Finale: Overthrown
The room where they had landed marked the end of the stairs. Their boots pattered against the stone floor, the echoes carrying high towards a ceiling they could not make out, despite the eerie blue glow coming from the tiny crystals in the wall. It did not take much wandering in the dim light before they found their treasure.
In the center of the space, on top of an intricate spell circle, stood a pedestal that housed a glimmering dragon scale, larger than any they had encountered before. It rotated slowly around an invisible axis.
Rin glanced up at Sesshomaru, who gave her a small nod. As both of their fingers rested against the piece of metal, they were blinded by a light. Once the light faded and they had a chance to lower their arms, a new realm awaited.
The new field was filled with translucent material that refracted a luster from an unknown source, reflecting it all around them, filling the air with a luminosity unseen in their world.
"It's beautiful," she said, amazed by the sight. Sesshoumaru was less impressed, recognizing it for what it truly was: a grave. His own father had done similar for his resting ground, although in a far more natural and subdued manner.
He was about to prod Rin into moving along, only to find that she was already past the glorious wonder and focused on the mission. He gave a little smirk that no one would witness.
The bones were not difficult to uncover, for they were left unceremoniously in a pile. Rin bent over to examine the inside of the skull. "How do you suppose we get him out of here? You know, once we pour the blood on him."
Sesshoumaru shrugged. No doubt the magic of this place would resolve itself once the awakening was complete. He gathered Rin in his arms without any protest and then grabbed onto what he assumed was a horn at the end of the giant beast's snout. In the absolute worst case, they could ride their way out.
Rin unstoppered the skin with a grimace and drizzled its contents directly onto the bone. And for a few seconds, aside from the blood oozing into the skull and disappearing, nothing happened.
Then the walls cracked with splinters running up and down like bolts of lightning. When the spider web of fissures encompassed every surface, the real change began, starting from within.
A grotesque sloshing filled their ears as organs warped and built themselves out of nothing. Layers of muscle were roped into place, stretching under and over the skeleton. The clanking of metal scales signalled the process was almost complete.
A massive eyeball, yellowed and moist, rolled around in its socket until it came to rest on them. With a deafening roar, the room fractured, in that instant, returning them to the real world.
Omo was much too large to fit within such a confined area and Sesshomaru covered Rin with his body to prevent her from being immediately crushed as the dragon thrashed to free himself from the stone prison beneath the surface. Omo roared again, this time with flames a hundred times hotter than the ones Sesshoumaru had felt back in the forest.
Breaking into the open air, he took them both to safety, outside of Omo's obvious line of sight. There would be no evading his attacks, but they could attempt to stay out of his way if possible. From their hiding spot in the trees, they were able to take in the dragon king's stature in full for the first time.
Black and steel, larger than any daiyoukai in their memory, with silver claws, a giant maw that radiated heat of a deadly fire, tendrils of smoke whisping out between curved and wicked teeth.
A noise caught Sesshoumaru's interest and he turned to greet his brother. He was not expecting Inuyasha's demon self on display, nor for there to be tear tracts on his face where grime had been washed away.
Kongomi gave them all a curt nod, taking only the briefest of moments to manage her surprise at Rin's human form, before she leapt out to encounter Omo.
Rin popped out from behind Sesshomaru and was decidedly more vocal about the new arrival's appearance.
"Inuyasha! What happened?" She swung around Sesshoumaru delicately to keep herself from falling off the tree branch, but managed to leap into Inuyasha's arms. "Where are the others?"
Dazed, he regarded the young woman with a distracted air. "Rin?" Then reality hit. "Rin?" Tears bubbled along his waterline. "Is that really you?" She nodded and he buried his face into her shoulder, crushing her ribs with his arms.
With a worried expression, Rin drew him in close, stroking the back of his dirtied hair. His sobs wracked heavily against her chest and she understood. Tears filled her own eyes that she furiously tried to blink back. Now was not the time for mourning, not if they were to salvage any part of this situation.
