Annnnnnd here's another one, because I have the energy, for some reason, to write now.
"With you, I am made strong. Without you I shall surely fall..." -Shippo to his wife, Souten of the thunder demon tribe
"May I go with you?"
Sesshomaru felt as though he'd had the breath knocked out of him. He was stunned. It wasn't enough that Rin was holding onto the human for too long, making Sesshomaru more than a little annoyed. She was his and no one was allowed to touch what was his unless they wanted to, let's see, die. She just had to say something like that. Where did she think she was going?
Sesshomaru could feel conflicting emotions raging through his body. This man, so strangely standing before them, was family to Rin. Family to someone Sesshomaru believed was stranded when he'd found her—or better yet, when she found him. And now this bastard, with no justifiable story to tell, had Rin look to him with what could only be described as hope.
He wanted to snatch her away and fly into the sky. He knew he could not for the timing was deplorable. How could he take her from this man who claimed to be blood of her blood? Yet, how could he accept her desire to leave so suddenly? She was not well, and even more important, they had yet to prove whether this man truly was her kin.
With a sniff, Sesshomaru confirmed the validity of this statement and grimaced. Though masculine, their scents were nearly identical. Riu simply had an add-on aroma, consisting of sweat and grime.
Emotions spread across his chest, encompassing his mind and soul. He hated every second of it. It was all her fault he felt in the first place. Before Rin came into his life, everything was just about moving through the motions. He walked wherever he wanted and did whatever he desired.
But then she came along, while he was resting at the face of a tree, wounded and weak—because of a fight he and his half brother had long ago, about a mundane sword Sesshomaru didn't even care about any longer. She brought him fish and water, and tried to make him smile and eat. He never smiled and he never ate (human food was disgusting), but he did pay attention to her. Only a fool wouldn't pay mind to the sweet angel. She was so innocent and fragile.
At first, when he saw her, she sickened Sesshomaru, but she continued visiting, and he grew to tolerate her company. It was better than having Jaken at his side. Besides, no one ever tried to help Sesshomaru simply because they cared for him. Jaken stood by him because he was indebted to the demon for saving his life. But Rin, she didn't owe him anything. She went to him by her own volition and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't admire that about her, because he did.
After a week of seeing her, Rin suddenly up and vanished. He wondered where she went, and when finally he grew healthy enough to move on, he did so—and found her on the floor, dead. His heart ached when he looked at the girl, an occurrence with no prior precedent.
He took out Tensaiga and sliced her—or at least, it looked as if he did so. Instead of killing her, the sword brought Rin back to life (which was its purpose). He held her in his arms while she awoke, and when she gazed into his eyes, he knew, then and there, that when she grew up, she was going to be his everything.
He glared daggers at her for the first time in twelve years. How dare she ask that man to take her away from him!
Riu had to curb his excitement over this news. Could it be true? It had been so long since he had seen his family; if he could find just one, it would please him for the rest of his days. For years, he was alone, wandering the world, in attempt to find a place to call home. Nothing satisfied his soul, which was why he returned. Reconciling with his kin would be confirmation that this was where he belonged.
Even so, he frowned at the woman, because it was fairly odd of her to ask such a thing to a stranger. When he turned to the demon, he found it staring at the back of her head, and he looked paler than anyone would deem healthy. He was trying to mask his feelings, but Riu could see the twitching of his jaw and the thin lining of his lips.
It was very clear that Sesshomaru did not want Rin to leave.
"That is not necessary," he said slowly. "I simply need directions. I think it would be best for you to stay here. You are clearly hurt. Surely, you should focus your energy toward recovery and in finding the people who did this to you."
He was never told this fact, yet her scars were evidence enough. He also believed the demon cared for the woman. He did not appear to be the kind of beast to harm her, not after how Riu found him comforting her earlier. Perhaps he was an anomaly of his kind. Stranger things have happened.
The demon's head cracked, with eyes ablaze. "I will destroy them," he hissed. "No one else."
Rin didn't even look at Sesshomaru when she said, "Lord Sesshomaru, I don't need you to protect me."
Did the female not know what she was doing to Sesshomaru? He felt as if he'd been punched in the heart. Not the gut—this hurt ten times worst. Was this the reason she stood by his side all these years? Because she felt secure and protected? Was he some kind of substitute for another man?
Sesshomaru said nothing. But he did look away from her. He stared at a tree to his right. Simmering, he brooded over this disaster of a day and nearly glowered. Except a new, clearer thought came to mind, with a question that nagged at the teeth of his hairs. Why did Rin not tell the man who she was? He frowned, pondering this, then listened to the man speak.
