Author's note: HEAVILY EDITED. Previously known as 'The First Knight', and changed into 'In Full Bloom'. Enjoy the story! Eventual (but slow) Sesshomaru/Rin pairing set in a Sengoku Era AU. Spiced with adventure, historical drama and romance.
If anyone is out of character, send me a PM (I cannot stress this enough, I really want our main characters to remain as in-character as possible!). Constructive criticisms are also very welcome!
WARNING: though this is set during the feudal era, do NOT take anything from this story as a historical lesson. Things are warped to fit the progression of the story.
Disclaimer: For the remainder and entirety of this story, I do not own Inuyasha or any of the related characters.
Definitions:
Hannya mask:A mask that Noh (Japanese theatre) actors wear, often to depict a jealous woman. In real life, they look like angry oni masks. For the sake of this story, hannya masks are part of the attire that knights wear. It is meant to conceal their face and only when their Lord has developed a strong bond with their knights may they take off the mask (or whenever they see fit). Hannya masks are also designed and painted with the insignias and color of the respective family.
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In Full Bloom
The End of the Tale of Izayoi
Underneath the great tree, a woman lay against the gnarled roots, half of her back against the trunk. The woman's head lolled towards her chest, swaying back and forth every now and then, whispering words with a jagged breath. Plastered against her forehead, her once pure and silky hair now contained traces of dirt, sweat and blood. She felt the tickling of a liquid's trickle on the bridge of her nose. From the back of her mind, she knew that it was blood – but whether the blood belonged to her or another, she did not wish to know.
With a grunt and grit of the teeth, the woman adjusted herself, heaving the rest of her body back onto the trunk of the tree in an attempt to fix her posture. After several painstaking moments, she succeeded on her task, wedging herself between the roots instead of lying on top of them. A slight breeze ushered through the forest, granting her a moment's peace from the blasted heat. She coughed and wheezed, inwardly yearning for rain for relief from the parchedness her throat developed.
Thus began the end of the tale of knight Izayoi.
The bundle resting in her undamaged arm began to wriggle, clutching the tattered cloth at her breast. Izayoi smiled faintly, knowing that her life was fleeting and fickle. In her other arm, possibly shattered into many pieces, her mask lay on her upturned palm. There would be no sword to revive her again, no demoness to treat her fatal wounds and no young lord to argue with her about poets long gone. Her lover's whereabouts remained unknown, as the last image of him faded in and out of the depths of her mind. All Izayoi managed to muster was his relief at her successful revival with his fang, and his urgent request to escape with their child.
In a matter of moments, she knew that man would find her – tracking her down by her blood and retrieving her son from her arms. Izayoi eyes shut in pain. If only death would be quicker, for she could not bear to see her son go in that man's arms. A pang of sadness wavered throughout her body, as she gripped the bundle in her arm harder. She was a mother who would not see the growth of her child, knowing only his name that his father had given moments before his own death. Would the gods judge her for such a heinous crime, she wondered wryly.
But even if the gods overlooked her negligence as a mother, they would not judge the other sins lightly. She broke the basic laws between a knight and Lord and dared to trespass the boundaries society infringed on. She stole the husband of her dearest friend and became his mistress. She let her husband's son wander into the darkness, her entrance into his life marking his furthered distaste for humans. Izayoi, a mere human, had torn apart an entire family.
A fond memory danced onto the surfaces of her mind. She remembered the first time her lover eagerly pulled off her hannya mask. He was curious, Izayoi recalled as he said it in his strong and calming voice. The memory turned vivid, as the sounds and green of the forest faded into that of the castle she called home. She could once more feel the warmth of his large palms as they grazed her cheekbones and went towards the ribbons that held her mask in place. In a gentle manner, the dog demon undid the red ribbons, pulling each one taut and free. The mask fell off her face, and the first thing that met her eyes was his warm golden ones.
When the confidant came, Izayoi had already drifted off into her eternal sleep. She looked serene, her lips tilted in her trademark warm smile. From the edge of the forest, the man approached her body with caution, his right hand cautious on the hilt of his sword. Finally, he knelt before the fallen knight, brushing her mangled bangs back. And then without another word, he reached for the child in her arms and left.
After her passing, Izayoi's name became forbidden. The mention of her name caused distress and anger for those involved. But through the mouths of the common people, many of those aided by her hand, she would not be forgotten. Between the pages of history, her name would never appear – but if one were to ask any man to retell the tale of Izayoi and her Lord, they would gladly oblige.
Amongst the House of Knights, Izayoi was known amongst the knights in training as the strongest knight to have ever lived. She would be named as the strongest and most beautiful knight who graced her Lord with utmost loyalty and the greatest love.
But with the end to every tale, there is a new beginning. And thus begins the tale of Rin and her Lord, Sesshomaru.
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Chapter One: Vows Not Exchanged
As the birds quelled their song and the crickets came to hum, Rin Ohtori found herself still rooted to the very spot she had been kneeling in for the past day. All that accompanied her in the expanse of the room was the futon the servants laid out neatly for her, a small bag that carried the few little possessions she treasured, and a wooden table of food that remained untouched. She had been starving in the morning on her journey to the Azai's castle, but the not a grain of rice moved from their bowl. The soup prepared no longer smelled wonderfully, but curdled at its uppermost layer.
