Chapter Three - Always A "Bouzo"
His first night camping with the Devil himself. Mirouku moaned in displeasure and picked at the food Sesshoumaru had refused—proving his point to Rin. But did the girl mind? No. Rin was running giddily around the flames, singing a song she'd made up by herself. Jaken had given up chase about thirty minutes ago, disappearing into the dark forest. Sesshoumaru had left them before the thought of creating a fire even came to the monk's mind, and was just returning.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Changing her path, Rin's eyes widened as she tripped on a stray branch in her rush to get to the lord. Mirouku stood quickly, but, as one of the things Sesshoumaru always mocked humans for, his reaction time was lousy; Rin was safely tucked against the youkai's side, away from the fire. The monk snorted and dropped back onto the ground, pushing at his fallen food with the end of his staff.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," he mimicked in a high voice, stabbing the meat angrily. "Sesshoumaru-sama, you're so cool. Sesshoumaru-sama, help me. Sesshou...maru... sama... Heh." Mirouku raised his head slowly, following the black shoes to the white kimono pants and long yellow and blue sash cloth belt, over the armor, and rested his gaze on the scowling youkai's smooth face. "Hi," he laughed nervously.
"It's bad enough listening to Jaken constantly whine my name."
As if to prove his point, the frog youkai cried "Sesshoumaru-sama!"
Mirouku frowned and ripped a piece of chicken in two. "Rinmakes more noise than that stupid toad," he muttered.
"What Rin does doesn't concern you."
"Why shouldn't it?! I'm someone she can relate to more than she ever could with you; I'm human," the monk spat. "What's been bothering me though, is... Do you really hate humans as you claim?"
Sesshoumaru didn't grace him with an answer and started off, eyes narrowing as his arm was grabbed.
"Answer me!" Mirouku yelled.
"Know your place," the youkai said icily. "I can complete the trade then kill you in front of your friends just for the hell of it." Mirouku's fingers tightened around the remaining arm, blue eyes burning with anger, but he slowly allowed his fingers to uncurl and stepped back. He smiled almost insanely and sank to the ground with his back pressed against the tree he'd sat at before.
"I understand," the monk laughed mirthlessly. Sesshoumaru turned sharply and continued toward his original destination. With a lingering look after the lord, Rin started toward the human cautiously and knelt once beside the dark-haired male, reaching out. She placed her hands over his sealed one, making him stiffen, and squeezed gently.
"Don't be mad, Mirouku-sama. Sesshoumaru-sama—"
"I don't want to hear it," Mirouku cut in. "I don't care if he has compassion. I don't even care if he can love." He reached out and cupped the side of the little girl's face with a small, almost sad smile. "I do care about Rin-chan." Rin giggled and slid into his lap, letting her head fall against the monk's chest. Mirouku's smile faded as he raised his head to let it rest against the tree's rough bark, eyes already closed.
The sun rose and they were on the move again, trekking their way through an early-morning haze. Mirouku gave a loud yawn, hand hovering over his mouth. His eyelids drooped as he tried to maintain focus on the untrodden path they walked. His right hand rested gently on Rin's back, the young girl fast asleep on Ah-Un. Mirouku gasped as he tripped, falling against the two-headed creature. He removed his hand and was left rubbing sleep from his eyes as the original group continued on. 'I'm tired...!' He whined and took a seat on the forest floor.
Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder with a soft sigh and turned around, ordering his clingy servant to keep going—a well-placed threat was tossed in. The long-haired male stopped before the half-asleep monk. "You're getting on my nerves," he sighed.
"...Shut up. If you want me to move, carry me." With his head lowered, Mirouku missed the sudden flash of red in the youkai's eyes after he'd made his statement. He was cut off in a mid-yawn by the tight claw wrapping around his throat, constricting air from entering his windpipe. Sesshoumaru raised him effortlessly, the scrabbling to his arm feeling like a child's tickling.
"Move," he uttered, flicking his wrist. Mirouku yelled, bringing his right arm to his chest as he crashed through lower branches then into the hard ground.
"Bastard..." He'd barely gotten to his feet when his blue eyes widened from the hard slap to his face, knocking him into a tree. Mirouku coughed, still hugging his arm, and remained where he was. Slowly, he grinned cheekily, wincing at the pain it increased in his bruised face; his grin made it clear that—no matter how bad he was beaten—he knew he wouldn't be killed.
