Chapter 7
Settling Into This World
Kagome rolled over next to Inuyasha, rousing from sleep. They had been back from their honeymoon for a few days now. She barely yawned and propped herself up on one elbow when Inuyasha, still as a rock, face half in the bed, muttered, "Hey. Get back over here."
She smirked at his dedication when he was just lazily lying there with his eyes closed.
"Just give me one second," she said, about to sit all the way up when Inuyasha grabbed her torso and pulled her back into his arms.
" 'Kay, it's been one second," he mumbled drowsily into her neck.
She smiled at how funny he was—perfectly capable of flirting when he wasn't even fully awake yet.
Trying to wriggle herself free from his strong hold, she chuckled, because she was mercilessly trapped and he wouldn't let go.
"Come on, Inuyasha," Kagome whined playfully. "I wanna get up and get ready for the day! I want to talk to Kaede more about priestess stuff, and I want to see Sango."
"Well, aren't you just eager to leave me."
Kagome opened her mouth. "It's not that, I—"
"Just give me a moment with you before you run off with everyone else." He buried his nose in her hair.
Kagome smirked cutely. "By a moment you mean…?"
"Yes."
She grinned amorously. "Alright then." And he finally let her loose to crawl on top of his body.
When they finally got up and ready for breakfast, ate and left the house, Kagome went on her way to Kaede's after hugging Inuyasha goodbye and he went to see Miroku. Not even halfway through her walk did she notice the large figure of a familiar half-demon up the road coming into the village.
"Jinenji!" Kagome called out, running up to him.
His massive form walked up slowly to Kagome, with a sack pulled over his shoulder, and he sort of waved. "Hey… I'm here to give you your herb lesson."
"Oh, yes! Right! Thank you for coming. There's this wonderful herb garden right up this hill over here. Can you teach me about the plants there?"
He nodded calmly.
"Great! I'm very excited! Before I go I need to go grab Kaede, though," she explained before she led him to the stairs carved into hillside. When she saw he knew where he was going, she continued on her way to the old woman's house.
Kagome explained to Kaede that Jinenji was here and Rin immediately expressed her longing, "Oooh, I wanna come!"
"Come then!" Kagome smiled invitingly. She was delighted for more company, and she was just the happiest she'd ever been since returning to this world.
Once atop the hill, the three girls conversed as they worked, and Jinenji shyly did his own thing until Kagome would politely ask him questions which he would hesitantly but accurately respond to.
When they were about finished up, Kagome asked Kaede if they could practice priestessing more today, in which she responded with, "Of course, child," and Rin announced that Sesshomaru should be visiting her any day now.
Ready to leave, Kaede and Rin gathered up their pickings, and Kagome informed them that she'd be just one more second. When the two women strolled away, Kagome picked one last herb kneeling next to Jinenji and turned to show it to him. "Is this one medicinal too?"
He nodded demurely, blushed, then continued to pick plants beside her in his crouch.
Kagome put that last herb in her basket, making sure all was in order, when Inuyasha showed up to check on her.
She didn't notice him come up when he said, "You're pretty focused."
Kagome smiled up at him, glad that he came by. "Yep. I need to hurry up and get used to this world."
She stood with her basket and said her thankyous and goodbyes to Jinenji, and he left. She made her departure as well, taking Inuyasha with her as they steadily caught up behind Kaede and Rin making their way back to their own hut—the place Rin lived now.
"You know, I really thought Sesshomaru would take her with him," Kagome voiced her thoughts to her husband, eyeing the young girl chatting with Kaede ahead of them.
"Well, Kaede told him that first she needed to practice living with humans so Rin could make the choice herself," Inuyasha explained.
Kagome nodded in agreement when a massive shadow crossed their path and they both looked up, spotting that very same dog-demon flying in the sky above them, here at the village right when Rin said he would be.
Clinging to Sesshomaru's shaft of fur, Jaken immediately noticed the young priestess below them. "Oh Lord Sesshomaru, Kagome has returned!" he cried.
It angered Sesshomaru that Jaken would point out something so obvious. It was already well-known he could smell anyone's scent in the village long before they arrived at it. He could already smell the scent of Inuyasha all over Kagome (more intimately than ever). Sesshomaru didn't care to look back. Instead, he glared on ahead, mumbling smugly, "Hmph."
Back on the ground, Kagome got excited. It had been three years since the last time she'd seen Sesshomaru, and now they were related. She put her hand to her mouth and cheerily called up to him, "Big brother! !"
Without turning his head, Sesshomaru scowled down at her vigorously. Her carefree audacity to address him in such a familiar manner disagreed with his pride, but when her comment confirmed to him that Inuyasha had married her, it irritated him—he never considered that half-breed to be his brother, so he definitely didn't consider this fully human priestess to be related to him now either.
Sesshomaru knew the impertinent imbecile would soon start reproducing. He didn't know how he felt about that.
Kagome was shocked. It was the most disgusted glare she had ever seen on Sesshomaru's face; he didn't even direct his head toward her when he stared her down with severe warning. She really thought after all they'd been through, especially after defeating Naraku, that he'd warmed up to her a bit more.
"That was weird, he looked really annoyed." She pulled her hand back down to her basket sadly with confusion, when she caught the look on Inuyasha's face. "Huh! You too?"
"That just sounded really wrong, okay?" He didn't like her acknowledgment to her relationship with his brother at all.
Jaken voiced his disapproval in the clouds. "How dare she be so disrespectful! We must reprimand her for such behavior."
Sesshomaru didn't care to take it that far. In fact, it would be such a waste of his breath. He imagined Rin would be rather upset with him if he actually reprimanded one of her friends. The priestess was not worth his time. A fleeting thought reminded him that Kagome was ultimately the one who defeated Naraku three years ago—and what a waste that was. He spent all that time hunting Naraku down only to have a mere human woman deny him the satisfaction of finishing that bastard off.
He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. Anger and respect? Definitely irritation. Over all, he knew these things would only be silently conveyed to himself and never to anyone else.
"Shut up. Or I'll kill you," he threatened Jaken.
Jaken fearfully shrank into his skin with astonishment as his lord flew away.
Kaede and Rin made it back to their house and found a box sitting on top of Rin's things. The young girl inhaled excitedly as she went up to the new present and pulled a pink decorated fabric out of the package. She paused to brush the tips of her fingers along the designs, fully appreciating it, then spun around before bringing it to middle of the room to unfold in front of Kaede.
"My, my, has Sesshomaru brought you another present?" the old woman asked.
Rin cheerfully responded as she kept it displayed across her open arms, "He brought me a new kimono!"
Kagome and Inuyasha entered the hut through the door flap.
"I thought Sesshomaru was going to stay and visit with you, Rin," Kagome raised her chin in the direction the dog-demon left. "Why did he leave so quickly?"
"Sometimes he can't stay long," Rin explained as she folded the kimono back onto her lap. "But whenever that happens, he'll always leave me a present and come back sooner next time."
"Oh, what present did he leave you?" Kagome glanced down at the fabric in the young girl's hands.
"Well, every year he gets me a new kimono," Rin held it up so Kagome could see it at its full length.
"It's beautiful, Rin!" Kagome gasped, admiring it. "Are you going to try it on?"
"I would!" she beamed elatedly. "But…Inuyasha…" she pointed deliberately to the half-demon next to Kagome with an apologetic smirk.
