LOYALTY
Rin was 14 now and had grown to be a strong young woman. She was very rough though. She was not refined as other women her age were. She was not concerned with things like boys and the fineries of life. She had beautiful things, Lord Sesshomaru had given her fine kimons and other things Jaken had informed him that young women needed. But Rin never cared for these things. She preferred to be outdoors in the woods to being in a fine castle. When they would spend long periods of time in Sesshomaru's home in the western mountains she would get restless. She would provoke poor Master Jaken into fights and she would always whoop him. When she was particularly feisty she would provoke Ah-Un. The dragon would never hurt her, but was very annoyed with her harassment.
To ease her suffering, as well as Jaken and Ah-Un's, Sesshomaru would take her on various "quests". He did not mind, he enjoyed being outdoors in his lands also.
This particular "quest" was to find the demon who had been trespassing on Lord Sesshomaru's lands. They had been traveling for weeks and were coming close to his half-brother and his mate's village. He knew Rin would enjoy seeing them again so they began traveling in that direction. They stopped at night to make camp and rested by the fire.
Sesshomaru could smell something askew with Rin but he was unsure of the nature of the situation. He knew very little about humans and frankly did not care to. He left most of the human knowledge to Jaken. That morning there was no doubt about it Rin was in Heat, he thought to himself. Jaken informed him that by human standards this meant that she was old enough to reproduce and was ready to be left in a village to find a mate.
Sesshomaru did not know how to treat this situation; he certainly could not talk to Rin about this. He wasn't even sure what was going on. He assumed that Kagome had discussed these things with Rin the last time she had visited them. And he was content in that assumption. But the smell bothered him and was a great distraction so he had resolved that they would finish traveling to Kagome and leave Rin there for awhile.
He was on his way to inform Rin of his decision when he smelt blood coming from her direction and saw her crying alone in the woods. He rushed to her side where he stood over her as she cried. He looked around for an attacker with his hand on his sword ready to attack but there was no one to be found; man or demon.
"Rin?" he conveyed his concern in they way he said her name.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" She replied also concerned, tears soaking her cheeks.
He swiftly picked her up and in a minute they had traveled a days distance to InuYasha's home.
InuYasha looked at his brother standing in front of him with an odd look on his face and Rin crying in his arms, but before he could ask anything he smelt the problem. He called to Kagome who immediately appeared in the doorway upon hearing the distress in her mate's voice.
Rin jumped out of Sesshomaru's arms at the sight of Kagome and ran to hers sobbing into her chest and she fell to her knees. Kagome calmed the child till she could understand what she was saying when she talked.
Kagome gently helped her to clean up and gave her general explanation of what was happening to her. A very confused Rin looked up at Kagome and nodded as she spoke.
"Master Jaken told me that when a woman begins to "cycle" she bleeds for days and can die. Then she has to find a mate quickly or she will continue to bleed until she bleeds to death" she said to Kagome tears swelling in her eyes once again.
Kagome gently assured her that Jaken was an idiot and she would make sure he was punished accordingly. Leaving Rin to soak in the bath she walked out to address Sesshomaru, who was sitting with her Mate outside.
"InuYasha, Rin must stay here with you and your mate once more."
Kagome nodded understanding.
"Kagome I feel it is time for Rin to live among her own kind, teach her to and help her to find a suitable mate." He finished. He stood to leave when Kagome stepped in front of him to stop him.
"Sesshomaru! You can't just leave her with out telling her! The last time she was here she waited for you day and night to return. If you are not coming back she needs to know!!!!" upon delivering her speech she stepped out of his way shocked by her own boldness.
"Then tell her… I am not returning." he replied as he disappeared, a bright ball of white light.
Rin had grown a lot since the last time she seen Kagome and InuYasha. She was now looking more like an adult than a little girl, Kagome noted to herself. Any boy would he happy to win her affections. But she couldn't help but feel bad for her, Kagome knew that Rin would never be happy if not by Sesshomaru's side. The thought of the girl being alone in the world as she was when she was younger made Kagome very sad. She had a pup of her own in the time since Rin had visited last and had hoped that her pup would not have to go through the kind of suffering Rin had. She had been born into a cruel world where she was rejected and had even died. If it hadn't been for Lord Sesshomaru she would still be dead. And now he had left her. Kagome couldn't begin to understand why Sesshomaru had taken the child in to begin with, he hated humans, but seemed to care deeply for this one.
When she told Rin that Sesshomaru had left and was not returning this time she could see a light leave Rin's eyes. She didn't cry,or show any emotion in fact, but her pain was obvious to anyone who saw her that night. When she was in bed and thought the world was asleep Kagome heard her soft cries, but only at night did she ever cry.
Rin loved playing with Kagome's pup and Sangos children, all 3. She found her enjoyment in learning all she could about everything. In the small village school she asked more questions than all the other kids combined. She would ask about demons mostly, human things didn't interest her much. She didn't understand them. Her favorite part of school was learning songs and drawing. She was taught how to write and read and do math but much preferred drawing and singing. She was happy and a joy to be around in the day. At night she cried. Alone.
Years past, she was now 17, she had matured greatly. She was clever but not very smart. She was a skilled fighter and always enjoyed a good brawl. She was tall and tan, she had a wild beauty about her. She was good with the children younger than her and loved Kagome's daughter as a sister. She never stopped feeling that her Lord would return to her one day to take her with him. She would write stories and draw pictures of the adventures she was sure that he was having, always wishing she was with him.
"Rin will you walk with me?" a boy asked. The boy was half demon name Hakora who lived in the village with her. He was a handsome young man by any standards. Brown hair framed his strong, masculine face. He was tall and shaped well. All the girls in the village followed him and swooned over him while he worked.
