Chapter 7: Sword Girl


Rin awoke to the sound of rain splattering against the roof of Sesshomaru's palace. She was filled with momentary confusion until the events of the past few days had caught up with her. She felt something warm wrapped around her and her eyes focused on Sesshomaru's furs, drawn in around her like a protective shroud. She sat up slowly and realized that Sesshomaru must have put her into bed after she had fallen asleep. She was surprised to see the demon, seated on the floor in the corner of her room. His head leaned back up against a thick wooden beam, he slept. There was nothing, she thought, more serene than his expression. It was as expressionless as it was in the day, but touched by the comfort and peace of deep sleep. She found herself staring, wide-eyed, at the demon lord and blushed fiercely when his gold eyes opened and stared back at her. His eyes were tinged with dark circles beneath them. He did not look well-rested, but despite that fact he rose to his feet and reattached his hilt to the belt at his side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice unwaveringly formal despite the informality of being in a woman's bedroom.

She thought about this question for a long period of time. How did she feel? Physically she felt alright. Mentally? That was a different story. How was she supposed to feel? So much was happening. She was worried about the monster that had revealed itself back at the Higurashi's shrine and she was scared for Kaiba. What wasn't at the forefront of her mind, was herself. This was all her fault and the people who raised her might have been in trouble. Kaiba might have been dead. Now, she was putting the people around her here at risk. She had to do something.

"I want to find this hunter god… this… Kimura," she said.

"I will," he said.

"Yeah, I know, but I want to come with you."

"No," Sesshomaru shot back instantly, "It's too dangerous."

Rin smirked despite the gravity of the situation and despite the fact that everything about it frightened her. She was terrified. But she was done showing it. This wasn't a dream. It was happening and she had to do something about it. She needed to play a part in her fate because as a child, she'd never had a choice. Now that she was older, she wouldn't let others decide for her. Not again. "I'm a dangerous person to know, Sesshomaru. I can fight."

A bemused expression crossed his face momentarily, betraying his usual mask of impassivity. He paced closer and knelt at her side.

"Not like I can. Not like Kimura will be able to," he insisted.

Rin, however, was determined. She knew herself well enough to know she could not stay behind and do nothing. She wasn't a coward. "Meet me in the courtyard in an hour. I need wooden practice swords." She got up out of bed and began to usher him towards the door, "No demon strength, no demon speed, just you and I. If I land even one hit on you, we do this together. Don't worry, you can take on Kimura. But I want to be there. I want to see him fall." She slid the door closed and rested her cursed hand against the door. Her smile faded and she stared at the black crystal forming against her knuckles. The wound festered and spread, but it didn't hurt her. Not physically. It was a reminder; he was a part of her now. Could he feel her? See her right now? The thought made her shudder.

"And what makes you think I'll agree to your terms?" Sesshomaru said from outside the door.

"Because. I'm Rin and you're Sesshomaru. We are meant to be by each other's sides," she said it naturally, like it was something she'd always known. Her face grew hot when the words left her lips and she slid the door open a crack to backpedal, to retract her surprising sentimentality, but he had already disappeared.


When Rin walked into the courtyard, the rain had stopped but the air was muggy and filled with lightning. In the distance she could hear a roll of thunder. Sesshomaru waited for her with two wooden swords, just as she had asked. Jaken appeared at Rin's side, re-voicing his concern for her safety, how Sesshomaru didn't like to play foolish games, how she didn't stand a chance.

"He'll be sloppy. He leans too much on his demon strengths. He doesn't account for what might happen if they are taken away," Rin explained.

She had tied her long swath of hair into a thick braid that she pushed over her shoulder. It hung in a thick plait right to the small of her back. Pants had been a hard thing to find inside the palace but she'd finally gotten a hold of a baggy blue pair with floral white pattern splashed along the seams. They were held up by a great purple ribbon she'd salvaged from one of the many kimono in her dressing room. A shirt had been another difficult thing to find so she'd just wrapped her chest up in bandages. They gave her full chest the support that it lacked and allowed her more fluid movement.

"I think this exercise is pointless," Sesshomaru said as she approached.

"It's the only way you'll let me come with you. Let me prove that I can hold my own." She turned her back to glance at Jaken. When she did Sesshomaru tossed one of the wooden swords at her back, expecting for it to hit her and clatter to the ground. He meant to prove a point, that she was not cut out for battle, that should would never hold her own. But this was not a point he succeeded in making. With almost inhuman reflexes of her own, Rin turned and grabbed the sword from the air, rotating into an offensive position.

Jaken's eyes widened and he stumbled back out of the way, giving them space. "L-Lord Sesshomaru I don't think that this is wise..."

Sesshomaru however had a frustrated look on his face and cast his bulkier armour down before drawing his own practice sword and pacing towards her. He wasted no time in his assault. He came at her hard and with almost impossible strength. Their wooden blades crashed together and Rin reversed, slipping out to her left and using his own weight to stagger him. She saw an opening and cast a blow aiming for the shoulder only for him to block, facing away from her and his own sword swung horizontally over his shoulders. He cast a glance over his shoulder. He did not look as amused as he had outside of her bedroom door. In fact he looked irritated.

