~ The Extent of a Demons Heart ~
~ Two years have passed ~
Mrs Higurashi sat comfortably at the bank of the river running through her village. It had been a clear warm day today, a perfect day to catch some fish. She sat with numerous other women her age, fishing also for their own families while their husbands were working in the fields. A squeal of delight caught the main village elder's attention as she gazed over at her now 7-year-old daughter. It was only three months ago she found out she would be expecting her second child and Kagome had been over the moon to discover she would be receiving a baby brother or sister soon.
"Come on Inu-chan you gotta have a race with me!" Her daughter spoke while running around. Sesshomaru was lying down in the cool grass, not bothering to listen to the pleas of the seven-year-old and instead leaned his head against his crossed paws and closed his golden coloured eyes.
"Kagome-chan, don't get to close to the riverbank okay?" Mrs Higurashi voiced seriously.
"Hai mama!" The girl replied instantly and moved from the riverbank up to more level ground where Sesshomaru was actually resting. As Mrs Higurashi gazed at her child she was forced to recollect what had occurred just over a year ago.
~ Begin Flashback ~
"Mama, I'm going to get some water so we can begin washing the floors and have them finished before lunch!" Kagome voiced loudly and raced out of her home, bucket in hand and brushing swiftly past her father who was just placing his hat on to head outside to begin working in the fields.
"That child gets more and more like you everyday papa." Mrs Higurashi spoke softly, watching as her tall husband turned to smile softly at her before leaving the house.
Mrs Higurashi finally dressed for the day and headed outside, her hand raising up to fill the heat of the sun beaming down upon her as she moved from the front porch to the dirt road.
"Oh my, it certainly is hot today." She spoke to herself before waving at some energetic children racing past her to head for the shallowest section of the river with their mothers. As Mrs Higurashi made her way towards the area she knew her own daughter would be in a large gust of wind swept through the village, dirt picking up and blinding her eye sight for a moment. As soon as the wind came it was gone in an instant and with that the village elder headed towards the riverbank. She bent down and picked up the abandoned bucket she came across, as it had been the one Kagome took from the house. Her dark eyes glanced around the area, vacant of her daughter and with that she dropped the bucket and raced back towards the dirt road where some men were walking past with picks in their hands.
"Have you seen Kagome-chan around?" Her voice full of worry, the men stopping the conversation they were having and shook their heads negatively at her.
"Where was she last Higurashi-san?"
"She was heading for the riverbank to collect water fo-"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" A loud cry could be heard and Mrs Higurashi and the two men took off heading towards the wooden bridge. Unknown to them a certain dog demon had been watching as he just surfaced from the abandoned hut ready to check up on his human child, but instead his ears were greeted with a loud cry for help.
Pounding footsteps were vibrating on the wooden bridge as the mother and the two men looked over the edge to see little Kagome hanging onto some grass weeds for dear life.
"Kagome-chan?!?" Mrs Higurashi yelled and watched as the two men raced for the riverbank to try and fetch her out of the water. It had rained hard last night, the flow of the river a lot stronger then what it had been a few months ago.
"Mama, I'm scared!" Kagome voiced while coughing at the same time as she swallowed a whole lot of water. Mrs Higurashi gripped the sides of the bridge, tears pooling in her eyes.
"Kagome-chan don't talk, we'll get you out as soon as we can, just be strong sweetie." Mrs Higurashi couldn't stand this. She raced to the edge of the river desperately wanting to help her daughter.
"MAMA!" Kagome yelled, tears falling down her already drenched face. She could not hold on any longer as her fingers slipped from the grass weeds just as one village man was at arms length from reaching her. The river current swiftly took her little body downstream, the force of it taking her under many times. By now other villages were aware that something was wrong and one of the mothers sent her teenage son to get Mr Higurashi whom was working in one of the fields furthest away from the main village area.
Many had raced onto the bridge by now watching Kagome being taken away from them by Mother Nature. Mrs Higurashi though was now racing along the riverbank, her hands clasping the front of her summa yukata, her bare feet pounding the grass as she was trying to match speed for speed with the river current but was failing miserably at it.
"KAGOME-CHAN! HOLD ON!" She yelled in sheer desperation, but gasped in horror when her right foot connected with a small rock tripping her up and making her full to the ground with a loud thud. She had landed with a grunt escaping her lips, the wind having being knocked out of her lungs. Her scrapped hands lifted her heavy body up from the ground as teary eyes stared down at her motionless daughter rushing past her.
"KAGOME-CHAN!" She yelled once more, tears streaming down her face.
