InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Art of Tea - ON HOLD ❯ Chapter 18 Turning Over A New Leaf ( Chapter 21 )

DISCLAIMER - The ownership and general brilliance that is the original Feudal Fairy Tale remains the property of its honored and rightfully revered creator Rumiko Takahashi without whose brilliance, we would not have fodder.

 

Reviews are fuel.

 

Namaste

 

By: ElegantPaws

 

Edited by: Meara the Celt

 

Chapter Eighteen is dedicated to all of you for your unstinting patience.

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

" As long as it is hot, wet and goes down the right way, its fine with me.."

 

-

~ Sarah Fergerson, The Dutchess of York, On Tea ~

 

Chapter 18 - Turning Over A New Leaf

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

She hadn't time to think. Perhaps that was a good thing, Kagome thought as she splashed cold water on her face. Reaching blindly for a towel at the vanity's edge she refused to look at her image in the mirror.

 A sudden shyness had overtaken the otherwise self possessed young woman. She had only meant to deliver the obligatory gift, nothing more and yet here she stood, but for a robe, naked. Kagome could still feel his touch intimately and her cheeks reddened as she looked to the mirror for confirmation.

To her profound surprise, she had not grown horns. Other than crimson lips, swollen from overuse in the most delicious of ways and a ruddiness of cheek, her face had a healthy glow. True, her hair could do with a brush to untangling the mess that was a wealth of wayward, onyx tresses that were the very definition of bed-head, but she looked surprisingly content and sated.

 Though there was the small matter of a rumor long whispered about with girlish chatter that she now could confirm.

 What goes up…must come down.

Perhaps a quick shower before rejoining, Sesshoumaru and his ward, wherever he had unceremoniously taken her, with a less than pleased look to his countenance.

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 Like a pig in heat he continued to grunt, acrid sweat filling the air and Raku's nostrils, almost stifling her, as his engorged length slammed into her repeatedly, entirely missing the mark. There was the matter of her clit, which had not been engaged.

At this rate all that was left to her was to wait, or perhaps help him in his goal but her hands were tied, both literally and figuratively. Then again, it was not his intent to give her pleasure, but to dominate. Something about the angle of his thrusts, the pinning of her hands and rug burn to her knees were as good as it was going to get.

This was meant as punishment. How she missed Sesshoumaru or for that matter, Miroku, at least they knew how to treat a woman in the throws of coitus.

 Naraku had always been selfish and devoid of technique.

~~~~TAoT~~~~

The bell above the shop's door tolled again, this time admitting a tall, lean male with a propensity for mauve that mirrored his eyes.

“Hello? Anyone in?”

Faint whispers from the rear beckoned him as he bowed perfunctorily to the two males that stood like odalisques on either side of the doorway, keeping vigil.

~~~~TAoT~~~~

Rin's pleading eyes were glued to Sesshoumaru's lips.

“The obsession you have with this tale is most unhealthy, Rin. It does nothing more than feed your nightmares fostering pathologies about wolves. It is this Sesshoumaru's considered opinion that it will no longer be read in his household.”

A derisive snort from the bedroom doorway caused both to look up in surprise as Inuyasha, sauntered in with a smirk.

“It is this Uncle Yasha's opinion that someone needs to have his head examined and not think so much, Lord Grimm.”

The half demon snagged the thin volume titled `Little Red Riding Hood' from Sesshoumaru's slackened grip and unceremoniously perched on the side of the diminutive bed in preparation to read.

“Pay no mind to Lord Kill Joy over there, kiddo. Where were we?”

“Do the voices! Do the voices, Uncle Yasha! Rin likes when you do the voices.”

An elegant silvery brow quirked at the exchange between his ward and half brother. Until now, Sesshoumaru labored under the distinct impression the missive had been read, under duress mind, solely in his company. Somehow, the sight of Inuyasha with a wide, boyish grin at so simple a request did not sit well with the Taipan. Rin was happier than was strictly decent. She was ill. The least she could do was look at death's door as he had been told.

Inuyasha had lied.

Sesshoumaru harrumphed while eyeing the highly unsanitary tissues strewn about the nightstand.

Kaede had a lot of explaining to do. This might have been acceptable for the average ningen but definitively not for one under his care and further more, the juice by her lamp table was warm.

Rin disliked warm juice.

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

Kagome's thick tresses remained damp to the touch despite vigorous rubbing with a bath towel. Squinting in the mirror at her reflection she gave a self deprecating chuckle at the sight she made with hair askew and bath kimono two sizes too large.

 

She looked like a mad woman in desperate need of a brush, but where to find one without seeking out Sesshoumaru? Her shyness had returned. At this moment she so wanted to speak with Sango, however there was Rin to attend and a conversation, when she felt up to it, to have with Sesshoumaru about this new turn of events.

 

`How would it change their dynamic, such as it was?'

 

A light blush colored her cheeks as she touched her lips self-consciously and continued to study her image. Even if he had the personality of an autocratic ice cube more often than not, he had given her an experience she would not soon forget, nor wish to.

 

`You know, Kagome, he might be an enigma worth solving given time. Unlike most, you'll find his bark far worse than his bite.'

 

She blinked at her reflection, amazed at where her thoughts had taken her and the quiet resolve she suddenly felt in this sudden realization.

 

True, it could well have been her imagination. She would tell herself later that night, but just for a moment, a very brief moment, a gently, weathered face smiled back at her through the mirror's reflection from the deck's sliding doorway.

