Whoa! The amount of reviews doubled overnight! And they're still coming! I'm amazed that everyone seems to like this story so much! Thank you! *jumps around in glee*
So anyway, to answer a few questions that you guys are asking:
Punk66 and sesshyrinlove92 were asking about Inuyasha and whether he ends up with Kikyo or Kagome and sends one away. Let me tell you that they probably won't have a huge role in the story, but I'll get to that part. You'll just have to wait and see. (Not that I haven't decided what's happening or anything)
No tears left to cry asked how they stopped the girls from getting pregnant. Simple. They just don't sleep with them at the right time. And if they do get pregnant, then they just take some kind of drug thing to abort. If they didn't have that kind of thing in this time (when is this time, anyway? Oh, well. Just say it's Sengoku jidai) then humor me and pretend they do. Or even better, the youkai physician can abort children just because he's a youkai. Cruel, I know, but that's just the way they do things. Anyway. It's not that important.
Sesshyrinlove92 asked whether or not Rin will ever speak to Sesshoumaru. Of course. I'll get to that. Patience, my friend.
New Fan and AnimeFreak-TrunksPan-Lover4evr said about how cruel Sess. was to Rin. Sorry! I promise he'll soften up after a while! It's just that in the anime he was portrayed as pretty cold and then Rin was able to make us see his softer side. That's kind of what I'm aiming for. Anyway. He does get kinder!
A big thank you to everyone else who reviewed, and enjoy the next chapter! As usual, Japanese phrases are translated at the bottom.
#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#
Two months. Two long, agonizing months of being dragged around the castle, whipped, and, her main purpose, used as a concubine.
Two months!
Rin's back was raw and there was never a moment when she was not in pain from the whip's scores. He beat her every week. No matter how pristinely she tried to obey him, he still found something wrong with her. And then he would have his way with her, as if she hadn't had enough of a punishment.
He was a demon.
Crawling into her futon one night she felt her back burning. It was one of the days she hadn't been whipped, and it was made even better by Sesshoumaru leaving her alone when the sun set. He wouldn't be pleasuring himself with her this night.
She sighed in relief and sank beneath her covers thankfully. Her head was pounding, and she was having trouble breathing.
When Rika came in to wake her the next morning she was shaking and sweating.
"Rin-chan?" the older servant asked, touching her forehead. She gasped as she felt the temperature of the mute girl. "You're burning!"
Rin opened her eyes and looked deliriously up at Rika. Her lips parted as she attempted to mouth something unintelligible. The servant went out of the room and ran around to the "official" entrance to Sesshoumaru's sleeping room.
"Come," he said in response to her knock.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rika hurriedly bowed. "Forgive me, but I think Rin-chan may have a fever."
"How bad do you suppose it to be?"
"Her forehead is like an open flame, Sesshoumaru-sama. There is no way she will be able to wait on you today. She is too weak to get up."
Sesshoumaru nodded in acceptance and dismissal, and Rika bowed and exited quickly. She knew only too well how much he needed to be obeyed without hesitation.
She quickly fetched the physician, who examined the feverish slave.
"Mm," Enishi-sensei mused as her touched her forehead with the back of his fingers. "Something must have caused this fever. You say she was fine yesterday?"
"She seemed slightly less responsive than usual," Rika answered. "Other than that, yes."
"I wonder… the illness is most likely caused by some infected wound. Do you know of any she might have?"
"Iie, but I would suspect her back as been cut. Sesshoumaru-sama whips his slaves for disobedience."
"I see," Enishi said gravely. Partially undressing Rin, he rolled her off her side onto her front and pulled her clothes away from her back. There was a cloth wrapped around her middle. In removing it, both servants saw the many scars that tore across her flesh. Her skin was red, and heated to touch.
"The wounds are infected," the physician stated. "Get me a clean cloth and some salt water."
"Hai," Rika hurried to obey, full of concern for the young slave of Sesshoumaru.
#~#~#
The "family" of four ate the breakfast meal in silence.
"Where is Rin today?" Touga asked.
"It seems she has a fever," Sesshoumaru said simply.
"Ah. She smelled of sickness yesterday."
His son didn't answer, and that concluded the conversation.
#~#~#
Rin silently moaned in her fitful sleep, rolling across her futon. The day passed quickly as she slipped in and out of consciousness. She was vaguely aware of Enishi-sensei beside her as he kept her back clean and cool. The salt water stung, but she ignored it.
When the light had faded she woke once more to the feel of cold lips on hers.
