Summary:
It has been many years since the defeat of the half-demon
Naraku, but evil still lurks and it has his beady black eyes set on the budding
beauty; Rin. A bite. A Curse.
An Eternity.
Rated Mature • Romance/Fantasy •
Chapters 3 •
Sesshomaru/Rin
Post Manga. Rated
Mature for Graphic violence, mild swearing and sexually suggestive content.
~Teaser~
~At the End~
She was clean, methodical and everything a warrior should
be. Watching this demoness before me was
like watching water move, she was all things grace and beauty and I had not
even glimpsed upon her face. She
decimated her enemy with ease; taking off the Panther demon’s head with one
swift swing of her sword. Awed and
enthralled, I slid forward in my chair; waiting impatiently for the moment when
she might be revealed to me.
She was a goddess.
Resentment and shame followed immediately after for
thinking of another woman in such a way and I prayed to the heavens that Rin
would forgive me from wherever she was.
The crowd of nobles cheered and my aunt clapped her hands
along with them for the masked woman’s swift victory. I could not; I was far too ashamed of myself
and my unexplainable reaction to her.
I didn’t know how long the Gods would punish me for what
happened to Rin, or how long I would punish myself for my failure. If it was forever, then so be it; I would
live out my eternity in this Hell. It
would be less than I deserved.
A strange scream rose up in the audience down in floor
below only to be deafened by the unmistakable howl of another Dog demon.
Looking up, I met the golden hued eyes of the demoness
that had so enraptured me, feeling compelled to stand as she sped towards me
with the speed of a noble; double swords drawn.
Before I could grasp my sword, the pungent stench of brimstone and
rotten flesh reached my nose and I snarled.
She screamed a moment later, yelling for me to take cover as she sent
one of her swords directly at me. I
seemed to duck just in time and watched the pearl handled katana fly over my
head.
Blood instantly filled my nostrils, but it was not mine,
it was far too repulsive to be any demon with invitation to this castle. In fact I had not smelled such a foul stench
since Rin had gone missing over a hundred years ago.
It was the horrible reek of the Takada clan and their
fir-breathers.
My body turned on a pivot, a roar of outrage parting my
lips as I bared my fangs at the revolting being pinned to my aunt’s palace
wall; the sword of the demoness lodged deep within his shoulder.
Rage quickly coursed through my veins. These filthy creatures had taken her from me; my Rin, and I would make
this one pay!
One foot in front of the other I moved in stride towards
my pray just as the Goddess of War herself came sailing over my head and
landing with a graceful ease just in front of me. She snarled and snapped like a wild animal
and in that moment my curiosity renewed; I wanted so badly to see her face.
The assassin as I
could only deduce him to be, was struggling like a caged animal to break free
of the sword that held him captive still.
I watched with a morbid inquisitiveness as the woman
before barred her fangs in warning, hissing at him a holding the point of her
remaining sword to his throat.
Finally coming to my senses, I commanded. “Enough!”
Turning to them both, I assessed the situation the best I
could without killing him before questioning.
It was difficult in more ways than one.
I wanted to kill this best with my bare hands, and yet I wanted to
torture the life from him and let him experience every misery he and his
retched clan had subjected me to over the last hundred years; separated from my
beloved mate.
Then there was her, my Goddess demoness. Not being able to read her face made assuming
her ulterior motive almost impossible.
Her eyes read easily enough though, they were swarming with fury; she
wanted nothing more than to end this demon, but for what purpose?
Was she with them, luring me into a false sense of
security? Or was he too close to being
noticed and didn’t want him being questioned?
For some reason, I doubted either of my suspicions. Something within my soul told me this woman
would do me no harm.
“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded impatiently, I wanted answers and
I did not care who I had to cleave open to get them.
Fear rent the air as my prisoner trembled, the hilt of
the masked woman’s blade shaking with his anxiety and I knew then I would be
getting no answers at present. Though he
was terrified of me, his lips were set in a tight, thin line; denoting his
arrogance and refusal. It was of no
matters, I still had other pressing matters to deal with.
This mysterious woman had much to answer for herself. Why had she saved me so valiantly?
“Guards!” Quickly
enough, I had at my disposal, twelve abled bodied men. “Take this fifth to the barracks, I have
questions for him.”
They bowed quickly, moving with haste to remove him from
my sight. As one went to remove the
sword of the demoness still standing to my left with her head bowed,
overwhelming jealously rose up into the pit of my stomach and before I could
contain myself, I growled deep and possessive.
“Wait,” I called,
raising my hand for them to stand down as I moved passed them. “Stand aside.”
With little effort I jerked her weapon free and reviled
in the pained cries from the intruder, his agony brought me a deep
satisfaction; one that I had not felt since the day my wife disappeared from my
sight.
