CYCLE OF RIN
By Lady JenDragon
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or the characters Rumiko Takahashi created. Sad but true.
Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long for the update. I don't like leaving my readers hanging too long. But, life does have a funny way of interfering sometimes. Anyway. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter Eleven
Demon Traits
Sesshomaru stood at the edge of the cliff, his head tilted forward into the crevice. His eyes trained on the jagged rocks surrounding the river channel as Rin's form blurred against the dark gray cliff. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Once again you surprise me, Rin." He whispered.
He did not expect Rin to jump so willingly off a cliff to escape giving birth to his child. A full demon child. A part of him considered taking immediate action. Yet, he made no attempt to maneuver to save Rin. 'Why do I hesitate?'
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Rin's eyes widened as the gray-black jagged rocks and pebble riverbank hidden rushed towards her. The sun kissed the boulder tops, highlighting the few trees and shrubs growing sporadically along the barren landscape. Where the sun penetrated turned the fast-moving waters from cloudy gray to clear as it rushed by below.
Normally, she enjoyed listening to the waters of the rivers whenever she returned home from a journey after the shards.
'This was it!'
She would die today. The end to her misery came only after she failed to obey the first rule of demonslaying. Unwilling to allow rocks and water to be her last living memory, she squeezed both eyes closed, crossing her arms over her face. 'Death will be quicker this way.'
Energy began to swirl within her chest, gathering strength. She bit her lower lip to absorb the power threatening to escape her body, feeling as if pounding against her ribs. An evil energy, she sensed, crying out to her. Rin kept her eyes closed, shifting her hand to clutch her chest. Then changed her mind at the last second. Her palm slammed into her chest to silence the 'crying'.
'The child within me?'
Ridiculous! Rin dismissed the idea as folly. She was less than a week pregnant. How could a child so early along have any affect on her? 'Silly!'
Suddenly, the energy burst forth from within, surrounding her body in a dim green light. The air around her changed temperature, the pressure changed, growing thicker as she fell towards her death. Rin arched her back as her momentum began to slow. Her arm fell from her face, feeling the change around her. At that moment, she opened both eyes. Her eyes widened as the ground came to a grinding halt beneath her, her body lying parallel. Her breath caught in her chest.
'Sesshomaru?'
Had Sesshomaru caught her to avoid losing his child? Rin glanced over her shoulder barely glimpsing his white kimono at the top of the cliff. 'No.' Sesshomaru would not have saved her. He made it clear long ago that she never mattered to him. Still, what saved her?
"The child…" Rin asked weakly. "Saved itself?"
The very idea sounded preposterous. Yet, the crazy idea seemed to be the only plausible explanation. Rin blinked as her body hovered lowered to the ground then softly deposited her on hands and knees. Her breath finally released, causing her lungs to ache. Rin did not know how to feel. She needed to find Miroku and Kagome immediately.
"You!" A deep voice called out above the sound of galloping hooves. "Witch!"
Rin lifted her face to the term, angry. Three men approached her on horseback, their swords drawn and held in attack style. All were dressed as samurai warriors in full armor, probably on their way to a battle. Rin lost her anger, as if understanding their simple logic. They witnessed her fall and her…inexplicable save. The name fit to them, she concluded.
Twelve hooves slowed then skidded to a halt upon reaching a kneeling Rin. Two of the horses continued to circle her on the rocks and pebble riverbank to prevent her from escaping. Too weak to attempt running, Rin raised her head to face them.
"Witch." The lead samurai lowered his sword towards the woman. "Your craft is punishable by death in this region."
"I'm no witch." Rin said coldly. "I am a demonslayer and possessed with the child of a demon. You must do your duty and rid me of this curse."
"A demonslayer, eh?" The lead samurai repeated, slightly confused by the woman's brazen story. "Lost to a demon in battle, did you? Or you could be lying to save your own skin."
"He stands at the top of the cliff." Rin kept her voice even. "This skin means…"
"Lying witch!" The youngest samurai yelled. "There's no one on the cliff."
Rin turned her face back up towards the cliff. Sesshomaru's white kimono had disappeared from the edge where he once stood seconds before as a witness. She shook her head, not surprised. Inuyasha's brother continued to watch from somewhere hidden, waiting for the final outcome of this new situation to be revealed.
