Rin braced herself against the chilly fall air as she headed in the direction of home. A blood-stained apron was clutched in her hand—they'd almost lost the mother. It wouldn't be the first time and the rare but real threat of the death that hung over every delivery was definitely her least favorite part of the job.
Kaede-sama had stayed behind to further tend to the new mother and had sent Rin ahead to prepare dinner. She reached the house, entering and hung up the apron. She could probably still get the stain out if she boiled it in hot water immediately but there wasn't enough daylight left for that. Instead she got right to work preparing a soup for her and Kaede's evening meal. While it was cooking in the pot she took out her shime-daiko and her bachi. It had become a habit of hers for when she felt fidgety or impatient. Tapping out precise rhythmic patterns, recalling the tempo and pitch from memory, humming along, stringing words together to match the beat of the sounds she was creating; it focused her attention and took her mind off any unpleasant things it might drift toward.
The drum had been the only one of Sesshoumaru-sama's gifts she had specifically requested. It had quickly become her favorite possession but the beat of a shime-daiko unfortunately drove Kaede-sama crazy. Meaning that Rin could usually only indulge in her musical hobby when the miko was out of the house, though the older woman occasionally expressed a desire to listen to her playing, if only to keep up with her progress. Rin had considered asking Sesshoumaru-sama for a stringed instrument; perhaps a koto or a biwa—something less offensive to Kaede-sama's ears. She'd refrained though. She hated the idea of taking advantage of the daiyokai's generosity. Not to mention that his gifts were already a source of jealousy among the people of the village. Had been for as long as she'd lived there, in fact.
Rin's nose caught the scent of something burning. The soup!
She scrambled forward on her knees and hurried to put out the flame under the cooking pot. She stirred a spoon around the thick liquid, grimacing. As she was chiding herself for her distractibility, Kaede-sama appeared through the entrance of the house.
Rin greeted the miko, "Welcome back, Kaede-sama." She was about to apologize to Kaede-sama for ruining dinner when the older woman spoke.
"Rin, I just ran into Inuyasha. He says that Sesshoumaru is on his way here."
The young woman's face lit up. "Really? Is he sure?"
The miko nodded. "He seemed so. He said Sesshoumaru's scent is close by and he believes he and his little servant will arrive shortly."
Rin hopped up excitedly. She ran to the entrance of the house, hanging in the doorway and looking up towards the sky.
"Rin," Kaede said, "you shouldn't expect him already. I just told you he was coming."
Rin blushed at her impulsiveness. "I know," she said, putting a hand behind her head and chuckling awkwardly. "Just checking."
She turned back into the house and kneeled in front of Kaede, who was already spooning some of the soup into a bowl for herself. Nervously, Rin watched as the woman took a sip from the bowl. The miko's expression immediately betrayed her distaste, her eye's widening and then flitting downward at the substance in the dish.
"That bad, huh," Rin said sheepishly. "Gomen-nasai, Kaede-sama, I got distracted and let it overheat."
"Working on your music, were you?" Kaede eyed the shime-daiko at Rin's side.
"Why don't you play it for me while I eat," Kaede suggested. She glanced at the bowl in her hand, "It might take my mind off—" she stopped and rephrased herself, "It might be nice to enjoy some dinnertime music."
Rin ignored the slight on her culinary skills; even more eager for a willing audience. She pulled the shime-daiko in front of her. "Would you like to hear a new song I've been writing?"
"Go ahead," Kaede-sama told her.
She picked up her bachi and started to strike out the rhythm and the accompanying lyrics she'd gotten so lost in earlier.
"As your silver hair hangs, speak it
Oh, will you forget me ne'er?
I hold a line of crimson twine
As you do too, everyday
For all time, you're my lasting sign
In the wood and in the air
I find it in your golden eyes
For a second, along the way—"
Kaede's expression had remained neutral during her song. However, as Rin put her bachi down and pushed the drum aside it turned to a more pensive look. Had she not liked it? Rin admitted to herself that the lyrics still might need some polishing.
"It still needs some work," she said to Kaede-sama. "Obviously it's not finished but that's what I have so far."
"I will admit; I've preferred your other compositions," Kaede admitted. "That song you wrote about running barefoot through a flower field. I'd like to hear more nice, wholesome songs like that," she offered.
