Chapter Text
Lord Sesshomaru’s realization, the realization that was something was amiss, or at the very least shifting within him, came on a day where he was heeding his promise.
Or rather, honoring his loyalty, as he liked to think of it instead.
It was one of those days where he visited Rin.
And as always, he immediately noticed the changes to her. She had grown again, since the last time he saw her. And she had stopped wearing the ribbon in her hair.
Although he once thought that to be such an integral part to her image, Sesshomaru now found that she was even more radiant, with her hair blowing freely in the wind.
It was a pleasant sight. But then again, she had always been pleasing to the eyes.
He didn’t mind admitting it.
Rin was a sweet girl, with an even sweeter countenance.
She had a radiant smile, one that had softened him right from the beginning, he now realized, and she had warm, trusting eyes – without deceit, nor even a trace of malevolence.
It was simply a fact that his keen eyes had picked up on long ago, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
But now, years after their initial encounter, he also realized that with age, Rin grew even finer – sweeter, one could even say.
Once again, it did not particularly affect him.
Or at least, Sesshomaru thought so.
He stood with his back to them – Jaken, Rin and the dragon A-Un, as they sat upon the grass and exchanged pleasantries and shared some food that Rin had brought for the occasion.
He had already greeted Rin and gave her the gift he had gone through great lengths to purchase. Actually Jaken did, but that was not the point.
The point was that Sesshomaru didn’t find it necessary to impose himself further on her.
Even if he didn’t join them on the grass, and just quietly stood beside the group with his back turned to them, he still listened intently to whatever Rin said.
He soaked up every detail.
In the back of his mind he wondered, should he perhaps get her some sort of head dress next?
Perhaps a comb or a piece of jewelry that would suit her new look – make her even more exquisite.
Surely there was something he could find that even satisfied his own exacting standards.
“Now, Rin, don’t cut yourself!” he heard Jaken caution behind him.
“Why would I cut myself, Master Jaken?” she shot back immediately. “My hands are not as clumsy as yours.”
Sesshomaru’s lips twitched.
He liked the sharpness of Rin’s wit and her words. It didn’t suit her to be timid and shy. Sesshomaru wanted her to be outspoken and bold – free and without restraint.
His ears picked up the sound of something being sliced and Sesshomaru threw a quick glance back to see that Rin had cut into an apple, with a small blade that she brought with her.
“I wanna show you something special, Master Jaken,” she announced cheerfully.
Sesshomaru heard more careful cutting into the supple flesh of the apple.
“There you go!”
He threw another inconspicuous glance towards them, and saw that Rin had not just cut slices, but rather a shape into it. It held the shape of a star. Somewhat.
He heard Jaken grumble again.
“Who taught you how to play with food like that?”
But Rin was undeterred by his reprimand.
“Inuyasha-sama did.”
Sesshomaru’s ears twitched irritably at the mention of his half-brother, and Jaken let out the scoff that his master wanted to as well.
“Of course, that half-wit would do something stupid like that…”
“Hey, don’t call him stupid!” Rin protested.
“Well, actually, Inuyasha-sama doesn’t do it with apples. He can carve wood, and he doesn’t even need a knife for that, he just does it with his claws,” she continued nonchalantly.
“What a useless skill,” Jaken commented, sounding unimpressed.
“Maybe….,” Rin mumbled. “But I think it’s fun. He often gifts me little figures that he carved, because I told him that I like to collect them. I think they’re cute.”
Sesshomaru did not comment on their inconsequential chatter, but he listened intently.
Something unpleasant welled up in him when he imagined Rin’s collection of little wooden toy figures that his own dismal half-brother carved specifically for her.
It was barely noticeable at first, but the longer he thought about it, the more it bothered him.
It was like an unpleasant tickling in the back of his throat, much as though he had breathed in something foul that needed to be coughed out.
Sesshomaru refrained from doing so, even though his throat grew tighter and more irritated the longer their conversation went on.
“You’ll need more practice then,” Jaken said, not aware of his master’s silent suffering. “Look at this mess you made; the juices are everywhere.”
“It’s not that easy with this dull knife, Master Jaken!” she argued again. “It’s not my fault I’m not as good as Inuyasha-sama. He has really sharp claws, it’s much easier to cut anything with them.”
Sesshomaru wanted to roll his eyes.
His own claws were much more precise, more magnificent and more vicious than those of his half-wit half-brother. If he wanted to, he couldn’t just carve an apple, or a piece of wood, but a whole tree for Rin.
If only he wanted to…
The unpleasant prickling in his throat didn’t abate and Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes.
Was there something in the air perhaps that irritated his senses?
Although he didn’t want to, Sesshomaru had to clear his throat once, to get rid of the nasty sensation.
His companions quickly took note of it.
“I believe Lord Sesshomaru might be annoyed at us because we mentioned Inuyasha-sama,” Rin whispered to Jaken.
“You were the one who started it, Rin!” his retainer shot back at her.
Sesshomaru fixed his warning glare on Jaken, and the imp wisely chose to divert the topic.
The mention of his half-brother was soon forgotten as Jaken and Rin continued to bicker about the next best thing, and although the unpleasant feeling in his throat finally diminished, Sesshomaru’s mind still lingered on it.
It truly must’ve been something in the air. There was no other reason why he suddenly felt so irritated.
Surely, there wasn’t.
While he continued to listen to their chatter, Sesshomaru turned his thoughts towards Rin’s next gift again.
He scrapped the idea of getting her a headband, or a piece of jewelry for her hair – that was for another time.
Sesshomaru decided that next time, he’d get her a new and sharper knife instead.