Disclaimer:Inuyasha characters story © 1996-2004 Rumiko Takahashi.
Title: Fragile Heart
Chapter 11: Before the Arrival
Sesshoumaru looked up to see Rin staring at him with wide, frightened eyes. His eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. He had noticed a sudden change in Rin's attitude towards him ever since this morning in his office. But for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out what had caused it.
"Hey, Rin!" Miroku said, waving his hand in front of her face. "You alright?"
Rin blinked. "Huh?"
"You just zoned off."
Rin put on her best smile for Miroku, if only to reassure him that she was fine… which she was not. "Sorry about that. Ano… did you get your ticket yet?" asked Rin, trying to direct his attention elsewhere, just not on her.
"Didn't Sesshoumaru-sama tell you? We're going to take his private plane! We just need to get the okay, and then we can leave." A thought came to him, and suddenly a smirk spread over Miroku's face, as he encased Rin's hand between both of his. "Goddess, a lowly mortal, such as I, is not is not worthy enough even just to be seen in your presence. However… Would you do me the honor of… bearing my children?"
The expressions of the people in the small group varied. Exasperation came from Shippo. Asakura got a headache and was furiously rubbing her temples in a counter-clockwise motion. Sesshoumaru… well, Sesshoumaru had a "Sesshoumaru" expression on. Finally, Rin was, to put it lightly, in a blinding rage… and that's to put it lightly.
Miroku, surprisingly, had long ago released his hold on her hand and had clasped them over his mouth; only to wave it in front of his face moments later in a defensive gesture. "No, wait! Th – Th – That's not what I meant! What I meant to say was – "
Would you do me the honor of sitting next to me? I don't even know where "bearing my children" came from! Honest!
Sadly for Miroku, he was punched across the airport before he could even finish his sentence. And to make the situation even more pitiful, Rin was, to put it lightly, seeing red or, to put it honestly, seeing blood red.
"Shippo, go see if Miroku is dead yet," Sesshoumaru said, sounding bored with the whole situation.
Shippo went with a sigh. "We can only hope," he muttered as he went on his way.
"Asakura, find out when we can take off."
Unlike Shippo, Asakura eyed Sesshoumaru suspiciously. If she left, then Sesshoumaru and Rin would be alone… together.
"I won't ask you twice."
Sesshoumaru's cold voice broke through her thoughts, but still she went reluctantly. What are you up to, Sesshoumaru? You would think that after all these centuries you would learn: We were meant to be!
After Asakura left, Rin saw that Sesshoumaru had brought his luggage over and sat beside her. She felt nervous around him all of a sudden, and he wasn't even staring at her! He's sitting too close, and I can't even think of anything intelligent to say! I should probably tell him that I want to take our relationship a bit slower… How would he react? Would he think that I'm being a nuisance? Would he just… reject me?
"You should be careful." Surprised, Rin turned to face Sesshoumaru. "It is possible that Brian sent you those roses… He might still want to hurt you."
Rin hadn't thought about the roses at all after she left Sesshoumaru's office, she was more concerned with their relationship… if they even have one. Just ask him. What do I have to lose? It's only my heart.
With that, Rin looked down at her lap and nodded, wordlessly. She was afraid, so very afraid… of him… of his answer. Just picturing Sesshoumaru and Asakura together only moments ago was enough to make her heart ache with a dull, but evident pain.
She felt it, a pressure on her chin, lifting her face to only to have her stare into deep, enigmatic eyes. However, these said eyes were not so enigmatic now. There was a message there that Rin could read as vividly as the clear, blue sky. A promise.
"Rin, I will always protect you."
With his right thumb, Sesshoumaru wiped a tear, that unconsciously fell, from her face. More tears slipped from her lashes, accompanied by a small sob. Before Sesshoumaru had a chance to quickly analyze the situation, Rin had already leapt into his arms.
She was tired… physically and mentally. Physically, Rin only had a few hours of sleep, and then she had to make that mad dash back to the shrine to pack her things. If it was only the physical labor, it wouldn't have affected her so… but combined with the mental labor… Two of the most important people in her life, Inuyasha and Kagome, have rejected the man that she has come to admire, come to feel safe around… and, most importantly, come to love. She admired him for his intelligence and strength, as shown by his accomplishments as the sole founder of the Inu of the West Corps. She felt safe around him to the point where place and time didn't matter to her anymore. She… loved him, because… just because… he is who he is… Sesshoumaru.
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
Rin couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. Who would have known that she would be in the same situation as presented in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? Inuyasha and Kagome hate Sesshoumaru, but would we become star-crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet? Surely they don't hate Sesshoumaru enough to kill him… or vice-versa… right?
Rin quieted somewhat after a while. He even heard her laugh, although it sounded different than the cheerful laughter he used to hearing. Human emotions are so troublesome and, not to mention, confusing. Even after all these years, living with them, eating their food, imitating their customs, Sesshoumaru still didn't understand humans. If it wasn't for Rin, he wouldn't have put up their incompetence all these years. If it wasn't for Rin, he wouldn't even have to try to understand them. If it wasn't for Rin…
…he wouldn't be here right now…
"Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked in his softest, least threatening tone, lifting her chin up once again. Looking into her puffy-red eyes, he asked, "Are you alright now?"
…and he wouldn't act so damn out of character!
But it was all worth it… for the smile he received.
"I'm alright now." Still smiling, Rin wiped the tears from her face with her hands and looked back up at him. "I was just tired."
I should ask him now.
"Sesshoumaru?" Rin took a deep breath but decided against blurting it all out in one sentence. "Do we… I mean… Can we… Do you understand what I'm saying?" Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow. "I mean… What's that sound?"
