Disclaimer: All but the plot to this particular story rightfully belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
Words: 1,201

Caretaker

(A/N: Sorry I haven't uploaded in a couple of days! I was scheduled to work a lot of overtime unfortunately. However, to reward your patience, here's a longer chapter! Thank you all for reading and reviewing! You mean very much to me.)

Lessons passed within an hour. Rin had fared much better this time around. They talked about the increased need for proper hygiene that accompanied puberty and the many physical ways in which her body would change. Kagome had laughed as Rin had scolded her for lying about the lesson being 'fun'.

"Now we will look for crickets?"

"After lunch."

Rin slouched disappointedly but nodded, and when lunch came, she wasted no time in shoveling the food straight down her throat. Then she waited in anticipation for Kagome to finish her rice. It was as though she was eating one grain at a time. Rin felt restless.

Kagome also felt a growing anxiety at Rin's fixed stare as she ate. It was amusing to see how eager she was. Feeling charitable, she pushed her bowl aside and patted her stomach theatrically. "I'm so full."

Rin got the hint. At once she stood, grabbing Kagome's wrist in one hand and holding her jar in her other. She pulled her outside and almost threw herself into the overgrown grass.

Kagome followed shortly after, laughing and squealing together when they found worms instead of crickets. Rin radiated with determination as she meticulously picked through the grass with a smile on her face. No patch was left unchecked. That smile, however, faded as minute by minute passed with no sight of a single cricket. Fifteen minutes in, Takuma had come outside and offered to help, briefly renewing Rin's hope. She scooted closer to the trees, hoping to have better luck in the shade, but again was met only with more disappointment.

Another ten minutes passed and Kagome noticed the smattering of pink across Rin's cheeks and the sheer coat of tears in her eyes. She frowned. Walking over to the dark-haired inu-youkai, she asked quietly, "Takuma-san, what happened to all the crickets?"

"Hm...there were many only a few days past."

"Well, what do we do if she doesn't find any?"

A voice interrupted them from behind, "Rin."

Rin looked over her shoulder from her spot at the edge of the pond, brows furrowed in frustration.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward. "That is enough. You must go and bathe."

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Kagome whispered vehemently, barely refraining from grabbing his sleeve. "I don't think-"

"It is not important what you think. Rin has been in the sun for too long."

Kagome scoffed. "She's been trying to find crickets for almost an hour and hasn't had a shred of luck. Be more understanding, would you?"

Sesshoumaru faced her dangerously. "Need I remind you that you are her tutor, not her caretaker? If she has not found one by now, she will not find one at all." Turning his attention away from the bristling priestess, he added, "She may try again tomorrow. Her hands are covered in filth."

"But she'll be crushed if you make her give up! She's been looking forward to this for days!"

"The jar will still be there tomorrow, and perhaps the insects will as well."

Kagome crossed her arms and stomped past him. She knelt beside Rin and waded through the grass to her left. Sesshoumaru was being unreasonable. "We can do it, Rin-chan, the world's full of bugs! There's got to be at least one."

Rin peeked up at Kagome's forced smile and tried to return the favor, but failed. She turned away and continued her search, tightening a hand around the rim of the jar.

"Rin," came Sesshoumaru's call again, this time more demanding.

Kagome saw her shoulders stiffen and her head bow in defeat. That was it. Standing abruptly, Kagome marched over to the taiyoukai. "Okay, so maybe you can't love. Fine. But I'm sure you could find it in your heart, if you even have one, to at least care about her feelings. She's twelve!" She flushed with regret at her choice of words, but maintained her stance and composure.

Sesshoumaru's face was suddenly inches away from her own. "You have overstepped your boundaries several times now, miko. I will soon find it difficult to forgive you. You will refrain from making implications about this Sesshoumaru or you will return to your village in pieces."

She was noticeably paler now, but her expression had not wavered. Had he not been so insulted by her insinuation, he would have commended her on her steadfast commitment. He dismissed it though, reminding himself of the many occasions these past couple of days in which her insolence had surfaced. Interesting as she could be, he was growing tired of her behavior. There was no respect.

She searched his eyes for the tiniest moment before turning away walking out to the trees.

Sesshoumaru did not like the feelings she instilled in him- the anger, the frustration, the guilt. He was a proud man, analytical of his decisions, careful with his words, never regretting an action or doubting himself. It was what he contributed much of his power to, this sense of control. And yet the human woman comes into his life and plants these much-avoided seeds of uncertainty.

He looked at Rin's small form hunched over the grass. Her fingers were dirty and her kimono was stained. He could not see her face but he could smell her tears. He could smell her dejection.

He sighed, now thoroughly annoyed. Mostly with Kagome. Sesshoumaru walked into the field behind the pavilion and stepped up to a large assortment of rocks. He eyed the crevices between the boulders, then the areas where they met the ground. He observed every bit of movement- wind, ants, gnats.

From the corner of her eye, Kagome saw a slight jerk in Sesshoumaru's normally fluid motions- so quick, she thought it might have just been her imagination. Turning towards him, she watched him walk over to the disheartened Rin and call out her name once more.

Rin paused, gripping the tall grass tightly in her hands.

Sesshoumaru crouched down. "Rin," he spoke softly this time.

She looked up at him, bottom lip quivering in evident disappointment. As he extended his fisted hand over her jar, Rin's eyes widened and her body tensed.

Kagome watched a tear unknowingly slip from Rin's liquid-brimmed eye as Sesshoumaru dropped a cricket into the container. In an instant, the little girl had thrown her arms around his neck and released a few pent-up sobs into the shoulder of his haori.

Sesshoumaru remained stoic as ever, but allowed it because her tears did not smell of sadness. Only humans could be compelled to cry without an ounce of sorrow, he mused. "Now you must go and bathe, Rin."

Rin pulled away and wiped her face with her sleeve, grinning at him brighter than Kagome could remember ever seeing. The sight admittedly surprised her, and she felt some discomfort and remorse at the things she had said to him a moment ago. There he knelt, tilting his head at Rin's grateful expression and picking a leaf out of her hair. Kagome's arms fell to her sides. A warmth filled her lower belly, traveling up to her sternum, and her mouth twisted unrecognizably as she watched the taiyoukai and his ward. That was so... nice.