S-S: I'm not dead! I know it looked like I was, but I'm not I swear! There was just a lot of stuff with school and I swear it won't happen again!
I also don't own InuYasha.
Shiko drew the kanji into the dirt for the third time, "No Rin," she said with a sigh, "You have to look for what image it represents. Kanji are pictographic, which means that they are drawn to look like what they mean. See, doesn't the symbol look like a tree?"
Rin stared at the kanji and pouted, "A bit, if I squint and do something funny with my eyebrows to make everything blurry," she said, collapsing off her elbows and planting her face onto the ground, "Why can't you teach me things that are fun Shiko-san?" she asked, in a tone that was more like a complaint than a question.
"Because," Shiko began, "Sesshomaru told me to teach you. Plus, you're illiterate." That might not be such a bad thing in this day and age, but where Shiko came from, if someone was illiterate, it generally meant that they would have no future at all. And well, Rin was clever. Shiko found it odd to say that since the girl was having such a hard time learning her kanji, but in truth, Rin had a very different way of looking at the world. She had understood the concept of metaphors very quickly after Shiko had explained them, and Rin kept trying to peg reasons and sense to things, the mark of an intelligent mind in the making.
Despite her utter lack of prior teaching experience and her hatred of giving explanations over and over again, Shiko wasn't finding it too hard to teach Rin. She might have even considered it fun if it weren't for the fact that Sesshomaru had practically ordered her to teach Rin. Shiko didn't like it when people gave her orders like that, she just felt the deep urge to disobey them simple to be contrary and rebellious. Even if it was something she might have done anyways, she just didn't like being bossed around, or at least, bossed around without a good reason and bossed around by Sesshomaru of all people who was getting dangerously close to figuring out all of Shiko's badly hidden and badly kept secrets. So sue her.
"Yeah, but you could still teach me fun things…" Rin pointed out, "Like… history, which is kinda fun when it's like a story… or not kanji… or that other not kanji thing…"
Shiko raised an eyebrow, "That other not kanji thing?" she inquired, "Do you mean the hiragana alphabet?"
Rin nodded happily, "Yeah! That looked easier," she said, resting her chin on her palm and using her other hand to rub out the kanji symbols that Shiko had drawn onto the dirt with a stick, "And there were less of them too," she added, as if that one difference was the deciding factor.
"Okay," Shiko said, picking up the stick again and beginning to draw the five basic vowels, "These are the vowels, the 'a' 'i' 'e' 'o' and 'u' sounds. With kana, each symbol, with the exception of those singular vowels there, is two sounds, a consonant and a vowel sound. So you make sounds like 'ka' or 'to'. And unlike kanji, there are only 48 characters."
Rin nodded her head, "That makes it easier to learn!"
"Well actually," Shiko corrected, "Kana are used only as grammar, where the kanji are nouns and adjectives."
There was a pause in which the groan of annoyance Shiko had been expecting from Rin did not happen. Rin blinked in confusion, "Shiko-san?" she asked, "What are nouns?"
Oh, Rin was missing so much basic information! Why oh why was there no sort of public school system back in feudal japan? "Okay…" Shiko said slowly, trying to think of the best way to explain it, "Nouns are words that are people, places, or things. Like 'cherry', 'Edo', or 'Rin'."
Rin nodded in comprehension, "And… adjecti- adjejace- adjasomething?" she prompted.
"Adjectives are descriptions. Colors, smells, and such like," Shiko explained, then moving on to the other basics that Rin had never covered, "There are also verbs. Verbs are action words, like 'run' or 'jump', words that tell what a person or animal is doing. And there are adverbs, which add information to a verb or verb phrase. Like 'slowly' or 'softly'. Those are different from adjectives because an adjective would be only 'slow' or 'soft'."
There was a puff of dirt as Rin's head hit the ground again. "I don't get it at all…" she muttered.
"Yeah, I don't really get it too much myself either…" Shiko said honestly. She got the difference between nouns and adjectives and verbs just fine, but adverbs were always a little screwy. And really, she spoke English as a first language and even she would probably fail a test on the material. She didn't care at all for grammar.
A few feet away from their lesson area, Jaken was sitting on a rock and pretending that he wasn't interested at all in Shiko's explanations when really he kept peeking over their shoulders to see what she was drawing in the dirt, "Hmpf!" he snorted in annoyance, "I don't see what you humans find so difficult about reading! Clearly neither of you had any proper upbringing!"
