"Lord Sesshomaru?" asked a young 11 year old girl. "Yes Rin? "
"Rin is hungry. I was wondering if I could go and-" "Rin you don't have to ask me. Let me know where you are going off to but you don't need my permission unless we are traveling. Right now we are already settled."
A bright smile filled the child's face. With a quick bow to her guardian the girl took off before Sesshomaru could send Jaken to watch over her. Taking one last look at the running child before she disappeared from his sight Sesshomaru sighed. He cared for the girl and was extremely protective over her even now that it's been three years since Naraku's defeat. Leaning back on the tree providing excellent shade as he sat under it ,Sesshomaru turned his face to the sun and closed his eyes to rest. Not far from the relaxed inu lord ,had his other two demon followers ,Jaken and Ah-Un, decided to follow their Lord's lead and fall asleep under the warm sun set with just the right breeze.
"Hmm. I wonder where the river wa- Oh there it is haha. "The girl knew not to wonder too far from their camp. She went far enough to get to the river yet not so far down where Sesshomaru might lose track of her scent.
"WOW!Rin loves this so much! It's so beautiful." Rin exclaimed. The view of the river had really left the girl breathless. The river was quite large and flowed softly at the top while at the bottom the river picked up at a greater speed. From the top of a rock the child could see a perfect view of the sun almost disappearing on the horizon. It was almost going to be night. The skies were painted in beautiful colors of red, orange ,pink and even hints of dark purple. A soft breeze kissed the girl and played with her hair. Rin really missed this. She missed traveling with her Lord Sesshomaru,Master Jaken and Ah-Un like last year.The girl was grateful for her Lord Sesshomaru letting her travel with them this time for a little while. She enjoyed staying in Kaede's village a lot with Kagome,Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kohaku as well though. She was grateful.
Blushing at the sudden thought of her best friend Kohaku, Rin bit the inside of her cheek and went on to rolling up her sleeves. The fish in the river were fast and big. She had difficulty catching them from where she was and noticed after a while that the currents were dragging most of the fish downstream. Looking down on the ground of the bank she counted that she only caught 4 fish. Two for Ah-Un and the other two for herself and Jaken. Rin only needed one more for Sesshomaru now.With a plan in mind Rin cautiously made her way further down the river. The girl was so busy mapping out how to collect the fish without harming herself that she didn't even notice a certain red-eyed demoness perched up on a high branch of a large tree growing on the opposite side of the river from where Rin stood.
Hiding in the shadows the sundown brought as well as the branches and leaves, Kagura sat watching the human carefully. She was aware that Sesshomaru was near but she frowned when she realized his scent was a bit too far for the girl's safety.
What the hell is he thinking? Sesshomaru is a smart one and is always watching over the kid. The girl is obviously clever and independent. Why the hell would he let her off on her own so far away from their camp? If the girl gets swept away from the bank cuz she took a faulty step Im not helping….
Being pulled out of her thoughts Kagura leaned forward more ,away from the trunk she was previously leaning against on her branch and with anxious eyes she watched the kid make her move.
With a determined smile Rin hiked up her robes higher and carefully stepped on the stepping stones in the middle of the fast flowing river. It was getting darker so she had to hurry. "Come on...just two more jumps Rin…" the child whispered to herself now that she was making her way closer to the middle of the river ,which happened to be the deepest part too.
TSSS! the water hit against the rocks with force. Rin was getting a bit frantic yet she was determined. The sun had already gone down and left Rin to stay still for a while until her eyes adjusted to seeing with the moon's glow cutting through the darkness.
Careeful, caaareful, Oh my gosh CAREFULLLL! As Rin took a her time to carefully make her way leaping on each wet stone ,the demoness above watched in complete horror. Though she told herself she wasn't going to jump in if the girl got hurt,it didn't stop Kagura from almost catching an anxiety attack every time she feared the girl jumped to high,slow, quick or low.
Kagura was a demoness and though she was fully aware of her love for Sesshomaru,the demoness never let herself show any outside form of affection or compassion for others. Even if she acted like the complete opposite, the child grew on her, and not to mention the fact that the girl's small frame reminded Kagura of her decreased sister Kanna. Kagura was grateful for Kagome and the other's wishing her alive again after Naraku's defeat using the sacred jewel, for now she was finally free. She missed Kanna though and the kid subconsciously worried the crap out of Kagura.
