InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Precious Little Rin ❯ One-Shot

None of InuYasha or its characters belongs to me in any way shape or form.

This fic came about from my irritation with Sesshoumaru. Yes, he's totally gorgeous and dangerous and arrogant as well, and that arrogance is what gets to me. So this fic is about if he chose to keep such arrogance even when it came to denying his own heart (I'm a Sess/Rin fan. Rin when she's a lot older of course). I decided Sesshoumuru has to suffer a little. Anyway this is pure angst and there is death at the end, so be warned now.

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The girl has turned twelve today, the age a girl becomes a woman, and the age a girl is capable of becoming a mother as well. I pretend I have not noticed, or do not care, but to tell the truth the smell of the blood is so overpowering to me that during those cycles I find myself having to go away, but then leaving her to her own means has been nothing new to me, or to her.

This day her body is normal and her mood is cheery, but then she has never had a problem giving me a smile, a smile that not only lights up her entire face, but my entire heart as well, perhaps one of these days I will tell her.

I ask her what it is she wishes for her birthday and she tells me anything is fine, though she would like a new kimono, dark purple with gold butterfly designs sewn in. Then it shall be I tell her and whisk out of my pocket a small bag of coins. I myself have never had need for currency but with her, being only a human, money has always been a necessity for her so I've always carried some along on my person.

She gives me another brilliant smile and with a single hop she is able to kiss my cheek and thank me before running off to the nearest village. She is getting very tall, I tell myself as I touch the very spot her lips had graced, a strange warmth having veined from it all over my body-Precious little Rin…my good, good girl.

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The girl has turned sixteen today and I find her huddled in a bush, a new kimono graces her form. Her expression is intense, full of questions and uncertainties. It pains me to see her so distressed and so I inquire as to what is wrong.

She looks up at me and I see her bright eyes hold a new kind of curiosity as does her mind. She tells me that lately, every time she enters a town that men, young and old approach her and begin asking her many questions such as what is her name, where is she from, or whether or not she is betrothed. They tell her that she is pretty and some even offer her gifts if she will stay with them. I close my eyes and listen to the details, angered, disgusted by the human males, though my mind calms when she says she refuses to speak to any of them and that once she has her wares that she runs back into the woods where she hides and waits for my return.

I offer her my hand, which she accepts and I pull her gently to her feet, my eyes taking in her entire form. I can see why the men lust, her sweet face may still be that of child's but her rapidly maturing body betrays such a notion. She then asks me why, I answer her the best I can, all the while wondering how it could be that she is still this naïve. But then, traveling with me, and living away from her kind I feel she has forgotten or worse yet, no longer knows how to be human. Our relationship must end. I must let her go and allow her to be with her own kind and hope that she will be able to make a success of her life in whatever path she chooses to take…but maybe in another year-Precious little Rin…my good, good girl.

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The girl turns twenty-one today and I go to the village where she has taken up residence along with her new husband, a man of twenty-five. He is nothing more than a farmer but the occupation itself has made him a strong man, and one who is patient and nurturing, kind, a man capable of giving her all that I could never be able to nor ever wanted to…so I've always told myself.

Rin has never told him of me and I've never shown myself to him, for if it were found out that she was raised by a demon, even if not her real father, then she would be persecuted, ridiculed, or even worse, killed. Strange how humans have changed little in all of the time that I have been alive.

I normally see her running up to me, but this time her movements are sluggish and slow and as I move my eyes over her form I see why. Her left hand rests on her abdomen that is noticeably swollen, looking rather odd on her too thin frame. I raise an eyebrow trying not to show my shock, after all I knew one day she would procreate, and better with a human man then a demon. I vowed never to make the same mistake my father made. Who in hell would want a disgusting hanyou for a child? I briefly think of my brother InuYasha, wherever he may be.

