Demons Don't Get Colds!
Title: Demons Don't Get Colds
Fandom: Inuyasha a Feudal Fairytale
Disclaimer: I don't even own the videos, let alone the copyrights!
Summary: Sesshoumaru catches a cold, and realizes how special & important Rin Chan really is to his happiness
Cautions: Sweet toothache inducing content for now. OMG I can't believe it I am writing a G ficcie!
The ice was swirling in the wind like tiny daggers, all wielded by foes out for his blood. Sesshoumaru was fighting his way uphill to his den with a doe in his jaws. At this rate it would have to be thawed before it could even be cooked for his human foundling. She had been growing again, and was now wearing a cut down version of his garb made from one of his own Kimonos while she waited for Jaken to return from a human settlement with something more suitable for her to wear. Growing again meant that she was hungry more often. It also meant that he would soon have to go farther afield to find her something not meat based to eat. Humans just couldn't live on a diet that subsisted entirely of meat. Humans and lesser demons were so weak sometimes. Deep in his secret heart, he didn't hate them, but it still annoyed him when he had to make allowances for his servant's or his foundling's weaknesses. At her age he had already been wielding a sword against some minor parasites that had infested the land during his father's early rule. Admittedly he had spent more time in his natural shape, and had killed only one beast with his blade, but he had at least been able to feed himself during the battles with little effort! His disgruntled thoughts carried him up the hill with greater strength and determination then before. He reached his den's entrance and was finally out of the cutting crosswinds. Sesshoumaru dropped the carcass of the deer on the stone floor and shook himself in true canine fashion to rid his fur of the incrusting ice. Once the most of the mass had been shook free he halted to wait while Rin approached to greet him and claim the meat he had brought for her. "Welcome back Sesshoumaru Sama! Thank you for finding food!" Rin said. Then with competence born of long practice she rigged the hind legs of the deer together with twine. The loop made by this twine and the legs of the carcass went over a steel hook that dangled from a block and tackle in the ceiling. Once this was accomplished, Rin went to the crank and gears on one side of the cavern entrance and pulled out a large wooden peg. The weights that counter- balanced the hook dropped to the first level and hoisted the deer just enough off the floor to be bled and cleaned when Jaken returned. The other levels were for larger prey, like ware-bears, and bull giant dark-worms. These beasts required more weight and a larger drop distance from the ingenious device devised by Jaken for prey handling. Once she had done this she bowed respectfully to him before retreating to allow him to finish shaking off the now melted ice. He entered the main living area several cave section's deeper inside his lair. The only comment that she made on the pong of wet dog that followed him everyplace was to wrinkle her tiny nose once. He went around behind the screens that separated out his nest of sleeping cushions and transformed back to his humanoid form. Then he peeled off the layers of his daily costume and draped them over the screen. The only ones that didn't disappear, snatched by Rin to be deposited on the laundry pile were his armor and the sword belt that supported Tensiaga's scabbard. Those she had left alone. She had learned that lesson after being told only once that no one should be permitted to handle the items but Sesshoumaru Sama and sometimes Jaken. Stern warnings that went ignored by the sometimes-precocious child were punished by spankings dealt out by Jaken. Sesshoumaru feared to punish her himself least he hurt her severely with his demonic strength. She came back and threw a fresh pair of white cotton pants and a soft indoor shirt over the screen for him, along with a drying cloth for his hair. He dressed himself before coming out from behind the screen to join her by the fire pit. He found that she was actually making an attempt at repairing the items shredded in his last demonic battle. For an eight-year- old she learned fast, and had taken to Jaken's sewing lessons as if she were a re-born seamstress. She held up the shirt, which needed to be nearly rewoven after the battle tore it to shreds, as well as scrubbed until the massive bloodstains came out. She looked to him in silent hope of approval. "Good work Rin."
Sesshoumaru had taken her to the priestess whose sibling had imprisoned his half brother Inuyasha after she had not spoken for the first few weeks in his company. " Children who see their parents die before their eyes react differently to the trauma. She might not ever utter another word, or someday she will start talking so much you can't get her to shut up!" She had said. This last funny crack had been made in Rin's direction. She had chuckled silently at it. Even her laughter was silent. It hurt him deeply that though she smelled as if she were fond of him she would not even try to speak for him.
**Three Years later**
"Rin Chan! Come get your new Kimono!" Jaken's voice echoed through the caverns. Once again the girl had grown out of her favorite Kimono. The orange and white checkerboard pattern was tattered anyway. Though she had great sewing skills she never seemed inclined to repair her own garments. She just let them wear away to rags.
