CLAIMING KIN by Salome and Talon

Oooh look! Art! Kini and Kin (commission by Mistiqarts): http://fav.me/d2yrw4i

Welcoming Rin: Formalities

By Salome and Talon

Rin has rarely eaten so well in her young life. After a long bath at the hands of a kind servant named Yumi, she was given rice and fish and fruit in abundance by another servant of high status named Jaken (whose big yellow eyes did really pop when she was brought to him!), then she had a little tour of Lord Sesshoumaru's wing of the castle by the kindest servant of all named Kini. She was dressed in clean garments and was brought before little master and big master (as she now thinks of them) and told she would sleep in actual room with the masters! Something was mentioned of a cage, but she was too nervous and excited to listen well. She is brought before her masters, and she immediately comes to her knees and bows low, hands on the soft fur rug beneath her. Then the nice Kini servant leaves and she hears the big door close.

Sesshoumaru observes the girlchild before him. There are matters he would discuss before she sleeps. He has told Kin not to interfere, that she will be his but they both belong, in their very different ways but both absolutely, to Lord Sesshoumaru. She has been thoroughly bathed and groomed, and her human stench is far less displeasing than it was in the marketplace. Before she bowed, he noted her eyes are bright with a primitive intelligence; it is clear she has lived through more than her years would usually indicate in a human. "Girl," he says without emotion, "your lord and master must know all the ways in which you have been used in your young life. The servants have said you have been obedient yet not spoken since we left you with them this morning. I trust your fear has kept you mute. But even if you are afraid, you will need to answer your master’s questions. Do you understand?”

He stays parked by Onii's leg obediently. He wants to do more, but Onii made it very clear that he is to do as he was bid, and he obeys, even as he watches the girl interestedly. She smells lots better now...and even looks better.

She nods over her hands on the floor.

“You will answer, and with respect, slave,” he says, voice still calm.

She presses her face to the floor and holds very still. If she raises her head and touches her throat to signal her muteness, she will seem to be disrespectful to big master. If she nods again, he may think her disobedient. This is not the first time she has felt trapped by her silence, but this time she so wants to be obedient, to be understood, to be safe.

He whines softly, looking up at Onii. He doesn't think she CAN answer...but he doesn't say anything. He knows Onii won't hurt her...but...he clings to his leg nonetheless.

Sesshoumaru hears but does not react to Kin’s small sound. “Slave,” he repeats, his voice just touching the edge of anger. He remains in his enormous armchair but bends forward to raise her face with a sharp clawtip. He feels his boy holding his leg tightly. Foolish child, if the girl obeys, all will be well.

She shakes a little, feeling the tiny pain of the claw in her chin as her face is tipped up. She keeps her eyes down as the servant Kini told her to do. She puts a hand to her throat, wrapping it softly to signal that she cannot speak. Please understand, she silently begs.

Kin whines again, his eyes wide at her hand on her throat, and he looks up at Onii. He wants to ask. He wants to ask BAD. His ears flat to his head and he whines again, softly.

“Be still, Kin,” says Sesshoumaru quietly, without malice. He withdraws his touch and sits back. “Very well. Girl, I would have you answer some questions before your master decides what is best to do with you. I will ask and you may signal ‘yes’ by nodding your head and ‘no’ by shaking it. After each ‘answer,’ you will press your hands together to signify your submission to deference your honored master. Do you understand?”

Rin's heart races as she nods quickly and vigorously, then presses her hands together and touches her forehead to them. She hopes her gesture pleases. Her eyes remain downcast as she awaits his questioning.

Kin stills and goes quiet, sucking his finger into his mouth as he watches, his other arm wrapped around Onii's leg. So, she couldn't talk? He was almost sure at first she hadn't been disobeying.

“Have you always been mute, slave?”

She shakes her head, then makes the gesture of obeisance. The question brings to the edges of her mind the cause of her dumbness; she pushes it away. Why should the big master care about that?

