InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost World ❯ Chapter Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )

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

Lost World

By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter Fourteen - Confrontation

“The story behind the painting I drew is already told
No more tearstains on the pages of my diary
Tired but unable to give up since I'm
Responsible for the lives I saved,” ~ Nightwish

Rin felt her stomach suddenly burst into a thousand terrified butterflies that attempted feebly to free themselves from within her. Her heart, tickled by the butterflies soft wings, jump up into her throat, which open to let out a giggle. It stopped halfway up though, for she felt far too childish, and instead contented herself with a large smile. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement. She felt very embarrassed and quickly tried to correct her features before they landed. She wouldn't want to make Inutaishou and Sesshoumaru look bad…

The dragon made an easy landing, which Rin was thankful for. She had been bracing herself for a rocky landing, but she should have known that since the dragon was carrying Inutaishou, he would be exceedingly careful.

Inutaishou helped Rin to the ground, she was quickly followed by the ever-silent Sesshoumaru. He seemed completely uninterested in the whole trip, his eyes piercing into something in the distance enigmatically. His attitude only made Rin more nervous, knowing that everyone at this `party' was going to be scrutinizing her and asking her questions at every turn. She had to remember to stand straight and tall and to speak properly, so as to not embarrass Inutaishou and his son. Her cheeks were already heating up at the thought of so much attention and she felt jittery and uneasy. She wanted to get moving as soon as possible, but held back since Inutaishou was taking his time.

She found it suddenly hard to breath in the kimono, her hands grew moist and clammy. Fighting to control herself, she took long, deep breath, being sure to be quite silent the entire time. She didn't want anyone around to notice that she was—

“There's no need to be so nervous, Rin-chan.”

Rin flinched, not having expected anyone to bring her out of her thoughts so suddenly. She blushed madly with embarrassment and gave Inutaishou a weak smile. “I-I'm sorry, I'm not used to this sort of thing. I'll calm down, sorry.”

Inutaishou chuckled at her. “Well, here we are,” he announced as he turned to see that servants were already pulling the doors back to allow them passage into the large structure. They bowed as Inutaishou and Sesshoumaru passed, but Rin noticed their eyes peeking up to stare at her as she walked by them. She stared back, finding herself unable to break eye contact with them.

“Rin-chan, don't dawdle,” Inutaishou called, knowing Rin would get lost all too easily if she didn't keep up with them.

“Ah! Yes, sorry,” she called, jumping to attention. Briefly she looked back over her shoulder as she hurried away and found that the two youkai servants were whispering to each other as they watched her go.

* * *

“Oh, Inutaishou-sama, this must be the magnificent little human girl I've heard so much about,” a weasel youkai dressed in a hakama commented with a toothy grin.

Rin smiled pleasantly, bowing to the youkai and introducing herself as politely as she could. She didn't like his tone though, or really any of the tones taken up by the other youkai she had spoken to either. They had all hidden condescending attitudes, snobbish comments and mean-spirited jibes behind their greetings. Like she wasn't worth their time or something, and it made her quite angry. She kept herself in check though, despite her urge to leave immediately. She didn't like this place, these people that treated her as if she were below them.

If Rin had been paying any attention, she would have noticed that behind her, Sesshoumaru was watching with narrowed eyes.

“Well, it was very nice meeting you young lady. I'm terribly sorry to hear about your predicament as well,” and he was gone, mingling back in with the rest of the crowd.

Rin sighed, feeling drained and anxious. She desperately wanted to sit down somewhere. “Inutaishou-sama. . .Would it be alright if I. . .could go outside? I'm sorry, I'm just kinda hot in here and I thought I could cool down.”

Inutaishou patted her head softly, smiling at her. “Of course you can, you don't need to ask, Rin-chan,” he laughed when she apologized again.

* * *

Rin sighed, taking a deep breath of the cool forest air. A bench hewn from stone was set up nearby and she crossed the dirt path to sit on it with another contented sigh. She felt much better up here, she had felt much too stifled and crowded in the dining hall she had just come from. Too many people, too much confusion, she had felt completely overwhelmed.

Now that she was outside, she felt much more at home. It was cool and the air was sweet unlike the air she was used to in Tokyo. The burden of being under the intense scrutiny of every person in the room had lifted from her, making her feel much better than she had in hours. Her mind wandered immediately as she peered over the landscape, her gaze resting on a peculiar silver patch that she had just come across. It stood out from all of the green, with a familiar shape and texture to it that poked at a memory in the back of Rin's mind.

