SakuyaTsuki: thank you for reviewing. I made this chapter long by combing 2 and 3, exclusively for you viewing pleasure. so enjoy
angel64: Sess fall for youkai rin. ahhahahahaha (He just might....but maybe not....)
Chapter 2
As the female edged closer his keen eyes took in her details; large eyes in the shape of Rin's innocent gaze with blue pupils set against finely shaped brows, skin aglow in the moonlight upon a smooth face curved in the shape of a slender heart.
Her appearance resembled Rin in many ways, but she being a youkai had silver hair instead of brown, was more slender and had the most shimmering eyes of pale blue.
Sesshomaru observed her features behind his hidden expression in wonder as the youkai before him approached. Suddenly his nose heightened to her scent as realization dawned upon him. 'She is an inu- youkai'...
Female inu-youkai were rare, male youkai often times fought to the death to take one as their life mate, but victory did not necessessitate spoils to the victor. If the female inu youkai did not approve of her victor she was mercilessly slaughtered for her inability to instinctually accept the greater youkai in battle. (Darwinian evolution to the extreme)
As her long silver hair trailed behind her in soft whispers, she spoke -
"You are Lord Sesshomaru are you not?"
"What do you want?"
"Lord Sesshomaru of the Western lands, I have been sent by my father Taido, Lord of the Eastern Lands, to seek your presence. My father requests an audience with you."
Kouran stood only a few feet away from Sesshoumaru. She had heard so many stories of his power, character, and beauty. And now seeing him with her eyes only told her heart that the childhood stories she had grown up with paled in comparison to the beautifully masked creature in front of her. In all her fancies with other inu-youkai, he stood alone.
He is the one...
My waiting is at last over.
Seeing that Taido had sent his own daughter, Sesshomaru deemed it important. Passively he nodded, -
"You may lead the way"...
With slender fingers, her hands slowly reached for her hair where she caught a few strands and started to twirl them around and around again before her eyes. She abruptly stopped.
'Ah...I just can't sleep'.
She had been running around the castle all day trying to make each and every room a little brighter by gathering flowers, working on new tapestries, and rearranging furniture (except of course, Sessys rooms) so that sleep would overcome her body at the end of the day - she could then peacefully sleep.
But sleep escaped her.
She couldn't sleep.
After brief fits on the bed she slowly turned from her left side and rolled off of bed. Taking her night gown off and putting on a plain lavender kimono with a white sash, she approached her nightstand and grabbed her hair pin and rolled her hair into a loose bun. Turning towards the door she grabbed a black silk robe and quietly opened her door and walked out before slowly descending the steps.
Tilting her head side to side, she tip toed around the house, trying her best not to gain attention. She just wanted to go out for a little while; 'perhaps I will have Ah-Un accompany me among the flower garden under the waning moon' she thought.
Upon reaching Ah-Un's stable doors she heard the two-headed dragon purring before she had even reached for the door. They had already sensed her life. Happily she entered the stable and gave ah-un a hug before she tugged at their reins to follow her.
Sitting among the flower patches with ah-un by her side, she slowly hummed a tune. It was the same old song she always sang while sesshomaru-sama was away...
"mori no naka, yume no nake" "kaze no naka, yama no naka"...."sesshomaru sama doko iru no.."....... (In the forest, in (my) dreams, in the wind, in the mountains, oh...sesshomaru-sama where are you....)
Ah-un recognized the song and instantly swayed his head. In his own way he was trying to cheer her. The two headed dragon felt her loneliness behind her twinkling moonlit eyes.
"Why thank you ah-un, I am glad of your company"... she giggled and smiled. Glad to have left the confines of her room.
Suddenly, cutting through their peaceful moment there came a loud but painful scream not so far away from the forest behind the garden. She quickly got up and then with some hesitation she turned to Ah-Un and mounted him and then directed him towards the source of the scream.
As Rin approached, she saw from her distance two youkais circling a woman dressed in a light blue garment. She somehow broke free from their encircling and started running to the clearing. Rin tugged at the reins, and a heavy blast of energy was fired at the two youkais from Ah- un's mouth. Seeing no movements, Rin judged it was safe and ordered Ah-un to land near the collapsed female form. Running towards the women, Rin knelt down and searched her injuries.
"Are you alright?"
"Y.y..Yes I think so...I just have a slight cut around my shoulders and legs."
"Yes...but you're loosing too much blood. Wait here I'll be back quickly with some herbs and fabric to close your wounds".
