Chapter 10: One Long Week in the Dragon City
Rin woke and blearily stumbled to her window. The sun was still rising on her first day in the dragon city and the nip in the air made her shiver slightly. As she rubbed her arms to stave off the chill, a flash of gold streaked across the sky in front of her.
A dragon? Rin leaned out over her balcony to get a closer look at the majestic creature.
The dragon swooped and spiraled, flirting with the low set morning cloud cover. The golden beast curved through a graceful figure eight, cutting the clouds with a sharp and slender tail. Perched atop was a delicate rider with a faint grasp on a loose leather harness.
Rin's breath caught in her throat. The trust required between mount and rider to accomplish such a feat must have been forged through years of practice and bonding. Would she be able to do that too, with appropriate training?
Dragon and rider descended in the direction of the stables, clearly done with their morning flight. Rin raced to get dressed and hurried down to the stables. Maybe if that rider was still there, he or she might be willing to share some of their secrets to dragon riding!
Sprinting at full speed, she made it down to the stables just in time to see the rider dismount from a small gold dragon. Rin breathlessly called out.
"Um! You are a beautiful rider!" She approached the person, still panting as she tried to catch her breath. "If you have some time, can you let me know how you're able to ride so well?"
The rider turned and carefully removed the ornamental helmet. Rin froze in her tracks – the mysterious rider was none other than Kongomi.
"Ah, well," the princess smiled with a cruel smirk and loftily shook out her hair. "My dragon is bonded with me. This level of skill is to be expected." She propped her helmet against her hip. "I am terribly sorry, but I must be off – ceremony plans with Sesshoumaru-sama, you know."
With those words, the princess fluidly spun on her heel and led her dragon away.
Rin stewed with anger. That was completely unnecessary!
A shape stepped out of the shadows and nodded in her direction. It was another dragon demon – this one with a more tan skin, flaxen hair, and amber eyes. Unlikely many of the dragon folk, he was heavily armed and covered in golden armor with a red cape.
That must have been Yoihito, the crown princess's personal guard. Rin gave a little bit of a sympathetic smile; protecting someone like Kongomi must be difficult.
Nicely distracted from her fury, Rin was calm enough to go into the stables to bring Ah-Un back out into the courtyard.
She climbed up on Ah-Un's back and settled right behind where his two necks met. "Now let's see have some fun, shall we?"
Ah-Un lifted off and they took to the skies. Wind whistling in her ears, Rin took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cool morning air.
"Come on, Ah-Un! Let's go higher!"
The dragon climbed higher and higher, far above the castle on the top of the cliff. Everything below was small, but picturesque as the castle cut through the magical clouds that surrounded the city. Rin paused to ponder how sunlight made it through the clouds, but decided that there were some things that couldn't be explained.
"Go for it, Ah-Un! Dive!"
With only a moment's pause, Ah-Un dropped. Rin's stomach flip-flopped even more spectacularly than the day before when she had arrived.
She wondered if it would be possible to spin, like the princess had earlier. Without warning, Ah-Un complied, executing a tight corkscrew with a spin so tight that Rin could barely hold on. As they burst out of the spin, she was grinning ear to ear.
See, she could do it if she put her mind to it!
Instead of going all the way to the base of the city to touch the ocean spray, Ah-Un headed back to the stables and landed somewhat heavily in the stone courtyard.
The young girl slid down off of Ah-Un's back, smiling broadly.
That had been exhilarating! Why, with even a bit more practice she might even be able to show the princess a thing or two -
"You foolish girl! What do you think you were doing?"
Rin looked around Ah-Un to find the most ancient, little demon toddling over to her. His cane clanked on the ground as he shuffled over in worn slippers and course linens. His hair was mottled gray and his eyes, surely once a vibrant green, were foggy with age.
She bowed, still holding onto Ah-Un's reins. "Greetings, Elder. How may I help you?"
"You can help by getting out of my stables, right this instant!"
She blinked.
"I'm sorry?" she asked, hoping to clarify what was happening.
"You should be!" The little old dragon jabbed his cane at her. "What do you think you were doing, making a traveling dragon do such a thing – and at his age!"
Was he talking about Ah-Un? Rin looked at her friend with concern. Was something wrong with Ah-Un?
"Could you not hear his protests? Traveling dragons are bred for long distance and strength – not aerial acrobatics." The demon, who Rin guessed was the royal hostler, snatched the reins out of Rin's hands, chafing her palms slightly.
She made a swing to take back the reins. "Ah-Un was not complaining! He was flying like normal!"
"Silly human! That is because you cannot hear his heart!" The hostler poked his cane at her again to keep her at bay. "He is in pain now because you made him do something he did not want to do."
"But he didn't give me any indication – "
"Of course not. This dragon is bonded to you. He will do anything to help you. He will do anything you ask. Even if that means putting himself in danger." He shook his head and glared at her. "It is a pity that he bonded to you. This dragon was destined for great things, but here he is, carrying a silly, weak, human girl."
Shame stole over Rin, chilling her heart. Ah-Un was in pain? And it was her fault?
Timidly, she reached out to touch her long-time companion. "Ah-Un, I'm sorry –"
The hostler smacked her hands away, rapping them sharply with his cane. "You can just go away. I need to tend to his injuries." He led Ah-Un back into the stables with the other dragons, leaving Rin alone with her thoughts.
"I was thinking that a warm color, like red or orange would suit you the best, Rin-san."
Rin shook her head to clear her mind; the incident that morning at the stables dominated her thoughts, effectively distracting her from anything else.
"I'm sorry, Harika-hime. My mind was somewhere else." She smiled apologetically.
The younger princess was being so kind as to take her shopping in the marketplace for formal garb for the ceremony later that week. As Sesshoumaru's traveling companion, it was only expected that Rin would be in attendance, which required appearing respectable.
Despite the promise to herself from the previous night, Rin was feeling less than enthusiastic about learning more about flying, knife fighting, or even about the politics and history of the Ryudo lands.
"Is something bothering you?" The princess gestured that they should take a seat. "Hae, would you be so kind as to get us some snacks from the stall over there?"
The young woman nodded, for going to the stall would pose no problem towards her ability to protect the rosy princess.
"Now, tell me what the matter is," Harika said, putting all her attention on Rin.
Feeling there was nothing to lose, Rin launched into an explanation about what had happened in the stables that morning. She left out the part about doing this self-improvement for Sesshoumaru's sake because she didn't want to deal with teasing about romantic pairings that didn't exist.
"Ah, you mean Daichi-ji-san," Harika smiled. "He is incredibly cranky. I wouldn't read into his scolding too much."
"I think I might have honestly hurt Ah-Un. I didn't realize that he was in pain, but I still made him do that anyway." Rin feel terrible about injuring her friend, given all that he had done for her.
"What do you normally do when you hurt a friend by accident?"
"Huh?" Rin looked at the princess inquisitively.
"When you hurt a friend accidentally, what do you normally do to resolve the issue?"
"Well, I guess you apologize and try to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Then the princess's line of questioning clicked into place. It really was that simple, wasn't it?
"Harika-hime," she said, "sometimes I get the impression that you are much wiser beyond your years."
The princess smiled sweetly. "I am sure I don't take your meaning." But it was clear that she did.
Hae returned with some fried sort of dough treat on a stick, one for each of the girls. "I was not sure when to bring this up, but I heard from Sesshoumaru-sama that you were interested in learning more about using knives to fight."
Rin blushed. How did she should about that?
More importantly, how did Sesshoumaru-sama know about that? Then she remembered the note she had left on the writing desk. He must have seen it, along with the rest of her notes about what topics to study during her stay in the dragon city.
Trying to push aside her embarrassment, Rin confirmed. "I've had some basic self-defense training from a demon hunter back in my village, but I would like to become more proficient."
Hae smiled. "Then I can help you with that. Just come down to the training yard behind the castle tomorrow and I'll show you some exercises for strengthening your muscles and we can take a look at your knife work as well."
"Thank you!" This was proving to be easier than she thought.
"I would also not worry about Daichi-ji-san He's really quite harmless. Just make sure you go back to apologize to your friend and then don't take no for an answer. Regardless of what he says, keep chipping away at him and he'll give in eventually." Harika provided some insight. "I'm not very good at riding like Kongomi-nee-sama is. I was constantly apologizing to him for 'abusing' the training dragons."
Rin couldn't stifle a giggle. Well that settled that. The only piece missing was learning about the history and political system of the dragon lands. She would have to see what Aoi-kun had managed to track down when she got back to her room.
Turned out, Aoi had managed to track down a lot.
When Rin returned to her room after being forced to try on garment after garment until the princess was satisfied, she found stacks of scrolls piled up around the room.
