Status: As of OCT 2014 still working. *_^ I will continue to work on this until I have finished it. Sorry for making you all wait, but I refuse to write a fast chapter, not giving it the attention it deserves.
Her Mystic Bodyguard
Eleven
The castle seemed like a lonely place, but the only thing that made that loneliness worse was the fact that you weren't really alone at all, except for one of the people who could make you feel this way had seemed to of vanished, but not by a sub-conscious act, but a determined one. You knew that Sesshomaru had returned, had been told by Jaken, and in an almost pleased manner on the little green imps part that, 'His great Lord had no desire to be in any contact with you unless it was something urgent that had regards to your charge, Rin, otherwise contact was to be non-existent.'
You were taken aback of course when you were told this, but you just shrugged it off, thinking it something that still had to do with his mating, or some silly fancy he had taken. But too soon it was real, dinners were not shared anymore, they were always separate, sometimes Rin dined with you, other times with Sesshomaru, lately though you had just taken to receiving and eating in your room. There was never a sign of him anywhere now, and any messages that he would have delivered verbally, were now carried by a maid to you. As that progressed you felt a little humiliated, and somewhat deprived. You had just accepted the feelings you had for this impassive Youkai, and the moment you did it was like he knew and immediately shut you out. You just couldn't seem to catch a break. Of course you had Rin, and you were very thankful for that, she was a constant source of joy for you, even if she did sometimes do things that could make your eye twitch, but that was all part of it, a great part too.
You sighed, sitting in your room at your desk, the lamps burning, casting a nice glow across the room, somethings had changed since you were there. You changed the bed setting, dusty purple and white covered it, along with silver pillow toppers, and a little Buddha statue sat in the corner, while another corner held a shelf that had some scrolls on it, ones that you had borrowed from the Library to read in the comfort of your room. You got up and walked out towards the balcony, a half moon was present and when you stepped into its luminous light emotions and words flew back to you.
He hates you.......yet he craves you.....back with him.....his pride......will build a wall....the pain you endure....your life lies elsewhere....disappointment and a broken heart.....
Your heart raced, could it be that you had actually gotten a message from a spirit who was trying to warn you? To give you advice? Or maybe it was just you telling yourself that you and Sesshomaru could never be because you were the thing he hates the most. A sinking feeling or truth stirred in your chest, that was right, no matter what I want to believe, I know the truth is simply that he would never have an interest in me, and would never be capable of loving me the way that I love him. You stared daringly up into the moon, Sesshomaru had completely shut himself off from you, made it painstakingly clear that he wanted nothing to do with you unless it involved Rin, and that just made the slow budding of pain you felt grow.
What should you do? You had this longing to go back out into the world, only you didn't want to leave Rin, this amazing child who loved you like a big sister, or maybe even a mother, and yet you knew that staying would only crush you further because of the way that dog demon was treating you. Staying in a place where you know that he might be in the next room, but your not allowed to see him because he didn't want to see you was so very devastating to your heart. You had endured extreme pain before, you had the scars on your back to prove it, but nothing was like this. Physical pain was so easy to handle because you could distance yourself from it, and it healed on its own, while the heart pain you felt was something that you couldn't run from, and the healing process was something that you would have to involve yourself in at every level. You turned your head around and stared at your katana, sitting on its base, the beautiful red handle with the cherry blossoms and the black sheath, it just sat there like a decoration ornament, when it had been given in the promise of much more.
~*~
It was early morning, the sun having just broke over the hills, creating a dazzling array of vibrant hues and you were outside, enjoying the beauty of the grounds, but you knew you couldn't watch it forever, you had come out here for something important, and you continued your journey for the weapons master. Not only did he have control over the whole armory, but he was also the one who taught any new guards who came in, and he was just who you needed. Finally you came upon him, a man in his late forties, strong build, graying hair, and oddly enough, kind sympathetic eyes.
"Can I help you girl?"
"Yes you can, I want you to practice with me."
He got a look of surprise on his face and then smiled.
"Practice what? The cooking and sewing can be taught to you by the women, now please run along."
You raised an eyebrow at him, incredulous as to his conclusion, he seemed kind but he was also very rude, probably without intending it, the words weren't sharp or anything, just matter of fact in tone, but still!
"Perhaps you didn't hear me right, I want you to help me practice my Katana, and perhaps some other weapons, it's been too long for my tastes and I want to re-sharpen my skills."
He raised an eyebrow of his own and gave a short bark of a laugh.
"Alright girl, I shall indulge you, I haven't yet practiced for the day and will be most interested in seeing with how you deal."
He traveled a short distance to a small shed that housed some weapons and he drew a spear.
"What other weapons have you practiced other than the Katana?"
You blushed slightly, for in truth you didn't have much mastery over weapons, and the Katana was one that you always had with you, and thus the one you were most formidable with, but you knew this was folly, because a true fighter would have great skills ranging in many, if not all weapons.
"I know the dagger, spear, bow, shield, and flying stars."
"Is that all? And I must say that you probably don't know them very well is that right?"
"Yes old man that is right! I haven't been able to have much practice, and I didn't have very extensive training, so forgive me, alright?!"
