Outcast Dog (Inuyasha FF)(Boyxboy)

Chapter 9

The dark one is exceedingly quiet. Rin enjoys his company, constantly talking with him and Jaken. He stays behind when I leave, and is always at Rin's side when I return.

His presence... is not uncomfortable. He smells of plum blossoms, just faint enough to be somewhat pleasant. Not that I care, but it was important to remember. He speaks little, footsteps light enough to just barely be noticeable. Were it not for Rin's constant chatter towards him, I might of overlooked him. Though he is calm outwardly, I sense a deep anger within him. None of my business.

My business was with the beast in front of me, a foul stench emanating from it. A demon that eats other demons, a beast that now rises to challenge me. Scum. The dark one keeps Rin back, away from the beast and myself. Jaken is somewhere in between, shouting his usual nonsense at the demon. Red eyes gleam greedily at me, filled with a fatal confidence.

"Sesshomaru... I will claim your lands for my own, once I kill your miserable self."

Hmph. How arrogant. I ready my claws, the beast cackling at me before a massive bulk hurtles at me. A simple flex of my claws, and a deep gash appears in the demon's side, causing it to howl as it moves past me.

Past me?

The beast thunders towards the dark one, who simply stares at the creature. He steps in front of Rin as the scum goes past, a blood trail following it. The dark one's right arm bears three deep gashes which ooze blood, but he doesn't even appear to notice it. The beast cackles once more, narrowing its eyes at me. It leaps up into the air, but it's not alive when it crashes back down, my whip vanishing. How irritating.

"Hotaru-san, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

I continue walking, not even sparing a glance at the corpse. I hear Rin continue to chatter at the dark one as they follow, though he does not respond. The smell of his blood... it's very strange.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I didn't even feel it. I only knew I was injured when I felt my blood soaking into my sleeve. As I had thought, Sesshomaru had dispatched the demon quickly with graceful ease. I envy him.

Such power.... Could I have fought off my village when they chased me out if I had that power? No... I'm soft. Too soft. So soft... Like a flower in the breeze...

"Hotaru-san, are you sure you're alright? You're bleeding a lot."

My gaze moves to my sleeve. The entire thing is now dyed a bright crimson, which entrances me for a while. Red is such a beautiful color... I pause, staring at my sleeve. Rin stops as soon as she notices that I'm not moving. Jaken turns and looks at me with contempt, the reins of the beast Rin calls Ah-Un in his hand.

"What is it now? You're being a bother!"

A bother? I look over at him, evaluating his body language. In the edge of my vision, I Sesshomaru stop and look over at us. The imp... is being serious. He truly believes that I am a bother. Why can't I fit in anywhere? Damn this need for company!

I won't leave right this moment. It would show weakness to his words, and my pride as a dog demon will not allow that. I hum I thought for a moment, before looking up at the sky.

"Go ahead, Rin. I'll stop the bleeding."

"Mm! Come on, Jaken!"

Rin and the imp race forward, Sesshomaru's eyes lingering on me for a split second before he returns to his unperturbed stride. I watch them go, only moving once they've gone around a bend in the path. I slip into the forest, making my way to the side of a small creek quite some distance away. I take off my kimono, letting my clothes regenerate the patch torn by the beast as I use my demonic aura to burn the injury itself. The pain is tolerable, but I know there will be scars.

It's not my first time dealing with such a thing. I sit at the creek's edge, letting the water siphon the blood from my kimono. It's not a short process, but it will have to do. I don't like getting new kimonos from villages. It's always... bloody. I watch the sky for quite some time, just thinking.

How can I leave without injuring my pride? Will the child be safe if I go? No... Sesshomaru is perfectly capable of keeping her safe. There's no need for me to be there. I'm just another nuisance. I should leave his lands, be on my way to nowhere. When I finally die, I can search for the Dog General in the pits of flame of the afterlife. Until then, I will wander. On and on. To and fro. Here and there for eternity, until my death takes my final breath. Then... I will wander the lands of the dead.

What was that called again...? A lost soul? I can't remember. It's been such a long time.

I'm so wrapped up in thought that I hardly recognize the presence of Sesshomaru beside me. When I do, my gaze travels up to his face, though he isn't looking at me. He simply stands beside me, towering over me due to my seated position. I don't understand what brought him here. It certainly wasn't sympathy or concern, or even curiosity. He was just... there.

It takes some time, and some study of that impassive face, before I finally find anything to say. Even then, I keep the silence for a little longer. It's nice... being next to one of my own kind and knowing they're not there to hurt me. The wind shifts, eddying between and around us, gently lifting both silver and ebony. He smells of autumn... of the leaves, of the chilled yet not foreboding wind.

"You're healed."

His voice, regal and cold, simple and uncluttered. I envy that voice, devoid of emotion. I envy the power that follows it, the golden gaze that still has not moved to acknowledge me.

"Yes."

Silence once again. I notice the beating of my hurried heart, the tension of my body, the shallowness of my breath. Though it is not unwelcome company, I am still afraid. Fearful, as the weak and cowardly should always be. A fact I had thought I'd become accustomed to. My voice breaks the silence.

"Why are you here?"

My words seem echo around us briefly, those golden eyes turning to me though my own remain upon the starry sky. There's no answer.

"That's okay. You don't have to answer someone like me. I'll just talk instead."

A blink, noticeable on the edge of my vision, and still no reply. His gaze moves, up to the sky as if searching for what captures my own gaze.

"Have you ever heard the tale of the deer with the spotted hide? My father told it to me when I was little. The deer was abandoned by its own herd, and sought after by ruthless hunters who wished for its fur to adorn their home. The deer ran and ran, until its elderly legs collapsed beneath it. Do you know what killed the deer in the end?"

Silence. I know he's listening even so.

"It was the snow. Not the hunters, not the wolves or other deer... but the cold snow. Sometimes I feel very much like that deer. Running and running, only to eventually fall to the world's own power. Except I am no deer. Just a lone dog, waiting for death."

I fall quiet. I don't know why I told him any of that. Perhaps it was my loneliness, or the stars that reminded me of snow, of that spotted deer. Or possibly even some small thought that passed through my mind like a wisp of dirt in a stream. He doesn't say anything, and neither do I. The silence is kept for quite a long time.

It's not an uncomfortable one.