Our Own World

Chapter Nine- #8

Hey everyone! Been a while, so I figured I owed you one. I'm in a fiction writing class now and it's loads of fun, so I've been feeling like writing much more than usual. So, more to come! This one's been sitting around for a while with no direct ties to any one prompt, so I just thought I'd use this one and git 'er done. :) Forgive the writing, it's not my best: the majority of it was written last year, so there's a bit of a time stamp on it. Anyway, onward!

I can't remember any music in particular, so just put on something you like a lot. :)

Setting: The planet Terra, an Earth colony that has been radicalized

Sesshoumaru: 67 years old

Rin: Late twenties

Youkai do exist in this ficlet.

Our Own World

The lights burned his eyes as they emerged onstage. It was to be expected, since the bright white lights above the audience were from 100-watt lamps. And also because he had been locked in a damp holding cell for the last three days: light was not something he was used to.

The crowd was roaring with life as they led him out to the circular platform at the front of the stage. It jutted out into the audience, if you could call it that, a mosh pit of yelling chaos from men in fine suits, their wives sitting close with heads lowered trying to block out the din. He glared out at the despised faces and held his head high, his bright yellow eyes darting two and fro beneath unkempt white bangs. The four men who held him; one behind him, two gripping his arms, and the fourth gripping the chain attached to his collar, relinquished him to a new man as they reached the dais. In his crisp white collared shirt and stark black pants, he was an image of elegance, but his purple eyes were tired and wary. He took the chain at his captive's neck and looked him up and down as the prisoner stepped onto the platform.

"Sesshoumaru," Miroku whispered as quietly as he could, "are you alright?"

Sesshoumaru looked at him blankly.

"Guess not," said Miroku. "Alright, let's get it over with." He gripped Sesshoumaru's chain and gave him an apologetic look before turning and marching his captive to the edge of the stage. Miroku stood at the podium, shot one last pitying glance at the impassive Sesshoumaru, and began to speak.

"Pet number 146721, Inu Taiyoukai male aged 67 years. Excellent strength, one of the most durable and strongest pets we have ever had. Very quiet, he won't bother you with incessant chatting."

The crowd laughed and fanned themselves with their bid numbers. Miroku pretended to laugh and licked his lips.

"Very good history as a body guard or security escort, excellent form and combat skills. Positive physical characteristics include attractive facial features and physical features, as well as pointed ears and long silver hair. Uh, remove his clothes please…"

Sesshoumaru looked out into the crowd at the glaring lights from the mezzanine as several attendants marched on and stripped him of everything but the pair of briefs he was wearing. Members of the audience cheered to see his muscles and the scars all along his body. He didn't care. Miroku read out his list of misdemeanors and the crowd hissed and booed in response, but he was not listening. He simply could not find the energy to care.

"Let's start the bidding at 900, do I hear more?"

He shut his eyes as the din in the auditorium grew louder and louder. His ears were ringing with the shouts of the humans below him. He almost chuckled. Was he really going to go for so little?

"Yes sir, 1500 from Mr. Jamison in the back, do I hear 2000? 2000, 2000, do I-yes! 2000 from the gentleman here, do I hear 2500?"

Miroku was very good at his job. In the days before Terra was overrun by insurgents, and the possibility of a totalitarian regime was a joke, Miroku had often kidded that he would make a fantastic auctioneer. He couldn't decide what he wanted to do more: auction things away, or catch a shuttle back to Earth. Sesshoumaru wished that the latter option were still a choice. Now he stood as a pet for the highest bidder, and Miroku was as pale as a sheet as he auctioned his friend's life away.

"3000 from Mrs. Malgrave, 3000-Oh, and Mr. Jamison in back with 5000, thank you, sir! Mrs. Malgrave with 5500, thank you- do I hear more?" Miroku's purple eyes scanned the packed house. Sesshoumaru watched them land on someone and caught Miroku's sharp nod out of the corner of his eye. Then it was back to the task at hand.

"6500 from Mr. Jamison now and- Oh! I hear 7500 from Mrs. Malgrave, unbelievable! Do I hear more from Mr. Jamison? 8000, anybody, 8000- 8000 to Mr. Jamison! 8000 going-no! Mrs. Malgrave with 9500, Malgrave has it…No, Jamison! Jamison with a bid of 15,000, that's 15,000 dollars. Do I hear more?"

The audience had quieted. Sesshoumaru looked out at Mr. Jamison's silhouette, smug and rotund in the back of the house. His next occupation was not going to be pleasant. Miroku obviously agreed, for he swallowed rather loudly and pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"15,000 going once….twice…" He swallowed again, "…sol-wait! What is this? I hear 30,000 from Ms. Karana in the back, 30,000! 30,000 going once, going twice…sold! Pet number 146721 to Ms. Rin Karana for 30,000 dollars." Miroku looked so relieved, he practically danced away from the microphone.

He smiled at Sesshoumaru as he took up the leash. Sesshoumaru quirked a silver brow at him. As the audience applauded, they walked towards the stairs at stage left. A woman was slowly coming into view as she walked down the aisle towards them. Sesshoumaru could make out long brown hair and a nice figure as she marched towards him.

"Sesshoumaru," Miroku whispered as quietly as possible, "don't worry man, I know her. She's in the resistance. She'll take care of you, I promise."