The new kimono was a soft crème color with a cherry tree on the back that's blossoms touched every place on the rest of the garment. When Rin saw it her eyes smiled though the expression as usual did not touch her face. She disappeared into the deeper caverns where she had been dug a room by Sesshoumaru for her tenth birthday. Every fall and every spring she was getting a new Kimono now. Jaken pulled forth a surprise. It was a silk dress kimono with a blue crescent moon pattern stitched all around the hem, the sleeves and neckline. Had she been an ordinary eleven-year-old she would have screeched with delight. Instead Rin hugged the small demon tightly and spun him around. "Please Rin Chan! I . Can't breathe!" Jaken exclaimed.
Rin released him and hurried back to her room to put away the treasured new Kimono. Her eyes were shiny with happy tears. Sesshoumaru smiled as he watched the happy girl. Her happiness seemed to increase his joy. He often would go out during the nicer weather to find her treats. He only did this when Jaken had gone on an errand for him. He did not want the talkative little demon spreading word that his master had a weakness for the tiny girl he kept as his ward. Many of his peers thought him demented already for keeping her. Others considered her his pet. The irony of being the 'pet' of a giant supernatural dog was not lost on Rin. When she had been called so to her face she had actually smiled all over her face rather then just in her eyes.
What the demon had called her was "Child." However it was clear that he meant, "Ragged little mutt." His tone said it all. His loathing of humans was even stronger then Sesshoumaru's had been before he adopted Rin Chan. He knew this, and the only reason he was restrained in his reply to such mistreatment of her was because of the amusement she took from it.
Sesshoumaru took Rin Chan with him, bundled up to her eyes in furs and deer hides to protect her from the cold. She had expressed a wish to play in the snow. Her idea of 'playing in the snow' was different from other children's idea of the activity just as she was different from the other children. She got outside and immediately began to sculpt a familiar shape out of the snow and ice. Soon a great dog beast was standing near to the den's entrance. She carefully shaped the fur and even made the fangs out of large icicles. By the time she had finished Sesshoumaru returned from scouring the territory for prey. He brought back only a few rabbits. The deer had learned that to feed in this region was courting death. Like all wild things they took this lesson seriously and fled to safer pastures.
He stared at an ice sculpture of himself. It was so accurate that it frightened him. He couldn't help but tease her about her subject matter. "I had no idea that you had looked at me so often as to memorize what I look like Rin Chan." His implication made the girl blush brightly. She shook her head firmly. She made it clear through facial expressions and her own special hand gestures that something was missing, and she wasn't quite satisfied. He nodded in understanding, and left her to work at it.
A few hours passed and she returned. She came stomping back in and shook the fresh snowfall from her coverings. She hung them on the hooks that were meant for that use and slunk in to sit by the fire. Sesshoumaru was enjoying a hot cup of sake. He had many serious things on his mind that is until she shook her hair out and sprayed him with chilly moisture. "Baka!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed in shock. She looked at him, with his look of serious discontent that most others would have mistaken for deadly wrath and she shook she laughed so hard.
Her mirth may have been silent but it was still extremely contagious. Soon he was chuckling deeply at the sight he must have presented. Soon they stopped out of breath from the overload of humor. Rin leaned forward and served him a second cup of sake with al the grace of a fully-grown female. He was certain that she had not learned such techniques from Jaken. He could barely serve without spilling, let alone in the feminine style of human custom. He accepted the cup of the warming fluid and gestured that she should serve herself as well. She only took a quarter cup of the intoxicant, yet that and her day's play was enough to make her sleepy. He dismissed her to bed and returned to his considerations.
This den was not going to do for them much longer. They would have to follow the prey animals and live someplace else. He contemplated the circumstances of his half brother and decided that it might do Rin Chan a great deal of good to live near humans again. It might crack the shell of silence that surrounded her naturally upbeat and bright spirit. After this winter was over, and as soon as the season stabilized he was going to make himself into a new neighbor for his half brother and the human he had taken as a mate. The reincarnation of the shrine priestess was a fearsome woman now, and as he recalled about to have her first litter of pups. Perhaps the extra aid of 'family' would be welcome. He hoped so because he would not allow Rin Chan to starve, even if his brother had a problem with his presence!
The next morning when he awoke he felt somewhat strange. He looked about for Rin Chan and saw her nowhere about the main den area. He thought that perhaps she had slept late, tired as she had been last eve. Her scent did not come back from her rooms. He went to wake her and inform her of his departure for the hunt. What he found upon entering the hallway startled him. The scent of illness was strong there and it was coming from her room!
