Secret Santa for TalkingEvilly!

[March Hare]

Happy New Year, TalkingEvilly I hope you like this one... I must admit I don't know anything about Inuyasha, so I did a little bit of research. Still it's possible that this is all wildly OoC and if so, I do apologise and hope that the sneeziness of Sesshomaru makes up for it

(By the way: I'm sorry if this sounds high-handed or arrogant or meddling or anything, but as this fic is specially and first and foremost for TalkingEvilly, I would appreciate it very much if everyone gave her the opportunity to be the first to comment on it. After all, it's not very nice to open someone else's present. Thanks very much!)

~~~

Weakness

“Kgsht... HEH!NKSSccht! ...ehh.”

“Oudaijini.”

“Stop saying that.”

“I apologise.”

“Hehh...! MMF!” Letting dignity go for once, Lord Sesshomaru wrapped the sleeve of

his robe tightly around the underside of his face to contain the sneeze. It was almost all he could

do, what with the pressure mounting steadily behind his nose and eyes and the tickle almost

unrelenting. It was weakness, and it infuriated him that he wasn’t immune to it.

The girl beside him drew a breath as if to speak, then let it go, remembering his command just in

time. She looked up at the sky, a churning mass of greys from darkish to almost black, low and

threatening. Resisted the urge to make any sort of state-the-obvious comment on the weather.

“I can hear your thoughts, little human,” a peevish voice piped up next to her. “They are silly. Stop

thinking them.”

“Be quiet, Jaken,” she replied coolly. “It is only Lord Sesshomaru who can command me, as you

well know.” To tease the demon, she began to sing, in a lilting, naughty-little-girl voice:

“Jaken-sama, Jaken-sama, why are you so green... Jaken-sama, why are you so small and is

your staff so tall...”

“Enough!” the imp barked, and strode away at double pace, frowning deeply and muttering under

his breath. He trotted up to his master’s side and pulled at his robe. “How far to go?”

Sesshomaru did not glance down. “Away with you and your ahh.. hihh...!” He paused, his face

frozen in a slack-mouthed pre-sneeze expression. “Ihhh...!” Another deep breath, and then a

shuddering, frame-shaking release, though utterly soundless with the help of the sleeve.

“That’s digusting,” Jaken muttered. “Use a handkerchief or something.”

Sesshomaru straightened himself up to his full, imposing height. He plucked the staff from the

imp’s hands with no more effort than if it had been a feather, whacked Jaken one over the head

with it, dropped the staff by the wayside and strode on, all without a word. The little demon gave

an almighty screech, bounced up and down and cursed to high heaven, but knew better than to

retaliate. He tottered around on his feet, reeling from the blow, and when he had found his

balance again picked up his staff, grumbling softly.

Sesshomaru cleared his throat with what he hoped was an intimidating sound. Rin winced in

sympathy; it didn’t sound intimidating, it sounded painful. In silence they walked on, and by the

time they reached the edge of the village he was shivering.

“Do you think they will let Jaken-sama into the inn this time?” Rin asked curiously. She was

determined not to acknowledge in any way that she knew her master was suffering from a cold. A cold that was growing rapidly worse, from the sound of it.

Sesshomaru shrugged. “If not, he can sleep in the stables or find his own lodgings. It is no

concern of mine.”

Rin held her tongue. Apparently, Sesshomaru was determined to be as grumpy and

uncooperative as possible, and she was not inclined to cause any of his bad humours to be

directed right at her. She shrugged, as he had done, and tried to keep up with her sniffling

master.

Said master had put his sleeve over the lower half of his face quite a few minutes ago and hadn’t

lowered it again since. His breath came unevenly. Rin stole a glance at him now and again,

secretly, wondering how long it would be before he sneezed again. It was all too clear that he

would - the question was just, when.

As it turned out, it didn’t take long at all.

“Shimatta*,” she heard him growl, and then he gave a sharp gasp. “Huhh!

…HahNSCHT-SSCH! ...ahh.” He shook his head angrily, so that a few strands of his

impressive silver-white hair flew about his face.

