Entry: Blade
Title: The Rusted Blade
Rating: PG
Genre: General/Post-manga
Word Count: 824
Warnings: None
Author: silentaiyoukai
Summary: They were all around her, and yet she had never even held one…
Until she saw that rusted one laying on the ground, she hadn’t realized how all around her they were. Inuyasha had one that could fell a hundred demons. Her Lord had possessed quite a number of them over the years, including one that was inheritably evil and another that had once saved her life. Even her husband had a few of them in his lifetime. As a child he had carried a curved one that he had once tried to kill her with, and now as an adult he carried one that Totosai had specially crafted for him.
Rin laid down the buckets of water she had fetched from the stream. The rusty blade that caught her eye was sticking out from the fronds of a leafy plant. Getting to her knees, she fished the katana out from its resting place and held it in her lap. The entire length of the blade was brown with rust, but it was still far from becoming brittle with decay. She brushed some of the dirt off the handle and found the soft wrap covering to be almost completely unraveled.
She gripped the handle in both hands and stood with the weapon held straight out in front of her. Though she had tried with him for nearly a year of her life, Rin had only seen her Lord Sesshoumaru wield a sword less than a handful of times. She had seen her taijiya husband slay a demon only once, and that had been before they were married. His movements had been swift, and his attitude sure. He had a precise technique that he had been working to perfect since he was a child. It was seeing him slay the demon that Rin had realized she loved him, and had for a long time.
Standing with the katana in her hand, she tried her best to remember the way she had seen her husband and Lord fight. She brought the katana over her right shoulder and down in a diagonal slice. The tip of the blade stuck in the soft earth, and Rin carefully wiggled it out with a displeased grimace. She danced clumsily with the blade, mangling the underbrush and scarring the trees. She tried a horizontal slicing motion, but the back of the blade collided with a large boulder. The weapon recoiled at her and the rusted edge slid across her thigh, drawing her blood in a painful, jagged line. She dropped the katana and fell to her knees, pulling up her kimono to get a better look at the wound. It was jagged and ugly but not very deep, though that didn’t stop it from being painful. She poured water from one of buckets upon the wound to clean it, then tore off the hem of her kimono to wrap it around the injury.
She winced in pain as she stood, picking up the two buckets and making her way home. She favored her injured leg, and her clumsy gait sloshed a trail of water behind her. By the time her hut came into view, both buckets were only half full. She could see her husband sitting out in front of their hut with his armor in his lap and a rag in his hand. A small neko youkai was curled up around his feet, taking a nap.
Her husband looked up from his polishing as he heard her approaching. He let his armor fall into the dust and ran to her. In a moment the buckets were gone from her hands and her arms were around his neck. She held fast to him as he led her home. He placed the buckets down near Kirara, who had woken up and was now staring at Rin with worried eyes.
Kohaku gathered Rin into his lap as he sat down. “What happened, Rin?” he asked, untying her orange and yellow tourniquet.
She told him of the abandoned weapon she had found, and when she was done he laid her upon the ground and disappeared into the hut for a moment, returning with the proper items to clean and bandage her wound.
“I’m sorry for my carelessness, husband,” Rin said sheepishly as Kohaku wrapped her leg.
“Don’t apologize,” he said, and Rin could tell there was something on his mind. His brow furrowed as he finished bandaging her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, placing her palm to his cheek and bringing his eyes up to hers.
“I could teach you, if you want,” he said, and at her confused gaze he continued, “How to use a sword. It would probably be good if you knew how…” he scratched the back of his neck and looked away again.
Rin laughed and threw her arms around her husband’s neck. It was amazing how graceful he was as a taijiya, and yet his words could sound so clumsy at times. “You’d do that for me?”
“Well, yeah, of course…” he said, and he was abruptly silenced by his wife’s kiss.
Rating: PG
Genre: General/Post-manga
Word Count: 824
Warnings: None
Author: silentaiyoukai
Summary: They were all around her, and yet she had never even held one…
Until she saw that rusted one laying on the ground, she hadn’t realized how all around her they were. Inuyasha had one that could fell a hundred demons. Her Lord had possessed quite a number of them over the years, including one that was inheritably evil and another that had once saved her life. Even her husband had a few of them in his lifetime. As a child he had carried a curved one that he had once tried to kill her with, and now as an adult he carried one that Totosai had specially crafted for him.
Rin laid down the buckets of water she had fetched from the stream. The rusty blade that caught her eye was sticking out from the fronds of a leafy plant. Getting to her knees, she fished the katana out from its resting place and held it in her lap. The entire length of the blade was brown with rust, but it was still far from becoming brittle with decay. She brushed some of the dirt off the handle and found the soft wrap covering to be almost completely unraveled.
She gripped the handle in both hands and stood with the weapon held straight out in front of her. Though she had tried with him for nearly a year of her life, Rin had only seen her Lord Sesshoumaru wield a sword less than a handful of times. She had seen her taijiya husband slay a demon only once, and that had been before they were married. His movements had been swift, and his attitude sure. He had a precise technique that he had been working to perfect since he was a child. It was seeing him slay the demon that Rin had realized she loved him, and had for a long time.
Standing with the katana in her hand, she tried her best to remember the way she had seen her husband and Lord fight. She brought the katana over her right shoulder and down in a diagonal slice. The tip of the blade stuck in the soft earth, and Rin carefully wiggled it out with a displeased grimace. She danced clumsily with the blade, mangling the underbrush and scarring the trees. She tried a horizontal slicing motion, but the back of the blade collided with a large boulder. The weapon recoiled at her and the rusted edge slid across her thigh, drawing her blood in a painful, jagged line. She dropped the katana and fell to her knees, pulling up her kimono to get a better look at the wound. It was jagged and ugly but not very deep, though that didn’t stop it from being painful. She poured water from one of buckets upon the wound to clean it, then tore off the hem of her kimono to wrap it around the injury.
She winced in pain as she stood, picking up the two buckets and making her way home. She favored her injured leg, and her clumsy gait sloshed a trail of water behind her. By the time her hut came into view, both buckets were only half full. She could see her husband sitting out in front of their hut with his armor in his lap and a rag in his hand. A small neko youkai was curled up around his feet, taking a nap.
Her husband looked up from his polishing as he heard her approaching. He let his armor fall into the dust and ran to her. In a moment the buckets were gone from her hands and her arms were around his neck. She held fast to him as he led her home. He placed the buckets down near Kirara, who had woken up and was now staring at Rin with worried eyes.
Kohaku gathered Rin into his lap as he sat down. “What happened, Rin?” he asked, untying her orange and yellow tourniquet.
She told him of the abandoned weapon she had found, and when she was done he laid her upon the ground and disappeared into the hut for a moment, returning with the proper items to clean and bandage her wound.
“I’m sorry for my carelessness, husband,” Rin said sheepishly as Kohaku wrapped her leg.
“Don’t apologize,” he said, and Rin could tell there was something on his mind. His brow furrowed as he finished bandaging her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, placing her palm to his cheek and bringing his eyes up to hers.
“I could teach you, if you want,” he said, and at her confused gaze he continued, “How to use a sword. It would probably be good if you knew how…” he scratched the back of his neck and looked away again.
Rin laughed and threw her arms around her husband’s neck. It was amazing how graceful he was as a taijiya, and yet his words could sound so clumsy at times. “You’d do that for me?”
“Well, yeah, of course…” he said, and he was abruptly silenced by his wife’s kiss.