Aye, again. I am tired, how about you? Hey, I'm just trying to make some friendly conversation. : ) Okay, I was stalling there for a moment. Anyway, I would like to hurry on to the next chapter! To all who have been patiently waiting, and those who have left comments, Thank you::Gives kisses to everyone... Meant the Hershey's kind.:: Oh, and thank you mistresskagome1 for the Toukijin thing. I like spelling it the Japanese way though. Still, I'm glad now I know I wasn't being a dork before! And thank you Kiki, dear sister for the ever so sweet comment. But, please, comment on getting me again, and you will soon find that I am pretty hard to catch.
And also, I noticed something while watching the series to get rid of my horrible writer's block. Every time InuYasha says Backlash Wave, his voice echoes. . ;;
Well::Gets her note pad at the ready:: I do not own Inuyasha::Tallies:: Six. Mwuahahahahahahaha! Alright, done. So, here is the next chapter, my lovelies!
Enjoy. ; )
The Storm
It had been a couple of months since Rin entered the Hikaru family. The first day after the meeting with Kaya, she escaped the confines of her pallet, and explored the grounds around the house. She loved the smell of fresh air. The small salty undertone of the sea. She had realized the family lived near the sea, the ocean. She loved it. If Rin ever found herself lost, she only had to lead herself back by walking along the river. It connected at the mouth to the shoreline.
To the north of them, mountains bordered the area. Rin thought they looked very familiar. Once or twice, she found herself thinking of a hot springs that must lay at the cave passage. In those hot springs, her mind thought of a young man soaking. Every time the thought came to mind, Rin felt the heat arise in her face. Kaya and Saya both noticed once before, and commented on the fact that Rin looked quite pretty in red. Rin waved them off with a branch. The ten year-old twins had run off with a squeal and laughter.
Through the days, Rin had developed a relationship with the family. Riello and his wife, Mitski were like parents to Rin; Kaya and Saya were like little sisters with more insight in the world around them than anyone knew. As the days went by, Rin, even with the help of her new family, could not regain her memories. Yet, each night she slept with the katana with no name and had the same dream with the angel. Every morning she woke up with nothing but a headache and the faint picture of a handsome, godly face.
Spring slowly came about over the horizon. The whispers of new life touched Rin's face in the form of rain showers. Saya and Kaya stayed with her through the storms; they even danced from the joy of it. It was so much fun, quite the difference from her first day that she was brought to this new home. The pain of Rin's forgotten past lay dormant in her heart and mind; the happiness for the present and future stayed now.
Saya stomped her foot in the ocean tide with a giggle. For someone who was quite wise, the girl knew how to still act like a child. The rain fell hard, drenched the three girls with its essence. They felt alive and stayed in the glory of such life. Saya jumped into the sea and floated while the rain pattered against her form. Kaya did the same thing beside her sister. Rin just sat on shore, her knees drawn up, smiling.
Saya waved her hand. It was an invitation for Rin to join. She shook her head and called out, "I think I'll keep myself on land, thank you very much!"
Kaya and Saya responded with a chuckle.
Rin twiddled her thumbs after a while. The rain still came, and the twins still floated out there with smiles on their faces. Their hands were linked, fingers entwined. Their eyes were closed to the storm. At first look, they looked like mirrored reflections. Dark hair and pale skin wet from rain. Healer and Priestess, sisters in blood and in mind.
Children with the souls of old in their forms.
Rin watched in silence for a while until she figured she should find some dry clothes for the girls and herself. Riello would be away with Mitski in town for some supplies they needed for the coming spring. So, it was up to Rin to be the chaperone and take care of the twins until their grandparents came back.
"I'll be back! I'm going to find some dry clothes!"
Saya and Kaya answered in unison. "Okay!"
Rin jumped up from her seat and started her way back home. She trudged along the path, mostly mud filled. There was really no flat path but the grass and wet trails, so Rin had to make do.
