Disclaimer: Characters are NOT mine, I borrowed them for my own pleasure without permission.
A/N- I've been trying to get over my writer's block, so hopefully this will break the dam wide open And if theres any errors in this, blame Xak cuz she beta'd for me ;)
Title: Bedtime with SesshomaruA series of one-shots with Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken at bedtime
Chapter 1 : Anklebiter
"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked quietly as they walked along the edge of a clearing on their way to make camp for the night.
"Hn," was his halfhearted reply.
"Was Sesshomaru-sama ever as little as Rin?"
Slowly, Sesshomaru turned and looked at the small girl that he kept in his company. She was barely eight years old, mortal, and always full of questions he usually had no real intentions of answering. This one he had been unprepared for. His expression softened slightly as he pondered her question.
Jaken started squawking about how she was an insolent little brat for even daring to voice such a question, let alone think that he would really answer it.
Rin had started to protest, but had given up, and hung her head for being so bold, "Rin is sorry, Sesshomaru-sama," she said quietly fearing that he would be too upset to speak to her again for the rest of the night.
After several moments of silence Sesshomaru finally answered her, "In a way, I suppose I was." His expression softened further as he remembered his past from so long ago.
Jaken's jaw dropped so far that Rin was afraid that he might trip over it, and her eyes sparked with excitement at the thought of her lord once being her age, and size. "Would you tell Rin about that time?" she asked, again being bolder than she had meant to be.
"Perhaps, Rin," He said before turning to the imp that served him, "Jaken, camp is to be made here tonight."
"Yes, Milord!" Jaken said as he scrambled to make a fire, and to settle the two-headed dragon for the night.
As the imp ran around setting up the makeshift camp Sesshomaru went to make a quick patrol the area for any unwanted pests. Rin pulled her bedroll from Ah-Un's pack, and petted him fondly before she set up her sleeping space under a large tree.
Rin helped Jaken to take the heavy bags from the dragon's back, and then fished out the vegetables she had gathered from a garden in their travels. Looking around she quickly found a branch to use to roast the food in the fire for her dinner.
She talked quietly to Jaken, as he set up his own sleeping arrangements for the night and her food cooked. She was just finishing her food when Sesshomaru reappeared in the clearing. He jumped gracefully from a tree branch and landed softly on the ground next to the fire.
Sesshomaru seated himself under a leafy tree, and started to care for his swords.
When everything was set for the night and the first stars started to creep out from their daytime slumber Sesshomaru walked over and sat beside Rin's bed.
"Sleep now, Rin, we move on tomorrow."
"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama," Rin replied cheerily. Her eyes betrayed her voice. He could see that she was disappointed that he had not shared the story from her earlier question.
"You still wish to hear the tale, do you?" he said with a sigh.
Rin nodded and bit her lip. She really did want to learn more about her protector, and companion.
Sesshomaru drew in a deep breath and started, "Once, long ago there was a castle in the land of the setting sun. The castle and the lands surrounding it was ruled by a great and powerful demon lord. He protected the villages and the people that resided in this land."
Rin leaned forward placing her elbows on her knees and sitting her face in her upturned palms.
"The powerful lord was mated to a beautiful female demon. They loved each other very much. They decided to share their love by trying to have a baby. She eventually gave birth to a child; a baby boy."
"Oh!" Rin squealed, "Is the baby Sesshomaru-sama?"
"Yes, but do not interrupt again or this tale will not be continued," Sesshomaru chided gently.
Rin clapped her small hand over her mouth and nodded to his words.
"Being a demon he was not like other children," Sesshomaru continued, "He had two different forms. One was his pure form of a demon dog, and the other was a human looking form."
Jaken's eyes had widened, and he blurted out, "You mean a puppy and a child?"
Sesshomaru growled at the interruption and said irritably, "Yes, a puppy."
"Shh, Master Jaken!" Rin cried out, as she made a movement to put her hand over his mouth like she had done earlier to herself.
Jaken squawked and earned himself a glare from Sesshomaru before he toppled over by an unseen force.
"Apologies!" Jaken squeaked as he looked up from the ground, "Please continue."
"This little boy grew quickly, and learned just as fast" Sesshomaru said, "He was being trained to become a great demon lord; like his father. In order to become a protector of the lands he was to not only learn academically, but also to be a skilled fighter so that he could protect the lands from invaders, and to crush uprisings.
"This went well as he learned basic defense tactics, and then simple attacks. The boy excelled and learned well. So well, that his skills quickly rivaled that of his teachers.
"This caused problems for the young lord since many of his teachers were not skilled enough to keep up with him, and it resulted in many injuries and even a few deaths.
"The boy's father was increasingly annoyed that there were none strong enough or skilled enough to train his son. So he talked it over with his mate one night. They decided that perhaps he himself should take some time to himself and teach the boy on his own since there were none better."
Rin's eyes were growing ever larger as she hung onto every word of the story. Sesshomaru wondered just how big they could get before they fell out of her head, and continued with the story.
"The next day the lord took his son out to the dojo to see how the boy could fare on his own. He had been told of his progress, but had yet to see the boy's skills for himself. He would test them first and then see where improvements needed to be made.
"The boy had looked around the room and then asked, 'Where is my teacher?'
"'There are no more that are skilled enough to teach you,' was the elder lord's reply.
"The boy was disappointed at the answer and said, 'My education is not yet complete. What am I to do now to continue it?'
"'The rest of your training shall be done by my own hand.'
"'By your hand?' the boy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"'Yes, now take your stance.'
"The boy was surprised by the decision but knew that his father was very wise so he would not argue. He walked to the far side of the small room and braced himself in a defensive position."
Sesshomaru stole a look at Jaken, who was staring up at him with wide eyes. It reminded him of how Rin looked whenever she would see her favorite pink flowers that grow in fields in the outskirts of villages.
