"Ohayou Inuyasha!" Kagome smiled and passed a cup of ocha to Inuyasha. Inuyasha was stunned for a second but took the cup silently. He looked at Kagome who continued to pass the steaming cups around and greeting everyone happily. Is she not angry with me anymore? He recalled the moment when their eyes had met last night and looked into his greenish simmering ocha.
He could see the reflection of his eyes in the beverage and wondered what did Kagome saw in his eyes last night for her to smile at him. It was genuine, yet held something else to it that he could not put a finger to it. He had been thinking of how to destroy Naraku without sacrificing Kikyou and Kohaku these few weeks. Inuyasha was frankly a little tired from all these years of endless pursuing. It was as if it was a mindless game, and Naraku seemed to be fond of it. But Inuyasha cared too much about his friends; too much for him to forsake everyone and leave them to their own fates and danger.
Miroku still had the Kazaana in his right palm.
Sango still had not saved nor reunited with Kohaku.
Shippou still had not yet avenged for his otou-san.
Kikyou still had not taken her revenge.
He himself had his personal vendetta for fifty-three years, and to help his friends.
And to protect her.
Kagome was the only person, who did not have a real vendetta against Naraku. She had simply been dragged into this vortex, this whirlpool of big mess. He shifted his gaze from the ocha and saw that Kagome was chatting away happily with the rest. She is the only one... demo she made the decision and sacrifice to stay here with me... Inuyasha hung his head down and stared at the greenish liquid sadly. He felt so much towards Kagome, his heart could burst from all the contents and yet it seemed that he could not repay her at all. For her love and devotion to him, for her loyalty and faith in him. He was forever bound to Kikyou, and he could not run away from it.
"Inuyasha?" Miroku noticed the hanyou's odd silence and was looking at him thoughtfully. The rest immediately turned to him and the sadness in his eyes instantly disappeared, which was replaced by a scowl on his face, "Oi! The ocha is too hot Kagome!"
Kagome's eyebrows twitched in annoyance and before Inuyasha knew it, he had spilled the plastic cup of fragrant ocha and his head was now buried into the cold clammy ground.
"Kagome-chan! So early in the morning?" Sango was alarmed but yet could not refrain from giggling. Kagome and Shippou caught the joke and soon joined in; the giggling turned to loud laughter while Inuyasha struggled to get up and was yelling something at their mocking tearing faces.
Miroku simply rested his chin on his hand and stared at Inuyasha as he tried to concentrate his thoughts. He had seen the brief exchange between Inuyasha and Kagome the previous night that was tinged with sadness. He did not know what was going through in both their minds but it was not hard to guess. Then he smiled to himself, feeling a little comforted that there were no such problems between Sango and him.
"Oi, what are you staring at!" Inuyasha yelled at the seemingly dazed Miroku.
"Aa, nandemonai! I was just thinking have you accidentally eaten dirt before?" Miroku asked innocently but dishonesty and sarcasm was literally shining in his violet eyes.
The rest broke out in howling laughter again while Inuyasha clenched his fists and cracked his knuckles, "temee... Miroku, you are looking for trouble huh"
Miroku stood up, ready to defend and run away if Inuyasha came after him, "iya, that was a joke, really!"
But Inuyasha had alerady lunged for him and Miroku swiftly grabbed for his Shakoju, running to the back of the ladies with a pseudo-frightened look on his face, "Sango! Kagome-sama! Tasukete!" The two grown men were running around in circles while the ladies laughed till they cried. Out of a sudden, Kirara meowed loudly and nudged Sango's feet. Sango promptly stopped and realized that small white fluffy stuff were floating in the air.
"Yuki!"
The rest of the group stopped what they were doing and lifted their faces to the white-gray sky. Kagome and Sango got up from their sitting rocks, their mouths were gaping open in the beauty of the first snow while Shippou laid on the ground and rested his head on both his arms, admiring the fluttering display.
Inuyasha and Miroku both relaxed and smiled as the soft white snowflakes swayed down gently from the skies. After a short while, Miroku's pleasant voice woke everyone out from their trance, "minna, shall we find a shelter before we get frozen to death?"
