A/N: Hello all. It's been a while and I'm sorry, but what can I say. School's started and it's putting me even more behind than usual.
Just a little head's up, Sesshomaru is very harsh towards certain characters in this chapter (his thoughts are anyway), but that's because this is Sesshomaru we're talking about. He's not exactly known for his kind disposition. Wow I'm in a really hyper mood today. I think it might be because I'm finally updating.
Thank you to those of you who had reviewed/favorited/put on your alerts list. You are the best. Enjoy!
I do not own Inuyasha, although I wish that I did.
Rin smiled serenely to herself as she walked down the hallway to Sesshomaru's workroom. It had been three months since she had given birth and she had made a full recovery – which was very rare. After spending an excruciating twenty-two hours in labor on top of the three months of bed rest before that . . . Rin could see why female demons weren't the same after birthing a pup.
The twenty-two hours that she had spent confined to the birthing chamber had been the longest of her life. They were probably the longest of Sesshomaru's life too since he had been there with her for more than half of it. At first, Rin had found his presence in the room to be more than a little disconcerting, but once the contractions had really started coming, she had been grateful. Sesshomaru had walked her around the room, held her hand, given her cool water and – once he had determined that the baby was far enough along in the birth canal – helped her to rock her hips in order to deliver the baby.
Baby? Pup would be a more accurate term. Sesshomaru's suspicions had been right; the child had not been born in a human-like form, but instead looked like a small puppy – all silverish-white fur and fluff. Sesshomaru had examined the puppy thoroughly, cleaning it off in the process, before quietly declaring that the pup was a healthy full-blooded demon male. Even through her exhaustion, Rin hadn't missed the silent pride that shone from Sesshomaru's eyes. She stayed conscious just long enough to hear Sesshomaru name the child Katsumaru before sinking into a deep slumber.
Rin spent the next three days barricaded in the room with Sesshomaru and their pup. During one of the few spells where she was coherent enough to form thoughts, she asked why they were still in the room. Sesshomaru had told her that it was only until Katsumaru opened his eyes – which would happen in three days - and also that it was important that their son know who his parents were. His sense of smell was the best way to accomplish this goal: since Katsumaru couldn't see at the moment, he would learn who his parents were through his sense of smell and also by listening to their voices. For this reason, Sesshomaru and Rin would be the only ones to interact with the pup for the first three weeks of his life.
Rin dimly remembered those three days. To the best of her memory she had done nothing more than sleep curled up next to Sesshomaru, occasionally petting Katsumaru whenever his little nose touched her hand. Other than that, Sesshomaru did everything for the pup: he turned Rin over whenever it was time for the pup to feed, offered his warmth to the small pup and kept an eye on him to make sure that Katsumaru didn't wander too far.
After the three days were over, Sesshomaru moved them back to his rooms and forbade anyone – even Rena – from entering until he gave the word.
Rin had been surprised by just how drained the whole ordeal had left her. Apparently Katsumaru had taken quite a bit of her energy while he was in the womb, and it took a long while before Rin regained her good health again. She developed a nasty fever and cough that took weeks to get rid of and as a result was left to Sesshomaru's tender mercies.
Looking back on it Rin could laugh, but it hadn't been so amusing when she was in the thick of it. Sesshomaru made a very demanding doctor. Unlike that time when he'd nursed her back to health when she had been little, this time Sesshomaru knew what he was doing and wasn't above forcing her to do what he told her to do. Rin chuckled as she thought back to all the times Sesshomaru had forcibly dragged her out of the bed and made her walk around the room. Even though she had known that he was right, she had fought him on just about everything he told her to do.
There were times when Rin thought that if it hadn't been for Katsumaru, Sesshomaru would have just left her and gone for a stroll through the surrounding countryside, probably killing anything that got in his way. However Sesshomaru rarely left her side during those first three weeks. It had been a true testament of what Sesshomaru felt for her, because Rin knew full well that Sesshomaru didn't ever do something that he didn't want to do.
Katsumaru also rarely left her side. Rin had expected him to go back and forth between both herself and Sesshomaru but instead, he clung to her and her alone. It wasn't unusual for Sesshomaru to have to pry him away from Rin whenever the pup had to relieve himself. Rin had asked Sesshomaru if it bothered him, Katsumaru's ignoring him. Sesshomaru had told her no; if Katsumaru had been clinging to him instead of her, then he would be worried.
"Why," Rin asked with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Because it would indicate that something was wrong," he had replied. Upon still seeing her puzzled expression, Sesshomaru explained, "Its normal for pups to prefer their mother's for the first few years of their life. When males turn around twelve or thirteen, they begin to pull away from their mothers and start following their fathers more. By the time that they're twenty-nine or thirty, male pups treat their mothers the same way that they treated their father's when they were very young."
