Chapter 31 - Rain
They reached the Musashi province early on the third day. It had been overcast since the night prior. By early morning the temperature had dropped and rain began. Though Sesshomaru was loathe to stop their travel, he was aware that being a delicate human, Rin should not be exposed to cold and rain. He glanced back to where she was standing by A-un, she held a huge leaf in her hand that covered her head. Despite the wetness, she was dancing in the droplets, looking quite like a fairy.
Silly. To think a human girl looks like an ethereal creature.
Shifting his focus back to the immediate surroundings, he didn't see any natural shelter readily available. A frown pulled down the corners of his lips. He would not risk Rin becoming ill again. Picking up the pace, he began earnestly searching for a safe spot to deposit Rin and Jaken. In the next hour, they came across no caves or sheltered areas. Finally, he scented something. It was an abandoned human hut. He found it distasteful… but it would have to do.
"Come." Sesshomaru instructed, glancing back. Rin was no longer dancing, she moved slowly trying to stay as close under A-un's two heads as possible. Not sick, but bedraggled in the rain. Jaken was sitting in the saddle shivering.
When he called, Rin walked out from the semi shelter and warmth of A-un, to take her place beside him.
"Are we stopping Lord Sesshomaru?"
He could see her shivering. "Soon." He stepped closer to her, and lifted his arm, the damp flowing sleeve of his hakimono offering her some protection from the rain. "There's a shelter ahead."
Nodding, she huddled close as they began walking toward the abandoned human shelter that he had identified. When it came into view, Sesshomaru was even less enthused by the idea. The building was half hidden amongst the trees and bushes, likely deserted some time ago. The structure itself seemed relatively sound, for human construction. Though the bamboo mat over the door was gone, and one part of the roof was fallen in. Beside him, Sesshomaru sensed Rin lean closer.
"Is… that where we're staying, my Lord?"
Sesshomaru didn't answer. He could only imagine that she also found human constructs distasteful, given her prior interactions with the humans who had beaten her. The very memory of the bruises on her face made his blood seethe.
"There are no humans here." He reassured her as they neared the building. "Jaken."
"Y-yes my Lord?" Came the squeaky reply from behind where A-un trailed with his passenger.
"Go inside and start a fire."
The imp, shivering and dripping from the rain, scrambled down from his perch and raced toward the building. There were noises from inside, as if Jaken had fallen once… twice. Then a glow lit the doorway.
"Rin, go inside."
She peeked up at him, from her hiding place beneath his sleeve. A smile tilted her lips.
"Okay."
Leaving the safety of his sleeve, she hurried toward the building, her bare feet splashing in puddles along the way.
Sesshomaru turned to A-un, who was already moving toward the trees, to himself get out of the rain. Following, Sesshomaru pulled out Rin's blanket, the bag of food she had collected, and a dry yukata from the hidden pouch under the saddle. Thankfully, everything was dry. Glancing up at the downpour, he frowned again. The rain showed no signs of stopping.
"Hm."
Turning, he walked toward the house to join the others. From the doorway of the small hut, he observed the simple surroundings. A square hole in the floor, blazed with the crackling fire that Jaken had lit. The imp was busying himself tossing broken pieces of the fallen in roof, into the fire to burn. Rin had placed a wooden bucket under the hole in the roof, to collect the fresh rainwater.
"Look my Lord!" She said smiling as she turned to face him. "It's almost like it was made for us!"
Sesshomaru couldn't help but be impressed by her optimism. Even in such a sorry state that the human shack was, she found a positive light to it.
"Here, Rin." He held out the bag of her collected food, blanket and dry clothing. "You need to get into dry clothes."
Hurrying to him, she took the items and nodded. "Yes, my Lord."
Turning away, the yokai strode back out the door to the hut, and back into the downpour. They were close to the village that InuYasha lingered at. If the rain hadn't washed away his scent, it should be fairly easy to locate him. Rising into the air, Sesshomaru heard Jaken's plaintive squeal of panic as he lifted into the sky.
"Lord Sesshomaruuuu don't leave meeee!"
The sound faded, the farther Sesshomaru flew from the shack. It was a short trip to the village. He stayed concealed by the trees as much as possible, attempting to assess from the protection of the foliage. Sesshomaru found the scent of Kagome all around the bone eaters well, it was the most potent within the well. He presumed she must have gone to the other world, the one where she lived.
"Hm."
Sesshomaru was very careful not to touch anything, even the ground, as not to not leave his scent. The rain would quickly blow any trace of him from the air. Returning to the treeline, the demon lord began trying to identify InuYasha's scent. It was more difficult in the heavy rain. Eventually, he identified one hut in the village. Cautious, not to be seen, Sesshomaru neared the building, listening through the thin wooden walls.
The conversation was mundane. It sounded like an old woman, InuYasha, and the monk, we're having a conversation inside. Nothing that interested him. Something about ninja food, and Kagome.
Hearing InuYasha's crass voice shift toward the doorway, Sesshomaru vanished into the trees again. All in all, his reconnaissance was successful. He'd found InuYasha, who it appeared, was not currently hunting Naraku. Though that did not mean that Naraku was not conversely also inactive. It seemed likely that InuYasha would not continue his hunt until Kagome returned.
Sesshomaru angled himself back toward the hut, the rain was growing heavier by the moment. Minutes later, he walked back through the doorway, which was now covered with some sort of crudely crafted bamboo mat. Wherever Jaken and Rin had found materials, he had no idea.
Inside, Rin was dry in her new yukata, there was food cooking on sticks around the fire. Within the shack, the atmosphere was almost cheerful. Greeting him with a smile, Rin urged him to come and sit by the fire so he could dry. Unlike her, he had no dry clothing, though the wet and cold would not affect him the same way. Sesshomaru did not resist her urging.