Her Name is Rin – If I Die
It was a solemn ceremony he found her watching. He had never really understood the human's need for a funeral; once a body was dead, it was dead. Ghosts really didn't care how they were buried, or if they were buried at all. Still, it wasn't something he wanted Rin seeing. Some of the ceremonies he had seen were not appropriate for a young child to attend. Sometimes they didn't even bother covering up the body.
He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention away from the spectacle. She looked up at him in a mixture of confusion and understanding, as if seeing something she hadn't ever noticed before. He motioned for her to follow him, and led the way back into the woods, away from the human settlement. They hadn't gotten far before she spoke.
"Not everyone comes back, do they, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
He shook his head. "Iie, Rin." he said softly. "Rarely do people come back."
She looked up at him for a moment, as if trying to understand. "You won't come back, either." It was a statement, not a question, and Sesshoumaru had no way of refuting it. These were the kinds of thoughts he didn't want the innocent girl having, but it was too late now.
They walked together a while longer in silence.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, what will happen to me when you die?"
He stopped short. "What do you mean?"
"Those children back there – they were my age, and their parents died. You're the only family I have. What will happen to me when you die?" She was more curious than afraid, but still, the idea of life without Sesshoumaru-sama was just unnerving. She didn't want to think about it, but she wanted to know what would happen – after the fact.
"I will not die, Rin." he said matter-of-factly. "Not before you, at any rate. Youkai live a long time, longer than humans. You will die before I do."
"But you get into a lot of fights." Rin pointed out. "What happens if you lose one?"
"That's why I got Tokijin." Sesshoumaru said just as pointedly. "No youkai or human can stand up to me with that."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." He looked down at her and gave her a half-smile. "But, if I'm wrong, you will go to Kagome. She will take care of you as well as I would."
Rin smiled then, a true smile, and chirped, "But Sesshoumaru-sama is never wrong!" With that she was skipping through the woods again, hunting down flowers and chasing butterflies, and Sesshoumaru had to marvel at just how easy it was to please her.
/---/
AN: Wow. Short little drabble there, kinda like chapter 7, but not much. Review, please!