“Are you mute because you have been injured and are unable to speak?”

Again she shakes her head, then brings her palms together. Perhaps it would be better to lie. In past, those who learned that she was not incapable of sound had sometimes decided to try to force it from her—in the form of screams of pain. Instead, she simply opened her mouth and the pain came out in a silent, twisting gape.

He clutches Onii's leg tighter...at least that meant she hadn't been hurt...right? Not hurt so she couldn't talk...

Sesshoumaru takes in her scent: fear, almost panic, and he feels certain it is not his questioning alone that is bringing her to this state. He tries a page from what he has learned in his relationship with Kin: easing a child’s mind often opens it. “When you were young, I bet you chattered endlessly about trivialities, like flowers and clouds. You probably even sang,” he says, with a distaste that is not entirely feigned.

Kin smiles at the thought. Singing...singing is pretty. And the smell of her is flowers and the faint smell of smoke...

Rin pauses at this. It is not truly a question, and certainly not what she expected. She frowns. Did she sing? Ever? She cannot remember it, though she does have a sudden memory of the little glade at the edge of her village, white with blooming snow willow. How she had loved the perfect beauty of the tiny, dazzling flower-clusters! She nods, smiling, and almost forgets to bring her hands together after. She does remember running back to her mother with a handful of blossoms. Though she was busy working the field, she had taken the time to smile down upon her child and ruffle her hair. How good it had felt.

Kin LOVES flowers!! They are not too strongly scented like the perfumes some women wear...and outside when they blow in the wind it makes him feel...entirely happy. He wriggles with the remembering and smiles up at his Onii.

“Perhaps then, girl, my child and I can get you to ‘sing’ for us someday.” He strokes Kin’s hair but does not move his eyes from the girl. “Slave, I assume it was trauma that stole your voice. And Kin and I would understand the details. Were you beaten?”

She nods, hands still pressed together, eyes squeezed tight against the memory. She wants to think about now, not then. About how clean she feels, and relieved. It is so good to feel full and warm. The plain garments she wears fit her surprisingly well, and she has eaten -- gods, she has eaten! Plain food but plenty of it. The little master wanted to stay and feed and watch her, but big master sent a guard to summon him back after Jaken-sama affixed a new, small, white leather collar to her. The little master liked it very much. It is a collar, and she would prefer not to be a slave nor reminded of it...but it is indeed lovely craftsmanship and Jaken snapped that she should be proud to wear it, that Lord Sesshoumaru owns no other slavegirls. She gathered from his tone that Sesshoumaru did not like little girls...perhaps not any girls at all, but perhaps she misunderstood. Still, she felt so happy to be safe and warm and fed, and then to get such a restful night's sleep...though the Lord's questions make her feel that “safe” may not be what she is right now.

Kin sucks his finger harder to remind himself to be quiet, and not interfere. He wants to...he wants to ask and smell and watch and touch...but everything must be as Onii says. His ears rise back up though, and it makes him happy to see that she is not hungry and clean and the nasty slave collar is gone, and replaced by a much prettier one.

“Only beaten?” he asks, wondering if the child will understand the implications, or if he will need to spell it out.

She nods, then touches her head to her clasped hands.

He wants to be clear: “Do you understand what I am asking, child?”

She nods again, firmly. She wishes she could tell him, tell someone: Oh, the wolf youkai tried to do terrible things to her. They talked about it as they circled and stalked her, their cousins in true wolf form snarling behind them, saying they would shove things so deeply into her body they would come out her mouth…so many disgusting, impossible things. And she had stood, holding out the little knife she had long before stolen, used primarily to pry open nuts and kill the occasional rodent for food. They had caught and beaten her, horribly, viciously, but their leader had come and called them away before they could keep the gruesome promises they had made. As she passed out, the last image she saw was the glint in the leader’s smiling lupine eyes. She would never forget it.