"Figures." Rin responded.
"Let's kill her." The third samurai insisted.
"Do me this final favor." Rin agreed and lowered her head, stretching her neck longer. "Kill me. Save me from this cursed fate."
The lead samurai must have been considering her, making a final decision. He allowed several moments to pass, silence hanging heavy between them.
"This is what you wish?" He asked finally.
"Yes." Rin's voice remained calm. "Better this fate than to birth a demon child."
If she could not die by falling off a cliff, the edge of a blade would do for the task. A bit more painful but a means to an end, she concluded defiant. Rin closed her eyes, waiting for the blade to rain down upon her. Force her fate to end here. She listened, finally hearing the samurai raise his arm with the sword. His armor squeaked as he strained to fulfill her request.
Another burst of energy from within her, horrifically stronger than before when she fell from the cliff. Rin held her breath until she felt the energy disperse. The men screamed in agony as they fell to the ground. Her ears detected the scent of charred skin, hair and bones. Opening her eyes, she looked around her in astonishment. The three men and horses lay motionless on the ground, their eyes eerily dead. Jagged crevices pierced their front armor, hitting them square in the heart, oozing thick streams of blood. Blood splattered across the gray riverbank when the samurai were hit.
Rin felt her breath suck in hard as realization set in. Why had…what happened? She did not know how to understand this. Why had she been saved from a cliff and now from these men? 'The child is doing this? How can this be?'
"I must escape this fate." Rin's voice quivered softly.
'I have touched his lips, felt his hands, tasted his need, experienced his lust. I do not wish to let these memories haunt my dreams anymore. I cannot allow Sesshomaru to win this time. He placed this curse on me. I am a fool to think he is not accountable for my hell.' Anger shook Rin's body. 'I was a child! I didn't understand! Why must I continue to suffer and he reap the rewards?'
She spied a dagger, probably from the lead samurai, loosened and dropped from its sheath before he died. Rin reached out, her hand quivering, clumsy fingers closing around its cold hilt. Dragging it towards her, she stared at the blade. Gripping it tightly in her hand, Rin sat up on her knees. Should she even bother attempting?
Rin placed her other hand over the hand holding the dagger. She lowered her head in humiliation. 'A cowards way out is my only chance.'
Sesshomaru.
She was never supposed to know him…the way she learned to know him. Sesshomaru. Her guardian as a child. Her teacher. Her mentor. The one person she believed she could always trust and count upon for advice. Now, his face haunted her dreams. Made her feel things she did not want to understand because it was him. He caused too much turmoil now that he came back into her life. A new life she built without him. She could not carry his child. She would not carry his child.
Rin turned the blade towards her with newfound determination, aiming the tip at her heart. She felt nothing. No anger, no regrets or last minute doubts about ending her life this way. Her eyes stared at the tip for several moments before pushing the dagger away from her body. Opening her hand on the dagger's hilt, Rin sucked in one last breath, closing her eyes.
In one thrust, she pulled the dagger towards her heart.
Rin's eyes opened, looking down. The power from within returned without her feeling it. This time, rebelling against her. The dagger held firmly at her heart, an invisible force countered the weapon's forward motion. Dim green bracelets wrapped around her wrists, preventing the dagger from piercing the skin and causing any damage. Her arms strained against the force, draining her energy quickly.
The dagger clanked onto the pebble riverbank.
Rin's hands dropped to the ground, palms down, overwhelmed with emotion. Her head dropped severely between her shoulders. Tears wet the gray pebbles below, her body shivering with sobs. Shaking her head in disbelief, suddenly she felt a presence. Rin held her breath, choking back another sob.
"It is pointless, Rin." Came Sesshomaru's gentle voice. "You cannot die. You're fate is sealed."
Rin said nothing, but her sobs went quiet at the sound of his voice. Sesshomaru narrowed his amber eyes very slightly. Rin made no attempt to look up at him, but she was listening to him. She would not face him with tears in her eyes. Her demonslayer pride stopped that typical human response.
Sesshomaru turned on his heels, leaving Rin to accept her position on her own. In due time, Rin would understand her role and her importance. If he was strong enough.
Rin collapsed, exhausted from her eventful morning, falling unconscious on the riverbank.
