Chapter 11

Kohaku

Rin was cold and soaked in my arms as I headed up the river. I didn't know how she got in there, all I know is that I saw her floating down it unconcious. I jumped and grabbed her hand, snatching her up in my arms, on my way towards the village.

Soon, I found Shippou in a panic, running up and down the river, his eyes full of tears.

"Rin!" He screamed her name.

I smiled a little at the affection I could see from Shippou. I already knew he cared for Rin, he'd sent me letters and notifications on how my sister was doing and how Inuyasha was still a hard-headed mutt, but most of all he loved to write about how Rin was. He'd say how white her smile was and how much it brightened everyone's day. He'd tell about their day babysiting the kids, and how shiny her hair looked in the sunlight. The way he described her as she grew, I knew he really cared about Rin, my almost little sister.

"Looking for this?"

He wiped away his tears like he was hiding it, but turned around and smiled widely at me, and then when he looked at Rin in my hands he choked back a sob and took her from my arms into his.

The scene was heart-warming, sure, but the fact was that it was getting dark and the air was freezing. Rin was soaking wet and turning blue and Shippou was too relieved to notice.

"Shippou, we should be heading back to the village. Rin will need warmth."

Shippou's eyes darted up and widened. He looked back down at Rin and saw she was pale. "You're right, we have to hurry." Then he darted away running as fast as his demon speed would let him.

Even after being trained, it was hard to keep up with the fox demon. His speed was faster than even Inuyasha's, and his bounds were longer by yards! He jumped off the tree branches and skipped two maybe three trees before he needed to land on another.

"Shippou! C'mon, wait up!" I shouted straining to keep up with him.

Shippou didn't stop. He didn't even pause until we reached the village. Of course, he got there before me and I didn't see which hut he went into. But it didn't much matter because as soon as I stepped into the village, family and friends ran at me and crowded around me asking how I was.

Most of them were young village girls a few years younger than me and some others were men about my age patting my back asking how the training was. I recognized the Inu pups as I looked down at them tugging on my knee pads. I greeted the twins with a smile rustling their hair, and then I saw Kimiko and gasped a little.

"Wow, Kimiko, you've gotten so big!" I said as I threw her up and down in the air playfully. She giggled and laughed and then went to go play with her siblings after I put her down.

Kagome smiled at me and gave me an embrace. "Welcome home, Kohaku!"

"Thank you, Lady Kagome." I smiled back at her.

Inuyasha stood next to Kagome and scoffed. "Took ya long enough to get home."

Kagome rolled her eyes and grabbed one dog ear. "Be nice! He's been working hard for the last few years he doesn't need attitude from you!"

I laughed at the two. They never did change. I wasn't surprised to see Miroku come next to say hello. He greeted me but looked so tired. His robe was a little dirty and there were dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Brother, have you been getting rest?" I asked him, pointing out his bags.

He chuckled humorlessly. "The little ones have been restless, and I've had to help rebuild the village huts. We need more demon exterminators in our village." He rubbed his head.

I chuckled and said I'd be happy to try to recruite some men from the village.

And then I saw my sister walking through the disspersed crowd. Her eyes were wet but she smiled warmly. She embraced my tightly and whispered in my ear, "Welcome home, Kohaku,"

I smiled and a single tear ran down my cheek.

I looked around my family and smiled. It felt good to have a warm welcome to come home to, but then I remembered…

"Rin's in trouble," I looked around them. They looked a bit startled and Inuyasha unsheathed his sword.

"Where's the demon?" He growled as he sniffed the air for a scent. "I don't smell blood…"

"No, no, she's not being attacked by demons she fell into the river," I said and everyone gasped.

Everyone was in a panic, and I was stumbling over my words and everything came out so wrong. Then, Shippou came outside one of the huts.

"She's fine. She was just a bit cold. I changed her clothes and wrapped her up warmly…I made a fire pit inside." He said to everyone.

"A fire pit inside the hut? Are you crazy?" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"I am not! I set some rocks around so it wouldn't catch the hut on fire, it's perfectly safe."

"We'll watch her with you," Kagome said, motioning to everyone. She picked up Kimiko and Kiba and Kanji follwed her inside the small hut. Soon, everyone followed and gathered around Rin and the strange inside fire pit.

Shippou held the young unconcious girl in his arms and wrapped his fuzzy tail around her. He was so caring, and I realized at that moment that Sesshomaru would eventually kill him if he saw him holding her like that.

Sesshomaru definitely had feelings for Rin. It was obvious, though he tried making it not so. If Shippou ever showed his true feelings for Rin like this, Sesshomaru wouldn't hesitate on killing his competition.