He and Rin had a very good friendship; he had been her first friend when she came to town. They would share stories and have picnic lunches whenever they could. His parents also died when he was young, he came to this village when he was 7 after being help a prisoner for years by humans when they recognized him as being a demon. He felt he understood Rin, and he loved her. He loved holding her hand and stealing kisses when he thought no one was looking. He loved the way she looked in the sun, when her dark hair would catch the light and reflect tones of red and brown. He loved Rin, but never felt like she felt the same.
Rin got up from tending her flowers and followed Hakora till he turned and took her in his embrace. "You know I care for you don't you Rin? I have wrapped my arms around you many times, but you never look me in the eye when I do…. Why?" the boy asked. His tone was part demanding and part understanding.
She thought for a moment and looked up into his eyes. As she did so he let her out of his embrace immediately. She stepped back not at all surprised by his reaction.
"Your eyes have grown so cold Rin, I look in them now and I don't see life in them. No soul. What has happened to you to make you so cold inside? I know about your parents death, but that's all you have ever really told anyone about your life before you came to live here. Did something awful happen to you?"
"NO!" Rin yelled at the boy, "Nothing bad happened to me, but this place is not for me, I am not staying here. Do you love me? Do you want to marry me?" she asked the boy as she pulled the tears back into her eyes composing herself. She did not like to display human emotion; she found her Lord's demeanor to be much more dignified.
"yes I love you, I want to marry you, I want to be with your forever, but when you look at me…." He replied in a more understanding tone this time.
She knew why he felt this way, in her eyes he did not compare to Lord Sesshomaru. No one ever would, and in her soul she knew that as a fact. She turned her back to the boy so she wouldn't see his face when she told him how she felt, she could not bare it if he got emotional now. "I don't love you." And she walked away.
That night as she lay in her bed looking at the full moon outside her window she cried more than any night before.
"When I die will you remember me?"
The little girl's voice tormented the demon lord at night, in his dreams.
"JAKEN COME!" he yelled from a distant room.
Jaken hurried to his side and bowed his head; "Yes my great Lord"
"I am going away, I will be back, stay here." He ordered the imp.
"But my lord where are you going?" he imp pondered, but before his question could be heard the demon lord was gone.
Rin awoke with a start sometime in the early morning hours. She looked around her room in a panic, she wasn't afraid, rather, excited. And there he was in the corner, Lord Sesshomaru.
She sat up quickly and gathered herself as he stepped to the side of her bed.
He heisted when he saw her. She had grown so rapidly in, what to him, had been no time at all. He remembered that years had past and humans grew very rapidly. But her eyes surprised him. They had not changed at all. They still held a child like innocence and an overwhelming joy.
He now stood over her as she sit in the edge of her bed looking up at him smiling, glowing. "Rin, Are you happy here?" he asked in a very demanding tone.
Her answer was effortless, "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru of course I am, but…. I'm ready to go now."
"You haven't taken a mate?" this question came much softer this time she had a choice whether or not to answer.
"No, of course not." She responded mildly offended at his accusations.
"Then we will go." He nodded as he held his hand to hers to help her up from the bed.
"can I say goodbye" she requested excitedly
"I will wait" he again nodded.
It wasn't long before his brother's scent woke InuYasha, he immediately made his way to Rin's room. He had grown to care for the girl as his own child and his brother's scent concerned him deeply. He had left her there in the cruelest manner, why was he back now?
Before he could rush in and tell Sesshomaru just what he thought about his indifference for the girls feelings, Kagome grabbed his hand and beckoned him to leave them alone.
When Rin had dressed and grabbed her things she joined InuYasha and Kagome at the small table that sat on the floor in their eating area. She was followed closely behind by Sesshomaru. Rin flung herself on Kagome and wrapped her arms around her in a grateful embrace. "Thank you" she whispered in her ear. She was grateful that Kagome and InuYasha had kept her safe and protected while she waited for her Lord to return. She scuttled over to InuYasha who received her hug and slowly returned it once he got over the girls sudden, uncharacteristic, outburst of emotion.
They left the home and walked away saying good bye until she could no longer see them. But there was one more good bye she felt obligated to give. She stood in front of a small hut in the eastern border of the village and waited for her friend to come to the door. He still looked half asleep and disoriented as he asked her what she was doing that and if everything was ok. He rubbed his eyes and struggled to take the world in. He was sobered immediately by the sight of the statuesque demon standing a ways behind Rin and looking on as they spoke. The demon was tall and by anyone's standards beautiful. The sight of the demon confused. Hakora now fully awake looked into Rin's eyes and was humbled by his findings. They were alive again. Yesterday she had seemed empty and forgotten; today she was filled with hope and life, she was young a beautiful woman.
His first thought was that she had come to tell him she loved him and wanted to marry him after all. He quickly realized that was not the case when she grabbed his hands and told him "good bye".
"Ill miss you Rin." He replied as he took her into his arms and kissed her passionately as he had done many times before and wanted to do many times again. As was usual, she did not return his passion. She quickly broke out of his embrace and walked away, not before uttering a small and sincere, "I am sorry."
The sight of Rin kissing this young man made the demon lord's stomach uneasy and his muscles tense. His physical reaction shocked him and he quickly looked away. On the rare occasion that an emotion had sneaked up on him it was easy to dismiss. But this type of physical reaction he did not know how to stifle.
Rin quickly rejoined him and they began to leave the village. He stopped and asked her one more time; "Is this really what you want?"
Rin said nothing; she stepped past the demon lord and led the way into the forest heading toward the west.
