WARNING: Animal death. Nothing explicit, just implied. Also, small hints of sexual violence.
A/N: Wow, you all had some pretty strong reactions to the last chapter!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairytale.
Edit: 1/13/21 - Grammar, spelling.
SONG OF THE WEST
an Inuyasha fanfic
vi.
The first storm of the summer arrived on swift wings, forcing the traveling pair into a country inn mere hours after their departure from Yobetsu. Sesshōmaru allowed himself to be impressed—despite its dated thatched roof and dull wooden floors, the rustic little hostelry stood firm against the damp gales of the tempest, fortified against any undesirable leaks or puddles. Lightning flashed brightly across the nighttime sky, enshrouding the candlelit room in pure white light every few minutes.
Of course, the innkeeper had been surprised and incredibly grateful to have such highly esteemed guests in his establishment. He promised them the best of every service he could provide: crops, meat, drink, lodgings, bedding, and anything else they so desired. Though his best was still far less than they were accustomed to, Lord Tokudaiji accepted these favors with regal gratitude, since he believed being under any roof with any manner of service was far better than unnecessarily braving a torrential downpour in a dark forest.
His son, however, viewed the set of circumstances as yet another irksome hindrance.
"How long do you suppose this will last?" Sesshōmaru asked impatiently.
Even in his upright position, he could barely see his father over the low, wooden table laden with empty plates and cups. The Western Imperial Lord had decided to take full advantage of this diversion, lying supine on one of the futons provided to them by the innkeeper, eyes closed and armor and swords off to the side.
"Perhaps another hour or so," he muttered drowsily. "Still, it'd be dangerous to let the horses ride on earth softened by this amount of rain. Get comfortable; it's best we wait until morning, either way."
Sesshōmaru scoffed. "They've experienced storms far worse than this in Inugawa."
"When you were a child, you were afraid of storms," Tōga mused. "Now, as a young man, you're eager to march straight into one."
The unsolicited nostalgic remark deserved the eye roll it received.
His father continued. "Relax! Between that damned explosion, the trial, and that boy's execution, neither of us got a wink of sleep. Tomorrow morning, we'll pay this kind innkeeper and resume our journey, dry and well-rested." He sighed, and rolled onto his side, eyes still shut. "Speaking of payment, I assume you're carrying your seal?"
He was. Sesshōmaru's brow quirked. "Where is yours?"
He had seen his father use his seal—a hefty, golden jitsuin with the mondokoro of the Tokudaiji clan engraved on it—at both the Ishida inn and the inn they had used during the trial. As nonchalant as the Western Lord could be at times, he was not one to misplace an object like that, nor did he lack the vigilance to have it stolen.
"I gave it to Rin before we left," Tōga said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
His age was beginning to show. It had to be.
Sesshōmaru gazed over the table in disbelief. "You're jesting," he stated, slightly acidic at the mere thought.
"What? Should I have just left her there with nothing after all that, so she'd be forced to continue that dangerous lifestyle?" Lord Tōga was more awake now, his voice low and testy.
"Whore or not, do you really think giving your seal to some village girl was the wiser decision?"
Tōga huffed. "Starveling girls like her aren't the type to waste money on frivolous things."
"Well, if she decides to be different, she can certainly afford to," his son replied wryly.
"I doubt one young girl is going to put a dent in our exchequer," Tōga rolled his eyes. "I'm glad I didn't tell you before. Hearing you fuss about this while fully awake would've been unbearable."
If you would've told me before, I wouldn't have left her in that damn village, Sesshōmaru thought darkly.
His father's apparent fondness for the girl was confounding at best, and uncomfortably precarious at worst. Giving her food was one thing; pampering her for a day, buying her new clothes, and providing her with a place to rest was strange, but not the most peculiar good deed he had witnessed from his father. Asking her to accompany them was far more irregular. But to entrust her, an ill-educated, plain village girl, with the golden seal of an Imperial Lord, a practical key to an endless amount of wealth and a lifetime of good service? It went far beyond the Western Lord's typical humanitarian routine, crossing the boundary between impersonal favor and intimate regard. With a bestowal like that, certainly he was planning on returning to retrieve it eventually…
Sesshōmaru's eyes narrowed, and he took a sip of his drink. What had occurred during their moments alone—before the explosion, at the lesser inn, while he was summoning Sai Hu—to warrant such an extreme declaration of favor?
