1/16/06:
Hello again, all! It really has been a long time since I last updated here, but my 'streak' was during the winter break, and now, finals are here. Not that that'll deter me, but it was mainly the homework crap that held me back. I'm hoping that I'll get more writing in once the new semester starts up next week. I'm told that it shouldn't be too hectic. At least, that's what everybody seems to think...
Until then, enjoy and review the following, 'kay?
Singing to the Wind
Chapter 11
Fancy Meeting you Here!
The morning had dawned cheery and bright a full three hours ago, and Hikari was again trudging through the woods. It had taken a while to convince Ayame and the other members of the wolf tribe that she was okay to travel alone. None of them seemed to think that she was at all capable of handling herself, much less defending against an attacker.
But now, she was a while's travel from the caves, and heading up a light incline. She had her staff, her pack, her clothes, and a new cloth to cover her hair. It was lucky for her that she always carried a spare of such things. It was evident that she had taken a route to a more rough sort of terrain. Soon, she reckoned, mountains would appear in the landscape.
As she was traveling further and further to the west, however, Hikari couldn't help but notice a feeling that was creeping up on her. It was as though there were something waiting for her, and each step took her closer to it.
Abruptly, the trees stopped, and she found herself on a dirt road. It appeared to be heading due west, as was her intended course. It seemed to be well maintained, in that there were no huge holes or ruts in it. All in all, it was a more than serviceable road. So she took it in the direction that it was going. There was a good chance that the road even led to villages. It wasn't like Hikari was antisocial. Even those who were secluded for most of their lives need occasional company.
Hikari traveled a little more than an hour on the road before seeing a few people. She immediately got a bad feeling about the two men. They were both slow-moving and unpleasant to look at. She suspected that they had very little in the way of intelligence as well. They leered at her as she walked in the direction from which they were coming. The dirtier, uglier one actually whistled. Hikari just walked on, and was glad that the men didn't try to follow her.
The village that they had come from was just another twenty minutes' walk away, and was a very nice sort of town, too. There weren't all that many children running around in the neighborhood, but that could just be because there weren't any homes in that particular area. All Hikari could see on the street were shops.
As she walked down the aisle, a very polite woman with a basket of flowers greeted her, saying, "Good morning, child." Hikari smiled back, nodding.
When she reached a crossroads, she noticed a very strange sectioned off part of the town. It was very tacky, and there were men guarding it with spears. The women and children who passed in front of it paid it no attention, but Hikari noticed a few men passing through the guards. She shrugged. 'It's probably just something for guys,' she reasoned, and continued on.
She noticed a man holding an object with many cords going from one end to the other, and plucking them softly. The result was pleasantly musical. There was also a basket in front of the man, for which Hikari could see no inherent purpose. Until, that is, someone dropped in some fruit and a copper coin. The man gave his thanks and continued to play the instrument.
Hikari looked at the man inquisitively. Was he so poor that he had to sit in the street and wait for people to give him food? Or was it that he simply like to make music, and let people donate out of their own free will? There were so many aspects of the situation to consider.
After a moment of quick deliberation, Hikari decided that the best thing she could do for the man was to give him more money. It was more likely than not that he would need it, either now or in the future. It could only help.
The money itself wasn't hard to conjure up. Hikari had seen money from regions outside of her valley, and was able to fabricate it exactly. She only made ten copper pieces, not knowing what the general going for prices in the area was. In the valley, everything was on a barter system, so money was pretty much obsolete. They had neither the resources nor the experience to actually make any money.
As she walked past the man, she dropped the ten copper pieces into the basket at his feet. It was almost disturbing when he stopped playing altogether. She looked back, and saw that the man was gaping at the money. Obviously, it had been worth more than she thought. Hikari quickly scurried away, to make sure that the man didn't make too much of a scene and try to do something that would bring too much attention to her. It was one of the last things that she needed.
Soon enough, the village was behind Hikari, and she was still on the road, headed straight into the west. She wondered what she would find out near the horizon. Who she would meet. Maybe a friend or two.
Then she remembered something. And nearly slapped herself for ever forgetting it. Sesshomaru lived out here! When she'd gone brain diving, she'd found that he lived almost directly west of her. So it stood to reason that his castle should be coming into view in the next few hours. Or whatever they called it- estate, villa, it didn't matter. The point was that he lived near there, and Hikari would get to visit him!