Kin's nose wrinkles and he tugs Onii's pant leg. She smells scared...scared and...something else he can't name.

He looks down at Kin, unhappy but unsurprised to be disturbed by the impatient child. “What is it, Kin? You know Onii does not wish to be disturbed while he assesses the slave, do you not?”

He opens his mouth, then closes it unhappily and puts his finger back in and nods.

“Well?” he says, impatient now. “If you would interrupt me with your tugging, then speak. And quickly.”

"She smells scared...an' something else I can't tell," he whispers quickly, putting his finger--followed by a second one--back in his mouth.

“Yes, child, Onii smells her fear. But she will calm when she realizes she will not be beaten…or worse here. Not unless she is disobedient enough to earn her master’s disfavor.” He strokes Kin’s hair and looks at the little slavegirl again. “I do not think she will be anything but obedient.” He breathes in her scent more fully. It is complex for a human but there is nothing here that is unknown to his senses. “What do you smell, Kin? Tell Onii.”

He breathes her in again and closes his eyes, leaning into the petting. "Flowers. Smoke...faint, though. Long time ago smoke. Fear...wanting. I don't know..." He looks up at his brother hopefully. "Does Onii know?"

Sesshoumaru inhales again, but he does not pick up anything like smoke, and the only floweriness he grasps is that of the plain soap with which she was washed (he will remember to insist Yumi use the more costly soap to spare his nose in future). He bends down and pulls Kin into his lap. “Onii smells fear, yes, and curiosity and a need to be wanted. But how can Kin smell something that comes from ‘a long time ago’?”

He blinks. "Kin just does. She smelled like flowers and smoke at the slave market, under the dirty yuck."

Rin listens to the talking between the two in astonishment. Big master—has the power, but little master holds his attention so easily…and he knows, somehow, of her past. She remains still, forehead to fingertips, until spoken to.

It is good his Kin belongs to him. Unusual youkai traits such as scenting the past could make him dangerous if he had ambition. Sesshoumaru lets the child remain in his lap and returns his attention to the girl. “Slave, does the smell of smoke, deep enough to reach beneath your skin, have significance to you?”

He curls up against Onii contentedly now, ’cause he's where he belongs.

She nods.

“Fire?” Sesshoumaru asks.

She nods again.

He sees no visible scars, smells no burned skin—either recently or distantly obtained. “It did not wound you, but it did harm others?”

She nods slowly, and her eyes well with tears.

He slips his thumb in his mouth this time and sucks hard. Her sadness is BIG. He doesn't turn away from the slavegirl, but moko-sama wraps around him.

Sesshoumaru smells the salt before he sees the little round droplets run down the outside of her hands. “Did you cause the fire?”

The little head shakes no.

“Did it take the lives of others?”

A small nod.

“Your parents?”

Another nod.

Kin whines, his ears going flat again. His mother and father are alive...AND he has Onii. That isn't fair.

“Is it this that earned you the label of ‘witch’ and caused you to have to flee your village?”

The nod continues.

He pets moko with his free hand even as he trembles. It is good he picked her, then. It is good for her to be here and to belong here. For Kin and Oniisama.

Because Kin trembles and he needs both his boy and the slave to hear it, he speaks. “If you did not cause the fire, then it was wrong of the villagers to blame you. I sense nothing of a ‘witch’ about you, human. And since the auctioneer said you had been found hiding in the woods, it is clear that despite your harsh treatment and obvious beatings, you have survived. I commend you for your strength, little slave. And my pet and I will keep you. Know this, girl: the wrongs of your past will not be revisited here, nor will you have to prove your ability to survive against all odds. But you will be ours and, like Kin, you will be trained for our purposes.”

She nods, quivers. The big master offers such generous reassurance, and yet he also demands her captivity. She has no control over that. But, she confesses to herself, she will sleep well each night, knowing she is safely protected by so powerful a big master and so caring a little master.