Though they were few and far between, there had been whisperings of his father's infidelity—mostly Western court gossip, the indiscreet and oft-regretted talk amongst maidservants. For men of the nobility, possessing other lovers was a private yet acknowledged facet of the lifestyle. The unmarried Imperial Lord Ryūkotsusei certainly had a few, and Imperial Lord Katsushika shamelessly dabbled with dozens of courtesans even when his Lady had been alive. His father had never spoken so openly to him about any other women, though his numerous travels would have made such relations likely.
Had it not been for the occasionally procreative nature of adultery, Sesshōmaru could've easily allowed his father's business to remain his father's business. His status as an only child was rather unfortunate for his mother, but a rare blessing for a young man of his station. He would not have to split the Tokudaiji fortune with or care for unmarried sisters, as was the case for Imperial Lord Katsushika's brood; nor would there be another legal heir to the Western Lands to contend with, as his father might've if his uncles had been smart enough to stay alive. Nonetheless, it was not unheard of for male bastards to steal a title from the rightful successor, and even the wealthy husbands of illegitimate daughters sometimes styled themselves as potential substitutes.
Sesshōmaru was not interested in dealing with either situation.
"How did she seem when you left her?" Tōga inquired, softer and more contemplative. "Was all well?"
Sesshōmaru hadn't bothered to notice, nor was he in the mood to remember. He was the future Imperial Lord of a third of the country, not the caretaker to some underfed girl. "All was as it normally was for her, I suppose."
Tōga released a heavy breath but said nothing else about the matter. "Thank you for accompanying her, then. The third accomplice—the girl, Aina—decided to confess in the presence of Lord Yukinaga and I whilst you were away."
The Young Lord glanced at his father again, his eyes narrowing. "You sent me away on an errand while crucial information was shared?"
His father scoffed. "Oh, not without reason! Clever as you are, you can be rather bellicose at times. For example, if you had merely disabled that boy instead of lopping his arm off, we might've had access to even more vital intel."
Sesshōmaru bristled but refused to argue. "What did she say?"
"Everything I expected she would to try and save her own life. She confessed to her role in the scheme and her attempt to frame Rin, as well as her motivations. Apparently, whoever sent them on this missive promised them a great deal of wealth in return," Tōga explained.
A lord's life—especially two lords, and an Imperial Lord, at that—was of immeasurable worth when bartering with assassins. And while the bumbling trio had lacked the skill needed to fully execute such a plan without being caught, Aina had seemed clever enough to know the worth of a noble head. Whoever ordered the hit clearly had the money to back up their requests, and enough upfront to prove their authenticity.
Merely a few seconds after his peroration, Yukinaga returned to his seat at Tōga's left. The headsmen that had been selected to perform the task was truly an expert at his craft: he brought down his blade with magnificent ease and strength, working through bone and sinew with one clean stroke and avoiding the brutal hack job of an unskilled man.
The boy's blood poured quickly from his body, as if it were water. The crowd, a mixture of rich and poor, were divided between horrified screams and joyful exclamations. His death was merely another spectacle of the summer festival.
To Tōga, the whole situation was absurd. The people of the North never failed to amaze him with their frivolities. There was a myriad of less symbolic ways to punish him—a simple hanging, or something else private that didn't force a mother to watch her son die. They could've even sentenced him to penal labor, something that kept him alive long enough to provide them with more information. But the nobles of the city, eager for blood, were more interested in their lost wares than a lost life, and Yukinaga had ruled accordingly.
A guard walked swiftly up the stairs of the dais and to Lord Yukinaga's side. As he whispered, Yukinaga's expression perked up. He waved the guard away and leant over to speak to Tōga.
"The girl is confessing, Your Excellency," Yukinaga said, a proud simper on his face.
"What has she said?" Tōga responded.
"Not much. She's only admitted to playing a role in the crime. She requests an audience."
Yobetsu's jail was primarily underground, designed specifically to make its inhabitants hate every second spent there. In the summer it was dark and humid; in the winter, ice accumulated in the small windowsills at the top of each cell, making the building well-nigh insupportable. Around this time of year, its cells were filled with petty criminals, mostly pickpockets who had decided to use the annual summer festival as their hunting ground and poor citizens who the rich had deemed annoying. It was only the hotel waitress that had dared to break this status quo and contribute to something more dastardly.
Accordingly, her cell was at the very end of the narrow hallway, the most worn and the most protected. Two guards stood at attention at the gate of her cell, with a third, the interrogator, sitting on a stool on the other side of the bars. In his hands was a large wooden rod, covered in blood. Dry red spots of sizes were scattered about the packed dirt floor and stone walls.
