Ugh, here I go with YET ANOTHER story! Fortunately, this is just a one-shot, and I'll be back to my others in just a few minutes, 'cause I'm in a writing mood today. Lucky you. Take pity on me and excuse any errors, k? I just got a new keyboard and while I luv it to death (*huggles keyboard*) it DOES take some getting used to. And plus anything I want to put in italics I have to capitalize (which makes it look dumb, but oh well...) because my computer isn't big enough to hold Microsoft Word, and I have to format it to text. Dumb stupid slow computer.

Please tell me what you think. I haven't been getting many reviews lately, and I'm wondering if it's because I suck. ^_^ No offense, and I know writing a review can sometimes be impossible because of the little joys of life, but please review! I'll keep writing even if you don't, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside if you do. :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything relating to Inuyasha. That could all change soon, though. Christmas IS only in a couple of weeks.... Oh mommy dearest!


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But Fluffles, It's Just A Scratch!
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They had been walking all day, and he was getting sick of it. Things were getting in his hair, dust was making his delicate senses go crazy, and the smell of that fool Jaken was making him sick. Normally it would be Rin begging to stop. Now he was going to. The mighty Lord of the Western Lands was going to tire before a mere mortal could...

The very thought was unacceptable.

Maybe he could hold out until she got tired. She should be tugging on his shirt soon and smiling up at him with her puppy-dog eyes, asking him if they could please take a short rest before they went on. Of course, a 'short rest' would always turn out to be about three hours or so, but he never complained. Even after all these years and all of her efforts to grow up she was still the same cheerful little girl he had revived with Tenseiga. She was always so happy, picking bright colored flowers or going for a swim if there was a stream nearby. Which, of course, he always made sure there was.

For her.

He smiled at the memory. Yes, Sesshoumaru thought, not long now.

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*Two Hours Later*
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This was getting ridiculous. He had patiently waited for all of about fifteen minutes, and then he started to get mad. Two whole HOURS, and Rin was still happily skipping along behind him, humming some tune she had undoubtedly learned from one of the villages they had stopped at. While the sound of her soft melodious voice was making him feel all woozy, the ache in his muscles just would not go away. He decided to drop behind the group and watch her closely for anything he could use for an excuse to stop.

His plan backfired, however, when he found himself staring openly at the way her hips wiggled through the too small cloth that 'covered' her while she walked. *Ooh, so nice....* He had to slap himself before his wandering eyes could go any lower, and the object of his affections turned sharply at the sound. He admired her skill at the same time he cursed himself for teaching her so well, as this sudden movement had put her at quite the interesting position for his dangerously darkened golden eyes. *I have GOT to get her a new kimono. I wonder what size...? Something 10 sizes bigger than she needs should work just fine...*

"You had something on your back." He answered in response to her questioning eyes. The great Lord youkai sighed with relief as she smiled and turned fully around. She seemed to have bought that one quite well. He grinned inside his head and gave himself an imaginary pat on the back. *Now, down to business.*

"Human?" Alright, it sounded mean even to his ears, but he couldn't let her know... Besides. When he called her by her name his legs went all strange, and he couldn't even feel them now, so that might have been a bit awkward.

He had to give her credit. She didn't seem fazed in the least by his less-than-polite nickname. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She said smiling.

He winced and drew his ears back to his skull at the -sama. It was tradition (well, sort of), but it still made him feel like a kicked puppy when she said it. Weren't they more than that? Didn't she....

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Uh-oh, she's getting suspicious. He drew himself up to his full height (some would call it six foot thirteen) before answering regally. "What size are you?"

She looked puzzled. "Excuse me?"

*This is getting embarassing.* "What size of clothing are you?"

Rin tilted her head to the side and walked around him in circles, poking and prodding. If he were a lesser youkai he would have blushed, but he was Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands! He WOULD NOT blush! Blushing was for weaklings! Humans! "What are you doing?" he ground out through clenched teeth. She should NOT be poking him there...