Kin wriggles in Onii's lap and smiles. "We'll take care of you. Onii takes good care of Kin...and Kin will take good care of you...and Onii will too. And...and yes!!"

The child’s outburst is interrupted by a knock at the door. Sesshoumaru commands “Enter,” and a bowing sycophant whose name he could know but does not tells him that a fight has broken out among the guards and his father wishes him to handle it. The servant is overly apologetic in word and manner and the sight and sound turns Sesshoumaru’s sensitive stomach. “Very well,” he barks, and waves the servant away with a command to fetch Jaken to attend Kin. Then, he turns to his boy, whose eyes are still on the bowing slavegirl. “Kin, it grows late. Show Rin to her cage, then you may read to yourself until you are sleepy. I have summoned Jaken to watch over you, and I will be back as soon as I can settle this ridiculous matter.” He turns and strides from the room, his fur trailing reluctantly behind.

The guards at his door are properly at attention, and he commands them to stay that way—entirely alert—and to allow Jaken but no one else inside until he returns. His boy must be kept safe, perfectly safe, or there will be a heavy price to pay. He need not say "heads will roll" for the guards to understand his meaning.

"Yes, Oniisama!!" Kin chirrups happily as Onii leaves, and he climbs down from the chair where Onii had placed him. "Sometimes Onii has to leave like that," he explains. "It's okay, he's not angry at you or me."

She nods, unsure whether she needs to hold the position or not. She decides to opt for not moving.

He squats beside her and pats her hair gently. "You ken get up now. Okay? Onii said I need to put you to bed. Are you thirsty? You gotta pee?" Jaken will come soon, but Rin is Kin’s ‘sponsibility like Kin is Jaken-sama’s ‘sponsibility. So he’ll take care of Rin but he’s relieved to know Jaken is on his way all the same.

She tries not to flinch at the contact. She knows the little master will not hurt her…but she is unused to being touched, except roughly. She sits back on her heels, keeping her eyes lowered, then letting them flicker up to the boy's. His eyes are so friendly. She wants to look more but dares not. He might tell Lord Sesshoumaru, in all innocence, that she has done so. And she is still afraid of Lord Sesshoumaru. She thinks. No, she is not thirsty. And she does not have to go…but what of the cage? Is it cold and dark? Will she be locked in? She nods vigorously, blocking the awfulness of being locked in a cage by thinking of thirst.

Jaken hurries along the corridors, not wishing the puppy to be alone any longer than necessary. Who knows what could happen with Kin-san and the new girl-slave with no one to oversee Kin-san’s safety! But when he arrives, impatiently gesturing to the guards to open the doors for him, he watches Kin-san take the slave’s hand to lead her across the room. He observes, but does not yet interfere.

"Okay." He takes her hand and stands up, tugging her gently. "C'mon." He leads her over to his table and climbs up onto the chair and carefully pours her a drink from his water pitcher. He doesn't know how it keeps the water cool, but it does. His cup is wood, lined with very thin jade, and the wood is carved with frolicking puppies. "Drink," he says, smiling and handing her the cup.

She is pulled along, then presented with a cup worth more than all the coins she has ever seen in her life. She is not thirsty, but she sips. The water is so good and clean, like sweet, cool stream water she has tasted and cherished. Peeking over the edge of the cup, she sees the strange little green youkai, Jaken, watching them. He has not been cruel to her, and big master summoned him. So all is well, right? She hands back the cup, eyes down, and waits.

Kin drinks the rest of the water, and then climbs back down. "Only a little thirsty, huh. That's okay." He takes her hand again and leads her towards the smaller door, to the room with the chamber pots before he sees Jaken. He bounces on his toes and points him out to Rin as though Rin had not seen him in the kitchens. “Jaken-sama is here to make sure no one can come in to hurt Kin or Kin’s slave now.”

Rin nods, showing understanding, and presses her hands together to show gratitude. So much protection. It feels frightening but good, too.