"Miss Rin," he whispered, leaning closer to her. "You shouldn't have said that. I'm sure that hurt the demon's feelings."
Sesshomaru almost growled in denial. It was true, but he didn't want Rin to know she hurt him, nor anyone else. That would let them know that words-especially hers-could wound him.
Her eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" she whispered back. "How would you know how he feels? I've been with him for twelve years and I still can't read him."
How, indeed.
"Yeah. Well, I can."
Oh, really now?
"He's been protecting you for years, like you said, and if you were hurt while in his charge, it is his duty to fight for you."
"I don't want him to fight for me."
Last straw.
"Rin."
She turned to look at Sesshomaru. He said her name so softly, had it been a windy day, the sound would have been carried away. He observed her, peering into her own eyes. She gulped, unnaturally nervous. It sickened Sesshomaru and he had so many questions to ask her, but time was being wasted on this talk. They needed to move and she needed to do so with him.
"The men have been given an advantage over time, and we are wasting it on nothing. Let us move."
He said nothing more. He just started to walk.
They all followed.
Sesshomaru lifted his nose and sniffed the air. Moss, grass and water filled his nostrils, along with a feint scent of human sweat. The men who had harmed Rin—damn them to everlasting hell—walked northeast of the forest. There was a village about a mile from here, so they probably rested there. It was still early in the morning, so they mustn't have meandered too far.
He listened to the two following behind him. Rin kept tripping over sticks and branches, but Riu helped her up every time. That should have been his job. Unfortunately, he could not even touch her. Not while he knew she didn't want him with her.
Sesshomaru was taking longer strides so he could be a good distance away from the two. He didn't want to listen to what they were saying to each other. A ten-foot distance and a strong focus on killing the bastards ahead would allow him to shut them out of his head.
She was probably asking Riu if she could leave with him again because only God-knew-why. He didn't want to think about that, but it kept coming up. No matter. She wasn't leaving, and that was final. If this idea of hers came because she wanted to settle down somewhere to heal, then he'd take her home. He didn't like the place (after all, he was a dog and he liked to roam around; he'd been doing it so long, not even Jaken knew), but he'd settle down for her.
He'd do nearly anything just so she would stay with him.
He began to walk faster. The bandit's scents were getting thicker, surrounding him. It seemed the idiots did not plan to go to the village. They decided to stay in the forest and camp nearby.
Fools.
Sesshomaru began to run, swerving and dashing through groves and shrubs. He dashed while he heard Riu and Rin yell at him to slow down, but he didn't listen. He was angry, frustrated and annoyed—and he needed to vent it all out on someone. The five men would suffice—
Wait. Five? He only smelled four different scents on Rin. But now… Well, now there was a new scent. The person smelled like thunderstorms in spring. Was there another being who decided to stay behind while they hurt her? This person actually smelled decent, while the others were disgusting.
He continued on for about five more minutes, until he stopped behind a wide evergreen tree that stood before a round, open clearing, empty of trees. Sunlight filled the area, brightening all life surrounding it. There was a fire built ten feet away from where he was. The humans he'd sniffed out were sitting on the grass, encircling it. Four were cooking slices of pig meat on their own sticks, while a girl was looking up at the sky with a mournful frown on her face. Sesshomaru decided he would question her after he killed the others. And he would. Oh, yes. He ran his tongue over his teeth, relishing this massacre. His teeth were sharpening while this occurred.
Rin and Riu came behind him a second later, gasping for air.
"What the hell was that about, Sesshomaru?" Riu rasped.
Sesshomaru chose not to answer because 1) Riu annoyed him. Who gave him the right to speak to Sesshomaru on a first name basis? 2) The answer was obvious. He waited for Riu to notice the fire right in front of them. When he did, his breath caught.
Rin saw them too, for she gasped and began to retreat. "Those-Tho-"
Riu grabbed her shoulders, preventing her from taking flight.
"Are they the ones who hurt you, Rin?"
She nodded as tears blurred her vision, but blinked when she noticed something off. There was a girl with the evil lechers. She had brownish hair, mixed with red, and skin as pale as ivory. Her body was muscular but thin.
She wasn't with them before.
"The girl did nothing wrong. Don't hurt her."
"You don't know that. She could have watched the whole thing."
She shook her head. "She wasn't even with them. The clearing was large. I looked around after I saw the old man and the others."
