Chapter 4- Rin's Discovery

Rin sat with her back pressed against the side of Lady Kaede's abode. Being pregnant with twins meant she was showing quicker. Already having such a small body didn't help, therefore she was planning ahead and using her days carefully by making baby blankets and clothing in the sunlight. Besides, making such things by candle light was far more difficult. Between series of stitching, she laid the material in her lap and closed her eyes to take breaks. Her bouts of morning sickness had ended, but the body aches had set in causing her to move a bit slower than usual. Again, all of this she didn't mind enduring, comforted by the thought they were both still with her.

Just then, Rin began to hear a mournful moaning. It was sorrowful, coming from just a few dwellings down. She gathered her materials into a basket and returned them inside before going to inspect.

Rin tapped gently against the door, before cracking it open. Under any other circumstances she would've left this woman be, but her strong sense of compassion lead her to ignore certain expectations. A woman sat in the corner of a room curled into a fetal position, weeping. Her brown hair was pulled back and her bangs hung upon her forehead.

"Aza," Rin drew closer and knelt down on her knees. Aza was a fellow villager who had two sons and a husband. They worked as a family to help provide food for the village by planting, harvesting, and hunting. When the woman heard Rin's voice, she tried to quiet herself, wiping her tears away from her eyes.

"My apologies…" she sniffled. "I didn't mean to alarm anyone." She unwrapped herself and took a more respectful pose mirroring Rin's posture.

"Please tell me, what's afflicting you?" Rin asked with her face conveying concern.

Immediately at the question she began to bite her lip, holding back another sob. Aza clutched her light blue clothes around herself. "This morning, my sons Hana and Achira left with their father. Although I do not go with them, I usually do my part to support their efforts by preparing their gear for them and other important materials should they encounter troubles." She paused and closed her eyes tight. She then turned slightly to retrieve two small daggers out from behind her. "These blessed daggers, I did not include, and now they are dead."

Rin felt her anguish and continued to listen respectfully.

"It was my duty to protect them and make sure they were prepared! How did I not include such important things you may ask?" Her eyes became full of fire and her head snapped up at Rin. "My husband suggested I let my sons prepare themselves for once to teach them responsibility, to learn how to care for themselves!" She was nearly yelling it. Her chest heaved as she fumed. "They were just boys!"

"Your husband…" Rin went to form a sentence, but Aza cut her off.

"He's dead too." The woman's face went from a somber expression, to a hideous grin. "I killed him!" She threw her head back and began to laugh maniacally. In the blink of an eye, the woman gathered the daggers and leapt for Rin. On top of her, the blades touched her throat drawing slight blood.

Rin was frozen with fear, not wanting to move an inch to prevent further damage.

"After I killed my husband, the demon who took the lives of my sons became one with me. I felt it was necessary, a part of my punishment! I am no longer Aza, I am Kirai! With these daggers I will take the life of any expecting mother who shows even the slightest hint of weakness! I want to save you from the pain, Rin! Don't you want that?"

Rin stared up at the crazed demon woman. Her brown eyes had turned red with blood lust and her teeth had turned to fangs. Rin felt pain in her abdomen as the weight of the demon pressed down upon her. Kirai went on, "I see you in tears as you make clothing each day. You know they'll eventually leave you! Never to return! You'll never see them again!" she screamed in Rin's face hysterically, in partial tears and also in anger. Rin began to realize just how much Kirai was wanting to project her pain onto her, desiring to inflict what she could in a cruel attempt to be understood. Despite how Rin's caring instincts wanted to empathize and sympathize with her, a voice in the back of her head was trying to rationalize.

In the blink of an eye, Kirai was ejected backwards, thrown through the side of her house. Rin screamed in agony, shooting up to grab her belly that was glowing with energy and swiftly soaking with blood. After the dust settled, Kirai appeared once more, looking more demonic by the minute. She appeared to be earthly of tree bark and twisted branches. "Just think, if they're already willing to hurt you before they're even born, you're offspring really will leave you and never return!" she bellowed.

"You're… wrong!" Rin shouted back, between frantic breaths.

Without any further taunting, a sacred arrow pierced the side of Kirai's head, putting an end to her life. As her remains dissipated, the daggers fell back to the Earth. Rin turned to her side in the fetal position, clutching her belly, screaming in pain. Although blood began to speckle the collar of her kimono from where Kirai's daggers had grazed her skin, it wasn't nearly as agonizing. The last thing she saw was Lady Kaede and Kagome rushing to her before passing out.

Coming to once more, Rin woke in a familiar place filled with cherry blossom trees and a pink sky. Her eyes moved around, but her body stayed still. The pain she had been in had subsided. To her left, she could see Lord Sesshomaru standing beside the koi pond. "Are they okay?" she asked, attempting to sit up, placing a hand over her abdomen. She was naked in the cool water. Near her feet, the koi circled after one another, emitting a peaceful, pleasant healing sensation.

"Rin. They were protecting you." Lord Sesshomaru reminded her.

His words echoed in her mind.

To her right, he had laid out fresh clothes for her. She moved to the side of the pond and pulled herself out by using rocks for leverage. He turned away from her to provide her privacy while she dressed. Once clothed, she walked around the pound to meet him. "They're not even born yet and they were strong enough to push Kirai back like that…" she reflected.

He glanced down at her. "She wasn't crying for her lost children, she was crying for you, Rin."

Feeling guilty, she hung her head low. "Learning to fight the urge to rescue others… isn't contrary to caring. You… you saw everything…"

Lord Sesshomaru turned to her, taking her by her shoulder to give her eye contact.

After a long while, he pressed his head against her forehead and transported them back to the fields just outside the village. "Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru, for caring enough to let me learn for myself." Rin watched him retreat until he was out of sight, before heading back to the house. Kagome and Lady Kaede were waiting for her, waving their arms.