Conflict

Rin pulled the straps tight against Ah-Un. It had taken little time to tear down the campsite and pack everything back on to the large dragon. The area glowed with red and orange light as the sun was setting. They had already wasted enough time resting; they would have to move after nightfall.
They had only managed to scout a small portion of Sesshoumaru's borders, but something told her, that the rest of the territory would be in just of bad a shape.

Kohaku lifted a bag of supplies with his good arm, but she could hear his heavy breathing. It was obvious that he had not fully recovered from the poisoning. His face was pale and strained. Sweat dripped down his face and neck. Rin scowled just watching him help her. He needed to rest.

Rin reached into her bag and pulled out two very thick arm guards. Kohaku paused for a moment to watch her slide her arms into the strange contraptions.

The guards looked heavy and cumbersome. Why would she choose to wear armor like that?

Rin's eyes trailed up from her guards to meet his curious eyes.

"What?" She asked flatly.

He wanted to say, "You are so tiny, and those guards are huge!" or "You could have used a lighter material and still have protection." Or "You're beautiful even with ugly arm guards."

Instead Kohaku shook his head. "Who made those?"

"The metal smiths at the palace made them for me. I designed them myself." She held up her forearms, showing the armor off proudly.

"Oh…is there a reason they are so big?"

Rin gave a small smile. "Snake protection."

Kohaku tilted his head to the side. "Well, if you say so."

She patted the side of her dragon. "Come on, let's get going. We still have a lot of ground to cover."

Throwing a leg over the saddle, she smirked as she held out a hand to Kohaku.

"You're riding with me."

His mouth hung open, and he held up his hands. "No way, I can ride Kirara just fine."

"Meowr." Kirara spoke up.

They both looked at the tiny cat demon sitting on Ah-Un's rump. Kirara tilted her head, and used a hind leg to scratch behind her ear.

"She says don't be an idiot. You'll open you're stitches." Rin laughed while petting the fire demon.

Kohaku frowned. "I can take care of myself, you know."

Rin rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. Let's go already."

He swung his scythe around, and clipped it to his back before climbing on behind her. His uninjured arm circled her waist. Ah-Un's muscles bunched under them, gathering power. He pulled her sharply against his chest, as they soared into the air.

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Rin twisted around in the saddle, looking back and forth across the night sky.

"What's the matter?" Kohaku whispered against her ear.

"Nothing. I just realized that tonight was the new moon."

She hoped Katsurou was doing alright. She loved him dearly, and hated to see him in such pain.

"Yes, it will make scouting much harder, but it will help keep us hidden." Kohaku said looking down at the passing landscape.

The night was clear, and even without the moonlight, it was not hard to spot a village. Youkai homes, even at night, hummed with activity. It was encouraging to see that the snakes had not yet gotten so deep into their territory, only around the border.

"Kohaku-kun, tell me about your nightmares."

The arm around her waist tightened.

"You won't like what you have to hear. What if it changes your opinion of me?" He asked, leaning forward into her.

Her hand rested over the large hand over her abdomen.

"I know about your past. You forget that I too have experienced tragedies in my life. Do you really think I would hold it against you?"

His heart pounded in chest. He felt sick. Since when had he felt such tremendous anxiety?

"It's just us up here. No one else can hear us." She said reassuringly.

"I...I..." He swallowed thickly. "I'm haunted by the ghosts of the family and clansmen that I have murdered."

"How so?" Rin had seen many spectacular things her life, but she had doubts.

"Every time I fall asleep, they are there. I relive killing them. I am drenched in their blood. I have no control; I can't stop it. I beg for their forgiveness and mercy, but they never listen. Their sliced, dead bodies pull at me." He stopped talking, feeling nauseous.

"What do they say?" She asked softly.

Tears threatened his eyes. "They ask me how I could do that to them. They say I'm worthless and I should join them in death. My father...he never speaks. He always turns away disgusted with me. They shout murderer." Shame washed over him.

"Tell me about your parents." She said with tenderness.

Kohaku blinked at the abruptness. "What? Why?"

"I don't know much about you. What was your childhood was like?"

"Oh..." He thought back to his mother. "My mother died when I was pretty young. An outbreak of fever swept through our village, and my mother caught it. I just remember her being so strong, and the love between my parents was very clear. Looking back on it now, she flirted and teased my father a lot. I don't know how he got past her dying." He took a deep breath and let it out.

"My father was incredible. He kept on going for us and the village."

