Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Nor do I own Still Doll that song just so happens to belong to Kanon Wakeshima.
Silence.
He both hated and embraced the soundless tune. Today though it had felt different a new feeling altogether, a feeling of indifference. Kai would hear small soft barely there sniffles every now and then from the girl called Rin. Although three hour prior to the silence: the shouts, the crying, the weeping and the sniveling had set off a killer migraine that had finally dissipated.
Three Hours Earlier
"You're lying!" a woman shouted, Sango, he presumed, charged lifting that oversized boomerang on her back. A killing intent shone in her eyes but her efforts were in vain; he easily read her movements too obvious that if he had any sense of humor left in him would have laughed at her. Kai simply took a side step and watched her fall in a prostrate (1) pose.
Cool dark eyes landed on the kitsune, the kit was bawling his eyes out, the hanyou frozen in shock, and the monk just stood there. His eyes moved back to the slayer, who was currently at the moment sitting on her knees trying to unsuccessfully muffle her sobs.
"Momma…" the kit's breath hitched, Shippo he believed his name was, "My Momma wouldn't die," his voice croaked.
Kai's eyes narrowed, zeroing in on Shippo.
"My momma was a—"
"A what?" managing to still keep that hard look in his eyes, he arched a brow, "A miko?"
Shippo didn't answer.
"Don't be foolish. That idiotic thinking is meant for children that are actually five not one with the looks of it (2)," he eyes went back to Sango, he knew what she was going to say but opted to wait.
She didn't disappoint.
"You obviously didn't Kagome as much as you claim to know," she sneered, "if you did she would have told the youkai age differently, Shippo maybe a little over a century but he still has—"
"The mind complexity of five year old," he finished for her, "but he has lived long enough to know that humans are disgustingly weak, foolish, and knows not their place, just look at yourself. Hunter," the outrage in her face was almost comical. Almost.
The Lord Sesshomaru held no expression.
His ward, Rin, was just the same.
Kai didn't have to be a youkai to scent the innocent sorrow. Perhaps that is the reason why the Western Lord was still here; his young ward must want to know what happened to Kagome and she wouldn't be able to find peace until she knew how.
Or maybe it was just simple unsaid curiosity.
Kai turned his whole body towards Shippo, "She wasn't your mother either kit, your mother was long dead before you even met Kagome and you know it. You just can't get a grasp of reality. That you are just a little lost and abandoned kitsune in the woods," he saw the shock across everyone's faces, especially the kitsune, "it's true because I know for a fact Kitsune Youkai are so protective of their kits that it rivals that of an InuYoukai. If your pack really was gone then another pack would have already demanded you into their pack."
Noticing the tears spilling over, he smirked, "What? You don't like the truth. Would you rather live in your fantasy world? You can't face the fact that your own kind sees you as a weak and pathetic, that Kag—"
"No," Shippo shouted, tears staining his cheeks in rather revolting way, "Kagome said that she lo—"
"No she," he paused thinking twice about what he was going to say, "Perhaps at one point she did, but remember clearly that she once, she had said that she detested your very presence…She never found it fit the correct you because she had felt sorry for you, Kagome hadn't wanted to make you feel any less stupid than you already were. She was just too nice."
"You're lying," Shippo screamed, "Kagome—"
"What no more 'Mommas'? Have you accepted the truth so easily, one would have thought that since you we—"
"That's enough!" Sango spat out as pulled herself on to her feet.
All the meanwhile the monk remained silent; Shippo ran over the huntress, and hugged her while crying on her shoulder.
"What is wrong with you," Sango whispered angrily, her right hand running soothing circles in attempt to stop Shippo from crying.
It only worked to make him cry even harder.
The kit was really starting to grate his nerves.
"Silence!"
The kit's small frame stiffened, stopping all wailing; unfortunately being the child that he was he sniffled, his breathing hitching every two seconds.
"Cease your sniveling," looking down his nose, was a disgusting sight making him want to sneer, the kit's face was red from crying, sweat mixed with tears, "you look a mess. You're even more a pathetic sight than the hanyou. A bane in existence is what you are."
Faster than any human thought possible, Kai grabbed the kit by the skull.
"Inuyasha," Moving and flaying his arms about, Shippo called out frantically.
Kai glared at female slayer almost daring her to come and try to retrieve the kit.
She didn't.
