I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter up, but life has been a little busy lately, and will probably continue to be, so a heads up that the next chapter may be just as late, thank you to those who still read this and continue to do so. =}
Chapter 3,
A Warm Bath,
Later that night in the house by the lake that Rin now inhabited, she was sprawled out on her futon and restlessly sleeping, the simple blanket that was covering her was twisted around her legs, her vigorous movement having entangled her. Unknowingly to her the moth cocoon she had collected earlier that day was a weak moth demon that was cursing her with nightmares of her worst fear, and tormenting her gaining power from her distress. She gasped and moaned, her legs making kicking motions, as if she was trying to run but gaining no ground, in her dream she was being chased by a wolf, much larger than a regular wolf, and with sharper claws and more fierce looking fangs.
She was running as fast as her legs would carry her but she gained no ground, and the beast began nipping at her heels, getting closer and closer to drawing blood. It swung its huge paw at her and tore a piece of her kimono, a light blue one covered in peacock feather patterns, with a white obi and light purple binding holding it together at the centre. She gasped, it had been a gift from Sesshomaru, and she didn't want it destroyed, but this beast was set on chasing her down until she could no longer run, it took another swipe at her and cut off more of her kimono, it was getting closer by the minute.
As she ran from the beast she tripped on a loose stone and came crashing to the ground, she hurriedly turned and the wolf then struck her in the face with its paw, drawing blood, which caused her to emit a small scream of terror. She was knocked flat on her back by the attack, but realized she couldn't stay down too long before it decided to end the chase and devour her on the spot, so she saw her opportunity and grabbed a stick that had been lying on the ground and struck the wolf with it. Seeing this as her way to escape, she quickly scrambled to her feet and continued to attempt to escape the beast that pursued her.
The wolf once again clawed at her only this time his strike caught her leg and she yelped in pain, but she pushed on, she wasn't about to die, not again, and not by the same creatures that had claimed her life the first time. However as she ran, several more wolves interrupted her path and she halted dead in her tracks, there was nowhere left to run she was trapped, but just when she thought all hope was lost, she saw Sesshomaru ahead of her.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" She yelled, the fear and despair clear in her voice,
She had called his name but he continued to simply stare on as if he had not heard, it felt as if a hand had clutched her heart, he wasn't paying any attention to her; he was going to let her die without lifting a hand to save her.
"Lord Sesshomaru! Please help me!" She begged, as the wolves closed in more and more, snapping their teeth at her as they did so,
"Rin…I told you, you had to fend for yourself, and you can't expect me to protect you all the time." His words cut her deep and tears or sorrow ran down her cheeks, she fell to her knees almost forgetting that an impending doom was getting closer to her by the second, her eyes trained on her Lord,
He then slowly turned and walked away, not even concerned in the slightest, "Lord Sesshomaru…" Her voice was but a whisper as she watched him leave her, but her voice was soon pitched to a scream as the wolves pounced upon her,
She woke with a start, her breathing quickened and heavy, she looked around and she found that she was safely in her bed, she let out a sigh of relief before she rose from her bed and wiped her face her hair was slick and sweat ridden and she realized she needed to wash the sweat from herself, so as usual she would pay a visit to Kagome's house to make use of the 'bath items' she brought back from her world when she went to visit on occasion.
Rin usually only did this when she knew Sesshomaru was due to pay her a visit, but with his increased absence she decided that she was going to make use of this commodity nevertheless. She realized she must look ghastly so she hoped that Kagome or Inuyasha wouldn't ask questions, and their house did have a really nice bath, and she desired nothing more at the present than to ease herself into the warm water. She was aware that there was a hot spring not far from the village, but she wouldn't know if anyone was to spy on her and the thought of exposing herself to anyone other than her intended when the day came bothered her.
So once she had arrived at Kagome and Inuyasha's house she gently knocked on the door, and Kagome came to greet her with a pleasant smile as always, and Inuyasha greeted her with a sceptical look, as always.
