Hi dear readers! Thank you so much for all your reviews and for following this fiction!
Here you go with the net chapter….
"WHOOHOO!" "YIPEE!" "It's gonna be so much fun!" "Finally!"
A group of girls were cheering over something when Rin and Shippou found them.
"What's going on….?" Rin asked.
"THE VILLAGE FAIR!" All girls screamed.
"….?!"
"The village fair is up! And very soon!" Emiko said in excitement.
"Really….?! How come they never give us prior notice as how they usually do…?" Rin asked.
"How would we know?! It must have been decided by all the village heads to have it organized"
"I see…." Rin said in a melancholic tone. Shippou noticed Rin's distress and looked at her.
"Hey! Why aren't you excited, Rin….?! Look at the others!" said Sae.
"I'm so excited! My mom promised to get me a new set of silk kimonos!" one girl said.
"My mom has told me that she'd get me hair combs made of tortoise shell! I can't wait!" said another.
"Really! That must be so expensive!"
"I know. But I asked for one last time but my mom said that we already bought jewellery so she'll get it for me next time!" the girl said smugly.
"And my brother told me that he has saved enough to get me fancy hair accessories! If he could scrap some, he said he might even get a kimono for me!" another girl said.
Rin watched the whole scene with her forehead sweating anime style. "I gotta go home now. Lady Kaede needs my help to sort out the herbs" She said and looked down at Shippou, "Are you coming…?"
"Huh….?! Yes!" Shippou said.
It was only then, all the girls turned their attention to Rin.
Feeling embarrassed for having them stare at her, Rin quickly excused herself, "Seeya!"
The village fair huh….? How would that matter to me…..? Rin thought miserably. It was not that she wanted to get stuffs for herself. It was just that she has nobody to get her anything to begin with.
"Don't you wanna get anything for yourself Rin….?" Shippou asked as they entered the hut.
"Nope! I don't want any!" Rin said as she faked a bright smile.
"But didn't you say during the last fair, that you're gonna save enough to get a new kimono in the next one….?"
"Eh….?! Really….?! Did I say that….?!" Rin said, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Shippou got mad and said, "What are you making up….?! You really could not have forgotten that"
"But I have, haven't I?" Rin said with an embarrassed chuckle, "guess I won't be getting one this year….!" She said as she went out to pick herbs for sorting.
Kaede watched the whole scene. Sadness and regret was there in the old womans's eyes as she said, "She has no money to buy anything for herself"
"Huh….?!" Shippou turned to faced the priestess.
"She spent all her savings in fixing our hut and for buying household utensils, the last time it all got damaged by the attack of those wolf demons"
"….Oh yeah…. I remember now…."
"Poor child! I wish I could get her something worthy but…." Kaede stopped. She could not go on without losing her composure, so she stopped at that.
"Lemme check my piggy bank!" Shippou said as he went and picked up his terracota piggy bank from the corner of the hut's roof on the inside.
"AACCHOO!" Shippou sneezed at the huge lump of dust that got sprayed on his head. Seemed as though the piggy bank was left untouched for centuries. It was one bought by Rin as his birthday gift, three years ago. It also contains a silver coin she had gifted him on the same day, saying, "Let this be your first savings made on your birthday. Start saving for yourself from now on"
Shippou shaked the article. Apart from the silver coin, two other coins seem to be there. Those were the bronze coins he has collected and saved in the initial months after his birthday. After that, the piggy bank and savings became long forgotten topics for the fox demon. He regretted for having spent most of his money on buying fish fries. If he had saved the money he spent on his junk food, he could even get Rin married off with the money.
"Ahhhhh! I don't believe this! I'm hopeless!" Shippou started crying anime style.
"So, why has Jioshi sent you here….?" Asked Touran in a tone devoid of inquisitiveness. She was in no mood to deal with the idiocy of the leader of the Tiger demon tribe.
"We have received this information of the whereabouts of yet another powerstone" Said the Tiger demon who was the messenger sent by Jioshi.
Touran's eyes widened in shock. The mention of powerstone instantaneously grabbed Touran's undivided attention.
Composing herself to avoid her interest to be displayed so blatantly, she said, "I'm listening"
"One of the villages south of Firo Hill seems to have it….. in the custody of that Village head"
"….and how informing this to us would be of any use to you….?"
"…..we need your help to get it…."
"…..And I had thought that the cat demons are strong enough to seize, if not possible, steal the powerstone from the weak humans…." Touran said sarcastically.
"Those 'weak' humans have a set of strong priests and monks amongst them. They would not let any demon enter their village, let alone seizing the powerstone."
"….And how would we be benefitted for helping you"
"Our men would be sent first for battling with the Inu army in the upcoming war…..There would be lesser loss of lives in your tribe….."
"…Very well then….Tell Jioshi that Touran has accepted the deal"
"Yes" Said the Tiger demon as he took leave.
After he left, Heta shot, "Are you crazy?! What kind of stupid deal is that! We're not gonna get anything worthy out of that deal after risking our lives in helping them get the power stone!"
