InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Free Wind ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Sesshoumaru watched from half lidded eyes as Rin explored the edges of the woods. ‘Do not wander far Rin.”

The girl laughed merrily, “Oh I won’t Sesshoumaru-sama! I am just going to find some wood for Master Jaken so he does not have to carry as much.”

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at Rin but made no move to stop her. He did not smell any danger in their immediate vicinity. All the lesser yokai would have cleared out once they sensed his presence, and he sensed nothing larger than a squirrel. Not that he cared for the fate of the hapless child, but it would not please him if she came to harm. This line of thought brought more uncomfortable ones to the forefront of his mind. Instead of pushing them down as he would normally, he sighed and allowed himself to study each one carefully before discarding it.

“I am the free wind.” Those had been the last words she spoke to him. They had been so faint that if he weren’t an inu-yokai he would not have heard them. He knew, though he tried to deny it, that he held those words to his heart. He considered them a promise that somehow she really was free now, and he knew he considered every breeze that brushed his cheeks to be a kiss from her. Not that he cared. He was Sesshoumaru, after all. Yet he had plucked her feather from the air, and he still held it close. He had felt her then, had felt as though she were still there, and then she was gone. No this wouldn’t do at all.

What was truly troubling him was the loss of Tokijin. Not the loss itself, for he had now fully unlocked the powers of his father’s fang, but what had led him to such a rash move in the first place. Why had he, the Lord of the Western Lands, allowed the taunts of an overgrown mud wallower to anger him to the point that he cleaved the unbreakable blade in two? Yet the idiot Moryamoru had insulted her, had tried to soil her memory. How could he, in all honor, have allowed the beast to go unpunished? Sesshoumaru was not comfortable with these thoughts. They implied that he cared about that wind sorceress and that definitely would not do. Sesshoumaru only cared about power, battle, and the kill. He did not care about others. To care would be a weakness and he was not weak.

As though to prove him otherwise, the small girl returned at that moment and placed a wreath of flowers in his hair. ‘I should kill her now for daring to touch my person,’ Sesshoumaru thought idly, though he made no move to do so. Instead he stared at Rin in a way that she considered his way of smiling at her.

“What is the meaning of this Rin,” his voice was stern, Sesshoumaru was not playful.

“You told me you are the King of the Moon, so I thought I would make a circlet for you. Of course, you would look best in silver but I couldn’t find any silver so I thought I could use flowers.” She looked worriedly at the demon, “You are not angry with Rin, are you Sesshoumaru-sama? I can go and find some silver if you would prefer.”

Sesshoumaru allowed his features to relax, “I am not angry, Rin.”

When he made no move to take the flowers from his silver hair, Rin grinned and skipped away to chase the butterflies in the dying sunlight. He was too soft with her, he knew he was. She pleased him though, so he felt no urge to correct her wayward ways or strike her down. She was a child, there was no chance of him repeating his fathers mistakes with her. He pushed his thoughts of Kagura into the locked box where he kept his thoughts for Rin.

“Rin, you stupid girl, what have you done to Lord Sesshoumaru-sama!” The screech of the imp jolted Sesshoumaru from his reverie. “How dare you put common weeds on him, he is much above that!”

“Leave her be, Jaken.”

“Of course, of course, my Lord.” The imp threw himself into the dust at Sesshoumaru’s feet, “Please forgive me ! I meant no harm to the girl, no harm at all!”

“Your apologies are not lighting the fire, Jaken.”

The imps eyes grew wide, and he trembled in the dirt before leaping to his feet, “Oh please forgive me, I will light the fire right away!” The imp scurried off to pick up the wood he had dropped.

Sesshoumaru stood and made his way toward Ah-un. He rifled through the pack bags attached to the dragon’s side. He did not see the smile on Rin’s face as he placed the wreath in one of the bags before lifting out the sack of salted fish he kept for the girl. He would wait and eat when something more palatable was on the menu.

Rin’s smile turned into a grin when she saw the next items he pulled from the sack. “Ooh! Are those plums, Sesshoumaru-sama? Are they for me?”

Sesshoumaru handed one to her. “Of course, Rin. “

Rin looked thoughtful for a moment, before running back into the woods. Sesshoumaru looked after her puzzled before he shrugged. He would know when she returned why she had run off. He handed the provisions to Jaken to prepare. He allowed the imp’s ingratiating words to roll of his back while he peered into the woods, waiting for her.

He didn’t have long to wait. She returned with some large pieces of cedar bark. He watched as she took the fish Jaken had prepared and carefully arranged it on three pieces of wood with the plums taking up a place of honor in the center. She carefully poured the hot tea into Sesshoumaru’s cup, before filling Jaken’s then her own. He sighed inwardly, he did not much care for salted fish, but if he didn’t eat than the girl may cry. A flimsy excuse, Rin never cried.

“If it would please his Lordship, this humble servant would like to know if we are still in search of the hanyou, Naraku?”

Sesshoumaru chewed thoughtfully. He made no move to answer the imp. He could feel Naraku’s presence faintly to the South. Yet Inuyasha’s group was to the East and that was the direction he had been heading. He did not really know why, but he felt the need to speak with the strange miko that traveled with his half brother. He needed to ask her if she felt anything when Kagura had died. Had she felt the same promise on the wind that he had?

“Where are we going, Sesshoumaru-sama?” Rin said brightly.

The imp jumped up, “How dare you ask his Lordship questions! You impertinent, stupid girl!”

“But you just asked him a question!”

Sesshoumaru cut into the building argument, “I am going to pay my half brother a visit.”

Rin peered up at Sesshoumaru, “Promise you won’t try and kill him, Sesshoumaru-sama.”

He made no answer, only stared at the girl. She smiled and launched herself at him, wrapping her small arms around his neck while he sat there like a statue. “Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama!”