Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters they all belong to Rumiko Takahashi, however the plot is mine.
Slight Attraction
"Damn it" she muttered angrily while throwing a bucket of warm water over her body, the scent of her blood was still on her and unfortunately, very strong. Frustrated, she grabbed another smelling soap and began to lather the white cloth. This had to be the fourth time she had washed herself, although she was physically clean, she still felt impure.
Banging her hand on the bath's wooden ledge, she exhaled loudly. She didn't sign up for this; she wasn't prepared for this…shit. She grimaced, something she rarely did, then smiled. Inuyasha seem to have left some important attributes. Grabbing the dry beige cloth from beside the soap, she stepped out of the tub and quickly dried herself before putting on the cream-coloured yukata on the dressing stool and hurried to her bedroom.
*****
Opening the door slowly, she crept inside carefully enough not to make a sound, closing it behind her she took some time to take in the beauty before her. There were a lot of flowers in the room she noticed at first. The sheets were rose pink with elegant designs at the seams. The pillows were white with pink flowers in the middle and the curtains had this beautifully reddish-pink colour-
'Sorry to interrupt your thoughts mistress, but there is a reason the room is Sakura themed designed"
"Well, it's about time…" she said while moving to the huge window.
"I am sorry for not being there more often mistress, but since the incident I thought you might want some alone time"
Moving towards the windows, she looked outside before opening them. Feeling the cool breeze that was coming from outside, she hoisted herself on the window ledge before moving outside to stand on a concrete space. It was small, yes, but she definitely wanted to feel the cool breeze.
"Oh no mistress, you better not commit suicide..."
"Pegasus, suicide is not an option for me, but jumping off from her would definitely free from the miseries of this wretched world" she replied while looking below her, it was quite a good distance from the ground she thought.
"I am interested in living…" she said before continuing, "….but, the breeze feels so good!" she said excitedly.
"Hmph"
"Oh come on, you didn't think I would jump"
"Considering your state right now, I am not sure what you would do"
Stepping back on the window ledge, she sat down and began looking at the forest.
"You believe there is hope for Saya..."
"Pegasus, I know she will get well, however I am still trying to figure this out"
"How about we run through what happen over the past few days..."
"Well., one, there is a massacre, two, the elders disappear, three Saya's dead and finally my lord seems like a bomb that is about to explode, and let's not forget, he is deathly cold"
"We are missing something very important…"
"What is it?"She said while running a hand through her hair.
"I am positive you smelt the scent of a badger demon while we were at the village…"
"Yes, I did, but its youki wasn't strong enough to do great damage to anything, so I left him-"
"He was spying on us…" he interrupted.
"Spying! Pegasus that is impossible, we communicate telepathically, he couldn't have heard a word we said…"
"Maybe so, but you ever thought about the other chance he had when you were talking to that a bear demon…"
She gasped, before putting two and two together,
"He heard what I said about Lord Sesshomaru" she replied flatly, "and the way I was expressing my emotions must have given the obvious fact that I had some connections to him"
"And as it relates to Maki and the elders…"he said while leaving her to finish the sentence.
"That harmless badger must have told the elder Maki that I was coming; he couldn't risk it since he knew of the consequences, so he decided to let all his accomplices and himself flee before I arrived, but…" she exhaled loudly before continuing,
"It still doesn't add up to them killing Saya, as you know even when he had revived her with Tenseiga, she couldn't remember anything"
"Maybe she is your lord best protector, therefore the elders must have considered getting rid of her so that their plan could be put in place. However you have ruined it for the time being, also if you have noticed her name Saya Ichimaru which means first sheath; therefore she is definitely of great importance to your lord"
"Lord Sesshomaru is fully capable of protecting himself; he has Bakusaiga which is stronger than the Tetsusaiga, so there is no need for him-"
"With great power comes great responsibility, but sometimes there is a little bit of information missing"
"Are you suggesting that my lord lacks something important when she finally leaves?"
"Yes, I was thinking about the situation and I remembered the time you told me you saw him lose control of himself"
"The time when the monks were trying to protect me from him, but he returned to normal after the ordeal"
"Yes, and of course his great grandmother was alive and well back then"
"What makes you judge him based after that one incident?"
"There isn't just one Rin, I know when he found Saya how he felt, the youki energy that was radiating off him was enough to bring down northern Japan to the ground without the use of his swords and…I am positive that he was about to change, had you not acted quickly enough and ordered Kira to call the physician then they might have been six feet under"
Reflecting on the moment, she remembered the way he had looked, his eyes bled crimson and his markings were jagged, she acted on impulse in time to sooth his anger down so that nothing else could have happen to add to the trouble,
"However, there was another reason I think he didn't tear the place down and that is because of you"
"Pegasus, let's come off that topic and go back to the other events, I really don't want to think about that right now"
"I am sorry mistress, I didn't mean for it-"
"No…" she said while wiping away the tears and slowly patting her cheeks in order to calm her down, "I am fine" she choked out.
