Day 2 - 5:40 AM
The glow of the morning light filtered through the room and woke up the sleeping child. Rubbing her eyes and saying good morning to Lady Mother, she allowed the ladies in waiting to dress her for the day.
Although she wore a simple orange kimono when she was out and about with Sesshoumaru, inside the castle walls her attire was much more like his. She wore a white kimono with a red haneri. The sleeves had the same red flowers as Sesshoumaru's and she sported a yellow obi as well. The only thing missing was his fluffy boa, but that is something only demons get.
After a quick breakfast, Rin went to her lessons, first up was calligraphy. Lady Mother always accompanied her on her lessons, and today was no different.
Her instructor was a real stickler for perfection, and just because she was human, it was no excuse for bad penmanship.
"Again." He said.
"Yes, Honda-san." Rin replied quickly, rewriting the characters for family and strength.
"Very good Rin." InuKimi praised after she finished her next attempt.
"Yes, much better." Honda-san allowed.
"Thank you!" Rin said, bowing at her sensei. Her stomach gave a little growl and Inukimi covered her face with her kimono sleeve, covering her smile.
"It would seem our young lady is famished. We shall continue lessons after a quick snack." She said.
Rin blushed and nodded, they had just eaten breakfast not too long ago, but sitting down and working on characters so meticulously always made her hungry. 'Plus, I am a growing girl.' She thought to herself, it was something that Kagome always said about Shippou and Inuyasha being so hungry all the time.
Rin practically skipped on their way to the gardens, where they normally took their morning snack and tea.
"Careful Rin, you do not want to trip." InuKimi warned.
"Yes, Lady Mother!" Rin said, not making a move to stop skipping, only slowing down.
InuKimi shook her head, if she thought saying 'no' to Sesshoumaru had been difficult, saying 'no' to this child was practically impossible.
Rin was about to round the corner that took them out to the gardens when her face suddenly came crashing into a black mass.
"Oof!" She exclaimed, rubbing her nose, her butt hitting the floor with a dull thump.
"Are you alright Lady Rin?" Asked a deep and concerned voice.
"Takashi!" Rin exclaimed, jumping up to her feet in order to hug her favorite Inu general.
Takashi gave her a warm smile and gentle hug before pushing her away to get a good look at her face.
"I hope I did not do too much damage to your little nose there, Lady Rin." He voiced, his brows furrowed and his azure eyes running over her face with guilt.
"Not at all! It was Rin's fault for not looking where I was running." She shook her head and gave him a beaming smile, which he delightedly returned.
Takashi was one of Sesshoumaru's generals, and he had always been kind to Rin. Even at the beginning when no one understood why Lord Sesshoumaru would allow a human child to follow him, he had given her the respect that came with the scent marking of Lord Sesshoumaru. Never questioning him, or her.
Since Takashi was often out and about running errands for both Lady Mother and Lord Sesshoumaru, Rin did not get to see him as often as she would like. He was fun to play with. Unlike Jaken, he actually had the energy to keep up with her games. He would even let her place flower crowns on him as well.
"It is so nice to see you!" She exclaimed, hoping to rope the general into a game of hide and seek before he had to go again.
"You as well, Milady." He grabbed her hand, bowed and gave it a quick kiss before releasing it and addressing Lady InuKimi.
"Lady InuKimi, Mistress Arisu is requesting to see Lord Sesshoumaru again." He said through clenched teeth.
Arisu was the heiress to the southern Inu tribe. She was beautiful but vain. Rin did not like her at all. Although she did not know the woman well, there was something about her that simply rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe it was the way she often stared at Lord Sesshoumaru, as if she would gobble him up any second.
"My son is not here, you can tell her that she will have to either wait and see when he desires to return, if ever, or she can go back home; I am sure her family misses her." Lady Inukimi said.
"Of course." He replied tersely, he really hated dealing with such frivolous issues.
"I will stay." From behind Takashi came the reply of a gorgeous blonde Inu-youkai. Her layered kimono had intricate and delicate designs throughout and the green hues of the depicted flowers complimented her own glowing green eyes.
