A/n- That took WAY too long, i promise i'll post more often. Ethereal….? hmph. i miss your reviews…. anyway, enjoy, flame, etc.
Juuroumaru spent his night alone while Sesshoumaru and the miko went to work. He found he really didn't like being alone. Really, really, really didn't like it. He tossed and turned, unconsciously hoping to roll himself into Sesshoumaru's arms even though Sesshoumaru was definitely not there. More than once, his fingers sought to twine themselves in Sesshoumaru's non-existent pelt.
Finally, grumpily, he sat up and stalked from the bed, darting out to find Sesshoumaru. His crossness made him more careless than usual and it wasn't long before the corridors were entirely deserted as servants rushed to avoid him. He made his way down to the dining hall, wandering around, searching for Sesshoumaru's scent. At last, he got the faintest trace of Sesshoumaru's smell, lingering by the Far East door. He let himself through, catching the miko's high pitched voice saying something incoherent. He crept down the strange, dark corridor, sensing the tangible magic in the air. It was unnerving and thrilling at the same time, but what solely occupied Juuroumaru's mind was the thought of Sesshoumaru beyond one of the doors.
At the end of the corridor, he caught a glance of silver and he mindlessly followed it, sure it was Sesshoumaru. He was sorely mistaken however. Sneering, Inuyasha shoved him backwards away from the hanyou. Juuroumaru snarled and struck back before Inuyasha could raise his arms to defend himself. Inuyasha grunted from the impact as he fell hard against the back wall. Inuyasha was up in a matter of moments, glaring at Juuroumaru.
"What do you want you stupid kumo? I knew you could be trusted," there was smugness in his voice that only further infuriated Juuroumaru. He remained motionless however, his body rigid, singing with anticipation. Moments later, Inuyasha launched himself off of the wall, his claws outstretched. Juuroumaru dodged easily enough and whirled to face yet another obvious attack from the hanyou. This time however, Juuroumaru managed to hit Inuyasha as he flew past.
"Kuso!" swore Inuyasha loudly.
Picking himself up, he sloppily ran at Juuroumaru, managing to catch his shoulder, tearing at him roughly. Juuroumaru hissed in pain and jerked away, his shoulder throbbing. He raised a hand to swipe at Inuyasha but his hand stopped midair as a familiar voice accompanied by a scream were heard from the door behind. He whirled to face Sesshoumaru who was standing in the doorway, surrounded by a strange light that seemed to emanate from the room beyond.
"If you two are quite done…" Juuroumaru shot a glance towards Inuyasha who was being coddled and fussed over by the young miko. Juuroumaru felt a slight pang of jealousy, wishing Sesshoumaru was holding him like that, checking to see if he was ok. Instead, Sesshoumaru wordlessly disappeared back into the room, followed shortly by the miko who glanced warily at him. Juuroumaru watched as the door shut firmly behind them. Sighing, ignoring the hanyou entirely, he walked back into the dining room, wordlessly passing kyo and the kit who were curled up beside each other, staring up at the sky roof. He quietly slipped out of the manor and into the woods. This time however, he made himself scarce, gliding through the forest like a ghost.
He found his beach and curled up in the dry sand, letting its coarse texture caress his cheek. Just like Kyo and the kit, he stared up at the wide expanse of midnight sky. The difference however, was that while they lay beside each other in comforting warmth, Juuroumaru was a lone speck on the edge of an erratic ocean.
Juuroumaru returned the next morning, not to be greeted by Sesshoumaru, but by a shrill, energetic young girl. At first he was taken aback, and simply stared blankly down at the little girl who seemed to be trying to offer him flowers. She kept smiling and twirling, saying his name over and over. He mouthed wordlessly at her as she bounced around him, tugging his haori and exclaiming over his sandiness.
She babbled non-stop, too fast for him to understand. She kept thrusting the bouquet at him until he finally swatted it away out of pure irritation. She pouted before turning and skipping away, saying something over her shoulder. Juuroumaru shook his head in confusion, and walked towards the manor, intent on a hot bath and a good meal to make him forget that annoying little voice. When he reached the doors, he was met by Kyo who was still curled around the little kit, as he dragged him towards the garden. Kyo smiled brightly when he saw Juuroumaru. "Sesshoumaru-sama will be happy you're back! He wanted to introduce you to Rin." Juuroumaru remembered the name, something about her last night… "Oh! There she is!" he pointed in the direction the annoying little girl had skipped, his finger falling dead center on the flower picking girl. Juuroumaru blinked.
