Thanks for being patient, and thank you for the reviews for the last chapter! (Rest of A/N later).
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Inuyasha.
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It was turning out to be another normal day, with yet again no sign of Naraku...However...
Something was off today, yet he couldn't quite figure out what it could be at the moment. It was such an odd sensation...
Sesshomaru was currently resting against a tree, lost in thought as he tried to reason out what he was seemingly feeling. Why did he believe something was amiss? Sesshomaru cast his eyes about his surroundings for an answer, but had trouble finding anything useful. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The sun was shining, the winds were caressing nearby trees, causing them to rustle. Small animals inhabiting the area were active, chirping and making a general din. Sesshomaru turned his attention to his traveling companions. Perhaps that was what he was sensing. Ah-Un was sleeping next to a small campfire, Jaken was on fire and trying to put it out (that wasn't out if the ordinary), and Rin was crying…
Sesshomaru blinked and turned his attention to the crying girl. Rin…was crying? So…that was what had been bothering him and making him think that there was something amiss? Sesshomaru didn't recall the last time Rin had ever looked so depressed. He frowned ever so slightly. But then…why was it bothering him? He hadn't done anything to make her sad, had he? Sesshomaru paused his thought process. Where had that come from? Why would he even care, all of a sudden? Humans had a range of emotion; it wasn't out of the ordinary to see a human cry. Sesshomaru stared at Rin a bit longer, trying to decide how to deal with this new predicament.
Jaken, meanwhile, had managed to put out the flames that had caught his clothing on fire. Mumbling something furiously to himself, Jaken chanced a quick glance over where Sesshomaru was standing. Then did a double take. Sesshomaru appeared to be considering something as he looked at the crying Rin. Like he was at a loss of what to do. Jaken glanced between the two, deducing that Sesshomaru wanted to know why Rin was sad and crying, but unsure how to proceed. Knowing that Sesshomaru had a difficult time expressing any emotion, if at all, in these kinds of situations, Jaken decided to go and ask for him. Even though he didn't exactly want to, Jaken walked over to where Rin was. Aware that Sesshomaru was observing him now, Jaken tried very hard to be polite to the crying Rin.
"What is…wrong?"
Rin dried her tears on a sleeve of her kimono, and sniffled from where she was seated, still teary eyed, "…"
Jaken shifted uncomfortably, "Er…er…what's making you cry like this?" It was very difficult to be nice like this. He could barely stand this human when she was happy, yet dealing with her when she was sad was almost even harder.
Rin stood up, sniffling, but had stopped crying for the most part. She stared at Jaken for a moment, before grabbing one of his hands and walking, leading Jaken to a nearby stream. Rin halted and, letting go of Jaken, pointed down mutely to something half in and out of the stream.
Jaken frowned at it as he tried to make out what it was. It appeared to be an unmoving bundle of gray and white fur. A raccoon maybe? Why did she even notice it in the first place?
Sesshomaru had glided gracefully after the two and lurked nearby, furrowing his eyebrows faintly. So…a dead animal had caused Rin to cry and revert to being temporarily mute?
Jaken, unaware of Sesshomaru's presence, was currently trying to decide how best to comfort Rin. He couldn't tell her that it was merely sleeping, as Rin wouldn't be fooled by that. Rin, after all, had witnessed death in her village when it was attacked by demonic wolves…So, Jaken was at a loss of what to say. What could possibly be said to make her feel better?
Sesshomaru didn't really know what to do either, but his train of thought halted when he was interrupted by Tenseiga. The blade pulsed in reaction to the sad little bundle of fur nearby. Sesshomaru drew Tenseiga, staring at the now shining blade, "…"
When neither Rin nor Jaken were looking at the raccoon, Sesshomaru leapt gracefully over the stream bed, blades slashing through the air above the raccoon. Sesshomaru landed on the other side of the bank, sheathing Tenseiga as he did. Then, he continued walking, hearing Rin's surprised yet delighted gasp moments later. 'Tenseiga...' Sesshomaru briefly wondered why the blade had been more reactive to the fallen lately. Was it trying to get him to use it more often? Sesshomaru shook the thought away and went back to the temporary camp, unknown to Rin and Jaken, "..."
121
Rin had become dry eyed after she showed Jaken the raccoon, but Jaken hadn't said anything. Why wasn't he saying anything? Rin looked at Jaken, and found that the only thing that came out of him were stutters of an attempt to speak. Rin frowned a little. Did Jaken feel bad for the little raccoon too? Rin glanced back at the raccoon involuntarily, and let out a gasp. The little raccoon had crawled out of the stream the rest of the way, and was shaking the water out of its coat, sneezing as it did. With a final shake and a sneeze, the little raccoon scurried off after noticing Rin and Jaken, and sensing Sesshomaru's presence. Rin waved in the direction it had gone, "Bye!"
Jaken watched the little creature leave in silence. He had been sure that it was dead… Jaken hurried after Rin, who had gone back in the direction of the campsite, skipping and singing softly, a smile back on her face.
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Later that evening, Jaken watched Rin talking to Ah-Un happily, and turned slightly to where Sesshomaru was standing nearby in silence, staring off into the distance. Well, he might as well ask the question. Sesshomaru didn't appear to be in a bad mood at the moment, "Er, er, Lord Sesshomaru…did you happen to use the Tenseiga on the raccoon earlier today?"
"…" Sesshomaru continued to stand in silence, indicating that Jaken would probably not receive an answer anytime soon. Sesshomaru, in fact, had merely heard Jaken say something, but it didn't register as anything coherent. Instead, he was thinking about how nothing seemed amiss now, and was somewhat confused that he no longer as tense and agitated as before. Had Rin being unhappy really caused the feeling of unease? Or was it merely something like another demon that had moved out of his range of senses? Sesshomaru thought about it, and didn't notice Rin steal up to him until he heard her speak.
"Lord Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru broke out of his thoughts to stare down at Rin, "…?"
Rin smiled, "Thank you for helping that raccoon." With another small smile up at the bewildered demon, she went off to go back over to Ah-Un.
Sesshomaru frowned ever so slightly as he regained his composure. He wondered if Rin had seen him use Tenseiga. Sesshomaru gazed up at the starry sky again, "..."
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Yes, I finally updated! Bit longer than the last few chapters but hopefully it was all right (and with no grammar issues). I liked writing it, although I can't recall if Rin's seen Sesshomaru use Tenseiga or not in that manner (or if I had him use it in this story yet, I don't think I did) but it worked for the chapter. I've had a lot more homework lately, but I've got ideas for several more chapters. I hope to get another up sometime this month. Like one that I'm calling Anthem.
Again, thanks for being patient for this update. BTW, I am working on a chapter where Rin ends up in Kagome's time (Sandninjanaru's suggestion). That one will take awhile before it's up, but it's in progress. And I'm glad people like this story, as it makes me want to keep coming up with new chapters (I just need inspiration to come up with a new chapter, or a suggestion from someone). So, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!