Rin's mind was put into the body of a child. The exact age of her life's greatest tragedy.
Her father told her to run. Her oldest brother hoisted her through their only window and yelled at her not to stay.
"Rin!" she heard her brothers call from the window.
Then she heard their screams and moans of pain. Rin ran to the field and turned to watch her family die at the hands of bandits. They did not even spare her youngest brother, who hadn't even reached his tenth summer.
The bandits raided their small home, taking her mother's only kimono and her father's farming tools. One of the men raised his torch and set the wooden building ablaze.
She cried silently as she watched her home burn to the ground.
Rin was watching it all over again, now with the added pain of hearing her family call out to her from their positions on the ground in front of their burning home. They reached for her, calling with dead, unseeing eyes.
Rin knew this wasn't real. She absolutely knew it. She could feel Sesshomaru's arms and mokomoko around her. This fact did not stop her from crying and wishing that she could move her body to theirs. As a child, she had been thankful for her life. Now, there was a small part of her that wished that she had died alongside them.
"Rin!" she heard the alarmed voice of Sesshomaru call out to her through her visions, distracting her from the sight of her dead family. "Rin," he called again.
Sesshomaru… he had come all the way to Hell to keep her alive. Did this mean that he felt she was worth more than a maid - more than just a human woman?
It was worth living to find out the answer. One day, she would return to her family. But for now, Rin wanted to live.
She opened her eyes to find them covered by Sesshomaru's large hand, blocking the view of her family's souls.
"Sesshomaru," Rin said, only loud enough for him to hear. "I want to go back home."
Sesshomaru removed his hand from her face and drew Tenseiga, prepared to defend them from the approaching souls. "Do you wish for me to purify them? They will be promoted from this place."
Rin turned her head, meeting her brown eyes with his, and nodded slowly. She closed her eyes after feeling his arm raise to cut through them, not wanting to be reminded any more of their deaths at the hands of bandits.
Sesshomaru slashed down through the souls, feeling a buzz draw up through Tenseiga and into his arm as he did so. Sesshomaru lowered the fang to find the previously dead eyes shining and their mouths smiling at him. It was an understood thank you they all gave to him before fading away.
The Guardian of Hell threw his long arms around his head, obviously enraged. Sesshomaru made quick work of drawing Rin in closer and hoisting her up with him as he opened a mastered, full-circle Meido Zangetsuha, with little time to spare as the Guardian's dark shadow approached.
Sesshomaru flew through the opening to his fortress with ease, landing on the stairs of his mother's throne room without Rin in his arms. Alarmed, Sesshomaru looked around him and jumped the distance to Rin's body just in time for her eyes to shift under her lids.
Kouga saw it too exclaimed in joy, "She's alive!"
Rin's eyes fluttered open as if she was waking from a dream and she inhaled so violently that it caused her to cough.
To the shock of most people in the room, Sesshomaru put his hand on her cheek and gazed at her with no mask to cover his affection.
A few tender moments passed between the human and demon - which were verging on awkward - when Susumu broke the silence.
"This is a good omen, my dears. Let us celebrate with good food and good times!" she said as she fluidly stood from her throne and ordered a few servants standing by into action. "Come," she said to the group, having to grab Toki by the haori to lead them out of the room to leave Rin and Sesshomaru alone.
"Was that real?" Rin asked, keeping her voice quiet even though the others had left.
Sesshomaru ran his thumb across her cheek, trying to decide if he should acknowledge what had gone down in hell. "Yes, it was all real," he confirmed, sliding his hand from her face and into her hair.
"You don't…" Rin started, shying from what she wanted to say.
"I don't…?"
Rin blushed, not used to the casual words and tone he was using with her. She took a deep breath and finished, "You don't have to pretend to love me."
Sesshomaru blinked; he was shocked that Rin would suggest such a thing. Although, he thought, it was not unwarranted. He had scorned her many times.
"Were you deaf in Hell?" he asked with a tone Rin had never heard from him before. "I promised you, Rin, my entire being. I promise you anything you desire…" He left off in a sultry-sounding voice and matched the notes by letting his claw run through the length of her wavy hair.
"But you've already given me so much. You restored to me my life. You delivered my family to Heaven. I would be selfish to ask for more." Rin let her eyes finally meet Sesshomaru's once again.
"Then, maybe I could suggest a trade?" Sesshomaru started, keeping a straight face. "I trade everything I have and the offer of being my closest companion with your voice. You must sing for me, anytime I ask. And laugh."
With only a moment to let his words settle, Rin's mouth turned into a warm smile. "I love you, Lord Sesshomaru. I will accept your trade," she said, letting her joyous laughter spill from her throat.
When her elation wound down, Sesshomaru returned her confession with his own, "I love you," he said as he drew her face closer to his own. "Lady Rin…" he breathed before meeting her lips in a kiss.
The group had settled, almost in comfort, around the grand dining table. Susumu sat at the head of the table, in the absence of Sesshomaru, and insisted that Inuyasha sit at her right hand. Susumu's eyes were constantly evaluating the hybrid of human and demon- from his bare feet to the fuzzy ears atop his head. Inuyasha was, on the other hand, constantly evaluating the food he was shoveling into his mouth.
Kagome sat on Inuyasha's other side and noticed the long looks from Susumu. It gave her a chill to see Sesshomaru's eyes- the eyes of a predator- on a dainty woman's face, evaluating her boyfriend like a helpless puppy.
"Kagome, was it?" Susumu asked casually.
Kagome felt a chill go down her spine when she realized that she had been staring at Susumu and that Susumu had most definitely noticed. "Yes, Lady Susumu. Thank you again for inviting us into your home and to your table."
