InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A new beginning, a new hope ❯ A Test of Love (Part 2) ( Chapter 36 )

Hiya

 

This chapter took me many days coupled with many revisions but still, it's far from perfect. I'll probably get back to do some more revisions later, spell check too.

 

Okay, replies…

 

Leila-chan: Thanks for the encouraging note. Yeh, I was kinda affected by the no of reviews when it first kicked off. One reason I can think of regarding the no of reviews is probably that I didn't have the time to answer them. (I realized that thanks to Lucient) So evil_buny has from today turn over a new leaf. But still, I'm not much of a writer, as compared to so many out there. The only reason why I started this fic was that I simply love Rin/Sess pairing. In fact, more accurately, I believe in it ;)

 

Christal: You're always leaving all the sweet notes Well, violin practice? I'll be lying if I were to tell you everything's fine. I'm still struggling to get back the momentum and more importantly, the mood to practice. Somehow, my heart is elsewhere. But… I'm working on it

 

Sadsoul: This fic is kinda a girlish romance don't you think? That's why I supposed most readers are gals except, of course, Mr Fan-Wanker Wanker (No offence James ;P You're my most treasured, one and only male reader) Well, if I'm wrong about that, guys out there, feel free to voice your displeasure

 

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Lifting one eye from her sunken pillow, Rin followed Kagome's trail as she gathered up whatever bits and pieces of the once-called violin before exiting the room. She hid her face from the miko, pulling the snow white covers up when she sensed a pair of vexed but concerned eyes taking one last peer her way.

 

As the sound of closing doors was heard, Rin let an exasperated sigh escaped her bleached seams.

 

No motherly instincts, those carelessly spoken words were at the back of her mind, haunting her repeatedly. Rin chewed on her lower lip mournfully. Perhaps she should really consider giving up playing for the concert altogether, recalling the immense difficulties she was tackling with just before Sesshoumaru's not-so-tactful entrance. The ability to concentrate had become a novelty and her fingers just didn't seem to listen to her anymore. Gosh if she hadn't even the strength to turn her pegs, how on earth was she going to tune her violin?

 

Ah, the violin. Yes, she had vaguely forgotten. Would she have a complete assembled one to work on in the first place? A single tear drop glistened from the corner of her eyes, specifically dedicated to the instrument that had faithfully served her for half a decade. She had adhered religiously to its maintenance schedules, the weekly polishing and had always tried to protect it against all natural elements, shielding her case from the rain and snow, rather to drench herself instead.

 

It had passed two hundred years before reaching her hands and tonight, its life span had clearly been shorten.

 

Rin found herself at a loss, time froze where she laid.

 

Not to mention that Sesshoumaru was obviously still so mad with her. She hated every single bit of this sour feeling he's stirring up in her. All day she had been glancing around waiting for him, totally unable to mask how much she had missed him. Throughout the whole of last night, she had woken screaming countless times, her fingers raking around desperately searching for his beside her but found nothing but cold empty sheets. That too, she admitted, had contributed to her lack of concentration to settle down for some serious practice… him… his absence… this untimely but indispensable trip.

 

Now, he was finally back but still, she was pitilessly denied of the comforts of being in his warm embrace and his good night kisses, facing yet another night alone. For some time, Rin simply waited, humbled by circumstances and her unbidden yearning for him. She was all prepared to jump up and apologize if the demon lord would suddenly decide to return to bed.

 

Yes, she would apologize even if it scorched her pride and the reasons were simple.

 

Sesshoumaru had a long day, exhausted and worn out from the lengthy expedition, all done solely for her sake. Of course, the girl was fully aware of that. If he hadn't care for her, if he wasn't so anxious about her well being, if she or their child wasn't of any real importance to him, he wouldn't have flared up like he did. Regardless of the demon lord's cold dark reputation, Rin could not recall any one time in the past that Sesshoumaru had ever directed any of his fiendish cruelty at her, not even when she was that over-bubbly spirited bothersome child she used to be.

 

But no, the youkai didn't return, a disconcert scowl twisted her brows. Was he harboring resentment toward her? Still? Does he intend to make her sleep on this? Alone? She felt as if her very soul was imprisoned by his successful guilt trip. Does he even love her anymore?

