Part Four: Memories and Regrets
 
Up on Mt. Fuji-sama a young wind demon waited in Lord Kazegami’s stronghold for something important. She waited quietly so she wouldn’t call attention to her chambers. As time passed, she began to think her messenger, Ugoisu , would never return. Finally, she noticed a little nightingale on the windowsill. She smiled and made her way over to the window to hear what news the little bird demon had brought. Ugoisu transformed to her bird youkai form and settled on the windowsill smiling sweetly at her master.
 
“My princess, I deliver a message for you from your love,” the little demon chirped. When she began to relay the message she sang it instead of speaking it. The song seemed strangely familiar.
 
A little bird told me
That you love me
In my heart I know it’s true
A little bird told me
All these sweet things
But I’d rather hear them from you
 
Something was very odd about this song. Ugoisu was not singing in her own voice. It sounded masculine. On top of that, she was singing…in English. Because of that Aori figured she must be dreaming and that she had to wake up quickly to stop whoever was butchering her song.
 
Sesshoumaru had been by Aori’s side ever since her injury at the casino. He knew if he was patient enough she would heal herself pretty quickly if she kept still. It was also fortunate that he had the antidote for the poison, otherwise she might not have recovered. As he watched over her, he found himself humming one of the songs his beloved sang at the concert. For some reason he couldn’t get it out of his head. Soon he was singing softly under his breath. It wasn’t long before he heard Aori begin to moan.
 
“What’s wrong, koibito? Are you in pain?”
 
“Nothing hurting but my feelings, Sess-kun.”
 
“Your feelings? Why?”
 
“I’ll say this. If you have to sing, please don’t choose any of my songs, ok?”
 
“I see you are feeling better, beloved.”
 
Aori tried to sit up, grunting as she still felt pain and stiffness in her abdomen. Normally she would have completely healed by now, but Sesshoumaru’s poison slowed the healing process. The wind youkai laid back down because of the discomfort. She looked over at her mate who was preparing some tea for her. To anyone else who knew Sesshoumaru, the thought of him serving tea to anyone would seem farfetched. However, he was always surprisingly tender towards his mate, whom he considered delicate. In spite of her being just as powerful as he is, if not more so, the youkai lord always treated her as the weaker one.
 
Aori didn’t mind his pampering, especially in her weakened condition. She rather liked the attention because of who was giving the attention rather than what kind it was. As far back as she could remember, he had always doted on her while they were together… and when they weren’t arguing. They didn’t argue that much before Sesshoumaru’s missing arm incident. Before that things were pretty peaceful between the two.
 
They met not long after Sesshoumaru lost control of the stronghold. He had become a wanderer seeking to regain what was rightfully his. But in order to do that, he had to master his magic and his sword. Unlike Sesshoumaru, Aori had uprooted herself on purpose. She was not at all pleased with her father’s choice to betroth her to the lecherous and self centered Hiten. Well, he was only a possible choice at the time. There were other suitors, but Hiten seemed to be at the top of her father’s list. All things considered, Aori decided to get away from it all before she said the wrong thing.
 
When she first saw him, she came upon him sleeping under a tree. At least she thought he was sleeping. It turned out that he was quite conscious, but he didn’t move because he didn’t perceive her as a threat. She quietly looked over the distinguished looking youkai. He was sitting against the trunk of a large tree with his head leaned back and his eyes closed. Aori thought it strange to see a youkai like Sesshoumaru sitting on the ground with no castle or mansion in sight. Then again, her home was far behind her on Mt. Fuji-sama, better known to her as her ancestor on her mother’s side. Well, the spirit of the mountain that is.
 
The young wind demon came closer to other youkai and sat next to him, her eyes never leaving him. She was fascinated by him, and curious, but not afraid. Like him, she did not perceive any threat from the other demon. She didn’t even flinch when the demon lord’s eyes opened slowly and captured her in a stony gaze.
 
“You are either very bold or very foolish to sit so close to a youkai you know nothing about,” Sesshoumaru commented as he now faced his unexpected visitor.
 
