Chapter Six: Symphony of the Yellow Lotus

A/N: Do my readers not like my story? I enjoy writing it, but when my response rate is at a little over 1%, it makes one wonder. I'm sorry if it's not meeting expectations. Please leave me a note or let me know how I can improve! Anywho, enjoy the chapter!

Sesshomaru was displeased. Jaken just knew it… and the tiny imp's knees were knocking so badly, he was just as sure that would kill him to make him quiet, which only made them tremble more furiously. He whimpered quietly to himself, wiping rivulets of sweat from above his bulbous eyes and gripping the Staff of Two Heads even more tightly. His lord emanated displeasure, but at what, Jaken wasn't sure – and that surely meant he, Jaken, would bear the brunt of his aggression.

The long and short of it was that Sesshomaru had been interrupted. He had been traveling with purpose, his green and squeaky retainer following dutifully behind, when his steps slowed and he lifted his nose to taste the air a bit more clearly. The inuyoukai found this scent to be distinct, sweet and spicy but with a burnt note – bitter and subtle but not necessarily displeasing. Charred vanilla beans, roasted tea leaves, and a strange mix of cinnamon, oleander, and cloves… some of these scents were foreign to him, and thus did not have names to him, but left him curious indeed. He had known this scent once, and that alone was enough for him to investigate.

Sesshomaru had known that the human women from his half-wit half-brother's group were bathing in the vicinity of the aroma, but they were not his point of interest. He left Jaken behind and followed his nose, his assertion to himself that he knew this scent growing with every whiff. He halted his approach on the far side of the water, knowing that the silence of the birds would give him away but finding it hard to care. This Sesshomaru was answering a question.

His nose told him that the creature sunbathing on a rock was his goal, and he watched the onyx-haired woman with some measure of aloof canine curiosity. This lithe demoness surely could not be the shy slip of a girl that had presumed to be his equal centuries ago. When last he saw her, she had been but a shy cub, trailing behind her father and avoiding the Inu yo Taisho's guests with her soft words, slipping silently from under their very eyes. Sesshomaru wondered idly if she had changed with age, his expression impassive as he studied the form across the lake. She opened her eyes and sat up, seeming to catch his scent as well, furrowing her eyebrows and lifting her chin in his direction. She knows my scent as well.

His curiosity was not sated as he had expected it to be, but intensified at this mysterious reappearance of the Chinese tigress. He was not so mired in his curiosity as to ignore the demon slayer's weapon as it arced through the air, slicing through the air he had occupied only moments earlier. Sesshomaru closed the distance between himself and the slayer, lifting a poison-tipped claw in a display of power to teach the human the level of disrespect she had shown him. He allowed his blow to be countered by the slower-moving human, changing his attention to the miko when she demanded he leave Sango alone, the dagger in her hands coming to life and the youkai behind him stirring from her complacency. He did not like this demonic scent that the knife had exuded, and meant to knock it from her hands – when she held it up in front of him as if to defend herself with it, the image was so pathetic that he found himself amused. He lifted his arm to knock it away from the silly girl when the tigress suddenly lurched for him, no doubt called by the strange knife. He felt her course and deftly moved out of the way, not thinking that the miko would do something as stupid as she did and attempt to harm him with an obviously precious weapon.

He hissed softly as the metal slipped between two of his ribs, his poisonous blood destroying the flimsy weapon upon impact but feeling the enchantment remain within him. The tigress had ground to a halt, carving a gouge into the earth, shaking her head as if to rid it of a layer of mud. Wishing to distance himself from the enchantment in his blood and the tigress from his youth, he was already making an exit when Inuyasha entered stage right, swinging Tetsusaiga like a lumberjack. Sesshomaru drew Tokijin, meeting Inuyasha's swings with one of his own and using the momentum to leap away, disappearing as mysteriously and swiftly as he had arrived.

Sesshomaru did not care to linger and set down a fair distance away, releasing his armor and peeling the cloth away from his skin to inspect his wound. The skin had already begun to stitch back together, but the remains of the knife's power were betrayed by the darker veins spidering away from the entry, pulsing with his heartbeat in a dull ache. Pressing down gingerly on the healing tissue, he registered no increase in the pressure; the coppery twinge of his blood tinted with the acrid stench of superheated steel covering the dark stain on the fabric. Despite his lack of outright pain, the wound's persistence worried him – or as close an emotion to worry as he would allow himself to feel. Perhaps he was mildly concerned. But only just.