“Ou-” Rin started, then quickly snapped her mouth shut again, praying he hadn’t heard. The only

inn the little village could boast loomed ahead at the end of the street in the slight fog - thank

goodness, she thought. Now to get him into a bed and this hassle will all be over.

She looked around and saw that the little imp with the long staff had disappeared somewhere on

an errand of his own. Good, she thought, so much the better. The state Sesshomaru was

currently in made it desirable that as few others as possible were there to encroach on his

personal space.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the inn had only one free room left. Even Lord Sesshomaru the

Dog Demon at his most fearsome couldn’t do anything to change that, although it wasn’t for lack

of trying. In the end, after a rather unpleasant scene, Sesshomaru departed up the stairs to the

last single available room with his mood effectively ruined for the rest of the day, leaving Rin to

try and placate the highly upset and trembling innkeeper.

“He is unwell, you see,” she tried to explain, “it is absolutely no fault of yours, I do apologise. I

assure you there will be no more trouble. See, I will pay in advance.” The sight of the money

seemed to restore the innkeeper’s faith in his unusual guests, and he even promised there would

be some food available later, which would be brought up to the room if the little madam wished.

“Thank you,” she said, with real gratitude, for she was embarrassed and not a little anxious after

the unfortunate encounter.

The innkeeper smiled. “Now, are you sure you’re going to be all right, miss? With... him?” He

clasped his hands together and glanced fearfully towards the stairs.

Rin smiled reassuringly. “Of course. I have travelled with him for a long time. I will be all right.”

She gave the innkeeper a friendly little nod and ran towards the stairs.

The room was on the second floor, the highest floor. Its door was closed. Locked, maybe? Rin

stuck out a fist to knock on the door, then hesitated.

He is most definitely not willing to share a room with me. Maybe I had better go downstairs and

ask the innkeeper’s wife if she can spare me a little place in the kitchen. She would not mind

sleeping in the kitchen at all; it would be warm, and probably more comfortable than having to

tiptoe round an angry, cold-stricken demon lord who did not want to admit to his own illness.

As if on cue, suddenly from behind the door she heard a vicious, drawn-out “HRRSSCHF!

...ahh.” The little exhalation after the stifle sounded positively pained. Rin shook his head, bit her

lip. So even when there’s nobody around he muffles them like that, she thought. I wonder

why he does that? But it was pointless to wonder about what she could never ask to find out,

so she decided not to think of it any more.

“H’NGKSHT! Hih... hiih...!” She knew he sneezed a third time, although there wasn’t

even the smallest sound. She just knew. It was almost as though the very air pressure had

changed for a moment with the immense effort it must have cost him to sitfle such a powerful

sneeze.

He must be feeling really awful, she thought. It made her rather uncomfortable standing there

and all but eavesdropping on him. She steeled herself for the worst possible reaction, and

knocked.

“Who is it.”

His voice was hardly more than a croak. Stuffy, too. Rin winced.

“It’s me,” she called gently. “Rin.”

No answer. Just a sniffle, and an uncertain hitching of breath, but that was all.

“Can I come in?” she ventured.

She heard him sigh. “Do what you must.”

Well now, that was an unusual reaction. She shrugged, turned the door handle, and peered into

the room.

Lord Sesshomaru was sitting on the edge of the bed, near the headboard, with one leg under

him and his head in his hand, the elbow resting on his knee. His hair had tumbled haphazardly

around his head and in front of his face. Despite the adequate warmth of the room, he was

shivering.

“Oh my lord,” Rin whispered. She started towards him, quite unconsciously, both hands

stretched out in his direction. At that moment she was governed entirely by a woman’s instinct to

nurture and care.

He blinked at her forwardness, and frowned, backing away from her hands as she approached

Abruptly, she came to herself and realised what she was doing.

She took a quick step back and murmured “Forgive me, my lord, I did not mean to... startle you.”

He was looking at her through narrowed eyes rimmed with red, and said nothing. His other hand

was covering his nose, obscuring the mouth so that she could not read his expression. Rin

bowed her head, ashamed of herself.

