Authors Note: Ok, its time for chappy two!! This is a fairly long one and basically goes over what happened with Sayuri in the first chapter from Sesshomaru's perspective. I did this to get a good feel of how his character would think in different situations, so that I can make him grow as a person (or should I say as a yokai) without taking him out of character. It also seemed important for the fellow viewers and I to get accustomed to Sesshy thinking things and not saying them, because he is the epitome of the silent type. I really enjoyed writing the last half of this one, because of Rin's randomness and the way I got to connect it in with the story. We also finally get some Sayuri/Sesshy interaction, which I think turned out great. Therefore, without further ado, here is chapter two. (Heh...I rhymed!)
Inspiration music: Broken Wings: from the Trinity Blood Ed, Sora: Yoko Kanno, Sad Violin solo: Neon Genesis Evangelion soundtrack, Let me be with you: Chobits ending theme (I really love to listen to that one when reading the last parts) and many, many more!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Rin, Jaken or…I cannot say it (inner me: You have to stupid! We can't afford getting sued. We aren't even paid for this.)…fine…I don't own Sesshomaru. Bawls in corner and pounds fists on wall. (See, was that so bad?)…yes.
Of a Lord and Lady
Chapter Two: To begin with a Disturbance
The moon was in full peak and the world was covered in a blanket of darkness. This darkness would bring some comfort and others fear. The person who would be stalked would fall and the stalker would be victorious. The child who slept in a quite village, would seek dreams through out the night. The child who slept in the village that was being attacked, would sleep for the last time. It all depended on fate and fate still had it's chance to play a hand or two with the life of a certain daiyokai…
The small fire was gradually being consumed by the night and the light was becoming dimmer with each passing crackle. Sesshomaru opened his eyes from his long contemplation and let them roam about the camp. The chilly irises paused on his young ward that slept soundly with her stomach on Ah-Un's saddle. She was curled up against the furriest part of the demon and had a piece of his black mane twisting around her littlest finger.
Jaken had abandoned pretending not to sleep and was resting his back against the dragon's stomach, snoring loudly with each nasally breathe. Seeing as everything was in order, he decided to let his senses out on a patrol of sorts, to ease his confidence of there being no dangerous aura that would have to be eliminated in the area that he presided.
He closed his impassive eyes and let his impeccable hearing and sense of smell reign over the forested region. He could smell the general scent of humans in the near by village and a multitude of small night dwellers that scurried about the forest floor, but nothing threatening. He was about to discontinue his search when a powerful stench reached his nostrils.
The smell reeked of pig demon and it was increased sharply with the intensity of the foul creature's uncontained lust. Underneath the horrible odor, he could make out the faint fragrance of fresh flowers and the cherries that Rin so enjoyed eating. It was strange to say the least, but something about the creature's faint aroma was subdued as if it were trying to hide itself.
Thoroughly puzzled (though he would never admit to it), Sesshomaru took a sidelong glance at the small girl and determined that it would be detrimental if she were to wake to the sounds of pig demon mating.
Scenting his destination was not too far from the campsite, he thought it a waste of time to wake the three up, when he would be able to sense their every move from where he was headed. Not to mention Ah-Un would take care of anything that might arise in his absence until he returned. Therefore, with a game plan in mind, Sesshomaru stood erect elegantly and walked in the direction the scent was located without a ruffle of cloth.
Surprisingly enough, his future target was somewhere west of the brook that the clearing they had stopped by bordered. He walked past the sleeping group and turned the corner of the sheltering trees while striding gracefully upon the white rocks that separated the woodland from the small stream that he walked parallel from. As he ventured on, the water mass became denser and the rock beneath him became dark, fertile soil.
He was instantly hit with a wave of smell that defiantly distinguished the question as to how many beings he was pursuing. The disgusting waft of the assured male, pig demon became almost intolerable, but the sweet perfume that was still so mild seemed to strike up as he honed in on it.
It seemed strange that he could not determine the exact flower the scent resembled, for he had been near Rin long enough to have his fill of the plants for the rest of his demonic life. Things became even more puzzling and it disturbed the young lord's usual train of thought.
'Why hadn't I sensed this presence before I reached for it intentionally? I should have been aware of it as soon as it appeared.' Although some of his questions remained unanswered, others he had were answered with pure common knowledge.
The only reason a clearly 'heated' male pig demon of any clan would be any where near a fragrance such as that, was if he was picking flowers with way too much enthusiasm or he had more ominous desires on his mind.
