NO TIME TO WRITE AND INTRO JUST REMEMBER

So begins the fun. ;)

Chapter 13: Mouth and Body


Having grown lost in thought about the strange occurrences of that morning, Rin found herself under the influence of a light blush as the handmaiden ran a comb of hot, sticky, wax through her hair, eliciting a yelp from the unsuspecting Maiko.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Rin squealed rather pathetically. Usually, typical mental preparations were taken to make the pain a bit more tolerable; allowing Rin the ability to withstand the up-do process of an upcoming presentation. Tonight, however, she had accidentally neglected such in lieu of other thoughts. Her pain tolerance was unnaturally low at times.

"Almost done with the hair, Rin-sama, just a few more pins here and there~" the seventeen-year old servant, Yura, cooed into her ear.

Rin looked into the oval mirror ahead of her to get a good look at Yura's face. Though she smiled sweetly at her impassioned hairdresser, Rin couldn't help but think it strange that one of her superiors in servitude now regarded her with such formal speech. How strange it all was, the hierarchy in the Geisha realm.

It was almost lonely.

Though, as Cesaria-san, Kagome-san, and Izayoi-onee-san, turned upon their stools to talk to her as one of them, the feeling quickly left. The four of them were all in the process of getting ready. For it was on this night that they would all be serving the dog demons.

Tonight…

Rin's heart thudded against her chest. She would see Sesshoumaru-sama again, though her anxiety led her to wish that she didn't have to. A plethora of emotions surrounded that name in this moment. She didn't quite know how to feel towards him. In one way, she felt hatred for his outward distaste of her and his lack of mercy the first night that she had met him. In another, she felt grateful to him for being the direct catalyst that put her on the path to achieve her dreams as an apprentice Geisha. And to further complicate it all, she felt embarrassed for ruining her yukata on behalf of something so "unnecessary," for spilling her inner-most hardships into his careless ears, and for shedding weak tears before him. But then again… Yet another emotion emerged.

She thought of the yukata.

When thinking of him, Rin also felt… well… slightly…

Happy, maybe?

Since her travels with Kohaku, Rin had never received anything from anyone. Even Kodachi only paid for the bare minimum that was necessary for her to complete her tasks. All other possessions she had in her name were either smuggled from her stashes after her sale, or she had purchased herself with what little she was given in earnings.

Though 'the honorable Jaken-sama' called the yukata a repayment of debt, Rin couldn't believe that such a fine piece of cloth could be considered "equal" for the meager medical service she had provided Sesshoumaru-sama. And though these intentions of his had been clear as day, a small and subconscious part of Rin idly ignored such information. For, it couldn't be helped…

It was nice to believe that someone would do something nice for her with no ulterior motive.

Rin sighed as all these emotions clouded her brain. She had already made up her mind to play nice and to make Sesshoumaru-sama look like the most remarkable thing that had ever graced this planet. It was the sole requirement placed on her to ensure that she could continue living the way that she was. But another thing that she had decided upon, upon her own conscience, was to thank him for the yukata.

He was a man, a demon, of immense pride. She had come to realize that much…

And to pay homage to such, in return for the exorbitant yukata, she would thank him when no one else was around, and she would passively take whatever criticisms of her existence that he would undoubtedly use to dismiss her gesture.

She sighed again as she grew frustrated just thinking about it. It irked her that she already knew him well enough to assume his foul responses to dropped pride.

"Rin-chan?" Cesaria called.

Rin looked up to see the others filing towards the door. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized that Yura had long completed her task. And that her accessories, still only borrowed from Izayoi-onee-san, were already perfectly in place. Rin stood and clenched her fists. It was time for her second presentation night as an apprentice Geisha.


Rin, Kagome, Cesaria, and Izayoi all shuffled down the hall with sparkling haste. Cesaria held onto her prized shamisen. She was assigned to the playing this evening, while Kagome was assigned to the singing. Izayoi, though she had been removed from entertaining since training under the godmothers to take over Kodachi, was now permitted back into the art to further mentor Rin.

