Disclaimer: InuYasha is written by Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own anything mentioned in this fanfic besides the idea of the fanfic.
To Love A Human
Chapter Two
Rin awoke to the sound of running water. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes to try and clear her vision.
"Oh you're up," said Jaken who was standing next to her.
"H-hai," Rin managed to answer. The headache she was having earlier on had returned, with a vengeance. She winced, then squinted as she looked around while Jaken went on and on, telling her not to do such a thing like that again and scaring him (and Sesshoumaru-sama). But her mind was barely registering anything he said.
They had laid her down in a fresh field of grass, and the sound of running water she heard was from a brook a few steps away from where she lay. What happened?
The last thing she remembered was suddenly feeling extremely light-headed, right before hearing a splashing sound.
She looked down and cried out in dismay at the sight. Her new kimono! Mud was caked all over it, covering the beautiful and intricate patterns. It was ruined.
Rin felt her eyes burning up with tears as she continued staring at the mess. What will Sesshoumaru-sama say? She didn't want him to think her ungrateful and she felt simply awful for soiling the pretty kimono. But I didn't mean to! As it was, she could scarcely remember anything at the moment with her head throbbing so painfully.
She suddenly wanted to find Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama, his name ran over and over again in her mind as she struggled to stand. Where is he? She looked about desperately, trying to ignore how wobbly her legs were feeling.
"Jaken-sama!" she called, interrupting his ineffective lecture for what she did. "Where is Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"Eh?" said Jaken, slightly thrown off by her unrelated question. "Sesshoumaru-sama? Oh, he's over there," he said, pointing towards the entrance of the forest area.
Rin ran forward without hesitation, fully intending to apologise for the mess she made of herself.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Jaken cried out behind her, but she took no notice of him as she caught sight of her master.
He was sitting on a huge rock with his face overshadowed by the canopy of leaves above, his arm resting casually atop his right leg. He was staring into the distance with a far-away look on his face.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!"
The while-haired youkai lord turned his head gracefully at the sound of his name, and watched in hidden puzzlement as Rin fell to her knees before him.
"Gomen nasai!"
Sorry… sorry for what?
"Rin ruined the kimono! Rin is really sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama! Please don't think Rin is ungrateful. Rin really likes whatever Sesshoumaru-sama provides for her!"
Sesshoumaru was surprised at her emotional outburst over such an insignificant thing. Why, he could just let Jaken bring her into the next village they passed to get another kimono. Furthermore, Rin was speaking of herself in third-person. She used to do that when she was young, but gradually she changed her way of speech. Now it was only used when she thought she had misbehaved.
Making sure he sounded emotionless, he told her the kimono didn't matter, and wondered silently to himself why she was so distraught over it.
Her mood brightened visibly after she understood that it was all right with him. Does my approval mean that much to her? It was after all, just a kimono. She smiled cheerily in relief, and proceeded to ask him a question that he found rather odd.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, why did we stop?"
Because you fainted. Because I was worried. Because I realised that I exhausted you and that humans need rest.
He looked at her wordlessly instead.
"You fainted! Don't you remember?" Jaken chose that moment to make his entrance, panting from his sprint after Rin.
"Rin… fainted?" she repeated as if confessing a grave sin.
"That's right!" said Jaken, breaking into another tirade. "You are such an inconvenience! If not for you, Sesshoumaru-sama would be able to reach his destination within half the time we are taking now with you along. He always stops for you! And you apologised for the kimono! You should be apologising for making Sesshoumaru-sama carry you all the way here, out of the route he intended to take just to let you rest! And—"
Sesshoumaru felt the urgent need to hit Jaken with something. "Jaken, cut it out," he ordered before more damage was done.
"Ah hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
He glanced over at Rin, who was now looking downcast after being stunned by Jaken's unnecessary reprimanding.
"Rin," he said gently, watching her as she humbly lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. He saw her lips about to mouth to another apology and interrupted her before she could. "Go and freshen yourself up by the stream."
Obediently, Rin got to her feet and walked slowly back the way she came.
"Anou Sesshoumaru-sama…" Jaken began, only to be cut off a second later. [anou: um/uh/er… you get the idea]
"Jaken, go and find Ah-Un and bring him back," Sesshoumaru bit out impatiently, thoroughly displeased by the way Jaken had spoken to Rin.
