A/N: Spooktober, #2 - Fog

Of Fog and Monsters


This was a new dynamic for him, comforting a human child.

Rin had grown in many ways over the months that she had spent with him, but she was at her core, still a pup. And pups were often scared. He snorted at that thought. Most pups, with the exception of himself of course, because he wasn't afraid of anything.

But the girl stood at his side, fingers tightened in the fabric of his pants, gripping so hard that her knuckles turned white. "Rin," he said quietly. "It's only fog."

"It's cold ," she whispered harshly. "And it's scary ."

"There is nothing scary about water," he said dryly. Perhaps if he kept telling her that, she would eventually come to understand it. He didn't hold his breath.

"But what if there are things in there?" she asked, her eyes wide in fear.

He looked back at the lake, and the light coating of fog that lay low over it. Really, the girl was absurd. And yet, he found himself following along, asking, "What things?"

"You know," she whispered. " Monsters ." Were he his father, he would have laughed. Instead, his lips twitched into an annoyed frown. "That's what he told me," she continued. "He told me that I must behave, otherwise they would come and eat me!"

Well, that certainly explained a lot. Rin had an apparent code of honor that rivaled his own, if only because of her childish innocence. Rin would behave, because she was good , and she often asked him if he had noticed.

He had.

With a sigh, he knelt down beside her, pulling her fingers from the silk of his clothing. "Rin," he asked quietly, brushing the bangs back from her forehead. He didn't know why he entertained little gestures that she seemed to enjoy. " Who told you such a ridiculous thing?"

"Jaken-sama, of course."

Of course. "And you believed him?" She nodded. "Have you forgotten about This One?" he asked next, and she hesitated for a second, before shaking her head. He reached out, pressing his claws atop it, a gentle pat of his hand. "Then you would know, that this one would never let something as inane as a monster come for you."

And just like that, her fear seemed to evaporate, as a smile spread across her face. "Sesshoumaru-sama will protect me!" she squealed, reaching for his hand.

At first, he had hated the familiar touch, but he had grown accustomed to it. And this time, he didn't quietly slip his hand from her grasp. Instead, he carefully situated his claws away from her, letting her hold onto him with content.

"Always, Rin."


A/N: I can't believe that I wrote something that not only could be considered canon, but it's also not romance. What is wrong with me? LOL.