Learning to Live
Part 1: Being Reborn
Chapter 4: Fairytale
Darkness, cold, death. Light, warmth, life.
Sesshomaru sat in a chair near to his daughter's side. He wanted to be close to her, but yet again, he didn't want to disturb her. It was though the tranquility of the entire room balanced on him. And he wasn't sure if he was capable of such a responsibility at the moment. His head was spinning. His arms felt like dead weights. And his little girl lay on the bed slowly breathing in and out. In and out. In and out.
Half of her body was immersed in sunlight; the other half in shadows. It seemed as though both sides were competing for his child's life. And whenever he went to tuck the covers in a little closer around her neck the shadows increased.
Sesshomaru reflected on what the doctor had told him. Actually, he hadn't been listening to the doctor's speech at all. After he found out that his daughter was dying nothing else really mattered.
He listened to the beeping of the heart monitor telling him that there was still hope left. He listened to the shallow breaths, watched the flushed cheeks, smelled the hospital food on the tray nearby. All these things were signs of life. And then she woke up.
At first Rin seemed confused by where she was, but as the sleepiness left her eyes she realized where she was and what happened.
"You know what's wrong now, don't you?" she asked.
"No," Sesshomaru replied truthfully, "I wasn't paying attention to the doctor."
Rin sighed and looked up at the plain white ceiling.
"I'm not sure what it's called, but I do know is what will happen. I'll start to get headaches, then I'll get weak, and then everything will start shutting down."
"You've been hiding the headaches, and you've tried to eat healthy and sleep more to have as much energy as possible while I'm around."
"I'm sorry, but I didn't want my fairytale to end. I feel like a princess in a dream whenever I'm with you."
Sesshomaru wanted to sigh, but he knew that would weigh heavily on Rin's conscience. He had said before that people were greedy and self-centered, but he also forgot to mention that they were liars.
Everyone lies and up to this point he had attributed to the fact that they were greedy and self-centered. But somehow, even though Rin had only wanted her dream, he couldn't see her act as one of being self-centered. If she was really that way, an ungrateful and spoiled brat, she would have constantly asked for things and attention. Instead, she studied well with her tutor, she picked up after herself, and only wanted to play with him when he was able to. She was only an innocent child trying to live in a dream, if only for a little while.
Sesshomaru lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. They may not have a child's innocence, the kind that comes from not knowing pain or hurt, but she had the innocence of a person without ill will. The kind of person that cares deeply for others and has not been tainted. It was the kind that can only be seen by looking in someone's eyes.
"You are a princess, but would you like my princess?"
Rin looked confused, but he continued anyway.
"Rin, I want to adopt you."
Her eyes went wide and her mouth made an "O" shape. She was surprised to say the least.
"But… but I won't be alive for much longer. Why would you want to burden yourself like that. And you're so famous - people will see me and my mom might too. You can't do that. You don't really want to."
She started to cry and turned her head away.
"I can and I will, that is, if you accept."
"What about the public?"
"If you don't wish them to know, then they won't."
Rin looked down as she wiped her eyes. Sesshomaru knew what she was thinking though. She wanted to know if having this small amount of happiness was worth it for the short time she had left. He had tried to show her how sincere he was in wanting her to stay with him. She knew that he didn't truly love her, but he did care for her greatly; maybe one day he would be able to truly love her as a parent.
"Alright," she said slowly, "I would like that very much."
Sesshomaru let out the breathe he didn't know he was holding.
---
The process of adoption had gone smooth enough. Sesshomaru had explained the situation with Rin to the director of the local police forces and he agreed to "misplace" any records concerning the disappearance of her. Also, since documents had been distributed to orphanages in case a missing child showed up there, the police director and Sesshomaru had "persuaded" the operator of one of these orphanages to forget that there was a reward for Rin's return.
After she was accepted into the orphanage, Sesshomaru's lawyer got the paperwork and in less than 3 days after her hospitalization, Rin was formally known as Rin Taisho.
With public control agents second-to-none, the whole affair was never even heard of by the general public.
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With a handful of prescriptions from the doctor, Rin's life expectancy had been lengthened, or so he had been told. There were 5 different medications that she had to take daily. That and continuing her healthy diet would add almost 6 months to her life, hiving her a grand total of a year and two months. It wasn't a lengthy amount of time, but it was as good as it would get. Rin was thankful, and truthfully he was too.
They spent more time together and he felt more than ever that she was a part of his life. Sometimes she spent the night in his room, they went to the movies and the beach, and, as a treat, a few trips to the ice cream parlor. (Does anyone call them ice cream parlors anymore? )
The months flew by and before he knew it, Sesshomaru was getting ready for Rin's 9th birthday. He planned on taking her for a day trip going first to the mall, then to a carnival, and finally out to dinner. All plans were prepared and the day was at hand. She wanted to be a princess, and that was what she was going to be.
The day started with Sesshomaru cooking her breakfast and serving it in bed. As she ate, he set out clothes for her in her bathroom and prepared a bath. As she took her bath, Sesshomaru prepared himself for the day ahead. First stop: shopping.
Sesshomaru sat outside the changing room only minutes away from rolling his eyes. He said that she could get, with parental discretion, anything she wanted, but specifically an outfit for the afternoon and that evening. She hadn't come out yet and it had been about 20 minutes. How many outfits had she taken in there?
Scratch that. He didn't want to know.
About 10 minutes after that, Rin came out of the dressing room wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a long plum tank top. He had to say that she looked very trendy. Her long dark brown hair shined in the low light and her pale skin had a rosy tint to it because of her embarrassment.
He had to admit, grudgingly, that she didn't look 9.
He wanted her to show him her outfit for the evening, but she declared it was a secret, and not even the sales clerk was allowed to tell him what it was. With those two outfits, and one more, the father and daughter headed to the carnival.
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Author's Note
I'm sorry that I haven't been around recently, but a lot has happened including the deletion of my computer information and my grandfather's surgery. I'm back now though, and hopefully should be able to maintain a more constant series of updates. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope that you're ready for the last chapter in this section. Later!
