InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sedition of Will ❯ A Strange Offering ( Chapter 11 )

Sedition of Will

“A Strange Offering”

 

Rin sat in the windowsill of her room overlooking Ishimaru's lands. They were entirely different than Lord Sesshoumaru's. Where his were blanketed in lush forest skirting the ocean, Ishimaru's were boggy and swamp-like. The salt water and the fresh streams met and it created and inland marsh, thick with moss and bamboo. From her window perch Rin could hear frogs croaking to each other. Though different from her home, she found Ishimaru's modest castle to her liking. It had been a week since Lord Sesshoumaru left and nearly two since her wolf attack. The wound on her leg had almost completely healed and Rin discarded her crutches eagerly. She reached under the hem of her kimono and felt the scar on her leg. With the aid of Michiyo's elderbrone leaves the wound had healed miraculously fast, leaving only a faint discoloration. Thankfully the scar wasn't overly noticeable. Just a faint streak of lighter skin on her already pale thigh. Though the wound had closed neatly the muscle still ached in damp weather, which was more often than not in Ishimaru's province. Michiyo had the perfect solution: dance.

 

Michiyo had since given her several lessons in dance. Rin would play the shamisen while the mouse youkai performed a short piece. Then they would trade places and Rin would attempt the piece while Michiyo played. Needless to say, it was Rin who was dancing most of the time while Michiyo offered critique. And Michiyo had plenty to say. Rin giggled just thinking about it.

 

“Put your feet together! Stop clenching your fingers! You look like a man! Don't look at the floor!”

 

Despite the apparent dissatisfaction Michiyo would exhibit, Rin knew her lessons were coming along quite well. Kumiko had given her the basics of dance and she eagerly filled her afternoons with Michiyo in the garden practicing. The last piece she'd taught her was a short piece that told a story of a maid who falls in love with a great king. The king returns her affection and asks her to marry him. But tragedy strikes and he falls ill and dies on their wedding night. The servant girl's sorrow is so great that her spirit is cursed and she is doomed to forever wait the return of her king. Rin found the story quite sad and was reluctant to even try it. But after Michiyo's urging she finally began to practice it, and found that she was rather good. Rin glanced around, making sure she was quite alone. From her sash she plucked the fan she'd slipped in earlier.

 

Rin pushed herself off the window and raised her hands above her head. She imagined the beautiful strumming of a shamisen and moved forward, sweeping her arm in front of her elegantly, snapping open the fan. She adored the beginning part of the story when the maid and king fall in love. Though the piece was performed as a solo, she imagined Lord Sesshoumaru as her great king. Delicately she danced across the floor waving her fan in front of her. Though her movements were wide and quick, she made barely a sound as her tabi socks fluttered across the tatami mats. She closed her eyes and imagined herself dancing across a great palace foyer to the great lord who awaited her with open arms.

 

“Yes my prince I am in love wi-OOF!” Rin's fantasy dissipated as she tripped over something and crashed forward, landing on the floor with a dull `thud'. Rin groaned and rubbed her elbow, which had bore the brunt of her fall. She glowered at the culprit she'd tripped over. Her traveling satchel lay only a few feet away from her, which she'd neglected to notice amid her frolicking.

 

“Hmph. Spoil sport.” She growled and snatched the pack, dragging it closer. She flipped open the flap and dug her hand around inside. Her fingers brushed against something cool and smooth. Her heart skipped a beat. She sat up and drew the pack closer. From it she slowly removed the white mask Kumiko had given her.

 

The Cricket Mask.

 

She'd almost forgotten about it. She glanced around the room, assuring herself that she was indeed alone. Rin ran her fingers across the glossy ceramic surface. It looked as though instead of being painted white it was made of white clay. Like porcelain, though much thicker. Rin tilted it from side to side, causing the light to play off the surface. It certainly was an eerie thing. The lack of expression gave it a sinister aura, as though it were secretly regarding her. She supposed it was only natural to consider a face as though it were a separate entity. Rin flipped it over and examined the inside. Only two narrow slits for the eyes. How would she breathe with no nose or mouth holes? Kumiko would never give her something that would hurt her…right?

