Sesshomaru's Offer

Sesshomaru, current Lord of the West, was actually making an offer to a hanyou. This was very peculiar because normally he despised all hanyous, especially his younger brother Inuyasha. Why did someone who despises hanyous make an offer to one?

The answer to that question: he had heard from Kagura that a Hanyou by the name of Sasuke had managed to infuriate Naraku enough to fight (almost) to the bitter end. Now this was a VERY impressive feat in his eyes. He had yet to see the wannabe hanyou be furious enough to remain in a fight against anyone long enough to be killed.

This was a first for the biggest coward. Sesshomaru had to meet this hanyou at any costs. He was mildly surprised that he was with his little brother. He decided that he would offer this hanyou something.

What was Sesshomaru going to offer? The chance to travel with him and not have his head bitten off. Jaken was horrified that Lord Sesshomaru would offer such a thing to a filthy half-demon. Rin couldn't wait to have someone new to talk to besides Jaken.

Sasuke accepted. He wanted to travel with someone who DIDN'T fall flat on his face at the mention of a single word or a lecherous monk. Kit knew Sasuke needed room to grow and this was an opportunity for that to happen. The only one who complained about it was Inuyasha, Shippo and Kirara. They had grown to like the hanyou very much and would miss him.

Sasuke bid farewell to his new and old friends and left with Sesshomaru. (This is probably the first time in years that Sesshomaru and Inuyasha weren't fighting over their father's swords!) Sasuke took an immediate liking to Rin and a 5 second tolerance to Jaken's whining. Sesshomaru usually looked the other way when Sasuke used Jaken for target practice with his Kunai and Shuriken. Jutsus were reserved for sparring only.

This arrangement worked very well for both Sesshomaru and Sasuke. Sasuke got to see the world without someone hovering over him, and Sesshomaru gained a new traveling companion that despised Naraku as much as he did, not to mention the fact that Sasuke took very good care of the human child Rin. (He generally stayed by Rin's side to protect her from Naraku and his incarnations.)

Inuyasha on the other hand, was very ticked at Sasuke's decision to accept his brother's offer. He had grown to like the hanyou and was sad to see him leave so soon. Shippo enjoyed having another kitsune to hang out with and Kirara enjoyed having someone other than Sango carry her. Kit could sense their sadness and tried to make up for it.

Sasuke developed his sharp wit rapidly while with Sesshomaru. His demonic aura grew every day and soon would rival his demonic traveling companion. The few times Naraku came after Sesshomaru, Sasuke protected Rin while tricking the wannabe hanyou into staying around till he had no choice to flee. He even learned how to wield a sword.

Jaken didn't like their new friend at all. He still couldn't figure out why Sesshomaru had offered to let the hanyou to accompany him. His Lord hated half-demons. How was this one so different? And why did he have to use him as target practice with his weapons and not weak demons?!

Rin enjoyed Sasuke's company immensely. He was the closest thing to a fellow human in their strange little group. He played with her, told her stories and even helped her gather flowers for Lord Sesshomaru! Sometimes he let her sleep in his lap. Sesshomaru noticed how the new addition to their group acted like an older brother to Rin and was glad he had offered to let him join.