The night air was still, the stars glowing softly. The young girl known as Rin was asleep under a small blanket, laying next to the fire her lord's servant, the imp Jaken, had set. While the imp demon grumbled under his breath at having to do the task, he nonetheless knew he'd do it the next night, and the night after that.
His eyes flicked to the young girl, the frown turning into a small sneer as he thought about how she followed his lord everywhere. Lord Sesshomaru has never shown this much... this much... care toward anyone before! Why does the little child believe he cares about her? He crossed his arms, the Staff of Two Heads resting in his right elbow. He looked skyward, attempting to put the thought from his mind. Yet he couldn't. The more he tried, the more he realized that, for all his words toward her and his basic attitude toward her, he too accepted her regardless.
He glanced over at Rin and slightly narrowed his eyes, still trying to think why that was. He was obviously against her pestering Lord Sesshomaru, so why hadn't he told her off already, as he wanted to do? He always envisioned himself telling Rin off, telling her she wasn't wanted by either himself or their lord, but whenever the chance presented itself, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He often wrote it off as 'fear of what Lord Sesshomaru may do', and he always waited for another chance to present itself. Yet another chance would come, and he wouldn't be able to for the same reason.
It's not my fault the girl would go crying to Lord Sesshomaru, he thought bitterly. She would tell him everything, blow everything out of proportion. And he'd beat me senseless, if not slay me... His expression changed to one of confusion slowly. Wait, if that were the case, then could it be he actually DOES care for Rin?
The young girl murmured their lord's name in her sleep, and Jaken looked at her once more. He thought for a few moments about how cruel he could act toward her. Yet every time he acted as such, she would simply stand defiant of his words, unafraid of him. It would escalate from there until either Rin hindered Jaken one way or another, or until Sesshomaru himself hit Jaken, always telling him something along the lines of 'be quiet, or I'll kill you.' The imp slowly realized that either way, he would be on the receiving end of punishment for the fight.
It's unfair. I've been with Lord Sesshomaru longer, serving him longer. He's always treated me that way, to be sure, but that was owing to my own inane ramblings or clumsiness. And now that Rin has joined us, he seems to come to her defense all the time. Yet he's never expressed how he feels about her, whether he likes having her around or hates her to the very core... he's never hinted at anything. Jaken looked at the fire briefly, lost in thought. The Staff of Two Heads shifted a little as he uncrossed his arms and grasped it gently. I'd ask him if he wouldn't possibly kill me for asking...
Rin stirred, bringing Jaken's attention to the girl once more. He watched with disinterest as she rose and rubbed her eyes. She looked sleepily over at Jaken and gave a small smile, sitting down after a few moments.
It must be done. Jaken stood and rose himself to his full height, although it didn't make much difference in the end. He put this from his mind and cleared his throat. "Rin, I have something to ask you," he began, realizing the words came out horribly wrong.
She inclined her head to the side slightly, nodding. "Go ahead, Master Jaken."
The imp regained his composure and decided to ask a question, one that had been nagging at him for quite some time. "Why do you follow Lord Sesshomaru and myself as you do? He cares nothing for you, nor do I. Yet you insist on following us anyway! Why is that?" he said in one breath, feeling his temper rise a bit as he did.
She tapped a finger at her chin for a moment, then dropped her hand. "Because Lord Sesshomaru saved me. I don't have a family, and I was attacked by wolves. All I remember after that is Lord Sesshomaru standing over me. So, even if he doesn't care, I want to make it up to him somehow." She paused for a moment, looking up at Jaken after a moment. "I think he does, though."
Jaken looked at her with wide eyes and sputtered for words. "Y-y-you think he CARES?! Are you crazy?! He'd never care for some halfwit human such as yourself!" he finally shouted, the words flying from his mouth as soon as he could manage to say them. "What possesses you to think that possible?!"
She stood slowly, hands shooting to her hips. "I'm not a halfwit, Master Jaken! And if Lord Sesshomaru didn't care, then why'd he save me in the first place?"
This was something Jaken had never thought about, and any argument he had died swiftly. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, the words failing him.
"So maybe he doesn't care. Maybe him saving me was his way of saying 'thanks' for watching over him when he was recovering. But either way, it's my turn to find some way of thanking him for saving me. And it won't happen if I'm not always nearby."
"All you do is cause problems for him, Rin! Think back for a moment! Remember when Naraku's little minion, that boy, went--"
"His name was Kohaku," she said matter-of-factly.
"Fine! Remember when Kohaku went after you? Sesshomaru had to go well out of his way to save you! He was so close to ending Naraku once and for all, too! But because of you, he missed that chance!"
Rin simply responded with a small 'hmph', crossing her arms and looking up at the stars.
