POISON | Love Her
Chapter 10
My Remedy
'Thoughts/Rin's writing'
Flashbacks
Original Publish Date: 3/10/2017
A/N #1: This chapter is about 3k words longer than the last two, due to kind of molding two chapters together instead of keeping them separate. Just a fair warning if you are planning to read it in one sitting!
Rin had long since accepted Sesshomaru had strange eating habits for a youkai, but something seemed particularly weird to find one lone banana in a fruit bowl with the entire kitchen 100% empty of other edibles. She shrugged, 'Its mine now!' Making sure to be silent to not wake the daiyoukai she had successfully untangled herself from, she then made her self comfortable on the sofa, legs crossed with a book on her lap. Armed with the sweet fruit and a cold glass of water, Rin began to flip through the pages on inuyoukai culture. She stopped at pack behavior, curious. Sesshomaru had no 'pack' that she knew of...
The text mentioned pack usually consisted of direct family members, mates, and close friends of the alpha male and female. In hierarchy, next came beta, then the lowest of the pack was an omega. The alpha decided where and when the pack ate, slept, and was the only one allowed to mate with the alpha female. When it came to hunting, the alpha always eat first, and when it was time to sleep, they were usually last, keeping a watchful eye on the pack. They generally slept within very close vicinity of each other... Knowing how he felt about his family, she couldn't imagine them being cuddled in a huge ball of youkai fluff.
The book went on about scent and youki marking, latter reserved only for the alpha female and any children from the alpha. Scent-marking was pretty straight forward as it just involved prolonged periods of physical contact, the alpha did this to alert others that this person was pack and under their protection. Youki-marking seemed much more complicated, and she couldn't completely wrap her head around it as her knowledge of youki was weak.
There was a whole section on licking, nipping and growling that she quickly skimmed through. She made a note to nip Sesshomaru next time he did or said something annoying. She giggled thinking about how the daiyoukai would react to that. Licking was used for healing and to show affection. Growling had various different meanings depending on the type of growl and the situation.
Rin kept on; glad when she found a more elaborate section on markings, then mortified when she saw it was under 'Mating Traditions'. 'Oh gods, Rin, what have you done?!' She mentally groaned, then willed herself to keep reading as the book described just how much she screwed up. The text reiterated that markings, which took forms of stripes, spots, swirls, shapes in nature, etc., signified the youkai's lineage and how powerful they were.
The text went on to say each inuyoukai clan had different rules, but generally speaking as with the majority of the youkai species, markings were personal and deeply rooted into a what a youkai was worth to their personal pack and their clan as a whole. So it was only natural that a female searches for a mate with crisp, vibrant, uniform markings coupled with strong youki. The book continued that, in terms of mating, the female would show her admiration, and more importantly her understanding, of the youkai's worth by caressing, kissing, or licking their markings.
It explained that not all was depend on the female's choice. If the male was a high-ranking, powerful daiyoukai, he had the right to kill—Rin paled-any female that he deemed unworthy that dared to initiate the intimate act. She was pretty sure that mute, human female belonged in the unworthy category in this case... 'As stated previously, rules of mating can vary wildly between inuyoukai clans, for some this is the first step towards mating and for others this is near the end right before the mating mark is in imprinted...' She decided to stop reading there, she didn't need full details on inuyoukai mating, before softly shutting the book before putting it back on the table.
'So I can't just apologize...' Rin thought, racking her brain on how to just continue on her day with this knowledge. 'Because that comes across like "I'm so sorry for thinking you were important." That's... terrible.' She sighed and leaned back, letting her neck curl as she looked up at the blank ceiling. 'Would saying nothing though leave the wrong impression? I'm still alive... Maybe he understands that I didn't mean it like that, I don't think that stuff is common knowledge among humans.' Acting as if nothing happened seemed like a better option.
Rin blinked, realizing, 'Did he mark me with his scent overnight?' She sniffed her arms, but that was pointless. She didn't have a youkai nose. It would explain his... cuddling, but why in the world would he do that? She wasn't pack. Did he want her to be? She shook that thought away, 'That's crazy. There's no way.'
Deep in her thoughts, she jumped when a little bottle fell on her lap. She grabbed it, confused, before looking up at the daiyoukai, still wearing the lounge pants he slept with but not topless. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved. "Bathe with that." He didn't offer any more words than that. She opened it and gave if a whiff, it didn't smell like much, maybe a bit powdery...
The woman shrugged and did as she was told, taking her time in the shower. She nearly knocked into the short man waiting outside the bathroom door with a bag, "Hurry up and change! You've keep Lord Sesshomaru waiting long enough!" Rin grabbed the bag, ignoring whatever the little youkai said and peeked inside as she crossed into the bedroom. She switched the towel for the yellow sundress and slipped on the white wedges, she quickly shuffled back into the bathroom to dry her hair.
The little youkai didn't like that, "Hurry up, woman! Can't you see Lord Sesshomaru is waiting!?" It didn't take long for her finish with the high-speed, disturbingly quiet hair dryer. When she made her way back to the living room, she couldn't help but let her gaze linger the man who wasn't facing her. The white dress shirt he wore was a bit tighter than the last one, accenting the lines of the his strong arms and the ripples of his wide back as he moved to slip on his jacket. She caught a glimpse of his toned glutes, hugged by his black trousers before the jacket settled against him.
"Stop ogling Lord Sesshomaru this instant, human! He is not some piece-" Rin quickly bent down and covered the man's mouth, the rest of his words lost in excited mumbling, her face red at being caught staring. The daiyoukai merely turned and raised a perfect brow at them both.
"Jaken, ready my car." The woman let go of him.
"Yes, my lord!" And the stout man scampered off, leaving them alone. Unlike her, the daiyoukai had zero problem checking her out while she watched him; a tingling sensation shot down her body as his eyes took her in but her stare dropped to the floor when his golden eyes met her's, their intensity too much for her to bare. He simply turned back around as if nothing happened, putting on small, hexagon-shaped cuff links decorated with a white flower against a red background.
"We are meeting with Naraku." Sesshomaru explained before she asked, "Kouga will be joining us if his schedule permits." Naraku wasn't how she wanted to start her day, but it would be best to get it out of the way. "Come." As she followed Sesshomaru to the back-end of leaving the building, she realized she didn't have her tablet, her phone, nothing. She left the party so abruptly last night with the daiyoukai... 'Oh, the girls might be worried...'
Rin slipped inside the modern silver Porsche, once more feeling out of place in the expensive car with a daiyoukai driver. The ride was pleasantly silent for the most part until the daiyoukai spoke, "It would be unwise to continue staying with your friend. Ryūkotsusei will have no issue tracking you there." His words didn't surprise her, she was considering the same thing but wasn't sure where-"You will stay with me until this is over."
That sounded like a demand... he certainly wasn't asking. "Do you work today?" She nodded. "I will leave you at your friend's after the meeting. Jaken will pick you up after work." She nodded again, before staring out the passenger window. She vaguely remembered these streets, seems they were heading towards the PALE DRAGON restaurant.
-:-
"Sesshomaru—Oh, Rin. I was not expecting to see you..." Naraku walked in the private room in the back of the restaurant, taking a seat across them. "What could you possibly wish to discuss with me...?" The spider continued to glance back at her, suspicious.
The daiyoukai wasted no time, "The dākusutā's bonds are breaking."
The spider gave the dog a looonng look, "I've only heard of the dark star in myths and fairy tales, Sesshomaru. Are you telling me such a thing is real?" Rin wasn't sure how old Naraku was, but his questioning made her think he must be one of the youngest out of all those non-humans she met so far. Kind of made her look at him a bit differently.
"Yes. Your assistance is needed to seal it once more, out of Ryūkotsusei's grasp."
Naraku raised both brows, "Did you just ask for my help?"
She noticed Sesshomaru's jaw tightened, exhaling from his nose before a grounded out a "Yes."