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"Jaken-sama!" Rin's face had gone deathly pale as she pointed to her left. Ah-Un promptly halted in mid-air at the pull of the leash and Jaken looked down to their left, his jaw dropping at the image before him. "Rin! Tell Ah-Un to go down immediately!"
Rin nodded her head and it took some while before she could convince the draconic youkai to land on the warm ground. She immediately hopped off and without waiting for Jaken, ran to the mass of white and redas fast as she could. When Jaken caught up with her and got a clearer view, Rin was crying hard and was shaking all over in fright. He dropped the Nintoujou and sat on the ground, not caring whether his bare webbed feet or kimono would get burnt.
Sesshoumaru sat in a kneeling position, his right hand still gripping tightly over the hilt of Toukijin. His head was bent and the ends of his long beautiful silver hair were tipped in blood, dark red blood. Rin suddenly stopped her crying and used the back of her hands to wipe her salty tears away.
She knelt down on the ground and gently parted the curtain of silver hair. She gasped and fell back on her butt, trembling all over again. Jaken caught a glimpse of his lord's face and tears rolled down his slimy cheeks. He wondered whether his taiyoukai lord was indeed dead. The sight that greeted them was truly gruesome beyond description.
No one knew how long, but little Rin managed to get up and knelt in front of Sesshoumaru again. With trembling hands, she parted his hair, tucked it behind his big pointy ears and leaned close. She could hear soft raspy breathing sounds, as if he had difficultly breathing. The sounds were so soft and light, that she listened for a good while until she was sure that he was indeed alive.
Rin smiled as more tears rolled down her grimy face and hope filled her stricken heart again. She did not dare to touch him, lest it hurt him more. She gathered the wiltered flowers on the ground that she had brought along and put some into his lap and tucked a few gently into his head of silver hair. Jaken could not fathom what Rin was doing, his voice was flat and hopeless, "Rin, nani o suru?"
Rin smiled and put a finger to her lips; she then heaved hard and down, pointed at her own chest, then at Sesshoumaru's. Jaken widened his eyes at her gestures and crawled forward, for he had gone weak in his legs. He stared at his lord for a good long while, and he was indeed breathing!
He jumped up in joy, his body was suddenly infused with wondrous strength, "Rin! Rin! Sesshoumaru-sama is ALIVE!" Rin nodded her head and smiled, but no words came forth. Jaken wondered for a second whether Rin was too shocked or too happy to speak, but he continued on his own, words tumbling out from his mouth continuously, "how are we going to carry him back? Neither of us is big and strong enough..."
Rin chewed on her lower lip and thought hard. She knew that she not have the strength to drag her lord back to Ah-Un, and even if she did, she could not heal him. A bright idea popped into her head and she clapped her hands once, to get Jaken's attention.
She gestured again to Jaken to wait here while she ran to Ah-Un and mounted on it in no time. Jaken nodded his head and watched them left. He then picked up Nintoujou and stood in front of his lord defensively.
"Sesshoumaru-sama. Do not worry, your lowly and humble servant will stand guard for you until Rin comes back!"
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"Brrrr! Kagome, samui na!" Shippou rubbed his arms up and down furiously with his paws. He tried to cast his illusionary fox-fires to warm himself but they were too small to be of any help at all. Kagome nodded her head and sipped more of her warm ocha. They were kneeling by the small fire that they had built in a deserted cave, warming their limbs and drinking their tea.
"Inuyasha, we are not going to do much in this winter. I suggest that we let Kagome-sama go home. The snow is getting heavier," Miroku placed his hands near the fire to warm them.
"Soshite, the winter snow will cover a lot of tracks and scents, no point in pursuing after Naraku," Sango chipped in immediately and nodded her head while drinking her tea. Everyone had been looking towards a nice good break and this early winter was their best opportunity.
