Chapter 10 – There is no such thing as coincidence
"Oooh! What a find! There are some berries and nuts that I can eat over there," Kagome excitedly pointed to a bush. "This shrub will be a good disinfectant as well. Thank you for finding this place for me, Ah-Uhn! Now I know why Rin loves you so much and I am falling for you guys now too." Kagome declared with a kiss on both the dragons' snouts.
Ah rumbled grumpily but looking pleased with himself. Uhn just nudged the girl towards the stream. Both of them knew that it wasn't coincidence that the master stopped at this particular stream.
Kagome felt worlds better when she finished cleaning her wounds and eating. She cleaned her uniform as best as she could but it was still in tatters.
"At least, I'm clean and not bleeding all over the place," she said to herself.
She sent Ah-Uhn on their way to Sesshoumaru. Ah was beginning to get fidgety and was pulling his partner away as soon as he saw her looking better. Uhn was more reluctant to go. But she swatted their rump and shooed them away.
She was tracking them down using her Sesshoumaru GPS. She was amazed by the sheer mass of Sesshoumaru's youki. Now she knew why he is the most feared youkai in Japan. Even before this, she felt how powerful Sesshoumaru was. But now, she could exactly see with her Miko just how powerful the taciturn Taiyoukai is. He was like a compressed sun.
"I just can't get over it. It's what I imagine what a nuclear reactor would look like," she said to herself. "I wonder how other youkai sees him though. Can they also perceive youki like I do? How can Ah-Uhn stand so close him though? Won't he be too scared of that immense youki? But then again, Ah-Uhn is his dragon and he knows that Sesshoumaru wouldn't hurt him. Then, how about those other demons? Couldn't they see his youki? Or maybe they can't see youki properly.. Hmm, I wonder."
Kagome carried on her one-sided conversation with herself. She knew it was strange and her friends have often made fun of her habit. But right now, she was just missing them and her family.
"Mom is expecting me home by now. But here I am trudging after Sesshoumaru-sama, the walking nuclear reactor. I could be having a nice bath now and some of Mom's signature nan-kotsu ramen. I could also catch up on my studies and then maybe pop up at the school. Hmm.. But do I want to see Houjo-kun though? I wonder what excuse jii-san made up this time?"
Unbeknownst to Kagome, Sesshoumaru can perfectly hear her. When she first rambled, he was irritated. It was bad enough that she was following him again. But for her to intrude on his thoughts about Rin, it was unacceptable.
But then, she started talking about his youki. From the way talked about his youki, it was as if she was awed. 'As she should be,' Sesshoumaru smirked to himself.
But then, what was a nuclear reactor? He prided himself of his education but the term is not familiar to him. Then again, everything about the Miko herself is not familiar. From the way she dresses and to the way she speaks. She often uses unfamiliar phrases and words that he never heard before.
Most of all, her smell is not of this world. Like Rin, he found her scent pleasing. Rin smelled of flowers, grass and the sun. The miko scented of oranges but mostly of magic. He knew of Kikyou, Kaede and other priestesses but they do not smell of the same magic. He understood that they all possess the same Miko –but Inuyasha's wench did not have the same scent as the others. Simply put, her scent did not seem to have come from around Japan.
"She must be from another country which may account for her strange clothing and words," he mused to himself.
A few days passed in this fashion. Sesshoumaru would stop to rest for the night. Ah-Uhn would 'sneak' off to lead Kagome to the stream and spots where she can forage for fruits and nuts. Kagome would take as much as she could so that it could last her for the day. As for water, somehow Sesshoumaru always seemed to travel near streams, ponds or lakes.
"Must be a dog-thing wanting to be near water sources all the time," Kagome said to no one in particular. "Maybe for Ah-Uhn though? Inuyasha never did care if there's a lake or stream on-hand when we travel. Or maybe it's because that fluff thing on his shoulder makes him hot so he needs to cool off now and again! But why won't just take it off though?"
Sesshoumaru quirked his eyebrow at hearing this. He has grown accustomed to her talking to herself. He will not admit it but it helped him keep his thoughts from dwelling on Rin. Her chatter, though not directed at him, dispelled that silence that would otherwise have surrounded him.
Her one-sided conversation distracted him from thoughts of vengeance and ultimately, his failure to protect Rin. He felt disgusted with himself for blaming the miko earlier. It was dishonourable of him. Rin was his ward and not the miko's. It was his place to protect her and not the miko's.
"Rin followed this Sesshoumaru and not the miko," he muttered to himself.
If anything, though he will not admit it, he owed the miko for coming to his ward's aid. Though she was not able to protect her in time as well, her arrival at the clearing protected Rin's mortal body from being ravaged by the scorpion youkai.
