1639
Off the coast of Kyushu
"Kohaku?"
He turned away from the railing and the vanishing islands
in the distance to face the speaker, the bottom of her kimono fluttering
a little in the off-shore breeze. "We're going to miss Obon," he
said quietly. "It's harder for Miroku every year, to accept the time
passing without her."
Rin came forward and stood next to him, watching the
blue-gray waters. They were sailing east for the moment to skirt the
edge of the long chains of islands to the south. "Did you know the barbarians'
name for this ocean means peaceful? It makes me wonder if they've seen
it during the season of the Great Winds."
"I hope so. I don't want to think we're out here
with a bunch of wako who don't even know the local weather patterns."
"They're not pirates. Sesshoumaru-sama says they
are reliable merchants."
Raised in the tradition of service to one's lord, Kohaku's
nose wrinkled. "Oh, merchants. Money-lenders, too, I suppose.
Sesshoumaru-sama knows better, and so should you." He looked back
at the islands once more, nearly gone in the haze. "We should go inside.
I suppose that's why he sent you out here?"
"We should," she conceded. "We're going to a new
world. There's a lot still to learn about it."
"It won't be like the old one," Kohaku said, turning
away from Japan once more.
"It never is," Rin agreed, reaching out to discreetly
touch his arm. "That's what makes it interesting."
The former Nishi no Tai Inuyoukai, now simply
designated as Taiyou-san fingered the triangular piece of cloth with distaste.
"And what would this be?"
Kohaku only shrugged, poking at the stiff embroidered
jacket lying on the table. It felt heavy and scratchy under his fingers,
nothing like the silk and cotton he was accustomed to wearing.
"I think it's called a cod-piece, Sesshoumaru-sama,"
Rin offered quietly from where she was sorting through the other pieces of
clothing. She picked up a length of muslin shot through with stiff bands
and shuddered, but didn't offer any complaint.
"And what does one do with a cod-piece?"
Rin tried not to blush. She'd been Sesshoumaru's
companion for more than half a century, and certainly there was no part
of his body she hadn't seen. But discussion was another matter entirely.
"It's worn similar to a fundoshi, I think. One of the sailors…"
"One of them what?" Kohaku asked sharply.
"Nothing, really. I stumbled on one of them leaving
the otearai. He was... adjusting it." She picked up a double-sided
framework and studied it critically. "I wish Kagome was here.
She'd know how to wear this… whatever it is."
It was Sesshoumaru's turn to take pity on her.
"I believe it is used to fill out the sides of the bottom half of the garment
you are to wear."
She stood and held it to her waist. "I won't be
able to kneel," she noted. "Must I stand all the time?"
"We'll just have to start making use of all that," Kohaku
said, gesturing to the heavy English furniture, they'd pushed to one side
of the main cabin.
"Jaken will move them later," Sesshoumaru declared.
"Rin, you should get changed. The sooner you are accustomed to that
mode of dress, the better."
She slipped back through the narrow door, sideways to
accommodate her wide skirt, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
Sesshoumaru stood in the center of the room, Kohaku
before him, working the tiny fastenings on the strange English haori
closed. It was made of some kind of black fabric, dark as night,
that seemed to absorb all the light sent in its direction, and she found
herself reaching out to touch it without thinking, drawing her curious fingers
back at the last second and peering up at his face, looking for disapproval.
The corner of his mouth quirked, and he gave her the tiniest of nods.
Rin let her fingers brush over the black cloth and she
sighed audibly. "It's so soft," she breathed, tracing over the stiff
golden embroidery where it outlined the edges of the black fabric.
He made a tiny negligent gesture, tipping his head a
bit to the side, and she stepped back, taking in the whole image. The
shoes were nothing short of bizarre, huge rosettes of fabric hiding most of
his foot, but his legs were on view for all to see, covered only in some kind
of black, fitted tabi. Short, puffy hakama started just
above his knees, made apparently of some different fabric from the jacket,
but just as heavily embroidered. Clearly, the jacket itself was the
main event of the costume, and Rin allowed herself an internal sigh of relief
that it was cut low enough in the front that if covered the cod-piece.
Really, any speculation of that kind belonged nowhere in her relationship
with Sesshoumaru-sama. The sleeves of the strange haori were
sliced from shoulder to elbow, allowing glimpses of a fine white under-kimono
of some kind. There was a flurry of white lace at his wrists, and a collar
of something similar around his neck as well, a piece of fashion she didn't
think he would appreciate in the least. Or he might find it ironically
amusing. Sometimes, there was just no way of telling.
