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Chapter sixteen: Ryuko
XoXoXo
"Can we rest yet?" Helen complained loudly to the demon lord walking ahead of her. Sesshoumaru didn't reply but continued walking ahead.
"You can ride Ah-Un, Helen-san," Rin offered. Helen shook her head. It had been a day since she began traveling with them in search of Naraku and of course, Helen preferred staying in the present Era with Kagome. When the young priestess found out Helen was going to be traveling with Sesshoumaru, Kagome offered to ask Inuyasha to chop off Sesshoumaru's head. Something which greatly amused Helen since the young woman had never known Kagome to be the violent type.
"Where do you get the strength, Rin?" Helen asked in a long suffering voice.
Rin gave a tiny laugh. "I don't know, I'm just used to it, I guess."
"That maybe true," Helen said as she looked ahead at Sesshoumaru. The youkai lord hadn't spoken a word all day which wasn't quite unusual according to Jaken.
"You have no idea where we're going at all, do you?" Helen asked him. Sesshoumaru glared at her from over his shoulder.
This mortal's got guts, Jaken thought, to talk to Lord Sesshoumaru in such a way!
"Does that look mean a 'yes' or a 'no'?" Helen inquired innocently. Sesshoumaru looked away from her continued to walk.
Sesshoumaru suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked back at Jaken. "Jaken, watch over Rin. I have something to attend to." With that, Sesshoumaru left the group. Helen sighed and looked down at Jaken.
"What kind of business do you think he's got?" Helen asked.
Jaken shrugged. "I don't know. It must be very important and dangerous if he's not taking Rin with him or me for that matter."
Helen looked around and found a log which she decided to sit on. Rin sat next to her and Jaken stood up looking around acting like a sentry.
Helen suddenly heard a low grumble beside her. Rin was looking at her grinning apologetically. "Are you hungry?" Helen asked. Rin nodded in a sheepish way.
"Well, Rin, you'll have to go find food on your own," Jaken said.
Helen raised an eyebrow at the imp. "What do you mean by that?"
"Lord Sesshoumaru always tells her to fend for herself," Jaken answered simply.
"He does? What a jerk…Come on Rin," Helen said as she grabbed the little girl's hand.
"Eh? Where are we going, Helen-san?" the little girl inquired with curiosity.
"We're going to my time," Helen answered.
"Hey!" Jaken shouted after them as the pair walked out of the camp. "You can't just leave! Lord Sesshoumaru will be enraged at you!"
"Tell him we'll be back!" Helen called out.
Jaken watched as they completely vanished. The imp sighed and sat down next to Ah-Un who gave him the same look that Jaken had on his face.
"That girl," Jaken began, referring to Helen, "is going to be a handful for Lord Sesshoumaru."
Ah-Un seemed to growl in agreement.
XoXoXo
Toxic fumes issued from the cracks in the ground at Sesshoumaru's feet as the youkai made his way to Totosai's home. Sesshoumaru frowned as he approached the sword smith's dwelling. There was a signed hammered to the very entrance which read:
I have decided to move away due to an impending danger headed my way.
If, by chance, the visitor is Inuyasha, I'll come look for you, just shout out
my name. If the visitor is a daiyoukai, then you may leave for, as I have said,
I have moved away and will be back within three hundred years.
Love,
Totosai
Sesshoumaru frowned as he read the sign. The impending danger Totosai spoke of was, obviously, him. He narrowed his eyes at the entrance of the sword smith's dwelling and stepped inside.
"Totosai," the daiyoukai called out calmly. "If you refuse to show yourself, I shall kill you."
No response.
The daiyoukai narrowed his eyes at a rock where Totosai had placed a vast quantity of items ranging from swords to hammers. The daiyoukai slashed at the rock with his claws and found Totosai cowering behind the rock.
"Gah! Lord Sesshoumaru!" Totosai said as he leaped away from the daiyoukai's toxic claws. "Wh-what brings you here?"
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at Totosai. "I am here because I wish to acquire a new sword made by you."
"I told you, I'm not making any swords made from the evil fangs of an oni!" Totosai said as he looked at the exit of the cave with longing.
