Sword-Dancers
Author: Carcinya (Isolde on Author E-mail:
Category: Action/Adventure - Romance
Keywords: Rin Sesshoumaru Inuyasha sword-dance
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up to episode 122 (Anime)
Summary: Ten years after Naraku's defeat, Sesshoumaru and Rin are wandering
through Japan. Now sword-mates, they struggle to sort out their feelings for
each other. A new threat, however, looms over the Sengoku Era - which of course
Inu Yasha and his friends feel compelled to track and fight. All this doesn't
really concern much the duo, until a fateful battle... Caught in the cross
fire, Sesshoumaru receives accidentally the curse intended for his brother
- and is changed in human.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created
and owned by Rumiko Takahashi, various publishers including but not limited
to Anime-Kraze, Sunrise and Shonen Sunday. No money is being made and no copyright
or trademark infringement is intended. The whole sword-dancers concept is
Jennifer Roberson's (May her quill never cease writing. Amen), though I modified
it to suit my tastes - and the story's. The plot and everything you don't recognize are mine.
Author's notes: Oh, goodies. My first Inu Yasha fanfic. What a way to go! Did I mention I was French? I apologize in advance for any spelling, syntax or grammar errors you might find in this story. Especially since I haven't written in a while. (My other fic's readers will probably confirm it grimly, then stone for not updating my story for over seven months. Or is it eight? Oh god. I created a monster.)
For those who still wouldn't have noticed, this fic will deal with a Sesshoumaru/Rin pairing. If you don't like it, or are offended by it (Eh. You never know nowadays...) feel free to use the back button of your browser. Really. I mean it.
The story takes place about twelve years after Takahashi-sensei's timeline. I decided, rather arbitrarily, that Rin was eight in the manga; Rin is thus twenty in all chapters, except in the prologue - since it is a flash back. The POV switches to Rin in Chapter 2 and on.
Blades are designated on purpose as sentient beings with a gender. Don't run off screaming at me.
A glossary of the Japanese terms used will be provided at the end of each chapter, thanks to Calger's extraordinary website. (http/ www. flame. org / calger/ animedict.html)
Read and review, please!
Prologue: The child and the youkai
Ten-year-old Rin stared at the silver katana in absolute wonder. Though it had been at first icy to the touch, the black hilt now felt warm and welcoming in her hand. The pale blue gleam of the carefully etched runes stretched along the length of the blade. Waves of fiery affection flooded through the weapon to her heart, leaving her slightly dizzy.
"Her name is Kentsuki."
The young girl started. She had been so caught up in her examination of the sword that she had nearly forgotten all about Sesshoumaru-sama. The Lord of the Western Lands stood tall and imposing beside her. She couldn't help but notice how his fair hair became almost silver in the moonlight.
Kentsuki. Moonblade. The moon, like the one on the taiyoukai forehead. The moon, which he revered.
"She is yours."
"Mine?" questioned Rin, her voice shaking slightly. The emotion was beginning to take its toll. She was exhausted and at the same time too excited and mesmerized by what she held in her hands to be sleepy. "Really mine?"
"Yours," replied Sesshoumaru quietly, "as Tenseiga is mine."
Rin sheathed reluctantly Kentsuki, stroking her finely crated saya with a loving touch. Already was she feeling acquainted with her.
Impassible, Sesshoumaru pursued: "One of my fang is sealed between the hilt and the blade. It will grant her the power to protect you, and allow me to know where you are."
The black-haired girl felt tears welling in her eyes. Gratitude, disbelief, embarrassment, a veritable maelstrom of emotions squeezed her heart. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama," she managed to say, despite her painfully tight throat.
The youkai nodded, and prepared to leave the clearing. They still had road to do.
"Why?" Rin's voice echoed in the calm, humid summer night. Sesshoumaru stopped dead in his tracks. Could he tell her? Did he have the right to burden her with such a knowledge? She was a mere child. No, never mere. Colorful, caring, brave. Wiser than her years, Rin was. Perhaps it was her nature, perhaps the result of the education he and Jaken had been providing her for over two years. Or simply because she had seen her entire kin slaughtered in front of her, at the tender age of eight. Who could tell? Anyway, he felt she could handle it. And she deserved to know. It was her life, and his responsibility. Hiding the truth any longer would be cowardice, and if there was a thing the taiyoukai hated, it was behaving like a miserable yellowbelly.
Sighing inwardly, he turned to her in a single fluid motion.
"Rin," he began, his voice at about the softest he could manage, "do you have the faintest idea why Naraku could have wanted to abduct you, two summers ago?"
The little girl shook her head mutely. Traveling with him had at least taught her not to speak in vain.
"He wanted to have a mean of pressure on me, should the need arise. Something - or someone - to blackmail me with. And do you know why he choose you?"
Again, she stayed silent, unwilling to come to terms with the consequences of the only answer her logical mind could find.
"Because he knew I would rather pass up an opportunity to kill him than to let you die." Admitting it was harder than he had thought, his youkai pride ulcerated by the very idea. But, he knew, instinctively, that it would even worse not to say a thing. The child was so trusting, so open and naive. She needed to know what she was facing. "For over two years now, we have been tracking Naraku. Only fighting his minions, mind you, while he was comfortably hidden from us, and gaining in power. Soon he will think himself strong enough to eradicate us. And when that happens, Rin... You will probably find yourself in great danger, because of your link with me."
Rin swallowed with difficulty and blinked a few times, trying to hide her fear.
"But, Sesshoumaru-sama... you will protect Rin?" she said, her voice quivering as she unconsciously fell back in her former speech patterns. She suddenly felt very small, and very cold.
"Silly," answered the demon, not without warmth. "In the years you followed me, have you ever been hurt?"
Rin's smile returned gradually, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"As for Kentsuki, she will protect you when - if- I cannot."
Rin unsheated Kentsuki once again, pausing a few seconds to marvel at her beauty. She swung and twisted the sword clumsily, experimenting, until the blade fell onto the grass after a particularly ill-considered move. She picked it up quickly, feeling her smooth cheeks heat up in shame.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "I see."
Japanese/English glossary
Ken: sword
Tsuki: moon
Youkai: Demon
Taiyoukai: Demon-lord
Miko: priestress
Saya: scabbard