The hanyou leaned back into his chair, chuckling. "I'm going to need a drink." The daiyoukai snapped his fingers and a waiter came in and out taking the spider's order. Kouga then walked in, hands in the air,
"I know, I know, I'm late. Whatever." He took a seat next to Naraku, "What did I miss?"
"A blow to Sesshomaru's pride." Naraku replied, a proud smirk on his lips.
"Damn it." Kouga swore, disappointed. Rin was able to keep her giggle in, but wasn't able to her hide her smile as Sesshomaru glared at both guests with clear annoyance. The waiter knocked before re-entering, with Tennessee whiskey for Kouga and scotch for Naraku.
"What does Rin have anything to do with this?" The hanyou asked, red eyes watching her.
"She is the last guardian."
Naraku sipped his drink, "My mythology is a bit rusty, mind elaborating?"
Kouga stepped in, "She's the only one, aside from Ryūkotsusei, that can touch the damn thing without losing her mind. Supposedly, she and Ryūkotsusei's family, can be traced back to the beginnings of the dragon clan, all the way to the sky and sea gods, who created the jewel or something. Now, I don't know the validity of all that..." Kouga trailed off and the spider asked her,
"You have seen it?" She nodded. "And you touched it?" She nodded again. "This why Ryūkotsusei's has gone mad for you?" And one more nod. "He has been quite unstable lately... I would need to see the jewel and what it is being held in to clearly understand the type of seal it needs..." The spider paused for a drink, "Though... permanently dealing with Ryūkotsusei sounds far more beneficial to all of us. He will catch on with what we are doing, and he will not take it lightly."
"Ryūkotsusei will be killed, regardless." Rin frowned as Sesshomaru spoke, "His anti-human propaganda is captivating too many gullible, short-sighted youkai."
"Yeah, they're fucking shit up." Kouga agreed, "I've had to clear up 2 skirmishes in the past week with forest rangers that the idiots decided to pick a fight with, blabbing shit about new world order. Nearly killed them."
"The incident at Rin's home has severely heightened unrest with humans within my districts, unsurprisingly. First time a miko unit has been deployed in the last 3 years." The spider added.
"Well, we make sure he doesn't get hold of that jewel and it would be a lot easier to get rid of him. Its already going to be a total pain in the ass."
"We can discuss that later, I'm sure little Rin here doesn't want to hear the details..." Naraku remarked, finishing his glass. "I assume such an ancient relic, hidden from prying youkai eyes, must be in a miko shrine."
Rin lifted a card that she rewritten earlier with the words, 'Sunday Morning'. The spider smirked, "So confident that I would agree to this?" She lightly shook her head and flipped the card, where it read 'You're a coward.', making Kouga choke on his drink. She had written that being reminded of her father and her experience last night, now feeling a bit silly for it. The hanyou seemed amused, chuckling darkly, "Such an interesting girl." He made a move to stand, "Is that all then?" Sesshomaru nodded. "Then we still see each other again tomorrow morning."
-:-
Sesshomaru pulled into the open parking lot of Sango's apartment building. Rin hoped she wasn't going to be too mad at her for essentially disappearing. She was surprised to see her, Yura and Kagome outside the door, leaning against the metal frame as the hair youkai smoked... which meant they could clearly see the car, her and who was driving. The human's face already began burning, sinking into the plush leather seat as she could just hear Yura now...
"OH MY GOD, RINNNYY!" … Literally. She peeked up, seeing Yura wave excitedly at her.
The woman didn't have time to react to the hand that sneaked into her hair, grabbing just one lock in-between his claws to bring towards him, giving it a soft peck. Her eyes were wide as she watched the daiyoukai, wondering just what he was up to. The same hand let go, before moving back up to cup the side of her face, and she leaned into his warm touch instinctively.
She could no longer hear her friends outside over the thundering of her heart, and the way his golden eyes looked at her kept her completely entranced. She hadn't realized how close he had gotten until he was just an inch away. His kiss was soft and teasing, making her heart flutter before Sesshomaru pulled back just a bit, observing her face. The woman swallowed hard, trying to calm her nerves, but then the daiyoukai smirked, the end of a pointy white fang resting on his bottom lip. He purred into her ear, "I'll see you tonight..."
Rin nodded numbly, and the daiyoukai completely pulled back to his side of the car, expression smooth as if nothing just happened. Broken from the trance, she could now hear a lot of excited, hushed whispering coming from the girls above. 'Oh god... They saw.' When he glanced her, she noticed the amusement starting to brighten his eyes... and that's when she realized, that the kiss tasted a little bit like revenge for her display last night.
'Oh, that changes everything.' The woman thought, determined to up the ante. After all, she was an exotic dancer, teasing was her art. She gave him a big smile, exiting the vehicle as she plotted ways to get back at the youkai. Though, she would first need to figure out how to not make her brain completely turn to mush when he looked at her with hooded eyes, or when his voice dropped to a husky tone or when he smirked or – Okay, she had to work on a lot of defenses against him. She placed her hands on her hot cheeks, not willing to admit to herself how much she wanted to see that smirk again.
Once at the top of the stairs and in front of the girls, she noticed Yura's impossibly wide grin, Kagome's soft giggling and Sango seemed trying hard to hold back a smile despite her slightly disapproving eyes.
"We should head inside, I want to hear all about Rin's night..." Yura spoke first, before they all gathered inside Sango's living room.
"You so owe me."
Rin gave the youkai a questioning look, and Kagome explained, "A few minutes after you left some of the guys in that private meeting started leaving. Ryūkotsusei was one of the first ones, he didn't look happy, and we saw him leaving in the same direction as you did."
"Sango wanted to get Naraku but I said we should get Sesshomaru instead."
"She then tangled me in hair for disagreeing." Sango grumbled, giving Yura an annoyed look.
"Because you were going to tell the wrong man! So I go find Sesshomaru real quick, and I start bawling, saying how worried we are because Ryūkotsusei's hunting you down—WHICH WE WERE!-and he, uh, he got pissed. It was kind of scary. He left like a bat out of hell. So in conclusion, I sent you your savior and all I want in return is to know how was your night, all the sexy details." That earned the hair youkai an exasperated look from Kagome and a decorative pillow thrown from Sango.
Rin found her tablet in a small pile of her things on the coffee table, and typed, "Nothing really happened."
"Your face looks like its going to combust, I really doubt that." Surprisingly the comment was from Sango.
Kagome, with a girl-ish giggle, shifted closer to Rin, "Oh come on... We all saw the kiss in the car..."
"Would it be right to assume you aren't staying here tonight?" Sango teased.
"Oh no, she's not. You know I could read lips, Rin? And after that kiss, I saw..." Yura cuddled close to Sango beside her, trying not to laugh as she deepened her voice, "'I'll see you tonight.'"
Sango's eyebrows rose as Kagome fell into a giggle-fit, "Well, that's a promise if I've ever heard one."
Rin could have died right there in embarrassment. "No, but seriously, tell uusss!" Yura whined, "You don't have to go into super detail, alright? I get it. Just give us sometthiinngggg!"
The young girl sighed, giving in. "Ryūkotsusei was threatening me when Sesshomaru showed up-"
"Did he hurt you?" Sango hissed.
"We'll kick his ass, I swear!" Yura exclaimed.
"Not too bad. I'm fine." Rin answered, then continued typing, "Then, I didn't really feel well and he brought me here... But I was afraid of him coming to hurt Sango or anyone else..." She blinked back the water building in her eyes and ignored their frowns, "Then he took me to his place. Nothing happened! I swear!"
"Well, that's kind of funny because... You don't really smell like him. I mean, I don't have a dog nose or anything but... spending the whole night at his place would have left something on you, even after a shower." Yura remarked, chin on her hand as she stared funny at her.
Kagome snapped her fingers, "Did you bathe with some powdery-smelling liquid? You kind of smell like it." Rin nodded.
Yura gave them both a confused look, "I don't smell anything like that on her."
