A/N: Sorry for the wait! I can't believe it's been almost a year since I updated this? Life happened (high school graduation, applying for colleges, summer job applications, spending time with friends, move-in day, midterms, finals, etc. etc.) + I was kinda stumped on how I wanted to write this chapter. I did an in-depth outline of chapters five through eight back in November (which I will have to change yet again, whoops), so there's no real reason it took me this long to update.
Thanks for all the kind reviews! I thought for sure this story was forgotten about, lol.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Inuyasha franchise. This story is fully for fun and practice!
Edit: 01/13/21 – Grammar, flow, plot.
SONG OF THE WEST
an Inuyasha fanfic
v.
The forest was dark as pitch when Rin began her journey back to the village. The sun had finally set on a rather somber day, and the new moon left the sky absent of natural light. With the summer festivities over, no servants had been sent to tend the ornate lanterns that lit the woodland paths for travelers. Rin could only faintly make out her hands when she placed them in front of her, much less the path. Still, she continued on, her heart heavy and her mind reeling from the violent sights and sounds she had been exposed to.
"Rin," a familiar voice croaked to life behind her.
A shiver crawled up her spine. Rin turned to see Kahei, very much alive, his eyes filled with a mixture of lust and mischief. His kosode was hopelessly tattered in the front, a deep stain growing on the light fabric from the brutal diagonal slash across his neck. His arm–which she had last scene on the dirt pathway in an alleyway near the ruined inn–was barely connected to his arm by sinew. A much-needed torch was in his good hand. Rin hid her nose in her hands to keep from inhaling his decaying fetor.
"Disgusted?" Kahei came towards her as he laughed, his once confident swagger devolved into a haphazard limp. "You should be honored! This is your young Lord's handiwork, and for your sake!"
Memories of the young Lord cutting Kahei down in the alleyway flashed around her. Smog and debris filled the air, obscuring her view and burning her eyes and throat.
He didn't die because of me, Rin thought. None of that was my fault.
The blood from Kahei's severed arm had begun to pool around his feet. Rin was amazed; he seemed to sink in it.
His nostrils flared angrily. "It would have worked, if not for you. I could have had enough money for a thousand whores much finer than a simple village tart."
Kahei made a small limp towards her. Rin stepped back. The path grew torrid under her feet, the dirt and rocks burning like summer stone.
He paused. "What?" He mocked. "Is the whore too good to fuck a one-armed man now that the great Lord of the West is under her spell?"
"Don't tease her too much, Kahei," another voice chimed, sluggish and low. "She looks as if she's about to faint."
Rin pivoted on her heel to see none other than Gōjō. Unlike Kahei, his body was still intact. Nevertheless, he looked horrific, dark red blood streaming from his sad eyes, ears, nostrils, and the corners of his mouth.
She screamed. Both young men winced at the sound, as if she were about to summon something infinitely more dangerous.
"This isn't real," Rin concluded breathlessly, holding her injured hand close to her chest. "I'm dreaming. You're both dead."
Kahei scoffed. "Well, no shit."
"I'm sorry we involved you in this," Gōjō lamented. "You need to leave, before he kills you too."
"Why should she live? She's a curse walking. If not for her, we'd still be alive," Kahei snapped. His bad arm fell to the earth with a loud thud, whereupon it withered at once, the skin and muscle sloughing away from the bone and into the dirt. His good arm quivered. The fire of the torch made her lone shadow dance against the forest milieu.
"Go," Gōjō hissed, his eyes narrowed. A deep laceration grew across his throat, as if an invisible headsman had hit his mark. This fresh of flow of blood made speaking tough, and his voice gurgled. "Now."
Rin could feel the bile rising in her throat. She couldn't tell if he was talking to her or Kahei. Either way, she swiftly turned away from the chilling scene, eager to leave the two wraiths behind her.
