Okay I'll admit it, I didn't rewrite the start of the chapter like I was going to because of the sneak peak. I'm lazy and it looks good and that's basically all there is too it. The editing attempts with quick edit and WordPad aren't going as well as I had hoped (damn!) so it doesn't look quite as nice once I get into it as it does on the computer. Everything in Italics are thoughts and the extra v's on either side are to keep the paragraphs from getting too squished together.
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Pleasure
The light sensation caused her to pull herself from the muddle of pain and focus on it. Long fingers were stroking across her scalp. The ache at the base of her skull was quickly being banished beneath the thrills that followed where the fingers went. Warm and gentle the fingers swept across her temple and stopped to lightly grip the back of her neck.
Sesshomaru-sama?
He smelled like the musky feral scent of the forest and it could only be him stroking her head if his scent was as strong as it was now. A dream, a very very nice dream.
She started to sink back into the embrace of slumber when the voices started.
Sesshomaru's voice sounded first and directly over her, confirming her guess that it was he who was touching her hair. Jakken's piercing voice came from a bit further away and as he fell silent Rin noticed the sounds of feet scampering across the floor and the sounds of pottery hitting flat surfaces and water being poured. She puzzled, had they been there a moment before or had they just started? As she puzzled over that she was startled as a cold damp cloth was put on her forehead. Frowning she opened her eyes slowly, blinking the stray water droplets from her eyelids, to find Sesshomaru's yellow ones looking straight into hers.
She froze. He continued to look at her calmly for a moment before raising his head and looking to his right.
" Jakken."
She heard rapid footsteps and turned her head in the direction Sesshomaru's was facing in time to see Jakken leap onto the edge of...
My?
...bed and scurry towards her. Behind him she caught glimpses of four smaller versions of Jakken running around with pitchers and containers.
" Rin," he put a tiny hand to her forehead and smoothed back her hair. She blinked up at him and tried to think. She knew that she'd been brought back to the castle but she had no idea how much time had passed since then. How injured was she?
" My lord," she began, finding that instead of her voice a raspy whisper came out instead. Her image of Sesshomaru began to skew wildly as her eyes struggled to stay open.
" Jakken," Sesshomaru said without bothering to look up, " go."
The amount of scampering footsteps told her that it wasn't only Jakken that had left the room. She closed her eyes gratefully as soon as they were gone. His hand resumed stroking the hair back from her forehead and she smiled briefly before falling asleep.
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Sesshomaru felt his mouth tighten into a deeper frown as he watched Rin's sleeping form. She'd been asleep for several days and her awakening was a good sign but even that much recovery had been difficult. The grizzled old demon he'd pulled in to heal her had frowned and shook his head when he'd caught site of her. After Sesshomaru's imposing presence had kept him from 'collecting' any samples he'd finally done the job he'd been summoned to do and informed Sesshomaru that Rin was seriously injured enough that he doubted that even he could fully restore her to a pristine specimen.
He let his hand rest on her forehead, her dark hair contrasting against his pale fingers. Reason after reason to detest humans popped up as Rin's healing took more and more time. They were so easily broken...
That fools mother had been just as easily driven into death
Of course it hadn't helped that his father had made her such a blatant target. Humans best defense was not to be a target in the first place. That was impossible for humans who associated with demons but Rin had been given the choice to leave years ago and still remained. She accepted the risks of being his retainer so he was not about to lecture her on them again when she awoke.
He absent mindedly resumed stroking her hair again as he pondered monsters who'd attacked her. Little more then pond scum to him they'd been able to inflict damage on her that even the most common villager would probably have been able to avoid. Perhaps he should consider sending her off to be trained in self defense. Now there was an idea his father hadn't had for that fools mother.
Sesshomaru twisted his head to face the door. " Jakken."
The small demon came scuttling around the door looking anxious. " More medicine my lord?"
" As soon as the roof is on the north wall I want a house built for me on the seashore." Sesshomaru turned his head to face the window to signal he was done.
Jakken shot a look from Rin's sleeping form to Sesshomaru's tall shadowy one. " The trip there, for Rin I mean, wasn't able to happen. A house so she might spend time there to recover?"
Sesshomaru stood up with a lithe grace and walked out of the room, casually kicking Jakken in the head with his foot as he walked by.
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The sound of pouring water roused Rin from her sleep. Blinking she turned her head over towards the noise and was greeted by the piercing light of a lantern. Shielding her eyes from the glare she tried to push herself into a sitting position and found her arms to wobbly to support her weight. Blinking until her eyes adjusted she saw the back of a richly dressed demon.
Of course it was assumed that any in her lords castle would be a demon but it was confirmed when the graceful flowing body turned to reveal a very pretty slitted eyes. Long dark hair that made Rin slightly envious rustled to the ground as the predatory courtesan smiled at her, revealing a mouth full of fangs as well.
" I see you are awake my lady," the courtesans voice was dusky and smooth. " I am sorry if I awakened you but I was instructed to keep keep your forehead cool." Another smile full of teeth was flashed in her direction.
Rin blinked as she took that information in for a moment and then moved her shielding hand up to her forehead to feel the now warm cloth on her forehead. Gritting her teeth she forced herself to sit up, grateful for the robe wrapped around her, and gave a low bow. " I'm afraid I don't know the name with which to thank you but I must."
" It is nothing," another smile, " but I must go tell Lord Jakken of your awakening for he wished to know." The briefest of bows and the courtesan was gone.
