Disclaimer: Inuyasha is Copyright of Takahashi Rumiko
Nothing Without The Other
Chapter 21
Eiji struggled to balance as much of Rin's weight as he could as he led her to the river. He had managed to talk Yasuo into letting him take Rin to get cleaned up. The less visible damage, the better their situation, he hoped. But if Sesshoumaru really was on his way, he would not have enough time. Sesshoumaru would see all the harm Eiji had let befall upon his precious ward and surely rip him apart.
"Sesshoumaru..sama..."
Eiji set her down and helped her sip some water. "You shouldn't speak, you must save your strength."
He was laying Rin on her back just as Sesshoumaru appeared. He rose to his feet quickly, backing into the water as the inu-youkai approached him. His face was smooth and flawless, but his eyes burned scarlet red. Eiji felt a tremor of fear race down his spine and was glad those eyes were focused on Rin instead of him.
"I..I'm sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen," he said, and seizing the opportunity, disappeared into the distance.
Sesshoumaru stared down at Rin, at the many gaping wounds spanning across her chest and shoulders. Dark, red blood crusted at the corner of her mouth, standing out against her pale white skin. The sleeves of her kimono were missing, and what was left of the kimono was tattered at the ends and stained with blood and dirt. He realized suddenly, as he pulled Tenseiga from its sheath, that she should be dead, would have been dead if not for the youki he had given her. The red receded from his eyes as a strange emotion washed over him. And as he tried to comprehend what it was, his arm, seemingly swinging itself, transferred youki as Tenseiga healed her.
He took his time returning Tenseiga to its sheath before reaching out to help Rin to her feet. She sat to her knees, outstretching her hand to him, but snatched it away before he could take it. She stared at her hand, feeling her stomach churn as she caught site of all the dried blood on it. In a panic, she looked down at her own body and nearly fainted.
So much blood, Rin thought as she jumped into the river, cleansing herself. The last time I saw so much... Pushing the thought away, she scrubbed harder.
Sesshoumaru turned his back to her, contemplating his own reaction to seeing her covered with so much blood. A part of him was boiling with rage, screaming to rip something apart, and some how, something kept it at bay. Was it..betrayal..that he felt? What was it that caused him to feel so destroyed inside?
This was the second time Rin had purposely avoided his assistance. The second time she nearly died because of it. How could he protect her, how could he keep her safe and well, if she ran every time she was in danger? Did she find his abilities lacking in some way? Had she grown so self dependent that she did not desire his assistance in any way? Did Rin not need him?
He turned as a salty scent drifted toward him. He stared in alarm as she scrubbed her hands and kimono most viciously, silent tears streaming down her face. There was no blood, only faded stains left on her kimono.
"Yamero," he demanded, but she did not seem to hear him.
He called louder to her a second and third time, failing to get her attention. Shedding all his top garments, he stepped into the water and seized her wrists in his hands.
"Let me go!" She screamed, struggling against him with a violence he did not know she possessed. "I have to get it off!"
Sesshoumaru shook her lightly, trying to bring her back to reality. "Get what off?"
"The blood! There's so much! Just like..just like...mama...just like papa...just-"
"Yamero," he said, his voice calm but authoritative. "Look at me. Look at me."
Rin continued to struggle, refusing to obey. He held both her hands in one of his own and took hold of her chin with his other, forcing her look at him. Something flashed across the brown depths of her eyes as they dilated and focused on him. Pain perhaps, but before he could really recognize it, it was flooded by an onslaught of tears. She wrapped her arms around him, holding on to his shoulders for support, and cried into his chest.
Not knowing what else to do, Sesshoumaru encircled his arms tightly around her, refusing to let go even when her sobs died into light sniffling.
The river glistened with moonlight as it coursed almost silently by them. Stars sparkled in the sky and danced along the waters surface next to the moon. Sesshoumaru pulled Rin closer to him, thinking of the markings on their foreheads. Could he and Rin ever live in such harmony?
"Sesshoumaru-sama," she said quietly, voice still raw with tears.
"Hnn."
"Are you angry with me?"
His grip seemed to tighten on her for a moment. "Not with you."
Rin pulled away and looked up at him, surprise washing over her before being replaced with dread. Anger she could deal with, and if Sesshoumaru was not angry, then something else was very wrong. She knew that whatever he felt, she was not prepared to handle it. Still, she had to know.
"Are you...are you unhappy with me?" She asked almost reluctantly.
"Very much so."
Sesshoumaru saw the strange flicker in her eyes and recognized it as shame. She turned away from him, as if trying to hide it, but it was too late. He pulled her back into his arms, burying his face in her hair, and tried to block the feeling of discomfort her feelings and his own brought.
"Damn it Rin," he whispered. "How are we going to get through this?"
"So I assume Eiji is dead."
Inuyasha stated the thing he was sure everyone was wondering as Rin told them what had happened. No one had expected her to return so late and in the condition she came to them in. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair tangled and dirty, and she huddled inside of Sesshoumaru's haori instead of her own kimono, leaving them to assume that it was so battered that it had to be discarded. Tension seemed to spark between Rin and Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha knew why when she finally answered him.
"Iie, he ran off," she looked down at her feet.
Kagome bristled, not one for extreme violence, but feeling Eiji deserved some form of punishment. "How pathetic."
"A disgrace," Sango added with a small hint of disgust.
Miroku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Why didn't you go after him, Sesshoumaru?"
"Keh, Rin obviously needed him more," Inuyasha pointed out as he rolled up his sleeves. "Well, lets go, Sesshoumaru. He couldn't have gotten that far."
"I'll go with you," Miroku said.
Everyone, excluding Rin, looked expectantly at Sesshoumaru.