"I know"
"Eh…..?!" Heta was stunned. Is she out of her mind!?
"Who's gonna stick to the deal…..?" Touran smirked cunningly.
"What…..?!"
"We're only going to help them get the powerstone. Then we shall steal it from them and keep it to ourselves…How is that for a deal….?"
Heta sighed in relief and let out his sickening evil smile, "Now that's more like it!"
"Besides, we're not at much risk by helping them. We have bakusaiga"
Heta nodded in agreement.
The day of the village fair came. The entire village was filled with excitement, not to mention the crowd and the noise much to the annoyance of the demon lord. Tai told him that Village fair is organized in his village every year and all the nearby villagers come and join them for the occasion. Sesshomaru did not wish to wander outside and attract unwanted attention from the huge crowd. But the occasion would have Rin outside, having fun with her friends. The very thought of Rin chatting, eating, playing and having fun with her friends vexed Sesshomaru. Men from this and other villages too, would ogle at the girl and drool over her like rabid dogs. She was quite a beauty with a cute, innocent face and her womanly curves. What if some random drunken guy tries to take advantage of Rin! That immature girl does not even know how to defend herself! Sesshomaru could not contain himself, he set out immediately in search of her.
Sesshomaru scented that Rin was not within the village frontier. Before trying to scent his way to her whereabouts, Sesshomaru approached Shippou. "Shippou, Where's Rin?"
"Eek!" Shippou jumped at the inquiry. He did not expect the dog demon to appear out of nowhere. He lightly trembled before answering. "Ugh…. She must be by the river…."
Two seconds passed by as Sesshomaru stared at Shippou, giving the fox demon the creeps.
"And what is she doing there?" When all villagers are at the fair….
"…Er…Rin….she was-I mean-she is….ugh…." Shippou stuttered. How could he bring himself to say what the reason was?
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed.
"Did something happen?" that upset her….?
"Not….really…." Shippou dragged and went on, "She's….Well, her friends have all gone to the Village fair to get some stuffs while Rin's not"
"Why not?"
"….'cause she couldn't afford to buy most of them" Shippou said in a sad tone.
"…."
"She had already spent all her savings in fixing our damaged hut and to get new household items. She hardly has anything left to spend for herself….."
"….."
"She has no parents or relatives to get her those things. Nor could Kaede or I get her anything…." Shippou was close to tears as he said regretfully, hanging his head low.
"…" Sesshomaru did not answer Shippou. He left the place instead.
"Huh….?" Shippou looked up only to find Sesshomaru gone. He looked around and said, "Where did he go?"
Rin was leaning against a tree on the riverbank, staring at her own reflection on the water.
It was not the lack of money that bothered her. It was lack of a family….a mother or father or siblings…..or a partner…..to care enough to spend time with her at the Village carnival….to get gifts for her….to…to share few words of care…..
*RUSTLE*
Rin's deep thoughts were interrupted by a huge, white reflection on the river.
Lord Sesshomaru! Rin started at the white reflection. She quickly wiped her wet eyes and turned to face him with her trademark, ear-to-ear smile.
Sesshomaru did not fail to scent her tears. His chest twisted at it. He blamed the annoying scent for his reaction, as if it was not her crying that bothered him.
But he did nothing but stare deep into her eyes, which kind of confused as well as thrilled Rin.
"Lord Sesshomaru….?" Rin asked tentatively.
"come" said Sesshomaru and immediately turned and started walking in the opposite direction without turning back. He somehow knew she'd follow him. And she did.
It was after a while when Rin realized that they both were in the direction of the carnival. Rin curiously glanced at Sesshomaru, hoping for some sort of explanation, but in vain. The demon lord was as taut as ever. Rin had not the guts to open her mouth and burn herself.
The vast crowd of people gasped at the queer sight and were staring at them in curiosity and amazement. There were another set people who were gazing at the demon lord in admiration; some courageous beings even greeted Sesshomaru to which he made a slight, cold nod at them in acknowledgement. They readily made way for Sesshomaru and Rin to pass. They were also whispering amongst themselves.
Rin could not help blushing out of embarrassment of being stared at by practically everyone at the carnival, including the children and the shopkeepers. She fixed her gaze on the ground in order to avoid looking at people in their face. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, was as how he would have been if there was nobody around him but Rin. He was completely indifferent to their staring, not to mention their whispering gossips about him and Rin.
Rin had to stop abruptly when she noticed that Sesshomaru stopped walking. They were in front of cloth stall, where a range of new, colourful kimonos were displayed.
Sesshomaru took a moment to glance at them all. Then he simply picked few kimonos which were the best in terms of looks and quality and they were obviously the best ones the stall-keeper had. He tossed them all in front of the stall-keeper. The latter only nodded frantically out of terror.
"Huuu…h..!?" Rin was baffled at Sesshomaru's bizarre actions. Exactly, what does he think, he's doing!? She looked at the shopkeeper hoping for some explanation. The terrified man only made a nervous chuckle and gestured that Sesshomaru can take how many ever he wanted. Rin's forehead was sweating, anime style and she was blushing out of embarrassment.
