A/N: many thanks to Belle'sDarkangel for the review! Fear not, more is on its way!
¡Y también muchísimas gracias a YaZziLeOn por su revista! ¡Saludos desde los estados unidos! Me encanta hablar otros idiomas, especialmente español.
In February, Rin was exploring other areas of the Manor, as it was much too cold outside to be frolicking in the snow. She was surprised at how little free time she actually had, as Sesshomaru had appointed a servant to tutor her and continue the finer points of the education old Kaede and Kagome had begun. He still left at the beginning of each month and she still hadn't asked where it was he went, certain he wouldn't tell her.
She stumbled upon a closet full of fine women's kimono one day late in February during one of her free periods. Squealing with delight at all the fine colors and fancy patterns, she quickly collected several, stacking them in layers before deciding to try them on, making sure the colors didn't clash. She hunted down a few date-jime to hold the layers in place as she dressed, then a wide, fancy obi with an obijime cord to make it even fancier. She took her time putting on each of the colourful layers- it wasn't easy without a handmaid, but she managed all right. Then she found a few longer layers, meant as jackets that would trail on the floor, and added them too. When she was satisfied with the bulk and certain she must look like the paintings of court ladies from long ago, she shuffled off to see Sesshomaru, certain her new look could get a rise out of him.
She tapped at his door just before lunch, having spent the entire morning playing dress-up. He was, as usual, grumpily going over more papers and treaties, thinking fondly of all the times he didn't have to deal with paperwork, and could roam the landscape with no responsibility. He looked up at the familiar knock, glad of the distraction. "Enter."
Rin opened the Shoji sliding door and carefully stepped inside, covered in six layers of kimono, the topmost two of which were dragging gracefully on the floor behind her. She hid her hands in her sleeves and straightened her back more, trying to look regal and fancy. "I found these today," she explained, smirking. "what do you think?"
He let his eyes widen slightly in surprise, knowing she wanted a visible reaction, and watched her face light up more. "you look great, Rin. Very colourful."
She grinned a little more, knowing she could get a reaction out of the usually stoic InuYoukai. "do you know whose these were? I know they weren't yours."
He hummed softly to hide a noise of amusement. "they aren't mine. They were my mother's, when she was younger."
Rin looked down at the clothing she wore with renewed awe. "no wonder they're so soft…" she murmured. Then something occurred to her. "wait- but where's the fur?" she eyed the fur on his shoulder and the long 'tail' of it that pooled behind him on his cushion and the floor. She knew that Sesshomaru-sama's mother—who she'd only met once, rather disastrously—had at least as much fur as Sesshomaru-sama himself did, just in a slightly different pattern.
He couldn't help but let out the tiniest of smiles at Rin's ignorance. Of course she didn't know- few did. "it follows her around," he explained, using the act of speaking to hide the expression once more. "we use magic to attach it to her clothing."
Rin blinked in surprise, looking up at his face, then back to his fluffy pelt. "oh. I guess I thought it was a part of you."
"it is," he confirmed quickly. "but, while in this form, in order to bathe or other such things, I am able to remove it if I wish to, and the same is true of my mother and any other InuYoukai."
She was staring intently at it now. "…can I see?"
This time he coughed slightly to hide his amusement and stood quickly, taking the pelt off with a one-handed flourish and presenting it to her, resting on his palms. Her eyes went wider with surprise and she started to reach for the thick fluff without thinking, wanting to touch it. Knowing she was curious, he handed the surprisingly light bundle to her, looking away to hide his wide smirk at the tiny squeal of delight she produced as she hugged it tightly. She pet it a few times, then held it up rather reluctantly- it was so soft and fluffy she didn't want to give it up, now or ever.
He raised a slight eyebrow at the faint begging look in her eyes- she wanted to keep it? This time he let her see his faint smile. "you can keep it for tonight. I have no use for it, for now. The cold doesn't bother me as it does you, after all."
