Quite the Challenge

Prologue

All throughout 342 years of his relatively short youkai life, Jaken had never been so terrified.

He should've seen this coming. He should've seen this coming ten years ago when his lord saved the human girl as a "test;" he should've seen this coming eight years ago when his lord jumped head first into the deepest abyss of Hell to save the girl; he should've seen this coming six years ago when he showered her with gifts (such fine gifts in fact, that Jaken had mistook them for courting gifts); he should've seen this coming four years ago when his lord, who very much liked to keep a wide territory for his own privacy, gave the girl the adjoining room to his chambers once they had decided to settle in his deceased father's great palace; he should've seen this coming a year ago when his lord announced the girl as his official lady and wife; and he certainly should've seen this coming a week ago when all hell broke loose.

It was seven days ago when the inevitable took place. All the servants from Jaken to the stable boy felt the sudden tension that was taught as their lord's lips when he positively stomped (gracefully of course, since this is their lord they're talking about) out of his wife's bed chambers one spring morning. They had all heard with their acute youkai hearing the muffled "discussions" (which should be understood as but not limited to: lots of shouting, pouting, growling, and the occasional tinkle of something fragile getting disintegrated) that had started behind the closed doors, but had promptly dismissed it as another one of the couple's ephemeral fights and had even started their traditional bet in who was going to win this one (already most votes were for their lady, who had been victorious the last battles more than four times in a row).

They wondered what they were arguing about now. Could it be (unsurprisingly) another case of their lord's jealousy taking cue? Or (unsurprisingly) another case of their lady's restlessness from going through "that time of the month?" Whatever the reason was, nobody suspected this to last any longer than Argument #17, which had lasted half a day, so none of the servants gave much thought. Sure, they would have to endure their lord's uncharacteristically brooding mood and hear the loud snaps of fine bamboo as he gripped his calligraphy brushes too firmly. Sure, they would have to endure their lady's forced, overly bright smiles and shudder as she positively stabbed at her stitchery as if she was skewering someone's (and anybody could guess quite cleverly whose) eyes. But the arguments had always been triggered by a trivial matter and frankly, they were quite entertaining and a good way to earn some quick money for those who wisely chose whom to bet on. Besides, it would always come to an end either when Rin shyly fiddled with his hair after hours of silent treatment or when Sesshoumaru wordlessly coaxed her into accepting his light touches; both conclusions all led to quite a passionate night in bed and a very happy Sesshoumaru.

In a nutshell, most figured that this fight wasn't going to last very long, including Sesshoumaru himself; so it was quite logical that the taiyoukai was flabbergasted when he was roughly shoved out of his wife's bed chamber that night of Argument #31. He found himself suddenly standing in the hallway, having been pushed out of the room the instant he had set a foot in it by his rather determined mate. Once the shock wore off (for Sesshoumaru had never- never - been pushed by anyone), realization kicked in and he felt his feral side snarl at the impudence and overt objection.

"What is the meaning of this?" he growled menacingly, glaring down at his defiant mate.

"I believe that it's time that we sleep in our own rooms, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin replied with a charming smile.

Sleep in separate rooms? After he had endured grueling meetings with pompous nobility for the past four hours by desperately holding onto steamy night fantasies? Oh, no, he didn't think so.

Straightening visibly and towering over the far more petite, frail figure, he gave a smoldering look that could have scorched a hole right through her. Clawed fingers slowly gripped the wooden frame of the door as he brought his face close to hers. "As your lord and husband, it is this Sesshoumaru who decides the sleeping arrangements," he stated in a dangerously low voice. "And as this Sesshoumaru has had a very tiresome day, he requires solace from his mate."

By this time, half of the servants of the massive castle were all somehow busy in this particular hallway (either wiping an already spotless vase or tediously picking out a splinter from the wooden floor) but their movements ceased to a stop and their ears perked up anxiously to hear the latest part of Argument #31.

"Why, I would simply love to ease your fatigue, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin gushed with a pout, unfazed by the impending wrath of her lord. But all traces of mirth were replaced by an uncharacteristic scowl as she snarled with equal menace, "But I fear that as I am indeed nothing but a callow infant and rather should just focus on developing my mental and physical assets, like you kindly advised this morning. So if you'll excuse me-" she roughly yanked the door out of his surprised grip- "I'll be heading to bed since I, being an underdeveloped child, need some sleep. Good night, Sesshoumaru-sama." And the door was slid shut.

A random third party would have wondered why the inuyoukai didn't reopen that flimsy shoji door again or better yet just crash it down with one blow, but all the witnesses and Sesshoumaru himself knew what stopped him from simply doing so: his indignant pride and his slightly hurt male ego.

It was quite fortunate that there were no dimwits among the castle servants; if there were any who were stupid enough to stay to gawk at what had just occurred, there would have been blood to scrub off the floors. So when Sesshoumaru finally got over exploding inwardly and fuming to a point where his eyes bled crimson, there were no innocent witnesses he could possibly decapitate just for the hell of it as he stalked off towards his private chambers, which had been neglected for so many months.