“I have asked for food to be sent up,” she told the floor before her toes. “It will be here soon, the

innkeeper said.” Although with ‘soon’ he had probably meant ‘in an hour or so’, but that didn’t

matter. She just wanted to say something, to break the odd silence. Suddenly the silence grew

heavier, like a trembling in the air, and when she ventured a glance in his direction she saw what

she had already half expected to see.

He was sneezing. A lot. But somehow he managed to make not the slightest sound, and hardly

any movement except an almighty shudder that came with every violently suppressed sneeze.

The hand that had been supporting his head had joined the other in clamping down his nose.

Almost against her will, Rin counted the times he forced his exploding nose into submission -

four, five, six, seven, eight... and no signs of stopping.

“My lord, do not suppress them like that,” she blurted out, and with two swift steps she stood

next to him and wrenched his hands away from his face. “You’ll never be able to stop, and... no,

let me! ...who knows, your head might explode or something...”

He stopped struggling at that, and slumped against the headboard, utterly exhausted. He drew a

deep, shaky breath before finally ending the fit with a massive, wrenching

“HEAHKSSCHT!”

Rin stood shaking in her shoes, but she managed to get a grip on herself. Sesshomaru was

breathing fast and shallowly through his mouth, he had his eyes closed and his nose stood out

like a glowing coal in his pale face. Rin let go of his hands and looked vaguely around for

something that he could maybe blow his nose in - that fit had sounded like the sleeves of his

robe would not benefit from being used for the cleaning up.

There was a washstand in the corner with a jug and basin on top and a rag next to it that could

be used for washing or drying. Rin checked to make sure the demon lord wasn’t going to topple

off the bed, then crossed the room to fetch the rag. When she pressed it into his hand, he

suddenly looked up at her from under half-lowered lashes, eyes dark and glowing fiercely.

“What on earth prompted you to do such a thing?” he growled. The congestion had worsened,

but still he sounded less miserable than before.

Rin sighed. “You were frightening me, that’s what. I apologise. Shall I leave you?”

He looked down with distaste at the rag in his hands. “What is this for?”

Rin almost laughed. She held it back at the very last moment, and said “...to blow your nose?”

“Hnn,” he grunted. And held the rag up to his nose, rubbing but not blowing.

“So...” she tried again. “Should I leave you alone?”

“No.”

He looked at her again, and now there was something in his eyes actually approaching warmth.

Without warning, he took her elbow and drew her down next to him, on the edge of the bed,

between himself and the headboard.

She stared at him in astonishment as he drew both legs up under him and leaned against her.

“You have been my weak point for long enough, Rin-kun,” he rumbled against her chest. “It was

high time you gave me something back for that.” He lay down, his head in her lap. She could feel

the heat radiating from him, and understood.

She waited until she was sure he had closed his eyes, then smiled down on him, her eyes

suddenly those of a woman, not a child. “We are all weak in our own turn, Sesshomaru-sama.”

~ The End

* Shimatta = an equivalent of "Oh shit" (I believe)

[TalkingEvilly]

Oh wow! I. Love. This. It's amazingly amazing!! lol. And don't you worry it's not to terribly ooc (because sick Seshy is ooc already) Speaking of sick Sesshomaru, THANK YOU!! Seriously there is not enough Sesshomaru sickfics out there. Thank you!!

[Sitruuna]

Aahh, I'm glad you commented already so I didn't have to wait any more than a couple of seconds (=refreshed the page xD)~

Aa, the both of you~ This was beautiful... The idea is great and the fick is amazing~<33 Awww, he's so sick... So. Damn. Lovely.

[SapphireSong]

Oh my freaking GOSH, Maru-Chan!!!

Speaking as a HUUUUGE Inuyasha fangirl - this is amazing. No, seriously. Even though sick Sesshomaru would be OOC i suppose, your work is so very very good that I'm not sure that I would've been able to tell you weren't familiar with the fandom if you hadn't said anything!! I love this, you are incredible! Quite honestly, this is one of the best Sesshy(/Rin!) sneezefics I have ever read. Great job!