"Au contraire, Jaken," Shiko said, wagging a finger at him, "I find nothing difficult about reading. But learning and teaching someone else are two entirely different things. At least me and Rin didn't learn our characters off of a lily pad," she retorted, fully aware of how childish her insult was.
Rin giggled, "Don't worry Shiko-san," she said, reassuring her, "I think you're a great teacher!"
Beaming at the girl, Shiko replied, "Aww… thanks! I could feel my ego needing that."
"I disagree entirely!" Jaken squawked, frowning at the two of them – the effect was ruined by the fact that he had no mouth, only a beak. "All humans have low intelligence! I don't see why Sesshomaru-sama had a filthy human like you teach Rin!"
Shiko opened her mouth in annoyance to retort some really bad comment about being green and stupid that may or may not have ended in 'your mom', but then her eyes narrowed dangerously and she asked darkly, "Are you questioning Sesshomaru's judgment?"
Before now, Shiko had not thought it possible to simultaneously have an aneurism, drop your jaw to the ground, and look around frantically to see if anyone heard that and if anyone was watching the horribly embarrassing display you were putting on. Jaken took that moment to prove her wrong, "I-gah-but-that-you-I mean- I would never- you- stupid humans-" he sputtered desperately.
Shiko grinned wickedly and shot a glance at Sesshomaru, who had been sitting pointedly away from the group and had been doing a much better job of ignoring them than Jaken had. And even now he still didn't look flustered or annoyed or even paying attention. Shiko huffed, "Anyways Rin, back to the subject of kanji-"
Rin groaned, looking as though she was in physical pain, "Please oh please can't you teach me something else Shiko-san?"
"Look, you really do need to learn how to read and write, those are very important skills…" Shiko trailed off at the puppy-eyed look of pleading on Rin's face, "Well maybe we can take a short break," she relented.
"Yay!" Rin cheered.
Shiko frowned as Rin got up and started to run around like a kid loose on sugar, "Short break Rin, short break!" she called after her. Rin waved it off and Shiko sighed, wishing that she had some aspirin on her, "Oh, what I would not give for just one dose of ibuprofen…" she muttered as she sat up and tossed the writing stick to the side, knowing full well that Rin would not be able to sit still for lessons for the rest of the day.
She stood and laced her fingers together, cracking her knuckles pleasantly to get rid of the stiffness in her fingers. Rin had wheedled Jaken into playing a game with her, one that Shiko didn't know but clearly involved a lot of running around and pleasant shrieks from Rin.
"Hey Sesshomaru?" Shiko asked, "Could you tell me where we're going? We were walking all morning but I have no idea where we're headed and it's kinda annoying me," she knew that the whole 'visit the netherworld' arc was coming up soon but she didn't know when and she didn't know where.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, as if she wasn't important enough to gain any real attention, "After Naraku. Where else would we be going?" he replied scathingly.
But of course, Shiko could interpret that as what it obviously meant, "You know where Naraku is?" she asked, "Cause you know, if we really wanted to find out then I probably could ask Kagura if she ever dares to show up again." Having Kagura spy on Naraku for her when Naraku thought that Kagura was spying on Shiko sounded like the sort of confusing plot that would put a metaphorical bullet in any plan of Naraku's.
"The wind witch is not your ally," Sesshomaru warned her, "You are a fool if you think that you can count on any help from her."
Shiko glared at him as the image of Kagura and a field of flowers flashed behind her eyes, "In case you haven't notice, she's about as loyal to Naraku as you are." She turned around and stormed off, before adding, "And you could at least trust me enough to say where we are going."
With that said, Shiko crossed her arms in annoyance and walked off in the opposite direction.
"Ne, Shiko-san?" Rin asked, tugging on her kimono sleeve to get the older girl's attention, "Do you want to play with me and Jaken?" she smiled up at her, "It'll be fun!"
Shiko opened her mouth to reply when a loud scream echoed through the trees.
"What was that?!" Rin cried.
Another scream.
Shiko turned towards the source of the noise, "That sounded like a woman's scream!" she said, reaching for the handle of her sword, "Someone's in trouble!" she glanced back at Sesshomaru, "I'm going to help! Are you coming?"
He looked away, "It's just a human."
"Fine," Shiko snarled, running off to find the screamer, Rin following at her heels, "Then you can just fuck off!" she yelled as she ran.
