Chapter 6

On the floor of the hut, Rin stared off at the wall. She seemed to be in another place entirely.

The scent of smoke was strong in the air. The sounds of screams could be heard for a short while. When raging flames was all that remained to be heart, Rin felt an eerie sensation fill her body. She stood near the trunk of a tree on the outskirts of her village. "Rin!" a voice behind her called out with all the energy left he could muster. "Your mother and I can no longer be with you… Leave this place…"

"Papa?" she saw him limp towards her. Once he was closer, she could see the wounds from battle up close. Even as a human, she could smell the scent of iron from all the bloodshed. Before he could reach her, to give his daughter one last hug goodbye, he toppled to the ground. He heart sank in her chest knowing that his was no longer beating. In an instant, everything and everyone she had ever known was now gone. She fell to her knees with tears in her eyes.

Rin began to remember the time spent in isolation after bandits had sacked her village. She remembered how hard it had been to connect with others, even after becoming an orphan. What if that same fate was to befall Setsuna and Towa? What if they were to feel they didn't belong in this world?

About a year after the attack on her village, Rin lived as an orphan in the home of an abusive couple. They only wanted children to put them to work, receiving profit and giving nothing in return to them. Rin remembered having to hunt and gather food just so they could eat. She was punished if she accepted handouts from neighbors or raised any suspicions. Rin even went as far as to steal food at times when even she herself was malnourished to the point of not being able to hunt or gather.

One night, Rin had received a beating that'd she'd never forget for attempting to steal a melon from a farmers field. He whipped her with a stick, tearing her clothes, and breaking her skin. On her hands and knees, unable to talk, she stared up at the cruel man. He was balding, wearing his hair back in a bun. With what little strength she could muster, she gathered herself and moved towards the melon once more.

"After all that and you're still going to steal from me, right in front of my own eyes?!" he shouted, raising his stick one more.

Rin slightly flinched but kept focused on her goal. Unfortunately, she could not lift it anymore. There, she passed out.

The following morning, Rin woke up on the melon. Her mouth was dry and her lips crusted with blood. The farmer was nowhere to be found. She carried out her goal, taking lots of breaks on the way back to their hut, only to be met with hostility. "You didn't come home last night you filthy child! This is all your fault! Now Raya has gone and died after worrying sick about you!" she heard him yelling, this man who was to be a father figure to her. Rin listened to them belittle her, but they did not lay a finger on her this time. She was still badly wounded from the night before. Silently, she continued through the hut to where her orphan sister's body lay and positioned herself beside her.

Humanity continued to reveal to her its wicked ways, more heinous that demons. However, if she could continue to be a light in the world, there was still hope that at least some of them were capable of good. This is what kept her going and what she felt inspired others to keep going around her. She would be a pillar of strength in her own way.

Rin could feel another presence beside her now and she turned her head to find Lord Sesshomaru. His eyes were closed, displaying the red of his lids. Slowly, she sat up, causing him to stir. He positioned himself so that he was sitting with one leg bent against the ground and the other up where his forearm could rest against his thigh. He reached behind himself and presented a leaf of food, setting it next her, then stood.

Rin peered up and him, recalling the day they met, when she had offered him food in a similar fashion. He declined her on both occasions, letting her know that demons do not eat what humans eat. Rin stuck her shaking hand out to bring a mushroom to her mouth. Seeing her take a bite, he felt more secure in making his exit.

"Lord Sesshomaru…" Rin said.

He peered over his shoulder at her with the screen raised.

She smiled gently at him. A flashback of her with a missing tooth and bruises from head to toe flashed in his mind. It was she who taught him the value of humanity, through her resiliency that came from within.