"Which old man?"
She pointed to an elder with no shirt. He was the only one who was bald. His face was oddly bruised and somewhat scarred. Had Rin put up a fight before they were able to get the best of her?
"That one," she whispered.
"Alright." Riu rubbed his hands together. "I've got a plan. We—"
Sesshomaru didn't bother waiting for him to finish. He leapt into the sky and morphed into his demon form. When he came down, he let out a loud roar that ran through the air, making them all jump. It caused the hairs on Riu's skin to stand.
They scrambled to grab their weapons, but the youth ran off. Sesshomaru stared at the four half-nude men. He wanted to rip their heads off from their bodies, then spit it out of his mouth so he could step on them. Just thinking about it set his blood afire.
He jumped in front of a middle aged man with black hair, and grabbed hold of his stomach with sharp teeth. He tasted blood and promised to wash his mouth after he was done. As the man screamed for his comrade's to aid him—
"Help me! Ritsu, please!"
—Sesshomaru bit down, crushing his innards. The man screamed in anguish once, then gurgled as the blood that was filling his mouth, began to choke him. Sesshomaru's grip on him tightened and he felt something pop in his mouth. Soon after the sound, the man stopped screaming. Sesshomaru tossed the dead fool away and ran to get the other two, fifteen feet to his right. Their swords were raised and tears were streaming down their cheeks. He slammed his tail against one with a large scar on his face, sending him into the air. The man flew thirty feet up—and then came down with a loud crash. Sesshomaru heard the bones crack from his head and flashed an evil smile.
He looked into the horrified brown eyes of the other man, and then spun around to kick him with one of his hind legs. The man flew into the broken branch of a tree. His backside ran right through it, immediately impaling him. This action failed to kill him instantly, but it did leave him choking on his own blood.
Sesshomaru saved the best for last.
The man Rin pointed to was limping toward the dark of the woods. He had a sword on his right hand and was slashing away at foliage to get through. Sesshomaru growled and leapt into the air. He flew over trees, then caught up to the vile human, who cried out and tripped over a log on the ground. Saliva, which soared from Sesshomaru's mouth, landed on the beast and seared his flesh with a sizzle. He fell to the floor and howled.
"Wait! Wait!" the hell bound creature beseeched. "Please, don't do this. Please! I did nothing wrong! Have you demon's not had enough of us? Revenge was given!"
What a cryptic use of one's last words, Sesshomaru mused. It was no use in begging. For one such as he, there was no such thing as mercy. He hurt Rin-no. He did far worst in his attempt to destroy the only being Sesshomaru cared for. It was time for him to die.
Sesshomaru bared his teeth and growled; the sound came out monstrous and foul. It dripped with malice. He grabbed the man's left foot with his mouth and lifted him into the air. He shook him while the human screamed. The damned fool wouldn't let go of his sword and tried to stab Sesshomaru as he flailed it, left and right.
Sesshomaru slammed the human onto the ground, breaking God knew how many bones, and then stepped on his foot with his large white paw. The man let out an ear-splitting scream so loud even Sesshomaru winced. He smashed the other foot anyway, and that was when the man stopped moving.
Sesshomaru exhaled and inhaled slowly. An eerie quiet descended.
It was over.
He killed the evil men and now Rin was safe from harm.
He felt little comfort. She wanted to leave him.
He lifted his head, facing the black forest, and began to walk away. As he passed the broken heap, heading toward Rin, he heard an intake of breath. It came from the man who, apparently, was still alive.
Sesshomaru was impressed. Truly, he was. Sometimes the strength of mortals surprised him because of how adrenaline worked within them. It allowed one to endure so much pain, after all.
He lifted his leg to smash the man's head with his foot, but the human quickly lifted his sword. Sesshomaru stepped down to kill him, but with his dying breath, the lech bellowed, a loud, desperate sound, and stabbed Sesshomaru's right heel.
Sesshomaru howled and collapsed on the ground. He grabbed the sword with his teeth, and tore it out of his heel. A roar split from his lips. Ripples of agonizing pain spread throughout his body, as red and black blood gushed from his wound. Wave after wave of something akin to fire circulated through his leg, causing him to tremble with each pulse. He stopped breathing for about five seconds.
Sesshomaru's body soon began to change back into his human-like form and he groaned. He was sweating like a human who'd just run a marathon that lasted for weeks, and he hurt like hell. He could hardly move, let alone breathe.