A small rustle in the leaves and the crackling of wood captured the trio's attentions. Whatever it was it, sounded like a large, dangerous animal, ready to strike.
"Shit," Kahei breathed.
They disappeared in the blink of an eye. The torch dropped to the ground, enshrouding the woods in darkness once more.
Rin looked behind her at where the two boys once stood. Her hair stood on end. Two disimpassioned golden eyes stared back at her, like two lights in the middle of the darkness…
She woke with a start, the food she had eaten the day before spilling onto the dirt floor beside her in a burst of emotion. With shuddering breaths, she wrapped her arms around herself.
A nightmare, Rin thought. Just a silly nightmare. But so vivid!
It had been days since they left. A few hours after the execution of the farmer's boy, when the sun was still bright in the sky and the midday heat was just beginning to set in, Rin watched the Inu no Taisho and his son exit her life the same way they had entered: on the road dividing the village into two neat halves, leading into the lush valley below. The villagers bid the noble pair farewell with the same awed expressions they had greeted them with, this time stifled in a solemn sort of respect instead of kiddish excitement. The deaths of Gōjō and Kahei were still fresh on everyone's minds, too fresh to regard the enigmatic figure with anything more than shame and sadness.
Rin had said her goodbyes far earlier than the rest of them. After the crowd had dispersed and the servants had arrived to clear away Gōjō's ruined corpse and spilled blood, she waited dutifully next to the noblemen's dais for Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru, anxious to flee the harrowing scene.
The noblemen and the aristocracy of the city, save the Western Lords, were all smiles, congratulating themselves on the death of a dangerous criminal. To the side, Lord Tōga and Sesshōmaru were engaged in intense discussion. Sesshōmaru's brows furrowed, making his mien appear more displeased than usual. Finally, Tōga's eyes met hers and his mouth formed a smile. His son scoffed and summoned a stable boy for his horse.
"I have a few loose ends to tie up here," Tōga said warmly, once he was near her. "Sesshōmaru will take you back to your village now, if you so desire."
Rin glanced at Sesshōmaru and met his frightening gaze once more. She had to keep herself from recoiling but nodded nonetheless. Suddenly, Lord Tōga grabbed her wrist and drew her closer so that only she could hear him.
"The offer is still open," he said softly. "We could take you anywhere you desire –a city, another village, a distant family member–if only you'd asked."
It was tempting to say the least, but soon her mind wandered back to the memory of her older brother, and she shook her head slowly.
Lord Tōga frowned and looked down at where his hand wrapped around her disconcertingly small wrist. Rin thought she saw a sudden sadness wash over his features, shadows of bad memories. At last, he reached into his robes and pulled forth a medallion.
Rin's eyes widened. The golden medallion gleamed brightly in the haze of the afternoon sun. Engraved on it were what appeared to be the teeth of a fierce animal, and inside of its maw were characters which she was unable to read. He placed it into her free hand.
"This is the sigil of my clan," he said, tracing the image with his finger. "Show it to any vendor and you will be able to eat all that you desire. Show it to an innkeeper and you'll never have to sleep in the dirt again. And if you are ever in danger, this will keep you safe."
Rin was mystified by how the medallion could accomplish all that; nevertheless, she accepted it and placed it inside of her yukata.
Sesshōmaru soon arrived on his own horse to take her back to the village. Up there, he looked larger than life, all elegance and even more like the prince from her dreams.
Tōga helped her onto the horse. Instinctually, she wrapped her arms around Sesshōmaru's waist to keep from falling over. He felt strange and forbidden, and though she could feel him tense slightly, he said nothing to her, avoiding any possible reproof from his father.
Tōga studied her once more before speaking. "I wish you nothing but the best, Rin."
Sesshōmaru's horse whinnied under the pressure of his master's boots against his side, and soon they were off and away from the dell, the great Inu no Taisho blotted from view by the forest's foliage.
