Hi dear readers!
I'm so terribly sorry for my super late update…. I had so much work that I couldn't sit and write this chap. Even during the limited time I had to write this, I was hit by writer's block… Wah! *rinshy crying* X'(
Sorry again. As an apology, I have made this chapter super-long and more romantic in order to satisfy your senses…. Please read and review! Your reviews, even if it is only one letter would mean a lot to me :)
Smpt: Thank you so much! Glad you like those word articulations within ** :)
Enjoy reading!
"So I must have been attacked by demons of cat species, you say…." Sesshomaru said as he was pondering over the information.
"Very likely…. The claw marks on your body seemed more like it, Milord. According to my limited experience in treating humans injured by demons, the claws of cat demons are smaller and narrower than those dog demons such as yourself" said Kaede, while Sesshomaru was running his eyes across his own claws, mentally calculating its length and breadth.
Sesshomaru has visited Kaede. She was the one who treated him to health with Rin's assistance. The skillful and experienced lady might have some ideas to which sort of demon could have caused Sesshomaru's injuries. He needed every source he could get in recovering his memory or at least knowing his true identity.
"Although I have no memory of my past, I know my strength as a demon, by virtue of instincts. I am certain that no single demon can defeat me unless it is as massive as a mountain…." Sesshomaru paused and ran his eyes over the deep wounds which were still there. "From the claw marks and such the size of the demon should be no greater than mine….It is highly probably that there were more than one demon and the number must have been high…..too many to call it a fair combat"
"I agree. Your great strength was clear when you took down all those wolf demons single-handedly that day…" Kaede said and went on, "the relationship has always been sore between dogs and cats. May be they were your enemies all along and not just demons whom you met suddenly in the forest and ended up fighting them…." Kaede reasoned.
"…If it were to be so, then how did I survive? Why did they not finish me off?" Sesshomaru made a valid point.
"Even I could not understand why, Lord Sesshomaru. But you did say that you have a vague memory of drowning in a river and struggling to reach the riverbank….. Possibly, those demons might have assumed that they had finished you off and tossed you in the river. Ironically, the river must only have cleansed your body off the poison. You must have recovered your consciousness, and then struggled your way to safety."
"Hn….highly plausible…." Sesshomaru said as he swam across the stream of his thought process. Then he continued, "If they were just imprecise demons who had attacked me randomly then there is no danger. However, if they are my enemies who had plotted to slay me all along then, it would be prudent to take cover up until I recover my lost memory. There is no point in looking for and fighting enemies whom I don't even remember fighting against and for whatsoever reasons"
"…..A wise decision, Lord Sesshomaru." Kaede nodded in agreement.
"….." Sesshomaru observed silence as his stream of thoughts changed its course. "Hmm…..From what Rin told me, my companion, the green demon, called me 'Lord Sesshomaru', which must mean that I am a demon lord"
"Yes, but….unfortunately we hardly know anything of the demon Lordships and territories. Ours is a very conservative village and we don't have any liaison with any demon, except for Shippou. But he's nothing but a demon cub who is adopted by us all. I have no idea as to where you might be from and which territory you belong to." Kaede said regretfully.
"..." Although Sesshomaru was disappointed at his hopeless state, his determination was not deterred. He decided that if he could not recover his memory by finding his own identity, then he would eventually recover it by finding his enemies identity.
"…..assuming that those demons were my worst enemies after all, there must be some critical reason as to why they had attacked me now and not any time later or even sooner. It only shows that they must have found my existence now as a potential threat so they have planned to slay me….. which means….." Sesshomaru dragged as he was deeply contemplating.
"Yes…?" Kaede asked interestedly.
"As much as my enemies are persistent in having me dead, it only implies that my allies must require my presence so much….." Sesshomaru said, with a tinge of concern tainting his tone.
"….." Kaede was having her ears alert for Sesshomaru to continue in his low, cold tone.
"What if I have a vital task to accomplish as a Lord….? What if my kith and kin, if at all I have any, are looking for me.…? What if-"
"I'M BACK! I'm off to Lord Sesshomaru's place Lady Kaede! Please don't make supper for me, I must-GYAAH!" Rin broke in and started jingling till she noticed the subject of her speech sitting elegantly in the heart of the house, his eyes on her with a questioning gaze.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin exclaimed, "…..Eh-he-he-he…..What a surprise!" Rin spilled embarrassed chuckles as she stumbled her way across the hut, not to mention her crimsoned cheeks.
