#but the canvas had so much empty space when she was laying sideways

[rodenka]

the teeth have long departed

but the desire burns strong

[unlockthelore]

Inexcusable Excuses [ Yōkai AU ]

Returning to the Western Palace, Rin happens upon an irate Sesshomaru and finds the cause to be inexcusable. From the fic Feathers in the Wind on Ao3. For more updates, follow the feathers in the wind tag on this blog. If you’re looking for Yōkai AU,  search the yokai au tag.

Rin held out her arms as she soared through the air. A wide blue sky surrounding her as she rushed through the dampness of the clouds. Sable black feathers warmed by sunlight brush against her arms, cool wind currents carrying her westward. This was freedom in the most unadulterated term. Nothing to meet her at this height but the occasional flock. Endless skies opened around her, and a canvas of land rushing beneath the sea of clouds.

A small smile tugged at her lips as she banked sharply to one side, curving through the clouded veil, the ground arching up to meet her as she shot up into an arc. Beyond the forests blanketed in patches of sunlight, cliffside and raucous waterfalls catching ocean spray on her feathers as she crested over their peaks, a valley blooming from hill to vale dotted with villages, lies a castle set upon a precipice so tall it nearly could vanish into the sky. Rin tipped her head back as she allowed her eyes to wander across its watchtowers, meeting eyes with soldiers who saluted or waved as she shot past.

Her giggle lost in the booming rush of wind as she soared over sloping rooftops and beneath archways, startling some who were passing by. Hearty apologies drowned out in barrel rolls between posts and open doorways, shoji rattling in its frame.

Familiar faces blur amidst unfamiliar, and yet none belonged to the one she was looking for.

Half a millennia of sneaking in and out of the Western Palace leant her knowledge of its layout but upon being permitted to traverse its better known pathways, she couldn’t resist flying.

Wings fluttered, beating as she made her descent into the open fields of her favorite garden where a lone figure sat beneath an aged gingko tree bursting with verdant green leaves. Clusters of feathers surrounded her as her wings tucked close to her back, dew-covered grass wetting the soles of her feet with each hurried stride.

To her surprise, the field was fairly empty. No one milling about the flower beds, tending or otherwise. Not even his retainer or the two-headed dragon who often trailed at his heels in earnest. With the wide array of colors and scents, narrow spaces cut around terraces and small patches of grass used for lounging — it was hardly a place to be sullen. And yet, somehow, he was.  

Standing with his back to her despite the both of them knowing he was aware of her presence. A sure sign of irritation.

Shaded beneath the leaf canopies, Rin’s wings twitched as she approached and reached out to lay her hand against his back. There was an odd smell to him and her nose wrinkled but she pressed forward, cradling his sides between her hands when he didn’t turn. No longer did brackish tears roll down his cheeks when he became upset. Ever since he’d become a daiyōkai one hundred fifty springs old, those days were rendered memory.

Yet still, she goaded him into turning toward her as if naught had changed, angling with an odd turn at his hips. Eventually, his body gave way to her pestering and shifted amidst the damp grass squelching wetly beneath his boots.

A slight glower in his eyes, shadowed and distant.

“Sesshomaru?”  Rin called to him in a hushed tone, soft and confused when the recognition returned to his eyes.

He didn’t glare at her with discontent or brush aside her hands. Instead, his sleeves swept against her arms as he pulled her close, pressing her cheek against the solid warmth of his chest. A startled huff of a breath squeezed from her lungs — he never instigated hugs — or rather, he seldom did. The scent on him was much stronger now and Rin shut her eyes, concentrating on picking apart his usual musk from this.

Perfumed, almost powerfully so, and if her nose was correct she’d smelled this before on one of the lesser lord’s daughters. One that had been incredibly interested in being chosen as Sesshomaru’s bride. A strange tremble went through her as she pulled away, staring up into his eyes sympathetically. Downcast and apprehensive, and despite his face giving away nothing, she read him all the same.

Her heart cinched as he presented his cheek to her, a sideways glance filled with disdain. Rin pulled her lips thin. Dread pooling in her stomach as she sniffed his cheek, recoiling with a disgusted scoff.

“… Did she kiss your cheek when you weren’t paying attention?” She asked, drawing her sleeve over hand to wipe at his cheek. Although her own smell was that of the forest, ocean spray, and sodden earth, it was infinitely better than this.

“Mm…”  Sesshomaru hummed in a deadened tone, his inexpressive veneer cracking as his eyebrows pulled together with the faintest scowl. Rin slipped her fingers free of her drawn sleeve and traced her nails over the incline of his marks. Golden eyes flicked toward her, softening and strangely bright. “I told her I wasn’t interested and she seemed to take it as a challenge.”

Rin rolled her eyes. Again, she thought derisively. Brushing off his cheek then patting lightly as if it would erase the deed. In truth, it was a distraction for herself. Irate thoughts buzzing in her mind like bees. A challenge? When would the world learn that forcing him to do something wasn’t the way, or anyone for that matter? Justified anger on his behalf crept up and swelled in her chest as she thought of giving the young demoness a piece of her mind later. While it would likely result in a fight, she was more than prepared to fight on his behalf.