It was far easier to return to the village on horseback than by foot. Whereas it would've taken perhaps an hour for Rin to walk back through the city and to the village by herself, Sesshōmaru's horse completed the journey in a fraction of the time. On the city's main road, merchant stalls had long been abandoned. Shrapnel from the Ishida Inn was still scattered about the city. Their trip was spent in silence, just as Rin had suspected. The heir of the West possessed none of the warm affections that his father had for her.
When they reached the mouth of the village, Sesshōmaru pulled on the reins of his horse, signaling for it to stop. That was as far as he was willing to take her. The fractious pair sat overlooking the village in silence for a few seconds until Rin finally got the hint.
Slowly, she slid off of the tall horse without help. The green summer grass tickled the soles of her feet. After straightening the yukata, she looked up at the young man.
"Thank you," she said, her voice soft and unsure. Despite his cold treatment towards her, she held him in high esteem. Without him, she would have been left vulnerable to whatever Kahei's depraved, inebriated mind had in store for her the night of the explosion.
Sesshōmaru said nothing. With the swift, graceful movements of a master horseman, he steered his mount around and disappeared into the woodland.
Rin's shelter was as she left it –squalid and pitiful, but untouched otherwise. She had nearly missed it. But oh! To think that only the day prior she had dined in the city's finest inn with the most beloved man in the country! The memories seemed like a fever dream now.
Beyond the heavy strips of fabric that served as the entrance, all was silent. The wind blew gently, pushing them back and forth. The white glow of midday sunlight squeezed its way through the cracks of the run-down home, informing her that it was time to go about her day.
Rin stretched languidly, wiggling her fingers and toes, releasing a symphony of cracks from her aching body. Her fingers no longer hurt, but they did not rest comfortably as she did before that fateful night. The medallion that the Inu no Taisho had bequeathed to her felt cold and heavy against her chest and clinked loudly against her mother's wooden comb, which she had hooked to the ribbon that held it. The fine object, along with her injury, was another memorabilia that let her know what she experienced had been real.
The news of Kahei's brutal death in the alley was the final blow for the village. For the past few days, it was as if a pall of sadness was smothering them. Aside from Rin, cattle and other livestock were the only souls active. The villagers locked themselves away in their huts or moved about the roads like ghosts. Even the rude shopkeepers had closed down for the week.
Rin was slightly disappointed by this. A small, vengeful part of her was longing to see the horror on their faces when she pulled out the medallion. Now, she needed to find something to fill her freshly emptied stomach, something that didn't require a trip into the city.
On the edge of the village close to the entrance of the small forest was a little tributary that connected to the river near the city. Sometimes, unlucky freshwater fish found their way into the little stream, exposing themselves to attacks from ravenous animals or hungry peasants like herself.
Typically, it was a popular spot for the boys and young men of the village, who spent their summer evenings wading in the water and turning brown from the blaze of the sun after a hard day's work in the fields. For this reason, Rin made sure to stay far away from the area to avoid any unwanted attention. She knew from experience how ruthless men in groups could be, and the younger boys were unlikely to have something to offer her in return for her services.
The village's gloomy inactivity had extended to the area just as Rin thought it would, giving her the chance to enjoy it in peace. The water was eerily clear here, like the bathwater that Sesshōmaru had had prepared for her or on the pond in the Ishida Inn's once beautiful courtyard. Even from her position a few feet away from the twinkling stream, she could spy a few fish swimming in confused circles, trying to make their way back into the river.
Rin quietly removed and folded her pretty new yukata as she walked towards the tributary and rolled up the hem of her hadajuban before easing herself into the water, the hot earth becoming mud under her bare feet. She was no braggart about her fishing skills. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she could catch anything. She hadn't fished since before the plague that had destroyed her old seaside village. As the children of a fisherman, she and her brothers turned catching fish with their bare hands into a sport. She could remember going to sea with her father and watching in awe as he and his partners heaved scores of iridescent fish into the open air…
Rin shook her head wildly, some dark strands of her hair falling from the once-perfect coiffure the servants had styled it into before the execution. She couldn't bear to reminisce about that. At least, not yet.