Sesshoumaru…
He bit on her bottom lip, fangs piercing her flesh, and she obediently opened her mouth, allowing his tongue access. Cold air rushed over her as he removed her kimono, freezing her sweaty skin.
Kudasai… iie…
It seemed nothing turned out her way, and he took her mercilessly.
#~#~#
"Mama?"
Rin walked up to her mother who smiled at her.
"Rin, watashi no kodomo," she opened her arms, inviting Rin into her embrace.
"Watashi wa doko?"
Her mother smiled again. "You are safe," she said, hugging her.
Rin closed her eyes and sank into the soft feel of her mother's clothes. Suddenly the resistance vanished and she fell forward. Opening her eyes, she saw the green hills had vanished, leaving her in a dark, bare and cold valley.
"Mama?"
A cold breeze flew over her, chilling her bones.
"Mama?" she repeated in a tiny voice.
Growls and snarls reached her ears. She could make out yellow glows as sets of eyes appeared.
"Ookami-tachi." Rin gasped and crept backwards as they pounced. "Ookami-tachi!" she screamed.
Jerking into consciousness again, Rin felt the stinging sensation of a wet cloth being rubbed gently on her back and knew Enishi-sensei was there.
Mama… said I was safe when she was with me. Now she isn't. Do I have to find someone else who can make me safe?
"Rin…" Enishi muttered. "What is going to happen to you?"
"Rin," her brother's voice came.
"Nii-chan?"
"You are safe," he said as he embraced her.
Tears filled her eyes. "Nii-chan, I'm so scared. I hurt, and I feel ill."
"It's all right, imouto," Daiko soothed. "When you are with me you are safe."
"But what about when I'm not with you? When I wake up, you're gone."
"Then you have to find someone who can protect you. What do you fear?"
"I fear ookami. And… Sesshoumaru-sama, my master. He hurts me."
"Who can protect you from him?"
"No one! He owns me!"
"Then you must change him."
"Nani?"
"Change him. As your master, he is made your protector. He should protect you from what you fear, from himself. You must manipulate him to protect you."
"But I can't do that! He would whip me for thinking of manipulating him! I shouldn't!" Rin protested.
"You have to be sneaky, Rin."
"Iie! I cannot!" Her tears leaked onto his chest as she clutched his clothes.
Daiko grinned down at her head. "You're still the kind-hearted little girl you always were. Never to mistreat anyone. Nothing's going to make you change, is it?"
#~#~#
Sesshoumaru woke with a jolt, cold sweat running down his neck.
I didn't… just… have a… nightmare?
Cursing himself for his childishness, he got up and walked over to his balcony, opening the doors and stepping out onto the cement, staring into the dark, silent night. Leaping out, he ran stealthily across several rooftops before stopping on one and sitting down, looking at the gardens. Being a youkai he could, of course, see in the dark. The voices of his father and Izayoi could be heard below, but he tried to pay no attention to them.
How could I, of all people, have had a nightmare?
It had been about his mother, before she was banished from the west. His father had built her a citadel many miles away and ordered her to leave. He had not been a child, but he never discovered the reason for her exile as neither of his parents would talk about it. He still saw his mother; he visited her in her home. But he hadn't seen her in a long time, perhaps two centuries.
Truth be told, it was great. It wasn't that he disliked his mother, but she had a way of irking him that he hated. That and the fact that she could read him like a book while most times his father hadn't a clue what was going on in his head. Frankly, it was irritating that someone knew him that well. He was too like her for his own good.
"What is that that you wanted to speak to me of?" he vaguely heard Izayoi ask.
"My son. I want to know if you have noticed a change in him recently." His father's reply caught his attention, and he began listening to the conversation.
"I – am no expert on Sesshoumaru, and cannot say that I have noticed anything differing in his actions."
Had his father stopped her referring to him with an honorific when the two of them were alone?
"What did you have in mind?" she questioned.
"I am unsure. I thought I discerned a change in him last year, and although it has become worse I still cannot recognize it."
"Do you think it may be serious?"
"Impossible to say. But he smelled of sickness today."
"His slave Rin-chan is ill, is she not?"
"Hai, but her scent on him was faint. It is he who is sick."
"What ailment could harm a taiyoukai?"
"I do not know, but I suspect it to be related to the recent change in him."
Sesshoumaru frowned to himself. Him, sick? Ridiculous. He could not get sick. The very idea was ludicrous.
"I worry about how his rein will be after my death," his father said.
"He still has time to learn what you will teach him."
