InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Concrete Rose ❯ Foster Father ( Prologue )

Concrete Rose

 

Prologue: Foster Father

 

 

 

 

Sesshomaru sat in a tree. Below him, Rin was meditating. The girl that was once a talkative little runt was now a talkative young woman at sixteen. Sesshomaru had finally stopped wandering and returned to his home in the Western Lands. The large castle sat on a hill that was above a village. When Rin had arrived at the castle, she was shocked to learn that Sesshomaru let the humans live so close to his home.

 

Sesshomaru continued to look at the teenager. The village's elderly miko, Masako, had chosen young Rin to follow in her footsteps. She was an apprentice to the old woman and had quieted down her talkative ways, but not by much. She no longer tagged after Sesshomaru, but she did hold him in high regard. She considered him a father figure and he considered her a daughter. After all, he did raise her most of her life.

 

Sesshomaru smirked lightly when he thought of Rin's achievements over the years.. When she turned ten, he ordered an ally to train her in self defense. Rin had taken a liking to sai and stuck with them. For her size, she was also pretty strong. Her trainer, another inu-youkai named Kai, made her carry large buckets of water up the stone steps leading to Sesshomaru's castle. She couldn't spill a drop, or she would suffer horrible consequences. If Rin hated this, she never complained. She always did as she was told quietly. If she dropped a single drop, Kai would hit her hands with a whip and she had to start all over again. Sesshomaru did not object, but it tugged at him to see her in pain.

 

What confused Sesshomaru the most was Rin's changes in her body and attitude. When she hit the age of about twelve, she was as clumsy as they come. She would drop anything and everything. She'd scalded Jaken many times because of her clumsiness in carrying rice. Then, when she was about thirteen, Sesshomaru noticed a change in her scent every month. During that time, she would lock herself in her room for about a week. When she did leave her room, she was exceptionally hostile to Jaken and the servants. Kai found this all too funny.

 

Sesshomaru had asked about that particular circumstance once to Kai. Kai had explained that it was Rin's monthly cycle. Sesshomaru had merely stared at her as if she was speaking a foreign language. Kai was forced to go into further detail until Sesshomaru told her to stop.

 

After that, Rin started constantly cutting her hair for some reason. Sesshomaru had never quite gotten that one. One night, she had gone to bed with a head full of long black hair and when Sesshomaru saw her the next morning, it was short. She'd hacked it all off. She repeatedly did it until Kai told her that she would cut all her fingers off if she did it again. Kai was not known to make empty threats. So now, Rin's hair was nearly as long as Sesshomaru's. She kept it in an elaborate bun at the top of her head, though.

 

Now, though, her violent mood swings had subsided and she was a relatively reserved girl. Sesshomaru saw a change in her facial expression. She was smirking now.

 

“ How long are you going to sit there before you make yourself known, my lord?” She asked softly. Sesshomaru's hearing was much better than the average human, so he heard her loud and clear. He hopped down from the tree and landed silently as Rin stood up. She turned and looked at him. The bun at the top of her head was threatening to come undone. She'd grown in height, but was still nowhere near Sesshomaru's height. She looked up at the youkai she considered her foster father.

 

“ How do you know when I am near? You do not have heightened senses like I do.” He said in his dry voice. Rin laughed.

 

“ I do not know the answer to that question, my lord. Perhaps it has something to do with my miko training. What brings you to me now, my lord?” She asked softly.

 

“ I need a reason to see you now?” He asked. Rin shook her head.

 

“ No, you do not, my lord.”

 

“ Did I not tell you to stop addressing me do formally, Rin?”

 

“ Old habits die hard, my...Sesshomaru.” She said, smiling. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. Rin stared into his golden eyes.

 

“ So, now I am `your' Sesshomaru?” He asked, a hint of a joke in his voice. Rin looked surprised and giggled.

 

“ Thus my ears deceive me, or did you just make a joke, Sesshomaru?” Rin turned and began walking towards his castle. Sesshomaru walked alongside her.

 

“ This Sesshomaru does not `joke,' Rin.” He said. Rin smirked.

 

“ Whatever you say, `this' Sesshomaru.” She mocked him. Sesshomaru's eyes glared down at her and Rin looked off into space as if she'd said nothing wrong. That was when Kai walked up to them.

 

At first glance, one would assume that Sesshomaru and Kai were siblings when in fact they are not. The only difference between the two youkai was that Kai's hair was far longer than his and she kept it in a very high ponytail that was wrapped around the base several times before spilling out of the center of the ball. She also didn't have markings on her face and hands.

 

“ Rin, Masako wishes to see you. She is in the castle.” Kai said curtly. Rin nodded and Ran off. Both youkai watched her go. Then Kai turned towards Sesshomaru, smiling. She wasn't as reserved as Sesshomaru and could be considered a little headstrong. She was more like Inuyasha in a sense.

 

“ You should applaud yourself, Sesshomaru.” Kai said. Sesshomaru merely stared at her.

 

“ Why?”

 

“ You have raised a wonderful child. Rin is coming along nicely. Pretty soon, the human males will come knocking at the door. Just think... Little Rin off to get married and leave the big bad puppy alone.” Kai made a face. Sesshomaru moved to hit her, but Kai was too fast for him. “ Face it, Sesshomaru. She's like a daughter to you and you know it.” Kai said smiling.

 

“ I do not know what you are talking about. I just took care of her.” He said. Kai smirked.

 

“ That's what father's do, Sesshomaru. I will expect a sparring match later on.” With that, Kai started back towards the castle. Sesshomaru thought for a moment.

 

` I guess I have become her father, in an odd way. Surely, she does not see me that way,' he thought to himself. Dismissing it, he turned and walked to the forest, looking for some unlucky youkai to give him a warm-up before he was forced to spar with Kai.