Chapter 3- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Toadman and the Baka
Still walking home, the atmosphere was silent and extremely tense. Not good. When even Rin and Jaken aren't ensuing battle, you know that something else is about to go wrong. But, of course, just because they weren't fighting doesn't mean Jaken was one to stop talking. Actually, it was more like muttering and cursing under his breath. What was that? Something about ugly unappreciative humans and his poor defenseless staff? Whatever... Strange creatures and hard to understand these toads are...
But Rin Tyson and Lord Wounded Pride were each caught up in their own thoughts so they needn't bother talking, or listen to Jaken for that matter…not like they would anyway.
RIN's POVThinking
I really need to get home... I don't think my legs can handle more walking. Gosh... He's really angry with me. Well tough! He's the one who keeps threatening my life.
'Next time, I'll kill you' She mentally imitated him. Kill this kill that... what's with the killing obsession? Ok, it's not like he usually says anything particularly nice anyway. But he's been acting especially mean lately. Hmm…I wonder if it's that time of the month for him too. Hehehe.
Shut up...This is no laughing matter. He's probably gonna practice his Tenseiga skills on you when you get home. Yikes! She shuddered remembering a little incident involving her, the little green thing known as Jaken, the Tenseiga and a flock of sheep. The Tenseiga reeked of wool for weeks. That had really gotten Sesshoumaru's goat, excuse the pun. But never mind that now.
Sheesh he's worse then a woman. Even -I'm- over it by now. Hmm maybe I should pick some flowers for him and attempt a truce...on second thought...that might not help much. Wait a sec, I'm the woman here, shouldn't he be giving -me- flowers? And of course -that's- gonna happen soon. Hmph. Really. I wish I could make him fall flat on his face like Kagome could to Inuyasha. Damn she's lucky. I wonder what they're up to now. Probably living happily ever after...Well, they deserve it... It really figures though...She gets the good brother and I get grumpy over here...but - she smiles- I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. Haha... and I would never use the word "SIT" on him. I think I prefer "BAKA." It suits him...hehehe. Just thinking about it makes me crack up. Every time I say 'Baka' he'd gracefully thump before me... Well, everyone can dream. Muhahaha.
Sesshoumaru's POV Thinking
I can feel her smiling. What she has to be happy about I can not understand. And how dare she be happy without my consent? Humans. Miserable, low, disrespectful creatures. When we get home I shall practice my Tenseiga skills on you Rin. Feh! Women! This mortal will be the death of me- or I the death of her. Curse her. Perhaps I deserved that hit. What!? I'm getting soft again. Come to your senses at once. You are Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western lands. There. That's right. Maybe I should get her flowers and try to make peace... Stop that! Come to think of it, maybe I have been -too- soft on her. Maybe I should display more authority and then she would come to her senses. Let's see, foul language always seemed to work for that stupid hanyou. And he did end up with his mortal...hmmm...
"What are you smiling for wench?"
"Eh? Did you just call me wench?" Rin asked in shock as she snapped from her thoughts. He had just called her wench! Oh dog you are going doooown! She thought in rage. Then in the most piercing voice that the lands had heard (since Kagome, that is) she screamed: "BAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Sesshoumaru was so taken aback by this (not to mention the impossibly high note she had hit that was hammering into his skull as we speak) that he stumbled backwards a step and fell flat on his bottom.
Note to self: dispose of the foul language...and the hanyou if you ever see him again.
Rin shut up at the sight. "Eheheh" she smiled weakly, "I guess it does work..." He hadn't fallen on his face but having fallen on his butt was good enough for her!
"You stupid brat. I'll be deaf for weeks!" Jaken said as he jumped up and bonked his staff on her head. Rin could do nothing but smile sheepishly at Sesshoumaru who now stood up and dusted himself off. He gave her the "now you shall die" stare that he pulls off so brilliantly but she seemed to be paying more attention to Jaken than him.
"Cool it Yoda! (A/N: sorry, couldn't resist:) Hey look, we're home- Thank goodness! A few more minutes and I would have needed a boat to carry me..." she muttered and scurried right past him.