"Oh," Rin said. Well that explained a few things. Like Sesshomaru's relationship with his mother. Well, part of his relationship with his mother. "Is there any way that that could be prevented from happening," she asked looking up at Sesshomaru.
His brow had furrowed slightly. "Prevent what from happening?"
"Katsumaru pulling away from me. Will we end up like you and you mother," Rin had asked half-fearful.
"No. For one thing, you are not my mother. Thank Kami."
Rin smiled at that and decided right then and there that she would not waste any of the time that she had with Katsumaru. For one thing, when she had asked what her relationship with Katsumaru would probably look like in the future, Sesshomaru had said that he didn't know; that dog demons were a dying breed and what few of them that were left weren't the greatest examples of how one should act. In Sesshomaru-talk that meant that he knew what it could look like but he would be damned if a son of his acted like that; which probably meant that they were cowards or acted like Inuyasha.
Once the three weeks were up, Rin had been released from her cell, which was what Sesshomaru's rooms had started to feel like. She had personally seen enough of the bed to last her a lifetime. Just the simple fact that she could walk around the rest of the house was enough to speed up her recovery. Add to that the fact that she wanted to get better so that she could spend more time with Katsumaru and Rin recovered after just one week of being free.
When Katsumaru had turned five weeks old, he had assumed his human shape for the first time. Rin noticed that he had a tendency to take on a certain shape whenever he was around certain people. For instance, whenever he was around her he was normally in his human form, unless he wanted to roughhouse with her. Rena said that pups preferred to be in whatever form their mothers were in, which Rin supposed was true in regards to Katsumaru. Whenever he was with Sesshomaru, he usually was in his demon form. Rin personally thought that this was for mobility reasons; Katsumaru had busted through the door to Sesshomaru's workroom more times than she could count and Rin thought that her son preferred a form that would allow him to run away whenever he was around Sesshomaru.
When she finally reached the door to Sesshomaru's workroom, Rin lightly scratched on the wood and entered. She slid the door shut behind her, turned, scanned the room and brought a hand to her face to hide her smile. There across the room to the side of his desk was Sesshomaru, sitting cross-legged on top of a comfy pillow. He looked just as majestic as ever in a kimono and hakama of emerald green with gold embroidery along the shoulders and arms. His silver hair flowed down his back to pool on the floor and his magnificent golden eyes revealed nothing as usual. Indeed, his face was set in its customary stoic mask in order to intimidate anyone who would dare interrupt him.
And there in Sesshomaru's lap was Katsumaru, sitting with his back to Sesshomaru's stomach. He was wearing and outfit similar to Sesshomaru's - minus the embroidery - in a deep indigo blue. He had a head full of soft silver hair that promised to be just as glorious as his father's; his cheeks held the same markings as Sesshomaru's and a blue crescent moon graced his forehead. His eyes however were the main difference between them. Whereas Sesshomaru's eyes gave nothing away, Katsumaru's were the windows to his soul: all big, melting pools of gold that seemed to grow bigger or smaller based on what he was feeling.
When Rin had entered the room, both father and son had been wearing identical glares and while it worked for Sesshomaru, it did absolutely nothing for Katsumaru unless he was planning on intimidating you with his cuteness – which was more than possible with his plump cheeks and big eyes. Looking at him Rin thought to herself Lord Sesshomaru must have looked just like this when he was a child. She shook her head bemusedly. It was difficult to picture Lord Sesshomaru as a child, especially as one so adorable, and yet Rin knew that he had been one at some point.
She walked across the room and sat down on the pillow next to Sesshomaru and gave him her trademark smile. She didn't miss the slight softening in his eyes. She brought a hand up to stroke Katsumaru's head and said, "Did you get a lot done this morning?"
"Not really," Sesshomaru replied. He sounded as though he didn't mind and knowing him, he probably didn't. Rin knew how much he hated looking over scrolls.
Sesshomaru tightened his grip on his son, who was now swinging his arms energetically back and forth in an attempt to get Rin's attention. Rin reached out a finger which was immediately captured by Katsumaru's tiny hand. As she felt the small fingers close about her hand, Rin fought back a huge surge of emotion. She loved this little person so much. She loved Sesshomaru too. There were times when she wondered what she would do if she got pregnant again. Rin didn't think that she had any more love left in her to give.
"Is he hungry? It's close to his meal time," she said.
"Probably. He's been fussing for the last couple of minutes," Sesshomaru said.
