DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: This author has no financial or non-financial relation nor do they possess any right to "Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale" franchise. Full ownership of all characters is the sole intellectual property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Father Be Good To Your Daughter
A formidable daiyoukai glided through the meadow barely disturbing the flowers and grass in his wake. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the small red and white blur that had been trying to follow him for the past several months. Every time he thought he had lost him there he would be. A smirk graced his lips as he finally turned and called out for the young hanyou to approach.
A ratted filthy blur rushed out of the trees. Inuyasha knew he must look skeletal despite his relative baggy clothes. He had taken to eating hard baked mud and the inedible leaves that passed right through him...anything to alleviate the torture of the starvation. For the entirety of his life, someone had always fed him and, thus, the poor boy had never learned how to hunt or even prepare any food that he might catch. His once immaculate silver mane was now matted, dirty and filled with twigs. It had been months since his mother had been killed. Desperate to escape the hellish nightmare from which he had no hope of relief, the hanyou had made the risky decision to seek out the brother his mother had always warned him to avoid.
The small boy bowed low in front of his elder brother with his hands tucked in his sleeves. Nervously the young boy began, "Mighty Lord of the West, I, fellow son of Inu No Taisho, have...have...come to...to..." he crossed his brow in thought trying to think back to countless years of lessons his mother had given him on proper court rituals, "to ask...no... no...to request... an...an audience with...with your grace."
Letting out a shaky breath, the small half-demon smiled and nodded to himself, satisfied that he had followed the procedures his mother had spent years drilling into him. Inuyasha made to bow again but instead found himself slamming against a tree with three deep gouges in his chest. Slumping to the ground, the marks burned as Sesshomaru's poison seeped into his system. Tears cascaded down his face at the thought that his last resort had been yet another dead end. As his watery amber eyes blurred, the tiny hanyou could barely make out the irate demon rapidly flying across the field. Before he had time to react a clawed hand held him up by his throat. Weakly struggling against the hand the young boys vision began to fade as he registered a deep voice with ill-controlled rage.
Inuyasha's vision faded and he succumbed to darkness as the daiyoukai bellowed, "You dare ..."
The mighty and fearsome daiyoukai was a strange father figure. He would never shower his daughter with praise or proclamations of love. Yet Rin was undeniably his. Time and time again Sesshomaru had proven his devotion to the young girl. The daiyoukai had quite literally struck down the Guardian of the Underworld in her name. All it would take is one scream for him to drop everything.
His own father had frequently been away from home whilst he was growing up. Inu No Taisho had been a proud man. Strict, disciplined and of high principal, he had also been short tempered and inflicted harsh punishment in an almost arbitrary fashion. It didn't help matters that they brought out the very worst in each other. The great dog general wanted his eldest son to surpass him in strength and power. Instead, the young inuyoukai had been bookish and spent much of his time indoors. Centuries of having his originally gentle nature, quite literally, beat out of him had created the monster Sesshomaru was today.
The younger demon hadn't felt the need to challenge his father for power until that pathetic human woman came into the picture. Inu No Taisho suddenly evolved into a sickeningly sweet, loving person that his eldest son didn't even recognize. No one, human or demon, changed so radically overnight. It was all a cruel farce and it made the son's blood boil. After decades of training, Sesshomaru had become stronger than his father. He would fulfill the destiny his father had spent years beating into his head.
It was time to take his rightful place as Lord of the West.
When he heard that the great Inu No Taisho had fathered a second son with the human and that he had died protecting him, all the anger and bitterness he felt towards his father was redirected to the newborn pup.
When he discovered the half-breed had been bequeathed the Tessaiga, it had come as one more slap in the face – a testament to the fact that Inuyasha had been loved by the man he never even knew. Making it his life's mission, the eldest son began to search for the powerful Tessaiga, capable of slaying a hundred demons in one swing. Yet it had been hidden from him. Apparently his father and his minions feared him.
They should. He was only what that fool had made him. Cruel and heartless to a fault.
If he were to ever father children, the daiyoukai would not subject them to such a cruel fate. Glancing back at his tiny ward, a small smile crept onto his face. At least the child he did have must know that he loved her…even if he never said as much.
"Ready or not! Here I come!"
