Tale of Rin+Sesshomaru, Ch. 1

The Tale of Rin and Sesshomaru

Chapter 1: Go Ask Kagome

As the years passed, Rin grew into a stunningly beautiful young woman: slender, graceful, and nearly as tall as Sesshomaru. Her hair was as long as Sesshomaru's, but black as the night, as dark as his was white. Despite the dour moods of her youkai guardians, she never lost the joy and grace that she had had as a child. Not a day passed that she did not pick flowers for her hair; from time to time she would sneak one or two into Jaken's staff or even his hat, much to his loud objections. And if she found any that were especially lovely, she would weave a garland for Sesshomaru. She never offered them to him directly, but would hang them on Aun's left side, the side at which Sesshomaru walked, without saying a word to anyone; and although Sesshomaru never acknowledged her gifts, he never walked far from the great beast's side when his garland was there.

Although she never acquired Sesshomaru's haughty disdain, she did learn many valuable lessons from him: patience, calmness in the face of danger, and the ability to fully focus her mind and spirit at need. And like her guardian, her eyes and ears missed nothing, so she saw and heard far deeper than most. She also learned Sesshomaru's implacable stare, which could freeze the very blood of anyone upon whom it was turned. She and Jaken once ran into a small pack of human children, who (as children often do) tried to make fun of her and her strange companion; only a moment of that withering glare convinced them that Rin was not to be trifled with.

Rin never needed "raising," as we would think of it—throughout sun and rain, both easy times and hard, she remained unfailingly polite, cheery, and always the perfect traveling companion. But like all children, she grew. Jaken and Sesshomaru, being much longer lived than humans, and never having any previous interest in the species, had no experience whatsoever in the myriad and rapid changes that children go through—especially the way they increase in size. Jaken was baffled by it; Sesshomaru evinced no interest whatsoever (he did find it quietly amusing, although he would have killed anyone who even suggested that he did).

Eventually, Rin began to ask the intimate questions that every young woman needs answered. She never thought of broaching the subject with Sesshomaru, thinking (quite correctly) that not only would he be utterly uninterested in the questions themselves, but also that he had absolutely no desire to waste his time or energy on knowing the answers. So, as she often did, she turned to Jaken. Most of the time, he showed no interest at all in Rin, or muttered derisively about her "frivolous" singing and laughter. Of course, despite his professed disinterest, he always kept a close watch on her, fearing what Sesshomaru would do to him if anything should happen to the girl while she was in his care; and on those few occasions when she needed a wound tended, or if she was cold and lonely at night, Jaken could be surprisingly supportive and gentle—although he would deny it loudly if you ever pointed it out to him.

One night, as they sat around the fire roasting their dinner, Rin casually began peppering Jaken with a list of rather personal questions, in the direct and piercing way that only the truly innocent can. After only a few moments, Jaken actually blushed—quite a feat for someone of his complexion—until he was nearly as pink as Rin was. Eventually, he regained enough composure to take control of the conversation; he puffed out his chest and haughtily proclaimed, "Such minor details are beneath the concern of a person of my station as a retainer to Sesshomaru-sama. Go ask a human." Suddenly, he saw the easy way out of his dilemma: "Go ask Kagome!"

And so it was, the next time that the three of them met Kagome and her companions, Rin ran joyfully up to Kagome, greeted her warmly, and then it began: "Jaken-sama said that I should ask you..." and out came one very pointed question after another. As Rin spoke, Kagome turned pink, then purple, then several more colors that none of her friends had ever seen a human turn before.

When Rin's interrogation had run its course, Kagome gasped for breath and struggled to regain her composure. Then she whirled on Jaken, towering over him with an expression of rage that was deadlier than any he had ever seen on Sesshomaru. "So...JAKEN told you to ask me, did he?" Jaken recoiled with a barrage of stuttered apologies, and hastily began looking for cover.

Sango quickly stepped in, concerned for both of them. "Kagome-chan, are you all right?"

Inuyasha, as usual, had no idea what was going on; he didn't understand either Rin's questions or Kagome's reaction. Bluntly as always, he asked, "Yeah, Kagome, we're all waiting. What's the deal?"

At that, Kagome simply snapped. She shut her eyes, balled her fists, and screamed, "OSUWARI!" Inuyasha gave a strangled cry as his beads pulled him down with an earth-shaking "thud." Kagome whirled towards Rin, who was quite bewildered by all the noise and by Kagome's extreme reaction; but by the time she had come about, Kagome had put on her sunniest, cheeriest smile, and she took Rin gently by the hand. Kagome cooed sweetly, "Come, Rin-chan, let's go over here and talk about it!" She winked conspiratorially. "Just us girls. OK?" So off they went, and they sat in the shade of a tree that was a respectable distance from the others.

Inuyasha painfully extracted himself from the hanyou-shaped depression that his beads had dug him into, and on rising found himself face-to-face with his brother—never something that pleased him in the slightest. Miroku, hoping to fend off a confrontation, quickly interposed himself between the two brothers, beaming with his most winning smile. "Gentlemen, gentlemen, let's not forget that we're here for Rin-chan. Let's put aside old quarrels for now—why don't we sit down and have a nice cup of tea?" Miroku looked from one to the other: Inuyasha was dusting himself off with one hand, gnashing his teeth, and slowly inching his other hand towards his sword; Sesshomaru responded to Inuyasha's veiled threats as always with only his icy, unfathomable stare.