"Wholesome?" Rin wondered aloud. What she'd sang had seemed perfectly wholesome to her. "I can't always sing about the same things all the time," she said, "my lyrics depend on where my inspiration comes from."
"You seem to have only one inspiration these days, child," the miko said and Rin wasn't sure if she merely imagined the tone of disapproval. Her thought was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice from outside.
"Rin!" Jaken's voice called out. "Come outside and present yourself to your lord, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
"They're here!" Rin cried, standing up and dashing outside to meet their two visitors.
"Sesshoumaru-sama! Jaken-sama!" She greeted them happily. She knelt down to wrap her arms around the imp, causing him to sputter in an annoyance she knew to be exaggerated. Lest anyone really believe he was pleased to receive affection from a human girl.
"Rin, Mind your kimono!" he loudly chided her. "Don't kneel down in the dirt like that! When Sesshoumaru-sama gifts you a possession you are to treat it with proper respect!" Waving his arm out to scold her, she noticed that he held an object wrapped in cloth. Putting her curiosity aside for the moment, she turned to address the imposing figure standing several feet away.
"Kaede-sama told me Inuyasha-sama sensed you were coming today. Did you happen to see him on your way here?"
Her lord didn't respond to the question. He rarely, if ever, wanted to discuss his brother. A cold gust of wind blew past them, whipping Rin's hair up and over her face. She brushed it out of the way and then brought her arms around her body, shivering from the chilly air.
"If you're cold, we should go inside," Sesshoumaru said.
"It's not that cold," Rin said, the slight chatter of her teeth betraying her. She noticed a strand of hair had gotten caught in her eye when the wind had tossed it around. She tried to get it out, attempting to pinch it between her fingers but it remained stubbornly stuck in her eyelid. Sesshoumaru's hand reached out, making contact with her face and Rin tried not to jolt from the sensation of his skin touching hers. With a tiny flick of his claw, the strand was out.
"Thank you," she said, warmth blooming in her chest.
"Go inside," Sesshoumaru told her. "Jaken has a gift for you."
"We don't have to go inside," she insisted. "Really, it's not that cold." Rin was grateful to Kaede-sama for all the woman had done for her, she really was. In the past couple years though, she'd come to resent her constant presence during her visits with Sesshoumaru-sama. It made her feel like she was being chaperoned and she wished to be given the chance to speak with her lord away from the miko's supervision. Or anyone's, for that matter.
Reluctantly, she followed her two guests into the house. Kaede greeted them and Sesshoumaru sat down against the wall. "Jaken," he bid, "show Rin what we have brought for her."
Rin kneeled on the floor as the green yokai presented her with her gift. She gasped as the cloth packaging was removed, revealing the exact thing she hoped for earlier. The koto was beautiful. Well-crafted and sparkling with the promise of new musical possibilities.
"Oh, Jaken-sama, it's gorgeous!" Rin threw her arms around him. The embrace was also by proxy for her lord, as he was untouchable except for very special occasions in which she was in, or had been in mortal danger. Or had hair caught in her eye.
Jaken, again, protested effusively at being hugged even though she suspected he really didn't mind as much as he wanted her to think he did.
"Thank you, Jaken-sama, and thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama."
He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. "It is what you wanted, is it not?"
"Yes," Rin said and then laughed. "I guess I dropped enough hints, didn't I?"
Jaken threw his head back imperiously and crossed his arms. "Of course, Rin, you should know nothing gets past Sesshoumaru-sama. Our lord's intuition is second to none!" He clamped his staff down on the floor for emphasis.
"Rin, there's something else there," Sesshoumaru pointed out.
Rin looked again at her gift and noticed that, along with the koto, there was a book. She picked it up and flipped through the pages. Her face lit up when she saw the illustrations.
"An instruction manual!"
"As usual, Sesshoumaru-sama thinks of everything!" Jaken proclaimed. Turning to the daiyokai, he bowed his head. "Well done, my lord."
"Thank you again, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin said.
Rin passed her fingers over the koto, feeling the wood and the strings and admiring the craftsmanship. "I can't wait to try it out," she said, plucking a string experimentally.
