I Remember You

I didn't expect to do another one shot besides The Dark Half of the Moon so soon, or so unexpectedly. This totally went against all plans. I just had the idea when I was doodling Sesshoumaru, when he appeared to look depressed and more like a girl than anything. So I turned it into my OC Sesshin – his daughter – and found I couldn't draw her hands so made up for this by stuffing a hand in hers. Her little brother's hand – Rinmaru. And then this fanfic was born.

Obviously Rin is an adult in this story. Sesshin, Rinmaru, Inuome and Kagoyasha are my characters. You say 'Kage' as if it rhymes with 'baggy', not like 'Kag-ay' or 'cage'.

Sesshoumaru and Rin's children, remembering the hurt and loss of that fateful night four years ago…

Sesshin stood on the same spot for what felt like hours, gazing at the elegantly carved stone that shone like moonshine in the early morning sunlight.
The sticky hand in hers attempted to slip free, then remained in her grasp. Curious, she looked down at her younger brother – the small boy whose hair was as fine as her own – the colour of pewter – with jewel yellow eyes. Twin puppy-dog ears peeked out from the hair that only barely covered his parchment-white face. A moon sat between his two eyebrows, yet there were no other markings on his face.
His eyes were wide in curiosity, a faint blush on his cheeks.
He took a quick breath and then made to touch the flowers placed at the base of the gravestone before him. He fingered one of the petals of an orchid, his expression distant.

Sesshin averted her eyes, feeling the tears begin to well up. She wiped her eyes with her free hand hastily, her fingers brushing over the two pink stripes on her right cheek, identical to those on the other side. She too had fierce golden eyes and a crescent moon on her forehead. Her hair was up into a high ponytail, yet some strands were coming loose at the sides where she had attempted to sweep it up out of the way.

Her brother pulled out of her grasp and inspected the stone, fingering the intricate designs and reading the name engraved upon it. "Ri–in?" he said uncertainly, glancing up at his sister to check he was correct. She nodded back at him and crouched down to his height. She smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "That's our mama,"

"Is that how I got my name, nee-chan?"
"Mm," Sesshin agreed. "'Rinmaru'. 'Rin' after Mama, and '-maru' after Papa. Just like I'm 'Sesshin'." She patted the back of his soccer shirt absently, one he had gotten for his birthday from their paternal uncle, Inuyasha.
Rinmaru chewed the inside of his cheek, then spun around. His four-year-old hands gripped tightly onto his sister's kimono, his eyes wide and almost pleading. "How did Mama die?" he asked urgently, his grip so strong that his knuckles were white. The white kimono beneath his fingers was suddenly dirtied, but Sesshin didn't seem to care.

Sesshin choked on the very air she breathed. She was immediately brought back to that day – the day it had all happened. She attempted to suck in a deep breath before grappling her brother into a fierce hug and sobbing into his shoulder. Rinmaru appeared horrified but then returned the embrace, running his hand through her hair for want of doing something.
When his sister recovered, she raised her eyes. Beginning shakily, she attempted a weak smile.

"The angels… th-they came to fetch her,"
"Baka, Papa would've killed them." Rinmaru shot back almost triumphantly. He sidestepped out of his sister's arms, eyes aflame. Sesshin laughed at the truth of it and wiped away her tears, nodding. Then she realised by her brother's expression that she had to tell him.
She took a deep breath and crossed her legs, tapping her lap so he would fall in as she instructed. He followed her command, staring, instead, straight ahead at the gravestone.

Sesshin sighed and began playing with her brother's hair as a distraction. "Bad men came and hurt her. Papa killed some, but–"
"What about Uncle Inuyasha?" Rinmaru interrupted, turning.
Sesshin opened her mouth to speak, closed it and then began again. "H-He was with Inuome-nee-chan and Kage-kun,"
"And with Aunty?"
"Hai," Sesshin nodded. "He… He didn't know,"

"But he would've helped, wouldn't he? He would've helped Papa then, wouldn't he?" Rinmaru asked. Sesshin brushed a strand of silver hair out of her face. "Of course he would have," The trouble was, she didn't know whether it was the truth or a lie.
Rinmaru plucked a blade of grass from the ground, thinking. "The bad men killed Mama?" he said softly.
"Hai," his sister replied, her voice thick.

