Enjoy, my lovelies ;) sorry for the wait
—
Why?
Rin recoiled as she recalled, once again, that day in the North field. The day where she blindly confessed a hurried and poorly-thought-out love for a demon who had been moments away from killing her. It had been nearly two months and yet, over and over the memory would strike. And over and over her reaction would be the same. The familiar, metallic taste lined the inside of her cheeks as she bit into them; a deprecating compensation for the foul taste of ballooning embarrassment. Pain was the only way for her to shift her focus entirely, because she knew if she thought about anything else that had happened that day, she would think of him.
And as far as she knew, she would never see that demon again.
And she also knew, with the utmost certainty, she would never see Izayoi-sama again.
After nearly escaping death by the hand of Lord Sesshoumaru of the West, Rin had teetered home to find her trusted Izayoi-Onee-sama, nowhere to be found. She learned from her fellow housesisters that her mentor had left on errands, only to never return.
Many of other tenants fueled the gossip ring, claiming that Izayoi had been kidnapped and ransomed, sold to deplorable demons, or chopped up and thrown into the river by a lovesick and delusional customer. But Rin knew the truth, yet she could never tell a soul.
Izayoi-sama had finally run away to be with InuTaisho-sama. That had to be it, especially given how Jaken-sama had interrupted her imminent death that day.
When Rin finally realized that Izayoi-sama wasn't coming back, she crumpled under a new and refreshed weight of betrayal. If she had no one else, she always had her mentor. But now, never again. Rin, amidst all of her turmoil, couldn't be happy for Izayoi. Not with the world crashing down around her, fragmenting and lodging invisible shrapnel into her heart. Happiness is a currency more valuable than money. And Rin, with all her shame, and with no one beside her, could only curse Izayoi for taking the only path to happiness that Rin could have taken herself.
The knife slipped and Rin cut a deep line into her finger. She simply sighed as she poured a teaspoon of alcohol on a cloth and wrapped it tightly around the wound. Because of her state, the easiest of her probation tasks became tiresome, and also apparently dangerous. Prior to Izayoi's leave, both her mentor and Kikyo had finally convinced the housemothers to forgive Rin of her brazen attempts to flee both Kodachi and her debt, but at an indefinite cost. By way of assigning Rin to arduous tasks at twice the work for half the pay, Rin would monetarily make up for the 'emotional distress' she had caused her housemothers and sisters. The harrowed Geisha grimaced as her stomach knotted alongside the painful pulses of her finger. Rin's meals had been cut in half and her baths had been limited to two buckets of lukewarm water per day, all the while her work carried on from the early hours of morning to well past sunset.
However, Rin voiced not a single complaint.
It was better than letting the feigned smiles and lusting flirtations of drunken men unravel the weak bindings of repression that were already barely holding her together.
Rin was not okay. And it was evident in her placid eyes and her narrowing waist.
Carefully, the fledgling woman carried a set of tea and frosted mochi desserts, of which were decorated lightly atop a crafted wooden tray and shoji paper. She made her way down the hall, avoiding the bustle of servants who still bowed before her. This, too, embarrassed Rin. The lesser of the house residents still revered her as the Geisha of all Geisha. Because her winning mizuage bid broke all amounts ever recorded, the plates of Kodachi's servants had become twice as full as they used to be. At least until the dog demons stopped paying homage to Kodachi immediately after Izayoi disappeared—which was a lingering concern as well. Sesshoumaru-sama had disappeared without a trace, too, and that seeemed even more strange. Although the servants kept her in prayer, Rin's reputation suffered amongst her fellow Geisha, as they were not made to stay in the dark on any of Kodachi's affairs. Those like Rin lost respect for her when she tried to run because even they knew she was essential to Kodachi's success, especially with the young, up-and-coming lord of the West. But now, even Rin was questioning if that alliance had ever been established between her and Sesshoumaru or if it had all just been a hollow bust of weak business and frivolity.
Rin nearly tripped on the obi cord of a bowed servant and winced as pain sprang up her leg. She couldn't seem to find time to forget that the housemothers placed her on probation not only because of her attempt to flee, but also because of her ankle. The bruise was nearly gone, but the muscles were still weak, and Rin often found herself on the edge of rolling it in the middle of the simplest of steps. In this respect she longed for it to never heal. She never wanted to dance for anyone again.
While striding past the entranceway, Rin halted when she saw a dog demon in front of the house's gatekeeper. Just a lowly one, but the first she had seen since Sesshoumaru-sama, himself, nearly two months ago.
The handmaiden at the cherrywood podium was reading a piece of parchment with a horrified look in her eyes. The dog demon just stood there, foot tapping impatiently.
"Are you... are you sure?" The young maiden stammered. The dog demon nodded before looking to Rin.
"You look to be more in charge," the dog demon assessed, smacking his thin lips before adding, "Especially with milord's scent still lingering along your skin, you might be the right one to tell."
"O-onee-sama...," the handmaiden trembled violently in her address.
Goosebumps fled up and down Rin's arms, yet she gave no hint to her anxiety as she turned to the demon, "What message are you here to deliver, nobleman?"
The dog demon's smirk faded almost instantly, as if a curse had befallen him, "I'm making my rounds across the favored businesses of the court... well, of the previous court—"
"I suppose Sesshoumaru-sama has ascended the throne?" Rin asked, knowingly.
"Yes...," the dog demon glared at her before finishing, "Because our honorable InuTaishou-sama, about two moons ago, had succumbed to the throes of death by the hand of a once-ally."
Rin's eyes widened as the handmaiden started bawling. And as the girl wept, crumpling the ominous document in hand she wailed, "Izayoi-sama is dead! She was found dead with him!"
A searing knife plummeted into Rin's heart.
What?
They didn't... she didn't... make it?
But Rin held it together for the sake of information.
"T-Tell me, how are we just now finding out about this?" Her voice felt like sheer air as the room spinned.
The dog demon haughtily replied, "Court restructure and affairs are tedious processes, girl. Clearly, the more urgent matter throughout all of this is guaranteeing Sesshoumaru-sama's smooth ascent into power... not concerning ourselves with the murder of a worthless human whore."
In all the pain and all the agony, in all the rage and all the misery, Rin dropped her tray and struck the dog demon harder across the face than she had ever struck anything, ever.
And even as the gasps erupted across the lobby and hall, and even as the dog demon reared back in surprise, Rin could not bring herself to care. She sobbed.
"Get out," Rin demanded, "Get out of our house."
But the dog demon, eyes now crimson, made no such move.
—-
Thanks for sticking with me guys! Things are about to get good ;). Sorry for the wait.
Love you all!
