This chapter is sponsored by the latest episode of my podcast (streaming everywhere) Body of an Extravert Season2 Episode 5 – Dream Chaser Series! My podcast guest is none other than fanfiction and Inuyasha fandom writer, ELOHINIAR! Elohiniar is an incredibly gifted writer, mother, friend, and a daily dose of inspiration. In today's episode, we talk, fanfiction, the Inuyasha sequel, & of course all things Sesshomaru & Rin! If you haven't already check out her SessxRin series, yes series on fanfiction & A03! For more info, tune into our episode – live now on Youtube, Spotify, Anchor, & anywhere else you listen to podcast! Please feel free to like, comment, share & SUBSCRIBE to the podcast, to Elohiniar on twitter and to myself on Instagram estherale24_7.


"It's nothing short of a miracle," the woman whispered.

A deep gravelly voice responded, "But she hasn't woken? How long will it be before she wakes?"

"We don't know, " the woman slayer replied, "but aside from a few nasty scrapes and bruises, she is healed and should be bathed."

Sesshomaru urged his body to wake as he cracked a golden orb to take note once more of his state. The slayers were up and about, tending to their wounded, there were whispers of inquired well beings and moans of pain but as there was no stench of death; so he concluded that he had not killed any of them in his rage.

"A miracle?" someone scoffed. "This manifestation of evil? She was at the doorstep of death, her savior is a demon lord! She could open her eyes and devour us for all we know."

"Oh be reasonable" someone pleaded.

"Reasonable? You are too quick to forget the half-demon Naraku, who caused more darkness to befall the lot of us, than the very ogres we hunt now." the slayer replied. "She should be dead."

"So will you see to it, that you finish the job? The kami use who they deem fit for what they deem fit." the gravel voice ground out in an authoritative tone. "You'd be wise to hold your tongue and make yourself scarce."

"Yes, Kohaku-sama." the other voice intoned softly.


It took next to nothing to listen in on the conversation taking place at the opposite end of the cave. His sensitive ears could pick out the light but hoarse voice of the woman who had attended to Rin during the evening.

It was day time now, though by look and feel of it, one could hardly tell. It was overcast, the clouds conspiring against any and all rays of sunshine that could touch the fields or the lip of the cave where the Lord of the West sat unmoving.

His eyes remained closed and his body relaxed as he rested. He had never felt so drained, so exhausted, not after rounds of sex, not after battles, and not even after war. Having lost a piece of his youkai was a more tiresome feat than he had been prepared for. It was only the initial component of mating, which was usually a laborious but enjoyable process in and of itself for daiyoukai.

Even a daiyoukai of great power would be weakened after the exchange, after all, it was one piece of youkai gone, for one gained. It took time to prepare one's youkai, to produce the amount needed to sliver a piece of oneself out and into another, and without having prepared, without having even thought of the process except to save Rin in her last moments, every cell in his body was feeling the effects. It was especially exhausting because Rin had no youkai of her own to implant in him. Her life energy, though he could feel it stirring within him, was as good as having nothing. This was the loss he had suffered and to recoup what was lost, he would need more rest before even contemplating his next move but he would be damned if he let himself sleep in a lair of slayers while his ward laid incapacitated.

"Seirin, take Kaito and Ryota, go to the river and bathe her." Kohaku ordered.

"Escorts?" The bold mouth slayer who had condemned Rin earlier replied.

"Well her last bath didn't go so well." Seirin replied. "Here let's pick her up. You should continue to rest Kohaku, you neared the demon more than anyone else. His poison was certainly effective."

Sesshomaru opened his eyes then, he was bound further by more sutras and blessed rope. He rolled his eyes, did the infernal woman really think this would hold back a youkai of his stature? It was an insult.

A soft sigh, sent a cold chill down his spine and his eyes tracked towards the back of the cave where he watched as Kohaku knelt over Rin's form and caressed her matted tresses and temple.

The Lord of the West stood to his full height and with little effort sent his youkai outward and broke free of his restraints.