 

Rin gritted her teeth as she flipped the blankets over herself, collapsing into the pillows. For god knows how many hours, she wept and wept for whatever reasons she need not know.

 

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Sesshoumaru meticulously experimented with every new aged gadget available in the Higurashi kitchen. That was the only way he could take his mind off that previous episode with Rin and extinguish some of the confused wrath he had so thoughtlessly burnt her with. The youkai pressed on a random combination of padded buttons on the cappuccino machine. Nothing happened.

 

Burn her? Could my words have … perhaps… hurt her? The demon lord cringed as the accusation was hurled back at himself. Yes, he was right that the girl did little to care for her own wellness. But was he too hard on her? Perhaps he should have chosen a better opportunity to speak to her on this hobby she was over exerting herself with, when he possessed a calmer more logical frame of mind. Rin wasn't in the pinkest form either and she WAS, inspite of everything, expecting his child. Moreover, coming to know her as he did, she surely wouldn't be in the mood to put any proper food down her throat after this… this argument of theirs--- their first argument.

 

He noted at an instance how late it had already become. What would Rin be doing at this moment? Dinner hours had long passed. It's more like supper time now, not that he thought the girl would be interested in that as well. Sesshoumaru balled his palm into a fist, hammering it on the dining table top, his heart contending ceaselessly with his mind to run upstairs and check on her.

 

A voice came from behind him, decidedly male.

 

“Hey,” Sota greeted as he entered the room, “I… you…”

 

He obviously didn't know how to begin.

 

Sesshoumaru turned to face the young man, making it even harder and more stressful for the cellist to make his speech.

 

“I just want to thank you for… for…” Sota found his tongue tied up as if in a knot.

 

The demon lord nodded in perfect comprehension of what was meant to be expressed.

 

The cellist smiled, quite appreciatively.

 

“Rin and you, did… did you two have a fight?” Sota had searched the whole of himself to find sufficient courage to raise such an intrusive statement. Well, the fact that he still retained some feelings for the girl did help a little too.

 

There was a long silence. Sesshoumaru merely looked down on the ceramic flooring, his gestures spoke as clearly as a verbal response.

 

A huge internal struggle was waging within the young man. He wished to inform the demon lord of Rin's conditions the night before, maybe advise him to have more patience with her but the truth was, Sota felt awkward to do so. He didn't want to make it sound like a lecture, which it probably would, considering that he was once the youkai's so-called rival for Rin's heart.

 

Just as he was about to mouth his thoughts…

 

“SESSHOUMARU! THERE YOU ARE! YOU HEARTLESS, NO GOOD…” Kagome's voice boomed irately across the kitchen, `What did you say to Rin-chan? And why the HELL did you do this?” She waved the instrument with her right hand, her left contained the chipped off pegs.

 

Sota jumped up from his seat almost immediately after sighting the broken instrument while the demon lord merely stared at the miko, wide eyed, insulted by her chosen tone.

 

“Ne-san, let me see what I can do. I may be able to fix it.” The young musician inspected the damage done with much expertise. “I'll bring down some tools from upstairs. It shouldn't be anything permanent.”

 

Kagome gave an appreciative nod, handing her younger brother the rest of what she had gathered from Rin's bedroom floor. Sota placed everything on the table and proceeded purposefully out of the door. Good. Now, she would have the complete attention of the demon lord.

 

“Sesshoumaru, how could you say such hurtful words to Rin-chan? Do you even care for her at all? Do you know that Rin has…” She didn't wait long to mouth her displeasure all at once but this time, Sesshoumaru blatantly intercepted her.

 

“Neither have you cared for her by allowing her to do what she wishes. I have entrusted her to you but you have proven yourself to be most negligent.” The demon's face was scarlet with rage.

 

“Negligent?” Kagome was offended by that remark. After all that she had done for Rin, for him, how dare he place such frivolous allegations on her!

 

“If not so, then why had the girl missed her meals?” The demon lord smirked offensively, sinking his claws into the wooden table in his aggravation.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes, totally fed up with where this was going.

