Remember
Chapter 6
Trapped
Flashbacks
'Thoughts'
(Inner Youkai/Deity/Spirit)
./\.
Rin groaned, pushing away the hands that were shaking her body awake. The bed was so soft and warm; she didn't want to leave just yet. The hands stopped for a moment and she was relieved, snaking her arms under a pillow and pulling it close. She exhaled deeply, her mind slipping back into slumber…
Until those hands returned, tickling her underarms.
Rin's eye snapped open, and she tried pushing the hands away as they moved to her sides, but of course, the daiyoukai was much stronger than her. "T-touga! Stop!" She squealed between her laughter, trying to squirm away from his torturing hold. She heard his deep laughter mixing with her own before he finally let her go. The young woman lay breathless on her back, staring up at Touga. "Th.. That's not… nice!" She said in-between her heavy breaths, but the daiyoukai continued to look at her with a smile, ignoring her complaints.
"You must get ready quickly. We are leaving."
Rin blinked in surprise before rising from the bed, "Where are we going?"
"Katsumi wishes I check something out." 'That's strange.' Rin moved to the clothing chest, a folded kimono already sitting on top. Touga walked to the door, "I will be waiting by the main hall." She stared at the closed door for a moment before undressing. The human hoped no one had noticed the daiyoukai stayed the night in her room and get the wrong impression.
./\.
Rin followed Touga out the front door, dressed in a simple purple traveling kimono and a small bag on her back. She noticed the daiyoukai left behind his body armor, heavy pauldrons and the pelt sealed away, wearing only his usual white kimono and hakama, with his vambraces and armored gauntlets. "Where are we going?"
"East." He seemed oddly determined about something.
"Are Natsuko and Hitomi taking us down? Where's Inuyasha?" Rin asked, noting there was no one but the usual guards patrolling the area.
"No. He will be staying here for now. Stand back." She backed away a couple of feet as the daiyoukai kept walking several feet away. 'Is he going to try to transform?' The young woman's brows wrinkled in worry, 'Please be careful, Touga.' The hairs on the back of her neck stood when a strong pulse of youkai rolled through the area, a familiar tornado of power engulfing the humanoid form of Touga. Rin dropped her jaw in awe when his form grew, and grew, and grew, far past that of Lady Katsumi's and Sesshomaru's. She couldn't help the small 'eep' that escaped her when large red eyes focused on her. The dog youkai growled softly, before lowering his head to the ground. She glanced at the dog youkai's eyes once more before climbing up the large head, and a finding a spot behind the youkai's neck.
Her hands tightly clutched the long, soft fur as she felt his muscles tensing up, ready to pounce. Rin squealed when the large dog jumped off the floating castle grounds, landing softly on the grass below them. The youkai took off, running through rivers and jumping from clearing to clearing in the vast forest. Rin turned on her back, looking up at the morning sky as her hands still held fast to the fur underneath them. She had never gotten to ride Sesshomaru's dog form before, always having A-Un to ride when he flew off somewhere. It felt so much different riding the dragon; the power surrounding his form tickled her skin, ride was rougher but felt more natural, and she could almost feel the daiyoukai's heartbeat from her spot.
They traveled uninterrupted until mid-day, when the daiyoukai stopped in the middle of a great plain. Digging a bit into the fur to hide herself, Rin peeked her head out of the strands and saw a reddish-brown dog in front of them, much smaller than Touga, probably a bit smaller than Sesshomaru. Growls and snarls were exchanged; she sensed the agitation coming from Touga and heard the anger in the other dog's tone. Rin gasped when she saw more of the same type of dogs approaching, 'Oh no. We're surrounded.' She began to panic for a moment, 'Touga has not had time to practice fighting in his youkai form since his resurrection. Will he be able to handle these many youkai so soon?'
The pack of red dogs jumped to action. Despite Touga's large frame, he was extremely agile, able to dodge most of the swinging claws and snapping jaws. His immense paw came down and swiped at two of the dogs, slapping them away as if they were insects. One tried to grab a hold of him from behind, but the silver youkai kicked the dog with his rear paw, before turning around and slamming his head into the smaller dog, knocking it unconscious. The two from earlier took the opportunity to jump him, one dug his claws into Touga's left side, the other locked his jaw around his right shoulder area—dangerously close to Rin.
