EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 68: The usurper

.

.

"There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

Sesshoumaru remained motionless as she shimmied through the little tunnel to get to him. The ledge he was sitting on was curtained by the waterfall, rendering him invisible to anyone in the large cave below. Octavia sat beside him and dangled her feet over the edge. Peering sideways, she studied his vacant expression, which hadn't changed in days. Droplets of water clung to his skin and clothes, reminding her of diamonds.

"Haru was asking after you," she said. "He wanted to know how you're doing."

No response.

"Kanetsugu took a couple of volunteers to scope out the ruins around the stronghold. He said they were going to look for supplies and bury the dead. I made him promise not to do anything stupid."

Sesshoumaru's eyes were devoid of all light. Sighing, she reached out to touch his shoulder, but stopped herself at the last minute. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hid her face, trying not to think about the possibility of Kanetsugu stumbling across Rin's corpse. Tears pricked her eyes and she held her breath, refusing to let them escape. All she did was cry these days. So much for being all-powerful.

"My selfishness knows no bounds," Sesshoumaru uttered, startling her.

She looked up and saw that his expression hadn't altered. "You're not selfish."

"I am," he said. "Kanetsugu was right. It is my fault. I prioritised my own wants over the needs of others, and they paid for it with their lives. I let them down. I let Rin down . . . What I did was shameful. I don't deserve your kindness. Or anyone else's, for that matter."

"Don't say that. You didn't know. And even if you had, there wasn't anything you could've done."

"I'm not looking for absolution. Instead of wasting your energy on me, why don't you go and do something more productive with your time, since you clearly have so much of it?"

Her nails dug into her palms. "I'm not leaving," she said. "This is more my fault than yours. I should've made you hate me before I left. Then you wouldn't have followed me. You obviously regret it. Which is fine. I don't mind if you blame me for what happened, but I meant what I said. I'm not going anywhere. If you want to get rid of me, you'll have to throw me from this ledge."

He met her gaze. "You think I regret going after you?"

"I'd be more surprised if you didn't. Everything would have still gone to shit, but at least you would've been there to make sure everyone got out."

He scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course I don't regret it. You're a valuable asset. I need you by my side if I'm to dispose of this usurper. And . . ."

"And what?"

"You're important to me," he finished. "I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

Her breath caught in her throat. "But now you have a new reason to hate yourself," she whispered.

"As is the way of life."

Her eyes welled up again as she reached out to clasp his hand. The water in his lashes sparkled, and she realised why he'd chosen to sit in this particular spot, with the waterfall misting him like a houseplant. Shuffling closer, she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. He shuddered once, before leaning into the touch. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the moisture on his cheeks wasn't entirely from the waterfall.

"I never told her," he murmured, keeping his eyes closed.

"What?"

"How much she meant to me."

Octavia squeezed his hand and said, "She knows. And she loves you, too."

He opened his eyes and gazed into hers. Her pulse quickened when he lifted the hand that wasn't clasped in hers and used it to cradle her nape. Pulling her face into his neck, he used the new vantage point to rest his chin on top of her head. "Stay with me," he said.

She laid her hands flat against his chest and inhaled his calming scent. "Always."

His arms settled around her, enveloping her in their warmth, and he buried his face in her hair. She could feel his heart beating beneath her palms, as loud and fast as the waterfall, whilst he whispered her name over and over like a litany.

.

.

Rin opened her eyes to darkness. Someone had put a bag over her head. That wasn't very nice of them, she thought, until her memory of what had happened before she'd lost consciousness returned. Her hands trembled as she remembered what she'd done to the intruder. She could feel his blood flaking between her fingers, but she couldn't see beyond the darkness of the bag.

She heard voices. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but they sounded angry. Her heart rate increased when she felt something sharp dig into her back, before the bag was forcibly removed. The sunlight blinded her, prompting her to squint and shy away from it. When her eyes had finished adjusting to the light, she took in the details of her surroundings. She was in the Great Hall, wrists bound and on her knees, with the tip of a knife positioned at the base of her spine. The youkai that was holding the knife didn't react as she tried to wriggle away from it. She stopped struggling and flinched when she felt it press deeper, poking a hole in her kosode.

"So, she's awake, is she? That was faster than I expected."

Her eyes shifted to the dais, which was occupied by a grotesque beast with a lizard's head. She watched on in terror as the beast rose from its seat and stalked towards her. Standing at its full height, it was at least twice the size of an average-sized man, and its skin was covered in dark grey scales. The curved horns added at least another two feet, and its thick mane was eggshell white, contrasting against its crimson eyes. Rin shivered and looked away. Demons didn't normally scare her, but there was something different about this one.

The beast crouched in front of her and lifted her chin with a single talon. It was even more terrifying up close. Holding her breath, she forced herself to meet its unsettling gaze.

"You're Sesshoumaru's human ward. What's your name?"

"Rin," she said in a shaky voice.

"I see. What a pretty name." The beast's jaws curled upwards into what she assumed was a sneer. "I am Tsunayoshi, Son of Ryukotsusei. The stronghold is mine now, which makes me the new Lord of the Western Lands. Therefore, you will address me as 'my lord'."

"Where is Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"I was planning on asking you that. I thought he would have made contact by now. The shadows led me to believe that he'd only be gone for a short while, but it's been days since we stormed the castle, and he has yet to resurface."

Days? Had she really been out that long?

"Well?" he probed. "Tell me what you know, and I'll see to it that you're rewarded."

"I didn't even know he'd left," she answered. "I have no idea where he is now."