She must have made Jakken angry. He knows how much the demons hate being around 'food' and then having to act as if I was their equal. A courteasian too! They hate me being in rooms so close to Lord Sesshomaru's
She pondered it for a moment before her body demanded to lie down again and she slipped back underneath the blankets. How long had she been asleep?
Jakken's very loud footsteps into the room kept her from slipping completely back into slumber and she brought her eyes open in time to see him peek around the doorway into her room before entering the rest of the way.
" A fine mess you've made of my job," he huffed coming over and tapping his feet before giving a disgusted look at her and grabbing the cloth that was still in her hand. " Silly fool, didn't even change the cloth before she left." He made a disgusted noise and pattered over to the basin to dip it into. " She'll never get near Sesshomaru-sama like that," he pulled it out and wrung it almost dry. " Asleep for four days! I can't imagine how I'd get treated if I were that lazy." He sighed dramatically as he popped up onto the futon and put the cloth against her forehead.
She was surprised at how good the cold felt against her forehead. It hadn't seemed so hot before the cloth was on it...
" Four days?" She rasped out, her voice tired from her earlier exchange already. " Has it been so long?"
" Of course it's been that long. You gave Ah-nun quite a scare. Quite sure that our lord would have killed the poor thing for not protecting you. And only you," he said the last word with an infliction of deep disgust, " could get that seriously injured from a bunch of low level idiots. How you managed to survive until Lord Sesshomaru found you I have no idea."
Her lips thinned, her life before coming to them wasn't talked about. He took a look at her and then sighed as if a thousand burdens were upon him. " As soon as you can be moved you're going to that whelp and his human," he said. " Most of the demons around here are simply of the mind to eat you. It's best to avoid the temptation of some of the servants I think."
" InuYasha?" Rin asked, her brief anger dissipating at the idea of going to visit them again. It had been so nice to spend some time with another human girl and as gruff as InuYasha was he did remind her of Sesshomaru. " How long," she started to ask just as her voice rattled to a halt in her throat.
Jakken gave her a look of disgust as he smoothed the cloth down on her head and plopped to sit next to her. " Until you're healed of course. The last thing we need is an injured human woman smelling of blood and weakness when we have random visitors paying homage to our lord. They might think you managed to weasel out of a holding pen or something."
Rin smiled. Her presence did irk quite a few and she knew any number of the women who would be quite happy to devour her 'on accident'. " Sesshomaru-sama would save me," she stated in the same confident tone as she had when she was knee-high.
" Not when he's on the ocean border he wouldn't." Jakken hopped down and walked out out of the room leaving Rin to think.
He went to the ocean without me. Well of course he did, he still has stuff to do even if you're being sick and silly in bed.
Her head hurt, her body hurt and Sesshomaru was off somewhere without her again. She felt tears well up in her eyes and shut them tightly. Being silly and crying wasn't going to help make her better. Once she was up and about she could be of use again.
" Humans," Jakken huffed. She opened her eyes to see him holding a tray in her doorway. " Must you indulge in such weak antics around me?" He used his feet to kick a low table from the corner of the room over to her bedside and placed the trey on it. A number of pots giving off steam and a small tea pot and two teacups were on it. " It's that rice you enjoy and some fish." His beaky mouth tightened into a firm line. " I'm fairly certain it's not poisoned."
Another advantage of her doing her own cooking. She struggled to a sitting position yet again and swung her legs of the edge of the bed. Jakken picked up a seating cushion larger then he was and stumbled across the room to put it down between her and the table. She sank to her knees and slowly picked up some chopsticks. " Why aren't any of the your servants doing this?" Her voice was still rough but at least she could speak again.
" Our lord told me to look after you specifically. That toothy wench that was in here was covering me so that I might eat. I do have to eat you know," he shot her a glare. She smiled at him and he pointed a finger at her and then whisked the tea cup over poured a bit for her and then for himself. He sighed in pleasure as he took a sip. " I'll say this, as annoying as you are you may be the only other one in the palace who serves Sesshomaru for the glorious being that he is and not out of fear." He stabbed a finger at her quickly. " Not that he doesn't deserve to be feared, especially by you."
" Thank you," she managed as she maneuvered to get a lump of fish to her mouth. Rin swallowed it despite it's overly crisp exterior.
" Heh," Jakken snorted. " I'm getting soft in my old age. I should be advising our lord to leave you to the whims of his court, not arranging to get you to the whelp."
" When?" Rin stopped to cough, deciding to keep the words to the minimum.
" Well your bones were healed by that disgusting old man," Jakken said, taking long drinks of his tea between words, " but your weak insides are apparently still going to need long healing according to him. You'll be moved the day after tomorrow now that you're awake. We're sending the whelp a notice that you're coming and getting your stuff ready to move since we don't know how long you'll be. Ah it'll be nice to have a place to myself again."
Rin's eyes filled with tears involuntarily. She was so damned emotional and she didn't know why. Jakken set his tea cup firmly on the table and rolled his eyes. " Lord Sesshomaru has no patience for such weak human emotions and this is yet another reason to make sure you're not in his presence until you're healed again." He stood up. " It's no use trying to get even the usual half-way intelligent conversation out of you. I suggest you eat what I've graciously made you and then rest until you're ready to go." He left her sitting on the floor and eyeing the edge of the bed and wondering if she'd be able to get back into it on her own.
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A great deal of thanks to Dejana Talis and Cookirini for putting up with my ranting about this story lately. It really was supposed to be a one shot smut fest.