InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Stronger ❯ Preprations ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Fairia13 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 11.05.2004 | Updated On: 11.05.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 615 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 11.05.2004 | Updated On: 11.05.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 615 | Status: Work In Progress
DISCLAIMER: Once more, not mine.
As always to Fate, who beta's, harasses, comiserates and consoles as necessary.
Chapter Four - Preparations
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The rest of the week flew by in a haze of preparations. Rooms had to be cleaned and aired, menus had to be planned and the fortress in general needed cleaning. Between all of that, Rin attempted to avoid Lady Alina, who seemed to be trying to glare her down at every turn, keep an eye on Sakura and Ino, who were now intent of being warriors, and make sure Sesshomaru ate, since now the work really was piling in.
At present, Rin stood in the laundry, conversing with Mitsuki about which linens were supposed to be placed on the beds, and which rooms they would go to.
It had been a royal headache to decide who slept where, and where their guards were housed, Rin decided. The Southern Lord, Raidon, didn't particularly like the Northern Lord, Kouga, so those two couldn't be placed next to one another unless absolutely necessary. However, Lord Kouga didn't like Lady Alina - 'but then again, who does?' Rin reflected wryly.
the feeling was mutual. Lady Alina considered Lord Kouga to be an uncouth mutt, and Lord Kouga thought Lady Alina was a snobbish bitch. Both of them had their points, but it made keeping a reasonable amount of peace difficult.
However, in the end it had all been sorted out to everyone's satisfaction. Now the only thing left to do was put the linens on the beds...
"We'll just leave Lady Alina's on her bed." Rin decided. "She's already been here for awhile, and there's no need to put extra work on us that we don't need."
"Most assuredly," Mitsuki muttered, trying to ignore the looks that the other laundry maids were casting at them. Most of them knew about Mitsuki's exploits with the Lord, and found it vaguely amusing that she would be forced into close contact with Sesshomaru's ward, who, for all appearances, was completely oblivious. "Which ones did you have in mind for Lord Raidon and Lord Kouga?"
Rin wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. "Well, knowing Lord Kouga, he would probably prefer something dark...that, or a bed of straw in the stables." she snickered.
Mitsuki laughed with her. "Oh, true enough. He never did act much like a Lord, did he? Those furs, and the caves...Lady Alina nearly had a conniption when Lord Raidon suggested Lord Kouga host the annual High Council gathering." Mitsuki giggled at the thought of the prissy Lady, so enamored of her silks and rich foods sleeping on furs and eating fresh-caught fish that weren't prepared in some fancy sauce or other.
"Oh! Yes, I remember." Rin laughed. "Her face was so red I thought she might pass out from all the blood rushing there so quickly!"
"Well, at any rate." Mitsuki continued, sobering, "Something dark for Lord Kouga and...maybe something brighter for Lord Raidon? Those are immediately available, and since he'll be arriving this afternoon..."
"Hai, hai." Rin said in agreement. "Something to remind him of his home, ne? And since Jiro will be sleeping in the room next door, we will need to prepare that one as well." Rin tapped a forefinger against her nose thoughtfully. "In fact, I'm at loose ends for the next while. So if you'll be able to prepare Lord Raidon's room, I'll take care of master Jiro's. Is this acceptable?"
Mitsuki laughed. "Anything to lessen the workload is acceptable. Just let me find the sheets..." Turning she rooted around in the storage container for a minute, finally emerging with a set of pale, creamy linens, much like Rin's own. Taking the bundle, Rin inhaled the sharp, sweet scent of lavender.
"The futon is already set up, so you won't be needing that, but maybe a cushion to lie his head on..." Turning to a different container, Mitsuki emerged moments later with two leather pillows, the leather tanned to buttery softness and stuffed with down. Placing the pale beige cushions in Rin's arms, Mitsuki smiled brightly, flashing pearly white fangs. "There you go. All set!"
"Thank you Mitsuki!" Rin called over her shoulder as she exited the room to head towards the eastern wing.
"She's in an awfully good mood," Shukumei commented, stepping up beside Mitsuki.
"Hai, she is." Mitsuki murmured, turning to the first container to retrieve the sheets she had in mind for Lord Raidon. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that Shukumei was still staring speculatively after Lady Rin. "Shukumei!" She called, trying to garner the maid's wandering attention.
"Yes?" Shukumei questioned, turning to face Mitsuki - or, rather, the pile of linens in Mitsuki's arms.
"Take those linens," she gestured to the pile of hunter green linens lying off in a corner with a booted foot. "to the laundry, and please tell them that we need them by tonight if at all possible. Otherwise we must have them first thing tomorrow morning."
"Weren't those the sheets that were on Lady Alina's bed the week past?" Shukumei questioned.
"Yes, why?" Mitsuki asked, peeping over the top of her pile curiously.
"Won't Lord Kouga be able to smell her scent on them?"
Mitsuki thought about it for a second. "Not if you request a very strong soap." 'There,' she congratulated herself, 'that should take care of even his nose.'
With that last thought, Mitsuki strode out the door in the direction Rin had gone.
Sighing, Shukumei bent over and collected the sheets, the small of fresh lavender assailed her nose. Straightening as she heard a small, high-pitched giggle emerge from the doorway where the other two had previously exited, she turned, she relaxed when she saw Ino and Sakura standing in the doorway, each with an armful of fresh lavender.
"Good morning Shukumei-chan!" Ino called happily. "Where do you want this?"
Shukumei grinned. "You two are back rather early, aren't you?" She said, gesturing to a bench where a few other armfuls of lavender were waiting to be sorted and hung to dry.
"We found a field with lots in it." Sakura offered shyly as she placed her bundle next to Ino's.
"Do you know where Rin is?" Ino questioned, looking around for her favorite human.
"She went to prepare a bed for master Jiro." Shukumei replied. "He and Lord Raidon will be arriving this afternoon." She added at the two girls puzzled looks.
"Ohh." The coursed in unison, nodding sagely. Shukumei giggled a little at the picture they made, then shooed them out of the door, heading for the laundry as Ino and Sakura ran towards the eastern wing, their small booted feet slapping against the polished wooden floors, giggles trailing after them like the chiming of small bells. Smiling a little, Shukumei hefted the bundle in her arm as headed off towards the laundry.
Alina sat in the library, glaring at the book nestled in her lap. How dare that annoying little twit try to take the one she had chosen?! Rin was either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish, she decided, to try and cause a rift between Lady Alina and Lord Sesshomaru. Apparently, subtle barbs and demeaning insults weren't enough for this stupid ningen to get the hint - something far stronger was required.
Lady Alina scowled, turning over in her mind's eye the picture the two of them had made, Rin, bathed in shadows and blushing prettily, Lord Sesshomaru, tall and powerful in the firelight, as Rin dared to call him by his given name. And her Lord didn't slay her on the spot! Instead, he smiled, as if pleased by the wench's boldness.
That small smile has incised her to no end. Imagine Rin receiving in a matter of moments what she had been trying for weeks to obtain! Growling, she rose from her seat and placed the book on a low table. Striding out the doorway, she headed for the nearest exit, hoping a walk in the gardens would do her some good.