Although a number of slayers were quick to arm themselves, not one made a move towards him as he walked towards the back of the cave.

He watched as flat dull eyes followed his every movement and decidedly ignored them. Kohaku and the woman slayer took notice and watched him with apprehension.

Kohaku swallowed roughly, but still cradled his former ward in his arms in a protective gesture now; pulling her into his chest and further away from him.

He felt his eyes narrow and reluctantly he made eyes with the boy.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Kohaku muttered, his voice the graveled tone that he'd heard earlier. He bowed his head, his long hair brushing across Rin's face

Sesshomaru said nothing in return and walked directly towards Rin, her body was still caked in blood, both hers and the ogres.

"She is healed, I was just sending my men with her for protection." Kohaku explained.

Sesshomaru let his eyes roam over the…..protection. He would not compromise himself and let these slayers know just how weakened he was but he would certainly not allow them to care for Rin unattended.

"Leave us." He said calmly as he met Kohaku's brown eyes.

The slayers made no move to leave. His hand began to emit a misted poison before Kohaku looked over his men and ordered them away.

"Go, leave her for now."

The slayers dispersed quickly, leaving the two men with a breadth of space and yet little privacy as they stood no more than 15ft away from their leader.

Kohaku braced himself, he had not been so close to the Lord of the West since he had been a boy and the aura emanating from him being alone was enough to give him gooseflesh and send shivers down his backside, but he would not dare to show his fear. Not as Rin lay unconscious between them.

Sesshomaru looked him over, the boy had indeed become a man. There was nothing naive or nascent about him. He filled his suit well, his body toned and hardened from battle. There was soft subtle on his chin and a hard set to his pronounced jaw, his eyes were set ablaze though it was clear he had just woken up. The slayer was weary of him but not…..afraid. More importantly by the way his eyes forcibly made contact with his own, instead of darting to the girl between them like they tried to do every so often, it was made clear that his forethought was Rin's protection.

Sesshomaru walked past him and knelt before Rin, looking her over closely, memorizing every feature before turning to him and speaking.

"You'll accompany your men to the river. You'll protect her, yourself." The Lord of the West deemed.

Kohaku grit his teeth in an effort to hold his tongue. That he would be so generous as to look after her safety now was almost laughable. Just where the hell had he been when Rin needed him?

Sesshomaru cocked a brow at him and watched as Kohaku stood to his full height.

"My men are trained and are well equipped for the task." he replied tensely. "You have my word."

"I didn't ask for your word." Sesshomaru replied with a hard voice. "Your word means less than nothing to me."

Kohaku narrowed his eyes before gesturing to Rin and then himself. "Her safety is assured on my watch."

The Lord of the West did not miss the implication made but allowed the boy to continue on a whim.

"I planned on going anyway, certainly to do you no favors, but I need to check on the status of my men. The men you threw around like stones yesterday. So if you will excuse me." He said as he walked stiffly away and ordered his men to take Rin to be washed.


Sesshomaru beamed to the front entrance of the cave, his stomach clenching at nauseum, as he watched Rin be carried off. He would trust that the slayer and his men would keep Rin alive while he rested his eyes.


Water flooded her airways as she made an unconscious effort to breathe, the lack of oxygen jolting her into a blind awareness as the water obscured her vision and calloused hands pressed roughly against the bare skin of her shoulders.

As another wave passed over her, the calloused hands tightened their grip on her soft supple flesh before piercing it and causing her; in a frenzied effort to escape, to contort her limbs wildly. Her lungs burned as she swam upwards until finally breaking into the most precious air. She gasped greedily as icy water beat against her chest before toppling over her once again.

The hammering against her chest starts began to echo in her mind and as she broke surface once more, bobbing blindly for survival, she felt the rough, sure, hands of another entrap her and she knew the water was not her only foe. She willed her eyes to open and found a sharp and determined face before her. She twisted her body completely and shoved away from the woman.

"Stop!" Rin warned croakily.

