Tomadoi

II.

The man stood away from her, looking at her as though she grew two heads. He lowered his weapon to his sides, showing her that he would not harm her at the moment, "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

Rin smiled slightly before letting her lips break into a large grin, "Rin! Do you remember me?" She half expected him not to, after all; she had grown up more than he had.

Kohaku stared at her for a moment more, taking in all her features. For awhile, he looked completely confused, but then something must have dawned on him, for his eyes held revelation. He took a step towards her, pointing at her with his index finger. He stuttered, "You…you're the little from…a long time ago!"

He remembered! "Hai!" She replied, bowing in knowledge and of greeting. See, she knew she wasn't in any danger. It was just her old friend, Kohaku. The one that…Sesshoumaru wanted to kill many years ago. If it wasn't for her, she was sure Sesshoumaru would have killed Kohaku right on the spot. However, he knew how much she liked him, therefore granted her the wish of keeping the possessed human alive.

Taking that step back, his expression became solemn, "What are you doing out here at this time of night? I mean…there's probably tons of youkai who would—."

"Didn't Kohaku miss Rin?" the girl asked sadly, her eyes showing the same sorrow. Slowly, she walked forward, wrapping her arms around his waist while resting her head on his shoulder. Over the years of traveling with Sesshoumaru, she had learned to never "intimately" touch him or else, but she also knew what a hug meant. A hug was something given to another to show that they care. And Rin believed she would hug her Sesshoumaru-sama everyday if he permitted, "Rin missed Kohaku."

The boy turned man looked down at his childhood friend who now had herself wrapped around him. His eyes shook a bit; how was it that this girl always knew when to show up at the utmost wrong times? He was just on his way to Naraku, having been called to report to his master. And he knew Naraku didn't like it when something or someone distracted him.

Naraku's law: If someone stands in your way, no matter what the circumstances, kill him or her. If you don't, then I will.

"Rin…" he spoke harshly, yet softly, trying to get his point across. He wanted to catch up on old times, really he did, but…

Kohaku froze. His eyes widened as he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Hakai suru..."

"Mm…iie…"

"Hakai suru."

Kohaku tried not to listen to the words in his head, telepathically spoken from Naraku. But it was impossible. He felt his heart skip another beat and before he could try to pull away from Rin, his mind went blank, Naraku now in complete control.

Hearing him speak, Rin looked up at Kohaku, wondering what he was saying. His eyes…she had to gasp. They looked different. They were empty…a solid brown nothing. No emotion lit up his face like it had a simple moment ago, making her back off.

"Kohaku?" She called out to him, taking a few more steps back when she saw him raise his kusarikama once again. The chains clattered together, the point of the weapon giving a short sparkle to show its power. Then…everything stopped. Rin couldn't bring herself to turn around and run, for she didn't want her back towards him. Kohaku seemed to be frozen in time, his blank eyes seeming to look at nothing.

He took a single step forward.

"Run." He told her with what little control he had left within himself.

She took another step back, her hands coming up to her face in horror, "Nani?"

She watched in fear as Kohaku clenched his eyes shut, clamping his hands closed to make fists. He shook his head vigorously, screaming with all his might, "Run!"

Rin walked backwards a few more steps before turning around and listening to Kohaku's demand. She knew she couldn't have wandered that far away from the cave where she was supposed to stay in and hopefully, if she got there fast enough, everything would be okay.

However, before she got any further than twenty feet, she felt a strong pain pierce through her left shoulder. The pressure threw her to the ground, her hands coming out in front of her to break her landing. Once her hands hit the forest floor, she screamed in pain, making her shoulder go numb for another second before the ache overtook her whole form.

All the way on the other side of the forest, Sesshoumaru's sensitive hearing picked up on Rin's screams. Without any second thought, he turned directly around and headed back in the direction he had just come with all the speed he could muster.

Rin flipped herself to the right so she could stay off of her left side. She tried to sit up, but once she saw all the blood coming from her shoulder, soaking her once beautiful kimono with the shiny redness, she could do nothing but fall on her back and try not to look at the horrid sight. She remembered something like this happening before…but this time, Kohaku had actually gotten her. No…it wasn't Kohaku. She knew that. It was whoever was controlling him. They were the one that hurt her.

She sniffed, determined not to cry. That would just make matters that much worse. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, seeing Kohaku come towards her with that same blank expression.

Pushing herself up slightly with her right arm, she tried her best to get through to him, "Kohaku, yamete! You don't want to do this!"

Kohaku stopped. And surprisingly enough, she saw his pupils return, emotion now finally able to pass through the barrier. And though she was in absolute pain, she let a small smile show, happy that he was finally back to normal.

"Kohaku…"

Before another thought, something flashed in front of her, making her blink twice to finally realize what went on. Looking up again, she saw the back of Sesshoumaru and she could clearly see him holding up Kohaku by the neck, the young man gripping onto the clawed hand that captured him. This time, Kohaku knew full well that he was being strangled.

Rin could do nothing but simply stare at the two with her mouth slightly agape. Her eyes widened when she saw how pale Kohaku was going. She had to stop this!