He did not hesitate to walk right in, although lately she had been developing a woman's modesty along with the very tiniest of beginnings towards a woman's figure. What he found confirmed and emphasized the conclusions he had already made by scent alone. The girl was tossing in feverish dreams, and she coughed even though asleep. He walked over to the edge of her bed, and wrapping all her covers around her took her from her cold room, to a place in his own nest of sleeping cushions. It was much warmer then in her room, yet she still needed to stay even warmer if she was to get healthy. She also needed the herbal tea that Jaken kept on hand for her rare illnesses. Demons didn't catch colds after all. He left Rin in the depression where he normally slept in his canine shape. She snuggled into the residual warmth and shivered in spite of her fever.
His search through the cupboards finally bore fruit when he came upon the medicinal smelling dried plants. Sesshoumaru made a large cup of the tea for her, according to the instructions written in Jaken's perfect Kanji on the outside of the wrapper. How he was going to get the girl to ingest it when she was unconscious he had no idea. As he made his way crawling over the cushions to her bundled form he remembered that demons do indeed get colds sometimes. It happens perhaps seven or eight times in a nearly eternal life, and his stepmother had nursed him through one such, when he had come to his father's house for help. She had made him swallow this noxious brew by placing a small amount in his mouth and rubbing his throat until he swallowed. He did the same thing for Rin Chan now and it worked just as it had with him.
Having done so, and knowing that the off feeling was himself succumbing to the illness, though less seriously then the human child was he knew what he had to do. He drank the remainder of the tea and settled around the girl in his natural shape. The warmth of his dog-beast's body made her snuggle close to him in her sleep. They both needed to try their best to recover on their own until Jaken returned and could fetch the healer to the den.
Rin woke the next night feeling a whole lot better. She realized from the icky taste in her mouth that she had been forced to drink some of Jaken's tea. What she wasn't so sure of was where she was. It had the smell of den, yet the fuzzy look she got with her fever afflicted eyes was not helping her to tell where she was. Then something moved beside her, and coughed. She turned over and met the canine countenance of Sesshoumaru Sama, gazing at him eye to eye. He was sick too? What in the world had they caught that day in the snow? She smiled at him and gestured that she would make some tea now. "Are you feeling up to it?" She motioned that she was in better shape now then he was. His reply got a gruff snort and a paw gesture to get at it.
She came back a while later with a bowl of tea in one hand and a chunk of meat on a plate in the other. She had cooked it so that it would be easier for him to eat in his weakened state. She wanted to care for him, just this once, like he and Jaken Sama had for her so many times before. She had a feeling that Demons getting sick was a rare thing. She was certain that this chance was not likely to come around again in her lifetime. She fed him the tea by the stirring spoon full, until it was gone, then drank her own cup, making a face at him about the taste that earned her a mild chuckle. "Silly Rin Chan, of course it tastes bad, it's good for you!" Sesshoumaru mocked in a very good imitation of Jaken's voice. She laughed, weakly at his joke and had to stop because laughing soon became coughing.
Jaken approached the den of his master swiftly. He had been far longer in the far south fetching the girl her new spring Kimono and gathering other supplies. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, just to the left of the power-strangling curse -(I'll explain don't worry) that told him of something not being right in the den. He scurried up the hill, a comical sight if anyone had been around to see the little toad thing carrying a pack that towered above him by six or seven times his own hight. As he came into the cave he heard Sesshoumaru Sama call to him to come quickly to his sleeping place.
He scurried to the side of his master. What he saw surprised him, though he did not even show it by a widening of eyes. He had served Sesshoumaru for centuries, and knew better then to wonder at anything his master said or did. Rin Chan was wrapped up asleep in her bedclothes, lying in the crook formed by the natural form of his master. Sesshoumaru was speaking carefully, his voice hoarse from the illness that had overtaken both of them in his servant's absence. " Jaken, you must run to fetch he healer. Rin has caught my illness and is very ill. For a time I thought it was a separate illness but it is a demon sickness, and only a healer can keep her with us! Run Jaken!" Jaken took one look at the ill child and he sprinted out the way he had come, leaving his pack forgotten in the entrance chamber.
Jaken jumped, showing that being a toad demon did have some advantages. He made good time down to the village. He smashed into the side of the hut comically and fell back, making a Jaken sized hole in the three plus feet of powdery snow that covered ground. He was up again as soon as his ears stopped ringing. He went to the door and started banging with the staff of heads. The door opened to reveal the apprentice of the old healer. "She is with Inuyasha's mate now, she should have had her pups though so go there to find her." The girl told him. Jaken ran off to do just that.
