Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any creations of Rumiko Takahashi. This is not written for profit.
Author's notes: One Armed Samurai is the story of a modern Sesshomaru and how he deals with life as a man with one arm. His mother has sent him to the Elmview Clinic where he meets a young girl named Rin.
I'm finally done with finals!! Yeah!! Not a lot of action, but some Sesshomaru style fluff, which isn't that fluffy.
Chapter 7: Dirty Green Thumbs
The next morning Sesshomaru still woke up grumpy. The days stretched before him, first here, then at his company, all his life- a struggle. Sesshomaru growled in his throat, dissatisfied by his own melancholy. Reminding himself of all the skills he still possessed he prepared himself for the day. He found Rin's gift tied to his doorknob. He was no longer ready to cut his hair, but neither was he ready to accept charity. The leather tie was laid on his nightstand and Sesshomaru headed to breakfast.
Rin watched Sesshomaru approach the table she was sitting at. She was set to duck away if he still seemed angry, but he seemed instead to have regained his impassive mask. His aura wasn't as friendly as Rin would have liked, but he hadn't dismissed her either. After a quick smile to prove she held no hard feelings Rin returned to her oatmeal. She finished quickly, not wanting to ruin the delicate peace, but she was in their reading corner when Sesshomaru finally had free time. She had returned to her hunched, protective posture, and Sesshomaru did little to thaw the air between them, but they filled the same places.
The two of them read together for almost an hour, the thin light of evening starting to slant through the windows. Sesshomaru lifted his head, making small invisible stretches to release some of the tension in his shoulders. He watched as Nurse Ishi marched towards him. She was not a particular favorite of Sesshomaru's. She guarded the front door like a watchdog, and paraded the halls, a ring of keys dangling from her waist.
"Tashino Sesshomaru?"
"Hai"
Sesshomaru watched Rin jump slightly at the sound of his voice, looking up from her book to stare at Nurse Ishi.
'Nurse Saitou has a new physical therapy program for you. No, No don't get up. Here is an outline. There is a supply closet near the back sunroom you can use. If you have questions ask Rin over there, she can point things out to you."
Turning sharply around without giving Sesshomaru a chance to ask any questions Ishi stalked away. She left a small pamphlet on the table. Growing an Herb Garden Indoors. Great. Now the only thumb he had left was supposed to be green. Saitou had scrawled a note on the back page: 'I think this will be good for your arm, plus you'll have something to show for it in the spring. Ask Rin any questions you have, she's been doing this for years.' Rin was reading over his shoulder, not far enough to touch him, or seem too close. She pulled the pamphlet gently from his slack fingers, slowly to give him a chance to say no. Sesshomaru sat silently as she looked the booklet over. There were seed packets taped inside, along with simple instructions about sunlight and hydration. Rin wrinkled up her nose at the pamphlet, shaking the seeds absently in their package. Sesshomaru watched her, amused at how quickly she was absorbed. Finally recalling herself she laid the seeds back onto the table top, careful not to brush his hand. Sesshomaru ran his fingertips across the edges of the paper.
Gracefully he stood up, closing his book and putting the brass weight into his pocket. He scooped up the seeds and motioned for the girl to lead the way. She stared at him for a moment, her face unreadable then turned to walk out of the rec room. Once more she led him down hallways he was unfamiliar with, but Sesshomaru made sure to mark the turns this time. Eventually she stopped in front of one of the endless non-descript doors in yet another hallway. Glancing around with a subterfuge that seemed unnecessary Rin peeled a bit of caulking away from the doorframe. Prying a key from behind the door frame she chanced a glance a Sesshomaru's face. He remained impassive as always watching her antics. Fitting the key into the door knob Rin pushed the door open and let Sesshomaru enter first.
It was too dark to see anything initially. Rin stepped in behind him and pulled the chain Sesshomaru had brushed aside. Light filled all but the furthest corners. The space was small, perhaps intended for a large shower area. The top half of the back wall was a window, letting in the last dull rays of sun. There was a rough wooden work shelf covered in grime and empty pots. The walls on either side of the window were covered in shelving made from cinderblocks and plywood. There was a forest growing in there. Every shelf was covered with lush plants, green, vibrant growing things that filled the air with the scent of life. Rin entered the space with confidence, her posture relaxing. She began flipping switches and fiddling with dials until a series of lights over each shelf lit up. Rin pointed to a laminated spread sheet- "weekly schedule of UV light" covered with neatly color coded x's. There was a thermometer in the corner with a large handwritten note saying "DO NOT TOUCH!!!" Rin beckoned him forward from his uncomfortable position being scratched by the plants to stand in front of the work bench. This too had been constructed out of cinderblocks and plywood. Space had been left to fit a motley collection of plastic buckets and baskets. Each of these, along with each potted plant, was neatly labeled with sharpie- mitsuba, red shiso, green shiso, chives, cress, chrysanthemum, plus many more.
