Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.
Rated: T in case of violence or language.
So this is my first ever InuYasha fanfic, I've never done one before because I've never found a plot worth writing, but to be honest, I have no idea where this story is going. I just felt like writing a fic with Rin as the main character, she's just so adorable but I'm sure she'll go incredibly ooc as will most of the other characters, so I apologise for that!
I also apologise for any spelling mistakes I make, in particular when it comes to names and non-english words. I just refuse to use 'Lord Sesshomaru' and other of the terms from the dubbed series (please could someone help me with the spelling of nintojo, you know the staff thing?). I also have another issue with Ah-Un as there is little mentioned about him/it. Firstly I refer to it as 'him' because even though there are two heads Ah and Un it's just less confusing than saying 'they' or 'it' but if anyone feels this is really wrong I can change it.
Chapter one
"Jaken-sama…"
"No"
"Jaaaken-sama…"
"No, you silly child! Can you not see I have more important things to be doing than playing games with you?!"
The impatient youkai paced irritably, the tip of his staff and the angry mutterings being the only indication of his presence, as his diminutive form was completely concealed among the long grass.
A little further from him, Rin sat braiding blades of it, having long ago successfully completed in plaiting as much of her own hair as she could reach and nearly every inch of Ah-Un's manes. The dragon youkai was now dozing next to her, thankful for having survived the stressful ordeal and hoping that the hyperactive little girl would feel like un-tangling the mess sometime soon.
"But Jaken-sama, you're not doing anything!" she exclaimed, dropping the woven mess and crawling over to the small clearing of flat grass the yokai had made as a result of all his pacing.
Jaken spluttered in response, attempting to find an important task for himself as an excuse to escape from another of Rin's imaginative distractions.
"Of course I'm doing something!" he snapped, "I'm working very hard to fulfil Seshoumaru-sama's orders by protecting you and guarding…everything"
He shook the staff at her angrily and added, "And you're making it terribly difficult for me to concentrate on my duties!"
Rin looked around her, she wasn't sure what he meant by 'everything' but she did know that Jaken-sama was working very hard doing whatever it was that he was doing and so she ought to behave herself so that Sesshoumaru-sama would be pleased whenever he returned. Maybe, if he returned in a good mood, he would help her catch some fish!
"Will Sesshoumaru-sama be back soon?" she asked hopefully.
Jaken scowled at her.
"Stupid girl, are you deaf? I've already told you five times, I don't know!"
It was the fact that his aloof lord had taken off so suddenly that worried the small youkai the most. Yes, it was normal for Sesshoumaru to vanish without a word of explanation, but this time it seemed slightly different; usually he would at least threaten Jaken with serious bodily harm if he happened to neglect Rin before he disappeared into the sky. However yesterday evening he had returned from mushroom hunting with the girl to find a deserted clearing.
He looked back at Rin who now occupied herself by stroking Ah-Un's nose and humming a sweet little melody to herself. Thankfully she wasn't a particularly whiny child and never asked for more than she needed, however the human essentials were still important such as food and taking time out to rest. Even these trivial tasks were bothersome to Jaken and a he spent a lot of time wondering how his master put up with them, especially since he usually regarded human's needs with complete disgust.
Hours past and the three very different creatures continued with their diversions. The green imp yokai resumed his pacing and muttering, the double-headed dragon remained in its lazy position and the human girl fidgeted and sang the day away.
The sun had just begun to set when the first real challenge of the day presented itself. Rin had been more restless than usual before she finally declared that she was hungry and the trouble came when Jaken discovered there was nothing near them that could satisfy that hunger.
"Rin could go and find some mushrooms!" she said suddenly jumping up, and had just begun hunting for the cloth she used for gathering food when the top of a certain staff blocked her path.
"Gah! You are such a foolish child!" he spluttered, still waving the staff angrily.
"You cannot go off on your own into the forest! What would Sesshoumaru-sama say if something happened? What would he do to me?"
The latter had been muttered more to himself than Rin and for a moment sheer panic gripped him at the though of spending however long it would be with just Rin and Ah-Un. It would be enough to kill him he was sure!
"But Jaken-sama, Rin can go with Ah-Un and –"
"No! Definitely not!"
