Haori – Japanese shirt men wear in traditional dress.
Shoji Screens - The little sliding paper doors you see in shrines and such in anime and manga.
Having been instructed to leave her lords room, albeit more of a vague suggestion than an order, Rin felt the weight of sadness and disappointment as she stalked to her room. So many times she could recall curling up by her Sesshomaru-sama's side, yet all that had changed the older she got. And that wasn't the only difference. Rin was unable to go with him on his many travels, denied the freedom to play as she pleased, and couldn't even be friendly with the people she met in her life. Sesshomaru seemed to distance himself more and more, until eventually they saw each other less than a few hours a day. Rin loved the time she spent with her Sesshomaru-sama, but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her hunger for his company.
As Rin walked back to her own room that was only a short distance away, she felt the weight of the kimono pulling her toward the floor. Step by step her body felt heavier, and by the time she reached her room, she was exhausted and…crying? Rin reached a hand to her face and felt the warm liquid on her cheeks. Awareness of the tears only increased the rate at which they fell. She locked herself in her room and tore off the clothing without the help of the demons that usually assisted her. Though she could have called them, she refused to be seen crying.
Rin shivered in the cool spring air and quickly changed into a white sleeping yukata of soft cotton. Having calmed herself, all she could think of was the welcoming darkness outside. She opened her shoji doors and sat on the high wooden floor that drained all the heat from her legs within seconds. She looked up at the moon and wondered if it felt the same way she did. Though it was surrounded by many stars it was seldom with the sun. Was that not her as well? Servants, vassals, companions… and yet she was hardly ever allowed in the company of her lord. Rin felt a renewed need to cry.
Silence was all around her but for the rustling of the wind. She had planned to go inside, but before she could stand she felt something warm wrap around her waist. She grew tense and uncertain, but the fluffy tail snaking toward her face was all too familiar. She felt herself smile and wanted to call Sesshomaru's name; instead, she twisted in the embrace of his fluffy appendage and grabbed onto the front of his haori. "Why are you crying?" Rin heard her lord's voice timber, felt the rumble in his chest as she held fast to his garments. She buried her face in his clothes. Instead of answering him, she asked a question of her own.
"Sesshomaru-sama, why has so much changed since I was little? I'm still the same person, yet I get to spend less and less time with you. I fear that you have gotten…" Her words were muffled, but she knew he could hear her perfectly. She waited for him to scold her, but no reprimands ever came. "Rin?" Sesshomaru didn't sound angry, much to her surprise. "I fear that you have gotten tired of me," Rin answered. She looked into his eyes then, her own shining with tears she wouldn't let fall. He remained as emotionless and silent as always, but he did something Rin wasn't quite expecting. He brushed her bangs back and kissed her forehead lightly.
Rin was too shocked to move, and even as he pulled away and stood up she was unable to form any words. Instead, she reached up to the beautiful demon ruler before her. When she was little she would reach up to him so he'd bend down and pick her up. She wanted the same thing from him now. As if on cue he hoisted her with his remaining arm and she threw her own around his neck and nuzzled him. This was how it was supposed to be. "Hold on, Rin." She did as she was told and felt herself lifted higher. Within moments she was in Sesshomaru's room again. He set her down gently and walked toward his bed. Lush pillows, soft blankets and sheets, but best of all, her Sesshomaru-sama.
Rin dove onto the pillows and laughed in the sweet way she had since she'd first met her Sesshomaru-sama. Her smile was radiant as she looked at the center of her whole world. "You spoil me, Sesshomaru-sama." He didn't comment, but Rin found a place to nuzzle against him nevertheless. She pulled his tail around her and hugged it like a pillow; within seconds she was asleep. Sesshomaru looked at her sleeping face and furrowed his brow. What he was thinking wasn't open for interpretation. Sesshomaru in thought was never a very good thing.
End! Moving on….!
