Nocturne - Chapter Seven: Density and Denial
Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)
o - o - o - o - o : Indicates scene or POV change
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
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Sesshomaru could smell her before she had even walked through the door. Her sweet scent was mingled with something markedly different, something that tickled the edge of his consciousness, a fact that he had seldom cause to use.
When she stepped inside, her scent emanating throughout the room and masking the sickly odor of the frail old human woman and Rin's clean one. It was in the moment that she was basked in the light pouring through the doorway while she held up the curtain that he knew.
His features were schooled into a mask of stoicism for which he was grateful. His disgust over the Miko's parturiency would have appalled young Rin, who seemed enchanted with the idea of the impending birth of an abomination, a further taint upon their father's honored memory.
The mere thought of the miko and his hanyo brother rutting together filled him with abhorrence. He was all too pleased when the woman rose to leave; until she flashed a look of defiance in his direction that caught him off guard. His hackles rose, and he sat unmoving while she spat her venomous words in his direction. When she stepped out of the small, confining house, Rin pouted openly.
Kaede grunted, "Hmph, that is odd behavior from her. Apologies, Lord Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru waved a hand, "Think nothing of it, miko."
"Lord Sesshomaru, tell me more about your 'betrothal,'" Rin asked, pulling forward excitedly. She seemed to forget about the woman's exit instantly.
"Everything to be said has been said," he responded.
Kaede moved to find a more comfortable position, working hard to adjust herself. "Daiyokai Lord. Pray, tell thy thoughts for the young Rin. My time here is limited, and ye asked she remain here to learn of our mortal ways," she said.
"Miko, you seem to be implying that this Sesshomaru would take Rin with me upon my departure." He was growing annoyed with the questions from the older woman.
"Yes, Lord, and it has been noted that thy visits have become more infrequent as of late. Perhaps there is trouble in the west?" Kaede asked.
"That is nothing with which to trouble yourself. The affairs of the Western Lands are none of your concern," he replied tersely.
Kaede sighed, acquiesced. "I see. Then can it be assumed that ye shall not be returning for some time?"
Sesshomaru looked over at Rin, who sat quietly now, waiting for his judgment. "Rin must remain with her kind. There is nothing for her in the West. Once my intended arrives, any visits will cease."
"But Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin pleaded, tears instantly welling in her eyes.
Sesshomaru stood and looked down upon his former ward, now grown into a lovely young woman. His side was no place for a mortal girl. There was nothing he could afford her now that he had agreed to take the hand of a distant inu-yokai royal.
The yokai from the mainland held humans with disdain more so than even he had in the past. Any dalliance with mortals would be viewed with deep indignation and contempt, if not perceived as an outright threat. It was necessary to secure this alliance to ensure the purity of his bloodline.
"It is not my wish to upset you. There is no place for you, a human girl, within my court," he told her. "It is time you found your place among your kind." Taking a moment to consider his words, he added, "I will always value your companionship."
Rin sniffled but smiled, running over to embrace Sesshomaru. He felt taken aback by the gesture but did nothing to push her away.
"Rin understands. I understand," she corrected herself. "I am also grateful for all the time we shared, and I will always treasure it."
Sesshomaru waited until Rin removed herself and took several steps back. He had not thought she would receive the news graciously. However, her time with the old miko seemed to have had its intended effect.
Kaede replied in agreement. "It is for the best child."
Rin smiled dutifully. "Tell Jaken that I will miss him as well. Oh, and Ah-Un, too!"
Sesshomaru gave another small nod, "Jaken shall be pleased to know you harbor fondness for him." He smiled inwardly. The toad would be appalled to know that the girl thought of him at all. It would please him to share the information once he returned.
He strode towards the door and stopped without turning around to say, "Until our paths may meet again." He exited the tiny abode and rose into the air.
Rin ran outside and waved as he departed the village, running underneath his shadow until she could no longer keep up. Sesshomaru felt a twinge of regret shoot through him at the sight but maintained his course due west.
The safety of Rin would be at stake had he brought her. The inu-female he was intended for had been known to be cruel towards humans. This match, brokered by his mother, ensured the bloodline remained pure. After all, his great and honorable father had already tainted the Taisho line by mixing with a mortal, resulting in his obtuse younger brother.
The wind buffeted his face and whipped his hair violently around him. Dark clouds formed on the horizon, and a low boom reverberated throughout the area. A storm was brewing, it seemed. Well enough that he was on his way, no storm could stop him, nor should he deign to worry.
As he cleared the edge of the village, he flew over the house where the human woman lived with his brother. He spared a fleeting glance at the tiny hut, noting there was no indication of occupants within. The woman was not there, and his half-brother was still away on some fool's errand. He scowled internally at the thought of a male abandoning his female for folly. For it must be folly to take so long.
Sesshomaru would have eliminated the threat and returned in less than a fortnight, yet his errant brother had been away for nearly a moon's time, leaving the human woman alone and exposed.
The thought of her and the abomination that swelled within her belly made him sick. A darker part of him called out, urging him to snuff out the life before it began. It was beneath him to slay something defenseless. It would be best if the fetus perished within its mother's womb before drawing breath. Perhaps it would in time. Sesshomaru had never heard of a half-demon successfully mating with a female in his long life, and that must account for something.