The woman narrowed her eyes and shook her head before mouthing something Rin couldn't hear or understand, before trying to reach out to her again. Rin peddled away weakly before watching the woman suddenly dive towards her and encircle her around the waist, bringing them back beneath the waves as another crashed onto the surface. Rin could feel her strength slipping, her muscles ached and burned, while her lungs screamed for relief. Her assailant however was not to be outdone by her, so they twisted into a heap of limbs, nails, and hair.

As her toes found purchase on soil, her hands closed around the neck of the slim woman and began to squeeze. She broke for air once more with the help of the earth beneath her and dragged herself and her would-be assailant onto the shallowest end of the water until her knees met the earth. As she violently wretched the water from her stomach she kept a firm seat on the squirming woman beneath her and an iron tight grasp around her neck.

With incredible agility, the small woman brought her leg over Rin's head and swiftly unseated her before scrambling onto her knees and tackling Rin. Her hand seized her neck and began wringing it mercilessly. Rin clawed at her wrists and face weakly, her body succumbing to fatigue and the continued deprivation of oxygen.

She could feel the life being choked out of her, the woman's calloused palms pressing against her throat, the woman's long skinny fingers like tendrils around her neck. As small ragged gasps escaped her throat, Rin weakly tried prying the sure fingers away, but consciousness was fleeting. Her hands fell at her sides, searching blindly for anything, a rock, a shell, divine intervention.

As blackness clouded her thoughts and vision, she could feel small tremors of movements and hear a muffled noise from a distance. She closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?!" a muffled voice called from the distance.

Suddenly two men hoisted her off of Rin, while strong muscled arms like iron fenders wrapped around Rin's waist and lifted her off the ground.

"She tried to kill me!" the woman screamed as they pulled her away.

Rin sagged into the arms of her savior as air was pulled into her body violently, coughing, choking and spluttering.

She flayed wildly and threw her arms behind in an effort to get a hold of the person's neck. Scratching, screaming and wailing.

"Rin stop! Stop! It's me! It's Kohaku!" He shouted from behind her. "It's Kohaku!"

"Kohaku?" she whimpered.

Her body went limp and she could feel his hands clutch the top of her arms firmly before spinning her around, bringing them face to face.

His freckled face, bruised and bleeding, flooded her vision.

"Kohaku?" she said again, wearily.

He cradled her to his heated chest and sank to the ground, running his fingers through her hair, while his thumb stroked her cheek.

"It's me, it's me, you're okay. You're safe." He promised.

Her body began to shudder, the cold effects of her near-drowning and asphyxiation taking their due toll. Her teeth chattered as she tried to move her lips to speak.

"I..I..s-s-s.." the words wouldn't, couldn't, form on her lips.

He wanted her beseechingly, his every breath hanging on her words.

She brought her teeth to her lower lip, not without consequence, to stop her lips from trembling. It was to no avail. Her now bitten and bloodied lips parted and let out a sorrowful pitiful cry that spoke to the torment her being had endured.

She brought her face to his neck and sobbed. Her slim, bare shoulders trembling with each labored gasp and heavy release, as the cold emptiness of a death too close, too real, too permanent; wreaked chaos in her mind.

It was more than fear, than grief, it was self-mourning. Eerily like the feeling of crushing heartbreak; the pain came in waves, grueling one second and gnawing the next. She could feel Kohaku wrapping her in the warmth of his words more than she could hear them, while his arms kept her from falling apart. It had been too close and he…..he had been too far.

She didn't know how long she sat in his arms and cried, but she had long since run out of tears and her body could give nothing more. Her eyelids became weights she cared no longer to carry and she felt Kohaku sigh.

Her weary eyes climbed his face and could see where tears brightened his features on her behalf. He held her so tightly it had begun to hurt but she didn't dare protest.

"I'm sorry Kohaku." She whispered.

He laughed blackly before looking down at her in wonderment, shaking his head.

"You're sorry?" he retorted.

She watched as anger, sadness, and amusement warred for dominance in his eyes and set jaw. It seemed he settled on fatigue.