"….." Sesshomaru made no response. His golden eyes simply followed Rin's movements attentively, his feeling of amusement making his eyes twinkle.
"I was just planning to get you the medicinal herbs I got from the Katu Hill" Rin said as she was raking the small space of shelves in the hut, "It makes healing faster and lessens the pain" she gave an explanation she hoped Sesshomaru would find sensible.
"Eh….?!" Kaede turned towards her ward thoughtfully.
"….." Sesshomaru maintained silence. He really did not expect any sort of explanation from her nor did he need it. In truth, he was not supposing Rin's visit to him should have a valid reason as such.
"…..I had kept it here this morning, though" Rin was muttering to herself, while she was cut in by Kaede.
"Do you mean those which were tied up as a bundle?" Kaede asked almost sure that the answer would be affirmative.
"Why, yes!" Rin said as she turned around to face the old lady.
"Eh…! But I have given it to Tato when he asked for it this afternoon" Kaede answered.
"What!? But those were the last ones from the hill. How am I going to get them again for Lord Sesshomaru?!" Rin started crying anime-style.
"Forgive me, my child. I was not aware of your plans" Kaede apologized.
Rin shook her disappointment off her face and beamed a smile when she heard her old guardian apologize, "Oh! That's okay, Lady Kaede. It's my fault for not telling you that they were for Lord Sesshomaru…." Rin said and sighed regretfully.
"Geez….How am I going to get them for Lord Sesshomaru….? His injured chest is not completely healed yet…." Rin was murmuring, scratching her head.
"…." Silence of Sesshomaru, yet again. But this time he was rendered speechless.
This girl…..! She is acting as though her very life depends on supplying me with herbs and healing my wounds! Sesshomaru did not want to admit that he was touched by her love and care. If he was that type, he would have thanked her verbally.
Her crestfallen face made his mouth open and utter the words before he had the opportunity to hold them back and zip his mouth, "I shall take you to this place where the herbs grow"
That was it…. he said it…. surprisingly he did not regret it, probably due to the beamed up reaction Rin gave him for his proposal. But the stuck-up dog demon told himself that he has made this proposal only to fulfill his selfish intent of healing himself faster.
"We have been searching for weeks, General Kenshi. There is no trace of Lord Sesshomaru's scent" said one soldier.
"Don't give up! You heard what Lady Inukimi said. Do you wish to have us all dead?" Kenshi barked.
"….The Lady may put us all to death as she proclaims. We all deserve the punishment for having failed to aid our Lord at the instance he really needed us. But that is not going to bring the dead lord back to life-"
"SHUT UP!" roared Kenshi. Just like Inukimi and Kagura, he could not accept that Sesshomaru could have died.
The soldier maintained silence for a few awkward seconds. But he was neither intimidated nor offended.
"I know how disturbing the fact is to you, sir. Lord Sesshomaru is our Lord; Leader. The defender of our entire clan but….the fact that he was greatly outnumbered by an army of panther devas and tiger demons, two of the most powerful demon tribes on Earth, cannot be denied…..and….. the outcome of such an inequitable battle is obvious…." The soldier paused and went on in a lower tone, "There is no chance he could have survived"
"…." Kenshi said nothing as he had no point to counter the above statements.
"Our spy from the tribe also told us that Bakusaiga is in the hands of Touran, the leader of the panther devas tribe…. There is no way Lord Sesshomaru could have left his most treasured weapon in the hands of enemies and still be walking the Earth. Only death can separate him and bakusaiga…."
Kenshi let out a heavy sigh. The fact that Sesshomaru was dead, was drilling his chest. How are they going to live with that? What was to become of their clan….? And their province….? What about Lady Inukimi….? She has already lost her husband…Now her son too…?
"very well then…." Kenshi said under his breathe.
"MEN! RETREAT! BUT…" Kenshi bellowed and went on, "We are to return to the palace not just to convey the fact of our Lord's demise but also to seek Lady Inukumi's acquiescence to wage war against the panther devas and the tiger demon tribe and avenge his death. WARRIORS! FIGHT UNTO DEATH!"
"FIGHT UNTO DEATH!" chorused the soldier as they all started to retreat.