"You admired him a lot." Rin noted.
"Yeah. He was a great leader of our clan, just like my grandfather before him. Everyone looked up to him and respected him. He trained us to be strong warriors..." He trailed off, lost in his memories. Bright sunny mornings, the smell of the river, the sound of birds singing...
"While he might have been tough on us, he was always joking and laughing. As our clan leader, he was always busy, but he always found time to take me fishing in the early morning, just the two of us. He...loved us very much." Kohaku continued. Remembering the happy times with his father made him feel...lighter. He expected to feel the insurmountable guilt crash down on him again, but...it didn't.

"Knowing how much your father loved you, do you think he would be infuriated at what Naraku did to his son and daughter?" Rin asked. She often wondered what her own father would have thought about her current lifestyle and the events that led her to Sesshoumaru. What would her father think of her fearsome protector? What would he think of Kohaku?

"Of course! My father would hunt him down and slay him!" Kohaku said harshly with conviction. He could almost see his father now, sitting in their home, tying his armor on, dressing himself for battle. He would make a vow to his ancestors that he would avenge the wrongs done to his family and clan. He would have done whatever it took to kill Naraku. His father had been so strong, only to be killed by his own child.

"You helped finally end him, along with so many others who've been wronged by Naraku. Do you think if he could see you now, that he would be proud of the strong taijiya that you have become? That you carry on your clansmen's heritage by traveling everywhere to help people in need?" Rin leaned back against him, wishing she could comfort him. "I think he would be very proud of you." She whispered.

Kohaku grit his teeth. "I killed my father, Rin. I tried to kill Sango too! I had become a monster!"

"No! It wasn't you! You were a child being controlled by Naraku. You must let go of this guilt!"

"How can I do that when they haunt me? I can't...I can't sleep, Rin. They always find me."

Rin could feel his body trembling. The hand she held shook.

"It will get easier. I can help."

He pulled her tighter against his chest and dipped his head down over her shoulder.

A bitter laugh ruffled the hair against her ear.

"How do you know? Why do you even care?! Why are you torturing me with this?!"

"I know because I had the same problem too. I can see how sick you have become." She said firmly. The dark circles under his eyes, the hollowness of his cheeks, his unkept appearence, his attitude, all pointed to symptoms she was all too familiar with.

"Sick?" He asked incredulous. "Sick? I am cursed!"

"Kohaku-kun, you are not cursed."

He scoffed against her hair. "It sure feels like it."

"Kagome once explained it to me like this. Your mind is stuck in one place, forcing you to relive horrors and tragedies. It is hard to live in the present because you keep seeing delusions of the past. She said that oftentimes soldiers from war would have the same sickness."

He had known many soldiers who had been through war, but none of them seemed to suffer as he did.
"Do you believe her?"

"Yes. Kagome-sama is from a place where medicine is very advanced. She speaks the truth."

"If I do have this illness, will I ever get better?"
A glimmer of hope emerged in his otherwise dark existence. Could he dare to hope for more than this miserable existance? He could be free to live life again. Did he even remember what life was like without shame?

Rin smiled. "Yes, but recovery is sometimes painful. Kagome-sama always said that talking about what you've experienced helps further the healing. I know it helped me."

Kohaku's racing thoughts paused. "You had this?!"

"Yes, I -"

Kirara's head snapped up from its resting place. "Meowr!" Her ears twitched, and her focus remained ahead.

Ah-Un tossed its heads back and forth getting their riders' attentions.

"What is it?" Rin asked the youkai.

They kept their attention forward.

Rin looked around them, trying to see any threats in the pitch darkness.

"What do you think..."

"Shhh...listen carefully. Can you hear it?" Kohaku whispered against her ear.

Rin stilled herself, focusing purely on her hearing. Far off it sounded like a dull roar. There was yelling? Clashing of metal? It was too jumbled together to tell.

"A battle." Rin answered.

"Yes."

They sailed over farm land and small homes, until they saw the issue. Snake demons were flooding into the small town. Their hisses could be heard even from far in the air. But unlike the last desolate villages they had seen, the inhabitants were alive and fighting back.

Swords and spears clashed in the night. Fire burned in a few homes, illuminating the struggle.

"Ah-Uh, land! I need to help!" Rin shouted against the cacophony of war.

"No! Rin, we should stay out of this!"

"Kohaku-kun, stay with Ah-Un, and don't open your stitches. I'll be back." She wrenched herself out of his hold, and jumped down as the dragon neared the ground.

"Rin! Rin!" Kohaku called after her, but in a blink, she was gone.

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Author's note: I know updates are slow right now. I am writing as fast I can, I promise! Thank you for all the reviews. Updates should be more frequent in the next coming week.