She looked down, noticing that the road near here was less traveled, or at least better kept than the other one leading into the village. She was definitely getting near. Since Fluffy (she couldn't help but call him that- his tail kept making her use that name.) was a lord over the western lands, it would make sense that everything around him would be better kept.
Of course, there was also the fact that the people at the tall end of the rank ladder tended to live on higher ground, so Hikari found that she was now having to drag herself up yet another hill. Not that she hadn't had to do that before, but somehow, it seemed worse. Quite possibly because there was someone akin to royalty at the top.
Fortunately, the top was a lot closer than she would have guessed, and the ground began to level out after a time. Not that the trees were thinning. If anything, Hikari thought that the forest around her had gotten even more dense. One would think that around a castle, there wouldn't be many trees at all.
But, sure enough, there came a point where the trees stopped. That was when Hikari was able to see Fluffy's house. And it was huge. At least three stories high, it was built in the traditional Japanese style- open porches, sliding doors- with the exception of a very large pair of wooden doors, on which there was an equally oversized knocker, though the two guards standing, well, guard, rather defeated the purpose of it. But, hey, why waste a perfectly good pair of men? Hikari simply marched up to them, a cheery smile adorning her face- which she just now realized was far paler than most people's, considering most people toiled in the sun all day.
"State your name and business," the man on the left barked. He was shorter than the other man, but it was evident that he did more of the speaking of the two.
Hikari diplomatically answered. "I'm Hikari. I came to see Flu- I mean, Lord Sesshomaru."
The guard wasn't impressed. "Is it urgent?"
"Not at all."
Questioning would not relent. "Business or personal matter?"
Hikari shrugged. "Personal, I guess. I haven't exactly done business with him, just talked."
"Very well," the guard said curtly, then turned to the door. A small window slid back, revealing a pair of eyes, to which the guard spoke. "Inform the Lord, Maki." The window shut, and the guard turned back around to face Hikari. "You may enter," he stated. The door was opened by the other sentry, and Hikari tentatively stepped across the threshold, glancing every which way.
The place was impeccably furnished. There was a gigantic tapestry depicting an epic battle on one wall, and another showing a... peace meeting? It was hard to decipher. Hanging from a small alcove, there was a banner of a violet crescent moon and a star in the center of it. There was a sort of leafy, swirling, blue pattern around the edges, with golden corded tassels on the bottom. The background was white with red flowers. It was a very breathtaking sight, when observed with the two tapestries, and the crimson carpet. The wood in the place was dark and reddish-brown. Most of the walls Hikari could see were white, but that might not speak for the rest of the castle.
There was a door directly in front of her, showing some sort of garden in a courtyard. Hikari couldn't resist walking to the door and stepping into the miniature paradise to explore.
It was, if the fact was even possible, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. There were flowers and trees of all kinds and shapes and colors. Gorgeous violet blooms climbed up stones with their waxy green stems. There were fragrant pink and red and white flowers with stems that were covered in spiky thorns. There was also one group of these flowers with a sapphire hue to it. Glorious. There were very few other words for it. The garden had things she'd never imagined in it, and the smell of all these plants mixing and swirling in the air gave the room a positively heady scent. She almost felt as though breathing it in too long would cause her to pass out from excessive happiness.
Hikari nearly collapsed onto a bench that was conveniently located in the center, where one could see the sky, with many puffy clouds passing by in the wind. She inhaled deeply, slipping off her head covering, and letting her mahogany tresses tumble down in their natural waves around her arms and back. The place put her into a sort of trance, and she found that she was relaxing much more than she normally allowed herself away from home.
"Excuse me, miss, but are you supposed to be here?" Hikari had to practice some real restraint to both keep herself from falling off of the bench, and scorching the poor boy that had startled her to a crisp. A small 'yip' still escaped out of her mouth as she spun, though.
The boy, who was obviously human, and couldn't be any older than fifteen, seemed concerned that he had scared her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you. I just wanted to let you know that Lord Sesshomaru dislikes it when someone enters his garden unless he invites them. He's really strict about rules like that," the boy explained.
Hikari shoved away her shock, and examined the boy. Young, yes, and possibly a servant of the castle. He had midnight dark hair, with spiky bangs in the front, and tied back into a high ponytail that didn't quite reach in line with his shoulder. He had deep, silent eyes, as dark as his hair, with a blueish tint to them. His face was what showed his age, but it possessed a wisdom that Hikari had never seen in a boy of similar age. It gave him an air of handsome maturity. He had armor of some sort on, which made Hikari doubt that he was a simple servant, and he was hiding something behind his back. Potentially a weapon. It didn't seem like he was going to attack, though, so the hiding the something behind the back could just have been a nervous habit.
