Rin's tongue was sharper than normal the next morning, her brother's three hour interrogation warping her mood into a hideous deformed creature. During this time, he learned nothing of Rin's nightly endeavors but did come to his own conclusions which he shared with her. They infuriated her even more; all of her brother's scenarios, she felt were slightly beneath her.
Her aura spiraled angrily around her, a chaotic atmosphere being created in her wake. The small red mark that had given her away was tucked safely under her kimono. It lay partially forgotten for the time being, other matters weighing more upon her mind. While feigning ignorance for three hours, all three of which she could have been sound asleep; she had been given time to think on current events. And because she was allowed to reflect before finding any type of rest the events of the night continued to be fresh within her mind.
She was annoyed to say the least. Sakura was eerily quite, especially since Rin's temper was raging. The woman had made only two rude comments at breakfast, each after which she clammed up and spoke of nothing for a while. Rin had been in the disposition to fight, but it seemed that none around her were up for the challenge. Onigumo was no where to be found. Though she could not decide if this was favorable to her mood or not. But as she sat through a highly uncomfortable breakfast she figured that his absence did lighten her mood a tad. Rin excused herself from the table and headed quickly to her gardens. Her father fuming behind her from some cynical comment she allowed to slip out.
A few hours later, Rin's bare feet padded quietly against the mats that littered Sango's room. Her hands were tucked away within the folds of her kimono. Her hair once again confined to a braid. She was at the moment like a kettle, whistling and ready to boil. But for Sango she would only simmer yet the same could not be said for anyone else within the castle.
Rin gave Sango a curt nod as she turned away from a book that was nestled within her lap. "I was afraid that this day I would not be graced with your presence. I assume that the maid found you with more ease than most?" Sango gently placed the book on the floor and gave her full attention to her younger sibling.
"Of course she did. Though she would not have found me if I had wished not to be found. I utter these words quite often Sango, I am the wind and these wooden obstructions can not ensnare me, though they may act as a weak barrier sometimes." Rin replied nonchalantly.
Sango chuckled lightly, her dark tresses loose for once and dancing playfully around her shoulders. Her eyes danced with a mischief that Rin had not been exposed to in many years. "You are still quite contemptuous today Rin. Did Kohaku really irritate you that much?" Sango asked with a wave of her hand and a raised brow.
Rin stepped over and sat down upon her knees. "Contemptuous, not so much; irritable because of sleep deprivation is probably the cause. Did Kohaku tell you of his mind's concoctions?" Rin asked a small frown settling upon her features.
Sango smiled softly as Rin lounged against a pillow. "A scandalous tale did escape his lips this morning. One of love, trust and emanate betrayal; something about a quite farm boy igniting passion within your eyes." Sango said lightly. She knew the effect that her words were having on Rin and she did enjoy watching her sister's changing expressions. They were quite amusing.
Rin scowled. "Please do stop, my insides churn. His fictitious stories are enough to spoil even the best of meals."
"So here the boy spreads untruths to my ears… I shall have to discuss that with him at a later date. But alas Rin if his tale was nothing more that a fantasy my mind must desire the truth. Surely, there is a reason to your midnight escapades. Perhaps you are closer to your bridegroom than many would like to believe?" Sango suggested lightly.
Rin scowled again and her eyes darkened dramatically. "May the moon turn to blood and flames engulf the earth if I am ever to bed that whore. I would give my soul to the devil and have him lay with me before I would consider that shell of a man." Her mind slipped for a second to her lover. And she pondered if he was the devil she had given herself to.
Sango captured Rin's eyes before securing her chambers. "I too believe he is a shell or maybe something worse." Sango said softly.
"One who beds Sakura must have no soul. Look into the eyes of your father, there is no man but a beast within, confined to mortality, living without a conscience. That is what that damned man is going to become…" Rin whispered harshly to her sister.
"You say that he has lain with Sakura?" Sango asked momentarily forgetting her purpose. "When did he achieve such a feat?"
"Last night I saw a figure rush from his chambers. Lilies and oils laced the air as she fled. He stood within the frame of his room unclothed and scratched. And Sakura's manners toward me only add evidence to my suspicions."
"Then this may help build my case as well. I do not believe that Onigumo is completely human…" Sango said softly, her dark eyes serious and carefully trained on Rin.
"Interesting, do tell me what brought you to this conclusion. You were never one to make claims without solid evidence…" Rin said calmly.
