A/N: Smiles for NekomataHanyou. Yes dog noses can get very annoying, as we'll soon learn more than ever! (Ooh, foreshadowing, fun.) Lol, Anyway, thanks for the review, and also, good call on the future mortification. Timing is everything! And also warm fuzzies for IGirlWhoLikesHerStuff (What a moniker! I like it despite the fact that I had to go back a bunch of times to make sure I had it right. Its very cool.) I'm glad you like the story! Yeah, Kagome/Sessh stories never really spoke to me either, although there are some really well written ones, that I can ignore the fact that Kagome is totally in love with Inuyasha in the manga and anime. The pairing that I'm not too fond of is Sessho/Kikyou. It squigs me out. Like a glacier dating an ice cube. And Lola? You are awesome. That pretty much sums everything up right there. And it was immensely fun to have the arrogant Inuyoukai get rejected repeatedly.
By the time we had walked for a few hours, (Holy hell, I had been walking nonstop ever since I had gotten pulled here! It was a wonder my legs hadn't fallen off by now; although I had noticed that they were more easily numb in the mornings.) I was ready to scream. Rin hadn't said more than a few words to me. I had tried initiating conversation with the girl and had only received monosyllable grunts in return. It was no wonder really, she had been taught the art of ignoring someone from a master. I shot a glare at Sesshomaru's back. Jaken eyed me suspiciously.
After my failed attempts at making the trip more pleasant I had slowed my pace to bring myself to the back of our group. I now walked next to the little green toad. I cast a look of disdain at Jaken. I had been reduced to this. God help me.
"So Jaken, how are you today?" I asked halfheartedly.
"What?" he stumbled over himself.
I sighed, "I was wondering how you were doing." Please don't tell me.
"Horribly. The burdens of this humble retainer have greatly increased since you came. I have been charged with the care of the human child for an inordinate amount of time and the great Lord Sesshomaru has been unable to attend to his duties because you are taking up all his time. Also, I have noticed another wart growing…"
I tuned him out with a grimace. Good lord; warts? Why would he tell me that? Why would he tell anyone that? I scrunched up my face in disgust, unaware Rin had turned around from her seat on Ah-Un's back to stare at the blathering Jaken. She smiled before catching herself and turning swiftly back around. I stuck out my tongue at her back, and warily listened to Jaken finish up what he was saying.
"-and that kitsune child dared to use an illusion to disguise himself as me and then proceeded to amuse himself and that entire motley mix of creatures that worthless hanyou thinks a pack by dancing and singing the song Rin made up about green skinned, warty demons!"
I blinked and asked carefully, "What was the song?"
Jaken opened his mouth as if to answer, but he caught himself a time. He frowned up at me balefully. I smiled benignly down at him. Then he stalked away to walk on the other side of the dragon. I sighed. Fine, it was time to raise the stakes. I toddled to the head of the group, falling into step with Sesshomaru.
He cast me a bored look, but continued walking. He did speed up a bit though. I matched his pace, and tunelessly hummed a bit, casting around for a conversation starter. I did have something important (i.e.: Rin) to talk to him about, but I didn't know how to bring up the subject.
"Were you aware that it is rude to walk ahead of the alpha of a pack human?" Sesshomaru growled. I blinked and realized that he had sped up so much that I was nearly jogging to keep up with him.
"No. Also I'm not walking ahead of you. I'm walking right next to you. Get over it."
Sesshomaru growled. I rolled my eyes. Was it really that important? Oh well, atleast he had given me an opening… sort of.
"Sesshomaru, I had to talk to you about something," I whispered.
"Hnn, did it have something to do with the item you requested of Kagome?"
I blinked and blushed, "No! Geez… no. It has to do with Rin."
Sesshomaru's lips twitched into the smallest of frowns, so I knew he understood something of what I was worried about.
"She's not very talkative today," I prodded.
"It is this Sesshomaru's understanding that it is not required that a creature talk constantly."
"That's just you," I murmured with an impatient flick of my hand. "She's unhappy about something."
"Hnn."
"Good, so you agree than. What are you going to do about it?"
Sesshomaru cast me a quick look of surprise, "It is not this Sesshomaru's responsibility-"
"Oh yes it is. Everything about her, her health, her hygiene and her happiness is your responsibility. She's adopted you, and that means you're responsible."
