Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Strength	By : djserani Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Sessh?maru/Rin > Sessh?maru/Rin Views: 5963 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Sesshomaru gripped the railing of the balcony and only through sheer force of will did he manage to avoid splintering the wood. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to keep the demon part of him under control. If let loose, he knew he would not be able to keep himself from shoving the shoji door aside and forgetting everything he'd held on to for the last several years.
Her smell had changed. He thought he might have noticed it when he picked her up, but he'd pushed it aside since he hadn't seen her for a while. But no, when she'd hugged him just a minute ago, it had gotten stronger. The fragrance of flower petals and something else was still there, but underneath it, he knew.
In demon terms, she was in heat. She was at her fertile time and it was going to make him even crazier than he had been feeling since he'd taken her back from the old miko. He didn't know how to handle it and that in itself was enough to make him want to walk very quickly to the other side of Japan - now.
He had never been bothered by another female's scent - human or demon - when they were fertile. Never had he even noticed, much to his mother's displeasure as she often had harassed him to find a mate and produce an heir. It was one of the reasons he had so studiously avoided this very castle.
If he allowed himself to sniff, he could still smell it, her room was right there. He spun on his heel and stalked the length of the balcony, trying to find a way to deal with this new problem. He could not send her anywhere. If he could smell it, the other demons in the castle and surrounding lands could if they got even remotely close to her.
And why not let them have her? InuYasha's taunting voice sounded in his head. Sesshomaru stopped dead.
"What the hell?" He said, out loud.
Why not let them have her? InuYasha's voice repeated. If you aren't going to take her to mate, why not allow her to choose another?
"They aren't good enough for her. And how did you get in my head?!" Sesshomaru growled. He really was going insane if he was talking to himself. In InuYasha's voice.
I'm your conscience. Get over it. Now, why not?
Sesshomaru stopped at the end of the balcony and stared at the mountains. YOU are my conscience? Sesshomaru laughed, a rusty, brittle sound, one that had very rarely ever left his throat.
His inner-InuYasha sighed. Okay, I'll say it once more. Yes, I am your conscience. Who better? I am your polar opposite. Now, why?
Sesshomaru blinked. Why, indeed? He paced back the other direction, his demon no longer pushing him to be let out, now that his mind was momentarily distracted.
Before you answer that, you should consider this carefully. You help no one by not being honest this time. He was starting to get used to hearing InuYasha's voice in his head, so it didn't annoy him so much. That should have bothered him more than it did.
To be honest with himself. He'd stopped right outside her door. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Her scent reached his nose once more and he sighed. Because I want her for myself.
* * *
Rin woke the next morning as she often did - early. She made her way into the bathing chamber to use the chamberpot she'd noticed yesterday. As she came back out to the main room, she was in a quandary. There was no way she could possibly dress herself in clean kimonos yet. She was loathe to ring the bell, however, in case Yuki was still asleep. She still had no idea how things like that worked.
She went, instead, to the door to the balcony to take in the early morning view of the ocean. She would have to find out if her lord would allow her to go down to the beach and explore it a bit. It was still too cold to go into the water, but she would love to get closer to the waves.
She took a deep breath and glanced at her lord's door before turning around and heading back in. She felt oddly at loose ends. There was still much to explore and learn about the castle, but she had been in a routine for so long that not having a specific direction made her feel odd.
Just as she came back in, however, Yuki let herself into the room. "My lady! I didn't expect you up already!"
Rin smiled. "I'm used to it. When I was travelling with Lord Sesshomaru when I was very young, we never slept late. And then when I was in the village learning, we were always up early to take care of the work and start my studies." She shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I'm a bit at odds now. I'm so used to having a routine, I don't really know what to do."
Yuki smiled. "I can understand that. Let's get you dressed and get you some breakfast. While you're doing that, you can think about what you'd like to do." She moved over to the wardrobe and pulled out another set of kimonos and laid them carefully out on the bed, then picked up a hairbrush and set it next to the kimonos. "Do you normally pull your hair up?" Yuki asked, indicating the hair tie that was on the small writing desk next to her hair comb.
"Well, I did�but mostly because it just got in the way." She paused. "What do ladies usually do?"
"Oh, that changes with the moon!" She laughed. "Whatever you are comfortable with, I'm sure the Lord would approve of."
"Well, in that case, let's take things one at a time? I'm still coming to terms with three layers at once." She chuckled and moved over to stand in front of Yuki. Yuki laughed with her and started tying the first layer onto her. This layer was a pretty green color and following it was, once again, white. The third kimono, Rin saw, was also green but, having been very bemused yesterday by everything, she had not noticed the design.
This time, she tried her best to examine it closer. There, at the bottom of the kimono on the back, was embroidered a beautiful dog that looked very much like Lord Sesshomaru himself in his full demon form. She realized it was probably patterned off of him. It was beautiful.
"Will you be taking your breakfast here or in the dining room?" Yuki asked her as she finished brushing Rin's hair.
"I'll go down to the dining room, I guess. Is�anyone else there?" She didn't really want to eat alone again.
"No, the servants eat in the kitchen." Yuki smiled.