Sesshomaru paid no attention to the stall-keeper, nor did he respond to his gestures. He only acted as if that man was not even standing there. Sesshomaru just walked off.
Still Rin could not understand what exactly Sesshomaru intended to do. If he was taking Haori and Hakama made for men then that would make sense. But what use did he have for kimonos made for women….?
Sesshomaru stopped again. This time it was a big stall of accessories. Using his inhuman speed, Sesshomaru made choice of the best hair-combs, fans, ribbons of different colours, pouches, fancy jewellery and every fashion accessory that was popular in the feudal era. He picked them all and gracefully tossed before the stall-keeper. That man bowed in submission. Rin almost felt like they (Rin and Sesshomaru) were burglars having full-time license to pilfer things with legal backing. She was beginning to suspect whether he was getting things for her. But she quickly dismissed the thought wondering why he would ever get so many expensive stuffs for her. She kept wondering why would he get these stuffs and for whom.
By then, the due reached the food stall. Sesshomaru had the seller serve Rin the best food with one bat of his cold, golden eyes that drained the blood out of the seller.
Sesshomaru was glancing around looking for any shop he had missed when a big commotion annoyed his sense of hearing.
*SQUEALS* "That one is soooo cute!" "Look at that demon rabbit!" "Hey! The Unicorn Demon looks cuter!"
Toys….?! Sesshomaru was perplexed at the things which interested young maidens. He made an unnoticeable sigh as he made his way to that stall.
What…..is he doing….?! Rin was more dumbfounded than ever as he started picking the stuffed animals!
Dead silence followed when the girls around stopped squealing and started staring at the handsome dog demon with their starry eyes, not to mention their confusion as to why someone like him was getting stuffed animals.
What…..am I doing….? Sesshomaru wondered at his own actions which were too uncharacteristic of himself. He knew too well he was acting stupid, especially when he is getting stuffed toys, but then, the stupidity did not bother him as much as it should have. And then there was this white, furry puppy dog demon toy that caught his attention. It was a fluffy-looking puppy dog that could kill people with its cuteness. He took it in his hands and brought it closer to his face for a closer examination.
*Ring-* Rin smothered her ringle that shot out when she beheld the bizarre scene. Oh! How she had wanted to roll on the floor ringling at the killing cuteness of the little white fluffy dog demon toy and dog demon lord both put together!
Her excitement was placated by the cold glance Sesshomaru made at her which meant, "what's so funny, girl?". He tossed that one too in front of the shopkeeper.
Rin was crunching up the roasted corns all her way back home. Rind licked her lips and said excitedly, "Boy-o-boy! I hadn't such delicious snacks in a long time! Thank you Lord Sesshomaru! It was so much fun that I- What-the!?".
It was when she entered her hut when she found bags of shopping stuffs that Sesshomaru virtually bought, neatly kept on the floor.
"What-the! Who brought all these here?" Rin exclaimed.
"The shopkeepers had them delivered" Sesshomaru said in a matter of fact tone.
"But why?!"
"Do you need to ask? These are for you" Sesshomaru said with his tone tinted with exasperation.
"But…But I…..No but….. No way, Lord Sesshomaru! I can't take-" Out of the surprise of a lifetime, Rin was stuttering out her dissent before getting cut in.
"You should" Sesshomaru stated simply, scoffing to himself, as if this Sesshomaru would allow you to decline! Ridiculous!
"But it's too much!"
Sesshomaru was beginning to lose his temper. Rin gulped.
"Tell me, Rin" Sesshomaru started in a dangerous tone, "Is it habitual for you to throw away presents so thoughtlessly? Are you always like this or are you like this only with me?"
There. That was it. Sesshomaru's patience was running thin. Even Rin had no say on it even though the gifts were for her. A dumbfounded Rin was gaping at the Lord.
Rin was blushing furiously and words kept crumbling out of her mouth "Yes but, well, um...why did you bother to-I mean, why take the trouble to-to-uh" Ugh! What are you saying Rin! you stupid girl! He's gonna get mad at you again! She mentally chided herself.
Yes. That was one question he was asking himself from when he took off to take Rin to the village fair and get Rin stuffs. The rational and logical part of his mind told him that he was repaying his debt to her for saving his life and that his actions do not hold any greater significance or depth.
Without waiting for an answer, Rin bowed with reverence and respect and said, "Thank you….Lord Sesshomaru….." . She was on cloud nine! Her mind was not capable of reveling on the happiness of the moment. Did her luck change? To have someone to truly care for her enough to entertain her and get her gifts…. And that someone being the demon lord, she was having a major crush on….
He made his back to her and said, "If you desire for anything, do not hesitate to voice it out"
"Yes!" Rin said promptly.
I know, I know that this chapter was slowing down the pace of the story. As I said earlier, I wanted to complicate the relationship between Rin and Sesshomaru before I start twisting and turning the plot. I'm sure, you would start seeing a variety of unexpected twists from next chapter.
Something tells me that you're gonna love the next chap! *GIGGLES* So, stay tuned until next time…. ;P
Please review….. :) ;P