There was another scream and in a minute, a young woman in a kimono crashed through the trees, running blindly and tripping over the hem of her dress in her hurry to get away. There was a heavy bundle clutched her to chest and her dark hair was ripped out of a hair tie and wiping wildly around her face. Her scared eyes latched onto the figures of Shiko and Rin.
"Help me!" she cried out, desperately grabbing onto Shiko's elbow and hiding behind her, "There's- there's a bandit!"
A bandit? Oh that's right, Shiko reminded herself, in these days, there was no police force or any sort of protection for people. Bandits did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, with no one to stop them.
There was the sound of crunching branches and movement and a moment later another figure pushed through the trees. It was a man, dressed in samurai armor but with a malicious look on his face, "Hey, another woman and a kid!" he said, reaching for his sword, "This'll be great!"
Now, in retrospect, there were a lot of things that Shiko could have done. She didn't want to kill this person of course, she really just wasn't the sort of person that went around killing people. But she could have hit him, punched him, broken his nose, broken his knees, slapped him, knocked him out with the handle of her sword, hit his head with the butt end of her gun, and a basic plethora of cool moves to take care of him. But Shiko was a city girl, and there was a fighting move so deeply ingrained into the mind of every city girl that Shiko really felt as though she had no other option.
She slammed her foot right into his crotch.
The poor guy screamed like a little girl and doubled over in obvious pain.
Shiko then stepped in and slammed the handle of her blade into the back of his head, knocking him out. Then she grabbed a piece of rope out of his pocket and dragged his body over to a nearby tree, tying his arms behind the thick wood and binding his fingers together oddly so that he couldn't untie himself later.
She dusted her hands off and stepped back, proudly surveying her handiwork, "Done!" she proclaimed, stepping back to the girl on the run and Rin, "'Just human', psssshh..." she sent and vindictive glare in Sesshomaru's direction, "I kick ass…"
"Thank you very much," the woman said, bowing shakily to Shiko, "I owe you a debt, my lady. That bandit would have killed me and stolen this," she held her bundle tighter to her chest, "My father's sculpture. I could not have lived with myself if I had betrayed my father and allowed it to be stolen."
Shiko held up her hands, "No, wait, you have it all wrong! I'm not a… a lady, I'm just me. And you really don't owe me anything, I was happy to help beat that creep up," she almost held out her hand for a hand shake before stopping herself in time, "And my name's Shiko by the way, Shiko Higure. What's your name?"
A look of shock came over the woman's and she hastily bowed again, "I am humbled that a lady of stature would ask this lowly one for her name. I am Junko, Shiko-sama."
Rin giggled, "I like it. Shiko-sama and Sesshomaru-sama!"
Now this was really getting out of hand, "Look, I'm not royalty or anything!" Shiko said, louder this time, "And don't add the honorific. It's nice to meet you Junko-san. This is Rin, by the way," she said, placing her hand on Rin's shoulder.
"I am honored," Junko said, "And please, Shiko-sam- Shiko-san," she ignored Shiko's moment of protest, "You must be a lady of stature, even if you do not wish it said. I have never seen a woman other than one of noble blood be taught to fight or instructed in the way of the sword."
Yes, that did make sense. Women were not taught to fight at all, only female servants of important ladies or in some cases those important ladies themselves were taught to fight with their hands and allowed to learn how to wield a blade. But still, Shiko didn't like Junko giving her a title that she did not deserve, "I am learned in the way of the sword, but I am not of royal blood or a servant of one," she corrected, "And by the way, where were you headed before being attacked by that bandit?" she asked.
"My home village is over the mountain there," Junko said, pointing to a not-so-tall mountain a little ways away.
Shiko grinned slightly as she thought of how annoyed Sesshomaru would be if another human traveled with them. "If you want, me and my group can escort you there. That way you and your father's sculpture will be safe if more bandits attack us during the trip."
Junko looked slightly scandaled by this, "But Shiko-san, I couldn't take advantage of your hospitality!"
"Come on Junko-san!" Rin said cheerfully, grabbing her hand and tugging her in the direction Shiko and her had come from, "It'll be fun. You seem nice! I like you!" Thus Rin had pronounced them friends for life and Junko had no choice but to go alone with it.
The sneaky grin didn't fade from Shiko's face.