"Isn't it usually te adult that adopts the child?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Don't be ridiculous. If the child doesn't adopt the adult, parenting is futile."
"Parenting!" Sesshomaru began heatedly. I rolled over his bluster.
"I think she feels neglected Sesshomaru."
He remained silent.
"If you could just show her a little attention?"
"It is below this Sesshomaru to pay attention to an insignificant human."
I stopped in my tracks, shock at his callous words quickly morphing into rage. How dare he! An innocent child and he maligns her worth with no thought! I remained rooted to the spot as Ah-Un and Jaken marched past me. I looked up at Rin. She was silently flicking a bit of loose thread on her kimono. I could not be held accountable for how I responded.
Without a word I jerked the staff of two heads out of Jaken's hands, ignoring his surprised squawk. Then I threw the thing at Sesshomaru. I was immensely annoyed when Sesshomaru turned (probably alerted that something was amiss when Jaken had protested) in time to see it coming and was able to catch it deftly between his claws. He stared down at the wood in his hand before slowly lifting his red eyes to meet mine. But the anger in my gaze far outreached his.
"You disgusting wretch. What you just said was completely despicable. You horrible-"
"Girl, you will cease speaking to me in such a manner immedi-"
"This girl will speak to you exactly as she believes you deserve to be spoken to! Let me tell you this Lord Sesshomaru, the day the bond is broken will be the best day I've had since I've gotten pulled back here," tears of fury leaked out of my eyes, coursing burning paths down my cheeks. " Right now, I do reject you, and this cursed bond that ties me to you. Right now, every part of me is repulsed by you.I do not. Want. This. Bond."
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Sesshomaru waited warily as the girl finished. She had not yelled, instead she had spoken with the coldness of disgust. Moments trickled by as he felt for the bond. It wasn't broken. It currently pulsed with anger however as they both radiated with excess fury. When he was sure the bond would hold Sesshomaru palmed the staff in his hand. He looked down at it consideringly.
"Listen well ningen, the day this bond is broken, will be the day you pay for every transgression you have made. Every insult and impertinent word, every aggravation you have caused will be accounted for. The day you're pathetic spirit is able to reject the claim of my youkai, you had best ensure that you are far, far away."
He tossed the staff back to Jaken, who caught it with wide eyes.
"Also, if you ever attempt to do damage to this Sesshomaru again, I will not restrain myself from retaliating in kind."
The girl looked at him through her damp lashes, her cheeks flushed from the saltiness of her tears. Her eyes were sad, she was now cowed or frightened into submissiveness as he had intended her to be. Instead she merely looked tired and… disappointed. Sesshomaru felt his youkai soul rebel. Why should she feel disappointment? He was a demon. He was not his brother, who bowed and exerted himself for the happiness and affection of the human miko. Nor was he his father, who had held humans in such high regard. She had no reason to have expected him to act any other way than how he had.
He felt a flush burn on his cheeks and quickly tamped down on his reaction to her gaze. He spun on his heel and took a step, signaling the continuation of their journey.
"You are dishonorable," the words were quiet. "I had thought otherwise, but…"
"Sesshomaru is good!" Rin blurted out. Sesshomaru snapped his head around to stare. "He is! He's not any of those bad things you said about him Kodi-san! He's not!" He watched Kodi for her reaction.
She merely bowed her head and replied jerkily, "Of course Rin. I'm sorry, of course he is good. I will not say those things again."
Rin nodded, her little face pale beneath the tan, "He is good."
As they walked Sesshomaru could hear the occasional huff of breath from Kodi as she cried. He could also hear the silence that had not been present since Rin had begun following him. After she had begun talking again, it seemed that an ages worth of words had bubbled up out of her. He had wished for silence then. But this silence was not the silence he had imagined. It was sad, and dark. Even with the bright sun shining through the trees, the shadows seemed heavier in this silence.
Rin had said he was good. Kodi had said she had thought he was. Which one of them was right?
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The rest of the day was chillingly quiet. Even Jaken had restrained himself from breaking thin ice that had frosted over everyone. In fact Jaken seemed had slowed to walk near me. He had probably heard mine and Sesshomaru's conversation earlier. We had been quiet enough that Rin wouldn't have been able to but Jaken was a demon after all. He had been casting anxious looks between Rin and me for hours before he had finally quit, his face scrunching into a moue of misery.
