Chapter 11

"Very good Rin-chan…" Seishi nodded her approval at Rin's solving the hardest of the math equations Seishi was going over with her. Rin was a very bright girl and found she really enjoyed learning new things. The toad had managed to teach her some of the basics, but Seishi could tell he was the type to get frustrated if his pupil didn't do as told or give him full attention. He had the worse habit of rambling on and on about things he thought he was a expert on, and Seishi had noticed Rin had a habit of her focus wandering to a passing butterfly or the like while he rambled, making the toad all huffy when he realized she wasn't paying attention.

"Well enough math for now, why don't you show me how many jumps you can do with your rope?" Seishi sat back, stretching some. She was more or less recovered from her poisoning, but she hadn't made to leave the palace yet. Every time she thought about it, she'd see Rin and remember that sad look she had when she asked if Seishi would be leaving again. She would probably just have to wait until Sesshoumaru left his palace again and took Rin and Jaken with him like last time.

Seishi sighed as she watched Rin jumping her rope, calling out numbers as she counted her jumps. The girl was a precious child… but all pups were really. Rin was bright, sweet, and had a heart of gold.

It was strange… when she was here, she didn't feel the same restlessness she had before anywhere else she had stayed for a time… Part of her felt like she could be content staying here with Rin… she could learn to tolerate the toad and Sesshoumaru… strangely enough, while here there was a sense of security as well, even if before Sesshoumaru was out for her blood for her smart remarks, while she had been injured on two occasions she had been cared for here. But no… this wasn't her home… hell, nowhere was home for her anymore. This was Sesshoumaru's palace, this was his home, and Rin was his adopted pup. Taking her gaze from Rin, Seishi looked skyward and sighed. She really should leave before she got any more attached to this place.

Sesshoumaru looked at the sad expression on Seishi's face as he stood in the spot he had been in when his eyes had caught a hold of her face. He had only been passing through on his way to attend to his business and his path just happened to take him near to where Seishi and Rin were playing that odd game that involved jumping over a rope. This was a side of the she-inu had not seen before. Not her usual saucy expression and confidence, but rather melancholic and lonely. He debated on ignoring it, but found himself instead staying there. He spoke up to give the signal that he was there, "Do you miss your homeland?"

Seishi nearly jumped out of her skin… damnit how did he keep sneaking up on her like that? She quickly tried to regain her usually smirk, but it only came out half-heartedly. "Sesshoumaru." She said in the slightest of greeting… but she wouldn't be outright rude to him with Rin nearby, besides, he hadn't done anything in the last few days to warrant her to be rude. "And yes… but then again no. I won't return there for anything."

Sesshoumaru walked up beside Seishi and watched Rin jump rope. "She adores you. After you left the last time she seemed to lose a lot of her energy. She was overjoyed when I returned with you a few days ago despite the fact that you were injured. You have grown to mean a lot to her."

Seishi chuckled, "Better watch it Sesshoumaru, I might end up stealing your adopted pup from you for my own." She of course was joking. Nothing would ever compare to the love Rin had for the seemingly cold Lord of the Western Lands.

Sesshoumaru allowed himself the smallest of smiles. He knew she was joking due the kidding tone she had spoken in, but he knew she was well aware that anyone that tried to steal his human pup would be slain. His eyes traveled done to the books near to Seishi's feet. He bent down and picked one up and opened it. As he read it he found out that the advanced mathematic equations written in the book had been solved by Rin. He knew because all the written work and the answers themselves where written in Rin's handwriting. "Rin... solved these?"

Seishi glanced over at the papers he held, and then looked back out at Rin playing, "She is a very bright girl if given the right encouragement and patience to prove herself as such." Then on a second thought, "I believe she may have the capacity to learn some of the more advanced sciences. Math and science to tend to go hand in hand… And seeing how this country has made some contact with traders from my own, I may also try to teach her some of my own language, so that in the future she will have an edge if she encounters any of the humans or demons from Europe."

Sesshoumaru turned the pages. The other pages showed other equations Rin had solved. He had already known that Seishi had been tutoring Rin as Jaken had come up to him and complained that she-dog had snatched the book from his hands claiming that he couldn't even teach a frog how to jump. But for Rin to make such an improvement after only a couple days studying with Seishi. He closed the book and looked out at Rin. She was happily jumping rope and singing rhymes, with a happy smile on her face as if she had not a care in the world. She had never looked unhappy under his care but these days she seemed even more giddy and cheerful then she had ever been. He then looked over at Seishi, "Tell me, what do you plan to do now? Your wounds are completely healed and the poison is more or less gone from your system. Will you be leaving again?"