After a few seconds, the waves began to subside. He was still in terrible pain, but he tried desperately to ignore it and moved; lying around did him no good. It never did. Besides, he had to get back to Rin, because he feared she would leave him if he didn't. So, he forced himself up, using his elevating powers, and winced through it all.
He awkwardly levitated himself to stand on one foot. And damn, he felt ill now. Walking was not going to work out well for him. He'd have to hide his pain. Somehow. He'd done it many times before. He could do it again, just so long as he didn't put too much pressure on the wound.
Sesshomaru ground his teeth together.
And then he flew up.
Sesshomaru returned to the campsite while the sun was beginning to set. He did not go far, making sure Rin's scent remained nearby, but he did so to tend to his wounds before he came back. Currently, his foot was wrapped in bandages. He'd licked the wound, but it ran deep and would probably take a day or two to fully heal. He could walk, but it came out awkward.
He found Rin kneeling down by a fire, warming her hands as she fed it with logs. Riu and the youth were at the edge of the site, by a large, red tree. The pale female had tears in her eyes and she was muttering something frantically, gesticulating wildly.
A cool breeze wafted through the clearing, causing the trees to sway in nature's own rhythm. Animals of the day were falling into slumber. The birds were quieting, and the creatures of the night were creating a song all their own.
Sesshomaru glanced from Rin to the youth and decided to tend to the human before he went to her. He wanted to chat with her about this abrupt desire to abandon him, and he needed to be calm to do that first. Taking part in a brief interrogation would probably help, as it used to in the past, allowing him to learn about his enemies artlessly, and provided a form of alleviation. The girl looked no more than eighteen years of age, her brown, tattered clothing in disarray and she was barefoot. She had auburn hair, sharp canine teeth, yellow-green eyes and—
She was a half demon.
Sesshomaru couldn't believe it. The girl didn't even have the half human, half demonic aura that usually surrounded his kind. She should have smelled a bit like Inuyasha. Only she didn't. She appeared and smelled completely human. But her teeth and those eyes...
They were definitely demonic.
"Who are you?" Sesshomaru said when he stood before her.
The girl yelped and fell backwards. She winced as she toppled over a discarded tree branch and then bowed in front of Sesshomaru. She hadn't even noticed he was beside her, so noiseless was the Demon Lord.
"L-lord Sesshomaru," she shrieked. "I'm sorry! Please do not kill me."
Sesshomaru's brow knit together in a frown. Riu blinked and then stared openly at them both, bemused. The human crossed his arms akimbo and scowled. "Look who's back," he told Sesshomaru. "Mr. I-fight-solo decided to return."
Sesshomaru paid him no mind. "Who are you?" he asked again, trying to place the creature.
The girl sat up slowly and wrapped her arms around her legs in a way that looked as if she were trying to protect herself. Her fox-coated skirt went high above her knees and she had scars all over her legs, that climbed from her ankles, up to—
She pushed her skirt down.
"My-my name is Yuki, Lord Sesshomaru. I was a carpenter in the village not too far from here. They took me two we-weeks ago..." She swallowed and blushed. She looked away.
Riu stepped in. "Do you have any family left behind, Yuki?"
Yuki shook her head. "I'm an orphan. The villagers tolerated my presence because I was good with carpentry, but they didn't want me there. Except for Totosanne. He knew my parents and cared for my mother." Yuki bowed her head as a tremor wracked her body. She began to weep. "Totosanne died a month ago of a heart attack. And then... Then they came to my village to buy some supplies to camp here. They saw me and-"
"The villagers sold you," Sesshomaru finished. He felt ill at ease watching the girl snivel.
A tear trickled down her cheek. "Yes."
Riu wiped his hands. "Well, they're dead now, so you're free."
The girl looked at him with a demure sense of wonder and smiled.
Sesshomaru glanced at Rin through the side of his eyes. She was lying on the ground, in repose, and her breathing was even. Good. She needed to relax. After the last day's debacle, she needed all the rest she could get. Sesshomaru was conveying her to his dwelling the second she desired to arise.
He moved toward a nearby tree and settled himself on the ground. No one noticed how pale he became or the sweat that glistened on his skin. The wound was throbbing like a heart beat. The pain he felt from sitting wasn't all-consuming, but he did have to grit his teeth and bite the side of his mouth in order to relax and ignore it. In an effort to do so, he placed his mokomoko between his legs and questioned the girl some more.
