Disclaimer: Inuyasha is Copyright of Takahashi Rumiko

Nothing Without The Other

Chapter 19

Rin stood impatiently with her arms tucked in her sleeves. Eiji was late, and the longer she waited for him, the more anxious she felt. It was unlike him to keep her waiting. She was quickly reminded of her initial reaction to his strange behavior the night before, and it only put her more at unease. What if something really was wrong? What was he really worried about?

Eiji came crashing through the trees, his hand placed over a gaping wound in his side.

She rushed to him quickly and allowed him to lean on her. "What happened?"

"Can't..explain," he said with extreme difficulty. "Must...run."

"Don't be a fool! You're bleeding entirely to much for no one not to notice, and running will only make the bleeding worse."

Ignoring his protests, Rin quickly sat him on the ground and ripped the sleeve from her kimono. She wrapped it around his stomach, covering the wound, and tied it as tightly as possible before helping him back to his feet.

They disappeared into the forest as quickly as possible. When a large explosion sounded from the area they had just left, Rin hoped she would regret helping him.

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"Rin-chan has been gone for a while," Kagome pointed out.

"Keh, Sesshoumaru probably has her very preoccupied."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped at him in surprise, clearing understanding his meaning.

"I'm just pointing out the obvious! Rin returned very late last night - and looking rather ravished," he added with a chuckle.

"Sesshoumaru is quite lucky," Miroku said with a sigh.

"Hoshi-sama..."

"Ah! Sango, I only meant that uh, the boys from the village will be heartbroken!" He instinctively flinched in fear of a painful rebuke.

Kagome took Rei from Inuyasha and placed a blanket over her chest to feed her. "Well, whatever is going on, it is none of our business."

"Why don't you and Inuyasha wrangle the children together, Miroku," Sango suggested.

Inuyasha ignored his rumbling stomach and rose to his feet. "Keh, these kids always need fetching. Why can't they stick close to home?"

"They can't help themselves, Inuyasha. You've taught your boys how to make the most of their youkai abilities and Sango continues to train ours to exterminate youkai that threaten human lives. Put those kids together and the hunts on."

He followed Miroku out the door. "You sure you're okay with Sango training your daughter?"

"As dangerous as it can be, I would not have it any other way. Well, look what we have here."

Miroku stopped and watched a swarm of children circling around Sesshoumaru as walked toward them. It was not everyday you saw Sesshoumaru so visibly annoyed and worn out, with anger just burning to explode. He could not decide if he should fear for his children's lives or Sesshoumaru's.

"Welcome to fatherhood," Inuyasha told him with great amusement in his voice.

"Chichi-ue, is he really your brother?"

Inuyasha looked down at his youngest boy and ruffled his hair. "He sure is. Now say goodbye to Uncle Sesshoumaru and head back to the house. Haha-ue has lunch ready."

Miroku watched them run off. "Thanks for not killing them."

Sesshoumaru scoffed. "As if I, Sesshoumaru, would do such a disgraceful thing."

"Keh, save the high and mighty talk. Tell Rin she can come to lunch."

"Is she not with you?"

"I believe Kagome-sama said she left to find you early this morning," Miroku informed him.

"I have not seen her all day."

"Neither have we," Inuyasha admitted, feeling a little worried. "Does she disappear often?"

His hand twitched. "Only recently. This Sesshoumaru is sure she is fine."

"I'll let you know if we see her. If you need help looking for her, let me know."

Sesshoumaru waited until Inuyasha and Miroku were out of sight before ripping a hole in the ground with his claws. He knew exactly where Rin was.

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Rin cleaned Eiji's wound with the sleeve she had used to bind it. The bleeding had finally stopped and was in the process of rapid healing. But the gash was deep and she knew that if not for his youki, the wound would have killed him.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on," she told him quietly.

He had not spoken since she first carried him away. Rin noted how distant he seemed and knew that his pain went beyond the physical. She knew that he would have to get over his wounded pride if he wanted to survive what ever was after him, but she needed information if she was to help him.

"I didn't come here to explore Japan."

"You came to escape a deadly pursuer, I assume," she added, ripping her other sleeve to bind the wound again. "And you're running because..."

"Because I have no desire to die," he said, slowly getting to his feet.

"That isn't what I meant, Eiji."

"I stole something from a rival clan. Without it, one of their most powerful members could not survive in battle."

"What was it?"

"I'm not sure. I was part of a group that went to retrieve it. I didn't actually see it."

"So this youkai intends to kill you for stealing it."

"Hai," he turned to look at her. "He's killed everyone who was part of the mission. I'm the only one left."

"So you fled. Why not stay and fight with your family and friends?"

"Because then I risk exposing who ever holds the item they seek. While my enemy chases me, my clan will have the upper hand. He believes I have the item."

"Why are you fighting?"

He stared at her in confusion, as if the answer should be obvious. "For more territory."

Rin stood up and gaped at him. "For territory? Why is more territory necessary at the cost of your clan members lives?"

"If we do not gain territory, some other clan will. If one clan takes too much territory, they may find it in their heads to try to steal territory from our clan."

"You fight for what may or may not happen? That is the most ridiculous - " She cut herself off, realizing it would be ridiculous to argue with him. "I'm leaving Eiji. You should escape while you can."

He reached out and held her arm firmly. "You cannot leave."

Rin narrowed her eyes. "Release my arm immediately."

"I really like you Rin, and I don't want you to get hurt, but I've learned that your Sesshoumaru is quite powerful."

She jerked her arm away, but he would not release her. "And why is that information necessary?"

