Oh my goodness!!! I can't BELIEVE how long it took me to update. I am so sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry, and sorry again. Last week was a total disaster. (1) I had to help my sister house-sit, (2) I was working at BOTH of my jobs. Put them together and they equal ZERO free time. Add to that was the fact that when I DID get to come home I had to clean here as well. All told I probably had a very fragmented eight hours of free time, excluding the times I actually got to sleep, and not a single one of them was spent at home with my computer.
With that in mind, I'll make my author's notes short and my "thank you" s as well, since I know you're all ready to read. The only thing I will say is that last chapter achieved its desired affect, which was an emotional response from you guys. I was very surprised at how many chords were struck with people about Sesshoumaru's past. Hope I didn't disturb anyone. I was inspired to write this story in part by my own personal experiences with the pain of a suicide attempt (and no, it wasn't me but someone I care for deeply) that's all I'm going to say about it.
Alright then, many thanks to:
Tigeris, Moonglow gal, jade eye neko, hm, Rayearthann, Insane Dragoness, RosieB, Nikkler, Princess of
Stupidity Land, New Fan, Pori-chan, New Fan (#2), CometsChaos, Peanut Gallery-Alaska's Own, and
Shukuchi
Since I don't have time to respond, Special thanks to:
chandra16, Abbil, Ashes of the Star Phoenix, drake220, Nicole, Sayori-chan, Shiranai Yukino, Obsessive-
Starchaser, KitKat07, Aya792, Rin Amaru, LuneTigre, friendlyreader, Naoko2, Rikou Suiyou, evil squeede,
New Fan (), Haruya, Maggy d, Tsume Yamagata, unknown, and last but definitely NOT least is aishiteru-inu
I really hope I didn't forget anyone, if so please feel free to beat me over the head with your word processor. I'm still long winded anyways. :sigh: Oh, and this chapter is the "beginning of the battle" if you know what I mean.
Disclaimer: How many times must I say that I do not own? I am not wealthy unless you call living in your own world (all of which is in your head) rich.
Thread Bound
Chapter Ten
The Passage of Time
Now as the former Mrs. Widow was walking 'pon her web, she felt a twitch in her stomach and stopped. For you see, day after day as she digested poor Mr. Widow she felt as if something were not quite right.
Easy, it had been much too easy, and it was taking far too long. Had her husband truly been so naïve? Or had he been plotting something else? She thought about this time and again as her swollen stomach roiled and bubbled in pain.
Indeed, something was not right. In fact something was terribly wrong but she could not for the life of her place her hand on it.
"Perhaps I should see a doctor," said she to herself before going to visit her friend and fellow predator, Mr. Mantis. Something needed to be done very fast.
Time really does fly, Rin mused to herself as she absentmindedly sketched along the margins of her Art History textbook.
Flashback
Another week passed and Rin now had a schedule to keep to. Mornings were devoted solely to Sesshoumaru and cleaning his house while the afternoons and evenings were given to school. Mr. Kagewaki was overjoyed in his own money, grubbing away when she and Kagome approached him about her becoming Sesshoumaru's new cleaning woman.
He turned reddish eyes to her and smiled in what she supposed passed as his beneficent grin, though it merely came off as a sarcastic smirk.
"I'm so touched that you would changes places so suddenly, what with Kagome's situation with her child and husband…how sweet."
Rin resisted the urge to slap him for reminding her of Kagura with his patronizing mannerisms and expression and instead smiled beautifully at him, giving profuse thanks for his "kindness."
"You do realize that you are still an unpaid volunteer," he queried, patting her on the shoulder.
She twitched in annoyance before replying with just the right amount of regret, "Yes, I do Mr. Kagewaki."
"Good girl."
She childishly stuck her tongue out at him as soon as his back was turned and when the door closed behind him, Kagome swatted her shoulder, "Now what would you do if he turned around, Rin?"