The daiyoukai roared in pain before rearing his head, fangs clamped over the neck of the dog to his right. He pulled the dog out of its hold on him, easily dangling the youkai in his jaws before he threw the body into the dog on his left, leaving one knocked out and the other on the grass bleeding profusely. Touga looked at the three youkai, ensuring none would follow before taking off once more. "Touga! You're bleeding!" Rin yelled against the wind as the dog ran. The red dog had gotten his sharp teeth deep into the daiyoukai's shoulder; the wound released more and more blood with every step the silver dog took.
Touga did not stop until they reached one of the main provinces on the east side, where the youkai abruptly began to change back into his humanoid form. She ended up in his arms when he completed his transformation, letting her go quickly and dropping to his knees. "Touga!" The wounds appeared more gruesome in his humanoid form, large holes in his right shoulder and three significant slashes above his left hip.
"I'll be fine. I just… need rest." The youkai sounded out of breath, his usual bright eyes were clouded with pain. Rin helped him to lie against one of the many trees in the tiny clearing, before he spoke again. "I can use my youki to heal, but it will leave me weakened for a while."
"Do it!" Rin said, not understanding why he hesitated. The daiyoukai closed his eyes; the wounds shined a brilliant clear light that died down within seconds. She touched his shoulder with soft hands, noting only blood was left and wounds were closed. "I saw the lake nearby. I will gather some water for you to drink."
He did not open his eyes, "Do not stray for long…" He sounded absolutely exhausted. Rin nodded though he was not looking, before running off to the lake. It did not take long for her to gather water in the two bamboo containers she kept in her bag, and was back at his side in a short moment.
"Water?" He nodded and accepted the container, nearly drinking all of it in one go. She took it back from him when he finished, leaving the other filled one at his side. She looked at him for a bit before scanning the rest of the area. It was quiet. Not an eerie kind of quiet, but very silent. Rin moved to sit beside Touga, whose chin was resting on his chest with eyes closed. When traveling with Sesshomaru, Jaken and she were always breaking the silence. The human smiled, 'I miss Jaken.' The kappa could be annoying, but her only form of entertainment during those times and he really did have a good heart. 'Sesshomaru didn't really talk much.' Her smile faded, when she thought of Sesshomaru, staring up at the sky.
Was she still angry at him? Maybe a little a bit, but she was tired of being bitter and sad. Her travels with Touga helped clear her mind and think of good times.'I miss you too, Lord Sesshomaru…'
./\.
Touga woke to the smell of fresh animal blood, burning wood and the sight of the sun about to fall. He had not intended to fall asleep, but his body demanded it. He did not understand, turning into his youkai form did not appear to drain so much of him if his memories were correct. Healing was a bit more taxing, but nothing like this. Was he doing something wrong, or was something wrong with him? The daiyoukai resolved to ask Katsumi about it once they returned.
"You're awake!" The human woman was by the fire, and had just put down a skinned rabbit to roast by the flames. "I have another rabbit here for you! I thought you might be hungry when you wake up." She walked up to him, and he accepted the raw meat. He felt famished, and must have looked it as he ate, hearing Rin say, "Oh… I had no idea you would be so hungry! I would have caught something bigger—"
"It's alright. Thank you, Rin." He smiled at her, "It took you so long to catch that fish, I can only imagine it took all day for two rabbits."
Touga watched her face get red at his teasing, "I-it did not!"
"How long did it take then?"
"That's not important!" She huffed, before a playful smirk played on her lips. "Besides I wasn't the one just sleeping the day away." He chuckled at her, and watched her crouch down to eye level. Her expression changed to something more somber, "Are you okay now, Touga?"
The worry in her eyes tugged at the daiyoukai's chest, "Yes, I am." He stood up from his position, Rin followed suit. "I will go to catch more food."
The human nodded, "I'll be here."
./\.