Not wanting to act as a savior of any sorts, Sesshomaru almost reconsidered his little mission. Then he remembered Rin's pure ears and the endless questions that would follow from hearing any form of mating. He knew (regrettably) how loud pig demons became during such times of weakness and wanted to spare his ears from the horrendous noise as well as from Rin's incorrigible curiosity.
He turned at the rounded rim the water created as the brook emptied into a good-sized pond of some sort. The tree line became thicker around the area, which he supposed many bathing humans would use to their advantage for privacy purposes. Surprisingly enough, not even the sweet perfume seemed to belong to that of a human.
It would appear quite impossible for a human with even the best of hygiene rituals, to have such an untainted scent. The situation was growing more and more uneasy in the mind of the young lord.
It was not that he was curious in any sense of the ridiculous word. He just knew what form of precautions to take in order to avoid certain problematic circumstances, and this was one of them. Sometimes staying three steps ahead took effort (though not much for Sesshomaru).
The dark waters depicted the sliver of moon left hanging in the desolate sky with perfect clarity for Sesshomaru's keen eyes. He took his time in reaching the destination, mostly because he did not care and partially because he wanted to investigate the situation without frightening the couple off. The faster he found the reason as to why he could not detect the softer smell, the faster he could eliminate it with peace of mind.
'This Sesshomaru does not act so brash as to kill something without requiring the answers to it's ability to evade, even for the slightest of times.' He thought evenly. To think that there was a weakness in the lord's sensory system was absolutely absurd. To think that this creature had a trickery spell to cover it's own aura was much more plausible, but an annoyance none the less.
He was coming upon a clearing holding the objects of his attention quickly, and on the way he had become much more interested (as interested that he could ever really get) in the softer smell over the vile. Sesshomaru willed his aura to conceal itself in a matter of seconds as he approached the row of trees that stood between the scents and himself. He moved through a path in the thick foliage without hesitation and came upon an unlikely scene at the other side.
He remained in the dark underpass of the condensed forest and allowed his eyes to adjust to the sight that unfolded at about 20 feet from where he stopped placidly. His acute eyesight could make out every single detail lying before him and this only helped in slowly piquing his almost nonexistent interest.
Sesshomaru was standing down west of the display, which allowed him to see the side, and back of one small being and the shadow of a very large and very aroused warthog demon trying to hide itself behind a row of bushes to no avail.
The moon, which had seemed very much emaciated moments ago, had managed to brighten the space up extensively to where nothing could escape his stony vision. The flowery perfume hit his awaiting nose at its full extent and to a much lesser demon, it would have been overly intoxicating. To Sesshomaru, it was just another smell.
He chose to view her then and his eyes deceived him with their unnecessary lingering. The small creature was definitely female and she was more than likely a demon of some sort. It was so strange and unfamiliar to the intelligent and all knowing lord. Why would a demoness have such a pure aura?
Her whole presence seemed to radiate a light and warmth that Sesshomaru wasn't sure if he was overly comfortable with. She was strangely small in height and very slender threw out her body, which was held with a great deal of grace. Her snowy skin seemed to allure the eye in a way that Sesshomaru ignored without a second thought.
Her tight kimono was unusually elaborate with a white silk base dabbed with the occasional light pink blossom and trimmed in black threading. Her pitch-black obi pulled attractively at the small curves of her abdominal and tied it all off in a complicated bow. 'What is one with as much stature to afford such clothing doing wadding in an unmarked pond with no supervision?' He thought while his detached gaze went over the small girl.
She held the hem of her skirts over her knees with gentle fingers, which probably didn't help cool the waters of the hog demon's yearning. Her legs were very long for her size and were slender in the same way the rest of her body was. She was extremely still and looked at times as if she was not even breathing.
His eyes traveled instinctively to her thin shoulders, which led to the smoothness of her long, pale neck. From what he could see, she had a small heart shaped face accented with high cheekbones and a minute nose with a pointed tip. Her lips were full and colored a subtle pink.
Half of her face was hidden in shadow, but from what was visible, her eyes were large and deeply expressive as she peered down at the cool water in a state of serenity, which was a benefit to her pursuer's lewd intentions.
Although the color was new to him, her eyes were vaguely familiar to someone long ago. The large dusky grey of the iris in her gaze remained unwavering from it's spot on the water's reflection and he could not get the view of them as he would have preferred. Her aura was so dimmed that he couldn't tell what kind of intellect or power she possessed if he could not look straight into her eyes.