"I'd say, 'Sorry, Mr. Kagewaki, I don't know what came over me. Feel free to cut my salary in half as an apology for my impudence…Oh, wait a minute, I don't get paid. Silly me.'"
"Well, why don't you ask him to give you a job, then? You're a hard worker and he knows it."
"It's alright Kagome, I can quit anytime I want because frankly I couldn't stand it if he really was the boss of me. Besides, working here as a volunteer counts as community hours, which I need for my scholarship." She refrained from saying that she also cherished every bit of time she got to spend with Sesshoumaru. Kagome wouldn't understand why she liked him so much and she wasn't exactly clear on the reasons herself, so it was best left unsaid. Besides, she had found out that he was legendary for never being satisfied, which was why his sister-in-law was originally assigned to be his housekeeper.
End Flashback
Really makes me wonder why he puts up with me, she thought as she began to sketch the beginnings of a proud profile. A straight nose, thin lips curved in a sardonic grin, soft bangs framing his aristocratic features, perfectly aligned ears that were just the tiniest bit pointed at the top, and narrow eyes framed by dark lashes to hide golden eyes that one couldn't keep a secret from.
She looked at the sketch and grimaced. It had happened again. She intended to draw something else completely and instead there was Sesshoumaru, looking right back at her in one of those sideways glances he sometimes gave her. What's wrong with me? This is seriously going to kill my grades if I can't stop. The more time she spent with him, the more often he was in the front of her brain. It seemed like every portrait she drew took on parts of his characteristics. Every painting was made with colors that she thought would suit him. Even her dreams included him, sometimes now and sometimes in a completely different setting, as if they had both traveled back in time, a period where she was sometimes older or younger and his already borderline fey features were even more pronounced.
Maybe I should just ask him if I can paint his portrait. If I get enough of him, maybe I'll get sick of this weird obsession and quit. But I don't want to leave him. Why? Perhaps it was because she got the feeling sometimes that he would be long gone if she wasn't there to watch over him, to smile and tell him by her actions that everything was going to be alright, that he wasn't alone because he had her…That she would be his friend no matter what happened. She knew loneliness when she saw it because she had experienced a great deal of it herself.
A sigh whispered through her lips and she put her head down, ignoring the voice of her art teacher as he droned on and on about Picasso and the way he "revolutionized" art. She was suddenly very tired and yet, even as she drifted off, she could only think of her silly crush that would never be realized.
As Lord Kazuma made his way down the path to his home he tensed, feeling as if something was not right. How long had he left the girl alone? He knew of neither her name nor where she came from, yet he had an attachment to the young woman. A bond that had formed the moment he saw her, bruised and blooded, sprawled in the middle of the road as if waiting for an unsuspecting rider to ride down the road and trample her.
He remembered the feel of her silken hair as he slid a gentle arm beneath her back and lifted her, thinking it a pity that someone so beautiful should die because of the hatred of others. Yes, he knew the moment he saw her that she would never belong with anyone but himself…
Sesshoumaru paused for a moment, slender fingers poised over the keys of his computer. There were times when he likened himself to a pianist, composing silent songs where his letters were notes that came together in an exquisite poetry of imagination. His keyboard was the key to his emotional freedom, a path to a place where he could have the happiness that often eluded him, fleeing to others such as his brother.
He pushed his swivel chair away from the desk slightly, looking over what he'd written so far for the book that wasn't supposed to be completed. After all, he had tried to kill himself before its conclusion. It was special in that it was intended to be his swan song, the only work of his that would show people the real him in his entirety, not in bits and pieces like his other work.
Deep down he also knew that it had changed somewhat from its original purpose, he had woven the major people in his life into the story. And he knew exactly who the girl Kazuma rescued was supposed to represent. His fingers twitched, remembering the no longer subtle touches that he gave her. Every morning she was there, working diligently and patiently, he knew that he would have a bad day if he couldn't see her smile, touch the silk of her hair or the perfection of her skin, or inhale the sunshine in her natural fragrance.