 

Rin slowly raised the mask to her face, hesitating only a paper-width's distance from making contact. She took a deep breath and let it out, pressing the mask to her face. The clay felt cool against her skin. She could see out the narrow slits into her room. She glanced around, expecting to see differently somehow.

 

Everything looked exactly the same.

 

She snorted inwardly and lowered her hands, anticipating the mask to fall away with them. It did not. Instead it stuck to her face like glue. Gradually she noticed her cheeks were tingling as though hundreds of insects were crawling over them. The crawling sensation spread down to her chin and up to her forehead. Rin frantically clawed at the mask, trying to peel it off but it wouldn't budge. A scream leapt up from her throat but was immediately silenced once it reached her lips. Not even a gasp escaped. Rin fell backwards, clutching her face. Under her hands she felt the mask had grown warm. Suddenly Rin was aware of something. Slowly she tilted her head to the side. Something was wrong. The same feeling of dread came over her as when the wolf demon leered down at her darkly. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled up and her eyes darted around the room looking for the source of her anxiety.

 

There it was. Very close. On…on her..arm?

 

All at once Rin's wrist began to sting intensely. An unheard yelp echoed in her mind and she slapped her hand against her arm, squashing the bee that clung to it. Rin curled her toes and winced as she removed the tiny stinger from her flesh. Already a tiny bump was forming where the insect had stung her. Rin glared at the bee's corpse on the tatami mats. She flicked the stinger away from her.

 

“Hostile intent, huh?” She thought to herself. So that's how it worked. Kumiko hadn't been kidding. That bee had probably flown in through her window and been upset by all the flailing Rin was doing. As soon as it had targeted her Rin sensed its aggression immediately. But as Kumiko had said, in exchange for the extra sense, her voice was silenced. She couldn't even manage a squeak.

 

Rin walked up to the mirror on the wall and examined her reflection. She was quite surprised by what she saw. Her eyes were the only thing she recognized. Around the brown irises of her eyes the mask had taken on the exact shape of her face, completely enveloping her features in stark white. Her glossy black hair fell around the white oval of her face. The overall impression was that of a doll. Though her lips and nose were completely covered by the enchanted mask Rin had no trouble breathing. She tried to squint but found she was unable to change the expression of her face from the stoic gaze she wore now.

 

`That's annoying.' She thought.

 

Rin moved to the window and gazed out. She inhaled deeply and `focused'. She sensed the presence of youkai moving around the castle like tiny candles in her mind. A chicken youkai maid sweeping the steps of the entry. A row of bull youkai guards shuffling around the grand hall. She could even recognize a presence that reminded her distinctly of Jakken, bustling around in the kitchen.

 

`Probably sneaking snacks.' Rin thought with an inward snicker. How truly amazing this mask was! So she'd become its new master. Kumiko specifically said no one could wear it as long as she lived. She'd become its new ruler, just like Lord Sesshoumaru ruled Toukijin and Tensaiga. Maybe she could help Lord Sesshoumaru with this new power. Maybe she wouldn't be so useless to him after all! A thousand new possibilities fluttered before Rin. She was suddenly aware of someone approaching her door.

 

Michiyo was coming. Rin had completely forgotten about their lesson this afternoon. This would not be easy to explain. Rin ran back to the mirror and glared at her reflection. She placed a hand on either side of her cheeks. She took a deep breath and with the most imposing stare she could muster she commanded the mask to release.

 

`You will remove yourself now.' She ordered.

 

Without a sound the mask popped off her face and she fumbled to catch it. Just as she gripped it firmly there was a faint rap on her door. She tucked the mask back in her satchel.

 

“Come in!” Rin cried over her shoulder.

