Chapter Seven: The Tomb
They had not seen Sesshomaru for three days, and they had begun to worry that he had moved on without them. Jaken, Ayami, and Rin had packed their supplies onto Ah-Un and continued forward, hoping to meet up with the Taiyoukai eventually, though Jaken insisted that if Lord Sesshomaru did not want to be found, there would be no finding him. Even so, Ayami wouldn't let herself believe that their march was futile. At the very least, the journey kept her last conversation with Sesshomaru at the back of her mind.
The crossed over a mountain range and were walking through a serene prairie, Rin riding on Ah-Un's back, Ayami leading the two headed dragon by the reins, and Jaken leading the way, grumbling about how useless this was. Ayami scarcely heard the small demon through her musings.
"Ayami, can I pick some wildflowers? There's a beautiful patch over there!" Rin waited patiently for an answer, and when Ayami didn't answer, she patiently repeated the question.
"Oh, sorry, Rin. Of course. Let's take a rest."
Rin didn't wait for the dragon to stop. She slid off the saddle and rushed toward the blossoms, arms outstretched like wings as she skipped and sang.
Ayami rested against Ah-Un's side, pulling out dried meat to nibble distractedly on. She could hear Rin humming as she picked the flowers and wove them into a circlet for her hair.
"In the mountains, in the breeze, in the forest, in my dreams. Lord Sesshomaru, where are you? Jaken is serving under you too. I will wait for you on my own. Please return to me, waiting all alone. With you and Jaken and Ayami, always happy I will be."
Ayami frowned upon hearing the last line, and Jaken scoffed loudly. "Never heard that last line before."
"What happened to her family, Jaken?" Ayami asked.
"They were killed by thieves. She's the only one who survived."
"What do you think of…what Rin said last night?"
"Well, let me tell you that if anyone other than Rin had suggested such an idea, Lord Sesshomaru would not have hesitated to kill them most gruesomely."
"I see…"
"The nerve of that little imp!" Jaken exclaimed. "To think she would get the idea that the great Lord Sesshomaru would wed a mortal woman and claim Rin as his daughter! It's the ultimate disgrace! If I was Lord Sesshomaru, I would have knocked some sense into that girl…"
"He really loves Rin, doesn't he?" Ayami asked musingly.
"Loves her?" Jaken exploded in laughter, rolling on the ground, helpless with mirth. "Lord Sesshomaru, loves Rin? What need does my Lord have for such sentimental foolishness!"
Ayami only sighed softly, dropping her small snack to the ground, as she had lost her appetite as of late.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she was startled when Rin's little hands slid a coronet of blossoms around her head. The girl smiled, and then put an identical one around her own head. "Aren't they so pretty?"
"They are," Ayami said gently.
Ayami saw a flash of light in the corner of her eye. She looked over to see Sesshomaru standing on the brink between forest and meadow.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called, holding up the flower tiara she had woven. "I made a tiara so I can wear it when I become your princess!"
Ayami hid her face behind her midnight hair, lowering her eyes respectfully. She would not look at him, though she couldn't escape his presence looming like a shadow over her. "My lord," she greeted quietly.
"Rin, I need to speak with Ayami. Alone."
"Yes, my Lord." And Rin scampered away to weave more flowers.
But Rin had no need to leave, as Sesshomaru did not plan to stay.
He seized Ayami's arm and then she was flying.
There had been no transition from the time he grabbed her and when she was so high up in the air that the fields looked like small patches, the rivers like tiny garden snakes.
She had a feeling that she was not the only one feeling awkward in this position (clinging to the fringes of his sleeves for dear life, only partially supported by one arm that touched her no more than was absolutely necessary), but Sesshomaru's face and eyes betrayed nothing but mild amusement at her uneasiness, his lips curled in the barest smirk.
She dangled in his loose grip, helpless in his arms, dependent on him for her survival. She tried to swallow her shame, but could not.
