InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Youkai Forest ❯ 4 ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 4

Several weeks had passed since the incident in the forbidden forest. Rin and Jaken kept up their usual arguments, which usually ended in Jaken being the loser. Several times Rin had almost lost control, but due to Sesshomaru's quick actions, he was able to snap her out of it. Now, Sesshomaru was deeply concerned by Rin's lack of training, so he continued to try and come up with a good training regimen for her that included using minor youkai as prey. But, every time he entered a different region, the lower youkai refused to come out from hiding; almost as if they sensed his intentions. The Western Lord knew that Rin needed to get control of her new powers, and she needed it soon.

Glancing towards the horizon, Sesshomaru noticed that the sun was rising. His instincts told him that that the day would be a warm one. Rin, he noted absently, was sleeping on his back, his tail hiding her from sight while her soft even breaths tickled his neck. Finally, deciding that he would have to use another youkai, Sesshomaru stopped walking and called out, "Jaken!"

"Yes, my Lord!" The toad youkai replied as he ran towards his master and bowed.

"Run into the forest and hide your scent and all signs of your passage. You will be Rin's training partner. You have until mid morning to make yourself scarce," Sesshomaru replied, narrowing his eyes at the toad just in case he dared to refuse.

Jaken shuddered inwardly at the sight of his masters expression and thought, "Why does he do this to me! I'm not a training toy for a human pup that recently turned into a demon!...but if I don't, he'll kill me! " Gulping, he replied," Yes, my Lord.....as you command." With a small bow, Jaken scurried off into the forest muttering quietly to himself all the way while carefully hiding any trace of his passage.

Sliding his tail off of his shoulder, Sesshomaru used it to nudge his charge awake while calling her name, "Rin. It is time to get up now. You have much to learn that this Sesshomaru must teach you to become strong."

Soft whimpers met his ears in mild protest while Rin's eyes fluttered open. Giving a tongue curling yawn that exposed her small fangs, Rin slid down Sesshomaru's back and landed in a sitting position."Mmmmm," Rin murmured, stretching, she blinked her eyes a few times before coming to full wakefulness and replied cheerily, "Good morning Sesshomaru-sama! Rin had a good dream. Rin was chasing Jaken-sama, but a bad youkai came...." Rin growled while she gave an animated description; baring her cute fangs and swiping at the air, demonstrating her dream, she continued, "..and Rin was able to hold against it until Sesshomaru-sama came and killed it!"

Sesshomaru listened to her description with great amusement. The only outward show of his emotions was a small quirk of his lips as he tried not to laugh at her antics. Nodding, he replied, "You did well in your dreams, Rin. But, today is the day that this Sesshomaru begins your training."

Rin smiled at her guardian with great contentment; it was not very often that she received praise from her lord. Excitement took control as her lord informed her that he would be training her to be a real Inuyoukai and Rin sprang to her feet and began racing around him in circles, unable to contain herself any longer, "Yay! Sesshomaru-sama is training Rin! Rin gets to learn to be a demon......" Rin paused in her frantic circling, cocking her head in curiosity, she asked, "What will Rin be learning today, Sesshomaru-sama?"

Rolling his eyes at her antics, Sesshomaru launched into a detailed description of Inuyoukai and their traits. "Pay attention, Rin," he said, and waited as Rin settled herself and stilled, eyes fixed on his visage, before continuing, "The first thing that you must know about Inu's is that we have an excellent sense of smell."

Rin nodded in fascination and chirped, "Yes. Sesshomaru-sama, Rin understands." To demonstrate, she took a few tentative sniffs and wrinkled her nose as an unpleasant odor wafted through the air. Sticking her tongue out, Rin pinched her nose and announced, "Ewwww! Stinky!"

Sesshomaru sniffed the air and recognized the scent as that of a recent battle that had taken place. The scent in particularly, was that of rotting corpses, he was quite used to the smell so he had ignored it. His lips quirked in a small imperceptable smile, while he replied," That is the scent of human death, Rin."

"Oooh. Rin doesn't like that smell," she replied, shaking her head while still pinching her nose. "It makes Rin's tummy feel funny."

"It does tend to be very unpleasant," Sesshomaru concurred, unconsciously wrinkling his nose to show his discomfort. "Now, another Inu trait is our hearing," the Inu lord began to pace in front of Rin while continuing," You may have several special attacks, so I want you to try and concentrate on your hands. Like this...." He lifted his clawed hand and cracked his joints; allowing his youkai to flow into his claws, they began to glow green as his poison dripped from his fingers to strike the ground with a quiet hiss.

Rin cocked her head, watching his demonstration and committing every minor detail to memory. "Let Rin try!" she said excitedly while staring at Sesshomaru for approval. He nodded his head encouragingly and stood there watching.

