Sorry I took forever to get this out. I thought I did but obviously not.
OTL... I guess I'm just horrible.
TO THE STORY!
Kimi stopped shaking the bars as she heard a door open quietly. A beautiful scent entered her nose. It seemed very familiar but yet she couldn't quite place it.
Footsteps gently echoed in the dungeon. Kimi was beginning to grow nervous. She slowly took a couple steps away from the bars until she was in the middle of the cell. The anticipation grew as she waited. Her cell seemed to be closer to the end, and the footsteps seemed to be getting slower.
Finally a man with long silver hair stopped in front of the cell. Her emerald eyes looked over him as her breath seemed to get caught in her throat. He had a pair of maroon strips on each side of his cheeks with a neat crescent moon placed on his forehead. But what made her hold her breath were his eyes. They were a beautiful gold and seemed to pierce her soul. What made it worse for Kimi was that he seemed so sad.
Kimi slowly tip-toed toward the cell bars. It was as if she had no control over her body. She pushed her left arm through the space between the bars and gently caressed his cheek. The man seemed quite taken aback by this action, who could blame him? She was too.
"Why… Why do I feel as if I've known you…" Kimi whispered, breaking the silence. The man only stared at her before moving away from her hand. He stared long and hard before he started to walk away. Kimi gripped the bars. He wasn't going to leave her here… was he? "W-wait!"
"Someone will show you to the servant quarters." He answered before disappearing behind the door.
Servant quarters? What was that supposed to mean?
Sesshoumaru stomped off, he had to go to the gardens to think. He had to clear his head. That was Kimi, his Kimi. Kimiko. There was no mistaking it. After all those years she had finally returned. As soon as he saw her his heart raced, something it was not used to doing anymore.
He was prepared to ask her why she left, but she stumped him even more. Her beautiful emerald eyes he grew to adore seemed very lost. But her touch was still gentle and still sent shocks down his spine. Her words summed it all up, which saddened him. She did not remember who he was.
Before Sesshoumaru headed outside, he strided through the servant quarters. He sighed inwardly as all the women tried to get his attention. They never ceased to realize they were beneath all looked very pathetic trying to show him their bits of skin.
He stopped in front of a door and pushed it open. A woman sat on her bed with her back facing him. Her navy hair covered her waist.
"What if I was changing m'Lord? A knock would be nice once in awhile you know…" She flatly stated without turning around. Sesshoumaru slightly growled as he shut the door behind him.
"Natsuko, watch your tongue!" Sesshoumaru warned. Natsuko stood up and faced her Lord, her big brown eyes staring him down.
"I'm sorry m'Lord! Sometimes it's hard when I've been working for you as long as I have." Natsuko smiled as she brushed her maid uniform off.
Sesshoumaru slightly rolled his eyes. It was true. Natsuko had been working for him a little before Kimi started working at the castle. Maybe that was why he came searching for her first. Before he could explain himself, Natsuko's nose was set off.
"M'Lord… Why do you smell… like that…" She questioned. She was mostly human but somewhere in her linage a wolf messed about. Natsuko stared up at him in shock. She was Kimi's first and best friend when Kimi started as a servant. Sesshoumaru turned his back to her.
"You have a special assignment. Bring the woman from the dungeon to your room. Teach her the rules of the castle. She will eventually be taking care of Rin." Sesshoumaru explained as he opened the door and started to walk down the hall. Natsuko raced after him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It is her… isn't it…" She whispered. Sesshoumaru pulled away from her and continued his journey toward the gardens.
Kimi stared at her outfit. It was tighter than most of the others she's seen around. It was no use complaining to the guards who took her out of the jail cell that she didn't belong. She figured she could run away later anyway. She slowly turned to her new mentor.
"Are you sure I have to put that on, Natsuko? It seems rather… tight…" Kimi asked unsurely.
Natsuko chuckled to herself as she mumbled a couple words. It sounded like she said 'It fit in the past". Kimi shrugged off the comment and slipped into the dark blue maid uniform. It clung to her body perfectly, accentuating it, yet was comfortable. Kimi tied her apron in a bow as if she'd done it thousands of times before, which surprised her.
"Let's go. We have to clean the castle for Lady Akiho's arrival." Natsuko explained. "But first I need to teach you the rules of the castle."
Kimi sat on the edge of Natsuko's bed. She wasn't excited for more rules. Everywhere she went people tried to take control of her it seemed. Natsuko cleared her throat.
