Chapter 6 - Snake meets Dog

“Akito!” Hatori yelled as he came up the stone steps to the shrine. The god had just… taken off. He looked around worriedly, but he didn't see him anywhere. He looked to the house. Perhaps Akito was already inside. He doubted it, but he had better check, and ask the inhabitants for help in finding him. He hated to involve them with Akito, but they knew their way around. On second thought, he had better send Shigure to do that. He would check the surrounding area. “Shigure, ask the Higarashi family about Tohru, and ask them to help us look for Akito. Ayame, help me look for him outside.”
Shigure nodded and went to the house. “All right, Tori-san. Where should I look?”
He considered sending him off into the surrounding area, but was certain that Ayame would only get lost if he went. “You look around the shrine, but don't touch anything.”
“Hm?” Aya blinked. “Why would I touch anything?” He turned around and trotted off. “Akito?” he called as he went.
He wandered about the shrine. He climbed over the railing that surrounded the tree and touched the scar on it briefly, then his hand fell away. He walked around it, then wandered away. There was something weird about this tree, but he couldn't exactly decide what, and wondering about it bored him.
He poked around the house, but didn't see any trace of Akito, so wandered away from it. Looking for Akito was boring. Maybe he should have stayed back at the main house? He had been working on making repairs to the dancer's outfit for the New Year. Next year, it was Kisa's turn, and it needed adjustments so it could fit her. It wasn't like it was pressing, but he needed to do it while he had the time. What he really wanted to do was alter it, stray a little from the traditional. But, of course, everyone else would be mad at him if he did, and he would never get away with it.
He opened a door, but it was only a small storage shed, and Akito was not inside. He heaved a sigh. “C'mon, Akito. This really isn't fair,” Ayame muttered. Maybe Hatori had already found him. But he should look around anyway, and yelling for him didn't help. If Akito didn't want to be found, he wouldn't assist him by responding.
He wandered in to another building, pushing the door wide open. He stepped lightly down the steps. Why had Hatori let Akito come anyway? Akito was probably too sick to be out. After all, Akito probably only had a few more years to live. He really shouldn't be shortening his life by doing so much.
Ayame sighed and sat down on the edge of well. Well, Hatori must have found Akito, because the man wasn't around the shrine. He should go inside and see what Shigure was up to. He considered Yuki. He hoped he wasn't in trouble. Shigure said that he had been gone for quite a while. It worried Ayame, but not too much. After all, how many times had he run off during high school? He was sure that Yuki was all right.
He leaned back, looking upwards at the ceiling. Of course, Yuki wasn't nearly as worldly as Ayame, and Kyou was useless with those sorts of things too. Tohru was also rather oblivious. So… Maybe he should be worried. Shigure seemed to be worried. Hatori was calm, though, but he was always calm.
Was that why Akito had come? If anything happened to Yuki because of Tohru, Akito probably wanted to know firsthand. Nobody would just tell him; they'd be too afraid to, for their own sake as well as Tohru's. Akito was just looking for a reason to send Tohru packing. And he wanted Yuki back. Ayame didn't like that. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but it had destroyed Yuki. So, he had to protect Tohru as well as Yuki—because it was Tohru that was changing Yuki for the best.
Ayame smiled. That was something he had to do. A chill breeze blew in from the open door. Ayame's eyes widened. He knew what was coming. A puff of smoke and he fell, with his clothing, down the well in his snake form.
He had been expecting a nasty fall, and probably to be unconscious. However, He was merely sitting at the bottom of the well, naked, with his clothing lying over his lap. He looked up. There was no building overhead, though. He frowned. What…?
Maybe he really had hit his head. He felt for a tell-tale bump. Nothing. Well, he could have had the shortest transformation he had ever had and become human right before he had hit the ground, which would explain a few things. But it didn't explain the sky instead of a building.
