Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story—Rumiko Takahashi does.
- -
Sesshoumaru slightly tilted his head to the side, adjusting his position as he watched his little group of followers interact with each other in the field before him. His entourage had had a new member added to it a few months ago, although it somehow seemed like centuries. Silently, Sesshoumaru eyed the young human girl he traveled with, named Rin, as she started another small dispute with the small frog-like youkai, Jaken. She had caused such a tiny amount of time, which he would have normally disregarded as wasted moments of his life, to stretch and grow to an indescribable length of time.
"Is this how humans usually regard time?" He mused quietly, staring blankly at the small child as she picked flowers from the field and ignored Jaken's angered screams.
He let his eyes roam over the two-headed dragon youkai that also followed after him faithfully. The creature, which Rin had lovingly named Ah-Un, seemed to be watching the exchange between Rin and Jaken in amusement as both heads snorted lightly when Jaken tripped over himself in his attempt to catch the girl. Rin squealed happily as she tossed purple flower petals at the fuming imp and proceeded to run away as fast as her little legs would carry her. Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow in interest as the small youkai struggled to shake the small colourful petals off of him.
"Why you little –!"
"Jaken," His retainer immediately snapped to attention and waited for his command. He found he could not resist the temptation to torture the imp and glared icily at him, tilting the corners of his lips upwards. Jaken began to sweat in anticipation as the seconds ticked by with him under Sesshoumaru's sharp scrutiny before the daiyoukai finally spoke. "Jaken… you still have one on your shoulder…"
He turned away in amusement as Jaken fell back in relief.
"Lord Sesshoumaru!"
Redirecting his gaze to the small yellow-clad creature, Sesshoumaru glanced at the bright pink and purple crown made of wildflowers that rested in her outstretched palms before focusing his vision on her hopeful eyes. After a moment's pause, he reluctantly nodded at her in approval. As soon as he flicked his gaze away, she hurried over to him; climbing up the ledge he was leaning on and kneeling on the grass behind him to place the crown upon his head.
She giggled insanely when it settled into his hair and climbed back down to the field, beaming up at him in pride before running back into the flowers; arms flung out behind her.
The scent of the flowers on his head hung around him with a sweet, but pleasant aroma. He let it fill his nose as he watched her continue to work on a similar set of crowns for Ah-Un—although he noticed that the one she had constructed for him was much more elaborate—and placed a red crown on the right head, Ah, and a yellow crown on the left head, Un. She even made one to place on Jaken's head, who was still lying in the grass trying to calm his heart from the fear he had endured earlier.
It seemed as though Rin was finally finished with her flower-crown tirade and was about to settle into the grass. As she crouched down she noticed a grass stain on the edge of her kimono. Hurriedly, she tried to rub it out; only causing it to smudge and spread. He watched as she sighed in frustration and gave up, returning to her position in the grass. Acknowledging the light scent still floating around him, Sesshoumaru called to his ward.
"Rin."
"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru?"
He waited for her as she got up and skipped past Jaken, rousing the imp from his position in the grass, and came over to him, staring at him with bright honey-brown eyes. Slowly, Sesshoumaru removed the flowers from his head and placed it on Rin's. The size difference of their heads caused the crown to fall downwards on one side of her head while it had rested evenly on the crown of his own head.
Her face split into a grin of absolute joy and she jumped up on the ledge, planting an even kiss inbetween the markings on Sesshoumaru's right cheek.
His eyes and nostrils flared for a moment in shock as he heard Jaken's sharp gasp and Ah-Un's hesitant step towards him. Rin, completely unaware of the atmosphere she had just blanketed the field with, danced back into the field and began creating a new crown out of blue and yellow flowers while humming one of her ridiculous little tunes.
Jaken stared at Rin in horror as Sesshoumaru rose from his reclined position and began to stride towards the girl. Rin had always been slightly ignorant and simple-minded as any child should be, but she had never done anything as disrespectful as that.
