Sorry I'm late to upload again, but there's a lot going on, and I need to sketch a Christmas themed assassins creed for my deviantart, lol busy, busy, I hope you enjoy this chapter
Chapter 2,
Forgive Me…Rin,
That same day a great distance away from Kaede's village on a cliff's edge stood a silver haired demon, clad in a white kimono with red flower patterns gracing the neckline and sleeves. A black breastplate and front guard adorned the kimono, along with a spiked pauldron and 2 red tassels at the front, and a yellow and blue obi that held it all in place at the waist, that also held two swords. One was a sword of destruction, the Bakusaiga, born from his own body and missing left arm, the other was a sword of healing, the Tenseiga, a gift left to him by his late father, and in his opinion it was worthless, although he overlooked the fact that it was able to bring Rin back to life.
He stared out over the area, the wind tossing his hair and fur that rested on his right shoulder behind him in a silver trail, he was deep in thought even though his expression remained emotionless never hinting that anything was going on inside the demons head. It had been years since Sesshomaru decided Rin should stay in a human village where she would be safe. And though he wished he could say it was for the better his heart hung heavy in his chest, and never let him forget the choice he made. If Jaken was to be any judge in Sesshomaru's character since Rin had stopped following them, he would say that Sesshomaru had become more angry and temperamental, and he had endured far more punishments then he had when she was with them. He was even punished for no reason at all, for he could not recall anything he had done that would displease his Lord.
But he couldn't judge his Demon Lord, Rin meant a lot to him, so much that he was sure Sesshomaru would have cried when she died a second time, only his pride didn't allow such weakness in the face of others. Of course he wished that he would ever mean that much to his Lord, but that would never be, Rin was the only one that had managed to find a place in his guarded heart that had never before felt anything.
Sesshomaru realized he had not seen Rin in a very long time; he had missed three of their usual meetings already, how long had it been? Several months at least, maybe longer, he was feeling the solitude more than usual now; his simple visits with Rin were something he longed for when the time came for him to return to her once again, with a gift of some sort as well. But during his last few visits he was distant, he knew she could tell, and he never brought her anything either, even though he assumed she didn't await his return simply so he could adorn her in a new Kimono or other possessions. He still felt as if he had broken tradition, it was his way to bring her something, to show that he still cared and wanted her back with him if that was also what she wanted.
Surely these last few meetings wouldn't discourage her? No. She wasn't like that, she should know that he didn't need gifts to convey his feelings, she was always good at reading him, and she should be able to understand his true feelings. He didn't know how she was able to see past his rigid exterior and gaze upon his soul, but she had the gift and he was glad someone was able to see him for who he was, and understand him, at last.
"What am I afraid of, why don't I go and see her…what is stopping me?" He asked himself as his face contorted slightly in a quizzical frown, "Is this fear? I Sesshomaru should not be conquered by 'fear' and yet…I remain here, not even considering going to see her" His face relaxed slightly and he attempted to gather his thoughts,
"She's old enough to make her own decision now…am I afraid she will choose to stay in the village, or am I afraid she will choose to return to me?" Yes, this seemed more logical to him,
Ever since her second death and possession by Magatsuhi which lead to her being trapped inside Naraku, he had treated her as if she was a glass dove that would break if not handled with extreme care. If she returned to him, a moment like that was sure to happen again, there were countless demons that would try to kill him and consume his power, but he wouldn't be able to be consumed by mere demons such as they, he was too powerful. Yes, he was afraid that if she returned to him, she would be put in danger and her life would be at stake and this time he wouldn't be able to save her, she was only still alive by the good grace of his mother that used the Meido stone to revive her, and he was warned that this would be the last time.
That on one hand was one of his fears, on the other hand, he was afraid she had grown to love her village life and would choose to remain there instead of returning to him, it would crush his heart, but if that was her choice he would have to let her make it. He recalled the conversation he had with Kaede about Rin before he had taken Jaken and A-Un and returned to the road, she made sense to him, and although he knew he didn't have to listen to her, he wanted to see Rin make her own decision, because what he really wanted was for her to be happy.
