Chapter Text
Rin loved the life she had built for herself. At the age of 20, she had no regrets so far, and truly felt like a woman. She had spent the past 10 years living with priestess Kaede in her village, learning as much as she could about everything from herbs to spiritual rituals to slaying demons. Her chosen area of expertise, however, became midwifery. She had spent the last 6 years in focused training on how to safely deliver babies and care for the mother after birth. She had successfully helped her dear friend Sango deliver all 3 of her children, and Kagome’s first daughter, with another now on the way.
Next to Kaede, Rin was the one expectant mothers would go to in the village because they knew she had the gift of life. Every birth she had attended was successful, no matter how bleak it seemed in the beginning. She also learned that she could assist in helping women conceive as well. Sometimes she wondered if she had always possessed this ability, or if being revived from the dead so many times bestowed it upon her.
Rin was very aware of her past, but chose to use it to motivate herself to become useful to those she loved and who worked so hard to protect her. She was especially grateful to her friends in the village, especially Kohaku, who had recently been training her to fight demons. She would often travel long distances to assist with births, and would attract all sorts of awful creatures either trying to eat her or the babies they knew she was about to deliver.
Usually Lord Sesshomaru would accompany her on these journeys and slaughter them before she even noticed, but he had recently told her that he thought it was best if she learned to fight for herself, and requested Kohaku to train her.
“You must be strong without me,” he told her cryptically.
At first, she was devastated. She thought that maybe he was finally done being in her life now that she was established. Sesshomaru had sent her to live with Kaede over 10 years ago, explaining that she needed to be with other humans, but that when she was an adult, she could choose to stay there or return to him. Rin had recently begun to feel impatient. She was an adult now, but he never asked if she wanted to return to their old life. It seemed like he had decided for her, something he was infuriatingly prone to. His visits had begun to gradually decrease over the past several years, and when she questioned him about it, he gave random excuses, seeming defensive.
A part of her had been waiting for him to propose, as there would be no other reason to reunite with him. A man and a woman could not just aimlessly travel about together, even if he was a demon. Sesshomaru’s standoffish behavior had gotten even worse than normal recently. He no longer held her hand when they walked, or stood close to her at all. It felt like he was trying to create as much distance as possible. Rin suspected that maybe he had taken up with a beautiful demoness and felt guilty because he knew he loved him. She could have handled the rejection, but she was growing tired of his shifty behavior.
She knew that he had an on and off relationship with the wind witch Kagura (who she very much admired) but that she had left him for Ayame of the wolf demon tribe a few years ago. Sesshomaru was not upset by this in the slightest, despite Rin’s prodding. He did seem upset that she wasn't jealous of him having the relationship in the first place. In truth, Rin was very jealous, but she had learned an air of detached calm from the master. She knew it made more sense for him to have a demon lover, and being childish about it wouldn’t heal the sense of abandonment that was spreading through her heart.
Despite her penchant for talking too much and being easily excitable, Rin had always been a very practical person. While she was well of marriage age, almost to the point of becoming an old maid, she knew she wasn't ready yet. She understood the mechanics of sex and procreation quite well, but lacked firsthand experience. Rin figured someone as worldly as Sesshomaru would have little patience for a virgin and that's why he had chosen another woman.
Even now, she still partly held on to her childhood fantasy of becoming his wife, but understood that living life on her own terms was more important than chasing a dream. She decided to take a page out of his playbook, and live as she pleased, with the option of him joining her when HE was ready. She giggled at the idea of taking many lovers like she assumed Sesshomaru had.
Rin had begun to come into her own as a woman, with a petite but curvaceous frame and wavy onyx hair that grew to her tailbone and could not be tamed. She had taken to putting a little rouge on her cheeks and lips, and rose scented dusting powder that she made from dried petals on her ivory skin. Sesshomaru had gifted her a ridiculous number of gorgeous silk kimonos over the years that she cherished wearing because she knew it made him happy. She also loved feeling beautiful for her own sake, and certainly didn't mind the attention she received because of it.
Recently, Rin had noticed that both Shippo and Kohaku had grown up to be rather fine young men as well.
“Hmm,” she murmured out loud, pondering the possibilities.
She sat on a tree stump, watching them spar in a clearing in the forest. When Shippo learned that Kohaku would be training Rin, he happily volunteered to help. He had honestly become a pretty lethal warrior, leaving the village for some time with Kohaku to train with Totosai. The tiny fox demon had grown into a very tall, broad shouldered young man with long, shiny auburn hair that he kept neatly wrapped in a pony tail. His well defined biceps were almost impossible to miss.
