Okay everyone! This chapter has a lot of important information, and I can't wait for the next two that are boiling in my brain! Things are about to get fiery. :)
Don't forget to R&R. I tend to update faster if you all bombard me. No lie. It gets me super stoked.
Feel free to converse with me, I'm pretty open. BUT I WON'T TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS.
She gulped silently as she averted her gaze from each one after the other, making simple mental notes of the clans. Directly across from her was the Feline Clan. And she had deduced this by the intricate configuration of their pelts. The table that was eye level with her, held a man in the center and two females totaling four on either side of him. They all seemed exotic and very… pretentious. The worst of the glares were found in the females, notably. But Rin maintained her feigned confidence with her elegant posture.
Her eyes fled to the other clan adjacent to theirs. The Wolf Clan. And oddly enough, the man that looked at her from the platform table was accompanied by no one, though two seats sat empty on either side of him. She couldn't analyze near as much as she had hoped before she felt required to turn away. Why they all were so blatantly obvious in their stares escaped her. But they didn't let up until a high-pitched male voice echoed across the room.
"Good evening your greats. I am Mitzuho Agata, the leader and coordinator of your Kitsune Clan servants this evening."
Rin's attention was taken towards the man at the center of the room, of which the introduction had originated. He had long flowing golden hair with perked kitsune ears resting atop his head, just like Inuyasha. His face, like the servants she had seen before, was covered from the forehead to the nose with a red and black-painted kitsune mask. Amongst other interesting mannerisms, his lively countenance greatly deviated from his nearly all gray yukata, matching his counterparts. His announcement continued,
"I will be addressing the schedule that you all have deemed appropriate over the last year. First on our list-" the striding demon pulled out a small, thin scroll, appearing to look over it, "A deliciously warm meal prepared only by our best chefs and herb collectors. Please do not hesitate to express any ills or complications with your entrees. We will do our best to satisfy each and every one of you."
With that, the head servant turned to walk out of the center of the room as a plethora of underlings came in one after the other with trays full of food, each raised and surrounded by blue kitsune fire talismans. The smell of the food escaped Rin, but she was hoping, with every ounce of her, that it was not human flesh. She didn't know how well she could keep down whatever little was in her stomach at that very moment, and she equally didn't know how she would handle the fact that herself and Lord Sesshoumaru both would most likely be expected to eat it.
The demons made their way to the platform tables first. They placed a plate in front of each of the elites. And before Rin could even look upon the small, delightfully smelling, roasted filet of meat in front of her, the queen mother beside her spoke.
"Excuse me, kind little fox. Is this River Dragon Liver?"
"Yes madam, it was harvested in its prime and cooked to perfection upon wooden gale," the demon bowed while answering her.
Her golden eyes snapped up to him and she lifted her left hand to grace Rin's jaw, causing a jerked reaction from the human girl. Sesshoumaru's mother tore into the servant,
"Did you happen to notice that this high-statured woman in your presence is but a mere mortal? And, inevitably, she would meet her end from consuming the toxins housed within a River Dragon's organs?"
Rin's eyes widened.
"I-I did not, m-milady. Please forgive me." The demon looked towards Rin and swept up her plate and bowed, "Please forgive me, your highness, I will retrieve something equally as suitable that meets your consumption needs." He rushed off, fearful no doubt, of the high mother's murderous words.
Rin, utterly shocked, looked over towards the queen incredulously. Her gaze wasn't returned. In fact, everyone around her was acting as if nothing had taken place. Except, of course, for Jaken, whose jaw was still dragging the floor.
"T-thank you-," Rin muttered, refusing to look down or seem fragile in any way. She was cut off by a voice she was grateful to hear.
"Such grace with low-lives, mother. I would have killed him where he stood," the iciness of Sesshoumaru's voice managed to meet Rin's ears.
Rin noticed a smile across his mother's face, "While it does evoke the death penalty for such carelessness, you are one to talk, Sesshoumaru…. Grace with low-lives, I mean."
A twinge of pain touched Rin's heart as their bickering involved her once more. She must be invisible with his mother's lack of tact. But why on earth would she have saved me from the meal that would have killed me? Underlying care for her son? That could be the only real reason, right?
"Hm," Sesshoumaru smiled and coolly took away her footing, "Yes… Perhaps I should show you a little less."
Jaken and Rin both put their hands over their mouths in shock at the insult.
The first scowl that Rin had ever seen from her Lord's mother was plastered unquestionably and accompanied by bright red eyes. The queen was about to speak when the familiar male voice from earlier resounded once more across the room.
"I hope you all are happy with the selected delicacies this evening, please don't hesitate to request anything of your servants. We are here to please. Now onto the reports of each clan. We will start from the left and carry to the right. Rulers and spokespeople alike, please give your nation's report."
A servant hovered behind Rin, lowering a plate of beef and vegetables for her to eat after the announcer had finished. She thanked him earnestly.
"You must learn some manners!" the queen's playfully angry tone shot at Sesshoumaru. Her usual careless demeanor followed in line with her words, after what seemed like an extended effort.
