Authors note: As a special Thanksgiving treat, and celebration of the final day of Rin Week, I decided to upload a second chapter of His Eyes. Love you guys!

Chapter 2 - Life

Death was everything that Rin had always expected it would be. It was so cold that she could feel it to the very core of her being. It was dark, as vast as the sky, all was utterly and comprehensively dark. At night in her small hut, or sleeping under the tree on the forest floor, all she'd ever thought about was her family. What death was like for them. What death would be like when she joined them someday.

Somehow, in her soul, she'd always felt that her life wouldn't be long. Perhaps that's why she was so mature, being so young. As if her mind was trying to experience the things, her body would never have time to see. So, here, now, in this death. There was at least some comfort. That she no longer had to struggle to keep living. The misery of her existence was gone — the weight of having to go on, when everything she had cared about was lost. Maybe now, she could be at peace.

But as she relaxed into the darkness, accepting her mortality, and her fate, something stirred in her soul. Something just on the verge of her consciousness, that drew her focus. Like a moth to a flame. She inhaled sharply as the memory suddenly became clear, it was like the sun shining through the darkness. It was him. His beautiful golden eyes. It was then that she began to cry. Great hot tears rolling unbidden down her cheeks, wailing sobs escaping her chest.

She'd been wrong — there was only one thing she'd been living for. Now, that she knew it was forever out of her reach, the grief consumed her entire being. The grief of a soul having lost its other half. Which no person can know, unless they've experienced such a loss.

For what felt like an age, little Rin mourned. She lay alone in the cold darkness, saturated in her grief. Eventually,m her tears dried, and she lay in the cold darkness, utterly empty. In all the time after her family had been killed, she'd never cried. Yet now… here she was. Dead herself, crying over a beautiful god, whose name she didn't even know.

The only part of being dead, that Rin had never expected, was being conscious. Would she be here forever? Or was she only here until her mind eventually faded away? With a heavy sigh, she curled up into a tighter ball, waiting for the inevitability of her mind fading into nothingness.

In her mind, she clung to two images. Her family, before they had died, and his eyes. At first she believed that she was imagining him so hard, that he appeared to her. It was long moments before she realized that she was seeing him — with her eyes. It was like a floating ghost of him. He stood there, looking down at her with the most intense expression. Others would have said it was expressionless, but she could see beyond the facade. Rin couldn't determine if it was an expression of anger, or grief… or something else.

Rin realized he was looking down at her dead body. She wasn't really there. Somehow she was seeing beyond the borders of life. Her heart yearned to be alive again, if only to express to him, that it wasn't her fault. She hadn't run fast enough… she never reached him.

Then, his blade flashed in his hand. Rin blinked in wonder at the sight, he looked so feirce. Like a warrior god. The sword glowed with an ethereal blue light. He swung the blade, it seemed to slash through her body, dividing soul from spirit. That's when her world went upside down.

Her vision blurred, searing pain burned through every pore and vein in her body. Brief, but intensely painful. There was a long moment of absolute silence and darkness, she could no longer see him, she couldn't see anything.

Then, she felt a thump. And a second one. Her heart was beating. With a gasp, Rin realized that she couldn't see because her eyes were closed. Slowly, afraid of what she might see, Rin opened her eyes. Awe and wonder filled her, hovering over her, was her god. If possible, his eyes were even more intense than before. Their golden depths burned into her own eyes, like fire. He held her against his chest, cradling her, despite her torn and bloody clothes.

Slowly, he shifted, carefully guiding her to stand. Rin obediently stood to her feet, her eyes never leaving his. There was a softness behind the fire, a gentleness meant only for her.

He saved me.

Rin was sure, she would never leave him again.