Rin stopped jumping rope when she heard Sesshoumaru's question to Seishi. She looked over at Seishi, her eyes apprehensive. Fearful Seishi would announce she was leaving again.

Seishi hesitated, not sure how to answer… she still wasn't sure herself… "Well… As I told you the other night, I plan on sticking around… at least here in Japan. I told Rin I would stick around a while, and I never go back on my word unless it's beyond my control."

Sesshoumaru looked at Seishi for moment then replied, "If you desire, you may live here and assist in caring for Rin. I would like you to continue your lessons with her. She is improving drastically under your tutelage."

Seishi lofted a brow at him, "You want me to be her nanny in other words? And in return I get free room and board?"

Sesshoumaru nodded, "If you require greater compensation, I will accept a reasonable offer. I have been unable to find any other demon willing to educate her and a human tutor will simply not do."

"Well then, how could I refuse? I don't need any compensation, room and board, are more then enough; it seems to me I get the better deal out of it in any case… I get to stop sleeping in trees and wondering where to look for food for the day, and spend all my time playing with Rin instead." Paused, then added, "My only condition is... I do have my own private matters to see to, I will be taking occasional leaves in absence, but I shouldn't be gone for very lone periods of time…" She still had to settle matters with Naraku and that boy, after all.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "As you wish. You are free to come and go as you please." With that Sesshoumaru turned and started to walk away.

Rin scampered over and clamped onto Seishi's leg, "Now we play together all the time."

Seishi laughed some and reached down, pulling Rin up into her lap and hugging her, "You bet…" she nuzzled her face into the girls' hair.

Sesshoumaru stepped out into his courtyard in the bright morning sunlight. It was time again for his routine patrol of his territory. He glanced behind himself to see Jaken preparing Ah-Un as he always did; Rin was there too of course, yawning, trying to chase away the lingering effects of sleep. Then Sesshoumaru saw something interesting, Seishi was emerging from the building fully dressed and looked ready to go. Was she truly planning to come along?

Seishi smiled brightly as she moved to join them. "Goodmorning." Noticed the slight questioning look in Sesshoumaru's gold eyes, even if it didn't show on his face. "Rin's education doesn't end just because you are taking her out with you."

Sesshoumaru looked at Seishi and decided she was serious about coming. Well as long as she stayed out of his way and didn't undermine his authority he was fine with it. Besides… after some past mishaps, it would be good to have an extra body to watch Rin. "Don't get in my way," was the only thing that end up coming out of Sesshoumaru's mouth.

Seishi smirked, "wouldn't dream of it, Sesshoumaru-sama…" there was some mocking in her tone, but it was in a playful way rather then insulting. With that she moved over to join Rin and Jaken.

Sesshoumaru and his entourage sailed through the blue skies that overlooked Japan's Western Lands. Sesshoumaru's nose and ears were alert for the smell or sound of trouble. He didn't rely on his eyes much as his nose or ears would detect trouble before his eyes could see it. Jaken held on for dear life to the fluff of Sesshoumaru's tail since there no space left on Ah-Un for him. Rin wasn't really concerned with what was going on in her master's lands. She was more concerned about showing the various sights of the Japanese countryside to Seishi and pointing out various odd shaped clouds.

Seishi conversed quietly with Rin, taking in everything the girl was pointing out to her, and adding her own tidbits when she had any. They made a grand game of spotting clouds that looked like things. Rin being so happy to have Seishi with her warmed the demonesses heart and she was glad she decided to stick around.

Sesshoumaru ingored the girls and kept his vigil for trouble. He did not have a wait long as he keen nose soon picked up the smell for a gathering of several lower demons and one high-class demon in one place. He could only guess it meant trouble because when the rabble got together, it was never good. He changed directions and drew in to investigate.

Seishi glanced ahead when she noticed Sesshoumaru start to descend… She turned her gaze back to Rin, but her also kept alert as Ah-Un started to follow its master in his decent.

Sesshoumaru landed a bit of a ways away from where he sensed the gathering. No sense in alerting them that he was around until it was too late for them to run. He didn't wait to see what Seishi was doing. He knew Rin would stay with Ah-Un and Jaken. He immediately took off towards the gathering.

Seishi slid from Ah-Un's back as soon as it landed, but she only watched as Sesshoumaru started off… now she knew what was up… she had sensed the demons as well, but hadn't thought much of them, but they seemed to have drawn Sesshoumaru's attention. She would have followed, for curiosities sake if nothing else, but instead she stayed back with Rin… not that Ah-Un wasn't a good protector for the girl from what she had heard from Rin about the two-headed steed.

