Hi dear readers!
My exams got over only last week and my health went down over the past weeks….I'm gradually recovering….. I just couldn't have you guys wait for the update any longer, so now I have sat to write this chapter down…. Hope you'll like it!
Merry Mary: LOL! I agree with that! Yes, you've understood well about the circumstances in which Sesshomaru is in and how he might react. Thank you for that! :)
Smpt: LOL! I'm glad you like the philosophically poetic expression and you have enjoyed the whole chapter so well….As the author, I feel that my primary objective of satisfying your senses with my writing is fulfilled ^_^
Guest: I'm relieved that you like the innocent Rin better. Some people might think that it's too cheesy…. It's great to hear that you like my writing so much! Thank you! :D
Three days….
No. Three days and two nights precisely…..
Sesshomaru was sitting stiffly in his chambers, his senses vigilant towards one fine orphan girl of the village who had not showed up for the past few days, much to the annoyance and disappointment of the dog demon. What happened to her….? Is she so full of activity that she could not even pay visit once a day…? Or is she neglecting me on purpose….? Is she testing this Sesshomaru's patience!?
The passing time only aggravated the demon lord's disconcert. Sesshomaru was scenting the girl's presence and movements in the village but not once did she make her way to visit him. As if she had time for everything and everyone else in the village but him. That thought annoyed him even more.
So what? I don't care! Sesshomaru spat out mentally.
Sesshomaru heaved out a sigh and slammed his eyes shut.
His mind's eyes opened the next instant and there stood the merry form of ringling Rin. Sesshomaru snapped his eyes open and gritted his teeth. He took flight the next instant.
There was Rin, sleeping in her own, sweet way. Her long, frizzy hair was splayed over the futon like the waves of the sea. She seemed to have had a long, tiring day. Kaede and Shippou were away on a trip outside the village, they would be back only by sunrise.
Sesshomaru was annoyed. While he was having a sleepless night, this girl was sleeping like the dead. Didn't she even bother about him? Does she even care at all? Is he the only one to be this concerned? The misgivings made him pout by 0.50 millimeter. He turned around to leave. But his legs refused to budge. They wouldn't move forward but were rooted to the ground. Sesshomaru sighed. He knelt down beside her the next moment. He took his own time to study her. And that was when he noticed how beautiful she really was…..especially when she was sleeping….
Sesshomaru leaned forward to take a closer look. His giant shadow blanketed the girls form and his warm breathe embraced her soft face.
Rin slightly shuddered in response, which alarmed the demon to be less noticeable.
"Mmm…hn.…Lord Sesshomaru…." Rin mumbled unconsciously as she shifted her position in sleep "un….Yes, Milord…."
Sesshomaru froze.
Is she dreaming about Sesshomaru all along…..? She still cares…? So he is not the only one bothered….? Come to think of it, why is she even dreaming about him…? Is he such a deep influence on her…? What is she dreaming about him anyway…?
A clawed hand made its way to the strands of hair that were veiling her soft, pink cheeks from his sight. The big hand, which was hardened by centuries of training and battles got to feel the baby-soft cheek. The killing softness rendered Sesshomaru irrational and he brushed the back of his hard fingers against the cheek. The hand only got bolder by the second and it traced its way across her jawline and then finally cupped her cheek.
Rin's eyes snapped open.
*BA-DUMB* Sesshomaru's heart skipped a beat. He immediately withdrew his hand as if it was burnt and filled some distance between him and her.
Rin quickly sat up. Shock and puzzlement was clear on her face. The faint light of the moon helped her to recognize Sesshomaru in the dark. His long, white hair and his golden eyes confirmed Rin who the culprit was.
*BA-DUMB**BA-DUMB**BA-DUMB**BA-DUMB**BA-DUMB**BA-DUMB**BA-DUMB**BA-DUMB*
Sesshomaru's heart was beating so wildly that he could feel the impact of the beating across his pointed ears. He felt blood rushing across his own cheeks as he struggled hard to maintain his emotionless façade. On the other hand he could hear Rins own heart beating faster than usual which shot a spike up his throat.
"Lord Sesshomaru…." Rin said in a voice that became rusty due to sleep, "…Err…"
"….I….." Sesshomaru swallowed the spike down his throat and went on, "I have come to meet Kaede….."
"…"Rin was too baffled to react.
He swiftly got up and turned around, showing his back to her.
"Since she is not here, I must take my leave….."
"…" Rin maintained silence expecting Sesshomaru to continue.
Rin's continuing silence in a way scared Sesshomaru. He left the next instant.
"….." Rin had not recovered from the unexpected encounter yet.
Damn! Damn! Damn! Sesshomaru kept cursing as he soared up in the sky at tremendous speed. Damn you Sesshomaru!
That was soooo embarrassing! Did Rin know that Sesshomaru stole a touch on her cheek? She woke up the next instant he touched her. And she found Sesshomaru sitting close beside her after all! What could Rin have thought of him! A weirdo? Lunatic? Pervert?
"Grrrr….." Sesshomaru growled.