*Flashback*
"Ye are taking the child with thee yes?" Kaede asked, Sesshomaru didn't answer and she took the silence to mean yes,
"Have ye considered that maybe that's isn't what she wants" She could hear what seemed to be an audible grunt coming from him, his back was turned to her,
"What concern is that of yours?" He finally spoke, in his usual monotone voice,
"The road ahead of ye is no doubt perilous, does ye think that she enjoys running into dangerous monsters and demons all the time, was she not killed by wolves once and the Tenseiga used to bring her back to life, what would happen to her if she was to die again, ye would allow her to experience death more than once?" Kaede asked,
Her reasoning was beginning to bother Sesshomaru; did she think he wasn't capable of protecting her? He then realized that he wasn't able to protect her the second time and she had died regardless of anything he was able to do to save her. He growled inwardly at the thought of him not being there in time to protect her, and he hated to admit that she was right.
"And what would you have me do?" He asked, his voice slightly pitching with frustration,
"Leave the child here, and when she comes of age, let her make her own decision." She offered simply,
"You would have me leave her here in this village that was nearly destroyed by the half demon Naraku, is that what you would have me do?" He asked,
"Do ye believe that she would not choose to return to ye if ye let her stay here Sesshomaru?" His eyes widened and he made a small sound of what could have been shock, at her boldness perhaps to assume what he was thinking,
"So far the only life she really knows is that of following ye, before ye decide to take her away again should ye not give her a choice of what she wants, let her see what it is like to live amongst humans once again and then, let her decide what she desires." She continued,
He was silent for a while, "And you would be able to protect her from harm?" He asked,
"I feel that if I was not able to protect her as ye desires, ye would hunt me down for my failure" She replied, her boldness was amazing him,
"Fine…you may keep the girl, but if she chooses to leave with me, you have no right to force her to stay, as you say, it is her choice."
"Believe me Sesshomaru this is what is best for her, she needs to experience both worlds before making a blind decision."
He gave a disapproving grunt and walked away from the old Miko, not looking back, she had conned him into this choice by using Rin as her leverage, was it that obvious to see that he wanted what was best for her, that people could exploit it.
*End Flashback*
"What is best for her…if she felt half of what I feel she would know it was better for neither of us." His face once again contorted in frustration at his careless mistake,
And yet if he felt so strongly that he made the wrong decision by listening to the Miko and leaving her in the village, why did he not go to fetch her, or at least see what she had decided she wanted, wasn't that the reason she was to remain there? He closed his eyes and lifted his head into the sunlight and felt it's warmth on his skin, upon opening his eyes there was a fire that burned in them, one of determination, he turned slightly.
"Jaken." He called, and soon an imp carrying a two headed staff wandered up to him,
"Yes my Lord, what is it?" He asked,
"Stay here with A-Un I shall return shortly" He ordered, and with that he touched off the ground and flew off towards the horizon,
"I was wandering when he would do something like this; he seems to have a purpose in mind, but what could it be?" He was either asking the question out loud or he was expecting A-Un to have the answer, whichever it was he wasn't any closer to determining why his Lord was acting so strangely,
As Sesshomaru flew he wasn't heading in the direction of Kaede's village, infact he was heading in the opposite direction, but for whatever reason, it seemed to be of importance to the demon, the look on his face said as much. He remembered the last time he had left her in that village; she had been possessed by Magatsuhi and was caught up in his battle with Naraku, she was terrified and screaming his name as she always did when she was in danger and needed help.
They were incapable of protecting her, why would now be any different, even if Inuyasha was there he was too stupid to be able to save her life, he would never trust a half breed with the safety of his precious Rin, but what if some kind of danger had befallen her during the time he had failed to show up. This thought haunted him, protecting her and keeping any dangers at bay was his job and he should have kept up on his regular visits as he always did, now shouldn't have been an excuse. But he couldn't see her…not yet; he closed his eyes and sighed.
"Forgive me…Rin" He whispered, and then opening his eyes he continued on his way,
So there you have it, what do you think will happen next, is Sesshomaru leaving? Or is there something hidden between the lines going on? Find out in the Next chapter :P