InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In a Different Light ❯ Stage One: Adjustments ( Chapter 6 )

In a Different Light

Chapter 6: Stage One-Adjustments

After her workout, Rin returned to the campsite with a string of fish in hand. Though her romp in the river had cooled her considerably, she was still a little sweaty, and she was looking forward to taking a quick dip before beginning the day's travel-some softly scented soap, a vigorous scrub down, and then she could wrap herself in a nice, warm kimono.

Yes, she thought with a smile, that would be a lot nicer than her grass-stained training uniform. And then she could take her hair down and let it fan out around her shoulders, the autumn breeze blowing it gently behind her . . . There was no better feeling in the world as far as she was concerned. The wind's cool caress on her skin, her hair whipping wildly behind her, as if she were some divine earth spirit. Calm and commanding, fluid and graceful . . . Not at all like her normal self.

She kicked a rock from underfoot and sighed. The sun was slowly rising in the sky, and from its position she guessed she'd been gone a little over an hour.

Be satisfied, she told herself. He wants you, so that should be enough. You always said you didn't care what you had to do, as long as you could stay by him . . . And he wants you by him. So stop looking so solemn, and put on a smile. He likes it when you smile.

She grinned ear-to-ear.

Just let the bad stuff roll right off you, and use the good stuff to build up your base. Find your center, Rin. You're a mountain, remember. You're unshakable . . . And when you face him, you'll face him mountain-to-mountain.

As she entered the clearing, she noticed her lord still hadn't returned, and Jakken and Ah-Un seemed to be sleeping quite soundly. She sighed inwardly and shook her head. Two lazier servants she'd never seen. Ah-Un softly snored by the remains of last night's fire, and Jakken laid curled up at the base of the tree closest to her. She glared down at the little toad and nudged him with the sole of her foot. "Isn't it a shame when the master rises before the servant?"

He mumbled something unintelligible, rolled over and hugged the Staff of Heads more closely to his body.

She nudged him again, harder. "Jakken!"

He sprang to his feet, waving the Staff wildly around his head. Rin jumped back, dodging his blind swings.

"I'll protect you, Lord Sesshomaru. You can depend on this Jakken. I'll burn the vile beast down to ashes!"

Rin laughed. Vile beasts, indeed. "Are we dreaming again, Jakken?"

The little imp opened his eyes and glanced around the campsite, his body tense and his bulbous eyes alert. After a quick scan, his shoulders slumped in a heavy sigh. "Oh, it's just you, you dumb girl."

Rin rolled her eyes, a smile still on her lips. "Yes, it's just me. No 'vile beasts' to barbecue this time, unless you count these fish." She dangled the string in front of his face.

He scowled up at her and folded his arms.

She crouched down beside him. "Don't look at me like that," she said. "It's our breakfast. I did the hard part and caught them; I'm just asking you to clean them."

The toad scoffed. "And why should I do that?"

"Because I'm asking you very nicely, and if they're not cleaned quickly, they won't be any good to eat."

He scoffed again and turned his nose up at her.

Rin sighed. "Look, Jakken. I don't have to bring back things for you and Ah-Un to eat. In fact, it would be a lot easier for me to say 'Screw you both. Go catch your own food. This is mine.' But it so happens that I like Ah-Un. He's been very good to me over the years, and I figure I could repay him with a little kindness and a few odd fish. And since Sesshomaru makes his own arrangements for his meals, you'd be the only without anything. And I can't imagine that would feel very nice, so I bring you back a little something, too. The gods forbid I ever make somebody feel left out . . . So I ask you to do one, little thing. Just clean the fish and start a fire while I take my bath and get dressed, okay?"

He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. "What did you just say?"

"What what?" she asked. "Just clean the fish and start a fire while I take my bath and get dressed?"

He shook the Staff at her. "Don't play dumb with me, you dumb girl."

A dumb girl playing dumb, she laughed dryly to herself.

"I heard you plain as day," he said. "Speaking of our lord without his title."

Her heart jumped, and she raised her empty hand to cover her mouth. "I did?" She couldn't have. She'd found it so hard to say last night. It couldn't have just . . . slipped out like that.

"You did," he grumbled. "And if our lord ever found out--"

"He'd be very pleased."

They both turned to see Sesshomaru approaching from the opposite side of camp.

Jakken was at a lost. "My lord?"

A slight blush formed in her cheeks. He'd heard her. He'd heard her use his name. And she looked a mess.

"Rin." He nodded for her to stand, so she did.

"My lord, I--" she cut her sentence short when she realized her mistake. He had told her to use his given name. "I mean, Se-Sesshomaru . . . I-I was just asking Jakken to clean these fish for me while I took a bath and put on proper clothes." She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze . . . So much for mountain-to-mountain.