Time seemed to stop for her when a flash of white disrupted her vision and in an instant the ball of light began to form into a creature right in front of her eyes. This creature was none other then Sesshomaru…with an unconscious Kagome slipping off his now drenched form to fall heavily to the grass.
"Ka…go…me…" The mother spoke before crawling towards her daughter and holding her tightly to her chest. Sesshomaru watched, water dripping from his fur to form puddles around his feet as Mrs Higurashi rocked backwards and forwards mumbling incoherent words he couldn't understand. For the life of him Sesshomaru did not understand why he had saved the child. She was so damn loud and annoying! That's when it finally hit him. The emotion on the woman's face when she had thought Kagome would be gone forever, just like Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother when he had gone missing one day. The persistent child had grown a licking to him ever since they met, just like when he had first come in contact with Inuyasha when he was a small baby. And the big clincher was the fact Kagome was so damn annoying…just like Inuyasha. And who couldn't forget Mr Higurashi, the silent, but tough father either. It was like he was back at his home in the Western Plains.
"Kagome-chan, wake up! Wake up sweetie! Open your eyes, please baby please!" Mrs Higurashi spoke desperately, her eyes widening when Kagome's lips parted and a breathless whisper escaped.
"Kachan…too tight…" Villagers huddled around the elder watching as she turned to face them, her eyes still brimming with tears, but now they were tears of happiness.
"She's okay…Kagome-chan is alright."
~ End Flashback ~
"Higurashi-san, daijoubu desu ka?" She quickly shook the thought from her mind and nodded her head, bringing out the fishing line to see she had finally caught a fish.
"Wai, wai!" A small bubbly voice was heard and the mothers turned to face a now two-year-old ball of energy. A small toddler was seen racing after a butterfly trying to catch it, her arms thrust above her head, eyes flashing with innocence and excitement. Everyone in the vicinity watched as the butterfly was soon forgotten when the bubbly baby awkwardly crept upon an "unsuspecting" dog demon.
She pounced!
Landing effectively on his back, her chubby arms holding the fur near the sides of his neck, making sure not to fall off of "her doggy" as she had called him once before. As golden eyes flickered open, Mrs Higurashi and the other women held their breath, waiting to see what would happen to the human toddler. Just what would this dog demon do to a small child that was now snuggling into him on his back?
Sesshomaru on the other hand knew the toddler was coming towards him. He knew sooner or later she'd want to jump on him. It was inevitable with a spitfire ball of energy like her. His eyes glanced at the human women fishing and heard all of them sigh in relief, as he didn't harm the child. Really, were they still that stupid in thinking that he'd actually harm this child?
As the women watched Sesshomaru turn his head slightly to look at the slumbering baby on his back, he soon enough placed his head back onto his paws and closed his eyes…his ears though…were trained on what the women were saying.
"Elder, I must confess that I still feel a little uneasy when around this dog demon." One woman spoke softly, they all not knowing just how well inu-youkai could hear.
"I agree Elder, it has been two years already and yet he is still in our village. May I be so blunt in asking as to why we have not killed him?" Another woman questioned, all eyes darting towards the dog demon and the toddler who had now rolled off of him and was sitting up and pulling flowers from the ground.
"He may look harmless, but I do believe this dog demon is here for a purpose…and that purpose happens to be Chibi-chan sitting right by his very side. We can never deny the rights of these demons, they walked this land before us…and well, in all honesty I feel some sort of relief that he has come to our village. Perhaps he will warn off other demons if they smell him here." Mrs Higurashi voiced softly, her eyes moving from Sesshomaru, to the toddler and then to Kagome who was watching the two of them in silence.
"Not to forget Elder, look how happy he has made Kagome-chan and Chibi-chan over there too." Another bolder woman spoke up with many glancing her way as though she had gone mad.
"Yes, you are right Kaede-san." Mrs Higurashi voiced instantly back, a small smile crossing her lips when Kagome sat near 'Chibi-chan' and helped pick some flowers.
"Another thing Higurashi-san, perhaps its time we actually give her a proper name now. It has been two years after all." All the women nodded at this and turned to stare at the two children and the dog demon, which now had his eyes open and was starring between the children and the mothers. In an instant deep brown yes met with pure gold ones and they seemed to stare for an eternity at each other, everyone else having been forgotten.
My companion, what shall I name you?
