Don't get used to such close updates ;P. Between six months ago and now, I do way more work at my job and can't afford to write 2,000 words every two days... (found that out today). But here you are! Because I lovems you guys :)
Chapter 22: Worthless
"The Kodachi visits are starting up again next week…," Inuyasha offered his statement up for conversation. The half demon leaned against a large boulder within the sanctity of the Inu Baths. Naked, legs extended, and arms crossed behind his head, he opened one golden eye into the direction of both his father and half-brother who shared the royal baths with him.
Sesshoumaru remained all the quieter, lost in thought, or simply ignoring the hanyou, while looking far west over the ridge that nestled against the hot springs.
"Hmm. Excited to see Kagome, are we?" InuTaishou teased.
"Nah," Inuyasha shrugged, letting a smirk escape his lips, "I'm excited to see Rin, personally. I hope she dances for us again."
The half-demon comedian sneered in Sesshoumaru's direction, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of his uptight sibling. And yet, despite the elder brother's spiked irritation, no feature worn upon his exterior gave any indication of the sort. This was especially impressive, given the level of annoyance that already emanated from his knowledge of Rin's naïve, and fatal, plan of escape.
"While I agree that she is lovely enough to warrant such hopes, I highly doubt that a possibility," InuTaishou took the situation into his own hands, "She has been training hard to become a Geisha, I hear… By Kikyou."
Inuyasha's ear twitched nervously.
The father eyed his youngest son for a moment before continuing, "Should the girl exceed expectations, whatever they may entail, Rin will be debuting on the night of the full moon."
His gilded, anticipating eyes now shot to his eldest son,
"So she most likely will be busy with other matters for quite some time."
Sesshoumaru turned to face the greater dog demon, his face dripping with displeasure.
"I see straight through your intentions, father," he snarled lowly, "But falling prey to the frailty of human women is something that you both are better suited to."
Both InuTaishou and Inuyasha frowned a bit. Sesshoumaru's eyebrow twitched before he moved to stand from the bath, reaching out to retrieve a pelt-lined cloth from a nearby servant. The chill of this particular night was resilient.
"Besides," Sesshoumaru's voice filled itself with sadism, "If I truly wanted such a fragile thing for a bed mate, I would just take her and do with her as I wish… without any of the silly human games."
InuTaishou's brows furrowed as Sesshoumaru replied coldly over his shoulder, "When you have power, there's no need for convincing or for bidding."
With that, he dressed himself in daytime wear, equipped with his armor and swords, before leaping with ease down the cliff.
Shocked by such a display, Inuyasha threw his hand out to his father, "And you want him to be the heir?! Are you crazy?!"
InuTaishou smiled, "It's all a façade, Inuyasha. Regardless of how well Sesshoumaru can make others cringe with his cruel ideas of power… in truth, he's battling with a nobler side of himself."
"Oh?" Inuyasha rested against his arms once more, "I'm not convinced."
"You may not have been able to sense it, but both Rin and Izayoi stepped onto our grounds just moments ago. Sesshoumaru left right when that girl's scent ascended the mountain side."
"I see… That explains it," Inuyasha closed his eyes, "Sesshoumaru's not one to leave in the middle of an argument… or go on patrol after a bath, for that matter."
~0oooo0oooo0oooo0oooo0oooo0oooo0~
"I'll wait here, you go on ahead," Izayoi proclaimed, sending Rin into a heated fit.
"What?! But you accompanied me to all of the others, Onee-san! Why not to Sesshoumaru-sama?!" Rin was sensing conspiracy, while the Inu guards at the front gates to the castle grounds were sensing madness; asking each other what the Generals could be thinking, admitting such rascally humans. A few shrugged, while a few others pointed out the congenial beauty radiating off of the well-dressed human women.
"I predict that my presence may hinder the situation. Sesshoumaru-sama is very prideful, and I suspect he would prefer such intimate and fragile matters to be handled privately," Izayoi answered profoundly.
Rin's cheeks flushed at her mentor's word choice. All she could do was manage a grudging nod before turning towards the darkened forest trail to the palace, lit merely by rounded orange lanterns with the kanji, "犬" painted upon them. Hesitantly, though not forgetting her grace and elegance, Rin trekked along the mountain side. Her hands in her sleeves, trembling, with the small velvet box teetering between unsure fingertips, Rin let out a tiring sigh.
The previous two candidates, Miroku the shaman, and Bankotsu the theater director, helped themselves to her incitements with pleasure. They also helped themselves to a good long analyzation of her figure and face, much to her shame. Both had graded her body with a satisfied smile and a couple of nods before assuring the women of their intent to participate.
A good sign, Izayoi had confirmed. But Rin's heart ached as if it wasn't.
"Why am I so nervous now?" Rin asked herself as she grew even hotter, realizing that she hadn't reacted quite this messily with the other two, "It's just Sesshoumaru-sama…"
It's just the client she was assigned to at Kodachi. Just the demon who was sparing her for his father's approval. Just the man who…
Her heart jolted.
…Kissed her.
She gasped with surprise.
Just the one who…
Her heart pounded with sudden guilt. Guilt that she hadn't considered before.
…she had made a pact with for the achievement of their goals.
Rin could only manage to throw one hand over her mouth with indignity when, in a gust of demonic wind, the great lord, one of three generals residing within the dog demon castle, landed but six inches from her fluttering eyelids.
Her breath hitched as she stumbled backwards, nearly falling over in the process.