"That's because its only detectable by humans. Its meant to conceal scents to youkai and certain hanyous." Sango explained, ".. Which really begs the question, what he was trying to hide...?"
Rin blushed at Sango's implication, typing quickly. "Nothing! We didn't have sex or anything!"
"Then... why go through the trouble?" Yura asked, rubbing her chin. Rin caught Kagome's understanding glance. She didn't know the liquid served a specific purpose, but considering the meeting with Naraku, she could see why he did it. It would also be terrible if his scent was all over her and she bumped into Ryūkotsusei or one of his lackeys. The dragon already has his suspicions they were working together in some way, no need to confirm them.
"And besides, you totally just confirmed that you were, at least, very close to him for most of the night if you absolutely needed something to cover his scent the next morning." The hair youkai reasoned.
"We were in bed together..." Rin regretted typing as soon as she heard the gasps all around, "No sex!"
"Aww, does that mean cuddling?! I've never been with an inuyoukai before, there's not the many around anymore, but I heard they love to snuggle." Yura then scrunched up her face, "I can't see frosty doing that at all though."
Rin wouldn't comment on that, feeling that would be too much. Her eyes traveled to the time shown in the corner of her tablet, showing it was the afternoon already. 'Don't we have work?' Rin thought before she typed out her question.
"No, Kuromaru is giving us the night off for doing so well last night." Kagome answered, "Oh! And your pay is in an envelope in your bag."
"So, we were thinking, we still haven't had our girl's night out.. and we are all free right now..." Sango started.
Yura continued, "And, since Lord Sesshomaru isn't expecting his meal until muchlater tonight-" Rin face-palmed at Yura's choice of words, "-you can come too!"
Rin was a bit apprehensive of wandering around... but the idea of having a fun night out with her friends, and the fact that hadn't yet since they met, was more than enough for her to smile and accept the invitation.
-:-
"Ladies!" They had just left a club and decided to hit a bar for a bit of a quieter atmosphere and decent food. Unknown to them, Miroku seemed to be the bartender working at KaZaana tonight.
"We're leaving." Sango grumbled, trying to escape but Yura grabbed her arm.
"Awe, come on, he's nice. Let's sit!" They sat at the corner of the bar, ordering a plate of loaded fries to share among each other and a round of drinks.
"I'm surprised you didn't leave us for Muso back there." Kagome said toward Yura, who made a strange face,
"He's pretty and all. His hair is pretty nice too for a human, but there is just something about him that feels... wrong." Yura shrugged, "I don't want to bother figuring out, rather not waste my time."
Miroku came around, putting down their drinks with this charming smile, "I'm surprised to see the four of you out on a weekend night. It's been awhile since we have last spoke, how is everything?"
"Oh, same old." Yura vaguely replied.
"You didn't say you worked here, Miroku. A friend of mine used to come here pretty often..." Kagome said, catching the young man's attention.
"Oh? May I ask who?"
"Her name was Kikyo." Rin noticed how Sango and Yura froze momentarily as Miroku sighed sadly,
"Ah, yes, you look quite similar to her, you know. What a beautiful woman. I have not seen her in months. Has something happened to her?"
Kagome frowned, absently swirling the straw in her drink. "I was hoping you'd tell me. No one has seen her.."
"Ah, I'm sorry, Kagome." Miroku said, before excusing himself to serve other customers.
"Kikyo used to work at Shikon... did you know that?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded.
Yura fidgeted, "You've never asked about her before..."
"I guess I didn't want to find out."
"Unfortunately, we know as much as you." Sango sighed, resting her face on her hand.
"Yeah, she just vanished... Then Kagura spent a couple of weeks scouting a replacement, which was Rin. Then... She disappeared too. You replaced Kagura." Yura explained.
Rin noticed two youkai in a booth not far from them that continuing giving them glances. Something about them seemed familiar, 'Did we see them at the club...?' She thought, noting they quickly looked away when she caught them staring.
"How did you know her?" Sango asked.
"Ah..." Kagome started, "We went to the same school together." Miroku came and placed down a large plate of brisket loaded fries and they began eating.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Yura said, "I was suppose to be mad at you for not mentioning your house was completely demolished and that's why you are at Sango's. You can depend on all of us for anything, k?" Rin nodded, not wanting to argue. She didn't want to tell them anything out of regards to their safety, Sango just happened to figure it out way too quickly.
The women continued bar-hopping from there until they got back to Sango's place at around 12AM, giving Rin an hour or so to sober up and get ready. "My feet." Kagome cried, after removing her high heels.
"Ah, my boobs!" Yura exclaimed, freeing herself from her tight dress. They all changed into soft, comfy clothing before making their way to bed. Sango and Yura crashed in the bedroom with Kagome taking up the pull-out sofa bed and Rin sitting on the other edge.
"Tonight was fun." Kagome whispered. "We should do it again, soon!" Rin nodded. It was nice to just hang out with friends, not worry about a blood-thirsty dragon, ancient relics, and the intentions of a sexy daiyoukai. Speaking of which, she had no idea what to expect, if anything. 'He did that to mess with me and didn't mean anything by it.. right?'
The other woman suddenly began giggling, "Oh, I'm so excited for you." That didn't help Rin's nerves. "I wish I had some silver haired youkai come to my rescue. Do you think..."
Rin stopped listening to Kagome as a hushed voice started in the back of her mind. She quickly looked around, but saw nothing. It was just them in the room. "Something wrong, Rin?" Kagome asked. She ignored her and tried focusing on the whispers, then paled when she realized the last time she had heard something similar was after the jewel quaked at the shrine. "Rin?-WHOA." Kagome hissed, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms. "That..."
Rin pulled Kagome out of bed, pointing to the door. 'We have to leave!'
"Its the jewel." She nodded. "Okay, okay, let's go."
-:-
Rin gave a worried glance to Kagome who was clutching her head, sweat beading down her temple. The closer they got to the shrine, the worse the miko looked. "Kaede..." She groaned, "If I'm like this..." She was already seriously speeding down the highway in Kagome's little car, and she noticed police lights coming up. 'Road block..' She took a deep breath, and rammed right though the tight opening left. 'There were mikos on the floor...' It seemed even the highly trained were having issues.
The young woman glanced at her friend, who seemed to be sinking into the car seat. She shook her shoulder but Kagome didn't respond. 'Oh no... Oh no...' She stopped once in front of the shrine, then roughly shook both miko's shoulders. 'Kagome!'
"I'm okay... just... get it..."The miko groaned, her head dropping like a stone. Rin hurriedly exited the vehicle and sprinted up the high stairs. 'Please be alright, Kaede.' It didn't take her long to sense exactly where the jewel was, its box sitting upstairs in Kaede's bedroom. She didn't expect what she found there.
All the small, loose objects in the bedroom were floating in the air and once she stepped in, she had difficulty keeping her feet to the floor, making her way closer by pushing herself through with the furniture. Finally reaching the decorated box, she opened it and quickly snatched the marble, ignoring how unusually hot it was. Everything abruptly fell to the floor and her feet were firmly planted as they should be. 'What was that...?'
Rin opened her palm and gasped at the new look of the jewel. Still a black abyss, but now the center held an eye-shaped cluster of red-orange stars, the shape outlined with blue and purple sparkles. The marble was no longer hot, in fact, it was now quite cold. 'I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the book...' She thought, looking around at the mess left behind. 'Kaede!' She quickly left the room and began searching every room in the house, but found nothing.
"Rin!" Kagome exclaimed as she walked outside. The woman looked like she had just ran a marathon. "Did you find Kaede?" Rin shook her head. "Do you have it?" She nodded, tightening her grip around the jewel. "We gotta think of something fast." The miko pointed upward, and for the first time, Rin noticed the light-purplish hue that always surrounded the shrine was missing. "The barriers are down. There were Slayers and mikos on the highway, right? They are probably coming soon." The miko rubbed her temples, "Okay. We can't let them know about you and the jewel. I'll explain why later, just-"
A load roar pierced the night sky, black clouds began to roll in, covering the moonlight. The sounds of the forest stilled and the only thing they could hear was the sound of their breathing. "We need to go..." Kagome whispered, "Come with me." They made their way to a small shed not far from them, the miko grabbing a bow and arrow. "There is a cave nearby... Midoriko's cave. Youkai can't enter. The Slayers won't find it. Let's go."
