「 Affections Touching Across Time ( Toward the Western Sky ) — Daybreak 」

Rin aches to see dawn's first light and what better way to view it than with someone at her side.

Rin woke long before the sun began its ascent across the sky. Light barely touched the clouds and the moon had yet to fall below the treetops when she shuffled away from the warm scales at A-Un's sides, her haori gathered in her arms. The two-headed dragon slept peacefully with his claws buried in the grass and tail draped over a dozing Jaken cuddling Nintōjō whilst muttering in his sleep.

Years ago, Rin loved to listen to the imp's sleep ramblings so that she could ask him questions during his waking hours. Sheer embarrassment and confusion aside, Jaken's imagination was vast. It was a wonder to her how Jaken could be so rigid in his beliefs of humans and usefulness when he thought himself capable of even toppling their lord, then groveled at his feet when leveled with a steely backward glance.

A sure sign that Jaken was dreaming in her opinion. Though, who was she to keep him from doing so?

Stifling a giggle behind her hand, Rin tiptoed away from A-Un's side, careful not to step on Jaken as she leapt over the dragon's tail. It was still early and the sky was not yet awake which gave her enough time to find a nice spot in which she could watch the sun rise. The distant roar of waves as they crashed against the rocky cliffside reached her ears.

Ocean spray thickening on a crisp autumn breeze, whipping Rin's hair back and chilling her skin. She shuddered and smiled softly, cupping her fingers round the curve of her ear, goosebumps cool against her palm.

"It looks like it'll be a little cold today too."

Rin donned her haori and straightened the sleeves to fall over the bottom of her hands. A quick flick of the wrist shooting a knife to her palm. Its cold steel tinted pink, hilt resting comfortably in her grasp as she spun the knife between deft fingers. Totosai had been enthusiastic in attempting to create a smaller set of blades.

Claiming that their "voices" were joyous when in her hands and that should she ever have need of them to be gentle. Rin looked up to the sky. Wispy clouds, yet outlined in the lightening blue, drifted past lazily. She hoped she wouldn't have need of any of her weapons or tricks.

Tucking the knife into her sleeve, she brushed her fingers along her palm then glanced around the glade. A-Un and Jaken were tucked in the center of it near remnants of a campfire littered with ash and the scent of stale woodsmoke lingering in the air. Rin tweaked her nose then sniffed. Amidst A-Un's scent, ozone and fire, and Jaken's, apple mint and basil, there was another.

Her gaze drifted to the lone figure propped up against a tree near the glade's edge. His head held level enough that she could see his eyes were closed, mokomoko tucked behind his back, legs crossed and hands resting upon his knees. If she hadn't known any better, she would have said he was meditating rather than sleeping.

Because nothing would ever catch Lord Sesshomaru unawares. Rin smiled to herself, tucking her mouth against her palm to stifle a giggle. They could stand to be without her for a few minutes. And her destination wasn't far. There was a thicket of trees closer to the cliffside where the horizon would be viewed best.

She could make it there and back by the time the others woke, she was absolutely sure of it. Starting off, the grass sifted beneath her feet quietly. Her hands joined behind her back, tapping from thumb to pinky rhythmically.

A few precious moments later, Rin found herself surrounded by nothing but the forest and sounds of nature. Crickets chirping in the underbrush and the rustling of leaves overhead as squirrels scurried into their dwellings, small beady eyes watching her as she passed. No stranger to scrutiny, Rin gave a little wave before stooping down to palm a few acorns.

Tossing them up one by one and watching as the squirrels greedily snatched them from where they nestled on the branch outside their dwelling. Once she had no more, Rin raised her hands then dusted them off before continuing on her way.

She tweaked her nose now and again as she walked. Sniffing the air for ocean spray rather than relying on the silhouettes of trees and bushes to guide her way. Rin hummed. It would be easier if she could climb one of the larger trees in the thicket and spy where the cliffside ended. However, if one of the branches were weak and snapped, it would've woken A-Un which meant Jaken would wake and her quiet morning would be history.

"Walking it is then," Rin said, smiling with exasperated fondness, her hands stretched high above her head. "It's not too far and too long, right?"

