Part Six: Russia
Chapter Twenty Four:
It's been a week since we met Aleks and Demitri, and Sesshoumaru is not his usual self. He's sulking. We order in every night.
I miss his cooking.
He no longer covers his marks, which I don't mind, but it shows he no longer cares. His hair has almost completely faded back to silver, only a few grey strands remain among the white.
I'm worried about him. I've been back to work for three days and his depression is killing me. I'm used to our silence but not this silence. This silence is not the comfortable one we once shared together. This silence is isolating and lonely.
"Alright. What's wrong" He's laying in bed watching television when I get home. "What do you mean?" I spot the sundae he's been hiding. What a sugar hound.
"You're eating ice cream." I'm changing as he flips through all four of our Russian channels.
He shrugs with the spoon in his mouth.
"Sesshoumaru, something is wrong. Please tell me?" Sauntering over I try to take the spoon. He growls playfully letting his eyes wander.
"Don't you dare do something seductive and distract me." He lets the spoon go, grabs my waist and throws me onto the bed.
"Cheater! Cheater!" I shout as kisses are showered over my neck.
"You can't distract me!" But it's too late, the clothes are shed.
xxx
"So are you going to tell me?" He grabs hold of my waist.
"No, you know what, that's fine. I was just going to guess anyway. You're sad and depressed about not seeing your friends again. You're upset that Aleks and Demitri are to blame. But they're not. It's the villagers fault that they're gone. Maksmir is still around. We can find him. Why aren't you just happy that you're alive!" I feel the tears prick my eyes.
"You can be so selfish sometimes! At least you're alive! Think about it! Everyone's gone! They're all gone! Every one of them! Just be happy. Please. For me, just be happy" He cups my cheek. I should take my own advice. I was the one who was selfish. I was the one who left... I had a choice and I decided to leave, and now the one person I came back for I'm not even near.
"I am happy. I am happy that I am alive, but I am allowed to be sad that my friends are gone." He nuzzles his nose to mine, tracing his hand down my cheek, taking the tears away.
"Well, you have a weird way of showing it." I look to the ice cream bowl beside the bed.
"Would you like me to grin all the time?"
"Of course not, I just want you to show some emotion is all. That way I can pick up the pieces for once in my life." He pulls me close and I wrap my legs around him.
"But then what will I be good for if I can't fold you up and protect you."
"You can be my partner in crime. Working together to pick up the pieces."
xxx
Sesshoumaru's almost back to his old self. We've successfully kept in touch with Aleks and Demitri, they're even supposed to come to the apartment for dinner soon.
"What should we make for them?"
"You're the chef. You decide." He decides on duck and we need to head out to the grocery store to gather all of the ingredients.
"I feel rather useless not being able to read." I lean against the cart as he grabs all the items on the list.
"I saw that sugar hound. We have chocolate sauce in the freezer." He puts it back, turning abruptly.
The edge, it touches my consciousness, caressing my brain gently. The demonic aura that is not Sesshoumaru's floats close by, watching.
"I feel it too." His eyes widen, I can even see his hair stand up, the slightest movement. I hold my breath.
"Maksmir, he's here." And once more Sesshoumaru is off faster then an Olympic sprinter. Down the aisle filled with canned goods I try my best to keep up.
Stumbling after him, the aura plays on the edge of my psyche. It caresses the ends of my thought, it's something I haven't had to deal with in such a long time. I find it hard to focus all my energy onto where it could be.
That's when I see him. He stands, tall and strong, much like Sesshoumaru. His aura hangs around him, blanketing him, almost like armour. I catch my eyes with his and it's like they're on fire, they smoulder in their sockets. Sesshoumaru takes this opportunity to step in between us.
"Ah, Sesshoumaru, I see you've settled down then." His eyes are alight and he smiles. I feel like I've been wrapped in blankets, the heat that emanates from him is so great I find it a little hard to breathe.
"That I have, why are you not with Aleks and Demitri." I wrap my arm around him for I'm worried Sesshoumaru will take out all his anger on an equal opponent. His words are sharp when they leave his lips.
"The boys needed to learn how to fend for themselves. They needed to become independent. So I left and travelled and now I've come back." That's why they didn't know where he was. Sesshoumaru loosens next to me.
I feel like we should invite the poor man home for dinner.
Maksmir is cautionary, like he's worried he's going to lose control. As he stands in the aisle I just study him.
A thick wool coat falls from his burly frame, it's tattered and has seen better days. He relaxes a little when he notices me looking at him. Placing a hand in his pocket he takes a moment to give Sesshomaru a look over, looking for anything different after all these years.