Rinmaru squirmed uncomfortably. "Nee-chan?"
"Nanda?" Sesshin asked quietly, shaking him slightly to get an answer out of him. Rinmaru looked away for one moment, his eyes following a butterfly as it fluttered in the distance. He looped his fingers together in apprehension. Sighing, he turned back to his elder sister. "W-What did Mama look like?"

Sesshin clutched the bottom of his chin and tilted his face up to hers. She smiled, but only with her lips. "She was very pretty," she said proudly. "Tall, willowy. She looked like Aunty Kagome, but younger."
Rinmaru looked satisfied with that answer. He turned back to their mother's grave, twiddling with his fingers. "Did Papa love her?" he asked.

Sesshin leaned her head against his. "Very much," she told him immediately, interweaving their fingers so they were, in effect, holding hands. Rinmaru pointed at the orchids, taking her hand with his. "Who put those flowers there?"
Sesshin glanced up then quickly returned to staring at the small hanyou. "Papa did,"

"Papa did?" Rinmaru cried, dazed.
Sesshin only nodded. "Hai,"
Rinmaru looked down, suddenly growing quiet. "Oh," he said.
In all of her twenty years Sesshin had never felt so uncomfortable. She appeared merely sixteen, yet this was because when her mother had died she'd reverted to ageing as a hanyou. That was four years ago now. Age had not touched her since that day, unlike her brother who chose to age as a human.

"Nee-chan?"
Sesshin glanced at Rinmaru, her eyes warm. "Hai?"
She noticed her brother had tears in his eyes, something she had hardly seen before. "D-Did Mama love me?" he asked shakily, his voice hoarse.
Sesshin gripped hold of him tightly, tussling him. "More than life itself," she replied straight away. She ruffled his hair, laughing. "Especially those adorable ears! Just like Uncle Inuyasha's and Inuome-nee-chan's!"

Rinmaru giggled and tried to bat her away. "Then Mama didn't love you that much! You've just got youkai ears!"
"So what?" Sesshin challenged, giving him a playful shove. He turned and stuck his tongue out at her before wriggling out of her lap and stepping over to the gravestone, eyes sparkling.
His red shirt shone scarlet in the sunlight.

Rinmaru kissed the stone once, smiling genuinely. "Yukata," he breathed.
Sesshin fell back onto the grass with a sigh. Her mother had been dead for four years now. She had died only a week after Rinmaru had been born.
The thing that haunted Sesshin the most was that she could remember every detail. It felt like it was only yesterday…

Her chamber door was flung aside and Sesshin found herself wide awake, wrapped in a bed blanket, alarmed. Her father was stood in the doorway, panting. She couldn't remember seeing him so worked up before.
"Papa…?"

"Fetch your brother! Now!" he snapped, running back down the corridor with his wife before him. He had a protective arm on her shoulder, his eyes steely.
Sesshin's heart rose in her throat and her blood roared in her ears. Before she knew it she was running for Rinmaru, her breathing coming in quick gasps. She didn't dare question her father.

She flung her brother's chamber door aside, hot tears filling her eyes at the sight that greeted her as soon as she ran into the room. Someone was standing above her baby brother, sword raised in the air in a striking position. In horror, she let out a tangled scream, expecting her father to come to her aid.

The man turned then, and she saw his face. She screamed even louder. He was a human. She didn't know why she was so afraid but her life was flashing before her eyes. Humans – arrogant, selfish and greedy. They had come to kill her family because her mother's heart had been captured by a youkai.

She wasn't like Inuome; she wasn't a fighter like her cousin. She was weak... vulnerable.
"Papa–!"
A ring of fire surrounded the assassin, almost setting Rinmaru's blankets alight.
"Quickly, Sesshin-sama! Take Rinmaru-sama and flee!" a familiar voice screeched.
Jaken-sama! Sesshin thought as she dived for her little brother. The rest passed in a blur as she ran, leaving Jaken to kill the assassin.