"Oh. Okay." She sat still while Yuki pulled her hair behind her head and tied it. Then together, they left her room.
She went into the formal dining room and sat cautiously to the side of one end of the table. The room was fairly large and very quiet. Her quiet steps echoed throughout the room and Rin felt very uncomfortable to be sitting by herself. She made up her mind and stood up and hurried from the room.
This time, she knew where she was going and paused outside the kitchen. She did not want to cause another uproar like she did the night before, but she would neither allow Yuki to carry a heavy tray up to the third floor, nor did she want to sit in that huge, empty dining room. She carefully opened the door and peeked in.
No one seemed to notice her at first. She saw Yuki standing at the end of one long table that was used to prepare her tray. While Rin stood there, unsure of what to do, Yuki seemed to sense her and turned around. She hurried over to the door. "Lady Rin?"
Rin blushed. "Yuki�I really don't want to sit in that empty room. Could I�could I just sit with you here?"
Yuki smiled and chuckled. "Okay, dear." She stepped aside and opened the door. Immediately, the staff stopped what they were doing again.
This time, Rin didn't hesitate to speak up. "Good morning. Please, don't pay any attention to me. I'm not used to all of this. You don't have to keep bowing and such to me. I'm just going to have a bite to eat and leave you to your work."
She quickly walked over to the table that she had seen Yuki sitting at yesterday. She brought Rin's food over and set it on the table. Rin ate her miso soup, grilled fish and rice quickly, not wanting to make them more uncomfortable than they already were.
"Have you decided what you'd like to do?" She asked her as she gathered the dishes.
Rin thought carefully. "I suppose for another day or so I can just explore things around here. I'd like to make myself more familiar with the keep and the way things run in the castle. I hate to impose, but�" she bit her lower lip.
"What is it, my lady?" Yuki asked.
"Um, would you show me around a bit? Teach me how things run?" Rin smiled her brightest smile, in the hopes that she could convince her to help.
Yuki blushed. "Oh, my lady! I'm just your maid, you should have the Lord show you around."
"Oh." Rin tried to hide her disappointment. She did not want to bother him. She knew he had things to do, though she had no idea what. "Well, um, okay then. I will. Thank you." And with that, she stood up and hurried from the room.
She headed back upstairs and paused outside of the doors that she thought were her Lord's rooms. Steeling herself, she knocked quietly. A moment later, he opened the doors.
"Yes, Rin?" He asked politely. He looked like he was straining against something, but she had no idea what.
"I was wondering�I know you said to stay inside the castle, but I'd like to see what the beach is like. Could I go out for a while?" That wasn't what she was going to say, but his expression didn't seem very receptive to her asking for something else.
"No!" His answer startled her. She'd never heard him react so strongly to anything before, except perhaps when she had died the second time.
She stepped back quickly. "I'm sorry, my lord! I'll just go�to the library!" She hurried away from him, practically flew down the flight of steps to the second floor and only managed to slow down when she reached the double doors to the library.
She had no idea why she was blushing. She had no idea why she felt embarrassed all of a sudden, but she did. She leaned back against the library doors for a minute to collect her thoughts before moving further into the library. She lit a candle, moved to the section on history and chose a volume at random. She carried it back to her room and settled down on her bed to read.
The book held no interest for her. She loved history, thoroughly enjoyed reading about the past, but her mind kept going back to him and his response. She sighed and wandered over to her own bookshelf. All of the books there sounded fascinating, but none of them made her want to reach out and grab them.
She set the book back down and went out to the balcony which was quickly becoming her favorite place. She didn't understand what was happening between them. Things had changed since she'd gone to live in the village, and she didn't know what to do about it.
He'd said she was his 'ward,' but what did that really mean? Was she to spend the rest of her life reading books and just sort of moving through each day? She didn't even dress herself anymore!
Before she knew it, she found herself with frustrated tears on her cheeks. She swiped at them angrily, not sure why they were even there. Something wasn't right! But she couldn't put her finger on it. She paced the balcony, unknowingly tracing the same path Sesshomaru had taken the night before.
All those years, she'd spent following him around Japan. All those years she'd spent learning-learning to fight, learning to read and write. She'd studied herbs and remedies, cooking and playing music. She'd learned�and now she had no outlet for any of it.
She realized she'd only been in the castle for one day. One day! And she was staring at a future stretched out filled with�what?
She took a deep breath and marched over to his balcony door. With determination, she raised her hand and knocked soundly. When he opened the door with the same restrained expression, she didn't even hesitate.
"Fight me."
Sesshomaru blinked at her. "Rin?" Whatever he had expected, it wasn't that.
"Fight me. Spar with me. Or show me around the castle. Or teach me the workings of it. I need to do something." She finished her tirade with a wave of her hand to encompass the entire complex.
He stared another minute before nodding once. "Very well. Change into your fighting clothes and meet me in the entry way in ten minutes." With that, he turned back into his room, mokomoko trailing behind him.
Rin practically skipped into her room and stopped short in front of her wardrobe. She looked down at her kimonos, but decided to be patient and, for the first time since she'd walked into the room, she pulled the bell rope.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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