Chapter 6

Having Been at the Source

Frozen in the unfathomable sweep of the moment. The two human women, cowering behind a rock in a hot spring were paralyzed in no uncertain terms.

"Sesshomaru-sama, turn around"

His head snapped towards his mate, nostrils flared at her apparent support of their current insolence.

"You must preserve their modesty, my lord. Turn around"

The muscles in his face relaxed with realization, as he scoffed and spun on his heels to face the opposite direction of the two very puzzled women. Sango and Kagome quickly packed up as Shinokiri mouthed a breathy 'thank you' to them. Shinokiri inhaled deeply and blew thick mat of mist from her mouth, she felt the thick addition to the cover of steam would make the process smoother.

Freed by the cover of the mist, they were able to quickly throw together their belongings and address decent enough to be n their way.

"See you later Kiri-chan!" "Later!"

Kagome and Sango respectively called out as they dripped through the forest messily put together, obviously upset over their abrupt ejection. Shinokiri winced at the unauthorized use Inuyasha's mate made of his nickname for her. A nickname she had regrettably let slide when he was toothless pup slobbering over even the most basic of words.

Now alone, Sesshomaru turned towards her making a point to stretch his neck in looking down at her.

"It's disgusting how weak you have become."

He spat out the words smugly. She couldn't disagree with him though. Right now, she was embarrassingly weak. It picked at her spirit to be so vulnerable. Yet, in this moment, she was more at ease than she had previously been all week. There is a paranoia that comes with being helpless around a multitude of people…most of them strangers. Strangers nursing her, witnessing her in filth and invalidity. Strangers stood by her when not conscious, in her most exposed states of slumber. The stress of it might even be detrimental to her recovery to some extent, but now, just her and Sesshomaru. This was the most natural she had felt far too many decades.

"Is that what you ran them off for? You needed privacy to tell me that?"

Playful and sardonic, but it didn't hide the heaving of her chest. She was anxious to be near him again…thrilled. A familiar contraction; a familiar warmth. She was aroused. His eyes on her alone were a little death in itself. It had been so long, too long—an eternity.

"Your blind loyalty to my father is so foolish. Flagrantly overzealous. It shows how truly unremarkable you are in every description."

"I apologize that you felt so neglected in my absence, my lord."

Sesshomaru began to remove his armor, casting his two swords at his feet. Then his kimono and hakama…everything. Shinokiri put her head in the water to obscure the raggedness of her breathing. She could survive on the remembrance of the pale perfection of his body. Each muscle and marking etched into her memory, but she would die, in her current state, to see it again in person.

Her mate could be heard slipping into the water with her. She could smell that her desire was reciprocated, but it was different. He was restraining himself, she could feel it in his mood, the way one can feel these things after centuries.

"You are too pathetic to touch at this time."

Shinokiri let out a strangled sigh of frustration. It would be a trial to hold on her dignity in this situation. Why torture me so?

In truth, seeing her like this shook Sesshomaru to his foundation. It scared him to experience her thus. This demoness he knew to always be capable and strong. He could never take her in this state. Fragile like porcelain. What if he broke her further? The thought had irked him incessantly in the few days since her return.

"So you wish to keep me as a captive audience to you bathing?"

"Yes"

A wave of quiet unfulfilled laughter passed over Shinokiri's body. How ridiculous.

There had been so many things left unsaid between the two. So much resentment. Their natures would never allow it. Currently, it would be Shinokiri's behavior. Her insistence on choosing a dead Inu no Taisho's demands over a live Sesshomaru's needs. Consistently she would do this. It was the hallmark of their relationship.

Inu no Taisho gleamed in the glory of the heat of battle. The young Shinokiri could not take her eyes off of him. His power. His majesty. Demon after demon fell to his blade. Carrion covered the earth, but in the slippery sludge of it all the great demon never lost the traction in his stance. He made easy meaningful strides with each strike, barely expounding effort.

It was not her curiosity that got her there. The young puppy, long abandoned, gaunt in the face and emaciated. She had felt the earth move from the reverberations of violence and smelt its carnage and moved quickly to scavenge whatever flesh she could. The disgrace of it all. Once from a great line, the unwanted pup was reduced to this, the lowest of the low.

She being a she, and the runt of the litter had made her so undesirable to her kin that she simply woke up without them. In the decades since, she had managed to survive in this way. Picking at corpses like a crow.

The great daiyokai before her; his example. It brought about such feelings of shame as she has never felt before. Her sullied state compared to his of highest exaltation.

Inu no Taisho sheathed his sounga, having defeated all who had stood before him. In his peripheral vision, he saw a tiny gray blur rummaging through armor to cleave flesh from bone. It sickened him.

He bent to take her gaunt face into his hands, picking her up by it.

"What you're doing is beneath you? If you are to survive you must hunt and eat your kill fresh"

Shinokiri mustered something of a nod. Inu no Taisho, the colossus that he was, brought her high up to his shoulders so that she was terrified at the height she was at. At this, he chuckled and bid her grasp onto his head for purchase.

