Gomenasai! I know it's been, what… months??? Since I last updated. I'm really sorry! Overtime's a killer, and I have so many stories on the go! I'm really trying to get them finished.
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Aikawa was distracted at school the next day. So distracted that she said nothing at all to Sesshoumaru or even Rin the whole day. Rin tried to approach her at lunch, but before she had taken a step toward her the autoretto's cell phone rang and she whipped it out before Rin could blink, speaking urgently in English to whoever it was.
"Rin, are you coming or not?" Sesshoumaru asked, appearing behind her. He had been pleasantly surprised that morning to discover there were no more fliers of him and Rin distributed around the school, and if Aikawa was ignoring him then he was not complaining.
"Yes," she said, still staring at the exchange student. Aikawa suddenly stiffened and snapped her cell phone shut before sprinting to the girls' locker room. "Sesshoumaru-senpai, what do you think is wrong with Aikawa-senpai?"
"While I don't know, I really couldn't care less."
Sighing, she followed him to their usual lunch spot. After lunch when Sesshoumaru was sitting in class Fujisaki-sensei asked if anyone knew where Aikawa was. She was missing, but he didn't think anything of it. After a week had passed, he was just starting to get used to not having to wonder if there was a booby trap in his locker or not.
#~#~#
Kiyoe walked boldly into the conference room where the council members were waiting for her. She stopped in the middle of the circle they made with their chairs and folded her arms, waiting for them to speak.
The lord of the central lands opened his mouth. "Tokugawa-san, report your tracking progress."
"Riamu is hiding on one of the RyuKyu islands," she said.
"And have you made any movements to confront him?"
"As I said before, I refuse to fight him."
"You do not have a choice in the matter," Ryuukotsusei, the lord of the north, said. "You are the only one who can eliminate him."
"That is not true," she argued coldly, indicating a giant lizard-shaped council member. "Kuroiasu is his kind; he is perfectly capable of fighting him."
"In theory," Kuroiasu said, his large teeth gleaming. "But he and I are equals. You know perfectly well that you are his superior in every respect. You would not be injured seriously in your battle."
"I have been already. I lost my left arm which was almost followed by my leg."
"That was caused by neglect on your part," the western lord said. "You allowed your personal feelings to cloud your judgment, and so he was able to injure you."
Kiyoe's face was set stubbornly. "Riamu was my best friend," she replied in a hard voice.
"And yet he cursed you," Naraku said.
"Survival instinct. He did what he had to, and I do not blame him for it."
"He continues to try and kill you," the Inu no Taisho said. "Will you allow him to?"
"You forced me to attack him; of course his trust in me was broken."
"Tokugawa is right," Toutousai addressed the rest of the council. "Riamu wasn't aggressive before we became involved."
"But the fact remains that he is now," the lord of the east said. "He is a threat to youkai and human alike, and you, Tokugawa, are the only one capable of neutralizing him."
"You mean killing him."
"Please do not twist my words."
Kiyoe's voice was growing heated. "I said to you before that I would have nothing to do with his assassination and I stand by that."
"Let us remind you that you are bound to this council," Kuroiasu said. "We decide your actions. Council adjourned."
The council members all rose and collected their papers from their desks. Kiyoe stood still in the center clenching her fists tightly, her eyes burning with ire and yet emotionless at the same time.
#~#~#
Rin was walking home from school, not paying attention to where she was going. She sighed dejectedly.
I wonder how long Sesshoumaru is going to stop me going to his house after school. I miss him already, and I still see him every day.
"Hey, it's Tanaka Rin!"
She quickly looked up to see three angry taiyoukai from the Takahashi fan club.
"Where's your boyfriend, Tanaka?"
She sighed once more. Not again... I'm really tired of this.
"Well?" they pushed her around, and she dropped her books in the mud.
"I told you; we're not – "
"Too bad," the leader said, clenching her fist and preparing to strike out. "I was supposed to be Takahashi-sama's first kiss! Not some stupid human like you! You don't deserve him!"
The fear finally began to sink in. She's actually going to hit me. And Sesshoumaru isn't around to stop her. What am I going to do?
Before the youkai could punch her, however, she was suddenly torn off and before Rin knew it the three of them were running away. She looked up at who had defended her and saw Aikawa-san collapse on the ground, blood pouring out of her leg.
"Aikawa-senpai, you got hurt!"
