Disclaimer: I do not own any InuYasha characters nor do I own Omelas. The only thing I own is the story idea. Enjoy the story.

The One Who Returned to Omelas

Ten years had passed since Lord Sesshomaru, Demon Lord of the Western Lands, had resurrected Rin from the dead. He never really knew why the girl, who was only eight at the time, had tried to care for him when he had lost his left arm during a fight with Inuyasha, his younger half-brother. For a long time, though he was curious about her actions and why she always had a smile on her little battered face, he did not ask why she had tried to help him or why she didn't fear him as most humans did. But now that Rin was an adult and had refused all those who sought to win her as a mate, Sesshomaru found himself sitting in his study wondering about Rin's past. Her appearance had changed, her rich brown hair now hung down to her waist, she had grown to about 5'8", she was still slender, but she now had a woman's curves, and while her brown eyes were still retained the innocence, happiness, and fearlessness that she had as a child, they also held more wisdom than one would expect from a young woman of 18. As if she had heard his thoughts, Rin knocked on the door of the study and entered when he called.

"Good morning, my Lord," Rin greeted with a bright, cheerful smile.

"Rin," Sesshomaru greeted as usual. Rin was not offended by Sesshomaru's one word answers, or his seemingly cold and expressionless façade. After spending so many years traveling with the proud dog demon she knew that if you wanted to know what Sesshomaru was feeling, you had to pay attention to his eyes. Though most people were too afraid of the great dog demon's cold nature to look him in the eye, Rin had never had that problem. She had always loved her demon guardian, but as she had grown older she realized that the love she felt for her silver hair and golden eyed companion was more than just the love of a child for a parent. Since she had turned 13 she had found herself getting lost in thought about the cold beauty of her Lord. She loved how his silver hair, which hung almost down to his feet, would catch the sun and shine like a diamond, or would turn iridescent, like a pearl in the moonlight. Whenever she thought about Sesshomaru's tall, muscular frame, his ivory skin or the beautiful markings on his face—two magenta stripes on each cheekbone, one stripe on each eyelid, and a bluish-purple crescent moon in the middle of his forehead—she would blush bright red and stare at the ground. As she spoke with her Lord Rin had to focus her thoughts on something other than Sesshomaru so she didn't blush or make a fool of herself.

"You seem to be pondering something, my Lord. Is there something I can help you with?" Rin asked, still smiling. The only times that Sesshomaru had ever seen Rin without a smile was when her life was in danger, which hadn't happened since the defeat of the filthy half demon, Naraku six years ago.

"Rin, I was curious, what happened to your family? I know they died, but you never told me how." Sesshomaru replied. Sesshomaru was surprised to see Rin's smile dim and take on a sad look. He had not seen this look on her face since the day she had asked if he would remember her when she died.

"Ah, my Lord, the story about my family is a long and unusual one; but if you wish to hear it, I would be glad to tell it." Rin said.

"Proceed," Sesshomaru commanded.

"Very well, my Lord," Rin started. "My family and I were born in a place called Omelas. Omelas is a very peaceful place. There are no wars, no crimes committed, no one is greedy or wasteful, and the people are always happy and safe. Many people would think that this is a perfect place to live, and I know that those who stay in Omelas believe it is so. My mother and I, on the other hand, could not find real happiness there. You see, there is a price that must be paid for the perfect lives of the people who live in Omelas. That price is the life long suffering of a child. The officials keep the child in a small closet, with no light, no cloths, nothing to eat but half a bowl of cornmeal and grease a day. Everyone in Omelas knows of the child, and they cannot do anything about its suffering, for it is believed that if there is not one who suffers, all would suffer. Those who still live in Omelas take the peaceful conditions that they had lived in for generations as proof that what the officials say is true. Mother and I could not live with the idea of another living being suffering for our happiness, though Father had no problem with this fact. Mother had stayed in Omelas for Father but once he died we decide that since we could not help the child but could not help wanting to help, we would leave Omelas and take our chances in the place beyond. We left in the night, just the two of us, and walked right out of the city gates, towards the mountains to the north and as we reached them we walked through an area that was so thick with darkness that we couldn't see more than three feet in front of us. It only took ten minutes to traverse the dark area, and when we could see again we were amazed. We found ourselves a short distance from the village I stayed at until I meet you, my Lord. It was only a few months after we arrived that Mother was killed by bandits and you know the rest Lord Sesshomaru."

