Kijustsu no Senyo
Author's Note- Two people reviewed this time! A great big thanks to Dragon Man 180 and LiL:.CaT:.AnImE! Come on people! This used to be a popular story!
The next day travel was resumed as usual. Rin chattered on Ah-Un with Jaken walking next to her. Lausanne rode her horse next to them. Sesshoumaru took his usual spot in the front of the group.
"When are you going to make Tachi and Rin clothes from the cloth you bought?" Rin questioned.
"Soon." Lausanne replied. She looked down at the pup who she held in her arms. Tachi gurgled in responce, reaching his arms up to her. Smiling, she let him grip on of her fingers. He kicked a little bit, undoing his blanket. Patiently, Lausanne retied it. "Infact, I will start on Tachi's tonight." she finished.
"Then you'll make Rin's new kimono?"
"Of course. Perhaps you can help me with it."
Rin frowned. "Rin can't sew." She informed Lausanne.
"Well then it is a perfect oppertunity to learn!" Lausanne announced happily, "I will teach you!"
"Will you really?"
"Yes! It will be so much fun!"
Rin gave the elf a giant grin. "Thank you so much Lausanne-san!" she said happily.
"You are welcome." Lausanne replied, smiling back.
True to her word, Lausanne began Tachi's clothing as soon as they stopped for the night and
made a campfire to roast a few mushrooms Rin had found. Watching Tachi
who was toddling around in front of her, she began to cut out a basic
pattern for a small pair of pants.
"Will you tell me a story?" Rin asked.
"What do you want to hear about?" Lausanne asked, eyeing the pieces of fabric she had cut out.
"What were your parents like?"
Lausanne swallowed. The question was something she had hoped Rin
wouldn't bring up for at least a few more days. It was too soon after
the aniversary of their deaths. But she couldn't tell the child that
she didn't want to talk about it either.
"They were... very nice
people." she began, "My mother was a very powerful elf, a decendant of
elf royalty in fact. She was beautiful. Her hair was bright red and her
eyes were the same color as mine. My mother was tall for an elf, a bit
taller than me. She taught me some of the magic that I know... She
would have taught me all of it, but she died before she could do so.
She was good to me. Always understanding and patient. My father was
very handsome. His hair was black. It was pretty long actually. He wore
it in a pony tail. He had blue eyes. My father taught me how to hunt.
He made my bow too."
"Your parents are dead?" Rin prompted.
Lausanne nodded.
"Don't worry." the little girl said smiling gently, "Rin's parents are
dead too. Rin's brother and them were killed by bandits. How did your
parents die?"
"They were killed by a horde of demons." Lausanne said softly, "I know
it has been a long time since they died, but it is still very sad for
me." A single tear dripped down onto the cloth on her lap. Wiping her
eyes, Lausanne continued her sewing.
An hour later Lausanne held up a small completed pair of small blue
pants. Looking to her side she smiled. Tachi was curled up in a little
ball,
lying on some of her dress's fabric. She didn't want to wake him up,
but she had no choice. "Come on sweet." Lausanne said quietly, putting
the pants on her lap and picking the pup up. "Time to try on your new
pants!" Tachi gurgled and grinned in responce.
Lausanne slipped the pants onto him and sighed happily. "A perfect fit." she declared.
"Are you going to make Rin's new kimono now?" Rin asked walking over to the elf.
She looked up at the little girl and shook her head. "Not tonight." she
replied, "First I have to make a shirt for Tachi to wear with his new
pants. Tomorrow I will make your kimono and I will show you how to make
it so you can make your own next time. But should you be in bed now? It
is awfully late."
Rin sighed. "Rin should be in bed." she admitted, "But does Rin have to?"
"Yes, Rin has to." Lausanne told her, "Good night Rin."
"Good night Lausanne-san."
Lausanne watched as Rin walked over to a patch of soft grass underneith
a nearby tree and lay down. She placed Tachi back where he had been and
placed his blanket over time. "You have got to go to bed too." she said
to him.
With both children in bed, Lausanne pulled some more fabric out of her
bag. This wasn't cloth she had bought yesterday. This was special. The
most expensive demonic cloth in existance. Lausanne had noted that the
fabric seller hadn't had it in stock. White spider silk cloth. She ran
her hand over the fabric smiling. It was twice as soft as any type of
regular silk and twice as durable at the same time. It didn't matter
what Tachi got into. This fabric, along with the blue fabric his pants
were made out of, would never rip.
"You treat them as your children." Sesshoumaru commented.
Lausanne looked up. Sesshoumaru was sitting underneath a tree, half in
the shadows. "I suppose I do." the elf replied, "But by taking Tachi
in, I made him my child."
"But you did not take Rin in. You owe her nothing."
She turned back to her sewing. "I think I do." she said, "Rin said
herself that her parents are dead. I think that all children deserve a
mother."
"Are you saying that you are Rin's mother?"
"I am not Rin's mother. You adopted her, not me. But I can still be a motherly figure for her."
"This is true." Sesshoumaru agreed, nodding, "But you do not have to teach her how to sew."
"Yes I do. Such skills are needed by all women."
"She will live her life with me. I will provide her with the clothes she needs."