Rin gasped as he lunged at Kohaku, who floated away from his grasp as lightly as a butterfly. Kohaku had also reaped the physical benefits of Totosai’s training. He maintained his long lanky build, but Rin could see that his whole body was just lean muscle underneath the tightness of his demon slaying suit. He swung his weapon, and grazed the end of Shippo’s ponytail, lopping off a lock of hair. Both men paused, and began laughing hysterically.
“Sorry Rin” they chimed in unison.
“We can't take anything seriously,” cracked Shippo, walking towards her.
Rin laughed as well, although more so because she had missed what was so funny because she had been ogling them the whole time and not paying attention. The boys sat at her feet, clearly fatigued from the fight.
“Okay Rin, what techniques could you pinpoint from this battle?” asked Kohaku.
She sighed, knowing that calves, biceps and muscular thighs was not the correct answer. Shippo saw her pained expression and put a gentle hand on Rin’s shoulder.
“Go easy on her, Kohaku. This stuff is hard.”
Rin bit her lip at Shippo’s word choice trying not to chuckle, she bet it was.
Kohaku rolled his eyes in response, “She won’t learn by being babied.”
The two started to squabble about the best way to teach combat, but Rin put her hands up.
“Okay, okay, can we just start over? I’d like to try.”
She figured that she couldn’t get too distracted if she had to fend for herself in combat.
Shippo jumped up excitedly, “Yes! Let’s go!”
Kohaku nodded in agreement and led them both to the center of the field.
“We’re going to throw you right in. Lord Sesshomaru specifically asked that I teach you how to overpower large, male demons, as that’s who tends to go after young women the most.”
Rin made a face, “How specific” she mumbled.
Shippo stood in front of her with his hands on his hips, grinning dumbly. “I’m going to try and snatch you up, Rin. Your job is to fight me off and pin me to the ground.”
“Okay” she replied, trying her best to focus.
“I’m going to countdown from 3, and then Shippo will come at you, but don’t worry, I’ll be right here to give you pointers, ' said Kohaku reassuringly.
They had gone over notes and notes of their training plans with Sesshomaru for weeks, but now that she was actually going to fight, he started to feel nervous.
“Are you ready?” they asked in unison again.
Rin nodded, and Shippo winked at her, trying to ease the tension.
“3…….2……..1”
Rin was not ready. She thought she saw a familiar figure in the distance and felt completely caught off guard when she noticed that her center of gravity shifted from upright to being carried bridal style in Shippo’s huge arms. He gripped her waist in a way that felt strangely violent, and her heart began to pound. Adrenaline kicked in, and she completely ignored Kohaku’s shouting.
She kicked him right in the throat, swinging her leg to wrap around his neck and flipped her body to now dangle down the front of Shippo’s torso. He gasped, completely winded as she headbutted him in the stomach, causing him to drop her. Seeing that he was bent over, Rin broke into a sprint and jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Holy Shit!” he cried out in surprise, trying to reach for her.
Despite being less than half his size, she managed to straddle him and push him into the ground, holding the lengths of his auburn hair like the reins of a horse. She sat on him, triumphantly smiling at Kohaku, whose mouth was completely agape.
“Uncle! Uncle! You’re the scarier demon, Rin!” Shippo shouted, with dirt still in his mouth.
Sesshomaru felt a mixture of beaming pride and complete horror as he watched Rin ride Shippo like A-Un. He knew he shouldn’t, but he had been watching the whole thing from atop a tree several feet back in the forest. The boys told him of their intention to train with Rin today, as he requested a schedule be made in advance and submitted to him for approval, so it wasn’t like he was taken aback by the sight.
He had no plans to attend any of their sparring sessions because he didn’t want to make her nervous, but a gnawing curiosity got the best of him.
“We’ll stay for only a moment” he reassured Jaken, who simply frowned at him.
but when he noticed her practically drooling over the boys like they were choice pieces of meat, he sat himself right down.
Sesshomaru could feel the heat radiating off her body, wafting her scent of ripe red fruits, flowers and musk right into his nostrils. He began to feel dizzy, like he might pass out from the luscious pheromone bomb. The human boy was probably clueless as to how erotic Rin smelled in that moment, but he knew that the wily young fox was feeling as riled up as he was.
