InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Confrontation II: Trials and Tribulations ❯ Loose Lips ( Chapter 17 )

A/N: As always all characters will be walking that fine line of OOCness!! Nothing to say this time except, enjoy!!

 

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone, with the exception of Kanomaru, Joudama, Rinji, Mana, Susamajii, Teela, and Reinto.

 

FYI: Demonly, is used on purpose in this chapter. I'm well aware that it's not really a word.

 

Chapter 17:

 

Loose Lips

 

Rin couldn't get the image of the golden haired woman out of her mind. No matter what she did, it wouldn't go away. She kept envisioning her touching her husband, standing so close to him, that surely he should have felt uncomfortable.

 

At times her mind would even take it a step further, giving her a glimpse of just what might have happened, had she not walked in on them.

 

She shuddered slightly. `What am I doing? I've never had trust issues with Sesshomaru-sama before. What…what am I doing?' she berated herself while sinking lower into the warm water that swirled around her.

 

Sighing, she tried to quiet the rapid increase of her heartbeat, but failed miserably.

 

Quite honestly, she was literally stuck somewhere between believing what she saw and what her heart knew. Her mind, it knew something was amiss. It knew that there was more to the way Teela stared at him, touched him, and smirked coldly at her.

 

`Could Sesshomaru have had a previous relationship with her? Wouldn't he have told me about it?'

 

She sighed miserably and sank deeper into the water as she answered her own question, `No, no he wouldn't have told me.'

 

If she were honest with herself for just a moment, she would have admitted that she was undeniably jealous. The way she now felt had absolutely nothing to do with the way that harlot was touching what was only hers to touch, or even the fact that she was invading Sesshomaru's private space.

 

No, it wasn't any of that!

 

The fact of the matter was that the woman was completely and without a doubt gorgeous. From her golden locks, to her perfectly tanned skin, the sensual curve her hips to her high cheekbones. She was, well just… She was everything the Rin just knew she herself, wasn't.

 

Sitting up in the water, the mentally frustrated young mother and wife, tried to fight away the voice that told her things she weren't willing to admit just yet.

 

`He chose me. If he wanted her, he could've had her, couldn't he? But he chose me. He chose me to bear him his first child…his heir. He chose me to be his mate, and it's me that he protects.'

 

Even though she knew these things to be nothing less than the truth, Rin still couldn't shake off the feeling of inadequacy that seemed to engulf every nerve of her body from the moment…the second she first laid eyes on that…that woman…that bitch.

 

Why did Teela make her feel like she was so far beneath her? Why did seeing them together make her feel as if perhaps Sesshomaru deserved more than just a human…more than just her?

 

`No, he's happy with me! He's happy with his son! He…he accepts us and…and he loves us. I know he does, even if he never tells us. I know he does!' she thought desperately, seeking what little comfort she could find.

 

Rin had never been a very jealous woman, by any means. So how is it that this woman…this visitor, who had been in her home for less than 24 hours was able to turn her into a raving lunatic! She'd caused her and her husband, who never argued, to argue! She'd cause her to second-guess his love for her and their relationship with one another. How was this even possible?

 

Rin's mind floated slowly…regretfully back to her last conversation with Sesshomaru after the woman, name Teela, left.

 

Flashback

 

“Rin, that was unacceptable,” Sesshomaru stated quietly, his voice devoid of any feelings at all.

 

She didn't know what happened or what possessed her to speak out in such a manner, but she did. “No, Sesshomaru-sama, what you did was unacceptable!” she snapped, her son clutched tightly at her side.

 

Sesshomaru stared at her, his eyes narrowed slightly. He couldn't believe that she had actually challenged him in such away and in front of his impressionable son, at that. `Is this entire place going mad today?' he thought, refusing to look away from her. “Woman, have you lost your mind? You do not tell this Sesshomaru what is or is not acceptable,” he replied sternly, his voice challenging her…daring her to go against him again.