"How boring. I thought you would be much more entertaining, hanyou." Lady Katsumi said, circling Inuyasha after making him fall for the seventh time since their friendly little match started. Hitomi was on the sidelines, rooting for her and making sure to throw some mocking remarks at the hanyou's way.
"You know Inuyasha, it's your feet that are usually meant to be planted on the ground when fighting, not your ass."
"SHUT UP, YOU GOD DAMNED BIRD!" The hanyou roared, getting up to his feet. Next to Hitomi was her sister, Natsuko, laughing at Inuyasha's outburst. The two combatants faced each other again; the female inuyoukai easily parried his wild, but predictable, attacks before dropping him to the floor once more, this time also disarming him.
"How is it you have stayed alive all this time?" Lady Katsumi asked. He was nothing. His human blood slowing him down and dulling his senses. She knew her son had been after the hanyou to end his life once he was of age. How did this creature in front of her slice off Sesshomaru's arm and successfully come out alive in each battle with him? How did he survive against so many youkai, his battle with Naraku, the fight with Sounga?
How did this hanyou master Tessaiga far better than Touga ever did in half the time?
"You must have the luck of fools." She said under her breath, watching Inuyasha rise again and pick up his blade as he cursed obscenities at her. 'At least he is persistent.' "Another go, hanyou?"
./\.
The entire village was destroyed.
Hiyoshi hissed in pain as he dragged his body through the forest. They tried to get everyone to evacuate, to surround the tiger and finish his pathetic life… But the youkai had friends with him, an uncommon practice for tigers, and hyenas no less. Though intelligent, hyenas had a sadistic streak almost as a bad as the white tigers. 'And this blade…' His hand clutched the blade tightly, knuckles white with rage.
"Toran! Watch—" But it was too late, the ice panther did not dodge the attack in time, and was sucked into the darkness.
Tatsuya had told him stories of a youkai that used a similar attack named Shishinki, but that daiyoukai has disappeared for the past few years now. 'But I know Shishinki was an enemy of Touga.' Hiyoshi looked down at the blade; it seemed to always glow blue, occasionally flashing with an image that looked like the night sky across the steel. It seemed unstable almost. 'I have to get to Lord Touga.' His other hand clutched at the wound across his side, a parting gift from the tiger once he had shoved a dagger through his skull.
"You can cut, stab, freeze, burn, whatever you'd like!" The white tiger laughed manically, "I will not die!"
And it was true, for the most part, until Tatsuya got close enough and disarmed the youkai. Whatever magic was in the blade, it kept that white tiger alive while taking the blunt of any attack. The panther rested against a tree for a moment, catching his breath. He wasn't too far from Lady Katsumi's domain, he would make it. He had to make it. He had no idea who was left, if there were any survivors. The hyenas dragged them out, separated them to weaken their already sapped strength and finish them. Hiyoshi was able to get out alive; he only hoped that Tatsuya and Ayumi were able to do the same.
./\.
The night had fallen but Touga had no intentions of stopping. He was now carrying Rin on his back, her hands resting on his shoulders. "Why are we heading East?" The human asked. He tried to ignore the tickle of her breath against his pointed ear.
"To visit Totosai, I presume!" They both blinked at the intrusive voice, the human looking down on her shoulder.
"Myouga? Where did you disappear off to before we got to Lady Katsumi's home?" The human asked.
"Uh… Well, you see… There was an emergency that needed my immediate attention—"
"You shouldn't lie, Myouga." Rin murmured with a tone that told him this happens often before speaking up. "Are we going to see Totosai, Touga?"
The daiyoukai nodded and said nothing more. The flea piped up, "My lord has no weapons, Lady Rin! While he can fight and kill very well on his own, a weapon will be much less taxing on his body especially considering he must go through retraining his youki…" Rin rested her head against his shoulders before she hummed in acknowledgement.
"Totosai made Tessaiga and Tensaiga, right?" Her tone was sleepy, and he felt her body further relax against his.
Myouga nodded, "That he did! I'm sure he will have no issue creating a new blade for Touga."
"If he doesn't…?"
The flea looked at her oddly, "Why would he not? Totosai and I have been serving Lord Touga for centuries! There is no—"
"For the same reason he wouldn't… forge a new blade… for Sesshomaru." Rin mumbled, before a small yawn escaped her. He heard it in her voice that she was struggling to stay awake.