In a brief period of time Rin was back with supplies along with one of the palace servants to help her to heal the wounds. She was cut badly, but she'll be alright.
Rin let out a sigh of relief.
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Fluttering her eyes, she slowly opened them. Among spots of light all around her, her eyes focused upon a smiling girl with soft chocolate eyes that seem to speak to her soul. She was such a rare beauty, 'She must be an angel' she thought.
The angel began to speak before her. Like the sound of a swaying willow tree against the wind - soft and tender. "You're awake. I'm so glad. You've been sleeping for 3 days. My name is Rin. How do you feel?"
"Oh. I am feeling fine...slightly dizzy...but other than that fine."
Rin surmised that the lying women must be a miko from her unusual blue robe. She had jet black hair, straight as a rice paper with lovely olive shaped eyes of black irises matching her hair. She looked very kind, a very friendly face. She looked at Rin strangely in wonder.
"Is something wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
"No, no...I just thought I was dead and you were an angel."
After a brief silence she continued. "My name is Yuri, I am a miko of the Koro Kingdom, and I serve his highness Prince Shimaru."
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Sesshomaru was not happy.
To have to travel with a female who resembled Rin made his blood boil. It made him think more of the girl he had left behind.
He was slightly worried if his human property was in any danger. It was of course her responsibility to take care of herself, but should she become damaged, the effect had terrible consequences for his reputation as a taiyoukai. For someone in his position to let his own subjects and assets, as well as liabilities like her, to slip unbeknownst to him, was the same as making the grave mistake of showing any form of emotional attachment.
Walking besides Sesshomaru in graceful steps was Kouran. Since their first meeting from a few days ago, he had not spoken a single word to her. He hadn't even asked for her name.
She was disappointed. She had never been ignored like this before, she may not be the fairest in the land, but she certainly wasn't a witch. Many had sought to court her but she had declined. And here was Sesshoumaru not even once giving her a warm look.
While his lack of interest disappointed her, she did not altogether mind the silence held between them. She stole quick glances at him and enjoyed the feel of the powerful youkai aura around them.
She had thought of engaging in some form of conversation (at least mention her name), but the taiyoukai seemed so preoccupied......and she sensed a faint scent of anger from him that did not seem to cease. His expression was unreadable. 'Always with such a cool passive stare, I wonder what his like beneath all his cold masked armor'...Kouran wondered.
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"Lord Sesshoumaru-- I welcome you to my humble home. I hope your journey to my home was pleasant?" Sesshoumaru gave a slight nod, followed by a graceful bow before Lord Taido.
Lord Taido glanced over to his daughter standing beside his guest and slowly embraced her, "you two must be tired from you journey. Sesshomaru, please comfort yourself a while before I exhaust you with the ramblings of an old man." Turning to his daughter, "Kouran, you should go rest as well".
Kouran turned before giving a nod to both men standing before her. Sesshoumaru stood firmly in place while waiting for Lord Taido to turn his gaze away from his daughters retreating shaldow in the hallway.
Taido noted Sesshoumaru's stance and assented and motioned him to follow.
He was led to a large room centered with a great round table. The room was dark, but Sesshoumaru could discern that the walls were shelved with books. Lord Taido walked towards the table and touched the edge of the markings revealing a great ball of light that arose from the center of the table. Its brightness lit the entire room –
Sitting across from Sesshoumaru, Taido began to speak with shadows of fatigue folded between the skins of his face. His voice a bit raspy now, began "Lord Sesshoumaru, I'm sure you can smell the stench of my failing youkai powers. I have come of old age now. By the time of the 4th full moon my youkai powers will all have dissipated from my body. As such –"
Sesshoumaru cut him off, having already discerned what the old youkai was getting at. "You wish for me to take your daughter as my mate."
It was a fact, not a question.
"Yes." Taido observed Sesshoumaru quietly, and then added. "Of course, I have no male heir. The Eastern lands will come under your wing. Sesshoumaru, I am offering you my lands as well as my only daughter. Can you give a dying youkai a quick answer?"
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"Yuri-sama"—
"Hai."
"What is your home, this Koro Kingdom like, may I ask?"
Having always been secluded away from all the human villages, Rin had always been curious of what life was like for a person living in a society. A human society.
Though when she was a small girl, she grew up listening to Jakken ramble on about the poverty, disease, and misery that plagued a community of humans, she had still always wondered what the other side of the world would be like. And although, Sesshoumaru-sama had never restricted her activities to the vicinity of the palace gardens, many small villages around the palace either feared her or despised her.
