Maiden of the Peach

Chapter twenty-one: Fly Shirubatonbo, Cut Through The Darkness!

      "One soul recovered... Kushimitama, wisdom is a blade of silvery grace that slices the darkest of shadows, two souls are yet to be uncovered by the light within one's heart, be wary," that familiar voice echoes within the depths of the surrounding darkness.

      My eyes scan around the shifting shadows of the void, silvery wings dart around my peripheral vision. I notice that I'm now standing in a meadow of vibrant green swaying grass with a tranquil lake in its center. Soft lotus' and lily pads float above the crystal clear surface. This identical dream became more explicit, but I couldn't move any closer to where I wanted to go.

      "(________)!" A familiar boyish voice graces my ears; my gaze frantically searches the over the horizon of this seemingly endless world.
"Shino! Shino, are you there?" I couldn't help but cry out to him, relieved to know that he's alive and well. "Where are you?" his natural small fluffy white and red body couldn't be found anywhere.

      Darkness bubbled and swirled through the ground, swallowing up the beauty that lay before me—crawling up my leg, feeling the panic and fear brewing from within me as I feel the cold biting into my very soul. I was suffocating like an inky smog as it blocks out the light. My eyes were slowly open to the welcoming glow of the morning sun. It was adding to my confusion with the newfound warmth flowing through my veins again. The pain from the poison no longer swam through my body as I can move my fingers without flinching.

      I never felt this good in a long time as I sat up slowly to my amazement, feeling the soft thing shifting with my movements. To my surprise, it was Sesshomaru's mokomoko lying both over and underneath me when I was sleeping. Heat quickly flushed over my cheeks as I slowly turned my head, wondering if he was somewhere nearby. Remembering Shino's words as I held my hand close to my chest, after all, I notice Ah-Un resting at the other side of the small campfire with Rin and Jaken, who both slept in peace.

      Sure enough, Sesshomaru rest beneath a tree, back pressed against its trunk with me mere inches away as the moko still lay over his shoulder. I couldn't believe my eyes as I feel my heart speeding up, quickly I laid my head back down onto the fluff in hopes I could pretend to have slept much longer and didn't see anything.

      "You're awake," Sesshomaru spoke low as my heart leaps up into my throat once I heard his voice greet my panic riddled mind. "Or perhaps you are trying to pretend to be dead?" my cheeks feel hot as I hear the ever slightest bit of mockery that leaps from his harsh tongue.

      "N-No! I-I-I was... um," quickly I jerk my head up to look him in the eye, flustered as I cling to the white fluff subconsciously to ease my rapidly beating heart. "I don't know," my face felt hot with shame and embarrassment, casting my gaze down to avoid his molten gold irises.

      I didn't need to look at him to know that he was laughing at me behind that cold and collected demur. That is till I heard the rarest sound to have ever graced my ears, a snicker from Lord Sesshomaru, the man who never shows emotion to anyone. Something that should make me feel fear for my life made my heart soar for a passing second, a single perfect second. Looking up to confirm that the sound had indeed come from him. Only to see his face is turned away from me, and that cemented my theory. Now I understand what Rin saw in this mysterious man, even though his pride made it hard to believe it in the first place, but he is a generous man.

      It's my turn to snicker at his awkwardness. He's not used to others seeing a different side of him. A smile graces my lips as I try to cover them with my hand. I couldn't help it, as I feel the warm fuzzy feeling bubbling up inside of me. As soon as that feeling came, it vanished when I remember the incident with Shino, moving my hand to look down at my wrist. Another charm I have acquired and the dog charm centerpiece looked even more vibrate than before. I was blinking in surprise as the crushing sense of worry dissipated into curiosity and hope.