In the distance, thunder crackled. The twins would be back soon. Not even they would play in this weather. Rin hoped the girls would not tarry for too long. It was getting dangerous.
After a while, Rin saw their home up the path. She smiled in relief and quickened her pace. The sounds of thunder grew louder. The young woman made the last few steps and entered the shelter with a grateful sigh. She cleaned her feet first and wrung her hair of the rain. Afterwards, she found three kimonos; one was her size, and the other two were smaller for Saya and Kaya. She placed the other two on their pallets until they came back. Rin proceeded to putting the other kimono on.
Finally comfortable, Rin took her place near the small fire pit. She wrapped a small blanket around her shoulders to keep warm. "They'll be back soon." Rin kept telling herself. The sound of thunder roared above. A storm this big didn't seem natural.
Perhaps it was paranoia that caused such foreboding thoughts. Perhaps it was over-protectiveness for the children that made her feel the way she did. Perhaps not. The storm, though, yelled its threats to the small home that belonged to her new family. In Rin's bones, the sign for danger was in her trembling.
Her train of thought snapped when she heard something rattle in the corner. Rin's eyes darted to her pallet and saw the weapon vibrate on the wooden floor. A mysterious blue light surrounded the blade; it was like it acknowledged something.
Curious by nature, Rin crawled to her katana and picked it up without hesitance. It was warmer than usual, enough to tickle her palms. The vibrations stopped, but it still glowed. Rin felt something click in her mind. "Tensaiga." She murmured. "You are Tensaiga."
The blade hummed as if it was agreeing.
Someone screamed outside. Rin shot up to her feet, gripping the blade with all her might. Tensaiga's glow grew brighter.
Carefully, Rin tip-toed around the fire pit to the house entrance. She snuck a peek outside. The rain was more intense. It drenched her exposed form instantly. The rain was enough that she could not see through much of it.
Tensaiga quivered in her grasp, as if warning her to be careful. Rin nodded more to reassure himself than in answer to the blade.
Another scream pierced her ears. Rin made up her mind instantly and ran out to find the voice. Of course, it was not too hard. The screams belonged to the twins.
Rin bounded out into the storm, drenching her dry kimono instantly. She went on barefoot, dancing around fallen branches, treacherous mud pits that looked like shallow puddles, and tiny balls of hail that came hurling from the sky. The hail hit her skin, tore away at her kimono like tiny daggers. Her arms, face, and legs weren't saved from the fury of the storm. Yet, she pressed on in search of Kaya and Saya. Battered and beaten, Rin kept going, high in her determination.
"Kaya! Saya!" her voice disappeared into the massive explosions of thunder.
She stopped near the river where the banks began to flood. She looked down to the blade in her hand and whispered pleadingly, "Please, give me some hint to where they are."
Tensaiga shook violently then. A low humming emitted from the scabbard. It jerked in her hand, pulled her across the flooding banks. She almost yelped in surprise when she half stumbled into the river. A sudden flash of cold gripped her damp body. A faint memory in her head came like a whirlwind as the waves almost claimed her.
"NO!" a voice screamed in her head. The angel's face came to her like a dream. But as fast as it came, it disappeared.
Rin surfaced the river and found herself on the other side. Tensaiga still quivered, jerked in her grasp. The young woman did not have the time to think back on what just happened; Saya and Kaya were her first priorities. But… The voice was so familiar.
As if on cue, Saya and Kaya's screams blasted through the storm. Rin threw the vague image and voice aside and continued her search with the Tensaiga leading her.
The storm was intense, unnatural. But it did not stop Rin from seeing the twins curled up near a boulder, hugging each other. The field she had entered had winds that almost blew her off her feet. The rain and hail was worse here. It was as if this was a miasma. It was beginning to feel like one.
"Run!" Saya cried out from afar. She had spotted Rin first. Kaya's cry followed, "Rin!"
The form of a toad appeared in front of her, torso agape. His large yellow eyes were round with fear and pain. "Run, Rin!"
Rin shook her head so that the image left. She was back in the field again. Her face did not betray any hint of pain or weakness. The hail had, after all, left her kimono in shreds and her ragged. The way she looked now was worse than when she first arrived with the red kimono stained in blood.
"Run!" the girls yelled in unison again. Lightning struck the boulder. It was unnatural. It was like it was aiming for the girls!
"Stay there!" Rin called. She then dove and hit the ground. Lightning struck the ground near her. A subtle shock went up her arm. She then regarded Tensaiga. It was trembling. "What? What are you trying to tell me?" The hum grew louder. Rin, frustrated and for once fearful, could not help but scream, "WHAT?!"
"BACKLASH WAVE!" a booming voice came from the entry way of the forest. A massive blast of raw power came out in the shape of a spiraling whirlwind that lifted into the skies and disappeared into the heavens. The lightning bolts rounded back into the storm, and a screech was heard, loud and then deadening.
Whatever it was, it was obviously dead by the power of such an attack.
"That was easy, wasn't it Kagome?" The booming voice was now light and a bit cocky.
"InuYasha, sit."
From where Rin laid, she heard a very loud bang. Mud splattered over her back, and she almost squeaked from the coldness of it. She then heard the voice growl and yell, "What was that for!?"
"There are kids over there!"
"I knew that!"
It was then did Saya and Kaya scamper over to Rin. They helped her up and hugged her around the waist to support her and to support them. Rin hugged them close and almost sobbed with relief. The Tensaiga, something Rin also noted, had stopped its shaking and humming.
Saya and Kaya looked to the small entourage who came and saved them. "Thank you." They both said in unison.
Rin looked up at their saviors, and like the girls, was on the verge of saying thank you as well, but stopped. The one who had truly saved them, this InuYasha, looked horribly familiar. Though he was muddy, she saw his silvery-white hair, his gold eyes, and pale skin. She saw his claws, and the blade he held. For a moment, she lost her breath. Her chest hurt. Oh, how her chest hurt. Rin winced and held the Tensaiga near her breast. It quivered in her hold. "I don't want to remember…" she whispered, "Painful."
"Rin?" Saya and Kaya questioned. Kaya suddenly went back into healer mode along with Saya who transformed back into her priestess mask. "Thank you for helping us, but we must leave."
One of the women who wore unusual clothing and kept a bow and arrow near her, asked, "What is wrong with her?"
"She is just sick. Please, excuse us." Kaya said with a little heat. She was one for taking care of a patient without being questioned of the reasons by a stranger.
The monk of the group leaned toward the other woman who held a large boomerang and whispered, "That girl looks familiar."
Rin thought too much of this, she wanted desperately to leave. "Please, lets go."
"We are, Rin." Saya and Kaya walked off hurriedly with the woman in between them.
As they left, InuYasha, whose sense of smell was knocked out by the storm, stopped abruptly from cleaning his clothes. Apparently, not all of his sense of smell was gone. "I know that stench any where. Sesshoumaru's odor is all over the woman!"
The group watched the girls; Kagome looked to the rest of her friends and frowned. "If that is who we think it is, then why isn't Rin with Sesshoumaru?"
InuYasha popped his knuckles. A foreboding feeling entered his mind. Sesshoumaru, what the hell is going on? Though he received no answer, InuYasha said, "There's only one way to find out. Find my brother."
End! I'm so sorry it took so long to write this, writer's block sucks. I could not think of a thing! I actually had everything planned and when I was writing, poof. Buh bye! So I watched an episode of Inuyasha and back it came. I should have done it sooner so I am truly sorry for the inconvenience: ( I hope none of you are too mad.) Also, this comp deleted all my files... So the delay was longer... Rewrite. Pah! Okay, well, this one is up so I hoped you enjoyed!