He was certain that the well had been in a building. He slipped into his clothes. His shoes had fallen over as well, by some stroke of luck. He put those on as well. It seemed like the only way up was to climb up the vines. Ayame wasn't sure he could make it up though.
“Hatori?” he called. “Shigure?” He was greeted with silence. “Anyone…?” It looked as though it was just him. He blinked. Climbing up there was a daunting task. Maybe he should just wait for help. But he shouldn't just sit here either.
In that case, what should he do?
He grabbed a hold of one of the sturdier-looking vines, swallowed, and pulled himself up onto the wall. It really brought him back to his high school days in gym class… a class he often made a point of skipping whenever possible. He wanted help… He heaved himself up again, absolutely terrified that he was going to just fall down again. But, as he climbed, he began to feel better. He hadn't slipped; he was halfway there and—He slipped and came crashing down with a scream, landing roughly on his rear end. Ayame looked up at the sky forlornly.
“This isn't fair,” he muttered. He thought of everyone else, though, and his confidence was revitalized. “Right! I can do this!” He grabbed a hold of the vines again and climbed upwards. Just focus on the goal. Keep going. C'mon… Anyone who can design a dress, draft the pattern, and sew it all in one very busy (and exhausting) day should be able to climb up a few yards, right?
One hand was over the lip of the well. Yes! Victory was at hand! Ayame pulled again, trying to lift himself out of the well. However, all the strain was too much on the poor snake and he lost his hold.

*****

Sesshomaru came to the place he had left Rin and Jaken. Jaken was nearby, but Rin was nowhere to be found. She must have disappeared or was captured, because when he arrived, the imp was running around babbling to himself about his impending and inevitable demise for letting Rin be abducted again. Sesshomaru waited to be noticed, but Jaken was in such a panic that he looked right at him and it didn't seem to register. In fact, he seemed to think that Sesshomaru was an illusion his mind had provided for him to remember why it was so important that he find Rin immediately.
“Jaken,” Sesshomaru said.
“Oh, it's like I can hear his voice!” he screeched. “Sesshomaru-sama is going to kill me! Oh, no!”
“Jaken.”
“I don't need to be reminded of how important—“
“Jaken.”
Said toad soon found himself nursing a rather large bump on his head. The toad looked up at the demon lord and his eyes seemed to widen further. He threw himself down in the dirt. “Please forgive me, my lord! Rin went to pick flowers, and when I went to check on her, she was gone!”
“Where did she go?”
“I don't know!” he wailed.
Sesshomaru considered kicking him, then thought better of it. Best not to accidentally knock the toad unconscious right now. “To pick flowers.”
“Oh.” Jaken shot to his feet and raced off as fast as his stubby toad legs would carry him. “This way, my lord!” Sesshomaru wandered after him, sniffing the air for any tell-tale signs of Naraku. The field had Rin's scent all over it. He moved to the center. There was one scent that bothered him, though. He walked to the edge. Yes, it was definitely Inuyasha. His eyes narrowed. What had Inuyasha done with Rin? Sesshomaru started to follow Inuyasha's scent, but right after Inuyasha had taken her into the forest, her scent disappeared, but Inuyasha's went on one way, then retraced back again. He considered the others in his group. That two-tailed cat could fly. He sniffed the air again. Yes, there were faint whiffs of cat here. All he had to do was follow Inuyasha's returning scent. What bothered him was why they had taken Rin. They had no business doing that, and they had never been horribly interested in her before. It could be to lure him there. It could very well be a trap, but that was unlikely as well. Inuyasha was content to ignore Sesshomaru's existence whenever he could, and that group rarely invited trouble, so much as they went hunting for it. No, that couldn't be their reasoning. Then what was it?
He quickened his pace. Soon, along the path, a new scent intermingled with Inuyasha's. It was some kind of cat hanyou, but still no sign of Rin. This puzzle was perplexing.
