I Do Not Own InuYasha


Aienkien

合縁奇縁

A couple strangely but happily united;

Uncanny relationship formed by a quirk of Fate;

The mysteries of attraction and relationships or bonds between people


II: 23


Year 1308...

Somewhere near Setsuna Castle...

Rin perched herself in a tree, a very large tree and had both Bakusaiga and the kaiken in hand. The bell, was tied to her ankle for the duration of her climb, was now being untied from the delicate red thread it was bound to as she looked around and examined it carefully. She didn't know what tricks Tōga was intent on using, but she was certain that if he was going to kill her he'd have done it already. Still, she didn't entirely trust the inuyōkai so she would be wary of his intentions, which was why she was in this tree. Carefully she rang the small bells, the spheres gave of a beautiful light sound which had her smiling when there was a flash of energy as the Inu no Tashio materialized below her, which had her tensing as she stared down at him.

"Izayoi?" he called out looking around. She watched him for a moment, he looked so much like InuYasha it was a bit startling, especially with how he was looking for Izayoi. Picking a pine cone Rin took careful aim before tossing it at his head.

She could barely stifle the giggle of her direct hit!

Tōga looked up at her with a baleful glare.

"You're back!" he seemed stunned when she smiled.

"Hai, and Izayoi-sama is not appreciative of you turning her into your messenger," she said as she held up the bells and rang them again before tossing them down. He caught them with ease and leapt up the tree, landing a few branches below her. They both knew his bulking weight would break the branches she was on, which was why she had gone to them. The added bonus of heavy foliage to hide in if he lost his temper so she could escape. She had used trees as her escape and meeting places for dealing with many yōkai and hanyō.

"I was going to take you to the yōkai taijiya village," he said.

"My lord did that," she said.

"I see," he murmured. "I love my son," he stated and looked her in the eye with a fierce look she had only seen in InuYasha's eyes. She softened a little and smiled at him.

"I would hope so," she replied.

"I… I want to save him," he explained. "I do not want to fail him."

"And why do you want to go from killing me to aiding me?" she asked.

"Do not be mistaken mortal, I do not like you or your kind, and I have spent over five hundred years trying to kill you. You mark the self-fulfilling prophecy I escaped, I fought to keep it from my son, and I defied it. Fate has no control over me, and you mark my failure in that, but I will not let my only son die," Tōga justified. "If that means I must work with you then so be it. I will, I will do whatever I need to do to save my son."

"I'm glad to hear that," she admitted with a smile. "I do hope we can be friends though, there's going to be a lot of work to do and working as friends makes life easier."

"You are my daughter," he grumbled.

"I thought you didn't accept me."

"I'm saving my son, he wants you so I must accept you," he sighed.

"I see, well, that will work as well," she shrugged.

"You call him your lord," Tōga said. "You always have, why?"

"Because he is," she answered. "Sesshōmaru-sama saved me as a child, he gave me a home and pack, he taught me, protected me, he is my dearest friend, and my revered lord, I am but a humble servant to his will at times."

"At times?"

"Hai, his mother and he insist I'm his equal, but I'm a mere human so I have never thought I was equal to him. I am his Rin, I am whatever he needs," she smiled. "And he is my lord, my guide, my alpha, my guardian and my friend."

"I see," he nodded. "How can I help my son's Rin?"

"I spoke with Naohi," she said.

"You… you did?" he whispered and the look on his face was one she didn't understand. It was somewhere between awe and horror.

"Hai," she nodded. "I know how to save Sesshōmaru-sama, but I do not know how to do what is asked of me, but I think you do," she said looking at him. "I must collect his four souls."

"That's…" Tōga tensed.

"I need Aramitama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama, I need all four to return to him to save him," she explained.

"You will die doing this," he said standing now. She yelped when she was forcibly pulled from her branch and now eye to eye with Tōga. She had forgotten to calculate for telekinesis, and she wanted to run from Tōga. "Do you understand, mortal, you will perish collecting these things from Sesshōmaru to return to him!"

"And what do you care about it!?" she demanded.

"I have just accepted I do not want you dead!" he spat out furiously. "I have finally accepted that of all the idiotic things in the fates plans of this universe, you are his! I will not have you die because of that!" he stated. "I will aid you, but I will not let you die."

"I've already died," she stated as he caught her upper arms and dropped from the tree setting her before him. He loomed over her, he was a bit taller than her lord was. The look on his face though was not one she could identify. "I have died twice, already, do not think I am afraid of dying for him."

"Do you… do you truly not know," he whispered.

"Know what?" she asked. He grabbed her collar and yanked it down to expose her shoulder as he pointed at the mark her lord had left. "You die, he will soon follow! He is bound to you, you to he, this mark is not a trivial thing! The only good thing is that he has not submitted and let you mark him in return or he'd perish with you for real!"

