Here's yet another chappie for your viewing pleasure. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it was very encouraging. I know this is very different from anything else I've written and so it means a lot that you all are still reading even though the romance is much slower.
Much thanks to:
*fashiggidy, Isis Isira, AphoticDepths, Taraah36, Nadir91, Nocturngirl, chokielovie, whitehitsugaya, New Fan, vanilfrappe, Darrakk (See! I told you I would update this month =)
Ties of Blood
Chapter 17
Training
Tsubaki couldn't quite believe her eyes when she saw Sesshoumaru's castle. To say it was big was an understatement. It was just massive to the point that she couldn't help but stare as she approached it because there was nowhere else to look. The closer she got, the more her apprehension grew because her senses were screaming at her to get away. There was so much youki gathered there - not just from the castle's inhabitants but embedded within the stones themselves - she thought she might pass out from the strain. It certainly didn't help that she could feel the youki reaching out and crawling over her skin as it sought to identify who and what she was.
She clutched her bag with her meager possessions to her chest and held her breath as the two-headed dragon she rode touched down lightly in a huge courtyard that was currently empty of all life save for a young woman standing next to what looked like a tiny toad with makeup.
Wondering where Sesshoumaru was – it was harder to pinpoint him with so much power scattered about - she took her time dismounting as she observed the girl standing before her. She couldn't detect a speck of youki from her, which told her that she was most likely the human she was supposed to be training. The toad-like youkai standing next to the girl was ignored; her senses told her that the tiny little thing was no threat.
The girl was even younger than she had previously thought. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen and she was rather on the smallish side. Her curly hair was dark and framed a face that was pretty now and likely to become beautiful as she grew older. Still, all of her features paled in comparison with her most striking one – her eyes. Even thirty or so feet away, she got the impression that the large eyes observing her missed very little.
Her mount grunted at her and, with some effort, she dragged her eyes away from the girl and began to pull her meager belongings from the back of the youkai. The moment she retrieved her last little bundle, the dragon shook its heads and, with a leap and a burst of youki, it was off, flying away to Kami-knew-where.
She stared at the retreating beast and sighed. She'd only been there for a few moments and she already felt as if she had been abandoned, not that she trusted any youkai but now she was well and truly stuck there. Turning back around, she noted that the girl hadn't moved from her current position and she made a mental note to herself that the child was a cautious one which boded relatively well for her if she did decided to train her. A cautious miko was a good one.
'You keep acting as if you have a choice, Tsubaki,' she chided herself. She knew full well that Sesshoumaru wouldn't keep her around if she refused to train the girl. However, she wanted to think she had some semblance of control, especially dwelling among the very creatures she'd spent her entire life fighting.
'Well, we can either stare at each other all day or we can get this over with,' she thought. She had never been a coward and she wasn't about to start now.
Walking over to the girl, she gave her a nod – the closest she was willing to get to a bow given the circumstances – and asked her plainly, "Who are you and why are you with Sesshoumaru?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rin wasn't sure how to respond to the woman at first. The newcomer gave off an aura of calm authority and she was beautiful, strikingly so. The problem was that she couldn't get a clear reading from her. Her features were arranged into a perfect mask of serenity – not unlike Sesshoumaru – and there was no telling what was going on in her mind.
Hence, she chose her words carefully as she responded, "My name is Higurashi Rin and as for why I am with Sesshoumaru-Sama, I am on loan to him in place of my brother."
She might have imagined that the woman's eyes widened slightly when she heard her family name but she couldn't be sure and she wasn't going to pursue it just yet either. Instead she continued with a question of her own.
"And who are you?"
"My name is Tsubaki and I am going to be your trainer…if you will have me."
"If…?" Rin repeated, furrowing her brow. Was it possible that she actually had a choice in whether or not she was going to be trained? That wasn't what Sesshoumaru had implied to her.
"Yes, if you will have me. My agreement with your master was that I would only train you if you agreed to it."
