Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the song 'Cowboy Take Me Away' by the Dixie Chicks.
Cowboy, Take Me Away.
~oOo~
He was back again, much to her relief.
Rin's eyes scanned the many faces of the pub for only a few seconds before she spotted him; sitting alone in a dark corner with nothing but a beer for company. He was mostly hidden by all the people who crowded the dining room that night, trying to sit up close to the stage. She squinted through the thick wafts of smoke clouding the air, just to be sure. It could've been a figment of her imagination, but he might've tipped the edged of his hat in greeting. Happiness bubbled within her. Maybe he wasn't oblivious to her existence after all. Back when Rin still wore her hair in braids, she waited for Sesshoumaru Takahashi to come through the small country town on horseback all the time. To some, the concept seemed oddly backward; it was the twenty-first century, for Kami's sake! To others, it was the practice of an old tradition. He was a real cowboy through and through. Takahashi spent more than half his life on the back of a horse, herding cattle. He slept on the ground! And chewed tobacco. And carried a gun (nobody knew if he was legally allowed to). The man was free to roam as much as he pleased over the vast, mountainous terrain.
It had become almost natural, him being there to watch her sing. The owner of the pub, who had noticed Rin's infatuation, thought that his presence would distract her from her work. He did not understand. What lady would not be captivated by Takahashi's raw, handsome looks? Lately, it appeared he had taken a notice of her as well. Rin was no longer a knobby-kneed fledgling in leather boots. She was in the beautiful prime of her youth, at the age of eighteen, and ready to make a commitment to a man, and many of those boring boys from her high school were struck down. She had eyes for only one man. My cowboy, Rin often referred to him in her mind.
Maybe they would speak that night.
The band behind her finished their warm up. Her good friend Kohaku coughed loudly, tearing her eyes from Takahashi. He winked at her, holding his fiddle ready. Rin nodded, taking a sip from the water glass one of the maids offered her. She was the reason the pub was crowded all the time now. Business depended on the quality of her voice.
The sweet sound of Kohaku's fiddle rang out the first note, and Rin glanced once more at Takahashi. Maybe she was being too obvious with the way she was scoping him out. One corner of his lips had pulled upward, his lidded amber eyes – she knew them to be amber – watched with light amusement. Smoothing the creases in her dress, she smiled wryly back. He leaned forward in his seat.
Good, she had his attention.
The microphone in her hand was like an old friend. When Rin wasn't dreaming of her cowboy, she wanted to sing. Anything. It came so naturally to her that sometimes she wouldn't even realize she was singing as she went on with everyday life, unless someone pointed it out to her.
The lights dimmed, and conversation around the room ceased.
Kohaku had once asked her why she obsessed over the silver-haired stranger. It was a difficult thing to explain.
I said, I wanna touch the Earth.
I wanna break it in my hands.
I wanna grow something wild
And unruly…
He was different from everyone else, which was exactly what she wanted. As far as Rin knew, he had never tried to be anyone but himself. There was no reason for him to. What made Takahashi stand apart from the small town boys was that he was so natural. Sure, he may have his flaws, but that was what made him so perfect in her eyes.
I wanna sleep on the hard ground
In the comfort of your arms
On a pillow of blue bonnets
In a blanket made of stars…
The way Takahashi so coolly titled his head to one side made her heart flutter, but she did not allow her voice to betray any other emotion other than what the song conveyed. Being one with the song is the most important part of any performance. One must know it, love it, and live it to make it come true.
A rowdy group of people cut across the room, momentarily blocking him from where she stood.
Rin fanned out her dress, sending the long ruffles of fabric flowing around her as she crossed the stage to bring him back into her line of vision. She took off her hat to flutter it about like fan, and the boots on her feet clomped on the wooden floorboards of the stage as she walked.
Oh, it sounds good to me…
To her disappointment, he vanished. Where Takahashi had previously been sitting was now nothing but empty smoke.
I said, Cowboy, take me away!
Fly this girl as high as you can
Into the Wild Blue…
Set me free, oh, I pray!
Closer to Heaven above
And closer to you.
Closer to you…
She had but to blink, and he materialized in the closest seat by the stage. How he had gotten there so fast was a mystery, but now Rin could make out every sharp angle of his face, and the small stubble of hair that grew across his cheeks. He watched her with such an intense look of concentration, brow slightly furrowed. There was a thin sheen of perspiration that glistened on his chest in the area where his shirt was unbuttoned, but it was such a clean and healthy sweat that she wanted to lick it up like a hungry kitten.
Cowboy, take me away!
Fly this girl as high as you can
Into the Wild Blue…
Set me free, oh, I pray!
Closer to Heaven above
And closer to you.
Closer to you…
Time seemed to pass swiftly with the rest of the song. Her tone was wistful, and Kohaku's fiddle cried out longingly, echoing her desires. It didn't feel like she was singing to a large crowd of people anymore. Her cowboy gazed up at her as if she were the only other living soul in the room. His hat overshadowed much of the expression on his face, making him indecipherable.
Only when he started to clap did Rin realize that the song was really over.
"Good job," her boss mouthed, passing by with another round of drinks. Suddenly at a loss for words, she turned and exited the stage.
~oOo~
Rin had downed only her first glass of beer when he found her again, outside the pub where no one would be able to bother her.
"Ladies shouldn't drink."
The first time she had ever heard his voice, and it was like the gruff bark of a dog, yet equally as sweet as honey-drizzled biscuits at Sunday breakfast.
That crooked, simple smile of his was back. She felt her stomach flip backwards, but maintained her composure. I can't let him know I'm completely hooked on him! Takahashi was a much older person. Even if he didn't mean to do anything with her tonight, it would be very desperate of Rin to act as if she were available for just anyone on a dark night as this.
So she forced her eyes away from him, finishing the glass. "You wouldn't tell on me, would you darling?"
He chuckled, nearly causing her to throw the glass away and jump into his arms. "No, I wouldn't. But if I were your daddy, I'd give you a whipin' like you never had before." He was closer now.
"Good thing you're not," she breathed, crossing her arms. "Though something tells me you don't always abide the law."
He tapped the edge of his hat upward to look at her. "I'm insulted, Miss. I come out here to ask you for your name, and you call me a criminal."
"Rin Kato," she answered a little too quickly. "I live up the road." She pointed dumbly.
Takahashi patiently brushed her hand, laying it down by her side. "Sesshoumaru," he said, leaning against the brick wall. "I live up the road, too."
Rin slapped him playfully on the forearm.
"Since we live so close together," Sesshoumaru continued, paying that no mind. "Maybe we could talk sometime?"
She pretended to consider it. "I don't know. Ask me again later."
"Of course. Twice is considered charming, but asking a third time would just seem like I'm stalking you."
He brought another bright smile out of her. He's better than I imagined!
"Does a lady like yourself know where the livestock pavilion is?"
"Only an idiot wouldn't!" Rin raised a shapely brow at him. "It's a small town."
"Good, meet me there, just before sunrise. You don't mind getting up early now, do you?"
She stood to her full height. "I can handle it."
Her answer obviously pleased him. "Bring along that voice of yours. The quiet road gets lonely on nights like this…"
~oOo~
End.