Rin Ohtori, newly inducted knight into the Azai family, was nothing more than a mere possession. No more than a scroll on the wall, no more than pottery locked away in the storage shed. No different from the bowls that housed her food on the table.
The hannya mask which she had carefully crafted of her own accord and painted beautifully with the colors of the Azai clan remained on her face. With trembling hands, she carefully placed them over her mask, feeling the wood. She had spent several nights painstakingly and carefully carving the mask to fit her face.
"You are nothing more than a possession to the Azai family."
Her hands crept past the angular curves of the mask, her palms relishing in the polished wood and hard work. She worked her way to the back of her head slowly, towards the notch that held the ribbons in place. Trembling, her slender fingers pulled the ribbon taut, and soon she felt the tightness release from the sides of her head.
She felt like a bride.
A bride forced to marry to a man she had yet to see the face of, forced to spend the rest of her life tied to a man she did not know or understand. The bride, at the very least, had the chance of cultivating love or gaining status out of her arranged relationship. For Rin, love was forbidden between a knight and her Lord and her status would remain forever lowly. Death was the sole punishment if breeching of the fundamental laws were known.
Cruel it was, for she was orphaned at a young age and sent to a faraway castle, where dozens of children like her thrived. Rather than being abandoned by society, they sought another use and established the House of Knights where such unwanted children would be clothed, fed, and taught to defend their Lords and Ladys from unwarranted attacks.
She did not wish for such a life, but there was no room for her thoughts. What could the word of a young girl with no authority or status pose against the noblemen of the Imperial Court? She could only hope to arrive at the feet of kind and caring Lord. But after years of training, she was sent to serve the ruthless Azai Clan, under the eyes of Lord Sesshomaru.
Although she had been assigned as his knight, she knew would not be there to defend and honor him based on the tales passed between the knights in training. For he was a demon, devoid of any emotion besides anger, who cared nothing for knights, seeing as the last Azai knight was inducted more than two centuries ago. Rin would forever be confined within the walls of the Azai castle till her bones grew brittle, till she could no longer muster her strength to wield a sword, till the dust would accumulate, till her wrinkles and face sagged. Till her eventual death.
I am nothing more than a mere possession.
Her Lord, Sesshomaru Azai, was a lead general, and the right hand man of the current Emperor. Sesshomaru, she had learned quickly, was a man that could defend himself well and did not need to rely on the powers of a knight for protection. It was laughable even to her, that she was chosen to be his knight when he did not ask for one.
"You are nothing more than a possession to the Azai family."
The only sentence he had spoken to her since her arrival painfully struck Rin once more. She felt her heart crumble, her dreams smashing into millions of pieces like the stars that dotted the night sky.
Rin slowly tugged the mask from her face. The tears welled at the bottoms of her eyes, blurring her vision. As she stared at her mask absentmindedly, she felt the tears drop – plitter platter – onto the insides of the mask. And soon, she could not stop them. Her sobs echoed through the room pitifully.
Oh how she envied that bride she compared herself to, envied the knights that happily sorted into clans with hospitable Lords! They would forever be happy serving their purpose in life, while Rin would have none of that joy. She had sacrificed everything for a Lord that would never request her presence.
As Rin clenched the edges of her mask, she gritted her teeth and hastily fetched her utensils on the table. The rice was hard as she felt it scrape the roof of her mouth and tongue, but it did not stop her hunger. She would live for her Lord, even if he would not bat so much as an eye at her.
As she chewed through her food, she realized how hungry she had actually been. Never again, Rin thought to herself, would she forget about eating properly again.
She vowed to live her role as a proper knight, and she would make Sesshomaru Azai climb down from his high horse and treat her as his equal.
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Outside the shoji doors that opened to Rin Ohtori's room, a white haired figure stood, rooted to the spot. Her name, he had learned from his bumbling imp retainer, was Rin. Rin Ohtori.
A simple name that was akin to those of peasants who dared not to name their child with more characters so to displease their Lords.
Ridiculous.
Sesshoumaru Azai turned swiftly, heading back to his quarters. He did not need a knight and he had made it known, but he could not refuse when the court presented him with one knight at his castle. Even his mother, who had been betrayed by the previous knight in the family, accepted her warmly.
But of course,Sesshomaru mused. His mother would have only accepted the girl with open arms if she knew that the consequences that befell a knight that disobeyed was death. In fact, he was assured that this time, if the girl named Rin were to betray the Azai clan, his mother would see to it that she twisted the neck of the traitorous wench herself.
As Sesshomaru trailed back to his room quietly, he paused for a slight moment to stare at the full moon that revealed itself. The clouds, long since parted, revealed the thousands of stars twinkling along with the light of the moon.
He would not make the same mistake his great father had, and on his pride, he would take it one step further by never cultivating any relationship between him and his knight. Her mere presence only brought forth headaches and suspicion to the taiyoukai.
Sesshomaru Azai vowed to himself on that very night, that he would not allow himself to ever rely on his knight or request any assistance from her.
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