"My maid has told me that hordes of spiders have found refuge within his room. His motions are too quick for his body; that is to say that the development of his muscles do not support his agility. And his eyes…" Sango said in an airy whisper.
"Are sharp chilling blue daggers…" Rin said softly.
"No… his eyes… He asked me were you trekked last night. I had no answer but he swore that I would know if no one else did. I insisted that I knew not were you had run to but he became enraged. And his eyes… they became red with fury." Sango finished slowly observing every feature of Rin's face.
Rin's eyes widened the slightest as a light blush brushed across her cheeks. She had seen eyes become red quite a few times. But they were red with lust not with anger. Sesshoumaru's golden irises were not always that way. In fact, since the beginning of the affair almost half of the time Rin found herself looking into his eyes they were somewhat red. The edges were either being bled into and the gold was slowing spiraling out of existence. Or the whole eye was a dark crimson save the pupil which converted to a dark slit.
"Red… his whole eye turned red?" Rin asked while digging her thumb into the soft flesh of her palm.
"No… his inner eye turned crimson and his shadow retreated though the torches shone brightly in the halls and all surrounding shadows, including mine, stretched across the floor. And one flame in particular, the one nearest him flickered as his rage grew…" Sango said but stopped abruptly as a light tapping was heard at her door.
"I need to ask someone about this… We shall discuss this more tomorrow?" Rin asked as she got up and made her way to the exit.
"Of course… But I suppose this means that you shall not be within the castle's walls tonight?" Sango replied. The frown that had set itself upon Rin's features deepened as she shook her head. "Then may kami watch over you and I shall hear from you tomorrow about your findings."
"But of course." Rin said softly before sliding the door open to find Kohaku standing there. "Ah, dearest brother, are you coming to interrogate me again? Try once more in a fortnight; I am weary and my words not as they should be, for right now they are filled with a light eloquence and pose."
"You jest dear sister. Your banter Rin is always that of an angry drunken genius least you chose to hold your tongue, which is a rare occurrence." Kohaku replied.
"Please Kohaku; I am in no mood to thrash you in a battle of wits. It of course would be unfair, for at the moment I am neither drunk, nor lying on my death bed speaking in archaic tongues to unknown and forgotten gods." Rin said quickly. "But seeing that you have yet to say a word with valuable meaning to me, I shall assume this is a visit meant for the eldest sister and shall take my leave."
Kohaku rolled his eyes as Rin moved down the halls. "Sango…" He said softly.
"What is it Kohaku? You did not come to me simply to utter my name softly as though we were lovers… Speak clear dear brother and if your words are meant only for my ear close the door behind you."
Kohaku did as he was told, walked into Sango's room and slid the door shut. "I've just gotten word from one of my men… The temple where Miroku was kept has burned to the ground and his body has vanished…"
"Oh my kami-sama… Miroku-koi…" Sango whispered as a tear slid down her cheek. "I should have stayed… I should have never entrusted him to those monks."
"Sango if you hadn't he might have died…"
"Might have died Kohaku? He is dead now more so than ever before. That last spell the hell wench uttered damned him into a living sleep…" Sango whispered angrily, something telling her that if her father found out that Miroku had still been somewhat alive there would flames of hell upon earth.
"You don't understand Sango…" Kohaku tried to explain.
"Understand what? I should have pierced his heart when I had the chance. Any death is better than one by flames… How many others passed?"
"That is what I have been attempting to tell you… There was a fire started during a storm. It spread quickly trapping the monks within their rooms. But suddenly the flames became amethyst and they were able to cross it safely to get out." Kohaku said quietly. "As they escaped a huge explosion sounded and a lavender streak of light headed toward the east…"
"Towards us? But why?" Sango asked as she clutched at her kimono near her racing heart.
"I believe that Miroku is alive. And that he is on his way to you."
--
She called to him, unsure if he was listening or if he would come. Rin stood near her steed bathed in soft moonlight. Her fingers were laced within its midnight colored mane as she looked around desperately for any sign of movement. A sinking feeling began to creep into her body. Maybe tonight he would not come for she had called out to him. And she was sure that such an action was against the rules of their game. But tonight was not a night of patience. She must receive the answers she seeks before becoming too distracted with his wants and needs.
She tried again, the plea softer and less believing. And just as she felt herself giving up hope a clawed hand reached out from the darkness to pull her forward into a warm chest. "You call out to me tonight prematurely. And I find you reeking of doubt. Your heart races and your body trembles far too much. What ails you?" He muttered huskily into her ear. The baritone of his lust filled voice causing yet another chill to rack her body. His eyes are already undressing her. His fingers follow closely behind.