Inuyasha arched his eyebrow up in surprise, he agreed with them that there was nothing much they could do in this winter, since it was colder compared to the previous ones. But it seemed to him that Miroku and Sango shared telepathy and almost always uncannily agree on the same matters.
"Aa, Kagome, you should go home," Inuyasha looked intently at her deep brown eyes and stared at the fire. Kagome nodded her head as she took another sip, she could take the opportunity to read and prepare herself for the night school that she had enrolled herself in. Her results were not fantastic since she had spent a good deal of time in Sengoku Jidai, not that she minded.
"Arigatou! I can study too..." Kagome smiled while Shippou whined, "Kagome, do you really have to go home? Can't you stay with us?" Inuyasha let out a frustrated growl and plucked the kitsune off Kagome's laps, hanging him upside down by his pawed feet.
"Kagome!" Shippou cried out as he struggled and kicked hard in the air.
"Inuyasha," Kagome's voice held that certain edge of threat which caused the hanyou to drop the kitsune immediately.
"Shippou, Kagome-sama will definitely return and visit us!" Miroku tried to comfort the upset kitsune, although he knew what Shippou was up to. "And she will bring you more crayons and drawing paper!" Sango added in dutifully. Shippou turned to Kagome with his hopeful green eyes shining brightly, who could not help but to wonder whether this was Shippou's trick of wringing more toys and candies from her. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and let out a snort, while Kagome smiled and nodded her head, "hai hai!"
After a short while of bustling around, Kagome packed her light yellow backpack bag and slung it over her shoulders, "where are you guys staying then?"
"Kirara probably can't carry all of us, but we will make our way to Kaede's village slowly. Don't worry about us, we have seen worser winters!" Sango smiled and waved happily. Miroku nodded his head while Inuyasha let out another disgusted snort at the tearing Shippou.
"Ja... o-daiji ni! I will come back and visit you guys soon!" Kagome clambered onto the transformed Kirara and waved her goodbyes. Kirara paused for a while before she flew out of the warm cave with a swoosh. Kagome clutched tightly onto her rough thick furs and buried her face into her warm body. The snowfall was getting heavier but since it was only the second day, Kagome figured that she would not yet freeze when she reached the Bone Eater's Well.
Kagome thanked Kami that she had worn her jeans and a thick sweater. It wasn't really enough for winter but it was better than nothing. She had lost track of time sailing through the blurry field of snowflakes of which most of them got stuck to her face and her hair. The winds blowing past her were chilly and she was so grateful and happy when she sighted the Bone Eater's Well.
Kirara landed on the ground and rubbed her face affectionately against Kagome's face and shoulders. "Arigatou Kirara, I will bring you a yarn of wool when I come back ne?" Kagome smiled at the neko youkai and pursed her frozen lips to plant a kiss on her equally cold black nose.
Before Kagome could swing her legs over the ledge of the well, she heard a loud weird grunt and Kirara's loud growls. She steadied herself on the ledge and grabbed her bow, while turning back to see who Kirara was growling at.
There in the flurry sky, was a draconic youkai with a small ningen girl on top of it. She was waving her hands wildly around her as if she wanted to attract Kagome's attention. Kagome squinted her eyes to get a clearer vision through the snow and then her eyes widened.
"Rin!" Kagome jumped off the ledge and ran to the neko youkai, "daijoubu Kirara! She is harmless!"
Ah-Un landed on the ground a distance away opposite Kirara and once Rin hopped off, she ran as fast as she could through the thin layer of soft snow on the ground to Kagome. Kagome was bewildered to why Rin had sought her out. The draconic youkai had belonged to Sesshoumaru and she wondered again why Rin was alone since she was always accompanied by Jaken and Sesshoumaru.
"Rin! Daijoubu desu ka?" Kagome bent a little and ruffled her messy hair. Rin was always dressed in that orange checkered kimono and the bright color always brought a smile to Kagome. Rin was such a sweet adorable child that nobody could really resist her if she opened up. Rin managed a weak forced smile and did a courteous bow.
"Iie! Rin, doshimashitaka?" Kagome smiled and knelt down, wrapping her small cold dirty hands with her bigger ones. But Rin did not answer, and her large black eyes were looking intently into Kagome's face.