Kagome shooed her hand at her husband. "Inuyasha, turn around." And he groaned as he begrudgingly did as he was told.
As Rin began undressing, Kagome started asking more questions, "So when Sesshomaru does stay, what do you guys normally do?"
"Sometimes we'll go on walks," Rin explained as she slipped on a sleeve of the new kimono, "and I'll tell him and Jaken everything that's been going on in the village. But my favorite is when he takes me on trips!" she emphasized, slipping the other sleeve on.
"Really? Where has he taken you?" Kagome was really interested in what Sesshomaru and Rin's relationship had been like these last three years.
"The beach, the snow, the mountains," she listed a few as she tied the new lime green obi around her waist, "other random places. My favorite was when I asked him to take me to see a butterfly migration. That was the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life."
"That sounds amazing." It made Kagome glad that Sesshomaru wasn't completely pushing Rin out of his life. He made it a point to visit her even though he left her here to grow up amongst humans.
The young girl held out her arms once entirely donned in her new ensemble. The kimono was pink with winding trails of darker pink with lime green, yellow, and purple embroidered ornaments scattered all around it.
"Inuyasha, you can turn around now," Kagome told him and he did.
"Looks great," he said flatly.
"Beautiful, Rin," Kagome agreed, more enthusiastically.
Rin nodded her head gratefully then went back over to Kaede to help prep the herbs they just picked.
The old woman spoke up, "Kagome, let's practice more after lunch today, yes?"
"Sounds great, Kaede," Kagome accepted before facing her husband who was now standing quietly with arms folded in the doorway. "Hey, Inuyasha, what do you wanna do now?"
He shrugged leisurely.
"Wanna go for a run?" She cocked her head amusingly.
He smirked in response then scooped her up onto his back then ran out the door.
"Bye, guys!" Kagome waved gigglingly as her hair flapped in the wind.
Rin chuckled at the scene.
Kagome didn't think it was possible to be any happier, but every day she was here life was just becoming brighter and brighter. She flew through the forest with Inuyasha, thinking about her future here. She wasn't worried about it at all. She knew things would continue to change, but at least she'd be able to spend every day with Inuyasha.
He stopped at a cliff overlooking a vast valley, setting Kagome down as a breeze began lightly blowing across their hair and clothes.
Kagome was thrilled to know that no matter what, they would always be together. Together as they headed toward tomorrow.
"I'll never get sick of that." Kagome brushed a tassel of wafting hair from her face and behind her ear.
"What, the view?" Inuyasha bent his neck toward her and asked.
"No, riding on your back!" Kagome laughed playfully, nudging him. "You run like the wind. Though the view is beautiful, too." She went back to surveying the valley over the cliff as the draft ceased to blow, but he continued to stare at her.
"Man, I've missed you like hell," he said.
She simpered a little at him, then looked down, flattered, and leaned against his shoulder blissfully. Inuyasha brought his arm around her, embracing her closely to his side, as he rested his cheek on top of her hair, rubbing his thumb comfortingly into her shoulder.
He sighed. "I honestly can't believe how long you were gone from me."
Kagome focused on the ground. "It was a really long time, huh?" She couldn't believe it herself, especially contemplating it now.
"Yeah," he said.
They silently watched the horizon together, glancing down below at the numerous, sectioned off, water-filled rice patties, appreciating how good it was to be back together for good.
"It was like…fate didn't want us back together," Inuyasha continued to say. "And then by some insane miracle, after all that time, you came back."
She had to disagree. "No way, I don't think it was because fate didn't want us together."
Inuyasha slowly brought Kagome's hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.
She smiled at him. Then as if it would prove her point, Kagome jumped up on her toes and kissed him.
He paused to focus on her lips when she did, returning the gesture.
Dropping back down on her heels, Kagome went on, "I think it was the exact opposite. I think fate wanted us together. That was why I was dragged into this world in the first place—after Kikyo died."
"Kikyo," he exhaled, looking off to the side, remembering their long argument from weeks ago.
She brushed some of Inuyasha's silver hair out of his distracted face. "Having the two of us around at the same time was probably really hard for you," she stared into his golden eyes, trying to be sympathetic. She rested her hand on his cheek.
He remembered how difficult it was to choose between an obligation toward an old love and the potential for a new love. "You don't even know," he said, as he turned his head into her palm and chuckled into it. Closing his eyes, he took hold of it and kissed it.
He was very grateful he made it to Kagome.
She gazed at his expression trying to decipher him and his past. "You know…it's stupid I even got jealous," she began. "Kikyo is me—I came from her, at least—and I wouldn't even be here right now if it weren't for her."
Inuyasha unhurriedly lifted his head back up from her palm.
"Eventually, I, too, fell in love with the same man my past life did…" she spoke reverently, regarding him with esteem.
Inuyasha took a step closer so their torsos were touching, still a hold on her hand—held out, like they were dancing. He smiled down at her, grasping onto her waist. "I love you, too." He leaned down and kissed her.
Kagome tilted her head into his shoulder when their lips parted, smiling gleefully, trying to understand something. "You know…even though Kikyo and I share the same soul," she fingered his kimono at his chest, "we're definitely not the same person. With two separate hearts, personalities, and experiences, I find it interesting you still ended up wanting both of us."
He took her hands and pulled them down in front of them, stepping back off her. "I guess so." He didn't really think about that himself.
Kagome glanced to the side, feeling like she knew. "If you ask me, I believe it happened because our souls were always meant to be together. Fate was just making sure this soul ended up with yours,"—she pointed to herself and then him—"whether it was in my body or Kikyo's. One way or another, we were going to be together, even if it meant reincarnating my soul, pulling it out of my time, and sending it into yours so I could be with you. If that doesn't prove we're meant to be together, I don't know what does."
He chuckled lightly at her correlation. "I guess you're right."
"Our meet definitely wasn't a coincidence, Inuyasha. My existence here is proof of that. I'm convinced I was literally born for you so that we could find each other again. As far as I'm concerned, we were destined to be together from the very beginning, and I won't let us be separated again."
Her words were powerful, and he already felt the same way. He remembered back when he declared similar words to the demons they were trapped with inside the Sacred Jewel. He simply agreed with her, "I already felt the same way, Kagome. I was born for you, too." He put his hand on her face this time, stepping closer again so that their hips were touching.
Instead of reciprocating, Kagome took his hand away slowly and looked at him mischievously. She said convincingly, "I can't even count how many times I had to watch you kiss another woman…" She smirked, lifting an eyebrow at him provokingly.
"Hey," he warned, feeling offended.
She giggled, brushing it off while gazing back out at the scenery. "Well, it's okay now. I have to be grateful to Kikyo for giving me some sort of tie to this time period; otherwise, I would have never met you in the first place. I wouldn't have been born with the Sacred Jewel in my body and I wouldn't have been pulled into this time through the well. I wouldn't have even been able to break the seal on you if I wasn't her reincarnation."
He gave an informed grunt at the ground as he realized the truth of that.
Inuyasha rolled his head with hands on his hips then scuffed a heel. "Well," he huffed, "I guess it was meant to be. I'm sad she had to lose her life like that, but she needed to pass on. And I don't think you would have been allowed in this time period if Kikyo never died that first time—since you both shared the same soul. After all, her fake body did have trouble reviving because you already housed her passed soul."
"True." Kagome peered up at the sky contemplatively. "She had to steal a piece of it in order to gain her borrowed time in our world. I guess we both couldn't truly exist at the same time."