The girl in question simply raised herself up on her toes and placed one hand on his forehead and one hand on hers. "Nope, you don't feel like you have a fever... Can you get fevers, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He growled in frustration before answering. Her scent at this distance was overwhelming..."Stop being foolish. I just asked you what size kimono you wear. It's not like I care. You need a new one."

She beamed at his so called "thoughtfulness" and kept walking. "Sesshoumaru-sama, in all the years I've known you you've never been one to joke. I think you really ARE sick! A new kimono... Hah!" She giggled and began to skip. A moment later she burst out in a sing-songy voice that must have been invented thousands of years ago by someone who really wanted to humiliate the poor dog-youkai.

"A new kimono for Rin,
Where could his mind have been?
Something has happened to his brain,
He's making jokes again!
Maybe he's trying to be nice,
Perhaps his heart's not ALL ice.
The LOTWL is just a big toughy,
But I'll stick by my master, dearest old......"

She thought for a moment. Sesshoumaru-sama wouldn't rhyme there! When he saw the light shining in her eyes and the devilish smirk on her face he knew he should be afraid.... Be very afraid....

"Fluffy!"

She was calling him.... what? At this point his brain was too tired to process rational thought, so he settled for instinct. He leaped from behind her and snatched her in his arms, ignoring both Jaken's strangled cry of outrage at the strange name and her yelp of surprise. Using his superior demon strength he hopped to the nearest tree (about 50 feet up) and waited for her to stop saying sorry.

"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama! I didn't mean it! I'll never say it again, I promise. Please don't hurt me!"

He yanked his head up from her sweet-smelling hair in surprise at the sudden change in her scent. He had smelt it before.... What was it....His eyes widened in realization.

Fear.

She was afraid of him?! After all he had done to protect her, all the courtesies he had given her, all the times he had saved her, and she was AFRAID of him? This would not do. This would not do at all. He held her close to him to try and stop her shaking, but only succeeded in making her shake more. He felt something wet hit his chest where she was scrunched. She was crying. She was afraid.

It was his fault.

Sesshoumaru cradled her softly in his arms and whispered into her ear. Simple things like, "Don't be afraid." "I won't hurt you." and "Please stop crying." He couldn't think of anything else to say, although he wanted to so badly. He could only pray that she wouldn't hate him for this...

Rin's sobs slowly wound down to small sniffles, then to nothing but the occasional tear, and finally stopped. She looked up at him trustingly and tried to raise herself up, but a wave of pain broke across her face. He felt his body tense in surprise as her tears started again. This time, though, they seemed centered on the pain in her side.

*What could have happened to her?* He wondered.

He sniffed for any trace of blood and snorted triumphantly when he found it. Very light, probably from an old wound, but it didn't hurt to check. One of his claws ran lightly over the fabric on her right side, easily making a neat opening for him to look through. Against his better judgement he looked at her bare skin closely for anything that may have caused her pain.

Finding nothing he quickly turned the now brightly blushing Rin so she lay on her back and gave the same treatment to the other side of her kimono. The red welt he found there shocked him not because of its size (It really wasn't much at all.), but because of the fact that he had overlooked it. Rin, HIS Rin, had been suffering for God only knows how long, and he hadn't noticed until now. Sesshoumaru growled at his stupidity, which might not have been the best thing to do considering the fact that the half naked girl in his arms started crying again.

He groaned and tried to think of what he could do to get her to stop. An idea came to him out of the blue. Winding his arms around her securely he took off, not caring a wit about Jaken who still stood screaming on the ground below. Flying had always been something Rin wanted to try.... Maybe it would calm her down. He couldn't see her pleasure in such a simple act. To him it was like breathing, he'd always been able to do it. It was never really special.

Still, anything to make her happy again.

At the woosh of air she stopped mid-sob and peeked curiously around his broad chest. She gave a happy little cry of delight before shifting around to get a better look. All that wiggling was doing nothing for his growing realization that she was showing quite a lot of skin, and his hands were touching that skin, and his body was reacting to the skin that his hands were touching, and...