The usurper's face fell. "Is that so? How disappointing."

He released her chin and rose to his feet, looming over her like a giant. Rin kept her head low as she watched him pace about the room. His clawed feet scraped against the floor, leaving scratches in their wake. Her eyes widened when she noticed the huge tail poking out of his kimono, which lashed from side to side like a whip.

"What happened to my friends?" she asked.

"You'll have to be more specific," Tsunayoshi replied, ceasing his pacing. "I only kept the ones that I deemed most valuable alive. Like you, for instance. You'd be no use to me dead."

Her teeth worried her bottom lip. "Why? What do you want from me?"

"You're an incentive. Without you and your companions, Sesshoumaru would never give a hanyou like me the time of day."

"You're a hanyou?"

"I am. Why? Do I not look like one?"

Rin found herself comparing him to Inuyasha. Despite Inuyasha's gruff exterior, he had a gentle heart. He didn't always let it show, but when he was with Kagome, his eyes lit up and the brightness of his smile rivalled even the sun. Tsunayoshi had none of those things.

"Not really," she replied.

He smiled, flashing rows of razor-sharp teeth. "Flattery will get you nowhere with me, girl."

She swallowed.

Tsunayoshi locked eyes with one of his men and said, "Bring the other one in."

The youkai in question marched over to the heavy double doors and opened them with ease. Rin craned her head sideways and saw another youkai dragging along a small creature with a bag on its head. She winced as the poor thing was kicked onto the floor, where it landed on its face. The creature groaned in pain whilst Tsunayoshi's men all roared with laughter.

Her heart all but stopped beating when Tsunayoshi walked forwards and ripped the bag off of the creature's head, revealing a very bruised and battered Master Jaken. His eyes widened in horror when he saw her kneeling beside him with her hands and feet similarly bound.

Tsunayoshi tilted his monstrous head to the side and smiled. "So, you do know each other. Excellent." He crouched before Master Jaken and wrapped his fingers around the imp's throat. "Perhaps you will feel more inclined to give me the information that I seek. Those are some nasty wounds you have there. Tell me where Sesshoumaru is and I'll call for a healer."

"I keep t-telling you, I don't know," Master Jaken wheezed.

Tsunayoshi released his neck and sighed. "Very well. Perhaps this will help jog your memory."

As soon as the words left his jaws, the youkai behind Rin yanked her against his chest and pointed the knife at her heart. Master Jaken gasped and tried to crawl towards her, but Tsunayoshi grabbed the back of his head and forced it down, bashing his face against the hard floor.

"Refuse me again and she dies."

The imp's eyes shone as he peered up at her. It wasn't fair. He obviously didn't know where Lord Sesshoumaru was, either, so what was the usurper trying to prove by torturing him?

When she vocalised the thought, Tsunayoshi just laughed. "What he does and doesn't know is irrelevant. He is the only one aside from Sesshoumaru who knows how to awaken the Nintoujou's powers." Rin and Master Jaken both gasped as one of Tsunayoshi's men walked down from the dais carrying the staff. Tsunayoshi took it and stared at the two wooden heads. "According to legend, the Nintoujou has the ability to locate whatever its wielder wishes. As much as I'd like to kill you, imp, I need you to find Sesshoumaru for me. If you agree, the girl will live."

Master Jaken trembled. "You're mistaken," he squeaked. "The staff has already served its p-purpose. It was designed to pinpoint the location of Sesshoumaru-sama's father's tomb, where he'd hidden the Tessaiga. It took us y-years to find it, even with that stupid riddle."

"I'm afraid you're the one who is mistaken," replied the usurper. "The staff existed long before Touga was even born."

"Why do you want to find Sesshoumaru-sama so badly?" Rin asked. "What did he do to warrant so much hatred?"

Tsunayoshi's expression blackened. "He's the reason that I spent my life in exile. His father tried to murder my mother because he believed she posed a threat to his eldest son. When my father refused to hand her over, Touga sealed him to a cliff. Without my father's protection, my mother and what remained of our clan had no choice but to leave the Western Lands in order to escape Touga's clutches. She died giving birth to me, so I was raised by the soldiers. This necklace is all I have left of her."

He reached into his robes and pulled out a gold locket with a diamond at its centre.

"But none of that was Sesshoumaru-sama's fault," Rin said. "It was his father who did all that stuff, not him."

"And yet he is far from innocent. I will not rest until justice has been done."

He waved his hand, encouraging the youkai that was holding the knife to slice open her kimono and push the tip into her flesh. Rin clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, wondering if she'd be reunited with her parents and brothers, or if that was just a lie that people told themselves to feel better about dying. A thick bead of blood formed where the knife had pricked her and rolled down her chest.

Master Jaken thrashed in Tsunayoshi's hold, begging him to stop. "I'll do it!" he screamed. "I'll find him for you! Just please don't hurt her! Please . . ."

The usurper grinned when he saw the tears streaming down the imp's swollen face. "Good choice, imp."

Rin met Master Jaken's gaze and shook her head, but it was too late. The youkai behind her lowered the knife and took a couple of steps backwards. Rin wrapped her arms around herself protectively, hiding the tear in her kimono, and looked Tsunayoshi dead in the eye. The usurper blinked in surprise, before narrowing his eyes and smirking at her.

"Show them to their new living quarters," he told his men. "The imp will need his rest if he's to summon the full power of the Nintoujou tomorrow. As for the girl . . . Have her washed and brought to the dining room at sundown. I would very much like to hear how she caught the attention of a human-hating Daiyoukai like Sesshoumaru."

.

.