Chapter notes:
"Love is the bond of perfection."
The Lily of the Valley signifies "The Return of Happiness"
Disclaimer: The depictions of the characters in this story are completely fictitious. In no way does this represent the views or the story arcs as envisaged by the original copyright owners of this franchise and its characters. The ownership if the characters and the original concept are sole properties of Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 13 – The bond between them
Rin is unable to rest peacefully. Her whole body is paining, be it on her arms, her chest, her legs or her face, there is no place she could feels no ache. She feels uncomfortable and sticky since her torn kimono is soaked with blood. Her jaw trembles as the girl begins to shiver in cold. The thin blanket she owns proves it isn't much of help at this moment. Since the feeling of discomfort is increasing, Rin starts to weep silently from within her heart. Tears wet her already bruised face as the girl whispers softly. Lord Sesshoumaru.
The taiyoukai and the kid were gone for quite some time. Rin is starting to get worried. She decides to search for them in the forest. The girl slowly pushes the blanket to the side as she attempts to move her injured legs down to the floor. She tries to hold the edge of the bed and stand up; unfortunately she loses her balance as her legs are weak. She fails to balance her body and falls on the floor. The impact is hard enough that it causes her wounds to start bleeding again. Rin is unable to hold her pain anymore as she cries out.
Sesshoumaru picks up the scent of Rin's blood and the voice of the girl's cries in pain. He speeds into the hut and finds that the girl is on the floor with her right hand pressing on the floor trying to stand up with whatever of her little stamina that remains. The demon lord instantly hurries to her side and cradles her against his chest. Aito who has just stepped into the hut instantly kneels closely beside the taiyoukai to check on his mother. The sight of his mother bleeding is tormenting the boy's heart. He sniffs several times and weeps in pain.
"Rin, what are you doing? I told you to rest on the bed." Sesshoumaru inquires in concern while checking the wounds all over her body.
"I was worried about you guys beside I-I co-couldn't rest, my body is paining and its freezing over here. I just don't know what to do. I just want to see you." Rin's voice is rather weak and shak, this sight torments the taiyoukai's heart. Her body is cold and she is trembling even under his embrace. Her torn kimono is now fully soaked in blood, Sesshoumaru thinks that the girl needs to be cleaned up and her wounds tended to immediately.
The taitoukai turns and pats on his son's shoulder. Aito looks up with his watery eyes and continues sniffing. The demon lord brushes the tears away from the kid's cheeks with his finger and speaks softly. "Your mother will be fine. Do you wish to help her out?" The boy's eyes widen and incline his head awaiting the demon lord's instruction impatiently.
"Good, now get a new kimono and a dry towel for your mother. We will head to the river and wash away the blood on her body." Aito nods happily as he is finally able to do something for his mother. He rises to his feet quickly and moves to the nearby wooden wardrobe to retrieve the cloth and towel. Sesshoumaru gently gathers Rin into his arms and he carries her to the river with Aito following closely behind.
Once they reach the river bank, the taiyoukai places the girl on the shore and slowly pulls the torn kimono away. Rin grabs on her lord's hands and insists she is able to undress by herself, but Sesshoumaru rejects her idea. He does not want the girl to move too much as it might worsen her bone injury. He continues on to pull the fabric away and the task seems to be quite difficult. The reason is some of the blood on the fabric has slightly dried up and it is sticking onto the girl's skin. He could easily rip off the cloth with his claws but it will be a bit rough and might end up hurting the girl. When he successfully removes the kimono, the demon lord carries the girl and walks into the river.
Rin screams out loud as her body gets in contact with the water. The water is extremely cold at this time of the night and her wounds are stinging. She shuts her eyes tightly and tries to fight the pain. Sesshoumaru is able to sense the girl's agony; as much as he wishes to bring her out of the water, he just can't afford to do that. He needs to clean the wounds properly or it might get infected in which case it will lead to another problem later. He tries to clean as fast and as gentle as he can.
"Hang in there Rin, it should be over shortly." The words flow tenderly into her ears. The girl nods swiftly without answering her lord. She bits her inner lips hard enough to cause it to bleed. Sesshoumaru stops and turns to face the girl in his arms. He is heartbroken to see the girl struggling in agony.