The final thing he allowed his gaze to fall on was her hair. It was not as long as his own or most female demons for that matter, but it was more lustrous and well cared for than he had seen since his own mothers locks. It was the most peculiar color that Sesshomaru had never seen on a demon and most definitely did not belong to a human.
It was almost as white as a dog yokai's hair would be, but it had a light golden hue to it that set it apart from anything he could recall or remember. It seemed ashy grey in some areas and entrapped in the darkness of moonlight in others. It reached the girl's mid back to which it fell over her shoulders and covered her forehead in side swept bangs.
Sesshomaru would be a fool to deny that she was incredibly beautiful. He would also be a fool to think that it would matter or effect him in any way, shape, or form. Beauty was a petty thing, that never out won power despite it's vicious allure to the less fortunate that were succumbed by it. Beauty would not stop the girl from being raped and it would not persuade him to help her.
That was why Sesshomaru had not moved. Despite her fragile appearance, her aura led him to believe she was hiding in some way or trying to accomplish something by not revealing her own motives. He could not detect a hint of fear in the sugary depths of her scent. It was clear that she knew there was a rather large and hostile presence behind her (any demon with a functional nose would) and yet, she made no move to yell for help or flee the area.
She just stood there and even took to wiggling her toes in the sand. 'What is wrong with this woman?' He could not keep his thoughts under check and the ones that strayed; he could not pull back under the reign of his complete control. This was supposed to be a simple slay, not an ignorant mystery to be uncovered.
He was moving forward to deliver a strike to bring down both the reeking male and the impractical girl when she did something so trivial that it stopped him in his tracks. She turned ever so slightly, revealing the entirety of her gentle face, and moved the silk crumpled in one hand to that of the other while dipping her hand in the water. Strangely enough, she had no marking on the alabaster skin of her face to indicate the kind of yokai she might be.
Her clear eyes looked so sad and contemplative and the thin strands of the wispy hair framing her pointed ears caught the full brunt of the moonlight, as she lifted a cup of it in her palm and let it drain, forgotten through her slender fingers.
It shouldn't have effected his judgment, but it did and he knew it could not be helped. The strange innocence those eyes held resembled too much to Rin's for his liking. That human child had made something different and he wasn't so sure he liked that either.
It was utterly against his nature, but still, he stood there, as unmoving as the strange girl, and waited. He still seeked answers to questions that only the demoness in front of him held, so her death would be folly without them being brought forth to light.
There was also the fact that the girl seemed so much younger with her gorgeous features tilted towards him. She wafted an undiluted purity that not many demonesses could boast of and the same that Rin had. It was not that the cold demon lord was becoming more sentimental or soft in any way. He would decapitate any who thought such ridiculous nonsense.
It was not Rin and her unstoppable ability to make him think things differently from what he would ever want to purposefully. This had something to do with what his father had engraved in his mind as a pup. Something that had 'stuck', for lack of a better word, through out the years.
His father had told him many a times about the weakness and lack of judgment that a demon with high passions could possess. It was something that Sesshomaru had never suffered from and never would. 'An over need for power and an insatiable greediness would corrode away at a demon's correct mind frame.'
Lust was a word brought up once or twice. He had told Sesshomaru that a demon would have certain needs to be fulfilled through out his life.
'If one was to take those needs from a helpless or pure demoness, it would be considered a weakness. It is an exploit of power that only brings the worth of your strength down and shows flaws in your self-control. It would be much like engaging in battle just because your opponent could never defeat you.'
Sesshomaru had actually taken his father's words as more than just hopeful nonsense for once and applied it to his life. He was not one for idealism, but he was one for demonstrating the superiority of his power over demon's with little to no self-control.
'They are pathetic in their desperation.' So, he waited beneath the treetops with the same stoic façade set firmly on his fine features.
The warthog demon decided to make it's presence known and stood to it's full length, completely shadowing the girl. Still, Sesshomaru sensed no fear from her. In fact, she looked rather bored.
The demon was perhaps one of the more unsightly creatures he had come across and the lord had come across many a creature. Perhaps it was the demon's unbridled arousal that appeased it's over all disgustingness. He had never found Warthog demons pleasant to look at.
The hog looked the girl up and down with want seeping from the redness in it's eyes and Sesshomaru felt something in his demonic subconscious flare up at the hog's obvious leering that he could not and would not dare comprehend. There were some things in his daiyokai nature that he completely ignored at times and he was all the better for it.
Sesshomaru's quick perceptive caught the armor the demon was clothed in and recalled a southern tribe of the beasts with generals who wore such colors.
