Author's Corner

Sorry it's been so long since the last update. I had an exam and a pile of assignments to hand in. Thank you so much for all the feedback! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story. I hope you like the latest chapter! Don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 12: The full picture

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Sesshoumaru took a stroll through the gardens, sticking to the shadows to evade the dawn for as long as he could.

He followed the trail along the stream and stopped on the incline of a curved bridge. A shoal of carp had congregated in the water below, swimming against the current. They reminded him of one of his father's stories about a waterfall called the Dragon Gate. According to the tale, if a carp could swim up the Yellow River and leap over the waterfall, it would be transformed into a dragon. Were all carp born knowing they had the potential for greatness? If so, it seemed cruel when so many would never achieve it.

It was even crueller when he considered the choice every carp had to make – risk death by making the perilous journey to the Dragon Gate, or live as a coward for not daring to try.

You're not a hero. You're just a coward.

Her words were a spear through his heart. He should never have brought her here. Was it too late to return her to the miko? Or better yet, was there a way to send her back to where she came from? Her homeland was the one thing she had little to say about. Whenever Rin asked her about it, she always dodged the question. She had told Totosai that she came from a place called Tokyo, and she'd told Cyril that her parents had disappeared when she was a child. He recalled Rin saying that she and the miko shared a bloodline, but that was all he knew.

The dawn was now impossible to avoid. Sunshine sifted through the branches above Sesshoumaru and blanketed him in yellow light. As he meandered across the bridge, he realised that he could see the engawa that was attached to his mother's old quarters. His jaw tensed as a figure appeared on the threshold of the engawa.

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Octavia walked out onto the engawa to stretch. After that was done, she slouched against the bannister and rested her head in her hands. A yawn crawled out of her mouth. Her wound had kept her awake for most of the night. She'd managed to clean and dress it using what she had in her room, but without anything to numb the pain, it had been a long and unpleasant night. She was still reeling from her fight with Sesshoumaru.

You will never belong here.

The very object of her thoughts appeared in her peripheral vision. Sesshoumaru stood in the middle of a bridge arching across the stream. He was too far away for her to be certain, but she had a feeling that he was staring at her. The heat of his gaze was undeniable. She straightened her posture and frowned at him. Jaken had mentioned that Daiyoukai had heightened senses, so she hoped he could see her face across the distance.

Sesshoumaru wandered off without retaliating. Alight with fresh fury, Octavia flounced back inside and scrambled around in the drawers for as much paper as she could get her hands on. Whenever she felt out of control, her solution had always been to draw. It was a tactic she'd learned in therapy. Art was freeing. She didn't have to lie when she was creating. She could be herself.

She spread the paper out across the floor and flattened it with her elbows. Since all she had access to was ink, painting in colour wasn't an option. She picked up a calligraphy brush and got to work. A monstrous face began to take shape on the paper. Her brushstrokes were messy and chaotic, but they matched the atmosphere she was trying to create. She pressed down hard, splitting the hairs at the end of the brush, and continued filling in the assortment of gaps in the painting. A hideous snout, goblin ears, and teeth filed into points. The monster stared at her with a ravenous expression, jaws dripping with black. It was grotesque, but it was also beautiful.

"Fuck," she cursed. The eyes were all wrong. She moved to a different section of the paper and started over, the brush wrecked. Tossing it, she reached for a new one and repeated the process of capturing his likeness, only to mess up the eyes again. Keeping her cool, she scribbled them out and tried again. What was she missing? The shape was fine, and the pupils were long and thin, yet they looked flat, soulless, unconvincing, dead. She'd never cared this much about eyes before. Sighing, she pushed the papers away and chucked the brush into the ink tray, spraying droplets everywhere.

Feeling a lot like a caged tiger, Octavia stomped towards her bed. Her now clean jacket had been draped over the headboard to dry, whilst the contents of her pockets were strewn across the sheets. The three items that had travelled back in time with her were a packet of half-eaten bubble gum, a crumpled one thousand yen note, and a pair of vintage sunglasses. She popped a piece of gum into her mouth and put on her sunglasses.

