InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In His Father's Footsteps ❯ Chapter 3

In His Father's Footsteps

Part 3

InuYasha Fanfiction

By Kittyonnails

She was beautiful, veiled only in the steamy mist rising from the heated water of the spring where he was soaking. He watched, keeping the emotion from his face as she slipped elegantly into the still water. Her hair spread out around her like a dark aura, shown only in reflection. There was something different about her tonight, he could just barely sense it over the rapid beating of his own heart.

Sesshomaru had to admit that his human companion had become a ravishingly beautiful woman. Still, she was a human and he could not see himself seeking out a human woman. Had he not known from his father's experiences that it were possible, he would not have even considered it. He did consider it though, and despite consistently denying himself his rights with her so many times, he was considering it again.

Rin's dark eyes poured straight into his as she slowly tread the steaming water. He cheeks were flushed from the heat and the water shimmered over her shapely form, barely concealing it. She inhaled a breath of the steam and he watched in fascination as the mist curled in between her lips. Then she held still, drawing his eyes to meet hers by her own force of will, her lips came together momentarily in the small curve of a smile.

"My lord, I know your heart is troubled." Her voice was humble, as if she knew how out of place her words were, but could not contain them. Unable to feel angry at her trespass, Sesshomaru did not interrupt her.

"I want to remind you that Rin is yours: mind, body, soul, and heart." It was ridiculous, didn't the girl know that he would take her if he so desired? Her words echoed in his mind as he watched her, keeping his face still. She seemed content to have said her piece. It was more of a pleading than anything, since he needed no permission from her. The knowledge burned in him, and suddenly he did not care if she were human or youkai. His eyes drank in her beauty and his body burned with desire.

"Rin." he called to her, sliding through the water and pinning her against the rocks, pressing his lips against hers in a possessive kiss. She melted into him instantly. Nothing had felt so right in a very long time.

Rin, even after so many long months he could not forget her for even a moment. He was near enough now, but the run from his mansion to the hut where his half-brother protected his mate had taken a full day even at his speed. He stopped, close enough to see the village, but far enough away that only his half-brother had a chance of spotting him. He was not concerned with Inuyasha right now, Sesshomaru was looking for signs that his mother had beaten him here. All seemed safe though, and he hopped out of the treetops.

He scented her immediately and strode down the path directly towards the hut. Really it was just that, a single room, with only screens for privacy and an open hearth in the center. It was over the hearth that Rin sat, stirring the coals of the fire, coaxing more heat from them to cook the soup hanging above. She did not notice him. A small child did though. The little girl was immediately recognizable as his own niece. She threw a rock at him and ran around the other side of the hut, calling for her mother. He watched her with only the mildest interest and then stepped into the hut.

Rin glanced up from her work and her face filled with surprise, followed by fear. He did not come any closer, held in place by her fear. She had never feared him before, even as a small and helpless child she had brazenly followed him everywhere and asked questions she should have been punished for. Always, he had indulged her as best he knew how. Even more confusing than her unusual behavior, was her suddenly normal behavior. She was carrying his child, how could she fear him?

"Sesshomaru." His half-brother's human mate stood at the opposite doorway, sandwiching Rin between them. Behind her knees, the little girl he had seen peeked at him. "Why are you here?"

He looked from the odd woman and child to Rin. Her condition was obvious despite he best efforts at binding her stomach. There was no way that they didn't know it was his child inside her.

"Rin." he called to her, ignoring the other woman. "You must come with me. You are no longer safe here." As he watched Rin nervously consider his words, he heard Inuyasha's woman whisper to her child, "go get your daddy."

Rin watched her master and lover carefully. She had spent most of her short life studying him and had thought she had judged him correctly, but now there was something definitely wrong. Unfortunately, she was unable to discern if that meant that she had misjudged him and he was not here to harm her or their child-to-be, or if it meant the opposite. It suddenly seemed possible that he might be angry that she left him. He was as unreadable as ever, but strangely there was emotion on his face. It was such an unfamiliar sight that she was sure it meant trouble. After all, anger was the only emotion Sesshomaru ever showed.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I'm so sorry for any trouble I've caused you." Rin bowed as low as her stomach would allow, deciding to take the offensive. She had never been in a trouble he would not allow her to apologize out of, perhaps it would work here as well.

" Rin, come with me." He took a step towards her and she sensed no danger from him. Briefly, she wondered if she would she would be able to. She stood up and held her hand out to him, hesitant but willing. She had never known him to harm her, and he didn't seem entirely threatening. Seeing her lord after so long reminded Rin of how much she loved him. Leaving him had been the toughest decision she had ever made, and now that he had come to collect her she couldn't help but follow him.

"Rin, No! Just wait a second, Inuyasha will be here soon, then we can all talk about this. Sesshomaru, Please don't just take her away like this!" Kagome pleaded from the other side of the room. Sesshomaru was clearly uninterested in her begging, but her words caught on Rin's heart. She turned away from her lover to look back at the woman who had been her best friend all this time. Clearly, Kagome was afraid for her. Rin hesitated, she wanted to go to her friend and assuage her fears, explain to her that she had simply misjudged him and that things were going to be back to normal now. She was sure that Kagome would have trouble understanding that, and that Inuyasha would have even more trouble. Her friends had been most unwilling to accept her love for Sesshomaru, even as they accepted her and his child graciously. The last thing she wanted to do was hang around long enough for Inuyasha and Sesshomaru to begin fighting. Her eyes began to tear, the whole situation was her fault. Clearly, she had overreacted and now she was going to hurt the only people who had ever treated her as kindly as Sesshomaru. The tears broke free and slid down her face one after another as she looked at the anxiety on her friend's face.