The little demon had left behind a written account of what each scroll contained. Everything seemed to be covered: the written history of Ryudo, the political ruling system, a collection on the mythology surrounding Ryudo and the Ryunin, or dragon people, as well as notes on their economy, exports, and way of life.
She sighed. She had asked for all of this information and there was nothing for it, but to start at the top.
Grabbing a scroll from the history pile, she began to read.
She was so immersed in the origins of the dragon demons that she failed to notice when Sesshoumaru slipped into the room.
"You are quite studious."
The words cut through the silence and made her jump a bit. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" She could see the feudal lord eyeing the mounds of literature that were cluttering the room. "I was just reading up on some history…"
"I see."
A new, awkward, quiet fell between the two of them. Rin was not sure what to say. There was no doubt that Sesshoumaru was aware of her motives for suddenly adopting an interest in flying, studying, and fighting. Even though she wished desperately to quash any assumptions about bettering herself solely for the sake of the almighty Sesshoumaru-sama, her denial would be met with skepticism.
"Dinner will be served shortly."
Rin blinked. Was this an attempt at casual conversation?
"Will you break from your studies?" That seemed almost like an invitation.
Unsure how to reply, Rin settled for running away. "I want to study a bit more. I'll have Aoi-kun send for food."
"I see."
She almost hoped that there was disappointment in his tone, but that was thinking too much. At least she would not have to watch whatever gloating Kongomi would do from the seating arrangement, which would surely place Sesshoumaru next to the princess. With a tiny sigh, she released the last of her discontent and returned to reading.
"Make sure you eat."
With those final words, he swept from the room, leaving Rin with tiny flutters in her heart.
After a night of acceptable sleep, Rin headed down to the stables. The first order of business was to get back on the right foot with the old hostler. Hopefully, there wouldn't be many people there at this hour of the morning.
"You missed a wonderful dinner last night. Sesshoumaru-sama said he enjoyed it thoroughly."
She cursed under the breath. Kongomi was the last person she wanted to see. The growing irritation at the princess's sense of entitlement regarding Sesshoumaru was bad enough; having the arrogant young woman rub it in was worse.
She slapped a haphazard smile on her face and turned to greet the princess with the minimum number of words to still be considered polite. "Good morning, Kongomi-hime. I am glad to hear it. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going."
Pushing past the gaping princess, Rin walked briskly into the stables. Not even a second had passed before Daichi was after her.
"I thought I told you to get out!"
She slyly quipped. "You didn't say anything about coming back."
This did not slow down the little old demon one jot. "You rude human!" He hobbled over to her angrily.
Rin let the smile drop from her face. "May I see Ah-Un?" She asked softly. "I would like to apologize for what I did yesterday. I was naïve to try anything without guidance."
She took another breath to steady herself. "Ah-Un has been a close friend since I was very young. I never wanted to hurt him."
The hostler squinted his eyes in close scrutiny. Rin forced herself to meet his glare squarely on despite the strong urge to fidget.
He broken into a toothy smile. "I already knew that."
Confused, she blinked. "I'm sorry, I am not sure I understand."
"Many of our people have the ability to commune with our dragons, to speak to them heart-to-heart. Your friend had nothing but kind words for you."
He laid his hands over each other on top of his cane and he gave her a soft look. "The many years you have spent together have created a deep and irreplaceable bond."
Rin blushed. "It has been years since I've seen Ah-Un, but I am glad that he still thinks of me fondly."
"Oh, I was talking about you and Sesshoumaru-sama."
Her blush intensified to a brilliant shade of scarlet and she was left grasping for words.
"Now, let us get your Ah-Un and see what we can do."
Several hours later, Rin was seriously reconsidering her decision to learn dragon riding, but she did not have much time to reflect on this, as she ran along to the training yard to meet with Hae.
That afternoon was filled with scratches and bruises as she learned lesson and after lesson from the skilled Hae. It seemed that everything she did was wrong and by the end of the practice session, a healthy group of spectators comprised of swordsmen, fighters, guards, and apprentices, had joined Harika-hime on the fences.
By the time the servants started calling the lords and ladies to dinner, Rin was in no mood to play court, but Aoi-kun absolutely insisted on her making an appearance at the stately meal that evening.
Half asleep, she let Aoi-kun pick out some delicate garments for her to wear and someone was called in to wrangle her hair into a presentable state. Then she was forced down into the great hall.