Turning her attention away from the herbs in her hand, the blue robed miko Yuri turned her attention to what she still believed to be an angel and wistfully answered, "It is a beautiful place, it would be impossible for me to explain to you of all the beauty that Koro holds. But Koro is one of the most peaceful kingdoms in Southern Japan. I know that you would love it there."
"Isn't there constant fighting and disease plaguing the people?" Rin asked surprised by the Mikos answer.
"Oh Rin. No", she chuckled. "Contrary to what you have been taught by this Jakken-sama of yours, there exists law and order in any given human society. There is something else. It's called 'the laws of the heart'. Unlike a youkai, we are run more with emotions. We care, love, and forgive. That means everyone works together. Of course, your Jakken-sama is right in noting the darker side of our nature. But that is a reflection of our unique emotional nature; it is not because we are vile creatures Rin".
Comprehending enough for her to understand she nodded. "Why did you leave Koro to travel to the Western lands?"
"The people I serve are in need of my assistance. There is a strange disease affecting many of the females in the Kingdom of Koro. When infected, many of the women fall into a deep trance, trapped in their own fantasies. They sleep eternally without food or drink. They die in their sleep."
"That is horrible", Rin piqued.
"Yes it is. A few of the women have died. As a miko of incantations and spells, I was ordered by Prince Shimaru to search for spell to protect the women from these strange happenings. To do so I needed these herbs." Yuri held out the herbs from her hands. "These are called sanya. Unfortunately, they are very sensitive and can grow only around youki emitted by powerful demons. Which is what brought me here."
"Yuri-sama...ano...must you leave tonight?"
The miko noted the sadness in her tone. "Rin, are you happy here?"
Rin smiled. "Yes. It's just that sesshoumaru-sama has been gone for three months...even Jakken-sama is not here to keep my company. I am very bored and lonely. I do not hate it here. This is the only home I have ever known."
Yuri stopped packing her sack of herbs and started shuffling her hands inside her sleeves. Upon finding a small piece of folded paper she let out happy gasp, "ah ha....here it is. Rin, I will give you this. If you ever get lonely just take a small amount of this powerdery form and rub in between your fingers, and my spirit will appear before you."
Rin's eyes gleamed in joy as her lips pursed into a wide smile. "So anytime I want to see you I can use that powder?"
"Yes...anytime. I will come to you".
Yuri felt a small twange. Although this was the girls home, it saddened her to leave the lovely girl behind.
"Thank you...yuri-sama"
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The palace bustled with servants running around frantically. What had appeared to be a dark, empty, and a lifeless castle to anyone who had the fortunance to take a peek suddenly jumped with life.
'Sesshoumaru-sama is returning', Rin sighed happily as she walked briskly along the hallways towards her room. 'oh...what should I wear. I haven't seen him in a long time...I want to impress him.' She fumbled about in her wardrobe, looking for an appropriate gown befitting the return of her lord.
Upon seeing a white kimono patterned with light pink sakuras on the hem and sleeves of the dress with botches of red specks of flower petals, Rin smiled. 'yes...this will do.'
She remembered the dress. She had received it on her 13th birthday, the year she became a woman...as Jakken had teasingly joked, though she didn't understand what her bleeding had anything to do with becoming a woman.
Sesshoumaru had sent for her and upon arriving she had found this white kimono laid out on the table of the library. She had happily chirped away upon seeing the gown while he stood near the fireplace, only watching her not saying a word. His expression was distant and Rin felt slightly uncomfortable with the way the fire in the hearth reflected in his eyes. It had looked warm but when the fire started to flicker away so did his eyes, replaced by cold amber discs silently observing her every movement.
Grabbing the white kimono she headed for the bath.
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Sesshoumaru arrived at the palace gates with Jakken trudging behind.
'Something definitely happened while he sent me away. He looks so determined about something....eh...I'll ask him later. I'm so tired. Besides master doesn't seem to be in the mood to talk.' Jakken quickened his pace as the palace gates appeared before him. 'ahhhh...home sweet home'.
While he usually like traveling with his master, this years travelings had been too much for his little body.
Sesshoumaru swiftly entered the palace doors and ordered Jakken to tell the other servants, "Not to disturb him", as he walked towards his bedroom.
"Jakken-sama—" Rin was running towards the little green toad, grabbing him by the collar of his robes while she swung him in the air.
"Rin, put me down this instance. Come on...I'm tired." But Rin knew that he was happy to see her as well.