Now that she knew Izayoi-onee-san's secret, Rin could very much tell a difference in the air about her. Soon, they would all be before the dog demons once more. And while she, Kagome-san, and Cesaria-san were all slightly nervous, it was evident, given the information that Rin had come to know, that Izayoi-onee-san was excited.

Rin smiled to herself at the outward beauty of such bliss. Both Izayoi-onee-san and InuTaishou-sama hadn't the pleasure of each other's company in a very long time, given the apprenticeship regarding Kodachi Ochiya's future. Rin wondered why her mentor hadn't simply refused the position, knowing that she would one day flee with the one she had come to love. Though, perhaps things were more complicated than what she understood...

The young Maiko was snapped from her thoughts when they arrived before the entrance to their establishment. A servant, who was peering outside the sliding door, turned to them.

"They're here. About twenty-seconds!"

Izayoi nodded and turned to Rin, who was at her side, and to the others behind her.

"Let's have a good night, girls," she encouraged with a smile before dipping to her knees to ensure that the honorable guests were greeted with a bow. The others followed suit.

Heart beating wildly, Rin wondered why her body was reacting in such a way. Was it because she was about to engage in only her second official presentation? Or was it because-

The door slid open with a light thud and voices carried throughout the room. Rin instantly recognized the voice of InuTaishou-sama, who was apparently leading the pack. Other voices were heard too, even that of Inuyasha if she remembered correctly. However, she was unable to pick up the one voice she was listening for. A wave of relief washed over her as the possibility of his absence became real.

"Irashaimase!" The girls called both in unison and in welcome.

Noticing the lifting of Izayoi-onee-san's hands, Rin rightfully assumed it was time to stand. As she did, her eyes lightly traced the faces of every demon before her. This included InuTaishou-sama, Inuyasha-sama, other interesting officials, and-

Her eyes froze once she recognized his form.

Sesshoumaru-sama.

Her gaze lifted to his face and, surprisingly, his cruel and menacing stare was already upon hers. Heart readily skipping a beat, all Rin could manage was returned eye contact.

The young lord's fiery golden eyes were filled with the same malice and contempt that she had seen several times before. They burned brightly, scrutinizing hers. Finally, they narrowed; an apparent message that seemingly went over her head. Rin almost cocked her chin in confusion just as InuTaishou-sama stepped in front of her.

Leaning back in slight surprise, Rin turned her head up at the tall and fearsome, yet gentle demon before her.

"Rin-san, was it? You seem to be faring well, child," he smirked with what seemed like pride.

"Ah!" Rin quickly dropped her head, her hands pointedly upon her knees as she dipped, "It's all thanks to you InuTaishou-sama. Thank you very much."

As she lifted out of the grateful bow, he spoke, "Mm, yes. And it seems that you are holding up your end of the deal just fine. Your regard towards me and my gathering is much less fearful this time."

He turned to give a swift and ill glance at his eldest son.

"I can only imagine his end, however… forcing you to serve him and his friends alone only a day after our agreement…," As the dog general trailed off, Rin suddenly grasped his questioning tone. She could only manage a brief glance to Sesshoumaru before InuTaishou solidified his concern for her difficult position, "…I can only hope that nothing too unforgivable came about from that carelessness?"

Before she could even question her intended response, Rin blurted, "N-no, of course not! Sesshoumaru-sama was very honorable. Both him and his companions allowed me to become acquainted with my Geisha obligations."

InuTaishou's eyes slowly widened while, behind him, his eldest son's lips parted ever so slightly.

"Sesshoumaru-sama has been very righteous towards me. Because of the incident when I first met him, I believed this responsibility to be impossible, but…," Rin, skilled in the innocent act, smiled with soul-filled eyes, "…I was pleasantly surprised by my wrong assessment."

The girls beside her smiled and looked to each other happily, while the dog demon audience, more so Inuyasha, took turns looking towards the stoic Sesshoumaru.

Finally, after a lull of silence, InuTaishou smirked, and with utter sincerity he responded,

"Well, I suppose if you are already so willing to lie on his behalf… then that is a start."

Rin's face, jaw, and spirits dropped as she slowly grasped his words and their meaning.

He hadn't believed her.

"Don't worry yourself too much," he chuckled, leaning down in an effort to console her stricken features, "I meant it. It's progress."