"I see." He glanced down at the string of fish still in her hands, and then turned his attention to Jakken. "And why haven't you done as your lady has asked?"

Her blush deepened.

"M-my lady!" he sputtered.

He silenced the toad's mumblings with a glare. "This Sesshomaru did not stutter. You are to address her as Lady Rin, and she may address me by my given name."

"But my lord--"

"Silence!"

Jakken jumped, and Rin instinctively shrunk down. This wasn't the best way to start off a morning . . .

"Rin."

She chanced a glance up at him and met his gaze.

"Give him the fish and go take your bath."

She nodded weakly and handed the fish off to Jakken. She could feel them both watching her as she walked over to her bag and retrieved her clothes and some toiletries. She clutched the items to her chest, then walked past them once again. "I won't be long," she said softly as she left the clearing.

Sesshomaru continued to watch her as she made her way down the path, back towards the river. When she'd disappeared from sight, he took his seat at the base of the magnolia tree. He knew what would happen next.

Jakken approached him slowly, cautiously, the string of fish in his left hand. "My lord?"

"What is it, Jakken?" He maintained his usual bored and unaffected tone.

"W-why?" he asked. "Why that . . . scrawny, little girl?"

Considering the other, less flattering things he could've said, Sesshomaru decided not to strike him. Questions were to be expected, of course, and if he, the Lord of the Western Lands, was still . . . unclear on a few things, the little toad's brain must be fried. So he decided to indulge the imp. A little, and only a little. "She is not scrawny, nor is she 'little,' any more. As to why, that is none of your concern. She will be mine, and that is all you need to know."

Jakken swallowed hard. "But my lord, she's . . ." he seemed unwilling to finish the sentence, his head bowed, his mouth slightly twitching. "She's . . . human," he said at last.

"Should this be news to me?"

"No, my lord, but-but . . . your father, the other lords, InuYasha, the other lords . . ."

He scowled inwardly, his face remaining the picture of calm. "This Sesshomaru assumes you'll form a complete sentence at some point in time."

"Aye, lord . . . this girl . . . It-it isn't right," he finally said. "What about your father and InuYasha? His mother. And what will the other lords say? They dislike you as it is, and . . . they hate humans as much as you do-or did," he corrected himself, with a questioning glance.

"And your point is?"

"You hate humans," he declared. "You hate InuYasha who's half-human. You hated his human mother, and you hated your father for mating with her . . . And the other lords openly share your opinions. They hate humans and anyone affiliated with them."

He was beginning to lose interest in the little imp. "Unless you have something new to add . . ."

"My lord . . ." he seemed to be searching for the right words.

Sesshomaru hid his amusement at his retainer's growing anxiety.

"This Jakken humbly begs your forgiveness, but . . ."

He narrowed his eyes, intensifying his gaze. Whatever the little toad had to say had his heart racing and his adrenaline pumping. He could smell the fear in him.

"Again, my lord, I mean no offense, but . . ."

At first it was his interest Jakken was trying, now it was his patience. "If you have something to say, Jakken, say it and say it now."

He swallowed hard. "Remember Izayoi," he said. "InuYasha's mother. Remember how she was targeted by your father's enemies. Remember the fate your father met because of it. Remember--"

He let his fist fly, backhanding the annoying imp into the slumbering form of Ah-Un. The beast roared awake, and Jakken immediately fell on his face before Sesshomaru's feet, both the fish and Staff of Heads still in his hands. "I do apologize, Lord Sesshomaru. This humble Jakken meant no disrespect, but he felt it was his duty to inform his noble and mighty lord when he may be making an irreversible mistake."

His indulgence was at an end. Again, he sent Jakken flying.

As Ah-Un had moved, he sailed head-first into the tree he'd previously been sleeping under. He sat there for awhile, slumped against the trunk, clearly dazed from the blow to the head.

Sesshomaru glared at the impudent imp, cold hatred burning brightly in his amber eyes. "Do you dare think this Sesshomaru cannot protect what is his?"

Jakken jumped to his feet, then threw himself at his lord's feet, bowing and scraping, begging his forgiveness. "No, my lord. Never, my lord. This Jakken would never doubt his Lord Sesshomaru's ability to protect that ignorant, unworthy, slip of a girl . . ."

This time he got a face-full of his master's boot, sending him into a backwards sprawl. "Watch what you say, toad." The master was now on his feet, his hand clenched into a tight fist, crimson bleeding into his coppery glare. "That 'ignorant, unworthy, slip of a girl' is your future lady and master. This Sesshomaru will not bow, nor beg the pardon of any lord in this land or any other. Rin is mine to do with as I please. If I wish to take her as a mate," and she accepts me, he added mentally, "then there is nothing you, the other lords, or any other concerned parties can do. If they will try to take my lands and my title, I will kill them. If they raise one claw to harm my Rin, I will destroy them. And if this Sesshomaru hears you utter an unkind word in her general direction, I will slit you from throat to crotch and feed your entrails to Ah-Un, who is obviously the more worthy servant here."