Rin's first instinct was to jump all over the opportunity presented to her but she held herself back. There was something suspicious about the fact that her "lord" had agreed to Tsubaki's terms while making it clear to her that he wasn't going to take "no" for an answer.
Knowing what she did about Sesshoumaru's personality, she had to ask herself – why had he been so certain that she would agree? What were the chances that Sesshoumaru had threatened the woman in some way to get her to come at all because she knew exactly how much miko disliked his kind? The answer she got was not a pleasant one.
Sesshoumaru was fully capable of that and more and she didn't doubt for one moment that he would kill the woman in front of her if he felt he had no use for her. As he had said himself, he was a monster and she had a brief flash of the terrifying vision he had made when he transformed and attacked her home town. No, she doubted he would be as "kind" to yet another human as he had been with her – whom he barely tolerated. With frightening clarity, she saw how clever his trap was. Whether she wanted to be trained or not, it was no longer just her life on the line. If she said no, then Tsubaki's life was forfeit. There were some people who would have shrugged and said "oh well, not my problem" but she wasn't one of them. Rin just couldn't bring herself to shut her heart away like that.
"I..," she began, licking suddenly dry lips, "I will train with you," she said as firmly as she could, though her stomach was twisting itself into knots. Just the thought of wielding so much power again terrified her.
Tsubaki gave her a long look and replied, "You didn't seem to think too long on your reply. Why?"
"Oh, I've thought on it for a while," Rin said quickly. She silently added to herself, 'You have no idea just how long I've been trying to get out of it. And now Sesshoumaru has effectively trapped us both.'
"Tell, me, why would you serve him in this capacity? Has he…never mind," Tsubaki cut off what she was about to say and Rin perked up, her curiosity piqued.
"No, please finish what you were about to say, Tsubaki-San."
The woman stared at her another long moment before asking bluntly, "Have you slept with him?"
Well, Rin hadn't expected her to ask that so soon and she felt her face flaming at the mere thought of Sesshoumaru looking at her in that way. The idea was ridiculous but that didn't stop her from wondering in a tiny part of her mind if it was even possible. She could admit that he was physically attractive to her and she liked the sparse glimpses she saw here and there of his deeply buried kindness but he was not a nice person and she really wasn't feeling charitable towards him due to this latest stunt he had pulled.
Realizing that she was taking too long to answer, she looked the woman in the eyes and replied honestly, "No. I have not. I understand that there are some youkai who like human women but I assure you Sesshoumaru is not one of them."
The woman gave a relieved sigh and said, "Good. I don't want there to be a repeat of the 'Tragedy of Izayoi-Hime and Touga-Sama.' The West does not need that kind of strife on top of this most recent war."
Well, that was new. Rin had never heard of the story she was referring to and just as she was about to ask, Keroko piped up and said, "Oh, is that what humans refer to it as? Well, I suppose it would be more like a tale to you since it happened so long ago."
Rin turned to her maid and asked, "Am I missing something? Who are Izayoi-Hime and Touga-Sama?"
"Well, Rin-Hime, Izayoi-Hime was the human woman that Sesshoumaru's father took up with," Keroko said.
"And Touga-Sama is the name of the previous Lord of the West. In other words, he was Sesshoumaru's father."
"Oh, well I've only heard bits and pieces but I knew something bad must have happened since Sesshoumaru-Sama's father is no longer around and his human lover would have been long dead by now," Rin said
"Yes, well, rest assured that both of them are no longer in this world. Perhaps it is better that way," Tsubaki said cryptically.
"However," and her tone lightened, "now is hardly the time to go into the specifics of their tale. I need to get settled in since I have the feeling that I'm going to be here for a while. I'm assuming that's what you are for, little toad," Tsubaki addressed Keroko directly, her voice not unkind. Keroko was sweet and very harmless as far as youkai went and Rin was glad that the miko had picked up on that. She didn't care for the thought of anyone bullying her maid.
"Oh, yes, I have just the spot for you, oh, but how shall I address you? Sesshoumaru-Sama is just swimming in pretty human females and it took me so long to figure out a name for Rin-Hime but there can only be one princess at a time."