"Miss? Miss," he repeated, snapping Hikari out of her trance again. He was definitely a nice boy, because he kept being intensely polite to her. Normally, people didn't bother.
"It's fine, Takayo," pronounced a sudden voice. Both the boy and Hikari turned to observe Sesshomaru in another doorway to the courtyard. "I must talk with my guest." there was a certain scathing quality in his voice that let Takayo and Hikari know that whatever he was going to say, it would not be pleasant. "You may go now," he stated finally, and the boy bowed before walking away.
Hikari beamed brightly at the demon lord. "Hi, Fluffy-san!" Sesshomaru visibly twitched. It was subtle, but she still caught it. "What? I called you 'san', didn't I? Why so angry," she inquired then.
"It isn't my name," he hissed, getting more irritable by the second. In his experience, every single person he'd met- with the obvious exception of his mother and father- had been scared shitless when he got in a foul mood. He couldn't begin to fathom why it wasn't working on this girl, because she just cruised right on by.
"Well, if a name is nothing more than what others call you, then no one would actually have a single name, because a different person would call them a different name. If I call you Fluffy, then it's your name, if the theory holds true." This hypothesis prompted a growl from the Taiyoukai, and she held up her hands defensively. "It's what fits you, not what I randomly picked out of boredom. Look at your tail," she offered.
Sesshomaru ceased growling, but still was very angry. "It isn't a tail," he shot back, blatantly lying.
This only made Hikari smirk more. "Then why is it moving on its own?"
The inu youkai looked at the furry mass (A.K.A.- his tail) on his shoulder, and saw that it was indeed moving of its own accord. The bottom of it was swaying slightly, back and forth, but not fast enough to be considered a wag. It was more what a cat would do when considering something. He stopped its moving, annoyed that Hikari would have to point out something like that. He quickly changed the subject of conversation.
"Why are you even here?"
She continued to have that smile on her face... the one that made him think that she was teasing him. "I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I'd drop by," she articulated softly. "I'm traveling."
"Traveling to where," Sesshomaru asked nonchalantly.
Hikari shrugged. "I picked a direction, and started walking. Where I end up is where I was going."
Sesshomaru found this ideal to be very stupid. If she ended up dead, then that was where she meant to go. He told her so.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me, as long as I learn things while I'm going there."
The Taiyoukai turned his head to face her. "What do you intend to learn?" He normally didn't ask so many questions, but the way this girl spoke intrigued him. That and the fact that she claimed to be far older than him. He was totally baffled as to how any demon could look so young when they had so many years on them. At first blush, the hypothetical reason appeared to be that the youkai was overly ambitious, but this was clearly not the case. Hikari seemed to be anything but power-hungry, as far as Sesshomaru could tell.
Hikari lifted her face to the sky, letting the dappled sunlight caress her features. "What I am," she said simply, in a voice so soft that even the inu youkai had trouble hearing the words. "It's the one thing I have to find out, because it's the one thing that I may never learn."
Sesshomaru walked over to her so that he was but a few feet from where she was sitting. "You're a demon," he stated. "Pure and simple. Besides, don't you have parents for that?"
He saw immediately that his words had struck a nerve, for Hikari's smile faded a little bit. She opened her eyes and brought her head back down. "No. I don't," was her reply. "The only mother I ever knew found me as an egg, and I have never know those who brought me into being." She looked up at him, the expression on her face appearing sad and aged. "You know that you are an inu because you have parents, because you've met others like you. I have never met anyone, demon or otherwise, who is in the least bit similar to me. There is a chance that I never will, and thus the reason why it will be hard to find out what I truly am."
In that moment, the Taiyoukai found himself both pitying her and admiring her. It was a new sensation for him. The only other people he could ever remember admiring were his parents. After they had died, he had been unable to think of anyone on his level. It was strange to feel admiration for this girl, after having abstained from the emotion for so long. It was made even more confusing by the fact that he felt sorry for her as well. He didn't usually pity people, or at least, he didn't pity people and let them live. His normal policy was to put them out of their misery.
"Stand up," Sesshomaru ordered suddenly. Hikari blinked, wondering why she should. "Just do it," he amended, and she shrugged, obeying. He stood so that he was directly facing her, from three feet away. "When you interrupted my battle" the inu explained, "You appeared in the form of a large bird with mostly red feathers and gold fletch on your wings. Obviously, you are a youkai of some aerial or aviary sort."