Kin resumes tugging her towards the back room, as though he had never paused. Onii doesn't like having a pot for peeing IN his room, though there is one for Rin's cage. "You'll have your own, you know, 'cause of your cage. But mostly we use this room. Sometimes I pee out the window." He giggles. "But only when Onii says I may. Go ahead."

She takes in the strange little room and the pots and the words he says in such a rush. She will have a pot in her…cage. That is good, at least. This is a room with big clay and china pots and she can use one now. Crouch over it, perhaps? It is all so new, and the little master seems so at ease with this life. And pees out the window, too! She cannot help but smile at that. She walks slowly over to a pot and squats. She blushes, as unused to staring eyes as to indoor pots to pee in. It is hard to let go. She tries.

He pets her head gently. "Don' try so hard...you'll hurt yourself. You gotta relax. It'll come, okay?"

He means well. She can feel it in every bone in her tired body. But he absolutely does not understand that she needs privacy now. She risks bowing her head and putting her hand up gently across her eyes.

He cocks his head to one side. "Are you okay? What's the matter?" Having never had privacy before in his life, he does not understand the innate need for it in this situation.

She’s got to go now but just…can’t. Not with him watching and hovering like that. She scrunches her face in worry and just has to risk the punishment. She reaches out a finger and points out of the room, then nods her head for emphasis. Please let him understand!

He frowns. "You want me to go? Why? I have to stay with you...or..." He scratches his head, and sniffs. She smells distressed. "Can't you go?"

She is certain the panic she feels must be on her face. She shakes her head and, just as she does so, she can’t hold it anymore and she gushes a torrent she did not even know she had inside her. It goes into the pot and next to the pot and…oh…she is going to be in so much trouble! She turns beet red and her breathing comes fast and hard and she thinks she might pass out. But she forces herself up and her kimono down and starts to look for something to clean with. She pauses to look at the child and presses her hands together and bows quickly. There are towels, but she doesn’t know what is ok to use and what will get her into even more trouble.

"Oops!!! Kin is sorry...it is hard...because you can't talk. Here...stand here." He tugs her gently. "It's okay, I miss all the time. Okay?" He licks her cheek and smiles. "The towels are for cleaning you...do you need to wipe? Sometimes I get it all over my legs and belly."

She looks down, nods. Her cheek is wet and slightly sticky now. She does not dare wipe it away. She smiles at how sweet the little master is. Maybe it’ll be ok?

He grabs a towel and hands it to her, and shows her the basket where it goes when she is done. "Leave the mess...someone else cleans it up. Onii doesn't let me clean up when I miss."

She wants to clean it. Wants not to be blamed when big master finds the mess, wants not to have Kin blamed either. But she must trust the boy. She dips the towel down and wipes, then puts it gently in the basket he points out. She’d like to have a towel like that to keep; it is so soft and clean. She could sleep on it or hold it at night in her…cage. She shudders, then goes back to the boy and waits for him to tell her what to do next.

He takes her hand and leads her back to their rooms, and shows her: "This is the bed. Me and Onii sleep there. When I first came to belong to Onii, I slept at the foot. Now I sleep in his arms. And Onii's favorite chair...it is Kin's, too. And my box with some toys in it..." He pauses and rummages around until he finds what he is looking for. It is a very basic cloth doll, with a face and hands and legs and arms...and pointed ears on the top of its head. He snuffles it, then nods in satisfaction. He holds it out to her. "This is for you."

Jaken remains on the small chair where he has taken up residence, watching Kin-san . He opts to not voice an opinion about the puppy’s generosity, wishing instead to see how the little slave reacts to the child’s gesture. Kin-san clearly means to take responsibility for the girl-slave, but Jaken wonders how long his dedication will last. Children could be so fickle about pets after all.