He'd tied a cape over his left shoulder and across his
chest, and it very nicely covered the remains of his left arm. Rin
wasn't certain she would ever forgive Inuyasha or his spirit for taking her
lord's arm, for all that it had been old history before she met either of
them. What hurt Sesshoumaru-sama hurt her as well.
Kohaku was similarly decked out, though the colors and
fabrics nowhere near as rich or heavily decorated, matching her own clothes;
quality materials though not ostentatious in their appearance.
"It's, ah, very imposing, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said
at least, trying not to giggle as he settled a large black hat on his head,
complete with a very foolish looking feather. Why not just wear
a whole bird? she thought to herself.
"Imposing, hai." Sesshoumaru turned to
face the cabin's small spotted mirror. "Mr. Taiyou of Nagasaki, Japan,"
he intoned, trying out the English syllables. "Preased to meet you."
His smile was wicked.
Janunary, 1649
London, England
"Rin."
She was startled out of her sleep by a gentle touch
of her arm, and woke to see Kohaku, dressed in the middle of the night,
leaning over her. She blinked, shaking her head and trying to wake
up. "Anata? Nanigoto desu ka?" The ten years they
had lived in England had done little to change her preference for Nihongo.
"Iie. You need to get dressed. Sesshoumaru-sama's
waiting in the study."
She stood quickly, pulling a heavier robe over her usual
yukata. She'd never greet Sesshoumaru-sama's guests in her
native clothes, but in the middle of the night, speed was more important
than local fashion.
He walked with her as far as the bottom of the stairs,
then stepped away, moving toward the front door.
"Kohaku?" she called, confused.
"I have some errands to run. Don’t worry.
I'll be back soon." He kissed her quickly for assurance then slipped
out the door into the night.
"But it's still dark," she murmured to the closing door.
"Rin."
Reminded of her duty by her master's voice, Rin turned
and went quickly to the study.
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama."
They'd been horribly out of fashion when they'd first
arrived, though the long journey and supposedly provincial nature of the
Far East had easily covered the gaffe. Still, it was a mistake Sesshoumaru
had sworn never to repeat. He was resplendent in black silk now, tight-fitting
knee breeches and a matching doublet.
"We're leaving, Rin," he said without preamble.
"Have the servants pack what we need to travel. Kohaku will arrange
for everything else to be sold."
"We're not just going to the country, are we?" she asked,
sitting on the edge of a chair before her shaky knees could topple her to
the floor. The look he gave her told her their trip would be of a
much longer duration than a few hours in a carriage into Kent. "What's
happened?"
"Parliament intends to try Charles and execute him,
if possible."
Rin gasped. "But he's the king! How could
they?"
"The same way Tokugawa rendered the Son of Heaven powerless.
The English just intend to finish the job." His expression softened
slightly as he looked at her. "Everything will be fine, Rin.
Don't worry about it."
She nodded and stood, head ducked, and swallowed
hard. "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama."
They roamed the continent after that, ten years here,
15 there, never staying too long in one place. Four individuals, mostly
untouched by the effects of time would tend to stand out, after all.
And Rin learned to read the length of their stay in proportion to the local
political situation, and plan accordingly. The more tension she picked
up in the markets and salons, the sooner she started planning, at least
in her own mind, how to prepare for a quick escape.
And it occurred to her to wonder, after the fourth time
they sailed away on a ship whose lines were being slipped as they went aboard,
just how much Sesshoumaru had to do with some of the uprisings. She
couldn't ask him, not ever. Her life had been his since she was a
child of six and he had returned it to her like a precious gift. And
he had given her Kohaku as well, resurrected after the disastrous final
battle with Naraku. She could never question him, his actions, his
motives. The Christians who populated Europe spoke of revering a man
resurrected from the dead. Having seen it done herself, Rin was more
inclined to worshipping the resurrector. So she followed Sesshoumaru
still, as she had from the day of her rebirth.
"Rin."
She shook herself from her reverie and set aside the
book she'd been staring at for the past half-hour. "We're going again?"
she asked, standing and moving automatically to the bell-pull to summon
a servant and start dispensing orders.
"Yes. Though not until the end of next week."
"I see." She reached out and tugged the length
of embroidered cloth that would call the housekeeper. "Where?" she asked
calmly.
"America. I want to see what all the fuss is about."
Rin nodded passively, but inside, she was already planning
a trip to the chemist's. Extra headache powders would be essential
for the long sea-voyage.
