Hi Everyone. :') please enjoy this next chapter for HNY Origins.
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Hanyou no Yashahime: Origins

The Parents of Towa and Setsuna:

Sesshoumaru and Rin

17 years old

By the ripe age of seventeen, Rin could no longer hide in the shadows of the village gossip. Even as she kept to herself she could hear the murmurings on market corners and passing streets. Sure, demon and human relations had bridged because of the honorable Kagome and Inuyasha, but it was far from accepting of any outsiders, and that included her beloved Sesshoumaru. That's not to say that Rin was friendless by any means. Kind girls and boys of her age would go out of their way to invite her to small gatherings by the pond or on foraging missions, but Rin would always wonder if those invitations were actually just schemes to exorcise her from "Sesshoumaru's hold."

Because while she was deemed a fool for her dealings with a demon by the village, one other thing was also true—she had grown into a humble, exceptional beauty; one that allowed for a heightened level of tolerance illustrated by the choice phrase, 'Kami-sama, bless her soul,' rather than the lackluster, 'Let her alone, she's a witch' choice saved for the less well-endowed.

Rin was not ignorant to these things; she spent a great deal of time observing her peers and seniors. Never one for casual and meaningless conversation, Rin had grown quiet and reserved by her sheer inability to relate—and by her maturing ability to detect when her blathering became annoying to her conversational counterparts. She'd always spoken so fast and without inhibition, but her growing intellect was proving to be her greatest social downfall. Instead of meandering about senselessly with others her age, Rin would reserve herself to the company of Sango, Miroku and their family, or that of Inuyasha and Kagome's. If not them, then to her own hut—which she once shared with the late Kaede.

Kaede was a loss that was hard to bear for Rin, but she bore it all the same. Death of those around her had always been her most inflexible fear, and thus she gave ample thought to their hypothetical occurrences often. She foresaw the death of her ageing godmother last year at the onset of an extreme forgetfulness, and Rin spent many nights refocusing her attention from her longing for Sesshoumaru to acknowledging and sitting well with the fact that soon, she would be alone to care for herself again. In her most numbing of moments, she would think, At least this time, I can do well enough on my own.

Still, as she watched Inuyasha bury the old priestess' remains and set the grave stone, a part of Rin's nonsensical happiness vanished. And for those in the village that paid her those one or two passing thoughts, they knew—her eyes were unfortunately opening.

He visited her the night he heard the news, mere days after Kaede had left their world for the next, and Rin couldn't have been less prepared.

"Rin," he said as he walked into her dark hut, the night already deep and bleak—yearning to fade into the hope of morning. He scented it even as he descended from the sky. Salt from tears dropped, soaked into the splitting wooden floor.

"S-sesshoumaru-sama." Rin sat up with a start, shaken from her slumber. When she lit the lantern near her mat, it was evident to him that sleep must have been her only place of peace as of late—as her face and eyes were red with agony. "Please forgive me… I didn't know you would be coming."

He didn't say anything, he only looked on at her. Rin knew her lord well enough by now that his silence was the product of his unfamiliarity to the extremes of human emotion. She smiled a half-smile because it didn't matter, she was comforted by his presence alone, and his presence at a time like this was a fortuitous luxury.

"Please, sit," Rin said, clearing her throat of sleep and anguish. "I'll light a fire."

"Why are you not with the young priestess?" Sesshomaru asked, the tones of his voice holding mild contempt.

Rin glanced up at him, a bout of confusion splayed across her own face until it all became clear in her mind. Kagome had insisted Rin stay with her and Inuyasha after Kaede's passing, but she had refused. Evidently, Sesshoumaru had been involved in the offer.

"I am better off on my own," Rin lied, and it was such an obvious lie that she quickly offered a second explanation. "I didn't want to be any more of a burden than I already am."

"A burden?" Sesshoumaru replied, his firm brows relaxing somewhat as he sat nobly to the right of the hearth.

Rin nodded and quickly changed the subject. "You have no idea how happy it makes me that you've come. Please tell me, how have you been? How is Jaken-sama?"

Rin had grown to become self-aware enough to know that her attempts at deflection were digging herself into her own grave at the foot of her lord. He stared dubiously at her, which confirmed the latter assumption. And yet, he relented because surely he knew—right now Rin needed as much normalcy as possible.

"I have established a domain in the northwest. Taishou Castle, it is called. Jaken is there and faring well. Ah-Un also."

