InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost World ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

<i><b> ;Lost World</i>< /b>

 

By: OtakuSailorV

 

<i>Chapter Six - Anxiety</i>

 

Rin felt her mouth go dry, her throat closed up as if she were about to cry, though there were no tears. Her jaw muscles made her teeth come together in her mouth tightly. She went rigid, back stiff and a cold feeling immediately settled on her. She felt as if she were drenched in cold water, and hot flashes soon set in. Her hands grew clammy in her lap and she fiddled with them haphazardly as she watched the screen door open before her eyes.

 

She was jittery as a tall man stepped in, only a little taller than Sesshoumaru. He had the same long, silver hair, though his was gathered at the top into a nice long ponytail that swayed from side to side with his every step. He smiled broadly and warmly but that did not appease her rapid palpitations. She knew her face was red, and she must have looked terrified, for he sat down a good distance away from her when he saw her face, almost as if he did not wish to frighten her.

 

His eyes were a bright gold, just like Sesshoumaru's, and on each cheek was a single, jagged purple stripe. Not like the thin ones that lined either of Sesshoumaru's cheeks. Up in the middle of his forehead, was the same blue-purple crescent moon as well. He wore a simple kimono, none of the glorious armor that she was sure she'd find him in. Well, it was simple as far as a Lord's kimono goes.

 

Rin looked at his long, graceful fingers uncertainly, for they were tipped with sharp claws the gleamed brightly when he moved his hand. His ears were sharply pointed as well, making her wonder about the reoccurring trait among the people, and suddenly remembered the small green ears that Jaken had. Were they all youkai then?

 

Her eyes widened at this thought, and a flash seemed to light up her mind, sending a cold shock running through her. Her eyes fell on the fangs that glistened in his wide grin. Unsure, she cast her eyes aside.

 

So that meant that Sesshoumaru was one too. . . ?

 

She was glad that he had not come very close, that would have made the situation even more awkward to her, and already she knew she could not speak.

 

Growing up, she had become used to these sudden mood swings within her body. When she had been young, she had often been called on to read in class. Her body would react just the same, and when she spoke, her voice would be thin and quivery. Lines that were meant to be questions came off as statements, and statements came off as exclamations or questions. At the end, she would be left in a frazzled state, her legs shaking under her desk when she sat back down. The other students would joke with her later, telling her how red her face had gotten, or how much they had tried not to laugh when she had stumbled over a word that she already knew how to pronounce properly.

 

She was ashamed that she could never get herself to cooperate, and tried often to get a hold of herself. She was a teenager now, fifteen in fact, and there was no reason why she should continue acting like a frightened child whenever a situation came up that caused her to be even the slightest bit nervous. It was no use though, her mind was shot and impulse overrode clear thought patterns.

 

It was one of <i>those</i> times again, she knew it. All she wanted to do was curl up and fade away; she hated how closely he was watching her. She wished her happy mood from before were back, though she wasn't quite sure anymore what she had been so pepped up about in the first place. There was nothing to be happy about, at least, that's what she was telling herself now.

 

Lifting her eyes, she found that he was still smiling at her, though he had let his lips drop back over his pointed teeth, making her feel somewhat more comfortable. It was still strange being in a room alone with what she presumed was a youkai Lord. And not only that, but she had been rescued and led around like a puppy by a youkai Prince if it were true. She felt ashamed of her earlier behavior and blushed; though her face could have gotten no redder.

 

He finally broke the pause, his features lighting up with a contagious grin again. Rin wanted to smile back at the tall Lord, but her lips refused to move. “I have not been informed on what your name is, so you must excuse my rudeness. I am Inutaishou, Lord of the castle you have been lodging in.”

 

Rin watched him, a war of emotions fueling inside of her. She didn't want to be discourteous to her host, but then again, she shouldn't just tell him anything just because he was being polite and asking so nicely. Who knew whom she could trust? Again she kicked herself for being so empty-headed earlier; she hated when she had spells like that. Her mouth opened and she stumbled over words, finding none that she thought were suitable for the situation. When nothing but strange gawking noises came out, she immediately shut her mouth again.

 

Inutaishou had watched her with a curious kind of air for a moment before beaming with understanding, a hearty laugh rumbling in him. “I suppose you wouldn't trust me, would you?” He stated rather than asked.

 

Rin decided that she definitely liked him, he was very nice and reminded her so much of her father. . .But she wasn't about to be drawn in by that. She steeled herself again, shifting uncomfortably.