"I am." She whispered.

"Good." He croaked, he pulled her tighter against him, her skin chaffing on the clothing he wore. "You know I love you, right?"

Rin nodded mutely, her head nuzzling lazily against her chest.

He looked down at her, her eyes were rimmed in red, swollen, and closed. Her nose was glowing, and he was sure he'd never seen a more beautiful sight. He took off his haori and wrapped her in it.


He stood on legs that tingled and walked back to the cave wherein his men sat in small clichés mumbling amongst themselves as their eyes darted back and forth between their comrades and the daiyoukai who slept against the face of the cave without a worry.

Kohaku doubted he slept though, even the Lord of the West wouldn't be as arrogant to let his guard down amongst so many enemies.

Before the thought finished registering in his mind, golden orbs snapped open and met his. He stopped in his tracks, his hands consciously tightening on the woman he held so tenderly.

"She's resting," Kohaku informed him.

Lord Sesshomaru didn't reply.

"How-how did you save her?" he asked.

The wind filled the space between them and sent a chill down Kohaku's spine.

"I should thank you. Thank you for saving her." He said as he knelt as best he could while trying to keep Rin off of the cold floor. "I-"

"Bring her to me." He said in an icy tone, his pale arms outstretched to receive her. His eyes tracked over her possessively. Before Kohaku could comply, the Lord of the West was on his feet and his ward in his arms.

He brushed her hair off the side of her face and his eyes narrowed at the bruises that littered her neck. Blood pooled into his eyes as he turned to face the cave where the slayers sat, awaiting their leader, on pins and needles.

"Seirin had to subdue her, she was hysterical when she woke," Kohaku explained. "Seirin meant no ill will."

Sesshomaru looked at the man before him and then back at the cave before his eyes settled on the woman in his arms. He sat down, crossed his legs, and held her to him, bringing his nose delicately into her hair and running it down into the soft skin of her neck; repeatedly. Kohaku watched engrossed before golden orbs met his in an icy reminder. He heard the tearing of fabric before he saw it and then he saw nothing as the Lord of West ripped his haori off of her and threw it into his face. He wrestled it off his face in time to see him drape Rin in his own clothing and settle back down with her in his arms.

"Leave us." He ordered.


The day had been cloudy and promised more rain, it was as if the sky wept for in mourning and then wept in relief for Rin's life saved. The slayers had done little else than tend to wounds, hunt for food, and sharpen their weaponry. Kohaku had woken up and forbidden any of them going within ten feet of the demon and after having checked on the wellbeing of his phantom, accompanied her and Seirin down to a river to wash her blood coated body.

Seirin returned bloodied and bruised, in a poor mood, and with little to say. As Kohaku entered the cave she stood, "I was defending myself!" she shouted.

"I know that." Kohaku replied, his palms up in an open position.

"She woke while I was bathing her, she must have started choking on the water and panicked." She continued. "She tried to strangle me. It was unwarranted."

"The poor girl was nearly dead when you found her, she reacted in fear. Can you blame her?" Kaito reminded her.

"Poor girl?" Seirin echoed.

"You nearly killed her Seirin." He reminded her.

"In defense!" She said shrilly.

"She's the demon's ward, would you bring his wrath upon all of us?" another slayer hissed. "His youkai alone was so poisonous it nearly robbed us of our lives."

"Enough." Kohaku said firmly. "It won't happen again. We must plan now. We have been given the upper hand in this battle against the ogre, an entire camp was obliterated. Now is the time to drive them back."

"Surely you jest." Another slayer responded, "You forget it was the demon," he hissed, "that brought us the advantage!"

"And your Rin is not some helpless woman, she is a fine slayer, you've said so yourself." Yuichi reminded him.

"Slayer?" Seirin said aloud.

"Yes, I trained her myself." Kohaku said absently, he looked up at Seirin and smiled. "If she had had her wits and strength about her, I doubt she would've been so easily overcome today."