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Don't hurt Kohaku, please!"

Her lord ignored her, his eyes glaring red at the one he held in the air. How dare he…how dare this man hurt Rin. Sesshoumaru would make sure he paid the ultimate price. He delighted at the fear in his eyes, seeing that he knew he was to die soon…

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin, picking herself up with the strength she didn't know she had, ran the short distance to the two guys, grabbing onto Sesshoumaru's arm that left Kohaku suspended in the air. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw him look down at her with his cold, golden eyes.

"Let him go, Sesshoumaru-sama…for Rin," she knew he would listen now. She used that tone of voice that was just pleading enough and she said the magic words; "for Rin."

Looking at her for a half a minute more, he finally threw Kohaku to the ground and out of arms reach, watching as he slid across the hard ground, picking himself up immediately when he came to a stop and held his neck in his hands, feeling the bruises already form. His breathing came out in ragged breaths, trying to get his airways to work properly.

"Go before I change my mind," Sesshoumaru warned him, the red hint in his eyes not yet disappearing.

Kohaku didn't need to be told twice. Picking up his weapon before standing to his feet, he turned in the opposite direction and ran, knowing that Naraku was probably quite angry with him.

Rin watched him go, sad that he had to leave, but happy that Sesshoumaru let him go. She turned her eyes up towards him, seeing him also look down at her.

"Arigatou, Sesshoumaru-sama…" she said, wanting to say more had it not been for his next motion.

He ripped the rest of her sleeve away on the left side, needing to see how deep her cut was. Rin gasped and, though it did not quite expose her, she still felt the need to form her arms in an X to cover herself. Watching him as he studied her gash, she had to bite her bottom lip. It was her fault she got hurt, if she would've just listened to Sesshoumaru and stayed in the cave like she was told, this all would have never happened.

With the piece he had ripped off of her kimono, he wrapped it around her shoulder, tying it tightly in a knot, making her wince from the pressure. Once he was done, she looked into his eyes again, her own orbs full of sadness and shame.

Seeing this clearly, Sesshoumaru turned to the side so he would not have to look at her. He spoke in his low voice, "That should eventually stop the bleeding. You can bathe now if you wish…" he trailed off, looking back down at her, his eyes traveling up and down the full length of her body, "or you can wait until tomorrow when you get a new kimono."

Rin nodded and began to follow him back to the cave, already feeling sticky and dirty. Apparently, the smell of blood was also quite strong by now, as Jaken was already out of the cave, looking with wide eyes at all the blood that covered her body.

"What happened to—" Right away, Jaken stopped. He knew he had done wrong. He was supposed to watch after Rin and now she looked like she got attacked continuously…and Sesshoumaru was back.

Hiding himself as best he could behind his staff, Jaken watched Sesshoumaru walk past him, not even passing him a glance. With a scared whisper, Jaken tried to get his lord's attention, "Se—Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Sesshoumaru stopped after he walked past the toad, his back turned towards him. Rin came up beside Jaken, feeling bad for him, knowing that he would get the full force of her wrongdoing. She was thinking about trying to defend him, but she couldn't argue with the fact of…he was supposed to be watching her closely.

"Get some sleep, Rin," Sesshoumaru told her.

"Hai," Rin obliged, walking slowly into the cave, knowing that Sesshoumaru would now stay right outside all night.

**********

The next day, Sesshoumaru sent Jaken to the nearest village to purchase a new kimono for Rin. She requested for a purple and yellow kimono this time, leaving Jaken to search for quite awhile until he saw one that she would like. He usually wouldn't care, but he knew that if he didn't obey Rin's request, he would, once again, hear it from Sesshoumaru.

Once he got it back to her, Sesshoumaru showed her to a nearby hot spring, leaving her to her privacy. Once she saw that everybody was out of sight, she was finally happy to strip out of her bloodstained kimono and slowly sink into the hot water, letting everything wash away. Sighing, she winced when her left shoulder landed under water, the steam making it feel as though the wound reopened. Of course, she wouldn't be able to tell because she didn't take the cloth that Sesshoumaru had tied around her arm off. She didn't think she would be able to bear the sight. She would just wait until it was almost healed before looking at it.

Rin sucked in a deep breath and ducked her head under water, her hair floating above her. She could feel the steaming water soak into every pore of her body, making her shiver once before heat took over. Before she knew it, she was rising to the surface again, clearly seeing heat radiate off of her skin. Her hair clung to her back and neck, the weight quite heavy from the length.

Finally, she had time to just think and relax. Think about what? Well, everything. Rin was one where she liked to think about a lot of things at one time…as long as they were enjoyable, of course. She let her thoughts settle to Sesshoumaru and Kohaku for starters.

Why did Sesshoumaru still hate Kohaku? Did he still have a grudge on him from all those years ago? Sure, Kohaku had hurt her again last night, but she was sure Sesshoumaru was smart enough to figure out that he wasn't in complete control. Why didn't her lord go after the source of the problem if he wanted to protect her? Whoever was the one controlling Kohaku was the one he needed to strangle.

