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An Emotional Inquiry ---

A child's curiosity was endless. Sesshoumaru knew this to be true because he carried with him the company of a six-year-old girl that asked questions faster than she knew he would answer.

Every morning something new seemed to plague her mind, and she would grow tired of Jaken's negativity in favor of her Lord's silence.

There were, of course, times of exception such as the questions that seemed to unnerve his immoral being. Questions about happiness and joy that was always beyond his reach. Not that he enjoyed answering those questions, but they had a higher chance of bothering him. And as many victims knew, an unhappy Sesshoumaru was an even more dangerous one.

Skipping on large rocks in the shallow part of the river, Rin's mind seemed to be effectively occupied. Jaken sat nearby, dozing with his back against a tall tree. Hours ago Sesshoumaru had instructed the two to wait with Aun until his return.

Standing silently, feet away from his sleeping servant, Sesshoumaru wondered how long it had been since the last time Jaken's head had been bashed in with a rock. The human had been left unguarded in the wild again.

Turning his eyes to the girl, he watched her splash in the water. She seemed to be playing a game only she was familiar with, amusing herself all the same. And then she looked up suddenly.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she yelled happily, running over to the demon lord. She stopped just short of his legs, craning her neck back to look up into his face. "Welcome back!"

At the first call of his master's name, Jaken had sprung to life, standing on his short legs to hobble over to the commotion. He bowed deeply, nearly tipping over in his groggy state.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru drawled. "You have disobeyed me."

"M-my Lord, never!"

"If you think it fit to sleep away your guard then let this Sesshoumaru teach you a lesson not soon forgotten."

The imp's face paled at the connotation.

"Go retrieve wood for the fire. We will stay here tonight."

Running off into the forest, Jaken was quickly pushed out of mind. He would be dealt with accordingly some of other time. Perhaps a stoning, or maybe even the taking of his beloved Staff of Heads-

"Why don't you smile?"

The malicious thoughts of punishment stopped instantly and words that were usually quick to mind escaped like the wind through the trees. The great taiyoukai of the west stood with a blank, albeit curious, look upon his face.

"Rin smiles all the time, and if Jaken wasn't in such a bad mood all the time he might smile too," Rin reasoned out loud. "Are you angry, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

The girl stared up at him with an expectant look on her face.

"No."

"Then you are happy?"

"No."

Rin's mouth opened and then shut and then opened and shut once more. It seemed that she was the one who had been rendered speechless. Sesshoumaru decided that she did not comprehend complete indifference as an emotion anymore than he understood love or sadness.

"Then what are you?" she asked.

"I am a demon," he said calmly, "and you are a human."

"And Rin is happy that you are back," she proclaimed. "Rin smiles for Sesshoumaru-sama!"

As quickly as the inquiry had come, it was gone. And Rin went back to her game, and Sesshoumaru grinned softly to himself.

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a/n: Just a bit that came to me while waiting for class to start. I'm noticing a pattern of question asking going on with my SessRin stories. Maybe I'll break the trend next time around and write something with a little more depth. But still, these little 'what if' questions are fun stuff.

Hope you enjoyed!

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