He stopped in front of the crescent moon on the sky. Cool breeze swept across his hair and face, as if it was trying pacify the agitated demon lord. Sesshomaru could not help feeling ashamed to have intruded the hut when he knew that the girl was sleeping all alone. What impression would Rin have of him now? He only had to hope that Rin had bought his lie that he had come only to meet Kaede. If Rin knows well about his sense of smell, she would not believe him because she would have known that Sesshomaru could not have scented Kaede's presence in the hut and he would not have come in the first place.
It's all her fault! If she had visited him sooner he would not be in this awkward state. Why…? Why is she making him do all these….? Why is she making him feel this way….?
Why Rin…? Sesshomaru turned to look at Rin's hut below.
What was that all about…? Rin wondered as she gazed at Sesshomaru's form floating, as if it was merging with the crescent moon in the sky.
What…..?!
Crescent moon…?
Sesshomaru….?
Rin's gaze fell on her palms which she held up to take a look.
Lines on palms = crescent moon = Sesshomaru….?
Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh! Rin's cheeks burned red and her heart leapt in her chest at the conjecture.
A thrilled Rin looked up in anticiption only to find Sesshomaru gone…..
"Touran! Things cannot get worse than this!" said a panicky panther demon as he sprinted towards the demon he was addressing.
"What now? Have you lost your sense again? *SCOFF* Go find where you ran after the worthless demoness for-"
"Ah shut up! This is not some sick joke you're expecting! We have received correspondence from Inukimi, the ruler of the Inu province, of the war they are going to wage against us and the tiger demons!"
"What!?" Touran snapped.
"Yes! For the millionth time I had warned you not to launch such a surprise attack on Sesshomaru. Now look at the mess you have gotten us all in! Inukimi and her soldiers are furious for what we have done to Sesshomaru. They are hungry for revenge! They're literally after our blood!" the demon was bickering wildly.
"And you're upset because of that? How foolish! Are you not supposed to celebrate that opportunity has finally come for us to exterminate the Inu demon race once and for all?"
"Don't be stupid Touran! We all know that Inu demons are the strongest on Earth. There is no way we could defeat them at war!"
"You're the one who's stupid, Heta! Inu No Taisho and Sesshomaru were their strengths, like two big pillars supporting the sustenance of the entire Inu community. Now that both are dead, there is no chance that those Inu demons can win. Besides, we have the tiger demon tribe for an ally. To turn things in our favour, much to the misfortune of those pathetic dogs, bakusaiga, world's most powerful weapon is under MY control. What more can you ask for to defeat those disgraceful dogs?" Touran argued.
"…." Heta was silenced by Touran's logical arguments.
"Remember that the tiger demons themselves have their own 'special' armaments that has gotten them so powerful. In fact, we all were able to beat the pulp out of Sesshomaru mainly because they all had those 'you-know-what'…. When we all could defeat Sesshomaru together, we can defeat his worthless army as well!"
"…perhaps….." Heta had to agree because Touran made sense. But don't count on your luck and logic too much….. Heta mentally warned.
Well, yeah….Sesshomaru had to go to Rin's hut again the next day, when he knew both Kaede and Rin were there….just to prove his statement he made to Rin last night that he came only to meet Kaede…..in order to make the previous night's incident less awkward….in order to fix the damages wreaked on his super cool image he had maintained in front of Rin.
"Kaede, it is good that you have returned today" Sesshomaru started. Then he stole a glance at Rin then went on, "I have been meaning to discuss with you from yesterday"
There. Now Rin would believe his lie…..hopefully…..
"Is that so? What is it, Lord Sesshomaru?" Kaede said.
"You….have visited a nearby village. Did you get any information from them about any cat demon species…?" Sesshomaru asked a cooked up question which he had planned to ask just for the sake of asking, when he met Kaede today.
"Huh….? Er…..come to think of it….yes….. One villager did tell me about them…." The old lady said as she recollected her memory.
"….." Sesshomaru was surprised. He did not expect an affirmative answer from the hag.
Rin, although having her gaze fixed on her weaving work, her concentration diverted from her chore to the conversation.
"He said that they were attacked by a group of tiger demons months ago. They did so in order to steal power stones the villagers had preserved"
"Power stones?"
"Yes. Those are elements that give incredible powers and strengths even to the weakest demon. So all kinds of demons try to steal them in order to become powerful. All these centuries, those stones were preserved by humans by keeping the location of the stones secretive. It seems, someone betrayed the location of the stones to the tiger demons. So that was how they came to know that the village had the stones preserved with them in the first place"
"…."
Kaede took Sesshomaru's silence as a cue to continue, so she went on, "Those demons were already very strong, the preists of that village did not stand a chance against them. They defeated them all, caused injuries to villagers and damaged the huts before stealing the power stones."
"…..Is that so?" Sesshomaru said as he mulled over the information.
"…and do you suppose they were the ones to have attacked you…?"
"…Yes…..where do those demons dwell?"
"I asked the villager the same question. He said that nobody knows their whereabouts. But he said that he had heard rumours of tiger demons loitering about in the forest near their village few instances lately. So it could be that they have settled in that forest only recently."