"I'm afraid this is no longer my table, dear. It is Sesshomaru's and has been Sesshomaru's since his father's untimely demise." Susumu shot a quick glance at Inuyasha, who had lost his previous tempo at the mention of his father. "However, Sesshomaru won't mind because he is so… preoccupied with his restored beloved."
Miroku let out a perverted half-laugh at this, earning himself a pinch from Sango.
"I was quite surprised to see Sesshomaru so… emotional," Kouga commented. "I was saddened by Rin's passing, but Sesshomaru showed more emotions in Hell than I've ever seen from him in my lifetime."
"Even in my lifetime," Susumu agreed. "The most emotional I had ever seen him get was when he was a pup, and he really only showed frustration. Never heartfelt sadness, as he experienced today."
"Who exactly is Rin?" Inuyasha asked after swallowing his food.
Kouga replied, "She used to be a simple human maid here. But within the last year she has caused some changes around the fortress…"
"Rin has become," Susumu thought before continuing, "What your mother was to your father."
Inuyasha was quite shocked at this. He had always assumed that his father must have had a heart similar to his own to have loved his mother so much. But compared to Sesshomaru… could his father really have been like his cold-hearted brother?
"While you may be the image of your father," Susumu commented, "Sesshomaru is almost identical in personality. I'm afraid it was from being raised by your brute of a father. If he had been closer to me, well, he would at least have a sense of humor."
"Was the late lord really so… cold?" Sango asked, remembering their not-so-fond encounters with Sesshomaru.
"Mostly… until he met Inuyasha's human mother," Susumu smirked. "Though I often wished for her demise, she is what made him so powerful. When he fell in love with Izayoi, he had something to fight for. He died fighting for her, as the story goes, and thus mastered his power."
"Didn't Sesshomaru just accomplish the same?" Kouga wondered.
Susumu smiled, letting her white fangs peak out of her perfectly pink mouth to say, "He has reached the same level of power as his father. He hasn't fully grasped the concept of protecting loved ones- he still can be so much more."
"But he proved that he loves Rin!" Toki protested from his place among the guards, earning him a glare from his superior.
"Yes, he has proven that he loves her; but there are a few more lessons he must learn… things that his father would have guided Sesshomaru to had he survived," Susumu stated, glancing at Inuyasha once again to remember her old mate's face more clearly. "How would your group like to rest here for a while, Inuyasha? I suggest you all get rest before departing on your quest."
Inuyasha looked to his companions for affirmation, and then agreed to stay until they knew where they were going to head in their search for Naraku.
"Any ideas about where Naraku might have gone?" Kouga asked the table after contemplating this question himself.
After a moment of silence, Miroku answered, "He's probably going to lie low for a while, don't you think? He might send out some of his reincarnations or minions out, but he's probably staying out of harm's way while Sesshomaru is angry."
"I agree with you," Inuyasha said as he stuck his hands into the sleeves of his haori. "Even Naraku is smart enough to know not to taunt Sesshomaru out of fear of a poison claw cutting through you."
"Something you have experienced, I suppose?" Susumu surmised from the unsoundly grunt.
Kagome rested a hand on Inuyasha's forearm and answered for him, "Once. But they have put such things behind them to achieve the common goal of defeating Naraku."
"Once we take down the bastard, I'm gonna beat up Sesshomaru real good." Inuyasha reveled in the thought only long enough for the dining room's doors to slide open.
"I invite you, Half-breed, to try," Sesshomaru said as he entered the room to all the servants and guards bowing lowly.
"Sesshomaru," Susumu greeted, happy to see Rin a step behind him but unhappy to smell that they had not made her a grandpup.
"Mother," he said in turn, waiting for her to stand and move to the opposite end of the table so he could take his accustomed spot. He gestured for Rin to take the seat to his left next to Miroku and turned his body in her direction, trying to ignore the presence of his half-brother on his right.
"Lady Susumu invited us to stay until we know where Naraku has gone," Kagome said, trying to break the silence that had collapsed on the room.
Sesshomaru turned his face to Kagome and his brother and nodded in a strange sort of affirmation.
Inuyasha sat in confusion as he watched a couple of maids serve his brother and Rin food, only letting his ears catch negligible bits of the others' conversations. Questions about this house- this very room- plagued his mind.
If his father had survived, would he have been raised in this very home? Alongside Sesshomaru and Susumu?
Would he have been given the opportunity to become as powerful as Sesshomaru?
Would he have met Kagome? Kikyo?
Would Naraku even be a threat if his father were still around?
Would his father be proud of him?
"Inuyasha wields the Tessaiga very well," Inuyasha heard Kouga say, bringing him out of his thoughts. A compliment from the wolf?
"Interesting… I may ask for a demonstration," Susumu commented as she took a dainty sip of her tea.
"Demonstration?" Inuyasha questioned.
"Yes, I was around your father for centuries. I know how he wielded his sword and could tell you if you harness its full power properly. I'm not too surprised Sesshomaru hasn't offered to help your form- he always admired your father's fang."
Sesshomaru ignored the snide comment in his direction, preferring to let his gaze set on Rin's plate. She hadn't eaten much. Neither had he, really. Hunger was never a big issue for him.
"May I retire, my lord?" she asked when he had shifted his gaze up from her plate to her face.
Sesshomaru nodded and gracefully lifted himself from the table to lend her a hand in getting up. The servants bowed once again as they exited the dining room, Toki and two other guards trailed behind.
A/n: I hope you've enjoyed! Only a little more to go before the end!