A/N: This story is moving faster than any of my other stories. Damn you, computer!
Disclaimer: God, you people never learn.
Sesshomaru observed as Tsukiko watched carefully. Hand up, tip down, and stir. She smiled. Soon Rin would be able to do this flawlessly. Rin looked up and smiled at her, to which Tsukiko nodded back. Grinning, Rin began to devour the food. Sesshomaru and Tsukiko ate nothing, instead settling for an uneasy silence.
Finally, Rin put her fork and knife down, this time without dripping syrup on the table. Tsukiko rewarded her with a smile and could see Sesshomaru's mouth twitched. Rin hopped up and Tsukiko moved to follow her.
"Witch, stay here, Rin, you may wait for your teacher in her room"
Tsukiko watched Rin go, and then spun around, glaring at Sesshomaru. Her eyes blazed with fury. "I do not care what you call, me, but if you ever call me that, I will unleash a plague on your house and a pestilence on your lands that every dragon and real witch in the country will be drawn to." She hissed.
Sesshomaru was surprised. He had expected to get a rise out of her, but not one this cruel. Her eyes swirled with unspoken hurt. "Fine." He offered a curt nod. "Come with me, I have supplies for you." Tsukiko seemed to detach herself from the situation and numbly followed him up to his study.
He growled slightly at the loss of her fighting spirit, she seemed to incase herself in thought. When he stopped before the doors of his office, she ran into his back and was lucky he did not wear his armor in his home. He warningly growled and she muttered her apology. He strode across the room to another set of doors, nicely concealed by looking as if it were part of the wall. He opened the door and allowed her to go through before him. He was rewarded with her gasp.
Smirking, he entered the room. Books lined the walls up to the ceiling; there were stairs to different floors and shelves in odd places in the room. Each book had been handpicked for its content. It was the biggest library most people had ever seen.
"Sesshomaru, it's… wonderful!" Tsukiko spun around and smiled at him, all animosity gone.
Sesshomaru merely nodded and avoided eye contact, preferring to look at the closest shelf. "I assume you were taught how to read, woman though you are, you must teach Rin the basics along with whatever you were planning. The library is also otherwise at your disposal. Pick some books now, and give me a list of the other books you'll need later. I'll send Jaken after dinner to collect your list."
Tsukiko ran off in one direction ad picked a book of poetry. "Thank you, Sesshomaru."
"It was not meant for you, dragon, it is meant to teach Rin and keep you out of trouble." Sesshomaru said shortly. He pulled a key out of his sleeve. "You are allowed access at all hours of the day, except when my study door is locked. No greater privilege has been given to one of my servants."
Tsukiko took the key, smiled and said much like he had the night before, "I prefer to think of it as 'service given reluctantly.'" She smiled and slipped out of the room.
Seshsomaru put and clawed hand to the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off an impending headache. How is it that she insults me and manages to escape? He growled in frustration.
"Rin, this is an important part of learning. Do you know how to read?" Tsukiko asked after their dancing and eating lessons.
Rin nodded. "Lord Sesshoaru doesn't know because I never told him accidentally, but one day I was hitting Jaken with the staff of two heads and he taught me how to read and how to use grammar when I write."
Tsukiko brightened, that took a load off of her shoulders. "Good. Reading poems can expand your mind and help you use more creative words. (A/N: Remember, people, they did not have phonics in the feudal era!)" She got the book out. "I'll start with the first poem, and you tell me what you think."
My blood is not yours
And yours not mine.
My hair is not golden
And yours not black.
My eyes are brown
And yours blue.
My teeth are dull.
And yours sharp.
My home is in the South.
And yours in the North.
But I am yours.
And you are mine.
Tsukiko finished. "Rin, do you know what that poem is about?"
Rin nodded. "Someone who lived in the south, loves someone in the north, but they don't look like each other."
Tsukiko nodded. "That's the basis. Everyone looks at a poem in a different way. You could look at it like this; the first line is about blood, so perhaps someone wishes to be related. Then we skip down to the statement about the teeth. It leads us to assume that someone is human and the other, demon. This poem explains a lot about the relationship between you and Sesshomaru."
Rin nodded. "I see it now!" A look crossed her face. "Tsukiko-chan, will you open your mouth for me?"
Tsukiko raised an eyebrow and took a moment to give her a what-are-you-planning? - look before she complied. She felt a small finger run over her fangs. She resisted the urge to sigh. Her fangs, though small, were the shame of her father's clan- one of the first things they ever disagreed on. Her fangs normally would have reached down to her chin, but these barely brushed the inside of her bottom lip when her mouth was closed. When Rin had pulled away, she finally answered Tsukiko's look.