*~*~*~*

Okay, so Jaken did admit that he had been pretty thick and complacent to think that this argument would be like any other. He - as well as everyone else in the castle- didn't know what had caused this spiff, but he should have noticed that the intensity of Argument #31 was something that shouldn't have been overlooked. He felt incredibly guilty for being so clueless; as Sesshoumaru's retainer and Rin's (quite nagging) uncle-figure, he should have seen this coming and he felt as if it was entirely his fault that his lady had taken an unannounced departure out of anger.

Well, maybe not entirely his fault; after all, it was Sesshoumaru-sama who had argued with Rin, wasn't it?

And although Jaken did feel incredibly guilty, he still didn't think it was fair that he was practically forced to take the responsibility in announcing Rin's disappearance to a rather peeved Sesshoumaru.

"Why me?!" Jaken demanded in a hushed whisper for the fifteenth time. Quite a number of servants were gathered around in the hall leading to the chashitsu [architectural space where formal tea ceremonies are held], apprehensively watching as an elderly human woman firmly pushed a trembling Jaken towards the closed shoji doors.

"Because you are Sesshoumaru-sama's most loyal servant, Jaken-sama," Masako answered back in an equally hushed voice, nervously eyeing the doors before them. "You are also the most brave out of all of us and know our lord the best and-"

"Flattery is not going to help!" Jaken hissed. He dug his little feet helplessly on the finely lacquered wooden floor but Masako kept pushing him forward, closer and closer to the accursed doors. "Why don't you go? You're responsible for Rin's welfare as you are her personal handmaiden! This wouldn't have happened if you had kept an eye on her you-"

"But Sesshoumaru-sama personally asked for you to summon her, so it seems quite obvious that he only wants to see you coming back into the room," the elderly woman argued. "And please, Jaken-sama, be reasonable; a human like me can't go into the lord's chashitsu! Even our lady is rarely called for entertaining-"

"Jaken."

The cold, curt voice from behind the closed doors immediately silenced the hushed squabble of the two. Masako hastily shoved Jaken forward, his beak-like mouth almost crashing into the doors.

"Ha, hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken answered in a quivering voice.

"Enter."

With a terrified glance over his shoulder, Jaken audibly gulped and slid the door open just enough for him to slip through.

He made sure to keep his eyes glued onto the tatami mats as he approached his lord in the front the room. All eyes from the six other youkai daimyos seated on the fine cushions seemed to follow his every move.

He made sure that he stalled every moment he could as he bowed deeply in front of his lord for so long that an uneasy silence stretched across the room.

"Jaken."

"Ha, hai, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken instantly answered as he looked up from his bow like he did for the past several decades. He immediately regretted giving into his innate obsequious behavior; the sight of a positively livid Sesshoumaru fuming under a mask of complete indifference was something that Jaken only saw in his worst nightmares.

"Where is Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked, anger smoldered in his voice. Did she really have the audacity to actually disobey him in front of all his guests? He curled a hand around the hot senchawan [small porcelain cup used for fine-quality steeped green tea] hoping that the heat would calm him down.

"Ano... Sesshoumaru-sama..." Jaken started hesitantly. He nervously glanced around and muttered, "Could... Could this lowly Jaken possibly talk to Sesshomaru-sama... Privately?"

The dangerously narrowed eyes seemed to ominously foreshadow Jaken's fate. "That would be rude to my guests," Sesshoumaru calmly replied instead of stepping on the incompetent youkai's head like he felt like doing at the moment. "If the Lady has a sufficient reason for her absence, my guests have the every right to know as they have been deprived of the chance of proper entertainment through her nonattendance."

"Now I will ask again." Jaken inwardly flinched under his lord's furious gaze. "Where is Rin?"

Here, Jaken stole a swift glance at the guests' faces, which impeccably masked their uneasiness at their host's obvious temper. They had a shrewd idea to what was to come after the announcement of the retainer and they braced themselves for it; all the gossip about the Inuyoukai Lord's obsessive love and over-protectiveness of his human wife that spread all throughout the island and even at the mainland was proving to be true.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, my lady is..." Jaken paused just long enough to pray to the unknown gods above that his lord would not be so upset at the news he was about to bring. "Missing."

There was silence. Jaken held his breath and the only reaction that was extracted from the immobile guests was a furtive glance at their host's face. Sesshoumaru, however, remained absolutely impassive; nothing, from his facial expression to the rhythm of his breathing, changed. Noticing a lack of response from his master, Jaken was just stealing a peek at his indifferent master's face when the porcelain cup in Sesshoumaru's grip smashed into numerous pieces with the caustic smell of acid.

"What..Did you say...?"

Four words and one terrifying glance of something crimson were all that Jaken needed to know that his prayers were ignored and that his master was indeed very upset.

A/N: Here it is: the work I promised back in the day when I published that one-shot involving Sesshomaru, Rin, and a rather ugly baby. Working in process and although I was planning to start uploading this only when I had finished writing it, I couldn't resist after reading chapter 471 again; that three-digit number is my lucky charm now. Go Rumiko-sensei woot woot :)

I will update once I succeed in writing my research paper in two days. Please review so I know it's worth continuing this work :]