Disclaimer: Nope, Not owning Inuyasha.
A/N: first of all, i would like to say thank you so much, ADreamerWithAPen, for making the story flow so smoothly. After your edited, the story seems like it goes up to another level. Thanks for the offer that I have hungrily taken advantage of. *_*
I did not meant for the story to be so long. I was planning for 200 words, but it gotten out of hand (again). If it goes as plan I should have the next, which is the end ch. In two days. If not, oh well…
This is out of topic, but for those who have asked whether I will continue "Cursed," or write a sequel, I am replying here since there is no way for me to send a reply because most of the reviewers are guests. I am sorry to say that that is a one shot and I don't know if there will be a sequel in the future, but for now my mind is pretty much blank.
Thanks for the read, and leave some review if you feel like it. It's nice to hear some responds.
"Rin, what's wrong?" asks a monotone voice. It sounds worried to the ears of those who are close to him, like the girl, but others would not notice the difference.
The human girl is seventeen, shaking, and tears are starting to stream from her dark, doe-like eyes down her smooth, pink cheeks. She is panting, and her forehead is breaking out in sweat because she has been running. Her light green kimono and hair are messy.
She is trembling, standing in front of him, a demon lord, surprised to find him here. She shows mixed feelings of surprise, relief, happiness, fright, and submission.
The demon is tall, breathtakingly handsome, and so powerful he could easily take anyone's breath away. He is dressed in white with a large, soft, puffy fur-like thing dragging over his right shoulder and all the way to the ground. His long, silver hair is suspended down his back like smooth silks. His pale, snow white, perfect skin gleams at the touch of the orange rays of the evening sun. His white figure stands out amongst the autumn leaves. They are surrounded by ancient looking trees.
Standing inside a forest.
Trembling hard, the human girl opens her mouth to speak. "I-I am going to die."
His eyes narrow. She understands the silent question and continues. "I have been captured by a demon witch and forced to play the truth and dare game." Her small voice is shaky.
"What are your dares?"
He understands instantly how serious and deadly the game is. He has witnessed it firsthand some years ago. The players have to tell the truth at all times. The cost of a lie is their life.
Back then, he listened to the impossible quests the players were forced to accomplish because the demons wanted their souls. They could kill all they wanted, but the only way for the demons to enslave the souls is to make a deal with the human and take the souls afterward. After the victim had failed at the game.
He did not give a damn back then, but this time it is different. This is the human girl he has protected her entire life.
He looks at the back of her right hand; there is a small, black rose tattoo-like symbol. The flower will change color after each quest is completed, from black to green to pink, and then will vanish after all three quests have been completed.
There is another way to be free from the game, and that is to kill all the demons who have cast the spell.
"Rin?" he repeats.
She looks uneasy, but answers. "My first dare is to get married before the sunset." They both look at the sun's direction. It will last twenty minutes at most.
Rin swallows hard.
Of course it will be impossible for her because the closest village is two days away for a human. She is lucky that he has come across her scent that had been mixed with a demon's and decided to check it out. It isn't natural for her to be so far inside the forest alone. If he was not here, she would have been gone before anyone saw it coming. His cold heart feels heavy at the thought.
His angry eyes turn red, thinking of her pale, cold, stiff, lifeless body. Those demons will not go unpunished. They dare touch his ward, even thinking of enslaving her soul? Twenty minutes is enough time for him to kill all the witch demons to free her.
"How many demons are there?"
"Five. But I heard one left to the north right after I was released to run at noon. And the other two were going down south for some business. The rest went their separate ways."
He stands still for a few seconds, debating his choice. He can chase after the demons, but with all of them scattered in many directions, doing it in twenty minutes will be a little risky. And it will not work unless all the demons that had joined in the ceremony are killed. Not that he cannot do it, but he cannot take chances with Rin's safety.
The best choice left is to find her a suitor.
"It is too far away from the village," Rin states. She is talking more to herself than to her lord. Distance would not be a problem for him. "And it's not like I would marry just anyone." She says bitterly, looking into Sesshomaru's eyes with pleading ones. "I want to marry someone I love and want to spend the rest of my life with. Not just anyone. Why else would I still be unmarried at my age?" she adds the last sentence to answer his silent question.
Most of the girls are marrying at age fourteen. Rin had turned down a few marriage proposals herself.
"Is there a suitor you want to marry?" he asks, noting that they are running out of time.
She lowers her eyes before she whispers, "Yes." She cannot lie because she would die if she did. But even at a time like this, her face still manages to turn the color of a tomato. Her heartbeat quickens at the thought.
"Is he a human from your village? We need to go. We are wasting time here." Sesshomaru is gathering his demonic energy creating a sphere of light, reaching a hand for her, ready to travel back to the human village. It should take them five minutes.
In truth, he doesn't want her to wed yet, and given a choice he might never want her to, but it is out of his hands now. She is either wedded or dead. But his sphere disappears at her answer.