"We will worry about this when we arrive, for now, rest, Rin." Touga ordered, shutting down any further conversation. Though his mind lingered on Rin's last words, there was always the possibility that the blacksmith would not create another blade.
./\.
The morning sun shine brightly, rays of light sneaking through the small openings between the thick canopy above. Rin buried her face in the warmth beneath her, attempting to avoid the light. A spicy scent, the feeling of being moved, and the memories of last night made her realize that Touga was still holding her. She lifted her head and her eyes squinted against the dawn of day. "Good morning." The human heard him say.
"Morning… Have you been holding me this whole time? You must be tired! Put m—"
"I am not tired." The daiyoukai stated, sounding perfectly fine.
"Touga…" Rin knew at the very least his back must be worn-out by now. She then noticed the sun was above them, meaning morning had past. Why didn't he wake her up at sunrise? "Put me down. I can't believe you carried me so far into the day! You didn't have to, I wouldn't have minded being woken up."
"And if I had wanted to?" Touga said, looking at her from over his shoulder, his brow quirked. There was a smile on his lips, and she knew it was because of her blush.
"W-why would you want to? It's tiring! Put me down!" The daiyoukai complied this time, and Rin took a moment to stretch out her limbs before they continued walking. "How far are we?" She noted the large, volcanic mountain in front of them.
"Not far, we should get there soon."
./\.
Natsuko hummed softly as she did her quick patrol around Lady Katsumi's domain. She closed her large, onyx eyes for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping her hair and moving through her immense, dark wings. She opened her eyes; her sharp predator stare scanned the grounds below. 'Nothing… Nothing…' She thought with a hint of boredom. While Lady Katsumi held a large region of desirable land with only a small army of youkai, very few dared to challenge her directly. Many thought that challenging her, would be challenging Lord Sesshomaru himself. She never bothered to correct them. Those who did anyway, found out very quickly that the youkai under her command were a significant threat on their own. It had been over a century since the last attack on Lady Katsumi's domain, though the men sent out to the South have yet to return…
'What's that?' Her eyes caught sight of a figure, limping their way forward. She could see the trail of blood the being was leaving behind from her spot hundreds of feet in the air. 'A panther?' Natsuko folded her wings in slightly and began her rapid descent, landing with ease a few paces away from the youkai. "Traveler, are you alri—"
The panther fell at that moment, a small puddle of blood already forming beneath him. The falcon hurried to the panther's side, flipping him on his back. His skin was grey from blood loss, his wounds were deep and plentiful, and noticed an odd sword in his grasp. 'The meidou!' She thought as she saw the netherworld flash in the metal.
"An angel…?" Natsuko heard him rasp, his gaze was unfocused.
She let out a soft chuckle, "No, sir, you are still alive. I'll take you to get treatment right now, so don't die on me!" The falcon stated and she lifted the heavy body in her arms before shooting up to the sky, disappearing into the clouds.
./\.
Touga stared at his hands in frustration, before clenching them into fists, claws digging into his palms. They stood near the base of the volcanic mountain Totosai resided in, now they needed to make their way up… But he could not transform. Why could he not summon his youkai form again? 'What is going on?' But nothing in his mind answered him. He heard no mocking chuckle, no condescending remarks, nothing. 'How is that possible?' What happened between his last transformation and now?
The sky above them darkened quickly, "A storm…?" But he did not smell rain.
"Totosai!" Rin exclaimed, just before the old youkai shocked his way down with his cow youkai.
"So old Myouga has not lost his mind, eh?" Totosai said, hopping off his steed and approaching him. He stopped in front of him, an odd look on his face. "Strange…" The old blacksmith began scratching the top of his top head, "I don't recall your youki being so weak before." Touga narrowed his eyes at the statement, was his weakness so obvious? "I cannot make a blade for you."
"Why?" Rin asked him, but Touga already knew the answer.
"In order for me to forge a youkai blade, the wielder must be at full strength. It will not work another way." Totosai redirected his attention back to the daiyoukai, "How were you resurrected, Lord Touga?"