"Who said anything about an oni?" Sesshoumaru asked. "I have discarded Tokijin since it is weak and inferior compared to Tessaiga."
"So you have," Totosai said noticing that only one sword was strapped to Sesshoumaru's waist.
"Forge a sword made from my fang," Sesshoumaru ordered. Totosai looked at him for a moment.
"Your fang?" Totosai asked greatly intrigued. "So you've finally become independent of your father?"
Sesshoumaru gave him a death glare. "You shall forge it or I shall cut off your head."
Totosai stroked his beard and looked at Sesshoumaru for a long time. "Very well, I'll forge it. However…"
"What?"
"Your fang alone? Why not use your fang and the fang of your betrothed, Lady Helen?" Totosai inquired. He had heard about the girl from the many rumors in the land.
"Helen? She is still human. Besides, her fang would be weak," Sesshoumaru said calmly.
Totosai shrugged. "She's still human? Hn. Shinsuke shouldn't have sealed her away. Her fang and your fang would have made a powerful sword."
Sesshoumaru wondered if his mother and Lady Shinsuke had asked Totosai to force Helen on him. Totosai went to the back of the room and began looking for something. "By the way, Sesshoumaru-sama, what is Lady Helen like?"
"Annoying."
"Hmm…All humans are annoying to you, but that girl isn't human"-Sesshoumaru stepped sideways as a hammer came flying out at him as Totosai continued to search for something-"so, is she beautiful?"
"In mortal eyes."
Once more, Sesshoumaru stepped sideways as a rock came hurtling towards him thrown unintentionally at him by Totosai.
"I've found it!" The sword smith straightened up and he held a nasty pair of iron tongs in his hand.
Sesshoumaru glared at him. "What is that for?"
"Hm? You said your fang, right? Well I have to pull out one of your teeth!" Totosai advanced towards him holding the tongs in his hand. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at him.
"You shall not," Sesshoumaru suddenly said. Totosai grinned. He remembered how Sesshoumaru hated it when anyone tried to pull out his teeth. Totosai had tried it once when the young kizoku was still a pup.
"Memories…" Totosai said. "Well, then that means no sword?"
Sesshoumaru frowned. "Whom have you used that on?"
"Hmm…The last person was Inuyasha."
"Keep that away from me. Use something else."
"This is the only one I have…Don't worry, it's clean," Totosai said, almost unable to hide his amusement. If he was going to pull out one of Sessshoumaru's fangs, it would be very amusing indeed.
Pity, Lady Takeida isn't here, Totosai thought. "Open up, Lord Sesshoumaru!" Totosai sounded jubilant.
Sesshoumaru raised another eyebrow at him. "Speak of this to anyone…I will truly end your life."
"Don't worry! You'll fang will grow back within an hour and I won't tell anyone."
Sesshoumaru opened his mouth and felt a sharp pain as Totosai pulled out his fang. It took all of Sesshoumaru's control no to kill Totosai on the spot. Totosai chuckled slightly as he looked at the tooth.
"This will make a good sword, I think," Totosai said.
"Finish it before sunset if you fail to do so…" Sesshoumaru walked out, placing a hand on his slightly swollen cheek.
XoXoXo
"Helen, Rin?" Kagome asked, seeing her cousin and the little girl headed towards the well where she herself was going. "What are you two doing here?"
"Rin was hungry and of course, I couldn't let her grovel on the ground, could I?" Helen asked.
"Are you thinking of taking her to our time?" Kagome asked. "Without Sesshoumaru's permission?"
"I…Told him."
"It's not that simple," Kagome said. "I mean…The others couldn't get down the well, so maybe Rin can't go down either."
"We can try, right?" Helen asked.
Kagome sighed. "It's worth a shot, I guess."
Rin's eyes sparkled. "What's your time like, Helen-san?"
"You'll see," Helen said with a smile.
Kagome suddenly frowned. "Er…"
"What?" Helen asked.
"Well," Kagome began, "if the three of us jump into the well and only you and I are able to go through, Rin will just end up hitting the bottom."
Helen what her cousin meant. "Ah! I have an idea! I can carry Rin on my back. That way, if we both end up on the other side of the well, Rin won't end up getting a twisted ankle."