"Just Tsubaki-San is fine," the miko replied with a bemused expression on her face. She was apparently unused to youkai being so chatty with her.
"But…" Keroko began with a woeful look on her face and Rin quickly interjected before she could launch into yet another long dialogue about how to assign the proper honorifics to every single person she came in contact with.
"Tsubaki-San should do nicely, Keroko-San," Rin said with a smile.
"But…"
"Keroko-San, your Hime is telling you that it is fine, don't you trust my judgment?"
The youkai drew herself up stiffly and replied, "Of course I do. If Rin-Hime has captured Sesshoumaru-Sama's heart than she must be wise beyond her years!"
Rin could feel her cheeks heating up and her blush only deepened as the toad continued, "Oh, if only I could live to hear the sound of little inu-youkai running about the castle. You and Sesshoumaru-Sama are going much too slowly."
The young woman was acutely aware of the miko staring at her curiously and she allowed her annoyance to color her tone as she replied, "Keroko-San, kindly show our guest to her rooms. I'm sure she doesn't want to be bored with the details about Sesshoumaru-Sama and me."
That said, she ushered the two women into the castle and prayed for patience because she suspected that she was going to need it in spades before the end of the day.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Miroku was in heaven. He was on the back of a flying nekomata and pressed up snug – well almost snug, if he ignored the hiraikotsu between them - against the one woman he loved beyond all rhyme or reason. Life couldn't have been better.
Unfortunately, as they drew closer the ruins of the town that Sesshoumaru had attacked, his peace began to flee from him. He could see little specks moving about the rubble and as Kirara descended he heard shouts of fear and saw soldiers rushing towards the spot they were planning to land.
"Oy, Sango-San, are you sure we should land here? I know Kirara is tame but she's still a youkai and I doubt they'll take kindly to her presence," he said, taking that opportunity to lean in closer and breathe in the scent of her hair. He could admit that he was a pervert but he was a pervert in love who was pitiful enough to take whatever he could get from the woman in front of him.
'The things this woman does to me,' he thought to himself wistfully. Unfortunately, his internal musings were short-lived because he heard a distinct whistle and something very fast and very pointy whizzed past his head.
"Sango-San…are they shooting at us?" he asked, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
Sango muttered a most unladylike curse and replied, "Hold on monk, we're going to have to play a game of tag if we want to land. Let's head for the Daimyo's place, maybe he'll listen to reason."
Miroku decided not to comment on the fact that her crazy scheme to depose Sesshoumaru was unreasonable, he had no desire to be tossed off of the back of their mount. Instead, he had to wonder why it was that the Daimyo's residence was untouched when the rest of his domain had been flattened. He had a very bad feeling about the place and his nervousness only grew as they neared the building. The little hairs on the back of his neck were standing up and he could felt his energy rising up unbidden, as if his body knew something he didn't.
He had only a split second to throw up a barrier around them before a massive burst of purifying energy slammed into Kirara. The nekomata roared in pain and Miroku's heart jumped up into his throat as the youkai's flight pattern began to waver.
"Kirara!" Sango cried and icy tendrils of fear went down his spine. He absolutely despised hearing his proud, strong and beautiful companion in any kind of distress and he reflexively clenched his right hand, running the tips of his fingers over the beads there. He had a secret that he hadn't revealed to anyone - save the monk who had raised him and his long dead mother - not even Sango and he hoped he wouldn't have to.
The family curse was the bane of his existence and he avoided relying upon it at all costs. However, he could and would use the abomination on his right hand if he had to, especially if Sango's life were involved. Still, that was a last resort and he forced himself to remain calm. Blocking out the sights and sounds around him, even those of his beloved Sango as she tried to keep Kirara steady, he focused on drawing his powers out even more, trying his best not to wince at how heavily damaged his barrier was. Even though it was makeshift, his abilities were nothing to sneeze at and the fact that his shield had taken so much damage – from the same kind of power as his, no less – told him that he was facing a formidable opponent.
