The Thirteenth Floor
"My hotel doesn't have a 13th floor because of superstition. But come on, man. People on the 14th floor, you know what floor you're really on.
"What room are you in?"
"1401."
"No you're not! Jump out the window, you will die earlier!"
– Mitch Hedberg
Sesshoumaru heard her approach before the soft knock on his study door. Rin was home from school. Though her coming to greet him right after school was not uncommon, usually she would allow him to work and they would discuss their days during dinner.
"Enter."
She did, and as she opened the door he smelled her upset. The scent angered him, but not so much as it had in the past, shortly after he'd adopted the little human. After so many years of living with a young girl he had learned that not all sources of negative emotions need be hunted down and killed, or at the very least maimed. His brother's mate had seen to that lesson.
So he simply put his work aside and steepled his fingers to show Rin that she had his attention.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," she began. Sesshoumaru-sama in his study, tou-san in the family quarters; the distinction was hers and she was quite firm in maintaining it. "Rin—I have a question."
He nodded slightly, signaling for her to continue.
"When we went on vacation, why did that hotel have a thirteenth floor?" Any other human would have missed the furrowing of his brow at her question, but Rin was no ordinary human: she was his daughter and had, in earlier years, spent days sitting across from him, studying his face, until she could see even the most minute change in expression. She rambled on. "Today we were talking about superstitions and the teacher said that the number thirteen is unlucky and that's why hotels and other buildings don't have a thirteenth floor but I told them that we stayed on the thirteenth floor when we went on vacation and the other kids said that I couldn't read, but I know it was the thirteenth floor!" She ended vehemently, with tears starting to fall from her eyes.
Sesshoumaru pushed away from his desk and beckoned to Rin; she ran to sit on his lap.
He stroked her hair and she calmed at his attention. "Your classmates and teacher are wrong, Rin."
"Really?" She asked, looking hopeful.
"Would you like to know a secret, Rin?" She nodded, excited, her upset forgotten. "A long time ago, when humans began to build taller and taller buildings and it became more and more difficult for youkai both to blend in and stay in our forests, I began to invest in hotels. At first, I had the idea to only permit youkai to use them, but there weren't enough staying at all of them to be profitable. My brother's mate suggested allowing humans in, but I refused to jeopardize the safety of the youkai that may stay there. So I began a search for a powerful youkai sorceress who had the ability to hide things from human perception and when I found her we came up with a solution: use established human superstitions for the benefit of youkai, or create superstitions where there were none. The number thirteen quickly became taboo, and with its associated bad luck, it was easy to start a trend of buildings lacking the number thirteen."
"So…" Rin said, piecing it all together. "The thirteenth floor of the hotel was just for youkai? And humans can't see it?" He nodded. Her good mood restored, she raised herself up, kissed his cheek and ran to the door. "Sesshoumaru-sama is so smart!"
He dipped his head in acknowledgement.
She turned the knob and opened the door, but just before leaving, she turned and asked, "Do all tall buildings have a floor just for youkai?"
"No, Rin. The rest are simply human foolishness."
AN: Feel free to substitute 13 with 4, since that's the unlucky number in most of Asia. I used 13 cause I feel Sesshoumaru would want a view, if he didn't just go for the penthouse suite.