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Kagome sat with Sango on the grass near Kaede's hut. The elderly priestess continued to surprise everyone living so long. They sat quietly, both unsure where Inuyasha went shortly after Rin left this morning. It was a lovely afternoon. Too good to let it go to waste.
"Do you think Rin will do something rash?" Sango inquired concerned. "Rin doesn't want anything to do with Sesshomaru. She told me when she came to live with us. To find herself pregnant by him. I…"
"…doubt it, Sango." Kagome shrugged. "The shock of seeing Sesshomaru and becoming his woman certainly hurt her pride and goes against all of her training. But, she's stubborn. Probably more stubborn than Sesshomaru is. She'll bounce back when she finds a solution."
"Sesshomaru is more than a problem with a simple solution, Kagome." Sango explained. "He's the father of her child. That represents a life commitment. She'll have to see him for the rest of her life. That's torture where she's concerned."
Inuyasha burst from the tress, Rin held in his arms. He landed on the road, running towards Kagome and Sango. Both women got to their feet and ran towards him.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome reached him first. "What happened!"
"I don't know." Inuyasha pushed past Kagome. "I found her down by the river."
Both women turned back towards the village, following Inuyasha.
Sango fell into step beside Inuyasha and Kagome as he headed directly towards Kaede's hut. Inuyasha pushed the bamboo door out of his way, swinging Rin through the opening.
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In the quiet of the hut, Inuyasha laid Rin down on her bed near the wall. He placed a thin blanket over her, noticing the tears staining her cheeks. With a finger, he wiped away the tears, hoping Sesshomaru had not harmed Rin emotionally with his cold words. They must have had a conversation before he arrived, Inuyasha surmised. He looked up and over his shoulder when he felt the women coming.
Sango and Kagome congregated beside him.
"Is she okay?" Sango's brow furrowed with concern.
"Doesn't appear to be injured anywhere." Inuyasha sniffed the air over Rin on the riverbank. "She hasn't lost any blood."
"What was she doing by the river?" Kagome asked, more asking herself than anyone else.
"I think Sesshomaru was there. I detected his scent before I arrived but I didn't see him once I got there." Inuyasha searched Rin's tear stained face. "Rin must've fainted just before I arrived. There were three dead Samurai warriors on horses nearby as well."
"Did a battle break out between Rin and the Samurai?" Sango asked anxiously.
"Didn't look like it." Inuyasha folded his arms. "The men all died at the same time. A demon weapon of some kind definitely. Maybe Sesshomaru protected Rin from them after all."
"We won't know until she wakes." Kagome shrugged, unsure how to interpret Inuyasha's story.
There was any number of possible explanations for Rin's condition. If Sesshomaru was there, she doubt Rin welcomed him with open arms. Though Rin insisted she felt nothing towards her former master, she kept her true feelings inward. Kagome felt Rin never faced how she truly felt about Sesshomaru abandoning seven years ago. 'She must be going through hell right now.'
"We should leave and let her rest." Sango suggested, leading the way.
She would return later to check on her student. And perhaps, get a few answers to some questions. Sango sighed as she left, followed by Kagome and Inuyasha watching her curiously.
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It had been a most harrowing experience, he decided. He had been unable to locate his master for some time, several days in fact, Jaken lamented. Even using Ah-Une proved fruitless, searching from sunrise to sunset. Only in the last hour had he located a brief whiff of his master's scent, detected by Ah-Une.
Leaving the two-headed dragon to graze in a nearby field, Jaken pushed through the thick vegetation towards a well-known cliff. What confused him was the close proximity to humans. His eyes widened in joy and elation. He found Lord Sesshomaru standing at the edge of the cliff, his pale face turned to the sky, in a stance that suggested he had been waiting for his trusted servant to return to him at any moment. Lord Sesshomaru looked gallant in his white silk kimono, armor, with his Tokijin and Tenseiga sheathed at his waist, and the furry sash/boa over his right shoulder.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken felt overwhelming relief. "I've looked everywhere for you! It has been crazy these last few days! Where have you been! I've been so worried about your safety.!"
"My safety was never in danger, Jaken." Sesshomaru reminded the Imp.
