Edit: Thanks for the feature!
Ooh boy this was late. Oops. This part was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be.
Anywhozit, here’s part three of Two if you haven’t already.)
Part Three
~Protector~
Sesshomaru watched Rin carefully. He wanted the young woman to stay with him. “Rin, it is almost nightfall,” he said, searching for her reaction. “Do you wish to find a human village to spend the night in?”
“No. I’ve spent enough time with humans,” Rin smiled, looking down. “Besides, most humans wouldn’t welcome you and Jaken, and I don’t want to be with anyone who would try to stop me from being with you.”
Sesshomaru felt a strange satisfaction at the girl’s desire to stay with him. “Very well. We will stop for the night at the next area with adequate shelter.”
“Don’t worry about that, it’s a nice night. I don’t need shelter.”
Sesshomaru watched Rin as they kept walking. She always seemed so happy. He didn’t want to see her anything else. Rin was precious to him. As much as the prospect annoyed him, he couldn’t deny it.
As the sun began to set, Sesshomaru tracked down a small stream for Rin to fish in and draw water from.
“We’ll stop here,” Sesshomaru said when they came across a field next to a shallow portion of the stream. “You should find something to eat.”
“Already on it,” Rin said, wading into the shallow water.
“Jaken,” he said without taking his gaze away from Rin. “Start a fire for her.”
“Y-yes m’lord!” Jaken stammered, running off into the trees.
Rin was faster catching fish, than Jaken was collecting firewood. When Rin was nearly ready to cook her fish, Sesshomaru used his light whip to cut off a branch from a nearby tree and pull it over to where Rin had said the fire should be. Jaken had left his staff here, presumably to have both arms free to carry firewood. Sesshomaru picked it up and started the fire.
“Thanks,” Rin said, skewering two pieces of fish on a pointed stick and holding it over the fire. “Can you hold this so I can get more ready?”
Sesshomaru took the stick from her. “How do I tell when it’s done?”
“I’ll let you know. It takes a little while to cook, I’ll probably have the rest of it cooking before that one’s done.”
“Hm.” Sesshomaru watched her finish preparing the strips of fish. She was very proficient at the task.
“Okay,” Rin said, holding the fourth and final stick over the fire. “I think that first one’s about done.”
Sesshomaru handed her the stick in question, trading for the new one so she could eat.
“Lord Sesshomaru! I’ve found fire... wood...” Jaken trailed off as he approached. “Eh-oh, I see you’ve already started a fire...”
“It’s okay, Jaken. We can use yours when this starts to run out,” Rin smiled at the little imp and held out a piece of fish. “Do you want some?”
“Sure! Thank you Rin,” Jaken said, sitting down and taking a bite. “Hnng, it’s good.”
“Lord Sesshomaru, do you want to try any?”
“No,” Sesshomaru said after a moment.
“Okay,” Rin said happily. “More for us than!”
After she finished eating, Rin set up her sleeping mat. Even though it had been years since they’d traveled together, the whole process felt strangely familiar. It would definitely slow their progress towards whatever Tenseiga was pulling him to, but having Rin with him was a worthwhile trade.
The night was cool, but Rin didn’t look uncomfortable as she slept, so Sesshomaru left it alone for the time being. He’d noticed several poisonous scents from Rin’s pack, which suited someone training under a demon slayer. Sesshomaru had a certain respect for Sango’s kind. They were worthy opponents. Sesshomaru had also grown rather fond of the young slayer Kohaku.
Still. He didn’t know how skilled Rin was. They would need to understand each other’s abilities. Sesshomaru knew he would do anything to protect Rin.
He absentmindedly pulled a small cord out from the spot behind his armor. Sesshomaru had recently been in battle with a somewhat troublesome young demon, and had, although no one would ever hear of it, landed heavily on his face during the fight. The impact had partially dislodged one of his fangs, and he’d kept it after pulling it free. The fang now sat as a bead on the short black cord, meant to be a necklace for Rin. The power in his fang should be enough to offer somewhat of a barrier against demonic poisons, and if necessary, could likely become an effective weapon.
His gaze shifted to the sleeping woman, and back to the fang in his palm. He considered waking her to give her the necklace while he was thinking of it, but he knew humans needed much more rest than he did.
“Eh, Lord Sesshomaru, what is that you’re holding?” Jaken interrupted his thoughts.
He looked up at the little demon. “It is my fang.”
“Why are you holding it? What’s that it’s on?”
“This is meant to be a necklace. It is a gift for Rin, my fang can help protect her if she’s in danger.”
“I see. Will-“
“Quiet.” Sesshomaru stood. He could sense the presence of several demons nearby. Tucking away the would-be necklace, he knelt next to Rin, and considered what to do next. The presence seemed weak. Rin likely wouldn’t be in any danger from them if he stayed near her...
Perhaps now was the time to see how competent Rin was in battle.
At his waist, Tenseiga shook insistently. He’d begun to ignore the sword, but it pulled him toward the west. Away from the demonic aura Sesshomaru could sense approaching.
~Oh boy, these parts keep getting longer and longer.
I’ll tell you what, if you made it through this whole thing so far comment the letter ‘L’ before you vote for what should happen next. I’ll give you a letter at the end of each part, and the first person to guess the message wins a free edit/simple drawing/short story/poem.
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