She greets me with a simple kiss and hug, and as always her touch sends shivers through my body; I come out of my daze and stare down at her flushed cheeks. I learn that she is a month away from delivering the child and she says to me that if it is a boy that she wishes to name him Sesshoumaru. I tell her it makes no difference to me and I assist her in setting down in the grass banks of the river that flows before it.

I sit beside her and she asks about Jaken. I tell her outright with little emotion that he died three months ago and with a tiny frown on her face and her eyes blurry with tears she tells me that now I am all alone. I relate to her that I was alone long before Jaken or her. She leans her head onto my shoulder and tells me that even though she is happy, there are many nights when she lays awake, wishing to be young again so that she could travel by my side. She tells me she loves me still and that she misses Jaken. Her tears she can no longer hold back and so I hold her as she sobs, not knowing whether I should be irritated or touched that she is so free with me about her emotions. Human emotions I've never been able to relate to, but for Rin I will do this-Precious little Rin…my good, good girl.

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The girl turns thirty today, and as I have every year on her special day, I come to meet her and bring her a new kimono. But this time it is different for when I see her at a distance I also see her son, her firstborn, which carries my name…stupid human sentimentality. Why should the name of a great demon as myself be placed on the head of human child? Still I can't help but smile at the thought for I have no children of my own to take my name. Behind my namesake runs a little girl, Rin's second child, Ren.

She looks so much like her mother my mind can't help but conjure up memories of sitting on a dark clear night or in the shade during the heat of the mid-day sun watching Rin running around, laughing and making crowns out of flowers. Even the memory of Jaken's constant complaining about it doesn't seem as annoying as it once was. If I could grow old I might think I am mellowing, but I am immortal, and so the only Sesshoumaro that will ever die will be human.

Suddenly I am snapped to attention as I hear Rin scream, telling her son to run and get his father. I scan the scene briefly and see that Ren has fallen into the river and is being carried down stream. Rin herself is about to jump in but I tell her to stay where she is at and I myself delve into the watery depths, the strength of the currents cannot compare to my strength and soon I am carrying the small girl in my arms up to the shore.

Rin screams her daughter's name knowing that the girl has drowned. I look into her panicked and pained face. I tell her to calm herself as I draw Tenseiga and slice it through Ren, just as I had done with her mother so many, many years before.

Her little body jolts as she coughs and sputters until the water is expelled from her lungs and as she opens her eyes she sees me. At first she is scared until her mother tells her it is all right, I am a friend. Ren then smiles at me…my word she looks so like her mother. Passing back out, she falls into sleep, which is a relief to me for then I will only be a blur in her memory, something she had imagined, and her mother's secret will remain safe.

Rin's breathing is heavy with stress, though the smile on her face is wide and leaning over her daughter she hugs me and kisses my cheek. The familiar warmth returns to me from the touch and her declaration of love. I can think of nothing to say so I simply hold her and her daughter to me-Precious little Rin…my good, good girl.

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The girl turns forty-five today and as we are sitting by the riverbank. I listen as she is telling me of the birth of her first grandchild, a girl who had been named Ryoko. I stare straight ahead showing no emotion about the news and in my usual flat tone I tell her what is another human to me. I know my words hurt her somewhat, but as she has always done she seems to let them slide and tells me again how she wishes for her youth and to travel with me.

This time, however, her words change somewhat as she adds that when she was little she always imagined that one day she would be my wife and bare my children, even pledging to remain by my side forever. She blushes deeply and laughs shaking her head telling me she knows how silly it sounds, writing it all off as foolish little girl dreams. I can tell my silence worries her and she apologizes profoundly but her words are not upsetting to me, for she is not even aware, that at times when I slept, I had such dreams of her. But then even one as great as me does not have power in the realm of dreams. That is why I prefer to be awake, for only then, in reality, do I have control of all my senses.

I then wield that control as I tell her to stop crying. That her tears and sobs are annoying me, and that they're not necessary. And as she did when she was a little child her whining ceases immediately and she wipes dry her eyes and with a little sniffle she buries her face into my chest. I place my arm around her, a contradiction to my harsh words, I know.