 

“Will you quit being so… so unreasonable and difficult? Rin-chan was waiting for you. She wanted to have dinner with you, you dense, narcissistic…” Gosh! What does it take to get through to him? The miko mused as she pursed her lips frustratedly.

 

Yes, the demon gasped, he did tell Rin that he would be back by sunset. So, was that the reason why the girl did not join the rest of the Higurashis at the dining table?

 

Sesshoumaru's spine stiffened, a distinct surge of penitence rose from within him.

 

When the miko saw that she had won the upper hand by shutting the demon lord up, she knew that this would be the best time to fill him in with some of her own concerns about the girl… as composed and collected as she could help it.

 

Kagome sucked in one lengthened breath.

 

“Rin's condition is still pretty unstable.” Once the miko made mention of the girl's name, Sesshoumaru instantly forgot his anger and his incessant pride. He looked up, seemingly listening rather intently. “I was sponging her through the night but her temperature just kept fluctuating. It's strange because even I did not experience such inconsistencies. But it could be that Inuyasha was a hanyou and you're a full fledge demon, I do not know. Perhaps you might want to consult Jinenji-san. He's the expert in this field. And…”

 

Kagome's sudden pause added to the already escalating tension piling up in the youkai.

 

“And?” He implored with a definite earnest appeal.

 

The miko sighed as she threw him an incredulous frown.

 

“And Rin-chan had missed you. She was calling for you the whole night.”

 

Something about that last statement made his chest wrench painfully. Sesshoumaru vividly pictured Rin as she had been, her cheeks blotchy, redden, her temple throbbing and bursting out in cold sweat, her ice cold palm stretching out helplessly in the air as she cried out his name.

 

Damn! He cursed himself acrimoniously. He should have known better. Why didn't he find out more from the miko before he said all those….? Sesshoumaru froze as he traced back some of his spiteful choice of words to the girl.

 

“Then, she should have rested instead of getting out of bed. She should not have persisted in practicing.”

 

“Rin…” The young man marched unhurriedly past the demon and his sister, both his hands clasping tools of various sizes and length. He had overheard some parts of the conversation between the two and really, no matter how non assertive and soft-spoken he was, Sota felt the certain need to defend the girl. “This concert is important to her. You see, this is not any normal recital. It is specially meant for students who are going on the exchange programme to London.”

 

“Students going to London you say?” The demon lord recalled that Rin had told him about this on a rather casual occasion and that the young man would be leaving in a couple of week's time to study music. But still, it puzzled him. “Why is Rin involved in this then?”

 

Sota found himself caught in a rut. Should he reveal the truth to the youkai, knowing that Rin had deliberately withheld that piece of information from him? The young cellist knew fully well why the girl had made that decision but look what mess it had gotten her into? It wouldn't do her any good if she remained misunderstood.

 

“Rin is playing for concert because…” He found a need for a quick intake of air. “because she was also selected to go.”

 

“She was?” This obviously came as a huge surprise for the demon lord. He stood there, motionless and inert, his mind starting to make sense of Rin's strangely devoted enthusiasm to put in the excessive hours in preparation for this even back at his ancestral home. “She did not tell me about it.”

 

“That's because she had turned down the offer… when she made the decision to marry you.” Sota fitted one peg back into its designated place. “Please don't misunderstand. The only reason that I can think of is that she didn't want you to feel that she had made a great sacrifice for you. You know how she is.”

 

Yes, Sesshoumaru had to agree with him even though he felt slightly shamed. That is exactly what Rin would do.

 

“Err… guys… I hate to interrupt but…” Kagome gasped, remembering something that required the demon lord's immediate attention. In the heat of her own irritation with Sesshoumaru, she had cast aside what was most critical. “I think you might want to go up and check on Rin-chan. She was crying a lot just now and... she was sick again and… she threw up everything you fed her.”

 

Instantaneously, Sesshoumaru's irises dilated, turning wider and more feral than ever and in the next moment, he was gone.

