The Mori Christmas Gala by kaoruhana

Matsuda Rin

A/N: Prompt: Carols

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     The sound of carols rent the air as Sesshomaru walked into the elementary school to give an invitation to the ten year old whom had accidentally been missed due to an oversight.  Her name was Matsuda Rin- a ten year old who was proving to be a scientific prodigy at her young age.  He was here to make sure she got her invitation- apparently her orphanage head never saw it fit to tell her this exciting news. 

     “Excuse me.”  He stated approaching a young student on his way back from the bathroom.  “Could you point me in the direction of classroom 5-A?”  The young boy looked up at him with wide eyes but nodded his head and pointed to the stairs.  Sesshomaru followed the direction- assuming that the fifth grade classrooms would be on one of the higher floors- and made his way to the room. 

     He found it easily- fifth floor, first room on the left.  A knock at the door announced his presence and a young teacher opened it.  She looked at him curiously and asked him if she could help him. 

     “I am here to deliver a message to Matsuda Rin.”  The lady narrowed her eyes before she glanced down at the card in his hands.  Her eyes widened then and she asked him to wait for a moment as she disappeared inside.  Left alone in the hallway, Sesshomaru admired the view from a window looking down at the bare courtyard below.  The sounds of carols had diminished- it must have been the younger grades singing them he mused. 

     “Excuse me, I was told you wanted to speak with me?”  He was so caught up in the view that he didn’t see the young girl walk out.  Turning to her, he saw Matsuda Rin for the first time. 

     She was short and thin- much too thin and short for an average ten year old.  If he hadn’t been told of her age he would have guessed her to be eight.  She had a side ponytail that was sagging and her clothes had definitely been hand me downs.  But she was polite and her eyes were looking up at him in wonder and childish curiosity. 

     “This is for you.”  He handed her the envelope, knowing that as soon as the girl read the cover, she would know what it was for.  To his surprise, the young girl brought the envelope up practically to her nose and read it.  She needed glasses and couldn’t afford them then?  He’d look into that later. 

     “Oh- is this really for me?”  Her eyes were bright with wonder and awe but more than that they glistened with happy tears.  In all the years that a successful Sesshomaru had run this program, he had never been the one to deliver a personal message.  Now he understood why Kagura had insisted on him doing this.  The joy on the little girl’s face made him so happy to be the one to put it there. 

     “Yes.”  She smile again and he realized that it reminded him of Yumi and Daisuke. 

     Yumi had been an invitee to the gala the first year and out of everyone there, he had seen in her a drive and a zeal that proved she was going to make the best of her situation.  She was sixteen then and he looked after her as a big brother.  Today, she was studying in Kyoto to become an architect and kept in touch with him- their odd version of a sibling type relationship had yet to die out. 

     Daisuke had been fourteen when Sesshomaru met him three years ago.  Now, the seventeen year old looked up to him as that “friendly uncle” and depended on him for support emotionally.  It was Sesshomaru who was helping him find funding for his cram school lessons and helping him decide which colleges to attend.  It seemed little Rin with her smile and teary eyes had joined these two. 

     “Thank you!” 

     Rin hugged his legs, her arms reaching a few inches above his waist.  Unsure of what to do, he patted her shoulder.  In the five years that the gala had been running, he had sought out to help all the kids who attended in some way.  Those who he connected with- Yumi, Daisuke, and perhaps now Rin as well- were the lucky few who became a part of his inner circle and were helped by him personally.  The others found various mentors and community patrons who helped them all in their own way. 

     “Do you need a ride to the event?”  Every attendee was asked that.  Those who were not in middle school yet, generally depended on their orphanages or family and friends for rides.  Some couldn’t find them, while most did.  It was for these few that he personally rented taxis. 

     “Maybe- I have to ask Oreki-san.” 

     He made a face.  Oreki-san was the lady who had withheld Rin’s invitation from her.  On second thought, he was going to make sure someone picked Rin up.  Maybe he’d do it personally, she had charmed him already.  And he had read her file.  She needed a nurturing environment and while he couldn’t provide it for everyone, he could try to provide it for the few that he had the chance to aid. 

     “I’ll pick you up for the gala that day.  I’ll leave the information with Oreki-san.”  Rin pulled away, her face embarrassed and red when she realized she had been hugging him this entire time. 

     “Thank you.”  She murmured her eyes downcast and her voice shy.  He merely nodded, bidding her goodbye and leaving the school premises. 

     As he did so, thoughts began to go through his head.  He was thirty, held a stable income and job, and had proven that he could care for children.  Rin’s teary eyes and the information he had received about Oreki-san had his mind spinning.  He and Rin were twenty years apart and while that hardly made him her father in age, it was enough of an age gap that if he did choose to adopt her, he could without drawing too much attention to himself.  But he didn’t want to make such a hasty decision yet.  He had more thinking to do.  And perhaps, he thought, while he was out, he may as well visit the banquet hall again.