InuKimi had sensed the demonesses arrival and had spoken loud enough for her to hear, apparently she still did not get the message and now she had to repeat herself, something she did not enjoy doing.
"Lady Arisu, how nice of you to grace us with your presence, but as you can see, Sesshoumaru is not here now, and we do not know when he will return." Lady InuKimi replied.
Rin wanted to point out that she did in fact know, but she didn't want to volunteer the information to this particular youkai.
"I was expecting him to return yesterday to seek me out; afterall, I do not see any other demonesses lining up to help him during the blood moon." She sneered.
"Ah yes, well that may have something to do with you chasing them away with your stench… I mean scent marking all over Lord Sesshoumaru's castle." InuKimi retaliated, opening her fan with a flourish and rising it to cover her smirk.
Arisu's eyes hardened, but she did not lose her composure. "I was merely making sure that my dear Lord Sesshoumaru was welcomed home properly."
"Be that as it may, as you can see, he is not here." InuKimi responded, snapping the fan closed for emphasis.
"And yet, here stand his… young ward and toad." She gestured towards Rin and Jaken who had been following behind them all morning long. "Surely Sesshoumaru is not far behind." She finished.
"LORD Sesshoumaru," InuKimi emphasized, "Will return when he wishes to."
Arisu was not pleased with the answer, but she was obviously not getting anywhere with Lady InuKimi, so instead of picking a battle she knew she would lose, she decided to bow respectfully and step away. "Of course, your ladyship." She turned around and started to walk away, her long hair cascading behind her.
InuKimi got a glimmer of mischief in her eye and decided to play a little game with the demoness instead of allowing her to continue thinking she was Sesshoumarus' favorite. She hatched a quick plan and promptly set it in motion.
"Arisu." She called out, stopping the demoness from leaving. "Perhaps we should persuade Lord Sesshoumaru to come home, wouldn't you agree? Rin?" She turned to them both, asking them a question she knew the answer to.
Arisu got a smile on her face and Rin was almost jumping for joy at the thought of Sesshoumaru coming home before 7 days passed. "Yes! That would be a great idea Lady Mother!" Rin said as Arisu nodded her head.
"Great!" InuKimi looked at Takashi. "Takashi, find Sesshoumaru and tell him to be home tomorrow. We will be having guests and he is to be here to properly greet them." She said, a twinkle in her eye.
"Guests madam?" He reiterated. Arisu was many things, but she was not exactly a welcomed guest, and she would not be a good enough reason for Lord Sesshoumaru to return home, in fact, she may actually deter him from ever setting foot in the western palace again.
"Yes. Guests. Which reminds me, on your way back from Sesshoumaru, be sure to invite the Eastern and Northern princesses as well." She said.
"WHAT?!" Arisu demanded, almost forgetting herself before a glare from InuKimi and Takashi put her back in her place and she bowed her head. "I am sorry Lady InuKimi, but I fail to see what inviting the Eastern and Northern clans have to do with Sessho...Lord Sesshoumaru's return." She corrected herself before she could be in even deeper trouble.
"It is very simple my dear. Seeing as how Sesshoumaru will most likely be in need when he arrives - as you so pointedly stated, I wish to present him with all viable options before he chooses a potential mate." She replied.
The color visibly drained from Arisu's face, but she could not go against InuKimi's wishes without hurting her own cause or worse, offending the Lady of the House of Inu.
"Of course, Lady Inukimi." She simply replied instead. She was no idiot, she may have lost the battle but she was not going to lose the war. If anything, this got her one step closer to her goal. With the possibility of mates on the table, this could be exactly what she was looking for, and if Sesshoumaru truly had not satiated his desires, when he arrived he would be looking for an outlet, and since she was already here, that outlet would be her. This was better than she could have hoped for.
Bowing respectfully before taking her leave, Arisu focused on how to break down Sesshoumaru's defenses. She would have him again, and the West would be hers for the taking. Plotting her own scheme, she retreated to her rooms to prepare for his arrival.