Monster

Chapter 1

The first time we met.

General warning: There is implied child abuse and rape/non-con in this story. None of it will be thoroughly described.

Original Publish Date: 3/26/2018
Minor Edits/Fixes: 3/28/2018
More Fixing!: 4/16/2018
Moar Fixes: 4/23/2018

I will kill him for this.

It was his first thought as he landed inside a small closet none too gracefully, his right hand clutching what was left of his other arm as blood seeped between his fingers and onto the carpeted floor. He paid no mind to the mess. The light would render it gone come sunrise. For now, he needed to replenish some of his energy if he wished to open a portal back home before then. When his sensitive ears caught the sound of two pounding hearts on the other side of the closet door, he smirked. Good. His tumbling seemed to have frightened whoever lived here. He caught the muffled sound of two socked feet touching the floor, the heavy footfalls as they approached the closet door told him it was not a child and possibly male. If his nose weren't clogged with the smell of his blood, he would have been able to tell.

He frowned, human adults were not as easy to scare though he preferred it over scaring children, it was merely more satisfying. In his current state, however, it would prove to be difficult unless the human was -

"I-s is s-somethin'-" A hiccup, "-there?"

- Intoxicated. Perfect. There was nothing to worry over now. The man had yet to open the door, but the fear was leaking out of his weak aura, already providing him with a bit of strength. Come here. He pushed over a box behind him with a minuscule pulse of power, letting its contents scatter. He heard the gasp, a curse, and the small step back. But the human continued, and just when the man's hand was inches away from the sliding closet door, he slammed it open, snarling at the smaller man. The frightened human fell onto his back, his breathing coming out in short pants and his eyes dilated with fear.

His energy reached out and engulfed the man, drinking the fear that yellowed his soul. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and the human scrambled up to his unsteady feet and ran out the room before he finished feeding. No matter, there is another here… His glowing red gaze turned to the small hump in the twin bed, a single brown eye peeking at him from over the edge of the comforter. The girl's heart was no longer quick, her breathing was normal, she was not afraid. She lowered the blanket from her eyes to her lap as she sat up in her bed, her first words startled him, "You're hurt."

It made him glance down; the piece of bicep left was no longer draining blood like an open faucet, but still, it leaked, a puddle beginning to form under him and his clothing soaked in deep red. The sight of so much blood should have frightened one so young easily - "It looks really bad…" Pity. Pity from a human child. Disgusting. The girl didn't give him a chance to growl. "Who hurt you?"

He inexplicably felt compelled to answer. "Half-brother."

"Oh…" The pity in her face turned to understanding, "My step-brother hurts me too."

The confession left him unsettled. The girl shifted to the edge of her bed and patted the small empty spot beside her, "Sit. It'll hurt less." Now in the sliver of moonlight illuminating her, he could see why the other eye stayed shut. It was swollen. She was dirty. Her black hair was matted. Her skin was sickly pale. Her cheeks were sunken instead of full. Her clothing was disheveled. A different kind of disgust churned his stomach, What was the man in her room doing before I arrived?

There was another reason why he no longer scared children. When a youkai goes out to hunt after sunset, they are drawn to the highest sources of fear and misery in the mortal realm. However higher youkai, like himself, preferred quality over quantity. The stronger mental fortitude the mortal had, the more power could be absorbed from their fear should you break them. As a child up until his early teens, he had to feed on children only as he was too weak and inexperienced. Bouncing around inner cities and poor neighborhoods, he learned very quickly that humans were revolting beings. And even when he slipped into higher class areas where poverty was not an excuse, it was all the same. They beat, sell, molest, drug - anything - to their children. And he found later find those same children as adults, continuing the cycle of abuse. Humans are weak, despicable creatures.

Perhaps it was now he who felt pity for the girl as he accepted her invitation. The bed was not soft, and the comforter underneath him was scratchy, but his body was thankful for the relief of standing. "Thank you." He blinked in shock, turning to look at the tiny girl next to him. She was hugging her knees to her chest, "For scaring him away."