Rin attempted to smother her laughter as she crouched in her hiding place behind a pile of firewood. Rin was happy to spend some time with humans her own age; she hardly ever had the opportunity, considering how much Sesshomaru traveled. It was so rare they passed, let alone stopped near, a human village that she had begged her Lord for the chance to play with the children whose laughter carried through the trees. Even though Rin didn't know anyone there and they didn't know her, all children recognized a new playmate when they saw one. She had been immediately accepted into their group without question.
A freckled face suddenly popped into view and Rin squealed knowing that she had been caught. Bursting into giggles, Rin held her hands up in defeat. The young boy grinned widely and offered a hand to help the strange girl to her feet.
His eyes lit up hopefully as he watched Rin brush off her skirt, "We're gunna play tag now. Would your father be upset if you stayed a little while longer?"
Rin glanced nervously at the forest edge, where she knew Jaken and her Lord were probably waiting impatiently for her to arrive. It hadn't been more than an hour or two after all and... surely, they would not miss Rin for a few more minutes, right?
Nodding confidently to herself, Rin took hold of the boy's hand and together they ran off to join the other village children. As the rules were being explained, another little girl with a low hanging ponytail came running excitedly up to the gaggle of youths.
The other children turned to look at her curiously as she exclaimed, "Hey guys! They just killed that demon that's been stealing the chickens! C'mon you gotta see!"
Rin followed the others at a distance as they whooped and hollered excitedly. A crowd was gathered around a man boasting of his latest kill. Pushing her way to the front Rin emitted a small scream when she saw a toddler sized white haired doppelgänger of her lord hanging lifelessly by its ankle from the man's hand. The other children danced around the slayer's feet using sticks to poke at the carcass.
"What have you done!? It was a baby!" Rin screamed, eyes wide in horror, as everyone turned incredulous eyes upon her. Rin's heart ached for the small inuyoukai that never stood a chance. The longer Rin looked at the poor thing the more she saw evidence of torture. An eye was missing, one arm was hanging on by a single tendon, and deep cuts covered nearly every surface of its skin. The level of damage showed their animosity towards demons in general. The punishment inflicted far exceeded the crime.
"It was so small! What could it have possibly done to deserve being tortured like that?!" Rin demanded breathlessly, grief overriding any sense of self-preservation she possessed. It was unwise to stick up for a demon yet she couldn't hold in the devastation she felt. The bloodied cadaver looked like a baby version of her savior. The headman stared bug-eyed at the others as if asking them if they knew what was wrong with the girl before him. When the children merely shrugged in response, the headman gave Rin a sympathetic look and in a reassuring tone of voice called out "It killed a few of our chickens. It was just a demon, sweetheart."
"It deserved it. Demons are evil," a small brown haired boy piped up. The other villagers murmured in agreement as they continued to stare at the odd young girl who had wandered into the village only hours ago as though she had just sprouted a pair of wings and turned into a demon herself.
After a few tense minutes, the freckle faced child placed a hand on her shoulder as he whispered, "Demons kill people, Rin. They don't have feelings like you and me. "
His friend walked up and held her hand, "He's right ya know...and they're real scary. Even this little one..."
"Did ya know some of 'em keep humans as pets so they can eat 'em later!" a small girl, no older than four or five, chimed in clearly wanting to soothe any reservations Rin may have concerning the death of the beast, "In fact, my mom says if I ever see one, I need to run away real fast so they won't catch me."
Suddenly all the children were bombarding Rin with horror stories about demons, with mixed expressions of excitement and earnestness. Rin's blood ran cold and she began to hyperventilate as the tales grew increasingly more far fetched and graphic. Naturally, the young girl had heard similar accusations growing up so she wasn't completely surprised that people thought this way about demons. In all honesty, Rin had her own demon horror story - a pack of wolf demons had tried to eat her alive. Yet...in her experience...not all demons were bad. Sesshomaru, and Jaken and Ah-Un weren't like that. The demons that accompanied Lady Kagome weren't like that. Maybe this village just hadn't encountered good demons before. Inspired to set the record straight, Rin interrupted once more.
"But this one was so little, smaller even than Rin. It must have been very frightened. Maybe it was an orphan or it was lost. I mean, it only killed some chickens...it must have been very hungry and... and... and..."
