I don't own Sesshomaru, Kikyo, or Rin. Seriously, I don't.
Chapter 10
Silence gripped Sesshomaru's castle as night covered the land. His servants had not even been aware that their Lady and Rin had gone missing, but when Sesshomaru returned to the castle with his family, the servants tried to celebrate his return. He was in no mood. He retired to a sitting room and had not come out all day.
Kikyo would have followed him, but she needed to make sure Rin was all right first. She made sure the child ate and then tried to get her right back into her routine. She did not want to give Rin a moment to realize what happened just yet. When it was all over, they could talk about it and see if Rin was traumatized, but for now, she wanted to make things seem normal for Rin.
One of the reasons Sesshomaru had disappeared for the day was because he knew Kikyo would take care of Rin. She was a good mother. So good that she barely needed him to rescue her from Itachi. He was fairly certain she would have made it back to his castle on her own, probably just a few hours later than they did together. He had picked a good mate.
He brooded in the room, glaring at the same wall for over fourteen hours. His nostrils flared with each exhale and a snarl tugged at his lips. He was more than vexed by the fact that Itachi escaped him and thus was still alive. He had fled his castle while Sesshomaru took care of his minions. The dog demon was frustrated and the only thing that would sate his irritation would be to find Itachi and split him open vertically. He was fairly certain that was the only thing that would relax his tense body and aggravated mind for the moment.
"Beloved," Kikyo murmured as she sat behind Sesshomaru.
"Yes?" he asked, even though he was aware that she was going to try to loosen him up. All day long she kept going about how he needed to calm down because being worked up would not accomplish anything. He did not want to calm down, though. He wanted Itachi's blood on his fingers.
"You've been in here the whole day. Why must you allow things to fester like this?" she asked, breath on his ear. She knew he was aware how long he had been in the room, even though there were not windows and the only door opened to the hall.
"I don't…" he trailed off, slightly distracted by her proximity.
"You don't?" she asked because she knew he was not finished answering her question. I am affecting him. I just have to continue on and maybe he'll relax enough not to kill himself thinking about that stupid weasel. Once he relaxes, he'll be able to think clearly and figure out where Itachi is hiding.
Sesshomaru ground his teeth together briefly. "I don't like the fact that a man that had the gall to kidnap you and Rin is still free and capable of walking and talking. He might try it again."
"We were merely caught by surprise. We underestimated him, but we won't again," she pointed out. She was done playing around with those weasels. Should one show his thin face anywhere in the castle for any reason, she would slay him without delay.
"No, we won't," he concurred, but he was not totally agreeing with her and she knew that.
"It was not your fault," she pointed out.
"You are my responsibility."
"And you are mine. Rin is as well," she reminded him.
Sesshomaru did not respond. Kikyo disliked her husband being so tense because of her mistake. She had been the one that allowed those weasels into the castle and she had let her guard down enough for them to take her captive. She had to do something to take his mind off of her miscalculation.
She reached out, almost hesitating, but continued on. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed herself against his back. He was astounded by her actions and she could tell because of the way that his body tightened for just a moment. He was not used to her being so forward.
"Kikyo," he breathed out the name.
Kikyo tended to be shy around Sesshomaru, even now. He was the one who usually teased her with lights touches and initiated contact between them. He often thought she feared offending him in some manner, as if she was unsure of how he wanted to be touched and she did not desire to take the risk, perhaps afraid of making things worse somehow. Of course, this was a ridiculous fear.
He smiled a bit because she could be a bit silly sometimes. He doubted there was a way for her to offend him. He put his clawed hand on her smaller ones and sighed contently as she rubbed her cheek into his shoulder. Taking his noise as a good sign, Kikyo continued to caress him.
The dog demon began to make small whimpering sounds as his wife's hands moved around his body, stroking him softly, tenderly, almost bashfully. The touching was simple, almost innocent, but it was wonderful and soothing. It took a couple of minutes, but Sesshomaru forgot what had been bothering him completely while Kikyo moved her body against his back. He knew his problem had something to do with his wife and child, but with his beloved creating friction against him, it was difficult to focus on anything aside from her. Was she trying to distract him? He could not recall if that had been her original plan.
"Beloved…" Sesshomaru breathed the simple word out.
"Yes?" Kikyo asked.
"What was I doing before you came in here?" he inquired.
"What does it matter? I'm here now and you're going to pay attention to me," she replied.
He arched an eyebrow. "I am?"