"No. Not from the villages."
"Then who is he and where is he from?"
"I cannot tell you." Rin whispers, eyes to the floor.
"Rin," he says in a serious tone, though his voice has always been serious, staring down at the girl before him, "we do not have time for this."
"Lord Sesshomaru, please do not force me. I really cannot tell you who he is and I cannot lie to you. Even if I were not playing the game, I could not lie to you."
"You will die, Rin," he tells her slowly and bitterly as he forces himself to say each word. But he has to. She needs to understand just how serious the trouble she's in is.
She goes stiff, but silent.
"Why?" he cannot understand.
She lets the silence fill the air for a while before saying, "Because I don't want you to hate me."
His eyes narrow at her soft words. He stares at her, wondering why he would hate her if he knew who it was.
"And he doesn't see me that way. He is too far out of my reach, and I am not worthy of him."
"Nonsense." No one would dare to say she is not worthy. She is the one and only ward of the lord of the west.
They are running out of time!
The sun is about to set. Fifteen minutes, tops.
They won't make it in time, even if she tells him who he is. They would have to search for the man, and would have to prepare for the human ceremony which would not be fast enough.
"Is he Kohaku?" he asks. He doesn't even know where the boy is. And if the boy dares to think she is not worthy of him, he will make sure the boy sees things his way when he's done.
"NO! Not him, Lord Sesshomaru!" she immediately denies, in disbelief, protecting her friend. "He is just a normal friend. And he's married!" What makes him think Kohaku is the one? They are like best friends or brother and sister.
For a moment, the whole forest stands still. Not even a gust of wind dares to stir.
He looks at the girl in defeat. He who has never admitted defeat to anyone before is now standing hopelessly. He cannot win this time.
Who is this man that she loves so much to turn his obedient Rin against him? She protects that man even now. He growls at the thought. She is going to die because of whoever that is.
Rin knows Sesshomaru too well. She knows not to tell him, because if she did, whoever her love is would not last long after Rin's death. But it's not the time for that.
She is going to die.
The thought is heavy, too heavy for his body to handle. Yet his well-trained body doesn't betray him. He stands his ground, staring down to the short, beautiful woman before him.
The sun is getting lower and lower.
He looks at Rin. She is looking away for a brief moment before looking back at him. She is observing him, memorizing every part of his face. She looks submitted to her fate.
"Can I touch your face, Lord Sesshomaru?" her bright, sad, pleading eyes look into his golden pair. He nods.
She slowly lifts up her right hand to touch his pale cheek, to stroke his face. Her left hand follows suit, moving his bangs out of his golden, sad eyes and making his purple strips on his cheeks visible to her. The haft moon mark on his forehead stands out to her eyes. His calm face remains unreadable to others, but to her eyes, he is in agony.
She is going to die. She will leave him once again.
As if she can read his thoughts, she smiles.
Foolish girl.
Why does she smile? The very same smile that broke through his cold demon heart's barrier when they met.
"I'm not scared anymore because you're here." She answers his silent question. He doesn't miss the sadness of departure from her voice. She may be calmer and say she is not scared, but who would believe her? She is about to die.
No.
He will not accept this. He won't let her die when there is still a choice. Even if she is against it, even if he is not the man she loves, he won't let her die. He has gone to hell, risking his life, to retrieve her body before, and he won't stand still and watch her return there.
Never.
"Rin."
She looks into his eyes. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?"
"Do you trust me?"
She smiles her angelic smile. How could she smile so brightly at a time like this?
"With my life," she answers.
His chest swells with pride at her undying trust.
He stands before her, gathering her silky, untamed hairs to one side over her shoulder. She is confused, but obediently lets him do whatever he must without a question.
He slides one side of her top kimono off, exposing her bare shoulder and neck. She blushes furiously as heat rushes through her cheeks.
He looks her in the eyes and, without a word, leans down toward her neck. His silver hair slides down her shoulder like running water while his bangs rub against her neck.
"This will hurt," his low voice whispers into her ear. His warm breath brushes her skin. "But I have no other choice." Then, his sharp fangs sink into her fresh.
She lets out a gasp. She almost screams, but she controls herself. She can feel his body go stiff at her gasps, and knows that Sesshomaru isn't happy at the idea of causing her pain. He never causes her to feel pain.
She stands still, eyes closes. Both her hands are pushing against his strong chest while his are holding her slender shoulders. She will absorb all of her lord that she can get. His touch, his warmth and his lips that press against her neck, even if it is painful will be absorbed.
Even if this would be the last time.
.
.
About a minute has passed and she feels his wet tongue licking the blood on her wounded neck. It tickles. The pain is now gone and the sun is having its last peak over the horizon.
Once he pulls away from her and she is once again standing alone, she slowly opens her eyes to see that the black rose on the back of her right hand has turned green.