Rin trailed off as the village erupted in tense laughter. Tears began to well in the corners of Rin's eyes and threatened to spill over as she glanced around the hardened faces. A few of the villagers exchanged uneasy glances. The idea that the actions of any demon could be explained away as anything other than bloodlust had apparently never occurred to them and that the little girl believed it clearly meant she was either crazy or woefully ignorant to the ways of the world.
Finally, the young girl who had originally called them all from their play piped up, "Don't be dumb. It might've been a chicken today but tomorrow it coulda been one of us. No reason to feel sorry for it. Besides, what do you know? It's not like you even know any demons. You're sticking up for them for no reason."
Rin paled considerably and stared at her feet. She couldn't answer that. Although her Lord had begrudgingly allowed her to visit the village, he had expressly forbidden her from speaking of him. Now she knew why.
Jaken's shrill voice emanating from the forest saved her from having to respond. Bowing low she quietly thanked the gaping villagers for her visit and ran back to the trees where Jaken was waiting impatiently.
"Rin! Why are you so late?! Come on stupid girl, spit it out!" Jaken snapped harshly. The waterworks Rin had been holding back broke free and cascaded down her face. Sobs racked her body as Jaken shook her roughly desperately trying to snap her out of it before his Lord saw her in such a state. A commanding impassive voice rippled through the air making both figures freeze mid-action.
"Rin. Jaken. Come. We're leaving."
Quickly composing herself Rin wiped away her tears and followed her lord as Jaken struggled to keep up.
Later that night they had stopped to rest. Jaken had been sent to collect firewood and he had complied although he muttered under his breath as he went. A small sigh and a faint sniffle made Sesshomaru cast an impassive gaze at the usually vibrant girl silently picking at her bowl of rice. A flash of concern flew through his eyes quicker than he was able to hide it.
"Rin. Are you ill?" Sesshomaru inquired calmly looking stoically back into the dense forest around them. When Rin shook her head, the concern threatening to eat away at his calm broke free and anxiety swirled unchecked through his system. However, to any outside observer, nothing about the daiyoukai's facade betrayed his inner turmoil. Clearing her throat nervously, Rin plucked up her courage and whispered, "Lord Sesshomaru, is Rin a pet?"
The daiyoukai's head whipped in her direction and his eyes widened in surprise before he composed himself and his mask of indifference fell back into place.
"Rin, why do you ask such a thing?"
"Um...well, when Rin was at the village, she heard some children say demons were evil ...and...and that some kept humans as pets..." the young girl whispered. Rin decided the vast majority of the events at the village should be kept to herself. As much as she detested their treatment of the baby demon, she worried her Lord may seek retribution for the poor soul...not that she would blame him. Lord Sesshomaru motioned for her to come closer. Rin stood and when she was within reaching distance, Rin found herself being pulled into the Lord's lap.
"Why did you assume you were a pet, Rin?" Lord Sesshomaru tried to sound as warm as possible but failed miserably and it came out much harsher than he planned. Rin, however, knew him well enough to know what he intended.
"Well...Rin is not useful. Rin cannot fight. Rin is not worthy to be a follower of Lord Sesshomaru. And... if Rin is not a follower then Rin must be a pet." The small girl could not force herself to make eye contact and instead chose to look at her own hands as they clung to the warm white fur that lay over her mighty Lord's shoulder.
"Rin. Do you believe that This Sesshomaru would allow anyone who was not worthy to be his subject? Would This Sesshomaru rescue someone who he did not believe was worthy of his efforts?"
Rin's face crumpled as she shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she murmured, "People save their pets all the time and always allow them to follow them. I am just...Rin..."
A clawed finger tilted the young child's chin upward and forced her two brown eyes to stare into his amber ones, "Rin, you are not a pet. This Sesshomaru does not allow pets to accompany him. You are Rin. And it is Rin that I have allowed to follow me. Being 'just Rin', as you put it, is acceptable to This Sesshomaru," pausing slightly the daiyoukai smirked and added, "Do not tell Jaken what I have just told you. You are of a higher status and therefore do not need to share such things with someone of lesser rank. Do you understand?"
Rin nodded as she wiped away the tears that had broken free. Reaching her small arms up to his shoulders, the girl wrapped them around her Lords neck in a gentle embrace. Hesitating for only a moment, a single clawed hand placed itself on her back and squeezed lightly.
Sesshomaru thought idly to himself as a small smile graced his lips, 'Rin, do not feel as though you must change. You are perfect as you are."