Sesshomaru watched in silent horror as his father's fang slipped effortlessly into Rin's chest and, for a moment, he believed he was dreaming. His worst nightmare was playing out before his eyes and he was powerless to stop it. He felt like he was back at the gates of hell all over again as the foreign feeling of helplessness washed over him. He watched his mother as she began to pour her power into the sword of heaven and he wanted nothing more than to tear her apart. Slowly. His eyes narrowed as he raged in impotent fury.
"Mother," the way he whispered the title could have been mistaken for reverence if one missed the pure fury that radiated from him, "If her soul is destroyed because of this, I promise yours won't be far behind."
His threat did not seem to faze her. She didn't even acknowledge that he spoke. Yet he saw the corner of her mouth move up in a small smile and he knew she heard. This was intolerable. He was the Lord of the Western Lands, the greatest and strongest warrior of the age! Lord Sesshomaru would not be defeated by a barrier, no matter how cleverly constructed. Focusing his power within he set to work as he watched his mother attempt to complete her task.
His eyes moved from the female who birthed him, to Rin as the glow of power surrounding her began to make its changes to her familiar form. Slowly, he saw her body lengthen and her hard-earned muscles become less defined. Though he knew as a Yokai, Rin would be far stronger than she was now, the effect made her look softer, more feminine. His gaze shifted to her face where he saw her hair darken from its normal brown/black, to a true midnight color that could have passed for the night sky without the stars. Her face lost its roundness, becoming more angular and the first hint of black stripes began to appear on her cheeks.
He felt the first stirrings of panic begin to flood his chest and he hurried in his task. The transformation was close to finishing and if Sesshomaru didn't get to her in time, she could be lost to him for eternity. His mother seemed to sense that he was close to breaking free and her power increased as she strove to complete what she had started before he could.
At last Sesshomaru could feel the grip of the barrier lose its hold and he slowly pushed his way through. He was free! His face lit in a deadly smile and he moved to rip the former Lady of the West away from his love, but he was a second too late.
With one last surge of power the Lady Inukimi glowed with a bright light that blinded her son and allowed the Tenseiga to fully merge with Rin's new body, sinking into her like a fish in water. When Sesshomaru could see again, his mother was gone and the sword of heaven had become part of his beloved.
Sheathing Bakusaiga, Sesshomaru quickly undid his haori and pulled Rin out of the foul smelling concoction to cover her with it. Without wasting any time, he gathered her in his arms and took off in a ball of bright white light towards the only person he knew who might be able to help her soul. He only hoped that his annoying half-brother wasn't home so he could speak with the Miko without having to waste time allaying the Hanyou's suspicious nature.
"Be strong Rin" he whispered gently to her in a near prayer like fashion, "Hold on…"
The fire had dimmed down to a few glowing coals that gave just enough light to see by, but not enough to hinder sleep. Rin was tired from her first day of training, but her eyes stayed open. Kagome's 'fairy tales', as she called them, were always so fascinating that Rin didn't want to miss a single one and tonight she had promised to tell one about Inu demons. There was no way she was going to sleep through that.
Just as Rin felt she was losing the battle to sleep, Kagome's sweet voice brought her back.
"In the beginning of creation there existed three worlds. There was Heaven, the realm of the Kami; Earth, the realm of the mortals; and the Underworld, the realm of demons and spirits. These realms were easily crossed at first, allowing the Kami and spirits to move freely between each, but the demons were forbidden to enter heaven and the mortal world. Their purpose was to guard the gates of Hell and to torture the souls of wicked humans in payment for their crimes in mortality. The Kami knew that they could not distinguish between the living souls and those who were dead so they bound the demons to their realm and, for a time, there was peace. The three worlds were in balance."
"Uh, this is boring!" Kagome's youngest daughter interrupted, "Skip to the good part, mom. I wanna hear about fighting the demons!"
Kagome gave her pup a glare that could rival Lord Sesshomaru's for its icy ferocity and Rin had to stifle a giggle. Her foster sister would NOT care for being compared to her Lord, even if Rin thought it was a compliment.
"Hush Nikita," she reprimanded her daughter, "Do you want me to continue the story or would you like to go to bed now?"
Nikita shook her head vigorously as the vengeful looks of Kagome's other children promised her the punishment of her siblings if she made their mother stop. Kagome smiled as she recognized the pack behavior of her pups and began to speak again.
