A/N: Might be my longest chapter yet….
Chapter Nine
We traveled for three days, nonstop. The temptation to run away had hit me during the first hour of our journey. But I was terrified of the idea that there were actual demons in the Western Lands. It was stupid really considering I was traveling with three demons myself. But Sesshomaru, Jaken and Ah-Un hadn't killed me. Sesshomaru had threatened to plenty of times but I realized quickly they were empty threats.
He threatened to kill me almost as much as Rin hugged me. And that was a lot. The little girl was attached to me and I wasn't complaining. Especially after we had a small run in with some giant wasps. They were huge and deadly so we ran as fast as possible. Rin ended up tripping and I went back for her, carrying her the entire way back to camp. Then Jaken busted out his pyro-staff and burned them to a crisp. Rin recovered rather quickly and I was disturbed for a few hours. Her constant hugs were the only thing that kept me sane. That and the few minutes I shared with Lord Pain in The Ass after Jaken and Rin fell asleep. It was mostly a venting session where I complained about how much I missed having a bed. It ended with me begging him to bring me back to Kagome and him threatening to kill me. Jaken would wet himself if he knew I was bonding with his precious Lord Sesshomaru.
Once the three days passed, we began traveling at a much more relaxed pace. Whatever Sesshomaru was after had escaped him and he had grudgingly accepted it.
"Lord Sesshomaru we are really going into town?" Jaken wrinkled his beak.
"Are you questioning me?" Sesshomaru looked down at the little green goblin.
Before Jaken could beg for mercy, Sesshomaru's foot shot out quick as lightning and I stifled a giggle. Jaken could make a living as a human stress ball if this whole advisor thing doesn't work out, I sniggered to myself.
"So we're going to be near humans?" I whispered to Rin.
She nodded before grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. Rin clasped her other hand in Sesshomaru's and I had to stop myself from going stiff. God, did he always have to have that aura about him? It was so...depressing.
True to his word, we traveled down the main roads instead of avoiding them. One hour later, we passed a few farms. The farmers working the fields stopped and stared fearfully at us. Well, they stared at Sesshomaru in fear and at Rin and I in disgust. If I wasn't in some whack country with demons for company, I would've been flattered by the attention. Once we entered the town proper, the staring only got worse. But thankfully, it was just that. Staring. I knew that if the townsfolk wanted, they could have been armed and had us surrounded. I also knew it would take Sesshomaru all of six seconds to kill them.
It didn't take long to reach the center of the town. I felt very out of place the entire time. Everyone was dressed in traditional attire, it felt like I was in a completely different time in Japan. Even the architecture was looking outdated. Thatch roofs and a whole lot of packed mud. Wherever we were, it was seriously in the countryside. I mean, had modern civilization even touched this place? I hadn't seen a cellphone tower for miles. We stood in the middle of a modestly sized outdoor market and everyone had stopped to look at us.
"You. Provide fine clothing suitable for these two." Lord Sesshomaru instructed a random shopkeeper.
He left Jaken with a pouch of what I was hoping wasn't his loose change, before walking away. The shopkeeper was human but apparently money was more important than her fear of our merry little band of travelers.
"W-what do you require?" She asked.
"First of all, shoes." I gingerly took my destroyed slippers off.
The shopkeeper stared at my legs pointedly before looking away and guiding us further into the covered stall.
"Also jeans, size four. If you have any hiking boots, that would be nice. Oh and a water bottle, some kind of rain jacket and sweaters. We're going to need lots and lots of sweaters. Some shirts that have that dri-fit technology everyone is so obsessed with. Soap, shampoo and a razor too, my armpits are getting a little hairy if you know what I mean…" I went through my long list of basic needs before slowly stopping to stare at my surroundings.
This shop had absolutely nothing in it; nothing useful at least. It was just a bunch of freaking cloth. Rolls and bolts of cloth.
"It will require several days for a set of kimonos to be made. I assume you require many layers? I hear the color popular in court these days is purple." The shopkeeper chirped politely towards Jaken.
"We have no plans to travel to court so no more than three layers for each kimono. First however, you will escort them to a bathhouse. Then you will make four yukatas and four haori, two for each of them. You will have them done by the end of the day tomorrow." Jaken instructed.
"B-but, milord the hiyoku itself will take a day. " The shopkeeper stuttered.
"By tomorrow or we will take our business elsewhere." Jaken repeated.