"Rin, bit my shoulder if the pain is unbearable." The girl is shocked with the statement, there is no way she is could to bite her lord.
"I-I'm fine, please continue my lord." Her weak and shaky voice shows no hesitation. What kind of hardship she has encountered to become this strong? The taiyoukai ponders. He nods and continues on cleaning.
Several minutes pass, Sesshoumaru brings the girl back to the shore and he dries her up with the towel. Rin's jaw is still trembling in the cold but she feels much better as a new kimono wraps her freezing body. Aito helps to put on a pair of new socks on her mother's feet. Rin smiles slightly to her son as she thanks him. The taiyoukai turns to the kid and speaks.
"Good boy, now go and clean the torn kimono before you throw it." Aito's eyes widen confused, he blinks his eyes few times and tries to figure out the reason as to why he has to clean something unwanted. Sesshoumaru senses the boy's confusion as he tries to explain it.
"Just wash away the blood, it's more than enough." The demon lord strokes the boy's head. Aito nods as he turns and carries the kimono to the river. Sesshoumaru then carries Rin back to the hut. He feels bad to lie to his son but if he wishes to tend to the girl's wounds, he needs to drive the kid away. He sighs while the girl is mystified with her lord's action.
Sesshoumaru places Rin on the bed and she adjusts herself to a comfortable position. He then sits closely beside her and observes the girl combing her bangs with her fingers. The bruises are visible on her fair skin. He takes the girl's hand close to his mouth and starts licking on her wound. Rin gasps at the demon lord's action. She pulls her hand away and stares at her lord with her widened hazelnut eyes.
"What are you doing my lord?" Sesshoumaru looks up at the girl's astounded face. He almost bursts out into laughter with her adorable expression.
"I am tending to your wounds." He reaches out with his right hand and pulls the girl's left sleeve a bit higher to reveal her bruised arms. Gently he takes her arm close to his mouth and continues licking. Rin's mouth gapes open, it feels warm and smoothing with the demon lord's tongue stroking around the bruised area. Her face flushes red, although they have been intimate before, but the feeling of being touched by the taiyoukai again is little bit odd when they have been separated for long. But strangely, she feels so comfortable even with oddity.
"I- I mean wh-what are you ..." A claw finger reaches out to touch over the girl's lips preventing any further speech.
"My saliva will help to heal your wounds. Let me continue on."
"But ... I- "No proper words come out, as the girl watches her lord tending her wounds from arm to shoulder, cheeks and the rest of the bruises. As Sesshoumaru's tongue works on her face near to her swollen busted lips, he takes her lips into his as they share a gentle and affectionate kiss.
Far away in the forest,
The sound of thunderstorms has awakened the little toad from his deep sleep. The first thing Jaken notices is that his master is missing. He scans the surrounding and finds no trace of the demon lord. The little kappa is starting to panic; he quickly grabs his staff and runs into the deep forest hoping to find his lord.
"Lord Sesshoumaru! Where are you?" Unfortunately his high pitched voice is no match for the god of lightning. The green toad has only one wish at this moment, it is to find his master before heavy rain approaches.
Back to the hut,
Rin is now lying on her bed as she tries to catch some sleep. Sesshoumaru sit at the side of the bed watching the girl. Although the tending session is still a shock for her, she does feel the much needed relief and the pains have reduced. She doesn't have a problem with the demon lord's intentions but she stills thinks that she doesn't deserve it.
"Don't think too much Rin, sleep well." Rin stares at her lord's warm golden orbs. She wishes to ask about his return and how he managed to find Aito but her mind is too weak to handle the questions for now. She shuts her eyes off and attempts to sleep.
Few minutes pass by and Rin opens her eyes. Her vision focuses onto the left and finds that the demon is still there. She smiles at him and shuts her eyes again to sleep. Sesshoumaru rests his left hand on the girl's forehead, to assure her of his presence. Rin relaxes under his touch.
Another few minutes pass, the girl pops her eyes open again but this time she has a strange feeling hovering in her mind. She grabs onto the demon lord's hand and tries to rise from the bed. Sesshoumaru observes the girl's strange behavior. Rin's eyes are scanning the entire hut again and again. Satisfied with her inspections she sighs and turns to face her lord.