"True, but he has been grown for centuries and he has never bent easily. He prefers to be in complete control, and to rule the west he must realize that this is impossible. In a way, he still has much room to develop."
What was this? His father was telling his slave that he, Sesshoumaru, was immature?
His father was going to pay the next time they trained together. A few broken bones, maybe he'd even manage to "inadvertently" cut open his neck too close to the main artery.
He swallowed his growl painfully. Just wait, Chichi-ue. I will show you how developed I really am.
This from the man who had just been waked from sleep from a nightmare.
"Do you mean that Inuyasha might be a better ruler?"
"In some ways, perhaps."
Sesshoumaru nearly choked. Inuyasha… more mature… than him…
Someone was going to die very soon.
A voice in the back of his head said, you know, eavesdroppers never hear good of themselves.
He debated his options. Option one; leave. His father might hear him and realize he had been listening. Then he would be in trouble. He was already fortunate his scent had been somehow missed. Option two; stay. He would hear more of his faults, Inuyasha's glory, and probably get angry enough to jump down and openly challenge his father.
Leave, then.
His father must be becoming senile to not notice him. Of course, he was very apt at moving silently, and his scent was strong in that part of the castle because he spent a lot of time there. Anyway, he managed to return to his chambers undetected and fall asleep again. When he woke, he was fitful and sweaty.
Shin – ji – ra – nai…
He could never remember a time when he wished to kill someone so much.
This is ridiculous.
In the next room he could hear the sounds of Rin tossing and turning in her feverish state and actually regretted taking her when she was feeling so bad. He knew that her condition was far worse than his; his temperature would most likely be normal again that evening, but she would take a long time to heal with her weak body.
He sighed, vowing that he would not sleep with her until she was well again. Of course, a snowball would burn in flames before he apologized.
Now, if only he could figure out why on earth he cared so much. He attempted to conjure up a reason as he prepared to go to the meal, but came up with nothing. The maids sensed he was in a particularly foul mood and made no attempt to dissuade him from leaving his room with a temperature. In the dining hall he sat in his place before Inuyasha blurted out, "What are you doing here?"
"Why shouldn't I be here?" Sesshoumaru snapped back crustily. "I find that ironic coming from a bastard like you, when I have more right to be here than you ever will have."
"Whoa, calm down. Sheesh." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I only meant that you reek of sickness."
"And you reek of human, but I do not comment on that," the older brother retorted.
"You two fight like children," Touga muttered.
Sesshoumaru swallowed another growl and began eating.
Kodomo-tachi, ka? I'll show you how childish I am.
#~#~#
Rin slowly sat up, accepting the cool water from Rika gladly as it slid down her dry throat.
"Do you feel better, Rin-chan?" Rika asked with a bright smile.
She nodded.
"Yokatta. Your fever was so warm you really had me worried. It took two months to break."
Rin lay down again, still feeling the heat of her back.
"The wounds on your back are still infected," Rika continued. "But they should be better soon. Now that your fever has gone, you should recover quicker."
Onii-chan… Mama…
"Sesshoumaru-sama has had a bit of a temperature himself. But of course he won't rest to make it go away. He has been training very hard, recently, and has been acting more impatient than usual because of his fever – "
She broke off as the door was flung open, revealing an angry-looking Sesshoumaru.
"You do realize I can hear every word you are saying," he stated.
"Ah, gomenasai, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rika hurriedly bowed on the floor, praying he wouldn't punish her for her insolence.
"Do you not have some work you should be doing?"
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." She stood, keeping her head down, and walked quickly out of the room before he also retreated into his own chamber.
Later, in the middle of the night, Rin woke up to hear Sesshoumaru tossing fitfully in his sleep. She began to get up before hesitating; he had ordered her never to enter his chambers, and she knew what would happen if she disobeyed him. But… he wasn't well. Just like she hadn't been. And she knew that she had appreciated Rika's company and Enishi-sensei's attentions during her moments of consciousness.
Nervously, she picked up the cloth and water beside her futon and walked over to the shoji that connected the two rooms. She paused, trembling in slight apprehension before deciding and quietly entering the forbidden room.
The door to the balcony was open, sending the hot air into the room which definitely wasn't helping. It was a warm night, so she shut the doors before going over to her master. He was beautiful, she realized. She had never stopped to appreciate his looks before as he acted so coldly toward everyone – even his father – but she had to admit that she had never seen anyone as handsome as he.