The monk really had no desire to fight with one of his own kind but he just couldn't shake the bad feeling he had. The lingering threads power caught between the cracks of his barrier were off somehow. When most of his kind – meaning humans with the mental abilities necessary for the purification of youkai, among other things - manifested their powers, they took on specific colors depending on the person's strength or unique abilities. The same could be said for youkai, but there were some colors that were unique to each species. In this case, the power he saw entangled with his own was the vivid white of a very strong human but it was striated with very fine lines of purple – a color that was unique to youkai. It was an utterly unnatural phenomenon and he looked on in horror as the threads of power actually began to eat away at his barrier.
He hastily dispersed his shield and the foreign power dissipated along with it. His heart was pounding and he cast his senses wide trying to pinpoint the origin of the power. Whoever they were up against, he knew he was vastly outclassed. The power he'd just seen and felt was nothing like anything he'd ever encountered. In fact, if he had to compare it to anything, the sheer volume of it was more akin to something a very high powered youkai would have, the kind that took two or more strong monks or miko to take down. No one human had ever been born who could single-handedly wield as much energy as he was picking up from just this one attack.
A faint glimmer caught his eye and, if he squinted, he could just make out a few patches here and there that indicated the path the attack had taken. Unsurprisingly, it led to the Daimyo's home and he marveled at the range the attack had because the place was at least half a mile away. Putting his mouth closer to Sango's ear, he told her to turn a bit to the right and she did as he asked for once.
"What are you seeing that I don't, monk?" the taijiya asked.
"I can tell the direction the attack came from," he replied.
"I'm all for a fight and but I don't want Kirara hurt again. Why are we heading towards the person who attacked us?"
Her concern for her pet was endearing and he rewarded her with a gentle squeeze that she pretended not to notice.
"I want to see something but I also want to know if the person attacking us can be reasoned with. Even on the back of Kirara, he or she should have been able tell that I am a monk."
"How, we're so far away?"
"Even if they can't see us, they are powerful enough that there's no way they wouldn't have sensed me."
"Maybe they think you're a rogue monk, y'know, like how there are some miko who go dark."
"No, they would have picked up on that. It's all about the signature I give off and I know mine is bright and clear." It was a trial sometimes to explain his abilities to people who didn't have them. He might as well have been speaking a different language.
"So, putting aside why they attacked us, can you fight back?"
Thinking about the vast gap between his power and that of the person attacking them, he knew he was no match but he did have one trick up his sleeve – or on hand rather - and he hoped with every fiber of his being that he wouldn't have to us it. He couldn't face it if Sango, of all people, looked at him with disgust or if, even worse, she got hurt because of him.
He knew he sounded cryptic as he replied, "If I have to."
Miroku prayed that he wouldn't need to fight and he kept that wish firmly in the front of his mind as they neared the fortress and he saw their attacker.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So, how do you tap into this power that Sesshoumaru says you have?" Tsubaki asked and Rin paused in the midst of helping the miko put her clothes away. Keroko had led her to one of the guest rooms – something which came as a surprise to both women - a few floors or so below her own room. Rin wasn't about to question why Sesshoumaru had been nice enough to avoid placing Tsubaki in the servant's quarters. His particular brand of "nice" seemed to come with a price and she would happily remain ignorant as to his motives. She was still mad at him and at the fact that he had yet to show his face since he left her earlier in the day.
Realizing that Tsubaki was waiting for an answer she scratched her head absently and replied, "I don't really know. It just comes out when I need it to."
"And how have you needed it in the past? Give me a few examples."
She deliberately avoided thinking about the most recent manifestation of her powers and said, "Well, sometimes, when I get hurt, it'll heal within a few minutes. And too, I don't know if you heard about this. But Sesshoumaru was captured and I had to use the power to free him, though I can't tell you exactly how that worked."
"Hmm," the miko appeared to be thinking on her words and Rin fidgeted, hoping that the woman didn't inquire any further.
Thankfully, she didn't, instead she changed stride and asked, "Have you seen anything usual?"
"I'm in a castle full of youkai," Rin answered with a smile and, to her relief, Tsubaki chuckled.