Hikari put a hand on her hip. "Well, I could have told you that. I don't see why it's an answer coming from your mouth."
His amber eyes flashed dangerously. "I wasn't finished speaking." He abruptly turned and began walking to the courtyard door. "Come," he added, as an afterthought. So Hikari begrudgingly followed where he led.
They went up three flights of stairs and down at least six different hallways before reaching a pair of carved doors. they weren't as thick or elaborate as the front doors, but they had golden handles in the shape of fearsome dogs. Sesshomaru flung them open to reveal a library that was- to say the least- enormous. There were more books in it than Hikari had seen in a good long while. Shelf after shelf, jam packed with ancient and new tomes alike, collecting dust. There was a large wooden desk with a carved chair sitting behind it. The window had a built-in bench, with green cushions set on top of it. The overall effect was cozy.
The Taiyoukai was to the middle of the room before he found that there was no longer anyone following him. He turned back to see Hikari still loitering in the doorway, awed by the sheer amount of books. Now, it wasn't that she hadn't seen this many books in her life, it was just that she had never seen that many books in one room, so naturally she was rather taken aback.
Sesshomaru went to a single shelf, rather near the window, and slightly above eye level for him- which would be almost out of reach for Hikari- and slipped a dusty lilac book from its perch. Then he set it on the desk before sitting down, addressing the girl still on the outside of the room.
"You would do well to come in, girl." She did, still looking around herself at the resplendent surroundings. He continued. "All you would need to know about the youkai whose animal form is that of a bird is in that book. Read it all you want." he watched as she reverently stepped over to the desk, lifting the volume off of it. She gracefully blew the dust from the tome, gazing at it, and then holding it to her chest, as though it were a precious thing. Her eyes turned to him, the twinkle now catching his golden stare. She smirked, as was her custom, he had noticed. he still never understood what caused her to smile so often. In the handsome but cold dog's opinion, there were very few things in life to smile or be happy about.
"You've read it already, though, haven't you?" It was more of a statement of fact than a question, but he answered nonetheless.
"That is obvious, is it not? Why would I have all these books if I don't read them?" It was a rhetorical question, so Hikari didn't bother to answer it. He continued right on, anyway. "What use would it be to you if I have read it or not, unless you have not acquired the skill yourself?" That one was meant to be replied to.
"Oh, I can read," she chucked. "But it's inconvenient for me to have to read the entire book, when I can just get the shortened version from you, don't you think so?"
Sesshomaru studied her for a moment more, though to Hikari, the time that passed, while his amber gaze was raking up and down her figure, seemed to be much greater than a mere moment. It was relieving when he finally spoke again, giving her something to help her a little bit.
"There are descriptions and drawings of each type of winged youkai in the back of the book, starting at page one hundred and eight," he hinted. Hikari could tell that he wasn't usually this nice to anyone, and that he was being overly lenient (in his world) with her, and she chuckled under her breath as she flipped to the page.
When she reached the particular section that he had told her to go to, she was amazed that the pictures had been colored in, and with a very adept hand at that. The colors were faded, but it was apparent that they were painted in with watercolors and a very small brush. The details were intense, and undoubtedly accurate. Hikari turned pages, and as she went, most of the birds, in addition to not resembling her aviary form, were grotesque and sometimes very ugly. The descriptions didn't help. The odd phrase often jumped out at her, like "eats only the livers of alcoholic humans," or "prefers to keep victims alive while ripping out their innards." Sometimes, it would be more pleasant, with "vegetarian", or "lives far from any other species; is not a threat". Very gruesome stuff indeed.
About thirty pages in, she saw a drawing that was of three birds, all of the same shape, but with different colors. The first one was yellow, with some green mixed in, and a blue fore feather in a green and yellow crest atop a head that was supported by a long neck. There was a description that went a third of the way down the page. On the page facing it, there was one that was all white, save the single blue fore feather in its crest.
However, it was the one just under the yellow bird that caught Hikari's attention. It looked, more or less, exactly like her when she was a bird. The red, gold, and white underbelly, with the same blue fore feather as both of the other ones.
The heading at the top of the section read- "The Three Phoenix Tribes of the Orient", and the yellow version was entitled "Chinese Gold". Below it, the description read, "This tribe of the phoenixes resides solely on the mainland, away from Japan, in China. They live high up in the mountains, and are almost never spotted. They are the most fearsome of the three tribes, for their numbers are in the greatest supply. If they spot a human, they will attack without a second thought. It is near impossible to catch one once it has reached a year of age, at which point they disappear into the mountains, almost never to be seen again. It is not known what they eat, or if they are able to take on any other form, but they are suspected to have special abilities that enable them to move great mounds of earth, and go from one place to another in the blink of an eye. They also have ways with fire."