A banging came at the door just as Inuyasha had settled in to hold his mate while she slept. Kagome was exhausted, and weak, but the pups had been born healthy and strong, both of them. Though it was a small littler for dog demons, it was a good sized one for a young human female to produce. He was vastly proud of his Kagome. "Answer the door Baka, it sounds important." She whispered affectionately before slipping back to sleep.
He jumped off the bed to yank open the door. "Gomen Inuyasha. My master's ward has need of the healer. Otherwise I would not have disturbed you during this important time." The Little toad demon that served his brother said. "Your mate will be fine young demon. She was stronger then any other to begin with. I am through here so I shall go." The voice of the healer replied from the back of the room. She gathered together some of her things, leaving a pain-relieving potion behind for Inuyasha to slip into his Mate's tea, then she departed.
Sesshoumaru looked up at the sound of human footsteps entering his lair. Until this point Rin was the only human to see the inside of his most private domain. When the healer tapped slightly at the screen, he spoke, "Enter healer but be wary. My natural shape might be frightening to you." The healer smiled behind her hand. As she walked around the beautiful screens. She had seen Inuyasha almost right after the final fight after Kagome had granted his wish to be a full demon. The giant silvery white dog had not frightened her in the least.
The feral creature that lay wrapped around the small child was only a little bit different. Stranger in the eyes, and perhaps a bit more wild and fearsome. It was nothing that the healer couldn't handle with her impressive discipline. She settled down into a seated position on the cushions nearest to Rin's head and gently touched the child's forehead with her forearm.
"She is in the throws of a high fever. We must first get it down before anything else is done for her illness. If we do not she may well come out of this but without any mind to speak of!" She informed the demon before her. He nodded and got up slowly, letting the child down to fully rest on the cushions. Before she had been cradled over his massive forepaws, and cuddled close to the warm throat of her protector. He came back in moments later and told Jaken to bring the girl to the bathing chamber.
The little toad lifted the girl with surprising strength. Followed by the healer the recovering Lord of the western lands ordered Jaken to remove the little clothing that the overheated child had been wearing and place her sitting against the backrest in the stone tub. "So sorry Rin Chan this will most likely hurt." Sesshoumaru muttered in the girl's ear, before he dumped over a giant cauldron filled with snow. It filled the tub and covered Rin up to her collarbones. "Will that do healer?" Sesshoumaru asked politely. The woman nodded, and said as she went back to her bag of medicine, "We must remove her from the snow bath and replace her in it at intervals elsewhile she will suffer frost burns to her skin. We must repeat this until she is free of the fever."
The illness soon came under control and the healer left with Jaken carrying a heavy deer carcass to deliver to her hut as payment for her services. Sesshoumaru sat in his humanoid form looking at the small child as she slept away in a peaceful healthy rest that she had not enjoyed in many days. Until this time he had no idea that someone could feel such joy at the mere sight of sleeping comrades or kin. His possessive streak had been furious that he could not protect Rin from the illness that had tried to strike her down. He caressed her cheek with the back of one hand, getting a pleasing result. Rin snuggled into his hand, nestling her cheek in his palm, while murmuring his name in her sleep!
It might be over! She might talk for real soon! His excited thoughts jumped about like a frenzied pack of puppies. He smirked with delight and lay down beside Rin Chan to continue the last day of his own recovery. Tomorrow was another day when he must seek prey to replace the doe that he had paid the healer. Rin Chan would need a lot of hot meat to recover her strength, and after the frustration of needing to help but being unable to, he needed the violence to let out his frustrations.
Rin snuggled to the warm person next to her sighing contently in her sleepy state, the familiar scent of Sesshoumaru Sama lulling her back into dreams
{{ OMG I wrote a whole Ficcie perfectly suitable for my three year old cousin.If she was old enough to read ~_^ I didn't know I had it in me that's FOR SURE! If you have read my other stuff you know the kind of content I usually insert: blood violence and ahemming ~_^ Everyone needs to show me how proud they are of me by reviewing this fine fic of mine after all I broke out of my safe little box! And Please in the name of god I have three un-reviewed fics out there! In Final fantasy seven cowboy bebop and Harry Potter fic sections to be precise! Use my list to get to them and review I know something's wrong with em I need to know what! Tell me please! Thanks always! The Flamekaat }}
Title: Demons Don't Get Colds
Fandom: Inuyasha a Feudal Fairytale
Disclaimer: I don't even own the videos, let alone the copyrights!