Indeed, with all the heavy thinking going on, neither Sesshoumaru nor Rin had realized that they had made it home and it now stood before them tall and proud. But the girl was already up in her room, locked away from the probably-fatal grasp of one steaming youkai lord. Unfortunately, her room was a suite and let's all take a wild guess as to who the adjoining room belongs to. That's correct my genius audience! Apparently his Highness had thought it necessary for her to be close to him when she was young so that he could be nearby if she ever got scared and needed him. (This is the part where you go: aaaaaaw). How thoughtful...It also came in handy when he had a bone to pick with her...which seemed to be happening a lot lately.
Oh crap. What am I gonna do now? She thought in despair. I probably have about thirty more seconds to live before he storms in here. Think think think. She sat down on the ground paying no attention to anything. She looked down to the ground and hugged her knees. Tears were forming in her eyes. I don't know why I'm acting this way. He just makes me so angry! I never used to give it a second thought and things would be alright but it just seems to be getting worse as I get older. He's always trying to push me away...and that makes me angry...which makes me make him angry...which then makes him make me angry again...oh angry my ass, humph.
Crack He was in his room now. She could hear him. She closed her eyes and waited patiently for the door to disintegrate open.
Damn, she thought, this is gonna be the sixth door this year...crud...and I really liked this one too. Goodbye life, hello again Tenseiga...
But no one came and she could no longer hear anything. Getting up, she crept to the door and put her ear against it. Nothing. That was a relief...of sorts. But in a sense it was also a disappointment. He really didn't give a damn anymore, did he... She sat down in front of the connecting door with her back against it, silent and lost in her teenage dementia.
Things have changed so much. He never kisses me goodnight anymore...he tries not to look at me but I catch him staring every now and then. And he's always getting mad at me- what a Jaken thing to do! Sheesh! You'd think he's looking for a reason to be angry with me- which wouldn't be all too surprising. At least nothing's happened to my nice door.
It was then that the little voice came back...
So why don't you just leave him?
Oooh not again... Listen you, me- whoever, my door and I would really like to be alone right now.
Rin.
What?
Forget the damn door.
And don't take your mood swings out on me just because its still -that- week!
Eh? Why the hell does everyone keep throwing that in my face! You're all conspiring to make me go insane aren't you? You and Jaken! Oooh just you wait until I find you toadman!
Woooah Inuyasha, osuwari will ya!
Fck off!
Listen, just hear me out for a few minutes and then I'll leave you to your misery, deal? (mutter you loudmouthed……)
mutter stupid freakin……….
I'm taking that as a yes.
Why not...if it'll make you leave any quicker.
Ehem... Anyway, I'll get down to the point. I'm here to tell you exactly why you won't leave Sesshoumaru, just to make sure that you -don't- do anything so stupid, which I wouldn't put past you.
Oh. Hey! Whaddaya mean w-
Rin, be sensible for just a moment if you can. He has looked after you all this time, never asking anything of you, he has made you neither slave nor servant yet he keeps you at his side. Just why do you think that is?
I...don't know... Desperation? Mid-life crisis? Fear of solitude?
You're gettin' warmer!
Huh?
Rin...he's alone. Not to mention lonely and homicidal.
B-but... I don't want to be his entertainment! I'm not some dumb little animal that can amuse him! What do you think Jaken's here for?
Then what is it you want from him Rin?
I want him to lo- heeey...wait a minute. Are you trying to trick me or something?
Damn, I almost had you, too. Rin...I have my answer and so do you. But the question now remains, what are you going to do about it? I'll leave you now, as promised.
Hey! Hellooo..hey wait! Oh figures she'd leave now that I wanna talk to her.
But little did Rin know that on the other side of the door stood a rather upset lord. He could hear her breathing barely a foot away from him. He couldn't lift his head up.
Things have changed. Rin and I were not this distant once. She no longer kisses me goodnight and it seems as though she is afraid of me. Not a physical fear...more of an emotional fear. She fears arguing with me and angering me... I can hardly stand to look at her anymore. And I know the reason... She is my weakness. The only weakness I will ever and always have. No one can know. How is it that I was destined to have a fate similar to Inuyasha's and Father's? To love a mortal...it is a weakness that I shall conquer...for my sake and for her's.
Just then he heard someone knock on her door. A minute later the sounds that his ears picked up served as a sort of relief. He inched in closer to the door to listen.
"It's time for dinner wench! Are you coming or not?"
"That's Lady wench to you frog face..." she muttered trying to control her temper.
