Variant by ai_08

Comfort

Variant: a form or version of something that differs in some respect from other forms of the same thing

Though she hid it well, Rin was quickly succumbing to an ailment. And while common by human definition, it was not something that the great taiyoukai had ever personally dealt with. At first he had resolved to wait it out. Surely something as minor as a slight cough would run its course? Sesshomaru had made sure that she had been given ample food and time to rest. Jaken had been made to forage for her, and he himself had provide her with enough animal flesh to keep her energy up. She rode upon Ah-Un to save her from exerting herself, and they had begun to make camp earlier than he was usually wont to do.

Pehaps, he had thought, it was fresh air that she needed?

But as they came upon the sea, the rattle in her chest only began to worsen and her forehead to perspire. The heat of the illness was settling in.

It had been five days. Surely her condition should have been correcting itself by now, but Rin's body was not mending.

The demon lord had sent his retainer to scavenge for herbs suitable to create a soothing tea for the girl, but he knew that Jaken would be hard pressed to find anything passable this close to the sea. Jaken had been aware of that fact, too, but had not pointed it out for fear of a harsh reprimand. Though he would not admit it, Jaken knew that his lord was beginning to worry for the human, and so did as he was told without a fuss.

With the imp gone, Sesshomaru spared a glance at the girl. Rin had grown considerably the past few springs that she had spent under his care. Skin and bone had fleshed out into soft fat and tiny, sturdy muscle. Many a new outfit had had to be purchased to accommodate her rapid growth spurts. Her hair, once dull and thinning, now shown thick and bright. By these standards, Sesshomaru knew Rin to be the very picture of adolescent human health.

But now, she sat huddled under a blanket, barely sitting up on the back of his draconic steed. Her eyes, glossy with fever, fluttered open, then shut, then open again, as if maintaining wakefulness were now a chore.

The ugly blanket, made of different scraps of material from a foreign land, had been a gift from his half brother's miko. After a few months of wear, Jaken had attempted to dispose of it, but in a rare fit of disagreement, Rin had begged him not to. Jaken had later been found cleaning and mending it for her, and Sesshomaru was now satisfied to see that at least this one thing was easing her distress.

In the privacy of this empty, rocky seaside, the taiyoukai admitted a weakness, if only to himself: It was a source of never ending frustration that one such as he could halt death twice, but could do nothing to lessen her suffering now.

A harsh, salty breeze blew inland, and Rin cringed, burrowing her face into Ah-Un's scaled hide. Sesshomaru began to briskly walk away from the water, his dragon quickly following behind. Rin, noticing that they were leaving without one of her beloved companions, voiced her concern.

"My lord, where is Jaken-sama?" her tiny voice croaked.

Sesshomaru did not stop to answer her, but a moment later, the imp could be seen running after them. Once the tiny demon caught up and they had taken to the sky, Sesshomaru chanced another glance at his charge.

She had fallen asleep, smiling despite her discomfort.

A/N: The last time I wrote a fanfiction for this fandom, I was 13, and that was a decade ago. I just recently started rereading the manga, so I do apologize if I am not up to par on what is canon. This story vaguely takes place after the defeat of Naraku but does not follow what I have heard about the ending... It is not tied to any particular time period, but is rather intended to be a character study of Sesshomaru and an exploration of the many possibilities that could transpire for him, given the opportunity. It will also, in time, be a love story.

I have also decided to write this in connected drabbles and one shots, as apposed to the traditional chaptered story. I have taken the themes for each part from the Livejournal community 1sentenceorder for inspiration and am using theme set Alpha.