InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Ways ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven:

"Huh?" Kyoko asked when she heard the high-pitched voice of a young girl. Her gaze returned to the taiyoukai, observing his expression with baffled dark eyes. "Who the hell is that?"

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin squealed, rushing into the open, latching herself onto her surrogate father's leg. Sesshomaru was a bit startled by her sudden gesture but rested his hand on her head reassuringly, if not in an embarrassed manner by her display of affection. "Rin was so worried about you. She thought you weren't coming back to the castle!" She rubbed her face against his leg as if trying to absorb him while she quelled her fears and relaxed.

"It's all right, Rin. I have faired well," He replied, his deep voice soothing the small child. Kyoko watched the two of them, a bit shocked that the demon lord could be capable of such comfort or affection to the small girl. She had only seen him when he was trying to kill, not in the state he was in now. Who was the girl anyway? His child? The runaway slave continued to observe in wonder. "Is Jaken running about somewhere? I would hate to think of what would happen to him if you came all the way here without his supervision," Sesshomaru said down to the little human girl.

"He's here. Rin told him that he saw you but he didn't believe Rin. He called Rin a `foolish human girl' and then went waddling off the other way," Rin answered him, disentangling herself from his long leg. Her chocolate eyes immediately met Kyoko's and she flashed the young woman a toothy grin. "Hi! Rin's name is Rin!"

"I'm Kyoko," The runaway slave replied, letting out a small noise of surprise when Rin grabbed her hand. "Hey now! What're y'all doin'? `Ya wanna play er somethin'?"

"Yeah! Sesshomaru-sama? Can Rin and Kyoko go and play?" The child asked her guardian. The taiyoukai watched the two of them but then nodded. He was not sure that he trusted Rin alone with Kyoko, but who said he was going to let them be alone? After he found Jaken and punished him for letting Rin go by herself, he would leap into a tree and `supervise' their actions.

"Rin, why dontcha go and wait by the river edge. I'll be over in a second," Kyoko told the small human girl, smiling after her retreating form. She turned her attention back to the child's guardian and eyed him. "What the hell's a human girl doin' with `ya, Lord Sesshomaru? I thought `ya hated us," Kyoko asked, her voice bewildered and confused. For a demon lord who was so set in his ways and unchanging, he sure contradicted himself a lot.

"I am unable to explain why I keep her with me. Drop it," Sesshomaru shot back at her, his voice unmoving and his golden eyes hard. Kyoko shrugged, not really caring either way because now she didn't have to be stuck with the stony taiyoukai all day. She had a new playmate!

"Well, whatever `ya say," She said over her shoulder as she went to go and join Rin in dipping her toes in the cool streams of the river.

~*~

"Kagome! Stop right there!" Inuyasha shouted, watching as she cringed and whirled around to face him. She was about to yell for him to `sit' but his hand cupped over her mouth forcefully and he knocked her onto the ground, exerting a little bit of his youkai strength to hush her up.

Kagome struggled against the hanyou, wanting to sit him because she was still hurt and upset but after a while, her attempts became pointless. He was not going to give up and she knew she was definitely not strong enough to wrestle him for her freedom. She sighed and stopped moving, realizing it would get her nowhere and that is when he removed his hand. "What do you want?" she asked, irritation and edginess in her tone.

Inuyasha growled slightly, sitting up and helping her to sit up as well as they looked each other over. "Just hear me out. I know you think that Sesshomaru has formed a so-called `pact' with us, but he won't keep it for long! He'll go back on his word whenever he feels like it so don't feel betrayed about it when he does, ok?" He finished the last part in a bark, crossing his arms trademark style in his fire-rat haori sleeves.

Kagome thought his words over. Why is he telling me this? She thought, brushing a stray lock of raven hair behind her ears. Realization hit her again. Sango was right. She was definitely very dense about hidden meanings. "Inuyasha… Are you telling me… you're worried about how I feel about this? You don't want my feelings to get hurt?"

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head in submission but he didn't say anything. "Your feelings are pretty fragile…" He mumbled but swallowed what he said when Kagome flashed a soft smile at him. He gulped, a flush rising to his cheeks at how amazingly beautiful she was when she smiled like that. Smiled like that at him to be more exact. "W-why a-are you smiling like that, Kagome?" He stuttered, embarrassed and feeling somewhat special at the attention he was getting from her.

"You do care about me, don't you Inuyasha?" She asked softly, moving closer to him to see his eyes which never lied to her even if his words and physical demeanor seemed tense. "Your heart is Kikyo's… but… even if that's true… is it possible to care for another?" Kagome stopped because her face was now glowing also. Why was she asking him such personal questions? In her heart, Kagome loved Inuyasha but she always had the lurking fear of rejection. Something inside her needed to know the truth, to quench the inward anxiety.

"Y-yeah… I believe that's e-entirely p-possible…" Inuyasha tripped over his words, his mouth growing dry. The hanyou was now feeling extremely cornered. He had never talked openly about his feelings before and it was rather unsettling, ESPECIALLY about a topic such as the one that they were on at the moment.