The birds' chirping and bees humming were not disturbing Sesshomaru as much as Rin's under breathe singing did. The human's voice was very sweet and gentle and his concentration had wavered too much to his liking. He could not think of anyone but her. What was he doing there, bodyguarding an orphan human girl? And most of all, he was interrupted by her during a very important conversation and had his mind completely distracted. How did she do that to him?
"I've gathered the herbs! YAY!" Rin cheered as though she had found a gold mine.
Then she turned to see Sesshomaru, "Hey, Lord Sesshomaru, huh?!-" Rin started gleefully before something caught her attention. Her smile widened as she trotted towards the thing, "Just a moment, Lord Sesshomaru!"
Now what…?! Sesshomaru thought.
Rin was sitting in the middle of a meadow, picking all the colourful flowers her eyes saw.
Flowers…?! Sesshomaru wondered. Again. He fought the urge to roll his eyes or raise an eyebrow. Else his emotionless surface would be rippled.
He saw the girl untying her small ponytail in the front and use the ribbon to tie up the flowers in a pretty bundle. Rin quickly stood up and came trotting towards him.
"Here!" Rin merrily held out a bunch of flowers to him.
For this Sesshomaru...?! Sesshomaru was at loss of words and expression. Not that he uses them much but he should be in a position to react some way right?
Sesshomaru lips mouthed "What is this?" Damn! That was a stupid question!
"Eh…!?" Rin blinked and took a moment to glance at her hand to see whether she held anything other than flowers.
"I meant to say, 'What is this for?' " Sesshomaru corrected his previous statement.
"Oh! Um…." Rin started and smiled widely before saying "Nothing much. Just a….um-a" Come on, Rin! What is this for anyway? "Just a present sort of a thing. A good luck wish for your quick recovery of body and memory. Yeah! That's it! Just a wish!" Rin finally managed to say something that made sense. Her cheeks were reddened in embarrassment.
"Hm" Sesshomaru hummed his acknowledgement. The reminder of his lost memory diverted him from the conversation.
"Rin…." Sesshomaru started.
The serious tone of Sesshomaru and the sudden change in atmosphere caught Rin's attention.
"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked uncertainly.
"Take me to that place where you first found me"
"Eh…?!" Rin did not expect such a request from Sesshomaru. "Yes"
The whistling breeze was grazing across the long curtain of silver hair and the snowy attire of the dog demon. It was also tickling the young girl's face with her frizzy hair making her brush her stray hair off her face.
The demon was studying the spot where he had been laying weeks ago. There was a river flowing at a distance. From his blurred memory, he could recollect that he was struggling his way to the surface of the river and somehow reached the riverbank. Yes. He dragged himself along as much as he could till he lost his consciousness. It was when he regained his consciousness when he found Rin….or more like Rin found him… where Rin dragged him from the gates of death.
Sesshomaru stole a glance at the peppy girl through the corner of his eyes, by slightly turning his head in her direction. She was humming to herself, comfortably seated on a huge boulder at a distance, swinging her foot playfully.
…Is she a grown-up child….? Is she sane, even…? Sesshomaru was questioning in his mind when Rin snapped her head towards him catching him red-handedly of staring.
Rin made a huge toothy grin and waved her hand at him. If Sesshomaru was of that type he would have blushed his face red. He quickly turned his head away, his eyebrows mildly crunched in annoyance and his lips pouted by a millimeter or even less. He was embarrassed. Clearly.
What's with this strange feeling! It is irksome! Sesshomaru mentally barked and turned his attention to his mental investigation.
As for his exploration he did not know where to start. He could understand that he was thrown into the river from the fact that he found himself struggling in it. From the flow of river, he must have been thrown far in the direction of the west. But from where he was thrown, that is, a roundabout location, is a question too difficult to answer. Also there is very little chance that he might find his enemies or even a trace of their existence there. He might have to investigate a lot before he could draw up all the probabilities. He might have to visit this place more often than he'd want to.
It was getting dark and they'd better get back soon. Sesshomaru noted that Rin was aware of the necessity to return but did not voice it out to him. She was kind enough to let him decide when to return.
They were back in the village, apparently in Kenji's house. Rin brought the herbal paste to Sesshomaru's chamber.
"I have it ready, Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin jingles as she knelt in front of Sesshomaru.
Five seconds passed in silent staring by the demon lord at the human girl. Rin was undoubtedly embarrassed and her head sweated anime style.
The dog demon wordlessly untied his sash and let his haori slip off his shoulders.
