``frozen silhouette (OPEN)

[SAYURI]

The demon kept breathing, with its eyes closed and its skin being purified with the hot springs' warm water. Sayuri had found the place a few days after she had entered the Kingdom of Kanashii, still after Nekomata's track. However, feeling a bit tired from her hunt, which was starting to look more like an obsession, the female had decided to spent some time away from her duty as an avenger. Plus, the weather had been strangely colder than usual, lately, even though summer was approaching. The world was suffering a drastic change nobody could understand. Sayuri supposed it was because of the great chaos the demon lords had caused in the past years, but the weather can not be changed by a mortal, which meant that nature was starting to work by itself. How things would end remained as a mystery to almost everyone and the snowy-haired lady found herself among those ignorants.

A deep sigh escaped from her soft and crimson lips as she leaned her nude back against the cold rocks. Her entire body was under the water and only part of her shoulders and her head were to be seen. Her crystal eyes looked deeply into the water without seeing anything. Sayuri's mind had travelled to another dimension, as usual. Well, that is what you get when you are born as a dreamer. She never cared, though. In fact, it was actually something she had always liked. Being able to vanish from real world and dream about peace and happiness. Who would have ever imagined that a feared Youkai like Sayuri was, could have so pure and innocent dreams? This obviously proved that nobody should be judged by its origins. It does not matter what you are or who you are: your actions speak for you, not your race.

It was a bit surprising that there were no other Youkai enjoying the hot springs, although it did not bother Sayuri at all. Indeed, she actually preferred it that way. No noise, no annoying companies, what else could she need? Just some pleasant bath all alone without anyone disturbing her.
Another sigh, but this one showed the pleasure she was feeling as her skin was being softly caressed by the warm water. Finally the lady decided to submerge in the water. She swam gracefully as she moved her arms and legs to push the water away. Although water was not her natural habitat, Sayuri showed an excellent resistance in it, being able to dive for quite a lot of time. But as stated, this was not her natural habitat, for why she finally had to come back to the surface in order to catch some air.

Long, snowy hair swam behind the Youkai's back as she moved back to the rocks. She loved the feeling of her hair when it was wet and more did she like how it smelled after a bath. Her back was newly pressed against the hard rock wall. How much time had passed since she had got into the hot springs was something Sayuri did not know, yet did not care about either. Unlike humans, demons' skin does not wrinkle if they spent too much time in the water, for why it did not play such a relevant role to the albino fox lady, right? So she decided to close her eyes once again, breath calmly and enjoy the sweet moment.

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[SESSHOMARU]

The little toad companion of his had announced that this was a bad idea, but he had said this quite quietly to Rin instead of actually speaking to Sesshomaru. It happened to be one of the reasons why he threw things at Jaken, because the little twit had no self-esteem to actually confront him about it. It would've ended up with Jaken being hit on the head no less, but at least the toad would get his little opinion through. It didn't matter to Sesshomaru if this was a bad idea or not, and instead left Rin and Jaken on his lands some where in the west where he knew they'd be safe. His interest in the two demon lords have never been powerful enough to actually find them and see what was going down. No, he decided to lurk their land in attempt to find anything suspicious that might bother him.

The humans that were being put into slavery didn't matter to him, it was just that he was curious to see this little "slavery market" as he heard Jaken mutter a few times to Rin. It was a funny little threat the toad would do, telling Rin that if she didn't shut up Lord Sesshomaru would send her to the slave traders. It scared Rin so much that she hadn't talked to Sesshomaru in a day, and he had been forced to comfort to her (which, really, he was never eager to do). That is why he was so curious to see what was happening, because before it had never mattered until it seemed to really be bothering Rin. It scared the poor girl enough to make her go quiet like when she first found Sesshomaru. Since this youkai was immensely curious (Rin always says "curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back" which Sesshomaru didn't understand), he decided to roam the land a little to see what was up.

