Four Seasons (Sesshomaru Fanfiction)

Summer: Chpt. 3

3.     Friends

As Sesshomaru left - without much hesitation - to find the little girl named Rin, Akiko watched the dog demon carefully. It wasn't long before he'd disappeared into the trees. She gently rubbed her neck which he had finally decided to release after she'd informed him of the demon that look liked her, thus momentarily clearing her name. Admittedly, however, she was surprised that he had spared her yet again.

"You are a waste of my time," was what he had calmly uttered as he finally let go of her. She fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"I've been telling you that from the start," she retorted.

She couldn't see her neck, but she was almost certain that there were dark pink blotches where his hand had been.

Just as she reluctantly let go of her bruised neck, a light breeze began to blow. The branches of the trees around her swayed gently, and, strangely, the red-haired demon – still on her knees – felt cold. She wondered why, looking down and suddenly realizing that she'd been completely unclothed the entire time.

Right – she'd been bathing before all this happened.

Hit with realization, she gasped, bringing both arms up to cover her bare chest, her face flushing from slight embarrassment.

"Humph," she uttered, a bit annoyed, "maybe I was right in assuming that guy's a pervert." She knew, though, that her assumption was most likely wrong.

Tossing the thought aside, she then scampered over to where her damp clothes lay in a pile beside the water. Just as she had tied her hair back into its usual ponytail, a low voice startled her:

"I thought he'd never leave."

She froze. That voice had, as of recent, become unmistakable. She turned around. Standing there with a sly grin on his face and a disheveled and slightly fearful human child by his side was the strange demon that resembled her far too much. Akiko stared at the unnamed demon, unsure as to how he had managed to conceal both his scent and his aura not only from her but also from the dog demon.

She was also unsure as to what she should have done next. What she did know, though, was that the rest of her clothing would have to wait. She quickly forced the look of shock from off her face and instead glared at him. She rose to her feet, noticing the other demon's menacing aura intensify in response.

"So we meet again, sister."

Her glare disappeared just as quickly as it had come, and her look of disbelief returned. For a brief moment, time itself seemed to slow down and Akiko's face grew pale.

"Sis-ter....?" She muttered the syllables of the word as though it were completely foreign to her – a reaction that had been almost completely beyond her control.

The demon leaped into the air. She blinked, forcing herself back into the reality of the moment, but she had been a second too late. He disappeared. Suddenly, she felt a sharp jab to the nape of her neck and then to the center of her back. A soft gasp escaped her lips.

Her body fell limp in an instant. She could no longer feel a thing – neither the cool breeze against her bare skin nor the forceful impact of having fallen to the ground. The bitter taste of dirt and grass, however, was rather strong. She could hear him walking slowly towards her and she thought she could almost hear the sound of the frightened human girl's heartbeat quicken, though she did not stay conscious long enough to confirm either of the two.

***

"Why must you be so stubborn? Didn't I tell you to not get yourself into any trouble? Now look what's happened to you!"