Once she reached the cliffside, the expanse of the ocean stretched far into the horizon. It was difficult to discern the sky from the ocean as it was but she knew the was soon to change. Giving herself enough space to topple back into the grass, Rin giggled as it tickled at the back of her neck and her cheek when she rolled from one side to the other. Her legs kicking up in the air, sandals brushing against the soles of her feet comfortably as she wiggled them back and forth.

"I suppose shoes aren't all that bad." Rin rocked forward, sitting up and picking a few bits of grass sticking to her clothes and her hair. The orange ribbon tied at the end of the plaited strands of hair at the right side of her head coming a bit undone. Carefully, she pulled it free and swept her hair over her shoulder, beginning to comb her fingers through it. Her nose twitching and a smile curving her lips.

"…? Couldn't sleep, Lord Sesshomaru?"

As it was, Rin couldn't have heard his footsteps as he approached her but his presence was unmistakable. Without a word and effortless grace, the daiyōkai stepped to her side and lowered himself to the ground in a cross-legged stance.

Rin watched him from the corner of her eye.

Ethereal in appearance though he was, Sesshomaru seemed most at home in the forest. He easily melded in with nature's ambiance and the world seemed to come alive around him, though it wisely remained silent as to not disturb him.

Rin's lips twitched and Sesshomaru's eyebrow raised, a sideways glance dismissed with a slight shake of her head before she cast her sights to the horizon as well.

"You are up early."

Rin patted her soles against the grass, drawing her knees to her chest and her chin atop of them before she spoke. "I always got up this early when I lived with Lady Kaede," she said, humming curiously when he didn't budge. "You're staying?"

"Mm…"

"Well, this one will be different too then."

Rin smiled lazily. Sesshomaru was wholly unmovable when he set his mind to it. The daiyōkai operated on a different time than everyone else. A time reserved solely for him and his purposes, although he did make allowances now and again. In the past, Rin had nothing better to do than await each sunrise while dutifully following after her lord. Distance gave her perspective. She enjoyed the minutiae of her life.

Waking early for meditation, breakfasts with Kaede, herb-picking and experimenting with Kagome, training with Sango, and sparring with Inuyasha. Then there were her bite-sized adventures with Shippou and Kohaku, when he returned to the village. Her interests piled high to where her time of comfortable silences following after Sesshomaru seemed like a distant memory. However, that shadow never left the reaches of her thoughts. Sneaking a glance at Sesshomaru as he peered into the horizon, Rin smiled amusedly.

Just what captivates you so much, m'lord?

After a few minutes, golden eyes flicked in her direction and her unspoken question was answered. "Different?"

It took Rin a second to understand what it is Sesshomaru was referring to then a second later to deduce what he didn't know. Rin sighed. For a daiyōkai capable of flight, her lord certainly didn't use his abilities to their fullest potential. If he did, then he could see the sunrise multiple times in one day! However, if he wasn't aware of what made a sunrise different, how could he appreciate it?

Feeling a bit of sympathy for him, Rin inclined her head toward the horizon. "Lord Sesshomaru, every sunrise is different, you know."

It wasn't often he displayed confusion. With as few and infrequent as his expression changes were, it was in the tiniest details that she'd grown to notice. A faint tilt of the head, gaze drifting from Rin oft to the horizon then back. "How?"

"Well, it depends on a few things." Rin began ticking them off on her fingers. "Who you're with, where you are, the day, and what you're doing. That's what makes every sunrise unique."

Sesshomaru hummed and for a moment Rin felt that was all the reply she would get. His attention turning skyward and her own northbound whence she heard him speak. "Is that so?"

His curiosity was new and interesting. Their range of emotion differed greatly and she hadn't noticed the finer nuances to Sesshomaru's personality as a child. True, there were things she understood at a glance or from watching Jaken being pummeled so often. But there were other things that eluded her.

Like the way that he was always listening, giving his input silently, asking for continuation of thought in the subtlest of ways. His interest wasn't easily kept. More than once, she'd seen him walk away in the middle of a discussion or even in the throes of battle.