 

Rin stepped back, pulled Kano up higher on her hip and replied, her voice strong, determined. “This Rin finds it unacceptable for another woman to touch her husband…her mate! And she finds it unacceptable that her husband would allow such a thing, Sesshomaru-sama!”

 

He was taken aback by her blatantly disrespectful comment, but quickly recovered. “I've told you already that this does not concern you, Rin,” the Inu Lord stated, stepping towards her and their son.

 

He knew he wasn't about to do a damn thing to her, because in all honesty, he was rather proud that she stood up to Teela, but she was the Lady of these lands. She could not… He would not allow her to act in such an impetuous manner, especially not in front of these demons.

 

Wasn't it bad enough that they already thought humans were weak and overly emotional? So to have the woman…the human woman he had chosen as his mate breakdown…freak out…throw a tantrum in front of any of them, well that just would not do!

 

Rin stared up at him, unable to believe that he had said such a thing, and to her of all people! `What does he mean it doesn't concern me? How dare he?' she thought angrily. She felt Kanomaru hold tighter to her as he stared between her and his father. For once, he didn't speak a word.

 

Looking up at her husband, her eyes watery with tears that wanted…demanded to fall, she replied condescendingly, “Nothing that happens here ever concerns this Rin.” Stepping closer to him so that she could look straight up into his face, she finished as a solitary tear trailed slowly out the side of each eye, “But you Sesshomaru-sama…my mate…my husband, you concern me, regardless of whether you like it or not. I will not stand idly by and allow her to disrespect me or what's mine.”

 

“Mommy, please don't cry,” Kano whispered brokenheartedly while reaching up and sloppily wiping away her tears.

 

Immediately, Rin snapped out her self-induced trance and stepped back. “Oh my, what…what did I…” she mumbled, but stopped mid sentence when she noticed her husband staring at her with an almost non-existent look of shock on his face. `I was…so disrespectful! I…I shouldn't have said those things,' she screamed mentally. But she couldn't bring herself to apologize; instead she stuttered, with a bow, “Pl…please let me pass, Lord Sesshomaru. I…I need to feed our son.”

 

He stared from her to his son, his mind replaying her words repeatedly in his head. He knew she thought he was more than likely furious with her at this moment, but he wasn't.

 

Sure, he felt that she could have handled the situation with Teela better and that she needed to trust him to handle this, but the knowledge that she felt as possessive about him as he did about her, really served to stroke his ego. So much so, that any anger that he might have been feeling before, lessened even more.

 

However, she couldn't have known any of this, because his face remained as stoic and unemotional as ever.

 

Stepping slowly to the side, he allowed her to move cautiously passed him; his eyes trained intently on her every move. Grasping the wrist of her free hand, he heard her gasp and pull slightly away from him. “Rin, this conversation is not over, do you understand?”

 

End Flashback

 

As the memory faded, Rin slipped down into the water again so that it was covering her up to her chin. She couldn't blame him for being upset with her. She was the Lady of this land and she'd acted like nothing less than a commoner. She'd let her jealousy blind her to the right way to handle that situation.

 

`What I did was inexcusable. He'll never forgive me.'

 

Sighing heavily, Rin knew that now that she had made her bed, she had no other choice but to lie in it, so to speak. She couldn't hide away in here for the rest of the day, and she definitely couldn't avoid Sesshomaru, either.

 

Standing to her feet, she quickly dipped back into the water as the door to the indoor spa slid slowly open.

 

Rin's heart almost stopped as the ultimate reason for her seclusion stepped slowly into the room with a soft, anything but innocent grin, on her face.

 

Teela hadn't expected to find the woman that stood between her and Sesshomaru in the bathhouse, but she was an opportunist. She would use this chance to do as much damage to the human's mind as demonly, for lack of a better word, possible.

 

Sliding the door closed behind her, she stepped slowly towards the woman that was staring back at her with something akin to fright on her almost too naive face. Tugging at the tie of her obi, Teela began, “I didn't expect anyone to be in here. It was Lin, wasn't it?” She knew what the human woman's name was, it was of course a name she would never forget, but for now she would pretend she didn't. It would be more fun that way.

