InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sesshoumaru, sit! ❯ Silence Is a Virtue ( Chapter 2 )

A rewrite of chapter 2

Thank you all, reviewers-san! I loved all your comments and support. You're the best!!!

 hope you like this chap more than you did the last one, whoeverisstillreading. Thanx!

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Ningen: Human.

-bachan: a term of affection for elders.

-sama: address for someone better in status.

-san: Miss, Mrs., Madame, Mr., Sir.

-chan: for kids, or younger people in general.

Inu: dog.

Youkai: Demon.

Hanyou: Half demon.

Miko: Priestess.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the below characters, except Amaya.

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Recap from the last chapter:

She surged to her feet, mouth agape, when she spotted what looked to be a huge bird flying far to her right. She thought she saw two heads on the thing.

She watched it descending somewhere in the middle of the Inuyasha forest...Not so far. If she ran over and back it would take…fifteen minutes tops! She would love to see at least one demon before she had to go!

But would it be wise to wander off alone without telling anyone? Kagome said it was dangerous, but so far there was nothing happening. And she would only be taking a peek. Kagome wasn't likely to let her come back again…

Logically, it was a bad idea. Who knew what could happen. The mysterious creature might be dangerous…

Her lips pursed and she looked around quickly before making her decision. She shook the little kitsune and whispered something into his ear.

Shippou mumbled a sleepy 'OK' as she dashed off, and went back to sleep.

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CHAPTER 2:

The forest was not as thick as she expected it would be, several clearings and sunny spots intercepting her. Amaya stared into what shadows she could see, watching for any animals or youkai that might jump through to get a piece of her. Clearly this was not a wise thing to do. What idiot wandered into unknown territory despite having been forewarned about the dangers involved?

But it couldn't be as bad as that. She hadn't seen a single creature since she started her little expedition.

A soft chuckle reached her ears, and she froze in fear. She turned to bolt in the opposite direction, cursing her impulsive decision and promising herself to make Inuyasha come along next time. The sound was repeated, and she froze again, this time in shock.

“What…is a little girl doing in a place like this!” she hissed to herself.

She turned right back around and poked her head through the bushes she guessed stood between herself and the owner of the girlish giggle. The coast was unexpectedly clear and she continued in, glancing about carefully. Not two steps later, and without warning, a large, beach-ball sized object slammed into her chest with enough force to knock her off her feet and force the breath out of her lungs!

"Oof!" She gasped and coughed in shock, flinging the heavy ball off her and struggled to sit up and lower her up-flung skirt back over her legs. “What the hell was that?!” She scrambled to her feet unevenly. Close to her right was the ugliest green thing she'd ever seen. It was unconscious and harmless-looking, but Amaya still jumped back with a terrified shriek. She hadn't finished crying out when she flopped back with a gasp as a dark head popped out from the very bushes the green blob had come from. “Ah!”

“Jaken-sama!” she heard a frightened little voice cry. “Jaken-sama!” Amaya stiffened, still on her back, at the sound of shuffling feet. If her eyes hadn't been wide open with fright, she wouldn't have seen the edge of a yellow kimono enter her field of vision, followed by a small face with big brown eyes staring down at her, before the owner squatted next to her in curiousity. Amaya blinked up at her in bewilderment, trying to make a connection between the frog-looking ball and this little girl. Maybe the thing is her toy…but it had looked so alive, and it was so heavy!

Amaya rolled away quickly and rose to her knees, panting slightly and peeking at the frog; he wasn't moving. “Er…Hello there.” Maybe the kid wasn't even human. A demon in disguise maybe? No, no. No way could anything remotely harmful look so cute and innocent. “Um…were you playing here?” she asked tentatively. “Where are your parents?”