 

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The demon lord hesitated shortly before turning the knob. He knew that he had to speak to Rin, coax her into taking a second dosage. That was the most pressing task at hand. The second was to --- apologize. Sesshoumaru's expression tightened at that word. His pride, it was getting in his way yet again. But after consolidating all the information offered by the miko and her brother, how could he still find the heart to draw anger from Rin's assumingly extremistic behaviors?

 

The demon heaved a sigh of remorse. An apology is inevitable, it is necessary and it is over due, way over due.

 

However, Sesshoumaru had noticed quite disappointedly, Rin had dozed off. She had probably cried herself to sleep, the heavy scent of the residue from her extended weeping, lots and lots of it, freshly damping the air in the bedroom. The youkai tried hard to ignore the ache now piercing at his chest just at the sight of her now.

 

She was all curled up to the corner of the wall, both her hands wrapped tightly round her waist, as if finding within herself some solace which he had so unsympathetically declined her of. Upon closer look, the girl appeared to be also shivering intermittently.

 

Sesshoumaru could stand it no longer. He brought the girl in, laying her head in his chest while surrounding his fluff around them. The room was dimly lit but he was still able to see her clearly now that their distance was closed. Rin's face was stained with semi-dried moisture and loose strains of her hair were stubbornly glued to her cheeks.

 

The demon cleaned off the reminiscence of fluid with his sleeves carefully while pressing several rueful kisses on her heated temple.

 

“Sessho…” The girl stirred drowsily, her eyes peeled open just so that Sesshoumaru could note how puffy and swollen they had become. Rin grabbed an edge of his haori, pushing herself up as he assisted her.

 

He wanted to say the word immediately, to rid himself of this strange torturous emotion--- guilt, he was definite it was guilt, but wasn't there something else he had to remember?

 

“Rin, you need to take this again.” Sesshoumaru held up a bottle in his hand, briefly shaking the mixture within.

 

By now, the girl had roused sufficiently to realize that her husband had returned to her side.

 

But, Sesshoumaru, why is he still so cold, unfeeling? She mused disheartenly.

 

Rin shook her head defiantly, turning her chin into his chest to hide her face from him.

 

“No, Rin, my love, don't do this, Onegai.” The demon pleaded. “We'll talk things through later. But first, you have to drink this. Please. If you're displeased with me, then at least, do it for our child.”

 

That last word pricked the girl, reminding her of the change in her status. Yes, she was no longer an individual body, free to flaunt and throw childish tantrums as and when she so wished. She was now also accountable to her own baby, their pup.

 

The demon lord was relieved to see that Rin had finally relented as she began obediently finishing what was required. Still, even in the midst of it, her inner torment did not cease to provoke her. It was telling her continuously that Sesshoumaru was right about everything, that she was indeed as irresponsible and immature as he had claimed her to be, that he would no longer love her. In fact, it was growing increasing intense, so much so that she found it almost impossible to breathe. As she swallowed the last spoonful, she could hold it back no more, choking on it as she sobbed afresh.

 

“Sessho… I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me…Please don't hate me...” Rin wasn't quite in the right mind to be sure of what she was apologizing for. It was purely one made out of fear, fear of losing him.

 

Sesshoumaru was shocked by this sudden temperamental flare, his heart turned at how she looked now. There she was, so helplessly clinging and tugging on his sleeve, her cheeks reddened by that odd untamed fever and facing all the discomforts of a new expecting mom. And who except himself would still have that wretched talent to agitate her to the point of tears.

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed away for a moment, the sight of Rin's grievous form was too painful to bear. It was as if she had been forcefully beaten to submission both by her failing physical condition as well as his seemingly diminishing tolerance.

 

What if she throws up again? The demon panicked.

 

“Hush…. Shh…No, you've done nothing wrong. I should be the one to apologize.” Sesshoumaru moved in small circles down her back, “I've hurt you and I'm truly sorry.”

 

“You do not hate me?” Rin could not believe her ears.

 

“Of course not, silly. I love you… more than anything in this world.”

 

He tilted her chin upward, caressing and stroking her fringe as she regarded him doubtfully. It took many reassuring kisses before the girl finally calmed down. She flung her arms round his neck, a hint of a smile arched at the corner of her lips at long last as she sank into his embrace rather possessively.

 

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