 

Michiyo slid the door open with a smile. She was carrying a shamisen in her arms and invited Rin to the gardens for their lesson. Rin pulled her hair back in a ponytail and eagerly joined Michiyo in the hallway.

 

`That was close.' Rin thought as she walked side by side with the mouse youkai. Rin had been warned to be discrete about the mask. She already determined she would show Lord Sesshoumaru, and no one else before him. Rin nodded to herself in agreement.

 

“Having a conversation with yourself are you?” Michiyo piped up.

 

Rin blushed and laughed out loud.

 

“Yes, I suppose so.” She replied truthfully.

 

Michiyo grinned knowingly and said no more. They entered the gardens through a side door and settled on bench near the castle's modest Shinto shrine. Lord Ishimaru's garden was quite different from Lord Sesshoumaru's. The gardens of the Inutaisho castle was carefully tended by Rin and had manicured and deeply floral feel. The Turtle Lord's garden was wilder, and clearly didn't have as much attention. But for its untamed appearance it was a beautiful sanctuary. Bamboo shoots sprung up from the pond and spread out. It felt more like a safe and private forest than a garden, and Rin adored it.

 

“So what shall we practice today, little Rin?” Michiyo asked as she knelt down with the shamisen in her lap.

 

“Let's practice `The Maid and the King' again.” Rin replied after a moment of thought. She didn't quite get to finish practicing in her room, due to certain distractions. Michiyo nodded and plucked a few notes, assuring that the instrument was properly tuned. Rin took a few steps away and assumed the beginning stance of a dancer. She trained her eyes ahead and looked at nothing in particular. From her obi she pulled her fan and held it still closed at her side. Rin tilted her head slightly to the side like a doll and waited for the music to start. The gentle notes of Michiyo's shamisen strummed delicately, beginning the dance.

 

Rin raised her fan in front of her and slowly opened it like a bird stretching its wing leisurely. She waved it in front of her as she tilted to the side, suggesting a young maid in a castle drawing up a bucket of water. Then she spotted her love, the King, approaching. Rin took tiny steps, moving in an elaborate figure eight of the maid fawning in girlish affection. Rin fluttered lightly to her king and leaned forward as if to whisper in the ear of her beloved. As the invisible king asked for her hand in marriage Rin covered her face with the open fan to hide her love induced blush. This was Rin's favorite part of the piece and she danced with whole heartedly. Michiyo's song suddenly grew serious, as news reached the bride-to-be's of her groom's sickness. With a heavy heart Rin snapped her fan shut and it became an imaginary sword. Michiyo strummed dramatically and on the third note Rin thrust the fan towards her stomach as though to stab herself. She wavered to the right in her death dance. But just as she was about to expire, Rin snapped her fan open again and raised it above her head. She became a spirit held to the earth by her overwhelming sorrow. Rin spun theatrically in her anguish, feeling the real gloom of the maid's tragic plight. So close she had come to happiness, and now it was forever lost. Rin waved her fan in front of her in a sweeping arc, her limbs drooping like a willow until she was finally still. The last lingering thrum of the shamisen fell silent and the dance was finished.

 

Michiyo clapped her hands.

 

“Well done Rin! I don't believe I've ever seen that piece performed so well!” She twittered.

 

Rin gave her a weak grin, feeling a bit depleted. The sadness of the story still clung to her like fog to a meadow.

 

“Is dancing now suitable for patients I leave in my ally's care?” A low voice inquired behind them.

 

Both women blinked and turned around. Standing about the length of Ah-Un's tail away was a very serious looking Sesshoumaru. His hands were hidden in the wide sleeves of his haori and his brow was hiked up in evident displeasure. The melancholy cloud that hung over Rin evaporated at once.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru!” She exclaimed as she raced forward. Rin flung herself ahead and threw her arms around her lord, as she had when she was a child. Behind her Michiyo gathered up her shamisen and bowed politely, excusing herself from the garden. She threw one sly grin over her shoulder as she entered the castle.