Summary: Sesshoumaru catches a cold, and realizes how special & important Rin Chan really is to his happiness
Cautions: Sweet toothache inducing content for now. OMG I can't believe it I am writing a G ficcie!
The ice was swirling in the wind like tiny daggers, all wielded by foes out for his blood. Sesshoumaru was fighting his way uphill to his den with a doe in his jaws. At this rate it would have to be thawed before it could even be cooked for his human foundling. She had been growing again, and was now wearing a cut down version of his garb made from one of his own Kimonos while she waited for Jaken to return from a human settlement with something more suitable for her to wear. Growing again meant that she was hungry more often. It also meant that he would soon have to go farther afield to find her something not meat based to eat. Humans just couldn't live on a diet that subsisted entirely of meat. Humans and lesser demons were so weak sometimes. Deep in his secret heart, he didn't hate them, but it still annoyed him when he had to make allowances for his servant's or his foundling's weaknesses. At her age he had already been wielding a sword against some minor parasites that had infested the land during his father's early rule. Admittedly he had spent more time in his natural shape, and had killed only one beast with his blade, but he had at least been able to feed himself during the battles with little effort! His disgruntled thoughts carried him up the hill with greater strength and determination then before. He reached his den's entrance and was finally out of the cutting crosswinds. Sesshoumaru dropped the carcass of the deer on the stone floor and shook himself in true canine fashion to rid his fur of the incrusting ice. Once the most of the mass had been shook free he halted to wait while Rin approached to greet him and claim the meat he had brought for her. "Welcome back Sesshoumaru Sama! Thank you for finding food!" Rin said. Then with competence born of long practice she rigged the hind legs of the deer together with twine. The loop made by this twine and the legs of the carcass went over a steel hook that dangled from a block and tackle in the ceiling. Once this was accomplished, Rin went to the crank and gears on one side of the cavern entrance and pulled out a large wooden peg. The weights that counter- balanced the hook dropped to the first level and hoisted the deer just enough off the floor to be bled and cleaned when Jaken returned. The other levels were for larger prey, like ware-bears, and bull giant dark-worms. These beasts required more weight and a larger drop distance from the ingenious device devised by Jaken for prey handling. Once she had done this she bowed respectfully to him before retreating to allow him to finish shaking off the now melted ice. He entered the main living area several cave section's deeper inside his lair. The only comment that she made on the pong of wet dog that followed him everyplace was to wrinkle her tiny nose once. He went around behind the screens that separated out his nest of sleeping cushions and transformed back to his humanoid form. Then he peeled off the layers of his daily costume and draped them over the screen. The only ones that didn't disappear, snatched by Rin to be deposited on the laundry pile were his armor and the sword belt that supported Tensiaga's scabbard. Those she had left alone. She had learned that lesson after being told only once that no one should be permitted to handle the items but Sesshoumaru Sama and sometimes Jaken. Stern warnings that went ignored by the sometimes-precocious child were punished by spankings dealt out by Jaken. Sesshoumaru feared to punish her himself least he hurt her severely with his demonic strength. She came back and threw a fresh pair of white cotton pants and a soft indoor shirt over the screen for him, along with a drying cloth for his hair. He dressed himself before coming out from behind the screen to join her by the fire pit. He found that she was actually making an attempt at repairing the items shredded in his last demonic battle. For an eight-year- old she learned fast, and had taken to Jaken's sewing lessons as if she were a re-born seamstress. She held up the shirt, which needed to be nearly rewoven after the battle tore it to shreds, as well as scrubbed until the massive bloodstains came out. She looked to him in silent hope of approval. "Good work Rin."
Sesshoumaru had taken her to the priestess whose sibling had imprisoned his half brother Inuyasha after she had not spoken for the first few weeks in his company. " Children who see their parents die before their eyes react differently to the trauma. She might not ever utter another word, or someday she will start talking so much you can't get her to shut up!" She had said. This last funny crack had been made in Rin's direction. She had chuckled silently at it. Even her laughter was silent. It hurt him deeply that though she smelled as if she were fond of him she would not even try to speak for him.
**Three Years later**
"Rin Chan! Come get your new Kimono!" Jaken's voice echoed through the caverns. Once again the girl had grown out of her favorite Kimono. The orange and white checkerboard pattern was tattered anyway. Though she had great sewing skills she never seemed inclined to repair her own garments. She just let them wear away to rags.
