DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or any of Rumiko Takahashi's work/characters. Please feel free to review or comment, especially when it comes to grammatical errors. Other than that, enjoy!
As the night deepens, the sky is lit up with all of its starry splendor. With the air filled with the sounds of the crackling fire and crickets, the woman finds comfort within its white noise as she sits comfortably by the tree while reading her book. Once and awhile she would highlight certain words with her writing utensil made of wood, lead, and rubber. Though the night is dark, the light from the campfire provides plenty of exposure for the cartoonish pictures and dialogue of her book.
Suddenly, she hears a faint groaning noise from the wounded man near her. She then looks over as she places her writing utensil between the pages. "Awake?" questioned the woman quietly.
The man slightly opens up his heavy eyelids as he tries to grasp the environment that now surrounds him. As his blurred vision becomes clearer, he focuses on the woman near the campfire. A tinge of familiarity fills his head as he sees her untamed brown wavy hair and hazel eyes. However, her outfit was peculiar as she wore a pink fleeced top with sleeves and a hood attached to it.
"Who are you?" accused the man as he tries to angle up his torso. However, as he moves himself, a tinge of pain surge through his upper left side, leaving him to gasp out some screams involuntarily. He glares down to the source of this pain and sees his entire left shoulder and upper arm all bandaged up with the heavy scent of ointments. He slowly attempts to cover up his new bandages with his dark blue haori while looking back at the woman for a response.
"See…I wouldn't do for awhile now since you still need time to heal. Luckily the wounds weren't deep and you were stubborn enough to take out the arrows yourself. So… I would say give or a take a week." the woman explains as she puts her book inside her large bag decorated with pockets and cartoon kittens. She then stands from her position and brushes off any dirt or grass that may had rubbed onto her green hakama. With a slight smile, she approaches the man. "I guess it has been awhile since we last spoke." states the woman as she plots herself next to him.
"A year, in fact." countered the man as he attempts to turn to see the woman next to him. He hisses at the continuing pain that rushes through his body. "So, this is what you do now, Rin? Find pitiful creatures and salvage their lives?" murmured the man. He then places his right hand upon his forehead and wipe off the overstayed sweat off his face. A slight snarl escapes his lips as he tries to clean up his hand by brushing it off on his dirtied black hakama.
"That's always been my job! Unless you forgot how we first met?" chuckled Rin to herself as she playfully crosses her arms.
"How long have I been asleep?" stated Sesshomaru as he tries to loosen his ponytail. As his fingers run through his matted black hair, he could feel all the knots and grease that built up over time. "This is even more humiliating than I thought."
"Only a day. Luckily, I have plenty of ninja foods that Kagome-sama brought back from her homeland so it's been pretty easy to watch over you." explained Rin as she turns her head to see Sesshomaru.
"Inuyasha's wife….Inuyasha…a half-demon is now officially the heir to the western lands. How could I let this happened!?" angrily thought Sesshomaru as he lowers his head while clutching his fists tightly together.
"Sesshomaru-sama?" questioned Rin as she worries if she might have said something that could upset him.
As he hears the small tremble within her voice, Sesshomaru breathes and exhale out slowly as his eyes still remains on the ground. "It's nothing, Rin."
Her eyes turns solemn as her smile long went away. "Listen, Sesshomaru-sama…as I bandaged you up, I noticed hundreds of small circular scars on your back…"
"I rather not discuss it."
"I know! And I don't expect you to ever open up about it. Actually, it's a high possibility that you'll never want to explain what happened to you. However, I do want to say that it's absolutely okay if you choose to be quiet about it. That is your right and it isn't my job to take that away from you." exclaimed Rin as she places her hands on top of his right hand.
She then leans in closer towards him as she attempts to deepen her voice. "But the next time you try to kill baddies, please make sure you eat within that week. Say what you will about human food but a little of that and water will definitely keep you afloat!" giggled Rin as she could not keep up the serious façade for so long. Her smile begins to grow once more, displaying her white yet slightly crooked teeth.
"I'll keep both of those in mind" nodded Sesshomaru as his fists starts to loosen up once more. He then lifts his head and turns to meet her eyes. "You can let go of my hand now."
"OH GOODNESS!" screamed Rin in embarrassment as she glows red in the cheeks. "I didn't realized that I did that! It's a forced habit when talking to patients about birth, death, gout, gas, what have you. Geez I'm sooo sorry, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin rambled on as she tries to return back to her composure. She quickly brushes off her hands with her hakama and clears her throat.
"It's alright. How has your journey been?" asked Sesshomaru.
Rin clears her throat loudly again to prepare all the tales she had in mind. "Well, compared to the few months we traveled together while I was a kid, I say that it's been just as memorable! So first I met this woman who claimed to be decapitated, even though she still had her head perfectly intact! Apparently, she wanted to get this farmer in trouble for using her husband's scythe. Then I visited this one village where the majority of women had half-demon raccoon children. They claimed that a monk came by and blessed their village but then…"
As Rin continues to speak tales of her recent escapades, Sesshomaru closes his eyes to hear more clearly of these tales. "She's safe…" Sesshomaru thought to himself as he let her words filled his ears and clear his mind.
A/N: SHOUTOUTS FOR LovelyEverywhere and jj!
LovelyEverywhere - Your words were toooo kind! I truly appreciate your comment and I am literally blushing over it! THANK YOU!
jj - Thank you and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Here's the soundtrack for this chapter! Drop a review and lemme know what you all think!
From "As the night"...to..."his fists tightly together" Inuyasha Movie 1 OST – Goshinboku
From "Sesshomaru-sama?"...to..."filled his ears and clear his mind" Inuyasha OST 3 - Futari No Kimochi