 

Rin felt a light pressure on her shoulder as Sesshoumaru lightly touched a clawed hand to it. She drew back and grinned up at him. It had felt entirely too long since she'd seen him. His beautiful golden eyes gazed down at her.

 

“Welcome back my lord!” She piped.

 

He inclined his head slightly and removed his hand from her shoulder.

 

“How was your journey?” Rin asked, quite curious.

 

“It was profitable.” He replied coolly.

 

“Did you find what you needed?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Rin beamed up at him. Suddenly she realized she still had his arms around him. She withdrew and blushed modestly. Not five minutes back and Rin managed to do something silly again, Rin mentally cursed. Sesshoumaru gazed down at her, his face as stoic as the Cricket Mask. Rin felt as though she were made of glass. He could see everything she was thinking or feeling, which only caused her to blush more. Sesshoumaru took a step back and turned from her, his sleek hair sweeping behind him.

 

“Rin.” He stated simply.

 

“Yes my lord?” She inquired softly.

 

“Walk with me.” He replied over his shoulder.

 

Rin blinked, but could see that he was waiting for her. She tucked her fan in her obi and trotted to his side, peering up at him curiously. He said nothing and strode forward leisurely. Rin trailed in his wake closely. Finally they arrived at a small pavilion set with a shogi board. Rin felt quite puzzled. Sesshoumaru picked up the shogi board and set it aside on a bench.

 

“Sit.” He commanded over his shoulder. Rin quickly sat on one of the stools set at the stone table. Sesshoumaru turned and settled on the stool directly across from her. Rin felt herself growing nervous. This seemed like a very formal setting, meaning something important was about to transpire. Was he going to finally send her away? Or make her stay at this castle? Right felt herself grow light headed. Sesshoumaru was studying fixedly across the table.

”Does my company make Rin so uncomfortable?” He asked in a low tone.

 

“Oh no Lord Sesshoumaru! I just…feel nervous for some reason.” Rin cried.

Sesshoumaru lifted a stern brow.

 

“I just feel like you took me out here so I would be sitting down…while you told me something...” Rin's voice trailed off. Her hands were trembling under the table.

 

Sesshoumaru seemed to consider this.

 

“Do you remember what I said before I left?” He finally asked.

 

Rin lowered her eyes.

 

“You said you had something important to talk to me about.” She said faintly.

 

“That is correct.” He replied smoothly. “Rin, look at me.”

 

Rin tore her eyes off the table and looked up at him meekly. He was studying her through his thick white bangs. He seemed to be considering her very sincerely. It made Rin feel excited and self conscious all at the same time. Typically when Sesshoumaru looked at someone, he seemed to look through them. If he looked at them at all. It was as though they were so entirely beneath him to even gain his full attention. The entire focus of his gaze was very intense and it gave Rin the feeling her stomach was a jar of butterflies. At length he reached inside his haori and retrieved something that looked like a twisted tree branch from it. He placed it gently on the table and returned his golden eyes to her. She looked at the gnarled object, then back at Sesshoumaru, looking baffled.

 

“What is it Lord Sesshoumaru?” Rin asked.

 

“The antler of a fire ram.” He replied simply.

 

Rin felt like scratching her head.

 

“What is it for?” She asked.

 

“It is for you. Do you accept it?” He inquired. Sesshoumaru waited patiently for her response. Rin reached tentatively across the table and picked it up. It was heavier than it looked. Indeed it was not a branch as she guessed; it was a horn of some type. It was about the size of Rin's forearm. It was twisted and covered in bumpy ridges. Rin turned it over in her hand and looked up at her lord questioningly.

 

“Do you accept it?” He asked again.

 

“Of course my lord! I will treasure it.” She stammered. This was certainly a strange gift, but Rin would value anything her lord gave her. She just wished she didn't feel so confused.

 

Across from her a strange smile curled onto Sesshoumaru's lips.