"I…"

"This mark is a bind of life forces, for yōkai this is an exchange of power, mates summon on the other's power, see through their eyes, hear through their ears, smell through their nose, taste through their mouth, it is a link. You and he are bound, lives bound together. He marked you, you are bonded, if you had marked him by now your lives are forever entwined, you and he would be one. For now, you are a pair, independent life forces that influx between each other allowing you to draw strength from the other and share a mental link. The inevitable part of marking though is submitting to be marked, it is not immediate, but it will happen and when that happens, both your lives are one, your life forces bind together to make you a unit. Your will be bound together in life and death and rebirth if this was complete.

"Right now he is bonded to you now, you die, and it will drive him mad and to death's embrace. To lose one's bonded, to lose your bonded mate, it will drive you mad, it will kill him if you die. I always wanted to remove you from him because the bond should not be so strong, but clearly it is, and the fates selected you for him, I would never have permitted but it has happened if I knew when he marked you."

"He marked me when I was eight years old, after my first death. He asked if he could, and I said yes," she explained.

Tōga released her fully now and she yanked her garments back into place, concealing the mark. "I see," he whispered. "I cannot permit you to die."

"I need to collect his souls to save him," she said folding her arms.

"I will teach you how to do that," he said softly. "But be wary, mortal, you will learn things you should not know and to misuse these skills will kill you."

"I would never abuse whatever your teachings are."

He looked her over carefully and nodded. "I think… I think the fates finally chose wisely," he whispered. "I just want to save my son."

"That's all I want," she agreed.

"Can you… where did I... how did I fail him?" Tōga asked.

"I cannot tell you that," she admitted. She didn't know how Tōga had hurt Sesshōmaru, not exactly, but she knew he had hurt Sesshōmaru deeply. Also revealing all the events she knew would reveal InuYasha and might have Tōga fighting to change his fate again and erasing InuYasha from the world as she had known it. She did not want that, she liked InuYasha's pack, she liked his mate, his beta, the children, she adored Shippō, and she respected Kaede and Kohaku. She didn't want to lose that.

"Why not?"

"Because to tell you everything to come means you will fight to change it and I have others I care about you rely on things staying the same. When I am from you have hurt your son, you have wronged him, I do not know how just that you have." She explained. "My lord is always sad, forlorn, like he had lost the most precious thing in his world. You were central to that sadness."

"Is he… sad, with you?"

"No," she hummed. "My lord seemed happier and more relaxed in recent years. Even with the mark of Magatsuhi consuming him, he was always more relaxed."

"Before he marked you, did you… did you dream of him?" he asked.

"Hai, I did, though I am not entirely certain what it's importance was," she admitted. "He was my special, silver dream friend when I was a small child, and after my family was massacred he was my comfort, then we met in real life," she explained.

"Only True Mates dream of each other," he said. "You will one day, have him submit to you for a mark," he muttered bitterly.

"I have not marked him," she dismissed. "How do I collect his souls?"

"I will be here tomorrow to teach you, it will be a grueling lesson. And Rin," he caught her arm before she could walk away. "Sesshōmaru never wanted or desired anything in this world, be careful wielding a weapon like him."

"And that Tōga is where I think you are wrong, he just wanted your respect and love, but I don't think you even understand what those are to give," she said as she pulled away.

"I love my son," he said.

"You just called him a weapon," Rin said as she walked into the forest. She played with the bells as she hummed and walked away from the Inu no Taishō. She made it a bit further before she found herself face to face with Izayoi-sama looking very cross.

"Whatever it is, I did not do it," she said.

"You met him again!" Izayoi hissed.

"Which him?" Rin asked.

"Do not feign innocence," she warned.

"I met with Tōga, nothing happened."

"He's…"

"Do not start, it's too early in the morning for this," Rin groaned.

"But…"

"I know how to manage yōkai, Izayoi-sama, it is about the only thing I know how to better than healing and fighting," she muttered sourly.

"This is serious Rin!" Izayoi snapped.

"Not as serious as saving my lord. I will do whatever it takes, pay whatever price is asked of me, shed whatever blood is need, and wage war if needed. I was raised to do this," Rin stated firmly.

"I just worry about you, imouto-san," Izayoi said.

"I promise I know what I'm doing, saving my lord is about the only thing I know how to do," Rin admitted.

This was what she was raised to do.


Year 1581...

Edo, Japan...

Sesshōmaru looked levelly at Shikoku, who stared back at him.

"It has been a long time," Shikoku said softly. His voice still soft, cold and clipped; it was the tone of voice Sesshōmaru had naturally inherited.

