InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

CHAPTER THREE -THE RUIN

Rin turned off her motorcycle’s engine and pulled her helmet off. Over the ticking of the engine cooling, she heard the whirr of crickets and the soft whoosh of night wind through the grass and trees. She put down the bike’s kickstand, hung her helmet on one of her handlebars and swung her right leg off the bike. The phantom vibrations from the engine’s powerful motor still ran up and down her legs as she walked unsteadily towards the elaborate wrought iron gates.

The gates were huge, heavy and still bore the remnants of being wrapped in thick vines that appeared to have just been cut down not all that long ago. Vicious looking spikes molded with artistic mastery stabbed towards the brilliant night sky from the gates’ curved top. If Rin wasn’t overcome with what was before her, she would have become lost staring up at the wash of stars that she never saw in Summer Haven. She was truly out in the country away from the light pollution that urban living created. That was when she noticed that a word was written into the curving metal gates: Moon Shadow.

Must be the name of the house. Not a house. A mansion. A magnificent ruined mansion in the middle of nowhere. There’s got to be a story behind this place. I need to do some research.

Rin gripped two of the gate’s bars and looked through them at the mansion beyond. It was three stories made of a dark stone with dozens of mullioned windows. The panes looked like they were painted with quicksilver as they reflected the huge white moon that hung high in the sky. She saw that there was a tower in the far back corner of the house with a bronze roof that had long ago taken on that gorgeous aged green. Perhaps it had been built so that the owners could stargaze. Those same vines that had been wrapped around the gates covered much of the front of the house. Their dense leaves fluttered in the wind.

Rin’s gaze dropped to the overgrown garden in the front. There was a large weed choked fountain in the center of a circular drive that must not been used for decades. Flowers bloomed in profusion, spilling down the fountain’s sides like water must have long ago. Though it was night and he couldn’t see the colors of the flowers that bloomed there, Rin imagined that in daytime this place would be riotous with color.

Rin would have thought the mansion was abandoned from all she was seeing except for the warm yellow light that leaked out of the first story windows though the curtains were drawn. Rin double-check the address on the stone columns that flanked the gates to know she was at the right place. She was in the right place.

“What would Sesshoumaru want with an old wreck like this? A beautiful old wreck, don’t get me wrong. I love it. But him?This isn’t what I expected.” Rin whispered.

“What are you talking about? Is everything okay?” Kagome asked.

Rin snapped out of her ruin-induced stupor. “Sorry, Kagome. I’ve made it to the house. You wouldn’t believe this place. I think that this internship just got a little better.”

Rin couldn’t help but laugh. She itched to get her Nikon out. But she didn’t have her carbon fiber tripod. A shaky camera during long exposures killed the photos.

I’ll have to get Dad to send it along with the cable release, wide lens, flashlight, and external flash. And I guess, I should have him also pack me a few more clothes, too. I’ve only got a week’s worth in my bag.

“Rin? Have I lost you again?” Kagome asked.

“Sorry, sorry about that. Look, I should let you go. I’ll call you later on when I’m settled in and tell you all about it,” Rin said.

“All right. But you won’t have to describe the place to me. I intend on coming up this weekend to visit you.” she said.

“Kagome, I don’t know--”

“I don’t care what Sesshoumaru says! You’re not a prisoner! That ruin is not a prison! He can’t keep your friends from seeing you.” she said firmly.

She knew that tone. It meant she would not be backing down. She let out a sigh even as she was smiling. She sort of liked her being a Mother Hen this time. “Okay. I got it. You’re coming no matter what.”

“No matter what.” she said firmly.

“Okay, Kagome. I’ll talk to you later.” She heard the click of the phone being disconnected.

Rin pushed on the gates, but they didn’t move. Even when she put all her weight into it there wasn’t the slightest give.

Must open automatically.

She swung around looking for a call box. That was when she heard the soft electronic whirr above her. She looked up to see where it was coming from. Two surveillance cameras were pointed directly at her from their perches on top of the stone walls on either side of the gates. Rin gave a nervous smile and cocky wave. Was Sesshoumaru watching her even now?

I’m not sleeping with him. He can stare as much as he likes. He just can’t touch.

That was when she saw a very modern and efficient electronic keypad against one of the stone columns. She had missed it as her attention had been on the mansion. There was a button marked ‘call’. She pressed it and was rewarded with a delightful Japanese voice coming over the line.