"Humph! If I'd never seen a lady before in my life I might have actually believed that one."
"You're askin for it Jerk-en!"
"Bring it on human!"
But the look in Rin's eyes were enough to send Jaken on his way as she made a dive for him. He barely escaped.
"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Rin got off the floor from her rather graceless plunge into the wooden depths and felt around for bumps and bruises muttering something about a "dumb grasshopper..."
Sesshoumaru smiled to himself. Now this was a taste of the normal life that made him happy in an odd and somewhat sadistic way. He missed her careless human antics, that is, around him. Of course she had never stopped being carefree but he knew that she had become more uptight whenever he was around. He missed her being that carefree with him. He missed her waking up in the middle of the night complaining about Jaken's face giving her nightmares and cuddling up next to him without giving it another thought. He missed her... the way she was... before he had unconsciously begun to break her spirit. He missed his Rin and a feeling inside him now grew. He wanted her back the way she was...
Perhaps, he thought, I shall trust in fate this once Rin...
How fickle is man.
Rin had started to walk downstairs when she heard someone walk up next to her. She stopped and turned her head to look at him then looked down at the ground.
I suppose I'd better take the initiative before I start growing old waiting for him, she thought.
She stretched up to him and placed a small, quick kiss on his cheek.
"I'm sorry for calling you baka..." she mumbled.
"Are you apologizing for the one you muttered or the one that nearly brought the mountains down on us?" he asked, still a little flustered from the kiss. If she didn't know any better, he looked somewhat flushed. Demons! she thought, weirdos, all of them.
"Eheh...both...I guess." She said looking a little pale. He had heard that, huh...Crud...
"Yes...well...for calling you wench...I...yes...well...ah..." he fumbled looking this way and that as Rin stared at him in glorious confuzzlement. What the hell? Is he trying to apologize or something? Ok...NOW I'm scared...
"You what?" she asked softly, trying to help him with whatever it was he was trying to say.
"Give me a moment I have never done this before."
"Sheesh... down boy..." she muttered and waited patiently.
Letting a sigh out in that moment of defeat he suddenly took hold of her hands and held them within his.
"Rin...although this is incredibly harder than I first imagined it to be... I…I- well..I...apologize." That last word was barely audible. He had heard it but apparently she had not.
"You what? I'm sorry, you're speaking so quietly..."
"I said I apologize."
Rin gasped in horror. She looked so upset that he thought she was about to cry. She quickly pulled one hand away from his and placed it on his crescent-imprinted forehead.
"What's wrong Sesshoumaru-sama? Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?! Here, go lie down and I'll find something for you to eat."
She gave him one hell of a shove towards his room, now seriously concerned for his health.
"But I-"
"No buts now dammit go to your room and I'll be right back!" She commanded pointing a finger at him...no, not that one... She made a mad dash downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed anything she could get a hold of.
"What are you doing you fool? And where is master Sesshoumaru?"
"Shut up Jaken, he's sick and I need to go and look after him before he gets worse!" She said starting to get teary-eyed.
"He's not sick brat, he was fine just a few hours ago!"
"Oh no? Well how do you explain this: he apologized to me for calling me wench!"
Jaken stood frozen like a statue. This couldn't be happening.
"YOU STUPID GOOD-FOR-NOTHING! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MASTER! HE'S NOT SICK, HE'S DYING!! OUT OF MY WAY!"
"Ooooh no you don't!" She said angrily grabbing him by his staff and pulling him up into the air. "He needs his rest and -I'm- going to take care of him. Now go buzz somewhere else... Follow me up Jaken and I swear that staff's gonna find it's way up your-"
"RIIIIIIIIN!" came a bellowing from upstairs.
"Coming!!" She said giving the extremely angry mini-youkai one final glance. "Well, let's just say that I'll get creative using that staff on you. You figure it out." Now that the threats were where they belonged, she ran back upstairs.
2 minutes ago
Sesshoumaru sat on his bed. What had just happened?
Well, he finally thought, Maybe I should just play along... this could get very...interesting. Perhaps I might even regain my human. Hmmm... What to do? Well...maybe just this once...
"RIIIIIIIIN!" He bellowed as he made himself more comfortable on his bed.
"Coming!!"
"Yes...very interesting indeed." He said to himself and he smiled, waiting, thinking of the peck on the cheek as his heartbeat got a little faster.