Summary: After hearing so much from various demons of the Western lands, an eighteen-year-old Rin feels that she's got the perfect solution and proposes it to Sesshomaru. Would he accept it?
Genre: Romance
Pairing: SesshomaruRin
Type: Oneshot.
It was dusk and the evening sky was tinged a brilliant orange red. A whole flock of birds flew past. A crystal clear lake reflected the skies. Heaven and earth looked like one. An inuyoukai slowly walked across the palace gardens towards the pavilion where a young human girl sat playing a shamisen. She complemented the backdrop in her dark purple kimono with golden butterfly imprints and golden obi. Her black hair glittered in the evening rays. Sesshomaru almost wished he had the palace artist to paint a picture now. It would have been a bold and vibrantly coloured painting.
Seeing his arrival, Rin put her stringed instrument down. She politely bowed.
" Sesshomaru-sama."
She had changed from the curious, noisy young child to this wonderful, gentle and quiet young lady. Her character molded after Sesshomaru's now, having followed him so many long years. She knew when to keep quiet and when to speak. Her feelings for him had changed too. Which was why she had asked to see him after dinner.
" You had something to say to this Sesshomaru?"
There was a small pause and awkward silence. Rin had so much to say but had no idea where to start.
" Yes. Rin wants…"
She couldn't continue. Rin felt shameless saying what she thought out. But she knew if she didn't say it out, she would have to leave his side soon. Sesshomaru looked at the visibly distressed young lady. What did she want to say?
" Rin. Just say it."
" Rin wants to… Rin wants to be…"
She bit her lip hard. Things might spiral to no return if she said it out. Her heart throbbed madly. The air around the youkai and human was charged with so much emotion. Closing her eyes, Rin cried out,
" Rin wants to be Sesshomaru-sama's second wife."
There was an extremely sudden, awkward silence. Sesshomaru felt almost overwhelmed for a minute. Second wife?
More determined after managing to say the first few words, Rin bravely continued on even as her heart felt that it would just fall out.
" Rin wants to be Sesshomaru's second wife because Rin loves Sesshomaru-sama and wants to be by his side forever."
Sesshomaru was not taken aback. He knew his ward's love for him had changed and frankly, his feelings for her had changed as well. He just didn't know how to deal with it. The demon-human boundary was there and he did not want to follow his father's footsteps. He did not want to tarnish his reputation and stain his bloodline. Pride and Honour stopped him from loving the human girl. He had contemplated many times ever since she turned 15 and became a beautiful young woman. They both knew she wasn't a child anymore and he had to decide what to do with her in time to come. Now that time had come.
"Rin…"
She cut in and pleaded.
" Sesshomaru-sama, let Rin continue first, please." He gave a nod.
" Rin knows Sesshomaru-sama might not love her back as much as she loves him, but she just wants to stay by him forever despite being just human."
Rin started to cry. Sesshomaru felt a small stab of pain. He hated to see her cry.
" Many court officials and maids have told me that Sesshomaru-sama would not be able to keep me in the western palace any longer as Rin is neither ward, servant, whore nor mate. Rin possesses no right to stay here any longer."
The crystal tears fell uncontrollably.
" Rin knows that out of honour, Sesshomaru-sama would never take her has his mate. Rin's human blood would be an insult to Sesshomaru-sama's name. That's why Rin suggests that she be the second wife; at least she can stay by Lord Sesshomaru's side forever. Sesshomaru-sama could have a youkai first wife and the children would be the rightful heirs to the Western Lands."
She didn't want him to marry another woman but she knew his pride was strong.
" Rin just wants to be like Inuyasha's Okaa-san, to be with the man she loves."
She had heard this love tale of Inutaisho and Izayoi from an old servant. To Sesshomaru, it might have been dishonourable to the family name, but to Rin, it gave her immense hope. She had cried for hours after hearing the story. But it had also given her the idea of being Sesshomaru's concubine.
" Sesshomaru-sama, would that be… too much… to ask?"
With a tear-stained face, she looked at Sesshomaru. He felt stricken by her very mature words. It must have been painful to say out.
In a sudden move, he had held her close to his chest. What she had said was logical, but he didn't want to mate with somebody he disliked and take the person as his first wife. It wasn't fair to Rin. His pride shouldn't have to stand between their love. Although he hated humans and saw his father's love for that human woman as a foolish mistake, he didn't want to repeat his father's mistake to marry a woman he didn't have feelings for.
His father could laugh all he wanted in the underworld and his mother would be immensely disappointed, but he had finally found somebody to care for and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. That was all that really mattered.
" Iie, Rin. You will be this Sesshomaru's first wife and only wife. Our children would be the heirs to the Western Lands and no one will dispute that."
With that, he kissed her forehead.
Fin.
A/N: My first descriptive-narrative sengoku jidai SR love story! I usually don't do classic pieces (I prefer contemporary AU) but plot bunnies ran wild. Please review if you liked it or even if you feel that's it honestly lousy.
Oh. And if I'm not wrong, a shamisen is this wooden stringed Japanese instrument. Like a Chinese Pipa. No quite guitar but similar? I think.