It was good seeing Kohaku again, however, even if it was for a short amount of time. She remembered a long time ago, when she first met him; she had developed a somewhat of a crush on the eleven-year-old. She kept that secret to herself, but every time she happened to see him, she would take a time out to go say hello. Rin tried to keep that emotion strong, but after so long of not seeing him, it kind of faded away. Out of sight, out of mind, she supposed.

She began to focus completely on Sesshoumaru then. With Kohaku out of the picture, he remained her only friend, if she dare call him that. Not that she minded this, of course. Rin felt that she began to love him more and more with each passing day and by the time she was sixteen-and-a-half, she believed she could love no other more than she did Sesshoumaru.

Again, she kept that secret to herself, having that gut feeling that even though Sesshoumaru cared about her, he didn't care about her in that way. No matter, she had complete control of her emotions and would keep traveling with Sesshoumaru and Jaken under circumstances that have always been.

Rin ducked under the water again. She figured she should be getting out soon, even though she just entered. The heat was really getting to her and she saw that all the blood had washed away, making her cleaner than ever. Coming back to the surface, she took in a big breath of air before turning and slowly walking over to land. Her legs felt as though they weighed a ton under the strong water. This seemed to make her more tired than necessary.

She looked around the area before lifting herself out of the water. With both of her hands, she grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted it above her head. With ease, she kept it that way with her right hand, leaving her left hand to reach down for the towel lying by her kimono. Wrapping it around herself, she sat down on the second towel, waiting until she cooled down and got dry before slipping into her clothing.

The sun shone down on her brightly, glistening over her wet body. She let her hair fall down, then brought it over her right shoulder, letting her fingers slowly and gently glide through her strands. A small smile played over her lips, her eyes shrinking into a wonderful thought. A soft humming tune emitted from her throat, playing a song in her mind she never heard before.

Sesshoumaru, who was simply resting his back against a tree and sitting on the forest floor, was only a short distance from where Rin was. He wanted to make sure she didn't get into any more trouble, since it always seemed to find her in some way. His ears picked up on the sound of her getting out of the water, but then sensed that she had sat down. So much for leaving early. He then heard her begin to hum. That was what he had been waiting for.

Of course, he would never admit this to anyone else…he hardly admitted it to himself. That he loved to hear her beautiful singing voice give so much emotion that one could've sworn that Rin was emotion itself, if that made any sense at all.

In the back of his mind, he half noticed that Jaken was only a couple trees away, mumbling and complaining about something Sesshoumaru certainly didn't want to hear about.

He put his head back against the tree, his boa supporting his neck for a comfortable position. His eyes wandered upwards to the top of the trees, that being the thing to give the land shade, only leaving some spots for the sunlight to shine down.

At least he knew she was okay, not in as much pain as he thought she would be. Then again, she was always good at keeping her mind occupied and not wanting anyone to feel pity on her by fussing all the time. Sesshoumaru knew he would probably still have to check her wound later on to see if it was healing at all. He figured she wouldn't do it herself.

Suddenly, he heard her humming come to a stop. His orbs roamed back down to look straight ahead of him, snapping out of what little daydream he had been in. He stood, wrapping the boa around his shoulder again, and began walking forward. As he passed Jaken, he stopped for a moment to address him.

"Jaken."

Jaken paused immediately, froze in a position to look up at his lord, "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Make sure Rin catches up," was all he said before walking forward again, though at a slow enough pace that his two followers would be able to catch up with ease.

Jaken wanted to disagree. He wanted to follow Sesshoumaru now and just have Rin catch up on her own. Let her prove once and for all that she is worthy enough to be with the two of them! Alas…he knew there would be no arguing with Sesshoumaru. He had to wait for Rin as Sesshoumaru went on ahead.

Mumbling complaints and whatnot, he made his way to the hot spring, ready to tell her to hurry up. However, once he got to the small clearing, he noticed that only two towels were present. The kimono and Rin were gone.

He sweat dropped. Not good…

Rin walked up a small hill, her new kimono clinging to her still wet body, her hair drying faster than usual from the warm day. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration. She had heard another person humming to a different tune not far from where she had been. It was obvious the voice belonged to a girl…no, a woman. The voice seemed a bit more mature than hers, leaving her to wonder what she would be doing out in the middle of nowhere.

She reached the top of he hill, peering over cautiously at first, but quickly coming to the top to stare at the beauty. There was a large field, tons of wild flowers growing in various places amongst the green, green grass. Waves seemed to be dancing amidst nature's garden every time the wind gave a nice breeze.

Off to one side, Rin happened to spot the woman that had been singing. She was sitting on her knees and picking certain flowers that were around her, already having a bouquet in one hand.

Rin began to walk closer. She suddenly got the feeling of déjà vu. She felt as though she had run into someone she knew from a long time ago once again.

The woman turned to the side and Rin knew right away. There was no mistaking it. Long, raven hair, eyes full of care, weird clothing…

Rin put on a large smile as she went into a slow jog. The woman happened to notice her out of the corner of her eye, her head turning to stare at the girl in slight confusion.

Rin slowed down when she was close to her, the smile never leaving her lips, "Konnichi wa, Kagome!"