"Will Rin return to us?"
"It is not for me to say."
Jaken immediately regretted his question. His lord's mood was already sour. Rin had recently become a most sensitive subject.
"Selfish brat," Jaken mumbled. "Causing Lord Sesshomaru such grievance-"
"Silence."
Jaken gulped, scooting behind a tree lest some new form of punishment befall him. But the punishment never came. His lord continued pacing back and forth among the trees, visibly distraught.
Either she returns, or she does not.
It was that simple, Sesshomaru reasoned. But when he imagined a future devoid of her, it sent an uncomfortable throb inside his chest. Something akin to a stab wound, penetrating through his armor.
She has never denied me.
He thought of the child he had lifted up from the dirt, so many years ago.
Rin has always been free to do as she pleases.
He thought of the woman he had left in the human village. He imagined her scent enveloped in herbs and spices, all those things that were good and human. He imagined the ease with which she carried herself among the other villagers, and the din of laughing children that followed her.
Now, too, she shall do as she pleases.
Now he is leaping through the human village. With a stroke of Bakusaiga, roads and farmland vaporize. He tears through the hut, the one where she is hiding. Her kind eyes tremble in recognition. Claws outstretched, he…
With a splash of cold water, the fantasy is shattered.
Sesshomaru struggled for breath as tidal waves crashed against his sides. He paddled furiously across the river, a giant beast with soaking-wet fur and lashing tail. He moved violently, directionlessly. At some point, his jaw snapped at something. It might have been a fish, or a drop of water. Gravel, twigs and sea-weeds caught in his fur.
Later, Jaken found him resting against a tree, in his usual form. His hair and clothes were wet. He appeared exhausted. They did not speak. Together, they watched the crackling of the fire. Jaken had picked up the uncanny habit of starting camp fires ever since…
Rin.
Rin sighed as she hauled a new log of wood and pushed it into the fire. She could not keep her mind away from the fact that, in less than a week, she would turn seventeen.
She hoped, for one, that Kagome would not make such a fuss about her birthday. Last time, she'd brought outlandish decorations along colorful pastries from her homeland. Kagome explained that birthdays were important in her culture, as a way to honor the person celebrating it.
But to Rin, her birthday would mean something else, too. Something that Kaede had long since prepared her for.
She would soon have to be wed.
Rin felt deeply grateful for those peaceful days in the village. She loved each villager so very much : every child she'd delivered, every grandparent buried, every friend she'd made. But it pained her to know that her life must change somehow, in a grand way that seemed beyond her control.
Neither could she pretend that she was still that little girl, who used to run in the meadows at a great demon's feet. She could not, try as she might, believe that she could return to those days of innocence.
On that day, you must give me an answer.
She thought of that voice, the one she'd always known and loved. But this time, it was laced with some new emotion, foreign and indecipherable to her. It scared her.
She touched the ivory blade tucked in her breast, and was comforted.
"Hello?"
A knock at the door jostled Rin out of her reverie. She ran up to the door, and found Kohaku.
"I'm so glad to see you," Kohaku said. "It's been a while."
Rin couldn't help but beam, delighted by the surprise visit. "So you're back?"
"Only for a little," Kohaku said, smiling back. Kirara mewled on his shoulder.
Since his last visit, he'd become a little taller, his voice a little deeper. He was handsome and youthful, that much she could admit to herself. But most of all, his brown eyes looked upon her with the most exquisite tenderness.
Come in," she offered. "Tell me what you need. And I'll make you some tea…"
"Just water is fine," he was quick to counter. "I truly don't want to bother you."
"Not a bother at all." She fetched some water from the bucket she'd prepared earlier in the day and poured it into the pot, which went over the roaring fire.
"I was wondering if you had some medicine," he said. "My friend Kuzu, who is also a slayer, was bitten by a vine demon. It doesn't look deadly, but he's had a reaction of some sort."
Rin listened as Kohaku described symptoms, which seemed like light miasma poisoning. While they waited for the water to boil, she rummaged through her stash of medicines. She kept them stored in little bags, tucked into a drawer that Kagome and Inuyasha helped her build. At last, she found a little dried root.
"Let me grind this into a powder," she said. "Bring the powder to Kuzu, and rub it into his wound. It should help. If he's not better in a day, come back."
"How can I repay you?" Kohaku asked, as they sipped the tea together. It was tea from the finest leaves, which Rin kept only for her most important guests. Meanwhile, Kirara lapped contentedly at a bowl of milk.
"Come by more often," she said despite herself.
Kohaku's smile grew wider.
"After all… soon, I might not be here anymore."
Kohaku's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"He... wants an answer."
Kohaku blinked again, not quite yet understanding.
"Lord Sesshomaru wants an answer." Rin sighed, tipping back the teacup before discovering that it was empty. "On the night of my seventeenth birthday… I must choose if I go or stay."
Kohaku tilted his head inquisitively. "You've always wanted to go, no?"
Rin looked at Kohaku, at his handsome young innocent face full of kindness. Ever since those long-ago days, he had grown and so had she.
"I guess… I worry that I'll miss this village."
He nodded, listening intently. "And what if you don't go?"
"I'm afraid he'll get angry at me."
"Then come with me instead," Kohaku blurted. Realising his mistake, his face became bright pink. "I mean, well… we slayers always need more hands on deck."
She smiled, blushing too.
"I'd never hurt you or get angry at you," he whispered.
Rin felt her heartbeat accelerate, the way that his surely was, too. He was close to the side of the fire, and the flames cast warm shadows over his face. He was close to her as well, such that if she reached out, surely her hand would find the side of his warm and gentle face. Images flashed before her eyes. Kohaku and her, holding hands. Kohaku and her, their children playing in the forest… Kohaku and her, growing old together.
"And if I don't come with you, Kohaku... what will you do?"
He considered this, with that same gentle gaze. And her chest swelled with sadness.
"I'd let you do as you wish," he finally said.
"Thank you," she said.
They turned away from each other, suddenly shy.
She squeezed him tight as they said goodbye. She watched him disappear in the distance on Kirara's back. She stood there, even when there was nothing more to see.