They were at the top of the stairs. "Be nice to her, now." Said Miroku as Sesshoumaru smirked a bit, "she's a friend. Good luck, pal, I'll see you sooner than you think…" And with that, Miroku led Sesshoumaru down the stairs and, still smiling, placed his friend's silver chain in the hands of what Sesshoumaru could now see was a short young woman.

She looked scared to death as she circled him like a hawk, as was tradition. Miroku watched nervously from the side. Sesshoumaru stared straight ahead; he knew the drill. Rin brought a hand to his chest and made several thoughtful noises. The hand on his abs was shaking furiously. He felt the corner of his mouth upturn slightly: if she was clearly upset by the simplest evaluation of her new pet, then surely he would have no trouble at all getting his way.

But after what felt like an hour of measuring Sesshoumaru and circling him like a vulture, Rin looked up and met his eyes. She wished she hadn't. His eyes were calm, and expressive, and the most beautiful gold color she had ever seen. She was immediately aware that eye contact between pet and master was unacceptable for more than five seconds. She pretended to adjust her hair as she looked away and gave the chain a tug. Quietly, Sesshoumaru followed after her. He sent one look back to Miroku, who was standing at the dais. Miroku gave him as much of a smile as he could manage before the crowd, and motioned for the next pet to be led out.

The sunlight blinded Sesshoumaru as his new "mistress" led him to the car waiting out front. Rin started the car and Sesshoumaru sat stock still with his knees folded up in the passenger seat. When they were a mile out, Rin began to laugh. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Oops," Rin said. She pressed a button at the base of Sesshoumaru's seat and it began to move backwards to accommodate his legs. "Thought I was going to be getting a girl, but when Miroku told me about you, I knew I had to help…"

They had reached a red light. Rin turned and smiled at him. He could see now that she was very attractive for a human, beautiful by their standards, perhaps. She had shimmering brown eyes and luxurious long brown hair to match. She seemed all smiles.

"I'm sorry I acted like that back there; have to keep up appearances so no one suspects." She smiled wider. "I'm Rin." She held out her hand. Sesshoumaru ignored it as the light turned green.

Rin appeared unphased and drove on, shrugging her shoulders. "Do you have a name?" She asked. Sesshoumaru said and did nothing. This still did not upset the woman, and she continued chatting, aware that he wasn't going to answer. She talked about "the good old days" and her few childhood memories of Earth.

They pulled up to a starch-white modern mansion, all rectangles and corners. Though the large white structure was nothing like the woman who owned it, the garden was. Flowers were everywhere: in pots, in beds, on balconies and crawling up the walls. Rin had clearly wasted no time in finding every perennial flowering plant on all of Terra and planting them all over her property.

"Do you like my garden?" She asked Sesshoumaru as they ascended the steps to the house. He, of course, did not reply. Rin smiled.

"I think it brings color to everything. Even if it's a dismal day and the whole planet seems like it's falling into even more chaos, the flowers are always colorful, still shining through all the gray and misery."

She led him through the house, explaining where everything was, and put him in a spacious bedroom with a double bed on the first floor. She chattered on about redecorating if he would like and of course going to shop for clothes the next day.

"And um, you can wear this robe for now." Rin said, handing him a white cotton robe, which he slung over his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I don't have any clothes for you- like I said, I was expecting a girl and, well…" She opened the doors to the boudoir and pulled out a pink tee shirt and a pair of sweatpants with flowers on the side. She laughed and turned a little red under his stare, putting the objects back.

"Um so… I don't really have any rules. You will I'm afraid have to uh 'assist' me around the house occasionally and help me organize things, just for appearances sake. But other than that, no rules. Do what you want, say what you want, eat what you want… God, I shouldn't have to tell these things to a grown man…" She became slightly frustrated and balled her hands into fists at her sides. Sesshoumaru looked at her quizzically. She sighed and unclenched her hands.

"Um, don't worry about being watched or anything, I know a lot of people have their houses monitored, but I only have cameras on the front and back doors and the driveway, and I've a got a veil around the property, so feel free to do whatever you like." At the mention of the sonic barrier around the house, Sesshoumaru felt a wave of relief wash over him, but he did not make it apparent to Rin.

"So really, pay no mind to the pet code, I don't care what you do. If you wanna set fire to the curtains, be my guest!" She laughed, and then cocked her head. "No, I actually like these curtains, but you can burn the ones in the den, they're hideous."

Sesshoumaru stared at the human. She was smiling kindly with a slight flush on her face, still apparently not quite comfortable with the situation.

"Well, it'll be time for dinner soon, and I was thinking of ordering out: anything you'd like in particular?" Rin asked cheerily.

Sesshoumaru stared back.

Rin chewed her lip. "Right." She stood for a moment, apparently unsure of what to do, then gave an awkward wave and a nervous smile before backing through the doorway and towards the stairs.

"Sesshoumaru." Said the youkai quietly.

Rin's head popped up around the doorframe. "Is that a food?"

He blinked. "It is my name."

Rin grinned. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sesshoumaru." She said pleasantly, then danced off towards the stairs.

Sesshoumaru watched her go indifferently before rising from the bed and moving to the window. He drew back the curtains and looked out at the sun-kissed yard, splashed with bright flowers and blossoming trees. It was the first window he had seen in months. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, resting his head against the cool glass and placing his lips to the surface gently. This, he thought, this he could get used to.

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