Sessh Rin fic 45

A/N: with any luck, this should be part of a(n apologetic) chapter bomb, with chapters 44 and 46. But hey, the life of a cosplayer and college student is a pretty busy one! I'm trying here! ^^"

Once they were far enough from the village that Sesshomaru deemed it safe, he and Rin stopped, and he made sure she ate every morsel of the food Kagome had given her, and drank at least half of the water canister. Once he was satisfied that she was properly fed, they both shifted into true form and proceeded to run nearly as far as they had the day before.

Tell me when you can run no farther, and I shall carry you, he told her as they began.

By the early afternoon, they reached a river, and when Rin stopped to drink, her legs simply folded under her, as they were shaking badly. She was hardly out of shape, at least to her mind, but this was exhausting. At his insistence, she was able to change back to her human form, and he picked her up in his teeth and set her on his back, allowing her to climb up between his shoulderblades as she had before while he continued.

By sunset, they reached their goal, and Rin woke up as his steps slowed. She looked up and stared at the neat rows of houses of another village…but it was silent, dark and cold. Clearly no one lived here, yet it seemed as if they had simply packed up that very morning and walked away.

This is a forgotten village, protected by a barrier my father and I created long ago, he informed her as he laid down in the center of town to let her climb down. It is a secret place known only to myself, my mother, and now you. He got up again once she was on the ground. I shall get food for us.

"No!" Rin scolded him, seeing his own legs trembling with having run full pelt all day long. "You're exhausted. I'll go."

Rather than ignoring her or even protesting, he simply laid back down in the road and allowed himself to relax and even pant a little, something she'd never actually seen him do. It was obvious that he was, indeed, exhausted. Rin went out in search of prey, quickly finding something she knew he would be proud of.

Sesshomaru jumped and growled in surprise as something massive and rather bloody hit the ground next to him with a loud thud. Rin was standing over him, grinning toothily and showing off the water buffalo she'd managed to catch. He sniffed approvingly and reached to take a bite, only to have it grabbed back by Rin, who quickly started to demolish it. He could see she was under the thrall of her instincts, her body knowing she needed large amounts of sustenance, meat especially, to help the pup in her womb grow strong and healthy. Rather than fighting over it or begging for it, he just got up and found himself a deer or two, returning when he was done in time to catch her yawning hugely. Rather than trying to find a hut and bedroll to sleep in, she simply curled in a ball, tucking her fluffy tail over her nose and closing her eyes, sighing deeply. He stepped over to her and sat down beside her, giving her scruff and shoulders a few gentle licks before settling down curled around her to protect her. They both slept deeply, exhausted and knowing they were safe.

Rin awoke to birdsong the next morning and tried to sit up, only to find her neck still weighed down by Sesshomaru's massive head. He was still deeply unconscious, recovering from the exhaustion of their travels. She smiled slightly at him and closed her eyes again, concentrating until she could change back to her human form. She wanted to explore and let him sleep a bit longer. She gently kissed the tip of his huge snout before wandering off to admire the empty village, still awed at the fact that it was so empty but so well kept. It really seemed like someone would step out of one of the little huts and greet her, or she would turn the corner to see children playing in the street.

She found a small cold spring just outside the village itself, still inside the barrier he had mentioned the day before. She took a drink and then returned with a bucket to get them fresh water, hunting for firewood afterward. She stopped before lighting a fire, knowing that sometimes her beloved had not allowed it, because it was easy to track where someone was if there was smoke from a campfire. Rin pushed the screen of the hut she had been in aside and looked back out into the street where she'd left him, unable to stop herself from giggling uncontrollably at the sight that greeted her.

Sesshomaru had stretched and rolled, and was now sleeping flat on his back, belly exposed and legs curled like a common dog playing dead! Her loud and unrestrained giggling finally woke the usually stoic InuYōkai, and he gave her a brief look with one massive red-sclera eye before quickly getting up and shaking himself off, trying to look dignified before shifting back to his own usual form. The damage had been done, though, clearly, as Rin was still having trouble controlling her mirth, hiding her mouth behind both her hands, brown eyes sparkling.

Sesshomaru, the Lord of the Western Lands, stepped up to his mate with his face an unreadable mask and one hand up and partly extended. Rin managed to swallow her giggles as he laid his hand on her cheek, rubbing her ivy marking with his thumb. "What exactly do you find so amusing?"

"I couldn't help it," She said, out of breath from her laughing fit. "You looked so carefree." She wasn't about to say he looked like a common village dog playing. He wouldn't take that well.

He simply let out a thoughtful hum and held her cheek for a few more moments before letting her go and taking her hand instead. "It's cold. Would you like to build a fire?"

Rin sighed wistfully. "Is it really safe enough?"

He nodded calmly. "Of course. No one could find us here. It is impossible to find, except by someone who has already been there, because of the barrier. Without me bringing you here, you could wander these hills for a thousand years and never find this village." He stepped back inside the hut Rin had been standing in and noticed that she had already stacked wood in the fireplace. "Go ahead and light the fire and boil some water. I will find us some fresh food and provisions."