For him to entertain her thoughts or show interest in them was rare.

Rin tucked her chin atop her knees and wiggled her toes against the soft soles of her sandals. "I've seen plenty of sunrises from the trees around Kaede's hut, the roof of Inuyasha and Kagome's, the yard of Miroku and Sango's, and the window of my own. Not to mention other places."

Her eyes misted over. Questions of how the others were doing since she'd seen them last flooding her mind. She almost missed the market's hustle and bustle, Inuyasha at her side talking in earnest about something Kagome wanted him to pick up.

Children brushing past them only to return, clinging to her hands and her following at her heels, wanting to engage her in a new hiding place they found or a new game. Her mischief landing her in Kaede's hut where the elderly priestess dabbed a minty green goo on her wounds to help them heal, all the while scolding her for getting caught in the act.

If she closed her eyes, she could picture the faces of Sango and Miroku's son and daughters, and the former slayer's fluid movements as she spun Hiraikotsu then flung it where Rin was perched in a tree. Their training sessions often leaving debris in which Miroku enlisted the help of Shippou and his son, Isshin, to clean up.

"And they were all quite different." Rin muttered as she opened her eyes. Her voice softened. "Becauseof where I was and who I was with."

"Hm."

"On the days when Kohaku was with me, we would watch the sunrise together from the window of my hut. During early meditations with Miroku, we'd sneak peeks at the sun even though we were supposed to be focusing on our root chakra. Inuyasha and Kagome often slept in but there were some mornings where Kagome would sit with me, and tell me stories about her time. Shippo is a slow-waker but he'd lean on me and keep me company. The morning can be cold."

Sesshomaru said nothing and Rin didn't expect him to. However, his silence and upturned gaze beckoned her to speak on undeterred.

"Lady Kaede would come outside to start her morning prayers and the headman, Rikichi, would do his rounds. On the days where it was just me, I would climb the Goshinboku to watch the sun rise."

It was rumored that a god existed within the tree and that it was sacred. However, Kaede said the rumor was subjective. She and her older sister, Kikyō, often practiced their archery on the tree's bark. If a deity did exist within its timber, it must have been quite crossed with them. But the view from Goshinboku's boughs was breathtaking. Rin insisted on taking Kaede with her to see it but the elderly priestess refuted, stating that she was far too old and would simply take her word for it. Adding on to not let Rikichi see her climbing the tree, lest he throw a fit. Whether at Rin's blatant disrespect or the danger imposed on her life, neither of them were sure, but they shared a quiet laugh before heading inside.

"Do you wake to see them often?"

Rin blinked away the memory of Kaede's laughter, mulling over an answer as she threw her hands the air, linking her fingers together and stretching. "All the time," she said with a strained sigh. "It's one of my favorite times of the day."

Mornings were safe as well. Nightmares plagued her mind in the semi-somnolent darkness, and awaking in the dead of night only worsened them. Seeing the lightening sky and the world coming alive reminded her that she was as well. For better or worst.

"Although, I don't like the quiet ones…" Rin muttered, hugging her knees to her chest, the tip of one of her knives brushing against her palm.

"Mm?"

Rin almost laughed. How could his humming responses differ so much? It had to be a special trait of his. Rocking her heels back against the dirt then pressing her toes down, she set up a rhythm as she gathered her thoughts.

"You know, there's different kinds of quiet." Rin said, listing them off with a little tilt of her head from one side to the other. "Sad quiet, angry quiet, but I don't like the lonely quiet at all.."

Lonely quiet was different. On the mornings where she woke alone, and walked the dirt paths of the village, she didn't feel the loneliness creeping up on her. It was only after the world grew quieter and her heart louder that she felt it. Something that made her feel tiny on the inside, fearful of closing her eyes, lest everything she knew and cared for would be gone when they opened.

"Have you felt lonely recently?"

Rin gasped softly, her head jerking up. Wetness beaded at the corners of her eyes and she blinked it away before looking up to him. Though his eyes met her own, there was such a steady intent to it that she felt him looking through her instead. Treading upon dangerous ground, she had thought to lie. It wasn't as if she felt lonely all the time. Nevertheless, Rin was reminded of the promise they'd made.