"My intentions were also to frighten you." Were, he caught himself too late. Why did that change? What was he doing now? Healing was still a priority. He needed to feed again.

She wasn't fazed, "But you aren't." Frankly, he was surprised she understood him. The girl had to be around 8 or 9. She glanced at his clawed hand, up his shattered armor. "Are you one of those monsters…?" Her question was a whisper, and her working eye didn't stray from his face.

"I am."

"... Do you have a name?"

"It is none of your business, girl." She was getting too comfortable. His tone was enough to simmer down her friendliness… for a moment.

"My name is Rin." She chirped, "Where do you come from?"

He slowly closed his eyes, exhaling from his nose. There was no chance he was going to sit here and answer that loaded question. He had enough energy to jump to another house and scare some other fool but found himself not wanting to leave. He could still hear the man down the hall, in another bedroom most likely. He had yet to pass out. Would he return to the room? If he was no longer here, what would happen to the girl? It is none of my concern… but…

He blamed it on pity one more time as he answered her first question, "Lord Sesshomaru."

Rin gasped, "You're a lord? Do you have a castle? Is it in the sky? And what about knights? And a pony? Two ponies? Do you fight bad guys? Do you have a Lady?" He raised a brow at the sudden flow of questions, had he not mentioned he was a 'monster' first and foremost? She seemed rather unconcerned about that. And what made her think he would answer all of that? She suddenly blinked, her face crestfallen as her gaze dropped to her lap, "Was that too much? Sorry."

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows. The sadden expression did not satisfy him in the slightest. He blamed pity a third time, "My father owns the castle. I do fight. I do not have a lady, and I do not have a pony." He watched her expression lightened up as he answered her questions, only to drop a bit at the lack of ponies. He never understood the fascination most little girls had with ponies. He mentioned his alternative, "I do have a dragon."

The girl gave him the biggest smile he'd seen with missing teeth and all; her voice contained in excitement, "You have a dragon!?" He simply nodded, a bit dumbfounded by the extent of her happiness. "Where is it?" She looked up, "On the roof?"

He wasn't some demonic Santa Claus. Some of his exasperation seeped into his voice, "At the castle."

"Can I see it?"

That was impossible, even if he was one to give into the girl's whim. No human was allowed into the demon realm, it was unsustainable for them. "No."

"You stopped bleeding." She mentioned, abruptly changing topics. He looked down at his marred arm, she was right. The bleeding stopped, and the wound already closed… He frowned, The pain is gone. He hadn't even realized. All that was left was a small ache in the lump. Impossible. I haven't eaten again. How…? He shouldn't have had enough energy to heal yet fully. "You're really strong…" The girl said in hushed awe before her hand went up to the swollen side of her face. He watched several emotions filter across her face before she looked up at him, smiling once more. "Maybe I can be strong too."

He felt a hot, prickling sensation down his spine. A warning - sunrise was approaching. He rose to his feet and walked to the center of the small room. His back was towards Rin, but he was hyper-aware of the girl's eyes on him. He extended his hand in front of him, clawed fingers spread. "Will I see you again?" She was somewhat astute for her age. He looked at her from over his shoulder while the black portal formed, tearing the veil between the mortal world and his as it created a path for him. It would be a breach of protocol. If you could not scare the human, you are never to return to them.

But much like his father, Sesshomaru didn't believe all the rules applied to him. "Perhaps." Was the most he could promise, stepping into his arcane realm just before the first ray of sunlight broke through the horizon.

End of Chapter 1

Author's Note: Another fic. Don't kill me. This is also supposed to be not too long too, I swear it!

I'm also thinking of a much, much darker version of this fic but if I do make it, it would probably only be posted on AFF and AO3 due to how explicit it would also be later on. I'll make a note of it here if I decide to though for those interested!