January 1861
Charleston, South Carolina
"Ne, Kohaku?"
The train was picking up speed as they pulled out of
the city, starting to sway gently on its tracks. Rin wasn’t too certain
she liked train travel. It was certainly faster than a carriage, which
ought to have cut down the duration of the trips. But it also made
possible covering larger and larger distances, and Rin was starting to discover
the distinct displeasure of motion-sickness.
Kohaku dragged his head up from where it had been resting
against the seat-back, and Rin was almost sorry she’d opened her mouth.
Her poor husband had been out all night, making the arrangements for this
move, and had only returned to the house a scant few minutes before they
had set out for the train station. Needless to say, he was operating
on very little sleep after a busy evening. "Nan desu ka, koi?"
She took a deep breath and screwed up her courage.
"What has Sesshoumaru-sama been doing?" She felt the eyes of the other
passengers on her, but felt safe enough speaking Japanese. The only
other passengers who spoke it were in other cars, the rumble of the train
helping to cover their voices.
"He’s talking to some rich baka in another car, picking
up on news, I think." He squirmed a little, trying to get comfortable
wedged into a corner between the seat and the train.
Rin’s delicate mouth pursed in displeasure. "Mou,
that’s not what I meant. I’m not stupid, Kohaku. Every time
we leave a place like this, something bad happens. Ever since we left
home...."
He looked at her a little strangely. "We haven't
been there for 200 years, koishii."
She slid her hands over the wool of her skirt, feeling
the unyielding bands of the hoop skirt beneath it. "I know.
I miss it so much, though." She sighed, then frowned a little. "You
changed the subject. What has Sesshoumaru-sama been doing that it
seems everywhere we go, violence breaks out behind us?"
Kohaku sighed, appearing to give up on sleep for the
time being. "It’s all politics, Rin. Sesshoumaru-sama talks to
people, gets involved in the fringes of things, listens to what people are
saying. Once things are going in the right direction, there’s no need
to hang around and watch the results up close, so we leave."
"We’re starting wars," Rin said quietly, voice devoid
of emotion. "Everywhere we go, people die."
"People die everywhere, Rin," Kohaku insisted, leaning
forward to cover her hands with his for a moment. "It happens.
These wars would start anyway. All Sesshoumaru-sama is doing is controlling
the timing a little. That’s it."
She looked into his sad brown eyes and saw the truth
reflected there. They had no way to stop Sesshoumaru, nor any right
to do so even if they could.
"So are we staying long in New Orleans?" she asked,
changing the subject.
His face broke into a smile, the first real one she'd
seen in a long time. "No. Just a week or so to get on board
a ship." The excitement radiating off of him was contagious.
"Where are we going next?" she asked anxiously.
"Home, koi. We're going home."
The trip back was so much faster, Rin reflected as she
stood at the railing, watching with a pounding heart as the harbor grew
steadily larger before them. She had gathered from the sailors that
they were coming into a city called Yokohama, a bit of information that
had made her smile. Yokohama had been a tiny village when she was
young, gaining a bit more prominence during the early days of the Tokugawa
Shogunate. Now it was a huge city, thriving on the shipping
trade, large Western-style buildings visible past the dockside warehouses.
She had packed away her full-skirted Western dresses
the night before and stood on the deck in a plain dark kimono, hair pinned
up in a simple bun. It had felt so good to kneel on a cushion again,
the edge of her robe tucked neatly under her shins. Even the air smelled
different here, familiar, though there was a heavy taint to it now, thanks
to the coal that powered the ship's paddle-wheel.
There was a familiar step behind her, but she didn’t
turn away from the view. "Is it your turn to pull me away from the view?"
she asked lightly.
"No," Kohaku said, coming to stand next to her.
"I couldn't look away any more than you could. It's beautiful, isn't
it?"
"Oh, yes. Very much. Please tell me were
staying for a little while, at least."
"Not in Yokohama. We're taking a carriage south
in the morning. Taiyou-san wants to go to Kyushu as quickly
as reasonably possible." They had to be careful now, not to use his
given name. Nishi no Tai-Inuyoukai Sesshoumaru-sama would bring
too much attention in the Land of the Gods.
"We won't be going to Musashi's Domain, then?"
He shook his head. "Not right away, at least.
Maybe later, if there's time. But there's no telling how long things
will be calm enough for travel."
She brushed a compassionate hand against his.
"I hope we get time. I'd like to be able to pay my respects."
Sango's remains, Inu-Yasha's, both were near the old shrine in Inu-Yasha's
Forest. And Miroku wouldn't be far from his beloved taijiya.