"I want to get Aito back here, why is he taking this long? Did something happen to him?" The girl asks in concern.
"I don't sense anyone else's presence except for the three of us. Rin, relax and get back to sleep. You need to rest." He whispers softly but the girl doesn't seem to be satisfied with the reply. She pulls the blanket aside and tries to leave the bed but her attempts are halted by the taiyoukai.
"Rin, trust me, no one else is present except for the three of us. Get back to sleep you need a proper rest." He growls lowly with his voice slightly raised. He instantly regrets it as he spots the girl's hazelnut eyes filled with unshed tears.
"How do you know he will be fine? There is no harm in checking, why are you stopping me? He is my son and I care about his safety. You won't understand how I feel." Rin yells but Sesshoumaru roars in anger. He is also horrified by how much her trust in him has eroded away in these 4 years as Rin has never questioned his ability to protect.
"I know how you feel and I care for Aito too. He is my s..." Rin abruptly wraps her arms around the taiyoukai's waist before he manages to complete the sentence. Ignoring the pain caused by the sudden movements, the girl buries her face on top of the fluffy on the demon lord's right shoulder and cries.
Sesshoumaru gently strokes her back, trying to calm the girl down. He then turns his head to the side to bury his nose in the girl's hair and re-learns her scent. A scent of broken trust slices through the air, and he realizes that it was his fault. Wearily the demon lord rests his chin on the side of his precious companion's hair.
"What is it like to ... sleep well?" She sniffs hard into the demon lord's shoulder but her hold loosens as she rests her throbbing arms on his laps before continuing, "What if I was in deep sleep and not being aware of someone's presence? They might take Aito away to threaten me, I might not be able to fight then. And if I upset them, they will hurt my son. I don't care what happens to me, but Aito is innocent, he shouldn't face all this torture. Please help me my lord. I am so afraid; I can't afford to lose my son. He is my only reason to live on..."
Sesshoumaru's heart is in torment at the girl's statements. Rin has to live in this isolated hut, she has no ability to defend herself and that too she is living with a kid. He couldn't imagine the kind of life the girl has to go through alone. With no anger towards the girl's earlier behaviors, sorrow rushes in thick and deep. What if today's incident has happened before? The demon lord instantly discards the ridiculous thought. Ever so gently he brushes his lips across her dark raven hair as he wraps his arms securely around her weak body.
The scent of fear is in the air, her sobs do not indicate of her weakness, not at all. In fact, her wail is a sign of tiredness. Rin is strong; sometimes the demon lord thinks his girl is probably way stronger than him. What strength of spirit has possessed this fragile human to be this strong? Sesshoumaru drops one of his hands to the side as it clenches into a fist. My fault. He curses his own pride for trusting an unknown leopard which has placed the girl under trauma. If only I stayed behind... The taiyoukai is cussing and clenches his fist tightly until it bleeds.
It is at this moment, a familiar scent lingers into the demon lord's nose. As he rolls his golden orbs to the right, a small figure is caught out of the corner of his eyes. Aito, his poor son is standing next to him. He must have heard of his mother's statements earlier which explain his sore eyes. Sesshoumaru gently taps on Rin's shoulder, as he whispers softly into her ears.
"Rin, Aito is here." The girl taken aback looks at her precious son. The kid then climbs onto the bed and wraps his arms around his poor mother's waist. Both begin to cry on each other's arms.
Sesshoumaru walks to the dining table; his left hand touches the grip of his swords as he gazes at the duo over his shoulder. The swords might be precious to him but the taiyoukai admits that both Rin and Aito are far more valuable to protect in his lifetime. At this point, he has no reason to back down to the leopard anymore, Aito is his son, he doesn't need the girl to admit it, he has witnessed it earlier and that is enough to prove the boy's identity. All he needs to focus on now is to seek out the reason behind the girl's disappearance and vow to bring the duo back to the western fortress. There's plenty of time to plan things out, as for now his injured Rin and poor son need proper rest, the best sleep that they ever had.
