A/N: I don't like to put songs in my fics, but this one didn't want to leave my head. Points to anyone who recognizes it.
From the diary of Princess Higurashi Kagome of Musashi
Date: tenth day of the first month of summer. Year XXXX
_
It was such a drowsy day today. One would not expect anything special to happen during a day like this, but, gods, this day was amazing and I feel my heart float like a lotus flower on the lake. Ah, my sweet Rin, you are one lucky girl, with a blue spider lily adorning your hair!
Heavy mist encircled the castle like a siege of the damp spirits. Master Jaken and others like him must truly enjoy this kind of weather, but I am thankful that I could stay inside, with a cup of warm tea and walls warding off any chills.
And, to my great joy, today Rin and I had company in the spacious library that is open to us. The room is so big, full of scrolls and parchments holding a wealth of knowledge. There are many pillows one can sit upon and a few small tables one can set on the floor wherever one wishes to read a story or learn. If one wishes, there is also a place where they can write or copy whatever they wish - Inuyasha showed me where all the brushes, paper and ink stones are hidden and I need only to call upon Master Myouga if I need any help. Often we sit there with Rin, admiring the collection of poems and ink drawings.
Today, when Rin and I came in, we found that the lords were in the library already - Lord Sesshomaru was sitting straight and regal in front of a small table containing a map with its corners weighted to prevent the paper from rolling closed. I admired the weights for a moment - they were a blue dragon, a red bird, a white tiger and a black tortoise. Each was carved out from a hunk of gemstone, adorned with gold or silver base on which the animal sat.
On the opposite side of the window that showed the mist-covered gardens, pouring over a writing table, sat Inuyasha, my brave man with the cutest ears and brilliant eyes. He was scowling down at a sheet of paper, brush in hand, as if by merely staring at it he could make his creation as eloquently worded as it is elegantly written. When he saw us come in he put the paper and writing utensils away, so I was unable to see if he was trying to compose another of his admirable, endearing, but terrible poems. I cannot wait to see it!
Rin hesitated when she saw the library was occupied, but the older brother gestured for us to enter, so I led my cousin to two pillows that were located under the window between the two men. I 'by accident' sat on the pillow closer to Inuyasha, who smiled at me before pushing his table away so he could sit more comfortably, with his legs crossed, not folded under himself. His brother didn't move at all.
"We are most pleased to find you here and hope you won't mind our company?" I asked, tilting my head so I could look at the older of the two men, who was looking at us with his serene eyes.
"You are not a bother," he said. "In fact, this one believes that with you here, the room will not resound with this one's brother's frustrated sigh so much."
"Oi! I resent that!" Inuyasha grumbled.
Rin smiled and glanced at me for reassurance, so I gave her a tiny nod. She had been quite anxious about the request the lord had made of her and had spent a long time thinking of a good song for him.
"And if we were to fill the room with something else? I believe I was requested to give you a song, my lord," Rin said boldly, her eyes on the lord, but her voice and posture demure.
A spark came into the cold eyes, making them almost as lively as Inuyasha's.
"This would be most appreciated, Miss Rin."
"Yes, let's make this dreary afternoon worthwhile and have someone with a real nice voice sing," Inuyasha chimed in. "Sesshomaru sings like a dying crow."
"Silence, whelp."
I hid my face behind my sleeves, trying to muffle my giggles - at the happy blush on Rin's face, at the feisty comment of my Inuyasha and at the frigid snap of his older brother.
I must say, the remark about Lord Sesshomaru singing was intriguing and I was hoping that maybe the lord would reveal his talent to us this afternoon.
But first it was Rin when was to sing and I squeezed her hand before she straightened herself, smiling shyly. She looked so sweet, so adorable, like a delicate orchid with pretty pink petals.
Rin is such a sweetheart and her voice is admirable. I always enjoyed when she sang in the past and I was certain that she would enchant the cool lord. I glanced at where Inuyasha sat and saw him slumped carelessly against the wall behind him. A pang of annoyance at his disrespectful posture came to my mind,, but I reminded myself that it was Inuyasha - he didn't mean disrespect to my cousin.
Rin smiled and started to sing, her voice light and cheerful, the tone of her song playful.
Go round, go round
Waterwheel, go round
Go round and call mister Sun
Birds, bugs, beasts, grass, flowers and trees
Spring, summer, autumn, winter - bring them all on.
Go round, go round
Waterwheel, go round
Go round and call mister Sun
Spring, summer, autumn, winter - bring them all on.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter - bring them all on.
And, just as she finished her sweet tune, a new voice arose and I snapped my head to look at Inuyasha's brother, his voice deep, the tone of the song sombre and somehow full of longing.
Go round, come round, distant time
Come round, oh, distant time
Come round, call back my heart
Come round, call back my heart
Birds, bugs, beasts, grass, trees, flowers
Teach me how to feel
If I hear that you pine for me, I will return to you
If I hear that you pine for me, I will return to you
I stared at the lord, who looked not at Rin or myself, but turned his head to gaze outside the window, where the eerie mist pressed against the glass panes. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes and bowed his head to Rin.
"I was not aware that this song had one more verse," Rin managed, stunned just as I was. Inuyasha snickered from behind my back and I cast him a glare.
"This one believes that not many had heard this verse," his brother replied Rin with an even tone of voice, the ethereal softness of before gone as if it had never been in his gaze and voice. "This one's lady mother had sung it his way though, so this one sought to complete the song without considering this action."
"Oh, that was so lovely, but so sad," Rin smiled at the older lord. She seemed to forget that Inuyasha and I were there with them.
Lord Sesshomaru reached into his sleeve and retrieved something wrapped in a piece of white cloth.
"Accept this," he said and leaned forward, deftly dropping the small package onto Rin's lap when she didn't move to reach for it immediately.
"Oh," Rin blushed like a cherry and I smiled widely at her, seeing how her fingers trembled when she reached to untie the corners of the cloth and reveal the hair comb adorned with a silk spider lily shining like it was cut from the summer sky and adorned with little pearls of dew. "This is so pretty!" I cannot accept such a..."
"Are you planning to offend this one by refusing his gift?" the lord cut in, regal and cool, his face devoid of emotion. Rin stared at him with big eyes, her cheeks still prettily flushed.
"What? No, of course not!"
"Good."
I suddenly felt as if I was spying on them and glanced back at Inuyasha to find him already standing and gesturing for me to follow.
When we left the room he pretended to gag and I half-heartedly swept at him with my sleeve.
"Oh, hush, you liked them singing too," I huffed. "And they look so adorable together."
"Adorable and Sesshomaru don't belong in the same sentence, wench," Inuyasha grinned at me and I went after him as he fled down the corridor, his ears perked up in excitement, eyes glinting in mirth.
Later, when Inuyasha and I found our way to the dining room, we found Rin with the blue flower in her hair and Lord Sesshomaru already seated and waiting for us.