The article beneath the image of her was rather similar, but slightly shorter. It spilled over onto the next page, but only because the pictures took up so much space. It said, "Less is known about the Fire Wind tribe other than their coloring. It is believed that they will live in either China or Japan, though Japan is the most likely land where they take up residence. They are more intelligent than their golden cousins, and can avoid the human eye with greater effectiveness. Only several sightings have ever been made in recorded history, so the number of them is a mystery. It is speculated that they can take on two or more forms, though it isn't known precisely what they are. It is known, however, that they also can create fire, and it is suspected that they have an affinity for time and bringing things from nothing. Unlike the Golden, these youkai are not vegetarians, though no human abductions have ever been reported by them."
That gave her a lot to work on, but she still felt the need to read the piece underneath the last image- the pure white phoenix. "The True Light Phoenix tribe is by far the most elusive of the three tribes. Next to nothing is known about them, other than that they are never spotted in range of each other. If they appear in one spot, then they are likely to be seen there again, but not at any regular time. None have ever seen it take flight. Where it lands, there appear sudden anomalies, such as flowers that bloom always, or a lake that never freezes, but is still safe to drink from."
The entire time that she was reading, though she hadn't really known it, the great Lord Sesshomaru had been watching her intently, his amber orbs fixated on her face, observing the various expressions she had sported throughout the book. It intrigued him that she could be so open with her emotions, and yet not be obvious about it. She had extreme mood swings, yes, that was evident, but she never stayed on one too long. He figured that she never held a grudge, either, judging by the fact that she seemed to have Rin's attention span. The abrupt allusion to Rin made him stop his train of thought. was she really like Rin? The answer was no. Rin was a mere child, she didn't just act like one. Hikari, from what she had told him, lived alone, and most likely isolated, whereas his ward couldn't fend for herself at all, not since she had begun to travel alongside him.
His thoughts halted again when he saw that Hikari had stopped at a particular page, and was now in the process of reading it through. Her face changed from slight boredom and restlessness to interest, recognition and understanding. She had obviously found her species. Now, if Sesshy had been able to read minds like Hikari, he would have found that beneath the surface, she was sorely disappointed. He would have known that her question had not, in truth, been answered to the fullest. But, not having that ability, he thought that now she could leave, that her journey was over after barely having started.
Hikari finally stopped reading, and closed her eyes. A deep breath in, and then she softly shut the book, with an equally quiet sigh. Her eyes opened, and she spoke to the air. "Well, I know who I am." She looked to the Taiyoukai, who was still sitting in his chair, the same indifferent look on his person. She noticed, though, that it was no longer as cold as it had seemed the first time she'd met him. There was even the slightest trace of- dare she say it- care. 'No idea how that got there,' she mused.
Sesshomaru unexpectedly stood and made for the door. Hikari gaped, and stuttered, "What are- where are you going!" She ran over to the hallway, book still in hand. She used the door handle to anchor herself while she spun out of the room. "Damn, he's fast," she muttered. She chased all the way down the hall, calling after the demon lord. Not that he paid her any attention, considering he acted as though there were nothing to hear.
As Hikari rounded the second corner, a little two-foot-high yellow blur shot out of a doorway, colliding with the Taiyoukai. He stopped, and looked down at the small girl.
"Hello, Rin," he said shortly. It was now apparent that the small thing clinging to the lord was a little girl, with a yellow kimono and black hair. She nuzzled further into his leg and squealed.
"Lord Sesshomaru, Rin missed you so much! It's no fun with just Jaken around!"
'Jaken,' thought Hikari. 'That name sounds familiar- oh hey, that's the toady that I scorched in the woods!' She giggled as the very thing she had been thinking of scurried out of the same room, attempting to scold the little girl- er, Rin.
"You insolent child, you know that his Lordship does not like it when you cling to him like a leech! Now, stop it at once, I command you!"
Rin simply turned her head around and stuck out her tongue. "You're being a poopyhead, master Jaken." Upon saying this, she turned back around, noticing someone at the end of the hall. Hikari, in fact. She grinned happily. "Hello, miss! I'm Rin!" She let go of Lord Sesshomaru's leg and skipped over to the older girl. "What is your name?"