Walking into the room, Rin's eyes widened in amazement. The ceiling arched high, with the city's traditional dragon-lattice-work-golden-filigree theme. Gauzy fabrics in jeweled tones of blues, greens, and pinks were draped from every corner, creating an ethereal effect.
A tad stupefied, she let one of the servants guide her over to a table setting. She snapped out of her awe enough to notice that she had been placed a bit far from Sesshoumaru, who was, of course, next to the lovely crown princess. Kongomi took no time in exuding her dominance and confidence to anyone within ear range.
Rin's consolation was that the younger princess Harika and another royal sibling were seated nearby, allowing her to have at least some pleasant conversation. Even after the meal, Harika offered a short walk around the palace, as if sensing her displeasure and need to vent.
"What is this ceremony for, anyway? Why is Sesshoumaru-sama so important to it?" Rin tossed the questions out hypothetically, to blow off some steam, but she was not surprised when Harika attempted to respond in earnest.
"Several centuries ago, there was an uprising by one of the king's attendants. He amassed an army, which included several of the great dragons of old – fearsome daiyoukai with unimaginable powers and strength. Ryudo fell under his tyrannical rule and he began spreading his chaos across all the land."
The princess's tone had taken on a melodic hint as she recited the story from memory.
"That was when the great Inu clan of the northern island came down. They possessed a weapon that could tame and even slay the great dragons. A young general led their forces and defeated the traitor, granting our ancestors their freedom once more."
Rin frowned. A young Inu general? Could that possibly be?
"Inutaisho-sama was granted rule over all of the Western Lands as reward for his services. He chose to give us autonomy, provided that we swore to remain loyal. In return, he promised to protect us as part of the Western Lands."
Noting the unhappiness on Rin's face, Harika provided some comforting words. "You do not need to worry about Sesshoumaru-sama being stolen away by Kongomi-nee-sama. She is under extreme pressure as she is both coming of age, performing the rites to become the full heir, and she also needs to impress Sesshoumaru-sama during the time leading up the ceremony."
"Why is that?"
Harika's voice dropped, "Sesshoumaru-sama has not been seen in these lands for an age. The last time he appeared was with his father, many years ago. We were uncertain as to whether he would continue to grant us the freedom of rule, or whether one day he would overturn our system."
"Sesshoumaru-sama would never do that!" Rin exclaimed. "He might not have a lot of patience, but he is not cruel."
"Although the promise is the smallest piece of the ceremony, it is the part that we are most anxious about." Harika smiled warmly. "Please try to forgive onee-sama during this time."
Forgive as she might, Rin still felt the pangs of jealousy that were forcing her to realize the truth of the emotions in her heart.
The next few days passed in a very similar manner: Rin struggled to gain her sense of balance during dragon riding lessons and continued to remain the center of attention in the training yards while Hae taught her about fighting with knives.
Once again she found herself catching the not so subtle whisperings of the servants as she made her way around the castle and the city. As irritating as the gossiping was, the continuous run-ins she had with her royal highness, Kongomi-hime, continued to be unbearable.
The princess took every opportunity to find some flaw or fault with Rin's appearance, conduct, upbringing, companionship, or even what she chose to eat for breakfast. In response, there was nothing Rin could use to fight back.
Even when she wasn't around, the princess remained on her almighty pedestal.
"I bet the princess never gets her hands this dirty," Rin had said with a smile, brushing the clods of earth and straw from her hands after a tumble in the training yard.
"That's not right." Several of the guards who were training had risen up in Kongomi's defense. "Our princess practices here every day. She is skilled in both sword and archery, as expected on the crown princess."
There was nothing Rin could say against that sort of testimony. She did her best to brush it aside and continue with her work.
Each night when she retired to her room to study, she was left alone with her thoughts. Those thoughts would more than occasionally turn to a certain white-haired demon lord and make her heart palpitate. It was getting harder to ignore the reality of the situation. Luckily, the target of her growing affections was frequently busy, and she never had to confront her feelings directly.
Dinners continued to be just as awkward and Rin was extremely grateful every day when she was finally allowed to return to her room and go to sleep.
After a grueling morning in the stables and the training yard, Rin trotted down the main street towards the market place to pick up an accessory for Harika; the younger princess was trapped in ceremony rehearsal for the afternoon, along with the rest of the royal family. It went without saying that Sesshoumaru was there as well.
