Disclaimer: I own nothing of Inuyasha. Do people realize how irking it is to write this little sentence over and over and over again?
Anyways: Thank you Taraah36 for reviewing! You rock :D *gives hug*
Please read and review. Then I will love you (not in a creepy way) too. XD
And so I give you...
Chapter Three: Savior
Rin was shrieking so loudly in her mind that she realized it was a miracle she wasn't deaf yet.
She wondered what would happen if she just gave up. Then her soul would feed these low-level demons and she would be formed into a demon. And then, he would accept her as... something important. Rin choked back a sob. He would take her, as a demoness, away to his lands and she would live happily, ever after.
She mentally punched herself. Moron.
She had learned the hard way that freaking fairy tales didn't come true. Of course, there was the rare occurrence of some lucky bastard- her mind jumped to Inuyasha and Kagome- but she had figured that she was one. After all, her parents were already dead. And she was just somebody that had no particular fate- she was destined to be an ordinary village woman, living in an ordinary home with ordinary kids and an ordinary husband, doing ordinary things.
And the more Rin thought, the more reckless she felt.
And the more reckless she felt, the happier she was.
So she decided to take a chance. She would fight, yes, but she knew that in the end, the vast number of demons would overpower her, the wimp she was. It was her honor on the stake, to know that she gave in fighting, but there was no hope.
She mentally punched herself again, what kind of hero are you? She was trembling at the knees and felt as though she would pass out any second now. The feeling of freshness that she had been savoring just moments ago had just.. left her... and this empty longing was now replaced with an emotion Rin knew too well. Fear.
She had no need to feel fear when he was with her. In fact, she supposed her fight-or-flight reflexes had gone out of practice thanks to the pampering safety she had felt before.
A snake demon lunged for her. She yanked her sword out of its sheath and held it in a defensive stance above her head. Pretend like you know what you are doing. She grinned. Idiot.
She stopped herself from another mental punch and made a mental note not to be too frequent with the mental punishments. Her brain would be bruised silly if this kept going on.
The other demons were watching the girl and the low-level snake battle it out, as if taking the opportunity of assessing their next prey, which she realized to be herself. The snake demon hissed and did some snake-like movement towards her and she swallowed a scream.
Long range attacks. Remember your training with Kohaku, dumbass.
She plucked an arrow out from her quiver with amazing speed and shot it. The arrow struck the demon in between its eyes and as it was distracted, she brought her sword down on its neck, cleanly splitting its head from its body.
Gross. She groaned. This was my nice haori!
Her previously cleaned outfit was spattered with snake blood and she wanted to vomit. The reek of blood was strong and she resisted the urge to flee.
She hardly had time to do anything before the next wave of demons came towards her. Don't flinch, don"t flinch, don't flinch!
She flinched. A centipede demon took the second of hesitation t swoop down, knocking her sword from her hands. The low-level demon was too close to her for her to use her arrows, she realized and grimaced.
She screamed as the demon lifted her up with one of its many clawed hands. Its razor sharp claws punctured her skin. Shit!
Without thinking, she whipped out the dagger from underneath her sleeve and stuck it into the centipede's heart. The monster's blood spattered all over her haori, which she didn't even bother complaining about any longer. She dropped to the ground in a hardly graceful manner, surrounded by the remains of the demon she had just slain.
Her arm was bleeding. She stumbled to catch her step, noticing the swarming demons around her. Damn it! She swore and tried to reach her sword. It was just a couple yards away.
Pain shot up from her leg when the other group of demons attacked.
She killed a few with her arrows.
She killed more with her dagger.
Rin could hardly register what was happening. The only thing that she could hear was the shrieking of the demons. The only thing she could see were the dead carcasses and alive demons. The only thing she could feel was a searing emotion, which she acknowledged as pain.
Something sharp struck her from behind. She screamed as pain shot up her body. Her knees gave way and she fell to the ground on all fours, retching and coughing. She saw blood.
Blood. Rin prayed that the blood in a puddle around her feet was not hers. It was sticky and warm.
Is this what dying feels like?
