Man I'm spoiling you guys so soon after the two month hiatus, soon I'll be getting hate mail for sure but...
Please enjoy "Chapter 25: The Winning Bid" for now :)
She swallowed hard and with difficulty as her mouth went dry. Rin's gaze trailed to her fingers, of which started to nervously fidget once more. The other six women in the room could only stare at her with amazement. And the first one to speak moments later was Urasue, who barely managed a whisper to the Kaede,
"…Could you imagine what she would have gone for if she hadn't hurt her foot?"
Kikyo smiled, "Congratulations, Rin. While the obstacles leading up to this moment were far from desirable, your womanly charm seems to have pulled through for you."
"Yes, congratulations," Izayoi half-smiled. Rin glanced up to meet her eyes, before swiftly putting her head back down. She could tell that Izayoi felt betrayed by her. It was this reason, and this reason alone, for why her mentor hadn't ran across the room to embrace her in celebration.
"Well…!" Cesaria piped up to lighten the mood for the occasion, "She needs to get ready!"
"Yes, well," Kikyo started, "I'll leave the rest to you all for the evening. I have my own house to manage, after all."
Kagome turned her attention sullenly to the floor, even as Kikyo's stare trailed over her in passing.
"Rin," Kikyo called, as if suddenly remembering something. She gained a respective acknowledgment from the shivering Maiko before finishing, "…Stay calm, and just let him guide you. It will be over before you realize it."
To maintain some level of politeness, Rin's head dipped in a single nod.
"Impossible," Sesshoumaru muttered with rising annoyance; golden eyes sweeping over the clumsy and lowly demon messenger in front of him.
"I apologize, my lord," the messenger, (recruited by Sesshoumaru, himself, for the purpose of relaying the bidding outcome) informed, "But the bids had capped at twenty-five million, making Bankotsu of the theater district the highest bidder."
Angry eyes ricocheted over the greenish-blue body of the robust messenger.
"As I said, impossible," Sesshoumaru now seethed visibly.
"M-my lord?" The monster shivered as patronizing eyes sent chills up his spine.
Sesshoumaru turned away, deciding to answer the low-life's confusion for the sake of maintaining his pride, "I had bid twenty-nine."
The green eyes of the demon grew wide as Sesshoumaru's form morphed itself into a bright white light, and shooting across province. Even as he flew, he seethed unrelentingly, and it annoyed him.
Why was he allowing himself to be this way?
Sesshoumaru couldn't decipher even as he propelled himself towards the house of Kodachi. Was it because he, The Lord Sesshoumaru, the young and prodigal General of the Western provinces, couldn't stand to lose even under false pretenses?
Or… was it because the thought of Rin sharing physical affections with another man wasn't something he could trust himself to deal with rationally?
These fleeting thoughts, like all others, dissipated rapidly with the skilled subjugation brought on by his demonic nature.
He smirked mid-flight.
How absurd. After all, by nature he was a territorial being. Of course… It made sense….
He just wanted to be the one to make her scream first.
That's all these trivial thoughts amounted to.
At least, that's what he would force to become truth.
Freshly cut and shined nails shook uncontrollably upon the primped mattress stuffed with crane feathers and Bonata cotton. White, soft, and pure, Rin's assigned bed deceived her with rolls of comfort – a silken hand beckoning her to calm her nerves. But she could not. The darkened room, lit dimly by the crystal blue hue of the moon – shining bright enough to pierce the papered window coverings of the room's rosewood panels – seemed to swallow her more and more after each passing minute.
The scent of shaved bamboo filled Rin's nose as she inhaled deeply. She wondered whether the tatami flooring of the large open space was shaking as well, or if it was limited to her. She threw her head right to try and take in another distraction.
To focus on such fine and trivial things now just proved her inability to cope with what lay ahead. Rin shut her eyes tightly, trying to scour for daydreams.
Dressed in nothing more than a silken ivory gown, loosely tied beneath her heaving bosom, and lying face up upon a stiff Takamakura pillow, Rin simply waited.