Rin looked down at the bundle in her arms, then back at him. Down and up again. "but- really? Honest, I can?"
He nodded gently. "honest. But just for tonight."
She looked down at the fluff again, and up. Down, and up. Was he really serious? He was! "thank you!" she chirped joyfully, hefting the pile of fluff over her head and looping it around her shoulders, letting either end rest on the tail of her jacket so it didn't drag the floor. Then she snuggled into the softness and warmth with delight, taking advantage of the moment to take a deep sniff of his wonderful scent that now wreathed around her on all sides.
He settled back down on his cushion, slightly missing the familiar weight of his Mokomoko already. He knew it was in good hands, though, and made sure he was turned away from her so he could allow himself a wider smile. "you're welcome, Rin."
She started to hum a cheerful tune and shuffled back out of his study, snuggling farther into the fluff and breathing in his wonderful scent some more. She wished she had a better nose than just her human one, so she could enjoy it even more!
The peaceful quiet of the manor's mid-afternoon stupor was shattered by a shriek of terror- from Jaken. Sesshomaru jumped to his feet instantly, treaties forgotten and only one worry on his mind- he had to make sure Rin was all right.
"sessho-maru-sama! Sessho-maru-sama! Sessh-" Jaken smacked into his master's shin, not looking where he was going, and fell backwards onto the floor.
"what's wrong?" Sesshomaru demanded, glaring down at the imp, who jumped back to his feet.
"Sesshomaru-sama! Thank the kami you're well!"
"of course I am. What are you talking about?" he swallowed a growl, already able to tell there was probably nothing wrong.
"I-I, er, that is…your moko! Someone else has it!" Jaken blurted, bowing quickly. He couldn't swallow the growl any longer.
"I know that already."
"I-HUH?!" jaken blurted in alarm. "but milord-"
"calm down."
"calm down?! But some stranger has your fur-"
He bent swiftly to strike the imp on the head, leaving an impressive lump. "that's Rin, you dimwit. Now begone, I have business to attend to."
"but-" Jaken clutched the bump on his head and looked round just as Rin came around the corner, head tilted slightly to one side in curiosity, the large pelt still wrapped around her. She'd been pursuing him since his outburst but couldn't catch up since she could only shuffle.
"what's wrong, Jaken-sama?" she asked him concernedly, frowning a little. "you seemed very upset…"
"he is simply being a fool…as usual." Sesshomaru scowled down at the imp distastefully, who was still nursing the bump on his head. Rin realized that he probably had either mistaken her for someone else or not recognized her entirely. She giggled a little at his expense.
"don't forget to fetch me for dinner, Jaken!" she called over her shoulder as she shuffled away again with a practiced, regal step. Jaken looked up at Sesshomaru, who scoffed and turned away also, returning to his study, before he hurried off after Rin, squawking "Rin-Sama- er, Rin! Wait!"
Sesshomaru stopped at the door to his study, hearing the imp's accidental title use. He hummed thoughtfully. "Rin-Sama…" he mused aloud, liking how the terms sounded together. It suited her.
Later that evening, he was finishing one of the last papers of the day when the familiar knock sounded again at his door. "Yes, Rin?"
She started slightly at her name- she still often forgot he could tell it was her without looking. "It's dinnertime, Sesshomaru-sama. Would you like me to bring you something?"
He shook his head, forgetting she couldn't see through the door. "no. I shall meet you in the dining hall momentarily." He finished signing the letter he was writing and weighted it with stones to stop it from rolling up as it dried. He listened with a smirk as she shuffled off, noting she must still be wearing all those layers she'd put on that morning.
He waited what he felt was enough time for her to make it to the dining hall ahead of him and get settled with all the extra layers on, then headed down himself, noting she was already waiting with plates of food for both of them. The dishes in front of her were all unmarked, and those in front of him had a red stripe somewhere on them, as always when they dined together.