The dragon! Her heart gave a little jump of utter joy and excitement as she realized that the dragon she had rode on with Sesshoumaru and Inutaishou was curled up in the grass not too far off. Would it be ok if she went over there to pet it? It hadn't protested back at Inutaishou's castle, but would it be ok this time since now she had no chaperone? Plucking up her courage, she started walking over.

His eyes were open, his silver ears flicked towards her and he sniffed the air thoughtfully as she approached. He raised his head from the ground when he recognized her and leaned towards her. Rin smiled, happy that she was being greeted so warmly.

“Hello again,” she greeted, not quite sure if the dragon could understand her or not. The dragon let her stroke his muzzle, watching her with intense curiosity. Rin grinned at him. “How are you? You've been out here the whole time?”

It rumbled in reply, sniffing her hands thoughtfully. Rin giggled at the cold, wet nose that brushed her palms softly, warming them with his breath. With a loud snort he turned his head away, pricking his ears up as he turned his attention to something in the distance. Rin smiled, going closer and brushing his powerful shoulder with her fingers. He felt so soft. . .

A rumbling growl and Rin flinched, looking up at the dragon questioningly. Did he not like her coming so close? She followed his gaze when she found he was not staring at her but at something behind her. Turning, she started as she saw a dark figure standing on the dirt path not too far off.

This youkai took the form of a man around Sesshoumaru's age, though his skin tone was much paler, possibly from not being out in the light often. His robes were dark, black and purple that seemed nearly the same in the dim light. Long, wavy black hair pulled back in a pony tail made his pale face stand out. His eyes were a bright blood red.

Fear gripped her, made her paralyzed to the spot. There was something not right about this man, something dark and sinister that froze her blood, something so familiar too. Dreadfully familiar. . .

The dragon hissed loudly as the man drew nearer. Rin could feel his muscles bulking up underneath her hand. She patted his shoulder comfortingly, though she was numb. She didn't want him coming nearer either, she frightfully hoped that he would go away, disappear completely. Her heart was beating loudly, she could hear it in her ears; her face was pale.

“A magnificent beast,” the man's cool, sensuous tone hit her ears like a wave. It crashed on her, making her draw closer to the dragon's large body instinctively. She was looking for a place to hide. She didn't understand why, but she was unspeakably afraid of this man. She wanted him to go away, to leave her alone, to never come near her ever again.

He looked at her with a smirk as she moved away from him, he knew the impression he had on her and he was enjoying it. “Do I frighten you, little human?”

Rin couldn't speak; she wanted desperately to say `no,' to deny that she was afraid. Maybe he would leave her alone if he saw that she was not scared of him, but a knot had formed in her throat, barely allowing her to breath. The dragon hissed again, becoming protective of Rin as it inhaled her paralyzing fear. He snapped at the stranger warningly, but the man didn't flinch, simply continued smirking.

The man came closer and Rin backed away, though by now she was right up against the dragon's throat. She couldn't get any farther away. Her heart pounded fearfully, warning her as she watched him stretch out a hand as if to stroke her cheek. Don't let him touch you, don't let him. . .

Craning its neck, the dragon snapped forward, knocking the stranger back with a powerful blow from his snout. He showed the man his teeth, growling warningly.

The man got to his feet; his clothing and hair tussled from being knocked to the ground so roughly. “You're going to regret that,” his eyes glowed as he lifted one hand towards the dragon's head.

The two looked about to clash when a voice broke in. “Naraku!”

Rin gasped, looking to see Sesshoumaru standing only a few paces behind the stranger who had turned about with a glare. He smoothed it over immediately though, dropping back into his smooth tone. Rin clung to the dragon, which had calmed somewhat upon Sesshoumaru's appearance.

“Ah, Sesshoumaru-sama, so nice to see you again,” he greeted; though Rin knew he was not in any way pleased to see the silver-haired prince.

“What are you doing?” Sesshoumaru demanded, there was an edge to his voice that made Rin tense. He must be angry. . .

Naraku looked at Rin as he spoke, producing a single red blossom from somewhere inside his robes. “I bring a gift for the maiden, though I'm afraid I frightened her,” he sounded quite pleased with himself though.

Rin stared at the blossom, her eyes wide with shock. It was the same red flower that the baboon-pelted man had showed her when she had been pulled into this world!

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