Rin woke up the next morning outside of the inn with a sweet fragrance lingering in the air. As soon as the innkeeper and a few servants saw her and came to her aid however, the smell vanished and Rin was fully awake.
"P-priestess! Are you alright?" the innkeeper asked worriedly.
Rin rubbed at her head. It didn't hurt, but she still felt a bit dazed. "Where are my travelling companions?" she asked, finding that she quite forgot her way around the inn.
"They are both still sleeping. Shall I wake them up?" a servant asked.
Rin nodded and then stood up, surprised to find that she needed her bow to help balance herself. She wasn't wounded in any way, but she felt really weak. She was escorted to the dining room where the Samurai and Saya came later on. The Samurai scolded her for wandering off to "God knows where!" in the middle of the night while Saya was just happy that she came back. Rin didn't really get to explain what happened until they made it halfway through the meal. At this time the innkeeper excused herself to see to the other guests, so Rin was left alone with her two companions.
"Last night I think I went into the mountains," Rin said. "I think I saw the Snow Leopard Demon."
"What? Did you kill it?" the Samurai asked.
Rin shook her head. "No. I'm not sure why but I just...I couldn't bring myself to do it. Actually there was someone else there...a human I think."
"What did he look like?" the Samurai demanded excitedly.
"He wore a white kimono. Actually all of him was white, even his hair. Also there's something else. In his presence, I felt the same sense I had when I was near the stone."
The Samurai jumped up. "That must be Master Koimiomaru then! What else?"
"Well, he was talking to me. He seemed really young and..."
The Samurai's expression fell and he sat back down again. "That wasn't Master Koimiomaru then."
"What? But I haven't finished!"
"No need. Master Koimiomaru is an old man so it couldn't be him whom you sensed. Probably a demon."
"But the Snow Leopard Demon is the only one on the mountain according to the innkeeper and I already saw the leopard in the meadow!"
Saya however wasn't quick to judge and instead paid attention to what Rin said. "Meadow? You were in a meadow?"
Rin sighed with relief and nodded. "Yes. It was a meadow full of white flowers. There was snow everywhere else but in the meadow it was peaceful and warm. The Snow Leopard Demon didn't seem to mean anyone any harm and it was a most beautiful demon."
"A beautiful demon?!" spat the Samurai. "Priestess, you are an odd one at that. If you have a love for demons then there's no way Master Koimiomaru would accept you. Are you sure you've actually sensed something this entire time?"
Rin's heart sank and she looked down at the ground with shame. She actually wasn't at all confident about her own powers and what the Samurai said only made her feel worse. It was true that she did think of demons more as people as well because of her years with Sesshomaru and Jaken, but it was really just too much to expect her to hate them in order to become powerful. If that was Koimiomaru's goal, when she didn't want to be a part of it.
But on the other hand, she'd already agreed to help Saya and the Samurai and she was almost like their only hope. Also, she didn't forget that Sesshomaru would also be looking for Koimiomaru and she wanted to meet him again. Never before did she feel more trapped or weak than at that moment.
Saya gave the Samurai a hard glare but the Samurai just got up and walked outside without a single word of apology.
Saya gave Rin a small smile. "What else happened?" she asked softly.
"The figure seemed pure," Rin murmured. "I'm not entirely sure that it was not Koimiomaru."
Saya shook her head. "I'm not sure what you saw Rin, but Master Koimiomaru is indeed an old man. He had gone through many years of spiritual training and has even meditated in a cave for a year with very little food and water. I'm afraid there is no way he could be young."
Rin wanted to agree with the small girl, but at the same time wedged in the back of her mind was what Sesshomaru had told her about the scent. Out of all the voices in her head, his echoed the loudest and it was telling her that Koimiomaru was a demon. If he was truly the man she had encountered the night before, then maybe he was a demon because demons could maintain a youthful appearance.
In any case, Rin knew that she had to get back to the meadow to find out all the answers. She prayed that something, anything would guide her to make the right decisions.
Sesshomaru was getting restless. He never was one to wait patiently for something to happen and his search for Koimiomaru was no acception. By the third day Jaken had been gone with no signs of return and no news to report, Sesshomaru was on edge about the entire matter. He had managed to postpone the banquet with the Elders for a month as some of them had traveled to the east for new prey, but the war with the Northern Wolf Tribe was fast approaching and Sesshomaru obviously couldn't be in two places at once.
Of course he cared about the war and expanding his empire more than anything and had initially put it as his first priority, however he had come to see Koimiomaru as something that somehow stood in the way of his goals. It was just too unusual, a demon with so-called 'pure' powers and especially a demon that wasn't easy to find. Sesshomaru would have thought that Jaken would have at least made a bit of process.
