Authors Notes: So this update came a bit late, but it took me some time to make it how I wanted it. Also if I ever see another red line under a word im gonna scream :P Also the chapters are going to generally be longer, and have more heavy editing done from here on out.
Update Occured 20 September 2016
Later that night, Rei could be found pacing in her charge's chambers, trying to think of where else Rin could be. She had checked everywhere in the castle, but no one had seen her since midday. There was a moment of intuition as Rei realized the one place she hadn't looked. The Barracks! Rei tried her best not to look concerned as she headed out. Halfway to the barracks, Rei encountered one of Rin's men, pacing nervously in front of the main palace.
"Rei! Thank the Kami's! Rin is in the barracks now, she can't stop crying. We have no idea what happened, and no one dared come looking for you and possibly alert Lord Sesshomaru. The only thing we can get out of her was that Lord Sesshomaru must never know." The young demon was dragging Rei along as he spoke. He seemed riddled with concern for his newest commander and within a few minutes the pair had reached the barracks.
The sight that meet Rei at the door was almost enough to bring her to tears. The men in the room had pushed their futons and bunks off to the far side of the room and left a wide open space that now held the best futon. Rin was currently curled up on the futon, in the arms of one of older men as Haruko stood, his shirt stained with tears. There was food from the palace at the edge of the futon but it seemed untouched and cold. Haruko made his way over to Rei as Rin let out a loud sob and the gentleman holding her started to rub her back and whisper calming words.
"Rei, I am so glad to see you." Haruko smelt strongly of tears, and seemed shaken.
"What happened, Haruko? She was so happy this morning." The two spoke in whispered tones as the other men continued to move their things, giving Rin a wide berth.
"She came here a little before lunch. We were all getting ready to leave when one of the men smelt tears and Rin coming our way. By the time she got here she was in hysterics. We cleared things out of the way and some of the older men with younger sisters offered her comfort. We just recently got her to let us transition between men every so often." Haruko was rubbing his lower back, proof that he had been stuck in one position for longer than he was used to. "We were hoping you would come looking here soon. She refuses to eat, and she starts crying anew every time someone says his name."
"Let me try. I have been dealing with crying sisters for years." She flashed the man a smile, placing a hand on his arm in an attempt to convey her thanks. He graced her with a bright smile and started ushering the men out of the barrack. The one that held Rin, slowly transitioned her over to Rei, and when the last man left Rei began to speak.
"Can you tell me what happened, Rin?" The young girl shook her head as the demoness rocked her, soothing her as new tears streaked down her already swollen cheeks. "Well, Haruko said that you do not want him to know about anything." The demon slayer nodded her head against Rei's shoulder. "Well then we need to get you cleaned up and back to your chambers, before he notices that you are missing. People are starting to whisper about your whereabouts." Rin nodded, slowly getting up as Rei stood.
The girl was the epitome of broken down. Her hair was knotted and tangled, its length reduced to her shoulders rather than her mid-back. Her cheeks were streaked with tear tracks, and they were swollen and blotchy everywhere the tears had not reached. But the worst part was her eyes. Rei had always noticed the small fire that burnt in her eyes, so willing and determined to prove herself useful in the demon society. Now it seemed a bucket had been poured on that flame, so that not even the embers remained to relight it.
It was a slow walk back to the palace and her chambers. Haruko ended up carrying the poor girl, as she broke down midway to her chambers. Whenever anyone asked, the story was that the demon slayer had hurt her hip during a training exercise and was unable to walk. Haruko stayed with the ladies until he was sure Rin would be okay, and then returned to the barracks to update his men.
The night was rough for both Rei and Rin. Rin had collapsed into her bed, refusing to change or bathe, simply crying herself into a fitful sleep. Rei stayed in her rooms that night, calming the young woman when she would awake with fresh tears in her eyes. Haruko came after the men's morning run to inquire about how she was. He was quickly ushered out into the hallway and shushed by Rei.
"How is she?" His voice was ladened with concern and Rei took a calming breath.
"How do you think she is? I think she is hurting more than she ever has and it will take her a while to recover. The ceremonies won't help either. She doesn't want Lord Sesshomaru to know anything and it will be hard to do." Rei's head snapped down the hallway before she could continue and she ushered the demon back down the hallway. "We will talk about this later, Lord Sesshomaru just moved into his office." Little did the two know that he had heard the pair, concerned over where his ward was, and why the hall smelt so strongly of tears. He listened from his office as Rei coaxed Rin into the bathroom, and lost track of the conversation.
Around lunch time, Rin finally found the will to drag herself out of bed. A long soak in the bath had her feeling like a new woman, and she was ready to brave the castle at large. She was surprised that no one glanced her way as she awkwardly sunk into her seat at the table. Rei had been kind and patient with her, helping her cover the tear tracks and listening as she had explained what happened. They had agreed to run with the story that she had hurt her hip at training and that if they had their way, Lord Sesshomaru would be none the wiser. You see how much they all care for you Rin? Do you see now that you will never belong here? Sesshomaru did not even look her way until he reached for his tea, and noticed that it was empty.
He glanced at the young woman, taking in her tired eyes and slouched position but then paid her no mind. She will tell me what is wrong if it is serious. One of the other demoness was quick to make his tea, and he continued on with his lunch. Rin picked at her small plate of food, glaring at Haruko when he sent her a concerned glance. She was about to leave, tears were prickling her eyes, when she was pulled back down in her seat by her lord. The warmth of his hands surprised her, but she refused to look at him as she fell back into her seat. One of the advisors from the meeting stood and called for silence and attention.