"I do apologize, Lord Sesshomaru." He righted himself then, again, fell on his face before Sesshomaru's feet. "This impudent Jakken spoke out of turn. I, humbly, beg your pardon, my most honorable and magnificent Lord Sesshomaru. If you wish to beat this Jakken more severely, I will not object. He has failed in his duties to his most venerable and esteemed lord. I meant no offense, my lord. My only true concern was for your safety and that of your most revered lady. Please, forgive this humble and lowly retainer, Lord Sesshomaru. I will never doubt you again. My lord and future lady have my undying loyalty and devotion."

The red slowly ebbed from his eyes, and his hand gradually relaxed, but still remained fisted. "Oh?" he raised an eyebrow at the imp. "Then why have you not done as your lady has requested?"

He immediately sprang to his feet and began cleaning the fish. "Yes, lord. Anything you say, lord. This Jakken lives only to serve you and your most worthy intended."

"Indeed." He continued to glare at the reptilian reprobate. "And when you finish with that, go gather some wood for a cook fire for Rin. Your lord doubts she wants to eat raw fish at this early hour."

He bowed his head repeatedly. "Yes, lord. Aye, lord. As soon as I'm finished with the fish."

"And once you three have finished eating, we'll break camp and continue on our way back to the castle."

"Aye, lord. I understand, lord."

Sesshomaru allowed himself to linger a moment longer, his eyes boring into the boring little demon, making sure Jakken was intensely aware of his ire. After watching him fidget and squirm beneath his gaze, he soon lost interest in the troublesome toad, turned away from him, and headed back to the clearing he'd discovered the previous night. He needed some time to himself.

* * *

Rin returned to the clearing feeling refreshed and renewed. So he is serious about this whole courtship thing, she thought with a smile. Why else would he make Jakken call her a lady? Because he truly intended to take her, and her lord never goes back on his word.

She wouldn't be some disposable plaything-a dirty, little secret he swept under the rug and had slip into his chambers in the middle of the night. She was going to be recognized and respected; she would be the Lady of the Western Lands. His Lady of the Western Lands. Twin peaks of the same mountain.

She held onto that thought and embraced it. This would be her new center. Nothing could shake her, now.

A bright smile alighted on her lips. Master Sumida would be so pleased. She was going to be the perfect student from now on. Maybe she'd even be able to master those inversion techniques the Master had been trying to teach her.

"I'm back, Jakken," she patted the top of his head as she passed.

He huffed at her, tossing more twigs and sticks onto the fire.

"But what happened to you? You're all bruised."

He huffed again. "Mind your own business, girl."

She shrugged. Obviously, if Sesshomaru had beaten him so badly, he must have deserved it. She stuffed her belongings back into her bag, then took a seat at the base of the tree in front of the fire. "Must you be so grumpy?" she asked. "It's a glorious day."

He turned his nose up at her. "For you maybe." He speared one of the fish onto a stick and stuck into the ground close to the fire.

"Thank you for helping with breakfast."

He scoffed, then slunk over to his place beneath an adjacent tree.

"Where's Ah-Un?" she asked.

"Grazing," he said irritably.

"And our Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked. The little imp seemed agitated already, and she didn't wish to irritate him further by dropping Sesshomaru's title again . . . even if that's the way her lord wanted it.

"You mean my Lord Sesshomaru," he grumbled. "He's your intended."

"I understand that, Jakken. But since you got so upset the first time I dropped his title, and you still seem rather upset about something or another, I didn't want to add fuel to the fire."

He grunted and looked away from her.

"I know I may not always act like it, Jakken. But I do care what you think," she said, "to an extent. And I know our lord doesn't always treat you with the respect you think you deserve, but we both value your service. I've known you the bulk of my life, and you've served him how long?"

"Over a century," he grumbled.

"Exactly," she said. "And you don't intend on going anywhere, do you?"

"Not. At. All."

She smiled at him, despite his grumpy demeanor. "And neither do I," she said. "So don't you think it would be best for all parties concerned, if we tried to be a little nicer to each other. I mean, I realize I'm just as much at fault as you are. Especially with the soup incident, but . . ."

"Apology not accepted," he said smugly.

Rin frowned. "Now, Jakken . . ."

"Listen here, girlie. You think this is all some sort of game. Some sort of fairytale where you're the princess and my lord is the handsome prince."

Now it was her turn to scoff. "Please, Jakken, even I'm not that naive."