It didn't seem to bad so far, and instead he smelled the damp air of a hot spring near by that made him stop. The Lord headed quietly through the trees to have a look-see at this hot-spring, and to see what this strange smell was. It smelled like a wet animal - a fox, to be exact - and it was apparently a demon. Sesshomaru wondered what a fox demon (usually traveled in groups) was doing out here alone, and was swimming in the hot-springs. There was a path that lead to the warm place, stopping only to calm down the moko-sama that writhed against his shoulder in protest to the temperature change. Sesshomaru ran his fingers along the smooth fur, before dropping his arm once more and walking through the forest only to stop when he finally reached the clearing.

The sound of gentle splashing reached his ears, and his eyes trailed over to the bare back of a white-haired woman in the hot waters. She was obviously the fox-demon he had smelled, and it was rather curious to see her all alone. The serene look on her face made him narrow his eyes, and he suddenly started walking again passed the hot-springs for he had came here for a reason: scouting. This was the first strange thing he had seen, a fox-demon all alone in a hot-spring, but it wasn't something that would stop him in his tracks. The youkai did stop, however, when the fox-demon turned and had Sesshomaru in her line of vision (if she had not already smelled him). "Strange..." his voice was quiet, a bit too gentle sounding for a powerful youkai such as him, "you travel alone."

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[SAYURI]

Could she be more unfortunate? Enjoying freedom and peace for over half an hour was obviously too good to be true. It did not take long for her to catch his scent coming from behind the trees. The newcomer approached quietly, his steps barely to be heard. However, this was not something to be surprised about. Those hot-springs were a usual place for demons to visit, so why should this worry her? She remained quiet and with her eyes still closed. Both of them were plenty aware of each other's presence, but a good way to avoid a possible waste of time was to just ignore the other individual. Oh, but poor Sayuri, she was way too curious to just let the male pass by without having a rush look at him, for why she finally gave up on her strategy and opened her crystal eyes. The albino found herself in front of a silver-haired demon, owner of golden eyes and a purple crescent moon marked on his forehead. The flavor his body emitted entered the lady's nostrils as she identified him as a rare specimen: a dog demon. His emotionless expression did not bother her at all since it was pretty much like hers.

Silence, deep and prolonged silence filled the calm atmosphere. It was not usual in Sayuri to start an unnecessary conversation, why would it change now? Notwithstanding, the demoness had actually expected the silver-haired to leave the place quickly since he seemed to be just passing by. His words surprised her, making her raise an eyebrow. Studying the meaning of his comment, Sayuri waited a few minutes before answering. "Is it?" In fact, it was strange and she had perfectly understood the meaning of it, but even for a Youkai like her, talking to strangers could be threatening. Fox demons used to travel in groups, well, usual fox demons did. There were multiple reasons that made Sayuri stay away from those of her own race. She was albino and on top of that, a fox with six tails. No, she was not normal, but she could not care less about that. It was him who bothered her at the moment. "So do you." For the way he looked like it would have been normal to see him with a servant, but then again, appearances never showed somebody's true self.

She broke the eye contact for a brief moment as she looked to the side to check that her kimono was still there. Not that she feared it had disappeared, but she had not forgotten that she was completely naked although only part of her shoulders could be seen from the surface. Plus, Mangetsu and Taiyou, her father's twin swords, were also there. The best thing to do now was to remain frozen and immobile, though, and wait for him to make the first move. His intentions were unknown to Sayuri, but she knew that he was not looking for an unnecessary fight, no, the way he had been walking before stopping proved that he had no intention of stopping by. Yet, why did he bother in talking? The time passed and soon Sayuri would like to step out of the water and dress up. Yet would the dog leave before that moment arrived, or was he going to stay for a bit longer?

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[SESSHOMARU]

Sesshomaru raised his head a little, an arrogant little gesture that was only noticeable for those who were actually looking. The fox-demon said that he traveled alone, and it made him want to smirk at how very powerful his nose seemed to be compared to other youkai. It was probably the heat from the hot-springs that was clouding her nose, but he was very much not traveling alone. Sesshomaru also noted mentally that she peeked at her garments, which meant that she wanted to change. There was a part of him that wanted to just stand there and do nothing, to irritate her beyond repair that he wasn't going to let her change. But just because he was stubborn and arrogant didn't mean he didn't know any manners, seeing as he was a Lord raised by two powerful demons.