As Yukinaga had ordered, Aina had been flogged until she had confessed, and horribly so. Sweat dripped from her stringy hair as she knelt on the ground, her eyes downcast and her breath heavy. Only a thin, rugged blanket had been given to her to protect her modesty, and the blood from her back had ruined that. She had gone from perfectly healthy to looking like death in a mere matter of hours.
One of the guards opened the gate for noble pair. Yukinaga dismissed the three, leaving them alone with Aina, who gazed up at them with tired eyes.
"You have Imperial Lord Tokudaiji's audience, girl," Lord Yukinaga boasted. "Speak your piece."
"Who was the leader of this whole plot?" Tōga asked. "You, or that boy who died in the alleyway?"
The girl hesitated, but still managed to croak out an answer. "It was me, Your Excellency. I only asked Kahei and Gōjō to assist me."
"What stopped you from delivering my meal to me directly that night?"
"I grew afraid. Even if it had worked, I didn't want anything to possibly be traced back to me," Aina shuddered as she spoke. "That girl from Kahei and Gōjō's village had just...appeared. And the kitchens were horribly busy that night, so I knew no one would notice if an outsider was serving food. At the time, I thought she was godsent."
Lord Tōga looked down at her with a cold, hard gaze. A murderer and a coward. "How much poison did you put in my food? And what were Kahei and Gōjō's roles in this?"
Aina gulped. "Lord Kusakabe gave me two bottles of poison—an entire one for you, and another to pour trace amounts into everyone else's food to create a distraction. Kahei and Gōjō planted and triggered the explosions."
At that, Lord Yukinaga decided to chime in. "Lord Kusakabe did give you the vial, then?"
Tōga's eyes narrowed, and his deep voice boomed. "If you mean to accuse another Lord of plotting my murder, speak proudly, if is the truth. He isn't here to punish you, and I have no time for sheepishness."
His authoritative tone bounced between the thick stone walls, resonating through the entire prison and shaking Aina to the core. She trembled like a leaf.
"Well...a messenger delivered it from him to me. Before the festival began."
"A servant then," Lord Yukinaga asked, his brown quirked.
Aina's brows furrowed. "I'm not too sure. Although the vials had Lord Kusakabe's seal on them, the man who gave them to me wasn't wearing the colors of the Kusakabe clan."
The men who had accompanied Lord Kusakabe to Yobetsu—servants, guards, and all—had been found dead along with him, their bodies brutalized and scattered about the Ishida Inns courtyard. Still, they had all been donning the colors that identified them as retainers of the Kusakabe clan.
There was a fourth accomplice, someone who had not been tried or even found yet.
Tōga spoke hastily, "What did this man look like? Was he Northern at all?"
"He had dark hair, dark eyes, and fair skin. And way he pronounced and used words...I recognized the dialect of some of the Eastern nobility the Inn occasionally receives."
The Eastern dialect, and possibly nobility at that. An unmistakable tie to Ryūkotsusei.
"Call the guards back in, Lord Yukinaga," Tōga said, turning to walk outside of the cell. "I'm finished with my interrogation."
Lord Yukinaga barked out orders.
"Wait!" Aina yelped, lunging forward towards Lord Tōga, who sidestepped her easily. "I confessed to everything I know of. What of my sentencing?"
Oh, yes. Lord Yukinaga had doomed her to the same execution as the farmer's boy—a public beheading before all her coworkers, friends, and family. It was always fascinating how death could loosen one's tongue.
He looked back at her beaten, bloody form. If she had gotten her way, Tōga considered, it would've been Rin receiving this punishment instead. She wouldn't have lasted three strokes.
But Gōjō's public execution had been rather distasteful, and Tōga didn't feel like giving the nobility the satisfaction of another bloodbath.
The Imperial Lord of the West released and heavy breath and exited the cell. Without turning back, he said, "Very well. Lord Yukinaga, she will be hung instead."
Tōga had mused on the testimony for hours after his departure from the city. It seemed his old friend had grown bolder and sloppier over the years. Lord Yukinaga inquired on whether he should send out a guard to find this mysterious fourth accomplice, but they both knew that the man was long gone by then.
"Returning to the Western Lands under the guise of laying this offense behind us is our best bet," Tōga said to his son. "Still, we have to stop by Asano castle to inquire about any border skirmishes. When we arrive, be kind to Lady Sara—her father just died, and she was once your betrothed, after all."
Sesshōmaru huffed. Past engagement or not, the two had barely spoken to each other, even when he had visited to pay his respects to the late Lord Asano a few weeks ago.
The thunder crackled once again, loud and unrelenting.