She blinks, tries hard not to take a step backwards. She cannot take the child’s toy. Certainly, Lord Sesshoumaru will think she has stolen it from Kin and anyway why would he want to give her the precious toy and could she really have something of her own when she was going to live in a cage and…she holds out her hands before she knows what she is going and hopes he will put it in them so it will be real and she’ll have the beautiful doll with ears like the boy who is offering it to her.

He steps closer and carefully puts it in her hands. "Please. I want you to have it. To keep it with you. It's okay. It is mine, and Onii said I might." He had not said exactly that...but Kin knew he would not truly mind. He might ask those kinds of questions, but Kin wants his slave to have something that belongs to him...something that is...like him and that has his scent on it.

She takes the doll and brings it close to look at. She had a doll once…it burned with her home. She presses it to her chest with one hand, and takes the other and presses her fingertips to her lips, then turns them outward and holds them before the boy’s lips. She will not touch him, but he will understand she is thanking him. She hopes he will, anyway. The doll is warm and smells loved.

He smiles and gently takes her hand and presses the tips to his lips, then licks them. "It is for you to keep, forever if you want." He smiles happily. "Sometimes Onii lets me chose gifts for Mother. She misses me, because I do not live with her anymore. I belong to Onii. But Onii understands I love Mother, so he allows me to do small things for her, even visit her once. I know he will allow me to get you gifts, too." He wriggles. "I can't wait. I hope...I hope you like belonging to me. To Onii. I belong to Onii, every part of me. So, of course, you do, too. Before we got you...Onii had talked about getting Kin a little slave to have. That is why the cage was already ready. The first one was too small, and Kin did NOT like it. When you get bigger, so will the cage. I hope you like it..." He hesitates. "I know...you probably won't like being in a cage...but...it is for your protection, too. Like my harness shows everyone I belong to Onii...am not a slave but am a pet. But you are a slave...but the cage is a way to show everyone that you belong to Onii...and are not to be treated commonly or poorly."

The little master licks a lot, she thinks. She has never been licked before. It makes her fingertips tingle, like it did her cheek. It is…nice, somehow. Kind. She nods at his words, slowly, confused but accepting the reality the boy presents so calmly as if to make it not strange or frightening. What he says is not of the world as she has known it: “I belong to Onii, every part of me” and “I hope you like belonging to me.” Such words: yes, she is a slave. This is real. Unavoidable. But the boy…he is so nice. She wishes she could say his name and "little master" aloud. She wonders what they will call her. She cannot say her name, nor can she write it. Not that they would allow her to write even if she could. She looks down at the little master's toys and things and sees brushes and pages with childish scrawl on them, pictures too. One of them… Wait. What are they doing in that picture?! She turns her eyes away and back to the boy with a blush. She scans the room more fully without turning her head overmuch. Where is this cage she will live in? She hugs the doll tight, more glad than she can say that she has it to hold as she contemplates how she will spend the night…and all nights.

He sees her glance at the parchments and ink and smiles. "Kin draws and practices his characters. Before, Kin did not have lessons, because Kin is hanyou, and unfavored by Our Lord Father. But Papa gave me to Onii, and Onii decided Kin should learn to read and write." He wrinkles his nose. "It is hard. Kin is better at reading than writing." He fetches a clean sheet and a brush and ink and squats down. "Here...I know you can't read. You are too little, but I will show you anyway." He pokes his tongue out in concentration and makes his name. "This is Kin's name. This...is Oniisama's name...Sesshoumaru. This is Kin's other name...Inuyasha." He looks up at her. "I wish you could tell me your name. Kin does not wish to give you a name that is not yours."

Hanyou. The word is not unknown to her. It means he is part demon and part human, a little like being a “witch.” She kneels beside him and looks at the scribbles he makes. His name is “Kin,” yes. The name is so much like hers. But also “Inuyasha.” He is Inu, definitely. He has those furry puppy ears… She fingers the doll’s little dog ears, realizes it must have been made just for the puppy. Perhaps to make him feel…not so different? She has never seen anyone else with furry ears like that, all white and soft and fuzzy and pink inside. They must feel nice to touch. She smiles at his writing. Big master has done much for his little brother. Perhaps it will not be so bad to be his. Even if she will be his slave and not his “pet,” as he calls the boy. But how shall she tell him her name? It is hers, even if she was teased for her silly sounding name that means nothing. Kin's name means gold.