The girl stared at her in clear confusion before she broke out in a wide smile. “My name is Rin. Jaken-sama was making me dinner,” she said jovially, pointing at the green lump. Amaya took another peek at the unconscious `Jaken'. He must be a demon; animals didn't know how to cook…Wait. A demon taking care of a human child? Was that even normal? “Rin's parents are in heaven, but Sesshoumaru-sama takes care of Rin now.” The little girl smiled widely. “Jaken takes care of me when Sesshoumaru-sama is away.”

“O…oh. I'm-I'm sorry about your parents,” Amaya said lamely, not really knowing how to react in the face of such optimism concerning the tragic fact. But at least that additional info cleared some of the confusion Amaya was feeling. This Sesshouwhatever was her guardian, and the Jaken guy his servant…Do demons usually serve humans, then?

Rin nodded once, her cheerful expression slipping a little, but the smile was back full-force in less than a second. “It's all right. Rin is very happy. What's your name?” She looked up at Amaya expectantly.

“Eh? Oh! My name is Amaya. Nice to meet you, Rin-san.” She bowed lightly. Rin giggled and bowed back. Amaya startled when she grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward Jaken. “Eh! No, no! I don't think-!”

“Don't be afraid, Amaya-sama. Jaken is harmless.” She crouched down next to him and poked him in the side. Amaya suppressed a squeak when he twitched. “Jaken-sama! We have a guest! This is no time for a nap, wake up!”

The lump moved some more and started to mumble angrily. Amaya almost fainted. Now that she looked more closely, she was surprised she hadn't noticed it wore clothes. And a hat!

“Ah-Un. I'm going to punish them for this,” he cried hoarsely, and Amaya stared at him, openmouthed. She slapped herself mentally, remembering when she was. Nothing unusual about talking frogs in the feudal era. He stood up and staggered around himself, his eyes still unfocused. A minute of this and he stopped, blinking rapidly, his gaze rising to meet Amaya's. Amaya was stiff as a board, fighting the urge to bolt. She'd always hated reptilians. But then again she hated a lot of things. Spiders on the top of her list.

“What…?” Realization seemed to dawn in those big eyes of his and he slapped his hands to his face with a look of utter horror. “Riiiiin!” he squeaked shrilly and jumped back before bouncing around randomly. Amaya shrieked and leapt behind the little girl and prayed the frog didn't come any closer. “A human! You brought a human into our midst?! You stupid girl!” He stopped suddenly and began to weep in misery, and that's when Amaya realized how very un-frightening he was. “My Lord is going to kill me!”

“Why would he…? Isn't he human?” Amaya asked tentatively.

Jaken froze and looked at her between the fingers pressed to his face. His gaze turned angry. “Get out of here, foolish human! You'll get us all in trouble!”

“That's not true, Jaken-sama. Sesshoumaru-sama won't mind,” Rin said calmingly, sounding a little upset herself. “I'll explain.” She grabbed Amaya's hand again and guided her through the bushes and into a small clearing just beyond. Jaken followed them, still whining, and Amaya wished she could just go back to Kagome, where she knew what was going on. This Sesshoumaru didn't sound human at all—not if he didn't like having humans around. But then, why was Rin with him?

“This is Ah and Un, Amaya-sama. I named them,” Rin told her proudly. Amaya gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Rin seemed to see through her fear. “They're harmless also, don't worry.”

Harmless? Harmless?! They were actually two heads in one gigantic reptilian body—a dragon? It must be the creature she had seen back at the river! Large yellow eyes with thin black slits for pupils and lots and lots of green scales all over. They even had a mane, like a horse, and a long lizard-like tail. Beautiful and frightening all at once. Ah-Un gave her a cursory glance before turning away.

Amaya startled when she felt a light tugging at the hem of her short skirt. "Would you like to have lunch with us? Jaken is making snake soup," Rin said happily. Amaya paused to sniff the air when she spotted the boiling pot next to the dragon. It…smelled pretty good…

“Um…s-sure.” If she was lucky, it would taste like chicken.

Jaken gasped behind them and stared ahead. "Oh, no. Now I'm really going to get it! My Lord is here!" He gave a loud squeak and jumped into a group of bushes to his right.