 

Bowing her head, she found that words came to her easier when she did not have to meet that glowing golden gaze. “I'm sorry.” She said in a soft tone.

 

He shook his head once. “No, no, you're not obligated to answer anything, though I am curious as to a few things. How about this, I'll ask you a few things, and if you aren't comfortable with answering them, then you don't have to?” He suggested, still smiling.

 

Yes, he definitely reminded Rin of her father before he had. . .Rin nodded, agreeing to this proposition.

 

Inutaishou grinned when he saw that she seemed a little less nervous than she was before and possibly a touch more open as well. “Alright, let's start with your name, Miss.”

 

“I am called Rin.” Rin managed to say, her anxiety easing, though she was still on her guard against letting her tongue slip.

 

“Rin,” he tested it, then continued on. “Miss Rin, you were found unconscious in the middle of the forest to the East of here with no sign as to where you had come from or where you were going to. From where do you hail? And what business brought you to my lands?”

 

Rin stiffened slightly, mind racing. What was she going to say? Would he believe her if she told him the truth? Was telling him the truth even an option?

 

“I come from Japan.” It was an obvious answer, but it was the first thing that came to mind, and she didn't think it would hurt to let him know the name of her country. He was speaking her language after all. . .

 

He looked at her for a moment, as if considering what she had said quite seriously. Oh no, had she said something wrong already? Nervously, she hoped that this was Japan and he was just looking at her strangely because she had stated the obvious.

 

“It is quite obvious from your scent that you are from Japan, but there is something different as well.” He seemed to be musing to himself, touching his chin with his thumb and forefinger as he spoke and looking more at the ceiling than at her.

 

Her scent? Oh, if he were a youkai, yes, that would make sense. But different? Different how? Her mind traveled to the world of steel and asphalt that she called her own and then compared it with this wonderful place of purity. Yes, there was no doubt that her Japan was different.

 

But if this was Japan. . .had she gone back in time? Impossible, she was sure some of the plants she had spotted in the forest had been extinct for millions of years. And not even seen on this continent at that! No, this couldn't be a Japan she knew, but Inutaishou acted as if it could be no other. Strange, what was this place then?

 

“I'm not sure. . .” Rin stumbled for the right words. How could she tell him anything that was near the truth without letting on to the whole crazy concept that she had been pulled through space by some unknown pelted figure? What's more, she couldn't see her attacker's motive for bringing her here in the first place, she had yet to find out if she was some `destined savior' like all those teenage girls in the manga she constantly read. She hoped she wasn't, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to take such a big responsibility on her shoulders.

 

Inutaishou looked up as Rin puzzled over how to answer his inquiries. She scratched her head with one hand uselessly and gave him a shy smile. “I'm sorry, I'm not sure how I can explain. . .I came here under. . .irregular circumstances and I'm not even sure if I understand why I am here or how I got here.”

 

The Lord nodded as if he understood her predicament, and a strange looked crossed his eyes that Rin was unable to read before he turned his head and the look changed. “Tell me, Miss Rin, would you say that this Japan is unlike the one that you claim to come from?” He seemed to be trying to get something out of her without asking for it directly.

 

Could it be that others like her had come through to this world? Rin mouth opened to spurt out her tale right away, but she double-checked herself and shut it again, thinking about her next move.

 

After a moment of thinking, she decided that she was getting nowhere, and the only way to figure out how to get home, was to figure out how she got here and if they knew anything that could help.

 

Sighing, her shoulder's sagged a little in dismay. Well, if they were gonna think she was a nutcase, she might as well get it over with.

 

“I come from Tokyo Japan, the year 20XX. I'm enrolled at Mikawa High School along with my elder sister. I came home from school one day to find that my family - who is always home when I get back - was gone. Maybe I overreacted, but it was just too weird, and after that thing with the flower. . .” Rin caught herself before she strayed off topic and continued on, not meeting Inutaishou's eyes for fear of his reaction to her tale.

 

“I panicked and went to the old shrine outside. When I got there, there was this strange man,” His sultry voice and the piercing of red eyes filled her mind, making her heart thump hollowly for a moment. “He started to say these weird things, he acted as if he knew everything about me, and then he started to talk about some other world where I would `fit in' where I would ` be better off' and if I wished, he could take me there.