Aikawa glared at her wound. "It opened up again."
"What happened to you? And where have you been the past week?"
"I had some important business in Tokyo which took several days."
"So how did you get hurt like that?"
"I met an… old friend." She got up unsteadily and collapsed again, wincing faintly.
"Here, let me help you," Rin offered, and they slowly made their way down the street. "Where do you live? I'll take you home."
Aikawa shook her head. "I cannot go home. Not like this."
"Why not?"
"You do not understand. I live with my human parents. If they discover what I do outside the house their lives will be in danger."
"How?"
"I cannot explain. But please, Tanaka-san, take me to the place where Takahashi and I fought. I have bandages there."
In time they managed to reach the old building. Aikawa directed them to a dusty cupboard and pulled out a plastic bottle along with several bandages. Opening the bottle, she poured the thick greenish fluid on the cloth before binding her leg tightly. Rin winced at the smell.
"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the bottle of slime.
"Healing fluids. I heal at human rate, so I need this to speed up the process. It's perfectly harmless to autoretto, but I have not yet tested it on humans."
"Where did you get it?" she questioned, intrigued.
"I made it." Finishing bandaging her leg, Aikawa stood up and limped across the room to another larger cupboard. Inside it was a computer screen and custom keyboard.
"How can you make things like that?"
"I am skilled with technology, but not with herbs. My sister invented the fluid and gave me the recipe," she said as she turned on the computer. A map of Japan appeared on the large monitor and colored lights.
"What do you use this place for?"
"I cannot explain. I am sorry, but I have no wish to involve you."
"What is that red dot?" Rin asked, pointing to a place near Tokyo on the screen.
"Please, Tanaka-san, do not question me," Aikawa snapped impatiently.
Rin took a step back and paused. "You know, Aikawa-senpai, I don't really like people calling me by my surname. It seems so… cold and distant."
The autoretto glanced at her before resuming typing rapidly on the keyboard. "Then, Rin, my name is Kiyoe," she replied.
There was another pause.
"Then, I guess I'll just go," Rin said. "Will you be in school tomorrow?"
"The chances are high."
"Alright; I'll see you tomorrow!" she waved as she made toward the exit. "'Bye, Kiyoe-senpai."
#~#~#
Sesshoumaru walked into the boys' locker room and up to his locker, opening it. He caught a very brief glimpse of a piece of paper flutter out with bold hiragana written on it to say "I'm back!" before the blast hit his front and he was thrown to the other end of the room. In his pain he blacked out and woke up an hour later in the sick room, feeling stiff from his entire body being covered in burns.
Aikawa… I'm going to kill you for this.
Kaede, the nurse with a bad eye, saw him wake. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Fine. Your attentions are unnecessary."
"You and I both know that treatment will help you heal faster. Would you like to go home for the rest of the day?"
The thought of his father seeing the state he was in and hearing the circumstances did not thrill him – especially as he had just returned from work in Tokyo. "No. I will be able to go back to class soon."
"If you're sure, then I can't stop you. And don't worry; we will find who placed the explosive soon. The principal is extremely angry about it." She turned away from him to tend to two other boys. He remembered that he wasn't alone in the locker room when the bomb exploded, but they weren't close to him so they weren't as badly hurt. It had practically blown up in his face.
Getting up he swung his legs off the bed, his whole body aching.
"Just stay here for now," Kaede said.
"I'm fine," he insisted. "I'm going back to class."
His burns still hadn't healed properly after school, so he couldn't go home yet. Rin talked him into walking around town with her, and they wandered through several streets until they passed the place where he had battled Aikawa. To their surprise, Aikawa was just exiting the building with a pair of boots hanging over her shoulder. She held out one hand and swung it over the ground as it glowed light blue, and ice appeared on the ground. She then sat down and put the boots on before skating smoothly across the rink she had just created, leaping and swishing around and doing all kinds of difficult jumps.
"Sesshoumaru-senpai, look," Rin whispered. "She's… really good."
His pride and dislike for her wouldn't allow him to answer, but he couldn't disagree without lying.
Aikawa closed her eyes as she glided across the ice, a peaceful expression on her otherwise neutral face. Suddenly she came to an abrupt halt, looked at her wristwatch, and dashed back into the building. The ice melted in her wake and vanished.
"Wow," Rin said. "Can you believe Kiyoe-senpai can skate like that? I had no idea she even liked to skate."