Kagome sighed, seeing that Inuyasha was not going to talk freely to her about anything anytime soon. He just was not in the talkative mood. "Never mind. I understand how you feel," she murmured, standing and started to walk away.

Idiot! IDIOT! No! Don't let her go! "How do you know what I feel?" Inuyasha asked after her, a bit perturbed by her assumption. Kagome stopped dead but did not turn around to face him. "If you want a confession, you're not getting one, ok? Figure it out on your own, then you'll understand," Inuyasha finished, watching as her shoulders vibrated and the smell of salt laced the air. Oh ####! That was not supposed to happen! She's supposed to understand what I mean! "Kagome… No! Stop that!" He ordered but to no avail.

Kagome whirled around, anger and tears blinding her vision as she pined him under a furious and intense gaze. "How the hell am I supposed to know how you feel when you make it so hard to tell sometimes! You're so unpredictable that you contradict yourself! You frustrate me! I don't know what to…" She stuttered in her blaze of warpath, not knowing what to say. "You make me want to…" she growled and her fists started to clench spasmodically. "SIT boy!!" She shouted at him, stomping away yet again, leaving Inuyasha in a pile of dust.

She can't TELL? I'd better go to Sango for this one… Inuyasha thought, blinking a few times.

~*~

"You're fun, Kyoko-sama," Rin giggled to the older girl as Kyoko splashed some water over the small girl's legs. "Lord Jaken would never let Rin play in the water."

"Well, yer Lord Jaken sounds purty dull to me, Rin," Kyoko replied, leaning back on her elbows to gaze at the blue sky. It was then that she looked up and noticed two familiar, cold golden eyes staring down at Rin and herself as if he was observing them. They blinked and then looked away and she pretended as if she had not seen them either. Why the hell's he watchin' me? Oh. He prollay don't trust me with Rin, she thought, mentally shrugging. That demon wasn't ever going to trust anyone. "I'm not that fun, honest. I jest sit here `n talk to `ya and play with `ya. That's all."

"No, Rin thinks you're very fun," The little girl replied. "You let Rin braid flowers into your hair and Rin and Kyoko-sama pretend that we were youkais." Rin let out a breath and did a toothy grin. "Thank you, Kyoko-sama."

Kyoko smiled down at the young girl. She was truly happy that she had played those games with her. Lord Jaken must not have had the entertainment that Rin sought. It seemed that all she wanted was to be talked to and played with. "It ain't a problem, Rin. Anytime `ya wanna play y'all tell me, ok?"

"Yeah," Rin sighed and leaned over onto Kyoko. Kyoko was a bit surprised but stayed as she was, staring at the sky.

The human saw me but did not acknowledge my presence? Why is that? Sesshomaru wondered to himself as he saw the two girls resting in silence as opposed to their avid chitchat and water wars they were having earlier. His eyes went to Rin and he saw she was truly content to be by the human woman… Damn it all, what was her name again? Ah, Kyoko. He had never seen her look so happy. Perhaps Rin does miss company of those who will entertain and be with her. Jaken is surely no source of amusement and I am too busy to entertain her on most occasions.

"Kyoko-sama?" Rin asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" Came the tuned out reply but Kyoko returned her attention to the small girl who was resting against the heat of her own body.

"Do you ever get lonely?"

The runaway slave was silent, not sure how to answer that. She had felt alone her entire life. Would Rin understand or would she continue to ask questions… "Yeah, Rin. I'm always lonely. I'll always be lonely. My ma and pa died when I wuz a whelp and I got sold to my master," She felt luminously sad dark eyes focus up on her when after she spoke those words.

"Does Kyoko-sama mean that… she had no daddy or mommy to protect her?" She wondered aloud, putting the pieces of what the older girl had said together.

"Yep. That's what I mean," She replied, letting out a breath in remembrance of her harsh and horrible childhood.

"Rin watched her mommy and daddy die. Her brother too. They died from wolves," Rin whispered and Kyoko stiffened at her words. She pulled back and turned to face the small girl who apparently had had a rough past of her own. She raised her calloused and rough hand to the small cheek that was now damp with tears and wiped them away. Kyoko did not know what to say to that. What could she say? She had no input on the topic but she did feel a great deal of sadness and pity for the sweet child.

"I ain't got no family either, little one," Kyoko whispered, drawing Rin into her arms, feeling the hot tears soak into her kimono. "I'm here. I'll be here for `ya. Don't `ya cry no more…"

Sesshomaru watched the scene, his chest clenched. Even though Rin was such a happy child, he had never known that she could fall into vulnerability so easily about her memories. The innocence a child should obtain until they were teenagers about death and how fragile life was had been stripped away from her when she was so young. How could that have affected her? Kyoko also. It seemed that he had mistaken her for a weak human, not realizing what lied under her fiery exterior. Both of the girl's were on the same boat. He continued to stare down at them, unsure if he wanted to see any more of their sadness. It was making him feel unusually uncomfortable.