Evening came and Sesshomaru stopped near a small river. He spoke to Jaken for a moment before disappearing into the trees.
Jaken trudged over to the pair and absently began building a fire. I raised an eyebrow at him in question.
Jaken replied to the unspoken query, "Sesshomaru-sama has gone to inspect the youkai village. It is very close to here, and this place is warded against unwanted visitors, so you are safe from most attacks. If we are attacked by a demon that the staff cannot handle a yell will be sufficient to notify Sesshomaru."
I nodded and unloaded enough food for dinner. Rin sat in the grass, pulling up tufts and sifting them through her fingers. There was nothing I could do to cheer her. The only one who could was out lording over a village, probably making babies cry and kicking small furry animals. I mumbled angrily o myself as I started cooking some rice. Jaken rose and walked down to the waters edge, apparently planning to catch a fish. I noticed he cast an expectant look at Rin. I wondered if she usually joined him. Jaken turned back to the water in disappointment when she continued to play with the grass.
I absently a accepted the fish Jaken presented minutes later, only to grimace and hand it back. Jaken cleaned it and presented it again. I quickly speared it and cooked it with a little of the herbs that were bundled away in Ah-Un's saddle bags. The rice was soon done and we ate without much enthusiasm. I frowned when I saw how little Rin had eaten. It grew to be dark rather quickly and we all sat around the fire occasionally adding sticks to keep up the blaze. I did not notice when Sesshomaru returned. I had been poking a stick into the base of the fire when Sesshomaru was suddenly stepping around me. He walked with purpose to stand next to Rin. He didn't look at her, but stared absently into the flames. Rin stood and waited for him to do whatever it was he was planning to do. Instead of speaking, he pulled an item out of his sleeve and held it out to the little girl. Rin carefully took the bundle and examined it.
"Oh! It's a doll…" Rin looked up at him with gleaming eyes. "Thank you Sesshomaru-sama!"
Sesshomaru nodded and turned away. I saw his eyes flick my way as he turned, and I smiled. The doll was ugly, I could see it better now as Rin turned it this way and that and happily babbled to the thing. It was misshapen and had tusks growing out of it's mouth. It even seemed to be leering. It was completely innappropiate. And it was perfect. I smiled as Rin skipped over to show off her new "Kawaii-sama!" and introduced myself formally to the thing when she prompted me to. I felt Sesshomaru's gaze on us the rest of the evening.
When the time came to go to sleep I saw Rin tucked in with Kawaii-sama and Ah-Un and nodded good night to Jaken. I stepped gingerly over a tree runk and made my way into the shelter of the tree to where Sesshomaru leaned against the trunk. I looked at him. Was he asleep? His eyes were closed… I sat next to him and leaned against the tree. I sighed and smiled.
"Good Sesshomaru," I murmured, letting my eyes fall closed. I didn't notice Sesshomaru eyes flitting open or him watching me until I fell asleep.
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Sesshomaru shifted as the girls head tilted to the side, ducking his shoulder so she leaned against him, tossing the pelt around her as he did so. She reacted to the prompting and readily curled into the warmth he offered.
'Good Sesshomaru?' It seemed the girl was impertinent even when she was praising him. Not that he required her praise of course. Granted it did seem that she had thought him asleep. He tugged her higher as she began to slip, stretching out his legs in front of him and crossing them at the ankles. He was not willing to have a repeat of this morning.
The breeze stirred the leaves around them and suddenly it was all he could do not to squeak. He froze, not moving save for the furious flaring of his nostrils.
Her scent… He had forgotten that about humans, that they were in heat almost constantly; every month! An inu female was only fertile a few times a year. He couldn't help a soft growl as she sighed in her sleep, sending signals to his demonic instincts. Mine, we can have her, soft, she's small, fragile, smells nice, we could make the smell stronger, a few well placed touches, ours , ours, ours!
Damn it! This wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't mated to the wench! The allure was ten times stronger with the bond. He could practically feel the mating pulse in time with the girls breaths. Every breath he took sucked in her scent greedily. Pine sap, spicy cloves, ginger, wet moss. She smelled… immensely, annoyingly, teasingly good.
His eyes burned red.