"So, tell us more about your trip, Kohaku." Kagome said, breaking the silence.

"The trip there wasn't much of a difficulty, as it never really is. A few demons here and there, but nothing major, nothing much of a challenge…When I got there my master trained me well and hard for months and months…I thought it was never going to end, but I got stronger.

"On my way home it was a little easier except…I ran into this demon…his eyes were green and his long hair was as black as night…he, for some reason, reminded me somewhat of a black cat."

"A cat?" Kagome said and looked at Inuyasha.

"Did he say his name?" Inuyasha asked.

I shook my head. "No, he did not stay, in fact, he hardly noticed me. He seemed much focused on something, and he looked as if he was trying to get away from someone."

"Was he injured at all?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he did. He had a huge gash across his chest, looked like he got in a rough battle." I said.

"It had to be Bakeneko…" Kagome said to Inuyasha.

"Bakeneko?"

"Yes, he's the demon that Sesshomaru has been after for years. He told us that he would not return until he had killed him. I'm starting to have my doubts though…" Inuyasha said crossing his arms across his chest.

"LORD SESSHOMARU WILL DESTROY HIM!" a familiar voice from behind said.

We all turned to see Jaken in the doorway. He had the Staff of Two Heads in his grasp. He had a scowl on his face. It was just as I remembered him…

"Yeah, well, what if he doesn't? Poor Rin's been waiting years for him to come backandhe hasn't!" Inuyasha spat.

"Rin is none of Lord Sesshomaru's concerns right now! All he needs to focus on is destroying Bakeneko, and creating his kingdom!" The imp said.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Sesshomaru will never have his own kingdom. And he'll never rule the world either!"

"You think so? Lord Sesshomaru can do whatever he wants!" Jaken said waving the Staff of Two Heads in front of his face.

Inuyasha swiped it away. "No he cannot!"

The two went on arguing like two children about it. In fact, even the children were laughing at the two's immaturity.

"Okay enough!" Shippou shouted.

They went silent.

"Well, maybe we should get someone to find Sesshomaru; maybe Kohaku can tell him where he was heading." Kagome said.

"Lady Kagome is right," Miroku chimed in. "Sesshomaru needs to know where Bakeneko was hiding. I have a bad feeling that if Sesshomaru doesn't catch him soon, Bakeneko will start to slauter villages."

"He's right," My sister spoke, holding my nephew in her arms. "Kohaku, speaking about your trip, where is Kirara? Didn't she go with you?"

Kirara had gone with me to make my trip easier. Though it still took a few months to get where I needed to go, it was always nice having her around for company.

"Kirara disapeared…im sure she knows where we are, but one day I woke up and she was gone." I said to her.

I scoot back a little as my sister turned red in her face. Her bangs covered her eyes but I knew she was glaring furiously at me.

"Kirara…is…MISSING?" She growled.

I rubbed my head anxiously. "Sango, it wasn't that long ago, I think it was like last month, I'm sure she'll come back here soon."

"You better hope so." She glared.

Rin was stirring in Shippou's arms. She opened her eyes a little bit and then started to tremble. "S-s-s-s-o…c-c-c-c-oooollld…"

"I know, Rin, just hold on, you'll be warm in a second…" Shippou said.

Kagome sat closer by Rin and stroked her hair once. It seemed over years of watching over her, Rin was more like a daughter to her, as Shippou was like a son…I found that quite interesting.

All the children had fallen asleep while the elders of our group further discussed about how we would transfer the information to Sesshomaru. We decided one of us had to go out and look for him. But how? We'd have to be able to track him down. Inuyasha wanted him to go, but Kagome said he needed to stay and help finish repairing the village with Miroku. Sango said she wanted to but couldn't since she didn't have Kirara (because I drove her away apparently) and didn't know how she would find direction. Kagome said that she couldn't because she had to watch over the kids.

"I'll go." Rin stood up.

We all stared at her for a moment. A few of the adults were about to agree, when shippou got up and said, "No it is WAY too dangerous for you. Plus, how would you find your way?"

She looked over at Shippou, the fire reflecting in her brown eyes, making them warm but burning at the same time.

"You're coming with me, Shippou."

Yes, I realize that i posted this up extremely late and I apologize. I have to thank musicgodess3 because i got an e-mail saying she added my story to her favorites and that's why I was able to finish this chapter. HUMONGOR THANKS TO YOU! And thank you to all of those who are still reading my story even though I've been laggin' at it, love all of you guys 3

Hope everyone had a nice halloween, thanksgiving, and other holidays and i hope those of you who celebrate it are having a good Hanukkah. Happy holidays! =)