"Let him go!"
"Why should I hanyou? The kit is just a waste of breath and space. Such an inconvience should be disposed of," he tightened his grip.
"Ahhh!" Shippo couldn't bite back the pain of having his skull compressed.
"Shall I crush it slowly?" the tightening ceased only for it to return in an agonizingly slow pace.
Shippo's tiny claws fruitlessly tried to remove the crushing appendages. Blood started to seep from where Kai's nails were putting pressure in.
"Stop it! Please let him go," an eighteen year old girl stood before him, panic evident in her eyes.
He stood staring down at Rin.
"Promise."
"I promise."
He loosened his grip, letting the kit drop to floor, but before he landed on the floor. Kai looked directly at Rin in the eye, "If this is solely what you desire."
Rin gasped, when Kai kicked Shippo like a soccer ball towards Sango effectively knocking the kit out. "A man doesn't scream for mercy even in pain," he bit out.
Kai shifted his eyes back to Rin, he saw the question her eyes, he could almost hear the question, 'why in seven hells did you do that for?'
"You told me to let him go. In order to let him go, he had to go some where. I simply sent him somewhere."
Present Time
Rin hasn't said anything since that man had kicked Shippo. She didn't like that man, Kai, and at the same time did; he gave off a certain vibe that almost made her uncomfortable. Almost. She wasn't scared of him either, she knew how defend herself, her Lord didn't want her to be some weak human. She didn't know how to explain it but she somehow felt and knew that she would be safer with him around. She had had the same feeling when she first met her lord, but unlike her lord, Kai held a feeling of instability. His actions earlier proved that. Kagome's death had left her with a feeling of emptiness, she had looked up to like a big sister and if they had gotten to know each other maybe even a mother. At those times in the night when Lord Sesshomaru was not there and Master Jaken was asleep she would sit up and stare up at the stars and wonder what it would be like have a whole family again. Lord Sesshomaru as the father, Jaken as the annoying but protective older brother, AhUn as the ever loyal guardian pet dragon, Inuyasha the brash headstrong uncle, Miroku the perverted uncle, Sango the attentive but dutiful aunt—or maybe elder sister, Shippo the overprotective younger brother, and Kirara another dutiful guardian pet neko youkai. She never could find a place for Kagome, some days she would act sisterly and others motherly. Now after finding out she was dead she now knew were she belonged. The mother, the alpha female as Lord Sesshomaru would put it. No, she wouldn't expect her lord to actually love her but sometimes she wished he did. She bit her lip, she wanted to cry so bad but knew better than that and even if she didn't should be able to. Rin wanted to know exactly how she died; she wanted some kind of closure…anything…anything would do. Rin knew that she had been the last person that had seen her and had seen it, that look, her lord had seen it too. Rin wasn't blind, that lost look in her eyes was apparent and that broken smile never quite reached her eyes…and what had hurt her, the most…was…was that murderous intent that glowed in her eyes for two seconds. In those two second Lord Sesshomaru's eyes harden hand moving swiftly to Tokijin, but then Kagome's eyes widen in horror. Eyes glistened with tears, her hand tightened and she forcibly smiled at Rin telling her that everything was going to be okay and for the better for her now. The knuckles on her hand had turned white. She suspected that Kagome never noticed the blood seeping from her hands. An ominous feeling tore through her heart, something bad was going to happen to Kagome. When Kagome never came back she knew that premonition came true. If Kagome had known that promise was to be broken would she have ever given that promise? In those lonely nights she had hoped and promised to Kami that she would see Kagome smile at her once with that kind caring smile she once had.
Inuyasha and Sango thought the same exact thing, how could they have just stood and watched as that man (human on Inuyasha's part) slowly crush Shippo's head. Had Kagome would have done something.
Inuyasha felt disgusted with himself, how could he have just stood hearing and watching Shippo in pain and agony. Then he had smelt Shippo's blood in the air. Something that inside the eyes of that human made him freeze there. The look in Kai clearly said that he was enjoying what he was doing. Enjoying the fact that he was torturing the small kit both psychologically and physically, he had never seen that before, youkai just didn't do that, they had some morals and standards; usually they went for the quick kill. Never did a youkai do that (3), especially to child not matter human or youkai, torture was instilled only to fully grown. Inuyasha hadn't known what to do.