"Yes, well you're bound to see all sorts of things here. I don't think there's a human alive who has seen every type of youkai there is and they do tend to run to the strange don't they?"
Rin gave a vigorous nod even though the strangest person she'd met to date was still Sesshoumaru. He irked her no end with his confusing mixed signals and even more because she couldn't help but wonder what he found so important that he could introduce the miko to her himself or at least put in some sort of appearance.
"Let me rephrase my question. Have you ever seen anything unusual as a result of your powers?"
Thinking back to her encounter the previous night, she forced herself not to blush as she said, "Well, I've seen the color of Sesshoumaru's youki and I know my own powers come out blue when I use them."
"Oh? That's actually pretty unusual, your color I mean. No, I take that back the fact that you were able to see Sesshoumaru's youki is also odd. It's one thing to feel it, but it usually takes quite a bit of practice to be able to see a youkai's youki. Granted, there are exceptions like when a youkai forms a miasma because that usually consists of jyaki versus normal youki."
Rin wasn't following the woman at all. She knew the bare basics about youki and jyaki because of her adopted sisters but the woman was heading off into unknown territory now.
"So what does it mean, the fact that I can youki or that I'm blue?"
The corner of Tsubaki's mouth twitched upwards at her choice of words but she responded, "It just means that you have a natural proficiency with your abilities, meaning it will be much easier to train you."
Rin didn't know why, but she had a feeling that the woman might not be telling her everything but she left it alone. It was comforting enough to know that she was might be able to gain the mastery of her abilities after all.
"So, when will we begin training? What will it consist of?" For the first time, Rin felt a hint of eagerness for the task Sesshoumaru had set before her. She hadn't thought much of her abilities before but she was getting curious as to what else she could do.
"As far as training goes, we can start in a little while but I have just a few more questions for you."
Rin's uneasiness returned but she nodded slowly anyways. She didn't want to let on that she had something to hide.
"What sort of person is your master?"
The question was so unexpected that Rin was at a loss for words and she stared at Tsubaki a long moment before answering her question with another question, "Why do you ask?"
"Young lady," the miko's voice was stern, "I am one of the best when it comes to training miko. The reason for that is because my particular talents lie in my sensitivity to the various powers and energies inherent in both human and youkai. I have yet to meet someone with a better range than myself. With that said, there is a massive 'hole' in the youki in this castle. I can close my eyes and point at it; that is how thoroughly the spot has been purified."
Rin still wasn't following the miko and she wondered if she wasn't just a bit crazy. What was the woman talking about when she said there was a "hole" in the youki? She was just about to ask when a thought occurred to her. Running a few calculations in her head, she realized that they probably weren't that far from the spot where Hiten had attempted to attack her. Of course, Sesshoumaru's castle was still a maze to her but she recalled enough of her path to figure that they might very well be on the exact same floor where she had lost control of herself, or very close.
A shiver worked her way down her spine and she forced herself to ask evenly, "What do you mean by a hole?"
"I mean just that: a hole. We passed it while we were ascending the stairs. Did you not notice the way our little guide shivered when were close to it? I can guarantee you that that's why she isn't here now."
The young woman hadn't thought about that. Yes, Keroko had beaten a hasty retreat after showing them to Tsubaki's room but she figured that had more to do with her obvious annoyance with the little toad. It hadn't even occurred to her that the youkai could still be affected by her outburst of power.
"I can see you still aren't following me completely," Tsubaki rubbed her temple and Rin felt foolish for not understanding what she was talking about.
"Rin-San, perhaps you do not realize this but this castle is very old. I can't begin to tell you how many of Sesshoumaru's ancestors have been here, but places like this tend to take on a mind of their own. Call it an effect of so much youki being gathered in one place if you will. This entire castle has a very fine network of youki laid out over it, much like your veins carry blood through your body. To simplify, when there is a disruption in the energy flowing here, it's very obvious to anyone with the training to look. Do you follow me so far?"
Rin nodded.