Inuyasha did not offer up any further explanation, but regained his composure enough such that by the time he pulled away, his eyes were golden once again.
Rin caught his gaze. "There may be something that I can do, but we need to see this through first." He nodded and roughly swiped his face with the hem of the fire rat robe.
"Should we go help?" He asked, jutting his chin towards Kongomi.
"We can, but I don't think it will do much good. Either this works, or," Rin left the sentence hanging. She watched as Kongomi jumped from tree to tree.
Finding a branch that was close to eye level, the queen wrapped her arm around the tree trunk to brace herself. With her free hand, she brought her index finger to her temple.
Almighty Omo! Hear my call! Come to my aid!
The dragon, which was the size of a small mountain, slowly turned to focus a single eye on her. WHAT PUNY INSECT DARES SPEAK TO ME?
Kongomi gasped. His voice was volumes louder than those of Mirai or their children. A wetness trickled from her ears and out of the corner of her eyes. She would not be deterred, but she needed to keep this short if she was going to stay in one piece. No time for groveling!
Tomohisa's child is attempting to destroy our land. I ask you to destroy him first.
WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU?
She fumbled, uncertain, trying to control the fear that was forcing her entire body to shiver.
"Yes, why should he listen to you?" Pian's voice rang out. He floated just above her, holding his dragon scale for all the world to see. Omo's eyes turned from yellow to match the vibrant blue of the scale.
From their vantage point, Rin went on the offensive. She started forward to be met with resistance from both brothers. "You stay here," they commanded in unison.
She shot them both a withering glare. "If both of you do not remove your hands from me this instant, I will be happy to remove them from you - permanently." She drew Tenseiga.
"But you're only human," Inuyasha started, quickly dropping his hand. Sesshoumaru continued to press his luck, holding her back.
"And if you think that my being here as opposed to there is actually going to have any effect, then you are an idiot," she glowered pointedly at Sesshomaru. "In case you noticed, the world is ending. You can either help me get over there so that I can help my friend, or you can get out of my face. Understood?"
Sesshoumaru turned and bent down, allowing her onto his back. The three joined Kongomi.
"My, my, my, I wondered where you all had gotten to. I knew I had missed some of you."
Inuyasha shared a glance with Sesshomaru: Pian might be speaking more eloquently again, but the current of madness was still running strong throughout his tone.
"Attack, my pet!" He called out cheerfully, settling behind a ridge on the dragon's head. For good measure, he also lifted his own hand to blast a beam of solid white light at the group.
Sesshoumaru dodged and Inuyasha snatched Kongomi out of harm's way. The tree was not so lucky: where it stood, there was nothing. In fact, all the trees extending to the shield were gone, obliterated, with only ash on the wind to indicate that something had ever existed.
Omo opened his jaw, gathering the immense heat. Sesshoumaru pulled out Ryuushin. Their strategy was a bust - they would need to find some other way to take down Pian. There would be no chance if they had to fight both of them.
"No, give me a chance!" Kongomi protested, blood seeping from her eyes. "I know that I can get him!"
Sesshoumaru appeared ready to argue, but Rin stepped in. She placed a hand on the queen's shoulder. "Do you truly believe that you can turn Omo to our side?"
"I have an idea. It will be hard with the scale's influence, but if I can get past that hurdle, then yes, I do."
Rin squared her shoulders. "Then I also have an idea." Tenseiga started to tingle with blue energy around the edges.
"You know that Yami can't support big attacks and spells right? They don't have that much energy," Kongomi pointed out. "Jiro's not protecting you, if you overdo it, you could die."
"I don't really see how that's relevant at this point. I'll die either way." She smiled with a bit of false bravado. "Besides, have you seen me? Death doesn't stick to me very well."
"On my mark," Rin took a stand, Sesshomaru supporting her back.
"Now!" She unleashed one of Tenseiga's blue flames, not at Omo, but at Pian. Revert! She screamed her intent with her mind as loudly as she could. The edges of her vision went dark and her knees buckled. Sesshoumaru kept her upright as they watched. Watched Pian, watched Omo, watched Kongomi.
