Chapter 55 - Search
As promised, Sesshomaru returned to the clearing well before dusk, and the small clan departed. A-un's hidden saddle bags were overflowing with the food Jaken had brought, which would likely last a couple weeks, since much of it was dried foods. Rin seemed enthusiastic and excited to be traveling again. There was an almost constant stream of commentary and conversation coming from her for many hours, until she was simply too tired to keep walking. At that point, she took a long nap on A-un's back.
Sesshomaru was far less relaxed now, than he had been when they traveled previously. He felt like the wire of an instrument, tightened far too tight, to the point where it could snap at any moment. Small unknown noises made him turn abruptly, expecting Naraku - or Kagura, whom he now had zero trust for. Whatever her personal issues, the wind sorceress had complied with Naraku's wish for her to kidnap Rin. That instantaneously made her Sesshomaru's enemy. He would not hold back now, killing Kagura would be fair game should she attempt any further harm to any who traveled with him.
While the yokai Lord had been under the impression that locating the injured Naraku would be fairly easy, he was sadly mistaken. It was as if Naraku had vanished from the face of the world. There was no sign, not even a whiff of a scent, of the demon's presence. After the first week of traveling, with no indication, Sesshomaru started to feel irritated. There was no explaination - none at all - Naraku HAD to have left some sort of trace. Even on a cold trail, there would still be a faint scent. But there was just... emptiness. Irritation gave way to anger as more time passed, and Sesshomaru was nowhere closer to any indication of where Naraku could be hiding. By now, the demon was surely almost healed. It would be much harder to defeat him once he was fully restored, and even harder yet if he rebuilt and reformed himself, which he was sure to do. The search was fruitless.
Rin and Jaken remained with him, but Sesshomaru was so intently focused on trying to find Naraku, that they were in his peripheral vision instead of his focus. They remained quietly content to be with their lord. Rin seemed to understand that whatever Sesshomaru was doing, he needed to focus, so she didn't interrupt him much over the course of the days that passed. Sesshomaru became so intensely obsessed with hunting down Naraku, that he barely permitted stopping to rest. Their little clan was in almost constant motion. It was only one night, when it began to rain, that Rin finally spoke up.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" Initially he did not answer, not because he was ignoring her, but he simply didn't hear her over his own roaring thoughts. Rin walked closer, gently grabbing a fistful of his hankimono sleeve. "Lord Sesshomaru?" Surprised, as if hearing her for the first time, the dog demon turned to look down at Rin. He blinked the haze of thoughts he'd been lost in, away from his eyes.
Oh... it's raining. He'd hardly noticed, until now he gazed down at Rin, who was saturated from the rain pelting down. His eyebrows drew together. I cannot become so focused that I neglect Rin. Taking a deep breath he turned toward her, glancing behind he saw Jaken huddled beneath A-un for shelter. Reaching out with his right hand, he drew Rin closer, then lifted his arm so that his sleeve provided some minimal shelter from the downpour. It was only then, with Rin huddled close to his leg that he realized that she was shivering. I can't risk her getting ill again.
"Let's find shelter." He said, as gently as he could. The anger he'd been battling with, now directed toward himself.
They were at the base of the mountains, with no local villages. It was nearly impossible to scent anything, with as hard as it was raining. With his fingertips on her small shoulder, Sesshomaru guided Rin to stay close as he moved toward the base of the mountain. Behind them, A-un followed, his massive feet causing small tidal waves through the mud. It was minutes until they found a semi hidden cave amongst the trees, large rocks had fallen to form a shelter over the entrance. But to Sesshomaru, those moments felt like an age. Finally, they stepped into the dark dryness of the cave. He sniffed the air, to ascertain if any other demons or humans had used this cave. But it smelled only of animals, none of which seemed to be present at the moment. Lifting his hand from Rin's shoulder, the yokai summoned energy to his fingertips. His claws instantly glowed with an eerie green hue, lighting the space around them.
"We will dry here, and wait for the rain to pass." Turning, he glanced to where Jacken was stumbling in, his tunic saturated with mud. "Jaken. Start a fire."
Jaken glanced around. "But I have no wood." Sesshomaru aimed a glare at the imp, who jumped and scrambled toward the mouth of the cavern. "Yeaaaawwww - I'll get some!"
Though the opening was tight, even A-un was able to wriggle his way through the entrance and into the interior of the cave. Leaving Rin, for a moment, Sesshomaru walked over to the dragon, his hand still lifted to provide some minimal light. Carefully he guided the two headed beast deeper into the cavern, until it's bulk split the widest area in to two parts. He gestured with his clawed hand, the dragon understood the order and lay down on the stone floor. Then, Sesshomaru turned to Rin. She clasped her arms before her, water dripped from her thoroughly saturated yukata. Her dark hair looked ebony black, and was plastered to her head, as if she'd jumped in a lake. Behind where the yokai stood, Jaken hurried in with an armload of wood, and used his staff to light the wet wood. Quickly, a cheerful yellow blaze filled the space, and began casting off warmth.
"Now, Rin." Sesshomaru said, finally lowering his hand and allowing the energy to fade. "You need to dry." He gestured behind A-un, the space behind the dragon hidden from sight. "Go change."
Rin had been silent, watching with wide eyes. He could only guess she was terribly cold - humans didn't tolerate temperature change well, apparently. A tiny smile tilted her lips. "Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru." Then she scurried out of sight behind the dragon. A heartbeat later, he heard the wet plop of her soaked yukata as it dropped to the stone floor.
With a heavy breath, part relief and part frustration, he turned to the fire and moved to sit against the wall. It will be much harder to gather any information about Naraku's whereabouts now, with this drenching rain. If there had been any scentable trace of the demon, it will almost certainly be washed away. I must find him. Sesshomaru slammed a clawed fist against the floor in frustration, the rock cracked beneath his blow.