Chapter 9: From Deep Within

Tora's heart skipped a beat and then seemed to thunder loudly. A surge of power and strength like nothing she ever experienced rushed through her. It began deep in her abdomen, a warmth that continually grew until she felt as if she was burning. Excruciating pain ran from her head down to her fingertips and toes as she felt her body changing. The world seemed to be in sharper focus. The sights. The sounds. The smells. The sensations on her skin.

Then an intense hatred flared into her mind. To Kill. No other thoughts could take form as this one desire overwhelmed her, and she lashed out at her enemies. With new strength, she weilded the katana with one hand, severing a yōkai's arm. At the same time, she blindly struck out with her other hand, sharp claws ripping through exposed flesh. A horrible, animalistic snarl bursted from her as she mercilessly slaughtered everything that moved around her.

Kill. Kill.

A cry sounded on the air that sent a sharp, painful ringing through her ears. Tora doubled over as pain gripped her heart.

Rin.

For a brief second, the pain and hatred waged a ferocious battle within her mind, each trying to take complete control.

Rin.

The childish laughter danced on the air as Rin beamed with joy. She ran across the small meadow, disturbing a group of butterflies into flittering into the lazy afternoon sky. In her hands were small red and yellow wildflowers. She was breathless when she finally stopped and held the flowers up. "Do you like these, Tora-san? I picked them just for you."

Rin.

With a ferocious snarl, Tora fought through the yōkai. Her only thought was to reach the little girl. Using her blade, her claws, and even the fangs that appeared, she pushed through the ring of creatures surrounding Rin. The girl was lying on the grass, one arm hanging limply and at a strange angle. Her eyes were closed and fear was written all over her face. A yōkai was standing over her, his clawed hand raised to strike. "RIN!"

Tora threw herself on top of the little girl, her hands digging into the dirt on either side of Rin's shoulders. Then she felt her chest explode in pain, and her eyes barely registered the tips of claws protruding from the front of her kimono. Blood dripped down on to the grass. On to Rin.

The girl felt the warm, sticky substance on her face and stirred.

"Rin... don't... move..."

Even though she had used her body as a sheild, the sharp claws were just a hairs breadth away from Rin's face. Tora used all of her strength to keep them from touching the girl. Her hands dug deeper into the soil, her body shook from exersion, and sweat beaded her grimacing face.

The pain.

Eyes closed, she fought against the yōkai pressing down on her. All of her senses were fading. The sounds of the battle was merely a dull roar in her ears, barely audible. She could not smell anything. The strong scent of her own blood filled her nose. Even the superhuman strength that had moments ago enveloped her was slowly ebbing.

Something damp and salty ran down her face and touched her lip. Her eyes fluttered open, but she could not focus on Rin's face. Her vision was too blurred.

Everything was so heavy.

Hold on... Rin.

Suddenly, the sensation of weightlessness hit her. The weight was gone. Nothing was pressing down on her. She could not even feel the ground beneath her. She was being pulled backwards. No. She did not feel anyone's touch. She was falling. The blue sky. It was clear. There were no yōkai. Just Ah-Un. Was it just a dream?

She landed on something solid, and tremendous pain shot through her back. Suddenly, her senses returned to her. She could see clearly again. Silvery hair. Crescent moon. Golden eyes. He was here.

With her last bit of strength, she stared up into his solemn face and whispered, "They were after Rin."

Sesshomaru stared at the unconscious hanyō supported only by his arm. Then his eyes shifted to his hand. It was covered with her blood. Her wounds were severe, and death would not be far from her. Perhaps he had been mistaken regarding the usefulness of a mere half-breed. He laid her down onto the grass, watching as her blood pooled beneath her.

Leaving her without another thought, he reached for Rin. The little girl stirred and opened her eyes.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she said softly.

A weak smile formed on her face despite the blood splattered all over her. The hanyō's blood. Rin tried to sit up, and winced from pain. Her right arm hung oddly at her side, and the sleeve of her kimono was torn revealing a jagged wound.

"You came, Lord Sesshomaru. I knew you would come."

"You are hurt, Rin."

The girl briefly glanced at her injured arm. "I... I will be alright. But where is Tora-san?"

Her eyes peered passed the mokomoko and found the young woman. Her smile was gone as she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled next to her body. Sesshomaru kept his arm close to the girl as she leaned over to examine Tora's face. Her small finger traced a faint mark on the woman's cheek that had never been there before. Then she saw the strange, black dog ears protruding from her hair. Her eyes also quickly took in the fangs at her mouth and the sharp claws that had replaced Tora's hands.

"Lord Sesshomaru... Tora-san saved me from the yōkai." Rin's voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

Then she swallowed, and her lip quivered slightly as she took in the severity of the wounds to the young woman's chest. She did not even appear to be breathing. So still. So lifeless. Covered in her own blood. Rin turned her head and peered up into Sesshomaru's face. Her tearful eyes were pleading.

"Is Tora-san going to be alright?"

The daiyōkai calmly shifted his gaze from Rin to the hanyō. Even though she was unconscious and hardly able to even draw a breath, he still sensed her yōki. It surrounded her body like an invisible caccoon. He no longer smelled fresh blood, which meant that her deep wounds were already beginning to heal. Interesting. Though it had remained buried deep inside of her for years, her yōkai blood had somehow broken free during the battle. Sesshomaru had sensed the explosion, a sudden surge of a yōki, miles away.

Despite the outburst of power, her yōkai blood had not overwhelmed her somehow. Perhaps it was due to the fact that her mother, Kasumi, had been a lesser Inu- yōkai and not very powerful herself. Strange. A full yōkai would have been killed by such an attack, yet she continued to linger in this world. What kept her here?

Tell me, Sesshomaru, have you someone to protect? The voice of his father faintly whispered in his mind. The memory of that night was still fresh inspite of the centuries that has passed. Protect? The answer is no. I, Sesshomaru, have no need of such. In the second before the great Inu no Taisho sped off to meet his death, his disappointment has very clear. That was the last time Sesshomaru had seen his father.

The hanyō had been protecting Rin. She would have known that the instant she threw herself into the path of the claws, her life was over. Yet she chose to do so anyway. To give one's life to save another. Such foolishness was something only a human would do.

Or was it?

His eyes narrowed as he watched Rin stroke a strand of Tora's hair. The child's usually smiling face was wrought with a mixture of anguish and fear. This was not the first time he had witnessed her fear of death.

He looked down at the hanyō. She continued to linger in her transformed state, and her flesh was already mending itself. Her heartbeat was stronger in his ears than before and her breathing deeper.

"Tora will live," he said. "Rin, let me see your arm."

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru."

Rin immediately turned from Tora, and a smile had returned to her face. Even when he took her arm in his hand and pain shot up to her shoulder, that smile never wavered. The bone was not broken, but the wound was deep.

"I... I can help with that," a voice hesitated.