Lausanne looked up from the fabric she had begun to cut and to
Sesshoumaru. "Do you not see it?" she asked, "Rin is a very strong
girl. Now, and I bet even when you first found her, she did not need
you except for companionship and a bit of protection time to time. In a
few years she might find a human boy and want to stop traveling with
you to stay with him. If she does not know how to sew, she would be in
big trouble then."
"She will not leave me."
"How do you know? Rin is human. You are a demon. You do not know how humans, especially human girls, think."
Sesshoumaru was beginning to get upset now. "And you do!" he demanded.
Lausanne nodded. "Yes, in fact I do. Unlike demons, elves have the same
sentiment and feelings as humans do. Therefore I know better than you
how a human girl can react to a human boy she likes. One day Rin will
leave you. Even if you do not like the idea, it is quite true."
The taiyoukai stood up, outraged. "You dare talk to me like that!" he exclaimed.
"Yes." she replied, "And I am not finished. I bet you think that no one
in your group should not be able to defend themselves. You know how to
fight with a sword. As do I. Jaken has his staff. That leaves Rin. You
will teach her how to use a sword, will you not?"
Sesshoumaru growled. "Up." he ordered.
"Why?"
"I do not believe you when you say you can use a sword." he answered,
"I think the one at your hip is only there for decoration. We will
spar. Now."
Lausanne looked back down at her sewing. "I do not spar." she said, "Fighting for no reason is against my principals."
"You will spar with me." Sesshoumaru repeated slowly and deadly.
"I cannot." the elf answered, "There would be no one to watch the children. I will not leave Tachi alone."
The tai youkai picked up a rock and threw it at Jaken who was
peacefully sleeping by the fire. At impact, the imp jumped up, wide
awake.
"Lausanne and I are leaving." Sesshoumaru told him, "You will watch Rin
and Tachisaru and make sure nothing happens to them. Do I make myself
clear?"
Jaken nodded. "Very Milord!" he replied.
Sesshoumaru smirked and turned back to Lausanne. "Now they will not be
alone." he told her, "You are out of excuses elf, come with me."
Lausanne sighed. "You win Sesshoumaru." she answered, "I will spar with
you." She put her sewing back in her bag and carefully placed Tachi
next to Rin. From there Lausanne walked over to Sesshoumaru. Nodding,
he walked into the woods, already knowing where the perfect sparing
area was.
A few minutes later they arrived. "Draw your sword." Sesshoumaru
instructed, drawing Tokijin. Lausanne drew hers. "We begin now."
"Not quite." she said quickly, "There must be basic rules.
"Fine. You do not use your magic."
"Only if you do not use the magic in your sword." Lausanne countered, "Do not tell me your sword is not magical. It is."
"I will not use Tokijin's powers." Sesshoumaru agreed, "Now we begin."
That
was the last word exchanged by the two. The spar went on for hours,
neither opponent touching the other. Sesshoumaru was surprised by
Lausanne's strength and swordsmanship. Lausanne wasn't surprised by his.As
the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, Lausanne slowed to
a hault, just barely blocking Sesshoumaru's attack. "Sesshoumaru!" she
gasped, "Let us stop! We have been at this for hours!"
"Not until one of us wins." he replied simply.
Frowning, Lausanne pushed her sword away, sending Sesshoumaru flying
gracefully back. She took the time to close her eyes for a minute.
Maybe it would be best to let him win. No! This sparing match would go
till one of them won or they both agreed to stop. It would be fair.
"She said stop you idiot!"
Lausanne's eyes snapped open. There, standing in front of her was Raoul, sword drawn, ready to attack Sesshoumaru.
"So I did not kill you." Sesshoumaru said, looking over the fox demon.
"You could never kill me!" he yelled, "I don't know why you're attacking Lausanne, but you're going to stop now!"
Sesshoumaru growled a warning, but Raoul didn't take it. He lunged at
the taiyoukai. There was a clang of metal against metal and the two
demon's swords were locked.
"Please stop!" Lausanne exclaimed, "Do not fight!"
"Stay out of this Lausanne." Raoul said through clenched teeth, "You don't have to worry. I'll protect you from this bastard."
Just as he finished saying this, Raoul was thrown back. The fox demon
slid across the ground and hit his head on a tree painfully.
Sesshoumaru walked towards him, a blue aura appearing around Tokijin.
"You have tested my patients past forgiveness." he told Raoul. "For
that I will kill you."
Sesshoumaru stopped a foot away from the fox. He raised Tokijin for the
final strike. He began to bring it down, speed increasing as the blade
came closer to it's target.
"NO!"
The taiyoukai's eyes widened. Lausanne stood right between him and his
prey. One thought ran through his head. He must stop the Tokijin's
path. Sesshoumaru shut his eyes, concentrating on only stopping Tokijin.
He wasn't the only one with their eyes shut. Lausanne had closed hers
too. She knew she was in the path of Tokijin. She knew the sword was
leathal, but her friend was in danger. Cold metalic pain cut into her
shoulder. Everything went violent blue behind Lausanne's eyelids and
then slowly turned to black as she collapsed.
Kagome: No! Not a cliff hanger!
Clear Waters: Yep. A cliffy! And a great big one at that!
Inuyasha: I hate you.
Clear Waters: That's nice. Read and Review everyone! And I mean REVIEW!