Her heart clenched at the thought of the princess being paired up with her mentor, but it was second nature for her to ignore the sensation.
Then, there was a feeling of being watched. She froze and whipped around, trying to pick out the spectator amidst the crowd.
Her eyes met with an all-too-familiar set of silver eyes. It was one of the demons from the lizard lord's castle. How could they be here, with all the security that was in place?
The watcher's gaze glowed from within a deeply set hood. Slowly, deliberately, he raised a silver hand and put a finger to his lips, requesting her silence.
Rin dashed forward through the throngs of people, but the mysterious creature was gone. She frantically glanced around, but all trace of the demon had disappeared.
She had to tell someone immediately. What if he was already getting ready to attack?
Without a moment to spare, she started to sprint back to the palace. It might already be too late.
Somehow she managed to weave her way back to the main hall, where the ceremony rehearsal was taking place. Guards stood at attention outside of the great wooden doors, but Rin ran right past them, slamming one of the doors wide open.
Everyone in the hall paused at the sudden noise.
"The demons! From the castle! They're here – in the city!" Rin called out, trying to catch her breath. "I saw one – in the marketplace!" She collapsed to her knees as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple.
"What are you blathering on about?" The affronted Kongomi demanded from her place on the dais, standing close to Sesshoumaru. "You are interrupting our rehearsal."
Normally, she would attempt to ignore the princess, but the she had had enough of the insults and the barbed words. In a very terse tone, Rin snapped back. "I am not blathering. The demons that abducted you, your sister, and your citizens are wandering around your marketplace. Unmarked, I might add."
Kongomi-hime scoffed. "That is impossible. Our defenses are impenetrable and we hire only the highest quality guards!" She calmed and adopted a condescending tone. "Surely, you must be mistaken. You are still new to our city; perhaps you saw another ryu-yokai with similar coloring and became confused?"
"Do you really think that your pride is more important than the safety of your people? There is no reason to act like this. Do you really think that Sesshoumaru-sama's opinion of how well or how poorly you are securing your perimeter trumps making the necessary changes to protect all those precious lives?" Rin got off the ground and started striding to the princess. "Are you so concerned about your appearance that you refuse to see what is happening?"
Armed guards moved towards Rin, clearly preparing to disable any potential threat to the royal family.
"Rin."
Sesshoumaru's voice rang coldly throughout the presentation hall.
"You will leave."
Rin gaped. "But Sesshoumaru-sama, she is being impossible-"
"Your behavior is an embarrassment. You will leave now."
This left no room for argument and Rin stormed out of the room, leaving behind a smug crown princess, who smiled genteelly at Sesshoumaru.
"Thank you for diffusing that situation. Humans can be some imaginative sometimes, can't they?" She chuckled slightly, but stopped when Sesshoumaru started speaking directly to Yoihito.
"You will increase the number of guards patrolling the city."
Kongomi's mouth dropped. "Sesshoumaru-sama? I thought we just agreed that there was no threat. Besides, the security we have in place is ample enough to protect me – there is no need to send out reinforcements."
"Your forces might be sufficient for you, but they are not adequate for me."
With this, Kongomi laughed, puzzled and amazed. "But my lord, you are so powerful! Surely you do not require protection."
"Not for me – for Rin."
The princess's mirth died in an instant and her expression became cold. "Are you really concerned about an idle threat?"
"Rin does not make false reports. Increase your security." He proceeded to walk out of the room, much to the astonishment of everyone else.
The cool afternoon air refused to alleviate the angry flush across Rin's cheeks. Why did the princess feel it was necessary to belittle everything she did? Simply remembering the words that were thrown about in the strategy chambers refueled her irritation.
Rather than return to her room, she decided to stroll around one of the balconies just off one of the meeting halls. As if sensing the young woman's fury, all of the dragon folk had apparently disappeared, leaving Rin alone with her thoughts. She stomped over to the railing and gripped the smooth stone with a strangle hold.
To make matter worse, Sesshoumaru had taken up that witch's defense. How could he side with the princess like that? Here she was, trying her best, and he had the audacity to agree with that haughty, imperious, pompous twit!
"ARGH!" Rin shouted at the sunset. "They're both so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!"
"Who is stupid, exactly?"
She whirled around to see Sesshoumaru standing a few paces behind her. To hide her embarrassment, she replied quickly, "No one. No one at all." She turned back towards the red and orange sky, trying to keep her disgruntled expression to herself.
