Hello, everyone! I'm so glad you're reading this story, as it is currently my favorite (and longest). Please send me a review!
I'd like to thank Kat Morning for the setting of my story, which is based on the alternate universe of her inu fanfic "Blood Ties."
Disclaimer: I do not own Miroku, Sesshomeru, Jakkin, Rin, or any other Inuyasha characters. They are owned by their author/creator, Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 7: A Mother's Instincts
Rin rinsed out the teacup, thinking sardonically, "Well, there's one thing I can make besides noodles; bad-tasting medicinal droughts." She snorted. "I may not be able to win a husband with my excellent cooking, but with everything Sesshy's taught me about herbs I'll be able to drug one with a sleeping drought and drag him home.
"Uh, Rin?
"Jakkin. What is it?
"It's just that . . . well, I heard something and . . .
"You were listening the whole time, I know. Remember, I'm the one who taught you how to eavesdrop through that hole in the closet.
"Well, yes. What about--ah, her?" He stopped himself just before referring to the new human as "it.
"She clearly isn't happy about being the prisoner of a demon-- few demon-hunters would be-- but I think she'll be fine once she calms down. She doesn't know what to expect, and that scares her." Rin dried the teacup meditatively. "Jakkin? When is last time you've seen Sesshy take an interest in a human? I mean, besides me.
"Sesshomaru-dono," Jakkin replied, with emphasis on the title, "hasn't taken an interest in humans-- yourself excepted-- for years. The last time would be . . . well, it would be your mother.
The next question was one Rin had never dared to ask before. "Did Sesshomaru . . . love . . . my mother?
Jakkin was flabbergasted. He began to say, "No, demons never love humans," but stopped. Sesshomaru's half-brother, Inu-Yasha, was proof that was untrue. And there had been genuine, mutual affection between Sesshomaru's father and his second, human, wife. It couldn't be dismissed as only lust; insanity, possibly, but not lust.
"Well, you've heard the story about how Sesshomaru met your mother, yes?
"Of course. Sesshomaru avenged his father's death, but was hurt in the fight with the Nosferatu lord." She paused. "Was he badly hurt?
"Don't be silly, it was just a small cut," Jakkin lied. The "small" cut stretched from Sesshomaru's left shoulder to his lower back on the right side. It had been so deep, Jakkin had seen the white bone of his lord's spine showing through. "But your mother was driving home from her night shift when she saw him walking down the sidewalk, and must have seen the blood because she went to help him, even though he was clearly a demon.
Jakkin's memories of that night were still painfully clear. It was the only time in his centuries of service to Sesshomaru that Jakkin saw his lord fall. Sesshomaru was lying on his back on the cold cement of the parking garage where the final battle had taken place. He was as composed as ever, even bleeding to death. He told Jakkin how to contact Inu-Yasha, his only living kin. He demanded that Jakkin be quiet and stop blubbering. He ordered Jakkin to cremate his body and scatter the ashes on Mt Kurama. Jakkin's master's voice stopped, and there was only silence for a long, long time. Then a car pulled into the garage, and Jakkin's one good eye was blinded by the headlights. There was the slamming of a car door and footsteps. Jakkin prepared to die defending his dying lord; with a concussion, one eye swollen shut and a broken leg, there was little more Jakkin could do for his lord than die. A woman's voice was calling, asking if he needed help, and then there was a gasp as the woman realized that what she had supposed a dog was actually a toad youkai, and what she had supposed to be an unconscious woman was actually a demon lord. There were ten long seconds while Jakkin waited for her to run away, to scream, to attack them because they were monsters. Finally she spoke, and although Jakkin hardly heard the words, he knew a flicker of hope: this was a friend.
She felt Sesshomeru's pulse and his checked his breathing, making small noises of anguish. "We need to roll him over; I can't see the wound." She was talking to Jakkin, asking for his help; Jakkin, who would have gladly died in penance for each drop of blood his lord had spilled.
The bandage wasn't neat; it consisted of the shreds of Sesshomaru's shirt, the generous woman's coat and belt and a small child's raincoat that had been found in the car. Jakkin couldn't remember how he and the woman managed to put Sesshomaru into the car to be driven to the woman's apartment, or how they carried him up three flights of stairs. He did remember waiting for the water to boil--why was it taking so long?-- and hearing a young child waking and asking her mother questions.
Then he felt the little girl put her arms around him--him, a toad youkai!--and she said, "Don't cry, he's gonna be all right. Mommy will kiss the cut and it will be all better.
And now the child was grown, asking him if Sesshomaru loved her mother. Yes, Jakkin thought, if Sesshomaru loved your mother even half as much as I loved you that night, he loved her very much indeed.
"Your mother helped bandage the small cut, and she offered her house to my lord. For the rest of her life, Sesshomaru made sure no demons bothered her, and he paid for her apartment. Later, he paid her medical bills when her insurance ran out. Sesshomaru started protecting the area where you lived; it was the first time he marked territory in the city.
"I know all that, Jakkin. What I asked was if he loved her.
Jakkin pursed his lips. Even if he said "yes" or "no," Rin wouldn't be satisfied. "He . . . he respected your mother very much. He was . . . puzzled, I think. Your mother's actions were kind, generous . . . to my lord, they probably seemed irrational, even suicidal. My lord has always lived by doing what helped him the most, and he was forced by his honor to go against his own interests . . .to help a human woman. He changed, because of her . . . Is that love?"