The little girl hopped onto Helen's back and the three of them jumped into the well. Blue light engulfed them and within an instant, the three of them found themselves in the modern era.
They went out the shrine and Rin looked around. "I don't see that much difference," the little girl said.
"Of course you don't," Helen said. "This is the Higurashi Shrine, where Kagome lives. It's similar to an ordinary shrine in the feudal era but…come on!"
The three of them crossed the yard. Rin looked up at Kagome's house and remarked, "What a funny looking hut!"
Helen and Kagome giggled at the little girl's reaction. They went in and were at once greeted by Souta. "Hey sis!" Souta greeted. He caught sight of Rin and she immediately hid herself behind Helen and Kagome.
"Who is she?" Souta asked with curiosity.
"This is Rin," Helen said gently. "Rin-chan, there's no need to be afraid. This is Souta, Kagome's younger brother." Rin carefully looked at Souta, who greeted her.
"Hi, I'm Souta," Souta said with a slight smile.
Rin emerged from behind Helen and Kagome. "My name is Rin," the little girl said hesitantly.
"Souta," Kagome said, "where is Mama and Ji-chan?"
"They both went to the market and said they'll be back soon," was the reply.
"Come on, Rin," Helen said, taking Rin by the hand. "Let's go grab something to eat in the kitchen, then we can get some supplies, and then we can go back to the Feudal Era before Sesshoumaru finds out."
Kagome looked at Helen. "I thought you told him that you were taking Rin with you!"
Helen scratched her head. "Did I?"
Kagome sweat dropped. "Oh never mind."
The young violinist gave her cousin a smile. "Thanks, Kagome, you're the best!"
Helen and Rin spent fifteen minutes in the kitchen; the little girl was intrigued with all the modern things she had seen and even enjoyed the food even more than the machines. Helen quickly placed a few things into a backpack which was slightly smaller than Kagome's.
It wasn't long before Helen and Rin jumped down the well again. "When can I go back there, Helen-san?" Rin inquired.
"As often as you like, but I must be there if you go, alright?" the little girl nodded in agreement.
XoXoXo
Sesshoumaru returned to their camp to find Rin and Helen missing. He turned to Jaken. "Where is Rin?" he asked.
"Eh…Eh…Helen took Rin with her, milord," Jaken said, quite aware that his lord was most annoyed.
"And you didn't stop them?"
"She…she said they'd be back, milord," Jaken answered.
Sesshoumaru looked coldly at Jaken. "I have warned you not to give in to that girl."
"Milord!" Jaken said exasperatedly. He remembered Sesshoumaru's warning about letting Helen take Rin.
"Don't blame him, Inu baka," a feminine voice said. Sesshoumaru spun around to find Helen and Rin walking towards them. Helen slung a bag almost similar to Kagome's yet a lot smaller over her shoulder.
"Where have you been?" the daiyoukai asked.
"We went to Helen-san's time, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin said as if someone had given her a treat. "I had a good time there too! Can we go back, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer; instead, he sat down at underneath a tree. Helen raised an eyebrow at him. He is colder than negative one hundred degrees Celsius, Helen thought as she looked at him.
"Milord," Jaken asked.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at him which was his way of saying, "What?" if he was in a bad mood. "Aren't we going to resume our search for Naraku?" the toad carefully asked.
"No. We shall rest here for the night."
"Really?" Helen asked. She looked at him with her wide blue eyes. "No walking? We're resting? Yes! I was beginning to get blisters…I think."
Sesshoumaru thought that she was quite naïve.
XoXoXo
Sunset had gradually come and Sesshoumaru told Jaken that he had important matters to attend to before he left. Helen watched him go and wondered what business he had. It probably had something to do with Kagura. Without knowing why, she felt annoyed that he was probably running off to meet her. She shook her head. She…annoyed? He could anything he wanted to and she would never be annoyed.
Or so she thought.
"I'm bored," Helen announced. Rin was eating some ramen which they had brought back from the present. Helen looked around in her backpack and took out her Ipod.
Rin and Jaken were intrigued when she turned it on and began listening to music. "What is that contraption?" Jaken asked. Helen gave the toad a smile.