The new kimono was a soft crème color with a cherry tree on the back that's blossoms touched every place on the rest of the garment. When Rin saw it her eyes smiled though the expression as usual did not touch her face. She disappeared into the deeper caverns where she had been dug a room by Sesshoumaru for her tenth birthday. Every fall and every spring she was getting a new Kimono now. Jaken pulled forth a surprise. It was a silk dress kimono with a blue crescent moon pattern stitched all around the hem, the sleeves and neckline. Had she been an ordinary eleven-year-old she would have screeched with delight. Instead Rin hugged the small demon tightly and spun him around. "Please Rin Chan! I . Can't breathe!" Jaken exclaimed.
Rin released him and hurried back to her room to put away the treasured new Kimono. Her eyes were shiny with happy tears. Sesshoumaru smiled as he watched the happy girl. Her happiness seemed to increase his joy. He often would go out during the nicer weather to find her treats. He only did this when Jaken had gone on an errand for him. He did not want the talkative little demon spreading word that his master had a weakness for the tiny girl he kept as his ward. Many of his peers thought him demented already for keeping her. Others considered her his pet. The irony of being the 'pet' of a giant supernatural dog was not lost on Rin. When she had been called so to her face she had actually smiled all over her face rather then just in her eyes.
What the demon had called her was "Child." However it was clear that he meant, "Ragged little mutt." His tone said it all. His loathing of humans was even stronger then Sesshoumaru's had been before he adopted Rin Chan. He knew this, and the only reason he was restrained in his reply to such mistreatment of her was because of the amusement she took from it.
Sesshoumaru took Rin Chan with him, bundled up to her eyes in furs and deer hides to protect her from the cold. She had expressed a wish to play in the snow. Her idea of 'playing in the snow' was different from other children's idea of the activity just as she was different from the other children. She got outside and immediately began to sculpt a familiar shape out of the snow and ice. Soon a great dog beast was standing near to the den's entrance. She carefully shaped the fur and even made the fangs out of large icicles. By the time she had finished Sesshoumaru returned from scouring the territory for prey. He brought back only a few rabbits. The deer had learned that to feed in this region was courting death. Like all wild things they took this lesson seriously and fled to safer pastures.
He stared at an ice sculpture of himself. It was so accurate that it frightened him. He couldn't help but tease her about her subject matter. "I had no idea that you had looked at me so often as to memorize what I look like Rin Chan." His implication made the girl blush brightly. She shook her head firmly. She made it clear through facial expressions and her own special hand gestures that something was missing, and she wasn't quite satisfied. He nodded in understanding, and left her to work at it.
A few hours passed and she returned. She came stomping back in and shook the fresh snowfall from her coverings. She hung them on the hooks that were meant for that use and slunk in to sit by the fire. Sesshoumaru was enjoying a hot cup of sake. He had many serious things on his mind that is until she shook her hair out and sprayed him with chilly moisture. "Baka!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed in shock. She looked at him, with his look of serious discontent that most others would have mistaken for deadly wrath and she shook she laughed so hard.
Her mirth may have been silent but it was still extremely contagious. Soon he was chuckling deeply at the sight he must have presented. Soon they stopped out of breath from the overload of humor. Rin leaned forward and served him a second cup of sake with al the grace of a fully-grown female. He was certain that she had not learned such techniques from Jaken. He could barely serve without spilling, let alone in the feminine style of human custom. He accepted the cup of the warming fluid and gestured that she should serve herself as well. She only took a quarter cup of the intoxicant, yet that and her day's play was enough to make her sleepy. He dismissed her to bed and returned to his considerations.
This den was not going to do for them much longer. They would have to follow the prey animals and live someplace else. He contemplated the circumstances of his half brother and decided that it might do Rin Chan a great deal of good to live near humans again. It might crack the shell of silence that surrounded her naturally upbeat and bright spirit. After this winter was over, and as soon as the season stabilized he was going to make himself into a new neighbor for his half brother and the human he had taken as a mate. The reincarnation of the shrine priestess was a fearsome woman now, and as he recalled about to have her first litter of pups. Perhaps the extra aid of 'family' would be welcome. He hoped so because he would not allow Rin Chan to starve, even if his brother had a problem with his presence!
The next morning when he awoke he felt somewhat strange. He looked about for Rin Chan and saw her nowhere about the main den area. He thought that perhaps she had slept late, tired as she had been last eve. Her scent did not come back from her rooms. He went to wake her and inform her of his departure for the hunt. What he found upon entering the hallway startled him. The scent of illness was strong there and it was coming from her room!