"S-Sesshoumaru-sama…," she breathed with emotion-filled cracks in her voice as her eyes traveled up to his. It had been so long since she had seen him, so long since their negotiations had started, and ended, that she had forgotten just how striking he was. Like a deer in the headlights, she just gawked at his attracting features, mesmerized, before she skillfully reeled herself in. But her hormones didn't even have a chance to rage, given the look upon the majestic, fair-skinned face of Sesshoumaru.
Bitter fiery orbs pierced her gentle, admiring ones.
The slightest feeling of fear, given from his corrupted expression, was enough for Rin to dip into an orthodox bow.
"P-please pardon the intrusion, Sesshoumaru-sama, I did not wish to interrupt your evening."
She hadn't seen him this unapproachable in quite some time…
Rin could feel his eyes scouring over her submissiveness, his dominating aura unrelenting.
Finally, he broke the silence, "Unfortunately, you have. What do you want?"
The chill in his voice was very apparent to Rin's sensitive frame.
Bravely, she regained her posture, still refraining from looking him in the eye as she held out the small, velvet box. Her silk, embroidered sleeve slinked back pathetically from her shaking. In spite of her confusion that had developed from the unexpected sourness of the conversation, Rin managed to fulfill her purpose for the visit,
"I would like to please ask your consideration…," she issued a light pause to indicate the meaning of her offer, "…three moons from now. If you are at all interested, honorable Sesshoumaru-sama, I would be very humbled."
Another moment of silence engulfed the atmosphere between her and the dog demon. Until,
"Interested?" He replied indignantly, "What an amusing proposal… Wishing for me to bid upon something that is worthless?"
Rin's eyes widened, and before she could manage a response, another rush of wind left her alone once more on the barren road to the castle.
She just stared straight ahead. Even as her raven locks settled back into place from the rush of power, she could only look far off into the distance. It was the startling plop of tears upon her hands that reawakened Rin to her present. She looked down, analyzing the milky white water, on account of her make-up, that began to stain her small palms. Quickly, and quietly, she dabbed what she could from her reddening face, returned the velvet box to her sleeve (as to forget about it), and turned back towards the front gate.
Rin could have guessed that Sesshoumaru had felt that way on such matters. But for some reason, him saying it made it very real. Even though she had no intention of giving her Mizuage to anyone but Kohaku, hearing that it was a worthless attribute, hearing it from Sesshoumaru, rather, was far more painful than what she could have reasonably expected. Despite the niceties that had been conveyed to her by everyone else since she became a Maiko, and despite Izayoi's comforting compliments to her earlier that evening… Because he was the one who had said it, Rin, at that moment, genuinely felt worthless.
As she grew closer to Izayoi, she firmed herself up, though sloppily so.
"How was it?" Izayoi asked, mildly concerned at Rin's forced demeanor.
"He won't be bidding," Rin whispered, as she hurried on ahead past her concerned mentor, willing the world to just disappear.
"What?" Izayoi pleaded for an explanation, hurrying after her. But Rin remained numbly mute for the remainder of the night.
And for what other reason besides her apparent regard for Sesshoumaru's opinion, she did not know…
~0oooo0oooo0oooo0oooo0oooo0oooo0~
Sesshoumaru landed atop a huge willowing tree. His veins were searing with well contained anger as he watched the crying mortal from a distance.
"Damn her," he thought as he forced his conscience into submission.
Sesshoumaru's heart and mind were at odds, and all because of that one lowly mortal. Because of Rin.
"Damn her for her humanity, for her disloyalty, for her naiveté. What sickening weakness…," He glowered down upon her petrified form even still, his thoughts running on, "Damn that fragile innocence. That soft and frail beauty. Damn her longing to be with another."
Suddenly, Sesshoumaru's spirit calmed, and he regained his composure. He now understood why he was acting the way that he was.
"I want her," he whispered in amazement, clearly disgusted with himself, as he continued to watch the humans take their leave.
Indeed, he wanted her. But it wasn't just that.
He detested the fact that she was willing to leave and never return. That she was okay with never seeing him again.
And the words he had spoken to her just prior were the physical manifestations of his wrath, composed entirely of these acknowledgements. Her desire to leave the Western Lands. Her intent to go back on her agreement with him. And…
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed at the thought.
…her longing for someone other than himself.
He couldn't understand why he harbored such possessive feelings for a mere mortal woman, but he knew that, at present, it was sorely displeasing.
However, he mused, it wasn't as if Rin would be able to successfully escape. That Kohaku was undoubtedly a puppet of Naraku's, conjured up to dispose of her.
Letting out a menacing growl, Sesshoumaru turned towards the castle. Because while his demonic nature beckoned him to let Rin reap the fatal consequences of her blind actions, he knew too well that whether it be for the girl's sake, or for the sake of his pride in crushing Naraku's scheme, he would not allow that boy to bring her any harm.
Well that was a little harsh, Sesshoumaru! But good for you for realizing your damn feelings finally. At least to some extent. Will he interpret these feelings... appropriately? or not? How will the audition go? What about Rin's escape? Find out next chapter :)
Love you guys! Review please!
Also, I have a 12 page doujinshi of the Sesshoumaru Rin couple on my DA. You should go check it out and tell me what you think. it's www . keruwase . deviantart . com
Go to gallery, and then click on the "The Splitting Threads of Fate" doujinshi folder. :)
Hope you like guys! There are lemons in it btw ;)