"Now, for the love of the gods, go to sleep," Tōga said sighing. "We have a long day of travel ahead of us."
Rin had been walking for days.
Or at least what felt like days. Truthfully, she didn't know how many hours had passed since she'd been forced out of the village—the only place in the world she had known for so long.
It had only been a matter of time. After all, despite how many of the men had used and abused her for sexual favors, the villagers had always made it clear that she was not welcome there. Even before, when she was still a child, she had understood the dirty looks she and her brother received upon entering the village, how they had ostracized them for fear that they would pass along a plague or whatever else they thought the gods had supposedly cursed them with. The execution of Gōjō and Kahei, something she had been tied to, only hastened the process.
Yes, she always knew she would have to leave eventually. But, albeit naively, she never would have thought that the villager would stoop to trying to kill her to get the job done. She shuddered to think of what fate might have befell her had the explosion never happened.
She had escaped with only a few small cuts and bruises on her legs and back, as well as a minor migraine from where a stone had collided with the back of her head. Thankfully, these injuries hadn't hindered her progress, allowing her to continue on the path that Tōga and Sesshōmaru had set out on the day before.
"Inu no Taisho-sama…" Rin sighed bitterly as she removed the medallion from the pocket on the inside of her yukata. The large objected was unharmed by the attack, twinkling brightly in the light and casting a gleam about the dirt path before her.
But the same could not be said of her mother's comb. Though still intact, it now possessed a small crack on the body of it. The only tangible connection to her past life was now damaged.
She felt brainless for not accepting Lord Tōga's offer of refuge when she had the chance, ignorant for believing that somehow her brother would stumble back into her life after all these years.
Why, he was a thief, after all! Perhaps he was coward as well, a voice from a distant memory filled her head. He must've realized that caring for you was more trouble than it's worth.
The villagers had never been kind before—why should they have been then, when she most needed it?
Rin knew the words weren't true. After all, her brother had promised to take her to the festival the next day. Still, she needed to find him, just to know the truth, to know what kept him from returning to the city for so long. But, outside of her village, she knew nothing about how to get from place to place; how was she going to find her brother?
She pressed the medallion between her palms. The Inu no Taisho was a legendary figure—she had seen how the villagers gazed at him with awe, how Lord Yukinaga and the other noblemen had scrambled to pay their respects throughout the trial and the execution. If anyone knew where to go and how to find a person, certainly it was him. Suddenly, the image of the dog's maw filled her with strength.
Now, how was she going to find him?
There was only a small chance that they were still anywhere near this area. And even if they were, they could easily outpace her: she was on foot, and they on horseback. Still, if there was even a small chance that she could catch up with them, she was going to take it, no matter how tired she felt or how raw the soles of her feet became.
Rin looked out at the sprawling landscape before her. Last night, there had been a storm that had dissipated before it could reach her, leaving the sunrise sky a fiery summer orange. Beyond the village, the packed dirt road was all vast valley, with only a few trees dotted here and there and no large forests in sight. She knew not how far it continued, or where it went. This strange feeling of newfound freedom would have been pleasant if not combined with her lack of a sense of direction.
In the distance she could hear the sound of rapidly approaching hooves, as well as the rickety wheels of a wooden cart.
"You're blocking the path!" A male voice cried out. "Move!"
Rin spun on her heel. Her and her brother had gone from city to city on the back of different wagons by bartering off the rest of their belongings. Couldn't that method work now?
She stood firm. Wildly, she waved her arms in the air, signaling for him to stop.
Not wanting to collide with her or risk getting his wagon stuck in the grass and dirt, the man had no choice but to halt. Rin could hear the loud thud of something in the back of the wagon.
The man was small and old, with a grey head of hear and a long, grey beard. Despite the annoyed expression on his face, his words weren't filled with malice.
"You know, when someone on a horse yells, 'Move,' it's typically not a jest," he said gruffly.
Rin inhaled deeply to summon her courage before speaking. "Um, what's the next city on this path?"
The old man blinked in confusion. "…Shinmaki?"
Shinmaki. She had heard the villagers mention it, albeit sparsely. If Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru were still on this route, surely they would've passed through.
"Could you take me there?" Rin asked eagerly. "Please?"
The old man let out an exhausted sigh and tightened his grip on the reins. "Listen, I have somewhere to be. That explosion in Yobetsu already made me lose days' worth of potential sales."
The medallion. Rin took the heavy thin gout of her pocket, allowing it to sway in front of the stranger's line of vision.
The old man's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "This is the Inu no Taisho's noble seal! How did you get this?"