'Girl!' the beast squabbled out with a garbled tone. Without flinching and barely blinking, the girl turned in a graceful little circle and looked up at the demon expectantly. That's when Sesshomaru saw it. There, slipped into her constricting obi near her lean back was a very long and heavy metal rokushakubo, barely concealed even with one end in the water.
Now, Sesshomaru was never surprised… by anything, but this had taken him back if only by a tad. He didn't show it of course, or make any move to think he even noticed such a thing. It was a feat that she was even standing with the weapon strapped to her back in such a way. The fact that she had concealed the massive object from both him and the hog was almost too impossible to believe.
It took a great deal of power, which would seem nothing compared to his own, to even lift the rarely used weapon. Although many demons have fooled others with their appearance and abilities, for instance his half brother's obvious clueless and witless exterior and his ability to use tessaiga. This girl was hiding much more than just her scent.
The hog demon was obviously confused to find that the girl was neither surprised nor afraid by his sudden appearance. The beast kept talking to the girl and Sesshomaru wondered what on earth he might have to say to her at such a time.
"I will allow you a choice my beauty." He practically screeched at her as he stepped forward on the sinking bank. She kept her eyes trained on his without falter. In a very soft and feminine voice, she responded in a polite and kind tone
"What choice would that be?" It seemed as though the girl had no fear what so ever while she chose the time to be courteous in the face of her own demise. That or she was incredibly daft and ignorant regarding her current predicament.
The beast seemed overly pleased with the sound of her voice and grinned menacingly before taking a few strides closer to her. "You can either willingly become my mate or…" He stepped close enough to push his thick finger underneath her chin. Even with him so close, she still did not recoil or make a move to escape her approaching attacker.
"Or, I can take you by force and leave you to die." It actually seemed like she was coming up with a response to the threatening ultimatum from the time that lapsed on. When the demon became impatient with her lack of fear and nonexistent answer, he demanded her to speak.
'What could she possibly say?' The handsome lord wondered, his cold eyes remaining steadily on her pale form.
In a very affable manner, she blinked up at the beast and said quietly "But, I don't even know your name."
If Sesshomaru were not mistaken, it would seem like the girl was toying with the much larger demon. It was a ludicrous notion and yet there was no other way to describe her actions. Either way, the warthog was satisfied with her reply and the prospects of an attractive female mating with him on her own free will. It was truly pathetic.
"I am Yamaro of the Southern Hog Clan, Yomashi." He declared with pride gushing with his unarticulated words. It was just as Sesshomaru had expected. He had heard speculations that the clan was moving through the western areas secretly for a surprise attack in the north. Now he knew that the speculations were more than just rumors and the filthy animals were in fact, moving through the territory without official permission.
HIS territory to be more exact. If they had planned to move quietly in his lands, causing rape and pillage on the way was most irrational. Future planning of certain clan's destruction aside, he turned his focus back to the anomaly of a girl when she started to move.
She backed out of Yamaro's grasp and let the hem of her kimono drop to it's resting place on her knees. She took several steps backward in the shallow pool before coming to a fluid stop.
"Well, Yamaro, of the Southern Yomashis'…." She said kindly before stepping into a simple fighting position.
She pulled the long bo out from her obi without a hint of a struggle and twisted it effortlessly above her head without tension in any of the muscles in her small body. The secret engravings of the silver metal catching the night light did not go unknown to the all-seeing lord.
'A metal rokushakubo of that size, must weigh at least 60 pounds. Is this a slight of hand?' Sesshomaru felt entirely in the dark about the impossible sight the girl created until, in a matter of moments, her aura was unleashed in waves of calculated power and intellect. The light drafts of her being seemed to push it's way across his skin in a hauntingly gentle way.
'What purpose did she have by hiding her true strength? Why did she not just slay that fowl beast as soon as it made itself known?' Things became even more nonsensical when she slipped the bo into both her hands and continued her poised admission.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your offer." She finished tranquilly. Becoming completely outraged from the outcome of events that should have been in his own favor, Yamaro snarled and charged forward, splashing away at the water wildly. The girl did not move from her stance or make any indication that she would.
As the beast closed in on her, Sesshomaru could feel the sudden displacement of energy in the air for mere seconds, before it disappeared completely. Yamaro's crazed movements ceased when dark mud slicked it's way up his thighs and hardened instantaneously, trapping him to the watery ground.
'An Earth elementalist? She does not have the general features as such a yokai would.'