"I do not know."
"But Totosai… Touga just transformed into his youkai form yesterday. He fought off youkai and everything!" The blacksmith seemed very surprised by this information.
"You should not be able to transform with your power so low. Are you able to now?"
"No."
"Who did you all fight with?"
"Red dogs."
The answer seemed to confuse the blacksmith, the youkai scratching his head again. "On your way here from Lady Katsumi's? We are far from their territory. This is not good."
"They didn't seem happy when they saw him…" Rin added.
The fire-breathing youkai nodded. "The red dogs despise Lord Touga and his family. Sesshomaru has been trying to get rid of them for a while now among all the other enemies of the West." After a moment of silence, Totosai shook his head. "But they are not ones for magic, youki-binding spells and bringing back the dead…"
"What can I do about this?" Touga was becoming increasing agitated. He did not want his power trapped away. 'I cannot protect Rin like this.' He blinked at the thought, not expecting it before mentally shaking his head. He needed his strength if he was going to continue to survive in this time. If what Lady Katsumi said was true of a war on the horizon…, the daiyoukai must find a resolution quickly.
Totosai gave him a blank look, "About what?"
"About his youki, Totosai…" Rin replied in an exasperated tone.
"Oh right! Well… With Inuyasha's miko gone that limits our options… Perhaps Jinenji can help. He knows much more about spiritual energy than he lets on."
The daiyoukai noticed Rin's smile and happy little skipping when Totosai mentioned 'Jinenji'. Who was Jinenji that made the woman so happy? "Where is this Jinenji?" The blacksmith was making his way back on the thee-eyed cow.
"Pretty far from here, near Inuyasha's neck of the woods. Hop on, I'll take you guys there." The two joined Totosai on the back of the steed. "Hold on." The sky darkened once more, a bolt of lightning engulfed the small group, blinding Touga and Rin. Next they knew, the group was flying in the sky, the volcano nowhere in sight. Rin, who sat in front of him, was looking down at a village they were about to overpass.
"That's Kaede's village!" She exclaimed, before turning to him. "Remember what Inuyasha told you? This village is where all this friends are!" As they made their way over the village, her eyes brightened before yelling, "Sango! Miroku! Kohaku!" Touga watched as three humans below turned their heads skyward with bewildered expressions.
"Is… that's Rin." Sango said, waving back at the girl. Miroku and Kohaku followed suit, until the group passed the village and continued onward. "Who was that with her?"
"It was Totosai and some kind of youkai…" Kohaku mumbled. "Too big to be Lord Sesshomaru, not that he would ride on the back of a cow…"
"Still he almost looked familiar…" Miroku chimed in, before realization dawned on his face. "That was… Sango, their father… Lord Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's father." Sango and Kohaku both looked shocked.
"But how?" Sango asked, "And why is Rin with him? Should we contact Inuyasha? What about Sesshomaru?"
"My dear, dear Sango… " Miroku started as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulder. "If we value our lives, perhaps it would be best that we stay out of this one…"
./\.
"Well, here you go." Totosai announced, as his steed landed on an herb field. There was a rather large hut in the middle of the field, with the hanyou working a few feet beside them. Jinenji's big blue eyes watched them curiously as they dropped down from the cow. "Good luck, Lord Touga. You should come visit me when you have your youki sorted out. "And like that, the blacksmith disappeared in a shock of lighting.
"Who are you…?" The hanyou's soft voice spoke as he dropped the last herbs he picked in a small basket, before facing them.
"Jinenji!" Rin exclaimed as she ran up to the shy hanyou and hugged him without a care, a blush coloring his orange skin. Touga watched the exchange with a small twinge of jealously, he didn't want another male on the other side of such emotion from her. 'That's ridiculous. Its how she greets everyone.' He thought to himself, shrugging off the feeling. "Don't you remember me?"
"Rin, it was, correct? The little girl always asking how to save youkai…" The blue eyes landed on him, "And who is your friend?" Rin ran back up to Touga, slipping her hand into his and bringing him closer to the hanyou. "This is Lord Touga! He is Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's papa!"
