Disclaimer: Don't own InuYasha
Wow, I think Chapter 18 was one of my best reviewed yet! Thanks, ladels and gentlemints! And also a big thanks for the stories you all told me to check out. I swear, I am going to give them a read! Thank you once again!
The din in the garden stopped and Rin hazarded a peek from her hiding place. Her heart lept into her throat. Their swords locked together, Lord Sesshomaru and Akimitsu stood in the midst of the ruined grounds. The shapeshift had shed the appearance of an ogre. To Rin's growing horror he was morphing again into the handsome and familiar face of her lord! Even Sesshomaru was surprised at how well Akimitsu captured his likeness! With that familiar grin, the shapeshifter shoved the locked swords downwards, driving their deadly tips into the dark rich soil.
"Don't worry, dog. You won't be alone in hell for long. I'll send the bitch and the serving boy there to keep you company!" Akimitsu chuckled, suddenly yanking his sword free and slicing upwards, cutting Tenseiga and its sheath away from Sesshomaru's side and kicking them into a tangle of thorn bushes.
"Its almost laughable. You couldn't even kill a simple human. What makes you so confident you can kill me, Akimitsu?" Sesshomaru replied smoothly, hardly seeming to notice the loss of his father's sword.
"I don't lack a motive for wanting you dead, Sesshomaru. I want you dead because I want to restore the dignity of the demons. I want you dead because you have made us a laughing stock with your choice of companion. I want you dead because you are no longer fit to be Lord of the Western Lands. For those reasons and a thousand more, Sesshomaru, I want you dead!"
Rin crawled slowly towards the brush and towards Tenseiga. Lord Sesshomaru would need his father's sword! It protected him. From somewhere behind her, Rin could hear Jaken hissing for her to get back to her hiding place and be still. Never! She couldn't allow her lord to be left so defenseless! Reaching through the sharp thorns, ignoring the slicing pain as they bit into her skin, Rin grasped Tenseiga's sheath. Toukijin would not protect its master as Tenseiga did.
"And I suppose you are fit to be the ruler of my father's lands, Akimitsu? Hardly. Look at you. You can't even form your own identity but rather take on others. Its a shame you cannot master their attacks as well."
In the blink of an eye Sesshomaru once again sliced upwards with Toukijin, slamming the blade into Akimitsu's and sending a bone jarring vibration up the shapeshifter's arm. It did nothing to break the inuyoukai lord's concentration to be looking into his own face as he attacked. The scent was still the same as that of the man who had attacked and wounded Rin and that was what Sesshomaru remained focused upon. From the corner of his eye, a movement in the bushes and his jaw clenched. What in hell was Rin thinking? The damn sword was in no danger right where it was!
Akimitsu refused to release his grip on his sword and his blood red eyes followed Sesshomaru's, a smile as cold as ice spread over his face. He was every inch Sesshomaru's likeness...right down to the two swords the dog demon carried. In the space of a heartbeat, Akimitsu withdrew the sword that was Toukijin's twin. Grasping the hilt as if the sword were a spear he raised his arm and winked at Sesshomaru.
"Like pinning a butterfly to a wall, eh, Sesshomaru?" he spat, heaving the deadly weapon at Rin's exposed back.
Without Tenseiga in his grip, Sesshomaru was powerless to put up a barrier to protect her. If he moved to shield her, he would be leaving himself open to Akimitsu's other sword and he didn't know what that blade was capable of. From the far side of the garden Jaken was yelling for Rin to duck even as he ran to her. Rin turned, seeing the sword coming directly for her. There was nowhere for her to go, no time for her to react. Clutching Tenseiga to her heart, Rin's eyes went to her lord's. Once more Jaken shouted for her to move but Rin instead gave Lord Sesshomaru a gentle smile and closed her eyes. It all happened within a split second but to Sesshomaru it seemed like an eternity. As the sword passed over Tenseiga's sheath above Rin's heart, it seemed as if the metal of the blade was enveloped in blue flames. So ready to hear her scream of pain, Sesshomaru was shocked when instead Rin merely gasped, her brown eyes flaring wide.
"BASTARD!"
Sesshomaru's roar was almost defeaning. He understood now why his father was so determined to reach Izayoi's side, why InuYasha would forsake a battle for the girl Kagome. Izayoi, Kagome, Rin. None of them cared that the men they held such affections for were demons or half demons. Were it not for the confined space of the gardens Sesshomaru might have reverted to his true form. To do so in here would be madness, however. He wouldn't have the space to fight properly. Akimitsu leered, savoring the mix of pain, hatred and outrage on the inuyoukai lord's face.
"She lived by one of your swords and died by the other, dog! If you cannot protect one little mortal how could you hope to protect all of the Western Lands!" he spat, raising his own sword once more and slashed downwards.
Blinded for a moment by his hatred for the creature before him, Sesshomaru failed to block the strike and felt the sword bite deep into his bicept. Akimitsu drew the sword back with an almost triumphant smile. He had drawn blood on the great Lord Sesshomaru! He had weakened the demon in destroying the girl and now it was within his power to slaughter the dog as well! Sesshomaru staggered slightly, a part of him shouting for him to fight and survive and another part, deeper inside, telling him to welcome death and not live a life without Rin.