She knew that of all people, she would be the one to answer. No, it has to go black first.
Everything went black.
And that was how Kohaku found her, lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, being swarmed by merciless demons.
He slayed all of them, hardly noticing that he did, and dashed over to her, gently picking her up. What is this emotion? What is this? He dabbed at a trail of wet on his cheek. I feel so empty inside. He had learned years ago that this emotion would be categorized as sadness.
Kohaku picked her up, wiping dirt and dried blood off her face.
He prayed that the blood in the puddle around her feet was not hers.
"Rin." He didn't dare shake her, she was so vulnerable.
Kirara fended off the rest of the demons while he tried to bandage up her wounds. Lady Kaede and Kagome would have to see her soon. It was dark already, they should head back soon, but he couldn't risk opening her wounds again with travel.
He took out the medicine that slayers carried with them and carefully rubbed it into her wounds, careful not to worsen the damage.
He couldn't help but flinch when he got her blood on his hands.
Rin came back to consciousness just a couple hours later. Kohaku was staring intently at her.
"Kohaku?" He grimaced, then managed to pull off a fake smile.
Kirara curled up in her lap. Her purring was the only other sound besides the crackling of the fire.
"Rin. How are you feeling?"
Her back ached. "Fine."
Medicine did wonders, she appreciated, and graciously thanked her savior. His smiled faded, only to be replaced by a mix of frustration, worry, anger, and something that Rin couldn't put her finger to. "Why did you- Oh, we'll talk later."
She was glad he hadn't gone on with his questioning. She wasn't sure if she knew the answers herself, either. Instead, Rin sat up, ignoring the gasp coming from Kohaku, and suggested that they go sit by the river.
He complied, though she was sure he was agreeing only because she was injured. "But you can't move yet."
"Your medicine healed the wounds pretty much entirely already." And with that she stood, brushing off her blood-stained haori.
"Awww, now I have to throw this away," she complained, picking at her clothing. "And it was my favorite, too. Kagome gave it to-"
Somehow, she ended up in Kohaku's arms with a tiny shriek.
"Like I said before, you shouldn't move yet."
Kirara growled her agreement and the cat earned herself a dirty look from Rin.
Kohaku set her down, with the most gentleness she had ever known in her life, and sat beside her, careful to leave her some space.
Rin stared up at the moon. The luminescence it gave off was stunning; the lonely light contrasted deeply with the darkness around it. Little stars peppered the black canvas, each shining a different shade of yellow, white or blue. Light was strewn across the night sky, which inspired the crickets to sing and chitter along with a lazily hooting owl. The crescent moon was shining.
"Thank you Kohaku."
He smiled. "No problem."
The river was still sloshing languidly along with the current, reflecting the thousands of stars above.
"Lord Sesshoumaru?" The tiny runt had asked once. "What happens when a star dies?"
She looked expectantly at her Lord.
"It merely disappears." Her Lord gave a brief reply before ordering Jaken to prepare Ah-Un.
Her smile drooped. She had been expecting a better answer. "But won't anybody feel sad for the star?"
"Human! What stupid questions you ask!"
"Shut up Jaken." Her Lord turned away.
"But won't anybody feel sorry for the star?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because there are millions of others."
"But they all shine differently! They're all unique! Like me, and Jaken, and Ah-Un!" The distressed girl was becoming teary.
"Come on, human! Do you want to trouble our Lord with all of your silly questions?"
"Jaken." The imp froze. "Shut up."
Rin sighed.
"Thank you, Kohaku."
"You already said thank you." He stared at her in amusement.
"No, thank you for being so kind to me." She stared back. "You're the kindest person I remember."
He blushed the blush that Rin had come to adore. "You're welcome, Rin. You're the kindest person I remember too."
He couldn't help but notice how they were sitting by a river, at night, staring up at the beautiful painting of stars.
He also couldn't help but smile when she was close to him.
So close that their shoulders were almost touching.
There, you got your dose of fluffy. I hope you liked it. :D
You see this button?
He really wants you to click him.
He'll give you a virtual hug if you click him. :D
V V V V