Chapter 48 - Pawn

Sesshomaru felt as if his chest had been ripped open by the Tetsusaiga again. He felt raw, open. Rage and pain trembled through him, extending thought every pore and to his fingertips.

He landed in silence, the scent of lilacs strong in his nostrils. Sesshomaru's gold eyes burned with suppressed rage. Rin lay, as lifeless as she had been after the wolves had killed her. A young boy crouched over her, with a chain sickle raised over her neck. He was hardly older than Rin, for a human, much too young to be using a weapon. Or be in the employ of a sadistic demon like Naraku.

Wind made the grass wave, the whooshing sound audible. From the angle, Sesshomaru couldn't see if Rin was breathing. The chain of the sickle the boy held rattled, as he slowly turned to look at Sesshomaru.

If Rin is dead… he couldn't even finish the thought.

Uncertain if the boy was a willing pawn, Sesshomaru restrained his rage, maintaining his expressionlessness. He waited for the boy to twitch his fingers toward Rin, any reason to slay him. The boy - Kohaku, turned away from the prone girl, and slowly stood to his feet. His face, was also expressionless. He stood, appearing fearless, raised his sickle toward Sesshomaru and shifted his legs into a fighting stance.

"Oh?" Good. The blade is turned away from Rin. Now he could unleash his pent up rage at someone. Lifting his right hand, Sesshomaru prepared to strike the boy with his claws. "You turn your blade toward me?"

"Kohaku!" Sesshomaru had been so intensely focused on Rin and the boy, he hadn't noticed his brother until the hanyo yelled the boy's name and his fist connected to the human's face. Kohaku flew through the air, notably out of Sesshomaru's reach, and tumbled to the ground on his back. InuYasha stood over the boy. "What are you doing you fool?!"

Kagome was with InuYasha, she came running through the grass, and dropped to Rin's side without hesitation. An unknown emotion filled Sesshomaru as he watched Kagome check Rin's prone form for signs of life, not realizing he held his breath. His gold eyes watched intensely, as Kagome gently lifted Rin's upper body into her arms.

Smiling, Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru. "She's alright. She's just unconscious. That's all."

Relief like he'd never experienced before, swept through Sesshomaru. He felt as if he could stagger under the release of it. She's alive. Though, had he been a moment later, she wouldn't have been. Her thoughts must have ceased when the boy knocked her unconscious.

The boy. His gold eyes shifted back to the boy. He had touched her. The relief Sesshomaru had felt, was burned away by the anger that had been simmering against Naraku all night.

"You heard her!" InuYasha said, turning toward his brother, standing over Kohaku. "The girl's not hurt! So let the boy go free."

"Stay out of this InuYasha." Sesshomaru warned. His anger would not be so easily tempered. "It's useless to try and interfere. This boy seems compelled beyond reason to die by my hands." Even as he spoke, Kohaku had risen to his feet, wielding his sickle again.

Before another word could be spoken, Kohaku unleashed his chain sickle toward Sesshomaru. InuYasha leapt in the path, deflecting the blade with the Tetsusaiga. The sickle flew off into the grass. Eager to release his wrath, Sesshomaru's body blurred as he moved around InuYasha with a burst of inhuman speed. Before anyone could blink, Sesshomaru held Kohaku aloft, with his claws around the boys neck.

"How generous of you." The yokai said, with a trace of amusement. "Disarming the boy for me. I had no idea you held such strong feelings for me, InuYasha."

"Let's get one thing straight Sesshomaru!" InuYasha snarled and turned, aiming Tetsusaiga at his brother. "I'll kill you, if you don't let him go."

The boy in his hand, Kohaku, was motionless. He didn't fight. He didn't utter a sound.

"Don't do it Sesshomaru!" Kagome cried, still holding Rin.

"Set the boy down." Added InuYasha.

Sesshomaru glared at Kohaku. Scrutinizing the human boy.

He dared to touch what is mine. I should kill him. But… this boy. He shows no sign of suffering. He knows no fear. I despise the look in his eyes. He is not himself. Naraku has overtaken his mind. Which means… Naraku wants me to kill him.

Abruptly, Sesshomaru released Kohaku's neck, the boy fell in a heap at his feet.

A sound drew his attention away from the boy, and everyone else.

Rin.

She made a soft moaning noise as she awoke. Sesshomaru turned to see her rubbing her eyes, warmth blossomed in his chest. Kagome spoke to her, but neither he or Rin seemed to hear the words. Rin's brown eyes opened, finding him immediately.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" She cried in delight. The sound of her voice reverberated in his mind, colors and light burst from their mental connection. Then, as if noticing the boy for the first time, she looked over at him. "What happened Kohaku?" Instead of responding, the boy grabbed his sickle and raced off toward the woods.

For a moment, all was silent. Then InuYasha opened his mouth… again.

"Aren't you going after him?"

A burst of wind and a small white floating feather, told Sesshomaru all he needed to know. Kagura had come for the boy.

"Thank you." The voice was Kagome's, though Sesshomaru didn't turn to look at her. "Sesshomaru? Thanks for letting Kohaku go."

For some reason, Sesshomaru felt compelled to respond to the girl — unlike when InuYasha addressed him. Perhaps it was because she reminded him so much of Rin.

"The boy was trying to die at my hands."

InuYasha was incredulous. "You mean… you knew that?"

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder. Perhaps he was feeling drained from all of the energy output, or the emotional turmoil he'd been in. He wasn't sure why he answered. "It was Naraku's doing. And I refuse to play by his rules." Turning back, he began walking away, feeling the strain of the night wearing on him.

Rin could have stayed with them. He deliberately didn't call her name, and demand she follow. Somewhere, his mind told him that she would be safer with InuYasha and his human friends. Against all odds… he heard Rin leap to her feet with a laugh of pleasure as she raced to catch up to him. Rin took her place at his left side, turning only to call goodbye to Kagome and InuYasha.

So… now they know.

Kagome and InuYasha clearly knew, that Rin was part of his clan and that she was under his protection. It couldn't have been helped. He wouldn't have changed anything he did this night. As long is Rin is alive, that's what matters.