Chapter 3

Rin awoke suddenly. She sat up and noted that nothing seemed out of place in her hut. The sun was fully risen, a few rays shining at the entrance to her home. Rin rubber her eyes and stretched as she stood from her sleeping mat.

She exited the hut to see none other than Lord Sesshomaru leaning against a trunk at the forest line. Excitement rushed to her chest.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin shouted not being able to contain her grin. She ran toward him, but stopped suddenly at the sharp pain in the back of her neck. She turned around to see if something was behind her, but there was nothing. The landscape had changed. There was no hut, just an open field filled with flowers. Confusion made her eyes squint. She turned back to where she had seen Sesshomaru, but the forest was also gone. She was now standing at the edge of a cliff.

"How did I get here?" Rin asked aloud.

"You walked of course. Silly girl," spoke a familiar voice.

She turned back to the open field too see Jaken waddling toward her. "Master Jaken! It is good to see you!" Rin smiled.

Jaken did not answer. He walked right past her and off the edge of the cliff.

Rin gasped, "Master Jaken!" But he didn't fall. It was as if he was walking on an invisible bridge. Jaken was now half way across the ravine. He stopped and turned to glare at her.

"Hurry up, Rin! Lord Sesshomaru doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Yes, of course," Rin said staring at the void before her. She began to run after Jaken, but she didn't float as he did. She fell into the blackness, her breath hitching in her chest before crying out in fear. She shut her eyes tightly waiting for impact, but it never came.

Rin opened her eyes to find herself sitting at the bottom of the ravine, very little light filtering in from above. She was still getting her bearings when a pair of blood red eyes shined ahead of her. Fear paralyzed her momentarily.

Rin stood and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction away from the glowing eyes and deafening growls. Through it all she felt the same pain in her neck as before, growing stronger, making her legs turn to lead. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She turned to glance at what was chasing her and her eyes stung with tears. Lord Sesshomaru was racing after her, his eyes red and pupils dilated to a dark teal. He elongated fangs and claws at to ready.

Her head felt like to was being crushed and the pain caused her to trip. She rolled over to see Sesshomaru lunge at her.

"Stop!" Rin yelled throwing her arms up to shield her. "Please Lord Sesshomaru!" she cried as she felt the weight of his body cover hers. Everything went black in that moment. Rin could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing; not even her own heartbeat.

"This must be the Netherworld," Rin thought to herself. In an instant pain wracked her body as if she had been struck by lightning.

"Rin!" she heard her name called from a panicked voice. Kagome.

Rin wanted to respond, but her body refused. Her voice was trapped in her throat, her eyelids too heavy to open.

"Damn it!" She heard Inuyasha yell. "What the hell did you do to her?"

A low rumble mixed with a high pitched gurgling was his answer. Rin felt her body being dragged away, the sounds of fighting growing softer.

"Rin!" Kagome called again. "Can you hear me?"

Rin managed a groan. Her voice was still lost. She heard Inuyasha fighting in the distance.

"Hiraikotsu!" was called out clear as a bell followed by the scream of a monster.

"Sango and Miroku must be here, too," Rin thought. "Where am I?"

"Rin, can you open your eyes?" Kagome asked.

She tried, but her body refused to listen to her once again. She needed to communicate with Kagome somehow. Rin started at her toes trying to get them to move. She was paralyzed by the pain from before, but she managed to get her fingers to twitch. She focused on that trying to get Kagome to understand she was aware.

Rin heard someone running toward her and Kagome. "Rin! Rin!" Her heart skipped a beat; it was Master Jaken's voice. She knew if he was here that must mean Lord Sesshomaru was close by.

"Oh Rin! Please wake up!" Jaken yelled fretfully.

Rin continued to focus on her fingers. She could still her Inuyasha and the others fighting. Kagome grabbed her hand and gasped as Sesshomaru entered the fray. Rin heard his voice call out in a seething tone, "Die," followed by the deafening sound of his sword colliding with and obliterating the monster, its pained screams filling the air.

It was then that Rin was able to move her fingers enough to curl them around Kagome's hand.

Kagome gasped, "Rin?"

There was shuffling around her as she willed herself to open her eyes. She needed to see him. She needed proof that she wasn't still dreaming. She needed to see her Lord Sesshomaru.

"Move aside," came his cool voice.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken spoke. "It appears Rin is incapacitated."

"She squeezed my hand a moment ago," Kagome said softly as she backed away. "She's fighting."

Rin felt her back being raised against someone. It was unmistakable that Sesshomaru was sitting her up against the inside of his leg, supporting her back with his arm.

"Rin," he said softly.

This time she succeeded in opening her eyes. They fluttered open focusing on a face she knew so well; the purple crescent moon on his forehead, the two magenta stripes on each cheek. Her brown eyes found his gold ones filled with concern for her wellbeing.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she rasped out finally finding her voice.

Without thinking, she willed her exhausted body to wrap her arms around his neck. She felt him stiffen beneath her embrace before slowly wrapping his other arm around her, bringing her in close.

"Rin," he said again. She heard the relief in his voice. She felt something she hadn't felt in years. She was home.