InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Fragile Heart ❯ Chapter One: Small Hands ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: No own, no sue.

In answer to Marie's question. I honestly can't say I know whether or not this story will have a happy ending or not just yet. I would LIKE it to, and I'm going to try and structure it in such a way that that's possible, but I really can't make any guarantees this early in the game. Fact is, at this point, I don't even know how long this story will be.

And although I do feel sort of sorry for Inu, I am hesitant to create an OC for him(because I hate Kikyo at the moment, and don't want to punish Inu with her) at this point in time because I have certain feeling I know where this arc is going in the near future, and am not sure I want to complicate things more than I need to. But thank you for the opinion and I AM considering it, though I need to get a little further on in this fic before I make any final decisions on the matter. Thank you for the thought though, it was very useful, even if this WAS supposed to be my "no major oc chars arc". A well, the best laid plans. . . as they say.

* And everyone else, thanks so much for reviewing. I love you all and you all get a lollipop! *hands out Lollipops to her reviewers, puts on her new, `I hate Jaken' t-shirt, props a massive bag of sugar up against the nearest bookshelf, stretches, cracks knuckles, and sits down in front of the keyboard*

Now, on with the story.

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A Fragile Heart

By: Banshee Puppet

Chapter One: Small Hands

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Sesshomaru looked up at the hospital. He'd been here before, when his mother was ill, before she died, but never before had it seemed this imposing to him. He cleared his throat, adjusted his lapel, and opened the large glass doors before entering and walking, blank-faced, over to the receptionist.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for the children's ward. I start service learning there today."

"Ah, of course! Third floor. They're expecting you, Mister. . ."

"Sesshomaru."

"Yes. Mister Sesshomaru. Third floor please."

Sesshomaru nodded, heaving an inward sigh at the somewhat dimwitted receptionist. `As if you really need to be that intelligent to answer the phone,' he mused to himself as he pressed the button on the elevator and the doors closed like the mouth of some vicious beast (A/N: does anyone else ever get that feeling watching elevator doors close? Eh, probably just me.). And as he waits for the doors to open again, he remembers Kagome's warning before he left to come here today, `remember Sess, be nice, or else you're sleeping on the couch next weekend,' she'd told him.

`Nice,' he thought. And Kagome nowhere in sight. It was going to be a LONG four hours.

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"Ah! You must be from the high school, Sesshomaru, right?" a young female doctor, complete with white coat, glasses, and clipboard asked as she flipped her head slightly to get some renegade auburn strands of hair that had fallen out of a loose, somewhat sloppy bun to fall away from her eyes. She looked exhausted.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow slightly. `Is she a mind-reader, or what?'

"Yes, that's me. Good guess."

"Oh, not at all. The principal told me he assigned a rather stoic young albino man to us. Your white hair and pale eyes give you away. It isn't very common, you know."

"Ah."

"Well, anyway, Sesshomaru, My name is Dr. Jack Gale," the woman said. "There's lots to do, so let me introduce you and show you around."

"Fine."

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"Dr. Jack Dr. Jack!!!! Tell Timmy to give back my Gizmit!!!" a little blonde girl sobbed, running up to the doctor with tears welling in her eyes.

"Timmy, what did I tell you about taking things without asking?" the doctor asked with a maternal sigh.

"I'm sorry Dr. Jack. I was gonna give it back, honest! She wasn't sharing!" Timmy protested, handing over the mangled blankie.

The woman sighed. "Anyway, I want to introduce someone, so just shush for a little while. EVERYONE, please listen up a minute, alright!" she said loudly enough that all the children stopped doing what they were doing and looked up. "We have a new helper for a little while," she said as cheerfully as she could manage through her exhaustion, waving Sesshomaru to take a step forward, which he did, cringing inwardly at the task ahead, reminding himself, `be nice. Be nice.' "This is Sesshomaru and he's here to help the nurses and I out, keep you preoccupied. So if you feel the urge to ask him any ridiculous questions, or anything like that, go right ahead. Okay, that's all. Introduce yourselves when you get the chance."