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Rin had just finished placing the sheets on Jiro's futon when Sakura and Ino burst into the room, giggling madly at some private joke.
"Rin-chan!" Ino trilled, happily dancing in a circle.
Rin cocked an eyebrow, watching Ino cavort about, Sakura skipping next to her and clapping happily.
'Dear Kami, who fed those two sweets?' She wondered, hoping Lei hadn't been subjected to the same.
Ino-chan?" she asked.
"We're all done collecting lavender!" Ino cried. "Would you like us to help you now?"
Rin looked around. The linens had been placed on the bed, fresh lavender had been placed in the clothes press, the water closet was in working order... "I don't see too much else that really needs done in Master Jiro's room." She said. "But maybe..."
tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I know!" She said as the idea struck her. "Why don't you two go gather some flowers from the gardens while I find a couple vases, and we'll place some flowers in their rooms?"
"Do you think we would be allowed?" Sakura asked, remembering the last time she and Ino had gone flower picking in the fortress gardens. She could still hear the head gardener's words scalding her ears...
"Of course. Just tell Hiroshi-sama that I asked for your assistance, and politely request a small blade to snip a few flowers with."
"I have my eating knife." Sakura said, holding up the small blade triumphantly.
"Yes," Rin acknowledged, "but that knife is for eating. And some of the flowers in the garden have poisonous sap. So go ask Hiroshi-sama, okay?"
"Sure thing Rin-chan." Sakura and Ino chorused, scampering out of the room.
Rin followed at a more sedate pace, heading for a storage room where she knew where some vases were stored.
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Alina strolled through the gardens, the beautiful flowers surrounding her doing nothing at all for her sorry mood. It irked her to no end that Sesshomaru was paying Rin the attention that she so desperately wanted. How could she solicit a mating offer from him if he refused to spend time with her?
Maybe if she could separate the two of them...make him angry with her...or, maybe, make her scared of him? She quirked an eyebrow to herself. Maybe that was an idea worth looking into..
High pitched giggles disrupted her from her thoughts. Glancing over a row of flowering shrubs, she spotted two little girls - what were their names? - snipping off flowers happily with a small blade.
"It was soooo sweet!" The girl with dark blue hair squealed happily, hugging and armful of cosmos to herself.
"Do you think they'll have babies?" The small girl with pink hair asked quietly, her large emerald eyes shining hopefully.
The blue haired girl tapped her chin thoughtfully, in a perfect imitation of Rin's "thinking" stance. Alina vaguely thought that her name was...Inca? India? Ino? Yes, Ino sounded about right...
"I don't know." She replied thoughtfully. "That was only a kiss. But you're right - it was so sweet! And...I think that Rin-chan would make him happy."
'Rin?' Lady Alina thought, her attention now fully on the two girls. Rin had a secret lover? What had she been missing? Sesshomaru would surely be upset, knowing his little human was whoring or some lowly soldier... 'Maybe it's his general!' She thought excitedly. That would surely smear this little Samaritan's good name all through the fortress...
"Of course she would!" Sakura defended her friend. Plucking up another sprig of baby's breath, she brandished it at Ino defensively. "Papa says that he's always much more relaxed when she's around."
"His expression never changes!"
"Papa says it does!" Sakura exclaimed. "He relaxes! And you saw how much..." Sakura searched for the word to describe it. 'How does one describe an expression that doesn't really exist?' "better he looked? I mean he...he just relaxed, you know?"
'How eloquent.' Thought Lady Alina vindictively. Alina turned away, convinced that whomever Rin's mysterious loves was, the two children weren't going to reveal him. She turned away and continued on down the garden path, a new idea forming in her head.
'I'm sure Sesshomaru-sama would like to know what his precious little ward has been up to.' She thought, the wheels beginning to spin in her head. She could use this, and also her original plan.... 'Oh, this is good...' She snickered to herself, wondering what her general would think of her plan. 'Good thing he'll be here this evening, we can get started immediately.' After all, she only had a week to accomplish what she had in mind, and, if she were to succeed, she would have to start tonight...and have General Kenji's help.
"Rin-chan!" Ino exclaimed, bursting into dojo, where Rin was discussing final arrangements with Atoki for the soldiers week-long stay.
Turning, from her friend, Rin glanced at the over-excited ten-year-old. 'Someone really needs to stop feeding the what ever it is that's making them so hyper.'
"Yes, Ino-chan?" She asked as calmly as possible, trying to sedate the child by force of will alone.
"Lord Raidon and his escorts are here!" Ino trilled, completely missing the message Rin had been attempting to convey.
"Are they here, as in at the front gates, or here as in within sight from the front gates?" Atoki asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Ano...I believe that there are approaching the front gates." Ino said after a moments thought.
Ahh, well then, we had better hurry to greet them, had we not?" Rin said, already moving towards the doorway. "Has Sesshomaru-sama been told?"
Ino shrugged. "Everyone figured that he already knew, but just in case Lei went up to tell him."
"I guess he was camping out in his study then." Rin muttered to herself as she strode around the fortress to the main gates, Atoki and Ino trailing behind her. Rounding the corner, Rin was unsurprised to see Sakura awaiting them, and Lord Sesshomaru emerging from the front doors, Lady Alina trailing behind him. As Sesshomaru turned, gesturing for the gates to be opened, Lady Alina glanced at Rin and smiled, a small, cruel twist of her lips that sent shivers coursing down Rin's spine. 'What...?'
The thought was never completed though as Lord Raidon rode through the gates, his ward Jiro close on his heels and his escort of approximately ten soldiers behind the two of them. With a sweep of his riding cloak, Lord Raidon dismounted.
Standing a complete two meters tall, his tawny golden hair shone in the early afternoon sunlight. Perfectly bronzed skin accented his tawny golden eyes. Eyes, Rin reflected, that were a completely different gold than Sesshomaru's...Sesshomaru's seemed somehow more distant and remote, only warming to a molten color once in a great while. Lord Raidon's seemed to radiate warmth constantly, and they weren't the pure color of a shiny gold coin, they were tawny gold, all shades of gold coming together in a swirling, shimmering mass. Pale cornflower blue stripes graced his cheekbones and a pale golden sun glimmered on his forehead, only visible in the right light, when the sun shone on it directly.
A sweep of motion caught Rin's eye as she turned to watch Jiro, Lord Raidon's ward, dismount. He had grown some since she had last seen him, a year adding a few inches to his height and some much-needed flesh to his formerly thin frame. 'I do believe he's taller than me now,' Rin mused to herself.
Jiro stood next to his steed, holding the reigns tightly in one fist while looking around, smiling a bit to himself. Hair shiny as a raven's wing caught the sunlight and hung to his shoulders, clasped in a low horse's tail while wide brown eyes sparkled with an inner amusement. He caught sight of her and smiled a little wider, a faint blush stealing across his cheeks.
'Same old Jiro.' Rin thought amusedly, returning his smile with one of her own.