A few seconds of silence passed and a loud rumble escaped from the child's stomach. Jaken sighed. It wasn't as if Rin hadn't gone looking for food on her own before, it was just that he was already anxious about Sesshoumaru's sudden disappearance and felt that trouble was so close he could smell it.
However, he knew enough about humans now to know that they had to be fed regularly.
"The forest is too dangerous for you, so I will go and find the mushrooms. Stay here with Ah-Un where you are hidden among the grass" he ordered.
Rin beamed.
"Oh Jaken-sama, you're so brave! Thank you!" she said with an admiring look. She then went to lay herself down, wrapping the cloth around her shoulders for warmth and contented that she would not run off or do something stupid, Jaken made his way through the long grass.
He had snickered at her admiration of the simple favour, calling him 'brave' even, but in all honesty he couldn't help but be a little worried. Sesshoumaru had never lead them this far before and the area was completely unfamiliar to them, dangerous yokai could be lurking in the forest and even with nintojo he wasn't an excellent fighter. As he wondered farther, he couldn't help but worry about whether leaving Rin in the grass clearing was such a good idea…
Shivering, the little girl snuggled closer to Ah-Un not finding much comfort in the creature's cool scales. It felt like Jaken had been away for ages and her stomach was protesting against the lack of food rather noisily. Balling herself up tighter she squeezed her eyes shut only to open them again as a sudden rumbling came from somewhere other than her stomach. She looked up to see one of the heads raising cautiously and became aware that it was from Ah-Un that the rumbling sound came.
"What is it?" she whispered anxiously, peering around. She couldn't see anything. Then all of a sudden the blades of grass bristled. She held her breath and slowly edged her way towards Ah-Un, sliding over the saddle as he began to raise himself. Through the corner of her eye she caught a dark shadow flash past and clinging on tightly she tried to ease her trembling.
Then all of a sudden wind was rushing through her hair as Ah-Un soared upwards into the sky, racing towards the treetops of the forest. Another deep rumble came from one of the heads as it turned around and to Rins horror she noticed three dark shapes dart up out of the long-grass in pursuit.
Ah-Un gave an angry roar and pushed forward with greater strength, however the three dark creatures were faster. One fire filled mouth barely had time to turn and aim at them before they shot off in another direction. Like giant serpents they slithered about in the sky, curling around each other as if in some malicious, taunting dance. They moved so fast and were so dark that Rin could not make out their appearance.
Fire blasted from Ah-Un's mouth again and the creatures seemed to stop their squirming. It looked like their game was over, now they would be going in for the kill. Tears of sheer dread streamed down Rins cheeks. Where was Sesshoumaru-sama? Why did he not come to save her?
Ah-Un jerked sideways in alarm as one of the creatures took a snap at his side just as another came from the opposite direction. Another fireball was aimed at the creature, this time catching its tale end. However, all the swerving was making it incredibly difficult for Rin to hold on and she found herself slipping.
Screaming, she grasped at the smooth scales, finding nothing to grip.
"I'm falling" she cried, trying to hoist her leg back onto the saddle but it was no use. Ah-Un had managed to take down one of the shadow creatures, and the others were darting about in such fury that Ah-Un's movements were too fast to allow Rin any time to scramble back on.
With another piercing scream Rin found herself falling, her arms flailing about. She imagined she would have a long fall and tears flew from underneath her eyelids until all of a sudden something prickly brushed through her fingers and a sharp object scraped across her side. Clinging to whatever it was, she ignored the stinging grazes and for a moment hung there with her eyes squeezed shut.
Panting hard, she forced them open and for a few seconds could see nothing her vision was so badly blurred. Blinking a few times she peered around herself to find a sea of green. It was then that she noticed her throbbing hands were wrapped tightly around a branch and taking a deep breath she looked down and almost vomited. Rin was not normally that frightened of heights - she was used to riding Ah-Un - but the drop from her position in the tree was truly awful. She could barely spot the ground down beneath what looked like miles of foliage.
Whatever would she do now? Was it possible to climb down that far? Feeling more warmth trickle down her cheeks she took a shaky breath.
"Don't be such a baby!" she scolded herself, "Everyone is always so brave when they're fighting and all you ever do is cry!" a few more drops sneaked down her face and turning her head side ways she attempted to wipe them off on her shoulder. She could do this! She could look after herself and when Jaken had been found and Sesshoumaru returned, they would be praise her for her strength!
End of Chapter one