Sesshoumaru looked over Rin's head to see a little boy, probably no more than six, sitting on the far side of the aisle. Even with his hands rubbing his eyes, he could still smell the saltiness of unshed tears. He also seemed to be sobbing.
Rin left the comfort of his arms to walk over to the boy and stand right in front of him. She kneeled down so she could meet the boy at his eyelevel. Tilting her head to see more of his face, she asked with a concerned voice, "Are you alright?"
The boy looked up to stare at the woman in front of him with eyes much like his own, big, brown, and doe-like. "I went to look at the toys." sniff "And then I lost sight of my parents in the crowd." sniff sob "And… and… now I can't find them! I'm scared!" A full blown wail was heard after the boy reached the end of his story, as Rin tried her best to comfort him.
"Shhh..." Rin wrapped him in her arms, hugging him as close as possible, while rubbing his back. "Everything's going to be alright. We'll just ask one of those nice policemen to help us find your parents. Everything's going to be fine."
When the boy had quieted somewhat, Rin looked at Sesshoumaru. No words were passed between them, but Sesshoumaru understood what Rin wanted to ask him to do. He got up from his seat and left. Rin softly whispered comforting words to the boy while Sesshoumaru was away, and he returned moments later with a man dressed in a uniform.
"Hey, how are you doing there?" The policeman got down on his knees just as Rin had done.
The boy looked up at the policeman with wet eyes. Sniff "Fine."
"Good. Now, I'm just going to ask you a few, simple questions. Can you do that for me?" The boy nodded, as the officer proceeded with the questions. He asked what his parents' names were, what they looked like, how they were dressed, etc.
"That should do for now. Excuse me miss, but could you possibly look after him for awhile until we find his parents? Sadly, we don't have enough people available on staff."
"Sure. No problem."
"Actually, there is a problem." Asakura came back just in time to hear the whole conversation.
"What problem?" Shippo asked, an arm circling a dazed Miroku by the waist, while Miroku's arm was slung over his shoulders.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, the plane is ready to leave, and we do have a schedule to keep."
"Um… Sesshoumaru-sama, I can catch the next plane and meet up with you guys later. I can't just leave him here unattended."
"That is out of the question. Sesshoumaru-sama, I am sure you will do what's best for the company. We will be wasting valuable time if we wait, for who knows how long!"
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked tentatively.
Rin still couldn't believe that she was riding on a private jet plane.
And with Sesshoumaru right beside her too!
She could still picture that look on Asakura's face when Sesshoumaru said that he would stay with her and the child. That look on her face was just priceless! The pilot had picked them up after he had dropped the others off at Hong Kong, and now here they were on this huge airplane, sitting right next to each other… completely alone.
Sesshoumaru seemed to be reading some kind of document, so she didn't want to disturb him, but she hasn't properly thanked him yet. "Sesshoumaru-sama, ano… I just wanted to thank you for helping that boy out earlier." Sesshoumaru put the paper down and stared at her. "Rin, I don't want you to be so formal with me when we are alone together like this. There is also no need to thank me, even though the situation was rather… annoying."
There is definitely something wrong with the boy, Sesshoumaru reasoned. That's why his parents left him here to rot.
Ever since Rin had gone off to buy the child ice-cream, he had been staring at him without even blinking once. It would have made even him proud, were it not for the fact that he was the object of his speculations.
"Can I play with your laptop?"
"No."
"Can I play with your hair?"
"No."
"Are you an angel?"
"No."
Rin came back carefully holding onto three ice-cream cones. Although Sessshoumaru didn't really ask for one, she thought he might be a little hungry at least.
When she returned, Rin couldn't believe what she was seeing. The site that greeted her arrival was very… humorous… at least for her. She doubted Sesshoumaru was having much fun though.
"Are you really, really, really old?"
Rin giggled.
Sesshoumaru finally turned his head to the boy with a look which was only especially reserved for his most malicious enemies. "…No."
"Are you a girl?"
Rin choked…
…and Sesshoumaru raised a twitching eyebrow.
Rin decided to intervene before something unpleasant happened to the child.
"Hello, guys," stressing the "guys" part, Rin pointedly looked at the boy. Then, rather uncertainly she looked at Sesshoumaru. "Ano… having fun?"
"Yeah!" the boy cried cheerily.
Sesshoumaru wanted to glare at something… someone… anyone… everyone!
Rin giggled with a hand over her mouth.
"Not funny."
Sesshoumaru became even more annoyed when she didn't even bother to hide her amusement at his expense when she burst out laughing, holding onto her sides. When her laughter subsided, she managed to get out a "gomen" between tears and small chuckles.
For a few minutes there was silence, but Rin was smiling at Sesshoumaru, whom had gone back to reading documents. Boldly, Rin put her hand on his, which was resting on the armrest.
"Sesshoumaru? Can I ask you something?"
Seeing that she received no reaction from him and thinking that she might have offended him, Rin released her hold on his hand. However. before her hand could move an inch away, Sesshoumaru grabbed it.
"Go on."
"Well… I was wondering… If we really do have a relationship, can we possibly take it more slowly?"
"Are those your only conditions for me to date you?" After a moment of thought, Rin nodded. "Then, we can."
Rin softly smiled and then just as softly, whispered an "arigatou."
"You should get some sleep."
Rin nodded as she laid her head on his shoulder and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Sesshoumaru spent the rest of the trip looking at, not his documents, but at Rin.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Hey everyone! This is a revised edition to Chapter 11. I noticed a couple of mistakes in the unedited version. But don't worry, in this new edition, I didn't change much.