She sighed and wriggled her toes in the water. The small fish swam past her as if she were another plant. It was time to strike.
Rin lunged for the fish closest to her. It darted away, its sleek wet body slipping through her grasp. These sudden motions sent the small school into a frenzy, darting back and forth in confusion. She lunged once more–they fled from her. She repeated this cycle again, and again, and again, and again, until she finally emerged from the tributary with a single small fish to show for her hard work. No matter, though. With a few herbs and some berries, she was sure she could turn this small fish into a decent meal.
"Harlot! Have you no shame?"
Rin nearly dropped her catch in surprise. She turned to see an old woman with a basket in her arms, her crowlike eyes boring into her with disgust. Behind her were two young women around her age, also with baskets in their hands. Suddenly aware of the indecency of her clothing, Rin could do nothing but stare stupidly at the crone.
"This is a period of mourning," the old woman croaked on, "and you of all people should know and respect that. Instead, you're out here publicly gamboling like the wanton you are!"
The girls behind her put their heads together to stifle a teasing laugh. Rin looked down at her hadajuban. The bottom of the thin white fabric was completely soaked through, plastering itself to her thighs. In a way, Rin was glad it had been them who caught her and not any of the young men.
Rin clutched the fish in her hands and stepped back onto the riverbank, whereupon she grabbed her yukata from the ground. The young girls fell silent as they eyed the fine fabric in her arms and the simple kanzashi in her hair with shock and envy. When she walked past the judgmental group, she distracted her eyes with everything else–a stray cloud, a lone beetle in the grass, the drying scales of her fish. When she was a good distance away from them, the old woman called out to her.
"It should have been you who died, not those boys!"
Later, as she roasted her fish over the small fire she had managed to start, she could have sworn she was being watched.
"Rin!"
Soft, warm hands pressed against her face. Rin turned over on her side, shooing the intruder away with a sleepy hand.
"Go away," she mumbled. Her voice sounded lighter than usual, more lilting than it had been in a very long time.
One hand, small as it was, pressed itself against her forehead and then under her chin.
"You slept here all day yesterday," a voice muttered, "and you're really, really warm. Maybe I should take you to a doctor…"
Rin opened her eyes. It was light outside again, but her surroundings were different. The shelter looked new, as if it had just been put up. And instead of being alone as she had been for a decade, her brother, her dear Tarō, stood before her, as young as he had been when he disappeared from her life altogether.
"Tarō!" She exclaimed, bolting up from her tatami mat. The sudden movement made her head float, and she pressed her hands against her temples. When the nausea left her and the asterismos cleared from her eyes, she could see that she was quite altered as well: her hands and feet were both smaller than usual, as if she were a child again.
Tarō blinked at her confused. One of his eyes was swollen. "Yes! Geez, Rin, you act as if you haven't seen me in weeks."
Rin let out a shuddering breath. "Your eye…"
He had been caught stealing, she knew. Her heart sank into her stomach.
"Oh! Don't worry about it – I just got into a small fight. No big deal." Tarō smiled in an attempt to cheer her up. "I may have found a job, Rin, in the city. But you may need to come with me."
Those were the exact words he said to her before he disappeared.
A dream. Rin thought. This is another dream.
She grabbed his arm. "Let's just stay in today," she whimpered. "It's scary out there."
Tarō's face grew somber, and he sighed. "Which is why you should come into the city with me. These villagers...they aren't too nice to outsiders, I think. I'm afraid to leave you here…" he tugged on her arm.
It was a tough choice–stay here and suffer or let him leave and never see him again. Rin felt tears streaming down her face.
"C'mon Rin," Tarō whined, giving her arm a rougher tug, "don't make me feel bad! The festival is starting again today, too. After you see a doctor, we may be able to see a few things."