Sesshomaru, she had to admit, was a sight to behold. His long, silver hair became whips of moonlight in the sun's fading beams, flowing as smooth as a river in the winds. His eyes were tilted ever-so-slightly toward the heavens, and they glowed not amber, but gold in the light. There was power, regality, in the way he held himself, and dignity in his form.
She felt very small in his grasp.
Ayami looked toward the earth, mesmerized by the way such vast landscapes passed before her eyes in only a few heartbeats. Gradually, the fear began to ebb away and was replaced with wonder.
"If I might inquire, Lord Sesshomaru, where are we going?"
"To the place where my honor is dead." He left her with nothing more to ponder.
"My Lord, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I am slipping and you're only using one arm to-"
She stopped dead in her tracks, mouth open.
His left sleeve was helpless to the wind, whipping entirely behind him in a position that no arm could replicate…
He only has one arm! She realized with a jolt.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, daring her to say anything about it.
"Forgive me…I didn't realize…!"
He scoffed. "I do not want your disgusting human sympathy. As for you slipping, I will not inconvenience myself to ease your petty fears, woman. Remember that."
It was after all was said and done that a new thought hit her.
I was going to ask him to embrace me!
She spent the rest of the trip in silence, reminding herself that it had only been to have some more support so she would not fall to her death.
If I did fall, would he have caught me?
Such thoughts would not leave her tormented mind. With each passing second, she was surer and surer that this Taiyoukai was dangerous-very dangerous-to her.
Perhaps even deadly.
Nothing more was said until he descended. Once his feet touched the earth, he dropped her, leaving her to compose herself on her own.
"Drink this."
Sesshomaru threw a small vessel of bamboo at her feet. Ayami picked it up and removed the cap, then pressed her lips to the rim and recoiled. The scent alone was scathing, hotter than steam.
"Drink it all, woman"
It took her several painful gulps, but Ayami dutifully emptied the vessel, though it felt that fire ran down her throat.
She was at a tomb, she realized. It was a dwelling of stone in the middle of a vast plain. Little grew in the area, and except for some sparse grasses, there was no signs of any life in this area. Small stings of paper diamonds that respected the dead swayed in a stale breeze.
"My Lord, what is this place?"
"The tomb of my father. Or rather, a memorial. His remains are no longer here."
A place where my honor is dead, Ayami remembered Sesshomaru saying.
She bowed her head reverently, clasping her hands and saying a quick prayer in respect. Sesshomaru scoffed.
"He would have been the type to accept a human prayer. But I hardly suppose the fool could possibly be shamed any more than he already is."
"Have you no respects to pay to your own father?" Ayami asked, somewhat taken aback by his ferocity.
"No more respects than he paid to me."
Ayami only whispered the final words of her prayer, so as not to be overheard by Sesshomaru. "You must forgive your son, great InuNoTaisho. I am sure he knows not of what he speaks…"
Sesshomaru's silence was seething and hostile. She wondered if he had heard after all.
"Why did you bring me here, my Lord, if your father is such a bitter enemy to you?"
Sesshomaru began coldly, his back turned to her. "You heard what it was that Rin said."
Ayami dared not reply.
"What do you think of Rin?"
"I…she is like a little sister to me." As soon as the words left her mouth, she clamped her hands over her lips. It was the wrong thing to say, true though it was, and she knew it.
"A sister." His chuckle was low and dark, almost too quiet to hear. "That will suffice…for now."
"…For now, my Lord?" She raised her head in inquiry. Sesshomaru had not moved and was still staring into the horizon, his long hair and the fur draped over his shoulder swaying in the breeze.
"You are indebted to me, Ayami. You yourself said that your life is mine."
He turned to her then, sharply, and at once he was before her. "I have come to claim it."
And Sesshomaru lunged for her.
A/N: I'm trying to make Sesshomaru act like...well, Sesshomaru. Help on accomplishing this would be much appreciated. :3 (gestures subtly to "review" button)