"I'm surprised you're not dead too." Sesshoumaru says coldly.
"I left right after you. That's when Alexei and Vlad decided to mate with those humans." I take my queue to untangle my arm and shuffle away. If they were going to break out into a brawl in the middle of a grocery store, I was going to be as far away as possible.
The list of food needed is written in his beautiful hand writing and I've made it into a game, trying to get as far away from them as possible. It's like hide and seek but without people. Only it's much harder looking for peas then it is looking for a person.
Peas can't shout olly olly oxen free when you've given up. Maybe peas are considered a foreign food in Russia.
As I stand contemplating whether or not peas are a foreign food, Sesshoumaru finds me. "Did you get everything?"
"Are peas considered a foreign food here?"
"Can I have the list? It will be much easier if I have the list."
I give him the list.
xxx
Aleks, Demitri and Maks are set to arrive within the hour. It's been so long since we've seen the boys and it makes me so happy that Maksmir finally went home to them.
Sesshoumaru's in the kitchen as always, while I'm getting frustrated at my closet again.
"I have nothing to wear!" Shouting, I turn. He's leaning in the doorway, laughing at my conundrum.
"I think what you're wearing now is quite adequate." I give him a look, all he does is slide across the room.
"I'm not sitting through dinner in my underwear."
"Damn. And I was so hoping you would like my ingenuity."
"You're such a dog!" I say between bouts of laughter.
"It's in my nature."
"Thank god that's about the worst trait you inherited. Explaining you marking your territory every ten feet would be quite the hassle." He leans down and kisses my forehead.
We leave it at that. I still don't know what to wear, but my choice is hastened by the knock at the door.
"Be right there!" I throw the first thing I see on.
Sesshoumaru opens the door and the boys stroll in bearing gifts.
Demitri smiles, pointing at me. All I can do is smile back as he pulls his hat off.
"Hello!" He exclaims to me alone excitedly.
"Well hello!" I shout back. He takes a step towards me, deep in thought.
"How... Are you?" He's smiling so wide. Aleks and Maks speak to Sesshoumaru as Demitri and I try to converse.
"I'm great, how are you?" He smiles the whole time.
"He's been trying to learn English since he met you." Maksmir informs me over dinner. Demitri nods happily.
There are more conversations in Russian and I smile and nod and listen. "I... shall teach you?" Demitri looks at me with wide eyes.
"Yes. You will teach me." And so I begin to learn a language that makes me sound like I'm throwing up my own tongue.
xxx
We sit in the only chairs we own. I refuse to throw up this time. Our conversations are difficult but worth the effort. It's worth the searching for words. It means we're more fragile with what we have to say and what our responses are.
There's always vodka with these boys and it will be the death of me.
The phone rings. The phone never rings. I excuse myself in broken Russian as Demitri smiles at what he taught me.
"Hello?"
"Kagome?" It's Souta and his voice sends a bitter chill through my body.
"What's wrong?" His breath through the receiver tells me something that doesn't need to be said. Mom's sicker then we thought.
"No." I speak before he has time to acknowledge.
"You said she would be fine! I thought she was fine!" I scream into the phone. I can hear him cry.
"That's what she told us! They said she would recover and she's just not getting better. Sis it's bad we need you home. I need you home."
"I'm coming home Souta. I'll be home, I promise. I love you."
"I love you too." I hang up without saying good bye and sink into the cupboards. Why? Is all I can think about when the wave hits me.
I can't cry anymore. The tears are gone. They've been dammed up and dried up.
Sesshoumaru helps me to my feet.
xxx
Demitri's ears look for danger. He's ready to pounce when I stumble into a chair. Warm arms encircle my cold body.
"I am apologies" He says. I smile at his round eyes. His wolf ears are droopy, like they've fallen asleep. His brows are almost touching his hair line. He looks shocked but deep down he knows how I feel.
His mother was taken from him too. Quickly, slowly, I'll never know. Aleksandr's mother was taken too.
I see the remorse in his eyes.
I don't know what to do. Tell them to leave. Tell them to stay. I don't know if I should stay sitting or stand. My hands are restless as they knot the end of my shirt.
I breathe in through my mouth. There's a slur of Russian around me. "They don't know what to say." Sesshoumaru translates.
"So they are going to go." I nod standing. Numb. More broken English, more hugs. More apologies. As the door closes and I step away I land in arms that lift me out of grief.
"We're leaving tomorrow. I called the museum. Our flight is in eight hours." All I do is nod.
xxx
End of Chapter Twenty Four
End of Part Six