"Are you not?" she asked skeptically. She was fully aware that she had his complete attention. I have to do this more often. He is enjoying it. I can touch him and give him all sorts of pleasure from something rather simple. Plus, I like it as well. He feels so good. She pressed herself more firmly into his back and massaged his shoulders.
Sesshomaru only whimpered again as she rubbed up against his back. Kikyo was encouraged by the noise coming from him and she thought she might try to assert herself a bit more because he liked her to be more active in their physical relationship and this confirmed it. She figured as long as she was being assertive and trying to get him to relax, she might as well explore his body and try to make herself comfortable with touching him.
Kikyo moved her right hand to his chest and into his haori. She touched his flesh and he inhaled sharply, clearly not expecting such, even if it was fairly innocent. She moved her hand over his heart. She could feel his heart beating under her palm as well as hear it because she had her head against her back. He felt so good, she noted in the back of her mind. She typically did not take the time to just feel him. I really should do this more often. I could learn to enjoy this greatly.
The raven-haired woman would never say so out loud, but she was generally very nervous with Sesshomaru when they were physically affectionate. She never focused on herself, only him, hoping he enjoyed what was happening. She always thought she might do something to his disliking, so she put her all into making sure not to make a mistake. It left her not doing much because she was too anxious. She just was not experienced in the matter and felt it would be best if she did not try to do anything.
What if I make a mistake now, she wondered? She stopped moving, gripped by her usual anxiety now. She did not want to ruin this moment for him. She wanted him to turn around and take control of the situation before she spoiled everything.
"Keep going," Sesshomaru insisted because she had paused too long at his heart for his liking. He wanted to see where she was going with her newfound freedom.
She laughed a bit. Apparently, he had totally forgotten what he was fuming about not even ten minutes ago. She had to be doing a good job, then. Her confidence blossomed further. She definitely would have to do this more often.
She eased his haori from his torso. He remained perfectly still as her fingers shyly roamed his bare, pale chest. He's so smooth. He wanted to tell her more, but he thought that might startle her and then she would stop, which he seriously would detest. He figured that what was going on right now was a true test of his self-control.
Kikyo wondered what she was supposed to do when touching him with her hands was not enough. She barely noticed her body began gently grinding against him, but when she did, she realized it was not enough. She wanted more, but she was not sure how to go about it. Suddenly, being chaste until she was married seemed overreacted and she wished she had experience to draw from. Would Sesshomaru have wanted me if I were not chaste? Does it matter now, as I was and now I am completely clueless in how to please him? What to do?
Kikyo searched her mind for hints. What would her husband do? What did he generally do? Oh, yes, now she remembered what he did when his hands were not enough anymore. She tentatively brushed her lips against his bare shoulder blades. His breath nearly hitched, but he remained still to avoid bothering her in any way. It took almost all of his self-control, especially as he felt her hips moving against her back. He really wanted her to continue if she was going to bring her mouth into matters. The next touch of her lips was a bit bolder and soon the touches were kisses. She kissed all over his back and then began wondering what she should do next.
What would Sesshomaru do, Kikyo asked herself. He would have probably pounced on her by now, she considered, amusing herself with that thought. After that, he would probably literally tear her clothing off. Well, she was not about to just jump on him and she was not about to tear his clothing off. She desired to just keep experiencing him and hopefully distracting him from his anger. So, what now? I know.
Sesshomaru gasped slightly when he felt what she was doing next. He could not help himself because she had just planted a wet kiss on his neck and allowed her tongue to linger for a long moment, as if she had tasted him. He had not expected something like that from her. She halted her actions when he gasped.
"Sesshomaru?" she asked in an unsure voice.
"Keep going," he encouraged her.
Kikyo nodded and she kissed his neck again. She sat up a bit after his neck was not enough. She kissed his cheek and he took the hint to turn his head to allow her to kiss his mouth. Now that he moved, his self-control was done. Kikyo was about to be pounced on and she was not expecting it. She actually yelped when he turned the tables, gathered her in his arms, and kissed her senseless.
She surrendered herself to his hands, lips, and tongue. He rolled them over, putting her on her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He purred from this and leaned against her, wanting to feel her against his body. Unfortunately, her clothes were in the way.
"Sesshomaru…" she panted, pulling away to catch her breath.
"I need you right now. But, do you think you could continue touching me?" he requested.
"I…"
"Just what you were already doing. Nothing more."
Kikyo managed a nod. She could do that. She wanted to do that. Sesshomaru smirked and kissed her again, all the while stripping her of her clothing and taking off the rest of his own. She managed to keep her word, touching him as he touched her.