She then placed one end of the staff on the ground and held it loosely at her side. Yamaro fought against the encasement and tried to swat at the girl in an attempt to escape the mistake he had made for the sake of fulfilling his depleting desire. If the beast had an iota of knowledge in his burly body, he would know that any form of an elementalist would prove to be a dangerous encounter. He had fought quite a few in the past and each one of them managed to put up an honorable fight, but never enough to badly wound the mighty Sesshomaru.
With her hand outstretched from her long ivory sleeve and grasping the bo, her wrist became plain sight to his sharp vision. Sesshomaru's eyes slanted as he remembered where he had seen that very same rare vine and tribal sun marking on a yokai from his past.
It was impossible.
"You're an Earth elementalist!" the gruff one screamed in indignation, most likely in fear for his pitiful life.
Her sad smile and hushed words were confusing. Her eyes were hidden by the drape of her bangs and he still could not come into full comprehension.
"In some ways, yes." She lifted her thin arm above her fair head and her other wrist was fully revealed to the world. It was not an illusion, but it still did not make any of it possible. The hog finally caught sight of the twisted marks and he fought harder against his muddy grave.
"What the hell are you?!" The air was being displaced once more by fizzes of invisible energy that accomplished in crawling its way up Sesshomaru's spine. She dropped her eyes to her reflection in the clear water, as if trying to reaffirm what she truly was.
"That is an excellent question." Her ashen hair began its flowing dance in the air around her head and the markings on her wrists and the runes on her tall staff glowed a peculiar green. In an abrupt flash, several thorny vines sprouted from the water's surface and completely rendered the hog still. His shock quickly wore off to anger and he started to struggle against the branches biting into his calloused flesh.
"You deceived me you bitch!" Sesshomaru thought how the creature had swiftly fastened himself the victim utterly absurd. She did not raise her eyes as she said with true remorse striking her mellow voice "Yes, and I am sorry." She whipped her rokushakubo out of the water, pushing a wave past Yamaro's red visage, and turned it into a complete half circle until it rested in her awaiting hand.
She had not even touched the captured demon and confusion bled into his face, before complete panic set in. The branches tore wounds into the hog's flesh and armor and he cried out in pain as blood trickled down the open injuries to join the force of liquid at his hooves. Her eyes, still glowing a pupilless green, bored right into the red of the dying demon.
Her graceful features seemed pained, yet they did not look away. She seemed to be reminiscing as she watched the thorns pierce deeper and deeper into it's flesh, as if it were as easy to cut through as a string.
'Why?'
Then, with a final shrill, the branches pushed right threw the hog and divided his body into multiple chunks. Blood spurted outward before falling to the waters surface and joining the sliced corpse in a sickening thump. It was one of the neatest deaths that Sesshomaru had seen and the demon should be happy that he was not put into too much misery before he left for the afterlife.
He was not expecting this little mission to be like this. He never would expect this.
The tension in the air ceased and the girl's hair fell to her back in many spirals. She reeled in her aura once more and her eyes remained focused on the vacant stare of the carcass at her bare feet. She had true sorrow ablaze in her shadowy gaze and she glared at the blood seeping into the water as if it were the cause of the circumstances she had been in.
Why did she feel compassion for a creature that had attempted to rape her and leave her for dead just moments ago? Why did she cover her aura so often? Why did she have the marks belonging to a tribe, which would make her very presence very much impossible? Sesshomaru saw fit it the time to find the answers to his inquiries, which in turn, would determine the outcome of the girl's life and slowly stepped out of the darkness.
"I'm sorry that you could not find love in your life Yamaro, of the Southern Yomashis'." She whispered in a melodious voice before lifting the hem of her kimono and preparing to step around the dead body of the late Yamaro. He reached the bank of the bleak pond and stopped just short of stepping in the water before he vocalized a word.
"Why should you feel remorse?" he questioned coldly and without hesitation.
To say that the once somber demoness was shocked was an understatement of the most superb nature. A quick inhale of breath was heard before her entire body whipped around hastily, dropping her kimono and staff into the water with a large splash in the process. He was met with a pair of very large and very surprised grey eyes that looked over him from his feet to the top of his head in complete disbelief.
He could tell that he had hidden his presence well for she looked as if he had stricken her. He supposed she was not used to sudden surprises. After the second time her vision registered his materialization, he could smell a faint attractiveness admit from her before it was capped off with a blazing crimson staining her cheeks. He had never seen a demoness make such an expression and it added to the growing pile of mystery the girl had developed without her knowledge.