"The one directly responsible for Rin's injuries is already dead. This Sesshoumaru will not waste any more of his time."
"Nani?" Inuyasha stomped over to his brother. "You've got to be kidding me. You're actually going to let Eiji live after what he's done? You wiped out an entire clan for putting her in harms way and you let him walk away?"
"We're leaving in the morning, Rin," he replied as he turned and walked away, ignoring Inuyasha and everyone else.
Rin sat by the door, lightly caressing the sleeves of Sesshoumaru's haori as the sun rose over the horizon. She had not slept during the night, too haunted by memories of her family death as if it foreshadowed her own. Instead, she spent the night watching the moon and stars, trying to decide what she should do.
Doubts pressed on her mind from all sides as she considered her discovery once more. The excitement, the joy, the pleasure, and the promise of all she ever wanted could no longer hide it any more. And she found herself at a standstill as the considered the possibility of her relationship with Sesshoumaru not working out. It was just another testament to the newly discovered, but old weaknesses that were currently holding her back. She doubted she could take her their relationship to the next and final level and was not at all sure she wanted to.
"You're up early," Kagome interrupted her thoughts as she sat next to her, holding Rei in her arms.
She looked over at them with a small smile. "As are you and Rei."
Kagome parted her kimono to breastfeed. "You kidding? This is rather late for Rei. It seems she is finally adapting to what we consider normal time."
Rin smiled, watching in mild curiosity as the child suckled from her mothers breast.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
She pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "I didn't sleep at all."
"What's wrong now?"
"Kagome-chan," she sighed. "I don't think I can be Sesshoumaru-sama's mate."
Kagome blinked in surprise. "Why?"
"I just..I can't!" Rin covered her face, feeling the tears form in her eyes. "I'm not right for him, I'm too weak."
"Rin-chan! I'm sure Sesshoumaru doesn't care about that."
"But I do! My weaknesses make me his weakness. One day he will see it, one day he will understand how much of a burden I am, how weak I am. Then he will regret being with me, or he will abandon me. Maybe it is better if we end everything before it is too late."
"Perhaps you are right, Rin," Sesshoumaru said as he approached the startled women.
Rin stared at him with and empty, color-drained look upon her face. Kagome snagged the haori from Rin and covered her chest. She waited for one of them to say something, but as the silence stretched on, she felt herself gliding on the familiar edge of her anger. She rose to her feet and fixed Rin with a fierce look before transferring it to Sesshoumaru.
"If you two would ignore how deeply you care about each other and pass up a potentially great relationship, you're bigger cowards than I thought! No relationship is perfect, but if you can't stick together during the rough times, maybe you don't belong together after all."
She stomped back inside the house, leaving Rin and Sesshoumaru to stare after her. They heard several irritated shouts as everyone received rude awakenings. One by one, Kagome shuffled her sleepy friends and children outside until everyone was gathered. Bristling with determination, she handed Rin a heavily stuffed backpack.
"Now, I put some ramen in here and a kettle to boil some water. Just poor the hot water in the noodles and let it sit for a few minutes before eating it. There is the chocolate you asked, a Polaroid camera, and a fabulous kimono I thought was perfect for you."
Kagome pushed a stunned Rin over to Sesshoumaru, all but shoving her into his arms and tossing him his haori. Satisfied, she returned to her family and friends.
"Everyone say goodbye to Sesshoumaru and Rin. They really should be going, such a long trip ahead of them!" She added, squeezing her son's shoulders. "Say bye to you're Uncle Sesshoumaru and Aunt Rin."
Sesshoumaru allowed Rin one moment to wave goodbye before quickly pulling her away. He was not sure exactly what Inuyasha's mate was trying to do, but he was more than willing to flee all the noise and ruckus the group generated. He glanced down at Rin, wondering if she understood what had just transpired. He noted that she still wore the same empty expression before he quickly turned away to contemplate his own thoughts.
Maybe he really was a coward.
/Yamero: Stop it / Iie: No / Nani: What /
DPM: I hope this chapter eliminates any confusion. Math is the Devil, by the way.
Marry Me. Bury Me: It just takes practice, lots of it! And confidence too! Ever writer has his or her own style and I'm sure you can write just as fabulously as I can, if not better!
Verona: How many chapters? That's hard to say. I just finished 25 last night, and I have no clue when it will end, lol. Maybe I'll try to round it off to an even 30, but we'll see. Hopefully I can get another chapter done this weekend, since I have a holiday. I want to finish this before July and since I have finals in 2 weeks, this is the opportunity I need to get ahead.
As for another story, I have one idea, but I haven't really thought it out completely because I have this story. It is very different from what I normally write, so I'm not sure if will even write it. I might just be too busy with school next year because I'm finally starting on all my upper-division courses. But, time will tell. The children question will be answered in later chapters .
I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story. Nailing Sesshoumaru and Rin's character down to a T was so important to me and I'm pleased that you all believe I've done that, and see that I've remained consistent in doing that. I'm just so excited and happy.
Anyway, I know everyone wanted Eiji dead, but I can promise you that there is a reason for him being alive and that you WILL see him again.
I also want to let you all know that HW: PP has been completely uploaded at mediaminer. The story has been editing for grammar mistakes and I have changed a few lines to reduce confusion that some readers found before. So if you'd like to read it again, a better version is there! And speaking of that, it seems to me that readers at mediaminer aren't very friendly or at least, not as nice as you all are. The story has received 581 visits, which is probably more reviews than all my stories combined, but only 1 review. Its odd. Anyway, here is the link: /fanfic/ viewst.php /93165/ (You'll have to remove the spaces)
Rabid Anime Gurl