"He gave it to me," Rin said simply.
The Imperial Lord of the West's credit was worth far more than whatever he would've made at the festival. Hastily, he turned to make room in the back of the wagon.
"Welp, get in then!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry the back isn't too clean right now."
Rin nodded and rushed to the back of the wagon.
"If you need anything, just shout!" The old man said. With a flip of the reins, they were off into the blood-orange horizon.
Half of the day passed before the old man dropped her off in the town.
She looked around. Shinmaki was only slightly larger than her old village, with busier pathways and more sophisticated structures. But soon enough, what looked like a storefront caught her eye. An elderly woman was wiping down the outward facing counter of his shop, while a few people sat nearby under a tree, quietly enjoying their midday meal.
While her stomach was jumping for joy, a sense of anxiety slowly overtook her. Quietly, she shuffled over to the counter. The old woman peered at her curiously but said nothing else.
Awkwardly, Rin started, "What do you have?"
"We have rice, of course, with vegetables. I don't serve meat this early in the day, but I can give you eggs, if you're willing to pay extra." The shopkeeper was straight-forward, with no hint of judgement in her tone.
"I'll have the rice and vegetables, then," Rin said. "And the eggs, too."
The woman looked at her incredulously but said no more, retreating further into her shop to prepare the food. Rin's mouth watered as she heard the low sizzle of the egg as if frying, the smell wafting along with the summer wind. Finally, after a few minutes, the woman returned to the counter, the bowl that she requested in her wrinkled hands.
It was truly a strange feeling, being in a new land where she was no longer known as the whore, the thief, or the cursed girl. For the first time in her life, she had managed to order something without hassle.
"Who's paying?" she said, looking past her. She must've assumed she was with someone.
Rin nodded, and quickly pulled out the medallion she had received from the Inu no Taisho.
The old woman nearly dropped the dish. The medallion glinted in the sunlight, letting her know that it was real.
"The Inu no Taisho's seal! What are you then—a maid? But that medallion—are you his woman, perhaps? You're young, but many lords have certainly dabbled with girls younger than you." The old woman was speaking fast, rattling off the possibilities. "Oh! Perhaps you're intimate with his son?"
Rin cringed at the familiarity with which she asked these questions. "No…"
The shopkeeper reached beneath the counter, brought forth a small inkwell and paper, and then motioned to it. Slowly, Rin watched her press the medallion into the ink and then onto the paper. The woman even wiped the ink from its face with a clean, white cloth before returning it to her.
"Funny," she said. "The Inu no Taisho and his son just passed through two days ago. In fact, he scared off a few delinquents that were bothering me."
Her ears perked up at that.
"Which way did he go?"
"Why, towards the west of course." The old woman leaned over the counter and pointed towards the horizon. "Follow this path over that mountain and continue straight. That's the way they went."
Rin looked in the direction she was pointed in. The mountain was large and covered with dense forest.
The shopkeeper blinked. "Surely you aren't planning to go out now. The sun will be setting soon. It's best to try for an inn and continue on in the morning. The dangers of traveling at night are too great, especially for a frail thing like you."
The woman was right. But Rin couldn't afford to wait any longer. Smiling, she thanked the woman for the food, and continued on her journey.
The storm quelled itself before the night was over, just as his father had predicted. That morning, when the horizon was still dark orange with the fury of the night prior, the duo paid the inn owner, mounted their horses, and set off on the next leg of their journey.
For the most part, the route taken was slightly off-road, tucked away neatly behind layers of leaves and tree trunks. This particular region of the North lacked any harsh inclines for the horses to maneuver through, allowing them to avoid any unwanted attention—friendly or hostile—that might come from the vulnerability of the valley pass.
The day went by smoothly—no arguments, no dry wit, no interruption. Towards the evening, the loud, low howl of a dog, followed by the sigh of an exhausted man, signaled that they had arrived at their destination.
"Finally," he grinned and prepared to dismount his horse. "Seiten!'
A single tent had been set up in the small clearing, well-hidden from the main road. Near it was a horse tethered to a nearby tree and a man who sat re-stringing his bow. He looked up when he heard them coming.
Three large dogs rushed towards the pair. Two of them, Tai and Shui, soon overtook his father, nearly knocking him to the ground in excitement. Tōga accepted this with a warm mirth.
Yua, the last dog, smaller but still hefty, looked up at him with expectant eyes and a wagging tail.
Dismounting his horse as well, Sesshōmaru gave her a brief pat on the head before moving to tether his horse.
