Title: Finding the Right One
Summary: Little Rin is growing up. (Note: Not Sess/Rin pairing)
Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor
Finding the Right One
He could smell it. The scent assaulted his nose with a sharp sting, burying itself deep in his nostrils. Blood. It was different, though, somehow this blood was different. That didn't stop him, though, from worrying about it.
Sesshomaru knew who the blood belonged to, he just couldn't figure out how she had managed to become wounded under his careful guard.
The dark headed little girl walked shyly up to her lord, fear lighting her eyes.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked softly, stopping a few feet in front of him.
"Rin," he said just as softly.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I'm bleeding," the girl almost whined.
"Tell me where," the Taiyoukai said quickly, kneeling down in front of her, concern edging his voice.
The girl sheepishly pointed to between her legs.
Sesshomaru's eyes enlarged to mirror a saucer. She is growing up, a little voice in his head told him. He could handle wounds of the body. If her leg had been broken, he would have gently set and splinted it. Had she scraped her arm, he would have torn off a piece of his kimono and wrapped it until he could find a more suitable bandage. If she was being attacked, he would have slain the offending party without a second thought and hugged her small frame close to his larger one for safety. But this, this was something he could not handle. The great Lord of the West knew nothing of feminine matters.
But there is one who does, he thought quietly. Standing, Sesshomaru looked down at the young girl he considered to be his daughter. "Rin, remain here with Jaken and Ah-Un. I will return. Jaken!" he barked when the little green imp was nowhere to be found. He heard a scurrying in the brush behind him and turned.
"Milord called for me?" the little imp asked, bowing to where his pointed and bulging face scraped the ground.
In his short temper, Sesshomaru was in no mood for his retainer's groveling. He planted a boot in the demon's neck and growled in a low tone, "Remain with Rin. If she is hurt, it will be your life." He pushed a little harder for emphasis with his last words.
"Y-ye-yes, Milord!!" the green youkai cried. "Your loyal and humble servant will make sure nothing happens to the girl!"
The Lord of the West promptly removed his booted foot and turned on his heel, running into the woods in a hurry.
"Rin!" Jaken squawked. "Get on Ah-Un and stay put!"
"Yes, Master Jaken," Rin sniffled.
&&&&&
Sesshomaru scented the air, barely catching the faintest hint of the young woman's scent. It was a long distance away though. Even with all his speed it would probably take him the remainder of the day to find her. That was too long of a time to leave the girl alone with his worthless retainer and the two headed dragon. A demon might smell her blood and think of a meal...or other things.
As his mind began to wonder down the rabbit trails his overactive imagination created, his body began to shift even as he ran. His fangs elongated and his eyes became a malevolent ruby. His skin, clothes and hair turned into masses of white fur as his arms became legs and his legs became longer. His face elongated into a muzzle as the rest of his body finished its transformation into an enormous dog.
This was the form he truly relished. To be thought of as human or even human looking was an insult to Sesshomaru but he withstood it nearly every day, ignoring those who ran their loose lips and gossiped.
It was in this body that he had the greater speed. His legs were longer, covering more ground in a single stride. This way, he could reach her quicker and bring help back to Rin faster.
&&&&&&
Kagome was fuming. "Inuyasha!" she yelled. "What is your problem now?!"
The hanyou flattened his ears against his head and looked submissive. "I was just wondering what was in your backpack," he whined, holding a cardboard box with "Tampax" written on it in his hand. "What are these?" he asked, shoving them out towards her.
"None of your damn business!" Kagome replied, mortified beyond belief. "SIT!!"
Inuyasha sat.
The priestess took a deep breath and walked over to the large hole, deftly snatching her...personal items...out of the clawed hands of the half demon.
"Never go through my stuff again. Do you understand?" she whispered darkly.
Inuyasha gulped.
The ground began to shake underneath their feet.
"What? What the--?" Kagome blurted as she spread her legs in an attempt to keep her feet.