“Jushiro, how fares my aunt?” I asked as the men led the intruder away.
She was as expected, removed from the fight and secluded
away into her room as soon as it was learned that security was breeched.
We ended up losing fourteen of our soldiers from the
lower ranks; the cursed Takada clan only lost two with another in my custody
and one who retreated like the cowards that they were.
I held the hilt of the pearl handled sword in my hand and
could feel its power singing to me like a familiar song. It was a truly remarkable weapon and it only
added to the growing list of questions I wanted to ask her.
Finally free of distractions, I handed the sword back to
its owner, although hesitantly; still unsure of her intentions. Yet I couldn’t find it in myself to see her
as a threat to me. “It is a truly
magnificent sword.”
She merely nodded her head in response, and for some
reason her silence bothered me, so I tried again.
“You fought well, I am indebted to you.”
With her gaze glued to the planked floor below, she
remained silent but I could see her body slightly trembling. What she did next shocked and angered me to
the core.
Without word she threw herself into my arms, wrapping her
arms around my neck like I might disappear should I let go. She was a sobbing mess, muttering incoherent
things I could not understand as her mouth was muffled by the robes that
covered my chest.
Guilt ate at me as my thoughts drifted to Rin and what
she would think about this harlot draped about my person like a jeweled
necklace.
With a snarl of indignation, I pushed the thought aside
and with it, the demoness.
I knew I most likely wore a look of shock and disgust as
I snapped at her like a lowly whore. “I
know not who you are demon, but know that only my Lady is permitted to touch
this Sesshomaru!”
She looked just as astonished by her actions or perhaps
it was that I pushed her away so callously after saving me. But I could not forgive her actions so
easily. “I will forgive your
transgression only because you saved my life, but be warned, should you do so
again will lead to your death.”
Even as I said the words they seemed to turn to ash in my
mouth. It felt off to reprimand this
stranger for such a thing and that in itself was odd. Why would I feel guilty for pushing a woman
who wasn’t Rin aside? Had I grown so
soft?
She trembled forcefully, her sobs wracking her body so
hard I feared she might collapse.
Remorse ebbed its way into my soul once more as venomous tears trickled
from her eyes; I had reduced a fierce warrior to a weeping woman.
She gave me a heartbreaking glance from behind her mask
as a pained whimper left her throat.
“It’s true then, you have taken another for your mate.”
It wasn’t a question on her part and sounded more and
more like a heart wrenching realization.
She believed me to be mated for a second time? Or did she somehow know me from years ago and
only realized I had taken Rin for a mate?
Did she somehow know Rin? Had she
seen her? As more questions raced
through my mind I became thoroughly confused.
“What do you mean by ‘another mate’? Who are you, Warrior? Remove your face covering.”
She looked as confused as I felt, but my patience was
running thin and I did not have time to let her work out whatever she was going
through. Before thinking my actions
through, I stepped forward and took her by the shoulder; fully intending on
shaking the answers from her.
“Answer me, woman!”
She smiled a genuine smile and opened her mouth to speak,
but all that came out was a gargled spray of blood that splattered across my
face. My eyes widened as the trialed
down her bodice to the pointed end of a blade protruding through her
chest.
Too late, I realized, that there was still another
assassin loose on the grounds, a now another price must be paid.
Blood red eyes held mine from over her shoulder, a cruel
smile held firm on his face. He winked
at me before he twisted the blade and jerked it from her back. The demoness let out a wet, choking sound as
he legs failed her and she sank to the ground with a dull thud.
I watched in absolute horror as blood ran like a raging
river from her chest, but that horror quickly gave way to fury. Without giving him warning I drew Bakusaiga
and thrust it deep into his chest. He
would not recover from a wound from my sword and he would not die swiftly. I wanted him to suffer.
As he slid to the ground, unable to move from the poison
flowing within him, I turned my attention back to the woman at my feet. It was obvious she was in great pain and yet
she was struggling with slippery fingers to remove her mask.
“Let me help you.”
I told her, moving to kneel beside her.
She mumbled something then, garbled and distorted, but it
sounded like she called me ‘Maru’, but that was impossible. There was only one person walking the earth
that has ever called me that name and lived to tell about it and that was….
As I pulled the final strap free of the wooden mask that
kept her face hidden, the scent of her blood finally wafted to my nose. Muddled, I dropped her mask to the floor and
stood horrified, elated and angry.
“RIN!” I cried as
I pulled my long lost wife to my chest; nuzzling her hair.
I had to be dreaming again, I just had to be. But the warm blood that spilled from her body
didn’t lie and I quickly understood that this was no dream…
It was my nightmare.
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