed the form of Kagome.”

“You’re giving a woman you’ve only known for a month a lot of credit,” the monk added as if goading the half-demon.

“She has been nothing but kind to me. She healed me not once, but twice, and kept the barrier up around us for over a month without complaint. She originally sent me away but I stayed. If she really had it out for me, she would have just killed me.”

“And you’re not just blinded by the fact a half-demon found its mate and you’d do anything to protect her since she’d be the only person to accept you?” the slayer pointed out.

It was Kagome’s turn to stand slamming her hand against the table. “How dare you say such things about Inuyasha!!!” She knew her power was flaring but couldn’t help it; Inuyasha called her name but she ignored as she stepped around the table to finally face the woman head on. The monk stood and glanced nervously between his wife and her.

“Inuyasha is the kindest man I have ever met!!! He saved me and almost gave his life for me without even a second thought!! Just because he is a half-demon doesn’t make him any less worthy of love or care!!! Even if he was a full demon or human I would still love him!! But he’s perfect just the way he is! He has the strength and instincts of a demon and the loving heart of a human! Apologize to him this minute for saying he was only standing up for me because he only wants to be with someone even if they are tainted!!! You can talk about how poor and dirty and even low I am but you will not include or slander Inuyasha!!”

The room was eerily quiet. She finally noticed Sesshomaru and Rin were on the other side of the room by the door. It made her question why Sesshomaru kept pulling Rin away from reiki attacks. She was human--mated to a demon sure--but it shouldn’t hurt--

She finally turned her full gaze upon Rin and couldn’t stop the realization in her stare. Sesshmaru glared but Rin smiled softly and nodded. They obviously knew exactly what she was thinking; Rin was pregnant.

“Oh my gosh--Rin--I’m so--”

“It is alright, Lady Kagome. Lord Sesshomaru would never allow harm to come to me,” she replied, cutting Kagome’s apology short.

“However, refrain from showing that kind of display again. This is a castle full of demons,” Sesshomaru reasoned.

Inuyasha finally was at her side again and she grimaced seeing she also burned him, “Inu--”

“It’s fine. Come on; I’m not gonna let this bitch keep pushing your buttons when you were barely able to stand earlier,” he sighed as he took her arm and led her from the room.

“Lord Inuyasha--”Rin started before Sesshomaru stepped in front of her to stand before Inuyasha.

“I will speak with our guests. We will see you at dinner.”

“Thank you Sesshomaru,” Inuyasha said with a nod as he pulled Kagome along.

“Just a moment Lord Inuyasha!” The monk called after them. Inuyasha initially growled then realized he was alone. “Might I speak to your mate alone for just a moment? I promise I mean no harm. There is just something I’d like to ask her about regarding her spiritual powers.”

Kagome turned back to Inuyasha and nodded it would be ok. Inuyasha glared but sighed. He released her arm and walked down the end of the hall slowly so that she would know which way to get back to his room.

“What is it?” she said quietly hoping he didn’t over hear their conversation.

“Lady Kagome… you, I think you know what this is about. The reason I had been summoned was to see why you would not wake from your slumber due to your depleted aura.”

“A-ah...” she acknowledged and swallowed.

“Do you know what healing someone does to our power? To our bodies and souls?”

“Yes, Miroku. I am not a child. I went through all the training.”

“Then you know you are killing yourself healing a half-demon! Why-- he would have healed!!”

“You don’t know that!” She snapped back angrily. She wouldn’t reveal Inuyasha’s secret but she also was not going to listen to this monk’s outlandish claims.

“Lady Kagome--do you know how depleted your life force actually is?!? You have maybe a couple of weeks left! If you’re lucky!!”

“I know!!” She yelled. Then realized Inuyasha had turned their way and repeated softer, “I-I know…”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t think it’s really his business at the moment,” she replied back harshly.

“You realize when demons mate you end up sharing life-spans, correct? What happens if you completely deplete his??”

She gasped not realizing that could have been a possible outcome. Then it dawned on her--of course that would be the outcome. The jewel was cursed. It cursed her and everyone it came in contact with. She was so ignorant to think anything differently. That Inuyasha and her could have lived happily ever after in the shelter they had once shared… Of course… that would never happen. No matter where she went, no matter how far she traveled, she would never find an actual safe haven. She would only have shelter….

#inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha au #shelter #inuyasha x kagome #inukag #inu x kag

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