"Ah, yes. I have heard many stories of you, Lord Touga." The hanyou tilted his head to the side. "Are you here because of your youki?"
The daiyoukai was surprised by Jinenji's intuition, 'Perhaps he can truly help me.' "Yes, I am." The hanyou nodded, and went back to picking herbs.
"I can see the trappings sprout from a darkness in your heart, Lord Touga."
"How?" He had done nothing but look at him, how could he already see the problem?
"You are exposed. A second glance of my novice skills shows me much more than it should. Your incomplete mind, unstable youki, restless emotion… A miko, or a spirit youkai, would be able to tear you apart in minutes. …Is someone after you?"
"I have many enemies."
"Then I hope your allies outnumber them. Until you purify the darkness, you will not be free." He felt Rin tightened her hand around his, having only just realized she was holding it.
"How can he do that…?"
"Lady Kagome can."
"Kagome is no longer here…" Rin said, a sadness tainting her scent. Jinenji also looked crestfallen. 'Kagome… I believe Inuyasha mentioned her.'
"There are no mikos that will agree to help a daiyoukai, and I lack many years of training. I apologize, but I do not have a permanent solution for you aside from finding who did this to you." Jinenji looked down at Touga again, "I can make an elixir that would temporarily elevate the hold on your youki. Something you can use in emergencies… It will not be ready till morning."
"I will take any help I can get. Thank you, Jinenji." Touga replied.
The hanyou nodded, "You both are welcome to stay here for the night. The villagers will not bother you." He began directing his attention back to his work but not before stealing a quick glance at their entwined hands. "There is a hot spring a little ways north, too far out for the villagers to visit, if you two ever need… privacy."
Rin instantly turned red, pulling her hand away from his and holding it to her chest. "W-hat? W-we weren't—" She cut herself off, unable to finish.
Though he felt a bit embarrassed himself, Rin's reaction made him chuckle before teasing, "You aren't interested?" She looked at him, mortified, before she covered her face with her hands in response, shaking her head. "No? And here I thought you found me desirable." He began walking away, acting insulted.
"W-what are you talking about!?" She squeaked, following the daiyoukai. The two continued to banter and Jinenji watched with interest until they were out of sight. 'Strange, those two…' He couldn't help but notice they headed north anyway.
./\.
"Has he been identified?" The blue fox youkai, Tsukiyo, asked the wards of the medical wing.
"Not yet, but we have confirmed he is from the west Panther Tribe." One of the healers replied, "His condition is stabilizing, but he most likely won't be ready to speak until tomorrow morning."
The fox youkai frowned, "Alright. Thank you." She made her way out of the medical rooms, slipping a quick command to one of her subordinates before entering the war room, where Lady Katsumi and Inuyasha stood, staring at the blade the panther brought in.
Lady Katsumi sneered, "It reeks of tiger." The female daiyoukai looked up at the fox, "Any word on the boy?"
"He is still out, most likely till morning, but he is from the Western Panther Tribe. I have requested a team to head over there immediately."
"Good. What of those sent South?"
"They… they have not yet returned, m'lady, nor have we heard from them."
"Wonderful." Lady Katsumi snarled, before grabbing the black blade. "How did a tiger get a hold of something like this?"
"I thought the only things that perform a Meido are my Tessaiga and that guy Sesshomaru sent to the netherworld." The female daiyoukai brought her other hand up, squeezing lightly on the blade from tip to base.
"That is mostly true. I also had the ability, with a stone for your father gave me before his death. Though its powers are very different..." She narrowed her eyes when fingers reached a particular spot, near the base of the sword. "It coincidentally disappeared around the time of your father's resurrection."
"You have some insane youkai here guarding this place. How the hell did someone get in and steal that?"
"I don't have answer for that yet…" Lady Katsumi raised the blade, and slammed the flat side of it against the edge of the table, breaking the blade.
"What the hell? What was that for?"
The daiyoukai pulled a black shard from the base of the sword. "Huh, a shard from the meidou stone…"
The hanyou hung his head, "Not this shit again…"
./\.
"Touga?"
"Yes?"