The children all went back to playing, save one small girl who had been sitting in her bed since they arrived, who just sort of stared at him with the biggest brown puppy-dog eyes. It was quite unnerving, actually.

"Well, I have to go get the children's meds ready, so just make sure they stay out of trouble for a bit. You might want to look over their paperwork, if you get the chance," she said, gesturing towards the clipboards at the bottom of the beds.

Sesshomaru just nodded. "Why isn't that girl playing with the others?" he asked before the doctor could leave.

"Oh, Rin? She can't be as physically active as the other children are. She has a weak heart."

"A weak heart," he found himself whispering.

"She's on the waiting list for a transplant but. . . it doesn't look good. For now all we can do is hope for the best. Since Rin is a ward of the state, her care isn't really given top priority. It's sad, but that's just the way it is."

"A ward of the state. You mean an orphan."

Dr. Gale nodded. "That's right. I'll be back soon."

He wasn't sure why, but the information created a slight pang in his chest. For the most part, the children seemed to be ignoring him, so he walked over towards the window. Rin was staring out that same window, or trying to, from across the room. Their eyes met and his pulse stuttered slightly as she gave him a big, gap-toothed smile and held her arms out. "Sess-chan?" she asked at his startled expression.

"What is it?" he replied.

"Bring Rin to the window? Rin wants to see the flowers," she begged.

Sesshomaru nodded, moving a folding chair beside the window and taking an inward breath before, awkwardly, picking the girl up and carrying her toward the chair. But she clutched tightly around his neck. Her weak little body molding easily against his chest as she stared out the window and smiled, yawning slightly. "Pretty," she said softly, nuzzling against his chest and making him feel strangely warm, from the inside out.

After a moment's hesitation, he sat down, allowing the girl to curl into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder and yawning as the sunlight played shadows across her sweet little smiling face.

He felt strange, like he was destined to meet this little girl somehow, but…destiny had cheated him and was now trying to make up for it. But also, it made him sad, thinking of her weak heart. Would she…? Was she going to die? Was this priceless little girl going to die just because she was an orphan, just because she was all alone? He found himself hating the thought of that. `Be strong Rin,' he thought. `I'll think of something.'

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Kagome poked him in the ribs. "Huh? Wha…?" Sesshomaru blinked. His mind had been elsewhere.

"You're thinking again," she pointed out. "How is your service learning going?"

"I…met a cute girl," he said, not sure how else to put it. Rin really was an adorable little kid.

Kagome gave him a look and he said, "A cute eight year old girl Kagome. Come on, you know it's not like THAT!" he huffed.

"I knew you were into younger women, big brother, but isn't this a little much?" Inuyasha teased from where he was setting the table.

Sesshomaru scowled. "At least I'm into women, Inuyasha, unlike some people I know."

"Hey now! Just because I don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean…" Inuyasha rebutted.

"Alright boys, chill out!" Kagome demanded. "So, tell me about this cute kid, Sess."

"Well, her name is Rin, and she has one of those contagious smiles. She seems to like me, oddly enough. The other kids just pretend I'm not there unless they need a mediator."

"A mediator?"

"I think he means someone to break up a fight," Inuyasha commented.

"Ah. Well, I'm glad you've made a new friend then!" Kagome said cheerily.

"Mn. But she has a weak heart. And she's an orphan, so the chances of her getting a transplant aren't very good. Even so, she smiles so easily, like she isn't afraid of anything. She's just…peculiar."

`Bad news,' Inuyasha thought gravely. `This is just asking for trouble.' "Don't get too attached," he warned. "It'll only lead to heartache."

"And that would be the reason you don't have a girlfriend, little brother," Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. "I'm not some toddler. I know what I'm doing."

`Not exactly the reason,' Inuyasha thought with a mental sigh as he looked at Kagome.

"Well, I think it's cute!" Kagome giggled.

"What's cute?" a deep voice came from the doorway.

"Oh, hello father. How was work?" Sesshomaru asked evenly. "Dinner will be ready in just a few more minutes."