"Rin, why do you smile all the time? Why are you so cheerful?" Sesshomaru asked as he tried to absorb the new information his young ward had given him.

"I'm not always happy, but whenever I think of that child in Omelas I have to smile. It feels as if the child's suffering would be for nothing if I didn't find happiness without sacrificing anyone else for it. I have suffered my own pain and that makes the joy and happiness I've found much more meaningful than it would have been if I had stayed in Omelas. I hate what the officials do to the child and wish I could stop them from doing the same to the next child. I suspect that the child I had seen all those years ago has passed on and been replaced with another. Mother told me that those chosen usually only survive ten to twelve years at most; some only survive for five years. That is one of the reason's I smile a lot, my Lord, the other reason is that you have allowed me to stay by your side." Rin said and then she added with a slight blush, "I hope to remain by your side for as long as I live, my Lord."

If Rin had not been watching Sesshomaru's face she might have thought that her last statement had no effect on him; as it was his only reaction was that his eyes widened slightly and for a split second his golden eyes flashed bright red. Having spent so many years living and traveling with demons, Rin knew that there were only a few reasons that a demon's eyes turned red. One is if they are turning from their humanoid form to their demon form. The second is when they are extremely angry and losing control of their inner beast. The last reason is when they attracted to someone or in a mating heat. Sesshomaru had such control over himself that if she hadn't been paying attention she would have missed it. Rin was uncertain if the explanation for the brief change was from anger or attraction, but she knew better than to call attention to it. Sesshomaru was a very private demon and did not like to show his emotions.

But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have emotions. Though many people think that he has an icicle for a heart Sesshomaru actually felt things much more intensely than one would expect. It was the sheer intensity of his emotions that forced him to suppress them. A demon's power is derived from their emotional state so when Sesshomaru losses control of his emotions there are usually dire consequences. The last time he really lost control he completely destroyed a human village while in his dog form, of course that village had sent out assassins to kill him and his half-brother so he didn't really regret their destruction. There is nothing quite like seeing a huge white dog three times the size of a palace smashing houses and drooling corrosive acid that melted everything it touched into a puddle of goo. The only ones that survived his wrath were the children of the village which he found homes for after regaining control of his beast.

Most people would have been surprised to know that Sesshomaru had a soft spot for children and the story Rin had told him about Omelas had just sealed the fate of the one who ruled there.

'Perhaps it is time for Inuyasha to take on some responsibility,' Sesshomaru's inner beast suggested.

'Perhaps, he has gotten much stronger and more reliable since he mated the time traveling priestess Kagome. I believe it is time to check up on our little brother,' Sesshomaru told his beast.

'And when are you going to claim Rin as our mate? You know that you have wanted to since she came of age. It's is time to settle down and produce and heir, after all we are already over 500 years old,' the beast asked.

'I will claim Rin as soon as I have taken care of those wretches who would harm an innocent child in Omelas. I believe the conquest of those lands would be a suitable mating gift for Rin,' Sesshomaru replied and his beast fell silent once more.

"Rin, have Jaken saddle Ah-Un and pack enough supplies for a week. We will be leaving in two hours. It has been a while since I have sparred with my half-brother," he said in dismissal as he turned back to his paperwork.

"Yes, my Lord," Rin said as she moved towards the door. Just as she reached the door and was about to leave Sesshomaru spoke one last time.

"And Rin, this Sesshomaru would like you to stay by my side as well." Rin blushed, giggled and left to find Jaken.

It didn't take Rin long to find the little green, toad-looking imp demon and relay Sesshomaru's orders. Jaken went out to saddle the bronze two-headed dragon that served as Rin's mount when they had to travel. Though Ah-Un was a fierce demon when threatened he was also one of the friendliest demons a person could ever meet and Rin's devoted friend and protector. While Jaken was busy with Ah-Un, Rin packed all the supplies that they would need and help load everything onto Ah-Un. By the time Sesshomaru arrived at the main gates everyone was ready to go. Without a word or a glance at the groveling imp Sesshomaru started walking and the others immediately fell in line behind him.

