I don't own these characters.
11: Silence
Rin and Kaede looked at each other in disbelief. They had just discovered Kikyo's sketchbook in Sesshomaru's apartment. Now, to most people that might not seem like much. It would only confirm Kikyo had been in Sesshomaru's apartment at one point in time, but Kaede knew better. Finding her big sister's sketchbook was like finding her underwear in the demon's apartment. Hell, it might have been better if they found her underwear. They probably could explain undergarments better than her sketchbook being in the apartment.
"Okay, okay, okay," Kaede said, but she did not know what she wanted to state. How could this happen? This was supposed to just be stupid fun. Now, it was serious.
"Okay what? Kikyo is having an affair with Sesshomaru. Man, that would be so cool if she wasn't married," Rin realized in an absent tone.
"Okay, I know what we're going to do," Kaede said. They had to set this right somehow.
"What?"
"We'll put the book back where we found it. Get the hell out of here and never mention it again," Kaede proposed. There was too much at risk here.
Rin thought on it for a moment. "Agreed," she said with a hasty nod.
Nothing good could come from them knowing their old siblings were having an affair. The knowledge could only cause trouble for two people they utterly adored and cherished. So, it would be best if they pretended nothing ever happened. It sounded rather good in their heads.
"All right, let's get out of here," Rin said.
They put the sketchbook back and hurried out of the room. They gathered the boys and rushed them to put on their footwear. The girls were acting peculiar, Kohaku thought, even for them. He wondered if something was wrong.
"Did you two find something?" Kohaku inquired as they all exited the apartment, practically shoved out by the girls, and Rin locked it up.
"No, we didn't find anything," both girls insisted too forcefully in his opinion.
The older boy's gaze narrowed on them. "What did you find?"
"Nothing!" the girls answered. This was good practice at keeping the secret, right? If they could deny Kohaku, they could deny anyone, right? Right? Their heart rates sped up and their stomachs twisted.
"You two," Kohaku said with a stern glare.
"We just found Kikyo's sketchbook," Kaede told him, waving the whole matter away, in an attempt to make it seem like it was trivial. She was not doing the best job considering how well Kohaku knew her and she as obviously upset with something along with Rin. She sucked her teeth and felt like her heart might explode in her chest. She did not feel confident in keeping the secret now.
"You mean the sketchbook she won't let anyone ever see?" he asked.
"Look, we agreed we wouldn't talk about this, okay," Kaede informed him. Maybe they could all keep the secret. No one else would know to ask and pressure them over the matter. It would be fine. It would have to be fine.
"And why did you agree on that?" Kohaku inquired, folding his arms across his chest.
"Because nothing good can come from us knowing Kikyo and Sesshomaru are having an affair," Rin pointed out, hissing through her teeth and glaring at Kohaku. She was pissed he made them even say it aloud. They could ruin lives if this got out. They needed to just forget this whole mess happened.
"So, don't tell anybody," Kaede ordered the boys, pointing at them with a rigid, slender finger.
Kohaku shrugged. He did not see why such a topic would come up in a conversation, so he doubted he would have an opportunity to share the information even if he wanted to. He really could not believe Kikyo was having an affair, though. He was not the only one. Shippo stood there, mouth open like fish out of water, eyes just as wide.
"Shippo, you'd better not tell anyone," Kaede seemed to threaten the smaller boy, glaring at him like he was the weak link.
Shippo held up his hands. "I won't!"
"Seriously, don't say anything to anyone," Rin said.
The girls believed Shippo was the most likely out of them to talk when they were around the older people in their lives. He would probably blab it to Kagome while trying to get close to her or say something after suffering some abuse from Inuyasha, who did not like the fox demon much because, well, Shippo was always trying to get close to Kagome. It never seemed to enter Inuyasha's mind that Kagome could not possibly be interested in Shippo because she was almost ten years older than he was and she seemed to be hopelessly attracted to violent, crazy half-demons like Inuyasha.
Once the friends were in total agreement they were not going to say anything about the affair, they went back to skating. They did not say anything, but the air around them changed and no amount of pretending could remove the heavy atmosphere. They parted ways at around nine and Rin went back to Sesshomaru's house. He was home and reading on the sofa.