She brought a slender hand up to her chest in attempts to slow her disturbed breathing while her eyes stayed glued to his in a way that was unnerving him. He would have killed her for such open gawking of his person if she didn't have the answers that he needed and if he hadn't been noticing the spirals of violet in her open gaze. Her eyes began returning to their normal size, although they remained acutely wary and she shook her fair head, as if waking from a trance.
Sesshomaru wasn't sure how much patience he had for the girl and he wanted her to speak, but would never repeat himself. She seemed to be finding her voice and in a breathless manner asked "Who are you?"
The lord was not sure if the girl had even understood his inquiry and her ignorance was not improving his mood. "Answer my question." He demanded in his usual monotone.
Her eyes widened a millimeter before her trim eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm sorry. You frightened me and I did not hear the question. What was it you asked?" She asked with sincerity in her features and a nervous giggle that reminded him of teacup bells.
Perhaps it was the fact that she had forgotten her weapon and had not seen him as a threat or the fact that she seemed so much smaller and delicate closer up. Either way, Sesshomaru's original resolve, dissolved and he reiterated his question for the girl.
"Why should you feel remorse?" he asked for the last and final time. If she did not answer, he would terminate her immediately.
It did not take long after he uttered the phrase, for her entire face to fall. It seems it was not just his question or her bo that she had forgotten so quickly. Her eyes glazed over and she took a side-glance at the body behind her and at the blood that had contaminated all the water she stood in.
She didn't take her eyes off her victim and whispered numbly "Ohh…that." Her gaze found the bloody reflection of herself in the water overly interesting while murmuring with more enthusiasm, "Why shouldn't I?"
Sesshomaru did not want to play games with the girl or waste any more time, so he followed up regardless of his inner voice. "He would have killed you."
She remained quiet for a moment as if mulling his response over in her head until she raised her poignant regard back to his cold one. He had never seen a demon (male or female) display their emotions so openly. It usually resulted with an accusation of weakness and death.
"I know that." She said with more strength in her melodious speech. "But, he seemed like a lonely soul and I am sure that in different life circumstances, he could have been a better one." She said with a small smile gracing her gentle features resulting in a complete 180 on her emotions.
It was not what he was intending to hear pass her peachy lips, but that is what she truly thought. It made no difference to him either way. Content with the conversation even though he had not said anything else yet, she bent down carefully and lifted her rokushakubo from its crimson resting place.
"Are you always so talented at sneaking up on people?" she asked lightly while shaking the red water droplets from her weapon. She was moving the conversation away from the matter at hand and she truly thought that he would just follow along without notice or objection? Yet, there was the accusation that he was sneaking prior to their encounter that needed correction.
"This Sesshomaru does not sneak." He amended evenly, the same uncaring façade cemented on his features. The girl looked taken back by his correction and immediately stopped the bo's shaking. A subtle blush stained her cheeks as she began what would later be considered as the beginning of it all.
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to offend …wait" she paused mid sentence, her face suddenly becoming a flurry of confusion, shock, and then curiosity. Sesshomaru was beginning to find this girl had a way at wearing away at his stable nerves with her quick changing expressions alone.
"You're Sesshomaru?" she asked with her head tilted to the side and her eyes looking him over once more to reaffirm her judgments. His name flowered softly from her lips in an effortless way that bemused him in a way unnatural from anything he had felt.
Sesshomaru was a bit peeved that she had not recognized his station from the beginning and was surprised that even after she realized who he was, she had not used his formality.
She just stood there, her long hair almost touching the waters from the awkward position she had her head in, awaiting his answer. What was it that she expected him to say? It was now obvious to her that he was whom she asked. Why did she need confirmation of what she already knew? It seemed she did not, for when he did not answer her she went on without waver.
A smile began to grow on her lips as she righted her head and joyfully said, "You answered one of my questions."
If Sesshomaru had not been confounded before, he definitely was now. She gave the impression that she had not even recognized his name to begin with and she was just pleasantly shocked that he answered her first question. Which he didn't even do intentionally. How did this girl's mind work?
However, there was still this twinkle of recognition in her dusky eyes that stated other wise. It did not seem as if she was going to give away what she did and did not know. If it took this much to get nothing out of her, then what was the point of him remaining. It was either jump around her play on words and fill in the blanks of what she didn't let on or threaten answers out of her. He had a feeling that she would not take kindly to threats and then he would have to kill her.
It was a waste of time and energy in either situation, but his stubborn need for information kept his feet rooted firmly to the ground.