His eyes narrowed and he got into a fighting pose.
"You will address me as Master, not old man!"
And with that he surged forward with surprising speed and strength, leaving you very little time react. You were able to raise your Katana, but had to use the scabbard to block the blow. It knocked you back a bit and you took the time to recover and fully reveal your weapon, but you still kept the sheath in your hand, you knew it was also something that could be used offensively, and defensively. The man had a slight smile on his face. Again he surged, spear tip pointed at you, you sunk your stance into the ground, readying yourself for the frontal blow, but a minute before impact he feinted and spun to the left, swinging the spear with him, giving it a lot of momentum. You could only watch as it collided, hitting you with such a force that you blew to the ground, your master laughing.
"Is that all girl? If you are so easily fooled then I don't see how you survived out there for so long. You need to be more aware of your surroundings, and you also need to be the other person. Think about what they do and anticipate for that, feel their body movements to see where the next blow will be. Now get up, we have a lot of work to do!"
You rose and cleared your mind, filling it with nothing but fierce determination.
~*~
You had been training with Master Gojii for almost a month and improved most considerably. Your skill with the Katana was amazing, and you too were also taught more competence in the Dagger, Spear, Sais, Bow, Shield, and flying stars. Along with that he taught you twin swords, which you liked a lot and were considering on using as your main weapon, maces, Charkrams, another great weapon, a steel fan, a weapon with a chain that had a blade attached at the end, smoke bags, and darts that had paralyzing potions on the end of them. You marveled at how vast Master Gojii's knowledge of some of these things were. When you asked him about him he just smiled and winked at you.
Today though was the last day you decided to train with Master Gojii, and as you told him he asked you to wait and went to the same shed he had on the first day. The sun was beginning to hide behind the mountains, and as it did a beautiful array of colors chased after it, making you breathe deep and enjoy the beauty of being alive. Soon Master Gojii appeared and he carried something wrapped in a cloth and presented it to you.
"Please take this. You have grown to be one of my best students and I want to honor that with a gift that I had specially made for you."
You took the parcel and opened one corner of the cloth, revealing a jet black handle. You took the other side down and you saw two, shiny obsidian Sais, you were shocked at how beautiful they were, beautiful but extremely deadly. You had seen a master of the Sais skillfully dispatch 4 demons in less than 10 seconds with these wondrous beauties. You felt blessed to have two teachers who saw so much promise in you and who gave you gifts to show that and their affections. Tears came to your eyes.
"Thank you Master Gojii, this means so much to me."
"Your are very welcome, you have shown me something that I have seen lacking in too many of my students and I will be sorry to see you go. It was great fun for me to teach you and watch you take it all and learn. Go now."
You gave him and smile and wrapped the gift back up, turning away and heading back towards the Castle, for this too was also the day that you decided to leave. You bit your lip, you had no idea how you were going to tell Rin.
You were taken aback of course when you were told this, but you just shrugged it off, thinking it something that still had to do with his mating, or some silly fancy he had taken. But too soon it was real, dinners were not shared anymore, they were always separate, sometimes Rin dined with you, other times with Sesshomaru, lately though you had just taken to receiving and eating in your room. There was never a sign of him anywhere now, and any messages that he would have delivered verbally, were now carried by a maid to you. As that progressed you felt a little humiliated, and somewhat deprived. You had just accepted the feelings you had for this impassive Youkai, and the moment you did it was like he knew and immediately shut you out. You just couldn't seem to catch a break. Of course you had Rin, and you were very thankful for that, she was a constant source of joy for you, even if she did sometimes do things that could make your eye twitch, but that was all part of it, a great part too.
You sighed, sitting in your room at your desk, the lamps burning, casting a nice glow across the room, somethings had changed since you were there. You changed the bed setting, dusty purple and white covered it, along with silver pillow toppers, and a little Buddha statue sat in the corner, while another corner held a shelf that had some scrolls on it, ones that you had borrowed from the Library to read in the comfort of your room. You got up and walked out towards the balcony, a half moon was present and when you stepped into its luminous light emotions and words flew back to you.
He hates you.......yet he craves you.....back with him.....his pride......will build a wall....the pain you endure....your life lies elsewhere....disappointment and a broken heart.....
Your heart raced, could it be that you had actually gotten a message from a spirit who was trying to warn you? To give you advice? Or maybe it was just you telling yourself that you and Sesshomaru could never be because you were the thing he hates the most. A sinking feeling or truth stirred in your chest, that was right, no matter what I want to believe, I know the truth is simply that he would never have an interest in me, and would never be capable of loving me the way that I love him. You stared daringly up into the moon, Sesshomaru had completely shut himself off from you, made it painstakingly clear that he wanted nothing to do with you unless it involved Rin, and that just made the slow budding of pain you felt grow.
