⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ [ 二 ] ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

病気

byouki, "illness"

Illness was a foreign concept to Sesshomaru. His body was not susceptible to the whims of disease, so he had for most of his life not ever even given it a passing thought. But Rin was a different story.

He could scent the sickness in Rin before she even mentioned it. A sort of unpleasant bitterness that one might have associated with a poisonous plant or herb. It still lay underneath though, not quite powerful enough to override her natural scent of the woods and fresh air.

On the first day when she appeared to feel it herself, she dismissed it as a mere annoyance. "I used to get sick all the time when I was a child," Rin said casually, waving her hand when Sesshomaru told her he noticed she was constantly having to blow her nose.

She certainly bore her affliction with good cheer, Sesshomaru thought. Her smile never wavered and she charged ahead with her work with so much of her typical spirit that everyone observing her would have believed she was well; it was merely her stuffy voice that gave anything away. She kept the act up for so long, even as the smell of the sickness grew more prevalent and concentrated, that Sesshomaru actually wondered if she wasn't getting worse.

In hindsight, it was a foolish thought to even entertain.

But still under this misguided notion, Sesshomaru was thrown off guard when Rin complained one night of her throat being sore. She pushed away her dinner and did not even want to drink any water. When Sesshomaru asked if she was not hungry, she shook her head.

"It hurts when I swallow."

How strange, that part of one's body could be pained by something other than a physical wound, and on the inside besides. But her voice had sounded rough and raspy, so much so that Sesshomaru could believe if her throat was scratched and in pain.

Strange also was that she remained sitting across from him even as she did not eat. She had unfurled a roll of parchment and was perusing it silently when Sesshomaru looked up from what he was reading himself and spied her. "You needn't stay here," he rebuked her mildly. "You should rest."

Rin looked as if she were going to agree, but just as quickly, her expression changed to a playful scowl. "I like being with you, though," she protested.

"And I like you being healthy," Sesshomaru countered. "You do not sound well. It will be more of a help if you sleep."

Rin opened her mouth to argue, but then shut it. She understood what he was saying in not so many words—that if she stayed ill for long, he would be worried about her. A small smile tugged at her lips and she got to her feet, masking how unsteady she felt with her dizziness.

"If it will make you feel better, Sesshomaru, then fine," she teased, a shadow of her normal self returning. "Don't stay up too late either."

Sesshomaru inclined his head fractionally and Rin departed noiselessly. Her tread was naturally light, but it was nevertheless easy for Sesshomaru to distinguish her steps growing fainter and fainter in the direction of their private quarters. He glanced down at his paper.

With Rin absent and the room to himself, the work rolled easily by. There was barely a chance for Sesshomaru to note the time, other than him having to repeatedly light more oil lamps. When it was this late, he lost track of time. Sesshomaru lay down his brush and glanced out the window. The half-crescent moon hung lazily at its zenith in the sky, stars twinkling around it. He stood up.

He found Reika sitting cross-legged in front of the bedroom door, as was her usual post whenever Rin retired for the night before Sesshomaru came. Her arms were crossed with her katana wedged between them and her chest. When she saw Sesshomaru approaching, the leopard demon rose and bowed.

"Good evening, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Anything?"

"No trouble out here. I believe she's sleeping. Yumi-san's sitting with her now," Reika added significantly, catching Sesshomaru's look when she spoke. His eyes flashed briefly at the mention of Rin's maidservant. Normally it was only Reika who acted as sentinel.

"Fine. You may leave," Sesshomaru said.

Reika bowed once more and vanished with a flicker. Sesshomaru put his hand on the door but hesitated. He looked around the engawa, empty of any other beings. There was indeed no trouble; the customary stillness of the night was all he could detect. But he inhaled—the smell of sickness had grown thicker.

It was even more noticeable inside the room. Thinner at the corners, it grew more concentrated in the center where the futon—and Rin—were. The smell completely enveloped her like a miasma of infection, putrid and heavy. Sesshomaru knelt down next to her. On the other side of him was Yumi, her glowing amber eyes worried when she raised them to look at him. Words weren't necessary to convey Rin's condition had worsened.

As the two hovered over Rin, rattling coughs shook her body. Sesshomaru had heard her cough a few times in the last couple days, but she had always hid the severity of them. This time, with her vulnerable in sleep, they were harsh and punching. The sound rose from her chest but the motion disturbed her whole body as if she were hollow inside.

"Go," Sesshomaru said quietly, his gaze not leaving Rin.

Yumi had been working at Sesshomaru's estate for long enough to not question him. "Please call me if you require any assistance," she said.

The door shut behind her with a noiseless tap. Sesshomaru looked down at Rin, who slept fitfully. Her breathing was even but labored, each inhale and exhale trembling with effort. She rolled onto her side, then her back again, and then her other side, moving constantly. Sesshomaru lay his hand on her forehead to try and soothe her, but even under his touch, she fidgeted.

He was fully aware that he could administer no health practices, as he was ignorant in human illnesses. That was something Kenta would have to advise on in the morning, so Sesshomaru had to settle with simply making Rin comfortable for the rest of the night. As lightly as he could, he lifted Rin to a half-sitting position so she leaned against him. Then he pulled the length of his fur around and arranged it on the top half of the futon, laying Rin back down so the pelt wrapped around her like a cocoon. It always comforted her before even when she was healthy, Sesshomaru reasoned.

Rin coughed again, with the same chest-rattling sound as before, but she didn't twist and turn as much. She even reached out to take some of the fur into her hand. This time when Sesshomaru put his hand over her forehead, he barely touched it, just getting close enough to feel the fever radiating from her. The room was quiet again.

How much time passed? Sesshomaru did not know, but when he finally looked up, he saw the moon had slanted a few degrees lower in the still-black sky. Morning was yet a while away. It might be a restful night for Rin after all, Sesshomaru thought.

Then her body stirred. Sesshomaru's eyes widened fractionally as Rin's fluttered open. She still lay on her side, but Sesshomaru saw her catch sight of what she was enveloped in, and her hand closed around it again in recognition. "Sesshomaru...?" Her voice was thin and laced with the illness, but it was edged with hopefulness.

He didn't say anything, only smoothed her hair and touched her face briefly.

Rin closed her eyes again and nodded slowly. "Water," she muttered, sounding slightly out of breath.

Sesshomaru inclined his head. He raised her slowly to free his pelt and lay her down again before going to the corner and pouring a cup. "You will need to sit up," he said when he had returned to the futon.

Rin made a noise of objection, but Sesshomaru had no desire for her to potentially choke. He sat down and lifted her slightly to lean against him like before. "Drink," he said, bringing the cup to her mouth and tilting it. She sipped it until the cup was half empty and then turned her head away. Sesshomaru set it aside.

Rin still rested against him; she had not moved since Sesshomaru had shifted her. Now she was noiseless, like she was trying to fall back asleep. She seemed relatively peaceful now. He could feel her body straining with the effort to inhale and exhale, but her breaths did not sound as painful anymore.

He had spent hundreds of years living according to his own whim with nary a thought for any one else. Now he did not dare move a muscle for fear of disturbing Rin.

How far his life had come.

A/N: Updating later than I had planned to, but I'm back!

I believe the general consensus among the fandom now is that Sesshomaru and Rin must have lived in the village instead of at a fancy palace of some kind, but since the former was my headcanon up until Yashahime seemed to put an end to that, the setting for this chapter is still reflective of that.