Rin winced. "I don't want to go, Tarō."
"Fine. We'll go tomorrow," he sighed, but maintained his smile. "Maybe then I'll have the money to buy us some trinkets." Slowly, he began to exit the shelter. "Well, goodbye Rin."
Outside, the world was ablaze. The heat was unbearable.
"Tarō?" Rin gasped. She lunged for him in an attempt to keep him inside of the shelter once more. "Tarō!"
She came back to reality with a harsh thud against the ground. Rin's eyes opened wide as she felt a multitude of hands tugging at her limbs, hair, and even her yukata.
"Quickly!" a voice bellowed. Something heavy collided with the side of her torso, forcing a scream out of her.
Exhausted and thoroughly disoriented by her dream, Rin became afraid, cold waves of panic washing over her. She thrashed her arms about, kicking and screaming. The smell of burning wood singed her nostrils and throat.
Two strong pairs of hands snatched her from the ground, one by her arm and the other by her hair. She used this new viewpoint to wildly take in the sight of a handful of the villagers, torches in their hand. Some of their faces were contorted with rage and grief, while others looked away as if they were as wary of her as she was of them. Within the ferocious mob, she saw some familiar faces—the shopkeeper's wife and daughter, who had refused to service her a few days before; some brothers of Gōjō and Kahei; and some of the men she had once serviced, alongside their angry wives. Most were yelling various insults at her, calling her things like "whore" or "temptress," both of which she had heard before. But this time, there were some new ones as well: "murderess" and "witch" and "cursed."
The men restraining her weren't much kinder, either. Rin thought for sure that one of them was trying to wrench her hair from her scalp, while the other had croaked up an insulting amount of saliva. She couldn't even move her arm to wipe the disgusting spit from her face.
Rin had never been more afraid in her life.
Harshly, she was forced in the direction of the main part of the village. The horde of people followed after her like a swarm of bees, howling all sorts of horrible things at her. Behind her, her makeshift home had grown smaller with distance, diminishing from a large campfire to mere candlelight.
Save for her assaulters, the village was eerily still as she was paraded down the main street. Despite the darkness, she knew that there was no possible way others could be sleeping through the clamor of the angry mob. Still, no one even gave the poor girl a spare glance through the entrances of their dwellings, choosing to turn a blind eye towards the violence about to occur in their very village.
After what seemed like hours, the men threw her to the ground at the mouth of the village. The hard earth cut into her knees and the palms of her hands upon impact. Rin wailed out loudly.
"Succubus," a man's voice spat. "We saw you riding with the Imperial Lord before the trial."
"You seduced him and the Young Lord in order to save yourself!" Another voice accused.
"Leave us!" A woman who sounded like the shopkeeper's wife spoke up. "You are no longer wanted here!"
Rin sobbed and kept her tearful gaze on the ground, too afraid to look up at the mob. Had they only meant to scare her into submission? She would have gladly left, without this ceremonial humiliation, if she had known what they had in store for her.
"Move!" Another voice cried out in impatience. Something hard crashed into her chest, deflecting off of her mother's comb and the medallion given to her by the Inu no Taisho. The other grazed her cheek.
Rocks. They were throwing rocks at her.
Rin scrambled to her feet, barely avoiding a large stone that whizzed past her head. She let out a cry of anguish as another wave of stones were released, hitting her back and calves.
She would not be given the time to search for her brother. She was being forced to leave right now.
Rin ran as fast as she could down the hill and into the valley below.
A/N: And that's it for now! I had originally outlined something slightly darker than this (I was hyped up on coffee during midterms, mind you), but as I was re-reading it and felt pretty bad for poor Rin. After all, we're only 10% of the way through the novel. I need to save some of the angst/whump for later.
Like I said earlier, I have the next few chapters outlined, I just have to type them up. I'm hoping to get six typed up within the next month or two.
Remember to leave a review! I enjoy reading them!