Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
It was Rin's 18th birthday. She had become a beautiful young woman who carried a grace of angel and a healing ability of a priestess. Her smile could pacify the most formidable heart of men, and her beaming eyes could brighten the darkest soul of villains.
Her hands were sought after by many noble warlords, handsome princes, and brave warriors. Her heart was the most precious treasure that many wished to possess.
Very soon, Rin would choose her own path of life. She was no longer the dependent child who tagged along gracelessly after a certain stoic demon lord. She didn't need him anymore like she once did. And she found that the human castles were much more comfortable than his nomadic way of life.
But she had chosen since the day she knew that she must choose. She had secretly given her heart to him, and she only gave that secret away by the blushes a few times when she met his amberous gaze. Even if her heart would be broken into pieces, she would gather those fragments and put them in a safe place just for him.
No other man would have them.
On the night of her 18th birthday, she stood under the crescent moon and waited. Why was it so late that he hadn't come. Her lord had never failed her before to wish her a happy celebration of her new age.
Standing in a shadow on the edge of the forest behind her, he gazed at her for the longest moment. Above all the men who wished to have her hand, the demon lord desired her heart even more than the word love itself could describe.
But he hesitated.
He did not accumulate wealth. He had no need for possessions. He understood the ephemeral quality of this material world; all would pass before his eyes leaving him alone with only an elusive shadow of a memory to mourn for.
She was no different. Her life was but a fleeting second compared to his. She, too, would pass leaving him an eternity of only memories. Soon, the beauty of her memories would turn into miserable longings clinging on to him with an illusory remembrance of that long gone past.
He turned and walked away.
But his heart grew so heavy it bore down on his strides and made them slower.
He always felt at peace when she smiled at him. His heart had always raced at the sparkling vitality of her eyes. And the thrill he felt when she sometimes held his hands surpassed all the excitement he ever felt in any victorious battle he had won.
The surge of power gushed from his heart at the thought of her overshadowed all of his demonic power even in its finest form.
He stopped his strides.
Raising his head to the moon above as if he was asking for its opinion, the moon almost seemed like it was smiling at him.
Why?
Why holding on to something so fleeting such as a human life?
He would only be able to be with Rin for however many few years she would live. After that, he would live unto eternity alone with only the misery of the beautiful memories of her.
He closed his eyes and heard the sounds of her voice when she used to travel with him.
"Lord Sesshomaru, Lord Sesshomaru! Look! This flower is most beautiful."
"Why, Rin? Why do you revel in such a thing that only lasts for 30 minutes?"
"Oh! I don't know. But it makes me happy for at least 30 minutes."
She looked up and smiled at him, then ran away giggling about something, possibly at the thought of picking another flower for another 30 happy minutes.
He opened his eyes and smiled at her silliness, one of the very rare smiles that only the shadow of the night had the privilege to see.
He turned back toward the village in search for Rin, and for Rin's hand. Yes, even having Rin by his side, he would still live another 10000 years in miserable loneliness longing for her after she passed.
But...
- If I live another day without Rin, I would be living 10000 years and one day bearing that misery.