Jaken could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the shapeshifter's sword strike Rin. How could this be? How had it been that Lord Sesshomaru was powerless to protect her? The vassil could only fall to his knees in stunned horror. Lord Sesshomaru's sudden sharp hiss of pain drew Jaken's eyes from Rin as the sword slowly seemed to vanish into her body. Akimitsu had managed to strike his lord! Blood stained and soaked the white of Lord Sesshomaru's garment and ran down his fingers. History seemed to be repeating itself! A powerful inuyoukai lord dying for a mortal woman, his life's blood soaking into the earth.
"L...Lord Sesshomaru..." Jaken's voice was almost a plea.
Akimitsu saw his moment of opportunity and brought the tip of his sword beneath Sesshomaru's jaw. One quick and powerful stab with the sword and it was over. The Western Lands would be free of a weak ruler and he, Akimitsu, would take power. The simple guise of the inuyoukai lord would be easy to replicate. Dispatch the human girl and the fumbling vassil and once more, things would be as they should have been all along.
"You were a pathetic failure, dog. To your father and the foolish human girl who put such faith in a demon. Die knowing the mortal will be waiting for you in the afterlife with open arms!"
As Akimitsu drew back to deliver the death blow Sesshomaru felt something sweep past his head. Tenseiga! The sword was buried to its hilt in the shapeshifter's throat! Akimitsu staggered back, his sword falling from his fingers into the grass with a dull thud, his eyes wide in shock. Impossible! The sword was laying in the bushes in the mortal girl's dead hands! Slowly Sesshomaru stepped back, a hand over the wound to his upperarm as he turned to see just where Tenseiga had trully come from.
"Rin..." her name came from his lips in a whispered breath, unable to believe what he was seeing. A soft thud heralded Jaken's toppling over in shock.
Alive! She was still alive and she still clasped Tenseiga's sheath in her arms. She had never let it go! But how? If she had not wielded it herself and struck down Akimitsu then how had the sword come to be pierced through his flesh! The dying shapeshifter was no longer able to maintain his appearance as Sesshomaru and once more the faceless being stood there, slowly dropping to his knees.
"I-I-I had to protect you, Lord Sesshomaru. I begged Tenseiga not to let you die. You saved my life once...I had to save yours." Rin stammered, her eyes remaining on her lord, never looking to the fallen enemy.
Tenseiga could not kill. It only had the power to save lives. Before Akimitsu could hope to remove Tenseiga from his throat, Sesshomaru spun back around, slicing through the air and the bastard's throat with his Toukijin. Akimitsu's body remained upright before slowly crumpling into the soiled grass. Quickly Sesshomaru withdrew Tenseiga from the body and sheathed it. The messengers of the neatherworld would not be denied this soul.
Stumbling towards her lord, tears of relief flooding her eyes and blinding her, Rin buried her face in the soft fur that covered his shoulder and sobbed. It was over. It was trully over. Sesshomaru looked down on his fallen enemy with empty eyes. Had it not been for Akimitsu cutting the Tenseiga from his side and Rin going after it, she would have died. The sword not only protected him but it would protect her as well. Just as Tetsusaiga's sheath would protect Kagome. These girls were a part of their masters. With both swords once again sheathed at his side and Rin safe, Sesshomaru felt the burning agony of the deep wound to his arm.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken was suddenly at his lord's side, his eyes watching the stain of red spreading wider over Sesshomaru's sleeve.
"Its nothing, Jaken. Rin, get inside and remain in your rooms."
"No!" Rin shook her head violently, lifting her face from the comfort of the fur, "You are hurt and I won't leave you alone! Demon or not, that injury is potentially fatal! You won't send me away to my room like a child! I can help!"
"What do you think that you can do? A mere mortal!" Sesshomaru demanded, unwilling to allow her to trully see the level of pain he was in and hating himself for his harsh words, "What were you thinking, going after Tenseiga? You could not possibly wield the sword and instead put yourself in danger."
Rin stepped back quickly from her lord's anger. Never, in all their years together, had he spoken to her like this. She knew he despised mortals and their frailty but not once had he thrown it in her face directly about her being a human. It was obvious Sesshomaru was in pain, absolute agony. She wasn't about to let him suffer in silence because of his damnable pride! If he would not ask for help or allow her to give it freely she would have to make it seem as if it was his idea.
"I went after Tenseiga because it was your sword. Your father left it to you. To help you. I realize I am no sword, no armor, no shield. But I do want to be of some help. I want to be useful! You give me no tasks to do! Jaken has responsibilities and even Ah-Un does! If I can't wield a sword you can at least let me sew together any wounds they make on you and your clothing!"
Sesshomaru studied Rin in stoney silence, surprised to finally hear her standing up against him. She was right. He still, in many ways, treated her like a child. Never giving her anything of importance to do. Very well. If she felt she was so able and ready to handle the sight of blood and the damage weapons could do to flesh, he would humor her. It wouldn't take long for Rin to run the otherway and leave him to tend to his wounds on his own.
"Very well. As you wish. Follow me." he replied softly, nodding to Rin before brushing passed her and going in the direction of his rooms.
Rin, her chin in the air at a determined angle, marched in directly behind him. She'd show him! How hard could it be to stitch up a cut!