Chapter 2: Moving On

"What happened?"

"We don't know yet, Shippo-chan. All he said was that she hit her head."

"Will she wake up soon?"

"Didn't Kagome-nee-san just say that we don't know?"

"No one was asking you – Kohaku-baka."

From behind closed lids, Rin could hear the voices of Kohaku, Shippo, and Kagome buzzing overhead. Her eyes flickered open to see Kohaku and Shippo clutching her hands on either side of her.

"Rin!" Kohaku was the one to notice first.

Shippo also leaned forward, "Are you okay? Are you going to die?" This earned the fox spirit a clock on the back of his head from Kohaku.

She sluggishly tried to sit up, but was pushed back by Kagome, who was shaking her head. "Not just yet, Rin-chan. You need to rest. You apparently took a bad blow to the head."

Thoroughly confused, she tugged her hands from her male friends' grasps to brush the back of her head. There was a hefty lump that was still tender.

"How did I get out of there? I thought I was dead for sure."

Kagome frowned. "You mean you don't remember what happened? That's not a good sign."

"Well, I remember being in the last village when the bandits arrived. I ran into the forest, but one of the bandits got me in the head. The rest is pretty fuzzy after that." She concentrated. "But I think someone saved me." Pushing harder into her hazy memories, images of white hair and golden eyes bubbled to the surface.

She sat up suddenly and shifted out of the futon, despite feeling slightly dizzy. "Is he outside? I need to thank him."

Kohaku and Kagome shared a glance, while Shippo looked uneasy. Kohaku placed a hand on her shoulder with a serious air. "There's something we need to tell you."

Ignoring the subtle signs, she moved out from under his grip. "I really need to give my thanks before he leaves. He's outside, right?" She headed to the door and outside despite protests from Kagome.

A short distance away from the hut, she caught the glimmer of white hair in the breeze – a figure in the shade beneath a large tree. She set out at a reasonable pace, pausing only once or twice to recover from short dizzy spells. In no time at all, she was standing right behind him.

Not sure how to start, she twiddled her thumbs before bowing. "Thank you for saving me in that village." She looked up. "Inuyasha-sama."

The dog demon turned around to give her a look of suspicion and incredulity. "Eh?"

She straightened. "Thank you for saving me. It must have been such a bother to carry me back. If there is any way that I can make it up to you, please let me know."

Now his expression was one of complete and utter confusion. "Did you hit your head that hard?"

How rude! "I'm just offering my thanks," she said with an annoyed huff.

He crossed his arms and tapped a clawed finger against his temple. "And I'm telling you that you must have hit your head too hard. You're thanking the wrong guy."

"But I distinctly remember the white hair and golden eyes. If it wasn't you, then…" Realization dawned on her and she looked around excitedly. "Is he still here?"

"Sesshoumaru left as soon as it was clear that you would be fine," Kohaku had joined the pair.

With a rush of disappointment, she wobbled on her feet. Kohaku caught her before she fell. She smiled her gratitude into his slightly flushed face, as he helped her to sit down on a tree root.

"Should I get Kagome?" Inuyasha looked over the demon slayer's shoulder with worry.

Laughing a little, she shook her head. "I guess I should have stayed in bed." Turning to Kohaku, she pouted. "Sesshoumaru-sama already left? I wish he'd stay longer. He never says 'hello' anymore."

With an awkward shuffling of his feet, Inuyasha made an excuse to leave. "I'll go see if Kagome has any herbs for your head." He passed the two teenagers and Kohaku gave him a nod.

"Spill." Rin stared hard at her long-time friend. "What exactly is everyone holding back from me? Shippo's terribly at keeping a straight face and Inuyasha wasn't being too subtle there. I know something is going on."

He coughed and diverted his gaze. "I'm not sure how to tell you."

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "What am I, some delicate flower? You don't have to spare me – I'm not a child. Whatever it is that you want to tell me, I can handle it."

"He's not coming back."

Not sure if she heard correctly, she asked, "Excuse me?"

Slightly flustered, Kohaku tried to explain. "When Sesshoumaru-sama brought you back, he told us that he wasn't going to visit you anymore. He said it was time for you to live on your own…"

Cutting him off with a raised hand, she asked carefully. "Did Sesshoumaru-sama tell you this himself?"

Fear was pooling in the put of her stomach, but her belief kept it at bay. He wouldn't really leave her.

"Not him, exactly. Jaken was the one that actually conveyed the message."

Relief washed over her with a sigh. If it was Jaken, then clearly that little imp was up to his usual antics. This was simply a matter of miscommunication!

"To be honest, we all think this is the right thing." Kohaku's words dragged her away from her thoughts. "Living with a demon all the time isn't good for you."