Finally finding his voice, Jaken pointed a bony finger at the child accusingly. "Y-You insolent brat, you! What a stupid, foolish little girl you are! How dare you—Ahmmrf!" Sesshoumaru placed a heavy boot on Jaken's head and continued on his path towards the east, turning to inform the group of his intentions.
"I will return soon."
Rin lifted her head from her creation long enough to wave to Sesshoumaru before he turned back to his original direction. "Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru!"
Dislodging himself from the ground, Jaken raised watery eyes to his master's retreating form. "My Lord! Where are you—?!" The imp fell back in a daze as his mouth clamped down firmly on the large pebble between his lips.
Satisfied with the pained grunt he received, Sesshoumaru dropped the remaining rocks in his hand and watched as Rin crouched next to Jaken in concern—having abandoned her flowers after hearing the tell-tale sound of another injury inflicted upon her friend. "Master Jaken? Are you alright?"
Sesshoumaru snorted gently at the small hint of amusement laced within the girl's voice. "Jaken, take Rin and Ah-Un to a nearby shelter. It is going to rain soon." With that said, Sesshoumaru continued across the field keeping his attention focused on the group behind him.
Jaken sniffed the air tentatively, before nodding in agreement and standing up, pointing at the two-headed dragon with the Staff of Two Heads. "You, find the best shelter you can—and quickly!" Poking Rin with the end of his staff, Jaken shooed her onto the dragon and the group took to the air.
As they left the field behind them, Rin leaned back in the large saddle on the dragon's back to talk to Jaken. "Master Jaken, why didn't you notice the rain before Lord Sesshoumaru told you?"
"Our lord is the son of the Inu no Taishou! He's a daiyoukai and as such he has far greater senses than most youkai! Including mine!"
"Lord Sesshoumaru is so amazing!"
"That he is, Rin."
After Jaken's sigh of approval and admiration, the two-headed dragon grunted and began to descend from the sky rapidly, causing the girl and the imp to hold onto the reins and saddle fiercely. In a few moments, Ah-Un had landed soundly on a thick rock ledge and was waiting for the dust to clear from his clawed feet. While Jaken shook the shock of the landing from his limbs, Ah tossed his head impatiently; eager to find a suitable place to graze.
Rin lifted her head from the dragon's neck and glanced at her surroundings. They were currently positioned on a rock cliff, overlooking the small forest and large expanse of rolling hills below and behind them. Situated in front of them was a rock cave with a wide opening. She guessed it was empty because Ah-Un had chosen it for them.
She patted the creature's brown scales appreciatively as she slid off its back and led him towards a small patch of grass, ignoring Jaken's persistent scolding about the rough and abrupt landing.
"When do you think Lord Sesshoumaru will be returning, Master Jaken?"
The imp paused in his speech and considered the girl's question before jumping off the saddle and waving the Staff of Two Heads at her angrily. "How would I know? Lord Sesshoumaru does not just answer to anyone, you know!"
Rin nodded solemnly, "Yes, yes Master Jaken. I know, I know." She waved him off and began to investigate the cave. It had many large, sharp, jutting rocks near the front which needed to be climbed over in order to get within the cave, but there were about three or four large, flat rocks near the back. She found a small groove near the center of the cave and decided to dig it out deeper; creating a pit to place a fire.
Jaken turned at the scraping noise and glared into the cave. "Rin! Be careful in there!" Glancing over his shoulder Jaken added, "Or else Lord Sesshoumaru will have my head…"
"Master Jaken!" Rin called over the scraping of the rock. "Could you get me some dry wood?!"
Grumpily, Jaken picked up a dry stick next to his foot and yelled over his shoulder. "Stop screeching, girl! I can hear you perfectly fine!" He eyed another larger piece of wood near the ledge and collected that as well.
The green frog-like youkai appeared in the mouth of the cave several minutes later with a large stack of wood in his arms. "What are you going to do for food?"