"You tried that on me before, a pitiful attempt! What were you hoping to do, send me all the way back to the underworld?" He laughed mirthlessly.
"No - just back a few seconds!" She snapped back.
"What?" He looked at the scale in his hand and then at the dragon under his feet, which had both eyes fixed on him - angry and yellow.
Kongomi gasped beside them and Inuyasha grabbed her before she lost her footing. Her eyes were filled with blood, but she managed to sneer in satisfaction. "Got him."
Omo stopped preparing his attack and violently shook Pian from his head. "HOW DARE YOU USE MY BRETHREN, YOU INSIGNIFICANT SPECK OF NOTHING!" The daiyoukai's voice thundered, causing all of them to wince.
Pian landed in the ground with a massive thud, coughing as the wind was knocked from his lungs. He scrambled to his feet, holding the scale in front of him.
"THAT TRINKET HAS NO EFFECT ON ME!" Omo opened his mouth, a behemoth fireball forming.
In a panic, Pian started to throw blast after blast after blast of white energy. It bounced harmlessly off the ancient dragon scales. "I will not be defeated by this!" he screamed.
The fire blasted from the dragon and he attempted to counter with his own source of demonic energy. White met with red to meld with massive steam.
"Sesshomaru, get her out of here! She'll die!" Inuyasha yelled as he grabbed Kongomi. "The miasma off his attacks kills humans!"
Rin was collected in Sesshoumaru's arms and the group backed away to a safe distance. There was nothing more that they could do. It came down to the fortitude of a dragon that could destroy them all.
Slowly, the flames pushed back the white light, creeping steadily towards Pian. "I will not let it end this way!" But his declaration had no bearing on the outcome as Omo overpowered the smaller demon. Pian screamed as the flames overtook him and then were extinguished as a titanic claw dropped on top, crushing him firmly.
Everything was silent.
Above them, the haze that had covered the entire area faded away, revealing the blue sky of morning and a gentle breeze. In the distance, they could hear the sound of fighting.
Omo walked over, each step shaking the earth. "COME LITTLE QUEEN. SHOW ME THE BITCH THAT HAS SLAIN MY MIRAI." He lowered his head enough to allow Inuyasha to guide Kongomi on to the spot previously occupied by Pian.
As if sensing Rin's look of awe, Kongomi smiled. "Didn't I tell you? I'm good at reading people." That was all they got as Omo stalked away, bearing her royal highness.
"Rin." Sesshoumaru beckoned and her amazement dissipated. There was work to be done.
The three of them made their way down to Pian's body. The corpse was twisted, crushed beyond recognition. But definitely dead.
"He's gone," she breathed a sigh of relief.
A whispery, papery chuckle sounded off in their heads. Finally, I am free!
That voice. It was so familiar.
The tattoos on the corpse seemed to come alive, writhing and expanding until they covered every inch of skin, clothing, and armor. The black mass began to boil, small spikes of darkness shooting out at irregular intervals, extending in size each time.
At last, my hunger will be fed!
Rin's eyes widened. It was that monster from the space beyond the land of the dead. The one that had nearly killed her when she'd first arrived. It must have been the source of Pian's new power. If it was allowed to come over to their side -
So much life energy! I feel it in the earth, in the creatures. There is so much for me to consume!
Bakusaiga and Tessaiga were out in a flash. "What the hell is going on?" Inuyasha asked, ears flattened back as the corpse took on a life of its own.
"As we suspected, he had a contract with a greater demon. The terms of that agreement must have been met and the demon is coming through," Sesshoumaru said. "We must act quickly-"
Rin got there first, a blur of tremendous rage.
"Oh no, you don't!" Rin yelled at the stupid corpse-monster as she stomped forward, swinging Tenseiga, launching blast after blast. Damned be the repercussions. "I am - so sick and tired - of everything - being - so - complicated. Stay - the - hell - away - from - us!"