"Fate played a ruthless game trying to get you to me." He took her around the waist, pulling her into him as close as possible, one more time. "But it was all worth while." He smiled contently at her. "I'd suffer a separation a hundred times longer than that if it meant I could have you in the end."
She glanced down then back up, shyly, smiling easily at him. "You're so sweet."
He shrugged offhandedly.
She kissed him one more time, this time more passionately.
When they released, Kagome asked, "Wanna head back?"
"Yeah. But that depends. Are we going home?"
She tilted her head questioningly, protruding her hip on one leg. "Let me guess, you want another 'moment' with me?" she teased with an encouraging brow.
"After all of that? Of course I do," he said back.
"Well then, come on, let's hurry!" she tugged at his arm until he pulled her onto his back and they eagerly rushed home.
Kagome got into a good routine of priestessing with Kaede, learning how to be more useful in the village and less in the battlefield (since she was already very experienced in that). Kaede taught her purification chants and rites, barrier spells, and how to perform proper and successful exorcisms—that of which Kagome was already practicing every day. Kaede was determined to make Kagome the future matriarch of this village so that one day when she was gone, Kagome could become the chief priestess—and the younger woman was already so much more powerful than Kaede.
Jinenji would come by to give Kagome herb lessons often, and sometimes she would go and visit his family's farm to help out and learn more about plants, medicines, and antidotes there.
She continued to hang out with Sango daily, and the demon slayer was, and had always been, the person she felt closest to here. Sango taught Kagome what it took to be a woman and a wife in this time period, and Kagome helped out with Sango's kids whenever she could—along with Rin who was around to play with Toshie, Rena, and Norio nearly every day. While Shippo, on the other hand, had to avoid the onslaught of being habitually ambushed by the twins trying to "slay" him whenever he came around. Even though they were just about his size now, they were always getting bigger.
Shippo left the village regularly to train, and was getting more and more experienced with every trip. Rin continued to train under Sango, in exchange for babysitting—whenever the young mother had the time—and Rin was eager to get stronger and more experienced so she could move on from small weapons and poles and onto larger weaponry and swords.
Shippo secretly looked forward to revenge on Inuyasha every time he excelled in his fox-demon training. The half-demon was oblivious to this, beating Shippo more often than he ever had the last three years.
Inuyasha and Miroku maintained their careers in slaying demons for villages in need, bringing home their various rewards from their endeavors. Kagome and Miroku even took the time to teach anyone who was interested in learning how to read and write. Kagome also liked to teach some of the basic math and science she knew from her own time period.
After all this time, Kagome felt like she never really left. But now it was better. Now she was married to Inuyasha.
Half a year passed since she came to this world, and things couldn't have been more peaceful.
Until today.
For the first time since they had defeated Naraku, the entire gang—Inuyasha, Miroku, Kagome, and Sango—battled a demon together and defeated it.
It was called Ne no Kubi, the Head of Roots demon, and Kohaku happened to be passing through with Kirara at the time, along with Sesshomaru. They were both drawn to the demons' trail of destruction and followed it to the village.
Sango was happy and shocked to see her brother, but the situation was far too urgent for an unexpected reunion.
After getting Kohaku to protect her children, Sango quickly changed into her demon slayer attire (for once, other than for training Rin) and ran off to jump on Kirara with Hiraikotsu—being able to ride her two-tailed companion again for the first time since Inuyasha's wedding.
Sesshomaru went to the place Rin was at, keeping any danger around her at bay, and in consequence, everyone else around her.
While combating this danger, Inuyasha's group felt a comforting sense of nostalgia being able to battle as the four of them together again.
It had been eight months since Kagome married Inuyasha, and tonight, not a stitch of the moon was visible in the sky.
It was way late into the night, during the wee hours of the morning while Kagome was fast asleep, but Inuyasha sat propped up against the wall next to her, clutching the currently powerless Tetsusaiga, gazing out the window in his human form at the moonless sky.
Kagome woke to see him still awake and sighed. "Oh, Inuyasha…" she propped her body up on her arms. "You still won't sleep?"
He looked down at her in their bed, his black hair hanging over his shoulders. "No. I have never, nor will I ever, sleep on the night of the new moon," he said in absolute seriousness.
Kagome smirked at him with pity. "Oh, you… Come here." She held her arms out to pull him in close and he came willingly. "I thought you'd be over this by now—since we've been together for so long. But If you won't sleep, at least let me give you some company," she mumbled as she clutched him.
He kissed her lips smilingly. "I like the sound of that."
"You're thinking something dirty."
"So? We're married."
Kagome chuckled and kissed him more, giving him the "company" he desired.
The next morning everyone was having breakfast at Sango's and Miroku's.
Kagome was yawning like crazy.
"Kagome, why are you so tired?" Sango asked mockingly, yet concerned.
Kagome yawned again. "Sorry. Inuyasha wouldn't sleep last night—night of the new moon—so I stayed up with him to keep him company so he wasn't alone all night."
Miroku whistled.
Sango and Kagome turned and glowered at the monk at the same time.
Inuyasha didn't seem to care.
Brushing them all off, Kagome continued, "I guess I'm just going to have to stay up with him on those nights forever, since he refuses to sleep when he's human." Kagome yawned again.
Inuyasha was irritated by that comment. "I'm not the only one who has issues once a month," he spat spitefully.
Kagome gave him the wickedest glare. "Inuyasha…sit," she exhaled.
He was yanked to the ground face-first.
Sango laughed hysterically. "Oh my," she continued to chuckle while she spoke, "you actually deserved it that time, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha was not amused as he sat back up. He huffed quietly as he averted his head irritatedly, "It's true though."
Kagome groaned in infuriation. "Why do we fight about the stupidest things? I've had just about enough of this."
"Yeah, and do you remember how our last fight ended? In sweet, sweet love. That's all I remember," he muttered only loudly enough for her to hear, smirking cruelly as if he just won the argument.
"Inuyasha…" she chided quietly with a glare as she glanced about the room to make sure no one was listening. Luckily, no one heard. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you really are centuries old."
"Well, get over it, I am."
"No, really," Kagome began to publicize, "how come you are over 200-years-old but you don't speak to us like some wise, long-lived old man? You still act like an immature, rebellious teenager. A pretty insolent one at that," she scoffed.
Sango gave Inuyasha a good-humored grin. "Yeah. Maybe it's because demons don't just age slowly, they mentally grow up slowly, too."
Inuyasha stuck his nose up, shoving his arms into his sleeves. "Keh. That's exactly right. I'm exactly mature enough for the age I look."
The twins were running around restlessly. Norio crawled toward a rolling ball while Rin followed him around the room.
"So like, what? 15…16?" Sango questioned.
"Tsk. In human years, I guess," Inuyasha scoffed.
Kagome made an impish grin. "I guess that makes me older than you." She leaned into his shoulder tauntingly, daring him to challenge that.
"I've lived like ten of your lives, Kagome," he countered.
"Yet I'm still more mature than you," she chimed at the ceiling.
"Keh. Says you. I'm not the idiot who jumps in front of danger even when I tell her not to."
"I can't even remember the last time that happened. Like years ago."
"It happened two months ago. When the Head of Roots demon attacked the village."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry it was such a burden to come rescue me. I guess you should have just let me die."
"Maybe I should have!"