Rin scooted forward hastily so that she can get the nursing over with. The more she's with him, the more embarrassed she feels. She took a lump of the paste and smeared it on the upper left of his chest.
"HISSSS! *GRAB*" "*GASP*"
While the dog demon did not expect the injury to burn so much at the contact with the paste he let out a "hiss". His handsome face was frowning at the sting and ha grabbed the offending hand. The young healer let out a gasp at the demon's reaction.
"Eh…Um-Uh-I guess you didn't expect such a sting. I'm sorry Milord. I should have told you that it would 'cause I have added another variety of herb that makes this one more effective. It is that herb that probably caused such an irritation. But it will go away in minutes, you'll see" Rin asserted.
After a moment, Sesshomaru only said in a questioning tone, "Does it hurt?"
Rin's eyebrows crunched up and her eyes blinked in confusion.
Sesshomaru's golden spheres shortly visited the girl's wrists and refixed themselves with those chocolate brown eyes. Ideally, he should have told, "Sorry! Did I hurt you?". But he was too proud to apologize by words of mouth. He gently rubbed the wrists which he had held half a minute ago, in an apologetic way, in order to soothe the impression left by his tight grip.
What am I doing…? Sesshomaru was questioning the soundness of his mind.
How could Rin not blush at his intimate gestures?
Yup. Rin was blushing like a fool and her hand remained frozen on Sesshomaru's chest, not to mention her realization that their faces were only few inches apart. Sesshomaru was half-naked again. Her hand was on his chest. His hand rubbing hers. Two pairs of eyes locked for what seemed like eternity. Perfect positions for a newly-wedded couple on a night together in their private chambers. Rin's heart started beating wild as she was hit by realization after realization. It was only after Sesshomaru let go of her hand when she was able to think straight.
However, while Sesshomaru missed the feminine softness of her hand, Rin missed the masculine warmth of his.
"Um….yeah, Lord Sesshomaru, do you know what the villagers are talking about you? They're saying that you're a God of some sort *Ringles* They actually worship you, Milord! My goodness! You should hear what they say! They're very grateful for you, because you saved them all from those nasty wolf demons" Rin managed to calm her nerves and drumming heart beat by diverting to a lighter topic.
Sesshomaru wanted to say that it was not them that he had intended to rescue. But that would only imply that he was protective over Rin, too much than he would like to admit. He also wanted to say that it was not just the villagers who were worshipping him like God. But that would only imply that she is also one of his ardent devotees, too much than she was ever aware of. Also, he was hearing her heartbeat and scenting her nervousness the whole time that they were starting to get to him too. However, he had his lips tightly sealed from letting any of his thoughts and emotions slip.
"There! All done!" Rin said as she straightened up after tending to the wound, "You can take them off the next morning, Lord Sesshomaru".
The sudden gap created between them annoyed Sesshomaru, but the fact that it annoyed him, annoyed him even more. (A/N:- Am I being clear here?). He could not understand. He could see that he takes pleasure in her company; in their physical intimacy. But he would never acknowledge it even to himself. A part of him hated the way he was acting and reacting in her presence.
Rin swiftly Stood up and bent her back. "Ack!Huff! Whew! What a long day! My joints hurt!" Rin rambled as she started doing some stretching exercise.
Sesshomaru was not a normal male to chuckle his amusement out. But he was amused. No doubt.
"I shall take my leave Milord! See you tomorrow! Good night!" Rin wished cheerfully and waved him a 'bye-bye'. Then she left immediately.
Sesshomaru was there, sitting silently as his mind recalled all that happened that day. His eyes eventually found the bundle of flowers Rin gifted him that day. Without giving a second thought he took them in his hand and started examining them. The girl sure has a colourful taste because one flower was not of the same colour of the other. It seemed as though she was picking flowers randomly. But, actually she had been meticulous in the choice of the flowers she had wanted to present him.
Rin. Why….? Why do you care so much for me….? Sesshomaru pondered as he took off the ribbon and gently dressed them in a flower vase which was there at his side. Sesshomaru's eyes fell on the ribbon clutched by his clawed hand, as he mused, Is it just because I have rescued you once….? Or is it something else….?
Hope you liked this chap. There are more interesting romances to warm you all up in the future chapters….
I might be busy till the end of December. So I shall try to update as often as I can.
I would become more regular after that….or so I hope….
But Trust me! I'd surely complete this story at any cost!
Please leave your review…. ^_^