Yuki was in the middle of speaking to Riu, when Sesshomaru interrupted her, and said, "Were you there when they hurt her?" He pointed at Rin's form. His voice was a bit unsteady, but they didn't seem to notice.
"I wasn't with them. They tied me to this tree, until they returned from taking a bath in the river. When they returned, they spoke of a woman they encountered. One which they sought to conquer. Why?" And then she sat ramrod straight. She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "Was she the one they—"
Riu stiffened and saw red. He grabbed Yuki's arm and squeezed. Hard.
Riu turned furiously to Sesshomaru and gritted his teeth so hard together, he thought they'd shatter. He wasn't paying attention to the arm he was holding so hard it could break if he didn't let go soon. "They. Did. What?" he forced out.
Sesshomaru said nothing.
Riu's throat closed and his breathing came out in heavy rasps. "Rin was...?"
"This is no concern of yours, Riu," Sesshomaru said, though his tone was somewhat fatigued. "I healed all of her wounds. She will no longer hurt. The pain was anesthetized by my saliva."
"How can you say that?" Riu snapped, only half hearing that Sesshomaru healed her with his saliva. He made sure his voice was low enough so Rin would not stir. He let go of Yuki's arm. "How can you even think that?"
Sesshomaru's brow creased. " She will heal."
"Maybe physically," Riu said, holding back his rage. His voice was tremulous. "She may heal physically, but not emotionally or mentally. I know for a fact she is tortured inside."
Silence. Then, "You truly believe this?"
"Just look into her damned eyes. They'll tell you everything."
Riu was furious, though why, he could not fathom. Perhaps it was because an innocent had been harmed. Or, and this was more likely, Rin evoked in him a sense of nostalgia. She looked so much like his past, it made him ache.
He wished he could bring those damn bastards back to life so he could kill them this time. He—
Riu glared at Sesshomaru. "Why didn't you save her? Where the hell were you?"
Sesshomaru didn't have to explain himself to anyone. He felt it rich that this question was coming from one who abandoned Rin ages ago. But for some reason, he felt compelled to. "It was time for her to go hunting for her human food. We do not eat the same things. She went her way and I went mine."
"Why didn't you go with her, damn it? She's a woman!"
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes to tiny slits. "I fail to see your point. She is just as strong as any human male. I trained her myself for two years. It just so happened that four of them decided to attack her. And you should not be fooled. Some of the strongest demons in the world are female." One only had to meet his mother to know that. She was even stronger than him. "I can wager if you were to fight Rin, she'd beat you to a pulp."
Riu's lips twitched, but he would not smile. Now was not the time to find humor in anything. "You seem confident in her abilities. Why, then, could she not fight them?"
Sesshomaru pointed at a third sword, seated on his left thigh, beside Tensaiga and Bakusaiga.
"She didn't have her sword," he replied, as if that explained everything.
When Sesshomaru left Rin, he'd visited his late father's sword-smith, Totousai. The demon constructed a weapon perfect for Rin's use. Sesshomaru ordered one a few months ago and Totousai told him yesterday would be the ideal time to get it. The two-foot sword was sleek and light, but it could slice in two anything, man or demon.
It was a gift for her; one he knew Rin would treasure since she'd often inquire about getting one. He hadn't prior to this because he wanted her to have the best, and such a thing took a considerable amount of time. Now, he realized, he should have given her a simple sword. It would have saved her from the mess that came from yesterday.
Riu cracked his knuckles, bringing Sesshomaru back to the present.
"Why didn't you give it to her before?" the human had the audacity to spit out. Honestly, were he not Rin's sibling, he would easily have thrashed the man by now. This was a rather curious happenstance, considering he had never cared for siblings before. Why, anyone with the slightest knowledge of his past knew he didn't even care for his own flesh and blood.
"It was a gift I acquired yesterday."
"You should have gotten it before," Riu muttered.
There was no sense in denying the truth, so he nodded. "Yes."
Sesshomaru glanced back at Rin and watched her as she rested. She was curled up in a little ball. Her hair was cascading down her back, falling onto the ground, and red and green leaves tangled with her long, brown strands. She depicted a forest nymph; one he could recall with ease, traipsing along grassy hills, with laughter floating behind.
Longing for the days before this certain misery erupted from within. He found himself wanting nothing more than to lie beside her, stare into her eyes and get lost there, if only for a moment. He would—soon. And if she was in pain, like Riu said, he wanted to take her into his arms and whisper the many ways he could heal her.
With his words.
With his hands.
With his tongue...
All she had to do was look at him, for since he returned, she had not.