She had arrived an hour prior to the scheduled engagement, readying herself in the back with the handmaidens of the common house – a facility often rented by Okiyas for these particular arrangements. Now, she estimated Bankotsu-sama to come in at any moment. At any moment…
From the left she heard the sliding door of the entrance hall, and immediately Rin turned her face back dead center to stare at the ceiling. During these fragile moments, Geisha were expected to be perfectly still, like a doll, only until permitted otherwise by her purchaser.
"I see, thank you," she heard the deep and melodic tones of Bankotsu's voice carrying across the room, meant to address the kneeling handmaiden who had undoubtedly opened the door for him. These tones were only slightly familiar to Rin; though largely unfamiliar. And it was the unfamiliarity that bothered her.
A couple of steps, and then the door slid shut once more, blocking out the dancing lights of the hallway lanterns, while simultaneously welcoming suffering silence.
Rin did all she could to calm her nerves, even as the padded footsteps of socked feet drew ever nearer.
Then, she heard the shuffling of his yukata as he kneeled just beside her. The few inches between them felt like shockwaves. Shockwaves of splitting tension.
"At ease," he finally whispered, with slight laughter in his voice. But Rin could not be so easily convinced.
"…Look at me," he commanded gently, pulling Rin from her dissociative trance.
Her soft, doe brown eyes crept up to his blackened blue ones. His yukata, a pale green accompanied by a swirling cream-embroidery pattern, was opened from his neck down to abdominals. And his face. A chiseled jawline offset by smooth tan skin, and a reassuring – though lustful – smile.
At eye contact, Rin had the greatest temptation to look away. But she didn't. She obeyed. And her heart ached.
"Don't be nervous," he prompted, offering a caress along the hem of Rin's robe. The first of many trespasses, meant to break the ice between the natural space that male and female are accustomed to leaving between each other.
Rin gulped as Bankotsu's expression turned more serious.
"Allow me," he whispered as he slid forward to lean over Rin.
As his hands began to methodically, and masterfully part the V of her gown, Rin shook with fear and apprehension. She finally willed herself to stop thinking, but her heart shot up to her throat, warning her of the shame and uncertainty that was to come.
No… She thought, but that's all that came forth from her soul.
The cool fabric slid off of her shoulders, exposing the upper half of her body to him.
Bankotsu pulled her upright, examining her neckline, clavicles, and finally down to her breasts, before trailing back up to her eyes, which were now downcast and guarded by moist lashes.
Lustfully, the man moved to pull her into his chest, pressing his warm and ready body into her cold and reluctant one. Rin gasped as he laid a kiss upon her jaw, then upon her neck. His lips were hot and left a tranquilizing effect upon her nerves, but the caress of this stranger frightened her. A firm and strong palm cupped her thigh, and began to maneuver skillfully up towards her most private of areas.
Wait! She screamed in her mind, even as she feigned lustful sedation on the outside. How stupid. She knew he wouldn't wait. And she knew that there was no-
BAM!
The door to the hall slammed open, causing Rin to jump in surprise, and Bankotsu to pause his conquest efforts. The two turned to locate the source of the offending noise.
It can't be, Rin thought, her mind a blur as her eyes laid upon the figure in the doorway.
As if the world had crashed in around her, Rin could only sit and watch as the improbable unfolded before her. And in that moment she couldn't tell if she welcomed the shadow of the looming, silver-haired demon that stood solidified in the doorway, or if she dreaded it.
Sesshoumaru stared down at them with stoic disapproval. Obviously disgusted by their proximity, and the state that Rin was currently in.
"Do you mind?" Bankotsu threw at the demon, unfazed by the fact that this particular one was one of the most powerful in the land.
Cocking his head to the side just a little, Sesshoumaru began his stride forward.
"Hmph," Bankotsu stood, readjusting his yukata. Although he was unable to anticipate the swift, clawed hand that shot past his line of sight, grabbing him by the base of his black braid.
