All Change In Time

♥

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kirara all walked steadily through the dank and lifeless entryway, each of them looking carefully at every step they took. There could very well be booby traps and other sorts of “delightful” surprises waiting for them, but thus far there had been nothing more than an annoying sense of tension. The air was littered with millions of different scents, most of them strong with fear, so Inuyasha soon gave up his snuffing, giving a snort in frustration. There were no branching halls by which they could see, and it appeared they would be walking forever…

But at last, a gentle breath of flame nearly lit Miroku on fire, and he scuttled wearily away from it, his staff held at the ready as he drew his arm back. He had released his sutras for the time being, and suddenly he wished he had indulged his patience long enough to have hold of them still. But once he saw it was merely a torch connecting to a short doorway, he relaxed, glancing at Inuyasha for instructions.

Inuyasha nodded at him, and with his hand back on his sword (it had hardly left it really) he swept past his friend and patted an apprehensive Kirara on the head. He knew the demon cat was conflicted with the absence of her partner, and this indeed was no easy matter. But Kirara managed to calm under his reassuring touch, and Inuyasha smiled bravely at her. However, Miroku could not help but pick at the reflection of sadness in the warrior’s eyes. All three took a deep breath simultaneously, and then Inuyasha reached forward as he had done at the entrance and shoved the door open, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“ Ah! My friends have arrived!”

The trio looked around in confusion, though not without mild recognition, at the address. When their eyes wandered to the center of the room, where the light was focused brighter than it was in the rest of the chamber, they saw their greeter. Naraku had seated himself neatly on a royal throne, the skulls of assorted demons littered about his feet. A spill of crimson curtains had suitably been gathered with a ribbon (that was colored an even darker shade of red) and then placed on either side of his chair. There was nothing more really fancy about it, besides the smirking beast that had placed before them. He had dressed neatly, as though preparing for a formal occasion. Even his greasy hair had been pulled back with a selected black ribbon, and the rich cotton of his shirt was overlaid with a silky, purple vest. His pants were thick and black, but tied up nicely at his waist with a silver chain, and he pulled his knees back as he leaned forward, studying his new prey with a faint smile.

Naraku’s rich costume and home did not fool Inuyasha, and he immediately started the meeting with choice words, mostly consisting of “bastard” and “monster”. Miroku wasn’t backing him up, but hung to the side, clutching his staff tightly to him and looking wildly from corner to corner of the room. He knew that while Inuyasha had a tendency to rattle off, Naraku had even more tendency to set traps while serving as a distraction. But when no one came, and the atmosphere did not shift in any manner, Miroku took quick looks at Naraku, wondering just what he was up to.

Naraku himself merely cupped his chin in his hands and listened (with certain boredom) to Inuyasha’s rants, almost appearing as though he were deaf to the blunt names and accusations. Finally, Inuyasha grew tired, and started at Naraku with all the malice that was to be expected…and then some. The look broke a smile back on the protagonist’s face, and he clapped his hands together daintily, mockingly throwing applause to his offended enemy. “ Well done, Inuyasha! I think you managed to call me by every name possible! And then perhaps you invented a few more.” His smile thickened into a grin, and he lifted his chin a bit, tilting his head to accent to moment. “I can’t remember…I wasn’t really listening.”

This seemed to spark a bit more fight in Inuyasha, but Miroku shook his head, eyes closing in exasperation, and he laid a heavy hand on his comrade’s shoulder. “ Naraku,” he started, the name making his tongue taste like ash, “ where is Kagome?” He knew there would be no chance the creature would just hand her over with a few Band-Aids for the trip, but he asked with an air of politeness and distrust, gazing the demon straight in the eyes for an answer.

Naraku lowered his head now, averting his gaze to the monk, who, as far as he was concerned, was not worthy of being recognized. A well-manicured brow rose on his forehead, pondering what had bee been asked of him. Then he shrugged, looked carefully past the group, and murmured, “I have a task of you, Inuyasha. Do you want this girl back? Desperately I mean?”