Hikari bent down to Rin's level, smiling equally cheerfully. "I'm Hikari. It's very nice to meet you, Rin."
Sesshomaru watched this exchange, and felt rather irked that they could both be so happy. Normally, having his little ward be so sunny was enough. He could hardly stand to see two people acting so gratified at the same time, in the same room. He looked on as they continued to smile incessantly, and then hugged. If it had been up to him, he would have cringed, but strangely enough, he almost smiled at the sight. It was kind of cute, actually. Though he would never admit to thinking that.
Rin and Hikari stopped their embrace, and Rin skipped over to the Taiyoukai, dragging her new friend along. "Can Hii-chan and I play in the garden," she chirped. Sesshomaru responded with a nearly undetectable nod of his stately head, causing the ball of energy to speed off down the nearest staircase, undoubtedly to play hide and seek, or something of the sort. Jaken chased after the two girls, waving his double-headed staff all the way.
Sesshomaru figured that he might as well watch Rin play with her new friend, and he, too, headed for the garden. when he reached it, it was bathed in a golden light, for the sun was close to its daily setting. The girls were running around in hyperactive circles around the stone bench, laughing maniacally. It was now seen, as he entered the courtyard, that Hikari was the one chasing Rin. He slipped to the bench in the moment that they wouldn't collide into him, and sat, with his eyes closed, absorbing the sound around him. He listened as Hikari tackled the smaller girl, and began to engage in tickling her with little to no mercy. Rin's delighted squeals filled the space, reverberating off of the ivy-covered walls. He also heard when Rin fought back, managing to get her 'attacker' on the ground and 'return fire'. Now it was Hikari who couldn't stop laughing.
As with all things, of course, the tickling sessions came to an end, when both of them could no longer gather up the energy to either giggle or do much of anything else, but collapse into the soft blades of grass, staring up at the golden clouds. They hung like flaxen sheep in the darkening blue sky, moving to wherever the wind would take them. It was perfectly breathtaking.
"Rin is so happy," Rin said, in the third-person way that she most often did. Hikari didn't mind. She thought it was awfully cute. "Will you tell Rin about you?"
Hikari flipped over onto her stomach, placing her chin on her hands, and putting one leg over the other. "Sure, Rin," she beamed. "But you might want to make yourself comfy- it's going to take a little while." Rin simply smiled from where she was, showing that she was perfectly comfortable in that particular position. "Well, my mother was a dragon, from far, far away." Rin started to interrupt to ask questions, but remembered that it was rude to do so, and she refrained. It didn't matter, though, because Hikari answered her questions. "She wasn't my real mother, though. She was from a place where they have never heard of youkai, at least, not in the sense as we know them. She wasn't a youkai, just a dragon, traveling the world around. She just happened to find my egg in a wooded valley, about eight or nine leagues from here. She knew that whatever was in that egg was now hers to protect as best she could, so she waited. When I hatched, I was this little bird, gangly and new to the world. I could barely even peep, but she still took care of me, and a year later, when she was out hunting, let out this loud screech, and she came running! She saw that I was glowing, and then it got so bright that she had to shut her eyes. When she looked again, I was a chibi me."
Rin got very involved in the tale, rolling over and watching Hikari as she spoke. 'She's a very good storyteller,' Rin thought, completely entranced. She was oblivious to everything except the sound of the older girl's voice. She wouldn't have noticed that Sesshomaru was staring at her anyway, because he liked to watch things. She didn't care if he was watching her then.
Only, he wasn't watching her, he was watching Hikari tell her tale, weaving and giving it just the right emphasis in every part. She was indeed gifted with words, as he had already found. She also had a way with children, though he supposed that that may have been brought on by the fact that she acted so much like one. As he listened to her, he noticed that her scent seemed to waft itself and creep into the crevices. It wasn't a heavy smell, or particularly arousing- in fact, it smelled completely pure. He sniffed to get a better analysis of it. Rainwater and sandalwood, he concluded. Scents that, on their own, or even combined anywhere else, would be insignificant and fickle, but when he detected them coming from Hikari, they almost resembled liquid moonlight- silvery and untouchable, but still purifying in its own regard. It wound its way into everything, opening and releasing things long shut, airing out the stale and leaving behind new life.