He did not hesitate to walk right in, although lately she had been developing a woman's modesty along with the very tiniest of beginnings towards a woman's figure. What he found confirmed and emphasized the conclusions he had already made by scent alone. The girl was tossing in feverish dreams, and she coughed even though asleep. He walked over to the edge of her bed, and wrapping all her covers around her took her from her cold room, to a place in his own nest of sleeping cushions. It was much warmer then in her room, yet she still needed to stay even warmer if she was to get healthy. She also needed the herbal tea that Jaken kept on hand for her rare illnesses. Demons didn't catch colds after all. He left Rin in the depression where he normally slept in his canine shape. She snuggled into the residual warmth and shivered in spite of her fever.
His search through the cupboards finally bore fruit when he came upon the medicinal smelling dried plants. Sesshoumaru made a large cup of the tea for her, according to the instructions written in Jaken's perfect Kanji on the outside of the wrapper. How he was going to get the girl to ingest it when she was unconscious he had no idea. As he made his way crawling over the cushions to her bundled form he remembered that demons do indeed get colds sometimes. It happens perhaps seven or eight times in a nearly eternal life, and his stepmother had nursed him through one such, when he had come to his father's house for help. She had made him swallow this noxious brew by placing a small amount in his mouth and rubbing his throat until he swallowed. He did the same thing for Rin Chan now and it worked just as it had with him.
Having done so, and knowing that the off feeling was himself succumbing to the illness, though less seriously then the human child was he knew what he had to do. He drank the remainder of the tea and settled around the girl in his natural shape. The warmth of his dog-beast's body made her snuggle close to him in her sleep. They both needed to try their best to recover on their own until Jaken returned and could fetch the healer to the den.
Rin woke the next night feeling a whole lot better. She realized from the icky taste in her mouth that she had been forced to drink some of Jaken's tea. What she wasn't so sure of was where she was. It had the smell of den, yet the fuzzy look she got with her fever afflicted eyes was not helping her to tell where she was. Then something moved beside her, and coughed. She turned over and met the canine countenance of Sesshoumaru Sama, gazing at him eye to eye. He was sick too? What in the world had they caught that day in the snow? She smiled at him and gestured that she would make some tea now. "Are you feeling up to it?" She motioned that she was in better shape now then he was. His reply got a gruff snort and a paw gesture to get at it.
She came back a while later with a bowl of tea in one hand and a chunk of meat on a plate in the other. She had cooked it so that it would be easier for him to eat in his weakened state. She wanted to care for him, just this once, like he and Jaken Sama had for her so many times before. She had a feeling that Demons getting sick was a rare thing. She was certain that this chance was not likely to come around again in her lifetime. She fed him the tea by the stirring spoon full, until it was gone, then drank her own cup, making a face at him about the taste that earned her a mild chuckle. "Silly Rin Chan, of course it tastes bad, it's good for you!" Sesshoumaru mocked in a very good imitation of Jaken's voice. She laughed, weakly at his joke and had to stop because laughing soon became coughing.
Jaken approached the den of his master swiftly. He had been far longer in the far south fetching the girl her new spring Kimono and gathering other supplies. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, just to the left of the power-strangling curse -(I'll explain don't worry) that told him of something not being right in the den. He scurried up the hill, a comical sight if anyone had been around to see the little toad thing carrying a pack that towered above him by six or seven times his own hight. As he came into the cave he heard Sesshoumaru Sama call to him to come quickly to his sleeping place.
He scurried to the side of his master. What he saw surprised him, though he did not even show it by a widening of eyes. He had served Sesshoumaru for centuries, and knew better then to wonder at anything his master said or did. Rin Chan was wrapped up asleep in her bedclothes, lying in the crook formed by the natural form of his master. Sesshoumaru was speaking carefully, his voice hoarse from the illness that had overtaken both of them in his servant's absence. " Jaken, you must run to fetch he healer. Rin has caught my illness and is very ill. For a time I thought it was a separate illness but it is a demon sickness, and only a healer can keep her with us! Run Jaken!" Jaken took one look at the ill child and he sprinted out the way he had come, leaving his pack forgotten in the entrance chamber.
Jaken jumped, showing that being a toad demon did have some advantages. He made good time down to the village. He smashed into the side of the hut comically and fell back, making a Jaken sized hole in the three plus feet of powdery snow that covered ground. He was up again as soon as his ears stopped ringing. He went to the door and started banging with the staff of heads. The door opened to reveal the apprentice of the old healer. "She is with Inuyasha's mate now, she should have had her pups though so go there to find her." The girl told him. Jaken ran off to do just that.