"Lord Sesshomaru, how have you been?" Raidon boomed loudly, striding forward, Jiro trailing closely behind him.
"I have been well Lord Raidon." Sesshomaru replied, ever calm in the face of Lord Raidon's boisterous nature. "Yourself?"
"Hai, hai, I have been doing well. Small rebellions here and there, but nothing major." His grin never faltering, he turned to Lady Alina. "And you my Lady? How have you been? When did you arrive?"
Lady Alina returned Lord Raidon's grin in full measure as he grasped her clawed hand in one of his own, bending down to suavely brush his lips against her knuckles.
"I have been well also My Lord." She replied demurely. "And I have been here for the past week, finalizing a trade agreement with Lord Sesshomaru. However, my escort should be arriving later today."
Raidon barely managed to keep his eyebrows from twitching in surprise. It was no secret that Lady Alina had been perusing Lord Sesshomaru for some time, but she had actually found a reason to visit? With a mental shrug, he released her hand and turned towards Rin, who was standing a few feet away, watching the proceedings with interest.
She had certainly filled out over the years, he noted wryly. It had been nothing short of hilarious to watch as Lord Sesshomaru - the most feared and powerful demon in all of Japan - tried to deal with raising a human child. A female.
Rin had definitely put Sesshomaru through the wringer. The tall, overly sober demon Lord had initially no clue how to relate to the miniature female who was constantly brimming with suppressed mirth. Raidon himself had often played with her when she was small, engaging her and Jiro in small games of strategy or speed, and had delighted at how unafraid of him she had always been. 'But after dealing with Stone Face over there, I wouldn't expect her to be frightened of me.'
He exclaimed merrily, delighted when her face lit up like a ray of sunshine when he called her.
"Uncle Raidon!" She cried, throwing herself into his open arms and hugging him tightly. "How have you been?"
"Oh, same-old, same-old." He replied breezily, releasing her and waving his clawed hand about for emphasis. Turning, he gestured for Jiro to step forward - Kami only knew the boy would be far too shy to ever do it on his own. "You remember Jiro, do you not?"
"Of course I do." Rin said, bowing to Jiro politely, who returned her bow, blushing a bit more and stammering out his own greeting. Knowing Jiro was far too focused on Rin to notice much else, Raidon rolled his eyes at the boys sudden lack of grace...or eloquence, or even basic motor skills for that matter.
Turning, he approached General Uuchia, who was watching all of the goings-on with an amused glint to his eyes. "And how have you been General?" He asked, making sure his voice sounded deep and boomingly impressive.
Atoki's eyes shone with renewed amusement. "I have been well Lord Raidon." The two clasped forearms in a warrior's handshake. "Now, if you would," his eyes sparkled, "cut out the overly formal manner."
"Hai, Uncle Raidon, quit playing around." Rin said, turning from her awkward conversation wit her adopted uncle's ward. "Allow me to show you and Jiro-sama to your quarters, so you can freshen up and rest."
"Rest?" Raidon said, putting on an affronted expression. "Why would I ever do that?" he said as the servants who had appeared during the course of their conversation to take the bags off to his room.
"Where will our guards be staying?" Jiro politely inquired, breaking in on his master's conversation as he eyed the six weary warriors standing behind them. Lord Raidon's pace was nothing short of grueling, even for a demon. He just didn't seem to realize that not everyone had as much energy as he did...
"They will be lodged with the rest of the escorts behind the dojo." Rin replied in answer. "And I believe Lei here will be happy to escort you all to your quarters." She gestured to the small demon boy who was standing just a ways off as he bowed politely.
"I believe that I shall go as well," Atoki replied, "and will see you for dinner later, after you have had a chance to rest from your travels."
"Very well then. We shall catch up later, ne?" Lord Raidon said, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.
"Most assuredly." Atoki said, waving negligently over his shoulder as he led away the guards, Lei by his side.
"If you would, meet me in an hour or so in my study." Sesshomaru said in his usual deadpan voice.
"Of course, Lord Sesshomaru." Raidon replied, nodding. "Rin," he said, turning to her and offering her his arm. "if you would escort Jiro and I to our rooms?"
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Jiro stood in the middle of the room and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of lavender and freshly washed linens. If only his own quarters in Lord Raidon's residence were as nice...
"Do you like it Jiro-san?" Rin questioned sweetly from the doorway.
Turning, Jiro smiled brightly. "Of course I do Rin-san." Jiro took a deep breath in an attempt to gather his courage. "Ano...Rin..."
"Rin!" Loud and grating, with a screechy quality that should have belonged solely to a sword which was being unceremoniously scraped down the length of a stone wall, came the imperious command from behind Rin.
Turning, Rin spotted Jaken standing in the doorway, griping his staff of heads, chest puffed out, and a look imperious demand gracing his toad-like features. "Yes Jaken-sama?" Rin said, trying to hide the fact that she was completely and totally bored with his over-imperious attitude.
"Lord Sesshomaru-sama had asked me to remind you that tonight's dinner will be casual, and tomorrow's will be a formal dinner meeting. However, there will be a meeting conducted in his study shortly, and that you are supposed to attend. So don't get sidetracked you little turnip!"
'Does Lord Sesshomaru really call Rin-san a little turnip?' Jiro wondered, even as Rin shook her head, striding towards Jaken. The movement reminded Jiro of a feline's casual grace as it stalked small, unwary prey. It was really more of a glide than a walk, Jiro decided absently, watching Rin's hips sway beneath her kimono. 'And...I don't think I would like to get on her bad side either...'
stopped before Jaken and looked down from her superior height. "Jaken." The single word, a mere two syllables, was uttered calmly, in a voice almost devoid of any emotion, save a sort of wry amusement.
Jaken gulped, reminded conspicuously of Sesshomaru-sama himself.
"I understood the importance of the message just fine, thank you, without the added turnip bit." Turning, she caught Jiro's eye, wondering a bit at the slightly cowed look on his face, that while not matching in intensity, was an almost exact replica of Jaken's expression.
"Yes, Rin-san?"
"I do believe that you are supposed to attend this meeting as well. Shall we?" Smiling, she gestured for him to proceed her.
"Ladies first." Jiro replied, as he stepped up to her.
"Oh, and Jaken-sama," Rin said, turning to face the still-cowering toad demon. Bending down, she tapped his beak jovially. "I outgrew you when I was ten."
"Stupid ningen..." Jaken muttered as she led Jiro out of the room and towards Lord Sesshomaru's study.
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Political negotiations, Sesshomaru decided, were dull at the best of times. But when they were strictly a matter of what had happened over the past year...whom had been mated, royal births, territory expansions and the like, they were at an all time-boring.
Sesshomaru glanced at Rin out of the corner of his eye, noting the slight smudge of ink on her left cheek as she bent over the parchment. Rin was studiously noting down anything of importance for later review.
"A trade agreement has been forged between myself and Lord Sesshomaru concerning the trade of silks and spices, for the next two years, signed yesterday." Lady Alina said, placing a copy of the agreement on the table for all to see, noting the furious scratching of the quill pens against parchment. In addition to Rin taking notes, Jiro was also assisting Lord Raidon, and one of Lady Alina's pages was assisting her. Rin had agreed to make a copy for Lord Kouga, who would be arriving tomorrow.