Sesshoumaru quickly closed in o the gathering and now he was able to hear what they were discussing more distinctly. "...and once we're finished that we can end up ruling this whole area. Think of that my friends!" came the voice of the person who was leading this gathering. He was probably the higher-level demon Sesshoumaru had smelled. A fox demon, while not very powerful these tricksters could be very annoying if given the chance to cast their fox magic. The rest smelled like regular rabble. Tanuki, squirrels, snakes, typical scum. Sesshoumaru slowed down to walking pace and walked out of the foliage right into the center of their meeting.

Seishi wished she knew what was going on… but she wouldn't leave Rin nor take the girl closer to possible danger… She couldn't see what was going on, so she instead expanded her senses to their keenest, drawing in all the information they could tell her… She listened with her ears, taking in every sound, filtering them to natural animal calls to the wind through the trees… listening for anything she would consider out of place… She drew in air slowly through her nose, sorting through the millions of different smells she could pick up just breathing… Though her stance next to Ah-Un remained relaxed and lazy, her body was alive and alert, every little hair sensitive and picking up the slightest changes in the atmosphere around her. Lastly she expanded one more sense that most demons had some caliber of, but very few humans could use… a six sense, she felt for the life energies of any living thing nearby; she felt for demon youki or human ki. She picked up Lord Sesshoumaru, his being the most potent, and then there were other demons in the area he was in… but nothing to powerful… She sighed inwardly… Well hopefully he'd make this fast…

The demons were very surprised to see this strange newcomer suddenly crash their meeting. The leader stood up and faced Sesshoumaru. "Hey pretty boy, what do you think your doing? Do you have a death wish?" The many demons stood up and formed a circle around Sesshoumaru. The leader folded his arms and smirked, "You have no idea what your dealing here. We are aiming to take over this land and you'll be our first victim. Get him boys!"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and a single word escaped from his lips, "Baka..." As soon as he had spoken the words his energy whip appeared and his spun in a circle as the demons closed in around him. Then Sesshoumaru made the whip length longer and longer and the arc got wider and wider until his whip slashed the circle of demons to ribbons. A Fortunate few and their leader where able to see what was happening and back off just in the nick of time.

The leader now feeling a great lose of confidence screamed at his remaining followers, "Wha... what are you waiting for we still out number him... g..get him!" he managed to squeak out as he turned himself into a more evolved form of shippou's pink blob and quickly took to the air. Seeing their leader retreat, the other demons made a quick break for it as well.

Seishi could smell demon blood and acidy burnt flesh… they must have pissed him off… she had been so focused on sensing what was going on where Sesshoumaru was, she only now noticed Rin had gotten off Ah-Un and was holding her hand. Seishi blinked, then looked down at her, "No worries… He should be coming back soon." Rin nodded, she had no doubt Sesshoumaru-sama would be fine and be back soon. Seishi took her hand from the girls, ruffling her hair as she had gotten into a habit of doing. "Why don't we pick some flowers while we wait?"

Rin smiled brightly, "Hai, Rin will get some of the ones that Sesshoumaru-sama likes!" then she took off toward the largest patch of wildflowers nearby.

The fox demon returned to his normal form once he felt he had come a reasonably safe distance from Sesshoumaru. He sniffed the air to tell what was around him. Sesshoumaru was still a distance away. Probably still at the place where his gang had been, picking off stragglers. He also picked up another scent in the air, that of a human female, and a young on at that. "Perfect, after all that I could use a good meal to lift my spirits up." He set off in the direction of that appetizing treat.

Seishi paused as she had started to follow Rin… narrowing her eyes she searched around the tree line of the clearing they were in… One of the demons from that group had escaped Sesshoumaru was drawing closer to their location. Staying silent she slowly drew back… she'd see what this demon would do… knelling down in some grass that was tall enough to hide her, she kept an eye on Rin and kept her senses on the approaching demon.

The sly fox stalked Rin as quietly and inconspicuously as he could. He hadn't seen where the female dog demon had gone. He figured she had probably decided not to eat the human child for whatever reason and left. The area still smelled of her but it would since she had just been there. He saw the little girl crotch down to pick some flowers she had spotted and decided this was his chance and he sprang out of the foliage and rushed towards Rin.

