Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any creations of Rumiko Takahashi. This is not written for profit.

Authors notes: One Armed Samurai is the story of a modern Sesshomaru and how he deals with life as a man with one arm. His mother has sent him to the Elmview clinic where he meets a young girl named Rin. This is set slightly in the future- there will be appearances by other cast member but not for some time. I have tried to maintain a realistic Japanese setting but all dialogue will be written from an American perspective.

One Armed Samurai:

Chapter 3: Off-Balance Battle

It had been a week since Rin first appeared with the bruises. Sesshomaru had shown no interest beyond his first questions and she made no effort to explain. He gladly accepted her gift of the cylinder and she had stopped bringing him sweets. Life stayed on its monotonous path: therapy, pain, attempt to do simple things, fail, pain, anger, pain, study, and finally, calm. The hours in late afternoon hidden away in his corner were the best of his day.

He had no desire to befriend anyone here. The gaggle of misfit children that seemed only to watch television and eat held no interest for him. It did not help that he was by far the oldest of anyone here. Fuyu, a 16 year old rugby player, was the next tallest and largest of the patients at Elmview. He had made no move to intimidate Sesshomaru- who was obviously wealthier, taller, stronger, and more cruel- but Sesshomaru had seen the boy bully others during mealtimes and in the common area. It was no business of his and he chose not to interfere. Yet when the boy tried to interrupt his therapy sessions by arriving early and sitting at the far table in the cafeteria Sesshomaru had begun to think of as "his" Sesshomaru was not happy. He was inclined to believe it was these small irritations that led to his greater annoyance as he watched Fuyu bully his reading companion. Sesshomaru refused to believe he felt pity for the girl.

But the pity was deserved. The girl was not a favorite in the clinic. She might have been- she was a pathetic enough creature. An orphan girl, grown mute from the trauma of the death of her parents, left alone in the world. As a ward of the state she was subject to the whims of financing- sometimes receiving sign language and speech therapy almost daily, and, according to Nurse Saitou's gossip, sometimes going a year or more with no more than food and lodging. Her education had been scattershot- but she was considered too wild to enter the foster care system. The one time a social worker had tried to place her with a family- she had refused to eat for three days and then ran away. She was found in a park 36 hours later, high in a tree and afraid to come down for fear of the dog below. With little-to-no communication skills and a habit of disappearing, it was deemed advisable to keep her in a long term facility. Bureaucratic shuffling had tossed her into Elmview almost 6 years ago, and no one had ever come to visit. For all her plight the nurses thought Rin willful and unmanageable. Knowing no one in authority would stop small torments, considering it a "lesson" to the child, a blind eye was turned to all "roughhousing" involving Rin. Other patients used this for full advantage- stealing snacks, television and phone passes, even personal item like notebooks and pens. Now that Sesshomaru had taken up residence in the small corner she had taken to hiding all of her belongings there in the hope that his shadow was long enough to protect them from thievery.

Sesshomaru learned all this slowly, in bits and pieces, in his daily therapy sessions with Nurse Saitou. She would dress his scar and then lead his mangled arm through a series of stretches, all the while chatting on about nothing, every now and again dropping in some tidbit about Rin. The fact that he never made a response or reacted in any way to this information did not deter her. She would just yammer on as Sesshomaru tried to focus on the searing lava of pain coursing through his body. The search for a prosthetic had slowed to the point where Dr. Hirako would only bring in a model every few weeks; none were satisfactory. Instead Sesshomaru found it was easier to work around what he had. The life skills classes were not nearly as frustrating as they had been. His mother had sent a tutor to help him prepare for the years of college course work ahead of him. On the whole his days were filled with enough activities to keep his mind off of his pain. It did not stop daydreams of the slow, sweet murder of InuYasha, but that was an indulgence. And still he found his mind slipping to the young girl during unguarded moments.

His thoughts were in another direction entirely as he walked towards the mess hall. He was concentrating on the accounting algorithm he was trying to memorize. It was becoming very easy to calculate the cost of lives. Tenseiga would require all of his skill and thought. If it was necessary for him to imagine life-saving surgeries and medicines in terms of yen so be it. It was something to look forward to- the responsibility, the power. He had come to the mess in search of coffee. He preferred tea, but desperate times… plus the nurses usually left a pot on- no need to make instant in his room. Sesshomaru padded toward the florescent light streaming from the kitchen. It was nearly one in the morning and yet he could hear low voices. Who was up this late?

"You're a freak you know that? Unnatural!"

This exclamation was punctuates with the sound of a hand hitting flesh. Sesshomaru flicked his long hair out of his eyes. The empty sleeve of his robe hung at his side. While he did not want to involve himself in the politics of the clinic, he did want some coffee. His slippers did not make much sound on the linoleum. The party of hooligans did not sense him behind them, but Rin watched every step he made into the room. Until another smack wrenched her head to the side. Sesshomaru watched as Fuyu stood up, perhaps preparing to kick the girl. Two younger patients from the clinic crowded around, enjoying the display. The backswing of his leg connected with Sesshomaru's, which he took as reason enough to toss Fuyu to the side by the scruff of his neck. Fuyu straightened, preparing to run at Sesshomaru. His face had been frozen into a grimace for months now- a botched surgery having frozen half of his cranial muscles, but he managed to look angry and shocked. "This doesn't involve you! You don't know her! She's strange. She doesn't look anyone in the eye! She steals food!"