As soon as he settled onto the cushion opposite her, Rin started to giggle softly. He raised an eyebrow, glancing up at her questioningly. "you look almost bare," she explained, "with no armor and your fur missing."
He gave a very small smile, knowing his normally imposing figure must be much smaller. Rin, by contrast, seemed massive compared to her normally slight figure, with all her layers on and his moko to boot. "I'll bet I do."
Rin beamed, seeing his small smile. He almost never looks happy or smiles. I think the last time he really smiled wide…well, somebody died. But they deserved it.
He continued to look at her as they both began to eat, seeming to study her. She looks so sophisticated… he mused. It wasn't just the clothing that made him think of his mother and the other women from his childhood in the palace- certainly his mother's scent had long since faded from the old kimono. It was the way Rin held herself, looking dainty and graceful, and his moko contrasting nicely with her faintly tanned skin and raven hair. He couldn't help himself- he pictured what she would have looked like as an InuYoukai, like he was, with white or silvery hair and dainty tilde of any color on her high cheekbones…perhaps even a moon on her brow, for if she had been born a youkai he would not hesitate to claim her for himself before anyone else could…
Rin was intent on her food, making sure to keep her layers of fine clothing clean as she ate, and didn't notice his silence or his staring for several long moments. When she sat straighter to reach for the bowl of rice, she noticed two things- for one, he had barely touched his food, and, for another, he was gazing intently at her with an indescribable look in his golden eyes…it was almost, what? Yearning, perhaps? "Milord? Is something wrong?" she asked softly, meeting his eyes.
Sesshomaru started very slightly at the soft question, pulling himself from the impossible fantasy. Rin was human. She had been born one, and she had died one- twice, despite his best efforts. And until she faded with the age of a few decades, she would remain human. There was no way to change that. He berated himself for even allowing the fantasy to play out before his eyes- she was not a youkai and never would be, and he absolutely could not daydream about taking her to wife when he had a duty to produce an heir of his own to take his mother's place as ruler. He realized she was still waiting for an answer and blinked. "no. nothing is wrong."
I've never seen him look at me that way before…Rin went back to eating uncertainly, confused by the moment but knowing she would get no explanation unless he was willing to give it, which he obviously wasn't. "ah, how are your treaties going? Well, I hope," she asked lightly, changing the subject.
"they are," he said softly, going back to eating, grateful for the change of topic. He focused on his food, no longer willing to look at Rin at all.
"good," she hummed, drinking the last of her soup. "it's always good to be able to use paper rather than your sword."
He looked up at her in mild surprise. "pardon?"
She blushed a little, not meaning to offend him. "well, I mean, it is a lot easier to negotiate if people are still alive, isn't it?"
He reproduced the tiny smile from earlier as he understood. "yes, it is."
"and it's very nice to have a home with you," she finished, turning a little pinker suddenly as she realized the phrase 'with you' had been added out loud, and not just in her mind.
He kept the faint smile, not allowing it to get wider at her slip. "I agree," he said with surprising warmth in his tone. "it is a bit easier to negotiate. And it is very nice to have a bed when the weather turns cold."
Rin only nodded, delighted at his tone of voice. She remembered fondly the times when it was cold as they travelled the countryside, and he would let her use the end of his 'tail' to keep warm, since he didn't carry spare kimono or blankets for a while and she got cold easily. Remembering the moko around her shoulders- she had found a way to attach it to the clothing with some leftover magic- she shrugged and held out one end of it slightly. "I suppose I should give this back now," she said to him. To her surprise, he shook his head and made a motion.
"keep it, Rin. I don't need it for now, and it will keep you warm while the nights are cold still." He wouldn't admit, even to himself, how much he liked how she looked with it, or how wonderful her scent became when it mingled with his. No. he had to avoid such thoughts. He quickly excused himself for the night and moved off, leaving her staring after him, bewildered at his new, odd behaviour…