Blood Beauty

*~ Disclaimer ~* I do not own any of the characters, plots, or locations from Inuyasha. Some company holds all rights to Inuyasha and this story is only created for pleasure, not profit.

A/N: This is a short chapter, unfortunately, but it basically sets up the scene for the next few pieces of the fic. I also wanted to make it clear, since I just recently decided to post this on ff.net, that updates will not happen quickly. I am very pleased with the wonderful responses that I’ve had so far (everyone’s so nice!) but it’s simply not in me to update at a fast pace. Therefore, I propose a choice to readers, either I can post as often as I am able (once a month or more, as inspiration comes) or I can wait for longer periods of time and post several chapters at once. I’m enjoying this fic (even though I had no idea from whence it came, lol) and I’ve even begun pieces together parts of the plot in the long-term. Hopefully this semi-organization will guarantee the monthly updates, but if it doesn’t, please don’t shoot me! I don’t mean to be so busy, really! Anyway… please enjoy what I have here! :) cheers!


It was a very quiet trip to Sesshomaru’s domain. The wind whistled around them as they made their way speedily towards the Western Lands, but the Taiyoukai and the miko were still as statues. The woman seemed to have sunk deep inside her body as she hid in Sesshomaru’s arm. The demon lord didn’t know what to make of the woman’s withdrawal, but decided to ignore it for the moment. Having the woman so close was distracting in itself without other thoughts moving around in his head.

The lavender scent was becoming all too familiar to the Taiyoukai’s nose. It seemed to fill his senses and make him blind to the rest of the world. He growled low, frustrated that the miko was causing him to lose his concentration. The demon lord seemed to be experiencing several incidents where he was losing control and the first thing he would have to do once he returned to his domain would be to put as much distance between the miko and himself.

Finally, they were coming upon his home, and the Taiyoukai began his descent beyond the high stone walls. The drop seemed to shake the woman to life and she cautiously turned her head and blinked at the scene before her. A stone castle was laid out before them, but it was nothing like the plain castles of typical kings. Sesshomaru’s castle had turrets and towers spread out and designed for art just as much as for defense. They varied in height, but seemed to blend in with the castle itself and made complicated weaving patterns with the stones. The structure itself was tiered, and gave the impression that an entire city could live there without being overcrowded. Pathways and courtyards could be seen winding around the outer boundaries and disappearing into the main hold of the castle.

What truly leapt to the eye was the greenery. Lush gardens flourished around the outside of the castle with flowers of red, orange, and blue, all intricately placed and beautiful. Shining ivy crawled over the stone itself and patterned several of the walls with designs to echo the complexity of the castle’s layout. Each element seemed to flow into the other, moving one’s eyes from one location to the next, a convenient defense for those in the castle itself. The air was permeated with all of the floral scents, blending together uniquely and hiding demon and youkai scents effectively.

However it did not seem to overpower the lavender scent. It tickled the demon lord’s nose just beneath the vast wave of other flowers, teasing his senses with its sweetness. As soon as their feet touched the ground, the Taiyoukai disengaged from the miko and began to move towards the entrance, assuming the miko would follow. There was a pause before the demon lord heard light footsteps come into line behind him. As they entered one of the outer pathways, he could hear the miko’s steps become erratic and he quickly glanced back to see what was distracting the woman. She seemed to be taking in her surroundings with amazement plain on her face, turning left and right to absorb the scene around her. Sesshomaru looked about mildly and wondered just how strange the castle was to the human.

They turned into a hallway and began to trek towards the inner hold. Walls upon walls were lined with portraits and treasures of heritage and privilege passed down from generations of Taiyoukai. Hearing the miko falter and pause more frequently, Sesshomaru gruffly spoke, “There are plenty of youkai here that will not hesitate to kill you should you get lost.”

The miko huffed and the demon lord could picture the look of irritation on her face, but he didn’t hesitate and he heard the light steps fall into a steady pattern right behind him. So the miko could be taught, as long as she wasn’t given time to react to the order, Sesshomaru thought. Perhaps he could find some use for her after all. They rushed through the halls and came up to a section that was strangely bare. However, there were several ornate doors that lined the walls, each with their own distinct design. Finally, they reach a set of doors that had a rich forest design on it, surrounding a large chalice in the center. The details were delicately carved out of the dark oak paneling and there was a strange inscription on the rim of the chalice that seemed to be from an old dialect. Sesshomaru watched as Kagome’s eyes flew over the door, taking in the otherworldly feel of the scene. After allowing her a moment to observe, he spoke, “This will be your room during your stay here. Remember these doors and never enter any other without this Sesshomaru.”

Looking somewhat dazed, the miko hesitated before inquiring, “How shall I find you?” She twiddled her fingers and looked at him beneath her lashes in a strangely modest manner.

