The First Horror of Having a Teenage Daughter
It is a warm day, bright and pleasant. Kiare is relaxed against Ah-Un, Jaken is plucking the petals from a flower – he does not ask why; he's not sure he wants to know – and Rin is bathing, after a fall into a puddle.
It is a peaceful, idyllic scene; shattered by Rin's scream.
He is on his feet and running in an instant, Tokijin in hand; Kiare isn't far behind him.
Rin is standing waist deep in the pool, staring at herself in horror.
"Rin," he says, more sharply than he had intended. "What's wrong? Are you injured?"
She stutters for a moment, and something like fear slices through his heart. That is one thing Rin has never had trouble with – she can always find words. In fact, she usually finds too many.
"I'm bleeding!" she yells suddenly, flopping down into the water. "From – from – from there, and I'm going to bleed to death! My Lord, what do I do? What's wrong with me?"
He can say nothing, for a long moment. This is something he is not prepared to handle. Fortunately, Kiare does it for him.
"…Oh." She steps forward, slipping off her outer kimono and stepping into the water, wrapping it around the shaking girl's shoulders. "You're not going to die, honey, I promise."
Rin stares up at her with wide, hopeful eyes. "Really? Do you know what's wrong with me? Is it going to go away?"
"Sure," Kiare replies dryly. "In about a week. It's natural, honey – don't worry about it." She smoothes back Rin's messy, tangled, wet hair, then turns to look at Sesshomaru. "All right, this is an 'only girls' thing – wanna take off?"
He nods, suddenly grateful for her presence. He turns his back and walks away stiffly. Next thing you know, she's going to be asking where pups come from, he thinks, and winces. Perhaps I am grateful we found the mongrel after all.
End
A/N – Heh. Fatherhood.