Inuyasha bit his lower lip. `Father,' he thought. It hurt, knowing that in their real world, in the feudal era, the man standing in the doorway now was dead, had been for a long while. So seeing him here, like this, it was a trial every time the man made an appearance.

"Sesshomaru is forming bonds with adorable little girls," Kagome teased.

"Ah, I see. Perhaps I should force Inuyasha to do service learning as well. Get him to form bonds with adorable girls as well, though, preferably of an older variety," he teased.

Inuyasha groaned. "Is the whole world against me!?!" he demanded. "I don't have a girlfriend because I don't WANT one, OKAY! That's IT! There's nothing more to it than that! YEESH!"

"Well, how about a boyfriend then?" Sesshomaru asked steadily, smirking over the noodles he was straining. "There's a guy in my class who'll go after anything with two legs, if you're just looking to get lucky."

"Sesshomaru!" their father laughed. The joke had become an easier topic, now that the man was no longer convinced that his older son was homosexual.

So Sesshomaru just continued his taunt. "I believe Miroku shows preference toward the female population, but as long as he gets to be on top, I don't think he would be at all opposed. I'm sure Kagome could help you pick out a nice kimono if you'd like, something pink, perhaps, with sakura blossoms embroidered on it? What do you think, father? It would look good on him, ne?"

Inuyasha blanched at the name. He would have been furious at the teasing, except that the name Sesshomaru dropped made his stomach churn. `Miroku?!? Miroku is here!!!?!'

Suddenly the topic changed as Sesshomaru noticed how pale his younger brother looked. "Inuyasha, are you feeling alright?"

"I…I'm not very hungry, father. Is it alright if I just go lay down? I feel a bit queasy, all of a sudden."

`Something I said?' Sesshomaru wondered. `But teasing him like that…it never bothered him before.'

"That's fine. I'll leave a plate in the fridge for you. Rest up. I'd hate to see you get sick."

"Y-yeah. Okay."

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Inuyasha flopped back onto his bed with a disgruntled sigh, fingers weaved behind his neck. "What now?" he wondered.

He never thought it would be such a task, trying to keep his big brother happy so the world didn't end, or whatever would happen if Sesshomaru went back to being the arrogant, depressed demon that Inuyasha had always suspected that he was.

And now his older brother was opening up to some random little girl who was going to go and die on him. It was too much. He didn't know what he was supposed to do.

And what about Miroku? Why didn't Inuyasha know that Miroku was here, in this time, and what the hell was Miroku doing in this time anyway! It couldn't have anything to do with Inuyasha's wish for Sesshomaru's happiness, could it? `Yeah right. Sesshomaru hardly knew Miroku, it couldn't be related. . .but that still begs the question.' Inuyasha sighed.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," he grumbled. "And there isn't even anyone to help me out, like there was then. Miroku was such a lecher, but at least he gave good advice." Inuyasha huffed, sitting up quickly and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Not that I ever listened, or anything, but...still."

Miroku. There was a time that he was really Inuyasha's best friend, though it would have taken a large mallet and a few good thwacks over the head by the monk's staff to prove it to him. Now, in this world, Kagome was his best friend, even if, in his heart, he wished for something more. He figured he would get over that…in time.

And Sesshomaru? Sesshomaru was… Sesshomaru was what? "…going to fuck everything up, if I don't DO something, that's what!" Inuyasha grumbled his annoyance. Well, mindless violence always helped him think a little more clearly, so with that in mind, he got up and put Tekken Tag in his game system, planning to kick the royal shit out of Jin Kazama, and anyone else who got in his way…

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okay okay! I know I took forever to add this chapter, but, well, I was getting my list of fanfics down. Now that I'm down to two, I hope to update more often….I hope…(don't hate me! I know this is taking forever, and I'm sorry, but um…this fic is like, totally impossible for me to write, for some reason…but I'm gonna finish it! I am determined…and stuff. And now that my brain is fried on fanfic…I'm going to take Inuyasha's advice and go play some Tekken…. (ahem…r&r)

`till next time kits. Happy haunting,

~Banshee Puppet~