"Hey, big brother," Rin greeted him from the door as she started unbuckling her skates.
"Rin," Sesshomaru said, not looking up from his book.
"Yes?"
"Why were your friends in here?" he inquired. He could smell her friends all over the place. They invaded his home. He expected it every now and then, as his home was Rin's second home, but it was still not pleasing. He would rather she warn him.
Rin did not waver at all. She knew he would be aware she had her clique in his apartment. It was not the first time she brought one or all of them over when he was not around. They usually came in to use the bathroom or get something to drink. Little things. Every now and then, they would watch a movie when he was not there.
"The usual stuff," she answered as to why her friends were there.
"You know better than to bring your company into my house without informing me," he reprimanded her.
"I know, but you know how it goes," she replied with a grin that made it seem every bad thing she did become something neutral or even good.
Sesshomaru only snorted. "See it doesn't happen again."
"I'll try. I can't help it this place is the closest to the park, though. We get hungry and stuff," she replied and he grunted in response. "So, big brother, who was that woman earlier?" Rin asked again as she joined him on the sofa. She wanted to see if he would confess to her. It would make her feel like it was not as big a deal as it seemed if he admitted who she was.
"I told you don't need to concern yourself with who she was," he replied.
That answer did not make Rin feel any better about what was going on. Did her brother know Kikyo was married? He had to know because Kikyo would not lie about something like that, but then again, she did not think Kikyo was capable of having an affair until today anyway. Maybe he did not know, therefore he was not so bad, but that only made Kikyo worse. And besides, when was there a time that her eldest brother did not know everything about a situation before getting involved? He had to know that Kikyo was a married woman.
How could her big brother do what he was doing? How could he make Kikyo do something so wrong? He should have stopped things before they even started. Halting things before they got to where they were was the responsible thing to do. It would be advice he would give her.
"Rin," Sesshomaru said.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No," Rin squeaked out. Did he know that she knew? "Why would you even ask?" She tried to relax, but the more she tried, the tenser she felt.
"Because you're staring at me and not saying anything," he informed her. She was just eyeing him as if she was in deep thought and she did not seem to like what was in her mind.
She blinked. "Oh, sorry. Can I watch TV?" she requested, as if that was what she was considering.
He glanced at her before giving a very small shrug. "Go ahead."
Rin nodded and focused on the television as if it might whisper the secrets of the universe to her. Sesshomaru was a bit curious as to what made his little sister look so intense. He wondered what was on her mind. He figured she would tell him in due time. She always did.
-8-8-8-8-
Kaede entered the apartment she lived in with Midoriko. It was a spacious place with white walls that were decorated with pictures of the sisters and their family. The floors were wooden and everything was clean and orderly.
She took her skates off at the door and placed them in the hall closet. She peered around to see if her eldest sister was around. She really did not feel like seeing Midoriko right now because she was scared that she might actually tell on Kikyo. So, she tried to sneak into her room.
"Good evening, Kaede," Midoriko called from the kitchen, which caused the girl to stop in her tracks. It would seem she had forgotten her sister could sense people, essentially seeing her without having to see her.
"Hey," Kaede replied without bothering to go see her eldest sister, which was odd. Generally, she greeted her sisters with tight hugs, but she was not sure she could handle that. She needed to mentally prepare to face Midoriko and the trip home was not nearly enough time.
"Go wash up. Dinner is ready."
"Yes, ma'am."
Midoriko craned an ebony eyebrow to the use of the word "ma'am." Her little sister was never so polite when they were alone in the apartment. Wait, Kaede did not even call her "ma'am" when they were in the street unless she was playing around. Something was decidedly wrong.
"Hopefully no one broke anything while skating," Midoriko sighed. There had been times when the friends were injured while out skating, but did not want to say anything because one of them had been threatened to have their skates taken away if they were hurt again. She would have to find out if that was the case and have a talk with Kaede about how it was best to come clean about these things because health was important and no one wanted to see the group unhappy, so it was unlikely their skates would be confiscated.
Midoriko studied her baby sister when she came to the table to have dinner. Kaede seemed to be making an effort not to look at her as they sat across from each other. The girl also played with her food, which was not typical of Kaede.
"Kaede, are you all right?" the eldest sister inquired.