With one final swing, she waited for the dust to clear as her vision went almost completely black and she once again needed Sesshoumaru to keep her upright. Breathing was getting really hard and Yami was definitely sending her warning signals, but she was still here for now.
A weak wheeze issued from Pian's body. The runes were gone. It was just a shell of a man, messy, unkempt, barely a remnant of who he had been only hours ago. His gaze was unfocused, but he spotted Rin. "You! Wench! You ruined everything! I will have you-"
Inuyasha kicked him back down, pinning him to the ground. "You don't get to say anything, you piece of shit."
"Sesshomaru, help me?" she asked.
He gently braced her back and swept under her knees to carry her over to where Inuyasha was grinding his heel into Pian's chest. There, he kept her standing with an arm as she labored to catch her breath. She tried to lift Tenseiga, but her arm shook too much, and so he placed his own under hers, lending her strength.
Pian continued to throw profanities her way; she had no patience for them now and tuned them out. Delicately, she brought her blade perpendicular to his head and then dropped it through his skull, silencing him forever. Together, she and Sessshoumaru slid Tenseiga back into its sheath.
As soon as the deed was done, Sessohumaru swept her up again as her legs trembled. Yami was still giving her tiny specks of light, but they were much slower as the kagekyo reached his limit and Rin could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her. Without a life leach, without the dragon's mantle, as a normal human, there was only so far she could go.
Strangely, with the fatigue came a deep serenity, possibly for the first time ever to this extent. The world had been torn at the seams, much had been destroyed, good work undone, good people gone. Yet, somehow, in this moment, regardless of the outcome of today, she could feel the presence of a tomorrow.
Is this how Inukimi or Tsukiakari or any of the rest of them keep their composure all the time? Realizing that there is nothing you can do to stop the bad, but that you also can't stop the good?
She looked up at Sesshomaru. One last thing to do. "Let me see them."
Inukojo slashed at Yoihito, her sword slicing into his upper arm. The troops continued to sweep around them, lining the barrier, trying to find any way in to find the traitors they had been ordered to capture.
Neither Inukojo nor Yoihito were the type to banter and their battle was intensely focused on heavy hits, hard parries, and dexterous movement. The mantle was allowing Yoihito to keep up, but only just.
"Lord! The shield is down!" One of the frontline soldiers called out.
In that split second of hesitation, Inukojo took advantage and dug her sword deep into Yohito's scale-covered hide, right between the plates. He immediately fell to his knees, clutching at the wound as blood poured out, staining what little snow remained.
That means they got him. Good. Yoihito was relieved, even as his dueling opponent sauntered over. Yoihito closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable.
"Victory is ours," the commander hissed as she raised her sword.
A giant dragon claw slammed into the dirt between them, drawing looks of fear up along the massive leg and straight into Omo's wicked grin.
YOU ARE THE SHE-WITCH WHO KILLED MIRAI? YOU SHALL PAY DEARLY FOR THAT. He cast his gaze back and forth. BUT FIRST, I WILL DESTROY YOUR PUNY ARMY.
Inukojo held out her hand, fully confident in her ability to summon the dragon slaying sword. "I don't think so, you animal!"
"Are you perchance, looking for this?" Kongomi stood above, Ryuushin illuminated gloriously. Omo carefully placed her on the ground before preparing to charge down the ranks of troops. "Last I recall, this sword doesn't listen to anyone except its master."
"That is my sword, you don't deserve to touch it!"
"Ho, ho. Your sword?"
Inukimi swept into the clearing, appearing out of place in her full court dress. "I think you shall find that you have some of the weakest claim to ownership to that particular weapon, sister."
"What are you doing here?" Inukojo whirled around. Kongomi and Yoihito were dumbstruck in confusion. Even Omo turned to see who the newcomer was.
YOU ARE THE LITTLE ONE. THAT BASTARD SATSUJIMARO'S BRATLING.
Inukimi graced him with a maidenly nod of her head. "I am indeed. I am here to take away the traitor."
THAT BITCH IS MINE. He snarled with a vibration that shook the air.
