Requiem of a Lonely Heart:
Vibrant Sunset Meets Stormy Indigo Skies
-
He'd heard a saying once, "A wise man does not lose his way, a brave man does not fear." In the ten years that had passed since she left he'd somehow managed to do both.
The lush leaves of summer trees whipped by him in a vibrant green blur as he darted through their branches. He moved forward, always forward, without purpose or direction. He ran to escape his past and his own weakness, but more importantly, to escape her.
She'd disappeared down the Bone Eater's Well one vibrant morning nearly ten years ago and in that moment was ripped out of his life forever. The jewel that'd been her link between worlds had disappeared as well, destroyed by the purity of her wish for peace.
He snorted as his foot pushed off yet another tree branch. Peace... She'd never know that her stupid wish came true. Everywhere he travelled there was harmony and tranquility, except within his own heart. He felt only bitterness, raw and unforgiving, at the fates for allowing such a thing to happen to him. He'd dedicated nearly ten years of his life to searching for jewel shards and protecting the weak only to gain absolutely nothing in return.
Unable to watch those around him settle into their happy lives, he'd left them to become a wanderer, nothing more than a lonely soul searching for the one thing he could never have.
It'd been ten years since that time and thoughts of her still cropped up on occasion. Her smile haunted his dreams from time to time and scents familiar to hers sometimes appeared to twist a painful knot round his heart. Little by little though, his memories of her were beginning to fade.
It'd taken almost a decade of self-induced isolation, lost in the wilderness without a single companion, lover, or friend, for him to learn how to shut out the feelings of longing that'd once tortured his soul. He was a different man now than he'd been then; older, wiser and colder. He'd come to accept his existence as a rootless wanderer in the hopes that some day he'd find the redemption he so desperately sought, or perhaps the merciful death he longed for.
This day was like all the others, seasonably warm and pleasant, but he took no notice of the brilliant sunshine or the heavy perfume of flowers on the air. These things were inconsequential and irrelevant. For a wanderer like himself there was no time to stop and enjoy their beauty while his feet and his heart were miles ahead.
He kicked off another sturdy bow and sailed through the branches of the next tree. When his feet set down they inexplicably stood still, refusing to move forward.
I know this scent...
Bracing his palm against the rough bark of the tree's trunk, he tilted his nose slightly into the air and pulled in a tentative sniff. It was familiar and yet so abstract that he couldn't place its owner. With a scowl he set off through a few more trees before dropping from the rich foliage to the ground.
Crouched low among the long grasses he watched her in silence. She was bent over mid-way through a small patch of wildflowers. Her kimono looked as though it was made of the richest silk and it glimmered in the spots of sunlight that crept through the thick, leafy canopy overhead. It was snow white, accented by a pattern of lilacs that trailed up her side and down the length of her sleeve. In one hand she held a small bouquet of wildflowers, their milieu of colours a vibrant rainbow, and in the other was a large indigo flower freshly plucked from the earth.
Sensing his presence she turned towards him and her dark eyes widen with surprise to see him there. His mouth twitched as he suppressed a growl and his feet tingled with the desire to leap into the tree he'd landed under and keep running, but her voice held him at bay.
"Inuyasha? Is that you?" Ever so slowly her hands slipped to her sides, the wildflowers forgotten.
He stared at her, his gaze hard and tumultuous. Why did he know this scent? And why did this girl seem strangely familiar? And why was she staring at him like that anyway - as if she knew him so well? He didn't like it, not one bit. His mind told him to run but his feet refused to move, too stubborn to listen to reason.
The ground beneath them trembled as a large two-headed demon sauntered into the clearing, snorting and groaning curiously. Both heads glanced his way and his eyes narrowed in preparation to strike if need be. The girl didn't seem the least bit concerned by the massive beast standing behind her, a realization which made him pause. Then slowly, ever so slowly, the fog of ignorance began to fade. A girl and a two-headed demon - he'd seen them before, in another lifetime.