She had made it for her height and Sesshomaru felt himself stooping to see what she was doing. Noticing his discomfort Rin pulled a stool out from one of the many recesses underneath. Seated the room felt less confining and Sesshomaru took the time to be impressed. Each of the plants seemed to be thriving, including an elaborate bonsai trimmed to cascade past the ceramic holder. A stone tied the lowest branches trained the sapling to grow even lower.
Sesshomaru reached his hand across the table, brushing his hand across the crisp leaves of the tiny tree. The empty left sleeve of his shirt snagged on the spiky branches overflowing from the shelves. As he moved forward to examine the bonsai in greater detail his sleeve pulled a sampling of mint off the self
"tsu!"
He managed to cushion the terra cotta container with his foot, but the soil and plant still scattered across the linoleum floor. He knew he could not have caught the falling plant, no matter how quickly he turned, but why must he feel like this? Why must every day bring new frustrations? Why must he be constantly reminded of his ineptitude?!
Unconsciously growling in the back of his throat Sesshomaru kneeled down, roughly shoving what remained of the earth and plant back into the plot. Straightening quickly he roughly set the thing down on the table, angry at his weakness. Only as he straightened did he notice the girl had backed into the opposite corner. She refused to look up and seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible. Sesshomaru quickly stifled the snarl building in his chest. All he need now was to frighten the one person here that wasn't intimidated by him. His anger at himself building to a slow boil he regretted ever allowing himself to become acquainted to this girl. Now he felt guilty for scarring her, he didn't want to feel anything at all. Damn all the world for breathing!
Heaving a silent sigh Sesshomaru straightened his shoulders.
"I will not harm you. Show me what Nurse Saitou wants me to do."
Rin slowly lifted her eyes. The tall man/boy seemed to be done being angry. He had yelled, but he hadn't tried to hit her, and he wasn't yelling any more. He looked like he was angry at himself-like when Rin got mad at herself for not noticing that people were behind her. Judging it safe Rin slipped closer to the center of the table. She took the poor mint plant and shifted the roots around so it would be more comfortable. No lasting harm had been done. She pried the lid off a large bucket on the ground and filled the rest of the pot with the dark loam inside. Spritzing it with water she passed the plant back to Sesshomaru. He starred at the dirty pot before picking it up and moving it back to the self it had originally been on. At least the girl no longer seemed terrified.
Rin opened the pamphlet, smearing it with grimy finger prints. She flipped through it quickly then decided it was useless and threw it in the bin. She motioned for Sesshomaru to move out of the way, she reached into one of the cubby holes and pulled out a package of plastic cups. She handed the empty cups and a sharpie to Sesshomaru. He pulled the seed packets towards him, ready to write thyme, rosemary, and dill on the frosted cups. They would not stay still. The cups rolled every which way and after drawing nothing more than a shaky scrawl across the ridges he flung the cups to the ground. Rin seemed unconcerned with his mess, busy arranging small and large buckets on her side of the table.
Taking her silence as a sign that he should come up with a solution himself Sesshomaru took a moment to think. Looking about him he pulled two of the smaller pots off the shelf beside him and arranged them with the cup between to stabilize it. The first attempt was a failure, the cup still sliding to the right. At least it wasn't skittering across the table this time. Starring at the cup as if sheer will alone could force it to stay still Sesshomaru raised the pen back to the slick surface. As he shifted his balance he felt the brass weight in his pocket. Mentally kicking himself for being slow he placed the cylinder inside the cup. Between the weight and the containers the cup was finally still enough for him to write. When he had fifteen for each seed written out in his neat characters with the Latin translation from the packet underneath, just as Rin had on every other plant, Rin motioned for him to stop.
Sesshomaru watched from his seated vantage point as she pulled yet another laminated card from the wall. This was filled with direction for mixing dirt, written out in the careful handwriting of a child. She tapped the top "recipe" marked for seeds. Pointing to the top ingredient –soil- she measured out the suggested amount into the medium sized bucket in front of her from the giant pail on the ground. Going down the list she pointed to each ingredient, then the container it could be found in before pouring all into the mixture. Sesshomaru guessed 4 liters of dirt were in the bucket, with the different colors lying on top of one another. Rin picked up a long dowel then stood looking up at him for a moment. Not understanding what she wanted he quirked and eyebrow. Motioning for him to move Rin started to climb up onto the stool. Sesshomaru realized she was too short to stir the mixture while on the ground and needed to get above the bucket. Instead of moving Sesshomaru gently pulled the dowel out of her hand. Without standing he started to stir the earth together. Watching to be sure he was doing it correctly Rin eventually gave a short nod of thanks.
With one eye on him Rin turned to the utility sink built into the corner of the room. She filled a jug with warm water, then struggled to lift it out of the deep sink. Still without saying a word Sesshomaru lifted it out by the handle and carried it over to the mix. This time he motioned for Rin to climb up. While she stirred he slowly poured the liquid in until there was a thick sludge swirling around the bucket. Rin stirred until she was satisfied then tossed the stick into the sink.
