Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Strength	By : djserani Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Sessh?maru/Rin > Sessh?maru/Rin Views: 5963 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
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He waited for her to stow her things with Ah-Uhn before he started walking. He gave her a few minutes to herself as he went back over the meeting in the hut. When he'd walked in, it had truly hit him how much she'd grown. Humans lived such short lives compared to demons, that at first he hadn't noticed how quickly she was changing. Even before he'd brought her to the village, he knew she grew. He remembered having to give her new kimonos because the old one didn't fit her anymore. But knowing it and truly seeing it were two different things.
He'd seen the difference in her curves, in her height, in her eyes. He'd seen the way she'd blushed and realized it for what it was. His Rin was a woman, almost overnight, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.
He wondered, now, why she would choose to go with him. Surely, she would want a family, a normal life? Perhaps he ought to introduce her to some of the noble men in his court. He immediately rejected that idea. None of them were good enough for her. No, that wouldn't do.
She had to know what their life travelling his lands, acquiring more, keeping them safe, would be like? Perhaps she didn't want the same things that most human women wanted. Or, at least, what he knew of them.
He glanced over his shoulder and caught her watching him as she walked behind him, leading Ah-Uhn. He turned back, disturbed by the look in her eye. She had always been so open and honest as a child and that obviously hadn't changed. She'd told him she 'loved' him when she was young, but he chalked that up to her youth. Yet, that same emotion was still in her eyes. It had changed somehow, perhaps matured, but it seemed to still be there.
Disturbed by his thoughts, he tried to focus on the road in front of him. It didn't keep his attention, though, and he went back to thinking about her. She even smelled a bit differently. She smelled of some of those flowers she was always picking. He hadn't seen her pick any up, so he wasn't sure how she smelled of them, but she did. It was pleasant, far from overpowering to his sensitive nose and very much�Rin.
He shoved his thoughts of her to the back of his mind. He glanced at the sun. They would make good distance today, even though night still fell fairly early. If they flew, they could probably arrive sometime late this evening, but he wanted to give her a little more time to get used to being around him again before he brought her into his house. That would take its own adjustment.
He turned back to her again. "Rin."
* * *
She looked up at Sesshomaru again from her musings. "My Lord?"
"Walk next to me."
She gaped at him for a full minute before she managed to close her mouth and catch up to walk on one side of him. She dropped Ah-Uhn's reins, knowing the creature would follow them. She glanced up at Sesshomaru, but as always, he was expressionless. She had no idea what to expect, so she did the only thing she could think of. She kept quiet and simply walked�next to him.
She didn't know what to make of his behavior. First, he had told her she had a choice. Then he'd told her he was taking her to his home and giving her rooms there. He'd touched her and told her not to bow to him and he'd just now told her to walk next to him. She shook her head slightly, not wanting to draw his attention and have him change his mind. She was so confused by the events of the day.
They walked in silence for a long time before they made their way to a clearing and he paused. "We will rest here tonight." Thankfully for her, he sat at the base of a tree and began contemplating the clouds. She had a feeling that if he'd offered to gather wood, she would have fainted.
She gathered the wood, set up the fire and went over to Ah-Uhn to gather a clean kimono and see if she could figure out something to sleep on. There, at the back of the saddle, was a bedroll. She glanced at Sesshomaru, but he was still contemplating the sky. He must have put it there himself. She shook her head and took it over to lay it out next to the fire.
She unstrapped her quiver and bow, set her biwa and staff down and took her swords off. She picked up the staff again and turned to Sesshomaru. "My lord?"
He turned to her. "Yes?"
"I'm going to go clean up. I'll be back in a few minutes." He nodded once and she headed to the stream that was nearby.
She caught herself a couple of fish, gutted and cleaned them and set them aside. She quickly removed her travel clothes and washed herself up the best she could in the still-freezing water. She pulled the clean kimono on quickly, the cold early-spring air biting her skin. She picked everything up and hurried back to the fire so she could warm up.
She speared the fish and set them in the fire, then turned to her bag before remembering she had no herbs with her. She made a face but was too tired from the emotional trip today to worry about it too much. When they were finished cooking, she picked at them, eating as much as she could before throwing the leftovers to Ah-Uhn.
She was tired, but it was still a little early. She thought about waxing her staff, but decided, in the end, to just lie down. Perhaps they would get started early if she slept early. She was excited about seeing his castle. Just as she shifted on her bedroll, however, Sesshomaru spoke again.
"Rin."
Rin began to think this was some kind of record for him. "Yes, my lord?" She sat up and turned to him.
"Play for me."
She stared at him for the briefest of moments before she picked up the biwa case and opened it. Carefully tuning the strings, she began strumming a quiet tune. It was a slow, soft melody that always made her think of him. She closed her eyes as she plucked at the strings, her mind going back to that first time she'd seen him in the small meadow, injured and almost dying.
* * *
He was fairly certain that she had no idea the beautiful picture she made, sitting there. Her hair was loose and falling over one shoulder, the kimono open slightly at the neck and her slender fingers plucking at the strings. Her eyes were closed and he was sure the tune meant something to her, though he couldn't fathom quite what that was.
He wondered again why she would choose to go with him. She had seemed confused by her choice as if the thought to stay had never occurred to her. Yet, he had to have made it clear that she could choose. He was sure he had.
The song ended and she switched to a livelier one and her fingers flew over the strings with a speed that surprised him. She was very good at her music and he wondered how much he missed while she was away. He watched her play this one, a smile on her face. This time she watched her hands, concentrating more on playing.
When the song ended, she paused. "You play well, Rin. Thank you." He looked back up to the stars, never seeing the stunned look and blush cross her cheeks.