"We'll be docking soon, I think," she observed as the docks grew ever
closer.
"Yes. Time to go home."
They walked through the dusty streets of Yokohama, a
tall white-haired man of some importance with strange markings on his face,
clad in the best Western suit money could buy, his two companions, a dark-haired
Japanese man in a good though not extravagant Western suit and a Japanese
woman in conservative traditional dress, and a servant, short of stature
with large round glasses and a strange staff, seeing to the baggage cart
and muttering to himself.
The tall man walked at a measured pace, looking neither
left nor right, his retinue following behind, the couple exchanging a soft
sentence now and then. Peasants on the street and merchants stepped
aside for them, and even samurai casually altered their course from a distance,
to avoid them without seeming to give way. They moved in a bubble,
untouched by the scene around them
At least, they were untouched until the woman saw something
in a merchant's stall and altered her own course to look at it. Pleased,
she reached immediately for the small purse she carried to purchase the
trinket, a print of a white dog with howling muzzle lifted to a crescent
moon. The merchant gladly made the transaction and wrapped it for
her, and she turned to hurry quickly back to her party. A clamor down
the street caught her attention, and she looked up to see a pair of gaijin
on horseback tearing down the street. She froze, terrified, flashing
back to a day when ravening wolves had run her down in the road. The
horses hooves pounded closer, filling her ears, and she closed her eyes and
ducked her head, waiting of the moment when it would be all over. Then
there was a low rumble of growling, and she looked up to see a clawed hand
snake in front of her face, pushing the horse and rider off-course as it
dragged shallow furrows through both. The horse ran on a few paces
more, and stumbled and fell, taking its wounded rider with it.
There was a moment of stunned silence, then a swelling
roar from the crowd, with demands to know what had happened, who had done
such a thing, and to detain the perpetrators until the police could arrive.
The tall man looked slowly around him with flashing amber eyes, then glanced
down at the woman, still clutching her precious package.
"Rin," he said quietly. "Ikuzo."
"Hai," she replied, falling back into place.
The gathering crowd let them go with nary a protest.
October 1861
Satsuma Province, Kyushu
Rin was in her element. They had taken a house,
modest in size, outside Kagoshima, and she had immediately set about establishing
them, hiring ordinary servants for the day to day running of the house.
It left her free to serve as the lady of the house, managing their finances,
greeting the guests, and attending to the lord himself.
Not that a 600-year-old youkai required a lot of attending.
His took most of his meals in privacy, preferring not to be waited on once
the tray was delivered, and did not require her assistance in dressing,
though from the number of times Jaken hit the walls, it was clear that the
toad’s adopted human form was scarcely more coordinated than his clumsy
youkai body.
She waited now on the engawa, kneeling in apparent
perfect serenity as Sesshoumaru-sama’s guest was escorted through the gates
and up to the main house. She waited until he was steps away, then
bowed low, fingertips pressed to the wooden deck. She held the position
until the man stopped at the bottom of the steps, then sat up easily, head
still dipped down.
"Welcome, Nishi-sama. Please accept the hospitality
of our home. I hope it is not too poor for you." She gestured
with a languid finger and a maid rushed forward, helping the visiting lord
out of his traveling shoes and into soft slippers. "Please allow me
to bring you to Taiyou-sama, who is most anxious to see you." She
stood gracefully and led the way into the house.
Rin set the sake vial on the tray and pushed back gracefully,
ready to bow and leave the men to their conversation when a casual gesture
from Taiyou-san stopped her.
"Wait a moment, Rin. I think Nishi-san would like
to hear your opinion."
"And what makes you think that, Taiyou-san?" Nishi-san
asked with a chuckle.
"You were discussing your son the other day, Nishi-san,
and your desire for him to have a broader education. Rin has a Western
education, informal, of course. I thought you might like to see for
yourself the effect of Western thought on a Japanese mind."
"A woman's mind," Nishi-san snorted dismissively.
"I think you will be surprised, my friend."
Nishi studied her. "Well, what did you learn in
the west?"
"Many things, Nishi-sama. Westerners have many
forms of government, which they seem to enjoy debating. They have a
great understanding of medicine, using chemical compounds rather than herbs.
They have fascinating art and literature, though their sense of privacy
seems oddly applied. There are also many interesting schools of thought
regarding the nature of the universe and the human condition. Their
predominate religion is Christianity, though there are a great variety of
ways in which it is practiced. These are the things I have studied
in depth, and can answer more detailed questions about."