"Well!" Kagome huffed. "I jump in front of danger with good reason! I help you, a lot, Inuyasha. And I've saved your life, too, on many occasions! So don't go around acting like I'm completely helpless. Because I'm not!"
"You certainly are! If I was a weak, human girl, I wouldn't have gone and risked my stupid life."
Sango ignored their pointless argument and jumped right back into their previous conversation. "I don't get it. If I could live that long, I'd change the world. You demons make no sense to me at all. Here you are, Inuyasha, at 200-something-years, and living life just like the rest of us. So wasteful."
Inuyasha was still fired up. "You really don't get it, do you? Because this is a typical lifespan for a demon, I'm going to spend it exactly as any human would spend theirs. If I was given extra years, I'd probably feel hunky-dory on changing the world, too, but this is normal for my species. I don't feel like I have extra time to change the world—I don't. I have the same amount of time as every other dog-demon. Actually less, because I'm half."
"Well…I guess I see both sides," Sango reiterated sheepishly.
After everyone finished breakfast, Inuyasha was still irked, even as he walked home with Kagome—but he got over it quickly, and for a good reason.
When they made it back into their house, Inuyasha stopped Kagome in the middle of the room.
"Okay," he started to say, pushing his hands onto her shoulders, "so I couldn't tell before, because I was human yesterday,"—he breathed out—"but I think you've been pregnant for a few days now."
"What? How can you know?" Kagome looked down at the flat of her stomach, doubtfully. "I would know before you," she looked back up at him.
He touched the side of his nose. "I can smell it. I knew every time Sango was pregnant, too, but I never said anything to her." He paused, thinking about it. "I knew she'd find out eventually, and I thought it might be…weird if I told her," he glanced away uncomfortably, but then observed Kagome confidently. "But I can tell you."
"You mean you can really tell? You really knew every time Sango was pregnant?" Kagome asked eagerly.
"Yeah. The scent of your body's cycles is a bit different when you're pregnant. And your body is producing the new scent all pregnant women have." He pointed down to her stomach.
"Oh my gosh, Inuyasha!" Kagome squealed giddily, realizing the truth of his statement. "I'm pregnant!" She leaned into him, nose-to-nose, and squished his cheeks between her hands. "With your baby!"
He smirked at her overenthusiasm. "Yeah," he stated, gently pulling her hands away from his face and back down to their hip level.
"You know what this means?" she whispered ecstatically, looking into each of his gold eyes animatedly.
"What?" he couldn't help but smile in entertainment at her cute sprightliness.
"We're going to be a mom and dad!" she squealed, pushing her forehead against his at that last part.
He continued to smirk in amusement as she jumped around the room, chanting up and down about how cute, exciting, and amazing this was. Inuyasha chuckled modestly at her, happy to be the one to give her this news that made her so delighted.
She plopped down onto their bed that they failed to put away this morning, sprawling out into a content star, sighing blissfully at the ceiling.
"This is so overwhelming," she giggled increasingly. "In a good way."
Inuyasha came over and sat down next to her, carefully patting her belly as she lied out on their bed. "What will I be like as a dad?" he mused. "I worry."
"Oh Inuyasha, you'll be a wonderful dad," she rolled onto her side enthusiastically, leaning on one elbow. "I wonder how human or demon our baby will look?" she glanced around the room imaginatively.
He smiled at her. "Who knows. Guess we'll just have to wait and find out."
"Did you know Inuyasha knew every time you were pregnant before you did?" Kagome told Sango while they chopped vegetables together for dinner.
"What? He did?" Sango popped her head back informatively while she worked with her knife. "Why didn't he tell me?"
"He said it might be awkward, so he just waited for you to find out on your own."
"Oh. I guess I understand, but why would it be awkward?"
Kagome smirked tragically, like it was ironically amusing. "He didn't want it to a lead to a conversation about how he knows when every girl is on her period—even before they do."
"Oooh. Right," Sango nodded her head with reminding. "I guess I always knew he was aware of all that. I never pondered on it. He's really good at disregarding it."
"Yeah. He says it's so normal to him."
"I suppose it would be smelling everything everywhere all the time," Sango agreed. "Well, tell him I want to know next time. I don't care if he knows my body's cycles better than I do. Knowing I'm pregnant is a really awesome ability."
"I agree."
"So, how did that conversation come up between you two anyway?"
"Well…" Kagome smiled at the vegetables.
Sango immediately caught on. "You're pregnant! !" she dropped her knife and gasped.
Kagome turned to her and nodded excitedly.
"Oh, this is such wonderful news!" Sango squealed, bouncing a few times before she pulled Kagome into her arms for a hug.
"Thanks, Sango," Kagome grinned, embracing her tightly in return. "I'm really excited myself."
"Well, I can't wait to help you prep for your new baby," Sango said as she went back to her cutting.
"I'm definitely going to be asking you lots of questions," Kagome added as she went back to hers as well.
Later at dinner, Miroku was dishing everyone up; Sango was happily nursing Norio; Kaede was simply enjoying everybody's company; Rin was joyfully playing with the kids, while Shippo alertly avoided them; and Kagome and Inuyasha were having an argument.
Sango mischievously tilted her head toward the loud couple and announced, "Hey, everybody. Kagome and Inuyasha have an announcement to make."
Everyone looked up at the noisy two and Kagome immediately dropped her pointless dispute. She made a downward smirk the moment she saw all eyes on her. Inuyasha glared in confusion, first at Sango, then at Kagome.
"What announcement?" Miroku asked.
Rin got excited, realizing what it was. "No—don't tell me!"
"Well…" Kagome began, hesitant, but cheerful, "I guess I'm pregnant."
Inuyasha's eyes widened in enlightenment as he stupidly realized what the unnamed announcement was, and everyone else let out sounds of delightedness.
"Congratulations you two!" Miroku leaned toward Inuyasha and masculinely punched him in the arm. The half-demon glared at Miroku forebodingly, even though it didn't hurt him at all.
"Wonderful news," Kaede grinned grandmotherly.
"You two are going to have a baby!" Rin seemed the most excited.
Little Rena turned up to Rin when she heard that. "Baaabies!" she cheered.
Toshie wasn't paying attention, but bobbed her head up at her sister's word. "Babies? ?" she gasped, looking around the room interestedly as if to find some.
"We're very happy for you two," Sango added softly, meaningfully clutching Kagome's hands with a bright beam.
"You'll have plenty to prepare for!" Miroku ensured as he indicated to his girls and baby boy. "For example, Toshie ate a bug today. Toshie, tell everyone about your bug." The father looked down at his daughter as he took her into his arms.
Animatedly, Toshie babbled a bit about her bug experience.
"By the way, Rin, how have things been going with Sesshomaru?" Miroku rotated the conversation to the young girl.
She glanced up unexpectedly, placing her bowl down to speak. "Very good, thank you," she smiled politely. "He saved a village the other day from a horde of bandits when we were passing through."
"I find that hard to believe," Inuyasha scoffed cynically at his food.
Rin flicked her eyes over at the half-demon, who didn't even look to be interested in this conversation at all. She gave him a polite, judgmental smile. "Well, Lord Sesshomaru likes to play the villain, but he really is a noble hero at heart." Rin made a taunting grin at the unamused half-demon. "Kind of like how you like to pretend you're mean, but really you're a huge softy."
"Hey, kid, watch your mouth," Inuyasha openly scowled.
