"Human food does not suit me." - Sesshoumaru
Sesshoumaru's Little Secret
"Sesshoumaru-sama! Wait for me, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Only a few feet more, just another three steps and… Oof.
"Watch where you're going." Sesshoumaru's foot planted itself neatly onto Jyaken's back, as Jyaken tripped and nearly tangled himself into Sesshoumaru's legs. Scrambling to his feet, Jyaken snatched up the nintoujou staff, brushed off the dust, and was soon at Sesshoumaru's side.
Sometimes it seemed that he really didn't understand Sesshoumaru-sama. Not in all the years that he had served as Sesshoumaru's retainer had he seen Sesshoumaru reach out for the Tensaiga to save a life, much less take such an interest in the life of a human. It made him vaguely wonder if Sesshoumaru-sama was somehow growing soft.
"Never in all the years I've lived have I seen a dog take a human being as a pet…" Jyaken grumbled to himself. Bad habits were hard to break, and thinking out loud was Jyaken's own personal chittering, back-scratching monkey.
"Did you say something?" Sesshoumaru's long stride suddenly stopped, causing Jyaken to try as he might to literally stop on a dime (or yen, as it were). Of course, this failed, predictably, in a helter-skelter crashing tumble. By the time he sorted himself out, he found Sesshoumaru's feral eyes glaring down at him.
"Ah…um…that is…er…Sesshoumaru-sama…Jyaken would like to know…to know…um…why Sesshoumaru-sama would want to…um…have a human following him around so much?"
"She's not here right now." That much was true.
"But since Sesshoumaru-sama is going to visit his father's friend, the great mountain Oni who loves the taste of human flesh, couldn't we have brought her as a gift? I could have slathered her in some sweet red bean paste, wrapped her in mochi, and served her sliced with some tea for…Aaaah!" Jyaken suddenly found himself swinging wildly in mid-air, as Sesshoumaru picked him up by the scruff of his neck with his sharp-clawed forefingers, his yellow eyes studying Jyaken as if he was some sort of small insect. Which wasn't technically too far from the truth, though he was more along the lines of an amphibian…
"Do you want to know why I let her accompany me?"
"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama, for allowing me to know your thoughts," Jyaken responded, as he dangled in mid-air.
"You will keep this a secret."
Jyaken's eyes glimmered with half-suppressed tears, happy to be allowed his lord's confidence, knowing no one else but he would ever know of his lord's secrets.
"As you know, this Sesshoumaru is constantly traveling. And sometimes while traveling, food sources can become scarce. She is my last option. She may be called Rin, but I prefer to think of her as the emergency food supply."
A bead of sweat rolled down Jyaken's face. "But what about me, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"I prefer to think of you as 'dying for the sake of others.'" Sesshoumaru dropped Jyaken unceremoniously to the ground, where he landed in a rather contorted position. Fortunately, he didn't have much of a spine to mangle.
Jyaken froze for a minute, trying to decipher Sesshoumaru's comments.
"Does…does this mean if Sesshoumaru-sama is hungry enough, I'd be cooked up for dinner too!?"
Sesshoumaru said nothing, and continued walking.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
Author's notes: Thank you, Excel Saga episode 2, for this lovely little thought.
-It's pretty well established that many youkai eat human flesh.
-This is, of course, not serious at all. :p
-Mmm…mochi… (a sticky-soft rice cake made from pounded sweet rice)
-Alternate Title: Emergency Food Supply Rin!
-As a more serious companion piece, check out "A New Kimono for Rin."
Special thanks to my prereaders: Incantrix, Rowsdower, and SC.
C&C can be sent to cori_ohki@hotmail.com Thank you for reading. ^_^