What should you do? You had this longing to go back out into the world, only you didn't want to leave Rin, this amazing child who loved you like a big sister, or maybe even a mother, and yet you knew that staying would only crush you further because of the way that dog demon was treating you. Staying in a place where you know that he might be in the next room, but your not allowed to see him because he didn't want to see you was so very devastating to your heart. You had endured extreme pain before, you had the scars on your back to prove it, but nothing was like this. Physical pain was so easy to handle because you could distance yourself from it, and it healed on its own, while the heart pain you felt was something that you couldn't run from, and the healing process was something that you would have to involve yourself in at every level. You turned your head around and stared at your katana, sitting on its base, the beautiful red handle with the cherry blossoms and the black sheath, it just sat there like a decoration ornament, when it had been given in the promise of much more.
~*~
It was early morning, the sun having just broke over the hills, creating a dazzling array of vibrant hues and you were outside, enjoying the beauty of the grounds, but you knew you couldn't watch it forever, you had come out here for something important, and you continued your journey for the weapons master. Not only did he have control over the whole armory, but he was also the one who taught any new guards who came in, and he was just who you needed. Finally you came upon him, a man in his late forties, strong build, graying hair, and oddly enough, kind sympathetic eyes.
"Can I help you girl?"
"Yes you can, I want you to practice with me."
He got a look of surprise on his face and then smiled.
"Practice what? The cooking and sewing can be taught to you by the women, now please run along."
You raised an eyebrow at him, incredulous as to his conclusion, he seemed kind but he was also very rude, probably without intending it, the words weren't sharp or anything, just matter of fact in tone, but still!
"Perhaps you didn't hear me right, I want you to help me practice my Katana, and perhaps some other weapons, it's been too long for my tastes and I want to re-sharpen my skills."
He raised an eyebrow of his own and gave a short bark of a laugh.
"Alright girl, I shall indulge you, I haven't yet practiced for the day and will be most interested in seeing with how you deal."
He traveled a short distance to a small shed that housed some weapons and he drew a spear.
"What other weapons have you practiced other than the Katana?"
You blushed slightly, for in truth you didn't have much mastery over weapons, and the Katana was one that you always had with you, and thus the one you were most formidable with, but you knew this was folly, because a true fighter would have great skills ranging in many, if not all weapons.
"I know the dagger, spear, bow, shield, and flying stars."
"Is that all? And I must say that you probably don't know them very well is that right?"
"Yes old man that is right! I haven't been able to have much practice, and I didn't have very extensive training, so forgive me, alright?!"
His eyes narrowed and he got into a fighting pose.
"You will address me as Master, not old man!"
And with that he surged forward with surprising speed and strength, leaving you very little time react. You were able to raise your Katana, but had to use the scabbard to block the blow. It knocked you back a bit and you took the time to recover and fully reveal your weapon, but you still kept the sheath in your hand, you knew it was also something that could be used offensively, and defensively. The man had a slight smile on his face. Again he surged, spear tip pointed at you, you sunk your stance into the ground, readying yourself for the frontal blow, but a minute before impact he feinted and spun to the left, swinging the spear with him, giving it a lot of momentum. You could only watch as it collided, hitting you with such a force that you blew to the ground, your master laughing.
"Is that all girl? If you are so easily fooled then I don't see how you survived out there for so long. You need to be more aware of your surroundings, and you also need to be the other person. Think about what they do and anticipate for that, feel their body movements to see where the next blow will be. Now get up, we have a lot of work to do!"
You rose and cleared your mind, filling it with nothing but fierce determination.
~*~
You had been training with Master Gojii for almost a month and improved most considerably. Your skill with the Katana was amazing, and you too were also taught more competence in the Dagger, Spear, Sais, Bow, Shield, and flying stars. Along with that he taught you twin swords, which you liked a lot and were considering on using as your main weapon, maces, Charkrams, another great weapon, a steel fan, a weapon with a chain that had a blade attached at the end, smoke bags, and darts that had paralyzing potions on the end of them. You marveled at how vast Master Gojii's knowledge of some of these things were. When you asked him about him he just smiled and winked at you.
Today though was the last day you decided to train with Master Gojii, and as you told him he asked you to wait and went to the same shed he had on the first day. The sun was beginning to hide behind the mountains, and as it did a beautiful array of colors chased after it, making you breathe deep and enjoy the beauty of being alive. Soon Master Gojii appeared and he carried something wrapped in a cloth and presented it to you.
"Please take this. You have grown to be one of my best students and I want to honor that with a gift that I had specially made for you."
You took the parcel and opened one corner of the cloth, revealing a jet black handle. You took the other side down and you saw two, shiny obsidian Sais, you were shocked at how beautiful they were, beautiful but extremely deadly. You had seen a master of the Sais skillfully dispatch 4 demons in less than 10 seconds with these wondrous beauties. You felt blessed to have two teachers who saw so much promise in you and who gave you gifts to show that and their affections. Tears came to your eyes.
"Thank you Master Gojii, this means so much to me."
"Your are very welcome, you have shown me something that I have seen lacking in too many of my students and I will be sorry to see you go. It was great fun for me to teach you and watch you take it all and learn. Go now."
You gave him and smile and wrapped the gift back up, turning away and heading back towards the Castle, for this too was also the day that you decided to leave. You bit your lip, you had no idea how you were going to tell Rin.