Rin snickered, going back to her food. "I mean, Lord Sesshomaru did say the bandits were only 'in his way', but I know he really did it to save the village."
Kagome enjoyed Rin's story thinking it sounded like Sesshomaru to be prideful about it. Sango thought the same thing to herself.
A month or so later, Kagome and Inuyasha were hanging out at their home, unwinding on their bed after a good dinner with everyone.
Kagome sprawled out on her back and Inuyasha dropped his head onto her abdomen to rest it, when suddenly he gasped in hushed surprise, "Kagome..."
"What?" she worried about his tone as she stared at him in complete consternation.
"It's really tiny,"—his ear was pressed to the flat of her belly, and she'd honestly never seen such an innocently lit up expression on his face before, almost like a child—"but I can hear the baby's heartbeat."
"You can?" Kagome was bewilderedly enthralled by this statement.
He nodded silently against her stomach, only concentrating on the sound of the little life inside her that had clearly smitten him.
She was disappointed she couldn't join in on this mesmerizing moment with him. "I'm so jealous; I wish I had hearing like yours."
"You'd still have to press your ear to your own stomach—it's really quiet, Kagome," he explained distractedly.
"Your ears are like stethoscopes."
"What's that?" he asked, still entranced by his curiosity of the baby—instead of reacting boorishly like he normally did when something he didn't understand was brought up.
"A tool doctors use in my time to hear sounds in your body," Kagome explained.
"This is so amazing," Inuyasha breathed, disregarding her response. "I had no idea I would be able to hear the heartbeat this early."
"Well, I think that makes sense. I believe its around this time when you can go into the doctor and hear the baby's heartbeat."
Inuyasha nodded absently. He remained pressed to her belly.
They spent the rest of the evening in bed together (Inuyasha remaining attached to her abdomen) while the two of them mused about what it was going to be like to raise their future newborn. They chatted until they fell asleep wrapped around each other. Inuyasha remained fastened to her waist with Kagome's hand resting on his hair. His head laid flat on the rising and falling of her small belly.
Inuyasha drifted off to sleep listening to that little thumping heartbeat like a soothing lullaby, knowing he was the one that brought it into the world.
Today was a big step for Rin into adulthood.
Months had passed, along with her birthday, and she had been 12 for a while now. She was not currently in the mood to be experiencing this important rite of passage as a young girl becoming a woman.
She approached the door flap of Kagome's kitchen and peeked her head into the home. She knew Sango and Kagome were here out of the kindness of their hearts, making lunch, giving medicines, and offering warmed bags of rice for all of the women of the village who were currently affected by their monthly cycles. Which was most of them. They all seemed to stay in sync from living and working so close together.
Since Kagome and Sango weren't affected by these issues because they were both pregnant right now, they didn't mind offering up their homes once a month for the women who weren't feeling their best. That way, the hardworking females of the village could have a peaceful place to relax with remedies and food without the expense of their own labor, and be able to take the time they needed to recover until they could continue about their day normally.
Rin would often come and help out during these times, making medicines and teas for the resting ladies.
Rin stepped into the kitchen and spoke up, "Kagome, Sango?"
Both women were busy cooking something that smelled really good. They both turned to Rin's entrance from their work—Kagome at two large boiling pots, and Sango at a few cutting boards covered with vegetables and meat. They smiled welcomingly at the young orphaned girl.
Rin could see a couple of ladies relaxing on mats and cushions in the other room, warmed bags of rice pressed to their abdomens, waiting for their pain to subside. Women came and went all throughout the week.
"Oh, hey, Rin," Kagome said casually.
"Come by to help out again?" Sango asked over her shoulder then returned to preparing her chopped foods.
"Actually, I have a question," Rin said pointedly.
"Okay," Kagome said to her first boiling pot.
"What is it?" Sango added indifferently.
"Can you help me?" Rin said simply. "I think I started…"
"Oh, you did?" Kagome was very pleasant.
"Well, here, we'll show you how to take care of it," Sango was kind, too, as she stopped what she was doing, wiping her hands off on her apron.
"But isn't it too soon?" Rin asked hopefully.
"You're 12. It's perfectly normal to get it at that age," Sango said as she walked up to the girl.
Rin sighed in annoyance but acceptance when another pregnant lady from the village came into the kitchen from the outside. It was Minako, the woman that helped Kagome with her bridal attire.
"Oh, there you are, Rin," Minako expressed. "Lord Sesshomaru is here at the edge of town—kind of near Kaede's—waiting for you."
Rin turned white. Minako left, having given her message.
The 12-year-old turned to Kagome and Sango desperately, for help. "What? No! I can't see him right now!"
Kagome chuckled with misunderstanding, "Wait, why not? We can show you how to take care of it really quick and then you can be right on your way."
"He's a dog-demon!" Rin expelled with a stricken face of pure panic. "He's always been able to smell a simple cut of mine a valley away! He's gonna know!"
Kagome and Sango looked right to each other, not entirely sure how to give counsel to that. There was literally nothing she could do about it.
"Then I guess that means he already knows," Kagome deemed with inference and an apologetic smirk. "Is it really that big of a deal?"
"Yes!" Rin said easily.
"Actually," Sango began a suggestion as she turned to Kagome, "maybe he doesn't know. There's a big mixture of scents with the majority of the village women on the same cycle right now."
Kagome nodded in informative agreement, "Oh yeah, you may be right."
Rin was appalled by their overcasualness. Did they not understand her dilemma at all?
Before anything else was said, Inuyasha came in with three large baskets, carrying them in a precarious way only he could get away with.
"Here's the rest of those medicinal herbs, Kagome." He set them down and paused after he stood back up, seeing Rin there stricken near to tears.
"Oh, no," he realized. "I'm not dealing with this mess of a hut filled with female hysterics." Inuyasha knew. He always knew. But he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. He never did.
However, Inuyasha had already detected his brother in town, and knew, just by looking at Rin, that she did not want to see him right now.
"I'll tell Sesshomaru to leave and come back in like…five days…" he promised sullenly before turning to leave.
Rin freaked out at him before he even reached the door, blocking his path, "Don't tell him! ! Tell him I'm deathly ill and don't want to see him!"
" 'Deathly'? You want him to think you're dying instead?" he raised a judgmental brow at her.
"Whatever! Just don't tell him."
Inuyasha glanced at the ceiling in annoyance, and instead of just leaving and ignoring her, he shifted his weight and decided to explain something plainly to her instead. "Look, Rin. Of all the things dog-demons can smell—which is, well, everything—this shouldn't be a shock to you. It's not like this is new to me. And Sesshomaru has been around a lot longer than I have. It's normal."
Despite this information, Rin still freaked out in a panicked groan. "But Lord Sesshomaru doesn't hang around humans!"
"It works completely the same way with demons who take on human appearances. Sesshomaru isn't an idiot, Rin. He's going to just ignore it, too."
Even though she normally wouldn't do this over something so trivial, Rin covered her face and began to cry. She felt much more emotional than normal—for no apparent reason, other than her current condition.
Inuyasha folded his arms and sighed at the ceiling. "I can't do this anymore. I'm done." He rolled his eyes and carefully shoved past her and finally left.
"Thanks for the herbs, Inuyasha," Kagome waved him off.
Rin turned to Kagome and Sango harshly. "I don't ever want Lord Sesshomaru to know about this!" It was kind of a demand.
The two women politely disregarded her tone, giving her motherly, empathetic smiles.
