There was a violent, horrifying storm that night. Rain pelted, lightning pierced, thunder bellowed, and wind lay ruin upon the earth. In a little cave, beside a little fire, Rin, no longer a little girl, was awake, unable to rest while a violent storm was brewing. Jaken was already sound asleep, snoring peacefully, but Rin had always feared feared violent storms such as this ever since even before she had met Sesshoumaru.
"It is all right," he said to her, "you can sleep now." He was sitting near the entrance of the cave, gazing calmly and courageously into the storm, occasionally shielding her from debris sent by the wind.
"I'm fine," she lied, hoping to appear strong and impress him. "You should rest too."
"I'm not tired."
"Then neither am I."
"Aren't you afraid of the storm?"
"I'm not afraid, as long as your here."
He didn't reply, and neither of them fell alseep, even though they were tired, as they waited for the storm to pass.
The next morning was bright and sunny, not at all alike to the previous night. Rin was up early, and she announced that she was going to search for food for breakfast. Her shouts upset Jaken, groggily waking him from his slumber.
Cheerfully, Rin was picking colourful berries when the bushes suddenly began to shake, and a bear demon suddenly attacked her. She dropped some of her berries and screamed, alerting Sesshoumaru, who instantly hurried to the predicament, stepping on the still tired Jaken in the process.
She tried to run, but tripped on a tree root and fell. She turned, and saw the bear demon lift its claws. She closed her eyes, wishing for him to save her like he always did. The bear swiped, but she heard its claws clash with a sword. He must have saved her!
She opened her eyes, and was surprised to see a young boy whom she hadn't seen for a very long time. Kohaku still looked exactly the same as he did from when she befriended him back then. She knew it was because of the shard in his back.
Kohaku drove the bear away and wounded its paw, causing it to groan in pain and chaotically swipe in every direction. Before it could attack again, however, a gust of wind lifted it into the air, and launched it a far distance away. It had been a long time since she had seen Kagura as well, who also looked exactly as she remembered.
Sesshoumaru arrived a second too late, and seemed to lower his eyes only slightly when he saw who the saviours were. When he said nothing, Kagura said to him sarcastically, "Your welcome."
"I didn't require your assistance," he replied. He turned, beckoning for Rin to follow.
"We haven't seen each other for so long and that's all you have to say? We've finally located Kanna. Today we plan on defeating Naraku. Will you run away and protect your princess, or will you fight?"
"I have no intention of fighting that filth. I have no obligation to help you, either."
"I never said I wanted your assistance."
He once again turned, and beckoned for Rin to follow. She took one last look at Kagura and Kohaku, before leaving.
She offered him the few berries she had managed to salvage, but he refused, stating that he wasn't hungry, so she cheerfully enjoyed their sweetness.
After she was done, she asked, without warning, "Kohaku is dead, isn't he? Could you save him, if you used tenseiga, like when you saved me? Please, save Kohaku."
He thought about her request, and moved to grab tenseiga's hilt. He watched the sword rattle, as thought it were reacting. Tenseiga was a sword with the ability to save a person's life, and sometimes it seemed to act with a will of its own. He touched the hilt, and a barrier seemed to reject him. He thought to himself, "Tenseiga, you don't wish to save that boy's life? Only trouble will come of it."
He didn't answer Rin's proposition, saying nothing.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she whined like a child begging for candy, but she was not a child anymore. It pained him to disappoint her, but he trusted the judgment of tenseiga, a sword that was once his father's.
When they returned to the little cave, Jaken was waiting for them impatiently. "What took you so long?" he demanded of Rin. "I've been waiting her the whole time, starving! And you didn't even save any berries for me!" He could see juices trail messily on her face and shirt. She simply blinked innocently and cutely. She was like a child that needed a bib.
"I'm sorry Jaken-sama," she apologized. "I dropped the other berries when I was attacked by a scary monster, but luckily I was saved."
"You always rely on Sesshoumaru-sama to save you when you get into trouble. Rin, you're a grown woman now! When are you going to start taking care of yourself?"
"Actually, I was saved by Kohaku and Kagura. They were very nice people."
"Look at what you did! Because of you, Sesshoumaru-sama was forced to face two people that he despises! You cause nothing but trouble for him!"
She felt guilty all day. When night came, another storm rampaged, exactly like the one from the previous night. Just as it was before, Rin sat beside the little fire in the little cave as Sesshoumaru guarded the entrance.
"Is it true," she asked quietly, "what Jaken-sama said? Do I really cause only trouble for you? Am I old enough to take care of myself? Am I supposed to leave?"
"You don't have to leave," he told her. "I don't mind if you stay, if that is what you like."
"I want to stay with Sesshoumaru-sama. That way I'll be safe from the scary storms. Thank you. I know you were trying to save me. I'm sorry if you disliked meeting them today."
"It was nothing."
"I thought so. You don't really hate Kohaku-kun. You like Kagura-san. Why won't you save Kohaku-kun?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer, and instead told her to sleep. This time she did. After he had fallen asleep too, she opened one eye, and carefully tiptoed toward him. She slowly slid tenseiga from its scabbard, then exited the little, cozy cave and stared into the dark night, suffering from the continuous storm, of rain, lightning, thunder, and wind.
"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered, shivering from the cold. "I want to stay with you forever, but I have to do this."