Remembering the shime-daiko, she pulled it in front of her and picked up her bachi. "I've been practicing on the drum you gave me. Would you like to hear?"
"Play if you would like," the daiyokai said.
"I was just working on a song today," she said. "Maybe you could listen to it and tell me what you think."
Kaede, sitting between them, raised an eyebrow. "Rin, are you going to play the song that you sang earlier, before Sesshoumaru and Jaken arrived?"
"Yes, why?" Was there a problem with that? She wondered. Was it because it wasn't 'wholesome?' Whatever that meant.
The miko put her bowl down. "Here's a suggestion," she said to Rin, "why don't you perform one of those sutra's Miroku taught you; the ones that you set to music?"
Sesshoumaru interjected, "I think Rin should play whatever she feels like."
""Well I would prefer to hear a sutra," said Kaede.
Rin looked back and forth between her current and former guardians, unsure. She felt like there was something going she wasn't privy to, yet she'd been present for the pairs every interaction since her lord had arrived.
"It is Kaede-sama's house," she decided, "so I guess I'll go with her preference."
"Now, Rin, this is your house too," Kaede assured her. "But play the sutra."
Rin summoned as much enthusiasm as she could muster as she began to play. Sutra's were so boring. Still, she wanted to impress Sesshoumaru-sama. Her ability had greatly improved since his last visit. She couldn't waste any moment she had his attention. Gauging his reaction was difficult. His face blissfully neutral as always. Hopefully she was making an impression.
"Very good, Rin, " Kaede said after she finished, "that was lovely."
The woman's gaze turned briefly to Sesshoumaru and then back to Rin. "Rin, why don't you head down to Inuyasha and Kagome's house. They should be having dinner right now. Go tell them I sent you over and join them."
"But I already made dinner," Rin protested. The cooking pot in the middle of the room was still nearly full.
"Trust me, you don't want to eat that," Kaede said dryly.
"I—" the young woman began to say.
"You should listen to Kaede," Sesshoumaru said.
Rin eyed the two suspiciously, frowning. "Why do you both want me out of the house?"
"Child, there are matters I wish to speak to Sesshoumaru about," Kaede said. "Don't worry, he will still be here when you get back."
Rin had suddenly become aware of a loop she had been left out of. "You want me to leave so you can talk about me don't you?"
Whatever the two of them wanted to discuss, whether it had anything to do with her or not, they could discuss it in front of her. She wasn't a child anymore and there was no reason she should be excluded from adult conversations. A mixture of anxiety and annoyance crept up on her. And clearly what they wanted to talk about, was her. She was the only thing the humanity-averse daiyokai and the elderly miko had in common.
"Rin," Kaede said, "please, put on an old kimono so you won't get cold and head on over to Kagome's house."
Rin threw a pleading look to Sesshoumaru. Surely, he wouldn't allow her to be left out? But her lord merely regarded her stoically.
"Rin, just this once," the yokai assured her, "and we won't ask this of you again."
"Rin!" Jaken's voice commanded. "You will respect Sesshoumaru-sama's wishes and do as he says!"
"Jaken." Startled, the imp jumped back and clutched his staff, afraid he was going to be reprimanded by his master. Instead, Sesshoumaru said, "Go with her."
It was three to one, Rin thought. Outnumbered, Rin let out a terse "Fine" and went to the chest at the far wall to fish out one of her old kimonos. She pulled it on and didn't spare a glance back at Kaede and Sesshomaru as she exited the house, Jaken on her heels.
Out under the rapidly darkening sky, she tried to calm her frustration.
Let them talk. Let them have their little talk.
Her time would come. Soon she'd get the choice to leave and she would take it.
Rin's mind took off in a flight of fancy. She pictured herself, her legs swung over A-Un's saddle as they soared through the sky, a bouquet of morning glories in her arms. A part of Sesshoumaru-sama's world once more; never to be abandoned again. Yes, her glorious return was imminent, she thought.
Having convinced herself that everything was actually proceeding as she had foreseen (Team Sesshoumaru: Back together at last! Get your tickets now!) she felt a sudden burst of self-confidence. Sprinting up the path to the village, she jumped in the air, yelled "Look out world, here comes Rin-chan" and pumped her fist to the sky.
"What a weird girl," came Jaken's exasperated voice from behind her.