Once more she directed Sesshomaru in front of the mix. She showed him how to dip the cups into the mix. He handed them to Rin who wiped the excess off. When all the cups were filled and lined up across the table Rin rinsed out the bucket and the cloth, leaving them to dry on the rack below.
Up till now the entire operation had been done in silence. But as Rin stared at the row of cups she began hum. Shesshomaru didn't allow surprise to cross his face, but he was. It wasn't words, but this was by far the most sound he had heard from the girl. It continued as she showed him how plant the seeds, three in each container, halfway down in an indentation. She kept up the tune as they arranged the cups on the top shelf, her balancing somewhat precariously on the stool. Rin set the heat lamp to a high setting, showing Sesshomaru the table of suggested temperatures taped next to the control panel. The humming stopped once they both turned to the sink to wash up.
Rin was filthy. Mud covered her sleeves and the front of her shirt, not to mention her face and hands. Shesshomaru had fared much better, his clothes remaining clean, but his arm, practically up to his shoulder, was coated in grime. Rin rinsed herself off as much as possible, washing her face and hands with the dish soap beside the fixtures. Sesshomaru ran his arm under the warm water, but that did little more than turn the dirt to wet dirt. As Rin stood watching him Sesshomaru turned his face to a frozen mask. If she thought for a moment that he would allow her to wash his arm for him- Sesshomaru pulled his upper lip back in an unconscious gesture but Rin wasn't paying attention. She was puttering around in some of the lower shelves. She unexpectedly popped up, smiling brightly and holding a scrub brush. Beaming up at him she hooked the handle of the brush over the edge of the sink and doused it with soap. Moving the faucet over the brush Rin backed away. Sesshomaru starred at her solution and then back to the girl. How did she think of these things? Mentally shrugging his face still a mask Sesshomaru stepped up to the sink. The brush stayed in place and he was able to scrub his nails and the majority of the dirt from himself. Unwilling to even acknowledge her help Sesshomaru kept his face blank as he ran his arm across a towel laid out on the table. Rin didn't seem to mind, smiling at him continually as she returned various things to their place. Satisfied that everything was in order Rin opened the door to the hallway and followed Sesshomaru out. Returning the key to its hiding place Rin bowed to Sesshomaru then walked down one of the hallways only she seemed to use. Remembering his way there Sesshomaru started back to his own room.
In the shower Sesshomaru allowed the hot water wash away the rest of the grime. This evening- it had felt good. It had felt good to be doing something. Something new and useful at that. And that girl. Why was she kind to him- why did she want to spend time with him? He could offer her nothing. He hadn't been what one would call charming while here. So why did she attach himself to him?
Sesshomaru starred at himself in the small bathroom mirror. He forced a comb through his hair refusing to wince as he used brute force to claw the knots out. The bathroom mirror was high enough- if he crouched just a little, turned his head to the right- yes. That was what he used to look like. Whole. Complete. A man on the edge of success his mother liked to say. But now. Sesshomaru stood up. The neat edge of his arm came into view, the scars barely visible in the still foggy glass. Two thin marks stretched across his left cheek. But his expression hadn't change from before the accident. He still looked cold, calculating. Deadly even. Sesshomaru steeled his expression even more. This was who he was now. He could be just as successful. He could be just as deadly- figuratively speaking, of course. Sesshomaru trapped the toothpaste tube between his hip and the edge of the sink so he could screw the top back on. He was Sesshomaru Tashino. He could do anything. And if a small girl wanted to follow him around that was her right. She could do anything she liked. It made no difference to him. Besides, her silence seemed to make everyone else quieter. That was a blessing
Satisfied he had settled the matter of Rin Sesshomaru stepped into his bedroom. Pulling a t-shirt over his head he slipped off his moccasins. Sesshomaru pulled back the heavy down quilt his mother had brought from home. Tossing his hair out of his eyes he settled into bed. His hair was everywhere. Half asleep and without thinking Sesshomaru reached for Rin's hair tie on his nightstand. Gathering up his hair and slipping the tie on easily Sesshomaru fell asleep before truly realizing what he had done. But he fell asleep happy.
A/N: Whew! Sorry so long. I realize not a lot happened in this chapter, but I'm trying to make Rin and Sesshomau's relationship solid and believable. I'm worried about Sesshomaru staying in character a little in this chapter, there's not a lot a dialogue, but… If you have thoughts or suggestions please let me know. There's going to be few more chapters before they get out of Elmwood, but that action should pick up after that. The more I write of this the more I realize there is so much more to write. This is going to be a looong story, so prepare yourselves I guess. Hope everyone is still enjoying this, and thank you all for your reviews. Now that finals are over I'm going to try to reply to all of your very kind words. Thanks for reading!!