However Rin, unlike the other pages and aides present, was not here to merely scrawl notes for her Master's later use, she was actually a part of the meeting. She just didn't know it...
"Is there any other business or relevant knowledge to be presented?" Lord Raidon asked, drawing Sesshomaru out of his reverie.
"Anything else will be available to discuss on the morrow." Sesshomaru said, rising from the low table. "And we will need for Lord Kouga to be here before we go any further."
"True enough." Lady Alina agreed, rising and stretching.
Jiro hesitantly approached Rin, who was still seated, skimming over her notes, muttering to herself as her eyes scanned the parchment.
"Ano..Rin-san?" He asked, making his best attempt to not stumble over his words and embarrass himself further.
"Hai?" Came the distracted response.
"Would you care to take a stroll through the gardens with me?"
Sesshomaru, from his place across the room, froze.
"Ummm.." Rin carefully put the parchment own on the table. She had meant to rewrite the notes and copy them before dinner, but... "Sure." She replied, smiling brightly. "If you'd like, I can even show you where Hiroshi-sama and I planted new flowers last year."
Jiro nodded, slightly proud that he had not turned scarlet in the face of her beaming smile.
Sesshomaru just managed to squelch the growl that threatened, every protective instinct he had immediately going on the defensive. 'What does he want to take a walk for?' He could smell the boy's interest in his ward, and he wasn't the least bit fooled by all the stammering and blushing that went on.
Rin's eyes turned towards him. What was he getting so upset about? "Sesshomaru-sama?" She queried.
"Yes Rin?" He asked, his inner disquiet not making it's way to his unchanging expression.
"Would you mind if I went, and finished the rewrites after supper?"
'Why is she asking me?' Sesshomaru wondered. 'It is her home, and she's a grown adult. She shouldn't need permission from me to go play with the other children.'
"That is fine Rin." He answered, with the vague feeling of signing his own death warrant.
Bowing her acknowledgment to his, she turned and left the room, Jiro close on her heels. As she left, her scent wafted towards him, and he immediately knew why he was upset.
She was going into heat.
'Shit.' He cursed to himself. Now every damn male around who was unfamiliar with her was going to be sniffing around....
Most of the males residing within the fortress knew Rin and her monthly cycles, and all of them knew that to touch her was to die - if not by his hand, or Atoki's, then certainly Rin herself would take care of the offending youkai. Hence any male who thought he would have a hard time controlling himself usually had the intelligence to stay far, far away as Rin went about her normal activities. And Rin herself, once alerted to the situation, helped as much as possible by not going near the dojo, and limiting her meanderings to only what was necessary to, as she liked to put it, "Keep her sanity intact."
However, Sesshomaru was entirely certain that, thought human and lacking an inadequate nose, Lord Raidon's ward had subconsciously picked up on Rin's heat, and it was only intensifying his already-present interest in his ward. Sesshomaru growled low in his throat as Lady Alina looked at him quizzically.
'What on earth is wrong with him?' Alina wondered idly. 'One silly little female goes into heat and he reacts like a jealous lover...' She snickered to herself. 'I wonder how he'll react when he finds out his precious little girl really has taken a lover?' Combine this with what she had originally planned, and...oh, it was just too sweet. Sesshomaru would be hers before the week was out.
watched the byplay with amused fascination. Lady Alina had gone from looking like she was about to launch into a snit to the cat who had gotten the canary in less time then it took to blink, while Sesshomaru looked after the two children with his typical unreadable expression. However, Raidon had caught that fleeting look of "Oh shit." that crossed his features right before his expressions shut down. Raidon chuckled to himself, thinking that if he had possessed less control, his tail would be twitching irritably right now.
Sobering, he excused himself and left the room, intending to go visit General Uuchia before supper. Jiro was going to be disappointed... No one knew better than Raidon how he had harbored a secret crush for Rin all of these years. He could easily recall Jiro's first meeting with Rin.
Lord Raidon had come to visit with Lord Sesshomaru over some business matter or other, and since Jiro had been with him while he was patrolling his borders, he had decided to bring the young boy along, never guessing that Lord Sesshomaru had taken in a little human as well. They had arrived at the front gates, having sent word ahead shortly before their arrival, to find Sesshomaru standing at the front entryway, General Uuchia at his side. Jiro, as always, had been scared of the tall, cold youkai, but had bravely stayed next to him, merely staring up in trepidation. All of a sudden, Sesshomaru's right pant leg had shifted, seemingly taking on a life of it's own. Lord Raidon recalled the way Jiro had jumped at the new, unexpected development, only to stand in wide-eyed wonder as a small girl with the largest pair of cinnamon-hued eyes that he had ever seen he leapt out from behind her Lord, exclaiming at the wonder of "seeing someone as small as she was."
"Lord Raidon," a small, wide-eyed Jiro had breathed in wonder, "She looks like a angel..."
Raidon chuckled at the memory. His small little human, so friendly and charming, had turned into a stuttering fool at that moment, and the affliction had never lifted as long as he'd been around Rin.
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Rin bent over, tracing one delicate bloom with a forefinger. "Hiroshi-sama and I planted these with Sakura-chan and Ino-chan last summer, in honor of the girl's birth days."
"Sakura-chan and Ino-chan?" Jiro murmured, trying to put a face with the names. "Isn't Sakura the head cooks daughter?"
"Hai, she and Ino-chan are the best of friends. Sisters, really." Rin laughed lowly, "If one is to be seen, you can be sure that the other isn't very far away, and Lei is their constant companion and protector." She paused thoughtfully. "He also considers Ino to be a sister to him, as Hakashi and his mate consider he to be a second daughter."
"What of her father?" Jiro inquired, his interest peaked.
"Her father...hasn't been the same since his mate passed on." Rin said quietly, sympathy for the demon's loss evident in her tone. "He loves Ino dearly but...it is plain to see that he is only biding his time waiting for her to be able to stand on her own before joining his mate." The admission was low, laced with sorrow. Her mouth tightened. "Ino is a wonderful girl. Even though he's been the only parent she's had since birth, she doesn't seem to begrudge him that he can't entirely be there for her. She throws herself entirely into everything she does. It's like..she knows he's suffering and wants the show him that she can take care of herself so he can be with her mother." A low, liquidy-sounding laugh burbled out of her throat. "However, her father isn't far enough gone to not know that his little girl still needs his protection."
Jiro frowned digesting this. It was true that Inu-youkai mated for life, but this sounded a little extreme. He opened his mouth to ask about it but Rin, seeing his look, answered before he ever voiced the question.
"Their bond is a soul bond." She said simply.
Jiro's eyes opened wide as the full meaning hit him. Soul bonds were rare, only one out of thousands of youkai ever found their soul mate, and the sanctity of a soul bond was sacred above all else. Normally, when one of the pair died, the other followed soon after, if not immediately. It took great strength to resist the pull of a call, and the one who managed to do so was doomed to live only half a life.