"Sesshomaru," she said as soon as they got back, "This is Junko-san. She was attacked by bandits and is going to be staying with us until she gets back to her hometown, which is over that mountain there," she helpfully pointed in the direction given to her, "And Junko-san," she introduced the now even more scared woman, "This is Sesshomaru and… oh, that's Jaken. Don't worry about them. Even if they're demons, they won't do you any harm."
No harm so long as Rin kept clinging to Junko's hand like a kitten with a new toy.
There wasn't that much of an argument over Junko temporarily joining them.
Shiko and Rin didn't mind at all. It was nice for Shiko to talk to a woman her own age, especially one with such a different idea of the world and how life worked. Like history class only way more in depth. And more accurate. On the other hand, Rin was just glad for someone who was perfectly willing to play with her. The little girl mentioned more than once about how unfriendly Jaken could be and how 'Junko-san was way funner!'
Jaken grumbled and complained a lot, and Shiko suspected that he might have even been a little bit jealous about Rin finding a new friend that wasn't him, but he was like that most of the time. So the only one who paid him any mind was Junko, but only because she was still a little worried about the fact that she was traveling with two demons.
And surprisingly enough, or not surprising at all, Sesshomaru didn't protest at all. He didn't seem to care, really. Rin liked Junko and Junko tended to stay quiet and all of them knew that the new addition was only there until they got her back to her home town. If Shiko didn't know better she would say that Sesshomaru was a bit melancholy, but that seemed like a silly thing to say.
Like the saying goes however, it's all fun and games till someone gets hurt.
Unfortunately, that someone happened to be Rin.
Junko gave instructions for a path over the mountain that would get them there in give or take three days. On the second day of walking – walking at a normal human pace, Shiko made sure to remind Sesshomaru – it began to rain.
Shiko and Junko got a bit chilly, but Shiko had her regular clothes which were fabulous modern things that kept cold out plus a kimono on top and a kimono to keep her head warm. Junko pulled a straw hat out of her large bundle and used that to keep the rain off her head. She wore probably four kimonos, one on top of the other, so Shiko didn't worry at all about Junko staying warm.
And Rin was made to put on a coat. Only she stopped wearing it after a while and instead decided to jump around in puddles with Jaken and made a game of it.
The next morning, she was running a fever.
"Shiko-san," Rin said, sounding most pitiful, as she tugged on the sleeve of Shiko's kimono, "I don't feel very good."
The little girl did look feverish. Shiko placed her hand on Rin's forehead, and then on her own, "Rin," she gasped, "You're burning up! You've got a fever."
"Am I gonna be okay?" Rin asked, her eyes watering.
Shiko tried hard to think of any fever cures, "You'll be fine. The common cold goes away. Um… what feels wrong?" Practically sense could generally cure most ailments.
"Throat's scratchy. And I'm real tired."
"Okay… Damn I wish there was some chicken soup around here… I want you to drink lots of water, and I want you to try and stay warm. You can sleep on Ah-Un's back if you're really tired."
Rin grudgingly didn't play in puddles that day.
"Um…" Junko piped up nervously, "The miko at my village can probably help. She's very good at curing colds." Then she promptly hushed up and looked embarrassed that she had mentioned it at all.
"How far is this village?"
Junko looked shocked at being addressed by Sesshomaru, who had spoken very little if at all during the journey, "A day. Less, probably, if we go fast."
Sesshomaru didn't acknowledge that her had even heard her, but his pace increased noticeably and Shiko and Junko struggled to keep up. Rin curled up on Ah-Un and wore her coat the whole trip, a miserable expression on her face as she sneezed occasionally.
About an hour before sunset, they finally cleared the mountain and arrived at Junko's village.
"Welcome to my town!" she said with a smile as she led them to a cliff overlooking a bustling village. "Now, I can take Rin to the miko right away. We don't get very many sick people here, so the miko should be able to attend to Rin without a dely. Shiko-san, if you wish to come with me I would greatly welcome your company," she nervously addressed Sesshomaru next, "Sesshomaru-sama, I greatly apologize but-"
He turned away, "You don't need to give me advice, human. I am not so idiotic as to set foot in a human town." There was also a distinct air of 'and I don't want to be around humans at all' in his voice, but Shiko didn't tease him on it.
As Shiko helped Rin off Ah-Un, Sesshomaru caught her eye for a moment.
Shiko looked towards the town. The large, busy, noisy, human town. "Oh," she remembered, "I had to leave at the next human town."