“Wouldn’t that make you foolish too for letting me get this close?”
 
Sesshoumaru merely blinked and returned to his deep thoughts, which annoyed Aori, who didn’t like to be ignored.
 
“What is your name?” she asked, trying to turn his attention back to her.
 
“Why should I give my name to a passing stranger?”
 
“My name is Aori,” she replied, ignoring the snub. She wanted to find out everything she could about this youkai…and why she had never heard of him. Surely a demon as powerful as he seemed would have been mentioned in Lord Kazegami’s palace. She could tell his armor was of the best quality and he gave off a cool arrogance that intrigued her. He was obviously no run of the mill, low level demon. Sesshoumaru didn’t bother to give his name. It turned out that he didn’t have to because his servant, Jaken, had returned shrieking his name as he tried to locate his master.
 
“Sesshoumaru-sama! Milord, your servant has returned! I have done what you have asked…”
 
Jaken stopped mid-sentence when he noticed his master had company, and that his master had an expression of slight annoyance. The toad-like demon’s eyes returned to his master’s guest. The other youkai was clearly female and quite attractive. She took him by surprise when she greeted him and smiled. A youkai who was clearly superior to him was smiling at him? And giving him a genuinely warm smile, not like the smile his master displayed that frightened him so. The smile he always got right before someone was about to die by his hand. No, this smile caused any bit of fear to leave him. He felt so relaxed he hadn’t even heard Aori questioning him at first.
 
“What is your name?” she inquired once again. Jaken looked to his master to see if it was all right for him to answer. Sesshoumaru didn’t seem to care since he had his eyes closed once again.
 
“I am Jaken, your most humble servant,” he replied as he bowed low. When he looked up again he saw she was smiling at him even more. When his master smiled at him it always meant a beating or worse, but this time he found no need to cower.
 
“That’s all right, Jaken-chan. I already have my own humble servant,” the wind youkai cheerfully replied as a tiny nightingale flitted over to her hand. Jaken stared at Aori in shock because of the familiar way she addressed him. No one had ever called him ‘Jaken-chan’ except for…his own mother. What an odd creature she was. But for some reason he liked that. There was something else that seemed even stranger to Jaken. His master allowed the new youkai to join them on their journeys from time to time. While she was with them she would always walk at Sesshoumaru’s side as Jaken trailed behind them. They would often walk in silence as Jaken muttered to himself in the background.
 
Lord Sesshoumaru had become used to traveling alone after his disastrous attempt to regain his father’s stronghold. He had lost all trust in others, except for the faithful Jaken. Well, he had been faithful so far and the dog demon wasn’t taking any chances. He wasn’t taking any chances with the wind demon either. He felt the best way to deal with a potential enemy is to learn as much about them as he could. He could sense Aori’s power and he also noticed how she never boasted about it nor demonstrated her power, unless it was for practical reasons. She had great power yet she was neither imposing nor intimidating. At the same time, lesser demons tended to stay out of her way. Sesshoumaru found this puzzling and intriguing. Of course he kept this all to himself.
 
As for Aori’s opinion of Sesshoumaru, she thought he was a tough nut to crack. He wasn’t known for long, deep conversation and seemed to be of the opinion that if you didn’t fear him you were either a fool or a potential annoyance. She noticed how closely he watched her when she was around. She got the feeling he didn’t trust her and figured he had his reasons. That didn’t stop her from being friendly toward him. She assumed he was a pretty intelligent youkai who would figure out that she was the kind who could be trusted.
 
It wasn’t long before Aori discovered Sesshoumaru’s true identity. He was the son of Inu-no-Taisho, the mighty dog demon. It so happened that Aori had heard of him and that he also had a hanyou son. At the mention of his half brother, Sesshoumaru became even more distant than he had been before. This saddened the young wind demon because she was finally beginning to learn more of the mysterious inu-youkai.
 