It was dark. Rin could barely see 2 feet in front of her. Had it not been for Kagome, she would have lost herself in the woods immediately. They were careful to make minimally sound, not daring to speak as they heard the soft whooshing of something massive flying above them. Suddenly, the sky above them hummed, a glow lighting up the area around them. The women peered above and saw the face of an angry dragon, his mouth wide open as an ball of energy formed. "Run!"
The women took off, just barely dodging the horde of energy bullets that rained down upon them. One of blasts was too close, throwing them both in opposite directions. 'Kagome!' But Rin couldn't see anything through the smoke of the scorched earth.
"Keeping running straight ahead!" She heard Kagome yell. The woman watched a purple light streak the sky and hit the dragon, but his hide reflected the arrow, leaving only a small singe where the holy power hit.
"Foolish miko." The mask above the red dragon's eyes spoke, before the being descended to the ground. Rin sprinted away, towards the direction the miko ordered, trying to keep her tears in check. 'Please be okay, Kagome.' She briefly looked down on the black marble, watching the stars in it swirl with high velocity. 'There has to be a way I can use this against him.' The jewel seemed to respond to her, but she couldn't understand any of the words. There was a cave entrance, sparkling blue and lavender, within her eyesight. She smiled in relief and willed her tired legs to keep on.
Rin inhaled sharply as something pierced her back and through her chest. Her eyes dropped to see a clawed hand pull out of her body. She still moved forward, only able to take two steps before collapsing under the pain, the jewel rolling out of her limp hand. She was so close. Only a few yards...
"What a pity. It didn't have to be like this."
Ryūkotsusei looked wild, his gray hair long enough to trial his steps, bright red eyes, flat horns jutting from the sides of his face and various purple vertical stripes across his eyes and cheeks. His skin was scaly and a purple-gray hue, as if he was caught between his youkai and humanoid form. He picked up the jewel, observing it with a triumphant smirk before he knelt beside her body. "Now that you stand at death's door, was it worth it, Rin, to challenge me?"
Each breath made a loud, rasping sound and gave her little to no air. The hand covering her wound wasn't enough to slow the bleeding. She was going to die here. Did he kill Kagome too? "Shh, now don't cry." The dragon cooed, wiping away her tears with the same, bloodied claw that took her life. "Its over now. You can see your mother again." She swore she heard a vein of melancholy in the dragon's parting words.
It was silent again. Rin could only hear the sound of her painful breathing and pitiful slowing of her heart. And she cried, its burned her weak lungs, but she cried. She failed to do the most important thing in her life, what her mother suffered for. She failed. Perhaps her father knew just how useless she was... and that's why... he treated her that way... Her body shook violently before she took her final breath, laying in a pool of her own blood.
-:-
Everything was white. It was unbelievable bright. The human rubbed her irritated eyes and looked again, now... she was in a house... that looked a lot like hers.
"Rin?" The woman turned around at the sound of her name, gasping at who she saw. 'That's impossible.' "What are you doing here?" Her mother approached her, casually, as if they had seen each just the day before.
"I... I don't know." She could speak here. 'How?'
"Hmm... It too early for you to be here, you know. I need to see some grandchildren first. At least one. " Emiko joked, she reached out and brushed lock behind her ear, smiling warmly. Rin didn't have the slightest idea what she was talking about but rushed to wrap her arms around her mother who embraced her in return, her hand brushing her hair as it always did.
"I miss you." The woman was able to say in-between biting back sobs and keeping her tears behind clenched eyelids. She didn't want to cry in front of her.
"I miss you too..." Her mother pulled away enough to raise her chin to meet her encouraging gaze, "But... you have someone waiting for you. And my, my, isn't he handsome?" She laughed and Rin burned it into her memory, "You have to wake up now, its for the best."
"No, I don't-"
"Goodbye, Rin."
'Where...?' Rin groaned as she tried to sit up, her mid-section sore but whole. 'What?' She patted her chest, and looked down her tank top. 'Nothing.' No scars, no evidence. There was a fluffy boa-like thing wrapped around her legs and back that smelled familiar. She looked around the room she was in, not recognizing a single element of it. It didn't help how simple it was, two large windows, white walls, hardwood furniture—nothing stood out. Not wanting to leave the warmth the boa provided, she slipped out of the bed and adjusted the fluff around her upper shoulders, warped it once around each arm to keep it stable.
The woman peeked out the window, before pulling on the curtains entirely, gasping at the sight. She was on high ground, overlooking a river with a red bridge, cherry blossoms and various other greens colored the view. 'Where am I? Is this the afterlife?' Rin didn't find natural beauties even by the miko shrine. She looked up to the sky and noticed a faint, flowing blue tinge. 'A barrier?' Turning around, she noticed her bag was on the dresser.
She peeked inside and saw her tablet and phone missing, but her books and the envelope with her cash for Friday were in place, along with some make-up and her wallet. 'But my books were at Sesshomaru's...' She decided to leave the room, and was met with a long, empty hallway. She heard noise on the right and decided to head that way, the hall breaking into a large room that appeared to be the entrance, with servants walking back and forth with clothing, flowers, food, etc.
Rin made her way down the grand stairs, noticing how they all looked at her with shocked or curious expressions but no one approached her. She frowned, wondering how can she ask for help as she let her nose lead her to the kitchens, stopping to watch the cooks laugh as they prepared something that smelled amazing. But they stopped the moment they noticed her, giving her a quick nod of acknowledgment before they continued their work, this time quietly.
She furrowed her brows and kept walking, 'Why are these people acting so strange?' There was a hall with two armored men standing in front of it, appearing to be guarding it. The human walked over to them, 'Hopefully they can help...' But they didn't say a word, in fact, they moved to the side to let her pass. 'Okayyy...' She decided to move forward, glancing back when they returned to their original positions. 'What is going on?'
The hall had a couple of doors to the side, but the big double doors at the end caught her eye. 'What's in here?' Rin pushed the doors open, revealing the only familiar face since she woke.
-:-
It had been nearly less than 24 hours that Sesshomaru thought that keeping Rin seemed almost pleasant... and she was already dead. He had been too slow. It took him too long to find out where the two women had gone, too long to get pass the mikos who tried to stop him... Tenseiga shook in his grasp as he cut the underworld beings away from her body. He moved to pick up her up from the ground, the heavy smell of her blood made him sick and beyond furious. He will kill Ryūkotsusei. He will shred his body to pieces and scatter his carcass across the country side to remind others what their fate will be if they hurt her.
"Hold it right there!" A Slayer appeared, pointing a rifle at him. No one was going to stand in his way. "Let go of the woman, youkai." Like hell he would.
"Wait! Please!" He recognized that voice. One of Rin's friends. She was hurt, her side covered in dark blood as she used a long bow to limp towards them. Other Slayers began to surround him, a couple of mikos joined with their weapons at the ready. A thundering growl resonated from his chest, his claws elongated in defense as he clutched Rin closer to him.
"Stay back, ma'am! This youkai is dangerous!" He saw red.
"Just leave him alone already! That's his mate!" The woman yelled angrily. It was a lie, one he would normally find insulting... but it was enough to get the others to lower their weapons, even they were not so idiotic to harass a youkai with an injured mate.
The sound of the double-doors to his study opening disturbed his thoughts, the smell of spicy vanilla tickling his senses. She took nearly all day to wake, which was strange and not the usual when it came to resurrecting with his blade. They all returned immediately. "Sess...aru?" The daiyoukai looked up from the papers on his desk to see the human with wide eyes, covering her throat with one hand. Had she spoken or was his mind playing tricks?