Rin's brow knitted. "Really? That's strange; I didn't hear anything as I was coming down the hall."
Sesshomaru raised a brow. "That's because he hasn't actually voiced anything yet."
Rin colored slightly. She didn't know why she sometimes still forgot that Sesshomaru was far more in tune with what people were feeling than she was. She reached out her arms and asked, "Are you hungry little man."
Katsumaru made a loud gurgling sound and clapped his hands together haphazardly. Sesshomaru handed the small child to her and Rin cradled him to her chest while she shrugged out of one sleeve of her kimono. She laughed as she felt Katsumaru sniff her neck.
Once one side was bare, Rin shifted her hold on her son so that he could feed, which he did immediately. His greedy little mouth pulled at her nipple while one hand came to rest on her breast.
Rin winced and said, "Don't bite Mommy." Katsumaru eased up at once, flashing his eyes up to look at her before lowering his lids once more.
Rin situated herself more comfortably on the pillow, her face relaxing; one hand gently stroking Katsumaru's soft hair.
Sesshomaru watched Rin feed his son with a feeling akin to awe. It was very rare that he felt in awe of someone. It wasn't that this was the first time that he had seen Rin feeding Katsumaru, because it was not. It was just . . . every time he saw it a huge wave of possessiveness, affection and pride filled him. These two people belonged to him. They were his family and he would kill anyone who dared to hurt them.
Sesshomaru's eyes moved up to Rin's face, so full of love and silently approved of what he saw. It was good that Rin was so open with her feelings were their son was concerned. All too soon Katsumaru would start to pull away from her in order to learn how to survive as an adult.
Rin shifted Katsumaru to her other side and Sesshomaru pondered.
She was so very different from any female – demon or human – that he had ever known. While he wasn't sure if what he felt for her was love, he would not deny that he felt at ease with her. More at ease than he thought it possible to feel with another person. If what he felt for Rin was love though . . . He would not be brought to his knees the way his father and Inuyasha had been.
Both of them had fallen in love with humans, and both of them had suffered the consequences of such nonsensical emotions. His father, Lord of the West, had been killed by a mere human. And why? In order to protect his human whore and their half-breed son. Then there was Inuyasha who had fallen in love with a woman who had in turn bound him to a tree in an enchanted sleep for 50 years, and even now took another human woman to wife. Sesshomaru didn't know which of the two women was worse – the one who bound his brother to a tree, or the one he was currently married to.
All of them had been human. All of them had been the weaknesses of men who should have known better, even Inuyasha. But not Rin.
No. Rin could defend herself as well as any demon could, thanks to both Inuyasha's training while she was in his village and the training she had received from Rena. She had enough common sense to not do anything reckless. Add to that the fact that she was elegance, beauty and warmth personified and you had a woman who was superior to those weak fools his father and Inuyasha seemed to favor.
Rin seemed to be the very epitome of strength. She had survived on her own until he took her in. She had adapted to any surroundings that she had found herself in. She had gotten over the death of that human twit she was engaged to. And even now, she had made it through the entire pregnancy virtually unscathed, her good humor and good health still intact. Well, not entirely unscathed. Rin did still get a little weak after feeding Katsumaru, but she unusually recovered not long after. No Rin was strong in every way that it was possible for a person to be. She was certainly strong in all the areas that he found to be important. She was perfect.
Finished feeding Katsumaru, Rin shrugged back into her clothes, shifted her grip on the pup so that he was leaning on her shoulder and started to pat him on the back. Sesshomaru had named his son Katsumaru for a reason. He had named him that because it had summed up Sesshomaru's feelings on the day that he was born perfectly. Both mother and pup had made it through labor; his son was a full-blooded demon and thus his heir; the mother had proved herself to be more of a blessing than a curse, unlike Izayoi, Kikyo and Kagome. Therefore Katsumaru had seemed the perfect name for his son, for he was proof that Sesshomaru had triumphed where his father and brother had failed.
Yes, Katsumaru and everything regarding him was indeed a perfect victory.
A/N: This was just a brief introduction to the absolutely adorable Katsumaru You will be seeing a lot more of him and his antics in the future.
I'm in a real pickle here. I need to know if you guys feel that Sesshomaru is in love with Rin yet, because he's going to be marking her soon (hopefully within the next few chapters) but I need to know if you think that his feelings for Rin resemble those of a man in love. I don't want to do something that seems really random. If he still seems like he only desires her, then I guess that I'll have to come up with some more ideas for chapters that will demonstrate that he does in fact love Rin – even if he won't actually come out and say it (even in his thoughts – have you noticed that). Anyway I feel like I'm rambling. Let me know and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thanks.