She has a nice smile. He likes that. He hopes she will like the feelings of touching and tasting and fucking. "Maybe you will be able to tell me your name sometime. Somehow. Okay. Onii said I was to put you to bed." He grins. "I made your bed...well...picked it out and stuff...c'mon." He leads her over to the cage. It is tall and broad and long and has a chamberpot attached at the outside with an opening that he had tested himself. In the corner was a large pile of thick pillows and cushions with blankets and furs--all very cozy--and very liberally scented of Kin. There were shelves to keep things like water, and one part of the cage was decorated with a silken hanging of puppies and children romping in a field. "There will be more, but so far...this is good. It is not too big or too small, and I can stand up straight in it without hitting my head." He goes inside, to show her. "I will get you more things to make it comfy, too. And you will have clothes and stuff. See? Come inside with me. Please?"

Ah, the cage, Jaken thinks. He will be certain to hear of his Lord’s displeasure when Lord Sesshoumaru discovers he, Jaken had clearly over-indulged the child in the decoration.

She sees immediately that the “cage” is nicer than anywhere she has ever lived. Yes, it has bars, but it also has lovely places to sit and lie and things to look at and it looks so very safe. Comfy, as Kin says. She stops him by touching his arm gently as he steps inside. She wants him to turn and face her.

He turns, his ears flicking in surprise. "Yes?" He cocks his head to one side.

She points to the boy and mouths the word “Kin.” She points to herself and outlines the name “Rin” with her lips. She so wants him to know her, to like her, to become real here.

The tip of his tongue pokes out and he wrinkles his forehead thoughtfully. "Do it again. I know you're trying to tell me something..." His sharp teeth chew his lip. "Hey...I bet you can breathe real hard, right?" He demonstrates, huffing, and making sound with his breath but not his noisemaker.

She nods, smiles. What a wonderful idea! She “huffs” her name at him. If only he’d see how similar “Kin” and “Rin” are, wouldn’t it help? She does what he asks and puffs Rin at him again.

His ears flick and twitch, and he grins. He asks her to do it once more...and he claps his hands. "I think I get it...I think you're saying...Rin? Right? Because you know my name is Kin...right? Right? I can HEAR it. Right?"

She nods vigorously, points at herself, smiles hugely. She opens her arms to hug him, the doll still in her left fist—it’s been so long since someone has actually said her name out loud! Then she realizes what she’s doing and pulls back, lowers her eyes, and nods still. She wishes she could ask him to say it again, and again. She is Rin. Yes.

He laughs, happily. "Rin!!! Your name is Rin!! It is almost like Kin!!!" He's disappointed when she lowers her eyes, and pulls back, but he pulls her into the cage and into a hug, wriggling happily. "Now Kin knows what to call you!!" He licks her cheek again. "Okay. Okay...Kin must calm down. Onii said Kin is to put Rin to bed." He ducks out of the cage and comes back with a sleeping gown. "So...Rin must undress and put this on."

The hug is brief, but so warm and sweet. And his tongue, again, on her face. Oh, she likes this boy so much. She hopes he will like her always, too. She loves how he says her name. Like it means something, like she is a good girl, a nice girl worth knowing, not a witch or a filthy slave. Slave, still, but a nice slave. A slave who deserves a doll and cushions and safety, and even something special to sleep in. She takes the garment he holds out, wondering why she must change from one clean kimono into another. But she will not disobey. Whatever the boy who calls her by her name and licks her wishes. Anything to make him smile and like her and want to be near her. She feels shy and blushes…but she will obey. She turns away and goes into the corner of the cage, unties the simple obi and slips the kimono off, then, with clumsy fingers, tries to put on the new garment. It falls to the floor and she scrambles for it, flushed from head to toe with embarrassment. What must the little master think of her? She stays turned away, but he will see her scars from the wolves and other beatings and accidents in the woods and… Oh, if she could only get the garment back in her hands and on herself!

