Fun times! Told you I would update fast! :P

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Chapter 11: Regretful Confessions


At the same time that his breath hitched, hers did as well, causing her to relinquish all of her stealth. He whipped his face towards her, his body positioned, ready to attack as his lips curled, snarling in warning, beneath blood-red eyes.

She gasped and took a step back; truly startled to find him sitting beneath a tree, almost idly, as if nothing had occurred moments prior.

That's when she noticed his shredded and blood-stained kimono that was still draped over his shoulders. He bore what looked to be similar wounds to the beast hound that had fallen in this area.

That's when she put two and two together.

His true form…

Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the purple and black-specked blood seeping out of his chest. And, despite him being a demon of immense power, the wounds weren't healing.

Gulping, and forgetting that the hostile demon before her still threatened to rip her to shreds, she hesitantly stepped out of the darkness and into the small moonlit clearing that his collision had inevitably created.

As the young woman stepped into the vicinity, allowing Sesshoumaru a whiff of her familiar scent, his retaliation stance eased. The blood-red dissipated as he leaned once more against the tree. Now, he merely glared at Rin; as if her existence itself was the epitome of his annoyance.

"What do you want?" His snarling voice sent chills down Rin's spine.

"Uh… I…," Rin fidgeted with her fingers as she avoided eye contact.

Sesshoumaru could smell, plain as day, her fear and the disgusting aroma that he knew to be that of a weak human. However, what sickened him even more was the look that this pitiful being wore upon her face.

Sympathy.

Scowling at the thought of a human feeling sorry for him, he turned his face, dismissing her presence.

"Let me be," he hissed lowly, "This is none of your concern."

Before Rin could respond in any sort of fashion, she began to cough in a fit. Sesshoumaru only blinked away the intrusive noise.

"That is the work of the miasma. I suggest you leave before it crumples that frail body of yours."

Rin, covering her nose and mouth, dropped her eyes to his wounds once more. A light purple mist escaped the edges. Without sparing even a moment more, she turned to depart the forest.

Sesshoumaru watched as her body disappeared in the pitch black of the new night before turning his attention towards the gashes upon his chest.

"Pathetic vermin…," he seethed as his thoughts now filled with Naraku. He lulled his head against the tree bark, waiting for his body to begin the long and tiring process of poison expulsion. Typical toxins were hardly a nuisance, but with Naraku's, it really was a chore. And that bastard… attacking him without warning on the peak. The desire to kill had never shot through Sesshoumaru's veins faster than in that moment.

And had Naraku died by his hand, he wouldn't have regretted it.

The young dog demon smirked as he realized just how careless and passive of a friendship they shared. But before he could even finish his strategic assessment of the situation, the stench of that human girl flared his nostrils once more. Turning to face the direction from which she had left, he glowered at her returning figure.

She had with her, lavender, roots, plants, and a couple of dug up stones. But what truly caught his eye was the metallic mask that covered her nose and mouth; one that undoubtedly belonged to one of those infamous clan members.


She didn't know what had come over her. She didn't understand what compelled her to do so. All she knew was that it wasn't in her nature to stand by and let someone suffer.

But for her to attempt to save a man?
A demon?
A vile one at that?

She had no idea why she was able to adjust her fears for this particular case. But here she stood, stepping out of the shadows once more, holding two armfuls of anything she could get her hands on that would reach the desired effect. And as his eyes met hers, questioning her with bitter entrapments, she slowly took one step towards him.

Instantly he reproached her.

"I told you to leave me be…," he stated flatly, however threateningly.

Rin halted in her mission, though unmoving in her persistence.

A deep rumble could be heard slithering up from the dog demon's chest and into his throat as his eyes reddened once more,

"Do not make me repeat myself for a third time, human."

Awkwardly, silence consumed them as they measured the other. Rin finally spoke.

"Please…," the words left her lips in a whisper before she could censor them, "Let me help you… I can-"

"My body will heal itself," he interjected, looking away in dismiss once more.

"…But I can make it heal faster-" Rin managed before,

"I don't need anything you have to offer," his voice was firm with mild irritation as he stared into nothingness, "Humans are of no use to me."

Rin furrowed her brows, her annoyance was now beginning to escalate.

"With all due respect, Sesshoumaru-sama… You're wrong," her voice gained strength, though it was muffled by the mask.

As if ignoring her, he remained quiet and composed, without even turning his face back to acknowledge the nearing of her presence. Perhaps arguing with a human such as herself had become too much of a bother. But she explained her point even as she kneeled only centimeters from his thighs; setting her materials down to ready them.

"As much as it pains you to admit it… Right now you need me for whatever you're trying to gain from your father…," Rin half-whispered as she ripped the sleeves off of her yukata and began grinding the roots and lavender upon it between the stones. She looked up to see if she gained any ill reaction from her bluntness, but, surprisingly, he was still simply facing away from her, "…But, the feeling's kind of mutual… Because if I fail you, then my life also falls to ruin."

She paused as she tore the other sleeve of her clothing.

Rin, now growing intimidated by the ever-consuming silence, started to ramble, "Interestingly enough, I am also relying on you and your father for my own personal gain. So, in a way, though we don't like it… We are kind of in this together... I am taking that role in your life seriously, as you told me to last night, because I also hope that you will do the same for me…," she now trailed off as she realized it was time to officially touch him.

Gulping, she leaned forward to take a look at his face, holding the clean sleeve of her yukata close to her chest. His eyes were closed, though she couldn't tell if he was breathing.

Slowly, her free hand reached to take hold of his hanging kimono, carefully avoiding the spots that held the miasma-blood mixture. As she pulled the sticky material from his torso, and applied the material from her sleeve in a meager attempt to clean the wound, a large, clawed hand shot out to take her roughly by the wrist.