 

Ignoring the Inu woman's gibe at her name, Rin tried to cover herself as best she could and began to get out of the water. “Please excuse me, I was just leaving.”

 

Allowing her bath kimono to slide from her shoulders, Teela replied, “Nonsense, stay and talk with me. I know so little of you.” Glancing up at Rin, she finished with a small smile, “Sesshomaru has always been a little too thoughtless, don't you think? How could he `not' tell me about the woman that bore him a hanyou?”

 

Rin thought as she stepped back down into the water, `How…how long have they known each other? Sesshomaru didn't even mention me to her?'

She wasn't staying because she actually wanted to talk to the woman, or because she felt she had anything to say to her for that matter. However a part of her, the womanly part, was intrigued as to what, if anything this woman would say about her husband…her mate…the only man she had ever loved.

 

Rin sat on the far side of the hot spring, her back against the wall. Swallowing hard, she asked quietly, “How…how long have you known Lord Sesshomaru?”

 

Stepping into the water, her long golden mane trailing elegantly behind her, Teela chuckled as if that was the stupidest question she had ever heard, but answered, “Oh my. It's rather hard to say, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say long enough to span the lifetime of at least 5 or 6 of you humans.” Shrugging her shoulders off handedly, she finished, “But who's counting?”

 

`5 or 6 human life spans? They do have a history,' Rin thought while trying hard to hide her true emotions. `My goodness, how long is that? Could I even compete with that? If she wants him…'

 

Scooping up a handful of water, Teela rubbed her hands over her shoulders and down her arms as she spoke, “It was so good seeing Sesshomaru-kun today. Until I laid eyes on him, I hadn't realized just how much I missed him.” Sinking further down into the water so that it was up to her earlobes, Teela continued, “When I heard that he had taken a human as his pet, I thought he'd lost his mind. Now, after meeting you and seeing how deliciously sweet you are, I can honestly see why he's chosen you to spend his time with.”

 

Rin mumbled softly, “Pet?” `I'm not his pet. Is...Is she trying to insinuating that Sesshomaru thinks of me as…' She couldn't finish that thought. Surely, Sesshomaru wouldn't think of her in such away. `His pet! I'm…I'm his mate! I'm his…I'm supposed to be his equal.'

 

“Yes, pet. Of course you knew this already, didn't you? A demon of Sesshomaru's stature could never…” Chuckling lightly, Teela corrected herself, “Someone of Sesshomaru's stature would never choose a human as his true mate. You do know this?” By the look on the human woman's face, she could tell that her statement was certainly widening the crack she'd already created that morning.

 

Rin felt her heart drop. `What is she trying to say? Sesshomaru would never choose another over me, would he? He…he chose me to sire his first child…his heir. He's told me that Kano will rule in his absence.' Shaking her head, Rin tried to quiet the woman's voice. She tried to push it away…quiet it, but it just kept coming at her from all angles as if she was sitting on her lap.

 

Teela purred while leaning forward, “You seem shocked, Yin.” Smiling eagerly as the human bitch squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze, she continued, “Please don't get me wrong. I'm sure Sesshomaru has every intention of keeping you around once he's chosen his true mate and equal. After all he did bind himself to you, didn't he?” Sitting back, her back pressed against the side of the hot spring, her arms resting comfortably along the edges, she closed her eyes and let her head relax backwards.

 

Rin stared at the woman unwilling to believe that any of this could be true. Surely she was just messing with her…toying with her emotions. She had to be!

 

When she and Sesshomaru mated… When the mating ritual was performed he told her that it was forever or at least until he was killed, Kami forbid! `She's lying to me! She has to be! Sesshomaru would never! He couldn't! He…he wouldn't!' she thought franticly. Blinking repeatedly in an attempt to hold back the tears of anger and resentment that begged to be released, Rin balled up her fist and snapped with as much bravado as she could muster, “This Rin believes nothing that you say! Sesshomaru-sama would never do such a thing to me!” With that she stood to her feet and prepared to leave.