"The list for the order of testing is currently outside Lord Sesshomaru's office." Many of the people in the room made a move to burst out of the dining hall, but two guards blocked the way. "Please, we ask that only the heads of the family go to the list. This list is final, and the Lord will hear no plea's for a change in the order. After anyone has been tested, and they are rejected, you must leave by the next morning." Once again, people started to angrily mumble. "This is to avoid overcrowding. If a mate is found before your daughter's testing, then everyone will be asked to leave by the next day." The man then settled back down with his lunch as the heads of families headed off towards the list. Rin didn't notice that her Lord had not let go of her arm until the warm presence was gone, and she saw him out of the corner of her eye return to his lunch. The demon slayer rose, and as she stalked past her soliders table, they all abandoned their lunches to follow her out to their platform. When they arrived to the practice field, one of the men stepped forward from the rest.
"Lady Rin," I will never get them to stop calling me that, will I? "We all wanted to know if you are alright? We have no need to know what happened, that is not our business. But we want to know if there is anyway we can help." Rin remembered the demon that had stepped forward as one that had comforted her the night before.
"Thank you all for your kindness last night." The men all nodded at her as she graced them with a half smile. "But really, me hurting my hip in a training accident with Haruko yesterday is not that big of a deal." The men all nodded at her, taking the hint that if asked, this was their story. "Now, since I hurt myself by being so careless, I am simply going to be watching and reviewing you all throughout the next few days. Your acceptance ceremony will happen after Lord Sesshomaru has found a mate, or the ladies all leave ten days from now." The men looked nervous, and they all chose to ignore the waiver in their commander's voice as she said his name. "So training will be even more intense now. You have at least two days to train, and at most twelve. So stop standing around and get moving!" The demons pounced into their pairs and groups, glad to see the glint back in their commander's eyes as she ordered them around.
But as Rei stood off to the side, she noticed the glint in Rin's eyes slowly fade, and how her smile never quite reached her eyes. The men seemed to be placated by her acting but Rei knew that anyone who looked deeper would find the hurt. About midway through the training session, a young servant came out to the platform and whispered something in Rei's ear. The panther demoness seemed displeased with whatever the boy had said and dismissed him rather coldly. She maneuvered her way through the men, by now used to gliding through their training to get to Rin.
"Lady Rin," Rin turned to look at Rei, taken aback by the coldness in her eyes.
"Yes, Rei?" It scared Rin to think that Rei could achieve a level of coldness not unlike his. But she had noticed over time, that every demon had this ability, a way to lock all emotions away but rage or whatever was most useful at that moment. It was a distinctly demon attribute, the near opposite of humans ability to feel too much and push through it all.
"Lord Sesshomaru wishes to see you now" A look of pure fear flashed across Rin's eyes
before a coldness, not unlike Rei's, settled in. "I have told his servant that you were busy with your men and that your hip injury could not handle the climb unless absolutely necessary. He went to tell his Lord and should be back soon with his response." Rin nodded, and Rei settled back into her place off to the side. The men had all stopped when their lord's name was dropped and a quick glare from Rin had them returning to their training as though they had never stopped. When the young boy returned a while later, he delivered his message to Rei and she once again made her way to Rin.
"What did he say, Rei?" The young woman was tired, her sleep last night had been hard and filled with dreams of her lord's voice repeating that she would never truly be his. It was so much worse to Rin, now that she was here. If he had just left her in the village, she could have ideally moved on. Found a nice human boy to settle down with, had a few kids, or even just kept killing demons until one finally got the better of her. She had accepted that he would never come back, and then he did the worst thing he possibly could have done. He gave her hope, made her believe that she could spend the rest of her infinitesimal human life serving him, and die either in his service or knowing that she had at least been useful. It left a cold stone in her heart, and drove the heat from her eyes and spark for life.
"He wishes to speak with you after dinner, before you retire for the night. I told the young boy that if you were feeling okay, you would be there." Rin nodded, and turned back to her men as Rei disappeared off the platform and into the palace.
The men trained until they slowly, one by one, could not continue on. Rin spent most of her time passing around the field, needing to only point out issues with advanced moves and barely needing to speak. Maybe I'll get lucky and after he mates I can join this group and travel for what time I have left. Dinner time had rolled around by the time the last demon fell from exhaustion and the whole group crawled their way into dinner. Sinking into her seat, Rin was surprised when her lord spoke as she reached to prepare their tea.
"Learn to control your servant, Rin." The few people around them looked at the pair, Lord Sesshomaru almost never spoke during meals. Let alone to scorn his pet human. Wincing in both fake pain and the tone he used, Rin decided, fuck it.
"Rei responds in the manner she does with my permission. Your servants have already been told that I do not wish to be interrupted during trainings unless it is a dire emergency. Unless you have forgotten, my injuries do not heal overnight." The bite in her voice surprised even Rin as she poured the tea into two cups. "This talk was obviously not important enough to warrant a servant's delivery when you were to see me at dinner and could have informed me yourself." The people around the pair started to whisper as the young girl basically told off her lord, and sat waiting to hear her punishment. The last time an advisor brought up that kind of tone to Sesshomaru, he had gutted him at the table and continued on with his meal as though nothing had ever happened. By now, they had the eyes of the whole court, though the two could not have told you that, so wrapped up in avoiding eye contact while arguing that the rest of the palace seemed to fall away.
"Watch your tone, Rin." The growl that accompanied the statement reverberated throughout the dining hall as everyone quieted. They all stared at the pair, as they awaited her punishment. They all gasped as Rin stood, and limped out of the dining hall, and Sesshomaru made no move to stop her.