There were a few faint footsteps and Rin could feel Sesshoumaru standing off to her left.
"Do you know why you were scolded?"
She pouted. "Because I overreacted and tried to hit the princess." She threw a glare in his direction. "But she deserved it."
"Even if you believed that she deserved it, you have to play the game by their rules."
"That's stupid."
Silence fell and then there was a brief sigh. Rin glanced sideways at the lord, trying to glimpse at this rare, emotional outburst. She was sorely disappointed when his face was stoic as usual and she looked back up at the sky.
"And if that's the case, then I'll be in trouble because I'll never be able to play the game. I'm no good with subtleties and intrigue, as you well know." She smiled as the wind whipped her bangs about.
"I do know."
With this, she stopped. She had only tossed in that last part as an expression – it was entirely unexpected that he would actually agree with her.
She moved to face him head on and asked: "You do?"
In response, he also turned to face her, letting the full power of his golden stare bore into her. Unprepared for this earnest approach, Rin struggled to keep her composure. The quips from the dragon princesses floated to the surface of her mind and she forced those uncomfortable, romantic notions back down. She could feel her breath quickening slightly.
"Your complete lack of tact and your inability to maneuver political discourse are some of those qualities that I happen to find – "
"My lord, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
The pair broke from their conversation to look at the poor servant boy who had interrupted, who was now becoming mildly terrified from the stone gaze of the dog lord. Rin's stern look of disapproval was probably not helping.
"A-a-and of course, Rin-sama as well. D-d-dinner is now s-s-served." Message delivered, the servant scurried away.
With the distraction gone, Rin could feel an awkward mood settling in. Should she ask what Sesshoumaru was going to say? Did she really want to know?
Rather than confront these feelings, she decided to run away. She took a deep breath and swatted Sesshoumaru on the arm playfully.
"You really didn't need to scare him like that."
Then she flounced off to dinner.
"What have you done now, little brother? I can sense the unease, even from out here." Pian floated in the sky, just beyond the clouds that obscured the city. He spoke to a small scale in the palm of his hand.
"The inu-wench spotted me and went running to Sesshoumaru, who presumably told everyone else." Kan's voice radiated from the dragon scale. "Now he's on alert with the rest of the castle."
Pian sighed. Sometimes Kan's impatience was such a hindrance.
"I will take care of distracting Sesshoumaru. You find a way to handle the extra soldiers before the deadline. Use any means necessary."
He could hear Kan snickering. "That won't be a problem. But, how are you going to distract Sesshoumaru? Your mental tricks don't work on higher youkai."
Closing his eyes and drawing his hood over his eyes, Pian brought his hands together in a meditative position. "Luckily, I am not aiming for him."
Rin found herself back in the marketplace, but this time, the sky was dark and the streets were devoid of a single soul. The silence was suffocating and she didn't dare utter a word.
Then, a form materialized in front of her and when she saw who it was, she tripped on the long hem of her kimono and fell to the ground.
"Hello, my dear." One of the silver-eyed monsters had come to visit. "How you doing on this fine evening?"
She scrambled to her feet and tried to keep her breath even. "This is just a dream. I know that. I'll defeat you like I do every time something unwanted shows up."
Standard procedure: imagine the tools she needed and the beat the opponent into oblivion. With closed eyes, she imagined herself in warrior gear and waited for her kimono to change.
Except it didn't.
Confused, she frowned and tried forming a stronger mental image.
"Having some trouble, my dear?"
Gritting her teeth, she shot back, "Can you stop calling me that? I'm not your dear. And as soon as I am done getting ready to pound you into the dirt, I'll come after you."
"I really don't think that's going to happen."
Using her growing frustration to mask her fear, she opened her eyes and glowered at him. "Why is that?"
He started to approach her slowly, much like predator stalking prey. "You were only half-right when you said this was a dream. This is a dream, but I am the one controlling it."
The distance between them shrank and Rin took a few involuntary steps backwards, only to find that she had hit a wall.
"You see, I have a talent for minds and your mind, my dear, is utterly lacking in defense. It is child's play for me to slip inside while you are asleep."
Reviled, Rin raised an arm to push him away. "You are disgusting!"
He caught her arm and she could feel her strength draining away in her entire body. Without any power, her arm dropped to her side and her legs gave out. The demon caught her as she fell and gently cradled her limp body in his arms. Terror flooded her heart and captured her mind.