Seiten stood and bowed to show his respect. "Imperial Lord."
"How has everything been?" Tōga asked. "I see they haven't driven you mad."
"Well," he started. "Though I was here…longer than expected." He gave a nod of respect to Sesshōmaru as well, who returned it.
"We have a long story to explain our absence," Tōga said. "There's been a change of plans. We'll be traveling to Asano castle instead."
Seiten blinked in confusion. "Tonight?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Sesshōmaru repeated flatly, turning to look at the pair.
"What's the rush? An anxious arrival will draw even more attention to our already unexpected one," Tōga replied.
Seiten glanced at Sesshōmaru, lost. Sesshōmaru frowned.
"Besides," the Imperial Lord continued, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed at his horse's hoof, "we'll have to make another stop when we reach the city—Sai Hu's shoe is loose."
"Perhaps it is the horse that needs to be replaced, not the shoe," Sesshōmaru said wryly.
Sai Hu huffed. Tōga's eyes shot towards him, offended.
"Sai Hu is a strong horse. He's been with me through every expedition and every battle—and I have yet to lose, mind you," he stated, running his fingers through Sai Hu's shiny black mane. "I'd be hard-pressed to find another as loyal as him."
"No sane man would use a horse for that long," Sesshōmaru argued. "He'll probably drop dead at any moment."
Seiten chimed in. "It's useless. I've been trying to persuade him for ten years."
"I assure you both: Sai Hu is as healthy as I am," Tōga said. "Who knows? Perhaps he'll even outlive me."
The medallion was magic. It had to be.
When the Inu no Taisho had first bequeathed it to her, she had failed to fully grasp its significance. But it was the effect it had on strangers—the stuttering of the merchant, the wide-eyes of the shopkeeper, the clumsiness of the others she had showed it to as the hastened to fulfill her requests—that really left her in awe.
After leaving Shinmaki, she had hitched many more rides with various travelers or caravans until she finally made it to a fork in the path that would end her latest wagon ride.
Her feet and ankles ached from the travel, and her thighs and calves burned from overuse. The constant walking and decision to forgo sleep in favor of overnight travel had left her exhausted. When she had finally sat down to eat some leftovers from the city, she was unsure if she would be able to will herself up again.
Aside from the shopkeeper's helpful pointer, she had no idea where Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru would be. The people she had traveled with were either too awed or simply unable to help her in this regard. For all she knew, they could have strayed from the path long ago. But she didn't come this far only to give up hope now.
Rin released a soft sigh, breathing in the new air around her. It was morning again, and sunlight streamed gently through the forest canopy. The ground was wet with summer dew, cooling her legs as she sat against the base of the tree.
She had no idea how far she was from the village now. She wondered how it was like now that she was gone—if they had retrieved Gōjō and Kahei's bodies from Yobetsu for a proper burial, how the men were spending their time now that she was no longer there to entertain them, how the women felt now that their husbands had no other body to brutalize instead.
The quick rustle of the bushes disrupted her reverie.
Rin's core instinctually tightened, preparing her body for flight at the first possible sign of danger. As silly as it sounded, she had been so fueled by the desire to catch up with the two nobles that the threat of wildlife had never once occurred to her.
Another movement, more noise. Her breath hitched, if only for a second. Then, as if the universe meant to show her how silly she truly was, a rabbit burst forth from the dark-green underbrush, gazing at her with bright and curious eyes. She sighed, allowing her body to fall against the thick trunk of a nearby tree.
But, as always, this relaxation was short lived.
An arrow hissed past her, its sharp head embedding itself next to her ear and within the tree trunk. There was no time to be shocked—a fearsome beast, large and certainly far heavier than she, burst from the bushes that the rabbit had once taken shelter beneath. Angrily, it nipped at her feet, forcing her further against the tree.
Rin screamed.
"Yua!" A familiar disembodied low voiced called out from the distance.
Lo and behold, in the next minute, Sesshōmaru emerged from the shadows and leaves of the forest, what few bits of sunlight that streamed through the canopy of trees spottily reflecting from his long white hair and shrouding him in a glowy haze. Nothing had changed in him since they last saw each other—his appearance was still pristine and princely, and he still walked with an assured, high-born gait, as if he expected everything in the world to step aside for him. In his hand he held a bow far taller than even him, the long arrows peaking over his shoulder from around his back.
She had never been so happy to see someone in her life.
For Sesshōmaru, the opposite was true. Any concern he had for the safety of the stranger Yua was possibly attacking faded from his face when he realized that it was no stranger at all, but her, the village girl he had tried to leave behind, yet another obstacle.