-8-8-8-8-
The dog demon lay perfectly still in bed with Kikyo was curled up next to him. She was contemplating sleep, but it appeared that he was going to stay awake, so she decided to do the same, even though her eyes were starting to burn. She hoped he was not thinking about Lord Itachi again because if he was, then she was going to have to distract him again. It took a lot of energy to distract him.
"Do you smell that?" Sesshomaru asked out of the blue. Kikyo inhaled slightly.
"Smoke?" she asked in a puzzled tone and furrowed brow.
"Yes."
"Do you think there's a fire?" she inquired because if there was, then they had to get to their daughter posthaste.
He shook his head. "No, this is a different type of smoke. Get dressed."
Kikyo nodded because she could sense what her husband meant. The smoke scent was being accompanied by several demonic auras. She dressed quickly as did Sesshomaru. They both armed themselves just in time. Five men appeared in the room as soon as the couple had their weapons in hand. The men were dressed in black, but did not seem to be completely tangible, as puffs of black seemed to waft off of them.
"Smoke demons," Sesshomaru said with a snarl on his lip while shaking his head. They made such horrible ninja despite being able to appear and vanish at will. They smelled too strongly of smoke. They could not even sneak up on humans because of the stench.
"What do you want?" Kikyo demanded, glaring at the intruders. She was sick of people sneaking into her home, into her bedroom.
"Your life," one of the intruders answered.
Sesshomaru decided that he heard enough just from those two words. He attacked using the Toukijin, disregarding the fact that he was in own bedroom. The blade went right through the ninja without harming him. Damn all creatures made of mist, the demon lord thought with a frown.
Three of the ninjas approached Kikyo. She quickly armed her bow and released an arrow; she seemed to care just as much as Sesshomaru that they were currently in their sleeping chambers. The projectile went through one of the ninjas; his body dispersed like a cloud as the missile sailed through it. He snickered as his body reformed.
"You can't stop me that way," he informed Kikyo.
"Are you certain?" she inquired because there was a hole in his solid body where her arrow had gone through.
"What the hell?" he gasped when he took note of his wound.
Kikyo quickly reloaded her bow and unleashed another arrow at the injured intruder. Before she could launch another missile, one of the ninja tackled her. She barely grunted from the hit. She grabbed him by the shoulders as he aimed a thin, needle shuriken at her throat. She shocked him with her spiritual energy while the third ninja pulled out a short sword. He was about to impale the priestess with his blade until he felt something cold pass through his stomach. He gasped as he looked down to see the point of Toukijin protruding from his gut.
Sesshomaru knew the ninja he stabbed was about to say something smart, but he did not want to hear it. He did not give the ninja a chance to open his mouth and utter any condescending last words. Toukijin's malevolent power surged through the blade and completely disintegrated the smoke demon. Apparently, Toukinjin was not as useless against the smoke demons as they would have liked it to be.
The dog demon turned around as he was done with the third ninja to pay attention to the last two. Kikyo quickly climbed to her feet and armed her bow. Kikyo fired an arrow at one ninja while Sesshomaru cut down the other. The couple then turned the each other and then they were struck by the same thought.
"Rin," they gasped simultaneously.
The couple charged out of their room and hurried to Rin's quarters. They were aware Rin was all right before they even got to the room because they could not sense any anything aside from her in the room, but they still wanted to be sure. They discovered the girl laid out in a dead sleep with her pet kitten sleeping just as hard on her chest. Kikyo smiled a bit at the scene.
It was clear Rin was fine, but Kikyo still leaned down to make sure. She fixed the blanket covering Rin and brushed the girl's hair out of her face. Kissing the child's forehead, Kikyo climbed back to her feet.
"It would appear that they just attacked us," Kikyo sighed in relief, putting a hand to her chest to calm her nerves.
"Or perhaps…" Sesshomaru trailed off, glancing at his wife.
She turned to him with an arched eyebrow. "Or?"
"Perhaps they just attacked you," he said because the ninjas had not even gone at him. They had gone directly for Kikyo.
"This is true. I seem to be the cause for many nighttime visits. Why try to kill me, though? Before, when Itachi kidnapped us, it was because he wanted me to kill you," Kikyo reported.
Sesshomaru put his hand on her back and led her out of the room. "This is becoming rather irksome because smoke demons only act out assassinations for one lord."
"That lord is not Itachi, is it?" she asked.
"No."
"Then what is to be done?"
"We shall have to pay the lord a visit," he replied and she merely nodded in agreement. They needed to end this.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Sesshomaru and Kikyo go to find out just what is going on and why someone would send assassins after Kikyo.