Sesshoumaru grunted dismissively before walking on. He meant to forget the incident, but Rin wouldn't let him. She wouldn't stop talking about it for the rest of the day, and he was actually glad when she left him alone just so he could stop thinking about Aikawa.
His father was waiting for him when he finally got home.
"Sesshoumaru."
"Chichi-ue."
"The school phoned."
Sesshoumaru inwardly cursed.
"Where have you been?"
"Around town. Rin was with me, if you want to ask her."
"That won't be necessary." Pause. "I understand the bomb was in your locker."
"Sheer coincidence."
"Really," now he seemed amused. "Then you have no idea who placed it?"
Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "None whatsoever."
His father clearly saw through his lie. "Good. Then let's start training as usual."
#~#~#
Kiyoe lay on her bed, thinking about the council meeting. A knock sounded on her door and her human parents entered.
"We heard there was an explosion at the school," her mother said.
"That's right."
"I suppose you weren't back from Tokyo yet."
"No, I wasn't."
"Are you settling in okay?" her father asked.
"Why do you ask?"
"We just want to make sure you're happy. Have you made any new friends?"
"Yes."
"What are they called?"
"I'm trying to sleep. Please leave me."
The two humans exchanged a glance. "Alright, honey. But invite your friends over sometime."
As soon as the door was shut, Kiyoe sat up and silently climbed out the window. She made her way to her "sanctuary" and booted up the hidden computer, checking the red light again. She gasped when she saw its unmoving position and bolted out of the building.
#~#~#
Sesshoumaru sat in the classroom, bored. Aikawa was sitting as though she were made out of stone. He couldn't even hear her breathing.
Fujisaki-sensei entered the room, carrying his books. He dropped them on the table with a loud thump and turned to the class.
"I have an announcement to make," he said. "There will be an essay competition being held for seniors and juniors. The first prize will be ten million yen."
The class all gave a gasp and murmurs rippled over them.
"The deadline is in six months. Give you entries to me or to one of the Japanese teachers. There is one topic and variations will not be accepted. The title is The Definition of Love."
Students began scribbling information in their notebooks. Sesshoumaru sighed – of course a human had chosen a foolish topic. He didn't especially want to waste his time on this essay, but for ten million yen…
Kiyoe's eyes snapped up at the mention of the money. If she had that much, it would be a step closer to her freedom from the council. At the very least, they wouldn't be able to control her quite so much.
She heard the title and frowned mentally. It was a difficult topic, but she was determined to win that money. Her existence may not have depended on it, but her life did.
During lunch she climbed one of the thicker trees and hid in its branches, taking her cell phone and placing it in front of her. She stared at it, willing it to ring, as the second hand on her wristwatch ticked. It wasn't loud, but she could easily hear it.
Finally, the phone sprang to life. She grasped it instantly. "Toutousai-sama?"
"Tokugawa-san, how are things?" Toutousai asked.
"Not good. Riamu was sitting outside the house of someone I go to school with. I think he may have found me."
"That would be troublesome. Did he do anything?"
"No, not last night."
"Just keep a low profile and try not to draw attention to yourself."
"Shouldn't I stay away from school?"
"No. Your absence would be too conspicuous. Riamu was probably just choosing his next victim. Just be careful, Tokugawa-san. And hurry and do something. The council is getting restless with your lack of productivity. If you continue to ignore us, you'll have to be punished. I'm sorry." The line went dead.
Kiyoe closed her phone slowly. Even if she somehow managed to win the competition money, she wouldn't get it for six months at least. The council would do something about the Riamu case long before that. She couldn't keep stalling forever.
#~#~#
"Sesshoumaru-senpai, are you going to enter that essay competition?" Rin asked as they sat in their usual spot behind the shed.
"Yes. Are you?"
"Definitely. I think it'll be fun, don't you?"
"You think it will be fun to write an essay?"
"Well, just that essay in particular. I mean, poets and writers have tried to define love for centuries, and no-one's got it quite right. It'll be interesting to see what high schoolers come up with. I can't believe we have six whole months to write it, though." She noticed him staring into space. "Whatcha thinkin' about?"
"Nothing really. Would you like to come to my house after school today?"
Rin beamed. "Sure!"
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Reviews are like inspiration. If I get them, I will write more. :D
I'll try and get some SessRin fluff into the next chapter. If you have any thoughts of what could be cute, feel free to let me know. Ja ne.