"Se...o-maru?" Rin tried again. He rose from his seat and approached the woman, wrapped in his furs, calling to him. He stopped in front of her as she was taking a deep breath, before looking up to him with a large smile, "Sesshomaru!" Her voice was soft even with her enthusiasm, her brown eyes sparkling with delight. He couldn't recall a time someone had said his name with such unbridled joy. "Sesshomaru!" She repeated with a giggle, almost bouncing in place. Some baser part of him was very pleased that the first word she had spoken was his name.
The woman suddenly gasped, before a pink blush spread across her cheeks and her smile returned. "I like your smile." 'My what?' He was smiling? "Did I just say that aloud?" The young woman buried her face into her hands, mumbling. "This going to take awhile to get used to..." She shook her head, before looking back at him again, "How...? What h-happened?"
The question was a welcomed distraction. "What do you last remember?"
"Pain..." Rin absently rubbed the fur draped over her arms, making him regret leaving it with her. "Lots of pain... Ryūkotsusei... He took it. He... I died... didn't I?" Sesshomaru nodded. "But... I'm here, with you..." Her eyes turned panicked, her body began to shake as the scent of tears cut through the room. "And K-Kagome? Is she okay? Kaede? Has he done anything since? How long have I been gone?"
The daiyoukai gripped her shoulders to halt her trembling, "I resurrected you with Tenseiga." She looked surprised, naturally. "Your friend was injured, but will be fine. The shrine keeper is in the ICU. Ryūkotsusei has gone quiet... And its been roughly a day." He explained, letting her go as she digested all the information.
There was a moment of silence before the human asked, "I can speak... because of you?"
"Tenseiga heals." He replied, that strange feeling taking hold whenever he used the sword causing him to distance himself from the blade's actions. He was not a savior by any means, and this situation was caused by his carelessness.
Rin smiled, a hand then covered her mouth as she let out a sob, a tear escaping her brown eyes. The daiyoukai frowned, he never liked seeing the woman crying but she did not appear sad? "Thank you." She giggled, a few more tears released and she hurriedly wiped them away, "Ah, I'm sorry for-"
"Do not apologize." The daiyoukai grounded out more harshly than he intended. The human had nothing to apologize for. He should not have left Rin alone yesterday. He... made a mistake. "Had I-" Sesshomaru clamped his mouth shut, desperately trying to reel in his scattered emotions under Rin's questioning gaze.
"Sesshomaru...?" The daiyoukai looked away from her but he could still see her trying to figure him out, he would not wait to find out what—but she stepped closer, filling the empty space between as she grabbed his hands causing his eyes to meet hers again.
She gave his hands a quick squeeze, her teary smile returning, "I can speak! You gave me back my voice, my life..." He felt her thumbs softly move up-and-down against his stripes as a foreign, warming feeling coiled around his heart, one only she caused. "You have given me more than anyone else ever has." She let out a sad chuckle, "I don't really think I deserve it." She didn't give him a change to rebuke, placing a finger on his lips to quiet him. He narrowed his eyes at her, annoyed at being silenced but she kept speaking, unfazed by his glaring.
"And I'm sorry... because I should have..." The woman pulled her hand away, looking down. "I should have told Kagome to call you, something. We shouldn't have left alone." Rin sighed, "I should have known he would find us and follow." She peered up at him while a shy look, her eyes searching for something in his. "If I call for you, will you come?"
"Yes." He answered without hesitation, making her cheeks flush and her smile return. A moment passed but the woman did not break their contact, her eyes observing his face with intense interest, specifically the moon-marking on his forehead. Like a curious child, her hand came up, brushing away his bangs but paused just before they touched the skin, pulling away.
"I'm sorry—No, not, aahhh... That's not okay... right?" Sesshomaru raised a brow, now she decided to question her unreserved touching of his person?
As if she heard his thoughts, she pouted, "I know what it means now! I just don't want to insult you, or, gah, I don't know." He stayed quiet and the woman grew increasingly flustered at his silence. "I thought that because I was human and didn't know, you were letting it pass and... uhm... Maybe that's different now...? No, t-that's makes no sense, I mean, everything is still the same. B-but do you... want me too? Or is it just-" Her ridiculous and mortified stammering was enough to break the last threads of his self control, his arms finding their way around her small waist, pulling her flush against him and earning himself a 'meep' from the startled woman.
"Had there been a problem, you would not be standing here." Sesshomaru growled softly in her ear, offering her some clarity.
Rin gave a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, the book said something like that." Her attention re-directed back to the moon, her soft fingertips tracing its shape as he shut his eyes to concentrate on her touch. She lingered there for a moment, then both hands made their way to the sides of his face as her thumbs brushed against the liner marking on his eyelids. He opened his eyes when her thumbs settled against the stripes on his cheeks, softly caressing the colored skin. "Do you have any more...?" The daiyoukai nodded. "Oh, where?" Her question was innocent, unfortunately two of the three areas his covered markings reside were not.
Something in his senses possessed him to look up over the human woman at the room's entrance, and there he found Jaken, slack-jawed and frozen in place, staring at them. The daiyoukai had been so absorbed in Rin's scent, touches and the sound of her newly discovered voice, he never heard the frog youkai enter the study and hadn't the slightest idea of long he had been watching them. "Jaken."
The promise of death laced in his voice was enough to get the frog youkai back to reality. "I-I-I'm sorry for intruding, my lord! The girl was missing from her room so I came to inform you b-b-but I see everything is, uh, fine! Completely fine and not out of the ordinary, nothing unusual whatsoever-" "Jaken." "I'll take my leave!" The short youkai missed the open door, twice, before successfully leaving the room.
"I think you scared him." Rin mumbled, having turned a bit in his arms to watch the exchange. "The rest of the people in here seemed to act strange..."
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, "Were you disrespected?"
"What? No, no, nothing like that. They just seemed afraid to talk to me... I found you by accident."
"Hn." He didn't think he could handle another fit of blushing and stammering from her if he explained it was because of his fur wrapped around her... Sesshomaru pulled away from her and he noticed her frown at being let go, but made no comment as he made his way back to his desk, the woman trailing behind him.
"I will order a guard to take you down outside the front gates so you may purchase clothing and other necessitates you may need." The daiyoukai grabbed his wallet and pulled out a black metal card with a single gold stripe across. "If you wish for a female companion, Minako was quite insistent on accompanying you. She will be in or around the dining hall."
Rin accepted the card, then looked at him puzzled. "Minako... the cat?"
"She is a feline youkai. You know her?"
The woman smiled brightly, "She used to work at Blue Moon with me." She then gave him a curious look, "Am I staying here...?"
"For now. Ryūkotsusei does not yet know you live. It is best to keep it that way."
"Oh... I understand." Rin replied, unwrapping herself from the boa and gently placing it on the chair across his desk. "Ah..." She started, looking at him as she toke a step forward, but turned red and lost her nerve, "Nevermind! See you later!" And nearly sprinted out of his study.
-:-
A separate man waited for her at the end of the hall. Tall and broad with light-colored green triangle-shaped markings framing his face, though he wore no armor, the way he stood was that of a soldier. He bowed when she approached, "My name is Saiten, Ms-"
"Rin is fine."
The large man blinked in surprise, "I was told you were mute."
"Oh, ahh... I can speak now." Rin explained, not wanting to get to into it. "Its complicated."
"Very well. Will Minako be joining us?"
"Yes! Can you lead me to her?"
"Of course, follow me."
Rin kept close behind the man as they slipped through lines of occupied servants, making their way to the dining hall. "Its so busy..." The woman remarked, her eyes on the look-out for the golden-haired youkai.
"The annual Wild Hunt is approaching. Preparations are underway." Saiten explained, pausing to wait for a couple of people to pass.
"Wild Hunt?"
"Yes, a large gathering involving those who live on base. The gates are opened all 3 nights and the youkai go out to hunt. Many do to impress a potential mate before the frost arrives, others for competition to see how kills the largest youkai elk, for example." The man waved down someone. "There she is."