She lifted her kimono once more and was making her way back to dry land. The tension in her movements hinted to the fact that she was forcing herself from taking a glance at her victim.
'Why should she not look? It is just another thoughtless beast that brought death upon itself.'
Once she reached the bank a few feet from where he stood, she dropped her kimono and walked noiselessly over to a moss-covered tree trunk. The darkness of shadow she walked through seemed to have no effect on her radiant outline, although her pale hair ate it up and hid it in it's silken depths.
Once there, she slipped on a pair of black wooden geta sandals that rested on dark grass and turned completely around to face him with a welcoming smile lighting up her face.
In the distance he could hear two small feet, which he sensed awaken moments ago, padding quickly to the area. He just knew that this would create even more questions that he hadn't the conviction to answer. What was it with infuriating females and their uncanny abilities of finding him?
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sesshomaru." The girl said exultantly and followed it with a swift formal bow. When she popped back up her hair swirled back around her dainty shoulders and her smile was so wide that it showed a peek of small pearly fang.
The sound of footsteps was dangerously close.
"I'm Sa…" The sound of feet stumbling to a halt across wet grass was heard and a definite "huff" noise followed after his left leg was used to break the fall of a small body. The demoness paused and crinkled up her brow while turning her head to that awkward position again.
She pointed a finger towards his calve and said, "I think your leg just talked." Yes, this was going to be a long night.
There was a ruffling of his pant leg before a small voice yelled out ecstatically "Sesshomaru-sama! I found you!" The squeezing of his leg and a fit of girlish giggles followed soon after.
That smile had returned to the female yokai's face once more as she straightened her head and blinked up at him. He knew that she could smell the child behind him and yet she said nothing and that smile never dropped. She didn't look judgmental in any way, in fact she gazed up at him with a strange form of appreciation in her taupe eyes.
When the hugging of his limb had ceased, Rin decided to come up for air and peeked around the white silk she still clutched with tiny fists.
Grey met brown and in a matter of seconds, two smiles were at war with each other. The teeth to face ratio had just doubled at a remarkable rate.
"Who's your friend Sesshomaru-sama." The small raven head asked before walking around and standing next to him, a hand still clutched to the material (ahhh…doesn't that sound adorable. I love Rin!)
Her eyes immediately became saucers and she dropped the silk, completely forgotten in her childish wonder. "Wowww… she's really pretty." She said after her eyes looked over the taller girl in amazement. The demoness actually became flustered from the surprise compliment before she realized how close the human child was to a bloody corpse. Her grey eyes mirrored Rin's, but for a completely different reason and she rushed to save the child's innocent eyes from the horrific scene.
She ran into Rin's peripheral and swiveled to a stop, her bo lodged into the ground, keeping her balance, before she stood with her arms outstretched.
The move confused Sesshomaru immensely. Why should she care what a single human child, whom she never met, saw? She was truly unlike any demon he had ever come across.
"Please avert your eyes little one." She asked kindly while trying to cover the area of Rin's vision completely. Rin, being…well Rin, asked with a tilt to her head (not unlike the demoness's) and humor laced in her voice "Why? Is there something dead behind you?"
The taller girl looked dumbfounded at the child's words and she dropped her arms in a momentary state of shock. Rin took the lapse of forgetfulness to her advantage and skipped closer to the pond with a curious giggle following the air behind her. The blonde girl kept her wide eyes trained at his feet, her mind more than likely lost in a sea of her own astonishment.
When Rin got close enough to catch a glimpse of the dead demon, she said with a curl of her little nose "Ewww…he was ugly. He must have been real naughty." When the female yokai heard the innocent admission, she took a large inhale of air and whipped her eyes to the tiny girl who had busied herself in finding a stick to poke the dead thing with.
When the weight of the child's words finally hit the woman, she almost fell to the muddy bank, her grip to the rokushakubo the only thing keeping her from hitting the ground. Sesshomaru supposed she wasn't like normal children and would come off as a shock to anyone not used to the bubbly girl's presence.
Rin dropped her stick when seeing the older girl's antics and something inside her young mind clicked. Sesshomaru could have groaned but, of course, did not.
The biggest smile Sesshomaru had ever seen on Rin's face appeared out of nowhere and she began to run full speed towards the girl. He was aware that the child trusted too easily, but he knew that the demoness was the farthest thing from a threat so, he allowed the harmless contact.
When the small form hit her body at full force, the female yokai looked surprised for a few moments before she righted herself completely and gazed down at Rin with a hazy mist in her eyes. The taller girl looked warily over towards him and when he made no objections, she slowly moved one of her slender hands to rest gently on Rin's orange clad back. It almost seemed as if she was afraid to touch the child.