"Rin, doushite?" Kagome asked again, she was starting to get worried from the way Rin looked at her. A feeling of unease creeped up her back and Kagome tightened the grip over Rin's small hands. But Rin pulled her hands away and started to gesture wildly. Kagome could not understand what she was trying to tell her and caught her flustered hands in hers, calming her down with her smile, "Rin, can you tell me?"
Rin looked down and shook her head slowly. Kagome's deep brown eyes widened and she knew that something terrible must have happened, for Rin not to speak again. Kagome pulled the child into her arms without another thought and hugged her tightly while stroking her head, saying to her softly, "daijoubu Rin, yukkuri yukkuri."
Rin burst into tears, and Kagome by now was alarmed and flustered. She did not know what she had done, or could do to pacify the child and the snow was getting heavier and heavier. Snowflakes were getting onto her eyelashes blurring her vision and the temperature was dropping fast. She could feel the tips of her fingers and toes going numb and Rin was trembling in her arms, even though she did not know that was out of fear or cold.
"Rin..." her eyelids drooped a little over her deep molten eyes as Kagome wrapped her arms around the child tightly, hoping that would somehow console her. She was crying so hard, and yet it was almost soundless. It broke Kagome's heart to hear her crying like that.
Upon the mention of her name, Rin sniffed back her tears and tried to pull Kagome away from the well, to Ah-Un. Kagome got the hint but was too afraid to mount that draconic youkai, whose beady yellow eyes were staring back as if it was not sure whether Kagome was an ally or an enemy.
"Er Rin, I will follow you on Kirara," Kagome pointed to Kirara and put on her best smile while nodding her head. Rin nodded her head and soon, Kagome was following the draconic youkai on Kirara and at the same time, wondering to herself the umpteenth time what she was doing. Kagome could not think of any terrible danger happening to them since it was unlikely that anyone would dare to provoke Sesshoumaru and not value his or her own life. If Rin was leading her to Sesshoumaru, she could get herself killed too. Shivers crawled up her spine and Kagome tried to shake off that dreadful thought by talking to Kirara.
"Kirara! Gomen ne!" Kagome had to shout since the freezing gusts of wind were blowing furiously into their faces. Kirara turned her head back slightly as if to reassure Kagome. They were now flying at a very fast speed and Kagome inwardly thanked Kami again for Kirara that she was a fire-neko youkai. If not she will not last well in this blast of a winter...
After what seemed like a long while, Kagome realized that the air was not as cold as before and when she squinted her eyes at the lands beneath them, she realized that there was a big foresty mountain and dark grayish ground. Funny that the winter does not seem to reach here...
Kirara landed after Ah-Un and Kagome was dragged forward by Rin before she even had time to catch her breath. It was oddly, and a little uncomfortably hot here. The ground was rather warm, and resembled lava ground. But Kagome did not have the time to take a better look at her surroundings nor give more thought to the peculiar weird warm environent when she saw a figure in white and red, kneeling on the floor motionlessly.
When Rin halted abruptly in front of Sesshoumaru, Kagome thought that she would faint from the horrible gruesome sight. But all that she did was to clap her hand over her mouth and gasped out loud, "oh Kami."
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A/N: I hope you like the above chapter. )
ohayou - morning! (casual)
otou-san - father oi - rude way of calling out to someone, similiar to "hey"
nandemonai - nothing in particular temee - very crude and rude form of calling someone (singular)
iya - no (masculine form
Shakoju - the staff that Miroku carries around with him (I think I spelled correctly)
tasukete - help!
yuki - snow/snowflake minna - everyone Rin, nani o suru? - Rin, what are you doing?
samui na - its very cold!
soshite - and then arigatou - thank you (casual)
ja - well/then o-daiji ni - take care of yourself!
Kami - God neko - cat daijoubu desu ka - are you alright?
doshimashitaka - what happened?
doushite - why/what's wrong?
yukkuri yukkuri - slowly, slowly