"Sesshoumaru, you took me flying!?"

He smirked at the way his brilliant plan was going and decided not to answer her. Instead he took the time to inspect the scratch on her side. Maybe he DID have a reason to stop walki...Wait. Hold on just one gosh darn cotton-pickin' minute. Did she just say....Sesshoumaru? No -sama?! Wow, maybe he should have thought of this sooner...

"I love flying," She said in awe.

Seeing the opening for another little step forward in her eyes, he unwrapped his arms and held her out at arms' length, so she could get the real feel for it. She closed her eyes and spread her arms out like wings. He was amazed at how she trusted him, not even holding on by one little finger. Speaking of fingers, his were moving a little too high for his own good... He quickly slid them down, but he set off an unknown chain reaction with this simple movement. Rin, being the ticklish girl she is, laughed and squirmed in his grasp. This caused her scratch to open, and her to emit an ear-shattering scream.

Looking at the fresh blood dripping from her wound made him sick. He had hurt her again... The thought made him so mad he cursed. Several times. In six different languages. Four of which Rin was fluent in.

He quickly found a stream and dropped softly down beside it. He washed away her tears with the help of a piece of his shirt and the cold but clear water, but decided that wouldn't work for her side. He knew he would regret it later, but right now all he knew was that she was in pain, he had caused is, and he needed to fix it.

Rin looked up in surprise, startled out of her crying, at a strange feeling at her side. It was like someone was rubbing a towel over her wound, but not just any towel. It was soft but rough, and it made all the pain go away. Looking over at the source of the feeling she gasped in shock. Sesshoumaru was licking her side?! At first that didn't register to her mind, but then she remembered him licking his wounds after his last battle with Inuyasha. He had said something about.... Healing saliva, or something. He looked up when he finished and she was startled by the look in his eyes. He looked as though she had just told him she hated him... But wait, that wouldn't faze him. She was just a human, after all. Who cares if she hated him? Still... His ears were flattened, and his head was drawn back. He wouldn't look at her. Was he really that sorry? Didn't he know she'd forgive him for anything?

Suddenly her vision started to go black. She must have looked scared, because he answered with the most concern she had ever heard from him.

"That''s normal. You'll sleep for a few hours." He looked down in shame and twiddled with a loose thread. "Don't worry, though," He added quickly. "I...I'll protect you. I promise."

"I'm never worried with you around, Sesshoumaru." She said with a small smile.

He looked as though he despritely wanted to ask her something, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. After a few tries, though, he finally found his voice. "H-How did you get that?" He asked, pointing to the nearly-healed scratch on her side.

"Oh, that?" He nodded. "I was just swimming around in the river and a rock got me. Nasty little thing," she chuckled. "Thank you. It hurt a lot."

"Anytime." He smiled, then frowned as a thought came to him. "You need to tell me next time you're hurt. I'll help you, you don't have to be afraid."

"Oh, it was just a scratch. Honestly, you worry too much." Her eyes were really getting fuzzy now. "Sess?" She called out sleepily.

Sesshoumaru beamed at the little nickname. *Wow, I'm really making progress! Flying again. Definately. Soon.* "Yes, Rin?"

"Just one question." Something he had said earlier had been bugging her... She just couldn't figure it out!

"Anything. What?" He was home free now... She loved him. He was sure of it. Male ego took over, and he paid no heed to the warning sensors that went off in his brain when she asked for a question.

"What's a motherfucking bastard?"









Ha ha! She's got you there, Sesshy! What is it with dog demons and their dirty mouths? ^_^ Review! Or else...

Readers: Or else what?

Me: Or else.... WWW.AWESOMEWEAPONSOFTORTURE.COM!!!! I've got it bookmarked!! My bed of rabid chipmunks is due any day now, and I need some testers!!

Readers: ?-?

P.S: When Rin sings: "The LOTWL is just a big toughy...." LOTWL= Lord Of The Western Lands. Get it? Just wanted to say that for people that are as dumb as me. Not many of those out there....^_^