"I would ask that you consider our clan to take care of our own," Inukimi smiled sweetly, causing Kongomi to shiver from the barely concealed cruelty. The dowager held up her fingers, lit with a sparkling red energy that hummed at the same frequency as Ryuushin.
"I am sure you need no reminder of the true events that transpired when you faced my father."
The king of dragons stepped back and immediately resumed his terror against the army with even more vigor than before.
Inukimi snapped her fingers to open a black pit beneath Inukojo, who promptly fell through with a scream. A scream that was cut off as soon as the hold was sealed tight. The matron of the inu clan flapped open her fan to generate a strange fog.
"If you do happen to see that Jaken," she said, "well." She never completed her thought as the fog enveloped her and she vanished.
Yoihito and Kongomi were propped up against each other, both looking worse for wear. "Did she?"
Kongomi shook her head. "I will not question it." They watched as Omo stomped and tore into the hundreds of soldiers in blue kimono and the silver mark of the northern inu clan.
"No…" Rin whispered as they approached the field. Inuyasha had gone on ahead, to collect their friends. For all she had expected it, she was not prepared for the dagger that drove through her heart, seeing them all lined up, peaceful as though asleep.
She patted Sesshoumaru's arm to let her down and she staggered through a few steps, but he caught her across the shoulder and eased her to the ground as her strength gave out. She watched as Inuyasha cradled Kagome in his arms, eyes hidden in her burnt hair.
She felt a little better with Yami's administrations, but not enough to manage on her own. It would take time for her to regain the life buffer, time that her friends didn't have. It wasn't about duty anymore, about the mission. Now it was about doing the right thing.
Shakily, she pulled out Tenseiga and laid it simply across her lap. Sesshoumaru shifted so he was facing her, hands upon her shoulders. "Don't you dare," he said under his breath.
"Don't be stupid, I can save them." She glared.
He glared sharply back at her. "You don't have the energy to do this. It will be the death of you."
"Then so be it. This is the only way. If I wait, I might not have the chance to revive them. It's all or nothing. But I can fix this, you know I can."
He didn't say anything, so she pushed the matter. "We both know I'm not supposed to be here. They are. You will need them in the future - not me."
"If I said…" he stumbled over his words "...what if I said that I do need you?"
She banished the butterflies as soon as they rose, fluttering throughout her body. Gulping down the words she wanted to say, she replied: "I can't do that. This was always a temporary solution-"
"Take my life again."
"I can't do that. I swore never to steal someone else's life. I did once, but not by choice and I won't make that decision again." She tried to keep her voice steady.
"Stay with me, be by my side." They both paused. This time, Rin had to clench her teeth for a second before she was able to respond.
"You don't mean that, you can't mean that. You have a promise to Tsukiakari, a life to live. I have only borrowed time. You must see that." Her eyes started to get hot around the edges, but she kept them fixed on him.
With a great emptiness, he gave her a curt nod and coldly looked away.
"Then this is good-bye, for real." The words slipped out unwittingly and he was immediately focused on her again.
The weight of a hundred unanswered questions, a thousand unspoken words, hung between them in a choking cloud. Even voicing but one would be akin to the first drop of rain before the deluge poured out and filled the space around them.
But there was no time.
The opportunity to speak hung in the balance like a delicate gem suspended from gossamer thread, ready to snap and say the words that had gone so long unsaid.
But there was no time.
And yet, it was the only time.
Sesshomaru reached out to clasp the back of her neck and draw her in. Their brows touched and their noses nudged together. Rin could make out every lash on the closed lids.
"I am proud of you."
It came as a whisper that moved the world. Furious tears finally spilled down her face as she permitted herself one moment of release, to scream at that same world and the injustice contained within it. She cupped his cheek and his eyes flicked open.
"I am proud of you too," she said with a wan smile.
Then she stood, finally able to do so on her own. Scrubbing her face, squaring her shoulders, she turned away.
"Inuyasha, step aside."
He started. "What?"
"Step aside. Make me a meido. You'll need it when I am done."