Minako looked the same as the day she last saw, her bronze skin glowing and her vibrant, golden locks bouncing with each step. Her slanted green eyes widened when they caught sight of her, "Rin!" The cat youkai slipped in between all the servants in the way, disturbing none, giving Rin a quick hug, "I'd never thought I would see you again!"
"I'm happy to see you too, Minako!" Rin exclaimed, grinning wide. 'Its nice to know someone else here...'
The feline's jaw dropped, "Did you... Did you just?"
"Oh, yeah." Rin said, playing with the hem of her top. 'This is going to keep happening... a lot.' Not that she blamed them. "My throat healed, I can speak now!"
"No way! What was it? You had surgery or something?"
Did getting a claw through her chest and having a magic sword close up her wounds and heal her throat count as surgery? 'It does now...' "Something like that." She nervously replied, "I need clothes it looks like. I'm not sure how long I'm staying here..."
"Right, right. Let's go!"
-:-
The place was like a massive military base mixed with a shopping mall, Rin noted, as she let Minako lead her around. She frequently saw men and women dressed in casual camo outfits, either marching in formation or hanging out on street corners. Saiten had left them, mentioning he will be watching to ensure their safety but wanted to give them privacy. There was also one important detail she noticed about the people... And the way they kept staring at her.
"Minako..?"
"Yeah? Let's go in here! They have cute clothes."
Rin followed her inside the boutique, "Are... are there no humans here?"
"Uhm, not that I have seen, but I've only been here about 2 months."
"How did you get here?"
The cat clicked her tongue, "Can't discuss specifics... but I helped some military scouts on a mission when I was still at the club. They offered me a place here if I continued to help. I did. Now I'm here!" She grabbed a pink blouse and showed it to her, "What about this?"
Rin felt the soft fabric, "Yeah, that's cute... You knew about this place?"
"Of course. What youkai doesn't? No one outside knows where it is though. Lord Sesshomaru is doing a pretty good job at keeping this place hidden." The feline grabbed a baby blue dress with white lace at the hems, "This?"
Rin nodded before continuing, "This place... its massive, how?"
"You noticed the barrier, right? The dome keeps this place invisible from everything. Youkai and human senses, electronic devices, radio waves, crap like that."
"That must be hard to maintain..." The human mumbled, picking out a white skirt. 'Kaede and Kagome would have to reinforce the barrier on the shrine grounds every week, and it didn't cover even an eighth of what this place is.'
"Oh yeah, it is. Most of our tax dollars go into maintenance of the dome." The women finished up in that shop, and quickly found another. "I have to ask..." Minako started whispering, "What's the deal with you and Lord Sesshomaru?"
Rin gave her a confused look, "What makes you think there is anything?"
"I'm a cat. You smell like you were rolling around in his fur all night." Minako said, smirking when Rin's eyes widened. 'That was his!?' "Also you are staying in the royal hall, I couldn't visit you."
"I am?"
"Yeah... Only the royal family and close pack members are allowed there. You're not his mate, so you aren't family. You're pack."
"He never said anything about that." Rin grumbled, beginning to feel a tinge of annoyance at how unclear the daiyoukai was about everything remotely personal. She should have asked earlier in his study, but she was distracted by... well, him.
"Hrm... FYI, the royal family only meets once a year, during the Wild Hunt, they stay all stay in the castle... And from what I heard about them, you are going to hear a lot of arguing." Minako waved her hand, grabbing her out of the second store and into a rather up-scale looking adult boutique. "Forgot about that, you need some sexy lingerie just in case."
"In case of what?!" Rin whispered loudly, "Nothing is going on between us."
"Yeah, now. I doubt Lord Sesshomaru took a young, virgin female into his pack with no intention of mating her. That's just weird." The human's heart quickened as the feline blatantly stated what she herself was avoiding to think about since she educated herself a bit on inuyoukai. Her distress seemed apparent as Minako put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?" She leaned in close, "He didn't kidnap you, right?"
Rin sighed, "No."
"Okay... What's the problem? Why are you freaking out? ...Don't you like him?"
"I..." The woman frowned. She was definitely physically attracted to him, and perhaps she could say that feeling was mutual, but beyond that, she never gave it too much thought. He did many things for her, that she is eternally grateful for, but where did the line of 'Because he cares' begin and the line of 'Because he needs me for Ryūkotsusei' end?
"You're over-thinking this." Minako grumbled, shaking her head. "For youkai, instinct is first, feelings come later, maybe. Don't be all human about it." The cat youkai walked around the store, and grabbed a cupless bra and crotchless panty set in cobalt blue, "Is this too much?"
Rin gave the feline an exasperated look, "I'm not wearing that." The woman decided to look around herself, not wanting the cat to figure out what her intimate wear should be. 'Not that I'm going to use it anyway.' She reminded herself, 'We aren't going to do anything.' It seemed the more she thought that, the more everyone else around her thought otherwise.
Her eyes caught a white lace chemise that hugged the mannequins curves, with scalloped lace trim edges and a small silk pink bow at the end of the V-neckline, just below the chest. She looked at the back, bottom ruched up to gather around the tailbone with another matching bow. She touched the string of pearls that extended down from the next over the exposed back. 'This one is nice, and he likes white...' The woman let go of the string, shaking her head. 'What am I thinking!?'
"That's the one!" Unfortunately, Minako caught her staring at the chemise and demanded she purchased it.
And she did, paling at the price at the register. Apparently, the silk bows and the lace were made of the finest youkai spider silk in the dark forest and weaved personally by them. The pearls were not only real, but formed inside only the most resilient youkai oysters that survived a parasite that threatened their species nearly a decade ago. Minako whistled, "Now you have to wear it."
They continued on, purchasing a few more items across the shopping street before stopping at a coffee shop for drinks and sandwiches. "What made you want to come here?" Rin asked, munching on a ham and cheese croissant.
"I was tried of the club, Rin. So tried of it. Yeah, the pay was decent, more than an office job or retail, that's for sure, but... I couldn't take it anymore. My education is worth nothing to humans because they think my English, Mathematics, Political Science and History degrees are outdated. Never mind that I'm also fluent in 5 languages and I served their military for 10 years." Rin blinked in shock, having no idea the feline was formally educated in so many subjects and served. "Even if I did go back to school, it wouldn't matter. They never cared what I could do or what I knew, they just saw these cat eyes and deemed I could not be trusted, that I would go wild one day or whatever ignorant humans think of us. I gave it a chance, a long one, but it was enough. I rather be here, with other youkai, even if it means I can never leave."
"Never leave?"
The feline scoffed, "How do you think Lord Sesshomaru keeps this place a secret? Once you are in, you can't leave. Only the royal family and select military scouts and generals are allowed to freely move in and out of the dome."
They finished the rest of their food quietly before leaving, realizing it was rather late. The two drank colorful fruit juices as they made their way back to the castle gates with large shopping bags in hand.
"Let me assist you, ladies." Saiten seemed to re-appear out of nowhere, extending his hands to grab their bags.
"Thank you, Saiten." Rin said, passing them to him. She had forgotten he was watching in the shadows... which meant he knew they were in the adult store. 'That's embarrassing.' The human thought, not wanting anyone else to think too deeply into her relationship with Sesshomaru.
"Yeah, thanks!" Minako added more to his arms, then looked at Rin. "I had fun, we should hang out more often!" The human nodded. "Work is getting really busy as we prepare for the hunt, so I probably can't till that blows over."
The women said their farewells as they entered the castle, Minako heading to the East hall as Saiten lead Rin to the West hall. "Hey, Saiten?"
"Yes?"
"Will you be participating in the hunt?"
The man glanced at her, "Yes. There is a group of soldiers I'm a part of that compete for the greatest kill."
Rin smiled, "No potential mate you are interested in?"
The man smiled in return, "No. My desire is to protect the families here and my duty is solely to Lord Sesshomaru as it was for his father before him."
"You served his father?" Rin opened her bedroom door for the youkai and gestured he drop her purchases on the bed.