 

Teela laughed, and then replied, “How naïve are you to believe the he would settle for someone like you? I thought for a moment there that you actually had some common sense, but I guess I was wrong.”

 

Refusing to let the woman get any further under her skin, Rin stated in a manner befitting her husband, “You speak nothing less than drivel! My mate is bound to me and I to him! He can not…will not choose another!”

She had no idea if this was actually true or not, but she was hoping against hope that it was.

 

Teela sat up, a smile still playing on her face. “How foolish are you, child? He can and he will choose his true equal. And when he does, he will use you as nothing more than a nursing bag for his pup. And perhaps a fling every now and again, but I assure you, that's all. The spot you now claim in his bed, will no longer be yours.” Flicking her hand in a dismissive manner, she continued, “I'm surprised that you didn't know this. It's common knowledge in the youkai community.” Snorting dryly, she finished, “Even that hanyou brother of his knows about it.”

 

`Inuyasha…he…he knows about this? Everyone knows about this, but me?' Rin's steps slowed briefly, but she didn't stop. `She speaks lies! Nothing but lies! Sesshomaru would never do such a thing!'

 

“Shin, seeing that you weren't aware of this, one would think that you would at least be grateful to me for telling you. It would seem no one else thought you were important enough to know about it.”

 

Turning on her heels, Rin shouted, “My name is Rin! R…I…N! Rin, Rin, Rin! You, Teela are a liar! You're a demon, a disgusting lying, hateful, deceitful demon and nothing more! I will listen to no more of this…this poppycock!” She wanted to curse and pound her fist into Teela's face for coming in here and spewing this nonsense, but she knew that if she crossed that line, she would be signing her very own death warrant.

 

Teela stood up slowly, the smile once displayed on her attractive features now gone. Placing her hands on her perfectly curved hips as droplets of water trickled down her body and dripped slowly from her erect nipples, she stated, her tone smooth, gentle…motherly, “Yes Rin, I am a demon, just like Sesshomaru. If you think that I'm a disgusting hateful deceitful liar, then what does that make him? Surely, he's not above the things that I have told you?”

 

Rin stumbled slightly as she tried to pull on her bathing kimono. The youkai bitch had left her at a loss for words. What if Teela was telling the truth? What if everything that she believed to be true was really false? How would she find out the truth? If she asked Sesshomaru, would he tell her? Would he actually tell her that she was just his…his concubine? Would he admit…confess to her that she was just something to entertain him while he waited for a youkai mate? Would he say that their mating ceremony was a sham?

 

“Shut up. Shut…just shut up. I…I don't…” Rin whispered broken heartedly, her back now turned to the gloating Inu bitch. The first of her tears trailed slowly down her cheek as she clumsily tied her obi tight around her waist. `She has to be lying! She has to be! Sesshomaru and I are bound together. Our life spans are intertwined. He wouldn't have done that if he wanted someone else, he wouldn't have done that.'

 

“Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn't mention a word of this to Sesshomaru-kun. You know how he hates for anyone to meddle in his affairs,” Teela warned. She knew that if Rin repeated a word of this to Sesshomaru, all of her plans would be ruined. “Besides, you don't really want him to throw you to the side before your time, now do you?”

 

Rin inhaled deeply as her heart twisted within her chest and her mind begged her for answers she didn't have. Stepping out of the door, she quickly closed it behind her and sighed heavily as the floodgates she had been struggling to keep closed, opened.

 

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, she tried not to think about what she had just heard, but once again the woman's voice was all around her…in her…beneath her, above her, ripping at every shred of trust…faith that she had for her husband.

 

Staring in the direction of the room she shared with him, Rin choked back a sob and bolted down the hall and around the corridor to her son's room. She wanted to outrun this day…the bitch named Teela that had crushed…twisted…warped her world and mostly away from Sesshomaru.

 

She needed time to think. She needed to find some semblance of her old life before this morning started. She needed someone to tell her that what she had just heard were all lies, but who could…would tell her such a thing? When she could tell no one what had just been spoken to her, because if it were true…if there was even an ounce of truth to it, it would mean the end of her family and the end of her life as she knew it.

