a/n: Short and sweet this time around. More substantial author's note at the end.
DISCLAIMER: As always, I do not own Inuyasha.
SONG OF THE WEST
an Inuyasha fanfic
xxiii.
Much to the pleasure of Sesshōmaru's nerves, the streets immediately surrounding the inn were quiet, especially in comparison to the outskirts of the city. The caravansary of wealthy tourists had long since halted for the night, and the city streets were quiet, save for the occasional drunken straggler or stray animal picking at scraps. In the inn itself, servants milled about here and there in the wooden hallways fetching late night items for their masters, who were presumably snug in their beds or getting drunk behind the privacy of the decorated fusuma.
Rin's petite hand was still warm in his grasp when they reached the long hallway their rooms were in, her fingers wriggling every now and then with each step they took. There had been no sign of any other strange figures lurking around corners since they departed the restaurant, but he was unwilling to let his guard down. The open streets were risky, but not anything he couldn't handle, especially in comparison to the tight spaces of the inn. Still, if it came down to violence, there was Rin and her freshly healed ankle to consider.
"Um, Lord Sesshōmaru?" Rin spoke up. "My room is right here."
Behind him, the sound of the young woman's footsteps ceased, and she slipped her hand from his grasp. Sesshōmaru stopped walking to face her.
She was bowing now, a few strands of dark hair slipping from her braid. Sesshōmaru's brows raised.
"Tonight was fun," she started, her voice soft and clear. "I haven't really experienced anything like this since I was a kid, so thank you for coming with me."
Technically, it hadn't been his choice. With their crowded atmospheres, festivals had never been something he enjoyed, a fact that remained constant even after their night out. However, seeing as there had been plenty of reminders of her lost brother all around her, an incredibly small, soft part of him was content that he could somewhat alleviate her sadness.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Rin announced suddenly, reaching to fumble through the small silk bag she had stored her items in. "I bought this while you weren't looking. When we first met, you always smelled like this, so I figured you'd like it."
She held up the object for him to inspect. It was a small cloth bag, colored magenta and ornately decorated with gold trim. It gave off a discordant harmony of both sweet and sour notes, along with a deep woodsy and musky smell.
An aloeswood-scented pouch. He liked aloeswood. Sesshōmaru hadn't realized she paid that much attention to a small detail.
"Thank you," Sesshōmaru took it from her as he spoke, some surprise evident in his tone.
Rin, pleased by her adept gift buying skills, gave him another distracting smile. Some short silence, and then:
"I guess I'll get some sleep before Lord Tōga comes back," she said. "Goodnight 'til then."
She floated off into her room, the ginger lily scent from her hair trailing after her.
He should have informed her that he would be accompanying her for the remainder of the night, but actions were always much simpler than words. When he returned to his room and slid open the flower-covered fusuma on the left side, she was sitting at her low table unbraiding her hair, the golden whistle he had bought her dangling absentmindedly from her mouth. She was rightfully surprised when she saw him again.
"…Our rooms are connected?"
"Yes," Sesshōmaru said simply.
Well, he certainly could not have opened the fusuma for his own pleasure, Rin figured. Lord Tōga had told him to keep an eye on her, but this just seemed a bit excessive. Unless…
"Is something wrong?"
"We were being followed during the festival," Sesshōmaru admitted coolly, taking a seat as his own table. "Thus—"
Rather dramatically, Rin jumped from her seat on the floor, cutting him off.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"How come you didn't tell me before?"
"It wasn't necessary for you to know before."
"I wouldn't have asked to stay out so long if I had known," Rin said, a bit quieter.
Sesshōmaru huffed. Truthfully, if they hadn't stayed out and been intruded upon by the Katsushika sisters, he would have never known how serious the threat was.
The young woman seemed antsier now, twiddling her thumbs and glancing about the room. He almost regretted informing her.
"Calm down," he said. "My father told me to accompany you for a reason."
He was right. Sesshōmaru had saved her many times already—the first when he hadn't even intended to. She would be safe with him.
Rin released a tense breath and, surprising Sesshōmaru once more, crossed into his room to sight right next to him.
"So, what now?" She asked.
"We wait."
Her lithe fingers began to tap anxiously against the wooden table.
"Rin."
"Yes, Lord Sesshōmaru?"
"Go rest."
"I can't leave you awake all by yourself," Rin insisted vibrantly. "That would be rude."
But by the time the city bells rang for fourth watch, she had fallen asleep right next to him, her dark, fragrant hair splayed across the tabletop and the floor and into his lap. He would've been more annoyed by this if he hadn't seen how peaceful she looked. Unlike the village, the expression on her face was utterly relaxed, perhaps owing to a long afternoon and night of traversing Hyōkusui's winding streets. With her impossibly long lashes and now-healthier countenance, she was almost…
Sesshōmaru put a halt to that train of thought before his own mind could betray him and stood to take a turn about the room, glancing away from the sleeping girl.
The city was at rest. One could hear the gentle thrum of the cicadas now that the raucous commoners and pleasure-seeking tourists had cleared the streets. From the courtyard the room overlooked, Sesshōmaru heard the echo of wooden footsteps against smooth stone and the low voices of two old maids.