* * *
She couldn't sleep. Four years of being away from him and now that she was, she was afraid to miss a minute of time. She tried her best to hide her insomnia and watched him from beneath her lashes. He never moved, as was typical of him. She traced his markings with her eyes and again began to think of what it would be like to run her fingers along those same lines.
A moment later, he was squatting over her. She had to be dreaming; he never got this close. "Rin. We must go."
She blinked a few times, making sure she was really awake. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak and he stood and moved away. She grabbed her travelling clothes and practically ran into the bushes. Taking care of her business quickly was easy. It took a bit more time for her to lace up her pants and right her clothing. When she came back to camp, the fire had been put out and buried and her bedroll fixed to Ah-Uhn's saddle. Her eyes widened briefly, but she didn't want to question things too closely.
She put her sleeping yukata into her bag and began strapping her weapons on. She would need to get faster than this if she was travelling with him. She began considering how she might store dried berries and other things so that she could eat quickly in the mornings and not hold him up.
A few moments later, she hung her biwa on her back and turned to him. "I'm sorry, my lord, I will work at being faster getting ready in the mornings."
"You were fine." He turned from her and, unsure whether or not he wanted her to walk with him or behind him, she followed, Ah-Uhn's reins in her hand.
They didn't get ten feet, however, before he looked over his shoulder at her. She met his eyes and waited for the invitation. He simply raised one eyebrow slightly and she moved up next to him. Their travel that morning was quiet until her stomach growled. She inwardly cursed her human weakness for food. "Do you need to stop?" He said quietly.
She sighed . "I'm sorry. Yes, my lord, I didn't have any breakfast."
He didn't respond at first, he simply found a tree to sit against and made himself comfortable. "Before you go, come sit with me a minute."
She took her staff out of its holster and knelt in front of him and, before she could catch herself, bowed her head. "Rin."
She looked up at him and he was looking at her. She smiled, she couldn't help it. Every time he looked at her like that, like he was really seeing her, she felt it all the way to her toes. After all these years, everything she did was for his approval. "Yes, my lord?"
"I expect you to take care of yourself. If you need to stop, you must tell me. Remember that I do not have the same needs that you do and, as such, you must tell me."
She bowed her head again briefly. "Yes, my lord. I am sorry."
"Why?" He queried.
She tilted her head a bit and considered him. "For being human and requiring much more to sustain me than you do."
He simply looked at her a moment. "Do not apologize for that. It is who you are. You are no good to me if you are weakened by hunger or some other malady. Do you understand?"
She nodded, still somewhat unhappy. "I will return very shortly."
He nodded once and turned his face to the sky.
She moved quickly, gathering what berries and nuts she could find in a short time. She would need to bring some bags with her to gather things ahead of time. She ate quickly and washed her hands of the berry juice before returning to him. "I am done, my lord."
He stood up and started walking. This time, she didn't bother to walk behind him, she simply fell into step next to him. She spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the young spring blooms, the budding trees and the beginnings of movement in the trees as the animals began emerging from their winter hibernation.
A few hours later, the sun was setting again. She turned to him. "My lord?"
He looked down at her. "Yes?"
"I would like to go hunting for my dinner." She was still uncomfortable pointing out her humanity to him, but he seemed almost�pleased.
"Very well." He looked ahead. "There is a clearing ahead. I will wait there."
She blinked at his retreating figure a moment before pulling the bow off her back and nocking an arrow. She crept through the woods silently and carefully. There was very little out and about yet, but she was hoping for a rabbit. She kept her eyes trained for any sign of movement. There! She aimed, pulled back on the string and fired. A few moments later, she was carrying the rabbit and a few herbs with her back to the clearing.
When she got there, she stopped dead in her tracks. There was a fire going. Sesshomaru had found wood and built a fire for her. She looked from the flames to her Lord sitting regally as always at the base of a tree. There was even a spit over it! She shook her head, completely thrown off by his behavior. She wouldn't faint�she wouldn't, but boy did she want to!
She pulled the dagger out of her boot and made quick work of skinning the rabbit to prepare it for the spit. She laid the skin aside to dry it for later and crushed the herbs together with her fingers and rubbed them into the rabbit and stuffed a few into slits in its sides.
She wiped her dagger off in the grass, then scraped the skin carefully so as not to damage it and left it off to the side to dry. She turned to tell Sesshomaru that she was going to clean up and found him watching her. She gasped quietly, but recovered herself quickly. "My Lord." She started to bow, but caught herself.
He merely tilted his head a tiny bit in acknowledgement. "I need to clean my dagger and hands. I'll be back."
She left the clearing much quicker than she wanted to, more than a little surprised to have seen him watching her. By the time she got to the stream, her heart was pounding and she dropped to the ground next to the water. What is going on with him? Am I doing something wrong? This isn't like him!
She quickly washed the blood and such from her dagger and her hands. She laid her arms across her knees and closed her eyes for a minute. She realized the more disturbing part of it was her reaction to seeing him watch her. Of course, he'd be curious how I handled that! He's never seen me hunt before! She continued to scold herself until her heart calmed down and she headed back to camp.
She turned the rabbit and took the skin to lay it out over Ah-Uhn's saddles. She turned back to Sesshomaru. "My lord, will we be staying here tonight?" He turned to her and nodded once before going back to his study of the stars. She was grateful he hadn't said more because she didn't think she could take it right at the moment.
So, she took out her bedroll and laid it out next to the fire. She'd sleep in her travel clothes that night, sans her boots, and then could be ready faster in the morning. Again, she turned the rabbit before heading out into the woods to collect some berries and nuts for breakfast. Unfortunately, there was very little in that area, so she took what she could and decided to keep some of the rabbit for breakfast.
By the time dinner was done and her food put aside for the next morning, she was tired. She hadn't done so much walking in a long time. She laid down, got comfortable and was asleep before her head hit the small pillow.
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