The demon lord motioned her to follow and they paced down the corridor to come upon a second set of doors. This set was also a dark oak with a carefully carved design. This design was of a mountain with a large shield in the center instead of a chalice. An inscription of the same or similar dialect was written on the blade. Fascinated, the miko stepped closer towards the door, but Sesshomaru held out his arm between her and the door. “You will not enter these doors,” he told her without preamble. “Should you request this Sesshomaru, you will knock and you will wait.”

The woman turned, still with a faraway expression, and asked, “Are these your rooms, Sesshomaru-sama?”

The Taiyoukai gave a stiff nod and motioned her back toward the previous doors. Taking the brief pace down the hall, Sesshomaru swiftly opened the doors without ceremony and nudged her into the room. “This Sesshomaru has other affairs to attend to, Jaken will retrieve you when you are required.” Without awaiting the miko’s response, he abruptly shut the doors behind her and strode down the corridor deeper into the castle.

The Taiyoukai inwardly smirked as he ventured into the depths of his abode, recalling the look of pure surprise on the woman’s face as he shut her in. A warm feeling came over him each time he surprised the miko or she reacted in anger and he could almost say that her actions amused him. She certainly managed to hold his attention when she was around. The similarities between the woman and his young charge were also rather striking, though he could not say if it was a shared trait between all human females or not. Grinding his thoughts to a halt, he pushed open a seemingly random, plain set of doors and entered his study.

Portraits of imposing inu-youkai lined the walls, each with the crescent moon symbol adorning their forehead. Beneath the portraits lay several cases that changed style according to each individual demon lord. Within them were varying artifacts left belonging to the lords, often a set of fangs or claws, as they were most useful in weaponry and were represented well in battles. There were also cases and shelves of documents and manuscripts passed down from generations of lords, containing everything from history, to politics, to personal observations. The majority of the floor space was empty, though there was a sturdy oak desk settled to one side of the room opposite an exquisite fireplace. A detailed carving of a lord and his mistress in their youkai form were in marble on either side of the fire. Above the mantle was a portrait of the late demon Lord Taisho, father to Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. With only the fire crackling, the room was quiet with a heavy atmosphere that all of the past lords weighed on the current demon lord in their mist.

Unabated by their stares, Sesshomaru made his way to the desk to look over treaties and documents from the past day. There wasn’t much to consider in the way of politics. As long as he maintained collaboration with the demon lords of the east, north, and south, all others would submit to his rule in his domain. However, Sesshomaru had to be sure that their compact would remain firm with the recent disturbances across all of the lands, largely due to the hanyou, Naraku. Since the filthy hanyou worked through others it was difficult to determine if all of the events were accomplished with his influence, but the Lord of the Western Lands had no doubt that Naraku was guilty enough to be considered a threat. The Jewel shards were causing much trouble and jealousy between groups and lands and the lords were in the midst of collaboration to put an end to it.

With a glance towards the portrait over the fireplace, Sesshomaru settled down to sort out the documents and put his lands in order by paperwork.

***

With a light sound that could almost be described as a soft “wuff,” Sesshomaru turned away from the political documents and moved towards the door. Exiting, he calmly called out, “Jaken.”

Almost immediately, the green toad detached himself to whichever wall he was clinging to and bowed to the demon lord. “Yes, m’lord?”

Expressionless, the Taiyoukai kept moving with the small youkai scrambling to keep in step, “Go retrieve Rin and the miko. Bring them to the main hall.”

“Yes, m’lord!” the little toad rushed off to do his bidding and Sesshomaru swept towards the hall with all the grace and chill of a demon who knew his charge. The time apart from the miko had settled his reactions and he found himself more in focus than before. Now that his affairs were settled, he was able to determine the best course of action to take with the strange woman. He was curious as to how far she would be able to control her powers and whether or not her control would have an effect on his own ability to disengage her. Thus, he would give her the lessons that she requested in control, as well as take the opportunity to instill obedience into the woman. Should the opportunity arise to use her for bartering for the Tetsusaiga or in battle, it would be useful to have her under his command. As for her blood… he would have to investigate that further, without her knowledge. He would have her under observation during training and that would hopefully produce some results as to what distinguished this woman from others.

Sesshomaru moved swiftly to a large hall that was covered with large tapestries depicting all sorts of lords and ladies. Some showed battle scenes from times past and some showed events and meetings held at the castle. A chattering of soft voices made their way to the Taiyoukai’s keen ears and he turned to see the woman and his young charge emerge from the hall, apparently deep in conversation with each other. Or perhaps, more so Rin was exalting her daily events to the miko who nodded back and asked questions to prompt the girl when she slowed. Jaken scrambled along behind the females, muttering to himself about irritating humans and why the great Lord Sesshomaru-sama would put up with such loathsome creatures?