Sango held unto Shippo tightly against her breast. Never again. She looked at Kai; he hasn't said a word since then, what wasn't that was left unfinished by Kagome that they couldn't do themselves. She wanted him gone. How could Kagome ever befriend such a person? How could she have frozen up like that—oh she knew why but still how could she have just stood there? There was monster in there; those blue-black eyes had scared down to her very core. She had known that if she had so much as moved a muscle he would have crushed Shippo's head in a second. If Rin hadn't stopped him then, Shippo wouldn't be here right now. She suspected that Miroku had known this from the start, before the mess occurred. Why hadn't he said anything though? He still hasn't said anything. Had he sensed the monster in him as well?
Miroku hadn't sensed a monster, he had sensed something else and had wanted to see outcome of what he had sensed. He regretted his bad judgment but that could not have been helped as monk he was taught that there were certain things that he could not interfere in. This was one of those times. Just like Kagome's disappearance. Yes, he regretted it but he did not feel sorry because there was nothing to feel sorry for.
Kai sat right next to Rin, in safe distance that he would not be intruding upon. The girl wanted to cry but couldn't find it herself to cry she needed something…some closure. He got on his feet. Everyone's eyes instant fell on him. He looked at Sesshomaru for permission.
"I will return shortly."
He didn't answer, instead closed his golden eyes once more. Taking that as a silent 'you may go' he left, he stalked off to Bone Eaters Well were he had left his sac.
When he said shortly.
He meant short.
Barely a minute had passed when he returned; he sat down right where he was before.
Rin looked at him curiously as he rummaged through his sac.
"It's okay to cry you know," whispered softly to her, she sensed the tension in the air. Everyone had heard that.
What a hypocritical thing to say, Sango thought angrily.
He softly took out a crystal box with light gold lining. Inside Rin saw papers inside and something metallic. He saw him quickly take out the papers and put them inside his sac.
He turned it upside down twisted a crystal like key a couple of times.
"I made it long time go for Kagome," Kai softly told her, "it took three years to find that small metallic trinket in the middle, but it was worth it." He glanced at the starry sky, then back at Rin.
"And another year to finish constructing the box that holds it in, finding the materials for the making of the box was very time consuming," his eyes were on the crystal box, "it meant to be given on her fifteenth birthday. She was rather busy that year, so gave to her on her sixteenth."
"What is it," she looked at the box in wonder. Now that she noticed it there were beautiful intricate swirls and designs in it.
"A long time ago Kagome had heard a very enticing song, but had heard it only one time her life, she would hum to herself when she thought no one was looking but I wasn't stupid. I had caught her doing it so many times. I promised myself that I would find that song and give it her on her birthday one day. Imagine her surprise when I gave it her, she was beyond ecstatic. She loved it so much. It's a music box." He said simply.
Rin looked at the box carefully. How did it carry music inside it?
"Know Kagome I made sure it was indestructible and impossible to scratch. Not even a youkai can damage that."
Rin looked at him then back at the music box.
"Open it and you will see," he smiled down at her.
He smiled at her. A true smile, which glowed just as Kagome's had, it shocked her that even she didn't open the box.
He opened it for her.
Soft song slowly drifted in the air, she looked inside and saw the metallic slowly rotate making the music.
"It's yours," he still had that smile only pointed at her. "Kagome made me promise to give it to you on your eighteenth. You look eighteen. Still Doll is the name of the song."
She was silent, as was everyone. Rin remained silent because it was so rare when she got such a gift that had such a sentiment.
Everyone else—except for Sesshomaru—was shocked because apparently they all thought this feeling impossible for him to produce.
"She died with a smile."
…..
…..
(1) I don't know if you know or not but that position is when you but is sticking out in the air while your chest it flat in your back. That's what I remember from ROP. Correct if I'm wrong and I'll change it.
(2) He seems like he's five and his behavior gives me vibes of a five year old at times.
(3) Seriously haven't in Inuyasha from what I can remember ever intentionally hurting a small child that way. And I can't say that Naraku counts because he removed Kohaku's memories, in weird ironic way if you squint I think he's protecting him from a chaotic life. I think.
A/N: For those of wondering why it is I made Kai really bitter and mean. You must remember that he still feels more than a little sour from Kagome's death and among other reasons that will be revealed later in other chapters. On another note who here other than feel more than a little happy that summer vacation started. XD
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