Chapter 69 - Thoughts

They walked until darkness fell, following the rocky trail along the base of the mountain. No further demons harassed them, Koga and his pack seemed to have moved on. Likewise there was no indication of InuYasha and his group anywhere nearby.

Sesshomaru remained lost in thought most of the day. Though, he had barricaded the pathway between his mind, and Rin's, once again — there was no telling when that barricade would again disappear. Old Bokuseno was right, over time the barrier between our separate minds is growing weaker, despite my best efforts. How long had it been since that fateful night that he gifted kizuna to Rin? Time was elusive, this was his first true attempt to count back days, months, and years from a more human perspective. The closest conclusion that he could reach, was that it had been over a year, perhaps several months more even. He determined to ask Jaken about it.

Glancing back, he observed Rin curled up on A-un's saddle, fast asleep. Had it been her fear, that had thrown open the door between them? Sesshomaru couldn't help but remember the images from her memories, the relived moment of her death, that he saw from her eyes. Her hot blood that had saturated the ground, and flowed crimson against her pale skin. Though the sight and scent of blood had never bothered him, in all his centuries, the very memory of Rin's made him cringe, and his lips tighten in a firm line. Her blood will not be spilled again, by anyone. He vowed to himself.

A sudden scent teased Sesshomaru's nose, causing him to stop abruptly. What is this? Behind him, Jaken plowed face first into his master's leg, then fell backward warbling and sputtering. Narrowing his eyes, Sesshomaru lifted his nose to the breeze. It smells of… graveyard soil. He had smelled the same scent on InuYasha's dead former lover, the priestess Kikyo, during their brief interaction some months prior. This scent, however familiar, was slightly different than that of the priestess. Is someone practicing necromancy? Who would be fool enough to tamper with the dead? Only those in dark arts, practiced such things. The dead, when revived, never returned the same as they had once been.

"What is it my Lord?" Jaken asked, from somewhere near his feet. "Do you… sense something?"

"There is a foul scent in the air."

Jaken made a fearful sound and shrank closer. "I-is it Naraku?"

Sesshomaru's eyebrows drew together. "No." Not directly anyway. This did not rule out that it wasn't one of his schemes. "Something is amiss."

Jaken muttered something under his break, then spoke aloud again. "What do you intend to do my Lord?"

The yokai was silent for a long moment, considering his options. Finally, he decided that continuing to travel, thereby making a moving target, was the safest course of action for the moment. Without verbalizing his thoughts, Sesshomaru resumed his tireless march, leaving Jaken to scramble to keep up. Morning came after a tense night passed, the demon lord was very cautious now, watching and scenting for anything unusual constantly. It was after daybreak that Sesshomaru smelled the scent of humans, and presumed they were near a village.

"Jaken."

The imp dropped A-un's reins and raced to his master's side. "Yes my Lord?"

"Go into the village. Purchase a bag of fresh foods, and listen to see if there's been any strange goings on in the area."

With his bulging yellow eyes, Jaken gazed up at him. "Strange, how my Lord?"

"Any sort of monsters, or demons. Anything out of the ordinary." Human villages were rife with gossip. If there was any information to be had, it would not be easy to miss.

Bowing, Jaken nodded. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru, right away — here I go!"

The imp grasped his staff and hurried through the trees toward the human village. Sesshomaru deduced that Jaken would not cause much of a disturbance, such a small ugly demon would be mostly dismissed. If he himself, had gone to the village, it would have caused a fearful stirring, which almost always drove humans to violence.

Knowing that the errand would take Jaken some time to complete, Sesshomaru grasped A-un's reins with his right hand, and led the dragon toward the river flowing nearby. It was downstream from the village, hopefully far enough away that no humans would stumble upon their presence at the riverside, Sesshomaru found a shaded spot beneath some trees, and guided the dragon to lie down and rest. He took up sentry beneath a tall tree, appearing restful and docile, but his senses were fully absorbed in assessing the environment all around.

It was nearing noon when Rin finally stirred from her long sleep, still on A-un's saddle. Sesshomaru heard the shift of the fabric of her yukata as she began moving. Followed quickly by the soft sound of her yawn, and her fingers sliding through hair - he wasn't sure if it was A-un's mane, or her own dark hair. Opening his eyes, he turned, expectantly waiting to see her peek her head to see him. A moment later, she did precisely that, her wide face peered around A-un's sleeping heads, and a smile overtook her features.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Fairly bounding with excitement, she skipped around the sleeping dragon, to Sesshomaru's side. His gold eyes softened as he looked at her, their eyes level, from his seated position at the base of the tree. "Did I wake you?" She asked cautiously, clearly wondering if she should have curbed her enthusiasm.

"I was not sleeping." He realized that his fingers had lifted, with the intention of brushing stray hair from her cheek. Firmly, he confined his hand to the ground, balling it into a fist to resist any further temptation. For a moment all was silent between them, Rin gazed up at him with a smile of adoration, Sesshomaru watched the rapt wonder in her brown eyes. He considered asking her, if she had opened the door between their minds, but something within him held him back from breaching such an adult discussion with her. In all likelihood, she was too young to have any concept about the depth of the bond in kizuna. I won't tarnish whatever shreds of childhood remain, she deserves to have the opportunity to be a child. Taking a breath, he met her gaze. "Rin."

Smiling Rin sat down on the grass behind him, she had a handful of dried nuts and seeds from her food bag, which he had not noticed before. "Yes my Lord?" She nibbled on one of the dried foods from her hand.

The yokai hesitated. How can I discuss this with her, indirectly? "You know that demons are much different than humans." Rin made a face, her eyes sparkled as if she was amused by his question, and she tilted her head as if indicating that he was silly for asking her such a question. "You also know I will only ask you to do things, necessary, to keep you safe?"

To this, her expression quickly became serious. She placed the handful of dried food into a square of cloth in her lap. Nodding, she met his eyes solemnly. "Yes. I know."