That sound again.
Sesshoumaru paused in his stride. He'd been hearing that sound more and more, the first time being a day or so ago. He'd not given a single thought to it, ignoring it completely at first, but it was growing louder, deeper, more frequent.
He turned around. A dozen strides behind him on the dusty road, Jaken trotted around, stopping suddenly when he realized his lord had stopping moving forward, making a surprised sound and inquiring as to his desires.
Sesshoumaru ignored him.
A dozen more paces, and he saw Rin riding Ah-Un. But something was amiss. He could see her shivering, although the night was warm enough, even for a human's thin skin. He heard the sound again as she opened her mouth and coughed, an ugly sound that sent an equally ugly smell wafting past.
"Rin."
"S…Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Rin lifted her face to him, and her skin was pale, her eyes shrunken. She wobbled in the saddle, her small face scrunching with the effort of trying to focus on him, though it was not even night yet, and there was no reason she should not be able to see him.
"W-what is…it…"
Rin's voice trailed away, her eyes closed, and her body went limp, tilting to one side. Sesshoumaru was a blur, catching her before she could fall out of the saddle, and he spoke her name once more. She didn't answer.
"Rin! When Sesshoumaru-sama speaks, you must-"
"Silence, Jaken."
Jaken gulped and fell back as Sesshoumaru leaned down and focused on the child before him. She was unconscious, and her breathing was ragged to his ears. What little breath escaped her lips carried the smell of decay, and as he looked yet closer, he saw tiny flecks of blood on her robes that he knew was her own.
Rin was…what was it called.
Ah yes.
Sick.
"Jaken."
"M-My lord?"
Jaken stood sweating as Sesshoumaru paused a few moments continuing.
"What does a human do to heal itself after falling ill?"
"I wouldn't know, my lord. Actually, I don't think they can. Humans are weak, living in fifth and always getting one sickness or another. One little disease and they just drop dead, really…"
By the tiniest measure, the slightest pull of muscles, Sesshoumaru put on an expression of displeasure. For Jaken, he knew it was the equivalent of any other Youkai screaming with murderous rage.
"B-b-b-but I-I s-suppose they would be taken to a h-healer. Or a priest! Well, if the human was about to die-but I'm sure that's not the case!"
Sesshoumaru turned away as Jaken continued to babble. He reached out to the winds, feeling the currents of the air and the scents they carried. The scents of the forest and the fields. Musk and blood of the animals of the forest. The dampness of an approaching storm. And in the middle of it all, the unmistakable smell of human sweat and toil, a village of fair size, he supposed.
Ignoring Jaken's ramblings, Sesshoumaru turned towards the scent, keeping his eyes, as always, on the road ahead.
Always, but save those few moments he glanced to his side at Rin, slumped and motionless in the saddle.