I Do Not Own InuYasha


Aienkien

合縁奇縁

A couple strangely but happily united;

Uncanny relationship formed by a quirk of Fate;

The mysteries of attraction and relationships or bonds between people


II: 19


Year 1308...

Somewhere South of Yamagata, Japan...

Two days of travelling with Sesshōmaru was like her childhood, which made her all the happier with A-Un's company, and it was nice. Her best memories were of travelling with her lord, and now this was no different, even as she set up camp and his ever-watchful amber eyes tracked her movements. There was something different about how he watched her now though, she didn't know how to describe it. Even as she set up the fire pit how Jaken had taught her. Rin would admit that of all this she missed Jaken a great deal.

If anyone was akin to a second father to her, it was Jaken.

Jaken had taught her how to make a fire, how to cook, read, write, swim, he had taught her the plants, the wildlife, the yōkai ways of lesser yōkai; he had instilled her core values, with the aid of Sesshōmaru, he had taught her basic magic of his kind, and he had nurtured her when no one was looking. He had also seen to teaching her wrestling, something the kappa was surprisingly good at; and he taught her the proper ways to gamble with sumo wrestling matches. Jaken had protected her, grudgingly, taught her to fend for herself, and when she had been snatched by that daimyō he had beaten the fool over the head indignantly while attempted to save her. Rin was well aware that kappa did not like humans, and Jaken would lay his life down for her safety, and not because Sesshōmaru would be furious if anything happened to her, but rather because he had claimed her as his family. He had informed her of this after the daimyō's thwarted attempted at raping her, and Jaken; with Sesshōmaru, had overseen her recovery. Jaken had set her broken bones, and gone about informing her of all the medicine arts that Kaede and Kagome combined could never learn. Yes, she loved Jaken, he loved her, and she missed his presence, especially right now, right about now Jaken would be regaling her with some wild tale from the kappa tribe, or of some fictious and glorious battle that the kappa had participated in.

"Why are you sad?" Sesshōmaru's voice cut through their silence which had her turning to her lord, who's gold eyes were coolly assessing her.

"I do not believe sad is the right word, my lord," she said reflexively. Rin had found she spent much of her time explaining to Sesshōmaru her emotions and what they meant, at least, in her time. Their magic link might make it so he knew what she felt but she knew he didn't always comprehend what those emotions were. She, unlike him, felt many things at once and not always with a blinding intensity. Despite human believe, yōkai had emotions, their emotions were just so intense, and all-consuming that they couldn't be carelessly handled. The weaker and less intelligent the yōkai the more instinctual and emotionally volatile they were, but a creature like a daiyōkai, well, their emotions were like being burned in the core of a sun, it was intense; Rin had unwittingly been on a few of her lord's emotional outbursts. Rage was one she was accustomed to from him, he felt it with an intensity she could never describe or comprehend; especially when she was in danger. She was also very accustomed to his loneliness, his humor when it came about, his adoration of her in whatever capacity, and his all encompassing need to protect her, keep her safe and happy. It was strange, at least to her, but she was like a sun in his life, a light, one he held reverence for and savored, even if he could never show it; for he, like the moon, was forever ethereal and indifferent on the exterior.

"What is it?" he asked as she dropped the kindling near the fire for later.

"Wistful," she guessed. "I traveled a lot as a child, with my lord and his vassal, and I just am reminiscing the 'good old days', but I'm happy as we are," she smiled as she came to sit beside him.

He didn't reply as he looked her over. Rin pulled out a peach she had packed from Setsuna and started cutting it. Habit had her offering half to Sesshōmaru, who looked at it, then at her as he arched a brow.

"Please, you must!" she pleaded. "It's really sweet!"

Sesshōmaru had a well concealed, well hidden, fairly guarded secret sweet tooth! Rin knew because she had taken the habit of slipped sweets in her sleeves for him. InuYasha and everyone thought those sweets were for her patients, but they were for her lord. Sesshōmaru had a fondness for honey particularly, they had had some pretty epic battle of wills over who got the last of the honey when they were travelling. His claws did take it from her, and he looked around before biting into it, Rin chuckled as she hummed and munched on her peach.

"In the mountains, in the forest, in the wind, in my dreams…" she absently sang and frowned not remembering the rest of the song. The song had not crossed her mind in many years.

"What is that?" he asked, plucking her peach from her fingers.

"HEY!" she protested as she twisted to glare at him, he took a massive defiant bite of the peach then. "You had your own!" she snatched it back.

"Hn," he grunted, reaching for it, she leapt up and scurried off to finish it off in a few bites. "You look ridiculous Rin," he sighed.

She stuck her tongue out at him as she felt her puffy cheeks struggle to contain the peach. He was up and her tongue was caught in his claws, which had her glaring at him.