"Then one day a mortal man came to the gates of Hell looking for the soul of his wife who had died giving birth to their son. He knew that it was forbidden for a mortal to enter the realm of the dead, but his love for his wife was more than his fear of retribution. He ventured forth, breaking the seal on the gate, and battled his way through hordes of demons, until at last he found his beloved. His heart rejoiced, but when he guided her back to the world of the living he found the gates wide open and countless demons pouring through it to ravage the land.
'What have I done?' he cried as he dropped to his knees in horror at the scene before him, not knowing he was being watched.
"You have broken the seals to the Underworld, allowing the demons to roam freely into your realm." A distinctly feminine voice said behind him.
The man jumped to his feet and whirled around to find a beautiful Kami standing before him dressed in an odd kimono of half white and half black and on her forehead was the symbol of the yin and yang. However, it was not her attire or her markings that he stared at, it was the blood that soaked her body from shoulder to foot.
"Who are you?" the man asked fearfully
"I am the Kami of Balance and in your efforts to reverse the natural order of life and death you, mortal, have nearly destroyed me." She informed him, sorrow lacing her words.
The man looked back at the demon horde and then at his wife, whose face held nothing but love for him.
"I am sorry for the destruction I've caused," he bowed himself to the earth, "But I cannot find it in myself to regret my actions. I cannot live without my beloved, for without her there is no point to living."
The Kami gazed thoughtfully between the two for a moment and then nodded her head as she came to a decision.
"I see," she said, "Then the two of you together shall fix the mess you've caused."
The man and his wife looked questioningly at her then each other before slowly nodding their heads in agreement.
"We shall do what we can my lady Kami" the man said, "But I fear it won't be much. We are only human and cannot withstand the strength of such creatures for long."
The kami only smiled and raised her hand to beckon the woman towards her.
"Then you shall forfeit your humanity," she said calmly bringing forth her power, and addressing the woman "I have been badly weakened and I cannot continue for much longer, but if I join our two souls together then there is a chance that Balance can be restored. My power and strength will combine with you to give us both new life and give you both what you need to complete your task. Will you accept me as a part of you woman?"
"Yes Lady Kami" she accepted with a humble bow, "But what of my poor husband? How will he…"
"Do not worry for him," the Kami stopped the woman's words, "He will have the power he needs, but it must come from a different source for Balance to be served." She pulled out two necklaces, one bearing a pendant in the shape of a Yin and the other in the form of Yang, from her robes and placed the white Yin over the woman's head before similarly gifting the Yang necklace to the man.
The Kami then stepped towards the woman and embraced her as she glowed with a soft white light. The Yin and Yang symbols lit up with the same radiance and the man felt his heart leap with joy when the light vanished to reveal his wife now dressed in the same robes of the Kami, only now they were pure white.
The man and his wife turned to the demon horde, and walked towards their task, hand in hand"
Kagome tucked in her small children before giving a semi-conscious Rin a good night kiss.
"Kagome?" Rin called sleepily
"Yes Rin?" the familiar voice answered softly
"Is that the end of the story?"
Rin heard a quiet chuckle at her question
"No sweetie," Kagome replied, "But it is for tonight"
It is said that, when one dies, just before the moment of death, the entirety of that person's life flashes before their eyes. If anyone had thought to ask her, Rin would have been able to disabuse her fellow humans of the notion. After all, she had passed through that particular gate twice. If one were privileged to review their life before passing to the next world, then wouldn't she have seen hers? It had not happened before, so Rin didn't expect such a phenomenon to occur this time and honestly it didn't. Her mind seemed fixed on this one incident and the memories that were associated with it.
Rin saw flashes of Kagome telling the rest of the tale, but even as the memories faded, the words did not.
During the first battle the yang necklace absorbed enough demon energy to transform the man into the world's first Daiyokai and together the Daiyokai and his goddess wife began killing and herding the demons who had overtaken the world, forcing back to their realm. However, they could not remove them all and eventually it was decided to simply reseal the gates of hell and allow those who were on earth to remain. The Daiyokai and his Wife were charged with the protecting of humans from this new threat since they were unable to themselves. All the Yokai who came after them through their lineage were bound to this purpose. Rin felt that the true tragedy of the story was when the Daiyokai was killed and he found out that his wife and he would now forever be separated. It was his punishment for going against the laws of nature and wreaking havoc with the balance of the three realms.
Why would she think about that now of all times?
She was distracted from answering by a warm white light that quickly engulfed her.