 

Kagome spun stifling the scream that came unbidden to her lips as she ran to the doorway in search of the familiar being she had imagined just moments before. She gasped at the sight of gilded wings in flight quietly surrounded her.

 

`Thousands. There must be thousands.' Kagome thought in amazement standing stock still as they danced about her head like a hallowed crown, unaware of a single, shrewd eye gazing at her in wonder in the last of the Westering sun's light.

 

Kaede gave a gentle cough and a wide apologetic smile to the beautiful young woman, aptly crowned by Monarchs. The butterflies surrounded her, enshrouded her with a misty golden hue.

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

Miroku sipped his green tea companionably and feigned interest in the conversation between Oshi and Tatsumi that seemed solely about clocks; bidding his time as his mind wandered. One thing was for sure, they would have to remain until Kagome returned with or without it in her possession. After all, he and Kaede had a bet.

 

Violet eyes passed over the little red-head, who was apparently named Shippou, and who was proving infinitely more fascinating as he stuffed his face with azuki, a red bean ice cream. Miroku had never developed a taste for it, but which Sesshoumaru stocked to the rafters along with ramen, solely for a peaceful life.

 

“You're learning to bend, Taipan, despite your best efforts.”

 

Tatsumi startling blue eyes looked directly at Mr. Houshi who had sniggered under his breath and apparently spoken aloud.

 

“Sir?”

 

Recovering from what he thought his own internal musings; Miroku looked up from his cup to realize three sets of eyes were upon him marked by varying degrees of curiosity and fright.

 

Taking the bull by the horns he spoke directly to the bottle green eyes that had grown skittish under a level violet gaze that were becoming indigo in the fading light.

 

“Shippou is it?”

 

The red-head nodded nervously.

 

“How have you managed to survive by yourself without ever giving away your little secret?”

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

“No worse for wear, I see.” Naraku observed dismissively and pointed to the settee. He had donned a white robe while awaiting Raku's return from powdering her nose. “Sit. We have matters to discuss before the board meeting.”

 

Raku's flinty gaze remained fixed on her prey and a slow, wicked smile came to lips the color of blood.

 

“You could do with practice, Naraku. Repetitive at best, forgettable at most.”

 

A deep chuckle escaped well curved pale lips. “Spare me the critique, Raku. I am in no way interested in your views of my sexual prowess.”

 

“Or lack thereof.”

 

“Sit!”

 

Pale green eyes glimmered with triumph. She had hit her mark. His emotions would prove his undoing; something that was not a failing of hers. Then again, she was not deficient in breeding, unlike the pathetic hanyou.

 

Sitting with studied indifference she crossed long, supple legs. No longer in hose, she watched in amusement as he studied them despite himself. She had had to dispense with them what with the mess he had made. Instinctively she reached for the clutch on the settee in search of a light and a cigarette.

 

“Tell me about this, Kagome woman.”

 

Raku watched as Naraku's eyes narrowed immediately looking beyond the window.

 

“She was a student of mine; an apt pupil.”

 

“And?”

 

Returning her impassive gaze, and noting the tremor in her voice, he gave her a vindictive smile. “She is also a Miko in possession of items we both want, unbeknownst to her.”

 

A pale, well tended brow arched with mild interest as a thin film of smoke left perfectly retouched lips.

 

“Tell me more, darling, and have one of your minions bring in some tea, I'm parched.”

 

Naraku's shrewd gaze glanced over her sudden calm. He had her right where he wanted her.

 

“As you wish, Lady Raku.”

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

“You will find Rin's bedroom down that passageway,” Kaede's gnarled hand pointed, “fourth from the right, Miss Higurashi. I would come with you, but my presence is required elsewhere,” Kaede said with a reverent bow.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Kagome returned it with schooled deference, hiding her curiosity as was only polite. There was a lie somewhere in that statement. True, the older woman was a Godsend and had been nothing but kind. Even going so far as to find her something to wear, an antique kimono of exquisite golden silk with a butterfly theme of all things, at sleeve and hem, instead of the rags she had been left with.

 

Still, something about her manner was foreboding regardless of her projected calm and cordiality. It was as though she was waiting for something. Once or twice as Kagome had hurriedly dressed in front of the narcissist's mirror she had caught a furtive glance in that one keen eye as she helped in adjusting the Obi. Then there were the questions, seemingly innocuous, about the Art of Tea, her Grandfather and Rin's pending lessons in the business' namesake.

 

Kagome glided across the Nightingale floor which hardly uttered a squeak under her socked feet. She smiled though, contemplative at this small victory. It was an art in and of itself. She had plenty of practice at her own home in defying the floor another of the games her Grandfather had taught her when young. The smile abruptly left her lips as she continued to walk, realizing something about the grain in the wood beneath her feet.

 

Their depth, their color, their feel, their width were virtually the same as those that lead to the tea garden at home.

 

`Impossible!'

 

Her well tutored eyes followed its path with growing trepidation along its linear route beyond the bedroom to the large lacquered doors that pulsed with a soft steady light that intensified with each step she took toward. A compunction she was helpless to defy pulled her past her appointed destination, unheeding of the deep baritone call coming from the open bedroom door.

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

 

 

Author's Note:

 

I hope you enjoyed. See you, very soon. Thank you for your continued support.

 

Namaste

 

ElegantPaws