He would hunt for her the first decent meal she had in years, and when she left she vowed to never forget his kindness. Such an unusual trait in a demon. She vowed to find him and serve him. She would repay him his attentions to the fullest of her capabilities—with every fiber of her being. He would come before all others.

It would prove to be in some instances a wise choice. She would find him and perform whatever task he asked of her, and as his status grew, so did hers. She would ride her loyalty into increasing comfort and prestige. Above all of her kin she, the runt, had survived and prospered. It would be her who would carry on their line and bring honor to them. All for sake of Inu no Taisho and her loyalty to him. It had never failed her. At least, it never occurred to her that there might be failings gone overlooked.

Sesshomaru had gotten close to Shinokiri. He brushed her wet hair back, stroking the flower mark on her forehead. They shared a tired look deep into each other's eyes, only to be broken by Shinkokiri who shook her head away from his touch. She longed to kiss him, to feel his lips pressed against hers once more. She thought better of it than to carry out this fantasy. She knew it would overextend her compromised state.

"I'm too pathetic, remember?"

The comment earned a scoff from the demon lord.

Despite it all, their silence was a comfortable one. Shinokiri absent mindedly ran her claws through Sesshomaru's hair. Both found the action soothing, and Sesshomaru leaned back into her touch.

"I had missed this"

Shinokiri closed her eyes slowly, saying it almost as if in delighted realization.

"Hn?"

Sesshomaru's questioning grunt faded into a contented sort of hum.

"You're company…any company."

"Companionship is a crutch. I need no one."

Shinokiri snickered, beguiled by how oblivious he'd have to be to make such a statement. "It's amazing how much you like lying to yourself. If that were true, you wouldn't have Rin, and I'd still be in that snake."

There was a pregnant pause.

"My lord, what are your intentions with Rin? If she decides to return to you care once she is of age…will you lay with her?"

"Will I fill the belly of a human before you?"

Sesshomaru countered, obviously offended, hot with agitation.

"It is a valid question."

"This Sesshomaru, is not his father. Rin is under my protection, not being reared to rut with."

Sesshomaru brushed her off and found his way out of the hot spring. Bundling her up he got them both dressed and they silently made the pilgrimage back to Kaede's hut.

Is it possible? Could he truly only be smitten with the innocence of the girl, with no other intentions? To care for her and ask nothing of her in return? Perhaps he has overcome the weaknesses of his father, of any male. How can he be so steadfast in caring for a child that is not his own?

Shinokiris inner quandary was interrupted by a gleeful shriek.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Shinokiri-hime!"

Rin jumped and waved ahead of them on the path before the hut. With her was a young woman who looked frightened to been in the presence of two taiyoukai, even if one had to carry the other.

"This is who I was telling you about Shinokiri-hime! After Lord Sesshomaru got me this new koto to practice on—"

She pointed to the wrapped koto strapped to her back.

"I found Aiko-sensei. She's been teaching me"

The aforementioned Aiko bowed as low as she could.

"I am most grateful for you magnanimous generosity, my lord…my lady…the death of the demon Kogane brought many riches to the village as a whole, but for me, personally, it allowed me to pay off my family's debts. I am so glad that I can assist your ward in her lessons…anything to repay your kindness. I will forever hold dear the honor of having young Rin in my charge. I do not take this responsibility lightly!"

The words poured out of her with immense indecipherable speed. There was no use trying to makes sense of any of it, so the pair simply stared at her blankly, and with that she hurried off; still obviously giddy and nervous from being in their presence.

Upon entering the hut, Sesshomaru perfectly placed Shinokiri down in one fluid motion before exiting. He made no attempt to look back. The vassal Jaken sprinted to the door, hyperventilating at the entrance.

"Lord Sesshomaru! I've caught you in time! You are leaving now, yes?"

And with that, they were gone. High into the clouds in the span of a blinking eye. Rin called out to them cheerfully.

"Goodbye Lord Sesshomaru! Goodbye, Mater Jaken! Until next time!"

She spun around to face Shinokiri. Her smile clung to her face, but her eyes looked glassy and pink. She let her emotions drop and a wailing from the pit of her stomach emitted from her.

"I hate when he leaves Shinokiri-hime. How can you stand it?"

Not sure of what to do with this strange child, Shinokiri figured that the best option was to calm her down before the old priestess got back. The demoness extended her arms outward, becoming the child in her embrace. Her chest became damp with the child tears, but she kept her firm in her arms, and Rin lay next to her. In this, they both found peace in one another, even as ignorant as they were to one another.

Kaede would return to them asleep in each other's arms. It brought a warmness to her, and so she watched them. This odd pair brought together by even odder circumstance. It was otherworldly how right the two looked their together fused by such an unlikely common bond. It was beyond belief that anyone, much less these two could find affection in one another over the shared experience of the icy Sesshomaru.