A Taste of Humanity

Disclaimer: Sesshomaru and all characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, not me. This story is for entertainment purposes only; I make no profit from it.

A/N: I've noticed a few reviews have pegged this story as a "Sess/Rin romance" due to the last chapter, but it isn't. Yes, Sesshomaru's relationship with Rin grows in this story (many of his relationships do), but she is still a child and no 'romance' takes place. I wanted to focus just on Sesshomaru in this story since many stories I've seen are indeed romantic pairing of him with all sorts of females (and males) and felt he deserved a fic all to himself. I have nothing against those fics and enjoy reading many of them myself. This just isn't one of them. I actually didn't write the wedding scene thinking of Rin or anyone specific at all. I feel Rin's 'I do' bit could very well be something completely unrelated, like answering whether she likes the new kimono dream Sesshomaru got her for instance. It popped up at the same moment her arm decided to dig into him. This story is doing that a lot to me. I usually have a solid outline of events ahead of time, but this started as just the prologue idea nagging me day and night. I wrote it down, not intending to do anything further, but before I knew it I was halfway through chapter 1. I decided to make an account on here and keep writing. So far, events are springing up out of nowhere all by themselves and show no sign of stopping. I do feel it will be a good story even though there's no romance per se (I'm not just saying that because I wrote it), but you'll need to read and decide that for yourself.

If you are a fan of this and have a birthday coming up, I can upload a chapter as a gift, just let me know. I'm well ahead in writing since I have a reserve of about 3 chapters right now to prevent delays.

Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Loneliness & Humility

The sounds of the village awakening were all around him. Rin awoke and scooted out of his lap, stretching and yawning. She poked her head out of the dark hut and Sesshomaru heard the miko offering breakfast. Rin turned to him, her head cocked to the side in question. He nodded and she smiled before darting into the awaiting sunlight. He attempted to rise and he stumbled, his body feeling stiff, sore, and quite unpleasant. Mimicking Rin's earlier stretching, though not nearly as gracefully, he found his muscles relaxing and becoming more limber. He was grateful for the privacy of the hut since he did not want to give his brother any more ammunition to taunt him with.

Once he felt he was presentable, he strode to the door and was greeted by a warm sunny day. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness which bothered him slightly, but seeing Rin's warm smile he relaxed. Kagome offered him a strange meal, but he accepted it graciously and took cues from Rin once again. Though not as good as the ramen was the night before, he found the taste acceptable. After the meal, Sesshomaru decided it was best if he left as originally intended. Rin was sad, but did not complain, though his brother grumbled that he was being foolish. The miko refused to let him leave until she had packed a large yellow bag full of supplies for him. Seeing the miko's determined stance, he sighed and accepted the bag, surprised by the heaviness of it. With a teary farewell from Rin and Jaken, he put the bag on Ah-Un's saddle and led the creature into the woods. 'Perhaps I can find the witch and have her remove this inconvenience,' he thought, though he had a feeling it would be impossible. Sighing, he strode along. 'At least this way Rin is safe. As a weak human I'm unable to protect her.'

Before long his feet were tired and his rumbling stomach was becoming annoying again. 'How often does this body need food?' he grumbled. Ah-Un did not seem to mind stopping and happily munched a patch of grass as Sesshomaru dug through the yellow bag. He found a strange cup with colorful paintings on it. A note was attached. 'Most likely the miko,' he mused, reading the scribble, 'Ramen, boil water in pot. Remove lid from cup. Pour water into cup. Stir.' Finding a pot in the bag, he began looking for a stream. In moments he had a full pot of water and cleared a spot for the fire. He collected sufficient wood and looked to his mount. Clearing his throat uncertainly, he spoke to the creature.

"Ah-Un," he said in his usual calm, "This Sesshomaru requires a fire." Ah-Un simply looked at him, as if waiting for something. 'Why is he not doing as I wish? He never denies Rin when she wishes a fire.' Puzzled, he thought back to what usually happened between his ward and the two-headed dragon.

Jaken usually collected wood for the fire, his complaints easy to hear no matter how far he went to get it. Rin would catch fish or he would have a kill ready. She would look to Ah-Un and smile. The dragon would huff and come to nuzzle her.

"Ah-Un," she would say, "could you make Rin a pretty fire please?" Ah-Un would then light the bundle of wood Jaken had dropped in a heap and Rin would thank him usually with an exuberant hug.

Sesshomaru glanced around, making sure they were indeed alone. His stomach grumbled again, steeling the proud demon's resolve. Taking a deep breath, he said the one word he hadn't said since his father had died.

"Please Ah-Un," he said quietly, "This Sesshomaru would appreciate a fire." The heads seemed to consider his request and then nodded. Soon he had a decent fire for his pot. He started putting the pot to be heated, but paused. "Thank you Ah-Un," he whispered, the dragon huffed in acknowledgement. Muttering to himself, he put the pot on the fire, "This Sesshomaru is NOT going to give you a hug." He heard staggered huffs and growls from the dragon. 'He can't be laughing at me, could he?' Shrugging off the dragon's behavior, he turned his attention to his meal. 'Remove lid from cup,' he repeated, 'sounds simple enough.' The colorful cup seemed determined to deny him this simple action. Without his claws he found the strange film near impossible to remove from the container. He finally noticed extra film in one part of the cup and decided to pull. Nearly dumping the powdery contents into his lap, he finally managed to get the lid removed from the cup. By the time he composed himself again the pot began to whistle at him. He poured the liquid into the cup and stirred the contents with the supplied chopsticks. He waited a moment, knowing that humans could not tolerate such heat. With a discrete glance about, he allowed himself to breathe in the delightful scent of the ramen. With a tentative taste, he was surprised the meal was just as good as the miko's version. Once the meal was finished, he put away the supplies and continued on his way to the last place he had seen the human witch.