It seemed everywhere she ran there was a smell filling the air – poison! She coughed and held Rinmaru close to her chest, choking. She fled the castle, running as fast as she could.
When she found herself in the moonlight she collapsed to the floor, wheezing. Rinmaru was still wailing and she attempted to rock him back and forth before giving up. She sucked in breaths, watching the castle doors to see who escaped.

The servants fled first, and it wasn't long before she saw Jaken run out carrying the Staff of Heads along with him. He gleefully called her name, running over to her. Sesshin let out a silly laugh, thinking that it was over and that they were safe. But she was very, very wrong.

Her father crashed out of the castle soon after, carrying his mate with a hysterical expression on his face. "Air!" he cried, as if it were something they could fetch. Sesshin simply stared, stunned as her papa ran over, dropping to the floor and pulling the dark-haired human in his arms to a sitting position. The woman was Rin, and her brown eyes were wide and unblinking, her mouth open in a kind of scream.
She wasn't breathing.

Sesshin saw the gaping wounds in her chest. Her mother had been stabbed several times and had choked on her own blood.
She felt a scream rip from within her and she found herself sobbing for all she was worth. Her mother… her mother was dead!

It appeared her father didn't acknowledge this. He was hopelessly looking around for his katana, but Tenseiga was still somewhere inside the castle. By the time he'd retrieve it, he would be too late. He didn't even know whether he could restore the same person their life twice. "Rin," he said softly, shaking her slightly. There was no reply.
"Don't shake her, Master." Jaken told him, a quaver in his voice.

Sesshin stared at her father's face, tears blurring her vision. Her father had never been expressive of his emotions but she swore that right now there were tears in his own eyes.
He didn't listen to Jaken. He shook Rin again. "Rin, wake up."
He reached down to touch her hand, then drew away in horror. Sesshin could imagine her mother's skin was cold to the touch.

"Mama…"
"Daijoubu, Sesshin-sama," Jaken cut her off, his golden eyes soft for once. "It-It'll be okay,"
Sesshoumaru flinched and stared at his mate some more before caving in on himself. He pulled Rin's lifeless body close to his and buried his face in her hair.
"Rin… Gome! Gome!" he sobbed, shying away from the other's disbelieving eyes. "Please, please forgive me…"

"Sesshy-nee-chan!"
Sesshin's eyes snapped open as she felt soft fingers tracing her tears across her cheeks and wipe them away. Rinmaru smiled down at her. "Papa's here!" he jeered, leaping up.
Sesshin sat up abruptly, only to see her father standing a ways away. He was deliberately turned away from the grave of his late wife, his eyes cold. Yet when his son ran up to him, in arms reach, he grabbed him and brought him up to his shoulders for a piggy-back. Rinmaru squealed and smiled a huge smile.

Sesshoumaru looked pained. Oh, Rinmaru, Sesshin thought, if only you knew how much you look like Mama when you do that…
"Sesshin," Sesshoumaru called shortly, summoning her.
"Hai!" she replied quickly, making to follow her father before turning back to her mother's grave, hesitating.

She smiled softly, running her hand over the stone. "Goodbye, Mama." She whispered, before turning and chasing after her father. "Dokkoi!" she cried, laughing.
And, for one moment at least, it felt like her mother was there with her. And she was smiling too.

Dictionary:

Gome – sorry

Youkai – demon

Hanyou – half demon

Daijoubu – is it okay/its okay

-sama – suffix, honorary – lord/lady/master. E.g. Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Sesshin

-kun – suffix, honorary – typically used for boys

nee-chan – well, Sota calls Kagome: Kagome-nee-chan and I think nee-chan is a nice way of saying 'sis' or 'sister'

Katana – sword

Hai – yes

Dokkoi – hold it

Yukata – I'm grateful, sometimes translated to 'thank goodness' .

Nanda – what is it?
Baka – stupid/idiot/fool

Kimono – form of dress