Authors note: Unfortunately I have to take a few days off from writing Barefoot chapters. Today was very rough for me, and I have a couple solid days of work ahead. I'm so sorry! I'll be back (hopefully) by Sunday.

Chapter 91 - Soft

Daylight filtered through the mist and tree branches dimly, offering very little in the way of illumination. The thick woods, where they were, still appeared like dusk. It was morning when Sesshomaru finally roused again, his eyes shifted beneath closed lids, squinting at the light before they finally opened. His body still hurt, but the degree of pain was substantially lessened. Even in the hours he'd slept, Sesshomaru could feel that a portion of his energy had been restored. Carefully, he shifted, testing his fingers, then moving his arm. It didn't hurt to move, he found that there was something soft blocking any substantial movement.

With a muted grunt, the yokai lifted his head to see what prevented his movement. To his surprise, he found Rin curled up beside him. Her dark head rested on his arm, the rest of her was snuggled in the undamaged length of his mokomoko. One barefoot peeked out through his creamy fur. The sweet and innocent sight made his throat tighten with some inexplicable emotion. She had obviously been awake, tending to him for some time. There were strips of torn fabric all around, a long strip was wrapped around his shoulder. He recognized the color of the fabric as strips torn from her blanket. A bowl was filled with water, tainted red with his blood. She must have cleaned my wounds.

Beyond Rin, A-un was curled in a half circle, as if a physical barrier, protecting the little group from the outside world. Jaken was curled up beside A-un's head, snoring loudly. The forest around them was almost reverently silent. Sesshomaru was uncertain if it was from the sacred mountain, or their own presence. His gaze returned to Rin, curled up in a warm cocoon beside him. It was so like the night they had slept by the waterfall along the base of Mount Hakurei. Was that truly only days ago? It seemed like a lifetime. I thought she was gone… that I wouldn't see her here, like this, again. Taking a breath Sesshomaru tried to slowly sit up, but inhaled sharply as pain throbbed through his shoulder. The sound drew Rin to wakefulness.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Her voice was thick with sleep, she sat up bleary eyed amidst the pool of his fur. In that moment Sesshomaru believed he had never seen such a beautiful sight. Rubbing her eyes, Rin reached out and put a hand over his shoulder. "It's still hurting?" Her brown eyes were wide as they gazed down at him.

Sesshomaru grunted. "It will heal." For a moment he closed his eyes, assessing his energy and his body's recovery. He had definitely absorbed energy, though not enough to supplement his healing yet. With an irritated sigh, he opened his eyes again. "I need to absorb more energy before it will properly heal." Gold eyes shifted to Rin, for a moment their eyes met through the hazy softness of the mountain's misty glow.

A soft pinkness touched Rin's cheeks, and a soft smile tilted her lips. "I'm so glad you're okay." Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. "When you fell… I was more afraid than I'd ever been." One salty tear slipped from her dark lashes, he could smell the sharp tang of it tracing down her cheek. "But I knew you had to survive, you always do."

My brave Rin. Reaching out with his hand, carefully as to not jostle his injured shoulder, he gently wiped the tear with his thumb. He heard her inhale sharply as their skin met, and found that his touch was lingering on the softness of her cheek. "Death could not keep me from you." Her fingers reached up to gently touch the back of his hand, they traced the red demon stripes that in vividly stark contrast to his alabaster skin.

A squawking sound broke the moment. "Lord Sesshomaru! You're alive!!!"

Jaken. Irritation swirled in Sesshomaru's chest as he pulled his hand away from Rin. Her eyes dropped from his, as she busied her hands cleaning up the remnant scraps of her blanket. The pinkness of her cheeks remained.

"I thought certainly you were dead my Lord!" Sesshomaru shifted his gaze to the imp as he waddled over, it was no longer soft, but sharp and narrowed. "I never thought you'd survive the barrier!" The hit came so fast that Jaken barely knew what had happened. The imp rolled to the ground with a knot on his forehead, the only indication was Sesshomaru's raised fist. "Ohhhh…" Jaken moaned as he rolled across the grass. "I should have seen that coming."

Carefully, Sesshomaru sat up, then glanced around for his hankimono, finally realizing that his upper body was still bare. He spotted it lying across some rocks to the side, it was obvious that Rin had taken time to clean the satin fabric and had worked hard to remove the bloodstains. Immediately to his left, lay his obi and blades. Rin had thoughtfully kept them within arms reach. He considered asking who had disrobed him… but casting a raised eyebrow at Rin, who was carefully avoiding looking at him, the question no longer seemed relevant.

Briefly he allowed the frivolity of intrusive illogical thoughts, as he watched her fingers delicately cleaning up from her ministrations of the night before. Still in pain, with a longing for rest, Sesshomaru's canine soul wanted nothing more than to curl around Rin in a protective cocoon. Keeping the entire world away, where he alone could revel in her gentleness and bask in the sweet scent of lilacs. He had to close his eyes, to force away the intense wave of longing that briefly gripped him. Longing for the soft, loving care that she offered him so freely. Something he had never known. The desire for more of Rin's gentle touch, was so strong that it made him dizzy… like some strange sickness. She isn't mine. He to remind himself, that she was not his for the taking —- she belonged to the world of humans, and would return once the threats to her life were neutralized. The thought brought pain, in place of the longing.

Gritting his teeth and forcing the longing and pain back into the dark recesses of his heart, Sesshomaru took a breath. Moving carefully, he placed his arm on the tree trunk behind him in an attempt to stand. He was still weak, but he could not allow that to deter him from his ultimate goal — hunting down and ending Naraku. That's all that mattered right now.

"My Lord!" Rin gasped, reaching her hands toward him. "Please don't move yet!"

"I need to be ready."