"Ah, yes. Long ago." The youkai didn't seem he wanted to talk more about that. "If you need an escort outside the castle gates, I am available at any time." He handed her a phone. "My number is there, along with Lord Sesshomaru, Minako and Jaken. I am sure Jaken will have a servant assigned to you tomorrow if he has not already."
"Thank you." Rin accepted the phone and slipped it into her jean pocket, "Do you know what happened to my personal phone...?"
"It was disposed of." Rin blinked. "Outside electronic devices are not allowed here. Security protocol. I apologize."
"No, that's alright..." Rin started, "Can I ask which room is which in this hall? I don't want to disturb anyone..."
"Of course. All the way down the end of the hall through the double doors is the lounge room. There is another hall of rooms across the lounge but all are empty. " Saiten said, pointing left, "The next door is Lord Inuyasha's and the room next to yours is empty. The black door across the hall is Lord Sesshomaru's room. The next door is an empty room. The last door across from yours is Lady Inukimi's. The family visits for the Wild Hunt but rarely anytime outside of that, so you needn't worry about disturbing any of them once the event is over."
"When do they arrive?" Rin asked, realizing how nervous she was about seeing Sesshomaru's family. 'Its doesn't matter, you're just a friend.' She tried to reason with her anxiety. Everyone else is just jumping to conclusions, they don't understand her relationship with him. 'Do you?' Her mind sneered and... she wasn't sure either.
"Lord Inuyasha tries to spend as little time here as possible. He comes around noon on the day it starts, avoids contact with nearly everyone for the next 2 days and leaves in the morning after the final event. The Lady comes usually the day before and leaves in the afternoon afterward. You should not expect her for another 2 or 3 days." Rin heard his watch buzz and he glanced down, before bowing. "I apologize. I must take my leave, Rin."
She smiled, "That's fine, Saiten. Thank you for your time today."
With the youkai gone, Rin began pulling her freshly bought clothes out of their bags, hanging and folding everything, feeling much more relaxed. Saiten was nice, but she was not used to having an escort and he mentioned she'll get a maid as well. 'That's too much.' She thought, 'I don't need all that.' The roof over her head seemed to be over-kill in the security part, and that was all she needed.
Rin pulled out one of the sweater dresses she bought as the days were starting to get colder, in an ivory color and off-shoulder. 'Would he like it?' She let out an annoyed growl at the thought.
It was official. Yura, Kagome, Minako—they all got in her head. Minako said her piece but she imagined what the other girls would say. She could hear Yura making some inappropriate comment about how since Sesshomaru got her voice back, she should repay him by screaming his name in ecstasy. She could hear Kagome sigh happily about how much he must care to go and bring her back from the dead, and how she would want a man to do the same for her.
She desperately needed Sango's level questioning and sanity because these thoughts were starting to sound not so bad. 'He certainly acts like he wouldn't mind...' She thought, thinking back to the stares, the smirks and the kiss. 'Would that be okay? To just... sleep with him?' She wasn't particularly saving herself for a husband... She never really thought that far.
It was always about money, to save for an escape. Now it was Ryūkotsusei, to fight for her life... which she already lost once. Something told her she won't get a third chance, so she should take advantage of her second chance at life and do things she normally would be too frightened or unsure of to do, like losing her virginity to a certain handsome daiyoukai. But a part of her persisted, wanting to only share a bed with someone she had a nice, normal, healthy relationship with, not something purely physical.
Where would a normal and healthy relationship fit, when she was hiding from a blood-thirsty dragon who now held a ancient jewel of unspeakable power, one that only she could possess? No where. The answer was no where. 'At least not with a human.' Her mind teased.
'He doesn't want a relationship with me.' Rin mentally fought with herself as her mind decided to betray her once more, recalling the intimate touching of his markings and the way he smiled when she said his name for the first time. She sighed, 'Should I just... ask him? I don't know how this works.' It didn't help that to her, he was unclear... though she was unclear herself.
The woman glanced at the large bed with a frown, remembering just the night before. Being wrapped in his arms... It was the safest she ever felt in her life. She didn't have to worry. No one could hurt her, not with him there. The moment she left, she was damned. Rin didn't want to sleep here. The room was lovely, the view was lovely, everything was lovely but... 'Not without him.' She admitted, 'I want him.'
Rin's gaze fell one of the most pricey purchases on the day. An innocent white box with cursive, silver letters that read 'Bijoux's Boudoir' straight across, sitting among the rest. 'When would I even wear this?' Would there be a right time? Does she just change into the chemise and slip into his room at night? She never chased after a man, they always came to her to see her strip and nothing past that. In the end, could she even build up the courage to honestly pursue the daiyoukai?
'Probably not.' Rin thought, now dejected from far too much thinking. "Don't be all human about it." Minako had told her. 'Yes, stop thinking, Rin.' She should just change, march into the daiyoukai's bedroom, grab him, and have her way with him.
"That's silly." She whispered, that was never going to happen. Now what in the world was she going to do with the expensive lace?
"Rin."
The woman nearly jumped out her skin, throwing bags to cover the box before spinning around, glaring at the daiyoukai who, once again, snuck in her room. "You should knock."
"I did. You did not answer."
She gave him an exasperated look, "So you come in anyway?"
He stepped closer to her, a perfect brow raised. "It is my home." 'Well, that's... that's true.' Rin thought. "And I came to retrieve my card, I think you have done enough damage to my wallet..."
'Ah, he would know how much I spent—does he know where I went?!' Rin couldn't help the shaking hand as she reached her purse and gave him back the metal card, "H-here. I did get Minako something. It wasn't e-expensive or a-anything." Why did she start stammering with him? She was speaking fine all day. 'Calm down, Rin!'
Though he accepted the card, the daiyoukai stayed standing in place, watching her carefully. "You are acting strange."
"Ah, nope. Everything is fine!" She replied, giggling nervously.
"Saiten treated you well, I assume?"
"Yup, he's nice. He's great."
"And you enjoyed your outing with Minako? You were gone for quite some time..."
"Yeah, its nice to know s-someone else here." Rin heard a swooshing sound behind her and turned to see the air from the AC vent was strong enough to blow the empty bags away. She quickly covered the box again, securing the bags. When she turned back again, Sesshomaru was nearly against her, his eyes curious. The daiyoukai seemed to not care one bit about personal space.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing. I mean, I'm not hiding anything!"
"Rin."
"Its j-just clothes! Nothing interesting." Rin felt the hotness in her cheeks and she knew she was going to lose this exchange if she didn't act fast. He could not see what was in the box. So when the daiyoukai leaned closer, his arm going around her smaller frame as he reached to reveal what she hid, his neck was in a perfect spot in front of her face and she happened to remember the section about nipping she skimmed through in her book.
So she did just that. Rin softly bit his neck in hopes to get him to stop. 'It worked!' She thought triumphantly, letting go of his skin. Though she soon realized he was oddly still and a low, rumbling growl began to vibrate against her, "S-Sesshomaru?" She asked unsure. She gasped when a clawed hand tangled in her hair, holding her in place as the inuyoukai pulled back just enough for her to meet his golden-red eyes and the stripes on his face losing their clean edge. It was not anger in his eyes.
Maybe she should have read the whole section.
The daiyoukai dove and captured her lips in a searing kiss, as his other arm wrapped around her, trapping her against his hard body. Her hands gripped the collar of his jacket as her body willed her to respond, pressing her lips firmly against his. His tongue brushed against her lower lip, and she opened her mouth willingly, a soft whimper escaping her as the inuyoukai brushed his tongue against hers.
Rin broke the kiss, then moved her hands under his suit jacket and the daiyoukai lowered his arms, letting her slip the offending clothing off his shoulders and to the floor. She looked up at Sesshomaru, momentarily struck by the longing churning in his golden gaze. He quickly kissed her again, overwhelming her with his hunger as her body shivered with delight. She hadn't realized when her back touched the grey comforter of her bed and a small voice in her head pointed out she may want to say something, but it died when Sesshomaru moved to her neck, gently biting the same spot she had on him and drawing a soft moan from her lips.
