Sesshoumaru walked around the castle in hope to find Rikara. Walking outside, he frowned as he mentally tried to find out where Rikara went. He had gone through the entire castle and only ended up in the gardens. Walking through them, he sighed. He knew, with all of these scents, he would never be able to find her. Cursing his luck, he sat down in the field of flowers and closed his eyes. Rikara was so mystifying sometimes. It was like she was put in his castle just to tease him in more ways than one, but she was also very… Rikara. There was no other way to describe her other than her being herself. And, to be technical, that was a good thing. Even though you couldn't tell, Sesshoumaru had his tastes for women. He wanted one that would be his equal, yet be acquiescent, one that was unexplained, yet shared everything, one that was herself, yet knew when to act like everyone else. Very contradictory tastes but Rikara was actually all of them. Of course, he wanted someone attractive, but he also wanted them beautiful on the inside.
Rikara walked through the lifeless garden in anxiety and gloom. She knew that this place belonged to Sesshoumaru, his scent was all over it, but why was it so lifeless? Trekking through the weeds, she stopped when she saw a figurine. Looking at it, she failed to notice the creature heading her way.
Sesshoumaru frowned as he made his way through the thick forest. Rikara's scent was here and that meant that she… He froze as he heard Rikara cry out.
She ran from the ominous creature as fast as she could and that was pretty high-speed. Dodging some low hanging branches, she ducked behind a bush and hoped it wouldn't find her. Feeling a hard chest behind her, she screamed as a clawed hand touched her shoulder. Turning around, she sighed and wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru's neck. "What are you doing here?" He asked crossly. "I was walking through the woods and stumbled upon this place and then this creature came out of nowhere and started to run after me." She explained, clandestinely wondering why Sesshoumaru was so livid. Pulling her out of the bush, he tugged her along the path until they appeared in the regular garden. "You are to never go in there again, understood?" He commanded, scowling threateningly at her. She looked up at him with probing eyes and then lowered them. "I understand." She whispered, prying Sesshoumaru's hand off of her. She was about to head back into the castle when she just shook her head and disappeared.
She landed delicately in Inuyasha's forest. Rikara was a bit bewildered about the way Sesshoumaru had acted and wanted some answers. Barely seeing Inuyasha running at her, she prepared herself to be tackled. She let out a small groan as Inuyasha tackled her to the ground. "Why didn't you try to avoid?" Inuyasha asked, straddling her hips. "I didn't expect you to just tackle me." She answered, rolling onto her back. Inuyasha leaned down until their noses were touching. Inuyasha searched her eyes and noticed something in them. "What's wrong?" He asked, going back up. "Sesshoumaru has this garden that he is all enigmatic and selfish about; I wanted to know if you knew anything about it." She said, looking up at him. Inuyasha hesitated but nodded. "I know about it, but Sesshoumaru asked me to keep quiet about it." He said, looking away. Rikara sighed and sat up. Placing a loving kiss on his lips, she smiled. "I understand." Inuyasha smirked and initiated a round of wrestling.
Sesshoumaru watched her vanish with a large amount of fury, yet also a stab of depression and envy. He knew she was going to visit his idiotic brother. What did Inuyasha have that he didn't? Growling, he went into the castle. This was outrageous. He, Sesshoumaru, the lord of the western lands, was comparing himself to his insignificant brother. Sighing, he sat himself down on his bed and groaned. This was getting out of hand, but, for some reason, he liked it. Rikara had thrown his world into frenzy and he wanted her to continue. Growling, he shook the imminent thoughts away and went to his library. He had been somewhat avoiding his duties and needed to catch up. Sitting at his desk, he looked out the window and hoped Rikara would come back before dinner.
Rikara giggled as she pinned Inuyasha to the ground. Inuyasha tried to struggle out of her grasp but futile. "I triumph." She whispered, nibbling his ear. Inuyasha let out a grunt of pleasure and pushed his ear closer to her lips. Rikara giggled and gave his ear a final nibble before standing up. Helping him up, she smiled. Inuyasha blushed and looked away. "Rikara…" He was about to continue on but froze when he smelled Kikyo. Looking to his left, he looked into her eyes. Rikara turned and looked at the lifeless priestess. She reeked of graveyard soil and dirt, but she also smelled like something else; something dark and ominous. Frowning, she tried to place the scent. Freezing, she realized the scent. It was Naraku. Retreating behind Inuyasha, she tried to mentally prepare herself for the battle. "What are you doing here Kikyo?" Inuyasha asked. Kikyo drew her arrow and aimed for Rikara.
Sesshoumaru did not like this. It was fast-approaching dinner time and Rikara wasn't even close by. Growling, he informed Rin of his leaving and went to fetch Rikara. Almost reaching Inuyasha's forest, he froze when he saw the dead priestess shoot a dark tipped arrow at Rikara.
Kikyo shot the arrow and hit Rikara flawlessly. Usually, an arrow wound would barely even sting, but this hurt like never before. Clutching her shoulder, she cried out as the arrows tip seemed to sink further into her body. Inuyasha growled at Kikyo and rushed to Rikara's side. "Kikyo, how could you?" He demanded, holding Rikara in his arms. He could feel her growing limp and was starting to worry. He could tell this wasn't a regular arrow; its scent and color were completely different. Cuddling her close, he gave Kikyo one abhorrence filled look and raced back to Kaede's.
Sesshoumaru dropped from the trees and landed faultlessly behind the dead priestess. She turned and gazed at the lord in surprise, distress, lust and trepidation. The second to last surprised him and disgusted him all at once. "If Rikara dies, I will make sure you die again, but this time slowly." He whispered, racing off to Rikara. Kikyo knew this was no inactive threat, but still she had done what she had been ordered to do; to find out if the rare breed meant something to the lord and she was certain she did. Smirking, she summoned her soul collectors and floated off to report to Naraku.
Rikara began to breathe hard as she was placed on the mat in Kaede's hut. They all gathered around, including Sesshoumaru and watched Kaede work on her. Rikara groaned when the arrow was taken out. It had lost its amethyst color and smelled just like a regular arrow. Frowning, Kaede looked up at them in great distress. "I'm afraid she has been injected with a lethal poison that could render the most powerful demon into a fatal state." Sesshoumaru looked at Rikara's straining body in dismay. She couldn't just die. Sesshoumaru grasped her right hand while Inuyasha grabbed her left. Looking into each other's eyes, they silently agreed to not argue over this. At least not yet.