He squinted at her, shocked in spite of his grief. "Are you crazy or something?"
"Quit wasting my time. Meido. Now."
"I don't know if you've had the sense knocked out of you. You're the only one...the only one left. No way I'm sending you there too!"
Heart already aching from the decision she had to make, she did her best to hide her shaking legs as she marched over, grabbing his kimono. "Don't think I don't know what I'm doing. Give me a Meido, I'm going back." She left his collar in disarray.
His alarm was clear as day on his face so she gave him what she hoped was a cocky smile. "Trust me." Her voice should have carried to the one person she was most worried about.
She looked back at Sesshomaru. Let's give us a proper send off.
With her biggest smile planted on her face, she called back: "Sesshomaru...sama. When this is all over, where there's time. Let's have a talk." She pointed Tenseiga at him. "I promise."
The dark expanse of the underworld blossomed in front of her and she could feel the draw calling her.
An idea popped into her head and she snorted. Why not? It might be the last time she got to do this.
With her sword out in front of her, she took a wide stance and let the blue flames flow up and down the blade. Raising her arms high, she could feel the life draining fast and Yami's frantic screeching.
"TENSEIGA!" She brought down the attack, yelling it's name with all the gusto that she'd seen so many of her comrades do in the past, letting the energy arc towards her friends, kicking up dirt in its wake, creating a smoke screen.
That was the last thing she saw as her world closed off.
Sesshoumaru watched her fall backwards, as if in slow motion, Tenseiga dropping to the ground. Gracefully, he floated over to catch her in his arms. Feeling her full weight against him. He crouched to retrieve her sword and place it back by her side.
He brought his head down, bangs brushing against her collarbone as he carried her over to the dark portal. With great reluctance, he gently released her, letting the natural pull of the netherworld tug her back to the other side.
The pathway closed around her until there was nothing remaining.
She was gone. This time, forever.
There was a cough and Sesshoumaru was immediately pulled back into the moment.
"Inu...yasha?" Kagome rolled onto her side, healed and alive. "What happened? I remember us falling and there were all these blasts!"
The hanyou leapt for joy as there was a flurry of movement. Everyone was waking up, stretching, completely unaware of what had happened.
Sesshoumaru stood off to the side. Tsukiakari made her way over.
"Has she gone back?"
There was no reply, but his rigid demeanor spoke more than any words he could have said.
"My spell?"
"Failed the moment you died. She gave what she had left to bring you all back."
Tsukiakari knew better than to offer him physical comfort. "I am sorry Sesshoumaru-sama. I truly am. I am sure that we can find a way to reverse this."
"No. I will not break any more promises," he said, his eyes on the golden crescent on her forehead. A bit guilty, she mirrored him to stare at his own. "This is what it is and we must live with that."
Tsukiakari nodded. "As you wish." She gave him space. A few minutes later, he was able to shake off his downcast expression and pretend that everything was normal again.
Not far away, a tiny green imp shakily crawled out from under his rock. He had enough of this.
He had started his morning preparing a nice report to Inukimi-sama, when his dragon had been absconded, he was roughly tossed through a hole in the sky, thrown straight into a warzone, in which he narrowly avoided death and had spent the rest of the time shaking under a rock.
On top of it, Inukimi-sama had not even acknowledged his report on the current events. She had merely cut off the communication as she always did.
That was it! He was quitting! No more of this nonsense! Years of dedication to the family and for what? Constant threat upon his life? Nuh-huh! Not anymore!
His green orb crackled to life. "Report?"
Jaken scrambled to pick it up: "Yes, Inukimi-sama! The enemies appear to be defeated!"
"Good. Return." A small portal appeared next to him and his eyes teared up in gratitude. "Inukimi-sama, of course, Inukimi-sama!" The portal began to shrink as he hustled not to get left behind.
Rin awoke in the dusty darkness. Sitting up, she observed the barren wasteland, filled with rocks and dead echoes of trees, was exactly how she remembered.