This may explain why his dragon youkai became attached to the miko. He knew that the dragon knew that he was allowing them to go visit the miko that was trailing them at night. He knew that the dragon felt a debt of gratitude to the miko for protecting not only their charge but themselves. They were repaying their debt in the only way they know how.
She was about to jump into the well when she youki pulse over her. Then she heard a little girl's scream. She was running as fast as she could before she knew it. She knew that she should call for help but to do so would waste precious time in saving the little girl. She just hoped that Miroku or Sango would feel the pulse but she highly doubted so as the village was a way off.
"If only Inuyasha were here," she bit her lip at the thought. He should've seen her to the well but he disappeared as soon as the village came into view. She didn't kid herself, she knew where he went off to.
Shrugging the painful thoughts aside. She concentrated in putting all to reaching the little girl. She reached for her bow and quiver. She shucked off her heavy backpack as soon as she saw the clearing ahead.
Nocking an arrow in preparation for a fight, she skidded into the clearing. She saw Sesshoumaru's dragon youkai throwing pillars of flame to what looked like a scorpion.
"Ah-Uhn?" she asked. "Then the one who screamed.." She looked around and found the little girl who followed Sesshoumaru around crouching behind a tree. On seeing Kagome, the little girl ran towards her and hugged her waist.
"Kagome-neechan! Rin is waiting for Sesshoumaru-sama," the little girl said by way of greeting.
"Stupid human girl, I told you to hide behind the tree!" Jaken screeched even as he spewed fire at the rampaging scorpion youkai.
"Jaken-sama is right, Rin-chan. Go hide behind the tree while we wait for Sesshoumaru-sama to help us," Kagome urged the little girl in the direction of the tree.
"Hai, Kagome-neechan. Sesshoumaru-sama will come back soon. He said so!" The little girl grinned up at her. Kagome was amazed the faith she has in her youkai protector. The little girl didn't seem a bit scared that there was a dangerous youkai right in the middle of their camp.
"Of course, Rin-chan, he will. He won't let anything hurt you," Kagome smiled back at her though inside she was frantic with worry for the girl.
Kagome stood up and faced the youkai. She let an arrow fly as she run towards the end of the clearing to draw its attention away from the running Rin. The two tails at its back waved menacingly in the air. "Eat this, you big youkai!" she aimed for the eye. But for something so big, it was fast. It easily flicked away the arrow but without feeling the touch of purification. It roared in pain as it waved its tail as if to alleviate the sting.
The youkai eyed the human miko warily. It seemingly grinned at her maliciously as it pointed one of its tails upward. "Eat this, you small human!" the youkai laughed at her.
Green fumes slowly leaked from the end of its tail and spread through the clearing. Her eyes grew wide as the fumes reached her, it was poison! Automatically, her Miko pulsed to protect her. But Jaken and Ah-Uhn were not faring well with the poison. She needed to purify the air fast.
"Rin-chan, cover your nose and don't breath in!" Kagome shouted to the little girl. But the little girl thought that Kagome was calling to her. She went out of her hiding place and got a lungful of the poison as she called to her.
"Kagome-nee..?"
"No Rin, go back!" Jaken screeched to her as he struggled to run to her. But the scorpion just laughed and swiped him across the clearing. Ah-Uhn was swaying a bit on his feet as the poison took effect.
She saw the little girl frown as she tasted the air. Her knees buckled as she sat down against the tree. "Noooo Riiiiin!" She screamed. Kagome shot a purifying arrow towards the tree in an effort to dispel the poison.
She shot her arrows around the clearing as she ran towards the little girl, her knees buckling. She was sobbing as she reached Rin. "Rin-chan, are you okay?"
"…worry.. Kago.. nee.. Sess..sama.. here.. soon," Rin wheezed as she closed her eyes.
Kagome felt her blood freeze. "Rin-chan? Honey, wake up. Rin-chan please," she shook the little girl gently. "No, no, no, no.. Rin-chan! Riiiiiin!"
"Wha..?!" Kagome jolted awake as harsh, cold, cruel youki slashed at her. She quickly got on her knees and reached around her for weapons.
"Miko, you will cease wailing and trying to purify this Sesshoumaru's dragon," a cold voice commanded from somewhere above her.
Kagome registered the voice and the black boots in front of her. She looked up to find the Taiyoukai glowering at her.
"Sesshoumaru-sama? What are you doing here?" she croaked. She looked around and found Ah-Uhn standing at least the other side of their camp. She must have released her Miko which brought Sesshoumaru over. Then she recalled her dream about Rin. She slumped down and tears started to pool in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, so sorry that I couldn't protect her. I'm sorry that I am so weak. I couldn't purify the poison in time, I couldn't kill the youkai in time," Kagome sobbed. "I was too late.."