No secrets.

Of course, they still had their secrets. Thoughts and feelings that couldn't be easily conveyed.

You do not have to hide from me, Rin.

Warmth pooled in Rin's chest and though sadness attempted to douse its growing flame, Rin smiled. "Sometimes. But it's a strange kind of lonely."

"Strange." Sesshomaru said questioningly and quietly, beckoing Rin to explain with a solemn countenance.

Rin obliged, mulling over how to phrase what she couldn't quite understand herself. "It's like… I'm worried and anxious sometimes, and it feels like I'm the only one who is so it's silly." She hooked her fingers in the back of her sandals, sliding them off and setting them in the small space her and Sesshomaru. Wiggling her toes in the grass, sighing as sodden earth cooled her heated soles. "Being able to travel with everyone again is nice, but I'm afraid of when it'll end."

"Why do you believe it will end?"

The interest in Sesshomaru's eyes was earnest and Rin made the mistake of staring at him for too long, averting her gaze. This was the part she didn't like the most. But it was easier when she said it out loud. Still, even though his expressions were minimally changing at most, it hurt to see the look on his face when she brought it up. He waited patiently. Rin, listening to the ocean waves and bird song, gathered as much sympathy and empathy as she could to smile at him in apology.

"Someday, I'll die."

"…. Mm."

A slight twitch in the brow and fractional widening of his eyes, small fractures in his mask, barely noticeable and gone in an instant. Rin could practically see the gears turning in his mind. She'd never forgotten how Sesshomaru valued her life. Even more so than she did at times. It was strange - he always threatened to kill Jaken and anyone else who stood in his path. Yet, he never did the same to her. Although she had to find her own food and fend for herself at times, he allowed her to follow him of her own volition. And despite all their arguments and disagreements over the years, he seemed happiest knowing she was alive. At least in his own way.

"..You didn't forget," Rin said, partly to let him know he didn't and because she knew he wouldn't say it himself. "It's just something we don't talk about."

Perhaps, Rin thought, they all were happy with how things were. Traveling together as a family once again. Ignoring what could come today, or tomorrow, or the day after that. Still, she knew it plagued their minds that one day - her adventure with them would come to an end.

Sesshomaru nodded after a moment. At a glance, Rin could tell there was so much he wanted to say. Whether it was his pride keeping him from speaking the words, an inability at finding them, or respect for her feelings keeping them - she wasn't sure. In the end, he held her gaze and spoke quietly. "… I enjoy the time we have."

Rin smiled softly, sadness settling heavily in the back of her throat where tears caught. "Me too…" Turning her gaze skyward, she tilted her chin up to feel the breeze as it rustled through the grass and wrapped around her before drifting out to sea. Pushing her hair back behind her ear with a light touch to its curve, a sly smile formed on her lips. "Which is why I didn't say anything when you followed me."

There was a short pause when nothing else but the world sounded. Then, as if out of a dream, Sesshomaru chuckled. A deep rumbling sound like lava coursing through the earth.

"You noticed."

Warmth spread to Rin's face as she looked to the horizon, delighted by the first rays of sunlight beginning to peek over the horizon. "You're good, Lord Sesshomaru, but I'm only getting better. Try to make it more of a challenge next time."

"Mm. I will."

From the corner of her eye, Rin could have sworn she glimpsed a smile on his face, brighter than the rising sun. However, it was gone when she blinked.

No matter. We'll have plenty more sunrises like this, Lord Sesshomaru.

Wow, I wrote part of this when I was really tired and managed to finish it up! Anyway, for those of you who've read my fic, "It Takes A Village", this is later in the timeline where Rin is twenty-one to twenty-two years old. A lot of the adventures she had while living among humans is something I'm interested in but not only that, the changes in her relationship with Sesshomaru and the others.

Rin is a pretty interesting character to me and I find myself writing more and more about her everyday.

Anyhow, as usual, you guys can find me on instagram, twitter, tumblr, tapas, and pillowfort at unlockthelore.

Thank you so much for reading!