"Why are you doing this?" she whispered, unable to draw the full breath to speak properly.
"Are you referring to why I am targeting you? Or perhaps you are referring to what my brother and I are trying to do at large?" He reached down to draw a single pearly claw down her jaw.
She shivered.
"My brother and I have some personal business to attend to. That business happens to be enacting revenge on this tiny, useless, pathetic, land. To do that, there's a few things that we need that happen to be here in the city."
His claw traced down the edge of her chin and down her neck, towards the edge of her kimono. Rin tried to muster the energy to resist, but her strength was still sapped and all she could do was tremble.
"As it happens, we have a very particular hatred for the inu-clan, which of course extends to the current leader, Sesshoumaru." This last phrase was uttered with venom dripping from every word. "Which brings us to you."
She forced herself to meet his watching eyes, trying to remain calm as he used his claw to play with the edge of her kimono, peeling it back slightly.
"You really are quite a lovely girl, for a human. I can see why he is captivated with you. His interest makes it that much easier to leverage you as bait."
Alarm filled Rin's mind and adrenaline pumped through her veins. With one swift movement, she jabbed an elbow into his stomach and wobbled away a few steps before careering to the ground once again. She glanced up at the villain defiantly, but he was completely unfazed.
With slow, deliberate steps, he approached her and fear took over Rin once again. "That was quite impressive. You were able to overcome my spell for the briefest of moments because I threatened your beloved Sesshoumaru-sama."
This time, when he reached her, he pushed her down onto the ground and pinned her with a heavy hand to her shoulder.
"Rin," said the demon.
She scrunched her eyes tightly, unable to even scream.
"Rin."
Her body tensed and she rolled her head to the side, trying to block out the sound of his voice.
"Rin. Wake up."
Her eyes flew open at the sound of a new voice. She looking around, completely disoriented. Someone loomed over her with a heavy hand on her shoulder.
The pale moonlight shined brightly on silver hair that framed a pair of golden eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dark.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, is that you?" Was this still the dream? Was it another trick?
She received no reply, but the expressionless face told her everything she needed to know.
Rin launched herself at Sesshoumaru, planting her face into his kimono, grabbing the soft white fabric on his back, and brushing against soft fur. Without the armor in place, she could feel the warmth radiating directly from him, through his clothing.
"Rin." He voice was quiet, but there was no anger or irritation in his tone.
"I am sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama. Please let me stay like this until this passes. I will be alright in a few minutes."
They stayed that way, kimono fabric clenched in her hands as she tried to calm herself from the nightmare was already beginning to fade away. There was no safer place to be, no person she would use as a pillar of support when the world was wrong, and there was no other person she cared for as deeply. Even now, when she could not recall the contents of the nightmare that had terrified her, she drew comfort from his presence.
Taking a deep breath and trembling slightly, she decided it was time.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, there's something I need to say." Her voice was muffled by his kimono.
"Are you recovered?" His voice was precise, as if each word was calculated. "No apology is required. Humans are sentimental creatures and they get carried away in the moment."
The words cut Rin deeper than any knife would she had ever received. The rejection was painfully clear: there was no doubt that he had noticed her growing affections, and her stabs of jealousy towards the princess. Now he was trying to save their relationship before she confessed something that would have potentially made it impossible to continue traveling together.
Rin reluctantly released her grip and sat back on the bed. She muttered a few words to thank Sesshoumaru for his kindness before dropping back into the bedding and pulling a blanket up around her head.
She waited until she heard him get up and leave the room before letting the first tears fall.
Ah, this is what a broken heart feels like.
Outside the room, Sesshoumaru clenched a fist and frowned. He had managed to save Rin from making a grave mistake.
Over the past week, he had watched her persevere and grow as she worked to better herself. Knowing that her efforts were for his sake and his sake only had awoken a plethora of emotions that extended beyond possessive pride.
Disgusted with his own foolish emotional state, he employed the cruelest logic to convince himself that her feelings were fleeting and that one day she would desire mortal, human company. Therefore, it only stood to reason that as the older and wiser of the pair, he had the responsibility to eliminate potential regrets and maintain their current relationship as guardian and ward.
Although he knew his decision was the correct one, he felt uneasy for a reason he could not name. He could smell the salt of fresh tears and for a split second, he was almost prepared to go back in there and take her back into his arms, to make everything right again.
But that was something he could not allow himself to do.