Chapter 6: Sesshomaru's Heart
The village lights had gone dark; the rustling of the trees leaves had quieted. The natural light from the stars and moon were shinning silently.
ThumpThumpThumpThumpThump. Thump. Thumpthump. Thump. ThumpThumpThump.
He was listening to the erratic, irregular beating of two hearts.
It was happening again. Whenever he visited Rin recently, their heartbeats had shifted just slightly enough that only he could've noticed. There was no observable pattern; it just didn't sound right.
Was this interference from his youkai rivals? Or unknown priestess?
He had already intentionally reduced his visits to investigate while keeping Rin safe. Thus far, he had not found the cause. There was nothing written on scrolls about this condition for youkai and human hearts.
"You think humans are feeble and weak; I don't have miko powers like Kagome or Kaede-sama. I don't have the skills like the demon slayers, Sango and Kohaku. Nor do I have powers like Inuyasha and Shippo. At best, I will become a decent herbalist. At worst, I am also feeble and weak."
Was it because of the subject at hand? She had asked about the potential of rejoining his side.
ThumpThumpThump. Thump. ThumpThump. Thump.
He had already told her that she wasn't ready. Between his duties at the castle and travels, he was too exposed. She would be too exposed.
The safest option would be for her to remain at the village. As a compromise, he could prep her and give her translated copies of scrolls from his family's collection to read. There were hundreds of thousands of scrolls. That should cover a "few" more years.
ThumpThumpThumpThump. ThumpThump. ThumpThumpThump. Thump. Thump.
"Sesshomaru, whether I am at my best or worst, my place is by your side."
When Rin skipped the formality in his name, Sesshomaru woke from his thoughts. He hadn't realized that she was staring at him. He was "looking" but actually distracted by their erratic heartbeats.
He refocused and stared back. He caught his breath.
ThumpThump. Thump.
Since when did time accelerate Rin so fast? Even at night, her brown eyes held the warmth of the sun. Her delicate skin glowed against the moon's beams.
Thump.
Before Sesshomaru could find his words, Rin's hand reached out and began tracing his crescent moon in gentle sweeping motions. Gliding up around the top of the crescent before following the natural curve back down.
Thump.
Sesshomaru felt her strokes on his forehead all around him. He felt his mokomoko slide off the branch and sway side to side. Her strokes felt like the gentle hug of the sun and moon; Her warm hand against his cool head. Her warmth to his cool. It felt right.
Thump.
He reached out to pull her against him.
Rin. Thump.
His arms wrapped around her shoulders and pushed her forward.
Come Rin. Thump.
And just as her body melded into his embrace, she vanished. His vision went black.
Dawn had already broke. The sun already half-risen; Rarely did he miss the sunrise.
Sesshomaru opened his eyes wide. The claws on his right hand contracted into the bedroom column he had rested against. He would have Jaken find someone replace it later.
Rin.
"Jaken."
What was so urgent for his Lord? Rarely did Sesshomaru summon Jaken to his room.
Jaken quickly slid the bedroom screen door open.
His Lord was seated upright against a bedroom column with his swords lying next to him. Sesshomaru-sama was wearing his normal nightwear, a white jinbei. Nothing seemed amiss. So why did Sesshomaru-sama beckon for him?
"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama!"
"Take A-Un and go to Inuyasha's village. Check on Rin."
"Did something happen to Rin, Lord Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow to Jaken.
"On my way Lord Sesshomaru!"
Jaken slid the screen door closed and hurried along to reorganize his priorities before fetching A-Un. Rin, what have you gotten yourself into?
Alone again, Sesshomaru turned to absently stare out of the floor-to-ceiling window that faced East, toward the human village. He recalled the sequence of events from his dream. It was a near recreation of an old conversation Rin had with Sesshomaru, with the exception of the ending. He hadn't pulled her into a hug; he had pushed her away. Her gesture took him by surprise. Between the mystery behind the erratic heartbeats, Rin's conversation and then her surprise gesture, he needed some distance to clear his mind. Having Rin around would only complicate things. Her companionship would make her vulnerable. And make me vulnerable.
At the time of the conversation with Rin, he was traveling the Western Lands to quell any doubts about his leadership. With land disputes to settle and allegiances to re-affirm, he needed the confidence of the other youkai. After Rin's revival at his mother's castle, rumors began to whisper across youkai that he had the same quirk like his father. It did not matter to them that he had mastered the Meido Zangetsuha with Tenseiga. He needed the confidence of the youkai in the Western Lands. If Sesshomaru had a human companion like his father, how could they expect him to look out for their best interests? It was an obvious conflict that he did not have an answer to. Not yet at least.
Between Rin and his responsibilities, Sesshomaru wasn't ready to juggle both. He needed more time to prepare. He didn't have a second chance like his father did; Sesshomaru had already revived Rin once before.
He could not afford to make any mistakes.
So he told her. "That is enough. Humans are too weak; you will never be ready."
He wasn't wrong. While less violent, the world he lived in had not changed much from his father's time. He still had to play by youkai rules.
And once on top, he'd break them and define his own rules.