"Get out," the growl of Sesshoumaru came forth. But before Bankotsu could be given ample time to act, Sesshoumaru threw him across the room.
Bankotsu gasped on impact and grunted as he tumbled and slammed into the side walls of the establishment; gripping his arm as he struggled to get to his knees. With rage, Bankotsu glared at Sesshoumaru – who met his challenge ten fold.
Rin pulled up her gown quickly as she watched, in awe.
"You dog demons…," Bankotsu gasped again, catching his breath, "Always such sore losers. I won fair and square. You can't just barge in here without repercussions!"
Rin looked up and along the form of the towering Sesshoumaru, who appeared to stand guard over her.
"Ah," Sesshoumaru stated with a smirk, "But I can. This girl is rightfully mine to do with as I please."
"Hmph!" Bankotsu gulped, "What a joke! I was escorted here by her mentor, even! How could I not-"
"Humans are such unreliable creatures," Sesshoumaru indulged, running his poisonous nails through his fine hair, "So much so that they can't even be trusted to travel down a common road to deliver a message."
"…What are you getting at?" Bankotsu snapped.
"I outbid you…," Sesshoumaru said matter-of-factly, and with a snarl, as he lifted his nose to look down upon the confused human male. Rin's eyes grew wide at the statement.
Sesshoumaru… had bid on her? But what he had said before…
Was this sort of thing really worthless to him, then…?
Suddenly the memory of the kiss that she and Sesshoumaru had shared flashed through her mind, encouraging her face to grow bright red.
"So…," the dog demon continued passively, "I suggest you leave while you still have the chance."
Bankotsu gritted his teeth, still eyeing the challenger to his right even as a handmaiden rushed in, falling on her knees in bow,
"Please forgive me, Bankotsu-sama! I could not prevent Sesshoumaru-sama from entering soon enough!"
Bankotsu threw his anger at her shamelessly, "What is the meaning of this?!"
"I am terribly sorry, sir, but seems there was a misunderstanding with the bids, and… and I'm afraid I have been instructed to ask you to leave on behalf of the honorable Okiya of Kodachi!"
"What?!" Bankotsu shouted uneasily, "But I was granted the rights to this room! To this woman! To go back on a fulfilled promise and price-"
"Do you dare linger after I, Sesshoumaru, commanded you to leave?" Sesshoumaru sneered, suddenly gathering joy from the potential of bloodshed.
Bankotsu quieted almost instantly. And, with mild hesitation and bitterness, turned on his heel to leave the room. There was only one glance over his shoulder, just as he turned, before he disappeared behind a neighboring hall.
When he had exited, the handmaiden bowed, uttering a sincere apology, before closing the door, and locking out the light once more.
The distinct difference between light and dark, as well as noisiness and emptiness, snapped Rin out of her damsel daze. She now saw the situation for what it truly was.
Sesshoumaru-sama. A demon. The reputably ruthless demon who seemed to only care for what she could provide him… had purchased her for this night.
For her first night.
He hadn't come to save her.
Fear shuddered up her form as his eyes shifted to hers. Diligently, and carefully she shuffled away from him along the ground. Although Sesshoumaru was no stranger to her, he was still a demon, and she found herself in this moment to be ill equipped for the unexpected turn of events. Flashbacks of her past swarmed her vision, blinding her. And even though there was no where to go or hide, she continued to put distance between herself and Sesshoumaru.
For awhile he simply studied her slinking, womanly figure from over his shoulder with piquing curiosity; his eyes dancing in such a way that she couldn't even begin to read.
And after a calm and traceless moment, he turned to stride, ever so slowly, towards her.
0_0 Eeep! Well at least Sesshoumaru came to her rescue, right? RIGHT?! Yeah I know, I will work on the next chapter ASAAAAAAP!
LOVE YOU GUYS, PLEASE REVIEW YOUR THOUGHTS. :)
