Chapter 2

The Next Morning

She was uncomfortable, so her semiconscious body began to adjust itself in order to find a better position. The moment it did, her eyes shot open as the simple discomfort turned into a full-blown throbbing between her legs. She let a small groan escape her lips as she very gingerly sat up. 'Why am I so...' she thought to herself and then the memory hit her. Her eyes then immediately scanned the camp for her lord, terrified that she had perhaps not given him what he desired and had left her here, alone, as a result.

Fortunately her first terrifying thought of the day was quickly squashed. Though she didn't see her Lord Sesshoumaru or Jaken, Ahun was exactly where he should be in the mornings as were all of the supplies he normally carried.

She had not been left behind.

She stood up from her normal sleeping place beside the fire. `He must have put me here last night.' She thought as she rose. It hurt to stand but she needed to fetch water for Ahun. The first step she took made her eyes shut tightly. Suddenly, the small jaunt to the river didn't seem so short but rather, it had suddenly become a dreadfully long journey. Rin steeled herself, took a deep calming breath and began with small shuffling steps toward the bucket and then down to the river.

During the seemingly much longer trip to fetch water, she reflected on her strange new task. `I hope he doesn't want to do that too often.' She thought to herself. She shuddered when she thought of the pain it caused last night and the subsequent pain she was feeling right now. She had never known of him doing it before with any other female. She had been with him for so many summers now and he had never asked this of her before. Maybe it was something he rarely did and she really didn't have much to worry about. That thought gave her some comfort as she neared the river's edge. It wasn't until she stepped into the water and saw a light pink tinge floating off with the current that she realized that she was bleeding.

She quickly tossed the bucket she had been carrying to the shore only a couple feet away and hiked her kimono up around her waist. Running down her leg was a thin trickle of blood. She smeared some of the red, viscous liquid onto her fingertips and brought it close to her face for inspection. `It doesn't look like...' Then she sniffed it. No, it was definitely not that blood. `I must be hurt from last night." She waded the few steps back to the shore and pulled her summer kimono off of her body and neatly folded it, placing it on a large rock that sat slightly off the rivers edge. She then sat down, spread her legs and inspected herself in an attempt to find the injury. But try as she might, she could not see where the blood was coming from and with her no longer walking, the tiny flow had stopped all together.

`It must be inside of me.' She thought sourly. She didn't like the idea of being hurt inside one bit but there was nothing she could do but crouch in the water and clean what she could of herself. She was relieved to find the cold water very soothing on her abused sex. After rinsing, she just sat there crouched in the water; welcoming the relief it promised from the discomfort she had been experiencing. After several minutes she finally decided that she had better get back to camp. Ahun needed his morning water and she wanted to get back before anyone wondered where she was, if they were even back yet. So she gathered the liquid and just as gingerly as before, began the trudge back to camp.

When she finally arrived, one of her traveling companions had already returned.

"Rin, where have you..." the last word just toppled awkwardly out of his mouth, "been?" Jaken looked at her with the most quizzical expression that she had ever seen him use and it left her with a disconcerted feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then his eyes widened marginally before he abruptly turned back to the task of packing up the campsite.

Rin was at a loss for words. That was it? Even on days she wasn't gone for too long, Jaken always had something nasty to say to her. This morning there was no `worthless human' or `lazy female'. Just the strangely asked, `Where have you been?' and he didn't even seem interested in hearing her response. She wasn't sure how to take it. She was so used to the normal routine that she just stood there for a few moments before gathering her wits about her once again and resumed lugging the bucket over to Ahun. Once there, she set it down and just blankly watched as the two heads took turns gulping down the refreshing liquid. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the return of the white clad, silver haired youkai.

She wasn't aware of the way he just looked at her as she tended to the animal or the way that Jaken in turn looked at him. Silence reigned over the little camp until Jaken piped up.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, the camp is fully packed and ready for departure."

The sound of his voice and the mention of their lord's name made Rin spin on her heal. Something she instantly regretted as her soreness came back ten fold at the unexpected and ill-advised quick movement. Her eyes scrunched together in pain of their own accord before she even had a chance to see her lord. They stayed that way until they snapped open at being lifted off the ground by a strong set of arms.

"My Lord?" Was all she was able to squeak out before he sat her, sitting sideways, on the back of Ahun.

"Quiet Rin." Was all he gave her in reply. The events that followed stunned Rin more than anything her lord had ever done before, including the previous night's encounter. He proceeded to part her robes and her legs with the same movements one might use to open a pack and look for some needed item.

Rin's face flushed a light red when Sesshoumaru bent down and pulled back the folds of her recently used sex. She looked down to see him lightly prodding her. Even the light touches he was using caused a couple of whimpers to escape from her lips. Then she watched as he slid a single digit inside of her. That caused a small yelp to escape. When he removed his finger, the pale flesh was marred with a small amount of red.

"Jaken," he suddenly spoke, "bring me two rags, one damp, the other dry."

Only then did Rin look up to see Jaken staring right at her and what her lord was doing. The little imp wore a smirk on his face before he turned to fetch the items. Now Rin's face was no longer the light blush she wore only moments ago but a full-blown mask of crimson. She couldn't explain why she felt the way she did now. She didn't understand why Jaken seeing her like this or why the look on his face made her feel...exposed. All she was sure of, the feeling wasn't a good one.

She was pulled out of her newfound embarrassment by the cold voice of her lord.

"You will ride like this on Ahun until you heal." Rin nodded her head in compliance but couldn't help the question she asked next.

"Will it always make me bleed?"

He looked at her then, as stoically as he ever looked at anyone and for the first time, it bothered her.

"Once you heal, it would only do this again when I'm rough with you. That shouldn't be too often."

Rin audibly gulped. `when I'm rough with you', `shouldn't be too often?'

"You will be healed in a week or two. You will not perform for me again until then."

`A week or two', so much for the notion that this was not something he did very often. She shivered when he pressed the wet cloth between her legs but it wasn't from the coolness of it. Sesshoumaru rinsed away the fresh bleeding he had caused and then pressed the dry cloth between her legs. Once he had it in its desired position, he then closed her legs around it and readjusted her kimono back as it had been originally. He said nothing else to her as they started out but sent an order to the dragon that carried the small human female upon its back.

"Ahun, walk steadily. I wish for her to heal."

Rin glanced to Jaken after Sesshoumaru said this and once again saw the almost smug expression on the little toads face that she so wanted to smack off of it.

XxX

AN: Thank you very much to Gonzo8886 and icegirljenni for leaving reviews for this little fic. I really appreciate that you take the time to let me know what you think.