"She will make it, Mistress, no need for you to worry, Saya will survive"
"She has already lost most of her soul to the Netherworld; there is no way she will learn everything in time to help us out"
"Well patience is the key to this mystery Mistress, we will just have to wait, now go and get some sleep"
Getting off the ledge she dragged herself slowly to the futon, lacking the strength to remove the covers; she simply collapsed on the sheets and fell asleep.
*****
Opening her eyes slowly, she squinted at the bright coming… from the ceiling! Getting up quickly she scanned her surroundings, she was in a room full of scrolls and pictures,
"Where on earth am I-?"
"Well I see you have stumbled upon my territory" a voice of seemingly a young woman said.
Rin, totally flabbergasted turned to the direction of voice and what met her eyes made her jaw drop slightly.
"Saya!" she gasped unable to believe her eyes.
"Yes child it is I, Saya Ichimaru" the older woman said before moving to take up a scroll and tucked it safely into a column on a huge shelf.
Rin couldn't believe it, wasn't she suppose to sound old and look it too-
"No child, I am not suppose to look it or sound it either" she said while raising an annoyed brow, Rin let out a nervous chuckle after realizing what had happen. This woman could read her mind!
"Yes dear child and I am very good at it, now come" she continued while moving to the shoji door,
"We have a lot to talk about" nodding Rin quickly headed after her.
They were walking along an endless corridor for what seemed like hours, the whole time it reminded her of the secret corridor they had found earlier on.
"Don't worry we are almost there" she said a few minutes after and soon enough they had arrived and Rin's assumptions were correct. They were at the same door she had found her in this morning. Saya immediately stopped and turned to faced her,
"Dear child, this is where I end for today"
"End…"
"Rin, remember I am still suffering physically and my mind cannot take the pressure, therefore I will have to stop for now"
Reaching out to rest her hands on Rin's shoulder, the taller woman continued,
"I am going to help you get the information you need to successfully complete the prophecy and the ordeal with the elders…"
"You know about the prophecy…"Rin said while stepping forward to look into the beautiful face of this dog demoness before continuing,
"Then we have a deal Ms Ichimaru, however my main intention was to ask your grandson to accompanied me on this journey because I really need the help"
"And help you he shall, but you must promise me one thing and that is… never to tell my dearest that I am speaking with you"
"Your dearest?"
"Yes my beloved Sesshomaru…" she said while putting a hand over her chest and grasping a necklace, "You should return now my child, it is for the best"
"Wait! Lady Saya, I must ask you a question"
"No!" she shouted, you must hurry back to the room, I don't believe that a mere human has the guts to stand this.
Nodding her head, she hurried down the corridor, but before she knew it her feet were wet and she did the inevitable-looked down.
Her eyes widen and she began to tremble terribly. There was blood and lots of it; it reached her knee and it was heading up further. There was only one thing that was capable of bleeding this much and that was Saya, she was the only one here and with that Rin knew immediately why Saya had given her the instructions not to tell her lord she was speaking to her.
She was still dying.
*****
"Saya!" she shouted as she hoisted herself into a sitting position on her futon. Frantically, she checked her surroundings; she was in her room again! Resting her head in her right hand, she wiped the sweat off her face with her left. Exhaling loudly, she got up from the futon and went to the window; the full moon was shining very bright tonight. She had tried to get some sleep but ended up waking from something like a wonderland dream gone bad. She stared blankly through the window for a few moments before the smell of him hit her gently on her nose.
"Lord Sesshomaru, what are you going to do now?" she whispered as she watched him walked to where the gardens were located, but her curiosity allow her to look longer that she intended to and before she knew it he turned around and soon their eyes met, warm brown eyes searching some answers from cold golden eyes. Realizing that she was staring, she quickly hid behind the curtains, a soft red blush on her cheeks.
"Rin" she heard him say softly before continuing, "Come down here"
Surprised, she went back to looking through the window where she saw him looking up from the ground. Contemplating on whether she should jump through the window or walked to the door that he came through earlier; a good walking distance from here.
"You don't have to walk all the way to the door, just put on a kimono and jump outside" he said answering the question that was lingering in her mind. Nodding her head she picked up the pink kimono from the dressing table and put it on, and to finish it, a simple white obi and brown sandals. Coming back to the window she jumped through the window and to her surprise he caught her and placed her on her feet.
Muttering a thank you, she straightened her kimono before looking up. He was so beautiful with the moonlight shining on him. He was in a white hakama only, leaving his bare chest in view. She inhaled deeply and looked at the ground trying to avoid looking at those abdominal muscles. Seeing her discomfort he decided to let them leave,
"Let's go" he muttered before walking.
"Are we going to the gardens?" she enquired while walking behind him, she knew the answer, but somehow she couldn't get the butterflies from out of her abdomen so she decided to start a conversation.
Smiling, he replied,
"So, you were watching me" he said while going around the corner.
"I was just worried about you" she muttered nervously.
Soon they arrived at the garden with the silver gate.
"My grandmother made this garden for me when I was a child" he said while opening the gate and letting her through.