Standing up slowly, he looked with new eyes upon the girl who'd only seemed vaguely familiar before. The wind tousled her unruly hair about her shoulders and she blinked patiently, waiting for him to make the next move. His brow furrowed as his hand slipped over the hilt of Tetsusaiga at his hip.
"Where's Sesshomaru?" he demanded in a biting tone.
She flinched ever so slightly but there was no fear on her scent, only curiosity laced with surprise.
"Not here," she replied gently, in the kind of voice one would use to soothe a wild beast.
He snorted derisively and let his blade click back into its sheath. It'd been nearly a decade since he'd seen the bastard too. He was surprised to discover that apparently the ningen child that'd tagged along at his heels continued to do so. She wasn't a child any longer though, a fact made fairly obvious by her tall, slender form and the womanly curves accentuated by the wrappings of her kimono. It was easy to forget sometimes that humans aged far quicker than those with demon blood coursing through their veins.
"It has been many years since we last saw you," she observed in that same quiet voice she'd used before.
He glowered at her, not liking the glimmer of pity he saw in her eyes. They spoke volumes to him with their sympathy. So she knew Kagome was gone too. To him the knowledge was little comfort. He hated the way she stood there with such a pathetic look on her face, like she had the right to feel sorry for him, like she knew him at all.
"Where've you been all this time?"
She cautiously stooped to pick another flower and glanced up expectantly at him, waiting for an answer. The flower had vibrant orange coloured petals, the hue of a sunset. It contrasted perfectly with the indigo one she'd chosen earlier. He brooded over her question, disliking the fact that he'd only been there a minute and she was already prying.
For ten years he'd been everywhere and nowhere, to Hell and back and everything in-between. There was no easy answer to her question and he had no interest in providing one, but found that his lips and tongue moved anyway. It'd been so long since he'd talked to another soul, or been this close to anyone remotely familiar to his past self that he couldn't help but respond.
"Wandering."
She seemed to accept this answer with a subtle nod and bent to pick another flower, this one pure white like her kimono or the freshly fallen snow. His eyes followed her hand as she delicately slipped it into her small bouquet. Her movements were graceful and elegant, fluid like water and just as calming. For a moment he was content to watch her, just as she was content to be watched.
"You must be tired," she offered as she bent to pick another flower and he shrugged indifferently.
His heart may have been tired, pushed well past the point of exhaustion, but his feet demanded that he move on. She was too familiar and reminded him of how things used to be and what could have been. He hadn't the stomach for such memories. By the time she righted herself he was gone. From the safety of the tree's highest branches he watched her stare after the spot where he'd been. A confused frown knit her eyebrows but her concern was quickly dismissed with a hapless shrug.
He remained long enough to watch her turn to the two-headed beast and tenderly stroke its noses before he was once again racing through the trees, his body moving ever faster, rushing ever forward. Seeing that girl had unnerved him. He despised the fact that she'd been able to shake his resolve with such simple questions, enough to make him doubt himself and his quest to forget the past.
Talking with her had made him feel like less of a beast and more of a man, even if it was only for a short while. There'd been no fear in her gaze, no hesitation or confusion, only curiosity and that touch of pity he so despised. She was an interesting character that Rin, but curiosity wasn't enough to slow his pace. And so he ran, hard, fast and long until his feet refused to go on and his legs buckled and collapsed beneath him.
Only then was there just enough distance between them.
Author's Note: In honour of this week's manga chapter I thought I'd post up the first chapter of this little diddy I've been working on.
In my fic "Sword of Supreme Conquest" I paired Inuyasha and Rin together on a whim and, much to my surprise, it really seemed to work. So here is my attempt at an Inuyasha & Rin fic.
This first chapter is intentionally short. The next one should be posted within a few days as I'm just putting the finishing touches on it. In the meantime, I'd appreciate any and all feedback you feel like sending my way.
Until next time...
Langus