"Fine, why do you ask?" Kaede squinted at her plate rather than look at Midoriko.
"You seem distracted. Anything happen today?" Of course, if Kaede had been in a normal mood, she would have told Midoriko all about her day the second they sat down.
"Nothing more than usual," the preteen answered a bit too rapidly and pushed around some more food with her chopsticks.
Midoriko pursed her lips briefly. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Kaede replied and then she figured since she was already talking to Midoriko, maybe she could see if there was some other explanation for why Kikyo's sketchbook might have been in Sesshomaru's apartment. "Hey, big sis." She still did not look at Midoriko.
"Yes?" Midoriko replied.
Kaede's eyes wandered the floor as she rubbed her forehead. "Has Kikyo ever forgotten her sketchbook anywhere before?" She finally looked up at Midoriko, searching her face for the right answer.
Midoriko shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. You know that thing is like her baby, so it would be very odd for her to just forget it somewhere. Why would you ask?"
"No reason, just curious," the youngest sister answered.
"It was an odd question." But, then again, the whole dinner was odd.
"I know, but sometimes weird things just pop into my head, you know?" Kaede shrugged. "Sis, do you remember the name of Kikyo's demon friend?"
"I believe she said his name is Sesshomaru. Why?" Midoriko inquired. Her baby sister was certainly coming up with some bizarre topics of conversation.
"I think that's Rin's big brother," Kaede replied.
"Small world. I thought Kikyo already knew Rin's big brother, though."
"She has two." Kaede held up two fingers and wiggled them. "Sesshomaru's not really social, so not too many people know him."
"That's rather amusing they would meet then," Midoriko commented.
Kaede looked away, finding the floor absolutely fascinating again. It was not amusing at all. Their sister was having an affair with Sesshomaru. Now, Kaede was not really judging Kikyo considering the heartless bastard her sister was married to. The troubling thing was really the dishonesty that came along with an affair. She always looked at her big sisters as beacons of morality. They always did the right thing, no matter what. Hell, sometimes she thought that was how Kikyo ended up married to Naraku in the first place.
The thought of Naraku made Kaede want to throw up. She could understand Kikyo seeking affection from other sources being married to someone as baleful as him. But, she could not believe Rin had seen Kikyo in Sesshomaru's bed, meaning Kikyo was sleeping with him. There were many things wrong there and it was hard for Kaede to wrap her mind around it.
Kaede did not think Kikyo would ever sleep with another guy while she was married because it was wrong. Really, she did not even think her sisters had sex lives, even though Kikyo was married. She could not see Kikyo even kissing Naraku. In fact, she never did see Kikyo kiss Naraku. She could not recall ever seeing them touch after they got married. So, she did not think her sister slept with him. And, yes, Midoriko went out sometimes, but she never brought anyone home and she never stayed out for the night, so Kaede did not see where sex would even fit into her schedule.
She believed her sisters were into that whole "wait until marriage" thing. That was the message she got from them and her aunt, so it was very hard to imagine Kikyo having an adulterous relationship and sleeping with Sesshomaru. The whole thing seemed pretty seedy and hurt her head. None of this was Kikyo, so what was going on?
"Kaede?" Midoriko said, expecting Kaede to continue her line of thought of their sister knowing Rin's brother. Kaede mentally checked out, though.
Midoriko thought Kaede brought up some rather unusual things and she decided to get to the bottom of why that was. Kaede was never so random with her conversations. She might come out of the blue with one question or statement, but never a whole discussion on things such as this and she rarely dropped conversations so abruptly.
-8-8-8-8-
Kikyo sat on the sofa in the apartment she shared with Naraku. She had on some music and drew in her extra sketchpad. She had gone out and bought a new book because Sesshomaru refused to return her proper book to her. He did not seem to understand it was the only means of entertainment she had when she was stuck in that apartment. But, it was probably safer in his hands than her own, so she did not put up much of a fight over it.
She did most of her drawing when she was in the apartment alone. At Sesshomaru's place, she did not need her sketchbook for the most part because she had him. He kept her attention most of the time and if she drew things at his apartment, it was not because she was bored, but she had the itch to draw or he was working on his art, so she worked on her own.
