West of the Moon
Chapter Nine
Sesshomaru wasn't sure what annoyed him more: the fact that Rin wasn't well, the fact that Rin was injured or the fact that the first person she had asked for wasn't him.
True, she had recognized him in the end, but it was a blow to his pride.
An annoying blow.
And then, of course, there was the entire issue of Kiyoshi and his quickly fading plans of empire.
What Sesshomaru really wanted to do was find something very strong – maybe Tomoji if he would stop hiding behind his army – and rip it to shreds. Little shreds.
What he did was settle back onto the mound of furs that made up his bed and watch over Rin as she fretted her way through her sleep.
She was supposed to have been better by now. His mother's women had cleaned her and dressed her and bound the wounds they could and she was supposed to have been better. Oh, Sesshomaru knew it would take time for the bruises to fade and her twisted ankle to support her, but she should at least have been awake.
It seemed, though, that exposure to the cold had brought about illness. Although Sesshomaru knew Rin was in no danger from this fever he had insisted that she be put in his room for the duration of her recovery. He wasn't sure why, not when he knew she would only be sleeping and suffering, but it comforted him to know that she was somewhere safe and close.
She had been out of his sight for nearly eight years but he had discovered when she had been whisked away from him by his mother's women that he was uncomfortable when he could not see her.
Strangely enough, his mother had made no comment about the fact that there was now a human woman sharing his quarters. In fact, his mother had been unusually quite about the entire ordeal.
She knew, of course, what had happened…she had her own set of informants that kept her up to date on the progress of her son's fighting, but she had not mentioned it. And she had been more than happy to escort the disgraced general around when he had arrived instead of sending a servant. Sesshomaru didn't know what she was playing at and had no desire to find out…especially since it was more than likely to become another annoyance.
Rin, though, was his primary annoyance and, at the moment, his primary concern. She had settled a little since he had last seen her, falling asleep rather than continuing her half awake mutterings. He ran his claws through her hair again thoughtfully, watching the silken stands slip back through his fingers to brush against her flushed face.
Rin had grown beautiful in a very human way…she was very much as she had been but there was something different about her as well. Obviously she had grown up, but it felt strange to see familiar features, like her childlike eyes, in an adult face. Demons aged so much more slowly as to make the changes seem non-existent, but humans…Rin was very different. But her face was still recognizably hers. Even if scent had not told him this was Rin, Sesshomaru would have been unable to deny the fact that this was Rin's face.
How very strange. She was different and not changed at all. But she was beautiful where before she had been a child.
Humans were an enigma Sesshomaru would never be able to work out.
The next time Rin opened her eyes she new she wasn't at home. She wasn't scared, not at first, but she knew that she had never seen this room before.
And then she remembered that she had run away and hardly made it a day's flight from home before she and Ahun had been captured while she had been fishing in the stream. The ogre, the panther, the snake…they certainly weren't here but the aches in her body told her that they hadn't been imagined either.
Oh, that's right…Ahun had tried to save her after she'd loosened one of their muzzles. She hopped the dragon was alright, because she certainly hadn't seen him since she found herself in the middle of an unnatural winter.
But where was she now? There were a few strange images in her mind, things that didn't make sense and were probably the result of fever, but she was undeniably in a large room nestled in mound of furs.
There was no frost, no snow, no strange demons…how had she ended up here?
She shifted a little, trying to push herself up but gave up when it was made immediately clear that her bruised ribs allowed her little to no movement at all and her hands were clumsy with bandages. She turned her head, pressing her eyes closed against the spasm of pain that rippled through her torso, and when she opened them again –
Rin blinked, clearing the flush of tears from her eyes, but still found herself undeniably looking into a familiar pair of golden eyes.
Sesshomaru was just a few feet away, gracefully reclined on his own mass of pelts, watching her unblinkingly.
"Sesshomaru-Sama," she croaked, testing her voice. He didn't react but she wasn't exactly sure what she had expected of him. "Sesshomaru-Sama, you came."
And then she burst into tears.
When it had become apparent that Rin was waking, Sesshomaru had decided it would be prudent to move away from her. Not far away, but just far enough to be proper.
At least as proper as one could manage when they were both in his bed.
He had opted for a sort of nonchalant lounging position just to her left, but he felt himself tense when she had gasped, tears coming to her eyes. It was worse when she turned to him and met his gaze.
"Sesshomaru-Sama. Sesshomaru-Sama, you came." Her voice was still Rin, her eyes, her mouth…and he had been irrationally pleased when she had recognized him.