"…..So if I inspect that forest myself and get a hold of those tiger demons, there are some faint chances that I might get some inkling of my past-"
"No. Lord Sesshomaru! Don't!" Rin interrupted without a second thought.
Having her aged guardian and the demon lord stare at her, for her interruption which seemed rude enough, a red-faced Rin bit her lower lip and mentally chided herself for the offence she had committed before continuing, "I'm sorry to have interrupted you, Milord. I just felt that it might be too dangerous for you to go there alone, before recovering your lost memory. Those demons sound to be powerful and they are a group. They also have those power stones, so….." Rin did not finish the sentence, else she would have to declare that Sesshomaru might not be strong enough to take them all down single-handedly which would definitely prick the ego of the demon lord.
"…Rin makes sense, Lord Sesshomaru-I mean, if you do not disagree, that is…" Kaede said tentatively.
Sesshomaru's heart was secretly touched by Rin's concern for his safety and well-being to such an extent that it ignored his common-sense's argument that Rin covertly mentioned that he might not be strong enough to beat all those tiger demons.
"….I shall take some time before I decide the next course of action" Sesshomaru stated non-committedly.
"Lady Kaede! Aunt Jade is hurt! She seems to have broken her ankle. Please come!" said a perspiring little boy who rushed inside.
"Yes. I am coming" said Kaede to the boy. Then she turned to Sesshomaru and said, "I must leave now, Milord"
Sesshomaru merely nodded. Kaede left.
So, then the hut was once again occupied by the dog demon and the human girl. Both their minds were occupied with scenes of the previous night which created a state of ecstatic unrest within themselves.
Awkward silence.
The passing moments became more and more tempting for Sesshomaru to steal a glance at Rin, as she was only doing her weaving work.
Sesshomaru's eyes flickered over to Rin's…..His mind inadvertently started appraising the perfection of her black brows and lashes. In layman's language, the action is called 'admiring'….. How contrasting the colour of her brows and lashes were as against her fair face…! How is it that her lashes are longer than those of a typical human…! Eleven-No…..Twelve point five millimetre, perhaps…? Sesshomaru's investigative mind started performing complex mathematical calculations.
Rin's eyelids were batting rhythmically as she continued to weave the basket….. Sesshomaru felt as if the fluttering eyelashes were inviting his attention to those big, sparkling brown pearls they (i.e. Eyelashes) were guarding…. Sesshomaru's eyes eagerly took the invitation in an instant!
Yes….Those eyes did seem to him as cool, shiny pearls guarded by the clams called eyelids. He unconsciously tilted his head in order to get a better view of the oversized pearls.
Sesshomaru's subtle movement attracted Rin's attention, who, on the other hand, was mentally battling the whole time as to how soon she can steal a glance at the snow-white demon.
*BLINK-BLINK*
Rin's sudden, inept blinking shook Sesshomaru from his trance.
*BLINK* Sesshomaru blinked in response as it took him a moment to know that he was caught red-handed in staring.
*BA-THUMB*
The hearts of the human and demon skipped a beat in tandem. Rin dropped her gaze to the basket in haste as pink was spreading across her cheeks and ears while Sesshomaru swiftly turned away his head to the wall at his side.
Sesshomaru wanted to hit himself! He wanted to kick himself! He wanted to…..*Sesshomaru sighs inwardly*…. How he must have looked in her eyes, when she caught him staring at her like that and turning away his head in haste?! Like a flirt….? Pervert….? That was soooo embarrassing!
Why had he not the courage to keep gazing for few more moments and then strike some random conversation, even after Rin caught him staring, just to save his dignified persona from getting shattered….? Then at least Rin would have presumed that Sesshomaru was staring at her for some acceptable reason…. But, now he would only seem as if he was stealing glances at her….. as if he was some sort of culprit...as if he has something concealed within himself that he did not want Rin to notice…..
Wait a minute…! Why was he even staring at her so intently, like an artist observing the intricacies of a beautiful work of art…? Since when did he become so attentive of a girl's good looks…? He was so angry at himself, even the wall could have set ablaze with his scorching glare…!
And as for Rin, her heart was racing at an unusual speed and it took all strength from her body to keep her hands from trembling. She gulped down the excitement the rose from the pit of her stomach. She was mentally praying that Sesshomaru was not noticing her tension. It took her several moments to realize that she has been weaving wrongly in reverse, from the moment her heart skipped the beat.
*GULP*
Her face was burning with shame and embarrassment…..She quickly shifted the position in which she held the basket so that Sesshomaru could not notice her stupidity. Forget about that! What would Sesshomaru think of her strange reactions in front of him? Hey! Why is she even reacting strangely in his presence in the first place…?!
Yup! This is the best I could manage to write this night…. Let's see what future holds for the young couple….
Oh yes! These power stones are something like a shikon jewel…. Its just that, those power stones are less powerful and effective compared to shikon jewels and that there are many of them….
Now that my exams are over as of now, I will be able to update a bit regularly….So you can expect my next update anytime soon! Thank you for your patience!
Pretty please leave some reviews and encourage me…. ^^
