7. Part

The sun hadn't risen yet as Yori walked through the forest in search of Sesshomaru. Tears coated her face as she walked, unexplained emotions surfacing and seizing control of her. She held in her left hand her bow and in her right, her arrows. She'd grabbed them before leaving camp. She'd also kissed Rin's forehead as she slept, and awoke the sleeping girl. Rin had looked up at her and asked "Where are you going?" To that she smiled sadly and hugged the young child.
"I'm going to find Lord Sesshomaru. I have to speak with him."
"About what?" She'd bit her lip then.
"Rin, I'm leaving." Panic had risen in Rin's face and she jumped up.
"No, you can't leave!"
"Rin I—"
"No!" Tears had run down her face. She wiped them and then continued. "You can't. You're like a big sister to me and you're the only one I can talk to around here. And you're nice to me. And, and… Lord Sesshomaru will miss you!" It had broke her heart to see the little girl cry. But her words made no sense.
"What? No Rin, you're mistaken. He won't miss me."
"Yes he will! You make him happy Yori, I can see it!" Yori just sighed and kissed her on the forehead. Maybe it was best if Rin didn't know she was leaving. She hated to lie to her, but Yori saw she had to.
"Alright Rin, since it's upsetting you so much, I'll stay. We can go back to sleep, and don't you worry I'll be here when you wake up in the morning. I'm sorry I made you cry." Rin had given her a suspicious look, but nodded her head and they had lain down. When Yori was sure Rin had fallen into a deep enough sleep, she stole away into the night.
I love you Rin, as if you were my little sister. She thought now, as the wind wrapped itself around her. She would miss Rin, but just because she was leaving didn't mean she wouldn't be back… right? When she had spoken to the High Priestess, she could come back. She wouldn't be gone forever. Yori clutched her bow and arrows tighter as she stumbled into an open clearing. The grass was blowing softly in the night's breeze, bending in the full moon's light. And there in the center of the clearing, standing in the middle of the dancing leaves was Lord Sesshomaru. He was looking up at the moon and standing still, as he always did. And with a deep breath, Yori stepped further into the clearing.
"Lord Sesshomaru, may I speak with you?" she asked. He turned his attention towards her, giving her permission to speak. She took another deep breath. "When I went to the village the other day, I saved them from a demon. I stole one of the fallen villagers bow and arrows and I purified the demon. Lady Kaede came up to me and spoke to me about the arrow I'd shot. She told me that I'd fired a sacred arrow and there were only two people she knew who could do that. The big difference was that their sacred arrows' light was pink, mine is blue." Sesshomaru continued to stare at her. And she found it very hard to speak as she continued.
"Kaede told me to go to the Sacred Lands and to speak to the High Priestess about it. I've been having nightmares since then, and the deciding one last night. I woman was calling to me. She said 'you must come, you must come' over and over again and I've decided that I need to go." Sesshomaru's eyes widened momentarily and then he turned his back to her. The seconds of silence that passed seemed to stretch into hours. The wind picked up its pace and the night seemed to come alive. The trees moved in closer, as if to watch the scene in front of them. The grass bent further, as if bowing to the two. And the howls hooted to the night sky, as if calling for order. Finally the wind stopped blowing.
"What are you still doing here?" Sesshomaru said. His voice was normal enough, but Yori could sense the anger beginning to stir inside of him.
"So, then, may I go?" Yori asked slowly. But she knew what he would say. Rin's words rang about in her head: He'll always give you the choice to leave or stay, you just have to make the final decision.
"If you so desire to leave, you may do so. But understand that if you wish to come back, you will not be able to." It was the same tone. Yori sighed and looked down. Tears had formed in her eyes and were following slowly down her cheeks. She didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to. She turned her back to him and stood straight, trying desperately to keep her composure.
"Goodbye Lord Sesshomaru." And she began to walk away. Every step she took killed her, every step sent needles up and down her legs, every step screamed for her to go back, for her not to leave him. And she stopped dead in her tracks when his voice found its way to her ears.
"The human like all humans." She turned around. Sesshomaru's was still facing the other direction.
"Excuse me?"
"The human like all humans. My mother said that to me about Izayoi, the mortal princess that my father fell in love with. On the day of his death, she birthed to him a half demon son. The child was named Inuyasha." Inuyasha and Lord Sesshomaru are brothers? That figures. There wasn't much surprise in that, Yori had thought they were related in some way, but not one so close. She wanted to ask him about it, but Sesshomaru continued. "I curse my father's foolishness, giving his heart away to a human woman."
"But, my Lord, when you are in love there is nothing you can do about it. It is not foolishness."
"Who are you to say it isn't?" he said turning to her.
"Who are you to say it is?" she asked. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"It is not your place to say such things."
"And it is not your place to judge people the way you do. If he fell in love with her than—"
"Do not make excuses for him! You know nothing, you are a mortal. You are oblivious to all around you. Demons hate humans; they have since the beginning of time! What right has he to change that?" The anger had finally made its way to his voice, choking his words and drenching them in bitterness. Tears continued to fall down Yori's face.
"Do you hate me, Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked, not wanting to know the answer.
"Yes. I loathe you with every fiber of my being, I despise the fact that mortal blood run through your veins; mortal blood and sacred blood. You are a miko, even worse than a regular human." Yori couldn't believe what she was hearing. He hated her? Anger replaced sadness in her heart and she balled her fists together.
