InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost World ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

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

<i>Lost World</i>

By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter Eight - Dog

Rin slipped out cautiously, listening intently for any sign that someone else was coming along.

Walking as silently as possible, she took in as much of the building as possible. The castle - or so she supposed it was - was ancient looking to her, though she could tell that from the sleekness of the wood and the simple fresh air that the building was not as old as she suspected.

The place was absolutely beautiful in structure and Rin marveled at it, despite the fact that she had never been partial to the way houses were built.

Wandering about, the walls soon opened up to accommodate a flower garden that had been placed near the heart of the castle. The blue sky whirled by overhead, the sun peeking out gently from behind a fluffy cloud. Flowers swayed on tall stalks and held tightly to the bushes as a gently breeze tempted their petals into a waltz.

The entire area had a sweet smell to it, even the dewy grass that lay as a plush carpet smelled exceptionally good. It was a definite change from the stinky Tokyo air that Rin was accustomed to back in her own world. Even on trips to the country, the air had not been this pure. She felt a sudden childish longing to lie down in the grass or walk among the sea of colors that formed a strange rainbow in the garden.

Instead she gave the flowers a wary glance. She was very tempted to go out into the sunlight. The breeze had already switched its attention from the flower petals to her hair, lifting it gently so that it brushed lightly against her face and neck. She dared not go though, there was no telling what would happen if she were to be seized again. She wasn't sure, but she didn't want to worsen her situation by being caught when she wasn't supposed to be out.

Then again, she wondered why she had bothered leaving the room at all if she was going to be such a worrywart over being caught again.

Apprehensively, she sneaked toward the flowers, trying not to look suspicious but keeping watch at the same time.

Her fingers slowly reached out as she stroked a single petal of a rose that she had never seen before. Maybe it was a hybrid? She wasn't sure, but she had never seen the color so acute and spectacular before. It was as if she had never seen flowers before this. A feast for the eyes that only got better the closer she got. The smell was heavenly as well, and Rin didn't find herself getting watery-eyed or stuffy like she might of back home either.

Remembering the incident with the red flower when this whole mess had began; she drew her fingers back swiftly and clutched them to herself as if she had been bit. A small tingle of fear ran up her spine as the memory rushed back and replayed before her eyes. What had happened that day that had made it so different than all the other days? She couldn't think of one thing that had been out of place from her regular routine and yet now here she was, stuck in some foreign country, possibly it might even be medieval Japan. Where was she really? She hadn't gotten a chance to ask Inutaishou before, and now she was frightened of the new land again. It was all so strange, and yet so familiar at the same time. . .

There was a whine and something cold touched the back of her calf. Rin flinched, coming back out of her troubled thoughts. Jumping forward an inch or so, Rin whirled, expecting to find someone watching her.

There was indeed someone watching her, but not someone she had suspected at all. Standing behind her, tail lowered, was a large white dog, a breed that Rin had never seen before either.

It was pure white, which was amazing in itself and on its forward hidden under matted fur was a purple-blue crescent moon mark. It was rather large, its head reaching up to Rin's waist, so she didn't have to stoop to pet it. It had shaggy fur; the kind that is very warm and fuzzy to hold but smells foul when wet. This dog did not smell though, or so Rin did not assume with the fragrant flowers so nearby. Two large golden eyes watched her intensely, neither in greeting nor friendship, just watching.

Now, Rin had always had a soft spot for anything fuzzy or furry in nature. Thus growing up she had been a lower of anything on four legs. She had desperately wanted a dog or a cat, any kind of pet when she was a child, but alas her mother was allergic to them.

She had somewhat grown out of it since. Mind you - somewhat. As she laid her eyes on the dog, she felt the old childish giggle and delight bubble up in her and with an effort she was able to suppress it. Only after she had contented herself with petting the dogs head for a few minutes did she actually start to feel like she could act normally again.

“Hey big guy, who are you?” She didn't expect a reply, but she spoke anyway.

Kneeling in the grass now, she gave him a small smile as she continued to pet his head. Unlike other dog's, this one did not respond with the usual whines and encouraging motions. Instead it held quite stiffly still, following her every motion with his amber-gold eyes.

“Where did you come from? You live here in this castle?” Rin continued, still not expecting any response. For some reason, it felt good just to talk, even if the dog couldn't talk back.

The floppy ears on the dogs head raised a little when she spoke, so there was some acknowledgement to the sounds she was making, though she was sure he didn't understand one word.