"I'm tired." The two had been teasing each other relentlessly for hours, and wandered into the hot spring that Jinenji told them about. It was larger than most springs, with a narrow rock formation down the middle. Rin gasped in surprise, jumping in place before skipping to the spring. She dropped her bag on a rock, before her hands moved to untie her kimono. 'Is he still behind me?' The young woman stopped, turning her head to look at the daiyoukai who had been watching her. Now was her chance to get a little payback from embarrassing her earlier.
She dropped her voice low, her chocolate eyes hooded, and her hands mocking the motion of untying her obi. "Is there something you'd like, Lord Touga…?"
Rin couldn't hold the act much longer than that, bursting into laughter when Touga's face turned red, eyes wide, and his mouth agape, speechless. The daiyoukai soon recovered from the shock, before growling his way towards the human woman. "Little minx."
"What are you—Hey!" Touga grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder with ease, calmly making his way closer to the water's edge. Rin squirmed in his iron hold, "No, don't!—" and he promptly dropped her in the spring, clothes and all. When she resurfaced, the daiyoukai was making his way to the opposite side, a smirk on his lips. She made noises of frustration as she removed her soaked clothing, laying it on some rocks nearby. The woman made her way to the rock divider, holding herself up against to look at the daiyoukai who stood outside the spring with his back towards her.
"I thought daiyoukai were supposed to act more dignified." She teased as Touga removed the little armor he had on and his boots. The inuyoukai let out a soft chuckle as he pulled the rest of his top, before removing it completely.
"And I thought ladies do not watch men undress." He countered, turning around and casually baring his upper body to the young woman. While Rin did see part of chest back then in their first encounter, it was strictly to clean his wounds and she did not think much of it… but now things were much different than before.
Rin noticed the definition of the chest that she had laid against, the strong arms that had been around her, that carried her. Her mind wandered as she wondered what it felt like to run her fingertips down the curves of his taut stomach and through the little trail of silver hair that disappeared into the hem of his hakama…
What it would feel like to have his powerful, bare body against hers.
'Oh gods.' Her body shivered—was it suddenly cold or was she so hot?—Rin realized she had been blatantly staring at the male in front of her, and when her eyes met his—her heart stopped. The mirth was gone from his gaze, replaced with something raw and animalistic that she had no name for—no one ever looked at her like that—and she got lost in the fire of his golden eyes, unable to look away.
"Rin…" Touga's voice was unlike before; it was gruff, almost breathless, and sent shivers down her spine while heating up her entire body—was something wrong with her?— Or was this—? 'Oh no. Oh gods. No, no, no.'
The young woman finally pulled her mind out the haze, reality crashing upon her. Without a word, she quickly turned back around, and sunk into the water, leaving only everything above her neck exposed. 'What was that?' Her heart was still pounding, her body hot with a feeling she didn't understand and demanding something she barely knew anything about, and she just wanted it to all go away. She squeezed her legs together and wrapped her arms around her when she heard the sound of splashing on the other side of the rocks.
'Oh gods, what does he think of this?' She stared at his body like he was… like a piece of meat! 'Oh Ayumi, I wish I listened more to your 'boy talk'.' And he just stared back at her, letting her look at him that way. 'Those eyes…' She shivered again, a tiny involuntary whine escaping her throat. Rin slapped a hand over her mouth, completely submersing herself in the water for a few moments.
"Rin…" 'Ah, stop!' She yelled at her mind, her hands clutching her head. 'Go away, go away.' Her eyes peeked out the water for a few moments, she heard and saw nothing. 'Maybe he didn't hear anything…' She was kidding herself. Rin breathed deeply, 'I have to just… clean up, get out, and everything will be fine. We'll walk back to Jinenji's, spend the night, and leave in the morning. Nothing changes.' She grabbed a small bottle of bath oil that she kept in her bag, and began to clean off the dirt and grime of the past couple of days.
Rin began to hum softly, working the oil into her lightly colored skin. When a wicked thought of what it would be like to work the oil into Touga's hard, tanned back entered her mind, she slapped the water in rage, "Shut up!" , unknowingly shouting aloud. She looked over to the bridge of rocks that separated them, she heard the water move but the daiyoukai remained silent. She sighed in relief, and continued to bathe, this time uninterrupted.
