Chapter 10

Sitting in the grass, Rin held her two children in her arms. They appeared no older than two, but no younger than one. She cradled them against her chest, staring down into their wide eyes. Where they had come from, where they had been, or how they had gotten there alluded her. In the moment, all she knew was that she wouldn't let anything come between them ever again. She never wanted them to even leave her sight. "Towa, Setsuna…" she kissed the tops of their foreheads.

Master Jaken stood beside her, waving his hands and staff, "Rin! Don't you ignore me!" Her eyes were still hazed over and she seemed to be in another place entirely, clinging to the burlap sacks. Just then a woman stepped out from behind a tree. Her clothing was dirty, for it looked as though she were wearing a brown sack. The closer she drew, the more Jaken could tell she was a demon rather than a human. "Who are you? Stay back!" Jaken opened the fire on his staff as if warning her to keep her distance.

She stopped and answered in a monotone voice. "I am Marukai. I am the skin shed by the snake demon, Necromaru."

Jaken now understood, it wasn't a sack she wore at all, rather the scaly remnants of a demon. He shuttered at the disgusting thought. "What do you want? Are you doing this to Rin?"

"I seek a vessel of my own, for I am hollow," her voice sounded empty. "This woman is disillusioned by her own desires. Should she continue to deny reality, she will forfeit her body to me."

"Like Hell she will!" Master Jaken opened the flame of his staff once more. The demon caught on fire but did not scream or yell. Instead, dry flakes of skin and ash rose into the hair from where she once stood.


Lord Sesshomaru's body was covered in snake bites, from his shoulders, his arms, down the flanks of his sides, and even his legs. His white fur intensified the sight of flood. The miasma was so thick now, it was hard to see through the purple haze with just one partially open eye. As for Lord Necromaru, he had coiled into a round disk-like object, with his head cocked back, ready to strike. His scales were bloody and damaged in several places. His loud hissing continued, coinciding with his breaths.

Sesshomaru closed his one eye and his legs began to buckle beneath him. His body devolved back into its human form, encompassed in an orb of light, before disappearing into the distance. Despite efforts to prevent the dog demon's escape, Necromaru also returned back to his previous form. His armor was busted in several places and he bled from his side, his neck, and his cheek. Making his way over to his two swords, he breathed heavily, stopping to gather his energy along the way. "That f~cking mutt!" he picked the fangs up, grasping in pain when he bent over. He put the weapons back in their sheaths, before falling forward unconscious.

There his body stayed for quite some time in an area devoid of life. The grass and trees had died around him, the sky was filled with a putrid pollution. No signs of movement were present until Marukai approached. She floated over the ground to his side as if she were light as paper. She leaned down on her knees beside him. "Lord Necromaru…" she attempted to cover him with her body, as if embracing him.

The sensation brought him back and he was angered at once. Lifting himself up with right his right hand, he smacked her with his left. "I've outgrown you! Touch my skin again and you will cease to exist!"

She drew back, appearing to lack fear or any emotion at all. "My Lord, now that I'm no longer a part of you, I can become something more to you than just, outgrown."

His body began to lift from the earth as he grimaced, preparing to make his leave.


In the early morning, Rin hadn't slept a wink, nor had she moved from her seat against the base of a tree trunk. She failed to respond to the scent of food, the light of day, or any other aspect of her surroundings. Master Jaken had tried several ways to bring the girl back to reality such as yelling in her ears and shaking her by her shoulders. Currently he had left her to fetch water from the river to splash in her face. While the little green demon was out, Lord Sesshomaru appeared.

Haggard, his kimono was ripped and bloody and his armor was broken where Necromaru had attacked his shoulder. One sleeve of his clothing was missing, exposing the partially blackened, necrotized tissue of his arm where the venom ran deep. In front of him, Rin's gaze appeared distant, as she held onto the inanimate objects in her grasp. He approached with caution, slightly limping due to the injuries he had sustained. Rin was rocking and humming. There were no injuries more painful that seeing her in such a way.

He refrained from calling her name, seeing the distance in her eyes, and feeling it in his chest. He then bent down and attempted to press his forehead against hers, only to discover the sanctity of their unity had been tampered. He gritted his teeth angrily, pressing both his fists against the ground, to get back up.