His lips curled as he spoke, and his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"
She couldn't give an immediate response. The beast—or Yua, as Sesshōmaru had called it—was inspecting her, sniffing her everywhere—she switched back and forth between stopping the dog from invading some of her more private areas and licking her face.
There was more rustling in the distance, and the heavy crunch of boots in the grass.
The Inu no Taisho had arrived, summoned by the terrified scream and hoping his dog and his son didn't accidentally slaughter a person instead of an animal.
"Yua! Down." He spoke, his voice as hard as iron.
Yua obeyed, taking three large steps back to Sesshōmaru's side.
Lord Tōga assessed the scene, looking first at Rin, then at Sesshōmaru, and then at the long arrow lodged into the tree mere centimeters next to Rin's head. Swiftly, he moved to Rin's side, pulled the arrow out of the tree, and wordlessly tossed it towards his son. Without missing a beat, Sesshōmaru caught it and returned it to the yebira at his back.
"What are you doing so far from the village?" Tōga turned to her, surprised but not unkind. "Hell, how'd you get out here?"
"I changed my mind." Rin decided it would be best if she omitted how she came to that conclusion. She told him the details of her journey—mostly just walking and hitching a ride when she could with various travelers.
At that speed they were going and the breaks they had taken during the storm and the night before, it was simple to catch up with them. Finding their exact location, however, had been a matter of chance, incredible fortune on Rin's side and bad luck on Sesshōmaru's.
Lord Tōga readily expressed his joy. "We're glad to have you, then."
Their encampment hadn't been far from the clear patch of forest where they had found her. Another five-minute walk—infinitely kinder to her feet than the previous portion of her journey—led her to the other side of the valley where they had set up for the night prior. Ashes marked the area where a fire had once been. Surrounded this dark circle were three tatami mats. Three large horses—Sai Hu included—had been tethered to a nearby tree. With them was a man, brushing one horse and checking it for any ailments. Two dogs, larger than even Yua, were aggressively playing with each other in the grass.
It was less luxurious, more down-to-earth than what she had initially imagined. When merchants or the lesser aristocracy had set up camp outside Yobetsu, they did so in a grand display, with fine-fabric tents and a multitude of guards and servants at their disposals.
"Seiten!" Tōga called out.
The man turned away from the horses. He had a heavier build, all height and broad shoulders. His hair was short and dark, with sharp sideburns that framed his square face well. He was definitely far older than her and Sesshōmaru, though still a few years younger than the Inu no Taisho. At the sound of his name, his eyes twinkled with mirth as if he were about to make a jest, then filled with bewilderment upon seeing her.
He glanced at Sesshōmaru. Sesshōmaru grimaced.
"…my Lord?"
"This is Rin," he explained, nodding at the young woman in question.
Then, turning to Rin, he said. "Rin, this is Seiten from the Yanagisawa clan. He's been my right hand for over two decades."
Seiten gave her a slight bow out of respect, despite the wariness and mild confusion of his tone. "Good morning."
"Good morning," she replied softly.
"And those knuckleheads are Tai and Shui," he gestured towards the massive dogs off playing to the side. "And, of course, you've already met Yua."
Yua had left Sesshōmaru's side and was now eagerly running towards Tai and Shui.
Rin was led towards the tatami mats and told to sit. She obeyed.
"Are you hungry at all?" The Western Lord asked.
Rin's mind wandered back to the animal carcass at Sesshōmaru's back. She shook her head quickly.
Tōga held up a pouch and shook it. Liquid jostled around inside. "Water?"
She nodded and took the waterskin in her hands.
A large, furry white head suddenly rested itself on her lap, causing her to jolt. The dog named Yua was there, looking up at her with seemingly apologetic brown eyes.
"She's still young—still somewhat a pup," Tōga explained. "A bit rambunctious, but nothing to fear."
Yua was the largest 'puppy' that Rin had ever seen in her life. Still, she did look nicer now than she had in the forest, with her ears folded slightly backwards and her sparkling brown eyes. Rin relaxed, and slowly slipped from the pouch.
"I'm amazed, truly. First the inn, and now this," the man lauded deeply. "It seems as if the gods have blessed you with a superb sense of direction. Or, perhaps, a streak of good fortune."
Rin had never considered herself fortunate before. But, considering she could be far worse off, perhaps he was correct.
"What made you come after us?" He asked. "Did you find them then? The individual you were waiting for?"
She hesitated. The painful memories filled her head again—the mob, the rocks, the fire. It was all too…humiliated to tell him, especially after she had rejected his offer.