"You're young, Rin, but you'll get used to this part of your body," Sango assured warmly.
"And you'll accept and just know it means you're a woman. A healthy, not-pregnant woman," Kagome consoled the distressed girl with maternal-like love and consideration.
"So it shouldn't be a big deal to see Sesshomaru," Sango added.
"But Lord Sesshomarudoesn't live with a group of people! He roams by himself!" Rin argued.
"Well, Rin, even so, he has to be used to it. In fact, I'm sure he's expecting it. I know he couldn't care less. Especially if Inuyasha doesn't."
"I'm just not seeing him!" she declared.
"Fine. But know you'll have to deal with this from now on. Are you're really just going to avoid him during this time forever?" Sango was getting impatient.
"Yes!" Rin was determined.
"You can't just let it take over your life…" Kagome sighed disappointedly.
Rin stomped into the other room with the other women who were suffering like her.
Sango exhaled. "She'll learn…"
"Poor girl, puberty sucks," Kagome empathized.
The demon slayer scoffed. "She just needs to stop freaking out. It's only her period."
Inuyasha found his brother near the woods by Kaede's, and sauntered right up to the dog-demon without even looking at him. He could tell his proud brother was just as unimpressed by his presence as he was.
"Look, I know you can already tell the women of the village are…'communal' right now. So you should come back and visit Rin another time. She's being…hysterical right now." Inuyasha turned to leave. "I hope that's ALL I have to say."
Sesshomaru glared at the back of his brother's head, then turned to leave as well.
After that, Sesshomaru simply changed his visiting routine to avoid coming whenever the village girls were in sync.
That night, Kaede ironically, and fatefully, told Rin. "I'm sure you're less mad at me for taking you into the village now. Imagine that happening to you while out traveling with Sesshomaru."
Rin groaned into her pillow, thinking about how she would have died in horror.
After getting used to a few more cycles of this, Rin woke up to find she had started a week earlier than expected—a week earlier than the rest of the village women this month. She sat up, groaning. It was definitely a week too early to be cramping and having these aches.
Rin ventured out to find Kagome to discuss medicines for her unanticipated discomfort (she explained it quietly even though she knew Inuyasha could hear her from the doorway anyway) and the pregnant priestess happily aided Rin with her need. The younger girl silently eyed Inuyasha relaxing at the other end of the house, completely minding his own business, while Kagome went through her stored medicines, found what she needed, and handed it to Rin.
"Thank you, Kagome," Rin gratified quietly, with one last glance at preoccupied Inuyasha, and then went on her way.
Kagome watched Rin saunter back toward Kaede's hut when Inuyasha came up next to his wife.
"Rin's gonna be pissed," he stated idly, arms in opposite sleeves.
Kagome turned to him, confused. "What—why?"
"Sesshomaru's coming." Despite himself, he chuckled at the floor in dark humor and strolled back into their home.
Kagome heightened her eyebrows. "And you didn't tell her?"
He shrugged unapologetically. "Didn't feel like. Maybe I'm actually a little curious as to what's gonna happen next." He chuckled lightly again.
"You cunning jerk…" Kagome glared at him with a sly smirk then gazed out the door at Rin in the distance, partially wanting to run after the girl and tell her, but mostly wanting her to accept this natural aspect of her womanhood. So Kagome didn't go after her.
Rin was nearly all the way back to Kaede's when she ran into a completely familiar, tall, handsome figure standing there in the road waiting to greet her—with Jaken pulling A-Un's reigns.
Rin gasped when she saw him, even throwing her hands over her mouth in unnecessary shock from the sudden apprehension and dread.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded more discourteously than she was ever accustomed to. It wasn't often he visited her twice within the same two weeks, but it was known to happen.
Sesshomaru cocked an incredulous, self-righteous brow. "Seeing you." He did not hide the irritation in his tone.
Rin wasn't expecting him until next month. And he obviously wasn't expecting her to be inconvenienced with this right now when he came here today—(neither did she)—but that didn't matter to her at the moment. Rin's usual doting smile was entirely absent.
"Well I don't want to see you right now!" she exclaimed, and she didn't mind sounding rude anymore. She was just so embarrassed.
He wasn't ignorant. He knew what this was about. He even knew of it before she approached. "Quit acting disconcerted. I don't even care. It is as natural to me as the scent of tears or hearing someone sneeze. You can visit with me now, or stop wasting my time."
Rin stemmed through shock, more embarrassment, and then more anger during this explanation. She sassily retorted, "Perfect! I will gladly stop wasting your time! Because I don't want to see you!" She turned on her heel and stomped away from him in a fuming huff.
He watched her walk away, unimpressed. "Hmph. Childish."
"What a rude girl!" Jaken added, and Sesshomaru actually let him get away with it for a moment—but then he stepped on the little demon before he flew off.
Rin was too embarrassed. She didn't want to go back to Kaede's and she didn't want to go to Kagome's (another dog-demon was waiting there, too). She didn't want to see anyone.
She decided to go on a walk in the woods on her own—something she liked to do quite often. She veered around the bend to the outskirts of town and headed straight into the forest to vent off steam and humiliation. This contemplative trait of habitually pondering alone in quiet places was definitely something she picked up from Sesshomaru, but she didn't want to think about him right now.
She ambled through the forest for quite a while, venturing a lot farther than she was normally prone to do. She harbored reeling thoughts of anger and self-consciousness, when suddenly, she broke through the bushes and stumbled right into the middle of a camp of about ten thuggish-looking, bandit men.
Rin went rigid as they all glanced up at her. She instinctively reached for the weapons she would practice with (with Sango), but she was completely unarmed.
Each of the men slowly stood from their spots with their own wicked, dangerous grins.
"What have we got here?" one said as they all took a step closer to her.
Rin turned to run, but one grabbed her arm. "Hoh! You're a pretty one."
Another bandit came up. "Hey! She's plenty old enough. Come on, you."
Rin gasped as she tried to defend herself with the self-defense Sango had taught her, but it really wasn't effective when she was outnumbered and they were so strong. "Get off me!" she cried.
That was when she realized she wasn't going to get away.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" she screamed immediately. Maybe he wasn't too far off yet. He was the single person she knew who would always come to save her no matter where she was when she was in trouble. "Lord Sesshomaru! ! Lord Sesshomaruuu! !"
"Do you hear that, men? She's calling for the Great Dog-Demon!" the leader proclaimed jeeringly.
They all barked in laughter.
"You think the Lord Sesshomaru is going to come for you? You're a funny lass," he chuckled in dark entertainment.
Not even two breaths later, a terrifyingly low voice rumbled behind them.
"Is she now?"
They all froze in fear, ceasing their harassment on Rin. Slowly, each man turned to the source of the voice.
There, standing dangerously close, was indeed, the Great Dog-Demon Lord Sesshomaru.
Rin sighed with relief. He came so quickly for her.
The men were terrified. They each took a generous step back. His sudden emergence was so petrifying.
Rin scurried away the moment their hands released her, covering up the indecency of her underdeveloped breasts they successfully exposed. She pulled the shoulders of her sleeves back up, and discovered a deep gash down her arm. One of the bandits must have cut her with their knife in the ruckus of all of them fighting to get on top of her. It ripped through her sleeve, the fabric laying entirely torn open from her shoulder to her hand.
