Sesshomaru sat under the shade of a large tree, not that he needed it as the weather did not affect him whether it was hot or cold. He sat an appropriate length away, but still close enough that he could hear Rin should she need him while bathing in the lake. They started this routine recently when the weather warmed up once more. Every two days they would stop midday so that Rin could take a bath. He preferred to do it at this time as it was easier for him to keep an eye on her and it was also easier for her to see to bathe properly.
The ten-year-old girl was enjoying herself, taking her time since they were in no hurry to be anywhere. When she did finish, she redressed herself and took a seat on a large rock near him. With the comb that Sesshomaru had picked up for her at a human village, she began to comb out her long, thick tresses. Looking at her black hair now, Sesshomaru realized just how long it was getting. It had grown quite long within the past two years, reaching well past her waist.
The idea of cutting it came to mind. It wouldn't be good for her to get kidnapped again or hurt because of its length. She could easily be grabbed with hair of that length. The comb got stuck in her hair and Rin emitted a bunch of grunting noises as she tried to get it out. Honestly, she needed to take care of hair more often than she did. Brushing it out would have been a better idea before she got into the bath.
"Ow!" Apparently she had yanked too hard on the comb, but it had not relented still. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, the comb tangled in the long locks. Sesshomaru himself was very well acquainted with the annoyance of long hair. At the height of five-foot-ten, his own hair reached to his knees. Despite that, he kept his silver tresses grime free and straight. Not a tangle in sight. But, Rin, she much more energetic and she got into a lot of things, so it wasn't surprising that her hair was harder to care for, even though it wasn't nearly as long.
When he was Rin's age, his mother used to take care of his hair until he was old enough to do so himself. She always made sure it was tangle free and pristine. He'd thought about cutting his own as well a few times, but it was tradition for youkai lords, such as himself, to have long hair. It was a symbol of his royalty and place in rank, if you will. Besides, after all these years of taking care of it with next to no problems, he didn't see why he should cut it now, so he left it alone.
Rin, on the other hand, did need a haircut. If not so that it was easier to care for, but to make her less vulnerable. "Rin." His voice was low, cold, and emotionless, as per usual.
Rin smiled, as she always did when he addressed her. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?"
"Come." Rin did as such and walked over to him. He pointed to the spot in front of him. "Sit. Face the lake."
She complied easily enough and he leaned forward to begin the task of freeing the comb from her hair. His fingers were gentle, his long nails giving him an advantage in getting the hair untangled. Sesshomaru couldn't recall being this gentle with something before now. Once the comb was free, he parted her hair in various sections and worked on combing out each section, making the process a lot easier.
Jaken came back from collecting food, as Sesshomaru had ordered him to do while Rin was bathing. The short toad youkai stopped in his tracks and stared at the sight of Sesshomaru combing Rin's hair. He didn't have time to comment on it since Sesshomaru called out to him. "Jaken, retrieve the scissors from Ah-Un."
"Y-yes, milord!" Jaked cried, scrambling over to the two-headed-dragon. He put the various fruit down he had picked and rummaged through the bag on the dragon's back to find the item Sesshomaru requested.
Having produced the scissors from the confines of the bag, Jaken made his way over to his lord. "Here you are, my Lord."
Sesshomaru simply held out an empty palm, of which Jaken placed the scissors into. Cutting a child's hair with but one arm would have been quite difficult for any normal person, but Sesshomaru was not normal nor was he a human. He had gotten used to only having the one arm, thus cutting Rin's hair wasn't any challenge.
He didn't plan to cut it short since he knew that she favored her hair being long. "Have you ever eaten a person before, Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked randomly as he continued to cut her hair.
He could have scoffed at her question. "Of course not."
"But, aren't youkai supposed to eat humans?"
"Youkai eat whatever they wish too. Many find humans most appetizing."
"But, not Lord Sesshomaru?"
"No." He could hardly stand the smell of humans, he would never put one in his mouth.
"Humans are disgusting creatures!" Jaken exclaimed. "I can't believe you would even think that Lord Sesshomaru would eat something so revolting!"
"Well, at least Lord Sesshomaru won't eat me!" Rin exclaimed, giggling.
"Of course he wouldn't eat you, you'd taste disgusting!" Jaken cried.
"Well, duh, Master Jaken. A person would taste gross regardless, silly."
Sesshomaru cut the last bit of Rin's hair and placed the scissors down. "Rin, you can get up now."
Rin jumped up and ran her hands through her damp, now shorter hair. "Thank you so much, Lord Sesshomaru!"
She giggled and ran over to a patch of flowers. Watching her silently, Sesshomaru decided that it wouldn't hurt to rest a little while longer. After all they had the rest of the day to continue at their own pace.