I'd like to thank Kat Morning for the setting of my story, which is based on the alternate universe of her inu fanfic "Blood Ties."
Disclaimer: I do not own Miroku, Sesshomeru, Jakkin, Rin, or any other Inuyasha characters. They are owned by their author/creator, Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 7: A Mother's Instincts
Rin rinsed out the teacup, thinking sardonically, "Well, there's one thing I can make besides noodles; bad-tasting medicinal droughts." She snorted. "I may not be able to win a husband with my excellent cooking, but with everything Sesshy's taught me about herbs I'll be able to drug one with a sleeping drought and drag him home.
"Uh, Rin?
"Jakkin. What is it?
"It's just that . . . well, I heard something and . . .
"You were listening the whole time, I know. Remember, I'm the one who taught you how to eavesdrop through that hole in the closet.
"Well, yes. What about--ah, her?" He stopped himself just before referring to the new human as "it.
"She clearly isn't happy about being the prisoner of a demon-- few demon-hunters would be-- but I think she'll be fine once she calms down. She doesn't know what to expect, and that scares her." Rin dried the teacup meditatively. "Jakkin? When is last time you've seen Sesshy take an interest in a human? I mean, besides me.
"Sesshomaru-dono," Jakkin replied, with emphasis on the title, "hasn't taken an interest in humans-- yourself excepted-- for years. The last time would be . . . well, it would be your mother.
The next question was one Rin had never dared to ask before. "Did Sesshomaru . . . love . . . my mother?
Jakkin was flabbergasted. He began to say, "No, demons never love humans," but stopped. Sesshomaru's half-brother, Inu-Yasha, was proof that was untrue. And there had been genuine, mutual affection between Sesshomaru's father and his second, human, wife. It couldn't be dismissed as only lust; insanity, possibly, but not lust.
"Well, you've heard the story about how Sesshomaru met your mother, yes?
"Of course. Sesshomaru avenged his father's death, but was hurt in the fight with the Nosferatu lord." She paused. "Was he badly hurt?
"Don't be silly, it was just a small cut," Jakkin lied. The "small" cut stretched from Sesshomaru's left shoulder to his lower back on the right side. It had been so deep, Jakkin had seen the white bone of his lord's spine showing through. "But your mother was driving home from her night shift when she saw him walking down the sidewalk, and must have seen the blood because she went to help him, even though he was clearly a demon.
Jakkin's memories of that night were still painfully clear. It was the only time in his centuries of service to Sesshomaru that Jakkin saw his lord fall. Sesshomaru was lying on his back on the cold cement of the parking garage where the final battle had taken place. He was as composed as ever, even bleeding to death. He told Jakkin how to contact Inu-Yasha, his only living kin. He demanded that Jakkin be quiet and stop blubbering. He ordered Jakkin to cremate his body and scatter the ashes on Mt Kurama. Jakkin's master's voice stopped, and there was only silence for a long, long time. Then a car pulled into the garage, and Jakkin's one good eye was blinded by the headlights. There was the slamming of a car door and footsteps. Jakkin prepared to die defending his dying lord; with a concussion, one eye swollen shut and a broken leg, there was little more Jakkin could do for his lord than die. A woman's voice was calling, asking if he needed help, and then there was a gasp as the woman realized that what she had supposed a dog was actually a toad youkai, and what she had supposed to be an unconscious woman was actually a demon lord. There were ten long seconds while Jakkin waited for her to run away, to scream, to attack them because they were monsters. Finally she spoke, and although Jakkin hardly heard the words, he knew a flicker of hope: this was a friend.
She felt Sesshomeru's pulse and his checked his breathing, making small noises of anguish. "We need to roll him over; I can't see the wound." She was talking to Jakkin, asking for his help; Jakkin, who would have gladly died in penance for each drop of blood his lord had spilled.
The bandage wasn't neat; it consisted of the shreds of Sesshomaru's shirt, the generous woman's coat and belt and a small child's raincoat that had been found in the car. Jakkin couldn't remember how he and the woman managed to put Sesshomaru into the car to be driven to the woman's apartment, or how they carried him up three flights of stairs. He did remember waiting for the water to boil--why was it taking so long?-- and hearing a young child waking and asking her mother questions.
Then he felt the little girl put her arms around him--him, a toad youkai!--and she said, "Don't cry, he's gonna be all right. Mommy will kiss the cut and it will be all better.
And now the child was grown, asking him if Sesshomaru loved her mother. Yes, Jakkin thought, if Sesshomaru loved your mother even half as much as I loved you that night, he loved her very much indeed.
"Your mother helped bandage the small cut, and she offered her house to my lord. For the rest of her life, Sesshomaru made sure no demons bothered her, and he paid for her apartment. Later, he paid her medical bills when her insurance ran out. Sesshomaru started protecting the area where you lived; it was the first time he marked territory in the city.
"I know all that, Jakkin. What I asked was if he loved her.
Jakkin pursed his lips. Even if he said "yes" or "no," Rin wouldn't be satisfied. "He . . . he respected your mother very much. He was . . . puzzled, I think. Your mother's actions were kind, generous . . . to my lord, they probably seemed irrational, even suicidal. My lord has always lived by doing what helped him the most, and he was forced by his honor to go against his own interests . . .to help a human woman. He changed, because of her . . . Is that love?"