He lifted his head from inspecting his side when the faint smell of burning spice and oleander brushed teasingly against his nose and sent it twitching. Replacing his armor onto his chest, Sesshomaru determined that he was being pursued by the tigress, which seemed to be following his course rather than directly intersecting with him. Perhaps her nose was not as strong as his own, as he could pinpoint exactly where she traversed the wood.

Jaken had appeared to him then, gushing something about being left behind but glad to be back… Sesshomaru did not respond, but simply moved forward, faithful retainer at his heel and senses monitoring the cautious demoness shadowing them, preparing to turn and face her as soon as she found the boldness to leave the shadow.

Lixue nimbly strolled through the entangling roots and ivy, the low light taking on a crystalline quality as her night vision compensated. She knew where Sesshomaru lie in wait, but preferred this more circuitous path to give herself more time to think. She could hear his 'hnn' as he inspected his newly acquired injury, and if she were closer, she could hear the beat of his heart. The imp had appeared by his lord, the two apparently continuing a journey interrupted. She did not care, glad for the excuse to linger. She desired time to recall what she could of the demon that smelled of ginger, yellow lotus and fur glowing with the warmth of the sun. Sesshomaru. She mouthed his name, tasting it on her tongue and rolling it about her teeth. The young son of the Great Dog General, all grown up. Well, then again, so was she. She smiled faintly.

She melted away from the shadow of the wood, pausing as she locked eyes with the young lord, the great distance between them seeming incredibly small. He was much more powerful than she had anticipated, knowing that even the immense aura she could feel was an aura held in check. She frowned, wondering if her lack of resistance to follow him was born of some distant kittenish impulse to chase the scent of flowers and fur. Either way, she remained rooted to the spot, listening and watching.

Time is next to meaningless for the long-lived; the two watched and listened and smelled for a bit of meaninglessness, testing and checking for familiarities and threat. At length, some unreadable expression flitted across Sesshomaru's face and he turned on his heel to leave. Lixue did not feel compulsion from her collar, but tested a few steps ever so cautiously. She stopped again, hesitation and curiosity duking it out. She turned her head, staring with wide eyes into the glittering dark of the forest behind her, then across the sun-soaked wildflowers separating her from the retreating form of Sesshomaru.

He could smell the uncertainty rolling from her in waves as she struggled with her desire for freedom and her curiosity, the curse from her feline makeup and the hatred for confinement unable to extricate themselves from her. He didn't care what she did, but he did know that as soon as she had appeared on the edge of his vision, the throbbing within his side had ceased as though never there… as though it had called her forth from the trees to ease his discomfort. Dismissing the thought, he sauntered in a general 'away' direction to see what she would do, his senses tuned to her in spite of his apparent dismissal.

Very little could be said to justify her decision beyond that she was, as cats tend to be, insatiably curious. Ears perked as far as their limited design would allow, the tigress picked careful steps, a wandering trail that kept her on the fringes but certainly following the dog. Her circular pattern and zigzags soon softened, her pauses less frequent, mercury eyes trained on the silver and white youkai whose steps never faltered as her fascination grew. Had he turned to face her, demand explanations perhaps, she would have fought him or took flight into the forest, curiosity erased. Instead, he ignored her… and perhaps this quality alone made him fascinating.

A bit late, she took note of his style of dress – it was decidedly Chinese, despite his Japanese origin. The familiarity of his scent and his clothing served more to put her at ease than any words could have, despite the lack of any reason why she should be comforted so. The imp had continually looked over his shoulder at her, eyes dominating his expression, but she had not reacted to his notice; she preferred focusing on Sesshomaru, breathing in his scent and listening intently to his footsteps as they passed into the evening.

Sesshomaru did not relish bringing the demon back to Rin and Ah-Un, but he had been gone for far longer than he had expected. He looked askance to the silent tigress. If he hadn't been able to smell her, he might not know that she lurked just outside of his vision in the failing light – so silently and subtly the cat moved. This was the magic hour, when one's eyes could not focus but slid and danced about of their own volition, and humans found demons and spirits on the edges of their eyes.