There were other hanyou scents nearby—a mouse, a rabbit, an ox… a snake. He paused at the last one. A moment ago, that smell had not been there. Which meant that this snake hanyou had suddenly appeared nearby. There wasn't even an approach. It had merely appeared. He followed the odor to a small clearing with an old well. The snake was definitely in the well, and struggling to get up it, by the sounds of it. He frowned. The snake… had just appeared there. How?
He saw a hand grab the edge of the wall. He noted that the skin of this hanyou was impeccably clean, smooth-looking, and the nails were perfectly manicured. He moved toward the well. How had this hanyou just appeared there? The snake slipped, however and began to plunge downward. Before he knew what he was doing, he had reached out and grabbed the hanyou's wrist. He looked over the edge… and almost dropped the snake. He felt like he was looking at himself.
Slowly, he pulled the half-demon out of the well. Ayame gracefully slid his legs over the edge of the well and rose to his feet, brushing off his garment a bit. He turned to look at Sesshomaru, flicking back his pale grey hair as he turned. Ayame was stunned speechless—for the first time in his life. He looked around at the surroundings, but his green eyes fell back on the beautiful being in front of him.
“Who are you?” Sesshomaru asked, finally breaking the silence. It was growing uncomfortable.
“A… Ayame…” With that, Aya regained his composure. “Thank you so much for saving me—“
“You would have lived had you fallen.”
Ayame blinked. This guy may look like him, but he reminded him a little of Hatori. “Well, then, thank you for saving me from a nasty fall.” Ayame smiled, and the smile seemed to brighten his lovely eyes. “I must ask you this though… Was that silk-screened?”
Sesshomaru blinked. Well… That had been unexpected. “Yes…” He glanced at the well. “Where did you come from?”
Ayame peered down the well. “Well…” He looked back at Sesshomaru, frowning. “I thought I had fallen down the well… Excuse me, but I don't know your name.”
Sesshomaru looked at him from the corner of his eye. “Sesshomaru.”
“Ses…shomaru.” Ayame blinked slowly, then smiled again. “I like it,” he decided. “Oh, and what's that furry thing on your shoulder? I love it. Can I touch it?” Without bothering to wait for an answer, he gently touched the fur. Finding it to be very soft, he sunk his hand in to it. “Oh… This is really nice.” He immediately began thinking of a fur-lined coat, maybe with an extra fluffy collar… He froze as Sesshomaru turned to look at him.
This hanyou… He was very bold. But, for some reason, Sesshomaru wasn't offended at all. This hanyou was graceful, charming, and beautiful—beautiful? Hm. Sesshomaru had always been interested in both women and men, so it came as no surprise to him that he thought that. It was just that this being was a hanyou. For some reason, that just made him more enticing. The hanyou had to know he was out of line, but it didn't seem insolent. It seemed…
“What are those…” Aya's voice trailed off. The more the man looked at him, the more he seemed to lose his voice. He just wanted to stare at him in reverence. And Ayame had never felt that way about anyone but himself. Possibly, it was the resemblance. And… this guy was… very good-looking. It was no big secret that Ayame was bisexual, with a preference for men. He had admitted it with pride in high school, and it was evident in the way he acted. With his free hand, he hesitantly touched the crescent moon marking, his fingers trailing down to his cheeks. There was no difference in the skin texture. It was like a birth mark, except the wrong color and too perfected. Sesshomaru felt himself leaning into the hanyou's touch, still not offended by it. Why? He opened his eyes, not having realized he had closed them. Possibly, it was because this hanyou was beautifully sculpted, with a face that matched his idea of perfect. Did he have the body of his dreams, too? He stopped those thoughts in their tracks. He was not going to go there. Maybe later, but not right now. Right now, he had to find Rin and make sure she was safe. Then he could play with this snake called Ayame.
He heard her giggling a ways off. At least she was all right. He heard the running of children, voices. He caught Inuyasha and the cat's scent as well, as long as that of the rabbit, the kitsune child that Inuyasha drug along, and Rin's scent. Time to collect his charge.