"Sesshoumaru… not tonight… I…" Rin started softly before his lips found her skin and she was forced to bite back a violent moan.
"This Sesshoumaru is denied nothing, especially not the things that are his." Sesshoumaru said sharply before pinching her side lightly for daring to let such words pass her lips.
"Aye… onegai…" Rin pleaded but Sesshoumaru would not have it. His fingers slipped through the folds of Rin's loosened kimono and kneaded her breast softly. And within seconds she found her self pressed against a familiar tree.
He growled at her as she tried to disheartedly pull herself away from him. His eyes narrowed slightly. His inner beast roared as she attempted to reject him and pull away. His eyes began to bleed crimson. "Deny me not and submit to me." Sesshoumaru ground out as he forced himself not to bare his fangs at her. For if he did, he was unsure if they would or would not find their way into virgin flesh.
"Sesshoumaru please…" Rin pleaded.
He did not like the way that sounded, something was wrong. He had grown accustomed to his name leaving her lips in little pleas, but they never before sounded like this. Sesshoumaru's red eyes narrowed even more and he pinned Rin's hands above her head and sniffed her lightly. Nothing unusual, her sister and bastard brother of course; a faint hint of lilies that he assumed to belong to her stepmother; and barely a hint of that scent that had put him on edge a few weeks ago. It was a male scent that was oddly familiar and yet he couldn't place it.
"I just need to know…"
"Have I been demoted to your squire; only good for answering your questions and gathering your information?" Sesshoumaru asked carefully.
"No it isn't like that!"
"Then tell me how it shall be Rin. My patience is a rare thing and you shall only hold it within your grasp for so long…" Sesshoumaru growled to her softly.
"Do you know of a spider with red eyes and a living shadow?" Rin whispered; her voice as soft as the splatter of a dew drops upon soft sands.
Sesshoumaru's head tilted slightly to the left. Humans were ridden with the disease known as mortality. And Sesshoumaru knew for a fact that Rin was not centuries years old as he was; though looking at them together he seemed to be only a handful of years older than her. So a question proposed itself to him, could she know?
Sesshoumaru released Rin slowly and backed away from her. "Come…" He said softly all the while cooing to his beast that wished to do nothing more than ravage her body. He walked toward the south at a moderate pace.
Rin lowered her eyes to the ground and followed closely behind him. She felt somewhat guilty for denying him. But it had to be done. If Onigumo was a demon then perhaps Sesshoumaru could shed some light on him.
The two eventually came to a barren field about a mile south of his fortress. Rin looked around intently for clues as to why they were standing in a field. "Why are we…"
"Spider youkai are known for their blue eyes and silver webs. Three centuries ago a hanyou with ruby irises was born. The human mother that raised him called him Naraku."
"Naraku?" Rin muttered softly to herself as she listened intently to Sesshoumaru.
"He took control of the Southern Shores and the Eastern Plains. Then he came for the West. My mother died here protecting her lands. But this was after she destroyed Naraku. A spider with red eyes and a living shadow…"
Rin's eyes widened as her lips parted slightly. "He's dead then?"
"For one hundred and fifty years, unless you know of something I do not…" Sesshoumaru said with a predatorily glance. Rin opened her mouth to speak but her words became lost as Sesshoumaru spoke again. "Know this, that if you are contemplating lying to me I grow weary of such a game. Do not place yourself in a situation that neither of us can control."
"I must go then." Rin said with a quick bow, praying that this one time Sesshoumaru would let her go, but she had no such luck. His hand reached out and grabbed hers in a loose embrace. Rin turned around to face him. "Sessh…"
A clawed hand went through her hair releasing it from a tight bun. His fingers quickly repositioned the comb as he captured her eyes. "You are indebted to me my lady. If you are not back before the new moon I shall come after you myself." Sesshoumaru said in a monotonous voice. Rin gasped softly at his words in shock. "And if I am forced to come for you believe me when I say there will be rivers of blood and you will be mine."
Sesshoumaru then grabbed her lips. It was a passionate kiss and it contained every ounce of dominance that Sesshoumaru could spare. And when he pulled away, Rin was flushed and lightheaded. Sesshoumaru gave her a dark smirk before his eyes flickered back gold and he sped off into the night; leaving Rin to her thoughts and the empty trail home.