Lixue's eyes were made for the failing light and utter dark; she felt her inner tiger stretch and yawn with anticipation of the night, stripes beginning to surface on her skin. The inuyoukai had glanced over his shoulder, searching for her form in the half-light. She knew his eyes were sharp but she doubted he could pinpoint her shape, stripes breaking her image up against the trees. Her clothing was her only shortcoming, the dull white of her kosode surely reflecting the remaining rays of the sun, and if she had truly wished to melt away she would have abandoned it. She picked up the minute intake of breath as he used his superior sense of smell to ensure she remained as she was.

Why does he need to make sure I remain behind him?

Her answer came soon enough from the voice of a young child gleefully calling Sesshomaru's name, followed closely by a two-headed dragon. She was curious, but she didn't need the collar's help to know that he wanted her to keep her distance. Keep her distance she did, sniffing the air and wondering at his strange protectiveness of the young human.

She crouched in the sweet-smelling grass and watched as the girl and the imp gathered wood for a fire, digging a pit and lighting it with a whoosh from the two-headed staff. The dragon had watched her for a while as well, but at a low word from his master, he had ambled off a short distance to munch contentedly on the sweet clover. He blinked his eyes and purred as the girl patted his flanks and handed him some dandelions as a treat. Lixue had a great deal of interest in this young human which had garnered protection from Sesshomaru.

The very same young human who had spotted the shine of her eyes and promptly shrieked, running in small crazy circles with up flung arms until Sesshomaru bade her be quiet.

"Lixue. Come forth."

She silently bristled at his knowledge of her name – of course he does he smells familiar surely I'm familiar to him too but that doesn't mean he should remember me after all I don't remember him – but stood and padded toward the fire nonetheless, stopping on the dark orange line separating the glow of the fire from the safety of the blue night.

He fixed her with his eyes, an unmistakably intelligent spark lying behind them. "Am I correct in assuming that you feel compelled to follow me?"

She nodded. "You are correct. You absorbed a binding from the knife that compels me to obey and follow." She scrunched her nose – she shouldn't have told him that she had to obey. She dropped her eyes to the fire, following her words with a mumbled, "That, and you smell very familiar, Sesshomaru."

"Hnn."

The impassive demon remained just so. "In such a case, you will stay here tonight until I know what to do with you." He turned to leave. "You will protect Rin above all else." He did leave then, but not too far; he was simply going for space to think, leaving Rin, Jaken, Lixue and Ah-Un in an uncomfortable circle.

Jaken sprang to his feet. "L-Lord Sesshomaru! Surely you do not mean to leave us alone with her?!"

"You will stay as well, Jaken."

Lixue did not know what to do with herself. The imp had sat down right there and begun to cry mournfully. The girl, designated Rin, was watching her intently and was scooching closer every few seconds. A foot there. A hand twitch and a twirl closer.

"Um. Hello." Lixue forced it out of her mouth, a strained and awkward greeting.

"Hi! Rin's happy to see you."

…What?

Lixue looked behind the girl. "I thought you were Rin?"

"Silly demon, Rin is Rin!" She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels.

"Does Rin always talk in third person?" Maybe she was catching on.

"In what?" The girl stopped rocking and looked up at the taller woman with large eyes.

"Ah… well… you see, it's… never mind. I'm Lixue." The demon stuck her hand out stiffly.

"Hi Lixue! Want to see a trick?"

"Sure." She dropped her hand.

"O-kay!" The girl puffed up her cheeks and crossed her eyes, tipping forward to balance on one foot with her arms outspread. She was only able to balance for a few seconds before losing her focus and beginning to giggle. "How was that, Lixue?"

Lixue wasn't sure what she had just seen. "Um, that was… very good, Rin." She forced a smile at the girl and patted her head. This was apparently the right answer, as the girl spun a bit more before making herself dizzy and sat down heavily on the dirt, which was apparently very funny as she began to chortle even more.

Lixue's face twisted itself into a look of extreme concern. What had she gotten into now?