The taiyoukai sets the Bakusaiga and Tenseiga on the table; untying his yellow and indigo obi from his waist, he then removes the black armor from his chest and settles it on the table. He turns and walks back to the bed, joining his Rin and Aito with his arms stretching wide enough to hug the two of them. The girl looks up to her lord, her hazelnut eyes are now turning into sore reddish eyes. Poor girl. Sesshoumaru strokes the girl's back, assuring her that everything is alright now. Rin nods with her tears continuing to stream down her cheek. She then rests her head on the demon lord's shoulder with Aito still in her arms.
"Rin, the sleepless nights are over. That was the life without me and now I am here. I want you to relax and rest." The girl inclines her head but remains silent. Rin trails off slowly; she wipes away the tears on her face and does the same on Aito. Sesshoumaru helps the girl to lay down with Aito in her arms. The exhausted boy has fallen asleep quickly under his mother's warm embrace.
"Good night Rin." The demon lord places a light kiss on the girl's forehead. He then lies next to the girl with Aito separating them in-between.
"I will be here, do not be afraid. Let tonight be the beginning of many restful nights." The demon lord combs the girl's hair as he speaks. He watches the girl's eyes shut slowly as she drifts to her sleep. With his right arm across the boy and resting on the girl's waist, Sesshoumaru feels extremely comfortable and blissful for being able to watch his precious companion and his son sleep next to him. A strange feeling arises as the taiyoukai feels the strong bond between them. He never needs to sleep and he doesn't have to do it now since he just loves to watch over the girl sleep. As Rin's face starts to show signs of relaxation, Sesshoumaru whispers to the duo.
"The bond between us." The demon lord smirks before he continues, "I've feel it myself."
Chapter end notes:
2 weeks for an update. I am sorry guys, works is killing me. I tried to look for another job but LOL no one wish to hire me and all the replied I got is "Better opportunity else where Jenni." LOL
So no choice, I shall stick to my current work before my boss fire me XD
Anyway, I know the length of this chapter didn't pay off the long wait. As you all know this is the split chapter from last one. Sorry is all I can say
Well I am starting to write chapter 14, so perhaps I can complete it before my holiday.
I will be celebrating Lunar New Year in a week time, yay! I miss my hometown and I will be away from KL for a week as well. BUT I will stay in touch with the fiction world though because I will never live without reading stories LOL
So perhaps I can update another chapter before am leaving. Until then see you guys later bye and take care :-)
Next Chapter == Shoulder ride
Anonymous review reply:-
songhamitra ~ Hello dear, thanks for your review. Glad that you like 'The Revenge' chapter. I know is a bit gross for the kid to act that way but oh well what can we expect from the son of Sesshoumaru? XD
The bonding is here and I never discard the idea of 'lovey-dovey' comforting. The process of healing will see a lot of lovey-dovey :-)
Jolie ~ Hey dear, thanks for your review. Sesshoumaru has no doubt will want to bring the duo back to the castle. Aito will soon know about his father. Now can you guess who will tell the boy about this? Rin? Sesshoumaru? or someone else? :-)
Naala ~ Hi dear, thanks for your review. Aww, thanks for the compliment :-) I am no where to be classified as an excellent writer. I am still in the stage of learning. Yes I will definitely write about the reason of Rin's leaving. Perhaps in 2 more chapters :-) Stay tunes ya?
elusivequeenbee ~ Hey there, thank you for yur review :-) Yea, I love to read quotes and I read it in daily basic. Before I update my story, I use to search for a proper quote. It will describe my chapter well before readers start to read it. I love the quote for chapter 12 as well. :-)
To be honest, Aito real identity will be a bit twisted for my story. So there will be an explanaition about the boy real soon. You will get to know whether he is a hanyou / full fledged demon. :-) The chapter where he shows all the marks on his face is not part of transformation. It happens often whenever the kid gets angry. I will explain about this part too in the up coming chapters :-)
Oh yes, I do know the problem with longer paragraph. I will change it :-)
Divine Rose ~ Hey there, thank you for reading my story and your reviews. I love your story and can't wait to read more :-)
What do you think about Ryuuki? Do you like him? He has his own story too, which will be revealing later in my story.