"Good, now to answer your question as to why I ask you about Sesshoumaru, I ask because a hole such as I have described could only come about as a result of a particularly strong burst of purifying energy. The spot is scrubbed clean of every speck of youki and the residual power left over on it is purifying every attempt the castle makes to restore balance to the area."
"Now, since there are only two people here capable of purifying youki and only one has been here for more than a day that tells me that you were the one who purified the area. However, per your own words, your powers only manifest themselves when they were needed. That then begs the question: What or who forced you to lash out with so much power? Did Sesshoumaru try to hurt you?"
Rin was so in awe of her reasoning that she didn't respond for a moment but she quickly shook her head in the negative.
Tsubaki gave her a pitying look, which irritated her, and asked, "Look if you have some sort of misplaced loyalty…"
"Tsubaki-San, please do not even go there," Rin said as politely as she could, her awe evaporating entirely. Even if she was angry at Sesshoumaru right then, she respected him enough that she wouldn't bad-mouth him or allow anyone else to do so.
"I apologize if I sound rude," she continued, "but Sesshoumaru-Sama has yet to do anything to bring me to harm. Don't get me wrong, he has made it clear to me that it is well within his power to kill me at any time. However, as surprising as it may seem, he really hasn't attempted to hurt me in anyway." Of course, there was that one moment out in the courtyard where he had threatened to snap her neck but that was neither here nor there.
"Then who tried to hurt you? Why didn't you tell me when I asked how your powers had manifested themselves in the past?"
"I was attacked by one of Sesshoumaru's subjects and to answer the second questions, I didn't think it would matter."
"Of course it matters, Rin," Tsubaki said, "The more information I have, the better I can determine what you need to work on. So what happened to the youkai you purified? He can't possibly still be alive."
"Actually, I think he is. At least, he was the last I saw even though he was in a lot of pain. I forced my powers back once I realized that I was hurting him."
"Why?" Tsubaki gave her an incredulous look.
"I said I stopped because I was hurting him," Rin didn't understand what the problem was.
"At the risk of sounding repetitive, why did you stop? He was trying to kill you."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I should try to kill him in return."
"Rin, among miko, there are many theories as to why our powers are so effective on youkai. Some say they are a gift from the gods. Others say that we as humans have spent so long cowering at the feet of youkai that our bodies simply developed the means to fight back. Whatever the reason, our primary role is to fight against them, especially in times like these when our very way of life is threatened. If you let him go, I can guarantee that he will return to finish what he started. That is the nature of these monsters you dwell amongst. You were too soft."
Rin knew that Tsubaki was most likely repeating the teachings that she had heard since she was a child but that didn't stop her from getting angry. She hated the "Us versus Them" mentality that so many humans and youkai held to and she really hated it when people treated her like a child, as if she were incapable of reaching her own conclusions. Humans were not the innocent victims that Tsubaki implied they were, she knew that very, very well. She closed her eyes briefly in pain as memories of the day she lost her family surfaced.
It might as well have been yesterday, that was how vividly she recalled her father and brother crying out as they were gutted like animals. She could still smell the smoke as their humble little home was burned to the ground and she remembered her mother pleading as the bandits had their way with her before killing her. If she concentrated just a little harder she could remember the way the ground felt beneath her bare toes as she ran and ran and ran…on and on until she thought her lungs were going to burst.
She…would…not…cry.
"Tsubaki-San," she said much more calmly than she felt, "I am sorry you feel that I should have to take another life, but I cannot agree with you. Who are you to determine who is a monster and who is not? Who are you to say who should live or who should die? Youkai or human, we all think and eat and breathe. Why is one group more important than the other?"
Tsubaki simply stared at her and Rin flushed but she did not pull her eyes away from the miko's. The silence stretched out until it was thin thread that Rin grew tired of balancing on.
"I am sorry Tsubaki-San, but I think we should push my training off until tomorrow. It grows late and I am growing both tired and hungry. I'll ask Keroko to get something for you to eat as well."
And with those parting words, she slipped from the room, leaving a very puzzled miko behind.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX