Ok, I am pretty pleased with myself that I am almost finished!!! This is going to be the last official chapter, followed by an epilogue! So stay tuned! - Ichigo

Disclaimer: This humble Ichigo has no share in the Inuyasha interprise except to be an insane fan of it who is forced to write fanfictions to satisfy herself.

The Guardian

Chapter Ten

by Ichigo2491

Sesshomaru's nose smarted. Standing in the forest, as he was wont to do even on evenings such as this when the sky threatened to open up, his keen senses picked up the distant scent of… Rin.

What was she doing out in the woods on a night like this, and…

He stood upright suddenly, his spine straightened by shock. He inhaled deeply, just to be sure. He was positive, and sudden anger welled inside him. How could Kohaku have been so negligent to allow his wife to roam the woods on such an evening, and when she was with child, no less?

His anger built, coupled with an unreasoning (but not completely unreasonable) fear. It was not for Rin, but for himself. He knew he could reach Rin in time to protect her from whatever might threaten her. But he might, after all these years, have to face her. And the thought nearly brought him to his knees.

But fear of seeing her was eventually trumped by fear of what might happen if he didn't. Cursing under his breath, his adrenaline surging, Sesshomaru began running blindly towards his only weakness.

Rin was shivering, her sanity swaying in the wind. She didn't know anymore why she had left her home. All she knew was that she didn't know a thing. She had never felt less in control of her life, even when she had fallen prey to the jaws of wolves, all those years ago. Sesshomaru had saved her then. Who would come to her rescue now?

Kohaku clenched his teeth and ran against the wind. He didn't know where she was. He couldn't feel her presence or sniff her out, like some people, he thought bitterly. And then he felt it, like a slash from a sharpened katana. The by-now-familiar and hated aura of a forbidding canine demon made itself felt in his mind, drawing near, mocking him.

I will NOT let Sesshomaru take Rin from me! Never! Kohaku ran faster than he had ever run in his life. He ran like his life depended on it. And, ironically, it did. Rin was his life.

The gods themselves must have guided his footfalls, for, lo and behold, he heard a human wailing over the wind. It was Rin's cry, and it rent his heart. The only time he had ever heard her sound so agonized was on the fateful day so many years ago when Sesshomaru had left her at his door.

Following the cry, his heart in his throat, he found Rin. Curled against a rock, she wrapped her arms around her knees, rocked back and forth, and keened loudly and miserably. His heart twisted, and his knees shook, and he would have stumbled toward her and taken her in his arms….

… but at the same moment, he caught sight of someone else, someone who didn't belong there, and never would. Anger, guilt, fear, and desperation swirled in his brain, and two separate voices whispered "Rin…"

Her eyes reluctantly fluttered open, her heart tight with fear. She desperately wanted this to be him, and only him…. And then she saw Kohaku, mere feet away, surveying her with an expression she could not fathom. It seemed equal parts grief, anxiety, guilt, bitterness, frustration, sorrow, rage, and love. Why did he not come to her? Why did he just stand there? He was supposed to comfort her, take away all her doubts and fears; not cause her even more confusion and grief than he already had. And then she saw the cause of his restraint, his distance.

Her heart felt as though it had stopped beating entirely for a moment, and her tears dried up in severest shock. Sesshomaru stared back at her, his silvery hair and garments whipped by the wind, his face looking just as smooth and young, and just as emotionless, as when she had last gazed into those cold, hard eyes. Yet somehow, he was different. His countenance was as blank as ever, but whereas before his expression had been closed, now he seemed more open… as though waiting for the emotions he had once avoided.

Her eyes traveled between the man and the demon, and thoughts whirled in her weary brain until she was fairly nauseated. How? Why? Both of them here now? What cruel trick are the gods playing on my heart this time? Why do they look at me so? What are they waiting for?

Kohaku's eyes warmed her with their inner fire. Sesshomaru's chilled her with their lack of any feeling. Cold and exhausted and cut to the bone by Kohaku's deceit and Sesshomaru's sudden appearance, Rin wondered again, Why does neither of them help me? Then it dawned on her like an oppressive sun. They waited on her to make a choice… a choice they had denied her seventeen years ago… a choice between them. How unfair of them! Where was the justice in the world?