He could sense the fox's thoughts, and he was not enjoying the imagery. The fox was imagining carrying Rin deep into the woods, kissing her whole body like a hungry beast until he reached her delicate, fragrant center and plunged his whole tongue….. Sesshomaru stood up, sword drawn, ready to behead him for such vile thoughts.
Jaken rushed beside him, tugging at his sleeve.
“My lord, we said we would not intervene with Miss Rin’s training!” He cried.
He sat back down and held his head in his hands, feeling despondent. The whole purpose behind this course of training was to teach Rin to defend herself against him in case he lost control and tried to make a move. Rin had grown into a breathtakingly beautiful, intelligent and skilled young woman, and Sesshomaru had recently found himself completely powerless to her charms.
He decided that he wanted her to slaughter him if his demon nature took over and acted out of turn. He knew she would give her life up if it meant satisfying him, and he wanted to change her association of demon men from love and warmth to one of fear and anger. Sesshomaru would never allow himself, or any man to enact the lustful thoughts he had of Rin onto her. She needed to be able to strike down carnal advances without a second thought, and protect the lovely life she had built for herself.
“I guess I should be afraid of you now,” laughed Shippo.
He had managed to roll over onto his back, but Rin still sat on his chest, breathing heavily with flushed cheeks from having just kicked his ass. Shippo knew they should get up and go to Kohaku, but he felt completely mesmerized by how beautiful she looked in this moment, and how incredibly delicious she smelled.
He felt completely caught off guard by the overwhelming scent of ripe berries and roses in the sun coming off of her during the fight, and somehow allowed himself to get wrestled to the ground like an animal. He hated to admit it, but the entire time he was holding her, he kept thinking about what would happen if he just kissed her, and carried her off into the woods and…..
His lusty daydream was interrupted by the sensation of Rin getting off of him. Kohaku had come up to them, and held out his hand to help Rin up. He was shooting daggers down at him. Shippo knew Kohaku had been in love with Rin since they were all kids, and seeing his best friend get so up close and personal with her probably wasn’t making him too happy.
He wished that Kohaku could sense how good she smelled, if he did, maybe he’d cut him some slack, or kill him. Based on the looks he was still shooting, Shippo thought murder was the more likely option.
Kohaku gripped Rin's hand tighter than he expected as he pulled her off of his very clearly aroused friend and hugged her into his chest. She had been sitting there for a disturbingly long time, seemingly unaware of how close Shippo’s erection was to her body.
“Despicable!” thought Kohaku.
He wasn’t sure what to expect when they started their training, but he certainly wasn’t prepared for his best friend’s complete lack of self control around the woman he planned to marry. He felt hot shame run through him at the thought of marriage. Every year since Rin turned 16, he decided he was going to propose. Finally, when she was 18 and he had just turned 20, he worked up the courage to ask Kaede if he could take Rin’s hand.
“Why do ye ask me?” She replied, “It is up to Rin what she dedicates her life to, but if ye wanted my genuine thoughts, I would say marriage would be a waste of her talents.”
That statement had hurt Kohaku worse than any weapon ever could, and he decided to back off until she expressed a desire to be with him. He knew her work as a midwife was incredibly important, and he didn’t want his selfish desires to interfere with her calling.
Rin’s face was pressed up against Kohaku’s lean chest, and he had his hand over her head, like he was trying to shield her from something. She freed himself from his embrace, and looked him in his soft brown eyes,
“Why are you being so weird?” she asked.
He blushed. “I…was just worried,” he stuttered.
She laughed, and patted him playfully on the cheek, “I’m fine! You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”
Kohaku turned a shade of crimson that matched the setting sun around them. Rin smiled, she had been teasing Kohaku like this since they were children, as he was always so serious. Now as a man, there was almost a sadness that fell over his fine, elf-like features whenever she teased him. It made Rin feel sad, too.
She did not want to see her friend who had been by her side through so many ugly things, sad because of her actions. She loved Kohaku with her whole heart, and even though the shape of that love was hard to define, she still wanted to be there for him as much as he had been for her.
Rin smiled and held out both of her hands, one beckoning to Shippo, and the other to Kohaku.
“Will you walk me home, boys? It’s getting dark.”
Shippo was the first to race towards her and eagerly grab a hand, “Yes, but you have to promise not to beat me up again on the way,” he laughed.
She smiled, “I’ll try my best to be good”.