All at once, the shaking stopped and Kagome turned around to find Sesshomaru approaching her in his humanoid form, very quickly.
She dropped her 'package' into her bag and closed it up, slinging it over her shoulders.
"Sesshomaru, is everything alright?" the priestess asked in a concerned voice.
"Miko, come with me," he said, eyes flashing red.
"Okay, where are we going?"
"Nowhere!!" Inuyasha yelled, lunging out of his whole with the Tessaiga drawn.
"Sit!!"
Inuyasha sat, again.
"Rin," was all Sesshomaru said before he shifted forms once more.
Kagome could only guess what was wrong with the child as Sesshomaru lowered his massive head and seized her backpack in his jaws, depositing her on his back.
A few hours of near dead silence later, Sesshomaru deposited Kagome onto the ground before returning to his humanoid form.
"Kagome-chan! Sesshomaru-sama!" the little girl cried in glee, leaping off the beast's back and running to them.
"Rin-chan, are you alright?" Kagome asked, concern in her voice.
The little girl shook her head. "I'm bleeding," she said quietly, pointing to the area between her legs.
The futuristic priestess smiled softly. "Everything will be alright, Rin. Come with me," she took the little girl's hand and began to lead her to a nearby river. "Sesshomaru," she called over her shoulder. "Don't let Jaken look and don't look either. We'll be back shortly."
The Taiyoukai was caught with indecision. Should he stay or should he go? The priestess told him to stay, that meant that everything was alright. Still...
"Sesshomaru, if you come, I will find some sort of subjugation device and use it on you until Kingdom Come," she warned in a dark tone.
Sesshomaru gulped. It would probably be best if he stayed here.
&&&&
Kagome lead Rin to a nearby stream, disrobing them both and leading the little girl to a quiet spot in the water. She instructed the child to clean herself as she told her about a woman's body.
Minutes later, the two young women left the stream. Kagome gave Rin a new 'undergarment', much to the delight of the child.
"Kagome-chan, are you going to stay here?" she asked, innocence in her voice and hope in her eyes.
Kagome sighed. I don't think I should leave her. She is still pretty young and I highly doubt Sesshomaru knows about the female body. Smiling, the young woman slipped her hand into the child's. "We will have to see what Sesshomaru thinks, Rin."
"Hai," Rin said.
When they returned to the campsite, Sesshomaru became visibly relieved. It was obvious that he was worried; a well worn path had emerged in the grass.
"Sesshomaru-sama, Kagome-chan gave me some new clothes!" she exclaimed, beginning to lift her orange checkered yukata.
"Rin!" Kagome and Sesshomaru said at the same time. They looked at eachother in amazement before Kagome continued with a small smile. "Rin, I don't think that Lord Sesshomaru wants to see your new 'clothing'."
"Hai. Sesshomaru-sama, can Kagome-chan stay with us? Please?" she begged.
The stoic Lord of the West looked to the young priestess. "Do you wish to stay, priestess?" he asked.
"I will stay, on one condition," she smirked.
"Oh? What is that condition?" Sesshomaru replied.
Oh, you're just going to love this one. "You must call be by my name or I will leave, with or without your help. And by the way, my name is Kagome, Ka Go Me," she smiled.
Kami. "Very well then, Kagome," he said slowly, trying out the name, "you may stay."
"One more thing, Sesshomaru. I will need to return to the well every few weeks or so to restock on my 'supplies' for Rin and myself. Right now, I have everything I need in my backpack but I do run out, it's not as if my bag is magic or anything," she said with a wink.
"Very well then. When will you need to return again?" the Taiyoukai asked, his voice slow and obvious patience thickened it.
"Probably in about three weeks. Well, wait...what about my friends?" she asked. She would hate for them to think she had abondoned them.
"I will let them know of your...departure," Sesshomaru replied.
"Thanks," Kagome smiled. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship...or something more, she thought as a furious blush stole across her cheeks.
&&&&
A/N: Hey, tell me what ya'll think! I thought it was cute.