Rin smiled at the firewood Jaken dropped next to her and pretended not to notice the slight note of concern within the small youkai's voice. "I can go get fish with Ah-Un later, ne Master Jaken?" Her response was an indifferent snort as Jaken marched to a corner of the cave and made himself comfortable; watching as the young girl carefully arranged the sticks to make a shallow pyramid shape. She narrowed her eyes at the pile in thought before jumping up and murmuring an "I'll be back" and rushing out of the cave.
She returned with three large sticks; two that were in a "Y" shape and one longer stick. She proceeded set them up to create a skewer and sat back to admire her work.
"Hurry up and catch your dinner; Lord Sesshoumaru will be returning soon."
Rin nodded in agreement and left the cave to collect the dragon. Jaken watched her leave the dark cave, and returned his gaze to the fire pit she had made.
He still didn't completely comprehend why exactly his Lord had let Rin stay in their company, and how he had ever come to know her. But Tenseiga had called to his Lord to save Rin, according to what Sesshoumaru had told him. Did that mean that his Lord and this girl were meant to meet? Like destiny?
Jaken shook his head, "Bah! Nonsense."
"Master Jaken! Master Jaken! Look how many fish I caught!"
Startled by her sudden appearance, Jaken looked up at the girl with wide eyes. He noticed that it had grown dark outside. He couldn't help but wonder how long he had been thinking. Snapping out of his thoughts, Jaken proceeded to count the fish in the girl's hands. She had six fish… Six fish?! "What on earth are you going to do with six fish, girl?!"
Rin looked down at the fish, then back at Jaken. "Oh, you're right."
Jaken fell back in exasperation before jumping up again in frustration. "What a waste! You should know better than—" Lightning suddenly lit up the cave and thunder roared loudly from above, followed by a light shower of rain. "Get inside here before your clothes get all ruined!"
Rin scrambled inside, calling Ah-Un to follow her, and dropped the fish on the cold floor. "Master Jaken, will you please light a fire?"
Jaken sniffed in disapproval of the numerous fish, but lifted the Staff of Two Heads above his head nonetheless. In less than ten minutes, the fire was burning brightly and Rin had two fish cooking over the flames as she organized the extra firewood against the wall. When she returned to her original spot, Jaken took one of the cooked fish off of the fire and handed it to her grudgingly.
As Rin munched on the trout, she regarded the storm outside with interest as the light sprinkle of rain became a steady downpour and the wind whipped around the outside of the cave viciously. "When will Lord Sesshoumaru return, Master Jaken?" Rin asked absently, turning the first fish over and starting on the other side of it.
"I already said I don't know. You're so young and yet you have such poor memory. Pathetic humans…"
Ignoring Jaken's comments, Rin knit her eyebrows together in consideration. "Does Lord Sesshoumaru like the rain?" When Jaken didn't answer, Rin figured that he didn't have an answer.
The conversation ceased as Rin polished off the first fish and then moved onto the second before cooking and eating a third fish. She had almost finished when Jaken's snoring began to echo and resound within the cave's walls. Rin picked up the unused fish and the remains of the ones she had eaten, and walked to the front of the cave as silently as she could. With a soft grunt, she threw the wastes and leftovers over the ledge—although one fish head didn't make it across the stretch of rock and rolled across the hard, slippery surface before sliding to a messy stop—and laid the untouched fish on the cold sharp rocks near the edge of the cave's opening.
As Rin straightened herself, she felt a strong soothing aura appear behind her. Sesshoumaru materialized in front of the cave just as she began to turn to greet him. "Lord Sesshoumaru!" He turned and met her eyes expectantly; taking in the bright smile she flashed him and the slightly shocked expression in her eyes.
Rin stopped mid-spin and regarded her lord with curiosity. His hair was very wet and either hung limply in front of his face or was plastered to the sides of his cheeks and forehead. His clothes were wet as well and hung a little heavier and closer to his body than they normally did. Rin giggled at the sight but entered the cave and rushed over to Ah-Un without a second glance at the daiyoukai.
Sesshoumaru followed her and shook his hair out lightly when he was under the shelter of the cave's roof. He frowned at his clothing in disapproval before walking further into the cave and moving behind the fire. When he settled himself on one of the large flat rocks, he was greeted with a large maroon blanket and bright eyes peaking over the top of it.