In turn, Aori told Sesshoumaru about herself and her family of wind demons. Her father was Lord Kazegami and his stronghold was high above them on Mt. Fuji-sama. Her mother was an earth spirit who’s ancestor is rumored to be the spirit of the mountain itself.
 
“Sosen-Fuji sleeps for a very long time, sometimes for centuries. But sometimes he wakes up to stretch a bit and smoke his pipe. You can tell when you see the smoke rising from the mountain,” Aori explained once. The aloof demon didn’t seem the least bit interested, but he never shooed her away or spoke harshly to her. Aori was having a very hard time figuring out this distant creature. She was at the point where his standoffish attitude was beginning to upset her. At one point she decided to cut one of her visits short and head back to the place of her ancestors.
 
“You are leaving sooner that you had planned, I see.” Aori stopped in her tracks. She was a bit stunned that he actually noticed that she was leaving.
 
“Ah, yes. I think it’s best that I return. It seems as if I am slowing your progress…”
 
“Not at all. Stay another day if you like.” Was he serious or just toying with her? She couldn’t tell because he was looking in another direction.
 
“No, I think I had better go.”
 
“Very well. When will you return?”
 
“Oh…I…I’m not sure…” Aori was too stunned by his behavior to give a descent answer. He surprised her even further when he told her where he was headed and when he planned to be near her home once again. After they said their goodbyes a bewildered Aori returned to her father’s stronghold. She soon regretted her decision to return for she had discovered some changes had been made while she was away. Her father, Lord Kazegami had decided that it was about time that he married her off to another powerful clan of demons. It turned out that she already had quite a few suitors, but her parents had rejected all but the ones with elemental powers. There was now fierce competition between the Fire Demon Clan and the Thunder Demon Clan. Aori didn’t like either one of them, but her mother explained to her what matters most is whose clan would make a better ally. Aori reluctantly agreed to her mother’s reasoning. She did not want to dishonor her family and make her ancestors ashamed. She quietly sat down to watch as the battle for her hand in marriage began between Honoseitaiyo of the Fire Demon Clan and Hiten of the Thunder Demon Clan.
 
In the meantime, a young youkai lord was paying his mother a visit in the north. It was a trip he tried to make annually in order to please his mother, and to keep her annoying messengers from tracking him down to spy on him and report back to her. That way he could tell her whatever he wanted her to know and no more. Unfortunately there are some things a son cannot hide from his mother. The inu-youkai noticed subtle changes in her pup’s behavior and naturally she had to make a comment about it.
 
“My son, do you care to explain what is troubling you?” she asked while looking at no one in particular.
 
“What makes you think that something is troubling me, Hahaue?” he replied in like manner.
 
“Something has you distracted…Who is she, Sesshoumaru?” Her son’s look of surprise told her that her suspicions were correct. “Wondering how I knew, eh? You have that same look on your face your father had after he met…that woman.”
 
Sesshoumaru’s slack jawed stare turned to a look of slight disgust then back to his usual deadpan expression.
 
“She is not human…and her name is Aori.”
 
“Of the Kazegami Clan?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“I see. A wind demon. They tend to be a bit…flighty.”
 
There was an uncomfortable silence as his mother took a sip of her tea and Sesshoumaru continued to stare into space. Although there were are few who could ever tell what Sesshoumaru was thinking, his mother could read him quite well.
 
“You like her scent…and she fascinates you because she is different. Am I right or wrong?”
 
He gave her a quick glance then looked away again.
 
“Why do you want this Kazegami no Aori?”
 
“Why does it matter to you?”
 
"I’d certainly want to have some say in who becomes a part of my clan," she replied with a slight frown.
 
"Then concern yourself with your clan. For all practical purposes, I am the last member of my clan, and this Sesshoumaru shall do as he wishes."
 
“Then why isn’t she your mate yet?”
 
Just as he was about to answer, one of his mother’s spies came in to give a report.
 
“My Lady, I have news from the south. Lord Hiten of the Thunder Demon Clan and Lord Honoseitaiyo of the Fire Demon Clan are engaged in battle for the hand of Kazegami no Aori. From what I have seen it’s a fierce battle indeed!”
 