"I'm sorry Kagome." She said, turning away and hooking her arms around Sesshomaru's arm. It felt so comforting to touch him again. She was such a jumble of emotions right now, she hoped he would take her straight home. She rubbed her tear streaked cheek against the soft silk of his sleeve as they walked out of the hut together. He seemed to relax slightly under her touch. She wondered what that odd expression he had worn earlier had meant.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome ran to meet him as he leapt up to the hut with Chiyo in one arm. He was frowning already and she knew that Chiyo had told him about Sesshomaru.

"Where is that bastard?" He growled, handing Chiyo to her mother and sniffing the air.

"She went with him. He just told her to go with him and she did. What can we do about that Inuyasha?" Kagome was lost. After leaving everything she had known to be safe from him, Rin had walked right over to Sesshomaru like he was there to rescue her.

"She what?!" Inuyasha looked at her in disbelief. "Why?"

"She just did, all she said was 'I'm sorry' and walked away arm in arm with Sesshomaru." Kagome hugged her daughter close to her as the child squirmed.

"Goddamn her! Well, we can't protect her from that, so I guess it's up to her now." Kagome nodded. She didn't want to admit it, but Inuyasha was right. It was Rin's decision. If she chose to go back to him, there wasn't a lot that she and Inuyasha could do. That didn't mean she was happy about it though. Her eyes began to fill with tears at the thought of what Sesshomaru might do to her. Kagome freed Chiyo from her embrace and hugged Inuyasha instead.

"I just hope she's ok, and the baby too. It's all fine as long as they're ok." She sobbed into his shoulder.

"Why are we here? Lord Sesshomaru, I thought we were going home." Rin stared at the cave curiously. Surely he didn't think that this was a suitable place for her to be living in her condition. The last thing Rin wanted to do was complain, but she really had expected to go back to the mansion and couldn't understand why there hadn't gone straight there.

"It's not safe at that place right now. That is why I had to take you from where you were. It was not safe for you to be with Inuyasha and his family." She frowned at him slightly. It made no sense, even Sesshomaru knew that Inuyasha was capable of protecting her quite well. Especially compared to her usual bodyguard, Jakken. There was something more than simple concern here, he must be certain of some specific threat to her, or to Inuyasha.

"Maybe Lord Sesshomaru would like to tell me what has happened while I was away?"

He looked at her, and for once she was sure what he was thinking. He was wondering if he should tell her what had happened. Rin was almost certain it has something to do with their child-to-be. She decided the best way to coax him would be not to ask again. Instead she reached for his hand.

"I want to show you something." She smiled slightly, holding his hand to the bulge of her stomach and resting it beside her naval. "Can you feel the baby?" She asked, feeling the movements of the child inside her.

Sesshomaru nodded slightly before withdrawing his hand. He watched the curiosity in her eyes, knowing that he must tell her so much. It was all quite overwhelming, the dread of what might happen if his mother found them, the elation at being reunited with Rin, the concern over her condition and what the time apart had put between them. For reasons he did not understand, he always felt that he should tell her more. This time his mind and heart were in agreement, but still he was having a difficult time finding words.

"My father." He began, watching her as she listened. "Died in the arms of his human lover, Inuyasha's mother. My mother never left her apartments after that, and never saw anyone else. I tried to console her, but I reminded her too much of father. She only told me what was expected, including killing him for being what he was. I want you to know that I have not killed him for simply being born, and I will not be killing my own child either. My mother has demanded that. It is because of her that I had to take you from that place. She now knows that I will not do as she asks, and she will do it herself."

"Your mother?" Rin whispered, wondering at all he had told her. The whole story was more than she had ever known of her lover's history. That he had told her all this was an intimacy deeper than the physical. She longed to touch him, but knew that would be too much. Instead, Rin hugged herself and nodded at him.

"I understand. Thank you for protecting me." She smiled at him. He smiled back at her, a small smile.

"I will always protect you , Rin."

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A/N:

Hope you like this so far, It took me a long time to write this one, and I'm not entirely happy with it.

Also please note that those who have no ability to interpret things loosely should probably skip the lyric-poem. Thanks for reading!

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Y ou hadn't seen your father in such a long time

He died in the arms of his lover how dare he

Your mother never left the house

She never married anyone else you took it upon yourself to console her

You reminded her so much of your father

So you were banished and you wonder why you're so hypersensitive

And why you can't trust anyone but us

But then how can I begin to forgive her so many years under bridges with dirty water

She was foolish and selfish and cowardly if you ask me

I didn't know where to begin in all of my 50 odd years

I have been silently suffering and adapting perpetuating and enduring

Who are you younger generation to tell me that I have unresolved problems

Not many examples of fruits of this type of excruciating labour

How can you just throw words around like grieve and heal and mourn

I feel fine we may not have been born as awake as you were

It was much harder in those days we had paper routes uphill both ways

We went from school to a job to a wife to instant parenthood

I walked into his office I felt so self-conscious on the couch

He was sitting down across from me he was writing down his hypothesis I don't know

I've got a loving supportive wife who doesn't' know how involved she should get

You say his interjecting was him just calling me on my shit?

Just the other day my sweet daughter I was driving past 203 I walked up the stairs in my mind's eye

I remember how they would creak loudly

She was only responsive with a drink he was only responsive with a photo

I was only trying to be the best big brother I could

I've walked sometimes confused sometimes ready to crack open wide

Sometimes indignant sometimes raw

Can you imagine I pay him 75 dollars an hour sometimes

It feels like highway robbery

And sometimes it's just peanuts

I wish it could last a couple hours more

So here we are both battling similar demons (not coincidentally)

You see in getting beyond knowing it solely intellectually you're not relinquishing your majesty

Your are wise and you are warm and you are courageous you are big

And I love you more now than I ever have in my whole life

-The Couch, Alanis Morissette (Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie)