Promise

Sango began to talk to the girl about what had happened since they last saw each other during the battle with Naraku. Meanwhile, the men of the family continued to lag behind, not wanting to risk getting scolded by Sango again.

"Hey, Kohaku," the boy turned towards Miroku as he whispered, "Has Sango seemed off to you too recently?"

"A little bit. She seems to be moving slower than usual. Especially after that fight with the scorpion demi-god."

"I wonder if she is o-" the man walked directly into the subject of the conversation.

"Thank you for your concern you two," she grabbed the both by the ear, "But I'm fine."

Miroku raised his eyebrow as he looked at his wife, no matter what she said, something was definitely weird. Nonetheless, he dropped the topic for now to avoid getting a dose of Hiraikotsu. The group continued to move towards the village where the rest of their party stayed. It had been a while since they had all been together and there would likely be numerous stories to share. Sango smiled at the idea of seeing everyone, especially Kagome since she was the only woman close to her in age. The journey to the village would take a few days, but it would be worth it.

Meanwhile, Rin just stared up at the sky as she walked between the horse and Kirara. She was lost in thought; angered by how she would be going back to the place that she had run from, but relieved about the promise that she would not have to stay. The quicker the visit was, the quicker she would be able to continue her search for Sesshomaru. For all the years Rin had traveled with him, she had a few ideas as to where he had gone. It would just take longer on foot. Her eyes narrowed as looked over at the horse but she shook the idea out of her head; it wouldn't be right to the slayers that had just helped her despite her actions. Rin would just have to wait, no matter how much it hurt her to do so.

It took a bit longer than planned to arrive at the village due to Sango becoming ill after walking too much or eating different foods, but the group finally stepped foot on the paved roads. Within moments, Shippou ran up excited to see them, exclaiming how he knew they were coming because their scent had grown stronger. Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kaede soon followed carrying baskets having just returned from the farms. All was well until Rin slowly poked her head out from behind the cart. Shippou's eyes grew wide, how did he not pick up her scent? But it didn't matter, he quickly bounced over to her with the biggest smile.

"Hi, everyone," her voice only slightly louder than a whisper.

"Welcome back, Rin," Kagome handed the child a freshly picked apple, "Are you okay?"

Rin held the fruit, trying to figure out the best way to answer, "Rin is...fine. Rin has not found Sesshomaru-sama yet, but Rin will."

The group only stared at her already realizing that she had no intention of staying. Shippou was the first to speak up, "Okay. Well, while you're here, do you want to go play?" Rin smiled before taking his hand and walking away with him as she munched on the apple.

Sango waited until they were out of earshot before speaking with everyone else, "What's going on? Find Sesshomaru? She was telling the truth when she said he left her here?"

"Aye, the child is correct. Sesshomaru appeared and left her without saying a word as to why. Only stating that it would be the best for her to live with humans," Kaede lowered her head as she spoke - retelling the story had not gotten any easier.

"That's not like him, it can't be the only reason why," Miroku piped in with his own opinion of the situation, "Do you know anything else?"

And thus Kaede, Kagome, and Inuyasha began telling the slayers everything they knew and what had happened; and the slayers did the same. Talking about the Black Widow made Inuyasha cringe as he remembered what Rin had done to him. It was hard to believe that those demons could offer that much power to a child - power that even an adult should not be able to handle so easily. But the Black Widow had and Rin seemed to adjust and use the newfound strength with ease.

It was not until well into the evening that the entire group had a complete idea of what happened as well as theories on why it happened in the first place. Everything could be connected to one central concept: Rin's humanity was waning and in danger. The nine year old human had the knowledge and skill of a hundred year old demon, and that scared everyone who knew. The two children returned to the hut after Kagome called out saying that dinner was ready - a comforting meal was something that everyone could use.

When morning came and the slayers awoke, they found Rin's mat empty. Immediately they remembered how she had a history of running away and burst out the door to look for her. Luckily, this time, there was no need for alarm; the child sat on the ground weaving flowers together in various shapes and sizes. However, her eyes were red and puffy, likely due to crying over the loss of her family once more. The village brought her pain and she wanted to leave.

The trio looked at each other, perhaps the promise to take her with them was not a wise one. But, Rin had made up her mind about not wanting to stay and live a safe life. Running with demons was what fueled her, and not having that would only make her feel worse. Miroku was the first to speak up, no more than a whisper.

"Sango...we really can't leave her here, can we?"

"No. She would only run away again. But to bring her with us would mean…" The woman trailed off.

"It would mean making her into one of us...wouldn't it," Kohaku lowered his head, "Making her into a slayer."

The adults could only nod. To train an outsider - let alone a child - was unheard of because it was a taboo. Even those that married into the slayer's village, were never actually taught their ways - only the children that were born into the village could learn.

"Do it," the trio jumped as Rin was suddenly in front of them, "Make Rin a slayer. Then Rin can travel with you and find Sesshomaru-sama."

Miroku removed his hand from his staff, having grasped it in shock, "How did you hear us?"

"Rin can hear everything," She continued to look up at them, unwavering as she spoke, "Even when you were talking about Rin last night."

"Then you know how much we don't like the idea," Sango stared back at the child.

"Rin doesn't care, Rin just wants to find Sesshomaru-sama," she turned away from them, "Rin does not want to be left here again."

"Rin, you must understand...the life of a slayer is not easy. The training will be rigorous and the moment you enter into the world, death will always surround you."

"Rin lived with Sesshomaru-sama and Jaken-sama for a long time, Rin knows how to fight."

The slayers all looked at the girl as she spoke, as much as they hated to admit it, she was right. Living with demons had changed her - which led to this conversation even happening.

"Will you keep your promise? You promised Rin wouldn't have to stay here again."

Sango sighed before pulling the girl into a hug, "You can come with us Rin...but you will never be able to return to a normal life if you do."