[LeapYearKisses]

This is awesome as is and amazing considering you don't know the fandom! :3 It made me smile. I haven't read InuYasha in sooooo long.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Oooh... very lovely. I know absolutely nothing about the fandom whatsoever but your writing is incredibly awesome.

counted the times he forced his exploding nose into submission

[Merino Sheep]

This is simply wonderful. You've taken me back to my childhood, which consisted of a huge crush on Sesshomaru. Now I want to go back and re-read the manga.

Thank you so much for writing this. It was just brilliant!!!

[SterlingSilver]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. This is LOVELY <3.. SO CUTE. And Sess is so in character .. Amazing work, dear

[blackrose]

i love this! i tried to write a sesshy sick fic once but it was no good, but this is fantastic! there really need to be more of these out there!

[March Hare]

This is just how it is with me: the story goes on... eventually.

Apologies for tinyness of installment, but I'll keep trying with the inspiration board!

~

There was a knock on the door.

Rin started, having almost fallen asleep upright at the head of the bed. Her legs certainly had, and it wasn’t much of a surprise, considering the rather heavy load they were currently stuck under. The load, fortunately, did not stir; it slept on undisturbed, softly snoring through a partly blocked nose and slightly parted lips. Rin looked down on her master’s peaceful face and marvelled at how different from usual it looked, the hard lines of his jaw softened, the wrinkles between his eyes almost smoothed out. He looked... young.

The knock came again. With infinite care she slid out from under his head, replacing the support of her thighs with a pillow. He moved, but did not wake. Staggering a bit on the dual mass of pins and needles that were her legs, she tiptoed to the door and opened it at a crack. On the landing stood a young boy, presumably the landlord’s son, with a well-laden tray in his hands.

“The food, miss. Shall I come in, or-”

“Lord Sesshomaru is asleep,” Rin interrupted in a whisper. “I will take the food inside, and I thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome, miss. If you need anything, I’ll be downstairs.”

“Yes, yes. Good night.” Rin took the tray from the boy and managed to close the door with her knee. Back inside the room she looked around for a place to put the tray down for later, when Sesshomaru woke up. She was inclined to let him sleep a while longer, because it was obvious that he needed it, but she didn’t want the food to get cold either. At some point she would probably have to wake him up, an action for which she needed to steel herself a little.

She didn’t want to wake him up, exactly -

“ECHUH!”

Oh curses.

There was a table in one corner with a chair next to it. Rin put the tray on the table, sat down on the chair, and to give herself something to do, examined the dishes. Steaming rice, some kind of dark sauce filled with little lumps that could be anything from meat to mushrooms, a small stack of flat, limp cake-like things, piping hot and smelling delicious. There were even two cups of green tea. A very good meal. Rin’s spirits lifted with approval, but still she did not dare to so much as glance towards the bed. Maybe he had just sneezed in his sleep.

“Ihh..! Hh’NGKST-HHRRFSCHH!”

Or maybe not.

Rin swallowed her automatic “Oudaijini” and stayed put, determined not to disturb her master before he was good and ready to be disturbed. She was rather at a loss what to do, having never seen him like this. He was a force to be reckoned with at the best of times, and the fact that something so weakening, so... human as a cold had managed to get the best of him was obviously making him very angry. Best to tread carefully, to leave him be as much as possible.

He sat up, groaning. The sound stirred something within her; it was all she could do to stay in her seat. She did look up, and said, in a voice she tried her best to keep normal, “The food has arrived, Master.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, not looking at her. “I’m not hungry.” His voice was so deep it seemed to resonate through the floor and up through her entire body. It made her shiver.

“You must eat something, though,” she ventured. “This is all quite good -”

“I said I am not hungry, Rin,” he rumbled. And turned his face into his sleeve, stifling yet another triple sneeze. He seemed to have lost the ability to smother them into complete silence, however. “HhPTSCH-MMPKT-MMTSSCHehh...”

“Oudaijini,” Rin whispered involuntarily, then clapped a hand over her mouth in dismay. The fiery glare she had expected never came, however; it was as if he hadn’t heard her. Well, good.