A small group of servants had gathered around the edges of the courtyard. It was rare to see a woman fight. It was rarer still to see their lord fighting in this manner. Whenever he sparred, it was with fellow demons and the battles took place far away from people where nothing could be maimed or destroyed. They'd never seen him take arms against a human.

"You're quick. I'll give you that," Sesshomaru muttered through gritted teeth. "But are you strong?"

Rin gasped as he slammed his sword upward and threw a light jab of his elbow into her stomach. She felt the wind rush out of her lungs and she staggered backwards, switching to the defensive. Her footwork was neat and precise. Years of kendo had seen to that. Her instincts were quick. He came back at her with a series of slashing motions that she parried but with great difficulty. Each time their swords met, her wrists ached and screamed under the pressure, but still she held on until he faked to his left and landed a sharp blow to right arm. She cried out in pain and recoiled away from him only to be struck again on the left. She bit back tears and switched back to the offensive. They moved with blinding speed across the courtyard, testing each other's footwork. He landed hits and hesitated every time to see if she would yield. Every time she smirked and came back at him with a different combination of steps.

"I'm not going to yield, if that's what you're thinking."

"You will not win this, Rin. It's foolish to try," he replied.

"It's never foolish to try if you think you can succeed." It was an old saying from a kendo instructor that she had trained under for several years. It was a piece of something from her life in Tokyo, and she found herself, for a brief moment, missing the calmness of it. This errant thought was however struck away when Lord Sesshomaru's sword caught the edge of her wrist. Pain bloomed along the length of her arm but she gritted through it.

This back and forth continued. Sesshomaru never attacked directly, only threw off her blows and spun out to defend against a parry or jab. This went on for awhile until finally Sesshomaru landed a hit that knocked Rin off her feet and hard onto her back. The servants gasped and Sesshomaru dropped his sword. He hurried to Rin's side and knelt beside her.

"Are you alright?" He asked genuinely, concern passing through his eyes. But he realized his mistake too late when Rin smiled and from her back landed a suckerpunch to his waiting palm, inches from his face. His eyes widened and then he glared down at her. She grinned mischievously up at him and the servants applauded for while he had caught her fist, the tip of her sword pressed firmly into his chest.

"Like I said. Sloppy."

Sesshomaru stared, wide-eyed at the practice sword and pulled her to her feet. "You fight dishonourably."

"So does Kimura," Rin retorted. "Please. Let me help you find him. I won't engage him. I won't do anything stupid and I won't get in your way."

Sesshomaru stared down at her and raised his finger to her lips. For a moment she thought he might cup her face in his palm as he had before, but instead he used the edge of his kimono to wipe a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth.

"It's dangerous," he repeated, though this time with a hushed urgency, like he was failing to explain something important to her. He spoke quietly, like his concern for her was a secret shared between them.

"Then you shouldn't be alone. Besides... I sort of... I meant what I said earlier. You shouldn't be alone. You protected me when I was young and now I would like to be there to try and protect you."

"I don't need protecting," Sesshomaru said, pulling his hand away from her abruptly.

Rin looked over at the dispatching servants and lowered her voice. "Everyone needs to be protected sometimes. Even someone like you. Even if it's by someone like me."

She tried to hide a satisfied smirk when Sesshomaru's expression piqued into something almost similar to embarrassment. His eyes darted sideways, betraying only the smallest hint that her words had struck some unreachable cord with him.

She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when finally he said, "It's your choice to make. I won't stop you."

The rain began to pour down from the heavens, slamming down in fat globules all around them. Rin didn't know it yet, but it was a sign of worse things yet to come.

"When do we begin?" she asked.

"We leave for Misogi village in a few days. Their ruler asked me to dispatch demons that have been troubling the villagers. They are under my rule, so I must go. But I suspect that it may lead us closer to Kimura. I'll have A-Un brought for you. We will draw less attention to ourselves if we go by the road." Sesshomaru put an instinctive arm around her shoulders, using the wide sleeve of his kimono to shelter her head from the rain like an umbrella. He drew her close and together they headed inside.

"H-hey Sesshomaru? What's an A-Un?"


Kaiba's hands were clenched into fists. He stood atop the courtyard roof, invisible to all thanks to Kimura's dark blessing. His back was rigid and his eyes were narrowed. Why was Rin letting this demon so close? Kaiba and Rin had known each other for years. He'd loved her for years and now she was with this demon, this Sesshomaru. He longed to go to her, to tell her he would save her and take her home. But a darker thought urged him to stay where he was, observe only, and recognize that maybe she didn't want to go home. Maybe this was her home now. Maybe he was forgotten.

She doesn't love you. Look and see the mate she's chosen, see how easily she forgets.

Kimura's voice rang out like he was standing right next to him, but Kaiba stood alone and he knew the voice was just in his head. Rage flowed through him thicker and darker than his own blood. How could she betray him?! After all they'd been through, after all he'd done for her?

He watched them disappear inside and all reasonable thought left him. Kaiba had been cored to empty. There was nothing left but envy and anger. It planted itself deep within and bloomed in a feverish need for violence and retribution. It was not natural. It was Kimura's control.

"How do I kill a demon?"

Patience. I will show you.