Sesshomaru stared at Fuyu for a moment. Not really at him, in his general direction. He did look at Rin, sitting crouched against the cold metal of the refrigerator. She stared back at him through tangled hair, the pear this dispute was over still clutched in her hands. Her lip had started bleeding again and still he had not heard her make a sound. Fuyu became frustrated at Sesshomaru's lack of response. This new guy had been haughty and stuck-up since he got here. It was time to teach him a lesson. Fuyu rushed at Sesshomaru intending to tackle him to the ground. He did not know that regardless of a missing arm a student of Master Totosai does not forget how to dodge an attack. Easily sidestepping the loud and clumsy rush Sesshomaru continued to let his eyes wander over the cafeteria. Enraged Fuyu ran at him again -this time running into the wheeled cart Sesshomaru kicked into his path. The wind knocked out of his gut Fuyu motioned the two tormentors still standing by the refrigerator towards Sesshomaru. Their eyes wide and chocolate smeared mouths hanging half open the two slowly shook their heads in the negative. Slowly regaining his breath Fuyu gasped- "He-only one arm-you can take him!"

Nodding acknowledgment the two did start to move forward, even if they moved slowly. Sesshomaru backed away slightly, his stance solid but his gaze still casual. Sesshomaru caught the first punch in a lazy hold, flinging the child backward instead of flipping him ass over heels. It was late, and he didn't need nurses interrupting the first opportunity he'd had to work off some of his rage. The second punch was easily avoided, bending slightly and moving his stance to the side. They had moved into a somewhat empty area near the tables. Sesshomaru trusted his ability to dodge any attacks these sloppy fighters could produce, but he was uncertain of his ability to go on the offensive. His balance was much better yes, but--- a kick that got no higher than his knee was deflected by a kick to the offender's hip. Fine- these three could leave a little sore.

Sesshomaru had yet to make a strike towards any of them and it had given them a sense of security. As one they closed in to jump him- Sesshomaru dodged two punches but felt a fist bury itself below his left ribs. Using it as an incentive to bend forward he kicked backwards sending an attacker into the edge of a table. Fuyu rushed towards him but Sesshomaru wheeled the second attacker in front of his chest- Fuyu managed to punch his own friend in the side of the head. Fuyu was beyond furious at this point- this rich kid had made him look bad in front of his friends and the weakest member of the clinic's social sphere. He needed to regain his place in society. Fuyu jerked his head to the side and reached inside his pants pocket. Sesshomaru felt arms lock around his legs as he realized Fuyu was pulling out a knife. "Even with those scars your face is too pretty. Maybe I should help you with that."

Sesshomaru refused to panic. He attempted to jump upwards out of his captors grasp but managed only to throw himself backwards into the choke hold of the third tormentor. The arm around his throat was covered in a cast and Sesshomaru could not find a hold to pull him off. Sesshomaru prepared to drive his head back into –was Iku his name?-the captor's nose but the knife was getting very close. Fuyu's already mutilated face was made uglier by the look of hatred swimming across it. "You can't just come in here and stick your nose into things. I run this place and I get what I want. You got no business running around sticken' your nose up. I'm gonna teach you a lesson."

Sesshomaru felt the hold on his ankles slacken just a tiny bit. "Fuyu- you think this is a good idea?- I mean-"

"Course it is! Rich-y boys gotta learn their pla-h--ugg"

Fuyu crumpled forward, his eyes watering, the side of his mouth he could control pulled into a grimace. As he toppled sideways Sesshomaru saw the small girl holding the handle of a broomstick. She must have brought it up between Fuyu's legs. He quickly brought his foot up then down with enough force to hear the fingers beneath it crack. He wrenched his shoulders away from Iku and jumped sideways into more open ground. The two that remained standing looked at the tall young man starring at them unconcernedly and the girl wielding the broom like a baseball bat. They decided it was time to go. They scooped Fuyu up and made a fast exit.

Sesshomaru cleared his throat, wanting very much not to cough in front of anyone. His ribs held a slight ache but on the whole he felt rather refreshed. He calmed his breathing down and looked around him. A few chairs and tables had been rearranged but altogether the kitchen didn't look much out of order. No one had come running so they must have been quiet enough not to arouse suspicion.

Sesshomaru began to push the tables back into place. Rin still stood in a wary stance, the stick held close to her chest. She watched him out of the corner of her eyes waiting to see what he would do. Sesshomaru didn't acknowledge her but he wasn't aggressive or dismissive, so she was waiting. He wandered to the hot plate the nurses usually kept on low. He filled a paper cup with dark coffee and added a sugar packet. As he opened cupboards looking for a spoon Rin returned the broom to the janitor's corner. She retrieved her pear from the floor before pointing to a drawer beside Sesshomaru. He opened it to find the plastic spoons and powdered creamer he was looking for. Sesshomaru wandered over to one of the round cafeteria tables, leaning back onto the hard plastic seat. Rin studied him for a moment then took a seat opposite. Sesshomaru sipped and his coffee while Rin nibbled at her pear, both ignoring the blood dripping down her chin. They sat in comfortable silence till dawn turned the black outside the window into grey.

A/N: So there we go. Action sequences are not my specialty, but I do what I can. Constructive criticism is always welcome. If you notice grammar or spelling mistakes by all means tell me, I don't have a beta. Feel free to tell me what you think, and thanks for reading!