"It's called an Ipod"-she offered him one of the earbuds-"would you like to try?"
Jaken declined, but Helen knew that he was curious. She slipped the earbud into his pointed ear and watched in amusement at the toad's astonished expression.
"There is music! I hear music…and someone singing!" he exclaimed. "Did you imprison a human in this contraption?"
Helen laughed. "No! As I've said, it's an Ipod and it can play music and movies."
"Movies…?" Rin and Jaken asked in unison.
Helen smiled once more and put on the Japanese version of a movie called "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
"Now I see humans!" Jaken said. He took off the earbud. "Humans made this? If Lord Sesshoumaru could only see it!"
"He would only scoff," Helen remarked. True, during his time in the present Era, Sesshoumaru had not been amazed with anything at all.
"May I finish watching this, Helen-san?" Rin asked. Helen nodded.
Helen sighed and turned her attention to Jaken. "Hey, Jaken," she said in a low voice.
"Hm?"
"Why is Sesshoumaru so cold?" she asked with all the innocence she could muster.
"I don't really know…He was like that when I first met him. Why do you ask?" Jaken asked suspiciously. Helen shrugged. "Just curious."
XoXoXo
Sesshoumaru walked into Totosai's home and looked around for the said youkai. "Totosai," he called out. Totosai came out from the back and in his hands was a sheathed sword.
"As you requested," Totosai said, handing him the sword.
Sesshoumaru tried to pull the sword out of its sheath but it wouldn't budge. He glared at Totosai. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked in a low voice, a voice which he used when he was about to kill.
"Don't get mad at Totosai, Sesshoumaru," a voice said from the back of the room. Lady Takeida emerged from the shadows, a slightly amused look on her face.
"I take it, Hahaue, that you have, no doubt, done something to my sword?" Sesshoumaru inquired, already knowing the answer.
His mother gave him a small smile. "Of course."
"And how have you tampered with it?"
Takeida retrieved from within the sleeve of her kimono, a single fragment of metal. "This is a fragment from the Tessaiga. There was a time when Tessaiga broke as your father used it. I was fortunate enough to save two of the fragments. I ordered Totosai to embed the other fragment in your sword, Ryuko."
Sesshoumaru inwardly sighed. She even picked out the name.
"That sword is powerful, as its name states, however," his mother went on. "Due to the fragment embedded within it, you cannot pull it out to use if you do not wish to protect someone."
"I protect Rin," Sesshoumaru pointed out. He knew perfectly well that his mother was forcing Helen on him again.
"Ah, I thought you might say that, my son," his mother said calmly. "However, have you forgotten that I, myself, am quite capable of doing a good spell every now and then? That sword will refuse to budge if you do not protect her."
"Her having the meaning of Helen?" Sesshoumaru asked. His mother gave him a small smile. She walked past him and flew off. Sesshoumaru turned his attention to Totosai.
"Why did you allow her to tamper with my sword?"
Totosai cringed as if Sesshoumaru had brandished a whip at him. "She would have punished me!"
"And I will kill you."
Totosai blinked. Sesshoumaru glared at Totosai, strapped the sword to his waist and left. Totosai breathed a sigh of relief.
"I guess he doesn't like his betrothed much," the old man muttered under his breath.
XoXoXo
Sesshoumaru returned to where by the time the sun had completely set. Rin was holding a strange object in her hands and white wires were connected to her ears. His gaze strayed to Helen who was reading a book by the firelight.
"Welcome back, Milord!" Jaken said. The toad's yellow eyes strayed to the other sword strapped to his lord's waist.
"Eh? Is that another sword?" the imp asked.
Helen looked up from the book she was reading. Now she knew where he went. "Where did you get it?" the young woman asked with interest.
"It is none of your business."
Helen shrugged and returned to reading her book. Sesshoumaru sat down at the base of a tree and dwelt on what his mother had said. She had said that the sword was powerful; of course, it was made from his fang this time so it had to be powerful. But alas! How on earth could he use the sword if it wouldn't even come out of its sheath?
Sesshoumaru looked at Helen once. There is no way that I am protecting that human.
XoXoXo
End of chapter.
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