 

“For a minute I believed him, I think, and when I woke up from the daze created from believing that crazy story, I realized that what I suspected was my own world was collapsing around me. Terrified, I jumped into this old well that sits in the middle of the shrine, and when I woke up I was here. Sounds like something outta a silly sci-fi novel.”

 

Sheepishly, Rin finished and finally looked up at Inutaishou with pink cheeks and an embarrassed look.

 

Rin was surprised when he did not immediately start laughing in her face, or give her a strange look. She knew she had dragged out her tale too long probably and added in little tidbits that probably didn't matter, but she was so nervous, she couldn't stop her loose tongue. Apologetically, she watched him, waiting for his response to her less-than-believable story. His face was unreadable, as deadpan as Sesshoumaru's was, for the first time she noticed how much they truly resembled each other.

 

When he did not reply after a moment of deep silence, Rin spoke up again, her voice small, “Is there any way you know of that can take me back home, Inutaishou-sama?”

 

There was a melancholy look in his eye, clouded and misty, as if in deep, deep thoughts of a sad past. He looked up as he voice lifted the silence and shook his head sadly.

 

Why, that wasn't the reaction she had thought she would receive at all! Sadness? For her? No, not her, someone else, someone very precious to him. . .

 

Rin eased somewhat, but felt her heart start to break when he shook his head like that. Then there was no way for her to return home?

 

<i>`Mother, Kagome, Souta, Jii-chan. . .'</i> Her mind wandered to her family far away and the brief flicker of hope that had been kept in her suddenly was dowsed, a darkness settling in on that place where it had been.

 

Her throat closed up and tears welled up in her brown eyes, she sniffed them back, holding them down until she was alone later on.

 

A deep sigh came from Inutaishou, his happier demeanor from before disappearing as fast as hers had and now she could see the serious ruler that sat before her. There were a few slim lines from worry and stress creasing his forehead, but not nearly as many as her Jii-chan had. Still he looked far more like a solid being to her than ever he had before. Now that his eyes were filled with sadness, not for her, but for someone else that she still could not identify.

 

Following the sigh was another slow shake of his head, before he met her eyes. “It is my duty to inform you, Miss Rin, that we do not have the ability to send you back. This has only happened once before, and everything we tried was unsuccessful then as well. There is only one thing I can think of that we were unable to do the last time such a thing happened.”

 

Despite her curiosity over who else had come here before her, Rin perked up at the possibility that there might be even a flicker of hope left for her. “Yes?” She tried not to sound too eager or get too excited, it might end up being a dead end.

 

“If you knew anything more about the man that brought you to this world,” he rubbed his forefinger and thumb over his temples once before dragging the open palm down his face as if he were exhausted. Rin wondered at how much his attitude had changed just in the course of a few minutes.

 

“If you could identify him, then maybe he would know how to send you back. But it would not be easy.” He warned, and a hint of a wry smile crossed his features. “Is there anything that was distinct about him? From what you have told me, he seems a man of power and may very well be one of my subjects.”

 

Rin could answer that right away and did not hold back her information. “He would not say his name, but he had a very. . .entrancing voice and hid behind a white pelt with a blue baboon's head and had devilish red eyes. Other than that, I couldn't see anything.”

 

Inutaishou considered this and nodded, giving her a reassuring smile; he seemed to come out of the stupor he had been in a little. “I will do my best to send you back to your home, Miss Rin, please enjoy your time here as much as you can until then. I would like to learn as much as I can from you about modern day Tokyo and answer any of your questions, but I have other business to attend to at the moment.”

 

Getting up, he let out a little grunt. His legs, so long inactive gave him a bit of a hard time, but soon he stood proud and tall, giving Rin one last nod of his head before turning to go.

 

“I-Inutaishou-sama, may I ask one small question before you go?” Rin asked, getting to her feet hurriedly and stumbling. She had shifted to sit on her knees during their conversation and now her legs were receiving the long-absent blood flow back in them again.

 

He half-turned, giving her a curious look. “Of course.”

 

“Who was the person that came here before me?” It was a simple question, but from the look that crossed his features, she could tell it was one that pained him. What had that person meant to him that it caused him such pain when they were mentioned?

 

He gave her that melancholy half-smile from before and let one of his big hands pat her on the head comfortingly before answering. “She was a girl from modern Japan like you, and she was very sweet.”

 

And with that he turned and went out the shouji door, leaving her to her thoughts and a deep sadness aching in her.

 

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