Kyoko pulled back from Rin, wiping her own cheeks that had dampened from her own tears. "But `ya got yer Lord Sesshomaru, dontcha? He's yer pa now. He's always gonna protect `ya like daddy's do and he ain't gonna never let nothin' happen to `ya," she told the girl in an optimistic voice, watching some hope flash through the dark eyes adjacent to her own.

"Rin has Sesshomaru-sama… And Sesshomaru-sama has taken care of Rin and given Rin everything, but… Rin still feels alone kinda…" The little girl said, her shroud of sadness returning to loom over her. Sesshomaru stiffened on the tree-branch. He could not provide for her? He wanted to give her everything? What had he not done for her? What did she need?

"What else do `ya need, little one? `Ya got yer pa, `ya got yer home…" Kyoko stopped and her eyes softened along with the rest of her body. "'Ya don't got a ma… That's what yer missin'…"

A Mother? Oh… She means… Sesshomaru cringed inwardly. A woman. A mother-like figure. A mate. The home and comfort and love that was supposed to come from a warm and living woman. He could not give that to her. He did not wish to have a woman around, better yet take a mate for that matter. If he did take a mate, it would not be for the emotional and physical benefits. It would have been a weakness.

"Rin doesn't want to ask Lord Sesshomaru for a mommy. He might get mad at her," His small charge replied to Kyoko's answer, looking at the ground. Damn it all. It was true. She wanted a mother.

"Well, getting a mommy ain't exactly no walk in the field, Rin. It's hard tah do," Kyoko told her reassuringly. "I can pretend to be y'all's mommy but it prollay won't be the same to `ya."

"No…" Rin sighed and then did a jaw-cracking yawn. "Rin is tired."

"Come on, Rin. I'll get `ya set fer bed," Kyoko told the girl gently, picking her up and took her to the cave, where she set up a sleeping place for her. "G'night, Rin."

"'Night, Kyoko-kaasan," Rin yawned, her eyes heavy. She soon drifted off to sleep, content and warm.

"Kyoko," A deep baritone voice called into the cave softly but in an ordering way. "I must speak with you."

Kyoko stood and went to the mouth of the cave where the Taiyoukai was stationed and regarded him lazily. "Yeah? Whaddya want?"

"I believe you have done too much with my charge. You made her resort to tears," Sesshomaru said firmly, crossing his arms… er- arm I should say in his kimono sleeves.

Kyoko's eyes burned in slight irritation but she squashed it back down. He was only worried for his charge. That was all, she told herself. "She needed somebuddy to talk to, Lord Sesshomaru. I know what she's been through. I ain't got no real family neither. She's alone and I understand. `Ya got a problem with that?"

The demon lord's eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch at her fiery response but he kept calm and composed. "No, I have no problem with it, I merely am suggesting that you not talk about such depressing and memorable things with my charge. Clearly they make her sad. Do not bring them up with her again."

Kyoko watched him for a little while, knowing that he cared very much for his surrogate daughter but something else was nagging him. If he wanted the very best for Rin, why did he not find someone who could be her mother? "Why `aven't `ya taken a mate?"

Sesshomaru was brought out of his own musings by that question. "I beg your pardon?"

"Rin clearly wants a ma but you ain't gonna be able to git her one. Why is that?"

The taiyoukai paced a bit, feeling edgy talking about this subject with a mere human. "I have never taken interest in females. I see no need. Even if I was to take a mate, it would only be to produce heirs, not for any emotion based bond or relationship so many believe can be perfect."

Kyoko nodded, processing the information. "Well, why dontcha just git yerself a demon wench `n make heirs that way? You don't gotta have any attraction to her," She said to him. Sesshomaru's golden eyes met hers and they were stone cold.

"If I mated with a youkai, more likely than not they will not accept Rin. They will abuse her, torment her, and mistreat her. I would not allow it but it would still be seemingly unfair to her to put her through such a thing. That is why." Sesshomaru spat in reply, clamping his lips together unnoticeably. Why had he just spit a reply like that to the likes of an uneducated runaway slave woman who could not speak properly? This was not her business so why was he telling her every detail.

"So yer worried about her? That's good. I thought `ya was gonna dump her off somewheres seein' that she's a human girl `n all," Kyoko answered. Not really knowing what to say now as the silence that lapsed between them became suffocating, the runaway slave started to walk away. "I'm goin' tah find Kagome n' see if she's done bein' sad from earlier…" she told him, motioning for him to stay by the cave. Sesshomaru nodded to her and entered, sitting down beside his charge, watching her as she slept restlessly.

She started to moan a little bit and fear laced her scent. Sesshomaru reached out and laid his hand on her back in a soothing gesture, removing it when her scent returned to its equilibrium. Do you want a mother that badly Rin? Is that the way you really feel? He wondered as he stayed by her side so deep in his brooding that he barely heard Jaken call out his name.

(Sorry! That chapter wasn't as long as I wanted it to be but it's still pretty long! I think I'm out of the writer's block! YAY!)