Sesshoumaru knew it also and stopped his attacks, flexing his claw with a frown. He grabbed the monk's robes and Mirouku found trees going by in a blur. When his surroundings halted mere seconds later, Ah-Un was beside him, a wide-eyed, wide-awake Rin on its back.
"Mirouku-sama," she cried, seeing his darkening bruise. "What happened? Did... Were you rescued from an attack by Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Mirouku snorted, but smiled. "Aa. Something like that."
The girl's expression filled with worry as he massaged his face. She leaned forward and placed a kiss to the dark spot. "Get better. Rin wants Mirouku-sama to always be healthy."
"For you, Rin—anything."
They shared a smile.
"Jaken."
Mirouku and Rin both faced the youkai lord who had spoken.
Sesshoumaru was turned away from them, features lightened by the rising sun. He raised his claw slowly, drawing it through his hair, tossing the lengthy silver locks over his shoulder in an unconscious fashion. "Find some herbs to crush," he ordered Jaken. "Create a paste to lower the swelling and numb the pain."
The frog youkai's mouth fell open as he gaped at his lord. "Sesshoumaru-sama... he's just a lowly hu—"
"Do it." Sesshoumaru kicked him into the forest.
Rin giggled, "See? Sesshoumaru-sama looks out for you."
Mirouku was sure he relayed some form of consent to her statement, but wasn't certain, for his gaze was locked on the full-blooded youkai still turned away from them. 'Could it be... guilt? Rin-chan made him feel guilty?!' He laughed suddenly, earning two curious stares. "Rin, you're a gem!" the monk continued laughing. Rin squealed as she was lifted from Ah-Un and spun.
Sesshoumaru lowered his head slightly, continuing his watch of the humans out of the corner of his eye. The golden eyes filled with surprise as he found his bottom lip locked between his teeth to repress a certain emotion.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin giggled, returning him to his senses. She waved from Mirouku's shoulder. The youkai nodded then met the monk's smiling eyes, looking away moments later.
Placing the last hours' events behind him, Mirouku now chased Rin through the barren field. He caught up with her and scooped the squealing child into his arms with a laugh. Rin wrapped her arms around his neck and breathlessly told him not to leave. The monk managed a smile at the sudden request and nodded in affirmation, hoping she would attribute his trembling to their play. 'Rin... I can't... I want to stay with you, but...' "Do we go back to the castle now?" he asked.
Rin shook her head. "We travel for days. Weeks even, before going back. I heard Sesshoumaru-sama tell Jaken-sama too much resting puts Naraku far ahead of us."
"Hai. That's true. But..."
Ah-Un's right head raised as its owner walked into the clearing they were resting in. Eyeing him, Mirouku leaned down close to Rin's ear, cupping a hand around it to keep his whispered question enclosed within. "Rin. What's the purpose of that fur over his shoulder?"
"Dunno," Rin murmured. "When Rin first met Sesshoumaru-sama, he had been injured." Mirouku's eyes widened as he recalled Inuyasha's blind attack with the first Kaze no Kizu. "He wouldn't move," the girl continued, "And was using the fur to prop himself up. He wrapped Rin in it once"
"Huh. I thought it was his tail or something..."
Rin's brown eyes sparkled and she burst out laughing, rocking back and forth in Mirouku's arm. "No! He caught you in it when he first found you. Tail," she snorted. The monk's face flushed in embarrassment and he let his head fall forward to hide his colored cheeks.
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "Are you finished?" he called out.
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin answered enthusiastically.
"We're leaving then. Jaken found a suitable direction to travel."
Mirouku placed Rin on the ground and allowed her to drag him over to the silver-haired lord. He was told they'd be traveling by foot and hoisted the girl up onto Ah-Un while he took up a post next to the creature. For a hostage, he realized, he was sure being granted a lot of leniency; or maybe Sesshoumaru knew what he was doing keeping his staff away from him.
The monk sighed under his breath and walked along with his arms crossed. Apart from mentally undressing the youkai lord before him—an action which, surprisingly, scared him less than knowing he might grow so bored that he would act out and grope the male—Mirouku's gaze was drawn to the fur. 'It's so... fluffy. Aw. What a cute pet name.' "Fluffy," he chuckled softly. His eyes widened as Sesshoumaru stopped and tried to hide behind the curiously blinking girl.
Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly to the left, the wind granting him access to the smells and sounds it carried. 'A village massacre. There's so much bloodshed in this direction, but it's the best path to take. These humans... they're deadweight.'
"How's that black hole of yours?" The youkai glanced over his shoulder to see the man's mouth working to form an answer to his question. "Now," he sighed.