"Rin…are you okay?" Kagome asked, she was somewhat worried; obviously Rin looked worse than she had first thought,
Inuyasha started sniffing the air as if looking for a certain scent or a hint as to why she looked as she did, "So my brother didn't show up and pay you a visit I see." He stated, uncaring of how that made both the females feel,
"Inuyasha!" Kagome warned, the tone of her voice made him flinch as he still wore the beads of subjugation,
"Kagome…" His voice was fearful,
Rin chuckled, "It's alright Kagome…I do look like a mess don't I"
"Nevertheless Inuyasha should learn that women like to be treated with tact."
It was only then that she realized why Inuyasha had come to the conclusion that he did because she had walked to their house wearing only her sleeping Kimono, and that was when her face coloured to an embarrassed tone.
"Come inside Rin, I'll get a bath ready for you." Kagome said as she led the way inside,
"Ya know you should just let us build you a bath for your house Rin, so you don't have to keep coming over to our house to use ours." Inuyasha said,
"I know, but it is always nice to see you two, I am sorry I came so inappropriately dressed though." Rin said shyly as she followed Kagome,
Kagome hinted for Inuyasha to leave them as she could tell there was something up with the way the young lady looked, so Inuyasha followed his silent command and left the house to go see if Miroku was trying to con anymore villagers out of their food.
"Rin are you sure you're okay?" Kagome asked again,
"I'm fine really Kagome." Rin replied,
"I know Sesshomaru hasn't visited in months I would know if he had because Inuyasha would have picked up his scent, but I'm sure he will come soon." Kagome continued trying to sound optimistic,
Rin's stare became blank and she really didn't mind if she started talking to the young Miko, "Even if Lord Sesshomaru didn't return, I owe him so much, I died when I was very young, and he used the Tenseiga to bring me back to life, he allowed me to experience my life, it could have ended so soon, but instead he chose to save me. So you see even if I never see him again I can be grateful for so much." She explained,
That was one thing that still confused Kagome, she had seen Sesshomaru when he was brutal and killed for perhaps fun, he had tricked Inuyasha into thinking he had brought his mother back to life when it was merely a demon that had taken on her form. His relationship with Rin had proven that he had changed, and for the better it would seem, even though it was obvious Sesshomaru still didn't approve of Kagome or Inuyasha as a part of the family.
Kagome had finished the bath and she allowed Rin to bathe while she went to retrieve a Kimono from her new house, Rin eased herself into the warm bath water and let it wipe away the sweat that clung to her body, but at the same time she allowed herself to think. Could she really let Sesshomaru go that easily? It was going to hurt her for a very long time and she knew it, but she was going to have to learn to deal with it in time, though she doubted that she could ever forget him, nor did she want to.
Every time she looked at or wore something that she had received from him it was going to hurt her, she knew that, but she was always strong, and she knew she could handle the separation, she just didn't want to. He was a demon, she was a human, the difference between them was huge but she didn't think it mattered at all, did he decide that it was too much for them to be friends, perhaps that was it. She shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she was enjoying a warm bath, and the last thing she wanted while she was relaxing was to think of something that would hurt her, so she let out a heavy sigh and allowed herself to enjoy it.
When she was finished with her bath she felt clean and fresh and she loved the feeling, she found it quite daunting however that Kagome had managed to pick out the exact Kimono from her nightmare, but she did like that one and so she quickly adorned it. She thanked Kagome for the use of her bath and gathering her clothes, she returned to her own home, perhaps she should let Inuyasha help her put a bath in her own place, but she figured Sesshomaru would come and take her away with him. However with the way things were going now, she thought the addition to her home would be a good idea.
When she set her clothes down for washing later, she found a tear rolling down her cheek, she missed her lord, and she wished he would come back, but even she was hoping too much. She walked to her room to change her futon but then noticed that the cocoon she rescued the other day was vibrating as if it was almost ready to hatch, she smiled, and at least something good was going to come of the day that had so far been gloomy. So she took the cocoon and walked out into the forest to one of her favourite places, that was littered with beautiful wild flowers of every color; she then stood amongst them and awaited the magical moment.
Well there you have it, another chapter down, from what was initially going to be a one shot has turned into a few chapters, it was fun to write so I kept going, I hope you enjoyed, and leave a review, it might just get the next chapter up sooner. =D