And then irrationally startled when her eyes had begun to overflow with tears and her breath hitched itself into sobs.
He didn't know what to do.
As a child Rin had never been particularly prone to tears but on the rare occasion that she had cried Sesshomaru had learned there was nearly nothing that was more unpleasant. The smell of tears had burned in his nose and made him desperate to stop her.
This was three times worse.
Rin had been away so long that her scent alone was like drowning, and now coupled with the bitter fragility of illness and the sharp saltiness of tears it awakened a whole new kind of frustration in Sesshomaru…Not at the girl, but rather at what ever or whoever had produced this scent in her.
Not that he had any idea what that was.
At any rate, he very much needed her to stop crying instantly or he was libel to loose his mind. The scent was overpowering.
Besides, hadn't she flinched just trying to move? How could she stand to sob like that without hurting herself?
No. Further damage to Rin was unacceptable, and he would stop it immediately, even if it meant he had to…hold her or hug her.
Not that he wanted to. It certainly hadn't been his first instinct when he had smelled her tears.
"Rin." His hand found its way tentatively to her head, flattening over her ear gently. "Stop."
"…so scarred," she gasped out, making efforts to both calm her breathing and explain herself all at once. "…Thought I'd never see you again…Sesshomaru-Sama…"
Was that what this was all about? The fact that he was here? Such a trivial thing to be crying over.
"Stop," he said again, a little more forcefully. She held in the next sob but the tears didn't stop. "You will hurt yourself."
The air left her in a rush and her next few breaths hitched but less violently than before. Her eyes were still over bright and new tears spilled out every time she blinked – which she was doing a lot of – but she was trying to stop them. Sesshomaru was confident that in a moment they would be nothing more than a memory.
In fact it was only after her breath had evened out fully that he was aware of the fact that he was still touching her and he pulled back as though he had been burned.
"Don't leave," Rin pleaded, sounding very young. But she didn't try to follow him and he made no move to get further away than taking his hand back.
"Hn." Sesshomaru considered saying more, maybe reassuring her that he had no intentions of going anywhere, but he didn't know why. It certainly didn't matter to him if she thought he was leaving…as long as she didn't cry again.
Rin swallowed carefully and her eyes left him for a moment to scan the room. From what she could see there was only this large, almost bowl like indentation in the wood floor that had been lined with furs and an assortment of painted screens around them. "Sesshomaru-Sama, where are we?"
"This Sesshomaru's palace."
She nodded, her large eyes sweeping back over the furs around her. "Sesshomaru-Sama," she swallowed again, "What happened?"
"You left your brother's protection," he reminded her. He would deal with that mess later. "You were captured by my enemies."
She blinked, her head tilted a little to the side and Sesshomaru recognized easily enough that she was about to ask another question. Perhaps Rin had not changed at all…she obeyed his commands and asked far too many questions.
"Enough, Rin. You will rest."
She nodded and swallowed tightly and it occurred to him that she was probably thirsty. And probably hungry.
He should have thought of that earlier.
He stood swiftly, her dark eyes following him intently as he crossed the room. She made a strange noise in the back of her throat, something that was probably supposed to have been a negation, and he stopped, looking back at her. She looked very small in his very large bed, and he could smell the fear on her. She did not want to be left alone.
"Rest," he told her again.
"Sesshomaru-Sama?" she whispered quietly. He waited for her to continue patiently. "Ahun?"
"Ahun is with Jaken. Rest Rin, I will return."
Rin nodded again and he swept from the room.
This was fast becoming ridiculous…Rin was hardly out of his sight and he was worrying over her. It wasn't even as though he didn't know where she was. He could still smell her! He knew she was safe.
He hoped this need to be by her side was a temporary development brought about by the fact that she had only recently been returned to his care and she was injured. Surely, when she was healed, there would be no further need for Sesshomaru's constant supervision.
In fact, just to prove that her pull over him was nothing more than a passing fancy, Sesshomaru decided he would leave the palace for an hour or two to speak more fully with Jiroemon.
After, of course, he sent someone to look after Rin and see to her needs.
A/N: Someone asked me how many chapters there would be. I don't really know. I'm working on chapter 18, though, if that gives you any indication. If you asked because you think my chapters are too short (a very valid complaint) I'm afraid there's not much I can do about it. Three pages is about my limit before I just have to start a new one.
Again, no beta. (I sorta overloaded her and then just couldn't add another thing to the pile.) Sorry about any of the stupid mistakes you find!