"Why did she made it?" she enquired while entering,
"Because she claimed that I was the most special of the dog family" he said while sitting and picking a red rose. Sitting across from him, she looked at the red rose and asked,
"I think all these flowers have meanings as it relates to you"
"Yes all of them do, the red roses symbolizes my rage and lust for blood when I lose control of my self, the blue ones shows my calmness, the white, however I haven't found the meaning of those…" and he went on to tell her the rest.
"In time my lord I believe you will find out, some things in life take time to understand" she replied "Just like yourself my lord, some people are still trying to figure out you' she said quietly, "Including m-" and she wasn't allowed to finish the sentence for he had placed his fingers under her chin and lifted it to face him.
They were looking into each others eyes and they so near one more movement and their lips would touch. She was anticipated something she thought would happen, but it didn't, instead drop his fingers and draw her to him in a firm embrace. Shocked, she simply hugged him back and rested her on his chest.
"And what about me you do not understand?" he enquired, voice muffled because he had said it in her hair.
Heart thumping heavily in her chest, she stammered out something that she had meant to keep locked up inside of her.
"Your heart"
Drawing back quickly to look into her eyes, he realized that she had really meant it but she was too drained to realize that she had admitted it. Lifting her up him, he ran all the way to her room. Placing on her futon he left her room and headed for his. While on the corridor he began to ponder on what she had said,
"Your heart" This definitely is a curse, he thought as he opened his door and went to bed.
*****
Everything was a blur to Rin from the time they were in the garden until they reached her room. It was not until he had left the room that she had
Realize she was on her futon. Somehow she had a big smile on her face, if there was one thing she wasn't forget was the embrace, but somehow she felt as if she had said something she shouldn't have and also why did she have a feeling she was being watched a few minutes ago.
*****
"Well you seem to have enjoyed last night Sesshomaru" his mother said while watching him put on his kimono. Hearing no response from him she continued.
"I saw you both in the garden" she said while moving closer to him.
"…"
"She does look like Saya when she was younger; I guess that's the reason for your vulnerability last night son"
Walking to a desk, she took up the black ribbon and brush and went behind him; grabbing his hair she began putting it into a ponytail. They were in front of the mirror and she continued,
"You look so much like your father Sesshomaru…" she said while brushing the hair " makes me wonder if this is in your nature to fall for a human, besides your brother have married one so it seems you are next in line"
Shaking his head and freeing him from her grasp, he walked to the door.
"I am just trying to protect you-"
"Taunting me is not helping at all"
"You cannot allow her to ruin you Sesshomaru"
"What makes you think I have fallen for my ward?"
"The way you looked into her eyes last night is enough for me to tell"
"I was vulnerable last night mother, but it is fixed. Leave me be, I have to continue the day"
"Rin is going to destroy you if you continue to experiment"
"And the kettle is cursing the pot, for I thought you were the one urging some relationship between us"
"Temporarily…, yes. Permanently…, no. I wanted you to get rid of…"
"My virginity, even though you knew what would happen during the process" he finished.
"You wouldn't have to take it, Sesshomaru, she is, after all, the female"
"Now I know why father cheated on you; you are damn disgusting"
And with that, he slammed the door.
*****
Last night was very complicating, she thought as she walked down the corridor. Her lord had hugged her like how Soka used to after their midnight walks. Sighing, she headed for the dining room. She had been washed by the servants and dressed in a soft blue kimono with a silvery obi.
"Good morning my lord" she heard some females said before giggling a few minutes after.
He was coming, she thought. Smoothening out her 'unwrinkled' kimono she waited for him to arrive and then he came.
"Good morning my lord, are you feeling better"
"No" he replied coldly while walking towards the door.
Feeling like she been slapped in the face with a raw fish, she asked again,
"But surely you're alright-" before she was interrupted.
"Rin, please go inside" he said while opening the door. Looking at him for a while she entered the room. Realizing that he wasn't behind her she turned around just to see him closing the door.
"My lord, you're not going to have breakfast with me"
"No Rin, now eat your meal. When you're finished a servant will come for you and bring you to my study room" and with that he shut the door leaving her alone in the room.
"Men, my mistress, you have to understand them a lot and love them a little"
Walking to the table, she sat down in the chair and waited for the food to arrive. First, she felt rejected and then she smiled; no more like smirk.
Telling the servant thank you, she grabbed her chopsticks and began eating.
Two can play at this game, she thought.
"This is not going to end well"
"Was it going well in the beginning?"
And there was no answer.
Comments:
I am so sorry for the late update; I was having a terrible writer's block and couldn't continue the story. However, I have developed two other stories during the process. Both are dedicated to my best reviewers who have pushed me to reach thus far, especially my anonymous reviewer angel kisses.
Also, to my other reviewers and readers I would like to thank you for continuing to read it and give me reviews also. You are still inspiring me.
Damn this sounds like I am about to finish the story. Fortunately, for you guys they are about 25 chapters left, so keep looking out for me
Yours truly,
LP