He passed over a clearing when he picked up the scent of her. It was strong in this area, and her usual sweet smell was now tinted with something that could only be identified as bitter. What she was doing alone in these woods was a question he did not have the time to answer, nor should he care. He felt compelled to see her one last time, if at least to quell that defiant spark.
He glided into the trees beyond the valley and strode towards the edge of trees with a grace befitting a daiyokai. That grace did not save him from the snap of a branch underfoot. The sound brought him back to reality, and he cursed himself for this fixation, brought upon by a spell. A spell which he had still not unraveled. He was sure this compulsion was a lingering effect of the casting, and it perturbed him that he'd not found the caster nor the objective of such an incantation.
The woman stood just inside the meadow with a bow in hand and a quiver of arrows at her feet. She had taken two arrows from the quiver and jammed them into the soft ground before her, waiting their turn for use. Nearly 60 meters away stood a large tree with several arrows already embedded into the trunk, all packed tightly in a neat circle.
Sesshomaru almost allowed himself to feel impressed at the feat, but it was difficult to be impressed with any human achievement when even a weak yokai was capable of much more. He watched in silence as she snatched up an arrow from the ground and nocked it. He could hear, even from a distance, the breath she took in through her nose, filling her lungs. The same breath that she exhaled could be heard as the arrow loosed from her grip, propelled forward in an instant to the target. This shot also hit its mark, finding a home next to its brothers within that circle.
His presence had either been ignored or overlooked by the miko. Sesshomaru wondered which, but given the force of each movement the woman took, it was evident that she was oblivious to his presence. All the better for him to go unnoticed.
The time for him to depart and sever this irritating thread binding him to the mortal had passed. He turned on his heel to rise into the sky but was stopped by the grating and challenging voice.
"Why do you linger and watch this disdainful human from the shadows, Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked in a firm voice. The thud of another arrow could be heard hitting the tree in the distance.
'How insolent,' he thought and turned his head to see that the woman faced him, her bow lowered but not out of hand. Curbing that brazen tongue would be a sweet event, and he could think of many ways with which to achieve her silence.
When he did not answer, she supplied in a dry tone, "There is nothing here for you."
Sesshomaru whipped around in a flash and had a hand wrapped around the woman's throat within a fraction of a second. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she did not seem to fear him as she should.
"Do I not frighten you?" he asked. "To be watched by a predator who could extinguish the light of your life with a squeeze of his hand?"
Her eyes softened, and she looked sad. Mortals were perplexing creatures, short-lived and too full of emotion.
Those deep blue orbs met him with an intensity he did not understand and held his gaze. She responded, "I am not afraid."
A corner of his lip twitched in a contemptuous motion, and she continued, "Not because you are not frightening."
He could feel her quiver beneath his grip until she continued, "I would cower before you if I were anyone else... But, I know you won't hurt me."
Sesshomaru, not breaking her stare, drew his clawed thumb across her neck, breaking the skin and allowing blood to bead up along the line he made. He knew the woman could feel the path of his claw and the droplets of blood that fell from the wound. Her heart rate did increase, but there was no smell of fear exuding from her.
When he did not elicit any more reaction from her, Sesshomaru released his grip and let his arm fall to his side.
"You are here alone?" he asked.
She seemed to fight down the urge to smile. "You would know if I were not."
"Then you should know it is not safe in these woods," he looked down and then back up, adding, "In your condition."
The woman scoffed and turned away, snatching out another arrow from the quiver. She gracefully put the arrow to her string, pulling it tight under her chin, and released. The answering thud of the shaft hitting its target was her response to him.
Sesshomaru had no more time for this absurdity and made to leave from whence he came. But before he could take another step, she called out to him. "Wait," she said.
He stopped and regarded her cooly.
"I have something for you before you leave," she said. "Wait here."
Without waiting for a response, she set off down a path towards her home in the distance. Following her would not be wise. He'd already risked much by approaching her domicile in the past. It was only his luck that cold rains had washed his scent away before his brother returned.
The woman returned only a while later, carrying a bundle of fabric against her chest. It was immediately apparent the woman had kept his hankimono from the night of their encounter, and she held it out to him, looking away.
"Here," she said.
A strange part of him called out and urged that she should keep it: a reminder of him. That urge was swiftly quelled when he reached out to take the proffered garment.
This seemed to be as close as they would ever get to acknowledging that night. Sesshomaru had, at great pain and effort, shoved the memory deep away, ashamed of his baser instincts taking hold of him.
When he said nothing, the woman broke the silence, "Are we to pretend as if nothing happened?"
What question was this? "There is naught to say."
Her jaw clenched, and redness marred her cheeks. "There is much to say," she countered, exasperated.
"Go your own way, girl, as I shall go mine," was his terse reply.
The miko looked, now, on the edge of tears. Her fleeting emotions were enough to give any person strain.
"It's not that easy," she nearly sobbed.
Sesshomaru's brows drew in perplexion. He would never understand humans and their feeble emotions. All the same, he felt the pull from the invisible thread binding her to him. Her blue eyes watered and threatened to leak.
Not knowing what came over him, he grabbed her wrist he pulled her towards him.
A/N: Oh man. Lot's going on in this chapter. First off, for those of you wondering if this kid is Sess's, yes, it is. In this story, poor Inu can't have pups. :(
Will Sessh find out? Eventually, I'm sure, but he's a little too arrogant and prideful to see the obvious right now.
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Thanks for reading! Until next time.