Inuyasha’s mouth fell open this time, unable to muster the words to even dignify that question. Amber eyes widened as well, trying to comprehend what Naraku just said. The words fell like dumb punches, striking him in an ill way, but his face finally pinched as he nodded, struggling to keep his obvious loneliness and desperation to a minimum. It wasn’t entirely safe to go blubbering around your most lethal enemy. With his reaction, Naraku folded his hands in his lap, his grin fading back into a simple smile. “ Well then…I have a proposition for you.”

♥

At the very moment in which Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kirara began wandering through the castle…

Sesshomaru watched the young girl’s mouth open to accommodate a cheerful laugh, and he could not help but be smitten by amusement by the earnest gaps where her teeth were missing. The child was not self-conscious, and seemed to have no problems with her physical appearance. He thought idly about how most young girls would be dabbling in their superficial rituals by now, and how the thought of missing teeth and bruises would send them all running under their mother’s skirts. Humans were so…predictable.

A sudden press of fear caught him off guard, and he caught himself covering his mouth, as though he had spoken the words aloud. Conflict handicapped him immediately, as he found disgust for himself by even considering whether or not he hurt the girl’s feelings, and yet he was soothed by seeing her smile brightly at him. She held out a bouquet of flowers, and the vibrant colors made his eyes flex inward with painful quickness when they were put in his face. Instinctively he leaned back, optics narrowing coldly, buen hen her expression fell he paused…watching her.

Rin pulled her hands down in front of her lap, the buttercups sagging with her declined ecstasy. Her large, innocent eyes also fell at his feet, refusing to look him in the face as she had only recently been doing, and she scooted back one step, as though his reaction had physically touched her. Sesshomaru released a tiny sigh, knowing good and well he should comfort the girl, but as his hands left his sides to reach for her, Jaken killed moo mood.

“ You should know better than to stick things in the Lord’s face, Rin!” Jaken hardly reached Rin’s height, but he still shook a finger at her, jabbing her nose a few times to make her pay attention. Rin had been guilty of ignoring the sidekick, and made it clear that although she respected him as a higher command, she did not intend on devoting herself to him. So when he spoke, she only averted her gaze to the side, the hazel deptnchanchanting Sesshomaru for a moment. Finally, he stood, letting on clawed hand fall on his servant’s head and holding it firmly.

“ I can discipline Rin just fine on my own, Jaken. Thank you.”

He didn’t sound thankful at all, but he said the sentence while squeezing the frog’s skull at ‘Thank You’ before releasing him. Jaken, sullen at being made a fool of in front of such a young girl, sulked down the garden pathckincking a stone while he went.

Rin still made no movement, but she flinched when Sesshomaru touched her cheek, her lips pressing tightly together. Sesshomaru had no asked on how she came to such a condition when he acquired her, and he certainly didn’t plan on it now, but his finger brushed the ivory skin gently, smiling as her face began to lighten up. “ Do not be offended of my reactions, Rin. I am an old dog, and I do not learn new tricks easily. It will be quite a while before I am used to being presented with flowers.” Wryly, he smirked, looking up at sky sky. “ After alot mot many of my servants would go out of their way to give me pretty things.”

He glanced down at a tug on his sleeve, and the sparse teeth of Rin glowed at him brightly. She hardly every said a word, and this was another quirk in her personality that bothered (but did not anger) Sesshomaru. She had his attire in one tiny hand, and she struggled to wrap her other around the uneven stems of her flowers while holding it to his face, but this time he did not retreat from the display. His heart filled with a new emotion…and he fell back in thought…trying to think of a name or explanation for it. Coming up with nothing, he carefully gathered the buttercups in his much larger grasp and nodded in praise at his little minion. “ Wonderful! Now I…” he paused again, not sure why he felt compelled to change his grammar, but continued anyway. “ Now we need to go find something to put them in.”

A fitting breeze tousled his silver hair, and its shimmer distracted Rin, but she still nodded, following a certain strand as it wavered in the air. Sesshomaru did not scold her for only paying slight attention, but instead shifted the flowers to his left hand and nervously let his right fall to his side…the fingers open…inviting. Rin looked at theizziizzically, and Sesshomaru gazed in embarrassment to the garden doors before he began to move on, supposing the girl didn’t want to have such contact with him. But just before he stepped away, he felt a warm sliver of flesh slide again his palm, and he looked down to sheepishly grin at the girl, adoring the way she looked down shyly.

