Outcast Dog (Inuyasha FF)(Boyxboy)

Chapter 11

It is beginning to get colder now. Since we have been traveling east, I can say with ease that it is not due to any altitude changes. Rather, it is simply the natural flow of the seasons. The imp mentioned a human village when Rin mentioned the new chill in the air, which didn't entirely seem to please her. She seemed excited, but also somewhat saddened. Perhaps... she is left in human villages during the winter?

It would make a great deal of sense.

Regardless, as soon as Rin mentioned it, I noticed we'd begun to head southwest. I do not understand my fellow demon, but I know enough to tell when we are merely wandering in vague search and when we are heading to a specific place. The latter is what I understand now. I don't mean to imply that Sesshōmaru does not know where he's going most of the time. I think he simply heads in a direction to search for something powerful to fight. That seems to be his sort of thing.

My thing would be standing in silence, watching over the imp and the child either in his absence or in his misty company. Well... I wouldn't really say company... We are not of a bond in any way. He allows me to travel because of Rin, and I go because....

Why do I go?

The question, a mere thought, turns slowly into an itch I cannot scratch. Days pass, until a few weeks have gone by and I am no closer to the answer. Only colder and a bit grumpier. I don't let my frustration show, but it seeps through on occasion. Usually when the imp is being particularly... unamusing.

Like now.

"Your days are numbered, Rin. Soon we will reach the village and it will just be me and Lord Sesshomaru once again."

"Shut up, Jaken! I'm only going there for winter!"

His little remarks towards Rin have begun to grate on my nerves. Every once in a while he says something like this, and each and every time I feel the urge to hit something. It's not because Rin is upset. It's because of my pride as a pure-blooded dog demon lord. I am the son of General Kyoraku, the White Demon of the North. To hear a mere imp speak as if I am inconsequential riles my demonic blood.

Although I suppose, in a way, I am indeed of little meaning here. In time I will go, and fade from memory. Besides, the imp does not know my heritage. Even so, I find myself disgruntled by his behavior.

"It's the truth, Ri-"

"Little imp."

The imp whirls around to face me, clearly angered by my use of 'little' and the absence of his name. Or perhaps he's angry I've dared address him at all. In his eyes, I'm a stray dog who's begun following his beloved master, an annoyance and a parasite. He opens his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it. I surprise even myself with how my voice sounds, laced with irritation.

"Be silent."

He shies away, grumbling under his breath at me as I return to staring up into the trees a distance away, which I chose simply because I could keep my head at a more relaxed level rather than looking up for a long time. Sesshōmaru, a distance away, says nothing. I think he's gotten used to these tiny moments where I express myself. The first time, I felt his gaze on me for quite a while. Now he doesn't even bat an eye.

Perhaps because he is also annoyed at the imp's behavior.

The soft, barely audible snap of a stick in the forest draws my gaze. It could be anything, but with a small child nearby, there is no such thing as too careful. For quite some time, there is nothing to indicate any danger. As my eyes move slowly over the area, I see nothing but the same scenery.

Until I see a pair of exceedingly familiar red eyes that sends a chill deep into my bones. Too familiar, too recognizable.

Stalker. The presence-less minion of my old home that tracks me down after each failed attack. Over and over we have come to this conclusion, staring each other down as if it were our first meeting.

The only problem is that Stalker only locks eyes with me once my hunters are close. Too close. Dangerously close. They will become a threat to Rin's safety if I stay any longer. Stalker vanishes, and I look towards the others. Sesshōmaru seems ready to move on, and Rin and the imp have already begun to follow him.

Well then. Goodbye, little child.

I turn away, heading off in the opposite direction. It doesn't take long for me to put quite a bit of distance, or at least enough that the falling autumn leaves will conceal my footsteps and delay. I keep going, walking quickly, until I'm far enough away that Sesshōmaru's presence is nothing but an echo, a memory on the wind. I leave human form, eyeing the terrain around me. To my left, more forest. To my right, craggy hills and cliffs loom in the distance. A good place to get higher ground. I veer right, leaving walking behind and running swiftly through the forest.

How long has it been, since I was last hunted?

How long was my tiny glimpse of peace?

Two, three years?

Three years.

Three years of children's smiles.
Three years of beautiful scenery.
Three years of temporary peace.

And yet, I do not feel at rest.

It's dark when I reach the rocky crags, and continues to get darker as I climb up a steep path. The path narrows and widens sporadically, occasionally requiring me to jump over particularly narrow sections. Soon, however, after climbing up a tall ledge, I find myself on a particularly large plateau of rock, with a cave just small enough for me to shelter in off to the far side.

Here. Here is where I will meet my timeless foes.

I head for the cave, and lay inside with my gaze out over the empty expanse of rock.

I wait.

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

He has left.

Rin was upset when she discovered this, but continued to follow. I will never understand her, though there would be little point to anyways.

The dark one has left.

Yet the scent of plums flickers so, a tiny reminder of what was once there. It fades in and out, sometimes stronger, sometimes faint.

By nightfall, when Rin was asleep by the fire under the watch of Jaken, it was hardly a whisper. It aggravated me. Why? The dark one held no importance to me. He was of some amusement, given his appearance, but nothing more. Nothing beneficial was gained by him being near, aside from protecting Rin. There was nothing of particular importance about him either.

So why did that anger this one so?