“Yes?” the Japanese man asked.

“Uhm, ah, my name is Rin Yamato. I’m the… intern,” Rin explained. She winced at the use of the word ‘intern’. It had sounded like such a joke in her father’s office, but now, she didn’t want people to know that she was essentially an indentured servant. She could just imagine people’s reactions.

Though this guy works for Sesshoumaru so maybe he’s used to having young women as ‘interns’ at the house.

There was a moment of silence and Rin swore she heard a sigh. “Yes, yes, of course. I was told to expect you. I am new to this particular security system, but I think I should be able to get it to work. Ah, yes, here is the correct code!”

There was another electronic hum and Rin watched in admiration as the incredibly heavy gates opened as if they were light as a feather.

“They’re open!” Rin cried, taking from the Japanese man’s tone that this was an accomplishment of sorts.

“What a relief! They weren’t working well earlier,” he said.

“Thanks a lot. Uhm … I didn’t catch your name,” Rin said, feeling strangely like this welcoming man might be a friend and ally in the coming days.

“My name is Jacken. Jacken Shiba, but you may call me Jacken, Ms. Yamato,” the man said in his singsong voice that immediately had Rin smiling and feeling brighter just for hearing it.

“Thanks again, Jacken, and please call me Rin.”

“Of course, Rin. Come up to Moon Shadow’s front doors. I shall meet you there,” Jacken said.

Rin almost felt sad as the call box went silent. She went back over to her bike. She put up her kickstand and guided the bike by hand into the property. The surface of the ground change from smooth asphalt to cobblestones. Though it was clear that people had been driving in and out of the property, nature still reigned supreme. Vines crawled along the cobblestones. Flowers and tall grasses bloomed between the cracks in the mortar. Rin was surrounded by nature’s perfume. She felt almost light headed from it.

When she was halfway to the double doors that were housed beneath an elaborate stone portico, a chink of light appeared between them. That chink soon became a slash and then an almost blinding rectangle of light. Rin shaded her eyes from the warm, yellow glow as her eyes had completely adjusted to the night. She blinked a few times and, finally, she could make out the figure of a tall, slender man dressed in a white suit with matching tie. Rin dredged up a fact from her world cultures class that identified the turban as possibly meaning the man was a Sikh.

“ Jacken?” Rin asked.

“Yes, it is I.” The man’s handsome, rather aquiline face lit up. His smile was slightly hidden by a closely trimmed beard. The man bowed his head and said, “Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh. Welcome, welcome.”

Rin wasn’t sure if she should bow back, but she decided that, at least, lowering her head would be polite. She couldn’t shake the man’s hand since her were full of the bike so she smiled as warmly as she could and said, “Thank you! Uhm, what did you say? The first part, I mean.”

Jacken laughed delightedly. “It is a traditional greeting of my mother’s religion. It means, ‘The Khalsa belongs to God, Victory belongs to God.’”

“Cool.” Rin smiled. “It sounds beautiful.”

“Indeed it is. I am glad that you were able to find your way. It is not an easy route and Moon Shadow does well disguising itself as an uninhabited ruin,” Jacken said with a gesture at the overgrown courtyard. There was a frisson of dissatisfaction in his friendly features as if such disorder displeased him. “There is much beauty in nature, but I, personally, like it better when it is contained in neat little beds.”

Rin looked over her shoulder at the sprawling wild flowers and rampant vines, which stirred in the breeze. “I don’t know. The overgrown look gives this place a kind of mystique.”

“Yes, it indicates haunted house or abandoned property.” Jacken quipped.

Rin grinned at the other man. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” The other man smiled back. Rin then patted the handlebars of her bike. “I’m not sure what to do with this. Should I keep it out here or is there a garage where I can store it?”

“Let me show you the way. There is a large garage around the back that has just been constructed. I am sure there will be plenty of room for your motorcycle.” Jacken stepped outside and carefully closed the doors behind him. He immediately took the lead, gesturing for Rin to follow after him along the cobblestones.
Something made Rin look back at the house just as they were passing around the corner. She realized that one of the curtains for the nearest room had been pulled aside and someone was looking out at them. She caught just a flash of a face before the curtain was jerked shut again. A beautiful, marred face.

Sesshoumaru.

