InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Eternity ❯ Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, or any characters from that show. So sad.

 

 

When they returned to the modest mansion Sesshomaru had taken up living in after the defeat of Naraku, Rin was greeted with an unexpected surprise.

 

“A new kimono!!” she squealed, rushing up to the expanse of silk that hung off the display rack. “It's so beautiful! Oh! And it has long sleeves!!!” she fingered them gingerly, hardly believing it was real.

 

“It is a young woman's kimono, and you are of an age deserving it.”

 

“Oh, thank you so much, Sesshomaru-sama!!” She ran over and hugged him. As usual, he did not respond in the least, but somehow it seemed more awkward to her than before. As if he wasn't just passively living it through but resisting it.

 

She pulled back slowly, and Sesshomaru was looking away. He made a small noise that might have been him clearing his throat. “This room, is also yours now.” He gestured to the pallet, her pallet, on the other side of the room.

 

Rin stared. She didn't understand. She looked back to Sesshomaru, confused. “I'm not… you want me to… I'll sleep here?” she asked.

 

Rin had always slept in the same room as him, ever since they came here. She had her own bed, of course, but she had an understandable propensity for nightmares and she slept easier with him near. But now….

 

“As you are a young woman now, you will need more privacy. Do you not like the room?” Her expression concerned him. It had a lovely view….

 

She shook her head slowly. “No, it's very nice.” She remembered her manners. “Thank you, Sesshomaru-sama.” There was no adoration in the honorific, somehow. “This is… this is very kind of you.” She walked back to the kimono, fingering it with a depressed look on her face. When she looked up, he was gone.

 

***

 

Sesshomaru sighed. Sango had warned him that it would be like this, that she would react unusually to things, become suddenly melancholy, but that had caught him off-guard. He didn't like to see her upset, and it damaged his ego to think there was nothing he could do. He just didn't get it. When he had gone through that phase of his life, things had not been so confusing. He had known what he wanted, and he had gone out to find it. Why did women have to be so confusing?

 

***

 

Sesshomaru awoke from his sleep suddenly, but knew not why. He had always been a light sleeper, but nothing seemed to be wrong. He couldn't smell anything dangerous, only the lingering scent of Rin's tears. Suddenly, a quiet keening sound made its way through the house. It sounded odd, as if smothered.

 

Rin.

 

He panicked, and he hated it. He was on his feet in an instant, red rimming the edge of his vision. He would not risk losing her again. Not for anything. Not even for his own desires. He made his way through the mansion at breakneck speed but completely silent. He paused outside her door; there was no sound, and he smelled nothing. Was he too late? Suddenly she screamed again, the sound so near at hand hurting his ears and his heart. He threw the door open, to see her thrashing wildly. She fought… something invisible? He ran to the side of her bed, trying to figure out what to do.

 

It was then he saw her eyes were shut tight.

 

Yes, she fought something invisible: a nightmare. “Rin!” he took hold of her shoulders and shook her, not too hard, but hard enough that she woke. She stared at him unseeing a moment, tears welling up in her eyes.

 

Then he did something he did not expect; he pulled her tightly to him, his immense relief cracking his usually placid exterior. He had been so…

 

…scared. And he hated it. He hated himself, hated his father, hated this world, hated everything, everything, everything… except the small sobbing human girl he foolishly held to himself.

 

Fortunately she was crying too hard to notice his break in character. He smoothed her hair rhythmically, loosening his hold on her.

 

“Shh, Rin, it was another nightmare.” She was the only person he dared be tender around.

 

Rin sobbed. “I was so scared! I… I was in hell again” her voice hitched, “And it was awful… and, and nobody came for me!!” The last evolved into another keening sound. “Nobody cared!!!”

 

“I would go back for you a thousand times.” He said quietly, and she suddenly quieted. He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears, and pushed the damp hair from her face.

 

She sniffed. “I'm so lonely here, Sesshomaru-sama… so lonely…”

 

Sesshomaru's heart twanged unpleasantly. Sango was right. He wasn't enough: she needed humans. He just continued to smooth her hair. When at last she had calmed, he laid her back on her bed, and moved to get up, lost in his thoughts.

 

Her small hand caught the crook of his elbow just above where his left arm ended. In a few years, it would have been his hand she caught.

 

“Please don't leave me all alone, Sesshomaru-sama…. Please….” She looked up at him with her liquid brown eyes, and he felt the tug of that old familiar weakness. There was nothing he could deny her, especially happiness. He laid down next to her, his right arm holding her to him.

 

“Go to sleep,” he commanded.

 

So she did.

 

***

 

Rin slept the rest of the night without dreams, and awoke to one. She was greeted by the image of a still-sleeping Sesshomaru lounging beside her. She loved to see him sleep, and had made herself rise early to see it for years. It was pleasant to see his relaxed face. He looked… happy, content. Perfect, as always. She silently hoped that one day she could make him look that way at her.

 

As she woke she realized something else. In his rush to rescue her from her nightmare, he had neglected to throw on a shirt. She sighed deeply. From Hell to Heaven and a single night…. His arm was still wrapped around her and she thought very adult thoughts about how else they might have ended up like this.

 

Sesshomaru's eyes shot open, and Rin pouted inwardly. He usually didn't wake for another twenty minutes or so. She shut her eyes quickly and pretended to be asleep, but it was useless. He had already seen her. He seemed to play along with the ruse, though, for he gingerly extracted himself from her bed and walked out of the room silently. The absence of his warmth and presence made her shiver.

 

***

 

Sesshomaru shook himself as he walked down the hallway. That girl tended to make him sleep deeper, and it took longer to rid himself of the grogginess. What had woken him though….

 

Kami she had smelled so good. She smelled like a woman. At first he thought she was awake, but when his eyes cleared she was sleeping. And he realized why she smelled good, and knew that he had better leave now. Even now her scent lingered on his senses, playing tricks on him, tugging him back to her. He always hated it when his instincts made things … difficult. He grabbed a shirt on his way out to the courtyard. What he could use now was a good cold soak, but sword practice would have to do.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

AN:

 

Men are so DENSE sometimes. Lol. This was originally two chapters, but I stuck them together because the first was really short. The sections on this one were a little shorter, and it kind of annoys me, and if it bothers you tell me and I'll keep that in mind for future reference. Tell me what you think!! I love those reviews… that I haven't gotten yet… because this has been up for what? *looks at clock* an hour? Anyway, can't wait to hear from y'all.