The daiyoukai continued teasing her neck, finding that one sensitive spot that drew another more powerful moan from her. He silenced her with his lips, and her hands began to undo the buttons that kept his upper body hidden from her touch. She contemplated just ripping his shirt open when the daiyoukai froze again, though this time...
She squeaked at the angry youki that nearly shocked her coming from him, as a growl rolled off his chest. "Sessh?" Rin questioned, as her hand moved to his cheek, ignoring the hotness of the aggravated youki.
His eyes glanced at her door before they met hers, "Stay here." The daiyoukai ordered, slipping away from her heated body almost reluctantly and putting his jacket back on. Sesshomaru left her room without another word. Rin stared at the ceiling, trying to regulate her panting as her mind processed what just happened. She sat up, willing herself to ignore her body's desires as she grabbed the white box beside her and slid it under her bed.
'Get a hold of yourself...' Trying to distract herself, she put away the last bit of clothing and trashed the empty bags. 'You know he is just going to walk back in here like nothing happened. Just like the other times. You got to beat him at this.' That was when he walked in again, and as she suspected, stoic mask back in full force. 'How can he do that so easily?' She blushed and hugged herself, unable to look him in the eye, "Did something happen?"
"My mother is here early, driven by... curiosity." Rin froze, looking at him wide-eyed. 'What did he mean by that? Was she here early because of her? Oh gods, did she know what they were doing?!' "Avoid engaging her whenever possible. She plays far too many games." The daiyoukai warned. "I have dismissed her for now, but no doubt she will want to see you first thing in the morning."
"Why...?" Rin had a feeling she knew the answer.
"Because she must constantly stick her nose into my personal business." But Sesshomaru never gave a true, straight answer. "It is late. I will see in the morning." Rin nodded and watched the daiyoukai leave, frowning. She meant to ask him so many things... and ended up with only a horde of more questions. The woman sighed and changed into a pair of fuzzy shorts and a simple tee before bundling up in her new bed.
Rin didn't know how long she stared blankly at the wall, trying to sleep but her mind was having none of that. She glanced at the clock. 'Three hours...' She got out of bed and choose to step out onto her private balcony, ignoring the biting cold wind on her bare arms and legs. Leaning against the railing, she looked up at the night sky, the stars and moon so much brighter than they were in the city.
"Now that you stand at death's door, was it worth it, Rin, to challenge me?"
Rin trembled, her hand resting at the spot where the fatal wound occurred. There was zero trace of it... but that didn't matter, she could feel it... When he pierced her skin, her lungs, breaking her rib cage as the hand went clean through her and she was powerless against it all. She could only take the hit and die. She gripped the metal railing until her knuckles turned white. She wouldn't cry.
"Its over now. You can see your mother again."
'I kind of did, didn't I?' The woman thought, recalling the dream she had before she woke. 'Was it a dream? Or was I caught in the middle...?' Her mother made it seem that way... Her smile was the same, if it was real, and her laugh... her embrace... It had to be real. Rin blinked back the tears in the her eyes. She cried enough with her father. She wouldn't do it again. She had to be strong, it was not an option. She wouldn't cry.
"But... you have someone waiting for you. And my, my, isn't he handsome?"
The woman let out a sadden laugh, she had been so worried about what her mother would think about her daiyoukai escapades... But her mother wouldn't care as long as she was safe and happy. The road to safety was bumpy but she believed she finally got there, at least for the moment. Happiness was far more complicated than that, and she frowned, sniffling, thinking it was probably not meant for her. She wouldn't cry.
"Sesshomaru!" She repeated with a giggle, nearly bouncing with excitement. His name was a bit complicated but she was able to say it! She could say anything! The woman suddenly gasped, seeing his eyes soften and lips curl into a small but honest smile. It was completely captivating, and she most definitely wanted to see him do that again, and again. "I like your smile." His brows raised in shock, and she just realized... "Did I just say that aloud?"
Something in that memory finally broke her resolve, a shaky sigh came with start of her tears. She shook her head, rubbing them away but they kept coming. It was all too much. The past two days was far too much. The cuddling, the kissing, the fleeing, the bleeding, the dying, the ghost, the resurrection, her voice, his smile, the feelings she couldn't restrain, the feelings that may or may not be mutual, and the fear of what could or could not happen next drove her to the ground. Rin sobbed as she hugged herself tightly, shivering again as the wind blew once more.
Was it wrong to need him again so soon? Would it annoy him? "Sesshomaru..." She called, a whisper she didn't expect much from. There was no way he could hear it over the howling wind. It was a half-hearted attempt... she didn't want to be a bother again...
But he came, so quickly, his arms around her in that way that just seemed right... She turned to face him and buried her head in chest, not wanting him to see her tear-streaked face, but he wouldn't allow it, lifting her chin and gave two short licks to clean her tears, causing her to laugh. "You are cold. Come." Rin let him pull her back into her bedroom and they both cuddled together like the night before, though this time there was something different about it...
She ignored the feeling for now, her restless mind focusing on Sesshomaru's soft breathing as it lulled her to sleep.
-:-
"There was more than enough blood to confirm she died. Sesshomaru came and took the girl's body." Tsubaki started, crossing her arms over her chest. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
The hanyou stared at the dark miko in front of her. She liked to believe she was in control in their relationship, but that could not be any further from the truth. "No, I can't fathom what the inuyoukai could want with a corpse... Though she was quite lovely."
Tsubaki scowled at him, "Don't be so depraved."
Naraku shrugged, "I suggested nothing."
"You know something about all this and I want to know what is going on. Why did Ryūkotsusei tear up that shrine? What was he after?"
"Hmm, sounds like questions for the dragon, not I."
"Had he not vanished afterward, I certainly would be interrogating him and not wasting my time with you. I know you all met recently at the Shichinintai mansion. Then I heard you had a private chat with Sesshomaru the morning after, then hours later, all this transpires. What were all you talking about it, hm?"
"Food for our people, land for our people, the rights of our people... Such interesting things I have heard recently about the Slayers and mikos abusing their power... Would you know anything about that?" The hanyou countered, leaning back into his leather chair.
The dark miko glared, "Sounds like exaggerations, and completely off-topic."
"It is what concerns me. What Sesshomaru does with a human woman, and what Ryūkotsusei does to a miko shrine? No, those things are not my concern."
"It will when it leads back to you." Tsubaki glowered, "Don't think you'll be safe."
"Are you threatening me, Tsubaki?" Naraku chuckled, "I'm sure the humans would love to hear how for the past five decades the mikos meant to protect them from youkai... have been led by a dark, corrupted miko using youaki blood for her vanity, of all things."
"Go to hell, Naraku!" Tsubaki sneered, slamming the door on her way out, ignoring the laughs of the dark hanyou.
End of Chapter 10
A/N #2: It's not a Sess/Rin fic if she doesn't die. :P The chapter was suppose to end at her death in a cliffhanger but then I decided to change that and keep writing, to not be so cruel... Though ya'll are going to want to kill me for what I have planned for the next chapter, mayybee.
I don't actually know if Rin literally could not speak before being revived or not in the manga/anime. It could have been emotional, more likely really, but, whatever, I'm running with it!
So Saiten was the youkai dude in the fourth movie that approached Sesshomaru with a chick, who I'll also probably include somewhere, about killing the gods cause it was Toga's last wish and whatever. In case anyone was wondering!
I'm little worried I'm going to end up making their relationship move too fast, as the reader in me wants them to bang already while the writer in me thinks they need to suffer a bit more. Though judging by the reviews, sounds like ya'll want them to bang already too, LOL.
Since I won't have internet for the rest of the night and all day tomorrow, I posted this up now quickly while I can. I can't respond to every review but THANK YOU for reviewing and for your feedback, its much appreciated! And thanks to those you follow and fav as well! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!