Rin’s stomach did a strange flip. Suddenly, she realized that being alone in this man’s house was a whole different thing than facing Sesshoumaru in her father’s office while her father and brothers were present. She was going to be alone here with the man. The image of Sesshoumaru’s full lips writhing back from his sharp white teeth flashed through Rin’s mind. She shivered. Anything could happen. But one look at Jacken’s back and she felt slightly comforted. Though she had little reason to think it yet, she already felt as if Jacken wouldn’t let anything bad happen.

“I hope that the drive here was not too stressful.” Jacken said. He laced his long fingers together at the base of his spine and slowed his gait so that Rin could keep pace with him while pushing the heavy bike.

“Not at all. I love riding at night. It was peaceful.” Rin answered and silence fell again. Deciding that it was foolish to beat around the bush and wanting some Intel before she saw Sesshoumaru, Rin asked, “Did Sesshoumaru tell you why I’m here?”

A flash of displeasure, almost pain, crossed Jacken’s handsome features. He nodded. “He did.”

Curious, Rin asked, “Am I the first intern to work here? Or does Sesshoumaru do this a lot?”

Jacken let out a hiss of air between his teeth. “No, you are the … and I sincerely hope the . Not that Moon Shadow could not use a youthful presence, but … well, it is as it is.”

“You aren’t so keen on the arrangement that he’s made then?”

Jacken didn’t answer. He had stopped walking outside a garage that looked very new and modern yet still somehow went with Moon Shadow. It was a six car garage. Four of the doors were shut and two were open. Through one of the open doors she caught sight of the gleam of chrome on a Mercedes’ bumper. Jacken gestured for her to leave the motorcycle in the adjoining empty area.
“I will endeavor to make sure that your time here is as pleasant as possible,” Jacken answered, which wasn’t an answer at all.

“I appreciate that.” Rin rolled the motorcycle into the garage and brought down the kickstand. She took her helmet under her right arm and unwound the baggage straps from her duffel before hoisting that up in her other hand. She paused and met Jacken’s gaze steadily. “Despite what Sesshoumaru might have told you, I’m not afraid of hard work. I’m happy to be of use in any way that I can be. I want to make sure that Sesshoumaru honors his part of the deal with my father and brothers.”

Jacken nodded, but his unhappy expression grew rather than lessened as if Rin’s willingness made this all the worse. “There is no shortage of work to be done here.”

“Then I take it that he wants me to help with the house and the garden?” Rin brightened at the thought of bringing the house back to life and she would have plenty of opportunities to take pictures of it in its current dilapidated state and then when it was redone.

She did feel a twinge of pain though at the thought that she would be destroying what nature had wrought so beautifully. But the grounds really weren’t livable the way they were. She would have to bring some order to that chaos.

Question is: am I the girl for the job?

Every houseplant she’d ever had she had killed. Even cut flowers seemed to die faster with her around. She would under water plants or over water them. She would give them too much sunlight or too little sunlight. She hoped that this job didn’t require actual knowledge or a green thumb, because she had neither. Hopefully, there would be a lot of weeding, raking and cutting. Those things she could do. Anything else and she would need close supervision.

Jacken’s gaze became shaded. “He wishes to tell you himself what his plans are for you.”

Rin felt a slight tremor of unease at that. “Oh, well, I guess he has a flair for the dramatic. So we’ll play it his way.”

Jacken nodded slightly. “Let us go inside. Sesshoumaru has asked that I bring you to him right away. After you have spoken, I will take you to where your bedroom. And if you’re hungry, I can have a tray made up for you.”

Rin stomach gurgled at that moment. “Food sounds great.”

“I will endeavor to make something that will satisfy,” Jacken said smiling.

They walked back towards the front doors. With every step, Rin’s apprehension began to grow again. Jacken made no conversation. He seemed troubled and Rin guessed that he wasn’t sure what to say.

What must he be thinking? Did Sesshoumaru tell him how my family is awful and I deserve this? Why did Sesshoumaru choose to offer us this opportunity, instead of just destroying us and moving on anyways? How am I going to live here for an entire year?

With these unpleasant thoughts running through her head, Rin decided that she needed to hear someone else’s voice other than her own. “How long have you worked for Sesshoumaru, Jacken?”

“Oh, my family has served his for over a hundred and fifty years.” Jacken answered.

