Feudal Affair

I don't own Inuyasha

Chapter VII

Sesshoumaru shifted against the breeze as night spread across the skies. The moment calmed the memories, allowing them to fade and soothe an ache that seemed prolonged. He wasn't in the mood to talk but it would seem inevitable with the presence that approached.

Kohaku kept his distance from the dog demon despite his purpose. The highest point overlooking the village was where he expected him to be. It was the only place that Sesshoumaru could possibly be without stepping foot in the village and it was the only place it made sense for him to be right now.

"Why are you here?"

The tone of the dog demon's voice was cold, yet he would not yield to it. Despite Sesshoumaru's bark, the bite was subdued. Kohaku was well aware that he held a sense of honor and maybe a deeper emotion in regards to Rin that would keep him from destroying her husband.

"I wanted to know the truth for myself."

"..."

"You knew about the scar on her face. You put it there..."

"Are you accusing me or asking me?"

"..." Kohaku closed his distance still unsure of what he wanted to say.

"How can you want to know the truth when you're afraid of it?"

"I'm not afraid."

Kohaku found himself standing next to the demon he'd entrusted with Rin's safety. He'd matched Sesshoumaru's height some time ago yet the demon still seemed to tower over him.

"You're supposed to be by her side. You're failing her by being here."

Kohaku felt the sting of the words and Sesshoumaru's ability to let them escape him so easily struck deeper chords. Kohaku questioned the feelings he himself was drawing from such simple statements. Maybe it was anger at the accusation that he'd ever purposely fail Rin, that he didn't have her safety in his greatest interest. Maybe it was sadness. Was it that he would never be able to protect Rin the way that Sesshoumaru had? Was it that he knew that he was most likely failing Rin already, no matter what he did?

"I wanted to blame you for it when I'd come back to see her face scarred. I nearly came after you that day but I knew it wouldn't do any good. I thought about it for days, weeks, trying to pull the truth from her. She wouldn't budge on her story and eventually, she'd only respond with a whisper of 'no one'. The truth is that I knew you'd never hurt her, but it would have been easier if it was you. I know that Rin's keeping something deeper, darker to herself but she won't admit it. I don't know if she's trying to protect you or me or both of us in her own way."

Sesshoumaru glanced the demon slayer sensing the disappointment in Kohaku's words. His posture yielding to the pressure of loss. Rin was with him but in the same instant she wasn't and Kohaku knew it. It took someone stronger to endure it. Rin knew that she was not protecting both of them. She was trying to protect Kohaku from them. The slayer may have been oblivious before, and he wasn't sure what Kohaku knew even now but it was only a matter of time before it was apparent.

"I know that you love her."

"...?"

"I knew that you loved her before she married me."

"What makes you think that?"

"You would do anything for her. Her well-being is your first priority and it always has been. No one else was there to witness what I did when Rin's life was taken from you in the Meidou…"

"It doesn't matter now."

"You can lie to yourself if you want to. I'm not the one standing on a cliff wishing I could touch her, see her, or even smell her."

"..." Sesshoumaru kept his calm despite how much he despised Kohaku at the moment for his ability to do those very things uninhibited. He'd never lied to himself about loving Rin. He loved her more than Kohaku could ever possibly understand. He found it easier to make leave rather than attempt any explanation. It wasn't for Kohaku to understand anyway. But the next words from the demon slayer would make him hesitate.

"I can't fix her! I can't heal her! I've tried and nothing that I can do helps." The words were desperate.

"Why would Rin need healing?"

Kohaku did his best to ignore the glare burrowing into him.

"Rin's health…she keeps having these attacks. They've gotten worse and they happen more often. She's just not herself anymore and I'm finding it harder and harder to leave her alone. I can't help but think that this is my fault for pushing her every day to lay the blame on you even when I knew it wasn't true."

"What are you asking me?"

"I'm asking you to help her."

"She asked me to stay away. You're asking me to dishonor her request?"

"...Yes."

"I can't."

"Why?!"

"There's no guarantee that my presence will help her."

Kohaku clinched his jaw, hating the feeling, hating what he knew,"I think...I know it will." Kohaku hesitated, guessing at the cause in his mind yet never willing to admit it out loud until now. "I started to figure out what Rin left out of each memory before the attacks. You. It was always you."

"..." Sesshoumaru could see Kohaku losing the internal battle he was fighting. The pressure of loss, the truth, was breaking him. Seeing this, knowing that she was responsible for this fractured being who was her husband and friend was too much for Rin to bear. And yet, it was happening anyway.

"I'm not asking for you to return to Rin on my behalf. I'm asking you to do what you've always done for her. I don't want to see her this way."

... ...

Rin felt a void growing as she traced her fingers around the bark of the tree along the outskirts of the village. She steadied her breaths, trying not to let her thoughts get the best of her again. She pressed her fingers harder feeling the roughness and focusing on the way the lines of the tree curved and dipped in strange places to keep herself grounded. She leaned against the base of it as she placed her hand over her stomach wondering how long she would be able to continue the way she was. She hoisted herself up reaching to each branch easier than she'd anticipated. She felt a memory returning and tried to shake it away but couldn't. When she'd traveled with Sesshoumaru it had been a game. She would count aloud as she climbed the trees looking down every now and then to see if he was paying attention. He always pretended like he wasn't worried about her safety when she did such trivial things but by the time she'd gotten to the count of ten or otherwise the top of the tree she'd find him looking up at her the same way he looked to the stars and the moon. She'd smile, he'd nod, and then...she'd jump to the safety of his arm. As a child, she never thought about the amount of trust involved in such an act. The danger of it never crossed her mind. The first time she'd done it she hadn't understood why he'd been agitated by the act. She knew he'd catch her. But as time lingered on it became more apparent. Every decision he made, every path he took was the one he'd chosen for her sake. And despite all that, the unpredictable still occurred. She braced her foot against another branch to take herself higher. She felt the wind's breeze better from here. The height of the trees never scared her. In fact the higher she could go, the more exciting it was and the happier it made her. Satisfied with the height, she let her bare feet swing with the breeze as she looked away from the village. The cliff's edge was vacant again. Just a glimpse of him might have been enough to help her through another day.

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! It's always appreciated!