Smiling a small, sad smile, Rin moved on to the next section of flowers.
As always to Fate, who beta's, harasses, comiserates and consoles as necessary.
Chapter Four - Preparations
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The rest of the week flew by in a haze of preparations. Rooms had to be cleaned and aired, menus had to be planned and the fortress in general needed cleaning. Between all of that, Rin attempted to avoid Lady Alina, who seemed to be trying to glare her down at every turn, keep an eye on Sakura and Ino, who were now intent of being warriors, and make sure Sesshomaru ate, since now the work really was piling in.
At present, Rin stood in the laundry, conversing with Mitsuki about which linens were supposed to be placed on the beds, and which rooms they would go to.
It had been a royal headache to decide who slept where, and where their guards were housed, Rin decided. The Southern Lord, Raidon, didn't particularly like the Northern Lord, Kouga, so those two couldn't be placed next to one another unless absolutely necessary. However, Lord Kouga didn't like Lady Alina - 'but then again, who does?' Rin reflected wryly.
the feeling was mutual. Lady Alina considered Lord Kouga to be an uncouth mutt, and Lord Kouga thought Lady Alina was a snobbish bitch. Both of them had their points, but it made keeping a reasonable amount of peace difficult.
However, in the end it had all been sorted out to everyone's satisfaction. Now the only thing left to do was put the linens on the beds...
"We'll just leave Lady Alina's on her bed." Rin decided. "She's already been here for awhile, and there's no need to put extra work on us that we don't need."
"Most assuredly," Mitsuki muttered, trying to ignore the looks that the other laundry maids were casting at them. Most of them knew about Mitsuki's exploits with the Lord, and found it vaguely amusing that she would be forced into close contact with Sesshomaru's ward, who, for all appearances, was completely oblivious. "Which ones did you have in mind for Lord Raidon and Lord Kouga?"
Rin wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. "Well, knowing Lord Kouga, he would probably prefer something dark...that, or a bed of straw in the stables." she snickered.
Mitsuki laughed with her. "Oh, true enough. He never did act much like a Lord, did he? Those furs, and the caves...Lady Alina nearly had a conniption when Lord Raidon suggested Lord Kouga host the annual High Council gathering." Mitsuki giggled at the thought of the prissy Lady, so enamored of her silks and rich foods sleeping on furs and eating fresh-caught fish that weren't prepared in some fancy sauce or other.
"Oh! Yes, I remember." Rin laughed. "Her face was so red I thought she might pass out from all the blood rushing there so quickly!"
"Well, at any rate." Mitsuki continued, sobering, "Something dark for Lord Kouga and...maybe something brighter for Lord Raidon? Those are immediately available, and since he'll be arriving this afternoon..."
"Hai, hai." Rin said in agreement. "Something to remind him of his home, ne? And since Jiro will be sleeping in the room next door, we will need to prepare that one as well." Rin tapped a forefinger against her nose thoughtfully. "In fact, I'm at loose ends for the next while. So if you'll be able to prepare Lord Raidon's room, I'll take care of master Jiro's. Is this acceptable?"
Mitsuki laughed. "Anything to lessen the workload is acceptable. Just let me find the sheets..." Turning she rooted around in the storage container for a minute, finally emerging with a set of pale, creamy linens, much like Rin's own. Taking the bundle, Rin inhaled the sharp, sweet scent of lavender.
"The futon is already set up, so you won't be needing that, but maybe a cushion to lie his head on..." Turning to a different container, Mitsuki emerged moments later with two leather pillows, the leather tanned to buttery softness and stuffed with down. Placing the pale beige cushions in Rin's arms, Mitsuki smiled brightly, flashing pearly white fangs. "There you go. All set!"
"Thank you Mitsuki!" Rin called over her shoulder as she exited the room to head towards the eastern wing.
"She's in an awfully good mood," Shukumei commented, stepping up beside Mitsuki.
"Hai, she is." Mitsuki murmured, turning to the first container to retrieve the sheets she had in mind for Lord Raidon. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that Shukumei was still staring speculatively after Lady Rin. "Shukumei!" She called, trying to garner the maid's wandering attention.
"Yes?" Shukumei questioned, turning to face Mitsuki - or, rather, the pile of linens in Mitsuki's arms.
"Take those linens," she gestured to the pile of hunter green linens lying off in a corner with a booted foot. "to the laundry, and please tell them that we need them by tonight if at all possible. Otherwise we must have them first thing tomorrow morning."
"Weren't those the sheets that were on Lady Alina's bed the week past?" Shukumei questioned.
"Yes, why?" Mitsuki asked, peeping over the top of her pile curiously.
"Won't Lord Kouga be able to smell her scent on them?"
Mitsuki thought about it for a second. "Not if you request a very strong soap." 'There,' she congratulated herself, 'that should take care of even his nose.'
With that last thought, Mitsuki strode out the door in the direction Rin had gone.
Sighing, Shukumei bent over and collected the sheets, the small of fresh lavender assailed her nose. Straightening as she heard a small, high-pitched giggle emerge from the doorway where the other two had previously exited, she turned, she relaxed when she saw Ino and Sakura standing in the doorway, each with an armful of fresh lavender.
"Good morning Shukumei-chan!" Ino called happily. "Where do you want this?"
Shukumei grinned. "You two are back rather early, aren't you?" She said, gesturing to a bench where a few other armfuls of lavender were waiting to be sorted and hung to dry.
"We found a field with lots in it." Sakura offered shyly as she placed her bundle next to Ino's.
"Do you know where Rin is?" Ino questioned, looking around for her favorite human.
"She went to prepare a bed for master Jiro." Shukumei replied. "He and Lord Raidon will be arriving this afternoon." She added at the two girls puzzled looks.
"Ohh." The coursed in unison, nodding sagely. Shukumei giggled a little at the picture they made, then shooed them out of the door, heading for the laundry as Ino and Sakura ran towards the eastern wing, their small booted feet slapping against the polished wooden floors, giggles trailing after them like the chiming of small bells. Smiling a little, Shukumei hefted the bundle in her arm as headed off towards the laundry.
Alina sat in the library, glaring at the book nestled in her lap. How dare that annoying little twit try to take the one she had chosen?! Rin was either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish, she decided, to try and cause a rift between Lady Alina and Lord Sesshomaru. Apparently, subtle barbs and demeaning insults weren't enough for this stupid ningen to get the hint - something far stronger was required.
Lady Alina scowled, turning over in her mind's eye the picture the two of them had made, Rin, bathed in shadows and blushing prettily, Lord Sesshomaru, tall and powerful in the firelight, as Rin dared to call him by his given name. And her Lord didn't slay her on the spot! Instead, he smiled, as if pleased by the wench's boldness.
That small smile has incised her to no end. Imagine Rin receiving in a matter of moments what she had been trying for weeks to obtain! Growling, she rose from her seat and placed the book on a low table. Striding out the doorway, she headed for the nearest exit, hoping a walk in the gardens would do her some good.