Sesshomaru was at a loss of what to call her. In truth he hadn't really thought of it until he heard that woman besides Higurashi-san voice that 'Chibi-chan' was just not right for her. Sesshomaru titled his own head in silent surprise at the known fact he had just called this toddler his companion as well. How ironic that in the truth of that word she really had been his companion for most of the days they had spent together. She never seemed to be happy unless he was close by and Sesshomaru knew he was never at ease unless she was in seeing or hearing range. Sesshomaru had found it quite strange that the small child had escaped its cot during the night and had stumbled its way - in the dark - towards the abandoned hut he had taken residency in. Once she had entered the hut she crept towards him, laying silently on the straw and "smacked" the side of his body, telling him she was here to stay with him. Yes, that powerful word companion…Rin…suited his human extremely well.
I shall name you…
"What about…" Mrs Higurashi was about to voice her opinion when the two-year-old voicing her own opinion interrupted her.
"RIN!" All eyes shot to the young toddler as she began clapping her hands and chanted Rin over and over again.
"Rin…?" Kagome mouthed, testing the name upon her lips for the first time. Her light brown eyes moved to Sesshomaru's but his were intently staring at the child who was now giggling with glee. Kagome wasn't too sure, but when she watched "Rin" turn her large brown eyes to the dog demon…it was as though her little "adopted sister" and the inu-youkai shared a connection between each other.
"Mama, I think Inu-chan wants Chibi-chan to be called Rin…and I think it suits her as well." Kagome spoke turning her gaze to her mum and the other women still gazing their surprised eyes at the toddler.
"Does he just?" Mrs Higurashi questioned and handed her fishing line to Kaede-san before getting up and walking towards the now standing dog demon. She crouched down, resting on her knees and placed the toddler on her hip, she wanting to cuddle up to her for a moment. As her own dark eyes stared endlessly into the demons, Mrs Higurashi finally voiced a question of her own.
"So, what shall we call you then Inu-chan?"
Silence…until…
Mrs Higurashi's eyes widened when "Rin" broke free from her embrace to stand on her own two chubby legs, right next to the dog demon. Wide eyes gazed at the dog demon and the toddler as their eyes were locked with each other's and yet she was voicing something very slowly so everyone could hear it once and once only.
"Se…ssho…ma…ru…sama!" A bubbly giggle escaped her tiny mouth as she clapped her hands and broke the stare between her and Sesshomaru.
"Sesshomaru-sama…?" Mrs Higurashi tested the name upon her own lips, watching with wide eyes as the demon nodded its head once. Her eyes widened when she finally took in his full name.
"You are a demon lord!" She spoke in shock. What was a demon lord doing in their village…and for how long would he be staying for? This in turn brought on the question she had wanted to ask ever since she had met the dog demon.
"Well, Lord Sesshomaru, may I ask as to how long you'll be staying in our village for?" Eyes peered between the village elder and the dog demon as it turned its gaze to Rin once more and everyone watched her mouth part open letting them hear his answer through her.
"7 more years, 7 more years left to go!" Rin repeated and clapped her hands in doing so. Rin tried to get her wobbly feet under control but let out a soft squeal as she was beginning to fall backwards, her chubby arms flailing in all directions. She needn't worry though for her white protector was in an instant behind her, Rin having landed against his soft fur. Chubby arms wrapped as tightly around the neck of Sesshomaru, a grey-white fur growing their as it would become a protective mane for him one day and she nuzzled into his fur, a gurgle escaping her lips. It was true, the toddler – now known as Rin – was in fact only happy when the dog demon was around.
Somehow, with the others watching, Rin was able to get onto Sesshomaru's back, lying down on her stomach as he stood up carefully and headed for the front porch of the Higurashi home. It was far to warm for a child to be out in this heat all day and therefore Sesshomaru took it upon himself – as Rin's protector – to get her into the shade. Rin on the other hand was laughing with glee for the fact she was getting a ride on her white doggie's back.
Kagome and her mother had turned their full attention to the parting Sesshomaru and Mrs Higurashi began to ponder on just what would happen in seven years time.
"Mama, I'm really going to miss Lord Sesshomaru if he has to go away." Kagome voiced before sitting near her "auntie" and watched her catch a fish and place it into a nearby bucket.
"Aa…" Mrs Higurashi voiced hesitantly.
Little did the Elder, the other women or Kagome know that this mysterious dog demon wasn't leaving their village alone.
~ TBC ~
Authors Notes: Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad people are liking it! I haven't written in ages and this came to me awhile ago and so I thought while I'm having a brain freeze on Rurouni Kenshin I'll make my Inuyasha story known and thus is the beginning. I hope you stay tuned for more to come. Of course I won't have it year by year of telling the story (my brain can't handle that), so I'll just have a few flashbacks here and there but Chapter 4 will be when Rin is 6 years old and Chapter 5 will be when she is 9 years old. Ja ne…till next time! (^_^)