The demon lord promptly fixed his retainer with a look that made the small toad turn even greener and cringe out of the way. As soon as Rin saw Sesshomaru looking in their direction, she abandoned her conversation with the miko and rushed over to hug the Taiyoukai’s leg. “Konnichiwa, Sesshomaru-sama! Kagome-neesan is here! She talked with Rin all the way here!”

Sesshomaru awkwardly patted the little girl’s head and nodded briskly at her. She beamed up at the demon lord and squeezed his leg one more time before rushing back over to take the miko’s hand and pulling her over towards the Taiyoukai. “Come on, Kagome-neesan! It’s time for dinner! Rin is so hungry!”

The Taiyoukai watched as the miko allowed the child to pull her along and she looked to Sesshomaru with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. Sesshomaru vaguely wondered what it was that the miko was worried about, but followed silently as Rin pulled the woman into the dining hall. The large hall stretched out before them and one end of the table was covered with a selection of food. Sesshomaru settled at the head of the table while Rin sat to his right, tugging the miko into the seat beside her.

“Do you like it here, Kagome-neesan? Are you going to stay here with Rin and play?” the young child peppered her words with affectionate petting on the miko’s arm. The demon lord watched with mild concern. Hopefully the woman’s presence would not incite the child into more affection than she already used with him. He would be unable to work if she hugged his feet the entire time. He watched the miko give a tentative smile to the girl.

“It is very beautiful here. Sesshomaru-sama has allowed me to stay so that he can train me,” she explained.

“Oh,” Rin said. “Will Kagome-neesan play with Rin after?”

“If that’s alright with Sesshomaru-sama,” Kagome spoke with a glance at the Taiyoukai.

Rin turned excitedly to the youkai. “Can Rin play with Kagome-neesan, Sesshomaru-sama? Please?” Her eyes were wide with hope and pleading. The miko watched with curious eyes.

Sesshomaru gave the child a barely perceptible nod and the girl squealed with delight. He leveled her with a look and she quieted. Rin turned back to the miko, who looked confused at the exchange, and beamed happily. The woman gave a hesitant smile back and looked at the demon lord with inquiring eyes. Sesshomaru ignored her gaze and gave a low rumble at Rin. “Eat,” he commanded.

The miko looked indignant at the strong command, but the child immediately moved to eat with gusto. She chatted constantly, but quietly, to the miko about the food, the fun things they would play together, and how nice it would be now that she was staying with Sesshomaru.

“Rin likes to be here with Sesshomaru-sama, but Sesshomaru-sama can’t play with Rin all the time,” she told the miko. “Now that Kagome-neesan is here, Rin won’t have to be lonely anymore.”

The woman was currently picking at her rice as she turned her soft gaze on Rin. “How did you come to live here with Sesshomaru-sama, Rin?” she asked, cautiously quiet.

“Sesshomaru-sama brought Rin here!” the child explained, not really explaining at all, the demon lord noted with the same vague amusement that always accompanied his observations of the child. Apparently the miko was not satisfied by the answer because she gave a short sigh.

“I meant that how did Sesshomaru-sama come to take care of you?” the miko inquired further. “Did you live somewhere else before here or has Sesshomaru-sama always taken care of you?”

“Well…” the child drew out between mouthfuls of stew. “Sesshomaru-sama saved Rin.” She looked at the Taiyoukai with an expression of adoration, which the demon lord simply ignored and continued with his meal, still listening to the conversation.

“Saved you? From what?” Kagome asked curiously, glancing between the Taiyoukai and Rin.

“From dying,” Rin said simply and the woman jerked in surprise. With a smile toward Kagome, she continued, “Rin found Sesshomaru-sama in the woods with blood all over. So Rin gave Sesshomaru-sama water and stayed until he was all better. Then Sesshomaru-sama left and later, Rin got hurt too. Sesshomaru-sama came and saved Rin, and now Rin lives here.”

The child was beaming at the demon lord while the miko simply stared with surprise and awe written over her face. “Amazing,” she breathed softly and Sesshomaru spared the woman a glance. He was surprised to find wonder and kindness in her eyes as she met his gaze and he turned away from her sapphire depths. The warmth he saw there was dangerous, he knew it instinctively. He rose from the meal with dissatisfaction, but determined to leave the miko and his charge as soon as possible.

“After the meal, you will return to your rooms,” he addressed them coldly. “Jaken will direct you.” With that, he turned swiftly away, feeling the miko’s stare upon his back and hearing his young ward chirp out a good night. Sesshomaru marched to his rooms at a fast pace and decided that it would be best to sleep, as he had not done so for some time. Putting all thoughts of the strange woman in his castle out of his mind, the Taiyoukai drifted into unconsciousness, the scent of lavender permeating his senses.

***