"Hmmm." Lifting one dainty clawed hand, she concentrated, her tongue sticking out slightly as she stared hard at her claws. Nothing happened for the first few minutes, but after she cracked her joints like Sesshomaru demonstrated, Rin could feel a strange burning sensation in her fingertips. Suddenly, the area around her claws began glowing a deep pink as acid began dripping from them. Startled, Rin gave a small yip as she jerked herself back, losing her balance, she tumbled backwards and landed on her back.

Sesshomaru chuckled at her reaction, he was greatly amused by this as well as pleased that Rin had managed to get it on her first try. "Very good, Rin. Now, since I have given you a few pointers on using your senses, you should have no problem finding Jaken. He is hiding himself in the forest and you will have to find him before sunset."

"Rin understands, Sesshomaru-sama. But, when should Rin start looking for Jaken-sama?" she asked, her tail wagged furiously with excitement.

Sesshomaru snorted when he noticed her obvious lack of control of her tail and sighed,"Rin."

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?" she yipped, while bouncing from foot to foot.

"Stand still and stop wagging your tail," Sesshomaru ordered while eyeing the moving white appendage.

"Why?" Rin questioned, puzzled.

"It is undignified for an Inuyoukai to wag their tail," the western lord said, haughtily.

Crestfallen, Rin sagged unhappily and sniffled, "Oh........is Sesshomaru-sama mad at Rin for wagging her tail?"

Noticing the change in her once flowery scent, Sesshomaru inwardly cringed at his blunder before deciding to correct it, "No. This Sesshomaru is not mad at Rin. This Sesshomaru is teaching you that tail wagging in an Inuyoukai is not proper etiquette. You will learn to act like a lady, but since you are a pup; tail wagging is an involuntary response. You will learn to control it as well."

Rin smiled at his words and replied, "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama. Rin will try not to wag her tail."

Nodding in approval, Sesshomaru motioned with his only hand and replied, "Good. Now use your nose to locate Jaken. I will be following you, but I will not help you find him."

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin chirped happily before sniffing the air for Jaken's scent. Giving a yip in excitement when she caught a subtle scent of swamp water and marsh grasses, Rin dashed off into the forest.

Sesshomaru cursed silently at the level of noise Rin was making as she dashed through the forest. "This Sesshomaru will have to teach Rin that when following prey, she must remember to move silently or she will attract unwanted attention from other youkai." Deciding that enough was enough, Sesshomaru barked, the pitch of the sound ensured that only Inuyoukai would hear it and not any other predators. Several seconds later, Rin appeared out of the bushes, head tilted sideways, with a puzzled expression on her face, "Sesshomaru-sama called for Rin?"

"Hnnn," Sesshomaru answered. "Rin, you were making too much noise and it will attract unwanted attention. There are many youkai that would make an easy meal out of an Inu-pup. This Sesshomaru will protect you, but you must not go too far."

Rin gave a soft whimper in dismay at being chastised and sniffled as tears threatened to spill from her honey gold eyes, "Rin understands, Sesshomaru-sama. Rin promises to be more quiet." She dug her toe in the dirt while glancing upwards, giving him the most dejected expression imaginable. Sesshomaru sighed, he felt a small pang in his heart at the sight of her face, reaching out his clawed hand, he tilted her chin up and replied, "This Sesshomaru is not angry at you. It is just that this Sesshomaru does not want you hurt, Rin."

Rin smiled, banishing all feelings of sadness and grinned as she chirped, "Rin understands now..............Sesshomaru-sama likes Rin!"

Sesshomaru gave a slight start in surprise, blinked and frowned briefly as he realized that she was right, but his pride would not let him admit it, so he replied, "You are not as annoying as Jaken. So, this Sesshomaru thinks that your presence is tolerable." Shaking his head slightly, he said, "Now, go find Jaken, but don't wander to far from this Sesshomaru."

Nodding her head, Rin replied, "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama!" before locating Jaken's scent again and this time, she started walking off in the direction the scent lead her instead of running. Sesshomaru, following closely behind; keeping an eye on her; determined to keep her safe from the many youkai he sensed close by.

AN: It has come to my attention that chapter 4 has some scenes in it that mirrors Tiger Timberwolf's fic called Pup Problems. Rest assured that we have hashed it out and concluded that it does in fact mirror his/hers to a point, but in no way was it being copied from his/her story.

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GreaterBeast-Xellas asked me if Rin was going to learn to transform into a dog?

(Answer: Sort of.--I'm not gonna tell all of it, so you'll have to read and find out.)

Then you suggested that it would be neat if they could both mate in dog form when Rin gets older.

(Answer: Now this really made me blink in surprise!...... Hmmm, I don't think so... since if they mated in dog form it would just be mating and no pleasure involved for the both of them. However, I might use a few doggy characteristics in that area. As for having a lemon later...... I'm thinking about it.)

Thanks for the encouragement to everyone who has reviewed!!! I'm so surprised that I've gotten this many reviews in such a short time...it's great!

Sincerely,

D-Chan