Her gaze slid painfully to Sesshomaru He was still so beautiful it almost hurt her eyes to look at him. Those golden eyes belonged to a man she had always loved. The secret emotion that she thought she had successfully buried in her heart was now struggling to dig out of its grave. That emotion, that should have been so tender, that should have had at least a chance to live, had come so close to destroying her happiness…. Indeed, her very life. There was a promise in those eyes, she saw at closer inspection, but she could not discern the details nor the strength of that promise.

Rin looked then at Kohaku. His eyes were downcast, and when he raised them she was so taken aback by the intensity in their golden brown depths that she let out a gasp. She pressed a hand to her face. Fatigue overcame her, from her run, not her choice. The choice, though she had never thought it would be so simple, had been made before it had even been presented. With a quiet sigh, Rin murmured, "Please take me home… Kohaku."

Kohaku's heart filled and bounded in his chest. He leapt forward and cradled his shaking wife in his arms. He stood, holding her tightly, and started back toward the village. Once glance was all he gave the clearing, to find it empty, with only the waving grass marking the place where Sesshomaru had stood. Against his chest Rin whispered dreamily, "He's only a memory, Kohaku…. Nothing more than a memory."

Rin clung to Kohaku the whole way home, forgetting everything, even the fact of the life within her. That had not influenced her decision one whit, and neither had her sons. She had chosen Kohaku on mere basis of her love for him. She did not regret her decision now, and she knew she never would. And that moment she decided something else. Kohaku had suffered too much because of her. She vowed in that instant that their marriage would no longer be a bond of pain and misery. She would show her love; do whatever it took to repay Kohaku for all he had done for her. With her small hand, she reached up and stroked the side of his face. "Kiss me," she whispered, and Kohaku paused. He lowered his head and caught her lips, and Rin pressed back fervently, kissing him with all her heart and soul. Kohaku tightened his grip on her and deepened the kiss, and in that instant Rin wanted him more than anything she had ever wanted before. She loosened her husband's shirt and pressed her lips to his shoulder.

"Yukio will be worried if we're gone much longer," Kohaku said in a ragged voice. But by that time both of them knew that Yukio would just have to wait.

The moonlight bathed his pale face as he drifted around the forest. His eyes were raised to the sickly moon, and his heart was dead, though it was still beating. He had never felt this way before… and he was so confused because he did not know what to feel. He had not been confident that she would choose him after what he had done to her. He did not know what he would have done if he had been chosen. He still wasn't sure he could have given her what she needed. He loved her, but he didn't know her anymore. So how should he feel that she was now lying with Kohaku under this same moon?

Rin had made her choice well. He could not deny that, even after he had finally become willing to admit what Rin meant to him, Kohaku was still the better husband and always would be. He shouldn't still be feeling this pain. It was then that he realized the only way to rid himself of it was to never see her again. Rafu was grown; Yukio would be grown in just a few short years. As for the new child, well, a baby girl would have no chances taken with her. Kohaku would not let her out his sight long enough for her to fall into danger. They no longer needed him; and he had best move on.

But move on to what? His lands were unkept, new lands unconquered. The other demons of his rank scorned him for letting all of his father's land to go to seed, but the truth was he had no care for it. He had no care for anything but Rin… and she was lost to him, through his own fault. For a moment he contemplated ending his own life, but the moment passed as soon as the notion had come upon him. He still had pride and it screamed at him not to let this defeat undo him. He had lost Rin, but she was not the only woman in the world. An inner peace came upon him, and a calm voice spoke to him as though carried on the air.

Go back to your home. Reclaim your lands and your reputation; the respect and honor that once were yours. Rebuild your father's empire; restore it to its former glory, and when that has been done, when the Western lands are once again mighty and demons quiver at the sound of your name, you must focus on continuing your father's dynasty. Choose a mate, Sesshomaru! Rin is not for you. She and Kohaku were always meant to be together. You must wait. Your mate is not yet ready.

Maybe Sesshomaru should have been frightened or startled by the voice in his head, but all he felt was gratitude. One chapter of his life was over, and another was about to begin. And somewhere under that glowing moon, Rin and Kohaku were blissfully unaware of anything but each other, and the promise of a new chapter in their own lives.

Next time I post, it will be my last part of this story! Just an epilogue to let you know how it all winds up. And no, you haven't seen the last of Sesshomaru. Thanks for sticking with me!