The men stood completely dumbstruck, wide-eyed in horror, as the tall, intimidating Demon Lord Sesshomaru stared them all down. He did not tear his stoic, unapologetic, eyes away from them. They shakily tried to skulk away from him, but his idle stance and indifferent expressionlessness only made them more fearful to do so.
"You will not live for this crime." Sesshomaru raised his claws and cracked them.
They all gasped in terror.
"Wait! She's not hurt!" the leader cried out. "We didn't do anything to her! See!"
Sesshomaru readily glanced at Rin. He didn't have to glance at Rin to know her condition. He could smell her fear and tears, he could hear her panicked breathing and rapid heartbeat, he could smell the freshly spilled blood coming down from the wound on her arm.
Seeing her gripping it with bloodied fingers, crumpled on the ground near a tree, with an expression of sheer alarm, only managed to fuel his anger more. Under his calm, composed, yet terrifying demeanor, he did not feel any sort of remorse for what he was about to do to these treacherous men. He glared one more time at the sight of Rin's devastation, then right back at them.
They would notlive.
Sesshomaru took an unhurried step toward the bandits.
One man screamed, one man begged.
"Wait! What does this random girl even mean to you?!" the leader pleaded in a last-ditch attempt to prevent their demise.
Sesshomaru didn't bother to answer them.
They were all dead in one swift swoop—a seriously quick execution—with blood spattered all over the ground.
After flicking the blood off his fingers, Sesshomaru jumped to Rin's side, scooped her up into his arms, and quickly licked the blood up steadily streaming down her arm before he flew off in the direction of the village.
She clutched to him for dear life, still shaken, trembling with the thought of what almost happened to her. She burst into sobbing tears against his chest when the feelings overwhelmed her. If he hadn't come… If she didn't know him… She didn't even want to ponder farther on that thought.
When Sesshomaru landed, she didn't let go of him even after he carefully let her down to her feet. She clung to him, hands gripping the front of his armor, not ready to leave the comfort of his frame as she shook under her tears. He only stood there with her, in the clearing in the woods near the edge of the village, and let Rin do as she needed.
She continued to hang on him, cleaving to his kimono, feeling safe and protected near him—even while jittered up from those previous events.
Eventually he found it in himself to bring one hand slowly to the top of her hair and kind of hold her head against him, hoping to give her the comfort she clearly desired from him. It was the most he would give her, and for Rin, it was more than enough coming from him.
Sesshomaru was already on his way to rescue her before she had even called his name. He bolted in the direction of her scent the moment he noticed it moving toward the camp.
He cursed himself for not arriving a moment sooner. He could have prevented that scarring event and the gashing cut down her arm that continued to bleed—even now as she clung to him—if he'd just come moments before.
Her long sleeve was fully torn open all the way up to her shoulder—ruined—and he had just given her this new kimono a week before, too.
"I'll get you a new kimono…" he stated nonchalantly.
He wasn't going to allow her to just bleed, so he carefully held out her arm, tore off a piece of her destroyed sleeve, examined her wound, licked up the new trail of blood in another single straight line, and snugly tied the piece of fine cloth around it. All with a subtle look of concentration.
He stood back when he was finished and said evenly, "You should get that properly looked at back at the village."
Rin didn't even comprehend what he said. She had her fist to her mouth with trembling composure, thinking about how grateful she was that every single time, without fail, if she ever called out his name, he came. He always came. No matter where he was at. He always came at rapid, traveling speed.
She finally glanced up at him and spoke her gratitude, crying. "Thank you so much, Lord Sesshomaru. I have no idea what I would have done if you hadn't come." She stepped back up to his figure and encircled her arms around him in a hug, catching him a bit off guard. "Thank you so much for always coming for me. Thank you so much…" she wept as she pressed the side of her face into the lower half of his chest of armor.
He carefully placed one hand on the top of her head again, then hesitantly, timidly, added the other one to her back with assurance. Once more, Rin could not find it in herself to let go of him.
She continued to cry against him and Sesshomaru allowed himself to pat her head a few times, leaving his hand there, resting it on her hair.
"You're fine now," he uttered faintly, leaning over her, closer to her short height.
Her sobs were finally silencing, her trembling fading; he could feel her calming down and he found himself filling relief when she was. His tense muscles relaxed as he was feeling more ascertain with her ease and equanimity, and he found his was regaining its presence as hers was.
He realized how much her peace and comfort was fully relaxing and composing him. He was flourishing in it. Why her happiness and safety meant so much to him, he did not at all know.
"They can't hurt you now..." he added quietly, keeping her close. "I would never allow anyone to hurt you…"
Rin looked up at his close face with troubled gratefulness. Sesshomaru dropped his hand, his silver hair falling over his shoulder as he continued to lean over her. Then she did something she hadn't done since she was a child. She jumped onto her toes and kissed him right on the cheek.
He paused slightly, but his expressionlessness didn't alter in the slightest. It was hard to tell if he was ever taken by surprise with his apathy—especially in this moment of pause, since it faded as soon as it came.
"You are the greatest person alive," Rin told him.
He straightened back to his full height, nodding stoically as acknowledgment, not agreement.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you…" she said regretfully, picking contritely at her finger.
"There is no need to apologize."
There was a short silence.
Seeing she was fine, and knowing she didn't want to be near him right now, Sesshomaru turned on his heel to leave her. "I'll come back in a few weeks. And please—don't wander the woods in blind anger again."
Before he was able to hop into the sky, Rin stepped out. "Wait."
He leisurely stopped and turned back to her.
"Can I still have my visit?" Rin asked nicely with a tilt and a guilty smile.
He inhaled nonchalantly then sat down on the nearest tree stump with an accepting sigh.
Rin grinned shyly at Sesshomaru accepting her request then took a seat next to him casually in the grass. Her arm stung, but with Sesshomaru's tight bandaging job, she knew it could wait a few more minutes before she went back to the village to take care of it.
The only embarrassment Rin felt now was by her own pride earlier. Sesshomaru was her best friend, and despite his extra senses, she shouldn't feel self-conscious around him. He sure didn't seem to care. He appeared to have already forgotten about it.
"So…I was thinking about my next trip," Rin began, "and I'd like to see the snow again."
He lifted his chin up then responded with, "Very well."
"And…what about you?" she tried to keep their conversation going since she knew he wasn't very good at that. "You're still seeking opponents to become the strongest, I know. That way when you start your empire you can be the most powerful. But you still haven't found anyone even closeto your match since the death of Naraku. How long do you think it will take to start your new empire because of this?"
"At least a century," he answered.
Rin remembered Jaken telling her that similar time frame once when she was younger. "That's a long time…" she sounded dissatisfied.
"A hundred years is nothing in a demon's eyes," he said with tired iteration.
Rin grimaced. "Why take so long? You're already the strongest."
He paused before replying. "I plan to be known by all." Rin watched him as he spoke his next words. "I plan to be undeniably recognized as the strongest in all the land."
"You don't need to take a century for that," she expressed easily as she readjusted he knees. "I think most people already know your name. Those, um, bandits did."
Sesshomaru grumbled, "I care not what those worms know of me."
Rin smirked at him. "Well, it won't matter how many opponents you seek out and fight. Everyone should already know that you're the strongest. Nobody can stop you."
He didn't respond, but his silence seemed to contain thanks.
"Lord Sesshomaru," Rin began another question, "how old are you, by the way?" She remembered the conversation a while back about a certain half-demon's age. "Everyone was talking about Inuyasha being over 200-years-old."
