A/N: I just realized—3 weeks late—that this story has been up for over a year! That's crazy!
Rin woke surrounded by softness and warmth, and at first she thought she was just having an even better dream than whatever she had before. Her nose wiggled appreciatively at the wafting scent of breakfast on the morning air, mingled with Sesshomaru's moko-moko and some nearby human scent…
Rin's eyes snapped open in surprise and she propped herself up on one elbow, staring around the room to find the source of the out-of-place scent. She was in the manor, in their bedroom…there most certainly should not be any human scent. But she found the source almost immediately, curled on her old futon in the corner of the room and staring back at her in anxiety.
"Azumi? What are you doing in here?" Rin asked the young servant girl, who put her chin on her knees and relaxed slightly.
"Sesshomaru-sama brought me in here late last night," She explained, blinking as if she agreed that it was an odd situation. "He said it was the safest place in the manor for me, and that I could watch over you if I couldn't sleep."
Rin offered another gentle smile to the girl and started to sit up fully, but Azumi jumped up and stopped her, propping her up with pillows instead so she didn't have to do anything to exert herself. "Oh, don't you start babying me too!" Rin grumbled, pouting a little.
"I'm sorry, Rin-sama, but I have my orders from Aki-sama and Sesshomaru-sama. Do you want your breakfast?" The pregnant woman pouted a little more but nodded, taking the bowl the girl offered and eating with gusto and enthusiasm.
When Azumi handed Rin her tea, she sniffed it like always, then paused with a frown. "Is something the matter?" She asked in concern. "It's a blend my mother learned from the Yama clans. Their women need more strength, since the mountains are harsher than here." Rin still looked distrustful of it—after all, it was her tea that had been tampered with before, by this very girl, no less—so Azumi took it back and drank a large sip of it before returning it to Rin. "See? It's harmless, I swear. And it tastes good. Ironweed is very, very good for you and your pup, but humans can't access it, since it basically only grows on a few mountain peaks in the Kin-Yama lands. Now go on, drink. It will help your strength return faster, I promise."
Rin looked from the extremely earnest young girl to the pleasantly amber tea. It did smell delicious, not at all bitter, and it looked wonderful. She took a cautious sip and shivered in surprise as a flood of pleasant warmth went right through her body from head to toes, as if she'd just had warm bathwater poured on her head…but somehow on the inside. She stared at the cup in shock for a moment, then happily downed the rest in two gulps, shivering at the sensation again and stretching in delight at the warmth and instant strength the brew seemed to bring her.
Sesshomaru came in within a few minutes, having been personally inspecting the grounds and manor to put his paranoia at ease. Azumi was sitting beside Rin, who was propped up on every cushion he owned (the majority of which he had purchased only very recently, specifically for his beloved) and they were chatting happily about Rin's childhood travelling with him. Rin turned to look at him with a small but happy smile, light sparkling in her eyes and glowing in her cheeks, making her ivy curls stand out more on the rosy color beneath. Azumi looked up and immediately tried to backpedal away from Rin, an apology already half-formed on her lips, but Sesshomaru simply waved a hand dismissively at the servant girl and took a knee on Rin's other side, giving her moon a gentle kiss and making his mate wrinkle her nose in happiness.
"I am glad to see you doing so much better, Rin," He said in a soft tone. "And I am also glad you have found someone to keep you company while I cannot." He nodded respectfully to Azumi, who looked slightly shocked at this. "I shall join you for lunch, but there are matters I must attend." He stood again and motioned to the servant girl, who jumped to her feet to follow.
"Be nice!" Rin called after him somewhat teasingly.
He made Azumi step in front of him into his study first, then closed the door behind them. The moment he did, he could scent the fear rolling from the young woman. "Calm down," He said rather impatiently. "If I wanted to kill you I would have done so when we met." She gulped but straightened up, looking up at him with her brown eyes, as she would remain human until the sun set that day. She was grateful she only had to endure this twice in a year. "Sit," He indicated a cushion and she sat as if her legs would no longer hold her, though she kept her chin up.
He settled onto the tatami—there was only one cushion in his study, since he was the only one ever in the room, normally. "Azumi," He began, meeting her rather reluctant gaze. "You have a good rapport with my mate." The girl nodded, not sure at all where this was going. "You seem to care about her well-being as much as the midwife." Another nod. "I have an order for you."
Azumi's head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. He had every right to command her, of course. What was it he wanted she wasn't already doing? "At the new month, when the moon is dark, I will be travelling to the palace to discuss all the information my mother, myself, and others have managed to gather on our attempted assassins. The guards will be doubled at this time, of course, as we all believe it is safer that Rin remain here, where she is surrounded only by those loyal to us." She nodded, not seeing her role in this yet. "I want you to act as Rin's personal handmaiden, while I am gone. No one else but the midwife should even be in the room with her. Remain with her at all times. If it comes to it, I want you to protect her, as a last line of defense."
Sesshomaru fixed the young handmaiden with a piercing golden stare. "Should any harm come to Rin, I fully expect you to be dead," He said flatly. "Or you very shortly will be." He was pleased as she swallowed and swore she would do exactly as he said, kowtowing for emphasis, though he kept his face in a mask, not letting anything show. "Go. And say nothing to Rin. I will explain to her myself, when I am ready to leave." She bowed deeply again after she stood up, then tried her best to beat a hasty retreat without it looking like she was fleeing.
Sesshomaru stood momentarily to settle onto his cushion, picking up the first scroll of the day, though his mind was still on the young woman. She was much stronger than she let on, he could tell. It was not the same as the foul sorcerer Hideoko from months ago, hiding his true power to offer false security. He firmly believed Azumi did not know her true strength, as others had kept her down, unaware of it. She would be a great ally once he helped her discover how powerful she actually was. Much like Rin, she had a strength of character that seemed to come from having a difficult, painful childhood.
He looked closer at the scroll in his hands, beginning to read a rather alarming note about raids on the Northern mori lands by groups of rogue wolves. The second heir to the daimyō had already fallen at the hands of these raiders, and they were growing ever more bold. They were requesting the aid of other nearby clans and had also sent a treaty to the palace requesting aid. The details did not make sense, though…the group that had killed the Mori heir had numbered sixteen, far larger than any raiding party that had ever been seen, and the wolves were reported to have weapons, such as clubs, short swords and spears. Wolves did not fight with weapons. That alpha, the one that had been pursuing his otōto's miko, wore a sword at his hip but never used it. They were simply too feral for it, in his opinion. They preferred to fight with teeth and claws. "None of this makes any sense…" He sighed, pinning the note down with stones to study it closer. "It seems war steps closer every moment my back is turned…"
A/N: guessing time again! What's up with the wolves? Has kōga gone crazy? Are they rogue wolves? Is it all a trick? I want to hear conspiracy theories! ^^