Anger hedged into her voice. "How can you say that? In case you've forgotten, Inuyasha-sama is a demon. What about Shippo-kun? Are you saying that living with them is bad? What about Koga and his tribe? How about-"

It was Kohaku's turn to silence her with a hand. "All of those demons are anomalies. Most demons are bloodthirsty and would love nothing more than to tear a human to shreds." His voice was low and stern. "I hunt demons every day: a life around demons is unpredictable, violent, and dangerous."

"You mean it's excited, adventurous, and interesting." She stood and stepped out of his hold. "You are prejudiced because of your line of work. You see the worst of the worst. Even if I was up against that, Sesshoumaru-sama would never let me come to harm."

"You don't know that," he said, jumping to his feet. Rin had never seen such a grave expression on her childhood friend. "Jaken said it was a coincidence that Sesshoumaru was in the area when that village was attacked. If he hadn't been there, you would have been dead."

"I don't believe that – Sesshoumaru-sama has always been there to save me when it matters." She crossed her arms.

Arms were thrown up in exasperation. "Rin! He's not the hero you seem to think he is. Sesshoumaru lives in a world that is cruel, where injury and death are common."

"Sesshoumaru-sama is kind! I know he is." She frowned. "I am disappointed in you. I thought you knew better."

"Sesshoumaru might be kind, but not all demons are like that that. Aren't you listening? Can't you see that he is trying to spare you from the hardship of living in a demon's world?"

"That's not for him to decide. I'm sixteen – I'm already an adult. I make my own decisions. Besides, I won't believe it unless I hear it from Sesshoumaru-sama himself."

And that was that. Once that tone came out, there was absolutely no convincing her. She watched with satisfaction as Kohaku dropped his head into his hands with a sigh.

Smiling, she started to walk away and called over her shoulder. "I can count on you to help me find him, right?"

She saw his head jerk back up, face aghast, but then he slowly gave her a hopeless smile. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope!"


It had taken Rin some considerable time to convince Kagome that the head injury was not serious and that she was well enough to travel. Even then, Rin did not mention the target of her mission: to track down the elusive demon lord. She swore Kohaku to secrecy. Not even Shippo was told.

One morning, early enough that the grass was still steeped in dew and the birds were only beginning the faintest of twittering, Rin made her way to the shade of a familiar tree.

Kneeling in front of a small grave, she clapped her hands together several times before bowing over her fingertips.

"Hello, Kaede-sama. I'm sorry I haven't visited since…" her voice grew choked.

With a deep breath, she started again. "Anyway, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to see you." She dropped her hands into her lap, but remained crouched before the marker. "I'm off to see Sesshoumaru-sama."

She traced a finger in the dirt. "I want to find out what his intentions are for myself."

Several birds glided overhead and her face lit up slightly. "I always assumed that he would come for me when I grew up, that we would travel around, having adventures. Just like the old days."

"But Kohaku says that I'm supposed to stay here, that it's safer than living with Sesshoumaru-sama. But I think he's being a worry-wart."

A breeze swirled around, forcing her skin to break out in goose bumps. She shivered.

"Did you know he was intending to leave me here? That he wasn't coming back for me?"

The dark feelings started to pool in the base of her stomach again as a shadow crossed her thoughts. "What if I do catch up to him and he really doesn't want anything to do with me? What if he thinks that I'm only a nuisance?"

"I don't know if I can handle being left alone again," she whispered to no one but herself. Her life had never been harder in the first few weeks after the old priestess had passed, when she lost the first maternal figure in her life.

The rays from the sun hit her shoulders, spreading warmth throughout her body. "You're right. I don't think it will come to that. Even if Jaken says that Sesshoumaru-sama wants me gone, I won't trust anything that kappa says. And even if it does – I have Kohaku and the others.

She raised her hands in prayer again. "I imagine that it will be a while before I can visit again, so take care."

Someone came up behind her with soft steps.

"I'm ready, Kohaku."


Drifting through the sky on the back of fire cat Kirara should have been a peaceful tranquility, but for Kohaku, it was painfully awkward. Even though he had agreed to help her find Sesshoumaru, he still felt slightly raw from their argument several weeks ago. True, a life with a solitary demon lord would be fraught with peril, but that was a factor of the age they lived in: any life in this era was destined to be dangerous.

While loathe to admit it, he had more selfish motives for wanting to keep Rin away from her guardian. She might not have realized it yet, but it would not be long before she sought more than simple companionship. Something that he was certain that the great Sesshoumaru-sama would not be able to grant, but that he could.

Turning around, he could tell from the way her eyes shined that she was blissfully waiting to be reunited. He opened his mouth to say something, but found his throat wouldn't work. He coughed once and tried again. "Sesshoumaru was last seen going this way. Hopefully, we'll run into someone who has also seen him."