Her activity was halted as she heard keys in the door. It seemed she was about to be back to her irksome, bothersome routine. The vacation truly was over the moment Naraku entered the apartment.
"Kikyo," he greeted her with a haunting smile. The gleam in his dark, red eyes would have frightened most people.
"Hello, Naraku. How was your trip?" she asked as if she cared.
"It was very much to my liking," he answered and he was still smiling, which disturbed her.
"What did you do?" she inquired because of his expression. She thought she might want some information on why his mood was so jolly, for him anyway. After all, it could spell trouble for her or people she knew or people in general.
"I looked at some land I've purchased and spoke with some contractors."
"For what purpose?" she inquired. She did not like the sound of this. Why had he gone out and bought land without mentioning it to her?
"You'll find out soon enough," he answered with an even more alarming smile.
"Tell me," she demanded with a stern look in her eyes.
"You'll find out soon."
"Tell me now," she practically snarled at him, climbing to her feet. She had a vague idea what he was capable of and she did not want to be caught by surprise as he started to spin his web.
Naraku chuckled a bit with amusement dancing in his eyes. "If you must know, I'm going to have a beautiful house built for us in the countryside."
"How? We can't afford that," she said. He wasted money left and right trying to impress the upper crust everywhere they went. How could he have money for land? For a house? For a move?
"I'm taking care of everything."
"Well, I refused to move," she declared. She would not let him take her away from her family again. She would not leave Sesshomaru for places unknown with a man she did not trust.
"You refuse?" he echoed as if he did not understand her words. She never outright said such words to him. Who did she think she was? What made her think she had a choice in the matter?
"That's right. I refuse," she repeated. She was not going anywhere now that she was back with her sisters and she had Sesshomaru in her life. She would not allow him to uproot her again and disrupt her life. She would not let him take her some place he could start "training" her, as he liked to think of it.
He snickered darkly. "That's funny. Do you think that you can refuse me?"
"I just did and I will continue to do so. I'm not going anywhere."
"Kikyo, whatever happened to 'love, honor, and obey'?" he inquired with a smirk that seemed to be glued on his face.
Kikyo scoffed. She had already broken the first two, so why not the third one? She never really obeyed him anyway.
"You dare repeat those vows to me as if they meant anything to you?" she countered with a frown on her face. He never followed any of those vows. He looked at her as an object to possess and put on a mask in order to win her. The mask was off, though.
"Of course they mean something to me. I love you," he stated with that wicked, evil smirk still in place as if he was making fun of her.
Perhaps in his sick, twisted mind he did believe he loved her, she considered. But, that was moot because not only was his version of love not true to what the emotion was supposed to be, but also she did not love him. She realized if she loved anyone at all on the planet, it was Sesshomaru.
Kikyo was stunned by that realization. Was she really in love with an arrogant dog demon? She had been trying her best to deny it, especially while she was on vacation with him, but now having to deal with her irksome husband, she had to yield to the thought. She was in love with Sesshomaru.
Naraku continued on after his declaration of love. "I do honor you and I want you to obey me," he growled.
"I'm not your pet," she replied.
"You will be," he seemed to vow. And there it was. His true desire acknowledged, out in the open.
Kikyo wondered if that was the point to him having a house built in the countryside. Was it someplace far from civilization where he believed he could break her in the privacy of their own home? Someplace where he assumed no one would hear her screaming? Someplace where no one would notice she was missing? She would not put it passed him and she was pretty correct on all fronts.
The hanyou planned to build a home far away from any distractions and he was going to make her become what he wanted. He would spend all the time in the world it would take to make her the docile, little wife she should be. Once he had the perfect wife, he could continue his climb in society. He would be able to show her off at parties and have others envious of him. He would not be embarrassed to bring her around and no one would dare say anything against him with her by his side. He could begin to build his career with her by his side and not be blindsided again like that damned dog demon had done.
Beyond that, Naraku looked forward to breaking Kikyo and her proud stature. He would show her that he was in charge of everything and he would become the center of her universe as he believed he should be. He had his plans in place and everything already, so she was coming with him whether she liked it or not. There would be no refusals.
-8-8-8-8-
Sesshomaru was a bit curious as to what was bothering his little sister. He knew something was bothering her because of the way she kept looking at him. She stared at him when she thought he was focused on his book. He figured she should have been paying much more attention to the television since there was a rebroadcast of the X-games.