An unexpected surge of magic made her freeze. She pushed her hair back with the sunglasses and tiptoed towards the chest of drawers beside her bed. The Reikon Blade glowed an ominous shade of purple in the dim light of the bottom drawer. Octavia blew air into the piece of gum to create a bubble before lifting the dagger out of the drawer.

It cannot inflict physical damage. It is useless in that regard. No matter how much it is sharpened, it will never pierce flesh.

Octavia pushed the dagger's tip into the centre of her palm. Instead of drawing blood, the point disappeared into her skin. When she removed it, her skin was untouched. There were tiny symbols carved into the edge of the handle. She recognised the Japanese character for 'soul', but even with her newfound understanding of the language, she couldn't read the rest of the kanji—if it even was kanji.

Preventing reincarnation is not all the dagger is capable of. It also has the ability to connect your mind to another's. Their thoughts, memories, and even dreams can become yours.

The dagger whispered something unintelligible. She held it next to her ear and listened. The words were scattered and indistinct.

A knock on the door yanked her back into reality. She dropped the dagger in shock and the whispers ceased as it hit the ground with a loud slam. Her heart thundered in her chest as she scooped it up and shoved it back into the drawer. "Who is it?" she asked, spitting her gum into the bin.

"It's Rin."

She laid a hand over her thrashing heart and exhaled.

"Are you okay, Octavia-san? I heard strange noises."

"I'm fine," she said. "The door's open, so come on in."

The door handle turned, and Rin strolled into the room in all her finery. She opened her mouth to speak, but the rolls of paper on the floor behind Octavia distracted her from whatever she was going to say. Octavia's stomach dropped. She had been so focused on hiding the dagger that she'd forgotten all about the drawings. "It's not what it looks like—"

"These are amazing," Rin said. She'd plonked herself on the floor to study them. "I didn't know you were an artist. Your style is so unique."

"You think so?"

Rin's eyes sparkled as she examined the first painting, which was the most gruesome of the bunch. "Sesshoumaru-sama is going to love these."

Octavia's anger reignited. "I'm not letting him see them."

"Why not?"

"His ego is big enough already."

Rin giggled. "You don't like him much, do you?"

"Can you blame me?"

"He's not so bad once you've gotten to know him. Why don't you give him a chance? He might surprise you."

"I doubt it."

Rin touched her hand. Her tender smile caught Octavia off guard. "I wouldn't think so highly of him if he hadn't earned my respect. There's more to him than you think. You've only seen one side of him. If you saw the full picture, I think you'd like him very much."

"You're wrong, Rin. I don't need to see the full picture to figure out that he's a douchebag."

"Aren't we all?"

"I'm not."

Rin's smile turned mischievous.

Octavia crossed her arms. "Well, that's just rude."

"Don't be like that, Octavia-san. It's why I like you. You're not afraid to tell people how you feel. If you disagree with someone, you tell them. I admire that."

"Save your flattery for someone who's not a douchebag."

Rin laughed. Octavia fought back a smile. It was nice to have company. She couldn't stop thinking about the smashed tub of rouge. Something had definitely knocked it over. But what? No one could enter the barrier without her permission. Except for Sesshoumaru. Had it been his shadow she'd seen?

"Can you paint me next?" asked Rin.

Octavia shrugged. "Sure."

"Yay! When it's done, can I show it to Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"If you want to. He'd probably say it was rubbish, though."

"I don't think he would. Jaken-sama once told me that he loves art."

Octavia's eyes widened. "He does?"

"Uh-huh. There's supposed to be an entire wing of the castle that's full of various pieces he's collected over the centuries. I'd love to see it."

"Me, too. Do you think it's true?"

"Judging by all the art on the walls, I don't think it's impossible."

Octavia glanced at the painting on the wall behind her bed and nodded in agreement. "We should go looking for it," she said. "If I ever get out of here, that is."

Rin beamed. "Good idea. We could ask Jaken-sama to show us where it is."

"What if he says no?"

"Oh, he won't." She winked. "I'm very persuasive."

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