The Taiyoukai paused in his thoughts, realizing what was happening. He was... feeling... well, actually, just feeling. It had seemed innocuous at first, with the sensation of shock when he had first met her, going on to admiration and selfless pity earlier that afternoon, and now... contentment? Yes, it was contentment, happiness, at seeing Hikari and Rin be so lively and cheerful, lighting up lighting up his face. It was a miracle, to say the least. He hadn't thought, in all his years, that he would ever again feel. He had truly believed that the cold demeanor he had donned would continue to mask his intentions from everybody, even from himself.
Sesshomaru looked up from the amber-tinted grass, and back at the two girls laying among the sprays of wildflowers, smiling in the fading daylight. He felt it again. The pleasure of knowing that Rin was happy. It was almost as though that knowledge was the only thing keeping him tied to his mind, the only thing keeping him sane. She was the first one to have shown any hint of compassion towards him, and the reverse was true. If she hadn't been there when he had been lying in the forest, hadn't smiled at him, hadn't given him the best care she could, then he would have simply watched as that mutt Kouga's wolves tore apart the villagers, doing nothing. He wouldn't be as he was now. He might have killed Inuyasha by now, or even Naraku. But still, he was glad that that hadn't happened. Life was okay the way it was. He still wanted Naraku dead, yes, but it didn't matter to him if he carried out the act or not, as long as the filthy hanyou died in a fitting manner for all of his crimes.
As his thoughts turned to the destruction of Naraku, he began to wonder who would bring the epitome of all evil in the world to his end. While it could be him, he highly doubted it. Naraku was far more clever than anyone could ever anticipate. Perhaps Inuyasha would perform the deed. Then again, maybe not. As strong as the Tetsusaiga was, his brother could not manage to defeat such a foe without help. Though, the western lord surmised, it was possible that the fiery miko who traveled with his brother could assist in that respect. He had seen what power she possessed, and even though it was mostly dormant, it was more than powerful enough to purify an entire league of demons. The fact that she did not even know what she could do was intriguing, and he found her innocence intoxicating. Whenever he thought upon the subject, he understood again why his brother chose to travel with her, despite how insolently she acted. Admittedly, he liked that she would speak her mind. It was tiring that most women these days were made to believe that doing such a thing should be punishable. It was the way they were taught, and it made him feel relieved to know that some could rise above such oppressive lessons... though that didn't explain why she wore such revealing clothing. Another truly baffling thing. He had only known demons to wear such things, and she was clearly a miko, not a demon. But again, he didn't really think it mattered. It just made the young woman more desirable.
His ruminations ended there, as his brain finally registered that no one was speaking, and that the courtyard had grown dark. Soon, he mused, his servants would emerge to light the lamps near the doors. There were only two entrances to the garden, and both of them were on one end. The further one traveled into the threshold, the less light there was, unless the moon were out, in which case, the light would simply shift colors, from rich and golden to lucidly blue. He had designed it that way. Being able to see and be immersed in the light of the moon was something he much enjoyed, being of the canine race. The night of the new moon was the only one he would not look up at the sky, knowing he wouldn't see any part of the silvery orb hanging there.
As to the silence, he quickly discerned what was causing it. Rin had fallen asleep, and probably hadn't heard the rest of Hikari's life history. She now had her head in the aforementioned storyteller's lap, her thumb firmly ensconced in her mouth. She hadn't started to dream yet, judging by the speed of her breaths. Hikari was stroking the little girl's messy hair, a mothering smile adorning her gentle face. It was quite the endearing sight, if he did say so himself.
As if she had felt his thoughts and his gaze, Hikari turned her face, the moonlight catching its surface. The illumination caused her figure to become almost... ethereal. Her eyes shifted to twin pools of liquid silver-blue, and he almost felt drowned in emotions- both his, and Hikari's. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she blinked, and he was released. A kind upturning of her lips followed. Sesshomaru had to catch himself before he gave a return smile.
He stepped over to the sleeping child, silently asking permission to take her from Hikari's arms. She nodded in accordance, and the surprisingly tender Taiyoukai scooped his ward up with his single-handed embrace, lifting Rin up to his shoulder, where she nuzzled into his tail, immediately getting comfortable. She may have been nine years old, but she hadn't grown up at all since he had found her, nearly two years prior. She'd had to grow up fast before he met her, and was now making up for lost childhood. As long as she was there with him, was all that mattered to Sesshomaru.
Hikari stood with him, rubbing Rin's back softly, like a big sister would. He found himself thinking ahead to the morning, and whether Rin would be upset at her new companion's departure. Hikari was wont to leave that night, he knew, as he watched her retrieve her pack and staff from where she had left them earlier. But, as he had found with the mysterious girl, he was often wrong about her intentions. She walked right back up to him, a quirky grin on her face.