"I changed my mind," she said, wiping her mouth with her sleeves. "…perhaps, if he hasn't returned by now, there's no use in waiting any longer."
Partially true. Now that she was free, she realized that the painful familiarity of the village had left her stagnant for far too long. But with Sesshōmaru around, as well as this other unfamiliar man, she didn't want to make her request, at least not yet.
Tōga's light-hearted expression seemed to fall at this. He frowned and turned away.
Rin was asleep in no time, curled up on the ground with Yua—also asleep—politely providing herself as a makeshift pillow.
The three men merely watched her, each filled with a different emotion—Lord Tōga with fascination, Seiten with confusion, and Sesshōmaru with utter annoyance.
"Now," Seiten breathed, "I feel like this would be the perfect time to inform me of the events of the last few days."
Tōga turned away from the sleeping girl and towards his long-time companion. "The meeting with Lord Kusakabe went south. He and his men were found dead in the courtyard of the Ishida inn. Also, half of it exploded."
Seiten's eyes widened. "A planned hit, then? On both of you?"
"Perhaps. Two village boys and an inn maid were prosecuted, and hastily. I just gotten some decent information out of the maid before we left. It's most certainly connected to the Kusakabe's letter and Asano's sudden death."
"And here I thought these long conspiracies would be left behind with the last war," Seiten sighed and stared up into the sky. "Who's the girl?"
Tōga smiled. "She helped me survive the explosion."
"Barely," Sesshōmaru added, cynically. "You and her just happened to leave the room before it occurred."
"Still an extraordinary stroke of luck," Tōga defended his view. "You both owe her quite a lot. I might have been blown to bits had I never met her."
Seiten glanced at her again, hesitantly noting her sallow skin and bony physique. "Is she ill?"
Sesshōmaru huffed. "She's a starving village whore."
Rin seemed to stir at this, albeit slightly. Tōga glared at his rude son.
"Watch it," Tōga warned, "she may be able to help us. I'd like her to act as your maid while we're at Asano castle."
A maid? The thought of her being the maid of the Tokudaiji household was absurd. Surely Lady Tokudaiji, who took great pride in how she managed Inujima, would be insulted if she knew.
"I doubt she has an ounce of grace in her body," Sesshōmaru stated.
"Now, now, I'm not going to send her into battle without training," Tōga said. "I'll be sure to give her a few pointers on the way there. As long as you," he turned to Sesshōmaru this time, "can act properly around her, all will go well."
The sun was directly above them when she finally began to wake up, her face buried in Yua's soft fur in lieu of the ground or the itchy, straw mat she was accustomed to.
It was all real. Butterflies filled her stomach, and she exhaled a deep breath for some relief. She was really traveling with Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru, forever free of the horrors of abjection in the village.
"Good afternoon," Tōga bellowed from behind her.
Rin pushed her hair out of her face, pushed herself into a sitting position, and looked up into his face. Tōga knelt down to meet her.
"You crashed completely," he jested, reaching out to rub Yua's back. She rolled over, bearing her stomach. "It'd do you some good to sleep lightly while you're traveling with us."
Rin blushed and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry."
She looked around. Seiten was packing the remainder of his belongings onto his horse. Sesshōmaru, this time with Shui and Tai, had disappeared into the forest yet again.
"Are we leaving soon?"
"Yes," Tōga said. "We should arrive in Asagawa tomorrow evening or the morning after that."
Rin nodded. A day and a half of travel? She was just now able to wiggle her toes without feeling pain. But she knew that if she wanted to travel with them without being a burden, she would have to grow stronger and get used to things like this.
He offered her a hand. She took it, and they both stood.
"Rin?"
She hummed.
Lord Tōga smiled. "Would you mind doing us a small favor?"
A/N: Well, that's that for now~! Rin's finally with Sesshomaru and Lord Toga (for the foreseeable future). Hopefully, she fares well ;^)
I'd apologize for taking so long yet again, but at this point it's becoming redundant! I meant to have this done by Valentine's Day but got lazy, so that didn't happen. Then, Spring Break went by without me even touching this document. But it's here now, so I hope you enjoy it.
One more thing: how do you guys feel about these long chapters? Should I try to split them up or go with the flow? If I split them up into shorter increments, you all might get to read them faster (for example, I had the opening scene between Sesshomaru and the Inu no Taisho done all the way back in January-but again, strong emphasis on might). However, I feel like these long chapters seem to be more complete and to the point.
As always, be sure to like and leave a review!