He pulled away. Aya snatched his hands back, worried that he had offended him somehow. Ayame fell into step beside him. “Did I do something…?” Ayame was confused. Sesshomaru hadn't seemed to feel insulted. Ayame considered, but only for a moment. The spell was wearing off, and his usual happy self was kicking in.
“No,” the youkai answered.
“Good.” Ayame smiled—that sly, seductive smile of his. “Because I had hoped that something more than mutual awe would overcome us.”
Sesshomaru glanced at him, to be sure he was serious. He certainly looked serious. He would take him up on that offer, just not now. “Later,” he promised him.
That pleased Ayame, and he let the seductive act drop. “Fantastic! Sesshomaru, that was it, wasn't it? I must say, you're possibly the most beautiful being I've ever seen—next to myself, of course—Oh, Kyou-kun. Momiji-kun.”
Kyou's ears stood on end. He slowly turned around. Inuyasha sprung to his feet, hand on his sword, ignoring his injuries.
“Ayame.”
“Sesshomaru!”
“Sesshomaru-sama!” Rin cried, darting past Inuyasha. She came to a halt in front of her lord.
“I didn't know you were a lord,” Ayame said, looking at him with renewed interest.
“How the hell did you get here!” Kyou screeched, pointing an accusing finger at the snake.
Ayame blinked. “I suppose… Through the well, of course.”
Kyou wanted to hit him. Inuyasha wanted to hit his brother. However, the latter two had no interest in these things. Yuki couldn't have picked a worse time to come. He and Sango were fetching the children for lunch. Yuki froze upon seeing Ayame, who grinned upon seeing Yuki. The very air around Yuki seemed to turn black. His eyes took on that creepy, iridescent violet glow. “Go away,” he hissed at Ayame.
Ayame planted his hands on his hips. “That is no way to treat your big brother,” he reprimanded.
Yuki's rage only seemed to grow. “Get. Out.”
The snake raised his chin, looking down at his little brother. “Yuki, I am your older brother, and you should obey me!”
Sesshomaru wanted to laugh. He promised himself that some time later, when no one else was around, he would. He was beginning to like this snake, and it was more than just a sexual interest. Yuki cocked his head to the side. His fingers curled in to fists. He prepared to punch the totally oblivious Ayame. He swung his fist, and it would have connected, except for a slight interference. Sesshomaru pushed Yuki's fist away. “I agree with your brother,” he said, but was looking at Inuyasha.
“Hey, don't be gettin' any damn ideas!” he yelled. He started to draw his sword.
Kyou noticed and decked him before he did. Inuyasha fell flat on the ground. Violence solves everything, it seems. Momiji looked at him. “Whoa, Kyou! You really hit him hard!” he exclaimed.
Shippo grinned. “Yeah! Kyou, do it again!”
“You're in no condition to go picking a fight, especially if that's not what he came for,” Kyou growled, ignoring the two kids. Well, Momiji wasn't really a kid, but he looked and acted like one, so he got labeled as one.
“Rin. We are leaving.” He turned to leave, then stopped, looking over his shoulder at Ayame. “You can come, if you wish.”
Ayame looked from Yuki, who was still seething with rage, to Sesshomaru, who was unbelievably beautiful. If he stayed, a possible punch in the face awaited him. If he went, a possible frack awaited him. It wasn't really a difficult decision to make. He ran up to Sesshomaru and Rin, who immediately began chattering with him. They were a good match in that, as they both loved to chatter. Ayame just loved to hear his own voice, especially if he were talking about himself.
“By, Rin-chan!” Momiji said, waving. “We'll meet again, won't we?”
Rin stopped and turned back to him. She looked up to Sesshomaru, then back at Momiji. She really liked Momiji. She hesitated, then smiled and nodded. “Yeah! Bye, Momiji-kun!” Rin started up the chatter with Ayame again, asking him about himself. He was only too pleased to indulge her.

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