"All servants must make sure the halls are spotless. Kitchen's must be cleaned after use. You must always obey Lord Sesshoumaru or he will punish you. And I doubt you want to know what the punishments are…" Natsuko continued to list rules that Kimi had to remember. Kimi only half listened. To her surprise she knew everything Natsuko was going to tell her. Kimi didn't understand what was going on with her lately.
"…But after sometime when you have proven yourself, you will be in charge of taking care of Lord Sesshoumaru's ward named Rin." Kimi's ears tuned into that statement.
"Rin? Who's Rin?" Kimi asked. Natsuko waved the question away.
"Nevermind that, we're late already. I'm sure you'll see her around eventually." Natsuko quickly answered. "Now let's go!"
Kimi quickly jumped off the bed and followed Natsuko through the castle. Natsuko briefly showed her rooms that she would have to eventually clean on her own. Kimi tried to remember as much as she could, but Natsuko was going very fast and it was weird walking in only her bare feet.
Natsuko soon stopped in the main enterance hall. Kimi silently gasped to herself as she looked around. It was very large with intricate designs and paintings everywhere. The floor had a large red carpet leading to a staircase.
Natsuko swiftly grabbed a bucket with water and got on her knees. She tied her navy hair into a low ponytail with an orange ribbon and started to scrub. Kimi did the same thing without question. It just felt… natural.
Fifteen minutes passed when Kimi started to get agitated. It was too quiet for her. She felt as if something was missing. She glanced up at Natsuko and noticed she was working really fast, as if trying to get away from her. Kimi cleared her throat, it was time to break the ice.
"So…" Kimi started. "How long have you been working for Sesshoumaru- I mean Lord Sesshoumaru." Natsuko stared at Kimi with her large brown eyes. She dropped her rag into her bucket.
"You really don't remember, huh?" Natsuko finally replied. Kimi stared at her in confusion.
"Remember what?"
Before Kimi could hear the response, the large front doors of the castle flew open. Natsuko grabbed Kimi's arm and dragged her into a standing a woman with fiery red hair, that curled into ringlets, and blazing red eyes stormed into the castle. She wore a tight black kimono that barely covered her bum and emphasized her chest.
The woman stopped in the middle of the hall. Her long bangs covered one eye but anyone could tell she was mad. The scowl on her face could burn one's soul. Kimi knew, as her soul melted at that moment. The woman wouldn't stop scowling at her.
"Lady Akiho, what are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked. Kimi glanced over to the staircase where he was standing. When did he get there? The woman named Akiho's glare turned into a look of delight.
"No need for formalities, Lord Sesshoumaru. You have known me for a long time now." Akiho spoke sweetly. Kimi gagged in her head. It was all just an act. Akiho slowly walked, no, strutted to Sesshoumaru and snaked her arm around his own.
"We have business to discuss, do we not? Let's leave those low-lives to their work." Akiho spat as she led Sesshoumaru up the staircase. Akiho glanced in Kimi's direction and gave her a dirty smirk as she disappeared down the hall.
Kimi slid to her knees on the cold floor. The feeling in the pit of her stomach was eating at her. Natsuko slowly patted her back. Kimi quickly looked up to her, her eyes confused.
"Why do I feel so… jealous and angry?" Kimi whispered. Natsuko stared at Kimi with a smirk.
"So you haven't forgotten, it's all in their somewhere. Your body remembers…" Natsuko commented. Kimi slowly stood up. Natsuko was a very confusing person.
"What do you mean by that?" Kimi questioned. Natsuko picked up her bucket and started off to another room.
"Nothing. Come on, we're behind schedule now."
Kimi bit her lip as she picked up her bucket. She would bother Natsuko about it later.
Later that evening, Natsuko called a servant meeting to inform them that Akiho's one day visit had be extended to a couple of days. All the servant went into an uproar about how they couldn't deal with her demands. But no one dreaded the news more than Kimi. The next few days would be hell for her.
Natsuko instructed Kimi to clean a room by herself while she had a meeting with Ses- Lord Sesshoumaru. Kimi would never get used to calling him that. For whatever reason, she was just used to calling him Sesshoumaru.
Kimi slowly opened the door to the room she was instructed to clean. The room's oranges and yellows caused her to smile to herself. Kimi softly closed the room door behind her. The room had a lot of stuffed toys and flowers. Kimi couldn't help but giggle to herself as she imagined if this was Sesshoumaru's room as she started to clean.