Rin barely noticed that Kohaku had silently slipped his fingers through hers while she flirted with Shippo.
She turned to him, “I’ll have my way with you next” she teased, totally unaware of the implications of what she had just said.
He looked at her, wide eyed, and let go of her hand.
“I can’t take this anymore,” he muttered, storming off.
Rin felt like he had just taken her whole arm with him, ‘Kohaku! Wait!” she shouted, preparing to run after him.
Shippo stopped her, “Just let him cool off, Rin. He’s been in a bad mood all day.”
She sighed, knowing that he was probably right. Rin had just about had enough of moody, silent men saying cryptic things to her and then running away.
When they arrived back at Kaede’s hut, she and Shippo chatted outside for longer than she expected. She had also known him for most of their childhoods, but as he spoke, she could sense that silly little fox demon had grown into a kind, emotionally intelligent man. His openness with his thoughts and feelings made her feel safe, and honestly, quite refreshed.
“Oh my, it’s getting so late, I hope I’m not keeping you from going to bed!” he said apologetically, eyeing the full moon in front of them.
Rin smiled, “It is quite late, but I’ve felt so happy talking to you that I hardly noticed. I should probably go to bed though.”
She walked closer to him, and stood up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. He blushed, and ran a hand through her long, wavy hair.
“Thank you for helping me train today, I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly” she said, now sounding a bit shy.
Shippo had to fight every impulse within him not to grab her by the waist and kiss her passionately on the mouth.
“Oh no, dear Rin. You did quite the opposite.” he said, settling for a gentle kiss on her hand, and then walking off into the night.
Rin fell into bed that night, exhausted, head swimming with the events of the day. Training had gone in an odd direction, and she wasn't sure how to feel. She figured Kohaku was mad at her for something, but she couldn't imagine what. She had also seen Shippo in a new light. He first caught her eye last year when he insisted on attending the birth of Kagome's daughter. No other men were present besides him and Inuyasha, and he sat by Kagome's side the whole time, handing Rin washcloths and herbs as she needed.
His sensitivity and open love for the feminine was really sexy…..She groaned, realizing that she was yet again losing focus from her actual task. She needed to sleep, because the biggest birth of her career so far was coming soon.
About a year ago, a voluptuous tree sprite named Reiko discovered Rin’s friend and herbal mentor, Jinenji, in the woods and told him they were going to get married. Apparently she had been watching him for months and had fallen madly in love. They wed in a beautiful ceremony led by Kagome. Rin cried in Kohaku’s lap the whole time because she felt so happy that her sweet friend had found someone who adored him.
Reiko and Jinenji were now expecting triplets. Naturally, the happy couple requested Rin to help deliver their children, as she was well respected and known as the go to human midwife in the area to deliver hanyos without judgement. She immediately accepted, but knew that it would come with many challenges.
Rin had never attended a full demon birth before, or delivered triplets. She had just spent the past month studying as much as she could about tree sprite anatomy, and was now preparing to travel to Jinenji’s village to be with Reiko for the birth and stay to support the family after as well.
Kohaku was fuming as he paced outside of his sister's hut. He felt angry at Shippo, and angry at Rin, but he felt the most angry at himself. He knew she said wild things that she didn't really mean all the time. She had spoken that way since they were kids, and it always shocked him. This time was different, however. They weren't kids anymore, and saying something like that so brazenly could have consequences.
He would never do anything that she didn't want, but she had to understand that most men would take it as an invitation for something more. Miroku approached the hut, coming home for the evening.
“What's got you so animated?” He asked jokingly.
Without thinking, Kohaku launched into the whole story, sputtering and muttering. Miroku sat on the ground beside him, listening intently until he was done. He was quiet for a moment and then said
“So you mean to tell me that the woman of your dreams wanted to have her way with you and you….stormed off?!” He cried, completely shocked.
Kohaku hung his head “There's no way she was serious” he murmured.
Miroku laughed, “I see, you’ve decided for her. I did the same thing with your sister because I thought she deserved better and that caused things to take far longer than they should have. If you don't want someone else to snap Rin up, I suggest you humbly accept her offer and see what happens.”
Kohaku blushed, and then began to feel a horrible pool of dread form in his stomach. Unlike Shippo, who seemed to have bedded at least one human woman per every village they visited, Kohaku had absolutely no idea what he was doing in that department.
“Miroku…..how much time do you have to talk?” He asked sheepishly.