Before her there had been a gaping hole and pain, so much pain that he suffered with it everyday until, weary at last, he tried to end it. Only she was allowed to touch him. Only she was allowed to talk back the way she did. Only she was allowed to see him smile, to see the emotions that the entire world thought he had never possessed. He saved his work and shut the computer off.
"I just one thing is in my way," he whispered into the still air of his study.
That one thing had been with him with years, always watching him and picking at him, a constant pain that would not leave unless she signed the papers to his freedom or died, hopefully a long, miserable death.
His thoughts turned dark, he had neither seen nor heard from his wife since her run-in with Rin, and that was a great source of disturbance to him. She was a proud woman, and his newest person had insulted her as well as given her a black eye. Kagura had a rather vindictive personality and he hoped against all hopes that she wouldn't use her vast power and influence to make sure an "accident" happened to his housekeeper. He knew he wouldn't be able to survive such a shock.
Even more frightening would he be if she found out just how much he cared for the girl. His "Little Miss Hattori", as he was so fond of calling her, would be made to suffer the way he did and he couldn't control the shudder that ran through his body.
Glancing over at the clock, he read 4 p.m. Still at school then. Picking up the phone on his desk, he dialed the number to her house which he'd insisted was needed.
He waited tensely for the first few rings before a bright male voice picked up and said, "Thank you for calling Kirara's Tails. this is Miroku-Sama the Ladies Man at your service."
A silver brow arched and he wondered if Rin had given him a false number as he listened to the audible sound of flesh hitting flesh before a woman came on the phone and said angrily, "Please excuse my husband, he really can't help himself. This is Sango, how can I help you today."
"I am…an acquaintance of Rin's and I have reason to believe that she is in danger."
"You know Rin? That's very nice; she doesn't get too many phone calls." Her voice immediately brightened. "So what's this about her being in danger? We rent out the room above the store to her, so it affects us as well."
"I was just wondering if you've seen anything or anyone suspicious."
"Suspicious? No, not reall…hold on my husband wants to talk to you."
He waited semi-patiently for the man, Miroku, to come back on. "Before I say anything, I want to know who you are."
The voice was firm without a hint of its previous humor and he replied just as calmly, "I am Sesshoumaru Toyotomi, and I currently employ her as my housekeeper."
The sounds on the other line were muted as if a hand was covering the mouthpiece on the phone, and he waited with swiftly unraveling patience until the man spoke again. "What is your relationship to Rin?"
"I believe I already told you what that was."
"Wrong, that's secular. I meant personal."
"I…am merely her employer. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Only liars hesitate. Sounds like you have a bad case of denial." His voice was joking again.
Gathering the last shards of his tolerance for this man together, he asked again as calmly a he could muster, "Did you or did you not see anything suspicious?"
"Actually, yes I did…" His voiced trailed off.
"And…?" Sesshoumaru asked in his most irritated voice.
"Yes, I saw this man hanging around here. He's a tall, good-looking guy with sunglasses and dressed in a really expensive suit. Guys like that don't usually give my store a second glance but he's been hanging around here since 2 o'clock and I'm about to call the police on him."
He gripped the phone tightly. That would be Hiten, Kagura's lackey and bullyboy.
"Hello…anyone home?" The voice on the other line snapped his attention back to the present.
"Thank you, please tell Rin to give Mr. Toyotomi a call when she gets in."
"Sure thing, Mr. I'm-Rin's-employer-calling-and-checking-up-on-her-even-though-she's-is-NOT-my-girlfriend. Sayonara, Ja mata ne, Toyotomi-san." There was an audible click before he could make a proper retort. He shook his head. Why did Rin have the most annoying people as friends?
Kagura shifted the papers on her desk, a mirthless smile playing on her luscious lips. Here in her hands was everything she could find about a certain Rin Hattori.