"jakken-sama how is sesshoumaru-sama? How is he? Where is he? What is he- "
Jakken cut her off short. He gave a hmph, annoyed by the bombardment of questions issuing from her little lips, before proceeding to answer her question. "He has specifically ordered me not to let anyone in his room. He wishes to be alone, that includes you, Rin."
"O— h... When do you-"
"I do not know Rin. Leave me...I need some rest as well. I'll fill you in on the details later."
Jakken walked away leaving a disappointed Rin in the hallway.
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Sesshoumaru stopped from his usual contemplations and turned towards the door.It slowly opened revealing a timid young woman poking her head in.
Upon catching sight of him, her head jerked back and slowly she entered the room. Dressed in a white kimono he instantly recognized, she stood only a few feet away from the door. Radiant as the sun, the room lighted with her appearance.
"Ano...sesshoumaru-sama...", the young girl fidgeted with her fingers, head cast down, eyes seemingly glued to the floor.
"What is it Rin?"
With a deep breath of courage, she opened her mouth and began to speak very rapidly, "Could I stay with you, I won't bother you. I won't even talk. You've just been gone so long and I have been very lonely. May I stay with you Sesshoumaru-sama. Please." She slowly raised her head and searched his amber eyes for answers.
Nothing.
She again decided to take another step, "Jakken-sama told me I was not to bother you. But...I missed you sesshoumaru-sama." And with that confession, she smiled widely, her eyes twinkling with the spark she had caught in his eyes.
Sesshoumaru strode towards the chair at the fireplace and sat down. Rin took this as a yes and sat down on the floor near the foot of the chair.
Sesshoumaru's eyes softened to the figure sitting below him. He had been angry by her blatant overlook of his command, but as always the girl surprised him with her words and actions. No fear. Her confession also made him forget that he was angry with her.
"What have you been up to?"
Rin's heart leaped with joy as he asked her a 'personal' question.
"Not much sesshoumaru-sama, except helping out in the kitchen, making tapestries, curtains, and planting flowers out in the garden".
"Sesshoumaru-sama may I tell you a secret." She blushed and bowed her head down away from the eyes that bore into her heart.
'A secret'. His face expressionless along with a voice that sounded more than uninterested, he spoke again, "What is your secret Rin?"
"Well...do you remember the moon flowers you gave me when I was little." He nodded. "I planted a whole bunch of them in the back garden. At first they kept dying, but now they are flourishing." A wide smile crept up her face.
"how is that a secret?" he asked slightly puzzled. He looked at her with confusion spreading in his mind, while his face stretched into boredom.
"It's a secret because only I...and you, sesshoumaru-sama, know that I planted those flowers for you. There's a meaning behind it. I've grown them for you and no one else knows" she beamed with pride.
His face darkened at her last few words. He stood up and walked towards the window. Suddenly he turned around looking straight through her as though placing a dagger through her heart with his eyes.
"Rin"
"Hai sesshoumaru-sama".
He looked at her, his face hardening. "From now on you will refrain from voicing such emotions. By the next full moon you will be greeted with your new mistress, the Lady of the Western Lands. You will serve her as you serve me." With each word spoken by his forceful icy tone, it spread like poison in rins heart.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, y-y-ou have found a mate?" her lips quivering, she felt her heart break. She didn't even wait for an answer, she felt her legs give in. "Sesshoumaru-sama gomenai sai. Please excuse me."
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She ran... away from him.....away from the palace.
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.Sitting among the moon flowers that she had so carefully grown, she brought her knees to her chest and cried. The sensitive flowers wilted through her tears and slowly fell beside her, petals falling to the ground...soaking in her tears.
She herself was surprised by her behavior. She knew that he would marry someday and had always known that it would be a youkai. But then why was her heart breaking? The only answer came in the form of her tears.
As rivers of water flooded in her eyes she knew for the first time in her life that she was in love. In love with Sesshoumaru. It had always been there, that aching feeling nagging at her side, but she had always ignored it by covering it as love for the one who had raised her, protected her. Not as the emotions held by a women for a man. But in the sudden change from his behavior, Rin was hit by the epiphany - she was hopelessly in love with her sesshoumaru-sama.
Far off from the distance of the huddled figure, towering above like the castle stood Sesshoumaru. Hidden behind the shadows of the black curtains of his study window, eyeing only a solitary figure among the nignt plains, Sesshoumaru watched with coldness draped across his eyes, only marred by the emptiness he felt...
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so...how you like this chapter. please review.
story will kick-off in chapter 3.
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