InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Empty Smile ❯ Chapter 3

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

Minako woke with a scream, bent double in the large room. She still dreamed of him, the man who had tormented her since the death of her grandfather. Gasping for breath and kicking the sweat-soaked sheets away from her, the girl surveyed her surroundings. She was sitting in a large bed, sunk halfway into the plush cushions. Across the great expanse of the room she glimpsed an elegant fireplace which supplied her with the scant light. Glancing down at her wet clothes, Minako winced. Two of her wounds had opened up again, the dark marks on her clothes spreading slowly.
Clutching her ribs, she tried to erase the dream from her memory without success. Her grandfather’s funeral had been the last day she’d ever felt that she was a part of a true family. Even then, her mother had held her shoulder and her father had wrapped an arm around his wife as the two children clung to each other, still trying to understand why their grandfather had left them. In such a moment of pain, they’d still acted like a family. And then…
‘Then he’d started drinking more than usual. Coming home angry with his hands in fists.’ she thought. She could still remember that night, watching as he threw her mother to the ground, kicking and screaming at her, seeing her mother curl into herself like those animals on T.V. She’d taken her little brother to her room and locked the door, covering his ears with her hands to keep him from hearing their father’s curses and their mother’s desperate sobs.
Lost in her dark memories, Minako didn’t notice the chamber door open, or the silent figure that stood by her bed. Her whole body rocked, stiff as if waiting for a blow. Her breath came in heaves as her memories overwhelmed her and her eyes welled with tears. She did notice the wet cloth on her forehead, and the cool hand that rubbed her back soothingly. As her eyes focused once more she notice the bed sag from a new weight. Looking up into cool amber eyes she relaxed noticeably and tried to hide her face as tears began to overflow. Cool fingers tilted her chin up and his distant eyes searched hers. Finally unable to hold her pain in, her face crumpled and she leaned against the demon lord, sobbing like a lost child. The hand on her back slid into an awkward hug as the other moved as if to shield her from the world. Eventually her tears slowed and her body relaxed as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Before dawn the next morning, Sesshoumaru sat in his library, gazing into the flames.
After he’d set her back in her bed for the night, the taiyoukai had disappeared behind his library doors for quiet thought. For reasons beyond his comprehension, his presence had consoled the human. Even more befuddling, he’d made an attempt to ease her distress, without the experience or knowledge to aid the girl. Luckily for him it had worked, but it left him with a horde of questions he was wary of asking himself.

Awake at dawn, Minako examined the vast room again through uncaring eyes, and noticed the light kimono spread out at the foot of the bed. Slipping to her feet gingerly, the girl stripped off her sweat- and blood-soaked clothing and stepped toward the mirror near the bed, ignoring her screaming muscles. What she saw made even her pain-experienced self gasp. Her mind buzzed as she took in the yellowing bruise that covered the entire right side of her face and her scabbed lower lip. Her throat bore signs of a bruising grip and, when she pulled her hair away, the hairline at the back of her head was scabbed and swollen. She couldn’t see much of her body beneath the bandages, but the few parts she could see were set in an ugly rainbow. Except for her the backs of her knees, and her inner elbows, her body was a span of purple, red, and the sick greenish-yellow of a faded bruise. Her twice-dislocated shoulder had shrunk back down to normal size and the dried blood had been washed from beneath her fingernails. Apparently, the demon’s servants had visited her during her stay.
Donning the clean outfit and ignoring the hair ribbon that lay beside it, Minako saw a glimmer at the edge of her vision. Turning to see, her eyes grew stony at seeing her father’s old sword leaning against a chair. Glaring at the memory of the man, she flung her bloodied clothes over the hilt and turned away. Her eyes rested on a bookcase at the far corner of the room and lit with rare joy. She rushed forward and selected an appealing cover, which seemed to have been misplaced, as it was the only book she could find that wasn’t about sewing or flowers. Finding a comfortable chair that hurt her body the least, she let the pages consume her. And that’s how the servant found her three hours later.
Averting her gaze, the servant girl mumbled something about breakfast and disappeared. Minako masked her annoyance at having to leave the book behind, but her hunger defeated her. Two days without eating had set her stomach growling at the mention of food. Padding out into a hallway, the girl walked down the long corridors and stairs, opening a door occasionally. She soon realized it: she was lost and hungry, and the traveling had set her aching right leg to throbbing. Resigned, she sat in the middle of the echoing hall and waited for someone to stumble across her. Luckily for her, the demon lord himself found her minutes later. When he stopped beside her and she looked up into his face, the tall lord turned away and walked slowly.
“Come.” he issued without waiting for a reply. He did, though, stop and look back at her when she decided to obey, resuming his steady pace when she caught up. Apparently she had no recollection of her nightmare or his late-night visit.
When he led her to the dining room, a twelve year old girl sat eating her breakfast and laughing merrily at a toad like demon. Smiling up at Sesshoumaru, the girl hopped out of her chair to stand before Minako. Stretching out her hand, the perky child announced, “Hi, I’m Rin! Did you just get here? You’re pretty! Are you my new mommy?” Her eager face beamed up at the confused girl.
Shaking the enthusiastic girl’s hand, Minako smiled slightly. “I’m Minako and I got here a little while ago, but I don’t think I’m your mom.” In a slightly softer voice she added, “You’re about my brother’s age..”
Rin gasped eagerly. “Really? Where is he? Do I get to meet him?”
“Sorry, but you can’t. He’s pretty far away.” Releasing the girl’s hand, Minako looked down at Rin sadly. “You remind me of him though.” That earned her a toothy grin from the young ward. Watching the exchange, Sesshoumaru dimly noted that he knew the girl’s name. Vowing to learn more about the sibling that made her sad, he turned away. “You will guard and entertain the child until evening.”
Watching the door close behind him, Minako turned to Rin.
“He’s not a very cheerful guy, is he?”
Rin smiled up at her. “Let’s go to the flower garden, ‘Nee-san! I want to pick flowers!” Hearing Minako’s stomach growl produced a fit of giggles from the child.
After breakfast, Rin led Minako to a large blooming field. As the older girl watched, she picked an armload of flowers and dropped them at Minako’s feet. Opening up to the child easily, the older girl smiled at her enthusiasm and offered to teach her to make a garland of flowers. They sent the day in the field and returned to the dining room in the evening. Sesshoumaru joined them, to Minako’s unspoken surprise, and remained after the meal was finished, watching her curiously when she wasn’t looking.
It was Minako who left first, and followed a servant to her bedchambers, where she picked up the book again. Wandering with it out onto the balcony she sat on the ledge and read, the thought of dropping to the ground below not even crossing her mind.