"And that time his father's sword, Sounga, tried killing you! Sesshomaru had to watch out for you as well WHILE fighting that thing at the same time! You cause nothing but problems, so why don't you just leave us alone?!" he shouted with an air of finality.
The air grew thick as he realized he had said what he had put off for so long. Her expression changed to one of disbelief, and she looked down at Jaken after a moment. "If I were nothing but a problem to him, then wouldn't he just have left me be? He could have left me to Kohaku, he could have let that demon kill me."
Jaken opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.
"Master Jaken, you don't like me at all, do you?" she asked. "Why is that? What have I done?"
He finally found his voice again, and clenched his left hand into a tiny fist. "Because you bother Lord Sesshomaru with unnecessary questions, you bother him with words that don't need to be said, and you create problems for him!"
"Those sound like reasons Lord Sesshomaru may hate me for, but what about you? Besides, if he didn't like it, wouldn't he have killed me already?"
"Exactly! That's what baffles me! Why has he allowed you to live this long when you're nothing more than a hindrance?"
"The answer's simple." Rin clasped her hands behind her back, looking to the stars once more, eyes searching for the new moon. "He cares in his own way. He doesn't need to say it. He doesn't even need to express it. I just know he cares, because of all the situations he's saved me from. And because he cares, I care. That's why I can't leave, it's why I won't leave. He saved me; I'll do whatever I can for him now."
Jaken looked at her incredulously.
"What about you, Master Jaken? Why is it you follow him around?"
"What?! I'm his servant, you ignorant girl! I follow him around because he's my lord, and I nothing but his servant! He threatens my life every so often, but it only means he puts the task he assigns me as priority! If the need arose, I'd die for my lord! At least I can do something for him, unlike you!"
She simply shrugged, still searching the sky. "You're a demon, Master Jaken. You're older than me. You know more about how to help him than I do. But once I grow up a bit more, I'll start helping him however I can. It's not that I don't do something for him; it's that I don't know what to do for him. That's why I do all the little things for now; it's because it's all I know how to do."
He couldn't explain it, but he felt any argument inside of him die down.
"Or would you rather I leave you and Lord Sesshomaru, and leave you to do all the little things I do for him, Master Jaken?" she added, giving up on finding the moon, her eyes flicking down to Jaken once more.
He hadn't thought about it like that before. She certainly lacks combat ability, but... I guess she does do a few things here and there... He looked up at her, met her eyes, seemed to search them for answers to unasked questions. "...Just don't cause anymore trouble for Lord Sesshomaru, Rin. He has his own brother to deal with, he has Naraku to deal with. If you add to his list of problems..."
She smiled and giggled softly. "You know, in your own way, you care too, Master Jaken."
He sputtered uncontrollably. "What?!" he shouted in surprise. "What are you saying?!"
She continued giggling, not answering him immediately. "That's a secret, Master Jaken."
--
He listened to both Rin and Jaken's entire conversation. He pondered his part in all of it while the conversation took a turn into their usual bickering. He had half a mind to get up and tell Jaken to stop being so loud, but he eventually decided it was better if he simply remained seated against the trunk of the tree he was pretending to sleep under.
Sesshomaru alone knew the answer to the questions that were brought up. Only he knew whether he cared about Rin or not, and he had no intention of saying it. He knew one or the other would get an inflated ego at being right in their continued debate, and he could do without hearing that brought up every single time they argued.
He allowed himself a small smile before wiping it from his face. Jaken was positively shouting at Rin now, attempting to silence the child's argument in the loudest means possible.
Sesshomaru cleared his throat and finally spoke. "Jaken. Stay your tongue before I cut it from your mouth. Unlike you, I'm attempting to rest."
The imp fell silent, and Rin stuck her tongue out at Jaken. Sesshomaru noted this and smiled slightly once again before falling asleep again.
Whether he cared or not was for him and him alone to know.
Not my strong point, an Inuyasha fanfic. I've tried them before, but never got anywhere with them. It wasn't until I watched the first and fourth movies again that I found myself wondering 'Why does Jaken act so cruel to Rin, yet he seems to tolerate her all the same?' Thus, this one-shot was born.
The ending part, with Sesshomaru, was only to leave it open ended, almost as though this conversation could have taken place. The small smile from him was something I added in for the sake of 'is it possible?' scenarios.
Realize that I haven't finished with Inuyasha at all, so I don't know what may have developed since Inyasha claimed the Backlash Wave (yes, I'm way behind *cry*). Still, this is just a story, and I think it's pretty good. Jaken's always come across as crude in his words and mannerisms, while Rin's always been defiant of Jaken's attitude, never letting it bother her.
Drop a review and let me know what you think. -Spiritslayer