"That makes me so happy," Rin whispered as she dipped her head, and a bundle of raven-black tresses fell over her shoulder. "And you? How have you fared, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He studied her face a moment, a glance of well-concealed awe, perhaps. One that denoted he truly knew the worth of this gem he was holding in his presence; a human woman that cared so much for his well-being that she'd forsaken her own.

Despite such thoughts, he merely replied, "As well as I could have hoped during this foundational period."

Rin's smile grew further into her cheeks. "I wish I could see it. Armies of demons at your hand—all bowing to you, helping you solidify your empire. It is truly what Sesshoumaru-sama deserves."

He didn't reply, and it made Rin's mind weak. Unfortunate how she accidentally shifted to this particular subject, for it's one she had been afraid to broach for quite some time.

"Rin, I need you to speak to me openly," he said, his tone retreating to something far more firm and awkward for his once-ward—one that fanned the flames of her fear, the fear that he didn't want her to come with him.

"O-of course, Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Are you committed to this village?" he asked, his serious fire-golden eyes locking onto hers. "To the friends you have made here?"

Rin's heart was the equivalent of a speeding race horse, galloping to its demise as she faced the reality of his question. She squeezed the hem of her yukata.

"I'm committed to nothing except your will," she murmured. And she knew it then, his response—or lackthereof—had the ability to either mend her brokenness or grind its pieces into irreparable dust.

Quietly, the silver-haired lord responded. "My will holds no significance at present."

She bit her lip as she looked up at him, her lungs twisting more and more with each passing second. His eyes narrowed. "I'll ask the question differently. Will you be happier here among your own kind, or happier with me?"

She wanted to ask if her answer had the ability to displease him, but she knew better. Like the kind demon he was, Sesshoumaru-sama desired her truth for her own benefit, rather than his own. She decided then, she would speak from the heart.

"With you. Always with you." She analyzed his features but they expertly hid any hint of approval or otherwise.

"Is that your decision?" His voice softened enough to make Rin's heart flutter like the firelight on his ivory skin.

Her soul brightened and it seemed everything that had been plaguing her suddenly vanished—vanished because it seemed her endurance would pay off soon.

"It was never a decision I had to make," she responded softly. "I'd always known."

"Do you understand the consequences of such a commitment? If you were to come with me?" he replied. His expression was one of somber thought, a melancholic nuance that displayed his knowledge that he would be sentencing Rin to a life forever changed—and perhaps not for the better. If she were to dwell with a youkai, any building ability to fit in among those of her own kind would be cast to the void. The weight of his question was found in his tone, she thought—for he knew what tragedy this could mean for her as a social being. As did she, but she didn't care.

"Yes," Rin said. Although what such role she would take under Sesshoumaru's lordship was lost on her—and perhaps on him as well—nothing could weaken her elation if she were granted a place at his side. To live under the protection of a lord meant to serve one's self to him in any way so needed—a heady insinuation that wasn't lost on her budding adolescence. Rin, in her many nights of considering her own sensuous desires, knew that if he were to require her in any such crude way, she would have to oblige. And while the thought was not one too troublesome for her to imagine—she knew Sesshoumaru-sama would never require it of her. Many did not see it, but she surely did: on top of everything else about him, Sesshoumaru's integrity was unmatched. No matter what may come of her time spent under his care, she would gladly accept it—for she knew that if nothing else, he would always grant her the freedom of choice, just as he was doing now.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and stood. "I see. If that is how you feel, I will send for you in one year."

One year.

A deathly cold filled Rin's bones until she felt she would sink into the grains of the wood and never return. "W-wait."

Sesshoumaru stopped at the rippling flap of tatami leading to the outside, letting her speak.

"Would you… stay here tonight?" she asked as innocent-like as her intentions.

He craned his head slightly to take her in, a long silence hovering between them. Rin thought for sure he would deny her, that the value of their reputation was too much for him to risk. To her bourgeoning surprise however, he obliged.

"Very well." He turned to sit across from her, head resting against the far wall. Without so much another word, he closed his eyes and Rin was mystified by the comfort he bequeathed upon her modest hut. She smothered the fire and nestled once more into her mat. As the moonlight filtered in across her face she muttered, "Arigatou, Sesshoumaru-sama."

Let me know what you guys think. :)
My intentions with this story is to tell Sessh and Rin's history in a way that obliterates the morally questionable issues people find in the pairing ship. I hope it's coming off nicely that way. Love you guys! hope you are staying safe and healthy