He straightened up and, taking a swift glance at Izayoi, he turned to his underlings and rallied, "Well, shall we all head for our room, then?"

Izayoi, Cesaria, and Kagome, all who were showing immense concern for Rin's apparent misstep, smiled and hesitantly led the way.

Rin just stood there, dumbstruck by the situation as the others went on ahead.

He just….

Why did he…

But she hadn't lied.

As her senses were returning to her, a shadow drew nearer; covering the length of her body. She only had to look at the being's chest before knowing who it was.

"An empty room…," he coldly demanded.

Flinching, Rin reluctantly turned to her left, just a few steps down was the bookkeeping storage. Leading him into the dimly lit room, she closed the door slowly behind him. She could tell that he had turned to face her once more. His glare was all-consuming.

She refused to look up at his face when she broke the silence, "Sesshoumaru-sama… I didn't lie. Everything I said was true… Why did he-"

Her chin was unexpectedly forced upwards by his clawed hand, making her look at him.

Sesshoumaru stared at her for a long time before finally deciding to grace her with his voice.

"While you may have known that what you spoke was true, your body language implied that you didn't…," the atmosphere thickened as his tone grew more rash, "Careless woman. Is something as simple as backing up your own claims such an impossible task?"

Tears of anger began to line the darkened lashes of Rin's honey-brown eyes.

How could he even...

All of her previous intentions to thank him and to accept him seemed to evaporate within an instant. She was beyond frustrated.

"How can you not understand?" She whispered, doing everything she could to hold in her misery, "When all I hear from you are threats and insults… When all I ever see when you look at me is hatred…,"

His eyes narrowed at her.

She pushed forward, "The real question is how could I possibly succeed at pretending that someone like you is a kind and gentle-?!"

Within a split second...

...Hot and forceful lips crashed down upon hers.

It was a force so strong that it nearly caused her to double over. For a whirling moment, the world had stopped.

What was happening? Where was she? Surely this wasn't-

Her eyes began to slowly refocus. Her position in this moment had all but escaped her. The only thing she knew... The only thing that she could feel in those few seconds...

...was a uniquely sweet and pleasing intimacy...

Passing from the lips of this demon to that of her own...

Despite the pleasurable stimulus, when Sesshoumaru's strong and forceful hands latched onto her shoulders with intentions unknown, Rin fearfully pushed away from him.

"Please, stop this! What are you...," a blush so red that even her white face powder couldn't hide, lit up the adolescent's cheeks as Sesshoumaru grabbed each of her thin wrists and lightly pressed them, along with their owner, against the closed door.

He smirked, licking away the rouge from his lips, before piercing her cinnamon eyes with his ember.

"When it comes to the throne, I won't allow anything to stand in my way," he whispered as she stared at him in utter disbelief. He let go of one wrist and tenderly drew the tip of a finger from the edge of her ear along the line of her jaw, smirking as she turned her head away sheepishly and fearfully. He forced her to face him once more, leaning to place his lips centimeters from her hers, threatening contact once more,

"If I must play games to make the actions of your body cooperate with the words of your mouth, then I shall...," he breathed. Taking notice of both her shaking hands and her spiked arousal. Gleaming with amusement, he cupped her face softly in his palm, gathering himself a flinch from the confused woman.

"What a delicate and frail thing you are, Rin," he stated ominously, "Nothing would satisfy me more than to have you at my side on this night."

She looked at him wide-eyed, confused, and uncertain of foreign feelings that began to stir within her gut, as he continued to study her with his heavy, scarlet-lidded eyes.

"How is that for kind and gentle?" He rhetorically and sadistically inquired as he released her from his hold, nudging her to the side so that the doorway was clear once more.

Rin hopelessly sank to the floor, her lips quivering as she tried to process everything that had just happened.

Meanwhile, the man, the demon, who had stolen her very first kiss, left her alone to the flickering shadows of the candle-lit room.


WHAT! THAT CAME OUT OF LEFT-FIELD?! But don't you all worry.
There will be some Sess explanation next time. You get to delve into his mind after this.
And though it may sound like his intentions are that of forcing affections upon her, that's not true at all. Just throwing that out there.