Safety was never considered during his foreplay battle and mating of Rin, the first human demon barer. Sesshomaru flexed his hand instinctively, slightly annoyed that he must continue to see her until the child birthed. Still, he would do what needed to be done to keep the child as his. The next few months were the most important.
"Rin certainly has caused more problems than necessary with that condition of hers!" Jaken spoke confidently of his opinion. "Every demon in this country knows about it and there's far too many curious demons out searching for her! Is she really the demon bearer?"
Jaken leaned on his Two-Headed Staff heavily, his eyes wide, waiting for an answer. It took him far too long to track his master here. And so close to Human villages too certainly threw him off guard. He felt he deserved some answers being the loyal servant that he was.
"Her condition has been taken care of." Sesshomaru replied evenly.
"She mated then?" Jaken sighed, accepting his master's silence as a 'yes'. "So, who's child does she carry then?"
"Mine." Sesshomaru turned and walked back into the forest with calculated strides.
Jaken's mouth gaped open as Lord Sesshomaru left him behind once more. Shaking his head to clear his shock, he ran after his master again. 'Could this be true! Lord Sesshomaru mated with Rin to claim the demon child? A genius tactic on my master's part!'
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Sango returned to the hut with a plate of food for Rin. She wanted to check on her pupil. Mainly, she wanted to reassure Rin that they would be there to support her through these difficult times. 'Sounded better the way Kagome said it.' Sango sighed before passing through the door.
And froze in mid-step.
Rin sat in the corner crying. Sobs rocked her trim body, her face hidden in her loosened hair covering her shoulders as if humiliated by her situation. Surprised that her star pupil broke down into such tears almost caused her to cry herself. Sango wondered what Rin learned earlier today that caused such a womanly reaction from her best demonslayer. Rin rarely cried. In fact, Sango did not remember Rin ever crying since she came to live with them in the village.
Sango felt a pang of sorrow grip her heart. To watch Rin suffer these last seven years and then wind up where she started again, hurt Sango deep. In her own happiness, she hoped to help Rin see the beauty the world offered. But, Rin's current condition proved difficult to understand let alone give any useful advice. 'Who am I to offer any advice, after all?' Still, she had to try.
"Rin?" Sango set the plate on the raised platform.
Sango climbed onto the platform, walking towards Rin cautiously. The young woman pushed herself deeper into the corner. Her torso rose and fell heavily with each sob. She continued to get closer until she was within arms reach.
"Rin…" Sango kneeled beside Rin. "Let me help you. Tell me what I can do."
Rin just sobbed on.
"I don't know what to do here." Sango continued, concern in her voice, slightly quivering with emotion. "What is it? I've never seen you like this. Why are you crying? Please…tell me."
Sango reached out, stroking Rin's hair. The woman shivered violently with more sobs, her chest heaving deeply. There was nothing more to say. Sango felt the best thing to do was just be here, wait for Rin to come around. But, she could not stay silent. Rin needed encouragement.
"We're going to get you through this." Sango began softly. "Just like we have in the past. Tell me what you want to do and we'll do it. Keep this in mind. Though fate has dealt you a low hand, there are ways to pay fate back."
She paused, no response. Rin's sobs slowed, her torso shuddering as she breathed deeply, unsteadily. Rin wiped her runny nose, her arm moving beneath the long dark hair. Her head slightly turned towards Sango. 'She's listening.' Sango smiled. Her words were getting through.
"Fate likes games, Rin. We are nothing but puppets to it. Sometimes, it goes too far. Other times, it leaves us alone. Humans aren't strong enough to completely overpower fate. But, we can get back at it every now and then. Cry. Get out your initial shock and hatred for the hand you've been given. Only then will you truly see what you've been given. Perhaps a blessing, perhaps not. Come to me when you've come to a conclusion."
With that Sango rose to her feet. It was the best advice she could do on short notice. She agreed with herself. Fate did like to play too many games. Sesshomaru and Rin were not the first to be the victims of fate. Nor would they be the last. She reached out to move the bamboo door aside when a voice said meekly behind her.
"Death isn't an option."
Sango's eyes widen in horror, tears forming in her eyes. She slapped her hands over her mouth to prevent her shock from escaping. It took all the energy she could muster to keep her balance. Her heart broke in two.
'Rin tried!'