Gasping, accompanied with a jolt of surprise, Rin looked up to see his golden-amber orbs glaring forebodingly upon her small form.

Scarily, Sesshoumaru smirked before offering a belatedly curt reply,

"So, your feigned kindness finally reveals itself. Clearly… your efforts are made with the intention to solidify my cooperation."

"H-huh?" Rin stuttered from the shocking contact, confused.

Sesshoumaru willingly acquiesced with a sneer, "…Returning to my aid while wearing the mask of a demon slayer? How pitifully ironic if it weren't for your self-centered ambitions."

Sighing at his assessment and turning her eyes downward towards her wrist, she realized, as she began to respond, that he wasn't putting any effort into keeping her hand away.

"You are wrong… again," she held ice in her own voice as she pushed the yukata sleeve to his wound once more. Though his hand still gripped her wrist with foul purpose, it did not try to stop her.

"Although I may fear and hate demons… It doesn't necessarily mean that I wish for them to die, or suffer…," she explained hesitantly, padding his wound diligently and carefully, "I simply fear things that have no respect for life… Demons, and humans alike, have taken such important things from me without a passing consideration."

Blinking once before turning his gaze from her to the sky, Sesshoumaru released his hold on her wrist as she began to halt her padding of the wound; pulling away to ready the application of medicine.

"So, um…," the silence began to eat away at her again, "…Please don't get too offended if you ever sense hostility from me... It's not personal, and most of the time, I simply can't help it. I just..."

"Kohaku…," Sesshoumaru stated quietly, and almost softly.

Rin's hands unexpectedly froze in the middle of fumbling with the medicinal sleeve.

Her hands began to tremble while he finished.

"...Was he one of the lives that was taken from you?"

After a few moments of retrieving the breath that seemed to have been knocked out of her, Rin replied with a shuddering voice, "H-how do you…"

"You called his name amidst Naraku's games," Sesshoumaru left no room for idle pause, still facing away from her, though his eyes methodically shifted to catch her body language peripherally, "...I was merely observant."

Rin felt no need to answer him, for she was certain that he already knew the answer. No longer did she try to squelch the silence. Instead, she welcomed it, along with bitter embarrassment, as she continued her endeavor with her head down. Sesshoumaru, likewise, simply continued to stare off into the night, ignoring the scent of her silent tears.

Once she had finished both her medicinal application and her emotional outburst, Rin contemplated her existence in this moment. Still kneeling, though simply sitting with clenched fists in her lap, she finally spoke.

"I've never told anyone before…," she began, looking up at him as he still faced away from her, "…So if you're going to just sit here and pay no mind to it, perhaps this is a good time for me to finally hear it from my own mouth."

She audibly sighed before decisively abandoning her solution to forgetting the past... breaking her promise to never speak of it.

"When I was eight years old, my mother, father, and brothers were all slaughtered by thieving men. Although it was bad enough that they killed people for no reason, they decided to do terrible and torturous things to these people before completing the task…," Rin sniffed, doing everything in her power to hold back her tears, "…I simply hid in a bush just outside of my house while I watched them brutally rape and assault my mother… All in front of my brothers and father as well, before eventually killing them all. In that moment, I was sure that I wanted to die..."

She paused to look up at Sesshoumaru again who still, complacently, faced away from her. He could be sleeping for all she knew. But in this very moment she didn't care. It wasn't for him.

It was for her.

For her own healing.

"...For a long time I sat in my blood-stained hut alone… waiting to perish from starvation. But…," Rin slightly smiled at the memory as she completed it with words, "…One day, a young boy named Kohaku found me during his demon slaying travels and insisted that I come along with him. Though I cared not where my life ended… he truly did. And I grew with him for nearly four years. He was the one that taught me how to cure poisons and sharpen weapons… He even taught me that not all demons are bad. Nearing my eleventh birthday, and his fourteenth, he promised to become my husband one day…,"

Her slight smile turned downwards as she completed the memory, "…But, not even one year later, a rogue demon got the better of him… and killed him while I awaited his return. When he never came, I-"

Sesshoumaru, suddenly, swiveled his head to scowl at her. And she, knowing the severity of such a look, instantly stopped her confession.

He looked away again before bitterly, and imperatively, proclaiming, "Do not disgrace me further with your presence, Rin."

At that moment, the young maiden nearly cried for a different reason. But the urge wasn't quite strong enough to actually bring such tears to her cheeks.

Instead, she stood up, removed her mask, and said very eloquently, with poise,

"I look forward to you and your father's presence within Kodachi tomorrow, Sesshoumaru-sama."

Her words left her lips in such a way that meant to erase all that had transpired between them on this evening. For now Rin truly wished she had never set foot in that field.

With a light bow, and with no words or leaving glances from Sesshoumaru, Rin turned to head towards Kodachi.

It was only when she had reached the sliding wooden door of her lantern-lit house did the realization come to her.

"That was the first time he called me by my name…"


So what did you guys think?!
I'm excited for where this will lead...
What will the godmothers say about the debut?
What will Kikyo say to the godmothers?
How will Rin's first time entertaining both Sesshoumaru and his Father go?

READ AND FIND OUT!

Also, here are some things I wanted to clarify just for your own personal information about this chapter.

1. The Poison Mask - This is something that Rin carries in her sash at all times. Not just because she was taught to do so, but because it belonged to Kohaku. It's a symbol of the relationship they shared and it helps her move forward by offering her comfort.

2. The Medicinal Application - The medicine that Rin uses is actually a plant agent that is a natural adhesive to poison. Thus, when applied, as the poison pumps across the wound in the blood stream, it will be sapped out by the plant agent, essentially removing the poison traces from the blood.

Those were both details I had thought up but found no adequate space to include them. So thought you would want to know. :)