"H-hai!" Jaken rushed out in fear, hoping to gain back his lord's approval for whatever wrongs he committed unknowingly. He was off in no time, combing the woods for Ah-Un.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru made sure Jaken was out of sight before he brought his attention back to the receding figure of Rin, now a black silhouette outlined by rays of the setting sun.
"Rin!" Jaken had yelled when she collapsed in the pool of mud, most likely having lost her footing — and her consciousness. She was probably barely holding up after he led them on for so many hours, he thought remorsefully. He had been careless, wrapping himself so much in his thoughts that he forgot about her.
He usually stopped to let her rest more frequently whenever Ah-Un wasn't with them. With Ah-Un, she would be riding instead of walking.
Sesshoumaru shut his eyes as guilt and self-loathing poured through his veins like acid, biting at his conscience.
She is so devoted to you that she followed you without a word of complaint until her body gave out.
Devotion. Was that what set her apart from other humans, or was it a trait of the human race? Was that why he let her follow him around? Was that why he even felt obliged to care for her needs?
He reopened his eyes to watch her kneeling beside the stream, drinking its fresh water from her cupped hands. When next he blinked, he saw the memory of a youthful girl before him, pleading with him desperately, her beautiful brown eyes filled with anguish.
"Rin is loyal to Sesshoumaru-sama!"
Ah yes, he remembered the time he tried to return her to her own kind. A few more years and she would have been of marriageable age, going by human standards, and he had thought it a good idea to let her get settled in one of the villages so she would have time to get used to being around her kind before marriage.
That was when he had planned to return her by the time she grew to her current age, so he didn't have see her anymore. Or smell the intoxicating scent of her in heat.
However, that was only part of the reason. His answer to her question that night was true. It was a test.
To him, humans were shallow, fickle-minded beings, easily swayed in opinions and just as easily manipulated because of that.
He wanted to see if Rin was like what he had concluded of her kind.
She isn't.
Sesshoumaru looked up to see Rin walking back to him, smiling as she asked if they were leaving soon.
She even hides her exhaustion behind that smile of hers. She was most likely unaware that she had slept about half the day away, as proof of how worn-out her body was.
"No, Rin. We're staying here for the night." He would give her all the rest she needed for the journey tomorrow, to make up for the inconsiderate way he pushed her to her limits.
She nodded in acknowledgement and sat herself at the base of the rock he was on.
He tensed.
Her back was facing him as she gazed forward at the sunset. She had tied up her hair and loosened her kimono at the neckline while refreshing herself at the brook. Her long slender neck was fully exposed, along with part of her back and her chest area. And there was still that alluring scent of hers hanging in the air.
From the height and angle Sesshoumaru was seated at above her, he was given generous display of…
He averted his eyes and said coolly, "Rin, you should go and find your food before it gets too dark." while I work at putting some distance between us. There was a reason why he sat so far from her when she was still unconscious.
She turned her head to look at him while she answered glumly, "But I'm not hungry, Sesshoumaru-sama." When she caught sight of his grim expression however, she added, "Would you prefer me to?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer her. He thought it was unusual that she wasn't hungry. Normally she would be starving by the end of the day.
He also noticed she was less energetic today, and it wasn't just that she passed out earlier on. Usually she would be building a small campfire at this hour. Instead, she had sighed a moment ago and leaned her side against the rock, a sign that she probably wasn't going to get up to do anything, be it starting a fire or looking for food.
Its nothing, he told himself, dismissing her queer behaviour today as something brought about by the strange chemical changes in her human body.
After all, this was all going to change when they meet this Buryuso. No longer would she tire so easily. No longer would she have to eat constantly. No longer would she suffer from this strange cycle that female mortals go through. And no longer would he have to hold himself back from her, ever.
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Author's Notes: Not much to say here. Somebody reviewed asking about who Ah-Un is. For those of you who don't already know, Ah-Un is the two-headed dragon youkai that Sesshoumaru uses like a horse.
There is also some side info I'd like to add here about Sesshoumaru's… 'attraction' to Rin. In Japanese custom, the neck is considered a sensual part of a woman's body. Geishas/Geikos usually wear their kimonos with it exposing their neck and upper back. They also have two or three lines drawn along the back of their necks to emphasise its length.
Arigatou minna for your reviews and I hope you will continue giving me your greatly appreciated feedback ^_^ it inspires me to churn out chapters faster XD