"I have better uses for your tongue," he warned her lowly releasing it. She swallowed and stared at those intense, molten honey colored eyes. Her heart sped up as her eyes stared at him, she could feel her face heating up, and she backed up to the tree.

She had never encountered this side of her lord, she didn't know what to make of it. It was almost like he was toying with her in some manner she didn't understand.

"Rest Rin," he said walking away. She'd have sworn his cheeks were a little pink, which had her shaking her head. Getting her bedroll Rin dragged it over to where he was resting, on his mokomoko side before setting up, stretching out to curl up against his thigh while hugging mokomoko. She never thought about if she should or shouldn't take such liberties with his person, he was her Sesshōmaru regardless of age and she was comfortable like this, he never seemed to mind.


Sesshōmaru looked down at his mate who was contently curled up against his thigh, her arm thrown over his waist and her head pillowed on mokomoko. She was so slight, so small, so fragile and human, he was careful as he slid his claws through her hair. Everything about the last two days had been enlightening, she was so guilelessly pure. She always was, but there was a battle tested confidence in her which he remembered that wasn't there this time. It was nice, it was nice to fluster her rather than having her fluster him. It was nice knowing he could fluster her, Rin was always so fluid and in motion nothing ever seemed to actually fluster her. Her fluidity was what made her an excellent warrior, especially for a human, she could take hits and keep going without fear or slowing down, she could change her tactics to give her advantages. Everything about her was always about changing tactics.

It was nice to meet her without that instinct.

It was also frustrating because he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, touch her, to feel her and hear her, it had been a few decades for him, and it was clear it had been never for her. He wondered why. The first time she had allowed him to touch her had been in the Mongol invasion, he had not expected her to be a minx, but then again, he wasn't a pup looking to the woman for guidance. He was her general, and her equal, they were fighting a war, seducing her hadn't crossed his mind until her impulsive kiss for surviving some craziness she felt she wouldn't have.

He wondered why she was innocent, untouched, unaware of the seductive, enticing, beautiful way with which she appealed to him. No matter, this would give him some time to properly court her for a change, he never could seem to do that, and she never seemed to expect it from him, but he wanted to change that. She deserved to be showered in gifts, to be shown what she meant to him, to be with him, and he finally had a chance to do that. Bewildering concept really.

For now though, he would keep watch of their camp and keep his mate safe. She trusted him to do that much.


Setsuna Castle...

Two days, almost three without Rin, and Izayoi was getting nervous, she worked steadily with her patients, feeding them the broth, healing wounds and sitting with the dying. She was trying not to think about Tōga, who was now plaguing her dreams ruthlessly, she didn't like it. The dreams were sweet, they were bewitching, they were distracting, and maddening. If she wasn't so exhausted she would take a dreamless sleeping draught, but as it was now she needed to be able to wake at a moment's notice. The war was getting more intense, as were the wedding preparations that she was undertaking.

And that lead her to the garden again tonight, rubbing her hands over her face to try to rid herself of the exhaustion.

She was too exhausted to even be startled when he dropped from the trees, looming over her in the garden. Her breath hitched staring at him, for he was so stunningly handsome! Otherworldly in the moon's light, with his eyes bright and warm like miniature suns peering down at her; even in his silhouette.

"Good evening," he said cordially, which had her frowning.

"What do you want?" she sighed tiredly. She was too tired after the last two days of healing and lack of sleep to even muster up the fear she usually had of him. The inu daiyōkai's face was hidden in the night's shadow but his eyes were gleaming and expressive.

"Where is Rin?"

"I honestly don't know," she yawned as she folded her arms to ward of the chills lancing up her skin, drawing it taunt so little bumps formed. She didn't like it as it teased and tensed over her back.

"You look like shit," he said bluntly.

"I wouldn't have guessed," she said dryly.

"Are you not sleeping?"

"Not that it's your concern, but no I'm not sleeping, and it's your fault!" she seethed as she took to glaring at him. She was too tired; she would gladly die if it meant she got some form of sleep.

"My fault?" he sputtered.

"Yes yours!" she hissed. "Between the dreams and the wounded, I don't get any sleep and it's your fault!"

"I…"

"I deal with the wounded you tear apart all day, then I try to sleep, and you plague my dreams, I want it to stop, now!" she snapped.

"I plague your dreams?" he looked skeptical then.

"Make it stop! Stop possessing me you inugami! Go bother someone else!" she hissed.

"I'm an inudaiyōkai not an inugami!" he snapped sounding highly offended.

"I do not care if you are a bloody kami, make the dreams stop so I can go get some sleep!" she snapped.

"I'm not in control of these 'dreams'," he retorted.

"I didn't have these problems until I came to Setsuna, so make them stop, or I swear to all the kami I will sic Rin on you," she warned as she spun around and stalked back to the shiro. She heard Tōga behind her about to protest but she slipped inside the safe walls of Setsuna and firmly shut the shoji on whatever he was going to say.


