How To Get A Dog Clean

by fiorae

Summary: Rin convinces Sesshomaru to bathe in a hot spring with her in a 'creative' way.

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"You stink Rin."

Rin blinked down at her toad-demon guardian, Jaken. He glared back up to her, pinching his beak like nose shut. She furrowed her brows, pulled forward on her kimono, and sniffed.

He was right. She did stink.

"You can't talk, Master Jaken. You smell just as bad as I do!" she retorted, pouting. Jaken seemed taken aback by this. He couldn't deny that allegation.

"Yes well, it's okay for demons like myself to smell. We work so hard doing so many things that we have no time for personal hygiene. A lazy human like yourself, however, has no excuse!" he mumbled defensively, pointing an accusatory finger at Rin. The small girl puffed out her cheeks.

"But Sesshomaru-sama works much harder than you and he never smells!" she cried. Jaken made a weird noise, tossing a quick glance at the dog demon walking ahead of them. Said demon really was admittedly good at taking care of himself. His flowing and flawless silver hair was evidence enough of that. How and when he did it though ... was a mystery to them all.

"Sesshomaru-sama ... is a demon of the highest class. He is naturally clean!" Jaken grumbled, hoping his spur-of-the-moment logic would convince the naive child. If her pondering expression was any indication, it probably did.

Rin ran ahead to Sesshomaru, walking along his side. The yokai stared down at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Sesshomaru-sama, can we stop at a spring for a bath?"

Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment, then nodded. She smiled up at him.

The four of them (Ah-Un included) traveled a little while longer before coming upon several onsen. It seemed Sesshomaru's marvelous hearing had lead them right to them. Rin giggled, running over to a nicely placed one with bushes of flowers surrounding it.

"Sesshomaru-sama, lets use this one!" she said cheerfully. Sesshomaru had already placed himself comfortably against a tree not far away.

"I don't need to bathe. You wash by yourself," he said calmly, eyes closed. Rin pouted sadly.

"But its scary by myself ..." she mumbled. Sesshomaru slowly opened his eyes, shooting them in Jaken's direction. The toad demon flinched.

"M-m-my lord! I couldn't possibly bathe with her!" Jaken hissed urgently. "There are things about a male that Rin would find ... unusual ..."

Sesshomaru reached his arm out and seized Jaken by his collar. "There is nothing unusual on you for her to find. Now go," he said as he tossed the small demon in the little girl's direction. Jaken rolled into the hot water with a troubled cry.

Rin continued to pout. "I wanted to bathe with you, Sesshomaru-sama ..." she said quietly. Sesshomaru once again closed his eyes.

"No. Men and women cannot bathe together," he said, finality in his voice. Rin crumbled sadly as she turned back to the onsen. She began to undress, first pulling the sash around her waist loose then removing the kimono altogether. She folded her little outfit neatly and sat the bundle on the ground. Deciding to try one more puppy dog look on the aristocratic man, Rin pointed her gaze back to the tree. To her great surprise, Sesshomaru appeared completely off-guard. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow. A plan formulated in her mind in a instant.

Jaken's head resurfaced just in time to catch a glimpse of Rin's naked form tip-toeing over to Sesshomaru. He frowned, wondering what the little girl was up to now.

Rin knelt down in front of the great man. He was wearing a lot of things. It'd be hard to pull it off ... But she'd come too far to turn back now. Her first instinct was to go for the fluffy on his shoulder. But in all their time together, she'd still yet to figure out whether that fluffy was just a piece of wardrobe or an actual part of his body. So she decided the safest route would be to get the yellow sash off first. She pulled at one end of the bow, tugging the whole thing away.

Jaken's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. This human child was taking advantage of his god-like lord during slumber and stripping him of his clothing! The audacity! Even he, his lord's most trusted companion, had never been so blessed as to see said lord's bare body. But this mere child would have that great honor?! Oh what a cruel fate!

For a moment, Rin thought she could hear Jaken's disapproving and distressed facial expression. She chose to ignore it and continued with her task. The armor was next. With the sash removed, she could see how the protective padding came together. It was a lot simpler to remove than she'd thought. She took the front plate off slowly and gently say it to her side. The back could stay for the time being.

Next ... was the kimono itself. Rin bit her bottom lip. Jaken shivered nervously in the hot water. Slowly, Rin reached her small hands out, clinched the openings of the kimono, and pulled them apart. Despite all the battles he'd been in, Sesshomaru's upper body was flawless. Even at her young age Rin couldn't help but stare. Her eyes traveled over to his left side. She could now see quite well where his arm had been cut off. It was hard to imagine the pain he must have felt at that moment ...

"Rin..! Get away, quick! Before Sesshomaru-sama wakes up..!" Jaken hissed suddenly. Rin looked over her shoulder and shushed him. She was almost done ... She moved her hands down to the final article of clothing, his pants. Slowly, carefully, she reached out ...

Suddenly, a clawed hand closed around her wrist. She jumped, raising her gaze slowly. Golden, narrow eyes peered back at her.

" ... Why are you naked?" was all Sesshomaru muttered. Rin blushed, pulling her arms back and covering her body the best she could. She'd completely forgotten her absence of clothes.

"I ... just really want you to take a bath with me!" she cried out, eyes pooling over. Sesshomaru stared ... then sighed. He stood to his full height.

"Turn around."

Rin, confused, did as she was told. She noticed Jaken's already big eyes growing bigger and wondered what was occurring behind her. She felt that clawed hand rest on her shoulder and nudge her forward. She complied and walked toward the onsen.

"Now sit down. Don't turn around," Sesshomaru's strong voice ordered gently. Rin sat down slowly in the water next to Jaken. She heard splashing behind her, then silence. "Alright, you can turn around."

Rin quickly inched around. A grin broke out on her face. Sesshomaru now lounged in the onsen comfortably with his eyes closed. His fluffy, the only lingering part of his normal appearance, was flowing over his lap in a justifiably concealing manner. Rin couldn't help but hug him.

"Thank you Sesshomaru-sama!" she giggled in his ear. Unknown to Rin (but quite visible to Jaken), a hint of a smile traced his lips. A shiver raced up Jaken's spine, despite the heat of the water. Any time his lord smiled, he couldn't help but get the chills.

Rin pulled back, still smiling brightly.

"Sesshomaru-sama, let me wash your hair for you! Kagome-chan gave me this little bottle of strawberry shampoo that smells great!" she cooed, making her way over to her folded kimono and extracting the bottle. Sesshomaru almost grimaced, but kept his face stoic. He knew he hadn't the heart to say no to any of the girl's requests.

Within an hour or so the four of them were back on their way, all feeling much fresher. Rin rode atop Ah-Un, popping blue berries into her mouth. She watched the silver haired man in front of her with a smile.

"You smell really pretty, Sesshomaru-sama!"

Jaken also stared at his lord. Sesshomaru looked no different than he did before the stop.

Well, that was if you disregarded the sweet scent of strawberries wafting around him and the added stomp to his walk.

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The End