"Good," Mirouku forced out. "Better."
"We'll see. Prepare yourself and keep Rin as your first priority."
The monk glanced up at Rin, who was smiling, then back at Sesshoumaru. The youkai had turned back around after addressing his servant as to their situation and was staring off into the distance. Mirouku raised his arm, studying his cursed hand as he flexed it. 'All right, then. I'm doing this because I have to. I'm doing this for Rin.'
He clenched his hand tightly and grinned. "Alright! Ah-Un? You will protect Rin, right?" To his surprise, the beast nodded. "Good, good." Mirouku leaned up and placed a kiss to Rin's cheek—just in case something were to happen—before running after Sesshoumaru and into battle.
Toukijin easily and quickly sliced through mononoke, the youkai wielding it occasionally feeling a tug from the monk's Air Void. The village that had been under attack was no more, but they needed to clear a path. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened imperceptibly at the smell of human blood. 'Is it... Rin?'
He sheathed the second sword he came to own and raised two fingers, bringing forth the energy needed for his whip, and spun, ridding himself of the weaker creatures that remained. The lord slowed then stopped, focusing his gaze on the debris.
"Mirouku-sama!" a female voice cried, the child having witnessed the human get attacked.
'Not her, but rather... the monk...'
Rin stumbled over wood and bodies after escaping Jaken to get to the human male. "Miro...ku... Sesshoumaru-sama!" Sesshoumaru strolled over and knelt before Mirouku and tilted the bloodied face upwards. "Is he dead?" Rin whimpered.
Observing the way the right arm trembled and the flushed look coming into the cheeks, Sesshoumaru concluded the human had been poisoned. "Iya," he replied in a sigh.
"Thank goodness!"
Mirouku suddenly hissed through clenched teeth, eyes still squeezed shut. "I'm back... guys."
'Hallucinations already. How fragile the human mind is.' Sesshoumaru snorted softly.
§§§
"Welcome back, Mirouku-sama."
"Yo, Bouzo."
The monk grinned at Kagome and the hanyou, then the fox as Shippo landed on his shoulder. Looking around, he found the youkai exterminator with her back to them. "Sango? What's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
"Sango."
Sango turned slowly, removing Hiraikotsu with a sad smile.
"Sango! What are you..."
"Houshi-sama. I was willing to commit to you—to bear your child, as you always requested. But now..."
The arm wrapping around Mirouku's shoulder made him gasp and his original surroundings at the edge of Kaede's village faded into darkness then a blood-soaked battlefield. He looked down and noticed the twin red streaks on the wrist of the appendage holding him still. "No... Sesshou..."
§§§
Sesshoumaru's hold tightened as the human came to with a shuddering breath. Mirouku reflexively reached for his arm, body trembling beyond his control. "Rin..." he whispered.
"She's fine. Nothing happened to her."
"Thank... goodness."
'You're putting me out of my way, human, getting poisoned. No wonder that hanyou can't produce any information for me.' "He has to continuously take care of his humans," the youkai muttered aloud.
Falling silent for a few moments, Mirouku now stirred and his eyes fluttered open. A weak but coy smile played at his lips, the poison slowly affecting his senses. "Sesshoumaru...?" The youkai frowned. The monk raised his left hand, placing it against the lord's cheek. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are? Almost... feminine." Sesshoumaru's eyebrows knitted together as he scowled, tilting his head back from the thumb ghosting over his lips.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken and Rin—she'd run off to prepare Ah-Un in carrying the poisoned and wounded human—stood on the rise before him, waving. "Everything's ready," the frog stated happily, the Staff of Heads clutched to his chest.
The monk moved into a kneeling position, wondering absently if Inuyasha's half-brother would bite off his fingers for touching his face again, but ended his contemplation as a new idea came to mind. His right arm snaked around the youkai lord. Sesshoumaru stiffened at the hand running over his rear, eyes widening.
Mirouku's soft laughter at the incredulous expression from such a stoic male faded out as he slipped unconscious again, the action causing him to miraculously avoid Sesshoumaru's murderous rage. He was hoisted onto the long-haired male's free shoulder and taken back to Ah-Un, everyone set to go back to the castle.
A/N: (grins sheepishly) Done,done, done. Wait... no, the story's not done, just the chapter XÞ No, it's a good way from being finished... I think. There's about... 5 or 6 more chapters on the horizon, maybe more! (skips around) So, until the next chapter... (salutes) Vaya con dios!