Rin felt the fear begin to creep up inside of her as she stared into Juuroumaru's uncomprehending eyes. There was no recognition in that stare, only a feral, hungry gaze that she so feared. She shivered taking in Juuroumaru for what he had become: a feral youkai. Having worn down his clothes to threadbare rags and seemingly not bathed in all the time that had passed, Juuroumaru truly looked like a wild animal. Blood and dirt were streaked all along his bare legs and naked arms and clumps of strange substances had formed in his sheer, lavender hair.
Juuroumaru advanced and Rin backed away slowly, holding out her walking stick in meek defense.
Juuroumaru didn''t even notice the gnarled barrier that separated him from the delectable meal that stood before him. She made a strange noise, words that stoked buried memories in Juuroumaru's mind, but Juuroumaru couldn't bring himself to dwell on it.
She made more odd noises which only created an irritated crease between Juuroumaru's snowy brow. Tossing his head in animalistic annoyance, he reached for her throat, hoping that if he crushed her windpipe, she'd cease her high-pitched speech and give up in her futile attempts at saving herself. The thick solid walking stick connected with the side of his head before he bothered to raise an arm in defense. Without thinking, without even noticing the dull thud that was the stick colliding with his skull, he instantaneously ripped it out of her hand and tossed out unnecessarily far.
He grasped her throat, feeling a strange flash of intense emotion as he did so. He suddenly felt fear, remorse, but for what, he did not know. Something told him that he would be greiviously injured for doing this, and that regret would be his.
The notion seeped away as the pulse in his hand thudded against his palm. It was nothing, he whispered to himself. Nothing in the past five years- the only years he could truly recall, and suggested that there was anything beyond the simple, carniverous life he led. Life had passed in a monotonous haze with brief blurs of gypsies, ale, solitude, and sandy beaches. Some other part of him still claimed that there was more but as far as the feral youkai could see, life was fine as it was.
The creature was screaming now, choking on her last laboured breathes, wasting them in Juuroumaru's opinion. She cried a one syllable word over and over, shouting in Juuroumaru's stoical face. Finally, her frantic gestures and cries were reduced to low sobbing and angry frustrated tears.
"Juuroumaru!" the word that left her mouth surprised Juuroumaru into releasing her and she stumbled away, clutching her throat and gasping loudly. Juuroumaru blinked furiously, his breathe catching as he rolled the word over in his mind, whispering it silently to himself Juuroumaru. Juuroumaru. Why…?
"Juuroumaru," she coughed the name out again, "Sesh-Sesshoumaru, Rin, Kyo, Inuyasha…" Rin continued rattling off old forgotten names, areas in Sesshoumaru's manor, common foods that were always served in Sesshoumaru's household. She slowed down, making sure her words were very clear, hoping to ilict some sort of memory in the obviously feral youkai.
She surprised herself at how well she could recall every detail and particular aspects of the world she had grown up in. She was shaking horribly, deeply regretting her decision to search for the obviously deranged youkai, but as she continued to speak, she noticed subtle changes in Juuroumaru. The most prominent reaction was when Rin would mention Sesshoumaru. The mud-streaked, blood stained face would suddenly go blank and the youkai would make strange noises, continuously jerking his hand towards his neck and then lowering it before it reached.
Rin slowly began backing away as she spoke, hoping to at least regain the defense of her walking stick and some distance between them. Juuroumaru didn't really seem to notice, and not until Rin had backed away a good twenty-five feet, did he look up. Rin, in the process of picking up her walking stick, froze as she was suddenly pinned by the shocking, violet gaze.
Juuroumaru must've stared for a whole minute and Rin, too frightened to move found herself unable to tear her eyes away. Slowly her hand found it's way around the grip of her walking stick. Moving with painful slowness, she straightened up resumed backing away, never once breaking the intense gaze. Juuroumaru made no move to follow or speak, only stared mutely at her with confusion, fear, and rivlets of other emotions dancing in his large eyes.
Hesitantly, Rin turned her back, and began to walk, with numb legs away from the clearing, trying to get the image of Juuroumaru's haunting eyes out of her mind. More than once, her legs nearly gave out beneath her and she was constantly resisiting the urge to glance back over her shoulder. Was Juuroumaru following? Had the youkai fled?
She was shaking and gripping her walking stick with white knuckles, but a sense of inner peace prevailed over all else despite the circumstances. After walking without hearing a sound of protest from behind, she finally chanced a glance over her shoulder. A veil of white violet silk tresses surrounded a dirty, pale kneeling figure. Juuroumaru's eyes had dilated and even from a distance, Rin could see a slight tremor in the lean form. Juuroumaru was no longer looking at her but was staring off into nowhere. She saw his pale pink lips part and noiselessly for the word "Sesshoumaru" over and over again. Rin returned her gaze to the path before her and headed for the village that lay beyond Sesshoumaru's tangled web of forest.
A/N- oooooooooooooook so nearly there, huh? Hang in there (readers), and I promise the next chapter will be up before the 13th ( I leave for china then) no internet I suppose. Aw well.