No.
Moments later, Sesshoumaru was in the picture, picking up Rin. She hooked her arms around him and he smiled warmly at her.
No. No. No. NOT fair.
Juuroumaru's eyes narrowed. "Umm… Juuroumaru?" asked Kyo, unlatching from the kit to tug on Juuroumaru's sand covered haori. Juuroumaru growled and stormed into the hallway leaving a trail of sand behind him. Kyo watched him leave, confusion clear on his face. Sesshoumaru was at his side a few moments later. "Where is Juuroumaru?" he asked leisurely. Kyo glanced up at Sesshoumaru, who was staring off at Rin.
"Er… just follow the sand trail."
"…" Sesshoumaru sighed before doing just that. He followed the thick trail all the way up to his chambers and into the bathing chamber where he found Juuroumaru angrily tugging at the multiple knots in his hair and scrubbings his arms till they were an angry red. More than once, he just ripped the knots out or raked at his arms with his claws. Sesshoumaru frowned, still unnoticed, and walked to the edge of the tub, to stop Juuroumaru from doing anymore damage. Juuroumaru gasped at the contact and turned to Sesshoumaru who wasn't even looking, and was instead methodically sifting through the pile of tangled hair, removing twigs and undoing knots. Juuroumaru sighed and relaxed, leaning into the gentle touch. They didn't speak, and neither seemed willing to fill the silence.
When Juuroumaru's hair once again fell against his back in a silky pool, Sesshoumaru pulled him out of the tub dried him off and dressed him. Juuroumaru didn't mind and let himself be handled. He was becoming more and more drowsy, as if drunk off of the constant attention of Sesshoumaru. He lazily wandered towards the bed, tugging Sesshoumaru along with him. However, before they were even close, Sesshoumaru was pulling him in the other direction.
"Rin Is outside." he said. Juuroumaru surpressed his pout as they both left the chamber and went back out into the garden where Kyo, Rin and the kit were happily playing. Rin, who spotted them first, quickly rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru's waist. Juuroumaru wrinkled his nose in distaste. Rin turned to him next, giving her best grin. (a/n I'm sorry but I was always totally annoyed by Rin talking in 3rd person, so my Rin doesn't)
"Hi! I'm Rin! You're Juuroumaru! I saw you earlier, you were all sandy and smelly but now you're clean and you're hair is sooooo pretty just like Sesshoumaru-sama's I want my hair to be long like that too but Sesshoumaru-sama said it'll take longer to grow like that because I'm human so it grows slower-" she paused for breath leaving Juuroumaru's mind reeling. Sesshoumaru chuckled softly. "Rin, you are overwhelming Juuroumaru," Rin's eyes widened and then she giggled, grabbing Juuroumaru around the middle. "Sorry Juuroumaru-san (?) There's just so much to tell you!" Juuroumaru still couldn't bring himself to form words. Uncomfortably he shifted in the crushing embrace, trying to pry the tightly wound fingers from his haori. The day continued in a similar way. That is to say, Rin was chatty and clingy, Sesshoumaru content and Juuroumaru grumpy.
For the first time since the nightmares, he was made to sleep in his old room, only without the chains. He lay silently, mentally counting to 100 before creeping out of his bed and towards Sesshoumaru's chambers. There, he would curl up beside Sesshoumaru and Sesshoumaru would wind his arms around him and tell Juuroumaru that nobody would ever take his place…
He snuck close to the bed, sliding himself beneath the sheets till he came in contact with a body. He happily cuddled closer, only to suddenly fly back as a shrill scream assaulted his ears. He stared wide eyed up at the bed, as a pair of equally fearful eyes stared back down at him. His fear and surprise melted away almost instantly.
He growled. She yelped and retreated back onto the bed with a whisper of silk. Sitting up, Juuroumaru was met by the full picture. There was Sesshoumaru, his flawless pelt wrapped protectively around Rin as he gently patted her on the head, reassuring her. Sesshoumaru's eyes suddenly met his own and he saw anger and frustration there. Juuroumaru quailed under the fierce gaze, and without another word, turned, and ran.
A/N- gosh sorry that was so… half-ass. i'm slowly losing interest but i'm gonna keep posting. it'll get better i hope, i think i'm just sad cuz i have to push Juuroumaru away. ( poor Juuroumaru….