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Rin had just finished placing the sheets on Jiro's futon when Sakura and Ino burst into the room, giggling madly at some private joke.
"Rin-chan!" Ino trilled, happily dancing in a circle.
Rin cocked an eyebrow, watching Ino cavort about, Sakura skipping next to her and clapping happily.
'Dear Kami, who fed those two sweets?' She wondered, hoping Lei hadn't been subjected to the same.
Ino-chan?" she asked.
"We're all done collecting lavender!" Ino cried. "Would you like us to help you now?"
Rin looked around. The linens had been placed on the bed, fresh lavender had been placed in the clothes press, the water closet was in working order... "I don't see too much else that really needs done in Master Jiro's room." She said. "But maybe..."
tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I know!" She said as the idea struck her. "Why don't you two go gather some flowers from the gardens while I find a couple vases, and we'll place some flowers in their rooms?"
"Do you think we would be allowed?" Sakura asked, remembering the last time she and Ino had gone flower picking in the fortress gardens. She could still hear the head gardener's words scalding her ears...
"Of course. Just tell Hiroshi-sama that I asked for your assistance, and politely request a small blade to snip a few flowers with."
"I have my eating knife." Sakura said, holding up the small blade triumphantly.
"Yes," Rin acknowledged, "but that knife is for eating. And some of the flowers in the garden have poisonous sap. So go ask Hiroshi-sama, okay?"
"Sure thing Rin-chan." Sakura and Ino chorused, scampering out of the room.
Rin followed at a more sedate pace, heading for a storage room where she knew where some vases were stored.
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Alina strolled through the gardens, the beautiful flowers surrounding her doing nothing at all for her sorry mood. It irked her to no end that Sesshomaru was paying Rin the attention that she so desperately wanted. How could she solicit a mating offer from him if he refused to spend time with her?
Maybe if she could separate the two of them...make him angry with her...or, maybe, make her scared of him? She quirked an eyebrow to herself. Maybe that was an idea worth looking into..
High pitched giggles disrupted her from her thoughts. Glancing over a row of flowering shrubs, she spotted two little girls - what were their names? - snipping off flowers happily with a small blade.
"It was soooo sweet!" The girl with dark blue hair squealed happily, hugging and armful of cosmos to herself.
"Do you think they'll have babies?" The small girl with pink hair asked quietly, her large emerald eyes shining hopefully.
The blue haired girl tapped her chin thoughtfully, in a perfect imitation of Rin's "thinking" stance. Alina vaguely thought that her name was...Inca? India? Ino? Yes, Ino sounded about right...
"I don't know." She replied thoughtfully. "That was only a kiss. But you're right - it was so sweet! And...I think that Rin-chan would make him happy."
'Rin?' Lady Alina thought, her attention now fully on the two girls. Rin had a secret lover? What had she been missing? Sesshomaru would surely be upset, knowing his little human was whoring or some lowly soldier... 'Maybe it's his general!' She thought excitedly. That would surely smear this little Samaritan's good name all through the fortress...
"Of course she would!" Sakura defended her friend. Plucking up another sprig of baby's breath, she brandished it at Ino defensively. "Papa says that he's always much more relaxed when she's around."
"His expression never changes!"
"Papa says it does!" Sakura exclaimed. "He relaxes! And you saw how much..." Sakura searched for the word to describe it. 'How does one describe an expression that doesn't really exist?' "better he looked? I mean he...he just relaxed, you know?"
'How eloquent.' Thought Lady Alina vindictively. Alina turned away, convinced that whomever Rin's mysterious loves was, the two children weren't going to reveal him. She turned away and continued on down the garden path, a new idea forming in her head.
'I'm sure Sesshomaru-sama would like to know what his precious little ward has been up to.' She thought, the wheels beginning to spin in her head. She could use this, and also her original plan.... 'Oh, this is good...' She snickered to herself, wondering what her general would think of her plan. 'Good thing he'll be here this evening, we can get started immediately.' After all, she only had a week to accomplish what she had in mind, and, if she were to succeed, she would have to start tonight...and have General Kenji's help.
"Rin-chan!" Ino exclaimed, bursting into dojo, where Rin was discussing final arrangements with Atoki for the soldiers week-long stay.
Turning, from her friend, Rin glanced at the over-excited ten-year-old. 'Someone really needs to stop feeding the what ever it is that's making them so hyper.'
"Yes, Ino-chan?" She asked as calmly as possible, trying to sedate the child by force of will alone.
"Lord Raidon and his escorts are here!" Ino trilled, completely missing the message Rin had been attempting to convey.
"Are they here, as in at the front gates, or here as in within sight from the front gates?" Atoki asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Ano...I believe that there are approaching the front gates." Ino said after a moments thought.
Ahh, well then, we had better hurry to greet them, had we not?" Rin said, already moving towards the doorway. "Has Sesshomaru-sama been told?"
Ino shrugged. "Everyone figured that he already knew, but just in case Lei went up to tell him."
"I guess he was camping out in his study then." Rin muttered to herself as she strode around the fortress to the main gates, Atoki and Ino trailing behind her. Rounding the corner, Rin was unsurprised to see Sakura awaiting them, and Lord Sesshomaru emerging from the front doors, Lady Alina trailing behind him. As Sesshomaru turned, gesturing for the gates to be opened, Lady Alina glanced at Rin and smiled, a small, cruel twist of her lips that sent shivers coursing down Rin's spine. 'What...?'
The thought was never completed though as Lord Raidon rode through the gates, his ward Jiro close on his heels and his escort of approximately ten soldiers behind the two of them. With a sweep of his riding cloak, Lord Raidon dismounted.
Standing a complete two meters tall, his tawny golden hair shone in the early afternoon sunlight. Perfectly bronzed skin accented his tawny golden eyes. Eyes, Rin reflected, that were a completely different gold than Sesshomaru's...Sesshomaru's seemed somehow more distant and remote, only warming to a molten color once in a great while. Lord Raidon's seemed to radiate warmth constantly, and they weren't the pure color of a shiny gold coin, they were tawny gold, all shades of gold coming together in a swirling, shimmering mass. Pale cornflower blue stripes graced his cheekbones and a pale golden sun glimmered on his forehead, only visible in the right light, when the sun shone on it directly.
A sweep of motion caught Rin's eye as she turned to watch Jiro, Lord Raidon's ward, dismount. He had grown some since she had last seen him, a year adding a few inches to his height and some much-needed flesh to his formerly thin frame. 'I do believe he's taller than me now,' Rin mused to herself.
Jiro stood next to his steed, holding the reigns tightly in one fist while looking around, smiling a bit to himself. Hair shiny as a raven's wing caught the sunlight and hung to his shoulders, clasped in a low horse's tail while wide brown eyes sparkled with an inner amusement. He caught sight of her and smiled a little wider, a faint blush stealing across his cheeks.
'Same old Jiro.' Rin thought amusedly, returning his smile with one of her own.
"Lord Sesshomaru, how have you been?" Raidon boomed loudly, striding forward, Jiro trailing closely behind him.