Sesshoumaru pulled roasted River Dragon to his lips with his bronze-plated chopsticks, now ignoring the bore that was sitting next to him.
After each clan reported border concerns and trade operations, for what seemed like hours to Rin, the head servant finally resumed his station in the center of the floor and announced for the last time, "From here we will start and finish with the entertainment of the evening. We have, from the western edges of the world, demons and demonesses from the tidings of Evropa. They are accompanied by carved stringed instruments matching the beauty of the sounds they produce. Please welcome a recent addition to our land of the rising sun, from the sea-based trades of the Western Dog Clan: Armani Symphony." From huge entry doors, approximately fifteen demons and demonesses with strange looking humanoid features entered toward the outskirts of what the servants were preparing to be a dance floor.
Rin recognized the name. Her dance lessons up until that point were structured around foreign concepts. The close proximity of the people involved with the western form of dance and music was unusual for Japanese. She wondered why the Solstice accepted such outside influences.
Her train of thought was broken by her Lord's voice, "Come Rin, Jaken," as he strode down from the platform. She realized that his mother had already taken leave, and everyone was pouring to the center of the room to either talk or dance with one another as the music began to play.
"Yes my Lord," they said in unison, getting up and following.
"I wish for you to remain here," Sesshoumaru ordered to the both of them once they had reached the interior circles of demons, "I have to discuss future formalities with the monarch and his mistresses of the Feline Clan." He finally eyed Rin directly for the first time since their arrival.
"Don't wander," he commanded; his voice sauve. Rin knew that this was his way of showing care for her. He didn't want her to end up in the wrong situations like she always managed to somehow get herself into. Sesshoumaru turned and made full, elegant strides across the room, receiving greetings and acknowledgments from other prestigious demons along the way.
For a moment, she and the toad demon stood in complete silence before Rin audibly observed to her friend,
"Master Jaken… Everyone seems so in awe of Lord Sesshoumaru. How they look at him is almost… chilling. If I didn't know him already, I would fear him just because of their reactions to him."
"Of course, girl! Our Lord is the most feared warlord out of the three clans! His father's influence and reputation spilled over onto him, no doubt, but…" Jaken and Rin both eyed their Lord walking, watching the demons and demonesses moving like reversed magnets out of his way, "...Since his retrieval of Bakusaiga, all the demons can sense that Lord Sesshoumaru's power has greatly surpassed that of his father."
Rin hesitated before her next question, "How could a great demon, feared by so many people, die so suddenly? If he was that powerful, what could have possibly killed him?"
Jaken's expression became grave, "A daiyoukai is subject to vulnerability when their hearts start to accept more than what it was intended to accept."
"Intended to accept?" Rin asked, confused.
"A demon was never conceived or created to experience things the way humans do, so you wouldn't understand… But basically, each demon that allows emotions to run rampant through their entire being becomes especially vulnerable."
Rin listened intently.
"Most demons have a certain level of compassion and emotion-based decision making. But Inu no Taishou's case is pretty severe. What killed him was the complete lack of control he had over himself, over his aura in the moments leading up to the cause of death, and you could say that those things left his body open for destruction," Jaken cleared his throat, relishing the divine attention he was receiving, "It was upon Inu no Taishou's willingness to give up his life for the one he wanted to protect that caused his immortality to fade. Demons were never meant to feel that way."
Rin blinked a couple of times at the realization, "Did he die protecting… Inuyasha's mother?"
Jaken spat, "Of course! Silly girl, what else would leave Lord Sesshoumaru so bitter towards his half-brother?!" Rin looked away, ignoring his insult.
"I-I never knew demons had such conditions," she brought her hand to her mouth as self-condemning thoughts clogged her mind. If my Lord's affection grew for me any… could he get to that point? I wouldn't be able to live with myself…
And as if the idea was crushed before her very eyes, she looked up in her Lord's direction only to see him conversing across the way with the four female cat demons she had seen on the opposing platform before. Her heart rose into her throat as she saw their gazes, their postures, their behaviors. They all looked completely… smitten with him.
What?
This feeling... overwhelmed her. Jealousy. She had never felt it before. Even with the harem women back at the castle, she knew they were there for only one thing. But here, these women, these powerful women… could mean so much more to her Lord and to his goals than she ever could.
Her hands fell and her body grew numb. This was as strong as the teeth that had pierced her flesh so many years ago, it was as real as her burning affection for the one she was forced to leave. This situation before her. This feeling. It existed.
Unexpectedly, ripping her from her self-torment, a large hand took her own. She whipped around in a jolt only to find the Wolf Clan leader in a partial bow. Jaken raised his staff protectively in front of Rin.
"Oh I mean no harm," the demon lord soothed, "I merely wish to have this dance with Lord Sesshoumaru's lovely companion."
Oops. I just forgot that I'm supposed to finish that lemon from two chapters ago. DAMMIT. Give me a couple more days on that one.
They are the hardest things to write!