You thought you could keep her from me, didn't you, Sesshoumaru? she thought, amused that her cowardly husband had actually believed he had her fooled. She knew something was up when she questioned him about having found a new girlfriend and he "distracted" her the best way he knew. On a hunch she had left her purse behind, making sure she took her cell phone with her as she got into her car and drove around the corner out of sight.
A phone call to his hospital resulted in her talking to a certain Nurse Hinako, who had been responsible for taking care of her husband. She told her that, yes, a very handsome man had just recently been released and also that his supposed girlfriend had indeed paid him a visit. The naïve girl was even kind enough to give her the name of his "girlfriend" and a description, which fit Sesshoumaru's new housekeeper perfectly.
The final piece of the puzzle clicked together when she saw the way he looked at her. The horror on his face when she slapped the girl was more than enough information. Her cold husband, who cared for no one but himself, who never showed his emotions on his face, had been upset that she had harmed his "precious" Rin, and had even gone so far as to display his unease on his visage.
She laughed a bitter laugh; oh, how she would make him suffer. He had survived her infidelity, her blatant disregard for him, her threats to crush his career beneath her pointed heel…, but would he survive the destruction of the only person he cared about? Red acrylic nails tapped lightly on the mahogany desk as she read over Rin's information. I guess a little warning is in order.
She picked up her cell phone and dialed Hiten's number.
"Hello, Miss Kagura," came a smooth, masculine voice.
"Hiten darling, did you find the quaint little store where our dove resides."
"Of course; it's quite small and run by a young couple. It would be unfortunate if something were to happen to it, since I do not think they have any other means of supporting themselves."
"Unfortunate indeed. Even more unfortunate is that they are friends of Ms. Hattori. I want you and Manten to give her a very warm welcome when she returns, love."
He caught on immediately and replied with a small chuckle, "It'll be so warm that it just might be burned into her memory."
"Wonderful, I can always count on you, Hiten."
She hung up the phone and sat back; oh yes, the child would have to be taught not to touch what wasn't hers. And Sesshoumaru would have to learn that she always got her way.
Rin stood in front of Sesshoumaru's house, hoping that he wouldn't mind the sudden intrusion. Normally, she would be home by now, but she had been called out of her drawing class because Miroku had phoned the school. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him personally but he did leave a message for her to go to her employer's "wink wink" house after class. She couldn't believe that the young student who took down the message had even included her friend's suggestive "winks".
Mustering up her courage, she rang the doorbell and waited. Seconds ticked into a minute and she was about to turn and leave when she heard footsteps. The door swung open to reveal a semi wet Sesshoumaru with a thick white towel wrapped around his lean waist, long hair plastered to his chest and back, wearing slippers, and dripping a puddle onto his polished wooden floor.
She froze, face turning red and eyes looking anywhere but at him. A moment passed. Was that a sigh of relief she heard right before his hands were on her shoulders, pulling her into the house and relieving her of the heavy book bag filled with college text books and sketches?
"Sit," he said before disappearing back upstairs.
Obeying, she took a seat in the den, probably the only room in the whole house with a television in it and picked up the remote, flipping through random channels before catching sight of something that made her blood run cold.
Maybe she made some kind of noise or something because the next thing she knew, Sesshoumaru was there, bracing her shoulders as she looked at the screen. That tiny little bar which proclaimed that what she was watching was the news—that the sight on screen was real—framed a picture straight out of her worst nightmares.
Her home, Sango and Miroku's home as well as their only means of income, was a living mass of flames with people scurrying about in front of the camera. She didn't remember when it was that she blacked out. The only thing she knew was that she suddenly felt dizzy, and then Sesshoumaru was there to catch her when she fell.
How's that? I finally got to progress the story a little. Hope it wasn't too disappointing for you guys. I opted to make Kagura more intelligent in this story because I couldn't see Sesshy falling for anyone stupid in the first place. Anyways, I tried to make this chapter a little longer, story wise and it does get more interesting from here in case you guys were getting bored. And please review if it isn't too much trouble.