"I have been well Lord Raidon." Sesshomaru replied, ever calm in the face of Lord Raidon's boisterous nature. "Yourself?"
"Hai, hai, I have been doing well. Small rebellions here and there, but nothing major." His grin never faltering, he turned to Lady Alina. "And you my Lady? How have you been? When did you arrive?"
Lady Alina returned Lord Raidon's grin in full measure as he grasped her clawed hand in one of his own, bending down to suavely brush his lips against her knuckles.
"I have been well also My Lord." She replied demurely. "And I have been here for the past week, finalizing a trade agreement with Lord Sesshomaru. However, my escort should be arriving later today."
Raidon barely managed to keep his eyebrows from twitching in surprise. It was no secret that Lady Alina had been perusing Lord Sesshomaru for some time, but she had actually found a reason to visit? With a mental shrug, he released her hand and turned towards Rin, who was standing a few feet away, watching the proceedings with interest.
She had certainly filled out over the years, he noted wryly. It had been nothing short of hilarious to watch as Lord Sesshomaru - the most feared and powerful demon in all of Japan - tried to deal with raising a human child. A female.
Rin had definitely put Sesshomaru through the wringer. The tall, overly sober demon Lord had initially no clue how to relate to the miniature female who was constantly brimming with suppressed mirth. Raidon himself had often played with her when she was small, engaging her and Jiro in small games of strategy or speed, and had delighted at how unafraid of him she had always been. 'But after dealing with Stone Face over there, I wouldn't expect her to be frightened of me.'
He exclaimed merrily, delighted when her face lit up like a ray of sunshine when he called her.
"Uncle Raidon!" She cried, throwing herself into his open arms and hugging him tightly. "How have you been?"
"Oh, same-old, same-old." He replied breezily, releasing her and waving his clawed hand about for emphasis. Turning, he gestured for Jiro to step forward - Kami only knew the boy would be far too shy to ever do it on his own. "You remember Jiro, do you not?"
"Of course I do." Rin said, bowing to Jiro politely, who returned her bow, blushing a bit more and stammering out his own greeting. Knowing Jiro was far too focused on Rin to notice much else, Raidon rolled his eyes at the boys sudden lack of grace...or eloquence, or even basic motor skills for that matter.
Turning, he approached General Uuchia, who was watching all of the goings-on with an amused glint to his eyes. "And how have you been General?" He asked, making sure his voice sounded deep and boomingly impressive.
Atoki's eyes shone with renewed amusement. "I have been well Lord Raidon." The two clasped forearms in a warrior's handshake. "Now, if you would," his eyes sparkled, "cut out the overly formal manner."
"Hai, Uncle Raidon, quit playing around." Rin said, turning from her awkward conversation wit her adopted uncle's ward. "Allow me to show you and Jiro-sama to your quarters, so you can freshen up and rest."
"Rest?" Raidon said, putting on an affronted expression. "Why would I ever do that?" he said as the servants who had appeared during the course of their conversation to take the bags off to his room.
"Where will our guards be staying?" Jiro politely inquired, breaking in on his master's conversation as he eyed the six weary warriors standing behind them. Lord Raidon's pace was nothing short of grueling, even for a demon. He just didn't seem to realize that not everyone had as much energy as he did...
"They will be lodged with the rest of the escorts behind the dojo." Rin replied in answer. "And I believe Lei here will be happy to escort you all to your quarters." She gestured to the small demon boy who was standing just a ways off as he bowed politely.
"I believe that I shall go as well," Atoki replied, "and will see you for dinner later, after you have had a chance to rest from your travels."
"Very well then. We shall catch up later, ne?" Lord Raidon said, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.
"Most assuredly." Atoki said, waving negligently over his shoulder as he led away the guards, Lei by his side.
"If you would, meet me in an hour or so in my study." Sesshomaru said in his usual deadpan voice.
"Of course, Lord Sesshomaru." Raidon replied, nodding. "Rin," he said, turning to her and offering her his arm. "if you would escort Jiro and I to our rooms?"
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Jiro stood in the middle of the room and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of lavender and freshly washed linens. If only his own quarters in Lord Raidon's residence were as nice...
"Do you like it Jiro-san?" Rin questioned sweetly from the doorway.
Turning, Jiro smiled brightly. "Of course I do Rin-san." Jiro took a deep breath in an attempt to gather his courage. "Ano...Rin..."
"Rin!" Loud and grating, with a screechy quality that should have belonged solely to a sword which was being unceremoniously scraped down the length of a stone wall, came the imperious command from behind Rin.
Turning, Rin spotted Jaken standing in the doorway, griping his staff of heads, chest puffed out, and a look imperious demand gracing his toad-like features. "Yes Jaken-sama?" Rin said, trying to hide the fact that she was completely and totally bored with his over-imperious attitude.
"Lord Sesshomaru-sama had asked me to remind you that tonight's dinner will be casual, and tomorrow's will be a formal dinner meeting. However, there will be a meeting conducted in his study shortly, and that you are supposed to attend. So don't get sidetracked you little turnip!"
'Does Lord Sesshomaru really call Rin-san a little turnip?' Jiro wondered, even as Rin shook her head, striding towards Jaken. The movement reminded Jiro of a feline's casual grace as it stalked small, unwary prey. It was really more of a glide than a walk, Jiro decided absently, watching Rin's hips sway beneath her kimono. 'And...I don't think I would like to get on her bad side either...'
stopped before Jaken and looked down from her superior height. "Jaken." The single word, a mere two syllables, was uttered calmly, in a voice almost devoid of any emotion, save a sort of wry amusement.
Jaken gulped, reminded conspicuously of Sesshomaru-sama himself.
"I understood the importance of the message just fine, thank you, without the added turnip bit." Turning, she caught Jiro's eye, wondering a bit at the slightly cowed look on his face, that while not matching in intensity, was an almost exact replica of Jaken's expression.
"Yes, Rin-san?"
"I do believe that you are supposed to attend this meeting as well. Shall we?" Smiling, she gestured for him to proceed her.
"Ladies first." Jiro replied, as he stepped up to her.
"Oh, and Jaken-sama," Rin said, turning to face the still-cowering toad demon. Bending down, she tapped his beak jovially. "I outgrew you when I was ten."
"Stupid ningen..." Jaken muttered as she led Jiro out of the room and towards Lord Sesshomaru's study.
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Political negotiations, Sesshomaru decided, were dull at the best of times. But when they were strictly a matter of what had happened over the past year...whom had been mated, royal births, territory expansions and the like, they were at an all time-boring.
Sesshomaru glanced at Rin out of the corner of his eye, noting the slight smudge of ink on her left cheek as she bent over the parchment. Rin was studiously noting down anything of importance for later review.
"A trade agreement has been forged between myself and Lord Sesshomaru concerning the trade of silks and spices, for the next two years, signed yesterday." Lady Alina said, placing a copy of the agreement on the table for all to see, noting the furious scratching of the quill pens against parchment. In addition to Rin taking notes, Jiro was also assisting Lord Raidon, and one of Lady Alina's pages was assisting her. Rin had agreed to make a copy for Lord Kouga, who would be arriving tomorrow.