"He will come for you, and so will my enemy. This creature, this Yasuo, he is ruthless. You may deny that you know me, and that you have not helped me hide from him, but he will not listen. He will kill you, if your Sesshoumaru does not stop him."

She used all her power to punch him in the face. Shocked and caught off guard, Eiji released her arm.

"You bastard! You will not use me. You started this on your own and so shall you finish it."

Rin turned and walked away, intending to leave him there when his words sliced through her and made her legs go weak.

"He knows your scent. He'll hunt you, just like he hunts me."

She turned back to Eiji and noted his new change in demeanor. It became all to clear to her that he was deadly serious. That left her no choice but to stick with him. She had no weapon, no armor, only her minimal amount of youkai abilities that she was sure would not allow her to defend against this creature alone. If she stayed with Eiji, she could fight with him and hold off his enemy until Sesshoumaru arrived.

But that was exactly what worried her. It was possible Sesshoumaru would not come for her. He may assume that she made her choice to be with Eiji instead of him. Or, he may be angry with her for breaking her promise, and though she hoped he had not taken her completely serious, it was altogether possible that he had. She had to assume that she was on her own.

She turned away from Eiji, resisting the urge to lash out at him. She definitely regretted leaving with him.

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Sesshoumaru stood on a branch belonging to Goshinboku and watched the sun melt over the horizon. His eyes scanned the scenery briefly as he searched for any signs of Rin. It was not like her to be gone for so long and he was surprised to learn that he was not sure what to do about it.

She was with Eiji, that much he knew. A part of him wanted to respect what seemed to be her choice, while another part of him was worried that something was not right. She had not said goodbye to her friends or him, and he found that odd. But would she really have said goodbye? When she had nearly died, she opted to leave him a note instead of facing him. Maybe this time, she did not think it was necessary.

"Go after her, Sesshoumaru."

Startled by the interruption, he looked down at the tree and into Kagome's face. "Go away."

"I know you're worried, so am I. Something tells me Rin-chan is in trouble, and that Eiji is the cause."

He jumped down from the tree and landed directly in front of her. "What do you know about Eiji?"

"Only what she's told me. He didn't sound very trustworthy and judging from your reaction, my assumptions must be correct."

"Rin must learn on her own."

Kagome sighed. "She is too nice of a girl to see the bad in people until they have wronged her. Rin-chan has trusted you since the day she stumbled upon you, can you really trust her judgment?"

"Are you suggesting that this Sesshoumaru is untrustworthy?"

"No, of course not, I am only thinking of how you met. You did lash out at her when she first came upon you, did you not? In the same way you lashed out at Inuyasha when you healed Rin. A more judgmental and less trusting person would have left you there to fend for yourself. Rin-chan did not."

"No, she did not," he agreed, clearly remembering the moment.

"Eiji might take advantage of that."

He turned his back to her. "She likes him, why would she mind?"

"You think she likes him. I believe Rin-chan thinks of him as her pet. It is you who has her heart."

He said nothing, not daring to confirm that he had been tortured by not knowing where her heart truly lay.

"You two belong together," she pleaded with him now. "Rin-chan is nothing without you."

His heart seemed to contract as her words pierced through him. He believed her, with all his soul. Rin was his and his alone. She completed him, and he her. Even standing there, not sure if she would return to him, made him feel as though he was dying. Without her near him, he was nothing. He had no intention of letting Eiji get away with weakening him by taking her away.

"I will leave Ah Un here, in case she returns."

Kagome nodded her understanding. "Hurry Sesshoumaru, I fear Rin-chan is in great danger."

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Marry Me. Bury Me.: Ah, sorry about that, heh. I'll try to tone it down a bit next time

bluediamond-hime: Well I guess this chapter concludes your suspicions since both Sesshoumaru and Kagome sense something is amiss. Not to mention Eiji's own admittance that he's in deep shit.

Verona: Good show, hehe. That reminds me of people with a British accent. Thanks for the comment and watching out for typos and stuff. As I'm editing Hurtful Words, I noticed so many and it made me want to gag. I'm trying to avoid it here.

sesshomaruhasafluffytail: I bet you really want to break Eiji's bones now!

DPM: You truly flatter me with your comment. I'm glad you think Rin has turned out to be the mature character I've wanted her to be. Self-realization, with a bit of outside help, is something I thought was key, and it pleases me that my readers appreciate that. As for Sesshoumaru's character, I wanted to remain as true to his character as possible, even if this is just a side story. Like I always say, we love Sesshoumaru for what we see of him in the anime and I don't want to destroy that image in my fics. "Slowness" was something I was worried about. You can tell by the number of chapters that I have developed this story a lot slower than my others - this is the longest fic I've ever done. I'm glad I haven't bored my readers to death and that they appreciate the pace as well. Thank you very much for your comment, it is very helpful.

Latina5Chica5: This being a feudal fairy tale and all, I'm going to just assume that regular old rules don't apply. So even though Sesshoumaru is a dog, he sees in color, and Eiji probably doesn't have 8 lives, I'm not even sure regular cats do.

Wooow! So many reviews, so unexpected, so wonderful! I never dreamed this story would be so popular. Thank you every one for supporting me thus far, you have all really encouraged me to write when at other times I would have been discouraged. Thank you so very much!

Ahh! This story is getting too long. I don't know what to do with myself, I'm not even sure when it will all end! I just know I HAVE to finish before July. I'll probably go completely MIA in July/August because I'll be busy w/school & personal related stuff. I promise, however, to have it done by the end of June! Until next week, ja ne!

Rabid Anime Gurl