"Ah—well then," said Miroku. Under the circumstances, he thought, a graceful withdrawal is the wiser course of action. "Perhaps we'll skip the tea."

Fortunately, for once Inuyasha didn't feel like starting a fight with his brother, so he stormed off in the direction of the tree under which Kagome and Rin were sitting. "I don't see what the big deal about all this is," he fumed. "I'm going over there and I'm going to find out what's going on RIGHT NOW."

Miroku grabbed his arm. "Inuyasha, that wouldn't be wise."

Inuyasha shook him off, and again started stomping towards the girls, only to be stopped in his tracks by a hard "bonk" from Sango's boomerang. "Hey Sango," he protested, rubbing his head, "What's the deal...?"

Somehow, Sango seemed to have grown several feet taller; she appeared to be ringed with cold blue flames, and a chilly wind blew through her every word.

"Inuyasha. That. Wouldn't. Be. Wise."

"Ah...well then." Miroku jumped in again, with another cheery smile; if anyone knew how unwise it was to cross Sango in these moments, it was Miroku. "Why don't we have lunch a little early? I don't think Kagome-sama will object if we help ourselves to what she's brought."

The thought of instant ramen mollified Inuyasha, and they opened Kagome's knapsack and began unpacking their picnic. While they were getting everything ready, Miroku sneaked a look at Kagome and Rin, deep in conversation. Kagome was smiling prettily and sitting at her most primly straight, holding forth with a very professional demeanor and occasionally gesturing or drawing on the ground with a stick; Rin was wide-eyed in rapt attention, nodding vigorously each time that Kagome made some important point.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was sniffing through the various instant noodles, searching for the hottest curry. Putting on his most innocent face, he offered the curry noodles to Jaken. "Try these: they're my favorite." He snickered to himself as the unsuspecting Jaken allowed himself to be talked into trying them.

Jaken had never tried Kagome's "ninja food;" but much to everyone's surprise and everyone except Inuyasha's delight, Jaken found hot curry completely to his liking, and finished it off with glee. He was effusive in its praise. "These are absolutely astounding—a dish worthy of Sesshomaru-sama himself!" At the mention of his name, they all turned expectantly towards Sesshomaru, but he merely snorted and turned his back.

"Oh well," Miroku sighed. "We tried. But perhaps Kagome-sama and Rin-chan would like lunch too?" He started to get up.

Sango quickly stopped him. "Don't even think of going over there, Houshi-sama!" she snapped. Then, straightening her hair, she continued, "I mean, 'I'll take care of them.'" She headed off with a cup of noodles in each hand. Presently, Miroku realized that she hadn't returned; when he looked to see what had happened to her, he saw that Sango was now kneeling next to Rin, staring at Kagome with the same wide-eyed expression of rapt attention; now and again, both Sango and Rin nodded in unison whenever Kagome made some important point.

Lunch finished, the men lounged on the grass, trying not to appear too interested in the women's activities. Inuyasha, as always, was impatient. "Keh. What ARE they talking about?" He leaned backwards and twitched his ears towards the women, trying to catch part of their conversation, but quickly swiveled them back after a rock thrown by the sharp-eyed Sango barely missed his head.

Miroku sighed. "I'm beginning to think that there are some things that man—or should I say, 'men'—are just not meant not to know." Inuyasha muttered something obscene under his breath, but didn't get up.

As the sun began to sink in the west and the shadows were just starting to lengthen, Kagome, Rin, and Sango returned from their session under the tree. "Well, everything is just fine now, isn't it, Rin-chan?" Kagome chirped in her sunniest voice. Rin nodded happily.

Sesshomaru spoke for the first time. "Rin. Are you finished?" She smiled and nodded. "Then let's go." Without another word, he turned and began walking away.

Rin smiled and waved happily. "I'll never forget this, Kagome-aneue! Thank you so very much!" With one last smile, she skipped after Sesshomaru.

Jaken looked over his shoulder to see that Sesshomaru was still within earshot, and then puffed himself up to his most officious shape. "You should consider yourselves fortunate that Sesshomaru-sama has seen fit to grant you so much time. Never before have I ever seen him show such benevolence! And I must say, it's certainly more than you deserve!" He continued chiding them until he was sure that Sesshomaru was well on his way; then, he prostrated himself at Kagome's feet. "I am forever in your debt. Words can never express the depth of my gratitude." ("Or your relief," Kagome muttered to herself.) Jaken rose, bowed once more, and hurried after Sesshomaru and Rin.

Miroku sidled up to Sango as she waved to the departing Rin. "So, Sango...what did Kagome-sama tell you?"

Sango pulled herself up regally, and chided Miroku, "That's a secret between us girls—right, Kagome-chan?" The girls smiled and winked chummily at each other. After Kagome had turned away, Sango gave Miroku a sultry sidelong glance, and then whispered duskily, her breath caressing his ear: "If you're good, maybe I'll tell you some day." A chill ran up his back, but whether from excitement or terror, he couldn't tell.

Inuyasha smiled coyly at Kagome, and asked, "So...if I'm good, will you tell me someday?"

Kagome turned up her nose. "Pervert. OSUWARI!"