Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Don't suuuue meeeee!
Me: -bows- I'm so sorry, but that was the end of the story!
Sabbi: WHAT! NO!
Me: Haha! Just kidding! I was strangled in gym for killing Sesshy…-rubs neck- literally…
Corey: Anzu…I think you gave some people a heart attack…
Me: -sweat drop- sorry, couldn't resist. First my computer broke down, then I was on vacation, and it seems only at this moment I'm getting a chance to write my Inuyasha stories. But here it is - an answer to your plea! The next chapter!
The Act
Chapter 8: When Tears Fail
By: Anzu2
Tears never seem to seize when the one we hold most dear is now vanished from our world. It's as if a piece of ourselves is ripped from us, stolen, pulled out from our grasp. It's when we realize that we will never get them back, that it becomes almost impossible to bear the situation. Rin knew this sadness, and the ache in her heart throbbed to almost an unbearable pain.
Gone.
He was gone.
Rin stared our her window, hope dripping into a void of dark along with whatever faith she had had in his return home. The memory of the news was like a red hot iron against her head, but she kept reliving it over…and over…and over.
"Lady Rin…" he had said, the small youkai who had served their lord through all obstacles.
Her face had lit up with a delightful surprise of his early return. Surely if Jaken was here, then her lord would be here also. But the devoted servant merely bowed his head low, then took off his hat and placed it against his heart.
"Rin…Sesshomaru-sama…during his battle he was struck, and-and…" Tears formed in his eyes and dripped to the floor with small sounds of their beating against the wood beneath his feet. But Rin couldn't hear them; she couldn't even see him anymore or breathe for that matter after she understood what he had said. All she saw was a dark tunnel of cold darkness which she fell into as she crumpled to the floor.
When Rin came to, she had to blink away the night that had covered her eyes. She lifted herself slowly up from her bed when the knowledge of his death hit her hard, showing no mercy. She gently rubbed her stomach, her grief too immense for tears. Getting up from her bed, she walked towards the window, slow as a ghost and quiet as death itself.
Now she still sat there, still as a statue, watching over the lands. Rin kept a hand on her large belly as though trying to soothe the unborn heir, and the other rested on the sill keeping her steady from slipping through the large window.
She stayed like that for three days. Food hadn't passed her lips, her mouth was dry and she hadn't spoken a word until shouts and cries came bounding through the halls of the castle.
"I don't believe it! I won't believe it! Where is she!"
"Inuyasha, calm down! You'll scare her!"
"Trust me, I'M CALM!"
"Inuyasha, don't you dare kick down that door!"
"Why not!"
"Because you're not being rational!"
"Can I kick it down if I do it rationally!"
"No!"
"Then I'll kick it down anyways!"
"SIT!"
A large crashing sound came from outside her door, and two brown eyes emerged from the doorway peeking into the room, scanning for its owner.
"Rin?" she said to the room as it echoed her words off the walls. It was then Kagome's gaze met the silhouetted figure of the forlorn girl.
Kagome walked briskly to Rin's side, her loafers clicking sharply on the floor.
"Rin, hun, are you alright?"
Rin's eyes turned for the first time in a long while to meet Kagome's worried face. It was then the dam broke from all the strain, all the emotions bottled inside for days, and it all met with Kagome's shoulder as the woman began to shake and sob.
Kagome pulled Rin into her arms, rubbing her back in slow up and down motions. She whispered calming words of assurance to the sad girl, giving her the hope that the miko knew had been lost. Inuyasha folded his hands into his haori, an intruder on a woman's grief. So it was true. His brother was gone from existence. Sad it couldn't have been himself to end his life…but he hadn't deserved to die with a pup on the way. It was a new emotion Inuyasha had never felt towards his brother, and it was strange. It was almost as if he actually missed him. Ha! He didn't miss him…not at all…not one little bit…nope…
Kagome lifted Rin's head from her shoulder, and brushed away the stray hairs from her face.
"Are you alright, Rin?"
Rin's lower lip trembled and her voice was shaky and hoarse.
"No, Rin is not alright…Sesshomaru-sama has broken his promise to Rin…he has broken his promise to Rin…Sesshomaru-sama is GONE!"
Again Kagome cradled her as best she could in her arms. Rin had lost weight, and there was no way all this stress was good for Rin or the baby.
"Rin-chan, we need to get you out of this room. Let's go outside to the fresh air and sunlight."
Rin reluctantly nodded and let herself be led out the door, away from her sanctuary, her safe zone.
She walked out the door, trying to keep her head up high and her steps sturdy. Kagome linked an arm with her, guiding her out from her room. Hoping something could ease her from her grief.
A gloom hovered over the castle, and though Kagome tried her best, nothing could lift Rin from the haze that had settled around her. Inuyasha kept silent, watching from afar the girl's heavy steps, and heavy heart. The girl's tears were something Inuyasha hated the most; mostly because there was nothing he could do to stop them. It was a sad time at the castle indeed, a terribly sad time.