If Rin could wait 10 years, she could wait a few more months. He was almost there. Sesshomaru knew Rin was growing impatient. As a compromise, he began sending over additional materials for her to learn. He had hired a scroll spirit to copy texts of all topics from medicine to history. While she couldn't join him, Rin could still learn about his people and lands. When the time came, he would ask her if she still wanted to follow him. At least by then, she would have enough information about the youkai world to choose. If she hadn't already chosen.
By then, he would also have the castle ready for her if she decided to rejoin him.
As Sesshomaru began to consolidate power and allegiances, he needed a central location to host his guests and act as a military command. Borrowing his mother's castle wasn't always convenient as she'd try to meddle. She would invite herself to negotiations and discussions, suggesting strategic partnerships that mainly involved his marriage. While not a bad suggestion, Sesshomaru was still young. He also did not approve any of the potential mates; none of them could even hold themselves up to Rin when he compared them. None of them had anything special to offer; they all just wanted the title as Lady of the Western Lands. Sesshomaru couldn't blame them, but it made him even more considerate of his choice of a partner. Anyone could be trained to navigate the politics and social rules of youkai society; who could offer the intangible?
Loyalty, integrity and empathy were just a few values he seeked in a mate; he had not found anyone worthy. He was in no hurry; he still had many years to find a mate. But he did need to plan for his future generations; a castle would be needed.
As for his mother's castle, he also didn't like how short and wide her structures were; he couldn't see the outside. And so, his 12-story pagoda castle was being built to tower over the lands, to impress approaching guests and intimidate intruders from hundreds of miles away.
So far, the foundations of the castle had been built and fortified. The square stone foundation were coated in dragon blood to deflect weak youkai attacks against the castle. On top of the stone foundation sat the pagoda tower with the two highest floor already completed. The construction of the other floors below and surrounding land were being overseen by Jaken. Sesshomaru didn't expect to find occupants and purpose for every level yet. He just needed the first four completed to begin hosting meetings and guests on the third and fourth floors.
The first floor, the highest, was his quarters. The room was simply divided into 2 rooms, his bedroom and a seating area, with a hallway that ran between the two rooms. Although it was the smallest floor in the tower, it had a large terrace that ran alongside the perimeter of the room. This allowed Sesshomaru to comfortably use the floor in any form.
The second floor belonged to Rin. Of course, he had designated her floor to be right below his; he didn't trust anyone but himself, Jaken and A-Un to protect her. He would ensure that she had all the human comforts and more to discourage her from wandering outside the castle walls. Based on his last glance at her, he made some estimates of measurement for some clothing in her closet. He planned to build a library to store all his scrolls. A garden would be erected right outside the castle. He had planned things perfectly for her. No mistakes made.
He was only waiting on the bathhouse to be completed before asking her.
It had been 3 years since their last real meeting. Since then, he never gave her the opportunity to meet. He, however, would steal glances at night as he dropped off the gifts for her. He didn't enter Kaede's home but peeked through the one window that, if lucky, granted him glimpses of her sleeping body. He could never afford to stay long; their hearts would start to stir. Rin could've woken up and noticed his presence.
Even if Rin rejoined him, and their hearts were still beating irregularly, at least he would have the space and time to deal with it. Together. She could then live her days out in the castle.
If Rin decided to stay with the humans, he would respect her wishes. Irregardless of Rin's decision, his second floor would eventually be converted for his future mate.
These were Sesshomaru's intentions for Rin so that she may live a happy life. Wasn't that enough?
So what was the purpose of his dream last night? What had he missed?
Why had he tried to embr—
"Sesshomaru-sama"
The Shiba Inu servant bowed behind the screen door.
"Speak."
"The Batafurai Lords will be arriving shortly."
Hn.
Kuki and Hane were the heads of the Batafurai clan and new lords of the Southern Lands. They were an interesting species of foreign butterfly youkai from Shina that now occupied the Southern Lands. Previously, the Southern Lands were left in disarray due to the former lord dying unexpectedly and without an official heir. Amidst the disarray, the Batafurai clan emerged to claim the throne and force the challengers under submission. With their new position, they had requested a presence with Lord Sesshomaru to discuss a new peace treaty. As their species were new to Japan, Sesshomaru had only heard rumors of their powers; They reportedly had teleportation abilities. He cautiously accepted their request to use the opportunity to evaluate them.
"Leave. I will be down shortly."
The servant bowed and left.
Sesshomaru had matters to attend to; the Batafurai clan would either be friend or foe.
The matters regarding Rin would be addressed later; Jaken was already on it anyways.
They had time.
By mid-afternoon, Jaken and A-Un only arrived to the human village to receive the bad news by Kaede. By the time Kaede and friends returned in the morning, Rin had disappeared and left no message for anyone. Those who were in the village yesterday did not approach her due to her foul experiments with medicines, which they eventually realized was used to mask her scent.
Search parties had already been formed. InuYasha and Kagome went ahead to the neighboring villages to ask about Rin's presence. Sango, Miroku and Kirara were searching from above to cover more land. The young youkai slayers were searching on foot to look for any familiar footsteps leaving the village. Some of the villagers had organized search parties to search around the village. Shippo and Kaede remained in the village to care for the young ones. Jaken and A-Un joined to search the skies.
Sesshomaru-sama is going to kill me if I don't find Rin.
Unbeknownst to Jaken, he and A-Un would have a long night ahead. No one would be able to locate Rin's whereabouts.