A sigh blew passed his pale lips as he turned around, his hand coming up to rest upon his moko-sama upon his shoulder, fingers burying in the smooth fur. He was giving her time to change, his eyes closed as he peacefully waited. When he knew she was finished, he shot a disinterested gaze in her direction that obviously said "I didn't want to look anyway" though his lips never formed any words. Sesshomaru stepped quietly to the side so he was facing her, this arrogant little smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "I thought foxes liked being filthy..." he taunted with a very sharp twinge of humor laced in his voice.

Sesshomaru could practically feel her annoyance rolling off in waves, probably due to the fact that he had interrupted her little time alone. He honestly didn't care, seeing as this wasn't her lands, and most demons came here by the smell of things. He would have walked by without a word had he not been curious as to why she was alone. That was why he went scouting without the others, because he wanted to find out anything strange on this land. The silver-haired youkai just had to make sure he stayed close enough to scent out Rin, to make sure that no other demon came to harm her. They were near a kingdom that was very cruel to humans, and he knew that Rin was wary of being near here.

"If you didn't want anyone getting a glimpse of you, then it was probably unwise to come to a hot-spring where other demons often taint the place." Sesshomaru found it quite comical that she hadn't wanted Sesshomaru to view her bare body when it was basically a public hot-springs. His head bowed just slightly, his bangs covering his eyes for a mere moment, before looking back up at her.

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[SAYURI]

There was something unique about this new individual. His appearance was the one of a calm and silent beauty, but Sayuri was more than sure that his looks were far away from his true nature. He was self-confident, probably too much. The way in which he had slightly raised his head showed the superiority he felt towards Sayuri. Bad thing, if there was something the lady truly hated was to be treated as somebody inferior. She never believed in classicism and rejected any kind of social differences. Yet the major part of Youkai did not and it should not really surprise her that the silver-haired was not different. Plus, he was a man and male demons usually were arrogant and selfish; but again, it would be too precipitated to judge him now; she had just met him after all.

Sayuri waited patiently for him to leave, but he decided to just turn around and give her the time and intimacy to change. Well, it was not what she had wished, but it still had been polite from his part. "Thank you, I guess…" The words came out as a whisper, although the demoness knew he would hear her. She was a little annoyed, but her voice's tone remained soft and emotionless. Turning her back on the male, Sayuri walked out of the water and started to dress up calmly. If he dared to peek, which she actually doubted, there was very little for him to see. Her white hair was long enough to cover the most intimate parts of her body.

Drying her hair as much as she could, the albino kitsune turned around once again. She did not have to speak, the silver-haired had known when she was done and turned around, self-confidence still marked in his moves. Sayuri dispised him and she hoped she would never fall for somebody like him, he acted just like all those males she could not stand. Was he really that powerful? Well, he was not bragging about his power, indeed, he showed himself as a rather silent creature, which meant that he should not be underestimated. Carrying her twin-swords on her back, Sayuri raised an eyebrow as the Inuyoukai talked about foxes liking filthiness. "Pff." A sarcastic laugh escaped from her crimson lips as she brushed her hair away. "I'm sorry to have disappointed you, then." She answered with a bit of irony, yet still controlling her temper. "I thought puppies were cuter and did not smell that bad. How unfortunate I am..." She soon regretted that comment of hers, although it could not be noticed by the male since her position and expression remained emotionless.

It was hard to stay calm. Sayuri was starting to believe that the silver-haired truly wanted to get on her nerves and provoke her with his arrogance. The lady had always enjoyed the gift of being very patient, but like anyone, she also had her limits and this demon seemed to be good at annoying her. And it was then when she noticed it. Moving her nose as if she was trying to catch a scent, Sayuri was able to identify two other flavors. They came from the male; human and another one she could not really identify, although she knew it was from another demon, probably a low-ranked one (probably the servant she had expected him to have). She narrowed her eyes as she moved slowly along the hot spring's edge. Who the hell was this demon and why was he still there? Sayuri could not help but to have a bad presentiment. "You're right at that point, but I wouldn't have taken a bath if I knew there were other demons around. Plus, you could have just walked away and leave me alone, but you have not." She bit her lower lip. "Which is what I would've wanted."

[/color] She then thought. It was surprising how good she was at acting as the calm and serene lady.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]