Together, they walked hand in hand across the garden path, and Sesshomaru did not feel any regret as his followers watched some even displaying their amazement by letting their jaws gape open. A few crushed their garden tools in their hands, forging deep grudges against the little girl that was already better than them to their master. However, Sesshomaru was not willing to break their little “hand shake” and nodded curtly to signal they were going inside. It was such a wonderful feeling…to love a child.

The emotional memory made a single tear trickle down the side of Sesshomaru’s cheek, and he leaned his face into his twisted shoulder, trying to wipe it away. He could not move his hands anymore, having embellished too far in hisemenement toward Kagome to allow any sort of relief. He had in fact been making his way toward her in order to release her. No matter how deep the crevice between insanity and sanity grew, he remembered her with amazing distinction, and he had been struggling to get her free. And yet…she had been afraid of him. Terrified of his monstrous image.

He was not fully converted to his demon form as Kagome had thought, but he lingered in a fragile balance, one in which he had never experienced before. It was as though he was straining to keep the sophisticated Sesshomaru alive, while the ravenous half ate away at his mind, making him delusional…paranoid. He found the situation funny at some points, and this explained his sinful laughter, but he knew that no one remained to listen to him explain himself now.

The removal of Kagome had further agitated his demon half, making his breathing labor somewhat. He found himself licking his lips profusely, his saliva thickening with the slightest lengthening of his jaw, and he let a soft whimper trail free, unsure of just what to do. Normally, he had full control of his demon form, but in this state of mind, he was uncertain of how he would handle coming along those he had come to rescue. Would he slaughter them in a fit to get at Naraku? He was positive that Naraku would stoop so low as to throw Rin or Kagome in the line of battle just to have a quick second to flee. And flee he would!

So Sesshomaru tightened his mouth, letting the saliva dribble back into his parched throat to try and smother the fire inside by swallowing. A lump formed in his throat, and he thought back on all his times with Rin, and came to a dull conclusion that she meant a lot to him. More than a lot…she meant everything. He was shamed to admit it, and felt like he was a hypocrite for being so harsh concerning his father’s weakness, but he nodded to himself, confirming the truth. Suddenly he did not ache so much…he did not hurt inside (and outside) as badly as just a few moments before.

His eyes shared the same look of peace that he had when he held Rin’s hand for the first time, and he allowed himself to smile a bit. But he knew that he could not just hang out in the prison chambers and wait for Rin to come along a cha chance to tell her. He wanted his daughter with him now…and then he would never let her leave his side. Not again.

Sesshomaru fd bad backwards, trying to pivot his knees so that his weight might tangle the chains cuffing his wrists. They had already been weakened by his struggles for Kagome’s sake, and there was irony in the fact that he had wasted such precious strength for his attempts in freeing a woman who fd hid him. Inwardly he sighed, since his throat was parched and raw.

His tongue curiously dappled his chapped mouth, touching the rips to invoke a heated waver of pain, which made him sit a little bit straighter. His mind was fuzzy…the details of the room gray and unclear. But no matter how deep his dizziness became, Rin was a solid fixation that encouraged him to endure. Slowly, his chest swelled with more and more volume, fetching his aching muscles tiny bits of oxygen to allow to to stand flat on his feet instead of hanging by the length of his arms to the floor. His knees quivering, he finally took a long, slow breath and let his gaze flutter shut…focusing…

Her back was to him…hiding her actions. Her hands worked rapidly, and he felt himself lean over his throne to peek around her shoulders to see just what she was up to. His ears twitched nervously as she giggled and hunched further over her legs, which were stretched out while she sat on her bottom by his feet. Self-conscious about how silly he must look trying to get his gaze around the primitive fortress of the little girl’s body, he snorted and perched his chin on his rolled fist, attempting to be “aloof”.

It was obvious he could not be, as his brows shot up dramatically every time her tiny hand reached out beside her and took a piece of string from a basket of yarn she had somehow compensated from one of his house-keeping servants. He watched the ivory fingers twine to the basket and remove one string at a time, and each in-between moment of reaching she’d do something before grabbing another and repeating the mystery movement.