The journey to the small village in the Forest of Inuyasha was relatively uneventful. Sesshomaru only had to kill two demons that week, and neither were any challenge at all. It was times like these when Sesshomaru almost missed his half-brother; at least Inuyasha was able to put up a decent fight. Of course there were still plenty of samurai sent by the human warlords who wanted to take over all of Japan for him to fight, but human samurai were not skilled enough to present a challenge for the Demon Lord.

As they reached the village they were greeted by Kagome who had been out collecting medicinal herbs at the edge of the forest. After a quick greeting, Kagome went to drop off the herbs and bring Inuyasha back. In a few minutes Sesshomaru's group, Kagome, and Inuyasha were gathered in a clearing. It took about a half an hour to explain what Rin had told him and what his plans were. Of course as soon as Kagome had heard that here was a child suffering there was no stopping her from volunteering to help put a stop to the atrocity. Even Inuyasha agreed to help out and was honored when Sesshomaru offered to set him and Kagome up as a minor Lord and Lady when the city was taken. From what Rin had said Sesshomaru knew that Omelas had to be right on the southern border of his lands though he had never heard of this city before.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Kagome started. "Could this city be hidden by a barrier? I know that you are well aware of all the villages that owe you allegiance, and those that are within 200 miles of the Western Lands."

"I believe this may be the case. When I had first saved Rin I had felt the presence of a brief flash of demonic energy and had been about to investigate when I came across Rin and promptly forgot all about it," Sesshomaru replied. After discussing the possibilities for a while they all agreed to investigate the area around Rin's old village, quickly restocked supplies, and head out towards the south-western border of the Western Lands.

The journey took three weeks to complete and other than a few sparring matches between the half-dog-demon, Inuyasha, and the full-dog-demon, Sesshomaru, the trip was peaceful. Kagome was quickly able to sense a demonic barrier a couple of miles from the village and they headed straight to it. After studying it for about an hour, Kagome was able to tell that the barrier was designed to absorb the life energy of any human who crossed it. Fortunately it was a relatively weak barrier and could only absorb one person at a time. This explained to Rin the tradition of those who left having to leave by themselves and why they never came back to Omelas. The travelers quickly decided they would leave Jaken, Rin and Ah-Un in a safe clearing as they would not be much help in a fight. Then they would have Inuyasha use his sword's ability to break the barrier, Kagome would pinpoint the demon's position, and Sesshomaru's orb of light to get to the demon within seconds of the barrier's collapse. The plan went off without a hitch. Within a minute of the barrier's fall the Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Kagome had the demon surrounded and like most evil idiots he couldn't resist bragging about what he had done.

It turned out that Kaichi, the leader of the city, was a demon who feed on hopelessness. Three century ago he had decided that he wanted to live a peaceful life, but still needed to feed. So he took over a village and secretly over the next few years killed off all the older villagers and brainwashed the young into believing that if one child suffered enough misery then the rest of the village would never have to suffer again. The hopelessness of a single child was able to keep him feed for an average of seven years. In order to keep the promise of peace Kaichi created the barrier to keep everyone out and to keep the ones who wanted to leave from telling anyone else about the village. He actually had the audacity to laugh as he recounted the hopelessness of all the children he had consumed over the last three hundred years.

Needless to say, Kaichi didn't live for much longer, as he was a relatively weak demon, Sesshomaru let Inuyasha and Kagome have the privilege of killing him. No one was sure if it Inuyasha's attack or Kagome's sacred arrow that actually killed him because as soon as the arrow struck him, Kaichi turned to purified dust. Once Kaichi was dead, it was easier than they had thought it would be to sort everything out. In the ten years since Rin and her mother had left the citizens had started realizing that something was not right in their city, but were unable to figure out how to stop it since no one knew how to fight. They had been raised to accept what they were told and didn't know that they could resist in any other way than to leave.

Within three days the whole city had accepted Inuyasha and Kagome as their Lord and Lady. Inuyasha's first order of business was to start training the men who wanted to learn how to fight. Kagome started reeducating the residents so they could survive in the world as it is. Sesshomaru finally asked Rin to be his mate, which she enthusiastically agreed to. Even 500 years later, people still tell the story of the one who returned to Omelas and taught them the meaning of true happiness.

The End