As if on que, at that moment Jaken flew in on Ah-Un through the window, causing Sesshomaru to stand up and give him a full on glare.
"Well?" the Demon Lord demanded. "What have you found?"
"N-nothing good I'm afraid milord," Jaken stammered.
Sesshomaru wasn't patient at all, and was extremely tempted to use his poison claws on Jaken, however it was obvious that Jaken still had something to report nonetheless.
"Answer me," he hissed.
Jaken bowed low on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut. "Milord, just one night before, Ah-Un and I were flying over the mountain where the feared, yet not nearly as feared as you, Snow Leopard Demon resides. We thought to stop there for a rest but just as we need, we noticed a human climbing the mountain towards where the demon resides. Upon closer inspection, we saw that it was Rin milord."
Sesshomaru's eyes widened. "What?"
"Aye milord. I myself did not believe it but in was indeed she. She stopped in an open meadow of snow and for a while she acted quite peculiarly speaking to no one and even held up an arrow as if to shoot at something. We lingered a bit and then young Rin seems to have fainted. Naturally we went down to transport her back into the safety of the village, only by the time Ah-Un landed, she was gone milord."
Sesshomaru stared intently down at the imp, but at the same time he had stiffened. There were many questions that swam through his head but in the end he settled on just one, which was perhaps the one that he cared about the most. What could you be thinking, Rin?
Then without a word, he effortlessly ran out of the room and jumped through the window, the breeze picking him up and just like that, he flew away. His destination? The mountain of the Snow Leopard Demon.
After eating and thanking the innkeeper for everything, with the possible promise of returning at night, Rin and her companions set off for the meadow. Rin led the way as she strangely remembered where to go from the night before. Only this time it was different since she didn't feel anything pulling at her at all. The feeling of purity from before was gone and so was every other sense she had. She still sensed a demon though, only it was probably the Snow Leopard Demon.
Halfway up the mountain, they stopped for a rest and finally the Samurai apologized for what he had said earlier. Rin had noticed Saya whispering to him and nudging him several times as they walked, only each time the Samurai had brushed her off. Maybe it was a good thing that he listened because his apology made Rin feel much better. She had managed to reassure herself about her abilities, but the Samurai's words had still hurt a little after all. Rin didn't consider the Samurai a friend per say, but she did know that given the chance, she would like to become friends. He was stubborn and had a hard exterior though and lecturing her was never out of the cards for him.
Finally by about sunset, they'd reached the meadow only this time Rin was shocked to find that there was only snow and the feeling from before...all traces of the purity of the flowers and the meadow were gone.
"I-I don't understand this," Rin said, clutching at her bow. Had she been wrong all along? Was everything that happened the other night merely a dream? Maybe she walked out only to the front of the inn and then collapsed from tiredness. She felt a gut-wrenching feeling at the knowledge that everything was for nothing. Maybe she really didn't have the ability...she wasn't Lady Kikyo or Kagome after all...
Suddenly she sensed a demon presence and her head jerked up. It suddenly seemed to get colder and the sky grew darker and darker. A blizzard started to form and soon their feet were covered in snow. Rin was the first to see it emerge from the other side of the meadow, the Snow Leopard Demon from before. She recognized it alright, and was even tempted to step towards it, only it was an entirely different sight from before. The leopard was crouched back, it's teeth bared; a savage, wild thing. It wasn't at all like what she remembered.
"The Demon!" the Samurai exclaimed. "We must kill it!"
"No, please stop!" Rin screamed, almost on the verge of tears. She didn't want to kill the leopard. While it looked completely wild and willing to kill them, it's eyes had a hint of the purity from before left and Rin couldn't possibly condone killing it.
"Are you insane?!" the Samurai yelled, sword at ready. "We must kill it before it kills us!" Even Saya seemed a bit on edge and prepared to attack, and this made Rin uneasy.
Rin didn't know what else to do. She threw herself in front of them, her back to the leopard. "I know it looks dangerous, but I don't think it'll hurt us!" she exclaimed. She chanced a look back at the leopard which hadn't moved ever since she stepped in front of the Samurai. It no longer showed any intention of attacking them.
Suddenly the snow cleared away from the meadow and the white flowers buried under it were revealed. A sweet smell returned to the air and Rin once again felt at peace with the world. This time she completely dropped her bow and arrow and turned to face the leopard. Coming out into the meadow from behind it was the figure from before, a kind yet gallant smile on his face.
The Samurai and Saya both dropped their weapons and kneeled to the ground.
"Master Koimiomaru..." the Samurai whispered.
Rin's eyes widened. So the figure from the night before...was Koimiomaru?
Gah! Cliffhanger I know, but I just can't resist putting them in chapter after chapter!
Please tell me what you think. :3