Rin looked up from her position of smothering her face in the woman's hip and said pleadingly "I like her Sesshomaru-sama. Can she come with us?"
The woman was trying to piece together words to explain the situation that Rin's mind would take easily and failed miserably, when the child looked up in admiration of her and gripped her waist tighter.
Sesshomaru said nothing as he tried to assess the situation in a proper way. The first thing to pop into his head was the giant word NO in bright red letters.
Then he considered the fact that Rin could find ways to frustrate the hell out of him when she did not get something she really, really wanted. The way that Rin had tightened her grip and batted her eyelashes at the befuddled girl proved that she was already enamored. Was it worth weeks to months of a tiny female terror?
There was also the possibility that Rin was searching for a female influence in her life. She did need someone to teach her the proper ways of a lady while she was away from the castle (95 percent of the time) and the female seemed educated and polite enough.
He couldn't be around Rin all of the time and Jaken was proving himself unworthy of watching after the girl, especially if she managed to sneak here while he slept. The woman knew how to handle herself in battle and could be proper protection for the child when needed.
There were also the layers of mystery hanging over the fair demoness's head. He still needed the answers to many things about her before he could come to a suitable deduction. The way that she evaded direct inquiries in conversation confirmed that he would need time to unravel everything he needed knowing. Then again, she could become an aggravation and if Rin became more attached to her, she would be harder to dispose of.
This could be either an opportunity or a horrible mistake. It all depended on the personality of the girl standing before him.
When her caretaker had said nothing in response to the matter, Rin turned her head around and moved so that she could look up at her lord while still keeping her arms wrapped around the thin woman. She then continued with the most convincing puppy dogface that put the ones that daiyokai pups could make to shame. He was buckling and she knew it.
In the most sugary sweet voice the girl could muster, she said the words that broke the dog yokai's back. "Prettttyyyy pleeeassse Sesshomaru-samaaaa."
The words popped into his mind and left his lips before he could even think of stopping them. "She may follow if she so pleases." He said in the same disinterested tone while turning to head back to camp.
This was followed with a fit of delightful squealing and a small dance of victory on Rin's part and a long pause of shock and confusion on the part of the demon woman.
When she finally found her voice, she yelled out at his retreating back "Wha…You don't even know my name. I…I could be dangerous for all you know!" He stopped abruptly and looked over his broad shoulder at the beautiful girl bathed in moonlight being danced around by an overly excited Rin, as if she was a ceremonial fire of some sort.
"If that proves to be the case, then I can eliminate you at any time. There is no threat for this Sesshomaru." The critical look in his eyes took her back and established the danger that would befall her if she chose to do something unwise. Her expressive eyes washed themselves of fear and replaced it with an understanding and that strange appreciation as before.
There was definitely something about this woman.
Rin had stopped her tribal dance when she realized that her lord was leaving and turned to grip her knew found friend by the hand. When the woman looked down at her in surprise and didn't budge, the girl pulled with both hands and said "Come on. Sesshomaru-sama is leaving."
She smiled fondly at the child again and said that she must retrieve her pack of belongings first.
'So she does travel alone and in such fine clothing. It is strange indeed.'
When the black velvet pack was placed firmly on her shoulder, Rin pulled her forward at top speed and the girl's obvious rush made the woman laugh.
'It isn't a terrible noise.'
She fumbled with pulling her bo out of the ground while still in motion and the situation made her laugh even more. When Sesshomaru saw that they were following at a suitable pace, he continued onward.
Before he reached the break between the tree line and the muddy bank, he heard a feminine voice yell out between titters "By the way, my name is Sayuri!"
Crazy Girl Glossary:
Geta sandals: They are a type of Japanese sandal, usually worn by geisha or of females in higher ranks of society. They are usually made from wood and colored in black, white, or red (They make them in colors that match the kimono's, but those are usually the most popular). Unlike other sandals, these have a separate elevated heel that clunk when walked in. If you have ever seen Samurai Champloo, Fuu wears geta sandals similar to Sayuri.
Well, I guess that's all.
Please Review!! Thank you all that have already reviewed! Your positive feedback is what drives me to write as best and much as I can! All reviews and constructed criticism are welcome! Flames are happily ignored and fed to horse flies. See ya next time lovies! (Inner voice: Yea…if I don't chop her up into little pieces by then. Evil laugh.) What's that supposed to mean?