"The boy's father performed basic strikes and saw for himself that his son easily blocked, and countered each them.
"'Very good,' the father said as he returned to his side of the room.
"The boy was pleased that his father was praising him, but dared not let a compliment break his concentration.
"The boy's assumption that it was a diversionary tactic proved true as the Lord made a sudden attack, and tried to throw the boy across the room."
Sesshomaru heard a small gasp from Rin that earned his attention. Moving his eyes away from Rin, he saw that even Jaken had leaned closer to him.
Allowing himself a secret smile at how well his audience was captivated he continued, "The Lord did succeed in throwing the younger boy, but boy twisted and landed in a tumble. He rolled to his feet unharmed, and back into a defensive position."
Beside him, he heard Rin let out a breath that she had not realized she had been holding and Jaken mumbled something about thank goodness.
"The Lord tried several other more difficult attacks and then backed away saying, 'you have a good grasp on defense, but how do you fare on offence?'" He planted his feet and told the boy, 'Come at me.
"The boy changed his positioning and he tried to land basic attacks on his new teacher. All of these basic attacks were easily batted away.
"'Surely you've learned more than that,' the lord taunted.
"With a smirk the boy attacked again, this time using a variety of attacks, but still could not land a blow.
"'Have you trained in your true form yet?' his father asked him.
"'Yes,' the boy replied.
"The lord instructed him to change and then to try again.
"The boy nodded, and focused his energy. A bright blue light surrounded his body, and after several seconds, it faded away and in the boy's place stands a puppy."
Rin let out a small squeak of giddiness, and Sesshomaru was tempted to taunt her for interrupting him again, but decided against it.
"'Now come and get me,' the boy's father commanded.
"The boy growled and ran at him. All of the attacks were easily sidestepped, or otherwise dodged.
"After nearly an hour of attacking the stronger demon, the puppy began to show signs of fatigue since he was still so tiny.
"After studying his opponent very closely the puppy began an attack that the Lord quickly started to counter, but in mid-attack, the puppy suddenly switched to a counterattack of his father's defensive move. He almost landed the blow, but at the last second the older demon moved to safety.
"'Much closer than before; very smart boy,' the Lord mused, 'So, what else can you do?'
"The puppy knew that he could only manage one more attack before he would be too exhausted to put up a decent fight. Growling and barking the pup charged forward and attacked again. This time the pup stopped short when the counter was readied, and instead jumped directly at him. Dodging in midair he landed on the floor and managed to latch his puppy teeth into the lords clothing just above his ankle.
"The Lord tried to shake the boy off but he refused to let go and kept on growling loudly. Seeing that the boy was too exhausted to continue the attacks the lord cracked a smile and laughed. 'A true puppy move, my son. We are done with this part of the training for the day; you may change back now.'
"The boy detached himself from his father's pant leg and the blue light reappeared. This time after emerging from the blue light, he was back to his child form.
"The Lord discussed pros and cons of each of the attacks displayed in the session, and how to improve upon each one. He then instructed his son to practice the improvement techniques each day for the next month, and to begin endurance training, and that he would test his skills again in one month.
"He then told boy he is pleased with his advancements and that he expects nothing but the best from him. He also mentions that last attack, it that it was quite a surprise to have the boy biting his ankle.
"The boy blushed, and explained that it was a last ditch effort since he was entirely outmatched, and exhausted.
"He watched as a smile spread across his father's face. 'It's a true puppy move for a reason,' He says, 'Once you are older you'll be able to use that instinct to bite more vital areas of the body; for instance: the throat, which contains both the windpipe and the jugular vein.' He also said that he was surprised that this particular instinct had kicked in so early.
"'Father, is that a good or bad thing,' the boy asked.
"With a smirk, the Lord tells him, 'That depends on how long he intends to be known as an anklebiter.'
"The boy wrinkled his nose at the idea, and voiced his dislike of that name, and then vowed to change it shortly.
"Wrapping his arm around his son, the demon lord laughs as they walk back to the house to change for dinner."
Sesshomaru stopped talking to look at his audience once again. Jaken was trying to not laugh and Rin was wide eyed hanging on each of his words.
"And that's enough for tonight. Sleep now Rin," Sesshomaru said gently but firmly.
With a slight groan Rin laid down and whispered, "Rest well Sesshomaru-sama, and you as well Master Jaken!" She then curled up with a smile on her face and let her eyelids flutter down.
The camp was silent for a few moments, save the crackling fire, and then Jaken broke the silence to ask, "Did that actually happen? Were you really an ankl…"
He was silenced mid sentence when Sesshomaru's heavy hand landed on the back of his head making him tumble forward into the dirt again.
"Do not assume that story to be true. It was told to pacify Rin," Sesshomaru said menacingly.
"A thousand apologies my lord! Please forgive me!" Jaken groveled as he righted himself.
Sesshomaru did not answer, and instead closed his eyes, letting Jaken know that he did not intend to speak anymore.
Jaken grumbled to himself as he sat down beside Rin's bed and muttered about not deserving that last hit.
Sesshomaru hid a smirk and said, "You do realize that I can still hear you."
Jaken made a strangled sound and a giggle bubbled out from Rin.
"I said sleep, Rin."
Rin made a squeak and immediately tried to fall asleep. Within a few minutes, her breathing had evened out, and she was fast asleep.
Sesshomaru waited for Jaken to fall asleep as well, before he would even consider it himself. He didn't have to wait long before the imp was snoring away peacefully.
A smile ghosted over his face as he remembered the good days before the half-breed pest of a sibling destroyed his family. Slowly, he too drifted to sleep with the fire and the crickets singing a lullaby for the tired trio.
A/N – If you want more chapters added, leave me a review on your thoughts about this chapter.