A few moments later, the door opened and startled Kimi. She turned and saw a girl no more than seven or eight staring back at her with large, innocent brown eyes. She had long brown hair with a small pigtail on the side of her head. She wore a kimono that was yellow and orange. The little girl shyed away.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know someone was still here. I-I'll leave you alone." The girl started to head back out the door.
"No! Wait! It's ok. I'm almost done anyways. Is this your room?" Kimi smiled. The little girl walked back into the room nodding, her body tense. Kimi couldn't help but think the girl was cute. Kimi stood up and smiled at the young girl. "My name is Kimiko, but you can call me Kimi. What's your name?"
"R-Rin." The girl softly replied. Kimi gently smiled at the girl. Sesshoumaru's ward, she finally met her. She figured she must have scared her.
"That's a very beautiful name. I'm sorry if I scared you, you don't have to be afriad." Rin's body untensed as she tilted her head to the side.
"Why are you so nice to me?" She asked innocently. It was Kimi's turn to tilt her head.
"What do you mean why?" Kimi questioned back. Rin started to play with her kimono sleeves.
"Well, the other demon servants are always mean to me. They are only nice when Lord Sesshoumaru is around. Lord Sesshoumaru says it's because I'm human." Rin explained.
Kimi stared at Rin in disbelief. Demons? Humans? She slowly sat on the edge of Rin's newly made bed. It did kind of make sense now that she thought about it. Everyone looked so different. Did that make her a demon too? She glanced to her left and noticed a small brown bear. She picked it up and held it out to the young girl.
"Well that doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that we're friends now. Right?" Kimi smiled at the girl. Rin glanced at the bear and then back to Kimi. A large smile crept onto her face.
"Right." Rin responded.
Natsuko stared up at the large double doors in front of her, Lord Sesshoumaru's study. She lifted her right hand and knocked on a door three times. She could smell Akiho was in the study too. Natsuko inwardly sighed. Just like Kimi, at least the Kimi she remembered, she didn't get along with Akiho. One reason was that Akiho was the biggest brat she knew. The second and biggest reason they didn't get along was that Akiho was trying to get her way, more so than before, with Lord Sesshoumaru for the past three years. Natsuko, still believing that Kimiko was around and was right, thought it was wrong.
"Enter." Lord Sesshoumaru's voice echoed through the door. Natsuko quietly opened the door, slipped through and closed it. She silently growled as she witnessed Akiho leaning over Lord Sesshoumaru's shoulder trying to get him to take notice to her chest. Natsuko rolled her eyes as she bowed.
"I'm here to report to you as you wished, m'Lord." Natsuko addressed. Lord Sesshoumaru glanced up from his paperwork and nodded for her to continue. Akiho cut her off.
"Wrench, we are a bit busy. Why not come back later when we are done." She commented coldly. Natsuko stood her ground, it was why she was head servant after all.
"I only take orders from m'Lord. Do you wish for me to leave?" Natsuko eyed her Lord. She could tell he was rather annoyed with the whole incident.
"Lady Akiho, if you wish to leave feel free to. We have business to attend to." Lord Sesshoumaru responded cooly. Akiho straightened her body and huffed.
"I will be in my room then. I will be expecting you." Akiho stated as she stomped toward the door. She gave Natsuko a swift elbow before leaving. Natsuko held her side in pain. She wasn't completely human so it didn't hurt as much as it could've, but it still hurt! Natsuko sucked up her agony and took a couple of steps forward, her Lord staring her down.
"What have you uncovered?" He asked. Natsuko sighed.
"She remembers everything m'Lord. It's just locked away behind some barrier or something." Natsuko explained. Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes lightened.
"What do you mean?" He questioned curiously as he put the papers he was holding onto the desk.
"I mean that she knew the rules of the castle. She knew where she was going. She barely asked directions to Rin's room. She felt jealous of Akiho today… It's all in their somewhere." She watched as her Lord slowly closed his eyes, thinking. She knew he wanted to be alone. She turned around and quietly walked to the door, but stopped. It was bothering her. "You aren't actually going to visit Akiho's room are you?"
Her Lord's eyes snapped opened and glared at her. Natsuko could take the hint.
"It was just a question. Sheesh." Natsuko mumbled under her breath as she exited her Lord's study.
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Snowy B