Or perhaps it was because she felt a mighty need to protect him. Half-glaring at nothing and curling her fingers in his silken sleeve, Rin felt her face warming and wanted desperately to bury herself in his chest and forget. Propose a race so they could soar through the clouds together and forget all that laid below. An overwhelming blah settled over the colorful thoughts and she barely noticed until her nose was buried against his chest that he’d hugged her close.

A soft “Huh?” muffled against the lining of his nagajuban, glancing up when she felt the weight of his head resting against her own. When his hold on her was secured, hands tucked beneath the fluttering wings at her back, Rin dared to sigh. Her toes pressing into the soft, cool earth and kicking up small clumps of grass, thin bands on her ankles ringing when she stamped her foot just shy of his boots. She swallowed anger and bitterness.

Why was he comforting her?

Rin grumbled, turning her head so her mouth was freed while her cheek pressed against his chest.  “…I’m still angry,” she murmured in a half-hearted protest.

“You can still be angry,” he muttered and her heart tittered in its beating. His smile was evident in the gentle airiness of his voice, clawed fingers threading in her hair, carefully working through damp locks.  He never told her not to be angry, nor how to feel at all. And from the tight way he held her to his chest, as if she would vanish if he loosened his hold in the slightest — she could tell he was angry himself. “But you’re the only one I want.”

Unconsciously, her wings fluffed at his words. Pleasant warmth prickling at her spine and the back of her neck, the colors of the garden blurred beneath her closing eyelids. Sesshomaru could be incredibly sweet when he wanted to, and no matter how tightly she tried to grasp it, the anger was dissipating. His affectionate hold drew softer sighs and giggles from her lips, soft lips brushing against her ear left bare from his nuzzling her hair aside.

A disgruntled groan warbles from Rin’s throat as she swatted at his back, curling her fingers in his kimono. “Stop that, I’m trying to stay angry.”

Sesshomaru pulled back and pressed a kiss against her hair, the deep baritone of his voice reverberating through her in a bell’s toll. “I made a promise to you.” He reminded, her brow arched until he pulled away. “One I intend to keep.”

Her hold on the last vestiges of angers loosened at the memory.

A younger Sesshomaru, innocent in only the ways a youthful appearance could bring, holding onto her hands as she floated above him. He was remiss to let her go, but the days’ light was gone, and she had to return before Midoriko began to worry.

It wasn’t in jest when she pulled him closer.

Promising him that there would come a day where she would not have to take flight and leave him to go home. They would build one together. Where they could watch the sun rise and fall. A home where they would stand side by side, hold hands and smile. Not as lovers if he didn’t desire. But as friends.

His eyes shined in the amber light filtered beneath the leaves that afternoon. The same gingko tree they stood under now, where she promised she would make a home with him and he promised himself to her, letting her hand slip away.

A cherished memory. One Rin kept buried deep in her heart, never to bring up again.

And yet he had.

Sesshomaru, who all believed to be cold and unfeeling, recanting warmly a promise made centuries ago. Gods, how could she be angry at that?

Pulling away to meet a golden gaze, she huffed at the sincerity in his eyes. Involuntarily puffing her cheek as she glanced aside at the flower beds arcing around the grounds.

“You could just say you love me, you know.”

She hadn’t seen what expression he wore and was prepared to drop her feigned ire to start up another conversation. Then, without warning, whispered words pressed into a kiss ghosted across her forehead.

“…I love you.”

Clutching the back of his kimono, she cursed under her breath when he held her closer, his smile barely in view from her flickering glance.

“Okay, okay…” She sighed, unable to hide a pleased smile when he kissed her cheek. “I get it…”

Unbeknownst to the pair, their image shimmered in the glittering reflection of an orb. A pair of onlookers observed, one in surprise while the other fond and content. The former, clearing his throat, looked away with his hand covering his mouth.

“I feel like I just witnessed something private,” he said with a small amount of sheepish self-consciousness.

“Perhaps,” his co-conspirator said to him shamelessly, waving her hand to dispel the image. “But we know our son’s feelings.” Her fingers curled beneath her chin as she stared at the crystal ball’s surface with a charmed quirk to her brow. “That little bird is the only one he cares for.”

The Inu no Taishō smiled, lacing his fingers over his stomach with a self-assured look at his wife, lying back against his pillowed throne. “And he’s very steadfast,” he quipped, a toothy fang showing as his face split with a knowing grin. “Much like someone else I know.”

Her eyes widened and she shot him a sidelong glance, more annoyed than upset. So similar to their son was she in showing her emotions, drawing a belly laugh from him. While she set her belongings aside, he opened his arms, giving his best smile to ease her slight scowl.

“Don’t be angry, Kimi,” he cooed, catching her raised brow and unimpressed look, adding on to hasten the blow. “I love you.”

That seemed to be what did it. Rolling her eyes to the heavens, she cast a slight smile in his direction then gracefully curled in his arms with her head resting against his shoulder. He would have been fine with that being the end-all. Deciding to leave the matter of discussing the lesser lord’s daughter to another time.

Then, without preface, she hummed pleasantly and muttered, “… and I you, beloved.”

Glancing down at her, his smile faltered then returned with ache in his cheeks. He squeezed her a bit tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

That was a phrase he would never grow tired of.