With a sigh, she dusted herself off. Yami crooned mournfully from around the wrecked collar of her kimono. She gave his little scales a brush down. "It's not your fault. I was supposed to come back anyway. Get in, get it done, get out. That's what I said from the very beginning."
"You mind telling me what is going on out there?" Satsujimaro stepped out of the shadows. "There was a great disturbance - a shift in the balance."
Rin stretched her tired muscles, artificially refreshed now that she did not need a life source. "When I first arrived, you saved me from a monster, the one from the darkness beyond."
"What about it?"
"It had made a contract and attempted to come through. I was able to use Tenseiga to revert the vessel's body back to a point where it could not go and then I put my sword through his head."
"That is one way to end it, yes, I suppose," the skeleton added thoughtfully. "Theoretically you could have also used something like this." He slid his sword out of its sheath. "This is-"
Rin held up her hand to interrupt. "I will be honest: I do not care about the name, the history, the lore behind any sword that is associated with your family tree. I am tired and all I want is some peace and quiet."
He started chuckling.
"What exactly do you find so amusing?" Rin crossed her arms.
"Are you sure that is what you want? To be left alone?" He gestured to the world around them. "You have spent a fraction of the time that I have, are you truly prepared to go it alone? Time doesn't work the same way here - you might never meet another soul again."
Rin gave an exasperated sigh, her feelings still raw from her last minutes in the living world. "Yes! How many times do I have to tell you? Go away!" She quickly drew Tenseiga and flashed a blue light at him. He did not have time to react as the flames engulfed his form.
When the fire subsided, where a mere shadow had stood before her, there was a new figure: tall, resplendent, with the giveaway signs of the inu clan, complete with pale skin, purple face markings, and long white hair.
She dropped her head into her hands. That was not her intent.
He smiled, for the first time with actual flesh wrapped around his jaw. "You may regret losing your temper, girl."
"I really think not. Leave me alone."
He looked at her with a masked expression. "How do you know I won't steal that little life spark of yours to return to the human world?"
Without a drop of patience, Rin quietly stepped up, tilting her head threatening and smiling as sweetly as she could. "IF you were able to pull a fast one on me to get Yami, and IF you were able to somehow wrest Tenseiga from my side, and IF you figured out how to get it to work so you could make it to the other side…"
"Well, best case scenario - Sesshomaru will have you sent back. Worst case, it might be Inukimi instead." She leaned in. "I believe I asked you to get out of my sight."
The former lord of the northern lands gave her a strange blend of emotions on his face. Still, he merely strode away into the dark.
At last, peace.
But then, silence.
The darkness started closing in, threatening to constrict her now weakened human body. Feeling the panic well up inside, she whirled Tenseiga to create a blue rim of fire, if only to break up the monotonous environment. The blue energy lasted a second before fading again into the dull gray monotony.
Her forehead protector slid from her head, the fabric finally frayed from repeated attacks. In its reflection, she could see herself as she once was: a young woman. The golden mark on her brow still sat, the curse Inukimi gave her to keep her soul bound to her body. It was a mockery of the golden connection the man she loved shared with another woman.
Connections that no longer mattered, now that she would never return.
The reality of the situation was finally hitting her: she knew what would happen, that there was no turning back. Her breath came fast and quick, despite there being no air, despite needing no air. She choked.
But I wasn't ready! There was so much left I needed to say - to them! To him!
She switched her hand up and conjured the shadow crow that had remained with her all this time. He had said the crows would always be able to speak to him.
"Sesshomaru," she croaked, fighting back the tears that were coming. The bird did not move.
"Sesshomaru!" she choked with more force. Yet the bird remained still. She repeated his name again and again, but nothing happened until the crow dissolved back into her hand.
More hot tears, quickly cooled by dead air, dropped into the dirt. She would never see him again.
Rin dropped to her knees and wept, her sobs swallowed up in the ash: she was well and truly, alone.
A/N: Literally pulling these hot off the presses for all of you, so I apologize for spelling or grammatical errors. Last one is the final chapter!
I hope you're ready!