From then on until the sun sets for the day we are silent and alone, save for the sound of the wind and gurgle of the river, and maybe a songbird or two. I fight the urge to lean over and kiss the top of her head and instead I tighten my grip around her-Precious little Rin..my good, good girl.

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The girl turns sixty today and I am amazed at her lifespan, for a human she has lived a long life, a happy life, a life that has been fruitful and good as the generations that have been born from her continue to grow and prosper. But, as with every human, lucky or not, strong or not, their life must come to an end. And I know today is the day that she will be taken from me for all eternity, to live on only in my memories and dreams. I do believe this is the first time I've ever cursed my demon immortality. I wait until her family leaves the hut before I enter.

What I see in front of me breaks my heart as it has never been broken before. She is lying on a thin mat, covered only by a single blanket. Her eyes are closed and her face is stressed with pain. Humans are such frail creatures. Even the strong ones eventually wither and rot. Such a pity and proof, they are, an inferior race.

My steps are light, yet still she awakens, always having been able to sense my presence. She gives me her smile and despite her visible agony I see her eyes are still as bright as they have always been. I sit on the mat, and lay the kimono I have brought her across the blanket that covers her body. I then take her hand and ask her how she is feeling. Such a human thing to say, but then with Rin it has always been a fight between my demon pride and my growing compassion and love for this silly human girl.

She tells me she wants to go but is afraid to leave me for without her I will have no one. I can't help but smile somewhat at her self-sacrificing nature, always placing my wishes and feelings above her own, but then if such a spirit were absent, she would not be Rin.

She begins to cough and I catch her body as the force of it throws her forward. I find I cannot release my hold on her, for with the physical contact I know that any minute now she will be…no I don't want to think of a life without her. My stupid demon pride rears it's ugly head however and I tell her she has coughed up blood all over me.

She apologizes and pulls away. I release her and allow her to lye back down. There are tears in her eyes as she asks me why. Why I had saved her when she was little, why I had allowed her to stay with me for her entire childhood, and why it is that I have come every year on her birthday even when I told her she could no longer come along with me. It was to test Tenseiga. To observe her, measure the sword's power by the length of her life, and to bring her new kimonos…or so I tell her.

She laughs lightly and I hear sadness in her voice as she tells me she thought so. I bow my head swallowing the feeling of shame for not telling her the truth. But, I will not bring myself down to a human level. She then says the strangest thing to me. If I had to do it all over would I change anything? She then adds that it doesn't matter anyway, because she is dying and nothing now could bring her peace. She closes her eyes again and I feel a panic and ache in my heart as I sense her own heart giving out.

I grab her suddenly and pull her up against me, burying my face in her long thick hair. I whisper as calm as I can into her ear, that I would have never let her go, that before she dies I need her to know that I would never have let her go, for I love her dearly. I think I may be starting to understand my father.

I feel her face move against my chest and she pulls back her head, looking up at me with those eyes, those beautiful dark eyes that had always been so full of life and love. She tells me softly then, that her girlish dreams had not been so foolish. Her head then falls limp and I hear the last breath leave her body. No Rin, no you cannot leave me! I have not given you permission to leave! You are my Rin…my angel…my heart!

When has it been that I have ever cried? My father's death, but then he was of my blood, so why but I am blubbering like a baby over a human no less! But as of right now I do not care, for my entire being is screaming out in pain.

I notice, then, as the tears fall from my eyes and my vision is blurred, her now pale, wrinkled skin and snowy white hair seem to fade. She is old, she is dead…that is the reality. But, still even as my mind knows it is being tricked, all I can see is raven black hair and smooth satin skin, soft pink lips arched in a smile and ebon eyes, full of innocent cheer. They are looking up at me, asking me where it is we're going and then running ahead daring me to catch her, the childish sound of her laughter, carried by the wind to fill my ears. Yes, this is how I will remember her, us, when we had each other and that was all that truly mattered-Precious little Rin…my good, good girl.

END