Sesshomaru honestly couldn't recall his exact age. It had been way too long ago now since the last time he kept track. But he gave her the best estimate he could come up with.
"Something over 500 years," he said.
"Wow," Rin awed. "But you look to be about…19 or 20?" She tilted her head with examination. "Dog-demons live forever." She leaned back on her arms looking up at the sky.
"Not forever," he disagreed, glancing up at the sky, too. "Just a very long time."
Rin contemplated that, staring at the clouds distantly. "A hundred years to start your empire really is nothing to you…"
There a was a brief pause between the two, Sesshomaru not responding, when Rin popped out of her trance, realizing she could figure it out exactly.
"Wait, let me do some math," she announced, pausing to work the numbers in her head. "A hundred years to you would be like…four years to me? Maybe even a little less, because you don't know your exact age." She smiled at him with presentation.
He wasn't sure if that was exactly how it worked, but he was impressed with her quick, mental math.
"You've lived for so long, Lord Sesshomaru," Rin peered up at him inquiringly, wrapping her arms around her propped knees. "Isn't there something else you want out of life?"
He didn't hesitate to answer. "No."
"Really? ?" Rin probed. "Is that really all you want? Power?"
He didn't respond, but she already knew the answer.
Rin leaned back on her hands again, relaxingly. "You could learn to master the biwa in a hundred years and be better than anyone else in the whole world," she encouraged. She thought of the few people she had seen skillfully pluck away at one of those little wooden, handheld string instruments.
"What a silly, useless skill." He leisurely looked away from her with pause, no expression. "That is hardly a feat I'd ever waste my time on."
Rin hummed a sigh of expectancy. "I know. I'm just jealous of the amount of time you have. You could master any skill you want."
He redirected her ideas. "I only intend to be the most powerful and feared demon there has ever been."
Rin nodded. "I know. You're definitely the most powerful demon I have ever seen." She was smiling directly at him now—stars of admiration practically in her eyes.
He glanced over at her for a moment—with his casual, indifferent expression—stopping to acknowledge her, but then redirected his gaze to the sky with nonchalant, thoughtless inadvertence.
"Oh, no," Rin then realized, breaking out of her distracted sense of admiration. "You probably have to get going. I can just imagine Master Jaken completely freaking out right now wherever you left him."
Rin pictured Sesshomaru stopping in his tracks, swiveling around, and leaving Jaken flabbergasted in the dust. She was sure the little demon was panicking at this very moment, frantically pacing back and forth, muttering to himself in a fluster of worry about where his lord must have run off to.
Sesshomaru condescendingly glared at the ground, without the least bit of interest in that. "He can wait," he said.
"Well, I have to thank you again for coming to save me even after I yelled at you…" Rin added gratefully and sheepishly.
It went without saying; of course he'd always come rescue her from danger, but he reiterated anyway, "I would never let those men hurt you. They can never hurt you again."
She dropped her gaze modestly. They were gone now, forever, never to hurt anyone again.
She was so grateful.
Rin lifted her chin, meeting his eyes again. "I'm a pretty ordinary girl," she said honestly. "Meeting you is probably the most remarkable thing that is ever going to happen to me."
He glanced at her with the slightest display of divergence, finding her statement to have rather belittled herself unjustly. He felt it was necessary to correct her. "Rin. You have more going for you than meeting a great demon."
"Perhaps…" Rin idly cast her head off to the side, thinkingly. "But if I didn't meet you, I wouldn't even have a future at all."
His subtle, sidelong glance was full of unsettled enlightenment. He never really thought about that before, but he realized she was correct.
Rin would be dead right now if he had never met her.
Rin sprinted back into the village after Sesshomaru left her and ran straight for Kagome and her excellent first-aid knowledge. She dashed into her house, and to Rin's good fortune, only the priestess was inside.
"Kagome…" Rin panted at the door. "I was just almost…desecrated by some bandits."
"Oh my gosh, Rin! What happened?" Kagome was very shocked by this sudden, troubling news.
Rin sat down and quickly gave the details of what happened and then added, "I'm still a bit flustered. And Lord Sesshomaru might have seen my breasts. I still don't know."
Kagome sighed for her. "I can't even count how many times Inuyasha has seen my breasts…" Then she chuckled, "You know—before we were married. But please, come here, so I can look at your arm."
Kagome began unwinding the bandaging ripped from Rin's ruined kimono sleeve. "We're going to need to clean this," the priestess explained after she eyed the cut. "Or else it's going to get infected."
Kagome already had some water heating for tea, so she didn't have to wait for hot water. She brought back the pot and a clean rag from the kitchen.
"You know," Kagome started to talk again, "though it's still bleeding, it looks like someone tried the lick the blood off your arm a bit ago." She observed the faded red smear under the new trail of blood trickling down her arm.
Rin started to break into a short, humored laugh. "Oh yeah, Lord Sesshomaru did that before we flew off. Dog thing, I guess."
"Oh, that's too funny," Kagome could relate. "Inuyasha's tried to do that to me a few times, too. I always laugh at him."
Rin giggled at their mutual experience. "I've laughed at Lord Sesshomaru, too."
As Kagome began cleaning the cut, the younger girl braced herself from the stinging with an enduring, wincing grimace.
A/N: So…I went there. I'm not going to apologize, this was just something I really wanted delved into. Maybe it's awkward, maybe it's hilarious. I don't really know. ;D
But I am sorry for the long wait. I was going through stuff. If I'm being completely honest, I went through a really bad bout of depression. So the last handful of months I stopped doing the things that I love. But I've seen a doctor, been properly helped, and I feel even better than I did even before all this depression! So I'm back to the keyboard and hope to be dishing out chapters again at least as quickly as I was at the beginning of last year. Mostly I'm disappointed because I wanted to be WAY farther into the story at this point, but I guess I'm just going to have to just accept things and move forward! But, I'm glad to be back :) I also made a few edits to some previous chapters. 01/2016
Also! the whole root demon fiasco that I briefly mention in this chapter comes entirely from a completely CANON special chapter of the manga that takes place right after the series ended! If you haven't read it, go read it now! It's called InuYasha Special Chapter: 'Since Then'. It was not in the anime.
And if anyone is questioning my math… I divided 500 (the age I made Sessh) by 20 (ROUNDING UP the age Sesshomaru appears, according to the Inuyasha Profiles) and that equals 25. So, every 25 years Sesshomaru appears to have aged 1 year. Then I took 100 (the number of years Rin is trying to compare her own life to) and divided that by 25 (the number I just got) and that equals 4. So a 100 years to Sesshomaru is like 4 years to Rin. The easier way to have done that would have been to cross multiply. But whatever. ANYWAY, I actually made the process of demon aging in my story a lot more complicated than that—but I'll get more into it once it comes into play later and becomes more important.
References:
(1) Episode 26 of InuYasha: The Final Act "Toward Tomorrow" (direct dialogue and settings from the final scenes are used in this chapter—with translations from both the Japanese and English versions)
(2) InuYasha Special Chapter: 'Since Then' (a special chapter of the manga that takes place right after the series ended, where a root demon called Ne no Kubi attacks the village and everyone gets involved)
(3) Episode 162 of InuYasha "Forever with Lord Sesshomaru" (Jaken mentions to Rin it could take a long time for Sesshomaru to build up his own empire, adding that a hundred years to them is nothing.)