"You will cease your snivelling, human," Sesshoumaru commanded. "What is in the past cannot be changed."
Ah-Uhn came back to her side and crooned to her. Kagome continued to cry, stifling her sobs against the dragon's side. An occasional 'sorry' could be heard from her.
Sesshoumaru watched dispassionately as the miko continued to cry about his ward. The Taiyoukai sighed mentally. He reined his youki back and settled for a spot under a tree not far away from the miko.
He was snapped awake out of his rest earlier when a wave of Miko energy washed over him followed by a piercing scream. At first, he thought it was Rin. There were times that she had nightmares about wolves. But as soon as he started the thought, he knew it not to be true. Rin was gone.
He then heard his dragon bellow in pain as the miko continued to lash out with her purification. The Taiyoukai could almost taste her scent of despair and anger. If this continued, the dragon would be nothing but a pile of ash. Rin would be inconsolable if this happened.
When he got to the miko's spot, she was thrashing fitfully in her sleep. Ah-Uhn was hissing in pain as the area filled with Miko energy.
"Miko, stop this at once," he commanded.
But she continued to cry out in her sleep. Sesshoumaru frowned. Normally, Rin would wake up and stop her crying when he called her. But this miko did not.
"Miko, you will wake up this instant," he intoned in a firmer voice. His irritation was compounded by the uncomfortable Miko energy that swirled around him.
When the miko did not wake, he lashed out with his youki hoping to tamp down the Miko energy. He smirked at the way she snapped in her Miko and automatically reached for her non-existent weapons.
Glancing back, her sobs were dying down to sniffles. One of the dragon heads was crooning comfortingly at her while the other nibbled at her hair. He looked up at the sky. The dragon did this for Rin too when she had nightmares. It all took one word from him and she would stop crying and go back to sleep. But he didn't seem to have the same effect on this human though.
"Gomen, Ah-Uhn," she patted the dragon. "I didn't mean to hurt you earlier. I just had a bad dream." Uhn snuffled at her and Ah grunted.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered to the Taiyoukai. "I apologize if I disturbed your rest. Thank you for waking me up."
The Taiyoukai only slanted his golden gaze at her and returned back to watching the sky.
"You know, she was the bravest person I have ever met," she told the Taiyoukai. "Even in the end, she was comforting me and even told me not to worry. She was even smiling while telling me that her Sesshoumaru-sama will come to save us.."
Sesshoumaru flinched. So the wench knew and would dare rub it in his face!
Kagome gasped as she realized at what she just said. "Forgive me, Sesshoumaru-sama, I didn't mean to imply that—"
"Silence, wench!" Sesshoumaru hissed as his eyes shone a reddish hue in the dark. "This Sesshoumaru knows fully that he has failed. It will not happen again."
Kagome's eyes widened at the intensity of the anger and grief that she saw in the Taiyoukai's red eyes. She tried again, "I only meant that—"
"Wench, do not to try this Sesshoumaru's patience and go to sleep," Sesshoumaru said in a deadly cold voice.
Kagome bowed her head and turned to Ah-Uhn. She felt so ashamed about the insensitivity of her words to the grieving Taiyoukai. She prided herself in being tactful. But her attempt at comforting the Taiyoukai made it look like she rubbed salt in his open wounds. Kagome cringed. She wanted nothing more than to see her Mom and have a good cry. She just wanted to share about Rin's final moments.
She peered towards Sesshoumaru. He was looking up at the night sky. Though his face was impassive, she could feel his regret and anger which was palpable in the air.
"I only meant to let you know what she wanted to tell you," she whispered knowing that he could hear her. "She wasn't afraid and she didn't blame you. Her last thoughts were of you, her caretaker, her Sesshoumaru-sama."
She waited to see if he would respond. When he didn't, she settled in against the dragon.
"Oyasumi, Sesshoumaru-sama," she murmured.
The Taiyoukai closed his eyes and allowed himself a small measure of relief. It somewhat eased the weight in his chest to hear that Rin didn't cry and was brave until the very end. He didn't think that he would not be able to live with himself if Rin cried and he wasn't there to soothe her.
A/N:
Feed this starving author with reviews and love please!
To Chaos Ninja Dokuga: The question was why didn't he revive Kagome or Rin using Tenseiga.. The reason why will be revealed later on in the story. So stayed tuned!
To all the other readers who I made cry, I can't say I'm sorry because your tears are precious to me. It says that you enjoyed my story and that I was successful in relaying how the characters felt. To those who asked, yes, I also cry while writing. I feel what the characters feel as well.