 

Simonkal of Inuy

 

 

“Have you seen Teela?”

 

“Not since earlier this morning, Milord,” Reinto replied with a bow.

 

Susamajii looked away from his companion, and down at the parchment he had been preparing.

 

“Did Lord Sesshomaru respond as you thought he would?” the younger dog demon inquired out of curiosity.

 

“Yes, he did exactly what I thought he would,” Susamajii mumbled as he stood to his feet. “He's so easy to read at times, that this will be nothing less than child's play or rather, like taking sake from a ninjen.”

 

Staring at his lord, whose whole demeanor had changed since coming to the West, Reinto thought, `How certain are you of that?' One of the hardest lessons he'd learn growing up, was that he should not underestimate anyone. No matter how weak, how strong, how big, how small or how distracted he or she appeared to be.

 

“I hadn't thought that the mighty Sesshomaru would have actually been so enamored with this wretched life of his, but it is of no consequence. It will make things that much easier for me.”

 

Reinto nodded in agreement, but truthfully he honestly didn't comprehend just how Susamajii was able to see the Western Lord's attachment to his mate and pup as a weakness. Didn't that actually mean that he would protect them more fiercely? Didn't that mean that he would do whatever it took to keep all who would harm them, at bay?

 

No, Reinto couldn't fathom for the life of him, exactly what or rather how Susamajii' came to that assessment.

 

“Teela said that he allows that human to question him. Can you believe that, Reinto?” Not waiting for a response, the Southern Lord continued, “The mighty Sesshomaru actually answers to a sniveling human bitch.”

 

`Is that suppose to make him weak?' the young demon thought, but did not respond verbally.

 

Susamajii smirked to himself as his thoughts turned towards the female bitch, Teela. He'd hadn't brought her along for her special knack of spying or because he actually expected Sesshomaru to mate with her.

Quite honestly, if Sesshomaru had outright agreed to it, he would have been floored.

 

He was well aware of her almost sadistic obsession with the Western Lord. He'd known since the day he killed her father, but she needn't know that. He also knew that she had secretly promised herself to him, even though everyone around her told her it was a lost cause. Susamajii figured that, that was also the reason why she never went further than oral sex with him, not that he cared. He had absolutely no desire for a mate what so ever. After all, if he was ever in dire need of an heir, Reinto would do just fine, wouldn't he?

 

The Southern Lord could actually care less about Teela, what she wanted, and whom she did it with. As long as she did what he told her to do, then all was well.

 

His plan for her was basically to have her distract Sesshomaru and his mate while he and Reinto put their plan into action. He'd hoped that her time apart from Sesshomaru would've taken her fixation with him to another level, and thus far it definitely had.

 

The idea that she had actually spied on Sesshomaru in the confines of his private quarters had stunned him. He hadn't ordered her to do that, but he was pleased when she reported her findings to him. He'd also heard from Reinto that she'd cornered the white lord in the confines of his study, but for some reason after that encounter she didn't report back to him.

 

`Where are you, Teela?' he thought, his facial expression never changing. Glancing up at his protégé, he ordered, “Go find Teela, and bring her to me.”

 

Reinto bowed and stated, “Of course.”

 

Preparing to leave, the young demon asked over his shoulder, “Lord Susamajii, what are my orders in regards to the hanyou, Inuyasha? Do you wish me to lure him away from the castle and kill him, or would…”

 

“You will do nothing to him at this time, Reinto. We just need a reason for him and his to leave, his interference is not a welcomed one.”

 

Reinto turned to face his Lord once more; he'd seen that same light in his eyes right before he told him about this current masterful plan. What irked him was that whatever the new plan was, it may not include him gutting the hanyou. Narrowing his eyes, he replied, “I see. What is it that you have in mind, Milord?”

 

Until Next Time…(Your .02 cents are greatly appreciated. Also the 1st chapter of the new fic has been posted, so please Read & Review)