I immediately began sulking when I realized that I was going to be dressed like them. I had only worn kimono twice in my life and each time I felt extremely awkward. Yukata was much more comfortable because I didn't have to worry about layers or tabi. But still it's been nearly five years since the last time I wore one, I pouted internally.
"Are you not pleased?" Jaken peered at me oddly.
I bonked him in the head hard.
"Go buy all the other stuff you little toad." I hissed.
Jaken looked taken back, I had never yelled or hit him before. But apparently I was scary enough to get him out of our hair. Speaking of hair…
"Oh my, are you a yokai as well? Such interesting hair." The shopkeeper reached up to touch it and I shot her a glare.
She shrunk back and instead instructed me to strip. An attendant brought us plain and scratchy yukata before walking us out of the shop. With Sesshomaru gone, the market had slowly gone back to normal. The townspeople still stared at Rin and I but the looks were more curious than weary. The bathhouse wasn't too far away and I was actually ecstatic to see that there were fragrances and things that we could use in the springs. It wasn't herbal essences but it would have to do. Rin and I played in the water for an hour, fighting off the attendant who was begging us to let her do her job. I was more than uncomfortable with the idea of a stranger scrubbing my body. Eventually she won and scrubbed us both down until our skin was red and raw. Rin and I tried to explain to her that my skin was naturally tanned and that no amount of scrubbing would wash away the color but damn was that woman enthusiastic.
Still I was happy to have washed weeks of dirt, dust and travel of my skin and hair. By the time we came back to the shop, I was ravenous. Jaken dropped by with food and Rin helped me eat with chopsticks, again. It was very embarrassing but the shopkeepers assumed yokai aristocrats were fed. Because apparently that's what we were…yokai aristocrats.
"Lord Sesshomaru's name is known all throughout the lands, so it's only natural that his charges receive this kind of treatment." Jaken said proudly.
I laughed awkwardly at his proclamation. Rin might fit that description but I wasn't exactly a charge was I? I had startling realization that as time went by and I continued traveling with these guys, I would become accustomed. My mind had shut down and stopped thinking about the circumstances that brought me into this situation long ago because I couldn't make sense of it. I was on survival mode. I could no longer question why a trip down a well had landed me in some far off and distant land where demons existed and electricity didn't. I could only think about my singular connection to the well. Kagome.
But if Sesshomaru had his way, I wouldn't be seeing her for a long time. At the same time, I couldn't just up and leave him. I was entirely dependent on Sesshomaru. I had no idea where I was, I could barely speak the dialect, I had no money, no understanding of anything and even worse there were apparently yokai out there that wouldn't think twice of slaughtering me. Maybe shacking up with the biggest and baddest yokai in the land was a smart idea.
"Are you okay Aye-mi?" Rin tugged on my sleeve.
I slowly shook my head. "I'm not okay. I'm really, totally and completely not okay."
The attendants took our measurements and had an initial fitting for the hiyoku before Jaken came to collect us. We would be spending the night at an inn but in exchange for a blessed night of sleep in a warm room with soft futon, we would have to be up at the crack ass of dawn tomorrow to continue the fittings for the clothes.
Rin slept soundly as did Jaken but I was up late, as usual. Sesshomaru walked in the room after I spent several hours staring at the ceiling and trying not to cry.
"Human, why do you cry? Are you hurt?"
I pulled myself up, balancing on my elbows and squinting in the dark. Sesshomaru was asking me a question that didn't have a threat attached to it?
"What ails you?" He repeated.
"N-nothing. I just…" I'm scared.
Silence followed and it wasn't the normal, comfortable silence that I was used to around him. He was waiting for me to finish my sentence.
"I'm just confused. I have no idea where I am. I miss my family, my mom and dad. At this point I would even take that nut job Oji Higurashi." I laughed bitterly, quickly wiping the tears away.
"Higurashi?"
I knew what he meant right away, "Kagome and I are first cousins. Her mother and my father are siblings."
Sesshomaru was quiet for a minute after and I could almost hear the cogs turning in his head.
"Perhaps that is why you were able to use the well. You must also be a miko. How disgusting."
"The only thing I am is ready to go home." I bristled at his insult.
The one time that I actually bathe properly in this shithole and he calls me disgusting? I flipped over and stared at the wall, giving him a nice view of my back. Fucking asshole.
"Sleep." He commands, clearly wanting the last word.
"Sleep." I mocked him under my breath before rolling my eyes and snuggling deeper into the blankets.
A/N: I have no idea if I beat my longest chapter but I tried my hardest haha. Thanks for reading and reviewing and sticking with this story everyone. Lots of love.