A banging came at the door just as Inuyasha had settled in to hold his mate while she slept. Kagome was exhausted, and weak, but the pups had been born healthy and strong, both of them. Though it was a small littler for dog demons, it was a good sized one for a young human female to produce. He was vastly proud of his Kagome. "Answer the door Baka, it sounds important." She whispered affectionately before slipping back to sleep.
He jumped off the bed to yank open the door. "Gomen Inuyasha. My master's ward has need of the healer. Otherwise I would not have disturbed you during this important time." The Little toad demon that served his brother said. "Your mate will be fine young demon. She was stronger then any other to begin with. I am through here so I shall go." The voice of the healer replied from the back of the room. She gathered together some of her things, leaving a pain-relieving potion behind for Inuyasha to slip into his Mate's tea, then she departed.
Sesshoumaru looked up at the sound of human footsteps entering his lair. Until this point Rin was the only human to see the inside of his most private domain. When the healer tapped slightly at the screen, he spoke, "Enter healer but be wary. My natural shape might be frightening to you." The healer smiled behind her hand. As she walked around the beautiful screens. She had seen Inuyasha almost right after the final fight after Kagome had granted his wish to be a full demon. The giant silvery white dog had not frightened her in the least.
The feral creature that lay wrapped around the small child was only a little bit different. Stranger in the eyes, and perhaps a bit more wild and fearsome. It was nothing that the healer couldn't handle with her impressive discipline. She settled down into a seated position on the cushions nearest to Rin's head and gently touched the child's forehead with her forearm.
"She is in the throws of a high fever. We must first get it down before anything else is done for her illness. If we do not she may well come out of this but without any mind to speak of!" She informed the demon before her. He nodded and got up slowly, letting the child down to fully rest on the cushions. Before she had been cradled over his massive forepaws, and cuddled close to the warm throat of her protector. He came back in moments later and told Jaken to bring the girl to the bathing chamber.
The little toad lifted the girl with surprising strength. Followed by the healer the recovering Lord of the western lands ordered Jaken to remove the little clothing that the overheated child had been wearing and place her sitting against the backrest in the stone tub. "So sorry Rin Chan this will most likely hurt." Sesshoumaru muttered in the girl's ear, before he dumped over a giant cauldron filled with snow. It filled the tub and covered Rin up to her collarbones. "Will that do healer?" Sesshoumaru asked politely. The woman nodded, and said as she went back to her bag of medicine, "We must remove her from the snow bath and replace her in it at intervals elsewhile she will suffer frost burns to her skin. We must repeat this until she is free of the fever."
The illness soon came under control and the healer left with Jaken carrying a heavy deer carcass to deliver to her hut as payment for her services. Sesshoumaru sat in his humanoid form looking at the small child as she slept away in a peaceful healthy rest that she had not enjoyed in many days. Until this time he had no idea that someone could feel such joy at the mere sight of sleeping comrades or kin. His possessive streak had been furious that he could not protect Rin from the illness that had tried to strike her down. He caressed her cheek with the back of one hand, getting a pleasing result. Rin snuggled into his hand, nestling her cheek in his palm, while murmuring his name in her sleep!
It might be over! She might talk for real soon! His excited thoughts jumped about like a frenzied pack of puppies. He smirked with delight and lay down beside Rin Chan to continue the last day of his own recovery. Tomorrow was another day when he must seek prey to replace the doe that he had paid the healer. Rin Chan would need a lot of hot meat to recover her strength, and after the frustration of needing to help but being unable to, he needed the violence to let out his frustrations.
Rin snuggled to the warm person next to her sighing contently in her sleepy state, the familiar scent of Sesshoumaru Sama lulling her back into dreams
{{ OMG I wrote a whole Ficcie perfectly suitable for my three year old cousin.If she was old enough to read ~_^ I didn't know I had it in me that's FOR SURE! If you have read my other stuff you know the kind of content I usually insert: blood violence and ahemming ~_^ Everyone needs to show me how proud they are of me by reviewing this fine fic of mine after all I broke out of my safe little box! And Please in the name of god I have three un-reviewed fics out there! In Final fantasy seven cowboy bebop and Harry Potter fic sections to be precise! Use my list to get to them and review I know something's wrong with em I need to know what! Tell me please! Thanks always! The Flamekaat }}