"I see now why humans hate demons. You are rude, and arrogant. You put your own feelings and selfishness before others. You abuse the strength you were born with and belittle others, especially humans! You put on a tough act and walk the earth holding your head higher than others! But I can see right through it Lord Sesshomaru, you are a fool!" Yori was screaming, tears running furiously down her face. Sesshomaru's face was consumed with rage.
"How dare you speak to me that way." He spoke lowly, dangerously, and with a voice like ice. He pulled out his sword and was on Yori in a moment. He had her backed against a tree, the tip of his Tokijin to her neck. But Yori didn't flinch, she didn't scream, she didn't move.
"Will you kill me Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked dropping her bow and arrows to the ground, showing him that she would not strike. "Will you take my life as you have done some many others? Will you bathe your sword in my unworthy blood? Will you burn my corpse and curse the day I saved Rin's life? Will you kill me Lord Sesshomaru?" He stared at her, his eyes masked in hate and rage. But when he looked at her face; red eyes, cheeks covered with tears, and the horrible expression of defeat and triumph, fury and sadness, and determination and failure plastered on her face, he let out a growl and sheathed his sword. Yori watched, anger mixing with pain in her heart, and stared into his eyes which had resumed their usual cold stare.
"Are you a fool then, Lord Sesshomaru?" He pressed his body against hers threateningly. Still, she did not flinch.
"Do not test me girl. There is nothing stopping me from ripping out your throat right now." he said.
"There is something stopping you, just like there's something stopping me from wounding you with my arrow." Yori said. She didn't avert her stare as he looked down to see the head of an arrow pressed to his torso. She knew the hand that held the arrow was shaking, trembling because it knew it never could do what it might have to. Sesshomaru looked at Yori's face once more and the backed away from her. She grabbed her bow and her arrows from the ground and turned around. The sun was rising and she could just imagine the way he looked bathed in its beautiful light as he stood still and said "The human like all humans."
Goodbye Lord Seshomaru. And Yori disappeared into the trees.

Yori wiped her tears from her face and tried to slow her breathing. When she left the clearing, she'd begun to run. She just ran because she knew if she didn't get away from his as quickly as she could, then she would go back to him. When she felt certain that she was far enough away, she stopped running and tried to calm her furiously beating heart. She'd run far, very far. Probably a good two or three miles were now separating her and Sesshomaru. She had her bow and arrows slung over her shoulder and she was drenched in sweat. But when she looked up, she gasped.
"I ran all the way back to the place where I first met Rin." she said out loud, surprised. The place looked so much different in the morning; the bright light from the sun was bouncing off the surface of the river, creating little rainbows that floated away with the current. Yori half expected to see a demon jumped out of nowhere and threaten her life. But nothing happened, except…
"Hey kid!" Yori heard someone call. She looked up and widened her stance as the winds picked up and surrounded her. "Need a ride?"
"Kagura?" she said and she jumped onto the giant feather. "What are you doing here? Did Naraku send you?" Kagura looked over her shoulder.
"No he didn't send me. Your arrow found my heart and purified it. Now I'm free from him, thanks to you. So I thought I drop by and return the favor." Yori sat perplexed.
"How did you know where I was?"
"I had Kana find you with her mirror before I left. I watched you as you were going to tell Sesshomaru. So I flew over cause I thought he might kill you." Yori looked down and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"He almost did." she whispered.
"No, I heard you two from the beginning and you're right. There was something stopping him from killing you, just as there was something stopping you from killing him." Yori looked up now.
"Like what?" Kagura tossed her a peculiar glance and then looked back in front of her.
"Where ya headed? The Sacred Lands?" she asked. Yori nodded.
"Yes, Kaede said they were located in the south. Have you heard of them?"
"Yes. The Sacred Lands are where all of the monks, priest, and priestesses go at one point in their life to train. Only those who have pure hearts and true intentions are allowed to enter, or else the barrier that surrounds the land will purify you, regardless if you're mortal or demon. I've heard a person must be determined, hardworking, and strong in order to survive the training there. Are you ready for that?"
"I just want the dreams to go away; I want to find out how to get home. But most importantly, I want to figure out who I am in this world." Kagura smirked.
"Well kid you must be someone pretty important, considering the fact that Sesshomaru wouldn't kill you and I'm giving you a free ride to your destiny." Yori smiled a small smile at Kagura. This woman must have been so misunderstood. She only did the things she did because she was under Naraku's control. She fits the description, but that was not her voice in my dream. Kagura was strong, independent, and now free.
Yori inhaled deeply. She took in the wind as it surrounded Kagura's feather. It seemed to fill her, to bring her mind at peace, to make her happy. She breathed in again and Kagura chuckled.
"Feels good doesn't it?" And she too took in a deep breath of air. "Ah, as if your soul's been set free." Yori nodded. That's exactly what it felt like. But no amount of liberation could cover the pain she was feeling on the inside. Yori's heart seemed to explode when a picture of Sesshomaru's face as he'd threateningly held the Tokijin to her neck crossed through her mind.
"Huh?" Kagura looked back and then came closer to Yori. "You seem to cry about him a lot." she commented and then wrapped her arms around Yori.
"Don't worry about it. If he cares about you the way you care about him, then you two will be together soon. I'll even help you find him, but you have to promise you'll stop crying. It'll take three days to get to the Sacred Lands. Do you think you can last that long?" Yori nodded her head and wiped her tears away. There was no use fighting it any longer, she'd fallen in love with Lord Sesshomaru.