Sesshoumaru’s mother slowly turned to her son with a smirk on her face.
 
“Well, my son, it looks as if someone else is ahead of you in the mating game…” Her smirk was wiped from her face when all she heard in reply was a few muttered curses and the rustle of fine silks as she watched her son make a hasty departure. “Just like his father, making a fool of himself over some unworthy female,” she sighed as she gulped down the rest of her tea.
 
Sesshoumaru’s journey was slow at first, but once he made it to Honshu he increased greatly. His speed was fueled by thoughts of someone else touching that soft hand that, whether by accident or on purpose, brushed his ear causing pleasurable chills to go down his spine and excite him in ways nothing else could. He also thought of that lovely voice that would sing songs that would make him smile when no one else was looking and quietly speak his name. And of course he thought of that warm body snuggled against his as he drifted off to sleep with his back against the tree. How he managed never to take her and make her his completely was a mystery to him. Now he knew without a doubt he had to have her now and forever. He wouldn’t let her slip from his grasp again.
 
Months had passed as the battle for Aori’s hand raged on. It seemed that Lord Hiten had the upper hand and yet Honoseitaiyo managed to continue to stand. Her father’s patience was wearing thin and Hiten seemed to be fighting with a newfound determination and strength. The whole situation was making Aori so miserable that she had retreated to her bedchamber. She would spend her days on her futon wallowing in misery as tears stained her cheeks. It seemed as if Sesshoumaru had forgotten her. He could have at least come to challenge Hiten for her hand. Then again, he may not have known what was happening with her right now. But if he loved her he would have cared enough to find out. With a sigh and a hiccough the wind demon turned over on her back, her eyes meeting with the eyes of her faithful servant, Ugoisu.
 
“Oh, Princess, don’t despair! I have wonderful news!” Ugoisu chirped. “I have seen Sesshoumaru-sama just north of here not long ago. So, Aori-san do not weep any longer!” The bird messenger became discouraged when the princess replied with sad laughter.
 
“Oh, Ugoisu, it doesn’t matter where you have seen him because he has forgotten me. Don’t you understand anything?"
 
“Begging your pardon, but I understand many things, dear princess! Especially that he has NOT forgotten you!”
 
“Oh, Ugoisu, you are so kind yet so naïve. I know you are trying to cheer me up, but you are just making me feel worse. Now please leave me.”
 
Ugoisu hung her head and quickly left Aori’s presence. She felt like such a failure knowing that she had made poor Aori even more miserable. After her messenger left Aori continued to wallow in her misery as tears blurred her vision. She thought back to one particular moment with Sesshoumaru. It was days after the first time she had touched his ear and he had answered her with a growl and quickly moved away from her. For days she had thought she had done something wrong until Jaken was kind enough to explain that his ears were a bit…sensitive. She then apologized to the dog demon for being too familiar with him. He then took her by surprise when he pulled her into his lap and nipped at the tip of her nose. She was both shocked and delighted by his response, yet they never discussed it as she snuggled in his lap with her head tucked beneath his chin. At the thought of that moment Aori began to laugh, cry and smile all at once.
 
“Alas my Sesshoumaru is not here, so I must accept my fate,” she sniffled just as she heard another voice speak.
 
“So, I have come too late?”
 
Aori’s eyes flew open at the sound of that quiet tenor that would make most demon’s blood run cold yet made her heart race. At first she thought she was hallucinating or in some kind of grief induced stupor when she saw that pale, stern face looking down at her. She came to her senses enough to grab him by the ears and pull his face to hers for a very passionate kiss then break the kiss long enough to slap him on the cheek.
 
“Sess-kun! What took you so long!”
 
“Unfortunately, I am not the wind, Aori-chan,” came his reply. Aori blinked then burst into laughter and tears all at once. Sesshoumaru pulled out of her grip to stand upright, holding a hand out to the one demoness he wanted all to himself. “Come with me, koibito. Come now or never.” Without a word, Aori took his hand.  


To Be Continued...

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