"Rin, if something is the matter, tell me," the dog demon stated. He would make whoever disturbed her pay.
Rin bit her lip. She wanted so badly to demand to know what he thought he was doing with Kikyo. She knew Kikyo was not the type of woman she seemed to be, having an affair with her brother and everything. Kikyo was a good woman and she was kind. She would never do anything wrong, yet there she was sleeping with Sesshomaru while she was married to some other guy. Her big brother had to have done something to make this happen.
Rin knew her big brother was not the most good-natured person she would ever run into. He was good to her, which tended to be all that mattered to her, but now he might be helping to bring down a good woman and she did not like that.
"Big brother," the preteen said in an unsure tone.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Why won't you tell me about your new girlfriend?" she decided to ask. She did not know what else to say without coming right out and asking if that was really Kikyo in his bed earlier.
"I don't want to be bothered about her later on."
"Oh. Why? You know I'm just going to tell Mommy and Daddy you have a new girlfriend, anyway," she pointed out. Well, she would try not to do that now, but he had to assume she would, as that was what she had done in the past.
"She's not my girlfriend," he said. It was pretty much the truth in his mind. Kikyo was not his girlfriend, but his mate. She just happened to be married to a bastard at the moment he had to get her away from.
Rin twisted her mouth up to one side. "No? But, she was in your bed."
"Just because a woman is in my bed that doesn't make her my girlfriend."
Rin's little brow furrowed at that information. Did her brother have a one-night stand with Kikyo? That was even worse because Kikyo really did not seem like that type of woman. It seemed like the more she thought on the matter the more it bothered her because of the different scenarios that were coming up. A one-night stand meant Kikyo cheated, but also had a meaningless fling. Her wedding vows meant that little to her. It could not be right.
"Are you going to tell me anything about her then?" Rin inquired.
"Watch your program," he replied.
The little skater girl sighed. Was she going to have to tell her best friend her big brother might have just had a one-night stand with Kikyo? Kaede would never believe it because she knew Kaede thought the world of both of her sisters. But then again, Kaede might be more open to that idea now that they basically proved Kikyo was cheating on her husband.
Maybe she should just keep her mouth shut, Rin considered. They had agreed to never talk about it and she might as well keep that promise. It was just that, it really bothered her for some reason. It seemed wrong and it did not seem like something a nice person that Kikyo might do. It also did not seem like something a proud, dignified, honorable person like her brother might do. It did not make any sense. There was something wrong here and until they set it right, Rin felt like she did not know her big brother, did not know what type of person he was. Her world was at a tilt now and she was certain Kaede felt the same.
Rin turned to focus back on the television, even though her mind was not on the program. Sesshomaru noted the serious expression on her face and he could only wonder what was going through her mind. He figured whatever was on her mind had to do with the woman she saw in his bed. She was more than likely just being her usual eager, curious self, but her expression was different from any other she had ever worn. She looked so determined and deep in thought, maybe a little worried and confused too. He did not know what to think of it. She'll talk about it when she's ready, he assured himself.
-8-8-8-8-
Midoriko was suspicious of her little sister. Kaede had been acting strangely since she came in and Midoriko figured it had something to do with Kikyo because Kaede kept bringing up the middle child. But, she bought up bizarre things.
The eldest sister could only wonder what might have happened with Kikyo to have Kaede asking all sorts of questions about their sister. She kept bringing up Kikyo's sketchbook, wondering if Kikyo had ever left the book somewhere or if she would ever leave it some place unattended. Midoriko continuously pointed out that Kikyo would never leave that sketchbook anywhere. After saying it for the fourth time, Midoriko felt it was time to move forward.
"Kaede," Midoriko said as she stood in the preteen's doorway. Kaede was about to go to bed with having to be told so. She was worn out thanks to the day.
"Yeah?" the twelve-year-old replied.
"I'm beginning to think something is wrong."
"Why?"
"Aside from the fact that you're about to go to sleep at ten, even though you don't have school tomorrow and I didn't have to have physically stand in front of the TV to tell you to do so?" Midoriko pointed out. She had a long list of peculiar things her little sister had done that night, so she could go on if that one item was not enough.