The trip was uneventful and Sesshomaru found himself missing his companions. 'Strange that I should miss the endless chatter of those two,' he pondered. He felt a soft nudge against his shoulder and turned. Ah-Un huffed quietly and nuzzled into his hand.

"This Sesshomaru is not pleased with these human feelings," he confided to the dragon. "They make no sense." Sighing, he continued on as the sun traversed along the sky above him. 'Speaking of making no sense…' he began pondering what the dream had meant. His father bringing his Inuyasha, hoping he would accept the half-breed. He had to admit he did not truly hate the hanyou anymore. He had felt jealous of his father's seeming favoritism towards his younger brother, but Inuyasha had proved to him many times that even though he was not a full-blooded demon, he was not weak. 'Still a fool,' Sesshomaru thought, a ghost of a smile sneaking onto his face, 'but he is not quite as weak as I had thought. That miko can still bring him down with a mere word though.' He wondered what caused such an amusing result and why it seemed only the miko could do it. 'Perhaps it has to do with that necklace. It is the only visible difference since he has met the miko.' If that was the case, Rin's comment some months before was far more dangerous.

Flashback…

They were visiting the miko at Rin's request. She was sitting with Kagome and Inuyasha as they chatted about herbs and flowers. The sun peaked out of the clouds and caused the black beads of his brother's necklace to shine. Rin noticed and with her usual exuberance, had begun talking about them.

"Such a pretty necklace," she commented, "do you think Lord Sesshomaru would like a necklace like this one?" Kagome laughed and shook her head. His brother laughed so hard he fell backwards off the log he was sitting on.

"I don't think so Rin," she managed between giggles.

"I dunno Kagome," he said, returning to his log, "It might be interesting to see how he reacts."

End Flashback…

Sesshomaru had not truly understood why the necklace could get him to react in a way the hanyou thought of as 'interesting' and had dismissed it. If it was what caused his brother to take a dive into the dirt face first every time the miko said 'sit' then he would be certain to not allow Rin to give him such a necklace. He realized that refusing any 'gift' from her would be far harder than he would like. He found her tears quite unpleasant and tended to let her have her way in order to avoid such discomfort. 'It is not because I care,' he insisted to himself, though it felt half-hearted.

A tree root decided to pull him away from his thoughts and he ungracefully managed to avoid mimicking his brother's head-first plummets he always found amusing. Ah-Un seemed confused by his haphazard flailing, but a glare from Sesshomaru quieted any vocalization the creature was going to make.

"You did not see that," he grumbled. 'I've never had trouble before…' He realized that it had gotten quite dark and he would need to stop for the night soon. 'Humans have such weak night vision.' He found an acceptable spot and settled down for yet another meal. He decided to forgo the ramen and instead try to get some fish from the nearby stream. 'Rin has no problem catching fish,' he reasoned, 'it should be simple.' He tied Ah-Un to a tree near some grass and headed confidently to the stream.

When he arrived at the stream he removed his armor and his outer clothing and placed them on the bank. He found a small cluster of silver fish and plunged his hands towards one of them. The fish scattered and Sesshomaru growled at his unsuccessful first attempt. Determined to not be outsmarted by mere fish, he tried again… and again. His fourth attempt to catch the slippery creatures caused him to slip on the wet rocks on the stream, plunging him into the cool water. Drenched and fuming, he rolled up his soaked sleeves and growled at his prey.

"This Sesshomaru will have fish for dinner," he vowed, his stoic face twisted into a determined fury. 'If Rin can do this then so can I.' He changed tactics and after another half dozen attempts, he had his fish. He wrung out his clothes as best he could and collected his armor and outer garments. He found himself grinning broadly and quickly tried to return to his stoic mask as he returned to camp. When he returned, Ah-Un seemed unsure of him. He realized he probably looked very unlike his usual self. His black hair was dripping wet and plastered in disarray and he was half-naked, his clothing and armor carelessly slung over his shoulder. He looked at the dragon, a slight frown on his face.

"Fish," he stated to the creature holding his catch out for emphasis, "is a very elusive prey." A huff from the dragon was his only reply as he skewered the fish and collected firewood together. Looking up at Ah-Un he found the words much easier to say this time. "Ah-Un," the two heads looked up from their grazing, "would you please start a fire?" There was no hesitation this time and soon he was drying off by a warm fire as his fish cooked. As he sat before the fire he found himself missing his companions again. Rin loved to sing or hum when she had dinner with him. He noticed she did not do so when they were with the miko and his brother. 'Perhaps she just does it for me,' it seemed possible, though a more logical reason was probably more accurate. 'Though logic doesn't always matter when Rin is involved…' Noticing his fish was fully-cooked, he snatched his prize and dug in. 'Catching a fish is far more difficult that I had anticipated. I should praise Rin more for doing so, especially if she manages to stay dry.' His stomach full from his catch, he put his robe back on, but left his armor beside him. It was far too uncomfortable to sleep in with his more sensitive human body. As Sesshomaru tried to find a comfortable place to sleep, Ah-Un nudged the yellow bag on his back. He saw this and came over to the dragon. Digging through the bag he found two small rolls of fabric.

"Thank you, Ah-Un," he said, giving the animal a quick pat before realizing what he had done. He shrugged off the strange behavior as simply being overtired and spread out the first blanket near the fire. Settling down for the night, Sesshomaru was a bit nervous. 'What sort of dreams will I have tonight?' he wondered. Closing his eyes, he heard the distant rumble of thunder.