Sesshomaru took the opportunity of hunting to think over what had been happening these past few days, and who could possibly be responsible for it all. He was inclined to agree with the captain, Taro's, suggestion that the Dō clan from the far north had been the most suspicious. They had arrived with more than the ceremonial weapons and armor to the ceremony, and the girl that had tried to poison his beloved Rin had also been a Dō servant maid, apparently on orders from the daimyō herself. It was all very suspicious, but what if it was all a ruse, and someone else was clever enough to frame them? It did all seem just a bit too obvious…then there was the matter of the assassin that had finally forced them to leave the palace for Rin's safety. He had also been a Dō man, but he could easily have been hired. He was clearly the sort of person who did not care about morals or loyalties as long as the pay was right. Sesshomaru shook his head, killing a sheep to take back to the village for their meals. He had high hopes that his mother would come soon and tell them it was safe to return to their home. The one thing he immediately dreaded was having to stay in the village, perhaps for weeks or even a few months. What if Rin came due with them still in hiding? He was no midwife! If anything went wrong…he would never forgive himself if even the slightest harm befell Rin or their pup.

Sesshomaru returned to the center of the village to a plume of cheery smoke and the scent of freshly brewed tea and more boiled water ready to make food. He quickly prepared the sheep, getting the best bits of meat first for roasting on skewers, then went to where he had stored some provisions, such as rice, and brought it all to Rin, who was nursing her tea and bouncing eagerly at the thought of food, bundled in a blanket she had managed to find.

After they ate a sizeable meal and saved some of the rice for later, Rin dragged him along for a walk through the snowy village, admiring everything and asking questions that Sesshomaru unfortunately couldn't answer.

"Remember, Rin, much of this happened when I was much younger," He reminded her after the third such unanswerable question. "My father is the one you would ask, if he were still here."

She sighed, looking around again. "All this…it makes me wish I could have met him…"

Sesshomaru nodded slightly. "I believe he would have approved of you. After all, you were able to tame me when no woman ever could." A slight smile came to his lips. "He kept trying to set me up during the running when I was younger."

Rin went wide-eyed and was clearly trying not to burst into laughter again at the mental image of an awkward puppy version of the mighty InuYōkai getting dragged along by his scruff to socialize with other pups. "Really?" She squeaked.

"Yes. But I was never the least bit interested in anything but power at that time. And then, after his death…it became even more my focus. I had to prove I could surpass my father in every way. I didn't see the error of my ways until I nearly lost you…"

Rin leaned into him a little and he glanced at her, giving a slight nod. "Rest assured, there was never another woman in my life, and there will not be, save if you should have a daughter." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to declare that, but it clearly reassured the young woman, who smiled and glanced to her stomach, placing her free hand on the faint but firm swelling of her lower abdomen.

"I can't wait to see what they will be…" She said softly, and he stopped to face her and place his hand over hers gently.

"I care not. It does not matter for the succession. So long as they and you are healthy."

She managed to get a small kiss from him, then let go and darted off down a side street, calling out a challenge to catch her if he could. Sesshomaru chuckled faintly and darted after her, weaving through the village streets. He stopped to figure out which way she had gone and was suddenly hit with a ball of snow thrown from behind the nearest building. They played for over an hour, until they were both soaked and Rin was starting to cool off and shiver a bit. He took her back inside despite her protests and put more wood on the weakening fire, starting to strip out of his wet clothes and lay them out to dry, and getting her to do the same. She wrapped him in the same blanket she had been using earlier, yawning pointedly and snuggling beside him. She had already laid out the futon nearby and tugged him toward it, using the shared blanket as leverage.

Sesshomaru was rather rudely awakened later that night by the sharp piercing of claws into his shoulder. Rin was whimpering as if in pain, and he quickly woke her, dismayed to see her eyes fade from a glowing red. It was likely she had just been having a vision. Smelling blood on her claws, she immediately panicked. "I'm sorry!"

"It's all right, Rin. What did you see?"

"I couldn't stop the fire," She murmured, shivering. "It was burning me…"

"What fire?" There was no way this vision was a happy one!

"I don't know…I couldn't see…there wasn't any smoke, just the burning, and there were voices shouting around me, and at me."

"What were they saying?"

"I couldn't understand, they all overlapped…" She shuddered and he pulled her closer to comfort her. "You were shouting too. You sounded really scared…"

He swallowed. "Do you remember anything else, Rin? Every detail is important." Especially if he wanted to make certain this future did not happen!

"Something was holding me down…I don't know what, but I guess it was on fire. It made the burning so much worse…" A few tears escaped her eyes. "It was awful. I felt like I was already in hell."

Sesshomaru gently pulled her head under his chin, petting her raven hair and gently encouraging her to go back to sleep for now. Finally, she did so, and it took him until the hour before dawn to finally succumb to sleep himself once more.

Rin thought she was dreaming still when she heard a woman's soft chuckle nearby her. But when a soft, amused voice asked "Am I interrupting something?" she jolted awake with a shriek of surprise, backing up to sit against the wall and taking the blanket that was the couple's only covering with her, leaving Sesshomaru as naked as a newborn in front of—

"Morning, Mother."

A/N: yay, I did it! Chapter 45 finished in a reasonable amount of time! *phew*