Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters below.


Tears of Gold

...

The lord of the Western Lands, or often known as Sesshomaru, glanced at the small child who was smiling adoringly at him. "Sesshomaru-sama, look! Do I look nice?" She grabbed her new kimono in her hands and spun around in circles. It was another gift from him, he did notice that she was growing up though. Her hair was longer and she was definitely getting taller.

"Rin." The little girl perked up instantly at his call. "Yes, my lord?"

"Do you like it?" Anyone would have been shocked to hear those words from Sesshomaru. Yes, it was quite unexpected for him to dote on anyone much less a human girl. And to consider anyone's happiness, a demon lord would looked strange.

"Yes!" The girl beamed. "I love it!" Then she turned towards Kagome who was listening on the conversation with an amused expression on her face.

"See? I told you!" The girl winked at the priestess.

Sesshomaru watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. Kagome faked a cough and then excused herself from the small cottage while Rin padded across the wodden floor and unearthed a small box wrapped in a white silk.

Sesshomaru watched her silently as she unwrapped the box. There was a few trinkets inside but what caught his attention was the one she was holding. It was a necklace and dangling in its end was a gold pearl. Its color was the same as his eyes. Curiosity got the better of him and he took a step closer but not before Rin stepped over the chair nearby and hooked the necklace around his neck.

The small child smiled at the necklace. Reaching out a small hand, she touched the small jewel and then looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "Do you like it?" The girl said.

Sesshomaru looked down at the pearl, his armor reflecting its golden hue. "Where did you get this?"

Rin smiled at him once again, not at all bothered by his dismissive answer. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"I asked where." The demon lord said.

Rin clamped her mouth shut and peered at him through her lashes. Sesshomaru instantly narrowed his eyes, knowing what her actions meant.

Rin figgeted under his scrutiny. "It's not important.." Pouting, she lowered her eyes to the floor.

"Yes, it is." Sesshomaru said, this time he used a firmer tone. "What sort of danger did you get into?"

"Well, it's not really dangerous.." She murmured nervously while scratching her head.

"Rin." Sesshomaru said impatiently.

"Someone gave it to me." The girl finally said, but the vagueness of her answer didn't satisfy him. Rin fidgeted with her fingers and deliberately avoided his eyes. It was the first time she tried to keep something from him. And the notion that she was becoming independent at such an early age made him narrow his eyes once again.

"She was crying." Rin said, knowing that she wouldn't be able to escape her lord's watchful stare. And he'd pin her down with a glare if it would make her confess, but Sesshomaru-sama rarely got angry and Rin didn't want her to be the receiving end of his temperament.

"Who." It was more a command than a question.

Rin bit her lip. "A girl. I forgot to ask her name.. she was very sad, you see? So, I sang to her. She said that my voice was awful though." Frowning, she looked at the pearl, seemingly lost in her reverie.

It didn't sound like a proper explanation to Sesshomaru. Rin must have got that trait from him because he rarely explained his whereabouts to anyone, not even Jaken.

"She's very lonely so I stayed with her even though she said that I sing like a frog." Rin's innocent eyes flared with annoyance. "Because of that, she showed me the pearl. I promised not to tell anyone about why she was sad. So, she let me keep it." She looked up at him with hopeful and pleading eyes. "Can I keep my promise, my lord?"

The demon lord looked at her for a few longer moments before he turned around placed the pearl under his kimono. "Do you what you want."

"Really?" The girl beamed at him. "Thank you, Sesshomaru-sama!"

Sesshomaru went out of the cottage with Rin in tow. She was smiling brightly when Kagome approached them with a basket of fruits. Then the priestess sent a questioning look at Rin who only nodded and grinned at her.

"How did it go?" The priestess said to the girl.

The girl shrugged and then grinned before trailing after Sesshomaru once again.

"He can't deny her anything, that Sesshomaru." Kaede said with a chuckle while shaking her head at the two.

Kagome looked over her shoulder at Kaede before looking back at the departing figure of the demon lord. Rin was looking up at him with such fondness that Kagome couldn't help but smile. Sesshomaru was learning something nice for a change. Maybe next time he would improve his social skills.. or something like that.

FIN


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The woman Rin was talking about was a mermaid. It was said that pearls came from the tears of this creature. Rin met one when she was walking by the shore and because she wasn't bias to the youkais, she comforted the mermaid by singing to her. In return, the mermaid gave her the pearl from her tears.

I really like the father/daughter relationship between Sesshomaru and Rin. Although, I also accept the opinion of others that they are (romantically) meant to be. Maybe someday (who knows) they'll end up falling in love with each other. But right now, I adore Papa Sesshomaru more. :)

Well, then. Review, my dears!