However Rin, unlike the other pages and aides present, was not here to merely scrawl notes for her Master's later use, she was actually a part of the meeting. She just didn't know it...
"Is there any other business or relevant knowledge to be presented?" Lord Raidon asked, drawing Sesshomaru out of his reverie.
"Anything else will be available to discuss on the morrow." Sesshomaru said, rising from the low table. "And we will need for Lord Kouga to be here before we go any further."
"True enough." Lady Alina agreed, rising and stretching.
Jiro hesitantly approached Rin, who was still seated, skimming over her notes, muttering to herself as her eyes scanned the parchment.
"Ano..Rin-san?" He asked, making his best attempt to not stumble over his words and embarrass himself further.
"Hai?" Came the distracted response.
"Would you care to take a stroll through the gardens with me?"
Sesshomaru, from his place across the room, froze.
"Ummm.." Rin carefully put the parchment own on the table. She had meant to rewrite the notes and copy them before dinner, but... "Sure." She replied, smiling brightly. "If you'd like, I can even show you where Hiroshi-sama and I planted new flowers last year."
Jiro nodded, slightly proud that he had not turned scarlet in the face of her beaming smile.
Sesshomaru just managed to squelch the growl that threatened, every protective instinct he had immediately going on the defensive. 'What does he want to take a walk for?' He could smell the boy's interest in his ward, and he wasn't the least bit fooled by all the stammering and blushing that went on.
Rin's eyes turned towards him. What was he getting so upset about? "Sesshomaru-sama?" She queried.
"Yes Rin?" He asked, his inner disquiet not making it's way to his unchanging expression.
"Would you mind if I went, and finished the rewrites after supper?"
'Why is she asking me?' Sesshomaru wondered. 'It is her home, and she's a grown adult. She shouldn't need permission from me to go play with the other children.'
"That is fine Rin." He answered, with the vague feeling of signing his own death warrant.
Bowing her acknowledgment to his, she turned and left the room, Jiro close on her heels. As she left, her scent wafted towards him, and he immediately knew why he was upset.
She was going into heat.
'Shit.' He cursed to himself. Now every damn male around who was unfamiliar with her was going to be sniffing around....
Most of the males residing within the fortress knew Rin and her monthly cycles, and all of them knew that to touch her was to die - if not by his hand, or Atoki's, then certainly Rin herself would take care of the offending youkai. Hence any male who thought he would have a hard time controlling himself usually had the intelligence to stay far, far away as Rin went about her normal activities. And Rin herself, once alerted to the situation, helped as much as possible by not going near the dojo, and limiting her meanderings to only what was necessary to, as she liked to put it, "Keep her sanity intact."
However, Sesshomaru was entirely certain that, thought human and lacking an inadequate nose, Lord Raidon's ward had subconsciously picked up on Rin's heat, and it was only intensifying his already-present interest in his ward. Sesshomaru growled low in his throat as Lady Alina looked at him quizzically.
'What on earth is wrong with him?' Alina wondered idly. 'One silly little female goes into heat and he reacts like a jealous lover...' She snickered to herself. 'I wonder how he'll react when he finds out his precious little girl really has taken a lover?' Combine this with what she had originally planned, and...oh, it was just too sweet. Sesshomaru would be hers before the week was out.
watched the byplay with amused fascination. Lady Alina had gone from looking like she was about to launch into a snit to the cat who had gotten the canary in less time then it took to blink, while Sesshomaru looked after the two children with his typical unreadable expression. However, Raidon had caught that fleeting look of "Oh shit." that crossed his features right before his expressions shut down. Raidon chuckled to himself, thinking that if he had possessed less control, his tail would be twitching irritably right now.
Sobering, he excused himself and left the room, intending to go visit General Uuchia before supper. Jiro was going to be disappointed... No one knew better than Raidon how he had harbored a secret crush for Rin all of these years. He could easily recall Jiro's first meeting with Rin.
Lord Raidon had come to visit with Lord Sesshomaru over some business matter or other, and since Jiro had been with him while he was patrolling his borders, he had decided to bring the young boy along, never guessing that Lord Sesshomaru had taken in a little human as well. They had arrived at the front gates, having sent word ahead shortly before their arrival, to find Sesshomaru standing at the front entryway, General Uuchia at his side. Jiro, as always, had been scared of the tall, cold youkai, but had bravely stayed next to him, merely staring up in trepidation. All of a sudden, Sesshomaru's right pant leg had shifted, seemingly taking on a life of it's own. Lord Raidon recalled the way Jiro had jumped at the new, unexpected development, only to stand in wide-eyed wonder as a small girl with the largest pair of cinnamon-hued eyes that he had ever seen he leapt out from behind her Lord, exclaiming at the wonder of "seeing someone as small as she was."
"Lord Raidon," a small, wide-eyed Jiro had breathed in wonder, "She looks like a angel..."
Raidon chuckled at the memory. His small little human, so friendly and charming, had turned into a stuttering fool at that moment, and the affliction had never lifted as long as he'd been around Rin.
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Rin bent over, tracing one delicate bloom with a forefinger. "Hiroshi-sama and I planted these with Sakura-chan and Ino-chan last summer, in honor of the girl's birth days."
"Sakura-chan and Ino-chan?" Jiro murmured, trying to put a face with the names. "Isn't Sakura the head cooks daughter?"
"Hai, she and Ino-chan are the best of friends. Sisters, really." Rin laughed lowly, "If one is to be seen, you can be sure that the other isn't very far away, and Lei is their constant companion and protector." She paused thoughtfully. "He also considers Ino to be a sister to him, as Hakashi and his mate consider he to be a second daughter."
"What of her father?" Jiro inquired, his interest peaked.
"Her father...hasn't been the same since his mate passed on." Rin said quietly, sympathy for the demon's loss evident in her tone. "He loves Ino dearly but...it is plain to see that he is only biding his time waiting for her to be able to stand on her own before joining his mate." The admission was low, laced with sorrow. Her mouth tightened. "Ino is a wonderful girl. Even though he's been the only parent she's had since birth, she doesn't seem to begrudge him that he can't entirely be there for her. She throws herself entirely into everything she does. It's like..she knows he's suffering and wants the show him that she can take care of herself so he can be with her mother." A low, liquidy-sounding laugh burbled out of her throat. "However, her father isn't far enough gone to not know that his little girl still needs his protection."
Jiro frowned digesting this. It was true that Inu-youkai mated for life, but this sounded a little extreme. He opened his mouth to ask about it but Rin, seeing his look, answered before he ever voiced the question.
"Their bond is a soul bond." She said simply.
Jiro's eyes opened wide as the full meaning hit him. Soul bonds were rare, only one out of thousands of youkai ever found their soul mate, and the sanctity of a soul bond was sacred above all else. Normally, when one of the pair died, the other followed soon after, if not immediately. It took great strength to resist the pull of a call, and the one who managed to do so was doomed to live only half a life.
Smiling a small, sad smile, Rin moved on to the next section of flowers.