Seirin scoffed, "Right and should we expect her aid in this battle? For all we know, she and the demon could be working with them."

"She was nearly killed by them." Kaito countered.

"Yes, well if she is as renowned a slayer as you all seem to believe, then maybe that was a farce. She does keep interesting company after all." She snapped.

"Interesting company that can hear each and every word of yours." Kaito reminded her.

"Let us entertain that which is plausible," Yuichi urged, "Whatever their purpose was, they are now foes of the ogres. An enemy of my enemy is my friend. We must ask them to join our cause."

Kohaku agreed silently.

"Have you all forgotten about Yun?" another slayer asked. "Will we abandon our search for him?"

"No one has forgotten Yun." Kohaku said in a hard voice. "I will stand by my promise. We hunt these ogres now for Yun, for our families, for the innocent. But you are right, we must seek aid, or we will be slaughtered."

He took a moment to think, to think deeply. Asking Lord Sesshomaru to embark on a battle that was of little consequence to him would be a tall order, but these were the same beings that had nearly killed Rin. Perhaps then, he would agree and this way, Rin would journey with them too.

He would swallow his pride. He would ask. He stood to his feet and walked towards the entrance of the cave, he looked to where he last left the pair and his heart stopped as he noticed they were no longer there. He looked around wildly, "Rin?" he gasped.

Panic raced through his blood and pounded in his ears. Could they have left? Without so much as a word? Was she fully recovered? When would he see her next?

A movement above him caught his attention and he looked upwards and into the boughs and branches of a tree. There, resting on a tall branch with his ward in his arms, was the Lord of the West. His eyes were closed, and the breath left his body soundly, as the haori that wrapped Rin flapped softly in wind.

The Lord of the West was asleep. This time Kohaku was sure. Why else would he sit at such an unholy height with the girl? It was an easy defense while his guard was down.

Kohaku gritted his teeth.

Just what had happened between him and Rin? He needed answers.

He turned to walked back into the cave and saw Kaito standing at the entrance. He began walking past him before he felt a hand on his arm.

"Your phantom has a phantom of her own." Kaito observed with unmoving lips.

Kohaku pulled his arm out of his grasp. "Make sure they stay put."

"Easier said than done." Kaito said.

"Then perhaps you should consider talking less and doing more." Kohaku muttered.


It was nightfall when she opened her eyes, the moon hung in the sky, surrounded by stars. The night air was cool and caressed her face leisurely. Its vastness brought her a sense of humility and gratitude, she was alive. The Kami had saw fit to save her once more from the clutches of death, she would see the end of another day. Her throat ached from her earlier fight, she brought her arm out from the arms that held her to touch her bruised throat and flinched before looking downward.

She flinched away from the dizzying height and into the chest of the man holding her. His chest was pale, hard, and a testament to the millennia of battles fought, won and lost. She could see the magenta stripes that adorned his torso and could clearly see and feel the silver wisps of hair that just barely blanketed them.

Her head snapped up to bring her eyes up to meet the piercing aurelian orbs of her Lord and undoubted defender.

"Lord Sesshomaru." She whispered weakly.

Her voice expressing the disbelief that she felt.

Was he really here with her? Or had she actually died? If she had died, did it mean he had not come for her? Had he forsaken her?

"Rin." He replied, his deep voice echoing into her mind and breaking her trance. Tears pooled into her eyes, brightening and burnishing them.

He brought his clawed hand to her face, in contemplation it seemed, before he finally, tenderly stroked her cheek.

"Rest." He said softly. "Rest, Rin."

She closed her eyes and let sleep take her once more as a warmth from the innermost part of her being flooded her senses.


P.S. Sorry for the delay. I had every good intention to write and post this chapter a month ago, but 2020 really took the world for a spin myself included. I needed a real-life mental break to deal with it. There's a lot happening right now. Please stay safe, stay encouraged, and know that this too shall pass. I will see you all soon & very soon. The next chapter is already in the works – it might even be posted sooner if we get some dope comments/subscriptions on youtube. No pressure. 😉