Once she finished, the human stepped out of the water, digging into her bag and grabbing a large piece of cloth made out of a special youkai-created material. She dried herself with the cloth and laid it on a rock for a moment to dry. She felt her kimono and was thankful that it appeared to be made of demon silk, as it was already dry despite being soaked. Rin dressed herself, grabbing the cloth again and wringed out her long, dark hair. A rumble across the sky caught her attention; dark clouds were in the distance over Jinenji's village.
"Rain." Rin made a surprised noise, not expecting Touga to already be dressed and next to her. "We should go." She nodded. The human packed her things, tied her wet hair up in a messy bun, before returning to his side. They began walking back to Jinenji's at a brisk pace, but the woman didn't fail to notice the awkward silence between them. The two were halfway there before she could no longer stand it.
"Touga?" The daiyoukai did not respond. Rin bit her bottom lip, her eyes cast down to the ground. She tried once more, "Touga…?" This time he turned to face her,
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, no, I just…" She licked her dry lips, and sighed softly. "I'm sorry for what happened back there. I shouldn't have…" Rin trailed off, not wanting to admit she was staring, though it was no secret.
"No, I apologize." The daiyoukai exhaled, coming closer to her before he placed a finger under chin to raise her eyes to him. "I should have not let a little human woman get the best of me." He teased and Rin watched a smile play on his lips. Her heart sped up, and she chewed on her lip again nervously. She didn't understand it. She'd seen him smile many times before. 'Not like this…' His look warm and inviting, the corners of eyes crinkled, a fang peeping out and resting on his bottom lip.
It was spontaneous.
Rin didn't fully realize what she had done until she pulled away, seeing the daiyoukai's stunned expression. "I…" She let go of Touga, "I don't know why I just did that." The human swallowed hard, "I-I… Sorry…!" She felt the overwhelming need to be anywhere else, and tried to take off, only for him to grab her arm and pull her back flush against his chest, arms wrapping around her waist.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know. I don't know how you felt about… that." Rin swallowed, trying to calm her heart. Why did she do that? What happened to her plan of nothing changing? "I shouldn't—"
"Why would you have run off instead of asking?" Touga asked with a raised brow, curious.
"I'm not sure." Rin sighed again, frustrated at the rush of foreign emotions filling her. 'I really should have listened to Ayumi.' Hesitantly, she turned herself in his arms to face him, her hands came up to rest on his chest before looking up at him.
"Is that another one of those silly human things?" He teased her again, and… everything seemed fine.
"You're okay with…?"
"Rin, you violated me with your eyes earlier—" The human covered his mouth, mortified.
"D-don't say that! That's not what happened!"
Touga removed her hands; they both ignored the sprinkling rain that began to fall. "Oh? What exactly happened then?"
"We aren't going to talk abo—" Touga kissed her, and her words died. The rain picked up quickly, dampening their clothing, but the couple didn't care. She shyly slipped her tongue in the warmth of the daiyoukai's mouth, softly stroking against his, earning a soft groan from the daiyoukai. She liked that noise, a lot. Rin felt the youkai's claws skid across her soaked skin, trying to pull her closer into him. It wasn't enough, and every breathless kiss left them wanting more.
Until a threatening, guttural snarl cut through the clearing.
Rin pulled away from the daiyoukai and gasped, the only warning Touga got… "… Lord S-sesshomaru?"
./\.
End of Chapter 6
Author's Note: Happy Friday everyone! This chapter is bit long, I hope it makes up for the wait… Though, I think I may have angered some with the cliffhanger anyway. Whoopsie! :D
I literally spent like... 15 minutes last night trying to figure out what to name this chapter and another 15 minutes this morning... and I still don't like it. Ugh, whatever! lol
O-M-G. We hit 50 reviews. These two have finally kissed and Sesshy is about to confront his daddy. It only took like... 6 years, oops! "⌒∇⌒" Hehe.
Thank you jj, Darkis Shadow, redsky, Veda Leonhart, and sakemori for reviewing!
The next chapter probably won't be up until Monday~ but you never know!
Reviews are loved! ;3