"It's alright, Rin. I do not need it."
"But Lord Sesshoumaru could catch a cold!" Rin protested, offering the blanket again.
Sesshoumaru's eyes tilted up in amusement as he was reminded of the first time he had met the girl. He decided to accept the blanket instead of arguing with the child, despite the fact that the chances of him catching a cold were slim to none, and wordlessly took the blanket from her hands.
Thoroughly pleased with her lord—whose normally white-clad legs were now smothered in maroon—Rin returned to the fire. She stared at the dark ash buried beneath the firewood for a moment before gazing out into the stormy night. Sesshoumaru watched her face, covered in orange light from the dancing flames, as she appeared to contemplate something very important to her. He waited for her to speak, which was what she usually did when she was thinking about something.
"Lord Sesshoumaru," he didn't say anything, but he knew that she would take that as an indication to continue. "Do you like the rain?"
Rin turned, looking into her lord's eyes and preparing to gauge his reaction to her question. He seemed ever so slightly surprised by the question and looked out into the storm behind her.
"I do not like nor dislike the rain, Rin."
She didn't seem satisfied with this answer, but did not question him further anyways. It was not until almost an hour after her first question that Rin spoke up again, startling Sesshoumaru out of his thoughts.
"Does Lord Sesshoumaru like the moon?"
Sesshoumaru nodded and then realized that she was not looking at him, so he answered again. "Yes, I do like the moon, Rin." She nodded to no one in particular and continued to gaze out into the night. Curiosity got the better of the daiyoukai and he cleared his throat quietly, looking down at the girl. "Do you like the moon, Rin?"
"Mmhmm. It's so bright, and it changes—unlike the sun—and helps people tell time. It's also very pretty when it's full, but I like it best when it's in its crescent form." Sesshoumaru snorted softly at the girl's unneeded explanation and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the slight discomfort he felt as his hair continued to stubbornly stick to his forehead.
When Rin had finally been claimed by sleep, Sesshoumaru removed the heavy blanket from his legs and draped it over her; immediately ceasing the shivers he had noticed were coursing through her disruptively. When he was satisfied that his ward was comfortable and would not continue to be distracting, Sesshoumaru walked towards the mouth of the cave and inspected the damp world outside.
The rain had begun to clear and the night sky was much more visible then it had been earlier that evening. He gazed up at the moon in detached interest for a few moments before returning to the back of the cave.
Sesshoumaru rested his head against the cold rock wall and closed his eyes, contemplating his trip to the small human village a few miles away earlier this morning. His initial goal had been to go there and retrieve a new kimono for Rin since her normal one was riddled with stains and small tears, and it was only right that the ward of a daiyoukai was properly clothed.
Normally he had no trouble locating a new kimono for her; it was a simple—although expensive—design that many villages had the material for. Today, however he was not so lucky.
Bandits had recently raided the village he had been searching for and most of the buildings were destroyed. Bloodied and dismembered bodies were strewn all across the village and the humans that were still alive were quite obviously distressed and mourning. To add to their troubles, the dead bodies had begun to attract many small youkai which would soon be attacking the village.
Sesshoumaru had begun to turn away from the sight, leaving the villagers to their inevitable demise, but a tug from within his being urged him to at least dispatch the small youkai in the area before leaving. Reluctantly, and thoroughly annoyed with himself, he had proceeded to heed to his conscience's desires but tortured the life out of the youkai in the area to make up for it.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Sesshoumaru opened his eyes and glared at the small human in front of him. He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept; captivated by the simple motion. He, Lord Sesshoumaru, daiyoukai of the Western Lands and son of the great Inu no Taisho, was practically having compassion stuffed down his throat because of a small human child.
"Ridiculous," He whispered angrily, tossing his still-damp bangs away from his face in annoyance. Rin sighed softly in her sleep and rolled over onto her side; facing him. He regarded her with silent consideration before once again resting his head against the wall behind him.
"The crescent moon, huh…?"