“Really?” Rin wondered if this family connection is what caused a nice man like Jacken to stay with the moody, irascible, intern-hiring Sesshoumaru.

Jacken nodded. “We served his family first in India then we accompanied him back to England and finally here to the United States.”

“So your father and mother worked for him and your grandparents, too?”

“And my grandson will replace me,” Jacken answered with a proud smile. “He is just two now. But I am certain that he will be eager to begin as soon as he can walk.”

Rin couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to serve Sesshoumaru, but Jacken seemed so enthused about it. “Is Sesshoumaru married? Does he have children?”

Jacken’s expression enclosed up. “No, he is alone.”

Rin was struck by Jacken’s tone. It was so final. It was so sad. Not that Sesshoumaru had shown himself to be anything but a complete bastard, but still, somehow the vast empty spaces of loneliness opened up before Rin and she felt sorry for Sesshoumaru for a second. She was sure that the feeling would pass as soon as she was speaking to the other man and being insulted again.

“Sesshoumaru’s a very successful man. I’m sure that when he has a mind be with someone, he’ll have a lot to choose from,” Rin answered awkwardly.

“Real love does not work like that,” Jacken answered softly. “And that is the only thing that can save him.”

Rin blinked in confusion at Jacken’s words. But there wasn’t time for further conversation as they were before the front doors of Moon Shadow. Rin’s chest tightened. Her palms were sweating. She knew her knuckles were white as she clutched the duffel’s handle too tightly.

Jacken opened the doors and again that blinding light spilled out. He motioned once more for Rin to precede him into the house. Rin walked in blindly. She stopped a few feet inside and waited for her eyes to adjust. She let out an awed breath when she did. The foyer was huge with a domed ceiling high above them. The floor was black and white marble laid out in a compass design. A mahogany table stood in the center of the design and a gigantic bouquet of white and red roses seemed to gush out of the vase that sat on top of it. The sweet scent was intoxicating.

Rin slowly turned around to take in the rest of the space. The walls were covered in dark wood paneling. Paintings and sketches of birds and other wildlife were hung on each wall. There were three exits from the room. The on straight ahead was a magnificent staircase that led into the upper recesses of the house. Then there were two doorways off to her right and left respectively. But Rin’s inspection came to a screeching halt as the left doorway was suddenly filled with Sesshoumaru’s massive form.

Sesshoumaru no longer wore the hood. Instead, he let a curtain of light hair fall across the marred side of his face while leaving the other side uncovered. Those striking golden eyes stared at Rin, unblinking. Rin stumbled back in surprise as the big man moved silently into view.

“God!Where did you come from?” Rin gasped out

“I told you to bring her to me immediately, Jacken.” Sesshoumaru frowned in consternation at the Japanese man.

Jacken finished locking the door, seemingly immune to the displeasure in Sesshoumaru’s voice and demeanor. Rin was surprised to see no less than five deadbolts and two heavy chains being slid across to lock it. “Yes, sir. But we had to put her bike away in the garage. It looks to rain this evening and it would not do to have it get wet.”

Sesshoumaru grunted. “I see.” His gaze though was still suspicious. He was evidently fully aware of Jacken’s displeasure with the internship. Sesshoumaru turned his gaze again on Rin. “You came. I’m surprised.”

Rin fought not to react to that piercing gaze. She consciously stood in a relaxed position and allowed an unconcerned smile to linger on her lips. “I did. I intend to honor my part of the bargain. Do you intend to honor yours?”

Sesshoumaru’s lips twitched into a smile as if amused at Rin’s boldness. “I do.”

Silence fell again and Rin knew that she would soon start squirming under Sesshoumaru’s gaze. She asked, “So you wanted to talk to me?”

Sesshoumaru straightened up to his full height and Rin was struck again by how massive he truly was. Yet his movements were graceful, almost feminine. “Come to my study. We must discuss the rules of this house. Jacken, you do not have to attend us.”

Jacken’s expression was neutral yet he said, “But, sir, perhaps I could assist --”

“No,” Sesshoumaru said with finality. The word seemed to echo in the room. Again, his gaze fixated on Rin as he said, “I will speak to her alone.”
………………& #8230;………………………… ;…………………………R 30;…………………………&# 8230;………………………… …………………………̷ 0;………………………… 230;……………………..R and R as you like!