His rush was all Seishi needed to see… before he could get more then a few steps, the dog demons was suddenly in front of him, silvery blue gaze as hard and sharp as ice as she was suddenly in his face, then to his side as her armored arm caught him in the throat in a clothesline. Soon as he was down, she had his arm, twisted it and forced him on his stomach so his other arm was more or less useless to try and strike at her. She kept his arm at an odd and painful angle as she dug a heeled boot into the small of his back. "Now you weren't planning to harm that little human pup over there, were you? Oh and before you think about changing shape, keep in mind I would love an excuse to sharpen my claws on you…"

The fox snarled at Seishi, "Bitch! That brat is my prey! Release me and go get your own!" Didn't take Rin long to figure out what was going on and she quickly gathered up the flowers she already had and ran in the direction of Ah-Un and Jaken, where she was out of the way and safe.

Seishi eyes almost seemed violet as she glared down at the fox, "That pup is no one's prey, fox…" she put more pressure on his arm, "I should kill you just for attempting to harm her... you're lucky I'm the one who caught you and not her guardian, he would not have hesitated to end your miserable life faster then you could draw your last breath."

The fox demon howled in pain as Seishi put more and more stress on his limbs. "What are you? Some kinda human lover? You can't tell me you aren't tempted to devour that little human. They say the younger the better..."

Snarled and pushed his arm to the brink of almost snapping, "Filth… Demons as low as you sicken me… You have no honor or integrity… You think because you might be a little more powerful then others, it makes you better then them… your arrogance and ignorance disgusts me!" broke his arm with that, but didn't release it.

The fox's cries of pain reached new heights as Seishi snapped his arm. "D... damn you, self righteous whore. You'll pay for this..."

"Given the circumstances, it is within your right to kill him..." Sesshoumaru said as he made his presence and return known. How much he had seen or heard was known only by him.

Seishi glanced over at Sesshoumaru, then looked back down at the fox, releasing his broken arm and took up the other, twisting it as she had the first so he didn't get any bright ideas, "I have only been holding him for your judgment, Sesshoumaru… These are your lands after all… and he fled from the group you just dispatched."

The fox demon had gotten a lot quieter since the arrival of Sesshoumaru and with Seishi breaking his arm and threatening something similar to the other. He knew he was outnumbered and outclassed. He was praying to whatever gods there were to spare his life.

Sesshoumaru approached the fox demon. He was looking al ot more disheveled from the last time he had seen him. It was somehow ironic that only the leader of the pack of low demons he had disposed off had survived. He certainly wasn't much a leader at that. As soon as things went wrong he was the first to turn tail and run. It was shameful to flee from battle at any time but to the leader and leave your men behind to save yourself was the ultimate disgrace. Sesshoumaru though hard as to wither or not he was going to strike this petty demon down.

The fox was getting increasingly uncomfortable, as Seishi was not letting up on him at all. "Uhh you lordship, sir, can you call your bitch off? I swear I won't cause anymore trouble!"

Seishi's eyebrow twitched and her eyes took on a hint of red making the blue look violet again as she shifted her grip and dug her claws into the tendons of his wrist. "I am no one's bitch, fox." She ignored the foxes cries and whimpers as she released his arm but kept her heeled boot dug into the small of his back to keep him on the ground, "I wonder how long you'll survive with one arm broken and the other with the tendons in your wrist severed… there's a small chance you'll heal before a stronger demon comes along to finish you off and makes a meal out of you as you had wished to do to Rin… that's if Sesshoumaru doesn't decide to just kill you here and now for threatening his human pup."

Sesshoumaru crotched down in front of the fox. He reached out and touched the fox's cheek with one of his claws. His claw began dripping with poison that burned the fox's face. Slowly Sesshoumaru moved his claw around on the fox's face cutting and burning at the same time. Once he had finished the fox was left with a very disfiguring mark on his cheek. Sesshoumaru then spoke, "I have decided that to live for you would a worse punishment then dying right here and now. If you somehow survive to a point where you arms heal, you will be left with this scar for the rest of your existence. You will be a reminder to all of what happens when you cross Lord Sesshoumaru." He then stood and turned his back to the fox. "Get out of my sight." Seishi removed her foot from the fox's back at Sesshoumaru's dismissal, still glaring at the kitsune menacingly with slightly violet eyes.

The fox struggled to get himself up as quickly as he could and he shuffled away as best he could, trying to ignore the pain he felt all over his body.

Seishi watched him flee, and then closed her eyes, taking in then letting out a deep breath… When she reopened her eyes the violet was gone and they were their usually clear silvery-blue. She said nothing as she turned and headed back toward Rin and Ah-Un, ignoring the toad. Sesshoumaru also returned and once Seishi and Rin were upon Ah-Un again, the group rose into the air again as Sesshoumaru resumed his patrol of his territory.

To Be Continued…