"You are naive," he retorted. "Especially if you're expecting a 'happily ever after.'" He picked up the Staff of Heads and fed the dying fire.

Rin jumped as the flames flared then died back to normal. "You could've warned me about that, you know. I could've been cooked."

He cradled the Staff in his arms, smoke billowing from the old man's mouth. "Consider yourself warned, then. Nothing good will come of this," he said. "Nothing."

She chuckled uneasily, watching the flames as they flickered and danced, the aroma of fire-roasted fish teasing at her nostrils. "You're such a naysayer, Jakken. Nothing bad will happen. Our lord is mighty and strong, and we should trust in his decisions. When has he ever been wrong?"

He huffed, then turned his nose up at her.

"Exactly," she said. "He doesn't make mistakes. Everything he does, he does for a reason."

"And what's his reasoning behind this?" he asked gruffly. "Taking . . . you as a mate?"

She gave a slight shrug, her face burning bright red. "I wouldn't know."

"Well that makes two of us." He focused in on her, then shook his head. "You'll be the death of us all."

"Me?" she laughed. "I'm harmless. Just another 'worthless' human, as you're so fond of saying."

"That was before," he said. "Before, you were nothing. Before, you were expendable, replaceable, forgettable. Nothing but the lowly pet of a great lord, barely worth mentioning."

"Pet?" she repeated.

"But if he takes you as his mate, his enemies will have a field day with you. The one weak spot where they'll constantly strike."

She shook her head, a forced smile plastered on her lips. "That's silly. Why would they want to hurt me? I'm nothing; I'm nobody."

"To me," Jakken said. "But to my lord . . ."

She swallowed hard at the implied meaning, then wet her lips. "You mean they'd hurt me to hurt him?"

"They've done it in the past, haven't they? That filthy Naraku and those scheming Shichinintai . . . And that was when you were barely worth mentioning. But as the Lady of the Western Lands . . ."

She shook the thoughts from her head. You're a mountain, she reminded herself. Let the bad thoughts roll right off you. "He won't let anything bad happen to me."

"Of course not," Jakken said. "But what'll happen to him in the process?"

"Nothing bad will happen to him. I won't let it," she said stoutly. "He'll watch over me, and I'll watch over him." Twin peaks of the same mountain. "And, besides, no one can best our lord," she said. "He is the great Lord of the Western Lands, one of the most feared and well-known demons in all the land. What fool would dare raise a hand against him?"

He laughed dryly to himself. "I must say I admire your spark, Lady Rin. But there are fools aplenty in this land. And Lord Sesshomaru's father, Lord Toga, was the greatest and most feared demon in all the land. And still he fell at their hands . . . It was a sad day for us all."

She drew in a deep breath and pushed it out. "Well, you can just forget about all that nonsense, Jakken. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is our lord." A sly smile worked its way across her lips. "If they'd like to try and separate us, let them. I am prepared," she said. "No one will take me from him, nor take him from me. So, they'd just better get used to the idea and make the necessary adjustments . . . And you too, Jakken. We all have to stick together . . . don't we?" She was hopeful, but skeptical. Jakken and she had never been the best of friends, and he had rejected her apology about the soup but . . .

"Aye, Lady Rin."

She was surprised to see him nodding solemnly, but with just a hint of a smile.

"We do have to stick together."

"Good," she said. "Now, help yourself to some fish." She picked up her own breakfast and began to eat. "And don't forget to save some for Ah-Un. I don't want anybody getting left out."

He nodded again, then moved closer to the fire where he'd laid the cleaned fish. "Thank you for the breakfast, Lady Rin."

She smiled in reply. "You're quite welcome, Jakken."

They ate in shared silence.

Rin was the first to speak. "You have to call me lady," she teased.

"Shut up and eat your breakfast," he scolded. "Brat," he added playfully.

"That's Lady Brat to you."

"Not yet, it isn't."

"Sesshomaru said so," she put on mock airs. "And if you don't obey him, he'll beat you within an inch of your life."

"You're the one who needs a beating," he retorted.

"Oh? And will you be the one to give it to me?"

A sly smile crossed his misshapen mouth. "That is the job of a mate, not the job of a servant."

Her jaw dropped. "Jakken!"

He continued to grin, a bright gleam dancing in his bulbous eyes.

"Why, you little hentai."

The grin became a smirk. "We'll see how smug you are once the master has his way with you."

She turned bright red and picked up a stone. "Why, you little bastard," she laughed.

"You'll see."

She hurled the stone at him, hitting him squarely between the eyes.

"Ow!"

"Well, that settles that." She dusted her hands off, and threw the remains of her breakfast into the fire.

"Spiteful child," Jakken moaned, rubbing his head. "So much like the master." He wandered back over to his tree and slumped down.

All Rin could do was smile.