With the appearance of the dog, however, Rin felt the apprehensiveness creep back over her. She felt suddenly nervous and jumpy, as one usually does when one feels someone's eyes on their back.

Surely if the dog had an owner, they'd be around here somewhere, right? She had never heard of dogs roaming castles aimlessly in times like these like they did in houses in her world. So that meant that whoever was caretaker for the dog would be nearby. She wondered if they would be a youkai too. She looked at the dog pointedly, as this thought crossed her mind. Was the dog a youkai too?

She scratched it behind one of its large, fluffy white ears and stared into its amber eyes. No, surely not. This dog was too beautiful to be a demon. Then again, the prince of the castle had been rather beautiful and so had Inutaishou and both were demons. She felt her cheeks reddening and she shook her head. She was being stupid again.

Getting up slowly, she stretched and looked about. The dog was still watching her and she felt rather uncomfortable with its unblinking stare placed so intensely on her.

Deciding to look about the castle some more, Rin made her way back to the wooden porch and followed it until it curved back inside. The click on a dog's nails and the tiny `thp' sound of the pads on the dog's paws followed her the entire way. Rin tried to ignore it at first, thinking if she did so, maybe the dog would go away. It stayed on her trail though; she could feel it's piercing yellow eyes fixed on her back.

After some time and still unable to lose the great white dog, Rin wondered if it had been ordered to follow her by a guard or Inutaishou. Maybe he was some kind of escort for her? She couldn't help but giggle. It sounded too much like a shoujo manga. Here she was, the Japanese school-girl heroine and her adorable dog-companion that would be the mascot of the series. What would the series be entitled? Maybe…Mahou Shoujo Rin-chan. She liked the sound of that, but then again, it wasn't very original, was it?

She pondered it some more, and wondered if she should chronicle her adventures here in this world. When she got back home, she could write a book or even make a manga out of her experiences. That would be nice, she had always wanted to be an author or an artist of some sort anyway.

The dog gave a bark that broke her from her thoughts again. She realized that she had been making slow progress due to her daydreams and had started in a zigzag course that the dog was obviously not too fond of following. Rin gave it a disgruntled look.

“Stop following me then,” she replied, as if it had actually spoken.

The dog snorted at her as it waited for her to start walking again.

Rin gave it one final look before starting to turn a corner. Her heart jumped into her throat when she heard oncoming footsteps though, and she quickly looked for a place to hide. Voices were coming as well, mostly women and one or two male tones. She figured they were servants, but still she felt the urgency to not be seen.

The only place she could see that was worth hiding was under the porch itself. Hurriedly, Rin jumped into the grass two feet down and shot underneath the dusty and dirty porch. She crouched there, holding her breath and trying to calm the furious palpitations of her heart. If they were demons too, would they be able to sense or smell her nearby? She hoped not, that would make her hiding utterly ridiculous. The white dog had not followed her, she hoped it didn't give away her hiding spot.

It seemed to take forever for the small group of servants to walk by. Guessing from the number of varying tones and the sound of their footsteps, Rin guessed there were maybe five or six of them. They slowed as they passed over her and she thought for a moment that they had found her. Instead she was surprised when they acted with respect. She knew they must have been bowing as they spoke humbly to another passerby that Rin had not heard coming at all.

“Good day, M'Lord.”

“Greetings, young prince.”

“Prince Sesshoumaru, have a nice day, sir.”

Rin froze up. She knew for sure that Sesshoumaru was a youkai, and with that he must be able to sense her below the floorboards. `Oh no, what am I gonna do now?'

As the group departed and they disappeared around a further corner, Rin felt herself still stiff. She had not heard the prince come or go and suspected that he was still there above her, waiting for her to make a move so he could catch her running around again.

`How humiliating,' Rin thought as she noticed that she had gotten a bit dirty hiding underneath the filthy porch.

Gathering up her courage, Rin sneaked out from underneath the porch and slowly looked up over the floorboards. She suspected that he would be right there when she reappeared. However, all that stared back at her was the white dog from before. His tongue lolled out to one side now as he panted in the heat of the day, but other than that, there was no sign of anyone else around.

Rin raised on eyebrow in confusion. She had heard them address the prince, but she didn't see him anywhere. Looking around, she found that there was indeed not even a small trace of him. Maybe he had passed without noticing her and she had been too distracted to notice his coming and going.

That was odd, but she laid it aside. The people here were strange, probably because they were youkai and not people, and she wasn't about to question their ways.

“Did you see the prince go by, dog?” She asked her fuzzy companion who simply stared back at her in reply.

“Yeah, I thought not.”

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