Dipping the cloth in the cold water, she wrung it out and dabbed it against his moist forehead. Sesshoumaru's eyes twitched in his sleep, and he seemed to relax under her gentle touch as he breathed deeply. Carefully, Rin stroked his face and neck with the cloth to cool him down.
Suddenly he stiffened, and two golden lamps appeared on his face.
"Rin?"
She nodded in the darkness, hoping he would be able to see in the dim light.
"What are you doing?"
She held up the cloth.
"Didn't I tell you never to enter here without my permission?"
She nodded again.
"And you still did it?" he sounded slightly confused as to why.
Rin tried to peer at him to decipher his expression, but could see nothing in the darkness of the room.
"Hn."
There was a black, empty silence.
"You may continue… what you were doing," Sesshoumaru said gruffly, his luminous eyes leaving her face.
Rin gave a small smile and obeyed. She knew he was too proud to voice gratitude, and he was most likely not feeling his normal cold self, but she hoped that her act of kindness would cancel out any chastisement for insubordination.
When Sesshoumaru woke at dawn, he was alone again. Sitting up, he realized he was feeling a lot better because of the half-night of decent sleep he had gotten.
Tentatively smelling the air in his room, he could tell that Rin had not touched anything other than him. She had disregarded his order to care of his wellbeing.
Why would she do such a thing? It wasn't as if he had been kind to her. It was thanks to him that she had an infected back and a fever that lasted two months. So why would she go out of her way to care for him? He… didn't understand.
Picking up the water and cloth she had left, he quietly opened the shoji to her room. He saw she was in a deep sleep lying on her front, her arms cushioning her head and her hair splayed out over her. Moving her hair out of the way, he pulled at her clothes as gently as possible so as not to wake her to reveal her back. It was still very red with the wounds inflicted by him, and he could smell that the infection had not left. Very lightly he ran his fingers across one cut, and she shivered under his touch.
Covering her up again, he returned to his room and began to get ready for the day, leaving the water and cloth with her.
#~#~#
"Rin," Sesshoumaru said when he entered her room later that evening. "About your disobedience last night…" he paused, looking at her large brown eyes. "Because of what you did, I won't punish you for it. But never enter my chambers for your own reasons or I will. You know this." His finger brushed dangerously over the back of her neck and she did all in her power to stop her shiver. It wasn't enough. Nodding, Rin eyed him hesitantly before reaching up, pausing, and touching his forehead.
Her way of asking of his health.
"I'm fine. My fever has left me. Do not waste your time worrying." Of course, it had to be one crazily high fever in the first place to actually affect him, but she didn't need to know that. It wasn't her concern, anyway.
Getting up, he left her alone before going to Enishi-sensei to ask when she would be strong enough to resume her duties as his slave. The infection was healing slowly, but surely, and the physician thought that in a week she would be recovered enough from the fever to wait on him again, as long as he didn't over-exert her. Also, it would be best for her to spend time outdoors, in the fresh air.
Sesshoumaru nodded his understanding before going back to his room to sleep.
Now, the only thing on his agenda was to get back at his father. Rin had better heal quickly, because in a couple of days she was going back to work. He needed her in the dining room at meal times for a start. And then he still had to beat his father up when "training" – aka fighting in legal circumstances.
#~#~#
"Nii-chan, I think you were right," Rin said. "I have to make Sesshoumaru-sama protect me from himself by manipulating him."
"Good girl," Daiko grinned.
"But I can't use your methods," she continued. "Sesshoumaru-sama would surely beat me if I did such things. I think… maybe kindness is his weakness. He doesn't get a lot. He works all day, and his father never spends much time with him other than what is necessary. If I'm kind to him, maybe he'll soften up."
Her brother shook his head at her. "You'll never change," he said in mock despair. "The thing is, Rin, how can you be kind to your master?"
"I don't know yet. But maybe… over time I might be able to find some small things to do. It won't be a sudden change, but maybe over him I can make him kinder."
The infection cleared up after another two weeks, and during that time she only had to wait on Sesshoumaru until midday when she would rest. Of course, he resumed using her as his concubine, but he didn't whip her for a while. He still hurt her in punishment, but didn't whip her.
#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#
kudasai – please
watashi no kodomo – my child
watashi wa doko? – where am I?
ookami-tachi – "the wolves"
nii-chan – older brother
imouto – younger sister
kodomo-tachi – children
ka? – huh?
yokatta – "I'm glad"
shoji – sliding door
Ahem. Well. It's a bit longer than the last chapter. Heh. Well, what can I say? It's after midnight and I'm tired.
Anyway, reviews! I like 'em a lot! *falls asleep*