“Well,” she said. “I apologise, Master, but I am hungry, rather. It would be a shame to let this go to waste. Only tell me if you think you might be hungry later, so that I can save some of it for you.” It was no use, after all, to keep walking on eggshells.

He made no answer. She glanced over at him, to determine whether he was so angry he was now ignoring her completely or he was simply not paying attention - and was startled.

Sesshomaru sat slumped on the edge of the bed, much in the way she had found him the night before, only this time he actually looked as though the weight of his robe was too much for him. His chin was resting on his chest, tangled strands of hair hanging down on either side of his face, obscuring it almost fully but still not enough to hide the redness of his nose and the areas around it. He was clutching the washrag in one hand. His breathing sounded liquid and raspy. Nothing left of his famed, awe-inspiring dignity and fearsome deportment. This was simply a very sick man who looked as though he was about to topple over.

“Master,” Rin said gently. “You really should lie down. This will not do.”

He looked up at that, with a ghost of his former fierce scowl. “Do not tell me what to do.”

Rin sighed. “I would never be so presumptuous... in normal circumstances.”

“These are normal circumstances.”

“I beg your pardon, my lord, but no, they are not.” My god, is he going to make me say what he does not want to hear, so that he can put all blame on me?

He stood up, swaying, ignoring the fact that he could hardly keep his balance, towering over her. Now that he was close, she could almost feel the fevered heat spreading outward from his body. His eyes were glittering. “I warn you,” he barked. “Do not -” He halted suddenly. “Ahh -”

Rin clasped her hands together and looked away.

“HRRSCHFF! Haehh-MPFSCHT!” Sesshomaru’s glamour actually stuttered, flickered, with the force of his sneezing. Rin looked on in reluctant fascination as the dog shimmered through the man for just a few seconds, then was gone again. He was standing upright, those awful yellow eyes hard and shiny as diamonds, shooting daggers at his mouthy companion.

The fog in his head had thickened, the ache in his joints and muscles was worse than before, his throat was burning and his nose was glowing and itching and driving him to distraction. Weakness! But he would not tolerate insubordination. And Rin would find that out if she did not take care.

“Get up,” he growled. “You eat after I eat.”

Rin nodded, stood up, and went to lean against the window sill, her back carefully to her master. Not so very long ago she would have cried over such treatment, but she had grown much stronger, more impervious to the uglier aspects of her lord’s personality. So she said nothing and did not shed a single tear, just stood quietly at the window and looked outside at the driving rain that was now lashing the streets and buildings outside. It was still light, but dusk was starting to set in.

Behind her she heard Sesshomaru disprove his earlier assertion that he was not hungry. I’ll be lucky if there’s anything left for me, she thought. At least the food would give him some of his strength back, which would hopefully improve his mood. Even if she did get to sleep in the kitchen tonight, that could only be a good thing.

He sneezed intermittently during his meal, the usual fiercely bitten-off half-sounds that were his way. Rin tried valiantly to ignore them, and because she was at the window and he was not in her line of vision, she succeeded. And if she did breathe out an inaudible “oudaijini” now and again, after a particularly vicious-sounding mini-fit, who was to know? Life was difficult, and a girl needed some kind of outlet.

I just hope he’ll go back to sleep after eating, and doesn’t wake up again until he feels significantly better.

[blackrose]

i love this!

[SapphireSong]

OHHHMIGOSH!!!!! ~~iz melting from the awesome~~

Maru-Chan!!!! I thought you said it was the end!!!! *tears of joy* This is sheer brilliance... it is SOOOO CUTE and HOTTT and so VERY Sesshomaru!! Thanks so much for continuing this, I freakin' LOVE IT!!

[VividBubbles!]

I'm not really a magna or anime type of person, but this has got me really interested. I hope you continue it soon!

BYE!

[LeadaAlexys52]

Just the thought of Sessamaru sneezing is giving me chills!! This is so awesome. I love that he seems to be so desperately trying to keep up his usual curtness and rather failing. Awesome! Please MORE....SOON!