Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any nursery rhymes.
The Mother Goose Escapades
No. 39
The Queen of Hearts,
she made some tarts,
all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts,
he stole those tarts,
and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts,
called for the tarts,
and beat the Knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts,
brought back the tarts,
and vowed he'd steal no more.
For once, they were back in the Western Lands, sitting around the impressive place Sesshoumaru called home. Rin didn't particularly care for it – being outside was so much more preferable. But, this was where Sesshoumaru-sama wanted to be, so she would be here as well. But that didn't mean she had to behave.
Jaken was supposed to be watching her, which is why he was running around the gardens in a panic, calling her name out over and over.
She would have giggled if she had seen Sesshoumaru-sama rubbing his face tiredly, the voice of the retainer grating on his sensitive ears.
She was giggling for another reason though – she had given Jaken the slip! And now she was skipping through the enormous building known as 'home', blithely unaware of the surprised, resentful, and sometimes dark looks of the demons employed there. She was safe here, she knew, and didn't bother caring what anyone here thought.
Her tummy growled, which reminded her that she was hungry, which was why she slipped away from Jaken in the first place. He got angry with her constant appetite, so she found oftentimes it was better to just take care of these sorts of things herself.
No one was in the gigantic room known as the 'kitchen' or something. Rin giggled again, then tiptoed into. Things were smelling delicious, which meant things were being cooked, which meant that someone would be in here soon. Rin found what she was looking for, some tasty onigiri.
"Ah ha!" came a rather squeaky voice. Rin squeaked herself as she jumped, dropping the onigiri. They rolled towards Jaken, who was standing triumphantly in the doorway. He scooped them up and scampered off.
"Give those back!" Rin yelled, chasing after them.
"No way, I'm telling Sesshoumaru-sama what a little thief you are!" Jaken crowed, moving with remarkable speed. Rin figured it was all his practice from running away from danger. She took a deep breath and shot off as fast as she could. With a flying leap, she just caught the edge of Jaken's robe, causing him to tumble on the floor with her.
The looks from the other demons in the hallway were rather priceless.
They rolled head over heels, but Jaken was closer to the onigiri, so he grabbed them again on his way up. Rin scrambled up after him, indignance written all over her face. She chased after him for a little bit before another idea struck her. Wheeling around, she took off back in the opposite direction.
"You're gonna get in trouble, Jaken!" she called over her shoulder in a sing-song voice.
"Eh, what?" Jaken called back, looking behind in obvious confusion as she vanished from behind him. He slowed and frowned, trying to come up with what she might be doing. A sudden idea hit him, and his eyes widened. "She wouldn't..." he whispered, and suddenly squeaked in a very undignified manner, causing more than one passing demon to snicker behind a hand.
"Rin, you come back here!" he yelled out, chasing after her.
--
Rin, meanwhile, was on a frantic search throughout this ridiculously enormous place.
"I don't know why he needs so much room," she huffed as she ran along. "It's not like there's that many beings around. Or they could have their own place, or something..." she trailed off, looking around. She wasn't too good with knowing where everything was, but she remembered enough to decide this was where Sesshoumaru-sama's business quarters were.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she called out loudly, despite the fact he had told her to always be quiet in this area. Inside one of the rooms, a demon, trying to sign a treaty on behalf of the honorable Sesshoumaru-sama, jumped, causing the writing utensil to scratch across the entire parchment. It stared in shock at the ruined document, cringing to think of having to explain this to Sesshoumaru-sama.
"In here, Rin," Sesshoumaru answered, much more quietly. He had heard her coming, and hoped she wasn't looking for him. Just as he stood up and entered the hallway, Jaken appeared, running furiously and squeaking in a very undignified manner.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, you'll never guess what happened!" Rin said, looking accusingly at Jaken.
"Oh, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken ran up and collapsed at his lord's feet, attempting an exhausted bow-type thing. Then he struggled up, panting noisily. "Rin has done something very bad!"
"And what, exactly, would that be?" Sesshoumaru asked, his amber eyes shifting between the two. Honestly, he didn't think he wanted to know, but peace and quiet would never come if he didn't act like judge and jury now.
"She stole onigiri from the kitchen," Jaken said triumphantly as Rin said at the exact same time,
"He stole onigiri from the kitchen." They pointed at each other, and then Jaken looked in shock at Rin.
"What are you talking about, Rin? I saw you!"
"I'm just telling things like they are!" Rin answered back.
"Prove it!" Jaken insisted.
"Who's the one with the onigiri right now?" Rin asked, a gleam in her eye.
"You!" Jaken cried, before something clicked in his mind. With horror, he looked down at his hand, spying the much talked about treat.
"See!" Rin smirked. "So, Sesshoumaru-sama, do you see how Jaken tried to blame me?"
"She's lying!" Jaken cried out, "I took these from her as evidence! Not only is she a little thief, she's also a little liar! You'd better punish her, Sesshoumaru-sama!" The pair began arguing then, as Sesshoumaru continued to stare at them.
There are those who say Sesshoumaru actually showed some expression at this point. In fact, he looked absolutely steamed.
"You interrupted me for a discussion on onigiri?" He actually narrowed his eyes, and the demons who had been watching the exchange with something like mirth chose at this point to step into their respective rooms. Sesshoumaru reached out and deftly plucked the onigiri from Jaken's hands.
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked quietly, taking in his face. He smiled then, and Jaken squeaked very audibly.
"I suggest you two go outside and play now," Sesshoumaru suggested, and the pair wasted no time getting out of there. Sesshoumaru turned and entered the room he had been occupying, preparing to finish his work. Absently he munched the onigiri. "Not bad," he remarked to himself.
--
"Let's never take anything without asking again," Rin panted out, laying flat on her back outside. Jaken, next to her, agreed.
"Yeah," he got out before hit by a thought. He sat up suddenly, saying, "Hey, I never stole anything in the first place!"
Author's Notes: Tee hee, they're like a bunch of two year olds! I was aiming for humor in this one, could ya tell? Also, I don't usually include Japanese words, but I used onigiri instead of rice ball because it's just that much more fun to type!Anyway, the reason for the double update: I am leaving for vacation tomorrow, so this will be the last update until next Wednesday, and I wanted to make certain you had something good to read until then! All I ask of you is to leave me smiles to return too. Farewell until then!