"Where's your cousin? I thought she said she would drink with us tonight."
"Still held up at the castle, I guess."
Their voices faded away as they entered the building again. Sesshōmaru withheld an exasperated sigh as not to wake Rin. Katsushika's parties were always notable for their length, btu this was excessive. At least it wasn't him who had to suffer under the weight of his great-uncle's drunken idiocy.
A heavy pot fell against the floor outside, its loud shatter reverberating through the courtyard and up to the second floor of the inn. Rin, in her slumber, had not noticed anything.
Sesshōmaru rolled his eyes. More silly maids, shattering expensive items. A typical occurrence. But instead of any panicked whispers or hurried attempts to push the wreckage out of sight before a higher up appeared, there was…silence.
The young man glanced out the open window again. The broken pieces of pottery sat inconspicuously on the ground immediately before the threshold of a doorless building of the inn, with a few drops of blood surrounding them. The maids were gone.
The pieces were jagged enough to cause more than a few drops of blood if someone had reached to grab it. And, with the major cut it would cause, it would be hard to flee the scene. The blood splatter seemed control almost, as if it had been done purposefully.
He didn't quite enjoy the thought of that.
"Rin," Sesshōmaru called.
In her sleep, she merely sighed and turned away from the sound of his voice. With great urgency, Sesshōmaru crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her torso to pull her from the ground. Rin startled awake at the sudden movement but calmed when she saw Sesshōmaru's face.
"What's wrong?" Rin asked, her voice still half-sleepy.
Sesshōmaru set her on her feet. "We're leaving."
"But what about Lord Tōga?"
"He'll join us later. Come."
Sesshōmaru grabbed her forearm and pulled her towards the shoji. Rin, after quickly remembering to grab her satchel, allowed herself to be gently but swiftly pulled along.
The first thing Rin noticed was that the rest of the building was quieter than it was earlier. Yes, it was now the middle of the night, but there should've been some noise – late night conversations, servants moving about, and the like. But as the pair walked swiftly through the long halls, aside from the insects outside, all that could be heard was their footsteps.
The stables were equally as unmanned when they arrived. This should not have been the case, as there were many prized horses lined up in various stalls that had been acquired during the festival. Hikari and Sesshōmaru's horse stood dutifully at the end of the stall, swatting mosquitoes away with their tails.
By now, Rin required no help mounting her horse, a point she took great pride in. Once she had finished securing her bag to the saddle, she placed her foot in the stirrup to hoist herself onto Hikari.
She could see over the wall now, into the stall on Hikari's other side. There on the floor of the closed stall slightly obscured by horse feed were the motionless and pallid legs of a young men. His torso and face were hidden beneath old sackcloth, and his legs were positioned at too odd of an angle to be comfortable for any person with blood still flowing from their veins.
Eyes wide, Rin let her foot slip from the stirrup. Sesshōmaru caught her before she could fall to the ground.
Rin pointed towards the other stall, her hand trembling slightly. "The stableboy..."
Quick footsteps and tense, disgruntled mumbles cut her off.
"You were supposed to be keeping an eye on him."
"He couldn't have gotten that far."
Sesshōmaru's eyes hardened. "Get on the horse."
Rin glanced in the direction of the other stall again. "But-"
The footsteps came around the corner. The voices, belonging to two men dressed in normal servants' garb with out-of-place light mail armor, stopped once they saw Sesshōmaru standing at the other side of the stables.
"Now," Sesshōmaru repeated to her firmly, drawing his sword.
Rin hoisted herself back up on Hikari, trying to ignore the dead stableboy in the other stall. Those men didn't seem to have any weapons on them, Rin thought to herself. Could they have killed him?
One man bowed affectedly. "My Lord, leaving at such a late hour? If you'd like, we can serve you tea in the garden as you wait for the stableboy to return."
Sesshōmaru's eyes narrowed. Rin might've been convinced by the man's tone if not for his armor and the fact that the stableboy they were referring to was lying motionless in the adjacent stall.
The other man rushed forward, throwing a diamond-shaped object before him. Sesshōmaru was quick enough to dodge these, but they would have come dangerously close to hitting Rin had she been sitting slightly further back in her saddle. The star-like objects embedded themselves into the wall with a quiet thud.
In one swift motion, Sesshōmaru ran his sword through the man's chest. But the other man who had offered them tea had sidled around that gory scene and had raised his medium-sized blade to strike.
"Lord Sesshōmaru!" Rin warned, closing her eyes. Something warm and wet splattered on her yukata, something heavy fell against the ground. Then, there was silence.
Two warm arms came around her torso, causing her to jump. When she opened her eyes, the other fake servant was on the ground with a gash in his neck, as was Sesshōmaru's horse, who had fallen to the man's blade. Sesshōmaru was sitting behind her now, arms encircling her to take Hikari's reins. He spurred Hikari to move, and without another word, the two young people hurried through the dark city streets.
a/n: This chapter is under 2000 words because even though I knew exactly what was supposed to happen, I had no idea how to write it! Plus, I'm on campus again and have actual schoolwork to do again…RIP. I decided it's better to just post it and move on as opposed to holding on to it forever.
Strap yourselves in—this story only gets bumpier from here on out. :^)