Amaya wasn't sure what to do? She would have giggled in amusement at the rattling bushes where the frog was, but she was feeling a little too much dread to really manage it. Run maybe? Nah, that didn't seem right. Besides, the little girl couldn't possibly look this happy about thos Seshousomething person coming if he was bad. Right?

She caught her breath when the sound of someone approaching became audible. Rin was beaming, Ah-Un unconcerned, and Jaken, clearly, scared out of his wits. No two had the same reaction, so she didn't know whether she should be relaxed, or on guard.

He emerged from the shadows looking right at her, as if he knew she was there before ever seeing her. He probably did know. With those pointed ears, he was no doubt a demon, with super hearing and all. Wow! And he looked so much like Inuyasha. The hair, the eye color, and some little things in the way he walked and looked down at her that told her he was just as full of himself as the hanyou was, albeit more elegantly. Brothers maybe? Maybe he was his dad?! No way. he looked too young for kids! When do demons start making babies anyway?

She was jolted out of her random, very untimely thoughts by his calm but very aggressive tone.

“Jaken.” The green ball was at the demon's feet in less than a second, shivering and shaking, leaves stuck to his robes and hat.

“Y-yes, my Lord?”

“What is this?”

He's way too calm. Reminds me of my Dad. Right before he has a fit. Amaya would have gnawed on her fingernails nervously, but she was almost sure he would hear it.

“Please my Lord, I had nothing to do with it! She just walked right in!” He all but dug his forehead into the ground, twittering pathetically between sentences. “Rin! Rin brought her in!” He raised his head for the first time, craning his neck to look up at his master while maintaining his humble pose. “I told you that child was nothing but trouble, master! All humans are! She shouldn't even be with us!”

“That decision is mine to make, not yours.”

“Eep! Yes, M-master! Of course!”

"Amaya-sama is Rin's new friend," Rin put in suddenly, skipping closer to the demon. Jaken's word clearly had not effected her at all. "Can she stay with us for a little while? Rin gets very lonely when Sesshoumaru-sama is away." She looked up at him pleadingly, trustingly.

Amaya watched nervously as he took his eyes away from hers, and she almost sighed in relief. So very cold…His eyes…He so didn't like her! She saw his expression soften as he looked down at his ward. After a moment he nodded once, slowly. "Only for tonight, Rin."

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Her large brown eyes were filled with adoration and happiness. He nodded once more at her and walked off. He propped himself against a tree a few yards away, sitting down gracefully against it, his furry, white pelt around his shoulders and back. He looked ahead, and then closed his eyes slowly.

He isn't going to sleep... he's too wary of me. Knowing she was being watched didn't allow her any relaxation, although Rin's happy chatter and playful optimism did ease things a bit. She liked Rin a lot, but the pretty, doll-like man not too far away was making her aware of her own presence; She didn't feel welcome, even though he said she could stay. And the Jaken fellow glared at her heatedly whenever she happened to look his way. Amaya wouldn't have agreed to stay if anyone had bothered to ask her. But she wasn't sure `thanks, but no thanks' would be a welcome response to the demon's `hospitality'. Besides that, Rin really was a delight, and despite the threatening air she felt emanating from her guardian, the little girl kept her occupied enough with her flower gathering frenzy -very adorable in her opinion- so she wasn't so aware of it all the time. She would go back in a few hours. No problem. She just hoped no body worried too much over her disappearance back at Kaede's village.

“Amaya-sama! This is for you.”

“Thank you, Rin-chan.” She placed the surprisingly well made crown of flowers on her head, laughing in genuine amusement. “Well done, Rin-chan. This is really beautiful!”

“Thank you!” Rin giggled and began gathering more blossoms, Amaya joining in.

“Would you teach me how to make one, too?” Amaya was startled at the intense look of wonder Rin gave her at that.

“Of course, Amaya-sama! Rin would love to teach you!”

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