"You know, Tsukiko-chan, the poem also describes you and Seshomaru."
Tsukiko decided to play the dumb game, hoping Rin would be too confused to explain it to her. "Oh? How so?" She asked, moving towards the bookshelf with the book.
"Well, you and Lord Sesshomaru are from different places and you have different hair and different eyes and…"
"All right, I get it…" Tsukiko saw out of the corner of her eye a flash of silver hair as Sesshomaru peeked in. "While you are right, you have to realize that this poem is about love, and it is far better suited to Sesshomaru and you."
Rin frowned. "You two could fall in love. You're quiet and don't get on people's nerves."
Tsukiko grinned playfully, knowing full well that Sesshomaru was still there. "Well, Sesshomaru happens to be very fastidious and has a stick shoved up a certain body part so, anyone that wasn't completely silent would annoy him to no end. And I happen to be a happy and successful individual that Sesshomaru feels the need to suck any freedom from me."
"But you like to be here with Lord Seshomaru and me, right?" Rin asked innocently.
Tsukiko glanced at the door and made eye contact with the demon lord for a second to let him know she knew he was there before turning and cupping Rin's chin. "I like to be with you, Rin."
Sesshomaru choose then to make his presence known, at least by Rin. Stepping into the room, he said, "Rin, go to your room and prepare for dinner." When she had left, Sesshomaru glared at Tsukiko. "Dragon, you are not to let Rin know of your imprisonment."
Tsukiko smiled. "Ah, so we are finally calling it by there proper term for it." She began to walk to the dresser, stepping around Sesshomaru's tall frame. "Freedom to a teenage girl, especially that one," she pointed, "is the allowance to do whatever you want whenever you want. She will not know of my actual situation. She grabbed her silver kimono and her cape from one of the drawers. "By the way, my name is Tsukiko."
"I am aware of that." Sesshomaru said stonily.
Tsukiko glared. "Let's compromise." She said evenly. "I will call you by your first name if you call me by mine. Should any titleage be given other than that, greater or lesser, will be responded to in the same matter."
"You would do well in the Court of the Four Lands." Seshomaru mused, without realizing it. He saw Tsukiko lay the cloak on the bed and unfold the kimono. "You intend to where the same dress as last night?"
Tsukiko shrugged, still unfolding and searching the folds for the obi. "Yes, it is a perfectly good kimono and I only wore it for an hour." She put her arms through the sleeves and tied the obi. "Besides, I doubt that you want to see me in my normal clothes, though I have no idea why they are not indecent in any respect, and I never got a new one."
"Your clothes are that of a traveler and as long as you are a guest in my home, you will dress as what you are, a Lady." A frown line appeared on Sesshomaru's forehead. "I ordered Anora to give the new one to you this morning."
Tsukiko frowned and snapped her fingers; something she had learned would summon the eagle youkai. Anora appeared in front of her, the kimono in hand. Sesshomaru glared at her and she sheepishly handed the midnight obi and powder blue kimono to Tsukiko. Her nose wrinkled delicately and a moment later, she delicately picked something up from the dress.
"Anora, wait." Anora turned around from where she had been making her exit. Tsukiko handed the dress back and held up a feather. "If you wish to have it, then take it. Next time however, I do not think it would be wise to wear it and then present it to someone else under the pretense that it is their clothes."
Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly, but Anora's looked as round as saucers. She cowered as he turned to her. "My lord, please. I meant no disrespect. The feather fell off of me, I did not disgrace the clothing by putting it on…"
"Enough." Tsukiko said so sharply that both turned to look at her. "You should not and will not disgrace your lord by sniveling and worst of all, lying."
"I am not lying!" streaks ran down Anora's heavily painted face.
"So you resume to call me a liar?" Tsukiko said, her eyes blazing.
"NO!"
"Then leave now and do not do as you have done in here again." Anora ran to the exit. Tsukiko smiled apologetically at the surprised Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry, it's just… even though we have a strained relationship, I just can't stand people who lie. And to lie to someone who is his or her lord is, well, almost disgusting. I'm sorry." She bowed her head.
"Your apology is not needed."
Tsukiko forced her smile away before she allowed her head to look up and her eyes to be uncovered by her bangs. "There is one more thing, though, before you leave." She looked embarrassed for a moment, and looked away. "You should not call me a Lady, like you did when we were discussing the way I dress." She added very quietly, "I no longer deserve that title."
Sesshomaru turned. "No you probably don't." He agreed. Before he left he said, "But I will address you with a title that is most suited to your looks and personality, if nothing else."
A/N: This chapter is the longest one yet, even without the poem, which I made up. Wohoo. Review and I'll update!