It was a week of sorrow when a youkai dropped something off for Rin. Kagome and Inuyasha were at her back when she unraveled the soft silk that held the broom-shaped form. She didn't even have to unravel it far to know what it was. The Tensaiga lay across her lap; it's only protection the silk cloth it came in.
"Kagome-san…could you leave Rin alone for a moment?" Rin asked, her eyes swelling with sadness.
Kagome nodded, and steered Inuyasha from the room.
"We'll be back Rin…"
The door clicked softly behind her, and Rin gently lifted the sword. She carefully ran her hand up and down its dull edge while the other held its woven hilt. It was the only thing…the only thing left of her love…the only thing left.
Meanwhile, gathering forces of the East came upon the castle. Kagome and Inuyasha left Rin to help protect against it, knowing there was no way they'd put her in danger. The rumbling of the ground and war-cries of the youkai didn't bother Rin in the slightest. To be frank, she ignored it and focused upon the sword.
Tears spilled from her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time in a week. They dripped from her cheek and onto the sword.
The sword began to glow a soft blue as each tear fell onto the swords metal. Rin did not notice its glow, nor felt the pulse of the sword…except for one.
-Pulse-
Arg…
-PuLsE-
Where am I?
-PULSE-
Rin!
A clawed hand reached out from the giant mound of dirt, and soon with it, the body of the Great Lord Sesshomaru.
His hair stuck out in different places, his clothes looked no browner than the pile of dirt he had come from. He looked cautiously at his own hands, and felt his face.
How is this possible?
His eyes scanned the area until they met with an unfamiliar pair of eyes from a raccoon-youkai.
"You," Sesshomaru said commanding, "Where am I?"
"Y-y-y-you're in a pile of dirt…"
"Do not play coy with me demon!" raged the inu-youkai, his fangs growing, "What location am I in?"
"Y-y-y-you're in Aukna…I-i-it was fought over by the West…but since their leader died, the Eastern leader took over."
"What!" roared the enraged youkai. If what he said was true, then all his fighting, his leaving of Rin, his death, would all have been in vain.
The raccoon demon sunk back, "Y-y-yes, and they're going to attack the castle too."
Panic gripped Sesshomaru in its air-tight grasp and he lifted the plump demon with his claws. His eyes narrowed menacingly into an evil glare.
"It seems I have lost my sense of direction," his grip tightened, "Lend me some and tell me where the western castle is."
The raccoon struggled to breath and pointed his hand towards the west.
Sesshomaru threw the youkai to the ground and sprinted off as fast as he could, his fury combining with worry. The wind couldn't even keep up with him as he sped towards his castle, and much, much more.
""KAGOME! AIM FOR THEIR" –slash, splat, thump-"HEADS!"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO!"
"WELL THAT LAST ONE CAME A LITTLE TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT!"
"WELL THEN MOVE!"
"WELL THEN AIM!"
"MOVE!"
"AIM!"
An unending rush of soldiers oozed into the inner walls of the castle, and Inuyasha was doing his best to keep them at bay. What few soldiers were left uninjured fought together against the strong opposition. Kagome along with a few others shot arrows from one of the towers. Kagome's aim greatly improved, and was killing five at a time with her purification powers.
But the army still pressed on, and Inuyasha and Kagome could only do their best to keep the Eastern warriors away from the castle. Distracted by the large killing youkai grouped at the front of the castle, one slipped from their guard. He slinked through empty hallways, and ran down passageways until he reached where he wanted to go.
He opened the wooden door, and Rin's eyes widened.
The Lord of the Eastern Lands.
His red hair held in a high pony tail, his eyes a piercing green, his armor sparkling silver as though it was never tainted with blood, he stood in the doorway with his sword dangling dangerously at his side.
"My fair Lady of the Western Lands," he said with a mock bow, "It seems as though your mate isn't here to protect you."
Rin froze as he walked up to her, and his hand rose up and down against her cheek.
"How sad…"
Rin gripped her dress tightly, knowing he wasn't here to be nice.
"My, my," the Eastern King said, his gaze taking in her pregnant stomach, "It seems an heir to the throne is on the way…" he raised his sword from his sheath, "We can't have that, now can we?"
The shining metal of the sword shone in her eyes as he raised the sword higher and higher…
…and then brought it down…
To Be Continued...
Me: Only one or two more chapters to go folks!
Sabbi: Don't worry, we'll kill her if she doesn't update soon.
Corey: Can I use squirrels?
Sabbi: I'd use more than that…
Corey: -evil laughter-
Me: -nervous- anyways, if you want a faster way to contact me, see updates, or want to see a real profile of me, go to w w w . m y s p a c e . c o m / a n z u 2 ,(just get rid of the spaces)I may be nice and post never-before-seen previews of chapters I haven't posted yet/ or things I will never publish on FFN, so check there often.
Sabbi: Yes, We're on there too! Be our friends!
All: FUDGEMONKEYS!