"It feels later than ten," Kaede said because to her it certainly did feel later than ten.
"Tell me what's wrong. Did something happen with Kikyo?" the eldest sister asked, her eyes swimming with concern.
"No, nothing happened with Kikyo," Kaede denied a bit too vehemently.
Midoriko frowned. "What happened with Kikyo?"
"Nothing!"
"Kaede, you know you can tell me anything. So, tell me what happened with Kikyo," Midoriko requested in a gentle tone. If something happened to their sister and she was not there to help, Midoriko was not sure if she would be able to forgive herself. She was not sure their parents would be able to forgive her. She had already dropped the ball by letting Kikyo marry the scum of the Earth. She could not fail again.
"Nothing happened!" Kaede insisted.
"Something did happen, which is why you're being so difficult. What happened to our sister? If something is wrong, you need to tell me. Perhaps, I can help," the eldest said in an understanding voice.
"You can't help," Kaede replied with a miserable groan. Her shoulders slumped and she rubbed her face with one hand. No one could help their sister. The damage was already done and could not be fixed. It was like a crumbled up piece of paper; the wrinkles would never come out.
Midoriko's stomach flipped. "How do you know I can't help? Tell me what's wrong."
"It's nothing!" the preteen said forcefully and tears gathered in her eyes. She never had to lie like she was doing now. She told little lies, of course. She was twelve for crying out loud. But, she never had to deal with something so big before.
"Kaede," Midoriko said the name impatiently. "What happened with Kikyo? What is wrong?" Her voice was even and stern as she stepped deeper into the room. She was not going to accept anything less than the truth now.
"I can't tell you," the younger sister muttered.
"You will tell me right now." Midoriko pointed to the floor.
"I can't."
"Why? Did Kikyo tell you to keep something from me?" Midoriko asked. The last time Kikyo had a secret from them, she was dating that damned hanyou and would not listen to reason.
Tears slid down Kaede's face. "No, she doesn't know I know."
Midoriko sighed and her heart constricted in her chest. Fear and worry wrapped around her like barbed wire. She went to Kaede, sitting next to her on the bed with a hand on her shoulder. Kaede leaned into her, comforted by the rare body contact.
"Kikyo is keeping something from us is what you're saying?" the eldest sister inquired.
Kaede only made a noise and shook her head. She was not going to give the secret away. She was not going to betray Kikyo, even if it was to Midoriko. She was not even supposed to know about it. Why the hell did they have to go snooping instead of just skating?
"Kaede," Midoriko said.
"I can't tell you," the child repeated, voice broken as a sob tried to escape.
Midoriko accepted that because of how convicted Kaede sounded. She did not think she needed Kaede to spell it out, anyway. She figured she would sit down and review Kaede's behavior for the night and she would discover what the problem was. For now, she comforted Kaede until the girl stopped crying and fell asleep against her.
-*-(Next day)-*-
Kikyo strolled down the street, holding her head up high, even though she felt something eating at the pit of her stomach. She was going to have lunch with her sisters, so she should feel better. She was not in particularly good mood despite the fact that she was going to see them. It was because she had to deal with Naraku and his wicked smirk for all of last night. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she was worried. She knew he was not planning anything good for her in the move that he wanted to make and she hated to think what might be on his mind.
Sure, Kikyo could take care of herself, but she still worried. She also did not want things to ever come to the point where she might have to purify Naraku, kill him. She did not want to find out what her breaking point was or what evil he was capable of. She just wanted to live her life. Was that too much to ask?
As Kikyo got to her sisters, she noticed they did not look like they were in better moods. Kaede stared at her feet and her cheeks were puffed out, which was a clear sign she was upset. The youngest sister looked up, her eyes were red, and noticed Kikyo approaching. Midoriko turned to see Kikyo coming.
The eldest sister rose to her feet, pushing her chair back as if she was furious with the piece of plastic. Kaede flinched as the scrapping sound echoed through the air. The little girl looked at Kikyo with sorrowful eyes.
"I'm sorry," the youngest sister apologized to Kikyo while the eldest greeted Kikyo with a sound slap on the cheek. Kikyo's eyes were wide with shock. The pain did not even register to her brain.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Why the hell is Midoriko slapping Kikyo?