Rin nodded silently and her smile got just a bit brighter. His heart gave another twinge. Why was she so dense? Well, with him in the picture, she would focus on no one else.

Trying to ignore the situation that he had gotten himself into, he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

"Are you really sure that you want to be doing this?" he said.

She frowned in response. "Why are you bringing this up again? I told you that I'm going to meet up with Sesshoumaru-sama, whether you and the others like it or not."

"We aren't trying to control your life – we just want to make sure that you're aware of the consequences of this decision."

"And what the consequences of this decision, exactly?" She raised a brown and placed a fist on her hip. "We've already established that you are all being paranoid. I can protect myself."

"I know there is no hope of convincing you on that matter; that wasn't what I was referring to."

"Then what?" Her voice belied her curiosity as it overtook her irritation.

"Well," Kohaku coughed. There was nothing it for it: "Physical danger aside, have you considered the emotional strife you're getting into?" Kohaku pressed on. "What I mean is, do you know if Sesshoumaru-sama returns your feelings?"

There. He'd said it – but he could already feel his face becoming hot.

"What?" Her response was sharp and surprised. "We don't have that kind of relationship. He's like the father I never had." She pondered for a moment. "Well, not quite like a father because he's more lenient. So, more like an uncle or an older cousin."

"Are you sure that's all it is? The girls in the village seem to think it's a bit more than that." And I, for one, agree with them.

She brushed him off with a wave of her hand, as though fanning away the thought. "The girls in the village will say anything. They don't like me."

"What I meant to say is that it looks like it could be more than that," he steadied himself. "I wouldn't have said the way he treats you is the way that an older cousin or an uncle would."

"And what makes you the expert on how Sesshoumaru-sama feels about me?" Her inflection denoted an affronted sort of anger, but there was a shaking undercurrent beneath the bravado. No doubt she had hoped that her confrontation would deter further questioning or comment.

But now Kohaku was feeling the pressure of an impossible decision: confess that he had been holding a flame for her over the last four years, or maintain his silence in favor of keeping their easy friendship. He drew a ragged breath, only to be interrupted.

"There! What was that?" Rin was pointing excitedly at a patch of forest.

A moment was all he needed to recover from the blend of overwhelming relief and regret regarding his dilemma. He followed the direction of her finger, but each tree looked more identical than the other.

"What are you talking about? I don't see anything."

"There was a flash of white – what if it was Sesshoumaru-sama?" she patted their feline companion. "Kirara, take us down!"

"There is nothing there," he said, albeit half-heartedly. Maybe she would get this out of her system once she saw that her precious lord was not going to pop out of the woodwork of her life.

The trio touched down and Rin slid down to the ground as the cat shrank into a smaller form. She looked around with increasing disappointment: "I promise you, I saw something white here. I honestly thought it could have been him."

"I believe you," he said attempting to reassure her. "Maybe we should get back in the sky because we would have a better vantage point from up there."

With a slight pout, she smiled apologetically. "Could you wait a few minutes?" She squirmed. "There is some personal business I need to attend to."

Feeling that he might have lost the battle, but he was slowly winning the war, he gave her a friendly nod. "Don't go too far."

He watched as she walked into the brush.

For the next few minutes, he wiped down his weapons, to be ready for an attack at any time. Time continued to pass and he grew worried.

"What is taking her so long?" he asked Kirara.

A small mew was the only response he could receive, but he just couldn't dispel the tingling in the back of his neck. A phantom wound of sorts from his days when he carried one of the Shikon no Tama shards. Some warriors had scars that could correctly predict when storms were on the horizon. His were usually a strong indication of a demon presence.

Every instinct told him that she was in danger. Personal business or not, he was coming for her.


As soon as she was out of sight of Kohaku, the flash of white had appeared again. Rin looked in the direction of the clearing, and then back at the disappearing silver hair. "Sorry, Kohaku," she whispered and started to tail the pale figure.

Only a few minutes into the sprinting chase, she was starting to lose sight of her target. Afraid that would lose the trail entirely, she called out: "Sesshoumaru-sama!"

The figure stopped abruptly and turned towards her. She was immediately slammed with a wave of horror.

Red eyes above a twisted mouth full of pointed fangs bore into her. Gnarled, skeletal, gray monstrous hands reached towards her.

She ran, but the demon was much faster. A quick blow to her stomach and the world went black.


Rin's tracks were easy enough to follow, but suddenly they stopped.

Kohaku scanned the area for signs of a struggle and his fears were confirmed when he saw clawed footprints around Rin's final steps. There were no signs of blood, so there was a good chance her wounds were minimal, but there was no telling how long that would remain the case. Most demons in this particular area were known for possessing the most barbaric sense imaginable.

He would need to hurry.

"Kirara!" The cat was there in a second, fully formed and ready to become airborne. "Let's go!"