He patters over to her, and picks up the gown. "Let Kin help. Rin has many scars. Worse than Kin's scars. But Rin is strong, Kin can see." He gathers up the gown like Yumi does when she dresses him after a bath, and carefully slips it over her head. "My bathing servant Yumi—she bathed you too—she showed me the trick, because Kin's claws WILL get caught on cloth," he says ruefully. "Now you find the sleeves, see?"

She does not turn around—she can't!—but she lets him help her and soon she figures out the strange garment with its head-hole to put on from the top down. He is kind to call her “strong.” She is, too. But even better than this praise is that he does not make fun of the way she looks. And he does not even seem to mind that she is naked, and scarred. Once her arms are through she does turn back to him. And she bends immediately to pick up the doll and hold it close. She keeps her head down and lets him look her over. She hopes he likes what he sees.

He smiles and tugs the gown down. He knows he must wait for Onii to have more. But...he wants to touch and taste her all over. He is curious. He has never tasted a human girl before, and it has been a long time since his sisters. He takes her hand again and leads her to the bed. "This is where you will sleep. It is time to lie down. Kin will stay near. I know! Kin will read to you!!! But first you must lie down and let Kin cover you up." He is bossy in the way only a small child can be, but not maliciously. He is happy to take care of his slave...his Rin.

She would laugh that someone so small is acting like a parent, but she cannot mind. It is so unfamiliar, so long-ago—but never, really. And it is so sweet. She nods and obeys and lies down on the soft bed, the doll still tight in her hand. Oh, it is so comfortable. She yawns big, and quickly tries to cover it with a hand as she knows is the polite thing to do. She watches the little master lift the covers and place them over her, and when his hand comes close to her face she leans forward and kisses it gently. She hopes he will like this. It is the only gift she can think of.

He makes a happy grunting noise at the kiss on the hand, and he pets her now clean and soft hair. He leans down and kisses her cheek. "I'll sit beside the cage and read you one of my favorite stories, okay? And you'll go to sleep. I'll have to think of a way you can get mine or Onii's attention if you need it, since you can't call out. I'll ask Onii. Now go to sleep." He pats her gently and pads out of the cage, closing it and latching it behind him, then fetches a scroll and sits beside the bed on the outside of the cage and begins to read.

She sits up a little, takes the cup from the little water shelf, and taps it against the cage. It makes a little clanging sound. She nods, looks at the little master with a questioning gaze, and hopes he likes this idea.

He grins. "That is a very good idea!! Now...lay back down, and I'll start the story. It's the story of the very first inu youkai, so listen carefully." She obeys, and he reads, stumbling over words now and again, but he knows the story very well, and his reading has improved so much in the past couple of years. She falls asleep, but he doesn't notice because he nods off too, curled up beside the cage, snoring softly.

Jaken watches the drama unfold, bit by bit, storing the information away so he may make a proper report to his Lord. He sees no real point at which he need interfere; Kin in his eagerness to care for his new slave has likely forgotten his presence entirely. That is fine with the Lord’s retainer. He does not mind merely watching. It is much harder to entertain Kin when Lord Sesshoumaru must be away for undisclosed amounts of time, after all.

He does think perhaps he ought not let Kin sleep on the floor that way, but he is hardly big enough to move the puppy, grown as he is now. When Kin first came to live with his Lord, he had been able to lift and carry him because the child had been much smaller and lighter then. Has he grown so very much? Jaken sighs and moves closer to the cage where he can watch the two children sleep more closely and await his Lord’s return.