Nishi blinked for a long moment. "I think I see
your point, Taiyou-san. All right, Rin-san. Tell me about Western
politics…"
December 1867
Yokohama, Japan
It was dark, Rin thought as they stood huddled in the
entryway of the inn, though she wasn’t sure things would be better if the
clouds that were gently dropping snow were to miraculously part. It
was the night of the new moon, the first night of the month by the old calendar,
a night when Taiyou-san was always introspective. It had been Inu-Yasha’s
night in the past. Perhaps it was some forced vigil for his despised
half-brother. People did that for their enemies, didn’t they?
There was a crunch of snow in the drifts beyond the
doorway, so loud in the quiet night that it almost had to be a sacrilege.
Then she heard a voice, low-pitched and calm.
"Nice night for a walk."
"I have seen worse," Sesshoumaru replied.
"Worse nights are always coming." Codes and counter-codes
given, a figure approached, now making almost no sound in the banked snow.
Sheltered furthest back in the alcove, she could see very little of their
new companion. He seemed slight, within a few inches of her own height,
but he carried himself as a man accustomed to trouble. "I’m to see
you safely to the ship, Taiyou-san. This way, please."
He turned and stepped away, and in the dim lighting,
she could see him placing his feet carefully into previously made tracks.
Silently he led the way through snowy streets and back alleys. A few
minutes later, they were just a block from the docks, torches flaring next
to the ships as cargo was taken on-board.
"Your ship is the third from the right, Taiyou-san.
I will remain here to-" He stopped suddenly, head snapping around
to look back the way they had come, and Rin saw a pair of crossed scars
on his left cheek under a fringe of miso-red hair. "Go," he hissed.
"I’ll cover you. Move now!"
They did as he directed, moving swiftly down the narrow
street and over to the ship. Rin looked back only once, to see him
crouched in the mouth of the intersection, hand on his sword, coiled like
a snake ready to strike.
"Thank you," she mouthed, though he didn’t look to them,
and she hurried to catch up to Sesshoumaru and Kohaku.
"Are you all right?" her husband asked, taking her arm
to steady her.
"Yes." There was a ring of steel on steel behind
them. "Who was he? He seemed nice."
"A hitokiri," Sesshoumaru said from where he
walked swiftly in front of them. "Let’s go."
March 1917
St. Petersburg, Russia
Normally, Rin wouldn’t have heard the front door from
the third floor. But today, the slamming sound echoed through the
house and set her running down two flights of stairs and through doors into
the entryway.
She just dodged out of the way in time to avoid being
mowed down by Sesshoumaru as he stalked in, absently shaking his arm to
free it of the servant trying to divest him of his outer garments.
"Stop that, you moron. There’s no time.
Rin!"
She raced in after him, shooing the servant back into
the bowels of the house. "Hai?"
"We’re leaving," he said shortly, turning toward the
stairs.
"Hai. When, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"Now. Immediately. Jaken and Kohaku are
arranging passage now. Leave everything you can live without."
She chased up the steps after him. "Sesshoumaru-sama,
what’s happened? What’s wrong?"
"There is no reasoning with these people," he ranted,
giving vent to a rare display of temper. "They have all taken leave
of their senses. That damned woman allowed herself to be led by a
hedonistic peasant masquerading as a holy man."
Rin followed at his heels, listening as he raved.
The Russian court had been a disappointment, and he’d never quite found
the equilibrium among the Tsar’s friends and luminaries as he had in courts
past. The arrival and rise of the self-proclaimed monk Rasputin had
put his further out of favor, though he had never been given clear leave
to go. Now as civil unrest grew, it seemed he was done waiting.
He turned to see her following him, and frowned.
"Go, Rin. There’s no time to waste."
She nodded and ran for the third floor.
The were trudging through banks of dirty snow an hour
later when the reason for Sesshoumaru's haste became apparent. Swirling
through the main square and leaking into the streets leading away
was a mass of demonstrators, waving signs, shouting slogans, and generally
running in panic as the horse-mounted army raced through the crowds shooting
seemingly at random. Sesshoumaru paused to watch it for a moment,
looking for any way through, Rin supposed, then reached back and caught
her wrist. "Stay with me," he instructed, then led her out into the
chaos.
Rin flinched violently when the first soldier's horse
plunged by close enough for her to feel its breath on her face. But
the rider never looked at her, and slowly she realized that they were invisible.