Her delicate body fascinated him…though he did not know why. Amber eyes observed the way she moved as he pretended not to notice her at all, but his quick glances soon became longer and steadier, until it was quite clear that he was indeed interested in her activity. This silent game went on for more than 30 minutes, with him sitting there patiently all the while.

Rin turned on her butt to face him at last, shyly hiding her work behind her back as she did so. Sesshomaru ca him himself sitting up straighter, trying to be more assertive and intimidating, but the little girl didn’t seem to notice his narrowing stare. Instead, she smiled toothily (well…almost toothily, since she was missing a few) and lifted her head, meeting his hard eyes with her own, thougckincking all sternness and discern. Finally, she moved her hands in front of her, gently lifting a lumpy bundle toward the demon while taking a deep breath of apprehension. It was obvious his approval meant a lot to her.

Sesshomaru tilted his chin down at the misshapen figure held gingerly in her hands, his mouth parting slightly with an intake of breath. It was a doll…of him? Quaintly, he eyed the lack of detail, unimpressed with the craftsmanship she put into the replication. The hair was sparse…and different colors, but mostly dominated by dashes of the silver yawn she had been knotting to the head. It had no clothes, and bits of dead grass stuck out of the seams she had clumsily sewn together using a thin demon bone and some of her own thick hair as thread. But still…he tilted his head and looked at it more closely. It was made from time out of her free day. And it was made just for him.

Quickly, so to avoid hurting her feelings and making her feel as though he didn’t appreciate it, he smiled and nodded in thanks, guiding the doll into his hands. As she clapped and giggled merrily, he cradled it in his grasp, fearful that if he yanked it to harshly, it might rip open right in front of her and invoke terrible nightmares of failure while she slept later that night. He must have looked so ridiculous…holding a little plaything that laughingly meant to portray his image.

He almost let his dignity get in the way of his compassion fon’s n’s emotions, but this was all dashed with the little girl leaned up and boldly planted a kiss on his cheek. His flushed deeply, a color that had never before been placed on his face, and he threw his eyes wide open…dumbfounded. Her lips left an imprint of warmth over the hot embarrassment coloring him and his eyes averted shamefully. “ T’ank you for your approval, Sesshomaru!” He became smitten (though pleasantly) br chr cheerful laughter as she skipped down the throne room and retreated back toward her chambers at the connecting hall.

He placed a hand on the spot where she pecked his face, almost compelled to peel off the tainted flesh with his fingernails and leave a raw bruise where the skin could be fresh and pure…but he did not. Instead, he rolled the doll gently in his free hand and smiled faintly…becoming slowly aware of the ways in which Rin was affecting him. And he supposed was not a bad effect either.

He had to get Rin. A whine bullied its way to the tips of his canines, groaning through the clenched jaws like water through a filter. He placed pain aside, turning memories into fuel, devilishly using his weaknesses for the human girl as addition to his depleted strength.

The shackles binding him gave a high, nervous sound as they started to give, surging his veins with hope and more desire for his freedom. Rock and granite crumbled at the bolts began to twist in their sockets, trying to ease the pressure he was putting on them, but having no success no success as they twisted and rd abd about. Flecks of dungeon ceiling began raining on him, and he grinned somewhat, amused by how much power the tiny girl gave him without even being in the same room. It was the separation…that longing for Rin’s simple joy of living that made his heart tremble with a chaotic surge of nobility.

Sesshomaru’s throat pardoned a final gasp before he was aware of his arms falling listlessly to his sides, the shoulders slumping with little more than a casual shrug. He managed to open his eyes to gaze at them with a small appreciation of their duties before looking behind him where the door to his freedom lay partially ajar. His grin thickened with gusto, understanding now. He would find Rin, save Kagome, kill Naraku, and be the hero. And then…all that would be left would be a tidy happily every after. This was going to be a piece of cake.

At least…he hoped so.

[Writer] >.>;; -reads the last few reviews, claps hands together, and bows for her readers- Many pardons for my friends and their words! -fwthe the two over the head- =^.^= Heh! They mean well, I promise. ^_^ I tried to add a somewhat relaxing chapter for the reviewer who complained there was too much darkness, so I hoped it helped the material of the story. Also! I am well-aware that Sesshomaru has only one arm in the original casting, but I am NOT a fan of that decision so I made him have two =^.^= Tee hee![End Writer]