Somewhere in Yamagata...

It was midday when she saw the heavy wood wall of the yōkai taijiya village, which had Sesshōmaru keeping them in the forest as he guided A-Un and her. They stopped and she slid off A-Un, he caught her arm before she left the treeline.

"What?" she turned to him.

"I do not like this," he said. Rin looked at the village, there was a huge field between the forest and the village, not to mention the village had the strategic high ground, and she knew that the taijiya always had heavy weapons. They were the most prepared of anyone, ever, even the impressive shiros of her time seemed underwhelming when she stood in the ruins of the taijiya village. Rin had only ever been here once though, brought by emergency by Kohaku when she had been almost killed on one of their travels with InuYasha, she hadn't remembered how they had gotten here or where it was. Now though, she wasn't so sure about her plan to storm the taijiya village and get to the Shikon no Tama.

But she had gotten here so she wasn't turning back now.

"I'll be fine," she promised. "I have Bakusaiga and you," she pointed out.

"Rin…" he started.

"I'll be back," she promised with a smile and started to pull away, he grabbed her, spun her around and pressed her back up against a tree. His claws had her fingers tangled and pinned over her head, as his mouth crashed onto hers. She gasped in surprise, which was apparently what he needed as he deepened the kiss.

This was what it was like to be devoured, he was drowning her senses as he mercilessly took what he wanted, she struggled to kiss him back. His lust, his affections, his power, it was overwhelming her, it was too much, it didn't feel like enough even as she tilted her head and traced a fang with her tongue. He snarled lowly, which had her moaning as he pulled away, her chest was heaving, she felt herself trembling. His eyes flicked to her mouth then her eyes again, she felt her eyes flutter shut against her will as he bent over her again. The kiss was soft, featherlight, the kind that didn't ignite or quench the fire he had created in her bloody, but rather made her want more, want something more, but she didn't know what. Her heart wouldn't slow or relax, and she wondered if this was what had all the village girls so boy obsessed.

Rin had never actually pondered love or boys or lovers, she hadn't wanted to, she loved her lord, and whatever capacity he let her be with him she would take. She hadn't wondered about kisses or what it was about boys that made girls lose their minds.

Now though she was kind of wondering about it.

"Be safe," he murmured as his thumb traced her lower lip before he sidestepped and let her walk away. Rin was a bit stunned which had her glancing over her shoulder as he watched her. She smiled a bit, despite feeling her cheeks burning and then turned back to the task of getting to the taijiya village.

There were shouts on the watchtowers, which had her drawing Bakusaiga as it pulsed in her hand. She gasped when the first heavy spear came at her and Bakusaiga moved her to slash through the assault before it released it's own pulse of energy. Rin looked at the fang, she had never actually had the fang react to her using it like this.

"Who are you?" a man bellowed.

"I'm here to speak to Naohi!" she shouted back as she planted the fang before her.

"Yōkai are not welcomed here!" the man warned her loudly.

"I'm no yōkai," Rin said levelly. She wasn't a yōkai, and she had been told she didn't smell entirely human, but according to Kagome, Sango, and InuYasha she was human in every other sense.

"And yet you carry a yōkai blade!" the man said, his arrow was trained on her.

"Hai, I do," she nodded. "But I am not here for anything more than to speak to Naohi, I have no interest in stealing the Shikon no Tama or using it, I merely need to speak to Naohi."

"We do not welcome your kind here," he said.

"My kind?"

"Yōkai lovers," the man sneered.

"I am here to speak to Naohi!" she repeated firmer. She had grown up being insulted for being comfortable amongst yōkai and not humans all the time, she would not be cowed by yōkai taijiya about this matter!

"You will not get to the Shikon no Tama, we will not permit you to taint it with your vile desires!" the man roared and shot another arrow at her. Rin blinked when there was a blur and her lord was standing before her holding the arrow firmly in his fingers.

"I grow tired of your useless prattling," he snarled as he disintegrated the arrow in his claws.

"Sesshōmaru," she hissed as she tugged on his sleeve.

"Where is Naohi?" he demanded in his cold, leveled, calm voice. The soft baritone had not changed volume and he seemed annoyed.

"We will not hand the Shikon no Tama over to a yōkai!"

"As if I would have use for such trivial trinkets, I'm a daiyōkai," Sesshōmaru warned indifferently.

"There is a difference!" she called over her lord's shoulder.

"WAIT!" A new voice bellowed as Rin heard Sesshōmaru's knuckles cracking. She saw the monk come into view, he stared at her and Sesshōmaru with wide eyes. "I… I do not understand it, but she is… she's pure."

Sesshōmaru glanced at her then they both stared at the yōkai taijiya who now stood ready to kill but more relaxed.

"Those who consort with yōkai are never pure," the taijiya said.

"She is," the monk repeated.