"Show me to my room, you old softie," she chirruped. He had once again forgotten that she could read minds. She'd probably known for a while that he had wanted her to stay, for Rin.
He tried his best to reply with the same coldness to which everybody was accustomed. "You will be staying with Rin tonight. She often complains that her bed is far too large, and Jaken refuses to share it with her." Speaking of which, where was his annoying retainer?
Hikari answered his unspoken question. "Buried in the foliage somewhere, I think. He started yelling at Rin for listening to me, considering how we met. He doesn't like me much," she admitted sheepishly. "So when he started insulting me, I got a little irked, and then I kicked him into a bush or something. As far as I know, he's still there." She jerked her thumb at a rather squashed bit of branches, from which a small leather shoe could be seen poking out. Sesshomaru looked, but took no interest. Jaken would wake soon, and he'd be no worse for the wear. All the demon lord did was turn around and head out the door, Hikari trotting after him.
They went back up the two flights of stairs that they'd both traversed in the afternoon, and passed by the library, its doors now shut. They turned the next corner, passing a door that was the same as the library door, but with metal inlaid into the wood. Just beyond it, was a smaller door, only single, as opposed to the two double doors that she had seen on this floor so far. It was this one that Sesshomaru entered, and Hikari followed suit. It wasn't as large as the library, but it was ample enough for anyone- except perhaps a giant... something. The great Taiyoukai gently set Rin upon the large bed, her head resting on a cushy pillow, thumb still in mouth.
He stood back, eyeing Hikari. "I don't suppose you have nightclothes in that sack of yours," he stated, more than asked. She gave a hopeful smirk, and he 'hmm'ed. "I'll see if any of the servants have some clothes that would fit you," he said, walking out of the room. The door closed lightly behind his retreating form.
She sat on the end of the bed; it was pretty much the same size as her bed at home, just a little bigger. She felt Rin stir a little, just rolling over and hugging her pillow. It didn't take Sesshomaru long to come back, bearing a set of nightclothes and a carefully folded kimono, in shades of green and blue. He set them down on the bed next to Hikari, then left the room.
"Good night," Hikari called after him. She knew he'd heard, he just preferred not to show it. Getting changed into the green silk set of pajamas, she got in between the sheets, and tucked Rin in as well. Just before she blew out the lamp on the bedside table, she shote a bemused glance to the door, which was cracked open only enough to let a very large eye see through at knee level. The door shut very quickly, and Hikari chuckled once, then proceeded to fall asleep.
"Good night," she whispered, to no one in particular.
Katsuki- Well, that was definitely the longest chapter yet. If you keep this up, Hii-chan, you'll have a hundred thousand words in no time!
Katsuki- Hii-chan? Where are you?
Strange Masked Man- You will never see her again until you follow every direction on this oddly monogrammed piece of paper- I mean, on this piece of paper. (Hands paper to Katsuki and runs off)
Katsuki- (reading) 'Take all the homework you have done for English and Math and photocopy it, then take it to the corner of Arlington and Hill. Leave it on the northeast side of the stop sign.' Well, those are some pretty obscure directions. I know somebody who lives near there. Maybe he can tell me who else is in both our English and Math that would do such a thing!
Hikari- (eating a cinnamon roll) Well, isn't it obvious? It's Kenny.
Katsuki- Hii-chan! You're okay! How did you know it was Kenny?
Hikari- Look on the paper. It says, 'From the desk of Kenny, who was nearly sacrificed to the gods of all things shiny and pointy'. I got him that for his birthday, remember?
Katsuki- Oh, yeah. But how did you get back? I thought he had you hostage.
Hikari- His mother foiled his plans when she came to check on him. Besides, another twenty minutes in his room, and I swear I would have gone mad. I had this uncontrollable urge to alphabetize his socks and color-code his books.
Katsuki- You poor thing.
Hikari- His mom said the same thing, and then she fed me breakfast. That woman makes a mean omlette. The rolls aren't bad, either. Strange, though, that she would be serving breakfast, since it's past noon.
Katsuki- Indeed. But, does this mean that I don't have to follow the list?
Hikari- Correct, Suki-chan. Let's read the rest of the story, shall we?
Katsuki- Sure. I only read the last paragraph of this chapter anyway.
Hikari- It's two sentences, Suki-chan.
Katsuki- So? I read it.
Hikari- Never mind. Just review.