Taking a final leap to the very middle stone Rin let put a short yelp that only Kagura caught. The human girl unfolded the skirt of her robe loose and held it open like a sack to hold the fish she would catch. Looking at this made Kagura scoff. Just hurry up kid! Why the hell hasn't the bastard come looking for her yet! It's late now. Rin bent down and waited til she could see a shimmer in the water to help her see any fish swimming around the dark waters. The splashing of the waters hitting against the rocks made Rin nervous yet she still continued looking. "Hmm...aha!" Rin almost missed it yet she caught it and was moving her body toward the spot in the water that seemed to have something shiny, reflecting in the moon's glow. With a big smile she quickly cupped her hands in the water and strangled the fish out of the water. It was huge and was perfect for Sesshomaru. Putting the fish in a wrap and tucking it in a pocket of her kimono , Rin looked at the stepping stones and tried to calculate a way to move towards the bank where the her first batch of fish awaited her.
Taking a deep breath Rin jumped and made it to one stone. Taking another leap ,she made it to the next. With a confident smile, Rin readied herself to jump again. She only needed two more stones and she could go back to camp. Right when Rin was bending her knees to jump a small but fast current washed over the stone and knocked Rin off.
Baka!! And you were doing great! What the hell? Calm down Kagura. The kid can save herself. And if not ,than Sesshomaru most definitely will. Kagura finally reasoned with herself and she sat back leaning on the tree. The wails of the endangered girl made Kagura tense. Calm down. That's not your kid. You have no care for- A deafening silence cut Kagura off immediately. Quickly moving to look down at the dark waters of the river ,Kagura couldn't see Rin.
Red ruby eyes flared with horror as she stretched her body to edge of the branch in hopes of catching at least one thing of the girl in the river. Finally catching sight of pale wet skin glistening from the moon's light Kagura took off down the river after the girl.
On her feather Kagura tried reaching for for the girl but it was hard trying to catch up to her when the unconscious girl occasionally would sink and then resurface in the water constantly while being dragged downstream at an alarming speed. Releasing a growl of anger Kagura yelled ."UGH DAMN YOU SESSHOMARU.TO HELL WITH IT !" In a swift clean motion Kagura bended down and pulled the child to her arms and on to her feather with great force.
Feeling tired from what had just occurred Kagura pulled the child's body into a hug and flew her feather back up the river. Now stepping on the riverbank she carried Rin and laid her on the soft grass. The demoness made her way down the river and quickly picked up the child's pile of fish and set it beside where Ron's body laid motionlessly.
"Ok kid come on wake up you're good now. Come on. Come on!" Kagura desperately yelled. Panic filled her as she brought down her head to the girl's face.
"SHE'S NOT BREATHING!"
Taking a deep breath Kagura tried settling down and then went ahead to press up and down on the girl's chest. After a few tries nothing happened so Kagura pinched Rin's nose and gave her mouth to mouth shortly before returning to pressing her chest up and down. Feeling Rin's body rattle as she coughed out the water trapped in her lungs a smile made its way on Kagura's relieved face.
"Ugh my lungs burn." Rin whispered in a raspy voice to herself and soon let out another fit of coughs. "Obviously kid! What were you thinking?" Hearing a second voice beside her scared Rin.
"Ahh!!"
"Woah calm down. It's me Kagura. Relax. I got you out just in time." Rin took in Kagura's disheveled and SLIGHTLY soaked appearance. I must have wet her when she pulled me out. Rin thought feeling guilty and grateful at the same time.
"Thank you Lady Kagura!" Rin stood up and jumped on to the woman who just saved her life. "I am really thankful! I haven't seen you in so long and Rin is sorry!"the girl cried. Kagura froze as the girl clung to her. Ignoring all her thoughts that told her to push Rin off, the kaze yokai wrapped her arms around the child. She's so small and warm. I've never held anyone this close.
"Shhh. Shush. It's ok Rin-" Kagura smiled brightly. " Don't worry. I'm glad to know you missed me. Its alright."She tried to say with her usual spunk. Sniffling Rin pulled away just a bit so that she could look at Kagura. The woman's smile dropped when she saw Rin's big watery eyes with a few stray tears falling down her puffy cheeks and her body shivering. On some type of instinct Kagura wiped Rin's tears with her sleeve and stood to shed off her outer layer leaving her in only her inner robes . Grabbing Rin towards her , she dried the child up with her kimono and wrapped her in it to get warm.