He didn't respond to his grandfather. Sesshōmaru scented his mother appearing and he felt InuYasha pacing behind him, his agitation clear for all to scent.

"Otou-sama," Kimi said as she came to stand behind him a few steps.

"Musume. That is Tōga's progeny?" Shikoku asked.

"Hai, InuYasha, come," Kimi said.

"No, I'm here for Sesshōmaru," Shikoku said. Sesshōmaru nodded as he walked slowly after Shikoku who motioned for him to follow. It had been several centuries since their last encounter, which had been one of the better ones. Until Rin left.

They were deep in the forest when his grandfather stopped walking. "I scent Magatsuhi marked you," Shikoku said, his silver eyes turned on him.

"Hai," he replied softly.

"And the onna?" Shikoku asked.

"Honekui no Ido," he answered.

"Mmm," Shikoku nodded. "She will face trials, if she succeeds she will be the first human to defy your father's people."

"She is my Rin," he said softly.

"I am aware," Shikoku chuckled. "You found a strong one. It will work out," Shikoku said.

Sesshōmaru said nothing. He didn't believe life would work out, he believed life was life, and it continued despite whatever he wanted or believed.

"You have not given up on her already? I know she's a fragile," Shikoku said.

"She cannot be returned if she dies," he muttered.

"She's your Rin," Shikoku smiled dryly. "Never met a more fearless mortal, especially for a human. In time she will be back."

She was, and she was a powerful when she decided to be, but he wasn't ready to be away from her again, they had just reunited. For him it was like yesterday he had found her as a pup in her own blood, now she was alive and here, and gone again.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"I came because your father's people have decided they are coming, and it is time for you to be Inu no Tashio, you are not a pup anymore, it is time to be more than your father."

"I am not Tōga," he started.

"You are better, so be better. The world left you in peace while you mourned, but you are no longer a pup," Shikoku stated. "You proved yourself summoning Bakusaiga, and the death of Naraku, now your father's people will come, you have a chance to do better than your sire and bring the Clans together. Change is coming, in the mortal world and ours, you have a chance to do what your father never could."

He said nothing as he looked at the well when they arrived at it.

"She will return in time; and she is not alone, but what do you want them to return to though is the question. You have never escaped my shadow, your grandfather's written destine, or your father's reputation. What do you want her to return to? A world where she will be hunted and tested again and a gain because she is yours, where she will have to continuously prove a worth you and I both know she already possesses."

"You met her once," Sesshōmaru said softly.

"She made an impression," Shikoku said. "I only came to speak about the invasion I've heard about."

"You should be Inu no Taishō," he said.

"I was, I do not desire the responsibility, and your father should still be here to let you be a pup, but he perished for his desires, you have the power to back creating what you want. What do you want her to return to?" Shikoku asked. "I will meet your mother for a game of igo," he said and waved his hand as he disappeared in a pulse of light. Sesshōmaru looked down at his side, the curse of Magatsuhi pulsed painfully. What world did he want them to return to? Who was them? He wondered…

Gingerly he pulled out his mate's note for him.

'Us'.

Oh Kami… she was… he paled at the thought. He couldn't fail now.

Failure wasn't an option.


Year 1308...

Tsuzuki Castle...

Tōga walked into the shiro's gardens and stiffened when he scented the return of his father-in-law. Following the scent he found himself looking at Shikoku-sama, playing a game go with Kimi.

The ancient daiyōkai was older than anyone in this land, and he had the power of kami. Tōga would have thought him a kami if not for the fact that his own mother was an actual kami and Tōga knew the difference between divine power and yōkai power.

"Shikoku-sama, I was not aware that you were coming," he said as he set Sō'unga aside.

"I was not aware I needed a reason to come visit my only pup," Shikoku said never looking up from the board.

"Of course not," Tōga bowed a bit. He smiled to Kimi as he pressed his nose to her temple, she smiled slightly and he sat to look at the game.

"I scent they're back," Shikoku said with a smile.

"Hai father, you should say hello," Kimi said.

"Perhaps later," he said softly. Tōga frowned as he looked between Kimi and Shikoku. They always seemed to be in on some scheme he was never involved in. Then again he didn't know if he wanted to be involved with them. They were a dangerous pair when they had schemes in play, or a fixation on anyone.

"He's leaving again," Shikoku said.

"Hai," Kimi said. Tōga looked up just as Sesshōmaru didn't even stealthily escape the shiro compound and disappeared in a pulse of energy for the forest. He had to speak to his son later. Rin's words though were rattling painfully through his head, and he didn't know how to connect to Sesshōmaru anymore. Before he'd have thought their training was their bonding, but now he didn't know.

How had he lost his only son?