Or at least not of sufficient interest, in spite of Sesshoumaru's striking
features, to warrant attention. There was a tug at her arm, and she
realized that she'd stopped in her reverie. Picking up her feet, she
trotted along dutifully behind Sesshoumaru's long strides.
They were almost out of the square on the far side when
she heard the child's cry, and turned instinctively to look. The poor
thing, clad only in a thin tunic and pants, stood in the late-winter drift
over a huddled form already leaking blood onto the snow.
Rin didn't, couldn't, stop to think, but simply pulled
free of her master's grasp and ran back, scooping up the child and racing
back toward Sesshoumaru. She had almost reached him, could see the
annoyance in his amber eyes when something struck her in the side and her
legs turned boneless and she fell, still clutching the child, who had suddenly
gone eerily silent.
"---the Tenseiga. Now."
Sesshoumaru-sama, she thought. And the
sword? Who's hurt?
"—already in the cargo hold. It could take hours
to find." Kohaku. We're at the ship? He'd gone
ahead with Jaken and the largest trunks that had been packed and waiting
for the chance to go. At least he's safe.
"My Lord, I found the ship's physician." Jaken.
Why does he sound so worried? Who needs a doctor? Sesshoumaru-sama's
never ill, and Kohaku and Jaken sound fine…. Oh, it's me. Sesshoumaru-sama's
going to be so angry.
"You will heal her," Oh, he's very angry.
I should never have run away.
"Let's have a look." A man with a strange voice,
American-accented English, she thought, was prodding at her side,
and she flinched away at the pain. "Well, that's a good sign."
The doctor made an exasperated sound. "Gentlemen, we'll do much better
if you give me a little room to work. And turn on all the lights."
The glow against her eyelids increased, and she closed
them tighter.
"I think she's awake," the doctor said. "Miss,
can you hear me?"
"Missus," Kohaku growled as Rin nodded.
"All right," the doctor said affably. "Ma'am,
I need you to open your eyes for a moment."
She shook her head, setting off a new wave of pain that
radiated from her side. "Too bright," she murmured in Japanese.
The doctor was silent, and Kohaku repeated it in English.
"Ahh, I see. Can you speak English, ma'am?"
"Hai. Yes. And French and German as well."
She cracked her eyes a bit and turned her head to look for Sesshoumaru.
"Gomen nasai, Se- Sumimasen, Taiyou-san. I should have—"
"Hush, Rin. Let the doctor do his work."
The American physician had resumed his inspection of
her injury. "Gun-shot. Rifle, from the looks of it. Were
you caught in the riots, Rin?"
She nodded, then frowned. "Mrs. Taijiya," she
corrected him firmly.
"Of course. This is going to need some stitches,
but I think you were very lucky under the circumstances. Keep pressure
on the bandage, and I'll be back in a few minutes with the things I need
to fix you right up. You'll have to stay in bed for a few days, but
there's not that much to do on the ship, anyway." He gave her arm a
friendly pat and stood. "If you'll excuse me, gentleman, I'll be right
back."
Rin waited until the cabin door was securely closed
before bursting into a spate of apologies. "Oh, Sesshoumaru-sama,
I'm so sorry. I should have stayed with you. I didn't mean to
disobey, but when I saw that poor little boy…" She broke off to look
around the cabin. "He didn't make it, did he?" she asked, realizing
he wasn't with them.
"No. He didn't. Don't fret, Rin. Kohaku,
stay with her. Make sure the doctor is most careful. Jaken."
Sesshoumaru left the cabin, his faithful lackey following behind.
"What can this lowly Jaken do for you, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Sesshoumaru stared at his claws, stained with Rin's
blood. "I'm through with political manipulation, Jaken, These
fools can live or die as they see fit. I will have no more to do with
it. We are to dock in New York, yes?" At the toad's nod, he
continued. "Very well. Book passage from there to the West.
San Francisco or Los Angeles. I don't care which. We'll see
if we can't do something constructive for a change." He stared for
another long minute at the blood on his hand, then turned and went back into
the cabin.
~Owari~
Thank yous and such: Big Number-one thank you to Bachan, for her
terrific doujinshi and
challenge. Tied for Number-one of course, Rumiko Takahashi for creating
"Inuyasha" and all the characters therein. Also big thanks to N. Watski/Shueisha
for the cameo hitokiri. I just couldn't resist. Nishi-san, in
this case, serves as the father of Nishi Amane, an important figure from
the Meiji Revolution. All other familiar names are various historical
figures, about whom there are probably many opinions, which I have presented
to best serve myself. Arigato... LMH
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